##VIDEO ID:QrOeky3Fjo0## I open the Bernard's Township committee meeting for October 15 2024 please stand for the flag salute flag uned States adequate notice of this meeting was posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building one call your lane Basking Ridge on the township website an email to the Bernardsville news whiy The Courier News Bridgewater tap into. net patch.com and filled with the Township Clerk on December 18 2023 any motion to go into closed session will include those matters discussed at such closed session will be disclosed to the public when such matters are finally determined there is no further reason to prohibit the public from disclosure of information related to such matters the meeting rules no new business will be introduced after 10:30 p.m. public comment will be accepted at all meetings speakers will be limited 5 minutes each all meetings will adjourn no later than 11:30 p.m. chrisy roll call please Mr Balman here miss DTE McCarthy here miss Fields here Mr MCN here mayor AC here that brings us to Executive session none this evening mayor thank you and presentations resolution 2024 -44 resolution honoring KY Pichi so this evening we are very privileged to honor one of our most gracious and selfless volunteers um who lives within our community so I'd like to read a little bit about the resolution Kathleen Kippy padichi a 29-year Bernard's Township resident has been recognized by Congressman Tom Kane Jr as one of the distinguished seniors honored at the second annual seniors of Distinction event on September 13th 2024 at the Bridgewater Township uh Senior Center and being recognized in 2017 as outstanding women in Somerset County and whereas these recognitions are a testament to kippy's long-standing dedication and commitment to serving her community by volunteering her talents expertise and experience to support and uplift others therei directly benefiting the township of Bernards now and for years to come kippy's been an active member and influential member of the Bernard Township community having served in multiple leadership roles Bernard's Township planning board Zoning Board of adjustment Library Board of Trustees the beautification task force and served on two executive boards at the state level New Jersey library trustees Association and the New Jersey planning officials Kippy encourages residents to get involved in the community demonstrating her belief in the value of respect among residents and contributes to the vibrant and supportive environment of the township while highlighting the accessibility and importance of Civic engagement whereas the honors bestowed upon Kippy Pichi reflects not only her professional achievements but also her extensive involvement in philanthropic charitable and spiritual activities making her a true role model for others in the community so with all of that we are honoring you with this resolution and I'm going to ask my colleagues on the deis to please add their comments okay first mayor um Kippy uh it's been an honor to know you to serve under your leadership both on the library Board of Trustees and uh when you were chair of the planning board you taught me a lot uh about you know both of those boards and your service to this town um I don't know how many hours you possibly dedicated to this I'm sure you've never calculated it but it it is countless in the truest sense of the word so uh thank you for all you've done for this town over the years we greatly appreciate it I'll follow Kippy I don't know you as well as the others since I'm newer to the days but from the moment I was elected you've been a very gracious to me you've always been a resource and I'm very um admirable of all that you do many of us choose what we wish to do with our time and you've invested your time and your talent your curiosity and your commitment to this community and you've done it with distinction um both in the community level and at the state level so this is a very U well-deserved recognition and congratulations to you and wishing you continued involvement in our community because you're such an asset thank you Richie Richie Kippy so welld deserved I just want to say you really enrich our community with your service your knowledge and helps so many other people and your caringness and one thing about you and I rarely say this about people you're not a me person every time you see me you always ask how my children are how life is when you meet other people you ask them about themselves nothing superficial about you nothing selfish about you you really are engaged in the community you care about everybody not about what they're doing for the community but about themselves and that really means a lot to a lot of people so I want to thank you for your service to the community congratulations but I want to thank you for just being a wonderful loving and caring person to all of us and for being plugged in in our lives Liv not only on a professional level but on a personal level it really means a lot to us thank you KY there's you know even if we could find a way to quantify the the the years the the the many years and the many hours that you've dedicated to Bernard's Township there's no way we could put a price on what Bernard's Township is because of your time in service with us um you know as the chair of the planning board you took the responsibility on and not only did it for Bernard's Township but you stepped outside of Bernard's Township to the planners Association you took leadership roles there as well you really um embraced the knowledge brought it back to us and and employed it through master plan updates and through the careful guidance of our planning board I had the pleasure of serving with you for a couple of years there and it was truly a pleasure uh so so it's it's not just the time when we look at what makes Bernard's Township such a special place to live it's the very things you've had your hand on over the decades so thank you Kippy welld deserved recognition uh continue to look forward to serving with you and working collaboratively with your time on the Zoning Board of adjustment right now um and and and and again from from my heart thank you so much and rounding out um I learned a tremendous amount under your leadership on the planning board um you have led through some very difficult decisions and difficult processes that significantly impact our community and for decades like for instance the little master plan exercise um that you did you are so thoughtful and thorough in everything that you do and we as a community are so blessed by the gifts that you give to us especially in all these volunteer capacities I also just wanted to recognize this honor that you received from the congressman he does have you know 95 municipalities in his jurisdiction and you were the one Bernard's Township selecte so um we are so honored for you and I know that sometimes you prefer to sort of just be the doer and get stuff done but you deserve this sunlight um your role model for others and we are so grateful for your service so with that may I have a motion so moved second chrisy roll call please Mr malman yes Miss DTE McCarthy yes Miss Fields yes Mr MCN yes mayor AC yes motion carried thank you so let's do the presentation [Applause] [Music] congratulations thank thank you J I just want to say a couple of words if I can thank you thank you very much for this award I you know I tend to live in the shadows and under the radar I don't really handle a lot of recognition that well and I was so pleased to win this award but as as a people who know me know that my two passions on my life since high school have been politics and government and I've been able in Bernard's Township to actually satisfy both of them the government side with my Municipal work as well as I dabbled into the political side and I'm still somewhat in political side because as many of you know I run a small election law compliance ience business so that keeps me in the political side so I'm not retiring I'm not going any place I will continue to volunteer and to support all of you in any way and in any board as you see fit so thank you very much uh for this award and it was a very nice ceremony that Congressman Cain had in September so I really appreciate it thank you very much moving on to the next presentation resolution 2024-25 Italian Heritage Month celebration October 2024 so we are so pleased um to recognize an important organization within our community and I just want to read just a little bit about the resolution um whereas like so many of the cultures represented in this Township Americans of Italian ancestry bring values and traditions that enrich the fabric of our Township and whereas beginning in 1989 Italian-American heritage month was first celebrated in 1989 under a presidential and Congressional proclamation to celebrate the cultural heritage and honor the achievements and contributions italian-americans have made across the country and whereas Italians began IM migrating to the United States in 1880 and today there are more than 26 million Americans Italian descent in our country and over 2 million Americans of Italian descent reside in New Jersey and whereas Italian Americans contribute to every aspect of society Unico National founded in 1922 has for more than 100 years served as a service organization of the Italian-American Community with a mission to proot promote Italian American Heritage and to serve others benevolently impacting local communities while also serving as an esteemed National voice for Italian Americans whereas the local Unico chapter in Basking Ridge has embraced this Mission and fostered awareness cultural pride and Community involvement through recent support of the kulie anemia foundation and hosting the first annual Ridge High School football Unico Bowl which raised funding for the brook Healey Foundation focused on pediatric cancer whereas the service of the Basking Ridge chapter of Unico contributes to our Township focus on celebrating valant cultures with our community therefore be resolved that the township Committee of the township of Bernards does hereby recognize October as Italian heritage month so we are very fortunate that we have representatives from Unico that will accept this resolution but we before we do that um I would like to ask our colleagues on the de and since Deputy Mayor Fields is a member perhaps maybe you should start first so well anyone who knows me knows I'm a real proud Italian I wee the colors today I'm always is so proud you know being Italian really is about family it's about our culture which is Rich and uh when you talk about family what's important our sons um that's a joke my son my son but you know growing up Italian you know that's what I really lived I lived the food the culture you know we're devoted to our religion which is really important to us our faith um our culture is all about food and Gathering and family and um what's really uh amazing to me is so much pride that we have for that you know so much pride for our family and our culture and what it really means to us to be Italian and uh you know how much a Columbus Day means to us and it'll always be Columbus Day to us no matter what and I just want to say that I'm so honored that the town is celebrating our culture and and who we are and what we believe in and um so happy that you're here and I can go on forever you know one thing I really want to say which which really stuck with me my whole life and maybe Pat understands this too um since he's Italian from Italy um I'll never forget just growing up and my grandparents um my great grandparents were from Italy so my grandparents came over from Italy and I just remember them just teaching me that when our ancestors came over for ital from Italy you know a lot of them know that they were Masons and and they were people were prejudice against them and they really had a really hard time when they came here and they really were discriminated against and I remember my grandmother telling me that and that's why so many of them moved into the pockets that they moved in with with their own kind cuz you know going venturing outside of that you know people didn't accept them and they discriminated against them and so I'll never forget what that means so you know that every other culture who came over here had the same issues that we have but people forget that we had struggles as Italians coming over here just like everyone else but uh you know we we persevered and made a name for ourselves and now we're all living amongst everyone else in a diverse community and being proud Italians and showing that so just want to say I'm so happy to be and thank you georan for starting this organization and getting people involved and whatever we can do whatever the town can do because we celebrate all of our our organizations but especially yours if we can partner with you or do anything with you I'm sure my colleagues would agree thank you anyone else uh go ahead okay um yeah so I just want to follow with what deputy mayor was saying I also read about the history of the formation of unigo national and it was uh you know it was sobering to read that the the Genesis of the organization came after the individuals who'd served in World War I of Italian descent were questioned on their loyalty and often considered potentially as fascists and so that idea of being marginalized in turn pivoted to form this organization to show the depth of the culture to show its commitment to Civic service and it's really wonderful to see 100 years later the positive impact that the organization has had and then to see the chapter here Ridge and all the great work that's been done um knowing that for example as was already shared about the recent football um which was fabulous to have that to benefit um pediatric cancer so um so congratulations on this recognition um it's really important for us to continue to celebrate and acknowledge culture in this community and you're doing terrific work and I'm also Italian by descent the my mother's side are Bonos so I need to become part of Uno so congratulations again and and I'm just happy that we're passing this resolution tonight um I'll Echo some of the comments uh that my colleagues have made I am personally uh not of Italian stock at all but um Italian Americans and Italian-American culture has had a profound impact on my life uh growing up in Brooklyn New York um a great many of my friends were Italians and I learned so much about their culture uh sense of family um which you know my very good friends from back home you know my kids refer to them as aunt and uncle and we celebrate holidays with them and um you know they they were always so warm to me and and and made me feel like part of their family even though I'm obviously not Italian uh in any case um thank you georgean for uh starting this organization and for all of your membership uh to to celebrate Italian American culture it's really part important part of the fabric of burnning so thank you so I grew up believing I was German and Norwegian and it turns out with the Advent of homebased genetic testing you know we we we we all did the 23 and and apparently it was 23 in me and Italy and and and it turns out that there's there's a bunch of wedges in my pie but the biggest one's Italian it prompted a little bit of Investigation into my uh forbears and I finally came to the conclusion as to how I I'm actually Italian so I'm thankful for Unico because now I have a resource to go to to settle such things as is it sauce or is it gravy who's is best what's the right recipe and now I understand why I've always felt comfortable at Sunday dinner um and and and so thank you for the the preservation of of the Heritage thank you for being a resource for those that want to learn about it I I want to Echo what Anna said in terms of you know we should recognize we are all fans of a Multicultural Society it is the fabric we weave together as as mayor AC likes to say the fabric of Bernards is woven from the heritage of all of us um there are many new cultures arriving recent that we are celebrating as new members of our community and it's nice to know we are continuing to preserve the cultures that have long been with us for Our Generation Um and have stood the test of time and continue to have things to offer share and to teach so thank you for for for being there there's not much else to say um than what my colleagues have said I'll just personally add I have many dear friends who are Italian and of Italian Heritage I have personally enjoyed learning about your organization the deputy mayor introduced us to you um in the years past and so I've seen the blessings and the contributions that your organization has made so it's something that you know while I'm also not Italian fingers crossed I've got four kids we'll see who they marry maybe maybe one of them maybe I'll officially be by by marriage at some point but um just love it so thank you thank you again for your contributions and it's a pleasure to to be able to do this resolution tonight so with that may I ask for a motion please motion second Christy roll call please Mr Balman yes Mr DTE McCarthy yes Miss Fields yes Mr MCN yes mayor AC yes motion carried thank you so come on up just want to say thank you we're extremely grateful to the township for supporting us as Janice said where is she she's here um as Janice said again um we're families everything to us but also giving back um so that's a huge part of our Traditions right so we're so grateful that we can give back to the community and Charities and things like that and then make please yeah I just I wanted to say a few words actually wrote it down but I will start by saying that one of the last you want to do the um better okay at home can hear you and just before I say a few words I'll say that honestly one of the last conversations I had was with the deputy mayor talking about trading eggplant parm recipes that's not a lie um I'd like to thank uh mayor AC and the township committee um for continuing the now annual tradition of passing a resolution honoring Italian-American heritage month and for all of your kind words as well it means a great deal to the members of the Basking Ridge chapter of Unico especially those of us in attendance today that our town takes the time to honor the cultural heritage of our Italian-American community on a personal note uh my dad was the first member of his family born in this country after my grandmother immigrated from Italy and he and Mom ultimately chose to settle in Bernard's Township and I'm very glad they did we all come from different backgrounds and we have different traditions and your leadership has made sure that we all feel valued and a welcome part of the Fab of our community so thank you very much thank here's res thank you congratulations TR appreciate thank you once the election thank you so much thank you just such a fun night and last but not least resolution 2024 4166 acknowledgement of responses to the New Jersey Division of local government government services calendar year 2024 State fiscal year 2025 best practices inventory questionnaire thank you Chrissy um mayor I just have a very brief report on this year's best practice inventory um this is the 14th iteration of the inventory that burs Township has completed uh this year's survey included a total of 69 questions uh those questions were broken down into three different categories uh 41 of which were considered core competencies and they're worth one point each on the survey there were 11 best practices uh each worth half a point and then we had 17 unscored uh zero point survey questions um so every year the uh survey is distributed and every municipality in the state um has to score a minimum point value in order to receive their final state aid payment so that's the final 5% of our annual state aid um that minimum score for this year was 35 and to report the township scored 45.5 at a total available 46.5 uh so we earned 41 out of 41 available core competency points 4.5 out of 5.5 available best practice points um so there's a resolution on tonight's agenda and that resolution simply acknowledges the Township's responses to this year's survey and we'll authorize the clerk and myself uh to go ahead and submit that survey uh tomorrow morning wow in terms of I'm looking for resoltion yes yes we just need a motion in a second oh okay okay and anyc discussion okay so let's go ahead and and let's do a a motion I'll move it second and may have a roll call please Mr Balman yes yes M DTE McCarthy yes Miss Fields yes Mr MCN mayor if I may um before voting I just wanted to congratulate um Sean who always does such a wonderful job on this exercise year in year out and you know the fact that you meet and exceed the minimum requirements is really extraordinary year after year now do we get any bonus state aid for meeting and exceeding that threshold uh by such an extent unfortunately no I didn't so but great job so thank you and I'm a yes Mar AC yes motion carried thank you and then this is where I wanted if anyone else had any other comments I also I reviewed it and as the Newbie I called Sean and Pat just to go over all of the items and again it's just U helpful to see the extent to which the thoughtfulness around how we are able to respond yes to a majority of the answers we're able to look at what's trending and there are a couple that don't carry a score and so there could potentially be a pathway toward making those more impactful in the future but I felt um that we are absolutely leading on all of the attributes and factors that are important and are asked in this survey so thank you I'll add what um committee man MCN said thank you for your diligence and getting this done for us thank you very much I'm old cat at it so yeah I I mean I'll just I I I'll just add you know exactly thank you you guys are rock stars um the not just the competency but the exceptional nature of our um Township Administration is displayed in the result right and so you know again I I I keep going back to what makes burner such a special place and such a special place to live you know and it's not just a zip code or that we're a hot real EST State Market or these things occur for a reason and one of the foundations the pillars in the foundation of Bernard's Township is the quality of its governance and its Administration and particularly you guys we're here for a term of years you guys are here for the long game and say what you will about Bernard's Township the numbers don't lie our Administration the staff the services provided are are outstanding excellent so guys you know take take take a lap and and hold your flag you deserve it it's your win I just wanted to add when I learned about this um what this struck me is is this is completely indicative of how the town is run under the leadership of hat Monaco and your staff so I would really invite every resident to read what this is and what it means because it covers things like uh transparency procurement Finance Personnel ethics Financial Administration all the types of the environment the entire thing that makes Bernard's Township special and efficient and effective for every resident that lives here so I just this is a tremendous accomplishment and I just have nothing but the most gratitude to you Pat to you Sean and all of your leadership team all of the employees that toil day in and day out for us 365 days a year 24 hours a day so thank you this is [Music] tremendous if I may mayor while this the state um mandates that the CFO is required to submit the responses to the survey only a small portion of the survey questions are actually Finance related so I very much rely on all of our department heads to uh provide information to me and provide feedback and they've done a fantastic job everyone was uh incredibly responsive to me so um while while my name may be on it I have to thank it's the rest of the staff thank you excellent so then moving on any public work session none this evening mayor any reports none this evening any correspondant none okay then that brings us to public comment public comment at a Township committee meeting comments are welcomed during the public comment period during this meeting on any agenda item or other matter over which the township committee has jurisdiction however if an ordinance is listed for its own public hearing on the agenda please hold your comments for that particular public hearing the public comment portion of the agenda is not structured has a question and answer session but offers an opportunity to share your thoughts with the township committee the committee may or may not address the comments during the meeting however all comments are considered to address the body the speaker must come forward to the microphone and state his or her name and address for the record each speaker is limited to 5 minutes the clerk will keep time please promptly yield the floor when time is called and return to your seat your cooperation adherence to these Rules of Order will ensure an orderly and respectable meeting I open public comment John Crane 39 Decker Street there's so much good things tonight it's going to be hard to say it in five minutes but I'll try it um let me start with Sean uh I I came a lot of hard questions at the Sewer Authority and he comes right back with the right answers they're correct answers I should say um second one the Italian thing I'm not Italian like a Andrew but uh I grew up very fortunate uh with families that are still in town the molos and the bagas at a very small age I remember drinking Peach Wan peach wine with bagas they had a for on Somerville road that made a extreme impression on me and uh I ended up Hing Italian woman and you can see I I grew since my marriage um so that that's that one the the main reason I came tonight is uh you've all said good things about Kippy um the one award that you didn't mention was the uh the crane family uh honorary native award that we give very rarely um I see that she's been here 29 years that's a good start and uh we're still mad that she took a sabatical from the planning board hopefully we'll get her back and uh uh I met her many many years ago uh at a event in the center of town she had it was a cold day and she had this big hat I didn't recognize her and being from a small town I go up to people and ask who they are and introduce myself and I said what are you doing here and she says somebody told me I should get involved with the township and I'd like to thank that person I think she would have no matter what but that's that's in her DNA um uh she has special skill sets I'm the senior member on the planning board since 2018 so to deal with a a planning board member like me takes a special skill I was always her problem child but we managed through it and uh she's just a fantastic person you've all said stuff and she she shows leadership for her other volunteers um we're very fortunate in this town to have the volunteers that we have and the high qualifications like uh Gippy and more important the dedication so uh it's a diverse all our boards and commissions are very diverse and the ones I've been we've always gotten along so uh uh my my slight concern is that kippy's uh house isn't so big as some of our others and she might be losing storage capacity with all our Awards so if anybody's got some storage units maybe you can offer it up to her but again thank you Kippy thank you anyone else hi good evening um Victoria Casta I live on 15 Hilltop Road um I don't come here often I watch on TV when I can and I think I've been in this room three times one of them is when I built my house and I needed to come before the board um first of all I'm glad to be here tonight it's a beautiful night when you see people dedicated to the town such as Kippy it's a beautiful thing to celebrate diversity and the Italian culture I'm half Italian my mother's Straight From Italy and one of the things Italians bring to the table is our fighting Spirit we always have something to say so I have a few things to say I know sometimes I show up to Board of Education meeting and Township meetings with complaints however I also would like to come and bring um some things uh being on a Township Board and doing the right things all the time is sometimes an ungrateful position you guys dedicate your time your hours you sacrifice your family time and you all have other lives so I want to say thank you it can't be an easy job to sit in that chair every day or on most days and hear things so I want to thank you a lot of you all of you actually all five of you have had the opportunity to speak to me oneon-one with many situations with the township as I run basking R helping basking rich and there's a lot of things that people don't know about you like the behind the scenes how you care about people that have illnesses in town and reach out to me I could tell you one night I spent time on the phone with Jen about a woman who was displaced and being homeless same thing with Janice I had a concern I talked to her Andrew's not been shy Anna's not been shy and Gary's not been shy I've come to everybody so kudos to all of you you really reach out to the community I've heard words tonight like diversity being special having a special part of the community and I am so blessed to see such a beautiful respectful forum and I hope that this continues on until next year I have to say I have been highly disappointed with the current campaigning and election that is not on the side of Jen and Andrew I want to say kudos for you for having professionalism and respect and going above and beyond because I am not seeing that on the other side I am completely disappointed with the Democrat candidates that are running for office the current ad which Anna you liked was absolutely disgusting and disrespectful to members of our community there is never a good time to call anyone names in this community to label people write wing extremists for their beliefs we just took the time to talk about diversity that's what diversity means in this community people have the right to like who they want to like for office off to believe in certain values morals and principles and that is okay nobody should be labeled a right-wing extremist ever in this town because I know a lot of people in this town on all sides of the fence and everything in between and everybody is kind and giving and loving and when we have an issue on basking Rich helping basking Rich everybody opens their arms and is generous and giving the definition of a right-wing extremist is a Nazi a fascist someone who oppresses in incites violence and force force has ethnic cleansing and genocide they're racist they're sexist and they're homophobic those are terrible things to call our neighbors our friends our kids' parents and everybody in our community what a sad day for Basking Rich when that is the type of advertisement you put out for campaign we are better than that we're an educated affluent society we teach our children things every day we can't complain about our community our schools or our bullying if this is the way we act as adults so as we go into this election I want to thank you again and I hope we could continue on in a respectful Manner and I'm very disappointed that people decide to run for Town and don't show up for meetings thank you very much have a nice night anyone else the titlein Riverside Drive um I was to start this I just like to thank the committee for what they've been doing for the whole year and I think most I would say just about most of the Town also appreciates it because you know when they don't appreciate it because the chairs will be full there'll be people in the back with torches and there'll be you know all sorts of bad things outside but you don't have it so that must mean people are very happy if they're not happy they're going to be here crabbing and that's the truth and since next week the voting starts I think it's important to say I think that the mayor and and committe and MCN have done a very good job this year I don't we don't always agree but that's how it works around here eventually we'll find something we all agree on and um sometimes I wish there was a time clock on the talking up here but just like there's a Time clock on me and you know I rarely hit that five minute Mark so um but I've been here many time and if I don't get what I want the first time I just come back a couple more times just like that elevator I took at least six times of crabbing B and eventually it came about and that's a good thing so I just like to show my support there um i' rather not even talk badly about anybody else it's not right but thank you very much thank you thanks anyone else I see no movement so I'm going to close public comment that brings us to staff comments Township committee comments and board liaison reports Pat would you like to start please yes nothing this evening mayor thank you thank you Christie none this evening thank you mayor great Mr Bardo nothing mayor unless you wanted me to speak on a certain topic yes please so I asked Mr Bardo to uh reshare some information that he read into the record previously I have been approached I've received multiple media requests and um questions from residents on this particular topic and un like for Mr Bardo to please repeat the information glad to Mayor um there was a press release issued previously on May 22nd 2024 um it was discussed at our June 26 2024 Township uh committee meeting and it uh concerns the um long running and some might say rather controversial application on 150 Allen Road by signature Acquisitions LLC it's an application to the Zoning Board of adjustment um it involves both C and uh D variances so the issue that was raised for me to opine on was our Township committee governing body members permitted to influence intervene communicate about or a 10 Zoning Board of adjustment applications or hearings and the short answer is the law prohibits Township committee governing body members from any and I emphasize any participation or involvement whatsoever with Zoning Board of adjustment applications are or hearings uh the members of the public the the five members up here that are elected officials of the township committee are not permitted to attend Zoning Board of adjustment um meetings and as the mayor noted they're also not allowed to respond to media in iies concerning the Zoning Board of adjustment and that's because the zoning Board of adjustment is a is a quasi judicial body under the municipal land use law and as a qu quasi judicial body it has primary variance responsibility under section 25 of the municipal land use board to exercise variance power under certain circumstances and that includes D variances which require a super majority vote to approve seven members on the Zoning Board of adjustment that are regular members uh five members are required to approve a use variance a vote of four to three by the Zoning Board of adjustment does not approve a use variance um so again it is important to understand that once the governing body has enacted land use legislation as has burnard's Township here it is prohibited from infringing on Powers is expressly reserved to the planning and z boards and that's section 20 of the ml um there are a legion and Bevy of cases including those rising to our Supreme Court level uh the most important in Seal was a case called perusi versus Township of ellenboro which was a 1998 Supreme Court case um and our Supreme Court and lower cases have consistently held that governing body members may not attend influence or otherwise participate in application before the Z Board of adjustment so mayor I hope that clears it up I know there's been a lot of questions that have been posited to governing body members as to whether they have an opinion for against or otherwise indifferent on the pending application before uh the Zoning Board of adjustment on 150 Allen Road um any Silence by the members up here should not be taken as a position with respect to that application because they are prohibited from commenting on that application so I hope that clears things up there thank you I hope so too um Anna thank you mayor so I want to start by addressing the comments from Victoria Costa whom I know and to say that as you know you don't see McCarthy and Wong posters all over town this year uh I'm not running for office uh we chose to run a campaign last year focused on ourselves our competencies as candidates and the issues uh the campaign this year is running on issues and then differently than that U the Democratic committee put out a video that was something that I don't control um differently I did not like it I generally am not on social media and you stated that I liked it I haven't uh differently also we are all members of Municipal committees but we generally don't run them and there are going to be things and decisions made by committees that we may or may not agree with that we may or may not Foster or support um and generally this time of year is tenuous because when people see something they'll assume oh it's Anna or it's Andrew or it's Jen because we are in party lines differently um I'll speak for myself sitting on the DAT I represent the community and serving with Andrew and Jen I know that they're civic-minded they're focused on community and that's the relationship we've had the past 10 months so to that extent I do hope that we reach a point where we can talk about issues that we can have civil discourse not only in FN Township around the country because that's the way we will make progress as a unified Nation um so I appreciate your comments and as we've done before I would welcome coffee with you or anyone that wants to talk about the issues in town um and concerns and disagreements because that's what we're here we're here to serve so thank you um sorry Todd I do have a few more things um so I wanted to just share um I also want to acknowledge mayor AC who was a catalyst for the parents of exceptional children or the PEC for the 5K run and walk that was held September uh Saturday October 5th uh which I attended it was really great um it was a great way to raise funding and awareness for our house which has five group homes in Basking Ridge with one on the way on manary road and um as the mayor shared and we've shared some of the kids in the PC commity become adults and they need housing options and our house provides housing and vibrant living environment here in our community so it was just a great event and I think um I think they raised $25,000 which is fabulous um I also joined the Thursday October 10th Township conversation connected minds and protected Hearts which the mayor championed and we had the opportunity to participate um Andrew ran a fabulous round table on legislation we were joined by Senator bramnick and a couple of the AIDS for the congressman um Kaine and assembly one matat and we had quite the Lively group uh that being said for me the takeaway was what a complicated issue this around the usage of screen time and the dependency on technology of our young children and the good work that our Board of vet is doing for having a strategy and set of programs focused upon restoring Focus so it was a great conversation I'm hopeful that we will continue that in our community so thank you Jen and then this past Friday I joined others at the Bernards Township Employee Service Awards in openhouse I wish to congratulate the 33 employees who achieved service Milestones including um Sean McCarthy on his 10year mileston so congratulations and then this past Saturday um I think all of us were at we all we all were at the Basking rdge Indian Community dandia event um it was fabulous it was held at the high school and it's just such a great way to again celebrate culture and then around the boards I'm liaison to our Municipal Alliance is sponsoring the mind and mingle program which is very much um in the spirit of trying to get kids off the phone off their iPads and into activities and convening those programs are funded through a competitive Grant we received from the Somerset County Youth Services Commission and we'll have a series of programs held at our library which is terrific and then lastly our environmental commission went on a field trip trip on Monday September 30th to the Somerset County Recycling Center we enjoyed a presentation from Melissa Harvey the manager of solid waste and we learned a lot about what some of us are not doing correctly including you should not recycle the top of this bottle so everyone when you take it off please throw this in the trash you can recycle this none of us knew that so we have a lot to share with our community and then lastly driving along South Maple Avenue you'll see progress being made at the property at 245 South Maple Avenue next to the engineering building work is underway to transform this field into a meadow and that's being l through the DPW Department as well as representatives from the environmental commission so that's all thank you mayor thank you Andrew thank you mayor um I'd like to Echo some of uh Anna's sentiments regarding recent events and uh take my hat off to you mayor and to the staff on the mayor's fall f Festival the 5K the sensory friendly Festival it was truly extraordinary this expanded Fall Festival that we had this year was really great um I'd also like to take my hat off to uh Fellowship Village uh which held a a concert on that same day featuring The Yacht Rock gold experience uh if you've never seen them I would strongly encourage you they put on one heck of a show um and it was great that Fellowship Village hosted them right here in our own community uh also I'd like to um uh the the social media event was really extraordinary and Screen Time Event um that struggle is real uh as the parent of a 11-year-old an 8-year-old certainly I benefited from you know talking through uh various different uh Solutions and ideas and and and knowing that other people are dealing with this just like I am you know uh provide some solace in that situation so thank thank you mayor for pulling that together and certainly uh wanted to thank the uh basking Bridge Indian Community for their extraordinary dandia event at Ridge High School this past Saturday it gets bigger and bigger every year um I even found myself up there dancing as some of you witnessed did sorry about that uh Fred as dare I am not but I got caught up in the moment what can I say uh so but it was truly a great party so thank you brick for putting on that extraordinary event uh a couple of final things um I'd like to take my hat off to you Sean and to Tom Timco and my colleagues on the um uh burners Township sewage Authority we had a meeting earlier today and uh for the seventh year in a row we will be holding uh sew trates flat um and in this uh inflationary environment that's truly extraordinary we'll be formally voting on that next week but that was the subject of our meeting earlier tonight um I'd like to extend a uh belated uh best wishes to the Jewish Community for rashash sh and yam kapor and uh a belated happy Columbus Day to everyone uh but especially the Italian-American community and then finally uh one announcement of something upcoming the field of Honor ceremony is something that we do every year and it will be held on Sunday November 3rd at 12:00 p.m. um it's really an extraordinary site with all those beautiful American flags out here in front of town hall um and uh one opportunity that everyone has is you can uh donate uh online in honor or memory of a veteran essentially sponsoring a flag it is only $30 per flag and you are not limited to just one flag you can donate as much as your means will allow um and all proceeds go to the community hope organization which is run out of the Lions VA and provides assistance to homeless and disabled veterans in our area so uh that concludes my report thank you mayor thank you g so um I want to Echo uh committee MC's comments on field of Honor um donations through this month and it is absolutely uh something special to do um Parks and Recreation um Middle School ski and Snowboard program for seventh and eighth graders up and running um we have volunteers and registration for students begins October 21st so uh if we if you know anyone who would be interested in participating spread the word um and and and we're looking to get students registered um my only other comment comes back to Connected Minds protected hearts and it's interesting that the Common Thread tonight on the de is connected Minds protected Hearts so mayor thank you for organizing and championing that conversation um we had our Congressman we had our state legislators from legislative district 21 here each of whom stood up and addressed an element of social media devices screen time and so forth but it was really um uh uh Nancy mun's comments that struck me the Deep because she really explained to us that the legislative process when addressing an issue works best when it's informed by the model of success coming out of a community that legislators can debate on the floor all they want what the solution to a problem is but it's best when they learn the solution from a pilot from an example from from success and she said that success is going to be achieved through days like this the coming together of members of the community to talk openly and honestly about their experience about the problem about potential Solutions and about ways to turn the negative positive and and after looking at the format of what you put together and the guided discussion that was going to ensue she looked and she said to us this looks like the model this is how the solution will be found um and so I walked away from it not just with the common experience we shared as parents and as Educators and as committee people and members of residents of burnard Township but I came away energized to stay engaged in this issue and that's not something that really comports with my volunteer time and day job but I'm energized to remain engaged in this issue and to help Bernard's Township become a model that can serve to witness to legislation um and so thank you for that I mean sometimes the quietest of items on the agenda turns out to be the most impactful and and and and that was it thanks okay thanks little unorganized tonight so bear with me here uh first let start with the library board um they had an arts and craft table at the mayor's Fall Festival which had a great turnout many thanks to Jen Gander and the whole recck department with cooperation of DPW the library's lower level parking lot will be repaved on Thursday and Friday of this week and something I want to add about that is so we work so well together in town so when we were doing a project here in town we reached out to the library which is separate from us and their budget is separate and we said listen we're going to have uh this area paved would you be interested in having the parking lot paved and it would be cheaper because they're here and they're going to have be on site and the materials and we offer that to them and um they found it within in their budget the library to do it which saved them save them a significant amount of money so working together shared services is what we do here in burners Township Leisure learning is underway on Monday through November 4th and it is it was very well attended as usual so that's always a big hit Leisure learning at the library the main library Alliance a network of 52 libraries that include Bernard's Township is partnering with the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey in Madison for the remainder of its 2024 SE season so any library card holders can use their Pro use a promo code main li15 at checkout for 15% off the original price of tickets tickets are redeemed at the bo box office by showing your library card so it's another benefit of being a uh library card member they have a lot of discounts to a lot of plays Parks museums so please look into that by going online and looking up uh what they have to off offer at the library but that's really great 15% because tickets can be really expensive and any savings nowadays excuse me we can receive would be perfect um the deer commission met this week uh we are on full swing with um with our hunting and I don't know if I mentioned it before but uh we did receive uh grant money wa we haven't received it yet um to do a a flyover survey to see what the population in each area of the town is um so we will do a uh a drone fly over and uh this will map out which areas have the most deer and how big our population is and that we receive um we received grant money from the state which is the fish and wildlife so we're really happy about that because it saves US money if we had to do it it's about $88,000 and we receive that grant money which we haven't received yet I was have to say that because they was want us to put the money out first then we get reimbursed but that is exciting that the deer we haven't done it in years and it's really great that we are doing it and we did apply for it so that's really important on the police department um I want to thank them um and especially Sergeant Tracy biseri for um coffee with a cop which was at bar bar barister coffee shop downtown um it was well attended and just to have everyone come together and meet our police officers and just be one with the community um really is a great thing so they're doing more Community placing in events like that so I want to thank them also want to thank the police department for dandia the Italian f on Saturday which we attended and we did have a police officer there Sly officer Sly sorry I can't say his last name it's pretty complicated but everyone knows who he is so I want to thank Sly for staying all night and serving and protecting and answering any questions anybody have but just having him there really meant a lot to us and we're always here to serve the whole Community but especially when we have events like this um I did attend uh the employer recognition breakfast it's always an honor and I want to thank our HR Director Emily and assistant director Carol for putting together a wonderful breakfast and having all the employees and like I always say to anyone who is hired here I always say welcome to the family because it really is a family everyone's been here for so long and just to get together and I also want to thank them because some days you know you need a compliment and um I know my brownies were really bad but everybody said they were really good so I want to thank them for that so um it was a wonderful breakfast and we do it every year and and they really should be recognized for their service and it is a pleasure working here because it is amazing how many of our employees have worked here for so many years they don't leave and there's a reason why it's because it it's a family we care about each other and it's not just the job it's really their family so just want to mention that excuse me so um Farmstead lot of report on my reports my liaison uh Lord Sterling uh a theater group is going to have Agatha Christie's black coffee at Farmstead Art Center so they're having the play agesa chrisy Black uh Black Coffee on October 18th 19 25th and 26th at 7:30 October 20th and 27th at 2 pm so just go to Farmstead art centers to get the show information and tickets but they always put on a great show at Farmstead and that's the purpose there Arts is what it's all about for Farmstead so when they get a play there that's really a big deal so um I hope you will uh try and attend and I know it's a little early but you always want to plug things early if you're busy on November 2nd the fire company Liberty corter fire company will be hosting another uh standup comedy night which is a great fundraiser for them and it's a lot of fun to come out so that's Saturday night at um that's Saturday November 2nd at the Liberty qu of firehouse the standup uh comedians it start doors open at 600 I think the show starts at 8 the fun part is you can go to dinner with your family and then come and bring the dessert they you're allowed to bring outside outside food and you sit there and you watch the show and you you'll have your own your own food so it's a a really great evening um so a couple other things and and Victoria I want to really thank you for complimenting us and acknowledging everything that we do um it is really true uh that people do recognize what we do and once in a while you know we get some criticism so me personally uh as sit back I don't really say much about those um situations I read a lot we get a lot of phone calls and so a couple topics I'd like to personally clear off because I think it's really important because it's a respect thing for my colleagues we all work so hard together we um do a lot and sometimes people are ill informed or uneducated on what our real job is and what the focus is and how we arrive to something so I just want to touch on a couple a couple subjects and one of the things I was going to say was about the zoning board issue about Allen Road so thank you for um acknowledging that and explaining it because I did get an email this week from a resident who said they' like me to attend the meeting and I always say legally we're not allowed so we get a lot of that and unfortunately we get a lot of criticism for not being plugged into it when we're not allowed to be so I'll say it again we would love to be able to help all of you and we know how you feel we know where you stand but we cannot weigh on it weigh in on it so one of the things I want to talk about is that we you know we're Andrew and I are the Liaisons for the police department and that's basically uh Commissioners so we don't get involved in the day-to-day operations we also don't get involved in the budget so that's the chief sets the tone if he wants to change something operationally he would come with us come to us and ask us what our opinion what we think we would give it to that give it to him he'd make the decision then we all vote on it so one of the things that I read that really I was offended by was about the uh license plate readers why didn't we get them sooner why didn't we get this many why did we do what we did so what happens is we take our direction from the police chief so the prior police chief said well listen we don't really need these two year is fine we put it in the budget so we were doing two a year then all of a sudden what happened was then things started Escala we had safety issues and so we got together and the Chief came to us the new Chief and said to I really think that we need them now things have escalated we shouldn't be doing them every two years you know getting so many every two years let's just get it now so of course all of us together we talked about it we discussed it and we found the money and we purchased the 10 at once instead of doing two at the time so that is the reason why we didn't get the M muds our chief that's his job is to tell us what he needs and also what he can afford in his budget so we didn't need them then we found we needed them and right away we all decided and we got them so that's why we didn't get all 10 of them um all at once I just want I also want to touch on the affordable housing any criticism on that um the mayor especially who's been in charge of this but all of us are working are going to be working on an affordable hous but especially the mayor so the mayor did what she's supposed to do as mayor she went out and got a planner we hired a planner a planner is working on what the plan is we don't know how many we're going to get yet because we don't make the decision on how many the town gets um a judge makes the decision gives us the numbers and then we all together as a team decide where it's going to go what plan works best for the town and so there isn't overdevelopment so we work really hard on that and I want to thank you mayor for all the work that you've done on affordable housing and this has all been planned out and a lot of work has gone into it so when we roll this out it's a decision we all are going to make together cuz we're a team and we're United so that's how it's working affordable housing we've all and we've done what we're supposed to do hire a planner figure it out make the decision together and then do it we don't have a say on how many so if somebody comes out and says oh my God you built too many no that's how many we are legally responsible to do and that's what we're going to do and that's not on us that's on the that's on the state of New Jersey who makes that decision not us which is actually a judge so I wanted to mention that and then I want last thing I want to talk about is uh boards and commissions for two years I worked on the boards and commissions that we have here in town so when there is a vacancy we get a tap to talent for it's not on a political party we do not appoint on political party what party we get the tap the talent we read it we see what board is there's an opening and I'll give you an example so library has an opening right you think oh anybody can serve on the library board right no we go through the tap to talent and then we listen to our board chairs that come to us and say listen I need somebody specific I need an engineer because we're working on you know structural issues and if we had somebody who knew about that or we need a finance person who knows about Finance so can you get me a finance person so it's it each board is different but we each and every one of us I can tell you this we read the tap the talent okay whoever you know has to do it each mayor usually does it I did as mayor but I did did it for 2 years Jen did it and Andrew did it we go through the tap to Talent we see what boards are needed we figure out who fits that criteria and then we call them we actually call these people and we interview them and sometimes maybe you don't get chosen because the conver the interview did not go well and so we didn't pick you we didn't feel like you were fit or maybe something was off or you you know sometimes people will think oh I want to SL on the library CU I read a lot well the library board really is about finances and about going over um what needs to be done on the building and so forth and I know I'm rambling but these are really important issues and you know what we're a team and if we're going to get hit with darts I want us I want people to know what the facts are and what we do and why we do them because we don't deserve them and nor do my two colleagues so I just I I think it's really important that you understand that a lot goes into and a lot of work now they're up again this year so I am stressing to all of you fill out the form the tap the talents go through it we'll figure like I said we're going to figure out who we need and political party does not play a part but I will tell you something and this is to the mayor's credit when she looked for the boards and commissions she specifically looked for diversity specifically wanted to make sure that our boards were Diversified and they are and they always will be but that was a mission that she had let's make sure that there yes we have qualified people serve on boards but also let's make sure there's diversity and then everyone serves just not a Ser surf a a certain group so I want to thank you for that so much and I appreciate it and I think that's it just wanted to clear up a few things sorry Todd but I took my moment thank you first thank you um so rounding out and I apologize I I have a lot to share the last couple weeks have been insane right I mean hopefully you get the gist of how I typically do this I I touch based on things that happened in the past and then I try to give people a heads up of important things that are coming up and then I address issues that have been raised since the last meeting so with that I'm not going to be redundant to the wonderful comments that my colleagues have made so um I'm just going to highlight things that haven't been touched on first and foremost Shan McCarthy you and your team Joe and Dave in particular did an awesome job on September the 26th how our local tax money is used to address the needs of this town you did a fabulous presentation it is not common for the CFO to get up and have some of his staff have a open conversation about how the finances are developed and how it works in town and allow it to be recorded you guys were rock stars and especially I know a lot of folks were very concerned about that concept of assessment um and with our property values we the fourth hottest Market in the United States that assessment talk is in that presentation so before anyone is upset and confused about when the assessment rates go up I really hope and pray that they go to that video because Dave did a fabulous job in making it Crystal Clear um and so I just encourage everyone to use those tools that you and the other leaders of the town do when you record those videos so thank you Sean um the May's Fall Festival that entire day day I want to big do a shout out to tap into they allowed me a column where I was able to speak about all the things that day I could not get away though without giving props to PEC leadership uh Lindsay Panucci and Bridget chaldo they were amazing and it was really a dream come true to see the community come together that benefit our special needs population it was just truly a special day and thank you to all my colleagues who attended all the various events that day it was truly a dream the fabric of Bernards and not a lot of folks know this because it was for small business owners on October the 8th we hosted I think for the first time ever the state's business Action Center as well as the treasury Department here in this room we did a business certification Workshop I am proud to say those business owners that came every single one of them left with at least one certification the promise that we made of bring your documents with you you will leave with a certification those state folks insured that happened and most left with two certifications small business entity as well as women's own business so I was so proud and grateful to that staff christe you help to make that happen as well as um Jessica and Ben from the county it was wonderful and so I'm very proud and grateful uh that we were able to help those business owners the con connected Minds protected Hearts again thank you to my colleagues that helped to facilitate that event it's a great start um the video is up um there is lots more work to be done um but it is something that is very important so thank you for ensuring that success we've already mentioned about the d ross celebration on Saturday um so that was again thank you to the brick leadership just did an amazing job upcoming understanding Bernards November 7th at 700 p.m. the public works department maintaining our infrastructure and services provided Ryan Wallace will be an awesome present presenter so please come and learn about the importance of that particular Department also as a board of health representative I wanted to share if you are not aware there is a free rabies vaccine clinic on November the 9th from 10 to 12 at the Bernards Township Public Works garage at 277 Maple two other important things that have been announced um and they happen to both be collaborations with the Baskin Ridge business Alliance we are hosting for the first time ever the world kindness day we're going to celebrate it on November the 13th why are we mentioning that now because there are awesome seven businesses who have agreed to donate proceeds of their items in some instances their vision reminders of to be kind right for our community to demonstrate our kindness these seven businesses are going to donate their proceeds to ironically parents of except parents for exceptional children PEC so this is a wonderful thing and I really hope that folks will go to the brba website and look at those um wonderful businesses and to support them and perhaps buy a shirt buy a sign um create a sign or jewelry it's just it's really wonderful everybody's doing something a little bit different and then lastly the uh townwide food drive I'll talk about that more but it is starting before our next TC meeting so that's why I'm putting that out there because it's going to be a couple days uh in in action um by the time but I'll I'll talk more about that at the the next Township committee meeting I'm super excited to really to raise the awareness that our town does have a food pantry and so grateful for the Basking Ridge business Alliance and the various Town departments that are helping to pull this together um this is something that the deputy mayor has in the past also done on food drive so happy to bring and to continue that tradition okay so now I'm going to move into updates on some topics that have been raised first and foremost the electric power outage concerns in Bernard's Township the jcpnl update as you know we've been working closely with jcpnl to address the service issues that have been experienced this year here are some relevant updates number one the reliability investigation was completed and was presented to Township employees with jcpl interaction in September the Public Presentation is scheduled for November the 12th at that Township committee meeting because of the heightened demand because we were not the only ones with having power issues many municipalities have been competing for that Public Presentation so that is the earliest date we could get so if you have any interest November the 12th it will be on the official agenda jcpnl though never fear they've actually already started to address the findings so they're not waiting for that presentation to become available to start work they've actually already started that so that's helpful in fact um I received multiple text messages and photos from residents of door hangers left behind by J pnl and its contractors due to the tree trimming that's been going on because guess what a lot of the reasons why we have power aages related to our trees so they are starting on some of that the other thing I want to make and a reminder is that on the jcpnl website and if you don't know where to find it quite honestly just Google jcpnl report a tree problem if you believe a tree is growing too close to one of their power lines they can assess the situation determine if the tree needs attention before the next trimming when you report that via that tool they have 72 hours to inspect so I highly suggest that as we walk our beautiful town in this beautiful fall weather please look up if you see trees growing into the lines please report it to jcpnl jcpnl reported Tre problem so there is that Public Safety I am still meeting with the somerset Hill Mayors uh we had a meeting last Thursday that the Somerset Hills um Safety Committee um other municipalities are also purchasing those automated license plate readers a lot of the reason why because Bernard's Township is having success so it's great again we're increasing the net um and as always as my Liaisons for the police department they know that um we would like to continue to remind our residents to stay vigilant if you see specic suspicious Behavior please report it and don't forget there have been some great tools that the police developed earlier this year like the the checklist um that happens to sit on the the uh police department website um another topic um affordable housing update just want to give you guys the heads up as I have told you all year long that there's a new law in town and that new law states stated that October the 20th is a statutory deadline for the Department of Community Affairs to complete and publish a report of the calculation of regional needs and Municipal obligations for each region in short this is when the municipalities are supposed to be given the required number of housing units that must be built as directed by Trenton also this other statutory deadline is January 31st 2025 that is when the municipalities must adopt their obligation numbers via a binding resolution this is a essentially the acceptance of the number that we will be given and just a brief reminder this Governor Murphy communicated that one of his top priorities is to position New Jersey as a national leader in expanding affordable housing and just a little reminder r that on February the 13th this Township committee passed a resolution that was titled um opposing assembly bill number four C bill number 50 which opposes the overhaul of the fair housing act in a way that imposes unrealistic obligations with unrealistic deadlines based on owner standards our legislative district legislators voted against nonetheless the law went into effect in March so just to be crystal clear this is a state mandate where municipalities are required to allow high density housing despite the negative impact to the community Trenton's demands do not consider local impact like impact on infrastructure School population Town finances Emergency Services environmental impact or even availability of developable land we do not oppose affordable housing what we oppose is the overdevelopment that is triggered by the process I will encourage you to look at the most recent Bernard's Buzz that's where I have a list of all the proactive actions that we took Deputy May Deputy Mayor Fields touched on that but please know that again we've tried to be as transparent with you as possible including having the video that is our most popular uh most frequently watched video of over 300 views about understanding affordable housing efforts past present and future it was made clear to me early on at the state um and by many experts that I nor any of the township committee could stop this Trenton mandated process that will force us as most municipalities to revise our zoning to include high density housing as a part of the state mandated round four obligations as such I have sought to mitigate the negative impact of the state mandate in summary Bernard's Township will comply with the state law how however we will build the fewest new units to limit the negative impact that this new law will have the state law requires specific types of housing we must include but we will ensure that it we will build what our community actually needs specifically housing for senior citizens and adults with special needs and as I've stated since February I'm trying to be as transparent as possible with all residents regarding this process balancing the communications and releases that potentially could be used against the town so now let me end up on a a high note and this is the last one Todd I'm extremely excited to share that all of our hard work in completing the steps to become New Jersey film ready and hosting many many film Scouts has finally paid off Bernard's Township has secured its first major motion P picture Film Production once we're able to share the details like how the production will financially benefit Bernard's Township directly and our town businesses we will share but I am beyond grateful to the New Jersey motion picture and television commission especially David shoner our Somerset County Film liaison Ben Nana and Christine kefir are Bernard's Township film leaon for making this possible so with that we're moving on to Fire and Rescue appointments none this evening mayor unfinish business none this evening that brings us to new business on the consent agenda the items listed within the cenda agenda portion of this meeting have been referred to the township committee for reading and study are posted on the agenda on the website are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion of the township committee with no separate discussion if separate discussion is required the item may be removed from the agenda by Township Committee Action and placed on the regular agenda under new business would anyone like an item removed from the township or from the consent agenda seeing none may I have a motion mayor move the consent agenda second Christy roll call please Mr Balman yes Miss DTE McCarthy yes Miss Fields yes Mr MCN yes mayor AC yes motion carried thank you that brings us to approval of minutes September 24th 2024 Open Session minutes may have a motion so moved second all in favor I all great that brings us to Executive session none this evening mayor and then adjournment may I have a motion to adjourn so