all right good evening 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 and the breeze posting on the website and the bulletin board in the municipal building and filing with the Township Clerk can we have roll call please councilman kers here councilman Cilla here councilman nalis here councilman pedroo here president ring here those of you that are able to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I'll ask councilman kers to lead us pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic which it stands one nation under indivisible liy and jce for all all right we have some minutes for approval the April 18th Clos session is making its way um I'm going to separate the April 18th and the May 2nd since councilman kersch was unable to attend April 18th do we have a motion for the April 18th 2024 minutes so moved have a motion do we have a second second all those in favor I I opposed all right May 2nd minutes do we have a motion I'll make the motion for May 2nd I got a motion do we have a second okay all those in favor I I opposed all right moving on to Town Council reports I'll start with councilman kersch thank you council president um you know it's it's been three weeks since our last meeting B busy time so I'll I'll be uh I'll be as uh brief as I can be um ma uh May 7th uh the planning board met uh considered a minor subdivision and bulk variance which was also carried to May 21st so I might as well knock that off as well and acknowledge that uh um that that case was um adjourned uh there did not appear to be sufficient support uh for that application uh this is a minor subdivision on Chestnut Street uh two lots that essentially uh were merged into one based on legislative action uh and then in addition on the 21st we started to hear a major subdivision uh from Mountaintop Road basically two properties uh being divided um into uh into three uh on uh uh May 9th I had the privilege of uh attending launch of United for impact a group uh many of whose of of many members uh uh live in and around Somerset County their focus is on uh mental health Improvement Mental Health health awareness uh on May 11th I had the privilege also of meeting several uh Bridgewater residents at one of their favorite events which is the Bulky Trash uh I'm not sure if anyone else attended uh the uh May 18th I know I was there on May 11th and our residents remain very appreciative of that opportunity uh uh on May 14th uh the zoning board uh did not meet but carried four cases uh to either May 28th or June 11th uh on May 16th I had the privilege of joining council president ring uh in celebrating uh his induction into the Boy Scout Hall of Fame along with his brother uh and others uh so that's certainly glad to celebrate um that important accomplishment uh on May 19th I attended Community Day in conjunction with the JCC over at the uh at the mall well attended uh and you know there were certainly many Bridgewater families as well as those from the from the wider um uh Geographic uh geographic area um last night in this room we had a very successful uh uh master plan Workshop I'm sure uh uh Others May comment on that maybe maybe the mayor will comment on that so I'll simply acknowledge it was very successful um and certainly is putting us in a good position uh to move move forward with our master plan earlier today uh I was at the um uh dedication of plaque uh in honor of uh the um Prince Rogers uh it's quite an interesting story um of of who Prince Rogers was uh and the importance of remembering his legacy um uh that was a dedication uh in coordination with the township Somerset Patriots to Prince Rogers Foundation uh and Bridgewater baseball and softball and then one I want to go back to on uh May 13th I attended uh a meeting uh called by Congressman Cain um uh combating anti-Semitism um and I don't want to belabor the point but I do want to acknowledge um that uh there are many members in this community that are hurting and hurting quite badly um emotionally particularly um not only with what is happening in the Middle East uh people have family people have concern there but what's happening in this country um uh what's happening uh on college campuses what's happening in in in various cities uh the um scourge of anti-Semitism certainly has been rearing its ugly head uh even more over the last uh several months uh and I just you know want to acknowledge that there are there are many in this community that are are considerably impacted by that um I don't have any any any magic solution uh I wish I did um but I do want to just briefly share uh you know two comments that I made during the round table uh one was um that there's substantial conversation uh about the First Amendment and everybody's First Amendment rights and whether you're a college student or whether you're you know protesting in some other place and I just find it ironic that another part of the first amendment is freedom of religion um and I believe that a big portion of Freedom religion can and should be the ability for a person to peacefully um uh uh display a charm on a necklace of whatever Faith they may they may be um the other thing I just want to acknowledge uh is um uh a compliment that I received from some some some other Bridgewater uh um uh Affiliated uh groups that were there um they feel well supported by us um they they feel that in our community we're certainly doing all that we can uh and specifically the the individuals that were there was uh Rabbi sburg from Temple Shalom uh as well as members of The JCC and the uh uh the the Federation and that's my report thank you councilman [Music] [Music] cill okay thank you councilman nor Gallas thank you I was privileged along with councilman kersch to attend the induction of our council president ring into the eagle scout Hall of Fame Tim along with his brother Bob have been Eagle Scouts for over 25 years and involved in numerous Community Support activities congratulations Tim thank you we have had floods flu covid earthquake and the latest is the geom magnetic Storm from the Sun exploding out massive amounts of energy some of you may even seen the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights as it moves south from the North Pole while I hope never to report on the arrival of the biblical plague of locust I do need to say that the cicas are coming they are in the spotlight this year with the emergence of two Broods uh brood number 13 and brood number 19 at the same time uh so have your ear plugs ready uh the Bridgewater master plan last last night uh in this building it was very well presented and offered an opportunity for residents to tell their thoughts and concerns about the future Township plans the 200 Club of Somerset County an organization D dedicated to the support of our Fire EMS and police had their 2024 annual Valor and scholarship Awards launching last week $2500 scholarship Awards went to the following folks who were associated with Bridgewater Township Sabrina Abella from the Bradley Gardens first aid and rescue squad NAA Galant also from the Bradley Gardens first aid and rescue squad Evan Halper Greeno Rescue Squad Anil cipa from findern first aid and rescue squad and the police academy $5,000 scholarship given in memory of Roco D damoo went to Jamie Chang of the Martinville Rescue Squad that is my report thank you okay all right thank you councilman pedroo uh thank you sir only a couple things I want to highlight yeah first of all um I completed the Wharton uh public policy certificate program it was a f Monon program uh with various uh wide range of classes on various topics on public policy found it very interesting if any of you have an opportunity to do it I recommend it and the only other thing besides uh I tend to various things throughout the past three weeks but the only thing I want to sort of uh emphasize again is the uh the Prince Rogers dedication ceremony today uh thank you to the Somerset Patriots and Bridge township for organizing uh a very well-deserved event uh the um there is now a a plaque and membrance of Prince Rogers at the Ballpark at Prince Rogers uh little leak complex on Prince Rogers Avenue uh just a couple little points I'm not going to go into the detail history of Prince Rogers but I think it's just worth noting tonight uh that just so everyone knows Prince Rogers um was a resident in Bridgewater his parents were kidnapped from Africa and they were enslaved here in New Jersey in the late 1700s uh Prince roderers was born in Bridgewater on September 29th 1815 and he himself became a slave he was free uh on September 29th in 1839 uh he then helped establish the community that is now Hoptown it's my understanding that that that that Hoptown was one of the first um African-American communities established in New Jersey uh so um it's nice to have that tribute for him here in town um he is buried in Bridgewater in a very small um funeral cemetery on Foothill Road which I believe is a historical site not it should be is that the one right behind the firehouse near the firehouse okay and I wish everybody a happy and healthy Memorial Day weekend let Summer begin all right thank you uh just a couple items uh as councilman kers mentioned last night was the master plan um presentation public input session uh was very well attended by the public and I just like to extend my appreci appreciation to everyone in particular uh Suzanne from the office of constituent relations who organized the event um like to extend my personal appreciation to my fellow brothers and sisters in EMS who are celebrating EMS week this week and um I thank those members of the council for attending and the well wishes on my Eagle Scout honor uh that's my report mayor's report good evening a there we go um wish I been too you hear you might as well be heard that's what I'm saying it's uh you know captive audience and uh um but I just wanted to have a few few comments uh for reports uh first of all I was unable to attend uh council president Ring's dinner but uh I was wanted to publicly congratulate him again as everyone else has done um if anybody knows Tim he is probably one of the most resourceful uh people that I know and uh certainly uh embodies I think what it means to be an eagle scout and uh from all of his public service and Leadership roles uh to the type of person that he is so um it was a fine selection into that that organization's Hall of Fame and uh I told it was a great event so um glad that occurred and sorry that I missed it um last night's planning board uh open master plan uh discussion I I thought was really well done I want to thank OCR especially Suzanne Mater for coordinating that effort and uh we had a lot of positive feedback from the public on the the format of how it was done uh I don't I got a lot of good feedback from the public that I talked to with different ideas and different things that they had noticed um in their area or concerns that they had that are things that we really uh to be thinking about and and that's of course why we do it to get that public input thank you uh Michael for uh pin shating today and um attending the uh the Prince Rogers event um I was told it was a really nice event and uh I you know told his remarks were well received and uh glad that he was able to speak on behalf of the township um only other item generally is I know there's been uh questions we are I promise everybody we are close to finalizing budget uh to present to to the council and uh we've been going through various iterations and and issues to make sure that it is good to go uh and uh I think we are nearing an end so I appreciate the council's patience with me uh between us working through what we needed to do and uh me needing to make decisions on we want to do so we will have that for the council and uh we will get that moving I promise you as quickly as we can so that's all my report thank you all right so next up is a proclamation for EMS week and I know that at least one of of the EMS agencies that we invited tonight is on their way back from a call at marown Memorial will be delayed so I think uh what we'll do if uh the captains are willing we're going to have them go next and we'll come back to the proclamation okay you guys good with that so with that um I guess mayor or administrator do you want to yeah I'll ince this presentation yeah I'll make a few a few comments uh and then we can we can hear if the uh if the officers have anything to add um myself and chief mitac have uh been participating with a uh other mpali uh in the Somerset Hills area so it's Bridgewater Bernards Bernardsville Far Hills peac Gladstone um and maybe Bedminster to discuss the issues that a lot of our communities have faced with regard to car thefts and you know the thefts of the uh car parts and and all this stuff that comes with that and um we've looked at it from both a law enforcement perspective and from a policy perspective and there's various things that we've discussed and tried to are continuing to try to do such as things like corination with regard to you know a lot of communities are impacted by the same 78 exits as an example so for people who are coming down 78 and getting off at exit 33 or you know the exit in um towards Bedminster well it impacts bridgew burners Bedminster Warren all those towns are impacted by the same intersection so there's been discussion as how we can pull resources how we can communicate between the towns there's a joint application for a grant with regard to additional license plate uh readers uh things that can all be shared in information between municipalities so if there is a car stolen car reported it it pings more cameras you have it's a shared system so you can alarn other municipalities things like that one of the issues that has come uh out of that is towns have been passing some local ordinances to give um an extra tool to municipalities to have some additional enforcement power when it comes to um not car thefts directly but you know people who are uh loitering on a property for purposes of stealing a car maybe they haven't quite stolen it yet but you know they're about to um it's an additional tool that we have that um can go alongside State statutes that already exist it provides us a little additional um leeway in terms of how we charge or getting in front of issues one of the problems that often happens is um by the time a car theft occurs it's already car is gone it's out of our jurisdiction it may be uh harder to implement so this is another tool in the toolbox to to combat that it is not a uh Silver Bullet to solve the problem but it's it's an additional tool and it's also a message uh all the other municipalities in this group uh have have passed similar ordinances it's a way of um in addition to giving our police additional resources it's a way of us making a statement uh both to our public to people who may be coming into our community with uh not great intent in mind that we will take these things seriously as well as sending a message to the state that we believe that um they need to continue to increase their efforts at combating uh these crimes which impact a lot of municipalities not just br order so uh with that we have um asking the council to consider at its next meeting introducing this ordinance which would provideed some additional tools to do that the officers we've checked with the prosecutor's office uh to make sure that they're okay with it and of course we've coordinated with our Police Department so uh that's what we have um captains want to add any comments you're here it's a stage is yours I thinked for that's pretty much it other than that the mayor everything I I don't know if Mr has anything else too because uh we had a brief conversation about this I can't state it any better than uh than the mayor has and the captain's can except that um my office prepared this and coordination with the administration and the department and uh my memo covers all the relevant legal issues I'm happy to answer any question questions anyone has as our our two boys in blue here so actually one's in green tonight I didn't realize that you're right thanks council president the question that I have is listening to the ability to share information and so forth the you know in days past there was always you know info cop and different utilities where officers could share information across Towns now that we we go through County for dispatch say there's an incident uh we have the plate readers in Bridgewater and we we're looking at cars going up you know going up north or coming south how is is there an anticipated way is that information going to be shared through County dispatch you know to get that information out or how's it going to be served no we flock cameras is what the brand that we have flock cameras we have three of them in town and then we put in the uh the grant for an additional flock camera so uh if you sign up for the E alerts on your phone you'll get an alert straight to your phone um and then you can share it with whoever you want to share it with but so if there are cameras we have three cameras we can give Warren we can give bedminister we can give Pac um sharing U so they can see hot plates that go in there or or or any kind kind of stolen card that that we see that we hit on they would hit on they would get an alert as well so this would basically basically be Police Department Department to police department and so is not involved in this it's not even really police to police cuz it's they're getting the alert at the same time you're getting it yes it's really real time yeah they're all getting the alert at the same time that's my question I just well the count the county communication is not involved in this no okay I I don't I don't have a comment you know I'm just trying to wonder how it's going to work a crime occurs a burglary that information is shared immediately with surrounding towns we'll have dispatch okay very good I just curious about that that point because it's very Dynamic information that you know how do you how do we get it from here to Warren you know up to Far Hills or whatever the case might be that's just a question thank you I have one question you know we have Amber Alerts where we ask the public for help and finding missing kids and walkways any consideration to telling the public that there is a uh stolen car or something out there so because we where we're limited by police eyes in the hundreds if you if we told some of the population uh we'd have a lot more eyes looking for a specific vehicle it's just a thought I'm not expecting you guys to to come up with anything at this point uh but information is very valuable and the more we can share it and the more we can get people involved uh the better I don't know how much New Jersey will allow that but I will tell you that um I personally in Private Industry work with flock on a regular basis and in Tennessee right now Memphis which is a hot bed for stolen cars I get the alerts all the time on my phone for hotels in Memphis so it is done outside of New Jersey I don't know if New Jersey will allow it Mr President um just I guess a question maybe more for administration um do you anticipate bringing an ordinance to us in the next uh couple of weeks yes so there's a ordinance that is is drafted um it's it's either identical or very similar to what the other municipalities uh mean have been updated for purposes of meeting our code but it's um in the same general substance as what has been done for other municipalities I've already submitted it mayor I there you go thought I thought that it was circulated yeah so it was originally there was a question of putting it on the agenda and based upon our presidents of wanting to have a presentation and discussion for feedback before we introduce I that we hold that till the next meeting yes I I support I support that that protocol look this is a very important issue um you know this goes to people's safety uh you know obviously you know cars being stolen uh uh you know mud rooms being broken into to then steal the key fob to then steal the car the the catalytic converters you know this is certainly a a quality of a severe quality of life concern I I guess the question that I have you know we want you know you know we we we don't want people to live in in we don't want people to be petrified um but at the same time they do need to be diligent um do you sense that this that this is is is it getting better is it getting worse you know like like what what are you seeing to be honest with you sir it comes in es and flows we haven't had a lot of uh C converter thefts in a a good month so who know maybe we'll have more tonight but it it seems like a crew comes in it's his fault We two and then the crew's gone for a month or two so we haven't had it C converter thefts in in maybe even year I may mean beginning of the year we had some but not in a couple of months couple months but we have had some car burglaries not the car burglaries that people leave their cars unlock people go inside and help themselves to items that are in the cars not stolen cars car burgies oh theft of property within a car and then the other thing you know I just want to you know make sure that I'm I'm uh portraying it correctly people's homes are being broken into you know a mud room or you know something where people tend to keep Keys uh and and then you know they're they're walking away with the with the key fob yeah there's a high-end car parked on the driveway and people have been breaking there's one happened in Moren last week someone broke into their house to grab their keys to steal the car out of their driveway you can actually buy very nice boxes on Amazon not that I'm recommending that are RFID signal blocking boxes so you can the feasts have a device that they use to locate the RFID signal so when they break into your house they know where to go to get the fob you can actually buy a box that's r ID box if you think of the foil that you would put your Easy Pass in the box is lined with that you put your keys in that at night they can't find your keys in your house so they go somewhere else it's about 30 bucks on Amazon or in the alternative they find one that's close to a window that's easily accessible and that's the one they take yes okay and there's also now a device out there that's sold at some major stores called flipper zero that clones any RFID device and they sell it for the convenience of having an extra car key but it's being used by criminals it's about 160 bucks so they can break into your house clone your car key and put your key back and take your C at another time they're getting smarter and we have to try to stay one step ahead of them so if uh you know it sounds like the council is generally uh okay with it so we can we can have that for the next next meeting can I make a suggestion to the administration much like we did with the introduction of the sore ordinance for tonight um rather than waiting till we get our packet a couple days before the next meeting I think if we could circulate that sooner versus later it gives the council more time to review it we can circulate it as early as tomorrow it's ready to go thank you CC right now circulated instantaneously we're ready to go so thank you everybody thank you all right um we will move to meeting uh to the public I will take a motion to entertain opening the meeting to the public I'll make that motion we have second it we have a motion we have a second all those in favor I I members of the public wishing to address the council in any matter will be allowed two minutes to speak unless there's unusual circumstances if you come forward uh if you could please state your name and address if you not comfortable do we have a sign in sheet there if you're not comfortable stating your address you may write on the sheet there as a sign in thank you hi yes I'll write it on on the sheet hi my name is Sandra Ru and uh I live at Bridgewater um 373 Pawn Road I guess I I was re reviewing the agenda and I see Oprah on the agenda and I wanted some explanation of understanding the audience number 12 calling for the modernization of the of the open public a access uh a records act uh and the Swift passage of the Senate bill and assembly Bill what could you explain that that's one thing um because Oprah is a way that I use just to understand what's going on in my town and I do not want that to be limited in any way so I just want to know what does this mean the second thing is about the sewer bill but you said you're going to address that later what how are my sewer charges be increased so that's to be to be determined okay yeah you said that yes okay so OA that's up to you right it hasn't been the it's been passed the governor has not signed it yet so it's passed both houses uh of the of the legislature um I think it was a bill sponsored by Senate President scari and Senate minority leader uh Buco and um and pass both houses it's on the governor's desk for him to either sign veto or conditionally veto and the bill is very comprehensive it does a lot of things it's not a simple bill but as a general matter it attempts to um clarify what is subject to Oprah what is not it um addresses some of the fees and costs that get associated with Oprah um so that if somebody is requesting if a commercial company is requesting a lot of things that we can charge the company back for it if a um there are certainly municipalities where people use opr as a as a way of uh I'll put this way they're very aggressive with how many opras they put in and how often they put in and whether they're truly operable um so it tries to shift the balance a little bit um so it cost is not froming on the taxpayers all the time like at the um we have the case that Bridgewater has right now we Mr ch's office is is handling in the Supreme Court over as an example whether or not email lists are operable so those are some of the issues um when Oprah first came out years ago there's been a lot of case law that has taken place since that time uh that has in some instances been good ruling some instances you know maybe has been seen as less beneficial so the Senate and assembly are trying to up it's not it's not eliminating Oprah oh it's not eliminating Oprah but it might clarify there may be there may be some things I don't want to misrepresent it there may be some things that right now are subject Oprah which moving forward may not be email list as an example or something that's up in the air it would answer that question within a couple weeks of applying for a permit to install a generator at my house I started receiving in the mail unsolicited offers for generator maintenance because companies go file an opener request for building permits that Public's tax dollars are paying for that company to generate a marketing list correct and that's been the problem it's so so answer your question is that that's it's very comprehensive but what that resolution would do is essentially ask the governor to sign the bill that is on his desk so the word modernization I'm not sure what that means it's it's this resolution is a Moder is a model resolution that the league of municipalities has put out and it's basically saying that when Oprah was was first done I forget the exact year but it could have been 40 years ago or 30 years ago so what this is saying is essentially saying to the governor pass the you sign the the bill that's on your desk that would otherwise modernize Oprah to address all the changes in law and technology that have taken place since Oprah was first uh was first instituted all right thanks seeing no additional movement move to close public input have a motion I'll second all those in favor I I opposed all right motion carries um with that like to go back to um Proclamation okay CC president uh am I reading are you reading it's all you all right hold on let me get the right one if you you want me to okay it's all right I am capable you it's all right I I'm not GNA argue I just uh always knows all right before you read this you should forewarn them that if they come up for a picture and she tells you to stand somewhere just stand there it's much easier I say you should come up because it's um all right we'll let our EMS members come up here and uh what that yeah you're fine yeah I'm I'm good okay hold on Count Council pres is making sure I I got the right one no right here I got it no I'm going to read the one for green all because they're here clearly we do this on one take without practice I know it's uh Len I I told council president he could do it if he wanted to uh you know between Tim and Suzanne I don't know why I'm here it's uh all right uh so in celebration of uh EMS week 2024 this a proclamation we have one of these for uh all of our our our rescue squads obviously we have a green all here this evening so I will read the green all Rescue Squad Proclamation and then we will get the others to all the squads and uh I know before I read it I just want to you know say on behalf of the township you know thank you to all of our squads for everything you do I know uh many members of our U of our Council have served uh as on EMS um council president ring and councilman pedroo and of course uh we have a lot of fire fire experience as well um with uh councilman cordill and councilman or Galis um but EMS is an important part of our Public Safety we talk about our police officers a lot we talk about our firefighters a lot and EMS is uh just as critical and uh called uh called very often um the services of our of our EMS community so with that uh whereas the Bridgewood volunteer rescue squads are the heartbeat of our community's Emergency Medical Services providing vital care with unwavering dedication and whereas Bridgewater residents are served by four rescue squads the Bradley Gardens first aid and rescue squad the first aid the fer first aid and rescue squad the greenall rescue squad and the Martins Rescue Squad and whereas the members of the greenall rescue squad stand ready 24 hours a day 7 days a week to deliver life-saving assistance to those in need and whereas the exceptional quality of care provided by the green all Rescue Squad significantly enhances the chances of survival and recovery for individuals facing sudden illness or injury and whereas the resence of Bridgewater depend on the expertise and commitment of EMS providers who are often the first to arrive at emergency scenes delivering immediate Medical Care and starting the crucial chain of survival that saves lives and whereas the members of the green all Rescue Squad both career professionals and volunteers alike commit countless hours to specialized training and ongoing education continuously honing their life-saving skills to better serve our community and whereas it is fitting to celebrate the invaluable contributions and remarkable achievements of the green all Rescue Squad by officially designating Emergency Medical Services week now therefore I Matthew C mench mayor of Bridgewater along with the Bridgewater Council in honor of this occasion to hereby proclaim the week of May 19th to 25th 2024 as Emergency Medical Services week we urge all Bridgewater residents to join us in recognizing and celebrating the vital role played by the green all Rescue Squad in protecting and preserving Bridgewaters Health and Welfare thank you gentlemen first we'll take a picture get the whole Council down take a picture to balance it on your head back up ever so slightly you guys back up to the podium for me than you how we going to fit in here hour sir I did yes you have some parting gifts too all right so moving on we are now at item number 10 which is a public hearing and final action ordinance this is an ordinance amending the code of the township or Bridgewater chapter chapter 40 substances hazards to add sections relevant to reimbursement of costs to the township and violations and penalties um do we have a uh motion to uh open public hearing I'll make that motion we have a motion I'll second okay we have a second at this time anyone that would like to come forward and comment specifically on item 10A is welcome to do so seeing no interest from the public in speaking on 10 uh I move to close the public portion uh and to uh um move forward with uh final action uh and U final action on 10 we have a motion do we have a that motion no we have a motion do we have a second I'll second it okay we have a motion we have a second do we have any comments I I guess I have a comment Mr council president good thank you sir uh consistent with my uh my vote well my yeah my vote uh to my no vote doing the introduction I will uh also vote no for final adoption um although I I support the concept of dis ordinance and I do think that in generally it's a a good thing and I want to thank uh Sergeant James Edward for the work he put into this uh I did make a simple request to add one sentence into the ordinance which was that the term discharge shall not include any spill related related or or 25 gallons or less gasoline from a non-commercial vehicle I did say I was willing to tweak those words um but since that's not included I will not vote in favor of the ordinance I think the ordinance has it stands um has a broad scope it basically subjects uh individuals uh passenger vehicles uh to substantial costs if they have an accident um and some vehicle spills from the mo from the car I do think that um I do think that um although I I understand the logic of passing this cost on to the the person who caused the accident and perhaps maybe insurance companies end of the day I don't think that's a net savings to the residents I think if you transfer the cost of the insurance company well the people's car insurances go up um and it's really the net savings isn't really apply I do think that um um to certain extent government has an obligation to provide essential Services I would I would certainly consider cleaning up a reasonable amount of fluid from a passenger motor vehicle accident to be in entral government service I don't believe it's uh proper to pass on that expense to the residents um who have who who have the unfortunate event of having a car accident uh I think the the Hefty the these amounts can be very very high um whether insurance covers it or not is questionable and then of course there's the whole issue that we are creating we are expanding government we're creating an entire bureaucracy now that has to deal with uh pursuing these fees collecting these fees uh you have additional attorney fees to collect the fees uh there's a whole bureaucratic system that's created around this the the in actually increases costs so without having that proper language that would limit the scope um to uh commercial vehicles or larger larger Siz vehicles I I will not support the ordinance and Mr President just to you know reiterate part of the conversation from three weeks ago uh um there there may be um consensus uh to solve the concern uh that councilman pedroo has at some later Point um in the intervening time that it takes to uh introduce this uh ordinance um I think it's more prudent for us to go with a fix even if it's not a perfect fix uh and if there is a desire to revisit this later this year we certainly can do that uh so that's the reason why I will support this as uh a fix of a problem and if there's an even better fix available later in the year we can consider that at a later time thank you any other comments the only comment C president I'll just make is that this the the current fee Provisions already in our code this is just right now if somebody just for there's people who who pay uh right now as are supposed to uh when requested but there's other instances where people just refuse so we this is just to add an enforcement mechanism to the fee schedule that already exists this is not adding new fees it's just us to enforce it against people who don't comply with what's currently there if if this ordinance did not pass tonight res to to councilman pedroso concerns residents could still be charged this is not a a new fee the the the ability to charge correct we would we would still charge as we have been in these situations where it's appropriate we just wouldn't be able to enforce for those people who decide not to correct comply so all right if there's no other comments we'll take roll call councilman kers yes councilman cordilla absolutely yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroso no president ring yes all right um next up 11a is an ordinance amending chapter 175 sewers and Sewer usage I'm sorry sewer disposal implementing revised swer fees and payment schedule someone like to comment yeah I'll make a few comments and then uh Mr papis can uh address anything if um he thinks I missed anything um this ordinance does a few things um as a starting point it just updates the current cost if somebody wants to connect to sanitary sewer uh there's a fee schedule with that you have to pay for the hookup uh this updates that um those numbers that's for new connections not for new connections correct if you're not currently connected to sewer and and you are connecting whether you're there's different there's different fee schedule if you're a residential user or if you're a commercial user but this is just updating correct this is updating that um the other aspect of this uh just as everyone um I think knows we are sewer right now uh we have our sewer utility but we obviously um we get charged by srva that's the agency which processes all of our all of our um sewer and waste flow and they set a schedule that amounts to over about just about half of our entire sewer budget goes to paying the charges that they charge us uh we don't control that we do have two we have two votes essentially on a on a board that consist of all the um several municipalities the county entities that have voting rights there but they pass on their costs and uh in the past the um when they increased their costs the township didn't um didn't do anything appropriately right um and that had created if everyone remembers when I first um uh you know four years ago in our first term one of the issues that we had to address was sewer because the sewer budget had been um so depleted uh down because of things like not adjusting not taking into account the cost that svsa passed on uh and other and other you know using sewer money to pay for roads and things like that but um so what we are attempting to do is to uh one adjust the you know the cost for 2024 uh to uh take into account um you know what we are are going to do moving forward and then um also address going forward to make it clear that if srva increases uh their costs then uh you know that would be a cost that's passed on uh to our users because it's a direct you know it's a direct cost um that we incur and that uh we would the rates would go up you know with whatever that cost increas is so that way we don't have a situation where we have to come back you know constantly amending the ordinance uh to adjust a fee schedule so that's the um uh you know the highlights uh with what we're trying to accomplish with this with this ordinance for the Public's benefit um on the annual sore usage could someone just perhaps recap what we're looking at pricewise sure this year and next sure currently the sewer fee is 4 $72 annually The Proposal is to increase basically for the second half of this year an additional $12 which would bring it to $484 and for 2025 an additional $12 so it would be $496 so just to clarify I don't want to we looking at 483 and 495 on our documents I um we had talked about that at the last meeting and people wanted to round things and okay I guess the version that you have is not what I had expected modif so we can verion or adjust those numbers here so if we want well I mean just for for for clarity if we are adjusting numbers um I I would prefer since this is payable in two chunks for those who choose to do that that um if we do make the amount 484 and 496 and in addition I would recommend that the hookup fees which are scheduled to go to $476 5.95 at the risk of over taxation uh if we simply round that up by a nickel uh to make that uh um you know a full a full dollar amount so just to clarify so new connections would be 4766 uh commercial would be 4766 for every 300 gallons per day um and then source for this year would be 4 make 484 484 and then for 2025 496 told by Mr Corsini if we verbalize that prior to introduction we are okay so I guess just informally are we all in agreement on that right and if the council looks on the ordiance you see that the the rate section section three has the rate from for you know January 1 2024 through December 31st 20124 and then the other section c talks about the rate from in 2025 okay it does also include Provisions to allow for uh different differing dates has had been two payments yeah yeah it gives people the option if they would choose the srva pass through as the mayor said is included the only thing that's not included what uh I had discussed with the council last time was the additional increase in 2026 that's been removed okay and the automatic 2% every year has been removed correct and then the uh the other addition is a um commitment that the administration will every even numbered years review theal yeah reevaluate and and report to the council I just and I just want make it I acknowledged our sore expert first I I'd like to make it very clear to the public that this is not a sore tax this is a sore utility payment no different for your garbage or your electric or your gas or something like that in this particular case we happen to be the intermed to pay the bill but it is not a tax it is a utility thank you sorry councilman no my my apology um I guess a question for administration C can you walk us through so that so so we have just set the rate for or we are in the process of setting the rate for 24 uh as well as uh for 25 um can you walk through your thoughts on how we would approach uh and any srva increase oh Mr I'm sorry goe Mr carcini can correct me but if the um ordinance the council approves the ordinance there would not need to be Council action that whatever notification that the sewage Authority would provide would then be able to be incorporated into the individual sewer user fee two years ago they increased it by by 25% in 2022 the administration and the council determined not to pass that on uh and um have absorbed that approximately probably 130,000 or $140,000 additional expense that was absorbed in 2022 and in 2023 sewage authorities did not increase the fee this year okay because the the way it the way it reads and this is in section three letter D whenever treatment fees or cost charged to the township are increased by the somerset ritan Valley sewage Authority or the planfield Area Regional sewage Authority the fees and charges herein shall be shall be increased by the same percentage as said increase the increase shall begin on January 1st of the year thereafter now typically they come to us in like the February to March timeline was I was mistaken the sewage Authority svsa approves their budget by December so that fee is does not take in effect until the following calendar year I misspoke at the last meeting so we would uh be notified by December or January so there would not be a supplemental Bill correct to cover the additional correct thank you all right because what what I'm concerned about is that um you know we we Bill people they know what to expect uh it doesn't change uh you know through the year I I know some um some heartburn was created with with a supplemental tax bill this year associated with the school district I just want to make sure that we're not setting us up to create a situation like that um when we issue bills for the sewer utility for a particular calendar year that is what that is um and I just want to make sure that from a timing standpoint we have the the sufficient ability to integrate whatever uh increase there may be particularly from the somerset Ritt Valley sewage Authority yes okay anything else I I mean just for context purposes you know we're talking about a 5% increase over a 2 and a half year period and you know you know you know certainly um you know a sizable portion of that is is a is a a pass through expense from the um uh sewage Authority um uh you know it certainly I think pains all of us anytime that uh uh we have to increase a fee but in this case uh you know a 5% increase over 2 and a half year period seems to be very modest uh and um you know I'll I'll support this ordinance I have a question go um when are we anticipating receiving a sewer budget because at this point the governing body has not received a sewer budget so so it goes when we get the you it goes hand inand with the with the regular budget so I'm anticipating that it will be before the next meeting um that's the hope one of the issues that we have with the budget uh with the SE budget is we need to know what the um you know what the what the fees are um because obviously if the if the council is approving these um you know these fees then we know you know obviously the budgets have to balance right so if we know what the fees coming in are we can make the final um uh determinations on the budget for the sewer um if if the council you know again if the council approves this uh then we know what the anticipated revenue is based off of the these numbers if the council doesn't approve this then um you know we have lower revenue and we have to take that into consideration because everything has to balance right we can't have a um you have to have a balanced budget on this stuff so um once this gets you know moves forward presumably introduced um this evening and uh if we anticipate you know the council approving it we'll be able to finalize those numbers for the super budget my uh you know my thought is that um I feel like in a way you know we're we're putting the cart before the horse as they said um is there any is it possible for us to receive both the budget and this ordinance at the same time so that typically the governing body has the obligation to scrutinize the budget they go go through it in detail sometimes they make Cuts sometimes they don't uh but in there's a process and in that process um by going through it it's a large budget a lot of line items maybe the fee that's proposed here makes sense right but maybe another set of eyes will'll find something that can be done and maybe the fee can be lower so my point is is that I don't I just don't feel like I have I have information to know whether this fee is the right number or not without having the budget and so a couple things on that so one um part of this is to address U the fact that uh the prior not last not this year but last year srvs say increase their rates um you know about 2 and a half% but we did not pass that along so one we're trying to make up that extra 2 and a half% that we absorbed through the sewer budget that we didn't pass along and uh make sure that we get ahead because we don't know what they're going to do hopefully every year you know they don't increase and and we can have many years in a row with no increases from srva um but the svsa bill is half of our budget we still have you know the other half of our budget is still normal um costs right we have employees every year pumps ground right we have all the equipment that goes with that so the the problem with sewer as a um as a different function than the municipal budget is with the sewer right the rates are set by ordinance uh every year and historically our town has not increased them every year um we've we've gone as long as we can with that increase and then when we're finally like at you know the edge of of the Abyss we then increase them and that's not really a good way of of doing it because what we're trying to head off also is larger increases if you remember we had to increase the super budget uh a couple years ago by a larger amount we're trying to avoid that because I think the public would it's easier to absorb a $12 increase or a $10 increase than not doing it for several years and coming back and saying hey now we need to do a $100 increase um the other part of it is one of the discussions that has uh you know occurred we have lots of people that want us to uh sell the sewer system uh we're always approached by people that want us to sell the sewer system and there's a lot of people that don't want us to sell the sewer system well one of the decisions that we need to make is if we are going to keep the sewer system we need to invest in the sewer system which involves substantial uh investment in terms of Pumps and Equipment and infrastructure and if that is where we're going to go we need to make sure that we are uh building up some Revenue so it's your point right so if we increase it by $12 this year and we looked at it and said well you know we didn't have an increase from mvsa this year maybe we could avoid it well that might be true but one that doesn't allow us to put any money um into you know the future Capital Improvement funds we don't need the bond uh you know future uh costs and it doesn't take less to anticipate if we got a cost in this you know December for svsa going up we're then already behind the aall when it comes to that increase takes effect January we're not you know passing next year's budget until sometime in the spring we're already increasing that cost and then we're stuck either increasing by a larger amount increasing you know doing multiple bills so so um you know we believe that these rates certainly for 2 24 and 25 right the council last meeting said they didn't want to go another year out because you want to be able to look at it in a uh not too far out um so that's why we're looking to do this and we would support these numbers numbers regardless of if we went through the sewer budget and said look we think we can we could manage with only a $5 increase this year um if we're going to do prudent financial planning we need to be able to um make sure we have enough funds and at the end of 25 when we look at this again in 26 the answer might be maybe we don't want to increase it in 26 um but we need to look at it the other part of your question o councilman is that um certainly uh the the hope the schedule would be that you'd have a uh a post budget uh before the next um you know meeting and you know we would anticipate using these numbers in the budget with the anticipation that if this get introduced tonight if this gets introduced tonight the council will pass it um if the council had a uh concern obviously you can always um table the you can always carry the resolution at the this at the next meeting or or um you know obviously you your once we send it to you it's your budget so you can always impact this s budget how you want but we don't want to delay this too long because we do want to know what Revenue we anticipate we're going to be able to have for the budget and we want to be able to get the you know the tax bills out and not let the sewer get caught up in any other discussions on the budget well I would certainly I would certainly support um pushing the ordinance off for for the two weeks until we have entire budget so that we can see uh the broad scope of what's happening with our sewer budget and whether or not um the increases requested are are Justified within the budget I think um I think those are the right steps Mr President um and this you done council member Jess I'm done with that statement yes okay thank you I just want to make sure go ahead uh so qu comment or reaction to What what the mayor has said um I believe we have a fiduciary responsibility to properly manage this utility um whether we have intention to keep it or intention to pursue other options um or um uh anything else you know we have a fiduciary responsibility so um you know if there is maintenance that needs to be done and planned for we need to do it and we need to plan for it and the good news is that if and the operative word here is if there is consideration of a sale of the utility the the better fiscal and physical condition that that utility is in the higher the price that we would potentially get so you know I don't I don't think it's a matter of well let's just you know kind of wait and see and not fix things and kick the can down the road that that is definitely not the approach that I think any of us are looking to take I think we are looking to make sure that the physical and the fiscal health of that utility remaining in good standing uh and and you know I guess if I could just ask Mr papis to to per potentially explain how we came to these two numbers uh you know the the well I mean really the one number which is you know the 25 number the belief that we are already halfway through the year um so so you know clearly this was not pulled out of thin air can you provide some guidance on on how got to this you know 495 496 number there are and and the council will see in the 2024 budget uh some significant equipment purchases that are needed that will probably amount to close to um $900,000 and um options uh one of them is for a jet vac truck the two that we have are are old and um and one of them is on their last legs uh and it's the administration's belief that to purchase these cash is Adi advisable as compared to bonding for them uh that's one example of um the use of the additional funds would be used for equipment purchases that are really needed does that address your question I yeah I think it I I think it's it's sort of a three-part answer so you know one is as we've discussed the increase from srva that we did not not uh uh pass along immediately then passing it on for a portion of time and then as you point out maintaining sufficient cash Reserve so that we have the flexibility to make purchases such as the equipment that you've mentioned I mean is that correct yes yes of course so so I'm comfortable with this number um you know I'm also comfortable with setting this as soon as we can uh so that the residents know what to expect our tax uh uh uh collector can make sufficient plans for getting these bills out uh so I I am comfortable moving ahead tonight uh with this ordinance thank you before any further comments I would just like to um clarify SL modify one additional part of this document and that is on your page three under Section 3 c b c d and e um we had combined this language on page two and unfortunately didn't get carried over but BCD and E would be combined to read where the user is served by the burrow of Somerville Township of Greenbrook burrow of boundbrook or burrow of Ron the user shall be chared as build directly by the municipality that serves the user according to its existing system of user charges or by the designated operator of that municipality Source system because our language was actually outdated in Somerville and Bound Brook by saying you're going to be buildt by the town because they no longer bill so section three CBC d and e combined into the language I just read which is also under Section 3 b1b on page two with that I will just share my own comments and you know I think our our source system is not every day 24 hours a day our residents are counting on our source system to work uh and if it doesn't work there's significant consequences in one's home and I don't think it's something we can take a chance on so um I will Echo councilman kersh's comments not something we want to raise pricing or or tax or or utility charges on but it's it's important that we maintain the system but councilman cordill noralis anything else I just have a short comment I agree with councilman noralis that this is a utility that we need to support it's not a tax bill per se but I I do uh my understanding of this ordinance change is that as we move forward it's not it's something that we're not going to be looking at and debating every year as to how much we're going to charge we know what the charges will be uh if uh s the RSA increases their rates the rates will be increased we don't have to debate the rates however we are obligated to pay the rates so this ordinance addresses that and I do know uh Beyond Shadow of Doubt that communities around us have increased uh flow rates through our pumping stations and uh we're the guys that are paying the bill to fix the pumping stations so I believe this ordinance addresses some of those items and I I look forward to voting on it and uh getting things put in place that makes our life easier to deal with in the future but also to be more responsible for the public for providing this service yeah and I think just my last comment is is just that um you know if if the the council and you know the town as a whole I mean it's all of us if if we decide that we don't want to operate a sewer utility you know there are options to sell it you know that's I've mentioned before and over five years I've had people approach uh you know kind of In Waves all of a sudden I'll get like a pinged you know a lot and then they'll kind of die off and it comes up again um towns are doing that um and I'm not saying that's what we should or shouldn't do I'm just saying that we have you know it's one of those things where if we're going to maintain our utility then we need to maintain it we need to we're going to have to you know we've put off doing large pumps station project we've put off doing some things that we're going to have to do and um or we're going to have to look at doing what Somerville did and what Bound Brook has done and some of the surrounding municipalities in sell the sewer system um and uh you know that's not before us now and that's not something that we're uh you know anybody's asking anybody to to to decide or discuss but I'm just saying that that's from a big picture concept we either need to invest in a sewer system and run it ourselves or we need to sell it and let somebody else do it I not heard anyone in Bridgewater suggest to me we should sell it but I have had multiple residents there was actually one gentleman last night who on the master plan posted a comment do not sell the sources system so but but may mayor I I just wanted to be clear um we have a responsibility for maintaining this system up until the up either for for eternity if we never sell it or until the time that we sell it so so I I I I I see this as a responsibility to do the right thing for the physical and the fiscal health of that utility bearing in mind that whatever we invest is going to make if operative word if there is a plan to sell it it makes the the the health of the utility stronger and potentially the sale price higher so this is this is these are good Investments whether we continue to own the utility or at some point we sell it it's like redoing the kitchen in your house you get more money when you go to sell it correct you have a comment a question I was just going to ask if if that I was just gonna ask is there any further comment I just want to make my my final statement I agree with everything that if it's being said here tonight like in concept I agree with it all and I want to you know thank Mr papus and the mayor I'm sure they're doing a very thorough job with the SE and I have complete confidence in their ability to do that but to use Michael K's word fiduciary I do think end of the day we have a fiduciary duty to the taxpayer and part of our obligation uh in the council is to be an independent set of eyes on the on the administration and although um I have complete confidence in them and I'm sure it's going to be a phenomenal job uh but we do have that fiduciary duty to check the sew Bill and and all I'm saying is that we should be voting on we should be writing the check after we see the budget and right now we're writing a check without seeing the budget I think um it's just in the wrong order so I I I I anticipate to see a great sewer bill anticipate everything's going to be great uh but uh without having the sewer bill first um you know it's Mr papus himself said you know you know you will see in the budget the $900,000 equipment charge well I I want to see it I want to see that budget so since I don't have the budget I'm going to vote no but it's not that I don't feel the sew is important I know that I feel that this number may may not be justified I just don't have I just don't have the figures to make a proper decision ision thank you any other comments if not I need a motion what do you what is you just to clarify your motion is to we have a motion I'll make the second again subject to the um adjustments that have been discussed on the Das okay perhaps when we vote on Final I'll have the sewer budget so I can change my vote we have a motion we have a second we can have a roll call please councilman kers yes councilman cill yes councilman nalis yes councilman pedroso councilman pedroo I'm going to change my vot to abstain because um I'll I'll I'll review it again when I get the budget president ring yes can we set public hearing um final action is scheduled for June 6 2024 at 7:30 p.m. here in the municipal courtroom public inspection of this ordinance is available on the township web website the bulletin board and in the Clark's office okay thank you moving on to resolutions 12a is calling for the modernization of the open public records act Oprah and Swift passage of Senate 2930 and assembly 4045 I know we've discussed this earlier if is there any further comments I'd like to comment on it uh my understanding of the uh change in the Oprah Act is to bring it more to a re to the reality of what it is for the public to obtain information as they need and not to be a marketing tool as was mentioned before uh with my experience I've seen uh I'm aware of different clerks and municipalities coming into work on Monday and there's a stack of Oprah requests on their desk all relating to properties in the township or in the Burrows uh I know we had a resident raised a concern earlier about her right to get information about the township and I believe that the change in the oer request would not hinder a resident from getting the information that they request per a proper proper Oprah request but it would hopefully eliminate the people using it for a for-profit bir that is that is correct it's the it's the profit issue and the cost to taxpayers which you know we should bear when they're appropriate op requests because it's public documents and public has a right to them but at the same time we also have an obligation to protect residents information residents would be shocked if they understood how much information about themselves is potentially operable if people ask for the right documents and uh you know to your point councilman the idea that somebody could know if you bought a Deb put a deck on your house you have a dog you uh your kid plays Recreation there's all kinds of things that people uh try to gain access to for improper purposes that residents would be um like the email case that we have that people are uh what but people that want a government information a Township resident that wants government information for their own personal use or knowledge should absolutely have access to that yes but okay any other comments on 12a move 12a have a motion do we have a second I'll second it roll call please cman Kush yes codilla yesalis yes pedroso yes president ring yes 12b is a resolution authorizing the Bridgewater Township Tax Collector and chief finance officer to prepare and mail estimated tax bills for the 2024 calendar year in accordance with pl1 1994 c72 um um pretty straightforward we finalized the budget but if there's any further comments if not I'll entertain a motion move 12 B we have a motion do we have a second second we have a second roll call please K yesman cill yesalis yesman pedo yes president ring yes all right 12C is authorizing a release of a performance guarantee in the amount to 7811 $253 acceptance of the site improvements for the street I apologize in advance I know I'm not going to say this right on uh vent kasara Temple the Hindu temple and Cultural Society of USA block 483 Lot 2 and 12.02 also known as one BAGI Temple Drive move 12C I'll second it roll call please cman K yes cill yesalis yes pedroso yes president ring yes 12d is Award of contract to authorize an open purchase order for stavola asphalt company's Inc P box 482 Redbank New Jersey 07701 to purchase hot mix asphalt and Associated materials for the township of Bridgewater for Road repairs as needed in an amount not to exceed $40,000 for the year 2024 pretty straightforward any straight forward and I would make a motion to move it we have a motion do we have a second second roll call please cman Crush yesman cill yesalis yes coun pedroso yes president ring yes all right I am going to take 12 e f g h i and J on consent these are all appointments to various um Township committees Andor boards 12E is the appointment to the bridgew r Municipal Alliance April McGrath Lutsky 12f is appointment to the economic development Comm Tom Kix NES balani Brian iwi Mike Yates Ariana Lobo Jason Goldman Sophia Georges 12g is appointment to the Emergency Medical Services committee Wells Wier James Edwards Robert Albano Caitlyn saen Christopher Ireland Michael janon Ashish faar Lauren zaro David wolf and councilman Timothy ring 12h is appointment to the environmental commission Neil Curry 12i is appointments to the health Advisory Board Jared Han Jessica peligrino tascas and 12j is appointment to the history committee Jane Gandalf Reverend Hobbs Mauricio vesio Mr chairman just um we need to um double check the the accuracy of the resolution 12j uh to make sure that the um the body and the therefore be it resolved and the further resolved Clause uh acknowledged that's the history committee okay with that correction um is there any other comments otherwise I would entertain a motion I'll make the motion uh for 12 uh e through J J subject to the uh recommended change of 12j for the history committee yep okay we have a motion I'll make that motion no we have one is that a second okay we have a second roll call please councilman kers yes cman cordel yes Cales yes coun pedroso yes president ring yes all right 12K is a request for waiver of fire permit fee in the amount of $100 for the Somerset County Vocational Technical High School parent teacher organization scvths PTO a nonprofit 501c3 organization located at 14 vote Drive Bridgewater New Jersey 08807 in connection with a tricky tray event uh that was held on Saturday May 4th pretty straightforward we do have a copy of their tax exempt certificate unless there's questions I'll take a motion motion 12K I'll second it roll call please cman kers yesman codilla yes cman nalis yesman pedroso yes president tring yes all right 12l is a resolution authorizing the person-to-person transfer of a plenary retail consumption liquor license number 18063 3-14 - 011 from the lensey mega land Holdings LLC to the applicant Bridgewater Tavern LLC located at 1288 Route 22 East Bridgewater New Jersey 08807 um I'm going to take a minute and just comment on this briefly this was actually scheduled to be on our agenda a couple meetings ago um when the purchaser this is the old hoolahan property currently under renovation um that property sits as part of a a basically a condo association that includes a future hotel and potentially an application before land use board now for a Starbucks um there was uh the application when they requested this liquor license transfer was asking us to give them a blanket approval for a future outdoor bar area to be built uh with no applications filed before the town or anything and i' like to thank Mr corini's office for working with the lawyer um from this establishment in getting uh we we were basically told by the state we had to vote either to approve or deny both the transfer and the expansion allinone because they submitted it together uh we were able to get the applicant to withdraw that and resubmit just the transfer with the understanding that at some point in the future he's going to apply for um land use approval to expand in an outdoor area that would be subject to appropriate um approvals at that time um so a little bit of history on that one I know they're very interested to get this transferred uh because there was a delay so unless there's any questions I'll entertain a motion motion 12 L second second we have a motion we have a second Council monush yes Cella yesman Nogales yesman pedroso yes president tring yes all right I'm going to take 12m and 12n under consent authorization to resend resolution number 23- 06- 08-10 adopted by the Bridgewater Township Council on June 8th 2023 Which authorized renewal of plary retail distribution liquor license number 1806-20 44-3 for the wine Outlet Bridgewater LLC with a business address of 120 Emily place in parcion New Jersey 07054 currently held in inactive status uh and this is being done due to um an to njsa 12 colum 39 special ruling required 12n is um 2023 2024 renewal of plary retail distribution liquor license number 18064 4-44 d003 for the wine Outlet Bridgewater LLC with a business office of 120 Emily Place parity New Jersey 07054 currently held in inactive status basically the state issued um a special ruling on this and their ruling said we couldn't approve their liquor license until after they issued the ruling so we have to resend our approval and now we can reive it in a nutshell this is a formality to make the state happy move consent 12 M andn we have a second I'll second we have a motion we have a second roll call please councilman Kish yesman cill yesalis yesman pedroso yes president ring yes all right with that we have concluded our um regular business for this evening um we do have a closed session um so be it resolved uh um by the Bridgewater Township Council this body will now hold a meeting closed to the public to discuss contract negotiations as follow acquisition of property and Sor SRO agreement when and if the matters discussed become public record this will be made known to the public at that time the public is excluded from said meeting and further notice therefore is disposed to All In accordance with Section 8 and 4A of the open public meetings act before I take a motion I will just clarify for the public both here and those that are listening we do not anticipate taking any action after the closed session tonight with that I will entertain a motion I want entertain a motion I'll make that motion to have a motion do we have a second close and go to open second we have a motion we have a second roll call I rever cill I had a bad moment cman K yes coun cill yes that's fine I'm sorry yes pedroso yes and president ring okay that's fine okay we are are we back all right we are back on I will take a motion to um reconvene public session can we do two motions at once Christopher yeah yeah all right we have a motion I'll second it all those in favor I opposed I all right we are OB we're adjourned thank you