Millburn Township Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes January 13, 2026 Minutes of the Reorganization Meeting of the Environmental Commission of the Township of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, held in the Bauer Community Center in Taylor Park starting at 7:00pm on the above date. Chairperson Bill Brazell called the meeting to order at 7:07pm and read the following statement: In accordance with Section 5 of the Open Public Meetings Act be advised that a notice of this meeting was made by posting on the bulletin board in town hall and forwarding to the officially designated newspapers, that this meeting would take place at the Bauer Community Center in Taylor Park at 7:00 p.m. on January 13, 2026. Meeting details were posted on our township website. The following commissioners were present: Chairperson Bill Brazell, René Paparian, Alexander McConnell, Lixia Wu, Matthew Greller, Jude Huang, and Debra Nevas. Commissioner Vanita Gangwal and newly appointed Commissioner Kalpak Rarule were absent. Also present was the Environmental Commission Secretary Alexis Lin. Kalpak Karule was not in attendance, so the oath of office was not administered. Debra Nevas motioned to accept the 2026 meeting schedule. Motion was seconded and all voted in favor. The Millburn Environmental Commission will meet on the following dates for regular meetings in 2026, and in January of 2027 for the next reorganization meeting: ● February 10 ● March 10 ● April 14 ● May 12 ● June 9 ● July 21 ● August (No Meeting) ● September 8 ● October 13 ● November 17 ● December 8 ● January 12, 2027 (Reorganization Meeting) Jude Huang motioned to accept the December 9, 2025 meeting minutes. Motion was seconded and all voted in favor. There were no public comments during the public comment period. 1� Millburn Township Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes January 13, 2026 Treasurer Report Bill Brazell stated that the Environmental Commission ended the 2025 year with $3.72 remaining in their budget. Remaining budget amounts do not roll over to the following year. The Environmental Commission will begin the year with $656 in the budget. Bill Brazell reported that Matthew Laracy, the township CFO, anticipates a total budget of $2,500 for 2026. This would be the same as 2025. The Secretary Alexis Lin noted that she submitted an invoice for $575 to Matthew Laracy for annual ANJEC membership dues. Presentation - Jude Huang “Millburn Environmental Resource Inventory: 2014 → 2026” Jude Huang presented slides about the new Environmental Resource Inventory prepared by Princeton Hydro. Princeton Hydro is finishing their work on the ERI by Friday, January 16th. The EC will still have some time to provide feedback after that date. René Paparian noted that the new digital ERI is a living document, designed to be updated over time. Jude Huang expressed a concern that if the digital ERI is updated over time without versioning, and previous information is overwritten, it might be difficult to determine what has changed over time. Jude Huang and Bill Brazell both expressed interest in collecting data on the temperatures just above the Millburn High School turf field versus temperatures above adjacent grass. Matthew Greller suggested that this data be recorded and posted to the Millburn EC webpage so that it can be publicly available and monitored over time. Bill Brazell suggested that Jude Huang write a short article for publication that highlights interesting information in the Environmental Resource Inventory. An article could help raise general public awareness that the ERI exists as a resource. Debra Nevas suggested that Jude Huang could give a presentation to the Township Committee. Jude Huang suggested that he could invite Thomas Hopper from Princeton Hydro to give the presentation to the Township Committee. Many commissioners supported this idea. Jude Huang will reach out to Thomas Hopper to request a presentation. 2� Millburn Township Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes January 13, 2026 Jude Huang suggested that the EC Commissioners each take a chapter or two and review them. The nine chapters will be assigned as follows: 1. Introduction - Alexander McConnell 2. Physical Geography, Geology, and Soils - TBD 3. Waters and Wetlands - René Paparian 4. Vegetation and Wildlife - René Paparian 5. History and Culture - Debra Nevas 6. Land Use, Open Space, and Zoning - TBD 7. Air Quality - Lixia Wu 8. Contamination and Pollution - Matthew Greller 9. Climate and Climate Change - Bill Brazell Bill Brazell suggested that each commissioner review their chapters and submit feedback to Jude Huang by Tuesday, January 27th. Bill Brazell would also like commissioners to note any interesting tidbits of information they learn about Millburn from the ERI and send those to him for possible use in articles to raise public awareness about the ERI as an available resource. New Business Suggestion to update Millburn Municipal Code to permit aesthetically pleasing native plantings for front yards - Bill Brazell is still working on the wording for this. Student Environmental Group - René Paparian stated that the EC webpage now has a Google Form that any student residing in Millburn can submit to indicate interest in being part of the Student Environmental Group. The student Interest Form has to be advertised so that students hear about the opportunity. René Paparian volunteered to come up with a list of all the public and private schools that Millburn students might attend so that each school can be made aware. Discuss formation of Open Space Trust Fund Sub-Committee - Debra Nevas is the Environmental Commission’s liaison to the Open Space Trust Fund Committee. Debra Nevas explained that this subcommittee would decide what Open Space applications the EC would like to support and/or provide input on. Bill Brazell noted that he will be asking for volunteers for this subcommittee at the next meeting. 3� Millburn Township Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes January 13, 2026 Old Business Reports Gas Powered Leaf Blowers - Bill Brazell suggested that the Environmental Commission sponsor a presentation on Sustainable Landscaping that could also include some small amount of information on the Gas Powered Leaf Blower ordinances 2707-25 and 2714-25. He noted that Bridget Daley was a presenter at a sustainable landscaping event in Westfield that was very well attended. Bill Brazell reported that he reached out to Bridget Daley and asked if she could give a similar presentation in Millburn, and she expressed interest. Details are still TBD. Matthew Greller printed the township flyer on Gas Powered Leaf Blowers and gave it to two different neighbors who were using gas-powered leaf blowers. His neighbors hadn’t heard about the restriction, and were interested in becoming compliant. Matthew suggested that the flyer needs to be more widely available, and that it would be better if it didn’t have a background and therefore didn’t use so much printer ink. Twp’s public trash & recycling containers - Alexander McConnell reported that there are no updates at this time, and that he will follow up with Stacie Phelps this month. Community Energy Plan Grant - Jude Huang was on a call with Alexander McDonald, the Millburn Business Administrator, where Alex stated that Millburn township could front the money that will soon be received by BPU. René Paparian and Jude Huang will follow up with Alexander McDonald on getting the contract signed. Environmental Resource Inventory - Already discussed. Monthly meeting with Township Forester/Recycling Coordinator - René Paparian reported that her next meeting with Stacie Phelps is Tuesday, January 20. René Paparian will continue to meet with Stacie Phelps in 2026 as the EC’s liaison to the Township Forester. René Paparian will coordinate a meeting with Stacie Phelps and Debra Nevas, Bill Brazell, and Jude Huang so that Stacie Phelps can explain why large trees must be removed when a new driveway is installed. Status of Water Hydration Station - René Paparian reported that there was no update. 4� Millburn Township Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes January 13, 2026 “Skip-the-Stuff” Ordinance - Matthew Greller reported that NJ S3195 passed at the state level on the previous day, and that the governor was expected to sign the bill. When the bill is signed, it will pre-empt all municipal regulations on single-use utensil and condiment waste. René Paparian noted that the Environmental Commission should still do some public education for this. Planning & Zoning Site Plan Review Subcommittee - Debra Nevas stated there was no update. Communication/Updates Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Committee - This topic was covered earlier in the meeting during the discussion of the formation of the Open Space Trust Fund Subcommittee. Development Review Committee - Jude Huang stated that there was nothing to report. Flood Mitigation Advisory Board - Jude Huang stated that there was nothing to report, and that the next meeting of the Flood Mitigation Advisory Board was the following day. Planning Board Report - Debra Nevas reported that nothing relevant to the Environmental Commission has been discussed recently. Zoning Board Meeting Schedule - Secretary Alexis Lin noted that the Zoning Board of Adjustment does not yet have a publicly available list of their 2026 meeting dates. Bill Brazell suggested that assigning commissioners to each meeting should be postponed to the next meeting. Matthew Greller made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded and all voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm. Alexis Lin, Secretary Date: January 13, 2026 5�