Mhm.
» Mhm.
» If we could find our places, please.
» Let the record reflect we have
reconvened with all members present. For
those who are able, please rise for a
pledge of allegiance. I ask you remain
standing after the pledge.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
Take a moment to remember a few
long-time Madison residents we lost over
the last few weeks.
Dorothy Piccola,
a long-time Madison resident, passed
away at her home on July 30th. She was
99 years old.
Born and raised in Summit, she was a
graduate of Summit High School, married
her late husband Frank
in a union filled with love and
partnership that lasted until his
passing in 1986.
They had settled in Madison
after they were married, and which is
where they raised their family. She's
survived by her two sons, Raymond and
Frank. Frank was a long-time borough
employee in the finance department.
She also leaves one grandson and one
great great granddaughter
who was
represents Madison pride because her
um
great great
granddaughter's name is Madison Rose.
Known for his her impeccably kept home
and culinary skills,
she poured her heart into caring for her
family, cherished moments she spent with
her grandchildren and friends,
and
that felt great joy in being a great
grandmother. Her warmth, kindness, and
ready smile left a mark on all those who
knew her.
We also remember Joseph Sedano,
another long-time Madison resident,
passed away on the 30th of July, age 90.
Born in '35 in Montclair, son of the
late Dominic Sedano and Josephine Amato
grew up in Montclair before moving to
Madison with his family in the late
1960s
where he remained a devoted member of
the community for many years.
He dedicated 42 years of his career to
PSE&G working as an inspector in the gas
department. His strong work ethic and
reliability and commitment earned him
the respect of his co-workers throughout
his long career.
Family was the center of his life. He
met the love love of his life Carol
through a mutual friend.
They were married in 1958
and they built their loving home and
shared many happy memories
before Carol's passing.
Outside of work, Joseph enjoyed the
simple pleasures in life.
He loved visiting casinos and playing
poker, avid fan
of Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees. Don't
know how he liked the current Yankees,
but um one of his favorite pastimes were
relaxing on his front porch where he
enjoyed watching the neighborhood and
visiting with family and friends.
As the last surviving nine siblings, he
treasured large
extended family memories they shared
over the years.
He's survived by his sons Patrick,
Joseph, and Dominick.
Also survived by four granddaughters and
one great-granddaughter.
And uh in addition to uh being preceded
by his parents and wife
he was preceded by granddaughter
Victoria, his brothers Patrick, Andrew,
Anthony, and Michael, sisters Anne,
Mary, Lucy, and Rose.
And we also remember Florence
Zukauskas.
Longtime Madison resident died on July 29th. She was 100 years old, 1
month short from turning 101.
She's survived by her two daughters,
Karen Mazaki and her husband Peter
and Marissa Snow and her husband Charlie
one son James Zukauskas
and his wife Mona, one brother Jack and
his wife Marie, 10 grandchildren, nine
great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband
Stanley in 2004.
Also by her son Stanley Jr., one
daughter Maria,
uh two brothers Jimmy Suri- Surillo,
Augie Surillo,
and also two sisters Mary Clark and
Jenny Tobin.
She was born in Italy in 1925,
came to the United States by boat in '28
and settled in Madison.
She attended St. Vincent School and
completed her education to the ninth
grade. She had to quit school as both
her parents became ill.
She worked the infirmary at St.
Elizabeth's Convent where she met her
husband Stanley and they were married in
1949 after he got back from serving
World War II.
She worked for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in
East Hanover for 17 years in retirement.
She enjoyed arts and crafts, crossword
puzzles, and taking care of her
grandchildren.
Now, let us remember Dorothy Pacolub,
Joseph Joseph Stano, and Florence
Sukowski,
and pass our thoughts on to the families
and friends that they leave behind.
Thank you.
All right, can I have a motion for the
executive minutes of July 13th, 2026?
>> So moved.
>> Second.
>> Already have been discussed. All in
favor?
>> Aye.
>> And a motion for the regular minutes of
July 13th, 2026.
>> So moved.
>> Second. And one correction that's sent
in by Deb earlier, and any other
corrections or changes?
All in favor?
>> Aye.
» Welcome all
to uh a much more comfortable uh room
than it was this morning as uh
as we came out of the weekend with
failed air conditioner in this building
so it was quite warm and I thank all the
employees in this building that uh
survived the day and uh
kept serving our residents throughout
the hot day in the building.
And just a reminder this this is our
only council meeting in the month so our
next meeting will be Monday, September
14th.
And a couple of things that were going
on in the last few weeks um
excuse me, last Tuesday was the annual
National Night Out and this may also be
part of a report but I'll cover quickly
also.
Held at the public safety building the
third third year there.
It was a great turnout by our residents
who enjoyed ice cream, hamburgers, hot
dogs, and pizza.
And those that were in the know got in
line for their ice cream first and then
had their dinner.
Because the line got pretty long.
Uh they were
and the residents were also able to get
a lot of information from our many of
our partners who manned tables
in the
fire
truck bay. And I want to thank all our
police officers and firefighters who put
together great event under sunny skies
which was very important compared to two
years ago.
Um and then last Thursday I attended the
annual crossing guard breakfast which
was followed by by their required
training. Unlike most towns uh we're
able to do it in-house.
Because our our
some of our officers are certified. Many towns have to send their uh
crossing guards to um
the complex on Hanover Avenue. And just
a reminder our crossing guards not only
keep our our children safe but they are
the first face that students see
greeting them every morning in the uh
every school morning actually as I uh
said that the breakfast they're also the
ones that help
the next year kindergarteners feel very
comfortable because they already know
all the crossing guards and have been
greeted every day every day.
And there is plenty of summer left, but
they are ready for the school year.
And this past Friday was the annual our
annual intern lunch where we thank our
summer interns who have been working in
many of our departments completing very
meaningful work on behalf of all our
residents.
And this not
gives them not only a summer job, but uh
sense of accomplishment, but gives them
a feel for borough operations and maybe
learning about a possible career path.
And then from the library, summer
reading concluded
and this is summer reading program.
Hopefully everyone's still reading for
the summer on August 7th with a drawing
for uh the summer reading prizes that
was held earlier today.
There were a total of 697 participants
this year, which was great.
And Madison residents borrowed 46 museum
passes in the month of June and this
amounts to an average total cost savings
of uh over 1,700 dollars for those
residents. And thanks to a
2,000 dollar grant from the Rotary Club
of Madison to Friends of the Madison
Library, a pass has been added to the
very popular museum program for the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. So, if
you're carrying a
library card, you should keep that in
mind if you want to enjoy one of the
great museums in the area.
And lastly, uh our employee of the
months,
Cynthia Mahaffey from the Joint
Municipal Court is our employee of the
month for August for achieving Municipal
Court Administrator certification.
Achieving the certification is a
challenging process with both written
and oral elements.
Cynthia pursued this goal and was
successful while keeping up with her
normal workload as our deputy uh court
administrator. So, if you see Cynthia,
please uh congratulate her. Even if you
see Cynthia because you got a ticket.
So.
We will now uh
move on to reports from committees.
Community Affairs,
Council President Forte.
>> Thank you, Mayor. From the Downtown
Development Development Commission and
the Director of Business Development,
the next meeting of the Downtown
Development Commission will be held on
August 20th at 7:15 p.m. in the second
floor committee room of this building.
The public is invited to attend.
The 2026 Madison Art uh Farm and Artisan
Market is open Saturdays through
December 12th. The market will be closed
on Bottle Hill Day.
Uh new vendors can request the
information by emailing Lisa Ellis at
ddc@rosenet.org.
And information regarding Bottle Hill
Day 2026, which will be on Saturday,
October 3rd, is now available on
rosenet.org.
And from the Madison Community Arts
Center, typically seniors play mahjong
and canasta every Tuesday from 1:00 to
p.m. except for this month, which uh
they're not doing because it's closed
due to camp. Wednesday, August 12th, uh
this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. is music
open mic, which is every second
Wednesday. Local musicians perform two
songs each, and all are welcome to
perform or attend.
Friday, August 14th from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m., the Summer Stage Series featuring
two bands, Brian Hanson Band and the
D-D-Ts.
There will be a food truck and local
craft vendors.
Wednesday, August 19th at 7:00 p.m. is a
comedy open mic, which is every third
Wednesday. All are welcome to perform or
attend. And Friday, August 21st from
6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Summer Stage
Series featuring Water Street. There
will be a food truck and local craft
vendors.
Saturday, August 22nd at 8:00 p.m.,
Steal the Spotlight 2.0 is a drag
competition show.
And Wednesday, August 26th at 7:00 p.m.
is Show Us Your Shorts. Every fourth
Wednesday, local film members submit and
show their short films.
Friday, August 28th from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m. is the Summer Stage Series
featuring another amazing big band,
Rhythm of the Hearts. There will be a
food truck and local craft vendors.
And Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:00
p.m., the Platform literary literary
open mic and writing workshop brought to
you by Arts by the People.
And Friday, September 4th from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m., Summer Stage Series featuring
two bands, School of Rock Chatham Middle
School band and What's What. There will
be a food truck and local craft vendors.
And Saturday, September 5th at 8:00
p.m., Vivid Stage presents The Flip
Side, an improv comedy show. Tickets for
all this can be found on the Madison
Community Arts Center events homepage uh
in the calendar at rosehill.org/mcac.
And from the Madison Community Pool,
the pool season is going to is still
going strong. Since our August family
memberships became available just 10
days ago, we've welcomed a great number
of new members taking advantage of this
discounted 1-month membership. Our
annual family fun day was a roaring
success with members enjoying everything
from Wiffle ball and canoe races to a
variety of poolside activities. We even
managed to run out of lemonade. Thank
you for everyone who came out to
participate and thank you for our
dedicated staff for planning and hosting
another memorable day for our pool
community.
This past week, we also honored uh
hosted our rescheduled preteen Holiday
Hula in July event where even on one of
the warmest days of the summer, it was
snowing at the pool.
Yes, snow. Uh we're also looking forward
to hosting one more moonlight swim
before the close of the season, so stay
tuned as that day will be announced
soon. And as a reminder, the Madison
Community Pool follows the Madison
Public Schools calendar. The pool will
be closed August 31st through September
3rd, which is Monday through Thursday,
and will reopen for the final weekend of
the season on Friday, September 4th. The
final day of the 2026 pool season will
be Monday, September 7th.
Although there's still plenty of summer
left to enjoy, we're already preparing
for the 2027 season. This year's success
would not have been possible without the
support of our members. Thank you for
making the Madison Community Pool such a
vibrant community destination. We look
forward to spending the remainder of the
season with you and welcoming you back
to poolside in 2027.
Thank you, Mayor.
>> Thank you.
Finance and Borough Clerk, Mr. Range.
Oop.
I'm sorry.
Jumping the playing checkers, I guess.
Skipping over there.
Let me try that again. Public Safety,
Mr. Landrigan.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Okay.
From the Police Department, the Traffic
Safety Bureau would like to remind
motorists following following the paving
of Woodland Road, Danforth Road, and
Prospect Street as the speed limit is 25
mph. Several several enforcement
campaigns have been and will continue to
be conducted in the near future to
reduce speed.
In preparation for the beginning of the
school year, all schools all school
zones will be inspected by the Traffic
Safety Bureau prior to the start of
school.
This to ensure that no view no view
obstructions or any other issues that
need to be rectified. This also includes
school radar signs
as as all should be operational.
Next week, all police officers will be
participating in defensive training
tactics. These techniques are necessary
to effectively manage physical contri-
con- confrontations while ensuring
personal safety and minimizing harm to
others.
All officers in the state of New Jersey
are now required to have this training
annually. Special thanks to Patrolman
Nash, Capiluso, and Straface, who are
now certified by the NJPTC
to be our MPD instructors.
The Madison Police Department is also
seeking school crossing guards.
Interested applicants should visit
rosenet.org for more information or to
apply to to apply today.
From the Fire Department, for the month
of July, the Fire Department responded
to 210 incidents. 75 people were
transported to the hospital.
Two volunteer firefighters just started
their basic firefighting training at the
academy. For the next 19 weeks, they
will attend the academy every Sunday and
Tuesday night.
The Fire Department is enjoying hosting
the National Night Out with the Police
Department. This event was very well
attended by the residents of Madison.
We'd also like to thank the elected
officials who attended and chatted with
the members of the department. And
finally, for the last month, the Fire
Prevention Bureau performed 73
inspections in the borough.
There were three fire permits issued as
well. The state of New Jersey of Fire
Safety performed a monitoring of the
Fire Prevention Bureau and has issued a
report with some recommendations. The
department has started an internal
review to address these recommendations.
From the Joint Municipal Court, when
comparing revenue, Madison's revenue has
increased by approximately 5.5% in July
as compared to the same period last
year.
And then I have two other additions.
Um
it's hard to believe, but the 20th
anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. And
I'm working with the Patriotic
Celebrations Committee to prepare a
memorial on that day to be celebrated at
Condurso Way. Right now, it's slated to
begin at 9:00 a.m. Uh names of those
from Madison who passed away will be
read aloud at that. And um
there'll be more could be some more
changes to come, but that's currently
scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on the 13th,
rain or shine.
And finally, uh Councilman Forte and I
uh approached the borough in regards to
uh some of the pavers along Main Street
and it also on um Waverly Place and um
I guess
all around the Museum of Early Trades.
Some of the pavers, this has been a
rough winter and some of the pavers are
need of repair and I know right now the
borough is working up a plan to get them
addressed so nobody trips and falls.
Thank you, Mayor.
And now, Finance of Borough Clerk,
Mr. Range.
>> Thank you, Mayor.
Uh from the Finance Department this
evening, uh as noted last month uh at
the last meeting, administration has
begun preparations for the 2027 budget
season. Administrator Cody, CFO Jim
Burnett, and Director of Operations
Michael Plicier will be and the Tax
Collector Kristy Muller will be meeting
with the department heads over the
coming weeks to discuss capital and
operating needs for 2027. We anticipate
a budget calendar very similar to the
one that we used uh the last few years.
Which means our budget hearings will
start in December.
Um
» [clears throat]
>> a one-sheet flyer was included in all
recently mailed tax bills. This document
includes a very high-level budget uh
review of the 2026 budget um as well as
other pertinent information on municipal
operations, including the details of
where all of our tax dollars go.
Uh it also has short summaries of three
major initiatives that the borough has
taken on over the last few years. Those
initiatives include the borough taking
over the EMT ambulance services uh from
the volunteers,
the community pool operations, and the
steps that have been taken to date to
purchase the Drew Forest. I strongly
encourage residents to review this
document or the version of it that is on
rosenet.org.
Um from the Tax Collector this evening,
uh the Tax Collector reports that
tax bills and pilot payment bills were
mailed uh, in the middle of July. Uh,
the tax rate was delayed because of the
county, but you should have received
that mailing at this time. Due to the delayed mailing, the third
quarter grace period for the taxes that
were due August 1st has been extended to
August 20th.
Very important though, there is no
further uh,
grace period after the 20th at 4:30 p.m.
Um, and
those that fail to make payment at that
time will have interest charged back to
the statutory due date of August 1st. As
a reminder, the bureau cannot accept
postmark dated or postdated checks.
And if you haven't received your bill by
now, please contact the tax office so
they can get another copy of that
information to you.
The tax collector also reports that the
annual tax sale will be held on
September 10th. On that day, any
property owners with unpaid 2025
balances from their taxes or utilities
will have a lien placed on their
property. The official tax sale notices
were mailed out to affected properties a
few weeks back.
The tax sale process is a way for
municipalities in New Jersey to obtain
the full amount of property taxes and
other charges needed to support the
annual budget while providing the
property owner additional time to pay
off what they owe.
And finally, this evening I'm happy to
announce that today, earlier today, we
received a check from the federal
government for a little over $607,000.
As you may recall, when we built the
solar carport at the MRC, we discussed
that it would be partially paid back by
federal dollars.
A corporation or other for-profit entity
uh, is eligible to receive tax credits
when they install solar's solar, but as
a municipality, we don't have that same
tax advantage. So, the IRS created a
program called direct pay where
government entities and nonprofits could
apply for direct payment equal to the
tax credit, and that's what we received
today. Special thanks to tax collector
Chrissy Muller
for sorting out the paperwork and
submitted the filings to receive this
payment. That's all this evening, Mayor.
Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Public works and
engineering, Mr. Alan Pudes.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Welcome, members of
the community.
Uh from the Department of Public Works
prepared by Robert Duffy.
The DPW assisted the water department
with water leak and made some necessary
road repairs around town.
Uh DPW continued repainting road stop
lines and crosswalks on newly paved
roads and existing roads with worn-out
markings.
The parks department continues to
maintain the recreation fields as well
as parks and the community pool.
The DPW started groundwork to install
concrete bases
to put up the RFB pedestrian signals for
the police department.
>> What is the RFB acronym?
>> You remember right?
>> Rapid
>> I asked him and I forget.
>> What what are they?
>> Flashing Rapid flashing
beacon
>> Okay.
>> Yes, it's it's the push the button and
it starts flashing right for crosswalks.
>> Okay.
>> So, we're going to install some of those
around town. I don't know the exact
locations yet.
Uh that's all from public works. From
engineering and zoning
uh
from Michael Placenti, director of
operations are new.
Uh engineering officer hasn't started
yet. Uh engineering is working closely
with the traffic safety bureau and our
milling and paving contractors to
finalize the schedule for the bureau's
2026 road improvement program.
Once the dates are confirmed, the
impacted residents will be notified in
advance.
The New Jersey Department of
Transportation will soon begin paving
Main Street
from Greenwood Avenue Chatham Borough.
To minimize traffic impacts, work is
expected to occur overnight, which is
which would be fantastic.
Our Borough Engineer,
Christine Bougle, will begin soon.
During her first few weeks, she will be
reviewing active projects, meeting with
staff, and establishing priorities for
current and upcoming initiatives.
We look forward to welcoming her to the
Borough.
The Planning Board and Zoning Board
continue to have full agendas and are
making steady progress on development
applications at their regular scheduled
meetings.
And as a reminder, the Rosedale soccer
field remains closed while the new turf
continues to establish. We anticipate
opening the fields in time for the
soccer season. For those of you don't
know,
the uh soccer field grass soccer field
on Rosedale
was currently
re-turfed with grass.
Uh looks fantastic right now. Hopefully,
we can maintain it that way.
Engineering is coordinating repairs to
the Cook Avenue municipal parking lot.
Once a project timeline has been
established, the staff will work closely
with affected businesses to minimize
disruptions during the repairs.
Uh from the Environmental Commission,
Mayor,
um the MEC reports that native plant
enthusiasm is in full flower.
106 residents signed up for a free
native plant on last Saturday's
giveaway, which was held at the Farm and
Artisan Market.
The MEC handed out a total of 365
pollinator favorites. Huge. Uh
All of which were potted up from
members' yards or grown from seeds that
were saved last fall.
Resident Alan Sawyer contributed a flat
of swamp milkweed.
The reason why native plants are
important is that native New Jersey
butterflies and moths cannot lay their
eggs on imported plants such as hostas,
peonies, and pachysandra.
They can only use native plants because
when their caterpillars hatch, they need
specific leaves to chew.
Those caterpillars are an important
source of food for birds.
Zigzag goldenrod supports 121 species of
butterfly and moth caterpillars
helping to rejuvenate our ecosystem up
and down the block.
On a separate note, the MEC reminds
residents that Morris County is still in
a drought watch.
Though we have had severe thunderstorms
which produce a lot of rain, not much of
it replenishes the aquifer.
Water from every rain races into the
streets and ends up in the Passaic.
Madison gets 100% of its drinking water
from wells under our feet.
Please observe the town's mandatory
water controls or skip routine watering.
Left unchemicalized,
grass browns up in hot weather and
greens up with the return of cooler
weather is here in the fall.
And that's it, Mayor.
>> Thank you very much. Now, utilities, Ms.
Honohan.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh from Jim Finelli at
the water department, the water
department dug and repaired the main
valve at Albright Circle and Samson
Avenue.
Uh department continues to run wells
manually to meet demand while SCADA
repairs and communication upgrades are
being installed.
There was a repaired water main break at
Albright Circle. They searched and
removed old iron service abandoned and
leaking at 212 to 214 Main Street. They
repaired a water leak at uh
Woodland, a 2-in water service affected
by a roller during paving.
Working with a contractor at Three
Drialda Farms to facilitate the proper
water disconnects for demolition, and
hydrant upgrades and replacement
schedule is in place, and we await
hydrant delivery from from the bid.
From Vincent Patty at the electric
department, uh they've been very busy,
and the crew has been working
a lot um
of overtime with storms. Electric
Department responded to the area of
Douglas Avenue and Roscoe Avenue for a
power outage on the 30th. Uh standby was
called out to vinyl at Ross for a wire
that was across the road. Standby was
called out to Fairwood section of town
for a power outage.
Um the Electric Department was called to
Laurel Way for a tree down with wires on
August 7th, which broke a pole and
needed to be replaced. Um perhaps one of
the largest issues the Electric
Department faced was uh standby being
called to Green Village by Hillside for
a very large tree snapping
a pole and taking three additional poles
with wires down. It was a major outage.
Um the large tree had to be cut up and
removed for before a new pole could be
set. Uh the full electric utility crew
worked all day to erect the two new
poles and run new wires and a big thank
you to the crew and um a thank you to
the Borough of Madison residents for
their patience as power is restored and
safely and as quickly as possible. Thank
you, Mayor.
>> Thank you. And health, Ms. Colvin.
>> Thank you, Mayor. The Health Department
provided the following activities during
July. Uh they inspected 19 retail food
establishments, investigated nine
environmental complaints, and 16
reportable diseases. The department
continues to monitor their Cyclospora
outbreak, and no cases in New Jersey
have been linked to the national
outbreak. There are no active cases in
the jurisdiction. However, the
department encourages all residents to
wash all produce thoroughly and to wash
hands before preparing food. The Board
of Health passed two ordinances at its
meeting last week, an ordinance to
permit managed care for chickens, and an
ordinance to require proof of
extermination during rodent infestation.
Thank you.
>> Thank you.
Now, move on to communications and
petitions.
>> Uh yes, Mayor. Mayor and Council
received an email dated July the 29th
from the Friends of the Drew Forest
regarding donations raised toward the
purchase of the property. And they also
uh received an email dated August 7th
from resident uh
Bruce Goodwill of Surrey Lane regarding
the operations of the community pool.
>> Thank you.
We now move on to our first of two
invitations for public comment. This one
is limited to uh our agenda discussions
and our ordinance or resolutions
that are put
part of the consent agenda. I will go
through those in just a second. If you
want to comment on anything that's not
on this list, uh that will be coming up
after our uh ordinances for hearing a
little and
coming up shortly in the meeting. So,
these are the things you may comment on
now.
Uh our agenda discussion is
pre-qualification for the restoration of
the Madison Dollar Center.
That's a former Masonic Lodge. And these
are the resolutions you may comment on.
Resolution 238 is authorizing the
execution of engagement letter with
Keefe Law Firm. This is uh regarding
potential litigation involving certain
contaminants adversely impacting the
public water supply.
Resolution 239 is uh execution of
historic preservation easement agreement
with the County of Morris for the Museum
of Early Trades and Crafts. And this is
uh done um
a 30-year preservation easement and this
is part of anytime we accept a grant,
making sure we keep it the way we agreed
to. Resolution 240 is authorizing
agreement between the Borough of Madison
Police Department and Center for Family
Services to participate in the Morris
County Crisis Receiving State
Stabilization Center
program.
Resolution 241 is authorizing the term
of current Madison Police Department
sergeant promotion list and that is
includes Patrolman Jimenez detective
corner for our church Curio. Sorry.
Detective Mantone,
Patrolman Duraco, Patrolman Clancy.
Resolution 242 is confirm confirming in
membership membership of Luke Eller in
the Madison Hose Company. Resolution 243
is adopting pre-qualification
regulations regarding restoration of the
Madison Heller Center which we hear in
shortly on the
that's comes out of a discussion coming
up. Resolution 244 is authorizing uh
a um
so expert matter expressing Madison
support for Senate Bill 1643 Assembly
Bill 1745 which is authorizing use of
ranked choice voting in municipal and
school board elections.
Resolution 246 is approving
international wire transfers for the
year 2026 and that's to allow
very specific wire transfers and then
resolution 240
uh 246 is
the school crossing guard hiring for
upcoming school year. So you may comment
on those resolutions or the one agenda
discussion. If you want to comment
anything else that will be coming up
shortly. Anyone wishing comment on those
things you may step up to lectern you
state your name and address
and
uh the resolution that you want to
address or
the
or if you want to speak on the Heller
Center.
Anyone wishing speak under those
guidelines please step forward.
Seeing none I close this part of the
meeting and we move on to ordinances for
hearing.
I mean we move on to agenda discussions.
I'm doing a little skipping thing here
today. I don't know what it is.
Yeah.
Um
and this is our pre-qualification
restoration Madison Heller Center.
>> I can take that, Mayor.
>> [clears throat]
>> Uh the governing body is committed to
try to reopen our senior center uh back
in Madison and get our seniors back from
Chatham Township as soon as possible.
So, as part of that involved the
acquisition of the historic Heller
Center, which also preserved the the
oldest brick structure in um Morris
County at the same time. We've gone
through two rounds of bidding
with uh
first round no bids whatsoever submitted
and second round the bids came in five
times the available budget for that
project. So, we met with the state of
New Jersey and in order to change the
requirements and hopefully encourage
more competitive pricing and more
bidders, they're allowing us, provided
we have this hearing, to change the
regulations for what's called
pre-qualification of our contractors.
And the reason we want to pre-qualify is
because it's a historic building, we
want contractors who have experience in
those type of historic structures and
have done it before.
And the changes that we're seeking that
the state has approved, but they want us
to have a public hearing to announce
them is one is that the experience
dollar value previously was $5 million
and we noticed that that reduced the
pool of potential firms that were
eligible. So, we'd like to reduce that
and the state is comfortable with that
approach, the dollar value.
And the other was the look back period
that the experience of those contractors
had to be within the last five years and
we felt that if we get expand that, we
might capture some additional
contractors and we're making that from
five years to eight years.
So, those are the changes that we're
asking and we're required by state law
to have this hearing, publish the notice
and the goal would then be uh if this is
approved this evening, this resolution,
to then go out to bid again. The other
part of it is the scope of the project.
We've requested the state to reduce it
to make sure that we have sufficient
funds to reopen at a minimum the ground
floor for a senior center.
So, the project will now be done in
multiple phases with the priority being
to do what's required to stabilize the
foundation, the roof, and to make the
ground floor accessible and available,
and excellent space for our seniors to
come back home. So, that's what we're
asking for tonight, and we hope that we
have the council supportive so we can
get moving, and our goal is to
get this work underway, and get
competitive bids, and do this work in
2027, and get our seniors back in town.
Thank you.
>> So, um
as this is a hearing before any council
discussion, I invite any members of the
public that wish to comment on the
pre-prequalification
for the restoration of the Madison
Heller Center. Anyone wishing to comment
on that, please step forward.
» Brian Mortenson, 18 Laurel.
I think it's a great move. I like the
approach. Good idea. What is the
reduction amount from 5 million
>> Hey Brian, just tap the microphone
button.
There you go.
>> Testing, 1 2 3.
>> Okay.
>> Do you need that again?
>> We're good.
>> I mean, if it's okay to answer,
uh the proposed budget for phase one
would be $1.1 million, of which we have
that those funds. We have a large grant
from the State Historic Trust, and we
have a large grant of over $500,000 from
the Morris County Historic Preservation
Program. So, with no local tax dollars,
we can do the phase one work and open
the building as a senior center, and get
it back in operation, and our seniors
back home.
>> I'm sorry, I meant for the
qualifications. You said that the
contract
>> The dollar value?
>> You said the contract the contract of
qualifications for prior jobs was $5
million.
>> Right, it's now been going to be reduced
to $1 million.
>> Oh, to $1 million. That's a significant
reduction.
>> Yeah, well, the goal is that the nature
of the initial work without
um
what by breaking it up into phases is
primarily roofing, masonry work. So, the
our architects and the state felt that
there were sufficient number of
contractors who have experience in doing
that and you didn't need to have a
historic specialist. We're not doing
marble restoration like this building
would be or restoring light fixtures of that nature.
So, they felt that it was a
appropriate to reduce the dollar value
to try to get more competition and try
to get bids. You know, we went out the
first time and got zero bids. Nobody bid
on the job. And the second time we had a
million dollars and the bids came in
over five million dollars. So, five
times the amount of money we had. That's
why the project's been delayed. So, the
goal is to get out of the starting gate,
get our seniors back home, and then try
to then do the next subsequent phases
which would involve an elevator, the
upstairs restoration, and other things.
Right now, we're going to focus on the
ground floor to get everybody back home.
>> Makes perfect sense. Thank you.
>> Any other comments from the public?
And
as Ray mentioned that the next phase
probably will have have a higher
qualification for
as far as historic
restoration background because of it'll
be more in along those lines. Any other
comments from the
council?
Deb?
>> Just a quick comment and question.
Thrilled to hear that we now have a plan
to hopefully move this forward. If this
works and more bids come in and somebody
comes in that's acceptable,
what would be a rough, holding nobody to
anything,
>> [laughter]
>> timeline?
Would it be like the end of 2027 or 2028
potentially?
>> It it would we our architect believes we
can complete the the phase one work
within one calendar year. So, depending
on when we would start,
uh the goal would be as we get approval,
we have bids within 30 days, select a
and award a contract, and start work uh
hopefully by before the end of this
calendar year, and then completed by the
end of next calendar year. So, I would
say January of '28 will hopefully we'd
have our seniors back in town.
>> Awesome. Thank you.
>> Any other comments? Tom?
>> So, uh, Ray and Mayor, and then whoever
else is involved in the project, the
goal is to make the first floor
refurbished and usable for the seniors
and the community.
>> Yes.
>> And not adding an elevator, we're not
really going to add
>> The elevator will be be later.
>> Another
>> Uh, and and part of a big part of doing
making the first floor, because if if
someone walked in there, they said,
"First floor looks looks fine for, um,
yeah, for use." Reality is, it's a
200-year-old building with 200-year-old
foundation issues.
>> Yeah.
>> And so, really, you know, we've we've
joked that, um, the one program you
can't do there is playing marbles,
because they'll all end up in one
corner. So, uh, there is definitely
needs, uh, some
foundation and, uh, structural work.
>> Okay.
>> Tom, if I could I mean, if for those who
were able to get into the basement,
>> [snorts]
>> the basement structural, the support
beams are actually tree trunks.
>> I've seen them.
>> So, they're actually
it it's kind of hard to believe that the
building has held up for 226 years now.
So, we actually need to replace those
and stabilize the ground floor. There'll
also be a handicap accessible bathroom
added on the ground floor to make it
accessible for the seniors so they don't
have to use the stairs.
>> So, a lot of the work, unfortunately,
won't be totally visible.
>> Right. But but well, the the roof
>> refurbished
>> The the new roof, the the masonry will
be repointed, the exterior will be
painted and fine-tuned. Um, we'll
remortar. We're We're also going to be
doing some landscaping on the exterior
of the building to make it from a better
streetscape. And we've got some local
talent. I see some We had some
I think Chris Gallic was here earlier.
We have We have some great expertise in
the historic preservation commission,
and also with John Forte. So, we'll take their advice and try to bring
the history back to that building.
>> That's fantastic. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> John
>> Just a quick comment. Uh number one, it
will be great to see the seniors back in
Madison. I think it'll be uh
they'll find it very convenient as
opposed to driving all the way out to
where they go today.
Uh but number two, uh while we are
lowering the criteria, I still hope that
we're going to be very sensitive to the
historic uh elements of the interior of
the building, particularly that first
floor. I mean, there are some
spectacular spaces um with some really
cool period details. So, I hope that will be preserved uh at least as
much as possible cuz I'm sure the
seniors will enjoy getting the benefit
of that as well.
Thank you.
>> Any other comments?
All right. And this is a resolution uh
243 in
um on our consent.
And now we move on to uh ordinances for
hearing. Will the clerk please read the
statement?
>> Yes. The ordinance scheduled for hearing
was introduced by title and passed on
the first reading at the regular meeting
of the council held July 27, 2026, was
posted and filed according to law, and
copies were made available to members of
the
general public requesting same.
>> I call up ordinance 33-2026
and for second reading, ask the clerk to
read said ordinance by title.
>> Ordinance of the Borough of Madison
amending and supplementing chapter 98 of
the Madison Borough code entitled
filming.
>> Mayor, I move ordinance 33-2026.
>> Not so fast.
I will open the hearing to the public.
Any in the public wishing to comment on
ordinance uh 30 33?
>> I turned the page already.
>> Yep. Uh please step forward.
Seeing none, I close the hearing. And
now
>> I guess I wanted to get out of here, but
uh Mayor, I move ordinance 33-2026.
» I'll second.
>> Any council discussion?
Roll call vote. Oh, yes, Deb.
>> Just a quick comment that we had, I'm
sure everybody knows, Adam Sandler and
crew in and seeing the posts of the kids
getting to meet him and some of the
other things and, you know, them
entertaining them while they were doing
the filming and using our spaces, I
think was an added bonus to having them
just here filming.
>> I think um
just just because he used Madison in one
of his movies doesn't as a name,
uh but I think he
>> [laughter]
>> I think he loves Madison as a town,
also.
Hey, roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. Landrigan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Range?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Herold-Pudis?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Hanahan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Forte?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Cohen?
>> Yes.
>> I declare ordinance 33-2026
adopted and finally passed and ask the
clerk to publish notice thereof and file
the ordinance in accordance with the
law.
And now we move on to our second of
invitation for public comment. This is
one you may comment on any topic. Before
we start, I just I normally don't do
this, but I know there was some uh
um
social media comments about some things
going on related to Drew University
redevelopment. So, I just wanted to
touch on some clarification related to this and then we'll open up
for comments for on anything.
Um
the for one, uh
there there was a layout that was posted on the Fair
Fairwood um
Fairwood neighborhood Facebook page,
which I'm a member of as a
alum of Fairwood, and it's it is a what
Drew presented probably as their dream
uh
development, which showed development
right up all all in the front yard. It showed no Madison house and with townhouses and bigger
structures in the back. That was their
dream and one of the reasons why it took
us so long to get to a finish line with
Drew with a settlement. That was not
what we would even entertain. So, just
from clarifications
um
and some of these uh if you've been
following the planning board, we are
actually doing redo on two key things.
One redo on the subdivisions and then
they also want the creation
redevelopment. Let me just touch on that
very quickly.
Uh both of those have to be redone by
the planning board which will be meeting
next um
Tuesday the 18th virtually at 7:30 so
you can uh watch via Zoom for that. Um
the subdivisions
that was done and will be redone again
is for the forest and the Madison House
in uh areas that are called
A D and
F or F. Thank you. Um
and so A and D compromise or
off not compromise or
are the forest and the Zuk Arboretum.
So, that is uh subdividing approving
subdividing almost 50 acres of land from
Drew University so that can be purchased
by by Madison to be forever preserved.
Also in our settlement agreements with
Drew it was we wanted to preserve the
streetscape along Madison Avenue.
So, area F is the Madison House the if
you attend the planning board meeting
you'll see it's a fairly tight lot but
it would forever preserve the Madison
House.
Um and then there's also an agreement
that the lawn between Madison House
and Lancaster
Drew would retain but with agreement
that it would never be developed. So,
any redevelopment is pushed back uh
between Madison House and the turf field
and also the second one area is behind
the mess Methodist Church.
Um so just to be clear
on Tuesday 18th, there will be the
hearing for the subdivision
and then the area of redevelopment. What
you won't hear at the declaration redev-
what you will hear hear at declaration
redevelopment is
what justifies redevelopment for these
two sites, which
uh
includes uh different criteria, but it
also includes the fact that it is part
of a settlement with Drew University.
It's also part of uh Madison's
affordable housing obligation. Um what
you won't hear is conversation related
to the look of the buildings, the uh
what happens to trees that are along
Vinal Place and all that, because that
happens in the next round as the
redevelopment process
comes through and that would be part of
a redevelopment plan that
uh you're Madison is always committed to
preserving trees. We have a very strict
tree ordinance and one of the reason why
we're buying almost 50 acres of land.
So, we would have conversations about
how to preserve that stand of trees
along Vinal. Um the look of the
buildings would be part of that
conversation, the the mix of the
apartments and and so on. So, this is
all to come. So, I just want to out
outline that right now, but if and right
now I'll open up for public comment on
any topic.
And um
the rules are you as you come up to the
microphone, you state your name, your
town, write the same on the clipboard
and along with your address,
and then try to keep your comments to 3
minutes, but we give you a 1-minute
grace period and we'll stop you at 4.
» Good evening. My name is Therese
Talmadge. I live at 8 Ross Court in
Madison.
As a matter of fact, on August the 1st,
we celebrated our 35th year here in
Madison on Ross Court.
So, that brings me to this. I have two
things to call to your attention.
The first is
why are we still having Zoom meetings?
The Planning Board, which makes
significant decisions for this town,
is on Zoom. And here we are all in this
lovely room. Why can't we meet with our
boards and commissions in person?
You and I can make eye contact. You can
look at me. I can look at you.
We can
talk about things together and get a
vibe for each other and our concerns.
When we Zoom with the with the Planning
Board, I get the feeling that
everybody's on their own little TV
and we're not really getting heard.
So, that's my first comment. I would
really love to see Zoom because we don't
have COVID anymore. Let's eliminate
Zoom. Let's get back to our in-person
exchanges.
The second thing, and I know you just
brought this up, is our concern on Ross
Court is the development of Vinyl Place.
The mosque, which is a beautiful
building and a beautiful development, we
still don't know what that traffic in
you know
uh it is going to be.
How many cars are going to be looking
for parking? The parking on in their
uh property is limited. Ross Court will
and Vinyl Place will be the next place
that they look for parking.
If we have a development along Vinyl
Place, what is that going to do to the
Vinyl Place Ross Court and the traffic?
I would suggest, and I'm calling it to
your attention cuz you are the final
decision-makers,
uh we need to make sure that Vinyl Place
is not an access point for any
development that Drew does with their
housing.
The tree preservation is key.
When when Drew sold the property up on
Luwanaka Terrace,
hundreds of long-standing
canopy trees were clear-cut, just
absolutely clear-cut.
I would hate to see that happen with
this little stand of trees on Vinal
Place. It's the only barrier between the
stadium lights and the stadium noise and
the people on Ross Court. So, please
keep that in mind when you're looking
into these plans. That is a crucial
factor for our little neighborhood of
eight homes.
Thank you.
>> Thank you.
Anyone else wishing to comment, please
step forward. I'll I'll also give some answers to some of your
questions you had before there, too.
At the end.
» Hi, I'm Kylie Hoess at 7 Vinal Place.
I'm here with a group of my neighbors in
the neighborhood as a neighbor um
talking to you this evening. Um
obviously the the mayor had noted we
have a lot of concerns about this
potential redevelopment and I'm here as
someone saying that I'm not opposed to
the development itself, but I think some
consideration and how
that development is going to meet our
very small neighborhood of eight homes
is taken into consideration. These are
small private residential cul-de-sacs.
Um
they have a private residential
character and the trees in the woods
along Vinal Place are the natural buffer
that provides privacy for our homes. It
provides a habitat for wildlife. I know
we talked about a lot of native plants
earlier. Um and it gives us a separation
between what is a residential neighborhood and the much
larger Drew University campus.
Um I personally have three small
children. They love looking out the
window and seeing deer and birds and
groundhogs and everything else that pop
up um across the way. And I think it's
important to acknowledge the work that's
been done to preserve the Drew Forest
and we just hope that that same type of
courtesy can be extended to what is the
nature between all of our properties and
what will be a much larger development.
Um I I know we spoke about the proposed
lot concept that was a dreamscape for
Avalon Bay that's not happening. But
when you look at something like that, it
ter- it's terrifying to to us because
that's right along where our homes are.
Um
our primary concern is obviously that
those woods are completely cleared and
that they totally changes the character
of our very small neighborhood. Um I
think if there's opportunities to shift
those buildings, preserve those trees,
reduce any clearing that's going to
happen, um we'd really like to see those
options explored. And I know obviously
the developer is going to have their own
motivations, but we're asking you as as
neighbors to give us some consideration
and and really push back on on our
behalf.
>> Th- Thank you.
Anyone else wishing to uh
comment, please step forward.
» My name is Mark Talmadge. I live at 8
Ross Court. You heard from my wife a
minute ago. And uh
she did it much better than I could ever
do it, but I I just want to I won't I'm
not going to repeat, but I would like to
emphasize a couple of points.
Um
well, I hate Zoom and I have have to
deal with it every day.
Um as as a lawyer, the courts are using
Zoom a lot. And um it loses a lot in
translation. I don't think we need to do
that. And I also would point out that
trying to read maps and plats
um on your computer is not easy. In
fact, it's very difficult. And we're
trying to have these meetings to make it
easier for residents. Well, you're kind
of forcing us, which I did, to come down
uh obviously next door now to the the
ambulance building um to to to visit and
to look at the maps. But the you know,
those maps were available at a planning
board meeting. It's a lot easier to look
at and and to deal with. So, I urge you
to consider restoring in-person
meetings. Obviously, you could always
have the Zoom access for people who want
to watch. But uh I I think that's really
important. Uh with respect to the
development, um you know, it is a um
a zone of single-family homes.
Uh the mosque was a significant change,
obviously. You know, um some of you may
remember our participation in that
discussion. You know, in the house of
worship is generally considered a
beneficial use, so it was put into a
single-family zone. All right. Again, it
hasn't opened yet, so we don't know the
full impact of a
14,000-plus square-foot building with
only 35 parking places. But I have my
concerns. Those were expressed. They
were expressed to the police department
as well, and they're well aware of it.
And
it's kind of a tip We'll have to wait
and see at what happens.
But that's exacerbated by the thought of
an enormous development
right across the street from our zone of
single-family homes. And I would say um
I urge that there be no vehicular access
to Vinyl Place from the whatever
development is going to go up there. I
know it's going up. I mean, the
affordable housing deal is done.
Something's going to go up, but I urge
no access, vehicular access to Vinyl
Place from that. The street can't handle
it. It's a narrow street. It's already
difficult. It's been difficult for the
last 2 years with the construction
trucks parking there and trying to get
around
and to
have parking on that street and access
from
I don't know however many hundred
apartments or townhouses or whatever are
going to be built there would be
exceedingly difficult and detrimental to
our community. And I will just, you
know, indicate for the record that five
of the eight homes on our block are
represented here tonight. The sixth was
supposed to be here. I think she got
caught at work. So,
it's it's we're it's a unified front, if
you will, that of this concern. And I
want you to be aware of One minute.
Yeah.
Thank Thank you, Mark. Anyone else
wishing to comment, please step forward.
» Mr. Mayor, council members, good
evening.
>> Name and town, please.
>> I I beg your pardon?
>> Your
State your name and and town.
>> Yes, I'm getting to that.
>> Okay.
>> I am Peter Hinge
and I live at 24 Green.
Um but for most of the 27 years, my wife
and I and our kids have been in Madison.
We lived at three Ross Court.
Um we were very much impacted also by
the
um mosque that was brought up. But, let
me get to something else first. Um
on Saturday morning at 7:00
uh my lights went out.
Um we wondered why uh why that was,
waited for a little while, and thought
they would come back on, and they
didn't. I found out uh through somebody
else uh commenting on Facebook, I
suppose,
that uh an enormous tree had fallen
across Green Village Road, and uh
fortunately snapped the pole and not the
wires.
Uh so, I'm here to uh express my thank,
our thanks,
to the crew that worked diligently all
day long
uh from
shortly after 7:00 in the morning, and I
believe they were finished about 7:00 at
night. Uh so,
if that belongs to you, ma'am,
uh please pass on the uh compliments to
a job well done.
So, that was the good.
Um here's some bad.
Um
we all received our tax bills, most of
us anyway,
and uh
I think uh there was uh
few numbers that went up along the way.
Um maybe uh the
multimillion-dollar
uh
school renovation had something to do
with this. I'm here to encourage um
whoever is in charge of it to invite us
as citizens, once it's all done,
back to the school as we were invited
initially
to see what had to be repaired and why.
I would personally love to see how our
money was spent
and what it looks like after it's all
done. So,
wherever that belongs in your group, I
would hope you would perhaps consider
that.
And now back to
Ross Court.
Um
I was encouraged when I heard that we
love trees. I love trees, too. My wife
and I disagree a little bit, but
um
speaking of trees,
our house,
three Ross Court,
is
facing the entrance to the mosque.
Um
not that we don't think the mosque
actually turned out okay, but we'd like
some separation, and the separation was
there.
were a couple of very large trees,
which unfortunately during the
construction period
um bit the dust and had to be removed.
We were told that somebody looked at
them and said, "Yes, they are they're
goners. They had to be taken away."
>> And one one one minute.
>> I beg your pardon?
>> You have one minute left.
>> One?
>> Yep.
>> Okay.
>> Thank you.
>> Um
now my question to myself is, what's
going to be done with that?
And more importantly, when this massive
project takes place
on vinyl,
and the same thing happens to the trees
there,
either deliberately, by accident, or
whatever,
are they going to be put back up, or are
we going to have little siblings that
will take another 50 years to come back?
Um please consider
uh
that maybe the construction crews
need to get some instruction that they
cannot just dump stuff around the trees,
or
dig around the trees. Uh
there should be some respect for them.
Um
now,
I guess if we live long enough, there'll
be some trees separating
that home from the mosque again.
Um but, please take that into account.
Traffic has been addressed.
>> In in time.
>> I'm out, okay.
>> Thank Thank
>> Traffic has been addressed.
>> I'll speak on the way out.
>> Yes, sir.
>> And
All right. Thank Thank Thank you, Peter.
>> that in mind as well.
>> Yes.
Anyone else wishing to comment, please
step forward.
» Brian Mortensen, 18 Myrtle.
Um
please consider giving blood. Even
before today's devastating earthquake in
Colombia, the American Red Cross was
facing a serious blood shortage here in
the United States
with donations down and some blood
supplies at critically low levels.
Today's tragedy is a powerful reminder
of how suddenly disaster can strike and
how quickly life-saving blood can be
needed. If you're healthy and eligible,
please consider donating blood here in
the United States. It takes about an
hour and your donation can help save a
life when someone needs it the most.
Please donate if you can. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Brian. Anyone else wishing to
comment, please step forward.
Seeing none, I close this part of the
meeting. Just a a few uh
follow-up comments. Uh thank you all for
the coming out tonight and uh sharing
your thoughts.
Um
most of your thoughts related to the
trees, the traffic, and all that, you
know, that will be part of the hearing
process with the planning board, so I
encourage you to uh continue to uh
follow that. Um you are all within the
200-ft uh
um line from uh Drew University, I'm
sure. So, you probably get the
notifications, and so that process will
go forward and uh certainly all the
topics you talked about from trees to
traffic and so on is very high on the
list and will certainly be discussed.
Zoom meetings for land land use boards,
we have
we found coming out of the pandemic that
and this has happened in a lot of other
towns also even though we've gone back
to in-person meetings with
council and some of the other boards
that for land use board boards it's been
very productive doing Zoom meetings
because the people at home get to see
the exact same thing that the board
members see. So when a map is shown and
I get it if you're on your phone it's
different than if you have a big screen
in front of you but you're you're seeing
exactly what the board members are
seeing and I also understand the
you don't see the interactions and we
don't see the faces in the audience and
so on. So there's pluses and minuses
with Zoom. Each each of the boards
review their meeting process every year.
We can't really change um
mid-year unless there's a crisis that
would force you go to Zoom. So the both
boards the zoning board and planning
board are committed to staying there
because otherwise it shows that you're
treating one application different than
another. So come the new year both
boards can
review that.
Some of the concern about the parking on
Vinyl Place we've already passed an
ordinance that would limits parking on one side with um
understanding the uh
um
>> I didn't hear about that.
>> We did we did pet right right we yeah. I
don't I don't think we posted anything
yet but we we did so there would be
parking on only one side of Vinyl Place.
So I
there should have been a reach out to
the neighborhood from the police
department and that's what really came
back and said the neighborhood was
comfortable with it and so that that was
put in place. So
>> What side of Vinyl or what side of
Walnut?
vinyl
» Yeah, sorry. You can't
>> You can't have this interaction.
I I think it was just vinyl, but we'll
double check and we can get back to
we'll get information to the
neighborhood as to whether it included
Ross.
Um
Really don't don't remember myself.
The comment about the plan that was
posted on Facebook being terrifying to
you to see that today. It was terrifying
to us to see that a couple years ago. So
we're we're on the same page with with
that one. Um
The thank you to the crew. I greatly
appreciate when people see that uh
the our staff and employees in Madison
step forward and our electric crew crew
certainly has had a uh
eventful summer. So Melissa will pass
that back on. Um tax bills we can we'll
pass that on to your to the Board of
Education.
Just as stated the biggest driver behind
your your increase was certainly not the
municipal budget. It was the
school budget which includes the
referendum that was overwhelmingly
approved by the residents. And um
Yes, the residents
approved it and that was very fair that
you want to see what you know, the final work. So we can tell that uh
And um
very good point with trees during during
construction. There's a whole you know,
during the approval process there is a
tree removal plan and tree replanting,
but also as as mentioned that sometimes
trees are lost during construction. We
have guidelines as far as tree protect
protection during construction and we
will make sure that um
if things were not followed that we can
follow up on that um and see if there's
any plans for replacing the trees that
were lost, and certainly with future
construction, make sure tree ordinance
is followed and as far as protection.
And
just 1 second here.
>> Mayor, I've got the Vinyl Place uh
parking if you want me to share it.
>> Yeah, but you you bought So, it's just
Vinyl?
>> It's uh yeah, uh ordinance uh 12 2025
uh
put parking only on the west side of
Vinyl Place from Madison Avenue to Ross
Court, so it eliminated the east side
parking, and it doesn't look like
there's any restriction.
>> the the the other other way around So,
says um no no parking
shall be amended as follows um
Vinyl Place west side. So, the west side
would be no parking because that's where
all the the uh driveway curb cuts are.
So, the parking would be allowed on the
east side.
And uh if
and if there's a we'll have the police
department check back because if if
there's a desire for same thing on Ross
Court, we can address that. So, we'll
Okay?
All right, and now we move on to
my notes.
You think I have this memorized.
We uh move on to introduction
ordinances, which we have done. So, we
uh now on consent agenda resolutions.
Will the clerk please read the
statement?
>> Consent agenda resolutions will be
enacted with a single motion. Any
resolution requiring our expenditure is
supported by a certification of
availability of funds. Any resolution
requiring discussion will be removed
from the consent agenda. All resolutions
will be reflected in full in the
minutes.
>> Mayor, I move resolutions R-238-2026
through R-246-2026.
>> Second.
>> Any
council discussion or any that need to
be pulled?
A roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. Landrigan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Range?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Haralampoudis?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Hanahan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Forte?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Cohen?
>> Yes.
>> And there is no unfinished business.
Move on to approval of vouchers. Will
the clerk please read the voucher
totals?
» From the current fund, $1,023,515.29.
From the general capital fund,
$357,353.68.
From the electric operating fund,
$477,275.20.
From the water operating fund,
$31,263.12.
And from the trust, $217,100.72.
The total is $2,106,508.01.
» Mayor, I move approval of the vouchers.
>> Second.
>> Any discussion?
Roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. Landrigan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Range?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Haralampoudis?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Hanahan?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Forte?
>> Yes.
>> Ms. Cohen?
>> Yes.
>> And there is no new business. So, I'll
entertain a motion to adjourn.
>> Mayor, I motion that we adjourn the
meeting.
>> All in favor?
>> Aye.
>> Thank you very much. Thank you all.
And again, our next meeting is
September, so
uh
we'll have a good rest of summer.