e e e e e e e e e good evening I'd like to call to order the May 14th 2024 Oldbridge Township council meeting please please rise for a pledge of allegiance remain standing for a moment of silence and for a prayer I pledge alance 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 as customary in this chamber we stand for a moment to remember those who are protecting our freedoms both here and abroad for our First Responders for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for everyone suffering around the world a moment of silence please our prayer Mr pasky dear Lord bless thy servants in the ministry of public affairs who serve you in this chamber give us quiet minds and hearts that we may hear your voice help us to know when to speak when to be silent give us strength to oppose the wrong and uphold the right and Grant that we have a good conscience at Soul at peace with thee and with one another amen amen please be [Music] seated roll call council person as councilman aluli present councilwoman dearo present councilman dama here councilman Desai here councilman Garcia here councilman Murphy is absent councilman pasti here Council vice president Dr Greenberg uh belli here and council president soar here this meeting is being held in conformance with the open public meetings act notice has been given to the official newspapers of the township on January 6 2024 and has been posted in public places next open public meeting of the township Council will be held on Tuesday June 11th 2024 at 7:30 p.m. okay thank you very much and welcome everyone to the meeting um we're going to begin with proclamations Proclamation declaring may as an older American's month mayor Walker Oh first uh Anna's gonna speak okay Anna you mayor Walker is going to read her Proclamation but I wanted to invite Matt mccu our department our director of parks of recreation which our senior center falls under as you know every year we celebrate older Americans month it is a time to recognize older Americans contributions highlight aging Trend and reaffirm firm our commitments to serving the older commun the older adults in our community this year's themed powered by connection focuses on the profound impact that meaningful connections have on the well-being of old and health of older adults it is not just about having someone to chat with it's about the transformative potential of community engagement enh enhancing mental physical and emotional well-being Oldbridge Township is a leader in keeping its adult connected to their community and today we honor not only our older Americans and the importance of providing them with vital services to age in place but also our aging Professionals for doing this important work mayor Walker yes I'd like to read the proclamation whereas May is older Americans month a time for us to recognize and honor Oldbridge townships older adults and their immense influence on every facet of American society and whereas through their wealth of life experience and wisdom older adults guide our younger generations and carry forward abundant cultural and historical knowledge and whereas older Americans improve our communities through intergenerational relationships community service Civic engagement and many other activities and whereas communities benefit when people of all ages abilities and backgrounds have the opportunity to participate and live independently and whereas Oldbridge Township must ensure that older Americans have the resources and support needed to stay involved in their communities reflect in our commit commitment to inclusivity and connectedness and now I therefore Debbie Walker mayor of Township of Albridge the township Council County of middlex state of New Jersey to hereby Proclaim May 2024 as older Americans month this year's theme powered by connection emphasizes the profound impact of meaningful interactions and social connection on the well-being and health of older adults in our community we call upon all residents to join us in recognizing the contributions of our older citizens and promoting programs and activities that Foster connection inclusion and support for older adults thank you very much make sure this gets up and it gets to all of our seniors as well as our staff thank you guys very very much thank you God bless our seniors thank you very much and thank you Matt and it's really is important to make sure that our seniors have the best they can here in town down and we really do appreciate all of them for all that they've done for us and what they're still doing for us it's it's just wonderful seniors are absolutely awesome okay next will be um public hearing H1 performance guarantee release CS energy one Global access road block 4185 Lots 2511 and 26 application number 40 -2022 P good evening Mrs Shapiro how are you evening good evening council is there any is there anyone here come on up to the mic come up please thank you good evening hello um Council this was an application in front of our planning board it was entitled AC power 6 [Music] this was an application in front of our planning board it was entitled AC power LLC the application was for solar farm field it is in um it's actually on the property formerly known as the global landfill and the property is actually um the the the zone for the property is entitled in the same um it is 77.5 eight acres and uh the landfill has been capped and so after um our Township planner had prepared a uh a Redevelopment plan um the applicants then um came through and and developed a solar farm on the property there were no off-site improvements and really the only thing that was bonded was safety and stabilization and the amount of $5,000 so the performance guarantee that was posted in the form of bonds was $4,500 um under Bond number 107 606 177 uh 10% in form of cash of 5 $500 for the total of $5,000 we've had no objections or uh to the release tonight based on the public notice we just ask the applicant if there's any outstanding escrow to be posted um to be paid prior to release of the bond in the cash portion I I I see that the applicant is here I'm going to I think this is the applicant and this is the attorney I'm going to turn it over to the attorney good evening good evening hi I'm Lisa Delante I'm chief legal officer for CS energy I don't know if anyone has any questions for me say does anyone have any questions sounds it sounds good okay so anyone my recommendation is to release the bond um everything has been done satisfact to the plan approval um from the planning board and uh we have no objections to the release any questions on H1 no okay seeing no hands I'll close the public portion I'll ask for a motion move it second okay move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr dama roll call Council councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president so are yes motion carries resolution for release will be on the next council meeting scheduled for June 11th okay very good thank you very much you have a nice evening thank you H2 performance guarantee release 396 New Jersey State Highway 34 block 11232 lot 11 application number -00 Z good evening hi uh Council I'm here again um this was an application in front of our zoning board um the application was under the applicant's name Michael Panka did I do that Justice okay um the subject property is located at 396 State Highway Route 34 on the southbound side it's a commercial piece of property it was actually zones commercial but now it's in the Edo Zone Economic Development opportunity Zone it's about a little bit larger than one acre and it was really the construction of a facility for um Mr H sanka's business at the time the applicant received preliminary and final major site plan with C andd variances approvals for the construction of an office and Associated garage for the construction of the business um the applicant did post um a performance guarantee uh in the amount of 193,000 $977 um some a dollar amount that's not typical these days because of the new bonding laws but uh in the form of bond was uh $174,500 under Bond number SB 29419 10% cash portion was $1,397 70 this application was in front of our board in the year 2000 so it's been quite some time we still went out there we we we did see that the bonded improvements had been constructed um everything looked good even 24 years later um and and again there would be no maintenance Bonds on this as everything was private on site and there was no public improvements um I just asked because this application is old we did have to spend some time um the Professionals in my office to research where the um application was and um go to a site visit and and see what the monies were um we asked that escrow be posted for the professional fees associated with the release of the bond once that's done um then we would come back at the next Council for release of the uh the cash portion and then memorialization of um the the release so with that said I have no objections to the release of the of the performance guarantee Nicole exactly where is it located I'm trying to figure out my mind 39634 okay so you know where VNS yes VNS street across the street by Amboy Road is it no okay oh okay yes all right now sushi sushi oh okaying yes yeah wasabi wasabi is near there I was just trying to pict I'm trying to picture exactly where it was I think the the monument sign says IPC is that used to say used to say yeah no I live on oh for 34 that's I was just trying to figure out where it was but it's been a long time it's been a long time listen I was 45 then it's been a long time that's how I give my that's how I give my timeline but anyway okay does anyone have a question on my left I have a question I a couple more fees that are I have a couple more fees that are on here that I I don't know it says inspection fee there was something to be returned and then there was another amount now right so what we do is after the bond is released then he can petition um the planning office and the engineering office to re review any inspection fees or any outstanding escrow but this inspection fee would be where my time would be charged to and then the remainder and the balance would be on the next bill list but I will walk you through that process but this is really just for the release of these dollar oh okay very good okay now does any council member no on this side how about on my right now okay I'm just curious why I'm just curious why 24 years I think so long I don't know we sold the building two years ago and I kept getting a statement in the mail from Amboy Bank and I was like what is this and I just forgot just totally forgot about it he came that's I came to Catherine and I was like can you help me I'm like I don't even know what this application is we got to really we got to dig this one out she said quite but close and you too I'm glad they getting resolution thank you so much thank you so much okay so can can I have a motion move it second okay move by Dr Greenberg belli and second by Mr auli okay yeah oh I'm sorry public also now anyone in the public wish to be heard okay you can come forth if you like unfortunately I didn't hear the location of the solar panels Could you actually give the street location um Council this isn't for the solar P this is in I know but there was no public call for the other two I didn't hear for the other two no no you weren't here maybe but well I was here at the very end of the solar panel we opened absolutely opened up to public it's okay that's the first thing the second thing is um well that's really it we just need to know where it is it's a block Lot number for the the entire audience of the town it's not such a big thing to give it now even though it's out of order I would appreciate it C uh chair uh council president Council it's block 41 block and lots right on the agenda I understand the block and lot but none of us live our our days by those numbers it would be a location would be better sir thank you isn't this the address Council as discussed before it's the former it's the former Global landfill site that's located at 1 and3 Global access road it's behind or let's say east of the New Amsterdam Apartments Central Park not on the bord and town Side by Central Park it's it's it's behind or east of the New Amsterdam apartments on the east side of Route 9 northbound uh behind the coals yeah behind coals that maybe would make sense I mean a way of describing it because what's the address number one and three Global access road again not this applicant okay all right yes I'm closing the public now we have a motion in a second roll call councilman esuli yes councilwoman de Caro yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes council president soar yes motion carries resolution will appear at the next council meeting scheduled for June 11th thank you so much thank you very much have a good even H3 performance guarantee release Wood Haven Village section two phase 7 application 14-16 e f is there anyone in the public for I just got a late notice as in 5 minutes on my cell phone that the applicant had some issues with the noticing okay and they will not be here tonight so um I'd asked if if our Township Clerk could put them on the next available meeting um and then they would have to be notified so that they notice yeah notice okay so if anyone here in the public was here for this particular item they they have asked to postpone so it will be she'll give us a date as to when you can come back if you have a question on that June 11th they want to come back that's fine are they going to Ren notice they never did okay that was the problem that was yeah that's not a good thing okay so June 11th correct June 11th yes okay so June 11th if you had an issue with this particular item you can come back and be heard okay next will be H4 red zebra LLC Li a license number 1209 d33 D 9-3 good evening council president this is the uh Tri monly review of the liquor license there had been some issues that were brought to the brought to council regarding the operation of that particular location um and detective Cathy is here to discuss any of the any new complaints that were were received okay good evening uh we'd like naturally if you can give us an update on what has been going on over the last few months it's got to be green you green so the good news is I don't have any news um so when this um change in stipulations to the liquor license went into effect July 1st 201 23 detective could you please just state your name for the record please for red zebra oh my name I'm sorry detective Cy thank you uh when this went into effect July 1st 2023 that's when the new stipulations came about um we only had six calls since then um four being in August one being in September and the last one was October of 20123 for a noise complaint which was um handled by Patrol and there has been nothing sense does the council have any questions okay so do I have a motion or do we need one Ken at this point to continue okay just on the calls the conditions all right anyone in the public wish to be heard it would it would typically be uh noise complaints loud people talking in the parking lot things like that um which was quickly handled there was no push back by any of the patrons at the establishments that's good to know actually have one question yeah Mrs jaro how how I know we talked about them coming back every I think it was three months or so how long are we doing that for for them is this the last one okay good should be the last one okay yeah they'll have to come back one more time for their legal license you've been a going well for you guys okay if you could just enter your name for the record please yeah Sal okay all right anyone else we're good okay all right thank you very much thank you detective Cathy as well thank you and have a good evening approval of minutes resolution authorizing the approval of regular Township Council meetings of March 26 2024 do I have a motion moving second moved by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr dama roll call councilman Asel Tuli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes motion carries Bill list Mr Garcia yes thank you good evening uh Bill list as of May 14 2024 accounts payable May 14 2024 13 million 4487 44875 43 payroll May 10th 2024 1,288 42892 cents payroll overtime May 10th 2024 $ 27,2 724 cents that completes my report thank you okay thank you Mr Garcia uh can we have a breakdown in the overtime please Anna sure as councilman Garcia mentioned our payroll overtime for May 10 2024 was $ 27,2 724 cents during that time we did see a slight uptake in the recreation overtime due to our five K and as well as our yearly dance recital uh the police overtime during this time period was $ 11,947 195 theyed duck grants $2,665 127 they ducked etto $2 26506 for a total of $663 262 and a total of 127 men and women hours we have two officers currently on light duty thank you thank you very much do I have a motion move it second okay move by was it Mr pescetti okay second by Mr Mr auli okay thank you roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes motion Ares next will be our consent agenda I would like to get a motion second bring it back for separations move it second okay moved by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr pascetti and now can we have separations please uh councilman auli any items for separation none thank you councilwoman dearo any items for separation no thank you councilman dep no thank you councilman Desai no thank councilman Garcia none thank you councilman Pas gidy no separations thank you Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell no thank you council president soar no thank you roll call roll call on the entire consent agenda councilman auli yes councilwoman de Caro yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes council president yes motion carries administrative report of the Township Clerk uh the only uh item that I have would be to remind people that the primary election will be coming up and that if anybody is looking to be a PO clerk to work the election if they can work uh please reach out to their respective party chairs or to the clerk's office and your information will be forwarded along that's it okay and round attorney report of the attorney believe there's supposed to be a discussion ordinance okay and yeah next is our discussion ordinance ordinance of the township of Albridge County of middle sex New Jersey authorizing private sale and transfer of Township owned real property more commonly referred to is block 39 Lots 128 and 140 to moris Habitat for Humanity in incorporated or its duly designed design pursuant to njsa 40 colon A1 12-13 C and njsa 40 colon 12-8 G okay who's the who's the present who's going to present this we have a presenter for the where's Vina is V unavailable or did something happen Okay well then she was the one going do the presentation oh okay Nicole thank you Council may be aware that um Habitat for Humanity is um was in front of our boards our planning board under Redevelopment plan for 200 Lawrence Parkway um the project entails uh 12 affordable for sale units they are semi-attached and they're located on our old used to be a school at one point and I think a senior center at one point as well um we had since demolished the building and Habitat for Humanity has gone through the um they had gone through the the planning board stage they had had gotten their approvals um and they had actually gone through compliance resolution when I asked them why they didn't file their subdivision plan they said that there's no sale or transfer of the property from the township to um to Habitat for Humanity so they can't construct they can't start um so we have they building the permits in we have signs final plans but they didn't file the subdivision because the property isn't theirs yet and so we're here tonight um basically for an ordinance to give permission to either transfer or sale and I'm not privy to the exact details of the sale um and and what that cost would be but that essentially is why this ordinance is on tonight they want to move forward yes okay would that be the same location couple years ago yes across the street so that one's on the back side the Triangular property on Lawrence Parkway yes so I I think there from what I remember there's about three or uh maybe four homes that front Lawrence Parkway um Woodland is along the the western boundary of there um and and there's a couple of homes there and then there's maybe I think four on the backside on Woodland the one that you're talking about is the one that's on Woodland facing in the southernly direction and then there'll be some facing in the north they're semi-attached that whole lot yes so there'll be 12 units total but remember it's that triangular lot and then there's one Lot on wood Woodlands on the backside that you really don't see so it's that plus the Triangular lot does anyone have any questions for Mrs Shapiro on I right anyone have questions for her yes I was just wondering how many bedrooms are they um they're a mix so there's um the homes are going to be veteran preferred um and so there are uh they all have to have some handicap accessible component to them so those are I think smaller units because they're only one floor um but I think they go up to three floors so they're a mix though okay I'm sorry three bedrooms they're they're two floors three bedrooms not three floors the bottom floor is the rolling shower okay anyone else okay so Ken what is next step entertain a motion to have it moved up for first reading move it okay second Dr Greenberg b i roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yep motion carries second hearing will be set for first reading right so now we need to take a motion I'm mooving first reading second moved by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr jaama for first reading okay councilman auli yes Council per councilwoman Dar Caro yes councilman dama yes councilman Desi yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes motion carries second hearing set for June 11th 2024 okay next will be our administrative report sorry I apologize no worries first item on our uh report this evening is spring leaf collection the Department of Public Works has concluded spring leaf collection in all Wards if you still have leaf bags at your curb please email recycling at Oldbridge docomo Memorial Day Parade the brid Township Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday May 27 2024 at 9:00 a.m. it will start at Lawrence har Lawrence Parkway in Eli Avenue for more information please visit our website at Oldbridge decom Recreation or call The Parks of recreation department at 732 721-5600 extension 4999 orbd Township recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month mental health May is mental health awareness month this year's theme is uh take a moment it is a campaign that empowers people to collectively Embrace The Power of Now and encourages individuals to prioritize and talk about their mental health without feeling guilty or ashamed it is a reminder that inid life's chaos we all deserve a moment to refocus recharge and nurture our mental health for to contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness in middlex County you can call 732 7457 09 recycling center closed during repaving the recycl Center will be closed for repaving from Thursday May 16 through Friday May 31st 2024 it will reopen on or around Saturday June 1st 2024 we apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience for more information please visit or bridge.com recycling finally national law enforcement week this week is national law enforcement week on behalf of the orbd police department we would like to take a moment to honor and pay tribute to the dedication and sacrifices made by law enforcement officers across the country it is a moment to recognize their service remember those those who have fallen in the line of duty and Express gratitude for their commitment to maintaining safety in our communities in appreciation of the men and women of the orridge Township Police Department we have chosen to protect who have chosen to protect and serve the residents of our community Chief Montagna mayor Walker the township Administration and Council sincerely thank you for your hard work and bravery and this concludes my report thank you very much does anyone have any questions or comments for the administrative report okay I'd like a motion to accept move it second okay second moved by Dr Greenberg second by Mr Desi roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes we are so appreciative to our Police Department thank you public comments on any subject matter for a maximum period of three minutes the public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments this section is open for any topic or item in the consent agenda in accordance with njsa 10 call en for -2a and the old bridge rules of council the council asks the public to limit their comments to 3 minutes or less only one member of the public shall approach to speak to council at a time the council will respect the Public's Time by refraining from any comment until the speaker has finished with their allotted time should be further noted that the public comment portion of our meeting is not structured as a question and answer session if a member of the public has questions they seek answers to an appointment can be made with the corresponding Department's office during during regular business hours the Township Clerk will regulate the time during the comment portion of our meeting as you approach the microphone please State whether you are resident of Oldbridge and please no names or addresses thank you good evening good evening first of all last time I was here I walked out and I apologized to all you for that I'm better than that um I'm sorry last time I was here you hear me last time I was here I walked out because I was a little angry I apologized to O you for that um the township attorney who looks different today um uh I thank him for his correspondence I appreciate that I don't agree with what he had to said so uh we've lived here and um I know everybody says that the town hasn't helped us with the road in the past um my children are privileged enough to go to high school and they play every sport you can imagine the battlecry when they break the huddle is oldridge it's family you were all my family here we on Joy Lane are not asking for anything more we don't want a paved road we don't want sidewalks we're just asking for the courtesy we've received for the past 50 years and to say that uh um we knew someone or as a matter of fact we know a lot of people I see you people in church my wife has had the privilege to teach some of your children in school um we wouldn't ask for a favor we've played sports with some of the people in this building and I'm glad to know all of those people we are just simply asking for to come down our road a few times a year like you always done there is some documentation that we do have um a couple of emails we would simply call and someone would come I don't know who did it uh but I would like to thank them for it the Public Works does a great job and Oldbridge of taking care of this town and we're grateful to have them and we're grateful for the police department and we're grateful for you we are just asking as residents of this town just to give us the courtesy you've had for the past 50 years thank you all for your time good evening mayor councel um just going back the gentleman that was before me is my brother um he was very upset last meeting that we had and it upset me as well I was unable to attend but regardless of who you know or what you know shouldn't really matter if somebody's coming to town we've been here forever um I was a committeeman for uh Barbara Cannon um I don't know did that help I knew uh mayor Henry since I was a little child I used to to play on his street with a bunch of the kids that are there it's it's foolish I feel that the council is going to bicker back and forth oh that it hasn't been done that's not true maybe the people that are doing it are doing it because as my brother had said you know we've volunteered our time we've built uh dugouts for the Little League we've done so much for the Albert Soccer League I mean our faces are around whether you know what's personally or not it's something that we've been done or been doing for the town forever um and again we're just asking for a couple times a year just to come down and to do the lane whether you guys are complaining that it was never done I don't know exactly who was doing it I could give you a whole list of the gentlemen that have helped us in the past most of them have been retired maybe that's the problem because they were as my brother said you know part of a family that's extended not really our family but they knew what we had done for the town and the town just did I mean the lane is only you know 200 yards long it's not that long at all for the township to dedicate a couple hours a year it's not asking for you know weeks of work or you know anything maybe you guys had done Excuse Me Maybe the gentlemen that have worked for the road department or whatever were working close to the Lane and said oh you know we haven't been down Joy Lane will come down and do that so that's the way we feel and you know we were always grateful for them but you know they would know that we would come and help the town as well I appreciate your time thank you good evening Council good evening mayor uh I've been a resident of Oldbridge for for 15 years my kids have lived here their entire lives they go to all the old bridge schools they play all the Old Bridge Sports I feel like a family myself even that I've only been here 15 years every year since I've been here I can attest that I've seen the Department of Public Works on our road dropping Stone fixing it grading it and the last two years I can't say that but we have emails from Public Works stating that they came out to fix our road on the other half of it my house burned down two years ago and if that happened today the fire department and the EMS would not be able to get down our road to service us if I had to go in an ambulance somewhere and they had to get down my Lane the ride to get back to the main road I'd break a leg I've been a fireman for 27 years in this in this state and I know from personal recognition that if I had to drive a ladder truck a tanker an engine down that road it would would take five extra minutes to get to my house delaying my response and I'd probably break a 500 or a million dooll rig on the way down that road and then not be able to help the residents it is absolutely absurd in in excess of that I've also contacted the county freeholders and they put a message out to Oldbridge to contact me directly and started a County case number that was May 6th I've never heard anything from anybody I've contacted the mayor's office five times I've never gotten a response to me that's unacceptable at least reach out to us we're Oldbridge we're a family thank you for your time anyone else good evening um I am an Oldbridge resident um I attend oldridge high school and I have lived on Joy Lane for as long as I can remember and I am a new driver I just got my permit a couple months ago and I personally do not feel safe or comfortable driving On My Own Lane because of the pool which have become a major Hazard and have caused damage to joyan Residence vehicles and I just feel that for as long as I've been here I've also witnessed town the township fix our road and for them to just stop doing that I feel is um a hazard like I said with the potholes have become a hazard so I just hope that you can take our concerns seriously and consider fixing our road thank you is there anyone else in the public hi everyone last week no two weeks ago I had to go home and pray very hard because I was so angry at the council you know like I feel that you you don't have a conscience anybody here how could you let us live back on a lane that is so dangerous for the kids for us that's our Township you represent it and we have to listen to you to have access to somebody to do it we've had it for all these years you have put us in a very bad State and I think it's appalling to really come up here and have to beg all the time for help we're not asking for sidewalks you're going to put sidewalks over here you're going to put sidewalks over here we've contacted you how many times you're the mayor and you're supposed to help us you didn't help us at all and yes last two weeks ago when the attorney was referring to my nephew as lying I wanted to go for his throat because you know like I don't think that's very fair you know at sitting up in the chair and accusing someone of lying the kids witness them taking care of our road okay my nephew is not going to lie he's not a liar maybe I lie but not him you know and it's really ridiculous because we have to come begging you know where is your conscience you're supposed to help oldridge citizens where no and you know like and when when the attorney and this gentleman over here were speaking oh they were playing it back and forth nobody on the council said one word except the attorney and this one and this fellow over here said nobody's been back there you know talk about being a little bit not up front I don't think that was very nice what you did to my nephew last week and the attorney I was going to tell you know my brother's an attorney okay and as soon as I got out of this meeting I he's a judge as a matter of fact and as soon as I got out of this meeting I called him and I said Roger I said this is pathetic they won't and he's lived on the lane he knows what the lane is and you guys you know what the lane is and you won't help us and I think it's really dis disgusting and our our people in O should know about you guys here no conscience whatsoever goodbye they brought up very good points these people over here first of all there was a fire on that street and the house was total and that was because the fire trucks couldn't get down the street here in Oldbridge you guys have refused to put speed bumps on streets where people race down like West Greystone Road which is a 25 mph Zone because you say the fire trucks are going to be destroyed with speed bumps and yet on this street whether the the fire trucks can't even go down it because of the the hazards they're not asking for you again to put in a a a a freeway they're asking for you to fix the road to fill in the potholes it's not very complex for the people who know how to do it and I know they people in our town really cared to do it they're their hands are tied unless you guys say otherwise it's up to you to help this community $3.5 million was the temporary the the quick calculation I did in taxes how much money have you guys individually paid into this town in taxes and by the way speaking of which when Lor Hernandez came here to town on the parade the former mayor's Street which only has 12 houses on it was paved for the third time in my 25 years in this town was repaved I can't tell you as a dead end street because it does live that person does live on a dead end Street how many cars come down it but I could tell you a firet trck could safely go down it I know an ambulance could safely go down it and darn it you guys should really consider are helping these people a gravel way just like down the street there's what is the name that street uh Casey I don't remember the name that was once a former um private street it's almost to Texas road it's also gravel Vantin Lan so s in s in sorry sod in it's not very complex and I know you guys would like to help so everybody keeps begging for it this like the entire block and by the way the gentleman who's lived here just 15 years his he has a crew of people who go out and clean streams on their own money every single month I see his posts all the time he doesn't ask for the O for the township to give $500 donation to his non-for-profit he goes out and does it without the without asking for anything from you guys he goes out into all the towns in the surrounding area and does that he does it on his money what what they're asking for is really not complex and probably not that expensive I know what gravel costs for me to put my 200t Road in it's my my driveway I know what it cost it doesn't cost that much for it to be done on their say 700 ft of Road thank you by the way Mother's Day was wonderful I hope everybody here who celebrates it had a great time is there anyone else in the public who wishes to be heard hello I'm a resident um I know I sent you all a long-winded email so I'm going to do the cliffnote version this time the vowels get away from me and I get on a roll usually at five minutes so I'm going to try to make it short and sweet um I realize you're a different Council um the zoning board met with the first part of the application for the route 5116 Higgin Road um development what came out of that and the only reason I'm mentioning it is what came out of that and they only had the first portion of it was the reason that it's so close to the road and so massive is because it's trying to accommodate to the town center design design or requirements um we all know Town Center design that was I think azarello and Barbara Cannon it went back to the 80s Jonathan halam headed it up I was in those meetings we said back then it was never going to work um fast forward now many many years later we really don't have the Town Center design but we still have it on the books or whatever you want to call it the ordinance um you're flanked across the street here and the one little mini strip there but now with Katrell Farm changed don't get me wrong very glad it's changed because back in the 80s where the playground is now if anybody was here back then they wanted that to be a parking deck so I'm very glad it didn't go for a parking deck um but it it doesn't exist so my concern is we need to move sooner rather than later um perhaps maybe if we can change the ordinance back to and again I'm sorry I don't know all the numbers but back to residential even the township planner admitted that that massive structure and that project does not fit the neighborhood she admitted it but unfortunately they can't do anything she can't do anything because that's what it's zoned for um my suggestion again is please consider sooner rather than later putting it back to residential we really only need two levels we don't need three levels if you go to the I guess maybe right of route of katell road by Route 9 you have three massive apartment buildings and you have a ton of shops and you can't move the reason you can't move to the left of katol road is because if you look at the way it's designed there's no Outlet you're not going to really cut through I mean people do I even do which I'm probably not supposed to but you can cut through Society Hill other than Society Hill there's no if there's an accident if there's High School traffic if anything happens on that road it backs up because there's no other Outlet until you get down to like by GE Park and then whatever that left is and then after that it's another two or three miles down the road so again we can't do anything about what is here but we can do something about what's in the future I'm not anti-b building I know we have to build I know businesses are needed rather than residential because businesses don't have children but we just have to make it make sense thank you thank you very much is there anyone else in the public who wishes to be heard seeing no hands I'll now close public portion and go to council comments councilman as satuli yes um you know each day we all wake up it's Memorial Day this this month right I say a prayer every day that I'm in the greatest country in the world because of the sacrifice of so many sometimes we get away from that and tend to understand that we're free the whole world isn't free and freedom isn't free the best part about it is I tell my daughters when they see a man or a woman in uniform say thank you it breaks my heart to see that there's 40,000 homeless veterans in this country there shouldn't be one ever there's a great organization there this organization tunnel to Towers which just builds homes for veterans that serve this great country I know in my heart I'll never forget the ultimate sacrifice and when I look at them and each day I look up in the sky and I'm so thankful that I was born in this country cuz I really feel I won the lottery three times because as much as we go about our life we open the door in our fridge and there's food in it I I say every day when I open my fridge I really mean this I say I'm so thankful that I could just take food out of my fridge I can go to my foret and I can turn it on in other countries they have to walk n miles in a 110° just to get clean water I am just so fortunate and um I'm beyond thankful and um I appreciate them for the sacrifice and um all of their continued service thank you councilwoman darara thank you Kate um to you guys the joyan uh residents um I I actually apologized for not speaking up last time um I I wanted to but it was getting a little heated and just trying to keep everything relaxed there's a lot of back and forth going on so um uh for that I do apologize because I do feel for you guys I really do um I I I wish there was something that we could do we are being you know told that we can't and I believe that the reason and obviously somebody can correct me if I'm wrong but it's that it's a private it's slated as a private road and there are other private roads in the town so um that kind of opens up the door to have to you know do all of the other private roads so it becomes a little problematic and it becomes a little bit of a larger problem than just you know the one the one thing um I I really wish I mean and I totally believe you guys that that it has been being maintained for you know over the years um you know I wish there was something that we could do I mean if there's some kind of compromise that we can come up with I don't I don't know I'm not um you know that's not that's more of an administrative thing you know and I I do wish that there was some sort of resolution that we could come by for you guys um I feel for you you've come you've come you know from many many meetings you know so this is really a a big deal for you guys um you know uh if there's any way that we can just continue to do the same things that we were doing I mean I'd be fine with that of course I'm just me you know and I just always want to help everybody so I mean again I don't know it's it's more about the legalities and the logistics of things so please don't think that I don't care uh it's just tends to open up uh other issues which is my understanding um I don't think we can have I I don't think we can have back and forth yeah no um I'm we can talk after the meeting we can talk after the meeting um I'm sorry um so just you know I I just my heart does go out to you guys but anyway [Music] um uh other thing that I wanted to ask again you know back I wanted to ask Administration and um well I was Mr relli but Mr relli is not here tonight so I have to ask you um I had put out an email uh asking you guys about doing something about pride month and um you know trying to you know just acknowledge pride month um I had suggested a flag raising um you know and I was told you know you're going to look into it and get back to me um I still haven't heard anything so I was wondering where we are with that and um you know and again I was willing I'm willing to you know definitely tweak it if it's we can't do a flag raising if we can just do something but I know um Mark uh Mr relli it was either last meeting or the meeting before that he had said that there was no precedent no like we didn't honor groups we didn't do that so I I I believe that's what he said we did honor tonight the older uh older Americans you know with a proclamation so I mean I kind of that's kind of what I was talking about and referring to with you know with pride month you know just a you know even if it's just a proclamation or something and um I know that um former mayor Henry did do a proclamation for pride month back in 2022 um and I have that you know and I'll send it to you guys if you if you want to see it so you know I'm just curious to you know it's it's getting we're getting close to June so you know if I could just move that along you know and if that's something that you guys were planning on doing anyway then that's great just let me know so I stop harassing you guys at every meeting you know so um but it's just something doesn't matter what it is just some kind of acknowledgement for pride month and like I said it what uh former mayor Henry did do it in 2022 I know the county does it as well right the county has something yeah but he did it here in Oldbridge yeah okay send it to I will yeah sure sure um and the other thing is um um so the uh we talked last month about uh school funding um Senator Henry was here talking about um a bill and um you know I wanted to get a little bit more information I voted no on the bill because I just didn't have a lot of information at that time because I wasn't really prepared I didn't know that that presentation was going to take place um that at the meeting so I wasn't really like prepared to really vote yes or no on anything which is why I voted no um since then a a bill did pass it was just signed I believe today so I'm happy that a bill was passed regardless you know either bill I think would have been okay but this two totally different bills um and but I know that there's going to be um uh this bill allows uh taxes to go up over the 2% cap and I just wanted to just put some numbers out so people because I know everyone is going to you know nobody wants their taxes to be raised that is a fact and so I just wanted to um just put some just real quick numbers and again zero zero tax increases is really what everybody wants but for the 2% tax which is what they would do what what it would be and this is important for to talk about at Council because um again your your taxes get paid they they School tax Municipal tax Library tax you know all of those things so these are good these are things that are important to speak about at Council so at a 2% tax increase um which is what a minimum would be the monthly increase to the taxes would be $947 now even if the the school goes up to the 99.9% there's going there will be just a difference of $16 a month so I just wanted to come out you know between the $940 to 25 it's just going to be so I basically the reason that I'm talking about this now is because I know that um the the residents are going to be concerned about tax increases right and and I know it's a board of education thing but it affects all the residents which is why I'm bringing it up tonight um so um that's all I wanted to say and uh you know hopefully I didn't uh cross any lines but the door was opened last meeting with that discussion so I felt it was appropriate to bring that up tonight um please no question and answer I'm sorry okay we can speak after the meeting yeah I can show it to you yeah I got it from the I got it from the business administrator at the at the absolutely no that's fine you can speak I just want to make sure though that the public realizes we this was not with the when Senator came he came and updated us it wasn't like it was we knew all about the he came and he updated us so it wasn't done like to you that we wouldn't include you absolutely not I mean he came and he started to tell us about the very the the bill they were going to put through and of course you guys had already seen the other bill that he was that was being suggested no no yeah council president soore no I wasn't implying that I was being left out of something I just wanted I just felt bad because I if I had known I would have been more prepared and I'm not saying that anybody else you know I'm not I'm not accusing it wasn't all really wasn't I'm not accus I just felt bad no no no not accusing you at all no no no no I didn't say accusation said just so that everyone out there realizes it was done update and I'm hoping he will come back in a few months to another update absolutely so it wasn't no I I'm sorry I'm sorry if that was a Mis I just feel like I don't want I might have misspoke there yeah you know I'm just oh everything no no no no no no no no I okay that's it sorry councilman dep thank you um few items so I wanted to wish a good luck to all our high school athletes that are participating in their um their GMC's surprise councilman as Tuli bring that up since his daughter's one of them um but it's great I mean the success of the the oldge uh teams have been phenomenal whether it's the the golf the the girls golf team you know winning it on our golf course which which is um which is pretty cool uh baseball softball the track just participated this past weekend I think it's it's a phenomenal thing that our kids are going um so far within the GMC so it's great happy belated Mother's Day I totally forgot last last council meeting my wife reminded me when I got home so I had to make sure I set the record straight with that so I can go home and not um get yelled at again also you know as Anna had spoke about it's National Police Week you know I think I speak for everybody up here and probably everyone throughout Town thanking the old brige police department for all of their fine work and not only keeping our community safe but also all of our residents safe especially there's a lot of craziness going on in our town um and with that you know one of the things that that happened earlier this year there in my community our canine Officer had his first arrest in in our town um this week with the fundraising that happened from some of the residents within my community we're actually going to be presenting a check to the township for $2,000 to the K9 trust fund so I believe I am believe it's Thursday I'm just waiting on confirmation from the chief so we'll be up here for not only to give the $2,000 for the K9 trust but also we have excess money as well that we will be um partnering with um local food to deliver uh lunch and dinner and I guess it's breakfast for for some officers as well um throughout multiple shifts whether it's the police department or or our dispatchers as well so this week that's happening I just wanted to make sure I think it's a it's a good thing that it is the National Police Week we we're finalizing that so this week Anna mayor we will be coming up with a representative from the Lakeridge Community to to deliver that check to you then Happy Memorial Day to everyone please be safe next weekend long weekend I know there is a lot lot goes on unofficial start of summer uh if you are out and you are with friends please make sure that you take not your car if you are drinking you know Uber call a friend get a designated driver whatever that might be please get home safe not only for yourself but also for everyone around you as well as your family and then finally just to touch on a I know a lot of we've been getting a lot of emails um the folks for Joy Lane we've gotten Town Center Zone emails we've gotten a bunch of different things just want to make sure that even though a lot of us do stay silent up here doesn't mean that we're not listening right A lot of times we have to sit up here and listen and we then have to go about a certain way you know if we bring up attorneys coming into play there's certain things that we cannot talk about in public that we do speak with our attorneys know that we do listen to you we're hearing you we work a lot of times behind the scenes to try to get stuff done it may not be as fast as everybody wants you know unfortunately government moves a lot slower than my mile time right so just know that we do have these conversations it it doesn't happen in a vacuum we don't only address stuff at Council meetings we all up here we do work on a regular basis with each other with the administration whether it's the mayor directly or with the business administrator with KC in public works whatever that might be with vener in planning with Nicole in engineering we do work to ensure that we're trying to meet those needs unfortunately it's when it comes to us we then have to go through processes so know that we are hearing you and I understand that it may not be at like I said the pace that you want but we we do try to address everything it may not be the outcome that everybody wants right there are a lot of different things but we do hear you and we listen to everything you say right so I just want to make sure that folks understand that because a lot of times I I will stay silent up here when things come up but it's just that we have to take it in and then we have to see all sides of the story not that we don't believe everybody but there are there are three sides to every story right there's the your side our side and then the story in the middle right and the story in the middle is typically closer to what the reality is of everything so just understand that we do work with each other to ensure that we're getting stuff done that's all thank you councilman Desai no comment councilman Garcia h yes thank you uh in recognition of law enforcement week I want to thank all of law enforcement throughout the town State and the country for the hard work they do and uh just keep keep them in your prayers they they do a good job uh with that councilman the Palmer regarding Joy Lane I personally take offense when people say we don't care we do care believe me when I tell you we care like he said we our hands are tied as well we do as best we can and please we do care all of us care we listen to you guys we do listen so I I I take offense to it it bothers me how you can say we don't care but we do care uh the memorial day coming up like he said be safe we have the parade on the 27th two weeks just be safe thank you that's all I have councilman pasky um yeah I I too would take him back a little bit you know um saying that we don't care I know that everybody up here cares and couple weeks ago I took a drive down Joy Lane it's a mess it's a mess oh yeah some big potholes craters so I I I feel your pain you know but there are other circumstances and you have to be patient and we have to try to find a way that we could help without you know there are a lot of other private roads out there so if we went ahead and did something for you we would have to do something for everybody else and there's a lot of private roads you know so you know we just have to be careful and allow the system to work it out I'm sure we'll work it out um on the on the school uh I totally disagree with councilwoman at the end there um our taxes if the school tax gets raised 99.9% people will be paying on an average of $700 to $1,000 more a year okay that's that's a lot of money and when you look at the school system you have to think well how are the kids doing you know how are the kids doing in school are they Reading Writing doing mathematics on grade level no they're not most of our high school students are not at grade level when they graduate so to me if a school system is not doing a superior job educating then why give them more money you know so I would say you know something different has to be done you know and we can't just keep throwing money at the school system and expect a better result because that's what we've been doing in this town for 50 years as we've been just giving the school money as much money as they want and um the children are not fairing better on you know internationally are school system our children are rating at the bottom of the list when you take into account how much money we spend per student you know we we're spending between 177,000 and $24,000 per student in our Oldbridge schooling system and and you know if you wanted to send your child to a private school you know you probably could do it for half of that and get a better education so I say don't reward bad behavior with your tax dollar and stand up and be heard go to the school board meeting they just had a budget meeting you know the superintendent said something like um I'm not quoting this is something like uh we're not Education Centers anymore we're is it health mental health clinics something like that something weird like that so you know they're indoctrinating instead of educating so I'll get off my podum thank you Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes thank you first of all I've been getting a lot of calls about dis brow road cuz are clearing some trees over there and I know that residents are concerned about what's going on over there well there's going to be a new water tank that's necessary because we need fire suppression in that area so I hope everyone understands what why that uh water Tank's going up also um the road people have been getting calls is there road that's on catell road going to the warehouses know that road is been putting in in case fire trucks have to get in there it's for fir truck access only but you know since it was brought up about um the Senate bill in the state about 3081 and 3076 Senator um Owen Henry came here and talked about 3076 to say that the funding can be restored to all the schools without raising taxes and the bill was to how to cut from some of the pork that's in the bill in the state I 3081 just talked that you could raise the tax the 2% cap goes off and it goes up um to 99.9% well they should have just said 10% I guess it didn't sound good but whatever but the fact of the matter is I don't know where um the numbers are being thrown out here tonight because I don't agree with $16 um dollar per month because I can just tell you from last year by the base of what went up last year my taxes went o up over6 $16 per month so those numbers aren't real um so I always feel that when you're on the council you have to think of everyone in the town uh the students are very important to me education is very important to me but we also have to think about people on fixed incomes seniors um veteran and it's a problem and I think if the the state in their wisdom meaning the the Senate if they thought of that and thought about all the people they would have voted for 3076 and honestly I don't think the governor had to cut back more money from Oldbridge beginning of sentence period there was no need for it and he's done it year after year after year so I'm not a big fan of him and I'll make it very clear about that but when you're doing that targeting the school without any solution it's wrong yes there are ways to cut money and I think everyone has to do their due diligence but between these just speaking on these two bills fum which I did 3076 was the bill that the Senate should have voted on and shame on them okay the next thing I want to wish all our graduates of college uh this is the time that they're going on to the Future they careers I hope they make a positive difference in this world and best wishes to them when you say Memorial Day I don't know whether it's right to say happy Memorial Day truthfully it's a time of reflection it's a time to think about those who made the ultimate sacrifice yes you can have a happy Memorial Day being with your family because it's a day off um all the things that you do but I wish everyone would think of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice because this is the land of the freight because the home of the and the home of the brave the home of the brave because the and the land of the freak is home with brave thank you very much council president soar yeah I also want to reflect on Memorial Day and as Dr Greenberg said sometimes we say happy in the sense of sharing time with our family and friends but we do have to reflect on what makes this country so great and thank everyone for all their service and as Mr Garcia said about the you know the police and and all that all through the country they're always there for us whenever there's a problem or an issue something we need help with they're standing there ready to help and risking their lives so we really should be thankful for all that we have here and as far as in town and issues in town it's a very tough tough decision and a balance between what you'd like to do but then you have to be fair and do it for everyone so this is a tough this is very tough decisions that have to be made so it's not as everyone echoed it's not a question of not caring or being interested but we have to represent the entire town and I've already got calls from people who watch the program saying well now what about us okay when do we it's a very tough decision it really really is but that being said everyone have a ve very safe and happy holiday thank you can we have a motion to adjourn move it second motion by Dr Greenberg Bell second by councilman Uli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Desai councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes motion carries meeting adjourned 8:49 p.m. um e for