##VIDEO ID:8759QZXCFBE## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e you ready TR at this time I'd like to call this meeting to order um sorry is it okay you're good okay this meeting is being held in conformance with the Sunshine Law notice of time date and place have been furnished to the Bergen Record and the Ridgewood news in the administrative building clerk would you please call the role e time will be changing e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay okay we're going to continue to meet meeting I want to thank everyone who is here that you had to wait but sometimes we have to do things for the with the governing body that's kind of important to do on the the reports my report first first of all i' like to congratulate the walck high school boy soccer team on winning another uh Championship uh I already we sent a congratulations letter to them on Facebook and on um Monday when the administrator came in uh we have decided that we already have a sign outside when you're coming into Waldwick uh from 17 North that says 2022 I think it is Champs we're going to take that sign down and there 2024 to honor them for their uh uh Warrior ISM to our community also I'd like to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving and as the holidays are approaching um let us um try to do the best we could to help others if they are in need if you know anybody that's in need please let us know there's a lot of residents that come forward and ask about the donating food of money and if you it it's very private no one knows about it but uh we will be more than happy to give you a number of someone to speak to and you could deal with them with that under my report that's it financial and administrative committee Mr Richie thank you mayor good evening everyone I'll keep it short in the interest of time you'll see a resolution this evening where we're transferring uh transferring funds from essentially One account to another it's end of year and we have some uh line items that are kind of drawn down too low and others that have excess so we'll be transferring 58,000 within our current fund uh from you know fire prevention tax assessor natural gas you know oil things like that uh into general liability insurance and Fire Prevention salaries and wages and on our water utility it's $650 moving uh from our operating uh to some statutory expenditures our our Pension funds so um that's what that resolution is in the interest of time I'll keep it short thank you mayor thank you fire and police protection committee Mr Bron my report until next I have no report toight thank you very much Public Safety Committee missola thank you the Ambulance Corp has 39 calls month to date standbys were completed for the football and Junior Football fall seasons and they look forward to doing that again next year standby Mutual Aid support for Ramsey vac at donbosco Prep football game was held on 11:20 there was one mutual Aid call into Hawthorne wvac also looks forward to attending the tree liting on December 6th their slate of 2025 officer election are President Lucas nostos vice president Adrien kamaga Treasurer Franchesco Paladino recording secretary Ellen Hillman corresponding secretary mateline bonitz Captain Adrien damad darski first lieutenant Morgan Hoffman and second Lieutenant Ashley studo for the walck access for all committee I'm looking forward to attending their next meeting scheduled for Monday December 9th thank you thank you Recreation health committee Mr monello thank you Mr Mayor uh a few it Adams tonight um first fall Sports have wrapped up in in town all the uh uh football and soccer programs I think soccer program also had a 15 you girls won the championship in their league this weekend too and also want to add my congratulations to the boys uh High School of VAR City soccer team for winning the championship um this past weekend um we're now moving into winter sports season we have wrestling and basketball kicking off very shortly here um if residents are still interested in joining we can reach out to those programs they always take additional kids and and also baseball will be opening their registration up um in December and they hard at work at a facility project which they're very excited about um for the residents to see at opening day next year um some holiday U festivities in town coming up we have the tree lighting on December 6th on Friday uh be 700 p.m. at Burrow Park there'll be crafts for kids DJ a track list train hot chocolate and donuts giveaways Santa photos and maybe even the Grinch will make an appearance again we'll see and we we have uh the mayor's fourth annual house decorating contest deadline to enter is 2: p.m. on December 13th with judging on the evening of December 17th uh we have the annual manora Lighting on December 22nd on Sunday at 4 p.m. in front of the Waldwick Library there'll be prayer songs and sweet treats and also as the mayor said American Legion is uh looking for donations for Toys for Tots they'll take new unwrap toys through December 13th for for those in in need it's always good to spread the holiday cheer for those less fortunate than us um in health I just like to remind people that we do have the child health clinic on the third Wednesdays third Wednesdays of each month and uh that's it thank you Mr Mayor thank you Public Works committee Mr remondo thank you Mr Mayor uh two items uh with regards to some work the DPW took some corrective action uh for a safety issue at the ambulance squad one of the railings on the second floor was uh missing some of screws and they basically fixed it um another item that I'd like to bring to uh the public is uh we did receive a nice letter from Mr Patton stating uh his appreciation for such a professional uh election process during the election this month and I'd like to thank Tatian and Kelly as well as the DPW staff that assisted them with setting up and uh taking down all the equip um it's nice to hear from a resident of a level of professionalism that's happens within our town and it makes us look good that's all Mr Mayor thank you thank you building and grounds committee Mrs Weber thank you Mr Mayor I don't have no report oh thank you B administr thank you Mr Mayor um a lot of residents may have received a a letter about an unknown lead service line um so just I wanted to provide a little feedback on that um number one is why did you get the letter so that the NJ D and the US EPA require an inventory of all service line materials for all Water Systems um which we have been working to identify an update for the past two or three years um so if you received that letter basically that was a notice that your your service line to your house is unknown uh material at this point um DPW is working through the entire inventory throughout town so we have about 3,800 services to check um they've done about 1,200 already so they have a lot more to go so it is a long process they physically have to dig a hole down and check check the pipe um going into your house um so if you received that letter and you have some questions feel free you could reach out to my office at at any point I'd be happy to talk about it more with you um we are drafting a letter to get out and post on our website also we're creating a dedicated page to this so you could kind of track that process um but again if you have any questions about that please give me a call back um also just want to touch on the water discoloration issue that we continue to to encounter and deal with um specifically in the area of Waldo AV Bergen a and Lincoln um we are working with our Engineers working with the D to come up with a solution um it's not an easy fix unfortunately and it's not quick or or cheap so we are working on the best options right now um to narrow down and come up with a long-term solution for that again if you have any questions or complaints please report them to my office 201652 53 extension 227 thank you thank you clerk Kelly thank you mayor um with regards to elections um at the last meeting I was remiss in thanking uh the DPW worker assigned to us on Election Day um we could not have been successful uh that day without the help of Steve Weber whatever we asked him to do he did with a smile so thank you Steve um we are thrilled to have uh Melissa on board uh and settling in this week uh Tatiana and I have both been training her in different aspects of the office um and it's been a pleasure to um work with her thus far um because she comes to us from another municipality where she's done a lot of these tasks so um it's it seems to be um you know pretty easy to train her she already kind of knows what to do um just a reminder for um residents assign up for Constant Contact which is our new platform for the weekly Community news and updates as well as our monthly newsletter nixel will continue to be using for the uh PD for their emergency notifications we have seen a an uptick in people signing up for constant contact but since it's the only way they're going to get that information we we're just kind of want to keep getting that out um we have our our food uh Bin up front uh this is our second full bin so far this season so they're coming to pick that up families for families um the residents have been very generous we have gift cards as well for for them to to buy what they need so um and I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving is that it thank you our attorney uh thank you mayor as I said the last meeting we got our initial COA numbers from the state of 178 uh we just got this a this afternoon all the data behind how they calculated those numbers so Steve your B the burrow planner and I are going to go through and come up with some recommendations for you as to how we can approach this number and what we can hopefully try and um figure out a more reasonable number to to submit to the state uh that's all on that front and um we do had I did have a couple phone calls with some preliminary uh attorneys about some of the Redevelopment areas in town so hopefully in the near future you might have some more Redevelopment proposals coming for the areas addressing some of those other Lots down there besides the one that's uh before the planning board now and that's all I just want to wish everybody as well a Happy Thanksgiving thank you consent resolutions and resolutions of the governing body be it resolved that the following resolutions herewith listed by consent having been considered by the governing body of the burough of Waldwick are hereby passed and approved 2024 290 approval of consent 2024 291 approval of minutes regular meetings October 22nd and November 12th 2024 policy vote a appointment of Noir Bailey to Junior member of the waldock volunteer fire department 2024 292 authorized execution of a grant accessible ramps 2024 293 release of Road opening escrow for Block 130 Lot 4 2024 294 resin resolution 2024 282 for a stip in for keyboard and clerk 1 2024 295 amend resolution 2024 275 appointment of police Sergeant for Christopher Sanchez 2024 296 approval of the council reorganization meeting for January 7 2025 2024 297 approval of the 2025 floating holiday 2024 298 accept donations for the annual Christmas tree lighting 2024 299 tax over payments various 2024 300 approval of budget and appropriation transfers and 2024 301 payment of vouchers do I have a motion and a second to accept motion by Mike second by Michelle anyone have a question uh I just got a couple of them first of all the one about uh 2024 d2988 anybody does a donation to the bough of Waldwick we have to do this so that we are covered and they're covered in what they're given to us also in regards to police serent uh Christopher um Sanchez that that was just bookkeeping we made a little error on his salary but everything is up to date on that and 2024 d295 with Denise bradick fortunately there was a miscommunications on what things were supposed to be done and Denise you know was very kind and uh kind with us to talk to us about this so what we did we we just thanked them for you know coming forward and being honest with us and we uh we're just taking care of it a different different way that's it anyone else clerk please take the role Mr brck yes Mr um Sorry Miss harola yes Mr martinello yes Mr randoo yes Mr Richie yes Mrs Weber yes okay any unfinished business here new business uh new business uh in the future when I ask someone to do a report or something I'd like to be called Mr Mayor any other new business publish comments anybody from the P I'm sorry from the public would like to comment please come up here and state your name for the record hi Gina Zubia Steve I know you've touched on this and with the water we've discussed but I want to share some personal examples of what's going on in my house um I've been dealing with water discoloration and a strong metal spell for the past six months first it started off every so often and now it's a daily disturbance the bath water is always discolored some nights I can't even bathe my young children because it's so Brown I buy 15 to 20 gallons of water a week for us to drink and cook with I've given my kids a sponge bath with Poland Spring Water multiple times my hair is not washing our skin is affected and I fear for our health concerns my toilets and bathtubs are stained and when I clean it brown sediment comes off it constantly smells like metal how would you feel if this were you and your family my water bill is the highest it's ever been because all I've been told is to run my water it never runs clear the water uh superintendent Mike was sent to my house and confirmed that it did not run clear it's been 6 months living with this water issue it's absolutely outrageous and unacceptable when exactly will this be resolved I live at 11 Lockwood Drive address 11 Lockwood Drive I know you did not include that street in your findings before but there are multiple people on my street affected thank you anyone else pfolio hi I'm John vort good evening Mr Mayor and distinguished council members I'm here for you tonight in my capacity is the commander of the Waldwick Veterans of Foreign Wars post 1049 and as a proud the United States Navy veteran there's currently two bills under consideration uh by the New Jersey legislature uh resolution number 58 before the assembly and Bill sc81 in front of the Senate these bills propose a constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the veterans property tax deduction from 250 to 25 $500 over a 4-year period specifically if approved by the voters of the state this proposed amendment constitutional amendment would increase the amount of the veterans property tax deduction from the current 250 to 2500 this increase would occur over a 4-year period veterans who were honorably discharged from active service in a branch of the United States armed forces qualify for the deduction further a qualified veteran surviving spouse would receive the deduction after the qualified veteran dies this amendment would increase the amount of the deduction to $1,000 for tax year 2025 ,500 for tax year 2026 2,000 for tax year 2027 and 2500 subsequently uh starting in 2028 the voters of the of the state last approved an increase in the amount of the deduction in 1999 from $50 to $250 over a 4-year period the amount of the of this deduction has been $250 since 2003 this amount would be reimbursed by the state to the municipality in the amount of 102% as it does currently so that amounts to when it's $2,500 that means the uh the burrow is going to receive 5050 bucks for every veteran in our town that's a win-win for both the veterans of our community as well as Waldwick uh the Bure of walwick as a whole I respectfully request your consideration of these bills and if you all as a body can agree I'd like the council to prepare a resolution showing your Collective support of this initiative I also plan to initiate a local campaign via email and phone to our District 39 members of the leg legislator Senator Holly shaizy who's a co-sponsor of of the bill uh assemblyman Robert oth and assemblyman John azeret seeking their support in getting this bill across the line to support our state's veterans the veterans of Waldwick would certainly would most certainly appreciate your support and I pledge to make my myself available to all of you to answer or research any questions you may have relating to this matter uh relating to this man matter thank you all for your time and I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family do you have a copy of what you just wrote yes sir I do could you leave it for me I just because when we have our Northwest Bergen ma Association I could ask all the May if they're not doing this or if they're going to do it and do it thank could be right our attorney will take care of all this for us thank you anyone else okay good evening my name is Mike gell um I live on Waldo Cav and I'm talking about the water uh once again um I just kind of want to know because we've been in a little bit of the dark um about the progress that is has happened in the last 3 weeks um I have gotten a whole house filter that was supposed to filter out sediment which is the iron smell the rust um that I talked here on the 24th of September about I haven't paid a water bill um and we have this whole house filter that my neighbor and I have both been installed through the town he gave me 10 filters saying this is good for a few years is what his thing was it lasts 15 days so every 15 days I go in my basement I have to take this filter out and the comparison is complete iron bu build up from a five uh sediment filter um and it doesn't work after about 14 15 days my water pressure is lower it's completely full which should last 7 to 8 or 9 months is what he said um and I have to drain my hot water heater 15 days because that hot water heater is full of the discolored water that takes me an hour um with the supplies that I have bought for myself and I just don't know what um process has been taken the last three weeks and I know the holidays are coming up and um I've heard rumors from the engineers and the plumbers and but I just want to know what is has been happening in the last three weeks to a month thank you mayor um yeah so basically the last time we met with our Engineers probably about two and a half three weeks ago they actually wanted us to stay entirely off the system and not do any work to see how things reacted they thought all the flushing we've been doing all the work we've been trying to do valve repairs things like that actually were contributing to the discoloration instead of solving it so that taking the you know reverse action and staying off it see if that helped it did not obviously so it has been the three weeks um so we're actually planning some water work after the holiday so next week um you we're going to start to work on the system again um and plan out some some different options for Waldwick AV specifically so we are going to be taking section sections of pipes out to evaluate them send them out do some further testing um and again trying to get towards that long-term solution everything you know and we totally understand both situations is um you know we're trying to do what we can shortterm but unfortunately we're at the the long-term phase now um so we're just trying to work through that and and make sure we come up with the best option that we don't have to do this again and go through it so we want to tackle it as a whole get it done get it done right so we can move on so you're going to take a section of the main water the main correct and you're going to what does that show us or what does that tell us or the we'll see when we when we cut it out um see kind of if there's scaling things like that going on inside the pipe and allow us to actually identify the exact age of it too which will be helpful we we understand that it's pretty old in that se of town so we just want to make sure and identify everything we can okay um yeah so I I did take out the first filter knowing that it was being flushed and that the second filter lasted just about 16 days okay so the filter doesn't really work maybe for like 3 4 days it's clear it doesn't smell as bad I think today it smells worse than it did in the summer to be honest so it has been um I I would say getting worse um just so everyone knows and the filters are supposed to last like months months at a time um but it just so everyone kind of says if it works and just so you the the piece of pipe that that Steve talking about taking out is to check it's to see what the continuity of the pipe looks like that's how instead of x-raying it or actually we'll cut a section out and see what it looks like inside and that's how they can determine whether what what will be the action going going forward if there needs to be some sort of replacement or or whatnot on the roadway so it's not I I just don't want it to get mixed up that they're doing that to make sure that there's not an a health issue with the pipe that's not what that's meant for there's um the iron uh sediment inside that's what they're saying how how much is in there and that's the best way to do it is to physically cut a piece of the pipe out so they can look into it okay so then and that's what the engineers look at like a they look at the thickness of the wall of the pipe what's remaining determine whether or not what areas have to if it has to be replaced or has there been a task force or a group of workers that kind of just take a bucket and see which how far north or south or like it goes because I honestly talk to some neighbors and they're like oh no it's totally fine I talked to some neighbors now I kind of want to take a Sunday and do that myself with like a clean bucket with two other buckets in a wagon and just run their hose for 5 minutes look inside this one check it cuz it's it's getting to the point where like some people I don't know if they're I I one house can be as much or like I have a brand new house we just renovated it same thing our tub is completely destroyed our toilet our thing it's kind of the kind of the dma Steve actually in the back was the only person from the town that actually did that totally out of the blue came to my house to flush my house Steve Took a bucket and went to my four neighbors and said they're all the same why aren't they complaining why isn't this no one from the water department has so I thank Steve in the back uh we kind of yelled back and forth a little bit but we got a solution and he's like all these houses are like this he took up a 5 gallon bucket the one I cleaned right in front of him and he looked I feel like that could be a simple little solution just to kind of get a little road map have three guys just go back and forth four hours I don't know so that that is being discussed now um I forget the name of it and it'll come to me afterward but there there's a basically something that helps check the color and the iron levels in the water I forget the name of the the tool but we're looking into purchasing that and the engineers have been developing kind of a game plan like that so what we've been doing with them too just not to go too far into detail but like a little background is we've been developing a whole map of the town so that's why we asked people to call and report so we're documenting that we're putting it on the map so we can actually start to plot these different concerns um and track it a little bit better so that's what we're doing with Engineers right now and then off that we are going to do something similar to what we had talked about with the five gallon pales kind of targeted in one area but then taking samples from all over town just as a comparison so we are working on that too okay all right I look forward to hearing it thanks thank you anyone else okay you want this Al first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to G to going to keep you folks here here for 45 minutes listening to me now would that be all right yeah we got sandwiches coming in no worry you got time no the real reason I I come up I want to wish us all a very nice Thanksgiving you as well and uh a safe one and um the Public Works did another great job yesterday for us thank you very much thank you and you and your family Happy Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving anyone else if not do I have a motion to adjourn by Katie second by Mark all those in favor all those opposed everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving okay [Music]