[Music] all right folks can everybody stand please we're going to get started we'll start with the pledge our pledge the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation God indivisible and justice for all let's have a uh a moment of reflection for people around the world that are suffering uh through no fault of their own you know we have wars around the world and we have uh climate issues and tornadoes and hurricanes so let's keep those people in our prayers and thoughts thank you very much notice requirements of the open public meeting of all have been satisfied concerning this meeting the home News tribun Star Ledger published the notice on November 25th 202022 it should be so not in the minutes and was also posted on the municipal bulletin boards councilman Bower here councilwoman Deus here councilwoman moli here councilwoman Manan here councilman Patel councilman small councilman Spiller vice president Anderson and president for Cara thank you Mr Mitch excuse me one second when we go into the ordinances would you be so kind to make the motion and until uh Council vice president gets here thank you sorry Mr I got a motion to approve the minutes of December uh I'm sorry November 21st 2023 motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppos eyes have it beginning with second reading ordinances this evening we're going to start with letters A and B by consent both are amendments to the the traffic and parking first one was with regards to handicap parking on rson Avenue Madison Avenue and Autumn cour and the second is with regards to numbers 28 through 80 Gil Lane in island with that said can I get a motion that the both ordinance be taken up on second and third reading on the public he and be open motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have the public hearing is now open on letters A and B letters A and B only here no comment from the public can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinances be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion secondly any questions or comments from councel all in favor I I opposed eyes Havoc we will take letters c and d by consent these are ordinances amending chapter 11 and chapter 35 with regards to animal control fees and health regulation fees can I get a motion that both of these ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments from Council in favor I I opposed eyes have it the public hearing is now open on letters c and d c and d only good evening Tom Maris fors New Jersey and just taking a BRI aside real quickly I hope everybody had a happy dwali a happy Thanksgiving to our Jewish friends who are celebrating Hanukkah happy Hanukkah and of course everybody looking forward to the uh Christmas and New Year's holidays um with regard to see um as you well know I'm very have been for years very keen on what's happening with our animals and the uh kennels in town can you expand on C and D please to let everybody present or listening to uh this conversation at some future time what exactly they entail yeah I I can give you the quick overview and if it's not enough I'll turn it over to Administration but they're they're both involving uh Mr Maris fees for kennels as they relate to pets the second one I believe is for soil cleaning up uh both under the health department and there it's a fee structure to do these to open up a kennel to have them inspected that hasn't been really updated in quite a few years so when we had a change over in the health department we one of the tasks that we gave the new leadership was to take a look at the fee structure for licensing and the ability to do these things and then re-evaluate and submit it to Administration and then to us and that's why we're that's what these two are they're they're basically licensing issues great because that was something that was needed as we know going back a few years we had problems with pet shops in in the area complaints and penalties and if this is addressing that and it's going to improve it and make sure the quality of the animals that are there and the care for those animals I'm all for it and thank you okay I you know I I think Mr Maris again the it's always been the goal to be to the you know the care of the animals the protection of the animals to add to it a little bit we did take a look at surrounding communities and tried to see where we fit as always we don't want to be the most expensive or the least expensive but we want to provide the service and make sure that we're getting paid appropriately great thank you thank you I'll be staying here because I'll probably have a few more questions that's fine are there any other questions on letters c and d here and no other comments can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinances both be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppose eyes have it letter e is an ordinance amending chapter 24 with regards to fire prevention and this is specifically addressing Zone Mark it's going I get a motion that this ordinance be taken on by second and third reading and the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments from Council Mr Mitch I just want to thank the business administrators office and uh legal for working with the township fi prevention Association on uh updating chapter 24 fi renion thank you thank you any other comments from councel all in favor I I opposed eyes have it the public hearing is now open on letter e letter e only again Tom Maris fors New Jersey just looking for a little expansion on the fire prevention is that um new legislation going forward um or is it going to be retroactive to anything that's current within the township noce how does it affect the buildings Apartments Etc within the township um again it's my let me take a shot at it and then I'll pass it over it's for it's for new buildings and it's in the area of connection for the fire department we we have two firefighters that will probably be better onor for me councilman Spiller do you want sure thank you uh council president uh Mr Mars there's a already an ordance on um on the books where regards to fire department connections uh so any new construction moving forward uh you have to have it um highlighted it has to be visible so while it might be painted yellow at night or snow on the ground it can't be so you need a red light that's why you see a lot of the red you'll see one now so the intent of the ordinance it's specifically uh detailed we can't go around meaning the fire officials when I say we and just arbitrarily say oh you know you've had this Warehouse here for 30 years nothing's changed now all of a sudden put a red light they probably would but you can't do that if an existing building makes any type of sprinkler modifications meaning it's a 200,000 ft warehouse now all of a sudden we're going to put a 300,000 foot addition and piping has to be removed then they would have to do it otherwise for most part it's all new construction okay thank you for the explanation because as you know I'm involved in something that's being developed and was concerned we will make sure that we are in compliance with any such or ordinances are coming out thank you thank you Council comments under letter e here another the comments from under letter e can I get a motion at the public hearing be closed the ordinance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I I oppos eyes have it we're going to take letters f and g by consent both the ordinances adopting Redevelopment plans the first is for Route One area 24 the second is for Woodbridge Main Street downtown are area 8 I get a motion that these ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments from Council yes Council um Mr Mitch yes i' like to abstain from letter G please right so noted any other questions or comments from Council all in favor I oppos eyes have it the public hearing is now open on FNG FNG only once again um Tom Maris for New Jersey just looking for a little further explanation on those two points and uh if I may um I would ask why the good councilwoman is refraining from voting on that one particular how does that affect her is it something that's affects our business in the in the township well I'm not going to answer for her but may I take a shot that she she is a business owner on Main Street and this is in the Main Street Redevelopment area so I think it might be wise to do that but if if I'm missing that councilwoman feel free to add no that is correct thank you but again I would then go to the next step and that is what exactly are these ordinances going to do um that would be of concern um well first of all the the one area in councilman Spiller feel free to jump in is is the Avenel Route One Redevelopment area that we've already designated so now we're moving into um you know what what could potentially happen there and the second one is on uh I believe Fon street but councilman sper or Administration feel free to yeah g is the old Sports Authority then it was Value City Furniture now it's going to be a facility where they assemble and sell electric cars um and H is Fon street from Main Street down to the turnpike overpass which right now is not the best looking part of town by any stretch and that's going to be red develop so that's the two that are on up for discussion tonight so so Mr Maris my take on the first one was incorrect it's not aanl it's actually Island route one right by the cemetery there the old Sports Authority yeah so but the other one was right so I'm one for two go just had here real quick the mayor said about electric cars uh are those going to be licensable vehicles that will have packs on them or is this some other type of vehicle electric I I'm not sure I don't know if I believe it's retail I can follow up and if you want to touch base with me tomorrow or trade emails I'll let you know for sure I believe it's assemblage and sales and the sorts I believe it's retail okay thank you very much are there any other comments on FNG hearing no other comment can I get a motion that the public hear be closed the ordinance will be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by any questions or comments all in favor I I opposed I have it letter H an ordinance accepting dedication of a public access this is with regards the property uh known as epic Palmer's formerly newex property can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hear and be open oh I'm sorry vice president I we're in stereum so we can get second do I have a second all in favor I opposed eyes have it the public hearing is now open on letter h letter H hearing no comment from the public can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have it finally letter i in ordinance authorized the conveyance of property this is with regards to the new senior development uh housing and the for section of Woodbridge can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken upon second or third reading public here and be open sor early motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppos I have public hearing is now open on letter i letter I only all right we own the property and we're given a 10 uh John Woodbridge a letter I the conveyance of the property is that uh all for it's the senior center the Redevelopment of the senior building ol Towers but I mean a conveyance of the property the who's the property right now well the Housing Authority owns oen towers and the redeveloper owns where the new property is so there's going to be a conversion I don't know Council I mean uh Administration I'm sorry yeah we own a piece of land in that area that we're giving to the housing authority to facilitate the construction of brand new senior housing f Olson Towers good thank you any other questions on letter I here know other questions on letter I 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 Council all in favor I I oppose eyes have it we have no first reading ordinances this evening Mr President and resolutions you have listed before you 1 through 35 can I get a motion that they be approved by consent motion thank you any questions or comments from Council Mr M I'll be abstaining from number 35 so noted any other uh comments all in favor I I oppose I have it that's all I have thank you all righty we're going to move into the public portion of our meeting right now um when you're approaching there's a microphone in the back if you'd like to speak you could state your name what section of the town or where you live you have a one-time opportunity to speak for 5 minutes I'll give you a one minute warning if you're going to videotape there's an area out there and for the scouts there these are things that I just have to say uh because it's a public meeting so with that said the public portion of the meeting is open are there any comments from the public this evening good evening again Tom Mars over overwhelmed by all these young voters future voters coming out I don't know did you give them voter registration card yet or um in all serious not I'm glad the young people are here because it kind of speaks to what I'm going to speak about uh or coincides with it and that is school safety I think we're all highly concerned about what's going on in our country right now I know our board of education has taken uh great steps to secure the schools as as best they can without turning them into literally prisons and but in that regard I do have a serious question as you know I ran for the school board so a lot of people come to me ask me questions in the hopes that I will present them either to the Town Council or the school board and this is relative to both and that is we've hired a number of officers essentially I think 24 or 25 are should say former um police officer as far as I know to be one at each of our schools for safety reasons the question goes to since they are no longer active police uh and they do still carry weapons how does that work with the the legal system in New Jersey how are they licensed to carry guns on school property uh I know Mr is probably going to jump in here and I hope you will but let me finish and uh I know that they have to go through as police officer even retired if they want to carry I think qualifications twice a year where the general public if they have a permitted carry would have to qualify every two years and then resubmit do that so the and the third part of that question is what is the liability to the school district Andor the township for having those individuals who are essentially now private security if you will because they're no longer part of the official police force what is that liability and how is it covered those are my questions thank you thank you for those questions director s if you could so uh if you would I'm going to turn that over to Police director hubner but as far as the liability is concerned that would be a question oppos to the board of education on how they set that up so I'd leave that to them as far as how they're licensed director hubner yeah as far as retired officers under the state law they're allowed to carry as long as they qualify through the state police the licensing takes place uh they have to qualify just like a uh sworn officer active sworn officer and as far as permission to carry on school grounds that would come from the superintendent and obviously uh the Board of Education hired those retired officers he's given them permission to carry so ifon your Griff is there superintendent can override a state law that says you can't carry a weapon with within School boundaries for employment purposes but I'll let Mr Nolan the answer to that is yes yes they can override it yes they can they can permit properly licensed people if that's what they choose to for their own security would that be a public citizen as well if I had let's say just for sake of arguing You' have permit to carry the superintendent say yes you can come on school ground the same way a retired police officer again I would address that to the board of bent or our state legislator they were here but okay thank you are there any other comment this evening from the public good evening mayor and council members my name is Shanti tager I'm the attorney with eer Seaman Sharon and mot LLC I'm here tonight on behalf of Mike Michael Alfieri um in the subsidiary which is uh 70 Wood Avenue Associates LP specifically I came to comment on a resolution of support for the Metro Park Station project but I didn't see it on the agenda um if that's the case I'm going to just read um a letter that was penned by Frank patrino another member of my office about that may may I just add I believe that either some of us or all of us got that letter right I know I read that letter anybody yeah we got it okay just so you know we all got it okay this this one that was sent out today it was today it was late today right is that is that the one you're all referring to I know I got it yeah I got it at 4 3 something 43 yep we got it late today well I'm just going to read it out so I can build my time sure yeah thanks you don't mind if take it na and uh you know it's it's really long-winded as you know so when my time is up just cut me off I appreciate it uh dear mayor uh mayor McCormack and council members by way of followup to my letter to you dated November 20th 2023 I write to you again on behalf of alfier 70 Wood Avenue Associates LP specifically I write regarding the council's actions at the November 21st 2023 meeting during which the council adopted an ordinance approving the application for long-term tax exemption and authorizing the execution of a financial agreement with do Woodbridge urban renewal LLC do as stated in our letter the only beneficiaries of that action were NJ Transit and do not Woodbridge nor the existing High vacancy offices located in the metrop park Transit Village that will be cannibalized and go dark through the use of of shortsighted public funds to create unneeded offices on the transit station site as an initial matter we note that while the ordinance technically references the two categories of findings required uh by njsa 40a colon 20-11 these bare recitals fall far short of the accepted standards for granting tax abatements indeed in accordance with the Redevelopment handbook local governments considering the use of tax exemptions should one undertake a thorough cost-benefit analysis of community impact before awarding an abatement two structure pilot Arrangements in a way that considers the interest of counties and school districts three include specific criteria and processes and local ordinances to ensure that abatement structures adhere to appropriate standards to receive approval and four provide information to the public concerning tax exemption agreements in a transparent manner or at a centralized location for the public to review it is indisputable that the township has failed to fulfill any of the forging obligations most egregious of these failures is the Township's failure to consider the impact of the abatement on the existing metrop Park Transit Village this failure couples with the Township's failure to undertake a thorough cost benefit analysis and merely rely on a net opinion unsupported by any facts has substantially prejudiced the ability of the community to meaningfully participate in challenging this ordinance indeed where a tax exemption is sought a municipality should request that the redeveloper Undertake a fiscal impact analysis which should prove that the proposed tax exemption is warranted and makes fiscal and economic sense for the municipality not only does do woodbridge's application fail to contain any fiscal impact analysis its explanation of Need for tax abatement which contains a singular passing reference a fiscal impact is a woefully deficient net opinion the application merely states that because the proposed project site is state-owned property for which the township currently receives no tax revenue the estimated annual service charges at initial stabilization of the project would likely exceed a million doll annually do Woodbridge asserts this represents a very significant increase in Revenue with marginal F fiscal impact costs to the Woodbridge Community whether this untested estimate is accurate or not the suggestion that there will be marginal fiscal impact cost to Woodbridge Community is unsupported and entirely irreconcilable with reality the truth is that the community will suffer severe and irreparable harm from this tax abatement and the do wood bridges passing reference to the contrary is an insufficient basis on which to Grant the abatement while the text of the ordinance touts the generation of Revenue and the creation of jobs among the relative benefit of the project such findings by the council cannot be rationally reconciled with the substance or lack thereof of the application or the project itself indeed the township claims to have found that the project is expected to produce temporary construction jobs and permanent jobs will be created by the tenants which will lease the project your time is up thank you very much I think we got the Gest of it thank you are there any other comments this evening from the public um yeah my name is Amy menel I live in wri this is just a quick um thank you uh the park over by my house was recently upgraded I live uh in the Little League section um the park is on Lyman AV just wanted to say thank you it's not going to waste um especially in the summer because we average about 20 to 50 kids at that Park in the summer so it's definitely going to go to good use so I just want to say thank you for that thank you very much are there any other comments this evening from the public good evening members of the council Char Caville New Brunswick um I wanted to reflect on the past couple years with the uh campaign opposing the plans for another gas power plant in Woodbridge and of course you're all aware by now that uh the proposer of that proposal has pulled it off the table and uh we're very pleased with that I wanted to just you know come here and say thank you to to everyone who did anything to help with that um and I know that uh you know many people who I will never meet or never know sent emails made phone calls showed up at our rallies and marched in the streets with us uh for what we thought was right and I thought it was a really beautiful thing and I've been pleased uh to hear from people who were drawing inspiration from that uh you know Saga and I did uh just want to take take a moment to say thank you to everyone who uh got together and made that happen I think we need more things like that we need more Regular People organizing and fighting for a better future fighting for the um you know the Woodbridge they want to see middle sex County that they want to see and uh really thinking long term uh with uh you know how we choose to spend our time and what issues we focus on um so I wanted to start by saying that I did also want to follow up and and ask about the uh Waterfront Park in casby of course where uh uh I know there's uh uh good plans to to make a public space there and I wanted to follow up I think the last time I spoke at this microphone I was informed that it was supposed to open in November did that happen if not why not what's the what's the update uh it didn't happen we did pass an ordinance tonight that uh allowed for an easement so there can be better uh access to that area but it's coming along nicely I'm not aware of uh any announced opening date Administration uh no council president it's still with the D waiting for approval it's a voluminous application because of the size of the park it's going to be fantastic we've been down there looking at it it's wonderful we can't wait for it to open but it just can't until the bureaucracy goes through its motions and evaluates everything that was done down there to make sure it's okay and they will issue an approve approval as soon as they get are able to so we're at the mercy of the uh state government thank you thank you I appreciate it wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday thank you you too Mr proud are there any other comments from the public this evening uh John that would over there uh I want to go back uh about the police and WBY schools uh which is not clear I thought those would be woodd police only but now state is a private agency I think it's a great idea of course um like the government use them too but what what I'm kind of confused that the school board would decide Can the police have a gun on the Promises or not what's a good of police on a promises if you can have a gun it's useless do you have a police over there to just control the young kids like over here or you have a police there in case of emergency and if comes to emergency you need a gun we can't call help you got to be there present when it happen we see all over the country so I think you should not be uh left up to the any superintendent uh to decide it that this should be a law if you're a police you capable your licensed you train for it to have a gun whenever you go I don't care where you go maybe not in the church but anyway you should go any place otherwise it's just waste of the time and you control the kids but you're not going to control terrorists or some sick people uh I know in other schools for example Lindon I just talk to a teacher today police over there they do car a gun so I don't see why can we just decided by you people if you can do this if you are there because you got to high schools you got to it's a big school system lot of kids and the worst you can tell and people know especially B people the cops do not have a guns on so please uh I got it I mean you put the cops there put a guns otherwise you put guy like me over they do more more work more job uh I want to talk about the uh KB Park I believe there was said the recent meetings that uh it's going to be open next April of uh 2024 and of course it's all up to the DP right Department of protection how do we know they're going to allow that or they're going to a permit to open open the park for example number one number two the warehouse in evanel moris Warehouse is probably finished 6 months ago it's nobody's in there yet what's the reason there was a rush to open the warehouse there and there's nobody moved into the warehouse is the possibility there's again like a school property proper the front of it that we know you canot build a school that it's condemned it's condemned because it's polluted is anything wrong with the site where the warehous is that DP did not approve it or maybe when there's no road to it or something that they cannot open the warehouse and I understand the mayor couple months ago it was convey some piece of properties to moris company there and he did say he doesn't know what they use it for so what's a hold up I mean and other question would be if they're not occupied are they're paying taxes tax like we do on our properties if nobody do that so that's my questions tonight but again most important thing for that you see those young beautiful kids over here we want to safe we want them to know there somebody there watch them there beside the teachers and the mothers and parents over there but please do not live with the superintendent and is not going to happen in Woodbridge but any schools that's why you got a police they're trained for it they know how to do it and Tas fight speak keep them safe thank you thank you I know you have a bunch of I'm not sure of the questions or if you're just pontificating but uh uh council president you take a shot at it I'll take a shot at some of it I know some other people are going to want to take a few steps too first of all police carry guns no one gives police permission to carry guns other than the state of New Jersey our police are in schools regularly they carry guns Mr V return referred to the security officers as a private agency they are not a private agency they are employees of the school district most of them in fact I think all of them are retired police officers some from Woodbridge some from other towns as Mr hubner explained they are able to carry guns they need the permission of the school superintendent to carry the guns on school properties everything he said is police should be able to carry guns of course they carry guns I don't know what he's talking about but he's mixing up the facts our police when they're they're everywhere carry their guns private security on school property can with with permission and they're not a private agency they're they're employees of the district so I hope that clears it up and by the way it's not it's only the grammar schools where there's I believe it's only the grammar schools where there are um the employees that are security guards I think the middle schools and high schools rely on the police department but is that accurate middle schools too middle schools too okay sorry high schools get Town police officers regularly on premises middle schools that was wrong middle schools and elementary schools have employees who are retired police officers who carry the gun with permission of the superintendent so use the right words um second you Corey wanted to talk about the warehouse I'll defer to Corey and I'll pick up pie May if I could just interrupt real quickly and just say and there's a memorandum of agreement between the school district and the police Department uh and it specifically States um who is authorized under the guidance of our Police Department along with the cooperation of our superintendent and our Board of Education who is authorized the training that is required for them to go through in order for them to be able to to carry a gun um in in the schools and and these are typically um individuals they have to go through a specific training that is overseen by the attorney General's office um in order for them to uh be able to be licensed to carry carry a gun in in the school districts um but uh Woodbridge has chosen uh the individuals that they've hired are uh retired police officers they're they're commonly referred to as school resource officers thank you thank you Council vice president Council filler thank you mayor thank you council president uh with regards to 1289 U rway Avenue the Morris Warehouse I'll be quick Mr vitar has brought this up numerous times and he's been corrected numerous times um the property has nothing to do right now with the school property the two separate properties um with regards to him talking about contamination if there was an lsrp at that site it's completely clear talking about two de separate properties uh Mr vatar doesn't speak to the owner of the warehouse myself and mayor Carol Administration does we know what they're doing uh they're the owners and it's provided as long as they adhere to zoning uses you know they can rent to whomever they want if they decide we don't want to subdivide then they're not going to subdivide they're still paying our tax they're still paying taxes every single year so well it's great to have a tenant cuz it's going to bring in whomever it be four three four5 $600 permanent jobs they keep the property clean new pavement new lighting new Landscaping we don't have to worry about vandals they have security to us it's a home run so if they want to wait two years to find their perfect tenant then so be it but otherwise I think I covered it mayor yeah I just the only thing I want to add is Mr vitar used the word condemned nothing was condemned down there there were some issues that were completely cleaned up in fact it was headed for approval as a school from the State Department of Environmental Protection and from the State Department of Education the school board made its own independent decision under a new superintendent than it was when the first decision was made to locate the school there the decision was made to go back to the neighborhood School concept and build on the site of school 4 and five and then knock down I guess at school 4 and build more there so it's following um I guess the Rost Street model of building on site and keeping a neighborhood school that's right smack in the middle of downtown avanel that's the decision they made it was a different decision than the prior board a different decision than the prior superintendent um that's all that that comes down to nothing um was condemned uh nothing prevented the building from going there other than the decision of the superintendent and the board of educ as for the site of the warehouse Mr Spiller is exactly right people build warehouses on spec it takes 2 years to build a million2 square foot Warehouse 18 months 24 months you don't wait for a tenant and say I'll give it to you in two years you build it and you go out and try to get tenants they're looking for a single tenant that's what they'd prefer they want somebody to use the whole Warehouse I would venture to say that by now if they wanted four tenants at a quarter reach they could have rented it but they can do better economically with one tenant in the whole building so they're taking their time they're paying I'm good with that Mr Spiller is good with that Mr vitaro doesn't understand how the economy works and how warehouses work is not good with that as far as the park the park will open when the D gives us approval that's it's that simple when they say it's done it's it's so voluminous the work that was done there and the paperwork that was submitted is feet in the air I mean multiple dozen feet in the air and it just takes time to get through that it will happen it will be stunningly beautiful as a public park we've been down there looking at it I just I'm telling you these Girl Scouts will be on trips the Boy Scouts will be on trips class trips you name it that's how good this Waterfront Park is going to be with trails with hiking with boating with habit natural habitats with u informational uh about informational kiosk about Wildlife you name it it is that good so if we have to wait for the a little while longer it's the winter anyway okay thank you ma'am thank you for your followup sir okay Namaste respected council members mayor and officials of Woodbridge Township my name is D parali and I deide in Island I represent Hindu swam seak s HSS withb chapter as we come to the close of the calendar year I would like to take the opportunity to thank the council members mayor and officials of foit Township for all the support you have provided us throughout the year as I reflect on the year that has passed it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction about the various activities HSS and woodb Township School District jointly executed this year following is a quick summary of The Key activities we started the calendar year 2023 by hosting a yogathon with three yoga events across Colonia Middle School Island Middle School and woodb High School we had over 230 participants registered for the yogat tan and 150 plus attended at across these three yogat tan events we also launched open yoga initiative in collaboration with woodb library and have been conducting yoga sessions at woodb Main Library every Saturday from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. for last year with an average participation of 20 plus residents for every session in may we conducted Teachers Appreciation Day with 25 plus teachers were felicitated by their students during May 2023 as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month we participated in Dei Showcase Event which was organized by the wood Beach Township School District in July 2023 we organized darana Exhibition at the baron Art Center the exhibition focused on various facets of Hindu civilization like festivals medicine Arts Sciences architecture and various Traditions covering scriptures yoga Etc the exhibition received a tremendous response with 300 plus visitors attending the exhibition over 1 month this year excuse me this year we participated in the adopt the highway initiative where we adopted the part of do 27 between mile post 26.9 to M post 25.6 southbound we had two cleaning drives in one in July and one in October and the next one scheduled this Sunday on 17th December during October and early November we conducted SE Diwali food drive with participation from 20 schools in Woodbridge Township the SE Diwali project was started in New jersea in 2018 and nationally it is coordinated by HSS in recent years SE Diwali has come to symbolize the Hindu American communities Collective Strength and Synergy in providing valuable service to their local communities we have been expanding nationally year over year in 2022 the campaign ran in 200 plus cities across 32 states and collected around 630,000 of food items which were donated to 200 foot pantries across 32 states at Woodbridge HSS organized its sixth annual sead Diwali food collection drive from October 16th to November 17th this year we had an amazing partnership with 20 schools in Woodbridge Township in addition our volunteers set up food collection centers in their homes and ran neighborhood campaigns many of our volunteers are school students and they have collected food by standing in front of grocery stores on Oak Tree Road and doing a door to-do campaign to spread the word about the food drive throughout the drive students principals teaching staff and Par and parents responded very positively a total of 14,000 of food were collected and handed over to Mr Peter Barcelona from V feed wood beach at the concluding event on December 2nd held at Indiana Avenue School number 18 parking lot the concluding event was presided over by mayor Mr John McCormack and attended by council members Mr Greg Viara Mr viru Patel Miss Sharon moli and police officer Mr Harris and other community leaders in addition HSS also donated 8,600 of food items to Middle sex County College Pantry this was indeed a fantastic year for our joint collaboration and we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our volunteers partnering organizations and woodb Township officials for their unwavering support the woodb community has always responded amazingly to all our community service programs and I once again thank you all for your support and encouragement of HSS by giving us the opportunity to make the woodb community more inclusive thank you I wish you all the happy holidays thank you very much and and we certainly had the opportunity [Applause] yes many of us have had the opportunity to see the good work of your organization and the people in a couple of weeks ago when the young people were there was very special so thank you very much thank you so much for your kinds thank you are there any other comments from the public this evening here are no other comments can I get a motion that the public comment portion be closed motion second all in favor I opposed eyes have it we'll go into the agenda all right I'm going to kick things off uh first of all I'd like to just wish everybody I know we we passed through the dwali season but dwali and we're in Hanukkah right now and is on the way and Christmas and all of those um all of those celebrations are celebrations of love and being together with family so I'd like to wish happy holidays to everybody whatever you settle uh celebrate uh if you're looking for a gift and you haven't got one I got one for you uh councilwoman Debbie Mian right over there is the author of a wonderful book it's called Thoughts From the Bench of life and and I'm halfway through it's very easy reading congratulations councilwoman and uh that's all I have on my agenda so oh by the way thank you all it's been a great year of being council president uh my term is over I don't I don't know if I want to say thank God or not but really I'm not going anywhere I'm just changing seats I'll be sitting down by councilman Bower so thank you to the council for your cooperation when you're giving away a youth book as a gift what you're giving away a youth book as a gift no I'm not done yet I'm not giving it well you should know you read all my books but okay all right moving over Council vice president Anderson thank you council president my agenda is basically in order but I do want to encourage anyone at this time of the year um uh especially in the season of giving um you know we want to make sure that uh those that are are unemployed um have a place to work and uh if they're looking for work we want them to start and they're from the Woodridge Township area please start with our Township um employment center um we do have some new um listings on here under the uh New Jersey defense manufacturing Community Consortium um they're offering training and opportunity to uh opportunities to Veterans and their families for manufacturing careers and also Woodbridge Township um school district is seeking uh substitute teachers if you click on there it'll give you the steps to go through ESS is the uh the site that will will help you get employed here in Woodbridge Township but there are other districts that you can um you can uh seek uh employment and there was also um uh some recent um uh laws that were signed to make things easier uh for those that are seeking employment in in the educational field so I encourage you to look into that New Jersey Transit middle sex College are also listed on here as is BASF so please go to the employment Opportunity Center uh on our Township website if you are seeking work or if you know someone that is looking for work um I want to thank the Girl Scouts uh you girls were uh so well behaved today uh while you were here watching uh we didn't hear a peep out of them and you know while there's always movement and activity it's great to see you there with your vest and your badges and that today you you can go back to school tomorrow and say that you learned something about your your Civics in in uh in school and you attended a council meeting uh so hopefully you'll get a badge for your attendance here and um and you guys can discuss it and talk about how the public uh our council president um listens to um people as they come to the microphone as they express either their um their happiness or their dissatisfaction with things that we're doing but that's how government works so thank you for being here tonight we encourage you to come back and hopefully get another batch down the road and I um I want to congratulate councilwoman uh Mian on her book um I've also purchased a copy she promised to sign one for me so um I'm uh uh really looking forward to uh taking some time over the holidays and reading that um and it's you know from everything that I've I've read about it it's um very positive outlook on life and and um things that we we probably walk past every day and that we don't pay attention to so I encourage you to get a copy I got my copy at Colonia Pharmacy so there are a number of uh local local stores in this area that uh and you know if you can't tell we're pushing this book a little bit because it's our friend she writes she writes so well she also writes a colonial corner or the corner newspaper as it's called now and um it captures all of the activities a lot of our Girl Scouts are in it uh a lot of our Uh current events so I just want to congratulate you on a on a career um that has brought a lot to so many in our community and uh council president I do want to um acknowledge Your Service as a uh distinguished leader um the one thing that I always uh look forward to when you lead our our Council meetings is you you listen very intently uh to uh our our public and when they come up uh you're always well informed you stay informed uh regarding uh the issues that are in the public and you're out as busy as you are um you know you're out every weekend um you take advantage of the fact that um you can be out um with you know the fact your your children are grown and but you're doing things more with your grandchildren I remember a few years ago when you were out here dressed as Superman and your and and your for for Halloween with your grandchildren um I couldn't think of a better leader that we have on the council uh you've done a fantastic job and I want to congratulate you for it thank you very much thank you here's here's the [Laughter] gavel uh councilman Bower thank you council president my agenda is order just a quick few announcements we're having many toy for Tot um drives throughout the township um through this weekend so please donate a new or unwrapped toy you go to the mayor's uh Facebook page or any our Facebook pages for drop off site and casby's uh fire on Saturday December 16th after special guest be escorting Santa to casby starting at 1 p.m. Len for the sirens and District uh 7 fors will be es scoring Santa on Sunday December 17th starting 11: a.m. Len at fla Sirens um council president thank you for your leadership this year as a senior member of our you know our Council for your knowledge wisdom and your dedication to this community is unheard of it's job well done and than to wish everybody yeah happy holidays Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year all I got thank you councilman councilwoman Deus thank you council president first of all I would like to take um this moment to thank the PBA number 38 I would like to thank Peter Barcelona Debbie mean and all of my Council mates and all of our First Responders cuz during this time is when they truly shine making dreams happen for families and for children that are in need so I know that I've called Debbie plenty of time is year um and her and Peter have been exceptional and helping when there is a need so I just want to thank our police officers cuz this weekend they are doing something special with children and and I think that they're I know that they are going to make a lot of children very happy and it's the work that they do that no one knows about that make them unsung heroes and I'm truly appreciative and truly grateful for all the work that they do in our community so when you are with your families during this holiday season please say a prayers for our First Responders because it's not only our police department but also our fir men and women and our EMT um I really appreciate the work that you do and you especially shine during this time um I want to thank our council president you know I Echo what Kyle and Howe said but especially what stands out for me is the kindness and the respect that you show to everyone that comes to the mic and you know that's a that to me is exemplary of a true leader so thank you for your leadership thank you to the Girl Scouts for coming out and sitting beautifully and listening and you know reading books and eating your snacks um I truly appreciate how attentive you were so congratulations and I hope that one day hopefully one of these young ladies are sitting up here and being leaders in our community um Fel na that and happy holidays to everyone thank you thank you councilwoman I think the the Girl Scout should get a t-shirt that says uh I survived coun sper a special patch to be made oh thank you council president um councilman small he's uh feeling a little under the weather you ask me just he wanted to thank everyone involved uh for participating in the light Peri um Mr Mitch and the judges Dan Harris Pam Kaminsky and Larry kiano on his behalf uh as we know it was fantastic great showing so thank you to everyone involved um on that so uh councilman fic carat just want to thank you um it's been a pleasure to work alongside with you for the last several years and then this year as our council president um as everyone had stated you're fair you're kind you listen to everyone on both sides and um not only like I said it's been a pleasure to work with you past years this year and the years moving forward um speaking of uh several my Council mates talked to about giving um it is that time of year um as I said around Thanksgiving should be every day uh a lot of us are fortunate there are less fortunate so whatever you might be able to give back to the community and local organizations that'd be great uh St Anthony's aad Church Port Reading Avenue they're having their annual Christmas friendship dinner on Christmas that is from 1:00 to 3 Monday December 25th all the welcome families couple singles to share dinner with all the trimmings and large portion of friendship um there's no charge for the dinner all are welcome however please so they can have a head count for food purposes uh please call by Monday December 18th to the directory you can call St Anthony's church at 732 634 I forgot my glasses 41419 and just leave a message and local uh Transportation including Stow on Christmas will be available uh moving into that um whatever you celebrate celebrate it well uh be with your family uh Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah be Quanza um I wish everybody a happy holiday season and uh happy happy and safe New Year the next time we meet will be 2024 thank you council president thank you councilman Spiller Council woman Mian thank you council president uh I just want to thank everyone just whatever well thank you for the kind words about my book I really appreciate that um just thank you to everybody that has given a toy or something some kind of food anything you've given a gift card this year we're going to be taking care of a lot of children this weekend with the help of the Billiards the W senior Billiards are just amazing amazing Folks up there and they've been working real hard their little Santa Claw place up there that they're elves they are just working so hard for there's a lot of families around here that need help and we don't always see it so just thank you for everybody that helps each other and everybody on this day as you know you Elizabeth you pointed out a few people but every single one of us hoe has been collecting gift cards and just we've all worked together as a team that's what we do at here um we try to help our community and at Christmas time we really work hard for it so but thank you to the community too for helping and council president thank you as always you're always kind to people you always listen to them with patience and Grace and you've been a great support system to us and a great leader to us this year and we wish you well on that side of the day is this year and just happy holidays to everybody safe and healthy that's all I have thank you Council woman councilman Patel yeah thank you Council my agenda is also in order but I would like to have few announcement uh first of all I would like to thank uh the team members of HSS they are here and they brief about their activities so thank you d uh I also would like to thank the principal the school counselor students and parents at Indiana school number 18 in uh they have teamed up with the came up with the second chance toys to collect toys for those children who would otherwise not receive any toys for the holiday and they have received overwhelming amount of donation for this holiday season so we thank them all the oak Senor Center in E invites Township seniors to gingerbread house party lunch which will take place on December 29 9 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 2: p.m. you can rsgp to the seniors director Miss omel at 732 259 20008 by December 27 lunch and tickets can be purchased via a check payable to the township of Woodbridge uh I would like to thank you for your you know Services you know you were really great very you know I sparing also helping so thank you and wishing you all a merry Christmas happy healthy and very prospering New Year to you thank you that's over night thank you councilman Patel you better like me because I'm going to be sitting right next to you councilwoman Mulla thank you council president my agenda is in order I would like to start by wishing all the residents of ubber Township a happy holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year um I'd like to thank Marley and Lisa for bringing the Girl Scouts true group 8359 to tonight's council meeting this is a wonderful mix of daisies brownies and juniors spanning grades 1 through four from various uh schools in Woodbridge Township and curette troop 8359 Z is a dynamic group actively engaging in numerous community services and have participated in planting flowers at the c rock contributing to the memorial benches and from the 1979 drowning victim and crafting recycling posters for local schools tonight's attendance is particularly significant as it contributes to towards their pursuit of the Democracy badge we applaud their commendable efforts and encourage them to keep up the good work as we eagerly anticipated the kickoff of the Girl Scout cookie sale starting one month from now on January 12th 2024 we extend our best wishes for a successful selling Program San you to CHP 835 90 for your dedication and positive impact on the community um i' just like to thank council president for your guidance through the year and your support you've been a mentor to me as a council member and I appreciate everything you've done for the council and for myself throughout the year and I wish to wish all of my fellow Council Ms Administration and town employees happy holidays and a wonderful new year thank you thank you very much Mr Mitch thank you Mr President [Applause] um got browny points this one right my agenda is in order uh happy holidays to everybody and Mr President thank you for a great year working with you but we still have 19 more days together so not done yet all right thank you moving into Administration Mr Mayor anything yes uh excuse me happy holiday to everybody in the audience everybody in Woodbridge Township we're the best time around because of all of the people in this room I want to especially congratulate you on your year uh it's your second year as council president I really enjoyed working with you as you know I go back with you before even being involved in government that's how long we've known each other our dads were friends um we're friends and you just are a terrific public servant um I'm going to sorry see to see you leave as a council president but I'm sure glad you're staying on as the town councilman so uh congratulations on a terrific year thank you very very much director Sima you got anything thank you council president it's been an absolute pleasure working with you Elder Statesman on on the council and and we appreciate your stewardship uh with that uh Merry Christmas to everyone especially uh and uh Happy Hanukkah and happy Quan to all of our employees I just want to let uh our appreciation from the administration uh of everything they do every day for the citizens of Woodbridge so we appreciate them with that I have a few items under the mayor's uh agenda I have appointments uh under my agenda I have uh tax andwer overpayments and tax appeals thank you council president thank you director hubner anything thank you director nothing evening thank you counc director brw thank you council president I have a shy Bond release for 1106 Avenue and avanel and an amendment to the solid waste ordinance thank you Council thank you director Mr Nolan anything from Leal the one item that's on the uh agenda was carried so that's all all right can I have a motion to adjourn not before I do my holiday wish I didn't do that on mine so I just want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a happy New Year motion to adjourn s all right thank you everybody thanks for coming happy holidays