good morning everyone happy New Year morning this is the annual reorganization meeting of the township of Middletown January 7th 2024 at this time I'd like to read the open public meetings act statement the notice requirements provided for in the open public meetings act have been satisfied notice of this meeting was properly given by transmission to The Star Ledger the independent and the two of her times and by posting at the Middletown Township Municipal Building and filing with the Township Clerk all on January 5th 2023 uh four excuse me we will Begin by swearing in of newly elected Committee Member Ryan Clark on November 7th 2023 Ryan Clark was duly elected as member of the township Committee of Middletown Township for a term of three years expiring December 31st 2026 at this time Ryan would you please come forward with your family the oath of office will be administered by Patrick commit and Tony Perry all right Brian congratulations honored to serve alongside in issue the oath of La that's for your second ter in office place your left hand on the Bible raise your right hand towards God and repeat after me i r Ryan Clark I Ryan Clark do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Saint and allegiance to the Saint and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully to faithfully and partially and and justly perform and justly perform all of the duties all the duties of Township commitment Township commitment according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you God you congratulations ran quick family piure yeah there you go next Comm at this time we will swear in Township Committee Member Kimberly pratz on November 7th 2023 Kimberly Crest was duly elected as member of the township Committee of the township of Middletown for a term of three years expiring December 31st 2026 at this time I'd like to invite commit woman Kats please come forward with your family the oath of office will be administered by Mammoth County surrogate Morin t oh we might need to one there it's usually somewhere I morning family you guys up a little come on slow over never been to Middle Town H all right ready yes you're good you're good you're good am really proud solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United states that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established to the same and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear to faithfully and I do swear to faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform all the duties of and justly perform all of the duties of Township committee woman Township committee woman according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God sure one step forward just to be clear other than when Chief Weber and Middletown Police Department are standing next to me I've never felt so safe in my life you're 12 grandchildren you're GNA I look like a Smurf everybody to come in thank you than with you guys yes at this time I'd like to call Ro for 2024 here H here woman crafts here Comm Perry hereo here at this time we have leading the Pledge of Allegiance is MTH County Sheriff Sean golden rise please join me as we salute this flag cre a symbol of freedom and democracy here and around at this time I invite Reverend Jeffrey kley from St Mary Mother of God Church please come forward for the invocation good morning bow our heads gracious God each of us in our own way from our own Traditions would invoke your presence with us today as We Gather for the ceremonial occasion in your wisdom loving God you have set us within families you have gathered families communities communities that combine and make a strong Nation we are thankful for the people of Middletown and we are grateful for these individuals who have come forward to serve and elected positions on their behalf bless kimbley and Ryan as they take the oath of offs bless the solemn words that come with public trust let us remember to commend them to the Lord every day in prayer endow them with both wisdom and right judgment keep us attuned to the higher standards of Public Service grant us the vision to work for goals and purposes larger than ourselves and give us the energy and the Zeal to carry the vision forward blessed are you oh Lord Our God you have set us within communities and called us to promote the common good through Christ Our Lord amen at this time is necessary to adopt resolution 24-1 resolution the appointment of contship attorney big motion to appoint now in his 15th year nson second Clark yes H yes CS yes Comm Perry yes yes motion carries to adopt resolution 241 at this time it is necessary for the tant committee to elect a mayor for 2024 this is always a tough time for us here I'd like to make a motion to uh select my uh my friend my colleague for the six time Tony Perry second Clark yes Comm hio yes Mass yes Perry yeso yes motion carries at this time I'd like to invite mayor Perry's family to please come to the front of the room and former assemblyman Jack chedell please come forward to administer the oath of Wess and a spirit of full disclosure both children are registered Republic I've had the honor of uh administer in the O office all around the state over the past week and uh I will say of the 564 towns mayor to be uh no Town gives me greater satisfaction to administer the O office than this town and you may already know the reason why um but in all seriousness um across the country more than 20,000 reorganization meetings are taking place at the municipal County and board of education level and is the Hallmark of a great Republic so with that I state your name left hand on the Bible right hand in the air St your name I Tony Perry do solemnly swear do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and Allegiance to the same to the Saint and to the government's established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear Faithfully to faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office of all the duties of the office of Mayor mayor according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God Jack only take you one you're there and then we'll have guys we got so okay at this time it is necessary for the T the deputy mayor for 2024 well he made me wait last year so I'm going to make him wait a second it's uh this has been an absolute honor to serve with uh my great friend Rick kyal my colleague for the last three years serving as mayor and Deputy Mayor and I'm honored privileged to make a motion for my friend Rick Kel to continue to Service as Deputy Mayor motion second yes hey mayor Hound yes may woman cracks yes yes Comm saido yes mayor Perry yes motion carries to invite uh commissioner director Tom arnone to please come forward to administer the oath of office and also um Deputy Mayor H Bell's family only half of it today so as the family's coming up it's an honor for for the sheriff our County Clerk Christine H prosecutor and Ross and myself to be here for many reasons and and obviously we know as Jack said how important it is the county is driven by the success of Middletown and the leadership that they have here and a continued balance of leadership that they have here and it's it really we work hand in hand and I couldn't be working I'm sure my colleagues will say the same with a better team than we have here and um and and your stability in the administrative side is is always recognized throughout not just the county but the State University so that being said let's do this again we doing this a lot yes yes I was the mayor a minute ago I just have to say something but my kids were as small as your kids when I started coming up here yes they in 2010 and it just as fast start as far good time and our first and I will I just have to another side to Cheryl for remember our first election that we ran together Rick ran and um and you were about that go it's your name hi Rick H to Solly swear swear that I will support support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey institution of state of New Jersey and that it will bear true faith faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments established governments established in the United States United States and in this state this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully faithfully and partially partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of Deputy Mayor Deputy Mayor according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God when you're ready come on over we want you sure oh you got that's how congratulations k at this time I'm going to do a proper roll call we have committee man Clark here committee woman CRA here committee srino here Deputy Mayor hell here mayor Perry here thank you at this time we have the mayor address for the coming year of 2024 Bible says try not to fall on your way down he's always root for always got to go after him yeah just just a little bit I guess right well first of all happy New Year everybody and welcome to Middletown Town Hall Welcome to our annual reorganization ceremony I am humbled once again uh for the continued Trust of the township committee and for the of the residents of Middletown for the opportunity to continue to serve as your mayor you know what we've been doing in Middletown and Middletown's Legacy is that of a beacon of light for the state of New Jersey exemp Ying strong Community responsible governance and a model for civic Excellence but without the unwavering dedication and the Deep commitment of the township committee the successes Middletown celebrates today would not have been possible and I want to congratulate my friends and colleagues Kim Katz and Ryan Clark on their resounding victories this past November I am so honored so honored to serve alongside both of them and I welcome them back for their new terms congratulations to my very good friend Deputy Mayor Rick hyle all I can say is thank you words really can't express how grateful I am for his willingness his continued willingness to serve and his unwavering support year after year I also I do want to point out and thank thank him for something very special he and I have now served together for four consecutive years um which I've been informed by our clerk kind of makes us the Jordan and Pippen of Mayor and DEP mayor as we have now served together longer than any other mayor and Deputy Mayor combo and leadership team in Middletown's history so Rick I want to thank you very much for your continuing leadership my friend to all the members of the township committee I look forward to work continue working to preserve and fight for Middle Middletown alongside you every single day last year when travel and Leisure magazine named Middletown as one of the top 10 places to live I shared the same excitement with many of you yet I was not surprised our Collective entirely efforts have been dedicated to making Middletown a PL an exemplary place to live and raise a family I see it every day I I see it in the I I hear it in the phone calls I receive I see it in the conversations that I have and this and that Spirit exists here here in this town greater than in any other place but this isn't just a credit to the township committee it's a testament to the countless volunteers all of them that are lined up along these back walls day in and day out of our fire department to the people who work tirelessly advocating for our students and to every individual who does the small things that quietly transforms Middletown into that shining city on a hill now I will never be able to thank all of you enough for your service for your sacrifice and for your commitment to making our town not only the Envy of New Jersey but of our entire nation now this past summer while many of our departments had already moved into town hall by this time several others were in the midst of relocating but last summer on what had to be undoubtedly one of the hottest days of the year thousands of residents it's Brave the E to join our friends our neighbors in a community Gathering to unveil this beautiful building that event was perfectly described by the media as a a KN in Middletown but mour in America because it described a moment where Middletown's residents our small businesses our sports teams lifelong residents and new neighbors came together celebrating the best of our town and adding yet another chapter into Middletown's history you know for most of us history is both shared and personal it is made it's nurtured and preserved here in Middletown and this year we reached 360 years since our founding a history stretching back to the days of satchin pampura Richard haror and millenni Lai tribes we continue to make history while never negle neglecting our solemn duty to celebrated and this year promises to be no different in April Middletown will proudly welcome the USS New Jersey a block for Virginia class submarine a vessel that will be the third in the United States Navy's history to be named in honor of our state and it will be commissioned at the historic Naval weapons station Earl right here in Middletown this event will not only celebrate the strength and Prestige of our military but it will offer an opportunity for Middletown to once again open its doors to people from across our nation and those eyes will be on Middletown as we for celebrate this Unforgettable moment in our history I hope you'll join me my family and our neighbors in experiencing this extraordinary Middletown moment last year the township committee continued to deliver on its promise to preserve open space and protect our historically significant properties we are now in the process to of fully of preparing to fully restore The muray Farmhouse a local Landmark here at pory Park this governing body has already authorized $350,000 in capital and Grant funds for this restoration because this project preserves a window in Middletown's Rich revolutionary history and it only it not only highlights the early stages of our country's development but it also commemorates Joseph Murray's Legacy of rebellion against tyranny now as one of New Jersey's original towns we are very thrilled to announce that Middletown will once again play a pivotal role in with in the American epic with the formation of our America 250 committee this Venture celebrating America's 250th anniversary in 2026 is a remarkable opportunity and we look forward to collaborating with the mammoth County Commissioners and county clerk to honor our County and town significant contributions to the American Revolution and acknowledge the enduring impact of our people on the nation's past present and future we've continued our efforts to protect properties throughout the Township from development and destruction while our success and capabilities of preserving land has dramatically improved since our open space referendum in 2020 this fight is far from over but our commitment will never waver we're actively challenging Trenton's hypocritical stance on housing mandates which unfortunately incentivizes the destruction of undeveloped and environmental sensitive land while this struggle is not unique to Middletown we are once again prepared to lead the charge for change a change not just for Middletown but also for the state of New Jersey and a fight we are willing to take all the way up to the Supreme Court if we have to FYI right now as I look back on my year serving this town I've experienced many truly Middletown moments that will forever remain with me one event stands out distinctly a naturalization ceremony in the shadow of Sandy Hook Lighthouse last September being there with 40 individuals from 23 Nations patiently and most of them nervously waiting to recite the oath of Allegiance as they became new citizens was profoundly moving and as I looked out I reflected on the essence of the American identity this question which is often posed to Middle School classes it took on new significance for me because perhaps it was the realization that emerges over time but I come to understand that words and ceremonies and the Very Pomp and Circumstance of such events are saturated with deep meaning the Genesis of the American experiment was born From the Ashes of our Revolution it was a watershed moment in human history much like the experience of these 40 new Americans out on Sandy Hook there is life before and a dramatically altered life after embracing America for many of these families my responsibility as mayor is to steadfastly uphold the solemn Duty that defines us As Americans to ensure that not only their Liberties are protected but also that their hopes and their dreams are realized through an honest and accountable government this commitment empowers individuals to achieve Limitless human Heights of progress embodying the true Spirit of American potential but during this reflection I reached the age-old question that we all eventually face what America are we leaving behind for our children because beyond the title of Mayor husband and father are the ones that drive me to serve building a family is one I get to do with my incred wife Alana right here in Middletown and I couldn't do this job without her and I'm incredibly grateful for her patience her sacrifice and her love as being in the public eye is not just the undertaking of an individual but of a family and one that she does with Incredible Grace and dignity and I'm grateful for that but every day I'm reminded why I choose to serve it's for those three little kids hanging out right there in the front of RA Reagan Grant and Kennedy because when I first got sworn in there were no kids sitting up here but those three amazing little kids have literally grown up in this building they've let me do this job so I pose the same question to all of you what does it mean to be an American what are we leaving for future Generations I'm willing to bet that you reach the same answer I did because the answer is quite literally right here in front of us we often have heard that leaving a place better than you found it is the ultimate success of any public servant and I've spoken much about Middletown's history but Middletown is no stranger to being front and center when we were met with one of America's Darkest Days in September 2001 the light of our community overpowered the grief and Agony that came to Middletown when super storm Sandy years later we did what came natural to Middletown we supported and uplifted our neighbors despite our own personal losses now I inherited this history when I became mayor and thanks to the leaders before me their W and their wisdom I made sure that that Legacy wouldn't I made sure that that Legacy would be to leave Middletown better than I found it and I knew that that would not be possible without leaning on the storage strength of our community but then came March of 2020 and it was my turn as mayor to navigate this third Event Horizon in our history but Middletown once again answered the call and we LED we led the way despite the seemingly endless punches that were thrown our way because because Middletown has witnessed our strength our resilience our fortitude ude and I think America can take a page out of Middletown's history because we watch what happened in our schools and how our children were paed in a political gamesmanship and we took action it's easy to say that you're for preserving history in our environment yet never yield to those who make overdevelopment their religion it's easy to say that you'll head to Washington or Trenton to fight but when politicians spend years and sometimes decades in office and do not deliver for their communities we the people need to tell those who are not willing to fight to hang up their gloves and put someone in who can who can take the punches of the world and deliver them right back because here in Middletown the spirit of America has been thriving for 360 years and it continues to flourish so as I contemplate the Legacy We Leave Behind for future Generations I'm filled with confidence because Middletown is poised to be a model of American progress for another 360 years exemplifying growth community and resilience so my fellow residents the answer as I have said is right here with us what does it mean to be an American what do we hope to leave for future Generations the answer is not found in the halls of power nor will it come from any edict out of Trenton or Washington the answer comes from Middletown where our families are the building blocks of our community where our commun where our history is preserved and it is celebrated and where the worst of humanity never wins because it is always met with the best of ourselves so as we stand here today in the heart of Mammoth County in the heart of New Jersey let us realize that we are not just part of the state's fabric but a Beacon of Hope and progress our actions here set a precedent a template for the Revival of New Jersey and we cannot and we will not remain passive observers in our own future we must lead not just in words but through Resolute actions because our town is more than just a place on a map it's a home it's a community with a rich Legacy and an even brighter future a future where our children where my children can not only dream but achieve where they can not only hope but Thrive it is upon us to lay down the stepping stones for their success with an environment ripe with opportunities that Fosters that very growth Innovation and a sustainable way of life so as we embark on this journey to spearhead the great New Jersey comeback let us remember that the strength of Middletown lies in each of us in every small business owner in every student and in every volunteer who contributes to the success of our community because together we are an Unstoppable Force together we can transform the challenges we face into triumphs and our aspirations into realities so let us pledge today to not just live in Middletown but to thrive in it to not just be residents but active architects of our destiny let us embrace our role at the Forefront of New Jersey's Renaissance a Renaissance forging a path of prosperity not just for ourselves but for generations to come the road ahead will be long and it will be filled with challenges but remember Middletown we don't just face challenges we overcome them we don't just dream we achieve we are not just New Jersey's heart we are its pulse and together we will make history because a thriving and prosperous Middletown lays the groundwork which will create a vibrant and successful New Jersey thank you for this honor God bless you God bless Middletown and God bless the United States thank you all right at this time the new Deputy Mayor presents the address for the coming year 2024 here we go we're going to pull something out of Tony fiori Playbook here I uh wrote some notes as the mayor was uh speaking there so uh Happy New Year everyone um I just uh I want to thank uh Ted for today saw this morning and U he uh he was able to move the storm line just a little bit north of us we were able to have this event so uh I do want to thank him and I did try to negotiate with Colleen today I thought we saved about $200,000 in plowing but she immedately said quickly 100,000 um but thank you for that thank you for everyone being here I know it was uh supposed to be in scheduled to be a bad uh bad day here so um I always have to start with uh you know thanking my family uh not everyone was able to be here today but they are watching my wife and uh mother-in-law in Florida and uh my son jack just had to run out to uh play practice my daughter Lyla my dad my mom uh it means a lot uh I can't do this job I can't even try to do this job without you guys um my parents are always running U today was a crazy day too uh I got to think Chief uh Mor he back there and I think I seen Chief Waltz this morning at 10: a.m. uh uh my wife is away like I just said and we just had uh we had some help we needed from uh from from a babysitter on her way over and she got into an accident on Route 36 at 9:45 this morning on her way over and uh of course uh fire department was there in force we had I think two and four were there probably about 30 people and uh help her get out of car so thank you thank you Chief thank youg Walts I saw you there thanks again guys um next I have to uh thank this amazing committee it's been uh it's been some time here I've been sitting up here now for uh six years um for them to uh to to allow me to serve and and and put their faith in me to serve another year as Deputy Mayor um really means a lot to me so I just want to want to thank you uh it is definitely a great honor and a great pleasure to serve uh I would like to thank at this time my my colleagues himim and Ryan also my friend Tony hering for accepting a role as mayor again uh Tony and I since we ran together in 2018 uh We've we've had this special bond and uh it was kind of forced by him by the way um we walked and we walked and we didn't get breaks I don't know where Lana is I think she ran out with the kids but she's out walking she's out walking so to get elected in 2018 I try to share the story uh with as many people that ear in his position we we literally walked as he wanted to walk seven days but I got most Sundays off I should say but we we did it and father yes Father je thank you for that it's still here so it's been an amazing journey with Tony didn't to to see him uh the leadership that he's brought to this table here um and and for him to continue as mayor so um thank you Tony Ryan and Kim it's a plag to serve you guys uh this job couldn't be uh as fun and as good as it is without you guys so I'm glad you'll be serving another three years let's see I every year I uh I touch on our volunteers and I did just briefly before um John grer I don't know if if here he sends me a really detailed report and I I have to share it with the public it's not that we always have the opportunity to always thank them every time we do we we do uh thank them um so the fire department this year has uh under the leadership of Chief John Walts responded to roughly 1,500 calls of service so um that's an incredible incredible amount of calls in 2010 I started my journey as fire chief in 2015 so I understand uh all the calls that you got guys do in the hours um the hours that John calculated were just just under 50,000 hours of of volunteered time so I just I just want to take everyone appuse John thank you for your service The Last Five Years by the way um EMS uh also uh does a ton of hours um uh they're roughly a little bit more about 7, hours and uh they um uh they had went about roughly 2500 calls so it's just amazing to have that much time as as volunteers got over 100,000 hours that the volunteers gave to this community over the last year it's really truly amazing so I just want to make sure we have the opportunity to thank uh thank them and when you see them today when you're walking out please give them a thanks the next uh uh I this job is not possible without our committees and our boards that we have uh there's a lot of them here today being sworn in with that without all the boards we have our planning boards all of our boards uh this doesn't work you guys truly do an amazing job and you are volunteers again so I want to thank you all for uh taking those positions and taking them very seriously um last I always touched on our Rose um Ted a big accomplishment we got we got 10 miles of roadway paveed this year I know that's we hear a lot of complaints and that's one of them on the top of the list is our roads are so bad there's so many poles but we are Paving roads you know 10 miles a road is a lot I know we have roughly uh 2 375 miles right it's hard to keep up with all that but uh Ted and uh I am a little bit of a stickler with it 's doing a great job so I just want to thank uh thank Ted for that also I don't think Janet's here uh we've been working like the mayor said and it's hard to come after a speech of him because he does cover everything um but we got some amazing projects coming on online very soon uh just last weekend I took my kids by an escap work to check that out what amazing facility me just to get the kids out away from the TVs and get in front of in at the skate park is going to be amazing the dog park will be online very soon we've done a bunch of other Parks uh and we're going to continue to do them this year so um I'm going to close there mayor but uh thank you Happy New Year to everyone uh thanks again mayor for serving in another term we appreciate that just want to uh briefly um acknowledge special guest that we have with us today obviously our commissioner director Tom arnone who's Rick new deputy director Russell Citra our Sheriff John golden sbly and Jerry starkenberger County Clerk Christine Hamlin guy who's certainly going to be very busy over the course of the next few months uh a captain and commanding officer of naal weapon station Captain Ken Smith someone who needs truly no introduction because she has been here longer than almost anyone else except for mer and Pon I think our saret more R uh former assemblyman Jack Shelli is an honor to have you here thank you sir our prosecutor Ray Santiago another man who no needs no introduction and and my mentor former Senator Joe cillos I I want to acknowledge two former mayors that are here former mayor Peter carton in the back there former mayor Tony Fury members of our Board of Education here our president Frank Capone vice president Jackie tobacco and then one person I want to acknowledge and thank uh where is where's John Waltz at John our our outgoing chief for 2023 of our fire department John Waltz and then finally I just want to uh just thank a few more people um Craig Weber our chief of police who does a phenomenal job each and every day all of our Deputy Chiefs here um and then the staff at this dasas um Tony first off I want to thank you for everything that you do um again an Middletown institution and Tony thank you even with the goatee going on um our our amazing uh clerk Heidi P Heidi thank you down this end Colleen La our CFO thank you our Public Works through Ted Maloney and then there there are four people that I absolutely cannot do this job with out um and they when when you literally say work lives you have lives um and that is my assistant Laura Madison my secretary Amy Amy and then our Communications team led by Tara Bon and Grand all this does not happen without all of these people and we couldn't be more grateful to have every single one of you to our elected officials um and to our team thank you thank you thank you this Gover body can do it without all right hi back in action um at this time we have the appointment of fire department officers we have resolution 24-02 the next um appointing the newly elected officers of Middletown Township term of one year expiring December 31st 2024 any have a motion motion second yes committee woman C yes committee said yes Deputy Mayor hell yes mayor Perry yes motion carries to adopt resolution 24-02 at this time I'd like to invite our first uh we have our high Chief William Kane Jr to please come forward with your family I William Kane Jr I William k j do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true Faith true faith and allegiance aliance to the sa to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the government established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully faithfully and partially and justly perform justly perform all of the duties all of the duties of Fire Chief Fire according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you got so congratulations pleas said okay next I'd like to invite deputy chief Anthony fanetti to please come forward with your family I Anthony Fetti I Anthony Fetti do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith that bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the governments 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 and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully fa and partially partially and justly perform perform all of the duties of all the duties of Deputy Fire chiefy Fire Chief according to the best of my ability for the best of my life so help you God so help you congratulations work at this time I'd like to invite first assistant Daniel P Kelly to please come forward with your family hi Daniel P Kelly you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey constitution of State and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully faithfully and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of first assistant fire chief first assistant fire according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you God congratulations May the family pleas Happ okay at this time I'd like to invite second assistant chief Kevin Mory to please come forward I Kevin morrisy I Kevin Morris do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith fa and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all of the duties of all the duties of second assisted fire assistant fire according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you God congratulations pleas the at this time I'd like to in invite third Jacob Lawrence the thir please come forward with your family I might need to build AIG i' ask who's holding the Bible but okay Lawrence Family you ready hi Jacob Lawrence III hi Jacob law Mar the thir do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear I do swear to Faithfully to Faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all of the duties of all of the duties of third assistant fire chief third assistant fire chief according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you God congratulations Tom you want to help us out here problem they got it please you won't see me in the other right there right now about that floor I can't J from the w that's a back at this time we have the appointment of the Town Middletown emergency med Services Department the next item is resolution 2403 a resolution appointing the newly elected officers of the Middletown Township first aid squad for a full term of one year expiring December 31st 2024 at this time we need a motion on the floor motion second committee M Clark yes committee woman CR yes committe s bro yes Deputy Mayor hi yes mayor Perry yes motion carries to adopt resolution 24-3 this time I'd like to invite EMS Chief Brian mckitrick to please come forward your family good I Brian mckitrick I Brian mckitrick do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully to Faithfully partially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all of the duties of all of the duties of EMS Chief EMS Chief according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you God so help me God congratulations family she's come sir like to invite EMS deputy chief Marco Fernandez please family hi Marco Fernandez hi Fernandez do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United St and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith I will be bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and the government established in the United States and in this state and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of and I do swear and I do swear to Faithfully to faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of EMS deputy chief EMS deputy chief according to the best of my ability according to the best of my abil so help you got congratulations guys like here please Smiles go yes thank collection for you I right here at this time I'd like to invite assistant Floyd Goldstein please come forward with your family you had enough I Floyd Goldstein I Floyd do Solly swear you that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state J and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do swear I do swear to Faithfully to faithfully inartfully inartfully and justly perform justly perform all the duties of all the dut EMS assistant chief EMS assistant chief according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help you done so that congratulations I've sworn them in enough that's his he says up here at this time we're going to take a five minute recess and then reconvene thank you um at this time we have a consent agenda which would include 24-4 d49 removing 24-12 and 24-17 for separate votes make motion to approve second commit Clark yes committee woman C yes committee Seno yes Deputy Mayor Hound yes mayor Perry yes motion carries to adopt consent agenda at this time we have resolution 24-12 resolution appointment of Township special conflex Council motion second yes committee woman CRZ yes committee sedo mayor Perry yes motion carries with recusal noted at this time we have 24-17 and resolution for the appointment of Township Consulting Engineers motion to approve thank Comm Clark yes woman C yes s bro recused Deputy Mayor hell yes mayor Perry yes thank you this time we have the oath of office for volunteer appointments May so as I mentioned during my speech there are so many individuals that truly do the work of our of our town from the planning board zoning board Municipal Alliance uh all these different organizations that are key parts of our of our town and and do such great work year in and year out so um I know many of you are here uh as members as my S continues to scream from the lobby if you are one of those individuals being appointed to a board today if you'll please rise you can raise your right hand and repeat after me when I say state your name your name not state your name okay because it will be a collective praise for this all right I state your name do solemnly swear that I support the Constitution of the United States United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and Al to the Saint to the same and to the governments established the in the United States the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I you swear I swear to Faithfully to impartially and justly perform perform all of the duties all the of my position according to the best of my ability so help me God congratulations and thank you before you before you leave when we all V into a d if you are you were sworn into a board today you can just sign your hosts of office out in the lobby here all right thank you all very much for for your continued service and for everybody that's new thank you for for jumping on one of these boards it's truly appreciated you have time for committee comments all right uh commit Clark well good morning and happy New Year um today's such an awesome day right it's uh you know fortunate that myself and committee women craps were sworn in today I've had the opportunity to see each of the members of the um of the elected committee here sworn in and I couldn't be happier to work with Kevin mayor Perry Deputy Mayor hell and woman crafts it's uh it's such a neat and unique opportunity and uh I'm I'm just super excited I'd like to thank everybody out in the crowd who contributes to our community on a daily basis everybody who just got sworn in um you guys have are what mayor Perry said you guys are the ones that make our community turn you're the ones who keep us great and your ambassadors for everything that we do right um whether whether you're serving on a historical board if you're um on a senior housing board or whatever it may be you're an ambassador for what this town is and mayor Perry touched on in his meeting about Middletown being named by travel and Maia as a one of the best places to live in the country and it's because of the volunteerism that we have um from the boards and our fire department and our EMS um and our police um Chief Weber over there and your team helped continue to do that and we appreciate it so much um we've got a lot of exciting things happening in 2024 for fire chief that I had the opportunity to work with John fre had quite an undertaking coming upon him and uh he's uh stepped up big time we appreciate that hope you know that um our uh one of the things we hear about often is our roads and um I heard 375 miles and that's a lot there's not many municipalities in this town in this state that have to maintain with we do and the decisions that we make are not made lightly and it's um it's it's a work in progress and we're going to continue to work that and DPW works hard to identify what needs to be done so leadership and everything else we appreciate all that um it was nice to have Captain Smith and with the USS New Jersey coming in that's uh it's exciting it's awesome to have such a great working relationship with that with the base um I've been involved with the town for a long time and sometimes we have great relationships and sometimes we don't we've been very fortunate uh to haveing relationships uh through the last couple of commanders um and uh I'm looking forward to all the great things that we're going to do in 2024 we've got we've got a fight in front of us mayor in his speech um preserving open space and stopping trees from being knocked down and promoting smart development and I think I I think I can speak I know for myself and believe we at through the committee that we we are pro development when it makes sense and uh we are not in favor of development that it makes zero sense and there's a couple of projects out there that we're fighting tooth and nail on behalf of everybody in this community to um to prevent it from happening and uh got a got a great team to help lead that and I think uh that's all I have to say for today thank you Mr Mayor thank you thank you mayor first want to congratulate Kim and Brian another three years look forward to serving with you as well um I want to congratulate all of our volunteers you are truly the backbone of Middletown we can't do it without you um our Administration here um are all of them up on a b um this Township committee can't operate without your leadership here as well and uh other than that have a great New Year and I look forward to working with everyone this year thank you mayor thank youor um good afternoon everyone to accept the responsibility of continuing to serve as your committee woman I'd really like to sincerely express my gratitude for the trust you placed in me congratulations to my running m minman Clark um on our tremen Victory November it was wonderful to campaign with you and I'm truly grateful for your friendship my thanks to M County Serge Moren R for doing that me the honor of spring the in again um there isn't one of us that that could do this job without the love and support of our family and I'm grateful very I am very thankful to mine my husband Willis our sons Luke and Jack my parents marann and Joe Kelly thank you for your love and continu support congratulations to our mayor and Deputy Mayor we're better for having your leadership and we appreciate all the time and effort that you both put forth I'm proud again to offer you my continued support thank you to committee committee men srino for your support and your kindness and your friendship always the support staff in the mayor's office and our Communications Department work p tirelessly behind the scenes and I'm really thankful for each and every one of you reorganization is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the many IND individuals who dedicate their time in serving Middletown to all of our First Responders and to those who have accepted appointments to various committees thank you this is an exciting time filled with New Beginnings working together the members of this Township committee will continue our commitment and addressing the communities needs amplifying residents listed and contributing to the betterment of our shared goals and keeping Middletown a beautiful place to raise a family and to work I wish each of you a happy healthy New Year and God bless you all thank you being there P my comments but Happy New Year again every was excited about that the the last thing I just want to say um today we made uh an appointment to a guy who has served Middletown for truly uh in a variety of capacities um a guy who is always willing to go out there and do the work himself um and that is just one of the the greatest things that you can do is when you when you prove your leadership is doing it showing that you're willing to do it yourself Charlie Rogers was appointed as our OEM director for another three years today and his service to our community uh is invaluable and Charlie so I want to thank you Charlie for and finally I just want to thank my family again my mom and dad were here my my brother Justin's who was here my sister was here um to Alana and to my three kids um the reason I sit up here is because of you to make this community a better place to make this world better than I found it and I I do it because of your love and your support and I'm grateful for that so with that I'll open it up for public comment any member of the public wishing to make a public comment may do so we ask that you state your name and address for the record uh have four minutes I'll let you know that you have one minute remaining with that being said John come on down first of the year Grant has already made his public comments throughout the entire program joh 91 Brinson uh just want to say congratulations to uh uh committee woman press committee men uh mayor Perry and Deputy Mayor H just for uh for being sworn in again um it's been a while I I've had class on on Monday theit last year so it's it's glad to finally be back um I just wanted to bring this concern to the board um not more so an urgent need because relating to open space I saw it was it was through sale in the neighborhood um on Mom that Avenue there is a 1 acre lot that borders on state Old Land the marina so I just uh I want to bring this to the attention of the board I know with a lot of developments going on in town and I know you guys are you trying your best so um if it's possible just yeah uh Amy Rose is right right behind you if you want to hand her the the form John and uh we'll certainly take a look at it especially if it's adjacent to municipal and State Property yeah I just want to kind of let you guys know now and before it goes on the planning board and a very of our open space committee right there doing doing his work thanks John hey you guys Happy New Year Happ any other member of the public wishing to make a public comment see no other member of the public stepping forward move to close the public portion and a journ second M Clark yes yes commo yes mayor yes mayor par yes motion carries toj happy New Year everybody thank you all very much