Council Meeting 12-4-2025

If city of seeking council meeting,
mayor, can you lead us in the flag
salute, please
to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
Carry roll call, please.
>> Yes.
>> Adams, yes.
Yes.
>> Parker here. Sykes
>> here.
>> Yes. Here. [laughter] This is to advise
a certain advanced notice has been given
to the date, time, location, and to the
extent known the agenda of this meeting
in accordance with the provision of the
open public meeting act. Notice of this
meeting has been posted prominently at
the bulletin board in the municipal
complex lobby on the city's website and
communicated through the newspaper
designated by this governing body. This
is to further advise that this meeting
is being recorded electronically and can
be viewed on the city's website at
obsecanj.gov.
This role, I think all of council can
agree, is extremely stressful sometimes,
but these are the exciting nights and uh
thank you everybody for coming. Chief,
do you want to uh kick this off and uh
get the party started? Sure.
All
right. So, bear with me. This is going
to be uh a little longwinded, but we
have so many people here tonight, so
that's why.
Good evening, members of council and
members of the public. Policing in 2025
is is grounded in moral correctness.
Today, prevention of crime is more
important than punishment of crime.
Every day, our officers interact with
people from all walks of life.
people facing struggles, challenges and
circumstances they often did not choose.
Many are dealing with mental illness,
addiction, poverty or personal identity
changes challenges.
These are the realities we cannot
ignore. Modern police officer must
approach every encounter with
compassion. We meet people at their
worst moments of their day and sometimes
the worst moments of their lives.
That is why I firmly believe the
policing profession remains one of the
most noble callings in our society.
But the expectations placed on police
officer today are unlike those placed on
any other profession.
Our officers must be doctors, lawyers,
and psychiatrist. On any given day, they
must understand plumbing, electrical
issues, carpentry, weather patterns, and
operate or repair every piece of
equipment known to man.
They must know everyone's job and be
expected to do it flawlessly.
Ours is the only pos profession where
mistakes are expected to be
non-existent. Where so society demands
we bat 1,000,
every decision, every action
while every movement is scrutinized
frame by frame on a bodywn camera
footage. [snorts]
And all of this is asked of our officers
as they go into the night, the heat, the
cold,
into the nastiest of storms.
They do this on weekends, on holidays,
on birthdays and anniversaries,
leaving their families so they can serve
and protect yours.
Resiliency is essential. Through
training and support, officers learn to
carry the weight of what they they
experience. To put this in perspective,
most people will experience two to three
traumatic events in their entire
lifetime. A police officer may encounter
8 to 10 every single year.
So I ask you before you judge an officer
or assume you know our intentions,
remember these truths. Our officers
thrive to be ambassadors of kindness,
integrity, and professionalism.
But like all human beings, they are not
perfect. Sometimes the customer is not
right and sometimes we cannot make
everyone happy, but we will always try.
Tonight I would like I would I want the
public to thank every member of the
Absica Police Department who serves this
community with honor, resilience, and
compassion. I ask you, our residents,
our partners, and our neighbors to
follow my lead. Instead of judging them,
thank them. Support them. recognize the
extraordinary burden they carry so that
we can all live in a in safety. Thank
you and may God bless our officers in
the city of Abseika. I read this because
um I was thinking that I'm almost at 19
people that I have sworn in since I took
over in uh April of 2020.
And so
it's very hard to recruit police
officers
um because not everybody is knocking
down the door for this job. Our
officers, these six officers tonight are
are young kids. They're your kids and
they're my kids the way I look at it.
And so um make sure you continue to take
care of them. We will do our best to
take care of them here. Um this is top
of the world for me. I have to be
honest. Um,
you know,
going back to 1990,
we haven't recruited
untrained officers. The last time we did
that was Officer Bob Heny and Officer
Dan David Grizzley. So, we go all the
way back to 1990 where we actually
recruited brand new kids and and brought
them on board. And I must say this, um,
I was I had a conversation with Captain
Stole, retired Captain Christian Stole.
Many of you know him. He was born and
raised in this town. And him and I were
both born and raised here. We attended
the AppSeek school system. We graduated
from Holy Spirit High School.
Um, and when we wanted to become police
officers, basically the administration
here said, "Good luck. go get hired
somebody else somewhere else, but we
cannot support you or put you through
the police academy here. You have to go
get trained somewhere else and then
transfer here. So, it's with great with
great honor for me since we have to go
back so many years since we've done this
and unprecedented we hired six people at
one time. So, I want to take the time to
thank the mayor and council behind me.
um they allowed us to do this as well as
the hard work of our recently retired
Lieutenant Adams who assisted me with
getting the cops grant this past year.
So, thank you for that.
[applause]
I'm going to start off with the bios.
Stanley Marzac is a lifelong resident of
Abssein and proud graduate of the
Absecin schools and Holy Spirit High
School, class of 2023.
Prior to joining the Absey Police
Department, Stanley was employed with CP
Electric,
where he demonstrated a strong work
ethic and dedication to his community.
Officer Marzac is also a member of the
Absey and Volunteer Fire Company.
He went on to attend the Atlantic County
Police Academy. graduating in July of
this year. During this time at the
academy, Stanley distinguished himself
by earning the physical fitness award,
an honor presented to one male and one
female recruit who exemplify exceptional
physical performance and determination.
Following his graduation, Officer Marzac
entered a field training program,
successfully completing the program in
November.
He is currently assigned to the power
shift within patrol division. Despite
being in an early in his early law
enforcement career, officer Marzac has
already encountered and managed a
significant number of critical
incidents,
far more than typically experienced by
new officers in their initial months of
service. His professionalism,
discipline, and commitment to duty have
been clearly evident.
We extend our sincere congratulations to
Officer Marzac and wish him continued
success in his career at the Absse
Police Department. This evening, the
Bible will be held by his mother, Anna
Marzac.
You can spin around.
Everyone take note.
I Stanley Marzac
here solemnly swear to that I will
faithfully officially impartially
partially and justly perform all the
duties of
patrol officer of the FC police
department officer
according to the best of my ability to
best of my ability I further solemnly
swear I further solely support the
constitution of the United state
in the constitution of the state of New
Jersey
that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the state
and to the government established in the
United States government established in
the United States
>> and in this state
under the authority of people
got congratulations
>> [applause]
>> Heat.
HEAT.
CONGRATULATIONS.
>> [applause]
>> Braden Melendez is a resident of
Galloway Township who attends who
attended the AppScan schools and
graduated from Holy Spirit High School
in 2023.
He went on to enroll in class 30 of
Atlanta County Police Academy. Graduated
in July of this year. During his academy
training, Officer Melinda has delivered
an exceptional firearms performance,
earned an impressive score of 99.44
of 100, narrowly missing the class
firearms award.
Following his graduation, Patrolman
Melendez entered the field training
program, successfully completing it in
November.
He is currently sus assigned to the
power ship with patrol division. In his
short time serving the city of Abssein
patrolman Melendez has already gained
substantial real world experience.
Since his release from the field
training at the beginning of November,
he has made nearly 20 arrests
demonstrating strong initiative,
dedication, and admirable work ethic.
We extend our congratul congratulations
to patrolman Melendez and wish him
continued success throughout his career
with the absin police department.
This evening the Bible will be held and
his badge will be proudly pinned by his
father retired Galloway Township Police
Officer Hyram Melendez.
I Braden Mendes for every one of us. Do
you solemnly swear solemnly swear that I
will faithfully
impartially
>> and justly justly perform all of the
duties of all of a patrol officer of the
map police department of a patrol
officer of the police department
>> according to the best of my ability
according to the best of my ability I
further solemnly swear
>> I further solely swear
>> that I will support the Constitution of
the United States
>> that I'll support the Constitution of
the United States
>> and the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey
>> and the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey and I will bear truth through
faith and true and allegiance
to the state and to the governments to
the government establishing the United
States established and in this state
under the authority of the people under
the authority of the people. So help me
up
[applause]
Yeah.
Heat.
Well, well done.
HEAT. HEAT.
>> [applause]
>> I don't recommend doing six of these.
You need a water break.
Scott McConnell is a resident of
Galloway Township and a graduate of
Cedar Creek High School, class of 2023.
He went on to attend class 30 at the
Atlanta County Police Academy,
graduating in July of this year. During
his academy training, Patrolling
McConnell distinguished himself by
earning the top performance in the mile
and a half run among his peers, a
testament to his discipline and physical
preparedness.
Following his graduation, patrolman
McConnell entered the field training
program, successfully completing it in
November. He is currently assigned to
squad 1, where he will continue to serve
throughout 2026.
Despite being early in his law
enforcement career, Officer McConnell
has already responded to several high
stress and complex incidents, including
fatal pedestrian motor vehicle crashes,
and has demonstrated professionalism,
composure, and strong decision-making
under pressure.
We extend our sincere congratulations to
Officer McConnell and we wish him
continued success in his career with the
Abssein Police Department.
This evening, the Bible will be held by
his mother, Tina Martin, and his badge
will be proudly pinned by his father,
Scott McConnell.
[applause]
[clears throat]
>> Yes, sir. You can stand wherever you
want. You you No, you tell him where to
stand. [laughter]
>> I
do solemnly swear that I will faithfully
impartially and justly and justly
perform all the duties of perform
officer of the FC Police Department.
Patrol officer of the police department
according to the best of my ability.
according to the public. I further
solemnly swear I further solemnly swear
that I will support the Constitution of
the United States that I support the
Constitution and the Constitution of the
State of New Jersey
and that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the state and to the
governments
established in the United States those
United States and in this state under
the authority of the people.
[clears throat]
So help me God. So congratulations
>> [applause]
>> trash.
Just a minor step.
[laughter]
Heat.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Time for me to go.
>> [applause]
>> So, I just want to say um with these
bios, I realize that I didn't explain to
everybody. We have to remember, and I
know the families here know, uh these
guys got recruited and started back in
January. Uh the police academy lasted
all the way to July and essentially they
spent the last 10 months or better uh
just training before they've been let
out on their own. So a testament to them
and the hard work and the dedication
they've brought here every day including
the police academy and our field
training program. I'd also like to say
that um this was a huge
task for us to do. It's it's always hard
enough to just train one person because
it's an all hands- on deck with our
agency, but to actually change train six
people at the same time is a testament
to the men and women of this police
department. And I would like to thank
every single one of them, including the
the administration, their s supervisors,
and all the field training officers
because without them, we would not have
such success with training people and
and grooming them and and molding them
into what they are. So, thank you.
Barry Walker is a resident of Aar City
and a 2020 graduate of Cedar Creek High
School.
He went on to earn his bachelor's degree
in criminal justice from Gwen Gwen Mercy
University in 2024.
Upon his hiring with the Absinica Police
Department, Patrolman Walker attended
the Atlanta County Police Academy,
graduating in July of this year.
Throughout his academy training, Pope
Truman Walker's calm demeanor, strong
character, and steady motivation quickly
earned the respect of his peers.
Following graduation, he entered the
field training program, completing it
successfully in November. He is
currently assigned to squad 2 where he
will continue to serve throughout 2026.
Patrolman Walker has already
demonstrated that he is dedicated and
valuable member of the Abssean Police
Department. His professionalism and
commitment to service have been evident
from the start, and we look forward to
his continued growth and success within
our agency. This evening, the Bible will
be held by his mother, Tracy Walker.
I uh Barry Walker, Barry Walker, do
solemnly swear domly swear I'll
faithfully faithfully impartially
impartially and justly and justly
perform all of the duties perform all of
the duties of a patrol officer of patrol
officer of these police department of
these police department according to the
best of my will according to the best of
I further solemnly swear I further
solemnly swear that I will support the
Constitution of the United States that I
will support the Constitution of the
United States
>> and the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey and the Constitution of the State
of New Jersey and that I will bear true
faith that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same and allegiance to
the state and to the governments
established and to the government
established in the United States the
United States and in this state and in
this state under the authority of the
people under the authority of the
people. So help me God. So help me God.
Heat.
HEAT.
>> [applause]
>> SISTER. I told her sister.
Now she teaches me.
>> Nicholas Brown is a resident of An Arbor
Township and a 2018 graduate of Earbor
Township High School. He went on to
attend Wider University where he earned
his bachelor's degree in business
management and marketing in 2022.
During his time at Widner, Officer Brown
also distinguished himself as a member
of the university's football program.
He demonstrated teamwork, discipline,
and dedication, qualities that now serve
him well in his law enforcement career.
Prior to joining the AFC Police
Department, Officer Brown worked as an
HVAC profession professional, gaining
valuable hands-on experience and strong
work ethic.
After being hired, he attended the 30th
class of the Atlantic County Police
Academy, graduated in July of this year.
Upon completing the academy, he entered
a field training program where he
performed commendably and successfully
finishing in November.
Officer Brown is currently assigned to
squad 4 where he will continue to serve
in 2026. We extend our best wishes to
him as he advances his career in the
Abseen Police Department. This evening,
the Bible will be held by his
girlfriend, Kiara Korea.
[applause]
It's not
>> I Nicholas Brown. Nicholas Brown. Do
solemnly swear do solemnly swear
>> that I will faithfully
>> I will faithfully
>> impartially
>> and partially
>> and justly
perform all the duties of
>> perform all the duties of patrol officer
of the FC Police Department patrol
officer of the FC Police Department
>> according to the best of my ability
according to the best of my abilities. I
further solemnly swear
>> I further solely swear that I will
support the Constitution of the United
States. I support the Constitution of
United States and the Constitution of
the State of New Jersey.
>> The Constitution of the State of New
Jersey. And that I will bear true faith.
>> I will bear true faith and allegiance to
the state to the state to the government
established the government established
in the United States in the United
States and in this under the authority
of the people under the authority of the
people. Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
[applause]
HEAT. HEAT.
Our
[applause]
last officer here we were very lucky to
have. We had to break the uh cycle as
his father has been in the fire service
for some over 25 years I'm sure. So we
were lucky to be able to persuade him
into the law enforcement community.
Joseph Ritsler is a lifelong resident of
Absecin and a proud graduate of the
Abssein public schools and Holy Spirit
high school class of 22.
In addition to his commitment to law
enforcement, Officer Ritsler serves the
community as a dedicated member of the
Abssein Volunteer Fire Department. After
being hired by the absin police
department, he attended the 30th class
of Atlanta County Police Academy,
graduating in July of this year.
Immediately following following his
academy completion, Officer Ritzler
entered a field training program where
he successfully completed in November.
During his early weeks of field
training, Officer Ritsler encountered a
number of high stress and complex
incidents
experience that quickly introduced him
to the realities of the profession.
Throughout each situation, he he
demonstrated composure, professionalism,
and sound judgment, reflecting both his
character and his readiness to serve.
Officer Ritzler is currently assigned to
squad 3, where he'll continue to serve
the in the coming year. We extend our
sincere best wishes to him as he
progresses his in his career at the EPSA
Police Department.
This evening, the Bible will be held by
his mother, Grace Ritzler.
>> [applause]
>> I Joseph Ritzler do solemnly swear that
I will faithfully
impartially and justly perform all the
duties of all duties of a patrol officer
of the FCM Police Department of all
service according to the best of my
ability.
I further solemnly swear that I will
support the Constitution of the United
States
in the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey and that I will bear true faith
faith and allegiance to the St.
United States and in this state under
the authority of the people.
That's all we got.
[applause]
Guys,
you guys
[applause]
So, I would like to thank everybody for
coming out. If you do not want to stay
for the meeting,
this is a time to exit out the back.
>> Thank you.
>> Mayor want to say
>> I'm sorry. That's okay. Don't worry
about
council would like to speak.
>> Sorry. I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
>> About three years ago,
four years ago, council president Theo
Rose and I ran on improving public
safety in the city of Abseen. We ran on
a campaign that said facts matter. And
one of our facts was that we have fewer
working officers
still uh up till this than we did in the
early '90s.
And this is one of, as Council President
Dur said earlier, one of the moments
that make all of this worth it. I've
gotten to know every single all six of
you. You're a bunch of great guys. I'm
going to stop calling you kids. I swear.
Um but congratulations to all of you and
I please stay safe out there. And if
there's anything, you are very, very
lucky. The management,
the administration in your police
department is second to none. And if you
ever need anything, reach out to them.
Okay. Congratulations to all of you.
Thank you very much. [applause]
It's It's funny. I I had almost the
exact same thing. And And the mayor
teases me that I write every single
meeting. I write who I met with and the
date and all the details in these red
books and I'm on my fourth red book uh
in 3 years and I looked it up before I
came here and exactly 1,061
days ago myself then Councilman Marone
Councilman La Ratunda sat down with J
Chief and we said what do you need and
you said I need more officers. I have
the best police officers in the entire
county, but I need a bigger force. And
we said, we'll make that happen. And I
think the chief was a little skeptical,
but I think we all were skeptical, but
1,61 days ago, I don't think we were
realizing that we were going to swear in
six new officers that went through the
police academy in one night. And uh so
it's it's extremely exciting. So um
thank you to the Obssein Police
Department. Um, I know how much goes
into training these guys and uh,
congratulations to you guys and we
really wish you guys the best because
um, this municipality, one of the things
we said um, when we were all talking
about sending folks to the academy was
we'll hire as many police officers as we
need to um, regardless of what it costs.
And we got a grant and we were excited
to be able to hire six officers. But I I
vividly remember in one of Councilwoman
Parker's uh public safety meetings
stating, "But we won't cut any corners.
We want the best." So whether that's one
or two officers at a time, we're not
hiring just to hire. We want the best.
And uh I'm extremely excited tonight
that we brought six of the best on. So
congratulations to the families.
[applause]
>> If any of my fellow council members have
anything to say, please just say
something brief. is uh extremely proud
of every one of you guys. I know your
families. I know you every one of you
individually and I have four children
and I know how hard you've worked and I
see it and we're truly blessed. So as as
a community, as a police department, um
I really am proud of everything you've
done. Serious is we're blessed. Thank
you.
[applause]
I'm just going to reiterate real quick
what uh Council President DVR said, Mr.
uh Councilman Steve Light and the mayor.
Uh you know, a lot of us spent a lot of
time in with the chief and in public
safety committees and finance committees
figuring out ways to get this done. And
uh it couldn't be got any better. I
mean, a lot of these kids I coached,
they played sports with my kids. I mean,
these guys are it's fascinating. It's
great to see them here. It's great to
see them getting careers and it's great
to be part of it. So, I'm really proud
of you guys. Stay safe out there. and
continue making us proud. THANKS.
[applause]
>> I just want to say congratulations to
you. As a mother of a police officer
myself, my husband is also a retired
police officer in Atlantic City. I know
it's not easy the training that you went
through, but I can see that you have a
great future ahead of you. And uh just
be safe. It's not uh easy out there. And
just like they said, every day it's a
different world that we live in and the
people that we have to face and just,
you know, do what you were trained and
it works. So, good luck and stay safe.
>> [applause]
>> Um, this was kind of emotional for me
because I picture a lot of you in Blue
Devil's uh uniforms and ASAC uniforms
and I've been to a couple of your
graduations and you're friends with my
sons. Um, so it's going to be hard for
me not to see you as kids, but you've
proven over the last few months that
you're men and we're really proud of you
and be safe.
[applause]
Uh congratulations to you guys. Um all
six of you have seen is really grateful
to have you. Very proud of you. It's not
a job that everyone can do and I can say
that cuz I can honestly say I don't know
if I could do it. Um and I think I'm
pretty tough but that's a that's a tough
job and you guys, you know, I commend
you for doing it and I wish you luck and
stay safe.
[applause]
I first I want to say it's not just a
great day to be able to bring on six new
officers. We've, as mayor has said and
councilman D. Rose, you know, this was
much needed for our community. Um, and
we have a such a tight-knit community
here in Eban and our police department
is so involved and it's so great that we
have now a few of you who are, you know,
born and bred EPS uh residents and
neighboring community. So, I think we
got some of the best uh officers out
there and we wish you luck and stay
safe, guys.
[applause]
And and as the chief said, please, you
don't want to stay for the rest of this.
Now, we're going into the boring stuff.
So, congratulations. Have a great night.
Um, feel free to take pictures.
>> One last thing, and I think it's we
should also recognize we have one of our
cadetses in the academy, number seven,
[laughter] Matthew Keller in the back.
Give everybody a wave.
[applause]
>> [laughter]
[laughter]
>> I should take
this aggressive
I'm going
5 seconds.
No, we're just
stepped out. Is that okay?
>> Yeah. Yeah.
No, we're good.
>> Regular meeting agenda. John, can you uh
before I jump into this, can you give a
quick briefing on uh what we're adding
to the agenda today? So, so very
quickly, we're seeking to add to the
consent agenda what would be resolution
209-2025.
I this is uh it's a resolution
essentially seeking um council's
authority to enter into the interlocal
agreement between the city and Atlantic
County related to reconstruction and
elevation of shore roads. So I know this
has been something that we've talked
about a lot. Uh but it wasn't until this
morning that myself and Atlantic County
Council finally agreed to to some terms
and revisions that we wanted to see
done. So we couldn't have this
advertised 2 days ago when the original
agenda came out. So, we're seeking to
add it to the consent agenda tonight
sort of as an emergency ad. Um, so we
would first before we can do that, we
need to a motion in a second and then
roll call of council to add it and then
you can move forward in the normal
course.
>> Excellent. Does anybody have a question
before I add this to the agenda?
>> I will say this is probably the second
best thing to have
[laughter] hiring six officers and now
uh getting this accomplished. So,
>> it's literally two monumental things
during one night. Great night here.
[laughter]
May I hear a motion to add resolution
209205
authorizing the mayor to enter into an
amended agreement with the Atlantic
County and the city of Ebseen for the
reconstruction and elevation of a
section of Shore Road that is subject to
repetitive flooding to the consent
agenda. Motion second.
>> Roll call, please.
>> Clark,
>> yes.
>> Evans,
>> yes.
>> Fireenda,
>> yes.
>> White,
>> yes.
>> Parker,
>> yes.
>> Sykes,
>> yes.
>> Yes. Consent agenda. [laughter] All
matters listed under item consent agenda
are considered to be routine by the city
council and will be enacted by one
motion in the form listed. There will be
no separate discussion of these items.
If discussion is desired, that item will
be removed from the consent agenda and
will be discussed separately.
204 authorizing a refund of an
overpayment of taxes for the fourth
quarter of 2025 on the property located
at block 192 lot 13.
205 authorizing a refund of an
overpayment of taxes for the fourth
quarter 2025 on the property located at
block 21, lot 20,
excuse me.
206 authorizing to cancel and refund
property taxes for the fourth quarter of
2025 and to cancel the first and second
quarters of 2026 on the property located
at 110 Pennsylvania A block 79, lot 23.
207 authorizing the city of Obssein
through the Obssein Police Department to
participate in the Defense Logistics
Agency Law Enforcement Support Office
1033 program to enable the Obssein
Police Department to request and acquire
excess Department of Defense equipment.
208 authorizing the mayor to sign an
agreement with Trinity Code Inspections
LLC. 209 added, authorizing the mayor to
enter into an amended agreement with
Atlantic County and the city of Epsein
for the reconstruction and elevation of
a section of Shore Road that is subject
to repetitive flooding.
Do I hear a motion to open the meeting
to the public for these agenda items
only?
>> Motion second.
>> All in favor? I
>> opposed. Would anybody from the public
like to come up and speak?
Do I hear a motion to close the meeting
to the public? Motion. Second. All in
favor?
>> I I opposed.
>> Consent agenda. May I hear a motion to
move the consent agenda?
>> Motion.
>> Second.
>> Roll call, please.
>> Clark,
>> yes.
>> Evans,
>> yes.
>> Bartenda,
>> yes.
>> Write,
>> yes.
>> Parker,
>> yes.
>> Sykes,
>> yes.
>> Yes. Approval of the bill list.
1,632,77854.
May I hear a motion to accept this bill
list?
>> Motion.
>> Second.
>> Roll call, please. Clark,
>> yes.
>> Evans,
>> yes.
>> Abstain.
>> White,
>> yes.
>> Parker, yes. Sykes,
>> yes.
>> Yes. Approval of the minutes. Regular
meeting minutes 1120 2020 25. May I hear
a motion to accept the minutes?
>> Motion. Second.
>> Roll call, please.
>> Clark,
>> yes.
>> Evans,
>> yes.
>> Fireenda,
>> yes.
>> Write,
>> yes.
>> Parker,
>> yes.
>> Sykes,
>> stay.
>> Yes. Council reports. Uh, Councilman
Sykes, can you start for us?
>> Sure. We did not meet last week. Uh, I'm
sorry, last month.
>> I actually was thinking late in my head
and said,
>> "It's [laughter] a long day." I took the
red eye from LA this morning.
>> I think it's fun.
Kill my go first once and everybody shut
me down.
Go ahead.
>> [laughter]
>> We've not we did not meet last month. Uh
our meeting this month is on 1216. Um we
do have a couple things in the works.
We're still talking with our our
engineer right now to see if we can get
a couple grants and do some things with
the fields and lights. Um but moving
forward, that's all we have for now and
we're going to discuss some things
coming up.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you,
>> Councilman La Ratunda. Well, first I
like to uh remind everybody and with the
holiday season to please get out and
support our local businesses here in
Ebin. Um, and we're also working uh with
our engineer. We're going to be trying
to get some uh outlets installed on some
of the lights uh downtown uh to
hopefully have some Christmas decor put
up uh to just spread some holiday cheer
throughout the town. So, Ed, do we have
an update on the progress of the
electric company installing outlets?
>> I don't I know they were going to be out
there any day now. Um so, hopefully
>> Yeah, I'm working to get them up so this
way when the outlets are installed, we
can just plug them in. Absolutely.
Awesome. Heads up, council.
>> Uh, public safety met Monday. Um, the
fire department reported about their
Santa in the park. That'll be tomorrow
night at 6:00 with a rain date, which I
don't think they're going to need of
Saturday. Um, thank you the fire
department and Santa for coming to our
tree lighting last night. It was great
success. Um, also thank you to our
ambulance squad and our police
department for the roles they played in
yesterday's tree lighting. Um,
Chief Tally reported um their work their
their testing they're doing for the
pumps, the hoses um and their work on
the getting their radios programmed and
working the kinks out there. Um they
decorated the park. If you haven't seen
it yet, you'll see it tomorrow night at
Santa in the Park. Um and they're going
to do their Santa run on Friday the 12th
and Saturday the 13th uh with Santa and
Mrs. Claus. Um they are going to put out
a winter advisory uh that we're putting
together myself and the fire department
for some things to remember throughout
the winter to be safe um fire safe. Um
the fire or the police department
reported about their uh working with the
Field of Dreams with their toying food
giveaway this coming Saturday and also
their toy drive which they will be
distributing on uh Saturday,
December 20th. Um he the chief wanted to
um commend our police officers on the
the jobs they've done on the pedestrian
accidents lately and also our six
recruits on on the great work that
they've been doing. We also discussed um
putting together our K9 committee and
moving forward with that now that we
have our new six police officers on the
road. Um
I believe that is it. Um the chief was
also reporting on our um the work
they've been doing with our homeless
task force. Um and the church by the bay
and helping our homeless in our
community. I would just in time
you couldn't plan that better.
>> While we're waiting, may I put something
on the record for public safety as well?
Uh it's been a concern over the years.
Um, but last night at the treelighting,
our police department successfully uh
arrested the the Grinch. [laughter]
Nobody has to worry about their
Christmases being stolen this year.
>> Keith, do you have anything?
>> You just had six things.
>> Yeah, I got a lot to over the last. So,
seriously, uh, thank you so much. This
is um honestly a highlight of my career.
Uh to bring on six people, especially
these these young kids that
[clears throat] are they're all local
and homegrown, whether they were born
and raised right here in Fsein. Um the
last one made me real feel really old.
He graduated in 22. He went to the
AppScan school system and he went to
Holy Spirit. Graduated in 22. Like I
said, um I I did the same thing, but I
graduated at Holy Spirit in ' 91. So
[laughter]
a few minutes ago, you know what I mean?
Um, no, it's all good. Um, I think the
town should be very proud. Um, and uh,
I'm certainly proud. Um, come on out and
and be a part of all the stuff that's
going on. I'm sure I'm sure it was
already mentioned.
>> Um, we have so many great events this
this holiday season. Um, you know, I I
always say see something, say something.
And and today I I talked to a resident
and um, you know, something was taken
from their property that was it really
didn't have a lot of value. But the
reason I say see something, say
something is is because somebody might
take something from somebody's property
that doesn't really matter to you or
it's like easily replaceable. But when
you don't call, those same perpetrators
could go down or those same people that
are doing these things could go and
actually take something from one of your
neighbors that has substantial value. So
the reason I say call us is because we
may be able to stop something worse
happening or somebody becoming a victim
that could impact their life. Uh so um
please when don't you're never bothering
us. We're always here to serve everyone
and um and I thank everyone for
everything tonight. Um we couldn't have
done it without you guys.
>> Thanks Chief Councilman. Anything else?
>> That's it.
>> Councilwoman,
>> um I just want to say uh we did have a
meeting this evening, community affairs.
Uh we met this evening. We had a little
um uh holiday cheer, holiday party. I
thanked my committee members for uh
supporting me all year long, my first
year as the uh chairperson for community
affairs. We did have our tree lighting
service last night. It was awesome. It
was a great turnout. Um and uh the tree
looks great. Uh Lloyd did a great job of
picking out the tree, so kudos to him.
Um and thank you for everybody that
helped me decorate the tree. Uh it was
uh over a couple days and uh challenging
at some times. people took a look at it
and decided that we needed to change a
few things. Um, but it really turned out
great. Uh, thank you for the police
department for their support always in
blocking off the road. Thank you to the
fire department for allowing um them to
escort the uh Mr. and Mrs. Claus uh to
the event. And thank you for the um the
school choir that came and uh sang some
Christmas songs to get us into the
Christmas spirit. And hopefully if you
did not see the tree, everybody goes by
and sees the tree that it'll be on every
night going forward. And happy holidays
to everybody.
>> And you did get all the new ornaments
and all the extra lights donated at no
cost to the taxpayer, which was
spectacular as well. And it's the best
looking tree I've seen in years.
>> All my years are just straight up.
Next,
[laughter]
>> uh, finance will be meeting on December
18th, Thursday night at 5:30. We are
ahead of the game right now. We have
every department's budgets back, uh,
actually a month in advance. So, we are
ahead of the game. We're meeting on
them, working on them, and come up a
game plan for 2026.
>> Batter up. Um, we met on the 1st at
5:00.
Some of the items we went over, I I'll
just be redundant. We went over the
Southshore Road. We went over the road
package, the streetscape lighting. Um,
and then we talked a little bit about
California Avenue and Ohio Avenue
improvements. Um, there was a resident
that was on Davis Avenue had a question
on a tree on their property andor slash
um city property. So, we're working on
getting that resolved. And we had a
resident join the committee and u
request additional signage for um
electric bikes or motor any type of
motorized vehicles or bicycles on the
bike path. Um
we will not meet next month until we
won't meet until February until the uh
the new committees are formed. And I'd
like to just take a a moment and say
that this has been a great year. It's in
entirety. Um
the u what we have together is special.
Um all of us it's really it's awesome.
So what we're accomplishing for the
city, what we're doing all positive and
uh you know I'm blessed to be here. You
know it's there's a lot of good things
happening in this town and I'm proud to
be part of it. So thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Mayor.
>> It has been quite the year. It's been
pretty eventful, right? So, I would like
to take a minute because even though
everything was very tough this year and
everything took a lot of hard work, uh,
nobody sitting in this room gave up. Um,
we got a lot more accomplished than we
thought we would and we did it very
fiscally responsible. So, you guys all
deserve a pat on the back. Uh, you guys
did a great job and I I want to thank
you guys very much. I'd like to thank
our chief as always. I'd like to thank
Jessica and the chief for stepping in
and our administrator's ab uh our little
stop gap where we just needed we were
trying to feel see the right way to go
with the administrator. We welcome
Jessica towards the end of the year and
you on the end of the table.
[laughter]
You
>> Thank you. You're welcome, mayor.
>> I have been living this what we just got
accomplished today, the short road
issue. We've been in the trenches on
this for 3 years now, and it feels like
the last 6 months have been tougher. And
I appreciate you and your staff
uh for for everything. And thank you
guys for getting that interlocal
approved because I believe the county
has it on their agenda to approve it on
the 16th of December.
>> Thank you.
>> Raise the road.
engineering report.
>> Yeah, I mean I'll just end on that. I
mean it's um the short road project um
obviously will have major improvements
to public infrastructure but it goes
along with the theme of public safety. I
mean obviously the time that it takes
for the police department to deal with
the flooding on that street um emergency
access. So there's a public safety
element to that. Um our raised
crosswalks that we're going to be
implementing our new crosswalk sign on
New Jersey Avenue, the sidewalk at
Crestview Avenue. So, there's a cohesive
theme here of public safety that cuts
across even our infrastructure planning.
Um, so I'm really excited for the
projects we have planned for next year.
Um, obviously we got to get through the
winter weather, but we already have a
couple contracts ready to go um as soon
as the weather breaks and um, you know,
the biggest one is short. So, once we
get that out to bid, we'll keep
everybody updated. So, this was the
final administrative step and the next
step will be for the county to advertise
a project for bids. Once it's awarded,
then we'll have an idea as far as
schedule. So,
>> thank you, sir. Good stuff.
>> Are the stop signs all functioning as of
today now? Do we know?
>> Yep. That's another item
>> today and they were up and done.
>> They put the stop bars in today. So, our
new four-way stops are fully uh
implemented. So,
>> the only question I had is there a way
that we can maybe light up one or two of
them.
>> Thoughts?
>> Um well, sure. We can look into there's
options maybe additional street lighting
or things like that.
>> Yeah, there's two of them in the area.
You know what I'm talking about. So,
okay.
>> Yep. For sure. Yep.
>> Thanks, Council Jessica. I just want to
thank all the visitors of city hall for
their patience over the last two weeks
as we've undergone construction out
front um changing the entryways and
being mindful of um their safety. Uh we
hope that the project I believe to be
completed in the next week or so.
>> Um so hopefully it won't be much longer
till we're back up and functioning. Uh I
want to congratulate and welcome all of
our new officers. Uh reminder that we
have a toys for tots donation box in the
lobby until December the 10th. Um I
don't know if mayor wants to make
mention to the homeless task force
collection that just ended.
>> Wildly successful. Thank you. Uh there's
so much good stuff going on. I didn't
want to uh we collected close to 3,000
brand new pairs of socks. Um
>> five about 500 canned goods and then a
lot of people in the community went
above and beyond baby food. um and uh
couple different types of baby food, but
it was really really successful and I
really want to thank the community for
their involvement.
>> And then lastly, I just want to wish
everyone a wonderful holiday season and
a happy healthy new year.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
>> Um I want it's the last council meeting
of the year. Um so I just want to do a
few thank yous. Um first and foremost to
the police department and the fire
department. Um it was a a very busy
year. uh for public safety and um you
guys never stopped. So, thank thank you
for that. Um what a lot of folks on
camera don't know, Maril Lee, thank you
for coming all year, the the the face
behind the camera. Um thank you for
showing up and taking care and making
sure that the the logistics of council
meetings are on point. Um Carrie and
Jessica, um thank you. I know my
schedule can be difficult and the three
of us have used every form of
communication possible except uh I think
carrier pigeon to uh communicate this
year. Um so thank you to the both of you
for your patience. Um to our
professionals Ed and John I I got to be
honest um is extremely lucky to have you
have the two of you. Um you both have
been uh fierce advocates for the city of
Epsein. So thank you to the both of you.
Um,
Mike, Christine, Linda, Alex, Steve,
Tommy. I know I can be a difficult
person to uh work with sometimes.
>> I am extremely passionate about uh
working on behalf of the [laughter]
residents of Epseek and sometimes my
passion can get the best of me and uh
these folks up here get the brunt of it
sometimes. Um, but thank you because the
collaboration and the the hard work and
the debates um and the disagreements
brought the best product to the city
that I believe the city hasn't seen in a
long time. So, thank you to all of you
honestly and genuinely. And um last but
not least, I'm kind of happy that this
worked out to the four of you. you know,
we work for the residents of this city
and uh it really means a lot to us that
the four of you guys actually care
enough to show up. Um, you know,
sometimes I feel like these meetings can
just be mundane. We just rattle off
stuff. They're not they're not
enlightening or, you know, it's very
just like basic city business. But the
four of you have shown up um either have
spoke in front of us or pulled us aside
or spoke on the phone or on Facebook.
But uh public engagement matters and I I
genuinely thank the four of you for
taking the time out of your out of your
schedules to to be here on Thursday
night. So So thank you genuinely. So uh
that's all I have. Um do I hear a motion
to open the meeting to the public?
>> Motion. Second.
>> All in favor? I opposed. Would anybody
from the public like to speak?
>> After I said that, guys, do I hear close
the meeting to the public?
>> Motion. Second.
>> All in favor? Yeah.
>> I
was I thought she said yes, she was
going to speak. I didn't.
>> So, I have a second. Um, all in favor?
>> I opposed.
>> May I hear a motion to adjourn this
meeting?
>> Motion. Sorry. All in favor? I opposed.
Meeting adjourned. Thank you and I hope
everybody has a merry Christmas and
happy holiday.