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Hello, I'm Gina Marie Rodriguez and this
is Meeting Mountainside. Today we're

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here with Councilman Steve Matatics and
I cannot wait to speak to him about all

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things Mountainside. So hi Steve, how
you doing?

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» Hi, welcome.
>> Oh, thank you.

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» [laughter]
>> I'm here in your town now so you tell me

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all about it.
>> Yes, thanks for coming out to see us.

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It's a pleasure to have you.
>> I mean it's fun being here for me. I'm

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still learning. This is what I think I
said it's my third third time with

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Meeting Mountainside so
there's a lot you still need to teach me

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about the area. I don't know much. I
come from Rahway so there's much to

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learn. Thank you, that's your job. But
we just kind of want to learn a little

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bit about you if that's okay. So talk to
me about your background and you grew up

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here?
>> Yes, I grew up in Mountainside. My

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parents moved here in 1976.
So when I was 3 years old

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so I had the pleasure of having a
Mountainside childhood and went through

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the programs and the schools that we
have here.

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I attended day camps at
the local churches,

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Our Lady of Lords
CPC

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which is Presbyterian Church I attended
>> it's full title CPC or does that stand

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for something?
>> It stands for

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Community
Presbyterian Church.

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» That makes sense.
>> I think.

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» Okay.
>> Yeah, they all just refer to it as CPC

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and they're very active in the
community.

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» Well now if I say it I'll pretend I'm a
local CPC.

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» Great.
I attended the schools here which are

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Beechwood and then I attended Deerfield
and I went on to at the time

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Mountainside sent our students to
Jonathan Dayton in Springfield. So I

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attended all of those schools, went
through all of the um

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the schools.
>> Yeah, that's fun.

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So that last one was high school then.
>> Correct.

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» Right. Okay. All right. I'm learning
learning the names.

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Beachwood, Deerfield, and
>> At the time it was Jonathan Dayton. Now

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it's in Berk- well, that school is still
there, but we send our students to

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Berkeley Heights, Governor Livingston.
>> Oh, okay. Wow. See, there's so much that

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I don't know. Cuz Mountainside is a
small community, correct?

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» small town, so we don't have our own
high school. Once upon a time we did. Uh

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and now the school is uh Borough Hall.
>> Oh, okay. Well, that's good for me to

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know, too.
>> The town has grown and expanded, and we

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have more schools and more students.
>> I love that. So tell me a little bit

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about Borough Hall, too. Is this Is this
where you work out of?

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» Yes. Uh the council meetings are in
Borough Hall. The committee meetings,

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all of the town business uh happens in
Borough Hall. We have our business uh

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administrator, the different
departments, engineering, uh recreation,

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the police department is there.
Uh Department of Public Works. Uh used

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to be fully um
based out of there. Uh there's still an

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administrative office, but we built a
separate uh DPW facility uh not far.

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» Okay. Well, that's nice. Are any of the
meetings public?

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» All of the meetings are public.
>> All of them. Okay.

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» Yeah. Um there's two um public meetings
a month. There's a work session, which

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is where we talk about the various
things that are going to be on the um

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the council meeting agenda. So it's the
uh the first and third Tuesday of every

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month. So we have a work session where
we discuss various matters that are

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going to be on the agenda. And then we
have the the council meeting where we

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conduct business in terms of voting.
Um but those are those are public

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meetings.
>> Okay. That's good to know. I mean, I

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think
as somebody who doesn't follow local

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politics as closely as she should, I do
want to reiterate that they are public

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meetings. So, if you guys want to get
involved, you should be doing that.

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Uh do as I say, not as I do.
So, I want to learn a little bit more

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about what it is that you're working on
now, and then we'll talk about the fact

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that you are running for re-election
soon. But, tell me what it is that

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you're you are working on now and what
you've been working on during your term.

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» Uh during my time on council, I've had
several assignments. Um I was on the

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planning board. We rotate on and off
some of these different assignments.

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I've since rotated off. I was on fire
for a while, for a couple years. Very

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proud of my work on fire. It's uh a
volunteer firehouse, and they're very

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well trained, and they do an excellent
job for the community.

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They're all volunteers doing this
tremendous work.

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Uh
>> So, what does that mean?

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What were you volunteering as a
firefighter? What do you mean that you

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were
on the fire department?

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» Yeah, so uh as part of the fire
committee, we do things like decide on

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policy.
Um think of it as a a corporation. And

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you know, if you want to think about it
in a private terms, kind of like a board

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that makes decisions, uh mostly
policy-wise.

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» Okay, that does help cuz it kind of
gives me the hierarchy to understand.

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So, okay.
>> They have their own They have their own

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managers within the department. And and
the firefighters.

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» Okay, that's awesome. So, what kinds of
policy were implemented when you were or

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while you've been in term?
>> Yeah, uh we went through the bylaws. We

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updated those.
Uh making sure that they have all of the

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equipment that they need to be up to
standards.

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A volunteer fire uh department is uh run
a lot like a paid firehouse. They go

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through all the same training,
uh the fire school, the equipment has to

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meet all the same requirements.
Uh so, running a firehouse is uh pretty

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pretty complicated.
>> I'm sure. I mean, I have never had the

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pleasure or the honor, uh but I can
imagine that there's a lot of not only

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responsibility, but just so much
pressure, right? You are responsible for

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people's lives and safety. So, that's
that's a lot to consider. But, I I feel

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like I interrupted you before you were
going to say that you worked on fire and

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you were continuing before I interrupted
you.

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» Right. Um
I'm also on the um committee for the

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Department of Public Works
>> Okay.

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» uh and police.
During my time on uh Department of

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Public Works, we've uh we built a new
facility.

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Uh
once upon a time, we didn't have our own

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salt dome. We used to use this Yeah,
this

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» Big words for me.
>> We uh we used the the state's salt dome.

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But, unfortunately, we had to uh get our
own

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uh and build a new building. Uh
which in the end, it actually it was a

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very good investment. Uh
the uh the town has a very good

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Department of Public Works in
coordination with outside contractors.

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Our roads are cleared
uh very well and very soon after a storm

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so that we can get emergency services to
uh respond uh or people getting to their

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livelihoods.
>> I'm starting to see how those things are

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tied now, how those committees are tied.
The fire

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» Yes, absolutely. I mean, it's not an
easy job that you've tackled here. But,

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what is it that that made you want to
become a council person?

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» You know, growing up in town, uh
I I really have a lot uh invested in the

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town. And as I became older, I gained a
lot of experience in in private

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practice.
Uh have a financial background and a

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seat became available, and I decided to
run, and I wanted to lend my expertise

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to the community.
Uh um it's a good way to participate and

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give back and uh maintain our our town's
uh character.

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» Absolutely. You just said that you had a
financial background. What is your

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background?
>> Uh accounting,

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uh CPA, worked at various uh companies
whether they were domestic or or

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international,
uh largely uh real estate.

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» Oh, okay. All right, I know nothing
about taxes. Like don't ask me. That's I

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usually hire an accountant because I
don't know what I'm doing. That's the

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right move.
>> Yeah.

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Says the accountant. Um, but yeah, I'd
like to learn a little bit more. I want

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to go back in time, right back to your
childhood here.

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Not that you necessarily knew better,
but what is it that you loved? What is a

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memory that pulls you back to your
childhood all the time that could only

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have happened in Mountainside?
>> Uh I love the ability to just in the

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summer hop on my bike, travel all around
town,

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didn't worry about safety. Um,
you know, when it was dusk, it was time

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to come home. There was no cell phones.
Uh

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meet up meet up with your friends,
bike around the schools, uh lots of

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tennis, uh swim team,
uh I participated in the recreation

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department and all that they had to
offer whether it was uh skiing in the

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winter, they used uh
um roller skating outings, uh there's a

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day camp right next to the pool. So, a
lot of um youth go to these day camps.

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They can go to the pool when they're
done.

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» Is it the same day camp that has
that was around since you were a child?

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Is it still there?
>> Oh, yeah.

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» Oh, wow. It's All right, good. That
longevity, I really appreciate. That's

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awesome.
>> Yeah.

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» Okay. I
I'm sorry, I'm getting stuck for a

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second because I there's so many things
that I want to talk to you about and I'm

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like trying to keep in line. You
mentioned the pool cuz I think we were

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talking about the day camping by the
pool and I know you had told me

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previously before we got on camera that
there is a renovation planned for the

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pool. So, can you talk to me a little
bit about the renovation?

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» Well, it's under discussion right now
what's to be done. So, it's not exactly

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determined. What we did is we went out
to the public.

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The surveys were done
that went out to the public to get

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feedback. We had multiple town hall
meetings.

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The pool's 60 years old and has a
lifespan.

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And I would say through good management
management and maintenance, we've gotten

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a pool to exceed its expected
lifespan.

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» Absolutely.
>> But at some point

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um
it needs

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some care.
Um

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whereas a lot of communities in the
surrounding areas have closed their

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pool.
We think from the feedback we received,

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the community loves the pool. It's it's
it's a mountainside institution.

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And we don't want to take that away from
the current or future residents.

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» Especially if we continue getting heat
waves like we've been having this last

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week.
>> That's right.

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» It's crazy. I can't imagine life without
a pool. But did you say that there's a

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measure that's being proposed? Are
people going to be able to vote on this

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or this is something that's happening
internally?

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» Well, what we've done is gone out to the
public to share information. We actually

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had an on-site town hall.
If you go to the pool, it still looks

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beautiful. So, it's a little bit
deceiving. But then when you understand,

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okay, this part of the pavement is
sinking, the grass has sinkholes.

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There's there's rust building up in the
filter room because

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the pipes at the time were built out of
iron. They're deteriorating.

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And then you learn from the pool
managers that almost 5,000 gallons a day

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of the pool is leaking. And it has to be
constantly filled every every day.

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Um and some of these things
aren't simple repairs.

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» No, not at all. But, I'm glad that we're
discussing them because I wouldn't have

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known any of that to consider. So, I I
hope folks are paying attention.

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» Yeah, that's why we got people out on
site

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with experts to show them around and and
educate people, ask them all the they

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can ask all the questions they want,
give all the feedback that they want.

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And uh and we've got a lot of uh
feedback and uh a lot of optimism

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about uh what we've done and and the
path forward.

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» I think that's amazing, and we're going
to end on an optimistic note for now,

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and we'll be right back after this.

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» [screaming]

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[panting]

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» Eyes forward. Don't drive distracted.
>> Welcome back to Meeting Mountainside.

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Like I said before, we are still here
with Steve Matichak, and we are talking

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about your re-election campaign because
you are running for councilperson again.

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So, talk to me about that. First, let us
know when is election day.

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» Yes, uh I am running. Uh
running for uh Borough Council. The

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general election is November 3rd. It's
the first Tuesday in November.

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» Okay. That's great. So, tell us
what Well, I'm I don't live here, so I

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can't vote for you, but tell the folks
why they should vote for you.

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» Well, I've been on uh Council for 6
years, and during my time, we've

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accomplished quite a lot. Uh we have
maintained and even improved things like

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our uh fire department, our police
department. We've maintained

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the character
of our town.

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We've
always fought against high-density

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housing. It puts such a strain on the
community.

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Bringing high-density housing into the
community puts a strain on the schools,

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classroom sizes,
emergency services.

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It doesn't help the tax base at the rate
in which the services are consumed.

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We have a lovely town that doesn't have
over abundance of traffic. And people

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moved here for what it is. So, we'd like
to maintain what we have

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while also developing the town
in various ways.

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Adding parks and recreation for
sports, general quality of life, and

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various activities.
>> Now, can you clarify for me when you say

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high-density housing, do you mean
high-rises like apartment complexes? Is

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that what we're talking about?
>> Well, I'm sure some developers would

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like to do that, but you generally will
see um

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developments that are several stories
high.

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Not not towers, but several stories
high. Uh with

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uh buildings that are not stand-alone.
Our town side is mostly stand-alone

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homes, single residence
properties.

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Whereas the high-density housing really
cramps a lot of people into a small

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location.
>> Okay. All right, that's good to know.

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And you were saying that that
This is I hope it doesn't sound silly,

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but can you explain to me how that
affects taxes?

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» Sure. Well,
um

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as you bring in more people, you have to
provide more services. You have to hire

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more police. There's more
fire events.

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It doesn't necessarily need to be a
fire. It could be a carbon monoxide

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alarm. They They respond.
>> Okay.

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» Uh so, all of the things that
uh the bureau hall provides for its

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residents
just have to increase. And And the tax

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base that you get out of high-density
housing uh comes in at at a reduced rate

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versus
homes that

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are at the
at the current

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tax rate.
>> Okay. All right. Well, see, I just had a

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huge lesson there because I didn't know
any of that. So, thank you for

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explaining it to me.
Maybe that's what I need, just an

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accountant on speed dial explaining
things to

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» we have a very low taxes in
Mountainside. Our Our tax rate is

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amongst the lowest in the county.
>> I did not know that.

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» It's It's almost half of the state
average.

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» I didn't know that, either.
>> Yeah. So, we're we're we're doing that

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by continuing with what we're doing,
maintaining fiscal responsibility,

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um and making sure that residents, when
they come here for all that it is, don't

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necessarily get priced out of their own
home when they retire. So, we have a

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very robust senior population.
>> Okay.

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» And when they retire, they can continue
to live here.

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» And for that senior population, what
opportunities exist for them? Is there a

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senior center? Like, what kind of
activities are offered?

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» Quite a bit. So, within our recreation
department, we have a senior coordinator

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who runs all sorts of programs. We have
a There's a great organization called

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Mountainside Active Retirees.
>> Okay.

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» Uh our seniors are active and they're
smart. Uh and

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And they're a great part of the
community.

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» I feel like what I'm hearing is I should
retire in Mountainside.

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» If you can, please.
>> I I I've got time, I hope.

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» [laughter]
>> But I want to know I want to hear more

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about what you're planning. Let's say
you are lucky enough to get reelected,

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what do you foresee in the future?
>> There's a lot of great things on the

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horizon that we're working on now. We're
in the process of building a park in the

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center of town. Uh we acquired some land
with grants, so there was no um impact

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on taxpayers.
We are building a soccer field behind

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one of the schools, a regulation soccer
field. As we've seen the

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the
the desire from

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you know, kind of transition from some
other sports to soccer becoming very

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popular.
>> Well, the World Cup is going on right

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now, so
>> that, but even before that,

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um
uh

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we we have a soccer league, and we need
a proper soccer field. So, we we have

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one, but we need we need another one.
>> Okay. I want to hear more about the

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park. That's what I'm excited about. So,
how big is the plan for this park?

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» Well, it's
it's a little walking park. It's

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downtown. It's not
um

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very expansive, but it's a nice addition
to our downtown.

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Whereas, some downtowns might have
something like a Starbucks that'll have

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a lot of traffic, this is a an open
space where people can gather. There'll

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be park benches.
Uh there'll be tree-lined paths. It'll

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be a nice gathering place for the
community.

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» Okay, so when I heard park, I was
thinking swing sets and slides. So, not

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00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,480
that kind of park.
>> No, we have that, and we're uh nestled

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next to the Watching Reservation. We
have all sorts of uh natural trails and

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and things like that. So, it it's a
little bit different than what we have.

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It's a nice addition to what we have.
>> I like that. So, this is more of like a

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walking path as opposed to a bike path
type

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» Correct. Yes.
>> Okay.

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Not not that I bike, but I'm, you know,
thinking about maybe changing my

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activities.
>> So, open spaces that

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let people gather
>> Yeah.

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» play sports and generally
>> Yeah, and generally have a better

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quality of life. Whereas other towns are
taking spaces and putting in

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high-density housing.
>> Right. We're right on top of that.

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» going the opposite direction.
>> Okay. I I think that's that's really

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important. I wanted to ask you
we had Valerie Walsh on the same show a

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little while back. I've lost track of
time, but

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00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:47,160
you're you've been working with her and
she's a co-candidate. You're both

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00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:51,840
running at the same time. So, tell me
what it's like to collaborate with your

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00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:55,960
fellow council people.
>> Yeah, working with Valerie and the other

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members of the governing body is
fantastic. There is so much intellectual

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diversity. We have attorneys,
accountants, we have parents and

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00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:09,800
grandparents and
single parents and

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00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:15,440
everyone comes with their own
perspective, their own set of skills and

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00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:20,360
we all come together
really selflessly for the betterment of

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the community. Everyone goes in thinking
about the community as a whole, not

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necessarily, okay, how
how's this affect me and my street?

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00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:29,000
» Right.
>> How does it affect the community as a

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whole?
>> Right. Well, I think that's an important

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way of thinking cuz we should be
community focused. I think that

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00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:43,160
in my experience at least we're living
in a time where people tend to insulate

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00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:47,480
themselves and individualism has, I
don't know,

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00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:52,320
it's on the rise to a degree and maybe
if we're lucky Mountainside has kind of

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00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:59,120
avoided that fate, but I do want to hear
more about what programming exists to

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00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:02,960
encourage people to leave the house, to
to come and meet new people as opposed

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00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:07,040
to just, you know, we've created this
park for you and it's, you know,

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00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:10,000
available. But, how are you encouraging
people to to leave the house?

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00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:13,520
» There's something for everyone, whether
you want to go off and do something

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00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:17,640
independently, like the parks,
uh the trails in the reservation.

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There's a lot of organized things as
well. We have a a great scouting program

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00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:28,160
from
uh Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and a lot of

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00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:33,400
fantastic volunteers in that
organization and others. Uh there's a

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00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:37,120
Mountainside uh Newcomers organization.
People come into town and you want to

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00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:41,840
meet people and network. You can join
this organization. I've met a lot of

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00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:44,400
friends there. Uh as you become a
senior, again, the Mountainside Active

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Retirees.
>> Already planning on it.

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» Yeah. Uh there's programs at Borough
Hall. Uh

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there's chair yoga if that's your your
skill level. Uh there's

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» my skill level.
>> That's great.

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Uh there's all sorts of activities at
the pool. There's a a swim team. Uh

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00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:08,080
there's there's tennis lessons. We have
great tennis courts. So, we just

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00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:12,560
resurface those and and and invested a
lot into our infrastructure. So, there

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00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:16,680
there is something for everyone.
>> Yeah. Well, I've heard that pickleball

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is on the rise. I know nothing about it.
Do you have a pickleball court or is it

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the same as a tennis court? I genuinely
don't know the answer.

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00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:26,120
» Oh, yeah. So,
the tennis courts become the pickleball

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00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:30,760
court. You take half of a tennis court
and you turn it into a pickleball court.

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And there's so many people out there and
it's uh you know, it it it it it lets

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other people uh who might not be uh
tennis players get into pickleball. It's

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it's um you know, you have tennis,
pickleball. So, the two combined are

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very inclusive for for all sorts of
people.

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00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,560
» Okay. That's good to know. I think
there's a movie coming out about

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00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:53,200
pickleball and I'm going to have to
watch it just so I understand what we're

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00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,860
even talking about. I said the word just
because I know it's a hot button topic,

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00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,240
but
>> [laughter]

337
00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:01,640
» That's very popular in town.
>> That's I mean, that's good. I

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00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:05,240
I guess
I'm always fascinated when I speak to

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00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:10,160
people from Mountainside because
everyone here seems to really love their

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00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:13,680
community as they should, right? But
it depends on who you speak to and where

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00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:18,200
they're coming from. Not everyone feels
that way. So, I've been trying to get to

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00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:23,440
the root of what is it about this town
that that so many people just adore

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00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:27,760
living here? Is it walkability? Is it
that easy access to stores? What what

344
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:32,040
are the important things for folks who
are house hunting right now if they if

345
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:35,240
you would like to encourage them to come
to Mountainside?

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00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:39,200
» Mountainside is a reprieve from
everything else that's out there. To the

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00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:43,840
east and west you have a lot of the same
and Mountainside is a diversity to a lot

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00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:48,240
of those other things.
The community, the people gathering

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00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:52,200
together whether it's formal or informal
things.

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00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:56,920
Like I mentioned the the formal programs
through the recreation department can

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00:23:53,800 --> 00:24:02,200
gather people. There's a lot of informal
book clubs. Just people like to get

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00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:07,080
together. And and enjoy the community.
And we're we're community of volunteers.

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00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:11,280
And these things tend to to feed on each
other. You get involved in something and

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then something else and you meet people.
And Mountainside is um

355
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:20,120
uh lends itself to to being outdoors
quite a bit.

356
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:24,960
» Yeah. Well, I'd say that volunteers are
a key to any functioning society. So, I

357
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:28,520
think that that in and of itself is a
sign that people really support this

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community.
Um I I'm back to the house hunter

359
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:34,120
question right now just cuz clearly
that's on my mind.

360
00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,360
» The house on
>> house hunting

361
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,480
» Okay.
>> for folks who might want to be uh

362
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:43,680
considering Mountainside.
For the kids who are attending school

363
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,400
here, you mentioned that you don't have
your own high school, right? So, we're

364
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,840
sending the kids outside. Is there a
choice between high schools or it's the

365
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:53,520
the one option Berkeley Heights?
>> Well, it's the one option for the public

366
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:57,320
schools, but we also have a lot of
excellent private high schools in the

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area and some people make that decision,
that's up to them.

368
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,680
» Okay.
>> Uh

369
00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:07,440
Mountainside has a what's called a blue
ribbon school. It's means it's a top

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00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:10,960
five uh in the country.
>> In the country?

371
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,800
» only 11, I believe, in the state last
year.

372
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:16,920
» Wow.
>> So, we have excellent school. Deerfield

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00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:22,000
was a a blue ribbon school. And that is
a testament to the teachers, the staff,

374
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:26,160
the board of education, and of course
the students and the parents of the

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00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:29,760
students. Everyone has to come together
uh to make an excellent school.

376
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:32,920
» Absolutely. I think that's really
important to know, and I I mean, I don't

377
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,760
have children of my own, but I do know
that when people are house hunting, they

378
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:39,880
tend to want to know what the public
school system is like. So, blue ribbon

379
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,640
is important to know.
>> Yep. All those things that I mentioned,

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00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:49,520
the schools, the parks, the quality of
life, have caused uh the home values in

381
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,640
Mountainside to just soar.
>> Yeah.

382
00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:56,520
» And people come into Mountainside
and they invest in themselves and their

383
00:25:54,720 --> 00:26:00,120
home and a community, and they plan on
staying here for a very long time. You

384
00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:05,600
see a lot of renovations
um uh to homes in the community. So,

385
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,920
people really get invested in into the
community.

386
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,920
» Yeah. Forgive me, I feel like there's
there's a few flies buzzing by us and

387
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,018
they're telling us that it's time to
wrap.

388
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,840
» Okay.
>> [laughter]

389
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,000
» I think we had a really excellent
conversation. It's been a pleasure

390
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:19,560
speaking to you.
>> Likewise.

391
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:21,960
» And I guess I will see you at the next
meeting, Mountainside.

392
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,440
» Thank you.
>> watching.

393
00:26:26,428 --> 00:26:28,448
» [music]