At Monday night's Council Meeting, 3 council members were absent: Barbara Madak, Joseph DeVito III, and Jade Puia. Despite only having 3 of the 6 members in attendance, a quorum was still present, as the Mayor counts as a member, despite having no voting powers other than being a tiebreaker according to NJ40A:60-3.

The actual business of the council meeting was uneventful, covering typical items such as approving meeting minutes and resolutions.

The Mayor stated property tax bills will be late, as the county tax rate hasn't been certified. You can see our coverage of how the preliminary tax rate impacts you in our prior reporting here. Things changed drastically during the Public Portion.

The majority of public comments were centered around the explosion that occurred July 6th, as well as the general usage of fireworks within Manville.

There was a question from a resident if any permits for any fireworks were given. Mayor Richard Onderko stated "I'm not that I'm aware of." The resident further pushed that the block party had the road closure permit, and then pushed that fireworks were being promoted for said block party.

Councilwoman Dayna Camacho responded: "not one firework was detonated,"

The resident pushed further "but there were plans.."

Councilwoman Dayna Camacho responded "and you know that how?" Then she said "Fireworks are legal, you can buy them in ShopRite, sir."

Mayor Onderko then told Councilwoman Camacho "Dayna, can you please be quiet?"

A resident, who appears to be related to the Block Party itself, made a comment: "I just want to make it very clear that block party did not set off a single firework that night, not one. Not even a sparkler. There was nothing going on on our end, no one on the block party lit off any firework. So whether there was permits or not, it doesn't matter, because nothing was lit."

Aerial fireworks are illegal in the State of NJ, unless you are permitted, bonded, and follow specific regulations. The State of NJ has the "Explosives and Fireworks Act - Sale And Public Display" which covers how fireworks can be used within the State. The police are within their authority to shut down firework events, and charge people with an offense.

We understand that the explosion incident was not related to the planned block party. In our opinion, if the tragic explosion incident did not occur that evening, most likely the block party would've had their fireworks show as planned.

Here's a copy of the block party invite proving there indeed was a fireworks show planned. Councilwoman Dayna Camacho was defensive interjecting at various times during the public portion, and we can understand why. She was promoting the block party, a fireworks show, and was behind the street closure as well:

Three residents questioned the ability of Manville Police to adequately handle the tragic event on July 6th. Per a resident, the initial response was only one officer. This is understandable, since the responding officer could determine how severe the incident is, and then call in for additional assistance. Residents stated that the scene was not immediately and properly secured. It was several hours later before tape went up, per a resident's comment.

It was also noted via another resident, that even after the Bomb Squad left, the next day the residents were still finding random pieces of the explosive device, melted ball bearings, and other objects related to the explosion. They questioned why not all pieces were collected as evidence. A CBS2 New York report had imagery of how residents collected these pieces in Ziplok bags.

One resident wants to have a review into this event so the police can better handle situations like this in the future, with the process open to the public. The Mayor went on to suggest setting up a private meeting with the resident asking the question & with the police deputy chief to go over information. However, if an investigation is ongoing, it should not be discussed by these officials until it is complete. After a separate resident raised this exact concern, the Mayor appeared to change his stance on setting up said meeting.

Things became extremely heated during yet another resident's comments regarding fireworks shows going off in residential areas. They compared it to commercial fireworks shows, and that the Police don't do anything to stop fireworks going off in residential areas.

Another resident added that they cannot enjoy going away for holidays, because they fear that neighbors setting off fireworks could cause a fire on their property.

We understand the resident's concerns. There are laws on the books regarding fireworks use in the State of NJ. Those who set off fireworks can be charged with a petty disorderly persons offense. And those who sell any fireworks are guilty of a crime in the fourth degree.

Manville needs to figure out a plan how to enforce these existing laws to deter widespread fireworks usage within the Borough. Perhaps if Police charge individuals who set off fireworks, this will reduce their current widespread usage in town.

Fireworks have a history of causing fires on property in Manville in recent years. The issue of fireworks in general, in addition to the explosion from July 6th, was top-of-mind on the public at Monday night's council meeting.

The meeting had significantly more people in attendance than usual.