[Music] pledge to the flag things that we have tonight I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America the for it stands one nation God indivisible withy and jusice for all I ask that we all stand for a moment of silence uh we endured some political violence over the last uh couple of weeks and let's just pray for our country and and pray for those who uh protect our country notice requirements of the open public La have been satisfied concerning this meeting on Mr to Star lger posted the annual notice on October 6 2023 was posted on Municipal bulletin board and should be so noted in the minutes of this meeting councilman Bower councilwoman Deus here councilman farara here councilwoman mlla here councilwoman man here councilman Patel here councilman small here vice president Spiller here and president Anderson here can I get a motion to approve the minutes from July 9th 2024 motion second questions or comments All favor I I opposed I have beginning with second reading ordinances this evening we have one up which is letter A on your list this is with regards to the lease of search property known as 267 East Smith Street in Woodbridge proper can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have it public hearing is now open on letter a letter A only good evening everybody property East Smith Street is the part of kby area or is that one over here in the Woodbridge no this is East mid Street in Woodbridge is the Mount Carmel property okay and may ask what's going to be used for it's going to be used for another ourhouse which is a a place where special needs adults 21 and over can continue their educational experience after they no longer can attend Township Schools and they get job training entertainment uh meals all kinds of things it's a great facility there's one in Cyprus now and we're so good we wanted to do another one beautiful great thank you any other comments on on letter A hear are no other comments on letter A can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments from councel all in favor I I oppose I have it Mr President you have 45 resolutions before oh I'm sorry ordinances on first reading you have nine ordinances before you for first reading I get a motion that these nine ordinances pass on first reading published in the home News Tribune on July 26 2024 with notice of public hearing be held on August 6 2024 at 6 p.m. motion second any questions or comments from Council yes uh Mr Mitch I'd like to abstain from letter I so noted any other comments all in favor I I I oppose I have it and then Mr President resolutions you have numbers 1 through 45 cut again a motion that to be approved by consent motion second any questions or comments all in favor I opposed I have thank you okay we will now go into our public portion of the meeting um we just ask uh that when you approach the microphone in the uh marked off area please state your name what section of this Township or state that you live in you'll have onetime opportunity to speak up to five minutes uh I will give you a reminder when you have 1 minute remaining uh if you are planning to video tape you must also do it um behind the marked off area we just ask that you be respectful of one another and please be sure that there are no signs or posters in the aisles for safety purposes and um uh and that's about it is anybody would like to speak tonight are there any comments from the public again A J you know talk about that hungan property isian Church b car I think it's a great idea but people especially lately uh they B asking kind of concern in case of really emergency uh what would they to do besides calling the town hall or behind is there any place that we automatically know to go for some kind of safety without calling police or calling something like in Europe we do have a if was a bomb shelters or it's a whatever call it uh do we have such a thing in good for any any place that people were make could know know where to go uh not wait for answer not to be know misguided that's that's the thing because any kind of especially lately all over the world there a kind of hot spots we don't know I it would be really good that uh people be able to know question certain emergency where they go to America can afford to I think that's very important another thing uh yesterday I had to go some place and I got behind a train in B over here coming from the guess from ethanol how many I know the speed limit they have to do they have to go but how many uh cars I mean are they allowed to actually pull behind the train uh that's my question I know people are complaining see one uh my curiosity is because i c in 94 and I was already late 94 eal I guess the empty cars going to 35 over here and I believe that's probably we all always up to 35 over here and my question would be is there any I know the speed limit is one thing but is any number they only allowed to pull behind the train that's that would be my my uh question train parking that is hone train parking what how many cars I got the 94 I believe it's the train that goes to the train yeah he wants to know how many cars it can oh how many train cars train cars okay what you meant I you know a chemical I I think that question will probably be better suited for New Jersey Transit that we would probably have to find out how many cars they would allow or you talking about the um the the TA I'm sorry councilman uh president sorry uh I believe Mr varar is talking about the train tracks North Southern Conrail the one on Blair Road rway Avenue St George Avenue and boy Avenue um as councilman small will know this with the trains behind in the area of his house they're all governed by the F the Federal Railroad Act I think we have all sat in the third floor addressing it's just the other day PD had to go out because um the con train just stopped they stopped they blocked roow Avenue and they blocked Blair Road um we reach out to them we let them know our concerns but that's what he's talking about but as of now there has been no um no restrictions um I apologize for not understanding your question but um as councilman uh Council vice president Spiller pointed out that's something that would be federally regulated by uh Conrail well I I know I did talk to people before I know they limited to go certain speed and I know they limited to go certain I number but they limited how many cars they can pull especially what kind of material P so that's 94 was what you counted I counted 94 it was more before I got it 94 just a sh here so that's a lot lot of lot of stuff it is thank you are there any other comments from the public this evening Paul lond hope La I understand that the casby fire department which had been slotted for redevelopment for a couple years now that the developer pulled out of their commitment I was hoping to find a little bit more about why and if uh is it because of the economic Times we're in is it likely to have a replacement developer and is the firehouse still a viable entity are there enough people volunteering to man it I guess at this point second question has to do with a lawsuit I understand I think it's from our municipality towards the water company because of the uh I guess high amount of forever chemicals I've even heard that there's been some problem or or a word that arsenic has been found at some level um is the water safe for Woodbridge Township residents and of course for the pets of Woodbridge Township residents and what is the status of the lawsuit and the last question I have for tonight is that I have noticed some people who appear to be homeless both sleeping on benches on Main Street um sleeping in the entr entrance way to the post office is there a hotline that we have for people that need help shelter counseling psychological evaluation and that's all the questions I have for you well thank you for your your questions um regarding um casby fire department I'm going to uh defer to the mayor on that one uh right now council president the project is on hold uh they're have having some issues that um it really can't be discussed but the fire company maintains its viability they're still going strong and they're still doing what they have to do and there's been no changes to their operation at all okay as for the water company I've never heard the word arsenic in a sentence with Woodbridge water I don't know where that came from middle sex water or middle sex water yeah I've never heard that as far as everybody here knows everything is safe they had the issue a while ago with the forever chemicals many years ago that's been fixed they made improvements to their plan and I know of no reason why anybody should be concerned about the water there was a lawsuit started but when they made the changes that they were required to made I wouldn't say it rendered the lawsuit moot but it made it less impactful so although it may still be out there it's not something we deal with day to-day and U regarding the uh homeless hotline um is there such a hotline who who would I call if I see folks that look obviously in need okay and if it's someone that you feel wants help or that you're just going to call because someone looks homeless to you well yeah that and not just I mean laying with with a blanket and and having a look of not having had a decent bath in a long time in the in the entrance way to the post office okay if I even suspect it I think reaching out saying something would be better than trying to ignore it absolutely president if you don't mind so so yes to to your answer Mr Lun we we do have uh response facilities available uh through Michelle Morgan Allison wisuki uh they do come out and and the Woodbridge Police Department they work in conjunction with each other they do come out they visit with uh any of the homeless that they identify they register them uh for an opportunity to find a bed for the evening uh and we have um we have agreements with local communities to house those folks overnight as well as the community a group called coming home and there's a number so from there is okay thank you thank you are there any other comments this evening good evening this is my first time coming to a board meeting it's quite what you're saying but I am here because I want to just thank could could you state your name and and where you're from my name is GA Benz I live in the sea Warren District of Woodbridge I live on Le Woodbridge Avenue and I came to Sharon with some concerns about the sea war and Waterfront after July 4th there seemed to be a lot of rubbish that came up on the beach and ever since a lot of the new apartment buildings have been built in woodb there is a lot of new people down on the beach and they were building with the wood they were building like little TPS and Forts and a lot more had brushed up onto the water I showed her pictures and she did a great job by going down and having the township clean it all up and I was there last Sunday and all of the regular SE War people were very happy they were very excited they were able to get on the beach they were able to walk their dogs on the beach and there wasn't a bunch of wood and rubbish all over the beach so if it could be kept up that would be lovely and we just want to stay nice to and just let you know that everybody was very very happy that she did it and it with her thank you very much for your comments yes and my daughter wrote her a letter by order uh Ken and Lily they wrote her a letter as well when they saw it through the winter to ask her to clean it up and she was able to get it done so appreciate you coming in yes veryy but on a second not I have so now that we have the beautiful brand new Tiki Bar on the end is there any way in the future that you'll put up like a speedy trap on Woodbridge Avenue to see how fast the cars come up and down that road because but we don't like to call it a speed trap but we radar yeah it would be nice we will monitor from now maybe until September you can kind of gagee of all the new people coming in and out of SE more especially on the boat slip there's a lot of people that go down there and there's a lot of people that fly down that road and we're just so no one buys pull the board into the boat slip but that a much anytime we do have a new business our police department is very mindful of that and um being that that is not a um a a high traic uh area um if that becomes a problem or or something that um needs to be monitored our police department will come out they usually set up the uh reminder or like the digital uh to show your speed that you're going um but um well it has nothing to do with the tiki Bo that road okay it has everybody going down on Woodridge Avenue to go to the boat slip to get their boats out okay and to visit the Waterfront and the pier there's much more traffic we'll keep an eye on that area though yeah all right thank you council president um thank you for giving me that uh credit but really all the credit goes to DPW thank you George brew and your crew they're the ones who go out there clean it up they're the workers who do it and they do an excellent job and I appreciate everything that they're doing to keep the seaw war Waterfront clean and uh thank you so much I appreciate that are there any other comments from the public this evening here another comments can I get a motion that the public comment portion be closed motion second all in favor I I opposed so move we go to the agenda okay I will begin with mine and um I first would like to uh let everyone know that the fal sport registration I mean sad to say that summer is halfway over but we still but still enjoy it um but fall supports registration full and cheer uh uh Woodbridge Saints and um the uh Woodbridge Broncos their practices begin on August 1st um also uh regarding our job bank I want you to um know that there are other resources on our website if you type in uh jobs in the search bar we'll take you to a Woodbridge Public Library um resource or link where um you can get what what is known as reference Solutions which has over 20 million businesses that are searchable by name industry and geography and size you also can go into the Ferguson career Guidance Center and there's also the pet Peterson's career test uh career and test prep and then lastly it'll also take you into LinkedIn learning which has over 4,000 career courses of video courses um that help you become an expert in any of the hundreds of topics of uh popular and uh popular software tools that you can use when it comes to searching for your career I'm going to hold all the way down to um item number seven NAACP I do want to acknowledge um city of peroy in Middle sex County Arts uh Institute um for their recent um uh mural that they did in uh Washington Park of the great Brian Taylor who was a product of peran boy 1969 class went on to Princeton University and then went on to the NBA and had an illustrious career Brian lives in Los Angeles but gives back to his community a lot uh he um is presently working on a summer of a lifetime where he sends 50 kids to Princeton University for for two weeks at very low cost um but they did a mural um the arts institute did a mural on the two basketball courts that were named after Mr Taylor and uh last Friday they had an unveiling of it and it was phenomenal um it's great you know I try to tell my kids all the time uh who he was um they know names like Magic Johnson and and Kareem Abdul Jabar and I was able to show them an article where Brian outscored both kareim and Magic Johnson in a game um when the San Diego Kings played uh the Los Angeles Lakers so kudos to uh middle sex County and the arts institute and also city of per Amoy for that um I want to go into um middle sex College um if you go on to Middle sex uh middle sex College uh middlesexcc.edu you can talk about your uh middle sex College future you can find there are links where you can find the program that is right for you how you apply to the college and how can I afford and pay for the college and what can I study um I happen to be a board member for Middle sex college and and I also attended there um it's it's a phenomenal Jewel we just had our um councilwoman's son graduate from uh middle sex College this past year and he's now headed to on scholarship to Columbia University and this is not the first time in last 3 years um uh we've had uh several students leave um middle sex college graduate and go on to um the ivy league so um just want to congratulate um all of those students but I also want encourage you uh if you're looking for Education that's a great place to start um going into our local opportunities I wanted to make sure that you knew that the wick companies has job postings um Woodbridge Township School District is definitely looking for substitute teachers uh going into the next year uh you can have 60 college credits or if you are enrolled in a class you can have 30 college credits and you can become a substitute teacher so all you have to do is be enrolled in one class and have 30 college credits and you can be certified as a substitute teacher so um and and they pay very well um some of these schools are paying about aund anywhere between $125 and $170 a day U to be a substitute teacher um New Jersey Transit middle sex College uh are advertising middle sex college has a 911 dispatcher uh position available um United States Postal Service Grapevine Pro and you can also become a Woodbridge Township auxiliary police officer so please take a look at that website um and just type in Employment Opportunity Center on the township website there are plenty of uh opportunities for people that uh for companies that are looking for um you know looking for Woodbridge Township residents and as the mayor pointed out before our house is hiring they're looking for an area director a site manager assistant site manager and um direct uh support professionals so there's plenty of opportunities if you're out of work and you're looking um please check this site out first and also look for those resources that I mentioned if you type in the word jobs in the search bar I'm going to move on to council vice president Spiller thank you council president Anderson item number 13 School four and five um constructions ongoing at school four and five phase one which is the addition to school 5 will take place over the next 12 months residents should be aware that the parking lot will be closed off this also includes the pedestrian entrance from St Andrew into the school parking lot rest of my agenda is in or council president I just like to say one thing I'd just like to offer my sincere condolences and ask that the residents do the same for the family of Hank Incognito longtime owner of avanel Pharmacy Hank passed away suddenly last week Hank was Hank was more than just a business owner he was a pillar of not only the Township community but especially Avan out when school 23 needed backpacks H gave gave me a check in seconds when avanel Middle School needed a new new band instruments Hank gave me a check in a second when school four and five needed assistance for their field day Hank gave me a check in a second I'll never look at the 17t Christmas tree we display at the avanel Arts avanel Firehouse every year without thinking a hank when Mr Mitch and I approached him about the idea of supporting the tree Hank offord to Pur of the entire tree and in typical fashion Hank had me do all the check presentations he never wanted accolades every time he said I just want to make sure the students and residents are happy Hank was an honorary member of the avanel fire company and there are no words to express the level of support he Contin provided to us Hank was so much more than a business owner he was a genuine friend to me Mr Mitch and so many others and he will truly be missed thank you Debbie God Bless America thank you council president very sorry for the loss of uh Hank and and for all of those in avanel and his family um move on to council M Cara thank you council president rest in peace har um a couple of things on my agenda first at the Woodbridge Community Center they do have a personal training program and there's a promotion there for a special price for the rest of this month so we have about a week to go uh if you're the type of person that needs a uh or likes a trainer to guide you through a work out now is a good time to get in there at the ground level um we had to postpone our pizza run back a week ago because of thunder and lightning in the area it is rescheduled for July 31st which is a week from tomorrow uh you can pick up your race packet or you can register for the race on site starting at 5:30 the Run starts at uh 7 and it's a 4 Mile Run uh you can also register on runsignup.com and then just querly seor also in the world of Health and Wellness the all over town now our Senior Olympics uh packet is out the Olympics are on September 6 7th and 8th and you can go to NJ seniors olympics.com and register online there's a a good price structure for Woodbridge residents because we have been the host for a number of years that's all I have council president thank you thank you Council M small thank you council president number 18 on my agenda autograph signings at the Woodbridge Brewery on July 28th New York Mets Jose Quintana 6 to8 August 4th uh Orlando Hernandez L duuk um that time is 5: to 7 and on August 5th Yankee summer bash Tommy Cain Clark Schmidt oswal Clark Luke Weaver and Jose travina and that's begins at 5:00 pm if you're interested please call 732 977 9481 or 73263 42929 that's all I have this evening I ask if you don't mind I need to be excused to go sell 50/50s up at the concert tonight all right thank you next SL councilwoman deesis thank you council president item number five police community relations I just want to congratulate our Police Department on a successful Junior police academies the last two week I want to congratulate the parents and the gradu again it's one of the best programs that I think we offer for youth in our Township if you don't know anything about it reach out to us next year um around this time so that you can enroll your child item number nine the baron Art Center has two programs coming off August 5th at 7:30 p.m. they have Beginnings the American IE Dr Stefan applin the first lecture is an American art Series begin begins with the early lers of American art like rer fake and John S simmer then moves on to William duml from peran boy who would Chronicle the early years of Art and theater in America and John Copley the first truly American artist who illustrated The New American Spirit again that is presented by Art historian Maran saloda reservations are essential callot 732 634 0413 for more information on August 17th at 400 p.m. Jazz poetry Coffee House readings the coffee house readings present a variety of music and poetry celebrating a diverse group of local poets and musicians sharing their work in an engaging and exciting atmosphere this is at the Von Art Center on August 17th at 400 pm. the feature readers are Susana Rich Ross Peru Deborah laa with live music by Evan laa and Jake Ortiz it's free admission and this will be at the Bara Art Center on August 17th and item number 10 the free public library has a free job Readiness classes for ESL students which will begin the week of September 9th at the Woodbridge Public Library ESL conversation groups beginning English classes are offered in all Library location and new to this year is High School GED um classes which will be held at the main library Paul Katherine of litery New Jersey at 908 4861 777 entrum 403 to register for classes and again this is for anyone that um is learning English as a second language and become a tutor or make a difference ESL tutors trained by literacy NJ works with small groups of adult students once a week for two hours contact Barbara at 98 486177 extension 400 to sign up um to become a tutor and they also have your schedule their program you are here A New Jersey travel guide featuring Carrie Sullivan editor of New Jersey fan club artists and writers celebrate the Garden State for Wednesday July 31th at 700 p.m. in the main library meeting room that is all that I have thank you thank you Council have thank you council president I just have one announcement tonight um just a reminder the Colonial Family Day uh barbecue and whiffle ball tournament will be held on August 3rd um if you want to play if you want to put a team in we need to get the teams together by next week um you can reach out to 732 38227 three it is $20 a person and if you don't play withle ball we welcome you to come to the picnic and have a good time with the community or proceeds will be donated to um a young woman with cancer um from town and also I know um Hank started out with Colonia Pharmacy and he was absolutely beloved in Colonia too before he left Colonia Pharmacy and he went over to Aban and he will truly be missed was a pillar of the community so our hearts and prayers are go out to his family his friends that's all I have Council Patel yeah thank go uh I have one announcement for tonight uh uh the Indian the Indian Business Association is organizing its annual India's Independence Day Parade on oi Road in Ean on Sunday August 11 2024 the parade will start at 2 p.m. from the intersection of Cinder Road and oi Road in Addison and will conclude at India square on okri Road near the intersection of Maron Avenue and o Road in isin there are going to be some Road closers due to this parade oi Road from Wood Avenue to cor Avenue will be closed to traffic from 2:00 p.m. till 400 p.m. also Oak Road from Cora Avenue to Middle SX Avenue will be closed to through traffic from 2:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m. due to the parade expect increased traffic and potential delays in surrounding areas please plan alternate routes to navigate through these areas and follow the appropriate detours our Township Police Department will assign appropriate number of police officers to assist with traffic Management in these areas please make sure to follow the directions given by the Township police officers for a safe and a smooth experience thank you for your cooperation enjoy the parade and have a great evening that's all for tonight thank you thank you Council Council mle thank you council president I just have one announcement today to remind everybody that uh the farmers market is on Saturday starts at 9:00 in the morning in our Park Press park there is uh parking across the street in the Berkeley parking and there is an officer there to help you cross the street that's all I have today thank you council president thank you Mr Mitch uh thank you Mr president under number one letter A we'll see that next week before you for approval on a personto person liquor license transfer you'll likely see b as well if I get one more item that's needed um and just a reminder we're going to retire enter executive session as soon as legal is done with their Agenda app thank you uh Mr simuk director thank you council president my uh my agenda is in order this evening thank you appreciate um uh director hub all right Director D thank you counil just okay director Brew thank you council president two items number one is the release of the maintenance bom ex Township improvements project and second change order number two main street than appreciate it legal nothing see council president with that said Mr President like to present a resolution which will become number 46 which is uh under Section 8 of open public meetings Law chapter 231 to permits the governing body to go into executive session for certain matters so we'd like to excuse the public this this time for approximately 20 minutes to discuss contract negotiations thank you all uh if you'd like to come back approximately 20 minutes uh we're just having a uh private discussion I get a motion to approve resolution 46 motion second any questions or comments All favor I I opposed eyes have it we'll now enter into an executive session okay Mr President we are back from executive session can I get a motion to formally exit executive session motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I opposed eyes have it and I'm going to present to you resolution number 47 for approval which would authorize the administration to execute a memorandum of agreement with local 3044 four with regards to a labor contract can I get a motion to approve same motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have okay motion to motion second thank