[1:59] Mhm.
[2:07] » Good evening everybody.
It's so great to see so many faces here
[2:09] this evening.
This is the meeting of the Tinton Falls
[2:12] Borough Council being held August 11th,
2026.
[2:16] This meeting is hereby called to order.
Will the clerk please read the open
[2:19] public meeting statement?
>> Pursuant to section 5 of the Open Public
[2:23] Meetings Act, adequate notice of this
meeting has been provided by posting on
[2:27] the Borough of Tinton Falls official
website in the municipal building at
[2:30] least 48 hours prior to the meeting and
filing with the Borough Clerk all on
[2:34] November 10th, 2025.
>> Thank you.
[2:38] May I ask the clerk to call the roll?
>> Mr. Alessi?
[2:41] » Here.
>> Ms. Buckley?
[2:43] » Here.
>> Mr. Nice?
[2:44] » Here.
>> Mr. Parikh?
[2:46] » Here.
>> Mr. Nessi?
[2:48] » Here.
>> At this time, I would like to invite
[2:50] everyone to join me in reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance.
[2:55] I pledge allegiance
>> to the flag of the United States of
[2:59] America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
[3:03] one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
[3:14] » There are three sets of meeting minutes
for approval.
[3:16] May I have a motion to approve the June
16th, 2026 regular and executive session
[3:21] meeting minutes?
>> Motion.
[3:24] » Thank you, Ms. Buckley. May I have a
second?
[3:26] » Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Nice.
[3:29] May I have a roll call, please?
[3:35] » Mr. Alessi?
>> Yes.
[3:37] » Ms. Buckley?
>> Yes.
[3:39] » Mr. Nice?
>> Yes.
[3:41] » Mr. Parikh?
>> Yes.
[3:42] » Mr. Nessi?
>> Yes.
[3:47] » May I have a motion to approve the July
7th, 2026 regular session minutes.
[3:53] » Motion.
>> Thank you, Mr. Parekh. May I have a
[3:56] second?
>> Second.
[3:58] » Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
May have a roll call, please?
[4:02] » Mr. Alessi?
>> Yes.
[4:04] » Ms. Buckley?
>> Yes.
[4:05] » Mr. Neese?
>> Abstain.
[4:07] » Mr. Parekh?
>> Yes.
[4:09] » Mr. Nessi?
>> Yes.
[4:12] The next item on the agenda is reports.
At this time, I would like to invite
[4:17] Mayor Clay
to present tonight's certificates of
[4:19] recognition.
[4:35] » Thank you so much.
Thank you, Council President. Um it's an
[4:40] exciting evening here tonight in Tinton
Falls.
[4:45] Uh we have several certificates of
recognition.
[4:49] Uh the first um is Elena Mullen. Elena,
if you could come up.
[5:03] Um I just I would like to share a little
bit about Elena for the audience in case
[5:08] anybody doesn't know.
Um we were we were fortunate a number of
[5:13] us were at uh the Kate the the K8
graduation and we got to hear um Elena
[5:20] and Jayla's speeches and they were
really outstanding.
[5:24] And so, we wanted to be sure to present
these two outstanding young women to
[5:30] everyone tonight.
Um I'm proud tonight to recognize an
[5:35] exceptional young member of our
community, Elena, who has distinguished
[5:39] herself as the valedictorian
of her middle school graduating class
[5:45] through her remarkable dedication to
academics, leadership, athletics, and
[5:50] community service
throughout all three years of middle
[5:54] school, Elena consistently earned high
honor roll
[5:59] recognition
reflecting her unwavering commitment to
[6:04] academic excellence.
Along with being the valedictorian,
[6:09] she also was honored with both the PTA
Scholastic Award and the PTA
[6:16] uh Scholar or Athlete Award, Scholar
Athlete, excuse me.
[6:21] Achievements that highlight not only her
outstanding scholastic performance, but
[6:26] also her dedication to athletics and
personal growth.
[6:30] Her leadership is equally noteworthy.
She was inducted into the National
[6:36] Junior Honor Society
where she served as secretary
[6:41] exemplifying responsibility
integrity, and a strong sense of
[6:46] service.
Beyond the classroom, Elena has shown a
[6:51] deep commitment to her community. She
completed volunteer service with local
[6:57] organizations
and in seventh grade, she graduated from
[7:02] the Tin Falls Junior Police Academy.
An experience that further demonstrated
[7:08] her interest in civic involvement.
This summer marked another milestone
[7:13] as she began her first job at Kumon
helping younger students build
[7:19] confidence and strengthen their academic
skills. I know that isn't easy.
[7:24] On behalf of myself and the Borough
Council, congratulations, Elena.
[7:29] You represent the very best of our
community and we look forward to all you
[7:34] will accomplish in the future.
And I just wanted to share that I had
[7:39] asked Elena where she would be going to
high school, and she will be attending
[7:43] asked.
[8:38] Okay, and next Jayla Alberto. Jayla, if
you can come up.
[8:54] I'm also honored tonight to recognize
another outstanding young leader in our
[8:59] community, Jayla,
whose accomplishments during her time at
[9:03] Tin Falls Middle School have
distinguished her as an exceptional
[9:09] student, role model, and representative
of our borough.
[9:13] Uh Jayla is our salutatorian.
Uh she served as student council
[9:19] president,
a role in which she demonstrated
[9:23] remarkable leadership and dedication to
her classmates.
[9:27] Her commitment to excellence is
reflected in her hard work and academic
[9:32] success, and has earned her salutatorian
of the class of 2026.
[9:40] Throughout her middle school years,
she achieved high honors. She was a
[9:45] committed member of the National Junior
Honor Society,
[9:49] furthering her dedication to her school
and community.
[9:52] In addition,
Chayla represented St. Paul's in the
[9:57] eighth grade dialogue program,
contributing her voice and perspective
[10:02] on issues important to students in the
community. I feel like we need to have
[10:07] that here with some students and council
and mayor's dialogue, Penny. Maybe I'll
[10:12] be reaching out to you about that.
Uh Chayla's achievements extend to a
[10:17] series of well-deserved awards,
including the school spirit award,
[10:23] excellence in social studies award, and
the PTA scholarship award.
[10:28] This year,
Chayla reached another exciting
[10:32] milestone with her acceptance to Trinity
High School,
[10:37] where she will begin her studies as a
freshman in the fall.
[10:41] On behalf of myself and the borough
council, we are proud to celebrate you
[10:46] and your achievements and are excited to
see all the incredible things you
[10:50] achieve in the future.
[11:33] » Great job.
[11:43] » Hey. Um
So, um a little bit about this next
[11:50] recognition.
A couple of months ago, um
[11:54] we had we had done a post about um our
town being film ready.
[12:00] And one of the residents reached out and
said, "Hey, Mayor Clay, you know, we
[12:06] have our very own filmmakers that have
won awards right here in our town." And
[12:12] I was like,
"Wow, that's pretty cool." And so, we
[12:16] ended up meeting
uh with Max, who's here tonight, uh
[12:21] myself and the public information
officer, Eileen, and we were privileged
[12:27] to see uh some of uh the work of these
young men.
[12:32] And I said when I saw them tonight, the
uh the two young men that I had met, I
[12:38] felt like I was meeting celebrities, you
know, like I recognized them from the
[12:42] movie. It was super cool.
Anyway, um
[12:47] we wanted to acknowledge the awards that
um that these guys have achieved.
[12:52] Um so, tonight, we're recognizing Max
Estrada and Tyler Walsh because they're
[12:59] our Tin Falls residents. I feel kind of
bad. I think we'll have to do a picture
[13:04] with all four of you. So.
Uh we're pleased to recognize two talent
[13:09] Well, you guys should come up. The two
of you guys should come up, and then
[13:12] we'll do a picture with everyone.
[13:21] Uh we're pleased to recognize uh two
talented young creators from our
[13:26] community, Max and Tyler, whose
impressive achievements in filmmaking
[13:33] have brought pride to Tin Palms and
earned recognition across New Jersey and
[13:38] beyond.
Max and Tyler have produced standout
[13:43] projects
that demonstrate creativity,
[13:47] skill, and a passion for storytelling. I
promise you you must check these out.
[13:53] Their film, The Other Foot, received an
honorable mention at the Count Basie
[13:58] Center and was showcased in the Basie's
historic theater.
[14:03] The film was also selected by several
notable platforms,
[14:07] including Filmmaker Sessions Volume 6,
The C Show, and the CAF Future Eagles
[14:15] and Screening Competition,
underscoring its quality and broad
[14:20] appeal.
Their project, This One, Whisper of the
[14:25] West,
won the best comedy at the New Jersey
[14:28] Film Awards, a competitive monthly
festival that features work from across
[14:34] the state.
The film received an honorable mention
[14:37] from the Humanity Rising Festival,
which welcomes submissions from high
[14:42] school students throughout the US. In
addition, it was selected by the Reels
[14:48] and Moods Film Festival,
an event dedicated to storytelling,
[14:52] community, and cultural connection, as
well as Filmmaker Sessions Volume 6,
[14:59] which highlights and elevates the work
of emerging filmmakers.
[15:03] Beyond these recognitions, Max and Tyler
continue to expand their creative reach
[15:09] through their YouTube channel, Buttery
Biscuit Studios. I was like, I had to
[15:15] practice that.
Where they share their projects with a
[15:18] growing audience.
Their work is also featured on MTV
[15:24] including interviews with Colin Wars
package further demonstrating their
[15:28] commitment to refining their craft and
sharing their voice. On behalf of myself
[15:33] and the Borough Council, congratulations
Max and Tyler. We're proud to recognize
[15:38] your achievements and eager to see what
outstanding work you create next.
[15:49] I I also have to add that both of these
young men were outstanding camp
[15:54] counselors in our rec program this
summer
[15:56] and also that Tyler will be interning
with us
[16:01] in the fall
and and he'll lend his creative touch to
[16:07] what what gets
put together coming out of the borough
[16:12] and that both of these gentlemen will be
doing some work at our community day.
[16:23] » Shout out to Eric and Leo who are also
in the front row today. They help us
[16:27] with all of our productions, help us in
writing, post-production, directing and
[16:31] are absolutely fantastic actors. If you
check out any of our movies, Eric's
[16:34] always a star and Leo's always that
surprise villain coming from behind. So
[16:39] Thank you so much Mayor Kat.
[17:06] » And then
you guys come on out.
[18:11] » Before proceeding to the next
agenda items, we'll take a short
[18:14] 3-minute break. Anyone wishing to leave
may do so at this time.
[20:17] » beginning with reports.
If everyone's ready.
[20:21] Uh, beginning with Mr. Neff, our borough
engineer.
[20:25] » Thank you, Council President.
Uh,
[20:27] the 2026 road program is substantially
complete. Um, they've finished 95% of
[20:34] the work. They're doing some minor punch
list work. And they just have Locust
[20:38] Grove Road left on the paving list. Um,
that won't be taking place just yet
[20:42] though cuz we are still waiting. We're
going to get sanitary sewer and a water
[20:46] main extension down that road.
But, thank you to all the residents who
[20:50] worked with us on that project. I know
there are some inconveniences as with
[20:53] any project, but it turned out great.
Also, Hans Park has been undergoing some
[20:59] upgrades. Um, previously the basketball
courts out there was just, you know,
[21:03] old, outdated
gray asphalt. Uh, it's gotten pretty
[21:06] worn out. So, we did a resurfacing out
there. It all looks brand new,
[21:10] color-coded, re-striped.
Uh so, court looks great. DPW's going to
[21:15] be getting some new bleachers, doing
some other cleanup work in that park.
[21:19] So, that there's some nice upgrades
going on there.
[21:22] And I am happy to hear that we did get
confirmation from DEP and the New Jersey
[21:27] Forest Service that we are getting the
$20,000 grant for the tree inventory and
[21:33] the community forest management plan
development. So, we will start working
[21:38] with our uh
certified tree expert on that plan. It's
[21:41] mostly for the public park areas um
throughout town and what we can do to
[21:47] increase the uh tree canopy, maintain
the existing trees, things like that.
[21:52] That's all I've got.
>> Thank you, Mr. Neff.
[21:54] Mr. Fallon, our CFO.
>> Yeah, I have no report tonight, Council
[21:58] President. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[22:00] Mr. Camilleri, our Business
Administrator.
[22:03] » Thank you, Council President. Uh first I
want to thank Recreation again. They
[22:06] just finished a successful summer camp.
They had over 320 kids this year, which
[22:11] I think that's the most they've had so
far. Uh they had great camp counselors
[22:15] uh coming back year after year to help
them. Also want to thank the police
[22:19] department. They just finished a
three-week uh Junior Police Academy.
[22:23] They had 22 cadets, and then they had uh
five student leaders, which are uh
[22:28] people that have already gone through
that program, and they come in and help
[22:31] mentor the younger children.
And then also, we are working with the
[22:36] uh Monmouth County
people. We are uh working on a pilot
[22:39] program they're trying to do, which is a
cold red, which is a summer form of the
[22:43] cold blue. So, instead of a warming
center, they're they're working with
[22:46] them to um
host a cooling center uh for extreme
[22:50] heat.
That's all I've
[22:54] » Thank you, Mr. Camilleri.
Mayor Clay.
[22:57] » Thank you, Council President.
Um it's uh been a busy month.
[23:03] Um
well, since the last uh council meeting.
[23:07] Uh
the beginning at middle of July, we had
[23:10] a ribbon cutting.
Um
[23:13] we uh Mr. Neff and I have been attending
the Pamero meetings.
[23:18] Um on the 16th, it was a double header
where um
[23:24] we uh worked with Robert Wood Johnson
to create uh tiles for new mural that's
[23:32] going to be featured in their cancer
center.
[23:34] And then that night uh we were at um
Council President Nessie's barber shop
[23:41] uh doing uh haircuts for the police
academy, which definitely is not my
[23:46] strong suit.
Um
[23:49] on the 17th, several of us attended the
Tinton Falls senior group's senior
[23:56] picnic,
uh which was uh
[23:59] a great hot Friday. Also, thank you to
recreation for all the work that they
[24:06] did to make that happen.
Um
[24:09] uh uh our business administrator, Mr.
Cammarano, uh
[24:13] referenced recreation.
Uh we were fortunate enough to get to a
[24:17] number of activities, including the
inflatable day and the talent show, and
[24:24] it was a stellar camp season. Um it's
always incredible to see how over 300 uh
[24:32] kids can engage at the same time, all
busy.
[24:37] And also um
that uh the rec program had to endure a
[24:43] lot of crazy weather, and they did so,
and they did it successfully.
[24:49] Um
uh
[24:51] uh Mr. Cammarano and I also attended the
Mincola Civic Association scholarship
[24:57] awards,
where several Monmouth Regional students
[25:00] were honored.
And
[25:03] a number of us also attended the MAZDA
truck pull.
[25:08] If you've never been, I highly encourage
it. It's always in August. It's always a
[25:13] very hot day
and they raise a lot of money for
[25:17] charity.
Um
[25:20] on August 3rd we had our first official
meeting of the mayor's wellness
[25:27] campaign.
We have approximately 16 people
[25:33] from different facets of our community.
We have EMS people. We have
[25:39] someone from the police department. We
have people that work in private
[25:44] agencies. We have pastors.
And what we are doing is looking at
[25:51] recent needs assessments that were
conducted that involved Tin Falls
[25:56] residents and trying to determine what
needs exist in this community amongst
[26:03] our residents
covering all ages from little ones to
[26:09] seniors. And then we will be looking at
proposals
[26:15] from different agencies and individuals
who are interested in providing those
[26:20] services and may range from mental
health to nutrition and pretty much
[26:27] anything else that you can imagine along
those lines. The caveat is that anything
[26:33] that we fund has to relate back to
mental health substance abuse prevention
[26:41] peer leadership
anything that builds resiliency.
[26:47] Um so it's fairly broad and I'm very
encouraged by the wide range of people
[26:53] that we have. Uh also uh on that
committee is uh
[26:58] Councilman Alessio.
Bless you.
[27:01] Uh National Night Out, I just want to
give a shout-out to the police
[27:04] department. Uh also everybody else that
assisted with that night, it was
[27:09] amazing.
Uh
[27:12] I heard such good reviews even though it
was accidentally moved, I think people
[27:16] really loved it there. And uh everyone
did a great job.
[27:21] Uh
It was mentioned that we were at
[27:23] President the Junior Academy graduation.
And that's another stellar program put
[27:29] on by our police department.
And then um
[27:34] also in addition to that this weekend
the Crawford House did a fantastic job
[27:41] with the ice cream social
that we attended. And um that evening we
[27:47] went to a fire company dinner. So it's
been busy but very good.
[27:53] Um also I just want to mention uh two
more quick things.
[27:58] Um in response to residents' request and
residents' displeasure
[28:05] with JCP&L
we have on the calendar a town hall
[28:11] for September 17th
where residents will be able to speak
[28:16] directly
to JCP&L.
[28:20] And I'm hoping that people will put down
their laptops and their comments on
[28:26] social media and bring them here. So one
can only hope.
[28:31] And um additionally on tonight's agenda
uh there's a resolution about um
[28:38] opioids. And I do want to mention that
uh if you see the uh purple flags when
[28:46] you came in.
That um and those represent
[28:51] uh 89 lives lost in Monmouth County
in 2025.
[28:57] But even more
um
[29:00] I I don't want to say important, but
even more important to note is
[29:05] that there were 344
non-fatal overdoses in Monmouth County.
[29:11] So, opioids continue to be a pressing
issue.
[29:15] They cross all social lines. They don't
discriminate, and they affect so many
[29:20] families in in our county, in our state,
and in our country. Thank you.
[29:26] » Thank you, Mayor Clay.
Mr. Starkey, our director of law.
[29:29] » Uh thank you, Council President. I have
no report tonight.
[29:32] » Thank you.
Mrs. Hutchinson, our borough clerk.
[29:35] » Uh thank you, Council President. I have
no report this evening.
[29:40] » Thank you. Moving on to council reports
beginning with Mr. uh Lessy.
[29:44] » Thank you, Council President. Uh I just
want to report that the Planning Board
[29:48] meeting scheduled for tomorrow evening
is canceled as of today.
[29:52] And that's all I have for my report.
Thank you.
[29:54] » Thank you, Mr. Lessy.
Ms. Buckley.
[29:57] » Thank you, Council President. Um I will
uh be brief. Uh Mayor Clay mentioned a
[30:01] lot of uh lot of items. Um
I just want to also thank the police
[30:06] department um and the administration for
the police uh National Night Out. It was
[30:10] a great evening. I was glad I was able
to attend that one. I did miss the
[30:13] Historic Commission uh ice cream social
that my council members talked about it,
[30:16] but I hear it was fantastic, and the
pictures were great. Um and I also was
[30:20] able to attend the Maza Truck Pull. Uh
I'd like to thank uh the borough for
[30:23] their participation, and Maza for that
wonderful event as well. And that's all
[30:27] for my report. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Ms. Buckley. Mr. Neese.
[30:31] » Yes, thank you, Council President.
Um yes, I attended um many of the items
[30:36] mentioned, but I'll just brief through.
Um
[30:40] we were at a uh cutting for the Monmouth
Counselors
[30:43] um on 7/13.
I went to the Crawford uh house on the
[30:48] 14th for the plastic detox. I will say
that I no longer bring a plastic bottle
[30:52] with me. I now carry a metal one.
Thank you very much. Uh
[30:57] went to the uh NJEDA tour um that was a
ribbon cutting for their new office uh
[31:03] and then I did the tour of Fort Monmouth
which was a very good tour. It was like
[31:08] a 45-minute tour. I learned a lot and um
I've been through Fort Monmouth many,
[31:13] many times myself.
Um
[31:18] uh the Junior Police Academy did a
great
[31:23] job that evening.
Uh it was too bad for the weather that
[31:27] they didn't get out to march. Uh but I
will say it was a good ceremony. The
[31:30] power went out briefly, but did come
back on.
[31:34] Um and um today we had the uh Community
Day uh meeting.
[31:41] Um the Community Day event is to be held
on 9/26. Don't forget the date.
[31:47] Also, the Zoning Board's next meeting is
on September 3rd.
[31:52] And uh this year we will be
um having the anniversary for 9/11,
[31:58] which is the 25th anniversary. I just
wanted to bring that up. Thank you.
[32:03] » Thank you, Mr. Nees. Mr. Parekh.
>> Thank you, Council President. Uh cover
[32:07] some of the events that I attended. Uh
first, uh congratulations to the
[32:12] Historic Commission and the Crawford
House on a successful old-fashioned
[32:15] Sunday event that they had on the 8th.
Uh it was a warm day, but it was well
[32:19] attended. Lots of young families joined
us and uh we appreciate the efforts they
[32:24] made there to bring the community
together. Uh also on that same night, uh
[32:27] I want to
share a sincere thank you to the fire
[32:30] companies for including us on their uh
annual celebration. It was nice to
[32:33] connect with uh the men and women that
keep us safe in our town,
[32:38] um, and many of them were honored for
their efforts. So, that was a great
[32:41] night. Uh, I also want to acknowledge
the efforts of, uh, the Tinton Falls
[32:45] Wreck Department. Um, as many of his
have stated, uh, they had record numbers
[32:50] this year. I've heard a lot of positive
feedback from, um, neighbors and and,
[32:56] uh, folks in the community about uh, how
engaged the children were, how happy
[33:00] they were to attend, and they're already
looking forward to next year's summer
[33:04] camp. Uh, my children as well were were,
uh, really pleased with, uh, the
[33:08] activities and the and the fun they had.
So, some fantastic summer memories for
[33:12] for our children and in the community.
Um, I also wanted to mention, uh, with,
[33:17] uh,
uh, some of the boards of eds, um, with
[33:20] the, uh, Tinton Falls Board of
Education, with, uh,
[33:24] Mr. Pelayo stepping down, there was a
vacant seat. They appointed, um,
[33:28] Nicholas Belia as, uh, as a new board
member to the Tinton Falls Board of Ed.
[33:33] He will be also participating on their
finance and facilities, uh,
[33:37] committees. The next meeting for the
Tinton Falls Board of Education, uh,
[33:42] which will be to kick off the the new
school year, is on August 27th. And the
[33:47] same for the Monmouth Regional Board of
Education will be on August 18th. I also
[33:51] want to highlight an, uh, a really
interesting event that the Crawford
[33:55] House is hosting.
Um, it is a screening of the Monmouth
[33:59] County at War documentary that, uh, the
county commissioners have have, uh, gone
[34:04] to great lengths to put together. If you
have an opportunity, take a look at it
[34:08] on YouTube. There's a trailer there. Um,
it's it's really intriguing. It's called
[34:13] Rebels, Raiders, and the Revolution in
Monmouth County. That scree- screening
[34:17] screening will happen on October 21st at
the Crawford House at 7:00 p.m. So, uh,
[34:22] if any if all of you, uh,
anyone that's available, we look forward
[34:25] to seeing you. Uh, that's all I have,
Council President.
[34:28] » Thank you, Mr. Pareek. And as for
myself, I just want to thank our
[34:32] congratulate all the certificate
recipients this evening.
[34:36] Moving on to ordinances, there are three
ordinances on for introduction this
[34:40] evening. I'd like to remind the public
that when an ordinance is introduced,
[34:43] there is no public discussion. The
public discussion for the following
[34:46] ordinances will take place when it's up
for final consideration. With that, may
[34:51] I ask the clerk to read the title of the
first ordinance?
[34:54] » 2026-1550,
an ordinance amending chapter 4 of the
[34:59] borough code entitled general licensing
by amending section 4-20, motel hotel
[35:05] guest registration, to establish
limitations on the duration of hotel and
[35:09] motel occupancy and to preserve the
transient nature of hotel and motel
[35:13] uses. The public hearing will be held on
September 1st, 2026, or as soon
[35:18] thereafter as a matter can be reached on
the agenda.
[35:21] » Thank you.
May have a motion to approve the
[35:23] introduction of this ordinance.
>> Motion.
[35:26] » Thank you, Mr. Pareek.
May have a second?
[35:29] » Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
[35:32] May have a roll call, please?
>> Mr. Alessi?
[35:34] » Yes.
>> Ms. Buckley?
[35:36] » Yes.
>> Mr. Neese?
[35:37] » Yes.
>> Mr. Pareek?
[35:39] » Yes.
>> Mr. Nessie?
[35:41] » Yes.
[35:44] » May I ask the clerk to read the title of
the next ordinance?
[35:47] » 2026-1551,
an ordinance creating a new chapter 26
[35:52] of the borough code to be entitled
short-term rentals. The public hearing
[35:55] will be held on September 1st, 2026, or
as soon thereafter as a matter can be
[36:00] reached on the agenda.
>> Thank you. May have a motion to approve
[36:03] the introduction of this ordinance.
>> Motion.
[36:06] » Thank you, Mr. Neese.
May have a second?
[36:11] » Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Pareek.
[36:13] May have a roll call, please?
>> Mr. Alessi?
[36:16] » Yes.
>> Ms. Buckley?
[36:18] » Yes.
>> Mr. Neese?
[36:19] » Yes.
>> Mr. Pareek?
[36:21] » Yes.
>> Mr. Nessie?
[36:22] » Yes.
[36:25] » May I ask the clerk to read the title of
the last ordinance?
[36:29] » 2026-1552
an ordinance amending the general
[36:33] penalty provisions of the Borough code
of the Borough of Tinton Falls to
[36:36] authorize per day fines for continuing
ordinance violations. The public hearing
[36:41] will be held on September 1st, 2026 or
as soon thereafter as the matter can be
[36:45] reached on the agenda.
>> Thank you.
[36:47] May I have a motion to approve the
introduction of this ordinance?
[36:50] » Motion.
>> Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
[36:53] May I have a second?
>> Second.
[36:55] » Thank you, Mr. Nees.
May I have a roll call, please?
[36:59] » Mr. Alessi.
>> Yes.
[37:00] » Ms. Buckley.
>> Yes.
[37:02] » Mr. Nees.
>> Yes.
[37:03] » Mr. Parekh.
>> Yes.
[37:05] » Mr. Nessi.
>> Yes.
[37:09] Moving on, there is one ordinance for
final consideration.
[37:14] We will hold a public hearing with
comments being limited to 3 minutes.
[37:17] Comments may be only pertain to the
ordinance.
[37:20] May I ask the clerk to read the title of
the ordinance?
[37:23] » 2026-1549
an ordinance adopting a revision and
[37:27] codification of the ordinances of the
Borough of Tinton Falls, County of
[37:30] Monmouth, State of New Jersey.
>> Thank you. May I have a motion to open
[37:34] the public discussion on this ordinance?
>> Motion.
[37:38] » Thank you, Ms. Buckley.
>> But if I may just want to make one
[37:42] comment before you open public
discussion.
[37:44] » Yes.
>> Um there is one change uh to the
[37:47] ordinance that's being considered
tonight um from when it was considered
[37:51] on first reading. Uh this is a it's a
lengthy ordinance, but there's uh
[37:55] changes to chapter 17 in here, which is
tree removal and replacement. And in
[38:01] particular, there's a section 17-9.
Um there is one sentence in that ordi-
[38:07] that part of the ordinance that's going
to be deleted on this um second reading.
[38:12] And I just want to read into the record.
The sentence says, "The maximum amount
[38:15] to be collected as a contribution to the
tree escrow fund shall be $250,000 per
[38:20] site." Um that sentence is deleted in
the ordinance that's being considered
[38:24] tonight. That is not a material change,
so you can proceed with second reading.
[38:28] But, I just wanted to make the public
aware of that.
[38:30] » Thank you, Mr. Starkey.
May I have a motion to open the public
[38:34] discussion for this ordinance?
>> Motion.
[38:38] » Mr. Thank you, Mr. Pareek. May I have a
second?
[38:41] » Second.
>> Thank you, Ms. Buckley. All in favor?
[38:43] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[38:44] » Aye.
>> Is there anyone from the public that
[38:46] would like to comment? Please remember
to state your name and town for the
[38:49] record.
[38:59] » Barbara Colberg, 21 Cedar Place, Tinton
Falls, New Jersey, 07724.
[39:05] I'm a member of the Shade Tree
Commission. I'm speaking you tonight
[39:08] because there are changes coming in the
2026 1549 ordinance affecting Tinton
[39:14] Falls code 3-36.5
and 3.36.6,
[39:20] which will remove the Shade Tree
Commission's authority. We currently
[39:23] have authority over our trees. With your
vote, yes, our power will be totally
[39:28] eliminated so that we can no longer
safeguard Tinton Falls trees. New Jersey
[39:32] state law 40:64-5,
sorry, 64-5,
[39:38] states that a Shade Tree Commission
created under the state's chapter has
[39:42] full and exclusive authority over the
regulation, planting, and care of trees
[39:46] in public areas. This mandate lists
specific powers allowing that municipal
[39:51] law can modify the powers, but the 2026
1549 removes our authority entirely,
[39:57] which seems to be illegal at the state
level. The Shade Tree Commission, STC
[40:01] for short, welcomed all new members when
we were invited to our first meeting on
[40:06] April 9th, 2025.
We didn't realize we had full authority
[40:10] because we were never told we did. We
were told at this meeting we were only
[40:14] allowed to do two things: create a list
of recommended trees and talk to the
[40:18] community about trees. We were directly
told that we were not to approach the
[40:23] planning board or to try to talk to
borough employees about trees.
[40:27] Today, we are sad and discouraged to
realize that we are only finding out
[40:30] about our authority as it is being taken
away. All of this feels wrong to us. We
[40:36] are here, eager and ready, volunteering
our time, bringing years of experience
[40:40] and knowledge. Our STC of five members
currently includes three master
[40:45] gardeners. The SDC envisioned borough
employees, commissions, and boards
[40:50] working together to achieve the worthy
goals in the Tinton Falls Master Plan,
[40:54] such as maintaining and upgrading the
existing system of parks. We want to be
[40:58] more useful. We can see that other
towns, such as Little Silver and Fair
[41:02] Haven, have robust STCs that are much
more effective. This year, the Tinton
[41:07] Falls STC has boldly started efforts to
improve our borough trees by applying
[41:12] for state grants from the New Jersey
Urban Community and Community Program
[41:17] and the New Jersey Shade Tree
Federation. If our power is eliminated,
[41:21] we fear that we will be ineligible to
apply for such state grants.
[41:26] Tinton Falls currently current Chapter
17 code states that the SDC and a tree
[41:31] specialist both have power. Our tree
specialist was contracted from two
[41:36] engineering firms. Consequently, our
tree specialist has an engineering
[41:39] focus, not a conservation focus. I saw
this first hand when these particular
[41:44] firms bid on a job that the
Environmental Commission was given a
[41:47] grant to do. Their proposal showed an
engineering perspective and did not
[41:51] address conservation issues. Tinton
Falls still has old growth trees, and we
[41:55] need to hold on to them for future
generations. So, going forward, all of
[41:59] this is concerning. Please don't take
away the SDC's authority. We propose
[42:04] that the SDC should work with tree
specialists, and the borough create a
[42:08] better agreement for how we work
together. That would ensure that the
[42:11] SDC, as stewards of the trees, have a
voice in what happens. Thank you for
[42:16] your time.
>> Thank you, Ms. Goldberg.
[42:22] Is there anyone else who would like to
speak on this ordinance?
[42:32] » Good evening. Ellen Goldberg, 90
Glenwood Drive.
[42:36] I would like to express my thoughts on
how excited I was to have the Shade Tree
[42:40] Commission back up and running in Tinton
Falls.
[42:43] I truly believe they there are they are
very concerned and dedicated residents
[42:49] that are serving on this commission, and
they have a tremendous tree-mendous,
[42:54] pun intended, amount to offer our
borough.
[42:58] This commission is so important to have
and will continue to work with the
[43:01] borough to achieve the goals of the
master plan.
[43:04] Why do we have a master plan? Isn't it
to protect our residents and be sure
[43:09] that we we maintain the integrity that
we are meant to have here?
[43:13] There are obviously countless reasons
why we need trees. We need more, not
[43:18] less, as we develop and grow and build.
This is taken directly from the master
[43:24] plan.
Enhance pedestrian connections within
[43:28] the borough between and among
residential neighborhoods, community
[43:32] resources, and commercial areas.
Promote the development of a
[43:36] comprehensive borough-wide system of
greenways, bike ways, and other
[43:42] pedestrian connections.
Trees are imperative to our survival
[43:47] as a human race. Cutting down one of the
most important assets that we have and
[43:53] not replacing is just unthinkable to me.
Having the Shade Tree Commission is one
[43:58] of the utmost im- importance commissions
to our residents.
[44:03] I personally went to them for advice on
choosing a tree to plant in my yard, the
[44:08] location of my tree on my property, and
when I noticed something on it that
[44:13] looked like a problem, I had this group,
this commission, to reach out to for
[44:18] help.
The Shade Tree Commission should be
[44:20] helping the bureau to protect our air
quality, which is diminishing rapidly.
[44:25] More people, cars, trucks, buses,
wildfires,
[44:29] higher temperatures
and like I've never seen before, make me
[44:34] very worried about our health.
Our roles as public servants, and I
[44:38] include myself as the chairperson of the
Environmental Commission, is to take
[44:43] care of our town and keep it safe in
every way possible.
[44:47] I encourage you not to allow the
authority of the Shade Tree Commission
[44:52] to be taken away.
This is a group of individuals that I
[44:55] trust will do the right thing for Tinton
Falls. Thank you.
[45:00] » Thank you, Ms. Goldberg.
[45:04] Is there Anyone else would like to
speak?
[45:06] Sure.
[45:14] » Hey, good evening. Uh Mitch Goldberg,
also from 21 Cedar Place, Tinton Falls.
[45:19] Um
Uh my my comments are more general.
[45:23] Uh
There's been a lot of excitement around
[45:25] this ordinance, and I I was going
through it, and I I mean, so the first
[45:28] instance that got pulled. Anyway, point
is, I don't really understand this
[45:32] ordinance. It It's basically some type
of massive correction
[45:37] for the for our entire code, and I'm I'm
It's just not clear from looking at it
[45:43] uh
why why we're doing it, what it's for,
[45:46] why we're doing it now.
Uh and it and it seems, you know, it It
[45:50] re- first read, it it kind of looks, all
right, well, you know, committee names
[45:53] have changed, and you know, these
department names are changed. And that's
[45:56] fine to do a massive clerical
modification to to our code, if you want
[46:02] to do that, but there's definitely
changes in there that constitute
[46:05] alterations to these laws.
Minor some of them, you know, fees and
[46:09] things like that change, but in general,
um
[46:13] it seems like a sweeping massive, you
know, bill that covers a whole bunch of
[46:17] area in one time that makes a lot of
changes.
[46:21] Doesn't feel right and also feels like a
place where you can hide stuff
[46:25] for the paranoid among us. So, anyway, I
I know it's supposed to be only a
[46:30] one-way conversation, but if somebody
wanted to explain what this is all
[46:34] about, I would appreciate it, but
otherwise that's that's all I have to
[46:37] say. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, Mr. Colbert.
[46:51] » Good evening.
Richard Calvert, 13 Mayberry Drive.
[46:55] I'm here to discuss the
deplorable and dangerous conditions of
[47:01] our roads. Uh I
>> We're only speaking right now on behalf
[47:06] of the ordinance. Is this Is this
pertaining to the ordinance? Correct?
[47:09] » I'm sorry.
>> Is this pertaining to the ordinance that
[47:11] we're
um
[47:12] » Oh, no. I have to wait.
>> Yeah, there's going to be a public
[47:15] discussion.
>> Okay. Got you.
[47:22] » Is there anybody else would like to
speak on this ordinance?
[47:29] » Council President, there was an email
sent in that I would like to read if
[47:32] that's okay.
>> Yes, please.
[47:34] » Thank you.
Um the email was sent in from Anthony
[47:38] Priver Terra.
Um it stated, "New Jersey law requires
[47:43] shade tree commissions to have authority
based on my layman's understanding of
[47:48] NJSA 40:64-5.
[47:52] The proposed cap of 250,000 is far too
low. A con- In conservative estimate of
[47:59] these number of these numbers would
allow any tree cut after number 520 to
[48:05] be done free of any replacement. Given
that there are an estimated 89 trees at
[48:10] 12-in DBH per acre, you basically cut
down as many acres of trees if you
[48:16] wanted
pay for the first 5.
[48:20] acres.
We need to spend some time working on a
[48:23] sliding scale for the cap based on the
size of the property at a minimum should
[48:28] be
should have a million-dollar cap in the
[48:31] meantime.
Um he also included a reference table in
[48:35] this email.
That concludes the email. Thank you.
[48:38] » Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson.
[48:42] Are there any more comments this evening
on the ordinance?
[48:46] Hearing none, may I have a motion to
close the public hearing?
[48:50] Motion?
Thank you, Ms. Buckley. May I have a
[48:52] second?
>> Second.
[48:55] » Thank you, Mr. Alessi. All in favor?
>> Aye.
[48:57] » Aye.
>> Are there any council members that would
[48:59] like to comment on this ordinance?
>> I would. Thank you, Council President.
[49:03] Um
uh yes.
[49:06] So uh first I'd like to um
thank uh what however made the decision
[49:11] to remove the cap until that can be
further analyzed as to whether or not a
[49:14] cap is appropriate on the tree removal
and replacement. Um
[49:19] my comments I um
also just wanted to to make clear when I
[49:22] was also reading around the shade tree
commission to the to the comments that
[49:25] just came in.
It like the current wording does say
[49:28] exercise full and exclusive control over
and the changes say make recommendations
[49:33] on. So to me um that that does read I
don't know whether this is the intent of
[49:39] of the changes, but it does read like
any full any approval authority um or
[49:45] real authority is being removed and it's
making it more like just
[49:48] recommendations. Um Um, I I don't I I I
did read the state statute. I don't know
[49:54] I'm not an I'm an attorney. It does seem
to conflict with the state statute. Um,
[49:57] I don't that's just my layman's uh,
you know, reading of it. But, um, I
[50:02] would you know,
from a public perception perspective,
[50:05] like I understand in the past like other
iterations of the Shade Tree Commission
[50:09] perhaps weren't active, weren't filled.
There was a period of time where we only
[50:12] had like two or three people, right?
But, that's not now. So, like from a
[50:17] like me you know, being elected official
I constantly if I get in touch with
[50:21] residents or they contact me about
something and they've got expertise and
[50:24] they want to get involved. I'm like all
for that. Like to me that's the best use
[50:28] of government. And now we have like a
really knowledgeable got a couple of
[50:32] tree experts people on the Shade Tree
Commission. I think that should be
[50:35] encouraged and like
I don't know that I'm not I've no idea
[50:39] where the intent of this change came
from. But, if we make this change it's
[50:43] going to completely dampen that, right?
Like we want to encourage people with
[50:46] knowledge to be involved. And I feel
like this would do the opposite whether
[50:50] or not that was the intent. I doubt it
was. But, I do think that would be the
[50:53] effect of it. Um, and I do think like
we're I know they're applying for grants
[50:58] and things. Like I do think there's a
lot that that can be done now that we
[51:00] have the expertise there and I think we
should encourage that. Um, also just a
[51:04] silly thing anecdotally as I drove here,
like the logo of Tin Falls is a sycamore
[51:09] tree. Like to me that means like that
was intentional for a reason and I do
[51:13] think we should, you know, encourage
that. Part of the um,
[51:16] tree removal and replacement ordinance
was actually designating historic trees.
[51:20] Which to me was, you know, Sycamore
Avenue historic Sycamore trees. So, I do
[51:23] think there's a lot more work to be done
that the expertise of this particular
[51:27] iteration of the Shade Tree Commission
would be valued in. So, I I'm fine with
[51:31] changing some of the wording to like it
make it a partnership should there be a
[51:35] future iteration of the Shade Tree
Commission where we don't have
[51:37] volunteers.
Right? We don't want to
[51:39] we don't want to stop progress if you
will. But, the current iteration just
[51:43] changing this to make recommendations I
think that will have a dampening effect
[51:46] that I can't uh, that I can't support
this particular section. Thank you.
[51:51] » Thank you, Ms. Buckley.
[51:57] Any other members of council like to
speak on this ordinance?
[52:02] Hearing none.
May I have a motion for adoption?
[52:07] » Motion.
>> Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
[52:11] May I have a second?
>> Second.
[52:13] » Thank you, Mr. Nice.
May I have a roll call, please?
[52:17] » Mr. Alessi?
>> Yes.
[52:20] » Ms. Buckley?
>> No, just for the aforementioned reasons.
[52:23] I just want to put it on the record. I
don't have any problem with the rest of
[52:25] the entire codification ordinance.
>> Thank you. Mr. Nice?
[52:30] » Yes.
>> Mr. Pareek?
[52:32] » Yes.
>> Mr. Nessi?
[52:34] » Yes.
[52:42] » Moving on to public discussion. May I
have a motion to open the public
[52:45] discussion?
>> Motion.
[52:48] » Thank you, Ms. Buckley. May I have a
second?
[52:50] » Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
[52:53] All in favor?
>> Aye.
[52:56] » Before we begin the public comment, I
would like to remind everyone that
[52:59] the procedures are outlined in the
public comment section of the agenda.
[53:03] When you come up to speak, please
clearly state your name and town for the
[53:05] clerk.
You will have 3 minutes, and all your
[53:08] remarks must remain respectful and
follow the rules noted in the agenda.
[53:13] Is there anyone who would like to speak
this evening on any matter?
[53:17] » Okay.
Sorry about that before, folks.
[53:20] » That's okay.
>> Okay.
[53:22] Uh Richard Calvert, 13 Mayberry Drive.
I am here to
[53:27] talk about the
very dangerous and deplorable road
[53:31] conditions
for our neighborhood, which is Mayberry
[53:34] Drive, Bowles Lane, Blueberry Lane,
Ruffin Court, McMedemy Place, and
[53:41] Squankum Road from
the Route 18 overpass to Colts Neck.
[53:47] I've been in touch with Mr. Neff a
number of times emailing back and forth.
[53:52] We have a number of issues.
We never received our final course. Mr.
[53:56] Neff disagrees with that assessment.
He's been out, but we have lips on our
[54:02] Belgium block
that are intolerable.
[54:06] We have
drainage issues where the drains back up
[54:11] because they are above
the water level of the pavement. And
[54:17] weeds grow
and it exacerbates the situation makes
[54:22] it even worse. But the most overwhelming
since I got to really talk fast here
[54:26] with this time limit, the most
overwhelming issue here
[54:31] is
the ADA compliance
[54:35] on
the handicap access points on these
[54:40] sidewalks.
And
[54:43] I have a semi partially handicapped
person in my family. We have tried to
[54:50] navigate that in the wheelchair and the
walker. The lips are like this. The ADA
[54:56] code is no more than a quarter inch.
And it can't be done by just throwing
[55:02] temporary pavement up there
and trying to make it work. It's got a
[55:08] full requirement of regulations that
have to be followed to make it compliant
[55:14] with title two.
[55:17] And I'm wondering
if this is something that's going to be
[55:22] looked at because
the average lifespan for an asphalt
[55:29] pavement is 20 to 25 years.
You know how long we have been in
[55:36] Sterling Forest
35 years and we've never had a paving.
[55:43] So, we are way past. We should have been
on the schedule 10 years ago.
[55:48] And we didn't even get on it this year.
And I just went over I the one street I
[55:54] saw Rutgers which was just done. The
lips on the driveway are approximately a
[55:59] quarter to a half inch.
We have lips that are two, three, and
[56:04] four inches. They're dangerous. We've
had the go I've seen the little boy
[56:09] across the street fall twice on his bike
with the training wheels, cut his knees.
[56:14] We have a dangerous and deplorable
situation that has to be rectified and
[56:21] we need action right away. We've waited
35 years
[56:27] for something to happen.
And the fact that I contacted Mr. Neff
[56:32] last year,
we should have been put on He came out
[56:35] and did a physical exam.
We have weeds growing up in the middle
[56:40] of the street.
It it's it's terrible and the ADA
[56:44] compliance issue is really something
that's got to be addressed here.
[56:49] » Your last name is Mr. Calvert, right?
>> I'm sorry?
[56:52] » You said your last name was Mr. Calvert?
>> Okay.
[56:55] » I know I What's your last name? I
couldn't hear you. I'm sorry.
[56:58] » I'm sorry. I can't
>> What's your last name?
[57:00] » Calvert.
>> C A L V E R T.
[57:02] » Calvert, sorry.
>> Calvert, like the whiskey.
[57:05] » On the agenda is an email. Can you send
your contact information and I will
[57:10] follow up with you or with someone else
as well to
[57:12] » Well, I
Mayor Clay has gotten copies of
[57:16] everything. Mr. Calamari has gotten
copies of everything and Mr. Neff has
[57:21] everything.
>> Okay.
[57:22] » And I've sent numerous emails and
pictures.
[57:25] I mean, I've sent You get a lot of
pictures, huh, Mr. Neff, huh?
[57:30] But I sent tons of pictures to everybody
>> Mr. Neff, you
[57:33] » to show
the sewer
[57:36] uh manhole covers have lips.
The ones that
[57:41] there's temporary pavement around the
utility covers.
[57:45] We have a very, very, very serious
situation that's got to be addressed.
[57:51] And if I can just make one more
quick comment.
[57:58] If you guys and
for my military training I always
[58:03] prepare for every scenario.
And the next step is we have been in
[58:08] touch with an attorney.
And
[58:13] to go forward here
we are prepared
[58:18] there be four points that the attorney
would
[58:22] bring up with you and I'll just give you
the four highlights. The Title II ADA
[58:26] violations and pedestrian accessibility
hazards.
[58:30] The notice of dangerous conditions
pursuant to NJSA 59 colon 4-2.
[58:38] The immediate demand for remediation.
And the open request for municipal and
[58:45] developmental records pertaining to our
streets. Okay?
[58:49] » Thank you, Mr.
>> Thank you very much. I appreciate your
[58:51] time.
>> Mr. Neff, would you like to comment on
[58:54] » Yeah, I I know there's a few residents
here. I can give a couple comments if
[58:58] you want. Uh as far as the ADA, uh I
understand it may not be compliant with
[59:02] current regulations, but
that site was built before the
[59:06] regulations were put into effect. So
it's just the fact. Um so, the ADA
[59:14] regulations require that they be
replaced when the roads are paved.
[59:18] So, we are not It's for the record,
we're not in violation of any ADA
[59:23] requirements. They not may not meet
current regulations, but we are not in
[59:26] violation of anything.
>> Understood.
[59:28] » You're only required to upgrade those
when the roads are paved.
[59:32] » Okay.
>> So, I understand the road is certainly
[59:34] showing its age. It's definitely
showing signs of wear. It's getting
[59:39] older.
We've reported it to DPW, the potholes,
[59:43] the bigger issues. You know, we'll
certainly take a look at it um when we
[59:47] do the next road program, you know,
because of budgetary reasons, we can't
[59:50] just add roads throughout the year, you
know, we have to go through the capital
[59:54] budget process. So, you know, that's in
the spring, so we'll certainly take a
[59:57] look at this. Um I can say the road, you
know, definitely did have the surface
[1:00:01] course paving. You can see the two
layers very clearly out there. But
[1:00:05] again, we'll certainly take a look at
it, you know, for a strong
[1:00:07] consideration, you know, the next time
we do a road program.
[1:00:12] » Thank you, Mr. Neff.
>> Can I comment again?
[1:00:15] Am I allowed?
>> I I I can let you comment again, yes.
[1:00:19] Not for 3 minutes, but yes, if you had a
follow-up, yes, or a question.
[1:00:22] » Okay, I do have a follow-up.
The ADA Title II was passed in 1992.
[1:00:29] And you're going to
Mr. Neff, to say to sit here and tell me
[1:00:34] you're going to wait another 2 years
because that's the next paving cycle
[1:00:41] for the town to wait 35 years to comply
with an ADA regulation is totally
[1:00:50] unacceptable.
Totally unacceptable. And you're Now
[1:00:55] you're talking about having us wait
another 2 years?
[1:00:58] And the life cycle I'd like to know and
I also one other thing I asked for was
[1:01:03] the 2026
paving schedule. And I wanted to know
[1:01:07] the time frame between when those roads
were last paved and when they're
[1:01:11] currently paved. Because if you go like
to Rutgers, which I drive by every day,
[1:01:16] and I inspected it, those lips again are
Or this. Mr. Neff, you went out to our
[1:01:22] neighborhood. You see the lips are like
this.
[1:01:25] That is because the final course was
never put down.
[1:01:30] And I asked for the records. I asked for
the performance bond retirement for the
[1:01:36] developer. I asked for the paving
records from the paver. I asked for the
[1:01:42] report from the engineering firm that
was hired by the bureau in 1991 that
[1:01:48] would have signed off on the completion
of that work. I was told none of those
[1:01:52] records are available.
Why is that?
[1:01:56] » Mr. Culver, I'm going to follow up with
Mr. Neff, Mr. Camel Larry, Mayor Clay,
[1:02:00] and
and see what we can do to get maybe
[1:02:03] clearer answers for you and then
>> I would I would like
[1:02:06] I want to get that information.
>> I will make sure you get that. Yes.
[1:02:09] » And also the 2026 paving schedule and I
want to know when the time frame that
[1:02:16] those cuz we're we haven't been paved in
35
[1:02:20] years. The life cycle for a road is 20
to 25.
[1:02:24] » We are going to move forward to another
speaker, okay?
[1:02:26] » you very much. Appreciate your time.
>> Thank you for speaking.
[1:02:34] Anybody else like to speak to tonight?
>> Hello.
[1:02:40] Um I do have some handouts I'd like to
give out. Uh Mr. Neff has this, Mayor
[1:02:45] Clay does, and uh the bureau
administrator, so
[1:02:48] I'll just leave them.
>> You can leave it right there. That's
[1:02:50] fine. Thank you.
>> you.
[1:02:53] » My name is Gina Varella. I live at 200
Hockhockson Road, Tinton Falls.
[1:02:58] I'm here tonight to discuss some
unaddressed zoning and variance
[1:03:01] violations that are occurring at 246
Hockhockson Road.
[1:03:06] Um a bulk variance board resolution BA
2025-01
[1:03:11] was granted
last year
[1:03:14] uh based on submitted plans that
depicted a driveway location, house
[1:03:18] garage location, grading, etc.
Variance condition stated that the
[1:03:23] location of the accessory building will
not be visible from the street,
[1:03:27] which will preserve the natural woody
character of beautiful Hitchcock and
[1:03:31] Road, which I happen to love cuz I live
there.
[1:03:35] Um
the owner willingly violated the
[1:03:37] approved site plan without concern for
the parameters of the variance or the
[1:03:41] impact on the environment, clear-cutting
mature 50 to 80-ft trees,
[1:03:46] slicing through extensive root networks,
endangering the remaining adjacent
[1:03:50] canopy, while stripping wildlife habitat
and disrupting the local microclimate
[1:03:56] and biodiversity.
I heard Mr. Neff talk before about
[1:03:59] preserving canopy. This
surrounding area is really at risk
[1:04:03] because of this.
Um
[1:04:10] Instead of constructing the driveway
according to the submitted layout, the
[1:04:13] owner abandoned the approved engineering
plans and relocated the driveway to an
[1:04:17] unauthorized area. They cut a straight
400-plus foot right path right along the
[1:04:23] property line.
This relocation completely deviated from
[1:04:27] the approved variance plans,
which are included in what I gave you
[1:04:31] guys.
Um
[1:04:35] and
resulted in an additional violation. It
[1:04:39] removed the woodland buffer. The mature
trees have been removed, and as a
[1:04:44] result, the building now stands clearly
visible from the road.
[1:04:47] Uh I've included pictures along with a
highlighted board-approved site plan and
[1:04:52] my last email that I sent to borough
officials.
[1:04:58] In addition to this, the straight-line
cutting eliminated the natural water
[1:05:01] absorption along my property line and
adjacent, which is just adjacent to my
[1:05:05] septic system, two tanks and one field.
Um at one some points along this
[1:05:11] property line
the
[1:05:15] property owner cleared a good 30 to 40
ft barren, bare, nothing there. It's
[1:05:21] like
if you were to shave your head, there's
[1:05:24] nothing there. There's absolutely no
buffer between my property and this
[1:05:29] property.
Um it has a significant effect on the
[1:05:32] drainage. I think for every tree, they
absorb about 100 to 300 gallons a day of
[1:05:38] water. So, it's very significant and I'm
seriously concerned as I was at the
[1:05:43] zoning meeting. I discussed this last
year, the tree removal and how it affect
[1:05:47] my septic system.
Um
[1:05:51] this area was supposed to remain heavily
wooded for a number of reasons, but one
[1:05:55] was to shield it from the road. Um and I
was hoping one was so I wasn't affected
[1:06:01] so much by it.
Um I've tried to resolve this through
[1:06:04] the proper channels. I've been in touch
with Mr. Neff since March.
[1:06:08] Um initially, I contacted him because
the owners were at the property and
[1:06:13] instead of having a licensed surveyor
map off the areas to clear, they were
[1:06:17] doing it themselves.
Mr. Neff had no problem with this even
[1:06:21] though it goes against borough
ordinance.
[1:06:24] Um
[1:06:26] in fact, every concern I've had since
then, it's really been relied on My
[1:06:31] concern is always about the trees and
and the impact on the environment. Um
[1:06:36] they've been dismissed over and over.
Um
[1:06:40] in June, I started copying the borough
administrator because I was just getting
[1:06:44] what I consider the runaround.
Um at this point, the owner,
[1:06:49] the tree removal service, and the
current builder,
[1:06:52] they all agree that this driveway is not
in the correct location. That it needs
[1:06:56] to be much further left. It was supposed
to go in a western
[1:07:01] kind of
slightly curved
[1:07:03] um
way.
[1:07:06] » And you you mentioned it was 246
Hockhockson Road, correct? And your
[1:07:09] contact information's in
the paperwork you handed up?
[1:07:12] » I I did not include my contact
but I I I'd be happy to email you my
[1:07:17] contact info.
>> Okay. On the agenda is the bureau
[1:07:20] clerk's email. If you can forward your
information and then someone from the
[1:07:23] council
will see if we can get some uh
[1:07:26] clear answer for you.
>> Yeah, so
[1:07:29] unfortunately
[1:07:33] I'm frustrated this has been going on
since March. And I feel like I've gotten
[1:07:37] totally the runaround because in my eyes
I'm not an engineer, I'm not a surveyor,
[1:07:41] I'm not a planner, I'm not an architect,
but I can read a plan. And I know it's
[1:07:45] been violated. And I see the damage
that's been done to the environment.
[1:07:48] It's it it looks absolutely horrible. It
makes me really really sad. I hear all
[1:07:54] these people talking about trees and I
feel I feel that.
[1:07:58] I feel it deeply. I've lived there for
many years. It's a beautiful area. It's
[1:08:03] very pristine.
Um
[1:08:05] » I understand. Um so we're going to
follow up. I know you you said you get
[1:08:09] the runaround. I don't like that.
>> Yeah, well I I have I have I have I have
[1:08:13] a couple of other things to say. I did
reach out to the mayor. Um
[1:08:18] because I was just at the point that I
didn't really know what to do. She told
[1:08:22] me the bureau administrator would reach
out to me.
[1:08:24] He never did. I followed up with an
email. I never received a response from
[1:08:28] the mayor.
Um
[1:08:30] at this point I I don't understand why
[1:08:35] clear violations are being ignored. I
mean this property owner actually said
[1:08:39] to me he moved it on purpose.
>> Hm.
[1:08:41] » He said he can get away with everything
he wants in the town. And I didn't want
[1:08:44] to believe that, but at this point when
I feel like everybody's looking away,
[1:08:48] like what more can I think?
It's really disappointing. And my
[1:08:53] concern at this point is that oh,
there's going to be some kind of
[1:08:56] backdoor deal and they're going to retro
something in. So oh yeah, it's okay to
[1:09:00] get done.
But that would be really, really bad.
[1:09:04] And I'm asking the council, I really am,
to direct I I requested a stop work
[1:09:10] order so we could figure everything out,
have a bonded plan and restoration. The
[1:09:15] owner did agree to this, and last week
Mr. Knapp said, "Oh, yeah, no, we're
[1:09:18] good."
So,
[1:09:22] kind of citing that the DEP said there
was no wetlands violation, which is
[1:09:25] completely separate from any zoning or
variance
[1:09:29] uh permits. So, at this point, I'm
really looking to the bureau council for
[1:09:34] help
>> Okay.
[1:09:35] » in enforcing this.
>> One of us from the council, myself or
[1:09:38] planning or zoning uh liaison will
contact you from when you reach out to
[1:09:42] the clerical I got your email.
>> Well, she she has my email. She's been
[1:09:45] very lovely.
>> Okay.
[1:09:47] » Um but, I will reach out to her again.
>> Perfect.
[1:09:49] » Okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:09:58] Would anybody else like to speak this
evening?
[1:10:07] » Hi.
Uh my name is Dave Keenan, and I live at
[1:10:11] 69 Squankum Road,
uh along with my wife.
[1:10:16] Uh my wife and her family have lived at
69 Squankum Road since the 1950s,
[1:10:23] and we are the only house that was there
before this neighborhood was built. So,
[1:10:29] we've been through the entire process.
And, you know, I lost 15 ft of my front
[1:10:34] yard for them to put that road in.
And I was willing to accept that because
[1:10:39] I assumed that the road would be
maintained.
[1:10:42] And I can tell you it
uh everything Mr. Calvert says, I I I
[1:10:46] concur and I can validate cuz I've been
there the entire time.
[1:10:50] Um I walk that road all the time with my
dog. And just for giggles, I counted
[1:10:56] there's a over a hundred patches
from the Route 18 bridge to my house on
[1:11:03] Squankum Road.
A hundred. We've been patching patches
[1:11:07] for all those years.
It's kind of silly.
[1:11:11] The other dimension that that adds to it
is
[1:11:15] there are a lot of very large trucks now
using that road.
[1:11:19] They sneak through there to get to Colts
Neck when they don't want to go through
[1:11:22] the middle of town.
Because of the
[1:11:26] state of the road,
they rip it up.
[1:11:29] There's been a a 10-truck metal
container carrier
[1:11:35] uh 10-ton
at least 20-ton been going up and down
[1:11:38] the street for the past 2 weeks every
day.
[1:11:41] Going and hitting the There's a 10-ton
bridge at the end of the road. So, he
[1:11:45] shouldn't even be on that road.
Uh
[1:11:48] garbage trucks do it, big big trucks.
So, that makes the road worse. It
[1:11:52] crumbles. I have a a a patch in front of
my driveway.
[1:11:57] The cap comes off. I cut my
uh tire on it because of that.
[1:12:02] It's still open and it it needs
a
[1:12:07] an immediate repair so it's not
dangerous like that.
[1:12:10] Um
So, I just think we've neglected that
[1:12:14] road for 35 years at least and I've seen
it and I really ask you
[1:12:19] to, you know,
step up and get it somehow on a
[1:12:23] a list
of uh roads to be repaved.
[1:12:28] Thanks a lot.
>> Thank you, Mr. Keenan.
[1:12:34] Yes.
[1:12:44] » My name is Freddy Boynton, 128 Cherry
Street, Tinton Falls.
[1:12:48] Good evening, Mayor and Council.
Uh Uh, I'm here
[1:12:52] for Apple Street
and Springdale.
[1:12:56] There's a car, two cars. I I gave the
borough administrator a picture.
[1:13:01] Parks right on that corner.
When my daughter
[1:13:05] and my kids come out, they turn onto
Apple Street, they got to swing way out
[1:13:10] in the other lane.
Oncoming traffic.
[1:13:13] I was over here a couple weeks ago,
spoke to the tech I mean the police in
[1:13:17] there to do something about it.
They went there, I guess they talked to
[1:13:21] the man to move the vehicle.
It's a traffic violation.
[1:13:25] I contacted motor vehicle
and motor vehicle
[1:13:30] gave me 25 ft from a crosswalk,
25 ft from an intersection,
[1:13:36] 50 ft from the stop sign, 10 ft
from the fire hydrant.
[1:13:41] Y'all go over there and paint that,
we won't have that problem. They will
[1:13:45] park back further. I worked for the
borough 30 years.
[1:13:49] 30 years I worked for the Red Bank.
I received a ticket
[1:13:52] when I worked for the town years ago,
right here.
[1:13:56] No parking on the street.
I get up 5:00 in the morning I work for
[1:14:00] the town. I had the borough vehicle, I
parked my personal vehicle out there.
[1:14:03] Police said I was overnight parking.
I get up to move my truck so my daughter
[1:14:08] can go to work. It wasn't out there
overnight, but I'm just letting y'all
[1:14:11] know I received a ticket and if that's a
motor vehicle violation, how come that
[1:14:16] car cannot get a ticket?
He's there every other day.
[1:14:21] I went by there this morning. There's
another car there. I took pictures of
[1:14:25] it. I turned my phone off, but I took
pictures of it.
[1:14:28] And when I went by there, police came
right up Apple Street.
[1:14:32] Never stopped. The car's right there. He
may be broke down, I don't know, but
[1:14:35] he's right on that corner.
What are we going to do?
[1:14:39] It's a traffic violation. What are we
going to do?
[1:14:42] Just going to ignore it?
[1:14:45] I'm just saying if you're going to
ignore it.
[1:14:47] Now, the other thing, Apple Street, I
mean uh Cherry Street,
[1:14:52] cars running the stop sign.
It's a four-way stop sign down there.
[1:14:57] They're running that stop sign.
My wife got hit there a couple years
[1:15:01] ago. Two of them called.
Man ran the stop sign.
[1:15:05] Go to that deli up there.
They come through there every morning.
[1:15:08] I'm not saying the police not doing
their job. They can't be everywhere.
[1:15:13] But it's a problem over there. Them
running the They're running them stop
[1:15:15] signs.
We don't have several accidents over
[1:15:18] there
on Cherry Street at that intersection.
[1:15:23] And something need to be done. We talk
about it, but there's nothing being
[1:15:26] done. We had one cop come sit there.
Caught the lady coming down the one-way
[1:15:31] street. We get that all the time.
We need something over there to stop
[1:15:36] that. We have to stop these people from
running the stop sign. They have to be
[1:15:39] issued ticket.
If I can get one, and a friend of mine's
[1:15:43] got one, I don't want to bring it up,
but the man I know about it. For a
[1:15:45] cracked windshield in the car, police
came the other way says he's she's seen
[1:15:49] the cracked windshield in his car. He's
running 40 mph, she's running 40 mph.
[1:15:54] How can you see a cracked windshield in
a man's car when the sun is out? 80 I
[1:15:58] mean 80-something degrees out there. You
can't.
[1:16:01] But he got a ticket. So, if we can get a
ticket, they deserve a ticket, too.
[1:16:05] Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Boyd.
[1:16:19] » Hi. My name is Rich Gandhi. On a side
note, I'm here to give you guys some
[1:16:23] compliments. So,
um I'm a business owner. I don't reside
[1:16:27] in in this town. I own a business in
this town. And I wanted to discuss the
[1:16:32] the hotel ordinance that you guys are
putting out. I actually think it's
[1:16:35] commendable that you guys have coming up
with this. It'll help solve a lot of
[1:16:38] problems that the township has with a
lot of the
[1:16:42] uh some of the establishments in town,
but I would actually like to add that I
[1:16:47] think you need to put some uh
uh some teeth to the to the language I
[1:16:51] did read out there.
I feel like uh
[1:16:55] there's no enforcement action and I'm
like uh there's going to be no real
[1:16:59] result that we are trying to achieve
here. I think if if they basically
[1:17:04] revisit this, I've actually talked to
Councilman Peric about this um and if
[1:17:09] you and I given some uh feedback and
points on it uh as to how they could do
[1:17:13] it because I've seen it done in a lot of
other townships. I own a few hotels and
[1:17:18] a lot of other townships. They have they
have established it and uh how they've
[1:17:23] gotten around legally.
It has helped and I've provided all that
[1:17:27] documentation to Councilman Peric. I
think you guys should um consider making
[1:17:32] a little more stringent. That would
actually help really solve our problems,
[1:17:36] but I think it's a step in the right
direction. So, thank you for doing what
[1:17:40] you guys do.
Thank you.
[1:17:46] Would anybody else like to speak this
evening?
[1:17:59] » Alan Goldberg, 90 Glenwood Drive.
Um first of all, just to announce that
[1:18:05] our Environmental Commission meeting is
next Thursday, August 20th. We usually
[1:18:09] have it the fourth Thursday of the
month, but
[1:18:12] uh due to summer activities, it's going
to be next Thursday. Uh I also wanted to
[1:18:18] report on the plastic detox. Thank you
so much, Mr. Nice, for bringing that up.
[1:18:24] The uh event I thought went very, very
well and was very well received and
[1:18:31] eye-opening to the people who came.
Um I am working on additional showings
[1:18:38] because I know that there were people
that were interested in coming that
[1:18:41] couldn't make it. So, I am looking to
work with Mr. Lee at the high school. We
[1:18:48] are We're talking about possibly making
it
[1:18:52] a a showing for the high school students
and also bring it back to the Crawford
[1:18:57] House after Community Day so that we
have an opportunity to promote it at
[1:19:01] Community Day.
Um
[1:19:06] And something interesting and I'm just
going to tag on with some of the things
[1:19:11] that some of the people were saying uh
the speed limit. So, we've changed the
[1:19:15] speed limit in a few places or the the
county, I guess it was, that changed the
[1:19:19] speed limit on Sycamore. So, it went
from 40 to 35, right? And I know that I
[1:19:25] drive on that road almost every single
day.
[1:19:29] I go 35. I have people who are on my
back of my car practically. Um you know,
[1:19:35] because they want to go faster. And I
also noticed that if I'm behind
[1:19:39] somebody, they're not going 35. So, I'm
just wondering is this
[1:19:45] uh being upheld? Is it you know, is
there any kind of ramification for
[1:19:50] anyone who's
going over the speed limit? And you
[1:19:53] know, how much more do you go over the
speed limit? I mean, it was reduced for
[1:19:57] a reason. And it's funny because I find
myself going, you know, you go 40 mile
[1:20:02] an hour road to a 35 mile an hour, and
I'm still going 35 thinking, "Well,
[1:20:07] there's residents on all of these roads.
Maybe we should consider lowering the
[1:20:12] speed limit to 35 on our town roads that
have all these residents on it because,
[1:20:18] you know, if people are going 40, people
are going 45 and 50 and whatnot. And
[1:20:23] maybe it would be better for us to just
keep all of it consistent at 35. So,
[1:20:30] just a thought. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
[1:20:38] Any other comments this evening?
[1:20:44] At this time I would like to ask the
clerk if there were any comments that
[1:20:47] were submitted prior to the meeting via
email.
[1:20:49] » There were none.
>> Hearing no further comments, may have a
[1:20:52] motion to close the public discussion.
[1:20:57] » Motion.
>> Thank you, Mr. Perik. May have a second?
[1:21:02] » Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
[1:21:04] All in favor?
I.
[1:21:07] Does any member of council have anything
to add this evening?
[1:21:12] Hearing none,
we will now move on to the consent
[1:21:15] agenda.
Are there any items any member of
[1:21:18] council would like to be removed to be
voted upon separately?
[1:21:23] Hearing none, may have a motion to
approve the consent agenda.
[1:21:27] » Motion.
>> Thank you, Mr. Nice.
[1:21:29] May have a second?
>> Second.
[1:21:32] » Thank you, Mr. Alessi.
May have a roll call, please.
[1:21:35] » Mr. Alessi?
>> Yes.
[1:21:37] » Ms. Buckley?
>> Yes.
[1:21:39] » Mr. Nice?
>> Yes.
[1:21:40] » Mr. Perik?
>> Yes.
[1:21:42] » Mr. Nessi?
>> Yes.
[1:21:44] » Motion carries to adopt consent agenda.
>> This concludes today's business. May
[1:21:48] have a motion to adjourn.
>> Motion.
[1:21:52] » Thank you, Mr. Nice. May have a second?
>> Second.
[1:21:55] » Thank you, Mr. Perik. All in favor?
>> I.
[1:21:57] » I.
This meeting is now adjourned
[1:22:00] at 8:50.
Thank you to all attendees for your
[1:22:03] participation and orderly conduct this
evening.