do you do councilman fiser if you could step up to the de please thank [Applause] you am I reading the whole sure yeah you don't have that okay I'm going to call the meeting to order can I have a roll call [Applause] please not me mayor nepan here council member chera here fiser here Terry here please stand for a pledge to the flag and remain standing as we say a silent prayer I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God I liberty and justice for all please remain standing may be seated the notice requirements of the open public meetings act for this meeting have been satisfied and a copy of the annual notice or the meeting notice was sent to the coaster on January 25th 2024 the Asbury Park Press on January 27th 2024 and posted in town hall there are two fire exits to my right that'll take you to the front of the building and a fire exit to the rear that'll take you to the back please make sure all your cell phones are turned off if you need to make a call kindly step outside we are going to start off the meeting with our oath of office for the appointment to fill the council vacancy due to the resignation of Margaret Dr Margaret Margie donlin who is our newest elected assembly woman who is out here today with her partner Luanne Peter Paul let's give those two a big round of applause and before we come down off the day I'm going to say that officially the Italians are now outnumbered up on the T so I'm going to step down uh Dr donlin our newest assembly woman will be administering actually she's going to administer the oath for fiser and Senator go palal and I will be administering the oath to our newest we should vote first Nom Nom nominate on not for the not for Council yeah yeah we didn't vote yet yes we haven't voted oh right somebody moved to you're in don't worry about it but we're gonna we we got to make it official things changein okay [Laughter] psych do I have a motion to appoint G Kaplan to the unexpired term of Dr Margie Margie donlin all motion second second roll call aera yes Fisher yes Terry yes nepan yes now I can step off the deis with my Senator go pal thank you for coming out Senator let's give him a big round of applause too May would you mind MERS to join us absolutely one and then we'll that sound GA so much for silencing the phone he's on fire today G if you can raise your right hand nothing okay yeah bring them up yeah let's go bring the family UPS to for sure I get to Kaplan I gapan do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that it will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in the state and to the governments established in the United States and in the state under under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do further solemnly swear I do further Solly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all of the duties of the position of the position of council member of council member of the township of ocean of the township of ocean according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God con [Applause] Senator some signature V good are you going what's going on how are you [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] all right I want to call for nominations for deputy mayor of the township of ocean do I have someone move a nomination I'll move nominate Dave fiser second second roll call aera yes Fisher yes Kaplan yes Terry yes nepan yes all right councilman fiser newly Deputy Mayor let's step down then we have to call are there any other nominations oh are there any other nominations before we close nominations first technically seeing here none I close nominations on Deputy Mayor someone second someone second it I'll second roll call aera here yes Fisher yes Ka yes Terry yes nean yes now we can go downstairs okay actually you can uh do I have assembly woman on come on up you guys can all come up if you want and Dana you might as well get up [Applause] first of all I just want to say it's an honor to swear in my friend um Dave Fischer it's been an honor to serve with him over the last few years he's done a lot of great things for this town and he's going to continue to do great things as Deputy Mayor so it's I'm really honored to be here today so thank you for asking me I say your name I David fiser do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do further I do further solemnly swear I do further solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform all of the duties and justly perform all of the duties of the position of deputy mayor of the position of deputy mayor of the township of ocean of the township of ocean according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God already fixed oh look at that it's already [Applause] done yes you have to sign that there you go I like that sign that's good okay we're going to go down the line we're going to start with Council comments we're going to start with our newest councilwoman Kaplan any comments I did I prepared something to speak there you go so 30 years ago this room that we are standing in was my favorite place to be it looked a little bit different books align the walls for one but this room formerly the Ocean Township Library was where my story began it is where I checked out my first library book where I did my research report on the counties of New Jersey where late fees taught me the value of a dollar and where I got my first glimpse of the people and in the institutions that make up the fabric of our town later on once the library moved to its current location down the block this room was also the place where I fought my first traffic ticket but suffice it to say as I stand here today being appointed to the township of ocean Council in this room I have officially come full circle when I was interviewing for this position mayor Nepal Tani asked me what my favorite place in this town was I just told you mine but I guarantee that each one of you if asked the same question would have a different answer for some of you it might be cult field where you watched your kids play little league for others maybe it's Joe Playa park where you take walks or runs or attend the Italian Festival each summer for still others maybe it's a town establishment like Rook or the only town with two we are so lucky to live in Ocean Township I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the mayor and the council for providing me with this opportunity to give back to the place that I have called home for most of my life the work you have done here over the past few years is inspiring and I look forward to contributing to the continued growth and success of Ocean Township I hope that I can bring a fresh perspective to this conversation help unify the different voices in our community and support the initiatives that you've worked so hard to bring to the table lastly I would not be here today if not for the Perpetual encouragement of my family and my friends to Ralph Hannon mauricea caria Sammy sack and your team thank you for believing in me to my parents thank you for never telling me to modify my aspirations just because I was a girl thank you to my husband Danny who is my biggest supporter always no matter what crazy ideas I throw at him to my children who are here this evening I hope that I have taught you by example that you should always dream big my grandmother who I am named after was a longtime resident of Ocean Township having purchased a house with my grandfather in Oaker in the 1960s she taught me to love my neighbors to make a life out of volunteering and in the spirit of this former library to always be reading two books at the same time she was the ultimate politician in all good sense of the word and today I hope I made her proud thank you thank you g councilwoman Terry now I too have something to prare no quitting top that not gonna try um just welcome it's great to have you on board thank you join the team that's all I have thank you Kell Deputy Mayor fiser it's got an interesting ring to it I like it I did prepare something so first off I want to thank my wife Dana and My Girls Natalina Ela for putting up with me and The NeverEnding Township gossip and Council issues impervious coverage was our latest topic of conversation and I realized only my dog was listening to me thank you Mom and Dad for instilling in me a tremendous work ethic and that hard work does pay off a system of values and virtue of giving back to the community I've lived in Ocean Township my entire life minus a few years for college my parents love this community and would only be too proud to see their son getting sworn in today as Deputy Mayor okay I want to thank my uh I want to thank Mayor John napatan for starting my political journey I remember that fateful conversation like it was yesterday hey John my coaching career has come to an end and I'm thinking about something to do want to get involved with the township well one thing led to another and I was having lunch with then mayor Chris Siciliano and then I got appointed to the zoning board and the rest is history I do want to thank mayor Chris lean who is in the house today Chris thanks for taking a chance on me and asking to be to be run on your ticket in 2019 it was one of the greatest rides of my life and it's still going thank you I want to thank my running mate and our newest assembly woman Margie donlin for swearing me in today anytime things got interesting during the campaign and believe me things do get interesting during campaigns Margie and I would look at each other without saying one word and we would both be thinking the same thing what the heck have we gotten ourselves into well good things good thing that we both stuck it out and thank you Margie for helping me today I want to thank current council members robach chera Kelly John and Gita for believing in me and I look forward to working with you guys and our very ambitious in agenda for the next coming years uh toita Kaplan who made history today you made a lot of people proud and I love look forward to serving with you I want to thank Senator gopal assemblywoman Luanne Peter Paul anybody from the county here uh I want to also thank uh some people that make this town a very great place to live to all the township employees and department heads these are the real unsung heroes of this Township they make us look good thank you to your dedication Ocean Township Police Department chief Mike Santino who's here Township manager Dave Brown DPW Steve Higgins parks and wreck Mike burio OEM Tom Rue Human Services Sharon meski and our clerk Jesse Josephs thank you for everything and of course the CFO Ricky guards I do want to thank um Ron Kirk who's recently retired from community and development from the beginning Ron was always only too uh too am you know was willing to listen to my questions and he actually took me under his wing and I do appreciate it so Ron I know you've retired I wish you the best on your retirement but thanks for everything so I also want to thank all my friends who came here today and to support me so much love and support I love you guys and thank you for coming so to the residents of Ocean Township thank you for your trust and your support this is not an easy job and rest assured John and Rob do not sleep at night you will never find a more dedicated hardworking group of individuals than this council did I miss anybody that's all I have mayor thank you deputy mayor now minut a chair uh I too would like to congratulate G Dave uh looking forward to working continuing to work with you looking forward to working with you GA um I would uh make one announcement if I may we have uh the Chamber of Commerce has their annual uh scholarship and awards dinner on March the 19th uh I am proud to announce in public for the first time that Jesse Joseph was nominated and what come on I already told you so did you think I was going to do it here Jesse jovis was uh nominated and won the longevity award so uh her service to Ocean Township does not go unnoticed she's worked uh in the town for I said I wouldn't make it public but she can say it 34 years 34 years um was a b when she was five we will be recognizing her along with a number of other people I won't spend the time on that today but I did want to let uh you know about Jesse so again congratulations GA Dave and Jesse thank you rob Matt anything for the good of the order down there just welcome to the team G um we we serve in these roles and um it's really an honor for all of us to be up here and serve the municipality I do want to thank former mayor Chris ccano who's also been elevated from this Council up to the superintendent of Elections Ocean Township really churns out some Talent out of here I mean we are really a good breeding ground for people who move up into positions you know today we now have the superintendent in this room from Ocean Township who served on this Council we've got our assembly woman back there who also came through and I cannot be happier with the fact that we have people in spots that are higher than we are at this point and it makes me really proud to be the mayor of this town and knowing that we are Bridging the Gap today with two communities that we want to make one here in Ocean Township and when I met with G I explained that to her that this is one of the most important things that we need to do together and that's worked together I'm going to really lean on her a lot so that we can make sure that this is one Community not separate Community that's going to be our charge as we serve up here we serve this entire municipality as one that's our goal and many many agenda items that we're going to work on for the betterment of the township of ocean over the next three and a half years I want to thank everybody for being here um so with that being said we're going to have a consent agenda which simply has one item we are appointing a Sewer Authority person who I've known for a very very long time and he's got the experience and expertise and I am very very happy to uh be able to have this done tonight so all matters listed on this one item consent agenda are considered routine by the T of council and will be enacted by one Motion in the form of listed below there will be no separate discussion on these items if the discussion is desired you may stand up to the microphone and state your name and address so if there's anybody that has a question comment or concern in regard to the the consent agenda please step up to the microphone state your name and address seeing here none do I have a motion to approve resolution 24- 031 which is authorizing the appointment to the township of ocean Sewer Authority uh we have an unexpired term and a full term we have actually two positions right now someone offer let G do it g you can offer I I would like to offer second second roll call aera yes fer yes Kaplan yes Terry yes napan yes motion passes congratulations do I have my Sewer Authority appointments out here appointees I think uh Adams up do you want to say a few words Adam or do I want to embarrass you a little bit come on up to the microphone where hello everyone um state your name and address for the microphone Adam Johnson uh 33 Peach Tree Road oakst I've been here for 18 plus years in the uh in the community and um currently over at Neptune many years over there excited to make Ocean Township a better Sewer Authority and hopefully head in the right direction with all my experience over the years we're looking forward to you thank you Adam he wasn't G are you still going no I'm gonna open it up for public comments if anybody would like to make a comment in regard to Ocean tach of something Germaine to the community please step up to the microphone state your name and address for the record come on up to the microphone yes ma'am my name is Ellen adish I live at 46 Dwight drive and my question to the council is I've been waiting for years for deer mediation to come to pass in the state of New Jersey so the deer stop destroying the grounds around my house and filing it up what's the progress on it the progress is the plan is in with the state right now we're waiting for an answer back from them second question yes ma'am what's the timeline usually for that I wouldn't know how the timeline is with the state I know that they do drag their feet um but we do have a very active Senator back there and assembly people so I'm sure we could maybe get an answer a little bit quicker when I call he's Senator I think you're getting the microphone the threw me under the bus thank you for letting me know about this today so we will start working on it I know this issue is very important to the uh assembly woman and when she got elected uh she actually asked to set up a meeting with d and the township so I know that's in progress to specifically talk about deer mitigation yes so um can I make a comment real quick yes sir just wanted to congratulate councilwoman Kaplan uh I'm excited for you excited for your family uh this is a really historic day and a great for ocean ta congratulations Deputy Mayor fiser excited for all of you we are really honored Margie Luan and I to work with this incredible town so thank you thank you Senator sisan was getting ready when you're screwing up that first uh roll call he was going to come back we for we forgot to take his resignation in Kelly you might not actually be up here right now not a problem anyone anyone else wishing to be heard all right before I adjourn the meeting I want to just make two more quick announcements number one we have a February 21st 175th anniversary kickoff which information will be forthcoming and G's family is inviting everybody back to the turning point right after this meeting when we adjourn so you're more than welcome to join and one other person that puts up with more stuff than anybody and that's my wife Michelle who's out here she's she she's she's got a tough skin I have to say um she puts up with a lot a lot of phone calls and a lot of action but she understands that in order to get the job done it's a 247 365 day a year job so we all take it seriously and we look forward to serving this community so without further Ado do I have a motion to adjourn so moved second second roll call all in favor I I oppos meeting [Applause] adjourned