okay we're broadcasting all right thank you good evening and welcome as outgo and council president my privilege to call to order this reorganization meeting for the township of Bridgewater January 4th 2024 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 Courier News in the breeze posting on the website and the bulletin board in the municipal building and filing with the Township Clerk troop uh Boy Scout Troop 46 from Martinsville uh will now present our colors and then lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance if everyone would uh please stand alance to the fire of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay we'll now have our national anthem presented tonight by S sordino band the band members Anna goo Grace goo Wesley Wesley Lynn Evan Ren and Brian jeu [Music] the thank you that was beautiful uh please remain standing if you would for our invocation performed this evening by Rabbi Dan sellberg from Temple Shalom and Bridgewater in the Jewish tradition we read through the sacred book the Torah every year and this week we reach the story of Moses the greatest leader the greatest political leader it's worth noting the history of the Jewish people and Moses The Story Goes receives a call from God at the burning bush this is in the desert and the desert it's not like the lovely wooded areas we have in Bridgewater it's not Lush and green it's all these Browns and oranges so a bush on fire is sort of a little harder to notice than it is in a green area and Moses says this bush I'm noticing it's burning and it's not being consumed I going to go have a closer look and it's in that moment that God calls to him and the Jewish tradition is that that bush had been burning since the seven days of creation that for thousands of years that Bush was burning but nobody took the time to notice when somebody slowed down enough to notice what everyone else overlooked that's when they heard the voice of God that was Moses and so the blessing is that we all of us should slow down enough to notice what other people aren't seeing and to have have to be attuned enough to our environment to notice the subtle differences in the world because it's in those moments that we can hear the voice of God calling us to that which is best in us and luring us to our best selves and every moment we can make a decision that voice can lure us to make the best decision we can in any given moment so I'd like to bless this Council and all the residents of our Township with the wisdom to slow down to notice and hear the voice that calls us to be our best selves amen thank you everyone can be seated I'll just wait I'll wait a moment while our boy scouts uh place the flags uh in their stands I'm now going to recognize Alex fiser from uh from uh our uh law firm uh for the certificates of election all right good evening uh a statement of the determination of the board of canvases of Somerset County New Jersey relative to an election held in the county of Somerset on November 7th 2023 for the election of the following mentioned offices in the township of Bridgewater one four-year mayor seat the said board determines that Matthew C mench was was duly elected mayor two four-year Township Council seats the said board does determine that Timothy ring and Michael kers were duly elected to the township Council I do hereby certify that the forging is a true full and correct statement of the determination of the board of canvassers of Somerset County New Jersey in witness whereof I have here unto set my hand the 27th day of November 2023 signed Anthony J Deo chairman of the board of canvassers and attested by Steve Peter Somerset County Clerk and and Steve Peter since you're here you can confirm all that right okay thank you very much uh so with uh with the certificates of election in order uh I will uh invite Matthew C mench uh to come come up front and be sworn to office for a new term by our Congressman Thomas Kane Jr ready all right name I [Applause] con for making your comments from here or from there your brief comments you want to me your comments now uh unless no you you can you can wait I I told I told uh councilman cill earlier today that my speech was going to be 32 minutes he didn't blink uh Mike asked me later if I was joking or not uh I said I wasn't sure yet I I'll reserve my comments okay all right all right thank you then we will now um uh have uh Timothy ring joined by his family be sworn in and and councilman is being sworn in by his daughter Elizabeth ring for [Applause] I now invite uh councilman kersch uh and his family up to be sworn in by uh judge house thank you for for y let me just for okay we will now have a unique occurrence celebrating the swearing in of our new municiple excuse me Township Clerk Grace Juna RMC the oath of office will be administered by our recently retired and longtime clerk The Honorable Linda J Doyle Grace's mentor for e [Applause] okay for okay so now we're going to put our clerk right to work uh with an attendance roll call councilman kush here councilman codilla here councilman nalis here councilman pedroso here president um councilman ring here okay our next order of business is to select a council president I uh proudly nominate my colleague and running mate uh Timothy ring to serve as council president during the year 2024 I second it are there any other nominations okay if we could have a roll call to approve councilman ring as president for the year 2024 councilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroso yes councilman I don't have a choice after four so yes congratulations [Applause] congratulations thank you um so our next order of business is to uh elect a council vice president and four years ago when I joined the council as a newly elected councilman um councilman nalis I did a absolutely Stellar job in helping get councilman kers and I uh up to speed and running appropriately uh so I can think of no better person to nominate than Howard nalis to be Council vice president for 2024 I'll second it we have us roll call please councilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroso yes president ring yes all right uh next up is the mayor's state of the township address I will uh yield to Mayor Mitch 32 minutes start stopwatch start well it's 625 so he's only got [Laughter] seven I'm told by uh our our newly elected mayor Bray from ridan that they did their entire reorg in about 32 minutes uh so um I don't know we're going to quite get there um but uh I want to take a moment I add my speech but just to to thank everybody who came out today um you know first and foremost you know thank you to uh Tim and Michael who have been fantastic running mates and uh fellow elected officials uh you know it's been four years and until you run for office and you're you're kind of in the political trenches with your running mates you don't know what that's like and no one shares that experience with you except the people you run with so uh I've been honored to be able to run with Michael and Tim and honored that we're being sworn into together tonight uh for our respective second terms and we have a great team of people behind us all the elected officials that are here um as part of our Council uh Howard and Allan phip you know the five of us work as an incredible team six of us excuse me five and me I can't M add tonight but uh you know we work as a team to deliver for our residents uh we're all individually elected we all have our own ideas we all have our own vision of what we want to do but we ultimately share in the goals for our residents and that allows us to really work together well when we have debates and we have discussions and topics I think what winds up happening is we wind up at the best spot because we all value each other's opinions and ideas and I think that doesn't happen a lot in government all the time and uh we have that here so we're very blessed for that uh I have the job of recognizing folks in the room which is dangerous it's a job I don't like because you are immediately worried that you're going to forget some and then it's blamed on you um but it really is first and foremost an honor to have our Congressman Tom Kane here um he has been an amazing friend to Bridgewater uh over not just his time as a congressman but since he's been here um has worked hand inand with us our Administration to you know it's not easy working uh with the federal government and have somebody uh like the congressman here who we can call up who can work for our residents and work with our Administration to to Really deliver uh it's meaningful we hadn't had that previously and I really appreciate the friendship from the congressman we have our County uh clerk Steve Peter is here uh who verified that we did in fact get sworn in so thank you to our clerk uh for for coming out tonight former councilman Bob Albano is here my neighbor and uh great friend so thank you for coming out and supporting us it's been a 14 years Bob since you've been on the on the council do you miss it there you go so you're enjoying the 14 that you're off so far there you go um we also recognized I mentioned before mayor Nick Cara from ran is here thank you mayor for for showing up and I look forward there's no town that we look more work more closely with than ridan so to have a great mayor like mayor carara as a partner for us to deliver is really crucial and it's especially true when it comes to the fact that we have a Joint School District and we have some of our school board members are here I think I saw our newly elected board president Barry Walker is here so uh thank you Barry our vice president Jennifer lockran is here uh thank you and Lucy Lee is also here so thank you to the the Board of Education members who came out tonight and working for our students to ensure that they get the quality education that they deserve last but uh certainly not least our minority leader and cman John Deo was here uh thank you for for him for coming up we have a few friends here as well bill is here thank you Bill for your friendship and for coming out tonight Chief mitzak is here uh thank you chief for uh for being here our Republican County chairman Tim how is also here or was here I'm not sure if he skipped out but uh thank you to Tim for all of his leadership throughout the county I would be remiss if I didn't also of course recognize my family who is here I have a large contingent of people that here tonight which is actually makes us a little a little bit more nerve-wracking for me I don't mind speaking in front of a crowd of people I don't know um when you're speaking in front of a crowd of people you do know like your family it almost feels more pressure but my mother is here and my father so Mom wave everybody there we go my sister is in the front row and there's probably uh from a family member perspective if you're happy I'm here you can thank her if you're not then she's the one you can blame because she worked very hard to make sure that I got elected thank you Megan for everything that you do my daughters are here Julia and Manuel wave oh now Julia is shy she wanted to know what she could do before there was a fight about the Bible um so uh we worked that out so thank you girls my wife Stephanie of course for me to be able to do this puts an enormous strain on on her because we are I'm out a lot whether it's work or this or balancing that which means Stephanie is with the kids getting them up to three different activities on the same night and that is not easy to do so it's an amazing strain for her to allow me to do this I couldn't without her support so thank you Stephanie and my son Jackson is is there Jackson you got a wave too Jackson was much more interested in the election this year four years ago the kids were really too young to realize that I was running so when this year Jackson was was very I think he may have been one keeping track of which of his friends parents had the signs on The Lawns in which didn't so uh I think he still has that list somewhere uh I also want to recognize my mother-in-law my father-in-law who are here Louisa and Jack please wave um because uh when we talk about the The Strain that this puts on a family when my wife needs someone to call for help it's my mother-in-law who's the one who who helps so uh when we talk about taking a village to do something that's the village that I Rely Upon so without Stephanie and then the support of my mother-in-law uh this would not be possible to do so thank you Mom and thank you Dad for everything that that you guys do for me and I'm also honored today to have my Aunt Carol is here and my cousin Karen is here all the way from France not all lives in France now and uh and Alex so thank you uh for for coming my cousin Karen probably doesn't not remember but when my our grandmother would come to visit um my grandmother lived in Belleville and there used to be a joke because she'd come out to visit in Bridgewater and she loved the deer but could never find the never deer never out when she was here um which is amazing to think of now but I guess there was enough open space then that you would always see them but she did see a cow and there was a cow that wandered through the backyard and she saw the cow um because there was still farms in Bridgewater at that time there was you know that backyard I grew up on papen and behind papen was all the farms and uh it's amazing to think that that's what our brid community was known for was we were a farming community uh something that I think we still have two or three working Farms now um but that's what my my grandma would come out see the deer I think my dad put up a Salt Lick at one point in time to attract the deer I can't imagine what would happen if you did that now with the neighbors um but uh it's um it's truly an honor to have so many friends and family here tonight to celebrate the accomplishments that we've done together over the past four years and to look forward to what the next four years stands to bring It's been a reflective time for me to be able to Think Through what that's meant and I talked to a lot of student groups and one of the students recently asked me what was my favorite thing about being the mayor what do I like most about it and I like a lot most days um some days less than others but for the most part I I really enjoy being mayor and there's two things that I really that I mean the most uh to me the first one is swearing in police officers uh we do that as a ceremony usually at a at try to do at a council meeting sometimes do it beforehand but there's something incredibly significant to me to be able to administer the oath of of office similar to the one that we just took tonight to men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us who are the ones that co go to protect my house and my family and all of our families and they're dedicating themselves to us some of them live here some of them live in surrounding communities but for me to have that honor uh is significant I like doing it and it's meaningful to me the other thing that I enjoy doing is actually ironically talking to student groups I like doing that because I think the students have questions that sometimes are more insightful and straightforward and harder to answer than adults they really cut right to it uh and they're so filled of curiosity and genuine interest uh at least the younger ones and the older ones start getting a little bit more eye rolling and uh uh less interested but the the elementary students are truly um just insightful and one of the questions that in the same session that they asked is what does it take to be a good leader what does it take to be a good mayor was it take to be a good elected official and there's books of course on this about what means to be a good leader and and how do you be an effective mayor or council person and I think it takes three things I think you have to be thoughtful you have to be a fighter and you have to be fearless and when you have all those things together I think you have an Effective Government that can deliver for its residents and that's what we've tried to do over the past four years and what we're going to do over the next four we try to be thoughtful and diligent in how we approach problems much like the the farmers that used to live here and and who cultivated their land and who methodically planned and worked and toiled every day that they did the labor that's required to reap that Harvest at the end of the season it wasn't always stuff that was flashy it wasn't always stuff that immediately produced results but it took time and hard work and perseverance to do that's what our community was was a community of farmers and that's what we try to do to lead n now is be thoughtful we've approached our problems that way we've tried to cultivate our community Through programs like the Bridgewater Shield program for those of you who don't know a Bridgewater Shield run by Chief mitac is our community policing program our community outreach program it's our ability to bring Bridgewater's bravest officers Brave brid's bravest closer to our PE to our our citizens to be able to communicate about what we are trying to accomplish as a Township Police Department and hear what's on their minds we've had a Citizens police committee that's been a resounding success some of the members who participated are here who will tell you how great this program has been and every one of the more than 40 graduates from that program are now ambassadors to our residents helping to build Bridges throughout our community we've cultivated our community Through thoughtful process and how we budget balancing the financial needs of our Township making sure we take this responsibility seriously to ensure that every tax dollar we spent is spent wisely and with your interest in minds and we've taken a thoughtful approach to how we've cultivated our community with our land use management policies nothing is more important to the future of our Township than how we develop it or how we preserve it mesio and Jeff fous are here they're our land use board chairs they are the ones at the front line of leading those boards and the volunteers many of whom are in this room to look out for the interest of our community over the interest of Developers and make sure that what is proper gets approved and what is not gets denied and they're the ones with our board members who serve on those boards who do that day in and day out and we've taken a careful a thoughtful approach to who's on those boards how we put our land use policies in place and how they're implemented we've tried to take a thoughtful and Innovative approach to with our Bridgewater reach program we're providing tangible Aid to families struggling with the opioid crisis here in Bridgewater those that have gotten worse after the covid crisis and we're partnering with our local nonprofits to deliver real meaningful tangible results to help those who are struggling with addiction and who are in need and most of you have heard us talk about our road program over and over and over again Bill Burr our engineer is is here and Tom janova our director of Municipal Services who uh I think cringe every time I mention a new road um but our approach with roads has in over 200 roads out of our 600 being completed in the past four years and we're only picking up steam now and it's because of the approach that we've done through careful planning that's cultivated those benefits that will see us not just now but sustainable through the future I think that our residents deserve thoughtful leaders who not don't just think and have ideas but who willing to fight for what we have and make sure that we protect it it's not just a matter to have ideas if you won't Implement them and if you won't make sure that whether it's the state government or federal policies or any number of outside interests that are going to come in and take what we have and what we cherish we must fight to protect it we'll fight to protect to make sure Bridgewater is free of crime is safe and secure we will stand 100% behind our Bridgewater police officers we will make sure that they have the tools that they need and the support from our leadership and our community that we stand behind them who put their lives on the line for us unequivocally and we ensure that we hold them to the highest standards and our community is safe and secure we will fight and protect our opportunities for economic growth we will make sure that policies from Trenton or from DC that impact and harm our businesses are pushed back on we formed a Mayors for Main Street Coalition with 25 other towns to push back on covid policies that were harming our small businesses is refusing to let them open and we fought to make sure that we could continue to support our local businesses we will fight to protect our Open Spaces through acquisition and through defense of our land use we will make sure that our town continues to be somewhere that has open space and parks and playgrounds and we'll make sure that they get improved and they get built and preserved we will also fight and protect the sanctity of our families and stand up for the value of life we are committed to keeping our family values front and center knowing that the ideas that we plant in our children's minds and hearts will shape the very essence of the community we will become in the future we will work to protect our children's education from special interests we will push for the Excellence of our school district and we'll stand up to those individuals who put their own self aggrandisement above our children's special interest our children's interests and as we promised four years ago we will be Fearless in this fight we'll be Fearless in the fight for our bridgew families we'll be Fearless in a fight to protect our taxpayers dollars and we will be Fearless for protecting this town for our kids for future Generations we're not afraid to fail we are afraid of not trying and we will continue for the next four years to deliver the services our residents deserve with the best interest of our community always at the front of our minds thank you all for being here tonight thank you for giving us a chance to implement this vision for bridgew God bless all of you God bless bridgew and God bless America thank you good thank you mayor Minch um at this point uh I'm going to invite councilman kersch to say a few words good evening and happy New Year first I want to thank Rabbi Dan sburg from my congregation Temple Shalom for delivering an uplifting and impactful invocation when I was sworn into office 4 years ago I spoke of the rich tapestry of religions and cultures within Bridgewater I'm proud that through Rabbi Dan's prayer a small portion of my faith could be shared with all of us today during this new term I will continue to lend the office and title I hold with whatever influence they may have to encourage religious and cultural cooperation across our community and in the broader Society next I want to thank our municipal judge cath uh Katherine how who's gone on to her next swearing in I might add uh for swearing me in uh and acknowledge the bond that we have created for this new term today is the culmination of a political process and I would not be standing here without the incredible support of the Somerset County Republican organization Bridgewater Republican Municipal committee and our campaign team whatever you did to help us providing your time and efforts delivering guidance offering a shoulder to lean on or all of the above please accept my continued and heartfelt gratitude to Matt and Tim I could not have asked for better running mates to share the experience to our residents you showed Faith by electing me to Council in 2019 based on what was delivered over the last four years you extended that faith in 20123 for another four years to show my continued appreciation for this opportunity my Approach will be unchanged working hard each and every day always placing the interests of Bridgewater first and remaining accessible through email or a widely available home phone number to discuss any Township matter I'm so happy to share today's achievement with my family once again Nicole thank you for your love and your willingness to pick up additional responsibilities on the home front over the last several years so I could pursue my passion for public service feian Robert you provide me with my favorite title which is proud dad a testament to the mature successful young adults you have become and for your many achievements I close my remarks as I did four years ago by reading an important guiding principle it is an adaptation of the Athenian oath taken by adults of ancient Athens nearly 2500 years ago I will never bring disgrace on this our Township by an act of dishonesty or cowardice I will fight for the ideals and sacred things of the township both alone and with many I will rever and obey the township laws and will do my best to inite a likee reverence and respect I will strive increasingly to Quicken the public sense of civic duty thus in all these ways we will transmit this Township not only not less but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us through through the guidance of the mayor and Council work of our professional staff dedication of our volunteers devotion of our First Responders who keep us safe and input from across the community I humbly and proudly state that we have successfully transmitted a greater and More Beautiful Bridgewater I am confident that our shared Journey will allow us to reach even higher over the course of this new term best wishes for a happy healthy prosperous and PE peaceful New Year thank [Applause] you thank you councilman kersch four years ago this week uh I sat a few seats down on the de as a newly sworn in council member and gave some brief remarks which included a uh quote from my late father a job worth doing is worth doing right over the last four years I've worked hard to make sure that my efforts embody the thoughts of my late father and tonight um those efforts in many ways have been rewarded being sworn in as my second term on the council having uh received uh ReSound resounding election this past fall as well as my colleagues choosing me tonight to lead uh the council over the next year as the council president for that I say thank you um I say thank you to each and every Bridgewater resident uh who has recognized my dedication uh over the last four years and supported my reelection I thank uh my colleagues for having the confidence to lead uh the council this year um would also be remiss if I didn't thank councilman kersch for his leadership over the last year uh importantly I think my family um sometimes people have a a view that um you know Town Council Members goes to two meetings a month and that's it and I can tell you um the meetings are the easy part it's everything that takes place in between the meetings um that is is the the timec consuming piece um and so to my wife Terry I say thank you my daughter Elizabeth my daughter Amanda I say thank you um she's very concerned she had her wisdom teeth out earlier this week she has a hard time smiling she's happy to be here but after four wisdom teeth out has a swollen mouth so um she's happy to be here though and uh my mother's here as well as my brother and my sister and their spouses so thank you um most importantly I I want to say thank you to all of the uh Township employees that are here there's several employees here as well as several members of our various boards and committees and you know we we sit up here and we we take certain actions and we get to take the benefits for things but it's hard Township employees that work day in and day out in this town um and and help the town run smoothly and make our job much easier and I I think if you take a second you just think about our employees and and how they work together in the teamwork the fact that our now retired clerk came back tonight to swear in um someone who she helped groom and train to to eventually take over for her speaks volumes of you know just the the the unity and the teamwork that exists in this Township so for everyone here that is a uh Township employe serves on a committee serves on a board thank you for everything you do because it makes our job much easier um you know I I I grew up in Bridgewater uh chose to raise my family here my wife and I settled here I've lived in Bridgewater for over 55 years uh there's a lot of great things that exist in Bridgewater some of which I've learned more about over the last four years and I'm sure I will continue to learn more over the the the coming four years and I sit here tonight and I make the same commitment that I made four years ago and that is I'm going to do everything I can as a council member to embody a job worth doing is worth doing right so thank you all right and with a reorganization meeting comes um a number of business items that we have to do um next up is uh some appointments so before I move into this just for the public that might not be aware there there's four types of appointments tonight we do there's mayal appointments with Council consent for various staff member positions then we will do um mayal appointments with Council consent for boards and committees then there's mayal appointments which do not require any advice or consent to the council we'll simply read those so the public is aware uh and then there is a section for um Council appointments made by the members of the council uh I know sometimes folks are here because you want to you know make sure your appointment goes through uh to the degree you can please make sure you stay after we do all four of those anybody that is here that is appointed to any border committee tonight um Deputy Township administrator fiser will uh deliver a uh an oath of office to all of you at one time so to the degree you can please stay for that um and then following that we will uh wrap up the meeting um there is also a reception tonight being hosted by the Bridgewater Republican Municipal committee at majanos that everyone is welcome to attend so with that I'm going to move into um a lot of reading um I'm told I can read fast I'll try not to read fast but I'll try also not to read too slow so um with that meril's appointments with advice and consent for staff uh a appointment of Michael papis as director of administration and Director of Finance salary and wage to be set annually pursuant to Township ordinances appointment of Christine Madrid as director of Department of Human Services salary and wage to be set annually pursuant to Township ordinances establishing the bid threshold pursuant to njsa 40a col 11-3a to 4 $ 44,000 and appointing Sarah Housman as Bridgewater Township's qualified purchasing agent or qpa D appointment of qualified purchase purchasing agent Sarah housman's 2024 public agency compliance officer Paco e appointment of Thomas janova as director of Municipal Services salary and wage to be set annually pursuant to Township ordinances F authorizing appointment of William H Burr I fourth PE of colors engineering and design as Township engineer for a one- term commencing on January one-year term commencing on January 1st 2024 in an amount not to seed exceed $120,000 G confirming through advice and consent the appointment of Christopher M corini Esquire as the Director of the Department of Law aka the township attorney upon appointment by the mayor pursuant to njsa 4069 A- 43b and chapter 4 the administrative organization article 10 Department of Law section 4 -49 of the Township municipal code for a 4-year term commencing on January 1st 2024 and authorizing the execution of a professional service contract with the law firm of savos shock uh Corsini Warner jeppi orike and fiser Pa in the amount not to exceed $460,000 for the calendar year January 1st 2024 to December 31st 2027 H authorizing an approving the fee schedule for affordable housing legal services for Christopher M corini Esquire and the lawal firm of Sao sh Corsini Warner jpia Grundy Fisher PA in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for the period of January 1st 2024 to December 31st 2024 authorizing improving the I'm sorry uh I authorizing improving the fee schedule for tax appeal legal services for Christopher M Corsini Esquire and the law firm of savos shock corini Warner JP Grandy and fiser Pa in the amount not to exceed $400,000 for the period of January 1st 2024 to December 31st 2024 authoriz in clar jacobe alfar and Jacobs LLC Atul shivo LLC Antonelli canor Rivera Bell shivas and Bell and Wilson Anderson Peach as qualified firms to provide professional legal services for legal matters requiring a special counsel for the township of Bridgewater for the year 2024 with cost to be determined at the time of Engagement authorizing Award of contract for Professional Services to John dritz Esquire of the law firm of Gibbons PC is Bond counsel for the calendar year 2024 L authorizing the appointment of Matthew jacobe Esquire the law firm of clear jacobe Alfrey Jacobs LLC as labor Council for the township or bridgew for a one-year term commencing January 1st 2024 in an amount not to exceed $120,000 M authorizing Award of contract professional legal services municipal prosecutor John Lanza Esquire in an amount not to exceed $80,000 for a one-year commen one-year commencing January 1st 2024 n authorizing Award of contract for professional legal services Municipal public defender to Scott Mitzner Esquire for a one-year term commencing January 1st 2024 in an amount not to exceed $220,000 o authorizing Award of contract professional legal services first alternate Municipal public defender to Mega nulia Esquire for term commencing on January 1st 2024 terminating December 31st 2024 in an amount not to exceed $2,400 P authorizing a contract to roundhill risk Partners LLC of 788 Morse turn Morse Turnpike Suite 101 Short Hills New Jersey 07078 to serve as the Township's risk manager for health insurance services for a term of one year commencing January 1st 2024 pursuant to the fair and open process as defined by njsa 1944 a-207 at no cost to the township authorizing a contract to North American risk management Naim DBA acore New Jersey part I'm sorry Jersey Partners Insurance Services LLC uh 1460 Route 9 North suet 310 Woodbridge New Jersey 0795 to serve as the Township's risk manager for property Casualty Insurance Services for a term of one year commencing January 1st 2024 pursuant to the fair and open processes defined by njsa 19 col 44 a-207 at no cost to the township R authorizing the continuation of Public Health Services for Middlebrook Regional Health commission for the year 2024 at a total cost of 100,000 $5,673 pursuant to the requirements of NJ sa26 col 3-1 Etc s authorizing the appointment of Michael Sullivan of the firm Clark Kon hence PC as Redevelopment planner and award of contract Professional Services contract the amount not to exceed $10,000 for a one-year term commencing January 1st 2024 and lastly T authorizing Award of contract to rehab code Inc of 44 East Water Street Toms River New Jersey to serve as the Township's administrative agent for affordable housing and provide housing rehabilitation program services for a 12-month period commencing January 1st 2024 in an amount not to exceed $180,000 paid from the Township's affordable housing trust fund any yeah Mr Mr President one minor adjustment um if we could um make clarify at letter G uh as much as we'd like to buy one get three free um from our Law Firm I believe the intention uh for that payment term is for January 1st 2024 to December 31st 2024 the the appointment is for four years but the pay term is is is only for this one that is correct okay duly note it anything else otherwise I will entertain a motion to I'll make that motion I will second it councilman cordilla and councilman noralis roll call please councilman K yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroo yes president ring yes all right number seven mayor's appointment with advice and consent for boards and committees a appointment to the Greenbrook Flood Control Commission uh Thomas janova Alan cordilla Council liaison Michael kersch Council alternate Council liazon B appointment to the r Millstone Flood Control Commission Wells Wier alternate Alan C alternate C appointment to the regional center partnership committee Matthew MCH Michael papis Andrew Fresco Philipe pedroso Council liaison D appointment to the community Emergency Response Team or cert Ashish fakar cherylyn aista Colin crito Darren Patel Ed Schuler James Edwards James sherard Joseph cusamano II Kamal aani Lisa bigley Leonard cantero Mahesh Chandra Mary Beth inglehart Michael Harvest Nikki badani Pat Sullivan Richard Weedman Jr Robin cusamano Steven cornello senr Wayne Carter zamong Zen any comments or questions oh I'm sorry nope my bad uh wait that's it that's it yeah sorry Mich saying we need to vote on those yes that's I just if there was any comments or questions otherwise I'll entertain a motion just one clarification at number seven I believe the name was Jason sherard want to make sure that that's noted I'll move uh all resolutions from 7A through 7D I'll second roll call councilman Kish yes councilman cill yes councilman Nogales yes councilman pedroo yes president ring yes all right the next our mayor's appointments without advice and consent these are appointments that he is legally allowed to make without uh on himself or I'm Sorry by himself I'm just going to read these into the record um a appointment to the local emergency management Council and Keat Shaw Christine Madrid Christopher corini Howard nalis James Edwards John mitac John tilletson Michael V he Richard shrimp Thomas scolara Timothy ring Wayne Carter Wells Wier B appointment of planning board members uh class one mayor Matthew MCH class two Michael papis class three Sonia chardo class uh I'm sorry class four Sonia chardo class four Ashley Sakura class four Indie banga uh six alternate one nuron chargy and Alternate 2 William Akin appointment to the Sumer County Solid Waste advisory committee Thomas janova D appointment to the Somerset County Community Development Consortium Wells Wier Scott Stevens alternate e appointments in New Jersey intergovernmental Insurance Fund Commissioners Michael papis Wells Wier Alternet again that does not require any action by the council moving to number eight uh are Council appointments these are appointments done uh solely by the council uh a appointment of auditor Supply Clooney and Company 308 East Broad Street Westfield New Jersey 070 07090 2122 in a total amount not to exceed $60,000 for a one-year term commencing January 1st 2024 appointment of assessment search Officer William H Burr IV Township engineer PE appointment to the Bridgewater R Municipal Alliance Alexis terazzi Hutchins Andrew Fresco Howard nalis John mitac Serena colado D appointment to the board of adjustment Bruce bonjourno regular member John gayeski alternate one claudo vesio alternate 4 e appointment of class three planning board member Michael kersch F appointment of tax search Officer darl Murdoch G appointment to the Somerset County Community Development Consortium Alan cordilla Howard nallis alternate H appointment to the Somerset County Solid Waste advisory committee Howard N Gallas Michael kersch alternate appointment to the somerset Ron Valley sew Authority Robert Albano commissioner Howard Nur gallis Council liaison Michael kersch Council alternate appointment to the somerset Regional animal shelter management committee Robert devani James weeli Tony Hoffman uh and then number four is Joan Flynn as the alternate any comments or questions otherwise I'll entertain a motion I'll make a motion of 9 a through J together I'll second it I'm sorry 8 a through J sorry eight I'll second no no I thought it was all right it is it's 8 a through J 8 a through J my apology I will second councilman kers is amended motion roll call councilman K yes councilman codilla yes councilman ogz yes councilman pedroo yes resident ring yes so with that um if I read your name I'm going to ask ask you all to please rise and I'll turn it over to our Deputy Township administrator I'm sorry Deputy Township attorney close yes all right please uh raise your right hand and repeat after me I state your name cill do solemnly swear or affirm swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the constition of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people that I will Faithfully will fa impartially impartially and justly perform all the duties of the position of Township of Bridgewater Township of Bridgewater according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God thank [Applause] you um thank you all congratulations for those of you that stood and took an oath of the office before you leave tonight if you could please see Ali and Juliana who are sitting up here at the table maybe wave your hand hello um they just need you to sign some paperwork okay it's easier to do it tonight otherwise you got to get it notorized in back whereas they can do that for you so um couple business resolutions that we need to pass on 10 uh one is the 2024 General business resolution which grants various authorities to Township staff setting official designators policies and procedures pursu to various appable laws two is setting the 2024 Township Council schedule of meetings three is the 20124 temporary budget current Fund in the amount of 15 m371 28965 four is setting the 2024 temporary sore utility in the amount of 3,468 18589 five is established is our cash management plan and names official depositories six is authorizing Bridgewater Township engineer William H bur IV PE of the firm of cers engineering and the design to execute njde NJ doot and state of New Jersey and Somerset County permits on behalf of the township any questions or comments I'll move 10 1 through six I'll second it we have a motion and a second roll call councilman K yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroo yes president ring yes um at this point um would entertain a motion to open the meeting to the public any members of the public are welcome to come forward uh please you'll have to state your name and address on and you can speak to the Council on any matter unless there's unusual circumstances you're allowed two minutes to speak motion open I'll second it okay all those in favor I I I seeing seeing no members of the public wishing to address the um council tonight I'll make a motion to close public comment second all those in favor I I I I don't know um I know there was a conflict was running late I have not seen Pastor Hobbs so with that um uh that concludes our meeting tonight uh just as a reminder um there is a reception that is being hosted by the Bridgewater Republican Municipal Club at majanos everyone is welcome um we just need a motion to adjourn my favorite motion is to adjourn Howard do we have a second second all right U all those in favor I I thank you all meeting is adjourned [Music] you got this whole book memorized oh my God show thank you