##VIDEO ID:6bCYAcziEpU## could hear good evening ladies and gentlemen welcome behind agenda and regular meeting of the Monroe Township Council on this Wednesday September 4th 2024 the meeting is called to order would everyone please rise to honor our flag pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands one nation under God indivisible withy Justice for All will the clerk call the role please councilman Charles depiro councilman Michael marel here councilwoman Rupa P seagull here Council vice president Terence vanzora here council president Miriam Cohen here would you please read the Sunshine Law into the record in accordance with the open public meetings act it is hereby announced and shall be entered into the minutes of this meeting that adequate notice has been provided by the following one posted on the bulletin board within the municipal building on December 29th 2023 and remains posted at that location for public inspection two printed in the home News Tribune and the cranberry press on December 29 2023 three posted on the Monroe Township website and four sent to those individuals who have requested personal notice in accordance with chapter 3 section 1777 of the Monroe Township Code public comment shall be limited to 5 minutes unless further time is granted by the council president thank you item five on our agenda presentations and proclamations uh Mr Mayor you are doing the honor of presenting the township of Monroe Senior Center month September 202 good evening everyone so our first time first time ever that we are officially recognizing you now we always shall remember our first time correct um way too long way too well some of some of you got it's okay it's it's after 6:30 we can go a little uh you know um having you all here truly is to me a culmination but it's it's ongoing okay this is just not get together and give you a plaque and get a picture and Pat you on the back and and and say hey nice job um and it's a shame that it's this is taking this long to get you all together like that so you know you can always say ah you know they like us they know what you know they know know what we do but having you come together at a council meeting to be awarded this Proclamation um it's kind of nice it's kind of nice and we do notice we do notice how important you all are to the township and the citizens and the service that you provide we always talk about crown jewels and buildings in the brook and the mortar and and golly it's the the senior center is truly one of the best looking buildings though this Pizza Hut building is maybe not good to compare it with but truly you know you know we always talk about the buildings but we all know and I know all of the council members up here as well we always talk about the people working and providing that service and we have noticed and and it and it's again the culmination might be this but it's that notice that we see dayto day when we do go to events and I've attended my share of events at the senior center and I you know from afar I just love seeing that interaction um going back to when it was covid times and the phone calls that you were receiving and the phone calls that you all made and if you know even if it was just a just to listen to somebody during that time the wealth that that provided the wellness the service that that provided um all of the programming all of the trips um dancing you know during a concert dancing off to the side grabbing somebody and bringing them up and just dancing with them it's noticed my friend and when you see that I long for that this is how how I would want to be treated and to see you act in such a way with the citizens of Monroe it's moving and we see it and tonight is that small culmination just to say thank you so very very much for what you do we are so proud of you and proud that we have such wonderful workers in our town uh with with that being said there is a proclamation here with a lot of words um I'll read the first and the second paragraph um it's Proclamation Township of Monroe Senior Center month September 2024 whereas the national Senior Center month originated as National Senior Center week in May of 1979 and was proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and was extended to a full month in September of 2007 so on and so on but let's go to the last whereas the Monroe Township senior center provides service to over 8,700 Monroe senior residents and provides countless programming and support that enables our residents to continue their involvement with the contribution to the larger Community now therefore be it resolved I Steven Delina the proud mayor of Monroe Township do hereby proclaim the month of September as Senior Center month and further extend appreciation to our director Nancy harrian and her entire staff for the vital Services they perform and their exemplary dedication to the community they represent dated September 1st signed Steven Delina thank you so very very much thank you have speak and then we'll present that what's that yes okay oh I'm learning how to use a new microphone this is not a skill I obtain easily and then they changed microphones on me and I could get still being staring at it I'm watching the red light go on and off it has been my pleasure and privilege to spend many hours of time at the senior center sometimes as a participant in an activity when you are having tap dancing there and I understand that might be back and sometimes when I have students there who are taking blood pressures and counseling our attendees and sometimes when I'm just at a program and there is a uniform atmosphere of warmth from friendship and caring and you wouldn't know that over 8,000 people use the facility because no one acts like they're harried and they're racing and they can't get these things done it's a tribute to your leadership and it is a tribute to each of you who work there that you place the needs of the people who live in our community in the Forefront and we are very grateful I am assuming do I have colleagues who wish to say something yes I'm watching Ruben nod her head at me right away yes thank you council president so congratulations to all of you the senior center is such a wonderful place when I before I came on to the council or maybe right when I did um councilwoman Schneider was probably your biggest Advocate every time she saw me let me take you to the senior center with me let me show you around and I did I took a tour with her and she pointed out all different things and here's the programs and here's this and here's that so that's the first time I really had an opportunity to come into the building and learn about all the programs and services that you offer day in day out and how you connect and help our senior 55 and overs all connect with each other and I saw that too when I went to my first Thanksgiving event at the senior center and as you walk around the tables you hear the stories and you learn about the people but you also learn how they took classes together at the senior center and how they built their relation ships and their table today or that day was friends that they met at the senior center so I thank you all for everything you do day in and day out taking care of our community thank you T um thank you Madame President you know you guys are special you're like the first guys I know that have gotten a presentation when you're not retiring or anything so you actually get to hang out and enjoy and bask in the glory a little bit and uh and it is welld deserved you know I I don't get there as much as I would like I'm usually running around with work and stuff but every time I go there it's the same thing you always get treated with respect I hear nothing but great things from our uh our citizens that'll you know sometimes when we're out campaigning whatever it might be they come up to you and they'll they'll mention it and and as we always refer to it uh you know when when we talk to other towns it's one of the real crown jeels of our County and we're very proud of it we're proud and as I used to even when I was campaigning and I was talking I said it's not just the building itself it's the people that work there so thank you for all that you do and many many more years before you have to come back again thank you Works um I'm honored to uh be on the commission for aging so I meet with uh with staff on every once in a while um when I get old enough to use the senior center I'll uh why is everybody laughing I don't understand that um but uh hopefully you guys will get a little busy this year cuz in the past I know you're slacking off but no all kidding aside um when people ask me where do I live I say Monroe they say well should I move there and I said they're all old people so I said cuz they're my friends um I said yeah we have the best senior center in in New Jersey maybe in the United States really um you're getting all this praise you don't need it cuz you are the best and uh I want to P I thank you for all the hard work you guys do you deserve this and uh deserve more where's to show me the money I got it right thank you guys for thank you guys very much I just want to say thank thank you for everything you guys do and an example of teamwork is sitting right in front of us and every time I've ever went in the building it's nothing but compliments that we've always received from our residents and absolutely you guys do an exceptional job from transportation to all the programs tax your tax preparations and everything you do for our community it's like you like are you're Yankees of Monroe Township and I know there's a few Ranger fans that that are out there so I definitely want to say the Rangers as well um but I just want to say teamwork it's definitely right in front of us and I from the director all the way down to every single person that works their janitors every custodians everybody does a phenomenal job and we've heard nothing but compliments and we can only do the our job because you guys do an exceptional job at what you guys do and we're here to support you and thank you very much folks going to we're going to you have some pictures taking anyone wants to take a picture we can take a five minute recess if you need to do that yes Mr wber yes Kyle you getting a picture for us okay good motion for a recess sorry look at that uh this is balance awareness week September 15th for the the 21st Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is all of September and sepsis awareness month is also in September so if you notice there are a number of signs around Childhood Cancer Awareness in front and on the side of the building we can move to item six which are the ordinances for second reading will the clerk please read ordinance 08 20245 ordinance amending chapter 39 of the code of the township of Monroe entitled fees ordinance 08 20246 ordinance amending the code of the township of Monroe section 108-29 entitled storm water management ordinance 08 20247 ordinance of the township of Monroe County of middle sex and state of New Jersey establishing a midblock cross walk on Applegarth Road County Road 619 Township of Monroe County of middlex state of New Jersey ordinance 08 20248 ordinance amending chapter 35 of the code of the township of Monroe entitled Drug Free Zones ordinance 08 20249 Bond ordinance providing for facility improvements on township open space property in and by the township of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating 2,925 th000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1,397 600 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof ordinance 0822 2420 Bond ordinance providing for various improvements to the water sewer utility in and by the township of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating 4,995,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 4,995,000 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof ordinance 08 2024 021 Bond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements in and by the township of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating 4,224 400 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 3,523 300 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof ordinance 08 2024 022 an ordinance authorizing the township of Monroe to acquire a right of-way dedication over property at 45 Lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 lot 4129 a 10-ft wide Street tree easement at 4345 and 47 Lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 Lots 41 .34 4135 4136 and a conservation easement at 43 45 and 47 Lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 Lots 4134 4135 4136 on the township of Monroe tax map ordinance 08 2024 023 an ordinance authorizing the township of Monroe to acquire a 10-ft wide tree wide tree easement at 30 8 Avenue I and 40 Avenue I known as block 123 lots 11.01 and 14.01 on the township of Monroe tax map thank you will the council please note we have resolutions for consideration under the consent agenda at the September 4th meeting R 92024 d196 through R 92024 d216 there any resolutions requested that we remove them from the consent agenda yes please thank you council president the ones that that I need uh requesting are R9 224-2198 d212 R9 2024 d214 214 214 yes that's it thank you you're welcome item nine we move to the public comment section please note that it is limited to agenda items only five minutes per speaker may I have a motion to open public comments motion thank you may I have a second second all in favor I I any opposed okay anyone wishing to address the council please come forward your name and address for our records please good evening council members Gary busman 7 monok Road uh R20 24206 maintenance Bond at Stonebridge uh can you indicate how much that release is for sure and also if there are any more still outstanding Mr wber I believe it's for $2,900 um the bond but I will defer to Mark who would probably be able to answer the other question thank you the maintenance bond amount was $2,991 that's being released thank you thank you one more question please uh 2024 210 uh this is all regarding wording uh I read the words I'm not sure what the words actually mean uh I'm familiar with what used to be in this State uh with uh user fees placed upon uh builders that were very beneficial to all of M municipalities throughout the state I believe it is a uh major important item for all the municipalities in the state to continue the builders have too large of a Lobby within the state uh they control uh all of the building permits all of the uh functioning that goes on within the state and therefore the municipalities end up on a short end of things used to be days when Builders would build schools they would build Parks they would build roads that doesn't exist anymore under changes within the law so what I'm getting at is even I approve of all this I wish it would really go forward but um how do we you know what is it exactly that uh you Mr Mayor are going to put forward and do you have the support of various other municipalities please sir Madame council president in regards to that particular resolution obviously um we we did attempt something very similar to this a couple years ago to the league of municipalities um it went to the league at the time and just kind of rustled around a wee bit with uh with with no traction um I have spoken to some other Mayors uh some other um uh County officials as well throughout the state and um you know again the the Rumblings are there to let's try it again so this is this is us giving us another shot um right now it's peace meal a couple here a couple there um but for us you know confucious had said that the longest journey starts with a single step so this is this is a step that I want to that I want to take in regards to that obviously in support of the uh the Board of Education as well has put out a resolution so if we can get some traction going whe through the league uh through our state representatives this is this is it this is the time it's time how do we find out when something like this will be heard uh in either the assembly or the uh Senate I'd be very interested to know I'd like to attend one of those meetings if they're mad I can answer um you'll you'll hear about it when we hear about it when it goes to the if it if it goes if there if there is a Bill thank you one more item yes may I you're not out of time sure okay uh 08202 4020 am I yeah I'm correct with yeah that's one of your ordinances there uh the last uh five letters words in that uh posting say part of the cost thereof well if it's 4995 and we're asking for 4995 does that mean that's in its entirety or there are more costs than there since it reads part of the cost thereof which indicates there's more can I get an answer to that question no if you look at it you'll you'll see that the it authorizes $3.5 million in bonds to authorize the cost not what I'm reading 4995 and 4.95 wr2 O2 right here ,000 it's all words what do the words actually mean part of part of means it's not the whole Bond and it's not the entire cost well those are utility bonds so Allan I I don't think no down payment there right it is a self-liquidating Authority so I think that may be the standard Bond language that's in most resolutions but it's incorrect I don't care if it's excuse me for interrupting but but the words seem to at least to me part thereof means it's not entire so something ought to be done to change that even if it's standard procedure we ought to be above standard procedure and do it so that people understand what it actually means I mean I'm not I'm not I I want to answer the question I'm not Bond counsel counil um that's who writes these resolutions the people who specifically do Bond ordinances I'm certainly happy to check with him I know it's on second reading um so it's a little more complicated than if it was on first reading um but this is how Bond Council prepared it who's generally the expert in this area and if there's something insufficient about it we would run it again but I'll certainly check with him yeah well if you think that I'm wrong with the understanding I'm happy that I brought that to everyone's attention thank you so much you're welcome anyone else wishing to address us please come forward remember to please state your name and address for our records Dr BR good evening Council mayor mayor council president and all I have um r920 24210 thank you mayor again raising this question on impact Fe on the builders towards the schools uh we have done that 10 years back several years back again uh we are here to go to Trenton when necessary we are here to support this whenever is required so whenever we have to go and speak or Lobby we are here okay um that is the request from the public the I have several questions uh president I will speak about that then I will then I'll will stop to hear from you all the answer resolution r922 44201 calls for $48,000 contract with AT&T for wireless Tel telecommunication equipment the question is this is a payment per year this will cover all the Township municipal buildings municipality Library five district school so forth I don't see uh second one r920 24202 painting water tank of on appleg road the first bid was around uh 1.9 to8 million that bid was withdrawn and the next bid is 2.93 5 million is approved the difference is 1 million how many uh bits and this rate is common in the market in New Jersey then again I see R 92020 205 r3m engineering again is providing service for the same tank for painting and other work again 244,000 so so the total cost of painting this tank and mainten whatever it is is going to about 3.2 million so the question is this is the rate going on in the market because I saw I went and Google I saw about 10 years back the cost was 1.3 million uh for similar I don't know I cannot compare what the tank size is now it is going to be 3.2 million and OD and is are we getting any aid from the county or state or it is all our money thank you welcome sure Mr weberg would you want Mr stoin too yeah I'm gonna have uh if everybody can hear me I Canna have uh Mr stoin answer 202 and 205 I'll just answer briefly on 2011 before Mr stoin comes up that is and uh and this has run through the utility department so Joe may want to comment on it as well um that is a monop pole on the other side of the turnpike so it's one single pole it's not a giant antenna um it's on a beel road which sort of sits behind the hotel that sits on forsgate drive so it's back right on the edge of the turnpike and so that would get the and the and the money goes to the utility department because it's their property and that would be the $448,000 a year with a 3% increase every year for five years and then three fiveyear renewals um so that's that's what that would be for and the benefit would go to the uh rate payers and the you know the utility itself um in terms of 202 I'll let uh Joe talk a little bit about um the bidding process the five biders for that um and what's entailed in the project uh for this large uh uh uh tank that sits at Applegarth Road in Joan wway good on uh excellent question Dr bar uh we received five bids for this tank it's one of the largest tanks in the state there's only two tanks in the entire state that are 3.2 million gallons is 3.2 million gallon hydrop pillar uh the first bidder that was the uh low bidder uh at 1.9 million withdrew his bid because he did not understand the specification correctly uh and could not complete the job as it was specified uh the engineer estimate for the painting of the tank both inside and outside as well as doing improvements in the tank this is the original construction made by Chicago bridge and iron back in 2005 so uh the usual period of time before you have to paint the tank is usually about 15 years so we've exceeded that and and uh the tank is in good condition but we want to maintain that asset uh the engineer's estimate was $3.2 million so we're actually under the engineers's estimate including the construction Administration which is 248,000 now you know uh uh or or might not know the going rate for construction Administration is usually between 10 and 15% of the actual project cost so this is actually for construction Administration 8% so we're in underneath that uh that industry standard as well so we're very satisfied with this bid uh this particular contractor that is the apparent successful bidder also did a similar tank uh the large tank uh down in South Jersey and did an excellent job so we're confident that with uh this being a critical asset for fire protection and uh uh for our citizens as it relates to drought and buffering during High irrigation periods that uh the project will go well thank you for the clarity thank anyone else wishing to address the council please please your name and address for our records uh Chrissy scurby 21 pness Drive um I just want to uh make a comment too on the resolution uh this evening um that's going to the board of uh or League of municipalities for impact fees um while it's great to try to get support from other municipalities what we really need to be doing is pushing our legislators to write a bill for this until that happens as Dr PR said we have many community members that will go down to Trenton I myself testified um at the budget hearings this year in Trenton and asked them to consider um more appropriation so that we could bring full day kindergarten to our town um we really need to address our legislators who represent us and while I think this is a great step I think you should also consider a resolution directly to Senator Greenstein um uh and the other uh legislators that represent us um in Monroe you know the board of education did recently um do a resolution them too they did it to New Jersey school boards those are other organizations that cannot write laws we need to be going after our legislators that can actually write a law and then forming groups within our town of residents to go and testify for these to be passed um the one other thing on here um 08 2024 uh 019 um that's the bond ordinance for James Monroe park facility I had some questions I want to thank Mr Weinberg um for taking the time to um give me a call and answer some of my questions I just want to make sure um that we're clear this is for um uh it's it's going to be a practice facility at the James Monroe Park location but it's not going to be just for baseball um it's going to be for other sports as well and um it will be a a cost that the township is incurring um whereby there were rumors that um Monroe Township baseball association would have to pay back uh the township for the bond but Mr Weinberg explained to me that's not true that that will be something that is um for free use to the township um through the rec center um is that if that's correct I'm happy to answer that yes that is correct just to clarify one thing even further um while the facility like all the facilities around the town whether it be at you know uh with the Wolverines or the soccer complex while it'll be located at James Monroe Park um baseball will have sort of first use of it because it'll be inside their complex but every moment that it's not being used by baseball it's our hope to use it by softball and a variety of other sports as well um that will be constantly used by the Monroe rec department and run run by them um as all our facilities generally are that's great and and I know when we were talking I had mentioned even possibly if the recre department could um reach out maybe to the school district and have their sports teams use that because I know right now our parents at the high school um pay for winter workouts outside of Monroe Township for softball and and for baseball so that's something that would be great if we could partner um with them as well and then just a question do I know we talked about Trees Too do we know approximately how many trees we're going to be cutting down at that location um I council president I and I could defer to Mark I don't think we have that number at that at this point but it's a much smaller area than the original amount of trees that were removed for the entire park itself okay for the baseball field and the parking lot will be expanded as well to accommodate we're looking uh we're looking to see what we need to do to make sure it all works together um collectively yes part of the design process great thank you you're welcome anyone else wishing to address the council yes sir and please your name and address for our records and there's a five limit time five minute time limit sure this is my first time for speaking in front so uh olverman gon for Butternut Lane um I am a parent of children in Monroe I um am also a coach at the baseball fields and I am also the treasurer at with the Monroe Township baseball association I'm here to say thank you for all the work that's been done to put this Bond ordinance to a second reading not sure procedurally about all that but we appreciate that as an organization um I I appreciate the questions as well um as a parent that's paid for winter workouts year-over-year it's definitely a saving for our players um it's also an additional benefit in that they will be able to practice more um become better uh athletes better people um hopefully with by learning sport um and it's really something that's going to benefit the overall organization um my children really enjoy going to the baseball field uh my daughter's at practice right now but she just watches she enjoys playing at the facility so so it's really a great benefit to the overall Township um I also appreciate the consideration for other sports you know as as a member of the board um I appreciate we get first use but also appreciate that my daughters might be able to use that for other activities either softball or um or cheerleading so I know this is a big um facility for baseball it's been a while since we've added something there um so thank you for everything you guys have done there and we really appreciate it thank you for coming we appreciate your coming anyone else wishing to address US sir your name and address for our records please uh Frank Giuliano 23 New Street um I moved here in uh 2007 with my wife and we've been uh raising our three children three boys um 141 and seven and um I've been very involved with the uh different wreck programs here in Monroe um and uh currently serve on the board for the uh the the Monroe baseball association um and really come to just thank you um you guys have done a phenomenal job supporting the wck programs uh when I first moved to Monroe it was uh oh you're going there to retire it was it was a lot about the uh you know this senior citizens and all the great stuff you guys do but uh you guys also have done a phenomenal job supporting uh the rec and and all the kid programs that we have um I would just like to add comment and add on um this Monroe Park uh practice facility is something that has been desperately needed uh with the 10 years I've been uh part of the program um this is a lot of outof cost expense to our citizens um because this is something that you know the town has not been able to offer and uh this is something that will definitely be used and needed um and I thank all of you for for considering this um this was something that was you know since I got involved in the in the baseball association something that we've wanted for a long time and felt like the town needed um and finally um somebody stepped up and and and got the ball rolling and and I just like to say thank you for that thank you anyone else wishing to address the council please come forward now seeing and hearing none may I have a motion to close the public comment section please motion thank you may I have a second on that second all in favor I I any opposed may I have a motion to adjourn the agenda meeting please motion second roll call please councilman depiro yes councilman Marquel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzor yes council president Cohen yes meeting is adjourned at the time is 7:13 thank you going to call the regular meeting to order please may I have a motion thank you second second thank you roll call councilman toiro yes councilman Marquel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanora yes council president Cohen yes may I have a motion to approve the payment of claims per the run date of August 28th 2024 motion please so moves thank you second second roll call councilman depiro obain councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes M motion carries they motion to approve the me minutes of the following meetings as written and presented August 5th 2024 agenda and combined regular meeting motion please motion second second thank you roll call councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you item four is the ordinance for second reading 08224 d015 it's an ordinance amending chapter 39 of the code of the township of Monroe entitled fees I'd like a motion to open the public hearing motion may I have a second please second thank you anyone wishing to address the council regarding this ordinance please come up now seeing and hearing none I'd like a motion to close the public hearing motion thank you Mo second on that please thank you may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance so moved thank you sir second may I have second second thank you roll call councilman deiro yes councilman marel councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you madam president yes please if I could be heard with respect to uh the second reading for ordinance 0-8 d224 d016 I would make a motion at this time uh to table this to our next meeting of October 7th 20 24 uh the reason being this pertains to uh an item that also needs planning board approval and we did not have our uh planning board meeting in August we do expect to have our September meeting of the planning board after that we would be in a position for the October 7th meeting to vote on this may I have a second on that motion to table please second thank you need to take a call I motion to table motion to table yes motion to table this we need to vote we have a motion in a second table it the clerk call the RO please councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you so 08-20 24- 016 is tabled till the planning board meets and sees this 08224 d01 seven is an ordinance of the township of Monroe County of middlex and state of New Jersey establishing a midblock crosswalk on Applegarth Road County Route 619 Township of Monroe County of middlex state of New Jersey I'd like a motion to open the public hearing on this ordinance please so move thank you may I have a second on that please second thank you all in favor I any opposed Ed no anyone wishing to address the council about this please come forward now seeing and hearing none I am going to ask for a motion to close the public hearing motion thank you may I have a second on that second all in favor I no opposition may I have a motion to adopt 08 2024 d017 please so moved thank you sir second second good roll call please councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you 08224 d018 ordinance amending chapter 35 of the code of the township of Monroe entitled Drug Free Zones we are updating a code to include the last map revision uh may I have a motion to open public hearing motion thank you I have a second on that second all in favor I no opposition anyone from the public wishing to address US regarding this ordinance please come forward now seeing and hearing none I'll take a motion to close the public hearing motion thank you second second all in favor I no opposition I'd like a motion to adopt 08 may I have a second second thank you two voices at the same time you have a roll call please councilman toiro yes councilman Marquel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen thank you motion carries so we have moved to 0a 202 4-19 is a bond ordinance providing for facility Improvement on Township open space property in and by the township of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating 2,925 th000 therefore dollars therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1, 397,000 in B bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the costs thereof I'd like a motion to open the public hearing so Mo second on there please second all in favor no opposition anyone wishing to address the council about this please come forward now seeing and hearing none may I have a motion to close the public hearing motion thank you a second please second all in favor I I no opposition may I have a motion to adopt 08 202 24-19 motion again the chorus may have a second on there please second roll call councilman deiro yes councilman Marquel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen motion adopted yes motion carries motion carries 08 2024-25 ship of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating $4 4,995,000 therefore and authorizing the issu issuance of 4,995,000 in bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the costs thereof may I have a motion to open a public hearing please so moved thank you is there a second on that second all in favor I no opposition any none anyone wishing to address the Council on this ordinance please come forward now seeing and hearing none a motion to close please motion thank you may I have a second second thank you roll call please right we need a motion to adopt yes motion to adop motion to adopt please so moved motion again we're getting on both Sid a second on that second may I have a roll call please councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you yes I asked the public and they didn't come up yes yes no sir you you can't you in the middle of the meeting you can't just start to talk thanks you can wait until we get to the public comments section at the end of the meeting and then you'll be part of the record which is at at the end of the meeting that'll be fine and it'll be in the record you're welcome ordinance 08 2024 021 Bond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements in and by the township of Monroe in the county of middlex New Jersey appropriating 4,224 400 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 3,523 300 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof any and I have a motion to open a public hearing please thank you may have a second on that second all in favor I no opposition anyone wishing to address US regarding this ordinance please come forward now seeing and hearing none a motion to close public hearing please motion thank you a second on that second all in favor I any opposed may I have a motion to adopt 08 2024 Das 02121 second thank you second roll call please councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you ordinance 08 2024 022 an ordinance authorizing the town Township of Monroe to acquire a RightWay dedication over property at 45 Lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 lot 4129 a 10ft wide Street tree easement at 43 45 and 47 Lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 Lots 4134 4135 4136 and a conservation easement at 43 45 and 47 lower matchaponix Road known as block 68 Lots 4134 4135 4136 on the township of Monroe tax map may I have a motion to open a public hearing motion may I have a second on that please second all in favor I no opposition anyone from the public wishing to address US regarding this ordinance please come forward now seeing and hearing not a motion to close a public hearing please so move thank you second please second all in favor I any opposition may I have a motion to adopt 08 2024 d022 please motion thank you may I have a second on that second thank you roll call please councilman Ziro abstain councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries 23 yes ordinance 08 2024 023 an ordinance authorizing the township of Monroe to acquire a 10-ft wide tree easement 38 at 38 Avenue I and 40 Avenue I known as block 123 lots 11.01 and 14.01 on the township of Monroe tax map thank you and I have a motion to open a public hearing please move second on that motion pleas second thank you all in favor I any opposed no anyone from the public wishing to address us on this ordinance please come forward now seeing and hearing none a motion to close the public hearing motion thank you second second thank you all in favor I no opposition may I have a motion to adopt 08224 d023 please so moves thank you and a second on that motion second thank you roll call councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries we're moving to the resol resolutions for consideration under the consent agenda they are r9- 2024 d196 through R9 2 4 211 212 and 214 which will be considered separately may I have a motion motion thank you may have a second on that motion second thank you a roll call please councilman deiro yes councilman marel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you we move to item seven which is resolutions removed from the consent agenda may I have a motion to to this is for resolution R9 2024 211 212 and 214 we clear on which ones motion please so moved thank you a second second thank you again a roll call councilman toiro councilman Marquel yes councilwoman seagull yes Council vice president vanora yes council president Cohen yes motion carries thank you thank you very much all of you this we will now move to the our reports beginning with our business administrator please sure thank you uh council president just a a few brief comments on some of the agenda items uh one uh certainly pleased to see the Inwood Estates Paving moving forward with almost 50% grants um for that item which is on the end of the resolution list that includes $248,000 in a state grant for local Aid $167,000 Federal grant for hcd so the grants are totaling close to to 415 um also nine bids for that project which is really good and we were under the engineers estimate so thanks to Mr razim moitz as well couple other items that were particularly important on tonight's agenda um mentioned earlier and I commented on and I thank Joe the upgrade and Rehabilitation of the Applegarth water tank on Joan War way very important project um the uh replacement in one of our bonds there of a 1993 utility vac truck that has served for 31 years um so we certainly got some good use out of that and we'll be know Joe is looking forward to a new one um we're setting in place the funding for another uh State grant for uh linkx Drive Paving um we received a $551,000 state Grant um as part of that project which will cover uh well over 50% so we have that in place um and we also have um we also approved tonight um a new ambulance um continuing to try and keep our Fleet um in place it actually takes quite a while to get an ambulance from when you order now it's uh close to 2 years with supply chain issues so um this is actually one that'll probably come about two years from now with to replace an ambulance that's still working but is 15 years old already so we're continuing to try and keep our our Fleet updated um so just wanted to comment on some of those and then lastly just as a reminder for the public the library will be closed on Friday September 6th for Paving um so there'll be a lot of activity in the parking lot and for safety reasons we'll just close for that one day and then the uh improvements will be completed so just wanted to remind the public of that thank you thank you very much council president you're most welcome thank you Mr razim moit thank you council president I'll be brief um we're currently doing our 2024 various Street Road pavings throughout the town uh we're wrapping that up as uh Alan had mentioned we'll be at the library uh doing their uh parking lot on Friday uh and there's three or four other streets that still remain and Allan also mentioned Inwood Estates uh that project was awarded tonight we're going to be looking to get that started as soon as possible so I anticipate uh October uh we'll be out there starting work then and that's my report very good thank you Council reports I'll begin with councilman deiro on my right sir oh thank you very much um after listening to um our public about the impact fees uh and also with our mayor uh sending a letter uh which we did I believe he did last year also and the support um from our Board of Education as well uh last meeting I requested that we reach out to uh our sen Senator and assembly and asked them invite him here so I don't know if we need a like a formal resolution uh or request to be on the agenda for next month um to to send a notice to them and ask them them to come and be in an open for for for residents uh because I I was reading uh I was reading about Perth Amboy they just received a brand new high school about 590 square feet and uh it's really disheartening to hear um other communities receiving a um $290 million payment from the state of New Jersey that's we pay that we pay those taxes everybody in this room pays those taxes for to the state but we receive 12 million so they received $290 million for for high school that that that board of education and the residents of that Community paid $3 million so when you when you do the math and you and you add it all up it just doesn't make any sense so I would ask our Council uh Lou and and and also my council president to please put it on the res on on the agenda for next month to let's send let's send the Letters Out and request them to come here and meet our meet our residents and explain to us what they can do for us because I did attend the Board of Education meeting when they were there but the unfortunate thing the public was not allowed to speak because it was a committee meeting uh not a board meeting where the public was allowed to speak speak so I'll say it again I mentioned at last meeting I I would request that we get a letter a formal letter out and a mayor um and Council supports it on having our legislation here on on helping Monroe Township uh the um many things are going on in our community and an example uh the helmet awareness program that our police or doing for our residents uh I think I think they need to step up a little bit and maybe have a few uh meetings with our residents the the children the parents uh on making the the children aware and I don't want to I don't want to sound type to say hey we should take away their scooters and we should take away their skateboards uh and do all of that our mayor made a statement few months back where they give them a a certificate for pizza slice of pizza and a drink to say listen here here's a program that we're trying to help um we all heard about a resident in our community at four years old that we lost you know to a tragedy um that is just disheartening to all of us to even see hear or talk about uh very very difficult to talk about um losing any any loved one in our community and that that four-year-old is no longer here um and and that leads me into another question how many detention basins does the township of Monroe or mtud owned that do not have fences around them please I can check into that I think most of our uh wet basins I know you and I worked on a wet Basin that you built um and I think that has a fence around it um so I I believe most of the wet basins have fences around them um certainly can double check on that yeah if you could if you could uh Allan I'd appreciate that and get that information out because um even if it's even if it's a dry Basin you know we I brought this up about the rec center being unfenced in a community of nothing but children in our in our building and then uh going there during the rain and sending pictures to show how much water or in a dry Bas during a rainfall uh I think I think it's very important that we don't have another tragedy or any tragedy at all between the the fishing the fishing the ice skating or or just a child walking into a situation um maybe we need to look at all our basins make sure all our buildings and all our basins are are fenced properly not just wet basins I think all basins so if you can let us know that I'd appreciate it um and I had a question in reference to open space I know I requested the um 2024 activity I haven't received it yet but hopefully I I will get that soon on the amount that went into our account and from our taxes and and if we got reimbursements from the state for uh 405 spots with Gravel Hill uh and also um I wanted to know if there's any Parcels that we're planning on moving forward in 2024 for open space right so we we continue if I could council president um and I think I did send you that number just to be clear it's about $1.3 million that comes in each year as part of our open space and Recreation trust fund um that that comes in each year our debt service is approximately 800,000 as I put in the email certainly will'll get you that uh back and forth on the open space something our open space uh committee certainly looks at obviously we need to have a willing seller um also I would say that there are some targeted properties um within the uh master plan that we're continuing to look at as well um but as as properties come up they'll either come through the uh open space uh and farmland preservation a committee or they'll come before this Council um and that's that's basically how it would move forward but we did put together a targeted list um Associated uh with the master plan we can't as a you know practical matter um we can't acquire open space by condemnation um we have to have a property that where somebody would be wanting to sell that property in order for us to really engage on that um unless there was a public need that was uh you know exigent right the two that we purchased one being The metav View Nursing Home on spatu gravill and the other one being on 405 spotu gravill could you give us an update on what's going on with those two Parcels sure um so in terms of if I could Council council president um as you know uh a couple things have happened in the area of of open space uh probably within the last two years um in a way that'll I think benefit the town and that we've communicated with the residents um first um in looking at Meadow View our opportunity there was to purchase a property that um will help us um associated with the next round of affordable housing and so the goal there as I've mentioned previously at the meetings is to make that part of a future round of affordable housing where you'd have senior affordable in it um and that will help us meet our affordable housing obligation obviously every everything we can do to build our own affordable housing prevents that 4:1 ratio um that the state has generally um implied on all 360 municipalities that are subject to to the settlement um so that'll be part of our round four affordable housing um in terms of garvey's uh Mark can probably give you an update on the demolition related to that um but as you know we we got a million doll Grant from the county which we should get shortly and I believe we have a 300 or two or $300,000 Grant from the state for that as well so the majority of that is through Grant funds um as well and as we put into uh as we put into the newspaper um we're moving forward on the acquisition of the Barnes property um which will be fully funded through State and County grants and hopefully we'll be executing that shortly um which we're super excited about as well that'll be a $2 and a. half million do Grant from the state um and a uh a $1.8 million Grant from uh sorry $25 million from $2.3 million from the state and a $2 million Grant from the County so apologize that great so also um we we've been talking about uh truck traffic and situations going on I know in the past uh we talked about looking for do to do an approval on Applegarth Road uh cranberry Union Valley and Prospect PLS I know the county signed off on it and they approved it are there any updates from NJ doot for for making a weight limit on these or local local deliveries only are there anything in the works that's coming from NJ do sure and this is uh this was something that was in the Monroe News I think the episode the uh issue beforehand um so a couple things are happening and there's a full report uh linked online in terms of the Southern Middle sex uh Freight study a lot of really positive feedback from that um as you recall and as we've spoken about before um one of the challenges with trying to get the uh uh the uh weight restrictions on the east west connectors where people were coming uh you know in that in that direction um was that they wanted a more further study and so what's great about uh the uh the study that was done the truck study that was done is that it did uh make a recommendation in there um particularly on cranberry Station Road that uh one could move forward in a in a in a in a way where you wouldn't have to do any significant work to move that towards uh being uh to being weight restricted the other two would require some additional capital projects on the east west connectors being Halfacre Road and Prospect planes so as a result of that and I spoke with the county about it they'll be implementing uh those programs first and foremost they'll be doing some of the different wayfinding efforts that you'll start to see going up um in the coming year again there's a there's if you look at the report that was issued and I think it was shared with you um there are different phases to this so I'm going to talk about uh the the near-term phase that was listed in the report as you recall there's different phases in the report so wayfinding and working with the uh with the uh providers of of uh of GIS and mapping are some of the first things that are happening um we'll also be moving forward with our own uh report on weight limits related to Cranberry Station Road that we can send to the state which will butress the state report and then we'll be able to have that back uh back up but there's uh several other inter interim items that are in there as well beyond wayfinding and that one thing and be happy to go through it uh at a different time as well thank you if you could pass uh to our chief of police if he can do a truck stops on these roads and help with the weights and measures with the uh the state police and also the county it would probably be helpful because a lot of these trucks are that are driving through our town are unsafe uh and they need they need to be checked with weight and also with the safety so if you could check what our Chief of Police i' I'd appreciate that Allan um on on the paving I I appreciate to report Mark but I had a question mainly to mainly to mtud um our director Joe it's very important that that we get a video before the paving starts and also after the paving to make sure that they don't pave over any of our our Valves and over our manholes and and that after the paving is done that each one of our valves are functioning and there's no Asphalt in catch basins or asphalt in the valve so when you guys go out in the middle of the night on a water main break you go and you find out that the valve is full of asphalt that was paved at previous time so are we checking all of the the paving prior and then are we checking all the valves and to make sure all manholes are still still there without being paved around it is there somebody from MTD doing that currently council president if I could oh you want to get excellent question uh councilman and uh we do do that uh we uh we obviously Mark out the uh the assets before the paving project starts and then we go back after the paving project is completed and check it and uh in fact uh our uh you know the fire chief is actually our uh our markout expert and he goes out there and personally does that so we're we're very confident that we're working not only collectively with engineering and the contractor but within mtud to make sure that that uh responsibility is upheld and taken care of thank you welcome and and uh I had a question and a comment also about mounts mounts Mill Oldbridge English town I noticed that they're out there finally doing the electrical work for the traffic signal um and I noticed the fire hydren got moved that was in the way uh for the contractor that just got got moved as well um so it looks like hopefully the contractor can go out there and make it all the telephone poles removed uh thank you to JCP now finally but hopefully they can get that buttoned up where from Curb to curb we can get we can get at least stabilized base um you know where it's a little safer for our residents to uh travel um but are there any updates on Prospect planes and Applegarth intersection I think yes council president um with regard to uh Applegarth and Prospect planes if you recall the county project includes the intersection and then uh all of prospect planes to the municipal border uh the the township has acquired uh all the easements that were necessary to to to do that project with the exception of the railroad uh at the railroad crossing um the easements uh there's been communic ation with Conrail with the county and the state and the township and and um the stumbling block there is is really to Railroad and and getting that uh approved so the county now has reached out to the do to uh amend the project to do it in two phases uh to get the intersection completed up to the railroad tracks and then once uh everything is resolved with the railroad to get that easement then put out the rest of the project to the municipal border as a the phase two but but it looks like it'll be it'll take many more months to get those easements through the railroad so we're trying to uh accelerate the project um because the intersection is the most important part of of this project so uh so that that's where it's at right now it's at the state they're reviewing um that to uh make a determination uh uh to allow the county to move forward but with phase one thank thank you Mark um Avenue K and galdi Avenue we have a lock uh gate um that a resident keeps calling me in reference to they getting some graffiti on their fence they contacted the police they did a police report I know that we discussed it last week that there was a a I believe um a pending um lawsuit that was withdrawn I believe uh for use variance and now that uh we own the we own that right away the town put the gate up are are we going to keep that gate locked your mic's off I'd have to look into that I know this is of a concern to you um in terms of access um brought it up several times I think we were successful in the zoning board and I mean the zoning board was successful in defending itself which will prevent the use but I would really have to talk further with the utility director um and the and the planning director to make sure I answer the uh question correctly well we did pay it is our property and we have we spent the money the taxpayers spent the money I just like to see the gate locked because there are residents going there that vandalizing people's property and they did do police reports and I got I received a call on Tuesday about it as well from from few homeowners I wanted to point out as leaz on for the shade tree um I requested many times that we notify six County uh Highway roads and bridges and and they need to maintain the dead branches that that are over a lot of our Township roads example primeville Road matchaponix um we have Township roads such as Federal that have a lot of dead trees so a resident called me that um he was driving down matchaponix the tree fell down and and a dead tree a dead tree limb uh damaged this truck the road got closed uh during during um I guess during an operation where there was no wind or there was no storm and the tree just fell a branch fell and and damaged his truck so if we could reach out to middlex County uh and ask them to look at a lot of the dead trees primeville road if you drive up and down it you can still see leaves on and you'll see the dead branches it's easy to pick them out now but in another month or two it might not be so easy and we don't want our resident just driving by with a branch fallen so if we could reach out to the county on that I'd appreciate it um as the chairman of the New Jersey training school citizens review along with with Terry and Allan um our meeting is September 11th in this room at 6:30 it's open to the public and uh if anybody would like to attend I just wanted to to point that out it's uh 911 at at 6:30 and uh also at 911 at our our tree park at 8:30 a.m. I believe it's 8:30 a.m. start time that we're going to be at the uh Memorial and at the tree Park on Prospect planes so I just wanted to mention that to the to the residents as well and on 92124 I'm on the green team as well at 10:00 to 3:00 green fair is at the high school want our residents to know um to come out and support and also see all the uh vendors that are there and also to uh to help our help our community with the green uh the Green Team I had a question we talked about uh water towers what's our plan for the water tower 522 thanks uh Joe if you could explain that again to the councilman the 522 water tower 522 Tower we talked about raising it we talked about doing different painting it just the same update thanks uh currently there is a uh a study underway councilman uh to do some geotechnical work uh obviously you know that if we do raise the tank up to facilitate additional storage that's required to operate the distribution system correctly we have to make sure that the uh surrounding uh ground will be able to hold that additional weight so once that's done uh then we will proceed with the actual design of uh raising the tank and then painting it all right I just also wanted to point out um we talked about a water tower possibly over by the state home possibly On In the Pines development there is a there is a water tower on state property right now um so I don't know if that's something that that we could reach out when we have our meeting on on 911 it's a question that I'm going to bring to them is there is a water tower there I don't know if you're familiar with that Joe um or if you can get familiar with it and help educate us a little bit about it um we know they they abandoned their their sewer plant that they had and they're still going on with that but if the if you go look into the water tower that's there and it's something that town um you know we could benefit from from because they are talking about uh they've been talking about the premises of leaving and and closing but if there's a water tower there something that we could use I just think that we we need to look into that's an excellent question we already have uh we've done a hydraulic analysis to actually see whether or not that would benefit we also did a little study on how old that water tower is and the cost it would take to refurbish it uh and uh right now economic Ally it really is not feasible for us to use and that's one of the reasons why we decided to go back to 522 tank we looked at about oh five or six areas throughout the township that would actually benefit us and where we could potentially put an additional tank but uh none of them fit better than the existing location at 522 okay thank you that's all I have council president thank you yes fresh back from vacation head first um going to make this short I just want want to reiterate uh my congratulations to the senior center which I'm uh part of the commission for as you know they do such a great job and I want to just uh add that um I'm a big baseball fan so the baseball facility uh me I jumped in to uh make the motion because I want to be on record to uh make the motion to go forward with that that uh facility I think it's great for the kids um anything we can do for the citizens in this town to uh improve the uh Recreation or arts or anything is is very important um I also like to say uh just mentioned um what happened in Georgia today in the schools um I just want to make sure that we know that the schools the kids are safe in Monroe we have to be well aware everybody seems to be separated until it happens to you um but it could happen anywhere and we should all be aware police and the councel and everybody um one other thing I would just like to um send out my condolences to the family that uh lost their four-year-old uh child um I was uh very close to a family many years ago that lost a child so I'm pretty well aware of um I don't know the feelings cuz I've never lost a child but I'm well aware of problems that they're going to go through and I um I hope they do well in anything as as a town we should all just recognize as as citizens of Monroe that uh we have our condolences for them that's really all I want to say tonight thank you woman also thank you council president so I to along with my fellow councilmen um offer my condolences to the family who lost their child this week with the drowning um deepest condolences to that family um I did want to share I wanted to welcome the wine Locker one of our new businesses Monroe wish them all the best we had a ribbon cutting ceremony for them they're located in The Gables shopping center on Applegarth Road and I want to send a huge thank you to all the department organization ations or Department teams in our Township who participate National Night Out it was a wonderful night great crowds lots of great information it was one of those summer nights that you want to bottle and save for one of those cold days in Winter um and you know lots of great information was provided and if you could throw a baseball you could try to dunk a police officer or even the chief so it was a great night um and I want to share I I'm on a distribution list for Sustainable New Jersey and and I recently got an email from them recognizing Joe slomian um our recycling coordinator DPW being recognized as a sustainability Hero by Sustainable New Jersey and I want to just share a short piece of what was written in this article because it was really nice to open my email and see this but for over 25 years Joe slomian has served the township of Monroe as the recycling and clean communities coordinator and as a member of the environmental commission and green team advisory committee through his incredible drive and Innovative Spirit Joe secured funding that helped him optimize Monroe Tan's Recycling and environmental stewardship initiatives Monroe Township has consistently ranked as one of the top municipalities in the state and litter prevention and achieves an impressive 65% recycling rate due to Joe's effort so I just want to recognize and congratulate Joe and what an honor uh that he's part of our DPW team very nice you know we'll be recognized is silver yes getting the silver for sustainability with silver uh from League of municipalities yet again we have been recertified wonderful and just a couple other things I want wanted to point out I know summer months are over but the township always has so many events and I just want to highlight a couple that are coming up in September I know we've right we councilman de mentioned about the 9911 remembrance cere ceremony but we had Beetle Mania coming up on September 15th at 400 p.m. at the high school tickets are on sale and our vintage baseball game is coming up on September 21st at die farm from 12:00 to 3:30 so mark your calendars for that and I just wanted to since I mentioned councilwoman Schneider earlier I know there's a taste Monroe event on September 19th and we're starting to collect donations for the food pantry which was always something that she was very passionate about was inse security run food and making sure people had food to eat um so please come join us it's on September 19th at the senior center and please donate if you're able to so and that concludes my report Council vice president Ben Z please thank you Madame President when you go last most of the people have already brought up things that I had mentioned to talk about but um next to last actually yeah thank you um a couple last month there were many many good events around town which are part of what makes Monroe uh the great town that it is um they had the the day Farm uh event at the historic house uh I wanted to point out Monroe senior softball league uh sponsored a pitch for the cure for prostate cancer which was a uh something that they've done over the past few years um I I was a little been a little under the weather this month so I didn't get to many of the activities but the fact that they have these things in and they're all good stuff for the town I thought was great um I'm also the uh liaison to the uh direct advisory committee and I I feel very happy and very uh uh blessed that we were able to get the uh uh practice facility for the for the baseball teams um I had a a daughter who was a pitcher for the softball team and and also played wreck and travel and I know what it's like to try and get out there just to get the practice facilities for the winter workouts is crazy and then that when you have the facility the the cost of renting it gets to be quite expensive and a lot of times you know uh you the parents wind up chipping in on their own so for the town to provide that I think it's a great thing and it'll be good because others just besides baseball could also use it and I I think it'll just be a wonderful thing it doesn't mean that we're still not committed to addressing other things in town with recreational facilities but this is something that from what I understand was pretty much long overdue um just want to remind everyone the farmers market will be continuing through the end of the month I understand at the library Thursdays 230 to 6:30 um September the 9th there's going to be a Department of Motor Vehicle or Motor Vehicle Commission is going to have a mobile unit there so if people need to get their license or registration renewed um you could do it there instead of having to travel somewhere but you do need to make an appointment so just don't show up because then if you get turned down um I'm sure it'll be a little bit upsetting um we do have our our annual uh 911 memorial which I know is special for the mayor and uh always try and make our best effort to attend that it is hard to believe that it's now 23 years years since 9111 and it seems like yesterday when we we're watching on TV when that happened um some of these things just stick in your mind um a four-year-old child I have two kids of my own so my kids are much older now but I think anybody that's a parent can relate to that and the The Dread and the fear and then the realization as to what occurred so um thoughts go out to that family and in that same regard what happened today down in Georgia with the shooting it's just uh breaks my heart every time I see that I uh probably the thing that got me most interested in politics uh we go back to Coline many many years ago and I remember that but I didn't know anybody out there and I mean I looked that well that's really bad but then when they had the the young children the first graders in Connecticut that all got shot that just totally blew me away where they they couldn't even identify the kids um because it was so bad and ever since then I I've been a pretty strong Advocate sensible gun laws is what we need doesn't have to mean that if you're a hunter you can't have a gun or you can't have anything but Universal background checks um we don't need uh machine guns we don't need uh those type of weapons we really don't need to bump stock either although I understand it's been ruled legal um but uh we just need to do common sensing and and the other one I almost guys the red flag laws when a family sees somebody and they know that person's off a little bit we all know what we're talking about and they start talking crazy but protect it you know protect them against themselves too uh so those are all things that can be addressed and I hope that uh maybe it will get addressed later in the year the next legislative session and lastly um not going to talk long on it but the Ukraine war continues uh I hope we continue to give our support to the people of Ukraine who were really up against it lately so having said all that stuff uh fall season's here kids are back in school be careful with school buses and then kids running around and everything and uh let's hope we have a a safe and uh a great school year coming up so thank you mam president thank you I can be Jo uh before I turn this over to the mayor we all know how we feel each and every one of us that that little boy died little child died you're not supposed to bury your children they're supposed to bury you so we can all just hope and pray that we don't have any further incidents like that in our town and in other places as well and we'd also like to add my voice to my colleagues who say please come to 911 if you can it is a lovely lovely ceremony there are parents there and wives and husbands who who lost family then so I think that the solidarity of people around you helps sometimes so it would be good if your schedule allows you to get there to get there would be appreciated Mr Mayor you came back from vacation a few weeks ago so you're already back in school modes classes started at Ruckers it was a couple months ago well a couple of months ago your head you know so please the give this your Madam council president thank you for uh providing me a little bit of time just to um report um did I hear correct correctly 31 years uh vehicle 31 years Joe was that your vehicle was it like The Flintstones where you using your feet so for you know we give proclamations for people can we give a proclamation to a vehicle for 31 years uh joking as aside just jumping in here some events that I did attend over the last month I did attend the uh Monroe Township senior softball pitch for cure event to raise money for prostate cancer awareness detection and treatment uh on hand was uh Bob Randall from uh WF as well as former Major League uh baseball player Pete Hornish uh as they threw out the first pitch for the uh there was a home run derby in the All-Star game um as alluded to before uh councilwoman seagull had mentioned about the uh National Night Out certainly proud to celebrate with all of our First Responders uh as well as our Fire District 1 uh had their 75th Anniversary as well which was a tremendous event for the community at large um I also want to thank uh all of those who attended the uh mayor's Wellness meditation event on the 28th it was a an amazing turnout uh not enough room uh in in in the room so you know you're always always uh successful when that's the case I also just want to thank uh the council members for uh the uh support and um for the resolution for the advocacy for the um um uh the the laws uh in regards to having our hands tied uh to um uh Builders remedy Builder fees all of that stuff this will be going to the league municipalities as well as our legislators as well so I just wanted to you know follow up on that um and as for the uh for the baseball facility you know I do I do know um I was president of That League 20 something years ago and that was something that we talked about back then um so it took us took you a while thank you for your patience but it'll certainly come to fruition for not only baseball but all of the sports that can um take advantage of uh of such a magnificent facility here in Monroe uh I want to applaud the township um employees uh who recently donated to the arms wide openen Childhood Cancer Foundation on behalf of the vulpi family uh for your information September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month um I also want to just take this moment to extend my condolences to former councilman Bob Tucker and family for the loss of the beautiful matriarch of the family Gloria uh Bob has done a lot for this town so please uh think of him um during this um time of um despair uh 911 remembered ceremony was mentioned uh on 9:14 we have a paper shredding at our Recycling yard from 8 to 12 um Taste of Monroe was mentioned ah here's one that wasn't green Fair 920 1 10: a.m. at our high school and obviously I do want to just uh welcome all the students back all the teachers back um it's as well as cannot emphasize enough to please drive safe when you see those buses please slow down and please stop if they bother you that much leave earlier or leave later do not ride on their tail do not pass a bus um and I do want to just finish off um lastly with um having a heavy heart in regards to the news of the uh tragic drowning that occurred um certainly as a parent as a human I can't imagine a greater pain um I did uh I did call the parents um and I did uh on behalf of the entire Township the entire Community extend our deepest sympathies and condolences um I also took the opportunity to reach out to all of the First Responders there for that very very tragic event you can train all you want but until it happens you don't know um a lot of the responders had little kids and it was a very traumatic experience for them I thank them for their unwavering dedication to their profession and I'll leave it at that thank you Madame council president that we're going to move to the public comment section I'd like a motion to open the public comment section please so moved thank you a second please all in favor I any opposition no all right folks anyone wishing to address the council please come forward the time limit of five minutes is still in force and your name and address for our records Gary busman 7 Monarch Road this is uh just to reiterate 08224 to0 with regard to wording in the bond ordinance um uh looking out for the Township's interest by the wording I don't want anyone to come back to the municipality to indicate that the bond and because of the wording and you proposal uh indicates that that is the full amount for the bond at $4 4,995,000 uh I think it's beneficial for the municipality to protect its position and its rights uh to make sure that the wording in that agreement is adequate the words that appear now do not appear to be correct thank you you're welcome sir your name and address please for our records good evening and thank you Joe atanasio 21 Wellington Place Monro Township in greenb uh I now that I'm a member of the board directors of the Whittingham homeowners association it's my duty to come here with complaints that have been been getting from a few residents uh the construction at the police precinct albeit necessary people have complained to me about the noise level at about 6:45 in the morning I have not experienced this firsthand but I just thought I'd bring it here to remind the construction company if they would to start at a much reason much more reasonable hour as I have been getting complaints I will look at this myself in the next in the next few days to make sure it's you know these people are actually telling me factually what's going on but thank you if you would remind them i' appreciate it thanks you're welcome thank you anyone else wishing to address the council yes council president I I'll look into that with the police station and N start time the start time should be 700 a.m. not 6:45 so I'll follow thank you Mark thank you you're walking slow name an address for our records please George gunman 5 Kelly Court lro um like to ask a question about all the different tax relief programs we have um from the state you know that are mostly geared towards relief uh for seniors and and others for um property tax what if any uh impact does that have on our finances is this money that go comes from the state and and we're totally I was pretty sure that was the case but I wanted to be sure yeah the money comes from the the money comes from the state correct thank you thank you anyone else switching yes please again your name and address for the record please Chrissy scurby 21 pness Drive I want to thank the council for approving the baseball facility as a baseball family here in Monroe for the last probably 18 years um it's a great addition to there and I appreciate the efforts of the council in increasing our wreck uh Services throughout the town um one thing I just wanted to bring to the council's attention and ask possibly for or um maybe a change going forward I I recently had some work done in my house and we went through um the permit process through the Construction office during uh which time every so often we had to have um an inspection the construction um Department would contact my husband or myself and set up an appointment for somebody to come out and do the inspection worked out fine I always knew when they were coming when they were expected who I and who I was expecting this week I had um my doorbell ring and it was somebody from the tax assessor's office unannounced I did not really know if they were from the town or not I was very uncomfortable um I didn't think that it was really a proper way to do things I reached out to Mr Weinberg we had a conversation he had the woman who heads up the tax assessor's office maybe the tax assessor herself um she called me and she explained that um at the tax assessor's office they don't call the residents ahead of time to schedule because they don't have the phone numbers I found that really hard to believe that in our town while the construction department has the phone numbers and contact information for those who put in the permits the tax assessor's office wouldn't be able to contact a resident it just made me feel very uncomfortable having somebody unannounced show up at my door and tell me they were from the town and want to come in um you know it was it's not something that I think our residents should have I think that if the town is coming out to to um want to come in they should call ahead to the residents because there's so much going on in this world and you don't know who is properly coming to your home for something and who's not there's so many scams and Scandals we have so many um residents in the adult community it it just really would be safer if we could call and make appointments um so our residents know and just a comment on the truck traffic on I think it was was um Applegarth and Prospect Plains um we seem to do a lot of talk about that area uh that is a highly traveled County Road the speed limit used to be 50 it might be 50 in the area 45 miles an hour um if we're doing studies there on on the trucks I would really encourage that we also do the studies of trucks going in residential areas I know that residents came here last month and talked about trucks in residential areas where they want to build a warehouse um they were told that this wasn't the proper form they should go to planning I know they're planning on doing that but if we're looking at the truck traffic on that road and saying that we need to mitigate that for the residents we shouldn't be having tractor trailers and trucks going through residential areas where the roads aren't wide enough where there's a large amount of children waiting on bus stops having tractor trailers go through residential community really should not be something that this town is looking for I know the application is before the planning board but I would ask that the council when when looking into truck traffic on that road is looking at the truck traffic in residential communities as well thank you thank you if your comments anyone else wishing to address the council seeing and hearing none may I have a motion to close the public comment section please may I have a second on that second thank you all in favor yes that's done I just have a comment I'll go right ahead well close the I'll close my little and then you go ahead before we go to adjournment okay we are closing the public portion we a motion to close all in favor we have a motion on all in favor hi no oppose no opposition Mr Mayor just want to get it out there that um as was mentioned earlier it we did a uh the county did a Southern Middle six Freight study so it's looking at the entire not just arth quarter but everyone else uh other towns were brought in as well so just want to get it's it's a larger picture to be um uh we're cognizant of thank you yes it is thank you for that clarification may I have a motion to adjourn the meeting motion may I have a second on that roll calling a roll call onment councilman deiro councilman Marquel councilwoman seagull Council vice president vanzora yes council president Cohen yes this meeting is journ at 8 8:19 p.m. 819