good evening I'd like to welcome everyone to the November 13th Oldbridge Township council meeting please stand for a pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence and for our prayer I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all as customary in this chamber we we stand for a moment of silence to remember those who are protecting our freedoms both here and abroad for our First Responders for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for all of those suffering across the world a moment of silence please our prayer Mr Garcia oh Lord bless th bless thy servants in the ministry of public affairs who serve thee in the chamber give us quiet minds and hearts that we may hear thy voice help us to know when to speak when to be silent give us strength to oppose the wrong and upold the right and Grant that we have a good conscience and soul all at peace with thee and with one another amen amen thank you please be seated this meeting is being held in conformance with the open public meetings act notice has been given to the official newspapers of the township on January 6 2023 and has been posted in public places next open public meeting of the township Council will be held on Tuesday December 5th 2023 at 7:30 p.m roll call council person de Caro here council person dama here let the record reflect that council person Desai is absent coun council person Garcia here council person Dr Greenberg belli here let the record reflect that council person Murphy is absent and council person pasti is also absent Council vice president Walker here and council president soar here okay good evening everyone and welcome we'll begin with proclamations and presentations the first one is is presenting certificate of achievement to disa dingra mayor Henry thank you councelor good evening everyone uh we are fortunate uh tonight to have two special uh residents in our presence and we always say it's very important to recognize uh accomplishments residents of Oldbridge as they go around the world and make Oldbridge proud so tonight you can get a little closer 16-year-old daa dingra played in the World Cup for Team USA and the women's cricket team thank coun I believe this is the first time we're recognizing someone for the sport of cricket daa has won several Awards such as best batter several player of the match Awards and for hitting centuries she has traveled to several countries at a young age such as Dubai South Africa and several places in the Caribbean islands as well as all over the United States she has represented and continues to represent the United States New Jersey and as I said Oldbridge you have made us Oldbridge proud of you and we thank you for representing us and for Mak and we are proud of you on your wonderful accomplishments at such a young age maybe the Olympics are in your future so I'd like to present this [Music] plaque we're playing in the 2023 World Cup for the United States u19 women's cricket team and for winning several Awards such as best batter player of the match and for hitting centuries congratulations Oldbridge is proud of you and this is certificate is presented by on behalf of the township of alridge you should congrat [Applause] congratulations and her family is here thank you for thank you for sharing us her with us thank you so much thank you best of luck uh presenting um a contingent Marshall jar kichic I'm trying Eric please please join me at the [Applause] podium thank you for joining us um as I say says another oldridge Resident who was uh contingent Marshall in the the Polish Day Parade in New York City which I had the honor of marching in with the big contingent of Oldbridge and all over middlex County and with a fine group of people um so I have a proclamation to commemorate this fine event for you jerck kaer was born and raised in let me get my glasses first I have to Podi Poland POI Poland he served in the Polish Navy in gya G gya from 1990 to 1992 after completing his military service he returned and worked in his hometown then immigrated to America where he started a family jadak first came to America he worked many miscellaneous jobs to build a better future he has lived in Oldbridge for almost 10 years now together with his wife Rada who also joins us here tonight they raised their children abigael Dominique who was Miss palonia zpa in 2017 Jonathan and Patrick and both all of them have completed polar School zpa the cap family has been active zpa members for many years and are also shareholders in the united polls in America Enterprises jadak gives back to many people and nonprofits and is always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need through his hard work and dedication Zak was able to successfully build his own company from the ground up although he overcame many challenges and obstacles throughout his life one thing has never changed his good heart and his kindness jadak would like to further spread polish culture and tradition here in the United States and Oldbridge he is a patriot and the matters of the Homeland are always close to his heart so now therefore I Owen Henry mayor of Township of Oldbridge along with the township Council middx County state of New Jersey on behalf of the people of Oldbridge we hereby extend congrat congratulations for J for the 2023 zpa contingent Marshall in the parade in New York City thank you [Applause] J I just I just want to take the opportunity and uh say thank you very much all of you and uh for your hard work work and I really appreciate it's such an honor for me to be here with you guys and thank you so much God bless you and God bless all America thank [Music] you a [Applause] picture thank you everyone okay next will be a presentation of book to Mayor Henry from Elliot lair now now it's mayor Henry's turn dear mayor Henry Oldbridge Town Council and all those in attendance thank you for giving us this opportunity to make this presentation my son Michael was born an apparently healthy child to our family then in an instant he and our entire family's lives were turned upside down when he started having uncontrollable seizures we found out that Michael had a rare neurological disorder which according to the odds should have ended his life about age 10 after years of suffering terrible seizures Michael went on to help come up with a new treatment for severe epilepsy in the United States then in his 20s still ravaged by complications of years of unrelenting seizures Destiny led him to the improbable sport of swimming in 2017 Michael was selected by the New Jersey state Special Olympics committee to represent New Jersey in the National Special Olympics Games in the sport of swimming he was the only person from Oldbridge Township to ever be selected in any sport for these prestigious games this is still true today Michael had so many miracles happen that I decided to write a book about his life the book Chronicles Michael's tramatic struggle and tells his compelling story an essential novel for everyone which will inspire its readers to look Beyond limitations and boundaries when mayor Henry found out about Michael's selection he gave his full and complete support the mayor brought Michael to his office for an interview and the two quickly became close friends the mayor gave his own time to come to the College of New Jersey and before 10,000 cheering fans walked Michael into the state games with his teammates the Oldbridge Robins 3 weeks later Michael left for the national games in Seattle Washington upon his arrival home mayor Henry invited Michael to the town council meeting there he proclaimed August 6th 2018 to be Michael L day and presented Michael with a testimonial a month later the mayor invited Michael's whole team to the town council meeting for recognition of their work and accomplishments it is one wonderful to have a mayor who is so devoted to people with special needs this book will be deeply and profoundly meaningful to anyone with a family member or a friend or a loved one who needs an uplifting and genuine story of beating the odds it has spent much time in the past year on the top 10 list in Amazon books it has been widely praised by its readers it's an honor to present an autograph copy to the mayor thank you [Applause] Micha and furthermore I would like to congratul Owen Henry on becoming state senator thank you for all of your support I appreciate it dream big and I will conclude by saying this book is so inspirational it has helped me overcome many obstacles and furthermore I would like to offer this book by me and my dad Elli lir it is signed by me and by my dad and it reads dream big Michael [Music] Le it is for ow Henry a picture [Applause] thank you one thank you thank you so much that was amazing okay next will be resolution approving governing body certification of the audit 2023 best practices good evening all right good evening mayor and Council um I'm not sure how we follow that up but um we're here to talk about the audit uh Bob Alison couldn't be here tonight so uh Brian Waldren another partner from home and frania Allison is here tonight so thank you very much Don uh again thank you for having us tonight um I certainly like I said can't follow those presentations were I mean very very touching um on a much ligher note uh when it comes to our financial statements uh we'll apologize on behalf of the state of New Jersey uh partly for being so behind as far as what time of year we're here uh we do realize that we missed the last couple meetings we do apologize but uh to start off all of the information uh has been submitted timely in accordance with the the state law the DCA the state of New Jersey so everything was submitted before 9:30 which was the the deadline that was impos um very very high level overview uh our firm has offered three opinions in the report that you have um all three of them are clean unmodified opinions it means that the financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with uh generally accepted counter principles as needed regulatory basis uh as well um and we have no control defici icies or significant deficiencies to be noted so we have zero formal findings or recommendations to be reported again which is the best opinions that we can render so uh you know hats off to Da and the rest of the team and to the council for that as well um we have a uh a healthy uh surplus of fund balance uh roughly about $ 13.5 million uh represents roughly 22% of the overall um Township's uh overall Appropriations for the year uh which is very healthy we look between 15 to 25% is typically where we look to make sure that we're staying within uh so again that's a strong um amount of our fund balances that we have in the township and we added roughly about $700,000 to Surplus and during the current year and again when I say current year I apologize for the 22 year uh we're fastly approaching the end of 23 so we'll be back before we know it but um again there's a lot of information in this 200 roughly Pages um I'd be happy to answer some questions and again apologize on behalf of Bob who couldn't be here tonight uh but want to make sure we came to to make sure we reported on this we appreciate that and so do the residents thank you very much for being here um does anyone on my left have a question comment question okay anyone on my right yeah I believe we we're well versed in this and I think it's done really well so thank you very much we appreciate it thank you okay yeah so we're going to need a motion to accept it move it second okay move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr dama roll call council person dearo yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg belly yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes thank you very much yep we're very pleased thank you mayor thank you D and I think everyone that's you know on staff Administration thank you all for being so positive and having a very good outlook here for us thank you thank you have a good evening thank you very much all right uh leading into best practices uh the best practices inventory is something that has been required by the division of local government services since 2010 uh it assesses each municipality's compliance with various laws and evaluates implementation for FIS and operational best practices it also identifies areas where municipalities might require further assistance in certain areas the 2023 best practice inventory had a total of 67 questions among three scoring categories uh the first being core competencies which addresses statutory and Regulatory Compliance obligations and other areas critical to sound Municipal finance and operations uh the second is best practices which involves fiscal and operational practices that are of a significant benefit to a lot of municipalities but um are not foundational in nature or uniformly applicable to all municipalities and then there's also some unscored survey questions where they're really just trying to gather information maybe for future questions or you know get a feel of what's going on out there this year there was a total of 48 scored questions covering the following topics ethics Personnel budget Financial Administration capital projects transparency environment procurement cyber security lead remediation was a big one this year um shared services special Improvement districts Solid Waste Recycling and utilities um a minimum score of 29 Points was needed to receive the full final state aid payment which for Oldbridge is about $35,000 uh we scored 38 A5 out of a possible 42 points so important to note that we're not losing any state aid nor has the township ever lost any state aid based on the best practices checklist so if anybody has any questions thank you anybody question for Doan or comment anyone okay and Council some of the points that we didn't score is because that not not not apply to Oldbridge correct correct so it's not like we could have scored more we did very well scoring and it's I think it's important to say that the state doesn't put themselves through this exercise as they make municipalities do yeah I'll end with that well thank you very much so change that maybe there'll be no State Mark well thank you it's good for the residents too to know to reiterate that that we are you know doing it at a high level and that we we've kept ourselves in a very good place with that so we receive our funding and I think over the past couple years they increased it right it used to be fewer questions um there was more this year I believe than last year a few more they they change every year summer standard did you file your AFS on time was your budget introduced adopted on time but then like this year there were two pages on just this lead paint REM first year we all kidding aside it's a great exercise to go through as a municipality yes it is it is we start in like you said 2010 yeah that was the fir I was like oh okay so it gave us a good guideline yes thank you very much anyone else we good no by doing it it like you see exactly what you're doing and that you've been in line all the time and you just keep on improving on it so it reinforces that you're doing a positive job and I appreciate it thank you okay anyone else okay thank you very much Doan thank you okay next will be our bill list Mrs Walker accounts payable November 13 2023 28 m321 57530 payroll October 13 2023 1,1 15973 37 payroll overtime October 13th 2023 $47,500 payroll October 27th 2023 1,21,000 15 payroll November 9th 2023 1,269 27719 payroll over time November 9th 2023 $ 37,3 377 and that concludes the bill list okay Mr Shapiro can we have a breakdown please thank you council president um as councilwoman Walker indicated there were three pay periods within this uh last uh time frame um beginning with October 13th 2023 swarm police overtime in the amount of $ 26,43 454 deduct grants in the amount of $26.90 deduct etto in the amount of $3,181 and66 for a total of $1,245 198 representing 147 men and women hours um there was um oldridge Day within that pay period so there was um an uptick on the overtime and then there was one officer on light duty or uh injured on duty for pay period October 27 2023 the total Sor police overtime was $1 5,743 deduct grants in the amount of $432 40 deduct etto in the amount of $467 77 for a total of $1,573 196 representing 196.7 men and women hours for pay period November 10th 2023 the sworn police overtime is $2,179 6 deduct grants in the amount of $1,324 deduct etto in the amount of $ 7,746 183 deduct accreditations in the amount of $1,726 35 for a total of $1,673 184 represen 142 men and women hours and then there was one officer on light duty injured on duty okay thank you very much do I have a motion to approve move it second move by Dr Greenberg Bell second by Mr dama roll call council person dearo yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes okay thank you next will be public hearing of for second reading ordinances for second reading H1 release of performance guarantee 99 Bridge formally Renaissance Apartments block number 1600 uh 16,000 I'm sorry lot one 99 old damb boy Road benster Oldbridge LLC 10- 17p good evening good evening Council um this was an application in front of our planning board but before I start I just want to maybe ask um if anybody is here for the application from um from bster that's good so uh Council this application was in front of our planning board in 2017 underneath application 10-1 17p it was for the construction of an apartment building located on Old Amboy Road sand which between Ferry Road and Spring Valley Road um it was 150 unit apartment building and it had accessories such as a parking lot storm water facilities lighting Landscaping um and and other amenities for the building itself um we had the project inspected by our consultant from merington and Vernick George Allen is with me tonight um and we found that every all the bonded improvements have been satisfactorily constructed um as per the approved plans in front of our planning board um and we do recommend release of the performance guarantee um just know 90% performance bonds under Bond number 07171 in the amount of $ 43,800 was posted the form of cash portion of that Bond or the performance guarantee was the amount of $2,030 um and we would recommend the release of that performance guarantee subject to the applicant posting um uh escrow inspection fees um and completing that and then also posting um some additional funds so that we can go and um reinspect when the maintenance Bond period is over because on this application there is a perimeter Landscaping Maintenance bond in the amount of $738 um in Cash There's also off-site maintenance Bonds in the amount of $3,998 which is in cash and then on-site maintenance bonds of $22,266 um and that's under Bond number 8, 38823 um with those stipulations we have um no objections to the release of the bond and I just do invite Council if there's any questions our inspector is here and um the attorney for the applicant is here if he'd like to introduce himself yes thank you madam president members of the council for the record Peter flry that would help thank you again uh Peter flry with the LA fir of bisg Hoff on behalf of fer Oldbridge LLC I'm here with Charles Thomas representative of the uh of fer uh to answer any questions but um from what has been uh indicated be already um it's consistent with our notes and with our records um and uh we request that the council release this performance guarantee so you concur with our findings yes can I I just check the bonds have been posted the ponds have been posted already yes the maintenance ponds have been posted that's what I thought okay and then the uh just so a note this is this development was part of our affordable housing uh complex as well from last round so this is one of the uh actually just to go on we have multiple projects that have been completed uh and we have two uh municipally sponsored projects that will also be completed so uh this is from the last round okay does anyone on my left have a question no okay how about on my right okay I'm going to open it to the public if there's anyone in the public who wishes to be heard on this Bond release please come forward I will close the public portion I will ask for a motion move it second mooved by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mrs Walker roll call council person de Carol yes council person dep yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes six yeses okay thank you very much gentlemen have a good evening thank you sir okay next is H2 ordinance of the township of Oldbridge resending 5-1 1873 of chapter 5 article 29a of the code of the township of Oldbridge entitled authority to act as a Redevelopment agency Mr jelli do you have yes um this uh was introduced um gosh the last council meeting oober 10th and um if you recall the U Back way way back when when the um Oldbridge Housing Authority was established was also designated as a Redevelopment agency uh the township since that time have had an independent agency uh and it acts separate apart from the housing agency uh so what this uh ordinance does is resends that part the establishment of the housing authority to act as a Redevelopment agency since the town has its own Redevelopment agency okay thank you very much does any council person have a question for Mr zelli okay I'll open it to the public is there anyone in the public who wishes to be heard on this ordinance for second reading seeing no hands I'll close public portion and ask for a motion I'll move it okay moved by Mrs dearo second by Mr dama roll call council person dearo yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes six Jes okay there are no ordinances for first reading this evening we'll go on to discussion ordinance ordinance vacating a portion of Martin Street and authorizing the sale of Martin Street to the adjoining properties good evening once again thank you council president um this is a little bit of an unique situation in that we have a paper Street in town called Martin Street it's actually off of Crawford's place which is off of County Route 527 old old sorry Oldbridge Englishtown Road um are you familiar it's north of Texas Road and it's on the west side of County Route 527 it actually was It was supposed to be developed with homes on either side of Martin Street um probably in I would say the late 60s but due to due to some environmental constraints they were unable to construct the roadway but the paper Street still existed so there's two lots that front Crawford Street that are off of County of County Route 527 and a developer had approached the township and asked if we would vacate just a portion of Martin Street so that they can they can get their sidey yard a little bit further away from Oldbridge Englishtown Road the RightWay width is 50 fet now based on Municipal law you could you could do that and you could offer it for sale if we don't need it um but then you would have to offer half of the RightWay to the property owner on the other side that abuts it and then to this developer and so we approached the neighboring property owner and we asked them if they would be interested and we did this via a letter that um was crafted and reviewed by our Township attorney and we asked if they would be interested and we went to our tax assessor and we asked him to come up with the monetary value for the half width right away of Martin Street and we went and we approached the developer and we approached the neighboring property owner and we gave them that value and they both agreed to it and they said that they would find they would be interested in acquiring half half width right away of a portion of the paper Street of Martin Street that amounts to about 25 fet wide for each of the property owners and about 90 ft in length or depth off of offer its place and so we're not quite ready yet with the ordinance for the sale of the property or the sale of the piece I just wanted to come and bring it to your attention before I come and say you know I want I want to move it up to First reading I just want you to be aware that the rest of Morton Street or the paper Street would actually stay intact um it actually fronts it actually backs up to pieces of property that front 527 half of which we own and and are vacant anyway they're encumbered by Wetlands um and they're environmentally constrained so you can't really build on them um I'm not I'm saying you can't really you can't um they were years ago offered for sale and nobody purchased them probably because of the environmental constraints and they're probably going to remain as open space um for quite some time because they're environmentally constrained Martin Street um the total length of it I don't have off the top of my head but um probably about probably about 5 600 feet um in total length of which 90 feet in depth and 50 feet wide half goes to one neighboring property half would go to the other and our tax assessor did come up with that value so then once they acquire that yes yeah they are they are aware of the assessed value of the additional piece of part of the notice what will eventually happen is um that section of the U of the paper Street will be subdivided off from the existing paper Street and then and then that portion will be cut in half and then there'll be a deed from the township conveying it to if I'm looking on there's a tax map but to the neighbor on one to the right and then and then the property owner to the left and then eventually it's they'll have two lots but conceivably what they should probably do after that is do a merger lot of merger but right it'll it'll be added to the property and then that portion will be taxed and they were they were notified of that that fact as well but they both agreed yes um so um lot 11.11 is that is that a residential or is that um yeah residential okay because I noticed when I was looking at the map it's not developed right now no it's not and that's why the developer came at the intersection of Crawford Place and um County Route 527 there's a sight triangle easen on that corner so the developer would like to have usable space for it's actually the largest sight triangle I've seen and I actually asked the developer why don't you go to middlex County and see if you could reduce it and he didn't want to go and have that conversation with them because he knew that it would either probably go nowhere or not amount to anything but so that he can get away from that intersection and build the two homes he wanted to have at least the half with RightWay dedication or the the sale of that right away does he so the same owner owns uh 9.11 uh yes let me just look at the sorry the one closer to uh 527 that's near that triangle so the two lots that are directly on the the two two lots that are on the south side of Crawford Place that are directly off that corner of Crawford and County Route 527 those two lots before the paper Street of Martin Street are owned by the developer the other piece of property that I'm talking about is on the on the E uh Westerly side of that paper Street that's built already right now with a with a residental just going to get a larger yard or yes but they would be paying for it right of course yeah I think 14 they're paying yeah okay um and so what who owns the um 2121 uh the big piece behind there uh that is that is actually so when the developer probably realized that he couldn't build the homes he just annexed the rest of the property to the last property on Shirley Boulevard so I don't know if let me just see I have it yeah okay so if if you look at sheet number 2611 the tax map sheet 2611 at the end of Shirley Boulevard there is one home directly at the end of Shirley Boulevard the driveway comes off of Shirley Boulevard and that's on block 26,1 lot 2121 that person owns that entire block because when that developer realized he couldn't build the rest Shirley Boulevard was supposed to come and connect to the end of Martin Street and come back to 527 and those were all supposed to be homes but because of the environmental constraints that never happened so that can't be built on at all that that block no there's there's State open Waters and there's also uh freshwater wetlands okay thank youc this is the property get in the property he's getting nothing yes he's getting anyone else have a question 215 is getting half yes 111 isting so just just for the record the developer who approached us own owns 9.11 and 11.11 so the half withd RightWay of the 50 ft will then get annexed to 11.11 but when that developer comes he's going to take his subdivision his minor subdivision and he's going to move the line between 911 and 1111 and then he's going to shift a little bit so that he gets his home farther away from 527 and then the the rest of it gets annexed to 21.15 all right so everyone is good for now okay all right okay so I'm asking tonight just so we could digest the information right um we are asking the developer to not only give us meets and Bounds description for his parcel but to also do it for the neighboring parcel um and so that we have one complete package to bring back to council uh next meeting I'm going to ask for first reading um on on this for uh permission to sell the property um and then Annex it to both these no if anyone has any other questions we need to we need the meets and Bounds no no no I said that okay I said next meeting I'm going to come back with the meets and Bounds description and the developer has has agreed to do it for the neighboring property as well as his own Okay so this is for now it's good if anyone has any questions if they think of later they could always reach out to you Nicole and you can give them whatever information they may be you know looking for and also Council it's important to realize that we maintain this SM this street right now we would no longer have to do that yeah well that's section actually peace the neighbor the one neighbor he T he cuts the grasses the so we have to go make sure that yeah figure since he's already taken care of it we'll just let him have it okay well thank you very much for that next will be uh another for discussion amending Oldbridge Township Code chapter 10 two you wrote it attorney aming section 10-25 um of the township code regarding speed okay this is in vehicle and traffic then okay yes all right okay good evening again thank you Council um so I The Oaks one residential development I think we're all aware of it's it's off of schme and eventually off of Aster Circle um it's the brunetti organization that had um sold those pieces off to kavanian and started building single family homes back there since um right now we have people that have have moved into um Phase 1 a okay so we have people that have moved into phase 1 a which is office as Circle and phase 1B and the residents there have been complaining about the speeding what they didn't understand was the roads are Aster Circle and schulmeister will become public roadways but they're under still performance guarant because the developer is not finished they're actually not topped so they're built up to base course and then eventually they'll get topped One Construction is finished and they're going to do that in sections um but for us to be able to go out and ticket Speeders that are speeding on the roadway we have to one establish a speed limit post the speed limit post the quary signs and then we can go and ask for title 39 jurisdiction and and that will give us permission to go out there and ticket the vehicles that are speeding um so right now um the amending Oldbridge Township Code chapter 10 entitled vehicle and traffic ordinance is to establish the speed limit of 35 mil hour um and 30 where geometry um of the roadway requires it um along schulmeister and Aster Circle and then to put up the signage just associated with that so really the ordinance for for chapter 10 that revision is just to say schulmeister and asra circle are 35 mil hour except where geometry permits it or requires it on a curve on a reverse curve um where it permits it it would be 30 m hour um and then that would give us that along with the next uh discussion ordinance um ordinance implementing title 39 jurisdiction for the oaks1 development planning board application 2001p sh Meister Road and Aster Circle those go together um so what I'm asking tonight is if you take um both those discussion items um and move them up to First reading so that you know we could have second reading at the next meeting and then after that um implementation 20 days thereafter any questions I do Nicole the the way it was drafted has for SCH Meister has 35 both Rec the entire length so that's not the case I I didn't want to I didn't know how to determine I didn't know how to call out where the 30 mil hour is because they're very segmented and they're they're in different places of the circle right of the circle and they're not it's not like it's a it's a perfect circle so it's not like it's the same on each end it's one has a reverse curve and and one has a um that's for Aster Circle that way Aster Circle for SCH Meister it's 35 does and I and I read the report but I I saw that but he he doesn't know where the 30 mph will be no no no there is a map attached and the map actually takes if if you look at the last attachment it's called speed limit sign location and then you could see if you if you zoom in around um ask Circle it is in one two locations so it is and I could get you I can get you the direction and I can get you the limit of the roadway um which is so I can get you the direction and I can get you where which roads bound that speed limit so for example sh Meister in the southernly Direction that's what you would do you okay you would we need to established right for those areas at that at that area right by the crossroad I could do that yes I can I can give you those limits for the 30 miles miles per hour so if but if we want to introduce it we should do that before it's introduced okay so I will introduce it then I ask that you don't vote on it tonight right correct I will you can do the title 30 title 39 jurisdiction I can yes okay all right great we can proceed with title 39 okay because title 39 applies to private property as well yes right y so we well let's proceed with title 39 and then once you get that the areas for 30 then we'll just just give it to me and I'll insert it in the ordinance okay okay yep okay so Council I'm asking for um somebody to to vote to move title 39 jurisdiction up to First reading for tonight um and then just know I'm going to be back back with the clarified limits for the 30 mph I just had a question why why is it 30 and not 25 in that Circle well so if you read the people are complaining about the speeding already yeah but remember Aster Circle and SCH Meister are collector roadways and they're wider in nature right they're they're not meant nobody's going to go 25 you know they're meant to be you know a higher speed roadway if you looked at the report that environmental resolution had done their traffic engineer had recommended the 35 mph based on three different criterias that they reviewed um so it wouldn't be applicable to be 25 miles per hour for example some cescs are 25 miles per hour but even those you know are um yeah but Nicole we have we have all roadways that are 25 that are that would that have the same would have the same amount of traffic as this though like valleyvale right Valley Ville is 25 okay there's all I mean two councilwoman Walker's Point right so we have roadways at are 25 that more or less is very difficult folks to go 25 on right they they they'll go 30 that we have the the speed um you know the automatic speed things on we should look at that if this should be 25 as well going down there there we don't want folks speeding but people tend to go this is going to be 20 this is going to be 30 then we should probably look at other areas that might need to be 30 as well MH or vice versa St they should be dropped down to 25 all right I will take that into consideration yeah yep great one other quick question and then we'll go ahead with the title 39 I have gotten several calls from the people live in the apartment uh over there by um sh Meister Road you know when you you could used to be able to make Jug Handle and go right across and now when you get there it says right yeah yes and that they're like why you know I mean they they can't understand what the reasoning is that now you can't make a left turn it's one of the easier places and if you live in there you know it it makes it yeah you got right you got to go all the way down they did the re nine improvements for some reason when they did the route N9 Improvement you're talking about Northbound heading you're heading south you're trying to cross over towards towards where the bll heeld yeah right remember we're not at maximum capacity we're still in the building stage but when when dot did that route n Improvement they do it with the understanding that those off-site you know off- roadway improvements are going to come once that happens there's a crosswalk across Route 9 in that area so they don't want you to make the left they rather you go to The Jug Handle and give people the ability to cross Route n freely without having to worry that the cars are going to turn into them so it gives that one phase an ability for people to cross the street without people making a left turn onto Route 9 North is that what you're talking about so they come from schulmeister they travel across Route 9 they go in the eastbound Direction they do The Jug Handle and then they go on to Route 9 Northbound they don't want that conflict with the pedestrians that's why they did it for years it's been yet the at milroad You' be able to make the joke handle at Road and make the left to go into mil Road and into the Departments exactly they're designed they designed route n improvements they don't want you to make that movement any longer they want you to go to Sho meister and make The Jug Handle just said I you know people have called I actually went back to do on that and asked them why I did it too I yeah you know and a lot of the residents that live in the and especially if you do make the right it takes you into the woods yeah anyone say no road but it's true typical yeah state it just looks so it just is confusing and if you live right there they're so used to going and right around and going into the apartments over there in Madison Gardens that this is like to them yes go down and then kind of come around again yes okay my recommendation to still make the movement I I do so going to do the typ 39 we don't have title 39 yet you can okay so we need a motion move it second moved by Mr dama and second by Dr Greenberg Bell okay so that'll be F roll call council person daro yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg belly yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes six yes is public hearing set for December 5th 20 23 okay so do you want to make an announcement if anyone is sure if anybody um we're going to take a brief couple minutes if anybody um from the audience would like to leave um you know if you don't have any other business see I know my like a motion and a second and then I'll go for separations move it second okay move by Mrs Walker second by Dr Greenberg belli separation council person darara any items for separation no thank you council person dama no thank you council person Garcia no thank you council person Dr Greenberg ballet no thank you Council vice president Walker No thank you and council president soart no thank you so a motion in a second for the entire consent agenda move it we did did already didn't we yeah we did did did it's all done we're good good roll call please roll call council person de Carol yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg belli yes council person Walker yes and Council uh president soar yes six yeses okay report of the Township Clerk so I did want to discuss the uh and all the help that uh we received at the election and how well uh the evening went for all for all of Oldbridge I want to uh publicly thank the public works department um uh John Tuli Hazel Thompson John Hughes uh Donna LaVine Barbara grippy Victoria Victoria KY yavon milopon Harrison Brenda worst naven rahib um I'm sorry if I missed anybody Evelyn Rosario also helped um Everybody did a great job and we had a a a great a great turnout and we were again in and out very quickly we had the uh Public Works gentlemen and the parks gentlemen Parks and Rec gentlemen always do an outstanding job okay thank you on your team as well yeah we're very proud Kate thank you you did a very very good job the whole office did everybody it was uh it was very very well done Miss Sonia thank you very much okay anyone anything else Kate you good I'm good all right and then how about the township attorney nothing report Madam president okay and the administrative report thank you council president um this is Administrative report dated November 13 2023 and we have seven items tonight starting off with Princeton Road resurfacing the township of Oldbridge has been selected to receive $649,800 year 2024 Municipal aid program for the Princeton Road resurfacing project the work includes but is not limited to a complete milling and resurfacing of Princeton Road replacement of concrete curb repairs to portion of stabilized base cores that exhibit allig alligator cracking replacement of reinforced concrete driveway aprons as required storm water upgrades painting of crosswalks and stop bars and resetting or replacement of traffic signs this work encompasses resurfacing of a proximately 7,775 linear feet which equates to 1.47 mil of roadway located east of Bordentown Avenue County Route 615 and south of ernston Road County Route 673 item number two 2023 cdbg Road reconstruction on September 26 2023 at 1 p.m. bids were received open and read in public for the 2023 cdbg Road reconstruction contract 2023 44 bids from 10 contractors were received with moo Inc being the lowest qualified bidder construction includes resurfacing on the following roads Alpha Avenue from Gob road to Harold Street the award of this contract has been included on tonight's consent agenda with construction scheduled for spring 2024 item number three annual coat drive the Oldbridge food bank and the Department of Public Works would like to thank everyone who came to the third annual coat drive on Sat Saturday November 4th over 330 coats hats scarves and gloves were collected for the Oldbridge Food Bank item number four fall leaf collection round two of the fall leaf collection program began today November 13th in W 4 5 and 6 and will continue all week round three will begin after Thanksgiving weekend residents should visit o.com recycling for the full schedule item number five municipal alliance collaborates with hackin sack Meridian health during Red Ribbon Week in commemoration of red ribbon re week which is a declaration to stay drug-free the Oldbridge Municipal alliance collaborated with hackin saac Meridian health and the peer programs in Jona Middle School Carl Sandberg middle school andridge high school the students created posters declaring their anti-drug to be various activities items and people students signed posters that they must rele at to that they most related to and received a red Twizzler for making a healthy choice to say say no to drugs item number six detective denafo receives the W Carrie Edward State volunteer of the Year award for 2023 detective Patrick denafo orridge Police Department for community policing has been selected by the governor's Council on alcoholism and drug abuse to be the recipient of the W Carrie Edwards state volunteer of the Year award for 2023 it was Carrie Edwards Vision to create a network of community-based efforts to address alcoholism and drug abuse his vision resulted in over 320 active Municipal alliances in the state of New Jersey the largest network of anti-drug coalitions in the country detective ponao exemplary service and commitment to the Oldbridge Municipal Alliance for the prevention of substance abuse has earned him this distinguished honor item number seven Christmas tree and manora lighting the Oldbridge Township Christmas tree and manora lighting is on December 5th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. there will be pictures with Santa cookies face painting inflatable snow globe and arts and crafts the tree and manur will be lit at 6:30 p.m. and council president that concludes the administrative report thank you very much and I think we all want to congratulate Patrick denafo for that award that was quite an award very dedicated to what he does and thank you Patrick does anyone else have a question or a comment for Nicole no okay then I'll take a motion move it second move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mrs dearo roll call council person de Caro yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg B yes Council vice president Walker yes council president soar yes and thank you call public comment on any subject matter for a maximum period of three minutes the public comment portioner of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments the section is open for any topic or items in the consent agenda in accordance with njsa 10 col 4-2a in the Oldbridge rules of council the council asks that the Public Public limit their comments to 3 minutes or less only one member of the public shall approach to speak to council at a time the council respect the Public's Time by refraining from any comments until the speaker has finished with their allotted time it should be further noted that the public comment portion of our meeting is not structured as a question and answer session if a member of the public has questions they seek answers to an appointment can be made with this corresponding Department's office during regular business hours the Township Clerk will regulate the time during the comment portion of our meeting okay thank you good evening is there anyone who wishes to be heard come forward please thank you Council good evening good evening I'm a resident of Oldbridge and I'd like to congratulate the winners of the election that we had last week firstly Eric dep for your election as council at heart at large congratulations also to Dr Anita b um Bell Greenberg Bell and Mary soor I know that you'll continue doing the excellent job you've been doing all these years to Debbie Walker that would be mayor elect Debbie Walker you have really big shoes to fill but I know you'll do an excellent job and then lastly and not least to our mayor right now Owen Henry you are going to be the senator El and I'm so looking forward to you doing a really good job down in Trenton thank you so [Applause] much is there anyone else who would like to be heard from the public good evening good evening I also am a Oldbridge resident Little Tall of Rob resident hello Council mayor Clerk uh first I'd like to say living in Oldbridge we have some we have a we had a cricket a swimmer Who's Got It Better who's got it better than o very good I would like to say uh let's let's say uh it was nice to have people that ran for a position it's you got to recognize everybody but I like to recognize winners and I am very happy with who won you guy you had a big job everybody has a big job and I'm glad that Oldbridge is going to continue on its successful path and that's it thank you everyone [Applause] councel anyone else in the audience good evening I'm a resident of Oldbridge I would like to congratulate uh mayor Owen Henry state senator I know you will do a terrific job I would like to thank uh mayor elect Debbie Walker I'm sure you will do a terrific job and congratulations Dr Anita Greenberg belli and reelection congratulations Mary soar re-election and of course congratulations Eric depalmer becoming at Council we're going to miss you as our award too but I'm sure you'll do a great job I do have one comment regarding these Schoolboard elections please bring them back to April and May it was very very difficult to support a candidate when they kept hearing it was because you were a particular party uh those of us who work on a campaign are also private citizens we also have the right to uh not endorse but to support a particular candidate there was so much things about endorsements for this one that one and the other one if you're endorsed by the New Jersey Education Association it's an endorsement if you're endorsed by the Oldbridge Teachers Association it's another endorsement people who worked for a particular party were not doing it because of the party they were doing it because we believed the three people we were supporting were Common Sense candidates who were against certain policies like 5756 so please bring it back and I also comment on the early election S I don't have figures of what it costs but for 1,50 votes to have eight days and all of that money and then to spend money sending a mail and application to everyone who is an a voter in person is an absolute waste of money the School Board elections were supposed to be done to be a money saver at the same time as the regular election it has done nothing but devise it it's unfair to the candidates and it's unfair to those who are voters and those who support certain candidates thank you and congratulations again do we have anyone else in the audience good evening okay I have um three questions and maybe you can direct me to where I need to go these are questions that my 18-year-old wanted me to ask because she couldn't come herself she's in class right now so um she said why are we taking over farms and destroying rural areas to build more buildings and is there any plan in place for the animals that are losing their homes due to these loads of constructions and her final thing was is this a concern that the wild animals are coming onto our properties because there's nowhere else for them to go that's it oh I'm so sorry I apologize you know maybe then she could make an appointment sit down and speak with us that would be fine who would I have to like tell her to reach out to to get the answers well contact the clerk's office and then we will we will see how we're going to go about speaking with her okay all right because this is you know this isn't a question and answer okay thank you all right thank you so much good evening good evening my name is safe Abasi I've been an Oldbridge resident for about 15 years this is actually my first time attending uh one of these Council meetings so um look forward actually to attending in the future um the reason I'm here is that since the events that since the events that started on October 7th um there's been across the country an increase in hate crimes um I haven't seen any uh increase in hate crimes both um islamophobia and anti-Semitism I've seen all of that across the country I haven't seen anything specifically here uh I'm a Palestinian American I you know I've been treated very well here I love the people here um but I have seen on Facebook social media posts um people calling for um you know don't support this business because they are Pro Palestinian uh boycott McDonald's boycott Burger King boycott Starbucks because they're pro- Israel and I don't believe any of that is healthy for our economy I think more than you know even even if um uh Mcdonalds or Burger King or Starbucks you know support um a cause um I think that boycotting them here is probably doing more damage to the local business owners than it does to the franchise as a whole um and so I wanted to call for the council to push for a ceasefire resolution um I have a copy of a ceasefire resolution that was adopted by the city of Patterson on October 24th and I also have a resolution that was submitted to the city of haen or is that a burough of hen um last week um I can share those as as a a template to use for for this Council um I'm not asking anybody to take sides I'm not asking anybody um to solve the Middle East conflict I just think that it's necessary for us to call for res uh to call for a ceasefire resolution um simply because that I think it's the most beneficial thing for everybody without ceasefire I believe the situation is going to continue to escalate and that's not good for anybody for all parties involved uh thank you very much thank you is there anyone else I have to agree with that um we're not supposed to give our names anymore but I'm sure you guys know who I am I think that uh this Township needs to uh cease harassments of people of any ethnic background I do think that uh our Council should consider having prayers by other people other than the council person who has repeatedly posted things on Facebook that are anti-jewish and anti-muslim by the way I wanted to thank Katherine and Sonia you guys did a great job I know Sonia thank you like taking my call like four times the signage I'm waiting on the report on that one I won't wait I won't hold my breath but I'm waiting on the report I did want to say um I know Anita you are always talking about how much you care about animals and I know you do you're a veterinarian and you have some land I know you do that's cool by the way we like that you do um would you be interested in doing soft releases of wildlife would you be interested in helping out in that process and I know you're not supposed to answer believe me when I say I know you're not supposed to answer but I would appreciate it we have a lot of animals that we do Rehabilitation here in this from this town raccoons skunks possums foxes I'm I don't work with squirrels rabbits but we need places and I know you back up to some property and it would appreciate if you uh would consider it you can certainly call my hospital and we'll discuss it because it's being done brilliant thank you okay is there anyone else in the public who wishes to be heard seeing no hands I will oh oh sorry come on down uh good evening Castle uh my name is Michael Bella uh hate to take too much of your time uh I'm a Rucker student uh I was assigned here to take notes so hopefully I wasn't a bother I just John some stuff down uh I I know it's not set up for a Q&A but I have to ask a question for my assignment so for Route n with the warehouses do you are you guys anticipating like any more traffic like like a huge series of traffic down nine I know it's an easy it's a stupid question but I had to ask something so Nicole please thank you I mean I could certainly you know if you want to call my office we could talk and we could meet and I could we could walk through just the Land Development process and how we got from like conception to where they're at now and I think that would be probably a little bit better than just one question okay yeah perfect that that would be perfect and if you if you want uh meet me afterwards I'm a rod Cru grad graduated my I have my MPA from them so I'll be more than happy to to walk you through oh yeah perfect I sit on the planning board as well so I I could help you out okay thank thank you okay perfect thank you thank you anyone else no okay this time I'll close the public portion Council comment yep we're going to council comments council person Dar Caro yes thank you um well I just wanted to uh first of all congratulate our um our people who had recognition today um daa Zinga I mean you know playing in the 20 23 World Cup is just amazing um and I just congratulate her I always say Oldbridge has so much talent I've I've seen it from the time my kids were were little and um you know it just really shows you know we have people graduating and uh you know being in the World Cup going to you know really on to really wonderful things so congratulations to disa um congratulations to uh Geral SL I'm not going to say his last name right um for um being the contingent Marshall um you know what a what an honor for him um and and for us um him living in Oldbridge and uh to the laar family um Elliot for being such a an amazing supportive father and uh Michael for being just such an amazing person you know uh overcoming such a challenge you know participating in the Special Olympics you know and um you know Elliot writing a book I mean that was just a really amazing thing again Oldbridge is uh is amazing and uh I'm looking forward to the next August 6 I did not know that was uh Michael Air day so I'm looking forward to the next uh August 6 so I can um honor him um the next thing I want to do is yes the election is over some was mentioned and um so I want to first thank again the clerk's office um Kate always an amazing job and uh Sonia and all the rest of the people in uh the clerk's office you guys having a serious long day and uh I I don't know how you guys survive the day I worked the polls uh last year I said I can't do I can't do a whole day I said no way I'm not a morning person so I did uh I did the half day 12 to 8 and that was a long day even a half day is just a long day so I honestly don't know how you guys Do It um and uh so thank you for that and um of course now I'm going to sound a little redundant but I'd like to congratulate um everyone um mayor Henry I'd like to congratulate you on your you know senate election to the Senate and uh councilwoman Greenberg Bell councilwoman sohor on your reelection to at large and uh councilman dama on your election to at large and uh of course Council woman um Walker on your election to to Mayor I I look forward to the next two years um collaborating and working together um because we all we all want what's best for albd so congratulations to everyone um and um and just um as far as the the gentleman with the the ceasefire resolution um you know I it really is um we have to we have to just show kindness you know doesn't matter who you are human beings are are getting hurt and um I think uh I don't know what we can do as a council but um we definitely have to lead with kindness and um just it doesn't matter you know um we often times we have more in common then we have um differences and uh I think we all just need to rec recognize that and um you know grow and learn and just we're always growing and learning so I would I would definitely um be supportive and you know looking into something like that but um thank you for coming and speaking and uh I think that is it thank you council person dep U Jill kindness so actually today happens to be World kindness day um it's World kindness day yeah neither that I there's a lot there's a day for everything but I you know I think it's actually a good thing that that it's today you know I think we should just make it a point to do something kind not only today but every day um so I think it's we need to start to do that as not only Society I think it would help greatly throughout the world um you know in regard to the election thank you to the clerk's office and all the poll workers I mean as councilwoman Dar Caro said it's a long day elections could not happen without the hard work of all the clerk's offices throughout the state as well as those poll workers because you're not going to see me at 5:30 in the morning at a poll doing that um and you know I want to thank Jill Christa Dave and Kevin um for putting themselves out there to run for office it is not an easy task to spend six seven months knocking on doors and all the things that go along with campaigning um so I want to thank them for putting their names out there it is not the easiest thing Jill and I were talking about this before I'm sure all our families are extremely happy um that we're home I spent time with my kids on Thursday and Friday took the day off so it was a great thing um but I guess at this point it's time to put all our differences aside um and get back to the business of working together for the good of our our Township and the good of our residents elections are done Jill said in 18 months we could do this again um but until then um we just need to put all our differences aside for this point uh congratulations to the alridge Rebels for the sixth seventh and eighth graders they all made the Super Bowl so the Super Bowl is act the all three games are this weekend at Lombardi field I believe it's 111 and three I think sixth grade first and seventh and eth so if any residents are around come on down and support support those kids uh hopefully they can bring home another Super Bowl uh and then also just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving the next time we see you all will be at the tree lighting and monora lighting can't believe that we're already talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas but um just Happy Thanksgiving to everyone um if we don't run into each other throughout town thank you council person Garcia yes thank you like councilman depa said it's National kindness day you know we we should always be kind to each other everybody we're talking politics we got the Republicans Democrats Independents it doesn't matter it shouldn't matter who we are we all we're all here in Oldbridge we all have the same thoughts maybe different thoughts but we I think we all care for Oldbridge just because we're in different parties shouldn't make a difference so I you know it's been brought to my attention people are making comments on Facebook bash in his party bash in that party I wish all that stuff would stop because there's no need for that stuff we're all Oldbridge I'm Republican the Dem Jo a Democrat it doesn't matter we have old Bridge's heart this this is what we this is what we do this for we care for Oldbridge so if you have friends neighbors commenting silly comments on Facebook just ask to stop the nonsense it's over with we want to get back to work we want to do what's best for old brid leave all that silly stuff alone now that's the reason why I tell you I don't go on Facebook every I'm I'm I'm turning now has been brought to my attention I don't really go on Facebook if I do go on it's posting good things it's not a good site let's all get along one o Bridge that's that's how I look at it as I thank God the election's over so now we can get back to work uh regarding well next week is Thanksgiving make sure you guys enjoy your time with your family of course uh and I also want to thank Kate and her team I I've I've worked the polls the past three Cycles this cycle was the best for some reason they're all good but this for some reason this was like really real I was amazed how quick it was uh but thank you but yeah let's let's just all get along guys this is all o Bridge talk to your friends tell them through on Facebook that's all and thank you council person Dr Greenberg B yes as we've seen here tonight there are many many positive things to be proud of in Oldbridge and those are the things that we should focus on the negativity has no place it doesn't really embellish anything it makes things worse and so everyone comes with different abilities different interests and staying positive really is the best thing for civil society I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving enjoy your family and friends um we all should reflect on being thankful and count our blessings um gratitude impacts or overhaul Wellness um they found that studies with that when you are gr show gratitude it really is is a beneficial thing for your health also um as we express our gratitude we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter just the words but to live by them so I wish everyone well I want to wish um really the our opponents during this a good holiday and um working campaign everyone knows isn't easy to do um you have to deal with a lot of things and a lot of pressures and everything but I now that it's over I hope everyone is able to relax enjoy their holidays and look forward to a bright future in Oldbridge thank you Council vice president Walker thank you first I want to wish uh congratulations to Michael what an amazing unb and he is what he's overcome it's just an amazing story and maybe we should all look to purchase that book on Amazon also uh I think councilman dep mentioned about uh the rebels three teams making the Super Bowl I don't know if you mentioned the times it's going to be 111 and three sixth seventh and eighth grade at Lombardy field I'm going to be there also I want to thank Jill Christa Dave and Kevin for putting themselves out there for the election elections are not easy it's a tough on your family it's tough on everyone involved and um I know we all have Oldbridge best at heart and we're going to continue to do that I mean that's why I got into this because I love Oldbridge and I want what's best for it also I want to thank the clerk's office for an amazing job they this election cycle it was a one of the busiest uh elections in the history in this cycle and they did an amazing job it was flawless [Applause] people don't realize how hard hard they work and also our pole workers who were up very early in the morning and our Challengers we want to thank all them too for all their hard work and um all now I want to just wish everybody a happy healthy and safe Thanksgiving I can't believe it's Thanksgiving already before you know it will be Christmas just happy healthy Thanksgiving and council president soar yes I also would like to wish everyone a really really happy and healthy Thanksgiving and thank everyone for uh just this whole last couple of weeks have been very crazy and I think now we're getting we're going to get back to a normal routine I'd like to thank Jill and her team um it was a it was a hard for fought uh election and I think now is the time to put it and aside and move on and thank you for the good wishes of my being clumsy but but uh thank God I'm feeling uh yeah I'm feeling a lot better but um I do I really want to say say thank you to everyone and to all the residents too because you know you guys are the ones that really give us the information and how you're feeling and what you want to see so it's very appreciated and and everybody just have a great holiday I just wanted to wish everyone happy dwali also I was in Edison today at the um at the mosque it was a well attended and everybody was uh having a great time celebr cration was going on and it goes on a number of nights now believe nine nights so everyone please enjoy thank you we going to go into executive we come in no okay so uh resolution to exclude the public be it resolved by the township Council of the township of Oldbridge that the public shall be excluded from this meeting pursuant to njsa 104-113 for attorney client privilege matters for the discussion of the following matter or matters attorney client privilege 1918 Englishtown Road former block 22,000 lot 10B we shall not um reconvene this evening and that the minutes or other record of discussion shall be made available to to be disclosed to the public when its need for its exclusion from the public no longer exists as determined by vote of the governing body at a public session so motion to resolution to adjourn to right adting your resolution adjourning okay so do I have a motion move it second okay move by Mr dama second by Mrs W roll call council person dearo yes council person dama yes council person Garcia yes council person Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council vice president Walker yes and council president soar yes six yeses meeting is adjourning at 9 57 857 sorry that's okay