good evening I'd like to call the meeting to order it is 6:03 p.m. this is a regular meeting of the township of Washington in accordance with the requirements of a new Jersey statutes regarding open public meetings notice of this meeting was legally advertised in the South Jersey Times as well as posted on the Bolton board and municipal building fire exits are located through the double doors to your left and right please silence all mobile devices this meeting is being videotaped and anyone who does not wish to be seen on television may be excused this will be shown on Channel 9 every week Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m. and will continue until the next meeting this meeting is being live streamed on YouTube it can be viewed by clicking the link on our uh Township web page please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance plance flag United States of America to The Republic stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all roll call please Mr Delia here Mr deell here Mr Bennett here Mr Brown here Mr Juris present mayor Burns here Mr Russo Mr wendle we going to move on to our presentations the first presentation is a proclamation and recognition of women's History Month be presented to the Women's First Responders of Washington Township if we can have all the female First Responders come up to the front yeah you can stand want stand on the other side as we celebrate women's month I want to take a moment to honor the incredible female emergency responders Among Us your courage dedication and resilience in the face of adversity are truly remarkable in a field traditionally dominated by males you as the remarkable women that you are stand as Trail bra Blazers breaking through gender norms and redefining what it means to be a hero your presence in this m dominated Arena not only challenges stereotypes but also paves the way for inclusive inclusivity and diversity as you answer calls rush to scenes and lend a helping hand remember that you are not only shaping the present but also molding the future the impact of your work extends far beyond the emergencies you handle it reaches the hearts of young girls who dream of making a difference and being future female leaders and heroes in our community just like all of you as a mom to a young adult daughter and a m mom to the sweetest seven almost eight eight-year-old little girl I thank you for being a Living testament to the strength and cap capability of the women in our community on behalf of myself and Council and in recognition of women's MTH we have prepared a proclamation honoring all of you that I would like to read celebrating Women First Responders in declaring March 2024 as women History Month whereas the resilience courage and dedication of women in the field of First Response have PL have played a pivotal role in safeguarding our communities and whereas the courage displayed by women firefighters paramedics police officers and emergency Personnel deserves recognition and appreciation and and whereas throughout history women have broken barriers shattered glass ceilings and paved the way for future Generations in the field of emergency response and whereas acknowledging the significant impact of women shaping the landscape Emergency Services is poont and fostering equality and recognizing their indiv in invaluable contributions whereas the month of March provides a special opportunity to honor the achievements and contributions of women throughout history acknowledging their impact on shaping our world and whereas by designating March 2024 as Williams women's history month we aim to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women in First Response and all walks of life inspiring future generations and now therefore I Lori Burns Mayer and on behalf of the 2024 Washington Township council do hereby proc Proclaim March 2024 as women History Month playing special tribute to the incredible women who serve as First Responders let us commend bravery commitment and dedication to the well-being and safety of our communities happy women's month to each and every one of you here's to celebrating the strength resilience and boundless potential of women everywhere right now I'm going to give you over I'm going to give the mic over to Don he's our liaison to emergency response and he's going to recognize all of you use that one it works I didn't how to turn no this wouldn't work EMTs for our female EMTs present tonight and those aren't that are not present we have Chief ginski um Phoebe Carlin Cheryl Massie Sarah Anderson Allison Bingham Felicia fiser want me to go slower I got this okay Kayla Ludwick Patricia ree Kier dtoo I thought I was going to mess yours up Dominique Evans Meredith Phoebe McKenzie Sambor Nia Volus and Jose or Josie Rivera [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] police officers Officer Christine Schmidt officer Alysa Arnold officer Jessica Walton and Officer Morgan [Applause] ladise and okay uh for our firefighters Bella I'm going to butcher this one C casola okay sorry um Deana Chang Leon Alexandria Fitzpatrick Brianna hurler Destiny mayor Karen Oliver and Deborah W [Applause] Reinhardt mayor and Council Chief dogus couldn't be here tonight but he did ask me to extend to the mayor and Council um his gratitude for the uh Department uh and recognizing the female firefighters and as always we are accepting applications for volunteers thank [Applause] you for [Applause] everyone thank you for your service right okay next can I call up the Wildcat softball team you no 18 okay so this is our 6 to 18u um softball team and Coach Mike has a couple things he want to say last year we had a uh excellent game with the municipals we called you guys uh the day after our opening day which is April 20th this year so our our um that was on opening day it was on opening day right that's right so we're going to do the same thing again this year we're challenging all of you guys to come out anybody who works with the township or for the township is welcome to join these guys uh for the game and then for uh the urgent care afterwards that they needed uh yo I got my I got my technique down here this time any the girls excellent girls super and Peter agreed to play in this suit so I will be wearing it he's going to be wearing this we were thinking about getting t-shirts with the uh suit on it for everyone and you can put your numbers on the back um but we got a sign for the barn so everybody should know where it is now right and opening day is going to be April 20th which is uh we're going to have vendors the whole Community can come out um have the opening day ceremony watch them break a leg um hopefully not we got we have Ashley Paige Bailey Shayla ala Alysa they've only been with us for four years so I know Ashley's over there at slow pitch and Lizzy so last year we we was Ras right whoever the lead loser so we they were our sponsor and and they were our sponsor as well so let's do Reas again this year right so we're ready to go actually we had about what six injuries uh yes we had one before the game even started yes there was a couple couple injuries I was going to bring the wheelchair and the crutches for you say they have them but I'll gladly drop them off or have them at the game I just so you know you know they pulled a fast one on us we showed up we were expecting soft pitch and they did fast pitch so you know some of us older people weren't prepared for it but we're prepared this year so um you like some time in the bar yeah yeah we probably should we probably do practice time we're going to need our own key let's put it that way but you know we accept your challenge we look forward to being out there on opening day um you know this is our team plus whoever we're going to add from the uh Municipal but um we look forward to it so if anybody can make it out April 20 20th um at the Saturday afternoon there's a vendors out there it's a great Festival so come out enjoy the day and hopefully Mother Nature uh participates so thank you all right thank you [Applause] you we'll say mik I'm going to warm the bench well kid thanks all right that's always fine okay we're going to move on to the bill list can I get a motion to approve the bill list for March 13 2024 motion roll call Mr jurus yes Mr Benet yes Mr Brown yes Mr deell yes M Mr Delia yes going to move on to the minutes can I get a motion to approve the minutes for February 28th 2024 motion second roll call Mr YZ yes Mr Bennett yes Mr Brown yes Mr deell yes Mr Delia yes going to move on to resolutions following resolutions are by consent agenda and only require a vote for all listed each one must be read by title if any member of the council wishes to have one removed and heard separately you need to indicate it prior to the reading of the titles does anybody need anything removed and read separately everybody's good resolution 94 resolution authorized the Township Clerk to solicit bids for solid waste and recyclable materials collection and disposable service for the township of Washington resolution 95 resolution cancelling taxes for a totally disabled veteran located 19 Maple Leaf Circle effective November 30th 2023 resolution 96 resolution cancelling taxes for a totally disabled veteran located at 507 Westminster Boulevard effective January 11th 2024 resolution 97 resolution amending resolution 63 cancelling taxes for a totally totally disabled veteran located at 13 regulus Drive effective January 2nd 2024 resolution 98 resolution authorizing a transfer of of budget appr Appropriations resolution 99 resolution authorizing an emergency tempor temporary appropriation of funds resolution 100 resolution adopting a prototypical service agreement for the township of Washington resolution 101 resolution of the mayor and Committee of the township of Washington requesting a six-month extension of time for Award of a Construction contract from New Jersey Department of Transportation for the fy2020 for the fy22 Johnson Road pedestrian Improvement project resolution 102 resolution confirming the appointment of Robert uhara Jr Esquire as prosecutor for the township for the township and authorizing the proper officials to execute an agreement for Professional Services for a term of one Year resolution 103 resolution confirming the appointment of Rex J ran Esquire as a public defender for the township and authorizing the proper officials to execute an agreement for Professional Services for a term of one Year resolution 104 resolution in a warning a bid to compell a Construction Inc for alen Road outfall improvements resolution 105 resolution awarding a bid to arak Paving Company Inc for 2023 Road program resolution 106 resolution authorizing the township of Washington to solicit bids for property maintenance services for the year 2024 and resolution 107 resolution authorizing assignment of tax certificate number 19- 0049 to Mr Singh can I get a motion to approve resolutions 94 to resolution 107 motion second roll call please Mr Juris yes Mr Bennet yes Mr Brown yes Mr deell yes Mr dapia yes going to move on to Old business new business and reports Sor with councilman Yus um just want to make mention that um Township was forc enough to get a a bond from the federal government and one of the projects that'll be taking care of are the Lakes out there Spring Mill Lake and Ward Lake dams uh a lot of the con stuents out there have complained over the years about how the water level drops and I spoke with our engineer tonight and that will be addressed so I'll be personally in touch with the residents who've been in touch with me um but that project will go forward that's all I had to report tonight Mr President thank you C Yus councilman Bennett all righty so I'm Le on to the historical preservation so the Old Stone House is having their 16th annual uh car show on April 27th Saturday from 10: to 2 with vendors fun and come out i' like you know more people from the town to come out and participate it's a great event and uh you know it's fun so be there um as usual my concern is and you know I've talked to the chief this week and good job on uh getting people out to make sure that they're aware that they should be following the speed limit and not slow down uh and make sure you're doing the speed limit very very important now also now that it's getting nice it seems like March is the new April where it's starting to get nice now so people are going to be out on bikes kids are going to be out so key thing is to make sure we're looking out for the safety make sure you're driving the speed limit in whatever area are also um stop signs very very important that you stop at the stop sign not roll through it complete stop look left and right go because again a California role doesn't help again uh make sure that you stop at a full stop and make sure for the seniors and people in your neighborhood that you get involved helping them out uh don't forget who who lives in your neighborhood another thing that's happening um is that there is going to be um starting this April uh will be a three-year project to redo 42 and um you know so it's going to be a lot of things for improvement both for uh the businesses economic wise safety wise and again it's something that we're looking forward to to make the town look nice when coming in and making sure it's it's going to be a state-of-the-art for this Corridor for us and that's it for me thank you councilman Bennett councilman Brown just a note from the library March 16th this Saturday they'll have uh New Jersey maker day uh they'll provide supplies to create crafts uh from nature I guess the only thing you have to bring is your imagination uh check the website for further details uh there will be two sessions for prek to grade three 11:00 a.m. to 12: p.m. grades 4 through 12 12:30 to 1:30 so again check their website uh and contact them if you have any questions that's it thank you councilman Brown councilman Della H thank you council president so a couple things one is I recently got to sit down with Kelly Stout who is uh Miss wheelchair New Jersey she'll be at our next meeting she's got a great platform that she wants to talk about we're going to help her with some of some of the uh politicians here in town and some other places where she wants to kind of talk about about her her platform and what she wants to do with people with special needs so please come to that meeting it's going to be awesome get to meet her in person she's actually going for I think Miss wheelchair uh America or USA uh is coming up so she is our from New Jersey but she's going for that at our zoning board we had a couple of issues that came up and the great thing about the zoning board meeting was that there were people on issues on both sides but democracy was at work people came in they both spoke they were so respectful each other they they heard each other out and both sides came together and and hopefully didn't get exactly what they wanted but we could understand each other so at those at those meetings it was great to see that how that really kind of played out our giving train is continuing we recently needed a a car seat for a resident for expected mother somebody donated that so thank you so much if you need something whether it's medical equipment something for a child please let me know people are so giving they have so much to give and and we really want to see that we get that planning board same thing so how can they get you uh items if you need items so you could drop it here at the building in fact that the car seat actually got delivered here uh you could drop it here I'll come and pick it up from you if if it's if you can't bring in here I'll come and pick it up just let me know our phone numbers are right here in the front our emails are there please just reach out like I said it's really working out so well people are getting things that they need and if we don't have it we we'll find somebody else who has it and we'll pick it up we'll get it for you uh planning board same thing we're very busy at the planning board uh Jay petrang is in the back he could tell you we're we're we're very busy a lot of great things coming to town so please continue I know people have a lot of questions if you have questions about what's going on please reach out let us know last couple things congratul to the women tonight for women's History Month I also want to include the women of this building we have some of the best people working in this building the women in this building are amazing from clerk's office to Public Works to the mayor's office to our tax office it's amazing and an honor to work with all of you every day um and all of you that the way that you work and the way you keep this town running is is truly amazing want to include my wife uh and my mother-in-law my mother in there as well and the last thing is you might be driving around town you might be seeing the flags that are out there that's being put on by the Knights of Columbus and also the Tri-State veterans fund and it stands for the 22 veterans unfortunately take their life by their own hand every single day it's a staggering number we're hoping to get that number down one is one too many but uh that's what those flags are so anyone who sees that please understand what what that is you'll be seeing that move around town on different township different township properties trying to get the message out unfortunately I know someone recently that was a friend of our family he was a veteran who just took his own life so it's very real it's very sad we have 18 million veterans in our country so this is something that we we definitely need to pay attention to thank you thank you councilman Della uh Mr rendles um if you want yeah so uh we received an email from a resident uh questioning our process and what we are required to do for an ordinance um not just introducing but also adopting so uh Mr wendells can uh yeah for us yeah I'll just lay out the uh the process so of how an ordinance gets adopted uh briefly but uh it's this the process is set by State Statute uh the first step obviously is Introduction which happens at a council meeting uh at which point you can introduce it by title so you can say here's a title of the ordinance that we're going to introduce and from there uh there is an advertisement pasted in the paper which notices the public that there will be uh sorry I should go back that's considered the first reading of the ordinance the introduction uh at that point after that meeting then there's a notice in the uh the paper which advertises the ordinance that the the name by name um and it it advertises the date of the second hearing which would be the next council meeting or another meeting within I believe it's 10 days that has to pass between the uh notice and the uh adop or the second rehearing of a uh ordinance so after that uh newspaper advertisement is published uh the public is then notified again at which point that newspaper advertisement also gives the public an opportunity to uh come to the municipal building if they want to learn more about the ordinance they can uh they can do that uh and then the The Next Step would be a second reading uh at that point um there's a spec at the second hearing it's a specific meeting for the ordinance it could be part of a a a regular council meeting but there is a specific time slot that is reserved for the public to comment about the ordinance um so they're allowed to have their voices heard and this must be done before the council can uh you know take any action on the on the ordinance um after that public uh hearing period at the second hearing has concluded the council can then consider the ordinance they can amend it they can uh you know they can vote to approve it they can deny it um and then that's the that's the extent to it with the council um so let's say they do pass an ordinance then the next step would be there's a notice placed in the paper that the ordinance did uh pass and it is effective immediately some ordinances are there's a waiting period but most ordinances are effective immediately upon uh notice in the in the newspaper so that's just kind of the general uh timeline of how an ordinance ordinance process works um happy to answer any any questions anybody has up okay thank you Mr Russo thank you Mrs mayor uh yeah I just want to um let the residents know that next week March 18th through the 24th is fix a leak week and this year the Washington Township mua is offering free Leak Detection kits to Washington Township residents um they could be picked up at the MUA building at 152 Whitman Drive between um 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or in our building Lobby here um between 8:30 and 4:30 and we'll have this notice up on our Facebook page and I believe it's already on our website but I'll double check that um but it's next week and uh leaks can run but they can't hide like that and the other thing is St Patrick's Day is Saturday or Sunday and um um I wanted to remind the residents that we have that Washington Township saves lives Uber program that they can use that is a nonprofit organization fully um funded by donations from businesses in town um so you know don't drive on Sunday and use Uber that's it thank you Mr Mayor um just touch on the St Patty's Day thing I actually had a little notes on that it works if you live in Township and are in Township at a local establishment but take advantage of it um like the mayor said it's a great program it's sponsored by the local establishments and it's something that the chief um spearheaded so uh thank you chief for keeping our our streets safe um I want to thank all our First Responders for being here um want to recognize the ones who couldn't be here uh Duty called where they had to go to a call um you know we're we're grateful for everything they do um especially this month um for National Women's month um I want to thank the wild cats for coming um you know that's a fun thing we started last year um hopefully breas of su will sponsor us again um but it's a great time so if anybody can get out it's it's fun uh it's a fun event to participate with some of our youth sports so it's actually a really good time um and you can see uh red she had 15 hit spatters last year so um I think somebody's going to call dios on if the kids were any smaller nobody else but it's great event so it it it's something nice to do and um you know and I get to to see um you know all my uh fellow co-workers in a different light and and and it's great to see everybody like that so I look forward to having uh Joe and mayor uh join us this year um the rabies clinic was a great success uh thank you to the clerk's office for handling it I know uh councilman Bennett was there working all day um I'm sure a couple other councilmen got there unfortunately I wasn't able to make it but it was a great event so thank you for all you do uh you guys do a great job in the clerk's office um we have a shred event for Township residents it will be held on April 6th from 9:00 till noon in the parking lot of the municipal building there's a limit of four bags or boxes per car paper clips and Staples are okay but no binders or binder clips uh the old Stonehouse will be holding its 15th annual classic car show on Saturday April 27th from 10 till 2 more information and the registration form can be found on the website we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy all proceeds will be used toward the Stonehouse res uh restoration project all dogs in the township are required to be registered and vaccinated please stop in the clerk's office to register your dogs for 2024 the primary election will be held on Tuesday June 4th the deadline to change your party affiliation is April 10th the deadline to register to vote is May 14th and fors could be obtained in the clerk's office going to move on to public participation please follow the public deorum posted which has also been attached to the public agenda and limit your comments to five minutes once you have completed your comments or questions please take a seat I will then ask if any member of the governing body or their designate wishes to address your comments or questions asked by the person who just spoke can I get a motion to open to public participation motion all in favor I we're now open to public anyone who wishes to speak please St uh come forward um if not we get that work it's automatic automatically works I you want to try one of the ones on the table thanks bar good evening members of of council Madame mayor um I have just a brief comment I appreciated the explanation of how an ordinance is adopted and I do have one recommendation to make and it's something we've talked about for many years which is that although ordinances and resolutions are available for people to see in the clerk's office during specific intervals they really it we all benefit if they were posted on the website and I would think as soon as they're introduced ordinances could be posted so that the public who's not available to come to the clerk's office during normal working hours would have the ability to review the ordinances before they're adopted just a recommendation thank you thank thank you Vicki um Mr rends you you want to answer answer that question yeah um yeah I think that's uh with the the ordinance as I explained the ordinance process there's a lot of notifications and different points where the public is notified um you know by the statute uh and by our guidance to the uh to the the township and the clerk so far uh you know it's been ours our guidance that you can interiew introduce uh ordinances by title uh which means that the full copy is available at the second reading but uh I do understand your point right we will make every effort to make it available as soon as possible um if somebody can't get to the building um they're more than welcome to email the clerk or any one of us to get them a copy um like Mr rendle said um we do our best to do it but it's not going to happen every time but we will try to do it every time if possible thank you appreciate it I think it just encourages more public participation and information on the part of the public about what's happening thanks thank you for your suggestion thank you Vicky anybody else wishing to speak hello Council hi my name is uh Tama Wilkerson I have um lived at 2058 barnesboro road for about over a year and a half now and um it's a lot with the wash and Way Apartments and the facing of their their front yard their front door is facing barnesboro which they continue to park on the no parking and I have reached out numerous times to um the police um I have also um had um the the um speed limit signs constantly out there and um you know it's a problem they're um I have video they're doing urns it's very dangerous um I saw a lady almost get hit because she was parked on the side and she kind of got out the wrong way just it's a lot and then I mean approaching the summer it even gets worse I saw a wedding almost out front and it was just like I'm serious it was like so much and I see buses Park and no parking because that's their front so it's encouraging a lot of negative things and I don't know if we can reach out to a landlord to see if they could put a fence up or redirect I mean it's it's a problem and um I I understand uh place they're busy I do understand that they do ticket but because they're not doing it consistently and it's the same houses the you know Apartments they live there they're inviting their friends there and you know whether you know people knock on their doors in particular or whatever or you know we really Polie you know really focus on that heavy it's not going to be a change and I have two autistic children um you know um I am I did put in for um uh an Autism sign so I'm doing as much as I can to make sure that that um area is different M can you leave your number with our Deputy clerk Barb and we'll be in touch with you I have it you have okay we'll be in touch we'll talk to zoning talk police mayor figure out how we can um you're the autistic sign has been forwarded to um our public works department along with the police with um the chief secretary so that is in process thank you isn't it true that a lot of the people if there's overload of parking they Park out on the it doesn't seem that way doesn't seem that no not at all it's the same people and um you know based on parking I don't know based on the capacity that should already be figured out and it was just a very poor design um I totally feel that they should do something where if where their patios feel like it's a little bit more of an enclosed space they won't come go up the hill I've seen people fall trying to get up the hill it's very dangerous and um something should be done I mean you know rent rates have gone up I'm sure they're doing fine and I'm sure they can put some either dense bushes that are about 6 feet tall or you know some kind of fence or gate or something that's going to reduce that especially between barnesboro and Hamshire of yeah okay all right thank you thank you thank anybody else from the public wishing to speak seeing none can I get a motion to close to the public all in favor our next council meeting is scheduled for March 13 2024 at 6m can I get a motion to adjourn hold on Far let's try that again take two next council meeting is scheduled for March 24th 2024 at 6:00 27 27 how come mine doesn't say that yeah your say 13 yeah I know I would take it again hold on I didn't know how to do math tonight right so the next council meeting is scheduled for March 27th at 6 PM can I get a motion to adjourn all in favor meetings adjourn