Garwood Borough Council Meeting – 24 July 2025

Opening Formalities

  • Pledge/Patriotic reading: “One nation under God … liberty and justice for all.”

  • Open-Public-Meetings Act (NJSA 10:4-6) compliance statement; notice published 12/26/2024, posted on website & bulletin board, filed with clerk.

  • Roll-Call – Governing Body

    • Mayor Sara Blustein (present)

    • Council: Bodo (present), Foley (excused), Carney (present), Lazarow (excused), Paduzniak (present), Council President Naldi (present)

  • Roll-Call – Staff/Professionals: Administrator John Arthur, Attorney Adam Abrams, Engineer Michael Disco, Planner Jonathan Priady (all present)

Special Presentation – HARA (Harrow) Property Registry

  • Speaker: Kevin Seidella, National Accounts Manager

  • Core service

    • Tracks every foreclosure filing in the municipality.

    • Contacts foreclosing lender; collects registration fee (revenue for borough) & demands local property-manager info.

    • Builds cloud database searchable by parcel (e.g. “123 Main St → Tim Scott – Property Mgr”).

    • Pro-active compliance monitoring (“address the horse before it leaves the barn”).

  • Scope: 212 U.S. municipalities, ~40 in NJ.

  • Benefits to Garwood

    • No direct municipal cost – fees paid by banks/servicers.

    • Reduces Code-Enforcement workload (borough only has a part-time officer).

    • Generates revenue and faster abatement of tall grass, property maintenance, etc.

  • Next step: Kevin will coordinate contract details with Administrator Arthur.

Engineer’s Report – Michael Disco (Maser Consulting)

  • Housekeeping: Draft agenda date mis-copied (should read 24 July, not 12 June).

1. NJ DOT Municipal-Aid 2025 Application

  • Streets: East St (sec), New St, Walnut St (sections).

  • Grant request: $400,000\$400,000

  • In-house construction estimate: $413,100\$413,100

  • Resolution of approval required within 30 days (on tonight’s agenda); Mayor & Clerk must execute in DOT SAGE portal.

  • NJDOT award announcements typically ≈ Election Day (mid-November) – confident of award.

2. 2024 Municipal-Aid Project (Bid May 2025)

  • Resurfacing: East St, New St, Walnut St.

  • Contract award resolution on tonight’s agenda.

  • Goal timeline:

    • Execute contract & bonding in 2–3 weeks.

    • Hold pre-construction meeting ASAP.

    • PRIORITY: Complete sidewalk work on Walnut St before school re-opens (Sept). Asphalt paving may wait for non-session day.

3. Sanitary-Sewer Point Repairs

  • Quotes solicited from 4 contractors; return deadline 31 July.

  • Structure:

    • Base Bid = 5 repairs.

    • Alternate 1 = 3 additional repairs.

    • Alternate 2 = 2 additional repairs.

  • Unit prices historically $3,500–$7,000\$3,500–\$7,000/repair.

  • Engineer will issue recommendation when quotes received; costs may come from sewer-utility surplus.

4. Flood-Damage Assessment Letter (State OEM/FEMA)

  • Disco received request but is NOT flood-plain administrator.

  • Initial review: no known structural damage in Garwood from 14 July storm.

  • Will coordinate with OEM & Zoning to compile homeowner reports and respond.

5. Center Street Cross-Walk Feasibility (Police Committee request)

  • Existing condition: No crosswalks across Center south of Pine; curb ramps mis-aligned; inlet grates in ramp locations.

  • Engineer will field-inspect each “H-Street” intersection, map drainage inlets & recommend best location(s) for new marked crosswalk(s) without creating ponding.

Mayor’s Report (Sara Blustein)

1. Storm & Flooding – 14 July 2025

  • 4 water rescues; multiple disabled vehicles.

  • Underpass pumps functioned; water receded quickly once rainfall ceased.

  • Flooding attributed to cloudburst intensity & climate-change trends, NOT wall failure or debris; brook & outfall pipe inspected twice yearly and clear.

  • Long-term fix requires REGIONAL infrastructure upgrades; borough continues lobbying Army Corps & state for funding.

2. Raritan Valley Line (Rail) Advocacy

  • 12 July mtg with Gov Murphy & NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett.

  • 18 July mtg with Sen Andy Kim, NJT & Amtrak reps; Raritan Valley Mayors Alliance present.

  • Short-Term Wins Sought:

    • Add two more one-seat rides: ~9 AM eastbound & ~7 PM westbound.

    • Increase same-platform transfers at Newark (currently 5/9).

    • NJT committed to Penn-Station NY improvements (platforms, signage, ventilation).

3. Upcoming Event

  • St Anne’s Church Food-Truck Festival: Sun 27 Jul, 1-5 PM (games, 50-50, music, food).

Administrator’s Report – John Arthur

  • Vendor contacted to finish (unspecified capital project—likely Recreation concession stand) before school if weather cooperates (recent 4-weeks-of-rain hindering schedule).

  • Concession-vendor contract paperwork being finalized; opening date TBD after construction completion.

Department / Committee Reports

Police

  • Police Committee met pre-council; topics in progress: code revisions (sight-lines), ParkMobile utilization analysis (approaching 1-yr data), crossing-guard matters.

  • Chief acknowledged for flood-night operations; dispatch handled high call volume.

Fire Department (read by Comm. Kearney)

  • YTD 2025 calls: 138

  • 1–23 July: 34 calls ( >1 per day)

  • 14 July storm: 9 calls incl. 4 water rescues; rescue boat staged but not deployed.

Department of Public Works / Roads

  • DPW commended for post-flood cleanup; had park cleared before Monday camp.

Recreation & Community Engagement (Pres. Naldi)

  • Summer Camp Week 5 activities: “Wacky Water Wednesdays” (FD hoses), outdoor foam party, Raptors wildlife demo, chalk art, ice-cream truck, K-9 demo.

  • Thank-yous: FD, PD, crossing guards, DPW, counselors/CITs.

  • Fall Youth Soccer begins 20 Sept (Saturdays); Adult Open-Play Soccer Fridays 8-9:50 PM (free w/ registration).

  • 22 July Ice-Cream Social: strong turnout; FD assisted.

Library

  • Summer Reading Program continues; July events: Spy School, Stuffed-Animal Sleepover, STEM bubbles, Moth-Night, weekly story-times & crafts; New Museum-Pass program live (Zimmerli Art Museum).

School Board Liaison

  • BOE dark in July; mayor & liaison meeting with new Superintendent Dr Marks + Board Pres early Aug.

Senior Citizens

  • Next meeting 7 Aug, noon, Knights of Columbus Hall.

Board of Health

  • 3 raccoon bite incidents in Westfield (1st Ave, Scotch Plains Ave, Westfield Ave) – suspected rabies.

  • Public Advisory: avoid wildlife; vaccinate pets; report disoriented animals to Animal Control & Police.

Planning Board (Comm. Kearney)

  • 23 July regular meeting

    • 54 Third Ave (Stephanie Gardens) – Certificate of Non-Conformity for 36-unit garden apt GRANTED.

    • 59 Willow Ave – Certificate of Non-Conformity for two-family dwelling GRANTED.

    • “Garwood Chicken” (Popeye’s outparcel on Lidl property) – 1-yr extension of site-plan approval GRANTED.

    • Sub-Committee delivered complete re-write of Sign Ordinance, modernizing 30-yr-old code; will transmit to council.

    • Next meeting 27 Aug (may cancel if no applications).

Legislative Actions

  • Minutes of 26 June 2025 meeting approved.

  • Ordinance Adopted (number not quoted) – no public objections.

  • Ordinance 25-22 introduced; public hearing next meeting.

  • Resolution Highlights

    • 25-151: Awards 2024 Milling & Paving contract; includes Alternate 3 “TV inspection East St” $6,300\$6,300.

    • 25-157: NJDOT FY-2025 Grant application submission (Second Ave, Willow Ave, South Ave sections).

    • 20-152: All bids for Circulation-Element Study REJECTED – over $20,000\$20,000 budget.

  • Payment-of-Claims docket approved.

Public Comment Themes

  1. John Bartolik, 231 Hemlock Ave

    • Supports comprehensive Circulation Element; opposes doing it “on the cheap.”

    • Notes rejected bids exceed $20k\$20k allocation; urges adequate funding & avoiding scope “commoditization.”

    • Sight-line safety at Willow & Center: states current on-street parking violates NJ 25-ft setback; wants spot removed.

  2. Bruce Patterson, 325 Willow Ave

    • Questions Round-4 Affordable-Housing plan numbers; believes Garwood’s reduction (33 %) is far less than peer towns (≈75 %).

    • Wants Planning Board & Council to re-evaluate consultant’s 53-unit RDP vs his 15-20 calc.

    • Fiscal question: Why finance $6,300\$6,300 TV-inspection (Alternate 3) via debt when $150,000\$150,000 sewer fund exists?

    • Asks which fiscal-year DOT project Resolution 25-157 pertains to.

Numerical / Statistical References

  • NJDOT grant request: $400,000\$400{,}000 vs estimate $413,100\$413{,}100.

  • Fire Dept: 138 calls YTD; 34 calls 1-23 Jul; 9 flood-night (14 Jul).

  • Sewer point-repair unit prices $3,500–6,700\$3{,}500–6{,}700; bid structure 5+3+2.

  • TV-inspection bid alternates: $6,300\$6,300 for East St.

  • Library museum partnership frequency unknown; pass value variable.

Upcoming Meetings & Key Dates

  • Senior Club: 7 Aug 12 PM (Knights of Columbus)

  • Council: 14 Aug 2025, 7 PM.

  • Planning Board: 27 Aug 2025.

  • NJDOT grant award likely ~13 Nov 2025.

  • Fall Youth Soccer begins 20 Sep 2025.