no yeah come evening and welcome to the Edison Municipal council reorganization meeting today is Thursday January 4th 2024 if you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Ali to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right first order of business is going to be the swearing in of and the uh administration of the oats of office to the council members um we're gonna start with newest council member Asaf SCH Asaf sorry my apologies why wasn't he sitting up there again oh guess up there with the mayor so if the family members of Assaf can also come up or whoever wants to be here may you can call up everyone that's okay okay do anyone else want to hold you hold it sorry you're gonna face and it's please repeat after me I Assaf shuel sorry you have to learn this matter I do I Assaf shuel I Assaf do solemnly affirm do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution I will support the con Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and I will Faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of member of the Council of member of the council for the township of Edison for the township of Edison according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me go congratulations council [Applause] member [Applause] okay next we're going to have AJ ptil okay you ready okay please repeat after me I AJ p i you Solly affirm youir that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the of United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the that I will bear true Faith bear true Fai and allegiance to the same and Al to and to the governments established in the United States the government established in the United States and in this state this state under the authority of the people the authority of the people that I will Faithfully that I will Faithfully partially and justly perform per all the duties all the duties as member of Council for the township of Edison according to the best of my ability [Applause] congratulations Joseph Coy repeat after me I State your name do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same Faith aliance to the same and to the governments established in the United States states and in this state under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of member of the council for the township of Edison according to the best of my ability so help me Dad congratulations [Applause] there and Mr Richard Brasher [Applause] ja repeat after me I Richard Brer do solemnly affirm that I will support the constition of United States and the constition of the state of New Jersey that I will beer I will I will bear truth faith and allegiance of the same and to the government established in the United States and in the state under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all duties of member of the Council of council for the township of Ed according to the best of my abilities so help me God [Applause] congratulations thank you honey qu take your seats cler roll call please council member brusher here council member Cole here council member Harris here council member Patel here council member PTI here council member pointer present a new council member schl excellent excellent here Madam cler notice requirements adequate not adequate notices of this meeting as required by the open public meeting Act of 1975 has been provided by an annual notice since the home News Tribune Star Ledger Desi talk in news India times on December 12th 2023 and posted main lobby misal complex on that same date now move to nomination for the position of council president uh for 2024 Mr Burns uh recognize Mr pointer it is my honor to nominate councilman Nish Patel for the position of council president for the year 20124 you do I have a second second Madam be I'm sorry madam clerk roll call vote please council member brusher no council member [Music] Cole yes council member Harris yes council member Patel yes council member ptil yes council member poiner yes and council member sh Shel yes vote having passed uh CC now the O of office for the position of council president I Nish Patel do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of council president for the township of according to the best of my ability so my got which doctor hold on yep turn over the meeting to your capable hands thrown places all right and now opening up the nomination for vice president do I have any motion council president Patel yes Council pointer it is my honor to nominate councilwoman Harris for the position of vice president and do I have a second second and now we do a roll call council member brusher no council member coil yes council member Harris yes council member ptil yes council member pointer yes council member shal yes council president Patel yes I Oro Harris do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state New [Music] Jersey that I will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in the state under the authority of the people people and I will faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of council vice president for the town chief of Edison according to the best of my ability so [Applause] help ladies and gentlemen my esteamed colleagues and Beloved Community members good evening and happy New Year I sit here this evening humbled by the trust you have placed in me as your new council president I am filled with a sense of profound responsibility and optimism for the future of our town first and foremost I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the administration and the exceptional team that tirelessly Works behind the scenes your commitment and Relentless efforts in managing our town are truly commendable and do not go unnoticed and it is with your support that we can dream and Achieve Greater Heights to my fellow council members thank you for choosing me to serve in this pivotal role I am honored to work alongside such devoted knowledgeable and caring individuals lastly but most importantly I would like to thank my beautiful wife himali and my family whose support and encouragement have been my constant source of strength and inspiration as we step into 2024 our Focus will be on completion of our master plan a plan that resonates with our current needs and wants and also that looks to the Future guaranteeing that we are not just planning for today but for generations to come advancing our Municipal Broadband initiative is another crucial goal effectively making Broadband wires A town-owned infrastructure controlling these wires will allow us to steer our digital Destiny offering residents more affordable rates Superior Services and increased Market competition breaking us free from this existing natural monopoly we will also aspire to create a more pedestrian and bike friendly Edison and by doing so we are not just building paths and Lanes we are nurturing a sense of belonging for our children laying the groundwork for a healthier and more cohesive community in our Comm commitment to progress we will update our codes providing clear direction to our Planning and Zoning Board this step is crucial in guiding thoughtful sustainable growth and addressing the concerns of overdevelopment furthermore it is critical we transform our website into a primary tool of communication and engagement in this this digital age active online presence is a key in promoting transparency and involving the community and now as the saying goes Safety First and safety will remain a top priority we are dedicated to keeping our communities safe and taking further steps into enhance the security and well-being of all our residents I will assume that not all council members are in agreement with this approach and where our perspectives differ I commit to assuming good faith and striving together to forge a better new New Vision so as we embark on this journey let's remember that our Collective efforts shape the world we live for the future generation this is our time to plan smarter act boldly and dream bger thank you for interesting me with this great honor and responsibility let's work together to make our town a beacon of progress and a place where we are proud to call home thank you I would like to recognize Council White president Margo Harris let me start out by wishing everybody here a happy and healthy New Year and welcoming you to what I see is congre congregation Beth schoel um um it's nice to have everybody here I am honored to be chosen to serve another term as Council vice president it was a wonderful experience doing so last year with former council president John pointer and I think he did a superb job and I'm looking forward to more of the same with new council president with Nish Patel and I look forward to a very spirited collaboration and I know that we will be we will be talking quite often about the priorities for this year I think what has I think some of the things that I have been particularly proud of over the last year was the formation of the cultural arts committee hopefully again I'm going to say it again soon to be Cultural Arts commission and we have some very big plans ahead so I'm really proud to be a member of that committee um also the fact that we have uh we we are not done with the public Advocate resolution with that with that ordinance we are hoping to get that going and we've run into some speed bumps along the way but we are committed to going forward with a public ordinance a public Advocate ordinance uh also I'm very happy about the establishment of the committee to the subcommittee to the animal shelter we're going to have our first meeting on January 16th at noon at the animal shelter and uh I I think everyone's going to be very pleased with this particular collaboration as well I think a lot of the things things that people have been concerned about with regard to the way the animal shelter has been run and how overcrowded it's been I think we're going to see a lot of positive changes we're very encouraged so in closing I just want to say a humble thank you to those people who supported me on Council and I want to let everyone know whether here in this audience or watching on on the TV or the the um YouTube channel I want everyone to know that I am AA ailable at any time that you need me you can email me you can call me you can text me and I'm happy to talk to you at any time so I thank you again for this honor and I look forward to serving in 2024 thank you so [Applause] much so in my nervousness I forgot to congratulate assal congratulations and to the newly reelected council members um moving on to the public comment on the resolution and I just go by the sheet right anybody have a public comment on the resolutions seeing none uh seeing none I move to I need a motion to close the public motion to close the public portion second all right the public portion is closed um sorry M all right anything to be pulled for a separate vote for the proposed resolutions um [Music] r003 all right councel pressure wants to full r003 and uh cancellation [Music] r005 and 005 anyone else wants to pull anything for the conscent agenda yeah Council pres I have the r001 I have just a question there that's why I'm pulling this out okay and we'll start in order of the agenda so councilman a Patel why don't you take it so question on r001 cash management plan I saw a bunch of banks listed out there uh question to through Council presentent question to Administration I saw the bank from the morish town is there any reason that we don't have any Bank in the midis county where we should be doing the business why we are going out of the county councilman can you repeat your question please good that's the beginning of the year we we are not paying attention is there a reason that we are choosing a bank which is not from the M County but it is from the morish town uh Sonia if you can answer the question why we're choosing a bank from not middlex County Bank they're used for State accounts and therefore that's why we have to use them I'm sorry can you repeat that they're used for State accounts and that's why they are being used okay any other question understood but that's for the state accounting that doesn't prohibit using any bank from the middle six county is that correct correct and there are numerous there on the resolution that are Edison underst County that's exactly the reason I'm asking what is our interest in marish town and not in Benes County I think again USA bank she answered it and I don't think she has any further explanation she should have because the state of New Jersey doesn't mandate going out of the county the question is very plain and simple why we are going to marish town yes we might have used that in the past but is there any specific reason we are doing business with outside that state doesn't do in M County you're confusing the location versus the bank and the bank itself is located in Morristown however the bank is used for State accounting okay I don't think I'm getting answer but I will pass on all right now going moving on to agenda number three councilman brusher yes number three on the temporary Appropriations um it just it was a simple question I I seen that we had an allotment for the volunteer I guess is it EMS I think it was $14,000 but we normally pay them I mean with the past administration they were paid not on a quarterly basis they were paid in like a one one time lump sum so I just wondering why we put them in for 14,000 if we pay them as a lump sum that was all are you referring to the temporary Appropriations or you referring to EMS uh the temporary Appropriations temporary Appropriations by law 26.25 oh so even though we're not going to pay them in full you you're just billing in total the 24 26% uh overall in the general budget the general budget the temporary budget okay so we'll end up holding that until we have all the funds and we pay them that's okay thank you and moving on to agenda number five pressure five I have a just a question it says a cancellation of small balances for 2024 but when I when I looked at the agenda uh I got to open it up now um it it didn't seem to talk about um small balance it references the $10 amount for small balances is that your question um yes that's yeah like when I looked at five it says the tax collector from time to time there are credits for delinquencies and property taxes soures Municipal charges and other properties located within the town um but what does this have to do with so that's just us it allows the township to cancel small balances so like if somebody's owed $4 correct um you can just cancel that out as opposed to sending the envelope and mailing it and cting us more than the $4 that's right okay thank you all right that that would be a council president councilman uh pel do you want to combine it uh with councilman pressers I would say know have a separate word separate V okay sounds fine and would you like to combine the two that you can okay so let's first vote on the consent agenda which would be two official newspaper of the publication of legal notices four resolution authorizing temporary appreciation for 2024 sanitation budget six resolution setting rate of interest grace period year end penalty for 2024 and seven resolution authorizing accelerated tax sales and fees for 2024 do I have a motion motion to approve the consent agenda second cherl roll call council member Brasher yes council member coil yes council member Harris yes council member ptil yes council member pointer yes council member Shel Shu LMO L Shmo L Shmo L you got it you council president yes yes the consent agenda passes um now take a roll call on one which is cash management plan for 2024 roll call just just a point of clarification since since it's pulled for a separate vote and sorry to interject uh we would still need a motion in a second you're right you're right can I get a motion for agenda one I mean Agenda One cash management plan of 2024 motion to approve R 001 second Cheryl W council member brusher yes council member Quil yes council member Harris yes council member p no council member pointer yes council member council president Patel yes can I get a motion for agenda three resolution authorizing temporary approach for 2024 Municipal budget and five resolution authorizing processing or cancellation of small balance for 2024 motion to approve R Z3 and r005 second motion by Point motion by Council poter right second by Patel council member brusher um excuse me I'm I'm sorry I just looking at the signs in the audience I didn't and5 03 and 05 yes I'm sorry yes yes yes council member Cole yes council member Harris yes council member ptil yes council member pointer yes council member schmuel yes council president Patel yes just so now we're off the U consent agenda moving to oral petition and remarks first on the list Maria orchin you are recognized uh you're not I don't think I can't hear you is that on it okay oh thank you Maria but name and address you are recognized thank you 11 have okay uh for the deer committee I was hoping someone can update [Music] Maria here committee de really okay Maria I'll get you the answer on the committee once John comes back okay all right moving on to the next person Joel bassoff Happy New Year to everyone and first some words of appreciation Joel name and address Joel bass off 17 Beach Lane you're recognized okay um I'd like to acknowledge some of the unsung heroes that keep things going behind the scenes thanks to our Deputy Clerk Marena McCrae our timekeeper who ensures that I don't become too long-winded the entire Township is grateful for that uh thanks to Cheryl russamano and to her entire team in the clerk's office uh in a town of this size and complexity there's a lot of paperwork that flows through that office anytime I've asked for a document uh Cheryl's team has responded quickly and cheerfully and I appreciate that and I'd like to thank councilman John point for handling the challenges of council president for a year with unfailing politeness and anytime I had a question about anything on the agenda uh councilman poter would get back to me with a very quick and Incredibly thorough response so thank you for your diligence as presiding officer and to councilman Patel congratulations on your election as president um having served on on this Council for a couple of years you've seen seen what you're in for so thank you for not withstanding that taking on the enormous responsibility and thank you councilwoman Harris for serving again as the vice president of our wonderful Council um I I I'd like to share a public perspective on what the public would see to be the role of the council um the way our government is set up the the council is not the property of the mayor or of any political party organization it it belongs to the people and it's the voice of the people uh we have a very diverse population in Edison with a lot of different opinions and that should be reflected and I think is reflected in the membership of of the council uh the council under our form of government is not supposed to be a rubber stamp of the mayor uh it's not supposed to to thwart the mayor's Vision um but it should really hone that vision and perfect that vision and if there's something that can be improved it's really the role of the council to to assert those ideas that that might improve anything coming from the administration uh I've noticed on the agendas uh the agenda is composed of resolutions and ordinances that are proposed osed by various components of the administration but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way uh ordinances resolutions can also come up from the council to the extent that it reflects the needs and wishes of the the population um and the council has various tools rather than than simply accepting what's presented to it you have the power uh to propose amendments uh you have the power if you need more information if if there are questions you have the the power to to table uh uh resolution and I'd like to see the council exercise all of the tools at its disposal to really effectuate the the will of the people that elected you uh in terms of priorities for 2024 uh it's important that we act the the council enacts very quickly updated definitions for warehouses for distribution centers and fulfillment centers it's important that the council prioritize an ordinance regulating the digital Billboards uh a as the technology has changed and evolved our ordinances have to also change and evolve to meet that otherwise residents are going to end up with development that's detrimental to them and it's in the hands of of this Council to make sure that that the tools are there for the Public's property values safety and quality of life to be protected another priority should be to have a budget early in the year last year we didn't have a budget until after almost all of the money was spent but if the council is going to be a responsible Steward for the Public's money you have to have a plan for spending the money so it would be beneficial for both the council and for the public to see what the spending plan is for the year closer to the beginning of the year I know an excuse was given last year that well you don't necessarily know until the end of the year how much Aid might be forthcoming from the state but that shouldn't be an impediment to coming up with a budget with the information you have available to you and I also noticed over the course of the year that um in almost at almost every meeting there'd be a request for vehicle purchases so it would be helpful for the public to see this and for the council to see this to have a complete inventory of Township owned Vehicles so that that going forward you can have a plan for purchases and for spending so uh those are the tools that I think uh the the council should insist on having at its disposal and I'm looking forward to a productive year thank you thank you Joel council president I didn't notice any questions any questions that you want to answer um yeah well he okay coun do what he suggested Joel always leaves it open for questions um I'd like to tell him though when it comes to spending um while this Council approved um a bunch of spending that that most of the public knows there was a lot of it I disagree with I thought it was overspending um but this Council passed it anyway but what what has happened and what he said was you know that we're supposed to do this for the administration the administration actually has listened um so while the votes didn't happen on the council and we pushed through overspending what the administration has done now is they've recognize that like on our construction projects instead of us paying 10% for a design fee and then 10% to oversee it they went out and they got some bids and the bids are coming back 3 or 4% so overall you know moving forward they should be able to save that 6% on on most of our construction projects so I I commend the administration for you know taking those steps and you know even though it was passing right they did listen to what I said and and they looked into it and um I think they're doing a fine job with that thank you thank you C pressure and Joel We do have a complete list of the vehicles that was provided to us and I do use it uh I would like it an Excel format which I think they're going to give it to me soon um moving forward council president uh yes just um in respect to the questions that were came forward here I don't need answer now but if if Mr bov can report to the clerk when he speaks of the will of the people when he speaks representing the public when he discusses the disappointment timing of the budget could he please provide members of the public who are part of his statements because I don't believe he speaks for the public I believe he speaks for himself or a few others and to say this council is not properly spending aoly is just completely wrong I've sat out stas for eight years we've passed the budget in the same timeline for the last you know nine years and the mayor before that and the mayor before that so it's transparent on how we spend money and it's Crystal Clear you provide that document every time the problem I have is when you stand up here in front of the day you speak for the public you're not speaking for the public you're speaking for yourself and that you can provide me with names of an organization that you represent so when you speak of the will of the people it's your will of the people you stated everybody has different opinions but you contradicted yourself to say that it's the will of the people and you speak for the public so I'm just confused and I think we're doing a great job we've sat with you multiple times we've listened to you you have an agenda that you'd like to move forward that's fantastic but to say this council's not engaged in ordinances or resolutions is false many people this Council come up with ordinances resolutions and they're put together between the legal department presented to the mayor's office just because the council member does not present that ordinance or resolutions everything documented and voted on is this council's we own that document so I just disagree with your statements and I think this Council and this mayor does a great job from what's been done over the last 20 years we have had remarkable difference between now and 15 years ago 10 years ago and five years ago just just my statement thank you thank you councilman um Coy um moving on to actually councilman pointer can you ask um Maria or should ask for an update on the deer study for the deer committee do we have an update uh not at the moment I'm still coordinating the the next meeting with the holiday tryy to push things back okay moving on to the next person uh TR TR sha good evening my name is Tru Shaw and I'm a resident of North Brunswick New Jersey I'm here today as a proud you recognized sorry I'm here today as a proud member of the South Asian community in New Jersey and as a child of immigrants to speak about the mayor's recent exclusionary rhetoric about immigration and Asylum Seekers Edison is a Township in which immigrants make up almost half of the total population including a number of my own family members I am very unsettled by mayor joi's reteric attacking the backgrounds of Asylum Seekers and paring talking points from Far Right the far right in this country like Texas governor Greg Abbott who uses migrants and Asylum Seekers as political pwns instead of human beings in high school I attended a modelan conference in which mayor Joi was the keynote speaker and I remember being so excited to see someone who looked like me in a position of leadership within government however after his recent comments I'm so disappointed that the go that the mayor is unable to empathize with the Solem Seekers and migrants who are leaving their homes in search of safety and greater opportunity just like my parents New Jersey and especially Edison Thrive because of immigrants and I sincerely hope that mayor Joi reevaluates his divisive language that flies in the face of democratic values New Jersey values and basic human decency I call on mayor Joi to publicly apologize to all immigrants in New Jersey and make a commitment to support Asylum Seekers going forward now I oppose the council to the now I POS a question to this Council of what if you will join me in calling calling for May Joshi to public apologize for his comments council [Applause] president I would like to not open this up because I don't think do do we as a council have any say in terms of over this immigration policy or can I not open this up as I believe this will just lead us astray because we have no say over this have that option okay so I'm not going to disc I just um as a just as a point of order as as a point of order okay what I'm asking here is we were always told by every council president we have that if somebody from the public came to ask us a question right we could answer those questions because the question that this gentleman in front of us is not sitting well with you right you would like us not to have the opportunity to speak to him now well you just asked the attorney I think it was if we have any jurisdiction but if you're going to do that then every time somebody comes up here to tell us to fill a pothole since we don't have jurisdiction we don't have a right so unless you're going to treat everybody fairly because that's what this young I'm going you're way off the track I understand what you're getting it and I believe anything that affects Edison residents I'm there for it but this is an illegal immigration situation that but the mayor broke the law in his statement the mayor cannot ship anybody back there's there's a law that our our chief is bound by for the Attorney General's office that says that you I would like to close this discussion thank you so we are going to move on to the we can't answer questions you have any other questions that will impact that's something that the council can do for you I'm sorry see where the council stands I would just like to know like do you agree with him that immigrants are not welcome in Edison like is that the position of this Council as a council president and councilman of Edison residents my opinion is that immigration should be welcome unfortunately our opinions here do not overall make a impact in terms of what the federal government does this is going to be essentially a grand standing of opinions and it's not necessarily going to help one way or the other to this discussion what I would recommend is if you really want to do something for the immigration write to the federal government ask them to do something because it is in their Authority that they can do something I understand coming here you can make bring this to public attention but I am pretty sure everyone is aware of this in public attention I just don't think this is the body to discuss this issue and that is why I don't want to continue this discussion I hope you understand that yeah thank you thank you his point was the mayor said it wasn't the federal government U moving on to Aaron Burstein good evening my name is Aaron beerstein I live at 428 Ridge Road you are recognized I am here today representing the central New Jersey chapter of the democratic socialists of America we condemn the racist and xenophobic rhetoric of Mayor josi against immigrants and demand that the mayor apologize to the Immigrant communities of this state thank you thank you for your [Applause] comments Martin Martina manic castri good evening Council my name is Martina manter B to you are recognized thank you as we're all aware this community has received national attention in the past few days for mayor joi's xenophobic statements regarding buses of immigrants and Asylum Seekers who entered the country at the Texas border as a long-standing community member and immigrant myself I alongside other groups present here tonight and calling on mayor Joi to apologize to the Immigrant community in Edison and across the state his original response characterized migrants as illegal and he claimed he wouldn't let Edison be subject to the consequences of illegal immigration and so I ask what are the consequences of migration in this community last I checked the community has only ever benefited from having an immigrant population regardless of legal status our kids grow up with a deeper understanding of the world and of cultural diversity our neighborhoods are safe they're full of people from different countries who speak different languages practice different faiths who look out for one another celebrate together and are in community together and participate in democracy together as we are now mayor Joi has no right being the sole Arbiter of who gets to be part of our community and despite his emphasis on legality he clearly has no concept of the law because if he did he'd know that anyone seeking Asylum can do so from within our nation's borders our state's division on civil rights makes clear that all immigrants regardless of status are welcome in our state it is an absolute hypocrisy for Democrats to be CRI IAL of Governor Abbott's decision to ship migrants out of Texas when they seem to turn around and ship those same people back out of the tri-state area I don't expect much from Democrats lately but at the minimum I expect them not to parot the same conservative talking points and policies they claim to run against lastly while mayor Joshi took great pains in his latest statement to tell us about his family's legal path to gaining entry I'll remind him that there are many ways to gain legal entry into this country that our community is comprised of immigrants with all kinds of varying legal statuses and Journeys and that undocumented immigrants are vibrant integral part of this community and this state hyperfocus on legality and the racialized criminalization of immigrants especially Latino immigrants is a narrative that me and many others in this community are disinterested in and it isn't the narrative you'd expect to hear from the proud son of immigrants whether someone is seeking asylum on a student visa or is in this country as an undocumented person they belong in this state and there are many people in Edison many people who voted for mayor Joi who feel they belong in this community we demand an apology to immigrants here and across the state the immigrants of this community will remember the Jo's administrations theophobia the next time we head to The Ballot Box and we ask that this Council express its dissent with the mayor's comments thank you thank you for your comments that one was I can't read the next uh writing Katherine a dat [Applause] yeah uh the name is Catalina and it's 1040 Bond Street you you are recognized thank you um this is actually a letter that was written on behalf of various organizations that fight for immigrant rights here in the state of New Jersey um and it is a letter addressed to the mayor dear mayor we are a a group of faith-based and secular organizations from throughout New Jersey which focus on supporting the rights and the Dignity of immigrants refugees and Asylum Seekers there are few things more discouraging to us than watching people who have been on the receiving end of the welcoming communities we have established in New Jersey turn around and try to nail the door shut for newly arrived people you are quick to profess your identity as a son of immigrants and proud to Proclaim that Edison um is 45 45% immigrant yet this past week you have engaged in a public fearmongering campaign in the media about a mere two Buzz lots of people who simply passed through your city a few days ago there was never any intention for Edison to be their final destination yet you began to falsely raise the alarm and Stoke fear sadly your demonization of these people who are already Pawns of the political game gam strip of the Texas governor is making the people in your own Community less safe do you really think that the the xenophobic sentiment that you are helping to whip up will only be Unleashed against the people and the buses from Texas you are helping to paint a Target on your community too sadly Edison is not suffering from a lack of resources it is suffering from a lack of empathy and compassion and its leadership is also suffering from a lack of imagination the mayor of the city of AR in Pennsylvania was just an NPR asking for governor Abba to send buses to his City he understands the contribution that new people bring to our community he is eager to welcome people whose variant life experiences perspectives and skills will bring energy and dynamism to his City if you would like a more local example you need to look no further than Highland Park which has been resettling and welcoming refugees migrants and Asylum Seekers for many years for the good of your community and all the communities in New Jersey you need to stop spreading fear and stalking hate and you need to apologize the people on the buses that you are so afraid that you are so afraid of are very much like your parents they are human beings looking for a better life for themselves and their children if you can remove the fear from your heart you might just be able to recognize a bit of yourself in them maybe one of the children on those buses will also grow up to be mayor of a city or town that finally welcomes them and this uh organizations that are signing on to this letter are wind of the spirit immigrant Resource Center Casa fre first friends of New Jersey and New York Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition Pax Christie New Jersey unid Latina a JY and the mommy Cho Foundation thank you for your [Applause] comments and next person on the list Lee Andrew it might be Lee it might be okay [Applause] good evening uh yes my name is Leah dorno it it's one person uh think the Andre is the next person okay so um yeah similarly to uh what has been shared right your address please sorry your address oh 1040 Bond okay um yes so similarly to what has been shared already uh I am also a son of immigrants and honestly it's very infuriating to hear the mayor uh from this city say uh very xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric that he himself uh does not know what he's talking about quite frankly um he's saying that these people are illegal which is not true uh these people are Asylum Seekers and under international law they are doing everything the right way and every person has the right to claim asylum in the US as of today and and and currently um it is also very disappointing to hear you sir uh speak um the way that that you do without making any commitments to uh better or to fix or retract any of the words that he has said um it's very interesting actually to see how more and more Democrats um that are here in New Jersey especially here in Edison uh shy away uh and um fall into weak leadership um here in the state in the city um I am curious as to why uh he has chosen to say these words um that have a deep effect in the community that on the way people are treated especially migrants who may not speak English migrants who have already made a long journey to be here and to be uh attacked verbally by a mayor that's supposed to be uh Democratic and Progressive which obviously that is not the case I'm also curious as to how much money he has allocated or is going to allocate for this set bus to bring migrants back to the Texas border um do you have those numbers or does anyone in those in this room have those numbers Sonia do we have numbers no I'm sorry forun if you want to leave is that something we can provide and then furtherly why isn't this money that's being allocated for these buses why isn't that being used to help the migrants who are supposed to be be helped like they're in a vulnerable position why aren't they being helped why is this money being used uh so uneffective why are you why is he blowing people's tax dollars on a potential bus to do the same thing that Governor ABBA is doing I cannot answer that for you unfortunately I'm sorry but thank you okay and then what I see from this uh group is I would like to see a little bit of more strong leadership a little bit more embracement towards the Immigrant Community because quite frankly uh it's very disappointing to see especially from you sir I'm sorry I have disappointed you I am an immigrant and I have to have to very [Applause] good unfortunately the this board does not have any authority to the problems that you're trying to solve and I would love to solve those problems for you I wish I had the authority to solve immigration for you but unfortunately I don't what I can offer you is a platform to voice your opinion which I have and I will listen to you and that is fine I just don't want to use this board point of order true uh we're not supposed to be having back and conversation all right moving forward to Andre [Applause] berser it's Andre burer also 1040 Bond Street you recognized thank you um you were just saying that uh the board doesn't have the ability to fix the immigration system um but I wonder if the board feels that it is its responsibility uh if the council feels that it is its responsibility when the mayor of this uh is making xenophobic uh despicable remarks that makes frankly Edison a laughing stock uh to the whole of New Jersey to the whole of the United States uh when the mayor is threatening uh the Immigrant Community is threatening people um is threatening to send people who are seeking Asylum back to the Texas Mexico border uh seemingly illegally um if that is not a matter of concern for the council um and I wonder if when the mayor is threatening to do these things uh if you do feel that the council has some sort of responsibility um to condemn his remarks and to in some way try to uh assure ensure that the money of the taxpayers of Edison is not spent on forcing Asylum Seekers back into a dangerous situation um so I wonder if any of that is a of concern to the council council president may I he he did ask a question may may I respond uh not on this particular topic as again I have stated that it's so council president so you're going to decide from now on when questions are raised by the public it's going to be your prerogative only and you're going to decide on any matter so if it's a controversial matter right and it's something that you don't feel comfortable in dealing with so I'm going to just say that if you can't handle it you can't do it one way or another let's do this let your seat go to someone that can handle it let's do this how about this we're done with uh all the questions about immigration if the council feels that they want to make a statement I will open it up to the council to make a statement and to say whatever they feel is Justified fine you all right all right any other comments good evening my name is Cara mono I'm a resident of Union New Jersey you're recognized thank you um I'm a here as a concerned resident of New Jersey and um I'm also the granddaughter of Spanish immigrants and um I have a lot of experience being in your great town of Edison as my aunt and cousins live here so I have been visiting here since I was a baby so um I I am here to say that I recently relocated back to New Jersey my home State from Washington DC where for the past year and a half we received buses sent to our beautiful city by Governor Abbott of Texas he busted thousands of migrants in order to prove his political agenda that the president and mayors of progressive cities would reject Asylum Seekers if they arrived and I was disappointed to hear mayor joi's comments the other day proving him right for the past year I served as a volunteer on the ground welcoming newcomers to the city of Washington DC our nation's capital the majority of the people I met loved their homelands but were forced to move due to extreme political and socioeconomic circumstances when I greeted people coming off the buses in Washington many were aware they were heading to a new city but then experienced shock and disappointment when they realized they were being used as political ponds our new neighbors have dreams of a better life like many of our migrant ancestors did the majority of newcomers have traveled primarily on foot on foot through harsh terrain facing gang violence and animal predators and other natural Predators as they travel through the darang Gap in Panama as well as encountering cartels and inhumane treatment in detention sites as they travel North for many their arrival in the United States serves as the victory of their sacrifices there are many who do not survive including infants and children in the past year I have had the honor and the privilege to welcome hundreds of our new neighbors accompanying them to dental and medical appointments prenatal doctor appointments and and other critical appointments as well such as going to the pharmacy the first for the first time in a new country many immediately needed new prescriptions as their medications are often confiscated by border patrol putting their health at high risk when they arrive usually on these buses many are in need of emergency care and language interpretation to make sure that their health needs are being properly assessed indeed the most memorable moments of my past year was holding three newb B newborn babies who survived the Journeys in their mother's womb which I consider a miracle I've developed relationships with many of our new migrant our new neighbors coming on buses and I saw them on their worst day but I also saw them flourish in their new city we text each other happy birthday Merry Christmas and happy New Year we've become friends and I've had the Exquisite privilege to watch them enter a new stage of life where both they and their children seek New Opportunities safe from harm they have enriched my life and our community in more ways than they can know so imagine my disappointment when I heard that mayor Joi stated publicly that he is against Sanctuary cities Edison like many towns in New Jersey has always been a town where immigrants have arrived and thrived seeking Asylum and Sanctuary is not a decision to be given for political game but a right it is a human right I am imploring the council to formalize a new arrival system so they can continue and I will tell you right now it will continue because it is manipulation on Governor Abbott's part okay we have seen it in Washington DC I am here now I love this state and I want to see better I want to see better because it likely will so instead of threatening to send immigrants back after their arduous Journey what I am asking as a citizen is that they instead that money if if it's actually there be given for respit centers that that migrants coming on buses to this city city be given warm food and clothes that they be given Advocates that they given resources and appropriate languages because that is language Justice and that if they choose to move on to a different city whether that's New York or another place in in the United States that they should not have to face the very same conditions from which they are fleeing okay whereas our politicians and I have seen this in our nation's capital have not welcomed our neighbors the people the people always welcome our new neighbors okay thank you I I will be done and I'm asking that this Council to be on the right side of history and to welcome our new neighbors into your city whether that is briefly or permanently and I'm asking you to prove Governor AB It Wrong by taking proper actions to keep migrants safe thank [Applause] you thank you for your comments good evening John Shu 219 West Charley Avenue Edison New Jersey uh you're recognized thanks uh yeah so you know I you know I'm here to support um you know these uh these activists these um advocates for the immigrants um I just want to read something that uh Steve Phillip uh posted uh just yesterday uh in response to What's Happening Here uh Stephen uh he's mayor of New J city um my family came to the United States for safety after the Holocaust where nearly every person in my family was murdered uh importantly most of these people are coming here because they are also desperate for safety food and life we must be smart in how we approach this and have a Statewide solution but also we must be compassionate first here and help where we can our values in Jersey City and New Jersey have never been about turning our back to the people in need we shouldn't start now because the pical sound bite is easy so I think I think it's important that it is a um it is wise politically I think to uh to support the uh immigrants uh that are here leg legally uh you know we need to we need to recognize that um there's you know there's there's always a lot misinformation going on I I saw in um in the mayor's post that you know a lot of people agreed agreed with him um but they're not I don't it doesn't seem like they fully understand uh what's happening um some of them denied that they were Asylum Seekers um so that type of misinformation is just dangerous for folks uh you know we we do need to educate uh our fellow residents here on why um we need to be a welcoming Community um you know we Edison I'm not sure if Edison has resources but you know we do need to link people with the state and federal resources that are available you know that's that's not where that's my that's not my expertise but you know that's something that um that perhaps we could do as the uh as Edison um we we you know there is it is true that Highland Park you know they do bring in these refugees and they you know they they have they have to have a plan they they figure it out how they how they can do that um so it is possible but you know the truth is sometimes it's not not even um to me it just doesn't seem like it's you know sometimes it's not our business to say to speculate on what these people are like what their health condition is I think that's you know that's dangerous too like you know we've immigrants have been carried cries like being unhealthy and like carrying disease and like we don't want to um we don't want to spread that type of a xenophobia again like that that's that's been something in the past in our history something we learned in our history books um that America had um you know try to you know try to spread that information misinformation um but yeah we we we just certainly we can do better uh you know you know the the way we say things can be better um being being truthful about the situation you know there there is a lot of political instability abroad um I'm not sure who what these immigrants were I know like inven was Venezuela uh there's a lot of destabilization going on there 41 I read that 41% of the uh migration was from there since uh from June of last year um so you know there is um we we don't know what their circumstances is so even but even if it's not that's not the case I don't think it's C necessary our business to speculate uh you know what they where they came from or like why they're here or like whether they have diseases you know I I just does that just sets a bad precedent I think in how we treat people and uh and how people in the public may start you know treating people treating folks um so it's important like what our leaders say our our officials say so I think that's all you know um I wasn't really prepared for discussion tonight but I think I think this is a important issue that that we should we should be we should need we should address if it's not here perhaps you know uh we can address that um offline uh but you know it's something that we should we certainly should have a conversation about I think so thank you thank you for your comments anyone else uh hi uh Joe fredman 41 comto Street you're recognized awesome um so I'm actually a student at Ruckers University and um although this may not seem directly related um I do believe that the xenophobia that we are seeing um directly impacts students at Ruckers as well um seeing as there are tons and tons of refugees and just people on visas who go to my school and seeing the segregation that has happened this last semester as a result of a lack of conversation a lack of um integration between peoples um is extremely concerning to me and to me it looks very systematic um it would mean a lot to me if this Council were to recognize some of the concerns that people here saying because it's important and until we as a community can come together and say hey let's treat people like people we're going to continue to see these divisions we're going to continue to see the segregation and we're going to continue to see violence so I'm going to ask that that be something that is recognized thank you thank you for your comments good evening council president Anthony D Amron uh Edison New Jersey you recognize Anthony thank you um first off I'll just say this um you know you could you could disagree with the mayor all you want that's fine that's fair game um and that in my opinion deserves a healthy debate and conversation about the issues that's what this country is about not to you know whether you feel a certain way or somebody feels a certain way have a healthy discussion um and that's that's where I would go with that I'm not into the name calling um but I think the uh I do disagree though on on something because I I I I I find it very hard to believe that it is not within this council's jurisdiction to address the fact that there are people um reports many reports people sleeping um out in town in certain parts of town camping out we don't know if there's children there if they're you know they well-being um doesn't that deserve a conversation and I don't know what else there is they're in our backyard we deserve to know as the taxpayer and and I also go on to say this you know the people of Edison deserve a little more respect I think just just in terms of this because we fund it all okay the people of Edison are very very tolerant people Resolute the amount of Charities that that that are in this town uh are are endless um you know not to mention we have a Schoolboard budget of about $325 million a year we have a $200 million Township budget budget um you don't see people coming in here right now demanding people to leave you don't see that flood so we are tolerant people I think the people of Edison who flipped the bill for this um deserve a little more respect and it is their compassion in my opinion that we're able to have this type of discussion Back in Forth right now um and I I wanted to say that for the record I will I will also say you know as far as and congratulations to everybody uh tonight but you know I I have to say with all due respect council president I'm a bit weary of of you being council president um I find your time here so far on the council to be extremely partisan uh with the administration I I I I can't remember as I look back and try to think where you've taken the opposition side of the administration and it it seems to me over the last two years it has been more of the mayor's second term as a council member more than anything else um and I hope that this time around over the next year specifically that we all think for ourselves here and and we don't push an agenda you could agree with the administration that's fine but to go lock step and key with the administration on every single thing and things that you may not like the con like back and forth conversation I it's your first day as council president so you know I I can only imagine the and everything else so I understand that but the councilman's right though uh we we we need especially when it's when we're paying for it and they're in our backyard things that are going on here we deserve a healthy discussion and conversation all right I might not agree or did I might agree or disagree with these people okay I it's not the point we deserve it back and forth though because when you have reports of people that are sleeping outside starting campfires that concerns me it concerns me for many reasons especially for there's children involved that's I mean it just as a simple Duty a human being I mean you know it's it's it's important to find out what the hell's going on all right I'm not going to get into the politics who's sent them here that's not they're here so we got to deal with it and some of these speakers are right there needs to be leadership we need better leadership from this all right so and again I'm not into the name calling but it's it's it's I'm more about having a healthy conversation back and forth and debating it that way and you know that's a pieces form where they uh where they may um that's all I really have for council president I believe um thank you very much thank you for your comments Anthony anyone else coun council president just for just for record is it for the immigration issue it's just for any campfires with Mr Damon report to the clerk of any fires talk about it hi um katalina I read a letter before but I you already spoke once right I read a letter but now I'm going to speak on my own behalf be like two minutes I just want to make sure that sorry sorry your point just one second let me explain there is a rules in process where I have to follow for one I have to follow for all so if I let you speak a second time I have to let everyone speak for that's amazing great more people can speak um okay but unfortunately we are here to conduct Council business I will not totally understand I just want to make sure that it's clear that what we're asking for here it's an apology from the mayor because of his remarks just wanted to clarify just wanted to clarify something that the May okay um anyone else first time comments hi uh Harish tatin 45 mck Street you recognize so I'm here to request a couple of updates uh around 3 months back I had proposed the possibility of bringing an ordinance about the sidewalks uh being made mandatory at the time of resale of uh the existing old house uh the grandfathered houses which don't have sidewalks I know we had a good discussion with councilman Richard and councilman ble and I thought uh the administration attorney and the council attorney were going to check to see if it is legally possible or there are any Ro blocks so anything else um another thing was the about The Pedestrian Crossing uh flashing lights at uh the inter closer to the mic [Music] please so the second thing was uh about the update on uh pedestrian uh Crossing flashing lights at uh the intersection of uh Boulevard of eagles and Old Post Road uh I know John you said you will look into it couple of months back so I understand that government projects take an incredibly lot of long time but uh just regular updates would be helpful uh I mean the sidewalks thing if it can be done well and good if it cannot be done for whatever reason if the money has already been uh taken from the homeowner some five six decades back and it was deposited with the township like I hear from some people obviously then it cannot be done but I'm not in a position to check that I mean the township and the council is in a position to check that so if that can be taken up and looked into maybe we'll try to see if that cannot be done it cannot be done we'll come up with something else uh some other idea we'll try to think out of the box and regarding The Pedestrian Crossing what stage is it exactly in I know again to get a traffic signal or pedestrian Crossing I can answer both of them do you have any other questions no those are the only two all right so I can do The Pedestrian Crossing and then I'll leave the legal to help me out with the second one The Pedestrian crossing the process essentially we asked the administration to get the flashing lights and we started this process back in September uh they started the process of acquiring it uh going through the motion and I think they found uh cross solar Crossing walks uh solar Crossing walks and they're going to order them and once we have them I believe we have some Sonia Sonia do we have those solar Crossing walks already or are we going to be ordering them I believe they are ordered and we are working on our second Bond Bond ordinance which would have some of those additional items in there okay so we are working through it and I believe that will be one of the destinations that those crossing lights will go to now in terms I know you gave you talked to me about this ordinance and I think it's a good idea I propos it I'm never going to answer that the idea is essentially when we when a resident sells a house the house before they sell before the closing they would have to build if there's a sidewalk issue they would have to build That Sidewalk there and they would have to fund it would that be something we can do if I understand correctly you're essentially talking as a condition of getting a certificate of opper for the house upon the sale um unfortunately off the top of my head I don't know I'm happy to look into that though um I I know that there is some difficulty in requiring those kinds of updates through the code um absent certain special circumstances uh I don't know whether or not the sale of the house qualifies since this is first time I'm hearing the question but um I will look into that I'll have an answer for you by next week that's that's easy enough what about if they paid for um the sidewalk fund can we use that sidewalk fund if that house I'm not sure if that's something possible I'm not I'm not certain about the specifics of the sidewalk fund completely out of left field for me tonight but I'm easy enough for me to get the answer for you though thank you yes I spoke to uh L own um about this issue um because it it seems that we the township owns the road the resident owns the curb and the sidewalk oh yeah and and that's how it's in Edison I was told but like years ago my parents were assessed um additional money on their their taxes that went to pay to put the sidewalks and the curbs in because they were here before you had sidewalks and curbs so there's in talking to Lou we could also do something where we could possibly we would fund it it would be added to their taxes over whatever a fiveyear period or a 10year period you know so they don't have to pay $3,000 up in front it would might be an extra $100 or something um but he was going to look into that you know for us yeah I I know that there are methods by which you can do that which which fund it indirectly but um I need to look into the specifics for you to see what would actually work here with how you have set up the sidewalk fund and that's Street the sidewalks right that's only because the curbs I'm told the resident owns and and that came up because we're repaving the roads right they look great and then you go and you look at the curb and there is no curb or it's all broken so so you kind of look like you're painting up like the ghetto or something you know what I mean it just still looks like the ghetto yeah it's it's an interesting Patchwork of laws throughout the different municipalities on how it's handled um so it just needs to be looked at and like I said I I can have that answer for you okay uh can we have that answer for the next meeting for the combined meeting and just give us a couple of options that would work thank you thank you great just uh I think your time is up so I'm sorry it's just an idea that special circumstance we can talk offline school can be we can talk offline yeah uh anyone else first time speaker good even good evening my name is Mosa Stern 11 price Drive Edison who recognize Walter has the township ever uh considered putting a left turning signal or is this is the right forum for that at the corner of Central Avenue and planfield in front of the train station the mornings traffic is impossible because everyone's trying to make a left turn off Central onto planfield and the but there's buses there trying to make the left turn and we got traffic coming from uh the going towards the going towards the West on Central I believe there's police officers in the morning there trying to catch people making u-turns on the other side of of Central Avenue illegally because those people don't want to wait in the in the left turning lane to make the left turn any other questions Walter no uh Walter I I don't know Sonia do you have the answer to this right away okay so if you don't mind if you can leave the contact information with Marina we can get back to you okay all right y thank you thank you I'll you [Music] okay anyone else first time speaker good evening Maria Lopez 947 Street Edison CL Barton section you are recognized Maria thank you um uh can you please speak closer to the mic if you don't um I uh have been living in uh my residence now for 23 years and uh I try to maintain my home and keep it nice etc etc um I have a new neighbor that moved in uh about a year and a half ago and um I'm on the cue saac at J Street as you come up sth um I contacted uh Pat coil on about November 14th it's let him know that there was a boat parked on the side of the house and the neighbor told me he was going to put the boat there but it's a very large boat 21 ft plus the you know trailer and um it's about about 2 inches from my fence and it's not covered whether it's covered or not I don't believe it should be there I just put a new railing I put a new retaining wall and I spent a lot of money to enjoy my backyard and I am very very disappointed and I'm paying taxes to look at this uh I have photos I've brought photos Pat Coyle came out he was very kind very nice he said we're going to get a sticker on it he's going to move it he's going to move it and he spoke to the fell several times the neighbor you know he asked he just doesn't want to go spend the dry dock money I guess to to to dry dock it um so then he said well he contact you know he contacted Jim aote I believe and uh he said Jim is going to take care of well Jim hasn't taken care of it is now the at the end of December Jim told me I said what is the ordinance I feel like there's not an ordinance or a code I'm not familiar with these things so I don't know what it is it's some sort of bulk I had called the I don't even I asked him for the number so I could read it and from what I understand it's a something saying about bulk something bulk item it doesn't say boat it doesn't say maybe maybe a recreational vehicle or I I'm not sure what the number is or what it's called I spoke to I called the clerk's office today because I bother her M Morana or someone I think that's her name at any rate jimy I spoke with Jim and I spoke with Pat together in their office just before Christmas uh Jim said he would take take care of it apparently there is a 3ot clearance I don't know I don't know but I don't like it I have photos if you would like you like to give them to you but I feel I pay good taxes and I take care of my home and I it should be removed I if I wanted to live in a marina I would live in a marina think this a fair ask and so I left Jim I so Jim said it's the holiday it was the end the week of Christmas I said okay Jim um I'll wait to hear from you after Christmas so uh the second I called him when they came back Wednesday I called him and left him a message and I haven't heard from him so I'd like a response or something you know uh Sona can you please okay so Maria they'll follow with you tomorrow I'm sorry if we don't have an instant no no I understand I just felt like you know I just saw Pat and I felt like you know and he's like well I are you get you know I can't do anything Jim has to do something about it so I would appreciate that okay thank you thank you Maria uh any other firsttime speaker okay do we have a rebuttal okay no rebuttal uh can I get a motion to close the public portion motion to close public portion second roll call CH okay all right and now I know this is is a important topic so I will leave it to whoever wants to speak on the immigration issue yes council president thank you ccil woman Council vice president okay first of all I want to thank all of you who came out to articulate with such passion your concerns about this whole immigration situation and I hear them and I am moved by what you all had to say I think about out at the turn of the last century that my grandparents came from Russia all four of them came from Russia to escape the persecution of the pgrs the Russian pgrs and they came via steerage which was the lowest class on the on the steamships and they were not welcome I know the Jewish immigrants Irish immigrants Italian immigrants were not welcome they were seen as other and here we are all these years later and immigrants are still seen as other and it pains me to see that that is still the situation um I I am disappointed in the mayor's rhetoric about this I I I think assumptions are being made about these people who are aspiring to escape their persecution I think assumptions are being made about what diseases they may or may not be carrying what weapons they may or may not be carrying and I think this deserves some kind of followup I understand by the way the mayor is going to be on CNN tomorrow early so I don't I don't know when but he had indicated he's going to be on CNN but I'm wondering given the concerns that have been brought up I wonder if it might be worthwhile to consider forming some kind of subcommittee about this particular situation about the about what's happened in terms of people at papani or the boat basins or whatever and I'm just going to throw out there I wonder if it might make some sense to form a subcommittee about this very important topic so I'm going to leave that for open discussion but I want to thank you again for your passion and your your interest and it is being taken very seriously thank you so much thank you Council Vice president thank councilman a Patel thank you council president and thank you everyone for coming here wising your concerns I myself as an immigrant first generation immigrant what you see in the public I face this day today so it's not new and I'm really disappointed mayor who happens to be the son of immigrant I don't think he really understand what the immigration means I don't think otherwise he would not have given any statement in media he could have stayed out Edison is more than 50% immigrants they are the backbone of this town shocked I'm shocked that mayor would go to the extend flip-flopping his statements not once not twice he has enough time to go out in media and make the statements which doesn't make sense so if you don't understand the immigration please stay out of it you yourself is a son of immigrant so with that I would say again I wholeheartedly wholeheartedly I'm with you I understand your sentiments as I said I am the first generation immigrant anything who is in America it's a Dreamland they deserve the respect they deserve the treatment at least on on the basis of humanity and let's keep the politics out of it let's respect each other sentiment thank you council president AJ Patel council president councilman BR it was enlightening to see actually you guys all caught me off guard I didn't see you there with the posters until I looked up at that moment and then see it took me off guard there but you know I'd like to say I I disagree with the mayor um but you have to understand our our mayor is very young okay I think he's somewhere like early 30s you know maybe 30 years old um and I know that's not an excuse right but as a councilman he caused the same controversy with I believe it was the Jewish Community down in Lakewood okay and you know then when he got spoken to I guess by his family members right and they told him he was wrong um he did Apologize so I'm sure after seeing this meeting you know and seeing this and seeing how he's being portrayed as basically like Governor Abbott um you know it looks like he's running for governor down in Texas or something but you know just with that as it said I'm I'm sure that he will realize his mistakes I do not believe in his heart that his apology is genuine that's just my personal opinion because when you come out you make those statements at the beginning those are the statements that come from your heart okay when you pull that back and you walk it back walk it back is a political term and that's just to say like oh wait a minute I'm losing voters so because of that I think he'll walk it back for you and and I think you should push this you know and and ask him for this but I don't believe that people on this Council um we all do happen to be Democrats um I I'd say at least some of us here do feel for you and we are empathetic most of us up here have had immigrants um I have friends that are trying to become citizens right now so so I do understand my grandparents immigrated here and well that is not me and I didn't get to experience that the stories that I heard from them they weren't heartwarming when they came but through the perseverance um you know their family has succeeded so you know I'm going to wish everybody here luck your journey um and and I hope that some way there is a way that we can help you but keep up what you're doing hold our May accountable for his words and I'm sure that he'll I I think he'll political terms walk it back um the next chance he gets so maybe if he's on CNN tomorrow he'll walk that back for you but um just know that the council here a lot of these Council people up here definitely feel for you um a lot of us here either are immigrants migrants or our parents were immigrants or our grandparents were immigrants I don't know that I don't know that anybody up here has been here since like the 1700s anyway um but thank you for all your comments and thank you for coming here tonight I appreciate it thank you councilman brusher anyone else council president councilman poer uh I won't make the statement I'll make a request because I try not to make statements on topics that I I am not fully knowledgeable in or that maybe I'm a novice in so my request to the group here is that if you have any specific like website resources that I could go to to educate myself I would I would appreciate that and if you can give it to our Deputy clerk um thank you any other councilman or council president I just want to make a statement okay MCO you recogn accepting the oath of office and being a third term councilman is is that okay yeah that's okay okay uh and not that I want to address uh the last question but first I want to thank the residents of Edison for voting me into office again I want to thank the volunteers who've helped out uh with our campaign and this is my third term as a council member I've been here for eight years I'm truly Proud To Be An edent resident I've been here for 54 years raised in the public school system and I played Sports in the school system in the past I've also own a bakery and I understand what hard work is and I've met many many trades people throughout this town and I've gotten to know many bluecollar trades families and professionals and uh I truly love Edison and I've gotten to know many organizations um alike through Sports and nonprofits and arts uh societies as well but um what I can say is that when you know I'm here as a council member and different people come to today as you know we are here to listen but the issue I do have is when some people believe that the division of the administration is to be divided and as the council should not agree with the administration and the vision what I've noticed here for decades is that sometimes you get a counsil and a mayor who disagree and that may not be functional for the residents of Edison because if nothing gets done you have a year of nothing happening for your community and that's something what you don't want uh The Divide is not good so the fact we don't stand here and disagree with the mayor day to day and week to week doesn't mean we don't go behind closed doors and change policy before it gets to this room here there are many discussions if we caucus with the mayor to discuss items that are on the agenda that we may agree or disagree with and we have meetings that are monthly individually with the mayor any council member can do that but I I won't stand here and listen to the rhetoric of those who may have challenged Us lost once lost twice lost four times and tell me here at the day that what their agenda is is not political it's political and it's fine that they have their opinion and and and I'm never going to stop them from coming here but the fact of the matter is if the residents of Edison want to see progress it's important that a council votes together so the agenda moves forward if it doesn't move forward you may not have that baseball field you wanted you may never see the Jets field with a beautiful turf field you may not see improvements to your health um your health center you may not see improvements to your Parks newly renovated Parks you will not see improvements to the senior center things has come to a stop now I'm not saying other Council colleagues cannot you know disagree with the mayor that's fine with them but if you want a town to move forward you need four votes on his Council that move with the agenda you elect the mayor because has a vision has a concentrated effort to create something different to move this town forward there are many times I sit here on a thumping in the fourth vot or being the first vote and I'm not sure on it on something but I do what's right for those who elected me into office here when you win it's the majority of the people who voted you there for a reason this mayor won for the majority who voted May for a reason for that purpose when it comes to items around this agenda I support them to deliver results to the to the township residents that's what's it about it's about delivering results if you want to sit here and divide that's something you can choose to do when members come here from the residents who speak at the microphone that's very opinion but to make statements that are false that we are sitting here as puppets for the mayor is not true each one of us read this agenda carefully and we have meetings separately to debate what's on the agenda before you get a chance to see us argue because our debates happen you know you know with the mayor separately so I'm excited to see this town move forward it's two years with they're newly elected mayor and for the issues that have been on our agenda and we've gotten to pass I'm truly proud being council president in his first term supporting uh John Council pointer in his second term and I'm looking forward to supporting council member uh Nish Patel in his third year of his term but point I'm making here I won't stand here and allow the audience to to dictate what this Council shouldn't shouldn't do I won't sit here and listen to a a member a resident to tell me they speak for the public I listen to each one individually here if you speak for the public please provide me the list of people represent you know your opinion you have it you're entitled to it and I listen clearly and I and I do appreciate when you come here you spend three hours to wait to speak to us and I appreciate you you stand here and you you sacrifice time away from your family I care about what you have to say but you know I'm here to move the town forward I will continue to support the mayor's agenda and when I disagree you'll know it but just because some members of this counc do not decide to you know disagree doesn't mean we don't want good results okay and and if you want to sit here and and you want to pontificate on a budget you know and say that we do not pass it at a certain time I've watched that for decades too and it's the same story I get here from members and residents who come here we don't pass it in time we're getting better at that but nothing's changed everything's itemized everything's transparent you can see everything we spend from a pencil to toilet paper it's on there everybody gets a copy of it it's transparent it's on the agenda and you can get an email of that item so I'm excited to bring forward my third term in learning more on how to work with this counsel and how to work with the mayor I can't say that would have been who I'd be in my 20s when I wanted to be here because I wasn't mature enough to be a council member but today I'm excited I think we're doing great things in this town when it comes to children and to sports senior citizens Public Safety we've done a lot of great things here we have new fire trucks new police cars new trucks for DPW take take a look around of at this entire building here look at the renovations that happened look look at our it room that set up look at our Edison TV room look at the mayor's office we've made significant changes to so the public that we want to be not only just transparent but we have a good Workforce of opportunity and that we have good work flow that things happen so I will continue to stand here and I would definitely voice my opinion I'm here for four years I plan to work with everybody I thank you for bringing your your ideas to our attention and and again uh I look forward uh to this Council also seeing some of the same uh things I see and what's most important is moving the agenda forward for the residents of Edison and not blocking thing and disrupting government and and it's something I just I want people to understand why things move and why we agree uh it's not to say we won't pull one item and take something off but it's the mayor's Vision it's someone who elected for a purpose and we're supporting that purpose to have another two strong years and hope hopefully more in the future thank you council president for our remarks as a third term Council if you don't mind can I just briefly address the people in the audience for 90 seconds uh as my colleagues have said thank you for coming here it takes courage to stand up in Fr front of this microphone and speak on behalf of what you believe in um I think it's important we could possibly in the future have a committee to discuss you know exactly each person feels here and what you stand for but uh you know I do have to say what I didn't hear people say is what process they want to see for immigration you know I'm a grandom of immigrants I believe in Immigration but also there's a lot of open questions that they didn't hear from people or discussions such as should be a process we talking about everyone and anyone I didn't you talk I didn't hear from some experienced people what their processes were for for screening and helping people to get properly checked up up and and and what are the needs assessment you know to to come to America I I think it's an awesome opportunity it's a goal it's it's the dream of of people to come here and be a res a resident of the United States and and we all believe in that but I didn't hear is anybody say whether you know we are concerned with Public Safety whether we're concerned with health so I'm open to have those discussions later what processes you've experienced and what should be right for you know Jersey to write for Edison so today this is a very deep dive I'm G glad the council president did not go into this on back and forth discussion but I certainly am not being ignorant for those who've come here and I also heard from people who said they would give up their you know residents so if there are people in this room that are willing to give up a room I'd like you to report to the clerk and give your address and your phone number because if there are situations we can and cannot control and someone needs a place to live I would hope you can provide your name and stand for be behind the actions you just spoke and um that would be wonderful because there are going to be a lot of resources needed to take on this cause thank you council president thank you councilman Coyle uh anyone else would like to speak on this topic no okay not on this one but I'd like to speak on myself getting reelected sure please do um you are recognized yeah I'd like to thank the public that voted for me the public that didn't vote for me I'd like you to reach out to me and tell me what you're looking for I believe that we are here and we're here for the entire public um just to clear up with my Council colleague where he said we all work well with the mayor and everybody um that wouldn't be true um the truth of the matter is for two years I was asked you know what was concerning to me and I explained that to numerous people in the administration and they told me they were going to call me I waited up until about this November to get that call so it was somewhere almost 2 years before I actually got that call from the administration and to say that we work together would be a lie because that's not how we operate here uh my Council colleague will say working together and and I would like to just say working together means I decide I'd like to go right and you decide you want to go left and somehow we actually don't go left or right but but we moderate that and by moderating that and taking everybody's thoughts into consideration is really how you get stuff done by just doing it your way and it has to be your way or the highway that's wrong and that's the type of government that we actually have here now I've been told by the administration that they're going to change this and they're going to bring everybody in and they're going to talk to us and find out what our concerns are but very simply put if anybody seen the bonds that didn't pass here it was very simple they lumped them all together saying we want you to vote for the bad bonds that you don't want or we're not going to give you the good bonds I never once said I didn't want a project done here in Edison but what I complained about was us paying an additional 8% above what other towns in Middle SE County are paying that was my objection was paying my taxpayers paying eight% more for it councilman brusher I think you're straying far away from the I listen to councilman Coy and to be quite honest with you I think I'm right on Queue with him okay so uh you know I mean I'm just and trust me if he didn't do it council president I wouldn't have brought it up I would have sat here quiet um so where I go with this is yes you know our job is to check the checks and balances um not all of us do in my mind um but we all do our part anyway some of us just have the mayor's Vision they don't have their own Vision um so they want to push that ahead and that and that's okay but working with people means moderation and if you can't moderate and you can't work with people and you can't give a little bit and it has to be your way of the highway be honest with you I think we got to show you the door and show you the highway but I'd like to thank the public um for electing me again I appreciate it thank you thank you councilman brusher uh councilman AJ P would you like to say something I I will reserve my comment for the Wednesday meeting okay councilman asash I'll do the same as Council Patel I'll I'll wait okay thank you all right so now in terms of the immigration issue this is a very complex issue as councilman pointer pointed out I am not fully aware empathetically I agree with immigration because without immigration I wouldn't be here living the American dream and I can't say I'm against immigration one bit I am disappointed in our federal government though because every time election rolls around they use immigration as a political Pawn U not caring about the human cost of the whole situation and I do agree with councilwoman Harris Council vice president Harris that we do need to have a plan at least in this city at least in this town as to what we should do what we can do um I don't believe in not having a process uh but I think this is a complex issue that cannot be discussed in one council meeting and have an answer I believe they've been trying to solve this issue for God knows how many years but I am hoping that we can start the process to help immigration I just not sure how I can help what we can do but I am open to helping and that's all I can say about this right Thank you very much now I would like a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second roll call roll call all in favor I I all right thank you very much for all being here