[Music] good evening and welcome today is January 2nd and the time is 5:01 p.m. and as how Town excuse me and as how Township's municipal clerk are hereby call as reorganization meeting of the H Township Council to order the opening statement the statement is being held in accordance with public law 1975 chapter 23 1 open public meetings act adequate notice has been provided by placing the notice of this meeting to the Asbury Park Press and the Star Ledger for the December 15 2023 publication this agenda is complete to the extent known and formal action will be taken I'll begin with a r call councilwoman Fisher here sure here councilman Nal here councilwoman odonnell present and mayor Burger is absent this evening we will begin with the presentation of Colors by the Howell Township Police onor guard if I can ask everyone to please rise for the pillage of Allegiance with a moment of silence for all our First Responders I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you you could be seated if you could please rise for the national anthem I apologize it's okay [Music] [Applause] [Applause] STS the we watch G streaming [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the of Thee the of [Applause] [Music] the thank you you could be seated we we will continue with an invocation by Pastor Mark Nigro good evening so good to see a great turnout we I'm a resident of how myself and our church is located here in Hal uh Cornerstone Church and it's really an honor uh to be asked to open this meeting and prayer tonight um we love our how Township Administration we love the police department uh all the uh workers at the fire department everyone who serves our community uh we have actually several who attend our church from the how police department and um they're near and dear to our heart so it's great to see you guys here tonight we love you we do pray for you it's not just tonight uh we pray for the leadership of how Township and so again it's an honor uh to be able to do this tonight I just want to share before I pray uh two things that the Bible tells us uh one is that all authority all governing authorities are put in power by God and it's an honor to be in that position so uh I encourage all of you to fulfill your positions well do it heartily unto God and unto the community and we're also exhorted as Christians to pray for those in Authority so that is why we do that as well and um tonight we're going to fulfill that so if you would bow your your heads and your hearts with me in prayer well Father in heaven we are so thankful for your faithfulness to us Lord you make the sun rise each day you provide for us Faithfully Lord wek we're thankful to live in a place where we have such great freedom and such Mutual care in the community one for another Lord I just thank you for all the leadership represented here tonight the police department our judge the township Administration residents of the of of how who care enough to come out and be here tonight pray Lord that you would give our leaders wisdom give them strength to fulfill their duties well give them wisdom and discernment give them courage Lord when leading is difficult ult and Leadership is difficult we pray for safety Lord Upon Our Police Department our firemen and women Lord who serve uh with such great care and sincerity keep them Lord by your grace and in your grace and would you just now lead us and go before us and the rest of this evening be glorified Lord even in that town of of how and through this Administration may your good and perfect will and purposes be done touch many hearts Lord May many come to know you as the true and living God and we ask it all in Jesus name amen amen amen God bless you we will continue with Chief John staro who will provide a bio on all of the candidates good evening everyone thank you for coming out tonight uh I think we would agree that it's probably the safest place to be right now and how Township is here so there's nothing to worry about what I'm going to do tonight is I'm going to be uh helping uh swear in I'm going to read the bios of the new police officers that we've hired uh recently and for a bunch of the promotions that we've made over the last year or so uh so bear with me this is going to there's about 20 of us so we're going to do this in two groups first I'm going to call up all the new hires and the two c2s come on up I want you guys to stand behind me here in a [Applause] line as I call your name just raise your hand so the public knows who I'm speaking about and I'm going to start with Charles Kramer the 4th Charles grew up in Manchester New Jersey however his grandparents have lived in Howell for over 60 years he attended Ocean County College where he graduated with an associates degree in Business he also graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy he worked for the Seaside Heights Police Department as a special law enforcement officer one also known as a SLO one and a special law enforcement officer 2 also known as a sleo 2 in a short time at chip Bottom Police Department as uh also as a SLO too welcome Charles Dylan Simeon Dylan Simeon lives in Bayville New Jersey he graduated Ocean County College with an Associates to Grand business he began his police career in 2021 as a slo1 officer for Seaside Heights Police Department he attended the ocean count attended the Ocean County Police Academy and graduated in February of 2023 welcome Dylan where'd you go there you are they all look the same to me up here I Alex peltzman Alex is a graduate of the Camden County Police Academy Alex comes to the how Township Police Department from the New Jersey state Human Services police he was born and raised in Howell Township alongside his two brothers making his way through the how Township school system before going on and earning his bachelor's degree and from Stockton University upon graduating from Stockton Alex worked briefly in the private sector before pursuing his law enforcement career Alex comes to how with great ambition and pride to serve the community he has had the opportunity to call home welcome Alex Dan aquaro Dan joined the how Police Department in October of 2023 he came to us from the Handover Township Police Department in Mars County where he was a full-time police officer for three and a half years Dan grew up in Howell and is excited to return and serve in his hometown we look forward to working with you Dan Maurice Jackson Maurice is a graduate from Jackson Memorial High School he continued his education at East straussburg University where he graduated with a degree in criminal justice in his pursuit to becoming a police officer he completed his training at Ocean County Police Academy in 2021 and served as a campus police officer for two years at Kane University he is very excited to continue his career as a police officer for the how Township Police Department Officer Jerry Perez Jerry obtained his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Stockton University shortly after Jerry joined a peman Township Police Department where he was a patrolman for two and a half years before joining the all Township Police Department during his time in pton Jerry quickly obtained certifications in Crash one Advanced crash and crash reconstruction courses among other certifications Jerry was a member of the pton township traffic safety unit during his time there he is looking forward to serving the community to the fullest extent and eager to help the how Township Police Department and the community it serves welcome Jerry officer Eric Lee Eric is a lifelong how resident upon graduating from Colt snck High School Eric entered the Marine Corps Reserves where he is still currently serving as an infantry team leader Eric was also able to obtain an associates degree in criminal justice from Brookdale Community College Eric started his law enforcement Journey with the belmare police department in 2021 as a special police officer in the fall of 2022 Eric happily took the opportunity to join the how Police Department as a slo2 officer Eric states that he is honored and eager to serve the community of Howell as a Howell Township police officer officer Joseph Piper Joseph was born and raised in Brick Township he graduated from brick memorial high school in 2014 where he then committed to erlam college in Indiana to further his studies and play collegate baseball after two years he then transferred to Stockton University in Galloway where he ultimately graduated with his bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in management and finished his collegate baseball career he attended the Camden County Academy in 20122 uh where he became a squad leader and was awarded the administrator Robert D melson award after that he was hired by the Medford Township Police Department in December of 2022 and since October of 2023 he is now a proud member of the Howell Township Police Department Officer Michael devona Mike attended Jackson Memorial High School and graduated in 2011 from there he attended Ocean County College where he received an associates degree in Sciences in 2014 in 2017 he attended New Jersey Department of Corrections Academy class to 4 I in seagar to become a correctional police officer he worked in the New Jersey Department of Corrections from 2017 to 2021 at Albert C Wagner and Garden State youth correctional facilities he graduated from Mercer County Police Academy and in 2021 was hired as police officer of New Jersey Transit Police he served as a police officer with them from 2021 to 2023 um officer Brianna romise Briana graduated from mammed County Police Academy she spent her her entire life as a resident of how Township and currently still resides in the township she has an Associates Degree in Psychology from Brookdale Community College and is currently a student at Ruckers University working towards her bachelor's degree prior to becoming a patrol officer for how Township Brianna was a lieutenant for the Howell Cadets program she was also a slo1 officer and a SLO 2 officer for the how Township Police Department so she's homegrown uh now for the slo2 officers that we've just hired Thomas Matthew Jr slo2 Thomas Matthew Jr was born and raised in Howell has an associates degree from Brookdale Community College Tom worked as a sleo two with the manisan police department for five months prior to beginning his career with the how Township Police Department welcome Thomas slo2 officer Chan L Reed leo2 Reed is a lifelong resident of how Township and was hired by the H Township Police Department as an EMT he then became a sleo one with the how PD and later a sleo 2 he recently graduated the mammoth County Police Academy in December 2023 where he won the prestigious merit award he was also the class leader for the entire Academy class officer Reed holds an associates degree in criminal justice from Southern New Hampshire University Welcome All what we're going to do now with the help of the judge is we're going to swear them all in as a group if you guys want to family and friends want to come up and be with them for the swearing in you guys need to spread out maybe head down that way head down that way a little bit Chandler spread out so your families can be with you in a group as you get sworn in by the judge after their sworn in we're going to go to the promotions all right everyone come on up be with your um your kids your spouses join us this is a wonderful opportunity family event just come on up we'll take some time wonderful to see everybody here on such a great night anyone else come on up that's great see this is what we have we have not just one but we have the whole family together which is wonderful all right are we ready want to come on up come come on up all right looks like we're ready I state your name do solemnly swear swear or affirm or affirm that I'll Faithfully I faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of an officer either a c CEO one or SLO 2 or full-time patrolman or woman I will agree to do that correct all right to the best of my ability best of my ability and I'll support the Constitution I support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith our true faith and allegiance to the same and aliance to the same and to the governments established to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God God congratulations [Applause] all right that works open a lot a lot you need some water yeah yeah I agree okay yeah you guys all set just hang off to the side because the guys get PR you don't want to be I have been sick for like a month [Music] how are you guys Happy New Year happy New Year oh look at this I like this happy New Year okay moving right along the gentlemen you see standing behind me are are all supervisors they're either sergeants lieutenants or Captain and I'm going to be reading their bios back to back like before and once we get done with them we're going to swear them all in as a group again so we can move things along for the evening as I call your name raise your hand so the public knows who I'm speaking about uh Sergeant Nick Austin Nick is currently in his 10th year as a h Township police officer prior to his employment with how Township he was a class one special officer with Spring Lake for four years a SLO 2 officer with manisan for two years and a full-time officer in Camden City for 15 months he has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Ruckers University he grew up in how Township and has lived in town for 35 years he served as a volunteer firefighter with Souther fire department for seven years and in 2018 he became a field training officer in 2021 he was assigned to rotating position in the detective Bureau and he's received numerous commendations including life-saving Awards during his employment as a how police officer congratulations nick uh Sergeant Ed homc raise your hand where are you hiding behind me okay Ed is currently in his ninth year with the how Township Police Department prior to his employment with Howell he was a special two police officer and he graduated the police academy in 2013 he has an associates degree from Ocean County College and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Rowan University during his time at Howell he's worked in both Patrol and detective divisions he spent two years on loan to the mammoth County prosecutor's office narcotic Strike Force and he was also a field training officer since 2018 and received mult multiple Awards regarding narcotics investigations and life-saving incidents he is currently a Firearms instructor and in the process of being a defensive tactics instructor congratulations that Sergeant Vincent campola Vinnie is currently in his 10th year with the H Township Police Department prior to his employment he was employed with the seagar police department as a special law enforcement officer Vinnie graduated from the mammoth County Police Academy in 2013 began his career in in Howell Township in 2014 he graduated from Brookdale Community College with an associates degree in criminal justice during his tenure with the how Police Department Vinnie has worked majority of his career in the Patrol Division and was a detective in crime suppression unit for one year Vinnie was a field training officer and an adviser to the how Cadets program he was recognized in 2016 by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving foundation for his proactive efforts in apprehending impaired drivers and is also a two-time recipient of the life saving award congratulations Vin Sergeant Matt Lawler Matt is currently in his 10th year with the AL Township Police Department he currently holds an associates of science degree from moan County College prior to starting his career with Howell he graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy and was employed with the Seaside Park Police Department as a Le 1 and a SLO 2 Matt is a certified field training officer firearms and Patrol rifle instructor rapid response to active shooter instructor and a defensive tactive instructor he is currently the Department's only certified drug recognition expert he's attended basic SWAT school and graduated from the FBI's basic sniper School Matt has received St that Mike Matt has served on the mammoth County SWAT team as a sniper for three years he is also a six-time recipient of of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving award for his proactive Patrol efforts against impaired drivers he was also awarded the Kimberly Smith am DUI award in 2017 and was awarded a life- saving award in 2019 congratulations Matt nice job on to the lieutenants starting with Lieutenant David LaVine uh you got a fan out there I said it's very nice uh Dave LaVine began his pursuit of a law enforcement career when he became a h police explorer or Cadet in his teenage years he is graduate of how high school and attended Dy Institute where he earned an electrical engineering degree followed by Liberty University where he earned a degree government and pre-law Dave was hired in 2003 as one of the original how police EMS unit EMT class one officers before being hired in how Township full-time they've served as a dispatcher and the slo1 police officer in the Bradley Beach police department and as a sleo 2 police officer in the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department they was hired as a full-time how police officer in 2005 he served in the Patrol Division and services division before being promoted to Sergeant in 2018 Dave served as a patrol supervisor before being reassigned in 2020 to supervise the 911 Communication Center during that time Dave was tasked with co-designing and supervising the police department's Technical Services Bureau due to the increasing dependence on technology and law enforcement a few of Dave's notable accomplishments throughout his career are he became one of the Department's first drug recognition experts which is the challenging program only a small percentage of officers get to complete he was recruited as a member of the mammoth County Emergency Response Team for the purpose of creating a technical unit they've served there for eight years and became the first team leader of the technical unit which included the EOD robot throw phone Communications drones pole cameras along with other intelligence technology Dave received the officer of the year award in 2018 for his dedication to the department and Township residents lastly during his career Dave was has received a meritorious Class A award for confronting a murder suspect armed with a handgun just before the suspect took his own life he has received two life-saving awards for CPR saves two unit citations and an honorable service award theyve attribut his success to all of the great co-workers mentors and supervisors he's had over the years his amazing family and most of all his faith in Jesus Christ amen nice job Dave Lieutenant Christian Antunez Christian has been a resident of foul for 34 years he holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Montclair State University he started his career as a parking enforcement officer and then SLA W in Seaside Heights so if you got a ticket at the boardwalk there it's probably this guy he was hired by the how PD in January 2005 he spent eight years of his career as a detective and a detective Sergeant he speaks fluent Spanish and he was the how police public information officer and also served as the biased crimes officer he is a graduate of the New Jersey State Association of chiefs of police command and Leadership Academy and some of his Awards include several life-saving and unit citation Awards congratulations [Applause] Christian getting there last but not least Captain Paul mazio Paul has served the township of how since the age of 18 when he joined the Freewood Acres volunteer fire department in 1996 he transferred to the southern volunteer fire department then obtained the career firefighter EMT position with them in 1997 Paul is a task force leader with New Jersey Task Force One FEMA Urban search and rescue team and has deployed to numerous disasters throughout the country prior to becoming a task force leader he has served as a rescue manager Rescue Squad officer rescue specialist with New Jersey Task Force One uh Paul is also certified lead instructor for the FEMA structural collapse specialist program Paul's a graduate of FEMA National Emergency Management Advanced the Academy and holds certifications in infrastructure protection infrastructure disaster management uh he also holds the train and trainer certifications the various emergency responses and Incident Management courses there's more page two Paul is also the chief of the L lauralton fire department and team leader of the Brick Township technical Rescue Team Paul holds Advanced certifications in firefighting hazardous material response and rescue operations as well as leadership training and management Paul joined the H Township Police dep Department in 2002 after initially serving as a career firefighter with Southern Fire Department in 1997 Paul has worked in Patrol the detective Bureau and the Community Services Unit within the police department he was promoted to Sergeant in 2015 and in 2017 supervised our school resource officers traffic safety unit and our then newly formed class 3 police officer program in 2022 Paul was promoted to Lieutenant where he was assigned as the internal affairs Commander Paul is also the Department's Municipal counterterrorism coordinator Paul has received many Department Awards and also holds a masters of administration from Fairley Dickinson University in his new role as Captain he will once again over be overseeing the school resource officer unit traffic safety class 3s and sl3s as well as professional development group or am and how police EMS unit Paul is here today with his wife Lorraine son Paul and daughter anley congratulations [Applause] Paul there's one more for guy walks into a bar and he says uh just kidding kind of F I didn't think I have all right with the help of the judge come on up to swear in these new newly promoted supervisors you guys want to bring your families up spread out have the families come up this is a family affair everybody come on up we're having a party come on up I just want to say Lieutenant Pete Haw cower is an awesome guy yeah he's awesome it's all right excitement is a good thing right now all right everybody you ready ready raise your right hand I I state your name do solemnly swear or affirm swear or affirm that I will Faithfully I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform the duties of and justly perform the duties of the office of the office of fill in the blank to the best of my ability to the best of my ability that I'll support the Constitution I'll support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the United States and of the state of New Jersey and then I'll bear true faith and allegiance to the same true faith and aliance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this State and State under the authority of the people so help me God under the authority of the people so help me God [Applause] [Applause] congratulations congratulations Ina get in right there you go = [Music] [Applause] 2 do you know I don't [Music] think don't see congratulations yeah you keep all your Qui the flag oh no he yep yep one oh thank you we'll now continue may I have a nomination for Deputy Mayor I'd like to place the name of an nadell for Deputy Mayor second thank you councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes thank you deputy mayor nadell [Music] with the remarks by Deputy Mayor Nate D no we'll we'll do it right I uh we're looking for Ian's family Ian Nell's Family come on up if I may just take a minute and I wish you all a Happy uh New Year my name is Sheriff golden long life resident here in Mammoth County I want to congratulate uh the police chief uh and all his officers and all the Command Staff for being sworn in and thank them for their service to how town ship as a h resident I am damn proud uh of our Police Department our uh fire our fire departments and our EMS professionals and volunteers they all make it happen here in how so thank you Chief appreciate it uh if I may I also on also want to freeze freeze all right hold on on okay it's back uh just before uh I have the honor to issue the oath of office to Ian nadell as Deputy Mayor I do want to thank the council for all of their dedication and I see some former Council what councilwoman Pam Richmond in the house and I saw former councilman robod mccastro in the house we really do have special leadership here in Howell Township so with that I know the deputy mayor is going to do a tremendous job and we'll get you sworn good left hand on the Bible raise your right hand I Nell I do solemnly swear or affirm affirm that I will Faithfully I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform justly perform all the duties of the office all the duties of the office of Deputy Mayor mayor to the best of my ability best of my ability and that I will support the Constitution of the United States I support the consti ofit and the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same Al and to the governments and to the government established in the United States established in the united St and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people so help me God congratulations deputy mayor [Applause] just want to start off by wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year for 2024 I'd like to thank Sheriff Sean golden for making the time to be here and swearing me in with the oath of office as a retired member of law enforcement I believe that it's important to show where Howell Township stands on Law and Order having the county sheriff's wory in shows that in Howell the residents and your local elected officials fully support our police officers we see in other parts of the state and guidance and guidelines coming from the state level that frown upon police officers going out on the streets and doing their jobs in the township of Powell we wholeheartedly disagree with any hindering of police officers doing their jobs and expect that our how police officers fully enforce the rule of law in our town and we expect that they have the support to do the tough job that is police work I would also like to thank Evelyn odonnell for nominating me for Deputy Mayor as the senior member of council Evelyn has been there for councilman gager councilwoman fiser and myself since we were sworn into office a year ago we value her experience and her desire to help all of us as we got accustomed to our new roles as elected officials in my new role as Deputy Mayor I'm sure I will have questions and I know that Evelyn will always be there for me with her guidance so Fred and Sue I want to express my appreciation for being such great teammates and making it easy to get the work done on the council from the time we were sworn in last year we came out at Full Steam continuing to keep Howell a great place to live and improving areas that needed fixing from updating zoning in our master plan having an open space referendum placed on the boutot and successfully passing to cracking down on illegal rentals we were always moving forward and looking forward to preserve the quality of life that we know and love I'm looking forward to my new role this year as Deputy Mayor and we will all continue working hard for our residents and our community finally I would just like to tell my wife Jess and my boys Logan and Chase thank you for the support at home and I love you thank [Applause] you [Applause] want I a break right uh [Music] Chang their mind okay I'm ready I don't I they want to take pictures pict all right no [Applause] break I would now like to open the floor for the hearing of citizens and public comments each person shall first give their name and address to the clerk the council should be addressed as a collective body and not as individual members each person shall have one turn to address the council and comments shall not exceed a total of five minutes speakers shall be notified when they're name when their time has run and no time extension shall be permitted is there any member of the public would like to come up and speak seeing none do I have a motion to close public session motion to close public second all in favor I thank you uh now like to open up the floor for Council Members remarks councilman [Applause] gager good evening everyone uh just want to say a couple of words as I say here looking out here tonight uh I want to keep this as short as possible but all of a sudden I realize I better jot a couple of things down and say a few things to make sure I'm thanking everyone F first off I'd like to congratulate all the uh new promotions and the new police officers and I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year secondly it's been a busy year for us it's been a year of learning education and experience I want to I want to say I have I have enjoyed this year mostly working with my fellow council members we work together and we're friends um I would like to thank our Administration particularly our manager our assistant manager our department heads all of our professionals support staff especially the clerk's office special thanks to all of our First Responders particularly our police fire first aid EMS OEM and all the volunteers lastly we have your back we hear the good we hear the bad we will act accordingly to do what we think is what we consider to be best for the town thank you councilwoman odonnell thank you uh firstly I would I think we all know what we've done in the past year we're very proud of those things uh along with thanking everyone has been done many many times I I would also like to thank all of the volunteers through the past many years and especially this year who volunteered their time selfish uh very unselfishly many long meetings uh not only with the different committees that they serve but Administration taking time away from their families day and night to make sure that all of the uh jobs that need to get done in this town are fulfilled so I realize how much time you spend and as a council we're very grateful for that as well I would like to just share a couple of things for what I look for in this coming year one of them being we have already started uh on our budget in 20123 I sat through two days of different budget hearings with department heads and our manager uh listening to some of the uh formidable things that uh could be included uh and things that they would like to generate and things things to do so we are taking a very hard look at our budget in the ensuing year to ensure that we come to a very clean budget uh if we could make a flat budget I guarantee you that would be the case we are very very cognitive of money spent and I can assure you that every penny is looked at um very very closely uh secondly another initiative that's very near and dear to my heart I've spoken in the past with manager Mayfield manager gagan and now um uh manager Joe Clark and I have talked at length about veteran homes in Howell Township so I'm hoping that by the end of the year we have a shovel in the ground at some place in how Township designated for veteran homes uh as it's a most important and in my opinion a very overlooked issue uh not just in h Statewide federally speaking there's a couple of huge organizations like tunnels to towers that does amazing things now they're generating apartment buildings for veterans and I realize that the country has a lot of homeless but I will say that I feel it's an opportunity for us to step forward and to show appreciation to those veterans um that have been here decades ago a year ago today and those veterans that'll be coming out shortly No Greater Love would a soldier have than to lay down his life for us and that happens more often than we care to remember so I'm very confident we're going to be able to move ahead I'm very happy that the council also shares those goals so I look forward to the ensuing year thank you Council fer yes um I too would like to thank former deputy mayor uh odonnell for all her guidance and wisdom and her experience I want to congratulate our new deputy mayor uh Ian Nell uh I'd really like to thank all the people to my right um including best clerk ever our Township manager and Mr Howard our Deputy manager attorney Caitlyn um Lou Palazo uh some of the employees we got to meet Allison G Allison Sani uh Michelle in the tax collector's office um just people that otherwise you know the average resident wouldn't get to meet if they don't come to to uh to town hall very grateful for this team um if I didn't have a job I'd want to work here um the lot of work by the way they they lied to us when they told us what what this position would entail but working with these people has been uh has been fun a lot of work but it's been it's just been you've made it so easy for us and I thank you for your patience and dealing at least with me I can't speak for them but definitely your patience dealing with me um just looking back real quick a couple things that um we got done as a council but also with our community and hearing the res residents come up our fellow residents our neighbors and our friends um part of our commitment to keeping how safe you saw tonight we hired more police um we have a very good-looking police force I think here in how um it was one it was our number one priority to keep how safe and I I think we're on the right track with that to deal with the quality of life and enforcement issues across the township we hired two new employees in Code Enforcement um I know we're we're looking forward to hire a few more next year this year we want to keep our neighborhood the way they are quality of life across Howell with more good ordinances to come um an initiative I know former uh Deputy Mayor odonnell it was important to her and we got it the voters passed it overwhelmingly in how for the open space fund um we preserved another 26 Acre Farm um I'm also very pleased with our purchase of the Cornerstone property that again adds space to our town we promised to improve and expand parks and recreational amenities we did so uh the kayak pads at echol Lake and Sparrow Lake the amenities at dearwood Park the lighting at Soldier Memorial um and I want to do a shout out to to Paul noello and the DPW we have a great DPW DPW in Hall so thank you to Paul and his crew um and these quality of life improvements are just the beginning there's more to come and in spite of massive increases and cost kind of dumped on us by Trenton we took responsible steps to avoid layoffs and not a single uh service was cut it was our first budget we worked very hard on it obviously for us in 2023 there was a lot of listening and learning the three of us were new new to office I learned more about what it takes to do the job to work with my fellow Council mates to listen and understand the needs of how residents I also realized how the policies that come out of Trenton in Washington really do impact us here locally and while disappointed with most of them what most what comes out of both those places I am grateful for what we have here in Howell so I've kind of discovered gratitude and I'm very grateful for what we have at our local level um and we're going to try to try to do our best to keep it that way at a at least at a local level and protecting our town from these harmful policies that really hurt the middle class in towns like ours um last but not least I'd like to thank again our great Township employees who work hard every day um I want to thank the police department I definitely I think we all agree we feel safe and how um our fire companies for protecting us the EMS first aid squad for their constant service to Howell and all the volunteers on our boards and committees I see a few I see that Jerry I see a few of you out there thank you so much for your hard work to to make how will better place your volunteers um they volunteers they they were their time and commitment we're we're grateful for your service and um looking forward to just keep going this year thank you so much thank you do our professionals have anything to report tonight no we'll keep it light for tonight so move on to the council appointments of professionals resolution 24-1 affordable housing administrator I have a motion for appointment M I'd like to make a motion to Appo cgp and H to house affordable housing administrator second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-2 affordable housing attorney have a motion for appointment I'd like to appoint for affordable housing attorney pashman Stein balen Hayden second councilwoman Fisher yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-3 affordable housing planner we have a motion for the appointment I'll make a motion I'm sorry for affordable housing planner Leon es avakian second councilwoman Fisher yes councilman gaser yes councilman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-4 architectural services may have a motion for appointment motion to appoint Neta Architects LLC second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-5 auditor may have a motion for appointment i' like to make a motion to nominate homman frenia Allison PC for auditor second councilman fiser yes councilman gazer yes yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-6 Bond councel I'd like to nominate for Bond Council uh Dilworth Paxton El second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-7 Consulting engineer I move I move to appoint bar Engineering cmy Associates Colliers engineering French and Parell Morgan engineering Nigerian Associates and tnm Associates second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman o yes Deputy Mayor yes resolution 24-8 continuing disclosure compliance I have a motion for appointment I'd like to make a motion for Newman Financial Group second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gaser yes councilwoman oon yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes thank you resolution 24-9 dental insurance broker may have a motion I'd like to nominate dental insurance broker for Brown and Brown Metro second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-10 Financial advisory Services may have a motion motion to appoint NW Financial Group second councilwoman Fisher yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor yes resolution 24-11 grants consultant like I'm sorry call your um engineering please second second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-12 labor attorney I'd like to nominate our labor attorneys Cleary jacobe alferi and Jacobs Dy Murphy mcgucken UI and Connors Rothstein m stom hm and cypriani second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-13 licensed tree expert I have a motion I'd like to nominate uh CME Associates second councilwoman fiser yes councilman Nate I'm Excuse me gager yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes and Deputy Mayor Nel yes resolution 24-4 municip municipal prosecutor you have a motion I'd like to nominate Sean Keen of clear jacobe alery and Jacobs second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-15 Municipal public defender I have a motion move to appoint Ray Rea Esquire second councilwoman Fisher yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-16 real estate appraiser may have a motion I'd like to make make a motion to appoint soer reality Services Group Incorporated Sterling Danto and associat as our real estate appraisers second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes resolution 24-17 Risk Management Consultant may have a motion I'll make a motion for Brown and Brown Metro have a second second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-18 special counsel may have a motion move to appoint Dy and stiger dasty Murphy mcgucken UI and Connors weer Law Group clear Jacobi F and Jacobs Dorth Paxton rostin Mandel Strom H and cypriani pashman Stein Walder and Hayden second councilman fiser yes councilman gayer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-19 tax appeal Appraisal Services may I have a motion I'd like to make a motion to appoint Soca realy Services Group Incorporated Sterling D Santo and Associate has our tax appeal appraisal service second Council woman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes Pres resolution 24-20 tax appeal attorney may have a motion I'll make a motion for Clear jacobe alfery Jacobs second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gazer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-21 tax forclosure attorney may have a motion move to appoint Dy Murphy McGuckin UI and Connors second councilman Fisher yes councilman gaser yes councilwoman o'donell yes Stan mayor Nell yes thank you resolution 24-22 title search services like to make a motion to appoint CW Solutions and Midstate Abstract Company for Title Services second Council fer yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-23 Township planner may have a motion I'll make a motion to place Leon S aian second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-24 utility and engineer I have a motion move to appoint CM Associates Colliers engineering M McDonald T&M Associates second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes now move on to the council appointments of boards committees and commissions resolution 24-25 the how Alliance I'd like to make a motion to appoint the following people to oneyear terms in the how Alliance Julie Atkins John Aliano Vincent Bonner Maryanne cernac Marne Elson Victor Steve Federman Jamie Higgins Joe Iola Mary Ellen Lawrence Paul mazio Kate McCarthy Ian Dell Evelyn O'Donald Kenneth pearo Jenna raban G Gianna Marie Rosano Ron sanac and Jamie Cesaro I have a second second Council Fisher yes councilman gayer yes councilwoman oddon yes depy mayor Nell yes resolution 24-26 farmer advisory committee I have a motion yes I'll make a motion uh for the I'm sorry two-year term expiring 12 3124 for Nicholas uh Nichols uh member two-year term unexpired two-year term that is expiring on 12 3124 David Reid second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-27 Municipal Green Team I'd like to make a motion to appoint the following people to the municipal Green Team Teresa berer Fred gazer Joseph Clark Taylor carallo Brian Greenfield Matt Howard Nicholas husar Susan fiser Lisa Dow Maryann cernac John Nilla Jerry Baron Lawrence white Phil de benedetto Jennifer Hickey Thomas puser and Matthew Withers second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-28 Lake restoration and Wildlife Management committee may I have a motion move to appoint Howard belon uh member fiveyear term and Robert delard uh as chair second councilwoman Fischer yes councilwoman gajer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-29 the KK Watershed protection Alliance may I have a motion I'd like to make a motion to nominate Lara Casper to a one-year term to mati K Watershed implementation committee second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman o Odon yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-30 mobile home rent stabilization and control board may I have a motion I move to a point Chris how do you pronounce this I want to say chat I think it's pronounced uh choit choit Chris choit a member tenant three-year term John Jordan alternate member one-ear term Gabriella Colmes alternate member non-tenant and Lara Casper as the chair second councilwoman fiser yes yes counc oops and that was a yes that's me okay councilman gager yes thank you councilman o Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes thank you resolution 24-31 planning board may have a motion I'd like to nominate Sue Fischer for the class three member council member one-year term class 4 member four-year term unexpired which would be expired on 1231 26 is Chris Mercer class four member four-year term expiring uh 2024 I'm sorry 12312 and that's Michael uh reel alternate one member which is a two-year term expiring uh January from January 24th to December 31st 2026 Jacqueline Pike alternate 2 expiring December 31st 2026 would be uh Dan I'm gonna kill his name Carbonic Carbonic thank you thank you second second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes thank you resolution 24-32 preservation task for Force may I have a motion okay I move to a point Evelyn Donald member 5-year term Wendy gazer as the alternate two member unexpired two-year term like green alternate three member unexpired twoe term and Anthony labouti alternate four member twoe term second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes resolution 24-33 Zoning Board of adjustment I have a motion I'd like to make a motion to appoint the following people to the Zone Board of adjustment member four-year term Paul seya member four-year term Richard Mertens alternate two member two-year term and Marie scotson second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nell yes next up we will have C uh tent manager appointments okay for public agency compliance officer I appoint tor tlor carallo uh to the environmental commission member three-year term uh expiring 12 3126 Matthew Withers member three-year term expiring 12 3126 Michael Poland alternate one member 2-year term Brett dragon and the chair Lisa Dow shade tree commission member five-year term uh Jerry Baron alternate one member 5-year term Brett Dragon alternate two member five year term Gabriella comes and for the planning board as class two member and official of the township for a one-year term Brian Greenfield from DPW next we're going to vote on the consent agenda I have a motion for Resolutions 2438 up through and including 2450 I'll make a motion to approve those resolutions second thank you councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Nel yes don't have any unfinished business no new introductions do anyone else from Council have anything to add no meeting dates our next meeting date will take place on Tuesday January 16th regular meeting at 7 and if exec is necessary it will be at 6 p.m. I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second all in favor I good job