good evening everyone we'll try that again good evening everyone and welcome to the East Brunswick Township council meeting for March 14th 2024 will everyone please rise if you can as we salute our nation with our Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment of personal reflection pledge allegiance to of the United States of America the for it stands na indivisible and justice for all thank you Township Clerk please call roll and read our statement of adequate notice okay councilman Bal here councilman Wendell here councilwoman Winston here councilwoman ziki here and council president maoy here also president mayor Brad Cohen here administrator Joseph culo here Township attorney Raj Gomer here and Municipal Deputy clerk Lauren Morris pres adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231 Public Law 1975 by specifying the time date location and to the extent sent known the agenda by posting a copy on the bulletin board located in the main lobby of the East Brunswick Municipal Building providing a copy to the home News Tribune and the Asbury Park Press newspapers posting a copy on the Township's website and by filing a copy in the office of the Township Clerk which will be entered into the minutes thank you Council you have before you resolution 24 hyphen 96 adopting the meeting minutes from our February 26th meeting may have a motion to approve motion to approve may I have a second second is there any need for clarification or correction on these minutes seeing none roll call please councilman ball yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president mavo yes at this juncture in the meeting I will surrender the podium to our mayor for his Proclamation honoring 50 years of service to the East Brunswick fire department mayor Kong I know that this is yeah you I'm going to help you we didn't practice this exactly this one you want to bring you want to read and then bring we'll bring everybody up and can read off here and I can surrender perfect good good evening everybody Proclamation whereas fighting fires is one of the most dangerous professions requiring physical strength stamina excessive training courage and selfless concern for the welfare of our citizens and whereas in addition to their daily duties firefighters routinely put themselves In Harm's Way to serve our community and whereas our community is truly fortunate to be served by these dedicated volunteers with a capital B volunteers and whereas our our firefighters serve as community volunteers with no anticipation of pay for their services above the Gratitude of our community and whereas East Brunswick owes a tremendous debt to those who on a continuing basis protect the citizens and property of this Township and whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and extraordinary service provided by the members of the East Brunswick fire departments and to honor the dedication of those firefighters who knowingly accept risking their lives to protect the lives of others now therefore be it proclaimed by i prad j Cohen mayor of the township of East Brunswick along with the township council do hereby Express gratitude for their 50 years of dedication and willingness to serve and provide to those in need of our community 24 hours a day 7 days a week do this or do you want me to read them hand uh I'll read it first and then we'll have them come up and get their honor how about when how about when the mayor reads everyone's name you come up get get the proclamation into your hands and we'll stand around for some nice photo off so representing fire district one and these are people who have put in 50 years of service or more if you go with the numbers order okay we're gonna order of the the numbers Ladies Auxiliary of auxiliary of Oldbridge volunteer fire department number one at 55 years of service Joyce [Applause] Curley thank you everyone in stand at 54 years of service Judy [Applause] summer thank you thank you everyone you ready for this one drumroll at 60 years of service Kathy treat [Applause] again all of these are over 50 years of service representing Fire District number three Victor [Applause] romatowski where to go Vic representing Fire District 1 Robert [Applause] toric thank you representing fire district 2 we have Anthony Alexander [Applause] again fire district 2 Dennis [Applause] degra also fire district 2 William Burns rounding out District number two we have Howard LaVine thanks Howard absolutely and finally District number one Fred [Applause] Hoover apprciate it thank you can we get all of our honor up for a photo in the uh in front of the [Music] Das good sorry about that Council people please I know all right excuse me one second you going in let's get a profession come on get a good one would you please they're going have to wait we when you're done we can sneak in [Applause] than at this time I'm going to call on fireman Anthony Alexander to say a few words thank you president mavo I have to cram 72 years into Greg Gutfeld cliff notes with a Sharpie pen and two minutes but on behalf of everyone here tonight every all the members of the fire service District districts 1 two and three sincere thank you to Mayor Cohen president McAvoy and the township Council for having these proclamations for us uh this evening and I got to tell you 50 years has really flown by because I remember a lot of the guys to my left to your right over here when we had Brown hair blonde hair black hair some hair had hair it's amazing how time flies and just to get a little bit of my history out quick because everybody's got their own little piece of History to offer here tonight but I go back to the zalinskis my mom taught his parents I believe um Smith's obviously there was a farm across the street from my house when I moved into my house on Fern Road some 40 plus years ago so this used to be called The Farms out here but but everybody in this room that served either in the rescue squad the fire department obviously Public Safety has had their own little bit of imprint on the town and let's face we're a town of 50,000 people so it's not a small town anymore the way it was when it was rural so way back when our first home first place I lived was on Smith Lane my parents brought me home from St Peter's Hospital back then and that was what we called home quick move to South River back to East Brunswick to the Farms and we lived in the field Crest development so back in 1973 I was in Rutter's commuting because they had a restrictive radius on living there you couldn't live there and be that close to the school so I commuted and there was an old barn in the corner of ryers and Dunhams which obviously was torn down to sign went up firemen needed do you want to join I see Howard back there looking that's how he found out too we all wound up joining back at that point in time some of us still around here others have moved away but everybody here has had some impact on the town whether it be from administrative position Aline position commissioner's position or a combination of all three with the Public Safety in the Forefront and uh obviously it worked because we're still here some of us stuck around and made it an avocation as opposed to vocation but benefits went to the township of East Brunswick the citizens and um everyone here as I had mentioned earlier has their own story to tell another little tidbit see Chief Lako back there the first police chief in town was my grandfather Frank warnsdorfer my mom was a warnsdorfer so we go back a few years in town and uh other than that I'd like to thank my wife Barbara for putting up with this for 50 years and my son's taping this so after 12,000 plus calls in 50 years got some dinner waiting on the table I could finish from the from what uh we' left behind but countless hours of training everybody here puts in countless hours of maintenance on the vehicles countless hours of house maintenance as I said if they were in positions they also uh took up more time but it's again to the benefit for the township citizens that were sworn to protect and hopefully this Legacy continues and I thank thank [Applause] everybody mayor before we let that one go I do think that it's worth saying that uh every year around this time we get third graders from the elementary schools that come up to the township to learn about government and uh they actually sitting right or all of you are sitting right now and they ask really good questions and one of the things that I always ask them is to tell me what they believe my number one responsibility is as mayor and have tell you they all get it right uh they know that the safety of the people that live in this Township is my number one responsibility everything else is a far number two and we are exceptionally lucky because the they'll rattle off right away who are those people that are First Responders that are out there when when we need them at the sometimes the most inopportune times and I remind them every single time that we are so fortunate as a Township to have an all volunteer fire department that's not the norm any longer more and more towns can't find people to volunteer and so they are going to paid paid uh firefighters um I believe believe Monroe is is fairly close to being almost all paid now that's a $4 million price tag to the township of of of Monroe uh if and I know I hear all the time people complaining about taxes um I I I get it um but I think that we owe a Deb of gratitude to the people who are here tonight who are putting their lives on the line to help us at nothing they and who want nothing more than to know that the people around them are have gratitude for the time and effort that they put in and it's a great example to the young people that are here today that there are people here who have put in that many years and while the town may be more diverse it may look a little different than it did 50 60 years ago was it's no longer the rural town that it might have been when you first came here that's that is normal towns go through changes and we adapt we'll be hearing about how we're looking tonight to continue the role of adapting to the Future which is constantly changing but what I hope never changes is the active interest in participating in being part of our community and doing the right thing and so for the kids that are here tonight I applaud you for being such a tremendous example of the right thing to do mayor con if I may mayor mayor before you you have a proclamation recognizing April 2024 as seek appreciation month the podium is yours sir thank you council president whereas seism is the fifth largest religion in the world and today there are more than 30 million siks worldwide and more than 500,000 siks in the United States and where siks have been living in the United States for more than 120 years and during the early 20th century thousands of seek Americans worked on farms in Lumber mines and Mills on the Oregon Pacific and Eastern Railroad and whereas Sikhism is an Indian religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century by Guru ninak seik means a student a Learner in Punjabi and whereas Baki is one of the most historically significant days of the year for seeks and is celebrated on April 14th of every year and whereas the year 2024 marks the 550 5 th birth anniversary of the first 10 gurus and founder of of Guru narak nanak and will be celebrated on the 15th of November for seeks in the township of East Brunswick and worldwide as Guru nanak's uh garad and is one of the most important dates in the seik calendar and whereas one of the core beliefs of seism is Guru nanak's teaching against discrimination and Prejudice due to religion race cast or status and whereas seek Americans pursue diverse professions and make Rich contributions to the social cultural and E economic vibrancy of the United States including as small business owners attorneys First Responders and members of the military and make significant contri contributions to our great nation in agriculture Trucking Finance technology and more and whereas seek Americans distinguish in themselves by fostering respect among all people through faith and service and whereas the township of East Brunswick is committed to educating citizens about the world's religions the value of religious diversity tolerance grounded in the First Amendment principles and a cultural and a culture of mutual understanding and the dimunation of violence and whereas the township of East Brunswick seeks to further the diversity of its community and afford all residents the opportunity to better understand recognize and appreciate the rich history and shared experiences of seek Americans now therefore be it proclaimed that I Brad J Cohen mayor of the township of East brunic along with our Township Council recognize April 2024 as seek awareness and Heritage months and urge all residents to celebrate the Day of vaki along with seek the seek Community given under my hand and the Great Seal of the township of East Brunswick this 14th day of March in the year 2024 we were all asked tonight to wear something in Orange of of the of the recognition so just want to proudly show everybody that I did wear orange okay how about we'll get a we'll get a photo with Council please did you want to say anything yes first and then hold stand good evening everyone my name is rupi davano and thank you mayor Cohan thank you council president Kevin Maka Council vice president Dana ziki um councilman Den Bal councilman Jim vendel councilman women Dan Winston's it called I said yes and attorney Rajkumar thank you so much for everyone for making this happen April was chosen for sick awareness and appreciation month because it is one of the holiest months of the year for sick faith and that's next month but today is March 14th and today is sick New Year not many people know that today sick New Year sick the orange color is very important and the holiest color in our culture our Nishan sa is the flag that's of this color kalsa color that's what we call so that's why I requested most of my people here to wear orange color so we're wearing the three golden rules of the sick principles are remember God in everything you do earn an honest living and share your earnings with the less forunate a gurwara is a place of worship and learning for the six that's where our Guru gr our Eternal Guru is installed visitors of any background are welcome to seek shelter and get a free hot meal any time of the day here is a picture of her M that's a golden temple in amiter where that's the largest free kitchen Community Kitchen in the whole wide world 200,000 roties that's the Indian flatbread that are made 1.5 tons of doll that's the lentil soup and free food is given to 100,000 people every day there for free no no they don't ask nobody which culture which background which cost which race nothing at all everybody's welcome to come in and have it some local garas are here in siik Heritage Center in Monro thear in CED s SAA of Florenceville where my husband is the president and I'm a volunteer teacher there that I teach secologist studies there since past six years people can recognize sick mostly by turbine for men and long hair for women when I keep my hair long in a braid people always I often get compliments on my long hair and I take that opportunity to explain who I am and why I have long hair most of the people get surprised when I tell them that this is my baby hair I never cut it because one of the Articles of faith is to have uncut hair so that's my hair hoping that together we can educate more people about this religion now I have my son here Kerman Gail he's he would like to SP something too thank you so [Applause] much um V my name is kman Singh thank you for making this proclamation to create awareness about six as you know today is sick New Year on April 8th 2019 a similar Proclamation was issued in East Runk and I spoke people usually compliment me and say what a nice hat or and then I have to explain that it's not a hat it's a butka on top of my hair bun or Judah I have long hair that I don't cut because it's in my religion not to cut my hair I hope by the time I grow up everyone will know who six are today almost 5 years later people still compliment me and call it a hat moreover this year at school sometimes when I say I'm a sick they mistake me for being sick or coughing or having a disease or something it recently happened during one of my social D diversity uh chapter where what the majority of my classrooms thought I was sick when I said I am a sick there's a difference I think think we need to do more work and educating the people who don't know this there are multiple ways how American six are out in the field participating in the greater good of society my family and I will volunteer at soup kitchen serving free meals to the needy with various organizations such as let share a meal Elijah's promise Eva's Village in Patterson Salvation Army neighborhood lunger with six of New Jersey and more last weekend actually my mom and I volunteered in a meal packaging event called end Hunger 3.6 with my Scout friends at middle sex College what's fascinating about sick faith is that it Advocates Justice protecting the week and it is one that is focused on community and community service I look forward to everyone's support in helping me raise awareness so that 5 years from now I can actually have some good to share news thank you [Applause] yeah we'll do a photo Council please join me in front of the Das we have two more resolutions recognize and then we'll take Wiston they're hiding behind this young man right dist what I that okay all right Council uh you have resolution 24y 97 honoring the accomplishments of Ashley Falcon may I have a motion to approve second second can I have anyone oppose can I hear the eyes yes yes yes thank you um councilwoman zamii you come to the podium please good evening everyone I'm so honored to be able to present the next two Awards tonight as the member of a member of the recreation parks and Advisory Board also as an educator for 36 years in town the recreation and parks division do so much for the Youth of our community so I thank you so much so for our first resolution tonight whereas the township of East Brunswick takes pride in its employees and encourages them to strive and grow in their knowledge experience and profession and whereas the department of recreation parks and Community Services plays a significant role in our community by providing services and programs to improve the quality of life of our residents especially our youth whereas the national National Recreation and Parks Association magazine features young professionals 30 years of age and under who have raised the bar in the Park and Recreation profession due to their extraordinary work in the field whereas the mayor and Township Council would like to recognize Ashley Falcon program coordinator youth community services for being a recipient of the national recreation parks Association 2024 30 under 30 recognition program whereas Ashley has worked for the township of East Brunswick for the past 10 years and is responsible for supporting youth Council which provides programs and services for our teens whereas Ashley secured a grant for the Youth Council in the amount of $120,000 which went towards renovating the youth center into a beautiful facility today and is also facilitated in the receipt of the Grant from the mental health first aid program for teens to assist teens experiencing mental health challenges in our community wow right it's a lot whereas Ashley is a Teen Mental Health First Aid instructor and has trained and certified ready for this 125 teens to identify Y and help others through mental health challenges whereas Ashley also oversees yearly food drives and seasonal school supply D drives within our community whereas Ashley has demonstrated exemplary qualities in her leadership innovative ideas enthusiasm to her duties and most importantly has made a positive impact on the lives of our residents and is UN undoubtedly deserving of the nrp's 30 under 30 recognition in honor of her dedication to Recreation and Parks whereas in the words of John Ro manager of recreation parks and Community Services Ashley is a dedicated and inspiring young professional and we are very fortunate to have her she is caring outgoing professional community-driven engaging and focused he couldn't be prouder right John so be it resolved by the mayor and the township Council of East Brunswick that hereby extend their sincere and grateful appreciation to asley Ashley Falcon for years of dedication an outstanding service to the township of East Brunswick and for being recognized and awarded the recipient of the national Recreation and Parks Association 20243 and under 30 recognition program and further be resolved that the mayor in the township Council applaud Ashley for her growth in her position providing community service and for demonstrating exemplary service leadership team spirit and overall being a true top professional who strives to serve as an everyday champion in the East Brunswick Community congratulations [Applause] Ashley oh my goodness thank you so much uh just have a few words here uh good evening um uh just a few words and thank yous to some very important people first thank you very much thank you so much to the National Recreation and Parks Association uh for giving me this honor and congratulations to the other 30 under 30 who are also honored in this award closer to home thank you so much to the Town Council the mayor uh the business admin up here for recognizing me I truly appreciate it um I've lived in East Brunswick um for 25 years of my life I can't imagine imagine living anywhere else um I'm a true champion of this town and I love it and getting to work here and doing what I do every day is truly an honor and finally I can't uh leave here without thanking the recreation and parks department uh we have the best department I think not only in New Jersey but in the country as well um John Ro who's also honored after meso haha after this and Michael Risner they the best directors and mentors I could ask for and the people I work with every single day the department Marissa Caitlyn Jeff Nicole Erica Kim Ryan Ed Russ everybody they're just amazing people and it really takes a village and just finally to speak to the youth that I work with um youth council is truly my passion uh I've been doing it since I was a teen volunteer so being able to lead in this way is really important to me uh so yeah thank you all very much appreciate it come back uh c u Council resolution 24y 98 uh honoring the accomplishments of John Ro I have a motion motion approve second uh anyone opposed the guys have it councilman Z Vicki once again do you do the honors thank you okay John don't be nervous you have to go a after Ashley so you have a lot to live up to here all right so whereas the township of East Brunswick Prides itself on providing excellent services to the residents and attributes many of its services to its valuable and Stellar employees for their hard work and dedication to ensuring our community is best represented and whereas the department of recreation parks and community service plays a significant role in our community by providing services and programs to improve the quality of life of our residents and whereas the mayor and Township Council would like to rec recognize the recreation manager and Aquatics director John Ro who was awarded the professional of the Year award by the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association another wow amazing right whereas John Ro is deserving of this recognition and award for his desire to constantly challenge himself to learn to grow and to Foster positive efficient work environment in the department of recreation parks and community service and whereas John has worked for the East Brunswick Department of Recreation and Parks and community service for 20 years and throughout his tenure he quickly achieved status as certified Park and Recreation professional became a certified poll operator poll director cprp instructor chair of the njrpa Aquatic section Vice chair for the world water park Association public sector committee and has recently provided leadership to the n J aquatic Safety Committee to name a few I think you could do a little better whereas during his tenure John instituted and created a leadership development program for young employees who were given supervisory opportunities within our facility and has positively impacted our water park operation through training water treatment processes operational procedures and introducing when I work and Hydro apps to efficiently manage the large operation whereas he spearheaded a arrival of the youth Council program which has flourished under his advisory role and whereas as certified instructor he has met and taught hundreds of teens within our community how to identify and help others through mental challenges and has further become certified to teach adults with ways to recognize and assist youth experiencing health challenges whereas the director of recreation parks and Community Services couldn't be more proud to have an asset like John Ro on his team in the words of Mike Ryner John's addition to the team has been a revelation that has changed the Dynamics of the recreation the department of recreation community services and Beyond he is the most kind caring human being that he knows Beyond being an excellent manager who gets the job done and a dynamic leader John is a humble being true who simply wants to leave our community better than he found it 20 years ago and indeed he has be it resolved by the mayor in the township of East Brunswick the township Council of East Brunswick that they hereby extend their sincere and grateful appreciation to John for 20 years of dedication an outstanding service to the township of East Brunswick and for being recognized and awarded the professional of the Year award by the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association and I'm almost done be it further resolved that the mayor and the township Council applaud John for his personal and academic growth in his position and for demonstrating examp exemplary characteristics as a Township employee through his work ethics dedication leadership team spirit and overall being a true true professional of the township of East Brunswick congratulations [Applause] John thank you very much thank you um when we were down Atlantic City at our conference I told them that I was going to do a 4our speech and the council has asked me to not go that long so I promise I won't I want to thank the mayor and his administration and the Town Council for being recognized tonight um I never thought that I would be recognized as professional of the year because I just like to show up to work um and there's so many people that I can than I have one of the best departments to work for Mike Ryner our director goes above and beond on to make sure that each of us who works with him and for him has the opportunity to grow professionally to go out and do all of the things that he might not be able to do but he says you go do it oh you want to help with the world water park go for it um so I'm grateful to him and to all of my colleagues in Recreation and Parks for all they do my Crystal Springs family who's here tonight supporting and representing I appreciate you and the work that you do every day to make our water park operate um I want to end with a quote from Parks and wck which is what most of my speech down in Atlantic City talked about and I'm going to end with this um we have to remember what's important in life and it comes down to friends waffles and uh work or actually it could be waffles friends work either way work is third but I'm grateful to be here and to work for East Brunswick to help make the lives of our residents better thank you so much counc think I C job thank you I know that we were going to take a little bit of a break and so those that really need to get home can do so but I ALS also wanted to point out that for those that would actually like to stay and and continuing on the theme of a town that needs to adapt as we move to the Future there will be a presentation this evening from the uh two of the developers Mr Ed Russo and uh my my good friend Warren Waters uh on the project that's going to be going on on Route 18 and I'm really happy that they were actually here tonight to hear all of this before they spoke because when you come into a town Lake East Brunswick you need to see that you're coming into a community and we want to build and continue that same theme even though we need to adapt it to a future time and to be relevant as we move forward but you have seen the volunteerism you've seen the diversity you've seen the way our government works the way we all come together even it's a town of 50,000 but it's still a community and no matter what we do going forward we just don't ever never want to lose that so uh I if you could stay that would be great um I do thank everybody for coming out here this evening this was really an important thing for us to do this evening and to give recognition to all those who really deserved it so thank you and I'll just just want to leave you with um how this all started this began as a conversation with uh John kic did did is John outside Chief would you mind telling John to poke his head in here at the at the various um New Year's Eve holiday part there's [Applause] John each one of the firehouses invited the entire Council to uh we'll call it the holiday celebration and we really we really appreciate app that and then the conversations just just began and John was telling me how the the fire people have never been recognized said come on come on what do you mean after 20 years they didn't do something no no well then 25 year mark no no no so you're getting my point it took the township 50 years to figure out that we want to recognize you for all the work you do for all the volunteer work you do and in in in keeping our community safe and then from John it went to the mayor's office and then we all three of us got it all going and this is what this is what came out and it's just a credit to everybody really appreciate it we'll take a we'll take a brief recess [Applause] okay is this someone's cell phone so let's move on to our presentation portion of our meeting here with us this evening so we'll try that again move on to the presentation part of our meeting uh with us this evening is a town favorite from a couple years ago I do believe Mr Hughes is still yes Mr Hughes uh Pro the project redeveloper Mr Edward Russo for the route 18 Corridor Redevelopment project um Mr Hughes the podium is yours sure uh thank you everyone um the Redevelopment process is by Design and and maybe somewhat frustratingly so a long process but there is a reason uh there's market conditions there's the economy the but also stakeholder engagement and listening uh to those voices in the community those voices on our land use boards and our governing body uh they're all important and they all make a difference um and I don't want to take too long up here and take any of the Thunder from our redevelopers but I just want to set the stage for a second um what you have in front of you you this evening uh and what has been approved to send to you from the planning board and the Redevelopment agency is the final version and really the overarching document for what this Redevelopment project on Route 18 will be and and what will look like so everything you're about to see in the visuals on the nice boards that that these folks have um and the Aerials that you're going to see on the screen uh is right in front of you in the amended Redevelopment plan as words on paper um you know it's not a it's not a bait and switch this isn't a a Michelangelo on the screen that's going to you know look like a Jackson Pollock when it gets in the ground um this is a realistic representation of what Redevelopment will be here in East Brunswick um so I just want to run through a few highlights and top lines 30 seconds here and then I'll I'll pass the mic over but what you have in your Redevelopment plan that's in front of you that document will end up lowering the overall density of housing within the Redevelopment area the original Redevelopment plan that this Council adopted um and has been put into use had originally 1,280 units of housing on it what you have in front of you today is 753 so you have 535 apartments and 218 Town Homes also a new component here uh that's a for sale product because we realize that there is not only a market but there's a desire for a for sale product here in the community so some of the changes you'll see as well it adds descriptions of the town Town Homes to ensure that there's consistency with the concept plans that you're going to see before you this evening we've updated the lots and blocks to better reflect those concept drawings that you're going to see we've added Clarity to the hotel that we're looking to attract to the site ensuring that we are best equipped to attract an upscale luxury property we spell out and indicate that the first floor of that hotel can be used for retail or restaurant uses we've changed some setbacks to better Market some of the properties including a potential grocer and we've also removed the public parking commuter deck and contemplated a land swap for additional restaurant space within the Redevelopment area that'll be on land that's owned by the township those are a few of the highlights and honestly words um both verbal and and that you see in front of you in the amended Redevelopment plan don't truly do it all Justice so I'm going to pass the presentation now over to our redevelopers Ed Russo and Warren Waters as well as the Director of of planning at the firm Dogo and they'll be able to run through the entire project with you thank you thank thank you Mike and um thank you to the governing body for giving us an opportunity to present tonight we uh um some tough acts to follow and uh very impressive so uh uh we feel we're going to do our best to uh to live up to have the night started um 50 years of service for the fire department is uh hard to imagine we have a volunteer fire Department in our town but we're we're 3,000 residents not 5,000 residents so that's that's pretty impressive um we um we wanted to just very quickly more important than anything give you an update on what's currently um in progress uh on the phase one portion of the Redevelopment area um we wanted to take you through some photographs that we have over that that um you know cover the last six or seven months since demolition work and some of the earth work infrastructure remediation that's been ongoing we wanted to take you through um very quickly some graphics that we have for the proposed development we have a number of renderings of the proposed buildings there's been a lot of uh work recently with with Mike Hughes and the Redevelopment agency and the town's professionals on an open space that's going to be built as part of the early phases of the project and we have some new graphics that haven't yet been presented that we wanted to share and um then we would quickly take you through our master plan not just for the the first phase but also the future phases as Mike referred to the plan has evolved quite a bit over the last couple years uh there's been a significant reduction in the number of housing units that are proposed and that housing's been replaced with a variety of other uses Hotel restaurants other Comm commercial uses hopefully a grosser and a mix of you know smaller format retail spaces so I can I can quickly take you through that as well um just to kick it off we've got um some drone photographs s that um this this first one uh this is a view looking down uh Route 18 uh towards the South the uh the property that you see in the foreground with the you know the the stir building footprint was the the old Route 18 Plaza the zon realy site that property comprised about 8 Acres um I'm GNA walk over here if that's okay um this this part of the site uh where you can see demolition was completed on an old strip center was about eight of the 12 acres in phase one of the Redevelopment area um there are three other Parcels that also comprise that initial 12 acre parcel which our first mixed use building covers this the the zon property was acquired uh in the middle of 2022 shortly after the um you know there was there was litigation that uh was involved the designation of the property as a Redevelopment area and that litigation was ultimately resolved in the early part of 201 to which opened up our ability to start acquiring sites from the various uh Property Owners within the Redevelopment area that zon realy property was really the the core of phase one given its size we were able to acquire it you know relatively quickly after the the litigation was settled the remaining properties which included an an old Office Depot um on Lake Avenue and then two smaller retail buildings on the corner of Route 18 and Lake um were you um cont contracted for later Office Depot um you know we uh we successfully closed on in August of last year this photo in September you can see we had already started to demo a portion of the building and Dogo if you flip through yeah this was another demo photo keep going right one more right so go back if you don't mind oh sure sure so do you have the two buildings that are to the left of the building is being demoed we do the flooring store and also well we we have them under contract um we've had the flooring store under contract for almost a year and the um uh the the the gator Liquidators store Joel Tracy property for probably five or six months it was a longer process to get them we heard the numbers were were ridiculous what they what they wanted versus well we we ended up paying you know we tried hard to avoid um a situation where we couldn't get title and couldn't reach agreement with each of the property owners in you know arms length uh negotiation we we didn't want to have to come to the township and say look like we we can't get these properties can you help us so we in each of the four Acquisitions in the case of zon realy in the case of Office Depot and the two Corner properties we we did pay more than what the appraised values for the properties were but we did that to you know for a reason we to Avid having um youer owners that were unhappy right and the the two Corner Property Owners I must say you know they there's a reason why it took longer to um come under contract with them you know they they were unlike zon and Office Depot which were vacant for many years you know the two Corner properties were and and still are today occupied um so to give them adequate time to you know in the case of Gator Liquidators find an alternative location um in particular you know there was there was some give and take with them and they they were they tried to be cooperative and I think at the end of the day we got to a point where um everyone was satisfied and I'm happy to report we plan to close on both of those properties within the next 30 days right um so I think we're um in great shape in terms of the the property assemblage this is a slightly more recent photo this was taken in November of 2023 by here you could see The Office Depot building had been fully demolished most of the foundations for the zon property were not only you know um demoed but removed off site this disturbance that you see here this is actually soil remediation that was done by Office Depot for um contamination that related to a gas station many years ago on the property um for as hard as it was to get Office Depot to engage with us and ultimately make a deal it was it was a struggle as Mike Hughes could tell tell you he was along for the ride with us um I do have to say that shortly after we closed they did mobilize very quickly to clean up this area that they knew they were responsible for so that was really a big help to us we were concerned this was this was not an insignificant cleanup it was close to a million bucks in soil remediation and off-site Disposal we were concerned that this was going to drag um especially since they they didn't want to do the cleanup until after we purchased the property but they did move move quickly and that's now done yeah this is just a zoomed in view of the the work that they were doing okay so th this image was taken a couple months later this is early February by here you could see the rest of the demo had been completed we had started to mobilize it's a little hard to see but drainage pipe and structures on the site um go a little bit further Dogo okay and then this was taken just this week so here you can see um all asphalt all sight lighting fully miled and removed from the site we've started putting drainage infrastructure in we've we've um mobilized a lot of our utility Crews and work and we anticipate continuing with work um through the spring and the summer not just demolishing and and abating the two Corner properties which shortly after closing we will mobilize very quickly to Abate the buildings right aate meaning remove ASB bestas cut utilities get them knocked down um our access Drive off of Lake actually runs through the back of the two Corner properties so that's going to open up some additional utility work that we can do and the combination of having those properties and us being able to push earth work on the balance of the site is going to put us in a great position to be able to start vertical Construction in the fall good I'm wait I was waiting for that one to that was the big one right that and the the importance to doing that is we ideally want to open our first building in the spring season right the the first building is 307 apartments with about 30,000 ft of retail space it was approved by the planning board last year it's fully designed full construction documents done um we're about 50% through the procurement process meaning bidding and awarding a lot of the major trades for the building and the ideal time of the year to lease Apartments is in the early spring through summer right the the late fall in the winter is slowest time of the year and what we try to do um when we're starting construction is make sure that we're starting at a time when given the duration of building we can open at the right time of year so by starting in the fall here it puts us in a good position where by the spring of 2026 it's about a you know 18 to 20 month build we can open and not be carrying a building and you know in a slow leasing time um and there there are still some things that have to be done before we can start vertical construction and we've been you know socializing those things with Michael and the towns team but we we do we do feel good now that you know that the the pieces are in place for us to really proceed vertically here okay um we're going to just take you through some really quick renderings of what's being proposed these these are just more site photos that's your pressure yes it is um okay so actually de go back on sheet so this this view um of all the renderings we have this is probably our favorite because this is the most visible elevation of the building this is what you're going to see when you're on Route 18 South and you're you're you know entering from the main entrance and the the beauty of this project even though it has a lot of different phases the first building and the first phase is really the most impressive building that's being built in the entire Redevelopment area it's the largest it's the most visible it has a significant amount of retail space planned in it and this is what's going to create hopefully the excitement and the wow factor that'll be the impetus for all the future phases so we're we're starting with the best and the biggest and once that phase is built and goes we think it's really going to create the momentum for you know to help the future phases and this is you know this is really what tells the story as you as you enter the site um so we're going to yeah we have we have a a lot of different renderings in the handout I'm just going to touch through you know a few of the more significant ones right we have a very extensive amenity scope in this building um our goal when designing this was to have you know one of if not the nicest mixed juuse buildings in this part of middle sex County and I don't I don't want to say like we're going to be the best because there's always somebody that can you know do it better and and we're always raising the bar to you know continue to improve but you know we spend a lot of time studying how we can improve our designs from Project to project we we spend a lot of time studying what other developers are building and our goal is to build the best right this this project from day one was never conceived to just be another apartment community or another retail Community right I think the vision that East Bruns laid out many years ago was we want something different here we want something that um is going to be unique and we we have and I know Warren feels this way we we have a feel a personal obligation to deliver something that's of a very high quality and the one thing that I would ask you to take away as you look at our renderings um you can flip through dgo is when you look at the building facades when you look at the design of the Open Spaces um if you dig into our floor plans you look at the size of the units you look at how the buildings are laid out everything about what we're what we've designed here is meant to say quality um it's a very competitive market stop right here for a second this is a great ground level rendering that shows our retail space there's there's a lot of product being built there's a lot of competition no matter what township you're in and you know we we want to make sure we can build something that'll stand the test of time and be competitive well into the future that that comes at a at a cost but when you're um you know uh when you're long-term oriented like we are in terms of we try to build things that we can own and and make a return on over an extended period of time not just day one you can justify doing things that you don't see on you know every other mixed use development if I may M's off your M oh I'm sorry one one of the reasons the Redevelopment agency in the township look to partner with Russo and River Development was because of the long-term uh hold position that that is had by this group and and we we honestly look at it as a partnership and we're proud to have someone who wants to be a partner with the town for a long term you know oh we we appreciate you saying that and we you know we feel a a personal obligation to deliver here I mean this is this is a very important project for us not just because we have a you know significant financial investment in it but you know you know the the thing that I think um distinguishes our company and and and has for a number of years is we we try to be the best we can and and deliver projects in communities that um you know want what we're proposing like we're we're um you know uh we're very careful to building places where we think we can be successful and we we we got a good Glimpse tonight of what type of community east east bronswick is and we we want to be a part of it and we want to do the right thing here and that that doesn't just mean building nice buildings it means you know being a good neighbor having open space being sensitive to the Township's concerns and we've we've heard a number of them in the couple years that we've been working on this so we're there's a lot that we're that we're trying to balance here so just just a couple quick more renderings a lot of these are street level as you enter the site um if you keep going this is uh wrapping around one our proposed building a some of the ground floor retail this is an overhead view of this the park that I made reference to before this was actually a relatively recent change in the plan um we had additional circulation that ran through this area that we realized really wasn't necessary given all the different access points that we have coming into the site and you know this was something that was actually noted by the towns professionals that said look we we would like to have a bigger open space that's visible from the highway that has surface parking that not just residents you know C can use to get access right people that can come in from the public park go to the retail which is just off the plan to the north here and have an open space that can be enjoyed um we worked with our landscape architect Malo and Bower they came up with a number of different concepts we eliminate a a roadway that created more room to expand the park and I think they've come up with something really creative and if we keep flipping through you can see some ground level images that show aspects of this this park um you know a lot of seating areas a lot of change in elevation which is challenging in a way right it's always easy to work when when you have a a flat sight but the fact that there's some good gray change across this property also creates opportunity for ampi Amphitheater seating um you know retaining walls that can be a little bit decorative as you walk through the the park y this gives you a nice view looking back you know close to where the The Jug Handle is on Route 18 looking back towards Building B which is our our second proposed building and then building a on the left which is the one that we're starting with another rendering of the park y just another view this is actually a dog park we have enough room here where we can do a a small dog and large dog park which we're seeing in in bigger communities like this we try to be pet friendly because so many residents today um you know do have pets that um you know having amenities that are are geared towards pets are important and apparently you know big dogs don't always play good with small dogs so we we usually have more than one dog park for that reason and then this is just a more polished rendering of some of the views we were looking at before where you can see this building which we're actually getting close to submitting a site plan application for to the planning board this amended uh Redevelopment plan was creating part of the impetus to um accommodate the second building so we've we've already done a lot of design in anticipation of the amendment getting adopted and and us being able to go back to the planning board um even though we aren't building the buildings at the same time right building a is going first which is 307 units Building B which is 243 units is coming second having them both designed given that there's so much um overlap between the infrastructure structure and and you know the access was really uh you know we thought was important and and the park design is included in this new site plan application that we're submitting okay um so our master plan I know that the governing body has seen this a number of times in the past so we'll we'll present it very quickly but just to highlight a few of the changes that Mike made reference to um this this is just an areial that shows all the different Parcels in the the Redevelopment area the parcels on the right hand side of the aial are the ones that we were talking about before right this is All Phase One so you got the old zon realy strip center which has now been demolished Office Depot and then the two Corner properties right those four Parcels are where building a Sit Building B sits in this area in the rear of the site and then everything that you see from here to the left the old lowman's Plaza couple of the the properties along Route 18 the golf station the office buildings that are owned by tongu the small Corner property that's owned by the township this is all part of the future phases no timeline on that um I could say I could tell you that the the the next phase to go beyond construction of Building B and there there's a possibility there could be some overlap with this next phase and and construction of Building B would be this portion of the site so where the the former lman Plaza is located and where we're in active discussions and negotiations with the property owner for that site and we're hopeful that we're going to reach an agreement hopefully soon that would at least put us in a position where we could finalize our design go before the planning board start getting our land use approvals they have some tenants and occupancy that um you know ultimately to allow Redevelopment are going to need to vacate so we we're trying hard to get to a point where we have a better time frame on when the lman plot AA Redevelopment could start but it's a high priority that we're actively working on this is just a quick overview of our master plan um building a is our you know five-story mixed juice building we we did get approval for a small retail pad at the planning board which um is not planned to be built day one we want to make sure that by building this building we don't reduce the visibility or impede the ability of these ground floor retail spaces facing Route 18 to be leased so our feeling is we should build building a make sure that we can fill the retail make sure that we have adequate surface parking to serve that retail all of the residential parking is below the building right we have two levels of covered parking one in a basement level one in a acrade level if we can leas this retail and we still feel like we have adequate parking left to accommodate a corner of retail we uh building we would we would build that building but we we want to make sure we don't put the car before the the horse this is our second building building B which will'll be coming into the planning board on soon all of these smaller buildings that you see um on this side of the site these are all lower density Carriage Home Town Home type buildings we we wanted to be careful not to just fill the site with housing and have all the same type of product right for a community this size having a variety of housing is very important otherwise we we we start to compete with ourselves or we start to create too much saturation of one type of product um East Brunswick for a lot of different reasons right some of them we we heard tonight but you know better than me the reputation that the East Brunswick school system has um it's it's a very attractive place I think for people that don't necessarily want to rent they want to own a home and we wanted to be able to accommodate that type of housing for that um you know group of uh you know potential residents and that's what that's what the bulk of what's being proposed in in the future phases would be once we get to the highway Frontage it wouldn't necessarily be appropriate to have housing right up on the highway um earlier versions of the Redevelopment plan actually showed mixed use buildings you know partially set back from the from a team but closer than than we're currently proposing we've replaced those buildings with a variety of either small retail buildings right these are two potential restaurants on a parcel that might ultimately be owned by the township right this was uh the land swap that uh Mike Hughes made reference to it's it's very likely that the township is ultimately going to own this parcel and it's it's um currently planning which could change um several food restaurant uses for that site we have a building that could accommodate larger format retail like a grocer for example planned um another smaller retail pad and then on the corner of Ruth Street and rud 18 on a parcel that the township currently owns where the former Transportation Center was was planned um that's currently that's now being planned for a a hotel um you know of all the elements in our master plan the ones that have the most uncertainty in terms of like who's going to be there and what's the right use are really all the uses on Route 18 because those are all tenant driven right the housing you know we feel pretty confident that the the plan that we've laid out is um ultimately what would ultimately get built along Route 18 we want to be flexible to make sure that if there's good commercial uses that you know are in the market maybe there's a medical office use that would take one of the retail pads we want to be able to accommodate those uses and not just be rigid and say no these are the only things that we think belong here um so I'm going to stop there for a second just because I've been talking a lot does anybody have any questions on what we've presented so far okay oh sorry should come up to the podium okay right can we get our mic sure here you go take this my name is Ruka um thank you the council for for allowing us to have this open presentation um two questions one um if you are thinking about the noise you're going to be right by um Oldbridge turn bike and uh I expect a lot of U um noise of course pollution and other things this is uh one main concern considering that we are converting a commercial property to a residential property right we are repurposing the use of that uh lot and the second question will be schools allocation we are already three apartment complexes right next to that lot it's Lake States Cross Point and kingsp apartments and uh all our children are allocated to Memorial School and I can tell you um every year are almost not almost more than 500 students and my children were in classes with more than 20 students per one teacher sometimes two teachers so the ratio for um one teacher is more than 15 students right um I'm sorry both valid points but the so in with respect to noise and I just from a a Township perspective I'll answer that from a from the land use rules all of all of the plans that are outlined here go before a land use board so things like noise things like traffic things like parking are all addressed in the land use process whether it be at the uh planning or zoning boards in these cases they go before the planning boards there are hearings they are open to the public and you can take those uh concerns there but those are all part of the land use process that gets dealt with at that point with respect to the schools without speaking for council president or or the mayor I know that the administration works very closely with the East brunck public schools to ensure that not only are they aware of plans but that there are contingency plans involved as well as making sure that there is adequate capacity in the schools of which I believe we are assured that that there are so and I I don't think Memorial is necessarily the school that that these folks would be going to anyway but when you're talking about the unit mix here which is up up on the screen at the very top and I know you can't see from your angle when we're talking about the multif family buildings here we're talking overwhelmingly Studios one bedrooms two bedrooms part of the analysis that is done is we look at apartments all over the state how many kids are brought in to those specific square footage and unit Styles we don't expect there to be an influx of hundreds and hundreds of kids resulting from this but both really good points and and we do take them seriously and address them thank you and I could one fall point with respect to noise we um there's three or four um mistakes that are unfixable that we we could make as as residential builders um that we we can't afford to do and and one of them is we build a building and we don't have good property management and residents feel like they're not being serviced that's a huge problem two we build a project and we can't rent it for a price that people in the community think is you know can can are willing to pay and the third is noise if we we we do a lot of Transit oriented development near train stations we've built on close to State highways before um throughout middlex County Union County other areas if you have a noise problem it's extremely difficult to fix so we try to design our buildings so that windows for example which are a weak point on the facades we use very high what's called SDC rated glass so that if if we're close to a rail line if we're close to a highway if we're close to we have buildings that are close to you know manufacturing or industrial you know we've we've put the thought in effort into the design of the building so we're not creating an issue but as Mike said we'll be back before the planning board many times in the future and we're happy to get more technical in terms of addressing questions okay Dogo um so um I you know what I'm not going to go through more of the master plan we have we have tons of other you know floor plans and you know parking level plans amenity plans but we just wanted to give you a good overview of the the latest concept and and um you know particularly the the early phases right you you did not come here with a radical change in the plan that that's correct I would say that is particularly for the first two buildings I mean Warren Waters can speak to this he was here in 2019 20 when the 2018 when the original Concepts that Warren had prepared working with M and bow were presented the shape if you go back to those earliest plans the shape of the buildings that we're proposing are pretty similar to what was planned there the the the major changes really occurred on the um northernmost part of the the Redevelopment that's where a lot of the additional housing that was proposed was removed and and a lot more Focus was put on the um you know the commercial spaces we're out of juice that's okay um please Mr Russo Mr Waters um I know you've both been working diligently for the past several years with the uh Redevelopment agency and the township and um I what what is being presented here tonight and what we're looking to vote on tonight is not a radical change to the plan It's actually an advantageous change as far as I'm concerned I mean we're lowering the density we're we're still creating the community that we wanted to create from the beginning and um as the chairman the agency I mean you know I I I urge everyone to review this and and look at it as as a positive change to the plan not a not a change that is being in any way uh delerious or anything to to the original plan um thank you for your time tonight uh I appreciate all your time Mr President if I may please yeah I don't need I I feel like that there's a certain part of this that isn't business that isn't dollars or cents although all of that's part of it when the mayor and the Redevelopment agency conceived this area as a area in need of Redevelopment and went through everything that had to get done it was opened up to every developer in the state had an opportunity to come into East brunwick and offer their vision of what they wanted to do here but the reality is there was a major lawsuit and no one was willing to risk people much smarter than me were not willing to risk coming in and putting theirselves on the line publicly financially and everything else and I'll never forget this night that the case was settled and I lived with it for 12 months some nights I didn't sleep so well and U it was a a watershed watershed moment primarily because my poppet passed away it was the night that he passed away that I got a phone call from one of our attorneys saying the judge had settle the lawsuit so it was very emotional there was a lot to it and it was at that time uh within a week or two that I had reached out for Ed and I said Ed I think we're through the worst of this I'd like us to join together and move forward and and and make this something and from that point we have never stopped we have dug in and we've done everything we have to do so doing this while it's important for all the reasons we saw here tonight for me is a personal issue um and not only are there tens of millions of dollars in the project but you can bet as sure as I'm standing here when that building comes out of the ground it'll be the best thing that the municipality has right now it'll be owned for for generations and it'll be managed in a way where you can eat off the parking lot thank you as I say um having been in the residential real estate business for my whole life and especially with rentals and I know the way Ed and Mr waters run their properties it's opening day every day so you know the property is always going to look stunning so thank you guys for your presentation tonight from my perspective from the Redevelopment agency's perspective please I just have to say thank you I think this is a very advantageous plan we're down 527 units which I think is good for the community but I think what you did in placement of that was awesome I love the land swap idea I love the green space that you created um it seems it seems like a community inside of our community a and I love the fact that not just the people that live there can take advantage of it but everybody in East Brunswick can come in and use that so I think it I think it's a a great Improvement not that the original wasn't but this I'm really happy with so thank you well just again I want to thank both of you for coming out here again and explaining to the public and to this Council what it is that we're trying to do and and uh we all have to learn to adapt and sometimes we get hit with things that make us have to rethink and I think covid was one of them um while we were sitting waiting for the answer for the judge on that lawsuit which ultimately thankfully came in favor of the township uh but I think that after Co we realized the importance of of having green space and the ability for the communities to to interact we as a community had a one of the positive benefits out of Co was that people got out of their houses and found the importance of open space I think that it also allowed us to recognize that maybe retail has a shot if people are going to be working remotely or if they're going to be working in a hybrid work schedule there's going to be a lot of people that are not necessarily taking a bus or a train and and going into the city so there are people living there all day long that may utilize some of the space that I know developers just are so skittish about building and um and I think that the uh idea of creating Community within a community has always been important to us if you look at what's going on with the affordable housing uh third round that started in 201 uh 15 16 a lot of the buildings that really were being built throughout the state were first starting to see now right look how long this took and developers just don't snap there they're not Genies they're not able to build this overnight so all I hear from residents and people that live in the state as they drive up and down the major highways oh another apartment another town another they they don't understand that this was decided back in 2015 and we're just first starting to see see many of these now and my biggest pet peeve about them is they all look the same and and someday we're all going to be looking back at the 2020 when these things started going up and saying oh that was built in 2020 they they they they all nothing you can't distinguish them we never wanted that to be what we did on Route 18 we said that from day one and I think the the and from what we understand of your reputation is that your buildings turn out pretty darn close to what the renderings were and and so if that's what we're going to expect to see as you come off of Route 18 I think it will make a statement and it will stand the test of time and that's exactly what we were were hoping to do and we're hoping that in doing that it allows other retail establishments that are on this Corridor to say you know what we've just significantly upped the the the Baseline and it forces upward Mobility uh and an opportunity for those companies to invest in their own properties as well so it's a it's a snowball but the snowball takes time to get moving but when it does it it will roll down the rest of the highway and this is the beginning of that process we've always seen that um I think the residents now have a better picture with actual pictures and I look forward like the rest of us to actually see it start to come out of the ground and really happen so I thank you Ed Warren any final comments just thank you again for uh you know we've been before the Redevelopment agency recently but it's been a long time since we've been before the full government body we know you had a busy night tonight we appreciate you making time for us we we'll we promise to not only deliver on what was you know presented but also to be back and to make sure continue to keep you updated on our progress thank you we're going to move on to our report section of the meeting you if you need to you may fold it up while we govern and we'll begin with our mayor mayor coh report uh I know this is going to shock you all but I think I've said a lot tonight already so I really don't have a report okay our administrator Mr Chris gulo nothing this evening our attorney Mr Goomer nothing to rep our Township Clerk I just want to remind residents to please uh renew your animal licenses um all animal licenses must be renewed by April 1st uh failure to do so will result in the assessment of a late fee thank you and M La will you read our public comment statement as we move into the public portion of our meeting the public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments in accordance with njsa 10 colon 4-2a and the East Brunswick rules of council the council asked the public to limit their comments to 5 minutes or less at the conclusion of the statements or questions from a member of the public the council president at his or her discretion may choose to respond not respond or ask the administration to respond thank you does anyone wish to address the council president sir the back uh Tom angrand Deerfield Road Mr Mayor Mr President councel I don't think I like that plan at all first of all he never said how much the apartments would run for a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom apartment right where is it going to be off anyway there's apartments being up built now are they rented the Golden Triangle is not even filled up yet the next question is will it save us taxes I I personally don't think so because you're going to need more schools more school room more teachers more fire department more police department unless this guy could prove that it's going to make money I mean you should you charge 2500 for a one-bedroom apartment who's going to afford it where they going to work that's that's a lot of money you can rent the house for that much so I personally feel that you better think about that I didn't come here to say that okay I came here to ask you if the mall is going to be under construction by putting the apartments on the top I'm hearing rumors at that does anybody know about that yes rumors rumors okay rumors because people closing up shop saying oh Macy is moving out um they're going to build apartments above the mall rumors okay great that's what I want to hear uh the other thing I want to bring up is um about four meetings ago I brought up about the radiation given off on electric vehicle charging stations I called that person that was told to call never retire my call I call back again said what do you want me to do about it I says check it out how am I going to do that so you get a GU counter you EPA guy check it out I call him again Monday still hasn't return my call so somebody has to get to this guy okay his name is uh Mickey gross I believe right and get an answer I'm tired of calling them either you know let us know if it's true or not and the other thing is um okay with the big garbage pills coming out now I see the being delivered what happens if you have to overfill one could you put another pill next to it no okay that's what I want to I see the being theiving now it looks big enough but you know and basically I don't know I don't want to see our taxes go up anymore course it's when I came here was 3600 now I'm 14,000 so take it from there thank you you're welcome thank you Mr inosan anyone else wishing to address the council president seeing then we'll close the public portion and finally we have an ordinance for introduction I'm sorry we didn't do consent sure let's move to our con I'm just turning the wrong page to our consent agenda which uh does anyone need anything separated 101 removing 101 thank you councilman windowell I'll make a a motion for2 2499 24100 and 24102 to 24107 can I have a second second roll call please councilman bahal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman zii yes council president McAvoy yes we have an ordinance um for introduction Township Clerk can you read ordinance 24 hyphen 04 an ordinance of the township of East Brunswick adopting an amended Route 18 Corridor Redevelopment plan dated November 20 2023 in accordance with njsa 40a 12 a-7 Mr Chris gulo any clarification on this uh this is the Rev uh ordinance to adopt the changes that were just presented to you uh by the developer may I have a motion motion approve second second any further discussion roll call please councilman bahal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman Z Vicki yes council president McAvoy yes for the good of the cause mayor I just want to clear the air on some of the questions that were brought up tonight first of all the occupancies on some of the apartments that have already been built in town exceed 80 to 90% so they are occupied Kensington is almost N is a little over 90% occupied the one on the corner of summerh Hill and Old Stage Road is also about 90% occupied so evidently people are paying the rents that are being asked because their demand is still there um which is fortunate and that's why we uh continue to try to upgrade the properties that we have in town and redevelop them in a manner that provides for us a tax base that's greater than what would be if you left it alone if you left those properties alone and did nothing you are collecting right now about $1.5 million and all of those property owners have tax appeals into the township because they were taxed as if it was 100% occupied which is how many of those retail establishments are taxed and they would win every one of those lawsuits because we all know that they are not 100% occupied so they would be contributing less to the township if you did absolutely nothing on top of the fact that it is a um uh reducing property values for those that are around it and it is a source of of uh crime there's also a lot of places that the uh uh uh trucks have just been staying overnight so it it you can't leave it the way it is and your taxes would actually go up if you did nothing because what you would be no longer getting in property tax from those Property Owners would have to be paid up by the rest of us so if you did nothing your property taxes go up if you do something and create a much more vibrant usable commercial/residential mixed use type of community the value on that property is significantly higher and the taxes that would be coming into the township go up so doing nothing brings your taxes up doing something brings more taxes to the township it the design of which is to try to stabilize taxes no one has ever promised from this dayas that we're reducing taxes but I can promise you they will go up if you do nothing as far as the schools are concerned the entire developments of all projects throughout the town that have been proposed um have been evaluated by the schools because they provided their own demographic study as they look for their um strategic needs going forward they've put out a significant sum of money looking at the effect that the town's development plans would have on the school system and the estimates from their own uh uh studies was that it would bring in an additional over the course of the time all of these things would be built they would not be built overnight the estimate from their professionals was 479 new students over the course of time that all those buildings go up the school capacity as it stands right now is 9500 and the last enrollment in our Public School Systems that's public data is 88,200 so an extra 400 students is not going to make an impact on the effect of the need for any new schools if there's a need for a new school or an addition or a renovation it's because of the conditions of the schools it has nothing to do with any estimated Redevelopment students that would come into the town from all projects together not just this one alone and then finally like I said earlier um the taxes if you do nothing I have to emphasize that go up for all of us because they all all of these empty properties including the one that Legacy was built on on Ty's Lane uh was on property that was not it was vacant and they all had tax appeals that were in the township and they would win every one of them so we would owe them money back for all the years that they were not fully occupied their new tax rate would be lower and since our expenses don't go down the difference would be paid up by you East bronick public library has its maker day Friday and Saturday from 10 till 5:00 p.m. throughout the library that would be on March 15th and 16th displays in demonstrations community activities for the entire family he Brunswick PBA and S OA Easter egg hunt at the community art center noon until 2m on Saturday March 23rd East brunswig baseball Little League opening day parade 8:30 a.m. Crystal Springs Saturday April 13th EV Park and wreck on Saturday April 13th from 8:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. while supplies last you can pick up prepackaged uh bundles of free trees seedlings for more in if you're interested visit Arbor day.org or contact three at make a contact at 380 Dunhams Corner Road regarding Crystal Springs family waterp park Sunday April 14th 11 to3 Community Art Center flya kite day and the Color Run Tuesday April 16 7 p.m. Community Art Center Mayors volunteer thank you event members of all committees commissions boards who serve the public April 20th sat to Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m East Brunswick friends of Park and Recreation an environmental free cycling event and finally Saturday April 27th from noon to 6:30 p.m. at the Arts commission the holy event we have a motion to close any opposed the eyes have it good night