##VIDEO ID:phAO-kRuVXs## e e e e e e you need one more person made e e e good she's a little a second going to be that good evening everybody and welcome to the township committee meeting of September 24th 2024 Miss lenzo please call the role committee woman hand here committee man leani present committee woman Payne here Deputy Mayor chiarelli mayor bring here administrator Ferrera here attorney Willard here please join me for a salute to the flag conat unit States please be advised that in accordance with section five to the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 notice of this meeting was made by posting on the bulletin board at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex and notifying the officially designated newspapers that this meeting would take place at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex at 7:30 p.m. on September 24th 2024 first up approval of the minutes may I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of September 10th 2024 so moved second roll call please committee woman hand yes committee men Le Pon yes committee woman pay yes mayor bring yes okay uh reports from committee Liaisons and receip of reports we're going to start with committee woman hand thank you very much mayor all right good good evening everyone nice crowd tonight all right um this past Saturday we had a bagging for Hunger event I was joined by mayor Brit committee Min leany and I um we had a wonderful time trying we I thought we did a nice job bagging the groceries I don't think we crushed eggs or bread or anything um critical uh I thought we did a nice job but um the whole point was to try to raise awareness around hunger and to um also raise donations this was at our local shop right and um we think it was a pretty well attended event from the health department um they are sponsoring a wellwater testing event October 5th from 9:00 to noon and again any Resident can come and have their well tested for a reduced price so come to the event and they will have some test kits there they're also going to have some representatives from raron headquarters and the health department on um you know there to answer any questions from the recreation Department a lot is heating up here in this uh in this area Halloween events so the park and wreck is brewing up you're going to love this Brewing up a cauldron of Halloween fun this year the spectacular event is for everyone check out the recreation department website and the mayor's e-s to learn more about these wickedly fun programs additionally winter basketball is now open um and if you've been outside it is getting a little chilly it is fall Winter's around the corner so definitely um sign up your third through 12th graders this is for boys and girls um register and get a spot coaches are also needed um at every level so if you're signing your child up please consider um volunteering to coach it is a awesome experience from Social Services they would like to acknowledge the following groups for their generous donations to the community Assistance can food pantry Girl Scout Troop 6064 Zer for the generous donation of school supplies and other items for back to school we had Royce Brooks Christmas in July fundraiser and Girl Scout Service Unit 72 again for their generous donation of personal care items and again for a list of um items in need please look at our E news tomorrow thank you all right committee M Leon thank you mayor good evening everyone um couple of things here first off from our administration office off obviously some important voting information we want to share with you um regarding the general election so the deadline to register to vote if you have not registered at all is October 15 so if you want to register to vote you need to fill out the application and make sure it's submitted by October 15th so you got about two weeks for that the deadline to apply for mailin ballots is October 29th so obviously the deadline to obtain or be on the roles for a mailing ballot is October 29th sample ballots will be mailed to all homes on the week of October 23rd the mail in Dropbox in front of the municipal building is open now and accepting ballots through election day which is November 5th so you're allowed to drop in that mail and ballot up through the polls closing on November 5th early voting here at Municipal Building begins on October 26th and the mayor will have more information on that so roughly seven days prior to the election as a ballpark is when early voting starts the voter information page on the Hillsboro Township website is a helpful portal for everything you need to know about the general election including voter registration link information and switching your mailin ballot to an in-person ballot if you should choose to for the next election and polling locations so a little fun thing we all do we've now uh our fourth annual scarecrow Festival uh begins next week located in front of the municipal building the festival runs through October be sure to drop by and visit and cast a vote for your favorite details can be found on our website from our tax assessor office we'll begin residential inspections as part as our annual reassessment program in the Northeast section of town inspectors drive a Township Mark vehicle and carry a Township ID badge inspectors will leave a note if no one is home so residents can make a call to make an appointment please see tomorrow's ews and Hillsboro Township's website for more information The Economic and Business Development part is hiring a full-time Administrative Assistant see the complete job listing under human resources on the Hillsboro Township website in tomorrow's and mayor's E news from our planning and zoning department the last day to participate in the master plan survey is Sunday October 6th at 11:59 p.m. so if you're Night Owl you got till 11:59 to hit that button to get your uh uh survey uh in look for a link on the township website in the mayor E news and let your voice help shape the future uh from our Public Works parts of town are getting uh asphalt paving systems is continuing its micr surfacing operation this week as part of our payment preservation program in the Ana Drive area signages posted in the areas where these procedures are scheduled residents are urged to follow the contractor's request for parking during the work hours and operations more information regarding the benefits of micros servicing can be found on the asphalt paving system website under the pavement preservation tab look for the link in tomorrow's ews and tomorrow's website so I'll just say that that part of preservation that Hillsboro taner is doing is on existing roads that aren't at us Point yet where they need to be replaced but it's similar to when you go out and put a sealer on your driveway to extend the life of the pavement sense you that's what this is this is a a sealer and a coating that will get us an extra five to seven to 10 years on a road versus having to um rip it up and replace it at 500,000 a mile so that is why we're doing some of these roads with this system and it's actually being utilized all over the county by other municipalities and the county itself is also utilizing this technology uh from our sustainability Hillsboro is proud to announce that the township has been certified at the highest level of sustainable Jersey program for the 10th straight year uh and I'd like to give a shout out to Anthony frer who is been a big uh supporter of sustainability and this started way back when he was a uh Committee Member almost and uh and our goals and our objectives of our teams is to become a very sustainable development but we are this year were approved for a record-breaking 830 points from a total of 71 actions Additionally the township was awarded the first ever gold star in Somerset County and the fifth in the entire State the health gold star is given to municipalities who go above and beyond system systematically in systematically understanding Andor addressing Health rated components and their Community Hillsboro is thrilled to be recognized for another year of dedication to our sustainable efforts so that actually goes out to all our members of our Township who have signed on and and become uh active in looking for ways for this town to be sustainable in not just one area but 71 actions uh and the gold star uh that we have was very big uh deal this actually started right after covid uh you can imagine what we were all thinking about health was on our mind um we started doing this survey when I was mayor and um it obviously has provided some some great results and I'm very proud to be part of that as we all are up here and of our of our employees for for really putting their their best foot forward in this thing so congratulations to all now time is running out to apply for the grant through the Hillsboro Rewards program so if you're a nonprofit looking for some funds to buy something for your club for example we've given money to the Boy Scouts to baseball to football to our to cheerleaders to churches whatever the um this is the time to make the application applications are available in the printable forms section of the administration clerk page can be picked up the administrative an office for any Township based nonprofit senior or Youth Organization to apply for grants for up to $2,000 completed certifications must be submitted to the administration's office by Friday 20 September 27th to be considered eligible funding Grant see information about the link and application in tomorrow's en news and these funds are being uh awarded through the rewards program that we had for the Hillsboro credit card years ago so these monies were all sitting in an account based on the money we received back from the uh credit cards Rewards program so that's where the money comes for these grants the municipal Alliance adop a highway thank you to everyone who volunteered for the April 2024 Adopt A Highway cleanup which included Hillsboro mayor Robert bring Deputy Mayor John chiarelli HT Township Police Department PBA local 205 the Hillsboro High School boys soccer the Hillsboro High School wrestling and the various Hillsboro Community members there are over 30 volunteers which set a record that we will hope to break again please join the Hillsboro Municipal Alliance adop a Highway uh again for its second cleanup day of 2024 which will be on Sunday October 27th in the hillsbor um this year see the township website for more e newss and how to participate so that'll be octo Monday October 27th Hillsboro is participating in the National Save a Life Day program on Thursday September 26th from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. here at the municipal building we will have a table set up near the front entrance and hand out Naran as we've described P past in the past based on some grants we received uh provided by the county and we will hand out our Naran information sheet so I would suggest everybody if you're in the area stop by and grab an Naran kit it's doesn't cost anything and it's the life that you may save is one of your own loved ones or friends Red Ribbon Week please join the hillsbor municipal Alliance for a brief Red Ribbon Week ceremony taking place at the Hillsboro High School football game taking place on Friday October 4th at 6:30 p.m. don't forget to wear red uh phase one of the Capitol road paving which is our our actual Paving program will be completed by September 27th that's the end of this week um the roads that will will be completed our Fairfield Lane Hartford Place Hunt Club Road Stone wne Street and Valor Road are bless you fully repaved and there is more to come the Italian American Heritage Club Hillsboro Township's Italian-American Community has been has contributed greatly to the cultural landscape since its earliest days Italians began migrating to the United States in the early 1880s and today there are more than 26 proud 26 million proud Americans of Italian descent in this country Italian Americans have flourished in all areas of public and economic life while preserving their proud Italian traditions and Heritage Unico the Italian American Club was founded in 1922 nationally Unico is the the Italian word for unique and the acronym stands for our Unity neighborliness Integrity charity and opportunity the hillsbor unical chapter was founded in 2009 as an Italian American Service organization committed to charal work supporting higher education and Performing patriarch Deeds under the motto of service above self heard that one before as a rotarian uh what all right we'll share it's all good Hillsboro Township is proud to recognize 2024 as Italian American Heritage and cultural month that's all mayor thank you thank you committee woman pay I think Anthony ferer P appreciate that I just want to thank Comm leani for the kind words on the sustainable and the awards but I really want want to thank um Samantha ball for leading that effort and all the employees and the Departments as part of their goals and objectives it was a collective um Collective results and they did an outstanding job and they do each and every year and we just continue to to get better results so I'm just I just want to thank all the employees as I know we all do here but but thank you but it's it's a really tremendous accomplishment here in Hillsboro for for both of those Awards and we'll look forward to uh being on stage in Atlantic City and receiving that for the first time on stage since I've been here so thank you again thank you all right committee wom and pain thank you for all bearing with us tonight we're short of person so we're all reading extra long so we have water for a reason I hope you do too okay we're going to start off I can't get my glasses on with uh OEM September marks National preparedness month the annual campaign to remind everyone that preparing for emergencies and disasters can keep them their families and their communities safe Hillsboro Township encourage all residents to check the township website and the mayor's e newss for important information regarding protecting themselves and their families before during and after emergencies and disasters from the police the DEA national takeback day has declare uh is declared for Saturday October 26th national takeback day a day to dispose of unneeded medications unanimously and at no cost in addition to our normal red collection box outside of the PD uh there's going to be a medication drop off container here in the municipal building the program will run from 10:00 a.m. until 2: p.m. drop off is confidential and Anonymous again please do not drop off sharps or liquids coffee with the cops is back so join the police for uh Wednesday October 16th from 4: to 6:00 p.m. for coffee and conversation um at the Starbucks in town correct it was not here sorry um municipal court for violations um I'm sorry the Violations Bureau schedule shows payable amounts for common traffic violations where a court appearance isn't required the Violations Bureau schedule is now available on the municipal page uh sorry Municipal Court page on the township website and you can look for that link in tomorrow's E news for the veterans lots of good veteran news uh the veterans information session last weekend uh we held our third successful uh veteran information session we had Christina louu from the County's Office on Aging and Disability Services come to speak to our veteran Community about some really great points and services offered to the count uh through the county and the Partnerships that they have for instance with the pluckin medical uh equipment Ministry did you know that you can borrow free medical equipment that you may need for yourself or a loved one for as long as you may need it for um and then com return it when you're done completely free so you can uh see the link in tomorrow's ews to learn more all information shared from her visit is going to be updated on our veteran uh web page the next event for the veterans it's going to be an information Fair taking place on December 14th in the multi-purpose room right across the hall um Friday September 30th we held a beautiful ceremony for those missing in action and captured prisoners of War nearly 81,000 American Service members remain missing after having served in World War II the Korean War Vietnam War and other conflicts involving the US and they will never be forgotten basil and praed as um committee man leani alluded to earlier the committee members attended the John bason parade over the weekend um John bason is the only enlisted Marine to be awarded both a Congressional Medal of Honor and the Navy cross he returned to action after being presented with the Medal of Honor and sadly was killed in action this annual parade commemorates his honor on Thursday October 10th from 3: to 6: PM the commissioner Chanel Robinson uh she's an Air Force veteran and the County Commissioners invite all veterans to attend job and wellness fair at the senior Wellness Center located at 876 East Main Street in Bridgewater information will be available about career and Veteran uh resources and Health Services that's all there all right all right I'll go as quickly as I can for you all right so first the triangle school so triangle School ribbon cutting I had the opportunity to um to attend ribbon cutting with Deputy Mayor chiarelli and also the superintendent Mr vulpi was there as well too um for a uh a new a reopening of the school playground it's a really incredible playground that took place last week playground has been expanded to include equipment specifically designed to accommodate students with special needs making a more inclusive and accessible space for all children it's actually one of the most beautiful uh uh playgrounds that my my kids have seen they really they really loved it as well too the ribbon cutting ceremony on September 13th brought together School staff and students local officials and community members to celebrate this significant Milestone the expanded inclusive playground is sensory friendly and accessible to all and Now features specialized equipment such as uh uh a century play uh play panels a century wave climber a merry goal and a climbing space calming space excuse me ensuring that all children of with all all different types of abilities can enjoy uh outdoor play in a safe and supportive environment uh please look for a link on on the press release in tomorrow's e newss a new building department technology so Hillsboro Township home home owners can save themselves a trip to the municipal building uh with a new online permitting that with a and a plan review system the new system which is accessed through the sdl portter which is the portal that we use within the township on the township website we'll streamline the building permit process by cutting down on paper usage and storage the new process will also decrease office visits and phone calls and safe time by offering online payments thank you Mr f for going digital I think it's great um the new permitting uh permitting and plan review system is being paid for by a grant from the American Rescue plan that comes at no cost to taxpayers the new technology will launch on October 9th 2024 for more information please see the uh the press release in tomorrow's E news once again uh committee M laani mentioned uh uh early voting so we absolutely encourage early voting um bror Township is encouraging residents to take advantage of early voting to reduce the amount of time spent waiting in line on Election Day um as 2024 is a PR presidential election year the township is expecting a high turnout and that can mean longer wait times uh spent waiting to vote so residents who work on November 5th or who don't have time to stand in line they have other options now early voting and mail in voting take minutes voting machines for early voting are the same machines that are used in the election the same ones they're used on Election Day early ballots are not provisional ballots and all ear votes are counted first on Election Day so if you vote early your votes will be counted first um uh early voting for The 2024 general election will take place at the municipal building here from Saturday October 26 24 to Sunday November 3rd 2024 so it goes two up until two days prior to the general election our early voting hours are Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to uh 8:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 6: p.m. see the press release again in tomorrow's E news for more information about early voting so that's a very important feature that's a diff that's that's society shifting a little bit when it comes to early voting so that's that's your vote is counted first I think that's a really that's the biggest takeaway movies in the park Wonka so thank you Hillsboro uh Recreation the only picture I could get my other boys wouldn't sit still there's my little guy Grayson he's going to be three soon uh we enjoyed Wonka I think he was a little too young for it so he had three things of ice cream so that was uh it was we had to keep him we had to keep him uh uh uh uh Focus so we had a really good time it was very well done very good job Hillsboro Recreation Department as always they do Fant fantastic fantastic job National Night Out so all five committee members including Deputy Mayor chck who's not here tonight all attended um National Night Out Chiefs in the back of the room big boss of the police in Hillsboro Township um they do an absolutely wonderful job connecting with the community making sure the community understands how much they are um engaged and and willing to to reach out to make sure people understand you know their their um their focus in the community and I just can't can't thank you enough for how well of a job you guys do and that was a terrific event you connected so many people to the community and I think you just show always what good looks like so thanks for doing what you're doing National Hispanic Heritage Month so September 15th through October 15th so it's a month within period of time of 30 days we observe National hisp Hispanic Heritage Month this year a theme this year's theme is pioneers of change shaping the future together and this recognizes the influence of Hispanic Americans on the history the culture and the achievements uh of our country this month also serves as a reminder of our ongoing commitment to improving access to Services particularly language access for people with limited English proficiency see tomorrow's e- newss once again and the township website for useful resources that can help educate and inform the Hispanic Community about the programs and services available to them now you've heard E news number of times if you haven't signed up for already signed up sign up for it the administration team does a wonderful job of getting this information out to people in a very digestible format so next is restaurant week so today marks the beginning of our seventh annual Restaurant Week Deputy Mayor Chelli is not here he's probably very sad he loves Restaurant Week he hits at least two of them each time each day so uh the four of us are going to have to pick have to suck it up and uh and take up some slack so absolutely be ready be ready you're going to get full quick restaurant we we have some some great restaurants in Hillsboro great businesses but this is a way of promoting um that that that community that we have within Hillsboro so today marks the seventh annual Restaurant Week this is a 5-day EV event and is a fantastic opportunity for residents to explore local mining options and try out restaurants they may not have visited before so try something new you try to get my kids to do it all they have is chicken nuggets and french fries no matter where we go it's incredible uh you can see the full list of participating restaurants on the township website by clicking the icon in the middle of the right that says experience Hillsboro okay so that was it for me this evening I think committee man Le Pon read off you and you could follow us on all these different areas you don't have it written down for me so I'm not going to read it everything pretty much when it comes to social media we have here you can see it faster than I can say it the team does a great job of making sure everybody's connected to the community okay we are going to move forward with uh three proclamations all right let me take quick SI sorry a lot of talk hello how are you good to see you too good to see you hello hello hello okay get up here say so they can hear us I stand in front of you October is National Breast breast cancer awareness month and individuals are encouraged to help reduce their risk through regular uh regular self and clinical exams and mammograms the National Cancer Institute estimates in the United States that more than 310,000 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in just this year breast cancer Remains the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women Katherine cath Kathleen sioli a three-time cancer survivor Joanne Lovitz are Co and Joan Lovitz are co-founders of the dance for the Cure a nonprofit organization that has helped local families impacted by breast cancer Dance For the Cure has donated over $1.2 million since it's founding in 1999 I think a big round of applause for this group thank you for doing that now therefore be proclaimed that we the mayor and the Hillsboro Township committee do hereby recognize all the above and declare October 20 24 as breast a National Breast Cancer Awareness Month we urge all women and their families to increase their knowledge about breast cancer and join us in celebrating successes and memorializing uh lost battles thank you for being here thank you very much would you uh would you like to say something um sure well we want to thank the community again and again for this Proclamation uh Hillsboro Township is wonderful for us supporting us in all that we do um this is actually our 25th anniversary of Dance For the Cure so thank you very much everybody anybody else okay want to say something else we'll do a photo but do you want to say something no you're good okay all right let's go this way she's gonna make you go this way this way all right okay thank you very thank [Applause] you come you want to come up too Mom come on no you don't have to but if you want to you can come on Alexa you got come on Alexa you got this how are you good to see you again there you go it's for you to Hope come on on mom come on over here come on SO October is National Down syndrome acceptance month and approximately one in every 775 children are born with Down Syndrome representing an estimated 5,700 births per year in the United States there are over 400,000 individuals living with Down syndrome in the United States now GG's Playhouse which committee woman pay is very much involved with and so is and so are you guys so are you right absolutely um I know you guys you donate a lot of time yeah I know GG's Playhouse is the national is is a national Down syndrome achievement Center serving children and adults of all ages at no charge GG's Playhouse Hillsboro is continually supported by local community Through thirdparty fundraisers and promoting awareness of people with Down syndrome and their extraordinary capabilities now therefore be a Proclaim that we the mayor and the Hillsboro Township committee do hereby declare October as National Down syndrome acceptance month and we ask all citizens to join us in celebrating the abilities and accomplishments of those with Down Syndrome amazing congratulations thank you you would you like to say something would would you like to tell everybody what you why we how we saw you this weekend or no do you want to go there no oh no would you come on up you want to talk a quick thank you a quick thank you or you can say something you could say something go ahead would you like to I wored but I want to say something about Unico too okay Unico yeah say you can talk about Unico well I I asked her because she was GNA maybe wear her crown Crown as your so what was your title again remind me Miss I yeah you don't have to be embarrassed everyone's proud of you so she won Miss unicor I I just want to say I am Italian Miss Unico of the Unico company of of hillsb of of Hillsboro congratulations and she has a little crown and I said where's your crown tonight and she said I'm having the diamonds polished I was supposed to say that that's okay that's okay mom's my mom does that me I'm a hug I'm a hugger you're well let's do it all right let's do it Mama come on here we go how we doing want hug everybody let's take a picture let's come on Miss un congratulations we're all very proud of [Applause] thank you baby want to come my favorite part the your crown is awesome you're making a great job tonight oh thank you thank you you're the best Alexa can you come back in two weeks I know yeah can can you just come back in two weeks and just let people know okay oh you might have a date might have a date she might have a date so she'll let you know well if he's not up from Kate may you come see us okay wow I didn't realize I was second on the calendar but filamina come on [Music] that so I'm going to start I'll start first okay so each October and January respect life is honored across the United States of America respect life inails all regardless of race religion gender National Origins and socioecon economic status treating all individuals with respect and dignity as a stigma-free community Hillsboro Township Embraces all life now therefore be Proclaim that we the mayor and Hill Pro Township committee call upon the residents to be mindful of all citizens regardless of our differences in the pursuit and yours of life liberty and happiness now filam would you like to say a few words yes I would okay first of all I just would like to thank uh the members of the township committee for giving us this Proclamation and my senior Joe Curry the pastor of Mary Mother of God church was unable to be here this evening but he did leave a letter that he would like me to read and it states Mr Mayor and members of the township committee I recognize I am not there to accept this Proclamation and I apologize for that we at Mary Mother of God Parish look to support and help all those in need especially those who did not have or feel like they have a voice to speak up for themselves we continue to do this by opportunities like supporting the Township food pantry and the homes program here in Somerset County and by helping people through our work camp in West Virginia and our sister dasis in Guatemala we do this also through our work to defend life in all its stages especially The Unborn we take these things very seriously and do them all because we believe we are called to do so living our faith in God is what we ask we are grateful to be able to do these things in and for our community and we are especially grateful to be recognized for the living of our faith on behalf of the Mary Mother of God Community I thank you for this Proclamation service monsor Joseph M Curry pastor of Mary Mother of God church thank you thank you take a picture absolutely would you like come up come with the picture or no you good you all right I have to ask let me just take my glasses I started to but I'm like I'm not sure like I don't know should I should I it's my buddy it of thank you thank you [Applause] all right there are no presentations this evening no presentations this evening so this concludes the portion of this meeting for the proclamations congratulations to all of our recipients thank you for joining us this evening we're going to take a brief pause for those who had received proclamations that they'd like to to to leave they can uh we'll reconvene in about 2 [Applause] minutes e e e e e e e e e e spe 8:13 we're going to get back to business it was a much longer than two-minute break very sorry for everybody sitting in the crowd there um so consent agenda we have items 1 through 10 this evening may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items 1 through 10 motion to approve second comments from the deis comments from the floor okay roll call please committee woman hand yes committee men leani yes committee woman Payne yes mayor bring yes public hearings I see none introduction of new ordinances I see none claims list may have a motion to approve claims list 202 24-13 so moved a second second comments from the deis comments from the floor roll call please commit sorry committee woman hand yes committee man Le Pon yep committee woman pay yes mayor bring yes new business I see none uh public comments for matters not on the agenda uh Miss lens please read the statement regarding public comment the township committee welcomes input from the public please state your name and address and please spell your name for the record you will be given one three minute allotment for your comments please understand that this is a public forum is not structured as a question and answer SE session comments are to be addressed to the mayor again please keep your comments to three minutes thank you uh before opening up comments from uh from the floor we'd like to also address a comment which was submitted online Miss lenzo could you please read the comment this comment was receiv received from John Hurley of 152 Johansson and the comment reads could the committee please provide a detailed update on the progress regarding flooding remediation on the southern section of Johansson Avenue in Green Hills it's been about 18 months since penon Associates made their valuation I'm going to ask commit man leani to expand a little bit on that trly mayor um so the meeting we had that uh did some REM um preliminary studies of the area uh was presented to the population and those who attended which was being referenced uh during that time we are waiting uh were waiting for the uh New Jersey DP to give the okay for the permit to repair the detention Basin which was directly affecting the problems in the area um we had been waiting since pretty much Ida to get that done and I'm happy to report that was just given to the to um the con to the owner of the property last week so that person is actively putting out an RFP to do the repairs of the tension of the detention Basin which is Surly needed so that is step one because it's really no sense of doing any Remediation in the area until that is complete uh so we would hope that that would be completed by uh next year uh then we will continue to look uh based on those results the next days will be to look at long-term planning as to acquiring and getting other plans of submitted and possibly approved by the D and you can see how long it took just to get a detention Basin done 3 years you have to understand nothing moves fast when it deals with water in the njde um of the things that we looked at was to an emergency access road in the back which goes through Wetlands which would need a d Loi permit that's one which we are pursuing or to looking at and number two would be the uh areas of in the area to purchase Andor use for additional flood remediation so that is the next step that we'll be going on to but I would just say that this is a slow moving project so what normally would happen is once we decide what we have we have to design a plan to make it quote unquote shovel ready and then we would pursue grants from the federal state and and county level to get this done and there's always a matching part of that that we have to be prepared for which would be probably in the millions of dollars so that is that is the update and that's the next step but I'm happy to report that at least the detention Basin which was in disrepair will be repaired finally very good thank you public comment if you could just state your name and address please when you come on up so we know yeah thank you welcome you very much hi hi my name is Kelly GRE kudi I reside at 111 Kimberly Road um that is k l y g r a y um and then cludy is c a l a u TTI and I'm Peter kudi husband same name same last name spelled if you would believe it all right my countdown is on but my husband and I moved to Hillsboro from Bergen County two years ago back in a two years ago in search of a home for a growing family and a yard for our dogs to run and we had the pleasure of moving to the Green Hills Community if you're familiar with our development the Green Hills Community you would know that is the first house development built in Hillsboro with roughly 100 homes on seven different streets in these homes resides nurses teachers police officers construction workers coaches small business owners and social workers just to name a few all comprising of a close-knit middle class Community some of us had The Misfortune of receiving this letter from the town last weekend and in it it states how we have to come up with a plan for home home home elevation or sell to Blue Acres we've been given the runaround this week on who sent the letter Anthony Ferrera um what they actual letter means and what there is to expect and yet there is no transparency or accountability from any of the parties involved we've been given oh quick fun fact 90% of the homeowners on Kimberly Road specifically have moved here post Ida a majority of us were not informed about the severity of flooding in this town that where we purchase these homes we spoke to Tom Bellinger today who's the town's engineer and we got the gist of the conversation that it went that this is out of Hillsboro's hands we also let us know that the previous home that is the previous homeowner's fault and there is no accountability on the town while I would love to believe this the town housee consistently failed its residence time and time again some examples back in 2020 a year before Ida our neighbor maryan sad did her own research and shared it with the township it concluded that the storm water system that was installed in the 70s decades before we were even born along the rear of the properties on Johanson AV um are no longer functioning um they were designed they were designed back in the day before the drainage Gates um and then the drainage Gates that were buried for years the storm water actually and naturally flows straight into the drainage ditch along the back of Johansson which we just discussed um and across Johansson to the Sewer gates in the streets when it does get overwhelmed though the volume of the water floods starts occurring to the homes speaking with our neighbor Joanne who has lived here since 1983 commented that back in the day the Swale between 120 and22 Johansson was always cleared out by the township and then when the courtyard condos were built on the wetlands nearby that is when the flooding on Kimberly and Johansson increased the Swale is overgrown to this day and continues to be overgrown the township paid $249,000 to jml Landscaping last year to clean the elongated ditch behind Johansson which actually breaks down to a little over 12,000 per home and yet residents are confused where that money went because all it did all they did was show up and yank out some debris throw some grass seeds on the um on the open land and we never saw them again our small neighborhood has raised over $30,000 to fight the township on the Harvard way development two years ago like I mentioned earlier we are a small middle class Community having to raise to fight for the potential flood Hazard that these new construction buildings bring not the township we did we raised that money so when the keep you finish oh thank you I appreciate that um so when we received this letter it felt like it was almost a slap in our faces and I don't know whether to call this coincidence or not but in 2022 the township also hired penon engineering to consult on said ditch and they ended up rejecting all bids to correct and clean it that is because penon sided with a developer on it while our paid engineers and lawyers had vastly different opinions so in conclusion the November 1st deadline to make a major life decision like this is very shortsighted to give to say the least Mr lepone said earlier how nothing is quick with the with the water industry or something similar um so we don't understand why giving residents less than 45 days to make up their minds on such a matter is unfavorable for all especially with a turnaround time between blue acres and the elevation companies once again we are a middle- class group of people who will likely be funding our own elevation and I understand that not all of our questions will be answered today but we would greatly appreciate some transparency and answers soon and I know that we will continue to be at these meetings as well more of our neighbors and thank you all for your time today it's very app can I see your letter yeah absolutely oh I didn't know you need some copies to no that's oh you're amazing thank you I'll give it right back to you couple of our neighbors are here they have the letter I prom this right I and then is home which I [Applause] don't so can I just ask how much um water did you get with Ida oh you you don't know though was disclos Us by the previous buyers the real estate we were told that do you know from Neighbors roughly so our first day that we moved in micone yeah we can hear you yeah um the day we moved in one of our kind neighbors knocked on our door and asked us about the flooding and if we were aware um and we had no idea and then they showed us pictures so that's how we found out we we've seen it across multiple um real estate agencies Coldwell Remax it's a kind of a theme that anybody moving into the town gets undersold on the amount of flooding damage that happens not everybody but we have people that we are one it Dells right over there another one who get told hey you guys need to get flood insurance you're in a minor flood plane and then we find out the day after we move in that we had flooding up to our second floor and then we get a letter from Blue Acres saying hey your house was damaged about 50% you have the option to raise the house it's not needed and then we get the Lovely letter from Mr frera on Saturday thank you for that that was a fun Saturday uh basically saying that hey uh you don't have to raise the house but um you cannot make any improvements into the house um unless you give us a plan to raise the house which is if you guys don't know six figures plus sure can't live in the house for 46 months uh I would love for you to find anybody that a can afford that and B was willing to spend the time and live it out of a hotel for four to six months uh and again just on the deadline in the letter we're given a deadline of November 1st to make a major life decision and say Hey you rather have to sell the house or if you get damaged in a flood again you're given a temporary certificate of occupancy uh and and you have to make a plan to raise the house so you could see why why maybe that presents an option to us it's not really an option really sell the house uh you know we we were given the option to submit for the blue Acres uh assistance to raise the house we got denied on income and again I don't see whether you make $100,000 $300,000 that anybody would be willing to pay that out of pocket Kelly thank you I can make a cop well you know what I I would ask the um administrator for provide copies to all of us thank you very much thank you anyone else or comment thank you Mr Mayor and the township committee for the opportunity to speak uh this this is the owner of starlow Salon Miss Manga and I'm the marketing manager we are also residents of Hillsboro Miss Manga has invested upwards of $5 million into the Hillsboro Community through the 25 women that she employs at the four starlow salons the newest Salon is on Route 206 in the Hillsboro Village Center complex apartment complex as a new business establishment in Hillsboro we request signage for starlow salon on Route 206 the entrance is inside the apartment complex and is not readily visible to drivers pedestrians and potential walk-in customers we request a sign at the entrance of the complex and also permission to display LED signs in the window to indicate the presence of a salon thank you for your cooperation alello so I understand you have a meeting tomorrow with Marcy from the township already been scheduled correct yes that is the that is the path that needs to be taken and I'm sure you are aware of that yes so the side ordinance is is will help she will help you guide like you and the rest of your tenants to get the exposure that you need and allowed to have yes there's something additionally that like you're always welcome to have that's what the Review Committee does and we'll look at that okay we're hoping for an exception a a slight exception made to the ordinance because I have the ordinance in writing uh which says no signs no LED displays but what uh Miss Manga was suggesting is even if we could make an exception for 6 months until customers get used to the fact that there are eight businesses inside uh the yoga mat the salon there's a nail art salon and we are we are your experimental um you know businesses because you wanted to make that a nice downtown area which would support the hillsbor community you're not and we agree with you that that's the right there's other businesses there Jag and of course so you guys all have the same we have same exposure so you know that's you're you're in you're going through the right steps for it to be looked at thank and we'll be happy to look at it thank you very much we'll see some of you all tomorrow okay all right thank you any other public comment seeing no more public comments may have a motion to adjourn so I moved second roll call please all in favor committee woman hand yes committee men leani yes committee woman pay yes mayor Bing yes the time is 8:28 PM have a good evening everybody thank you