this work session regular meeting of the township council is called to order Madame clerk in accordance with the open public meeting Act of the state of New Jersey adequate notice of this work session regular meeting of the Franklin Township Council was made as required indicating that this work session regular meeting would take place at the municipal building at 700 p.m. on Tuesday May 14th 2024 thank you if we could all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and then remain standing for the invocation by councilman Kazi allegiance to flag of to the rep please please still stay standing if there is to be be peace in the world there must be peace in the Nations if there is to be peace in the Nations they must be peace in the cities if there is to be peace in the cities there must be peace between neighbors if there is to be peace between neighbors there must be peace in the home if there is uh to be peace in the home there must be peace in the heart may peace be in all of your hearts by the way this was the closing prayer that we prayed on May 2nd in the 73rd anniversary of national day of prayers and mayor suggested that we use this in today's invoc thank you mayor thank you madam clerk please call the role councilman EMB Barrison here councilwoman franc here councilman karazi here mayor Kramer here councilman Oni jaka deputy mayor pnik council woman udine here councilman vasella here councilman Wright uh councilman uh on jaka is stuck in traffic he shall be here late and uh councilman pzn or Deputy Mayor patnik is out of town on business uh commendations and proclamations Mental Health Awareness Month um yep yis oh all right good evening everyone thank you all for coming out today so this is a proclamation for mental health awareness month which is May and I will read it as follows whereas according to the National Alliance on Mental Health and mental illness one in five or 20% of Americans are living with a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year and whereas with Franklin's Township's population of more than 68 th000 people this means almost 14,000 of our friends family and neighbors are living with a diagnosable mental health condition 14,000 whereas substance use disorders affect more than 23 million Americans yet only 25% receive treatment of any kind or sort whereas navigating through life is challenging for everyone but even more so for those with mental health are substance use disorders physical or intellectual disabilities are those marginalized based on race ethnicity socioeconomics gender sexual orientation or other criteria whereas many who live with these challenges also face stigma from their community and in the face of stigma it is so hard to ask for or seek out help that is available to improve the lives and health of people whereas Franklin Township is committed to educating the public in order to remove these stigmas and informing our residents about finding the services through mental health and substance use programs delivered by Somerset County by Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center and numerous valuable non profit Partners now therefore our mayor in the town of the township of Franklin County of Somerset on behalf of the township council do hereby reaffirm that Franklin Township is a stigma-free community we proclaim the month of May 2024 to be mental health awareness month and urge all of our residents organizations schools public safety and businesses is to join us in taking the stigma free pledge and live every day stigma free now we have our stigma free group here Mr Mayor you have something you want good evening everyone you probably wondering why these youth are here and uh you know NE Nelson bandana once said and I just want to read a quotation from him he said the young of today are the leaders of tomorrow while this may seem to be a simple truth it is so important for the future of our community State nation and World As We nurture support and recognize our youth leaders with this in mind we have Commendation to recognize our youth leaders and I like to read it by the mayor and Council of Township of Franklin We Philip Kramer mayor and Alex Kazi councilman of the township of Franklin in the county of Somerset and state of New Jersey on behalf of the township Council and all citizens of the township of Franklin hereby extend our appreciation and Commendation to the youth leaders gathered here tonight for their passion commitment and service to our residents in raising mental health awareness they felt witnessed and perceived the urgency to help other teens and adults who struggle with mental health issues substant use disorder or the stigma that holds people from seeking help they join together to be event organizers project managers Educators Advocates and in one case a grand writer in order to pursue their goals congrat ulations hello my name is Phyllis beels and I'm a co-chair with safy Kalen of the newly formed uh Franklin Township stigma free Council to which everyone is welcome I want to share with you some examples and explain why were these teens and actually they're Pro there're another about oh 25 or 30 who couldn't be here tonight because are working or they have other commitments so for example um at Franklin High School the black Family Wellness Expo took place in March at which strategies on getting through mental health trauma were presented through spoken word and dance and panel discussions this was sponsored by the Franklin High School black youth awareness club and the Raritan Valley chapter of the links and I understand that um that students from their are going to speak in planfield um soon again about mental health awareness St matias's self-care Fair also in March was led by smile with braces core youth leadership team where resources were shared stigma was challenged and breakout sessions about eating disorders and more took place throughout the day smile with braces stands for St maias youth giving evangelization bringing and raising awareness to combat existing stigmas that's really it's a big it's a big concept there and it it tricks you smile with braces right mental health and stress management techniques at Thomas Edison energy smart charter school and the Franklin Township youth center uh with through a grant from America's promise power of Youth Challenge uh mental health awareness took place two events um one at a class uh last spring where a police officer spoke and um the young student sought this grant of of his own accord and uh and then there was another event at the uh Youth Center because there were going to be so many people here today I was hoping but we're very happy thank you thank you those who did come uh we don't we're not reading all the names at this time but everyone is receiving a certificate um zafy would like to say a couple words about stigma free hello good evening evening I'm just my name is sappy K and I'm the special projects manager for the township of Franklin I just want to do a brief commercial about Sigma free so you understand what you've been hearing about all of this time uh in February Under the Umbrella of the mayor's Wellness campaign the township of Franklin launched the stigma free Council and that Council helps to remove stigma for mental Health helps to remove stigma for substance use disorder because we want people to understand that you should seek help if you need help if you broke your leg if you broke your arm you would go to a doctor and you would get the help that you needed and the same should hold true for substance use disorder the same should hold true for Mental Health crisis because mental health is whole body health so we've had three meetings as you heard me say we've first started meeting in February we've had three meeting and I'm just going to read you a short list of what we've done in that time so since February and in no particular order we have hosted a stigma-free table at the St Matias self-care Fair hosted a stigma-free table at the Franklin Middle School diversity night festival we've partnered with the Franklin Township forever 55 program to present relaxing instrument meditation an event for an April 1 Stress Awareness Month our members have gone to the April Franklin Township Board of Education meeting in an effort to have Franklin Township Public Schools become stigma-free and pledged to be a stigma-free community we've received a donation from the Franklin Women's Club we've spoken at the mayor's Wellness campaign town hall meeting hosted by New Jersey quality healthc Care Institute we've applied for a $60,000 Grant keep your fingers crossed um with the congressionally directed spending um office with Cory Senator Corey Booker's office as you heard May's mental health month so we have partnered with Mental Health Association in New Jersey and the Mental Health America to include frankland's performance gazebo in their lighted up green campaign so if you came in and it was starting to get dark and when you leave later you'll notice that that warm Green Glow emanating from the me emanating from the Gazebo is for mental health awareness we have two full day Mental Health First Aid workshops coming up on June 10th and that is adults helping other adults through crisis and on September 30th and that's adults helping youth uh we have presented at the New Jersey Governor's Council on Mental Health stigma and just so you know May 16th is mental health action day so please be seen in green so if any of that is interest of interest to you if Equitable Health in Franklin is of interest to you or if you just are like these ladies look tired so I'm going to help them out by joining please join the stigma-free council our next meeting is tomorrow it is the third Wednesday of each month thank you mental mental health affects everybody uh it's affected my family um and for the people who did best with it were people who are not stigmatized by what was happening mental health or mental illness is not something to be ashamed of it is an illness just like a liver problem or a leg problem or anything else I see it every day in my clinic uh I saw it today in my clinic and the people who can do it without stigma are the ones who are a step ahead so please regardless of what you do please remain stigma free yourself thank you [Applause] d [Applause] [Music] uh next on the agenda is uh Team Thomas Edison energy smart Charter School um state champions FTC by woman cup greetings everyone this is a a really nice commodation we don't do this as often as I wish we did our kids so to recognize them is always a privilege and I'm honored to do it um we are recognizing our uh students in tis Thomas Edison charter school today um what they did is they innovated a robotics team representing Franklin Township in a wealth competition in Texas and they won uh I believe third place so if you're part of the 10 kids absolutely so if you're part of the 10 kids please come up and the two coaches coach okay are you the coach third place in Jersey yes okay we Philip Kramer mayor and sheepa Udin councilwoman of the Franklin Township of the town ship of Franklin in the county of Somerset and state of New Jersey on behalf of the township Council and all citizens of the township of Franklin hereby recognize the 10 students and two coaches and commend the exity dedication and hard work and Innovative spirit and demonstrated by the team 11754 Energy Smart and Thomas Edison energy smart charter school and celebrate their winning four out of 10 games at the 2024 first championship in Houston at the world competition we extend our best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors and pledge our ongoing support to the Thomas Edison energy smart Charter and school FTC robotics team congratulations guys um we are so proud of you and you know if there are other students in Franklin Township that are doing some such amazing thing we would love to recognize them so please let us know you can reach out to any of the council um members and we would love to recognize them because it's really important to showcase our talents um and these are examples so thank you once again I know we have two coaches if you guys want to come up and say few things put them five yeah as a coach we always let them to talk and take the lead what they what they are doing so we can I can introduce Chris so he's our captain so he can take some word uh hello my name is Chris I'm the co- captain and lead programmer at our team um what we do at robotics is you know we kind of um exemplify a mini work environment in building um this kind of mini robot that uses a lot of engineering and programming skills but also really emphasizes how we work together as a team um you know we really value education and this year especially you know is not about just like educating ourselves but educating each other you know e even if I'm a senior to U my other team members I want to make sure that I'm learning from them and then they're learning from me which is a theme that we can use in our uh lives as well so I think um you know robotics in general just displays a theme that we kind of see so common and it exemplifies our teamwork skills together and most importantly education thank you I'm jealous they they didn't have it when I was going to school uh I was once asked if I didn't become a doctor what would I have done and my answer was robotics uh it's an amazing field it's amazing that at at high school level uh that uh our children are being able to do this uh congratulations and you've done it very well [Applause] [Applause] well e [Applause] I didn't see it first okay so um if you want to follow along the agenda there are copies near the uh clerk at the corner of the uh counter we are on to item number six public discussion to have a motion to open to the public so moved second moved and seconded all in favor say I I I opposed say nay motion is carried we open to the public um you let me know if what I'm about to do I can't do but um I see a lot of people here and uh my guesses a lot of you are together how many people are intending to speak okay not not that many so I if if all of you wanted to speak I would have had to shorten the time the rest of you are here for support that's great um so uh uh anyone wishing to speak should come hello Mrs Peterson anyone wishing to speak may come to the uh Podium uh five minutes per person limited to um one you may only come up one time no yielding of time please state your name and address when you come up Mrs Peterson Lake Avenue in Somerset let me interrupt you one second could people close those doors so we don't have the sound thank you I appreciate it go ahead start our time over again please I'm Mrs Peterson 12 Lake Avenue in Somerset I'm here representing residents from Lake Hill and spring we are having a real problem with idling idling all night of trucks that are now parked in a residential Zone trucks that should be moved trucks that sometimes just stay there all the time the township has many ordinances we want to know when they're going to be enforced and we're recommending no idling signs placed on the corner somewhere of Spring Hill and Lake both in Spanish and English to remind people there is state law number two we're also recommending that somebody be hired as a idle enforcer someone who can see the ordinances know what they are and can take and so bring that back to the council and the people of the planning board as well as the the uh individuals the mayor Etc um it's it's very annoying to be awakened 12 2 to 3 4 to 5:00 in the morning with trucks that sit and idle for an hour or more they've idled even as long as 5 to 6 hours it's not just the noise that is disturbing it is also the fumes and when they're idling we have in our closed house have had air quality detector monitoring of Co levels of 840 CO2 levels of 2,330 and triac levels of .925 with a other times as high as 12 it's hard to breathe you wake up coughing you can't open the windows because it's as bad outside as it is so so if you could please address this I've talked to the police department I've only had to personally called him once when a group Next to Me had a party starting at 8:00 less and around 15t from my house with loud music and they did come told me they weren't coming until after 9:30 because that was the decision that was made before they would enforce I have been told numerous times by neighbor that I am the one calling the police all the time I have been threatened and I had a Township planning board person with me looking at the spills of oil from the trucks near the corner of the storm drain when around the corner came a red truck barreling at us I told the person with me I will not give his name to move fast or he would have hit him and possibly me he ended up hitting the curb just inches away from both of us I think it's time that we enforce the ordinances if for nothing else think of our children and the people in the future oil going down the storm drain where your water comes from is not a good idea trucks idling all night with fumes and CO2 high levels that make you sick nauseous give you headaches is not a good idea either thank you very much thank you right on up good evening mayor and council members uh my name is Samina satar I live at 18 Barber Court Franklin Township I've lived here for over a decade with my family I'm here today to ask the council to be a voice of moral Clarity that can start to heal the divides Among Us in this country but also here in Franklin many of us in this room seek a resolution from the council a voice to tip the balance of perspectives on the conflict in the Middle East to say that the death of innocent women and children is not okay and we as a community need the violence to end so that we can begin to heal the C TR s in our community fabric we are incredibly polarized right now with protests and counter-protests and petitions and counter petitions people look at their neighbors in a different way not knowing if someone is with us or against us there are signs around our Township that say bring the hostages home but they don't realize that we too want the hostages returned we want the Israeli men and women and children who are held hostage in Gaza to go home we want the pal inian men women and children who are held hostage in Israel to go home we want diplomatic solutions to this conflict not more bombs and bullets and blockades and starvation as a weapon that doesn't make anyone safer we're saying the same thing that thousands of protesters in Israel are voicing too and we hope that Franklin can be a voice for peace that will be heard in this state to recognize the humanity of those that are suffering on both sides and play a small part in a movement toward the end of this War I think many of us remember being in history class and thinking if only people had spoken up earlier if only someone had done something to stand up to those in power maybe more lives could have been saved let's not repeat the same mistakes of our past thank you [Applause] go ahead uh those under 18 may only need State their name their first name they don't have to State their last name or addresse good evening my name is Fel bana and I'm a freshman in high school I'm coming to speak to you today and urge you to recognize and acknowledge the suffering of Franklin residents and your constituents who are deeply affected by the death of innocent women and children which is in large part funded by our government we're witnessing the indiscriminate and intentional killing of Palestinian civilians most of them women and children in real time and there is no escaping it we call on you our elected council members to recognize this moment of great difficulty for your constituents and find courage to call for justice the situation in Gaza affects us personally a local surgeon and family friend closed his practice to go volunteer in Gaza to assist with life-saving surgeries of the wounded and currently does not have safe passage home due to the Israeli blockade blockade at the border crossing Dr Hami a US Army veteran said that he has performed more traumatic amputations especially on children in the past two weeks than in all of his career a call to stop this suffering and death and to Stop The Killing isn't about taking sides in fact thousands of Israelis have protested in the streets against the course of the war just a few days ago the parents of over 900 Israeli soldiers wrote a joint statement urging against the dangers of War escalation in Rafa a call to stop this humanitarian catastrophe and an urge for safety dignity and equality demonstrates an awareness that can unite Franklin neighbors I believe it is everyone's duty to condemn the killing of innocent lives and condemn the depraved idea that one must kill women and children to restore peace President John F Kennedy famously said there's a picture of him right there one person can make a difference and everyone should try thank you [Applause] good evening mayor Kramer distinguished council members my name is rash Malik and I reside on 21 Woodfield Court I've been a resident of Franklin for 20 years my children have benefited from Franklin school system and graduated from brers Franklin takes pride in being the most diverse Township and I'm honored to call this community my home here are people from various background coexist Harmony in harmoniously showing mutual respect for one another surrounded by Churches synagogues Hindu temples and mosque I am part of a community that Embraces diversity throughout the year I have actively participated in Interfaith dialogues and attended religious and community events that unite our diverse Community I take pride in in inclusivity and unity that defines Franklin for the past few months the people out over town have been deeply affected by ongoing tragedy in pales the mental and emotional toll has been unprecedented leaving many of us hurting while I don't need to delve into deta details is it's important to acknowledge that virtually everyone knows somewhat impacted by these events personally I have vitness families within our Township grappling with loss of multiple loved ones our conscience compels us to take action we can no longer stand idly by as this genocide persists for the sake of humanity and to align ourselves with the right side of History I implore each of our elected officials to join the call for an immediate end of this atrocity I appreciate the peace resolution passed last year but with over 100,000 innocent lives lost and countless others injured we must escalate our efforts consider the profound impact of this violence on our youth who witnessed the horrors of this genocide on social media risking lasting damage to the mental well-being let's initiate an open dialogue to rebuild Bridges between our Jewish and Muslim communities through peace love and deeper understanding we can heal while it's not an easy task our community has waited long enough it's time for our resolution demanding an immediate end to a genocide starting at the local level as many other towns in New Jersey have done I urge my elected officials to stand up for all thank you for your time [Applause] hi um my name is kamrul Naser um I live in 202 driscal court and I have been a resident of uh Franklin Township for over 17 years I'm here today to appeal to you uh mayor and my council members for raising your voice to ask for a Seas fire for The hostilities Happening across the world in Gaza even though this is happening our world apart we are impacted our kids are impacted especially with the role our country plays in this war this 7mon old war has no end in sight so far more than 35,000 people have lost their lives including 15,000 kids that probably is a large share of our Franklin School District many are still believed to be under the rubble 50% of Gaza building structures are destroyed Beyond repair almost all universities are either totally destroyed or damaged and the suffering there still continues the war is leaving a mark on all of us especially our kids the images they see on their social media are affecting them mentally living in a country like USA they expect a safe environment and certain protection for kids yet when they see kids die in horrible condition losing their parents they don't know how to react my 8-year-old told me the other day daddy I don't want you to die before me I know this is normal I'm going to die before him but I know where he is coming from what happened on October 7th was horrific but there is no justification to the disproportionate atrocities that have followed thousands of lives are lost in front of our own eyes kids dying losing their limbs getting maimed for life War happens between the parties but rest of us have a responsibility to contain it so it does not cross our moral boundaries boundaries of international laws basic human rights let us not make this normal otherwise eventually we will all be in Peril one might ask what this resolution from a small town in the corner of New Jersey would do it may or may not do much but it would do it would at least serve our conscience and tell our kids our next Generation that we tried to do something whatever was in our power thank you for your [Applause] time um my name is Donna soio I live at two Shepard Street Unit 104 in Franklin Township and I'm a member and a proud member of the stigma free Council I you really don't know how much this means to people such as myself I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart because I know that this was a courageous thing to do on your on on your on your on your part um they have given me the courage to tell my story and it wasn't a pretty one in front of the Board of Education and they let me take my time and tell the story and they were so encouraging so validating and one of them saw me tonight and they said hello and I was so surprised because who really wants to be friendly to someone who has mental health issues I'm not used to that I'm not used to the validation and to finally be able to have it and to not think of yourself as being worthless and to think that you have something to contribute to your Society that's amazing it really is amazing and all of you you really don't know how much you've changed my life by making this decision and by allowing sassy who she's absolutely wonderful and to be able to not have judgment and to feel safe and secure that is something that I haven't had in my life you know when I was growing up as a child I wanted to end My Life um my father would not allow me to get the help that I needed because of the stigma associated with uh mental health issues and um I suffered and it was so wonderful to see these young kids that are advocating for those that have mental health issues and have substance disorders I mean this was unheard of in my time and for me I finally feel like I have a community I finally feel as though I I'm being seen and I'm being heard and that's just that's a novelty for me and I know that the sigma free Council isn't going to resolve all the issues at once I know it's going to be an up an uphill battle but just to be a part of something and to have my sister write on Facebook that she's proud of me for wanting to make a difference in regards to the mental health uh issues that I have and others have she's never she's never said that to me I mean here again it's a first and while you may not think of it as anything for those that have a mental health condition or those that have a substance uh disorder that validation gives you credibility it gives you uh the hope that you need this is why I'm in green not because it's mental health month but because you and the stigma free Council have given me hope that I'm not just existing that I don't have to feel like I'm not anyone I I I'm not the greatest aor and I know I I have to I have to just tell you that I thank you and I know that my five minutes is almost stump up I know that I'm very well aware of the time but it's just you what you've done just means the world to me it's given me hope and I can't express that enough to to be able to say that I live in a community that is non-judgmental that's not typical I mean I just turned 67 years old and this is the first time that I can say that I have a home I have a community that is supportive of me me who has a mental health condition I'm I found that I'm no different than any of you you have made that possible for me you and sassy and philis and all of those other people you've made that possible you've made me want to live and that is empowering and you gave you've given me the courage to speak tonight all of you and again I I just you've given me a gift so thank [Applause] you good evening everyone my name is Reverend Sonia red I live at 23 Mustang Trail Somerset New Jersey I've lived here for 27 and a half years I stand before you today on behalf of the Franklin Township Interfaith Council where I have the uh blessing of serving as its uh newest president and I'm standing here with regards to um the topic that has been talked about much tonight the situ in the Middle East the Franklin Township Interfaith council did write a press release and I'll read that press release and this we sent out quite a while ago but I want to read it because I think it's important Franklin Township Interfaith council's position on the in on the current Israeli and Palestinian conflict here in Franklin Township we are blessed to live in a very diverse Community with different ethn ethnicities races and religious groups however many of our friends and families in this community have been affected by the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war and killing of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza the Franklin Township Interfaith Council would like our national leaders and leaders around the world to call for an immediate ceasefire release of all persons unjustly held in captivity on both sides and begin working on a permanent meaningful and just solution for peace in the region our hearts and prayers go out to all families that have been impacted by these horrific events as tragic as it is we can allow not allow it to divide us here in Franklin Township we can allow it to destroy the relationships we have built in our community we stand with with you when I say with you I'm talking about everyone who might be affected by this situation that's going on we stand with you realizing that we are stronger together and must continue working to maintain unity and peace within our community the Franklin Township Interfaith Council will continue to pray for a world where coexistence and peace are attainable We Believe here in Franklin Township we I I love this community I lived in a different Community previously but I wanted I always wanted to live here because I liked what I saw and I think we have to do something in this Township to heal the divide that seems to be creeping in because of the events that are happening around the world we have to do whatever it takes to bring about unity in this community and stand as a shining example and I'm hoping that this this this Council will put forth well will yes as someone earlier said have the courage to call for peace encourage our leaders our political leaders to strive for peace in the Middle East when 35,000 people have been murdered killed we know it's War but you have women and children that are dying in great number we cannot be silent we have to think about Humanity God made all of us equal and he loves all of us and to continue this to just sit by and watch it happen and not stand up and speak out it's just not moral it's not Godlike at all so I'm encouraging this councel to please do whatever is in your power to do to help bring about peace in this community and also call for the ceasefire in the Middle East thank [Applause] you respected council members my name is aan and I am a high school student in Franklin Township I am not going to start my speech out with a statistic that not only uh that is not only increasing with the time going on a statistic that no matter how how many times it's said how many times it's written in banners bracelets graduation caps never gets a second thought why it never gets a second thought because it's an evertrue statistic that is threatening to open doors to the real discussion of what's happening in Gazza the genocide in Gazza has killed and named tens of thousands of kids so far and just as many are orphaned Gaza is not only a problem that has nothing to do with us us privileged individuals who get to sit in this facility without the fear of an attack that could end our lives council members we are living at in a Time famously known from this movie series The Hunger Games the Palestinians are facing starvation which is intentionally brought on by their oppressors claiming to be the victims from the same oppression they had suffered on another continent we know as Europe many decades ago Medical Aid is being withheld from the same kids who are being bombed killed and maimed kids are being amputated with anesthesia the people in Gazza are fighting for their lives to survive for their children and promise them a world where there isn't buildings falling from attacks yet across the Atlantic Waters you have people who can't who can help the parents keep their promises help stop these IND children from living in such devast such a devastating World FL their riches and brands that they are wearing to app pointless event to others members tell me if this is not the sign of a Hunger Games council members let us aim to be the mocking J to this world to the Palestinians in regards to our safety here in Franklin I feel very vulnerable knowing that there are Americans Among Us that have served into IDF and killed children and they walked free Among Us and around us knowing very well that this very person could possibly be killing kids as an IDF soldier in Gaza and our laws in America allow a person to walk free amongst us last Wednesday my mom dad and I were dropping off a package at our local UPS Store and we encouraged and we encountered a frightening situation my mother who was a religious head covering or a hijab entered the store while a male customer exiting the store where he targeted us striking our vehicle with his fist and attempt to intimidate and threaten us at the moment I was stunned and confused by what had just happened the realization of the situation let me pet left me petrified considering what could have unfolded if my dad and I hadn't been with her and had targeted her directly why is it when I go to school I have to deal with the words terrorist getting thrown around lightly just because I am Muslim why is it whenever I go out in public with the hijab I have to watch my back and close my ears why is it when I any Muslim goes out um goes out and gets paraded about being a terrorist when it's actually the other way around do not say that we as a community in Franklin Township have nothing to do with the genocide side it is concerning and honestly disappointing that the people in Authority in our schools are trying to shut down advocacy for such a disaster that clubs at my own high school are getting threatened to shut down permanently just so we can help send Aid when people want to support a good cause and a genuine cause why are we getting the blame and getting targeted with threats I urge the council members to come together and pass a non-political humanitarian statement calling for an immediate ceasefire to end hostilities from both sides council members remember a statistic can remain a statistic but we can stop it from increasing together thank you good evening my name is Sammy kovic I've been a resident here in Franklin Park for nearly 20 years New Jersey lifelong resident I'm also the uh executive director of the New Brunswick Islamic Center which is one of the largest uh Islamic centers in this area um and many of our constituents are also from Franklin Park uh as well I'm originally from Bosnia my father escaped the genocide of World War II against the Bosnian people in which 250,000 bosnians Muslims were killed by a Serbian ethn nationalist extremist uh militias as we all know and maybe some of the younger generation doesn't know but as you all know in the '90s this vile ideology raised its head again and we saw what transpired at that time in Bosnia when I when that occurred I was in high school in tinai and how refreshing it was as someone who was going through the evening reports and watching my father age before my eyes seeing what transpired to his family happening again every night watching on the news it wasn't the 24-hour news cycle at that time it was the Evening News cycle and I was able to express these concerns and feelings I had in my high school class ten pried itself on the first school or one of the first high schools in the nation that had a genocide and Holocaust Center and so we were able to learn what we were learning in that Center Mr schupek I remember specifically and Mrs TW my English teacher what we learned there we were seeing on the current events taking place and we're able to draw parallels that we can understand what dehumanization does how it can lead to violence and we were able to analyze it and understand it as such because our school and our nation understood what was taking place in Bosnia at that time and I'm looking at the situation today the situation today is there are elements and centers of power that fail to see what is going on and transpiring somehow ignoring the same genocidal language that mosovich and kadich and madich who were all brought up on war crimes and died as war criminals the same language literally is being spoken by those in that foreign nation that same language is actually being spoken spoken in Congress by some of our Representatives genocidal language and dehumanizing language there's a problem because I think about my son whose grandmother is Palestinian my mother-in-law's Palestinian that he has to go through school now and doesn't have that comfort and security that I was able at least to have to be able to express myself in school about what was going on in our home because he's seeing the images of his ancestral Homeland from his mother's side and then he's seeing these statements and remarks of a cheering by those in Congress and in the White House what is that saying I know some of you may be asking what does this have to do with us we can't solve the problem in Gaza that is true your ceasefire is not going to make a impact on res resolving the problem that is true they say all politics is local though it begins somewhere it begins somewhere that we can make a stand that we will not tolerate this type of behavior and that message will at least translate to this community that this is not acceptable when Biby Netanyahu claims he is controlling us and our morality and our what our first amendment means and what our freedom of religion means which he does we say no you don't we are American we Define who we are and what our constitution means and what genocide means and what ceasefire means and what tragedy means we're not going to let you define US but if we stay silent and we don't speak out then the genocidal language we're hearing in Congress by many of our Representatives will be translated down will be translated down so at least at some local level let's make a statement that this is unacceptable and if we were in those positions of power we can teach our children that we we would make that decision calling for a ceasefire where it does matter in those other places I thank you for your time and your consideration God bless you all have a good evening [Applause] good evening dear mayor uh respected council members my name is shamal Malik I live on timber Hill Drive uh resident of Franklin Township 34 years went to Kingston Franklin Park School Samson G Smith Hill Crest class of 1999 Franklin High School and now I'm currently raising my three kids here yes there are a number of conflicts that are happening around the world World why this particular singular conflict matters is because our tax dollars are funding the bombs that are dropping on these women and children millions of people that have been evacuated to a small portion of land and now they're calling for a final solution and if we do nothing then we are indeed complicit in this genocide I'm speaking to you today with a deep sense of urgency and a heavy heart to demand that you take a public stance against the ongoing genocide in Gaza the situation has reached a critical point with the death toll Rising alarmingly every single day according to recent reports thousands of civilians over 50,000 many that are still under the rubble that we have not recovered have lost their lives entire family trees have been wiped out as my friend Sami Shaban will tell you hospitals have been destroyed there's not a single Hospital left in Gaza mosques have been destroyed and 50% of these are women and children with doctors from this community that have gone and come back firstand experience to talk about the horrific atrocities that are taking place there every single day and a few that are being held up right now that will be on World News Tonight ABC if you want to look for Dr hasham Hama as representatives of our community it's your moral duty to stand against such atrocities and advocate for peace silence in the face of such human suffering is not an option it is complicity it is imperative that Frankin Township joins the global call for an immediate ceasefire and a sustainable path to peace others have done it you wouldn't be the first we Hawkin has done it North Bergen has done it we would be the first in Central Jersey however and now it's time for Franklin Township to lead by example and cast the stone into the pond and create a ripple effect for other cities and towns to follow and to unequivocally say not on our watch which by the way when I was in eighth grade here in Samson G Smith School we had to get a permission slip signed to watch Schindler's List and I remember that our teacher was a Jewish lady and at the end of it every single one of us understood the moral of the story not on our watch not again and so we demand that you pass a resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza support humanitarian Aid efforts to assist those that have been affected by the conflict and advocate for diplomatic Solutions and support initiatives that aim to bring lasting peace to the region the people of Gaza and Palestine deserve to live in peace and dignity as do the people of Israel violence only begets violence free from fear and violence your voice can make a difference please stand with us in calling for an end to this genocide and for a peaceful resolution you are our elected leaders and now is the time for you to lead with strength Justice and morality thank [Applause] you good evening my name is un and I live on Valleywood Drive my family has lived here in Somerset for the past 14 years and I go to high school here in Somerset in the past few years living in Franklin I've peacefully coexisted with many different people from of different religions across my street is a road called Interfaith Drive where temples churches synagogues and other religious buildings peacefully coexist if Franklin can have such a vast diversity of people peacefully living together I'm confidently able to say that this can happen anywhere across the world I'm here today to urge my fellow Franklin Council chairs to stand for justice and advocate for the thousands of Palestinians whose voices are Stripped Away the recent violence in Palestine not only affects families in Gazza and the West Bank but Echoes across the globe including here in Sommerset as a teenage girl living here it pains me to see a conflict on both sides because we want the Israelis that are held hostage to be released along with of course the Palestinians they were living in inhumane conditions deprived of basic rights and freedoms this is not a war of religion or conflict but simply an inhumane War taking place before our eyes it has affected many in ways that I cannot even stand to imagine while I go about my daily activities they are denied access to even the most basic necessities we must stand together to end this this Injustice and ensure a better future for all we encourage you to call for an immediate ceasefire and advocate for those Palestinians thank you good evening everyone my name is Ali and I'm a resident of Franklin and I attend high school here today I want to talk something that has been on my mind for a long time and is coming straight from the heart as a teenage boy living in the United States i' um as a teenage boy living in the United States the crisis in Palestine even though it's thousands of miles away it touches my heart deeply and as I live my daily life going to school spending time with friends and even thinking about my future colleges I can't ignore the fact that across the world innocent people are suffering and the news and images that I see online and on social media which is accessible to like everyone reminds me that the violence and Injustice that the Palestinian people are facing is unfair for everyone this isn't just a distant issue for me and as a Muslim teenager I feel a strong connection to the people of Palestine their pain feels like my own their fight for freedom feels like my own and their dignity reflects my own hopes and dreams but even in the darkness there's hope hope in the resilience of Palestinians who keep resisting and hope in the global support for the cause and hope that one day peace will come and everyone will live in Freedom and dignity so today I ask you councel I ask you to join me in supporting the people of Palestine and amplifying their voices supporting their struggles and working for the future where no one lives in fear or oppression thank [Applause] you good evening council members mayor I should appropriately say friends to most of you here uh my name is Sami shaen uh 28 Woodfield Court I am uh I'm the vice president of the Board of Education I am on the Franklin planning board I am on the somerset planning board I am on the JFK Democratic Foundation I'm also the one of the founders for the Franklin food and security and safety Coalition I also sit on the Martin Luther King foundation I'm going to get to why I mentioned all of these soon but I want to start with a quote from MLK we will not remember the words of our enemies but the Silence of our friends I feel like I've given so much of my life to Franklin willingly because I see in Franklin something different than I see anywhere else I see the second most diverse town in New Jersey I see a place where I can call home I see a place where my cousin Mahmud if you were alive would have thrived and been on every one of the boards that I was on my cousin ran who was killed when she was 8 years old would have enjoyed our school district a school district that houses over 7,000 kids a school district that would have been completely slaughtered twice over in Gaza let's not be mistaken that what's going on over there does not have impact over here I remember as a young boy 10 years old going over to to Palestine and being strip search naked I remember the feeling of the cold metal detector against my skin as I sat there shivering naked and watching all the other people walk right past me all the other people who had a lighter skin tone all the other people who had American passports but were just different than me and as they rub that metal detector up and down my body I realized they were looking for something wrong inside of me something a foul something not right I realized what that wrong thing was was I was Palestinian the fact that I existed was a problem the reason why I participate in so many things in this town including the board of education is to stand up for people like me for people that have been treated the way that I was treated I will be the first one to stand up for any brown black kid any disparaged kid our sister here who spoke earlier and said she was validated at the Board of Education she must have spoke for 15 minutes and we couldn't get more we wanted her to keep going we wanted to validate her feelings because that's what we are we're Franklin my son who's sitting here in the back row he's senior in high school at the beginning of all of this one of his classmates sent a picture of Hitler the picture had a flag in the colors of the Palestinian flag and the mustache was actually muham meaning there's no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger the central tenant of the Muslim faith this was sent to my son right here in Franklin my mother was just released from the hospital on Friday this is the third time she's been to the hospital in the past three weeks her body is literally failing her from the pressure of what's going on there here by us staying silent we are basically saying that's okay there's no problem here business as usual we have presidence to uphold I want all my black and brown brothers and sisters on this panel to see yourself through our eyes you've suffered in the same way we have you suffered the same annihilation of your people you've been told you're not human in a famous Supreme Court case plusy v Ferguson in the 1890s a man was 116th black and that was two black to ride on the train we've suffered that here but it was people standing up that may change happen I believe in Franklin we are different and I believe that what drives me to keep working in this town for all the different organizations that I work for is because we are different we set precedents here we don't follow other people we should have been the first ones to call for this not the last ones and we still have a chance to be amongst those that are calling for it my good friend Dr hamo is still over over there if you don't mind can I get another minute to finish my thought you're on the Boe I do allow more time for elected officials thank you mayor my good friend Dr Hashem Hami who I'm texting daily almost hourly at this point is in ra right now he's doing surgeries that he's never seen before working on kids amputees saving lives he can't get out of that country we have a responsibility here as Franklin residents to appeal to your conscience as friends to make this change remember as Martin Luther King said it is not the words of our enemies that we will remember but the Silence of our friends thank you so much [Applause] good evening Council good evening mayor my name is Mohamed teron uh I'm a resident of Somerset live on N sunflower Road I've been mostly a lifelong resident I got married moved out out of the city and came back brought my in-laws with me as well uh so you know very much invested in Somerset and Franklin as a whole um it's gonna be very hard to follow what many of uh U my community members have shared uh so I'm not going to look to do that um I think that you know they they've made their their points pretty clearly but um I just wanted to kind of give a a personal story here so I was 14 when 911 happened my name is Muhammad I'm white if I want to go by Mark or Mike or Jim I can it's very easy for me to kind of blend in and pass along personally professionally I've always gone by Muhammad my parents named me that for a reason I've always stood by that and taken that as an opportunity for me to kind of you know lean into that address that with other people sometimes I notice it makes people uncomfortable like Muhammad I'm like yeah I know ask it's fine you know we can we can go ahead and do that so it's always been a big part of who I am and you know kind of standing for what's right and standing for for for what I want to do I can't really hide based on my name what my religion is um so when I went to Ruckers it was kind of a a bit of a shock to me you know 3 four years after 911 when someone told me go back to where I came from and my reply to him was I was born at St Peters do you want to drive me so with all that in mind you know understand what that was like what it felt like being like some of these youth who came up here and said things even more eloquently than I ever could um you know it kind of uh I was trying to think how I could kind of verbalize and and share what my thoughts were on this uh so I studied economics at Ruckers and you know studied as doing a lot of heavy lifting there uh but what I learned uh while while I was there was that we don't have a great ability to understand numbers at scale so very large or very small numbers because we've heard numbers 20,000 10,000 50,000 30,000 and this gets thrown around and rounded up and down like we have no context for so there are a couple things that I wanted to point out just so we can kind of get some context here 63 women a day are being killed on average 37 a day on average are mothers Mother's Day was three days ago in that period of time 111 mothers have been killed every 10 minutes somebody's wounded or killed since we started our meeting we're looking at what s 7 and a half we're on our way to the next one I think it's important to kind of take this take a look at this not just at a macro level but on a micro level as well and understand what's going on I've also been fortunate enough through Samy's introduction for the last year and a half to be uh volunteering working closely with the Franklin food bank they do an incredible job and and I'm sure as many council members know uh and you know they they focused uh and focused directly on food insecurity we see how much that affects our community where a significant number of people in this community are suffering from food insecurity that's the next step that's where we're at right now where even the survivors and the people who are fortunate enough that if a ceasefire does happen and hopefully when it happens very soon starvation will set in we're in a Township where starvation isn't our issue and we have I think it's upwards of 40% of students qualify for uh reduced lunches and and things of that nature so when you put that into perspective you just think okay what's what's supposed to happen when Aid trucks that are coming in are being vandalized uh and and you know nothing's being done to address that um I kind of wrap here with with the mental health awareness month I appreciate and and applaud that effort that's being done I think when we think about you know okay what can we do how does this affect us we're not the ones directly impacting you know what's happening overseas I completely understand that and can appreciate that but ultimately I think it's important to think of your constituents who affected by this dayto day as you could see uh many of us this may be our first meeting if we're that passionate about this hopefully it's an indication of where where we stand uh and what our thoughts are around this and again personally when the viral video of the day is a good friend of mine his niece being carried into a hospital hospital and then her being kind of SPL out there as as the doctors try to save her it's not just an idea it's not just a thought it's not just that oh it's them that's someone I know that's someone I play soccer with all the time that's someone I went to college with that's someone who's a productive citizen and business owner in the United States of America it's a real person and these are real people um we have a strong Community here in Franklin and the mission statement of Franklin Township clearly states that through a democratic process you evaluate the needs of the public hopefully this is indicative of that it also talks about valueing celebr valuing and celebrating diversity those aren't just words we want to see that hopefully through our actions I thank you very much for your time and consideration and U have a good evening thank [Applause] you Theodore chase9 Old Georgetown Road I feel very small with the question that I came to ask tonight after listening to all of the previous speakers and I really support every you what they have to say and ask that our Council take a position and call for a ceasefire we hope that all over the country Township councils will do this and uh unfortunately the PE the one man who is essentially necessary to a ceasefire shows no signs of accepting one but the question I came to ask and I promised someone I would ask this so that's why I've come which is what's happening with the garden at nonon Williams Park uh this was a young lady named shironda Allen that I met with last fall I involved as one of the founders of that Garden from the environmental commission uh 13 years ago or so uh and I understand that there is a group associated with the First Baptist Church in some way or anyway I hope Mr vlocker can uh explain to me you know who's in charge and are they doing anything and this young lady uh shironda Allen would like uh to participate if possible if we can if I could put her in touch with with them uh because that Garden originally was uh very important to a lot of people I think some of them have passed on and some of them are perhaps too old and infirm now to garden and that's why it's fallen into uh a bad State and we'd like to see it uh resurrected and be a resource for the people of the community around it but again that's a very small question compared to what everyone else here has been talking about thank you good evening mayor and council members my name is zafur Mahmud 269 Bennett Lane Somerset I've been a Franklin Township resident for 37 years I'm here to speak about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and how that is affecting the community here in Franklin Township I know the Town Council considered a few months ago about passing a resolution calling for a ceasefire but decided it was not in Ouran I asked the Town Council to reconsider that since the unfolding crisis the imminent famine and the huge death toll mostly of women and children is affecting our relationships with our friends and neighbors right here in our community and I would speak from personal experience a close friend of mine who happens to be Jewish and I'm Muslim had several differences of opinion regarding the causes and solutions for the war enough that it jeopardized our relationship his friend recommended that we both read a book about two fathers in Jerusalem one an Israeli Jew and the other a Palestinian Muslim both of whom lost a young child due to the ongoing hostilities over some years ago and they decided to form a group called The combatants for peace and look for ways to live together peacefully this book is based on a true story we both recently finished reading the book and met to discuss and realize that there are always two sides to a story we are also now able to discuss the Israeli Palestinian conflict more objectively with less emotion and empathize with each other this book is called aagon by colum mccan and I highly recommend it to all of you you to read because it's a personal story of these two people I asked the Town Council to follow the lead of the Franklin Interfaith Council and adopt a resolution similar to theirs calling for an immediate and permanent end to the hostilities and the release of all innocent hostages and prisoners on both sides Franklin Township is a tolerant diverse community and it is important for us to make a statement that we will not stand idly by and allow this humanitarian disaster to continue but that we stand for peace and Justice and want to be on the right side of History thank [Applause] you good evening esteemed mayor and council members my name is afnan ala residing at 34 Margaret Drive see my neighbor Dr Alex right here um thank you for having me and um I will try to do uh this topic as much justice as I can um I also think my esteemed colleagues that spoke before me they've done a much better job than I would than I can so I um but I will try to provide something anecdotal and I think that something anecdotal try tends to help understand and get the bigger picture for us right so and the reason for this is because I along with my neighbors in Somerset are asking our leadership to acknowledge the hering tragedy unfolding 200 days onwards in Gaza on September of 2023 so before October 7th a childhood friend of mine was visiting Jerusalem and the West Bank to show his son his 6-year-old son his ancestral Homeland it was the first time that he had G he was going there my friend he recalls hours of lines for the Christian and Muslim Palestinians in order to cross into the respective towns but what struck stuck out for me most in this uh in my friend's uh anecdote is uh an account for when when his son and him they were at a playground in the West Bank and this playground it overlooked a Garrison where young Israeli uh soldiers were were overlooking this uh this particular playground my friend ignored it and he was just watching his son play and he saw the on his son's face saw his happiness felt that Tranquility that I'm in my motherland and then he felt the utmost Panic that any of us would feel because what he saw next was a Red Dot laser pointed as his six-year-old son's beautiful face he darted as fast as he could like a marathon play uh runner to go Shield his son and his relatives stopped him they said no no no this is normal the Israeli soldiers they always do this to our kids so that they can play with our mind and I think that we're all probably thinking the same thing at this moment this is not normal for the first time in history the whole world including us in Franklin Township have a front row seat to what is going on in Palestine the occupied territories uh via social media we daily see the force famine that is being imposed upon the people of Gaza we see the weaning child and with no milk the lless orphans the fathers with broken dreams as their families are buried under the rubble or Worse assumed dead thus never getting true closure and on the heels of awareness of mental health as we've been discussing uh and has been the theme throughout this evening I must say frankly we're all exhausted we're all spent but we can't turn away we're living at a time where genocide is happening and we cannot take a back seat however this does impact our mental health all of us and we feel as if our hands are tied by the Rope of white supremacy which has emboldened such actions imagine being a child whether Muslim or Jewish or any other faith in our Township who sees this horror day in and day out and sympathizes with the plight of the Palestinian and imagine how helpless they feel perceiving that they cannot change any of what's going on imagine being a Palestinian child in our Township hearing the words from Nikki Haley saying to flatten Gaza by Lindsey Graham endorsing to drop an atomic bomb on Gaza similar to Hiroshima and he didn't say that once he said that twice how can we go forward in our small Township how can we look at our children in their eyes knowing stayed quiet how can we validate the feelings of the children alienated by our politicians words how will history and our future Generations judge us knowing that we were quiet so my compatriots and I we request a resolution in our little Township calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide it's the least that we can do then maybe we can look at our children in the eyes our neighbors in the eyes and know what little we could do we did thank [Applause] you good evening mayor esteem council members and Franklin Community my name is Aisha Ali I am a resident of Franklin Township for 3 years I have two children that attend Thomas Addison energy smart charter school and I also serve on the PTO board it is May mental health awareness month and there hasn't been a time in my life that I felt so unwell mentally as I have now in these past few months yes it is due to the war raging in the Middle East despite the thousands of miles between us in the conflict this conflict is very close to home and is impacting us right here in Franklin Township you may argue and say that this is Wars like any other we have seen or experienced in the past however I can easily say that is not the case we now live in a world where technology has linked us to every corner of the globe and the experience of others are right at our fingertips and in real time as a result we are very aware of the situation that is unfolding thousands of miles away we are seeing hearing and feeling day in and day out the wickedness of war that has fallen upon the people on both sides of the conflict the most disturbing are those of the children chopped under Rubble broken bones burned faces and most critically barely any place at all where these injured children can receive care and treatment we see images of children undergoing amputations without anesthesia babies dying of dehydration we see orphaned children wandering without water food or even a place to sleep and that's just the tip of the iceberg there are more details that cannot even be shared on this platform as they are too disturbing and so day in and day out month after month this has weighed heavily on my mind it has Inca incapacitated my ability to do my daily work without being interrupted constantly by a story I just heard or an image I've seen that keep swimming and resurfacing in my head it has caused me sleepless nights loss of interest in the things I do daily and has caused me to start reaching to the back of my medicine cabinet for those leftover painkiller medication that may help me temporarily forget it's a slippery slope and I know I'm not alone in this therefore I say and I urge the township please adopt the Usef resolution here in Franklin it is critical to alleviating the diseases of the heart that come with war and conflict depression distrust helplessness anger and polarization from each other within our communities are all consequences of war and staying silent is no longer a wise approach all for a ceasefire there's nothing controversial about it there is no risk to anyone when you call to lay down all arms it gives us pause it gives us a chance to think and it most importantly to heal thank you absolutely good evening everybody my name is Zara gory and I in fourth grade even though I may be young my age is nothing compared to those who are suffering in Gaza every day I wake up eat breakfast and then go to school I come home eat lunch and continue on with my day however every step of the way the only thing I can think about is how lucky I am to do all these things a countless number of people in Gaza ranging from newborn babies to grandparents do not have the opportunity to eat a warm meal when they please to sleep on a comfy bed without the sounds of missiles erupting right outside their broken buildings to get a glass of water to nourish their throat when they're thirsty nor do they know if they will be able to live to see another day still there is one thing that steps us apart and that is their character the amount of resilience bravery and hope that the people of Gaza possess is something that we can only wish for that is why if we can't go there and stop this ourselves we can fight from here one step at a time the first step we should be taking is showing our support of a ceasefire in Gaza thank [Applause] you anyone else wishing to speak I have a motion to end public session Mr Mayor seeing no one else come forward I make a motion to close public session move in second and all in favor of closing public session say I I oppose say nay motion is carried public session is closed um well the I skip to I I won't do things in order I will handle the warant in the Middle East issue first um and other council members who want to weigh in should weigh in what I I think I can speak for all of us that we all grieve what is happening in the Middle East it is painful to watch I'll speak for myself now personally I often cannot watch the news uh full disclosure I an American I am a Jew I am a Zionist but I want to thank you for coming I'm moved by what you say and I don't disagree with most of what you've said I respect you for being here and I admire the courage of those of you who were cfif CFI excuse my pronunciation in her jobs how do you pronounce it CIA thank you um when I took office I stood right there at that Podium and I took an oath ad ministered by that Clerk and I also took an oath to myself that I will not expand the powers and the reach of my office I've seen that in other Council people other Mayors uh legislators and I've seen presidents do that too um I am uh no friend of Lindsey Graham uh or the things most of the things he said um I take it as something that is sometimes painful to do and it is painful that this time to as someone quoted me stay in my Lane I think what you are doing here tonight is righteous I absolutely respect you for it but just as I don't care what Jerry Seinfeld says I actually don't even know what side he's on on this I know he was speaking about it and I said to myself why do I care what a comedian is saying the world doesn't care what a mayor in New Jersey is saying it's not it is not my Lane when we have something about warehouses taxes water road paving I have an expert there sometimes I have an expert here I have other experts around the building advising me I don't have an expert advising me on world affairs I don't know world affairs and I don't think it is in my Lane um it is painful to say this you have given me hours and hours that I will be thinking about this I will be calling my uh I will be calling clergy in town to see what we can do to uh close the Riff um but I don't know you you seem to think that calling for a ceasefire no one will disagree people will disagree the gentleman who slammed the hood of the car will disagree and if the person is acting that way now how will he act when I after I if I were to call for a ceasefire people will be angry about this I don't know that I would be doing the good for the town by calling for a ceasefire I don't think it is appropriate for this Council to do that any other council members want to weigh in Ry okay yeah well I certainly condemn violence and Injustice everywhere I pray every day for peace all over the world this is affecting me everything that is going on in the world today as it's been said has been affecting me mentally as well it bothers me what's going on in the world today and I just want to be able to say that I do pray for peace and I pray for Unity again in the world everywhere in the world today thank you Mr Mayor thank you Mr Kazi um that's someone who has lived here for 37 years and at least 30 years of that promoted unity and mutual respect as someone who as the past president of interface Council has stated often that we are either brothers are in faith or equal in humanity and as someone who sees Wars and conflicts as the weakness of the human beings and believes that we've been created for higher purpose than hating each other or causing War definitely I wanted to uh see the end to the war I pray every day that the war in Gaza will end and Palestinians and Israelis leave in peace next to each other or together um I want to really convey my uh sincere sympathy to the losses of uh M Sam Shaban he has lost 35 member of his family and um they lost so tragically because they caught up in circumstances beyond their control and we hope that uh what we do little it may be at least eases a little bit weight of the headaches that uh you go through Dr Mahmud your uh personal story was very touching that you were able to save your friendship by educating both of you and hopefully that will be a good example for all of us especially I know there are some people in the Jewish community that they do not want to cease fire they want this war to continue for their reasons but I think it's time for us to come out of our comfort zone share our emotion with each other see the pain that war overseas is causing among our Community we not going to be having a policy dictate what happens there but whatever we say in the council is basically to help our local community to be United to heal the wounds and be together Reverend red thank you so much for your uh words of wisdom thank you for sharing the uh uh the press release I might add that Frank and Tasha First Council under the leadership of U Reverend red Rabbi garfinkle who a Jewish and he Zionist Imam resan risby as well as Pastor George who are the three vice president and others including representative from the sea Community they put together that press release that is by itself is a testament that we are a loving peace loving Community we want to have peace we don't want to have wars so I hope the counil will provide other means to heal the wounds and Mary suggested that he likes to talk to clergy and others to see what it can be done to make sure that you get the message that we're not looking for continuation of the war we want this war to end we want people to live in peace and we want everybody in this Township go home and feel that the council people supports the peace supports ending of the uh the war and uh so I leave it at that and I hope that we will do something after listening to you to you after listening to other people that may not be here but more importantly give you the peace of mind that we truly believe in peaceful coexistence not only among the people here but everywhere in the world thank you anyone else yes mayor I would like to see so I Echo everything councilman Ki mentioned councilman Kimberly FAS and mayor um don't think I can stay here and say we are about the violence stop the violence is definitely in our heart um praying for world peace I was just blessed to celebrate Mother's Day with my two kids so it breaks my heart to see that there are found members in Franklin that it it just breaks my heart to see what's going on and brother Samy Shaban I don't think I can say anything about your 35 members that you lost I don't think any of us can it's very heartbreaking um our inter president thank you so much for your words I think it's it's very meaningful to see that we have a group of interfaith leaders in town that wants to keep us United that does not want to divide us and we continue to do the same we do not want to see our families our residents divided we are stronger together as Rend said heing is something we must do we must maintain our Unity we have our kids in schools we need to protect them and we need to be an example for them as well so I I really appreciate everyone that's coming out here today um we have to heal thank you who one else thank you mayor so first of all uh let me um uh thank all the brothers and sisters who came and spoke about what's going on in the Middle East um several years ago um I had you know I I visited uh Jordan and Israel and Egypt and I personally we traveled from Jordan to Israel and they took us all in one bus and then there was another bus waiting there and I asked our tour guide what is that bus why why are not people from there coming into our bus to cross the bridge to get into Israel and you know who they are right so I felt really bad because our brothers and sisters there are treated differently like the African Americans blacks were treated here um you know in the older days so uh the Discrimination that goes on there I witnessed it uh firsthand because a lot of our brothers and sisters work in Israel cross the bridge and go back to their homes on the other side um so I uh met with a group of uh residents our fellow Franklin residents a week ago and I I uh heard their Cry for Help cry for support and um I stand with peace and peac loving people everywhere this world is full of conflicts uh it's the Middle East conflict is one we have Ukraine and Russia uh another conflict that has been going on there's no easy solution answer to these conflicts um but I hear you I'm with you uh we want to do everything we can to make you all part of our community um we are one family uh we will do everything we can to um get the message out and uh hopefully we will discuss more about this like my fellow councilman said here and um stay tuned and we will we will try to address your concerns thank you mayor yes I wish some of the people had stayed around I could understand they may want to leave have left but anyway uh I didn't rehearse anything but I sit here and my stomach gets ill hearing what I've heard obviously heard and familiar with it but when you see it up close and you hear the words um the confusion the pain the upset the agony it's it's heartbreaking to me um I don't suggest I have any answers but what I would like to say is um I and I think everybody up here would like to see this darn war end yesterday what words you use and how you spell it out and paragraphs in a resolution I'm I'm not saying it doesn't matter but at the end of the day we just want the darn thing to end a lasting piece if there could be such a thing in the Middle East but um how I don't know how what I've heard words about leading by example locally and it made me think and this is just off the top of my head so please if it comes out a little uh unpolished forgive me I not saying we can never do any resolution calling for the end of Wars everywhere especially the Middle East which obviously is the Epic Center of all things terrible in this world but I'd like to think that if we're looking at a lasting piece there and as importantly maybe more importantly from what I'm hearing tonight A harmonious accepting of each other love that festers here we should stand up all I could think of is maybe our um Interfaith committee or human relations whatever aspect of our school let's have a giant open form in our school C uh Auditorium or our community center let's talk about the history of how we got to this unfortunate place with the lack of peace in the Middle East and this the these crisises which are getting worse every day let's try to hear what each other is saying let's try to understand it let's try to understand how we could get along better here because if we're set an example we can set all examples we want up here but it's the people that ultimately control the feeling and the vibe and whether or not people are going to get along and feel intimidated or not feel intimidated or look over their back at their neighbor or not look or back at their neighbor and we could pass all the resolutions we want but if we don't have that energy and that Synergy and I don't know but maybe the biggest Auditorium and Town Hall conversation that could be had and it's not that we don't want to be there but like the mayor said we don't see we're not experts on war some of us know the history of how this the Middle East has gone but maybe there could be Scholars maybe there could be people from different organizations both uh uh uh all sides of a conflict so I don't know what the answer is I'd like the word end yesterday maybe as a community we can we can set an example here by having a dialogue perhaps not seen in this state or maybe not even in this country and I think we have the energy here to do that in a peaceful way so I'm sorry if my thoughts rattled on but that's I just heard what I heard and and this is I'm just telling you what I feel in this moment so anyway thank you obviously an ongoing issue yes Mr councilman Oni jaka the situation in uh middle yeah okay the situation in Middle East very very pathetic has never been easy follow the history and what is going on there what we're looking for or what I think is the is to have a permanent peace what is going on now lead to a permanent pray that one day this peace will re in that zone the whole world Pray for Peace their region thank you mayor thank you anyone else hey Mr V Locker there are other questions you sure um in reference to idling um whether it be on Hill Lake spring or any other Street in the town I have urged residents that when they see that type of activity that they should contact the police department Miss Peterson has indicated that she has I checked with the police department records and there has been one complaint anonymously of um idling in that particular neighborhood it was made on February 2nd and when the police officer check the area there was no vehicle found idling in reference to the uh oil being drained into the storm sewer um there was a complaint made to the D um earlier this month it was investigated by our police department and no vehicles were found to be draining oil into our catch basins um but again I encourage um anyone who sees Vehicles idling in excess of three minutes which is the the uh limit Allowed by the law that they should contact the police department as far as hiring an enforcement officer in New Jersey state law only allows for the enforcement of the idling law by either a health inspector a New Jersey D inspector a US EPA inspector or a police officer um in reference to the questions on the community garden um as I think I reported at the last council meeting the community garden is Cur under currently undergoing Renovations those Renovations are about halfway complete um that was after the community garden had gone um uh over become overgrown after a lack of use for approximately four years um through our work with Fisk and and uh Mr Shaban uh and and his his group which I guess is my group because we are part of the same group um we have recruited Community Baptist Church here on uh deat Lane they have assigned a uh a community garden manager and they have agreed to volunteer and come in and help the residents maintain those uh garden plots we will have 48 of them that are 4x8 in size um and with ada8 compatible Gardens as well as Pathways um the public works department like I said is about halfway done rebuilding all of them because they had to remove remove everything because it had gotten rotten and overgrown um and uh there's also a nonprofit that's working with um Wendy White and the youth center uh not only for uh possible assistance in the community garden but also the planting of trees in non Williams Park and the planting of trees at the youth center um they're going to plant them we're going to buy them and uh and they're working with tar Canyon Tara is also working with uh Wendy white from the youth center and Community Baptist Church on the community garden so we're going to try to get the kids from the youth center involved in the community garden and the kids involved in the um the planting of the trees and also they were the nonprofit has agreed to plant um flowers and and beautification project for the Youth Center along with the trees there and the trees in the the uh uh Park which was part of the study that was done several years ago that called for additional plantings I think that was all of the questions I needed to answer Mr Mayor thank you okay um Council comments uh Mr wri Mr Mayor just one comment when I was sworn in I as the wife it was wife and the crew I had the wife and the crew held the Bible I was sworn in the next one I think it was the Catholic priest from St maias I believe he was here but I'm not sure who he was here for but he held the Bible I got SW on that one the next one you mentioned uh Rabbi gar what's his last name what was his name Rabbi gar um he was hanging around here I don't know what he was here for we might have been doing some food out there something I don't know but I used to he had the Bible cuz there was no no holy book and he held the Bible I got sworn in no big deal um the wife couldn't come the next time I believe so it was my son he did you know he held the Bible like I sworn in but here's the good part there was a mom sitting right there in the corner all by himself I don't know why he was here didn't care he was over in the corner and I said bro come on I need your help come on come on well what do you need my help for I said don't worry about it come on I said you got the the holy book the Torah I mean uh the Quran the Quran and he said yeah I said okay bring that with you and he said something real cute I always bring it with me just in case I have to drop a nugget somewhere now for all of you that don't know what a nugget is it's some Enlightenment okay it's it's something that you can think about go home and chew on so you know we went on over there and our toship clerk she you know she did her thing and sworn in it was no big deal we walked back and he said something real cute he said you know people going to hate you for that what are you talking about well they're going to think you're uh Islamic they're going to look at you and think you're a Muslim and I says well I'm not worried about it who cares but it was the way he said it that I didn't think about it because there was no need to think about it but now through that course of time maybe you should think about it now I told them I'm not part of your faith I'm not Catholic uh I'm not anything I believe in what they call the Supreme Being and I said in the Supreme Being all these religions get lumped up into one because you believe in something greater than yourself self and that's what I believe in whether it's Muhammad here and the uh uh Jesus here but not with the Jews over there and everybody's got somebody in the book am I right Am I Wrong Everybody's Got Somebody in the book that somehow or another fit so I said you know what believe in a Supreme Being somebody greater than myself um worship and if you do good maybe to give that blessing to you and I believe in the blessing so that's all I have to say Mr Mayor you know just live in the in the light of whatever you believe in because in the end when you go to meet your maker no matter if it's Allah God Jesus Christ uh whoever you still got to pay the price so that's it thank you Mr Wright I actually remember you swearing in on the Quran and I was impressed by that um councilwoman uden and thank you and and and it will be on TV um so people if interested could watch it thank you app you're out of order but thank you thank you mayor um one thing that I wanted to talk about so I did have a a small group of residents uh meet with me um to discuss some of the upcoming brainstorming session I call it connect with councilen um we had a group of about 15 residents that met with me um we we went for for dinner so we had pizza um and discuss some things that were bothering them in town um there's a list of items that Mr R Locker I will connect with you uh on um and it was good to hear from residents and I think um it's important that each of the like residents should know who their council member members are and um not hesitate to reach out because uh it's important that those thoughts the concerns issues are brought up to us so that we can take a look at and and see what we can do from our and so there's a couple things that I still have to go through minutes of what we discussed um but it was very good to see um the continuation of connect with councilen and um we will continue doing that throughout this year so you you'll see me um in War II visibly meeting with the residents that's all I have thank you thank you uh councilman Vella thank you mayor and I thank you Sammy for clarifying that because I know how important this is to I'm sure everyone who came here tonight um supported others speaking or spoke themselves and um I appreciate their um their coming here I really do um couple other issues of things going on in town here that are important I'm holding this up here I don't know if the camera could get it all without uh um reading the whole thing basically next Monday the 20th of May we will be having a town hall style probably hopefully casual and productive a town hall style meeting where um manager VOR Locker was good enough to get some key um senior staff together and uh address the ongoing safety and maintenance issues on East Avenue a lot of them are being addressed with big long-term studies and projects but there's a handful things that I believe and a group of residents is hopeful that the Town and County can come together on and make some um improvements in the shortterm loow hanging fruit how we refer to it and get some things done while waiting for the more Monumental um improvements and uh please come if you have any interest I'm sure most everyone here um in town has driven on E Avenue at some point and even if you haven't please you're welcome to be part of the discussion um the other thing I want to mention I know they're not here now um I believe she left but I just want to applaud the courage of um and the words of the speaker who came up and spoke about mental health issues and the stigma 13 years ago uh well I could say my first friend in life I went to kindergarten with at Pine Grove School um committed suicide and uh perhaps if it was a different world with the type of support mechanisms and lack of Stig stigma uh that could have been avoided so I'm sure we've all been touched some way by similar situations so I just want to appla that person who left because I can only imagine the courage it took to say what she did and I'm glad we were able to help her um I'm not going to comment more on the subject matter that was spoken about um obviously very sensitive and upsetting to a lot of people I agree with most most all what my colleagues said and I don't know if my IDE a or any version of it or anyone else's idea could actually um turn into something but I really do believe that an ongoing dialogue and discussion um is more effective in the short term and long term than resolutions of sort I'm not totally against the resolution but I think we all want this war to end but even if it does end or not even if it does end when it does end as important as that is if we don't come together um a little more understanding um and tolerant of people's opinions and backgrounds um God only knows it's just going to happen again somewhere sometime so I don't want to keep talking about that but if anyone has any ideas how there could be a forum that that creates um dialogue and healing um I'm open to supporting in any way I can um Mr War Locker addressed most of the other issues I'm not going to go into it for the sake of time we had a very constructive in-depth Public Works meeting nothing I can't wait till the next meeting to read out on lots of infrastructure projects going on but I think um I think that's I think I've said everything I need to uh thank you mayor councilwoman Francois I've been asked on behalf of my fellow councilmen to make an announcement since he forgot there's going to be a juneth parade on June 15th from from 12: to 5: the parade route is starts at Highland Avenue goes all the way down Hamilton Street and makes a left turn on Matilda Avenue it'll be in Neiman Williams Park from 12:00 to 5: everybody is welcome to attend I do that right fire TR why don't you I see the mayor's head shaking thank you I think she missed it cuz we have floats we have fire trucks um we have uh vendors we have food we have a guest speaker and and I don't have the uh fly here with me um but we have music uh a bouncy counsil for the kids um all kind of good stuff for you to have a family day in the par and if you bring your own food don't forget to feed me uh that's basically it thank you thank you uh councilman EMB Barrison uh thank you mayor um so very brief report um we had the monthly uh Sur raage Authority uh board meeting on the 7th followed by the historic preservation um Council committee meeting um very very long agenda that day um but uh the chairman handled it very well at the end of the meeting he announced that he's moving to a neighboring town so we would have to get ready to um find a new chairman uh for the historic preservation committee um very quickly on the 10th uh last weekend um participated not participated attended the Police Unity uh tour uh here in in in our complex uh a lot of cops from all over the country participated uh in the bike ride it happens every year great to see um our um men our folks join the parade uh and then over the weekend on Sunday uh the Nepali heritage month was celebrated at the Buddhist temple uh in Franklin Park on Route 27 um our uh newspaper uh Bill Bowman and PJ Parker came by provided some coverage uh it they also celebrated um uh Buddha Buddha's birthday which happens to be on the 15th of this month um many of you know that uh you know Buddhism is uh widely practiced in uh Asian countries uh including Nepal so that was a good event if you haven't visited the Buddha uh Temple there Buddhist vhar on Route 27 make a point to uh check it out go check it out it's it's really peaceful place they have a Peace Garden um they have a large the statue this a place to sit and just reflect on uh what else is what all going on in the world um anyway also this may month of May is also the aapi heritage month which is Asian-American Pacific Indian um that live in the United States we celebrate uh this month as the Heritage Month um that's all I have M thank you councilman alaka okay thank you mayor I don't know if uh if some of us have noticed that around Franklin Park all the major roads around that area are under construction and they're creating a very big uh traffic problem within 27 and the on the on the outside we have two constructions going on there another one going on the bridge is in um cly it creates a very big problem mly in the morning and uh uh around afternoon I don't know if there's anywhere they can schedule the construction around that area we can have a a free movement and it's affecting a lot of people in uh in my world about the traffic that's why I want to bring it up to our Township manager if there's any way they can work this out there so that we can have a relief of life unfortunately no I the issue is there's a bridge out on Calo Lane that requires replacement so there's nothing that can be staged about that part of the work and the route 27 work is overnight work from 8:00 pm to 6:00 a.m. for Paving it the the road has to get paved it's the state contract to pave the road we have no say over when they do it but I understand that it's an inconvenience but in the long term a short period of time inconvenience is will lead to a much easier way to travel along Route 27 and also on Calo Lane that's the only construction that's in undergoing right now in in that part of town there's another one going on if I'm very close to waos the cemeter there where oppos know the new w w store we have over there but that's not in our town on there on the other side of r 27 you mean yes on of no that's that's on the other side of it not on the right that's the that's the that's the the work that the state is doing on Route 27 right yeah that's not our work that's the state's work okay okay okay mayor thank you thank you counil thank you sir uh just first MH your mic on your mic on oh I'm sorry okay thank you the National Trails day is a schedule for Saturday June 1st and a program will be held at Bunker Hill Natural Area this year and there will be activities from Watershed group for all ages including children so please um if you can hopefully the weather will be nice and please participate uh I also attended the um Advisory Board of Health uh committee meeting and we had a great speaker M Dr Ken Finn who is expert in the area of cannabis and uh he was showing us the data the latest data that uh they have about the uh impact of cannabis and the health of the uh uh the community in Colorado and at the end of his speech and his presentation it was asked what should we as our Township which is relatively new and has a few stores canab store uh should do and one thing that he suggested which I think is very important is that based on his observation and data there are a lot of younger uh adults and also children that are uh having access to the Cannabis and they are ended up in the hospital and so forth so he suggested that make sure that you tell everybody that is using cannbis adults please lock them and be careful not to let to children have access to them so that was an advice that I thought that will be worthwhile to to share uh and um that's all I have mayor and by the way there's no HRC Mee in May because of Memorial holidays so for my comments speaking of Memorial morial day it will be on the town will celebrate it on Memorial Day May 27th and uh the parade starts at 12: the ceremony will be here in front of the township and it starts at about 1:15 the parade starts at the corner of deont and New Brunswick um and anyone who has an antique car they'd like to put in the parade should contact me or any other groups that want to March should um contact me and I'll hand you off to Mr Lort who is arranging these things and I just want everyone to know uh I will not be there for 14 years I have missed my family's uh yearly party uh this year my brother is retiring so it's a special one so I want to go to that um I will be back again next year that's all I have Mr May uh Mr manager Mr Mayor I only have one thing to report um and because it is a popular um program run by the police department and it has just recently been announced that registration is open and I know a lot of people are interested in it and it fills up fast but the Franklin Township Police Youth Academy sign up is now available on the website um this year's Youth Academy will we will be run in July July 11th and 12th and then July 15th through the 19th orientation is on July 9th it'll be run from 8:00 till 3:00 at the middle school for 8th to 12th grade students and only 30 are accepted so if you are hearing this and you're in e8th to 12th grade and want to participate or if you're the parent of an 8th to 12th grader or grandparent of an eth to 12th grader or um anyone else who knows an eth to 12th grader who's interested in law enforcement or might be interested in law enforcement and wants to see uh you know uh what it is um to be a police officer they do a lot of very interesting things um they meet with the Emergency Response Team generally the state police bring in um Northstar the the uh the medical and emergency helicopter operated by the state police um so go online to our website and the link is there for you to register deadline is June 10th and that's all I have tonight Mr Mayor thank you there's no council discussion item no minutes submitted for approval approval of the warrants in the amount of 19 m231 6956 on May 14th repr presented to the township Council for payment do I have a motion on the warrants so moved thank moved then seconded anyone have a comment anyone like to pull a warrant Adam clerk councilman Barrison yes Council woman Francois yes councilman Kazi yes may Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes councilwoman uden councilman vasella yes councilman right C of year 2024 we're on item number 13 calendar year 2024 Municipal budget budget hearing and adoption um resolution 24 uh 170 y uh authorized uh to read the uh calendar year 2024 Municipal budget by title only is presents to the township Council for adoptions we have a motion on that item so move then second move then seconded any discussion CL councilman EMB Barrison yes councilwoman Francois yes councilman karazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes Council woman uden councilman vasella yes councilman Wright yes every year I worry you guys are going to gang up against me and may to read the whole budget that'd be too painful for you we we'll wait till R when you least expect it mayor uh okay now it's appropriate for a public hearing for calendar year 2024 Municipal budget as introduced we have a motion to open to the public so moved moved and seconded all in favor say I I oppos say nay anyone wishing to speak mayor seeing no one looking to come forward to speak oh motion close a public portion of hearing on the budget second move then second and all in favor say I I opposed say nay motion is carried and now would be the usual time we would pass the budget however DCA um the uh what is Department you like to explain it Department of Community Affairs the Department of Community Affairs thank you the Department of Community Affairs once every three years that reviews our budget and they have one person doing that to review a third of the uh State's budgets and they haven't gotten to us yet so we can't pass our budget that's why in the consent agenda there is yet another resolution for a temporary budget um May 14th and we don't have our budget approved yet that's uh all right no comment no comment um public hearing and adoption on second readings we have first readings to announce that we are considering an ordinance second readings to uh uh vote on the ordinance uh second reading ordinance 44 36-24 an ordinance amending the code of the township of Franklin County is Somerset state of New Jersey more particularly chapter 121 Land Development to rezone Lots along Supra Court from uh the rr3 zone to the r10a Zone consistent with its current development is presented for public he and final adoption and public hearing has been noticed as required to have motions open to the public second move then seconded all in favor say I I opposed say nay motion is carried we're open to public hearing Mr Chase Dr Chase Professor Chase councilman Chase is stirring I I really stayed around for the anti-idling ordinance but just I remember how this super Court situation came about that area was originally supposed to be Recreation field and then subsequently the developer uh put the recreation field over on the other side of the Princeton Islands uh development and I guess the Ping board agreed to let you let him go ahead and put houses on super court but nobody thought to change the zoning at the time so now you get to change the zoning and the people who live there can uh rest easy motion to close public session uh for those watching Mr Chase and the Franklin report are the only ones in the audience mayor seeing no one else come forward a motion to close the public portion second in second and all in favor say I I post say nay motion is carried uh public session is closed uh motion to adopt do we have a motion to adopt still moved seconded and seconded any comments Adam clerk councilman EMB Barrison yes councilwoman Francois yes councilman Kazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes Council UD councilman vasella yes councilman Wright yes ordinance 4439 d24 an ordinance amending the municipal code of the township of Franklin County of Somerset state of New Jersey more particularly chapter 384 water section 384-1283 18 fire line service charges and 384-2038 Council for adoption the public hearing has been noticed as required to have motion to open to the public so moved second seconded all in favor say I I post say nay motion is carried we're open to the public no one here from the public I make a motion to close second Mr Chase do you have anything to say uh he pointed out that he is not on Water Service um all in favor of closing public portion say I opposed say nay motion is carried motion to adopt we moved seconded then seconded um as has been stated before the water rates will make the typical resident on Water Service pay an additional $69 a year and uh additional $16 a year uh for uh meter charges but then at the end of 20 years they won't have to pay for a new meter um any other comments mayor just quick question it to put it in simple terms for a lot of the people especially elderly people who usually do the minimum what would the uh charge be then for the month would all the things we understandably doing if you have a minimum Bill what would it be right uh going forward maybe the M manager not it it doesn't really work that way because some of the fees are per gallon so I couldn't really so almost no one would have the there's no such thing yeah no one would have the same because some of the fees are spec are a an amount and it's not even a not even a penny but it is an amount per gallon so depending on how many gallons they use that fee will differ I got you I understand thank you that's it any other discussion clerk councilman and Barrison yes councilwoman frell yes councilman karazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes councilwoman uden councilman vasella yes councilman right yes ordance on introduction in first reading uh ordinance 44 uh yeah option on first reading posting and publication in accordance with law and public hearing and final adoption at a meeting of the township Council will be to be held on Tuesday June 11 2024 at 7 pm on in council chambers to have a motion to adopt so moved second and seconded any discussion what this what this is is uh putting up signs for our anti idling law the state law is that you can idle for no no more than 3 minutes with some exceptions um then you have to shut off your vehicle uh and this is about where we're putting signage Mr no you had just said motion to adopt and you're only on first reading I'm sorry so it's motion to introduce motion to introduce and for uh a public hearing on June 11 2024 at 7 p.m right here thank you for the correction no problem uh so we have a motion to introduce in a second any other discussion oop other than just quickly acknowledging Mr Chase and our audience who uh for those who don't know lives in a southern part of the township and is so committed to these issues like the one he brought up with the garden and following through on these idling um I just want to point out that we're privileged to have somebody that dedicated to this Township yes we are mam clerk councilman EMB Barrison yes Council bman franois yes councilman Kazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes councilman vasella yes councilman right yes uh so um ordinance 44 42-24 an ordinance accepting sidewalk and utility easement from uh Executive Drive inv assments LLC for premises known as block 514 uh part of lot 34 also known as 490 Elizabeth Avenue the forgoing ordinance is present the township Council for adoption on first reading posting and publication in accordance with Law Public hearing and final adoption at a meeting of the township Council on June 11th 20 you skipped the ordinance mayor clerk did I do it wrong 2024 at 7 p.m. in Council ch ambers I did Skip an ordinance we'll go back to that ordinance thank you um so uh is a sidewalk and utility easement on Elizabeth Avenue uh do we have a motion to adopt a motion to introduce to introduce okay yes do we have a motion to introduce the mve second moov in second at any discussion besides the mayor is losing it Madam clerk councilman EMB Barrison yes councilwoman franah yes councilman karazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman n jaka yes councilman vasella yes councilman Wright yes going back to ordinance 4441 d24 an ordinance to allow uh three houses to be in individually serviced by Wells on a temporary basis until public water is available the forgoing ordinance is presented Township Council for adoption and first reading posting and publication in accordance with law and public hearing and final adoption at a meeting of the township Council to be held on Tuesday June 11th 2024 at 7M in the council chambers you have a motion to introduce so moved second moved and seconded so this is regarding what um most people refer to as the rest of property um we don't have the water capacity yet to serve them or at least entitlement to the water yet getting a lure to be able to give that how long what you want me to do sure okay so our Master permit does not is expired and now that we've entered into a new contract with New Jersey American Water we can make application to the D for the renewal of our Master permit that process usually takes about six months this developer subdivision had been approved prior to the expiration of the master permit however they had not started construction uh a workaround for them to begin construction is this ordinance that would exempt those three houses in the subdivision from connecting to our city water until such time as our Master permit is renewed by the D any other discussion CL councilman EMB Barrison yes councilwoman Francois yes councilman karazi yes M Kramer yes councilman o jaka yes councilman Vasa yes councilman right yes onto the consent of J items a through S is list consent agenda portion of the meeting presented for Township Council for adoption do we have a motion on the consent agenda second move then second any discussion anyone like to pull an item or question an item Madam clerk councilman EMB Barrison yes Council woman Fran yes councilman karazi yes mayor Kramer yes councilman on jaka yes councilman vasella yes councilman Wright yes we Have No items to be voted on separately uh all businesses anyone have a nomination for ports committees and commission vacancies and Right microphone I I sent you the email counc write your microphone aaka unless he's talking in the public last name looks like today it's just can you turn on your microphone please so now ell p a l a k k a l p can you recation can you turn on your microphone please Mr Wright I recommend him for the recreation advisory committee Fell's name again p a l a k k a l okay um any other nominations for the same position can do it by acclamation all in favor say I iOS say nay congratulations any other nominations there no other nominations and there being no EXE itive session least I don't think unless you snuck one in on me um do we have a motion to adjourn second and seconded all in favor say I I opposed say nay motion is carried for anybody well Franklin once we get