[00:00:03]
BE SOLD OUT OF TICKETS BY TOMORROW. NICE. YEAH. WE'LL BE READY. GOOD EVENING. THIS IS
[COUNCIL PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT]
OUR REGULAR SCHEDULE. COMBINED WORK SESSION. A MEETING AND PUBLIC MEETING OF THE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MARLA. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT.ADEQUATE NOTICE OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY SENDING NOTICE TO THE RECORD AND THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS AND POSTING NOTICE ON THE BULLETIN BOARD OF THE HONORABLE RICHARD JAY MARTEL MUNICIPAL CENTER, LOCATED AT 475 CORPORATE DRIVE, MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY. ELECTRONIC NOTICE OF THIS MEETING HAS ALSO BEEN PROVIDED BY POSTING THE AGENDA ON THE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE.
FORMAL ACTION MAY BE TAKEN. THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO THE TOWNSHIP CLERK.
THIS MEETING IS BEING VIDEOTAPED. PLEASE RISE FOR THE SALUTE. THE FLAG. I'LL ASK THE STUDENTS TO LEAD US. ALLEGIANCE 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. PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE, HONORING MILITARY PERSONNEL AND ALL VETERANS, BOTH LIVING AND PASSED. THANK YOU. I HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE.
HERE. MR. IS ABSENT. MR. ERVIN HERE. MR. FERGUSON PRESENT. MR. MAY HERE. MRS. POTTS HERE. MR.
[MAYOR'S PROCLAMATION]
WONG PRESENT. WE'RE GOING TO START THIS EVENING WITH A MAYORAL PROCLAMATION. I TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO OUR MAYOR, JAMES VAISAKHI. THANK YOU. PRESIDENT. WHEREAS MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY, IS A COMMUNITY WHICH ACKNOWLEDGES THAT A SPECIAL VIBRANCY EXISTS WHEN THE CITIZENS COLLECTIVELY GO THE EXTRA MILE IN PERSONAL EFFORT, VOLUNTEERISM AND SERVICE. AND WHEREAS MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY ENCOURAGES ITS CITIZENS TO CONTRIBUTE FULLY TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH COMMITMENT, EFFORT AND CONVICTION IN SERVICE TO FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS AND CIVIC LIFE. AND WHEREAS, MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY CHOOSES TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE TO MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. AND WHEREAS MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY ACKNOWLEDGES THE MISSION OF EXTRA MILE AMERICA TO INSPIRE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION TO RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE AND VOLUNTEERISM AND SERVICE. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES J. WYSOKI, MAYOR OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM NOVEMBER 1ST, 2026 AS EXTRA MILE DAY IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH. I ENCOURAGE ALL RESIDENTS TO TAKE TIME ON THIS DAY TO GO THE EXTRA MILE IN THEIR OWN LIVES, AND TO RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO INSPIRE OTHERS THROUGH THEIR COMMITMENT TO MAKING THEIR COMMUNITY, NATION, AND WORLD A BETTER PLACE. THANK YOU SIR. THAT'S THIS SUNDAY, CORRECT? YES, SIR. THANK YOU. NEXT UP IS OUR WORK[APPROVAL OF BILLS AND CLAIMS]
SESSION SUBMISSION OF BILLS AND CLAIMS OR ANY QUESTIONS. PLEASE DIRECT THEM TO ADMINISTRATION.[ENGINEERING]
OPEN THE FLOOR TO ENGINEERING, MR. KELLY. HI. GOOD EVENING. HELLO, SIR. THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS OUR REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROPOSAL FROM H TO M FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF THE WATER MAIN. I'M SORRY. WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT. AS YOU KNOW, ALL THE WATER METERS IN TOWN HAVE REACHED THE END OF THEIR USEFUL LIFE. THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE PROJECT PLANS AND SPECS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE NEW JERSEY EYE BANK, FROM WHICH WE'RE GOING TO BE BORROWING MONEY FROM THE PROJECTS. ABOUT A $10 MILLION PROJECT BASED ON OUR SIZE OF THE PROJECT. WE'RE ELIGIBLE FOR INTEREST FREE AND VERY LOW INTEREST LOANS FROM THEM. IN ADDITION TO PRINCIPAL FORGIVENESS, UP TO $2 MILLION. SO WE EXPECT A $2 MILLION SAVINGS BY GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. THEY'VE APPROVED EVERYTHING. HOWEVER, PRIOR TO US BEING ABLE TO GO OUT TO BID, THEY NEED A CONFIRMATION THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A FULL TIME INSPECTION SERVICE PROVIDED FOR THE INSTALLATION FOR ALL THE WORK THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. WE HAVE THE JULY 17TH, 2025 PROPOSAL FROM H TO M, WHICH IS STILL TO BE RELIED UPON, AND WE'RE REQUESTING THE APPROVAL OF ON PAGE. SIX, THE ITEM THAT IS CONSTRUCTION RELATED SERVICES. IF PROJECTS WILL BE FUNDED BY THE NJ IB IN THE AMOUNT OF $766,000. WE DID HAVE SOME COST SAVINGS ON THIS JOB IN THE DESIGN PROCESS. WE DID NOT HAVE TO DO THAT FIRST ITEM, THE RADIO PROPAGATION SURVEY. SO THAT WAS AWARDED TO H TO M.THAT WAS NOT THAT DID NOT HAVE TO BE PERFORMED. SO WE DID SAVE ON THAT END AS WELL. GOT IT.
OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION
[00:05:03]
ENDORSING OUR SUBMISSION TO THE NJ DOT FOR A SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT APPLICATION. WE'RE GOING TO APPLY FOR $600,000 FROM THE STATE FOR IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE ENCOURAGED, THAT ARE DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS AND AND YOUNG CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL. AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, OUR PROJECT WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS, YOU KNOW, THE FLASHING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BEACONS THAT WE INSTALLED BY THE TRAIN TRESTLE. WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO INSTALL THOSE UP BY THE. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE THE CROSSING FOR APPLE MONTESSORI FROM THE COMMODORE PERRY PARKING LOT. IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE CLOSE. IT'S GOING TO BE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. WE HAVE TO MOVE IT BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM ANOTHER CROSSING. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE THAT ABOUT 50FT OR SO. AND THAT'S A COUNTY ROAD. WE DO HAVE TO GET COUNTY APPROVAL ON THIS. I'VE SUBMITTED EVERYTHING TO THE COUNTY. THEY HAVE PROVIDED US WITH THEIR ENDORSEMENT. SO WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BEACONS FOR THE CROSSING FOR THE CHILDREN AND THE PARENTS GOING TO APPLE MONTESSORI. ALSO AT THE CORNER OF ISLAND AND EAST RAMAPO AVE, AND THEN ALSO AT THE NEXT CORNER WHERE YOU HAVE THE CHURCH ISLAND AND WEST RAMAPO.IT'S ALSO GOING TO IMPROVE. WE'RE ALSO GOING TO REPLACE HANDICAP RAMPS, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S CONFORMING. WE'RE GOING TO ALSO REPLACE ANY DAMAGED SIDEWALKS. AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GOING TO ADD A PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BEACON ON RIDGE ROAD, WHERE THEY CROSS WHEN THEY COME OVER WEST RAMAPO AVE, WHERE THEY CROSS RIDGE ROAD THERE. WE'RE GOING TO ADD THAT AS WELL, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT AREA ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GRANT. SO THE GRANT IS A A FULL GRANT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE APPLYING FOR $600,000. IT'S NOT WHERE WE HAVE TO PROVIDE HALF THE FUNDING. SO IT'S ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS. SO IF THIS PROJECT WAS TO IF WE WERE TO GET A GRANT FOR 200,000, WE WOULD HAVE TO EITHER AMEND THE LIMITS OR CONTRIBUTE THE EXTRA COST. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WITH THIS TYPE OF PROJECT OR THIS GRANT OPPORTUNITY, THEY WANT LARGE PROJECTS. YOU KNOW, IF WE CAME IN AT 175,000, WE'D BE TOO SMALL FOR THEIR THEIR PROGRAM. SO WE'RE, WE'RE RIGHT IN THE WHEELHOUSE OF WHERE WE WHERE WE SHOULD BE. AND WE'LL SUBMIT THE GRANT. IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE. BUT THIS THIS RESOLUTION ALSO ALSO INDICATES THAT THE TOWNSHIP WILL MAINTAIN THOSE FACILITIES AS WELL. AND THE COST TO MAINTAIN IS RELATIVELY MINOR. SO IT'S APPLE MONTESSORI AND THEN IT'S PEOPLE WALKING TO THE RIDGE ROAD SCHOOLS AS WELL. THEY'LL HAVE THOSE WILL BENEFIT BOTH SCHOOL SYSTEMS. CORRECT? YEAH. OKAY. AND AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF COURSE. YEAH. OF COURSE. YEAH. AND THEN THE PRESIDENT WHEN CAN I ASK A FOLLOW UP QUESTION? GO AHEAD. SURE. HI. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD.
HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. WITH REGARD TO ONE, BE THE SAFE ROUTE TO SCHOOLS. YES. WOULD YOU ALSO RESPECTFULLY CONSIDER ROUTE 202 BY 202 AND AND OR 202 AND GO BECAUSE YOU DID MENTION SPECIAL NEEDS RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE BAR AND GRILL. THERE ARE MOBILE PEOPLE THERE. YEP. SO THEY ARE VERY, VERY CONCERNED AND VERY RELUCTANT TO CROSS. 202 SO COULD THAT ALSO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS GRANT AS WELL AS ISLAND AND CHURCH? BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SEVEN DAY ISLAND ROAD AND ALSO MOBILE FOLKS THERE. WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THIS APPLICATION IS DUE NOVEMBER 13TH. WE'RE ALSO WE'RE VERY FAR ALONG THE IN THE PROCESS FOR THIS. SO I'D RECOMMEND WE APPLY FOR THIS PROJECT AT THIS TIME AND THEN KEEP THAT IN MIND FOR FUTURE SUBMISSION. I HOPE SO, BECAUSE I HOPE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, MAYBE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, TO APPLY FOR SIMILAR FUNDING. BECAUSE IF I'M HOPING THAT IF THERE IS SOME FLEXIBILITY THAT YOU COULD ADD AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE STREETS, BUT IF NOT, THEN WE DEFINITELY SHOULD KEEP THOSE THE STREETS THAT I JUST MENTIONED. YEP. DEFINITELY. CONSIDERATION, PLEASE. WE WILL.
YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND THEN THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS OUR VERBAL STATUS REPORT. I'LL JUST REPORT ON A FEW ITEMS FOR THE FARDALE AVE CULVERT. AS YOU KNOW, THE PROJECT IS UNDERWAY. THE CULVERT WAS DELIVERED ON SATURDAY DUE TO THE CULVERT LAYOUT AND THE EXISTING ELECTRICAL LINES IN THE AREA, WE HAD TO DE-ENERGIZE THE LINES.
WE HAD TO DE-ENERGIZE THAT ENTIRE GRID. IT AFFECTED PROBABLY ABOUT 100 PROPERTIES.
THAT WAS SO THAT THE CRANE. IT WAS. IT WAS A PRETTY BIG OPERATION. THE CRANE COULD PICK THE PIECES FOR THE CULVERT. THEY HAD TO GO OVER THE LINES FOR SOME OF THE PIECES TO GET THEM IN PLACE, AND EVERYTHING WENT GREAT. IT WAS REALLY A MAJOR UNDERTAKING. IT TOOK A LOT OF COORDINATION BETWEEN MANY PARTIES. YOU KNOW, THIS WORK WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE EFFORTS FROM THE MAHWAH POLICE DEPARTMENT. DAN FROM BAY CRANE, XAVIER PIMENTA AND HIS GUYS FROM REMAX CONSTRUCTION. THEY REALLY DID A GREAT JOB. YOU
[00:10:03]
KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF COORDINATION THAT HAD TO BE MADE BETWEEN THE DELIVERY, THE CRANE GUY, ROCKLAND ELECTRIC, ROCKLAND, ROCKLAND ELECTRIC DID A GREAT JOB. REALLY WANT TO THANK SARAH CHARLES, ELIZABETH PEREZ AND JOSEPH OLIVER. AND A REAL SPECIAL THANKS TO MATT PAPAPIETRO AND DAN LIPINSKI. I'M SORRY, AL LIPINSKI FROM MY DEPARTMENT. THEY'RE OUT THERE ALL DAY LONG AND IT WAS A LONG DAY. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OUT THERE FOR PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, SINCE ABOUT 6:00 IN THE MORNING UNTIL ABOUT 5:00 AT NIGHT. SO THEY REALLY DID A GREAT JOB.AND ALSO ADMINISTRATION AND JOHN GILL, THEY DID A GREAT JOB ASSISTING ME WITH GETTING THE NOTICES OUT AND ALL THAT. AND I REALLY WENT OFF RELATIVELY WELL. AND I JUST I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE RESIDENTS OF FARDALE TOO, WHO WERE IN THE DE-ENERGIZED ZONE. YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S AN INCONVENIENCE. IT'S A SATURDAY, EVERYBODY'S HOME, BUT WE HAD TO DO IT ON A SATURDAY BECAUSE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SCHOOL. WE COULDN'T TAKE THAT OFFLINE DURING DURING A WEEKDAY, AND WE HAD TO DO IT LAST WEEKEND BECAUSE WE WEREN'T DOING IT ON HALLOWEEN. AND, AND SO WE IT REALLY WENT OFF REALLY WELL. AND, BUT I REALLY, I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE PEOPLE FROM FARDALE IN THE AREA THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS AN INCONVENIENCE TO THEM AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S MUCH NEEDED, BUT THEY, THEY EVERYTHING WENT WELL. PERFECT.
AND THEN THAT'S IT. CORPORATE DRIVE. WE'RE GETTING BIDS ON THAT THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK.
I'M SORRY. AND LAWRENCE ROAD, WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH THE BONDING COMPANY. I KNOW THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO A FEW CONTRACTORS. THAT'S WHERE THE CONTRACTORS PASSED AWAY. SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THAT TO. AND THERE'S A FEW ITEMS THAT I'M GOING TO HAVE A CONTRACTOR TIDY UP IN THE MEANTIME. ASIDE FROM THE BONDING COMPANY, THE COST ISN'T MUCH. WE'LL DO IT UNDER THE ROAD PROGRAM AND JUST GET THINGS CLEANED UP. THE BIG THING IS I GOT TO GET THE GUY'S EQUIPMENT OUT OF THERE. THAT'S THE BIG THING. AND THAT'S AN ISSUE. YEAH, SO WE'VE MADE IT AWARE TO THE BONDING COMPANY THAT IT'S A SAFETY CONCERN THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED RIGHT AWAY. AND I KNOW THEY'RE THEY'RE WORKING ON IT. BUT YOU KNOW THIS IS NOT A QUICK PROCESS. SO I'LL CONTINUE TO PUSH THEM ON THAT. AND MR. PRESIDENT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU, MR. KELLY. QUESTIONS. HI. HI, MIKE. THANK YOU. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. FIRST QUESTION. AS YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER ACCIDENT AT CAMP GLENN SEMINARY LAST WEEKEND. I WASN'T AWARE OR WAS IT? YEAH, I THINK IT WAS LAST WEEKEND. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT I KNOW YOU'VE SAID THAT THERE'S BEEN TWO TRAFFIC STUDIES AT THAT INTERSECTION AND THAT IT DOESN'T WARRANT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. SO MY QUESTION IS. A BLINKING LIGHT, JUST A REGULAR LIGHT THAT BLINKS RED ONE WAY AND YELLOW THE OTHER DOES. IS THAT A DIFFERENT TRAFFIC STUDY THAT FOR THAT OR CAN WE REQUEST ONE LIKE MAYBE THROUGH MAYOR AND ADMINISTRATOR? AND COULD WE GET ONE THAT WAY? DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED TO PUT A TRAFFIC STUDY IN TO DO THAT? IT IS IT DOES NEED A TRAFFIC STUDY AND IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T MEET THE WARRANTS FOR BLINKING SIGNAL EITHER. REALLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE THERE IS THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CLEAR THE SIGHT DISTANCE. LOOKING TOWARDS THE SOUTH LOOKING TOWARDS FRANKLIN LAKES.
WE HAVE A STUDY BEING DONE THAT'S GOING TO SHOW WHERE VEGETATION HAS TO BE REMOVED, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE DONE. OKAY. BUT IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, THEN WILL THEY PUT IN THE BLINKING LIGHT? NO, NO. CAN CAN YOU GET A COPY OF THIS TRAFFIC STUDY? COULD YOU PLEASE PRODUCE THAT? I'LL SEND YOU THE EMAIL THAT I GOT FROM THE COUNTY THAT SAYS THAT IT DOESN'T MEET THE WARRANTS. CAN YOU IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU COULD PRODUCE THE ACTUAL TRAFFIC STUDY? I CAN ASK THEM FOR IT. COULD YOU ASK THEM FOR IT, PLEASE? AND I'D LIKE TO SEE IT. AND THEN. AND I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. SOMEBODY ASKED ME THIS. SO I FEEL COMPELLED TO ASK YOU ABOUT WEST MAHWAH AND THE TRAFFIC THAT GETS THROWN AROUND WEST MALL FROM ROUTE 17 DURING BACKUPS ON 17, THE GPS TRACKING. DO WE HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER WHERE GPS SENDS PEOPLE? NO, NO. SO THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN MAKE A. ANY REQUEST TO CHANGE THAT ANYWAY? NO, I'M NOT AWARE OF A PROCESS TO DO THAT. I, I DON'T HAVE AN ABILITY TO CONTACT MAPQUEST OR ANYBODY LIKE THAT. THAT'S SO I'M NOT SURE THE PROCESS. ALL RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD DO THAT. SAY TO MAPQUEST. OH, PLEASE DON'T SEND PEOPLE DOWN THIS AREA WHEN IT'S BACKED UP ON 17. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT. ALL RIGHT.
WELL, SOMEBODY ASKED ME, SO I'M ASKING YOU. I WOULD ALSO SAY MOST PEOPLE THAT TAKE IT AT THIS POINT KNOW THE WAY, RIGHT? IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE NOT RELYING ON MAPQUEST OR GOOGLE TO DO THAT. THE TRAFFIC'S BACKED UP. THEY LIVE IN THIS AREA. THEY KNOW HOW TO GET AROUND IT. SO THEY GO DOWN THAT ROAD. WHAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT AND WHAT I TALKED TO THE CHIEF ABOUT THE CHIEF OF POLICE, WAS WHEN THAT HAPPENS AGAIN, CAN WE HAVE A POLICE OFFICER OVER
[00:15:04]
THERE? AND THE MAYOR'S ALSO TALKED ABOUT THAT AS WELL. AND I THINK THAT'S I THINK THAT WILL HELP SPEEDING. BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TELL PEOPLE THEY CAN'T GO DOWN THE ROAD, YOU KNOW. RIGHT. AND I THINK THE POLICE ARE ALSO GOING TO PUT A THE SPEED TRAILER OUT THERE.THEY ALREADY HAVE THAT SPEED TRAILER THIS WEEK. AND I'VE CALLED BEFORE IN THE PAST TOO.
AND THE POLICE ARE VERY RESPONSIVE. YEAH. AND THE SPEED TRAILER IS GREAT. THE SPEED TRAILER ALSO GETS DATA, WHICH WE CAN ANALYZE BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD CONCERNS ON DIVINE DRIVE. A RESIDENT SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF SPEEDING ON DIVINE DRIVE. WE GOT THE THE DATA BACK. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE SEE THIS TRAILER AND THEY SLOW DOWN. I ALSO SEE WHERE SOMETIMES THERE'S A TRAILER OUT THERE AND PEOPLE SEE HOW FAST THEY CAN GO. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT CUTS BOTH WAYS. WHERE FOR DIVINE DRIVE, THE PERCENTAGE OF SPEEDERS WAS LESS THAN 1%. SO AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, GOING OVER THE SPEED LIMIT. SO, YOU KNOW, WHILE IT'S A PERCEIVED ISSUE, SOMETIMES WHEN WE GET THE DATA, YOU KNOW, IT MAY NOT BE, YOU KNOW, ACTUAL. AND SO, SO THE SPEED TRAILER IS GREAT.
YOU KNOW, IT HELPS US GET DATA WHICH WE CAN ANALYZE AT THAT POINT. OKAY. AND THEN I JUST HAVE, I GUESS, ONE LAST QUESTION, BUT I GUESS IT'S MORE FOR BEN. YOU SAID IT'S GOING TO COST US $10 MILLION FOR THE METER PROGRAM, AND WE'RE GETTING SOME OF THE MONEY THROUGH THE EYE BANK. HOW MUCH ARE WE GET? HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING TO END UP SPENDING? AND, AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO BUDGET THAT? ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS IN ONE YEAR CAPITAL? HOW ARE WE GOING TO BUDGET THAT MONEY? SO THAT IS THE WE WILL BE TAKING OUT THE FULL LOAN FROM THE NEW JERSEY EYE BANK AND THEN REPAYING IT OVER APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS. SO BUT THAT'S COMING OUT OF THE UTILITY SIDE. YEAH. SO IS 30 YEARS THE ANTICIPATED USEFUL LIFE? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
YEP. YEAH. I JUST WONDER, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN PRIOR BUDGETS, JUST IF THERE'S ANY WAY, GIVEN THE LARGE SUM TO SET ASIDE MONEY, YEAR 1 TO 30. SO IT'S SMALLER AMOUNTS FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, ANTICIPATED LARGER AMOUNT, HOPEFULLY FUTURE COUNCILS WILL AGREE TO THAT. AGREED. OKAY. YEAH. AND THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
YOU'RE WELCOME, MR. MAYOR. MR. WONG, GREAT POINT. I WAS JUST SAY THAT. SO WHAT WE'RE AUTHORIZING TONIGHT IS WHAT FOR THE WATER REPLACEMENT. THE WATER METER FOR THE INSPECTION.
FULL INSPECTION SERVICES. OKAY. TO H TO M. OKAY. WE CAN'T. WE CAN'T GO OUT TO BID USING THE EYE BANK WITHOUT HAVING THE INSPECTION SERVICES APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL IN ADVANCE. OKAY, BUT INSPECTION SERVICES WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE $10 MILLION. THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE A ONE OFF CALL. THAT'S CORRECT. YES, BUT THE INSTALLATION ITSELF IS GOING TO TAKE TWO YEARS. OVER TWO YEARS, PROBABLY ABOUT TWO YEARS. ARE YOU PRIORITIZING COMMERCIAL OVER RESIDENTIAL? WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT YET. I CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. JUST CURIOUS. YEP. YEAH, I WELL, I WAS GOING TO SAY I THINK FOR THE BID IT SHOULD BE IN THERE. YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HARPING ON THIS. YEAH. YOU GOT TO TELL THE CONTRACTOR THAT THEY'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL CREWS. BECAUSE I JUST THINK THE 22 MONTHS IS, IS WAY TOO LONG. OKAY. SO I THINK WE AT LEAST GIVE GIVE OURSELVES SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL THE MONEY. I MEAN, JUST, JUST, I THINK, I THINK IT SHOULD BE AN OPTION OR AN ALTERNATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH RESPECT TO TIMING, BECAUSE THE COST MAY INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY IF WE'RE ASKING THEM TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL CREWS. WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'LL JUST IT'LL BE WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD IT INTO THE BID, BUT THEN WE'LL ALSO BE RECOUPING MONEY THAT WE'RE NOT COLLECTING. YEAH. NO THAT'S TRUE. YEAH. FAIR ENOUGH. THERE'S. YEAH, YEAH. AND THEN JUST ON THOSE THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL NOW IS IT TOOK US FIVE CHANCES TO GET THE ONES BY THE TRAIN UNTIL WE FOUND THAT OTHER PROGRAM. RIGHT. SO. ARE WE GOING THROUGH THAT OTHER PROGRAM OR WE'RE THE GRANT WRITERS ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON WHAT OTHER GRANTS THAT ARE OUT THERE. OKAY, BUT IS THIS THE ONE THAT WE GOT IT ON THE DOT BECAUSE WASN'T IT THROUGH D.O.T. I DON'T THINK SO. THAT THAT WAS A DIFFERENT ONE. AND IT WAS LIKE A THAT WAS LIKE A LOCAL AID. WE ONLY GOT LIKE 79,000 FOR THAT. YEAH. SO IT WAS A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. I DON'T KNOW. I'LL TALK TO MY FRIEND, THE SIGN GUY AT THE LEAGUE THIS YEAR. YEAH. YEAH.
HE HE, HE POINTED US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THAT WAS GOOD. BUT IT WAS IT WAS INTERESTING CONVERSATION WITH WITH NEW JERSEY. WE DID A PRE-APPLICATION MEETING WITH THEM AND THEY REALLY WANTED TO JUICE THE NUMBERS UP. YEAH. LIKE IT WAS LIKE, WELL, 200,000, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH. WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, LET'S DO MORE WORK. YEAH, WE'RE AT 600 NOW. THE OTHER STREETS. AND THEN I THINK THAT WAS IT. THAT'S IT FOR ME. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU SIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE. ADMINISTRATION.
[ADMINISTRATION]
ALL RIGHT. ITEM TWO A AS OUR ANNUAL SUBMISSION OF A DEPARTMENT. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH GRANT FOR PRIVATE WELL OUTREACH TO BE AS WELL. THIS IS OUR NJDEP RADON[00:20:03]
AWARENESS GRANT. I LOVE ALL THIS GRANT TALK. OH, YEAH. GREAT. LOOKING FOR THE FREE MONEY. TWO C IS A WATER AND SEWER MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES AWARDED TO CAPITAL SUPPLY CONSTRUCTION. THEY WERE THE ONLY BIDDER. TWO D YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN IT PARKED OUT FRONT BEFORE THE 2017 FORD EXPLORER FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER USING. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE IT OVER TO THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT FOR OUR PARK RANGER.GOING TO HAVE IT RE DECALED. SO JUST KEEPING THE KEEPING ME FROM HAVING TO BUY ANYTHING NEW.
TWO E CHANCE MEETING WITH SOMEONE. WAS IT BAR GRILL? ONE NIGHT FOR DINNER, ONE OF THE WAITRESSES WAS ASKING HOW SHE COULD DONATE A CAR TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SO I GAVE HER MY CARD. SO THAT'S WHERE THIS CAME FROM. SO WE APPRECIATE HER OFFER AS THE CAR NO LONGER WORKS, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR TRAINING OVER AT FIRE COMPANY ONE TWO F IS JUST AN EXTENSION AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO A AGREEMENT WITH, I'M SORRY, A CONTRACT WITH VINCI AND HIGGINS, OUR TOWNSHIP AUDITOR. THE ADDITIONAL MONIES ARE FOR THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND THE WORK THEY DID THERE. TWO G IS FROM A TAX APPEAL WE PAID THROUGH VIA TAX CREDITS. TWO H IS A ANOTHER VETERANS HUNDRED PERCENT TAX EXEMPTION ON GREEN MOUNTAIN ROAD. WE'RE HAVING A LOT OF DIFFICULTIES. OH I'M SORRY. HOW'S THAT A LITTLE BETTER? YEAH. OKAY. OH, I'M SORRY TO HEAR THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ITEM TWO A OH NO, I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. ITEM TWO TWO I BASICALLY WE HAD A THE OWNER OF 14 INDUSTRIAL HAVE A MAJOR WATER LEAK WHICH CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT WATER BILL. THIS WILL BE A PAYMENT PLAN OVER THE COURSE OF 12 MONTHS TO ALLOW THEM TO PAY THAT OFF TO JAY. AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTEN REALLY INVOLVED WITH THE MAYOR'S WELLNESS CAMPAIGN THROUGHOUT TOWN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND THE REC DEPARTMENT. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR A $15,000 GRANT, TWO K WE'VE SEEN THIS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. IT'S AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH AND LIBERTY, HYUNDAI AND LIBERTY AUTO GROUP TO PARK CARS OVER AT THE POOL PARKING LOT DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. I BELIEVE THAT $2,300 A MONTH AND TWO L IS YOU'VE SEEN THESE BEFORE. WHEN WE HAVE AN EMPLOYEE WHO MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH SICK TIME AND IS DEALING WITH A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IN THE MANUAL, WE CAN COME TO THE COUNCIL AND REQUEST AN EXTENSION OF SICK TIME. SO WE'RE ASKING FOR 30 DAYS.
ANYTHING UNUSED WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE RETURNED AND NOT PART OF THEIR BANK. SO AND THAT'S IT FOR ADMINISTRATION QUESTIONS. JANET, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PARKING, DID YOU LOOK INTO THE HANDICAPPED PARKING AT THE SENIOR CENTER? YES WE HAVE. WE'LL PROBABLY BE ADDING 2 OR 3 SPOTS. IT'LL PROBABLY BE PART OF THE SPRING PROGRAM WHEN WE BRING THE STRIPERS BACK IN.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION? MOVING ON TO TOWNSHIP COUNCIL, THE CLERK
[TOWNSHIP COUNCIL]
SHARED MEETING DATES FOR NEXT YEAR, 2027, MOSTLY MONDAYS, A HANDFUL OF THURSDAYS IN THERE WHEN A HOLIDAY IS ON A MONDAY. AND THEN THE ONLY DAY I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE IS THE IS THE 11TH OF OCTOBER, WHICH WILL PROBABLY END UP BEING THE 14TH ON THE CALENDAR BECAUSE OF YOM KIPPUR AND COLUMBUS DAY. AND THAT'S IT FOR TOWNSHIP COUNCIL PUBLIC PORTION.[PUBLIC PORTION]
I HAVE A MOTION TO THE PUBLIC MOTION TO OPEN. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. PUBLIC PORTION.PRIOR TO SPEAKING, EACH SPEAKER SHALL PROVIDE THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS. HOWEVER, A TOWNSHIP RESIDENT WHO HAS BEEN VERIFIED BY THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION PRIVACY AS A COVERED PERSON UNDER DANIEL'S LAW, PLEASE DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS. RESIDENTS. I'LL SPEAK FIRST AND THIS PUBLIC PORTION. SPEAKERS MAY SPEAK ABOUT ANY TOPIC. SPEAKER MUST DIRECT QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THERE WILL BE NO BACK AND FORTH DIALOG BETWEEN THE SPEAKER AND REPRESENTATIVES ON THE DAIS WHEN THE SPEAKER IS FINISHED WITH A STATEMENT OR QUESTIONS, THE COUNCIL WILL RESPOND AS APPROPRIATE. EACH SPEAKER SHALL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. WITHIN THREE MINUTES EXPIRES, COUNCIL WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.
THIS PUBLIC PORTION IS A MAXIMUM OF 30 MINUTES. SPEAKERS MAY SPEAK ONLY ONCE DURING EACH PUBLIC PORTION. BEFORE WE START, JUST A QUICK NOTE ORDINANCE 2105, WHICH IS THE HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER ORDINANCE. THERE WILL BE A SPECIFIC PUBLIC PORTION JUST FOR THAT. SO IF YOU WANT YOUR RECORDS TO GO ALONG WITH THE ORDINANCE, I WOULD RECOMMEND SPEAKING THEN UP TO YOU. YOU CAN TALK ANYTHING YOU WANT NOW, BUT I'M JUST SAYING, IF YOU WANT YOUR YOUR STATEMENTS TO GO WITH THAT ORDINANCE, THAT WOULD BE THE TIME TO SPEAK ABOUT IT IF ANYONE IN THE ROOM. OKAY, I CAN WAIT FOR THAT. BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY AN PAOLI, 86 WEST CRESCENT AVENUE. ALSO VERY HAPPY TO SEE THE STYROFOAM PIECE THAT I HEARD AT THE LAST MEETING. SO THANK YOU. OF COURSE. THANK YOU. TO THE AGREEMENT. JUST WORKING ON THE
[00:25:06]
AGREEMENT. ALMOST. GOOD EVENING. TRACY MICELI 163 INDIAN HOLLOW COURT CONCERNING THE SICK DAYS.DOES MAHWAH HAVE A POLICY WHERE EMPLOYEES MIGHT DONATE SICK DAYS TO A POOL OR TO A DESIGNATED INDIVIDUAL WHO'S AN EMPLOYEE WHO NEEDS THEM? IF THEY HAVE AN EXCESS OF THEM? WE'LL ANSWER. I'M NOT SURE, BUT WE'LL DO IT. WE DO. WE'LL ANSWER WHEN EVERYONE'S DONE.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? NOPE. THAT'S IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANKS. THANKS, TRACY.
ANYBODY ELSE? JIM PORTER, 250 ORCHARD DRIVE. JUST A QUESTION ABOUT THE ORDINANCE SECTION.
YES, SIR. DO THE COMMENTS DURING THAT SECTION HAVE TO BE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE ORDINANCE, OR CAN IT BE ANYTHING ABOUT DATA CENTERS? NO, I MEAN, THE ORDINANCE IS ABOUT DATA CENTERS. SO I'LL BE I'LL LET IT. IT'LL BE BROAD. OKAY. YEP. NO PROBLEM. ANYBODY ELSE? MOTION TO CLOSE SECOND. YOU GOT YOU GUYS. YOU'RE GOOD. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE UP TO OUR PUBLIC MEETING. APPROVAL OF BILLS AND CLAIMS THAT ANSWER A QUESTION. WHAT'S THAT? OH, I'M SORRY ABOUT DONATING MINUTES. OF COURSE. IT'S IT'S RELATIVELY QUICK. WHILE SOME TOWNS HAVE IT, WE HAVE NOT DONE IT HERE TRADITIONALLY BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THE STIPULATION IN THE IN THE EMPLOYEE MANUAL THAT THE COUNCIL HAS THE RIGHT TO EXTEND AN ADDITIONAL TIME. OKAY.
AND IF THAT 30 DAYS ISN'T ENOUGH, THE COUNCIL CAN, CAN, CAN AND HAS IN THE PAST, YEAH, DONE ADDITIONAL TIME. SO WE'VE NEVER REALLY DONE A SICK BANK PER SE. OKAY. BUT IT'S NOT A WE'LL CONSIDER IT THOUGH. WE CERTAINLY CONSIDER IT. ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, I'D ALMOST RATHER DO THAT THAN. NO, I, I, I'M OPEN TO ALL. OKAY. SO SOMETHING WE'LL CERTAINLY LOOK
[PUBLIC MEETING]
[APPROVAL OF BILLS AND CLAIMS]
INTO. THANK YOU TRACY. NOW WE'RE UP TO OUR PUBLIC MEETING APPROVAL OF BILLS AND CLAIMS. HAVE A MOTION PLEASE. MOTION SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE. SECOND BY DAVE. YES. MISS. YES.MR. IRVIN. YES. MR. YES. YES. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON. YES. APPROVAL OF
[APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES]
MEETING MINUTES. COMBINED WORK SESSION AND PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 12TH, 2026.HAVE A MOTION, PLEASE. SO MOVED. SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE, MISS RIMA. YES. MR. IRVIN. YES. MR. MAY. YES. MRS. PAZ. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON. YES. SO BEFORE WE GET THE REPORTS,
[ORDINANCE - PUBLIC HEARINGS]
I'M GOING TO MOVE THE AGENDA AROUND A LITTLE BIT. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THE ORDINANCES UP TO NOW. SO WE HAVE FOUR PUBLIC HEARINGS TONIGHT. THE FIRST IS ORDINANCE 2105, AN ORDINANCE, THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH, AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CHAPTER 24 ENTITLED ZONING SECTION 1.5, ENTITLED DEFINITIONS AND WORD USAGE TO DEFINE DATA CENTER AND HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER AND SECTION 3.8, ENTITLED SUPPLEMENTAL USE REGULATIONS TO PROHIBIT HIGH DENSITY HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS AND ALL ZONING DISTRICTS OF THE TOWNSHIP PENDING COMPLETION OF A PLANNING BOARD STUDY AND MASTER PLAN REEXAMINATION ADDRESSING LAND USE, UTILITY CAPACITY, WATER NOISE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. CAN I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO ORDINANCE 2105 FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? MOTION OPEN FOR ORDINANCE 2105. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR JUST 2105. ANYTHING RELATED TO 2105? THANK YOU AND POORLY. 86 WEST CRESCENT AVENUE. FIRST, A BIG THANK YOU. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ON THIS SINCE JUNE AND A LOT OF EFFORT HAS GONE INTO IT. I THINK IT WAS A VERY THOUGHTFUL ORDINANCE. I JUST WOULD LOVE TO CAUTION. I STILL THINK THAT THE 50 MEGAWATT LIMIT IS EXTREMELY HIGH. I THINK SOMEBODY SAID AT THE LAST MEETING, THAT COULD BE THE EQUIVALENT OF THE WATER USAGE OF 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS, WHICH REALLY PUTS IT INTO PERSPECTIVE.I DON'T KNOW THAT MAHWAH CAN SUPPORT THAT. I KNOW YOU HAVE TO DO A CARVE OUT FOR THE EXISTING FACILITY. I DID LOOK, WE'RE UP TO LIKE 110 MUNICIPALITIES HAVE PASSED ORDINANCES. 90% OF THEM ARE FLAT OUT BANS ON DATA CENTERS WITH NO MEGAWATT LIMIT. A FEW HAVE SPECIFIED NUMBERS. PARSIPPANY SPECIFIED TEN MEGAWATTS, AND ONE TOWN I CAN'T REMEMBER WAS FIVE. SO JUST TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, THIS WOULD BE A REAL OUTLIER FOR ORDINANCES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED IN NEW JERSEY ON THIS ISSUE. ONE ORDINANCE WAS CREATIVE AND SAID YOU COULD LOOK AT MEGAWATTS. YOU COULD ALSO LOOK AT SQUARE FOOTAGE. IT COULD BE OVER YOUR AMOUNT OF AGREED TO MEGAWATTS OR 10,000FTā !S AND ABOVE, OR 5000 SERVERS AND ABOVE. SO THERE COULD BE MULTIPLE WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS. AND IF WE'RE GOING TO DO IT, LIKE LET'S DO IT RIGHT. SO I REALLY ENCOURAGE BRINGING THAT DOWN. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR TIME AND EFFORT. AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE IT UP FOR ADOPTION. THANK YOU. OKAY.
[00:30:15]
HI, MY NAME IS SONIA AND I LIVE ON TWO SYLVAN COURT IN THE AREA. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M WITH THE YOUTH. I'M A STUDENT AT MAHWAH HIGH SCHOOL. AND YOU KNOW AS A STUDENT THAT WE CAN'T USE AI IN SCHOOL. SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT AS PART OF THE YOUTH GENERATION, WE ARE LIKE HUMANITY AS A WHOLE IS STILL VERY NEW TO THE INTRODUCTION OF AI. AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S LIKE FAIRLY NEW IN THIS DECADE, WE'RE SEEING LIKE RESULTS OF AI CAUSING LIKE CANCER AND LIKE INSOMNIA, INSOMNIA, WHATEVER, AND LIKE MORE HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO HUMANS. I KNOW PEOPLE ARE AWARE THAT IT HURTS THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT ALSO HURTS HUMANS AS WELL. AND I THINK THAT OVERALL, LIKE INSTALLING DATA CENTERS, IT'S JUST NOT NECESSARY. LIKE I DON'T USE AI EVERY DAY IN MY LIFE. LIKE I BARELY USE IT. LIKE I KNOW THAT MAHWAH ISN'T DEVELOPING LIKE ANYTHING SUPER IMPRESSIVE WITH TECHNOLOGY IN AI BECAUSE I KNOW BIG CORPORATIONS SOMETIMES USE IT TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY. BUT LIKE, I DON'T SEE LIKE ANY LIKE USE FOR IT. IT'S NOT REALLY LIKE WHEN I'M THINKING ABOUT MY TOWN AND LIKE THE NEEDS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. WHY SHOULD WE ADD DATA CENTERS? LIKE I DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THAT. AND I HAVE A LONG LIFE. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT LIKE THE REST OF THIS ROOM, BUT I'M GONNA BE HERE FOR THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF AI. SO MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS JUST GET TO LIKE, FEEL THE EFFECTS AFTER LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE TEN, 20 YEARS, BUT I'M HERE LIKE, GIRL, I GOT LIKE A LONG WAY TO GO. AND IF WE'RE SEEING LIKE CANCER RIGHT NOW, OH MY GOD, WHAT IF I GROW LIKE THREE YEARS BECAUSE OF THE AI DATA CENTERS AND THEN WE CAN'T TELL IT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S STILL RELATIVELY NEW. AND YEAH, I JUST WE'RE ALREADY SEEING LONG TERM LIKE HEALTH EFFECTS AND RISKS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S REALLY NEW. SO HOW ABOUT LIKE FIVE YEARS OR TEN YEARS IN THE FUTURE WHEN I'M STILL IN MAHWAH AND WE DECIDED TO BUILD LIKE ALL THESE DATA CENTERS NOW WE CAN'T REMOVE THEM BECAUSE LIKE, DAMN, THEY'RE PRETTY BIG. BUT I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THAT WHEN LIKE, EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS GONE AND I'M STILL ALIVE AND I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE DATA CENTERS THAT YEAH, I DON'T WANT THAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK Y'ALL, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE MAHWAH TOWNSHIP COUNCIL. MY NAME IS MICHAEL HUNGARIAN. I LIVE AT 190 VAN WINKLE LANE. AND THE REASON WHY I'M HERE TODAY IS TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR ALLOWING LARGE SCALE DATA CENTERS INTO THIS TOWN. MAHWAH ALREADY ACCOMMODATES LARGE SCALE INDUSTRY AND ALLOWS SMALLER DATA CENTERS TO EXIST WITHIN OUR TOWN. AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ADVANCE, DATA CENTERS WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO OUR ECONOMY. THEY REPRESENT A NEW FRONTIER OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND COMMUNITIES THAT PREPARE FOR THIS GROWTH COULD BENEFIT FROM THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT CREATES. DATA CENTERS CAN CREATE JOBS, ATTRACT INVESTMENT, AND GENERATE TAX REVENUE THAT HELPS PUBLIC, HELPS FUND PUBLIC PROJECTS, AND POTENTIALLY EASE THE TAX BURDEN ON MAHWAH RESIDENTS. OF COURSE, THESE BENEFITS MUST BE WEIGHED IN AGAINST THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ELECTRICITY USAGE, WATER USAGE AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS THAT IT HAS. THOSE CHALLENGES DESERVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION, BUT THEY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH RESPONSIBLE PLANNING AND RATHER THAN THE AUTOMATIC THE AUTOMATIC IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE DATA CENTERS. AS A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, I WILL SOON ENTER THE WORKFORCE AND BECOME A CONTRIBUTING MEMBER TO OUR SOCIETY. DECISIONS MADE BY THIS COUNCIL WILL HELP SHAPE THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO MY GENERATION. IF MAHWAH ESTABLISHES A RESPONSIBLE PATH FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT, IT COULD HELP POSITION OUR TOWN TO BENEFIT FROM AN EVOLVING INDUSTRY. I ASK YOU NOT TO ONLY CONSIDER THESE CHALLENGES, THE CHALLENGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS THAT THESE DATA CENTERS PRESENT TODAY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY COULD CREATE FOR MAHWAH FOR THE FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS JORDAN KOMAR. I LIVE AT 76 FELDMAN COURT. I HAVE A TWO PART QUESTION. IS IT TRUE THAT IN 2024, MAHWAH AMENDED THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN REGARDING THE SHERIDAN CROSSROAD AREA TO INCLUDE DATA CENTERS AS PERMITTED USE. AND IF THAT IS TRUE, WOULD THE AREA BE EXEMPT FROM AN ORDINANCE BECAUSE IT'S UNDER A SEPARATE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN? AND YOUR SECOND QUESTION YOU HAD TWO, RIGHT. OR IS THAT BOTH. THAT WAS THE TWO. OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU. GOOD[00:35:09]
EVENING. MY NAME IS PREM DOSHI. I LIVE AT 18 ROXBURY ROAD AND I'M A SENIOR AT MAHWAH HIGH SCHOOL. SO I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT ONE PIECE OF IT, WHICH IS THE POWER GRID. SO HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS REQUIRE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY, AND A SINGLE LARGE FACILITY CAN USE AS MUCH AS ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY AS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOMES. PJM, THE GRID OPERATOR THAT SERVES NEW JERSEY, PROJECTS ABOUT 32GW OF NEW DEMAND BY 2030, AND ABOUT 30 OF THAT IS FROM DATA CENTERS. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING IT IN OUR BILLS. ELECTRIC RATES WENT UP AS MUCH AS 20% IN JUNE 2025, AND DATA CENTERS WERE THE MAIN DRIVER OF THAT INCREASE. MAHWAH GETS ITS POWER FROM ROCKLAND ELECTRIC, WHICH IS A MUCH SMALLER UTILITY THAN PCNG. ONE HYPERSCALE FACILITY COULD BE A BIG SHARE OF ITS TOTAL LOAD. SO MY QUESTION IS, DOES THE TOWNSHIP HAVE DATA ON HOW A FACILITY OF THIS SIZE COULD IMPACT OUR LOCAL ELECTRICAL GRID AND THE STABILITY OF OF RESIDENTIAL POWER DURING PEAK SUMMER MONTHS? AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, HAS THE TOWNSHIP TALKED TO ROCKLAND ELECTRIC ABOUT WHETHER THE LINES AND SUBSTATIONS SERVING MAHWAH COULD HANDLE THIS WITHOUT MAJOR UPGRADES, AND IF THE UPGRADES ARE NEEDED, WHO PAYS FOR THEM? IS IT THE DEVELOPER OR THE RESIDENTS? AND THEN FINALLY, WILL THE ORDINANCE REQUIRE A DEVELOPER TO SUBMIT A GRID IMPACT STUDY BEFORE ANYTHING GETS APPROVED? THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? JIM PORTER 250 ORCHARD DRIVE. I WANT TO COVER TWO THINGS. HOPEFULLY IN THREE MINUTES. ONE IS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE 50 MEGAWATT OR LOWER DATA CENTERS. I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, BASED ON MY RESEARCH, THAT A SMALLER DATA CENTER DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S QUIETER OR WITHOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. THEY CAN BE DENSELY PACKED WITH COOLING FANS IF THEY'RE NOT PROPERLY GIVEN SOUND BARRIERS. THE NOISE CAN RUN THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOODS IF IT ALLOWS DIESEL GENERATORS, OBVIOUSLY THERE CAN BE AIR POLLUTION. I'M NOT AWARE, AND FORGIVE ME IF I SHOULD KNOW THIS WITHIN THE ORDINANCE. IF WE HAVE ANY DETAILS OTHER THAN JUST THE POWER USAGE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT REQUIRING NOISE STUDIES, SUBSTANTIAL SETBACKS PROHIBITING DIESEL GENERATORS, REQUIRING COMPLETE EMISSIONS, INVENTORIES REQUIRING MONTHLY AND PEAK DAY ESTIMATES FOR WATER USAGE, REQUIRING A CLOSED LOOP WATER COOLING SYSTEM, INDEPENDENT MONITORING AND PROPERTY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS. I'D BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF ANY OF THOSE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ORDINANCE. THIS IS MY SECOND POINT. WHEN I SPOKE LAST WEEK ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND MY FEAR OF WHAT COULD BE BUILT, I THINK I SAID SOMETHING LIKE, I FEAR THAT ONE DAY THAT I'D WAKE UP IN THE NEWS HEADLINE WOULD BE THAT NEW MAHWAH IS BUILDING OR IS ALLOWING TO BE BUILT THE LARGEST DATA CENTER IN NEW JERSEY BASED ON THE CROSSROADS PROPERTY. AND I FELT THAT THE ANSWERS THAT WERE GIVEN WERE FOCUSED ON THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS BEING PROPOSED TO CAP DATA CENTERS OF 50MW, AND THAT'S STUDY THAT WAS GOING TO BE DONE BY THE TOWN. ALL OF THAT WAS GOING TO BE A TEMPORARY SOLUTION. I THOUGHT IT WAS AT LEAST IMPLIED IN OUR DISCUSSION IN A Q&A THAT WE WERE TAUGHT THAT WE WERE INCLUDING CROSSROADS SITE AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. BUT WHEN I WENT TO LAST MONDAY'S PLANNING BOARD MEETING, I WAS TOLD BY THE LAWYER THAT THIS ORDINANCE DOES NOT APPLY TO THE CROSSROADS PROPERTY, THAT IN FACT, THE CROSSROADS DEVELOPMENT IS DICTATED BY A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT ALLOWS ANY KIND OF DATA CENTER WITH NO RESTRICTIONS. AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, THAT PLAN WOULD ALLOW A BUILDING SPACE OF 4 MILLION TOTAL SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS VERY CONCERNING, BECAUSE I WOULD IMAGINE THAT WOULD EASILY ALLOW A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER IF IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THE ORDINANCE. SO ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, IS THAT TRUE? AND IF IT IS TRUE AND THE COUNCIL HAS AN OPPORTUNITY NOW TO POSSIBLY ALTER THAT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN TO REMOVE THE DATA CENTER AS A PERMITTED USE, THEN WHY NOT PREVENT A HUGE PROBLEM AND ATTEMPT TO DO THAT NOW, BEFORE AN APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED BY THE DEVELOPER? BASED ON MY RESEARCH, UNDER THE LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING LAW, THE TOWN COUNCIL CAN DO THAT THROUGH A LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT. VIA ORDINANCE. IT SAYS THE COUNCIL MUST INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE THAT STRIPS DATA CENTER FROM THE LIST OF PERMITTED USES, AND FORMALLY CATEGORIZES IT AS AS AN EXPLICITLY PROHIBITED USE. AND THE OTHER THING THAT I READ WAS THAT THERE COULD BE A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT OPTION.SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF ANY OF THOSE COULD APPLY IF THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN ALLOWS A DIFFERENT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. I'M LORRAINE
[00:40:04]
BUTTERFIELD. I LIVE AT 198 OVERLOOK PLACE IN MAHWAH. AND I WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE SOMETHING THAT MISS POWLEY SAID IN REGARD TO THE WATER. I THINK AFTER LIVING IN ARIZONA FOR FOUR YEARS AND COMING BACK IN 2023 AFTER HAVING LIVED HERE FOR MANY YEARS, I AM VERY SENSITIVE TO WATER SCARCITY BECAUSE THEY HAVE A 20 YEAR WATER SHORTAGE GOING ON THERE, AS WELL AS NEVADA, AND THEY'RE DEALING WITH SOME PRETTY SERIOUS PROBLEMS. AND SO WHAT SHE SAID, I'D JUST LIKE TO REITERATE THAT ABOUT EVEN SMALL AND MID-SIZED DATA CENTERS CAN USE 300,000 GALLONS DAILY, AND AN ESTIMATE OF AN AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD, WHICH IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT THEY SAID IT'S 300. SO IN MY OWN HOME, I COULD BE USING 300 GALLONS A DAY, WHICH I MEAN, MY FAMILY, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY. AND IT DIDN'T SEEM POSSIBLE. BUT WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I TALKED ABOUT IT, WE SAID, WOW, WE REALLY DO USE THERE ARE A LOT OF WATER USAGES, AREN'T THERE, IN AN AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD. SO IF FOR 300 FOR MY HOUSEHOLD, IF THEY COULD USE 300,000, THAT WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO A THOUSAND HOUSEHOLDS, WHICH IS QUITE A LOT OF WATER. AND SO THAT'S A CONCERN OF MINE. AND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT IS UNDER THAT'S UNDER THE HYPERSCALE LEVEL, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING EVEN SMALL TO TO MIDSIZE DATA CENTERS CAN USE THAT. I KNOW THAT ONE DATA CENTER WE HAVE IN TOWN AND THERE ARE OTHERS, BUT THE ONE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT DOES USE WHAT MR. PORTER TALKED ABOUT, THE CLOSED THE CLOSED WATER SYSTEM. AND THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF THAT THAT COULD BE USED. AND THESE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO USE LESS WATER. BUT THE THING IS THAT ARE THEY READY? ARE THEY REALLY GOING TO COME IN AND USE THEM? AND IF THEY AREN'T, THEN WE'RE STUCK WITH ALL OF THAT WATER USAGE.AND WITHIN THE TOWN, THEN WE HAVE, LET'S SEE OUR WATER SUPPLY, WHICH OF COURSE, ALL OF YOU ON THE COUNCIL KNOW. BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION TO OTHERS, PERHAPS, THAT OUR SEVEN MUNICIPAL WELLS PROVIDE 67.2% OF OUR WATER, BUT WE ALSO PURCHASE 32.8% OF OUR WATER, WHICH MEANS THAT IT'S FELT THAT WE NEED THAT EXTRA AND WE NEED TO GO OUT AND PURCHASE IT. AND SO THAT AND WE PURCHASED IT FROM THE OLIA, IF I'M PRONOUNCING THAT CORRECTLY, FORMERLY THE SUEZ AND UNITED WATER. AND SO THAT WOULD SEEM TO INDICATE THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ALL THE WATER THAT THEY MIGHT NEED. AND SO I HAVE LOOKED THROUGH THE ORDINANCE SEVERAL TIMES AND IT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE, ALL THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO IT. IT IS VERY COMPREHENSIVE AND THAT IS REALLY APPRECIATED. AND I REALLY TOUCHES ON JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN MENTIONING. SO THAT'S GREAT THAT IT'S GOING TO BE LOOKED AT.
AND WHAT MR. PORTER SAID. I ALSO ATTENDED THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING, BUT ONLINE I WATCHED THE WHOLE THING. I THINK I WATCHED IT TWICE JUST BECAUSE I HAD TO REALLY TRY TO TAKE IT ALL IN. AND I ALSO WAS CONFUSED BECAUSE IN THE ORDINANCE, AS YOU HAD READ IT SAYS, TO PROHIBIT THE HIGH DENSITY DATA CENTERS IN ALL ZONING DISTRICTS OF THE TOWNSHIP. WHEREAS, AT THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING, MR. DICKERSON, MR. DICKERSON, THE PLANNING BOARD PROFESSIONAL PLANNER, AS WELL AS MR. MADDOW, OUR PLANNING BOARD ATTORNEY, TALKED ABOUT IT. AND BY THE END OF THE MEETING, IT STILL SEEMED TO BE INDICATED THAT THAT. AND WHEN IT SAYS ALL ZONING AREAS THAT THAT THAT THAT WAS NOT NOT APPLYING TO THE CROSSROADS PROPERTY BECAUSE IT IS SORRY FOR SHUFFLING PAPERS HERE. IT IS BECAUSE THAT IS NOT ORP 200, WHICH IS ONE OF THE ZONES IT DOES INCLUDE AND AN OP 200 AND THOSE THEY SAID THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO THAT ARE COVERED BY THE ORDINANCE. SO WE WERE CONFUSED. I KNOW THAT ANOTHER PERSON HERE ALSO WAS THERE. AND WE KIND OF SAID, WELL, OH, YOU KNOW, WE EVEN SAID IT. THEY SAID IT WHEN THEY WERE THERE AT THE MEETING. I WAS WATCHING ONLINE. BUT AND THAT SEEMED TO BE BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT TOO. AND MUD, MUD. BUT THEN THAT THAT WAS OVERLAID BY THE CROSSROADS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDED AS OF 2024. AND SO THE OVERLAY OF OF A MUD ZONE DOES PERMIT DATA CENTERS, AS YOU KNOW. AND SO I THINK THAT PROBABLY IS WHY YOU ARE HAVING TO ADDRESS IT WITH THE ORDINANCE. AND, AND MISS POWELL HAD ALSO, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTED THAT AND ALL. SO THAT DOES PRESENT A DIFFICULTY OF SEEING WHAT WHAT THIS REALLY DOES APPLY TO THE ORDINANCE AND ALL THE EFFORT THAT'S GONE INTO IT. WHAT WOULD COME OF IT IF
[00:45:05]
EVEN IF IT'S ALL EVERYTHING'S BRING IN PROFESSIONALS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WORK THROUGH ALL THE QUESTIONS. AND THEN IF IT DOESN'T APPLY TO THE CROSSROADS PROPERTY, THAT'S MY QUESTION, I GUESS. HOW, HOW WOULD WE DEAL WITH THAT? OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. HI, MY NAME IS LESLIE CERULO AND I LIVE AT 87 DEERFIELD TERRACE. I JUST WANT TO TAKE LIKE A QUESTION BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I REPRESENT OR LIKE A LOT OF THESE STUDENTS HERE REPRESENT WHAT PEOPLE THINK ARE LIKE WHAT STUDENTS BELIEVE AT MALL HIGH SCHOOL AND HOW LIKE, HOW CAN THE DATA CENTERS LIKE AFFECT THE STUDENTS? BECAUSE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE BROUGHT UP WAS LIKE NOISE POLLUTION AND AIR POLLUTION. HOW THAT COULD FURTHER AFFECT STUDENTS LIKE AT MALL HIGH SCHOOL. AND IF THAT LIKE ELECTRICITY OR THE LIKE THE WATER USAGE, IF THAT COULD HURT US AS STUDENTS, LIKE TRYING TO ATTEND THE SCHOOL OR LIKE HOW THAT MAY AFFECT US, LIKE THE NOISE POLLUTION MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ABLE TO SLEEP AT SCHOOL OR PEOPLE IN THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS. SO MY QUESTION JUST IS LIKE, I THINK, AND ALSO AND ALSO LIKE THE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN LIKE STUDIED A LOT BECAUSE HUMANS HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND A LOT, LIKE LONG ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS AND HOW LIKE THAT CAN AFFECT PEOPLE OR STUDENTS GOING TO SCHOOL. OH, SORRY. AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW THAT COULD AFFECT US AS STUDENTS AT SCHOOL. YEAH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING.GOOD EVENING. I'M AUDREY GOLD MILLER ROAD AT THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING ON OCTOBER 19TH.
THE PLANNING BOARD ATTORNEY, MR. MADERO, STATED THAT WE HAVE TWO ZONES IN MAHWAH THAT ALLOW DATA CENTERS, OP TWO, WHICH IS MACARTHUR BOULEVARD, I BELIEVE, AND OP 200, WHICH IS THE CROSSROADS AREA, HE SAID. BUT IT ONLY INCLUDES THE LAND ROVER PROPERTY. HOWEVER, MR. MADERO STATED THAT THE SITE, KNOWN AS CROSSROADS, IS GOVERNED BY THE CROSSROADS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN RATHER THAN A STANDARD GENERAL ZONING DISTRICT AND HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS AN AREA IN NEED OF REDEVELOPMENT BY THE TOWNSHIP. DATA CENTERS WERE ADDED AS AN APPROVED USE IN THE CROSSROADS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE IN JULY 2024. I KNOW EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL REALLY KNOWS THIS, BUT THE PUBLIC MIGHT NOT. WOULD IT BE PERMITTED TO BUILD A 50 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER ALL. ALL ALONG MACARTHUR BOULEVARD, IF THAT WHOLE THING IS ZONED FOR 50 MEGAWATT DATA CENTERS BETWEEN THESE TWO ZONES, WE COULD END UP WITH 200MW OR 1000MW IN COMBINED TOTAL, WHICH IS A HUGE SUPER HYPERSCALE. WHEN COMBINED, ALL THE WATER AND ELECTRICITY COME FROM THE SAME SOURCE, SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND. YOU COULD HAVE THESE THINGS POPPING UP ALL ALL OVER THESE TWO ZONES. MR. MADERO ALSO STATED THAT CROSSROADS IS NO LONGER GOVERNED BY REGULAR TOWN ZONING, SO THE PROPERTY WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN ORDINANCE 1205, WHICH LIMITS DATA CENTERS TO 50MW. THE OWNER OF CROSSROADS CAN APPLY FOR A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER TOMORROW FOR AS LARGE AS HE WANTS, BECAUSE IT IS AN APPROVED USE UNDER THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. THIS IS SCARY BECAUSE THE PROPERTY IS 140 ACRES. ONCE AN APPLICATION IS IN, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE IT BECAUSE IT'S AN APPROVED USE. WITH THIS COUNCIL. BE OPEN TO RENEGOTIATING WITH THE OWNER OF CROSSROADS TO AMEND THE SIZE OF THE DATA CENTER TO 50MW OR EVEN 30MW, OR REMOVE IT COMPLETELY BASED ON THE IMPACT ON OUR WATER AND ENERGY USE. AND ALSO, THE HEAD OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DID RECOMMEND 30MW OR LESS, WHICH IS WHAT MOST ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAY A 50 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER CONSUMES 50MW OF ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICAL CAPACITY, OR 50KW, CONTINUALLY TOTALING 36,000,000KW PER MONTH, WHICH IS ONE ONE MEGAWATT IS 1000KW. SO A TOWN OF 25,000 PEOPLE USES ROUGHLY 326.6 MILLION KILOWATT HOURS OF ELECTRICITY PER YEAR, WHICH IS AN AVERAGE CONTINUOUS POWER LOAD. EXCUSE ME. OF ABOUT 37MW. SO OUR TOWN USES LESS
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ELECTRICITY THAN A 50 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER. AND GOD KNOWS WHAT WHAT THE COSTS WOULD BE WHEN YOU INCREASE THE GRID LIKE THAT. THE IMPACT OF THE WATER. A TOWN OF 25,000 PEOPLE USES ROUGHLY 2 MILLION TO 2.5 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER A DAY, WHILE A 50 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER TYPICALLY CONSUMES BETWEEN 500,000 AND 1.5 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY. AND WHEN WE DO HAVE A WATER SHORTAGE AND WE ALL HAVE TO SCALE BACK, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE DATA CENTER? WOULD THEY ALSO HAVE TO SCALE BACK ON ON THEIR WATER USAGE, SINCE THEY DEPEND UPON IT TO COOL THE AIR CONDITIONERS? LET'S SEE. A DIRECT COOLING USAGE AMID TO WELL, I, I GUESS I'M NOT GOING TO SIT HERE OR STAND HERE AND TALK ABOUT ALL THAT. WE KNOW THAT THEY USE A LOT OF WATER MORE THAN, THAN WE DO THE HEIGHT, I GUESS IN THE LAST AMENDMENT, THE, THE DATA CENTER EXPANSION WAS UP TO 125FT, WAS PRIMARILY ENACTED TO ACCOMMODATE MULTI-LEVEL HIGH TECH DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES AND THE NEWLY PERMITTED ADDITION OF DATA CENTERS TO THE ZONE. AND THIS IS FOR THE COOLING INFRASTRUCTURE. SO THIS DEVELOPMENT PLAN, THIS LAST GO ROUND, WHICH WAS IN 2024, WAS TAILORED TO ACCOMMODATE DATA CENTERS. AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE DON'T NEED A DATA CENTER HERE TO USE CHATGPT AND WHATEVER LOW LEVEL AI STUFF.THE AVERAGE PERSON USES. THESE BIG SCALE ONES ARE FOR WHATEVER KIND OF DEVELOPMENT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ANYTHING THAT THE PUBLIC IS USING HERE. WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THE HIGHLANDS COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT YET, SO WE SHOULD HAVE A COMPLETE BAN UNTIL WE HEAR FROM THEM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POSSIBLE FUTURE WITH THE DATA CENTER NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. COSGROVE AND I LIVE AT 524 HOLLY COURT. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS WITH ALLOWING A DATA CENTER OF THIS SIZE, ESPECIALLY WITH AS AS MY PEERS HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, HAVING A DATA CENTER THAT'S 20MW ABOVE WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY POLICY IS. AND I THINK IT'S ALSO SETS A POOR PRECEDENT, ESPECIALLY MOVING FORWARD WITH HOW THE NEW JERSEY STATE HAS ASSESSED THESE ISSUES AND ASSESSED THESE POSSIBLE CREATION OF DATA CENTERS, NOT MOVING FORWARD WITH THESE, AND WAITING FOR FURTHER EFFICIENCY UPGRADES AND MAKING THEM. AND I ALSO ASKED IF THIS CAN JEOPARDIZE THE ASSETS OF MAHWAH, BECAUSE WE NOT ONLY HAVE AN EXTREMELY AMOUNT, EXTREMELY LARGE AMOUNT OF AREA COMPARED TO OTHER TOWNS OF OUR SIZE. WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE. WILL THIS POSSIBLY JEOPARDIZE THE ELECTRICITY, THE POWER GRID, ROCKLAND ELECTRIC, AND THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT HAS TO BE PURCHASED TO SUSTAIN THIS? AND ALSO, WILL THIS JEOPARDIZE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE, LIKE THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE DATA CENTER, WHICH MEANS WE ALREADY HAVE ANOTHER DATA CENTER IN OUR AREA. IS IT REALLY A NECESSITY FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE ANOTHER DATA CENTER THAT'S AN EVEN LARGER SCALE, CONSUMING MORE RESOURCES? THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR THANK YOU. OF COURSE. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? GOOD EVENING. GREG. OLD MILL ROAD, MAHWAH. I MEAN, EVERYBODY'S BEEN. WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE. CONCERNS ABOUT WATER AND ELECTRIC AND WHAT WHAT IT'S GOING TO CONSUME AND ALL OF THAT. BUT ONE THING I HAVEN'T HEARD MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IS AIR POLLUTION AND NOISE POLLUTION. AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY REALIZES, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A DATA CENTER LIKE THAT, YOU SAY 50MW YOU NEED. JUST IN CASE ANYBODY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, YOU NEED FIVE MINIMUM FIVE, 12,112 MEGAWATT GENERATORS TO BACK THAT UP IN CASES OF POWER OUTAGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND ONE ON STANDBY. SO THAT'S SIX. AND THAT'S GOING WITH THE LARGER ONES. IF THEY GO WITH THE SMALLER ONES, YOU A LITTLE
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BIT SMALLER UNITS, YOU'RE PROBABLY TALKING IN THE VICINITY OF ABOUT 1510 WATT MEGA MEGAWATT GENERATORS, WHICH IS HUGE. THE AMOUNT OF THE AND IF THEY RUN DIESEL, THEN YOU HAVE TO DECIDE YOU RUN IN DIESEL OR NATURAL GAS. DO WE HAVE THE NATURAL GAS TO EVEN RUN THESE THINGS IN THIS AREA? THE CAPABILITIES. ALL WE. PUTTING IN 400,000 GALLON TANKS OF DIESEL FUEL TO BACK THESE THINGS UP SO THAT THEY CAN RUN THESE THINGS ONCE A MONTH, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE RUN ONCE A MONTH TO TEST THEM, TO MAKE SURE THEY WORK, AND THEY RUN THEM FOR A FEW HOURS EVERY MONTH. ALL RIGHT. JUST AS IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LOCAL ONE IN YOUR HOUSE WHERE YOU RUN, IT RUNS AUTOMATICALLY ONCE A MONTH TO TEST IT. THEY'RE DOING THE SAME THING. THERE WOULD POSSIBLY ANYWHERE FROM 5 TO 10 GENERATORS THAT ARE HUGE. ALL RIGHT. I'VE INSTALLED FIVE MEGAWATT GENERATORS IN HUGE OFFICE BUILDINGS. THEY ARE BIG.THEY ARE LOUD. YOU CANNOT BE ANYWHERE NEAR IT WITHOUT WEARING EAR PROTECTION. HEARING PROTECTION. ALL RIGHT. IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S BESIDES THE WATER AND THE ELECTRIC.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT BECAUSE THESE THINGS ARE BIG. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU.
ANYBODY ELSE? HI. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JOSHUA BRAXTON AND I LIVE AT 75 BRAMSHILL DRIVE. I THINK JUST LISTENING TO EVERYONE HERE AND HEARING MY PEERS, I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO TALK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF INSTALLING AN AI DATABASE HERE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT MAHWAH IS KNOWN FOR ITS BEAUTY, AND I THINK THAT WE ALL WOULDN'T BE HERE IF WE DIDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND IF WE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THAT.
SO I BELIEVE TO PLACE AN AI DATABASE SOMEWHERE WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY NEEDED BECAUSE LIKE IT WAS PREVIOUSLY STATED, I DON'T REALLY NEED A DATABASE HERE TO LOOK UP HOW TO DO AN ASSIGNMENT FOR ME ON CHATGPT. I DON'T DO THAT. THAT'S PLAGIARISM, BUT I'M JUST SAYING.
SO I THINK AND ALSO AS IT PERTAINS TO THE WATER THING, I LIKE HOT SHOWERS AND AS JUST AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON. AND I LIKE A HIGH PRESSURIZED SHOWER. SO I'D RATHER SACRIFICE HAVING AN AI DO MY PAPER FOR ME AND HAVING THAT AI DATABASE HERE, THEN SACRIFICING MY SHOWER.
THAT'S JUST ME. THAT'S JUST ME. AND LIKE I WAS SAYING JUST ABOUT THE BEAUTY AND NATURE OF MAHWAH, I THINK JUST TO PUT AN INCONVENIENCE ON THE PEOPLE BY PUTTING THAT DATABASE THERE.
AND LIKE WE HEARD ABOUT THE LOUD GENERATORS, I DON'T NEED NOTHING INTERRUPTING MY SLEEP.
LIKE IT'S JUST THE HIGHWAYS ALREADY LOUD AND NOISY AS IS. SO I THINK THAT WOULD JUST BE A MAJOR INCONVENIENCE ON THE PEOPLE. AND I'M ALSO FOOTBALL PLAYER AT MAHWAH HIGH SCHOOL.
SO I HEAR AIR POLLUTION. I HEAR THAT CONDITIONING IS GOING TO GET HARDER THAN IT ALREADY IS, AND I DON'T NEED ANY LUNG PROBLEMS AND BREATHING PROBLEMS BECAUSE AS HARD AS IT IS. SO I DO THINK IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL THAT IT WOULD JUST BE BEST IF WE PASSED THAT ON TO ANOTHER TOWN BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED IT. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? AM I ALLOWED TO SAY ONE MORE THING? NOT REALLY, BUT I'LL LET YOU. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO EVERYTHING HE WAS SAYING ABOUT THE DIESEL GENERATORS. I THINK WE'VE PROBABLY GONE OVER THIS. MAYBE THE DIESEL GENERATORS AREN'T EVEN ALLOWED. THEY'RE NOT SITE. I WAS AT THE CROSSROADS. OKAY.
AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT, AS WE'RE WE'RE USING OUR HOME RULE POWERS HERE. THESE DATA CENTERS DON'T BRING PERMANENT JOBS. THEY'RE GREAT FOR CONSTRUCTION. THERE'S VERY FEW PERMANENT JOBS THAT RESULT FROM THESE MEGA PROJECTS. WHAT THESE PROJECTS ARE, ARE MEGA CORPORATIONS EXTRACTING VALUE MORE, MUCH MORE VALUE FROM COMMUNITIES THAN THEY EVER PROVIDE. SO THAT'S THE BIGGER PICTURE HERE. WE DON'T NEED TO BE HANDING THAT OUT. WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF US. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE? MOTION TO CLOSE. ALL IN FAVOR. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY, GREAT. WE'RE NOW CLOSED. LOTS OF GREAT COMMENTS. FIRST, STUDENTS, THANKS FOR COMING. YOU'RE VERY SMART YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING OUT AND BEING ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS. VERY IMPRESSIVE. YOU SEE. YOU SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH WHAT WE DEAL WITH. AND, AND THE FACT YOU'RE HERE AND WANT TO BE INVOLVED IS REALLY, REALLY IMPRESSIVE AND SPECIAL. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. IT'S A LOT TO GET UP IN FRONT OF PEOPLE AND TALK. SO WE APPRECIATE IT TO START WITH THAT. SO THANK YOU. CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE? YES.
THERE WE GO. I'M NOT GOING TO SAY AGAIN, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. WE'LL GO KIND OF IN NOT AN ORDER. I'M GOING TO GO KIND OF THROUGH THE STORY. FIRST THE ORDINANCE. I DO THINK THE PLANNING BOARD MISSPOKE WHEN IT PRESENTED LAST WEEK THIS ORDINANCE. WHAT IT'S
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REALLY DOING IS IT'S BREAKING DATA CENTERS INTO TWO CATEGORIES. YOU HAVE ENTERPRISE DATA CENTERS, WHICH ARE LESS THAN 50MW, AND YOU HAVE HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS, WHICH IS 50MW AND OLDER. AND OVER THIS ORDINANCE IS BANNING 50MW AND HIGHER IN ALL ZONES. SO HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS DOES NOT EXIST IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SETTLEMENT AND IN THE REDEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. SO THEY ARE BANNED IN ALL ZONES. HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS, MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR TO DATA CENTERS WERE ALLOWED IN THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. THERE WERE SOME TENANTS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN BEING HERE WHO WOULD HAVE. WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A WAREHOUSE SPACE WITH A SMALL CO-LOCATED DATA CENTER IN THE 5 TO 10 MEGAWATT RANGE.THAT WAS OUR THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN WE APPROVED THIS, AT LEAST FOR ME. AND SO THAT'S HOW WE THAT'S THAT'S HOW THAT GOT TO WHERE IT IS IN TERMS OF 50MW AS BEING THE LIMIT. MOST DEFINITIONS IN THIS SPACE IS 50MW AND OVER IS HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER. IT'S A PRETTY STANDARD DEFINITION. IT'S A DEFINITION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK IS GOING UNDER. AND A COUPLE OF OTHER STATES IN THE COUNTRY. WE ALSO WANT TO BE COGNIZANT. AS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE TWO DATA CENTERS IN TOWN ALREADY. THEY ARE CO-LOCATED DATA CENTERS.
THEY'RE IN. THE LARGEST IS THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. ON MCARTHUR. ANYONE WHO MAKES A STOCK TRANSACTION THROUGH THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, MORE THAN LIKELY IT GOES THROUGH MAHWAH, RIGHT. IT'S IT'S A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE ALL THOSE DIFFERENT POLLS AROUND TO MAKE THE TRADES COME IN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THE CLOSER YOUR POLL IS TO THE DATA CENTER, THE FASTER YOU CAN MAKE A TRANSACTION. AND THESE PEOPLE ARE MAKING LOTS OF REALLY FAST TRANSACTIONS TO BUY AND SELL SECURITIES. IT'S A HUGE RATABLE FOR TOWN. IT PAYS $2 MILLION A YEAR IN TAXES. IT'S A FANTASTIC CORPORATE PARTNER IN TOWN. NOBODY REALLY KNOWS IT'S HERE. HONESTLY, NO ONE EVER REALLY COMPLAINS ABOUT THAT DATA CENTER THAT I'VE EVER HEARD. UNTIL WE START TALKING ABOUT DATA CENTERS, MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS IN THERE.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S A GREAT THING. THE REASON ALSO WE WENT WITH 50 AT LEAST WHEN THE WHEN THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE WAS SPEAKING. AND I CAN LET GEORGE AND JONATHAN SPEAK BECAUSE THEY WERE ON THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE WITH ME. THEY ARE GETTING LARGER. THEY ARE EXPANDING THEIR FOOTPRINT. WE WANT THEM TO GROW IN TOWN. WE WANT TO KEEP THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. AS A CORPORATE RESIDENT, YOU SEE THE CONSTRUCTION THAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE NOW, THERE'LL PROBABLY BE IN THE 35 RANGE WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE. SO THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE MASSIVELY BIGGER. BUT IF THEY WANT TO EXPAND IN THE FUTURE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ABLE TO EXPAND IN THE FUTURE. THAT'S THAT'S KIND OF OUR THOUGHT PROCESS. SOME OF THE POINTS ABOUT NOISE AND THINGS IN WATER. THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE IS WORKING ON OTHER ORDINANCES TO GO IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS ORDINANCE. AS TIME GOES ON, WE'RE LOOKING AT NOISE AT PROPERTY LINES. WE'RE LOOKING AT MAXIMUM WATER USAGE PER DAY OR PER QUARTER FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACCOUNTS WITH US TO KIND OF KEEP THIS HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS FROM MOVING FORWARD. TO BE VERY CLEAR, THERE ARE NO PLANS FROM ANYONE AT THIS POINT. FOR ANY DATA CENTER, THIS IS PURELY PREVENTATIVE, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S THE PLAN. THAT'S WHY WE WENT FORWARD WITH THIS, JUST IN CASE. THERE ARE A LOT OF CHALLENGES WITH THE CROSSROADS LOCATION. AS MISS PAULEY NOTED, IT IS IN OUR WEALTH PROTECTION AREA. SO THINGS LIKE MASSIVE DIESEL GENERATORS PROBABLY ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY NOT ALLOWED THERE ANYWAY. IF IT STARTS GENERATING ITS OWN POWER ON ITS OWN, WHERE THERE'S A SUBSTATION THAT IS MANUFACTURING ELECTRICITY TO SUPPORT IT, THAT GOES FROM BEING LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USE TO HEAVY INDUSTRIAL USE. IT'S ALSO NOT ALLOWED IN THE ZONE. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED WERE KIND OF HYPOTHETICAL. ALL OF THAT KIND OF STUFF IS WHAT THE PLANNING BOARD WERE ASKING THE PLANNING BOARD TO DO WITH THIS ORDINANCE, WITH THIS ORDINANCE DOES IS IT BANS DATA CENTERS 50MW AND OVER UNTIL THE FUTURE COUNCIL ALLOWS IT. THE FUTURE COUNCIL WILL NOT ALLOW IT UNTIL THE PLANNING BOARD HAS ITS STUDY LOOKS AT OUR MASTER PLAN AND DETERMINES WHAT KIND OF DATA CENTERS DO WE WANT IN TOWN. THAT'S THEIR JOB.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. WE'VE TASKED THEM WITH DOING THAT. THEY'LL COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND WHOEVER'S ON THE COUNCIL IN SIX MONTHS OR EIGHT MONTHS, WE'LL LISTEN TO THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND EITHER SAY YES OR NO. IF THEY SAY NO, THEY STAY BANNED. THIS IS NOT YOU CAN'T PUT A SUNSHINE THING IN AN ORDINANCE. ONCE THIS PASSES, IT LASTS UNTIL ANOTHER COUNCIL GETS RID OF IT. SO THE BAN WILL BE IN PLACE UNTIL IF WE PASS IT TONIGHT, THEN I'M ASSUMING THAT WE ARE. BUT IF WE DO PASS IT TONIGHT, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS GOING FORWARD. DID I MISS ANYTHING, JONATHAN? ANY QUESTIONS I MISSED? JONATHAN. I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE WHAT THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT SAID. NUMBER ONE IS AT THE CROSSROADS SITE. A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER
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IS NOT PERMITTED. AND I AGREE WITH HIS POINT. WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE THE PLANNING BOARD ATTORNEY MISSPOKE ON THAT. IN FACT, THE THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH THE COUNCIL DOES HAVE CONSIDERABLE DISCRETION ON AMENDING AND CHANGING AND MAKING IT STRONGER, IF NECESSARY, AT A LATER BASE AT A LATER TIME. HOWEVER, AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT INCORPORATES ALL THE DEFINITIONS FROM THE CODE INTO THE PLAN. SO ONCE THIS ORDINANCE IS PASSED, A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER WILL BE BYE BYE BYE AUTOMATICALLY BY THE SECTION. THE PREAMBLE SECTION OF THE DEFINITION SECTION IN THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN WILL BE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE, AND IT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED BECAUSE ONLY DATA CENTERS ON THAT, THAT THAT LOWER SCALE AMOUNT IS PERMITTED. SO HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED IN THE CROSSROADS LOCATION FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. SO LET ME BE VERY CLEAR ON THAT. FIRST.NUMBER TWO, AS THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT HAD EXPLAINED, THERE'S VARIOUS LAWS ALREADY OUT THERE THAT SET THIS MEGA WATTAGE AMOUNT OF 50MW. AND ACTUALLY, THERE'S ACTUALLY A NEW JERSEY STATUTE IN PARTICULAR THAT DOES SET THAT OUT AT AS AS 50MW AS WELL. THAT WAS PASSED, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN, I WANT TO SAY, MARCH OF THIS YEAR AS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF DIFFERENT BILLS THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD PASSED TO STUDY THE ISSUES ON THE THE DEMAND ON THE POWER GRIDS REQUIREMENTS. AND THE BPU IS SUPPOSED TO BE ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES. FOR LARGE SCALE OR HYPERSCALE, WE CALL IT HERE DATA CENTERS. THE THIRD ITEM I THINK WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT BRIEFLY WAS STUDYING THE IMPACTS BASED ON QUALITY OF LIFE CONCERNS, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, AND AS THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT EXPLAINED, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THIS ORDINANCE THAT'S THE AIM OF WHAT THIS ORDINANCE IS TO DO, TO STUDY THOSE, TO SEE IF EVER THERE WILL BE A FIT FOR ANY TYPE OF DATA CENTER WHERE IT WOULD BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE, IF AT ALL, AND THEN ESTABLISH, HOPEFULLY, SOME REGULATIONS TO CONTROL THOSE. AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IMPACTS. OKAY, GEORGE, WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? YEAH. TONIGHT. I'M GLAD EVERYONE'S HERE FOR THIS CONVERSATION, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY WE'RE DOING THIS ORDINANCE. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO GET TOO FAR AHEAD OF OURSELVES. A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HEARD ASKED AND MENTIONED, AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT AND IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE NEXT PROCESS, PART OF THE PROCESS, WHAT THIS IS DOING IS GOING TO ENABLE THE COUNCIL TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS SO THAT THE PLANNING BOARD CAN DO THE NECESSARY RESEARCH. AND I URGE EVERYONE WHO'S HERE TONIGHT, OR ANYONE WHO'S CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, TO COME TO THE PLANNING BOARD MEETINGS.
WHEN WE DO HAVE THOSE HEARINGS. I ALSO WANT TO CLEAR UP ANOTHER THING. DATA CENTERS. IT WASN'T JUST ADDED AS A USE IN 2024. THERE WAS NO PRIOR DEFINITION OF A DATA CENTER. THE PRIOR DEFINITION WAS COMPUTATION CENTER. AND SINCE THIS IS EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, WHICH 3 OR 4 YEARS AGO DIDN'T MEAN WHAT IT MEANS TODAY, WE'RE TRYING TO STAY AHEAD OF THIS, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO GET SO FAR AHEAD OF IT THAT WE SHOOT OURSELVES IN THE FEET IN THE OP2 HUNDRED AND ORP 200 ZONE COMPUTATION CENTERS HAVE BEEN PERMITTED AND HAVE BEEN FOR OVER 30 YEARS. SO THIS IS NOT A NEW USE THAT'S IN HERE. WE'RE TRYING TO DEFINE WHAT THAT USE IS BECAUSE THIS IS EMERGENT TECHNOLOGY. WE WANT TO BE VERY CAREFUL HOW WE DO IT SO THAT WE DON'T OPEN OURSELVES UP TO LIABILITY. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. WE'VE ALREADY BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT THE THE ILL EFFECTS OF HAVING LARGE GENERATORS ON SITE, THE USAGE OF THE WATER CLOSED LOOP AND ALL OF THAT. SO I THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING TONIGHT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT DISTINCTION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON THIS AND GET IT IN FRONT OF THIS BEFORE IT ACTUALLY GETS OUT OF HAND. WE'D RATHER HAVE CONTROL OF IT.
THANK YOU. DO WE ANSWER OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. FOR ORDINANCE 2105, I'M GOING TO MAKE THE MOTION TO ADOPT. 2105. I HAVE A SECOND, PLEASE. I'D LIKE TO SECOND THAT. ANY DISCUSSION? DISCUSSION. SURE. GO AHEAD. JANET. OKAY. I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. I LISTENED TO THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING, AND I DID HEAR THE ATTORNEY SAY THAT THIS ORDINANCE DIDN'T APPLY TO THE CROSSROADS. AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT HE'S MISTAKEN. BUT I GUESS MY QUESTION IS THERE IS A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN THERE. DO WE HAVE TO REVISE THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, THE WORDING AND THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN SO THAT IT SAYS SPECIFICALLY IN THAT PLAN THAT DATA CENTERS
[01:10:02]
MORE THAN HAVE TO BE LESS THAN 50MW. DO WE HAVE TO REVISE THAT? NO, YOU DON'T, BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE IT BY INCORPORATION OF THE DEFINITION SECTION OF YOUR ZONING CODE BY REFERENCE, A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER WILL NOW BE INCORPORATED INTO THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN BY VIRTUE OF THE PREAMBLE AT 6.2 A, WHICH IS PAGE 19. THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. OKAY, OKAY, THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION. MY SECOND QUESTION, IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE COULD CONSIDER LOWERING THE 50MW TO 30MW TO BE CONSISTENT WITH MOST OTHER TOWNS? AND AND ALSO AS BY RECOMMENDED BY OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION? CAN WE I THINK THAT'S WHAT DOING THE STUDY IS GOING TO TELL US. WELL, BEFORE WE DO THE STUDY, CAN WE JUST LOWER IT TO 30MW AND BE, YOU KNOW, RATHER BE SAFE THAN SORRY? CAN WE LOWER IT TO 30? THAT WOULD BE A SAFE WAY TO LOOK AT THIS. YEAH. SO THE REASON WHY WE DID 50 AND I'LL BE VERY CLEAR. THE STATE OF NEW YORK DEFINES 50 HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS 50 AND ABOVE. THERE ARE OTHER THERE ARE OTHER. AND MAYBE MIKE JONATHAN CAN ANSWER THE ONES THAT THE STATE IS DEFINED AS HYPERSCALE, AS BEING 50 AND ABOVE. SO WE DON'T WANT TO BREAK THE DEFINITION BECAUSE THEN WE'RE GOING TO OPEN OURSELVES UP TO, TO POTENTIAL DISAGREEMENTS WITH WHOEVER WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING. IF THE STATE DEFINED IT AS 50, THE STATE OF NEW YORK HAS DEFINED IT AS 50. WE'RE BANNING NOT ALL DATA CENTERS. WE'RE BANNING HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS.DEFINITION OF HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER IS 50MW AND ABOVE CURRENTLY. NOW, WHEN THE PLANNING BOARD COMES BACK AND SAYS, LET'S PULL IT BACK FURTHER, THAT'S FINE. BUT SINCE WE'RE USING THAT DEFINITION TO GUIDE US, THAT'S WHY WE PICKED 50. WE NEEDED A STARTING POINT.
YEAH. AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THAT WAS SENATE BILL NUMBER 731 THAT WAS INTRODUCED AND PASSED, I BELIEVE WAS JUNE 30TH OF 2026 WAS THE LAST UPDATE ON THAT. BUT OR JUNE 18TH WAS THE CURRENT VERSION OF IT. THAT'S NOW ON THE BOOKS. THEY DEFINE A LARGE DATA, LARGE DATA CENTER AS ONE THAT MEETS THE DEFINITION OF HAS A MINIMUM MEGAWATT SIZE OF NOT GREATER THAN 50MW. SO THAT'S THE MINIMUM FOR LARGE SCALE DATA CENTER AS DEFINED BY OUR STATE RIGHT NOW, WHERE THE BPU COMES IN WITH REGULATIONS ON. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THAT. YEAH. I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE A PREEMPTION ISSUE. RIGHT. SO THOUGH WE DO HAVE HOME RULE AND WE'RE EXERCISING THAT THAT RIGHT TODAY, IF THIS ORDINANCE DOES GET APPROVED, WE ALSO DON'T WANT TO BE PREEMPTED BY STATE LAW AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
I HAVE ANOTHER SUGGESTION. I USED TO WORK IN A DATA CENTER AND I DIDN'T HEAR NOISE. BUT BUT YEAH, THEY DO. WE HAD A SUBSTATION IN THE PARKING LOT IN ORANGEBURG FOR VERIZON, BUT MY QUESTION IS, I BELIEVE THE ONE THAT I WORKED AT DIDN'T USE WATER. IT WAS ALL ELECTRIC SCHOOL COOLED BY ELECTRICITY. CAN WE MAYBE THINK ABOUT PUTTING OUT SOME ORDINANCE THERE, SINCE YOU'RE ALLOWING THESE MASSIVE DATA CENTERS, BECAUSE 5049MW IS STILL A BIG DATA CENTER, CAN WE THINK ABOUT PUTTING OUT ORDINANCES ABOUT ONLY ALLOWING CLOSED GROUP DATA CENTERS THAT USE RECIRCULATE THE WATER AND DATA CENTERS THAT MAYBE JUST USE ELECTRIC, ELECTRIC AND OUTLAW AND OUTRIGHT BAN THE DATA CENTERS THAT THAT AREN'T THAT REUSE THE WATER. I MEAN, THAT DON'T REUSE THE WATER. DO YOU WANT TO SAY YES? ABSOLUTELY. SO TO BE VERY CLEAR, YES, ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, TO BE VERY CLEAR, THIS IS A FIRST STEP, RIGHT? I MEAN, THIS IS STEP ONE. THE PLANNING BOARD IS GOING TO LOOK AT ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS AND GIVE US A RECOMMENDATION. THAT'S PART ONE. PART TWO IS ALSO THERE ARE OTHER ORDINANCES THAT THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE IS LOOKING AT, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IN TERMS OF NOISE, IN TERMS OF WATER CONSUMPTION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT INTO PLACE, EVEN ABSENT DATA CENTERS THAT WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE ON THE BOOKS. SO THAT WILL ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. OKAY. AND THEN OKAY, SO, SO OKAY, SO YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE WATER. THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING. NOW I KNOW THIS IS ONLY FOR MASSIVE DATA CENTERS, BUT I'VE READ THAT SOME DATA CENTERS USE FISSION GENERATORS, THE BIG ONES, THE MASSIVE ONES. I KNOW YOU'RE OUTLAWING THEM, BUT CAN WE ALSO LOOK INTO BANNING ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO COME IN WITH SOME KIND OF FISSION POWER GENERATOR? I MEAN, WE CAN I DON'T THINK ANYONE CAN GENERATE AND CREATE A FISSION REACTOR IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY WITHOUT STATE APPROVAL. I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN DO BELT AND SUSPENDERS AND WE CAN DO IT TOO. BUT I WOULD SAY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND THE BPU WOULD HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT BUILDING A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN MAHWAH THAN WE WOULD. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I'M JUST SAYING, LET'S BE SAFE. AND I MEAN, I DON'T THINK SO. IT'S NOT IN THE CODE RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T THINK WE BUT WE CAN I MEAN, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE COAL PLANTS EITHER. I AGREE. WELL, IF ANYTHING OVER 50MW, THAT'S WHEN THEY START USING IT.
[01:15:03]
AND WE'RE RIGHT AT THE YOU'RE ALLOWING UP TO 50MW. AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO DATA CENTER IN THE WORLD THAT HAS ITS OWN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. I DIDN'T SAY A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. I SAID THE SMALL GENERATORS. THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT A FISSION GENERATOR IS.IT'S NUCLEAR POWER. THAT'S WHAT FISSION IS, SMALL GENERATORS. I CAN'T WHAT THEY CALL THEY CALL THEM PODS OR SOMETHING. YES. NONE OF THEM EXIST YET. NONE. ZERO. WELL, WELL, I DON'T WANT THEM EXISTING. I DON'T WANT THEM EITHER. OKAY. WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE. ALL RIGHT. OKAY.
THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND ONE OTHER THING. I THINK YOU GOT TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE PART OF THE HIGHLANDS COMMISSION, THE HIGHLANDS COALITION. THEY STILL HAVEN'T EVEN WEIGHED IN ON THIS YET. AND THEY COULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL TO US SINCE WE DO HAVE A LARGE PORTION OF THE AQUIFER WITHIN OUR TOWNSHIP. SO IT BEHOOVES THEM NOT TO KIND OF TAKE CARE OF US, BECAUSE TAKING CARE OF THE TOWNSHIP IS NOT JUST TAKING CARE OF US, TAKING CARE OF THE ENTIRE REGION. AND THERE'S CLAUSES IN THE ORDINANCE THAT SAY, IF THE STATE COMES OUT WITH GUIDELINES OR THE HIGHLANDS COMES OUT WITH GUIDELINES, WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT THOSE GUIDELINES. AND THAT'S THAT'S THE PLAN, RIGHT? SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S MORE STRINGENT THAN WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING COMES OUT. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW.
OKAY. COMMENTS ON YOUR COMMENTS. SEEING NONE. HAVE A ROLL CALL PLEASE. OH, HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC. I THOUGHT I THOUGHT I DID THAT ALREADY. WE DID. YEAH. WE YEAH WE DID OKAY.
YEAH, WE DEFINITELY DID. YEAH WE DID. AND THEN WE WENT TO DISCUSSION. THEN I INTRODUCED GEORGE. SECONDED. DISCUSSION. ROLL CALL. YES, PLEASE. I WAS THE MOTION. GEORGE WAS THE SECOND. YES. MR. ERVIN YES. MR. MAY. YES. MRS. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON ABSOLUTELY.
YES. THANK YOU EVERYBODY, I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. THANK YOU. NEXT UP IS A BOND ORDINANCE. DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT A BOND ORDINANCE? ORDINANCE 2106 BOND ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH IN THE COUNTY OF BERGEN, NEW JERSEY, PROVIDING FOR CANCELLATION OF BOND ORDINANCE 2069, FINALLY ADOPTED ON OCTOBER 20TH, 2025. HAVE A MOTION PLEASE TO OPEN TO TALK ABOUT 2106. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. WE ARE NOW OPEN TO DISCUSS ORDINANCE. 2106 ONLY. MOTION TO CLOSE. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, I HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 2106. SO MOVED. SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE. MR. YES. MR. ERVIN. YES. MR. MAY.
YES. MRS. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON. YES. ORDINANCE 2107 ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP AND THE COUNTY OF BERGEN, NEW JERSEY, AMENDING IN ITS ENTIRETY, ORDINANCE 2062, FINALLY ADOPTED JULY 7TH, 2025 TO CHANGE THE SOURCE OF FUNDING FROM THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND TO THE CAPITAL FUND BALANCE. KEVIN. MOTION TO OPEN TO 2107, PLEASE. MOTION TO OPEN FOR 2107. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. I HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE. 2107 MOTION TO CLOSE SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 2107. SO MOVED. SECOND ANY DISCUSSION.
ROLL CALL PLEASE. MR. YES. MR. ERVIN. YES. MR. MAY. YES. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON YES.
ORDINANCE 2108. AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF IOWA COUNTY OF BERGEN CITY, NEW JERSEY, REPEALING SUBSECTION SUBSECTION 3-2 DOT TEN. QUOTE, BLOCKING FIRE ZONE LANES, FIRE HYDRANTS, AND OR FIRE DEPARTMENT CONNECTIONS AND POLICE REGULATIONS, THE TOWNSHIP CODE AND REPLACING IT WITH UNIFORM FIRE LANE AND ZONE REGULATIONS UNDER SUBSECTION 7-3 PARKING.
HAVE A MOTION TO OPEN FOR 2108. SO MOVED SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE AYE. MOTION TO CLOSE, PLEASE. MOTION TO CLOSE. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? I HAVE A MOTION. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO ADOPT 21. WAIT A SECOND. I'LL SECOND. I'LL THIRD. ROLL CALL PLEASE. YES. MR. ERVIN. YES. MR. MAY.
YES. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON. YES. THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR THE FLEXIBILITY.
[REPORTS OF TOWNSHIP COUNCIL and MUNICIPAL CLERK TOWNSHIP COUNCIL; COMMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS OF SUBCOMMITTEES]
WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK IN TIME. NOW. WE ARE UP TO REPORTS OF THE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL, MUNICIPAL CLERK, TOWNSHIP COUNCIL COMMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS OF SUBCOMMITTEES, AS WELL AS REPORTS OF THE MAYOR AND THE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR. MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? EMMA? YES. I ATTENDED THE MEET THE CANDIDATES EVENT AT THE SENIOR CENTER ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH, AND I LISTENED TO THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 19TH[01:20:03]
CONCERNING THE DATA CENTER ORDINANCE AND I ATTENDED THE MUSEUM BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND. THE MUSEUM WILL BE HOSTING A NIGHT OF PATRIOT GAMES CELEBRATING THE NATION'S 250TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAHWAH MUSEUM ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH FROM 530 TO 8:30 P.M. AT THE SENIOR CENTER. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PATRIOTIC MUSIC, FOOD AND DRINKS, RAFFLES AND FUN GAMES. TICKETS ARE $50. THAT'S MY REPORT. THANK YOU, MR. EVANS. YES, I ALSO ATTENDED THE MEET. THE CANDIDATES AT THE SENIOR CENTER IS INFORMATIVE. LET'S SEE HERE. I WAS AT THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING, WHICH WAS AGAIN A VERY INFORMATIVE MEETING. I WISH MORE PEOPLE HAD COME OUT TO IT. WE HAD THREE MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE WHO ACTUALLY CAME TONIGHT, AND I APPRECIATE THEM, AND THEY HAD VERY GOOD QUESTIONS THEN, AS THEY DID NOW, AND I HOPE THEY CONTINUE TO BECOME A PART OF THIS PROCESS AND ATTENDED THE BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING. THE LAST ONE, I ALSO ATTENDED THE SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MEETING, AS WELL AS SPOOKTACULAR YESTERDAY, AND IT WAS QUITE A NICE EVENT. A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOWED UP. WE HAD A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR IT, AND I JUST LOVED THE WAY THAT IT WAS DONE. THIS YEAR. I THINK MARY BETH AND MARY BETH AND THE REC COMMITTEE DID A GREAT JOB, AND THAT IS MY REPORT. MR. MAY, THANK YOU. ON OCTOBER 13TH, I ALSO ATTENDED THE COFFEE WITH THE CANDIDATES, THE SENIOR CENTER. ALWAYS NICE TO CATCH UP WITH THE SENIORS. AND THEN ON OCTOBER 21ST, WELL, I GUESS, YEAH, WE GOT WE WERE ALERTED BY SENATOR SCHEPISI THAT THE SENATE WAS GOING TO BE VOTING ON SENATE BILL 1766. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LOCAL HOME RULE EARLIER, AND. AND THIS BILL WOULD HAVE RIPPED HOME RULE AWAY FROM EVERY TOWN IN NEW JERSEY. SO WE WERE URGED TO REACH OUT TO AS MANY LEGISLATORS AS POSSIBLE. SO I, I ALERTED THE NORTHWEST BERGEN COUNCIL MEMBERS ASSOCIATION, AND I KNOW SEVERAL MEMBERS REACHED OUT OF THAT GROUP, REACHED OUT TO THE LEGISLATURE, I. I EMAILED EVERY SENATOR OF NEW JERSEY AND. THE. THE NEXT DAY WE WERE TOLD THAT THE BILL WAS PULLED. THANK. THANKFULLY, THEY'RE SUPPOSEDLY GOING TO BE SOME AMENDMENTS AND THEY MIGHT TRY TO PUSH IT THROUGH AGAIN.SO WE JUST GOT TO STAY ON TOP OF THAT. I KNOW WE PASSED A RESOLUTION ABOUT IT AT THE LAST MEETING, SO I JUST ASK EVERYONE TO TO KEEP FOLLOWING THAT BECAUSE IT'S IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. AND THAT'S MY REPORT. THANK YOU, MRS. PAZ, AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU TO EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL, TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES, AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS. SINCE OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING I ATTENDED. MEET THE CANDIDATES AT THE SENIOR CENTER ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH. I ATTENDED ACCESS FOR ALL FIRE AND SAFETY COMMUNITY SAFETY EVENT ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, AND I ATTENDED BERGEN COUNTY COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21ST IN HACKENSACK. I ATTENDED ACCESS FOR ALL HALLOWEEN BINGO ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23RD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, AND ALL STAR SOCCER SEASON FINALE WAS AT CONTINENTAL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24TH. THANK YOU TO THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH. YOUTH SPORTS BOOSTERS ATTENDED MAHWAH RECREATION'S HALLOWEEN EVENT ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25TH AT COMMODORE PERRY AND I WISH THE FAM COMMITTEE A WONDERFUL MEETING THIS EVENING AND EVERYONE IS SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN! AND JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT EARLY VOTING IS THROUGH SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, 2026. OTHERWISE, PEOPLE CAN VOTE NEXT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD ON ELECTION DAY.
AND THAT'S MY REPORT. THANK YOU. I'M SORRY, MR. WONG. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SAFE UPCOMING HALLOWEEN. THAT IS MY REPORT, MR. FERGUSON. YES, I WANT TO START WITH SAYING THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES AND ALL VOLUNTEERS. I ALSO TEND TO MEET THE CANDIDATES EVENT COFFEE WITH THE SENIORS. TWO WEEKS AGO. I ATTEND THE AGENDA MEETING FOR THIS MEETING EARLIER THIS WEEK. HALLOWEEN IS ON A SATURDAY THIS WEEK THIS YEAR, SO PLEASE DRIVE SAFE ON SATURDAY. AND JUST A REMINDER, ELECTION DAY IS THIS TUESDAY.
AND EARLY VOTING HAS STARTED ALREADY. AND THAT IS MY REPORT. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU. I'D
[REPORTS OF MAYOR and BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR]
LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO OUR POLICE, FIRE, EMS, DPW, ALL VOLUNTEERS THROUGHOUT OUR TOWNSHIP WHO WORK SO HARD TO KEEP OUR TOWN RUNNING SAFE. ALSO, I JUST LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND BE SAFE. THANK YOU, MR. KUCZMARSKI. I TOO WISH TO THANK ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS IN TOWN WHO KEEP THE GREATEST PLACE[01:25:01]
EVER. WITH THAT SAID, I WANT TO THANK MARY BETH AND HER CREW FOR ONCE AGAIN PUTTING ON A GREAT HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA OVER AT COMMODORE PERRY YESTERDAY. HAPPY TO SEE BIG BIRD WALKING AROUND SCARING ALL THE LITTLE CHILDREN. NEXT UP IS WINTERFEST, WHICH SHE'S VERY LOOKING FORWARD TO. HOPEFULLY WE CAN KEEP SOME NICE WEATHER LIKE WE'VE HAD, BUT EVERYONE BE SAFE THIS WEEKEND FOR HALLOWEEN. THE FUNNY CONVERSATION LAST NIGHT THAT WE'VE HAD REPEATEDLY OVER THE YEARS. MAHWAH DOES NOT HAVE SET TIMES FOR TRICK OR TREATERS, SO I ASK PARENTS TO TO PLEASE THINK RESPECTFULLY OF THE TIME OF DAY AND TIME OF EVENING WHEN IT SHOULD PROBABLY END. SO WITH THAT, EVERYONE BE SAFE AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. YES. SO I YOU HEARD IT BEFORE, BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL. EARLY VOTING DID BEGIN ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24TH AND RUNS THROUGH NOVEMBER 1ST. PLEASE SEE THE LOCATIONS, DATES AND TIMES OF EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT BERGEN COUNTY. ON THE TOWNSHIP CLERK'S DEPARTMENT PAGE. ON THE TOWNSHIP'S WEBSITE, IT'S W W W W DOT ORG AND THEN GO TO THE DEPARTMENTS UNDER TOWNSHIP CLERK. THE GENERAL ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD. ALL POLLS OPEN AT 6 A.M. AND CLOSE AT 8 P.M. ALL MAIL IN BALLOTS CAN BE MAILED TO THE COUNTY, OR YOU MAY PLACE IT IN THE VOTE BY MAIL DROP BOX LOCATED AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE TO THE MALL, LIBRARY OR ANY OTHER DESIGNATED DROP BOX LOCATION THROUGHOUT BERGEN COUNTY ON OR BEFORE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD BY 8 P.M. THANK YOU MA'AM, THANK YOU. WE ARE OFF TO OUR NEXT PUBLIC PORTION, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MOTION. ALL IN FAVOR, I. WE ARE NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. SAME RULES APPLY AS BEFORE. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU WANT. HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE[CONSENT AGENDA]
PUBLIC MOTION TO CLOSE. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE AYE. CONSENT AGENDA. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO PULL? SEEING NONE. HAVE A MOTION PLEASE. FOR 324-26 THROUGH 338-26. MOTION SECOND. I HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE, MISS RIMA. YES. YES. MR. IRVING. YES. MR. MAY. YES.MRS. PAZ. YES. MR. WONG. YES. MR. FERGUSON YES. AND JUST TO NOTE. 333-26 THAT AMENDED DAY.
YES. PERFECT. SORRY. I SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT ANY OLD BUSINESS. ANY NEW BUSINESS, ANY GOOD.
[NEW BUSINESS]
YEAH. GO AHEAD. JUST THE ONE LAST QUESTION. CELL SERVICE OVER BY POLICE. DID YOU TALK TO DECLAN? I HAVE HE'S GOING BACK TO THE CARRIERS. HE'S LOOKING INTO IT. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S NO TIMELINE OR GUARANTEES, BUT HE IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND MAKING THEM AWARE OF THE ISSUE.AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN HE CAN? NO TIME FRAME, BUT THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN HAD. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALSO SOMETHING ALONG THAT SAME LINES. NOW THAT VERIZON IS GOING TO BE PHASING OUT AND STOPPING TO USE THEIR COPPER LINES FOR RESIDENTIAL USE, AS WELL AS ALL USE, SOME PEOPLE ARE NERVOUS THAT THEY WON'T HAVE PHONE SERVICE NOW IN THEIR HOMES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, GET SOMEONE FROM VERIZON HERE TO KIND OF EXPLAIN IT TO HIM, WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT THEY'LL NEED IN CASE THE POWER GOES OUT SINCE THEY'RE GOING ONLY FIBER OPTIC, YOU KNOW. YEAH, I THINK IT MIGHT NOT BE A BAD IDEA IN THE NEAR FUTURE. NOT WAIT A MINUTE, I DIDN'T I DIDN'T GET THIS. THEY'RE GOING TO GET I HAVE A LANDLINE. ARE YOU SAYING. YES, I THINK YOU HAVE I HAVE FIOS YOU'RE ALREADY DONE. OH IT DOESN'T OH IT DOESN'T PERTAIN TO FILES. OKAY. THANK YOU. A WHILE AGO. OH OKAY. I JUST ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO. ALL RIGHT.
WELL I'M SAYING IT SOUNDED LIKE. NO. NOW THEY'RE GOING TO OFFICIALLY LIKE DRAWING THE LINE AND SAYING NO MORE COPPER. YEAH. ANYONE WHO HAS. ALL RIGHT SO FAR ISN'T COPPER. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT. OKAY. RIGHT. OKAY. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT, SOMETIMES YOUR FILES MAY GO OUT. IF THE BATTERY AT YOUR TERMINAL INSIDE YOUR HOUSE DOES. ALL RIGHT. WELL, OKAY, SO FIOS IS GOOD. THAT'S GOOD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER NEW BUSINESS? I NEED ONE MORE MOTION, PLEASE. MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANK YOU. WE'RE
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.