all right good evening everyone let's see there we go with the Sunshine Law this meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act an adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law specifically the annual notice was emailed to the West S6 Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 2nd 2024 and the 48 hour notice was emailed to the West Essex Tribune and the Star Ledger on March 26 2024 the agenda and resolutions for the meeting are available on www. Livingston nj.org certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of personnel Andor matters as outlined in the Sunshine Law decisions made Andor discussed in closed session will be made known to the public at a later time notice to members of the governing body and Township staff any use of electronic devices during this meeting shall be used solely for the purposes of Township business and any Communications are subject to to the open public records act to the extent possible this evening's Township of Livingston council meeting will be live streamed via Facebook www.f.com Livingston townshipnj questions or comments will also be accepted by emailing live comments at Livingston nj.org by 4M on the day of the meeting each speaker should follow the rules of order in Livingston code section 2-5 um roll roll call please thank you mayor council member bani here viea present Klein here Deputy Mayor mehard here mayor Anthony here uh can we all stand for a moment of silence in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance flag United States of America theice uh is Eileen Fishman here no okay so no Essex County update tonight we'll move to the proclamations and presentations um who's here from girls talk girl talk oh here you go right all right it's the girls yes and you have better eyes than me Dr kin uh yes um okay perfect um yeah I don't Hello um just real quick girl girl talk is a um an organization with the goal of empowering females in all Realms of life um and I believe you're having an upcoming uh is it the 27th but I'll let you announce that okay so take it away girls um before we start I just want to give a big thank you to you guys for allowing us to come here and um for your time so I founded girls talk around two years ago and girls talk is this online newsletter that is built on this atmosphere and Foundation of women empowerment and advocacy so we have writers from all around the world writing for our sections like girls Health girls Global issues girls literature social media High School struggles Etc so last year we ho hosted our first ever Girls Talk conference which was built on this broad topic of girls empowerment and we had speakers from different fields like medicine law politics leadership film Etc and this year I'm so happy to announce our second ever Girls Talk conference on girls Health our girls girls you want to say your name uh before you start or and what grade or yeah just everyone know I'm sorry I'm Haley I'm a senior at LHS right now my name nice job um my name is Kier dza and I am a sophomore at LHS I'm Sophie rothfeld I'm also a sophomore at LHS hi I'm twisha I'm also a sophomore um and not here with us today is Sophia who's also a sophomore so our girls Health conference is focus on addressing the Diverse Health challenges face by many girls today including both physical and mental challenges our conference aims to empower and educate young girls to equip them with the knowledge and guidance to navigate these common challenges this conference will include panelists from all Realms of female Health speaking and sharing their perspectives and insights into these um common issues we urge our audience to come out and support this event as doing so we raise awareness about these crucial challenges your support is crucial in assuring the success and wellbeing of the young girls in our community so we tried to cover all topics of Health with an array of different speakers we have Amy fman who's a nutritionist from Livingston we have Penny Peters who's a therapist we have the owner of Livingston Rumble boxing panti mipet we have uh various female athletes from um Livingston high school we have Caitlyn Hernandez and Melanie Yar and finally we have Shela Shaw who's a hematologist in Livingston our speakers would talk about an array of issues including anemia Eating Disorders girls physical and mental health girls nutrition and various other things we also would like to thank our local support from businesses we have Raffles you can win such as workout classes gift cards from Bagel Nosh gift certificates from Mo Salon class passes to rumble boxing certificates from the max Challenge and more so we really hope to see you there it is our hope that this conference will allow the girls in our community to hear firsthand from professionals and peers about the best way to overcome challenges that they face in their health the advice that the girls will get will help to show them that they are not alone in their struggles and can help to create a feeling of community support the event is open to everyone and we are really excited thank you to the community and thank you to the Town Council for letting us speak here today thank you so much girls um so everyone it's Saturday April 27th uh 9:30 to noon right at the Community Center Senior Center and it's a free event I'm reading from and it looks like it's great uh female empowerment career guidance Health struggles raising awareness uh girls health and empowerment conference save the date um you want to get a picture should we do a picture may can I just say something before we take a picture of course first of all I want to congratulate you all but uh Hy I watched last year when you put your first conference together I was uh part of it I attended and uh you did a great job and I know but it's nice to see your idea where lower class me sophomores now are taking this this up it's so when you graduate you're not going to lose it girls talk is not going to go away because it's still in the school with the sophomores so congratulations yeah e e okay um the next we have two more uh proclamations I don't think we have anyone here to accept them or any uh any photo ops or anything like that uh we have this is April 1st to April 30th it's um 2024 you drive you text you pay it's a distracted drive and Crackdown uh so we have a Proclamation here I'm not going to read the whole thing uh I'll read a couple of the Clauses whereas distracted driving is a serious lifethreatening practice that is preventable whereas distracting driving can result in injuries and deaths to all Road users motorists pedestrians and bicyclists whereas in New Jersey distracted driving remains a contributing circumstance in 50% of all motor vehicle crashes and ranks among the top 10 states with the most distracted drivers whereas the state of New Jersey and Township of Livingston will participate in the Nationwide distracted driving 2024 Crackdown from April 1st to April 30th in an effort to raise awareness and decrease driver distraction decrease driver distraction through a combination of enforcement and education therefore we resolve that we're declaring it driving distracted 2024 Crackdown month and we pledge to join with our Police Department in their efforts to increase the awareness of the dangers of distracted driving so everyone just um we're entering it we hope that uh everyone takes this seriously and um yeah as I say put the phone down and uh just watch watch your surroundings okay the next one is for Arbor Day um couple CA uh where as causes here in 1872 J Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for planting of trees whereas this holiday called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska and now is observed throughout the nation and the world trees can reduce the erosion of our precious top soil by wind and water cut Heating and Cooling cost moderate the temperature clean the air produce lifesaving oxygen life-giving oxygen and life-saving oxygen and provide habitat for wildlife trees are a renewable resource giving up paper wood for our homes fuel for our fires and countless other wood prod products where whereas whenever they're planted they are source of joy in spiritual renewal therefore we Proclaim uh April 26 2024 is Arbor Day in the township of Livingston we urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands and we urge all citizens to plant trees to Gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations and I think we'll be doing another plant uh tree planting I think on the day April 24th I think it's at 2 o'clock uh in our Barry our Cherry uh tree Grove over there another right right over by the Gazebo right so that's always a nice event to celebrate Arbor Day all right the next is uh approval of the minutes motion to approve the minutes the March 25th I didn't get to finish reading them yet how can you second the March 25th 2024 regular conference meeting and the March 25th 2024 close session meeting I'll second okay uh any opposed all in favor right motion motion we're done good all right next is the public hearing and Adoption of the 2024 bid budget I see we have the B bid director Beth Litman here um Jared just hey M you need a motion uh to adopt resolution 24-1 129a authorizing the vid budget to be read by title so you need a motion mayor so moved second all right oh you need a roll call May okay roll call please council member bani yes via yes Klein yes deut mayor Reinhardt yes mayor Anthony yes and try make a motion now open the public yeah unless there's unless there's anything the mayor has to say before that but if there's no no scripted then just a motion to open the public hearing on the 2024 bid budget uh no we could open motion to motion to open the public hearing on the 2024 bid budget second okay all in favor all in favor yes yes any opposed no okay the hearing is now open motion to close the uh public hearing on the 2024 bid budget second for Council all right any uh opposed all in favor yes may we need a motion to adopt resolution 24-1 129b adopting the 2024 bid budget so moved second May the a roll call council member bani yes viea yes kleene yes Deputy Mayor meinhard yes mayor Anthony yes um and like I mentioned Beth thank you for coming here tonight I am the liaison to the bid uh committee and I appreciate everything everyone does on on the uh on the bid to help our businesses to promote our businesses um and to welcome new businesses to town and bring in new businesses as well so thank you for all you do and thank you for all the members of the bid they do an outstanding job okay next is motion open the meeting for public comment on agenda item only second okay any opposed no all in favor yes all right meeting is open for public comment on agenda items only there'll be a public comment at the end on anything uh Tim Foley 16 M Pleasant Parkway uh I know uh I've been advised that you guys are going to table uh ordinance uh 05 uh 2024 this is going to be the fourth time you guys are tabling it I'm getting a little disappointed I'm coming here in good conscious and trying to work to try to maybe reward this ordinance um you know this ordinance is maintaining the property between the curb and the the property your property line and the curb line of of the town uh right away and I just disagree with the way it's written I've gotten one phone call uh from Adam um we talked about a half hour he said they're going to see if they could reward it and I heard crickets uh again two months trying to figure out a good solution not saying it's not needed but the way it's worded I disagree with it um that's it I mean know I'm happy you're tabling it right now I wish you would vote on it and vote no so it would start all over again but if you're going to table it that's that's all right also so okay thanks Tim thanks hopefully we'll vote on it or pull it permanently or something the next time thanks if you going vote for it I ask you to vote no want I know which way you want us to vote on thanks uh hi Mr Mayor Justin Alper 56 Amhurst Place uh if the woman from Essex County is not going to show up to read to us from the website we ought to reverse the lines of control and send someone from the township to the county to push our agenda at the county and get the county working on our behalf uh two with respect to bid budget glad that that passed we should be discussing with the bid over the course of the next year what increases to the B budget can we make to further improve healthy local Commerce and culture that supports re living household incomes for Livingston residents how do we make further Investments that have real returns to the community um 13.22 for amending the zoning map to reflect the merger uh with respect to the YMCA property that was uh and the township property that has been sold to a Maryland LLC in perpetuity without any plan to get the real property back uh rather than introducing this and passing it next time uh welcome a motion to reconsider by the three unconflicted councilmen uh a real mistake was made there it's not about the tax income to the community you have to track where that tax income is coming from it'll be coming out of the pockets and the generational wealth of members of the community it is a poor plan we ought to reverse it resolution 24133 authorized purchases under the Union County cooperative pricing system you'll correct me if I am wrong but I believe when we purchase through another County's Cooperative pricing system we pay a vig to that County when we do reverse the lines of control in our own County and send our own representatives to the county we should be asking the county we should be asking the county to run a diligence of how much the localities in in the county are spending on outside cooperatives and perhaps restructure our own cooperatives so we can keep that money in the county lastly um I think it's last 24139 estimated tax bills we see that the schools are raising their taxes uh by over 5% this year if we see that the schools are raising their taxes by over 5% and we're handing out Pilots at 2 and 3% annual raises that's not sustainable that reflects a fundamentally flawed planning we should fix that right we're not properly planning for Healthy Growth we're we're authorizing all kinds of growth and then going back and trying to fix it later and the schools are trying to catch up and as we're discussing in the other room we don't even plan for the proper sidewalks in advance um something is fundamentally broken with our taxation system it has a lot to do with the flat tax that we apply to real property and the assessment mod the proprietary ass assessment model of appraisal Systems Inc and we still have not seen their uh data and methodologies report from five or six years ago um fortunately we're coming up on an election year for governor next year and on the Republican side there's people talking about actually cutting taxes uh Livingston ought to look at that we ought to be looking at how do we cut taxes for local residents and instead perhaps raise taxes on institutional cash flows that are pouring out of the community that would be a really wise step forward thank you for your consideration Mr Mayor thank you Justin mayor can I make a comment please yes sure so just for a point of reference because I think Mr alert talked a little bit he was a contradictory um when we give Pilots out uh less than less than um usually it's a 20% 20 cents of every dollar goes to the county of every dollar that's paid here by Livingston taxes when Pilots are giving out only five cents goes so actually what so that you just said the county has plenty of money five minutes two minutes ago so I'm just saying that what we're doing what we're doing is keeping more money in this town instead of it flowing out of this town like you just gave us that didn't really make a lot of sense so what we're trying to do what we're trying to do is trying to make it better for the town of Livingston by keeping 95 cents out of every dollar that's collected in the town of Livingston to be shared with the Board of Education not flowing out of 07039 like you come up here every week and ramble on and don't know what you're talking about one other comment uh uh Justin one of the things that you suggested was that the counties get a vig uh if there was purchasing Cooperative that's named after the county that that's not true there's no they don't get money because it just it is a uh it's just a name that indicates What towns might be involved with with forming the collective so it is not we are we you can for you can jump into a purchasing Co-op that's outside of your county and it's named after a different County but they don't make money on it so I just want to be clear about that Barry can you explain what a Cooperative because every we every every meeting that this comes up there's misinformation we got to stop this misinformation about these Cooper Under the local contracts law for certain purchases the municipality is required to go out to bid uh going out to bid does two things it it takes time money publication employee time uh but also because of our need may not be that great uh we don't enjoy economies to scale purchasing cooperatives there's an Essex County there's a Morris County there's a Union County uh most of the counties have done them the Educational Services Commission has done one there are State contracts which is a larger State cooperative and what they do is they go out to bid with significantly better buying power so they will go out to bid for a particular item and get a much lower price than any one individual member might get because of the volume um we do not play pay a vig or percentage or otherwise uh there's generally some of them don't have any fees some of them have a onetime once a year $ thousand membership fee that every town pays that's a member whether you're in the county or not in the county uh just offset some of the overhead cost uh but the net result is uh one you get better buying power lower price uh and also avoid all the paperwork and bureaucracy of having to pay to go out to bid pay employees to prepare bid specs Etc so it's it's proven to be a very um advantageous purchasing Tool uh we are certainly not alone most towns every town I've known does it and it's it provides a great benefit to all the local entities so I'd like to make a couple of comments as well um I think it's plain wrong when we say 2% 3% uh that's what I here it's not 2% 3% the specific pilot we talked about is the property we talked about is YMCA moving across the street into the new church area the church which is right now waken uh YMC will be moving there and the current YMCA lot will be given to or or will be uh having a an assisted living facility which will become a ratable property that means dollars coming in to taxpayers so to our tax system it's it's a ratable property now which wasn't before another Advantage is it gives us a credit for affordable housing it's uh roughly in the neighborhood of 12 to 14 credits that equates to 60 to 70 Apartments if you take you know what's going on across this across the state so that's reduced no kid coming in from that uh credit and no no kid coming into the school that means we are not taxing our schools in doing so another piece it's not 2% 3% that's wrong it is 3% with inflation adjusted 4% we have covered ourselves to to protect against inflation Rising inflation as well which is kind of unique I think that's the kind of deal we should be looking at which is the kind of uh Arrangements which is the kind of uh deal that happened and it brings back money to the town uh as cons Mard said it's the percentage that goes or doesn't go to to county or versus keeps it in up in the pocket of Township and on top of it we cover ourselves to high inflation rates as well as to the rates where we bring in more tax dollars to the township I think these are the facts we should think about it and not fall for some headlines thanks thanks K any other uh comments on the consent agenda oh agenda items motion to close public hearing second all in favor I I all right we are up to the passeng of ordinances uh Carolyn can you read the first one uh yes mayor ordinance 5- 2024 amending chapter 274 streets and sidewalks mayor mayor may I uh make a motion to uh to table this motion this ordinance until next meeting certainly I'll second second okay great all any discussion any discussion all right yeah one one quick note I think I think we absolutely need to close this uh we need to have uh Township uh officials connect uh with with Mr Foley as well as any concerns we should we should talk about it uh let's have more details prior to the meeting and and let's make sure we have we're in a good shape for next time I thank thanks K all right uh motion P there's a roll roll call roll call the motion to table council member bani yes viea yes Klein yes Deputy Mayor rart yes mayor Anthony yes when will the next public hearing be this is table the next one is Tuesday April 30th April 30 thank so the public hearing will be April 30th there'll be no further notice the notice for that public hearing is given now great thank you chair uh next k for introduction ordinance 12224 amending chapter 170 section 17087 General zoning requirements by updating the terms for issuing a non-residential certificate of occupancy okay uh counselor we're uh I believe the deputy mayor and I are recused from that I think it's the next one mayor it okay yeah not the first one this is just a it's basically a correction in some terms in our ordinance that the DCA said we had to use a different phrase a different definition yeah so uh great thank you so Mary you need a you need a motion to introduce and set the public motion introduce I'll make a motion to introduce the ordinance any discussion any discussion no roll call council member bani yes Viera yes CL yes Deputy Mayor Minard yes mayor Anthony yes and this uh final hearing will be Tuesday April 30th as well 30th thank you Carol great um I guess I'll I'll take as the as the mayor and the deputy mayor are uh used Madam clerk you please read ordinance 13-22 by title ordinance 13- 2024 amending zoning map to reflect the merger into block 3100 56 and the planning PB Zone and subject to 321 South Livingston Avenue District Redevelopment plan I have a motion to introduce the ordinance and set the public hearing I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 13 2024 for introduction I'll second it is there any discussion Madam clerk please call the role council members B Tani yes via yes Klein yes and the hearing for this will also be Tuesday April 30th great thank you thank you Council uh we're up to the consent agenda for Resolutions uh is that right yeah yes we are pulling 24 138 okay we're not we're pulling it from the agenda we're not pulling it for separate voting just for clarification no we are pulling it from the agenda all matters listed with an aster are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the council and will be approved by one motion there will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the governing body so request in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the general orders is it everyone okay does anyone want anything read them individually you want okay so can you read them all together resolution 24131 authorizing the transfer general assistance program to Essex County division of family assistance and benefits resolution 24-1 32 authorizing purchases under the state of New Jersey Cooperative purchasing program resolution 24-13 3 authorizing purchases under Union County cooperative pricing system resolution 24-34 authorizing purchases under the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey purchasing program resolution 24-135 authorizing the award of a contract to issue a corporation resolution 24136 authorizing disposition of surplus property resolution 24137 approving field usage fees resolution 24-39 estimated tax bills 2024 and resolution 24-40 authorizing 2024 temporary emergency Appropriations number two move all the uh resolutions on the consent agenda as read is there a second second okay all in favor roll calls council member bani yes via yes Klein yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes like to open the uh meeting the public portion uh of the meeting now comments on any comments on any topics is there a second second all in favor I the meeting is now open to the public on any on any comment please state your name and address when you come to microphone good evening my name this way my name is Lauren Sher 21 tames Drive is where I live thank you for the opportunity to speak to you all tonight I have lived in Livingston for almost 30 years I love it here I raised my two boys here and I think Livingston is a wonderful town and has brought my husband and I years of happiness I come here tonight to tell you the Town Council that I am worried and concerned about the safety and uptick of crimes in Liv in Livingston sadly on the evening of Friday March 8th our home was burglarized criminals came up our deck in the backyard smashed through our upstairs sliding glass door which resulted in shattered glass in a million pieces throughout our entire house up this through the first floor and up the carpet going up the stairs the criminals then R ran through our house ransacked our bedroom rooms went through all of our drawers and stole all of my jewelry possessions that are irreplaceable my husband's watch and personal items and multiple handbags this was all done in a matter of minutes and they left their disgusting bloody handprints on the walls going up the steps and on the drawers in my closet and my bathroom our house became a crime scene and to say we feel extremely violated is a complete understatement we all read about these incidents weekly in the West cess Tribune car thefts have become the norm and until it happens to you everything shifts and now it is personal thankfully we did have our house alarm on and the police arrived on the scene but a lot of damage can be done in a matter of 5 to 8 minutes since the burglary I have spoken to numerous people in our neighborhood and in town and simply put people do not feel safe here anymore people I have spoken with have talked about about moving and not living in a neighborhood that is so vulnerable to Crime how sad is this how sad is this that you have to alarm your house when you take your dog for a walk how sad is this that you have to completely lock and unlock your car when you take your packages in and out of your trunk from the supermarket what direction is our town going in what can we do as a town to prevent this from getting worse what has happened here we know what has happened crime is on the rise we watch the news we hear about the crime in big cities and our proximity to New York City makes it impossible to be insulated from it so I come to you tonight to implore you to increase the amount of police in our town we can't just throw up our hands and say crime is going to happen and there's nothing we can do about it we need to do something I believe an increased police presence will serve as a deterrent how could it not certainly we need an increased police presence in the neighborhoods that are more susceptible to Crime who have quick and easy access to 280 and whose homes border line who whose homes property lines Border West Orange or have woods behind them we simply need more police thank you for your time thank you for listening I hope you all never have to experience a personal violation on your property on your family home and I hope no one has to ever feel unsafe in their home like we do right now thank you thank you on behalf of the council we're sorry for what happened to you um Barry is there anything we're doing with the uptick uh mention there I know it's it's happening everywhere yeah certainly there has been an increase and there a million reasons why there there's obviously an increase some of the um criminal justice reforms wind up with people back on the street almost immediately um the the chief is very aware of it the department works very hard we were already looking um at uh our current Staffing levels and and certainly with with future growth coming from some of the housing developments uh that are coming uh we're looking at increasing the size of our department the chief uh when Chief maruts took over I know he is very committed and shifted even more officers to the Patrol Division and will continue to have the focus on the patrol but um we certainly you know sympathize with uh the resident and and can assure you we are looking very closely at all options both in terms of increasing Staffing increasing equipment we've recently installed license plate readers at virtually every entrance to town um which gives us notification if stolen cars come into town uh provides information when cars leave town so we are very uh committed to not only uh looking at our Manpower um obviously there are budgetary limits but this is a priority already our Public Safety um police and fire by far are the largest component of our budget uh and will continue to be so um but also looking at technology and other methods that we can uh police even more efficiently so thank you um it's gut you know it's gut wrenching to hear the story um and as the mayor said like the whole council is uh horrified for you and and and uh you know upset um the L the license plate readers that we've gotten when we talked to the police they have said that it's actually been a a very sizable step in the right direction in terms of getting people as they come off the highways um and they've been really pleased they've been they think they've been able to stop a lot of crimes before they've happened um and there's been some discussion of a couple of additional license plate readers that could help to create a little bit more of a safety in that around the town and we're going to look at that um and and as uh as Barry said um there already have been conversations about Staffing up um there's nothing that this Council takes more seriously than public safety it is always the number one budget item on our on our budget every year uh by far um and uh we're very aware that's it's a widespread issue but it's our job to take care of Livingston and we really want to do that if the cars were parked in on streets in West Orange would you have access to those cameras that were on Kelly Drive or have have you has cheap marshs usually will reach out to families when when something like this have you discussed this with him okay because he work with W they work with all the surrounding towns closely like hand in hand um and if there's if there's footage that's around they will have already looked at it way before today um but I'm I'm glad that Chief maruts has reached out he you know we know that he cares and that's why we think he does such a good job because he is always uh personally will make contact with any family that has to go through what you went through and um we're all here so if if you need if you have other comments please make sure we know about it thank you Michael Mayor and uh to to Barry every once in a while um Chief marut will come and give a presentation at the Town council meeting uh and talk to the residents directly uh is it possible for a future near future meeting to we'll try bring him in and I think that's always informative uh he's happy to do it he gives statistics he sometimes give some guidance on what people can do uh to to help and uh I'll definitely reach out and see if we can get them in at a future meeting relatively soon here thank you Barry we already had three votes talking about that up here of having uh the chief in and and thank you so much for coming in that must that must be difficult um we are entering uh budget season now so it's it's uh I'm glad you came in mayor I just want to add so I I I again it's a terrible story but I just want I serve as mpal attor in Livingston but also in Milbourne Short Hills and in north calwell and it's it's an epidemic in all these towns so it is not Livingston specific and I think our Township manager hit on it it's directly related to the statutes that changed and the bail reform and that people are coming back and they're not scared to make crimes anymore because there is no punishment um and I know some his poers are trying to get together and actively petition the legislature to try to change some of these laws that are having this adverse impact so again um it's very unfortunate um and I know it's not living since specific um but it's it's all all all the towns are are dealing with this issue and it's it's it's a really it's a really hard issue it's a really but I know that our chief and I've talked them are working and and they do communicate with other municipalities thank you may one last comment so just to piggyback off what um Jared just said I know I have and I I believe the whole rest of this Council has personally lobbied um County officials and and uh State officials um to change laws to help us uh be better protected um uh I I know even when I was mayor last uh I was on the phone uh all the time with uh trying to talk to people in the governor's office about it um it's a very hard problem but we are doing everything that we can to try to to try to assist thank you you have to come up to the microphone sir just yeah come on up oh are there people waiting name and address name and address sir Alan Saunders 29 Bond ofie drive if somebody Parks their car in West Orange goes through the woods will the West Orange Police with their license plate readers notify the Livingston license Police Department the license plate readers from what I understand are shared amongst the municipalities it triggers an alert throughout the throughout the county that's what I thought but he said it better thanks okay um Andy's next yeah oh and hi um my name is Andy Liss I am a uh I would live at 11 Hadrian drive and um I'm here for basically the same reason um that Lauren Sher spoke about um I also want before I read my speech with my little notes which will be brief the license plate readers um which I'm very familiar with are picking up stolen cars um and the idea of the stolen people use stolen cars so they can hide their identity so that's the benefit of those licensed play readers that's essentially what's we've had situations in town where people have temporary tags on the cars the cardboard they don't apparently get picked up by the readers so it's not perfect but it's pretty good um and I think we're all going to benefit from that okay so um I've lived in Livingston for virtually my entire life and I'm here tonight representing 200 families in the Belair and Belair wood section of town I'm also representing many other friends who live in just about every neighborhood in Livingston to bring attention to the rising level of crime in our town specifically I'm talking about home burglaries and cars being stolen at an ever increasing rate the burglars are becoming more and more Brazen as evidenced by a number of recent cases where thugs have forced their way into people's homes while the homeowners are in the house sleeping these thieves in are in many cases they're using miners to do the crime because they're immediately released if they get caught in meeting with the Livingston Police I've come to respect the hard work that they do however they can only work with the amount of money that they are allocated by the township to fight the ever increasing crime problem they desperately need more money to hire additional police officers I know you covered this already but they they have had the same number as far as I know the same number of number of officers on the road patrolling at at any given time for many many years with all of the new homes being built in our town and new tax revenue we should be able to hire more officers our neighborhood has gotten to the point where we are personally paying the township to provide some additional police protection however this is being done by officers as extra work after they have already put in a full day on the job there are times when no officer is available there are times when an officer just finished their Duty or just hasn't or or went off duty and there's or during a shift change where a burglary will take place can't have them sorry we can't have them here 247 but we'd like to I'm well aware that this is not a Livingston only problem I read the newspaper papers and the patch email every day so I'm aware that the same problems exist in surrounding towns but we can only do what we can do in Livingston it's very simple if more police are visible in our town crime will be reduced in our town I urge you to consider doing what is necessary to provide additional funding so that the Livingston Police Department can hire more officers our entire Community is depending on you to make this a priority thank you Andy appreciate it mayor if I can just comment on on just what was just said there um I I knew know that when when Chief maruts uh came you know uh came in and became the new chief his first one of his first priorities was to eliminate death jobs and put put more cops out on the street so the number of people on the street is higher now than it has historically been already just I just want to let you know that you said it's been the same for many years that the chief has actually expanded the number of cars on the road at the you know I'm not saying that more can't be looked at uh but it's not the same as it's been thank you hi hi uh my name is Joanna Rothenberg and I'm on Irving Avenue um it is with immense appreciation that we acknowledge the decision to again raise the flag in honor of Israel's independence day this year in Livingston this act resonates deeply within our community and carry significant importance in these most difficult times for our Jewish community in a world where misinformation and Distortion seem to Cloud the truth it is more crucial than ever to stand in solidarity with our Ally Israel a beacon of democracy and resilience Israel continues to face difficult challenges and yet still stands strong in the face of adversity and horrific Jew hatred it is imperative that we stand firm in our support for Israel's right to defend themselves and the right to exist in peace as we itness as we witness the challenges faced by Israel on the global stage Our Town proudly displaying the Israeli flag not only celebrates Israel's independence but also sends a powerful message of unity and unwavering support of Israel to our Livingston residents and surrounding towns so thank you thank you thank you Joanna thank you that's May 14th everyone Hi everyone thank you for letting me speak here today um yes um Israel Independence Day Israel Independence Day is May 14th oh Susie lugashi 57 Martin Road um May 14th we will have our living and celebrates Israel event program and Israeli flag raising God willing um I'd like to also just say many of many of us are here to just show how grateful we are um to have your support on it and um the annual flag raising does mean a lot to us we're grateful to live in Livingston for many reasons one of them that we can be proud Jews proud zionists and proud Americans Israel and America has been great allies for many many years and our relationship is imperative not only for the Jews living here but also for all Americans as we fight the same evil who looks to take down Israel America and all Western Civilization raising the Israeli flag on Israel Independence Day is a sign of our long historical allyship America was the first country to recognize Israeli statehood when Israel declared its independence in 1948 after years of OCC of colonization the 75-year partnership has been built on shared ratic values and United by their commitment to democracy economic prosperity and Regional security May is also National Jewish heritage month and we couldn't think of a better representation for that than with the flag as a tribute especially at a time of unprecedented hatred toward Jews that we see today all over the world on a more personal note America's extremely important to me and I'm thankful it allowed my grandparents and parents to come to this country when they had to to flee their homes in Morocco and Lebanon due to anti-Semitism and persecution today sadly we understand what they went through it has given many people an opportunity for a better life and having the strong allyship must continue we thank Our Town Council Township mayor for supporting our annual Israeli flag raising thank you thank you thank you Susie it's our pleasure and we're looking forward to May 14th hey Justin you're back did you did you run out of time before no different different segment all right Justin hi Mr Mayor Justin oper 56 am H just changed the uh topic for one second uh two things one um it's one thing uh when you issue a pilot and it is money coming in from outside the community but with respect to the Bright View facility it's set up by private Equity to extract value out of the community all of that tax value tax dollars are going to be coming from the generational wealth of Livingston residents uh we did Issue a 2% pilot to the uh hospital by the way and screwing over the county is a really poor excuse for issuing a pilot uh second topic uh Livingston Mall could you please tell us what's the status of that I know you've had a lot of uh uh meetings in a closed session what is the status of Livingston Mall and what is this council's vision for Livingston Mall pleas Justin you want to keep going and we'll we'll talk about that no you want to use up the time now yeah okay so Barry you want to talk about the living some Mall you have having well two things I do want to clarify uh as it relates the hospital that was a it's not really a pilot it's called a community service fee it was done by legislation of the legislature and that set the 2% annual increase so it wasn't something we negotiated uh so if that's an issue you take up with TR something you rubber stamp um it's we follow the law um the um as it relates to Livingston Mall there's a lot of moving Parts going on at the mall uh there have been ongoing meetings there's another meeting scheduled for this week um and we've engaged uh the planner um topology to help bring uh some of their expertise to light in terms of um we think there's an opportunity now to do a more Global uh reimagining of the entire Mall site um some of the uh previous separate ownerships are starting to have an opportunity to come together uh I idees Council have a vision for the mall property we're looking to develop that vision and and again it's changed now that we think there's an opportunity to not have to have a vision that exists around an old Mall in the center uh will there be public hearings I I I think what the council envisions is as this process unfolds having significant public input transparency Town Hall meetings to gauge uh what is the public interested in seeing there and I think you will be uh hopefully uh pleased with the level of Outreach to the public and and how many public forums we intend to hold thank you thank you Jess yeah sure I just also want to respond I I said something similar in the last meeting um this idea that um a business uh has which has um identified Livingston as a good place to invest and create uh uh and provide services that's bringing outside money into our town to make an investment uh just does not jive with me this idea of stealing generational wealth I think that that whole concept makes no sense to me at all these are there when when a outside business comes into Livingston and wants to invest in our town uh and sees this as a place that they can earn some money that's good for living scene it's good for outside businesses this is exactly what we want to encourage here uh we are a business friendly Town good next public comment good evening I'm Don Adams and for Fox Run and he Handover um my heart goes out to you whose house was broken into my car has been broken into twice from the same stuff but the the uh if it's any consolation the plate readers do help it helped in our town um I just kind of want to know I want an update on what's going on with the firing range I appreciate the gaslighting uh newspaper article you guys produced for us that was nice um it's a little contradictory in it also you state that it's barely used but then you also Farm it out to at least two agencies that you State plus others and then you later on say that it needs to stay because of the frequency you use it so which one is it do you not use it or do you use it a lot because I can tell you since the last meeting you've used it five times so and it wasn't the state police because they're gone so who what what's going on with it what's the update what they the state tro are not there police has has that has ceased uh which was by far the most significant and and the change that let me tell you this right you all know that I'm a surgeon I get home from a 24-hour call yesterday this is what I have to listen to so this is at 9:30 in the morning I get home 9:00 from operating on half of your family members if they come in as a trama and this is what I got to go to sleep to doctor how many years have you lived there three and was the range hair when you bought the house correct it was did somebody inform you that it was there they did not did did you have a realtor I did did the realtor not inform you correct okay they don't have a legal responsibility to do so I okay I think they do have a I think they do have a legal responsibility typ I think they do either way it's 2024 so you didn't do you didn't do enough you didn't do any research about the area the surrounding areas a beautiful neighborhood I did research you didn't hear any gunfire when you there okay but all of a sudden now you hear it we hear it all the time okay but you didn't hear it you didn't hear it up until the last two mon the the two days that I went there randomly I did not hear it and so you R so you went there randomly so that means you knew that there was a range in your back yard when you bought it correct no I just told you no okay but you just said you went there randomly before you bought it correct I went to the house randomly two days to see the house and didn't hear a range so where are we going with this so nobody told you when you're in toal in the total area no one told us there was a range and if you don't believe me you can ask my neighbor across the street after I moved in who I walked over go where the hell are those gunshots coming from because I trained in Harlem I trained in Newark okay so I know what a gunshot sounds like and then I move into a house and then we find out there's a gun range across the street either way that this is all Point what's going on where are we going with this Barry how long has that gun range been there about 1961 we established that the last time and you guys keep saying continuous use let but nobody defines continuous uh where we're going we have stopped the state police which was by far the most significant impact and we're reverting to what had been the historic usage uh I will um get between now and the next meeting statistics in terms of how many days we use it uh the other departments that use it um until very recently East Anover was one of them but they chose not to uh rosand uh I will get the total number of days that is used and and report that um we are looking at the burm and some of the other issues that were raised uh right now can tell you there there is no uh currently uh an intent to that clearly what you're looking for is to shut it down completely I don't want to shut it down and this isn't an anti-cop thing this isn't an anti-un thing how do we not down en close it okay that that um but it takes time and money so let me let me ask you this your time's up it's not a time thing we're having a discussion it is you brought up in the article no no no you guys brought up rules you have a three minute r okay you guys have rules we have to follow right yeah and you have a room full of people behind you um hi hi Sher waldram 31 Fox fun drive I'm here again I'm here to clarify and make it abundantly clear the state police vacating this gun range is not making us okay with what's remaining not at all four times since our last meeting countless recordings of gunshots cannot open the windows what are we doing it's not okay your positions are to do the right thing for your people and for the problems that your town causes you're not doing the right thing I was hoping the chief of police was going to be here tonight so I could let him personally know we're not okay I understand he's under the impression that we're okay because the state police have vacated I don't believe anyone ever said he's under the oppression you're okay and quite frankly I don't think any of you will be okay unless it's shut down it's in the paper no not shut down okay enclosed to Don's point so we build an enti IND we saw kids walking on the bridge yesterday the gun range is not fenced it's a safety issue not for your children for our children but it's your property it's your responsibility to do the right thing enclose it stop the noise stop the danger stop the pollution do the right thing and there's no progress that's what I'm hearing none but yet I've heard four days of gunshots since we were here three weeks ago so it's just going to continue you're doing nothing nothing yet nothing to report let me tell I want to I am reporting St if I at my job with my boss if I have three weeks to follow up on something and do something and I don't do it do you think that's okay it's not okay I don't I don't know who your boss is I have a responsibility I have a responsibility let's be clear you are not our boss I am not your boss second off you raised a lot of issues represent the people in the town and your property is causing us a problem so fix it how many excuse me how many years have you lived there in East Hover no at that at that house 16 okay same questions no nobody told me I lived in East Handover for excuse me I lived in East sover for six years before I moved to that neighborhood never once was I told or made aware there was a range if you ask half the people in East Hover they don't know there's a range it's specific to the neighborhoods that border River Road in East Hover and you some your questions are pointless I I don't think they are regardless apparently they do 20 seconds finish excuse me who said that 20 seconds I don't want to I do have 20 seconds left so again I'm just here to let you know that just because East Handover got New Jersey State Police to vacate the range it doesn't solve our problems our problems are still there we still have the noise we still have the pollution we still have the risk of our children in the woods anyone else all right Tim yeah thanks uh 16 M pleas park right Tim Foley second thing that I want to bring up again that I did two weeks ago are the dumpsters next to my mother-in-law's property they shifted them thinking that maybe that would be better but I can't find a town ordinance about it but I believe there is a town ordinance any business that brings in a new dumpster has to be enclosed I've been told there's an ordinance I'm not 100% sure if there is one but why are we I mean there's four dumpsters back there one huge one and three smaller ones for the buildings I went back on Google Earth 12 years ago the dumpsters were behind the billboard sign that's on the corner so why can't we move them back over there or on the other side of the garage that's back there not on the property line of my mother-in-law's house har can we move those back well we can certainly reach out to the property owner I I know code enforcement was looking into would well the the the the the big commercial one the dumpster the big huge dumpster one they brought a smaller a little bit smaller one and they moved it closer to the smaller dumpsters that are on actually in a driveway see everybody forgets there's a driveway right there that's being blocked because the maintenance of that property talking about maintenance again that main maintenance of that property closed down that that driveway because it was so overgrown so they started they moved the dumpsters there so it can't it can't be on it cannot you cannot put commercial dumpsters right on somebody's property the the border of a commercial property and a and a residential property it's not fair you know plus with with everything else that's going on in that in that area I mean we got the fence situation taken care of but it's still not 100% but we're living with that but the dumpsters they have to go it's it's not fair to my mother-in-law she can't sit on her deck and and enjoy a beautiful day like today without seeing four dumpsters one overflowing all the time house a buts a commercial's owned property uh so a commercial business is going to have a dumpster we can certainly work with uh and try and work with the owner in terms of repositioning him somewhere else on the site now the big the big giant one you were referring to is that like a temporary rollof that they're doing a project or is that there all the time no a new business moved into the the commercial uh building he he brought a dumpster with him because he does his work and he dumps dumps the stuff in there and then it's removed weekly or a couple times a week all right so like a roll off he's got it's a roll off small roll off that I will look into I wasn't aware of that and I don't know that that's permitted all right okay plus the driveway is being blocked and it was always uh that that commercial lot was one way in you got you went to get your haircut or your pizza or the glass place that used to be there and then you went around the garage and out and out that now that driveway is being blocked it's been blocked for probably a good six years okay because of the overgrowth of the trees and and and everything else and there's always pile of of garbage in are time up thank you sir Hey Barry aren't um and and maybe we can look into laws of these these dumpsters but I was also under the impression that the dumpsters are supposed to be masked with either a fence or or or something certainly and and that's what I was going to trying to look up certainly any of the new applications and anything that come before the planning board we require enclosures Gates Etc um I got we'll look into these particular properties see if if that they're in any way grandfathered but we will uh review it thank you thank you Barry thank you Mike uh anyone else for public comment yes no going once twice okay no one all right motion to close the meeting of public comment second all in favor I thanks all right we are up to uh report reports mayor even even though public comments closed we have one live comment for yes yes from Mr F by the comment is closed yes go for uh this is from Alan F Jr my name is alen f and I own the property on 23 Maple Avenue I attended the last town hall meeting requesting the town to vacate the street that separates my three lots I have been unsuccessfully trying since last year to receive a response from the town regarding the purchase of the part of Maple Avenue so I can combine my three lots into one best regard I would appreciate your attention to this matter as soon as possible best regards great thank you Carolyn all right uh reports of Township officials let's go uh down here bar I'm good you're good thank you Russ just a reminder that this Saturday is our first electronics recycling and the record shredding event NOP and we'll be there from 9: to 2 we also do fluorescent tubes we do rechargeable batteries even the ones that go on the on portable drill great Barry will that mess be cleaned out by then or fory way it's back there right the electronics recy by Tru yeah all right uh let's see we got uh Carolyn thank you mayor I just wanted to give a big shout out to the school administration for working with us and helping us um get student pole workers for uh this year it's a new program through Essex County the Board of Elections and we've gotten a very good response very happy and uh just really appreciative that they've been able to work with us on that endeavor thank you great thank you Carolyn thanks for all your your work on that appreciate it uh what's matter jam oh uh no I was ask him to have a conversation outside in the hallway um oh may may I have no I have no report though okay all right uh let's see we'll go first doesn't make all right Kon anything uh report on anything I'm starting first all right yes yes I do have a few things so today is for those who are celebrating uh uh people having a conversation can you uh please leave or remain quiet thank you okay K yeah for those who are celebrating it's Eid Mubarak for you uh and uh have a great time with families um yes the recycle that Russ mentioned that's that's I'm I always look forward to that that's that's uh time to clean up a few things uh but one other important event that's on April 23rd um uh and I know lacd who I'm uh counciling on there's an Autism Awareness walk around the O I think that is an important one uh you know it's it's something to support uh shine a light on autism wear blue walk around the OV that's the event uh which should be a fun one 24th it's 23rd April 23rd okay um Unico event honoring our ex mayor and council member Rudy Fernandez is coming up that's April 20 21st I'm so delighted about the uh May 14th Israel flag raising and they went so um very looking forward to that already um and I I want to a little bit of Thunder from you know council member Klein May 5th pick up living I'm looking forward to that as well so uh Michael well you stole all of my comments though yeah I think he but uh I think shine a light is the 24th shine a light I have down do you anyone want to check that it's a rain date is 24th I have the the date as the 24th I have 7:30 on the 24th and Carol may we could check yeah we can look into that the in inv from you I think or it's from uh Liz okay that's out on the oval at 7:30 okay sorry uh no I'm I'm good I'm good thank you all right nobody steals my thunder I'm gonna repeat everything that they just said no no one Beats beat just kidding um but yeah so this Saturday electronic recycling like Russ said um on May 5th grab your neighbors go sign up on the township website we're doing another pick it up event for those of you who have not done it before it is when hundreds of people go out and form teams and there's a signup sheet for different locations and you pick up all the trash along the sides of the roads we'll provide the gloves we'll provide the vests the police will give protection uh it is an is a really fun event great way to meet your neighbors uh and it really feels good to like pick pitch in and clean up the area so um please go on to the town website uh if you do a search or pick it up you'll see it come up um and you can sign up and whatever organization you belong to any charity group group that you're with or any friends uh any families uh go sign up it's really fun to do together and it's uh it's the morning of uh of May fth um I wanted to give a huge shout out to the chess team uh earlier this week the LHS chess team it finished second in the country uh which is just and number one amongst public schools number one among Public Schools there's only one fancy School in New York City that beat them and they acem right and they beat all the other fancy New York public schools and all the fancy schools in LA and DC and everywhere else our team crushed and I I have one personal friend from uh from college whose son is a chess Prodigy and he's really steeped into like this Chess World and he knows by name all the Livingston players so like they are a real deal team it is just should be a huge source of Pride for the entire town congratulations again to them and we have a couple of Jess mes here so I'm sure that makes you give us a puzzle real quick or no he's got there you go thank you yes but mate in two moves it's really become we really have like an outstanding chess culture in this town and it's kind of new and hopefully we're going to keep this going for a long time it's really really exciting and terrific so thanks to everyone who's contributing to that um there was a um the federal government announced today that every community in the country is going to be responsible for getting the posos out of their water well guess what New Jersey was way ahead on this uh and Livingston is way ahead in New Jersey uh we we were just talking to the mayor earlier tonight we're going to schedule um uh some of the experts in town to come in and give us an update on where we are on pasas remediation but uh we we're really far along here um and uh especially in comparison to other towns and uh something we can be proud of that we're getting this done you know in in in as fast a fashion as possible uh also another shout out to our uh our our attorney Town attorney uh who um you know got us millions of dollars in a settlement against the companies that produce these um uh these chemicals and uh helping us to pay for all these remediations so thanks again for that Jared um I want to say uh Iden Mubarak to everyone who's celebrating um I think that's it thank you mayor great thank you uh Ed yeah thanks just a couple things I just want to uh comment again on the presentation by the girls talk uh earlier uh in the meeting um it's great to see these girls it's great to see what they're doing uh the world's you know I'm confident that with people like that here uh the world is in a better place so I just want to congratulate them and thank them um the one I agree with everybody all the comments that were said the only thing I'm going to add is that before we meet again we will be celebrating the holiday of Passover so I wish everybody a very sweet and a happy um and meaningful Passover this year thank you great thank you anded I think a lot of what I was going to say has been covered and I've been trying to go along as uh mentioning dates uh I thank the uh girls talk for coming in that is April 27th uh at the community center the arbor Arbor Day is uh April 26th shine a light on autism April 24th we just have a very uh busy month um I uh I just want to say for May 14th that gives uh the comments uh by Joan and Susie that they're proud to live in this town and I'm proud to live in this town uh and especially being up here uh I'm looking forward to May 14th and everything we do and that will continue as long as I'm on the council um if I have the votes I uh sea Sean that was great I mean we uh a lot of good news the chess team is awesome they're number one in the state for the second straight year and number two in the country um we also have um what what else was the past we will have uh Nathan in right uh Barry to explain where we are and how we have been ahead of the curve on that I probably came across your phone today that uh it's a national standard for past the forever chemical um and I just want to also wish everyone uh the end of uh Ramadan uh a peaceful happy uh celebration as well so I think that's all I have Ed anything else no you look deep in thought that's all yeah I don't know but okay all right thanks all right I think we are now going back into going back into conference to continue uh nothing for close tonight I don't think uh mayor I don't have anything for close tonight Barry anything for close Okay so just the continuation of the conference meeting and uh thanks everyone for coming out tonight appreciate it