yeah there you go yeah e for e still e you test one two test like to call this meeting to order if we please stand to salute the flag FL United States of America naice this meeting is convened in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings Act of New Jersey let the official minutes reflect that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by publishing a notice in the Asbury Park Press on Saturday December 23rd 2023 The Star Ledger and also forwarding same to the toms ofer times Tom ofer patch and wobm news December 22nd 2023 and thereafter posting same on the town hall bulletin board for such notices and filing same with the Township Clerk pursuant to a resolution adopted by the township Council on December 19th 2023 this meeting was also posted on the township web page item four of the is the oath of office for mayor ele Daniel T rodri administered by state Senator John bramnick please raise your left hand and put your right hand on the Bible and repeat after me I state your name I Daniel rodri 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 and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and Allegiance the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of Mayor of the office of Mayor according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you item five is the oath of office of councilman elect Craig colan administered by James Breton Esquire I I Craig Coleman you me swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of the the office all duties of the office of councilman of councilman congratulations thank you very much item six is the oath of office of councilman elect Thomas nson administer administered by Peter Pascarella Esquire I I state your name Thomas nerson do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will I will bear true faith and allegiance to same I will bear true faith and allegiance to same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will Faith faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties of the office of perform all the duties of the office of member of Township Council of Toms River Township member of Toms River Council Toms River Township according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you item seven is the oath of office of councilwoman elect Leno TL administered by Peter Pascarella Esquire got it yeah I got it I I or tool do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly justly perform all the duties of the office of perform all the duties of the office of Council of Toms River Township Council of Toms River Township according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you [Applause] yes up next we have our newly elected mayor's comments first I would like to congratulate my running mates and thank the voters for putting their trust in my team and I were truly humbled by the outpouring of support we received I'd like to thank my wife Diana and my children Danny and Samantha they put uh so much time into this campaign into all of my campaigns I couldn't have done it without them thank you to everyone who volunteered their time energy and resources campaigns are collaborative team efforts and we had a great network of support thank you to everyone who volunteered I asked Senator John bramnick to swear me in today because it has a long record of bringing Republicans and Democrats together to solve complex problems it's time to bring everyone together here in Tom's river we all want the same thing everyone wants to live in a town with Safe Streets good schools and low property taxes people move to Tom's River to get away from overcrowded cities residents are happy with the way Tom's River is we don't want to live in a city for the last eight years the township has been rolling out the red carpet for developers but when residents want to improve their property their tank Tangled Up In bureaucratic red tape instead of cutting ribbons at new development sites my Administration will U concentrate on cutting the red tape it begins today with our first vote to resend the certificate of occupancy [Applause] [Applause] [Music] ordinance this ordinance has jammed up over 2,000 homeowners costing him thousands of dollars and months of aggravation that all stops today the special deals for political politically connected developers ends today as well in just a few minutes the council will vote to approve hopefully approve six new planning board members replacing everyone who voted in favor of the towers downtown we're also going to bring in a high powerered attorney to fight these guys and get us out of this terrible deal some say it can't be stopped I disagree and I Won't Back Down [Applause] it's also time to put an end to wasteful spending and cut the unnecessary jobs in town hall by tomorrow our second day in office payroll for confidential employees will be reduced by a half a million dollars a year to be clear we're not talking about Rank and file employees we're talking about political jobs and overpaid management positions there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get Toms R back on track and we're just getting warmed up wait until you see what we do in our first 100 days again congratulations to my running mates Leno tul Tom nerson and Craig Coleman thank you Tom's River and happy New Year [Applause] everyone [Applause] we'll now move to the newly elected council member [Music] comments good afternoon everyone my background is in management both in education and a wholesale company for 40 years I've had positions beginning as fifth grade teacher through Administration as Acting Superintendent of Schools I worked in both comprehensive of education for 20 years and for another 20 years I was principal in the Ocean County vocational education system as you are probably aware the Rodrick team's platform was to stop the building especially a multi-residential and level structures that would require additional services and busing of course we can only do this with what the law and Township resources allow we do not support the kinds of buildings that put additional burden on our schools and Township Services leading to increased taxes we also do not support giving developers a passay on paying school taxes especially in light of the financial problems our school budget faces do we really want our Waterfront to resemble cities up north I came to Tom R over 25 years ago to live in a nice residential town over the years there been a movement to make our community as City this is not the direction the majority of Voters want many of them moved here to escape City Life along the woodfront we should construct recreational and entertainment venues that would attract visitors who would enjoy their visit spend money and return to their homes we'd also like to take a look at the Town see if it's being operated as efficiently as possible we will make some changes that would lighten the tax burden while maintaining the required services with your support we can meet our goals thank you for giving me this [Applause] opportunity first push the button there Tomy that's it first I'd like to thank my my wife and my children and their families for their support during this process and I would also like to thank mayor rodri for his faith in my abilities and I'd like to thank the people of Tom's River who came out to support us I want to make my ancestors proud I've run many businesses in my lifetime and I've worn many hats but this is my first foray into the business of government but I'm a Qui study I plan to do a lot of listening and learning so that every decision benefits the people of Tom's River thank [Applause] [Music] you good afternoon everyone like first thank everyone for coming out I would like to thank all of the people in Thomas River who had confidence in me to represent them as councilwoman and supported me I would also like to give a special thank you to Dan rodri for having faith in me and twisting my arm I do believe my teammates and I will make a difference by bringing back Unity with less Discord to serve the community not be self-serving as the Elder States woman on Council and having served as a board member in an adult Community I have a great deal of knowledge and experience for the needs of our older population of which there are many in Tom's River I hope to bring back services that have fallen by the wayside and in doing so serve all of Tom's River and I also echo echo all of my teammates and our mayor in lessening the building and taking the burden off the people always know my phone is on and I always answer roll call councilman Sosi here councilman Coleman here councilman lamb here councilman nerson here councilwoman OU here councilman quinis presid item nine is the election and Oath of Office of the 2024 council president I'd like to make a motion to nominate Craig Coleman for council president I'll second that a motion is made by councilman nion and seconded by councilman lamb councilman ion yes yes councilman lamb yes councilman seosi yes councilman Coleman yes councilwoman oul yes councilman quinx sure yes item 10 is the election and oath of off I'm sorry o I [Music] will I state your name I Craig Coleman do solemly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey 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 and that I will Fai Y and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office of all the duties of the office of council president Township of Tom's River council president of the township of Tom's River according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me guide so help me guide I'd like to make a motion to nominate councilwoman OU for Council vice president I'll second that item 10 is the election and oath of office of 2024 Council Vice President we have a motion from councilman n with a second from councilman lamb for the nomination of councilwoman ool councilman ion yes councilman lamb yes sorry councilman sosy yes council president Coleman yes councilwoman oul yes yes councilman quinis yes you stand I state your name I Leno do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey 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 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office of council vice president town of tomur all the duties of the office of council vice president at Tom River according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you item 11 is an ordinance of the township Council Township of Tom zver oan County New Jersey repealing chapter 253 of the Township Code of the township of Toms River entitled continued use and occupancy of residential dwellings this is a first first reading then move the orance so move there a second a second a motions made by councilman lamb and second by councilman n councilman lamb just want to thank mayor rodri and our new council members this was a long time coming and again I believe a lot of people in the crowd have known the uh the work that mayor rodri and I put into uh pointing out how fun fundamentally flawed the co coo ordinance has been on our residence and I I thank him for day one 30 minutes into our first meeting to repeal this terrible terrible ordinance so I vote Yes councilman ion yes councilman Sosi I'm going to vote no and I want to State my reasons why um I'm for lowering the fee but not the inspection um a nominal fee of $50 maybe $100 and when this came up uh last year months ago um it was like the real estate people I just couldn't believe it they kept on saying Caveat Emptor let the buyer beware let them suffer the damages or whatever if the house isn't right that has illegal bedrooms illegal garages or you know whatever the electric they they said it's their problem the buyer but it's also a safety problem so I think the town does need it but the fee was too high and the first time we lowered the fee so I'm even I want it even lower but we need the inspection for safety just for the bad apples that take advantage of it so so I vote no thank you councilman quinl I agree a lot with David on this subject I believe uh safety is more important than any other aspect of this ordinance I would like to see it reduced I would like to see somebody go in and maybe uh uh tweak it a lot more but it is about safety and as a volunteer firefighter I have to kind of have an idea what I'm walking into and illegal bedrooms or garage conversions put a lot of people's lives at risk not only the the occupant but uh the volunteers that go in and try and save things so we still have fire inspection now I don't understand we still have fire inspection you have to pay a fee do people have Home Inspection C that's just a just a smoke detector and people do have Home Inspections so listen that that is just a smoke detector and Co detection inspection it's a pretty important inspection though wouldn't you say it does not uh does not call out people for not having eress you should know that my my vote is no council vice president OU my vote is yes and I will give you some of my reasons for it we've had a problem in the community where I live where people have done things 15 or 20 years ago there's two buyers later and the new buyer is being penalized to that he can't buy the house until this is done that's done it it's it's gotten a little bit crazy I am voting yes for the repeal council president Coleman yes item 12 is an ordinance of the township of Toms River County of ocean state of New Jersey amending the administrative code of the township of Toms River so as create a division of Public Works Within chapter 40 entitled division of administration and repeal chapter 54 in its entirety this is a first reading move the or second a motion made by councilman lamb and seconded by council president Coleman councilman lamb yes Council president Coleman yes councilman Sosi I just received this agenda about an hour ago I don't even know what the hell's on there or what the definition is on anything and it was I think is there any rule on this uh Council anybody or clerk is is there a time frame M mros I did call you five five times and five text messages to discuss the agenda but you didn't participate you're right it's not my turn you go ahead okay thank you so I think Council needs uh 48 Hours 72 hours to get the agenda in hand and for the past two years that hasn't been the case Dave for the past two years has been the case that's not true that's not true so um I'm going to go ahead but uh I I don't know what's behind this ordinance but I think it's a separation of uh the building department uh and putting it under Administration here in town and uh I don't think that's a good thing I don't think so I'm voting no on this councilman ion yes councilman Quin o uh uh again I have to agree a lot with da on this one uh I I got the uh ordinance uh the whole package about an hour before the meeting began and it has not been the case that that's always been the case because I've typically gotten them the Wednesday maybe you have but I haven't they post them every week we all had the same email if you don't check it like nobody can help you with that um but I've managed to get them every week and have a heads up on what's going on and I get a chance to talk to professionals and get an understanding of all these things I'm not quite sure what this thing entails either uh but I'm going to just vote uh I'm just going to abstain on this one until I get a better understanding of it Council vice president OU yes moving to the consent agenda all matters listed under item consent agenda will be enacted by one Motion in the form listed below there will be no separate discussion of these items move the consent second a motions made by councilman lamb and seconded by council president Coleman councilman lamb yes council president Coleman yes councilman coy so I can't call out any resolution here and have it discuss what it is that we're voting on how could we vote on it we we just got these things up to President we have a motion a second I need to know there's no option for dates what's the meeting dates how many how could we vote on something we have absolutely no inform on it be it would be false for anybody any of these council members to vote on all this stuff if we have no clue what any of it is nobody has a clue this this isn't the Congress like the Democratic party that puts in an 18,000 page uh uh legislation uh thing the day before to vote on it I mean this most these Dave Dave most these are appointments and are mayor appointments no they're not there's a do business here I would like to know what the hell I'm voting on and the consequences I take my vote sincerely and the gravity behind it but Dave you never called me back I've been calling you for two weeks you haven't called me back you haven't called back to discuss anything are we entitled for roll call vote pulling out some of these issues can we do that I mean you're a little late legal we weren't given the opportunity there's no no call for a roll you either have a yes or no vote no you yes or no would be for everything we have a motion and a second's ation on the floor cannot vote they don't know what the hell is on here they don't have a clue Dave you want read it out loud to you you going read it right now yes tell us about the dates ofc Mr council president point of order council president there's a motion and a second on the floor in the absence of any other motion a roll call is appropriate make a motion that we do individual roll call calls on some of these items we have to make a separate motion for that as of right now we have a motion and a second to move the consent agenda moving to consent will avoid the fact that I want to roll call on specific it you can make a motion for that if you would like Jim you can make a motion if you want to backrack but as I mean ask trying not to backtrack trying not to be run over this is very reminiscent of uh President Biden's first day in office signed something like 42 executive orders and nobody had a chance to do anything with it we have a motion a second on the floor again just I don't know what the dates of the meeting are how can I vote that I agree on them that's just the start the first and how many how many meetings listen both of you guys ignored phone calls for two weeks you ignored it I called the attorney we've all spoken you've ignored it you didn't ask everybody reached out everyone asked you to participate you didn't want to participate now you're creating a show for the public but the truth of the matter is is neither one of you wanted to participate neither one of you returned I believe know when the meeting was beginning of your lying okay because this is your ordinary or your audience right now did you return any calls you didn't return calls they're right here I'll show them to the Press you were called and called and called and called and justup let me interrupt let me interrupt we need to take vot we had a motion and a second we need to take the vote than you it's impossible to inv vote on something that nobody has prior knowledge of nonsense this is not published for the public to see in a timely matter never mind us who have to vote on it this is ridiculous please take the roll call councilman SOS your vote I have a general idea what this is about I could be wrong but um I think the council meetings are going to be only one meeting a month I don't know if it's true or not but from Two and and maybe at a later time because he doesn't want the public here um I also heard that the the the public comment point was going to be reduced to three minutes on that so my question is if are are are these uh new Council people going to take a pay cut for only one meeting a month and their health insurance they're not going to be here take a pay cut I I don't get it so I'm I'm voting uh no I mean there's there's a dozen things on here are so suspicious and and not right I'm willing to discuss with somebody r CL please record his vote as no and move on councilman nerson a vote Yes and I believe the meeting's being moved up so that more people can attend the meeting because the meeting's correct an earlier meeting people are just getting home from work from my understanding that is not a bad thing that is something we've heard from the community they get upset because they really can't attend the meetings we're trying to make that more convenient for you three minute public comment the three minute public comment is so that more people can comment and also that when everybody's had their three minute chance you can come back for another three minutes okay five minutes previously was never enforced and everybody always had an extension of time and they were always allowed to come up two three four times as many times as they wanted no one's saying that's going to change Dave no one's saying that's changing please continue the roll call councilman quinlisk for mayor ran on knowing what the public wanted uh he's already starting to hide things from the public with this type of agenda the fact that I don't know when these dates are and that Mr seosi doesn't know and the fact that somebody who's never been to one of these meetings is going to try and defend the change I I I just don't understand it I have to vote no on all this just just because this is just not right I'm trying to be a team player I understand there's some things in here that make sense but the fact that nobody got to review it is absurd Council vice president ouul yes and I'll give you my reasons also I've sat for 18 years on the zoning board and we have much discourse with the public because that's the board of Last Resort and we have people come up and express their opinions Express their ideas their frustrations but you let someone speak on and on and on and they keep coming back and they say the same thing nothing has changed so this is to make sure that each and every individual that wants to come up and have something to say is able to say it because the time isn't used up over and over again by the same people my vote is yes moving to the elected officials comments yes I'm honored to be chosen president of the Tom River Council I'm also humbled by the support of my colleagues and especially the mayor thanks to them I can look forward to a productive and successful New Year I also want to thank my wife Betty my family my friends and voters for giving me this opportunity I want you all to have a happy and and safe New Year we look forward to working with you in the future thank [Applause] you just just call him out Council vice president UL again I would reiterate what our president has said it's Anon honor to serve as vice president it's an honor to have the confidence of my fellow councilman and the mayor my friends and those who voted for me that don't even know me but read something in the newspaper I hope that we make some changes that are badly needed that we bring relief to the people of Tom's River and that we make life better for all and I again wish everyone a very healthy healthy happy New Year councilman ion first I'd like to just address something that my fellow councilman said I didn't even know this was a paid position so whatever pay cut comes comes I'd also just like to thank everyone who came out in support of us and have a Happy New [Applause] Year councilman Sosi well a lot of promises were made this afternoon and um so I'm just going to go what I recall stop the building how are you going to stop the building in actuality the last four years the building has gone down in Tom's River the applications because I was 12 years on the planning board and I worked my way up to Chairman and I'm the only council person that ever came to the meetings and reported what happened the week before every application that went in front of that planning board I went the day of or the day before the application to talk to the neighbors look at the property what the hell was going on and everything and we did a fantastic job and we never had anything overturned except for one thing and that had to do with Sandy and eight voted yes and I was the only dissenting vote and that came back it came back to us cuz it's Superior Court we got sued on that but I was the only desending vote on that and um and about the village here in Tom's river we got a a damn plaque downstairs uh over 50 years old that uh Tom's River is a little village but it's a burgeoning city they wrote that down there it's for everyone to see and uh the building has been going down down down down the last years from the new master plan the planning board but all our problems come from Trenton they tell us affordable housing what to build where to build it they dictate everything to us you just can't arbitrarily say I don't like that guy that Builder and and and and say no because it's going to cost you a lot of money you know I wanted so much to resign my position here as councilman and yeah Y and and and I know that I was going to let down a lot of people that got me here and everything and I really didn't want to do it but I got a nice little text that I'm next on the way out out the door so that that changed my mind so I'm staying here [Applause] okay and the best part about this job is when we have um the awards for the police officers um the the Eagle Scouts the the you know the Scout Masters the teachers the coaches the firemen the detectives everybody here and the love of the community the support for these men and women they they do a lot above and beyond what it not what it's they're not looking what's in it for them and I only been a counsilman for two years but I grew up in this town I know this town like the back of my hand and I talk to everybody every day business people citizens downtown and everyone is deathly afraid and and I've been to all the events in downtown schools games and the cagi uh um you know the the hearings on there I saw every councilman there even you Justin you were there right the old Council our our teachers they were so eloquent fighting the state a done deal on this but of all these events and all these activities uh you know going to ortley beach during the storms I go everybody goes there's only one person that I never saw at these events there's only one person I never saw at these events I saw you Dave yep [Laughter] so you're easy to spot but I love this town I'm not in it for anything else I try to do the right thing every time I know the gravity of my vote and um I just want to thank everybody and and happy New Year a healthy happy New Year with your family and things and um and and for all the men out there hug your wives your fian your girlfriends because life is so short and sometimes you don't know what happens okay and the reason why I'm saying that I see people laughing here is uh I lost my wife she was 39 years old okay and I had to raise three kids two three and five by myself so uh I know what the hell's going I know the important things in life and what's not important thank you and God bless councilman [Applause] lamb well today I can I can assure the vo and taxpayers in W one and the rest of the town that promises were made and Promises were kept our Republican mayor Dan rodk will always hold the line for you as he did on Council I am confident he will deliver on his vision of small government and work to end runaway overdevelopment that has plagued times her for far too long today this governing body has truly reorganized our Township for success I want to congratulate our newly elected council members council president Craig Coleman vice president lyo TL and councilman Tom nion look forward to working with each of you councilman quinlisk and Choi I look forward to another year serving with both of you we need to view every decision this body makes through the prism small government always while keeping Club politics and her e goes aside and do what's right for the taxpayers mayor rodri I look forward to your Relentless drive and Leadership your noons style will truly lead us forward and I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year thank you councilman quinis uh first I want to congratulate the new Council and I want to especially thank them for making me the uh second formerly the second oldest member to now the second youngest member of the council uh Mr nion uh and Mr Coleman I know you guys have some education I hope that uh that you can grow and learn a lot from what's going on here and I hope that you're uh your your knowledge of the Town goes well beyond knowing that there's a salary for your position here hopefully you're not kept in the dark on a lot of things um I'm not above having a fight with somebody over some of these issues that we have to talk about if anybody remembers our founding fathers they got together in a bar called ton Tavern in Philadelphia and they fought vigorously with each other some of them couldn't stand each other and I think eventually two of them wound up in a shooting duel if I remember correctly later on so I'm here I'm here representing the people I'm here to fight for what the the people want not just one group of people not what one politician or another wants it's about what's right for the whole the town as a whole and uh you know I don't mind having the fight but I don't want to be blindsided I don't want to be lied to I don't want things thrown in front of me last minute that that I have to make a decision on yet I don't have any background information on it so I'm here for the fight but let's make it fair thank you and congratulations again everybody thank you mayor rrick well first I'd like to say that everyone was asked to participate not once not twice we've had people call you the township attorney called everyone there's only so many times you can reach out in fact you know I have it all here so if anybody in the Press would like to see it they can see the number of phone calls and text messages that were made but I'm feeling like we should just move past this as far as blaming Trenton is concerned Trenton did not give a piece of Township property away for one $1 Trenton did not uh give a 30-year property tax exemption to a developer to build two 10 story buildings you folks did and the people rejected that um I don't have really much more to say other than to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year and to tell everyone that they're welcome at the channel marker up in ortley beach after this for food and refreshments do even Dave and I even Dave and you we're all inclusive we'll now move to public comment Mr Coleman you'll you'll recognize people in the public and you you pick who who you'd like to speak thank you there new guy on the Block I'm still learning got L to learn thank you my name is Mark M 53 Mana Road Tom's River congratulations to our new officials 49 years ago I came here for the first time to see our Township government reorganize a 17-year-old teenager interested in government my mom and dad now long gone came with me sometimes it's hard to come back Tom you knew them years later I served on the dis on the then Township committee and twice as our mayor and after that I served as our town clerk it was an honor to work here for over 30 years along the way I studied election returns in our town from we had less than 30 districts to today's 63 Decades of results when we changed our form of government I helped draw the ward lines I can State categorically that the election last year was truly historic in Tom's river in June in the race for for nomination our new mayor he carried 58 of the 63 districts 46% of the vote huge numbers in a four-person race and in November the four of you sworn in today received an unheard of 70% of the vote carrying every District I say with authority that these numbers rival those of the legendary Thomas matthys and the all powerful Ocean County Republican matthysse machine of the 20th century but we're not here today to brag about last year's election but instead to learn from it there is a simple lesson here today you have a very large mandate to govern our town the people spoke loud and clear last year and two words say it all had enough we've had enough enough with these grandiose Pie in the Sky plans to redevelop our historic village enough with tall buildings that would change the face of our town forever in the days ahead I urge you to stay the course don't back down We the People we're with you when the lawyer and the engineers and the developers moan and groan and threaten all kinds of trouble for you and perhaps even lawsuits the simple answer is this 70% you received 70% of the vote last November now our town has turned many times since I came here that first time with my parents a half century ago but one thing has never changed it's in the words of our town motto in Latin homo kitat do indicot translated man thinks God directs so I wish you all the best and remember that as you think for our town God shall direct you and that in the end here on Earth God's work must truly be our own congratulations happy New Year gentlemen in back George Gilmore 15 CR W Drive i' like to congratulate Dan Craig Tom and Lynn on their Victory and the one thing I observe is it was an overwhelming Victory margin and that was in large part due to the hard work and tenacity of Dan rodri we always always haven't seen eye to eye but we agree to disagree when necessary and I think that's what has to happen here the election's over there's no sense in fighting with each other we ought to try to work together for the best interest of the residents of this town I think Dan with the vision he has and with the plan he wants to put in place nobody should just reject it out of hand you ought to listen to the reasoning behind it and realize that the people of this town gave them an overwhelming majority to change things from how they've been done in the past thank you Robert tur molan Tom's River uh I have a challenge for all you people sitting in the audience if you people would come to the council meetings like you do tonight you would know the difference between truth and lies some of you have never been here some of us come all the time sometimes you vote on things that people tell you just because maybe they know you maybe their friends maybe their neighbors but you Mr trola Mr trola I'm sorry to interrupt you but you need to address your comments to the council okay the the people can hear you okay people standing behind me do not know the truth because they haven't been here I'm encouraging everybody here and maybe the council would encourage people to show up to these meetings so they can get the right information which is the reason why we've changed the meetings to 7 o' sir that won't make any difference the difference is nobody cares anyone else yes sir come right forward first formal congratulations to all of you guys because southt T Trevor it's you guys right now 2024 it's you guys yes can you tell us who you are sir sorry my name is Carlos Amur I live in ton R New Jersey now I've been what is your excuse me sir what is your address uh I live in one in the apartments okay thank what we consider the lower end of T Trevor now I am very proud of what we have today we need a change now I am very proud of you guys standing up as well but there's place and time we need to work together to move forward because in the past yes the past is the past we need to move forward for the future for the future of our town for the future of our kids we need to make every decision thinking of our kids kids and how we can make everyone behind us better taxwise and other education me I'm a businessman a special at businessman and I do more for my community than most of the people that you know speak and take photos I don't do none of that stuff so I would like to challenge all of you guys to let's make a great Community where people around our community be like wow that's the town I want to go invest that's the town I want to live because this is my hometown I'm a Dominican and my mother brought me to this town guess what I will never live this town this is my hometown and I would love to make this town where my son and my grandkids grew up and they' be proud of it so please guys mayor once again congratulations ma'am you have my boat when I saw your face so so that made it very easy but guys I would love to invest in my community and invest for you guys as well and please let's make it better I don't want you guys to look out the I want to argue between you guys but let's do in the back room to make a better future for our town and I think you guys are the right people right now so let's try it out 2024 the greatest year of Ocean County and tons River we can make it happen you guys can make it happen so thank you once again guys ma'am come forward St your name and address thank you is a tough act to follow my name is uh BR forsberg and I serve as the executive director for Save Barnette Bay 117 hannes Road Toms River I wanted to congratulate the mayor and the council and let you know how excited we are to work with you as we continue to battle the bad deal at BASF at cagi and so I want to say that I actually enjoyed a lot of the sentiments that were shared by the new council tonight tonight about how we can improve access to the Waterway specifically yourself sir and um make improvements to the edges of the water and improve the Tom's River and let it sing again so congratulations and New Year thank you thank you i' just like to say that I I was sailing sailboats when I was like eight years old on Shark River and raced for uh Neptune Tangi schools and we beat all the northern schools and they were very upset because we were from the WR side of the tracks but that's here or there I also want to say as far as the money issue goes I'm I'm not going to lie I I was told about the money issue and I told Dan and he I'm sure he would agree to this I said I don't care about the money I my wife and I are very fortunate that we are comfortable don't really need the money and I would be happy if if this was actually a volunteer position I don't like getting slammed all the time but I would be happy if it was volunteer so money is not the issue as far as I'm concerned and Tom told you the same thing and and I think I believe that we both are on the same page on that is there anybody else who would like to speak I'm sorry come right ahead come forward please it's your name and address sir thank you Justin Delaney 2140 Church Road um I'll keep it brief I just want to congratulate all the the new members up here and the new mayor um the one thing I came here hoping to see tonight um hoping not to see tonight I actually did after the primary elections we had a councilman councilman chosi make the comment that if Ben councilman Rodrick was to become mayor he would receive zero cooperation from you as a council member and I think we started seeing that tonight and I would like through chair if we get some clarification if that's still his stance and if his stance is to provide zero cooperation to the mayor and the administ Administration he'd be an ineffective councilman and I think he should follow through with what he said earlier and resign thank you council president council president I'd like to respond if if I may sir I'm sorry what was your name Mr app Delaney if I may Dave's comments were not uh that not because he didn't want to support the new mayor it was right after the new mayor said that if anybody doesn't vote for him in the primary that he's not going to work with anybody else so that was a direct response to that that's all so go back and watch the minutes you'll see it councilman Rodrick said he's not going to support anybody who doesn't support him in the primary basically he put out a threat Town one Council I like also to respond because it was directed to me please go ahead thank you so if you recall it was after the primary after the flag day we had a resolution with a 94y Old World War II veteran we gave him an award the proclamation and everything and then later on in the meeting councilman Dan Rodrick then read his speech everything was fine and then he goes if anybody here does not vote along Party Line in November we we will find out who you are and make the appropriate I I I don't know the word he never said that that's false that's a complete false that's no it's not no it's not and it was after that we will find out who you are and I took offense to that I would never tell anybody how to vote I want to clarify then um first of all you can't find out how anybody voted secret ballot you Jersey so I don't know how he would find out how anybody voted in an election but there as my memory recalls is that everyone else in the council said they would work with them except for you you were the only one that said that's true in fact in fact if I remember correctly you want if you want to keep going into the past I remember many of times when councilman lamb had a vote on stuff and was asked to vote on stuff he had never seen before so bringing up saying this has never happened before that's a lie also so we could hash the past all we want I just I want to ask one question and ask you about your cooperation are you willing to give him your cooperation as a council member work with good for the benefit of the town of course I'll vote good for that that's what I want to hear the town comes first the residents come first not me and that's what you should have said back then not who at zero cooperation from all right let's let's end this discussion I think everybody understands both sides of the issue here I don't think we're going to get anywhere if we keep batting the same thing is there anybody else who would like to speak yes sir come back ma'am I'm sorry Dana toolan messenger Street pal River um did you say it one more time I can understand T molan messenger street thank you very much I just want to um Dave thank you for sticking to your guns Jim thank you for sticking to your guns for not voting on something that was dropped on the public five minutes before we walked in the door there was no agenda online all day there's supposed to be an agenda online I also wanted to remind the council that the mayor is actually a guest here this is your meeting this is not his meeting so for him to have Outburst during your meeting is unacceptable and he could be asked to leave I hope to see people at meetings who I know do not attend meetings regularly because I serve on a board where certain people don't show up so with that being said I hope that everybody gets their act together and works a little better together and listens because this is going to be a rough four years if this is how this is going to start out right now and to the gentleman that just came up here um he didn't State his address yes he did um but I was at the meeting where mayor rodri said we will find out who you voted for so it happened you don't want if you don't want to admit it that's fine it happened it's on video go back in the archives and find [Applause] it yes sir welcome how are you uh Dan Kastle 101 Dewey Drive ortley Beach so a lot of you guys up there I know already Mr rogi we're familiar with each other congratulations um I've been coming to these meetings for about three years now um about about 3 years ago two and a half years ago I said that if the town didn't start making decisions that the residents wanted that they were going to vote be voted out and this last election that's exactly happened um I'm asking you guys to look back into your cannabis uh ordinance ban that mayor Hill and the previous Council um opted into um I'm a local resident I've been operating a gifting cannabis company here going back four years a very success f one um you've seen now Lakehurst and southt River both Lakehurst is about to open South TOS Rivers um extremely successful uh besides the corruption behind it um but I feel the revenue you are losing out on millions of dollars so on Friday I'm actually going to jail for cannabis crimes um but I still up here fighting because I believe it's the the right thing to do um my mission is still to open up a dispensary um and my permit will be in with the state and by the time I get out I will have approvals I just am looking for a town and someone up here before brought up 70% of residents voted for you guys well 70% of Tom rer residents also voted yes on cannabis so if you guys are going to be doing things for the people I believe the Canabis committee should be reopened the ordinance should be dusted off adjusted and let's benefit uh from the licenses and the taxes the 2% that the town can uh make Mr nion I believe you're a farmer I'm somewhat of a farmer myself we uh we just happen to grow different things in different way I grow healthy I grow healthy food my my my musle Sprouts are great the stuff I grow help helps cancer patients so um you know there's uh even if it's not with the retail I think there's a spot maybe in in the industrial area Mr lamb I personally know that you have my business plan I know you know it would be successful it's undeniable um if you guys would like copies of it I'm sure he can give you them um but I think this is something that we need to look into in the near future especially with um school budget loss and you're you're we're talking about $5 million in Revenue that the town would be losing out on with by staying opted out because there's like I said before there's no Dome over Tom's River the residents are going to South Tom's River they're going to Lakehurst and bringing it back here we're dealing with this supposed problem that you guys say but we're not getting the resources and the benefits from the extra money we could have from having it in our town so it's here it's legal 70% of our residents voted for the same amount of people voted for you guys probably more voted for cannabis so I look forward to the future um and I may be missing a few Council meetings but I look forward to being back thank [Applause] you anyone else from the community hearing none I'd like to close this portion of the meeting can we take a motion to I make a motion to all in favor I I any opposed take a motion to adjourn the meeting meeting is adjourned so moveed second CL was approve first by Council vice president OU and second in by councilman quinlisk all in favor I I we have executive s no exective okay folks thank you very much have a safe and happy holiday we'll see you at the next meeting very nicely done job man for here that's why I'm here great any questions you have let me know I appreciate that about $2,000