point being he accident stepped in the room sh we to go find it was it was my wife went in the she forgot to put her foot down CU she worried about the one kid child so she look at me stop me stop me oh oh oh she went yeah I'm sure I'm laughing all right give the guys a thumbs up in the back this is 27 guys we're good okay all right good evening everybody and welcome to the township committee meeting of February 13 2024 the day before Valentine's Day Miss break please call the rooll committee woman hand here Comm Lani here committee woman Pay Here Deputy Mayor tielli here mayor bring here administrator fera here attorney Lord here all right would you all please join me toer a salute to the flag pledge to the flag of the United States of America theic stands one nation under God indivisible Liberty Justice okay so please be advised that in accordance with Section Five of the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the public laws of uh 1975 notice of this meeting was made by posting on the bulletin board at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex and notifying the officially designated newspapers that this meeting would take place at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex at 7:30 p.m. on February 13th 2024 I'm going to first to go to approval of the minutes may I have a motion to approve the reorganization ation meeting minutes of January 3rd 2024 motion to approve okay second I think Sean got second committe got second all right roll call please committee woman hand here committee M Pani yes yes committee woman pay yes Deputy Mayor tielli yes mayor bring yes all right may I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of January 9th 2024 motion to approve second I'll second it committee woman hand all right roll call please committee woman hand yes committee the P yes committee woman pay yes Deputy Mayor tar Ali yes mayor bring yes all right now we're going to go to reports from committee liaison and receipt of reports petitions and are Communications we will start with committee woman hand all right we've got a couple so buckle on all right for health um on a serious note measles there have been several cases of measles reported in New Jersey please be on alert and make sure your vaccinations are up to date from a rabies perspective rabies clinic will be held um it was rescheduled for this coming Sunday February 18th from 10: to noon at the DPW building on East Mountain Road please see the flyer that will be in the mayor's e newss tomorrow to register Pharmacy Brown Bag Pharmacy brown bag is a program to review your medications with your local pharmacist dates for the program are March 7th and March 14th sign up online or call the Hillsboro Department Health Department directly it's a very nice service and National nutrition month March coming up soon is National nutrition month there'll be a speaker from the Department of record Cooperative Extension of Somerset County on Tuesday March 12th at 11:00 a.m. in the library to discuss healthy eating moving on to parks and wreck we talked about this last time but just to remind you guys because it's coming up on Monday safe sitter program so there's a safe sitter training so again there's no school on um Monday February 19th so why not take advantage of this training session it's for grades 6 through eight they can Elevate their babysitting skills and it's a great informational session um please register online at Hillsboro njre recreation.org also from the rec department um spring programs dive into a world of blooming possibilities with our exciting spring Recreation program shake off the winter blues and join us for a season of fun fitness and fresh experiences great offerings there's Outdoor Sports um creative stem programs Etc so please again look at Hillsboro NJ recreation.org summer camp I understand there's snow on the ground and we're going to talk about summer camp so everybody find a warm place in your head there you go um get ready for the most epic summer adventure camp registration is now open so for the planners uh get in there and and start looking at summer camps and there are outdoor activities new friendships waiting to be uh born so please um secure your spot now and register at hillsbor NJ recreation.org basketball basketball Rec um Recreation is excited to announc registration is now open for the summer basketball league this is for boys grades 4 to8 girls grade 3 to8 and please register um again NJ Hillsboro hillsbor NJ recreation.org and last but not least Social Services um social services department wants to recognize the partners who who have contributed to the community Assistance can Food Network thank you to Hillsboro rotary the Primrose School of Hillsboro with their members staff and families and students for their continual partnership and ongoing donations social services are still in need of a couple items toilet paper toilet uh paper towels deodorant conditioner laundry detergent dish detergent coffee and soup if you are able to donate thanks so much okay thank you committee woman hand now we have is a committeeman leani thank you mayor uh just a few things today um for as of February 7th there are only three licens solicitors active in Hillsboro a license solicitor is a permitted to HW sell or solicit door too Street to Street or place to place businesses in Hillsboro T Township that doesn't count Boy Scouts Girl Scouts uh School funds this is for-profit people as you can report any unlicensed business soliciting your neighborhood to the police department non-emergency number of 908 369 4323 please note that this does doesn't include political or religious canvasing the administration department remains maintains a list of active solicitors on that Department's web web page uh from the assessor's office the 2024 tax list will be finalized on February 21st 2024 the February 2024 tax list proof book will be available on the Assessor's web page on February 7th 2024 and the final 2024 tax list will be uploaded to the Assessor's web page after the February 29th 2024 um date the annual assessment postcards will be mailed in March the annual assessment postcard shows the 2023 and 2024 assessed value of your home as well as the taxes build in 2023 please note that you can also collect contact the tax collector's office or visit their web page to receive a record of what you paid for property taxes for purpose of filing your income taxes the second annual job fair hosted by the HBA uh will be taking place here in this building uh on Thursday February 29th which was leap year so if you miss it it's four years later so don't miss it uh from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm. here at the municipal building as I said there is an excellent turnout last year uh job fair with 35 businesses participating and over 100 job Seekers attending if your business is looking to hire or if you're in the a Community member in search of a new career opportunity we encourage you to stop by the event is free for Hillsboro based businesses and job Seekers again repeat this is a free event for any locally based business and or jobseeker if you're a business and would like to participate you can find the registration form at the hillsbor bus.org or call The Economic and Business Development Office at 908 369 3533 for more information and just an update from our bus service Coach USA Coach USA has announced an update to their commuter bus schedule in hillsbor the bus will now depart and arrive at the hills from the Hillsboro prominade with daily commutes to and from New York City for a specific time of Departures proceed the township website for more information thank you mayor and that's all I have Happy Valentine's Day showe he's got his tie on Minnie and Mickey Minnie and Mickey all right thank you committee mapon committee woman pain thank you mayor we got it so first up is the police report the Hillsboro Township Police Department is now accepting applications for the position of police officer applicants must be at least 18 uh years old and less than 35 years of age a US citizen and resident of the state of New Jersey at the time of the appointment and a high school graduate or equivalent with a valid driver's license and good moral character and temperament for all requirements and information on applying please see the the police department page on the Hillsboro Township website deer carcass removal is done through a deer carcass removal company residents can report a dead deer by calling the non-emergency police phone number at 908 369 4323 extension 3 to speak with a dispatcher once reported the police marked the dead deer with a red or orange x and contact the deer carcass removal company to remove the deer deer carcasses are generally removed Within five to um seven business days um just be mindful with the snow they might be a little bit buried and that might take a little longer February is National teen Dating Violence awareness and prevention month National teen Dating Violence awareness and prevention month started in 2016 as an initiative created by President Barack Obama Dating Violence may include physical Force such as hitting or shoving emotional abuse such as constant monitoring or sexual assault teens are easily influenced by their early relationships and the examples set by those relationships they can have a lasting impact on their lives violent dating relationships can lead to depression anxiety drug and alcohol abuse and thoughts of suicide approximately one and 10 teenagers report being physically or sexually victimized by a dating partner while many other victims do not report it at all hopefully by understanding this I'm sorry that this violence occurs every day to our country's teenagers we can spread awareness so parents and teens can be aware of the red flags and help prevent it from happening as a mom of both uh Sexes of children I can assure you that this happens to both uh just as domestic violence does as well and it's very important to understand that this is not a girl teen issue this is a teen worldwide issue thank you thank you committee woman pay Deputy Mayor chiarelli good evening everybody um starting off with uh it says I attended puppy yoga and it was purely for the photo shot with the dogs I exited stage left as soon as uh soon as that was done mayor mayor leani or mayor former mayor laani was there as well um you have a new dog in the family no no no last year was four dogs this year was six but they had 60 attend uh uh people sign up sold out for this again and hopefully it'll be uh we can do it more than once a year uh it seems to be very popular so everything's great about puppies so anyway let's go on to the building department um the uh building department would like to remind residents that they offer Saturday electrical inspections for residential property so if you need to make an appointment for a Saturday inspection or for any other inspection for that matter please contact the building department at 908 369 5882 um engine engineering they'd like to inform residents that um the township is working hard to expedite the Falcon Road improvements by the Gateway development the work is now being paced by psng who needs to relocate utility polls to accommodate the road widening sidewalk installation and drainage improvements that'll all come with that repaving so it's not just going to be repaved there's going to be some additional improvements to that road uh numerous meetings and visits to the field with p ps and have been conducted uh by the engineering department primarily and the utility polls should start being relocated within a few weeks and Road improvements for Falcon Road are on track to begin construction this coming summer so we expect this to be completed by the end of the year uh so they're making progress which is great um for public works right now registration is uh open for the Township senior curbside pickup program uh to register call the the public works department at 908 369 4313 prompt 6 the program signups will end on Thursday March 28th so a little over a month and a half remaining uh the program is open for seniors age 65 and older and you a senior can participate in the curbside program or the drop off program but not both uh the slide here shows the best way to organize and set items but the uh by your curb for pickup um and you can V uh seniors or anybody should visit the Hillsboro Township website to obtain all the programs information um again see the slide here and I'm sure it'll be on the it'll be posted on the the DPW website um sustainability uh we have a local Health assessment results uh are being going to be published uh the summary report for the Hillsboro health collaboratives local Health assessment is now available the the report is the culmination of more than a Year's work by the collaborative uh which is a group of local stakeholders working to identify and address key issues related to Community Health and Wellness through H throughout Hillsboro more than 50 members including representatives from various Township departments elected officials nonprofit faith-based groups local businesses parents senior citizens Pharmacists and doctors and other uh concerned community members all participated in the uh in the assessment uh the process included collecting an extensive amount of data we there published uh statistics a CommunityWide survey stakeholder interviews and focus groups were conducted and the data was analyzed to find common themes and key findings in various locations throughout Hillsboro uh the next steps are going to be work together to develop an action plan and address the highest priority issues that were uh determined by the group again you can find that report and more information on the township website under the boards tab at the top click sustainable Hillsboro steering committee and the information will be there so that this was presented I think late last year by the health department I think and this is It's been refined a little bit and finalized and prioritized so this is the final report um the Municipal Utilities Authority mua uh their sewer infrastructure is one of the most crucial pieces to our Public Health that's pretty gnarly looking um so help keep it working efficiency efficiently with proper uh flushing um the note the message they want to hear uh you to convey is that most items should be put in the trash and not in the toilet uh including flushable wipes various hygiene products can contact lenses cooking fat and oil grease Q-tips toilet cleaning pads paper towels anything that can't really be easily dissolvable in water should not go down the toilet um so when placed down the drain these items can wreak havoc as you can see in the photo and cause backups to homes and businesses um so please be be aware of that and as a reminder they throw in this at the end um the 2023 sewer charges are coming so make sure those are paid in full um to avoid any tax sale uh on the properties uh and lastly uh truck study on December 14th 2023 the hillsbor Township planning board adopted a resolution recommending that the Somerset County Board of Commissioners and or the Somerset County planning board undertake a regional study of truck and vehicular traffic uh the planning board requested Somerset County to that that the study evaluate the impact of truck and traffic related to warehousing Freight light industrial and related activities through our town as well as neighboring towns in the county overall uh we're keenly interested in the results of such a to study as that would potentially influence uh some of the elements in our master plan reexamination that's ongoing now so uh we're urging them to to uh push this forward and it's similar to uh neighboring counties uh please see tomorrow's e-news and the township website for the full press release regarding the uh the truck study so that's all I have mayor thank you thank you sir okay so I have a few uh few few slides to share some some comments as well so I just realized there's no s at the end of Valentine's Day so I apologize for that I know it's from St Valentine but that wasn't the intention um Valentine's Day I just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Valentine's Day um I think so many times we move so quickly in life it we we forget about these holidays that have become smaller versus the larger you know cultural holidays or or religious holidays so I think uh Valentine's Day is an important one if you have someone that you want to be close to hug them give them some flowers go out to dinner try to find that time take a step back slow down a little bit I think uh there you go there you go I almost you took my I was going to hug John so no but good all right you got them you claimed them tonight that's good I thought you were going to say eat local celebrate local yes of course we celebrate local of course but but just take a moment step back and and and kind of let life happen and and just see the little things and I think that's important but also remember it's Ash Wednesdays no meet and past okay got it yes from the Catholic yes yes yes yes chocolate yes absolutely all right we can move to the next Slide the next slide is also recognizing that lunar new year has begun and on behalf of the township committee I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Lunar New Year and I wish everyone a happy year of the dragon to all of you who celebrate it's a very special time and um it's just great to celebrate every single meeting every single month there's so many different cultures that live in Hillsboro it's just great to be able to celebrate everybody so this is another opportunity to do that so thank you for that uh next ribbon cuting so let's celebrate some of our businesses we had the opportunity here we have about what is it 15 we have our our business our business lead here in Hillsboro zzan uh we have 1500 businesses in Hillsboro at least small businesses and maybe 20 to 30 that are coming in uh we had the opportunity to go to the YMCA with the ribbon cutting if you've been there at all they have completely revamped it made it about the resident made it about the user which is amazing this YMCA has been a uh staple of our community for a long time and with this new setup I think they have made it even more useful for the township and for the residents which is excuse me a wonderful thing to do uh next one we had the opportunity to do a ribbon cutting it oh go back go back please Dunkin Donuts real quick sorry Dunkin Donuts they have a sign in there this is on 206 they uh reinvigorated the Dunkin Donuts Ross from McDonald's and uh they have Hillsboro runs on Duncan on the wall which is pretty cool so now we're part of the commercial locally um and then it's a hidden Cafe is a great place I'm I'm kind of promoting it I'm not sure if I should be doing that but they're up here so I'll talk about them my sons and I had a chance to go and a deputy mayor had the ribbon cutting uh as well I don't I'm not sure who else might be there um but it's a very cool little cafe near kingwing that area there uh where the old skateboarding store used to be and um I sound like my grandfather now you know down where you used to be make a left for the anyway but but it's back there so it's it's a great little place and they claim to have the fastest internet in Hillsboro he told me to say that so I'm saying it we'll see if it's true or not you go there and check it out all right so next we have a blood pressure screening um so this is incredibly important this is a great opportunity for uh one of our local pharmacists that live in Hillsboro through Rucker um through Rucker's uh uh University and our health department to do blood pressure screenings and I think that day uh they had a senior event as well there too we had a number of senior citizens who attended this which is great to keep awareness on blood pressure because that could be a silent challenge for many people and it's uh great to see the students engaging as well too they did a great job at checking everybody's blood pressure operation shoe box it's another great great opportunity that's me with my oldest son Robbie 86 and2 Robbie Christian Grayson this is Robbie with committe man leani uh operation shoe box with the idea of somebody who we know well runs tap into in Hillsboro and this was his Boy Scout project and this is a way to he did this a long time ago and he still does it so it's essentially sending um uh materials and goods and resources to our military people they have a list you go on their website you go there whenever you see them or you can donate on through the website and um it was great we went into the shop right picked out a few things that we thought would be good based on their list gave them sodia committee man leani and um you know we left those uh for the soldiers so I think it's a great way to honor the people who risked their lives for us and it's a great thing that they've kept going on so that's a great opportunity there uh next is the Hillsboro diam the Hillsboro baseball diamond Club so I was busy this weekend you could tell we did a lot of things so this is my son Robbie and I don't think they would mind that's Dominic and and and Jack and and uh uh Jackson as well too so there my friends uh uh my son's friends they play travel baseball ATU uh we had a chance to go to the Hillsboro baseball diamond club which was which was here in the township building not sure if anybody else had a chance to get to it but it's a yearly um a fundraiser for the Hillsboro Diamond Club and it is just a great opportunity to help support Youth Sports in this in this case it was Hillsboro baseball and softball so uh they did a great job with Raffles and it's just a great way to bring the community together and what was great was they had the players serving the food in shirts and ties and and dressing properly and making sure that they were addressing people well so I think that's that's good to see the younger generation operating that way so that was great for them too you can tell I have three boys so that's important to me so here um now we affordable housing legislation so we'll go into two more serious items related directly to the town and the implications to the town so uh each Township committee meeting if you have not seen I always put at the top of the slides that I present people are at the center of everything we do and I think tonight you'll see with some of the proclamations as well how that's evident and how we're putting people first and as part of that you know there's an affordable housing um situation across the state of New Jersey and uh right now the state legislature is going through uh um numerous conversations with two bills um the Senate bill and the assembly Bill and they're going to figure out what from a high level what the algorithm should be for how towns should be accepting more affordable housing over time it's a mandate from the state so um what what I I had done recently was signed off on a letter with other mayors of of New Jersey urging the governor and a few others uh to uh to slow the process down so it gives us the opportunity to figure out how we can work within the affordable housing mandates because we have to think about our source system our school system the environment and a plethora of other items that have to deal with that as well too so we want to make sure we make thoughtful decisions so we could do this right because it's a mandate by 2020 we have to finalize uh what we were mandated to do by 2025 and then forward they're going to be asking most likely for more affordable housing in Hillsboro so we have to figure out how we can handle that and and have that conversation and we believe that we reserve the right to have that discussion with the state leadership team and the assembly members as well too so um I thought this letter was well articulated it was done in a very empathetic way and because it highlights the importance and the critical nature of affordable housing for people who really need it but it also it said that we as a town should have the ability to take a step back and think before before we just jump on something and sign on to it so um I think this letter was well written and I signed off on it and I wanted to make that public for uh the residents of Hillsboro Mary that was also part of the um first in our first meeting that we had um all most of us had approved as well correct for that extra correct yeah we had we had a vote and we majority vote uh to uh to ask the um the this the the uh legislature to kind of essentially slow down and and and redo the think a little bit before we move forward and um yes so thank you for bringing that up and it's it's just kind of a testament we want the right thing for people but we want to make sure we do the right thing for the town's infrastructure as well too and all the other elements that I addressed next uh slide please so 206 uh you've seen in the newspaper I've talked a lot about 206 it is a major challenge uh for Hillsboro Township uh again 206 is not Hillsboro's asset we do not own Hills we do not own 206 the state owns it NJ do is running it um you know they had a challenge with uh uh um uh with with stopping the project early um you can read about that as to why um but we believe that there's some significant issues and I've been pushing very hard in a in a um in an altruistic way with the governor's office and they have been very open to having conversations um and also with the NJ doot and a part of that as you could see in one of my previous meetings I I grade out the items that I had talked about that are not pertinent to this specific situation but uh as part of this get it moving getting it back triangle Road had some has some serious challenges with how they've left it since shutting down the project and if you don't mind going to the next slide uh they responded to us very quickly which shows the effort that we're putting into this and how they're responding to it um you can see some of those items are still being worked on by the NJ do but they took our engineering Department's uh safety concerns very seriously and they're now addressing those so sometimes a uh a firm nudge with a smile makes a difference and also we live here and we drive on it so creating that awareness for the state I think is working and we're going to continue to do that by providing providing them data and information to tell them that we need to get this moving very quickly because it's critical there's many businesses that can operate in the way that they want to it's not safe for the residents and I think this is a testament to the state saying okay we get it we're going to start working on this part it's the winter time they can't work on 206 yet uh just bear with us the next few months as we talk with them to see where they're going to end up with getting to 206 project back on track so that's the update with uh with 206 next is the YouTube slide I believe so uh the Youtube channel Hillsboro's YouTube channel has a wide variety of cont content of interest to Hillsboro residents uh in addition to Township committee and plany board meetings you can also find news around town and ask the mayor play playlists you might have seen those online we're trying to get them out as much as possible I'm trying to articulate things um so so so people who are maybe not as involved who want to be involved can understand what we're trying to accomplish and the thinking behind what we're doing uh footage of past events such as Memorial Day Christmas festivities other cultural events Township services that are of interest to Hillsboro residents and even some fun and historic footage because I don't think many people always know Hillsboro was around since the Revolutionary War and there's a significant amount of history that we have on on on the website as well too that shares about that um so look at us look for us at youtube.com and I feel like Miss Payne reading off this/ hillsbor Township njusa you go to the the township website you could find a lot of this information so but you can always stay connected with us as always um with all events and more via the wedes Wednesdays mayor E news which goes out via email sign up for it uh and and Thursday's experience Hillsboro Bolton you can also look check the Facebook page P the team is working incredibly hard to make sure through social media you see and know what's going on be sure to follow and like the official Hillsboro Town Facebook page as I mentioned Twitter and Instagram I know our our superintendent's here he likes to use Twitter so he sees Twitter as well too we are digitizing Hillsboro on multiple levels so uh tune in to the Hillsboro YouTube channel and sign up for Hillsboro alerts for traffic and emergency notifications so that's the last of my last of my comments uh thank you to my colleagues as well too for making your comments um now we're going to get to a a couple of proclamations some exciting stuff tonight so and we don't have music to play while I walk up so it's a little boring so all [Music] right all right so let's see robotics team once you guys come up once the team come up parents you can set yourselves up for pictures in a moment in a moment we'll get you up here too we'll do all that so let me bring this up here guys come on turn around so everybody can see you here you go let me see is this on yes it is okay so I'll start off by reading this off and then we'll uh maybe let one of you guys or two of you say something is that all right you guys ready public speaking okay so the 4 programming trolls robotics team won first place for their Innovation project at the burrow blast qualifying tournament congratulations [Applause] guys so the trolls robotics team was invited to advance to the regional championship tournament for Northern New Jersey and won first place out of 80 teams not eight 80 first out of 80 for their Innovation project called Symphony which is a virtual reality program for learning musical instruments my middle guy would love that Christian so that's cool I want to get I want to know where to get that the 4 programming trolls robotics team consists of these members and coaches and uh what I will do is I will hand you guys the mic first please just say your name and then I'll come get the mic would you start here again I'm Jessica I'm Vera I'm verica I'm Finn I'm Samantha I'm aun I'm zylus I'm Preston coaches too hi Don leneski and I'm Tiffany Neil Don's one of my C my kid CCD co uh teachers as well too it's great Don does everything she's and soccer coach too gosh almighty you do more than we do it's crazy CRA all right so now the therefore be Proclaim that we the mayor and Hillsboro Township committee do hereby commend the 4H programming trolls robotics team coaches and the parents uh not only for their successful season but for their hard work and dedication and to those principles of good sportsmanship teamwork and academic achievement which the organization endorses congratulations so as I'm getting up your Proclamation who would like to say something why doesn't somebody talk about what we're doing on Saturday yeah let's talk about what you do on Saturday somebody who's got say something come on all right thank you so much for the acknowledgement because these guys really deserve the acknowledgement they put in a huge amount of time so much effort they went they won humbly which is awesome you know you should be acknowledged for that too they work together as a team and no matter what there was 100% gracious professionalism at all times and I'm so proud of you guys so I just wanted to say [Applause] that so they have the fifth sixth and seventh graders here any of the seventh graders want to say something a couple of eighth graders eighth graders oh eighth graders come on you're almost in high school we what's on Saturday what's happening Saturday tell us this is good experience for you go for it so this Saturday we got invited to an advanced Innovation project competition where we gonna where we are going to showcase our project and specifically like the business and marketing aspect of our project which we've worked on for the past few weeks so uh we've been getting ready for that for uh the past few months now and we're really excited to go and compete with the other teams there no all right I think I think we got him all right you guys want to take a a quick picture watch you guys let's come on let's get real close here guys come on bring it in over on the end your boots you got it all right all right since the children are here would any of the parents like to come on up and let let Erica take a picture first so they can see the parents to jump in the picture with go for it it's like the holidays you got to just hold the smile hold the smile all right parents you want to come up real quick take a picture ER will take it if you want to get with your children or no because you guys were in the proclamation come on come on let's be in a picture with your kids I think it's a great opportunity for them this is once in a lifetime for your children get on in here goad stand next to your kids hey gos all right all right cool congratulations coaches coaches here this is for each of the children yep you got itk okay Mr vulpi would you like to come on up Mr vulpi maybe you can introduce the group as well too so uh before we go into to the to this next SE we're we are segment we are um we're celebrating Black History Month in February and it's a very important month and um Mr vulpi and I had a conversation that we thought it was the best opportunity for uh some children in Hillsboro Township to accept the proclamation for Black History Month and share their experience and we also have Mr Ashley curn as well too who will come up after the children come up but I I think this is a great opportunity for the children to not only public speak but share their experience and and really partake in in this month's festivity so Mr vpy would just like to say anything yes absolutely I'm really proud first of all thank you for constantly recognizing students and children in Hillsboro is very much appreciated and uh one of the things we strive to do in the Hillsboro Township Public Schools is make sure and I see you have some fans in there cheering you on uh make sure that every child is seen every child is known and every child is heard uh regardless as to where that is and one of the things we did in Hillsboro over the course of this past year was at our high school we have a black student union and we have some of those students who are here today who aren't only going to be talking a little bit about Black History Month but a little bit about their lived experience um as a student here in Hillsboro uh they had they said it's just a little bit over five minutes but they've worked really hard on this and um it's uh an honor to be able to present them so as you come up if you could introduce your I know you haven't written you're going to introduce yourselves um but thank you your turn to [Applause] speak good evening esteemed faculty parents and others my name is Jessica glette and I'm the co-founder and president of the Hillsboro High School's black student union I would first like to take the time to thank mayor bring for inviting us to speak in front of tonight's Township committee members for this opportunity to speak about Black History Month as we stand before you today we are filled with an overwhelming sense of Pride and gratitude it is undoubtedly an honor and a step in the right direction to be able to represent the student body at HHS as young black students and on behalf of the black student union the initial vision and efforts of Black History Month were started by the African-American historian Carter G Woodson and the association for the study of African-American life and history in 1926 they established negro history week in schools and communities it aimed to highlight the often overlooked achievements and contributions to society by African-Americans throughout history in 1976 President Ford officially recognized Black History Month and since then it has been celebrated not only by the United States but also by Canada and the United Kingdom Black History Month serves as a reminder about the importance of understanding and appreciating the diverse experiences and perspectives that black Americans offer to society we celebrate our accomplishments and honor The Battered bruised and untasteful history that has brought us to this momentous conversation during Black History Month it is an honor and we are very grateful to have this opportunity to be able to represent the student body at the Hillsboro High School as young black students but also I firmly believe that this is essential it's essential to have student voices being represented in larger conversations and it is essential to acknowledge the traumatic history that this country holds for its citizens and it is essential for your students my peers that they are educated and they educate each other on each other's stories in November of 2022 during me and A's junior year of high school we had decided that it was time for HHS to have a black student union as relatively new members of the Hillsboro Community we were able to recognize the isolating feeling that can come with being one of the few black students in a classroom we learned that this feeling of loneliness and want for a BSU was not only something we felt but also a large member of the black student population felt the same with the help of our advisor Miss Keaton and Miss Brown we got our club up and running by February the delay although not expected was all worth it because at our very first meeting the number of students who came at 7:00 a.m. to support was truly an a beautiful experience our goal for our club was to create a safe space for black students who could look around a room and see people who looked like them it was a way to create connections and unity within the relatively small population of black students here at HHS while also making sure that black students voices could and would be heard now with the help of Miss Williamson we can continue our goal and hopefully our club can can become a vital part of the Hillsboro Community we would now like to take the time and the opportunity to speak about Black History Month and being black in Hillsboro hi my name is Olivia alador and I'm a senior here at the Hillsboro High School growing up in this District in this town I as a student I felt lucky but growing up in this District as a biracial black girl I felt confused and out of place no one in school looked like me or could relate to my struggles which made my struggles feel like they had no value or place to be talked about and in all honesty my whole life I kind of felt in between spaces and kind of just felt like I didn't truly belong colors and shades have played a vital role in my life not artistically but in the melanin of my own skin being biracial meant that I'm exposed to polarizing sides of my family and the cultures that they embraced unapologetically however in school I felt as though I was constantly apologizing for things that I didn't do wrong and I wasn't being so Unapologetic after all being expressive and excited somehow translated to being loud and disruptive having a bad day somehow translated to always having an attitude and being assertive somehow translated to being bossy I felt like people were always waiting for me to mess up so I couldn't give them a reason I live my life by the strict guidelines and regulation that generational trauma has set for black people like me all this to say I'm very grateful that this District Mr Doo Mr vulpi is taking the time energy and has given us the space to express how we feel and I hope that opportunities like this can occur for other marginalized students during this month and also all year round good evening everyone my name is n towns and I'm the co-founder and vice president of the black student union I first would like to further thank everyone for coming out when I was F when I first started attending school in Hillsboro I was in the sixth grade coming from a previously diverse district and a family that Prides itself on how beautiful and amazing it is to be black it was was a culture shock because because of how little black students there were in Hillsboro I quickly had to adapt to my surroundings which at times made me feel isolated and alone I felt I could not relate to many of my peers as well as singled out at times during my second year in Hillsboro in my first year in the middle school I was able to make friends with fellow black students that made all of the unease fall away I felt surrounded by love and support even though it was still difficult to be one of the few black students and still I experienced racism I was no longer alone as the population of black students in Hillsboro grew me and Jess wanted to make sure that students like us had a place they felt heard and comfortable and understood I am so grateful that I was presented with the opportunity to do that black history month for me is a time to look at how influential black lives are in our communities that the same voices that inspire me have also been through similar difficulties their strength and determination to make space for minorities continues to be a pivotal and vital part of our experiences good evening everyone my name is Tindy maluki and I'm the secretary for the black student union at Hillsboro High School I lived in Hillsboro for the first 5 years of my life and then I moved to Kenya in East Africa for the following 5 years I moved back to Hillsboro in the seventh grade and I started to face things that I had never faced before I knew that racism and microaggressions existed however I had never experienced them until I moved here as a pre-teen I was made to question my worth and second guess myself when I moved here I quickly understood why black history month was so vital to the black community it is a time to reflect on all the struggles that black people have faced in this country and acknowledge all the contributions that we have made to society 5 years later here I am being given a voice in front of my Township to shed light on issues that are Community faces even though being black in Hillsboro hasn't always been easy I'm not just here to talk about the negative parts of it I am proud to be a co-leader of Hillsboro's first black student union and it makes me so so happy to be able to create a safe space for other black students to talk about issues that affect our community inside and inside of this of this town even though we still have a long long way to go as a school district and as a community I can confident confidently say that I see steps in the right direction growing up in raway New Jersey I had the privilege of growing up around people people who look just like me and on top of that I got to see them succeed I was in an environment that allowed for me to dream and not be disheartened by my skin color when I moved to Hillsboro I was scared that this confidence that I had built was going to be torn down but on my first day I walked into Mrs Crystal's home room and I locked eyes with the only three black girls in my class these girls were Tindy Rachel and N my heart exploded because I realized I wasn't alone thankfully we all became quick friends throughout that whole day day I searched for any black student I could find and added them to my make a friend list this feeling of belonging is exactly what I was aiming for with this black Su Union being black is something that I take with a great honor I have never wanted to be anything else but black and not just because I'm from rawe or I found black friends in Hillsboro but because the millions of black women and black men who came before me and fought for me to have pride black history month for me is not only recognizing the greats but also the everyday people in my life I want to take my time to thank those people thank you to all my cousins my uncles my aunts my brother niiko my sister Valerie my father sahim and most of all my mother kette lalet who I work every day to make her proud I love you all and thank you Black History Month is not just about looking back it's about recognizing the power within each of us to create change change and leave our Mark or Legacy as our new generation stands on the threshold of the future we must remember that our journey does not end here it is just the beginning thank you for giving us the time and the space to tell our [Applause] story first of all as Mr Mr Coburn comes up name Ashley Coburn comes up um it's it's very uh excuse me I have a tickle in my throat too so if I have to cough I'm sorry but it's a very uh very proud of you guys for being able to come up here sorry I'm standing in front of you uh uh proud of you guys to be able to come up here and and speak how you feel because that's the most important thing is how you feel that's what you do with those feelings and how you grow as into an adult that's really how this works and I think this is a great opportunity for you guys to to to share this with everybody to create awareness and I think that's the only way that we can move forward I I I said I have three little boys I want them to know a world where it doesn't make a difference where you come from you just you operate in a positive way with everybody and that's how we we bring them up so these stories help other people understand that that that that way of life as well too so thank you for doing that all right Mr go I cannot top that but Hillsboro Township New Jersey heck of a place to live right I basically say I don't describe it as one of the best places to live in America I describe it as the most awesome place to live in the entire planet and it's just a testimony of how great this town has been and how great is growing so I'm going to I'm going to start a little bit I won't keep it too long but it's going to be a little history lesson right you never thought you learned some history today but we're going to do a little history it's good so Black History Month began in Chicago during the summer of 1915 when a fellow by the name of Carter G Woodson traveled from Washington DC to participate in a national celebration of the 50th anniversary of black people emancipation and this was sponsored by the state of Illinois thousands upon thousands of African-Americans travel from across the country to see exhibits highlighting the progress of African-American had made since the abolition of slavery now this Woodson guy he was awarded a doctorate in Harvard three years earlier he joined other exhibitors with a black history display and despite being held in the Coliseum which was the site of the 1912 Republican convention an overcrowd an overflow crowd of 6 to 12,000 people waited outside for their turn to view the exhibits inspired by this 3-week celebration Woodson decided to form an organization to promote the scientific study of black history and life before leaving Chicago on September 9th that year he met at the Wabash YMC with a fellow by the name of a Jackson and three others whose name disappear in history and together they form a group called The Association for the study of negro life and history in short ASN LH it is known today as the the association for the study of africanamerican life and history ASA LH the ASN LH though they sponsored a national study for africanamerican in 1926 they set up an a a negro history week in 1926 this group and they chose the second week of February primarily because the second re of February was the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and frit Douglas now you wonder why these two men right well Lincoln he was very instrumental influential in the emancipation of slaves and Douglas a former slave he was a prominent leader in the Abolitionist Nationwide to organize local celebration established history club and host performances Etc in the decades that follow mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly Proclamation recognizing negro history week by the late 1960s thanks in part to the civil rights movement and a growing awareness of black identity NE negro history week evolves into black history month on many college campuses our great president link President Gerald Ford he officially recognized Black History Month in 1976 and in when he made the proclamation he called upon the American public to and I quote seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of black black Americans in every area of endivo throughout our history 40 years after for formally recognized Black History Month President Barack Obama the nation first black president delivered a message of his own from the White House and the White House was a National Monument built by slaves here's what President Obama says he says Black History Month shouldn't be treated as though it is somehow separate from a collective American history are somehow just boil down to a compilation of greatest hits from the March on Washington or from some other sports heers it's about the lived the shared experiences of all African-Americans high and low famous and obscure and how these experiences have shaped and challenged and ultimately strengthened these here United States of America today I'm glad to announce my fellow citizens that black history month it's a time to honor the contribution and Legacies of africanamerican across US history and across the society from activists and civil rights Pioneers such as Harriet toban sour of Truth Marcus Garvey Martin Luther King Jr Malcolm X Rosa Park all the way down to leaders in Hindu industry polit politics science and culture and more since 1976 every American president has designated February as black his Mon and this year is no different and every year they have an Endor theme this year the theme is African-Americans and the Arts and this explored the key influence African-Americans had had in the fields of Visual and Performing Hearts literature fashion folklore language film music music architecture culinary and other form of cultural expression I'm truly honored fellow citizens to be here this today standing with these young people the Next Generation because this month it's not a black white blue purple month it's an American month that's what we are made of different people doing different things and coming together as one nation and moving forward and I just want to thank the mayor and I want to thank this committee and just thank them for continuing the tradition and I'm proud to say that in my 26 years as a resident of Hillsboro I can see that our Township continues to work towards becoming a totally inclusive community wherein all people are respected and all people are recognized for their contributions and their potential contribution to this great Community this great state this great country and this great planet and I'm the delighted fellow citizens to be a member of this Hillsboro Township Village a place that is proud to honor the history and contributions of African-Americans in our community thank you for your patience all right so now I'm going to right would you like to hold on to this while I read I'm going to read the I'm going to read the official Proclamation we'll take our pictures and we'll get to the next Proclamation so during Black History Month we celebrate the many achievements and vast contributions of African-Americans to the economic spiritual political and cultural development of both our nation and to our community the 2024 theme is African-Americans and the Arts and explores how African-Americans have resisted uh uh resist a historic and ongoing oppression in all forms and celebrates the V uh varied history and life of African-American arts and Artisans through the digital literary Visual and Performing Arts Hillsboro Township continues to work towards becoming a more inclusive community where wherein all people are respected and recognized for their contributions and potential contributions to our community State country and our world now therefore be Proclaim that we the mayor and Hillsboro Township committee do hereby recognize February as Black History Month urge all residents to recognize the contributions made by members of the African-American community and to actively promote the Pres the principles of equality and Liberty thank you very much thank you and I think uh Mr Coburn did a very nice job but we the children did a great job of representing themselves tonight right so very good [Applause] job and then parents I know what we we we'll get moving in a moment on timing but I think the parents should be in this picture as well to after parents and family anybody want to come in and take a picture with their children come on in pops you want to come in come on come on nobody want you oh let's do Erica first Erica first or official it's the official all right come on in families stand with your children kiddos come on in oh come on come on come on get get where your sisters come on there you go thank you thank for right man data man data ah we have a Boy Scout all right all right you're on your own right now pal all right we go all falling apart just hold this tight for me there you go all right all right so Manu data a Somerset County Vocational Technical High Schools junr and member of Boy Scout Troop 1776 has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout that's a high one good for you good for you man Manu Eagle Scout project consisted of creating six convertible benches to be placed around the uh Chim Chima Ram ramdut Hindu spiritual and Cultural Center Center in Branchburg for the people to sit wait and eat the project involved much-needed Landscaping over 180 hours to complete with the assistance of 15 Scouts and 17 adults Manu served as troop guide for activities and assistant senior patrol leader for programming is the founder and president of the Somerset County vocational technical Debate Club and the president of Hillsboro High School Debate Club you're going to be a lawyer or something like that right there you go Manu had been act you could talk to him in a little while um Manu had been an active member of the Chim mission for 10 years through uh through which he has volunteered now therefore be a Proclaim that we the mayor and Hillsboro Township committee do hereby recognize and extend our sincere congratulations to Manu data for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and honor for both himself and for those who guided him with the best wishes for a bright future congratulations young men you want to say anything or no yeah uh I I just like to say I'm very proud and thankful for the troop 1776 and their assistance in my achieving the rank of Eagle Scout uh it's something I absolutely could not do without them uh they've helped me every step of the way scouting is a is a great organization I think they've done a lot for the community very good stay here we take a picture parents you want to come take a picture of him Erica you want to take a picture the official picture mom and grandma grandpa you want to come too I see you guys come on up come on up you guys can surround him go ahead stand on congratulations like to invite um Commander Mike oh commander commander commander Mike yes they please please join the picture oh they want a picture of Commander Mike and vibu viu please come ah tried to get away with it and he's got a Metallica sweatshirt on good for you man the new stuff who all right all right you I like it I like so close right good [Applause] job all right so we're going to take a uh we're going to take a two minute two-minute break to allow the families to step out and and while we can conduct the rest of the business and thank you very much for being here this evening congratulations to everybody thank you you're [Applause] welcome question okay okay okay all right we are back um okay so we just finished with our our our proclamations we're going to move on to our consent agenda uh items 1 through 30 okay let's see here uh okay do we want to take all these in order we could take these all in order no you just say does anybody want to take anything separ does anyone want to take any of these items separately no no we'll make a motion to nope all right so then can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items 1 through 30 so moved second very good comments from the deis Anthony first thank you thank you mayor I have uh quite a few this evening um as we have on the agenda one through 11 or I should actually say 12 uh we are not going to go through each one but I do want to mention some because some of the my new employees are here and uh also the supervisors as well so uh first I just wanted to uh recognize Scott Williamson as a promotion uh to our subcode official in the building department as a as a position of electrical subcode official um also who with us this evening uh Julianne galupo for the position of Outreach support specialist with the economic business development office and suzan is here uh the ebdc director as well so thank thank you for being here and welcome um also Glenn d'angeles uh moving to assistant supervisor in uh Public Works um as a promotion um next um we have Jacqueline de ambroso for starting as part-time uh violations technicians which he has started in missal court office so want to welcome um Jacqueline also with us this evening want to recognize and welcome um Jennifer Roberts Jennifer uh Roberts to the position of part-time office assistant in Social Services Department so welcome as well um moving to we do have a couple new uh title changes I'm not going to mention that even though Susanna is here this evening within correct title change as uh The Economic and Business Development and sustainable director so welcome to your appropriate correct title um next sitting next to her is um is Marcy mclin uh it's going from zoning official to our assistant director of Planning and Zoning um so congratulations on your promotion Marcy well deserved um do have another title change I'm going to move to um Alicia noon who um couldn't be here this evening but we'll hoping at the next meeting uh she is uh moving on to our CFO for the township of Hillsboro we're very happy uh to have a as our CFO she's done a tremendous job um also consideration number 11 uh Frank too uh our Municipal Court Judge uh being reappointed in hillsbor Montgomery and Branchburg very happy to have him again as our judge uh not only judge s but the entire court system just does a tremendous job uh for Hillsboro Township in the Visage and uh last but certainly not least our Employee of the Month also promotion Christina Rocco from the health department um the position of secretary deputy registar and also the um office administrator so uh congratulations Christine and always smiling always in a great mood so I don't computer's all in the way here so very happy that uh we have uh two new employees joining us which are going to be tremendous as well as the promotions here today and as I say as we're always up here're very happy with the succession planning that we do and the amount of training here in Hillsboro and we're able to promote within and having great people uh and great employees so uh thank you again you're not starting tomorrow so we won't let you to leave too early uh but uh thank you for considering the new employees and the promotions here committee thanks thank you Mr far I greate too you do great job with our employees any comments from the floor all right seeing none roll call please committee woman hand yes committee the pon yes committee woman congratulations to all of you and yes deputy mayor tarelli uh yes and likewise welcome and congratulations mayor bring absolutely yes welcome thanks for being here okay we're going to move to our public hearings so the first is 20241 ordinance to amend an ordinance entitled salary range ordinance setting forth the salary ranges for the classifications set forth in said ordinance may I have a motion to open the public hearing to on ordinance 2024 d01 noted I think he won that one you want a second that I'll second okay okay all in favor I I any opposed okay is there any discussion from the de comments from the floor seeing none all right uh may I have a motion to close the public hearing and adopt ordinance 2024 d01 motion to close and adopt and adopt second okay roll call please committee woman hand yes committee the pon yes committee woman pay yes Deputy Mayor Chelli yes mayor Bing yes all right uh uh ordinance uh 202 24-02 an ordinance amending section 1888-89 p uh 2 of the code of Hillsboro Township titles sign Review Committee membership may I have a motion to open in the public hearing on ordinance 2024 d02 so move may have a second second all in favor I I anyone opposed is there any discussion from the deas any comments from the floor may have a motion to close the public hearing and adopt ordinance 202 24-02 so moved all right second second all right uh roll call please committee hand yes committee leani yep committee woman Payne yes Deputy Mayor Elli yes mayor Bing yes uh so introduction new ordinances there are none this evening so we'll move to claims list may I have a motion to approve claims list 2024-the committee woman hand yes committee leani yes committee woman Payne yes Deputy Mayor tarelli yes mayor bring yes yes all right new business there is none this evening so public comments for matters not on the agenda um pleas Miss break please read the statement regarding public comment the township committee welcomes input from the public please state your name and address and please spell your name for the record you will be given one three minute allotment for your comments please understand that this public forum is not forum is not structured as a question and answer session comments are to be addressed to the mayor again please keep your comments to three minutes thank you okay any comments from the floor okay all right adjournment so may I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn a second second roll call committee woman hand yes committee the py yep committee woman pain yes Deputy Mayor chck relli yes mayor [Music] bring yes doesn't matter it doesn't matter what yes yeah it doesn't matter what I say it is 9:40 p.m. we are done have a great night everybody 8:40 8:40 8:40 p.m. I'll do it again sorry I'm looking at the 98 [Music] sorry