##VIDEO ID:ti85G9r8eTs## January 2025 B clerk which please R public me comp notice requirements of the open public meetings act have been satisfied with respect to this meeting of the township Council the meeting time and date were included in the public meeting notice along with the public internet link and telephone call in information said notice and the meeting agenda was posted in the municipal building and sent to the official newspapers of the township the verony The Grove times and the Star Ledger at least 48 Hours proceed to the start time of this meeting the agenda and public handouts can be viewed online at Verona nj.org counil meetings a public comment period will be held and the order listed on the meeting agenda and instructions on how to comment will be provided at the appropriate time thank you madam clerk would you call the RO please councilwoman Holland here councilwoman McGrath here councilman Roman here Deputy Mayor maoy pres mayor tamboro here they also presid Township attorney Brian alya Township manager joeo Deputy Township manager Kevin suan myself Municipal thank you please rise the we United States of America happy New Year everyone few quick items for the mayor's report tonight uh first we had a lovely Hanukkah manora Lighting on the 26th at Town Hall um people Brave the cold and we had quite a few people here um and uh I would like to thank everybody for attending the band was always uh wonderful and I'd like to thank Rabbi scholnick for Pinch hitting um for uh Rabbi Rob would been there but was uh the we had a large 12in water main Drake during the the holiday time want to thank our public works department our Police Department for uh working on getting that remediated as well as our fire department to pump water in from Monclair keep up the water pressure and our Mery management office for working with that as well as our Pio also like to thank the Pudo Grove C Administration for sending PUD Grove DPW Representatives over as well so thank you everybody for their work on that um unfortunately these things do happen more often than we would like but our DBW is so well trained and able to handle these things so I thank them for all of that um just a few days prior to that we had our first snowfall at the season which Public Works was also out there uh dealing with as well um finally the Bron environmental commission meets this Wednesday 7 o'clock so we hope to see and that is my report Mr Deco Mr oh sorry Mr C sorry be like you today Council Happy New Year to you all have a very short but also uh starting this Thursday at hiltop we have our deer management program and I have left you all one of the handouts gives you the dates uh hilte reservation will be closed on January 9th these are all Thursdays the 16th the 23rd and the 30th February 6th 13 to 20 and 27 if you need any additional information you can call the county Executives office 973 62144 um and yes you get all the notifications I'm on your notifications regarding the water man break and hopefully everybody had a semi healthy and happy holiday season that's about it any comments or questions s if you might briefly touch on there's been some questions in town about the deer penion program why the county does it and where the meat goes the meat goes to there is a specific Butcher and I don't have the exact amount of uh deer that is butchered but then it goes to a um let me think of the right term uh a shelter that gives hands out the meat um and the reason is because deer are all over uh both South Mountain reservation and the hilltop reservation so if you have any other questions uh shoot me an email I'll be glad have your next meeting to bring it up again and have all the correct answers yes um I believe in the past you sent us or there is a copy of like an a County deer management program like document strategy there is I'll be glad to have that and forwarded to the manager in the next day or two that would be helpful people just been chatting about it and I think we all know the reason for it but for any members of the public who might be calling to wonder about it certainly something that we can post on website usually when I'm out early in the morning the deer stands on L and gr ways to me but and that is a true story um but I'll be glad to get any notifications that we have and I'll forward to the town manager thank you great questions Mr K thank you thank you back to you Mr Jo last session the council and we can go back later to the other it right um all right I'll hear a motion to change the order of business to allow for an executive session now to hear that motion Mo made by councilman Roman is there a second second it thank you Deputy Mayor a discussion on that very n here or well go into the uh all in favor I I anybody opposed all right and I'll hear a motion to use um K24 and we'll call that motion now which is the motion to go the resolution go executive session do I hear that motion so much thank you councilman is there a second I'll second it thank you deputy mayor any discussion M clerk it's a resolution let call the all councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor maoy yes mayor Tambor yes pass 5 be number1 the public this should be a brief close session right open S 7 Mr the report please man Mr thank you Aaron Council I will try to work through my report quickly uh we do have some discussion tonight on the pool race um which should hopefully wrap up the presentations that we've heard at prior meetings uh that in addition to some marketing plans we are starting to move forward on the 2025 pool season additionally we have pre construction meeting for the pool Improvement project scheduled for January 8th and we'll be getting construction schedule shortly thereafter uh we continue to work forward on a number of our Wastewater projects the smoke testing we are working with bosel to complete that uh that final list of recommendations uh we are also uh looking to coordinate a preconstruction meeting with the ibank on our primary clarifier Pump Station project and we have our disinfection microscreen projects under design currently uh we also have continue to work forward on emergency repairs on a section of sanitary who trunk line behind derent Avenue uh uh majority of that work was completed prior to the holidays there is some minor work which Still Remains but the pro uh the sewer line has been stabilized and restored to operable condition uh the L Drive well continues to uh move forward uh we were uh originally anticipating completion in December but the contractor is scheduling startup of the posos uh and all the treatment vessels uh this week uh they are also coordinating with um with the integration of the instrumentation for that uh that well as well uh we do have a bid schedu bid opening scheduled for January 22nd for the clar drive Pump Station project uh we are beginning planning processes for a number of road projects which Lyon Avenue is the um the oldest grant that we have uh from dot that will be moved on first we also have the more recent do terce after glow away and Summit road projects which we'll be moving forward with uh Evert field we uh receive 50 to 70% design drawings and uh we have provided initial comments back to the design engineer we'll be coordinating with all the stakeholder groups for comments and scheduling a presentation uh on that project um we have a the pickle ball and Tennis Courts project uh we held pre-construction meeting December 18th we anticipate receiving a construction schedule from the contractor later this week uh we did receive the final energy audits for the uh from the local government energy audit team that covers all the facilities uh we will be scheduling a meeting with them uh in the coming one to two months and then we'll be scheduling presentation for the council shortly after that uh we are also continuing to have discussions with the solar consultant which we've discussed with the council at prior meetings um that project continues to move forward we'll have uh some additional uh questions answered and contracts being drafted for further discussion and review by the council that project as well um we've also discussed the Lakeside Avenue parking lot that project is underd designed uh as previously mentioned we received a $1 million Grant from the New Jersey Eda uh there are coinciding resolutions on the agenda for tonight uh and we anticipate being able to schedule closing in approximately 45 to 60 days as we work with Eda on the the grant process itself um we also have um we held our preconstruction meeting for the town hall windows and repointing project on December 19th uh the contractor has fully measured the windows they are working with the uh the architect to approve the shop drawings and place the windows into production uh with the lead time for Windows uh we anticipate that the repointing for Town Hall will expect as the weather warms and windows will be installed as soon as they're received uh they may that may not be until the spring or summer months uh but we do anticipate completion uh in the August to September time frame um and there's also a coinciding resolution for Solutions architect for the Professional Services associated with that project all the way through construction management which is on the agenda this evening um I think that generally wraps up the highlights of my report um there uh unless there's questions from the council uh there's also the um the discussion on the um Police Department we have uh received and and relocated Police Department to address uh a brief or an air quality issue uh we Have No Interruption in Services we are working with the police department uh and we'll have a more detailed communication to the public uh hopefully out tomorrow questions from Mr thank you moving on to council member reports Deputy Mayor thank you Mr Mayor I'm going to be brief uh yeah just like you thank everybody who attended the manora lighting especially Rabbi SCH scholnick for uh jumping in last minute because the other Rabbi as many people are were was taking taken ill uh it hit a lot of people over the holidays uh uh I should have started off with Happy New Year to everybody uh and then also uh a big thank you to our public works department uh for their immediate repair on that water main break uh it was extensive was there for a good bit of a day uh but obviously uh Public Works was there repl repairing it but our Police Department our uh fire department had a lot to do with the uh getting the water back up and supplying the rest of the town uh I just said it many times that day thank God it wasn't one day earlier uh many of those people that were there also I think planned on taking the day off so thank them for for coming in and and helping out and getting it done in such a it was a a very very very short period of time uh as the mayor thanked uh I will also thank Cedar Gro public works for showing up and helping uh and also Martin Contracting who uh played a big part in in helping out and I know they they gave up work for that day to uh come and help the Town of Verona so uh hats off to everybody involved for such a Rapid Repair and uh getting the down back in order as quickly as possible and that's all I have for thank you Deputy Mayor my comments are much in the same vein as the deputy Mayors um thank you to everyone who put together the uh product of service it was uh wonderful as always and also I was out on the water main break as well for for repairs there um I'm always extremely impressed to see the skill level of our tpw crews and how effective they are in repairing these problems um again thank you to the tx's entire emergency services and Emergency Management organizations uh Police Department for coordinating a lot of notifications um fire for the the emergency Water Services um Pi everyone everyone really work together to uh bring that to a very successful and Rapid resolution for what was a very large pipe a nice low rate that broke so I appreciate it that's my report thank Council Council thank you mayor um I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I do want to Echo my uh peers uh sentiments on thanking everyone for the water main break repair and a thank you to all of our First Responders who worked um over the holiday break with a lot of challenges um I also want to highlight that I thought the communication on this Water emergency was very much improved from uh the past um and so I want to give a thanks to the administration for putting in some of the lessons learns from previous um emergencies I also want to highlight that our congresswoman l mcgyver uh reached out to see if her office could be of any assistance and I passed that along to the administration um and uh I I appreciate that uh she was on top of issues that were impacting Verona um and I too attended the um Hanukkah celebration I want to also in addition to everyone who was thanked uh thank the Multicultural inclusion accessibility advisory committee who volunteered at the event to make sure that there were crafts um and refreshments for everyone to enjoy I did have the opportunity to go down to Washington DC on Friday to attend the celebrations associated with the swearing in of our new congresswoman congresswoman L Monica mcgyver and Senator Andy Kim um and it it's always uh a good idea to build relationships um and it was um it was a great opportunity um uh to be down there um in the halls of Congress on a very exciting day um uh finally uh the Sha tree commission has a meeting on Monday at 5:00 uh on zoom and at the community center and the neighborhood traffic and Safety Committee has a meeting on zoom on Tuesday at 7:30 that would be next week that's my report thank you thank you councilwoman Holland thank you um I'll Echo the sentiment of my colleagues I hope everyone had very happy and healthy holidays the Hanukkah celebration was quite lovely um it was a very cold evening and so it was impressive to get everybody into town hall it was impressive to have everybody into town hall um and I just want to note that it is quite a rare occasion where Hanukkah would overp with the new year um I hope everybody did have happy and healthy New Year celebrations as well um with regard to the DPW work on the water main break I do want to note that it is very impressive it's actually not as frequent An Occurrence as it used to be um so not only is it impressive that the repairs were done so quickly and timely and during such extreme cold but it is a testament to the work that we've been doing as a municipality to improve our asset management plans um and to and make sure that you know we are um doing this work I mean c certain waterm breaks are going to be inevitable but it is far less frequent than it had been in Prior years um last but not least I just want to remind all residents that we are within the winter months um there are going to be some very very cold days and some less cold days um and so if you are struggling with your utility bills please Ava yourself of the winter termination program during which time um you can you will not be shut off by your utility um for any difficulties that you may have paying um so please Avail yourself of the winter termination program if you have the need thank you thank you okay at this point I will open the meeting for follow comments on any item any member wish to discuss Madame clerk would you please read the public participation statement anyone from the public wishing to speak on any matter if you're attending by Zoom please raise your hand by pressing the raise hand button on your monitor for dialing them by phone press star n if you're attending in person please raise your hand and be called on before approaching elect turn once recognized clearly state only your name and Township of residents for the record you're not required to provide your street address however if you do please note that these meetings will be posted on the Township's YouTube channel and addresses will not be redacted for any purpose you'll have four minutes to address the council there can be no cross dialogue during this time after everyone wishing to speak has been heard the council May comments and or questions thank mam clerk anybody in the room wish to address the council sir so hi my name is TR Fabiano I am the property manager of one Lincoln and morome so of course my I want to wish everybody Happy New Year Merry Christmas Hanukah everyone else my isues now are the parking okay we have this one I have pictures you look at I just wanted you guys want to just pass them around so now the police department knows I call in many times the People Park terribly on that street there's no lines in front of the building so sometimes people come they go to the restaurants they go to stores they Park take up another spot and spots are challenged on that street so now I get it you you raise the parking you know you have the right to do that but also with that I would like to say that it's unfair people in restaurants now in the picture you see there's another restaurant that's going to be opening on the corner of Bloomfield right across East Lincoln they Park up and down the street they own a restaurant they have you know Hours come back out Tenants come home they have no place to par so we're parking all over all right I'm here about six going on seven years I'm living in Verona I plan on staying in it I like the town I like my apartment uh I work for the company that owns it it and um I try to keep it nice keep the sidewalk clean the leaves everything I try to do whatever I can to keep the property looking good but it's not fair that we park and pay now you know one and a half times what we PID prior years to park and then they can come from the restaurant Park here park in a handicap take up spots and again like I said anywhere they want there's no lines especially in front of the apartment and uh I'm handicapped I have a f way uh I I can get around I'm good but sometimes in the winter you know like everybody else right is whatever it acts up I was told there were two parking uh handicap parking one in front of my building that somebody knocked down and they never replaced if you're looking at the pictures in there I have one of a parking uh sign pler just for person that lives in that property now I drive all around the state I see them all over that one happens to be in Clifton it's in front of an apartment that we own and there's two people in handicap in there and each one of them has their own handicap spot I would like to to see a handic cap spot just for me and the one they not found which is on the corner of my building we're right on the corner with the four store fonts the sign that's at the other one is barely you know legible I mean it's an old sign it's fing and the sign the sign that's in the street that says for the twoh hour parking I got to push that up every year it's hanging there but also to be fair for the tenants and myself and anybody else that has to pay the part on that street I would like a sign put up parking by permit only to stop the people from the restaurant coming up parking there and then we have to wait for them to move and then come back out whenever to check if they move so we can move our cars from the meters and bring them back so that's that's pretty much it thank you Mr you're welome did I have my FES back oh I think they're still circulating all right yeah keep looking at it you wanted to put them into your record oh you know what yes I have in my phone the records They will be they be placed in the thank you anybody else in the room would you like a copy back of them no no no I have them on my phone I can print anytime I want anybody else in the room pass hearing none hearing nobody at home I will close public comment um to respond Mr Fabiano um the chief of police is in the audience and I'm sure heard your presentation and if you want to reach out to his office through the police record to be able to talk to you about the options as far as how the ordinance there J permit signs work and and so on um if I can if I can sorry we just can't have you talk while we are um but you can talk to him about that and he will help you offline uh the chief can give you his contact information outside perhaps um and uh as far as the parking by permit only that's something that we would take a recommendation from the chief of police on as well one of the issues with that is that if we had parking by permit only on the entirety of that street that people who lived there wouldn't be able to have guests there and things like that uh that would park on the street and so on so we'd have to to study that and get a recommendation from the polic Department about how to address uh that piece as well but we certainly understand your concerns I walk by there all the time with my dog and I am well aware of the parking issues over there as well and uh and the only other thing I always suggest is we can always reach out to the um the restaurant owners over there it's the same Hospitality Group that owns both and ask them to advise their uh their patrons on the website or whatever to of the parking options and maybe to keep off that street because it is a difficult Street to park on and we can certainly make that request um and I know a lot of people you know when they look up a restaurant look up where to park and so on we can suggest that they use Fairview avue and um and other area parking is an option as well those are the simpler things to do and uh we'll we'll reach out to them okay anybody else none we are going to move over toces for introduction the next item on the agenda is ordinance H Madam CL which please be the title of this ordinance the record Bond ordinance providing for the acquisition of two salt trucks with equipment and in Bach Verona in the county of Essex New Jersey appropriating $200,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of $190,000 Bond or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof thank you madam clerk would somebody move this ordinance please some some motions made by counc Roman is there a second second made by the deputy mayor any Council discussion none Madam clerk councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor makoy yes mayor Toro yes mayor um orance H1 passes 5 um would be numbered 01 publish Law Public hearing will be held on January 20th Mr suan you want to address H2 sure this um coordinance franchise agreement with contest get uh eth one was an ordinance scheduled for introduction for the execution of a franchise agreement with Comcast uh we have received comments back um just about an hour ago from the BPU with an additional comments that have incorporated into that ordinance so we should uh move to table that ordinance this evening so we can incorporate and review those comments from BP and you'll send them to us yes your a motion table H2 motion is made by councilman Roman is there a second second second is made by Council Holland uh this is a non discussable non debatable motion Med CL please councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor makoy yes mayor tamboro yes motion passes 5 to zero okay all right next up is our consent agenda I believe Council the grath has it was uh 15 right yeah K 15 anybody else have anything to for what to p just a pull from the agenda anybody else have anything motion [Music] to um motion for J1 K1 through k14 k16 through K24 and L1 abz so moved made by councilwoman McGrath is there a seconds second made by councilwoman poin this time I'll open for public comment on the consent agenda items only the same public comment statement applies limited to the consent the question real quick Mr Mayor are we having an executive session are we do I mean technically it's the same resolution fine let me ask mrin was there was this executive session resolution complete or did we need to add an item to it I believe it's complete are we tabling uh discussion oh s that's right we do have so listed on the session resolution is appropriate to covers all the things discuss CL session thank you thank you Council thank you attorney thank you madam to clerk right Eddie I'm gonna I think we're still in public comment I Haven closed couple comment yet okay all right hearing no public comment I will close public comment um any Council comments on any of the only sorry resolution uh k14 for the Lin Drive well the upgrades to the uh comp in that resolution uh just a suggestion that we keep in the old pump I know it's only call it old but it's three years old I noticed from the uh the invoice in a description it was a 2021 P just that we should keep it for backup for yes hi this point I will call for the vote Madam clerk call councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes cman Roman yes Deputy Mayor makoy yes mayor tamboro yes mayor resolutions one through 14 will be number two through 15 resolution 16 through 23 will be 15 through all right um we have one addendum item correct I'm sorry we need to call K15 can I hear a motion on K15 please so move the motion is made by council molland is there a second well heck I'll second it discussion on K15 this is the resolution to point Brown and Brown as a risk manager as they have been in the past mayor I will be uh recusing myself from this thank you thank you so noted yeah no dur in this uh resolution it says they submitted a uh the the business entity disclosure statement we didn't get that in our package oh sorry it was in the RFP um that's accessible online yeah we've seen that was we okay we have it I'm sorry I that by accident can you just pop that back out to see it right um can any further on the side of all right call the please councilwoman Holland yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor makoy yes mayor tamboro I st okay K 15 passes three to two three to zero with two recusals that's a recusal I'm sorry one abion one one recusal thank you right um call the addendum up all right so the denim M1 this is an appointment for the Multicultural inclusion accessibility advisory committee um for unexpired term ending June 30th um I'll hear a motion to approve motion made by council mcrath is there a second second second by councilman Roman um any Council actually I'll call for a public comment on M1 before we have Council discussion saying public comment statement appes heing none and I will close public comments on M1 any Council discussions so just be noted that this is one of two vacancies on the M um and I thank uh Mr pimpali for agreeing to apply to C I'm sure his medical backgrounds will be of value especially on the uh and for accessibility so I having all right Madam clerk hold the roll please councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor makoy yes mayor tamboro yes may motion passes 5 Z thank you all right on to new business our first item for new business is discussion on an ordinance amending a565 D3 anden code including piness and Rental liability insurance registration fee I want to open this discussion by questioning the fee here because we actually haven't we kind of abled our discussion or didn't finish our discussion on the ordinance or business registry so I think it's premature at this point to talk about the fee for it until we actually have the entire package done so um unless anybody objects I would like to table this discussion as part of a greater discussion on this ordinance so you certainly had a greater discussion and I apologize because I neglected the send counsel email on this a just quick memorandum originally I'll call it the baranis ordinance was plac before you um which is an ordinance that we um crafted after pamis that followed pamis technically the state statute as written doesn't require you to do anything um it should be enforced by the township and everyone should be registering what the state statute does allow you to do is charged a fee so in Li of changing the requirements under the state statute um as we originally the administration originally attempted to do um we decided it was best based upon the council discussion or we thought from the council discussion that it was best just to um impose the fee and I once say the fee is $25 is that correct I'm sorry $15 was talking about 25 lower 15 um so to charge a minimal fee this way covers the cost of the clerk um should people start to register um not understanding the fact that they you know quite frankly haven't to date not withstanding the uh the requirement that that everyone does have we have we figured out yet to whom this applies like you know yes applies to all businesses in town that are doing business in town so will not apply to as originally uh following the pamis model the landscaper who comes into town the other professionals who come into town but if your business is in town you're providing services in town if you're based in Verona that's doings if your business entity registration which you already paid for with state is filed with a Verona address that you have to pay for asking rather that another D register in Verona so when you when you originally own a a corporate entity in the state of New Jersey right is doing business in Verona so if it's offering services in Verona so if your if your business has a Verona address but doesn't do any business in Verona they don't have to register if it's based in ver it's not based anywhere else it has to register basically under New Jersey Law all businesses should be registering somewhere so in order to you know without giving legal advice to all the businesses out there in order um to be compliant with the law you have to register so when the registration is really just providing for whatever reason the legislator thought it was a good idea to have everyone have a minimal amount of insurance so it's really just showing the proof of this insurance in the certain amounts because there are different amounts depending on what you're registering whether it's a two family home a business things of that nature so there are different minimum requirements so as part of that process um you need to show proof of that somewhere I uh have to say for the public appication I disagree with the state's view on that I me we already you have to register with the state it should be something the state's dealing with it's a shame that they given this to municipalities to deal with um and you know I think the entire thing is ASM to be honest but um you know what you going to do uh how much labor would it take to process one of these forms just trying to figure out why would the hourly rate that thinking 15 20 minutes would be that right so you're thinking it would take about 15 minut yeah based it off of the clerk's already rate not your assistant I mean it's it's my it's my feeling that if we have to do this it we should you know charge as little as possible to to make it AP but um at the same point any other comments on this a lot of you certainly can it's our you know it's our Forum I will ask a a bunch of questions I I just I really disagree with it because you have a lot of at home businesses that don't require Insurance someone is selling T-shirts at home someone who has a printing business and they're they're just using their home as the office location and their printing is done to Two Towns three towns away uh they're going to have to they're going to have to register I mean if like registration of buildings or or like a piece of property you have an LLC you already have insurance on that property for the LLC and now on top of it we're going to get hit with another $15 so that's it's it's just and then my biggest concern of this is who's going to police it uh we just went through the last year year and a half with with the lead inspections and I flat out no people in this town that have rentals and have not done their lead inspection on their properties and we don't have the the staff to police that I mean we're going to have some people come in and register a couple businesses but I don't think a lot of the businesses what if someone's like a photographer and they have photography business they're gonna have to get insurance everyone under the law is required to have a minimum amount of insurance and to register this law has been in effect for two years CH yes two years so far and I don't believe that anyone has registered but so there's a lot of a lot of what ifs and no one's registered to date this allows the township to charge a reasonable fee if anyone decides to follow this particular law that's required by the state I don't believe that the administration is planning on spending lots of time and effort in trying to get the guy printing t-shirts and the girl printing t-shirts in their home and their basement to register or whatever but they should follow the law and we we respect that and hopefully everyone registers and hopefully those who don't have the required amount of insurance so if something happens everybody's productive um but this is just a simple $15 fees the only thing you're to get um it's the one thing that the law allows you to do is charge a reasonable fee is in there if you don't do this you're changing nothing other than the fact that cannot collect a $15 F you're not changing anything you're not adding anything you're not making a law you're just saying if someone decides to register as they're required to yeah we can charge a $15 fee to cover our costs any other discussion um all right we need to provide a direction to Township attorney on what to suggest as a as an ordinance um it's my opinion that our hours Le rate should not necessarily based on the clerk's rate but also maybe some between the clerk's rate and the secretary's rate in the th alter because you know we have that as an option and to keep it as L as possible $1 or something that's just you know we have to do it I want to add something uh as far as businesses go and you mentioned it Mr Mayor you have to register with the township you have a filing fee annually and on that filing fee with the state of New Jersey you have to put your insurance requirements down you s that out some of so if you have't there already why do you have to I've done State filings without having privilege some do not well I've done nonprofit filing so I guess they don't require nonprofit set Insurance even though their pun mayor I'm comfortable with $15 fee I I you know appreciate that it was mathmatically based on the clerk's salary I think we should just pass something quickly I do agree like this is a area of potential work and you know businesses should follow the regulations set by the state of New Jersey and I think some of the things that you raised are good topics of conversation with our state legislators but this is the law it's been in effect for two years we should get into compliance well we're in compliance businesses should get into compliance as quickly as possible I think at $15 fee is very reason as long as we I think introduce them I would be fine with $15 if we wave it for nonprofit corporations which would still have to register are nonprofit corporations covered under the well they have file his entity registration with the state so if the council wants to if they are included we can certainly wait because you don't have to charge anything this is up to the council if they want to charge we your research we'll get back my my opinion on this is that since this law is unduly burdensome and a bad idea on its space that we should charge I guess we don't have a consensus on not exactly what to charge or what not to charge but um we will have them so why don't we why don't we hear on that question we'll come back at next meeting if people aren't knocking down the door to register it's not like we're losing $15 again nothing's changing People registered they can register now for free if they wait possibly there's a charge somewhere between zero and $15 let's try to make some kind of determination of the next meeting so we can propose on February 6 February 3rd all right um next item is discussion ordinance to amend chapter five of the Township Code there a couple updates related to the administration uh Madam clerk did you want to go through this one or This was um changes at the request of council started with the order of business to include public comment Council reports yes um and then with the recent adoption of uh the election being moved to November in the same article um talks about our under 514 the the uh reorganization meeting date entered in was what is stated in the law and it could be thought of um I guess it could be with anual meeting notice we could set that date unless Council wants to do something to codify a specific date um and again that's repeated in um 516 for the annual reorganization meeting um and then 526 was just in the same article I know there has been some discussion on appointments and how the process is and I was just pointing out that if you wanted to have a discussion leave it or amend it because it's all in one article saves money with codification any discuss on this one everybody okay with noon or some other hour during the first week of January that's time the only Mr Mayor and this one uh under at 514 in C where we have the cross out of July should be January yeah not just phone something that's be all right okay we make that change I think we're good to go for next meeting M thank you thank for making those changes right then moving on to N3 which discussion on pool rates Mr Sure m we'll get my uh so this item on the agenda is the followup discussion on the pool rates which have been previously discussed at two prior meetings uh there were recommendations from new genen in addition to those recommendations from new genen um there was also um traditional uh literature circulated to the council with a draft Communications and marketing plan from our public information officer and there's some additional uh followup um answers from our community services department regarding uh utilization and uh Staffing levels at the pool um based upon prior discussions and the information that's been circulated it's the administration's recommendation to proceed with the uh option two recommendation from the agend which was a 50% rate increase while simultaneously implementing uh this expanded marketing plan and continuing to comb over expenses to see if there's safe saing anywhere to be had um I think that is an important piece you know as far as we're looking at pretty significant increases in fees uh which one way or another have to be done right my my concern is really to look at economies I you know I know that there's a discussion on um you know Staffing and safety but there's a difference between life card Staffing and non-life card Staffing that we might be able to look at as far as that goes um and you know really try to have our community service department our managers determine um how much staff is actually necessary versus you know what do we need versus what we want um because this is a labor intensive industry down at the pool and anytime that we can make those economies it's better um but you know in having doing my visits and you know unarco and just from from an outside perspective and I think is the understand there seems to be a lot of people right a lot of staff and it would be helpful and I I haven't seen this yet we talk about numbers with safety ratio I I would like to see how much staff we have on the shift at a given time what the Red Cross or the water safety regulations or suggestions are for the coverage and what a rotation looks like you know as far as before making any decision ision on this because we're at some point I think we need to you know the fees have to be one thing just keep it sustainable but in the meantime we're also taking a a bit of a gamble on assuming that the same number of families will stay with the pool with increased rates we've heard from some members of the public that that may not be a possibility um we're also you know predicting a certain increase in there right so those scenarios don't work out if there's some other expense you know chemicals go up everything's volatile in the current market we need to be able to account for that and that might be one of those things but one of micromanage the operations of the pool but I also think before you know as the governing body that we need to have an idea of what the actual expenses are um for running the pool and and making sure that running not necessarily the minimum Staffing but at an appropriate level of Staffing maybe not as generous a level of Staffing as we we might be but the Lifeguard staff obviously there's a liability issue with that right non- lifeguard staff you know do we have that can we pay fewer people more high quality or whatever to or or something like that and still save money you know I'm always open to that instead of paying bunch of people minimum wage pay a couple people a little bit more that can handle more responsibility or something like that and we do have the talent I think within Town um as some's taught most the bull staff I know that if you if you pick the right people we certainly have that ability to uh to do that as well um but that's just a just a thought out there and what I guess my my next question is what happens you know what situation are we in if our estimate on these fees turns out to be short um you know we have the we have the New Gen strategy I'm just a little concerned with this significant increase proposed in rates over the next several years that you might see this as a dis incentive from joining so um obviously you have to operate the facility how does that work as far as Municipal finances go how much would we have to spend how would we kick in if it's not budgeted how does that work well in the scenario that's being presented uh the the operating budget that the revenues are already reliant on um the the Surplus the the fund balance in the pool budget uh if there was any shortfall in the revenues because of uh a drop in memberships that would then require the pool to dip into the fund balance a little bit can we raise the rates more next year uh raise the rates more or look at all the options again go um thank you um so um kind of picking up on this conversation about you know Staffing and obviously we you know we want to make sure we maintain the high level service we've had a lot of complaints about the cleaniness of the bathrooms in years prior so we want to make sure we are staffed appropriately to keep the facility safe and clean obviously but I was intrigued by the last sentence in this response that said you know scheduling effici efficiencies are continually pursued and eliminating excess employees will remain a focus of the 2025 season I think we're looking for you know what are some key thoughts to you know on Staffing that may are in the works to be implemented before hiring starts okay so I think you know I think fleshing out that statement a little bit is what I'm looking for but more importantly um there were a lot of ideas presented in Mr Rob botham's presentation that we've seen um some of which um again are cutbacks they were you know floating closing the rec 10 scaling back the Early Access hours to the baby pool section um the the free nights whether or not they're going remain free or is there going to be a fee so what I need to see still and and this was a great I love the you know the marketing plan I love this response document but we are still missing a summary of what policies and are going to be changed that impact the customer the member and what are all the other fees that need to be adjusted the swim team you know the Gazebo rental it needs to be when we say it needs to be a complete package we need to understand what are all the changes and it's like one you know some things are going to be by ordinance some may be a memo that this is what the staff we heard you know about changing what age the kids can enter the pool we want to know the big picture what is changing so that we understand that we're putting in a 15% increase and then what is the member getting and what are they losing so they're going to pay more and they're actually going to have some level possible reduction and then I think that free membership ties into something that I know I've raised with the administration multiple times which is we now have a whole new group of residents who are moved into affordable housing and what is the policy going to be there for residents that are in financial need not just the ones moving into particular housing but those that are already on SNAP benefits or in lowincome housing already so it's that level not that we want to delay I think you probably have most of these pieces but we need to see the whole thing before we vote on the rates that's what that's what I'm asking for just the very brief answer as you said we've we kicked this around discussed a little bit but we can certainly formalize a summary on it um but the the idea of removing or peeling back any Services I think there was a a large enough concern that um the idea of removing or lessening Services while increasing rates was uh not something desired by the council so the rates that were projected and and recommended did not assume any cost Savings in the budget through uh cutbacks and services um the other recommendations about other potential revenues whether it's through uh sponsorships or additional uh private events um those are elements that still will be pursued however the rate recommendation ises not rely upon that Revenue because we cannot rely on it until it's a proven Revenue but we need to make certain the council needs to pass certain things and fee ordinances in order to make some of those things a reality so we we time is running out because we want to have a successful season we want to see some new things so we're talking about private parties well that has to be set by ordinance uh if we're talking about what we're charging nonprofits for pool parties that needs to be set by ordinance so we need to get all of our eyes dotted and te's cross and we should do it at the same time so that the public can comment on the whole big thing it's it's hardened to hear that some of those scale backs and services may not be happening but I would like that in writing because we were presented in writing with a whole host of things so we need kind of that closure document like this is the plan sure okay so thank you for understanding a I would just Echo that I do think it's important for us to have kind of like the comprehensive package because I think we've seen little bits and pieces at different times and it has been evolving I I do want to thank you I think there's been a lot of work that's been put into it but having it kind of all wrapped up in a bow would be very helpful um it was not clear to me until you just said so that uh we wouldn't be doing any of those cuts in services that that's helpful to know but I think the residents also need to know that like if we're approving this substantial rate increase they need to understand that there's not going to necessarily be a reduction in Services if anything there's going to be an enhancement of the quality of service um I do want to thank you for making the effort to respond to some of the inquiries I do think it's worthwhile to evaluate all of the events of the pool perhaps not just limited to the preseason events um which I I did communicate to you in an email um I also think that um we really need to look at the communications plan more broadly um and I think this is an opportunity to Leverage The Community Resources through the recreation advisory committee there are people that are very interested in a marketing plan um and there had been a lot of discussion about not just kind of more of a social media Campaign which I think this is the communications plan is more of like a social media campaign but really focusing on some of those additional opportunities for generating interest because really this is going to be a membership game right so it's not just going to be about increasing rates because you know in the end the last member of the pool is going to pay for the entire pool and so we really need to increase that membership and generate like a lot of positive energy around it there was discussion about events um not limited to the circumstances discussed in your response to questions um but also you know sponsorships tournaments things of that nature that could be really great ways of generating a lot of excitement around pool membership this summer um so I think those are great opportunities that really aren't captured right now in this Communications plan but could would be like a kind of more comprehensive approach to marketing the pool and really making it clear which I think so many of our residents know but we've had so many people uh join our community in recent years that a lot of you know your family's summer memories are really established at the Verona community pool um and it is a great place for the kids and is a tremendous asset to our community we just really need to Hype that up um but again I do Echo councilwoman McGrath's concerns about having that kind of comprehensive package I think it would also be helpful to Residents just to you know kind of have that before them in the presentation because they've heard bits and pieces across these several meetings so thank you thank you Mr Sol thank you for your time with this uh I know it's been a tough one and I know Mr roboam is not here but he's also put a lot of time into this uh I think the bottom line is the residents have to know and they do know that pool rates will be going up uh we as a council kind of got pulled into this because we had this plan in the past I think it's because you know we redid the baby pool and we added this splash pad and it I think we paid a lot more than we thought we were going to pay for it uh it was a priority for some and we ended up paying a lot more than what we thought it was going to be originally uh and on top of that with the amount of water we use at splashpad uh those are increasing the rates of the pool so we're having difficulty there so the way we're going to get out of this is we have to raise rates and the public has to know you know we should have bifurcated those projects and we should have done one at a time and taken our time doing them uh especially knowing what we have coming up in this coming year uh however we didn't uh I do think looking at this whole fee schedule and looking at emails we received from people I think that if uh a lot of people were against outside membership I think if we do go that route uh I think there's plenty of even if we hit and this is suggested from some of the employees themselves Our Town employees who want to use the pool but don't live in town I think that's a great start and offer them memberships at the rates that we're going to have and not have to put an exorbitant rate on others from out of town that want to come in uh I think think even if we get 10 15 20 memberships there we're getting 10 15 20 more memberships uh the other thing I was looking at and we received emails over the year and talking to people are our guest passes and our day passes uh yes you're going to have to pay to come in but I think if we lower those rates a little bit you're going to gain it by the amount of people that might come in and come in with a family uh you have a family that has relatives that come over maybe they want to go to the pool but at a rate where a day passes $45 for an adult you know a couple comes in and spay 90 bucks to come into the pool maybe it's a little less there'll be more enticed to come in so just my suggestions uh and I guess we'll have further talks on which option you know we're going to decide off go but that's all I have I I'll take you back on that I the the idea of letting Township employees buy membership is something I looted to Mr jaro last year um I understand that the that the uh some of the the pool members may have hesitation about that I think the reason why people don't want to out of town members is because they're concerned about whatever is uh keeping up the um the the know beautiful pool and making sure that it's not um you know that you have the uh people are going be responsible treat cool well right which I think most time members would that's my personal opinion but because the members seem to be more willing to pay higher rates than than bringing out a Town members that you know kind of moving that direction it seems like the administration's recommendation however I do think that we should I agree with the deputy mayor is make an exception to allow our Municipal Employees to to buy memberships at the same rate that somebody in town would buy because I don't think we'll have any issues related to mistreatment of the pool facility or anything like that this is very easy just to Simply withdraw a membership but I think our town employees in my experience even before being on a member of this governing body is that our all of our employees care about this town deeply um and I think actually having there would add something to the pool so um I appreciate the the deputy May bringing that back up but um I would like to see that um that open and and we do have some out of town members already because of rescue squad or fire department or whatever so it's not exactly that we creating a president uh there either on that compliment oh thank you I just want to kind of expand and and just go back a little bit on the history of all of the reports that we received from new genen I know that we've gotten some emails that have really kind of pinned the financial states that we're in with the pool you know on the baby pool project which the entire council did support at the time um and it was a project that was full of engineering issues which unfortunately were a common occurrence prior to our current Administration projects were not scoped right but again what we what what the analysis showed is the current financial situation that we're in is due to a Confluence of events it was Rising minimum wage it was the co accounting emergency which wasn't actually a real Financial issue for our pool but it we had to like account for it um it was the um I don't even know the multiple of cost for the chemicals and it was improving our internal accounting practices to make sure that this the costs to run this pool were fully accounted for by the pool including water rates and it was past debt not just the more recent debt we took on for the Splash Pad but as the New Gen report showed very clearly the debt for to put in the ramps in the larger pool so this and and we kept rates for too low for too long um because we didn't have a robust rate making process which councilwoman Holland has talked about a lot over the last five years so I know what residents think and certainly the timing it makes it look oh blf baby pool you know that's the reason why but it was a Confluence of things which was really the foundation was poor rate making I like fully sound like a CW woman Holland do so we're getting our house in order but let's be clear with the facts and it just was also really unfortunate timing with Co because perhaps we would have you know been able to address some of these things but that emergency took precedent and what we didn't realize was again minimum wage which is the majority of the cost to run the pool was increasing rapidly and we we we were priced too low so I I just want to make sure that and again I say this to Residents who respond on that we we just have to make sure that we keep that comprehensive picture um but yes I think we all agree that what we started what we thought that Splash Pad was going to cost what we ended up to were two totally different numbers um um but we all did decide to pursed with that project and the residents do love it and it will add to the long-term um marketability of the pool because it really is an amazing facility with the slide as well thank you so looking to the Future which is where we find ourselves I think that's most important at this point um we have a request for a attire fee package right which I think nobody would disagree with here um the Administration has made their recommendation at um uh you know this option two the public has seemed to indicate moving another Direction we've asked for a little bit you gave some information about Staffing but I I really I think we can come up with some ideas I I don't I'm not interested in what we do now I'm interested in what we should be doing and that's the part that was missing from the the staff Q that was on there um I think we need that and certainly discussion on on allowing Town employees and uh and my opinion would be to charge ra as everybody else um and that would just be added financing uh I know there you know they what I would like to see is perhaps to Administration put all this together send it back to the pool subcommittee let the pool subcommittee and the rec committee respond and I'd like see that kind of sideb side response for rate right so just so we have all of that to go on but but is okay with that I think so right just to do a final do a side by side and that way we have an educated um educated decision making process so I think it important though that we establish a timeline for this because one of the issues that um we had last year was doing a little late and with a fee increase um we need to let people know where ear are to to budget and also if we're seeing a a decline in memberships we're going to need to do something to uh perhaps deal with that right we may need to have some kind of maneuver later on so my recommendation is is that for the for the next meeting that we have answers to these questions and so on get the full package um and then do some the first meeting of February if is that a reasonable timeline for everybody and'll Le on to that means our our fees would be we our second reading in mid of February our fees would then be official in mid March right correct at 8 starts April 1 and registration so they would be on target but we think we need to make a commitment all of us to to do that WEA if we get you like thank you thank okay that anybody else have any other items for your finish none I will open for public comments on any agenda wishes to any any item anybody wishes to discuss the same public comment statement applies uh Rob president of Ron PBA 72 uh just have a brief statement more for the public than the council them themselves um as we post on our social media today the Verona Police Department has temporarily moved to an offsite location due to workplace safety concerns we want to assure the public that all public uh police services continue to be available and officers remain committed to serving our community for non-emergent matters please contact us at 973 239 5,000 continue to utilize 911 for emergencies for any uh inquiries regarding the closure of police facilities you can contact the town manager's office at 973 857 4767 we appreciate your understanding during this time thank you the members of for PBA local 72 thanks thank you president M any other comments this guy would be without you Paul I know I know Paul TR Verona um basically I just want to stress the pool fees uh you know the burden should not be on the taxpayer it should be on the person utilizing the pool um basically the splash pad uh in the New Gen study had eight people use it in the morning in the early hours and 16 people all day so that was you know what a lot of people think about when they hear that past issues with the money um Beggars can't be choosers so if you're gonna basically choose not to allow out of town people in then you have to raise your rates to what they should be like you're kind of letting the pool people just pick what they want to do um to Me Out of Towners you can't even tell an out of towerer is there I don't know if a parent is in eighth grade I don't know who they are so I wouldn't even know if they lived in Cedar Grove or Montclair or any other Town um f rice I doubt you're going to get any type of person that you wouldn't want at the pool and uh I just want you to think of how much money we spent in the F past four years of the American Rescue plan dollars and the taxpayers dollars of the water bill and everything else like it's not our responsibility and you know I it's just irks me because I don't use it that's it all right and we shouldn't have to pay for it thank you anybody else some call a comment sorry Mr sh brona New Jersey just want to wish everybody a Happy New Year and um mayor Town Council Administration um so I'm you know the um subcommittee and committee will work hard on the pool and continue our work uh we look forward to that work with uh with Kevin Tom deut time manager congratulations on your promotion um I would like to uh say thank you to councilwoman McGrath uh for recently just saying previously which is accurate 100% accurate about how the pool got into the situation that it is and I think it's important for um the council and others to respond and I love Paul but that information is not correct uh the town uh the town uh the taxes uh are not paying for the pool anymore it's being funded directly by the membership and that has to be told to to our residents that that is the will of the council and the will of the administration that's done a good job to making sure that it's funed by itself I think if that conversation with the town and its members and residents happens I think more people understand where we're trying to go is that information is just not correct information uh splashpad I I agree maybe it cost too much maybe it was too but I don't want to look backwards and I don't think anybody else should look backwards we need to fix what is going on currently I think we doing that for the last year and a half but this is a 30-year problem have not been high enough and we have to find other ways of Revenue and I think we're doing that it's a tough process I mean I good conversation good emails today with the deputy uh Town manager today these are hard conversations and I think we're having those conversations and I think we're moving in the right direction and I continue and hope to work with you on the pool and to other things are in Recreation so thank you very much Happy New Year again thanks sh s Ryan Kev can you hear me now yeah Kevin Ryan New Jersey uh I just wanted to U Echo Mr petrel's uh point about uh looking into maybe letting other uh expanding the membership uh Beyond uh just Verona residence uh I I find it hard to believe that anyone paying the fees uh uh that would be uh required to join would not be respectful of uh of um the the pool's uh facilities uh also uh I would hope that you would really consider the idea that it was floated by uh the mayor and uh may be echoed by the deputy mayor of letting uh Town employees uh who don't live in Verona join the pool I think you sort of have to think outside of the box on these things I would agree with the other comments that uh you know going back and revisiting the cost of the splash pad at this point is counterproductive uh it's there you have to deal with it uh and I would also uh sort of support the deputy mayor's uh position about looking into uh being a little bit more flexible on uh allowing uh members to bring people in on day passes uh check the rates on that uh I know I was disappointed that uh uh they have stopped giving out a very small number of uh of free passes when you signed up uh with the membership I don't think that would be a big burden to reinstitute that policy uh you basically uh um it's sort of like a a nice gesture and it's not really going to cost anymore uh in the way of strain on the facilities to uh let a grandparent uh bring their grandchildren in who necessarily don't live in town uh and that full disclosure that that is a personal uh peeve of mine but there may be other people who have grand children who live out of town who who uh would find it burdensome to uh uh keep paying uh a high high day rate every time so just just look into that uh I think basically uh it would be helpful in a in a final report uh basically even if you raise the rise 15% if Mr OS solivan can include what would be the the minimum number of memberships required uh to you know to sustain uh the pool as a as a self-funded uh uh utility I know that it may be hard to uh to come up with but how basically how many members could you afford to lose by raising the rates 15% uh what would be the break even Point thanks for letting me comment and happy New Year and a healthy New Year to all of you at this time I'll close public comment um Mr McGuire thank you for your uh comment um just for the Public's awareness any uh public questions regarding this should go to the tach of manager and T of attorney the council will not be commenting on anything related to the the situation downstairs um for for matters that are out of our hands um one one piece I would just like to add Mr left it off previously and Mr McGuire statement just reminded me uh remember folks the police will come to you so if you want to file a report call the number you know it's much more convenient for you um it it'll certainly save the the need to come here as well uh but if you do need to come into report it will be accommodated um somewhere in the building um Mr Pang thank you for your your comments uh Mr Shore as well um I look forward to getting this wrapped up and I have to say I appreciate all of your work and your committee's work uh on the recommendations and it is it's well taken it's exactly model of what our committee should be doing for the council and I thank you for that uh and to um Mr Ryan we do have some numbers in the New Gen report about um on finance and stuff and we can get that to you as far as potential um what our assumptions are as far as membership losses and increases um and what the economic threshold is there and uh we can get that to you as well um and that's it any other Council responses to public comment and hearing none we previously passed a resolution to go to executive session which we will do at this time Mr Town attorney Mr Township manager will be be taking any official action no no all right we'll see you in two weeks on theth of January Inauguration Day