[Music] good evening everyone good evening everyone I'd like to call the May 7th 2024 Hamilton Township council meeting to order this meeting is being held with the benefit of public notice as required by the open public meetings act Madam clerk will you please call the role Mr Papo here M Philips here Mr whan here Mr Ty here Mr Parell here pleases Gentlemen please rise and join us in the salutes of the flag and please remain standing for the invocation pledge alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the repblic for it stands one nation God indivisible andice for dear Lord we look to you for help and advice renew your grace and your power in our lives so that we may have light even in dark and distressing times help us to be ready to take anything upon ourselves and serve with all we have Lord have mercy on our times and on our world and finally bless our country and our Township of Hamilton may we as council members promote an honest and in uh and sincere government in all we do we make these intentions and those in the Silence of our hearts amen amen very nice before we get into this evening's agenda I um just wanted to update everyone there's been one addition um there's an additional resolution uh that's ca20 24205 this is a resolution establishing a contract with Phoenix Distributors for the sale tradein of surplus police firearms and related accessories uh can I please have a motion on this uh Amendment to the agenda so move second roll call Mam clerk Mr PaPeRo yes Miss Phillips yes yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr Carelli yes for your consideration we have minutes for February 6th and February 20th regular council meeting minutes can I have a motion for both uh February meetings please minutes so second roll call Madam clerk Mr PaPeRo yes Miss Phillips yes Mr whing yes Mr Ty Mr Carabelli yes next we have communications uh joint accommodation declaring May 18th as our forces councilman Tha would you mind uh reading for us that commodation sure May 18th is the uh Armed Forces awareness day and whereas the freedom and security that citizens of the United States enjoy today are direct results of the Bloodshed and continued vigilance given by the United States armed forces over the history of our great nation and whereas the sacrifices of such members of the United States armed forces and of the family members that support support them have preserved the Liberties that have enriched this nation making it unique in the world Community whereas the second week of May will be celebrated as Armed Forces Week for those American men and women in uniform who sered selflessly to preserve democracy and freedom at home and around the world in times of War and Peace whereas for more than 20 years the third Saturday of May has been proclaimed Armed Forces Day by the president of the United States and commander-in chief calling all Americans to remember those who gave their lives in defense of freedom to honor the men and women of all our armed services who've served and are now serving our country together with their families now therefore be it resolved by Mayor Jeffrey s Martin in this Hamilton Township Council that we do hereby Proclaim Saturday May 18th as a special day to show appreciation for our military and Proclaim it as Armed Forces Appreciation Day in Hamilton Township and encourage all hamiltonians to show their gratitude by the appropriate display of flags ribbons and or personal message can I have a motion for H C1 motion oh yeah roll call Madam clerk Mr Papo yes Miss Phillips yes Mr whan yes Mr Ty Mr carabel yes C two joint Commendation recognizing May's Mental Health Awareness Month councilwoman Phillips whereas mental health is an essential part of everyone's overall health and well-being which helps to sustain processes relationships productivity and ability to overcome adversity and whereas all Americans face challenges in life that can impact their mental health it is estimated that one in five adults living in the United States are living with a mental illness and one in five youth currently or at some point in their life have had a mental illness and whereas every day those who are affected by mental health may feel isolated and alone going long periods of time before receiving the help they need with early and effective intervention those with mental health conditions can improve and Lead full productive lives and whereas early identification and treatment includes timely services from a team of diverse resources including families friends Physicians schools and local Community Resources and whereas as Hamilton Township recognizes that it's responsibility in creating a community where everyone feels comfortable reaching out for the support they deserve which is crucial to ending the stigma around mental health and now therefore be it jointly resolved by Jeffrey s Martin mayor and the Hamilton Township Council recognizing the month of May 2024 as mental health awareness month thank you councilwoman Phillips can I have a motion on that Commendation motion seconded R call Miss Phillips yes or M prero too yes Mr Ty yes Mr carabell yes C3 is a receed of documentation to update alol Beverage Control license 1103 33037 trading is over Park liquers uh page two the phone number and Page four vendor information C4 is a of documentation regarding results of bond sale and no sale of April 30th 2024 provided by Eugene poos director Department of Finance CFO can someone please move for me uh ca3 and CA uh C4 council president I move ca3 and ca4 C3 and C4 I mean I say ca too C3 C3 and C4 just for the second that roll call Mr pero yes M Phillips yes Mr yes yes Mr carel yes resolution 24-1 182 with the resolution authorizing the place to place transfer expansion of premise of alcohol coverage license 1103 3356 B andn Food Service LLC trading as wild flowers too I think the only thing that changed here is the outdoor seating they expanded the outdoor seating this um ABC license will accommodate that um any comments from my Council colleagues anyone from the audience wishing to speak on this resolution counil president see no members of the public wishing to comment I move that we close the public comment portion and move resolution 24182 I'll second that roll call Mr Papo yes M Phillips Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr yes next for your consideration have consent agenda item ca1 through ca2 so we have a um a shorter uh consent agenda uh this evening I just wanted to give a brief overview of some of the items that are listed um we have an agreement with Rucker Co-op uh extension for storm water management covered in part by a grant we have two properties that the Mercer Arc will restore and provide and rehab and provide housing for individuals with special needs we also have uh under consideration tonight we have several extensions one for catering and Concession services at saian Gardens we have one for annual traffic signal maintenance with cray Inc uh we and finally we have one with overhead hoist and crane for water pollution control you will also notice that there's several tax refunds and performance bomb releases um any comments from my Council colleagues regarding our agenda this evening cons agenda this evening um there was one I got to find an exact number again it was the one given BNR another um BNR welding for the RVC replacement project 191 191 yeah yeah is is that the last one they they've been front of for two with two change orders I guess we're not sure if that could be it yeah I'm not sure if that's going to be it but and they've sort of found this most recent one as they were going along where a different RVC as you know we're replacing some of them but not all of them a small portion of them we have 40 some odd and I think we're replacing five we needed to replace an additional one so they wanted to add that to the project list okay thank you k so I just uh want to say I'm glad to see uh our continued work with the Ruckers Cooperative Extension on the uh storm water management program it's important work for the township one thing I forgot to mention was uh CA 24-1 195 um we're replacing some ex exterior bathroom doors with the Veterans Park we're doing a uh Capital project there MH making some improvements with Jammer I think I believe that's that contract is with Jammer doors yes that's correct any other questions seeing none I'm going to open it up to the public any any questions from the public regarding our CA 1 through CA 20 let's go come on up thank you come on man I know I hate that you just can't go back it was joh it's 4 32 trity Avenue Cornell just out of curiosity this Arc thing that that's going to be something like off the road cuz it say $25,000 for bedroom so that would mean different people living in the same house with a person overseeing them so there's two separate dwellings one's a five dwelling home which uh is located on 61 Pope um and the other one's a four better uh bedroom dwelling that's on six Kim Valley Road um I'm not certain uh maybe Kathy you can sh some L how many individuals will actually be living in both those homes I'm assuming one per bedroom but because when it said the cost per bedroom I it's not a family or anything it's all different people living together it's a group home okay a group home the the the five bedroom one yes the other dwelling I think is a single family dwelling right that okay oh wait a minute let me see I thought I thought both were oh they're both single family dwellings right that they're converting so they're both single family drawings that are being converted to group homes correct correct yeah so I'm not sure they're they're constituted as group homes but they are they can have single individuals in their different not necessarily from the same family oh okay I thought it was something like you know I mean that's good I mean they just had built that whole one next to the library too you know so for that's the um the project Freedom right yes the 72 unit uh construction that went there yes that also was a yeah of because I knew each each separate unit was for corre by itself but this sounded like it be like or people decide they want to live together you know and I think it's organized by the organization it's organized by them it's all um income restricted so they have to uh meet the qualifications for that and um it's helping us meet Our obligation for the number of units that we have to have for affordable housing okay sounds good sure do we C just uh I should say um afterwards but is this um do we get double credit on this on these projects like this affordable housing so I'm not sure exactly how that works and how the calculation works but we um it may because of where on the scale it uh Falls for income limitations so if this is very low income housing then it might get us more than just a single number single number okay thank you any other questions see can I have a motion yes council president I move to close the public portion and move on consent agenda items ca1 through ca20 a second roll call Mr Papo yes Phillips yes Mr yes yes Mr parabell yes ordinance 1 24018 is an ordinance amending and supplementing the code of the Council of Hamilton New Jersey chapter 485 vehicles and traffic Article 2 parking section 48519 handicap parking establishing spaces for 29 Avenue and 110 Tindle this is second reading and public hearing any comments from Council no sir any comments from the public seeing none can I have a motion council president I'll make a motion to close the public comment and move on ordinance 124 d018 thank you I'll second that roll call Mr paparo yes pH yes Mr yes yes Mr carel yes Z ordinance 12419 is an ordinance authorizing lease of a portion of Hamilton Township property known as hell Recreation Center to campfire New Jersey 535 Street specifically the first floor first reading intruction council president I move ordinance 24- 019 on first reading I'll second I'll second Mo roll call Mr PaPeRo yes Miss Phillips yes Mr yes Mr Ty yes Mr car yes ordinance 2 24020 an ordinance authorizing the lease of a portion of Hamilton Township property known as home de Recreation Center to James R Hy Foundation block 277 Lot 1 535 East Franklin Street specifically the basement council president I'll move on first reading and introduction order ordinance number 24-20 can have a second on second roll Mr Papo yes M Phillips yes Mr Mr Ty yes Mr carabell yes 5 ordinance 3 24021 is an ordinance authorizing the lease of a portion of Hamilton's Township property owners home de Recreation Center to Big Brothers Big Sisters of merel County block 2077 m 1 535 East Franklin Street specifically the second floor a question before we move MH uh the three ordinances uh 1920 and 21 they're all the same tenants that we currently have right correct okay that's correct okay thank you uh make the motion uh to move ordinance 3 24021 on uh introduction and first reading I'll second It Roll Call Mr Papo yes Phillips yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr Carabelli yes 5 ordinance 4 24-22 is an ordinance amending and supplementing the code of the township of pel to New Jersey part two general legislation chapter 215 PS section 25-1 municipal clerk and section 25-8 Department of Public Safety can I have a motion on ordinance uh on first reading 24- 022 I'll make a motion to introduce ordinance 44-22 have second second roll call Mr Papo yes Miss Phillips yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr Carabelli yes 5 resolution 24202 the resolution authorizing the municipal clerk to read the state calendar year 2024 Municipal budget by resolution budget resolution by title only discussion any uh any comments from uh councel no sir any comments from the public seeing none can I have a motion I make the motion to close the uh public comment portion and move resolution 12422 I'll second it roll call Mr Papo yes Phillips yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr caravelli yes now we will open the public hearing on the introduced budget okay any comments from the public regarding resolution 24-23 no 202 no it's just oh okay yeah we're good yes please yes Hi Lis Williams Brer Lane I'm curious if the Staffing levels at the shelter have been increased to accommodate the Overflow of animals that we have I know back in I think it was December I had asked that somebody look at Staffing at the shelter during the budget process and I think what I heard the health officer say is that he had asked for additional staff and it got cut by Administration has any of this been put back so we're we're not on the uh open public comment yet we're on the open public hearing for the introduced budget well I'm asking about the budget she's asking about the budet appropriate for the introduced budget right she wants to know whether we're authorizing it in this budget so it probably hasn't been that you can answer better than so I was going to ask John if he wants to comment on the salary and wage uh that we did for the animal shelter so I don't believe there's been any cuts to Staffing level and I know that they did add more animal attendance yes and there has been uh a proposed increase in the overtime to accommodate some of the uh some of the Overflow of animals our shelters is that in this budget correct so in the introduced budget it has the additional animal attendant I believe uh you can confirm if this is right we went from a part-time attendant to a full-time right and so um but also in the amendment which follows after this public hearing we're just doing what the state makes us do by doing the public hearing on the introduced budget first but then there's an amendment for an amount that is going to be added to the overtime to uh to increase what was put in the introduced budget so that um because we know that we're at over full capacity and that will allow for additional care for the animals um as necessary and and preempt the shelter manager from having to clean cages and focus on things like getting post things on the internet with pictures and bios and that's the idea that that's the idea is to have it so that we have more handson right for the animals that are actually in the shelter um so that that can free up all others to do some of the other things so hopefully it'll be enough and um you know we'll have to monitor that as we go along okay thank you thank you Lisa and thank you John and Kathy good anyone else can I get a motion um we have to close the Madam do we close the open uh the public hearing right now okay can I get a motion that's one right to close council president I make a motion to close the public hearing on the introduced budget have a second second motion roll call Mr Papo yes M Phillips yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr caravelli yes 5 Z so now I will read do you have your word about I have it budget amendment current fund anticipated revenues General revenues amount to be raised by taxes for support of Municipal budget local tax for municipal purposes including reserve for uncollected taxes from 11,985 54.92 to12 [Music] m656 6525 amended amount $801 33 total amount to be raised by taxes for support of Municipal budget $ 115 98,3 7.92 to $5,988 19825 the amended amount 8,160 33 total General revenues 162 m524 625 to 162 mil5 $2,565 58 amended amount 8,160 j3 current fund Appropriations General Appropriations operations within caps details Public Safety police other expenses $1,691 188 to 1,765 18 amended amount $775,000 an animal control and wages from $745,000 to $750,000 amended amount $5,000 total Appropriations item 8A within caps 21,36 5,847 to 122144 5,847 amended amount 80,000 total operations including contingent within caps 121,122 79 to 122144 5,184 79 amount amended $80,000 detail salary and wages from 69,1 51,2 N3 to 69 m $16,234.73 2,288 1891 79 amended anount 75,000 H1 total General Appropriations for municipal purposes within caps from 14,9 500 I'm sorry from 14,500 8,392 31 to 14,6 678 $392 31 amended amount $80,000 L subtotal General Appropriations from 161,162 to $61,900 65611 amended amount 80,000 M reserve for uncollected taxes from $67,500 14 to $67,900 47 amended amount $16.32 nine total General Appropriations from 162,50 2,4 4625 to 162,50 182 58256 8 amended amount 8,160 33 summary of Appropriations H1 total General Appropriations for municipal purposes within T caps from 14,593 19231 to1 14,678 6 14,678 39231 amended amount 80,000 M reserve for uncollected taxes from 67,5 $677 14 to $67,900 47 amending amount $160 33 total General Appropriations from 162,50 2,462 to 162,50 8 Amendment amount 8,160 33 very nice shot um any comments from Council regarding these um budget amendments just going to ask her to repeat it one more [Laughter] time any comments from oh go ahead yeah okay any comments from Council um Council no comments no comments no comments just want to say thank you for you know the whole budget seeson for the work that everybody did um it was all of you it was a team effort so thank you any comments from count um our uh public comments regarding the amendments to the budget seeing none I'll make the motion to uh close the public comment portion and move resolution 3 24204 on um I'm sorry resolution 3 24204 second it no I'm sorry I confused you it's resolution 2 24203 resolution 2 24 um the first we did that already my fault now we under public open under public hearing under that 2423 yes yes I'll second that roll call Mr Papo did they yes M PHS yes Mr wh yes Mr Ty yes Mr carabell yes resolution 3 24-204 is a resolution authorizing the adoption of the calendar year 2024 current Municipal budget so now any comments from Council this is just the adoption right you have to read no no I just want to say this is the leanest budget uh that we have ever been handed uh any item that could be flattered down was flattered down um I just want to um express my appreciation for the work of the administration of the financial team of all the directors to really Hold the Line this year to the extent uh possible there were some costs that are just really Beyond anyone's control and it couldn't be helped and uh the administration really did everything they could uh to to counteract that with the work on this budget this year I agree well said I agree yeah I'll just I'll Echo what uh councilman Tai just mentioned um uh thank you for the collaborative effort uh John Kathy Eugenia um and our legal team thank you all especially Allison and Britney for all your work um and all of you on the day here uh um my colleagues thank you for uh weighing in giving your opinion on some of the budget items and and um you know Q&A with the directors uh I appreciate their contribution as well we all know the challenging times that we're in and and you know just with inflation and and I I appreciate the leanness of the budget um uh makes it difficult for us to make uh substantial cuts to that budget when we when we take a look through it so um but anyway thank you again um I have to open it up to the public for the adoption so any any comments from the public regarding the adoption okay ation yes you can do like to close the public comment portion and move resolution 32424 I'll second that fcal Mr Papo yes Miss Phillips yes Mr yes yes Mr yes I think they work right now is it sh yeah they're in they're in okay um anyone else wish comment from the neighbor say are they coming back in or not Steve Cay P Road um now that the weather's getting warmer um I was wondering if there is or if there can be some more proactive effort this year to address the issue of fireworks um I you know some going off last night New Year's there had been about 8 hours worth of fireworks going off I can't medicate my dog anymore um I don't mind the scheduled events cuz I can medicate her ahead of time it's effective once she's heard those fireworks the medication is um completely ineffective but every year we you know we deal with this and it's I'm hesitant to call the police cuz I can't tell them where they're coming from you know they're not necessarily my next door neighbors but all around my neighborhood I know they're going off so is there anything we can do this year to maybe increase patrols a public announcement like some I couldn't agree with Steve Moore but um you know I think it's a I think we're going to have to you know you bring up a good point weather is just starting to get nicer and so this is probably the time but we'll have to um sit down with Chief deasi and see what kind of plan that he can come up with to help without having to have residents and neighbors sort of police that right and and I still think i' encourage you to call even if you don't know the location just so that this year I will I I think we should just just if anything it gets on record right that there was a call that came in about that even if you can't pinpoint where it is they may be able to through patrols and all of that so um we're just going to have to uh sit and come up with a plan or at least figure out what Chief D's plan is for that I know earlier towards the end of last year we had received a grant for overtime and it when I asked about it it was basically going to pay for increase patrols if there's something again this year right around that time frame very good point M okay is that is that a um is thank you Steve is that a violation of our uh correct yes it is we made sure to add it um so it's both under nuisance not as much under noise as it is under nuisance because under noise we had to follow the state ordinance from D so we didn't have any room to make changes okay but if we were if I if you bear with me um if I go to our Township ordinance under 27 which is our um I think it's 27 um can't find it now but under our nuisance ordinances I we specifically added it in there that it is a nuisance so the officers would not need to have a um a meter or anything else right now it's probable cause if I if they see rappers um or from the explosion or pieces like that they would have the probable cause to go forth and write any citations that they felt were unnecessary just a followup it's my understanding that a majority of the fireworks are legal under State statue is that correct anything Airborne that is that is incorrect not all um it's mostly just uh things that you can hold in your hand and the ones that can pop off on the ground everything that goes in the air unless you have permits for is actually still illegal so the little bits of things that they that they do are fine but the big stuff is illegal they're really not going to but it's illegal but the penalties in trying to enforce it enforce it can be difficult so what we've tried to do on a local level is to at least um put something in there to to kind of just help with it just so that we have something there okay thank you thank you Steve thanks Steve see see if he's coming that way we know JN it's GL 432 Trinity Avenue Cornell height okay I was pleased to see in The Trentonian but I was shocked that it wasn't in the post that there's going to be a meeting by the Trent Water Works next Wednesday in the library for all the township residents and thought that would have been nice to know for the whole public in case they had unless we put it into Trent times or something now that you know next Wednesday 6:30 to 8:30 they're having a an open Forum about which I think was good they're supposed to explain what they're doing and stuff like that you know I guess if you have any questions about the lead piping and everything so I thought that was good to know but it wasn't it The Trentonian but I was like I thought all should have been in the post everybody gets the post everybody looks through that and it should you know would have been nice if it had been in there so that public knows about it so they have people to come you know I know what's going on thank you thank you for mentioning that yes it's on Wednesday on the 15th from uh 6:30 to 8:30 at uh Hamilton's Library um and it's basically a conversation with Trent Waterworks about talking about your quality of your water so right so you know and you know about the storm people want to know if you know their storm trains are l or have been replaced or whatever then the time to know so uh it would been nice if it had been in the post too and so uh and then did anybody look at my storm drain the orange one it's so it's so unique it is rust it is r i mean it does it Glow or does it Glow it's it's the brightest orange I think we've uh come across encountered it it it is rust though and we had um our our Public Works director went out there I think a day or two after the um the meeting when you when you brought it up and so and he took some pictures of it and it it's clearly you know just completely rusted so that's the look I guess said we have several like that we wanted to remind you that West is best orange the color of Hamilton West that was Hamilton West right tell me another one okay no but you know it's just you know like I come out to get my paper morning there it is there it is it's just so so unique no but when you think of all the old ones that have been there on that street for since God knows when and they're just the brown like you know and this this was the new one new one was put in like last year that's funny oh well okay well thank you for checking thank you thank you John anyone else wishing to [Music] comment okay director Duma thank you thank you president Fred Dumont director of community and economic development so I have two neighbors here I think that Mr Roco has appeared before you in a couple meetings Miss La this is your first opportunity to come in front of council I I have given you packets about this problem um I'm like I tried my best to divorce attorneyship tonight it didn't did not work so uh both neighbors are upset um on your packet this is the the Broad Street area where there is zero lot line that means that in this area of town there's no setbacks you built right up to the lot line and that's where we're doing here if you look at the second page of your packets there is Miss ly's and Mr Rocco's um uh properties and this is grading plan so if you look to the far right that's Mr Rocco's neighbor and the water from from that neighbor's property goes on to Mr Rocco's property then goes on to miss ly's property and then goes out to Brad that's that's what happens out there behind their property is a drainage easement where by Township design the water was the flow and then from there it would go out um on to Broad Street and away from the prop FR so I'm looking at this right now though um just to get my bearings the um this is looking from the the easement to the front of the property the bottom of the page is right above the Broad Street yeah that's where the easan is oh it's oh yeah okay and and Mr Rocco's property is 106 block 1015 M L's property is 105 block 1050 so 3 years ago Miss LS applied and and her husband applied to the town for a pool permit um they were granted that pool pool permit pool was constructed two years ago and then they put in um concrete around the pool all right at that time their contractor built more concrete than it was approved okay and what was established at that time was essentially and I'm going to use Mr Rocko's words a dam where the water from two houses away to then Mr Rocko's property could not then flow onto Miss ly's property because of the concrete now in my staff's professional opinion they agreed that that concrete should be uh should be built that way because for a 5ot setback it would have been a mud mud uh pull there which would have affected Miss ly's property and Mr Rock par now extensive Renovations have been done Miss LA's put it in a a drainage system changed her uh down spouts and everything and Mr rockos put also her drainage uh system in but water has still uh have come on to Mr L's property Mr Rocko's property because it two properties work no water from Miss L's property and our professional opinion uh goes on to Mr rockers he's has given me some pictures and stuff that shows me there is some runoff and I recommended tonight to miss LS that she extend her um drainage plate away from the property even further and she has agreed all right um also the note Mr Roo dis but Google Earth and Survey show today that his fence is on Miss L's property so we have a mess out there all right and we're trying to decipher through it to try to not cost Mr Roco the cost of removing his fence and replacing it Miss LA from cutting out concrete FR we're hoping to find some suitable uh solution to it uh it just hit my desk the last three weeks I apologize to not only both residents and to council that uh that I didn't get involved sooner but that's where it is right now no I I appreciate you being here and I appreciate your followup and your your um you're you know serving as a mediator for this for this uh issue I I guess overall the there's a low um water table there uh in that on that street is that correct around that area that's why the drain easement was put into place now there's plenty of blame to go around um my staff has looked at and surveyed Mr Rocco's property and there's mulch beds and stuff back there which also prevents the water from running up the bra street Mr Rocco told me tonight that he's cleaned up that that stuff and there was water but April got 8 in I know it was UN historic right again um particularly my engineering staff chooses to work with each uh Township resident to to try to resolve issues um as we all know um Fred dumont's not that type of guy all right he comes in and says the rules say this this is what we're going to do I'm trying to avoid that tonight I to the best of my ability I'm trying to avoid that the call everybody M but I encourage both residents to come here tonight and speak um essentially except for Jeff Martin my bosses are in front of me um and I'm going to do whatever I'm told tonight to do I think that there can be resolution here but only if the two of them agree just a question about the fence um you said the fence was put um potentially over the property line was there a survey and a permit un placement for this we do not have a permit on record Mr Rocco furnished a copy of a permit we're going to run it into our system tomorrow morning the survey indicates it's about 3 to 5 in depending on how the fence runs he he said that there was a gentleman he came in front of who had my position named Pat Pap I said p pap believes he was a much better direct I ever could be but I dispute that but um that's where we are you know um this was work today five six hours you know trying to bring this to some kind of conclusion conclusion okay we have we established any Common Ground here or councilman well and I think you got to hear from the residents okay good frad uh thank you director for for coming tonight thank you for this report who prepared this uh Samantha Brown our Council engineer all right if you have any question questions about that I have further information here that we were able to get together this afternoon timeline that the clerk will allow me only to get people work in or exceeding my responsibility but um again I think that uh I believe resolution can be submitted here but I adhere to whatever decision Council and the business administrator decide okay so so Fred before you uh go I mean what I'm seeing here is that the pool it's the finding that the pool is not causing additional am I reading this right pool is not so there are five other pools in the area which go right to the property lot line cuz the houses go right to the property lot line what the pool is causing is run off from the two properties can now Escape through the side yard that's what the pools prevent so water from from 110 right you're 110 11 10 10 runs off to the back of the property W are from 108 no 112 and 114 now cannot get out the property because of the concrete the concrete can be 5 foot off the property line by Township ordinance 5 foot and our professionals believe that that 5 foot is not enough for the W or Escape it's still going to hit the concrete still go back into Mr Rocco's yard and have a mud pit and both yards are going to have mud pits air because of that the 5 foot is not going to help the situation that's the opinion of our professionals is there any um did the did the did our Engineers see any uh possible solution to that uh I mean extending the drainage pipe was part of that so I've committed tonight that we will have Township staff not engineering staff Public Works staff go and clean the drainage uh easement behind I I love giving out you know work to other departments it don't cost me any money um and uh extending a plate and then possibly some other things like maybe we would put Stone along to uh allow the to escape um but that would be on one of their properties and I would need a permission to do all that stuff but certainly extending the plate will assist out that drainage easement will assist and I think that uh that that will uh help alleviate the problem so this is an ongoing effort uh by you and your team to uh continue to work toward a resolution I've only jumped in it last three weeks my team has been working on it for the rec the year thank you director one one uh last question I'm just looking at page five uh which looks like this has the map on it yep M at the top of the page it says 10 Christopher Drive uh talks about the pool construction on the uh second bullet point down it says the contractor also removed material from the excavation and raised the rear yard elevation 3 to 6 in above the previous grade without T of permission has that been rectified is there still that way that has not so nothing has been rectified on the property besides adding some drains and some stuff like that where they worked with our Township uh staff to say try this to see it alleviates the problem so is that area that was raised in the rear yard the 3 to 6 in is that contributing to any of the water that's being retained on number 12 so again that is the and I'll use Mr Rocko's words again that is the dam the wall that the water from the two properties would go they would go from one property to the other to the third and then out into Broad Street that Dam so to speak that wall so to speak is stopping that that W from running off now I think Miss LS could put up a good argument and says wait a minute I should have get W on my y other properties too so I think that's why our staff tried to work with them that this was an existing condition out there and tried to improve it and um again I will you know write a series of summonses tomorrow morning rectifying all these all these situations uh that's not how we choose to to handle things um understand I appreciate you being here I'm sure we all do we do thank you for thank you I appreciate thank you director thank you thanks for trying to rec stuff let's see how good of a divorce attorney I am when everybody speaks Rocco you first if you like to um I'm Roco shupa 12 for Drive in yville um this has been ongoing it's just as soon as they poured the concrete and backfilled with the soil the first rain is when I had the problem and it's not just a puddle it's a it's a pull they put a pull in and they gave me a mini pull um and my problem is I just don't want water in my yard you know it's it's not healthy um I don't know how I'm going to sell my home someday when you know someone's going to buy and then they're going to say you got all this water in your yard since then I did put a drain in because of what I was you know I told you before what um Mr Martin said about try to fix fix it put a drain in and then take them a small claim port for the for the money um since then I heard that was bad advice but I did it anyway um the problem isn't solved um they were out today working on it it might be a little bit better but I'm not going to know until it rains but until some of this concrete I'm I'm sorry they were working on it that mean cleaning the drain yeah what they did was the contractor I had came out and I you know it didn't work and they came back out to see what they could do to make it work you know because it cost $3,100 I didn't pay him yet to complete the amount so I'm going to pay him tomorrow okay but they tried to you know just make it a little bit better because they could see where the water's coming I I know I data differ with the township saying that the water doesn't run into the yard of the concrete it does in some spots okay I invite them to come out anytime it rained and see I got video of it I got so I really don't know what to do except I was you know going to you guys I sent you two of you an email last week to try to see what was up so because if not I'm going to have to I think get legal counsil involved and I don't want to do that I want the money the time energy and I just don't want wi in my yard I I understand completely let let's let's see if some of these solutions that uh the director had mentioned yeah um at least um the thing is I need a time frame because we've been doing this and sometimes they would be like 3 mons would go by and then nothing was done no I think and I think I told you that before I think I think you know director Dumont is a Vigilant and he's he's a his work I think is tremendous so I I know he's one time on his Sunday during day me one time but this was yeah two years ago almost this has been going going so and a lot of sleepless nights every time it rains I can't sleep you know um so I just appreciate so let's see so let's see if this is a a good solution you know we have some improvements that are made um maybe we you know we go out and we clean that uh that easement whatever the drainage eement there Sam offered stuff before but then she said she couldn't do it because it was on my property so the township couldn't do that because I'm talking about the cost or whatever easement that's the easement and all that stuff South Broad and and to where the bike path is and there's a that easement starts there's only like a foot there's only a foot there between the bike path and that the rest is kind of like my property in a way but it's an easement I got to cut the grass and everything like um I remember being at the meeting they said oh you're getting an extra 10 ft you can take care of but then like you can't do just cut cut the grass you know there's shrubs out there cuz there BMS really were going to be more in just the water direction that was for Broad Street the houses are reversed okay our backyards face Broad Street down the road their Frontage and they wanted to have um you know for safety reasons you know kids running around in the yard and stuff and they wanted for the noise and that's what it was there because I went to all the meetings I was I was the third owner and third person to move into that neighborhood now so seeing it all thank you thank you thank you may I just clarify a couple things so the contractor was out there today is Mr Rocko's contractor not the town right I understood that the name of no no no that's fine that's fine um and Mr Martin I asked mayor Martin today we sat down I I briefed him on this whole situation he has not spoken to you he called me on the phone he says he has not spoken he did because I called requested a meeting with him okay and he called me on the phone well I guarantee he's going to call you tomorrow well he should because he gave me better advice from what other people told me well I think that he's going to speak to you tomorrow got my word on that because he says the two haven't uh interacted on it and you I I asked request for a meeting come to the microphone Rocco I called I requested a meeting with him and he called me back like a week later and said we didn't need to have the meeting and this is what I should do he said I apologize for what your difficulties are but this is what you should do because this is the example that I use I said well how how why should I like take it upon myself to fix he said well if somebody came up in your in their car ran over your mailbox and ruined your you know mailbox and whatever they're responsible for it what would you do you would fix it and then you would make them pay for it and then if they didn't pay for it you take them to small claims court and make them pay for it that's his exact words and I'm going to we'll clarify that with the mayor tomorrow morning sure and uh to speak about um efforts um there was three instances where I thought this was resolved including that Sunday night uh when it was rained because that's why I reached out so so we will correct this problem we will correct this problem all right there's no doubt in my mind but you need to listen Miss La too okay thank you Miss La good evening council members thank you for hearing me out tonight um my name is Flor Lee lyes and I live at 10 Christopher Drive Hamilton 08620 um you've heard from my nextdoor neighbor Roco uh sharaa several times I I came to find out and I did watch the Youtube videos to see you know his version that he was spitting on you guys um so now you get to hear my version um we've done everything that the town has told us to do in around 2021 2022 is when we hired National pools to go out and install the pool and you know they're normally um responsible for getting all the permits which you know we trusted that they did properly um you know we had um uh the code official come out compliance with the codes with the ordinances um during the that time period Roco um started complaining and calling to the town um in October of 2022 now the township engineer it was Samantha Brown actually came out um for a site inspection and Tom Mullen had signed off there was a building inspector there someone from the Construction office um Tim Amison was involved and we were told that we would have to install an additional deck drain um which is going along the perimeter of the the the concrete patio and the fence I have um a drawing here that was prepared that I can give to you since I don't think it's part of your packet thank you so there was already a deck GR um that was part of the original plan it was along the perimeter of the back of our house oh and um and in figure eight of um Mr dumont's packet there you could see that there's two um Channel drains visible so there's the one along the fence and then the one that's parallel to the back of the house so we were told to do additional work so that the drain that's parallel to the back of the house would pitch away from Rocco's house so it's actually now pitched towards our other neighbor's house um on the other side and it's going flowing onto our property so that's that's the water um then this this new channel drain that we had to install um that's along the fence line that's pitched towards the back of the house going towards South Broad Street and and then there's a PVC pipe that we had to install that goes we have it going I guess 3/4 of the way to South Broad Street but then um Mr Dum had told us today they asked if we can extend it all the way to South Broad Street which I agree that we will do um if that would you know alleviate the problem and and then the other thing that we did and you could also see this in figure eight of um Mr dumont's packet is we diverted our um gutter system the roof down spout from before it was going over the fence onto Rocco's yard now we diverted it to our property and it's going into our greens and I can tell you and Mr Dumont already did that everybody in our neighborhood has down spouts on their other neighbor's yard we have two down spouts from our other neighbor on the other side of Rocco flowing onto our our premises we're not asking her to move it and nobody else in our in our neighborhood has has had to move it except for us um so we've expended a lot of money as well we've had to get additional engineer surveys and and inspections and um contractors involved after you know I thought I got a good deal on you know our pool with national pools but no it's it's it's becoming a nightmare and and you know my husband has been very calm he's he's tried to approach Rocco tried to be neighborly and resolve this you know and I feel bad that we have to get the town involved but I do appreciate you you know playing small play scort in this um so so um we we did that and um I guess it's it's been around like 15 inspections and and you know I do commend the town for you know coming out they tell us that they have to come out for an inspection every single time he calls but you know honestly um I feel at this point that it's harassment um we've did nothing but nice but you know I am an attorney and I have no problem filing a citizen's complaint for for harassment against Rafel um last week as a matter of fact he was yelling at my husband over the fence with my daughter present and you know my husband was remaining calm you know he you're over your time though I have to cut you off cuz four minutes are up so let's question okay you have a question go coun so this is the picture that I look at and this is what I go off of just everybody sees it that's a lot of concrete in a yard right it looks like more than half of your yard is now concrete I'm not taking sides here I'm trying to get all the facts so was that concrete the way it is now approved by the township it was supposed to be National pools was supposed to get it approved but it looks like it looks like the the original plan that that Mr Dumont just showed me was was the one prior where the where it's not our job here what I do have to say is this I made myself the GC on my pool I put my pool in okay okay I have a pool which just like yours it's a nice pool so the one thing I did learn from all the contractors and the inspectors I spoke to when I did my pool was the concrete has to be pitched away from the pool it's a liner pool right is it a liner or no um yes it's a l you have a viney liner yes so the water has to be pitched away from the pool because if it's not pitched away from the pool it can get behind the liner so the the question I have is with all the impervious surface the way it is right water can't get through it it has to be pitched away from the pool so it doesn't go behind the liner mhm which way is that pitched towards his yard right it has to be well just that one section by where the stairs are I guess it is but it's going straight to the French drain now but how much water can that French strain hold that's I guess that's the question and again I'm not taking sides because I've been there I've seen it okay it is a lot of water but it's not our job to take sides I'm just trying to say Hey listen we all have to be good neighbors right yelling yelling at somebody over the fence won't go in my neighborhood no it's shouldn't go in any neighborhood throwing water over the fence isn't good either right I think we all have to get back to the point of just being good neighbors with one another sitting down and figuring out a way I'm sure he doesn't want to pay to move the fence and if I'm looking at this I don't know if the fence is able to be moved because your cont concrete is right up to the fence right I don't see a black and white answer right I'm not a judge I'm not a pool expert I'm not a fence expert and I'm not nearly as talented as as Mr Duman is okay but what I do see is there's a personality conflict here you need to sit down and figure out how to work it out because there's problems on both sides nobody's 100% innocent and nobody's 100% wrong but this isn't the right thing to do either we got to learn how to be good neighbors yeah I agree I feel like he's weaponizing the town and constantly calling the town to come out I mean he has told my husband that um since you people moved in my property value has gone down and first of all I I beg let's not point the finger right let's say that everybody's a little wrong and if you need to go to court go to court okay but going back and forth with one another right to where it's going to get some type of argument or worse is also not an answer either and I'm not saying that to one or either of you I'm saying it to both because that's not the way we're supposed to live and that's not the way we want this town R yeah I I couldn't agree more I think that was eloquently said by uh councilman Papo I think that let's just do this let's let's see what the the um director can do um I know it's you know there's some limitations here but let's see if some of these improvements uh can make the situation better for both parties um there has to be civility here we have to find a common solution um so there may be improvements that both sides need to make um but hopefully uh we can work together and find find an optimal solution for all one no what hold on director DOA first clarify a couple things um they're draining the water off their pool there was a hose uh the hose then was pulled how it was pulled I was told by the the dog pull that went on to Mr Rocko's property we cited uh Miss ly's for notice of violation for draining it on so we take care of condition when it happens um as far as Mr Roco call in our town uh that's every resident's right and we take no exception to that that he has a right right and and we have a responsibility to go out and inspect everything uh councilman papar comments are right our staff erroneously tries to work with each resident to try to make it the best and their professional opinion again the water from their property runs off the pull slant away way it's the water that runs from two properties over and their property that hits this concrete and then stays in New York so that's where the problem exists there I think there's remedies for that I think extending the um the drain line further out us getting public works out there to clean out the easement and then um You Got My Vow that the next time it rains I'll be in Mr Rocko's yard seeing what the uh what this is you you you you you were out to the property right I so between I I see that they said that was this French drain put in originally or was this added after added the town told us to add it okay so my question is this if the concrete butts up against the fence how did you put a French drain in they they um uh uh jackhammered out oh so you took some of the concrete oh I'm asking him the question okay so um the concrete runs again this is zero lot line so everything runs right up to the lot line right what happens occasionally councilman whing in that in that area fence lines get yes exactly you know all right and that's what happened here too okay we can work this out all right if they want if they don't want to work it out and the councilman paparo um comment uh they will take out more than 50% of the concrete that's what was put in there by their contractor more than 50% was added to all right will that solve the flooding in in Mr Rocko's yard it will not they will not because all you've done is move that wall that D Dam over 5T where's going to hit it it's going to go back there to again that's where my my staff made an error trying to figure out a solution to it and they were wrong they were told today they were wrong okay but they tried to find it uh an Adeal solution to to a problem so I don't believe the answer is take down your fence here's a fine for putting up a legal fence cut out your concrete here's a fine for for we're sending that I don't think that works do I want this problem to go away I I obviously do it will go away one way or the other either I will make those changes or I will make the changes in there that allows the water to run you got my word on that and I and I believe you will and I feel confident that you and um Public Works will work together to try and get this resolved so um you know both sides are happy and I'm not taking sides of this nobody is I don't think anybody is up here either I mean we're just trying to get a solution to a problem to make it see if we can get it resolved without big cost to either either either family right anybody else thank you director thank you any other comments see com anything else from the public anyone [Music] else anyone else wishing to comment you want start yeah start it's always interesting in Hamilton um thank you to everybody for being here um we don't always agree but we are always going to respect one another uh whether they're sitting out here out in the street we're just not going to have it so um we appreciate our Township officials uh for putting all the extra work in I appreciate director Dumont for being here uh long after his hours where he should be home and uh I'm sure knowing his uh work ethic and his dedication to the town I know this will be fixed uh hopefully both parties find the a solution um I'll leave the rest for you guys to uh to pick on have a good night everyone thanks P um you know is uh and I agree with Pat wholeheartedly and I I I feel that this will get resolved and we just I hopefully both parties are patient and and we can get this taken care of um as far as the rest of the meeting went um I appreciate uh like paded said earlier and the rest of council you know to find work um everyone did as far as preparing the budget and preparing us um to receive the budget um so thank you everybody that was involved and I'm going to conclude with um the isaria Fest is Saturday okay hopefully the weather is nice and for all the moms I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day thank you enjoy the day and Dad's because it's going to okay I think a lot of what I would have said has been said but it is it is hard when we see our neighbors our community that are in disagreement and I but I do have faith in Mr Duna as well that he's put in the time and our Public Works and they're going to do everything to resolve the issue and I also do want to thank um everyone for the budget work all of the and Al and did a great job reading off all the numbers but um and I was actually going to mention iselia f as well and happy Mother's Day to everyone and hopefully we haven't had very good luck with that one so hopefully we get some good weather for that and with that I'll just say good night thank you councilwoman yeah so uh Happy Mother's Day everybody um one thing I'm going to say uh regarding the swimming pool the these are not the first neighbors that we've heard from who have been negatively impacted by a situation like this uh we a town that has a lot of low-lying areas and uh maybe this is a time for us to take a holistic look uh at at zoning around that around um you know what we allow and don't allow and uh you know just make sure that uh we're not going to see um inordinate negative impacts on neighbors uh from from this this type of development um uh one thing uh speaking of flood waters there's uh an Asen pink Creek um event coming up uh it's like a leadership meeting I don't know if it's open to the public Janice but uh I'll I'll I'll call you with more information I was trying to find the information uh but it's coming up soon um and it's an Asen pink Creek uh planning session um so I'll get more information on that and let you know in particular for you and your neighbors uh whether that's open to the public or whether it's it's a leadership meeting I'm not 100% sure but we'll get more information for that obviously important for your neighborhood uh important for the white Head Road neighborhoods um the last thing uh lead pipes would come up uh the federal government just got uh allocated what three billion uh to uh help the solve this lead pipe problem for once and for all so one of the things I'm going to be interested in hearing from Trenton Waterworks is how we're going to make sure that we get our share of those funds uh to apply toward the issue that we have in our community uh and so with that uh i' just once again like to thank everyone for their hard work work um and thank the members of the public who continue to come out and call attention to important issues uh and I'll with that I'll say good night thank you councilman Tha um I'll just say this uh I I leave it in the hands of uh director Duma and I say this not just because you're in the room right now but I know that you know listen your your word is your bond and and I know that you're committed to this uh resolution for this uh issue that um was brought before us a couple meetings ago but also now with both parties in the room so and and thank you councilman uh peraro because I thought your remarks were uh well said um you know just want to wish all the mothers out there um a wonderful Mother's Day um Phillips and Kathy and Dan so and Allison I can go around the room but thank you so much uh for all you do um and uh just wanted to mention once again Wednesday the 15th uh we have the um Trenton W works is having their uh um their public hearing or their information session over at the library from 6:30 to 8:30 and also the aelia festival we have on this Saturday um so hope to see some folks there um everyone have a good evening thank you for coming out that's