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MINUTES

BOROUGH OF EMERSON MAYOR AND COUNCIL

January 19, 2021 7:30 P.M.

Borough Hall-Council Chambers Emerson, NJ 07630

I. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor DiPaola welcomed everyone to the January 19th, 2021 Regular Meeting of the Emerson Governing Body. She said the meeting was being videotaped and could be viewed from a link on the Borough website as well as on Verizon FIOS Channel 36 and Cablevision Channel 77. For those members of the public who wished to participate in this meeting but choose not to attend in person, the meeting was also being held via the teleconferencing app GoToMeeting and live-streamed on YouTube via a link on the homepage of the Borough website www.emersonnj.org. She read the Sunshine Statement announcing that the meeting of January 19th, 2021 had been adequately noticed and was in compliance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Law. The meeting notice had been sent to the Record and Ridgewood News on January 6th, 2021 and noticed to said newspapers; posted on the bulletin board in the Municipal Building and remained continuously posted as required under the Statute.

II. ROLL CALL

Present: Mayor DiPaola, Councilwoman Argenzia (via teleconference), Councilman Carbo, Council President Hoffman, Councilwoman McGuire (via teleconference), Councilman Timmerman

Absent: Councilman Gordon

Also present were Borough Administrator Robert Hermansen, Borough Attorney John McCann, and Borough Clerk Jane Dietsche.

III. EXCUSED ABSENCE OF GOVERNING BODY MEMBER

Mayor DiPaola announced that no members of the Governing Body had been absent from the previous meeting.

IV. PROCLAMATIONS & CITATIONS

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BOROUGH PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS – AWARD PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS FOR ONE YEAR PERIOD USING THE ‘FAIR AND OPEN PROCESS’ in accordance with the ‘New Jersey Local Unit Pay to Play’ Law, Pursuant to N.J.S.A 19:44A-20.4 et seq. “Fair and Open” for Calendar Year

1/1/2021 through 12/31/2021

(Appointment by Mayor on Consent and Advice of Council)

• Resolution No. 46-21 A Alternate Prosecutor – Amy M. Mara, Esq., Catina & Catina & Mara, PLLC

• Resolution No. 46-21 B Land Use Board Attorney – Chris Martin, Esq., Harwood Lloyd, LLC

• Resolution No. 46-21 C Land Use Board Engineer – Neglia Engineering Motion to adopt Resolutions No. 46-21 A, 46-21B and 46-21C BOROUGH PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS – AWARD PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

CONTRACTS FOR ONE YEAR PERIOD USING THE ‘FAIR AND OPEN PROCESS’ in accordance with the ‘New Jersey Local Unit Pay to Play’ Law, Pursuant to N.J.S.A 19:44A-20.4 et seq. “Fair and Open” for Calendar Year 1/1/2021 through 12/31/2021 for the above listed professionals was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0:

Roll call:

YES: McGuire, Timmerman, Argenzia, Hoffman, Carbo

• Library Board

o Board of Education representative for one-year term Kristen Vitale ending 12/31/21

Mayor DiPaola announced that the Emerson Board of Education had appointed Ms. Kristen Vitale to be their representative to the Library Board of Trustees for the one-year term ending 12/31/21.

VI. MINUTES FOR APPROVAL

• Special and Closed Session Meeting Minutes of December 29, 2020

• Reorganization Meeting Minutes of January 5, 2021

Motion to approve the Special and Closed Session Meeting Minutes of December 29, 2020 was moved by Councilwoman Argenzia, seconded by Council President Hoffman and carried by a roll call vote of 3-0:

Roll call:

YES: McGuire, Argenzia, Hoffman

Motion to approve the Reorganization Meeting Minutes of January 5th, 2021 was

moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0:

Roll call:

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VII. CORRESPONDENCE

Mayor DiPaola announced that copies of the correspondence were available in the office of the Municipal Clerk.

• Interlocal Service Agreement Resolution – Mutual Aid Plan & Rapid Deployment Force -multiple municipalities

• Mutual Aid – Pascack Valley Fire Departments – multiple municipalities VIII. FINANCIAL BUSINESS

• Resolution No. 47-21 Bill List

Motion to approve Resolution No. 47-21 Bill List was moved by Council President

Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0: Roll call:

YES: McGuire, Timmerman, Argenzia, Hoffman, Carbo IX. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

• Kinderkamack Road Easement Update – Mr. Hermansen thanked Ms. Dietsche, CFO Lauren Roehrer and Mr. McCann for working together to get easements signed off on in order to close out the Kinderkamack Road improvement project. Once the deeds were filed with Bergen County, the Borough would receive a reimbursement of over $175,000. He added that this process had taken seven years to resolve.

• Temporary Ambulance structure update – Mr. Hermansen said he had received a memo from DPW Superintendent Perry Solimando stating that they were waiting for PSE&G to install heat at the structure. The electrical installation had been completed. Mr. Solimando was working with PSE&G to finish the heating installation and would report on the progress before the next meeting.

• Parking/Entrances to Emerson Woods – Mayor DiPaola, Councilwoman McGuire and Mr. Hermansen discussed ongoing conversations with Borough Engineer Dave Atkinson about safe pedestrian crossings at various locations in town. Councilwoman McGuire said that recent discussions were a follow up to a meeting of the Pedestrian Safety Task Force which took place in March of 2020. Councilwoman McGuire notes that the County may be interested in a crosswalk at Ridge/Main for the safety of the many Veteran residents who reside in the multi-unit property located behind the American Legion Post, which is directly across from the Emerson Woods trailhead. Areas to be considered for striping or flashing caution signs included the intersection of Locust Avenue and Kinderkamack Road, as well as Main Street/Linwood Avenue/ High Street. The Governing Body also discussed whether to install a cross walk spanning Main Street from Ridge Road to Emerson Woods. Mayor DiPaola said it would be must safer to install pervious parking at Lakeview Terrace so people did not have to cross Main Street. She added that it would eliminate parking in front of the homes of residents in the area as well.

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Mr. Hermansen said he would work with the Police Department to see if parking could be permitted at that location and also check with Suez Water to see if they would allow pervious parking spaces on their property. Mayor DiPaola asked Mr. Hermansen to check with Suez first and then follow up with Mr. Atkinson to see if this was the best place for parking and report back to the Governing Body. Governing Body consensus was to explore pervious parking near the Emerson Woods Preserve. The cost for a crosswalk was estimated at approximately $30,000; Mr. Hermansen said he would reach out to the County to see if they could cover that expense. He said he would distribute a report to the Governing body and have Mr. Atkinson at the next meeting to review.

Mayor DiPaola also asked that Mr. Atkinson appear once a month at a Council meeting to provide updates and a status report.

X. NEW BUSINESS

• CDBG Grant application – Marianna Place – Mr. Hermansen said he had worked with Mr. Solimando and Borough Engineer Dave Atkinson to submit a grant for this project. They looked forward to working with the County to receive this grant. Mayor DiPaola said that over the three-year time span concluding at the end of this year, the Borough will have repaved almost three quarters of its roads.

• Amending Chapter 208 – Peddling and Soliciting – Ms. Dietsche said that Detective Ryan Sokerka had submitted a request to amend Chapter 208 Peddling and Soliciting of the Borough Code. The requested amendments had been submitted to the Governing Body and Borough Attorney for their review and comments. The introduction of the amended ordinance was scheduled for the February 2nd meeting. Chief Mazzeo said that Detective Sergeant Sokerka had done a good job and had thought of everything that needed to be changed.

XI. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES

Mayor DiPaola announced that the next order of business was the Introduction of Ordinances. Upon approval, this ordinance would be further considered at a Public Hearing to be held on February 2nd, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Borough Hall, Municipal Pl., Emerson, NJ and by teleconference and published in The Record. All ordinances were posted on the Borough website and on file in the Office of the Municipal Clerk in the Emerson Borough Hall, Municipal Place, Emerson, NJ. Should you need a hard copy please call Borough Hall and one will be mailed to you free of charge.

First Reading:

1622-21 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 247, STORMWATER

MANAGEMENT, ARTICLE I, STORMWATER CONTROL

Motion to introduce Ordinance 1622-21 on first reading was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Carbo and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0: Roll call:

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XII. ADOPTION OF ORDINANCES

Mayor DiPaola announced that no ordinances were being adopted. XIII. REPORTS

• Mayor and Council

Councilman Timmerman said he had attended the first Recreation Commission meeting of the year. They had done good work last year under difficult

circumstances. He and Councilwoman Argenzia were looking forward to helping in any way they could as their liaisons in 2021.

Councilwoman McGuire said the first meeting of the Environmental Commission for 2021 would take place on January 27th via the teleconferencing application

GoToMeeting. Gravel was recently delivered and spread at the Emerson Community Garden to prepare for the 2021 garden season. The Historic Preservation Committee was currently on a hiatus; the Chair said the current plan was to resume meetings sometime in the spring. She wished Mrs. Ianora a Happy 100th Birthday and said it was a special time; 100 years was pretty great.

Councilwoman Argenzia said the Volunteer Ambulance Corps had appointed their officers for 2021. She referenced the fact that Janine Solimando had been appointed to a third term as EVAC President but the by-laws stated that an individual was limited to two terms in the position. However, no one else wanted it. Mr. McCann said the by-laws had to be followed but the Corps could take a vote to suspend that section of the by-laws for the year due to circumstances and the state of emergency. The Board of Health had held their Sine Die/Reorganization meeting. Two members had been reappointed, Ms. Linda Lahey and Ms. Corey Melillo. The board had discussed trying to set up vaccine clinics although none were scheduled yet. She said a large clinic was being set up at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford. Information would be posted as it became available. She reminded residents that pet license renewals were due in January. They were looking into how to allow residents to pay by credit card but there were database issues that had to be addressed first.

Council President Hoffman said the Library Board of Trustees had held their first meeting of the year the previous Thursday. They had not acted on a lot of business as the oaths of reappointed members had not yet been signed but they did appoint their officers: President Richard Hodgman, Vice President Sally Leara, Secretary Carol Schnapp and Treasurer Alyssa Mathews. He told them to reach out to the Municipal Clerk to be sworn in and have their oaths signed.

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• According to Emerson’s Health Officer, there had been a total of 593 positive cases of Covid-19 since the health crisis began. For the month of January 2021 so far, there were 75 reported positive Covid-19 residential cases in the Borough, one of those in a long-term care facility. This represented a significant increase in cases of Covid-19 in the Borough. She said that hopefully, this was the final fall out from holiday gatherings; as more people were vaccinated, the numbers would start to decline. She urged everyone to please be careful by wearing a mask, washing hands, social distancing, staying home if they felt sick and getting vaccinated as the best ways to limit the spread and protect themselves and others from the virus.

• New Jersey had moved to category 1B for those eligible to receive

vaccines. That included all of 1A, healthcare workers and first responders. Category 1B included people over the age of 65, residents of long-term care facilities, and those between the ages of 16-64 with existing medical conditions. For more information and registration for the vaccine, she told residents to visit www.BergenCOVIDvaccine.com. For those not currently eligible for the vaccine, they could register at that site to get on the list to be contacted when their category was eligible. For all updates related to the coronavirus, Covid-19 testing and vaccinations, she said that people should go online to covid19.nj.gov.

• Borough Hall offices remained open but it would be necessary to schedule an appointment should someone wish to visit Borough offices.

• She reminded residents to renew their dog and cat licenses by January 31st to avoid a late fee. Certificates of rabies inoculation, valid through November 1st, 2021, and sterilization (if applicable) should be mailed with their application and payment to the Borough of Emerson Health Department, 1 Municipal Place, Emerson, NJ 07630. Certificates would be returned to residents with their pet’s license. The application was included in the garbage and recycling calendar and could also be found on the Borough website. For questions, please reach out to the Board of Health at 201-262-6086 X1213.

• The deadline to file for the 2019 Senior Freeze, the New Jersey Property Tax Reimbursement, had been extended to February 1, 2021. First quarter property taxes were due on Monday, February 1st. The deadline to pay without incurring interest charges was Wednesday, February 10th. Residents could mail their payment to Borough of Emerson Tax Collector, 1 Municipal Place, Emerson, NJ 07630 or pay taxes online through the Borough website emersonnj.org. Another option was to deposit their payment in the drop box outside the Building

Department. Payments should be placed in a sealed envelope marked ‘Tax Collector’ with the tax stub and check. If someone wanted a receipt, they should include a self-addressed stamped return envelope. The Borough was not

accepting any cash payments and she said that cash should not be left in the box at any time. For questions, please contact the Tax Department at 201-262-6086 x1211.

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• The Department of Public Works was continuing curbside collection of

Christmas trees. She told residents to save the date as a shredding event would be held on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at Borough Hall between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

• The next Regular Meeting of the Governing Body would take place on Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:30 p.m. She said her niece would be Sweet Sixteen on that day and she would be missing it in order to run the meeting and be with everyone in order to run the Borough government.

Borough Administrator Rob Hermansen reported on the following:

• He had met with Mayor DiPaola, Council President Hoffman, Councilman Timmerman and CFO Lauren Roehrer earlier that day to discuss the 2021 budget. The process had started in November with requests to department heads and were progressing in order to present the budget to the Governing Body. They were looking forward to continuing the process and noted that it would not be an easy one due to Covid and everything else. He suggested the department heads come in to meet with the Council. He asked councilmembers reach out to him if they wanted to speak with a specific department head.

Mayor DiPaola said the discussions were very productive and that Councilman Timmerman had jumped right in with suggestions on ways to trim fat. They would look into these items to see if they could be done statutorily. She added that Council President Hoffman was a seasoned veteran and had brought up lots of very good points as well. She said it would be a difficult budget this year as there were statutory and contractual obligations but as always, they would continue to remain as fiscally responsible as possible in order to keep taxes stable.

• He had met late last week with the Mayor and Borough Architects Kevin and Rita Settembrino to discuss renovations and the addition to Borough Hall. Revised drawings had been reviewed by department heads. He felt very good about the preliminary drawings which would be passed on to the Governing Body and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. His recommendation was to have Mr. and Mrs. Settembrino attend the February 2nd meeting to discuss the plans. Presentations related to the Police Department would have to be done during Closed Session so as to not share security related information. He said their meeting was extremely productive and he felt very comfortable that the plans would be beneficial to the residents of Emerson.

Mayor DiPaola asked that the plans be sent to the Building and Grounds Committee first so that if they wanted to have a meeting to familiarize themselves with the plans, they could go over it with Mr. Hermansen and Mr. and Mrs. Settembrino. She asked that the plans be sent in advance to the entire Governing Body as well. On February 2nd, they would make a public

presentation on all the public areas on the plans and they would move forward from there and make comments. She added that the Borough Engineer was working on a survey of the property and work could start as soon as the Governing Body approved the plans.

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Fire Inspector. A previous Fire Inspector had retired after serving the Borough very well for a long time. There was a need for a replacement and this was an excellent opportunity for Fire Chief Sottile to help. He had been taking classes for certification but that had been pushed back due to Covid-19 so Mr. Sottile would be doing his inspections with Fire Official Rich Silvia until he received certification. He said he was looking forward to Mr. Sottile working for the Borough.

• He, Mayor DiPaola, Councilwoman McGuire and Commander Hogan would be meeting with John Biale and members of the Bergen County Housing Authority to finalize plans for housing and a meeting room along with the owners of the property of the American Legion. Mayor DiPaola noted that the meeting was taking place in order to help facilitate a transition for the property so the veterans could receive what they were promised several years ago when they made the agreement with them. She added that the Borough was just trying to facilitate an agreement the Housing Authority and the legion members. Mr. Hermansen said he was looking forward to meeting with everyone in order to move the process along.

• Birthday celebrations were continuing for residents. He said it was best to car parades on the weekend as most members of the Fire Department and Ambulance Corps worked during the week. However, they were doing their best to organize celebrations during the week. He asked that residents reach out to him or Police Chief Mazzeo so they could coordinate the event. Mayor DiPaola said that everyone was missing their usual birthday celebrations and the Borough wanted to allow everyone to celebrate a birthday safely; the car parades were a nice way to do that.

• He said that his daughter shared a birthday with Mrs. Ianora on January 23rd. She would be 19 years old and he wished her a happy birthday.

• Borough Clerk Jane Dietsche had no report.

• Borough Attorney John McCann had no report. XIV. PUBLIC COMMENT

Motion to open the meeting to comments from the public was moved by Councilman Timmerman, seconded by Councilman Carbo and carried unanimously at 8:50 p.m. Hearing no requests for comment, Mayor DiPaola asked for a motion to close the meeting to comments from the public.

Motion to close the meeting to comments from the public was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried unanimously.

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XV. RESOLUTIONS ON CONSENT AGENDA

Motion to approve Consent Agenda Resolutions No. 48-21 through 50-21 was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Carbo and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0:

Roll call:

YES: McGuire, Timmerman, Argenzia, Hoffman, Carbo

CA 48-21 Municipal Endorsing Resolution for FY 2021 Bergen County Community Development Block Grant Project

CA 49-21 Appoint Anthony (AJ) Sottile as Fire Inspector

CA 50-21 Shared Service Agreement – Upper Saddle River bucket truck XVI. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION NO. 51-21

Motion to go into an executive session to discuss matters exempt from the public as duly noticed by Resolution No. 51-21 was moved by Councilwoman Argenzia, seconded by Council President Hoffman and carried by a roll call vote of 5-0:

Roll call:

YES: McGuire, Timmerman, Argenzia, Hoffman, Carbo

#21-1/19-01 Litigation – Redevelopment Update N.J.S.A.10.4-7 #21-1/19-02 Personnel – Borough Administrator N.J.S.A. 10.4-8 #21-1-19-03 Contract Negotiations – DPW/PBA N.J.S.A. 10.4-7 XVII. RECONVENE

The Borough of Emerson reserves the right to return to Open Session and, if appropriate, take formal action.

Motion to reconvene was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried unanimously.

Motion to extend the curfew deadline to 11:30 p.m. was moved by Council President Hoffman, seconded by Councilman Timmerman and carried unanimously.

Motion to return to executive session to discuss matters exempt from the public as duly noticed by Resolution No. 51-21 was moved by Councilwoman Argenzia, seconded by Councilman Carbo and carried unanimously.

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XVIII. ADJOURNMENT

With no other business to address, at the request of Mayor DiPaola, a motion to adjourn was moved, seconded and carried at 11:44 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jane Dietsche, RMC Borough Clerk

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