MILLBURN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF RECREATION COMMISSIONERS January 14, 2026 The meeting was called to order at 7:31 PM by Chris Myers in the Meeting Room of Gero Park Community Center. Commissioners present were Gregory Berman, Chris Drucker, Tara Halpern, Stuart Paulsen, Scott Redler, Josh Reiter, Nick Romano. Also present were Township Committee Liaison, Benjamin Stoller, Recreation Leader, Joseph Iacono, Director of Recreation, Chris Myers, and Assistant Superintendent of Recreation, Chris Zimmerman. Mr. Drucker made a motion to approve the Agenda of the January 14th, 2026 Board of Recreation Commissioners Meeting. Mr. Reiter seconded the motion, with all Commissioners in favor, the Agenda was accepted as submitted. Mr. Romano welcomed back Mr. Redler as he has been reappointed to the Recreation Commission. He thanked the Township Committee for his reappointment for the upcoming terms. Mr. Myers opened up the nominations for election of officers of 2026 starting with nominations for Chairperson. Mr. Drucker nominated Mr. Romano for the position of Chairperson for 2025, and Mr. Reiter seconded the motion. There being no other nominations, nominations were closed, and all Commissioners present were in favor, the motion was accepted. Mr. Romano thanked everyone for the nomination for another year as Chairperson. Mr. Berman nominated Mr. Drucker for the position of Vice Chairperson for 2026, and Mr. Redler seconded the motion. There were no other nominations, nominations were closed and with all Commissioners present in favor, the motion was accepted. Mr. Drucker accepted the nomination for another year as Vice Chairperson. Mr. Berman moved that the minutes of December 10th, 2026 be accepted as submitted. Mr. Drucker seconded the motion, and with all Commissioners present at the previous meeting in favor. Mr. Myers recognized the recipient of the Outstanding Service Award, W. Theodore Bourke. The Outstanding Service Award is given to a member of the community who has shown dedication, commitment and has made significant contributions through outstanding and distinctive service to the Recreation Department and the Recreation programs over a number of years. Mr. Bourke, a leader and whose service and commitment have left a lasting impact on our community. Bourke has served this town as a Township Committee member as well as Mayor, always guided by the genuine care for the people he represented. Mr. Bourke dedicated countless hours as a volunteer coach as 13U and 14U travel baseball teams, leading them to multiple district and state championships, shaping not only successful teams but confident young athletes. Mr. Bourke thanked the Recreation Department for the award, he stated that turfing the fields was one thing he was proud to have accomplished and he thanked those who contributed on that project, from all different sports. Mr. Myers reported on Field Improvement Updates for Gero Park. He stated that Gero Park AdHOC Committee is currently drafting a usage agreement for MSHYB. This would framework for the use of the field as well as the potential for adding lighting. Mr. Myers reported on Field Improvement Updates for the High School. A public information session was held to discuss the proposed High School Back Fields Project. During � MILLBURN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF RECREATION COMMISSIONERS JANUARY 14, 2026 PAGE 2 the session, an FAQ was presented addressing questions and concerns submitted through a Google Form survey. The presentation has been uploaded to the Township’s Project website. Most of the discussion focused on the varsity baseball field, cricket pitch, and the possibility of turfing the entire athletic complex. Following the presentation, a Q&A session was held with residents attending both in person and via Zoom. Key topics raised during the Q&A included details regarding the varsity baseball field design, Turf temperature options and mitigation measures. As well as cost and benefit comparisons of turfing the JV baseball infield versus remaining natural grass. There were environmental concerns, particularly from non-residents, related to the use of artificial turf. Mr. Myers thanked Mr. Berman and Mr. Drucker for attending the public session. Mr. Drucker stated that over the years, himself alongside of the Recreation Department have walked countless locations in regards to building turf fields. Mr. Myers stated that the next steps would be for the Township Committee and Board of Education to put it on their agendas. Mr. Myers reported on Taylor Park Playground Renovation. He stated that they are waiting on the soil tests to come back, the contractor is ready for site preparation. Once site preparation happens the community will be informed that the playground will be closed until the renovation is complete which is predicted for mid April. Mr. Taylor Park Pathway Lights Phase 2. He stated that the contract was awarded to Quality Electric last month, we will be setting up a pre-construction meeting within the next week. Mr. Myers announced the Sub-Committees 2026; Finance And Future Planning, Gregory Berman, Chairperson, Tara Halpern, and Atul Dalmia; Facilities, Nicholas Romano, Chairperson, Josh Reiter, and Atul Dalmia; Program, Policy & Personnel, Nicholas Romano, Chairperson, Stuart Paulsen, and Tara Halpern; Pool, Stuart Paulson, Chairperson, Scott Redler, and Tara Halpern; Concert; Chris Drucker, Chairperson, Gregory Berman, and Anthony Wolk; Media & Marketing, Scott Redler, Chairperson, and Anthony Wolk; Millburn-Short Hills Youth Baseball Liaison, Stuart Paulson and alternate Chris Drucker; Joint Facilities, Chris Drucker, Josh Reiter, and Scott Redler; Par 3 Golf, Atul Dalmia, Chairperson, Nicholas Romano, and Chris Drucker; Ad Hoc Field Improvement, Chris Drucker, Josh Reiter, and Gregory Berman; Township Committee Liaison, Benjamin Stoller. Mr. Paulsen made a motion to accept the 2026 sub-committees, Mr. Berman seconded it, with all commissioners present in favor, the motion was accepted as submitted. Mr. Myers announced the following meeting dates for 2026 Board of Recreation Meetings; February 11, March 11, April 8, May 13, June 10, July 15, August (no meeting), September 9, October 14, November 12, December 9, and January 13, 2027, with the April, May, June, July and December meetings to be held at Bauer Community Center. As required, The Item will be notified of these dates. Mr. Myers reported on the Review of 2025 Goals & Objectives. It was requested for the Commissioners to review the 2025 Goals & Objectives prior to the meeting. Mr. Myers informed Commissioners that he would be soliciting feedback for 2026 Goals & Objectives prior to the February meeting. Mr. Zimmerman reported on program reports. The Adult Indoor Pickleball program began this past Sunday at the Bauer Center and currently has 47 adults enrolled. Biddy Basketball is underway this winter at the Bauer Community Center, with 46 second graders participating in the program. The Ski and Snowboard Trips to Shawnee are fully booked, with 150 students and � MILLBURN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF RECREATION COMMISSIONERS JANUARY 14, 2026 PAGE 3 15 parent chaperones registered. Sean Huang is serving as the group leader, and the group has successfully completed two trips so far. Winter Travel Basketball has started its season, with a total of 90 players selected for the travel teams. Practices and games began last month and are currently in progress. The Winter Wrestling Program has 36 children enrolled, and wrestling meets are set to begin this Friday. Looking ahead, a group outing to a New York Yankees game is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3rd, against the Cleveland Guardians, with additional details to be released soon. The annual 4 Miler is scheduled for Sunday, June 7th, and more information will be provided at a later date. Mr. Iacono continued with program reports. He stated that the In-Town basketball leagues are going well so far, with games being held every Friday and Saturday in the middle school gyms, South Mountain School, and Wyoming School. Championship games are tentatively scheduled to take place at the high school on March 7th. Intramural basketball is also progressing well and is about halfway through the season. Games are being played at the high school, with a total of 12 teams participating. The intramural basketball championship is scheduled for the week of February 9th. All STEM programs began last week, including LEGO Robotics and Coding, CSI Forensics, and the new Minds in Motion CyberCrawler robot-building class. All STEM sessions are being held at the Bauer Community Center. Adult open play programs are fully up and running, offering basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and badminton. Looking ahead, the annual Egg Hunt is scheduled for Saturday, March 21st, at Taylor Park, followed by the Fishing Derby on Saturday, April 25th, also at Taylor Park. Registration for spring programs will be released later this month and will include an intramural flag football program for high school students. Mr. Iacono reported on the Senior Program Report. He stated that this Friday we will have our annual Senior Game Day where we open up the Bauer for them to play billiards, air hockey and ping-pong in the Game Room. They can also shoot basketballs and ping-pong in the assembly room. The lobby is set up with card tables where they can play chess, checkers, scrabble, cards or other board games, light snacks are served too. The winter sessions of Line Dancing and Chair Yoga begin next week. All other programs have started since the holiday season. Mr. Berman reported on Finance & Future Planning. He stated that finances are in good order, finishing the year with expenses slightly up, however they’re still within budget. Revenue is in good standing. Mr. Drucker reported on Concerts. He stated that the committee held their first meeting the other day. He stated that he will touch base next meeting with all the dates and concert bands that will be playing in the upcoming year. Mr. Zimmerman reported on Joint Facilities. He stated that grass fields and High school fields are closed for the winter season. The Spring 2026 Field Allocation Calendar will be shared with the Board of Education, as well as primary Millburn-Short Hills user groups tomorrow. The joint facility meetings will be scheduled for March and May with the exact dates being announced next month. Mr. Paulsen reported on Millburn Short Hills Youth Baseball. He advised that they are continuing preparations for the spring, he stated there was a question about the contract in regards to the usage of the High School field project. Mr. Myers as well as MSHYB reached out to the Quickball company to send over the contract to get the program going. Mr. Myers stated � MILLBURN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF RECREATION COMMISSIONERS JANUARY 14, 2026 PAGE 4 that getting quotes for the turfing and lighting of Gero Park fields have already been shared with MSHYB. Mr. Redler reported on Media and Marketing. He stated that the total social media page views were over 11,400 views since our last meeting. The most popular post was our Recreator of the Year posts which had almost 3,000 views. We received 1,400 views for our post about the first table tennis program session. There was over 1,000 views for our Bathing Suit Drive Championship post. Mr. Romano opened Public Comment. Millburn resident, Charlie Dwyer, questioned if the zoom from last nights public session was online for review. He raised question in regards to the FAQ’s. Mr. Dwyer raised concern in the usage agreement as it will be perceived as High School fields more than Recreation. He also made it appoint to add in the financial costs from both ends. Mr. Myers stated that the presentation itself is uploaded to the website as well as some of the FAQs. Mrs. Halpern made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Berman seconded the motion, with all commissioners present in favor, the meeting was adjourned. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34PM. Respectfully Submitted, Nina Petrilli MINUTES – January 14, 2026 Recreation Commission Meeting – Approved March 11, 2026 INTRODUCED SECONDED COMMISSIONER AYE NAY ABSTAIN ABSENT BERMAN X X DRUCKER X HALPERN X PAULSEN X X REDLER X REITER X ROMANO X DALMIA (ALT #1) X WOLK (ALT #2) X�