High Price Tag on Police Transparency, Big Spending, and Packet Confusion: Inside the June 3 Summit Council Agenda

The agenda for the 06/03 Summit Council meeting starts much the same as the last one – a closed session with potentially important items with little detail and includes some of the same items we saw the last time: Firehouse, Tatlock Community Preservation Assoc. litigation, a Councilmember-at-Large seat term issue, a Council vacancy and a bunch of appointments.

We’ll say it every time – more detail can be provided on these items than what the agenda shows.

The Regular Agenda is packed so lets get started and we will begin with our biggest concerns connected to police transparency – OPRA and Drones.

OPRA police camera footage

So this one raises a red flag – the ordinance throws a $78.13 hourly service charge for review/redaction of police body and vehicle camera footage.

So if you request police body cam or vehicle camera footage and the City says it needs redaction review, the clock could be running at $78.13/hour before you get the record; not only that but it appears the position listed as doing the redactions is a police officer which brings up serious conflict of interest concerns.

Unless the City is just using that police-officer rate while having another employee do the work, which would undermine the justification for the charge. And if the City is actually defaulting to attorney review as a matter of practice, the public should know that too. Attorney review likely costs more than $78.13/hour, meaning requestors could face a significant fee while taxpayers may still be covering the difference. That would turn access to police footage into both a public-records barrier and a taxpayer burden.

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Either way, it’s not good policy.

We had strong concerns about this ordinance and sent a letter to the Mayor and Council asking them to reconsider.

Drone ordinance

Would require written permission from the Police Chief to fly a drone over a public gathering – defined as 25 or more people assembled on public property and events like parades, sporting events, festivals, demonstrations or permitted activities. You would need to put your request in 10 days prior to the event.

There’s also language connected to ‘intentional surveillance’ where someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy and language that prevents drone use that interferes with police, fire, EMS or disaster response.

That last one has an accountability concern as recording police activity has been a growing activity in holding police departments accountable.

Courts have recognized a First Amendment right to record police performing official duties in public but that right isn’t unlimited.

So the implementation of that last provision might be something to watch out for depending on how broadly the term ‘interferes’ is applied.

701 Springfield Avenue / Our House

This one is back, and looks like it is going to move forward. In case you need a refresher – Summit wants to subdivide its property at 701 Springfield Avenue and transfer the new parcel to Our House for a buck.

A new parcel is coming out of this – expected to be Lot 48.01 – and is slated to be used as at least a four-bedroom group home and the move is tied to the City’s ’26 Amended Housing Element and Fair Share Plan.

There’s a kill switch – if the property isn’t used the way the ordinance says it needs to be used, then it could revert back to the City.

Within the ordinance and memo there’s also a plan to move and improve the walkway near the racquetball courts that goes to the park from Springfield Avenue.

$10.5M in bond ordinances

There are three bond ordinances up for introduction and combined they come to ~$10.5M.

The first is a general capital bond ordinance appropriating ~$5.6M and authorizing ~$5.3M in bonds or notes and covers:

Municipal facilities and grounds

Memorial Field

East Summit Playground

Tennis court and baseball/softball field upgrades

Family Aquatic Center slide

Tatlock Playground

City Hall

DCP building

Fire equipment

Police vehicles

One fire engine

Stormwater drainage work

Roads, sidewalks, pedestrian safety, traffic calming and traffic signal work

Heavy-duty vehicles for the Department of Community Services

The second bond ordinance appropriates $2.25M and authorizes ~$2.142M in bonds or notes for sewer utility improvements: sewer line/pump station work, cleaning, inspection/mapping referencing Broad Street, Woodmere Drive and Pond, Lorraine Road and Place, Sherman Avenue, Constantine Road, Glen Avenue, River Road and Chatham Road.

It also includes $320K for equipment and $350K for improvements at the sewer utility headquarters on Chatham Road.

The third bond ordinance appropriates ~$2.6M and authorizes ~$2.5M for improvements at the Tier Garage and the City Hall parking lot.

AI Data Center ban

Summit is also looking to ban AI Data Centers in all zones and this became a flash point during the last meeting.

The ordinance defines AI Data Centers broadly and includes facilities used for artificial intelligence, cloud services, data processing, machine learning, large language models, video streaming, blockchain, crypto mining, telecommunications and similar uses.

It also says a use generating a total peak power load in excess of 20 megawatts or having a distinct measurable impact on water utility consumption would be considered an AI Data Center.

Detention Center Ban

We covered this last time – the ordinance would ban detention or similar facilities in every zone except when they’re set up by the municipality for temporary use within the Summit PD.

Chestnut Lot / old Firehouse confusion

This is probably the strangest part of the packet.

One item still lists “Authorize Sale of Real Property – 396 Broad Street – Old Firehouse Property,” but the resolution itself only says it is pending closed session discussion.

No buyer.

No price.

No terms.

No sale structure.

At the same time, there’s a Chestnut Lot ordinance that says the old firehouse sale that led to the parking lot closure has been cancelled.

The staff memo says the transaction was withdrawn and the lot can reopen for permit parking until a new sale occurs.

So from the agenda, it seems that the prior plan to sell that caused the Chestnut Lot closure is no longer moving forward in that form, but the old firehouse property is still alive as a closed-session topic.

The ordinance would reopen Lot #7, Chestnut Avenue Lot.

The ordinance table lists the lot as being at the corner of Broad Street and Morris Avenue, with parking reserved for residents, downtown employees whose vehicles are registered with the City and have valid digital parking permits, and City employees.

The proposed parking period is 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a 13-hour maximum.

Fees:

$5 daily

$100 monthly

$285 quarterly

$1,080 annually

So after all of that, the lot comes back, at least for now.

Industrial Place and Walnut Street project

Summit is looking to award the Industrial Place and Walnut Street Improvement Project to AJM Contractors, Inc. for $376,455.

Scope includes drainage and sanitary structure upgrades, ADA ramp and sidewalk replacements, pedestrian and intersection safety work at Walnut and Sylvan and milling/paving.

Funding is listed from:

$200K from a 2024 capital sewer account

$24,057.25 from a 2025 capital sewer account

$152,397.75 from a DOT 2023 Multi Roads grant reimbursement account

Orchard Street bid rejection

Summit is looking to reject bids and re-advertise the Orchard Street Improvement Project after two bids were received and opened in December 2025 and the lowest bid substantially exceeded the City’s appropriation.

The Orchard Street bid summary lists DLS Contracting at about $442K and Cifelli & Son General Contractors at about $478K.

The tentative plan is to advertise on June 4, receive bids on July 7, award the project on July 28, begin construction in Fall 2026 and finish it by the end of 2026.

There is a packet issue here too.

Lorraine Road, Lorraine Place and Sherman Avenue are also on the agenda as a separate sewer-lining item, so the issue is not that Lorraine/Sherman shows up in the packet.

The issue is that the full packet includes a resolution page under the Orchard Street item that appears to be from the Lorraine Road, Lorraine Place, Sherman Avenue Road Improvement Project, with August 2025 bid dates, September/October 2025 re-advertisement dates and a September 3, 2025 certification.

So the Orchard Street memo and bid summary are clear, but the resolution page in the full packet does not line up cleanly with the Orchard Street item.

That should probably be clarified before anyone votes on it.

Roots Steakhouse sidewalk café

Roots Steakhouse is back with an annual sidewalk café agreement for portions of the Springfield Avenue and Maple Street sidewalks.

The agreement lists an annual charge of $485 and runs through June 30, 2027.

Cars & Croissants

Summit Downtown, Inc. is seeking permission for Cars & Croissants on Sunday, June 21, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Closure would impact Springfield Avenue, Union Place, Bank Street, Bank Street Lot and Beechwood Road.

Maple Street and Summit Avenue will stay open for traffic flow.

Junior League / Mabie Playground donation

Summit is accepting a $46,000 donation from the Junior League of Summit.

$17,000 for sensory panels

$5,000 for ADA-accessible game tables/chairs

$23,000 for an inclusive whirl

$1,000 for a commemorative brick paver

But there’s a twist.

Because Mabie Playground funding was already fully committed before the donation the money will be going to the City’s general playground improvement fund for current playground projects through the end of ’26.

Recognition for the Junior League will still be placed at Mabie.

Fountain Baptist Church historical marker

The Fountain Baptist Church historical marker is moving from the Chestnut Lot to a Broad Street and Chestnut Avenue or somewhere near it. According to the docs in the agenda it looks like it will be put near the back City Hall Parking Lot.

Lorraine Road / Lorraine Place / Sherman Avenue sewer lining

Authorizes advertising for bids for the Lorraine Road, Lorraine Place and Sherman Avenue Sanitary Sewer Lining Project.

Memo says it should take six to eight weeks and should be minimally disruptive.

Funding – $150,000 from the 2025 Sewer Capital Account.

Temporary public art

Two temporary art installations are on the agenda.

“Moving Skyward” by Paul Santoleri would be installed in the Southeast Quadrant at the Village Green from June 2026 through July 2028.

“Second Nature” by Emil Alzamora would be installed at Lyric Park at Beechwood Road and Bank Street from September 2026 through October 2026.

Estimated tax bills

Summit is also authorizing estimated third-quarter tax bills because the final 2026 tax rate is not yet available.

The resolution estimates the total 2026 levy, including municipal, library, school, county and county open space, at $158,139,312.

The City indicates this needs to get done for cash flow reasons.

Retiree health reimbursements, tax refunds and grants

The finance consent agenda also includes:

$26,950 in retiree health reimbursements

$42,538.19 refund to Corelogic Real Estate Tax Services

$11,800.09 refund to Corelogic Commercial

$400 Union County 2026 Heart Grant

$17,415.73 National Opioids Settlement Grant – Walgreens

$50,432 Clean Communities Grant

Bills and payroll

The bill payment resolution totals $2,593,070.12.

That includes:

$1,592,505.76 in bills

$1,000,564.36 in payroll

Source Document