Mayor & Council Special Meeting

MINUTES Mayor and Council Special Meeting Thursday, February 17, 2022 6:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER – A Special Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of River Edge was held virtually via Zoom in the Council Chambers of the River Edge Borough Hall at 705 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge, NJ 07661. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Thomas Papaleo. SILENT PRAYER – FLAG SALUTE Mayor Papaleo asked for a moment of silence to reflect upon all the good and bad things that have happened in the country and to be mindful of all good things that the governing body has yet to accomplish. He then led those present in a salute to the flag. STATEMENT – Mayor Papaleo read the Statement of Compliance into the record as follows: Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act: This meeting complies with the Open Public Meeting Act by notification on February 14, 2022 of this location, date and time to the Town News and the Record and by posting of same on the municipal bulletin board and Borough Web Site and filing a notice of the same with the Municipal Clerk. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilwoman Busteed, Councilman Chinigo, Council President Kaufman, Councilwoman Kinsella, Councilwoman Malellari, Councilwoman Montisano- Koen and Mayor Papaleo. ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Borough Attorney Thomas Sarlo, Esq. Police Chief Michael Walker Police Captain Craig Casey PUBLIC COMMENT Motion by Council President Kaufman, second Councilwoman Busteed, and all members present voting in favor, to open the floor to the public. No one came forward. There being no public comments, on a motion by Councilman Chinigo, second by Councilwoman Montisano-Koen, to close to the public. AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO CLOSED SESSION – #22-94 -Resolution to Enter Into Closed Session WHEREAS, the Open Public Meetings Act, NJSA 10:4-12 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances; and WHEREAS, this public body is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of River Edge, County of Bergen, State of New Jersey, as follows: 1. That the public shall be excluded from the February 17, 2022 special meeting and discussion of the hereinafter specified subject matter: Closed Session Statutory Docket # Item Title or Description Reference 22-2/17-1 Personnel – Interviews for the N.J.S.A.10:4-12(b)(8) Position of Police Sergeant 2. Formal action may/may not be taken. 3. Minutes will be kept and once the matter involving the confidentiality of the above no longer requires that confidentiality, then the minutes can be made public. There being no further business to come before the governing body, on a motion from Councilwoman Kinsella, seconded by Councilwoman Malellari, and all present voting in favor, the meeting was recessed to the Closed Session at 6:33 p.m. The special meeting resumed at 9:09 p.m. Motion by Council President Kaufman, second by Councilwoman Busteed to create a list of three Police Officer to be promoted to the position of Police Sergeant in the following order: 1. Officer Joseph Zemaites 2. Officer Patrick Diamond 3. Officer Brenton Prisendorf. On a roll call, the vote was recorded as follows: Councilwoman Busteed: aye Councilwoman Kinsella: aye Councilman Chinigo: aye Councilwoman Malellari aye Council President Kaufman: aye Councilwoman Montisano-Koen: aye It was the determination of the governing body to promote this list of officers to the position of Police Sergeant which will be ratified by resolution at the next meeting. Motion by Councilwoman Kinsella, second by Councilwoman Malellari, to promote Officer Joseph Zemaites to the rank of Police Sergeant. On a roll call, the vote was recorded as follows: Councilwoman Busteed: aye Councilwoman Kinsella: aye Councilman Chinigo: aye Councilwoman Malellari aye Council President Kaufman: aye Councilwoman Montisano-Koen: aye Motion by Council President Kaufman, second by Councilwoman Busteed, to promote Officer Patrick Diamond to the rank of Police Sergeant. On a roll call, the vote was recorded as follows: Councilwoman Busteed: aye Councilwoman Kinsella: aye Councilman Chinigo: aye Councilwoman Malellari aye Council President Kaufman: aye Councilwoman Montisano-Koen: aye Motion by Councilwoman Kinsella, second by Councilwoman Malellari, to promote Officer Brenton Prisendorf to the rank of Police Sergeant. On a roll call, the vote was recorded as follows: Councilwoman Busteed: aye Councilwoman Kinsella: aye Councilman Chinigo: aye Councilwoman Malellari aye Council President Kaufman: aye Councilwoman Montisano-Koen: aye The Mayor and Council extended congratulations to Sergeant Zemaites, Sergeant Diamond and Sergeant Prisendorf and thanked all the candidates who put themselves forward. ADJOURNMENT – There being no further business to come before the Mayor and Council, on a motion by Councilwoman Busteed, second by Councilwoman Kinsella, and unanimously carried, to adjourn this meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Anne Dodd, RMC Borough Clerk