##VIDEO ID:Mygo1jyqL68## so quiet we're not used to having everybody here quiet and ready to go so good evening everybody uh thank you for being here in person and for those watching online uh adequate notice of this meeting as required by the open public meetings Act was provided through the posting mailing and filing of the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings of the Town Council on December 12th 2023 the notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board the municipal building provided to the Westfield leader in the Star Ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield Miss L May I have a roll call Mayor brindle here council members here here Tom here Keepers here Aro here contract here please rise for the invocation which will be given by Council hap good and remain standing for the salute to the flag we come together today to serve our community with dedication and Care let let us be mindful of the needs of all and approach our duties with compassion and fairness may we find unity in our diversity and strength in our collaboration help us to be good stewards of the trust placed in us and thank you for the opportunity to serve Al to flag of the United States of America to the it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and so hello everybody it's great to see a crowd here a lot going on um at a very important evening uh evening for us tonight uh I just do want to take a moment to walk through the sequence of the meeting because it's a little bit different than what we do typically so we're going to first read a proclamation honoring the town bookstore for its 90th anniversary thrilled to have a representation from the bookstore here an incredible mil stone for this very beloved local business we're then going to vote on two ordinances on second reading one to install and always stop at the intersection of Boulevard and Grove and one to expand where people can consume off premises off premise alcoholic beverages in the downtown area which is now being expanded to include the North Avenue train station parking lot and Plaza we'll then take some time to expend our deep thanks and gratitude to Don Macky whose resignation from the council took effect yesterday to and for her many contribution to the town and we're going to have her say a few words we'll then hear a letter submitted from the Westfield Democratic committee with their recommendations for Dawn's replacement which the council will vote on in order to swear in a new council member this evening we'll then get to the remaining legislative items on tonight's agenda so a lot of very exciting things happen so we're going to begin with the proclamation for the town bookstore and I'm going to ask Lisa Schwarz and an I don't know come on up whoever's coming up [Applause] so we have our current owner Lisa Schwarz and two former owners Ann lar and Grace I don't know nice to see you exactly and uh so quite remarkable and um and I don't know we all have a town bookstore story um my I thought you know I'll be all my kids but saved me and many others with the puzzles and the pandemic and um so we're thrilled that there's another Westfield owner of this beloved institution um and amazing Lisa and we're very much looking forward to continuing the public support for this beloved beloved store so with that um we're celebrating the town bookstore's 90th anniversary which is incredible whereas September 4th 2024 marked the 90th anniversary of the Town bookstore in downtown Westfield and whereas the Town Book Store stands as a cherished institution and Cornerstone of our community having provided nine Decades of literary enrichment culture engagement and service to generations of readers and whereas since its founding in 193 4 by Esther Nichols and Matilda mlan the town bookstore has fostered a love of reading and learning while becoming an enduring symbol of the power of a small business in our community and whereas current owner Lisa Schwarz purchased the store in April after having worked there since 2019 from Anne L who owned the town bookstore for 17 years and whereas the bookstore's commitment to supporting local authors and hosting events has enriched the Westfield Community by bringing people together of all ages to share in the joy of Storytelling and whereas the town bookstore continues to thrive thanks to the passion and dedication of its owners staff and loyal patrons that have maintained the atmosphere that has made it a beloved landmark in Westfield and whereas all residents are encouraged to join in celebrating this momentous Milestone honoring the legacy of the Town bookstore and expressing our gratitude for its invaluable contributions to our town now therefore be it proclaimed that I mayor Shelley brindle on behalf of the Town Council hereby congratulates owner Lisa Schwarz and all owners before her on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Town bookstore and thank them for their dedication and loyalty to the town of Westfield and surrounding community and wish them much continued success congratulations they're they're readers not talkers [Applause] [Applause] oh oh yeah give him that thank you Jim yes all right now they get to go celebrate okay uh Miss lashi are there any advertised hearings yes mayor we have two advertis hearings tonight first is for General ordinance 2024 22 in ordinance to amend the code of field chapter 13 anyone wishing to be heard on General Ori 2024 22 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record seeing no one may or you may close the hearing this hearing is closed next is general or 2024 23 an ordinance authorizing the consumption of alcoholic beverages in certain areas of the town of Westfield anyone wishing to be heard on General orance 2024 23 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record see no one may you may close the hearing this hearing is closed councilman dardia please move for the adoption of General ordinance number 2024 22 thank you mayor I would like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 2024 d222 an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 13 may I have a second second second by councilman contract any discussion please call the role council members H good yes tardia yesal yes sers yes armento yes contract yes mayor brindle yes this motion is carried councilman contract please move General ordinance number 2024 23 I'd like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 202 24-23 an ordinance authorizing the consumption of alcoholic beverages in certain areas of the town of Westfield may I have a second second second by Council dagala any discussion please call the role council members have yes Daria yesal yes Saunders yes armento yes contract yes mayor B yes may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the Town Council conference and regular meetings of September 10th 2024 second move by councilman dagala second second by councilman Saunders any discussion all in favor yes yes oppos this motion is carried um now we have the committee as a whole is adopting a resolution to recognize former councilman Mackie does anyone have any comments okay so that is adopted Miss LHI do we have any petitions or communic I count oh I'm sorry were you saying that I was gonna say something yes yes oh I just wanted to to to say something because I think I was one of the reasons why Don ran for office in the first place uh where we met at a party years ago and I was like yeah I'm going to run for Council and I had just met on I'm like you should run too we could do it together and I'm sure she's forever upset at me for that but Don you have been just my you've been great on the council great for the town we will miss you dearly I know Jim we're looking forward to working with you big shoes to fill but I don't know if Don's Shoes can be filled our town is so grateful for everything you've done so thank you but good luck I'm thrilled for you so on brand uh I do not have prepared remarks but I want to speak from the heart and um uh I always say one of the best privileges of being mayor is your is the uh opportunity to get to meet people in this community that you were your paths would never otherwise cross and for me the biggest impact was in 2017 um and I'll just say Don Macky being one of the many people and most remarkable people that I got to meet at that time and um you know Don and I were a uh quite the duo I was like I had great ideas and little did I know what da would do with things that were just a fantasy of my mind um her creativity is unparalleled she is uh dogmatic in pursuit of Justice if anyone knows that um and and it's a privilege to watch it and not only and I think Linda's going to talk about this but it's not not only what da does it's how she does it um as anyone has been in her orbit the busiest person around she is never too busy not to leave a note of thanks a special little thing that she drops off at your house cuz it reminded her of you um everybody's not their head because we've all had that experience with Dawn and it's been a great inspiration and lesson for me about the art of gratitude um and how far it goes and how much means to people and Don you are the shining example of that and we just talk about a couple things so that I think are really a legacy and obviously I've only been here for seven years I can never think of a harder working council member than Dom macki um she did 20 years worth of work in the seven years that she's been here and uh when I first mentioned this crazy idea of celebrating Charles Adams I imagined a little party [Laughter] we all know what Dawn does with that right so she turned that idea into a legacy defining contribution to the town of Westfield and um and we'll always re remember the that if you wonder why every single road is going to be paved in town probably by next year it's because of D Magie she was talking about when she was running for office and uh and we actually did it because of her tenacity and hold the utilities accountable and if you've enjoyed those murals and the butterflies and the sewer Johnson it took an idea again with Dawn that we should have public art to beginning the formation of a public Arts commission and then really launching with those butterflies and everything you've seen since then so don you've been an inspiration to me you're an inspiration to everybody you touch Bas with you make every body better cu no one works harder than you and no one is more committed to you and no one is more fair and so honest than you and I am forever ever grateful for your service and for having the privilege of working alongside of you I love you so much okay so I did prepare remarks because it's going to make this a little easier for me so um the as Shelly just said the list of accomplishments that we could go through tonight as it relates to Don are just two um two it's two long a list to um you know for us to go through but even though we really want to lift up the extensive resume of Don's professional accomplishments here in Westfield I also really wanted to take a moment to public recognized councilwoman Mackie for what she AC not just what she accomplished but how she accomplished it and I think the first thing that really is important to me is that everything that she did in town she she did it with a commitment to Excellence whether she was considering changes to the town code or she just noticed some things in the park that needed to be improved she not only took on the responsibility of leading that chart but she never dropped the ball halfway through um I can remember for example many years ago when we were both on code review that we were considering how we could invite more solar panels to come into town and we were taking some Comm uh Community advice about doing front facing solar panels and Dawn was worried so what did we do in true dawn Mackie fashion we sat in the room next door and we invited solar panel purveyors to bring their panels into the room so that we could look at them and determine what controls around those front facing panels would be not only good for the environment but also keep be in keeping with the aesthetic that we wanted to have in our neighborhoods um even from a hospital bed the first year of Adam's vest and I'm not kidding was in theit hospital for all those days leading up to the events um that were just the inaugural events for Charles Adams she was on the phone making sure that everyone that she had recruited to work on Adam's best knew exactly how Dawn mackie's you know seal of Excellence was going to go on to the event um secondly uh Dawn always works with a focus on inclusion team and fight um in Dawn's World everyone is invited every person matters young and old are welcome differences are celebrated and trust me everyone has to pitch in and then the third thing is probably the most important is that Dawn does everything with a humility that um should be really celebrated even when she single-handedly is pushing a project or a new event over the line she sits back and gives credit to everybody else she's happy to be backstage maybe barking on a couple of orders to people but she doesn't want the award she doesn't want the spotlight and she's not taking the Applause she really should be a model for all of us um councilwoman Mackie we are indebted to you and so so many ways and we want you to know that you have left an indelible Mark here in our village of Westfield it's the dawn Macky mark on one made of beautiful art thoughtful advancement of our code selfless service to Residents and to businesses and Community enrichment the dawn Mackie Mark has all of these things all wrapped up with fun and vision and drive and a little bit of ooky spooky so so for all of us who have had the privilege of serving with you we obviously are so you've just left such a mark on us as colleagues but you are also a friend and I would just say that there's um for me just I'm so happy that you might be able to resign as a councilwoman but don't you dare resign as a friend [Applause] as is customary we have a resolution for Don formally acknowledging her contributions whereas Don Macky Faithfully served the town of Westfield as councilwoman repres in the fourth W from January 2018 to September 2024 and whereas Council Macky has selflessly volunteered her time and talents to attend to the needs of the town and its residents tirelessly demonstrating her steadfast leadership dedication and vision for the future of the community and whereas during her tenure on the Town Council Council macki served as acting mayor in 24 alternate acting mayor in from 2018 to 23 the Council lays on to the special improvement district from 18 to 22 the public Arts commission since it was formed in 20 and the municipal Alliance in 2018 and whereas Council macki Faithfully served as member of the code review and town property committee from 18 to 24 the Public Works committee from 22 to 24 and the public safety Transportation parking committees from 18 to 21 whereas in addition to the aformentioned committee memberships Council macki demonstrated vision and Leadership while serving as the chair of the code review and town property committee from 18 to 20 chair of the Public Works Committee in 24 Vice chair of the code review and town property committee from 21 to 24 and vice chair of the Public Works Committee in 23 and whereas the positive impact of council macki service to the town will be felt for many years beyond the conclusion of her terms in office and nowhere is this more evident than her commitment to enhancing The Cult cultural and artistic landscape of the town of Westfield specifically her role as chairwoman of Adams Fest and her leadership on the public Arts commission and whereas during her terms on the Town Council councilman Mackey earned the respect of her fellow Civic leaders in the Gratitude of her constituents now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and Town Council on behalf of the entire Community do hereby express its deepest appreciation to councilwoman dong Macky for her years of exemplary service and valuable contributions to the community and wishes her every success and happiness in all her future endeavors be it further resolved that this resolution be permanently memorialized by incorporating within the minutes of the westfi Town council meeting of September 24th 2024 we going to miss you Don [Applause] thank you mayor um and Council for the beautiful remarks and for allowing me to speak tonight mayor brendel and council members have the dardia contract working with you and learning from you has been um a genuine privilege and you are each so much more to me than colleagues to my new Council mates Keir domagala armento and saer um May you serve with integrity and may you gain as much from your tenure as I have from mine Mr gild day Chiefs department heads you have the most dedicated and accomplished staff in any municipality in this state and we are so so lucky to my family who often had to settle for what was LE left when I came came home and especially to my husband who held it all together while our twins went from middle school to college seniors um while on this journey thank you for allowing me the opportunity um to accomplish what I I did because you were there picking up the pieces to my early supporters who took a chance on the girl from Brooklyn with the princess business um you knocked on doors you wore the shirts you made the calls and I dig you proud for the past seven years it has been my profound honor to serve this community I try to be thoughtful engaged and accessible and while I am proud of my legislative accomplishments and my various contributions tonight I want to talk about you in a town of this size even with a staff this great nothing is achievable alone so I want to thank the many many of you ctively who contributed to these moments maybe you were someone who always answered my call or my text I have an idea can you meet for coffee maybe you were my cupcake Ambassador a Treasurer or my editor maybe you scraped grease off the walls of the Rialto when it closed overnight and we had a movie premiere to host or maybe you painted windows with your girl Scout Troop or sanded tables in tamacas with the Boy Scouts possibly you shuttle three foot butterflies in your van to the autoo shop or maybe together we dragged 50 trees around this town hoping to turn Westfield into a Hallmark Christmas movie you might have made pallets uh turned palets into flags as a fundraiser and perhaps you said yes to producing a when presented to you on Blue post aboard or maybe you agreed to film promos for it possibly year after year you agreed to dress and serve as Westfield's own Adams Family maybe you hung patriotic buting and sparked New Traditions and when we found ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic I worried about our downtown but within weeks you opened your hearts and your wallets providing both financial and emotional support to our businesses as we all learned new ways to shop and when I went to the corner of Quimby and Elm in the middle of the night to paint a rainbow crosswalk and no one was there I panicked but then from every direction they came kids and parents at 4 a.m. because Westfield always shows up this is what def us this is what makes us special so thank you Westfield for the privilege of a lifetime I thank you to all the volunteers who have become friends and I urge you if the opportunity presents itself and you get a moment to pick up a clipboard roll up your sleeves or leave remarks on social media I urge you to choose option one or two because in my humble opinion you will not regret it if you serve this town with an open heart I promise you you will get more than you give thank you Westfield I love you I make sure that um the council actually adopted that resolution to make sure it ISAT oh I for did everybody so are we adopting the resolution to honor Don's commitment all in favor yes oppos no [Applause] yay I fail to mention Don I'm really going to miss if you could have seen the artwork that Don produced here during Council meetings it really should all be framed so I'm going to miss that so um Jim you need to get a bunch of M so with that um so thank you all for being here and again for Dawn and your service so miss lashi do we have any petitions or Communications yes mayor we have a letter from the Democratic committee which states thank you for your memo dated September 17th me award for councilwoman Don Matthew's resignation effective September 23rd in the need for the Westfield Democratic committee to submit three nominees for a selection of a successor to fill the vacancy prior to October 8th the Westfield Democratic committee has met and voted unanimously for the following three nominees all whom are registered Democrats and reside in board four in the town of Westfield Jim hey of 126 Hazel Avenue Rosalie Sarah piglia of 1189 T place Andrea Andrea Marcus of 504 Edgar Road please let me know if you have any further questions thank you Moren um and uh we are going to put forth Jim Healey's name for nomination um and before I make that motion I do just want to make a few remarks about Jim so everybody knows a little bit of background and um and his experience so uh Jim actually may be familiar to many of you uh he is a long time resident here who graduated from Westfield High School raised his kids in the house where he and his wife Lois currently reside we're very fortunate to have Jim's experience and he preious has he previously served on the council from 1985 through 1997 elected actually six times during the time when our elected officials only served twoyear terms so during this time he drafted and sponsored many things but I think what a huge Legacy Left Behind was he sponsored the mandatory bicycle helmet law in Westfield it was the first of its kind in New Jersey which subsequently served as a model for the Statewide bike helmet law and ultimately a majority of states in the country so in addition to his distinguished career as a lawyer Jim also served as a New Jersey Superior Court judge from 2009 through his retirement in last year in 2023 and I would like to thank Jim for his volunteering to step back in the arena and into this role and bring bring your wealth of knowledge and experience as a council member to serve the residents of Westfield so with that I'd like to make to make to make a notion to nominate Jim hilly to fill the vacant Council seat in W four second who's that Council mardia thank you um any discussion i' just like to make a comment um I think it's critical that when whenever possible the voice of the people need to be heard especially uh with open seats uh whether it's the Democrats or the Republicans we should all strive to facilitate this whenever possible I think that with deadlines and things was unfortunate but I think the electoral process is is essential for a democracy that being said I look forward to working with Jim he has a a wealth of Knowledge from what I hear and I look forward to sitting next to you on the the day us up here thank you anybody else I'm going to step in for a quick second um based on the experience that Jim has uh I welcome it I welcome the knowledge that will bring uh and anybody who can survive as many elections as you have more power to you so welcome yes no kidding right um okay please call the rooll council members hun yes Daria yes zagala yes Saunders yes armento yes contract yes mayor yes this motion is carried [Applause] I would like to move for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the appointment of Jim Haley to fill the vacant Council seat on war v may I have a second second any by councilman armento any discussion please call the role council members ha yes dardia yes tomala yes Saunders yes armento yes contract yes mayor bindle yes this motion is carried and I'd like to invite uh Jim Healey up to the Dan to take his oath of office [Laughter] swear swear will support theti support of the United States of the United States and theit of the state of newy state of New and I will fa fath and aliance aliance to the sa to the sa to the governments established the government in the United States the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people the authority of the people and Faithfully Faithfully partially and justly perform justly perform all duties all duties of the office of counil M the office of duties of coun counil according to the best of my abili ACC to the best of my abil and understanding congratulations [Applause] thank you for hello there wow get to talk no oh you do get to talk I'm kidding yes Jim would you like about red is red is for we didn't have this in 1997 uh do you like the chambers it's it's all new some things are new some uh I think the most important thing I can say is this uh it's very hard to run for public office as I'm sure everyone here knows and I was here in January when we had four new council members uh sworn in who fought very hard to be elected uh but as you probably already have all found out uh 95% of what you do here as a council person or mayor is managed in the best interest of the town we will have Phil philosophical disputes um almost all of the time of my 12 years as a council member uh I was the only Democrat and so uh how would I ever get anything done how would I ever sponsor and put forward the bike helmet law has basically become the standard uh in the United States and and virtually all the states not all the states but almost all uh how did that start in Westfield it's because I really tried hard to reach out extend the Olive Branch to my adversaries and of course there was suspicious of me at the time at this at at the time I started but uh I made friends and that's how it's done uh and uh actually after a while I said I ran for six times on three of those occasions the Republican party did not put up anybody against me and that was simply because well I like to think it's because they like me but it was probably had something to do with they didn't think they could beat me but uh because I was if if if they were going to run an opponent I was going to door too door Todo every single house in the ward uh and uh just a couple little anecdotes by the way you know those pictures of all the mayor well since the 1950s I knew all of them except for two uh and I grew up on the street trick-or-treating at mayor Emerson Thomas's house uh we called it the mayor's house um years went by and of course as I said I made friends in 2011 so this is years after I had left the council in 1997 a couple of the prominent Republicans who happen to live in Westfield were interviewed for a little rag paper called New Jersey Biz and uh I can tell you who who was in that little group who was being interviewed uh Thomas Kane Jr Richard bagger John brannick Bill palatucci and Mike Duan these are kind of big names in Republican politics and so the question came around who who's your favorite Democrat and in the newsp in the paper it was reported they all agreed Jim Healey is their favorite Democrat and I viewed that as essentially why I'm here now is because uh it's all about trying to do best for community service and I'll tell one more anecdote Alan chin was the mayor of Westfield maybe members you don't know him uh he was longtime Republican chairman in fact when when I was running for office and you know serving on a council if if he wasn't going to run somebody against me he would call me up he says Jim you got the year off you don't have to you know no opposition and when they decide we got to try this again this is this is unacceptable by the way this never happened before never in history of Westfield had ever Democrat run without opposition but he called told me up and says Jim this year we're going to run somebody against you and okay back to the door-to-door campaigning as you all have done and uh I was able to win okay Allan chin continued to serve he was on our uh rway valid sewage Authority for many many years right up until his death really he died at 80 in 2017 the Westfield Historical Society uh decided to honor him by making him uh a member of their Hall of Honor who did Mrs chin and his three children ask to memorialize and speak at that event me and why is that well it turns out and I didn't mention this but in 1970 I was the first head lifeguard of the Westfield Memorial Pool one of the great successes of this of this town and I and I uh was also the head lifeguard the swim coach and the teacher of adult swimming lessons and who's in that swimming class that first swimming class that I taught how to swim is Mary chin Alan Chin's wife and those are the kinds of things that you you build a lifelong bond with and that's why I was elected to speak on behalf of alen chin when he was so honored so I hope to win all of you over to uh the good faith that we're all trying to do we will have philosophic agreements but I appreciate your support and the comments that were made uh when my resolution was put forward thank you mayor mayor if I may oh absolutely uh so uh councilman Healey uh great to have you here uh we welcome you I look forward to more of those stories and uh more back and forth um and uh I think I would be remiss if I didn't say a few words about Council Mack uh and I'll make it short and sweet which is on brand so uh Dawn thank you so much for all the great memories for all your hard work your constituents will forever be in your debt and uh and so uh it's been my pleasure my family 's privilege to get to know you and John since 2017 and it's just you know we look forward to more of those great times and uh unfortunately won't be here but uh thank you once again for everything thank [Applause] you okay so I think now we're back to the business at hand um and um I just want to have I have a few comments then about the actual legislation that we're uh addressing tonight just a few updates um just a few highlights that I think might be of interest to the community I said in case you missed it uh I was I hosted an Instagram live on Sunday with the uh uh owner of maze Jesse Hur um and it was really to provide a community a sneak preview of The Incredible transport transformation of the historic Northside train station um she shared the exciting news news that their opening day is October 15th I did see her today and she said she's already been inundated with emails from people looking for reservations so wait just a bit till the resi system opens up um but I think it's going to be a a great hit and I can't wait for honestly the historic um preservation commission to see it because it's stunning in terms of the attention to detail of what they've done to preserve that beautiful old building um just a couple things events last night uh don't miss the last night of extended sweet sand which is this Friday night from 6:00 to 9: on Quimby I want to thank the dwc for uh extending it and outdoor music One More another month for us um the green team is hosting a sustainable house fair this Saturday from 11: to 2 at the library residents can learn about various ways to improve your home's Energy Efficiency I went through an energy audit in 2019 and I am currently in the process after 25 years of getting my house insulated new hot water heater everything else because of that uh energy AUD we did and there's lots of ta state tax credits available so I would encourage everyone to to look at doing that um and of course Adam's Fest don't miss all the events through October I said what the first tickets went sold out in eight minutes is that right or less okay once again um so check out all the details at Adams fest.com once again D Macky has put up an with her co- Patriot Adrien ptor who's back there somewhere put together incredible incredible event for Adams Fest um so just tonight on the legislative front we have a resolution to award a contract for the purchase of an xrf machine to assist with the children's lead prevention program administ administered by the health department and the cost of which will be partially offset by Grant funds and other uh other revenues from collected from the towns we serve we're going to be um voting on a resolution to accept a bid for rental equipment needed for this year's leaf collection following a public RFP process uh we're going to to be um voting on a resolution to award a one-year contract for affordable housing planning services to topology as recommended by Town planner Don samit an anticipation of the state DCA releasing our each municipality's next round affordable housing obligation numbers in late October we are all kind of anxiously waiting for that the services of topology will be paid through the town's affordable housing trust fund is which is funded by developers not taxpayers and it will assist Don in particular and then ult timately this council with the necessary planning and work to remain compliant with affordable housing mandates in the coming months um and then lastly we have two resolutions authorizing grants pursuant to the town's affordable affordability assistance program for tenants of two separate affordable housing units so with that let's get into the um into the agenda I think we're right into uh open discussion because we already did minutes so open uh time for open discussion by citizens anyone may come up to the microphone and speak to the Council on any subject subject on which we have Juris jurisdiction please state your name and address for the record and limit your comments to 5 minutes please guys this is on right hi everyone hey my name is Emily root I live at 738 Mountain Avenue thanks for letting me be up here and councilman Healey congratulations you're a very tall guy but you have very very big shoes to fill with this one so um I am here to speak for the wonderful councilwoman Mackey I love seeing all this emotion I'm feeling it too I think we all are back here and she is such a true Visionary and industrious and get stuff Nan council person so thank you to the one and only councilwoman Mackie whether it is consistently standing up for your constituents in Word four which I got to witness firsthand alongside you on the council or titless Le supporting our downtown's businesses which we heard about from mayor brindle and councilwoman have good councilman Daria everyone knows councilwoman Mackey as an Innovative creative and kind leader and yes I was fortunate enough to work with her for two years with you whatever pronoun you want for two years and I remember getting on that Council in 2022 and being a little bit overwhelmed anyway but really overwhelmed at how much Miss Macky does in 24 hours and constantly thinking over and over you must be exhausted because we all work hard you all work hard on here but councilwoman Macky works at a pace that none of us have ever seen before and I think we're all nodding like Council like mayor brindle said and we're all sitting here the councilwoman Macky fan club because we all know that it's true so I'm so thankful that I had you Dawn as a role model and someone to show me the ropes during those early days I also remember thinking T knows everybody because she is that person that whether you work here in the municipal building or whether you're a Westfield resident or both whoever it is everyone wants to stop and chat with her right so true Don's that person that makes people feel good not because she's a politician she's a good one but be because she truly cares about all of us I got to see your empathy at your constituents houses and meetings we i w I also witnessed your dedication and your loyalty to the town employees and the Committees on which you served and I'm sure everyone can Echo that here so face it councilman Mackey you are in fact loved and you always will be and I know we will see you in town when you come back to visit we'll see you at Rock and Joe's we can all be rest assured that you will always be there with that smile with your warmth and concern for others and with that Limitless ball of energy that we all had the pleasure to witness for the past seven years we love you Don thank you for your service for your Forward Thinking ideas that will forever change our town for the better we love you thank you thank you hi everybody my name is Ruba motani I live at 772 Prospect Street I just want to say thank you to councilwoman Don Mackey Don as the former head of the Westfield Dems and your friend I have had a f front row seat to Mackie for award for candidacies and also to your tenure as councilwoman Don Mackey and and in the seven years that you have served the town of Westfield there has never been a task that is too small or a challenge that is too daunting that you have not raised your hand to take on and the town is richer for it today town hall is poorer for the fact that you are no longer here but I really want you to know that this town in its residents have been greatly enriched by your service and we are forever in your debt so thank you for your service councilman Healey I hope and I know that you will serve this town with the same smart thoughtful and inclusive leadership that Dawn brought to this Council thank you for stepping [Applause] up hi Drew Kellerman uh 534 Boulevard um congratulations councilman hey um I'm sure you will serve this Council well as you've done in the past um I'm here today to speak about councilwoman Mackie who I consider um she was my councilwoman I have not written a speech I just wanted to speak from my heart um she's she was my Council woman for Ward 4 for a few years until I until I moved to a different ward in this town but um I was heavily involved as you know in um in Miss Ma's first campaign um I got to witness firsthand um the get in there and get things done attitude from dawn um as she ran for Town Council uh once on the council I got to see that as Rupa said so eloquently there was no task too small no task too too daunting I think you said it better though um but but um the some of the the two things major things that come to mind when I think about um Dawn service to the town is um Adam's Fest which is you know an amazing event that brings the entire town together which is very exemplary of what Don Macky does she brings people together she gets in there she gets excuse my language she gets done and she you know she's not afraid to get her hand and sturdy um and then the other thing is um as as she gets fun events planned for the town she also digs deep to get um the taxpayers of this to do service for the taxpayers of this town um and the one thing that stands out to me is that she's holding all of the she she made the ordinance created the ordinance to hold tax hold uh utility companies responsible for Paving um that I can't even imagine how much money that saved the town I'm sure somebody else somebody has the number but to me that was an incredible service to the town but um beyond that Dawn is um if somebody is in need Don is the first person to reach out to help to rally the troops together to take care of that person she is compassionate she is empathetic and she is just as amazing a Town Council person as she is she is that much better of a friend and human being and I'm proud to call her my friend as well as my councilwoman thank you for your service we are in your [Applause] debt hi Liz mahalan westfields I would like to um welcome Judge Hill back to the day again I wish you all the best of luck so Mrs Mah what's your street address 1029 Harding okay thank you uh so I'm going to be going a little off Brands here because this is a little personal for me and I'm going to be reading which I normally don't do so uh I just want to say this because I might get a little emotional what can I say I've known Dawn for nearly three decades from our early days co-founding citizens for safety in Hoboken to ensure our city remain safe after a hold up in our then local CVS to all the wonderful accomplishments we've heard tonight as most of you experienced can't is not a word that exists in D's vocabulary there is also no such thing as a problem only a solution that needs a positive remedy and a remedy she will find many of you know and if heard that voice from Dawn's call so uh you have any plans for add any day here and you just know whatever she's asking you to do you will do it be a dress up as Cinderella or L 50b boxes into a car and set them up somewhere for some Town Event her spirit and good heart just won't let you say no D's vision and tenacity is unparalleled and is only rivaled by her compassion dedication and true concern for making this community and the world around her a better place we have been so very for fortunate to have this wonderful Force advocating for us a force with which I'm guessing we shall never see again all I can say is thank you I know whatever the future holds you will make it brighter and better and I'm so very fortunate to have been part of your life's journey I wish you the best [Applause] hi ctie Malik um 238 Grove Street um so I'm also here to talk about councilwoman Mackie I'll keep it brief because I'm just going to be echoing I think what others have already said um Dawn Macky has been transformative for our town she has changed it in both concrete and indelible ways um one could say ethereal impressionable un erasable ways um she recognized early on that we all want paved roads and smart town ordinances but after that we all also just want to have fun so um she because of her Westfield has become a thriving public art space a destination town during the month of October and boasts a list of unending events that make us never want to leave there is so much joy in watching whole families dress up during Adam's Fest or watching my neighbors spook out their houses in ever more creative ways or seeing visitors take pictures in front of the rainbow crosswalks and the fun signs that we have downtown or enjoy dinner under a string of lights or uh drinks on Quimby on a summer night it's just so many things uh that that we encounter daytoday which we can say Don Mackey is responsible for um talk to any of our local thriving business owners and they all have a story about Dawn how she always picks up the phone how she always works on a solution to their concerns and how she had both the vision and The Willpower to get things done during the hardest of times I feel lucky that Don and I sit on a board together and I've gotten to know her on both a professional and personal level I wish this wonderful woman much success in all of her future endeavors and thank her for her leadership and the many many long days that she has put into making our town wonderful thank you [Applause] good evening Greg Casco um I'm the only out of town here uh 704 Tulip Lane Scotch Plains uh in the years that I lived in Westfield 53 years I lived in three different Wards unfortunately I didn't get a chance to vote for Don Mackey I was inward three at that that during that election um if there's anybody anybody that represents an at large a reason for an at large election it's this woman because I believe that she served everybody in lefeld not just her W I need not go through her accomplishment you've all done that I don't think I would ever have said this to a superior court judge congratulations Judge Healey you have some big shoes to fill um I'm sure you will do it admirably congratulations great work you know how I feel um I consider Donna friend not only a counsil woman that I could call from w three if I had an issue but just as a friend we share the same birthday [Applause] congratulations hi my name is Adrienne Pastor I live at 408 po Avenue Ward 4 I look forward to getting to know my new councilman very much um but I do know very very well this woman here um you may refer to her as councilwoman Don Mackey I refer to her as Adams Fest event chair Don Mackey my partner in crime uh for Adams Fest as I am the lead producer of Adams fest with John um I don't have prepared remarks because I never do but um I want to tell you all a quick story that Don told me one time she told me that she was out walking around in town as she mentioned trying to give away trees right trying to make our town more beautiful because that's what Dawn does if Dawn Mackey touches something it becomes beautiful if you see art in this town Dawn Mackey made it happen if you see something gorgeous in this town it's because of dawn so Dawn was out one day trying to see if anybody wanted a tree in her neighborhood and so she walked up to someone and she said hi I'm councilwoman Don Mackey uh I'm your I'm your word for councilwoman would you like a tree and that person said to John oh no I'm a republican you remember that story and Don just went so do you want a tree right because Don is not interested if you are a Republican or a Democrat she's interested that you're a human being so thank you for I won't even tell everyone the wild rdes we have been on but let's just say it's involved a 24-hour trip up to Salem Massachusetts earlier this year for to prepare from Adams vest and that's the best story I can tell that's like appropriate for a council meeting we've done through we've been through a lot and um you've made my heart so much bigger and so much Fuller and expanded my Horizon more than I could ever imagine but what I really want to say is what are we going to do dear Council people without this incredibly human running our town what will you all be doing to raise the bar like da Macky has I hope every day you wake up and you say what would Don Mackie do and then I hope you don't go as crazy I hope you don't wake up at 3:00 a.m. like she normally would to think about what she would do but I really do hope that you take that Spirit of togetherness of of art of community building I have never seen anyone who wants to build community as much as this woman who succeeds at it as much as this women and I challenge every single one of you whether you've been on the council for seven years or seven minutes to please come together as a team and make this town as beautiful as Don Mackey has made it both in visual aspects and in our souls so thank you John for raising the bar more than anyone ever has thank [Applause] you so anybody else so thank you that was beautiful from all of you and very beautifully captured the essence of the Dawn we all know and love so hearing none I closed this portion of the meeting and move to bills and claims Council and hap good that's an Abrupt left turn exactly and if anyone wants to exit we won't take we won't we won't be offended if you want to leave thank you Mayor Don you can leave too I'd like to move bills and claims in the amount of $2,274 33 may I have a second second second Council contract any discussion all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried next on the agenda is reports of standing committees begin the finance policy committee Council and half good thank you again mayor I have seven resolutions I'd like to move as a package the first a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw a warrant for recreation department refunds two a resolution authorizing the CFO to refund Street opening cash Bond three a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw warrants for overpaid taxes due to disabled veteran exemptions for a resolution to award contract for the purchase of an ex RF machine to assist with the lead protection or lead prevention program five a resolution to award contract for the affordable housing planning Services six a resolution authorizing an affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit and seven another resolution authorizing an affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit that was a may I have a second second counc Donald Gala any discussion all in favor yes oppose this motion has carried Council contract please move the last Finance resolution thank you mayor I would like to move a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw a warrant for Board of adjustment escrow monies you have a second second by councilman dardia any discussion I have to refuse myself I'd like to recuse myself as well anybody else recusing themselves you got that all in favor yes yes opposed this motion has carried next is a code riew in town property committee councilman contract thank you mayor I would like to move a resolution to approve children's Amusement device licenses we have a second second s by councilman Saunders any discussion all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried uh next is uh Public Works committee councilman dardia I have two resolutions I would I have two resolutions I would like to move as a package number one resolution authorizing change number one for the 2024 various Road improvements number two resolution authorizing an award of contract for the 2024 leaf collection program may I have a second second by Council armento any discussion all in favor yes yes oppose this motion is carried may I have a motion to adjourn councilman hap good second by David contract all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried congrats again to our newest councilman Jim Healey and this meeting is adjourned [Applause]