[Music] [Music] good evening at this time I will call this meeting to order Clerk of the board please call the role certainly chairwoman commissioner Baker uh presid commissioner bodc here commissioner delis for present commissioner granados here commissioner Kowalski here commissioner Mirabella present commissioner Williams here Vice chairwoman Leon here and chairwoman palmary mudad here uh chair let the record reflect you have nine Commissioners present for this evening's agenda setting session thank you Clerk of the board please lead us in the prayer and salute to the flag humbly we ask God The Giver of peace and lover of Charity to give the entire family of Nations to agreement with his will and to Grant the light of his Spirit on all who work for justice and peace amen pledge allegiance to the of the United States of America to the for it stands Nation indivisible andice too today I'm not messing I had move myself [Music] back Clerk of the board please read the statement of compliance with the open public meetings act chair wishes to announce that pursuant to the requirements of the New Jersey statute anotated tle 10 chapter 4 section 10 of the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting the board of County commissioners of the county of Union has been given by mailing the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 along with periodic changes necessitated by circumstance to the newspapers circulating within the county of Union who are designated to receive such notice and by posting the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 in the administration building and further by filing the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 with the office of the county clerk thank you tonight we have two presentations um that we would like to start our meeting with um our first presentation is a resolution to resolve community counseling center Inc who has been an invaluable asset to our community since its establishment in 1974 dedicated to providing quality and affordable counseling advocacy and educational programs resolve serves individuals of all ages from children to adults and offer support to couples and families they're highly accredited staff of professionals including psychologists licensed counselors therapists and social workers addresses a broad spectrum of concerns with compassion and expertise resolves collaboration with local organizations schools and Human Resources departments demonstrates their Comm commitment to community well-being as we commend them for their outstanding service we also acknowledge their Milestone of 50 years as a pillar in mental health care in recognition of their invaluable contributions we Proclaim may as resolve Community Counseling Center Inc month please join me in welcoming and we're going to go up front now um James Meyer the president of resolve Community Counseling Center as well as the executive direct director Dr Lydia Abrams and lesta Virgil board member who are here to accept the resolution and I'm going to ask commissioner Mirabella to join me up front [Applause] so I want to just um thank my friends from resolve house um and Scotch Plains in fact last night mayor Lardo and the township Council there honored the same group for the same great work that they they've been doing and it's very fitting that there's um we're in the middle of mental health awareness month and resolve the such a wonderful job in Scotch planes and the surrounding Community taking care of people who need help mental health is not anything to be underestimated people should seek help if they need it and resolve in many other places around our County offer that kind of help but in this case we're honoring resolve house for 50 years of service and I couldn't be more proud of the work that they do in the community and the county so thank you Lydia do you want to say something this has never happened to us before we are really honored and uh we are doing our best to serve the community in any way we can and we're going to continue to do it thank you so much thank you thank you yeah I'd also like to send my thanks to the uh uh county commissioner a board uh for this honor uh the last few years the number of hours we provided has has tripled and uh you know the need uh continues to rise uh both in iners and uh teletherapy just thank you very much and like Lydia said we'll continue to do the work thank you thank you [Applause] okay thank you again resolve for our second presentation I would like to ask F fiscal chair Rebecca will commissioner Rebecca Williams to say a few words regarding the 2024 infrastructure grants thank you chairwoman uh good evening everyone tonight the board will be making a presentation for the 2024 infrastructure and Municipal aid grant award program recipients I'm happy to announce that this year's program as you see dedicated $1.5 million in matching funds to provide assistance to municipalities throughout Union County that will stimulate the development of public projects of economic social transportation and governmental uh importance so in a second you will view a compilation of videos submitted by each Town discussing what the grant money they received will do for their uh for their town so congratulates to uh congratulations to all recipients and uh thank you all thank you fiscal chair Williams certainly now if everyone would like to turn their attention to one of the screens to watch the presentation so glad you're here we have so many infrastructure and road projects to do this year asual what are we going to do us on Martin Lane yes that's great because Martin Lane is a mess and we need to fix the drainage instead of just Paving it so that money will go such a long way absolutely oh my gosh thank you Commissioners thank you Union County hi mayor salvon of course I'm from Clark Township I'd like to thank the UN County Board of Commissioners for their generous donation for in the 2024 uh infrastructure Grant we the township Clark thank you myself the township Council and of course the taxpaying citizens our community thank you this is Mayor Andrew over at fa Jersey want to take a moment to thank un County and the TIC commers for all their support for our town in particular we greatly appreciate this municipality infrastructure Grant this is going to be used to help us update our critical infrastructure and make our road safer in town uh we're doing a massive project this would not be possible corts are very appreciative of it I turn it over to my colleague Public Safety commissioner B Gall yes again it's just because to our commitment toing our at pford uh giv safe for all our residents to appreciate all the help get for County on the uh thank you very much this is Mayor Chris our municipality appreciates the continued efforts of the Union County Board of Commissioners providing this availability of funding it increases opportunities and access resources while enhancing the quality of life within our city this 2024 infrastructure and Municipal aid grant we will improve the Lynch Memorial playground located on Fairmont Avenue it increases safety elevates an outdoor recreational space and improves the quality of life for all elizabethans this new ADA Compliant playground equipment with a new water spray part a rubber play servicing and this project will be completed in the summer of 2024 and we're grateful to partner with the county of Union and the Board of Commissioners on this exciting initiative and I'd like to invite all of you to the Grand Opening thank you enjoy the evening good morning I'm Trisha Walsh on the Fanwood Council this is councilwoman Kathy Mitchell along with Aaron meloy Barker and Clint Dixon our Public Works director we are here at clean communities day and Kathy would like to thank Union County yes as Trish said we are here to thank Union County Commissioners for including the burrow of Fanwood in the 2024 infrastructure and Municipal Grant Aid project this $40,000 will help the burrow complete much needed Road workk in conjunction with the New Jersey do Grant we've been able to pave Panda Court Robert Robin Road and Second Street to maintain the quality of life as well as safe roads for the residents of of this community it is this kind of support we look to Union County for and for much appreciate being included and we thank you thank you hi everybody mayor Jen Bloom andu from Garwood and I just wanted to thank the Union County Commissioners for our infrastructure Grant we will be redoing all of the flooring in vir Hall using this grant including the carpeting here in our council chambers all of the flooring offices and much needed redo of the police department as well all of their flooring in their Department offices as well as in their locker room and bathroom all of the tiling in there so thank you so much uh B Hall is in really great need of a rehab and this grant will certainly help us out thank you hi un County Commissioners this is Dalia VRI from the township of Hillside mayor I'm so appreciative of the $1 18,450 you reported our toship because we are going to enhance our infrastructure making sure that we enhance safety for all of our municipal buildings with your support and continued support thank you so much and continue to have a great year hi this is Linda carage with the barel of cworth and I'm here to show you what we're plan to do with the municipal um infrastructure grp if you come with me our roof has been leaking in several places including in my office here you can see the bucket here we desperately need a new roof and there's lots of repairs that we need to do outside and if you come with me I'll show you these doors are broken and need to be replaced as you can see the cracking in the cement on the floor of the ground here also underneath this mat there's some holes in the cement also see if you see the stairs desperately of they breaking and falling apart so thank you thank you very much we appreciate your consideration and we desperately could use this money thank you hi this is May d St from the city of Lyon we'd like to thank the Union County Board of Commissioners for their $95,000 infrastructure Grant it'll go towards various projects in our town and of course when we receive grants that allows us to keep our taxes down once again we' like to thank you for all you all your support okay on behalf of myself and the B mountain side I want to thank the Union County Commissioners uh for the grant from the 2024 infrastructure uh grant program for $40,000 the money is going to be used to resurface Bayberry Lane and also to resurface Green buer Court those roads are in desperate need of repaving uh I want to thank the uh Commissioners and the county for the monies that they give us for improving our infrastructure it's going to it's going to really be needed in Mountainside so thank you very much on behalf of all the residents of New Providence I want to thank the Union County Board of Commissioners for giving us this generous check of $50,000 we're going to use it this year for Paving over the last 19 years you have worked with us and we've completed a lot of infrastructure projects throughout the bur so once again thank you so much hello this is Mayor Adrian from the great Queen City of planfield and we're here today to talk about the transformation that will happen right here at this space upon which I stand we will be reimagining this space we will be Paving this we will be transforming it this is all in keeping with our green initiative and so there will be the installation of charging station so that employees and visitors can come here and can charge the electric vehicle this will be additional space for employees and this is being made possible as a result of the continuous partnership we have with un and so I want to say thanks to the County Board of Commissioners thanks to un County for your continued partnership and support standing with us every time hi I'm Dan Lee the director of engineering and land use for the city of raway the city of raway is extremely grateful to Union County and the Board of Commissioners for our continued partnership in all aspects including the County's infrastructure and Municipal aid grant the funds provided through this grant are essential to ensuring the longevity of the City's roadways that are so critical to our citizens students and Workforce that travel these roads every day on behalf of the city of Broadway we thank you for your continued generous support through this grant hi I'm Donald Shaw from the beautiful R and standing to me is my council president Cindy Thomas and on behalf of the B of Rosel Council we' like to thank the Union County Board of County Commissioners for always extending their head in Partnership and allowing rece this Municipal a grand of $70,000 and I'm going to turn it over to council president just to tell us a little bit about the benefit of this this gr thank you may yes this is a great benefit uh well deserved money it will benefit our community to uh protect us against safety in our Parks also with our senior building right behind us we'll be installing high tech it uh security cameras which will provide good performance to do they do best securing our community so thank you again that is to help our community be safe so again thank you guys for all the support that you given Rosel over the years thank you hello County of Union this is mayor zarell in Rosel Park here just want to say thank you for the grant to rehabilitate uh Boy Scout Park in Rosel Park very excited thank you very much hello Josh Lardo mayor of Scotch Plains here I want to thank the Union County Board of Commissioners for their continued assistance here in Scotch Plains I was just handed over this check and the bank won't take it as is but they know the money is on its way this is $100,000 that will help ensure our roads continue to be in top shape and I want to thank you for helping us make that happen this is Adam Le director of recreation for the township of Springfield we i' like to thank the Union County Board of County Commissioners for awarding the township of Springfield and the Springfield community pool at 2024 infrastructure and Municipal aid grant award as you can see from the work going on behind me just less than two months before the pool opens for the summer season we're using the grant award to do a complete resurfacing of the main pool which is over 300,000 gallons of water we're stripping the pool down to the wall making major repairs to the wall and the surface filling in Expansion Joints redoing the tile the coping and the land lines before we fill the pool for everybody to enjoy this is a project years in the making and is so critically important to the infrastructure here at the Springfield community pool that was originally built in the 1960s so once again the township of Springfield and on behalf of Mayor Chris Weber very happy to accept this award and thank the county of Union [Music] hello I am Summit mayor Elizabeth F and I am thrilled to share how Summit New Jersey is moving forward with the support of the Union County Board of County Commissioners infrastructure and Municipal aid grant this year we have been awarded a $75,000 grant that will enable significant improvements right here in our community our Focus will be on enhancing and upgrading Ada accessibility and Technology at City Hall these specific projects will improve access for all citizens whether it is entering or exiting the building or improving sound for people who are attending a meeting in the Whitman community room thanks to the Union County Board of County Commissioners we can make tangible improvements that will benefit everyone we are just getting started and look forward to the progress we can make together thank you again for this generous and extremely useful Grant the improvements on Stow Street include new concrete vertical curve new concrete sidewalks and new concrete aprons along with driveway restoration beyond the apron limit where it's necessary now the roadway itself shall be reconstructed from the Westerly dead end to its intersection with Emerson Avenue skipping the portion where it crosses Pine a new road base at 3 in section of baset form the new crosssection of the road additionally a new storm sewer run shall be constructed from the parking lot at Dollar Tree to the corner of Emerson and stone then turn down Emerson to connect at the intersection of sty and Emerson this system will be instrumental in mitigating the flooding that has happened in that area as snow Street serves as an access to stor on St Avenue as well as providing public parking these improvements will enhance and make more safe traversing the area for vehicles and pedestrians on behalf of the town of Westfield we'd like to thank the Union County Board of County Commissioners for awarding us a grant of $100,000 towards the r Memorial Park playground the renovation will include the removal and reconstruction of an ADA inclusive playground for individuals with and without disabilities the playground project will include report in place surface for wheelchair accessibility uh playground structure for children's ages 2 through 12 and pieces of playground structure for children with and without disabilities to enjoy the structure will be fenced in all the way around for the safety of our visitors and we're really looking forward to this project and for our community to enjoy it thank you very much hello my name is Joseph burnner I'm the mayor of Winfield Township thank you to the Union County Board of County Commissioners for their Award of the 2024 infrastructure Grant in the amount of $155,000 this grant will be used to improve our Municipal complex to better serve our residents thank you again okay thank you that was great thank you again uh our fiscal chair Rebecca Williams for all of your work along with your committee on this and it was great to see our mayor friends and Council friends uh Town engineers and and uh employees that are uh making all of our municipalities a better place to live so we look forward to all of those improvements okay uh we will adopt the communications during tonight's regular meeting and at this time I will call upon our County Clerk Joanne ropy to present her resolution thank you and good evening everyone the county clerk's office has one resolution tonight for your consideration I'd be happy to answer any questions on it seeing none thank you thank you I'd now like to call upon our prosecutor Bill Daniel uh first assistant Jim tany good deal Danel uh good evening we have one item on the agenda for tonight and I'd be happy to take any questions commissioner granados thank you very much can you say elaborate on the ri together program sure uh arrived together is a program that we were uh the the Union County was instrumental in in getting started uh we were the first uh departments in well there may have been some down south that that that started but we were the first Lindon and Elizabeth were the first two towns to engage in it and what it is is uh when the police respond to an incident where they're maybe somebody um who has a mental disability or even a physical disability or um it's a deescalation tool where the the officer travels with an actual social worker with him so the social worker arrives on the scene with the officer in an attempt to deescalate any kind of of situation that may occur at the at the incident um we've now expanded it I think we've expanded it to every town in the county um it's a very successful program we're very proud of the work we did to get it going throughout and it's also now being implemented throughout the state and one of our APS is actually down at the Attorney General's office uh uh assisting in implementing it Statewide so um it's a very successful program very worthwhile and effective program yeah it's definitely been a great program I know many people who've uh taken advantage of it and also you know our County having it cover throughout the whole entire County I think we're the first county in the state of New Jersey to have every actually municipality um Police Department part of it including our County Police Department County Sheriff's and King University which I think became the first University everybody's involved and and uh and that's because we were we were I we may have been the first County to start we were we were the first County in state yeah no definitely want mention of that program because definitely is something that helps out a lot of people so thank you for that thank you Department of administrative Services director laa scari good evening the department of administrative Services has one resolution on the agenda happy to answer any questions thank you Department of Economic Development uh Deputy County Manager Amy Wagner good evening uh the Department of Economic Development has one resolution for your consideration and I'd be happy to answer any questions I would also like to say um a personal acknowledgement to Kathy adessa Dave pilin and Robert chowski for putting together the video that you saw tonight yeah I think again just thank you for for providing this for our residents in Union County I think the Partnerships amongst the county and our municipalities is strong and it's the foundation of who we are so thank you for all your work on that thank you okay department of engineering Public Works and Facilities Management uh acting director Joe po good evening the appointment of engineering Public Works and Facilities has four resolutions on the agenda be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you Department of Finance director BB Tor good evening chairwoman Paul Mary mudad and members of the board of County Commissioners the Department of Finance has 18 resolutions for your consideration this evening and I'd be happy to answer any questions commissioner Williams thank you hi director Taylor um could you for the benefit of the public explain um numbers 14 15 16 and 17 uh the combining of all the um authorizations of bonds for the different votex and County colleges absolutely through you madam chair so resolutions 14 15 16 and 17 are prior authorizations of ordinances that were adopted several years ago some of which in 2010 all the way to 2021 um as a result we are when we don't only bond for matters once we start spending the projects spending off of this projects so this these various resolutions authorize us to then issue the debt for it all of the debt has been um accounted for in our net debt statements and and number 18 is just a consolidation and prescribing of the bond form thank you thank you madam chair thank you Department of Parks and Recreation director uh Victoria Durban Drake we're gonna go back okay um good evening the department of Parks and Recreation has three items on the agenda and I'd be happy to attempt to answer any questions you might have seeing yeah absolutely commissioner Mir B um I can tell you that's a project that is that is intensely being worked on um I don't have an update at this time but we should have one shortly just just one question sure commissioner Baker U director could you explain the resolution number one particularly the location of this P Ponderosa parking lot yes sir I would be happy to the um Ponderosa Farm Park is located in Scotch Plains it is a um very popular park it has long Fields you know soccer Etc it has um one of our spray pads not a spray park and a playground and a lot of walking areas um we don't have enough parking there this is going to make a big change for the users of the park and also from a safety point of view okay so we we plan to create some additional parking space yes sir um we will increase our parking by a little over 50% great okay thank you thank you madam chair thank you okay thank you see I think last week or last meeting they thought I forgot somebody and I didn't today I did so I am sorry uh Department of Human Services director deban Anderson good evening chairwoman and members of the board of Department Department of Human Services has three resolutions on I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have seeing none thank you thank you Department of Public Safety acting director Dennis Burke thank you chairwoman good evening board Department of Public Safety has two items on the agenda happy to take any questions you may have thank chair thank you Office of the County Council County Council Bruce Bergen thank you chair County Council has a single resolution tonight I'd be happy to answer any questions thank you thank you Office of the County Manager County Manager edman thank you chair uh I also have one resolution on tonight's agenda be happy to answer any questions thank you thank you there are three business resolutions from the board do any Commissioners have any questions regarding these resolutions all laudatory resolutions and resolutions of condolence are from the entire board are there any comments from my colleagues commissioner Williams I do want to thank um the board for the resolution on the passing of Herald W Mitchell former um mayor of the city of planfield where I reside and former councilman um his family is very appreciative of the board's condolences thank you thank you okay at this time may I have a motion to adjourn second uh a motion was made by commissioner Marabella seconded by commissioner Williams all in favor I okay [Music] [Music]