Senator Bob Smith Reverend George moner montineri Bo Boe member Bill grippo Poe member Sammy Shaban from the county we have our clerk Steve Peters the um the I couldn't remember the um what are you the director I can't I'm tripping commissioner director I'm tripping over Freeholder commissioner director Chanel Robinson commissioner Melanie Morano our very own lent to the county Darren Russo Sheriff Man of the Year head of the food bank Derek Smith councilman Ted Chase um Reverend Sonia R red ray former mayor Brian LaVine Swami uh VJ pundi and Swami Medina galal I didn't get the imam's name and Imam sh B and noted Eagles fan Ron Jordan I'm sorry if I missed anybody um I've tried my best is there anyone here that I miss that wants to be recognized is there anyone here who I've named or or not that would like to speak okay um thank you all for coming as well as our dignitaries uh we're now going to do remarks of those who have been sworn in and we will start with councilwoman at large Kimberly Francois oh I get to go first ladies first good evening everyone thank you all for coming indeed it is an honor and a privilege to serve you people of Franklin Township for four more years I want to thank you for believing in me for voting voting for me for allowing me to serve you for another four years I can't believe it's been 20 years since I've served and I'm looking forward to continuing the work that I've started with the youth center my passion and my vision and my commitment to the Franklin Township people businesses and residents are with the youth with our seniors and our families so again I would just like to say that I'm grateful to God it's been a blessing to much is given much is required and it's a blessing to be able to serve you the people of Franklin Township and thank you for your confidence and believing in me and voting me for me again thank you so much God bless councilman at large Rah and barison thank you Mr Mayor good evening everyone I can't believe so many people showed up to celebrate my demotion to Jets a councilman from a deputy mayor I'm honored to be reelected as your council at lodge again uh I want to thank all of you for for your support and your trust in me I promise to work hard every day to make sure that I live up to your expectations as your councilman I'm committed to making our community a better place to live I believe that we can do this by working together and by focusing on the issues that matter most to all of us whether it's providing learning opportunities for our youth providing making our community safer or protecting our environment I'm committed to finding solutions that work for everyone Remember My slogan better policies less politics but I can't do this alone I need your help and your input I want everyone to reach out to me with your ideas your concerns or issues that matter most to you I want to know what you think to make our Comm Community a better place together we can make a real difference thank you again for all your support and I look forward to working with you all in the next four years God bless and now brand new councilman at large Alex Kazi thank you Mr Mayor good evening and happy New Year I was told that since I'm new I can have a little bit more time right mayor thank you start plock uh I am deeply honored to be with you tonight and truly grateful for the trust wers placed in me and elected me as a councilman at large this is truly a privilege and I eager to contribute my skills and passion to make a positive impact on the lives of the residents of this beautiful Township there are many people that I am thankful I will start with thanking to my wife in nearly 3 months we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary thank you people often ask me how do I find time to do so much and to that I would say I have been blessed to have a wife who allows me to do things that I find fulfilling in life unfortunately she had foot surgery and could not be here tonight with us but she is watching us live from home thank you um I thankful to all of you who came out tonight to share the joy of this special occasion I am very grateful to all family members friends and Democratic committee members for their support during the campaign I would like to especially thank our mayor Phil Kramer councilman Rah andon councilwoman Kimberly franois Mr Ron Jordan and Mr Wayne dski for their guidance and support while campaigning together let me also acknowledge and thank our uh Republican opponents for their time and dedication to the election let us remember that the election was ended on November 7 and now we must all work together to make a positive difference in the lives of our residents finally a special thanks to ex councilwoman Crystal puit for her 5 years of EX amplo service and wish her the best in her new position despite the fact that I have lived in Franklin for 37 years and serve the community in many ways I humbly see myself as a new student I am blessed to be surrounded with great team of wise men and women with years of experience in serving the community I look forward collaborating and learning from them often times newly Ed official have big dreams my dream is to see more Equity among the residents of this town to achieve this we must create more employment opportunities address food and Rental rent insecurities support small businesses improve access to better education and Health Services make our Township more safer and promote a stronger partnership between local local and County government I look forward to working with everyone to make this a reality I believe one of the Franklin's greatest attributes is its diversity people of all backgrounds make invaluable contribution to our community you just witnessed a great example of diversity tonight most likely first in all the New Jersey if not in the nation a Jewish a Hindu a Muslim and a Christian elected candidates sworn in by an Imam a rabbi a pastor and Hindu clergy Franklin is actually is the second most diverse Township in New Jersey when you live in a diverse town like ours with more than 70 houses of worship and at least 70 spoken languages soon you come to a realization that we have so much in common and are all equal in humanity as the past president of interface Council I have promoted pillars of Hope unity and mutual respect I hope that together we will make Franklin a shining example of these values and among one of the best places to live in the nation again thank you all and my apologies to those I was unable to acknowledge due to my limited time up here tonight you are all dear to me and I value your support God bless you all and God Franklin so now it's my turn uh thank you for coming thank you for all the citizens that have once again put their faith in me and have uh respected uh the work that I've put in uh and my dedication to this job I especially want to thank my wife Lori for supporting me for being there for me for um always being there for always being there for me and for not regretting our poor Judgment of 32 years ago this is my fifth swearing in so I'm not going to go for uh ask not what Franklin can do for you moment um I'm just going to say a few words I'm going to keep it like me short and sweet um Alex mentioned the Wonder of diversity of of those being sworn in tonight um uh a Jew a Hindu a Muslim and a Christian and what he didn't mention was that the um oppon our opponents had they only ran three people they had a Jew a Muslim and a Christian this only happens in Franklin you know we may be as Alex mentioned the second most diverse uh town in New Jersey but I think we've got to be the most accepting town in the nation and that's a wonderful place thing to live a place to live and a wonderful thing to uh enjoy it's hard though um there's there with diversity you do have some Rift between people but we work at it our police work at it our schools work at it and we're a better town for it um we have many challenges ahead such as the enormous jump in health care cost that's going to affect our budget and um the issues of development both commercial and residential we have uh some exciting um projects coming up though partnering with the Boe on Healthcare and on preschool partnering with um rvcc on job training and partnering with the YMCA and all they can offer we have a lot to do let's get to work thank [Applause] you councilman EMB Barrison here councilwoman Francois here councilman Kazi here mayor Kramer here councilman Oni jaka here council member pnik presid councilwoman uden here councilman vasella here councilman Wright we have no commendations and proclamations um we're on to item number nine there's an agenda up uh there the appointment of the deputy mayor 2024 Deputy Mayor do have any nominations for deputy mayor uh mayor it's my honor and privilege to nominate uh fellow council member Ed patnik to be the next Deputy Mayor are there any other nominations then we can do this by acclamation all in favor of uh council member basnik as Deputy Mayor say I I post say nay motion is carried congratulations Deputy Mayor have you oh that's right will now be sworn in yeah what is he doing pnik I Ed pnik the Constitution the United States Constitution State of New Jersey be two true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government's United States and in the state under the authority of the people that I will that I will Faithfully partially and partially justly perform justly perform du all the duties of deputy mayor of the town of Franklin according to the best of my ability help me God [Applause] congratulations Deputy Mayor have you some remarks for us thank you mayor um yes I'm very brief but I want to thank all of you for being here um it's quite an honor as was mentioned Franklin Township is the second most diverse town in the state of New Jersey four holy books were used tonight for swearing inss and I'm extra proud and honored to be the very first openly gay deputy mayor of Franklin Township to bring even more diversity and acknowledgement there's sort of a phrase they say if you're not at the table you're on the menu um so that that gets to change Maybe a little bit but I do agree with the mayor it's a very accepting place um where we honor each other and we work through differences and I think it's an inspiration to communities throughout the state and I think they're right with the nation um I want to extend my love and appreciation to my mom who couldn't be here tonight she's got covid uh so she's watching from home I hope you can hear it without the crackling if you're listening to YouTube it's better than Xfinity uh something we're working on uh or you can watch on the Franklin reporter the live stream uh and then in addition to uh that I want to thank my brother um my partner John and all my family and friends for all the support they've given Through The Years um through campaigns and all kinds of personal um things um it really means a a difference uh a lot to me it makes a difference um we'll continue to work to provide great services this council is extraordinary um it's hardworking and that's for every Franklin member of the community in addition we're going to work hard to Steward your money in a way that's responsible POS and ensure taxes are kept at an affordable low rate that's you know often a challenge as the mayor mentioned with escalation and increases but we've done a great job so far and we're going to continue to do that so um I want to wish you all a very happy New Year um may it be uh one filled with love and gratitude uh with friendship with prosperity with health and then most importantly with peace thank you so we would I'd like to now open the meeting to P for excuse me I'd like to now open the meeting for public discussion to have a motion to open all moved seconded moved then seconded all in favor of opening for public discussion say I I oppos say nay motion is carried we're open for public discussion three minutes a piece no yielding of time may only come up once see no one coming from forward mayor a motion to close the public portion I'm looking oh there's Motion in the back oh oh yes close it quick pause start the clock now you're not you're not going to miss out on me mayor right uh congratulations uh it's a always a proud moment to see us evolve as a community and um Thursday night I'll be sworn in again for a board of education thank you for your support with two wonderful candidates uh Eric and uh Jimmy three issues I'm going to focus on with the board and I ask you to stay focused because I know that's where you're going free and early childhood education is absolutely essential I know you're behind it as a former principal for over 40 years if you start a child at three years old the fruit of that TR is going to be so much stronger if they stay within our public school system so helping the board with this like you're doing is just great the second sermon that I always give is we need a YMCA in Franklin we've been talking to everyone congresswoman is she okay anyway Bonnie Watson Coleman commissioner Chanel and uh the council but one main reason water safety for our children we're surrounded by water and a lot of kids don't get swim lessons the second reason is Safe child care and the third issue is our food bank and I see Derek Smith's here tonight congratulations Derek um the um food bank does such tremendous work with volunteers with staff and uh we need more space so Derek is working with John ravali and with you guys and uh it it's such a great great uh Institution for Franklin Township so that's all I have to say but our community gazebo band is doing great so the Fourth of July I told the member of the mayor we may be able to save on hiring a band we have our own so that's great God bless you all with your work anyone [Applause] else anyone else good evening and congratulations to our elected representative uh as you guys met as everybody measured here related to our diversity Min saluna come I'm from Saron and we can see how much of us are here today to make a big celebration for one of our own that's going to be part of this Township in the highest rank anybody can imagine first I want to commend the council for pushing supporting staff at Roberto johy University Hospital for this safe Staffing issue we were fighting for keep going they the we acknowledge the support you gave us and I want you all to know that we going back to the hospital but yet much has to be done safe Staffing is very important not just in the hospital but within our nursing homes we can start it from Council level state level to Federal level I believe it begins from here and I know we can do it I want to acknowledge your effort in our school system I have a daughter who is in high school at 11th grade she finished every every cses she's supposed to take at high school now she is taking her college classes at 12th grade Franklin Township school can compete with any school in the United States I believe that and I want but that's not enough we need to do more the more we work the more frankly we become a friendly environment for everyone this environment outside they will tell you you live in somet yes oh salom people in Bou we are more in Somerset because of the opportunity Franklin Township is offering to us we have a lot of selonian as immigrants who are today in a better position because of the opportunity you open to us and I encourage you to continue to do that irrespective of where each and everyone is coming from Let Us open our arm to embrace them and continue with our diversity that makes us the United States of America and that's what Franklin beli lives in thank you all and [Applause] congratulations be black hey gang how's everybody hope everybody had a nice New Year's Christmas why is everybody smiling you happy to see me John yeah I had my choices love but I love you all anyway you know that I'm just come to congratulate everybody on the election Bob what's the matter Bob you think I'm going to say something crazy I ain't gonna say nothing crazy all right I do want to say uh a couple things uh the last monologue that the mayor had spoke about it was in terms of a part of um dictatorship and how that has waned out and how he's willing to kind of share all the services and so forth in the township that has to offer and so forth and I was glad to hear that type of conversations coming from him and uh I want you guys to understand that the fourth ward is in need of your services very very bad and of course you already know that the uh the glue which kept this town to be the fifth best community to live in in this whole country was because of the Somerset Community acting program and the people that came out of the fourth ward that was the glue now it has because of lack of Direction has become dissipated and thankfully that the people that we have here on the council now will help us get back to being the the fifth best or not even the fourth best community to liveing your diversity is here the people is here all you have to do is to attack the services that is needed there was a Health Report came out last week the last Lady came report and the adversity of death was something like 90% between the First Ward and the fourth W come on guys we live in the same town so that means that's some work that needs to be done in the fourth W as long as I'm here I am am proud to be the people that come from the fourth forward the mcgomery and the Briggs and all the people that raised up in the fourth forward in Parkside area we need your support there has been a plan coming out to help us we knew what we need we know what we need to bring nice strong young black men out of the community that can take care of all of us and we can do it in terms of work job training and Industry that we need in in in this community and I want to say I'm here Johnny tip is gonna be here you know that because I got the man behind me all right I got him behind me and I'm hope and pray that we can all get together espe you Ron I'm waiting for you I'm glad you finished your vacation thank you for your comments because I come to see you yes sir mayor and I'm gone now and may God bless you sir thank [Applause] you good evening good evening members of the high table um I'm going to say thank you very much for a well job done U we have been there before of course you guys are not stranger no more I've run a lot of campaign with you um since I was a chairman in third world and after then I leave of course Honorable Charles came in and of course my own Boss by here is Dr Phil kma a long time standing friend I think I've did a well well good job for for Democrats I'm pretty sure most of you guys know me I'm representing the West African Community as a chairman I'm going to send this message please everything is okay for now in times of divisiveness it's okay we know what happened the past two elections when he was trying to div divide Us in the community some of us stood back there and said no we are going for Democrat and we did the San Community come out the West Africa community come out and voted hugely for the Democrat because we strongly believe with the Democrats we can do more better as a African over here we do have intellectuals um we do have students that attend college we are looking for employment and then we have the issue with immigrants although it's better now since MBA came to power we saw a lot of difference on immigration several years back when they arrest you for you driving ticket you don't have documents they send you all the way to ice but now it's limited there was a lot of crime going around with the African Community some of us step in may know that we fight we do what we have to do now we have limited crime with the African Community we need help again for those people that come in here the the age people I will say some of them don't even have a immigrant document some of them are there they don't even have insurance I want Franklin to work on it seriously this is very very important otherwise we going to lose this age people because they did not have an insurance and lastly I appreciate my councilman at my own word world one I was having a issue with the road I saw they pave that road now I will say again thank you sir for passing that message we appreciate all of you guys here but you guys have to come on to the public and to us and see some of our needs we are in serious needs we talk about the food bank yeah some of the Africa do have food bank they don't go there we don't know why it is there for them to be used so we going to advise them if they F short home let them go to the food bank or contact you guys thank you very much I appreciate now all thank [Applause] you anyone else oh we got some more good um members of these um August um Gathering I most of what um previous speakers have spoken I will like reiterate on them um but what strike me most coming from the chairman and our councilman is practical diversity and integration in the Franklin Township um I took time to read recent history and I really realized that there were some challenges we had and with respect to the police department yeah but glad to see we have um a few years back um a very um a Lous lady uh Mrs pel who was elected the first woman and in the police department in terms of public director of Public Safety so um there are so many Milestone we can commend on but I mean that will only take place if we continue like that integration and showcasing ourself and making certain me which is um necessary because um we Africans um certain things you the the demography with respect to the white so to speak and those more in in in this part of our our country and they do have that communication but we need to see more integration with respect to showcasing us and reaching out yes I don't want to be the point but I think maybe the message is driven as I look at the township um since over 10 years ago um when we made our independence parade I know what some wonderful men sitting over there did um um so I thank you very much for that and we want that to improve on so whether it's the West African Community and the other communities we have we need that integration so that we will showcase oursel properly sometimes there's really a misrepresentation but it's really for maybe on our part so once again I thank you very much and I'm happy we're here um for us the climax of our coming here is Yet to Come waiting for that time thank you very much thank you anyone else I forgot to say at the beginning state your name and address evening um happy New Year and um congratulations to all the official elected um my name is ISAT taba I am officially not from Somerset but I have a business here in Somerset well I'm from Somerset but currently I live in um Florence but my whole life was in Somerset here so Somerset will always be my home um my concern or question or uh what I wanted to say to the is elected today is um someone made measurable small business um I would like to see um a lot of women have owning a small business in Som County and um by the way we're going to achieve that is like having uh little um shops around because the building the cost of U um renting a store is very expensive I believe it's prevent a lot of women to to be um having be a small business owner but if if the township can look into that and see how they can help women to own um their own business I think that would be a development in the community because if you build a woman you build a home thank you thank you anyone else mayor see anyone else come forward I'll motion to close the public portion of the meeting second who then second and all in favor of closing public portion say I I fos say nay motion is carried um public session is closed we are now on to item 11 2024 appointment of attorneys and other professionals uh all terms are for one year do we do have any nominations for Township attorney I have one I'd like to nominate Lewis Renown as Township attorney of renown Coughlin um machello uh LLC do we have any other nominations for a Township attorney I move nominations be closed so moved second moved and seconded nominations there are no further nominations we can do this by acclamation all in favor of L reown for Township attorney say I I oppos say nay motion is carried Mr reown if you could stand to be sworn in officers of the Court [Music] h now I have someone to sit next to me and Whisper my mistakes in my ear um we have an uh nomination for tax appeal Council litigation and tax appe pill attorney yes I represent Gregory Pasquel of shin and schaer it again please I need the clerk over to help a brother out ala Alicia Alyssa Alysa poio Pia thank you see this is why she gets paid the big bucks okay um from Shinn and schaer uh law practice any other nominations then we'll close nominations all in favor say I I i i o say nay motion is carried uh do we have a nominations for Bond councel yes Mr Mayor I nominate Ed Johnson from willin attorneys at law for bound councel any other nominations for bond councel hearing none do it by acclamation all in favor of ever Johnson for Bond Council say I I I those say nay motion is carried uh do we have a nomination for Township auditor mayor I move Robert W shiffer from shley cloney and Company any other nominations um we can do it by acclamation all in favor of Robert Swisher say I I oppos say nay motion is carried congratulation Mr swisser I would like to nominate Andy hodgi for finance consultant Financial Consultant any other nominations hearing none all in favor say I iOS say nay congratulation Mr hodgi we have any nominations for Township engineer Mr Mayor I would like to appoint Robert Russo of CM as our Township engineer and I want to say if you ever go to Middle Bush Park you want to see that guy sitting in the back because he's the guy that really put it together for us so without question I want to appoint Mr Robert Russo as our Township engineer any other nominations nominations are closed all in favor of Mr Russo for Township engineer say I I poos say nay motion is carried congratulations Mr Russo um do we have any nominations for Township prosecutor mayor I nominate Mohammad s jallo law office of Norman W no no no okay no he's Anon at law I'm sorry Mohammad thank you any other nominations I move the nominations be closed no other nominations all in favor of Muhammad jamoo as prosecutor say I I I oppos say nay congratulations Mr charow and he is he is here would you like to be sworn in oh look he has a Bible is it uh if you want to a mistake here this is nor I'm Muhammad Jala I'm muhamed j s do swear I will support the Constitution that I will support the 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 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 I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully impartially impartially justly perform and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of Township prosecutor Township prosecutor of the township of Franklin of the township of Franklin according to the best of my ability according to the help me God so help me congratulations thank [Applause] youat congratulations again who have any nominations for associate prosecutor yes Mr Mayor uh I would like to nominate Mr Norman W Albert from the law office of Norman W Albert as the associate prosecutor there any other nominations for associate prosecutor nominations are closed um all in favor of Mr Norman output for associate prosecutors say I I oppos say nay motion is carried congratulations Mr Alpert do we have a nomination for an alternate prosecutor yes mayor I would like to nominate cherro D MAA from law offices of cherag DEA LLC thank you are there any other nominations all in favor say I I oos say nay motion is carried congratulations Mr meta and do we have a nomination for public defender yes Mr Mayor I'll nominate Dennis oelo Dennis oelo Esquire any other nominations for public defender hearing none all in favor of Mr ello say I I OPP say nay motion is carried congratulations Mr oelo okay um that was item number 11 13 right we're on to we're on to number 13 boards committees commissions and appointments and reappointments uh do we have uh a anyone like to um motion for the appointments on resolution number 241 through 244 four is listed in the consent agend and the agenda are presented to Township Council for adoption so moved second second moved and seconded um all in favor say I I do we have to do a vote Madam clerk councilman and Barrison yes councilwoman Francois yes councilman Kazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman Oni joa yes Deputy Mayor pnik yes councilwoman Udin councilman vasella yes councilman right yes thank you um I got to turn a lot of pages here so that was for all four yes yeah so we are on to Mayor Oriel I'm trying to get there my script spells out everything so it's many pages 14 oh the mayor appointments my appointments so for Library board for the one-year uh appointment I'd like to uh reappoint uh T Tiana Grom for the five-year appointment I'd like to reappoint Kevin mcneel and for the planning board appointment I'd like to um appoint Mr Robert Lort um we're on to item number 15 and items number 16 we'll do it we'll combine them together to answer any questions from the public and do Council comments and even though he's being distracted Mr K councilman karazi you will go first with your Council comments or would you like to go last thank you so much Mr Mayor yeah all right so we have two great events in our Township this month the first one that I wanted to mention is on uh January 15th which is a Dr b lutter k Foundation community breakfast this is a wonderful event I know most of you have been here I have been there and starts in uh it's going to be in Double Tree Hotel in Somerset 8:30 a.m. to about 11:00 a.m. and not only is an event that brings all the community members together officials as well but you will have a great breakfast and uh whatever you help that uh Foundation it goes towards scholarship to the students the flyer are outside as well as we have it on the township uh uh website uh the second one is a unique one is the first time is happening in in New Jersey actually and uh it is uh an event called uh new uh lightening event and is in uh recognition of the Muslim Heritage Month uh last April Governor designated January of each year as Muslim Heritage months as uh and he said that I am proud to designate January of each year as Muslim Heritage months as it will shine a light on the rich histories cultures and shared principle of Muslim Americans and New Jersey takes great pride in its diversity and we will continue to recognize and celebrate the positive impact Muslims have made and continue to make to the advancement of the state unquote so this there will be different activities during the month and in our Township a group of volunteers have come together and organized a grand great event and will be on the on January 14th on Sunday from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Senior Citizen Center and uh they will be entertainment food and cultural activities so please come and join and enjoy the event uh the last one that I have Mr Mayor is the human relations commission meeting which is going to be on January 24th at 7 p.m. across the hall and there are four commissioner whose terms of office are up and will be renewed with Council approval they are Miss Edna hickner Miss Nora ctis man Mr John tips and Mr John SBA may I ask the the council approval so they can we just approved we just approved it you did fantastic okay that's great and that's it Mr Mayor thank you councilman o jaka yeah okay mayor today actually shows the diversity in Franklin where no special religion take special preference to others I stand to congratulate my mayor and my fellow council members for well for job well done and at the same time to have our full crew Lord I also take this opportunity to thank our new prosecutor whom I know that he's going to deliver his judgment Del his duty effectively and at the same time May I stand to congratulate all other members that is what I have today May thank you councilman Raman Barrison thank you Mr Mayor first of all uh wish uh you all a very happy new year and congratulations to the uh newest member of our Council here uh and um I'm sure uh Alex will do a great job with his years of community service in town and uh you're going to make us all better uh other than that I have uh no other comments thank you councilwoman Kimberly Fran thank you Mr Mayor just like to say congratulations to all the people who were appointed and reappointed to the boards and committees and commissions here in Franklin Township we appreciate the fact that people give up their talents and their time to serve this great Township this great diverse Township and want to thank everyone for coming out tonight this was a great reorganization meeting happy New Year and God bless everybody thank you councilman James basella thank you mayor I'm not gonna talk about any meetings or or main issues but I do want to seriously take a moment and congratulate uh if I can privilege saying Alex because we are people up here and I know often um you know not everybody sees us in our everyday lives but Alex congratulations your heart is in this 100% I know that and uh you're working a community has been fantastic thus far you're going to have to transition get used to the pivoting of what of the legislative aspect of things but I I know you will do wonderful uh Rah forgive me for using your first name but thank you for your service and congratulations again sometimes the second term is often the uh a major one because you really start getting into it and obviously no longer a freshman as they say councilwoman fruis or Kimberly if I'm allowed to uh your history speaks for itself and um it's been a pleasure even if very few times we disagree it's been a pleasure serving with you and I look forward to the work that we're going to do next several years Bill mayor congratulations you know we were working on issues before you even run for office and some of the most enjoyable moments I've spent in Franklin Township advocating for people in this town I say that sincerely and uh often not mentioned but Mr Ray who uh my math was right first entered our ldus 25 years ago uh and other than a couple of years uh during that 25 year tenure spent the quarter um Century guiding us legally and we all know how much um legal issues we contend with on a regular basis and we have the U Brain Trust of Municipal uh law here and I happy from our Township Deputy Mayor you didn't get reelected but congratulations obviously and um I know you'll represent us great as Deputy Mayor and my other two colleagues down here who I guess like me nothing's special to today but uh thank you for your your service um in all in all seriousness uh the handful of new people that were appointed to positions thank you for stepping up and serving uh we want more people to keep coming into the P civilian Public Service aspects of government because as anybody who watches what we do what those committees boards and commissions do are really the guide and light for how a lot of how we legislate so thank you for the new and uh for the new people have stepped up and for the ones who uh continue to volunteer and were reappointed to their positions basically be safe be safe be safe and enjoy 2024 we will be working hard to protect the uh quality of life of every single person in this Township thank you thank you councilwoman sheepa oudin thank you good evening um feels great to be back been a break and I think um I hope everyone enjoyed their time off um I hope everyone did some reflection had uh a shutdown of their Wi-Fi password Etc because I did um I wanted to completely just um uh be with the family and be present and I think it's important that um we all do that sometimes to be present with our family and give them time because um a lot of us know that sitting here um we give a lot of time back to the community um and sometimes we need to also give back time to our family so it was really nice to um just turn off laptop um devices and um just be with the family um with that being said I do want to congratulate all the appointees and the reappointments um that were made today um especially to my colleagues um mayor councilwoman frienda um ex Deputy Mayor Rah and our latest new edition um Dr Alex K um definitely it's a very diverse um group of folks here as you can see um we love the diversity and we always incorporate it um as councilman karazi mentioned there is a norite happening on January 14 you guys are all welcome to attend it's a free event um there's a lot of activities from from the younger kids all the way to the adults so please take advantage of that happening and then um the MLK breakfast that he um mentioned as well so I don't have uh a lot I think I'm just starting to catch up on work right now so but the next time I do have some updates for you guys all so thank you thank you councilman Wright first things I want to say is I had one then Bob had one and now the mayor has one was it my my starting a trend here everyone's got a beard now I mean what's going on here you don't have a beard oh I took mine off cuz everybody else had you know I I I I don't understand but you know we'll let that one slide for now um to all of our elected officials welcome welcome welcome uh another four years I'm I'm looking forward to this um we're going to have fun um just a a serious note for everyone who wants to go to college for everyone who wants to find out about paying for college this is a program for you and it's it's a program called one family one fight and the reason why it's called one family one fight it goes to the needless killing of brother Frasier on uh Churchill Avenue here in Franklin Township uh needless because wrong place wrong time one person just didn't need to happen so in in honor of that what we're trying to do is uh help students and parents figure out the best way to pay for school how to uh apply to school um and all that little navigation that you need so what I want you to do is on Saturdays in January 2024 we're going to have sessions for the various types of programs from launching your college Journey applying for college the second one navigating the financial landscape understand the cost of uh aspects of higher education uh session three mastering your college story College apps and essays and the last one uh funding your future Financial a scholarships eof Upward Bound programs and trust me when I went to school I needed every last one of them I needed the state to throw me some dollars I needed the school to throw me some dollars I need my parents throw a whole lot of dollars and then I needed me to throw in dollars because I had to work so it's very important that we understand what happens and how it happens now here's the website it's www.family one fight.com again that's www. onefamily one fight.com it's free it's web-based uh you'll get all the information you need you'll write it down put it in your back pocket put it in your front pocket put it underneath your desk but it's imperative that you learn how to do this because what happens is you get to the last moment and you say I wish I should I could have and that's where you go wrong you can't wait until the last 5 Seconds to apply for college you can't wait to figure out where you going to get the money from uh you can ask your neighbor she's got lots of money I don't uh you know uh but understand what I'm saying you need to find out and with these informative sessions you definitely will and that Mr Mayor is it except for the beard you know some guy ran with a beard and he got 4,000 votes so I thought you know nah ready hey Bob how do he look Bob come on you're I I you know I think that we're setting a trend here councilman we brought on a new councilman and I think he's got a little under the chin there too so maybe May counc and councilman Ona and councilman vasella need to think about their facial appearance we're working we're working on we go come with one um Deputy Mayor you're up thank you mayor I want to thank Dunkin Donuts for the refreshments as well as Bam Bakery for an amazing cake I heard it was delicious and the cookies and congratulations to Alex KY Dr cray um uh our newest member of council I I've done a lot of things with Alex over the years um in addition to running for school board together um he he's a really an outstanding member of the community and he's also very persistent and patient and I think those things are going to find um a wonderful place for his efforts here on Council and for the community to be beneficial um for those those really strong traits that he has and of course to the appoes um well done and we look forward to if you're serving to continuing to serve well and in these important roles and if you're new um to take on the responsibility seriously uh you know a lot of people complain they sit on the couch and they they say you got to do something about all these politicians well all of the appointees are citizen members and they're helping to advise and inform the work we're doing these are critical roles and we went through it very quickly today because there's a lot of folks um but it makes a huge difference so boards and commissions and appointees um special congratulations to you and your families you should be very proud We Are and we're looking forward to good things from you and uh that concludes my comments thanks thank you very much for my comments uh congratulations to my colleagues congratulations to everyone appointed um Franklin's in a good place right now got a lot of work to do but we're in a good place um Mr manager thank you Mr Mayor um first I I'd like to congratulate all my bosses who got either reelected or or or newly elected um it it is a a you know so it's a genuine pleasure to work here in Franklin Township it is I I otherwise I probably wouldn't have stayed quite as long as I have um but I I do enjoy this and I look forward to working with all of you for this year upcoming and several years in the future hopefully as we continue to get things done here um I will talk about some things that are kind of nuts and bolts but I I would also like to to just convey I I hope everyone had a an enjoyable holiday season uh it's a happy new year for everyone um and uh and that ties into um curbside pickup for christm Christmas trees begins on Monday January 8th um and again on Tuesday January 16th skipping the Martin Luther King holiday on the 15th um if you have a Christmas tree to be picked up you should have it out uh at the curb by Monday at 7: a.m. they'll start to pick up around the town following generally the same routes that they follow for leaf pickup um you can also bring your tree to Colonial Park courtesy of the Somerset County Park Commission uh until January 31st uh Lot F in Colonial Park you can drop off your trees um just like uh the township all trees are recycled for mulch purposes so you can do that either at the county park or um put it out to the curb um we we wait until January 7th because January 8th I should say um because I'd also like to say Merry Christmas to those of the Orthodox Christian faith who if they're following the Julian calendar will celebrate on January 7th Christmas um I had the pleasure growing up of a grandmother who was carpo Russian Orthodox and so I got to celebrate two Christmases every year the 25th and well I I I got Santa Claus came on the 25th but Grandma Mary got to give me a present on January 7th yes so um you so keeping in mind that we have a significant um in in particular Ukrainian orthodox population here in Franklin Township as uh the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States is headquartered right on eastn Avenue on the border with southbound Brook so not forget that um councilman uh karazi mentioned the the uh um Martin Luther King breakfast on the 15th by all means it's also it is on our website you can there's a link to purchase tickets on our website um and then the last thing is construction amnesty some people had asked about construction amnesty given the fact that it's ordinarily done at with the kickoff at Franklin Day Festival which unfortunately was cancelled this year due to rain um January 8th so a week from yesterday this upcoming Monday January 8th through January 12th if you have completed work in your home and are unsure whether you needed a construction permit or not um and you think that maybe a previous owner maybe did some work on your house before you bought it and maybe they should have had permits um here's your opportunity to come in and speak with a representative of the construction Department during normal business hours next week all week and make arrangements to make application for permits without penalty you'll still have to pay for the permits you'll still have to go through the inspection process but if you you are aware that there may have been work done on your house and it was done without permits and you should have gotten permits or the previous owner should have gotten permits here's your opportunity to do so without penalty and get your house up to code so to speak and get it um in in condition where it and and this is a I give you a little bit of of words of wisdom here the number one thing applied for as far as open public records in Franklin Township is information on constru ction permits and work done on homes that are up for sale buyers will file Oprah requests to see if you got permits on work that you did to your house and it causes a great deal of difficulty for sellers if they have work that had been done without permits and now the buyer says did that work you finished that basement you did that kitchen renovation without permits and it it causes issues at closing so whether you're looking to sell your house now or not it's best to just get the permits pay for the permits get the work uh um so that that everything is on the up and up and if you then go to sell your house in the future you won't have those issues here's your opportunity next week the only caveat is if you come in next week you have to have the permits you have to apply for the permits no later than February 9th we're giving you one month after you come in next week to actually make the application for the permits what I got Mr Mayor thank you Mr renon you have something new puppy thank you m got a new puppy tell tell them what kind of dog turn on your mic that's very funny I got a golden Irish puppy yes mayor thank you congratulations there you go that's important it's important um we have no council discussion items thank God except maybe puppies uh approval of the minutes there are none uh warrant we do have to pay our bills for 7,489 466 and 84 cents on December 29th 2020 nope on January 2nd 2024 are presented to the township Council for payments we have a motion on the warrants I move that the warrants is read be paid seconded moved in seconded any discussion anyone like to pull an item Madam CL councilman and Barrison yes Council woman franois yes councilman Kazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman Oni jaka yes Deputy Mayor pnik yes Council yes councilman vasella yes councilman right we have no ordinances on second reading we have no ordinances on first reading government at its best staying out of your way we have consent agenda items a through GG on the consent agenda are appointed uh on the consent agenda portion of this meeting are presented to Township Council for adoption do you have a motion on the consent agenda so moved seconded moved then seconded any discussion anyone want to pull an item or question an item Mr Mayor can I bring attention to one uh because you won't and either will the deputy mayor so I will this is a rather perfunctory consent agenda to be honest with you except for one item and that would be the item um that is 23g resolution donation of mayor's 2023 wedding fees to Second Chance for animals in the amount of $2,750 I believe this year you and Deputy Mayor EMB Barrison conducted quite a few weddings obviously to get to 2,750 with all of the money being donated to Second Chance For Animals I think that's worthy of attention like I said puppies there you go thank you Mr manager thank you for that and thank you deputy mayor uh uh ex Deputy Mayor former deputy mayor um Amer doesn't sound right Deputy Mayor am Meritus um for contributing your uh earnings as well um that was fun May former good uh we have a motion in a second any more items Madam clerk councilman EMB Barrison yes councilwoman franois yes councilman Kazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on Jaa yes Deputy Mayor basnik yes Council woman oud councilman vasella yes councilman right there are no resolutions to be voted on separately there's no old business we have no executive session do I have a motion to adjourn mayor just before you adjourn I just and I apologize but I think it's important especially you're talking about puppies we have a free rabes clinic coming up and seriously uh very important to have your dog license and you uh it will be on our website but I believe it happens before next council meeting so I want to make sure I mentioned it um free rabies clinic for anybody in the township where rabies obviously required for all new uh well for all for all dogs and not sure about cats but I know for dogs any anyway thank you man thank you we have a motion to adjourn so moved seconded move then seconded any discussion on a journey no sir all in favor say I I opposed say a we are adjourned