##VIDEO ID:3roMQpPzCP4## good evening welcome to the September 5th Township council meeting in compliance with the open public meetings Act of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting was provided on December 21st 2023 by sending written notice and electronic notice to the carrier news and the breeze posting on the website and the bulleon board in the municipal building and filing with the Township Clerk if we could have roll call please councilman kers here councilman cill here councilman Nogales here councilman pedroso president ring here if you are uh able we would ask that you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I'm going to ask Council Gallas to lead us Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the republ stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty Justice for All okay the minutes for approval will be carried to our next meeting we'll uh start with Township Council reports from councilman noralis thank you Labor Day Has Come and gone and so passes The Unofficial transition from Summer to fall school is back in session so please be mindful as the daytime hours shorten that in a few weeks our older kids will head out to school buses while it is still dark typing about the winter months reminds me of the need to get your cars prepped for the colder times including frost on your windshield keep your scraper handy earlier today alen cill and I sat through a refresher course on payment in Le of taxes commonly known as pilot you will hear more about pilots in the coming months as the council Works through a number of Redevelopment issues I have been doing research on unfunded State mandates a topic I raised at a previous council meeting one of our agenda items for tonight is the ordinance on storm water it is unclear as of this time whether the storm water ordinance requirement and the cost associated has been presented to the Council of local mandates abbreviated as njcm it's an in it is independent of the executive legislative and judicial branches although its nine members are directly appointed by the governor president of the senate senate minority leader the assembly speaker the assembly minority leader and the Chief Justice of the state Superior Court their job when requested is to review State mandated issues and requirements to determine if they are unended mandates meaning the state is telling us to do something but not providing funding to support the expense of that directive the council has the the Constitutional authority to negate any requirement that meet the test run funded more on that later I received a letter from Senator Tom Kaine telling me I have been nominated and selected as a senior of Distinction whatever that is uh I will hear more about that honor at a meeting next week hosted by Senator Kane that's my report thank you thank you councilman kers thank you um just want to State uh that I I wholeheartedly support um councilman nor gal's efforts to dig in on state mandates um you know when when we are told exactly what and how to do things without a price tag it certainly provides a great challenge so uh our pursuing that certainly makes a lot of s uh other than that a short report tonight uh land use boards uh on August let me just get the date right on August uh 20th the planning board met to memorialize some previous work and on the 27th uh the zoning board met briefly to continue its work uh on the proposed Starbucks uh on Route 22 East near Morgan Lane uh fairly rapidly hit a um roadblock uh associated with the um uh the plan for the drive-thru uh and the applicant is back to the drawing board so to speak and that's my report thank you councilman Cilla okay um I'm pleased to say that I attended the session on Pilots this afternoon with Howard and also in reviewing our information this evening regarding storm water management and mandates I will say that the uh the part that frustrates me uh with that is you know yeah we do have to maintain our catch basins and so forth but I offer the opinion that this uh mandate from the state does not go far enough because what we're not allowed to do is touch the Brooks and the streams and clean them in the debris uh without violating some d d Provisions uh if I'm not correct on that um Mr Pap has please correct me but uh that's something that I I have to express a lot of concern over other than that it's uh look forward to our meeting tonight we're swearing in officer fiser this is a great time for us and I look forward to the meeting thank you thank you I do not have much more to add obviously the end of August is a quiet time with a lot of folks away and getting ready for back to school and I will just uh extend my best wishes to all of the um students and faculty this year uh for a successful school year um with that mayor's report thank you the only uh thing I want to add um from it's off the agenda just to Echo those same comments uh my kid started back to school this week and uh my wife went back for her year of teaching and so uh best of luck to all of the teachers students coaches faculty janitors everybody that helps make our school system work and I hope everyone has a a great year and um it's a successful and uh exciting start to to the fall all I got okay um next up is swearing in I'm not sure uh Chief mitac are you starting all right good evening everyone I'd like to welcome everyone to the swearing in of of Officer Justin Fischer i' like to thank the mayor along with council members um for supporting the police department and uh always being here for us they really do uh support us and it's makes it easy for me to be the chief here um officer Justin fiser comes to us as a fully sworn police officer he's work for the Camden County police department for the past year I'm sure his experience in Camden County has prepared him for his new position as a Bridgewater police officer little background about Justin he was born in Vorhees New Jersey and currently resides in brington County you better move closer it's going to be a long commute for you my friend uh he attended uh Len Regional High School After High School we attended Florida Southern College he completed one year there before transferring to Rowan College where he earned his bachelor's degree after college and before he started his career in law enforcement Justin worked for Live casino and hotel in Philadelphia and also at Harr casino and racetrack he attended the Canon County Police Academy and became a certified police officer in 2023 for fun he likes to work out play golf hang out with his dog and and his girlfriend but that's not in any particular order okay he also likes to travel recently he uh took a trip to uh Italy turkey and Greece he did this because uh he knew when we hired him he wasn't getting get any time off for at least a year uh because of uh his appearance tonight he's obviously in the fashion uh I told him to look presentable so he must have rented that tuxedo I hope it's not due back tonight all right uh in closing Justin I thank you for becoming part of the Bridgewater PD family we will provide you with the equipment and training to have a safe and effective career your goals are working here are to do your best every day for the Bridgewater community and with your fellow police officers and to go home safe to your loved ones every night and I always say this but remember you are the answer to someone's prayers uh I wish you all Health success and safety in your next 25 to 30 years as a Bridgewater Township police officer um like to invite the mayor up for little remarks and then we'll get your sworn in great uh thank you Chief um also it's great to to see you here tonight uh we had an opportunity obvious to speak very briefly earlier um it's incredibly important to me to make sure I reiterate to our new officers as they could sworn in into their families about how much we value what you will do for us in our community um I mentioned my kids starting school you know this week so um when you hear about what goes on around the country um the value that I have as a uh father and as a mayor here in town for what you will all do for our families is not lost uh for a second on me um and I can promise you that you will have my support the administration's support and the entire Council support in your career we will make sure we give you the tools to succeed as the chief mentioned we will make sure that we have your back at every step along the way uh so thank you for coming to our town thank you for serving our community and uh to your family thank you for lending him to us um we promise we will take good care of him and uh send him home uh at some point 25 to 30 years Chief that's that's where we're shooting for probably 29 all right so uh we we will do that and uh to all the officers who are here uh my remarks obviously go for for all of you as well so thank you for your service your continued service and dedication thank you for welcoming in a new officer to our our town and for those of you who are members of the PBA I promise you we are getting to the contract I promise you um so we will get that done as well so thank you all God bless you and and thank you for being here in Bridgewater all right Justin you want to come up with your uh Mom and Dad we we ready job work is comp right yeah not he s in uh face the crowd here my friend s that [Applause] yeah yeah we we already forewarned him he has to when Suzanne says stand somewhere [Music] for e [Applause] I think we would have one of these on Wheels sir yeah I think that would be very good yeah you don't you want to make sure they loost somebody lean on it oh thank you it was great you didn't take my login thing right My Signing you didn't take it oh yeah yep I'll make you comment may I didn't sign council president yeah yes listen it's your it's your meeting I I want to you know yeah it's uh um it's your Proclamation I would ask uh off Sergeant Jamie Edwards to uh to come up um before I have a we have a proclamation for ovarian cancer awareness and uh before I read it I just wanted you know to comment and uh you know on the heels of swearing a new officer I just wanted to uh you know take a moment to commend uh Jamie Edwards for all of his dedicated Service uh to our community when I was uh very young I wrote on the rescue squad uh you know Serge Edward was the crew chief on uh the nights that I that I rode before he was an officer and um you know so his dedication and service has spent uh decades and I say decades and decades I mean you're not that old but it's been a while it's been uh you've you've dedicated a lot of your life uh to serving our community on the rescue squad then as a police officer and um and including through your work and your family's work with regard to uh ovarian cancer awareness um and your efforts to help our community uh that way um in a very personal way uh for you so um we have a proclamation or read Proclamation for ovarian cancer 2024 whereas ovarian cancer Remains the leading cause of death from gynecological cancers in the United States and where res aarian cancer is often referred to as the silent disease because it symptoms are subtle and can easily be mistaken for those of other illnesses and whereas there is currently no screening test for early detection for ovarian cancer making it crucial to recognize its warning signs for timely diagnosis and effective treatment and whereas symptoms of aarian cancer may include abdominal and pelvic pain difficulty eating and frequent urination and whereas because the early signs of ovarian cancer are frequently overlooked increasing public awareness and understanding of the disease its risk factors and its subtle symptoms is vital to saving women's lives and ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment wherea September has been named has been designated as National a cancer awareness month and whereas the Bridgewater turned the town's teal campaign is committed to proactively raising awareness about ovarian cancer and its symptoms and whereas the turn to toown Steel campaign was inspired by the vision of Renee Edwards who initiated it in the township of Bridgewater in 2014 during her own battle with ovarian cancer and whereas teal ribbons will be prly displayed at the Township municipal complex to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and its early symptoms and whereas briwood Township strongly encouraged all residents to educate themselves about ovarian cancer and to share knowledge and resources with their families friends and neighbors to combat this disease now therefore I Matthew C mench mayor of Bridgewater Township along with the township council do hereby proclaim the month of September as National ovarian cancer awareness month and urge all residents to the township of the township to recognize the silent impact of excuse me the significant impact of the turn the town's teal campaign to support those whose lives have been touched by ovarian cancer and to participate meaningfully in this important awareness initiative so thank you for your uh your efforts to bring this to us thank you for your [Applause] support mat Matt podium it's a hardworking mayor right there that's right I I actually commented earlier it's only taking me five years on the counil but I think we need to put some locking wheels on the bottom of the podium it would make things much easier are you okay so next up we're going to have a presentation from the community recovering Champion program um I don't know something and you guys in ucing or thank you so um briefly and if administrator Pap has anything to add I will let him do that um as the council may recall uh the township was one of several municipalities who received um money for opioid um op opioid litigation settlement funds uh to which we are looking to use some of to partner with organizations that will help us um ser serve our local population um with various programs um to to meet the needs of our community uh so uh what you have uh here is a presentation from uh from the community recovery Champion program to talk about what uh they do and how they serve uh you know can and uh will serve bridgew in the larger community so that's the introduction thanks everybody so thank you mayor thank you Council my name is Ken Musgrove I am the director of recovery support for community and crisis we are Somerset County's Community peer Recovery Center and what we do is we we're people in recovery helping other people on their recovery Journey no matter what that looks like um in addition to it being over ovarian cancer awareness month it's also a recovery month there are 26 million people in recovery in the United States and we'd like to um make sure that those people come out of the shadows and support not only themselves with their community and one of the ways that um we'd like to do that is through opioid settlement funding um the op settlement funding the litigation um as that that those funds go towards Innovative programming to um help amarate the the damages that were caused by the marketing of the opioids to um our communities and one of the um areas that we'd like to focus on is supporting those in recovery on on their recovery Journey um we propos to uh have a community recovery champion who would be someone very similar to the municipal Alliance coordinator that would be um embedded in the bridge a community that would um bring a focus on recovery which is a little bit different than a prevention and treatment uh Focus that we've had in the past so um it we we bring the lived experience of of having been in an active substance shoes but also the the hope of recovery and and the the idea is to educate the community on on the the resources that are available to them um and also that there are many people in in their community that that are in recovery and um we can help build on those um successes and and leverage th those people's skills the program would um we're asking for um $220,000 from the funding which would fund that part-time position at approximately 40 hours a month um and again they would be embedded in Bridgewater um what we've learned as as we've been the community peer Recovery Center is that each municipality in our county is a little bit different has different needs has different um demographics and hopefully by having some way that's that's in the community um they could work alongside the community police Alliance coordinator U Damen stack house to to give that personalized care that that individuals need um I've submitted the uh for the budget and the proposal to um Wells and if um you could consider it we'd uh greatly appreciate it do you have any questions go ahead person so so my recovery Journey has been long and nonlinear I get sober the very first time I was 16 years old um and I'm I'll be celebrating 13 years on October 1st um and and I'm not 29 in case anyone hasn't noticed so there's been some gaps in there and um so you know we we often don't do a good job with acute recovery but we do probably even worse job with sustained recovery so you know the importance of having um community support and recognizing that it's not only just staying abstinent it's a matter of of having um the other social determins of Health taken care of including employment education um uh healthc care you know those things that that folks when um when we're act when we're chaotically us using it's not something that we normally take care of however once given um or being support and resources we very typically have um much better outcomes it's been studied that for every dollar spent on recovery Support Services the community saves $7 in in other services so um there's there's a dollar and cents um result from it my own recovery like I said you know I I get to uh seven years ago I quit my salary job and decided that I would turn my life to helping others and um I've been fortunate to be able to do that since that time and um I I'm grateful to be able to do that so thank you I should have mentioned to the council too that this is part if you recall um you know when we received some of the opiod money the the direction that um we gave to to Wells as kind of the point person as our Deputy Administrator was to come up with a a robust program uh in Bridge using some of these funds or you know other funds that they're available our mpal alliance committee gets funds through the county and state grants but uh some of those program are very limited uh in terms of what we can and can't do with them there's kind of set programs and so one of the challenges that we've had is wanting to expand some of our offerings with regard to assisting residents with some you know as mentioned Innovative program so the bridgew reach program uh which was um kind of rolled out last year with three main components to it of what we'd like to do uh which is a community recovery coach that's a big you know one big tenant of that program um you know the others are educational Outreach and Community nonprofit grants so this is part of a comprehensive approach that we are trying to take to uh increasing our services uh in this area in bridgew war thank you very much for for your uh coming here today in your presentation thank you appreciate it ma' are you with the community Grant I'm waiting for you to say public okay we haven't got in there yet okay if you could yep thank you all right any other comments on this or before we do move forward we're good okay so we will move forward opening the meeting to the public um need a motion motion open public I'll second second all those in favor I opposed all right members of the public wishing to address the Council on any matter we'll be allowed two minutes to speak unless there's unusual circumstances would ask that you come up that you please uh state your name uh as well as your address if you do not feel comfortable publicly stating your address I know there's a sign-in sheet on the podium as well so go ahead good evening clerk Council mayor Linda bar 214 North Bridge Street but more importantly a member of the Middlebrook Symposium planning committee did you know that five years ago the con the Middlebrook Symposium was held Right In This Very Room and and the next one will be March 15th at the college and did you know that Bridgewater has more of the property where Washington and the Continental Army stayed in 1777 and the winter of 7879 and we're hoping to keep that saved in fact it was here that the British lost New Jersey I was reading that you'll be negotiating with HUD concerning the use of Camp Cromwell No Doubt with Federal money you'll be asked to do an archaeological study study and wouldn't it be great to find some artifacts from the Revolutionary War before we start construction of anything the camp itself is an ideal site for a Middlebrook Museum of which we do not have one and you already have buildings at Camp Cromwell this could be the centerpiece for the country's 250th anniversary so working with the township we would if given permission to use a building seek grants for an exhibit designers and we would hope for your permission to move ahead with that thanks too that you have a Bridgewater history committee and I hope you'll open it to all interested people and I'm going to leave with Grace some flyers in case you are interested in coming to the next Symposium on March 15th thank you thank you good evening uh members and Council Michael D Loretto I'm a resident Bradley Gardens at 118 Oak Street I'm here today with one of my neighbors uh Paul baduka who also lives on Oak Street and my 5-year-old daughter Vivian who's learning the uh right to petition your government under the first first amendment this evening um I'm here today on behalf of many of my neighbors to ask for uh consideration of improvements in the Bradley garden section of Bridgewater um I know many of you have been there for Bradley Gardens Little Loop and are familiar with the community and I've been in Bradley Gardens now for for about 10 years and my wife and I chose to redo our home there and make a commitment to the community and we'd really like to see some um upgrades in the way that the community not only looks but the way that it feels um if you would indulge me for a second I have a handout that I could give I could give it to the counsel or to but just to show that I'm not exaggerating um what I'm about to say I've included pictures in this so the first is abandoned homes which exist in the community I've just given you a few photos of what is on lyen and Oak Street right now and these are properties which have been in the state of disrepair now for over 4 years another issue which comes up frequently particularly with those of us that have young children is the fact that there's no sidewalks in Bradley Gardens and a lot of us like to walk our children to school in order to access the Bradley Gardens um Elementary School photo here that I've given you is a chestnut in Perry Street Where the Sidewalk literally ends when you enter from rid and town Ry and burrow into Bridgewater Township even if we were unable to get sidewalks it would be great to have consistent Road widths and curbs in the Bradley Gardens area on Oak Street our road is about 2 in uh less wide as compared to lyen street we have no curbs um and the photos here show what happens when there's no curbs people extend their driveways out into the streets or the areas that are on the sides where people's uh grasses become part of the roadway that issue doesn't exist on Lyndon street because they have curbs lastly I would just note for the the council that in the Bradley garden section we have two great Parks we have Alford Brown Park and armare Park and these are pictures which I took today of both parks in ardm park weeds continue to grow throughout the playground area that my daughter and other children in the neighborhood use and Alfred Brown Park has a large block top area which is currently not usable because of the state of dis repair that's it it's in that could become a skate park it could become pickle ball pickle ball courts it could become a basketball court could become a variety of things you could even tear it out and make open space but at least it'd be something that's usable um I know none of these things are cheap that we've asked for or that I've presented and so I don't come here just asking for things I also come here with ideas about how to pay for them such as the sidewalks can be uh Grand funding is now available through the bipartisan infrastructure law through the Safe Streets for all program um towns particularly one in New Jersey got over a million dollars this year for sidewalks um and those were new sidewalks that were being put in I certainly think with the abandoned homes if we don't have an abandoned property registry in Bridgewater that's something that should be pursued under the new state law that was enacted and lastly as it relates to some of the park issues I know that there'd be many of us in the community that would happily volunteer our time if we had um materials that could potentially be provided by the town and I know Home Depot would also potentially be willing to donate some of those too thank you very much for your time I really appreciate it this evening appreciate your consideration of these requests thank you thank you for the effort you put into your packet she's uh lobbying for for uh what we'd like to see in Alfred Brown Park you sidew she does because when we walk the streets can get kind of crow with cars thanks Mike good evening Jen lockran uh I'm going to put my address down uh I I couldn't be happier for the words that were just shared about Alpa Brad Park and I would love to elaborate on it but uh I came here and prepared to speak about something else uh I also didn't look at the agenda um before I came to talk about an incident over a Labor Day weekend involving the police um but the headline would look something like house party happened police came and then nothing happened um the reason that I wanted to bring it up was because um the nothing that happened at this party at this house party uh happened with the utmost professionalism and despite this there's always ATT tension and and I'm not going to go into details I know Mr Mayor you you know I've mentioned my Mayors I mean my my neighbors so you can you can kind of read between the lines but but for them personally having the police come to a party that they were very excited about um it causes attention and and and it was something that you know you could feel when you were there but um the next day uh I talked to my friend she was making potato salad and I asked her you know how she felt about the experience um her response was oh he was so sweet and my other neighbor who was emptying the trash he praised the woman office that he spoke to in the driveway um you know despite the discomfort they they had nothing but good things to say about the officers um you know my purpose for sharing this story really is that and the police told us this you know they have to respond to calls like this and they recognized you know the interruption that they had caused um but and and and and I want to add that it's okay for this person person to have called the police um but but I really wish they didn't feel like they had to um my neighbors are really amazing people and I wish this person knew that the women that organized this party are are trying to start like a event planning business and and this is the one party where they invite all their friends to kind of show off their amazing house and Bridgewater and they come from like all over the country um I wish our neighbors knew that and I wish they knew if they they had walked over and and knocked on the door and that they that they would be treated kindly um that they would be welcomed or accommodated um and and I get it also but but I wish it was different in closing I wanted to thank all of the officers that came and also the one that came on New Year's Eve who all the ladies of the party agree is our favorite um and again you know the bridge order Poli Department doesn't get recognized for the many times that nothing happens and and I just want to to thank them for that so appreciate it thank you good evening mayor and members of the council is the um recorder on I know there were some problems with that in the past far as I know yes okay um first of all I want to give a shout out to the public works department for cleaning the drain on Hillside Avenue and Highland um during Ida five houses flooded from the Clogg drain you do need to state your name oh I'm sorry Joan G Gyer thank you um so I want to um again thank the public works department for coming out and cleaning out that drain um after the two storms we recently had it really made a difference um I also wanted to talk about um gun control in view of yesterday's only two common school shooting and the concerns dressed about incidents with our police officers once again I think it's necessary to discuss gun control contemplate this our Bridgewater children and teenagers are deeply concerned about gun safety they have drills in school to prepare for an active shooter stop for a moment and think about that a three-year-old everyone in this room knows a child between the age of 3 and 18 that goes to school every day day knowing they could be confronted with a shooter every child knows their teachers and First Responders might need to rush to the scene and be confronted with that shooter you may say well we had fire drills as kids yeah we did but when we went home that night we didn't hear about a fire in a school where countless children died last night once again every child in Bridgewater went home to the news of two children dead and two teachers shot dead knowing their school right here in Sleepy old Bridgewater could be next even the former president is not safe law enforcement officers are particularly vulnerable I wish they were all still here to hear this they respond to mass shootings they see unimaginable Horrors and they risk being shot as to Bridgewater thank God we live in a state with strict gun control but we know that anyone can cross the border to the state next door and buy an automatic rifle like the one that was used yesterday in Georgia the profile of a mass shooter is a young adult male usually white often wearing a hoodie our officers if you listen to the the Chief talk about the more recent incident you know that our officers often respond to calls alone a burglar alarm could mean an armed robbery with several perpetrators a fight between young males could turn into a mass shooting our officers are not social workers they're trained to be authoritative they are human and these scenarios take a toll on them most are sleep deprived having worked rotating shifts holidays overtime and off-duty work to pay bills this is fertile ground for incidents between police officers and young adult males what can we do in Bridgewater for our children and our officers one I think we can remind gun owners to keep guns and ammo separate and both locked and Out Of Reach of children young adults people with mental health issues and criminals this can be done at back to school night by the principles when they address parents in our schools and each and every town newsletter two we can all support gun control three we can review Our Town ordinances to see if we can pass laws to help four we could look into supplying trigger locks to gun owner residents in Bridgewater for a nominal fee five we can review the shifts our officers work and studies that show which ones are best for their mental and physical health six we can bring back the citizens police academy and advertise it to ensure High attendance um seven we could consider having a gun safety awareness month and finally these are just a few ideas but you as our elected officials I'm sure could come up with even better ones thank you good evening gentlemen I am uh here to my name is Dan zolinski by the way I live at 7:15 Chimney Rock Road I'm here to follow up uh from the previous meeting where I had uh questions about the budget uh and uh what I'm going to say really is directed at the uh the members of the city council uh I remain very concerned about what appears to be a rapidly deteriorating financial position that our Township uh and most uh appears to be and most importantly the lack of financial oversight by the council and the absence of any meaningful communication to to Residents regarding our worsening situation there are several major indicators that we are in trouble among these are the record increases in taxes collected from the property owners which is the tax levy another is the delay in the budget uh introduction going well beyond the dca's regulations and still another is the second year in a row of an unsatisfactory audit of the administration's finances and all of this happened without any significant comment from the administration uh or you members of the city council I'm sorry town Council um who are responsible for the budget and its oversight and to me this is a bit uh frightening but let's talk about the tax levy the amount of money property taxes that you collect from residents and Commercial properties to run the town the tax levy unlike the tax rate is totally under your control the tax levy is your responsibility uh our out-of-pocket tax bill represents a historic 11.6 increase moving from in 2023 24.3 million to 27.2 million and this is on top of a 3% and a 4% increase from the previous two years while you are increasing our taxes by over $3 million this year without explanation you are totally silent on your forecasted increase of an 11 million. five% uh uh I'm sorry an 11.5 million increase or more than a 44.5% % tax increase in this upcoming uh in the uh next year in 2025 a slight tax rate increase is really in my opinion subterfuge uh for the real issue facing residents which is our tax levy budgets reflect choices and choices reflect priorities staring at a record 11.6% tax increase and the details of this budget and poor residential Inspection Support it appears that your priorities clearly favor perhaps patronage over lowering taxes and providing more essential services to Bridgewater residents here are my questions to you and I don't anticipate that you would be prepared to answer them and I'm prepared to leave them with you and come back at the next meeting uh to get answers to these questions and my questions are this what difficult choices did you make before agreeing to a record 11.6% tax increase was there any discussion in trimming expenses where exactly are we tightening our bels it's it's hard to tell in reading the the current budget that you guys approved at the last meeting our annual budget surplus balances have shrunk from $6.5 million to $3.5 million and now this year's budget brings it down to an astonishing $445,000 balance was there any discussion regarding the risks of this precariously low Surplus balance the next question is why was the budget so late how did we get a second year with a conditional audit especially when you the council promised us more fiscal insight our personal performance is reviewed departments responsible for the budget being laid are also receiving receiving Hefty annual increases who owns the oversight on performance reviews and pay increases how can be raises be given to those responsible for the audit and the budget be justified Mr pedroo was the only council member voting no on the budget at the last meeting and unfortunately Mr pedroso is not here tonight but I would like to know why he supported all of the salary and other spending measures that underpin the $3 million increase in taxes or was that no vote just for show how is it that the 600 plus th000 budget for the OCR the office of constituent relations a department that never existed prior to this Administration in Bridgewater being justified have any of you questioned their value and why are residents still having difficulty getting timely building inspections what efforts are being put forward to apply and gain for grants for any number of issues including climate mitigation I think it's interesting tonight that the gentleman from Bradley Gardens had pointed out that there are grants that are out there that could help Bradley Gardens in their seeking sidewalks those basically are my questions and as I said earlier I have no expectation that you would be answering them tonight uh and I guess my only question really is who is it that I can count on to respond to my questions moving forward and that's uh that's all that I have to say I appreciate your time uh I also want to uh recognize Mr nalis for his uh Commendation uh from Mr Kaine I think it's also relevant to point out how many years he has spent on the uh on the council in in Bridgewater so with that said uh good evening I'll leave a copy of my questions with the [Music] clerk and thank you for your time and someone left their P up here oh I guess that's the signin sheet so I'm not sure if anyone else is coming up but before anyone else does uh I would be remiss if I did not take a second here um our our our P policy is two minutes I Tred to be accommodating I try to look at the folks speaking if someone's going over two minutes a little bit and they're wrapping it up I try to be patient uh I think we're seeing um pres presentations well over the two-minute Mark so if you're coming up to make comments please I'm going to ask you to please make sure we're uh at the two-minute time frame so thank [Music] you timer all right um should I put my name down before or after I speak it doesn't matter you just need to you can you state your name if you want you can just state your name and address go ahead over on the mic that's fine all right uh hello my name is Dennis I'm Dennis of of course Bridgewater I live on 28 Shields Lane um 08807 so first I'd like to thank mayor Minch for your commentation your recognition of the campaign against airing cancer uh on behalf of my mother um for reasons which are painful and obvious I also would like to express agreement with the previous commentators about Street safety and student safety from Firearms as you know the only country where it regularly happens for some reason we claim there is no way to prevent this which is absurd okay so today I have come to ask whether Bridgewater has completed its lgea local government energy um uh efficiency audit so I noticed that many of our neighboring towns have received recent audits at their of their facilities at no cost to the town funded by the njc the Burnsville library for example um was audited last year and they identified the opportunity to save over $9,000 per year with a payoff time of only about 3 years I believe that for the sake of fiscal responsibility it is important to do this um it's important to keep the buildings up to date to save money to save energy for environmental reasons as well as to make sure that the buildings are kept up to date for you know the use of the citizenry like myself I like libraries I like using these buildings and I like them to comfortable okay uh thank you that will be all um unless you can answer some my questions about whe How This audit is going or whether it's progressing I I don't know specifically if we are engaged in it now I know that that has been something that the township has done previously we've done in the past I think it was it was a coun it could have been six or 10 years I was a councilman when we did it last yeah I I noticed conspicuously that Bridgewater is a whole in the njbpu list of recent Audits and I'm wondering if there's something that we should be doing about this I'll look I'll look into it and see what the when the last time uh that we've had one and and plans for one thank okay thank thank you very much two minutes 30 with the question and answer thank you seeing no additional motion I move to close public input second all those in favor I opposed all right we are closed public session is closed next up is 11a which is a public hearing and final action uh an ordinance to set the compensation of the mayor Township council members department heads and certain other Municipal Employees pursuant to chapter 374 of the public laws of New Jersey I'm sorry public laws of 1985 njsa 2A callon 809 njsa 2 a Col 8-13 njsa 40a col 9-1 165 njsa 4A col -135 njsa 40a col 9-46 and chapter 95 of the public laws of 1996 um I don't know if the Administration has anything I just will say um one piece I know there's been during the budget process there was a the um compensation of the township Council and mayor came up uh more of changing in how those costs are allocated in the budget there is no increase to the township Council uh or the mayor um and I can't Howard could probably tell me better when the last time it was done hasn't been changed in least 21 years I know okay so anything further from the administration no okay so we we need to open to the I'll I'll make the motion to open to the public and conduct the hearing on ordinance 11a okay do we have a second second okay roll call actually public I'm sorry all those in favor I opposed all right open for public comment on 11a seeing no apparent interest in commenting on 11a I'll move to close the meeting uh and move to final action subject I'm sorry close the public sorry I can't I don't have authority to do that uh close the public uh hearing uh move for final action on 11a subject to any potential discussion that needs to occur before the vote okay all those in favor I I all right any discussion yeah I raised this issue last time we we List It by position and that is actually misleading because what we're talking about is salaries for specific individuals and I think we should name the individuals because if we have a situation where somebody moves off and a new person moves in they look at this and they say well if the I'll use I'll simply use the tax sucessor uh and Anthony's a good guy uh that he's in here at 155 and if we had a new assessor come in uh who would say gee I'm entitled to 155 so I think the name specificity provides an awareness as to who we're talking about and that if that person changes we're not talking about the same level so I want to make this I realize it may be too late to change this because it's an ordinance but for the future I would like to see the the the salary ordinance person specific as opposed to position specific we had uh how you're at you'd raise that comment at some point in time I don't it's at the last meeting or in just in the back and forth and so um I don't think uh Mr Christin's office has had an opportunity to to do it for this year but um you know take a look at how we do that uh because I know that the law requires us to identify positions could be names and positions or something right yeah yeah something to yeah something to make sure or language at least in the ordinance that says should this position open during the course of the year that from a practical standpoint what's been done in the past as I understand it is uh you know if we were let's just let's just say uh I'll pick on Mike since he's since he's here if uh if if Mike were to retire and we were looking to hire another administrator um we might negotiate with whoever we're hiring and say you're coming in at a lower number we'd have to then come back to the council who would at that point have to amend the salary ordinance to address whatever the new salary was um it's easier to do when it's outside people as opposed to an inside person who might be applying for they the deputy uh you know Deputy X Deputy Administrator and now you know an internal person's applying and says to your point well I want that and we say well you know maybe you're you're not doing that so but we we'll try look at and see if we can get to it thank you any other comments call cilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes president ring yes okay 12a is an introduction of an ordinance amending chapter 126 part 11 article xxxxvi of the code of the township of Bridgewater entitled storm water control to reflect amendments to the New Jersey storm water management rules at NJ ac7 colon 8 adopted July 177 2023 working off of the copy that was handed out this evening anything from yeah the only two comments I have uh in general uh is one this is something that's required by uh New Jersey Law uh two you know we've discussed at other meetings and continue to discuss our own efforts both within and outside of the state requirements to address storm water issues within Bridge order uh in terms of coming up with ways of addressing it at a Township wide level as well as kind of site specific issues and uh the only other thing I'd like to just add to Howard had made comments counc made comments earlier about his concerns about unfunded mandate at uh based off of his comments uh and his leadership on this issue um there there's a a letter that um councilman noralis and I signed that was sent to the New Jersey Council on local mandates um that uh Council M Gall had taken the leadership on and we sent that uh to them or or it's drafted I don't know if it's actually gone out in the mail yet it's today's date um but uh asking them to take a look at this issue so I thank Council Gallas for raising it and pushing us to get that done and for joining with me on that letter okay um need a motion to introduce I'll make the motion to introduce uh 12a do we have a second I'll second it councilman kers yes councilman cordilla yes councilman nalis yes president ring yes if we could set final action Y final action is scheduled for September 19th 20124 at 7:30 p.m. here in the municipal courtroom public inspection of this ordinance is available on the township website the bulletin board and through the clerk's office Mr President I do have one comment uh I I support of the introduction but uh depending on the response back from the the state uh committee uh I will not support the adoption unless until I hear back from from the state as to a resolution of unfunded mandate okay all right um moving on 13A amending resolution number 24-3 - 07- 087 authorizing an additional $20,000 to Darlene green PP aicp of cers engineering and design as affordable housing planner for the professional service contract in an amount not to exceed $20,000 for the period of March 8th 2024 to December 31st 2024 to be funded from the COA trust fund Mount Laurel exp expenses account like additional comment here as everyone knows that we are dealing with the new round of COA mandates uh which require municipalities to do an extensive amount of work to figure out how to meet the new numbers of which we do not know yet uh the process requires the state to calculate its numbers us to calculate our own numbers see whether we agree with the state's numbers and then um if not to go through a a proceeding there so uh this work is to uh continue the the work of our planner to address our COA calculations find additional credits that may be already available make sure we've met our obligations or exceeded them or have a plan to meet the new ones okay if there's no further discussion I'll move 13A I'll second it any other comments roll call councilman kers yes councilman cordill yesalis yes president tring yes 13B is amending Award of contract resolution number is to determine um you know which township owned properties uh you know may be available for affordable housing or or which private owned properties could be acquired for affable housing to the extent that's required and that needs engineering work to look at some of those properties along with our planner to address those issues okay it's important to note this is not an increase in expenses it is simply a reallocation amongst the account as to where it is funded correct thank you with that in mind I'll move 13B I'll second any other comments councilman Kish yes cman cordill yesalis yes president ring yes all right um I think the office staff is going to be very happy with 13 C Award of contract to one Total Cleaning Services 130 Garfield Avenue planfield New Jersey 07062 for janitorial services in an amount not to exceed $65,900 for the period of September 6 2024 to September 5th 2025 so bid for our janitorial services this will be a new vendor and we're excited to have them on board I assume this includes the library does not does they handle it themselves the library oh this is for this building this complex the senior center and public works okay I I have gotten feedback from uh several residents who are concerned about the cleanliness of the ladies room at at the library I've never been in it I want to say but we appreciate you not inspecting we'll take a look at it how okay further discussion I'll move 13c second any other comments councilman kers yes councilman cill yes cman aalis yes president ring yes okay 13d is authorizing project resolution for professional engineering surveying inspection services for the 20124 uh division 6 roadway Improvement project which includes the entire length of bid Court Davis Court Pine Road and Weaver drive to Matrix New World engineering land surveying and Landscape architecture PC 26 Columbia Turnpike florum New Jersey 07932 in the amount of 7,270 funded through the 2024 Capital fund this is for Engineering Services for group six of our road program yep I'll make the motion to approve 13d I'll second it with a comment congratulations us I think this is the very earliest we have ever completed the engineering on any of our road J the uh planning work I think that's a good thing second second councilman kers yes councilman cordill yes coun manalis yes resident tring yes 13e is authorizing execution of the police services agreement for for school resource officers SRO with Bridgewater R Board of Education board located at 836 Newman's Lane PO Box 630 Bridgewater New Jersey for a one-year term commencing on August 1st 2024 uh this is to the uh anal agreement which we make with the Board of Education to make sure that we have uh school resource officers uh in the school and uh we're continuing to do that agreement we made some some minor modifications Bas on the chief of police's recommendations and we're looking forward to supporting it and continuing that partnership okay move 13e second any other comments call councilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman oralis yes president ring yes 13f is authorizing the appointment of Jenny Peterson as Municipal Court Administrator um some people may know Jenny has been previously appointed as our interm Municipal Court Administrator while she was going through the process of completing certification I think she's one of uh about four people in the state that earned the certification this year and this is just um continuing now without the end term title I say that right that is correct I just makes sure you know officially the Municipal Court Administrator she does a terrific job and with the onboarding of rid in her her job responsibilities are going to increase so we're pleased that she has her certification and uh that um we can officially appoint her and Mr President I'll simply say that uh you know we all take great pride in the quality of our court uh certainly our employees are a critical component of that and I am uh ready to uh make a motion to approve 13f second 13f okay before we do roll call just two people realize it the the process overall is an extensive process and actually has to be approved by one of the justices of the state supreme court so it's not something that is uh taken lightly councilman Krush yes councilman cordel yes Cales yes president ring yes and 13g is a waiver of fire permit fee in the amount of $60 for Pioneer Family Success Center in connection with a family campfire event to be held at the Bridgewater YMCA 601 garrson Road Bridgewater on Thursday September 19th 2024 with a rain date of September 26 2024 no comment I I'll move 13g but I I would offer this the the paperwork on this one is terrible we have Pioneer Family Success Center we have wolf family Success Center we have Empower summer there there's not one cohes one consistent name throughout thing they're all good people and I'll I'll move it agreed but I think they need to clean up the paperwork for the future and I'll move it okay I'll second 13 G any other comments councilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes president ring yes all right that completes the regular part of our agenda we are going to have a executive session tonight um I do not believe there's a need for any action afterwards none as expected so um with that um be it resolved by the Bridgewater Township Council that this body will now hold a closed meeting to discuss contract negotiations and litigation Warren contract negotiations poal open space acquisition block 519 lot 28 contract negotiations green old Grill litigation Palms premium cigar and pipe Lounge litigation when and if the matters discussed become public record this will be made known to the public and at that time the public is excluded from said meeting and further notices therefore is dispo dispensed with all in within accordance of Section 8 and 4A of the open public meetings act do we have a motion I'll make the motion to go into close session second all those in favor I I I think I think you need a roll call do we we call for Clos session procedural no no okay I I thank you I'm just saying that because there's a grid where did uh e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e I was just going because I saw a grid it's all right you can do whatever you want with that okay all right we have completed our uh closed session and I'll take a motion to resume uh public meeting motion to resume public meeting and then adjourn second all those in favor I I opposed do we need a separate motion to can we do one you know I don't have a problem you doing two ways once okay two combining it from one time okay next time split it up okay get you to where you want to be very good okay thank you lady and gentlemen we areed good night you do not have me next meeting nope I will be out