##VIDEO ID:Q4DVthReJMM## tonight this meeting of the township committee um of January 7th 2025 is called to order adequate notice of this meeting of the township committee was given as required by the open public meetings act as follows notice was given to the chadam Courier and the Mars County Delhi record in progress on January 3rd 2024 notice was posted on the Bolton board in the main hallway of the municipal building on January 3rd 2024 and notice was filed with the Township Clerk on January 3rd 2024 if everyone will please rise for the flag salute pledge to the flag of the United States of America theic for it stands Nation God indivisible and justice for all I would now like to invite up um father Kevin Corran for the invocation good evening and happy New Year everyone and let us pray Eternal God we ask you to bless our Township we ask that you send down on those who hold office the spirit of wisdom charity and Justice that with steadfast purpose they may Faithfully serve in the their offices and promote the well-being of all who live and work here amen okay now next up I would like to invite up Mr alperowitz for your oath of office mhone okay Craig please raise your right hand and repeat after me I Craig alowitz do solemnly swear do Sol swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people and in this state under the authority of the people I do further solemnly swear I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform that it will faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of the office of the chadam township committee all the duties of the office of the chattam township committee according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations our next order of business is the roll call um if you can remember to turn your microphones on as your name is called uh Mr alperowitz here Mrs Ewald here Mr McHugh here Mrs Roland here and Mr Choy here we have the full committee I will now open the floor for nomination for the office of mayor uh it is my honor to nominate Mike Choy for the office of Mayor is second uh I'll now do a roll call vote uh Mr alow witz uh yes Mrs ewal yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Roland yes and Mr Choy yes motion passes congratulations and come on down s I I Michael Troy do swear do solemnly swear that I'll Faithfully support that I'll Faithfully support the Constitution the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will support and that I will support the government the United States the governments established in the United States and in the state and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I will also Faithfully I will also faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office all the duties of the office of Mayor of Mayor according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you thank you all um at this time I would like to uh ask for motion for nomination of Deputy Mayor it would be my honor to nominate committee woman Roland to act as Deputy Mayor do what second that wonderful thank you Mr El pertz yes Mrs eal yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Roland yes and mayor Troy yes motion passes come I Jennifer Roland swear do solemnly swear support that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States andit and the constitution of the state of newe of the state of New Jersey I will bear truei and I will bear true Faith Al to the and allegiance to the same and to the governments established the United States in the United States and in this state under theth of under the authority of the people I do further swear I do further solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully and partially and partially andly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office all the duties of the office ofy Mayor of Deputy Mayor to the of my ability according to the best of my ability so so help me God congratulations at this time if I may invite uh a member of uh Mikey Cheryl's staff Shala kindly step forward thank you is it okay usus okay on behalf of congresswoman uh Mikey Cheryl's and her office I'd like to present the following Commendation letters to Mayor Choy uh Deputy Mayor Roland and Committee Member albertz so good evening to you all I wanted to share a not so secret secret and it is this we share much in common not withstanding the divisiveness and hostilities which appear to be pervasive and Relentless in today's world you and I all of us desire and seek out much of the same things we desire quiet and peaceful enjoyment of our properties we value and Foster relationships with peers we enjoy our Open Spaces fields and trails houses of worship our claimed schools and we all bear witness to an admired American way of life being lived out here in the township the township is an endearing place to build Roots live privately in peace live your senior years gracefully or choose as I have to live in chaos raising a family with children we really do share much in common volunteering is an ultimate exercise in democracy you vote in elections once a year but when you volunteer you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in the author is unknown but I found the quote to be profound and relevant it is through the simple Act of volunteering that I find myself before you this evening I humbly thank members of the community for the support and Trust in putting me before you on this day some time ago as well as my fellow committee members for honoring me with serving as mayor I understand and accept the gravitas of serving as mayor I anticipate this upcoming 2025 year to be one of progress and preparation laying down the foundational work to be well position down the road as we tackle challenges head on Services we have made significant field and playground investments in our parks and are committing to critical investments in our fire and police departments expanded our youth recreational activities invested in improvements in our senior center are committing to enhancing our walking trails augmented our open space and support for E for ecosystem and habitat learning and captured Grant Monies to improve our streets looking ahead I am am committed to sustaining the flywheel and continually improving the services and public amenities to be enjoyed by the community egov and Communications the digital age is roughly 20 years old and yet its impact and pervasiveness is breathtaking technology can play an important part in connecting our community and ensuring that government services are accessible relevant and efficient I remain a big fan of the egov initiative and look forward to Contin to make this a better reality for our residents paying bills license applications permit applications accessing Municipal data communicating Township events and time sensitive information is just a part of it the township has made a number of these capabilities a reality and I'm eager to continue pushing forward with new capabilities and Prov improving existing ones development and housing the township has come a long way from its Revolutionary War days there is Rich history here while much has changed in the township the township continues to thrive as a sought-after place to play and live changes will continue and it need not be cast as a fearsome Boogeyman I shall continue to advocate for controlled housing density improved traffic and circulation and prudent planning the fourth and final round of affordable housings upon us the history of this matter in the township is lengthy and complicated right now we have significant development planning and design expertise to begin to plan wisely and methodically to meet this obligation over time on our terms fiscal Prudence there is no mayor's message that makes no mention of taxes each year the committee along with our Vital Township staff has the hard work to meet ever expanding needs with finite resources Resources by the way that escalate in cost every year it is the challenging annual Endeavor which we successfully achieved the prior fiscal year and I'm confident this committee shall continue the good stewardship of taxpayer monies we are after all taxpayers as well when I look amongst my colleagues I would like to share with you what I see on the deis I see collectively multiple Decades of Fortune 500 small business experience accounting and finance skills marketing and communication skills audit advisory skills real estate development corporate board and Municipal government's experience Knowledge and Skills to problem solve and construct the very best budget for the township suffice to te suffice to say that we'll be entertaining opportunities and problem solving throughout the year on matters shared by most of you to continue living out this admired American way of life here in the here in the township we do after all have much in common so than thank you and let's get to work at this time I'd like to make acknowledgements with regard to appointments for the 2025 year for the following uh committees and boards for the planning board Matthew Khan class 4 member do stillinger class 4 member Heather fan class 4 member Michael nebert uh planning board member and environmental uh commission liaison with regard to the open space committee Joseph basian chairman with regard to the environmental commission Lisa McHugh Pat Wells Michael nebert planning board liaison with regard to chairwoman Jessica Romeo that is all for the appointments um I'd like to ask for a motion for approval of the agenda so moved do I have a second a second Mr lanti so if this if we're at the consent agenda then and um Mr alperowitz yes Mrs ewal yes Mr McHugh yes Deputy Mayor Roland yes and mayor Troy yes motion passes thank you Mr alanti I now would like to open up uh the hearing of citizens Mr Clank if you could provide the guidance members of the public are now welcome to come up to the microphone to address the township committee this is an opportunity for any member of the public to be heard about issues which are not topic scheduled for public hearings tonight those present May step up to the microphone to be heard if you're watching via Zoom you may speak during any of the public comment sessions by following the zoom instructions to raise your hand whether in person or online when you are recognized to speak please mind the following procedures please say your name spell your last name and give the name of your street you do not need to give your street number all public comments will be limited to 3 minutes rather then use any of your time answering questions the township committee will wait until you finish speaking before responding there are two public comment sessions oh there actually there's just this one public uh comment session on tonight's agenda each member of the public will be limited to one comment of up to three minutes during the public comment period written comments submitted to the Township Clerk before 3 p.m. today will be read during the public comment session written comments are subject to the same guidelines as oral comments duplicative written comments may be summarized rather than read in full according to guidelines issued by the New Jersey Division of local government services and uh we do not have any written comments tonight thank you Mr so if anyone wants to speak at the microphone now is your chance wonderful I'd like to thank you Mr lanti I'd like now close the hearing of citizens we move on to closing prayer certainly father Kevin let us pray Creator God we thank you for a new year we come into this year with new plans new decisions and new dreams help us to live as people who serve your community and to serve one another we pray for peace in this world and that you may help us to be peacemakers we pray for justice and freedom and all those who stand up and fight and serve those areas we pray for those who struggle in our community and those you will be and let them know that you will be with them and help us to look for the betterment of this community in all that we say and do may this year be one in which we follow the way of peace peace and Justice in your name amen amen amen and we need a motion to J would like to seek a motion so move I'll second wonderful Mr lanti all in favor all in favor I hi I and we're done we're adjourned thank you everyone recording stopped confidence