##VIDEO ID:EmXneCZIyAo## e for e that's ordinances are there iach it's an attachment so it was the one from e e this is a regular meeting of the township committee public notice of this meeting has been given as required by the open public public meetings law a resolution was adopted on January 1st 2024 designating this date this Hall in 7:30 p.m. as the time for this regular meeting of the township Committee of the township of Union in the county of Union a notice of each and every meeting of the township committee was posted in accordance with the apet open public meetings law in one public place reserved for posting of ordinances and official notices of the township of Union namely the bulletin board next to the clerk's office in addition there to a copy of said resolution was forwarded to the local source of Star Ledger a copy of said resolution is on file with the clerk of the township thank you madam clerk this evening the prayer will be led by committee woman Terell and the flag salute will be led by committee man Bowser would everyone please stand as we gather as members of this Township committee we pray that we are ever mindful of opportunities to render our service to fellow citizens and to our community keeping in mind all always the enduring values of Life exerting our efforts in those areas and on those things upon which future Generations can build with confidence let us continue to strive to Make a Better Community amen amen I pledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Madam C can I have a roll call please Mr Bowser here Mr Terrell here M Frasier here Mr floral here mayor figurita here can I have a motion to approve the minutes of the conference and regular session of August 27th 2024 and the special meeting of August 26 2024 motion to approve the minute second all in favor I mam cler we move on with the ordinances and resolutions please I for consideration on second final reading an ordinance amending ordinance number 5758 for the utility and temporary construction site work area and mitigation work area easements to the state of New Jersey by the commissioner of transportation to include parcel 243a and increase the cost to $45,000 move the ordinance be taken up for second and final reading second an ordinance of the township of Union County of union state of New Jersey for a utility and a temporary construction area easements to the state of New Jersey by the commissioner of Transportation this ordinance amends ordinance 5758 to include parcel 243a and increase the cost to $45,000 is there anyone from the public who wishes to speak on this ordinance move to move the ordinance to be adopted second Mr Bowser yes mral yes M Fraser yes Mr Florio yes mayor figorito yes amending chapter 266-6622 6- 66b schedule 15 entitled parking by permit only in residential areas by the township Committee of the township of Union County of union state of New Jersey this ordinance affects Wendy court is there anyone from the the public who wishes to speak on this ordinance will viance be adopted second Mr Bowser yes Mr Terell yes Miss Frasier yes Mr Florio yes mayor figurita yes providing for the 2024 Road program Elizabeth Town Gas roads move the ordinance be taken up for second and final reading second capital ordinance providing for improvements and repairs to various roads throughout the township by the township of Union and the county of union state of New Jersey appropriating $784,900 to pay for the cost thereof which amount will be funded by a grant from the Elizabeth Town Gas Company received or expected to be received by the Township from the New Jersey Department of Transportation is there anyone from the public wishing to speak on this ordinance move the ordinance be adopted second Mr Bowser yes Mr Terrell yes M Frasier yes Mr Florio yes mayor fig yes creating a new chapter in the municipal code entitled filming move the ordinance be taken up for second and final reading second creating a new chapter in the municipal code entitled filming anyone from the public wishing to speak on this ordinance yes please come on up identify your name and address please root slovic 1700 Patriot Way what is what is filming what is what's necessary to do with municipal code what is it it's tidying up creating an ordinance so that we're in uniformity with the state of New Jersey's film commission if an entity wants to come into the town so there's stipulations such as cost for parking things like that when they come in with a trailer or other entities you mean like for media and things like that is that what you're talking about filming companies companies that are filming movies that's what that's for and that's a necessity in in most towns I mean I don't understand like why we're doing this it brings in a revenue to the town it brings recognition to towns there are many towns that want this New Jersey film commission is really at the Forefront of this we're just falling in line with them okay so it's not something that's like in in the works now which is something for the future if it should come up you're saying no it's just something yes in the future okay thank you sure anyone else wishing to speak on this ordinance move the ordinance be adopted second Mr Bowser yes M Terrell yes M Frasier yes Mr Florio yes mayor figorito yes I your consideration on drafting first reading an ordinance authorizing a lease with 10 Cherry Street Associates LLC for offices located at 855 Lehigh Avenue will the draft be taken up by title at this time second and ordinance authorizing the township of Union as tenant to lease from 10 Cherry Street Associates LLC 5682 Square Fe of commercial office space located at 855 Lehigh Avenue Union New Jersey for Board of Education administrative offices for an initial term of five years with two five-year renewal options Mr Bowser yes M Terrell yes Miss Fraser yes Mr Florio yes mayor figurita yes move the draft be taken up for second and final reading at the next regularly scheduled meeting second Mr Bower yes M Terell yes Miss Frasier yes Mr Florio yes mayor figurita yes the following resolutions authorizing the purchase of playground and resurfacing equipment for Alpine Park from Ben shaer Recreation Inc through the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey for an amount not to exceed $282,450 move to approve the virches second all in favor I authorizing an emergency contract with Montana Construction Inc for the immediate repair of a sore Mainline at 2321 Route 22 West in the amount of $ 44,7 258 move to approve contract second all in favor I authorizing a professional service agreement with Robert barity Esquire to act as hearing officer in the matter of signature sports bar LLC for a total amount not to exceed 7 ,500 motion to approve second all in favor I I authorizing an agreement with affordable Interior Systems care of commercial Furniture Interiors for the reconfiguring of the accounts office through State contract 19 food 08876 for an amount not to exceed $ 5,933 76 motion to approve second all in favor I authorizing a shared service agreement with Kane University to convert the property located at 10 85 Mars Avenue into a university based health services and Research Center move for approval second all in favor I authorizing an agreement with Nelson niggard Consulting Associates Inc for the creation of a vision zero action plan for a total amount not to exceed $185,000 move to approve second all in favor I authorizing an amended lease agreement extending the time period for the office space at 1060 ston Avenue for use by the public library move to approve second all in favor I authorizing an amended lease agreement extending the time period for the office space at 1000 Stenson Avenue for use by the special improvement district motion to approve the lease extension second all in favor I designating block 4101 lot 1.01 2270 Mars Avenue as an area in need of Redevelopment who for approval second all in favor I authorizing the insertion of a special item of Revenue into the 2024 Municipal budget in the amount of $3,713 under the caption Greening Union County grant program move to approve second all in favor ask you to approve the finances as listed on the agenda motion to approve all in favor I I following Communications from Anthony manguso construction official requesting a refund for Mac Industries LLC 990 West Chestnut Street in the amount of $250 for an un use permit motion to approve the refund second all in favor from Michelle baruchi Union Elks requesting eight barricades and eight garbage cans with liners on October 13th 2024 with the rain date of October 20th 2024 for their annual car show move for approval second all in favor from Robert Brown Jr 1100 Pine Avenue requesting to close off Pine Avenue at boxall Road Stow Street and Emerson Avenue on Saturday September 21st 2024 from 12: to 4:00 p.m. for a church community barbecue for approximately 750 attendees and also requesting to have food vendors and music move to approv request second all in favor hi hi Department reports from the clerk's office and Community Development motion to approve second all in favor I that concludes my part of the agenda thank you madam clerk move on to our committee reports we'll start with committee woman Terrell thank you uh for Department of Public Works um so this is report is for SE uh September 10th uh in the road division the road division continues to work on repairing potholes patching sections of Roads throughout the township since our last meeting the road division has performed 82 pothole repairs and 258 streets were swept the sewer division the sewer division continues to maintain catch basins basins pump stations and outfalls daily performing repairs when necessary since our last meeting the sewer division has performed 220 catch basins catch Basin cleanings 40 enzyme applications to minimize fast oils in grease and one emergency call the shade tree division the shade tree division continues to maintain trees and parks Township properties and in Township right of ways since our last meeting the tree Crews performed 27 removals 24 trees were trimmed and one stump was removed all concerns or inquiries regarding all division of Public Works can be addressed by calling public works at 98686 922 or by using the reporter concern feature on the township website that concludes my report thank you so much commitment Bowser uh police report uh thank you mayor uh from for the time period August the 23rd to uh September the 5th there were 1,2 999 direct patrols there was 2,588 calls for service there was 67 arrests under speed initiative there were for the same time frame it was 85 stops 81 tickets 22 were residents under red light enforcement were 25 stops 29 tickets one resident truck enforcement for the same time frame of five stops four tickets and one is a delivery I have highlights for this time frame on August the 30th officers were able to check a vehicle stolen out of Union on previous on the on the previous day officers located the vehicle occupied by three male suspects officers attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop and the suspect fled the vehicle indicating motor vehicle Pursuit through Elizabeth into Lyndon where the vehicle was became disabled all three suspects fled the fled into the Lyon Airport with the assistance of the municipal jurisdictions officers were able to locate and arrest all three males they were transported to headquarters and charged accordingly on September the 5th officers conducted a motor vehicle stop of a vehicle for careless driving officers identified the driver and determined the drivers was wanted out of the out of state of North Carolina for homicide that occurred on on the morning of uh September the 4th the suspect was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Union County Jail to await Expedition back to North Carolina and that concludes my report thank you so much uh we'll go over to committee woman G frasia from the senior center the health and wellness maintenance check will be held on Tuesday September 23rd from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. the New Jersey snap registration um will be on site to help you complete complete the application for the SNAP benefits which helps you to buy groceries and to maintain good health programs Memoir Workshop this Workshop will provide a window into important times in your life simple exercises and prompts will lead you to write short vignettes September 17th the 24th October 8th and the 24th from 10:30 to 12:30 Zumba Gold is always a good time the design is uh the class is designed to to introduce easy to follow Zoom book choreography that focuses on balance range of motion and coordination that is September 17th through SE uh December 3rd from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and that is free of charge art and creative craft Workshop working with a wide range of materials to enable members to exper experiment with the process of art Thursday September 26th October 3rd October 10th and the 17th October 3rd my birthday 11 to 12:00 p.m. upcoming trips Wind Creek Casino Bethlehem PA September 19th the tickets are $35 departing from Janette Avenue Kane University Liberty Hall October 29th tea and tour that's always a good time $45 for the tickets the tea includes a Sumptuous selection of scones assorted pastries traditional finger sandwiches and the freshest of fruits as you enjoy your afternoon tea experience relax back beside our beautiful garden and take out and take in our breathtaking views a tour of Liberty Hall Museum follows after the tea and with the recreation department the union recreational Recreation travel basketball interest list will be available for registration on Wednesday September 10th the travel basketball program is for boys and girls fourth through 8th grade practices begin in November with games played through uh December through March home games are played at Bernett or kwami middle school while away games take place in surrounding towns travel basketball is a great way for aspiring players to play at a higher level of competition before getting to the middle and high school teams those looking for an introductory program will be able to sign up for our clinics in instead which will open for registration later in the fall the union Recreation Department is also gearing up for Halloween yay long-standing annual traditions of Halloween Window Painting and the scarecrow contest uh will return in October we are also planning two great Halloween themed events on Saturday October 19th so mark your calendars and bring out your family uh for a good time keep an eye out for flyers for those upcoming Halloween activities if you have any questions please call the recreation department at 98686 4200 that concludes my report mayor thank you so much and I think committee woman Garett Frasier wants everyone to write down on their calendars October 3rd is her birthday so just very important date Deputy Mayor I'll bring it over to you thank you very much mayor uh Union fire department responded to 254 emergency calls for service with 128 medical calls so far to date in September some of significant events during this period on August 27th the fire department apparat responded to a commercial building fire on rollway every on August 30th in the early morning hours apparatus responded to Route 22 East for a dump truck that had damaged two utility posts I remind everybody that our fire and police department are responsible for anything on the parkway or Route 78 that goes to Union there's awful lot of calls there on August 30th apparat responded for Mars Avenue for a car that drove through a front of the business fire department members shed the structure for stabilization on August 31st in the early morning apparatus responded to Garden State Parkway again North for a three-car motor vehicle access with five occum needing to be extri extracted from the extricated sorry from the vehicle on August 31st apparatus responded to the point on Route 22 for a structure fire on September 6 apparat responded to Remos Avenue for a house fire on September 7th apparat responded at calafat Avenue for house fire just this is hurricane season just this is just a couple of points fortunately we we haven't had really a major outage here in town since Sandy but in that time we did get a 7 to 10 day outage so it's very important you never could tell what the weather to way it's changing now we need to be prepared and here are just some suggestions have a home emergency preparedness plan along with adequate supplies and survival aate to facilitate a safe and effective evacuation or the alternative the needed to shelter in place during the course of a major power failure of other significant emergencies monitor weather conditions follow Authority instructions keep radio and batteries on hand should power be lost remain inside and the away from Windows and Doors closed interor doors blinds and curtains if you are in the area that is likely to flood designate a flood location on Higher Ground that you can move to before the flood water reaches you please join us at the fire department on September 11th for our annual remembrance we Mark the 23rd anniversary of all the lives lost on September 11th it's a nice it's a nice little ceremony tomorrow at our fire department at 8:30 please come around if you you want to be there it's something we honest we never forget in this town all the lives that were lost here in this town and all the firemen that lost their lives at the World Trade Center that's my report thank you deputy mayor um I'm going to go on my soap box I'm going to start with that slow down slow down slow down there's a Linda ronat song If you're within the sound of my voice I know you can hear me whether it's in your computer whether it's on TV slow down look at that speedometer you can prevent accidents you can save lives one of the things we approved tonight is our vision zero but that doesn't stop that that person which is you behind the wheel with your foot on that gas pedal you control it you can save lives red is not the new yellow as I told a news2 reporter this past week yellow start stopping Red complete stop and watch your speed all right off Soap Box um our Deputy Mayor talked about tomorrow's ceremony it really is a very solemn ceremony and for those of you that are available it is at 8:30 tomorrow morning it's uh remembering those people that we lost uh on 9/11 um that'll start at 8:30 right in front of fire headquarters uh Rainer shine which there is no rain in tomorrow's forecast so and we're less than two weeks away from our annual Hispanic and Latino Heritage Festival join us on Saturday September 21st from 2: to 10 at Beer Temple park it is going to be a phenomenal event it was last year was the year before culture great music great food I know our committee woman G frasia will be there dancing I know you will there's a lot of dancing and Community celebration attendance is free cost you nothing to come by so for more information visit uniontown.pa October 6th that's after your birthday so we would have already celebrated it come on down to see all of the incredible types of vehicles win some prizes enjoy some great live music eat some good food and a lot more to register please visit uniontown.pa ship.com these updates are also posted on Facebook at twpunion NJ with that I will open the meeting up to the public again a reminder is a five minute limit please state your name and address the microphone is open Ruth slovic 1700 Patriot Way I just want some clarification because I don't understand the wording some of these things if you don't mind absolutely um the first one is okay uh under resolutions number six it says authorizing the purchase of playground resurfacing equipment so we the township is going to purchase playground and resurfacing equipment from for Alpine Park which is a um Township Township wi Park from Ben schaer and then what is Educational Service commissions I don't understand the relationship between the two that's who we purchase through we are we have to go through certain channels we can't go to Home Depot and purchase their equipment from that we have to go through certain channels oh I see I thought that was the uh like the school or something okay I want to understand that sure okay and then um I want to understand also where it says um number 10 under resolutions authorizing a shared agreement with keing University to convert the property um into a university based health services and Research Center so um you're sharing what are you sharing I mean you going to convert authorizing going to pay something to the univer I mean confused about the relationship with with the shared services are this is a purchase that King university has made to purchase that property we're getting into a shared service agreement to receive some income from that that property because now it becomes a non-t taxable property oh so you're sharing the profits from the the the U there will be no more tax paid on that because it's now property of cane University which is a state entity right we have now reached an agreement with them there will be a payment in lie of taxes and that's the agreement okay in Le of taxes thank you I know you uh also number 11 um you touched upon the in your your report about the vision zero action plan can you explain more about that what that would be the police department they would be enacting that they'll have all that information we're just bu to it I i' have to have our Police director it's a program we're bringing in to have them enact that so they are the experts on that okay that's by the police reduce it's the AC on this began in Europe I see this began in Europe and now has been brought into various cities in the United States it's implemented on a site basis so each location uses it how they seem fit I see okay and then um number 14 um how does one designate something as an area in need of Redevelopment how does that get established I'll go to our attorney for that uh thank you mayor so there there's a process under the uh Redevelopment law uh that requires a referral to the planning board uh and they study the parcel or Parcels if it's more than one property and there's certain criteria under the local Housing and Redevelopment law that has to be met uh once that's decided by the planning board it usually takes one meeting uh and the planner would testify as to those conditions if the planning board uh is in agreement that it should be designated as an area in redevelop uh area in need of Redevelopment it comes back to the township committee who then by law has to adopt a resolution accepting that designation okay so this is for um uh AO Noble that's a company that's the U uh that's the property owner it's the property located on Mars Avenue across from CVS that used to be the pain company oh yeah mhm um so I guess my question is nobody here can say their own house is in need of Redevelopment it has to be something that is like an established business like how do you categorize it uh so generally uh we're not designating single family that's I figured prop areas in need of R Redevelopment theoretically you can designate several Parcels but uh that's that's not what we do here uh but in this particular instance if you're familiar with that property it's been fow for many years there's some environmental issues uh and this is just a tool in the municipality's toolbox to help um uh uh start or instigate Redevelopment of that property in a way that that works for the township okay thank you for the clarifications absolutely anyone else wishing to speak Jud Goldenberg 603 Duane Terrace uh first of all I just want to say that uh I grew up in Union and I as a teenager my family moved out in 2002 and I came back in 2021 as a homeowner and all the changes I've seen in this town is really incredible and uh all the improvements so just want to say thank you for all that um you mentioned uh everbridge notifications I try using that I don't get anything out of it like I have the app I think I'm pretty techsavvy myself uh and Mr Florio you mentioned extreme weather events I mean you can't control the weather but I don't know if there's a bigger threat to this town than like down trees and flooding and all that stuff so obviously you can't do anything about it but if we could just be told something's happening or hey there's a down tree on your street I don't know if maybe there's text alerts or something I do receive them it depends how you signed up and what you checked off maybe go back and revisit if not you can stop at our clerk's office they can help you out okay and and they'll check and as to what you checked off how you want to be notified I know whenever there's a lot of rain coming I get like two to three notifications I get an email I get a text I get it again three hours later so I do receed it so it could have been the way you checked off and I know your text savy no no no it's okay it's it depends how you ask I'll take you could stop in at the clerk's office and they can help you out with okay thank you very much absolutely thank you for coming up anyone else wishing to speak seeing none a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second all in favor I thank you everyone have a good evening