I call to order this regular meeting of the township Committee of the township of mors this Wednesday May 15 2024 the time is now 702 this meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act and adquate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law specifically notice of this meeting was emailed to the Daily Record and Mars newsby on January 4th 2024 and posted on the township of Mars website the agenda resolutions for the meeting are available on Marist township.com under agenda Center certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of personnel Andor other matters as outlined in the Sunshine Law notice to members of the governing body and Township staff any use of electronic devices during this meeting shall be used solely for the purposes of Township business and any Communications are subject to the open public records act act Madam Clark roll call please Mr Belle present Mr Dy here Mr RIT here Mr Jan here may here will everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance to flag the United States of America to the for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for for all the next item on the agenda this evening is approval of the minutes may I have a motion to approve the minutes from February 21st 2024 our regular meeting so moved second all in favor I we have two proclamations on this evening's agenda and the first one I'm going to turn over to deputy mayor grelle it's the National Gun Violence awareness Proclamation uh thank you mayor this Proclamation recognizes the first Friday in June which this year is June 7th as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the township of Morris and it is to honor and remember all the victims and survivors of gun violence and to declare that we as a country must do more to reduce gun violence I'm not going to read through all the where I state stat ments of the Proclamation but I do want to read a couple um one of them states that the leading cause of death among children uh 1 to 19 is guns uh and I'm going to read off just two whereas statements whereas protecting the public safety of Mor Township is the township committee's highest responsibility and that's the reason why we're doing this tonight and second whereas the support of the Second Amendment rights of law binding citizens goes in hand inand with keeping guns away from people with dangerous Andor or abusive histories or mental instability or have publicly threatened violence and so that is why we're bringing this to the attention of the public uh to keep the awareness raised uh in our community and in our state and I just would like to make a couple of personal remarks related to this um that when I became mayor I joined a group called The Mayors against illegal guns and started to use my voice to raise awareness about gun violence in our country since we have had numerous moments of Silence at these meetings for those killed around our country and while mass shootings and gun violence in our schools uh get the most attention when it happens I have also tried to raise awareness of how it has affected our police officers and the work they do on a day in and day out basis just a couple of weeks ago our law uh four law enforcement officers were fatally shot in Charlotte North Carolina as the US Marshall's task force was serving a warrant at a home those killed were US Marshall two department of adult correction officers and a local Charlotte meinberg Police Officer Additionally the shooter was also killed at the scene and in total eight law enforcement officers were shot in this one incidents uh so we ask uh we ask our police officers to do their job of protecting our community every day um but I also want to ask our residents that we need to do our jobs by contacting our legislators to ensure that our gun regulations here in New Jersey stay strong and that we do more to do to combat gun violence across the United States thank you mayor thank you Deputy Mayor the second Proclamation is the national Mobility awareness Proclamation I'm not going to read through that entirely either but may is the national Mobility Awareness Month an effort to try and be carfree and for a change of pace we are encouraging all residents to take advantage of our Parks trails and bicycling possibilities we are actively working to improve mobility and promote Healthy Lifestyles I will read at the end therefore be hereby resolved by the members of the township Committee of the township of Mars hereby Pro Proclaim this season as Mars Township in motion and encourages all citizens to take advantage of what we have to offer to improve mobility and will publicize a list of choices and post information about safety sharing our roadways walkways and trails next we will go into our public comment however there are currently no me oh okay we have one member of the public joining us on Zoom we will take comments from in person attendees first and then switch over to zoom please virtually raise your hand in Zoom to indicate you would like to speak please state your name and address for the record before speaking please note the comments are limited to C minutes per speaker if you have any questions you would like answered your remaining time to speak will be yielded back to this purpose is there a motion to open the public comments second all in favor I seeing no members in person and see no hands raised mayor move that we close public commentary second all those in favor hi we have eight ordinances for public hearing and adoption on tonight's agenda Madame clerk please read the title of the first ordinance into the record and we will then open the public hearing ordinance 0824 and ordinance of the township Committee of the township of Morris amending chapter 15 of the Township Code not to person policies we will take comments from iners attendees first and then switch over to zoom seeing no one on Zoom having their hands raised we have okay is there a motion to open the public comment so moves all in favor now seeing no one wishing to speak will someone make a motion to close motion to close second all in favor may I have motion to adopt ordinance number 8-24 so mov second any discussion mad CL have a roll call vote Mr janada yes Mr gazelle yes Mr Dy yes Mr Rob yes mayor Gia yes I Donna J glia mayor declare ordinance number 0824 approved and adopted and direct the Township Clerk to publish proper notes thereof in the official newspaper M clerk please read the title of the second ordinance into the record and then we'll open the public hearing ordinance 09- 24 an ordinance of the township Committee of the township of Morris amending chapter 434 storm water management article V sold Article Five sold storage privately owned note compliance with storm watert management ms4 regulations we will take comments from in person Cy first and then switch over to zoom please virtually raise your hand in Zoom to indicate you would like to speak may I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 0924 so move there second all in favor we do have two people on Zoom now but no hands raised and no one here seeing no other members of the public wishing to speak will someone make a motion to close so moved second all in favor have a motion to adopt ordinance number 0924 so move second any discussion Madam CL may call Mr Jan yes Mr gelle yes Mr yes Mr Rob yes mayor G yes I Donna J G mayor declare ordinance number 0924 approved and adopted and direct the township cler to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper Madam Clark please read the title of the next ordinance for the public hearing and adoption into the record and in the public hearing ordinance 10-24 Bond ordinance provided for various Capital Improvements by the town of Morris appropriating the aggregated amount of 3,447 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 3,274 650 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof note Capital program for debt we will take comments from iners attendees first and then switch over to zoom please raise your hand in Zoom to indicate you would like to speak I have a motion to open public hearing on ordinance number 10-24 so moved second all in favor hi hi hi seeing no members on Zoom with their hands raised or anyone here wishing to speak someone e e e e and pull it down and put it back up so we may want to give it a second for the M of the public to join again but we were are good with our notices because it's an in meeting correct corre so I I know just wait to see if one the we had else come back do you know where what what point it went down probably when you were talking a little before yeah okay so he's working now yeah went out yeah both of them both of them are back but I'm but I was yeah he's back on right okay but I'm work concerned about the recording of the the meeting that we Post online did it did that you may want to say everything you said already I should we go through that whole ordinance again is all I'm saying go through the whole ordinance or go start I I don't know where it stopped so for the for I don't know what the word is security of the record for question do 1124 over due to the internet dropping we are going to redo ordinance D 11-24 Madame clerk please read the title of an next mayor sorry to interrupt um but just I don't know where it dropped also but just for clarification of the record we did vote we all voted positively on uh 10:24 I don't that might be on the recording but I'm just noting that for the record okay good yes Miss Walsh the notes okay ordinance 11-24 ordinance appropriating $345,500 available in the general Capital Improvement fund to provide for various Capital Improvements by the township of moris note Capital program for Capital Improvements fund we'll take comments from inperson attendees first and then switch over to zoom please raise your hand in Zoom indicate if you would like to speak may have a motion to open open the public hearing on ordinance number 11-24 so moved second all in favor seeing no members here in person and no hands raised on Zoom will someone make a motion to close public comment some move second all in favor I may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 11-24 so moved second is there any discussion or deputy mayor uh yes mayor thank thank you uh just a clarification for the public um and Mr Clint I'll ask you to chime in on this uh so 1124 is different than 1024 and that 1024 uh required us to go out to bond on a certain number of items but 1124 um and also for 1224 and 1324 uh these are funds that we have on hand now that we don't need to bond for correct these are projects that we pay 100% in full um it's money that we have had on hand from other capital projects that have been cancelled um and those funds are then being reallocated um as we are doing in 1124 and 1224 we are raising some of that money in the budget but that we're paying for those projects you know those are our smaller projects and we're paying them 100% um so we don't about the debt very good so I just want to make a general comment that I think this is very good fiscal respons responsibility and that we're trying to avoid going out the bond wherever we can and raising the funds through the budget and through prior savings and wanted to LW the finance committee and Mr Quinn for um leading us uh in that down that path of physical responsibility thank you very much thank you Deputy Mayor Madame clerk may I have a roll call Mr rabits yes Mr gazelle yes Mr GE Mr Jan yes mayor yes hi Donna jley and mayor CL ordinance number 11-24 approved and adopted and direct the township cler to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper Madam clerk please read the title of the next ordinance for public hearing and adoption into the record ordinance 12-24 ordinance appropriating $140,000 available in the general Capital fund balance to provide for various Capital Improvements by the township of moris no Capital program for Capital fund balance project we will take comments from inperson attendees first then switch over to zoom please virtually raise your hand in Zoom to indicate if you would like to speak may I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 12-24 second all in favor I seeing No Hands raised on zoom and no one here will someone make a motion to close public comment so I moved second all in favor I may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 12-24 so move second is there any discussion Madam clerk may have a roll call vote Mr Dy yes Mr rabbit yes Mr Belle yes Mr J yes yes I don mayor declare ordinance number 12-24 approved and adopted and direct attempt clerk to publish proper notice there in the official newspaper Madam clerk please read the title of the next ordinance for public hearing and adoption into the record ordinance 13-24 ordinance appropriating 13435 available in the SE sewer utility Capital Improvement fund to provide for various Capital Improvements by the T of mors note sewer Capital Improvement fund projects we will take comments from iners attendees first then switch over to zoom please raise your hand in Zoom to indicate if you would like to speak may I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 13-24 some moved second all in favor I seeing no one from the public here and no hands raised on Zoom will someone make a motion to close public comment second all in favor I may have a motion to adopt ordinance number 13-24 so moved second is there any discussion Madam Clark may have a roll call vote Mr robt yes Mr J yes Mr gazelle yes Mr Mayor G yes I rly a mayor declare ordinance number 13-24 approved and adopted and direct the Township Clerk to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper Madam clerk please read the title of the next ordinance for public hearing adoption into the record and we'll open for public hearing ordinance 14-24 ordinance appropriating $350,000 available in the sewer Capital fund balance to provide for the Butterworth and Woodland smooth gate replacement project by the township of Mor no sewer Capital fund balance projects we'll take comments from inperson attendees first then switch over to zoom please raise your hand in Zoom if you would like to speak I have a motion to open public hearing on ordinance number 14-24 so moves second all in favor seeing no members on Zoom raising their hand and nobody here will someone make a motion to close public comment so moved second all in favor I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 14-24 so second any discussion yeah I would like to make a comment mayor I just wanted to point out uh that this loose gate replacement is a a form of infrastructure Improvement that we do in the township we work very hard here to keep our infrastructure um grade A and up to enough and we have two sewer plants in town that service a lot of residents and a lot of other towns and keeping that those two sewer factories uh or plant running uh is very important and this is this is part of the infrastructure of the town uh that we are investing in thank you may mad cler may I have Mr Dy yes Mr G yes Mr J yes Mr Rob yes mayor yes hi Don a mayor declare ordinance number 14-24 approved and adopted and direct attwn clerk to publish proper notice thereof in the offici newspaper Madam clerk please read the title of the last ordinance for public hearing and adoption into the record and we will open public here ordinance 15-24 Bond ordinance providing for swimming pool improvements of the township of mors appropriating $574,500 therefore and authorizing the issuance of $545,500 all in favor seeing no members on zoom and nobody here to speak will someone make a motion to close public comment so mov second all in favor I I may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 15-24 so move second any discussion Madam clerk may I have aoll Mr robt yes Mr janada yes Mr gazelle yes Mr yes mayor yes I donle mayor declare ordinance number 15-24 approved and adopted and direct the toship clerk to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper we have four ordinances for introduction on tonight's agenda Madame clerk please read the title of the first ordinance into the record ordinance 16-24 an ordinance of the township Committee of the township of mors amending and reop chapter 9 article one of the Township Code note environmental commission creation Division I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 16-24 so moved second is there any discussion Madam Clark may have a roll call vote Mr janata yes Mr Rabbits yes Mr gazelle yes Mr dor and mayor yes the public hearing and final consideration and Adoption of ordinance number number number 16-24 will be held at the next regular Township committee meeting on Wednesday June 19th 2024 at 7 p.m. Madame clerk please read the title of the next ordinance into the record for introduction ordinance 17-24 Bond ordinance amending section three of bond ordinance number 9-23 finally adopted on May 17 2023 in order to be a description of the improvements referred to there note reallocation funding for will in the fire department may I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 17-24 so move second is there any discussion and cl May Mr Rob yes Mr J yes Mr gazelle yes mayor G yes the public hearing and final consideration and Adoption of ordinance number 17-24 will be held at the next regular tent committee meeting on Wednesday June 19th 2024 at 7M Madam clerk please read the title of the next ordinance into the record for introduction ordinance 18-24 an ordinance of the township Committee of the township of moris ratifying the resolution authorizing execution of the corrected boundary line agreement no correction in boundary line mors Town moris Township Library I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 18-24 so move second any discussion Madam Clark may have a roll call Mr janata yes Mr gelle yes Mr Mr Rabbits yes may yes the public hearing and final consideration and Adoption of ordinance number 18-24 will be held at the next regular Township committee meeting on Wednesday June 19th 2024 at 7 p.m. Madame clerk please read the title of the last ordinance into the record for introduction again committee J Will acc's role in the fire par ordinance 19-24 ordinance amending ordinance number 18-19 finally adopted on May 15 2019 in order to revise the description of the improvements referred to there note we allocate funding fire house fire alarm I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 19-24 so move second any discussion CL may have Mr yes Mr J yes Melle yes may yes the public hearing a final consideration and Adoption of ordinance number 19-24 will be held at the next radio attention committee meeting on Wednesday June 19th 2024 at 700 p.m. we have 10 resolutions on tonight's agenda may I have a motion to approve resolution numbers 12824 through [Music] 135-24 and 1374 by one motion May I'll that motion second M cler roll call vote Mr Dy yes Mr RIT yes Mr Griselle yes Mr J yes mayor yes may I have a motion for resolution 13624 I make motion for call no I want no problem on and if I can say a few words welcome MERS thank you um this is a big milestone for folks in Colville who live in the area as everyone on this day knows it's been a very long project and this is a major Milestone and awarding the bid uh for the Collinsville Tucker field reconstruction project um funding for this project goes back to 2022 um when um mayor merus manuso and I were on the plance committee and members of this committee were here to in support where we allocated half milon in federal funding to start the process of planning um this major infrastructure project in col still um since then we received another half a million dollars from the federal government in the federal fiscal year 2023 federal budget thanks to congresswoman Cheryl we received um about half a million dollars from the state Green Acres fund and another $67,000 from the state local Recreation Improvement fund um in addition to that we all allocated some additional Township funds to help get this project over Finish Line uh this could not have been possible without the work of um Parks and Rec director Bill FSH um Township administrator Tim Quinn and our partners in the federal state government um this is a huge this has been a huge lift um it's going to be a major um Improvement to the Colville neighborhood it's going to be a state-ofthe-art facility we're really excited to to finally see work start um and I'm really trying to be optimistic that uh once the is awarded at the contractor will start on time supplies and materials will be will be here soon and we'll be able to be at Collinsville to Mark commemorate the start of this work this a huge investment I don't think the township has invested this much money on a park facility at least in cor9 field I'm not sure if it surpasses that but um another great part of this like I just said is the combination of funding and and the support from the federal the state and the local government here so um I just want to say thank you to all the professionals who made this happen uh especially thankful for the residents who have been incredibly patient with us from um doing the visioning process having public meetings meeting with stakeholders which our Parks and Rec um staff have led and I know on to he led those um it's just it's a huge project and um I can't wait for it to happen to be um for trou to be in the ground I can't wait for the kids and families of Collinsville to be able to this facility once it's ready to go um and like I said it's been a long time coming um for many many years many many people have been looking forward to this so it's going to be um if you haven't seen the renderings yet they're posted at the at the playground now and they're on our website again Ur the public to take a look at that and um just thanking everyone on this day tonight too for the support to move this project along I a priority for all of us so well said Thank You committee maor and to both you and committee on rabbits and on parts and re um we also want to just reiterate how important this project is and that we're going to monitor it closely to be sure that everything as the project proceeds is done in a timely manner into the best that it can be because we know that everybody in Collinsville and in the township we've been waiting a long time so appreciate all the hard work and and help that you also got in the funding and also appreciate administrator Tim Clint and Bill F and all the work there and we will make sure that we get this done right this when we yeah let me add that to it but it's been there every s of the way and all those meetings with us um and uh it's been a process but hopefully you know in having getting all this feedback from the residents I hope we get it right and I think we emphasize that this is Once in a generation moment and uh I hope we have the mark and I think we will so thank you we are we are definitely going to be delivering for the residents something that uh they've been been asking for for many many years and now we have an opportunity to finally you know put those shuffles in the ground and deliver for folks um on colal part of town and and I know uh I've every every faith that they're going to absolutely love and so will all the rest of the residents of the town uh the completed project it's going to be truly a um a park worth visiting and and playing in thank you may I have a motion to approve resolution 13624 second yes Mr absolutely Mr bazelle yes Mr J yes may yes we have four items on the consent calendar this evening can I have a motion to approve the items on the consent calendar by by one motion so moved second all in favor the consideration of monthly reports the following reports are on file in the office of the Township Clerk and Township administrator March 2024 police fire in the Township Library April 2024 tax department and Joint court and I have a motion to approve the monthly reports so moved all in favor I the total amount of bills and vouchers for this meeting is 13 m495 627 69 cents we are also the tax collector for the school district the library and the county may I ow a motion to approve the list of bills and vouchers so moved second may I have a roll call vote Mr yes Mr Jan yes Mr gazelle yes Mr Dy yes may yes at this time we'll do standing committee reports and general commentary which will be provided by each Township Committee Member and we will start with committee men Jada hey thank you mayor well the past month or so I attended a few Earth Day and Arbor Day events in and around town as well as some other towns uh I went to the annual ginty field tree planting ceremony with the mayor glia and commedian rabbits and and Griselle and it was very fun to see such an enthusiastic crowd with the world Woodland School first graders and just U it was really enjoyable to see that and also to see the trees that were planted years ago now very healthy and growing and they also attended the Burnham Park tree planting in moristown which was dedicated to the burnam park Association which replaced four trees that were vandalized last year and in the nearby green strip the township had removed disease and damaged trees and the removal was done with care and was praised by people in the neighborhood which was very commendable for everybody there and in nearby town in Hanover Township they held a corporate a corporate sponsored event where volunteers from the com local companies and residents uh cleaned up the the parks and planted trees at Municipal parks and we were thinking doing something similar for moris Township and hopefully we'll get something like that done because it's very useful to do that and in terms of the green team we're in the process of collecting data sets to have sustainable Jersey bronze level renewed but we're also looking to up up our scale to a silver level which is another U another step up it's like 200 points more but we'll look we look to do that and the environmental commission the Winter Market was successfully closed last month and we're also going to do something for the town hall with planting native plants in the front and the PE there's people in the town hall who are in in the mar environmental commission members who are um well well attuned to what kind of plans to do and the transportation advisory committee Tech the township had done speed studies for Burnham Road and Shephard place there are some reports du for that there was previously performed one pre was previously performed at Molly Stark drive and if anybody else is interested in having their Road uh have a speed study just fill out a form online on the township website and you can have that done and the T also has a Mobility Challenge on June 15 it's a do not drive to the pools so basically it's find any other means to get to the ginty or Street of pool either walk bike or any other ways but do not drive and we're trying to see trying to encourage people to not use their cars and Memorial Day ceremonies will be held here May 27th at 10:00 a.m. Banners are on display for those local uh veterans and those who especially who lost their lives gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country I personally paid for one of the banners in honor of the brother of a former CL classmate Robert J Bobby Moore was killed in Vietnam on April 4th 1968 during a Ted offensive his family was the first goldar family I had ever met and I'm personally inviting them to come attend that ceremony and for my knower neighborhood this is a the College commencement season that there's many PE many young people who are now graduating college we have a local College here in St Elizabeth University which will be holding their ceremony this Friday May 18th the school was founded in 1899 as a women's college called the College of St Elizabeth and was on the grounds of the Sisters of Charity Convent which also held a Girls School Academy of St Elizabeth The Sisters of Charity was founded by mother of Elizabeth's an Sean who was the first American Born Catholic to be canonized and Des little trivia seeden Hall University which is another school named after Mother Satan was also founded in the campus about 50 years before that before moving to its current campus in South th so the campus was the grounds of two schools from there and the nuns also founded a train station uh nearby called Convent stations which is how we got the name and as a women's college of mostly specialized in education and nursing it expanded to graduate degrees and including doctorates and other notable degrees included business administration and criminal justice it became co-educational in 2016 with the first group of men attending the school that year then in 2020 the College of St Elizabeth was renamed St Elizabeth University and the 122nd commencing ceremony will take place this Friday and among the graduates is a member of my family so congratulations to all the college graduates this year including my the member of my family thank you thank you committe janada and congratulations to your daughter on Friday very exting for mayor I have a question for Mr janana um can you expand on what you said about encouraging our residents to take any means other than driving to the pool how are we going to educate the public on that that's a great initiative what's the plan I think the TAC is um S I think they're they have it on the webs I'm not sure how they're going to do but they're I think they have see when in my comments I can explain it it now no no you can I can wait I think it's a great initiative so I just want I just wanted to hear more about it y awesome thank you okay thank you thanks committee maor thank you mayor um I'll keep my remarks brief um but just want to remind the public um Mr mention Memorial Day services are Memorial Day as always starting at 7:30 a.m. with the veterans going to travel to the local memorials in Le re and then the public service uh here in town hall at Town Hall at 10: a.m. there followed by to the green and the service the green is 11 or no 11 so definitely encourage the public to attend we will be dedicating I think another six to 10 banners uh for veterans this year um incredibly grateful for the partnership of the American Legion Post 59 uh where we started doing this last fall it's great to see the program continuing to grow um for the members of the public who do have members of their family or friends or loved ones uh who serve they want to honor them um there is an application process twice a year the next one will be for Veterans Day in the fall um and it's a great way to show Community Pride and honor to people who have put their lives on the line to protect us um it's a $200 fee and that fee covers the banner and is then considered a contribution to the americ to help support their veterans Outreach efforts so it's a great program thank you J for helping support it looking forward toting some more banners on Memorial Day um another thing I just wanted to follow up on Mr John also mentioned was the native planting so I for the second time in three years um my wife and I bought plugs from the Great Swamp Watershed na a plant cell uh and I just want to say how great of a program that is the uh the plants that they provide um first of all it's a great deal it's a really affordable way to landscape your property within plant but too they're just really good quality um the ones the plants we've had that we planted a few years ago have really grown um and they look great it's a great way to support our and protect our ecos system here locally especially because so many throughout the town and obviously throughout the state a lot of our native plants are gone and that's what struggling pollinators really struggling from and other um you know wildlife and things like that so commend the Great Swamp water sh Association for having that sale each spring um highly encourage n public to take a look at it next spring and maybe you know I know the township is now planting natives on our properties maybe this is something we could do in the future too is by a few pet to start spreading out other facilities so that's all I got I'll turn it back to you mayor thank you Committee in JY and I just want to say on the veteran banners um and and mark with everything he has going on he was really good about checking in to make sure they were going to go up and just want to shout out to Analise Rush here on staff because literally she wrot back and said it was already done so that was really nice to see committee man rabbits uh thank you mayor and thank you for those members of the public that are sticking with us uh this evening to to this point as I always like to start out National politics gets all the spotlight but what we do here locally that has the biggest impact on our quality of lives um just real quickly on committee updates just want to let you know that the uh swim pool memberships are again at record levels and we are uh staffed you know for a fun season at our pools check out the calendars um on the website for special events that we'll be having at each pool and I know we all look forward to the opening day um also just want to let you know please join the township committee members and our Parks and Recreation Department for a ribbon cutting ceremony of our new best our newest basketball facility at ginty field will start uh on Saturday this coming Saturday at 9:00 amm uh and then we'll uh walk over to the Woodland Firehouse to have coffee with the mayor so uh and that starts at 10: so we hope to see everybody there for my commentary this evening I just want toind everybody that the 2024 election season is underway and to make sure that your voice is is heard this year by returning your vote by mail ballots right away and to be sure to select candidates for all Avail all available positions because if we want good governance it starts with electing good leadership and as a side note three of us up here on the day are on the ballot this year some key dates to remember uh for the election this year now May 22nd uh sample pallots uh will be mailed out to all registered voters the ballot is going to look very different uh from for the primary so please be sure to review it uh so you don't miss anything on May 28th is the last day to apply for a vote by mail ballot for younger voters who are away at school this is an important reminder that your voice matters and to vote applications and instructions can be found online online at the Mars County clerk.org or in person at the county clerk's office and must be returned to the county to the clerk's office no later than seven days before the election on May 29th through through June 2nd is early in per iners voting which I believe is still done at the Mars toown Municipal Building June 3 uh for residents who have just moved here this is the last day to apply for a vote by mail um and it must be done in person at the mar at the County Courthouse June 4th of course is the primary day polls open at 6:00 am and close at 800m um as always I'd like to end with you know saying that let's not marginalized and or demonized the people who have less political or economic power that some of us currently enjoy rather let's just face up to and stand up to those who continue to profit from our division equal rights for all citizens don't diminish the rights of any other citizen we have more in common that should ever divide us which we'll ReDiscover when we talk to each other and not at each other amplifying misinformation hateful or violent rhetoric is not part of any civil society and lastly remember to be kind as you go out throughout your day let's be kind to ourselves and kind to others because kindness matters mayor thank you committee rabbits deputy mayor thank you mayor uh for my standing committee reports I would like to report that we had a great meeting of the economic development advisory committee a couple weeks ago eo's work continues on putting together a package of materials to begin to do Outreach to the businesses that are cited here in Morris Township I also participated in the environmental commission green team meeting that committee Manion spoke of earlier and if you're interested in working on a sustainability project here in Morris Township the green team is looking for additional members please fill out a volunteer application form that you can find on the municipal website from engineering I am excited to see the progress on Southgate Parkway that reconstruction project is moving along quite nicely and I urge our residents to go take a look the road reconstruction project on Gregory Kennedy and pine tree was uh delayed a few weeks by some of the weather we've been having uh but it's scheduled to begin in the next couple of weeks tonight we had a resolution on our our agenda to award a contract for repaving the Bradford Estates neighborhood this is related to the new water line that was installed uh recently uh but the municipality has provided additional funds in our budget to allow for all the streets in that neighborhood to be repaved and I hope uh we are hoping that this project is going to be done by the end of June correct Mr Quin end of June yes they have some carving work to do that has to take place so that'll be the contractor coming in doing that first and then they'll do the milling and the paving great so that's something I know the neighborhood's been looking forward to for a long time so happy we can do that for Bradford Estates uh and for those of you that utilize bayy Hollow Road that is going to be resurfaced towards the end of the summer uh for my general commentary uh committee manager ory just was speaking about the great work that the Great Swamp Watershed Association does uh and I wanted to remind everybody that gwa is a partner of environmental commission here at Mor toship and this Sunday May 19th they are holding their annual Music Festival fundraiser starting at noon in chadam so I wanted to encourage the public to please come out and support this great local organization tickets can be purchased on their website at Great swamp. Org the Museum of makers and innovators also known as Momi is also a partner of sorts here in Morris Township when the Morris Marketplace Mall was approved several years ago the developer agreed to include a pocket park in the backside of the mall Momi worked with the developer on the installation of that Park and great progress has been made a ribbon cutting is now scheduled for the park on June 8th and the public is invited to attend more information about Momi can be found on their website think m.org and if you go in the upper right corner of that website you can click on a link with the word Park P RK that's going to take you to the overview of the park that they have help worked with the developer here to place in moris Township and lastly I want to acknowledge our Township administrator Tim Quinn and the phenomenal work that he does with the Police Unity Tour organization the primary purpose of the Police Unity Tour is to raise awareness of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty uh as evidence of that need earlier this evening I mentioned that four law enforcement officers were recently killed in North Carolina the secondary purpose is to raise funds for the national law enforcement uh Memorial in uh DC and last week A large group of riders departed New Jersey on their way to that National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum and I was honored to have been a witness to that event in Fairfield New Jersey where I saw somewhere between 500 and 600 police officers on their bicycles ready to go and roll out on the road um at that event I was also honored to meet a team of police officers from Israel that were writing in support of their brothers and sisters here in law enforcement in New Jersey so Tim thanks again for all that good work that you do a passion thank you that's it mayor back to you thank you deputy mayor uh for my committee updates on the transportation advisory committee we meet every second Wednesday of the month and we encourage residents to please attend our meetings they did have a GU speaker this month and zarts on disability disability rights Advocate we are continually trying to provide way for everybody all of our residents in town to get around easily so that um they can get wherever they need to be the Mars Mo motion calendar is coming out with all of our activities listed the one that committee Jada mentioned is a one- day micro Mobility challenge to get kids in their families to each of the pools without using their car so actually what T is doing is they're taking different neighborhoods and they're mapping out a group from that neighborhood what's the easiest way to get both over the ginty on that side of town and to get the street a pool and those will be distributed or put up on the website so that anybody and we're also part of that would be that when they get over and they show that they got there without a car that they came want to foro they walk for trying to line up some kind of whether they get a free ice cream or we do something try to get them some incentive to continue to do that not just do the launch f t is also going to be making a recommen recommendation to the township committee for us to look at adding a bus stop on Hanover Avenue to the current New Jersey Transit bus route that's already in place and also find ways to provide safe pedestrian connections to that bus bus stop because not only Mars news is there but with some of the affordable housing that will be going in there last night we held a complete and green streets round T discussion with our surrounding communities to begin the first steps of collaborating best practices in implementing our policy and a shared intersection sidewalks and bike conne connections that's connect Mars Township to all the other communities on May 29th I attending the distracted and impaired driving a personal perspective presentation given by Pam Donald from the catch you later Foundation this is being put on by the mayor's Wellness campaign in East Handover this is something we feel that would be good for our residents also especially Young new drivers and we look forward to possibly hosting an event like that sometime in the township on the senior citizens advisory committee the individual committees continue to do their work on communication Health Resources and the website they're also working with our health department in parks and recck to enhance some of the programs especially to attract more seniors on Transportation they did request uh Tim to assist in sending inquiries to surrounding Town administrators to gather information on senior Transportation options including how many and what vehicles are used are they just for medical and grocery shopping how is it financed are they by grants or subsidized by local corporations the number of drivers and dispatch service and they we will review all those results they've been coming in to administrator Quinn for my commentary um I'm sure that you saw in the newspapers that the Red Bulls have begun their site work and we are holding a special planning board meeting on May 22nd 2024 at 7M to hear some of the modifications they are proposing the exciting news is the completion date is projected for fall of 2025 and definitely before the 2026 FIFA World Cup it will be an exciting time in the township and the uptake in sports registration especially for soccer will will be a great incentive for our kids to participate and Excel right here in their own backyard getting children back into sports and away from their screens any way we can is a win-win if nothing else the state-of-the-art facility will increase fan participation bring new jobs and commerce with very little impact on our traffic and Municipal Services I also would be remiss if I didn't mention that it is mental health awareness month the theme this year is movement this ties in with all our efforts towards mobility and wellness regular exercise and Healthy Living can be a huge factor in our mental Wellness for those themselves or have someone suffering with more severe mental health issues encourage understanding and kindness because all of us play a role in helping to destigmatize mental health issues and ensure everybody has access to experience a calm and fulfilling life as mentioned we have coffee with the mayor on May 18th from 10 to 12 at the Woodland Firehouse I also need to mention tonight um right now going on as we have our committee meeting the League of Women Voters of New Jersey is at the Madison Hotel holding their making democracy work G and of course many of you know that's a an organization near in dear to whiteart it's one of the reasons I'm actually sitting in the seat uh the township did send it over we recognized in a letter their leadership in helping Empower voters so the last thing I have is we look forward to seeing you at the Memorial Day celebration starting at 10 pm on May 27th hey I'm sorry maybe Wishful thank you thank you committee rabbits there are currently five members of the public joining us on Zoom we will now open the meeting to the second public comment portion for General commentary we will take comments from inperson attendees first and then switch to zoom please virtually raise your hand Zoom to indicate you would like to speak pleas Mr O'Reilly I'll make the motion sorry is there a second all those in favor I I please state your name and address for the record before speaking please note the comments are limited to five minutes per speaker if you have questions you would like to answer the remaining time to speak will be yielded back for this purpose Mr Riley yeah I was uh there uh first with regard to the uh some reason the camera went James O'Reilly 50 Independence Way uh did you say how people would get to the pool did you say there would be a van or something no actually um the the intent on that day when we do this is to not use any kind of vehicle motor vehicle so they yeah they can walk they can ride bikes kids can scooter you can oh I see so there's no Collective so they'll get home by the same way that they got there correct that would be our hope second second issue does anyone have reactions against the revisions in the open public records act that will make more difficult to have access to public records I would say Mr O'Reilly that again you know everybody has an opinion on the the open public records act and um I can tell you personally I think that this was not the appropriate Bill to be passed in the state but again you know we're going to see what plays out when it's sitting on the governor's desk so any other Committee Member that want to have any comments please feel free if not I think you you said it all thank you you're welcome Marley M yes Marlin you're on mute Marlene ah yes I'm here thank you very much you're welcome okay3 way is there an echo here or am I on yes okay um my question is in regards to a uh ordinance that was uh introduced on March 20th and adopted at the April meeting and it's ordinance number 0724 and it has to do with the execution of shared services agreement between um Mars Township and the buau of Floren Park and my question is in regards to this particular ordinance and how this ordinance affects the agreement reached under resolution 5324 which was um dated in um I believe let's see January 17 24 there was an agreement between the Sisters of Charity and the bur of Floren Park in regards to the ownership and maintenance of certain sanitary Sur surage Pump Station excuse me and etc etc etc um that was my question how does this particular ordinance that I mentioned the sheared services affect that agreement Mrs member the there's two agreements that go hand in hand the first one is the settlement agreement for the litigation that involved the township of mors the burough forarm Park Morris County Golf Course and the Sisters of Charity involving the The Pump Station uh that we built off of Park Avenue so the first one there was authorizing the mayor um to enter into that settlement agreement for that litigation uh which was adopted by the the governing body of uh both municipalities plus the two other entities of the Sisters of Charity and the marsh County Golf Course the second one on this uh Pump Station that actually sits in the venue of Floren Park however the tangent does take the affluent so we have a shared services agreement where foren Park will be um managing that pump station but the township of Mars will be taking the affluent okay thank you thank you very much you're welcome seeing no other members of the public wishing to speak will someone make a motion to close public comment so moved all in favor I the time is now 805 can I have a motion to adjourn the regular session so moved second all in favor the next regular Township committee meeting will be held on Wednesday June 19th 2024 at 7M in person and Via Zoom there'll be a closed session at 5:30 p.m. thank you and have a great night