##VIDEO ID:uneAKNEgh6I## public meeting Z would you get chance take roll please okay uh Bob pusk herey Schmid here here Mary L here Robin sudam here oh John Moon Vanessa Jones here spray toel supposed to be here know she's coming um John hling Is Here Yeah Dave here mayrer Rober I there you are y okay oh I didn't write you down either I'm sorry Bob here I'm sorry I think I got up in the middle of my uh rating okay got [Music] it public comment welcome everybody back but hope you all had a good summer so is there is there a motion open to the publiction all favor the public anybody in the public wants to make a comment Now's the Time to do it motion close public motion have a second second favor next on approval of June minutes so everybody get a chance to look at them or read them or Corrections additions on them oh they're not here I see they weren't in there were they they W something then okay maybe I read something wrong all right financial report on the table any questions on the financial sorry this cord is you're okay I know you're okay don't worry go ahead thank you so much all right okay a question Capital ordinance on the East Millstone Church sorry um that is an ordinance for that's the property that we're preserving is right next to the east millone church so that's just the ordinance the uh the notification of the organs which church uh East milstone Methodist Church what was this spray park repairs Bob you have any idea Tara we turn the uh it's through here now yeah yeah we have a new speaker which is there and a new video system yep always mugging for the camera if there's no questions on the financial report like to have Mo approve it I'll make a motion we have a second second favor new business proposal for a green infrastructure project okay so uh we have soam gas here he is a potential Eagle Scout um and I have been meeting with him at non Williams Park he approached me a while back and was looking for a project to do for his Eagle Scout and uh he's been working really hard on his presentation so he has present to our committee tonight for approval to do it and I'm going to put your presentation up here okay uh let's see there this one okay hold on uh all right hold on loading do you want to just give me like a signal and I'll hit the button okay uh good good evening everyone and honorable mayor cram um um this is my uh overview for a project that I am uh requesting U Financial uh Aid and uh your supervision over um it's for my Eagle Scout project which is a very prestigious rank um men like Neil Armstrong Buzz alren uh they have this Rank and it's very prestigious in SC so in nen Williams Park there was three uh prior that were um that were placed where uh there was flooding that was happening uh during rainstorms and one one of the priorities is next to uh a grading from the nearby uh develop Housing Development and the what we want to do is remove this big bush that's there and create a gravel path from the paved trail to the gutter uh so it can clean up uh scoop up all the water and any pollutants that are uh that are laying in that area um I've uh reached out to Bountiful Gardens in Hillsboro who have done work with Eagle Scouts in the past and they have uh Fountain uh grasses and Willows which are well suited for soaking up water um and grabbing any pollutants that are in the area uh the diagram in uh in blue or in in red shows the current uh status of the area um the area uh is about 30 ft long uh has a 10t long Bush that needs to be removed and once we do that we can add uh all the eight Willows and uh grass along the trail that goes to the gutter uh the cost analysis um for uh the project we are looking for 10 volunteers so uh we will have water and snacks for them um materials would be the grass plants gravel top oil and Stones which come to around $535 uh snacks um and water should be around uh $260 for uh enough to keep uh people hydrated and filled for a couple hours uh for tools we only need chain saws uh shovels um and um some head trimmers which I have included but all are borrowed um except for the chainsaw uh which that would come to $63 uh supplies would be gloves tables uh a carport chain and wheelbarrow which the only thing we need to get would be gloves um and totaling all this would be 98 uh 28 um we want to have 10 people whether that's from uh My Boy Scout true uh friends family uh and we would transport them using vehicles with high uh High seeding capacities uh we'll use pickup trucks to transport Material supplies tools and food um and the vehicles will park on the north side of the park for easier drop off um the plan is to take place uh on October 19th and 20th we'll have 6 hour work dayss that start at 10:00 a.m. end at 400 p.m. uh we want to get everything as much as we can done on October 19th but if it needs to bleed over uh we'll move to the 20th to finish the project um so today uh where I'm giving all of you the presentation uh once this is over I can start reaching out to uh the district uh for My Boy Scouts um to get approvals from them um then they can go through steps for those get that approved and then we can start working on the project thank you so much that was great really great right yes so there's going to be questions for you okay um one thing just before anyone asks questions of soam is just that on the uh Financial cost analysis he did that's for you know what he has to do for the Boy Scouts and what he's asking for us some of those things we might have already as the Township in the event that we have like for example the chainsaw um I'm not saying yeah I'm not saying but gloves let's say gloves gloves we definitely have gloves I'm sure and so we can probably give you those or so if in the event that we have like in kind that we can give we'll do that first so just put that out there so so yes so my my my first question is the chainsaw so I'm assuming you need to chainsaw to cut the big bush out so the public works department will have to do that for insurance reasons we're not going to be able to allow someone who's not either a Township employee or a licensed contractor to use that kind of power tool in the park so that's fine I mean we'll cut that shrub out for you and then you can go forward with your project perfect so that's so that'll be easier then even and you can spend more time working on the planting and everything like that my question perfect any other questions from the committee um so thank you for putting this together I love the maps the details you definitely thought this thing this all this whole project through so thank you for thinking about our trails and our parks with your project um with the bush yes is there reason you're not going to leave that bush as an established uh plant and uh work around it so there's no space there there's in between the trail and the the trees and stuff behind it is only that bush so to to make the P the the drain we need to go into that area and that bush is in of that yeah so that the removal I don't remember that the removal of that Bush was part of priority 2 in our green infrastructure grant that we did for non Williams the removal of that bush was part of it with replace I knew we wanted to clear I knew we wanted to clear like the overgrowth and I didn't real that bush needed to be removed yeah so that bush will be removed to properly round the water to the drain and then soam is also going to put replacement plants that actually will soak up the water and do better than that bush is doing anyway so yeah so that's that's the reason why really to make sure that the water can just get there so ter that looked like some sort of a Cedar uh let me say the bush to be removed uh keep going that one that one um I think Juniper overgrown Juniper what do you think Dr Chase is that an overgrown Juniper there next to the catch Basin it's lighter it's got that yellow but I think that might be a dead Branch so the drain is behind it but where the water's ponding in front of it having that area on the bottom yeah that's the asold pth so having the Clear Channel will really make that ponding will r Treat it more effectively by removing that whole Bush so but he has a great plan um the one question I have before I forget is the sign so I we would like you to put in a sign that exp explains what so he's also going to put in a sign that says this is green infrastructure and it's doing this or whatever so a question will The Willows and the grasses be native plants that's something I have talked about within the adults in my troop is to make sure that they are native uh we don't want invasive plants taking over all the natural plants in caring question how big will The Willows get uh so I have done some research on that we want the uh The Willows that I've picked out get about 4T in in uh diameter so they're not so big that they're just going to overgrow the entire are Willow Tree a tree Willow Grass Grass another question is $250 for snacks I might overestimated he's a growing boy I have problem we'll figure it out we can uh we can we can bring down the cost of I get it CU he's 18 right so his in his mind he's probably like I need $200 10 people two days that's 20 all right times two meals is 40 meals that's pretty [Laughter] economical breakfast and lunch and there's that's that's 40 meals but we'll work that out so if the committee approves it you'll ask Carl before he goes 19th so what soam is looking oh go ahead the signage are you going to um coordinate with people from the township as to what the signage was yeah so I I'll make something that explains what green infrastructure is what the whole project was about uh I'll write something up and I can send it to miss Kenyon or whoever needs to see it no that's that's the you can send it to me correct that's what you go and then you guys can like figure out like how the logistics of everything for sure and we have our sign shop here so we can have the sign made he can install it I think it's important to have something there that shows why he's doing it you can put your name on it that would be nice you know so uh what soam is is looking The Honorable mayor's name and yes he's looking for approval to for the funding which like I said right now the maximum is the 9008 28 I'm sure we're going to bring it down based on DPW removing the bush and other things we might have to lend um so I would say the maximum 908 28 probably under that and to work there on the N 19th and 20th 19th and 20th yes any other questions make a motion I have um Mid October a bit late for planting yeah yeah so that unfortunately with scheduling I'm in marching band and all that so the 19th this the earliest I can get it like scheduling will it take home as dry as as dry as it's been it's not a bad time to plan as dry as it's been is probably not a bad time to plant should be okay with that we should ask a farmer about that know you know a good one anywhere out to the absolutely bful Gardens again uh just to see should give you some guys yeah so just to see if they have uh anything like as I said they've worked with eag before so if they have any advice on that and if you have to do some followup watering are you able to do that say between then and mid November um should be able to I think Public Works will handle that Robin I don't expect the Boy Scouts to go out and water in our park they know to do it they're going to be involved in the process so that's I made the motion and got a motion on T on the floor to approve this project I'll second it any discuss a motion if not all in favor opposed great approved thank you nice job um so I'll be in touch with you guys after like tomorrow and we'll figure out the logistics but so you can say if you need anything written up for your Boy Scout presentation just let me know okay thank you so much good job thank you all right I'll talk to you soon next this is the deer management yes so so just an update so we had 80 permit requests for the hunting program for 2024 and 2025 first day of hunting season was uh this Saturday that just passed the 14th um and it goes through February 8th um what else can I tell you the clerk's office has been handling the mailing out of the permits which has been great uh they did the lottery with Bob and I and we're very helpful and organized so we're we're grateful to them for that um what properties have vacant slots the only place right now that has vacant slots is there's one spot left at County Route 518 and then 10 mile run right which always always has spots but our other spots are filled okay good um and yeah so far I think so far so good so yeah we're going to we we discussed at that meeting we're going to re revisit the issue how many Hunters on each property could come next year up some down some whatever we need to do so so bill sent me an email yesterday yesterday yeah no about the deer that was yesterday right lastek right um about about noticing increases in certain areas as far as the deer herd is concerned um one of one of the properties that I think that that needs to be looked at as far as the number of hunters and and what the productivity is as it relates to them is is um Wilson Road the Wilson Road property is um so that's a deer herd that I get to experience every day on my way to work and on my way home um it is significantly larger and more Brazen um daytime activity is at a level that I've never seen before because clearly there's they don't feel any predation threat so it it is a herd that has grown significantly I I would say that and in just daytime numbers that I count like at 4:30 in the afternoon um are in the 15 to 20 range just out in people's front yards that's howon Road on Wilson Road between here and trepo that open space property there that's lot of water there and since we haven't had a lot of water I'm just telling you that there's I mean there's at least four Five Pawns and at least 20 in The Herd bock and Do's feeding on people's front lawns in broad daylight walking in the street there's just there's there there seems to be no threat so they feel very comfortable in that neighborhood what what are the problem going to the deer during the daytime that's that's just some reason an audity this year because I see them the same way daytime all over but one of our problems and that proba is going to be once the rest of the houses are built we're going to lose some Pro some distance from some of that wood so mhm understood yep I know understood we'll take a look at the map and see we can what we can do there we should look too cuz Rucker is did that drone study a little while back so maybe we can look at where the Drone study is showing the concentrations and kind of use that to figure out what to increase or decrease that one particular neighborhood in particular is one that I see that makes sense signant more bucks than ever quite a few it used to be one Buck it seems like when you see a group just three or four you see a buck or two you did okay but I I live in that general area and I disagree I think the deer population has decreased David I'm telling you that I've been driving that way to work for 38 years and I'm telling you without any doubt whatsoever that area between trepo and here along Wilson Road which is not where you live has seen a significant I live two blocks Martino way down I've been there since 1991 and I've been there since 1985 was way higher way way way way higher than it is today and yes you are you are right they're all over people's Lawns because they feel safe there because of the coyote population has certainly increased so they're they're going there we're we're you we can agree to disagree I make my observations on a daily basis driving to work nearly I said wew there every day I live there every day I need to Backyard I see the entire no no no no no Bob I walk my dog around disagree that path I created all the way up the fire lane adjacent to that uh open space that you're talking about that's next to uh Wilson there at least if not some upwards of three times a week I'm riding down Wilson and I see I see what he sees it's usually like I'm just I'm just giving my observation from 30 something years of observ I walk my dog four times a daybe your dog middle Bush the path down the fire lanane up uh Martino and he's right the deer have absolutely no fear you can walk two feet in front of a deer and they act like you're just part of the uh the FAA I mean it's it's not like it was 20 30 years ago I'm telling you right now well that's a good thing and that's a good thing I agree with you I think that the people are having their shrubs eaten which is one of the reasons why Reas right Suburbia was created in this area I mean let's move on on how manyer 80 permits how many total permits are permissible uh total permissible I think is like 185 so 80s so far have been mailed out we always get people coming in after the fact for 10 mile run always so I'm expecting that we usually get in September end of September we get like 20 25 requests so we'll have more sh yeah the other good thing that we this year we got our responses back from the responses back how many de were taken we got like 80% back 80% back which is the ever got back that's a good thing we also in that look we we are going if the ter has already done it we're going to do it send an email saying we're going to look at the number of H hundreds on each site yeah and also that if you don't have your permit your report back you will not get a permit next year no matter how long you hunted there so we're going to try to get that 80% up higher B bline so the B bline so my intention tonight was to present to you a detailed cost estimate for the replacement of the bird blind at neger napot but because we want to present and I say we I'm speaking with you know Vanessa's the chair of the trails advisory committee and we've been working on it closely it's very difficult to figure out how much it's going to cost versus what it was to put up this bird blind right also based on what do we need and do we want any different is whatever so we have a general ballpark figure for to use Lumber okay the intern I had previously he did a whole study on the bird blind and measurements and everything we have a cost of what we think it would be to use Lumber of course it's not exact but it's in that area we want to now look and see what it would cost to use as TRX material which is similar to what was used in the Gazebo so because we are waiting on an estimate for that and Vanessa brought up a good point which is I should get the estimate from the Gazebo probably and maybe see if like we can compare and contrast track versus wood is about I just priced it for my house 250 a linear foot for a thck fur board versus $ and change for a track board and that's what we said it's probably me double for the Lum it's more than double more than double so because the bird blind is there and it does you know there's a lot of moisture around it a lot of obviously birds and people you know to I guess that's the discussion we want to have how do we want to replace it like for the long term you know work with just wood for now so I'm going to put together that cost estimate and have it for the next meeting in a very detailed but the reason I bring it up now is at the next meeting if possible especially because the budget SE Inc coming we'd like to maybe potentially as long as everything's in place get a a decision who's going to build it that is also part of the thought process part of that's there like what did that really um when did that bird blind become I am not 100% sure to be honest with you that's Williams when needle you remember Ted I think we asked T yeah Ted doesn't remember either so it's been there for quite a while and now the pond about the same time the situation is now is that the wood is rotting on the floor and the ceiling right there's an ADA ramp that goes there and that's kind of falling apart which is bad because we can't get you know the handicap accessible access is not there so I did find an tic so the reason it's taking so much research another thing I did was I found an article about a Cranford Eagle Scout that built a bird blind in Cranford very similar to ours but smaller I reached out to the newspaper they put me in contact with his mom she just emailed me this morning so I didn't really get a chance to look over everything but he did it in Lumber and he sent me the whole cost estimate every piece of material he used everything when did he do it he did it in 2021 so recent it's still you know but at least I have that but I haven't had a chance to go through it bid by bid so we do have all the resources in place but it's just I think it's important we figure out how much this TRX is going to cost so that you guys have a good idea of what we're actually looking to do because the maintenance I to remember too on the bird line and everything it does take maintenance when we have it with the lumber I so I know arie's retired and he's got a lot of spare time maybe he wants toy yes volunteer good for you yes too you're still working though you got to go to work every you're done too oh there go he can't be working too much walk on his dog four times a day exactly it's not it's not the first time that she put their heads together to get something done maybe we could work with a voice Scout maybe I mean I know it depends on the size it depends on a lot of different things so at the next meeting I would like to put something forward and like be I just I I think that you know you're going to either have to do one of two things as far as the construction is concerned either you're going to have a group of volunteers that know what they're doing and are going to put it together or you're going to get a contractor to build right because it's not something that the public works department is going to be able to do so yeah it's a we have volunteers the last time I don't remember who my bet is you probably did I mean you know it could like I said I bet I bet Chris Williams remembers I I seriously all kiding aside he'll remember which call remember CU he was involved John loose John loose might remember too yeah I'll reach out to John to find out what the poop on that was don't ask me I dropped a can of paint about 15 before I got here all over the driveway so the good part about that is you didn't drop in the house but you know what you don't have to paint tracks so there'll be no paint involved no I'm is I don't I've learned a little bit it it's the it's a coating on a piece of plastic plastic so it's that's all it is it's always a coating each side it still you still have to some down the road take some kind of maintenance on it because anyway all right did I cover everything everything and the the trails Committee just wants to um replace what's there we think it's like a really um special part of of the park of negri and uh just want to people allow people the opportunity to continue to do the bird watching in that space um I know we recently you know organized to have a memorial stone there from Melba and this is you know right next to that in that same area um and there the committee is in favor of the tracks just for the durability the longevity of it um we know it's not cheap but we do think something that will be there for a very very long time I don't I don't I don't think that when you say it's not cheap I don't also don't think it's it's so expens it's it's a it's a picture of the property that many people use you close $100 you can figure almost close to $100 a board for 2x6 or 2x8 board if you get it that way cuz my brother just did his portra and he paid for when I was there helping to pick it up it was like astronomical I could unbel that's I mean Lumber is through the roof right now that's part of the problem it is I mean t you can fig almost almost double at least double not more now one question I've had some people comment since we're talking about the bird blind and stuff is the the wet Pond whatever you want to call it they say it's getting out of control of what's growing in there and stuff we're going to so we need to somehow figure out what to do with it go back and managing it maintaining it somehow what's in it is there fish in it or no there's no trout in it there's no bass in it there's fish in it because there's there get stuck to bird feet and then they land in the water and the fish that's what there a lot of frogs in a lot of fish different fishes in it but they say some of the willow that Willows but um punks Punk type things are taking over it is getting overgrown we have discussed that for sure so I discussed that with Carl in the past when there was more water in there and he had basically said like it might be a specific kind of landscaper or Landscaping that we need to work with to do that there's probably pond maintenance people out there that you would have to consult with how big is it an acre a pond um no um an acre I would have to measure it I can measure on a map when we get to map the mapping system probably quarter acre maybe if that it's not big it's not not big supposed to be deep either supposed to be a track football field so B no Bob it's not a fishing hole Bob that was made to be a fishing hole no and that's something that's come up definitely the person who's adopted that trail um is very concerned about the pond and um now it's it's practically empty now is my understanding um and then just the maintenance around it in general like everything like right now there's things growing in front of the bird blind blocking your view you know to the pond um so that part in front of the bird blind between the bird blind and the pond hasn't been M maintained that's something else we're wondering about do we need to shift the location of that bird blind so the maintenance around it can be done more effectively and efficiently um and I think talking about the maintenance of the pond itself is important yeah I think we somehow reach out to some I don't want say buring group or not outside Auto bomb but if we got some burning groups in town maybe we can reach out to and find out what they're thinking about what they need there for the pond for the pond and and and some and for the bird blind what you know what'll work what we could ask aond to come out I mean they they did the grasslands plan for us so they could come out maybe and look and give us some ideas maybe we can put them both together the maintenance of the pond and the bird blinds all right okay I'll let me WR that down to call nja okay they moving on to Old anybody got any new business they want to bring up if not we go on a old business oh I think Dave said sorry Dave so an observation I made at look middleb Park um the natural uh Basin which has been a great success it's fantastic last year there were a ton of frogs you could just hear them every night this year zero and I observed um our maintenance crew out there just spraying pesticides all around We Don't Spray pesticide uhuh all right then what are they spraying we do not we we we do not spr David let me you want an answer I'm giving an I haven't even finished you said they're spraying pesticide they're not you don't spray pesticide or herbicide we don't right now I have no LIC to do it Township spraying something around there and after they spray it they put Flags out saying you know don't walk your dog don't do this don't do that and my opinion is it's running off whatever they're spraying and they are because again I'm not making this up I walk my dog I see them spraying I go in the other direction because I don't want to walk my dog on that and I think it's running off into the uh the Basin and it killed all the frogs cuz I haven't heard one frog this year in that Basin you hear them on the other side that little stream there not that now because it's all dry because you know we we've had a bit of a drought but uh I think that whatever is is being sprayed and Bob something's being sprayed because I've seen the township fill it I'm not making it up I think it's killing the frogs in that Basin that's my observation so we are not licensed to spray pesticides or herbicides we do have a contractor the same contractor that does Yankee Stadium um and nothing and uh Bob if you can find out but that's fine I mean somebody's spraying I mean whether it's the township or a contractor no I I get that I just want to be as correct as and the and the substance that was that was sprayed was also sprayed it's safe for drinking water it and because it was also sprayed along Canal Road um and it meets all the requirements of the D to be sprayed in proximity to drink water sources so that's it that's all that that that's all that's been used in the township so and I forget the name I the mayor had asked for it but it was several months ago now that was an herbicide that they that's what he's talking about we don't spray pesticides at all it might have been a fertilizer just ask what chemicals need we wouldn't be spraying fertilizer either for anything it would be weed killer and this is like I said it's it's a it's a herbicide that that's approved for use in those those areas so you said that there's um we have a contractor the Yankee contractor turf management company that takes care of the turf in the middle Bush Park da did you say you saw W people or you just saying you saw people people the trucks out there literally but not DP they didn't have DPW I see DPW people out there all the time so I can't differentiate between the two all I'm telling you is people are out there they're spraying it's probably a herbicide because of the trail but I think it whatever the runoff is it went into the Basin and killed all the frogs cuz I didn't hear one frog this year and last year it was like yester day we had lot we had rain almost all year long this year we had rain once or twice all year that's where your frogs went look I'm just making an observation okay all I'm saying is maybe we shouldn't spray around the natural basin there's no reason to let's first collect data I've asked the manager to find out what chemicals were used entirety on that that property and we'll see I mean you might be right you might be wrong we'll find out that's fine that's all I'm just it is tough on the frogs I have one living in a cat litter box right now in my kitchen all right moving on new business olds pictures Trails plan uh the trails plan so Mark Hy uh sent me an email today right for our meeting that he finished his review and I get like a list of comments not many comments which is great but I didn't have a chance to read them yet so uh that review is done so it'll be put in before the planning board for adoption to the master plan once I make his changes which seem to not be many so that's good news next on the agenda is a microbi micr Mobility study the micr mobility study is done so it included comments from the environmental commission and the trails advisory committee I have the final draft um and I'll forward that to Bob and also then you know to anyone who wants to read it but basically it's focused on a small area of Franklin Township by the youth center and it's looking at just how to basically move people from that area of town towards the municipal building and it makes sure it passes some of our open spaces and uses our walking paths and some of our other trails the whole idea is to basically reduce motor vehicle traffic in a safe and efficient way so do we have any sense where we might get funding to make that happen so now that we have the micro ability study in place we can use that to get funding so there is funding coming through the bipartisan infrastructure act um there's funding coming through NJ do for that and the United States Department of Transportation so as that becomes available we can use that as a source so yeah that's a goal you'll be on the lookout for those I'm on the lookout yes I'm absolutely yeah so it's a it's a good plan I mean like I said it only encompasses a small area but you know we could maybe use it to think about other areas or you know question for Bob like when you like you're putting basically bike PL or bike signs saying if you're riding a bike and you're going this way this is the way to go not this road that road do you have to classify a road differently if you put a like like Ben Ben CLE like Bank LEF has all that signage the road didn't really change they just put we striped it for bike Lanes or in that case shared Lanes that's just a signal it doesn't change the classification of the road the classification of the road is based on on more engineering factors as far as the the what it connects to a collector a connector uh arterial I these are all what is that information like we execute part of the master plan yeah like like like Google Maps will sometimes give you recommendations on which way to ride your bike they that that has nothing to do with what us though and I doubt that I doubt that and and I'm not saying this factiously I doubt seriously that Google Earth has looked at the Franklin Township master plan to see how we've categorized roadways in Franklin as far as minor collectors major collectors uh you know like I said minor arterials major arterials uh there's you know there's about a all these are visual cues on way yes and the roads that have been either striped or um now that shared uh roadway is Van CLE are all as a result of the bikeways master plan that was done in 2003 I think yeah so it's only identifying roads in the bikeways master plan to continue to to um delineate bike Lanes or or bike paths paths where there's uh you know insufficient roadway width if you can build it behind the curb for a multi-purpose path um that's plan for Van CLE first section of Van CLE um because there is a path on Van CLE already um so our micro Mobility plan not only includes striping and things like that but it also includes putting up bike racks and shared bike hubs so it has a variety of you know easy striping to you know putting in like I said bike racks or extending a curb it has a whole array of of recommendations not all of which can ever be implemented at all like all of them every single one but it's a list of recommendations to to kind of move that efficiently so and we can get calculations from it so if we do Implement one of the projects we have the Baseline greenhouse gas emissions by tonnage we have that CU our community energy plan that we did we can do another I think BPU puts that out every like two or three years we can compare it in areas so if it works we should we'll know it'll take some time but next on the agenda final the soil protection standards so very quickly the soil protection standards uh have been put out again by the state agriculture development committee um comments were accepted they received many many comments however of all the many comments they received three major comments were identified basically and that's because basically everyone had the one two or third comment so they've now been put out again the SDC thinks they're going to be accepted in in uh October and what it the biggest change was that previously you were only allowed to have 12% of your soils Disturbed or four acres on a preserved farm and that went back even if you were preserved in the year 1990 it counted so you might already have exceeded that 12% or maybe you're close to that the biggest comment they received is that it should not apply to already preserved Farms because it's a major change to your operation and maybe you wouldn't have thought about preserving your farm if you knew that so the sadc did did change it it's only Farms that are preserved of October 1st of 2024 on any Farm that's preserved previous to that is allowed to have more than the 12% especially if they're closer so that's good news um what else can I tell you so that was the major that was the major comment that they received the other comment was that the process for asking for a waiver to go beyond the 12% was very very extraneous which it was it was unbelievable so they've reduced that and made it easier for Farmers that they don't have to get an engineered site plan for example to do like a deep tilling operation which would have been necessary before which is ridiculous so that's been changed and the sadc also changed some definitions I presented this the advisory committee so I went really into the details with them but just so everyone here knows that is looking to be adopted by the state in mid October this was some additional comments made since they come out with this too and I haven't quite seen them but I know far put some more comments in yeah so they put more com so there are they have to have a public comment period but they've already scheduled the date of adoption that they're planning so I'm pretty sure it's you know like subit your comments but you know basically came down to there's a lot of time and effort spent for nothing oh one thing I did though so this is yeah committee one thing I I'll just say briefly I brought up to the a advisory committee in every bill there's like a section that says like social impact health impact economic so I always read those because sometimes like you find interesting things in there and one thing I found was they did a study I'm trying to look for the exact oh so they did an analysis of soil disturbance in New Jersey and they found that of the 2902 preserved Farms so 292 preserved Farms the the average soil disturbance per Farm is 1.35% so it's very was time effort so basically this whole this has taken six seven years and uh approximately 90% of these Farms have used less than 25% of their allocated disturbance so it seems like a lot of in the teapot and how and how many consultants got paid under contract to do all of that how much wasted money that was y so the ACT advisory they submitted very detailed comments the first time and our comments did get accepted so that's good news so all right next up is the meal Foundation houses I asked her to put this on because kind of figured out what the hell was going on with them we public comment to me on the sedan van L house like it's falling apart and falling down they were supposed to have get Grant on that one why done so I I don't know what was there any response back from suan what Bob had requested from about the books so they are still I had mentioned to Bob so they're still working with their attorney and tax a tax attorney and accountant but it's on a pro bono basis so they're still working on putting their books but that's what she said is they don't have they don't no money and we're paying their bills and we're going to go wind up going back to council again because they have no money and I and so the the answer to your question is uh I I can't I don't have an answer because they have no Revenue yeah but they get they're getting a minimal amount that doesn't even come close to paying their bills and and they also have previous debt that the township can't pay they have to pay things like for their own insurance for their corporation that we can't pay and that's it and so they're barely alive how much debt do they have I I there's a construction loan that they had for $4 some th000 I believe um they have no money the answer to all of this is what I had said at the the first time we discussed this is one way or the other um they're our houses so either we pay for all of the things that we're paying for uh now that that we you know we don't have an obligation to pay them because there are leases okay things like utilities under the lease agreement that we have for each of the properties with The Meadows Foundation they're obligated to pay for them they're obligated to make repairs up to $1,000 on each of the houses every time there's a repair that's under $1,000 they have an obligation per the lease to pay it but if they don't do it right if they don't have the money to do do it and they don't do it it comes back around to their our houses and so either we do it or the house has fallen to Decay um the the the heat you know there's there's issues where the public Ser you know we paid the public service Bills going back to April um we paid the Suburban Propane Bills going back to April um there are other bills that you know they like things like the alarm bill they they're they paid um but the the bottom line is unless there is some significant turnaround in the near future I'll be back in front of the township Council saying we need to allocate more funds to pay more bills that are associated with these houses and unless there's a significant turnaround on the part of The Meadows Foundation at some point there's going to have to be consideration given to doing something else with these houses and and and that's something else list I'm not this isn't like some scare tactic I mean do they need to be mothballed we don't have the means to to continue to maintain them as occupied [Music] dwellings so that it it is you know I I made this kind of same speech probably back in April or May right right around there when did we have the meeting in the barn it was the following meeting right um yeah um so a year ago right so this is when I mean this this was you know if if if you look I mean they're they're still trying they still have uments some events they still have some events um their membership is minimal um I think the only two patrons this year were the mayor and me um I'm not even joking um went to the follow sou midd of Road oh yeah you did yep yep and so so that that's just the reality of it I don't there I I don't believe for an instant that that anything was squandered or wasted they literally have the rent and that rent from the the three properties all right then wickle uh garrson and Hagman those are the only three properties that are occupied by caretakers right now that rent is minimal and those caretakers are are doing the maintenance that they can based on the the funds that they have available to do that what's the three houses they tenants in there's only two Know Dan wickle on E Wile okay I know somebody there is Sean is there the caretaker is still in the house there because like I say van L said van L that's been for 4 years it's been it it was previously occupied by the caretaker was one of our employees right um and that has been unoccupied and uh because there's renovations to the caretaker quarters that need to be made that they didn't have the money to make Robin Robin can those houses be sold as private dwellings no they're all open space properties they cannot be sold okay in fact we don't own the one that b was just talking about state of New Jersey owns that house van l in lucd Dam the state of New Jersey owns it and we have a long-term lease for that property and then a sublet to The Meadows Foundation we own wof Gars and we own Hagman but we don't own the land we only own the house the land is owned by the state and Le from the state um and we own outright the land and the house at f whle now we had talked about in this paying the bills about P the roof on the caretaker quarters that's been there were repairs made by the public works department to the the cedar shape roof on the on the barn still leaks well and and so then that's an issue that's been going back and forth with suan the president and public works because this is you know and and and again this is not pointing fingers or doing anything but she's at her WIS in and pulled in a 100 different directions and you know she has a job right she not retired she has to go to work she has need live in Frank I just saying I I noticed the repairs done and I talked to the tenant I said How's you got repairs say didn't do any good it still leaks every time you know of course it has it rain much the summer but every time it rains water comes in so something we need to look at you know I thought we were going to I thought we were going to fun fun putting a roof on that I don't know if that was the true case or not but that one I don't know that was ever dis about a roof I mean there was just discussions about once but they never we never said we're going to you say because that you brought up that's not a historical building so we can put a put you put three St asph met roof or whatever right yeah 10 roof yeah it's not a historic that's built modern times Bob um done diversion any updates I don't have any updates on it yet still working I'm sorry yeah it's I have to report to my group I hear you yeah any other old business anybody needs to bring up what's going on witha um so through a a great deal of pain and Agony involving the DP and attempts by the DP to say that the new storm order regulations um even though they delayed the process for issuance of permits going back to 2022 um we're fin all of that we've been approved for all of our permits and I would anticipate that bid specs should be prepared and ready to go out within about a month or so nothing else any questions on ter report there not any updates from other committies did I did I say anything about the local Health assessment at our last meeting or no the what the local Health assessment did I tell so our local Health assessment won an award from the New Jersey planning officials which is great so we're actually going to receive the award next week so it was recognized as like a achievement in planning so that's good great yeah so that's really good be um uh where is the Edison um I forgot the name of the pl the Pines the Pines in Edison oh black she should thank you yes sappy and I are going together so yeah it'll be exciting so it is actually like and all kidding side it is really a really big big deal it is the state award for planning it is not just like their category it is the state planning award New Jersey for the year and and you know and I have to say that oh well I'll save it for executive session I'll save it for executive well I'll bring it back and show it to you when we have it updates other committees Tre commission yes um CH commission's just generally really concerned about how the canopy is decreasing because of all the development um and we know that it's approved that's what gets done to get the money in a shade Tre fund um so we understand that like as much as a Township plants new trees can't really keep up with the loss so we've been just really kind of hunting Bob and um at the the tree new trees that have been planted the last year we we've been reported that they're being um they're being watered and I went out and stuck my finger and one of them confirmed that it was watered it was wet so um we're happy about you know how that the town is at least maintaining so what you don't know so since you haven't had a meeting yet is that your staff liaison Connor was just promoted to Junior Foreman so so he's now been given additional responsibilities and I met with him on Monday of last week when he got promoted and told him that I expected him to take a more active role with the shap tree commission and that that was now really going to be one of his primary responsibilities so there you have it he has been a great addition he is good very good yeah um Trails you know we we're going to have a table at Franklin day is open space having a table as well so so question arose this morning because there's space that that's set aside for open space for all of you who don't know the man seated seated at the end of the table next to Arie because everyone knows Arie this is Steven do Steven do is our new recreation director um and so obviously he's one of the key people involved with the Franklin Day Festival and the question was Will op space have people there for Franklin Day Festival and I'm not looking at all of you and you are the open space advisory committee so have an excuse yeah because you're going to be there for something else so I mean so I I would hope that in the township tent where there'll be an opportunity for someone from the open space advisory committee or more than someone several people to be there to to talk about the open space initiatives um and uh I'll walk over well that's glad are you going to be there you said she'll be there representing Trails anyway um the question we got I'll talk to you about it afterwards is the placement at the table and whatnot so but um yeah environmental commission is going to be there Trails will be there and then Chris Kelly's going to Chris Kelly gave us some uh materials from the county open space and that we can put on the table if we want just like an annual report things like that if we want so charge the county for him he's goingon to be there we're put stuff on the table well I think the Big 10 shirt kind of told us who he was at least anybody who follow Sports does State I believe master's degree right yes there you go so he is a real big 10 guy but just not local Big 10 that's okay what we for that little here is the Little T in Ohio that's the Big 10 the biggest of for sure um yeah so we're going to what we have several people from our committee who will be there I'm happy if there's Gap at open space I'm happy to like you know go to book um you know we've been spending a lot of time we've done a lot of research on the bird blind um so we're looking forward to moving forward with that and finalizing that plan like Tara had spoken about before we've also been you know uh having regular events going on um hikes happening so we're going to actually we're partnering with therapeutic wreck and we're going to be helping them with the hike at the end of October um and we have a couple of other things and there's a and there's a bird in something in October it's on our website right now it just came up just got the water with Chris Williams and his wife leing two I believe two events that they're leading right they are so yeah and we're just happy um to learn more about the progress at you know Nan Williams Park you know with um there have been improvements um at in that area where the path is not flooding the way it had been um still some things need to be buttoned up there there's still some big holes in the ground some cones that need to to be uh the pipe needs to be followed through with um and we're looking forward to that because ultimately what we'd love to do is to also uh find some access into the wooded area that's our ultimate goal is to have a little access into the wooded area um even if it's just a little a little blip I know Ted you came with us and and looked at that as well but we are looking you know to increase um uh nature spots in more densely populated parts of our town and that's a nice opportunity uh to do that and yeah and we've been maintaining um reporting about on the conditions of the Trails um and uh ter has been sharing that with DPW um and I know there was um you know a wasp incident with one of the uh the Big B garbage cans no it was nothing to do with the garbage can it was an underground Nest underground Nest okay nothing to do with garbage can was it just near it it was underground they they destroyed the nest it was a underground you know a uh hornets nest yeah y Chris got it good that's what I heard that's what brought it to our attention and that's why I sent public works out the next day and Chris to you he came to our our Trails meeting y wow yeah but it was not in it was not in the trash can it was underground well that's good that's good to hear it's bad that it happened at all but it's good of course but and I hate to say but it's nature right I don't know it until it happens exactly I got at my house all the time stung the people who dump garbage there but of course at 2:00 in the morning the bees are all sleeping that would have been a lot better and kind of karma but that's not what happened the inocent favorite hi that's it thank you from the environmental commission um just want to share that Tara in all her spare time has done an amazing job on the latest project the psng community energy Grant and we have gotten a lot of materials made for us mayor thank you for filming in our newest video um that we are hoping to get out to the residents of Franklin on all the new ways they can save money on their residential energy and all of the incentives there are to help them do that so if any of you are parts of groups your churches fraternal organizations Community organizations where you think we might be able to bring this information so you can hand out these postcards leave these door knockers please let us know because we need to get to as many people in Franklin as we can we're only seven people on the environmental commission how with your help we could touch a lot more people can think of an organization that would be interested in knowing how they can save money on their energy please let us know we have postcards too that uh sustainable Jersey made for us to get out a Franklin day so people have the QR code and the mayor was uh videoed and by a very professional crew uh out here and you saw you help me on the website his recording that's exciting the crew was profession yes they were they were very profession he was he did a great job yeah so that was good cers um we also yesterday um approved to move a and the council skip the stuff ordinance which is a proposed ordinance to require Food Service businesses not to only provide single items like ketchup package Cutlery upon request yes and I have to send that I have to work on that automatically put it in the bag and send it off so we all end up with 40 of these in our silver with the tree and the Dr they will only be made available on request there are many other municipalities in the state that have already done this I haven't been a place that got always ask now as it is anyway any other no I'm not done quiet no I won't speak over other people it's rude I'm sorry um I would like to share that we are working on a calendar of upcoming programs so in the next in October November and probably January we're hoping to do a program probably at the board of ed building on the green Amendment which is something that's working its way around the country and there is an effort to get one Past in New Jersey in fact we've had a red prep student come speak to us the environmental commission about it so we're hoping to get Maya rrom Ben rrom to come speak to us she's head of this nationally and she's the Delaware River Keeper so stay tuned um we're also hoping to do the shortened version of a film called common ground which is a followup to an amazing movie we did a public presentation on called kiss the ground which is all about agricultural practices and but we're waiting for the shortened version the 45 minute version and then the last thing is we are reaching out to a company called Taurus which is a not for-profit in Princeton or West Windsor that does free residential composting you just leave a bucket out and they come and pick it up so we're interested in interviewing them within the EC and if it's if it's if it's legitimate it seems to be we'll do a Community Education session on that and see if we can they are willing to come as long as we can get at least five homes within a two mile radius to sign up for this and they come every two they provide you a bucket they provide you the compostable bags and they'll come every two weeks and pick up your food waste got an email about composting different the Princeton guy right you got it too right yeah there's a Princeton I I don't know he's a PhD from princ he lives in town people West winds yeah they're out of West t o r u s I can tell you what this email I have it right here may hold on a second cuz I didn't I didn't do anything with it did it come yesterday late late late overnight here his name is uh de members of city council I'm not a member oh no actually I take it back I'm assuming now it's a woman I Samantha Kennelly PhD postdoctoral scholar Aran lab department of pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California San Francisco no education um no no UC but the latter head for the for the latter is Princeton University um dear members City I hope this I believe that implementing and expanding composting initiatives is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability and improving the quality of life in our community after moving to New Jersey from California was completely shocked by the lack of composting facilities acknowledge there of from current residents about composting as well as composting sites it goes I'm not obviously going to read the entire letter um I didn't do anything with it yet because I had other things today and didn't do anything with it and I knew five other people got this email apparently they picked the mayor and the four at large Council people and ignored the ward council people I don't know why she did that but they're they mean something too um but anyway I this is literally a letter today okay uh it's dated the 16th but this person lives in town oh okay all right that'll be great so I'm I'm going to give it to Tara and you can go run with it yeah maybe she can help us interview this not for profit to see C this person knows what they're talking about it's a long detailed letter that just I think probably just touches the surface but tell you all of the good reasons to do what you were just talking about Robin thank you Bob that's it I forgot um there s we're talking about Franklin day I'm doing the classic cars as I usually do and today I got a email that somebody is bringing their 1922 Model T and then from North Jersey I have a 1933 gangster call car it's called the Franklin it was made in Franklin New York so that's coming too so there's going to be a lot of neat cars I'm bringing 2016 we got a couple classic we have a couple older um fire trucks one coming up from Kingston and one over here in Middle Bush so there'll be a lot of a lot of vets are coming so if you like classic cars and vets and stuff lot of vets like Corvett Corvettes come come and see them kid couldn't have it anymore have it anymore thank you all right I'm seeing there's no Public public to make comment I think never heard a comment so we'll move on uh to Executive move go yeah executive yeah we're going to move a motion to go to Executive session business taken care of Taken part of after executive correct we will not have anything to follow executive session I'll make a motion to go into executive you have a second all in favor okay talking about