* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. SO, GOOD EVENING. THIS MEETING OF THE ESSEX COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IS HEREBY CALL TO ORDER. THE MEETING IS BEING LIVESTREAMED IN ADDITION TO TAKING PLACE HERE IN PERSON, MADAM DEPUTY CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COMMISSIONER COOPER HERE. COMMISSIONER GID. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO. HERE. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON. HERE. COMMISSIONER SIBO. HERE. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. PRESIDENT, COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT EZ. HERE, PLEASE STAND FOR THE SALUTE. I'M GONNA ASK COMMISSIONER COOPER TO LEAD US IN THE SALUTE I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC, WHICH STAND ONE NATION, NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. I SHOULD ASK FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND HONOR OF THOSE WE LOST SINCE THE LAST TIME WE CAME TOGETHER. THANK YOU. I HAVE BEFORE ME CERTIFICATION FROM THE DEPUTY CLERK THAT THIS MEETING IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETING, ZACH. SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO APPROVAL TRANSCRIPTS. MADAM DEPUTY CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY TRANSCRIPTS TO BE APPROVED? YES. MR. PRESIDENT, WE HAVE ONE FROM MARCH 19TH, 2025. CONFERENCE, BOARD. MEETING. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SEE? NONE. SO I'M GONNA MOVE IT. MOVE, MOVE BY RICHARD, OR SECOND? SECOND. SECOND. BY COOPER. ROLL CALL MADAM DEPUTY CLERK COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GIL. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIBO? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MARIE THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. OKAY. MADAM DEPUTY , ANY TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION? UH, NO. MR. PRESENT? THERE ARE NOT. ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT. TONIGHT'S MEETING IS A COMBINED CONFERENCE BOARD MEETING, AND WE WILL VOTE ON EVERY ITEM ON THE AGENDA. SO PLEASE, IF THERE'S ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WILL LIKE TO MAKE COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY, PLEASE COME TO THE MICROPHONE AND STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD. YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK. THERE WILL BE TIME LATER IN THE EVENING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OTHER ITEMS. SO I ASK YOU LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS AT THIS POINT TO AGENDA ITEMS ONLY. GOOD EVENING. HI. GOOD EVENING, BOARD COMMISSIONER, UH, PRESIDENT, UH, VICE PRESIDENT AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS NORM TER 99 AVENUE IN BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY. UM, I SENT THIS EMAIL TO YOU A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. I HOPE YOU'VE RECEIVED IT. UM, I'M SPEAKING ON ITEM THREE ITEMS THIS EVENING REGARDING ON THE AGENDA. UM, ITEM NUMBER NINE, REMOVAL OF TRANS NEW JERSEY TRANSIT BUS STOP NUMBER 1 7 1 72, THE NORTHBOUND BUS STOP AT BROAD STREET AND FOSTER PLACE IN BLOOMFIELD. I URGE YOU TO TABLE THIS, UH, ITEM. AND HERE'S THE REASON WHY. THAT BUS STOP IS THE ONLY ONE IN THAT AREA THAT HAS CROSSWALKS AND A DA COMPLIANT, WHAT THEY CALL TRUNCATED DOMES. THE, UH, THE BUMPY SURFACES. IT IS THE ONLY PLACE, UH, THE ONLY BUS STOP NORTHBOUND THAT AT PEDESTRIANS CAN CROSS SAFELY. THAT MOVED IF THEY MOVED THE BUS TO STOP DOWN IN FRONT OF THE UNIVERSAL, UH, UNIVERSAL, UH, TECHNICAL INSTITUTE. UTI. THERE IS THE, I, THERE IS NO CROSSWALK, NO MARKED CROSS TO CROSS TO THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE. SO, UM, I URGE YOU TO DO THAT. IT DOESN'T HAVE A MARKED CROSSWALK. UM, IT RISES TO AN A DA ISSUE IN THAT THERE'S NO A DA COMPLIANCE. UM, AND SO, UH, PLEASE TABLE THIS ITEM UNTIL A MARKED CROSSWALK IS INSTALLED AND A MEETING BETWEEN ESSEX COUNTY ENGINEERING, THE TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, AND THE TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT TAKES PLACE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR CONSIDERATION ON THAT AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER 10, UM, AA BERMS, A CONTRACTOR, UH, WHO DOES SNOW REMOVAL AT WA SUSSING PARK. THEY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB. 80% OF THEIR WORK WAS FANTASTIC. THAT 20% IS WHAT IS CATCHING MY ATTENTION. HERE'S WHY. AND, UH, IF YOU WANNA REFER TO, UH, THE LETTER THAT I SENT YOU, IT'S ON PAGES SIX AND SEVEN. THERE'S A LITTLE TRIANGULAR PIECE OF LAND ON BLOOMFIELD AVENUE BETWEEN THE BUS STOP, THE MAJOR HUB, UH, IN FRONT OF WATS SUSSING PARK, AND THE IHOP, I CALL IT, BETWEEN THE IHOP AND THE BUS STOP. THEY DID A GREAT JOB. BUT THAT STRETCH OF SIDEWALK, IT'S ABOUT 200 FEET. UM, THAT PROVIDES THAT CONNECTION, THAT SIDEWALK CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BUS STOP AND BETWEEN DOWNTOWN BLOOMFIELD THAT AS OF FRIDAY, [00:05:01] I WASN'T ABLE TO VISIT IT TODAY, WAS UNRAVELED AND ICED OVER SIGNIFICANTLY. UM, SO PLEASE, IF SOMEBODY COULD ADDRESS THAT. UM, I ALSO URGE THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, NOT ONLY TO DRIVE BY, BUT TO PLEASE WALK THE PARK, UM, TO SEE THE, UM, AREA. THERE ARE ALSO LITTLE CONNECTORS, UM, THAT ARE NOT SHOVELED. SO, FOR INSTANCE, ON GLENWOOD AVENUE AT MELIS, THERE'S A LITTLE PATH FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE PARK THAT WAS UNSHAVED. I ALSO, UM, WALKED DOWN TO, UH, EAST ORANGE ON GLENWOOD AVENUE. THERE WAS SNOW FOR ABOUT A 100 FOOT STRETCH THERE. SO PLEASE, UM, FOR YOUR CONCERNS, 30 SECONDS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND THEN FINALLY, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 32, THE $105,000 TRAFFIC SAFETY PROGRAM. UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW HOW THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT HAS SPENT THAT MONEY OR INTENDS TO SPEND THAT MONEY. UM, I READ INTO THE PAPERWORK ON THE AGENDA AND IT SAID THERE WAS A, UM, IT WAS RELATED TO MUNICIPALITY, SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE WAS FOCUSED IN ON. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU MR. LUTER. I, UH, I DID GET YOUR EMAIL, BUT THE ATTACHMENT WAS TOO LARGE OF A FILE FOR ME TO OPEN IT, SO I HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW YOUR LETTER. UH, MR. JACKSON, DID YOU, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE COPIED IN THAT EMAIL OR NOT EARLIER. UH, YES, I DID. I DID RECEIVE IT. DID, WERE YOU ABLE TO OPEN THAT? I, I HAVE, YES. OKAY. THAT WAY THE ADMINISTRATION HAS A COPY OF YOUR CONCERNS. THANK YOU. IS ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME? OKAY. VIN, DEPUTY CLERK, LET THE RECORD REFLECT. THERE'S NO ONE ELSE PUSHING TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME. SO LET'S MOVE ON TO ORDINANCE. ORDINANCE ON INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING. DO WE HAVE ANY? NO. MR. PRESIDENT? WE DO NOT. OKAY. LET'S MOVE ON TO ORDINANCE ON SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING FOR LISTING PURPOSES ONLY. DO WE HAVE ANY? NO, WE DO NOT. OKAY. LET'S, UH, MOVE ON, UH, TO ORDINANCE MR. RESOLUTION OF THE SECOND MEETING IN PUBLIC HEARING. DO WE HAVE ANY YES, MR. PRESIDENT? WE HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR GREEN, GREEN ACRES THAT WE WILL ENTERTAIN AFTER 6:00 PM ALONG WITH RESOLUTION 17. OKAY. SO THE REQUIREMENT OF THAT, GRANTED THAT THAT PUBLIC HEARING HAS TO TAKE PLACE AT SIX O'CLOCK, CORRECT? CORRECT. OR AFTERWARDS. CORRECT. SO, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK, BACK TO THAT NUMBER 16, MRS. H. NOT AN EARLY FOR YOU, SIR. YOU'LL, YOU'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT LITTLE BIT LATER. SO LET'S MOVE ON TO RESOLUTION NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS THE ADVICE AND CONSENT, UH, TO NOMINATE FRANK MARCELLA, SENIOR FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE ESSEX COUNTY ADJUSTER. MR. JONES. GOOD EVENING, MR. PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. UM, I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO OUR COUNTY COUNCIL. MR. ST. JOHN. GOOD EVENING, MR. ST. JOHN. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. JEROME ST. JOHN COUNTY COUNCIL. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO FRANK. MS. MARCELLO, I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW HIM, BEEN WITH THE COUNTY FOR 12 YEARS. FRANK'S BEEN PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF THE STATUTORY REQUIRED POSITION OF ADJUSTER FOR THESE 12 YEARS AND, AND HAS BEEN DOING AN EXEMPLARY JOB. AS YOU KNOW, FROM THE MATERIALS, THE, UH, COUNTY ADJUSTER IS THE INDIVIDUAL THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MENTAL HEALTH COMMITMENTS AND, AND ADMISSIONS. AND, UH, WE HAVE OVER 3000 OF THEM A YEAR. SO, UH, FRANK IS VERY WELL RESPECTED, NOT ONLY BY ME, BY THE PEOPLE THAT HE DEALS WITH, BUT HE IS ONE OF THE FIVE MEMBER EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE STATEWIDE COUNTY ADJUSTERS WITHOUT THE TITLE. AND SO I HAVE THE TITLE OF COUNTY ADJUSTER, UH, AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, THE, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, PERMISSION OBVIOUSLY OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, WE'D LIKE FRANK TO ASSUME THE DUTIES OF, OF, UH, COUNTY ADJUSTER. AND I'M SORRY I HAD GIVEN THEM BAD NEWS AND NO ADDITIONAL CO UH, SALARY . SO, FRANK, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE, MAKE ANY STATEMENT? AND, AND PLEASE IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME OR FOR FRANK, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK. NO, AS YOU SAID, I I'VE BEEN HERE 12 YEARS. MR. MARCELLO, JUST PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD AND JUST TELL US LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. MY NAME IS FRANK MARCELLO. I'VE BEEN WITH THE COUNTY 12 YEARS. ACTUALLY, AUGUST 7TH IS MY 12TH ANNIVERSARY. AND I DO THE JOB OF THE COUNTY, UH, ADJUSTER, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T HAVE THE TITLE AND EVERY OTHER COUNTY EXCEPT OURS HAS A COUNTY ADJUSTER. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT IS, BUT THAT'S THE CASE. WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN FIX THAT TONIGHT. SORRY. WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN FIX THAT TONIGHT. . THANK YOU. MR. BAZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. MR. PRESIDENT. MR. MCINERNEY? NO QUESTIONS. COMMISSIONER. ANY QUESTIONS? MOTION MOVE BY COMMISSIONER COOPER SECOND. SECOND BY SEBOLD. UH, ROLL CALL MADAM DEPUTY CLERK COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL? YES. YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MARIE THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT EZ? YES. SO MOVED. CONGRATULATIONS MR. ADJUSTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. ME. GOOD LUCK. I TOLD YOU WE'D FIX THAT TOMORROW. ALL LET'S MOVE ON. RESOLUTION NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS FROM THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT [00:10:01] AND BUDGET WILL BE RUN TO THE RECORD AT A LATER TIME. MR. JACKSON, UH, TREASURER MOHAMMAD WILL HANDLE THIS ITEM. GOOD EVENING, MS. MO. UM, GOOD EVENING. UM, JOSE MOHAMMAD, COUNTY TREASURER. UM, THE RESOLUTION NUMBER TWO IS FOR RESERVE TRANSFER. THIS IS, UM, TRANSFERRED TO THE 2025 BUDGET. WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO TRANSFER IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, UM, IN AN AMOUNT OF 329,500 TO, UM, COUNTY COUNCIL FOR SOME OUTSTANDING BUILDS AND MAINTENANCE OF PARKS AND FOR UTILITIES. THANK YOU. MR. BOWS. ANY QUESTIONS? NO. MR. PRESIDENT. MR. MCINERNEY, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. COMMISSIONER, ANY QUESTIONS ON NUMBER TWO? MOTION. MOVE BY COOPER. HAVE A SECOND. SECOND. LUCIANO ON A SECOND. ROLL CALL. MADAM. DEPUTY CLERK NUMBER TWO. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SEABOLD? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT EZ? YES. SO MOVED. THANK YOU MR. MOHAMED. THANK YOU. LET'S MOVE ON TO RESOLUTION THREE THROUGH EIGHT, WHICH ARE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CITIZEN SERVICES. AND IT'LL BE READ INTO THE RECORD AT LATER TIME. MR. JACKSON? UH, THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. MR. DIRECTOR MCCOY WILL HANDLE THREE THROUGH SEVEN. AND DIRECTOR MARTINEZ, NUMBER EIGHT. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. I'M TERRANCE MCCOY WITH THE DIVISION OF COMMUNITY ACTION. I'M HERE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT TO SEEK CONSENT AND APPROVAL FOR FIVE AGENDA ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE IS OUR SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE HOMELESS GRANT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE STATE EACH YEAR. THIS GRANT IS TO PROVIDE OUR RELIEF, FINANCIAL RELIEF TO OUR CONSTITUENTS OF ESSEX COUNTY THAT FALL ON FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS WITH RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UTILITIES AND SECURITY DEPOSIT, AND ALSO FOR SHELTERING WHEN THEY BECOME HOMELESS ON THE STREET. WE DO HAVE 23 AGENCIES THAT, UH, APPLIED THROUGH A COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING PROCESS AND WE'VE, UM, SUPPLYING THE FUNDING FOR THESE AGENCIES TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES TO OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE IN NEED. UM, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 4, 5, 6, AND SEVEN OR THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE BLOCK GRANT THAT WE ALSO RECEIVE THROUGH THE STATE. AND DO FOUR AGENCIES OR SUBCONTRACTED AGENCIES THAT WE PROVIDE, SERVE, PROVIDE FUNDING TO EACH YEAR. THESE ARE OUR ENTITLEMENT AGENCIES. THEY ALSO DO AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDING AS WELL. THE FIRST AGENCY IS THE TOWNSHIP OF IRVINGTON, WHO WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO. THE SECOND AGENCY IS, UH, MONTCLAIR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. WE ARE GONNA GIVE 50,000 TO THE THIRD AGENCY IS JOYCE ANGEL, WHO WE'RE GONNA GIVE, UH, 85,500 TO. AND THE FINAL AGENCY IS SEED TIME OUTREACH. THEY'RE GONNA GET $72,500. THANK YOU. MR. , ARE ANY REPRESENTATIVES HERE TONIGHT FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS? NO, WE DON'T. I KNOW WE'VE ADDED THEM NOT THAT LONG AGO. AND THESE ARE, UH, ALL REPEAT, UH, PROVIDERS. YES. SO I KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO ONE IN THE AUDIENCE NO. GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK QUESTION. THANK YOU. UM, MS. CHABA, ANY QUESTIONS ON THREE TO SEVEN? NO QUESTIONS, PRESIDENT. MR. MCINERNEY? I I DO HAVE A QUESTION. WHEN WE, UH, ENTERTAIN, UM, THESE SUB-GRANTS, DO WE, UH, ASK THE, UH, ENTITIES APPLYING FOR, UM, ANY FINANCIAL AUDITS OF THEIR, UM, OF THEIR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THROUGH YOU, MR. PRESIDENT? WE ASK FOR THOSE FINANCIAL AUDIT STATEMENTS THROUGH EVERY CONTRACT AND PROCESS THAT WE DO WITH THEM. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES, MR. MCARA, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, SINCE THEY ARE 5 0 1 C3, THEY ARE AUDITED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. CORRECT? THEY SHOULD BE AT LEAST. WELL, I MEAN, NOT ALL OF THEM HAVE TO BE FIVE. I MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE FIVE, BUT WE HAVE A, YOU HAVE THE TOWNSHIP OF FIELD IN HERE, THE TOWN AS WELL. THE TOWN I WAS, UM, WELL THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU, YOU WANT THE AUDIT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT 5 0 1 C3, UM, OR NONPROFIT STATUS IS STILL MAINTAINED. AND THE AUDITORS WOULD, YOU WOULD HOPE, UM, MAKE A COMMENT IN THEIR AUDIT, UH, THAT YOU WOULD SEE THAT EITHER THAT, UH, EXPIRED IN SOME WAY OR THEY'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE OR THEY LOST IT. AND THAT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD REASON THAT YOU BRING UP THAT YOU DO WANT TO SEE THE AUDITS. AND THE TOWNSHIP, OF COURSE, WOULD BE AUDITED ANYWAY. SO THE TOWNSHIP, TOWN, TOWNSHIP OF, THEY'RE ALL AUDITED, SO. RIGHT. BUT I MEAN, IN THE PAST, UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, THAT A LOT, A NUMBER OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, WHEN WE, WE WERE A LOT, WE ADHERED TO THAT A LOT MORE IN THAT, AT LEAST THE COMMISSION DID THE BOARD OF FREEHOLDERS AT THE TIME. AND THERE WAS A LOT OF, OF, UM, UH, ISSUES WITH GETTING THOSE, UH, AUDIT REPORT, AUDIT REPORTS ON A TIMELY BASIS. YOU, YOU, YOU, LIKE TWO YEARS AGO THAT THEY WOULD SUBMIT, UH, AND I UNDERSTAND LIKE THEY TAKE A WHILE TO GET DONE AND, YOU KNOW, SO YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT THE 2000, MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT A 2000, YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT A 2025 AUDIT, BUT YOU WOULD EXPECT THE 24 AUDIT AT THIS POINT. [00:15:01] SO THAT'S, I'M JUST, YES. YOU KNOW, THAT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA ASSUME THAT THE, UM, THE COUNTY IS REVIEWING THOSE AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE AGENCIES ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE TAX EXEMPT LAWS. THANK YOU. GOOD POINTS. MR. MAYOR. RECOGNIZING COMMISSIONER MR. PRESIDENT, WE DO REQUIRE THAT, THAT'S A REQUIREMENT THAT WE RECEIVE THOSE ORDER REPORTS EVERY YEAR. OKAY. THANK YOU MR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE THAT. YES. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER MARY THOMAS? THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT. THANK YOU MR. MCCOY FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UM, FOR YOUR WORK AND THE WORK OF YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM. UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD JUST GIVE US BROAD STROKES, ROUGHLY HOW MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND RESIDENTS ARE SERVED BY THESE DIFFERENT INITIATIVES AND, AND THESE PARTICULAR RESOLUTIONS. I GIVE YOU AN ESTIMATE OF SURE. ABOUT MAYBE ABOUT 500 THROUGH THE SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE HOMELESS. MM-HMM . THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE BLOCK GRANT. IT COULD BE UP TO A THOUSAND. 'CAUSE WE DO A LOT OF FEEDING PROGRAMS THROUGH THAT COMMUNITY SERVICE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MR. COMMISSIONER STE. MOVE IT. THANK YOU. SECOND. SECOND. MARY THOMAS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO THANK YOU. WE'LL GIVE IT DOWN. WE'LL COME BACK TO RICHARDSON. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT ON A SECOND ROLL CALL. MADAM DEPUTY CLERK, THIS IS THREE TO SEVEN. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GID? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBOLD? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. THANK YOU MR. MCCOY. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. AND NUMBER EIGHT WILL BE HANDLED BY, OH, I'M SORRY. UH, I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK MR. MCCOY, YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALL THAT HARD WORK WITH THE SUPER COLD WEATHER FOR COLD BLUE COMING OUT AND HELPING THE HOMELESS ACROSS THE COUNTY. I KNOW YOU WERE GETTING READY TO LEAVE, SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU. GOOD CALL COMMISSIONER. YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. THANK YOU. WITHOUT YOU COMMISSIONERS, IT WOULDN'T BE, IT WOULDN'T BE EASY TO GET IT DONE. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT, MR. JACKSON AND ADMINISTRATION. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. WE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK. ALL RIGHT. NUMBER EIGHT, MR. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ WILL HANDLE NUMBER EIGHT, CORRECT? YES. OKAY. GOOD EVENING, DIRECTOR MARTINEZ. GOOD EVENING. I KNOW HIS FATHER, HIS FATHER. WHO DO YOU HAVE WITH YOU TODAY? I HAVE, UH, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JASON MARTINEZ. I'M THE DIRECTOR FOR ESS COUNTY YOUTH SERVICES COMMISSION. TODAY I HAVE, UH, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, YOLANDA AND FROM UCC AND ALSO MS. CHAMBERS FROM THE YMCA. GREAT. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD, EXPLAIN OUR RESOLUTION HERE. SO, GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON COMMISSIONERS. UM, WE ARE REQUEST, WE ARE REQUESTING THE APPROVAL FOR THE STATE COMMUNITY, PAR STATE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP SUBGRANT SUBGRANT AGREEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1ST, 2026 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2026. NOT TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT IN THE AMOUNT OF $240,000. SO I WOULD LIKE, IF I MAY, IF I COULD INTRODUCE AGAIN, UM, SURE. CC'S ART PROGRAM. PLEASE JUST STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD, FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION AND JUST TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION, WHAT YOU DO. GOOD EVENING. YOLAND DELONY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR UNITED COMMUNITY CORPORATION. UM, WE ARE HERE SEEKING APPROVAL FOR OUR ART THERAPY PROGRAM. UM, THAT PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY A SPACE FOR, UH, COURT INVOLVED YOUTH. IT'S A SAFE SPACE THAT WE CAN USE, UM, DIFFERENT ART AND THERAPEUTIC SERVICES TO HELP THEM WITH SELF-REGULATION AND IMPULSE CONTROL. UM, WE ALSO HAVE A AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM WHERE WE PROVIDE, UH, ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT AND TUTORING FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND SURROUNDING AREAS. EXCELLENT. DO YOU EVER EXHIBIT THE ARTWORK THAT THE STUDENTS DO? YES, WE DO. IT IS EXHIBITED AT WEST SIDE PARK COMMUNITY CENTER. GREAT. MR. MARTINEZ, CAN YOU SEE THAT WE GET THAT INFORMATION? I'M IN THE ARTS, SO I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE I KNOW. UH, THERE'S A FEW OTHERS. YOU'RE VERY MUCH INTO IT. SO PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE EXHIBITIONS. WE'D LOVE TO GO. WILL DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MADAM. GOOD EVENING. I'M LAKEISHA CHAMBERS. I'M FROM THE YES PROGRAM, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. THE YES PROGRAM IS THE YOUTH EMERGENCY SHELTER THAT WE HOUSE 19 YOUTH FROM THE AGE OF 13 TO 17. WE HELP THEM, UM, GET BACK IN SCHOOL, UM, HYGIENE, HELPING 'EM, UM, COOK, UM, TRANSPORT THEM BACK AND FORTH TO THE DOCTORS MENTAL HEALTH, UH, FOR SOME OF THE YOUTH ARE COMING WITH MEDICATION. UM, IT'S A 30 TO 60 DAY PROGRAM. WE FEED THEM FREE MEALS, THREE SNACKS. WE TAKE THEM ON OUTS, GIVE THEM THE, GIVE THE YOUTH WHAT THEY DON'T NOT GETTING AT HOME. UM, A LOT OF THE KIDS COME THERE AND THEY NEVER IN A ROOM HAD THEIR OWN ROOM. SO EACH YOUTH THAT COMES TO THE SHELTER HAS THEIR OWN ROOM. UM, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE VIDEO GAMES. WE JUST DO A LOT OF THINGS THAT THEY DO NOT USED TO AT HOME THAT, UM, [00:20:02] THAT THE FAMILIES CAN'T GIVE 'EM. 'CAUSE WE DEAL WITH D-C-D-P-D, CCP AND P AND JJC AND WE USUALLY, THE, UM, BOTH US CO-ED GO, GIRLS AND BOYS, ONE FATHER'S GIRL, ONE SIZE OF BOYS. WE ACTUALLY HAVING A FUNCTION THIS FRIDAY AT RIBBON CUTTING. YOU GUYS ARE WELCOME TO COME. IT'S AT NINE 30 TO 1130. UM, CARLA HARRIS, SHE DID A BIG CONCERT OVER AT THE PACK BACK IN J AUGUST, I THINK IT WAS. AND SHE DONATED $80,000 FOR A CLOSET TO BE, BECAUSE 'CAUSE A LOT OF THE YOUTH COME HERE WITH NO BELONGINGS. AND SHE, THAT THE CLOSET HAS EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED. GREAT. WE SO PLEASE FORWARD THAT INFORMATION TO THE DEPUTY CLERK, THE TWO OF YOU IF YOU CAN, OR TO MR. MARTINEZ AND THEN WE'LL GET IT TO A DEPUTY CLERK SO SHE COULD DISTRIBUTE TO US. OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT'S FRIDAY, YOU SAID? FRIDAY MORNING? IT'S FRIDAY. YES, IT'S FRIDAY. OKAY. THERE'S NO SNOW IN THE FORECAST, SO IT LOOKS GOOD. . THANK YOU MR. BAZ. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, MR. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD? YEAH, SO PART OF WHAT, WHAT WE DO FOR, AT THE YOUTH SERVICES WE DO AND GIVE OUT GRANTS TO BE GIVEN OUR GRANTS EACH, EACH OF EACH, UM, AGENCY. WE MAKE SURE WE MONITOR THE PROGRAM, WE CHECK THE ENVIRONMENT. WE, UH, WE MONITOR THE STAFF, THE PARENTS, AND THE, THE, THE YOUTH THAT ACTUALLY GOES TO THE PROGRAM. AND YEARS BACK, WE HAVEN'T HAD A CONTRACT WITH, UH, UCCS ART THERAPY, BUT THAT WAS THE ONE TIME THAT WE ACTUALLY, UH, WHEN WE WAS INTERVIEWING, UH, THE STAFF AND, UH, THE YOUTH ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THERE WERE STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE COMMUNITY, FROM THE YOUTH SERVICES COMMISSION AND THE STATE REPS. AND ACTUALLY ALL OF US END UP CRYING. IT WAS JUST, UH, LIKE, LIKE MISS YOLANDA MENTIONED, THESE KIDS ARE, UM, HAS BEEN IN THE SYSTEM. BUT YOU SEE THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN DONE THROUGH ART THERAPY. IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, OUTSTANDING. SO I'M ACTUALLY VERY PROUD TO HAVE THIS PROGRAM BACK HERE IN ESSEX. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE DO. AND IF SOMEONE DID ASK, HOW MANY YOUTH DO WE SERVE FOR 2025? WE, WE SERVED OVER A THOUSAND YOUTHS, UM, THROUGHOUT ESSEX COUNTY. EXCELLENT. I'D LIKE TO GO, I DON'T WANT TO CRY THOUGH, BUT I LIKE TO GO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ. MS. SHABAZ, ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS. MR. PRESIDENT. MR. KINER, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. UH, COMMISSIONERS. COMMISSIONER COOPER, THANK YOU FOR THE ART PROGRAM. WHAT'S THE AGE RANGE? IT'S, UH, 15 TO 18, GRADES NINE. AND WELL, THANK YOU. EXCELLENT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER MARY THOMAS, YOU, MR. PRESIDENT? THANK YOU. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS. YOU, YOU READ MY MIND. I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT, UH, NUMBERS AND SCOPE OF WORK. SO I'M SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT. WERE THOSE SAME NUMBERS, UH, APPLIED TO THIS YEAR? AS FAR AS THE STUDENTS WHO WILL BE SERVED THROUGH BOTH THE WMCA, UM, OR, I'M SORRY. WMCA? YEAH, W-M-C-A-Y-M-C-A AND THE, UM, UCC OR WHAT THOSE NUMBERS DEFER. I'M, I'M HOPING MORE YOUTH GET SERVED THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR. THAT'S MY GOAL EVERY YEAR. I TRY TO GET AS MUCH MONEY AS I CAN AND ALLOCATE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THROUGH ABSOLUTELY ALL NONPROFITS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. SO MY GOAL IS ALWAYS TO DO BETTER THAN WHAT I DID LAST YEAR. ABSOLUTELY. ROUGHLY HOW MANY STUDENTS COME THROUGH THE, THE COMMISSION ANNUALLY OR YOUNG OR YOUNG PEOPLE RATHER? IN REGARD OR, YEAH, JUST IN, YEAH, LIKE COMMISSION IN REGARDS TO WHAT THE DETENTION SET. I'M NOT SURE. I'M NOT SURE. WELL, SO AS FAR AS WHO GET ACCESS TO LIKE, THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICES, LIKE THESE PREVENTATIVE SERVICES, IS IT EVERY SINGLE STUDENT WHO IS IN THE SYSTEM? OR IS IT CERTAIN, WHAT'S THE ROUGH NUMBERS? YEAH, SO THE, HOW I RECEIVE THESE NUMBERS IS IF AN AGENCY, SEE, THE AGENCY PROVIDES ME WITH THE AMOUNT OF YOUTH AND FAMILIES THAT, THAT WOULD SERVE. TALL THAT UP AND THEN THAT WAY UP TO ANY STAKEHOLDER. GOT IT. SO IT'S, IT'S OPEN. THANK YOU. UM, AND JUST A, A LITTLE ANECDOTE, YESTERDAY WE WERE AT THE BOARD OF SCHOOL ESTIMATES MEETING WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, ES COUNTY COLLEGE. AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE HAD ON A UCC SHIRT 'CAUSE HE HAD JUST LEFT, UH, SOME GRAND, UH, SOME GRAND OPENING OR AN EVENT THAT YOU GUYS HAD DONE. AND, AND I WAS JEALOUS 'CAUSE I'M LIKE, I LIVED LIKE ABOUT CO THE WEST SIDE PARK. I COULD'VE, CAN'T GET MY INVITE, BUT, UM, I MAY HAVE ACTUALLY. BUT ANY RATE, IT WAS REALLY GREAT TO HAVE HIM THERE. UH, HE WAS EXCITED TO CELEBRATE YOU GUYS AND YOUR WORK. AND OF COURSE, UH, THE YMCA DOES SUCH INCREDIBLE WORK. WE WERE ACTUALLY JUST SPEAKING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AT ONE POINT WHEN THEY, WE WERE, UH, DOING SOME ALLOCATIONS AROUND, UH, SHELTERS AND WHATNOT. WE WERE LIKE, OH, THE YMCA OH, THE YMCA SHOULD DEFINITELY BE ON THIS LIST AND KNOW YOU ALL, KNOW YOU ALL AND YOUR WORK EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY WELL. SO THIS INSIGHT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. OUR YOUNG PEOPLE BACKGROUND IS IN WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE, SO IT'S A PARTICULAR SWEET SPOT. UM, AND GLAD TO KNOW THAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BE SERVED BY SUCH QUALITY PROGRAMMING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE? CERTAINLY. COMMISSIONER COOPER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK SECOND? YES. THANK YOU. ROLL CALL. MAD DEPUTY CLERK FOR NUMBER EIGHT. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON, THEN YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBOLD? YES. YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER THOMAS? YES. COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT. COMMISSIONER. [00:25:01] PRESIDENT POIS. YES. SO MOVED. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR. THE POIS. YES. SO MOVED. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. KEEP ALL THE GOOD WORK LADIES AS WELL. COME RESOLUTION NUMBER NINE AND ADD, WHICH FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. AND WE WILL BE READY TO THE RECORD AT A LATER TIME. LATER TIME. MR. PRESIDENT, UH, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION ENGINEERING RESOLUTION, CONSENTING TO TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD ORDINANCE 25 DASH 37 BROAD STREET, UH, MOVING, RELOCATING THE BUS STOP, UH, WITHIN THE TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD. THIS, UH, REQUEST WAS FROM THE BLOOMFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT SINCE THEY ARE HAVING HOMEOWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT LOWERING IN THAT LOCATION. AND 54 IS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION ENGINEERING AGREEMENT TO MODIFY NUMBER ONE, TRAFFIC SIGNALS OPTIMIZATION, ADAPTIVE ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC SIGNALS ALONG CENTRAL AVENUE COUNTY ROAD 5 0 8 NORTHEAST ORANGE, ORANGE, WEST ORANGE, AND ESSEX COUNTY FEDERALLY. PROJECT NUMBER D ZERO ZERO S 9 59. AGREEMENT NUMBER 25 D-T-B-L-A 2 0 8. THANK YOU MR. BAZ. ANY QUESTIONS ON NUMBER NINE AND 54? NO QUESTIONS TO PRESIDENT MR. MCINERNEY? NO QUESTIONS. COMMISSIONERS. ANY QUESTIONS ON NINE AND 54? COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION JUST RELATED TO, UH, THINK THROUGH MR. PRESIDENT THE, THE COMMENTS THAT CAME UP EARLIER. SO JUST FOR CLARITY ON A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, ONE, CAN WE JUST PROVIDE SOME MORE CONTEXT AS TO, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION'S DESIRE FOR THE REMOVAL OR YEAH, THE KIND OF PROPOSED RELOCATION OF THE BUS STOP. FOR STARTERS, THE RELOCATION'S GOING TO BE ALL COST, UH, BY THE NGA, UH, NEW JERSEY TRANSIT AND ANYTHING THAT ELSE IS, IF IT'S ON THE COUNTY ROAD, LET'S SAY, UH, THE RUBBERIZED BUMPS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT MM-HMM . THE COUNTY PROBABLY WOULD PROVIDE THAT. AND SO THE REASONING IS COMING FROM THE TRANSIT. THE REASONING IS COMING FROM THE TOWNSHIPS POLICE DEPARTMENT. GOT IT. THEY'RE GETTING COMPLAINTS AT THAT LOCATION OF LOITERING. OF LOITERING. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, AND THEN WHAT KIND OF INSIGHT DO WE HAVE AS FAR AS ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE PROPOSED ONE? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS AROUND THAT. THERE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STOPS. SO THEY'LL HAVE TO HAVE TO CROSS WALLS, THEY'LL HAVE TO HAVE TO ACCESS. SO IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST LIKE PLOPPING UP A MOVING IT FROM ONE PLACE. SO THEY'LL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THAT'S IN PLACE. OKAY. AND THEN LASTLY, CONNECTED TO THAT. SO AS FAR AS THE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE COUNTY, THE MUNICIPALITY, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LIKE HOW DOES THAT TYPICALLY WORK? YOU KNOW, DOES THE MUNICIPALITY REACH OUT FOR US AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THIS AREA. THESE ARE, THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, WHY WE WANNA MAKE THIS CHANGES. AND THEN JUST IF YOU COULD WALK US THROUGH WHAT THAT PROCESS TYPICALLY LOOKS LIKE. AND THEN ALSO WHAT'S THE INSIGHT USUALLY LIKE FROM RESIDENTS THEMSELVES WHO LIVE THERE, WHO ARE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHO ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED? HOW DO, WHERE DO THEY FACTOR IN THAT PROCESS? WELL, THIS, THIS WHOLE THING IS RESIDENT INITIATED. UM, THE RES THE RESIDENTS WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT LOITERING AROUND THE, THIS BUS STOPS THAT WERE THE, THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE TOWN CAME UP WITH THE CONCEPT TO MOVE IT. UM, AND THEY NEED OUR PERMISSION TO MOVE IT BECAUSE IT'S ON OUR ROAD. THAT'S REALLY THE EXTENT OF OUR INVOLVEMENT. WE'RE JUST RESPONDING TO A REQUEST BY RESIDENTS FROM THE TOWNSHIP THROUGH, BY RESIDENTS, THROUGH THE TOWNSHIP. UM, AND ALL THE COSTS ARE BORN BY NEW JERSEY TRANSIT. SO THIS IS ALL, UM, LIKE WE WOULD DO FOR PUTTING UP THE, THE, THE BEACONS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. WE'RE RESPONDING TO A REQUEST FROM THE TOWNSHIP. GOT IT. GOT IT. THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT INITIATED AT ALL BY THE COUNTY. UNDERSTOOD. UNDERSTOOD. OKAY. THAT'S HELPFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON. YES. SO MY QUESTION IS, UH, HOW SOON AFTER TONIGHT, AFTER, IF, IF IT PASSES, HOW SOON WILL THAT PARTICULAR BUS STOP BE SHUT DOWN AND HOW QUICKLY WILL THE OTHER ONE, SO WHAT'S GOING TO, SO WHAT'S GOING TO REMAIN OPEN FOR A TIME? YES, YES, YES. UNTIL THEY BUILD THE NEW ONE. THE, THEY BUILD THE NEW ONE. THIS ONE WAS CORRECT. CORRECT. OKAY. COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR, UM, DID ITEM NUMBER 54 GET DISCUSSED HERE? YES. 54. OKAY. ON BOTH NINE AND 54. SO ITEM NUMBER 54 HAS AN INCREASE IN IT. WHAT WAS THE INCREASE FOR EXACTLY THE, UH, BIDS CAME IN HIGHER THAN ORIGINALLY THOR. OKAY. AND IS THIS FOR, UM, THE INSTALLATION OF ACTUAL TRAFFIC SIGNALS ON THESE ROADS? WHAT'S THIS FOR? IT, IT'S, UH, YES. YEAH. YEAH. YES. AND THIS CAME FROM THE STUDY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY DONE, LIKE DIFFERENT TRAFFIC POINTS ALONG. RIGHT. [00:30:01] IT'S BASICALLY, BASICALLY ALL WAY, IT'S REALLY FROM END TO END ON, ON, ON THE ROAD, SO, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, BUT YEAH, THERE'S, YOU HAVE TO, UM, THEY, THE STATE REQUIRES YOU TO DO STUDIES THAT THAT WOULD, WOULD JUSTIFY, UM, THE SIGNAL CHANGE AND THE UPGRADES. AND THAT'S HOW WE GET THE FUNDING. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE TO, WHEN WE'RE DONE AND AS WE GO ALONG, WE HAVE TO MAKE REPORTS TO THEM ABOUT OUR COSTS AND SO FORTH. SO WHEN IT WENT OUT, WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE THE BID IS GONNA BE, UM, HIGHER THAN WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT, SO THE STATE IS GIVING US ADDITIONAL MONEY TO, UH, HANDLE THAT. AND THE UPGRADES THAT WE'RE MAKING, THEY'RE GOING TO INCLUDE THOSE, UM, IMPROVED TRAFFIC SIGNALS THAT WE HAVE WITH CROSSING AT THE, AROUND THE SCHOOL ZONES. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. JACKSON? SO, I, I'M WITH RESPECT TO NUMBER NINE, I KNOW THE AREA FAIRLY WELL 'CAUSE I ATTEND UTIA LOT FOR THERE ARE CAR SHOWS THERE. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY OTHER WORLD. SO, UM, THE AREA, WHAT, WHAT CONCERNS ME IS THERE'S A BIT OF, UH, AN ISSUE WITH THE RATE OF SPEED. SO I UNDERSTAND THAT IF WE APPROVE THIS TONIGHT, THAT WON'T TOMORROW YANK THAT OUT AND PUT A NEW ONE THAT'S GONNA BE VETTED BY THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, IS THAT OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT BE THE TOWNSHIPS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, UH, THE TOWNSHIPS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. RIGHT. AND THEN WE REQUEST A REPORT BEFORE IT GETS EXECUTED. WE JUST WANT TO ENSURE, SINCE IT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE CONCERNS ADDRESSED WITH THE, UH, SAFETY, THE, UH, PROP, UH, PROPER MARKINGS AND THE ADA A COMPLIANCE. CERTAINLY WE JUST ASK MR. I, MR. LAS, MR. LASIK OVER THERE IN BLOOMVILLE, I KNOW HIM WELL FROM MM-HMM . YEARS AGO. SO LET'S JUST, LET'S JUST REQUEST THAT. 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK THERE'S A NEED TO HOLD IT UP TO, UH, BECAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN TOMORROW. TOMORROW. THERE'S STILL TIME FOR THEM TO FOLLOW UP AND NOT GONNA PLOP A NEW, YOU KNOW, BUS STOP TOMORROW. RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH, SO ANOTHER STUFF BEYOND THIS. YEAH. AND I THINK THE TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD'S GONNA, GONNA, WANTS TO ENSURE THAT IT'S SAFE AND CORRECT AND SO, SO FORTH AS WELL. SO, WELL, WE'RE ALL GONNA BE IN SYNC WITH COURSE THE COMPLIANCE FOR A DA AND SAFETY AND ALL THAT. SO I'M COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING IT FORWARD KNOWING THAT TOMORROW IS NOT GONNA CHANGE AND WE STILL HAVE TIME TO, UH, HAVE INPUT AND THEN WE'LL REQUEST THE ENGINEER FROM THE TOWNSHIP TO SEND IT TO OUR INTERVIEW AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS OKAY. ONLY BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ISSUES IN THAT GENERAL AREA AS A, AS A WHOLE. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? SEE NOW I'M GONNA MOVE NINE AND 54. I'LL MOVE IT MOVE BY SEA OR A SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. BY COOPER ROLL CALL. MAD DEPUTY CLIFF COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GIL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO. YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER BOL? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT EZ? YES. SOLE MOVED. THANK YOU. LET'S MOVE ON TO RESOLUTIONS 10 THROUGH 18, WHICH IS THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS. THERE WILL BE READ INTO THE RECORD AT A LATER TIME. GOOD EVENING, MR. ZAS. UH, GOOD EVENING. UH, JOSHUA ZAS. UH, MR. PRESIDENT, JUST TO CLARIFY, NUMBER 17, I CAN'T DO UNTIL AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING. UNDERSTOOD. SO WHEN YOU GET TO 17, WE'LL JUST NOTE THE TIME AND WE'LL WAIT FOR YEAH, SURE. NUMBER 10 IS A CONTRACT AWARD TO AA BERMS AND VIP SPECIAL SERVICES TO PROVIDE SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL. UH, THAT'S THEIR OPTION. UH, IT WOULD BE FROM NOVEMBER 1ST THROUGH APRIL 15TH, 2028. UH, AMOUNT NOT TO, TO EXCEED 401,400 $660. SPECIFICALLY, THE CONTRACT WOULD RUN FROM NOVEMBER 1ST TO THE APRIL 15TH OF NEXT YEAR, AND THEN CONCLUDING NOVEMBER 1ST, 2027 TO, UH, APRIL 15TH OF 28. UH, JUST SO THE BOARD UNDERSTANDS WHAT ZONES EACH VENDOR HAS, AA BERMS WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YCA, BRANCH BROOK, INDEPENDENCE, RIVERBANK, AND RIVERFRONT WHILE VIP WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IRVINGTON AND WEEK WAKE IRVINGTON. AND WHAT WEEK? WAKE NUMBER 11, THE CONTRACT AWARD TO A BURBS IN GREEN VALLEY LANDSCAPE, UH, TO PROVIDE SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL, EXERCISING THE CONTRACT EXTENSION OPTION, UH, AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $265,542 AND 61 CENTS. THIS WOULD BE FOR THE SAME TIMEFRAME AS THE PREVIOUS ITEM. UH, SPECIFICALLY GREEN VALLEY WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WAT ASSESSING GLENFIELD, BROOKDALE ANDERSON, CEDAR GROVE, PRESBY, AND EAGLE FIELD, WHILE AA BURNS WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BURG, IVY HILL, ORANGE, AND WEST SIDE. NUMBER 12, A CONTRACT AWARD WITH HUDSON COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE JANITORIAL SERVICES AT THE TURTLEBACK ZOO. IT WOULD RUN FROM APRIL 3RD OF THIS YEAR TO APRIL 2ND OF NEXT YEAR. AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $196,000. THIS IS, UH, THE HOURLY COST WOULD BE FOR $24 AND 50 CENTS. THIS WOULD TO HELP SUBSIDIZE ON THE WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS AND, UH, OTHER TIMES WHEN WE'RE SHORT STAFFED. NUMBER 13, CONTRACT AWARD TO GREEN VALLEY LANDSCAPE AND DESIGN TO PROVIDE PARK LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE AT KIPPS CASTLE AND GRASS PARK. [00:35:01] EXERCISING THE 24 MONTH CONTRACT EXTENSION AMEND NOT TO EXCEED $55,600. THIS WOULD BE, UH, FOR A TOTAL OF $1,900 A MONTH, UH, MULTIPLIED BY THE 24 MONTH CONTRACT. COMES TO 45,600 AND THEN THERE'S A $10,000 ALLOWANCE FOR AS NEEDED EXPENSES. NUMBER 14, THE CONTRACT AWARD EASTERN ARMORED SERVICES TO PROVIDE ARMORED CAR SERVICES, EXERCISING THE 20 MORE CONTRACT, 24 MONTH CONTRACT EXTENSION OPTION AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $220,000. AND THIS IS TO, UH, PICK UP THE CASH, UH, THAT THE VARIOUS REVENUE GENERATING FACILITIES, UH, GET THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A DAY OR WEEK, DEPENDING ON THE FACILITY. SPECIFICALLY, IT WOULD BE PARKS ADMINISTRATION, CODY ARENA, THE TURTLEBACK ZOO, UH, THREE GOLF COURSES IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER. NUMBER 15, UH, STATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY FAIR IS ACCEPTANCE AND EX EXECUTION OF A GRANT APPLICATION FOR IVY HILL PARK IMPROVEMENTS. UH, SPECIFICALLY THIS IS, UH, A $250,000 GRANT THAT THE, UM, COUNTY HAS RECEIVED. AND THIS IS THE, BASICALLY THE EXCEPTION, EXCEPT EXCEPTION OF IT, UH, FOR IVY HILL PARK, SPECIFICALLY FOR PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENTS, FENCING, BENCHING, SIGNAGE, AND TREE WORK. NUMBER 16 IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING, UH, THE COUNTY TO APPLY FOR A 2026 LOCAL ROAD RECREATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. UH, SCOPE, THIS IS ALSO FOR IVY HILL PARK. THE GRANT REQUEST IS FOR $75,000. AND AGAIN, IT WOULD BE FOR PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENTS, FENCING, BENCHES, SIGNAGE AND TREE WORK. WORK. UH, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE 17. I COULD COME BACK TO. AND FINALLY, NUMBER 18 IS A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE APPLYING FOR THE 2026 GREEN ACRES FUNDING CYCLE. UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY ALWAYS APPLIES WITH SEVERAL OVER NON-PROFIT PARTNER FOR THE GREEN ACRES FUNDING CYCLE. THIS YEAR, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE PUTTING IN APPLICATIONS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY FOR THE TURTLEBACK ZOO, HOOFSTOCK BARN, THE BRANCH BROOK PARK ALLIANCE FOR, UH, BRANCH BROOK PEDESTRIAN ACCESS AND IMPROVEMENTS, AND THE VERONA PARK AND CONSERVANCY FOR CHILDREN'S GARDEN IMPROVEMENTS. UH, THIS IS BASICALLY JUST A RESOLUTION SOWING THE COUNTY'S SUPPORT FOR THESE APPLICATIONS. OKAY. JUST FOR THE RECORD, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO NUMBER 17 AT SIX O'CLOCK, BUT WE CAN DO THE HEARING. UH, MR. B, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON 10TH THROUGH 18 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 17? UH, NO. MR. PRESIDENT, THESE WERE ALL REVIEWED, UH, PREVIOUSLY AND ALL ARE ACCEPTABLE. NO, THAT'S DIFFERENT. MR. MCINERNEY, ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE? I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS ON 10TH THROUGH 18 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 17, WHICH WE'LL HAND HANDLE A LITTLE LATER ON. I'LL MOVE, I'LL MOVE IT. MOVED BY SIEBEL SECOND BY LUCIANO. ROLL CALL MADAM DEPUTY CLERK COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO. YES. LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL? YES. NURSE SERMONS ABSENT. COMMISSIONER MARIUS? YES. VICE PRESIDENT, COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT EZ? YES. SO MOVED. OKAY, MR. ZA, WE'LL CALL YOU BACK UP AT SIX O'CLOCK FOR 17. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. CAN WE CALL HIM BACK AT LIKE SEVEN 30? ? I'LL CONSIDER IT. . ALL RIGHT. LET'S MOVE ON TO IANS 1920, WHICH ARE FROM THE DIVISION OF THE HOSPITAL CENTER. WILL BE RIGHT INTO THE RECORD THE LATER TIME. MR. JACKSON, MR. COLERE. TRAY, MR. PRO, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATION. DIVISION OF HOSPITAL CENTER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE? NO. NO. I WE'RE, YOU'RE GOOD. YOU'RE GOOD. SERVICE AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE PATIENT OUTPATIENT EMERGENCY ROOM SERVICE FOR PATIENTS, UH, OF THE ESSEX COUNTY HOSPITAL CENTER FOR 2026 RWJ, UH, JOHNSON BARNABAS HEALTH AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $600,000. THIS IS A YEARLY AGREEMENT WITH RWJ BARNABAS TO HELP PROVIDE INPATIENT OUTPATIENT EMERGENCY ROOM SERVICE AND LABORATORIES. UH, NUMBER 20, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH REHABILITATION DIVISION HOSPITAL CENTER. TWO YEAR AFFILIATION AGREEMENT WITH FAIRLY DICKINSON UNIVERSITY. TWO YEAR AGREEMENT. A FACILITY WOULD PROVIDE NURSING STUDENTS CLINICAL EXPERIENCE IN THE CARE OF, UH, PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS, MUTUALLY AGREED BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND FAIR LAKE DICKINSON. THANK YOU MR. BAZ. ANY QUESTIONS ON 19 AND 20? NO QUESTIONS. MR. KINNER. I'M FINE. COMMISSIONERS. ANY QUESTIONS ON 19 AND 20? NONE. SO MOVE BY RICHARDSON. DO A SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. BY COOPER ROLL CALL MADAM DEPUTY CLERK ON 19 AND 20. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GIL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MARIE THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. LET'S MOVE THE RESOLUTION 21 [00:40:01] THROUGH 32 AND ADD IS STARTED NUMBER 55. THESE ARE 2026 TEMPORARY EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS FROM VARIOUS RESOURCES AND THEY'LL BE READY FOR THE RECORD AT A LATER TIME. MR. JACKSON? UH, THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. UM, ITEM 21, UM, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,100,936 IS FROM, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FOR THE REHABILITATION, UH, PAVING OF CHANCE AVENUE OF MAPLEWOOD TO 20TH STREET IN NEWARK. AND THERE'S NO COUNTY MATCH. ITEM 22, UM, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,081,524 AND 21 CENTS IS REIMBURSEMENT TO THE, UH, BOARD OF ELECTIONS FOR THE 2025 GENERAL ELECTION. EARLY VOTING, UH, NO COUNTY MATCH. ITEM 23, UM, IS A, A TEMPORARY APPROPRIATION FOR THE CITY OF NEWARK FOR HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS HOPWA, UH, GOING TO THE DIVISION OF COMMUNITY ACTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $600,000 AND HELPS, UH, INDIVIDUALS LOOKING FOR HOUSING AND OTHER SERVICES, UM, WHO ARE, UM, UH, WHO HAVE AIDS OR HIV AND NO COUNTY MATCH. UH, ITEM 24, UH, BLOCK GRANT. CDBG FOR HOUSING COUNSELING SERVICES FOR TENANTS AND LANDLORDS, DIVISION OF COMMUNITY ACTION FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, NO MATCH. ITEM 25, ALSO TO THE DIVISION OF COMMUNITY ACTION. THE AMOUNT OF $15,000 TO SUPPORT THE, UH, E ES, THE ESG, UM, UH, PROGRAM EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT, UM, WHICH HELPS PEOPLE TO LOCATE, UH, TEMPORARY SHELTER AND, AND THE ASSOCIATED, UH, SUPPORTED SERVICES. UM, NO COUNTY MATCH. ITEM 26. UH, ALSO TO, UH, DIVISION OF COMMUNITY ACTION, THE AMOUNT OF $800. THIS IS PROGRAM INCOME, UH, FROM THE JERSEY SHARES. UH, WE ASSIST ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR ENERGY COST, UM, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. AND WE RECEIVE $20 PER OUTPATIENT ITEM NUMBER 27 IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 TO THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGEMENT. UM, THIS IS A SUPPLEMENTAL, UM, APPROPRIATION OF THE AMOUNT OF $40,000. THE ORIGINAL GRANT WAS FOR 1 MILLION. THE NEW TOTAL IS NOW $1,040,000 WITH NO COUNTY MATCH. AND THIS IS FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT. ITEM 28, UM, ALSO TO THE OFFICE OF, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGEMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $28,500, UH, TO A SUPPLEMENT, AN ORIGINAL GRANT OF $193,000. SO THE NEW TOTAL IS $221,500. THERE'S NO COUNTY MATCH. AND THIS IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH OUR, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, EFFORT. ITEM 29 ON THE AMOUNT OF 2000, UM, NINE, $2,009 AND 50 CENTS, UH, IS FOR THE, UH, TASK AND HIIT TEST, UH, WHICH USED TO BE GED, UM, UH, FOR $104 FOR EXAM, AND $20 FOR AN 80 CENTS FOR A RETEST. UM, THAT'S JUST INCOME COMING IN FOR THAT, UH, FROM LAST YEAR THAT WE PUT INTO THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. UM, ITEM 30 IS IN THE AMOUNT OF $250,000 GOING TO THE, UM, DEPARTMENT OF PARKS RECREATIONAL CULTURAL AFFAIRS FOR UPGRADES, UH, TO IVY HILL PARK. UH, ITEM 31, UH, GOING TO DIVISION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH $700. THIS IS FOR, UM, UH, INCOME AND FEES WE RECEIVE FROM A VENDOR FROM OFFENDERS PREFERRED TO THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSESSMENT CENTER IN 2025. UH, ITEM 32 FOR THE OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF IN THE AMOUNT OF $105,000 TO HELP WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, TRAFFIC SAFETY PROGRAM. AND THERE'S NO, UH, COUNTY MATCH ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. EXCUSE ME. UH, ITEM 55. AND WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, UH, IN THE AMOUNT OF $451,000, $451,232 AND 32 CENTS, UM, IS FOR, UH, THAT ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC SIGNALS ALONG CENTRAL ACTUAL AVENUE. UH, THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT, EXCUSE ME, WAS $4,295,351 AND 33 CENTS DUE TOTAL IS $4,746,583 AND 65 CENTS. AND THERE'S NO, UH, COUNTY MATCH. THANK YOU MR. JACKSON. UH, MR. BAZ, ANY QUESTIONS ON 21 THROUGH 32 AND NUMBER 55? NO, MR. PRESIDENT, ALL OF THESE APPROPRIATIONS WERE REVIEWED IN OUR LEADERSHIP MEETING IN YOUR NO LEGAL QUESTION, BUT I DON'T THINK, MR. PRESIDENT, SORRY. DID YOU ASK FOR 53 AS WELL OR DID YOU I DON'T THINK YOU INCLUDED THAT. NO, I DID NOT. I'M SORRY. I, UH, ADD 21 TO 32 AND ADD STARTED 55. THANK YOU. ANNIE'S [00:45:01] A 53. WHY DON'T WE, UH, MY APOLOGIES. YOU KNOW WHAT, WHY DON'T WE, IT'S NOT HERE, BUT LET'S ADD 53 IN THERE AS WELL BECAUSE I SEE IT SNUCK UP ON THE END OF THE BOTTOM OF, UH, ONE OF THE PAGES. CAN YOU DO NUMBER 53 AS WELL? CERTAINLY TAKE THEM ALL TOGETHER. UM, ITEM 53 IN THE AMOUNT OF $600,000 IS A, UM, FUNDING FROM OUR, UM, THANK YOU SEROLOGICAL SOCIETY, UH, TO PROVIDE FOR GOODS AND SERVICES IS AT THE TAP, UH, TAP SEA BRIDGE. TURN IT BACK, SUE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. JUST FOR THE RECORD, MR. BASS, ANY QUESTIONS ON 21 TO 32, 53 AND 55? NO QUESTIONS MR. MCINERNEY? NO QUESTION. OKAY. COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE ITEMS? COMMISSIONER MARY THOMAS, THANK YOU FOR 53. IS THAT TYPICALLY, UH, A GIFT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE YES. SIDE? YES. PERFECT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER THOMAS? WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THESE? YES. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . GIVE A SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. BY COOPER ROLL CALL MOUNT DEPUTY COOK AGAIN. 21 TO 32, 53 AND 55. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBOLD? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. OKAY. THANK YOU. LET'S GO ON TO, UH, RESOLUTION 33 TO 52, WHICH ARE IN MEMORIALS. COMMENDATIONS PROCLAMATION RESOLUTIONS. THEY YOU BE READ INTO THE RECORD AT A LATER TIME. COMMISSION. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OF THESE ITEMS? SEE NONE. DO I HAVE SOMEONE TO MOVE? MOVE LUCIANO WITH THE MOVE. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. BY COOPER. ROLL CALL MADAM DEPUTY CLERK COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. ALRIGHT, SO IT'S 5 52 SO WE CAN'T GO BACK TO 17. SO WHY DON'T WE GO ON TO BOARD, UH, SOME OF THE COMMITTEE THINGS AND THEN PUBLIC COMMENT IF WE AFTER THEM, WE'LL COME BACK TO, UH, NUMBER 17. UM, DO COMMISSIONERS ANY REPORTS OF BOARD COMMITTEES? IT'S SO EARLY IN THE SEASON, SO I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANY. UH, WE DID HAVE COMMISSIONER MURRAY THOMAS. I'LL ASK YOU THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER ON ABOUT TODAY. UH, THE MEETING WITH TODAY. ANY YOU WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS? MAD DEPUTY CLARK? NONE. ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS? NONE ANY NEW BUSINESS. OKAY. LET'S GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT WITH ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON ANY MATTER, PLEASE COME TO THE MICROPHONE. STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION. YOU'LL HAVE, UH, THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK. OKAY. IS NO ONE WISHING TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME? MR. TERRIO, ARE YOU SIGNING IN? YES. OKAY. SORRY. OR WHY DON'T YOU SPEAK? IT'S NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE. WE, THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME. ALRIGHT. GOOD EVENING, SIR. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UH, MY NAME IS RODERICK JOHNSON. I'M UNDER RODERICK D JOHNSON, 58 NORTH 11TH STREET. UH, I'M A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER UNDER RODERICK JOHNSON. FOOTBALL, LLC CORPORATION. HAVE TWO DBAS, UH, ALONG THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2004. INTERIOR DETAILING CLEANING, AND ANOTHER ONE THAT WAS ESTABLISHED MAYBE A COUPLE YEARS AGO OUT OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY. UH, I'VE BEEN BACK IN NEW JERSEY NOW SIX YEARS, UH, LEFT THE STATE DUE TO A PERSONAL TRAGEDY, LOSING MY MOTHER AND MY SISTER. UM, SO JUST BEEN BACK TAKING IT DAY BY DAY, BUT ALSO HANDLING MY SMALL BUSINESS AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY THAT I CREATED. UM, I'VE BEEN THROUGH ALL THE, ALL THE NECESSARY DOORS SEEKING FOR OFFICE SPACE, KNOCKING ON DIFFERENT BANKS AND, AND THEREFORE NOTHING HAVE COME TO, UH, A SOLUTION TO GRANT ME OFFICE SPACE OR NO ONE SEEMED TO BE NEGOTIABLE IN NEXUS COUNTY. UM, SO I'M HERE TO JUST ASK FOR IF THERE ANY TYPE OF RESOURCES THAT'S AVAILABLE OR WHAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP, UH, FOR ME TO TAKE. I HAVE BEEN TO THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OFFICE, BUT NOTHING HAS, UH, COME OUTTA THERE IN MY FAVOR. UM, I DO KNOW THAT THERE IS, UH, A TON OF MONEY AVAILABLE UNDER THE 26TH BUDGET. UH, I KNOW AFFIRMATIVE ACTION HAS APPROXIMATELY ABOUT $797,000 FOR EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. UH, SO I'M JUST HERE, YOU KNOW, JUST THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN THIS, IN THIS, UH, ROOM. UH, I SECURE PRIVATE EQUITY UNDER [00:50:01] ROGER JOHNSON FOOTBALL FINANCIAL. UH, I'M HERE TO, UH, SEEK ARENA FOOTBALL OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. I'M A FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER. I SECURE A NON-CONVENTIONAL, UH, MORTGAGE DEAL. SO THAT'S MY BACK. AND I'M A FORMER SCHOOL TEACHER. I HAVEN'T TAUGHT PROBABLY OVER 20 YEARS, BUT I OPERATE SMALL. BUSINESS IS THE NEXT CLOSEST THING TO BEING A TEACHER. UH, SO I'M JUST HERE JUST TO, TO MAKE MYSELF, UH, BE KNOWN, UH, BE PRESENT IN NEXUS COUNTY COUNTY. I HAVE, UH, BUMPED INTO MR. JOE CIO AND, UH, CHANGED, UH, FAX DOCUMENTS TO HIM JUST IN THE ORDER OF ME NEGOTIATING. AND THEREFORE, SO I KNOW, UM, THIS IS YEAR 2026. I'VE BEEN BACK NOW, AS I SAID, SINCE 2019. AND I'M JUST, JUST, UH, SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE FOR ME TO, TO HAVE OFFICE SPACE. UH, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT'S INTERESTED IN WHAT I'M DOING. I'M LOOKING TO PUT TOGETHER A SEMI-PRO FOOTBALL LEAGUE, 20 NUT PAY FOR PLAY. I HAVE THE NECESSARY, UH, CONTACT ALSO, UH, TALK TO NEW YORK GIANTS. BUT FOR, UH, FOR ME TO MOVE FORWARD, I NEED A PHYSICAL LOCATION. AND THAT'S THE OFFICE SPACE. SO THAT'S MY, UH, SO IF I, IF I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CLARIFY IT. 'CAUSE WHAT WE'LL DO, DO IS WE'LL TAKE YOUR INFORMATION AND TRY TO GUIDE YOU TO THE RIGHT OFFICE IF THERE IS ONE APPROPRIATE. RIGHT. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? IS THAT PRI YOUR PRIMARY CONCERN? WELL, I HAVE THE LETTER OF INTENT FROM NEW JERSEY EDA. I WAS, I WAS IN TALK WITH THE NEW JERSEY, UH, LABOR COMMISSIONER. I KNOW THERE'S A MEETING COMING UP ON THE 25TH THAT I PLAN TO ATTEND. SO MAYBE A SOLUTION WILL COME OUT OF THAT. BUT, UH, SINCE ME BEING IN NEX COUNTY RIGHT NOW, I HAVE ATTENDED, UH, EAST ORANGE MAYOR, UH, MUNICIPAL MEETINGS AS WELL. UH, I'VE BEEN TO, UH, NORTH C HALL AS WELL. I KNOW THERE'S A PEACE GRANT AVAILABLE THERE, BUT I SEEM TO GET NO FURTHER, UH, KNOCKING ON DOORS, KEEP TALKING TO SENIOR AIDS AND, AND NOTHING'S COMING OUT OF IT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ME SECURING IN-HOUSE, UH, EQUITY, I SECURE RECREATION AS WELL. AND I HAVE GOT NOWHERE, UH, INSIDE CITY HALL. OKAY. SO THERE'S A LOT GOING ON. SO LET ME RECOMMEND THIS. I THINK MAYBE ADAM CAN TAKE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. I THINK MAYBE AS A FIRST STOP WE HAVE A, AN OFFICE FOR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND SUCH. UH, MR. JACKSON, IF YOU CAN CLARIFY THE PRECISE OF THE DEPARTMENT AND MAYBE HE CAN INQUIRE BECAUSE I, I THINK THERE'S A FEW LAYERS THERE AND I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHERE TO GO. WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE? WELL, I, I THINK THE GENTLEMAN SAID HE HAD BEEN TO SMALL BUSINESS. I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, PANNED UP, BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT. WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ASSISTANCE, IF ANY THEY WERE ABLE TO OFFER. BUT ONCE YOU GET THE INFORMATION, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THE SMALL BUSINESS FOLLOWS UP WITH IT. LET'S DO AND I WILL, I WILL MAKE SURE AND I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH SMALL BUSINESS. OKAY, WELL LET, LET'S DO THAT. SO GENTLEMEN, DR. ADAM WITH THE WHITE SHIRT, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE HIM YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND THEN WHAT WE COULD DO IS WE COULD FORWARD THAT TO THE ADMINISTRATION. IT'S THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE HANDLES OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT DO WORK, NOT THE LEGISLATIVE BODY. AND THEN MR. DI JACKSON COULD THEN FORWARD THAT APPROPRIATELY TRULY TO HOWEVER THEY DETERMINE MAY BE THE BEST FIT TO TRY TO GET YOU GOING ON. ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED TODAY, SO EVERYTHING'S ROLLING, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING'S IN THE PROCESS. LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST A, JUST ME AND THE OFFICE BASED HAVE APPLICATION FEE. UH, THAT A ONE'S A GRAND TO ABOUT THE SAME TIME MATURITY TELLING CLEANING IS, UH, AN AUTOMOBILE SERVICE THAT PRETTY MUCH TURNS INTO A CAR WASH CLEANING SERVICE BUSINESS. BUT I'M LOOKING TO CREATE JOBS AS WELL. UM, SO UNDERSTOOD. BUT NOT THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH THAT GIVES THOSE KINDS OF AWARDS OR HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT. WE JUST WANNA REFER YOU TO THE RIGHT PLACE. PERFECT. SO THE, THE STARTING PLACE IS WITH THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. SO ADAM WILL GET YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND WE'LL SEND IT TO, UH, THE CLERK, UH, OR TO MR. JACKSON AND THEN WE'LL START THERE. PERFECT. BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S MORE ALIGNED WITH WHAT THEY DO AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE DO. THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FROM ME. ALRIGHT, GREAT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, SIR. HAVE A GOOD EVENING, MR. SATTER. YES. GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT, COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT AND COMMISSIONERS. SO, UM, THE REASON THANK YOU MR. JACKSON FOR THOSE INSIGHTS REGARDING, UM, THE BUS STOP AS WELL AS THE PROCESS. UM, IN ABOUT THREE MONTHS, THIS GOVERNING BODY IS GOING TO RECEIVE ANOTHER REQUEST FROM BLOOMFIELD TO MOVE A BUS STOP. UM, THE REASON THAT I KNOW THIS IS BECAUSE, UM, I ATTENDED ONE OF THEIR COUNCIL MEETINGS AND THEY WERE PROPOSING, THEY WERE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT A BUS STOP. UM, THAT BUS STOP IS OPPOSITE THE, THE BUS STOP THAT'S BEING MOVED. I HEARD SOMETHING THAT CONCERNED ME DEEPLY AND THAT IS THE WORD LOITERING. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IN THIS ROOM CONFUSES WAITING FOR THE BUS WITH LOITERING. HERE'S THE EQUIVALENT. I USE THE WA ACCESSING TRAIN STATION. AM I LOITERING BY WAITING FIVE MINUTES WHEN I ARRIVE FIVE MINUTES EARLY FOR MY TRAIN? AND I WANNA MAKE SURE, AND THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OF COURSE HAS TO GO TO THE RESIDENTS AND, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WILL BE ADDRESSED AT THAT LEVEL. DO [00:55:01] NOT CONFUSE WAITING FOR THE BUS AND BEING EARLY AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU MAKE THAT BUS WITH LOITERING. AND IF THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT TRASH, IF THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT SITTING ON A RETAINING WALL, AS I KNOW HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPRESSED IN BLOOMFIELD, JUST MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR. SO, YOU KNOW, UM, I FULLY UNDERSTAND. BUT, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE BUS ARE NOT LOITERING. PERIOD. END OF END OF STORY. UM, SO, UH, THAT I'LL BE WORKING ON THAT END WITH THE COUNCIL AND AND OTHER FOLKS. UM, THE NEXT THING I WANTED TO ADDRESS, AND I WANTED TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR DR. LINDA DAVIS. SHE WAS KILLED ON MONDAY, 7:45 AM IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. SHE WAS A TEACHER, A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER ON HER WAY TO A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY. AND SHE WAS KILLED WHEN A CAR THAT WAS BEING PURSUED BY ICE OFFICERS HIT HER CAR. SHE DIED AT THE HOSPITAL A LITTLE BIT LATER. IT GOT ME THINKING, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, UM, AND I KIND OF MENTIONED IT, UM, ICE AGENTS DID NOT COORDINATE DOWN IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN THEY INITIATED THAT PURSUIT AS IT HAPPENED BEFORE IT HAPPENED. WHEN IT HAPPENED. AND MY QUESTION TO ALL OF YOU IS, WHEN ICE OPERATES HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, DO THEY COORDINATE WITH THE ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE? AND WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE'S A PURSUIT IN ESSEX COUNTY? WHAT IS THE POLICY OF THE ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE? WHAT IS THE POLICY OF THE ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE? AND IF ICE IS NOT COMMUNICATING, ARE WE RESIDENTS AT RISK? SO I WANNA JUST MAKE SURE ABOUT THAT. AND THEN ONE LAST THING IN THE EIGHT SECONDS I HAVE REMAINING, UM, IS IT THREE OR FIVE MINUTES? NO, YOU HAVE ANOTHER MINUTE. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO THAT'S IMPORTANT. WE NEED TO KNOW BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT ICE OPERATIONS HAPPEN EARLY IN THE MORNING, LET'S SAY BETWEEN SIX AND NINE O'CLOCK. GUESS WHAT? THAT'S PEAK DRIVE TIME. THAT'S PEAK TIME FOR OUR KIDS AND OUR CHILDREN ON THE STREETS CROSSING THE STREETS. OUR CROSSING GUARDS, IT'S RUSH HOUR. IF ICE IS NOT ON THE SAME RADIO FREQUENCY AND IF THEY'RE NOT WORKING WITH AN INTEROPERABLE RADIO AS ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE OFFICERS, NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, 30 SECONDS, THERE'S A PROBLEM. THANK YOU. UM, FINALLY, THE LAST THING I'D LIKE TO BRING UP, UH, FOR THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, I WOULD LIKE A STATUS UPDATE, UM, ON THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS AS WELL AS THE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AT FRANKLIN STREET AND, UM, BERKELEY AVENUE, THAT LITTLE COMMERCIAL DISTRICT. UM, IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL TO KNOW THOSE. AND FINALLY, JUST AN ESSEX FOR THE ESSEX COUNTY OEM, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'RE ISSUING AN AFTER ACTION REPORT REFLECTING ON THEIR WORK FROM THE SNOWSTORM. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. LET THE RECORD REFLECT NOW. IT IS PAST SIX O'CLOCK. IT'S 6 0 3. SO WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO NUMBER SEVEN, MR. Z, COME ON UP. JOSHUA ZE, SUSSA COUNTY PARKS. UH, MR. PRESIDENT, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR NOT LISTENING TO COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON AND GETTING ME UP HERE AT SIX O'CLOCK. I APPRECIATE IT. . GIMME A SECOND, MR. ZA, I THINK I HAVE TO READ SOMETHING FOR THIS PUBLIC HEARING. AND I, MR. PRESIDENT, I DO, I DO HAVE SOME HANDOUTS FOR THE BOARD. OKAY, GREAT. AS WELL AS I'M, I'LL ALSO LEAVE THEM UP HERE FOR ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WHO WOULD, ADAM'S GONNA HAND THEM OUT. THAT'S WHAT I HAVE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, MRS. ATE? SURE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. PRESIDENT EZ, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS, AND THE ENTIRE ESA COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS JOSHUA ATE, AND I'M THE BUSINESS MANAGER FOR THE ESSEX COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS HEARING IS TO OBTAIN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR A GRANT APPLICATION TO SUBMIT TO THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS GREEN ACRES PARK DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. THE COUNTY OF ESSEX IS SEEKING FUNDS FOR TURTLEBACK ZOO, LOCATED AT FIVE 60 NORTHFIELD AVENUE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY. THAT PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS WILL PROVIDE A [01:00:01] NEW HOOFSTOCK BARN TO PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE AND HEALTH OF THE ANIMALS HELD AT THE ZOO. I WANT TO DIRECT EVERYONE'S ATTENTION TO THE CONCEPT PLANS FOR THE APPLICATION. THE TURTLEBACK ZOO CONCEPT PLAN PROPOSES RECREATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BENEFIT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF WEST ORANGE. BUILDING A NEW HOOFSTOCK BARN WILL COST $4,204,000, 204 790 $8,000, INCLUDING DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, INSTALLATION, OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND CONTINGENCIES. THE TOTAL PROJECT COST IS 7,000,881, UH, THOUSAND $723 AS PER BID SUBMITTED BY TIBAKU ENTERPRISES, INC. AS THE PROJECT IS LOCATED WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF AN ADVERSELY STRESSED OVERBURDENED COMMUNITY AND SPONSORED BY THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, THE PROJECT'S FULL SCOPE IS ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING. THE PROJECT WILL OFFER MORE SPACE DEBRIS. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED EASTERN BONGO OPEN UP BUILDING AREAS TO AN EXISTING GIRAFFE BAR TO ADD NEW SPECIES. THE PLAIN ZEBRA ADD A SMALL WATER FEATURE AND ADDITIONAL NATURAL FEEDING LOCATIONS TO THE HABITAT. VETERINARY EQUIPMENT INTEGRATED FOR HOOK STOCK MEDICAL CARE IN THE FIELD, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MOVE THEM UP TO THE HOSPITAL INTRODUCTION AND BIRTH AND BIRTHING AREAS FOR HOOFSTOCK ANIMALS. THE COUNTY HAS ALSO PREPARED AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THIS PROJECT AS REQUIRED BY THE N-J-D-E-P FOR APPLICATION GUIDANCE, THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE OVERALL UTILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THE FACILITY. THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS IN ENHANCEMENTS TO THE ZOO ARE NOT ANTICIPATED TO HAVE ANY ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE TURTLEBACK ZOO. IN THE SHORT TERM, THE INSTALLATION OF THE HOOK STOCK BARN WILL SUSTAIN RECREATION AS WILL OFFER MEANINGFUL RECREATION, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN, SENIORS, FAMILIES, AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. OVER THE LONG TERM, THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS AND RELATED FACILITIES WILL ALLOW FOR MORE SUSTAINED RECREATION AND EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. THE INSTALLATION OF A HOOK STOCK BARN PROVIDES LOW EFFORT ACCESSIBLE ACTIVITY FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN, ELDERLY PEOPLE, AND RESIDENTS. WITH LIMITED MOBILITY EXPANDING THE CAP, THE CAPABILITIES AND RESOURCES OF THE TURTLE CONTINUES TO PROMOTE TO SAFE ACROSS THE COUNTY. THE PROPOSED, THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS AT THE ZOO ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACTIVE RECREATION ON SITE AND CREATE A MORE ENJOYABLE AND CREATE A MORE ENJOYABLE AND AESTHETICALLY PLEASING ENVIRONMENT. OVERALL, VISITORS LOOKING FOR BOTH ACTIVE AND PASSIVE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. THERE ARE NO ANTICIPATED IMPACTS ON THE LOCAL, LOCAL ENVIRONMENT OR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. AND ANY PERMITS WILL BE ACQUIRED THAT ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT MEASURES CAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO MITIGATE, UH, I'M SORRY, MEASURES AND PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO MITIGATE ADVERSE IMPACTS AT THE PROJECT SITE INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE ERECTION OF SILK FENCING DURING AND AFTER CONSTRUCTION. THE PROLIFERATION OF SOIL AND SEDIMENT CONTROL, SCHEDULING AND STAGING EFFORTS TO MINIMIZE OVERALL DISTURBANCE AND SIGNIFICANT LANDSCAPE ACTIVITIES THAT INCLUDE THE REPLANTED VENUE FLORA, WHOSE REMOVAL IS REQUIRED FOR THE COMPLETION OF WORK. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL COMPLY WITH ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS REQUIRED BY THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND OR OTHER REGULATORY AGENCIES REGARDING BUILDING REMEDIATION, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, AND TO THE ATTAINMENT OF ALL NECESSARY PERMITS FOR BUILDING REMEDIATION AND SOIL CONSERVATION AS NEEDED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THE BOARD OR PUBLIC MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. MS. UH, SHABAZZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS. COMMISSIONERS. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER COOPER? THANK YOU. UM, TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD, THIS IS A NEW BUILDING OR WE, UM, A NEW BUILDING THAT'S GOING UP. WE'RE STAYING WITHIN THE CURRENT FOOTPRINT OF THE ZOO, RIGHT? UH, THREE JOSHUA ZA. 6, 7, 3, MR. PRESIDENT. THAT IS CORRECT. IT'S STAYING WITHIN THE, UH, THE FENCE BOUNDARIES OF THE ZOO. YES. CUTTING DOWN ANY TREES. SO THERE IS, UM, UH, SOME MINIMAL TREE REMOVAL, UM, BUT MOST OF THE TREES ARE DISEASED OR, UH, DECAYING. SO THOSE WOULD BE REMOVED. AND AS WE STATED, ANY TREES THAT WE REMOVE THAT ARE HEALTHY, WE WOULD BE REPLACING, WE'LL BE REPLACING. AND THEN THE ARROWS THAT YOU'RE POINTING ON THIS DIAGRAM, ARE WE DOING SOMETHING FOR WATER RETAINING STORM WATER STUFF TOO? IS IT JUST PURELY, UM, A ILLUSTRATION? SO THIS IS JUST A, A RENDERING. UM, THIS ISN'T THE ACTUAL PLAN, UH, A RENDERING TO SUBMIT WITH THE APPLICATION, BUT, UM, I'M SURE IF THERE'S ANY STORM WATER OR, OR ANYTHING THAT, OF EROSION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE ADDRESSED WHILE WE ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT THE PROJECT OR FULLY DESIGN IT. WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? WHEN WILL WE START? WHEN WILL IT, UH, SO I, I BELIEVE THE TIMELINE WOULD BE, WE WOULD PROBABLY WAIT TILL THE SPRING WHEN THE WEATHER'S A LITTLE WARMER AND THEN IT, I DON'T WANT TO COMMIT TO ANYTHING, BUT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE COMPLETED MAYBE BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. BUT THAT'S REALLY WEATHER DEPENDENT. SO IT MIGHT BE MORE LIKE SPRING NEXT YEAR. DO WE ANTICIPATE GREEN ACRES PAYING FOR EVERYTHING, OR IS IT GONNA BE LIKE A MATCH? SO, UH, BECAUSE IT'S A COUNTY APPLICATION, [01:05:01] UM, WE COULD THEORETICALLY RECEIVE THE ENTIRE AMOUNT. UM, IT'S BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT WE'VE NEVER RECEIVED SEVEN FROM GREEN ACRES. UM, MOST LIKELY THE BEST CASE SCENARIO WOULD BE 50%. BUT AS, UM, ONE OF MY AGENDA ITEMS PREVIOUSLY, THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY IS ALSO PARTNERING. SO WE'RE THINKING BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE ZOOLOGICAL. WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET A PRETTY SIZABLE PORTION OF THE, UH, THE, UM, ESTIMATED COST. COST. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL. THANK YOU. UH, JOSH, HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE ATTENDANCE AT THE ZOO? UH, WELL, WITH ANY NEW EXHIBIT THAT WE BUILD, WE'RE ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC THAT IT'LL INCREASE ATTENDANCE. UM, BUT THERE, THERE'S NO WAY TO REALLY ESTIMATE UNTIL, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, DO SOME KIND OF PROMOTION AND WHAT HAVE YOU TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE NEW EXHIBIT. WILL IT AFFECT HOW THE ZOO OPERATES? NO, BECAUSE, UM, IT'S, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU, UM, JUST TO GET A BEARING, I KNOW IT'S IN THE PLAN, BUT IF YOU'RE AT THE, UH, THE PENGUIN EXHIBIT, WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO THE LINE EXHIBIT, AND YOU'RE WALKING TOWARDS THE ZEBRA EXHIBIT WHERE YOU CAN FEED THE ZEBRA, IT WOULD BE THE AREA ON THE LEFT. SO IT'S WITHIN THE SAME PATHWAY AS THE ZEBRA, AS THE, UM, I'M SORRY, AS THE GIRAFFE. SO IT'LL CREATE A NICE LITTLE ADDITION TO THAT AREA. OKAY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. JUST ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER GI? THANK YOU. UH, YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. SO A HOOF, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND, A HOOF STOCK BARN, DON'T, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A HOOF STOCK BARN. LET WALK THAT BACK. A HOOF STOCK BARN IS A BARN, I'M ASSUMING FOR ANIMALS THAT HAVE BOOBS, . OKAY. IT IS 1 0 1 RIGHT NOW. SO, UH, SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE, SO, UH, JOSHUA WAS AAC, S3. YOU, MR. PRESIDENT? YES. UH, HOOF STOCK IS, IS ANY ANIMAL THAT HAS A HOOF. UM, SO I, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE WHAT, HOW MANY HOOFSTOCK SPECIES WE HAVE OR WHERE THEY'RE CURRENTLY LOCATED, BUT THIS WOULD BE TO BRING ADDITIONAL HOOFSTOCK SPECIES INTO THE ZOO. OKAY. AND THROUGH YOU, MR. PRESIDENT, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ENLARGING THE FOOTPRINT? NO, NO ENCROACHMENT, NO, IT'S, IT'S WITHIN, IF, IF YOU WERE TO WALK THAT PATHWAY AND LOOK TO THE LEFT, YOU WOULD CLEARLY SEE THAT IT'S WITHIN THE, THE BOUNDARIES OF THE FENCE LINE. OKAY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC? ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. ZS? MR. PLEASE JUST IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE, OF COURSE. GOOD EVENING. UH, NORM CT 99 BERKELEY AVENUE. BLOOMFIELD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. UM, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE PLANTINGS, WILL THEY BE NATIVE SPECIES OR THEY'RE GONNA BE SPECIFICALLY TO SORT OF AFRICAN PLAINS WHERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE I I READ HERE IT SAYS AFRICAN REED GRASS SHADE CANOPY, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU ALSO, WILL YOU ALSO HAVE NATIVE SPECIES, UH, HERE, NATIVE PLANTS, UH, JOSHUA ZA PARKS? UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE CAN, UM, RECOMMEND TO BOTH THE DESIGNER. UM, I'M NOT, I'M NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH THE SPECIES OF PLANTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING, BUT, UM, IN ANY, IN ANY PROJECT, THAT'S CERTAINLY OPEN TO DISCUSSION, DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SEE TOO. ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION. UM, WILL THERE BE IRRIGATION FOR ANY OF THIS, UH, ANY OF THESE, THIS GRASS AREA? DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW JOSHUA COUNTY PARKS? UH, ALSO, I, I'M, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT CERTAIN IN THAT, BUT THERE WILL BE WATER, YOU KNOW, WATER LINES BROUGHT INTO THE NEW BUILDING. SO I WOULD, I WOULD ASSUME THEY WOULD ADDRESS ANY ADDITIONAL IRRIGATION AT THAT TIME. OKAY. WE GOOD? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. I HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING MOTION. COMMISSIONER COOPER, UH, FIRST SEAT ON THE SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. THE AYE. HAVE IT. UH, NOW WE'RE GOING TO, UH, TAKE A VOTE, UH, TO MOVE THIS, UH, DO I HAVE THE SAME MOVER AND SECONDER TO APPROVE? YES. OKAY. ROLL CALL HONOR. DEPUTY COURTER. NUMBER 17. COMMISSIONER COOPER? YES. COMMISSIONER GILL? YES. COMMISSIONER LUCIANO? YES. COMMISSIONER MERCADO. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON? YES. COMMISSIONER SIEBEL? YES. COMMISSIONER SERMONS. ABSENT. COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT MURRAY THOMAS. YES. COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT POIS? YES. SO MOVED. GREAT. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA COME BACK TO THE REGULAR PUBLIC COMMENT, WHICH YOU HAD, JUST TO ENSURE THAT ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISH TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME ON ANY, ON ANY ITEM. SEEING NONE, MADAM DEPUTY CLERK, LET THE RECORD REFLECT. THERE'S NO ONE WILLING TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME SINCE WE COVERED THE, UH, NUMBER OF THESE THINGS. THE LAST PART IS THE COMMISSIONER COMMENT SESSION EARLIER TODAY, COMMISSIONER LUCIANO AND VICE PRESIDENT MARY THOMAS ATTENDED A MEETING ABOUT IT. UH, COMMISSIONER LUCIANO AND VICE PRESIDENT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BOTH, UH, WEIGH IN ON WHAT TOOK PLACE TODAY? CERTAINLY YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE, THE BOARD OF SCHOOL ESTIMATES MEETING. YES, MA'AM. ABSOLUTELY. SO WE HAVE THE PLEASURE OF JOINING OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND PRESIDENT. UH, AM I SAYING THE RIGHT BOI BOI PRECISE? EXACTLY. I KNOW THE SPELLING IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE, THE BEAUTIFUL PRONUNCIATION. UH, BUT IT WAS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL, UH, WAY TO COME INTO THIS NEW YEAR JUST [01:10:01] AUTHORIZING THE FUNDING OF A PREEMINENT SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION HERE IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, WHICH IS ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE. UH, ONE OF THE HIGHEST RATED, UH, ESS COUNTY COLLEGE IS ONE OF THE MOST USED COUNTY COLLEGES AND CERTAINLY HISTORIC INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE INTO THE SCHOOL, INTO OUR STUDENTS BECAUSE OUR STUDENTS DESERVE THE BRILLIANCE THAT THEY PUT INTO SCHOOL, REFLECTED BACK INTO THEM BY THE INVESTMENT WE MAKE AS A COUNTY. AND SO WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR OUR, OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE. GRATEFUL FOR OUR NEW, UH, BOARD CHAIR, UH, DR. LEWIS. UM, WE HAVE OF COURSE THE, UH, STEPPING DOWN FROM BOARD LEADERSHIP, BUT ALWAYS, UH, WITHIN, UH, OUR SIGHTS OF RESPECT AND ADMIRATION. DR. MARION BOLTON BO, DR. MARION BOLDON, A NEWARK LEGEND. AS A NORCA, MYSELF, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT EDUCATION IN NEWARK. BE ESSAS COUNTY COLLEGE, BE THE NEWARK BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND NOT TALK ABOUT DR. BOLDEN. UM, AND SO IT WAS GREAT TO KIND OF COMMEND THIS NEXT CHAPTER OF DR. LEWIS'S LEADERSHIP AND ALSO CELEBRATING HERS. UM, AND YEAH, JUST TO CELEBRATE ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTY COLLEGE. AND I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER LUCIANO HAD A SPECIAL APPEARANCE THAT OCCURRED AS WELL, THAT YOU, UH, BELIEVE INITIATED. AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THAT IF YOU'D LIKE, BUT AGAIN, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE AND HAPPY TO, UH, CELEBRATE ALL OF THE EXCELLENCE HAPPENING AT OUR COUNTY COLLEGE. YES, COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, VICE PRESIDENT MARY THOMAS. UH, I TOO WOULD LIKE TO ADD. UM, AGAIN, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO SERVE, UH, AT ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS, UH, WHETHER THEY'RE YOUNG OR OLD OR MIDDLE AGED. UM, WE HAVE HAD A COMMITMENT UNDER OUR LEADERSHIP OF OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND OUR NEW PRESIDENT, UH, DR. BACHI, TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, UM, I GUESS INCREASE ENROLLMENT OVER AT ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE. AND WE ARE SEEING THAT TREND. UH, ONE OF THE RESOLUTIONS THAT WE COMMITTED TO WAS, UH, $2 MILLION FROM ESSEX COUNTY WITH, UH, HOPES THAT IT WOULD BE MATCHED FROM THE STATE, UH, TO CONTINUE, UH, WITH SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE'RE DOING OVER THERE. UH, POST-MEETING, I WAS ABLE TO TAKE A TOUR TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PUTTING IN NEW FLOORING. THEY HAVE ADDED, UH, NEW, UH, FLOOR TO CEILING GLASS WINDOWS IN THE CAFETERIA, WHEREAS THE OLD CAFETERIA WASN'T SO INVITING TO STUDY AND SOCIALIZE. THE NEW CAFETERIA WITH FULL GLASS, UH, IS BRIGHT. IT SHINES, THE SUN SHINES IN, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO SPEAK TO THE VICE PRESIDENT. YES. UM, I PUT ON THE RECORD THAT MY LIFE PARTNER, UM, HAS GONE BACK TO SCHOOL TO, UM, HOW CAN I SAY THIS? SHE WANTED ANOTHER CAREER IN HER LIFE IN MIDDLE AGE. AND WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE YOU SAID, IN A YOUNG THIRTIES IN, WELL, I BELIEVE HE'S A YOUNG, I WILL SAY YOUNG, YOUNG THIRTIES LOOKING, TAKE MY ADVICE, SIR. BUT MIDDLE AGE, UM, SHE, UH, FOUND A CALLING TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL TO BE AN RN. AND OUR COLLEGE ACROSS THE STREET, IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD, HAS ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE AND, UH, ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE RN PROGRAMS IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. UM, AND I'M VERY PROUD OF HER. UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO SOCIALIZE BECAUSE SHE STUDIES TWO, THREE HOURS A DAY AND SHE'S WORKING ON HER CLINICALS. BUT I KNOW FIRSTHAND BECAUSE OF THAT EXPERIENCE THAT THE COLLEGE, THE PROFESSORS AND THE SCHOOL IS A WELL OILED MACHINE. AND AGAIN, JUST PROUD TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR NEW PRESIDENT, UH, WHO'S NOT NEW ANYMORE, BUT SOMEWHAT NEW. AND OUR NEW MEMBER OF THE, UH, BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OUR CHAIR. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU BOTH FOR ATTENDING THE MEETING TODAY. UH, I KNOW WE'RE ALL VERY PROUD OF DR. BCE AND THE BOARD FOR REALLY DOING SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS ON ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE, WHETHER IT BE THE NEW CAMPUS IN WEST COLWELL, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL, BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS, UH, AND RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET, THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING THERE TO REHAB THE BUILDING AND AND SO FORTH THROUGH, THROUGH YOU. MR. PRESIDENT. YES. IF I MAY, AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THIS YOURSELF AS A COLLEGE PROFESSOR, I'VE, YOU KNOW, GO TO A LOT OF COLLEGES BOTH TO SPEAK. AND ALSO BECAUSE I'M IN SCHOOL, I'M PERPETUALLY IN SCHOOL, , SHOUT OUT TO THE GRAD STUDENTS OUT HERE. UM, BUT IT'S RARE THAT YOU FIND A PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY THAT IS SO PRESENT IN ALL DOMAINS OF THE OPERATIONS OF AN INSTITUTION. SO WHO CAN TALK NUMBERS TO YOU, RIGHT? THIS IS HOW MUCH WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE SCHOOL IS RUNNING. BUT I COULD ALSO TALK TO YOU SPECIFICALLY ABOUT STUDENTS ISSUES AND WHAT THEY NEED TO GET TO THE NEXT STEP, WHETHER IT'S A COUPLE HUNDRED DOLLARS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR FINANCIAL AID TO STAY IN SCHOOL OR WHAT HAVE YOU. AND PRESIDENT BACHI TAKES SO SERIOUSLY WHAT IT MEANS TO INVEST IN THE FULLNESS OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE'S EDUCATION. HE CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF THE SCHOOL. HE CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE GPAS OF THE STUDENTS AND HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE LIKE YOUR WIFE OR MY MENTEES AND SO MANY OTHERS ARE SUCCESSFUL AT ESSEX COUNTY. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO EVERYTHING THAT WAS SHARED, WHAT INCREDIBLE LEADERSHIP WE HAVE IN PRESIDENT BACHI THAT IS COMPARABLE TO NONE. AND I'M [01:15:01] SURE THAT OUR SCHOOL WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE TO HIGHER HEIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE LEADERSHIP OF HIM AND HIS STAFF, UM, AND THE FACULTY AS WELL. SO WHAT A GIFT TO BE A PART OF THIS COUNTY IN SUCH A HISTORIC MOMENT. THANK YOU FOR OPPORTUNITY. GET NO ARGUMENT FROM US. ABSOLUTELY. YES. COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON. YEAH, I, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH, UH, DR. . BUT MY, UM, WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IS A LITTLE SOLID. WE LOST A CIVIL RIGHTS ICON, UM, AND IT HAPPENS TO BE BLACK HISTORY MONTH. WE LOST JESSE JACKSON, WHO FOUGHT FOR THE BETTERMENT OF EVERYONE. UM, SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT OF SILENCE IF YOU WILL PARTICIPATE IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE, UH, AS A LOSS TO AD GIANT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. WELL SAID. UM, Z NO OTHERS. UH, JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE THAT A WEEK FROM TODAY, WE WILL HAVE OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN EVENT, UH, ANNUAL HARVARD CELEBRATION. WE'RE CELEBRATING, UH, THE WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF A GOOD, IT'S A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE. COREY ANDERSON OF BLOOMFIELD, OF NEWARK. REVEREND, UH, PASTOR REVEREND THUR WILLIAMS OF NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH OF EAST ORANGE HAS BEEN NEAR QUITE A BIT TO HELP US WITH A GOOD NUMBER OF EVENTS AND SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE BOOKSTORE WITH OWNERS, MASON BARNWELL, GEORGE DEXTER GEORGE, AND PATRICE MCKINNEY. SO THAT'LL TAKE PLACE HERE SIX O'CLOCK NEXT WEEK. SO HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN JOIN IF THAT'S ALL. UH, WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN. I'M SORRY, MR. PRESIDENT, I JUST WANT TO ADD ONE MORE THING FOR THE RECORD. UH, THANK YOU KATHY BROWN. UH, WE HAD TO, UH, LAST MINUTE RESCHEDULE OUR ANNUAL IRISH AMERICAN HERITAGE EVENT. SO JUST FOR THE RECORD AND FOR THE VIEWERS, UH, WE ARE NO LONGER CELEBRATING IT ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11TH. WE HAVE MOVED IT, UH, OUTTA RESPECT TO ANOTHER IRISH AMERICAN DINNER THAT NIGHT TO TUESDAY, MARCH 10TH. IS THAT CORRECT, KATHY? THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, THAT'S A LONGSTANDING TRADITION, THAT MEETING. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T COMPETING WITH ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION THAT NIGHT, BECAUSE WE USUALLY DO GET A VERY HEALTHY ATTENDANCE. YEAH. AND HONORARIES, I GO TO THAT EVENT AS WELL. SO JUST ABOUT TO DO THAT. THAT'LL BE HELD AT THE CHERRY BLOSSOM, UH, CENTER AS WE'VE HAD FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION TO DO IT WITH. THE GREEN LIGHTS. THAT'S RIGHT. THREE. YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. UM, I JUST WANTED TO, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER LUCIANO'S BEAUTIFUL. ASH REMINDED ME OF THIS. WANTED TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY LINTEN SEASON. HAPPY ASH WEDNESDAY. I KNOW ALSO, UH, RAMADAN BEGAN YESTERDAY, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY. UH, IT'S ALSO THE START OF THE LUNAR YEAR. THERE'S SO MUCH HAPPENING SPIRITUALLY, COSMICALLY, UM, IN THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW. SO ALL WHO CELEBRATE EITHER ONE OF THOSE, I FOR MENTIONED RELIGIONS. I KNOW FOR ME, I WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE NOONDAY SERVICE. I WAS ABLE TO LISTEN TO A BEAUTIFUL PRAYER AND THAT HELP ANCHOR ME TODAY OR WHEREVER. JUST FINDING THEMSELF IN NEED OR SEARCHING SOME KIND OF SPIRITUAL GROUNDING. PRAY, FIND YOUR, YOU KNOW, UH, THE GOD IN YOURSELF AND AROUND YOU. AND HOPEFULLY EVERYONE HAS JUST A BEAUTIFUL, UH, HOLIDAY AND, UH, SPIRITUAL SEASON FOR, YOU KNOW, IF IT APPLIES TO YOU. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . ALL MOTION, JUDGE AJOUR. MOVE. MOVE BY LUCIAN. SECOND, SECOND. SECOND BY RICHARDSON. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. GOOD ONE, COOPER. AND, UH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.