##VIDEO ID:TiAUXQDGlDs## I call to order this regular meeting of the township Committee of the township of moris this Wednesday December 18th 2024 the time is now 7:06 this meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act an adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law specifically notice of this meeting was emailed to the Daily Record in Mars newsby on January 4th 2024 and posted on the township of Mars website the agenda and resolutions for the meeting are available on Marist township.com under agenda Center certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of personnel Andor other matters as outlined in the Sunshine Law notice to members of the governing body and Township staff any use of electronic devices during this meeting shall be used solely for the purposes of Township business and any Communications are subject to the open public records act madam clerk roll call please Mr gelle here Mr dorfy here Mr ravitz here Mr janata here mayor ggia here will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for all the next item on the agenda is approval of the minutes may I have a motion to approve the minutes from October 16 2024 closed in regular session so moved second all in favor I we have two proclamations on the agenda tonight and these are in recognition and celebration of two residents for their 100th year birthdays so we they are not able to be with us this evening but we'll read the proclamation and I'll start with the first one which is for Helen cesley in recognition and congratulations to Helen cesley whereas Helen cesley a cherished resident of the township of mors has reached the remarkable mil remarkable Milestone of her 100th birthday and whereas it is both fitting and proper that the citizens of the township of mors through their elected officials honor and celebrate this extraordinary occasion and whereas the mayor and members of the township committee wish to publicly recognize and celebrate this significant and joyous event in the life of a longtime resident and now therefore the governing body of the township of moris on behalf of all residents extends its heartfelt congratulations to Helen cesley on the occasion of her H 100th birthday we honor her remarkable Journey celebrate her her Legacy and express our best wishes for continued health and happiness in the years ahead so very happy birthday to Helen and her family and we hope that if you can either watch us on Zoom or we have a chance to we'll get the proclamation to you the other Proclamation is for Carl Marx should I just do this one as well in recognition and congratulations to Carl Marx whereas the township Committee of the township of Mars proudly recognizes Carl Marx a Township resident who recently celebrated his 100th birthday and whereas as a member of the greatest Generation Carl's Exemplar life serves as a model to Aspire to between October 1944 and March 1945 Carl served our country in World War II flying 32 missions as an engineer gunner in a B17 dubb the worry bird named for a popular 1940s toy and whereas Carl's bomber group The 486 Bomb Group played a vital role in supporting ground troops during key military campaign s including the invasion of Normandy the Battle of the Bulge and the assault across the rine among others and where as following his distinguished military service Carl and Mary his late wife of 67 years raised their two daughters in the township of Mars and later welcome the joy of four grandchildren and whereas the township committee wishes to express his heartfelt gratitude to Carl for his service and commend him for his courage honor honor sacrifice and the dedication he displayed while serving our country in World War II in the cause of Justice freedom and democracy which are most worthy of recognition and now therefore the governing body of the township of Mars on behalf of the residents extends our sincere congratulations to Carl Marx on reaching his extraordinary Milestone of 100 years and we celebrate his remarkable life with admiration respect and best wishes for many more happy birthdays to come and a couple of us including Deputy Mayor grelle got to speak with Carl Mars at the senior holiday party and he was also in attendance on Veterans Day both here and at Marist toown so again congratulations to Carl there are currently three members of the public joining us and there are no members on Zoom at this time we will open the meeting to public comment we'll First Take comments from in-person attendees and then we'll switch over to zoom please use the raised hand feature on Zoom if you would like to speak please state your name and address for the record before speaking please note that your comments are limited to five minutes per speaker if you have questions you would like answered your remaining time to speak will be yielded back for this purpose is there a motion to open the public comment mayor there's four members of the public on zo and I will make that motion oh on zo oh thanks I have to go to attendees I I'll second it if we need a second all those in favor are there any members here in town hall that would like to speak uh Jack or Greg can you work on this mic move it to the side maybe here comes the help Cavalry is on on the way it's hot it is thank you good evening committee my name is Pamela Watson and I thought I would be doing this later but since you opened up the door I wanted to wish all the township committee members a very wonderful and happy holiday season and a great happy New Year for 2025 so I wanted to wish you and your families to have a great holiday celebration thank you thank you very much to and yours as well and and same to you if there's anyone on Zoom please raise your hand if you'd like to speak seeing no other members here and no hands raised on Zoom is there a motion to close public comment second all in favor we have two ordinances for public hearing and adoption on tonight's agenda Madame clerk please read the title of ordinance 25-24 in to the record and we will open the public hearing ordinance 2524 an ordinance amending chapter 88 vehicles and traffic article two parking stopping and standing section 2.2 parking prohibited at all times on certain streets schedule one amendments for Gregory Avenue and Kennedy Road note No Parking requirements for the Reconstruction of Kennedy and Kennedy Road and Gregory Avenue we will take comments from in-person attendees first and then switch over to zoom please virtually raise your hand on Zoom to indicate you would like to speak may I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 25-24 so moved second all in favor I any members in from the public like to address this ordinance seeing no other members of the public wishing to speak will someone make a motion to close public comment mov second all in favor I may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 25-24 so moved second is there any questions or discussions seeing none Madame clerk may I have a roll call vote Mr ravitz yes Mr janata yes Mr gazelle yes Mr JY yes mayor griglia yes I Donna j gigley a mayor declare ordinance number 25-24 approved and adopted and direct the Township Clerk to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper Madame clerk please read the title of ordinance 26-24 into the record and we will then open the public hearing ordinance number 2624 an ordinance of the township of Morris authorizing the amendment of chapter 478 vehicles for hire so as to facilitate compliance with njs sa 396 B-1 note amends ordinance to reflect changes in the state statute we'll again take comments from inperson attendees first then we'll switch over to zoom please virtually raise your hand on Zoom if you would like to speak may I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 26-24 uh so move mayor but I would like to also ask given the note in the attached to the ordinance that reflects changes in the State Statute I thought perhaps Mr quinnn um should let the inform the public of what the change in the statute was so they could ask questions appropriately um so I'll make the motion I'll second the motion thank you it deals with a significant increase in insurance coverage that is required um by The Operators of the dely license or taxi licenses so that so we're going to reflect in the ordinance The increased coverage that we're requiring at the local level to yes to to meet the state estate statute and you will see later on in the agenda we have several taxi license operators and they have provided that insurance that minimum insurance coverage asge required by State Statute very good thank you Mr qu thank you mayor thank you seeing no other questions will someone make a motion to close public comment so moved second all in favor I may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 26-24 check any discussion or questions Madame clerk may have a roll call vote Mr Dy yes Mr gazelle yes Mr janada yes Mr ravitz yes mayor griglia yes I Donna J griglia mayor declare ordinance number 26-24 approved and adopted and direct the Township Clerk to publish proper notice thereof in the official newspaper we have 24 resolutions on tonight's agenda before we proceed I'd like to note that resolution 293-2474 separately may I have a motion to approve yes okay go ahead I have a question about 272 but we can we can address that should we pull it out separately if if you would like to pull it no no no we don't have to pull it he ask your question what question okay so um on on this one there there we had we have an accompanying um proposal for services for oversight of the installation of this um AR and blower and I was just looking through the um from a company and documentation and I had thought that we were buying four of them or three of them and rebuilding one so I'm wondering is this purchase that we're doing tonight for just one of the two sewer plants it doesn't cover both of the sewer plants no sir it's one that is failing and then having a backup okay so we're going to have another resolution next year to purchase two new ones for the other plant possibly well as your request you wanted to have a meeting on that to review that so we pulled it from the agenda so so was there a second there wasn't a second purchase order for blowers was there there are no purchase orders yet I can't purchase ORD no no no I mean there was no resolution for two additional ones no you you requested that the design work that that would have included that which was done I understand okay so we're only doing this is only for one plan this is just for the repair okay what a replacement for the one that's failing great okay very good thank you may I have a motion to approve resolutions number 26924 through 28-24 and 28224 through 286 d24 and 288 d24 through 292 by one motion mayor would it be 293 uh 293 no we have to vote on separately oh oh yeah that one we're voting on separately that's new the one from session vot on separ yeah okay okay thank you so then it's just may I have a motion to approve resolutions 26924 through 28-24 and 282 d24 through 286 d24 and 288 d24 by one motion so move second Madame clerk may I have a roll call vote vote Mr Griselle yes Mr dorfy yes Mr janata yes Mr ravitz yes mayor grigia yes so the first resolution we're going to discuss is 281-2442 cab 4x4 vehicle for the building department through mccpc contract 15c item number five from from Chico Ford of Fleming for the amount of not to exceed 36,3 925 any discussion yes mayor um i' just like to frame the discussion a little bit for the benefit of the public um Morris tacha back in 2019 um when uh Mr JY and I joined the committee uh we made a commitment to trying to go with clean energies um where appropriate um to for the benefit of the local environment here in Mars Township in terms of going with EVS as opposed to cars that pollute the air um and going with later on um at Mr dery's suggestion going with electronic or electric uh utilities stoves and such in multif family dwellings to try to again be clean and we also put forward a a res put forward a new ordinance that requires EV charging stations at new commercial development and we've had many of those installed all over town um we've installed EV charging stations here at Town Hall there are four charging stations right outside uh We've installed EV charging at Streeter pool and we have tried to make an effort uh to go e and go clean where we can uh for the benefit again of the air quality here in mors Township and the benefit of our world and Earth overall and we've been a little bit frustrated in the fact that we put forward this effort to do EV charging and have not been able to purchase cars uh through State contracts or co-ops um and the state of New Jersey has made it a point of having a goal I think by 2035 of having a certain percentage of cars be EVS in in the state of New Jersey and they State this goal yet do not provide the municipalities with the ability to purchase those cars to meet those goals and so it's been a great frustration for some members of this governing body that the fact that we have not been able to convert our Fleet over to EV Vehicles over the last four years as we've desired to do so and I know that because of Co there were some supply chain issues and costs have now increase and cars are more expensive and there are a lot of things that go into it but uh just to help frame the discussion there's been a lot of frustration over the last few years um due to the fact that we haven't moved forward on electronic vehicles in this municipality um as Mr dery and I had wanted to do going back you know four or five years now and so I think that's going to you're GNA the discussion that we're going to have is uh some of the comments are born out of that frustration and I just wanted to provide that background um that we have wanted to do this we have been unable to do this and where I think we're at the point of really pushing harder to convert some of our fleet vehicles to EVS thank you Deputy Mayor um Mr Quinn would you like to just give the public some background too on where how this the purchase of this vehicle and the other will discuss how came to be the yeah you want me to refer to both vehicles my comments if that's okay with every everybody I think that's appropriate because we're having the same discussion on the other vehicle as well but we'll do them one at a time yes mayor I do I prepare some notes just in reference to the as as as Deputy Mayor grael said a significant amount of frustration um with the inability to even have them on a State Co-Op or state contract County Co-op um for the for the EV vehicles that um we can replace um it's going back to to we did purchase a hybrid EV vehicle um that was ordered just before Co and we were able to get that um and that is operational uh on a daily use in the township so we do have uh one EV vehicle the um governing body had put forth that they wanted to start converting the fleet there um but when Co came um it became very difficult to um even the availability of cars because of the supply chain and there were no EV vehicles that were even available through these State contracts or whatever so in both 2022 and 2023 again we're ready right up to the December meeting trying to be able to purchase an EV vehicle with the money that was appropriated in the budget and there wasn't anything available so the governing body in both December 2022 and December 2023 um did authorized the the purchase of vehicles it's three vehicles in 2022 and two vehicles in December of 2023 um to add there and replace Vehicles Mar tant keeps its Vehicles between 18 to 20 years before we take them out of line um which we're going to get into a little bit later um but even though we the governing body authorized this the purchase of these vehicles in December of 2022 and December of 2023 we just received those five vehicles last month um that is the time frame that we've had to wait um to to get these vehicles and they've never had EVS on there um we were having the same issue here in 2024 um and we are been waiting and waiting and waiting finally the state of New Jersey did come on with a 2024 Ford Escape e hybrid EV um however it came in at you know over $49,000 just for the base price and with the amenities that we require such as floats under coding additional Keys it brought the cost of over $50,000 um for these two vehicles that we wish to purchase um we had budgeted $40,000 um for each of the vehicles in the 2024 budget one for the Construction office one for the administrative office um of note the same vehicle I'm talking about that is now over $50,000 that we had purchased in 2021 we had purchased it for 34,000 so in that three-year period we're seeing over a 17 or 100% increase in the cost um you know of that vehicle um again we are here at the end of the year um money is in the operating budget so if the money is not appropriated by the end of the year and with vehicles requires a resolution um the money then goes into reserve for 2025 and it goes back into fund balance in 2026 um we did I said had funding for one vehicle in the Construction office um and the need to purchase a pickup truck um just two weeks ago we had a 2008 pickup truck that was used by our buildings and grounds and parking um employees the transmission went on that 2008 vehicle and it's not repairable or it's not worth repairing uh so that time I authorized that we took a 2014 pickup truck from the Construction office and reassigned it to our buildings and grounds and parking um so that could do their daily work um look to purchase an EV pickup truck that was available on the co the co-op the only EV pickup that is available is a Ford 150 lightning that goes for $56,000 um however we were able to purchase which is the resolution for tonight a Ford Ranger uh pickup truck for a cost of $ 36,39 which is below our $40,000 that we had appropriated in the budget um Al also in the budget was $40,000 to replace the 200 2007 Dodge Charger um it has significant mechanical issues including brakes it is barely roadworthy and primarily used by our code enforcement officer for Property Maintenance and parking enforcement is also used for inspections at times by Mr Wilson from our tax assessor's office um and by our public health nurse um Miss Whitehead um when she has to do her inspections and then it's used by employees um that need to use to go on different types of inspections or or meeting with our residents or are doing some type of Township business uh for that we have one other pool car um that is a 2006 Ford Taurus um also has very many mechanical issues um as we were waiting for those 2022 and 20223 vehicles we were forced to take unsafe Vehicles off the roadway to protect our employees and the motoring public um I am concerned that this could happen if we did not replace um these vehicles as requested uh waiting another year becomes if they become an operable will certainly impact the C of Fleet and our efficiency for the various departments to fill their duties and responsibilities um purchasing Protocols are established by the state statute and also by njdca um we cannot just go to a car dealer lot and and buy a vehicle we would must go out to bid um two years ago we were having difficulty in getting police vehicles um we did go out to bid uh four police vehicles um and we ended up going out actually twice because we did not receive any bids back um either time we went out to to bid um the njdca and the purchasing protocols do allow that once you go out to bid for twice and you do not get any responses then you can uh directly um go to the vendor and negotiate a price um and that's what we did with the police vehicles several years ago go um looking at dealerships as we know um often times there's a very attractive price um that comes in but when you look at it and I'm sure anybody's done car shopping it's more of an enticement and it doesn't include many of the mandatory add-on charges um for example the one that was you know quoted at over $49,000 it came in with a base of 42,000 but once you include things such as the mandatory St uh stock kids for EVS you're required to have an NE inverter mounts brackets that has to be installed and then for the extended warranty brings it up to to that cost so it seems attractive on on a dealership lot that it might be lower than what you're seeing but I believe certainly we're going to do Best by staying with a co-op um in purchasing these vehicles and hopefully now the state of New Jersey will be doing a better job um in getting different other vehicles um available for us um as I previous St the funds in the operating expenses for these two vehicles um does expire um at the end of the year um but anything over $17,500 does require a resolution um as said it's not appropriated it will go into reserve for next year and then it will go into fund balance in 2026 so basically the money will no longer be available for the purchase of the vehicles um I do recommend that we move forward um on both these vehicles in getting the for Explorer in addition to the pickup truck um we do have additional requests coming in for vehicles in the 20125 budget um you know as part of that I would recommend that we up the vehicle cost from $40,000 to $52,000 for a Ford Escape EV hybrid um you know as stated we have two pool cars at 2007 Ford uh I'm sorry Dodge Charger and a 20064 Taurus I have significant safety concerns Contin contining to use these vehicles for foreseeable future if they're not going to be taken offline um in the next coming months as I said will certainly impact um the overall operation of the township of not having enough vehicles in um which we've just you know gone through with the last several years of having not enough vehicles um for us to do our uh daily work certain me answer any questions to M over to any question questions I have questions and comments but I'll go to the questions first um for the bid process how many what's the window of time for bid for the amount of days we go out to bid how long we wait how long we have to wait to award and then how long we have to wait till we go out to bid again it it would be roughly 30 days is what we normally do on it uh and then we can certainly go back out to bit again it has to be approved by the governing body so we are on your the schedule here so probably four months it would take to go out to bid twice potentially that would be for maybe three months we might be able to n it down a little bit if we don't um you know get something right away and then um I don't know if this is for I mean you both can answer Mr caner and Mr Quinn but um how is it that we can we have to go out and this is a state question that we have to go out to bid for a vehicle purchase but we don't have to go out to bid for a $260,000 contract for the sewer department special service are excluded from the bank process okay so can we hire professional service to purchase vehicles for us cont nice TR um so um I I yeah I was being fous and trying to point out gaping holes in state regulations and how ineffective the state government actually is and I appreciate both Mr Quinn and Mr gel pointing out that the state has says all these mandates and they have grandiose climate action plans yet they give the local governments absolutely nothing to no resources to actually fulfill them however I know other towns are still buying cars directly from dealerships uh so I oppose the both resolutions um in the resolution we passed this governing body passed unanimously in 2022 um on our Municipal Fleet uh policy we said we'd buy hybrid or electric vehicles um as as consistent with our Mars Township environmental action plan uh when feasible um these vehicles are back on the Lots now I think it's feasible for us to buy them we should be going out to bid and trying to directly negotiate with dealers if they do not if we don't get any bids um other towns are doing this um and I also I agree we should be budgeting more money for this because taking the cheapest car out there is not necessarily the best thing for our town it's not not the best thing for our employees it's not the best thing for our residents um I will say though there are less expensive options out there as well the Ford Maverick hybrids are in the $30,000 range um they're off the Lots now they were on the Lots earlier this year they're coming out with all-wheel drive ones next year the escapes are new with all-wheel drive I know that was a concern um but they're coming out on all-wheel drive so um I agree we should budget more for them in uh the next year um but I oppose these because if if the co-ops weren't having them then we should have been trying to go out to bid during the year to get them that's my opinion thank you mayor you're welcome any other opin opinions before Deputy Mayor I have um Mr Quinn thank you for that summary with regard to the pool vehicle the Explorer um is there a need and possibly I'm sure there might be um to have such a large vehicle the other vehicle was a Taurus um and this one's an Explorer which carries a lot of cargo is there a benefit to having that extra cargo space yeah there is for equipment and other things that goes out for whether it's engineering whether it's construction um we also looked at the for escape which was on the contract at the same time and this one was just it was just under 30 $40,000 and then we did under coding and everything that bought it over the 40,000 um but the Ford Escape is at 37,7 126 so it would be a savings of about $2,500 if you wanted to go with a gas powered Ford Escape rather than the uh Ford Explorer MH that's the the difference is $2,500 okay and what do you estimate based on the pool vehicle the amount of miles they travel in a year how much might we save on gas how many miles does a pool vehicle travel oh I have to go back and get you that I don't have that with me but most of our vehicles as you know je we keeping Vehicles like 17 I mean these These are V 16 17 years they've got you know that 70,000 range it's not like they're in the hundreds of thousands of of miles there they we our vehicles don't travel a lot of miles but I we keep keep them a long time but we try and keep them in in good condition um mechanically they usually break down or they rust out um we do do like to do some preventive things like undercoating and other things to prolong their life especially if they're going to be exposed to salt for that kind of a period um so you'll see the vehicles that we are that we we hold on to them for quite a long period of time so you're probably talking 10,000 miles a year on a vehicle um the the reason I asked the question is just to point out the fact that there's cost savings by going EV and not having to purchase the gas um so something to consider as we sort of make the calculations in our head there's a little bit of saving I don't yeah we're paying for electric but I can't really but I can't really tell you what it is electric because it just bowls into our our our electric bill it's not spoken up specifically right on the other comment I'd like to make is Mr Quinn brought up police vehicles and uh just to point out that we've also been Mr JY and I have been talking about having hybrid police vehicles for a number of years and they they were around for a little while um they don't seem to be available anywhere um but just the everybody understands we don't want to go to fully electric for the police department because if they're on a long Chase for example we don't want them running out of charges um so they have to be hybrid so ensure that they can complete their rounds uh without having to recharge um but we are pushing to get in the future um hybrid police vehicles um to this end of being cleaner uh for moris Township and I also want to I didn't say to my introductory remarks but I've not only been you know pushing this internally but I've spoken numerous times with congresswoman Cheryl staff informing them that we're having these issues and understanding that it's not a Mars Township problem probably not even a New Jersey problem um but a national problem of these cars car companies not putting enough Vehicles manufacturing enough vehicles to meet the needs of municipalities all around the country and I think this is a national issue that I've pushed uh congresswoman Cheryl on a number of times in informing her of the of the state that we're in here in Mar Township as an example of what might be happening around the country in in other municipalities so we're we're committed to this um and I think we need a new policy going forward um if I could make one other comment in my discussions with Mr JY we had a very productive conversation about the EVs and other issues and we came up with the idea of next year if we can't get competitive pricing through the cops or the contracts um is to form our own local buying group and as a shared service project next year I'm going to propose that the shared services committee that we have um contact the other towns do a survey of the electronic vehic EVS that they have the EVS that they might be putting in their budget for next year and the coming years and try to pull those Vehicles together you're shaking your head I think you're gonna have I'll let you finish I'm just saying I'm just throwing I'm you know we're trying to come up with ideas to to work around the issues that we're facing and if we're going to go out to the private Market to buy a vehicle instead of just going out there for two vehicles if we can go out there with more Vehicles by grouping towns together and we might have to figure out the logistics um but again we're just we're focused on trying to be cleaner and doing the right thing and buying the EV vehicles and I just want the public to understand what we're trying to get at I was just going to say on it uh the the purchasing procedures and what our requirements for the state of New Jersey um are challenging um you if in order to actually even go out you have to to go out to a bid so if you're going to go out and buy 10 cars you have to have the money in the bank for those 10 cars uh but the other towns can't give you that money because they want to purchase cars so they would be giving us that money I don't know how they would transfer that money over to us it just maybe maybe set set up as a utility or something right or Mr jery suggestion that we go get a per you know an outside purchasing agent to pull these together for us there's got to be some way we can do it it's a hurdle I understand we're just I'm just throwing out ideas to try to help us get there it's it okay it just it's challenging with the purchasing Protocols of the state of New Jersey I don't know if it's KY have anything else but I mean the only thing you could think about doing is um and I don't know who would do this particularly but you could probably hire someone to entice people to bid when we go out to bid and have conversations with the dealerships let them know we're going out and and encourage them to bid yeah that's really all you can do I mean I know but that would be individual towns yeah I don't know about I don't know about joining yeah so maybe we package our bits together and I'll do it on the same day something like that well know because you know I mean yes but you also have to be fair I mean every every dealership would have the right and everybody who has these cars have the right to bids we have also have to be careful that I'm not tailing our bids to towards any particular deer not at all not at all I mean if one dealer can't fulfill eight cars they can only fulfill three they can bid on the three we're just again just trying to throw out ideas to try to solve a problem you can have Al T BS I mean did we ever receive the hybrid interceptors that we ordered the few a few years ago or they weren't fold not we could not get them okay we tried and um we were not able to get them okay I do think in keeping with the goals of the what where the committee wants to go and getting more hybrids and EVS is absolutely something we should do I have a little bit of concern especially with this with the truck um purchase here though that because it is you know it's purchase now I agree with everything going forward but I I think that my own personal opinion right now is maybe this is one that we should approve so that we have it and then moving forward we continue to look at all the other options and in keeping with can I just make a suggestion for next year can we go out to bid after the budget's passed try twice and then if we get don't get anything good then we go with the co-op at the end of the year again and that's what our default is are we allowed to do that yeah that um just two other items you know in the construction um budget um we have to match our expenses with the amount of Revenue that we take in and we have to file with DCA every year and we have been routinely buying a vehicle because with our business department and there we've got inspectors going you know every day of the week and you know between Plumbing electric fire and um building subcodes and all the employees you know it's a it's it's a Non-Stop operation um but if our revenue is much higher than our expenses the state could come back and um tell us that we need to lower um our building permit fees so we always cognizant of what we're spending in the Construction office and looking at so you know we have we're tracking every expense that we do for the rest of town but whether it be gasoline whether it be equipment whether it be operating expenses it all goes into a calculation that we have to file with DCA at the end of the year along with the all the information on the revenue we took in from permits and so you know if we came in at you know $10 million of Revenue and a million dollars of expenses they're going to it'll it'll hiccup um so we want to make sure that we are um you know looking at that and that is you know one of the reasons also and then you know I said I I do have you know having two pool cars that are 17 and 18 years old is is for me it's it's concerning committee man gravitz oh thank you and I appreciate all the comments from my colleagues here on the day I I share in the frustration uh being an environmentalist myself I would like to see not only the township but I'd like to see the whole country and the whole world move toward excuse me a sustainable future and EVS are a big part of that uh but there are times that you have to play the hand you're dealt and we're dealt with a pretty lousy hand here from both from an environmental perspective and from a Township perspective and that the state really doesn't give us a lot of option and we have to be still be judicious with taxpayer money which doesn't mean we always go for the cheaper option I think one of my colleagues has said that because cheaper is not necessarily better uh but at this point you know we do have vehicles that are are um becoming unsafe untenable the money is in the budget uh it's been allocated uh and I agree with my colleagues on here on the day that moving forward next year we do need to come up with a new plan uh for purchasing so we can move to uh a more sustainable um Fleet and that would include going out to the bid process as was as was mentioned twice and if if that comes back as a nay than than you know going out on our own and doing it but it's something that we need to plan for it wasn't planned for this year uh I think we need to do a better job of planning for it next year so um if we're were looking at a $40,000 vehicle so to speak I'm just throwing numbers out there but the EV equivalent of that vehicle is going to be you know $555,000 let's say then we need to budget for that and plan for it and plan for the time it's going to take to go through that process and and you know finally get delivery on the vehicle so um good stewardship by the township committee will will go a long way in uh in helping to mitigate this problem and like I said I share in the frustration but this is what we're dealt with right now I I just follow up we've had issues with the co-ops for three years like we said we should have went out to bid this year because we knew the co-ops were gonna fail us so that's my that's my biggest frustration um you know with that frustration I would also say you know we if there's a defer to purchase these vehicle next year I can't use this money that was appropriate this year we would have to appropriate an additional $100,000 into um the 2025 budget to purchase these two vehicles in addition to the most likely three vehicles that are be you know requested for in the 2025 budget um as you all know we have some extraordinarly high costs that are beyond our control um dealing with Health Care uh salar increases um other insurance costs um that are going to be you know make the 2025 budget you know very challenging um for us especially on expenses of you know pension and health care um that we just get in an assessment we don't have any control over so it would be my recommendation that you know we do move forward because I think deferring this and having to raise the money and in the next year's budget is also going to be um challenging any other comments I'll just Echo all the colleagues about this because I mean after what four or five years we have no EVS maybe just one hybrid so I would encourage that we look for for U EV Vehicles next next year at the earliest and with all the options that we can get so I mean I'm reluctant to vote for this at uh as committee rabit said we have to deal with the the hand that we're dealt with thank you welcome any other comments or questions I another question so if um if this if the funds go over to you say it goes to op comes out operating this year it goes into reserve for next year and then back into fund balance for 2026 is that correct yes sir so then if we take the equal amount out of fund balance in next year's budget then it would be returned in 2026 because we'd be getting this money back or if we budget this much less into fund balance next year next year budget we don't have our fund balance numbers yet but yes we can so it would be a net even potentially if you wanted to increase the amount that you allocate out of fund balance you know with our fund balance policy okay any other questions or comments uh I I just like to say that you know based on the way we operate our construction Code Department and the need to balance expenses with revenues I I don't see a way that we can vote against uh 281 for the the Ford Ranger uh because it's an expense that's going to go into the calculation uh for the construction Code Department this year and like Mr Quinn says we could get negatively impacted um if our expenses don't match our revenues for the calendar year and that I know is very very important um so again you echoing what Mr rabbit said about having to deal with the hand that we've been dealt um I don't see a way of us not voting for The the Ford Ranger for the construction code um I'm also leaning towards even even though it hurts me it's like it's like I'm stabbing myself uh but I don't see a way of not voting for The Explorer either given given the circumstances not know not knowing what the financial situation is going to be in the budget next year um etc etc um we are committed to EVS across the board here in Mars Township and again just so frustrated with the state of New Jersey and our federal government for not providing us the resources uh to take these climate actions like everybody talks about um they they talk but they don't walk the talk as I like to say um we're trying to do that here in moris Township but again we're just not given the resources to do that so we're going to try to do better next year and thank you Deputy Mayor um again agreed I think that the plan some of the things you've spoken about both you and committee and JY are some things that we definitely commit to and actually make sure happen as we move forward but if there aren't any any other questions or comments I would just say I get the the Ford Ranger I would say again like I just talked about before bring the money money over budget out of it for next year buy an escape instead of an Explorer next year um yeah it's extra paper it's it's we're we're going against the pulse we the the policy we wrote and set and we're going against it we're not keeping ourselves accountable for it um and um we can buy a different car next year if we don't buy the Explorer we can make it work I'm it's next month you know next year starts next month I'm leaning in favor of of approving both uh Mr Quinn in terms of the timing of buying the second vehicle that replacing the Ford Explorer with something in next year's budget um so we would take possession of the Ford Explorer when if we if we pass the resolution tonight all depends on availability um we send it in as I said we've had to wait two years for the other ones I'm hopeful that we're going to get back on track normally we've had to wait you know six months or so um and get and getting these vehicles once they're ordered I can't give you a definitive if they have something on lot that we can take that would be terrific um in all of the specs that come on they you know you know quote unquote limited Supply right so if it's if it's on lot you know we might be able to get it fairly soon um but I I will not know until we place that order and if as Mr JY suggests um we push off purchasing that vehicle to next year's budget um how early in the year can we purchase that budget can we do it with the preliminary budget or do we have to wait for the full budget before we can place that order no you can put money into the temporary budget and you can start the process we can start the process if we and we normally pass the temporary budget in February or March the temporary budget's done at the reorg meeting it's done at the reorg meeting right but it has you know we have a lot of the biggest challenge with the temporary budget is um it's 26% of all of your expenses 26.7% but there's a lot of expenses in the beginning of the year that we have to put out like our our joint Insurance Fund you know we have to pay out half of that already that's you know that's you know close to a million dollars um there's another you know a lot of expenses that are due right after the the the first of the year so it it is challenging with with the temporary budget um normally we would wait until the budget is adopted most likely in April and then we would go out to the process um once the budget is is adopted and in place um because you're locking yourself in at that point and if you have other budget issues that come up you don't you have no recourse to back out and say we're not going to do that so um I I'm you have to be very careful with the the temporary budget um just because until you get your final budget done or you're you're comfortable with it um you know if we have something we have shortfalls that don't come in you know especially after we get back our annual financial statement which will be the first week in February how much money do we have to roll over in the fund balance you know what are the other expenses coming what are our expenses going to be projected for salary and wages um with the insurance cost so you know we are looking at that as part of the overall budget process and we really won't have those numbers until we confirm what our state aid numbers are going to be at the end of February and then introducing um the budget in you know following past years and following that in March so it would be my recommendation to wait until the budget is fully adopted just in case there's any hiccups along the way you're not already committing yourself to certain funds that you may have wished you did not okay so sorry for prolonging the conversation uh but a dear one more question um if we were to put forward uh 287 to buy the Explorer found out that it's not available for over a year next year can we reallocate the money by resolution and go out to bid for an EV vehicle good question no no we can't reallocate the money for another vehicle not from going from one expense to one one calendar year to another year for that funding no no now you may be able to do something with the dealership if they're willing to change it out but we would need to go back to our Auditors and review with them because you're what you doing tonight is you are passing a resolution authorizing the purchase of this vehicle and then that authorizes us to place the order with them now if they come back and and say it's going to be a year now you may decide well let's cancel it and we'll you know do it again you can certainly do that but you can't you're gonna you're not going to be able to reappropriate that money okay so if we place the order are we placing it with the co-op or we placing it with the dealer you're placing it with the dealer who is honoring the co-op price and which dealer is that um neelon Ford neelon Ford right here in Mor Mor Township I should say um okay so so since that's the dealer that has cars on the lot um if they come back and I'm just throwing out a hypothetical if they come back and say they're not going to have the vehicle for a year you're saying then we can go negotiate with that dealer and say we want something else in place no no you can only negotiate if you go out to bid on two occasions and don't get any bids then you can negotiate so can we take so again sorry just so I'm fully clear on this if they say we can't have a vehicle for over a year so we're looking at 2026 to get the vehicle we take that money and go out to bid no no we can't reallocate it for any reason no money the money goes at the end of the year goes into Reserve if it's not used okay thank you I'm sorry again for conversation I I think these are all important I think there all important question make an informed decision purchasing procedures in state of New Jersey are are complicated for those that don't deal with it every single day so it's really you know that's why we have a qpa you know required to Mr you understand where I'm trying to get at try I'm trying to find a way for us to to to satisfy our needs forcu and do the and do the right thing by what our our policy is to to purchase EV vehicles and it's it's again extremely frustrating it's and it's just not on vehicles on on the on the purchasing protocols it's it's on a lot of things um and and what you have to do and the Hoops you have to jump through um in order to do that they said you can't appropriate any money unless you have it in the bank and and it's approved so you you can't have Wishful budgeting saying well we know this money is going to come in and we're going to do this for next year you have to have it appropriated in the budget and then as I said anything over 17000 500 you have to have the adjoining resolution okay thank you I'll just add one thing to the conversation because obviously I said as M attorney for towns this problem is not unique to Morris Township and that's why um the issues are rising I think a lot of municipalities in the state are trying to become more compliant um you know the state contracts and the co-ops are a great opportunity because they do provide you know the state has already approved the price and already approved the product and it avoids the bidding process and all involved in that but this is this is a problem um and nor State contracts of cops are great there's a lot of products and a lot of things on there um but this is certainly not a unique issue toor Township all mpow are struggling to get the E all most mpow I represent at least want vehicles and are struggling to get them so maybe we come up with a process for next year um and maybe it's notifying the dealerships of the bids going out and and and I don't know if they're aware um but I don't know why they don't respond to the bids thank you probably because they don't want to do the paperwork it probably is it probably is they're not making a lot of money on us and that's one of the one of the advantages when you're going out in the co-ops is they know they're going to be guaranteed so many vehicles that they're going to be able to sell but when they're doing it here there the the the cost margin is extremely low so if it's just you know if I'm going to make $2,000 on Marge Township it's not worth it to me but if I know that I can sell1 vehicle a $2,000 profit it is worth me so that's right that's what I was trying to get out with purchasing right so it's that's the advantage of co-ops is that when they bid on the co-ops because it's a bidding process for those co-ops um but they know they have an idea of how many items they're going to be able to sell and they can determine their profit margin um you know based on that so mayor I think we need to split the votes on 281 and 287 we're going to do that that was I was just going to say I do want to say I hope the public does appreciate that having this discussion here on the deis and listening to the situation that we are put in and it's not just us it's other towns as well um there's an understanding as to sometimes how hard it is when you're trying to stick to the policies that are implemented and do the right thing and yet you have to make decisions at the especially at the end of the year that impact how we go forward so I hope there's some appreciation for that if there are no other questions or comments then I will ask for a motion to approve resolution 281-240-2424 resolution please 28724 authorizing the purchase of 1225 for Explorer k8d active vehicle for the administration department through mccpc contract 15c item three from neelon Ford of Morristown Inc for an amount not to exceed $4,040 and I just want to be clear here and have the understanding which I think you just verified from deputy mayor grel that in this case there is no way that we could go out if we don't if we don't approve this we can't go out and then bid not using these funds not using these funds we would have to this would be over and then we just go into the next year that is correct and and have to okay is there any other questions or discussions on resolution and the fact that I have now concern that if we purchase the Explorer we might not get it for one to two years um and that's a problem given the age of our our fleet vehicles and it's possibly faster to actually wait till next year and purchase it off a lot again this is very tough decision to make in the moment um do you want to comment on on that it's just a thought that just occurred to hopeful that we're not going to be waiting this one to two years that we're going to be back in the in the normal cycle now that vehicles are more readily available from the dealers we ran into this cycle this Supply supply chain issue and trying to get them um and then all of a sudden you know the 22s and the 23s all came in together I am hopeful now that they're also offering EVS on on the state contracts and the co-ops although they are significantly more expensive that the turnaround time will be so it this I don't think we're going to see that one to two year on this I'm hopeful that the have something readily available we should be able to get it you know in in within a month or two um I certainly wouldn't expect it to be much longer than that but you certainly have the option to you know to cancel the order if it's going to be if you approve it and and the order's plac you do have the option at some point to cancel the order so if we cancel the order it goes back into the fund balance for 206 Mone again the money is you cannot reappropriate the money well this is really complicated but you can cancel the order and then go out and look for a different car I understand that we would have to have the money in the budget in the budget correct you have to have the money in the bud it would be really nice to make the decision tonight knowing when we would be getting the vehicle right it's it's an unknown budgeting for next year too if you if you approve it and then when we come up around the budget we can you know have the funding there we should know during the budget process for 2025 if when if about when we're going to get the vehicle hopefully have it and then you can certainly decide if you want to if they say it's going to be a year and you want to cancel it and then you know put it in the budget put put money into the budget to buy an EV you could you certainly have you certainly have that option from from what I'm hearing there's going to be three vehicles that need to be purchased next year um that's the request I have that's the request okay that's not approved but that's requ nothing is is approved so you know for for that for those three vehicles I think that if we put together a new policy of going out you know and going out to bid and then waiting and because if we wait till April to you know for our final budget to be approved that still gives us enough time in the year to go through that through that process twice and if need be then go out directly to the dealership but to add another vehicle a fourth vehicle is it creates even more uncertainty in next year's process that I don't think that you know is is necessarily a good idea if we approve right three new vehicles for next year so so I have another question I'm sorry oh sorry um so if we go ahead and put the purchase order in for the Explorer uh do we need a reason for canceling it next year can we do it of our own volition come January and we have more information can we cancel it the I'll ask you but the purchase or is a contract once he's done that is a contract um I think they would if they came back and they said we don't know when you're going to get the vehicle but if they said they came back said we'll get it to you in 6 months can we then say that's too long and cancel the contract is that is that reason enough to cancel the contract I the language of the purchase order yeah I don't know it's it's probably different for every product I'd have to look at it can we put language in the purchase order that has to be within six months it's probably standard to the to the co-op but it might be three months might be six months might be a year I don't know we'd have to go back and look at it individually because what the requirements are are in the co-op specs as to what you're going to do but a contract but a purchase is a contract but if they did say a year then you're saying that could be reason to cancel it because that's too long likely is likely it's a year I just don't know the exact cut you know and if they want to challenge it or not would be the the other question because if if we cancel out they may have a waiting buyer that that they can then turn around and sell the vehicle to but again it's those are unknown right you know what if scenarios that um you know we we would have to deal with on a right you know at the occasion of Roso I don't know if you can you know as I said after the purchase order goes in we should have a better idea to what the turnaround time is I I just wanted to I'm sorry I just want to make one more comment you know as I know the policy you know what we've done in in Mars Township is going out and buying Ford vehicles because we do maintain a maintenance Department that is familiar with um gasoline Ford engines and and whatnot so we do have an economy there uh for gasoline EVS are going to change the whole the whole model for I think in this town because you don't maintain EVS the same way you maintain a gasoline powered vehicle so I believe that you know if and and I fully support going out and and trying to acquire uh EVS where we can or or hybrids where we can uh I think that when we do that we need to look Beyond just Fords uh I think we need to look be you know what every other manufacturer who is out there that that is making EV Vehicles because as I said I you know the gasoline powered engines and and and battery operated engines we don't have that expertise here in the township so uh that also opens up some some new possibilities for us just Mr Rob I mean the Ford vehicles primarily as our DPW heavy duty vehicles um but for Miss Vehicles we buy whatever so we have Nissan pickup trucks we have Dodges we've got Ford so we've got um you know a number of different uh manufacturers of of the vehicles for the municipal Fleet meaning the ones that do our inspections and are going around automobiles it's the the heavy duty trucks that um with our diesel mechanics that are primarily our Fleet is Ford um for that but the other ones um here is really what is the best price we can get and as I said we had a run of 2014 Nissan um pickup trucks for a while that we've used and we've had Dodge pickup trucks Dodge Rams um and then we've had you know Fords and we've had um you know other other brands of of vehicles um well thank you for the clarification but we'll you know whatever you know available if there's something I would say the probably the most consistent thing that we really need for our Municipal Fleet our vehicles that especially for our inspectors that are all-wheel drive they're dealing with a lot of construction sites and other things um in Clement weather those kinds of things so it's important that um they're able to to maneuver around the T especially when that they have to go off road on the construction sites so things like that I would just again I oppose the resolution I think we should stick to our commitment to being good stewards of our environment here we should stick to our policy that this own B this very body passed two years ago um I think we should we can I think we can lose the money this year have a carryover to 2026 without taking a huge hit $40,000 of a $6 million fund Bal fund balance annual that we have is less than is about half a percentage point I think we can overcome that challenge uh and I would urge the uh my colleagues to vote down and we try to go to bid next year on getting a hybrid thank I'm going I'm going to stand with Mr JY and committing to an eveve future um I think there are still several unknowns about the contract itself what the co-op uh contract says in terms of and the delivery of the vehicle and uh it's this has pained me this has pain me for a number of days um having the opportunity to possibly go e and again buying a a gas powerered vehicle um so I'm going to stand with Mr JY tonight um in opposing this this resolution any other questions or comments may I have a motion to approve resolution 287 d24 so moved is there a second second Madame clerk may I have a roll call vote Mr ravitz yes Mr janata a reluctant yes Mr gazelle no Mr dorfy no mayor glia yes the resolution passed 3 to2 the next resolution is 293-4127 enter into a settlement for the above reference case for the year 2021 through 2024 now therefore be it here resolved that the township Consulting tax attorney is authorized to execute a stipulation of settlement with the taxpayers as follows it is agreed that the complaints for the 2021 and the 2024 tax years will be withdrawn it is agreed that the assessment for 2025 only will be reduced from $ 24,1 to 13,111 it is agreed that the assessment for 2026 will be returned to $24,100 it is agreed that no refund will be issued and any credit will be applied as through the 2025 assessment change thank you is there any discussion or anybody need further explanation seeing none may I have a motion to approve resolution number 29324 some moov second second Madame clerk may I have a roll call vote Mr gazelle yes Mr janata yes Mr JY yes Mr ravitz yes mayor griglia yes on the consent calendar we have 10 items this evening can I have a motion to approve the items on the consent calendar by one motion move is there a second second all in favor I consideration of the monthly reports the following reports are on file in the office of the Township Clerk and Township administrator September fire and finance October 2024 fire joint court and police November 2024 tax department joint Court Library fire and police can I have a motion to approve the monthly reports so moved second All In favor hi the total amount of bills and vouches for this meeting is 8,540 18 we are also the tax collector for the school district the library and the county may I have a motion to approve the list of bills and vouchers this month it's a bargain so I'm going I'm going to move that number County count hasn't get to get a got a portion they've already gotten there at full a lot Ah that's why okay is there a second second Madam clerk may have a roll call vote Mr gazelle yes Mr ravitz yes Mr JY yes Mr janata yes mayor ggia yes at this time standing committee reports and general commentary will be provided by each Township Committee Member and we'll start with committee man janata thank you mayor first I'll start with the the winters Farmers Market had opened Sunday December 1st it's open from 9:30 to 1M and will run every Sunday to April the environmental commission has a booth there so be sure to visit and have purchase any other Goods that they have in the winter time and and in terms of uh EC's other accomplishments or projects they will continue to deal with food waste and composting Lea blower issues a dark skies initiative as well as promoting native plants and to do not plant list of invasiv and they're look looking to codify site plan reviews and to devel an ER which is an environmental resource inventory which will be used for the upcoming master plan revision due in a couple of years and this uh ER can can be updated with the help of the Highlands Council which we are looking to join we mayor grigia administrator Tim Quinn and I met with them along with the township planners we met with them three weeks ago and uh we went went over some issues and but the highlands Council can help with the ER which definitely needs updating as well as other initiatives and the transportation advisory committee uh just wanted to mention that a constituent came to last week's meeting who lives on Locust Avenue and he witnessed an accident there an SUV was beating up the incline and h a young teenager riding an ebike the teenager was wearing a helmet but he did break a collar bone I don't think the driver was given a citation but there was a not report was written out and the constituent was asked about the possible traffic was asking about Pro possible traffic calming initiatives and I just wanted to lay out that anyone who wishes to report traffic issues or request traffic enforcement studies can fill out a form on our mors Township website and back in November we went went to the league of municipalities conference in Atlantic City and there are many serious sessions but I've joined a few fun ones and I'll just reiterate in 2026 we were marked the semi quincentennial the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding New Jersey will be a major contributor in the celebrations and many Miss municipalities are expected to participate Morris Township will definitely play an honored role since the Continental Army stayed here twice also in 2026 is the FIFA soccer World Cup the finals will be held in met by Stadium as well as some preliminary games and this is a great opportunity for war Township since the red B training facility would most likely be used for one of the teams to practice and another very fun one was Hollywood in New Jersey the state has something called film ready which is encouraging has encouraged many movie studios to film In the Garden State again mayor gri and Tim Quinn and I met with film ready person and the township has been has been a site for filming movies and TV shows and commercials but this has been done informally so film the film ready initiative would make this more formal and I'll explain more of these in the coming years because there's a lot to do with this and in terms of history as I I mentioned we will be commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation's birth and since new and New Jersey did play a major role in this and since we are the crossroads of the American Revolution and needless to say Morris Township and Morristown will also play a vital role in the commemoration this so is mostly because of what we're Washington State here but I'll tell briefly about the how he came to this the first time we have all heard about Washington and the Continental Army Crossing the Delaware but how many of us have actually visited Washington's Crossing both New Jersey and Pennsylvania besides me weather permitting every Christmas has a reenactment of the crossing I wanted to go there but U I have other things to do on Christmas the significance of Washington's Crossing is The Audacity Of It All some it would considered an act of desperation but it was well planned in the midst of ongoing defeat beginning in late August 1776 Washington's troops were in continuous Retreat losing the battle of Long Island in Brooklyn in be then the Battle of New York and Manhattan Island and retreating North fighting in rear guard actions in pelum in the Bronx and White Plains in Westchester they crossed the Hudson marched to Fort Lee where they witnessed the loss of Fort Washington this is where George Washington Bridge is now located quickly retreating from Fort Lee before the British troops arrived they made a long retreat across New Jersey all the while General Washington was planning his next bow step he ordered all the boats along the Delaware River to be commandeered so the British would not be able to use them Crossing into Pennsylvania where Washington's Crossing is located if you want to know that what it was called before it's Johnson's Ferry in New Jersey and mak's ferry in Pennsylvania on the evening of Christmas day he told his troops his plan and read the crisis by Thomas Payne you know these are the times that Tri men souls he cross the river at night marched toward Trenton and surprise the hen or German troops garrisoned there then they cross back to the Delaware with their prisoners but later on they cross again and occupy Trenton where they fought the Second Battle on January 2nd 1777 as at Asen F Creek that night the troops surreptitiously left Trenton and marched Northeast toward Princeton where they surprised and defeated British troops despite initial losses including that of General hu merer after the battle the Continental Army marched North they had the choice of either fight at New Brunswick or against a larger British Garrison or March directly north to a little hamlet in the watching mountain range which is marown New Jersey Washington stayed on the green at Arnold's Tavern where he asked a young officer named Alexander Hamilton to be his Aid and he also met Marquee de Lafayette his troops meanwhile stayed east of the town along the Lan taka Brook which is just outside of this building and this is and one one thing I I mentioned at the Board of Health meeting I'll mention it here he or this is where he ordered his troops to be inoculated for small pox this was consider considered a resounding success since most of the troops never contracted the disease Washington loved this place so much that he came back a second time in 1779 so with that I commemorate the Washington's Crossing and Christmas Day and wishing you all merry Christmas happy holidays Happy Hanukkah and happy K Quanza and happy New Year thank you thank you for here that again always such a great history lesson thank you committee janata uh committee man JY uh thank you mayor my only report is that um we uh went out through the RFP process for the engineering and Architectural initial engineering and Architectural work for the community center project uh and the township committee will be reviewing those proposals that were received and I believe the committee will also be getting tours separately of the building to assess its status and start coming up with a game plan with moving forward and coming up with a consensus on which firm we're going to hire to help us with uh the design phase uh of the community center project um happy holidays to everyone happy New Year I hope everyone has a safe and healthy New Year and enjoys you hope you all enjoy your time with family and friends in the next few weeks thank you mayor thank you committee man rabitz thank you mayor uh I really don't have any standing committee reports but I do want to just comment on um the deliberation that you you all heard a little while ago up here on the day and I really want to commend my colleagues I know we we had different opinions and I know that the decisions that each of us made were were painful in our own right but I think you know in our own mind you know we did the right thing for the for the township uh whether we voted no or we voted yes and you get to see you know democracy at work and I again I applaud the different thought processes because there was just so much to learn uh from this that it just was gratifying inside as an El as one of your elected officials to to see this in action so um for those that were here you know you got to see something really special in action um I also want to thank everybody for either attending or watching in in person this this Township committee meeting National Spotlight gets all the news but it's what we do here that has the biggest impact on your life uh Happy Birthday again to Carl Marx and Helen cesley on achieving their H 100th birthday Milestone congratulations to uh Ryan theal and Jeff Rodriguez on being appointed uh to the um Maris Township Police Department and they'll be going through their Academy training uh but I've had the pleasure of uh being part of the interview process and they are just outstanding uh candidates Mars Township Police Department continues to be recognized as one of the finest departments in the county and in my humble opinion the entire State the reorg meeting uh notwithstanding in first week of January there will be a new presidential Administration before our reg next regular Township committee meeting and I think we can expect a lot of chaos and confusion with the incoming administration because we the people don't yet know what was Camp simple uh R campaign rhetoric or what was actual policies might be and it's going to cause a lot more anxiety than people may have realized and to the residents of Mars Township I pledge to you that I will fight to ensure the rights of of we have all come to rely on the rights of all individuals are respected and that no group is targeted for any retribution or other by any government official or agency and I trust my colleagues feel the same way which brings me to how I end my commentaries typically let's not marginalize or demonize the people who have less political or economic power that some of us now enjoy rather let's stand up to and uh stand up to those who profit from our division equal rights for all citizens does not diminish the rights of any other citizens we have more in that should ever divide us which we will ReDiscover by talking to each other amplifying misinformation hateful or violent rhetoric is not a part of any civilized society um and as you go about your day remember be kind be kind to yourselves be kind to others because kindness matters and on that I wish everybody a joyous and safe holiday season and a very happy 2025 I look forward to uh serving um serving you all and Mars Township in the coming year mayor thank you Comm Mr Rabbits if I may the the inauguration is the weekend after our next regular meeting 20th yeah when is our meeting 17 22nd No 2 it's not the third one oh that's right it's not the third Wednesday thank you for that so other than that everything else stays the same thank you Deputy Mayor grael yeah just to clarify the point the point that was just made is uh our given the earliness of January 1st being the first day of the year and being the first Wednesday we've pushed our regularly scheduled third Wednesday to January 22nd in 2025 uh just to clarify that last uh discussion um I to just have uh one committee report uh Mr Rabbits just mentioned the appointments of uh Jeffrey Rodriguez and Ryan Thal as probationary officers uh we've said this again here on the day uh Mr rits and I got to interview those two candidates and we are regularly astounded at the quality of candidates that want to come to work in Mor Township for our Police Department uh we have a tremendous reputation here in the state of New Jersey and I i' not saying that to to to toot ourn toting our horn um but the applicants come saying that that telling us that moris Township has a great reputation for its the police dep department and they want to work here which is why they're coming and applying to Mor Township whenever we have openings and one of the applicants said he pulled his application somewhere from somewhere else when he saw that Morris Township had an opening um so I want to congratulate again chief sheerer police chief Sher for the quality of the candidates that he brings forward to us um look forward to them successfully completing the academy and having a a a very uh good career here in moris Township I also want to point out that we had a resolution tonight promoting Mark arer house um and Mark has been Tim working for us for how many years uh 20 plus 20 plus years uh it's a well-deserved promotion and we will be having a ceremony here in January at our January 22nd meeting uh to celebrate that promotion um as well as honoring the uh new police officers that are coming on board here in Marsh Township right the new ones that um were approved to be hired back in July and they graduated the police academy um the day before Thanksgiving right and they're now in their field training program but their official swearing in or their ceremonial swearing in uh will also be on the night of January 22nd right so those two just finished the police academy and we're going to be giving them their official pins they're going to have them they have them already right they have their numbers assigned to them it's a nice ceremonial that the township does uh to SAR them in front of in front of family and friends yeah so please come out on January 22nd to honor our police department and the the promotion and the new officers that we have here because they really are an astounding group of people and they do a tremendous uh service for our community um and speaking of tremendous service to our community I want to at the end of the year commend all our volunteers we have lots of boards and committees that are comprised with volunteers and all of those people give their time to make more Township a better place for all of us they attend meetings either monthly or bonly or quarterly um but there's a lot of people giving and sometimes there's multiple planning board meetings for example in a month so sometimes they're attending multiple meetings in a month and they give their time freely for the benefit of the municipality and I just want to acknowledge uh their volunteerism and thank them for stepping up and doing this on behalf of the rest of the community um if you come across a volunteer um in our town um I encourage you to thank them also for stepping up and doing work on behalf of the rest of the residents uh because our town wouldn't be as great as it is without all those good people stepping up to do the those those jobs um and in closing I'll just again wish everybody I hate to say happy holidays because we all have our own separate holidays whether it be Christmas Hanukah K Quanza or others that people might celebrate uh but I do want to wish everybody a meaningful holiday one that brings them joy in whatever they celebrate and I hope 2025 is a happy and healthy new year for all of us and lastly I'd like to acknowledge the young man who just entered uh the room nice to see you sir thank you mayor just in time thank you Deputy Mayor yeah perfect time he might have some exciting news from this week to share with the governing body maybe sure when as soon as we wrap up if he does we can give him a minute he can have the floor public commentary um so really quickly I just want a couple things I want to mention um on the affordable housing I just want everybody to know that our planners are working together to draft a response for the number that the township was giving they're working on a number that we will go back and um they're calculating some of the errors that were made on the vacant land assessment so we will continue to update our residents on that process just want everybody to know that many of the committee members do take part in sessions that are run whether it's by the league of municipalities or others on the affordable housing and we're keeping up to speed with everything there um on the transportation advisory committee uh already committeeman janata had talked about it a little I just do want to I have to thank Chris reer she's a longtime Tac member who has decided to take some time off and she's stepping down so just want to thank her she did a lot of hard work in our Mars Township in motion so um just really pleased that she could do that and a special thank you to her the seniors have put together their new schedule for next year have to mention the senior holiday lunch at that they put on every year it was a huge success it's great food good conversation they give away lots of gifts and of course they're great line dancers so for those of us that were there we really had a great time and they always do a great job coffee with the mayor in December it's a busy time of year we didn't get as many people that show up at Mount kemell that we normally do but those who did come affordable housing issues are always a concern um and the next one will be in the new year at the Collinsville Firehouse so I encourage any of our residents to come it's a really nice time to sit and ask any questions or give input the leaf collection is still going on it should wrap up this Friday every neighborhood should have been gone through three times so hopefully by Friday every neighborhood doesn't have any large leaf piles if there are some somewhere and you notify us we'll make sure we get out and remove them but they should should be clear so as we wrap 2024 I have to say I can't believe how fast this year went it has been a pleasure to serve our community and I've been honored to be Mars Township's mayor I do want to thank the committee members for all their hard work and their accomplishments this year special thanks to our attorney Jared caner and his firm to our professional staff your expertise and dedication to not only help guide our residents throughout the year but the input and feedback you dispense to advise the decisions we make is so valuable especially this year with the affordable housing concerns a lot of storm water management flooding concerns incorporating complete streets open space and allaround improvements for our town our administrator Tim Quinn and the township employees who run the day-to-day operations here at Town Hall also deserve to be recognized and appreciated and again especially the one to my right our town clerk Sue Walsh appreciate all her hard work as mentioned our volunteers are some of our most valued resources not only do they show up and work hard but their enthusiasm and authenticity in caring for our community is always present please join one of our committees sit in on a meeting when you can or make the effort to stop by coffee with the mayor to get to know us better we are here to serve you and your experiences are the best way for us to gauge how we are doing this is a critical time in our country when America is at a Crossroads and especially at the local level we have to help bridge The Divide we need to advance our Collective agenda of putting our residents needs first so we can build a better future the township committee members are your partners and with your commitment we can look forward to build a future that works for everyone and allows different opinions and points of view a future where we can come together have discussions and create solutions to our problems so in closing I too want to whether you celebrate Christmas K Quanza or Hanukkah try and find peace this year take a moment to count all your blessings and be grateful for all the things we so many times take for granted Mr grel would you like to share your exciting news would I'll make a motion open public portion I'll I'll second opening up open the meeting to the public all those in favor I there are currently five members of the public joining us via zoom and five in person at this time we will open the meeting to public comment okay we already did that so now Mr Gro would you like to share your exciting news he's he's on the spot now you have to go up to the microphone I thought he was going to run for office right I'm running for my dad's uh what do I say address your name my name Alexander Graal one Indian Head Road uh Morris Township obviously um this news doesn't have anything to do with New Jersey but the University of Vermont cam mounts men's soccer team won their first ever National Championship um which is exciting for me because I go to that school that's that's the news he wants me to share congratulations thank you thank you I think it was pretty impressive that your dad drove all the way down to North Carolina so that you could see the game and experience a national championship that's a life once in a lifetime thing how many lectures did you [Laughter] get are there any other members for the record that's why I'm I'm hor toight I'm still recovering from Mond night was 18 hours of lecture yeah 18 hours leure are there any other members here in that would like to speak and are there any members on Zoom I don't see any hands raised please raise your hand if you would like to speak I'll make a motion to close the public portion mayor is there a second second all those in favor I the time is now I'm sorry oh the time is now 8:40 can I have a motion to adjourn the regular session so move second all those in favor I next to conven on Thursday January 2nd 2025 at 7M is the reorganization meeting that will be held right here in the municipal building at F Woodland Avenue the next regular Township committee meeting is a week later Wednesday January 22nd a week later than it normally is January 22nd 2025 at 700 p.m. for the regular meeting 5:00 p.m. close and that also right here in the municipal building again have a very very happy holidays and a very happy New Year good night night