good evening everyone uh see all right this meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act and adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law specifically the revised annual notice was emailed to the West Essex Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 2nd 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 or other matters as outlined in the Sunshine Law decisions made and or 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 the open public records act to the extent possible this evening's Township of Livingston council meeting will be live streamed via Facebook at www.face.com Livingston townshipnj questions or comments will also be accepted by emailing live comments Livingston nj.org by 4 pm on the day of the meeting each speaker should follow the rules of order in Livingston code section 2-15 madam CLK roll call please council member Vieira present Klein here Deputy Mayor mhart here mayor Anthony uh here okay we're going to stand uh for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance uh is Eileen Fishman here for the Essex County update no okay seeing none all right are we do have a proclamation presentation tonight we have uh Captain John drump there he is all right um Captain drum has uh retired effective I went to it was it last Wednesday Tuesday last Wednesday who has been a tremendous member of our police force um we are going to give you a proclamation John um and maybe we'll read this first and I think we'll all want to say something about Sean right so uh uh let's see I'll Ed you want to start this sure okay yep yep whereas the mayor MERS of Liv sorry about that I didn't have my mic so I'm gonna start again whereas the mayor and members of the Livingston Township Council are pleased to join the community of the township of Livingston in honoring Captain John drum and whereas John has served the community of Livingston as a member of the township of the Livingston Police dep department for over 34 years and whereas John's reputation for being a dedicated loyal professional and courageous officer while serving the Livingston Community as a member of the Livingston Police Department is well known and welld deserved and whereas John has served the Limon community in the roles of patrol officer sergeant lieutenant and Captain and in those capacities he has worked for and greatly contributed to improved training procedures technology and Equipment upgrades supervisor protocols good order and morale within the township of Livingston Police Department and whereas John has worked to protect the township and the greater metropolitan area from threats of crime and criminal acts for the past 34 years including being deployed to the World Trade Center in 2001 and the ess6 Union auto theft tax force and whereas John has served on various Township committees and has been active in planning security for many of the events within held within the township of Livingston as well as those sponsored by the township including significant roles on the deer management committee TNR program and the animal control unit and whereas on behalf of a grateful Community we wish him all the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his service as he will truly be missed now therefore I mayor Al Anthony and the entire Township Council of the township of Livingston do hear Pro proclaimed today as John drum day throughout the town ship of Livingston congratulations [Applause] joh yeah yeah Chief would you like to say something Sor oh that was good May right to make it funny it's a good funny live we're live streaming I'll be brief I know they want me to be brief and I'll be brief um this is Bittersweet for me uh you know John I always said that I had two brothers in the police department my big brother John drum and my little little brother Tom Smith and uh I don't know if you're aware or not both of them are retiring on me John we kind of expected Tommy was a little bit of a surprise but uh Captain Smith is retiring also in a couple months but um losing John obviously is is uh difficult for me uh because we came in in uh September of 2018 and we took over the Reigns at a police department in September of 2018 and um I was promoted to Chief and uh the two were men were promoted to Captain uh the same month with me uh right after uh or we received the new manager Mr Lewis and uh a couple months later uh the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh was attacked uh probably a month later two months later at that point in time we realized that you know we're going to go down on chartered territory with running the police department and the events that occurred uh subsequent to that and over the over the course of the last five years really have been unprecedented so I can't thank Captain drum enough and also uh Captain Smith I'm sure we're GNA have Captain Smith day also down down the road um but I can sit here and talk to you for uh an hour about the events that we had to endure um and again we couldn't do it without the leadership behind me here supporting us the whole way the managers the counsel uh but also the officers and uh myself and Captain drum and Captain Smith you know we just led to the officers but the officers were with us uh all the way 100% And um I got I can't thank them enough but just the the pandemic the uh storms uh we almost lost officers in floods and um you know the amount of uh senseless attacks and uh protests and uh just uh everything else that we had to endure over the last 5 years I got to say I think it was fate that three humble uh individuals uh just happen to take the Reigns at that point in time and we work together as a team and um I'll be indebted to him forever so thank you thank you Chief um anyone want to say something about yeah can I say something yeah so so so John um you know C Captain jump was was the first police officer that I met after moving uh to Livingston um when I moved to Liv I became very active uh on one of the transportation committees and uh John was the police liaison at the time and that committee uh just truly respected and L John for uh all the work he did on the transportation advisory committee but you know once I got to to know John uh John asked me to introduce him to uh then Freeholder now it's commissioner but uh Freeholder uh Pat seol because uh the hobbert Gap Road uh area John's laughing right now um was was it was a little bit bumpy it was a difficult road to drive on and uh had potholes and bumps so U I introduced uh John to Pat and both John uh Pat and I took a ride in the police car yeah okay so so so so John put John took the worst car out except what what you're not saying is that you purposely hit every single bump and pothole on hobber gat road but you know what a month later that entire Road was paved uh by ess's County you know but you know John I I hope that during your retirement uh you're not going to stop playing golf uh uh you know we we hold a lot of golf outings I'm still part of the well we we hope you are because we a lot of people that are several uh holes away get a lot of laughs out of it but you know you make you make the day actually a lot of fun because what's supposed to be a quiet sport like I said you could hear John yelling and screaming from three holes away and you don't know whether he's screaming because he actually had a good shot or if he had a bad shot and you know what nobody understands how John has a bad shot when his driver it's illegal by the way I don't care what you say is about N9 Ines big and um you know what and and you're and Deputy Mayor mehard is on his team half the time and he knows exactly how big this uh this illegal driver is but um we also you know John we're not going to talk about your scoring either and uh you know last year we questioned your math a couple of times um but you know what we finally started actually believing that th those were not your scores and um those screams of course told us that they weren't but um you know what I tried to put an extra paragraph into um this Proclamation and uh it just didn't get in in time but I'm going to actually uh read what I wanted to put in so it says uh whereas the Livingston Township Council has decided to overlook the questionable High golf scores submitted by Captain drum and his team based upon credible information that Captain drum did not submit the false scores and another unknown meddler purposely submitted these scores under the name John drum so therefore the Town Council observe absorbs Captain John drum and Returns His golf dignity to him so John the last thing I want to say is on behalf of my uh my entire family you know we really love and respect you and you're you're one of the best uh and we just want to uh you to enjoy your retirement uh it's well earned and uh you know thank you for all your [Applause] service John I I think I would um I haven't played golf with you so I can't I can't comment as to uh we Abol you um I I think about um words that I would use to describe you I I would say um kind you just you you have this huge heart and I think everyone's can see it as soon as they start talking to you um which you know for a person in a position of authority I think it's not always easy to have uh you know to maintain that Authority at the same time as being as kind as you are you're Rock Steady um I think you're always Dependable you know I can I I I can and I did call you any time day or night when I was trying to not hassle the chief too much and uh and and just and just talk to you about what's going on what are you seeing and what what was the story with this and you were you were never not available you always answer the phone and um you helped me and I'm sure everyone else on this council do a better job on the council because you were able to give us information and help us and point us in the right direction uh and talk to us about important issues uh that that people in this town were worried about and um you know you made you made government better and you made the police force better um incredibly professional um I think it's hard to do all those things and also have the you know almost just Universal affection of all the people that you're serving for I mean you have a tough job to do and I never heard anyone say anything bad about you um and uh the town loves you and certainly that's how I feel about you and uh we're going to miss you a lot you know there there going to be other people who get called Captain around here but they're not going to be Captain John drum and and we really just uh you know just say that we're sorry to see you go but we hope that you're uh you wish you much happiness success in in your future all right thanks okay just before we go just for the record John's John's I was not and I have never had been on John's golf team so I'm always on the other side okay getting beat John John's three out of four J of John's Golf me team members are here today okay and and all of I think all of my all of my golf team is here today so John you know maybe I'll have a chance of winning and uh you know now that you're going to go see the the golf pro you know maybe he'll improve but uh um you know on a serious note um Sean said a lot of I want to say but I'm going to say that one of the first Recollections I have um of meeting you and asking you for for something is when my mom called my mom who passed away in 21 called and she didn't know what to do with some of the needles that she had and you came to her house I think with Chief as well and um she could not stop talking about uh both of you but sorry Gary but she talked about John a lot more um and and and and and I have to tell you that you made an impression on her that day was one of the F and and you made an impression a real big impression on myself your caring your passion your dedication um doing this very very difficult job with a tender loving care uh not only do you make everybody better you make us better councilmen you make Town people you make the town residents better and we are all better for having the chance have spent some time with you over all these years um I will miss you on the force I know I will continue being friends I know I will call you John anytime and you will pick up the phone maybe just for other reasons because maybe there's a bot of tequila floating around but um but in all seriousness um you know on behalf of myself my family the entire residents of Livingston this Council we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you have done um and may you have a great healthy and happy retire and the rest of your life with your family as well thank you okay John I have nothing to say about you so we'll move on no John um uh being on the council probably the longest you were uh way back when I started uh the most approachable uh you gave me your cell phone right away and you were just so easy to talk uh with you you gave me advice on things uh traffic you knew like the back of your hand and then as we started to get into 201617 um you helped with the animal shelter tremendous job with the animal shelter and a lot of passionate people and uh you always brought the temperature down in the room uh and then on theed it up and the field you did a great job with Barnabas field uh when that was being built but mine is like what Ed said I mean uh you're a fellow uh mon Vilan which is where I grew up and in monville and um both my parents and my wife's parents um you would always check in on them because you live in Montville and that was just really like off duty you would go and just see if they were doing okay you know um now uh the surviving ones are my dad and uh my wife's uh Mom they're both they're 89 and 888 I think um but you still check in you and Renee and and that's really beautiful that you do that on on your off time and I know that also um during Hurricane Ida uh I think my wife may have been talking with you and as the rway river was filling up my car I was coming back and I lost that car and it's gone you were you were like running out to try to save me and I think you got stuck and you had to sleep in your car that night or something right you didn't lose the car but that was that was just really I I mean that's the type of guy you are and I was at the uh the walk out the other day huge crowd what Sean said this community loves you it's it's going to it's impossible to for someone to uh step in your shoes but we do have a drum on the on the force now your son which is really cool um so anyway I just want to say that I hope your retirement is is peaceful and um you and Renee have some you know fun do some cool stuff I'm sure you'll be at rails and tacco uh and um I I just from the bottom of my heart from the bottom of everyone's heart thank you so much for a job well done John we're gonna give you a plaque could I just before you give the plaque I just I just wanted just couple so um first off I full disclosure I've always been part of John's Golf forsome so I will uh I'll plead the fifth here on the scoring situation U are you are you serious with that one um John I had the privilege of uh I actually got to know John briefly before I came to Livingston but then had the privilege of of promoting him to Captain uh at the same day that I promoted uh Chief marshes and Tom Smith and I look back at there I think a really a key turning point in the Livingston Police Department and under all three of their Collective leadership it's been such a tremendous um thing to watch as the as the department has flourished and grown and the morale has improved and um they all have such a dedication to the community and John in particular is uh has been alluded to he's got a heart of gold uh kind is certainly an appropriate word but as everybody knows he could also be the hammer when he had to be uh that was his nickname sometimes the hammer because sometimes that's what you got to do as a boss but um it's been a pleasure Getting to Know You John I know we will continue to be friends and I wish you and Renee and the whole family the best of luck thank you thank you Barry um anyone CH or I'll just be brief Captain drum it's it's been a pleasure to work with you uh I get to work with a lot of officers around the state and you're by far are one of the best officers I've ever worked with and uh real pleasure you keep this town safe um and as a resident I appreciate you I appreciate everything you've done so I just want to wish you all the luck and and enjoy your retirement thank you thank you TR uh Russ well John we want to wish you a healthy and happy retirement I was here when you started and uh we got involved with a lot of different projects including deer man management and that's been successful uh we haven't had complained in what 10 years now that we've been running it and we've also drafted john to come back in the fall to help out with it so um we wish you H yeah um so it's been a pleasure to work with you all these years and you never said no when we called you always responded um we had a few difficult times with a few things but we got through them and together and I appreciate that so best wishes to you and your family and your retirement anyone else all right anyone all right no one brought up the I hate my ti speech [Laughter] John we we were at an event where John dedicated his whole speech to how much he hated his tie that he had on and then he you ripped it off as soon as the speech was sh yeah but that was great no more ties now right um okay so we're gonna John if you could come up over here about youbody come on you guys all come up it's all about usie come for [Applause] than good you and in case you haven't figured it out that is the new officer John drum Jr in case anybody didn't know [Applause] than e thank you John okay I just want to acknowledge we have our Board of Ed here we have uh president Pam chur we have Peru uh we have Vanita past member zoning board uh ex planning board chair Peter Klein who has a key to the city did you use the key to get in here Peter and Ellen Klein from the Board of Ed good to see everyone and the library board uh Nora yes all right Full House okay and stepen of course all right we are now up to resolution 2483 can I want to read so mayor what we're going to do we're first going to open it up to nominations and once the nomination process is concluded um if there's if there if there's only one nomination then we'll move the resolution there's no point of order there's there'll be no no Mr Rober no public comment no sir there'll be there'll be a public commentary it's next on the agenda for agenda items you're not recogn Mr alert you're out of order you're not recognized no um that's our legal counsel Al out of order just Mr Al you're out of order you'll have your opportunity to speak during public comment thank you okay so what's the next uh um mad could you ask for nominations please may I have a nomination for the uh Township council member it is a it is my honor to nominate Kon bhutani uh for the for the resolution of coun [Applause] I'll I'll second that Kate I'll second it uh discussion uh I think we ask there's any further nominations any further nominations no good and then um May why don't you ask to have the resolution introduced appointing K and then a second and then you can open up for discussion we have a motion to introduce the resolution I'll make a up go ahead are we going to do comment on at this point I'll make a motion to Second and then the mayor can open up for to discussion moot I make a motion to move the resolution I will happily second it and now Mary can open it up to discussion uh discussion um you want to read it Michael want to go first um today I will be voting for uh K and B and um I just want to congratulate Kon and wish him the best of luck uh as he will be representing uh all of the residents of Livingston it it's not an easy job um and we could all tell you that uh you know the volunteer work you do up here will be very rewarding and uh most residents throughout our wonderful town really appreciate it um really so much um I've always said that L Livingston is such a remarkable town our town is a mix of many nationalities cultures religions beliefs and if you take a a photo of the men and women um this town has elected to serve the on the Livingston Board of Education and the Town Council you can see diversity you can see inclusion you can see why I say Livingston is a remarkable Town Kon tonight you will make history in Livingston as being the first council member of Asian-American [Applause] descent I'm sure there are so many people who are proud of you right now uh for this honor [Applause] congratulations thank you mayor um Michael said a lot of the things that I was goingon to say so I will I will and that's what happens when you go second but um wa to go last when you go last right so I think um I want to talk I guess more personally about uh kaan um I've known you for many years um and the words that come to mind when I when I think about you is and I I said this word earlier tonight I'm going to call two people kind tonight but you're a kind person I think you're a generous person you're smart and you're motivated you are committed to community organizing and not just in your tremendous efforts with sanskriti and with Cricket and table tennis um but for Livingston as a whole right you you've uh stepped forward for the Fourth of July committee and others um knowing all this and and and see what kind of person you were I I was the one that put your name forward to be on the zoning board because I knew that you would do a great job there and you served there for many years with distinction um you've been politically active in Livingston for many years and not only at a local level but at a state and even National level um that's why I'm proud to support you um to help you're going to help provide leadership in Livingston as part of this Council you'll do it with fairness and humility and you will always do with the best interest of Livingston in your heart um I think you're going to be a a wonderful person uh on this Council I'm excited to uh hopefully that you'll get the votes that you need to join the council and um that you're going to be a pleasure to work with and uh I can't wait to uh enjoy the time to spend with you with uh you know discussing and maybe disagreeing sometimes but but getting to the right Point uh for Livingston and uh keeping looking at it as our North [Applause] Star thank you um is is certainly my honor uh to be part of history as was said earlier uh to be the first Asian-American descent person to be sitting on this council with us um I've been looking forward to this day as many of you know for many many years um you are a dedicated caring community-minded individual who shares great knowledge to all of us to this town and I know will serve this town with pride and with great distinction and I look forward to having you and to sitting here sitting next to you um this evening and for many years to come I am um exceptionally proud to call you a friend and uh highly U look forward to voting yet so [Applause] congratulations Kayon uh we've been friends for a long time and um you're here this is great I'm I'm so looking forward to working with you um on the council we've worked together on a lot you're you're like Mr energy you're on so many committees you do so much for the town you love the town Town loves you um Sean mentioned the Committees so I'm not going to go into them again but obviously you do a great job on those and you're involved in so many other things as well and you got your beautiful family here tonight um I I just I'm really looking forward to working with you and uh you're making history here tonight so congratulations it's been a time coming but I'm great job great [Applause] job mayor just a record um we're voting on resolution 24- 083 a resolution to fill the vacancy on the township Council and appoint kton bani as a council member um based on the nomination the blank and the there and therefore CLA will also be filled with kon's name Council member Vieira yes council member kleene yes Deputy Mayor Reinhard proudly yes mayor Anthony very proudly yes [Music] congratulations you want to yeah yeah that's right about the most is this good is is good okay so I'm going to going do this you want to hold right there okay and and watch with Meo ready we G speak together yeah h no no I state your name I Kon bani do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance through faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do further solemnly swear I do further solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I Faith I'll faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of council member of the office of the council member of the township of Livingston of the township of Livingston according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God to open okay all right come on up come up here sure do you want to get a [Applause] yeah w I said if you need help who are you Kon as the newest council member you want to say a few words thank you mayor yes I would love to say a few words uh to all the uh distinguished guests here um famous residents here can I say um but one thing it's an honor to get sworn in on John drum day how's that that's going to be the day right John no I'll start with you I'll start with you first um 34 years my friend that's that's a long time and thank you for your service uh we have spoken at many occasions worked together at many places and events and you have been nothing but great help so thank you thank you very much and chief you were here just for me not for not for John so yeah just for the record just for the record um now I'll start with uh with a few thank yous I think my first Thanks goes to the council thank you mayor Anthony deputy mayor mehard council member Klein and council member Viera for your confidence and in my um in my application basically trying to come in and and be part of the council thank you for your confidence and thank you for your word I truly appreciate that we have engaged in so many topics government topics here Community topics here and outside at many occasions and you have been a a great listener and a partner uh and I am in a different role very excited to work here with you to find solutions for our community so thank you for that I see Pat seol here thank you chairwoman uh you have been a great guide for me throughout this special process it has a lot many steps and you knew it and you kind of guided me completely throughout the process I wouldn't have done it alone without that guidance and you have been transparent very clearly telling me you know what can or cannot happen and this is how you do it as a as a as a resident trying to come in on the council so thank you appreciate that thank you right um I think uh couple of things uh but before I do that I would like to acknowledge and thank my running mates uh Mr Larry Bergman and Mr James M uh mclan you guys have been amazing uh for the township you have done a lot lot of work and exemplary work in fact and it's in it's my honor to be in company with you um so thank you for that uh I also would like to thank now assembly woman Rosie boli uh who was in this seat and now moved to assembly as a chairwoman I thank her for the service to the town her service to the town um I see many friends here here many folks I've worked with uh in committees in boards uh in so many other areas where I have been part of um zoning board members I see them here my July 4th committee members past and present there you go hi Steve uh are here um members of my Cricut fraternity my team members and my uh executive committee members sanskriti members are here uh Indians in Livingston that's here uh Livingston Chinese Association thank you George um table tennis group biking group members uh bars are here uh so many friends and also so many people I have worked with volunteered uh we came in 20 years 20 plus years ago in this town and my first year I have noticed that this town runs on volunteers uh the spirit of volunteerism is so strong here uh I just got involved and in this so many years met so many people but now with this role I look forward to more opportunities speaking with more of our residents those who have not gotten a chance to meet yet so I'm looking forward to that um our daughters have gone through uh one of them is here I've gone through with the Livingston Public School from grade one we have met and uh created so many bridges so many relationships here so this is the town most of my ad would have spent here so I'm looking forward to continuing that and building upon that um so uh I just want to mention a couple of things um I think everyone in the council mentioned uh first American Asian-American indian-american on the council and that's that's really an honor it's it's really it's really an honor uh to be uh to be to be first for that but it also means that uh a lot of integration can happen as well uh I look forward to working on that I look forward to seeing and acknowledging our changing demographics our Township is changing uh so I look forward to continue to work on those that integrity of all of these integration of all of those communities uh with the larger Livingston community and make it a true one Livingston um couple of uh years I have been on this process and especially the last special process as I mentioned uh uh you know on on the selection election process I have met uh a few people and have reached out the past mayors and council members and I was looking for their advice what does this mean what does this mean to be sitting here and they were unanimous in their u in their advice to me just be yourself this role is about about the uh residents the quality of life how we improve that and I plan to do just that so so thank you thank you everyone for being here for your support uh and being here um in Indian traditional way I would like to say thank you thank you for all of you to be here and finally to my family uh thank you for being here this is a this is the day which we were talking about for for some time uh to my wife dipti you've been a rock on my side you've been a voice of reason and uh we have gone so thick and thin but I tell you one thing zoning board meetings that was once a month I would come home 10:30 11 this is twice a week twice a month so thank you for letting me do that don't don't forget don't forget all the committee and that's it exactly well tell her now no I I too soon too soon you definitely have a cold dinner uh and to and to my daughters uh Boomie who is right now with her patients she's a resident physician in Pennsylvania couldn't be here but we do have D here thank you D for being here and thank you guys both of you uh you girls for being the great friend now uh for Mom and Dad uh you've grown up into our great friends um thank you for letting me do this and and be part of this entire process with me my mom and dad uh you have instilled values in me uh shown me the way what is uh differentiate from right to wrong stand up for what's right and I'm here thank you thank you for for all your all your uh knowledge and uh and and sansar as we call it in in uh Hindi uh instilling in me um so once again my deepest deepest gr gratitude thank you to everyone who is present here uh I'm sure I forgot a few names uh and and yes for that it's a genuine mistake but you know what we'll fix it over food and wine very soon so thank you very much great thank you so much all right we're to the Caroline the approval of the minutes I believe right approval the minutes motion to approve motion to approve the 20 the 22 D 20 January 22nd 2024 regular conference and the 2024 closed session minutes of that same day okay I'll second it second all in favor yes yes councilman mutani uh abstains okay as he wasn't present for those meetings all right uh next we have public comment on agenda items only motion to open the uh meeting to public comments on agenda items second second yeah anybody yeah I mean yeah the so this so the meeting is now open to any agenda items including the resolution which appointed uh Council council member bhani so anyone who anyone like to speak on any topic including uh Kane's appointment can speak now hey Raj Peri uh two freed and drive um having been born and raised in this town having walked in the first Memorial Day parade with the Indian Community I think in 1983 or 1984 as a very young kid this a very proud day for the community I never having grown up in this town thought I would see someone that looked like me on this day and I think it's so important for all the kids and all the families here so congratulations to all of you on a great decision congratulations kaan and we look forward to seeing everything that you can do here for the town thank you thanks so much [Applause] r i serve on the Essex County Pat what's your name oh sorry Pat seone thank you we just need it you know that I serve sorry about that I serve on the Essex County Board of commission ERS we are a very very diverse County we are one of the most diverse counties in the state of New Jersey and the Board of Commissioners reflects that diversity in this County and I am very very proud that Livingston Town Council represents that diversity so I welcome Kon bhani to the town Council and to increase our diversity so that we include all people in making this a better democracy thank you thank you Pat hi uh if you can tolerate two Peres in one night uh Carrie Peri to Freed and drive um I'm going to acknowledge that um there's always work to be done on process there's always work to be done on transparency but today is not that day today is day to set that aside because the outcome is exactly as it should be um I'm so proud um I'm proud because I have kids that grow up here who consider themselves very much Indian um you tell me I'm honorary Indian sometimes um it's a really big deal to be a mom and to be able to go home tonight and look at my kids and say see see you can do it because other people have come before you um it has been an absolute honor to work alongside you and thank you to all of the council um members and the mayor for making this choice because I can go home tonight and rest my head on my pillow knowing that there's representation that matters and it's working thank you thanks car good evening Venita Cana Westgate your neighbor Westgate rules well um my heart is so warm and fuzzy tonight because this was a day that we've all been waiting for as you could tell from the turnout that we had tonight with the Indian American community and hopefully they'll show up more now will they'll be more motivated because they see they see themselves on the dasas and they feel that they have representation I I have known kaan for almost the 20 years that he's been in town as a very active member of the community but I got to really know him closely when he and I worked on my board of headed campaign very closely and then I realized my God he is he's very first of all he's very sincere he's very strategic very methodical very committed and very consistent so I was so so inspired so and with that team backing me up I think that may have been the reason for my victory well somebody say I'm a good candidate too but but it's the team it's the team we we grew together and uh when I got elected for the border of fed I had looked back at my team and said now don't just stop at this there should be representation in other Arenas as well so this is a momentous day for us as the indian-american community of Livingston I have been here 25 years this is a long time coming thank you for your support for your trust for your confidence and for your mentoring going forward we love you all very much and we appreciate the love that you give us back thank you congratulations kaan thank you thank you Vita Pam Charles formerly Westgate Road I know currently M it's a Powerhouse Road I wanted to congratulate you uh we met for the first time probably through your work with Crick um and then sanskriti and you've always been very welcoming to me personally but on behalf of the Board of Education I wanted to welcome you and we look forward to continued partnership with you there are other meetings you'll hear about that you may not know about yet uh but slowly but surely we'll uh incorporate you into our work so we look forward to it thank you P thank you P hi my name is Nita Jer HC Drive um congratulations I'm so proud to call you my friend I'm here to congratulate you on behalf of sanskriti uh and really really heartwarming day for all of us thank you council members uh for appreciating uh this person here and we are extremely proud of him congrats thank you thank you [Applause] n uh shra mukarji Eastbrook I'm sorry I'm going to be reading from my phone I just wrote it I can't remember sounds great uh congratulations to Katan bani for being the latest addition to our uh Town Council uh thank you Mr Mayor and the council members for your support and making this happen uh today is a historic and important day for us because kaan is the first ever uh South Asian to be elected to this position uh it reflects this town's inclusivity and spirit of rewarding volunteerism and public service I've known Kon Bai the B meaning an elder brother in our culture for the 12 years that I've lived in this town uh and from day one I found him to be a pillar in the local community he taught me a new Resident how to integrate myself in town uh something he continues to this stay with new residents he's quite the town encyclopedia and shares his knowledge wisdom and experience with all who would ask he has always encouraged me to get involved and help with various committees and town events and taught me how the local Politics as well as Town governance works I'm amazed to see how he takes every opportunity to bring people together I'm very happy for Ken P today and with him all the best our town is better today with Ken B on the council thank you all and have a good night thank you thank you George George Shen uh East Cedar Street congratulations Kon uh you are always uh my friend and uh My Mentor in you know I just realized you you serveing so many committees and so many initiative and you deserve this seat and uh I'm looking forward to learning more from you and congratulation be the first Asian sitting there thank you Jo thank good evening everybody this is Dr prakash paragi I've known kaan for more than two decades now and we're more like brothers kaan is very dedicated very high-spirited gentleman he is conscientious and he takes the task so easily and helps people and that's the best part of him I can proudly say and I'm honored today that I can see him on the stage thank you for inviting me I come from West Orange but bring our love and affection to you thank you very much and congratulations and thank you all for voting for him thank you thank you Dr good evening sanjie vay from Milburn Short Hills cross border like West Orange as doctor said first of all congratulations k thank you to Pat seabold and all the members here mayor Deputy Mayor councilman uh to recognize and include diversity on the tanuk committee as kaan is here I ran for my town four years ago and he was the guy who helped me to get into public service there so he's so involved uh not only at the township level at the crossborder level at county level uh um him and I also serve on the district leaders uh for the county and it is an absolute honor and pleasure to be here and kaan good luck best wishes and you make us seriously all very proud thank you all thank nesa 49 Falcon Road obviously Livingston so Ken B again the meaning of by elder brother thank you and congratulation for uh being here it's so honored to see in front of all of us to see you on the seat so congratulations again I'm not going to repeat all what everybody said but I'm really really happy for you and thank you all of you other council members P you both for making this happen congratulation thank you n than Chanel kala 6 69 SES Avenue first of all thank you to John uh I don't know if he's here uh thank you to council member uh for your support and absolutely congratulations Ken by uh I know everybody and including myself here we I'm proud uh to see Indian American uh to be there on the seat but for me kaan B and I want to know for all the Resident that when I moved to the town five six years back the first thing I learned from is how to integrate I second shuru and S sanj thought that how to to lean in to the community this community is run by volunteership so he's all about that's how I learned I I'm less I was very ignorant about the fact I didn't know any committee is volunteership so I'm getting involved in the town that's what he is G for me he tells everybody that he tells everybody to lean in it's not about Indian it's not about sanskriti I learned about the town volunteership and I joined few volunteership and I look forward to doing more so thank you kaan thank you thank you hi my name is PJ joar 8 Chelsea Drive so I moved into this town with my wife naita about 15 years ago in 2008 and kaan was one of the first guys who approached me and said do you play cricket and I said yes but not well and I I didn't join till about four or five years ago but he kept convincing me so I know he's very uh he's a good convincing power but he's also a fighter he and and I know he will fight for the greater good and and he I've seen him his resilience in last couple of years and I think you know he's got in got got it in him and I think he'll fight for the greater good for Livingston thank you thank you Monica Gupta 44 Billingsly drive so I'm sure k by knows what Billingsley Drive is no that's M mayor that's the opposite now now we have Billingsley now coming in West versus Billingsley no I'm just kidding all right another great street so all I want to say is we are very very proud to see you sitting there kaan it just a very very uh precious moment we are seeing his history you're creating history for us we can be more proud just looking forward to see all the changes that you're going to Bringing forward to the community thank you thank you thank you Monica thank you Bim balaria 49 Witchwood Road uh kin bani Ken b as most of us call him uh I've known him through various associations uh cricket table tennis we used to play in his garage and his basement and everywhere he used to he started uh from his house and now probably it's a 200 300 people community playing table tennis uh we have biked together I just want to say one thing uh there are people who started you know as an example biking 10 miles and now Ken B encouraged them to go up to 100 miles I give that example uh as as as an example to say Ken B takes people along and he's always the last one to finish right with the slowest guy at the at the back right uh uh and that's an example of leadership so apart from being Asian Indian American is deserving to be sitting there congratulations thank you thank you Manish Pia Dr Manish Pia Sunshine Lane lingon been in the town since 2004 and you know K and B since the beginning days of cricket we started the Five Guys started playing cricket and eventually became 150 guys his gentle soft but persuasive power is incredible he stands for right no matter what he's all about inclusivity he wants to make sure whatever he is right thing gets done and congratulations thank you very much have fun enjoy thank you thank you comment sorry sorry you have seven you have seven seconds no no no Westgate has to go twice westate good year um as a recently retired board ofed member and seeing my board colleagues here well first of all uh please listen to everything they say and uh and and now more burden on you to work as effectively as possible with the B of fed because you know they are doing great things and and it's my first day so I'm going to definitely say yes I I'll I'll keep him accountable all right and secondly there's so much talk about Cricket so you know you brought Cricket to this town and you encouraged everybody to play and guess what the board of fed has added Cricket to the curriculum so so this is how beautifully this town has worked with volunteers collaborating for the betterment of our town so with leaders like Pat SE bold who guide everybody on either side it's incredible with Ellen Klein Peter Klein in the house uh who always are there to give you advice we have such an incredible team going here I so proud to be a living stonan and forever will be thank you thank you thank you and congratulations again thank you so much thank you anyone else to close seeing seeing yeah second seeing yeah second I I was going to say this is the first time I think any of us can remember that we're actually going to complain about closing the public part of it so it's very rarely do we get sit here and enjoy all these comments so thank you all for coming up and speaking you all right good yes you say thank you to everyone you said mentoring right so mentoring starts right now so once again no once again thank you thank you very much I was I was trying to say thank you after each one but yes I I may have missed a few but no I I truly appreciate it very humbling comments uh yes the word I I was looking for initially was humble um it is it is a humbling experience to have all of you come here and speak about all of that which I which come just like that for me I never in a million years thought that this is what I I was doing all this for uh there was no goal there was just Community just working with friends and just being engaged and give back so it's it's really a humbling experience and thank you for each one of you being here again and coming to the microphone uh the words I mentioned about about the leaders I reached out to Mr Klein was one of them and advises the advice that I got the the direction that I got the guidance that I God is uh immense and I think I'm going to be reaching out to you more and get more advice and more guidance so thank you very much thank you and thank you everyone for speaking tonight that was that was beautiful uh Caren any um written comments on the concession no ma'am okay great we'll move to the final hearing uh second reading of ordinances Carol this is ordinance 2 2024 amending chapter 146 food and beverages Article 1 licensing and chapter 154 Health ordinances Administration motion to move uh for motion motion open the public open public comment on this ordinance second second thank you um seeing on motion to close Okay second all in favor I yeah you got it roll call roll call you got move so you move yeah move I I'll second it can you I don't know mayor any oppos mayor just for record uh council member bhani uh will not be voting on this as he did as he was not part of the governing body when it was introduced that's right council member bani abstain council member Vieira yes council member Klein yes Deputy Mayor Minard yes mayor Anthony yes okay next we have for introduction okay ordinance 52024 amending chapter 274 streets and sidewalks moving on first reading second all in favor want to vote Yes okay okay uh council member bubani yes no council member Vieira yes kleene yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes and mayor the the uh final hearing on this will be February 26 in two weeks great thank you uh the next one ordinance 5- um ordinance 6-22 24 amending and supplementing chapter 29 traffic and parking moving on first reading second any comments any comments council member bani I think I'll abstain this one need more information Viera yes kleene yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes and mayor this will also have its public hearing at the February 26 2024 meeting great thank you Carol uh next one ordinance 7- 2024 amending and supplementing chapter 6 of the Township Code by creating articles seven entitled rules applicable to all committees moving on first reading second any comments seeing none council member bani yes Viera yes Klein yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes ordinance 8- yes I'm sorry um that one 226 also great thank you yes eight ordinance 8-22 24 amending and supplementing chapter 17091 fences moving on first reading I had a question about it okay um can we question after a second then it'll be open okay now comments Barett just if you could just explain uh uh the the Chang that's being made here why we think you know with with the uh rationalis yeah so um this is the fence one right yes yeah so um some time ago the council authorized an ordinance that permitted deer fences and certain properties generally speaking we have uh fence regulations that apply everywhere but properties resident Residential Properties that a but uh undeveloped Parcels Woods greater than two acres that are prone to having deer population uh there was an exception that they could install what are called deer fences it's a little bit higher the requirements uh as originally adopted only allowed the polypropylene black which is a plasticky fence uh we've received a number of uh concerns I'll call it from residents that those fences are not sufficiently durable the deer just step up against them and break them uh so this would allow same basically a wire mesh chain link type uh that would just be stronger and keep the deer out thank you um I do have a quick question you gotta keep you gotta keep one you gotta keep one door open please thank you is there any height regulation included in there uh the height was already there it's 8 ft it's the height Remains the Same it's just adding the additional material and it's only for deer fences nice thanks any other comments okay okay uh council member bani yes via yes yes kleene yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes 226 not uh yes this one actually will not be 226 the final hearing on this will be March 11 March 11 great thank you yes the next one uh and lastly ordinance 9224 appropriation of 5,475 uh th000 B bonds for various improvements I'm moving on first reading second any comments yeah bar J this is a significant number do you want to just take us through this please yeah again so this is um as we've been doing lately our Capital Improvement program we try and get our Capital ordinances in early in the year so that the funding is available for various projects to get underway uh this particular ordinance has a number of items I'm trying to find it uh one of the notable ones is a a new fire apparatus for the fire department that is long overdue uh there's our road program including uh roads there we go thank you um uh there's work associated with repaving and we were used to have underground fuel tanks at Town Hall and those U have to be removed and replaced and um also at the firehouse uh this includes the engine replacement uh some maintenance at Firehouse buildings um updating some of the um and then of course the road and Engineering uh program which is a significant portion every year so it's pretty comprehensive addresses all the uh the current needs mayor mayor I have a comment sure thank I just Barry I just want to thank you and an uh for this um I do see the uh the Quint the fire apparatus in there so I'm I'm sure our uh our volunteer firefighters who do a wonderful job in our community uh will be very happy with this uh it's long overdue and I also saw that um there's some uh repairs uh to the fire department also so thank you very much for uh putting this Capital uh money in any other comments okay council member BB t i letain this one Viara yes kleene yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes and the final hearing on this will be February 26 2024 thank you car uh next is the uh consent agenda for Resolutions um anyone have an objection to reading all together you want to pull any out yeah mayor I want to call out um just real quick um 24- 086 okay which one what anyone else no oh we're pulling out uh 86 um 24086 and mayor um council member ban is indicated he's going to abstain on the consent agenda tonight sure yeah you would like to read through and and be knowledgeable about it nice TR thank you um yeah can you uh a motion to read all of them other than uh 2486 so moved second second any opposed no resolution 24- 081 authorizing the award of a contract to R&D Trucking Inc resolution 2482 authorizing purchases under the north Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing program system resolution 2484 authorizing alcoholic beverages and designated public Recreation areas resolution 24-85 authorizing the award of a contract to Stans a Construction LLC resolution 24-87 authorizing 2024 temporary emergency Appropriations resolution 2488 consenting to the proposed Northeast Water Quality Management plan Amendment I'll move all the resolutions remaining on the consent agenda second any oppos no okay um uh council member Bob Tani abstains council member Vieira yes council member Klein yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes this is resolution 24- 086 pulled from the consent agenda awarding a contract for services in evaluating Township pool options to land Associates discussion first chair um it's preferred to have a motion and a second than discussion moved second okay uh any discussion yeah I just I call this out 2486 thank you uh for letting me pull this out just want to give a special shout out this is beginning of uh what's going to be a long-term project for this town uh looking reevaluating uh the pools um I would like to particularly thank Steven koll Allan carpus and Ron Valentine who have chaired and continued to chair uh the po Committee in this town they've done Yan's work they will continue do Yan's work for this town I look forward uh to working with them I know we all do in the future and I also like to thank Ann coochie as well our CFO who has a lot of work ahead of her but I know um you know so we appreciate everything that you will be doing to help this town um it's time that uh this this Council I know is committed um to coming up with a pool situation that has not been touched by any of our previous councils for probably the last 50 years better did we figure out for 50 years uh the can has been kicked as far down the road as possible and is now this council's responsibility to start working on it and this is the beginning of this process so thank you I'd like to uh in addition to Ron Steve Allen and an uh thank you deputy mayor for all your work on the pool committee I know you've sat through a lot of meetings I know you've reviewed all the materials and I do look forward to um the can stopping and US dealing with uh that issue that's been uh kicked around around for a long time so thank you for spearheading that thanks i' would like to add uh mayor and Deputy Mayor to your comments and to your service Deputy Mayor um I was sitting in the in the audience when uh Steve and Ron presented the their findings I have spoken uh so many to so many people in town there are both sides like hey people have pools in their backyards why community pool but then that case study really starts building up the facts in front so I completely uh in agreement I second that that effort and definitely want to add my my thanks to them and it's uh it's a great study we should build upon that thank you mayor I just want to thank you also for keeping this high on the agenda I know last year it was one of uh the uh the topics that um that I had pushed and uh thank you very much for keeping it on and thank you uh deputy mayor for continuing your your service on that committee uh it's something that this this community definitely does need and thank you uh councilman Ben mayor for the can stopping being kicked around and getting it on the agenda last year and I'm just continuing the work appreciate it uh council member BB Tani is abstaining council member Vieira yes Klein yes Deputy Mayor mhart yes mayor Anthony yes okay we're up to the uh public portion uh comments public comments on move to open move to over the meeting on for public portion I'll second it all in favor yes okay no comments from no comments okay anyone uh on anything or we've oh take care motion to close public comment second second uh all in favor I I okay well any opposed no okay all right we're up to reports of Township officials who do I start with again here an do you go go this way thank you very much for everything you did with the pool committee as well and supporting this it's a long road but we're going to get it done thank you oh thank you for all your work an uh Adam no update at this time great okay Barry uh just like to welcome Kon to the council uh very exciting it was amazing to hear some of the comments so I look forward to working with you uh my standing offer to meet with you I have a very open door policy get you up to speed on anything you want don't hesitate to call I'll get you my cell phone number obviously and again just congratulations and look forward to working with you thank you thank you very and I'll take up that offer we'll we'll be we'll be sitting down uh Russ uh yes Welcome to our new council member and we wish you best of luck um one thing we reported off for last week was we attended a rib U an event by the county where we were presented with our check for the sensory van that we're actually in the process now building now that we've got the approval to go ahead and that'll be for people that are maybe have some sensory things at events and things like that and they can have a quiet place to go to so that project is well underway and the county uh is participating with a check of an amount of 37,500 it's not the total Pro price but it's a good chunk of it so we thank the county for their participation through the community development program thank you Russ for going there and uh Michael you went as well and Ron and Ron barbill yes thank you and I thank the county as well um oh and Pad there you are the county yes thank you pad for all your work in in procuring that so I appreciate it um Carolyn just just wanted to say congratulations and welcome to the township Council also and I look forward to working with you and I um you know I'm sure that any my door is always open so anytime you have you're in the building stop by and say hi thank you car great thanks Carol uh Jared uh thank you mayor kayen congratulations it's a true honor to sit up here with you uh I've known you for a long time and and the real winner tonight are the residents of Livingston because I know that you're going to be a great Steward great fiduciary for them I know you have their interest at heart um and it's a true honor to sit up here and and a privilege so I'm very happy for you tonight thank you Jared and thank you thank you everybody what a warm welcome thank you very much great thanks CH thanks K and um now we go to the the council see I was not anything else to talk about all right I think uh I think I would like to start by saying um last Saturday night was just amazing uh we had a fantastic uh Livingston Chinese Association Chinese New Year celebration so colorful great music fantastic energy so I I congratulate the LCA and there are quite a few other organizations including Livingston Chinese school they were part of it and great job there uh one other piece um is I had a fortune to kind of go and play chess Ena is right here um in her Club and I got beaten I tell you U but it was it was a great experience fantastic Arrangements there you know so so keep up the great work absolutely that's great I I won my first game at Justin Bagels uh against a sixth a sixth grader um but I'll take it and yeah I did I did I thought the saying was fifth grader not sixth grader world but I get oh Slava you he wipes the board with me yeah her husband slav is like a chess master um but anyway okay uh let's see Michel so I have it on my schedule to stop by the the chest and bals but I'm only there for the begel part of it I do not play chess I will not get beat by a six uh sixth grader so uh but but I will take butter on my bagel when I get there um but uh Kon congratulations again uh I look forward to to uh many long years of working with you I want to thank Pat seol um uh the the leader of our party for sending such a remarkable candidate to us thank you for your leadership P um I too was uh with the mayor um at uh Saturday with the Chinese uh cultural day and I want to thank the Chinese Community uh for putting on such a wonderful event it was really really uh wonderful and I do want to uh uh wish our Chinese Community a happy New Year it's the Year of the Dragon this year I believe believe February 10th is their uh their new year so uh Happy New Year and I just want to also uh last thank our veterans uh for continuing to honor uh the World War uh I um it's the four chaplain ceremony it's where uh four chaplain ended up giving up their life vests to save other people on a sinking ship and uh you know every year they have this ceremony it's moving and um just remarkable so I want to thank our veterans for continuing that ceremony thank you mayor thank you uh Council so I would say Happy Chinese New Year to everyone happy year of the dragon um I would just comment on a couple of other events that I was at as well um we went to a ceremony uh to honor uh the founding Rabbi of uh Suburban Torah uh very well attended um uh this past Monday and it was a special ceremony to hear uh how meaningful he was to that uh to that congregation and uh a pleasure to go and and thank you for the invitation to that and I also wanted to just mention on the four chaplain ceremony also I think we're invited to maybe nine or 10 different um uh ceremonies by the veterans in town and the four Chaplin is is my favorite uh ceremony it really gives this message uh one of the thing Michael touched on a little bit but I think one of the other points that's important to think about is that the four chaplain were from four different religions and it's it's a really uh inclusive ceremony um much in the way tonight was inclusive um and it celebrated uh the humanity that we all have in common and and also it celebrates um you know sacrifice and and doing what's right for the greater good and those are all lessons we have to keep it hard all the time so uh thank you to Brian Bole and for the all the veterans organizations uh who helped and uh uh who helped to run that thank you thank you uh Deputy Mayor thank you very much I'll just dovetail on some of the other remarks and wish the Chinese community of kung F Choy um happy New Year and happy that's my for my years of living in Hong Kong I I remember the I remember that um also D telling on what on what Sean said um about the different religions um a few weeks ago uh and this Friday there will be another uh rally here in front of town hall representing uh different parts of the world and different religions and I just wanted to give a shout out to Livingston Police Department for thanking all of them for keeping all of us safe during this and the and to the auxiliary as well thank you very much to the auxiliary for all that you do as well you're an invaluable you're invaluable to this town um you're always there when we need them when we need you as well when the police need you but uh the LPD has shined a few weeks ago and I know they will continue to shine this Friday so I want to thank them as well and finally through my soccer friends who are here how exciting it is to have the World Cup coming to New Jersey in 2026 the final so I I know you're all Cricket fans as well but I can't help it I'm a big soccer fan so I was just as excited as as you guys were uh for that announcement yesterday so thank you mayor the World Cup of cricket is coming finals World Cup of cricket is coming as well we'll talk more about Long Island yes Long Island and yes amazing um I think just about everything was mentioned um real quick uh scheduling we don't have a meeting two weeks from now it's three weeks from now as we were saying with Caroline 226 because of President's Day uh real quick um pack great job on the Democratic committee and uh Kon wonderful wonderful Choice um we're looking forward to working with Kon and Pat thank you for the sensory trailer um as well let's see we have the Chinese festival I I think a few people mentioned that was it was just it seems to get better every year it was this year um with the uh the blanket twisting and I mean I think the woman who did it in The Umbrellas spinning umbrellas and the was in the Guinness Book of Records yes yeah so that's the type of um you know Talent we have at that and I think I called it the big five the other night Livingston Chinese School the washa School our school system the um Livingston Chinese um Christian Living Stones got one more and I got one more hold on the Chinese Association you got it thank you thank you and thanks for attending with me uh Council Vieira um also real quick a shout out to the LPD uh we already gave a shout out to chess and bagels which is become a regular and um I really appreciate everything you do I mean the bagels you had to do an extra run that time because it was so mobbed I mean it's really it's really taken off and thank you for all you do for it so thanks en um so yeah I think that's uh I think that's it right anyone else have anything Jared no all right so we are going into close for a couple items I think you mentioned them already or no yeah the Madam clerk will read the resolution into the record resolution 24-8 9 to go into closed session whereas the open public meetings ACT public law 1975 chapter 231 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances and whereas the township council is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist and whereas the township Council wishes to discuss one 615 South Livington Avenue contract negotiations attorney client privilege two poll consultant contract negotiations three tax appeal updates attorney client privilege four litigation updates attorney client privilege five affordable housing attorney client privilege whereas minutes will be kept and once the matter involving the confidentiality the above no longer requires confidentiality the minutes can be made public now therefore be it resolved by the township Council the township oliton that the public be excluded from this meeting uh council member so move okay you're right motion second council member vatani yes via yes Klein yes Deputy Mayor Mard yes mayor Anthony yes we move into Clos we are adjourned we're not adjourned now we're going to close we're going into close