##VIDEO ID:QrN1g8gcDiA## e e e e e e e [Music] good evening uh and welcome to the September 4th meeting of the won Hill Township committee uh we are meeting this evening at of respect for September 11th this committee will be at the remembrance ceremony at uh St Joseph's Shrine so um thank you for everybody accommodating the change in schedule would everybody please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Megan would you please read the statement of presiding officer in compliance with the open public meetings Act of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting specifically the time date and public call and information were included in the meeting that was electronically sent to the echos Sentinel Morris County record and posted on the township website the agenda and public handouts for this meeting can be viewed online at www.long Hill nj.gov a public comment period will be held in the order is listed on the meeting agenda thank you would you please take roll you do the swearing in first and then roll oh we'll do the swearing oh correct good idea um we're going to swear in our new committee woman uh aubre rer Eline I want to thank Congressman Caine for making the time to be here this evening he will administer the oath to Au yay [Music] hold yes as all of your family should be coming up right now come up family this is a wonderful day right thank you give this to you okay you should have one hand on the Bible one hand up are you going to hold this are you I have to read this no I'm going to read it first and you're going to repeat after me I state your name I Aubrey Reger Eline do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all of the duties of the office of Township committee all of the duties of the office of Township committee according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability and that I will not use my office to Grant preferential treatment and that I will will not use my office to Grant preferential treatment nor seek personal gain nor to seek personal gain favor or Advantage favor or Advantage not available to the general public not available to the general public so help me God so help me God congratulations [Applause] congratulations a picture we're put this in a frame I you're going to sign right here and so AR while we're waiting could you introduce your family no one more all right for the to this is my husband Dan definely my better my mom my daughter Grace [Applause] and thank that's government efficiency right that's that was amazing family yeah you want to get in I'll take a picture hang on special here two all right [Applause] and so will come and so for for those who don't know uh Governor Murphy kindly reached out to orur today to congratulate her and in his Steed uh Rob Fields uh senior official from the governor's staff is here this evening Rob thank you thank you so much thank you and and while we're pointing out uh highlights uh Congressman Kane correct me if I'm wrong I believe your birthday is in a couple of days tomorrow tomorrow so happy birthday happy happy birthday thank you I appreciate you guys taking the time to come congratulations thank you so so Megan can we take roll now yes thank you committee V dorsy here committee men R committee woman rer Eline here present committee men valza present Deputy Mayor lavender present mayor Pia present so we have a couple of proclamations uh this evening uh by coincidence uh Grace Eline who is a hero for all of us here in Long Hill Township uh and in honor of pediatric cancer awareness month I believe we have a plaque but uh Grace would you be able to say a few words I do thisy every year so for those who don't know who are watching at home uh Grace is au's daughter everybody um I just wanted to say thank you to the town committee and just Long Hill as a whole are supporting the cause year after year and it means a lot just to bring awareness to this cause um and just help all the people and all the children who are every day it means a lot for all your support and and and Grace I apologize and I'm probably getting some glaring eyes from Megan I should read the proclamation before we actually give it to you so I'm going to read it now uh office of Mayor Township of long hill Childhood Cancer Awareness Month whereas Childhood Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease and children and and I'll skip the warehouses one in 257 children in the United States will be diagnosed by their 20th birthday 46 children per day or 17,294 children per year are diagnosed with cancer in the United States there are approximately 40,000 children on active treatment at any given time the average age of diagnosis is 6 years old compared to 66 years old uh for adults 80% of Childhood cancer patients are diagnosed late and meta metastatic disease on average there has been an increase in incidents per year since the mid 1970s resulting in an overall incident increase of 24% over the last 40 Years 2third of Childhood cancer patients will have chronic health conditions as a result of their treatment toxicity with one quarter of being CL classified as severe to lifethreatening approximately 1 half of Childhood Cancer families rate Associated Financial toxicity due to out of-pocket expenses as considerable to severe in the last 20 years only four new drugs have been approved by the FDA to specifically treat Childhood Cancer the National Cancer Institute recognizes the unique research needs of Childhood Cancer and the associated need for increased funding to carry this out hundreds of nonprofit organizations at the local and National level including the with Grace initiative and many others are helping children with cancer and their families cope through educational emotional and financial support researchers and Health Care Professionals work diligently dedicating their expertise to treat and cure cancer children with cancer whereas too many children are affected by this deadly disease disease and more must be done to raise awareness and find a cure now therefore I Guera mayor of Long Hill Township do hereby Proclaim September 2024 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in lill Township I encourage all Americans to observe Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and support this cause that so deeply impacts families in every Community across our country so Grace I want to uh give this to you thank you and we'll have our team we have some volunteers here also from the organization or or orre okay Matt ory would you mind introducing them yes so we have Florencia sque who is an outstanding uh director and key leader on our team we cannot get anything done without her thankfully um and her sidekick Christina Rosati also a key leader um that gets things done for our organization so we can help more kids as as well as Waco I think is there right I don't know if anybody else is with you can come on up um but I'd also like to highlight one the importance of the awareness uh that this town um shows year over-year for Childhood Cancer as well as and this all started uh when Grace was diagnosed uh and there's been other children in this town that have also been sadly affected by Childhood Cancer so we're very thankful for um the support that we get from the town and I'd also like to highlight um both um Rob who's here from the governor's office uh was instrumental when we worked with um um Governor Murphy in terms of um the state level uh Appropriations that we've gotten to create a pediatric cancer research center of excellence down at Rucker's Cancer Institute so thankful for um Rob and the governor's team for that support as well as Congressman Cain um not only uh worked with us at the state level to get that legislation um and also uh Governor's Appropriations done a few years ago that continue to happen um but also we get to meet him probably even more often uh in DC we regularly um see him down there uh as well for federal level advocacy and we'll be down there in 2 weeks for the Congressional um Childhood Cancer caucus so thank you to everyone for your support we do firmly believe that the more awareness there is the closer to a cure we will get for all kids so we're really thankful for that and thankful for um the legislative uh and Leadership support that we have and from this town as well for recognizing that so thank you and we'll take a picture with you guys I I I'd like to put some numbers because ory and and Grace and with Grace initiative team are humble so I will uh brag for them uh as a result of their efforts working with Governor Murphy Rob Fields who was here this evening $10 million has been in the state budget for how many years now four four years before that it was di Minimus I believe yeah there was none there was none that that would qualify is the Minimus and and New Jersey is number three in the country for incidents rates of Childhood Cancer so it means a lot to have that thank you Governor Murphy and his staff thank you to with Grace initiative team thank you Grace and ory in particular also at the federal level uh as a result of a relationship which is an interesting story you can read it on the with Grace initiative uh website one thing led to another uh ory and Grace met president Trump at the time and as a result of that meeting $50 million was put into the federal budget five 0 50 half of 100 and President Biden's Administration has continued that so that goes back five years now and and and and actually just one thing I wanted to point out even though uh children uh when they're diagnosed the good news is and correct my math if it's wrong some time back pediatric cancer 80% of the children did not survive the great news is 80% survive today the challenge which I did not know until I spoke with Aubrey and and Grace is there are challenges that come with the treatment that a young body uh uh undergoes so it is critical the work that you guys and the team at the with Grace initiative is doing uh because there will be things that need to be addressed as time goes on so uh what you uh guys and gals do uh is is phenom phenomenal and from the bottom of our heart I speak on behalf of the community thank you y and we try and make long proud so actually if I yeah I yeah I would like the entire committee to come down and and take this uh photograph if we could is that okay you come to no no ICT Rob FS come up as well the congressman's here so Megan are you photographer tonight you should be up here I'm I'm so I don't know how to I can't see you I do what Megan tells me to do how would you thank thank you for all good to see you again yeah absolutely please please give a hug abolutely for me thank you okay so Dan don't worry or or BR be home probably by midnight no there's it's a new day let's get this moving we need you oh I was afraid of that right I haven't eaten let's go okay here we go uh up next uh we have a proclamation for for uh committeeman Brendan Ray Brendan and I ran together back in 2013 uh he has served in many roles and I'll read the proclamation um and he's recently moved uh out of town so he had to step down and this is a proclamation in his honor uh whereas thousands thousands of individuals offer their services in time to various Endeavors without expectations of any personal remuneration other than satisfaction in knowing they have helped others the untiring work and dedication of volunteers while certainly appreciated too often goes without adequate recognition of the valuable contribution that is made Brendan Ray has dedicated many years to this community by being elected to the township Committee in 2013 and serving as deputy mayor in 2014 2017 and 2021 and serving as mayor in 2015 and 2020 Brendan served this community through his years of service on the board of education hpac open space shat Tre commission and planning board Brendan has demonstrated the spirit of volunteerism through his many years of dedication to the township on the Millington Volunteer Fire Company as president whereas for Brendan's Brendan Brendan's leadership and actions as the mayor during covid-19 and the pandemic his quick assessment and Leadership played a critical role in keeping the town residents and employees safe allowing the employees to be able to run the offices fully operational and keeping the health risk to a minimum in lill Township therefore be it proclaimed that on September 4th 2024 the township Committee of the township of long hill in the county of Mars state of New Jersey on behalf of the residents and staff of lill Township does hereby extend deepest thanks and appreciation for his long service to the township mayor guy Pia and I know Brendon could make it here tonight hopefully he is watching but if not he can watch uh watch it on the link is Brendon online no okay well it would it it will be uh posted uh for posterity uh we are one of the few towns I believe that uh post these meetings uh certainly within 24 hours so uh you want to take a picture yeah take it over to you want to take a picture or no with I mean with the township committee I guess because he served with all of us okay make it I'm getting texted that the sound on television is spotting by the way it may be my fault uh can you can whoever s how about now Zoom sound on Zoom I'm sorry Zoom how about now because I I don't think I was using the mic that could be my fault uh here I don't know or is this my mic that's your mic that's my mic all right could be is your M this m Vic let me know if uh if there's still a problem we we can address it all right next on your agenda item number six ordinances ordinance 551-2238 I mean I'll I'll read this it's pretty straightforward with just uh adding a Lieutenant's position Jack right that's correct uh any questions comments from the township committee I'm not voting for this I actually looked over the Thousand report this morning and it is just mic mic's on and it actually only had listed for two lieutenants in the organizational chart I don't see the need for a third and if we're putting the CL before the horse here because guys as you're aware we've been trying to update the promotional policies for well over five years we were stonewalled by an unscrupulous individual at one point then um we started to do it again and we let's hold off till we got a Police director and I know before um Lieutenant chamb was working with the uh um labor Council Mr Cohen at the time then we held off we got a Police director a public safety director in so I think we're putting the C before the hord we got to figure out what we're doing with the promotional policy before we start offering up promotions to people that's my position one thing I would point out that uh Mr fero's report uh included a captain I believe true so we're not we're not uh uh introducing a captain's position but anyway that I feel like uh committee midor he does on this one to be honest with you I'm in favor of it I think we need to send a message to a rank and file that advancement is coming just the fact that we create this position doesn't mean that we're funding it um and so I think we need to have flexibility given to uh public safety director uh Mike peoples who is in favor of this other question I have before sorry um we're still we're going to be top heavy we're short on the road as it is and know we're trying to hire retain new office and hire them but by the time we get them or hire them and get him or her on the road it's going to be a while and if we make a lieutenant soon then the road it's going to be really short for uh with Patrol officers well just the fact that we're creating the position doesn't mean that we're hiring into it or or funding it my call outs are again like new and still learning and understanding is um and we've had open discussion about this in terms of understanding the overall plan and strategy shortterm longterm for the Department as a whole to better understand what positions we're adding what positions could be added from budget standpoint as well as from what is the best decision to make in terms of what that makeup of the department should look like um you know to understand that before we're going forth and putting things in there I do also recognize that there is a need so I think addressing um you know both the communication as well as you know what the needs of the department are also need to be noted that um we hear that and we are working on navigating what the next steps are okay uh is that a question or no it's a statement so somewhere in there you're you support don't support should we carry till you can better understand it since this is your in my opinion yes I think we should carry because I think we should understand thetion to car better the agree with it all right so we will carry this to a future meeting um Scott you will not be here on the 25th so I recommend we carry it to November does that sound good November October we October oh unless you want to carry I was like what's happening why are we not doing October I don't know why oh geez first meeting in October sounds reasonable okay perfect uh and and I apologize or that's kind of a a substantive thing to have to address in your first meeting on your first vote so want more homework for it fair enough uh ordinance 552 d24 first reading introduction an ordinance vacating a paper Street known as Glen View Road and we had this conversation the other day and we had a little trouble finding it I don't know Matt you made it okay you don't know where it is either it's over Midville somewhere Midville I think it's between Vicky's place and Valley Road uh but it took us a long time to find that on the map we did it during our ensi what exactly happens here the township is vacating the Public's right to use that as a public Street the township doesn't own paper streets and that's a misconception a lot of people have so so all we're doing is giving up the Public's right to use it if there are any uh utilities underneath we reserve easements for those utilities so it's kind of near Vicki's place it winds its way down to Valley Road there's a walkway there as I understand it that's in bad condition but there's no liability for the town There's no additional cost to the town maintenance costone Etc all right this is first reading so any questions comments from the uh Township Committee hearing none uh motion please so moved second commit mend dorsy yes committee woman rker elain yes committee man uh committee man Forza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes and this will be carried or second reading I should say is scheduled for September 25th next up ordinance 553-2423 records requested in different format for instance if you want a record that we have in word in Excel uh we have to provide that if possible and what this does is it parrots the language of the new Oprah law uh and deletes the language from the Old oal Law and that's a state law the op law a state law that's correct okay Township committee comments questions what exactly are the fees they will be set by the resolution okay and so in other words folks would pay for things like hard copy which take resources to distribute right and as I say if if someone wants it converted from not word to PDF that's too easy but into Excel say we we can charge a fee for that conversion uh to a different format if we don't maintain the record in that format that's requested everyone good looking for a motion so move second committee man dorsy yes committee woman rer elain yes committee man verza yes depy mayor lavender abstain mayor Pia yes uh second reading is scheduled for September 25th ordinance 548 second reading adoption amending amending and ordinance amending section 146 of the township land use ordinance to include requirements for maintenance and repair of storm Water Management Systems uh I'm going to read this one so this would eliminate the $50 fee associated with private storm water facilities uh we are adopting it because the planning board has not given a consistency review well did you want me to read that but I am it's too late now uh as it it's over 35 days it's not controversial what we well uh if I remember we felt it was not a fair charge to the the to the property owner that is maintaining that's correct and technically I would say the planning board doesn't even have to review this kind of ordinance that sets fees but we're overly cautious and we sent it to them fair enough thank you now this is uh second reading so first I'll turn it over to the township committee for comments or questions so this is uh we used to have a $50 fee we charged for say maintaining or cleaning right that's correct and now we're Vic since you're affected by that I think you have to recuse right yes I think Megan was just telling him that by the way I'm I'm getting messages that the um voices are still spotty on Zoom even though we're using the mics correct all right I don't know if there's uh any way to address that in the immediate sense Dan was here but I think he has left just make sure you're speaking very all right all right so at this point I'd like to open up uh the meeting to the public for ordinance body Megan anybody at home if anybody on Zoom would like to make a public comment please raise your hand now I don't see anyone mayor thank you uh so I'm going to close it to the public hearing and looking for a motion to adopt ordinance 54824 so moved second committee M dorsy yes committee woman rer elain yep committee man verza yes well yes I'd like to abstain Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes all right this is uh second reading Capital ordinance 549-2453 entitled uh an ordinance providing for various improvements appropriating $2,570 th000 therefore from various funds of the township and authorizing the appropriation fund funds for the purchase of a dump truck uh body and a purchase of a pickup truck for the Department of Public Works I want to be clear we talked about it at the last meeting but not everybody in the public who's here tonight was there and some of the folks at home may not have been here there is no additional uh cost uh simply switching the original approval of a large dump truck uh to purchase uh dump truck body and pickup truck with a snow plow so if if there are any questions we do have DPW director Al alow here uh you know first I'll turn it over to the township committee if you have any questions or comments I know we've gone over this um I don't see any so what I'll do is open it up to the public again just for you're you're welcome to come to the mic say myself don't ask question because you have to do something David H Sterling Long Hill 2.57 Millions for dump truck no no that that's just just go through and explain that's that's the total I'm sure that was approved embedded in that is that dump truck much how much I honestly don't know how much is the uh that portion out 280,000 yes but now it's 240 so actually it's a savings of 40 she saved money yes good job for those at home that couldn't hear what director Gallow said the original purchase was $280,000 the replacement is $240,000 so I imagine the 2570 uh was slightly higher because it has to reduce by 40,000 um anybody at home Megan if anybody on Zoom would like to make a public comment please raise your hand now I don't see anyone mayor thank you Megan looking for a motion to adopt 549 d24 so move second commit mandori yes committee woman Riker Eline yes committeeman verza yes deputy mayor lavender yes mayor P yes okay ordinance 55-24 second reading for adoption uh amending chapter 29 of the Township Code entitled uniform construction code and construction requirements uh we are amending it uh to be consistent with the DCA rule is it a new rule Jack no I think it's been around a while who knows how long it's been in the ordinance U but in any event our ordinance says you can't get a refund after 45 days but that's not authorized by the DCA rule so we're deleting that 45 days is there a a a deadline there is no deadline no so we're removing the 45 days correct understood is that the only change that's the only change okay any other questions from the township committee seeing none I don't think sorry Matt uh so I'd like to open up uh the meeting to the public for ordinance 55- 2 four seeing none Megan at home anybody on Zoom would like to make a public comment please raise your hand now I don't see anyone mayor thank you Megan would you kindly take Ro is there a motion oh sorry so mov second committee M dorsy yes committee woman rer Eline yes committee men verza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes you're such a stickler Megan consent agenda uh are there any resolutions that need to be pulled uh I just have a question doesn't need pulled though sure on 232 for the infamous Money Pit as I call it is that the lowest possible bidder we have or or where's that money come from to pay for that because this was the hpack grant that we' received oh okay so this a grant money all right that's fine thank you which one was that Matt the one about the what number2 oh yeah okay uh looking for a motion then I'd like to add something to this I know last time we uh had a little bit of a deadlock on on appointing Ken figer as uh Deputy OEM director and so where did where did we wind up on that is that a mayoral appointment or is that by committee the deputy director is actually appointed by the director and and and actually there was some confusion in the resolution in January uh there were four uh Deputy OEM director positions so in this particular case I believe Ken would simply be replacing uh Shan Brown who uh accepted a position outside of town and a deputy OEM director is a volunteer position uh Ken was was a wonderful OEM director for many many years um and he worked at JC pel so he adds that as well he knows the uh the power grid or whatever here in Long Hill uh better than JC pel does so uh personally I really appreciate uh Ken uh wanting uh or willing willingness to come back and serve as a deputy OEM director and I think we were a little bit confused but we went back Jack correct me if I'm wrong and checked the reorg meeting and there were four positions there one of which was filled by sea uh Sean Brown that's correct and like I said state law provides that the director actually makes the appointment of a deputy and the OEM director uh has a dott line or something into uh the mayor so then question because public safety director and OEM director Mike peoples is here so Mike is that still your intent to make Ken figer a deputy yes okay so never mind it's done well no I mean a volunteer that was a good question because we did have it as a resolution the last meeting right and we didn't know it in the immediate sense uh but there were questions I know a couple of committee folks had had questions and they were fair questions but upon uh review we realized there's an opening there we realized the uh appropriate Authority has the authority to appoint that um position that person um Sean has left uh and and frankly I I couldn't think of anybody more qualified than Ken fer now Mike PE is making that appointment in his capacity as OEM director right not as uh public safety director that's a very good point right so the consent agenda we're good to move forward now you would just add it to the consent then just say well we did we don't need to add it because it's done correct ah okay so so now you're you're back on track and the Huddle here in that in that case I'm looking for a motion to approve resolutions number 24- 224 through 24233 so moved second Megan committee M dorsy yes committee woman rker line yes committee men verza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia you see see what I did there Megan I asked for a motion did you say yes or no V you didn't yes yes thank you okay committee committee Reports look Vic Vic now you know what no Vic you're not going to go first because I see you're so excited uh Matt uh keep recycling I actually used the new uh coffee pod recycl we have so please advertise that and use it all you have to do is you can bring it down to the DPW in the lobby of the DPW right in the door you can just dump them right in a big box they have and they get recycled at no cost to you obviously and don't forget our other great programs styrofoam car batteries um the I believe Al is the uh aluminum can thing full right now did you guys empty it tomorrow they're emptying it tomorrow so that'll be more money that Sterling fires donating to the um St Barnabas Burn Unit so let's get that thing filled up again before Thanksgiving thank you and i' just like to point out a lot of these uh uh programs were the brainchild of Matt in in in collaboration with uh director Gallow uh Long Hill Township is at the Forefront of recycling we have other communities that come uh and and use the services that are provided by uh the DPW department so big shout out to them that's it Scott uh nothing here I have oh no I you go no I'll back clean up are you sure yes I have a list too did you not get the memo hold on a second I did not skip you don't you don't you look at me like I didn't call on you I'm just saying do you want me to go next Miss can I go next I'm going to go next y I'm going to go next so this is exciting because we haven't done this before at the committee meetings is the library so I know a lot of us are um frequent the library here and just to understand there's amazing programs that are going on and they're very relevant um so a couple things that we have going on here uh the first slide here is um just to advertise the Long Hill Township Library um is a community Hub physical books ebooks movies lots and lots of programs for kids and adults um inperson and zoom which is amazing uh accessibility for our town um and there's programs inside the Library as well as outside and just stay tuned because there's more and more things coming that are even more dimensional than what we already already have so very exciting um all are welcome to join in on the programs um and the events that use the the amazing space the computers the printers um the fax machines and all for public use then um the library just concluded a successful summer reading campaign yay uh with 363 kids 110 teens 33 adults all reading along um throughout the summer months so very exciting um and the library as well host craft classes free movies book clubs animal shows and a bike parade in cancer Park and Megan has some of those pictures up on the screen so if you haven't taken advantage of the library stuff you absolutely should then um the library hosts six different book clubs all different ages um one of the libraries book clubs is the silent book club members read a book of their own choosing join the group for motivation to read um and last week the silent book club met um at the Sterling Fountain and this week this the silent book club club we meet at oakflower Brewing Company from 7: to 8:00 p.m. and which day is that oh it's up there Thursday 9:5 sorry it wasn't on my notes on yeah okay Slide Five Sunday Funday yay the library is celebrating the return of Sunday hours after a two-month summer Hiatus because we all need a break the library is now open Sundays 1 to 5 um this Sunday September 8th will be a full day of Fun For All there'll be foam bubbles party at 2 p.m. all ages art class class at 3:00 p.m. line dancing at 300 p.m. story time at 400 p.m. and then um also magnet and badge making lawn games board games and an obstacle course and mini golf too very exciting good stuff right then um author talks there's also author talks that go on so we have Garrett Goff a Pulitzer Prize uh finalist um who will talk about his two oral history books via Zoom the talk can be watched live or on demand and the registration is through the library's website or you can call the front desk um and upcoming later in the month will be the bestselling author um Leanne morar of big little lies and apples never fall Fame which is those are really good books if anybody knows so very exciting um and the library has story times every day at 10:30 all are welcome to join for story time and a song I know I'll see you there right absolutely totally and come in and join our challenge to read 1,000 books to your child before kindergarten this program promotes reading to babies and toddlers bonding between caregivers and children and School Readiness so very exciting and then also lill Township cares uh with this initiative I love this one the library aims to be a convenient place for giving back to the community the library now is a permanent Food donation location for 12 baskets which is in the hallway leading into the library other local groups are spotlighted there on a rotating basis and starting September 23rd home for good dogs will be be collecting toys and towels for their dogs September 26th New Jersey angels will talk about their program supporting Foster Youth and ways we all can help so I think really um good things happening in our community for our community and great to take advantage of and there's good things coming now I will turn it over to my friend Vic all right well done you is that so Vic I think you have competition I just want to point I'm feeling that way feeling it you better bring it tonight then I have to bring my glasses for the future so don't stammer all right the wreck update is as follows Sterling lake rescheduled its family fund day to Saturday August 31st our sand castle our sand castle sculptur sculptors really brought their Aames to compete for the coveted title this year L Labor Day marked the close to the season with the last final jump in and our picnic tables for the fac Facility have arrived thank you to Al Gallow and the DPW for assembling and delivering them you can't hear I don't know but I'm hearing something here all right Sterling lake thing cool so that was the I have some sound effects going on here I know so that was the video of the final 2024 jump in it that was what was happening Cor even know you have videos sound effects all right slides three and four from National Night Out we were able to reschedule the official fun guys to Friday August 23rd Long Hill kids and parents were invited to the turf field for a free family night out this was a lot of fun and lots of prizes were earned many thanks to the Long Hill police officers Dylan and Brian for coming out and playing along with the kids and a big thank you to our sponsor The wung Hills Regional Municipal Alliance nice pressure very fancy all right ready he's doing great stop by and see the mosquito and tick information booth on display in the lobby of town hall near Recreation there is lots of great information there and some fun giveaways thank you to the moris County Mosquito commission for putting up the display which will remain in place Friday 96 also a note at the last meeting mayor Pia asked about any spring that is taken place in Long Hill for mosquitoes recently on 91 the commission sprayed the woods via an allterrain vehicle on South Main Street Also earlier the rainbow Trail was sprayed in the same manner on 710 the recreation director has contacted the commission and asked them to set up traps at caner Park wooded area near the river and also by the Myersville ball field to see if any spraying is warranted all right moving on to slide 6 the Sterling lake dance Friday September 6th from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Long Hill students in grade 6 through eight $5 admission fee is due at the gate you notice that little rhyme yeah nice tough audience Long Hill students in I'm sorry check out the avail check out the website for more information and the permission slip which must be signed by both parent and student for admission to the dance note this is a weather dependent event and will be cancelled in the event of bad weather chaperon are still needed please contact the rec department if you can help all right basketball season is around the corner travel basketball teams will hold tryouts beginning 101 watch the website for more information and schedule for tryouts once gym times let me do that again Watch the website for more information and schedule for tryouts once the gym times with the schools are finalized Recreation Saturday basketball programs will not begin until 11:23 and registration will be open till uh mid October all right Mark mark your calendars now for the annual Halloween parade on Sunday October 10th at 300 p.m. caner Park I have a costume start planning those awardwinning costumes now I have a group costume iidea all right and finally slide nine pickle ball continues to be a big hit the signups for the court times continue to fill and the courts are get the court is getting a lot of use and that concludes my Rec are there any suggestions for safety like what what what was that SL the pickle ball yeah how do you how do you respons don't no no no no no don't go don't go don't take the bait next please dink responsibly all right oh I I laid that egg a couple weeks ago that joke did not go no no no all right here we go so uh will Mitchell uh so with Brendan's uh stepping down we had an opening on the planning board so what we're going to do is Will Mitchell is going to be the mayor's design which was currently or was previously filled by Deputy Mayor lavender and Deputy Mayor la lavender is going to move over into Brendan's position which is more information than probably most want to know it's a class three position so the planning board will be uh but I've got some I got some planning board folks back there there they are I'm getting planning board love back there let you know did you was it uh I want to point out so a lot of roads are being worked on the schedule works out that way I I want to thank uh the lill Township Police Department for the excellent uh update they sent out I want to thank uh director Gallow and his team for working around uh what a challenging schedule uh it has been uh I know a lot of uh compliments were put on uh social media about the Long Hill Township Police Department so that's great uh one thing I would add norfield and Al I don't want to put you on the spot that was just delayed because psng had to come in and I think do uh some work so yet again Northfield was pushed off slightly into the future do we have any visibility as to when Northfield will be done sorry Al to do that to you m November no mid November yeah I mean that's just getting as far out there as as you would want to go right uh and part of The Challenge on Northfield was we had a work out with NJ Transit uh there's a large substantial Grant uh that was involved we had to wait until all that was done so we had to use some engineering from the state it it took longer than we would have liked it's not like we can make the decision on uh a Township Road like Hickory Tavern we can make that decision and a schedule can be made there was some moving Parts on Northfield I drive it every morning now on the way to work just so I can remind myself uh that it is a challenge and one other thing on uh Northfield and directed peoples uh is here we're there's been suggestions going back many years uh regarding uh traffic light at Valley and Northfield or Valley and division one thing I'm certain of the county would never approve lights that close together uh at least I'd be shocked because they didn't do it out here that said I I I I think I got to look there um uh studies must be done uh in order to decide whether it is viable to put a traffic light there I believe Mike so that will be done uh you know the committee should should opine on this is that a study that uh the committee supports I think the county does but we have to request it I think I have no problem with it we're not paying for it not the study no I I think we absolutely should living in that neighborhood those intersections are a danger I have children that all five of them drive and um I worry about it every day we've had a couple of turnover accidents over on Northfield and when you go at that stop sign at Northfield it's an uphill turn I spend my tires on a dry day let alone snow and rain cars come down that road fast we should at least consider it I know that not everybody is on the same page with this in the neighborhood but let's let the data and and the professionals kind of guide us on what we should do in terms of Public Safety here as opposed to you know make uh snapshot decisions fair enough I would agree with doing a study if there's no cost to the town and there's no you know implications that we then have to do something just get the information I think that's yeah I think I had read somewhere that when it was turned down back in 2005 give or take at that time and and maybe even the the light that was put in more recently on Mountain and Valley I think there's a 50/50 split I don't know it still is Al shaking his head yes so if and when uh this committee were to decide they would want a traffic light there there would be a 50% cost born by the town and 50% born by the county but the actual study itself would be conducted by the county I think the reason that we need to seriously consider this is not only for what's happened in the past and will continues to happen but what will happen two or three years from now after the TAA property is developed and you have 110 or so many new units going in there traffic is going to increase it's increasing already with the building going around in our town and and uh residents out of town coming into lill to to shop and maybe they're not familiar with the with the speed limits right we just have more traffic that we're going to have to deal with no doubt so get the study and go from there so I I I don't know uh how to proceed at this point Jack do we do we ask the police department to reach out to the county Randy would just contact the County engineer she was at our last traffic meeting she was very helpful okay I think you want a motion Megan sure you why don't we do a motion just authorizing that so moved second so the motion is to have Randy reach out to the county correct to get the Ser to get the report yes okay uh voice fine all in favor I I I all right great um administrator's report uh Randy is on a well-deserved break uh so we will skip that uh ah I I went right into the discussion item I didn't realize it was there um Oprah BWC fee I I'm not what is that Jack Matt Matt Dy BR to our attention he explain it best was I made an OP request to Brick because I wanted a body cam footage from an accident scene for work and I wanted that in the report so I get the email back and they obviously the reports are freak it's an opah request but I got a bill for like $300 if I wanted the body cam footage so I called this twice happened I called down there and I spoke to the records Clerk I think it might have been a lieutenant too I don't remember who it was and they explain that and I know from talking to our officers that do in other departments I'm friends with it's a very time consuming to properly redact the body cam footage I watched one the other day and they had to keep redacting it every time the officer held up the driver's license so um I know it's timec consuming so and it takes I don't know who does it over I think it's Cliff now that does it is that right yes maros does it and it's just for a simple Opa request for maybe a 20-minute body cam could take hours to do so what these departments these towns are doing is charging the cost for the least expensive person that's qualified to do it to fully opal request and if they don't I don't think they it's not like they're charging a premium it's whatever the hourly rate may be for that employee so at that point I think in one town where I asked it's a lieutenant that has to do it so the hourly rate is high in our town it'd be lower because you have a civilian doing it so it's basically a chance to offset the cost for something that's very extremely time consuming for to generate it's not like they can just look an acent report and even redact the birthday and send it out that takes a matter of seconds this is hours and hours time for a very simple video and the MVR too which is what are you what are you proposing that we look into charging a fee for when people want for the redactions for body cams Andor the MVR which is the mobile video repor on the police cars for stuff that has to be redacted out it's not something just do real quick it's time Serv have you discussed this with the police department I don't know I sent an email to everybody nobody objected to it they they certainly wouldn't object no they have to do the work of right so and we've talked about it and Megan and I have talked about it that we'll do an ordinance updating some of the other over fees as authorized by the new legislation so so we'll have that for the next meeting draft form for discussion Poss so maybe maybe with Mike here maybe he takes that back and he works on it brings us back uh I mean because that's Mike's job we we should let Mike do his job as opposed to us well it's Jack's job Orin well I mean mean he's a stakeholder here because uh the department does the redactions right yeah we we can certainly talk to Mike about how long it takes to establish the fee that makes perfect sense well one of the new things also with the Oprah law is that any special service charge that we're going to be sending out there also has to be some sort of itemized list justifying why we're going to be sending out that charge as well I got a letter from brick explaining why it cost the money and for what it what it is so they said they were charged $500 for five pages of documents that's wrong but we're allowed to do it now because of that I talk to other surrounding towns or attorneys for other surrounding towns a lot of them do it already they've been doing it now we probably wouldn't have as many because one good thing in the new law and there aren't that many actually is that you attorneys can't use the U Oprah for Discovery purposes for trials so that may cut down on those types of requests thank you uh okay so uh you'll work on an ordinates and yep we have for the next hopefully we'll have draft a draft for the next meeting we can do it as first reading or we can just introduce it for exactly uh to discuss uh further okay and that next part is is attached to the construction records it just looks a little funny right so the amending the 24 fee schedule was if you wanted to um start charging a fee for the construction records clearance at the last Township committee meeting you guys passed the ordinance requiring um any individual selling their house that they had to make sure that there was no open permits right um other towns are charging between $50 and $100 um it is a little timec consuming for the construction Department because not only do they go on our portal to um make sure that the uh current um permits are closed but they also go back and and we have property records cards that they also make sure that are closed out so I don't know if you guys wanted to set a fee um it's completely up to you but it would be in our fee schedule so if you wanted to do that you can yeah I know Jeff was here at the last meeting and he explained it it made sense to me I don't know uh if we should put it in in into how to proceed here should it be part of you want to have a fee we'll make it part of the the fee resolution correct yes we can do that at the next meeting I just I didn't know if you guys wanted to have a discussion to to I'd be interested in how many times per year this would be a trans you know an issue anytime a home is sold every time there's a closing yeah every time that there's a house so we have an IDE just like we have just like we have the fire permits that that um fire smoke detector smoke detector inspections and sub pumps so those are um it depends on uh if it's within 10 days of the close I think there's like an expedition fee which is I think $150 whereas everything else is just 100 is there a fee for those yes $100 why couldn't we just piggyback it on this on that because they're two two separate departments so Don has to go out and actually inspect um the house um to make sure all of the requirements are in the it's a different application right correct yes to Construction provide some you know reference point that we can look at the average is $70 or you know sum of 50 some are 100 or do we have any reference point we can use would you not at this time if you would like me to compile something would you mind I think that would be helpful if we find that there are 30 towns in a general area and they all charge between 50 and 100 well that solves the problem if most are 50 we'll charge 50 if most are 100 we'll charge 100 if it's skewed we can just take the average how far back the portal go uh I'm not 100% sure as it was explained in the last meeting though it's something Beyond just looking an sdl portal it's actually looking at the physical paper correct so they have property records cards in the construction Department that they reference every once in a while these were paper copies um that I'm actually talking with sdl to see if we can get us on our portal as a um an attachment um so anybody can see them because again they're public records um but yes so not only is Denise in construction going onto the portal to make sure that those are closed she's going in the physical um construction files to make sure all of the inspections were completed and then she's also referencing those paper cards from the early times so okay so I'll compile list and bring it to you guys for the next time I appreciate that Megan so I'm sorry VI no perfect that's okay old new business oh yeah new business can we discuss the appropriate Authority I asked about it last time and it wasn't on the agenda this time to bringing the administrator back as the appropriate Authority that's my position that was in the Fano report and uh when we didn't have that we didn't have any supervision we saw what happens so so I actually I actually spoke to Bob about that and asked him for a clarification because I did see an email back from him explaining um what he had in the report um and he and I talked and he said no he completely understood that we when we hired Mike as an extension of Randy uh Mike with the professional experience law enforcement experience um reporting to Randy it was entirely appropriate for Mike to be the appropriate Authority and in fact we sat in this committee and we said we were bringing in the public safety director to call balls and Strikes as as appropriate Authority so there was some misunderstanding on that hopefully that's cleared up I'll ask Bobby myself but still I whether he agrees with me or not I still think there should be some supervision and it was you Scott that said everything should go through the um administrator so that's a way for insulate everybody here and plus provide U some supervision and control around what goes on and you want to start a land war in Russia too I'm not following that thing either so if you we've gotten this problem before because some individual doing something they weren't supposed to I'm not saying Mr peoples or anybody else is doing anything appropriate but without any supervision we don't know what's going on and that's why I wanted to bring it back it's not about the person it's about the position and it's a title and a position and it doesn't matter who's in it but without any supervision or authority we could end up in a situation maybe not today maybe not tomorrow that we were in four or five years ago and we all know how that turned out what's the position title that you're saying the appropriate like what that's the position title the appropriate author like the police department reports so the appropriate Authority sets rules and regulations for the police and policies and so it's extremely helpful to have a law enforcement professional in that role now if we look at Harding um it happens to be that Mr ferano is both administrator and appropriate Authority because he holds both of those types of expertise he was the police chief right Randy doesn't have that EXP experti he's a civilian we have somebody here that we hired for that role was very clear that that was one of the conditions for the job coming in um I think it would be a little disingenuous of this committee to change that yeah I mean I I feel very strongly that the person with experience should be the appropriate Authority uh for example you know I don't like speaking about other towns but menum B just moved to a public safety director and what they did is they removed the police chief from their ordinance and the public safety direcor there not only has uh uh rules rags and policies but is also uh in charge of operations operations so and from what I and they passed it so my understanding is uh with the delay here has been because we've been trying to work it out with the prosecutor my understanding is men and burrow did clear their ordinance with the pro prosecutor and with the state police Chiefs Association so I I think to some degree we're making a a mountain out of a mole hill we're not Reinventing anything here uh as far as whether Randy who I have a great deal of respect for as a CFO and as an administrator I wouldn't ask him to write rules regulations and consultant and as a consultant that's a good point Randy is a consultant that's right right we're we're at equilibrium right now with the situation with regard to the uh to the to the prosecutor's office we're not taking the Chief's position out we're staying as is um and so you know it's time for Mike to move forward and be empowered to do what he needs to do and one of the things we're doing by holding this up and and splitting these crumbs in half is we're not moving forward on a new police station that's the next thing on his task is is to identify a place where we can get this police station going and and and you know figure out what it has to hold where it has to be how much it's going to cost and and let's move forward Vic you were saying something no my take on it was that um director peop was going to you know be the appropriate thority as far as rules regulations and policies for the police department to be carried out by the officer in charge and that technically that Randy was the you know as the township administrator was the supervisor so technically you know still is right so then you know M he would I don't think Randy would you know would be the one writing these policies if that just technically what we're acknowledging is that Randy is the supervisor that was my take on it mine as well right so then I think that we're all on that we were all on point I mean I think we made clear that there needs to be a a a good relationship between our public sac director and Randy and Randy's here on a day-to-day basis and who more qualified to you know to have a relationship and an observance is what's going on as someone that's here not us we're not here often enough in my in my opinion right I mean and that's the administrator granted Randy is a consultant but he he serves in the the role of administrator and CFO the recreation director Lisa scanland reports to Randy director Al Gallo reports to Randy but that's a little different than what we were saying though as far as appropriate Authority was concerned I think my take on it that I just mentioned is a little different than what was brought to the floor earlier and I think we need to make sure that we have clarification on that I think we're all comfortable with director peoples writing those that that's what he does and he's great at it so uh the officer in charge it's appropriate to have the officer in charge carry those you know those rules regulations policies and procedures out but nonetheless Randy as our Township administrator is technically the supervisor so I think that that's I just want to be clear on it are you clear on what the org chart is I'm sorry are you clear on what the org chart is yes that was my interpretation it so recite to me exactly what the chain of authority is I thought that it was going it was the T Comm where does the where does the uh officer in charge report to we don't know it reports to the appropriate Authority and so the officer in charge would technically would be it it would be Randy I believe no no I'm sorry people's and then people's so so for folks for folks at home the the the the the the term appropriate Authority is a uh is is State defined term right Mike and the police chief or the officer in charge in any municipality reports to the appropriate Authority which could be the administrator or could be in this case it's not it's Mike right who then reports to the administrator just so we're all clear that's the reporting that's the reporting chain we have and that's the appropriate chain because what we have is an appropriate Authority with law enforcement experience who is Versed and has 30 years of experience in policies rules and rigs including being police chief in Long Hill Township it's a partnership between Randy and Mike because Randy controls the money right because Randy is the CFO and he's the administrator and so whatever Mike needs to fund and run a department he has to go to Randy for approval get it understood but I I think that we we're no what you don't want what you don't want is an ambiguous reporting chain we had that when we made this committee the appropriate Authority two years ago and that was a disaster because we had five appropriate authorities with different opinions and I don't know if this is to like Barney style but just breaking that out and being really clear in terms of okay this is what this means this is what the change exactly what you just said in terms of a chain of command and understanding and I'm trying to read right now what you just sent me um just to understand what is outline in terms of job roles and responsibilities so that just making sure everybody's clear because if that's written out then there should be then there's no question right in theory yeah it's set by the state law that I to Y thank you so I'm just scanning that right now can we move on yeah I I I think so all right so any other old new no so announcements uh I'll go through a few uh the most important one is uh next Wednesday 911 there will be a remembrance service over at uh St Joseph's Shrine as in Pre past years it begins at 7 pm. if you have the uh opportunity to attend that night I would strongly encourage you to do so uh it is a moving uh ceremony and uh one that we took significantly enough on this committee uh to change next week's speeding to tonight uh so each of us could attend uh uh that remembrance where was that right at St Joseph's Shrine up on Long Hill Road and what time 700 p.m. and it last about an hour yeah uh it's it's it's pretty quick uh there are um uh representatives from each religion that speaks uh there uh and I know you know many many folks uh new people lost people uh uh that terrible day uh back in 20 1 so if you can make it uh I strongly encourage you to do so uh September 21 oober Fest I don't know the hours I I know it's on Facebook 3:30 to 10 p.m. 3:30 to 10 p.m. are you going to be cooking there uh I will be cooking uh it's $40 a person you have to be 21 and over uh to have beer they're going to be German beer uh children under children 10 and under are free and there'll be appropriate food for kids 10 and under so 10:30 to 10 uh 3:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday the 21st perfect and proceeds go to Veterans and disabled children and then one week later uh the Elks have another family fund day which also uh I think the proceeds go to Veterans as well so the Elks here in town uh do amazing work so if you can make either one I actually have the time for uh family fund day I don't know if you have it off hand I can find it family Funday I said it was the 28th right uh that is 12 to 6:00 p.m. so noon to 6:00 p.m. family Funday uh you can see these things online um they are often posted there October 5th is the 100th anniversary of the LGH Hill Township Police Department I don't know if if there's going to be any announcements regarding that as to the uh what will happen that day or uh yes we have something beautiful thank you I appreciate that uh so October 5th we have one other thing I miss one September 25th the 12th annual watchong Hills good Scout awards dinner uh the proceeds benefit uh the Boy Scouts of America uh and our very own Deputy Mayor Scott lavender will be honored that evening so he won't be uh joining us at the township committee so congratulations to Scott um and that's for those who would like to attend September 25th there's a fee to attend but they can they can look it online uh the Patriots path Council Boy Scout of America so congratulations Scott and I think any Matt do you have sometimes you have something yeah uh from the Board of Health we have a new health officer Dawn Marling she sits over in burner's Township is that correct Megan uh they're having back to school nutrition for busy families and obviously non- busy families as well they all invited Thursday September 26th 6 to 7 at the library in Bernards and there's also flu shots that are getting administered in Bernards town Township um these are all at 9 to 11: for the first three days October 9th October 17th and October 255th um they're at all different places you're not going to remember if I tell you anyway so you can look on the website but flu shots contact the burners Township Board of Health thank you Matt thank you uh any anyone else hearing none what I'd like to do is item number 13 the meeting is now open to the public uh please be kind uh to others that might like to speak and limit comments and remarks to 3 minutes so the meeting is open to the public good evening uh Frank liberado Heritage Road uh first I want to welcome our new Committee Member congratulations thank you good luck thank you got a lot of stuff ahead of yourselves so uh I'm sure you're Canna have your hands full so um just want to talk about a couple of things you know I hear it's was good to hear that you know we're not going to be moving forward at this time on removing the chief of police position from the or chart because I think it really gave the impression to the public and a lot of people that I've talked to that um you know the by removing that kind of you know basically you may not put it back even though you said it's for temporary purposes um and it gives the public the impression you know the director peoples who is very well trained in what he's doing um and you know is excellent in you know uh his background gives a public the impression well he's going to basically be the Quasi Chief and they're not going to fill that position that we've historically had but I think we're missing the mark on really what the purposes is uh in Bob fer Chief F's report and I believe knowing him as long as I do you know with all of Mike's credentials the purpose is him to be a mentor and a guiding hand for the department and help them fill those gaps but Foster and build the department up and and work with them not to replace the chief and I think that's the concern I think the Optics with a lot of people is when they saw that me included you know came out and says what are we doing here could I just say whether and Frank thank you for bringing it up and I agree with everything you said that was not our decision uh we never were removing the Chief's position from the ordinance that was at the request of the prosecutor to eliminate the Chief's position not to remove it from the ordinance while uh there was an officer in charge that was their recommendation so did it's exactly what menmo did they removed it from their ordinance so that wasn't something that originated amongst the council here if you go back and look at our ordinance it left the Chief's position that's what was surprising to me that it fair I agree with and the perception is that it was derived or authored by the to remove that position temporarily oh okay at the direction of the prosecutor's office so this was at the direction of the prosecutor I I could say all five members of the attach committee wanted to keep it in the ordinance it was really as the mayor well I think that's important I and I think the Mark here as far as the mentoring you know and and his purposes a guide in hand it's not a permanent thing you know where forever but it's a matter of helping our department but at the same token I haven't heard anything about the process while they're deciding if they're going to add another you know Lieutenant's position or or so on there's other spots in the chart that aren't filled cap is not filled there's sergeants positions that aren't filled what is our process right now while they're still sorting out what they're doing with Chief is the mentorship program started and is each lieutenant or whoever the candidates are going to have the ability to show what they can do and be evaluated so this process can move forward because as an employ I don't know when is the last time the department had any promotions in my recollection I I what is it four or five years maybe so I'm sure everybody wants promotions and wants to move up but you know as that process started at least you know either giving you know uh the lieutenants the OIC an evaluation and then handing it over to the other lieutenant or whoever the other candidates are so that process you know moves forward because I think that you know is part of the mentorship program I I think that was the goal of the report was to Mentor guide and help and I know we're getting sidetracked with different things about the Chiefs position and so on but I I'm just kind of looking for some guidance as far as where are we at with that or you know have we started that process let me say this I think you said it very well that's exactly what the intent was that's exactly the plan the only reason we got sidetracked is because when we put the ordinance forward uh and I don't know how the prosecutor's office became involved I I I don't know we did not initiate that contract but they reached out to us otherwise we would have passed it with the exact you you faced it well I I mean that that uh was the direction we were moving forward with if Frank i' also too I just as a refresher one of the first things that Sean and Mike did when they got in was double down on the accreditation which they did get right and so there's a lot of swim lanes that are going on right now that you know we just need to be patient and let Mike work through them but absolutely it's all about mentorship it's all about succession planning it's all about sorting out and that's what I'm concerned about because I don't hear a lot of that you know we're talking about a lot of other things but I don't hear what's going on process-wise as far as hey you know what we we got some timelines here where give me an example just talking out loud we're doing a six month evaluation of this particular lieutenant and then we're going to do a six Monon of this one you know and then within 18 months we're going to make a decision because we're two years down the road we're still without a chief I me we have our OIC which is important but I'm sure everyone wants to see something move forward and progress and I you know I think this as an employer you you have employees if they see everything is stagnant That's not healthy either I mean I'm not saying that you got to jump on it tomorrow but even the positions that are open like filling the captain's position filling a Sergeant's position you know saying the the detective Bureau for argument or a traffic Sergeant you know that stuff I'm sure pretty quickly I look I don't want to speak for direct or promotion I should say that everything you just described is in motion you know and and I guess we're looking for timeline to say Hey you know by the end of the year we're probably going to have two promotions and in fiscal year 2025 by the end of the year we'll select a chief because right now it looks like there's no light at the end of the T we're just going and you know we just would like some guidance you know and I know there's things you can't talk about I totally understand that there's things that are deliberative Personnel related but General parameters because the Optics with a lot of the people in the public after that last meeting wasn't very positive so I think Clarity is important as far as explaining things like you said mayor you know how I kind of phrased it that you said it well Frank I I think just people need to understand that's all I think all it is yep Noe I think it's a good call out that there needs to be transparency and communication with it and I think based on just even sorry how the limbs um how we how we even you know voted before in terms of adding a position not adding a position it's nothing definitely addressing that there's needs within the department both from you know hearing the call outs from the leadership perspective as well as the call outs you know from the team itself and I think as a unit or at least me like being new I think I agree we need transparency to that we need to understand what the whole plan is both short-term and longterm and there may be temporary pieces to it and there may be permanent pieces to it and the strategy all of that agree and I think that's something that we demonstrated um tonight that we I know I want to hear it and I think the way we voted showed that we want to hear it um so that's coming and I think you know we'll navigate what's the best way to communicate that not only to the public but also to the team that it affects yeah I think that's that's so important like you said and and as you said uh Deputy Mayor there's multiple swim Lanes I totally get that but I think that's Lane I think the department and I think the public would like to see movement in saying you know just like a lot of town said you know in December there's going to be two promotions whatever it is you know and then obviously you got to back fill those spots and I get it leads to overtime I understand all that but we've lost two years you know in that particular category and I don't want to see two years further we're still treading water at the same thing and no difference to director peoples he's more than qualified to do everything and I know he'll be an excellent mentor I just think it needs just to be clear that that's really the goal is to Foster Y and help the department and I think it's a thank you for coming to speak to that B I think there's certain things that are already in Play In Motion so that's good I think there's opportunity that still needs to be done and including transparency to it not only from to the community but also to the team that it affects um and I think hopefully I don't know in your opinion based on um the confirmation that the chief will still like that role will still that makes feel better feel okay like from in your opinion based on you know your community all you know and that's a lot of people have reached out to because a lot of people aren't comfortable coming up and speaking me obviously you can't get enough of me I know well that's also on our list to make sure we we hear the voices that might not be comfortable or might not be able to come right or or they're just you know shy and they you know they've reached out and they were very concerned because they were concerned we were going in a wrong direction and if you're leaving that the way it is and leaving that sp there and the mentorship program gets going with the staff then we're looking forward to seeing positive fruits let's bury that let's move forward let's get moving I think is what everybody said exactly and like you with and get the plan out there yeah we got got to get things moving forward that's all all right thank you thank you thank you I don't know this person hello hi I have a big smile on my face because you guys made my job easy today I came today to request a oh sorry um narice Suarez from Millington hi I came today because I wanted to make a request for a study for that corner the infamous Northfield and Valley um just because I have it I wanted to give you guys my um absolutely wait is that is that the one Chris peruna showed you're the one that put that together together yes oh okay Chris did that yes weeks ago and um I added a few other things to it also so um I'd like to just start with page three I should have ordered this better I saw this so um on page three this is um and also I want to thank the police department for being so Cooperative of getting the Oprah reports to me at my request um it was a very easy nice process thank you uh if you look at the chart this isn't a chart that I plotted on my own it was generated by plugging in the dates um this chart shows the disproportionate amount of accidents that happened on Northfield Avenue and Valley um for the public that's 12 within that time frame on Northfield the next runner up is division with four and most of that on Northfield started 2021 right so there's four in 2021 4 in 2023 and we don't know where that trend is going MH um so the page one has a very loose chart of it's a regression chart that shows based on the historical accident data we have if we don't make any changes where we're headed it's a small slope but it is going upwards M um with the population looking to increase I think that's a a big problem area so I'm I'm I'm so happy to hear that um the study will be um requested to County um my other plan B was at the very least if we can't get a traffic light there how about a walkway um for pedestrians um on the last page I have a few images of New Providence where they have those Center stop for pedestrian signs and Springfield Avenue is as busy as Valley Road it's a continuation of us um in that area maybe even busier um they have more shops and pools and other other um stores in the area so every time I drive by this area I always think oh pedestrians it does kind of keep me alert you know I don't know about anybody else so what I was thinking was if the traffic light is not an option um or if it's going to take too long how how hard would it be for our town to implement something like that on um uh sorry I do believe we still have to get County approval because it is a County Road count actually discussed that with us a little bit at the meeting oh they did I know if they did was part of them right Alexis was part they mentioned putting like the uh slowdown for pedestrian signs the yeah that came up at the meeting and actually we talked about her chart at the meeting because she gave it to Chris BR who gave it to me and we talked about it at the meeting so it was very helpful it's good to see the person that actually put it together not I love facts and figures so thank you thank you I yeah um I just I feel like you know um data doesn't lie and it we see a huge um you know a huge difference with Northfield um and then the other point that I wanted to just highlight I don't know if this means anything is that there's four main streets that connect Valley Road to Long Hill Road um Northfield being one of them the other one is uh main um Street Morristown Avenue and I gu the other one is mountain mountain so all those streets have traffic lights except for Northfield and Northfield has a school on that road all the traffic from Basking Ridge when they're coming to Val mall I imagine would come through that road um and so if you um flip to page two you'll also see that most of the accidents that occur are non- L Hill residents so out of those 12 eight of those accidents were non- Long Hill residents yeah yeah and I I think you made a very important Point even though it's 12 the reality is 19 and 20 there was only one yeah but the trend seems to be consistent now it is increasing and to what Scott said earlier we don't have that much additional housing in Long Hill we'll get some because of the TAA development and stuff but that's not where this traffic's coming from yeah everybody who lives in it appears in watch Young Warren in Bernardsville and Bernard Town shop at that shop right uh so I list the town see where people are coming from um and' be surprised to know that a lot of these accidents are happening in the early hours of the morning between 7 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and sadly um but truthfully most of those accidents um 10 of them are ages from 65 to 80 so it's not teenagers driving to fast it's people that are so it's not distracted young kids it's not distracted long on kids correct so it could be any of us and I know it's easy to just say just everybody slow down yeah I mean that's like obvious you know but if that's not working what's their next step um and I think for safety all of these accidents except for three resulted in some sort of an injury and I'm glad that there's no deaths but um I I'd like to know what the threshold is for us to actually move forward and take it more seriously so I'm sorry I did speak with director peoples on this and he he had some s a history of what happened in 2005 it was presented the data indicated and correct my if I'm wrong the data indicated that they inter the intersection then yeah warranted a traffic light but the township committee at the time and I I don't want to speak for them I don't know what the justification was decided not to move forward I have to believe if it qualified in 2005 it it's the data yeah is going to indicate even more so I logic says that but you're a data person let's get the data and and and we can review it and then discuss it with uh officer in charge T umbrella and and and direct the peoples and whomever else they they uh they assign to look at this uh but I mean this really stood out for me anyway I don't think any of us like traffic lights yeah I live right there I would I would love not to have a traffic light but if it's the safety of people I think it's for me the answer is easy I was going to say no it's okay I was going to say the good you know if I really want to speak I'll let you know um but the the good news is one we voted to have that study done so that's excellent but two and I don't know I you said it's a more it's a county road but I I do Embrace and understand the analogy to those roads in New Providence I don't know what it would entail to do something like that in the meantime I don't know how long this study takes or what even from there okay great we approve it we say yes there should be a light not saying that we will but whatever then you know what is it a year from now whatever could we go out and I'll C what I said I said it's a county road we need their approval it's a County Road over in Springfield too granted it's County it's a different County so I don't know what their rules are but that's also a County right but so in especially with school the whole thing is there a way and I don't know what the process is to request could we do something like that with The Pedestrian just highlighting is it going to fix everything maybe maybe not don't know but is it something that could help the situation right now I don't think that's a bad suggestion I don't know what that entails but I would ask whoever I need to talk to you to figure that out uh to make that proposal that we have with the V that what call the county calling Randy or the V call the county it'll do the same thing or even Sergeant suton is a good relationship with the County engineer he talks to her all the time I think so probably be in the same phone call you can do it so we start the ball rolling now and if there's some short-term fixes that can ameliorate it in the meantime but if we don't start now and we start 6 months from now it'll be two years instead of one year right that's why I like is that something we can do now because I think it's a great suggestion to put those pedestrian we have the full you have the full support of the committee that we get this fix thank you for doing this thank you thanks so who F do I call then someone to put that into play thank God thank you good evening hi good evening committee um thank you for your time my name is Henry Anderson I live on Northfield and um I want to say I love being a Millington resident I've been in town for 14 years and I feel like my family and I have grown together with the town and it's been wonderful and I've taken to Heart a lot of the comments around the safety on Millington and uh Valley Road and and Northfield um and I'm here tonight not for the road exactly but for the transportation policies and services of the high school in watch Young Hills um so I'm a single father and I share custody of two wonderful boys and the second one has just started at uh um Wang and we'll spend four years the next four years there um and I understand we're in the second year of a policy that favors transportation for one child and one household but not two household families so which is fine if you're married and living together but if you are single and if you are sharing custody you're out of luck and I have called the high school to understand their policy and they have told me that it is in regard to child safety and I find this a little bit egregious with all of the comments tonight about safety and the fact that my son would have to walk about 3/4 of a mile on Valley Road and then another almost mile uh up to the high school uh to consider that something about his safety being their overriding concern and so I asked you um in addition reviewing New Jersey state requirements for high school transportation I cannot see any reference in their policies and language that you know provide any provision for this policy to let this stand and favor you know a primary residence as the sole pickup spot for children and drop off is is this a policy though that's in the the domain of the watch Young Hills Board of head yes yes yeah so I am one of two taxpayers in town and I fa pay faithfully and my son is starting the first year of his four years at wung and we love this high school and so I'm asking you you know as a taxpaying member um that you be aware of this discriminatory policy um that you consider the number of families in my similar situation sharing you know the and the logistics of getting their children to school um and that you consider discussing this with the Board of Education to consider you know relooking or overturning something that really discriminates against families that share the the time and the love of their children can I make a make a suggestion we so on the wung Hills Board of Ed we have um two Long Hill residents Carol pra lives in Millington um if you send an email to either the mayor or or to me I can give you uh Carol's contact info as well as Susan Albert who's the other other lill resident and I am I'm sure if you send this to them and explain your case like you've done right now that you stand a really good chance of getting some action can I ask have you spoken at a high school board meeting uh no I've just called the transportation department multiple times and been told twice it's a safety concern and I just don't find that in the interest of families um and I I also feel a bit AG grieved as a taxpayer being denied services that I paying the majority of my Municipal Taxes towards um and so I'd ask that I will gladly take that information I'm glad to have fellow people on Long Hill uh Road or um Northfield Road but I I really think this policy policy should be overturned and you should return the sort of um transportation you know criteria to a more equal and fair playing field for families in town and this is your this is your first child second my second child go starting college or starting un um High School the first one is finished but the last year was a lot of uh logistical dodgeball and trying to find ways to school um and I I just think it's unfair and uh would appreciate you guys CH though right it previously was different they didn't they didn't care if you had two places one one for Mom one for Dad and now you said that earlier primary residence is the only residence recognized for the transportation routing and I I think a lot of these buses cover the same roads and to me it's an egregious sort of uh unfair thank you for bringing it to our attention but I I really do believe that your pathway to success is contacting Carol pra and presenting this at the high school board level we're on we we get where you're coming from when we're on on board with you and thank you and I mean it sincerely for bringing it to our attention but I think really we could assist but yeah any excep any excep by the board of EDS the right place to do it we'll Advocate I'm sure I'm just one voice of a large population out there but I I would hope that it is more adopted not on the individual level but widely for for our town Scott's email and my all of our emails I should point that out are on the township if you if you feel better just go on the website put all of our emails in there and just say here's my contact information you don't have to go into it again and we will make sure you get connected to your high school uh board member representatives from Long Hill Township I will report back after discussion with them and thank you for your time and by the way thank you for your patience everybody who lives on Northfield I I I I'm not kidding I drive it each morning now I just want to point out to myself it it really isn't in good shape I acknowledge that as I I share your passion for a new Surface thank you thank thank you you yes sir Miss please state your name David H Sterling Long Hill very quickly I just make it a more you know casual thing so I just want to say to Brendon I wish he was here tonight what I thought of his guidance and support on the planning board for at least 10 years and everything he has done in town so I do want to recognize that publicly that I appreciate what he did for the town for the board and for myself so I do want to mention that David thank you thank you very quickly Matt you talked about the recycling yeah one thing I I I have done I've got a truck right so I've done my I change through motor oil I stick it in a five Le oh we'll take that and they take it absolutely that's that pace cuz we use it to uh for the furnace right Al yeah exactly sa yeah please if you have recycled uh if you change your own oil so I just want to add when you go through the list of things to recycle that's something that I think was very was great saves money for the taxpayers too because they're not paying for the uh gas down there EXA I have to go down to another shop and try and get you know it's just like a pain no you don't have to pay to get it they'll take it there for free yeah I leave a bell and they pick it up next day and lastly norfield yes everything you said about norfield pry support is a dangerous intersection something it's a Confluence of events that have led to it and I do apologize I wish we could have avoided all of them but when you have all these moving Parts you have state Engineers you have NJ Transit and then psng comes in and says we have to do some because once it's mil and paved they can't come in and do that so all these things led to where we are and first I wish we had more roundabouts but that's a whole different subject not for that location you wish you had more yeah roundabouts he likes roundabouts I like roundabouts thank you thank you good evening folks uh Joe fazari uh Pleasant Plains Road congratul yeah good evening congratulations on your new role thank you best of luck thank you uh I and I apologize I came a little late so it may have already been addressed uh but I want to ask it anyway so I saw the list of the roads that are being paved in the town can you can someone on the board explain or briefly tell me uh how that assessment is done in terms of how you know which streets I I live on Pleasant the reason I ask is because I didn't see Pleasant planes on that list and it's if it's a main thorough fair I mean people are constantly going through so therefore there's a lot of wear and tear on the on that particular Road and I I should have prefaced this by saying the DPW has done an extraordinary job every time I ask them to come out because there's a buildup of ice on the road there's no sidewalk there's you know and so they come out they break up the ice because of you know potential accidents and what have you um they're breaking up with the gravel they come and do the sort of Peace meal they've done an excellent job at that I'm very satisfied and you know reach out and always offer those guys whatever you know water whatever they need so they do an excellent job so I didn't see Pleasant planes on that list and I'm just curious this to a couple of things I I'm I'm surprised that it's breaking up like that because Pleasant PLS to my recollection was done relatively recently within the last five years maybe time flies maybe it was longer the the general answer to your question is Al is qualified to evaluate roads and and he ranks them Al can I put put you on a spot to come up and address that question or right because so the question is how do we prioritize which roads get paved corre Y and then you know if it's not on if it's not on this cycle that's fine but if you can give me some inkling in terms of when the next cycle is on uh only because uh you know I they're priorities I understand lived on Pleasant planes if I could be nosy a long time uh 2002 so what's that 22 years actually 22 years next week congratulations welcome I I my recollection is it's been done relatively recently so what happens is it's it's Al could speak to it it's a main thorough fair I mean people are going through that road constantly so it's just you know it's the nature of what goes on you know the frequency of it all thank you though thank you so the process he is corrected the road is I think 2, 17 18 that road was paved um there is no drainage so yeah ice is the worst the thing for black top uh but the process is I I'll go out you know before our budget process go over every road uh there's categor categor between five and one five being the worst Road um list is processed that's given to Randy uh Nancy in the past and then actually go out with the engineer on the roads that I pick and he puts his Blessing and then it gets into the budget um budget is gone down in Paving because the expenses gone up uh but we try to do as much as we can with the with the money yeah I I thought you were going to say drainage is it damages roads quicker so a road like Pleasant Plains which I know quite well there's a lack of drainage and the pitch of the road and and there's a lot of factors how often is that evaluated did you just say that and I didn't it's a yearly evaluation okay good thanks Chief y thanks Chief if there's a need to do it more often than yearly I don't know if that's a cost of the town or whatever that means but would that be a special well I would to to put words you will rate all the roads in order of significance of need and then we give you a budget and that's what you work with then I appr I appreciate you okay was pleasant PLS one of the ones we had a grant for that's right maybe we should start working on that now then know values it every June okay I was just asking if um we're on a regular calendar year or some other sort of fiscal year to understand when that's evaluated so thank you thank you good evening Charles renz Millington I like uh Frank liado want to Welcome auy to the town ship committee bringing new enlightening and objectives an objective view to this Township committee I'm not at the point where I want to ask questions yet because I want you to reestablish Integrity honesty and transparency to the lill township taxpayers so I'll make comments tonight only in the past you have all indicated publicly that you don't have the capability and the experience to oversee a police department therefore we hired MRI to do an assessment we hired Robert ferano who was described by the deputy mayor as scary smart to generate reports to help over oversee the police department I have read the Mr report in the ferano assessment several times several times but those two reports do not contain any recommendations to add a lieutenant to the police department nor do they recommend elimination of the chief of police that may come as a surprise to some of you but that's not in the report and I don't want to get into a debate and I don't want any answers but according to the Mars County prosecutor's office via a recent eeko article which you all like to contribute to you have proposed ordinances regarding the elimination of the police chief that's counter to what was written in the article by the prosecutor's [Music] office you continue to propose ordinances that are counter to expert advice some of which we pay for as taxpayers oh sorry we're saying well we're concerned about mentoring and and and getting progress in people promoted but as I said at the last meeting for since 2015 we hadn't had performance evaluations to two lieutenants that's far away from any mentoring process you'll contribute to the New Jersey State Police Association police chief who's President told you at the last meeting that the mentoring of the of potential police Chiefs is free a freebie that we never took advantage of these proposed ordinances counter to your experts that we're paying for must stop granted tonight you withdrew or tabled Lieutenant I don't want it tabled I want it dropped I don't want to ever have to come here again and try to get you to stop from limiting the chief of police position this Behavior after you can't manage the department you hire the experts then you do totally opposite what they recommend I'm tired of beating my head against the wall please read the two reports again like I have thank you for your time and hopefully your actions will give me more credibility where I can ask a question that you might be able to answer thank you for your time well I can answer a couple of them one I want to be well I'm going to answer the question I want to be exceedingly clear we never will going to remove the Police Chief's position from the ordinance we will order to do so by the prosecutor I want to be clear I want to be clear no I'm speaking now Chuck number two just because just because and I do agree with uh Deputy Mayor lavender uh former Chief Bob ferano is scary smart doesn't mean I agree with all of his recommendations I do not support in this current moment uh promoting somebody to Captain so the lieutenant position rather than have a captain I think makes more sense hence why I support the Lieutenant's position it's not an additional position and I want to be also clear I think the Longhill Township Police Department is outstanding there are outstanding membership there that's why Mike is here to make sure the right people are put into the right roles and I have 100% faith that directed peoples will in fact do so it's important that the folks the men and women in Long Hill Township's Police Department have visibility and Clarity and into job advancement career advancement they deserve it they've earned it and so but that takes time we didn't get here overnight we're not going to solve that overnight and I have every bit of faith that we will get there okay if advancments were important to to you we didn't have an evaluation of the two lieutenants for over 6 years can I CH in does see know that's not going on right now what I would say is one thank you it's nice to meet you and I appreciate your kind words number one um I also appreciate your passion for Long Hill Township so thank you for that and I think also tonight we did say um well at least like in my opinion that we we do need to evaluate the overall process and hear you that you you know there's various things that you feel can be improved upon and I think we're going to take it um and evaluate it with the things that we spoke about earlier in terms of understanding the overall plan um because I agree we need to understand that overall Plan before adding different things I would also say I know there were the two reports um that were made and I think those are absolutely evaluated I also think um there's opportunity to what's relevant today in lill Township so those reports were done as a moment in time from a specific Viewpoint and I think as we evaluate whatever the current recommend is for the plan we also overall look at what is the team saying that we need what is the current relevancy to what the reality is of what L Hill needs in the police department and so I want you know at least from my perspective I want to make sure that we do do that in terms of whatever next steps we take in in terms of leadership training mentor training evaluations all of that um as they continue to be implemented in the police department and I think we've said tonight that we absolutely do know that we um have opportunity to communicate what that plan is a bit better so that's something um I just want you to know from my perspective I find very important so next and hopefully we demonstrated it any other member of the public who is here this evening seeing none Megan at home if anybody on Zoom would like to make a public comment please raise your hand now I don't see anyone mayor thank you very much uh so at this point I entertain a motion to adjourn and thank you everybody for coming here thank you thank you everyone I appreciate it yeah yasine I see you if you don't mind e