##VIDEO ID:4aPaikoAtRs## [Music] all right good evening everyone thanks for joining us tonight come on in grab a seat all right welcome this is the meeting of the mayor and Council of Princeton New Jersey it is November 25th 2024 thanks for being here with us tonight Madam clerk could we have the uh meeting statement please adequate notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act including the time date and location of the meeting in addition the agenda and all related materials were posted electronically and made available to the public on Princeton's meeting portal in advance of the meeting thank you David could do the L acknowledgement We Gather today on the land of the Len Lenape as members of the Princeton Community we aspire to show appreciation respect and concern for All Peoples and our environment we honor the Lenape and other indigenous caretakers of these lands and Waters the elders who lived here before the indigenous today and the generations to come thank you we have a roll call please miss Peron lambrose here miss Neer gang here Mr Cohen here miss sax Miss frog here Mr nulan here mayor Freda here you have quum thank you if you're able and you like to stand we going do 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 with liberty and justice for all thank you all right first off tonight we have a resolution and presentation you get to wait okay oh okay all right sorry we're going to rearrange that a little bit we're going to go to our proclamations and Leighton is going to start off with the first Proclamation mayor uh thank you and welcome everyone to tonight's meeting I I just want to take a second to uh say what a pleasure it is to represent the people of Princeton what an honor it is to represent the people of Princeton and one of the best things that we as Council people are mayor get to do is to have the opportunity to give out proclamations uh being born and raised here I got to tell you this this this is really of the three years I've been on Council a true highlight of uh of being here and representing the people of Princeton to do a proclamation for a person that I love and respect and we all love and respect and I just want to acknowledge and to and thank everyone that's here tonight for being in the audience and for thinking it not robbery to come here to uh to witness an acknowledgement for a great human being uh a great humanitarian a good person a great family man a good friend a mentor and one hell of a barber this Proclamation from the office of the mayor mun ipity of Princeton Proclamation recognizing James Jimmy Mack whereas James Mack affectionately known as Jimmy was born on May 3rd 1931 to John and Lizzy Mack in Rowan o Virginia and whereas Jimmy's Educational Foundation was laid in the Rowan o Public Schools culminating in his graduation from Addison Lucy High School in 194 48 where he began to forge a path of excellence and whereas driven by a sense of Duty and Adventure at just 17 years old Jimmy enlisted in the Navy with his father's encouragement marking the start of a remarkable chapter in his life and whereas during his service on the USS Midway as a machine gun operator in the Korean War Jimmy discovered a new calling when he saw a notice for a barber on board igniting a passion that would shape his future and whereas after training as a barber aboard the ship in 1950 he became one of 10 Barbers on the USS Midway skillfully cutting hair while fostering camaraderie among fellow Sailors and whereas upon completing his service in 1952 Jimmy relocated to Princeton New Jersey joining his uncle Claude and brother William at Max sanitary barber shop on Witherspoon Street in the Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood where he honed his craft and built lasting relationships with customers and whereas embracing his entrepreneurial Spirit Jimmy opened Jimmy's Barber Shop at 141 John Street creating a cultural Hub that extended far beyond haircuts and whereas for over 50 years Jimmy's Barbershop has been a sanctuary of community where the air vibrated with the hum of Clippers laughter and Soulful Melodies creating a vibrant tapestry of shared experience and whereas sitting in Jimmy's chair was more than a haircut it was a dive into Rich conversations about life Sports politics and culture with Jimmy as both The Stylist and the Storyteller leaving an indelible mark on every customer's heart and whereas the memories of the old school barber shop pole the stacks of magazines and the catchy refrain of Jimmy Jimmy oh Jimmy Mac when are you coming back Jimmy oh Jimmy ma when are you coming back Need Your Love Need Your Love hey Jimmy Mack we love you Jimmy Mac and whereas the memories of the old Barber Shop pole and stacks of magazines and the catchy refrain of Jimmy Jimmy oh Jimmy Mack evoke Nostalgia and honor the cultural significance of his barbershop in the community and whereas Jimmy's Artistry transformed haircuts into individualized expressions of style each snip and spray reflecting the personality of those he served and whereas Princeton's africanamerican residents have a proud Legacy and Jimmy's presence as a Cornerstone of the Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood symbolizes strength perseverance and self-sufficiency and whereas from 19 62 until his retirement in 2014 Jimmy dedicated his life to serving the Princeton Community including generations of students from Princeton University creating a legacy that continues to inspire and whereas alongside his beloved wife Audrey and his family Jimmy has been a pillar of Grace and support nurturing not only his family but also the larger community as a mentor and role model and whereas as the last African-American business owner in a historically rich neighborhood once filled with family-run Enterprises Jimmy represents a Living testament to the resilience and contributions of the black community in Princeton and whereas he is more than beloved adored respected and looked up to he is revered for his austry professionalism sense of community dedication commitment and the love he has shown to so many people over so many years now therefore I Mark Freda mayor of the municipality of Princeton and the Council of Princeton County of Mercer state of New Jersey do hereby honor James Jimmy Mack for his profound impact on the Princeton Community recognizing him as a true legend whose Legacy will continue to inspire future Generations thank you sir [Applause] you don't hey would you like to say a few words huh would you like to say a few words I can't have get up no you don't have to get up I you like to L other council members thank you very much for this occasion and uh thanks again thank you everyone for coming and we're going to put the just want to again thank everyone just trying not to get emotional man for coming out for coming out to support Jimmy and what he has meant to each and every one of us to our families to all of Princeton thank you all for making this such a special night God bless [Music] you thanks for coming thank you for coming thank you guys very are the best man I didn't know s so that was the best moment all year can I have the mic since you didn't do it there is a sign in sheet for anyone that was here for Jimmy we want a a record of um your attendance so please sign in if you haven't already thank you oh where're oh thank you [Music] you left a couple of are those meant to be there I missed them or could I say Unity say Unity wherever found can I say found or do I do we even mention woman's face or [Music] not so I said that oh well I think right so maybe what we should do is let's leave women's space there and say women space now change this one to Unity okay sorry yeah that's [Music] okay we just get up for [Music] yes see [Music] here [Applause] [Music] back for [Music] [Music] [Music] minut [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all I'll [Applause] yeah for e [Music] [Music] all righty okay thank you everybody we're going to we're going to try to restart all right we're done all right [Music] all right everybody's welcome to hang out in the lobby we got to we got to do the rest of our meeting thank you yeah e although I forgot Tock I forgot luckily witha said to me this all says women's space I'm like oh yeah you're right we got to change your name that's fine they're not here tonight to take it so but we'll change it up so we have it for the second yep yep all good okay we're going to move on with our meeting next up we will do a uh so and in the hallway I think Mark sorry I think Andrew's in the hallway Andrew he left no no he said who whoever is supposed to get the whoever the recipient is didn't show up so he said we'll [Music] resched all right if we can get all the we'll all get back up here and we'll all right all right well it's going to take another minute here okay start singing Lon how you feeling [Music] David better good good well hopefully that will be the end of it for at least this year oh no did you do the PX [Music] no it good I'm here for you okay next up on our docket is we have another Proclamation and Leticia will take us through this one yes thank you so this is a proclamation for unity's 23rd annual communi of light whereas it is the policy of the municipality of Princeton to recognize organizations that have contributed to the overall benefit of the community and whereas woman space now called Unity founded in 1977 has demonstrated a unique ability to provide Comfort Support Services Crisis Intervention and safety to women men and children who are victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and whereas unity in the belief that peace begins at home has asked the Mercer County Community to join them in their struggle against violence towards women by participating in their annual communities of Life project and whereas Unity has provided emergency shelter in Secure locations and comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence since 1977 and sexual assault since 2002 for more than 128,000 152 women 17,635 children and 9,882 Men additional additionally Unity has assisted more than cycle of interpersonal violence imposed on women children and men and whereas the proceeds from communities of light 2024 will be used to fund vital services for victims of domestic violence sexual assault and human trafficking and now therefore I letisia Fraga on behalf of Mark frea mayor of the municipality of Princeton and the Council of Princeton County of Mercer state of New Jersey do hereby Proclaim December 2nd 2024 as communities of light day and hereby honor Unity on its many accomplishments and wish them continued success with communities of light in the years to come thank you Laticia and just as a reminder to everybody the community of Lights um event at least in Princeton will be on December 2nd and it should be at 5:00 pm. it might happen a few minutes later but if you're free it'll be 5:00 p.m. December 2nd out here on the steps to the plaza right off of Witherspoon Street okay announcements and reports any council members with announcements or reports for this evening okay terrific uh we have minuts from October 14 2024 our regular meeting and from October 28th 2024 our closed session meeting would e you're going to move them both thank you very much is there David second of them any question comments on either one if not all in favor of both please say I I I I okay next up public comments for items not on the agenda if anybody in the room or on Zoom yeah just come on over to the to the microphone state your name and address and three minutes to share whatever with us 11 113 Adams Drive Princeton New Jersey um two quick comments uh first one was about the kiosks uh I didn't know that they there was going to be a decision made about the kiosks until I read about in the town topics um and I may be in the minority but there was a letter written in the next week so I assume I'm not the only person who feels this way I love the kiosks I know they you some people here apparently feel they're an isore but but I don't feel that way I that's where I get a lot of my info I love walking down Nassau Street and reading those and finding out what's going on especially about arts and things like that um I love walking around Princeton campus where there are signs all over the lamp poles I mean I went to a small College we had a kiosk like that in town and that I I happen to love it so I just want to express that and I think if if we're going to come up with something new um I I would hope that it would be some something similar with that same sort of college town Vibe okay um second comment was which I don't even know if we have jurisdiction over and I I wrote to this to Eve about this the traffic signs coming from Harrison Street into town right before you get to the bridge where the cross is for the Canal Walk that turn there is brutal and there's no signs coming in there's signs going out but nothing coming in Is that West Windsor or is that us it's West Windsor so how would we how would I make some suggestions there yeah so two two things on the kios I I believe that we I don't believe I know that we all said or most of us said yeah we really want to remove the current ones but I think what was left out of the coverage on that may have been the fact that we said we are investigating what will replace them and there are literally a thousand options to replace them so we have to figure out how to like take the Thousand options down to maybe a manageable number and try to figure it out so I can't speak for the whole group but I assume there'll be further discussion at some point on what might replace the current kios great we recently had a discussion about all of Harrison Street literally from Route One yeah I did see that right and that was one of the things pointed out so we need to find a way to coordinate with West Windsor the DNR canal and I'm not sure who else to try to improve signage around that area so people that is tough you come around that curve and all of a sudden there's the crosswalk yeah I'm sorry David yeah I I think it may be a County Route at that point as well I know that it's some in some places it is and some it isn't but we certainly have um some leverage with the county yeah to ask for appropriate treatments there yeah so that's very much on our radar yeah thank you thanks Eve yeah thank you anybody else in the room have a comment for anything not on the agenda is there anybody on Zoom that had a comment for something not on the agenda okay I'll close that part of the meeting next up we have two ordinance introductions first is ordinance 2024-the and amending chapter 29 of the code of the burrow of Princeton New Jersey 1974 entitled outdoor dining the public hearing on this will be December 9th 2024 is there a motion thank you Michelle is there a second thank you roll call vote please miss Peron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss sax yes Miss Fraga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you ordinance 202 24-40 ordinance of the mayor and Council of the municipality of Princeton concerning salaries and compensation of certain Personnel of the municipality of Princeton the public hearing will be December 9th 2024 the TC has got the motion Eve's got got the second roll call vote Miss Peron lambrose yes M Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss sax yes Miss Fraga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you next up our resolutions 24- 341 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing release of a performance guarantee in the amount of $ 29,185 to 20 Palmer Square East LLC for preliminary slf final major site plan of 20 Palmer Square east-post office block 20.02 lot 70 is there a motion on that thank you David Sarah second thank you Leticia questions or comments all in favor please say I I I 24342 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing release of a performance guarantee in the amount of 97 ,000 $97,400 to The Institute for advanced study for preliminary slf final major site plan of Rubenstein Rubenstein Commons block 10501 lot 1.03 thank you Eve is there a second thank you uh Mia questions or comments all in favor please say I I I 24343 resolution of the mayor and Council authorizing renewal of membership in the mid Jersey municipal joint Insurance Fund if someone thank you Michelle is there a second Thank You Leon any questions or comments all in favor please say I I I I 24344 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of her Professional Services agreement to mans Woodward studios inc for Princeton Fire Department headquarters conceptual designs for $58,800 is there a motion on that thank you Michelle the TC got the second questions or comments David yeah um I don't know Mr Mayor or if you or um Bernie would be most appropriate to respond to this but we did receive a memo um a little bit late in the day explaining this um I'm not sure if members of the rep of the public had seen it but the scope of work seems uh pretty extensive it talks about known deficiencies of the existing building in regard to to uh environmental issues HVAC electrical ADA compliance and um it talks about um I I guess really examining the whole operations of the building rather than um Services just for an addition and so if somebody could speak to what those deficiencies are and help us understand a little bit better what's being addressed um by the by the scope of services here that would be great yeah I got it I got it yeah sure so what we're looking to do is um a couple things have happened since that Firehouse was built in 1992 one thing that continues to happen since that Firehouse was built in 1992 is that the roof continues to leak no matter what we've done to it so we're hoping to find someone that can actually solve that problem um since then we've also hired six full-time paid firefighters who are in the building 24 hours a day and the building was never designed for that additionally we recently took our fire inspectors and made them fire inspectors firefighters so they now spend all their time in that Firehouse we hired a paid fir Chief we have a new fire paid Fire official they're all in a firehouse that was never designed for them all to be there we still have activities that go on in the Chestnut Street Firehouse Princeton engine company number one as a social entity still operating in that building the fire police of the Princeton fire department operate out of that firehouse on chest Street also and there's still two staff belonging to the fire department at Monument Hall so to bring all of that into that building we need to do a major investigation of how to do that and that's going to include some Renovations and or additions to that building uh since it was built in 1992 all the mechanical systems are past the end of life uh the electrical system probably needs an updating and upgrading if we're going to expand the building um so yeah we're pretty much looking at somebody to come in and research the entire building and figure out how we're going to put all these all these uses into a building that never was designed for pretty much anything that we now want it to do yeah yeah I can't I can't really top that I just wanted to add though that um you know within the footprint itself I mean there's a it's really a lot of underutilized space um so you know I think it wasn't really designed as as as the mayor said but you know there can be a lot of changes there and you know as we grow in career and also to retain the volunteers and attract volunteers you want to have a more you know comfortable place you remember people have to you know sleep there and stay there and 24-hour shifts so um it's really important that you know we upgrade it um you know going through it um I can see where um it's really just not not comfortable um and not safe and there's a lot of things I didn't even know about the roof leaking but there you know there there are things that have come out um and you know I think everyone being Under One Roof so to speak really makes for efficiency so as we've grown and professionalized the fire department I think this is a really good move and it's a very comprehensive proposal uh so hopefully we'll come out with some good directives after that thank you yeah no great question any other questions I'm sorry yeah yeah that's okay um it it makes sense it sound sounds like they all need it makes sense to consolidate but just from a process perspective um U I'm just wondering like was it was a decision made because this is sort of the first many of us are hearing about this was there a decision made along the way by Council to or or or who where was when was the decision made to consolidate everyone maybe I'm not remembering it no I think this came from a number of places it was mentioned in the facility study um the fire chief has pointed out that in order to operate the fire department efficiently we needed everybody Under One Roof um I think there's other factors happening where it makes sense to take all the fire department functions out of different buildings uh the chest Street Firehouse for example and put them into this building so uh we internally had a committee from engineering and the fire department that put together an RFP and sent that out and then I think that's I think that's pretty much the history of that yeah okay was Council aware of that RFP I thought Council had been advised that we were doing that but I don't want to the fact that you're asking it makes me pause and saying yes they definitely were I think that's that's a pause worth taking so anyway um all of those uh uh just notations aside it it does sound like it makes sense however we got here yep y so noted I'm sorry L yeah um thank thank you Mark uh I I just want us to to I just want to point to what we received this afternoon um we just talked about the extent of what we're really trying to do in the firehouse and everything that you know we want to accomplish my question is in the very front part of it it says that this $58,000 is going to be spent for a a look at the next 5 years to me that's shortsighted I mean why would we be doing anything at all when you know we buy trucks and stuff the shelf life is for 20 years why why are we taking only a fiveyear look yeah we we we debated that internally with the with the fire chief um and the fire department and and Michelle as fire commissioner can jump in here too but I mean the fire department's in a time of flux so our volunteer membership is fairly low when we're hoping with the new fire chief that we are going to reverse that Trend and expand the number of volunteers to what it not what it used to be but at least have it to be uh uh significant again um so at this point it's really hard to know what what shape or form the fire department is going to be in more than 5 years from now it's that would just be a to be a guess as far as people um but I think if in my experience with these organizations if we plan for having a combination department at least for another five years whatever happens even if the combination Department can't exist the needs of a fully paid Department should still be able to be met by whatever we do yeah um yeah I I just we we just felt that trying to plan out more than five years would be be unrealistic and we'd just be taking a wild a wild ass guest to be honest okay all right well I you know I just my feeling is if if we're talking about smart growth that maybe at a minimum we would look at the next 10 years but that's just my opinion that's all thank you yeah yeah no I I I mean I get you I think yeah hang on we'll go I and I just want to remind everyone you know we saved we were able to combine the fire inspectors the fire inspectors are now certified as firefighters and vice versa so that interchange has saved us from adding an additional six so you know in order to really respond to fire calls um with enough PE enough you know um staff on the trucks uh we you know have these extra people now so we're trying to flex up and not add a lot more um because that can also erode the volunteer uh ranks as well um you know but what we're suffering in Princeton is Across the Nation you know there's just a lack of people coming out to volunteer both men and women um you know uh we really need to find another way of recruiting or you know hopefully things will change the other way but right now if things continue in the trend um you know but that's why I don't think we can look too far down the road because we're not sure what's going to happen um and we're you know we also have like you know facilities for uh women as well so you know hopefully we'll have both career and volunteer women coming into the firefighting ranks as well uh that you know would double our our our population for recruiting so anyway but it's a good point Lon thanks thank you e um so I have two questions one is about the output what what we're getting from this is a a list of recommendations we're not getting like architectural plans are we I I couldn't we are we're getting for $58,000 we're getting both a review of all this no okay that conceptual conceptu conceptual yeah not something that you're going to go out and bid something on okay so then The Next Step would be getting right okay um my other question is just a pitch for those of you who will still be here um to really think about resilience here that has got to be because if we're consolidating everything in one spot we can't afford for this one spot to be flooded to be cut off so um just uh at I did see a couple of referen to like Green Building I didn't see anything specific about climate resiliency but it's possible I missed it because I was running out of time and I had to hurry um but I just want to make sure that that is absolutely in the Forefront of everybody's mind because we could have a great you know Firehouse with all the most appropriate equipment and if it can't get to where it needs to go then uh yeah okay thank you point taken okay any other comments or questions all right all in favor please say I I I I all right next up is the consent agenda two items payment of bills and uh and approving uh affordable housing Home Improvement program loans so if everybody's good with the two of those Leticia I'd like I I actually have I I I don't know what the second one is so I'd like to pull it out and have an explanation all right so why don't we that's fine so why don't we just since they're numbered with the bills coming first why don't we just do uh resolution 24344 resolution of the mayor and Council authorizing the payment of bills and claims would somebody move that thank you David ltis has got the second questions all in favor please say I I I all right next up then would be 24 346 resolution of the mayor and Council of the municipality of Princeton authorizing and amending Princeton affordable housing Home Improvement program loans all right so ltis has got the motion Leon's got the second and Mia has a question what are we amending what is it what are we authorizing what are we authorizing and what are we amending there's it was in the resolution there's two loan applications one for 21 Birch for removal of an oil tank and installation of a new chimney liner the other one is 431 brick housee road for interior Renovations and upgrades to kitchen and bathroom and uh we're also doing work at 4117 okay The Way It Was Written can I jump in I think I think it's specific to a couple of properties it's not written it makes it sound we're amending a policy or something exactly so I don't need to that's fine exactly we forting yeah I read it like but when I heard your question I was like oh that makes sense Okay no Okay we uh all good yeah we pay a lot of attention to not bearing something in consent agendas unlike other some other public bodies so they nobody knows what they're doing oh I'm sorry did I say that out loud anyway that was moved and seconded any other questions or comments all right all in favor say I I David I move that we adjourn thank you is Sir a second thank you Michelle all in favor say I I okay we're done very nice 747 gotta love it