okay everybody please take your seats we're about to begin ready okay this a thesis I call this meeting to order this is the business meeting of council May 13 2024 roll call gaas here Jers here mandal here Weiss here Whitfield here have we been adequately noticed for this meeting yes we were adequately noticed on January 19th 2024 to the times the Princeton packet filed with the clerk and posted in the Township Municipal Building would everybody please rise for the salute to the flag we have uh two matters under ceremonial matters this evening uh Andrea Mandel will read a proclamation for Jewish American heritage month thank you Linda um we started about two years ago we did a Hindu American heritage month we've done a did a Jewish American we've done Muslim American of course we've done um Black History Month um and uh this month is uh month of May is Jewish American heritage month so I'm going to read the proclamation from West Windsor whereas West Windsor is proud of its Rich cultural history and the many people who call our town home and whereas our vibrant and diverse Jewish American Community constitutes a vital element of the town ship's diverse ethnic and social fabric whose languages and cultures have enriched the lives of its citizens and whereas the United States of America has proclaimed may as Jewish American heritage month since 2006 recognizing over 350 years of the Jewish people's contributions to our culture and community and as whereas Jewish Americans love of family community and hard work as well as their commitment to to freedom and justice for all people have helped to strengthen and uphold the founding principles of our nation for generations and whereas Jewish American entrepreneurs researchers and Educators strengthen our economy and our community through their dedication and Ingenuity inspiring the next generation of American innovation by example and whereas Jewish Americans have made significant contributions across all Fields including Science Education medicine law politics business culture military service charity Sports and More and whereas Jewish Americans in West Windsor contribute to our community every day as volunteers First Responders Educators medical professionals business owners uh service Personnel professionals and in government and whereas during the month of May the Jewish Community comes together to celebrate its thousands of years of heritage and tradition rooted in Israel and the diaspora throughout the world and whereas we recognize the many contributions the Jewish American Community has made to our beloved nation state and Township and reaffirm our total rejection of anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry now therefore be it resolved on the 13th day of May 2024 by the mayor and Township Council of the township of West Windsor County of Mercer and state of New Jersey that the mayor mayor and Township Council recognize may as Jewish American Heritage Month in perpetuity thank you thank you Andrea okay um the mayor is here uh to give his annual state of the township address mayor morate she meant mayor is here because he's always late so he runs on Indian time so thank you council president Jas and council members for your kind invitation to give my state of the township address every year I wonder what am I going to say in this address that people don't know already we are fortunate to live in a great community and our Township is in great shape like my family many of you choose to move here like me you don't regret your decision thankfully many families choose to stay in West wisor long after their kids graduate from college I know friends who have paid taxes long after their kids have left maybe grudgingly but they love all West Wind has to offer and appreciate that this community has given their family I want to thank every resident for making West Wier a great Community while talking to people throughout the year I realize that sometimes people don't appreciate the complexity and limitations of the mayor and Township government I always say jokingly I wish I was a king I will answer some of the common questions I've received over the years let me start with the budget a CFO John will make a budget presentation during the meeting tonight I'm sorry to steal some of his thunder tonight the council will vote on the 2024 Township budget I'm proud of the transparent and open process the mayor and Council uses to review the budget which is how we strive to do everything every day the council held open budget hearing for over 9 hours over 3 days to go over the budget line by line before it was even introduced every citizen had an opportunity to comment and give suggestions both mayor and Council heard The public's desire for more lighting and pedestrian safety as a result the council increased the budget in those areas even above and beyond the increases proposed by the administration the township has two caps on the budget most people are aware of the 2% cap on tax increases which means that the total taxes raised by the township cannot increase more than 2% compared to last year year doesn't mean your taxes necessarily won't increase more than 2% but the total taxes that we collect this year our tax levy is increasing by 1.44% well under the cap the less understood cap is the G on total operational expenditures which in this year is total of 3.5% with an additional 1% uh that the council will vote on tonight that means the township can't spend SP more than 3.5% than what we spent last year we are making full use of that 3.5% cap this increase has to take care of the high inflationary price increases we have seen across the board as well as the new state mandates and maintenance of infrastructure a number of people have privately told me that they willing to pay higher taxes for a particular service some examples are in increase maintenance amenities for roads and public spaces as well as some brand new items like additional street lights and flashing beacons at pedestrian Crossing since we have maxed out the expenditure cab any increase in one area has to match dollar for dollar a decrease in some other area I often hear about high taxes paid by residents and the implication being we should be able to provide any service that a person desires I want to point out that although municipal government does collect your property taxes about 85% are passed through to the county and the school district an average household in West Windor pays only 2,246 in annual Municipal Taxes or about $187 per month that is all the township gets to keep in return you get all services provided by the municipal government police fire garbage and recycle pickup snow removal brush and leaf pickup health department and Senior Center Services roads street lights sidewalks Street trees and parks I'm certain I've missed a few things on the list just to reiterate all those services for just $187 a month compare that to your phone bill or your cable bill or your homeowners association dues and you will realize how good a deal it is by every measure the taxpayers are getting full bank for their tax dollars from the municipal government John will cover the budget in detail in this presentation I would like to highlight some of the increases in the budget based on community input we are hiring two new police officers this year he he will still say it's not enough but he's see he's not in his heal residents repeatedly point out issues such as cars not stopping at crosswalks blowing past top school buses or in general speeding our police do a daily enforcement and ride their own share of tickets hiring two new officers will help us increase enforcement however police can't be there at every Loc at every time at my request for one week the West Wister police kept track of sources of tickets they rode during that week on internal roads not counting Route One between 60 to 70% of tickets on every road were issued to West wi residents that's our friends neighbors and in some cases ourself who are responsible for traffic issues the police will continue to do their job but a permanent and a long-term solution is for each of us to be cognizant of our own driving habits in light of the accident unfortunate accident last year on robbit Hill Road residents have asked for more Street lighting crosswalks with flashing beacons and new sidewalks at various locations so let me address all three requests as I have pointed out in the past Street lighting is an expensive annual item last year the township paid $415,000 to jcpnl and psng for Street lighting this is an annual expense out of operating budget this year after Council requested an increase above and beyond what the administration had already proposed we have budgeted $450,000 we have not finalized all locations but I can confirm at least the following locations Rabbit Hill Road including the intersections with cranberry Road 571 and all side streets we'll be replacing six existing light fixtures with brighter lights and installing eight new lights Bennington Drive we will upgrade four existing street lights granberry Road in the area of new sidewalk and crosswalks five new street lights and one upgrade North Post Road two new street lights Conover Road ex exiting the scurve four new street lights these are all lights we have agreed to with PNG in addition to that we are in discussion with PNG for installing 10 new lights on brabrook road from Windor Haven to me road at new sections and the curve on that road there are no lights on that road at this time we continue to evaluate locations in town where upgrading or installing new lights is appropriate if you have suggestions please pass it on please be mindful that it takes psng approximately 4 to six months to install or upgrade lights after we give them approval so it may be early fall before these projects are completed regarding flashing beacons at crosswalks these are far more expensive to install than street lights and the cost varies depending on the location based on what available infrastructure is there every time we do a road we look for opportunities to make it more pedestrian and bicycle friendly which includes whether a flashing Beacon and sidewalks I'm crosswalks will be appropriate this year we are evaluating Crossing beers at a number of locations we have already installed two on be Brook Road and one on Rabbit Hill Road near the trolley Line Trail one is designed for Alexander Road at crosswalk to Nash Park and which should be installed by late summer one on pen l Road and trolley Line crossing we are discussing the pricing with the contractor and we hope that two will be installed by end of summer we are actively looking at three School crosswalk locations on New Village Road near Village School and grower middle school and also at pen L and K Brook near High School South the locations of these improvements is based on on input from the police and Engineering thank you to the bicycle and pedestrian Alliance The Rabbit Hole Road residents and other residents who have given input on Crossing areas around town lastly there's always request for more sidewalks it is a complicated issue because sometimes the residents who are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk after it's constructed are not as enthusiastic about the project as other folks the township does install the sidewalk but once we install it it's local residents responsibility for snow cleaning and other maintenance of the sidewalk as evidenced by two phases of the Cranberry Road sidewalks these projects take a long time we are committed to Extended the Cranberry Road sidewalk to connect to the trolley line trail near Rabbit Hill Road this budget that will be voted on tonight allocates $50,000 to design that extension we hope to fund the construction cost of over $400,000 over the next two budgets there's no argument that traffic is increased in town or the past 30 years since my family moved here residential developments both in West Wier and surrounding towns contributed to this increase the state requires us to build new housing under the affordable housing legisl ation as mayor I committed to doing whatever I can on both fronts to reduce development resulting in increase traffic and find solutions to the existing traffic problems the fact is traffic in West Wier will continue to increase due to developments approved by us and neighboring towns that are still under construction in order to reduce the burden I am committed to Reviving two bypass projects that that have only been talked about since I moved to Town the wry bypass and the pens snake bypass through SRI property I'm happy to report that the first part of the van Drive bypass that is connecting the new road a from Avalon development to the New Jersey Transit train station lot is planned to be completed before this fall that will provide an access alternate path to residents of Avalon development to get to Route One why Alexander Road you'll have to go through the parking lot but you can get there we are in active discussions with the county to complete the remaining portion of the bypass to provide a proper connection to Alexander Road I can't commit to the time frame because lot of other parties are involved but it has been my priority every years since I got elected mayor and I am fairly confident that with the new County Executive we will get it done any develop velopment for Sri property that comes before me require construction of pens snake bypass connecting Washington Road through SRI property to Route One near Harrison Street since the proposed Road will be entirely through West wior we will not have to worry about objections from any of our neighboring townships the good news is that in spite of these spending increases there's no tax increase in this budget the Municipal Taxes are flat at 428 cents since I became mayor in 2017 the total tax rate has increased from 0.418 in 2018 0.428 in 2024 an increase of 2.4% over a period of 7 years or approximately onethird of a percent every year this while increasing our Surplus from $1.5 million when I got elected mayor to $7.8 million in the proposed budget an increase of over 420 per. no wonder we continue to maintain our AAA rating making it less expensive to borrow for capital projects the Township's excellent financial performance is a direct result of welcoming businesses to town when I became mayor I started a TRC or technical Review Committee to review applications before they come to the planning board that has smoothed the process down and has moved applications much faster we have attracted more businesses to town as a result our total assessment increased by over $225 million over 7 years in spite of a temporary drop during covid from Nays you'll constantly hear only about warehouses but the fact is although all our neighboring towns have built many warehouses we don't have a single one in town yet instead we have attracted many small businesses just to name a few as examples and you will see council members going for ribbon cutting all the time it's strong in mcaf mall I can't pronounce this two J and mango mango huri Mal Liberty martial art Hutchinson homes in Elsworth Plaza Jersey Mike Sub in Fong 571 Rumble boxing in Whole Foods Market Mall more than Q The Container Store and Starbucks in Trader Joe's Mall oen jaot Floor and Decor blue stone Lane Cafe just salad Goldfish Swim School burn boot camp Planet Fitness passer malum Playa ball in Nasa Park pavilion and I have probably not named many more that have come down many new businesses will be part of what will become the Burling walkable downtown area of princet nightown road that many have asked for over the years we have been working closely with merer County on R redoing that section of 571 between Cranberry Road and Clarksville road to improve bicycle pedestrian and road safety with sidewalks and safer Crossing again I'm optimistic that with the new County Executive the project will move much faster than it has moved during the last six years I'm happy to report that the retail environment in West Wier is healthy I'll encourage all residents to support these great businesses and all others in town this brings me to unfortunate wasteful spending that we must include in the budget last year we spent $1 $25,000 out of budgeted $275,000 defending a baseless lawsuit against approval of the Brick point8 Warehouse complex on quicker Bridge Road which is at the edge of our town the courts ruled in our favor on every count of the lwuit in an unambiguous fashion sadly the plaintiffs who are West Wier residents and taxpayers choose to appeal which has forced us to budget another 250 $ 4,000 this year to defend that lawsuit that's like putting four or five Crossing beacons with the approval of new affordable housing legislation and potential of the site to house over 3,000 Apartments I had hoped the plaintiffs would see the light but sadly we are forced to spend taxpayer money in an unproductive fashion this brings me to the topic for affordable housing a state man I have spent considerable time making sure does not adversely affect West Wier the legislature came up with a new law and process for each Township to fulfill our affordable housing obligation the new process has never been used so it's anybody's guess how well it will work however West Wier always has bull size on our back because every Builder wants to build in West TN it's easy to sell the houses and make profit I want to make sure we do everything possible to prepare ourselves for the next round under the new legislation passed the township is required to file various reports with the DCA that's Department of Community Affairs between June and September by October 20th of this year the DCA will publish their non-binding obligation of each town so they will essentially tell us how many units we are responsible for and again uh our ratio in our town is 25% so if they say you need one unit then we need to build three regular price units for every one affordable units so we end up building four times as many units as they tell Our obligation is by January 31st of next year West wi council is either required to adopt a binding resolution either accepting the number assigned by the DCA or a number based on our own determination of our fourth round obligation a lengthy process Will Follow That resolution and potential of Landing in court is significant just as a reference during the last round West Winter West wi spend over $500,000 coming with a settlement with the fair share housing center I hope given how proactive West Wier is we will not have to spend unproductive money on lawsuits to come up with our fourth round obligation I want to assure residents they have already started work to protect our interest when DCA determines Our obligation by October 20th we will be prepared with the homework I will keep all residents updated as the process moves along since I became became elected mayor every year a group of volunteers have hosted the mayor's ball it's not an official Township function but run by a group of volunteers they raised funds for a nonprofit organization and have so far raise funds for both volunteer fire department police department the historical society and Arts Council and we sadly lost two years during covid this year's recipient is attitude in Reverse for a here is a great local organization that does work in breaking down stigma associated with M mental illness the founders trishan C Breakers local residents have channeled their personal pain into helping others and I've been fortunate to know them all these years the M ball committee will hold various events around town throughout the year the first event of the year is Dive Into Summer at West wi Waterworks on June 21st please support this worthy cause in whatever form you can as the mayor I made the face of the township but the town is run by various Township boards and committees appointed by the mayor and Township Council many volunteers continue to serve for a number of years without any compensation the the some of the Committees and boards are agricultural advisory and afford able housing committee human relations Council environmental recreational and shry commissions planning and zoning boards we are also blessed with some other volunteer organizations not related to Township governments such as the two volunteer fire departments foras or friends of West Wier open space ww BPA West Wier bicycle and pedestrian Alliance farmers market and parking authority they all make West Wier a great place to live uh you will find many of those Volunteers in the audience today so please thank them please thank all these volunteers for their selfless service to the township before I close I would like to acknowledge one special individual for whom this is her last state of the township address as an employee G Uber our Township cler is going to retire in a few months after 35 years of service to the Township in various capacities she's a wife life long West Wier resident having born and brought up in West Wier graduating from the high school as she would say if any of you want to complain about all the taxes you have paid over the years she has beat you by a mile apart from being a Township employee she and her family has volunteered for the fire department and Historical Society among other volunteer activities although technically Township Clerk works for the township Council and that means she's my opposition I'm thankful for all the support she has given me since I got elected mayor G thank you for you and your family for your service who West win sir you will be missed thank you as I meet people around town I am honored and humbled by your kind words and support thanks for the opportunity you have given me since 2001 to serve in various capacities as School Board member School Board president council member and currently as your mayor given the craziness going on in partisan politics today I'm glad West wicer as a nonpartisan form of government it's a privilege being the mayor of one of the best towns in the in the country God bless West Wier God bless the state of New Jersey and God bless America thank you thank you mayor marate and appreciate the uh the level of detail that's in there very it was great gay we'll have many uh a lot of time for goodbyes in the coming months so uh we don't I'm not looking forward to that at all but um You' worked very very hard actually the real story was we had a bet I she likes more short speeches so she had told the year I give speech longer than 10 10 minutes she's going to retire and I broke that last year okay all right um we'll move on now to the uh first public comment so if anyone would like to make a public comment please come to the microphone and state your name and address yeah my name is Joel murof I live over at the Village brand where I'm a resident there for 23 years and I didn't come with any uh planned questions but if the mayor spoke I have a question regarding the uh Land Between The Village Road and 571 on Old Trenton Road where they're doing all those monstrous constructions with new developments coming in as it is there's a certain amount of traffic there that's been building up even before that for various reasons which I'm sure we're all aware of what should we expect now with those hundreds or maybe thousands of more people moving in there on these on Lane roads going back in that area back and forth in that area well um we'll you can either answer now or we'll answer it when public comment sorry I had to step out for an urgent call so which part of the town oh um you're talking about Old Trenton Road is Village Grant then there's a new senior Development coming in both sides same side and then across the Street of the havan havan one side there's two coming in there's also one coming in uh in East Windsor which is next to the new one in in West Windsor yeah on the west side of the road I'm kind of wondering what we could expect traffic wise with it car and building up uh even before uh that area is built up it's going to probably be uh one uh frustrating trip to get across that road is there any plans for improving the traffic over there well yeah uh it's count unfortunately as I said because there's new housing the people have to go somewhere so traffic will increase but when that development in East Winder is built the road is going to be narrower and the police are enforcing you can't park on the side of the road now uh we have started we gave them enough warning now we started enforcing them it will be a a three lane road with a turning lane so that will kind of calm traffic down and there'll be an additional traffic light between elements and Old Trenton Road when the West Wind development is built uh sorry East Wind development is built it's going to be outside that's a midpoint between uh elements and uh 571 so there'll be another traffic light there and then the roads will be narrower with no no side parking yeah but it'll remain one way going back and forth I guess say that again one one one way Road One Way each way one way each way with the turning lane in the middle okay when when that project is done yes yeah okay well thanks for everything you do West Windsor is a great place to live thank you and thanks for having having you here in town thank you yeah good evening John Church 11 Princeton Place I want to thank the mayor for a great Township uh state of the township address learned some new things tonight I didn't know yet and I'll want to read the actual written message when it comes no you're good keep going that was a short I got reti no you you said nice things so you get extra minute I get extra minute okay really really very much appreciated a very very fine address and uh I'm looking forward to the budget hearing uh in past years I've paid a lot more attention to the budget than I did this year and so many other things going on this spring including trips to various places but uh good work uh mayor and Council keep it up thank you good thank you and gab we will get the U mayor's uh Township address up on the website so people ma'am yes good anyone else for public comment okay seeing none uh we'll move on to Administration comments I have several announcements this evening the first is that Public Works is uh began collecting yard waste and um leaves in zone two um residents are reminded that they need to separate yard waste from leaves um that allows the crews to uh work more efficiently in terms of collecting and Hauling to the uh ecological Center over in Hamilton municipal offices will be closed Monday May 27th in observance of Memorial Day there will be no trash collection on that day because of the national holiday um people who have trash collection on Monday Thursday will only have trash collected on Thursday May 30th residents with a Tuesday Friday collection will receive both collections for that week and on May 27th Public Works your yard will be closed I'm sorry on May 25th Saturday Public Works Yard will be closed for a drop off have a have a safe holiday thank you and then the final announcement is the Motor Vehicle Commission is having the mobile van coming to West Windsor sen Center 271 Clarksville Road they'll be here Tuesday May 28th and Wednesday May 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 2: p.m there's a registration link on the township website there are a number of things that you can do at Van you can uh get driver's licenses non-driver identification cards real ID registrations license plates placards and exam per permits one thing that cannot be done is the test for um I guess the driver driver the actual driver yeah driving test um again um it's recommended that you make an appointment online it's been very popular we've had um I think this is the third or fourth visit and they've spent two days third visit this year so it's popular and um it's advisable um for you to make a uh online reservation that's all I have I did so for the uh the ID so definitely if you need any of those things just uh sign up get an appointment and and one thing that's different is before you couldn't go for real ID uh if you had more than whatever six months left on your license there is an option where if you do have um if you have more time left on your license you can still go get the new real ID because I think they're getting serious now about requiring real ID as an as an ID to fly so uh it's worth doing okay all right council member comments um we'll go around the table Dan thank you madam um couple couple little things um Wednesday There's the um Annual Ride of Silence this is a bike ride that's done nationally uh in memory of all the bikes B bicyclists that have been killed in bike accidents it starts at 7M right by the police station it's about an hour long ride and wonderful way to show your support um primary elections are coming up in the beginning of June uh June 4th um if you have been registered to vote by mail your ballot should have arrived or about to and the the uh the Dropbox is open in front of the senior center Mercer County is doing a educational discussion on the 18th at the Lawrence Library it's a conversation that will include uh the County municipal clerk the uh Walter worthy who's the superintendent of Elections for Mercer County and um Jill Moyer who's the chair women of the Board of Elections an open discussion about how to vote different ways of voting in in Mercer County as well as a demonstration of the voting machines so at 6 pm on the 18th um and finally this past weekend I had the opportunity to address High School North's model Congress conference which was a a wonderful um display of uh of our Future Leaders it was organized by the high school it included the uh uh Upper Elementary School um not not the Upper Elementary the middle school students so a lot of rising Rising high school students came to to learn about uh the process of running a Congress and creating legislation and and the Art of negotiation and decision-making and it was really wonderful to see um that our community is truly filled with with a lot of Future Leaders thank you good thanks thanks Dan Sonia thank you um happy Mother's Day to everybody um though it was a very wet and cold Mother's Day unlike uh other years where I get to plant my flowers I couldn't do that um it's miday and we still kind of little chil though it feels good for me I feel it feels feels good um mayor thank thank you for um giving a very detailed um add address um there's a lot of information there um and uh we'll go through the budget hearing a little later gay I'll reserve my goodbyes for later um we still have a few months to go though I don't want to think about it um I I did get to attend the um Community Middle Schools um seventh and eighth grades um spring B concert this P past week um I've been away staying away from a lot of events this school year but this was the first event that I actually got to attend um and it was really um wonderful to see what our middle schoolers um can produce um one of the highlights of that production was um one one of our um alumni students uh who a musician his piece was um produced by our um 8th grade um middle schoolers so that was really nice to see um I'm sure um the concert is on YouTube um School District's YouTube channel so if anybody wants to go watch it they can do that this Saturday I also attended a surviving and thriving um event for breast cancer um and the spousal support so there was a discussion on um you know we always talk about the person who's going through the cancer treatment we always talk about them and ask about them but um spouses who are the caretakers um kind of feel left out so that was a very important discussion and hearing from their point of view was um very heartwarming to see um it was a cursor event precursor event to a Gala um in October which is um breast cancer awareness month so um I'll get more information on that and um let everybody know about that event um Saturday was also um the farmers market um I briefly went to the farmers market and it was um really nice to see the weather was nice and it was bustling so that was really great Saturday was nice yes absolutely um it's uh just um good to see um there are many um end of the Year celebrations coming up um in our schools so just keep an eye out for that um I did hear from many many residents about um people not waiting for school buses so just a reminder when the school bus stops and the red lights are flashing please take a stop don't try to overtake give yourselves five minutes extra to get wherever you are going so you don't put others in danger thank you thank you very much Andrea um yeah I got to go to the farmers market the week before on the Saturday which was I guess the opening day and um that was that was very nice some of the usual groups were there um think bik ped was there yes and um Historical Society um and there was um you know the usual food and it was it was really nice um and then Historical Society I got to uh got to go to the potluck dinner on Saturday night so that that was nice too I want to thank you to mayor morathi for his comprehensive state of the township address it's not easy to summarize a whole Year's worth of action and future plans into a few minutes just I guess a lot less few minutes than you usually do uh but I know he put He put a lot of thought into it and I would suggest uh you know it's it's going to be up on YouTube and there be a printed version so uh if you couldn't take it all in in the first sitting it's it's it'll be available again um tonight we're going to be voting on The 2024 Municipal budget council's put a lot of hours into studying and discussing it residents have weighed in I'm proud of the final result and I look forward to the public hearing and we'll make any comments after as we uh deliberate on the budget speaking of budgets on Tuesday April 30th I tend to along with the mayor and my fellow council members the West Windsor Plainsboro board of education budget presentation I encourage everyone to look at it so you can see where the largest part of your property tax goes to fund our excellent schools and on Friday May 3rd I attended the first North South High School cricket match in community park Cricket has really taken off in the schools and we did hear from the um Board of Ed about how supportive both West Windsor and Plainsboro have been uh as towns in the um uh cricket program because the schools don't have a Cricket field yet so um they've been playing in places like Community Park um this P past Saturday I was at an EV show that was held by the Lawrence uh Green Team uh electric vehicles are very popular in West Windsor and if you're considering your next vehicle there are many people that can give you firsthand information on Saturday afternoon I want to thank the Indian Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton for their Hospitality at their annual holy event I saw many people I knew and had a good time Monday May 27th is Memorial Day and the annual Memorial Day Parade to honor our flen soldiers who gave their lives for this country please come out starting around 10:30 to watch the parade and attend the ceremony at Town Hall the parade goes from the high school to town hall and there are always people cheering on the Sidelines I've heard rumors that there'll be some people giving candy out um but it's it's always a um it's always a very inspiring patriotic event um I'd like to thank the veterans the Girl Scouts the Boy Scouts and the sports teams that participate in the parade along with our police and fire departments and thank you to gay for organizing it and for doing so for many more years than I can remember uh and I and I remember back probably years 30 years so yeah so um thank thank you thank you Andrea Martin sure thank you madam president uh thank you mayor as well uh for your state of the township address this evening we appreciate the detailed information uh tonight I wanted to do something kind of unique and a little different uh obviously you know I like to speak about people within our community or within our Administration and Township um and tonight I wanted to kind of highlight uh taon Jenkins uh most people have no idea who he is or what he does uh he's our videographer um here for the school district West wi Plainsboro school district and as well for Our Town Council meetings um You probably have never seen him most people within our community uh he sits right here in the back and he's in the back now but I just wanted to uh kind of just kind of give people information typically something like this may be done around veterans time but I think it's acknowledging because he does so much uh throughout this United States of America throughout this state so I just kind of wanted to acknowledge Him um he is a a member of the Wounded Warriors Project and at the heart of the Wounded Warrior Project lies a profound commitment to supporting veterans facing both visible and invisible wounds uh founded in 2003 the Wounded Warriors Project has grown from providing bedside Comfort to wounded service members to offering comprehensive programs spanding mental health career counseling and long-term rehabilitative care for for individuals like first lieutenant taon Jenkins the impact of the wound Warrior Project transcends mere assistance is a Lifeline uh Jenkins is a public affairs officer with the 177th fighter weighing New Jersey Air National Guard found soless and camaraderie through wwp after sustaining a back injury during deployment being able to connect with other Warriors share experiences and face the challenges headon helped him to come out of that hole Jenkin a test Jenkins a test the annual soldier ride that he's a he is a part of exemplifies the Wounded Warrior Project ethos offering Wounded Warriors a platform to challenge themselves physically and mentally while fostering Community connections Jenkins recently had the privilege to ride alongside fellow warriors on the south lawn of the White House and also Jenkins was honored to represent the Wounded Warrior Project on a special episode of Family Feud recognizing his dedication to fellow service members and I actually watched that episodes uh air November 2022 I I watched that and uh he did pretty good on family field I got I gotta give him credit uh Beyond his military service Jenkins epitomizes Civic engagement in altruism from leading relief effort post Hurricane Sandy to volunteering with disadvantaged youth his impact reverberates far and wide a graduate of the College of New Jersey and a recipient of numerous accolades Jenkins embodies resilience and service in his journey with the Wounded Warrior Project taan jains has not only found healing but has emerged as a Beacon of Hope for others as a warrior speaker and M of the Wonder Warriors Project national campaign he continues to inspire and uplift fellow veterans Nationwide taon Jenkins attributes his service to his sister who was unfortunately raped and later murdered in Philadelphia by an ex-boyfriend when faced with the decision of staying quiet she chose to report her Predator with the goal that he would not do this to any other person the day she tragically lost her life Jen gained purpose in his it came to no surprise that while attending the College of New Jersey he witnessed the terror attacks of 9/11 and decided to protect his country coming home from deployment he was faced with numerous challenges but with the support of the W Warrior project taan completed an MBA and a doctorate of Business Administration has been inducted in the Asbury Park High School Hall of Fame and continues to provide scholarships to at risk youth from his hometown in Asbury Park and has a road sign dedicated to his sister and grandmother as he embarks on the new Journey with an upcoming deployment he knows that leaving the comfort of home is with a greater purpose of protecting the values that we hold sacred I just want to mention a few of uh taishan's volunteer opportunities there's so many but I'll just name a few uh he's a peer support group leader part of the highway road cleanup with the June truart adopter Highway he's a member and volunteer with the National Guard Association of the United States he has been mentoring minority students at the College of New Jersey for years he's a volunteer with the veterans of foreign foreign Wars participates in read Across America mentorship for Asberry Park High School students uh he's been a member of the Thai program involvement with the boys and girls club and he's been a public speaking individual with many engagements with a wounded warrior program Across the Nation he's also one of my f proud Brothers uh in the fraternity of alpha alpha Fraternity Incorporated and I just want to take the time you know as a community we talk about so many great individuals and this indidual has worked for our school district and for our Township and he does so much and we we talk about community and coming together and doing for others um selflessness is something we're trying to teach our next Generation a young generation and when someone is as selfless as this I just really felt it was a time for us to acknowledge it so I just want to thank Tashan for all the work he does we're very proud of him I see him sometimes school board and just such an inspiring young Martin can we borrow your speech Yes for the record absolutely yes absolutely all right I went a few minutes over but I thought it was worth it I thought it was worth it tonight very something that that anything else that's it okay all right so um also happy Mother's Day to uh to everyone um you know we mentioned that at rain yesterday but uh one of my neighbors sent a a picture around on the WhatsApp group and there's a a baby fawn there under under tree so it's kind kind of like made it a little bit brighter even though it's raining so that was wonderful um thanks to the wwp Board of Education uh for the dinner and the uh school budget presentation by Dr aderhold um there's Township officials each year and administrators from both West Windsor and Plainsboro who are invited uh also like to thank all the uh teachers and administrators who provide our students uh an excellent education uh attended on May 3rd at Community Park the inaugural uh High School North versus High School South uh cricket match uh the teams are co-ed and part of a newly formed Spring sport so that was um very exciting that the fields uh over there are are available for this it's very popular sport now uh thanks to all who donated to the West Windsor Lions Club uh fundraiser on Saturday uh I was collecting uh donations along with my fellow uh club members out outside of McCaffrey's uh and the money goes to several initiatives including but not limited to Eye Care thousands of meals for those in need and Pediatric Care um encourage everyone to join us uh for the Memorial Day parade and services uh following that and um usually we have the high school students are are also playing um you know a lot of wonderful uh songs patriotic songs so we have a very nice celebration there uh finally uh congratulations to Eagle ran Sha of Scouts BSA Troop 40 uh on Saturday at the Eagle court of honor ceremony was my pleasure to present Ryan uh with a proclamation from the mayor Ryan's Eagle Scout project involved painting curbside addresses uh within his residential development uh this will help First Responders in increase their uh emergency response times and the eagle scout is the highest advancement rank in boy scouting clerk any clerk now you guys covered it we covered okay all right we're gonna go um down to the hearings let me just the first one is the c bank right let me let me just make the comment about the process um mayor morate and administration worked on the 2024 Municipal budget and 2024-25 capital Improvement program for several months at the completion of this work in late February the documents were then transmitted to Council in accordance with State guidelines and were also placed on the municipal website for The public's viewing the T of council then held public special budget meetings which occurred on March 7th March 19th and March 21st at each meeting department heads presented to council their 2023 accomplishments and 2024 goals and objectives council members asked questions and made comments at the end of these meetings public comment was taken uh these meetings were also broadcast Live on YouTube and recorded for rebroadcast tonight we have two hearings one on the introduced ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank and then the one on the proposed 2024 Municipal budget West Winder Chief Financial Officer John M will make opening presentations for the introduced ordinance and for the proposed 2024 budget uh at both of these hearings tonight Bill antones uh who's a registered Municipal accountant is also available to answer any questions so with that we begin John thank you president um tonight before you is the um public hearing for the cola ordinance 20 24 it pertains to the budget appropriation C and serves as a financial planning tool for the subsequent years's operating budgets the ordinance must be adopted prior to adoption of the 2024 budget the director division of local government services as established at the 2024 budget shall be limited 2.5% cap increase on the amount of the budget subject to the cap local government cap law provides an increase to 3. 5% by adopting this ordinance adoption of this ordinance permits the township to increase its appropriation by $363,900 6 as a cap bank for the 25 and or 26 budgets adoption of the cola ordinance permits necessary increases to Appropriations up to the statutory permitted 3.5% and bank for up to two years any unused Appropriations authorized the vote to approve the call ordinance requires a separate action excuse me from the introduction and Adoption of the annual budget the vote on the municipal budget determines the amount of appropriation authorized to be spent in fiscal calendar year if the ordinance is not passed tonight Council cannot adopt a 2024 budget um like I said and the mayor had brought up in his speech um you know our Pro our problem going forward is the appropriation cap we getting Tighter and tire Tighter and Tighter each year initially uh the introduction budget only had a $700 balance in appropriation cap but the division local government through the local Finance board met and gave us exemptions which allowed us to um Bank 139,000 this year that we can move forward for the next two years so it is the recommendation of the mayor and administration and myself that we do adopt this um Co orance tonight with that said I'd like to turn this back to the president and um you can now open it up for public hearing on on this document by right so um anyone that uh wishes to make a public comment please come up to the microphone state your name and address um and you'll have up to three minutes and this is for 202 24-10 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank come yeah you want to make a public comment please come to the microphone thank you John church again 11 Princeton Place I support this ordinance I think you should pass it uh these are hard times that we live in and uh we we do need to make sure that we can Finance the town and do all the things we need to do uh in the past perhaps it wasn't this way but this this year it is this way so and and for past couple of years so uh go ahead please and pass this ordinance and thank you very much thank you okay anyone else all right seeing none uh can I have a motion to close public comment so second gaas yes mandal yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes a motion approved and a motion to uh adopt so moved second gaas yes mandal yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes okay motion approved okay we'll move on to the 2024 budget presentation hearing and adoption yes thank you president um the 2024 budget has been reviewed by the divisional local government and the division has given me the okay to adopt the budget tonight um just a little background um every three years um the local government the vision of local government requires the town to be reviewed um at the state level and this year was our year for review I'm happy to say the bottom line on the budget did not change our our budget went through a a very thorough process couple minor changes um had to move one line from out to in and a couple um additional dedication by Riders added to it um but the overall total budget and the impact has not changed so we are good for adoption with that said I will um begin the slide presentation on the budget first one is a total budget comparison the total Municipal budget for 2024 is ,27xn- of the total budget which funds 192 full-time and multiple part-time and temporary employees the budget decreased by $427,500 compared to last year's 50 m697 525 budget um the next slide is the department percentage to Total um Public Safety continues to represent the largest portion of admissible budget at 2.89% this includes police fire and first aid services statutory expenditures including uh FICA which is your federal income taxes um I mean excuse me your Social Security Medicare um PS which is public employees retirement system and pfrs which is your police and fire Retirement Systems and the reserve for uncollected taxes represent 14 . 45% of the budget one of the other larger items is the insurance cost which comprise of 14.30% of the budget and it includes liability workers compensation employees benefits and unemployment insurance annual service charges excuse me Debt Service representing 8.84% of the budget includes principal and interest cost for capital projects as well as 5% down payment required for projects to be authorized in 2024 and any deferred charges annual survey charges to the Stony Brook Regional sewage Authority makes up 7.14% of the budget the Department of Public Works represents 5.61% of the budget which includes road maintenance snow removal services maintenance of the sanitary sewer system parks and open space facilities residential Refuge recycl collection and Disposal cost represent 6.10% of the budget the Department of Community Development which includes the budget for the director of Community Development Engineering Services land use planning board zoning board environmental commission and the uniform construction code or the building department represents 6.29% of the budget the department of administration which includes the mayor's office Office of the business administration the division of finance which includes the office of the treasurer tax collector tax assessor and the building and grounds budget which represents 5.5% utility expenses including electricity National Gas telephone Street lighting water gas leing and postage amount to 4.46% of the budget all other department budgets including Health and Human Services clerk Township Council law municipal court and grants combined for a total of 5.87% of the budget the next slide would be the revenue percentage to total budget the amount to be raised by taxation for purposes is 26,5 2017,18 4644 this represents 52.75 per of the revenue needed to support the 2024 budget local revenues totaling 5,917 or 11.74% of the budget includes licenses fees and permits municipal court findes and costs interest and cost on taxes interest on investments in deposits revenue from sewer service charges rent from the post office lease sewer connection fees Recreation fees and the tach agreement of diversity Developers for police services this year's budget the use of fund balance to support the budget is 10, 425,000 denotes a 20.74% of the budget energy tax receipts from the state of New Jersey which is our state aid is 2,444 587 and that represents 4.86% of the budget other special items of Revenue to in 1,939 185 or 3.86 of the budget include uniform fire safety act Revenue reserve for Township rental properties assessment trust fund balance General Capital fund balance other trust reserved for municipal share of developers escros Capital tele a cable television franchise fees parking authority mutual agreement fee Princeton University agreement Hotel occupancy tax and amatory service fees for thirdparty Billings uniform construction code fees for the construction department is at $1.8 million or 3.58% of the budget shared services with the parking authority Robinsville heightstown borrow and the West Windsor Plainsboro Regional School District a total $662,000 or1 . 32% of the budgets receipts from delinquent taxes at 500,000 are 0.99% of the budget and the last Revenue item is public and private grants offset with Appropriations totaling 79,90 which represents 0.16% of the budget so the overall Municipal tax impact the good news is the tax rate is staying the same as the mayor has already announced we have a zero increase uh sense and zero increase um at the local level Municipal tax levy for 2024 is 26,5 20178 4644 which represents a 1.44% increase um the other new good news is that our assessed value also went up the same percentage of 1.44% and it's one of the main reasons we were able to keep a FL tax rate because our our new assessed values are increasing and the average residential assessment for 2024 which is the average price of a single family home is $524,950 um and the municipal tax rate for 2024 is0 428 cents a0 Cent increase and a 0% increase this translates into an average residential household Municipal tax for 20 24 $2,246 the denal tax rate is only 15% of the total tax bill we collect the taxes for both the town the open space the county open space Mercer County and the school district and that and those other entities represent 85% of your tax bill um at this point I'd like to um turn the meeting back over to the council president for a public hearing on the budget okay we'll um continue with the hearing so if any member of the public would like to make a comment please state your name and address and you'll have up to three minutes hello Sylvia ascarelli 27 Melville Road um on behalf of the West Windsor Bic school and pedestrian Alliance I would once again like to thank all of you for budgeting uh so much additional money for crosswalk uh improvements and for the design of the next section of the Cranberry Road sidewalk um in particular um mayor I look forward to that full list I could not write that down everything you said about where the flashing beacons would could go and the uh the extra street lights we appreciate you taking into account our recommendations and those from the community and um yes we look forward to seeing those hopefully installed relatively quickly thank you thank you hi my name is Ana golay 17 Trumble Court hi my name is shanza 18 Adams Court um we're both freshmen at High School South and student advisers on the WWB paa and um we um heard you guys mention the pen L and caner crossing and we just wanted to thank you guys for like bringing that into like your consideration so of course this crosswalk has um been an issue for a while um since a pedestrian was hit there in gen of 2023 and sustains severe head injuries and um it's also uh frequently used by um HSS students who cross there in the mornings and afternoons and we actually spoke to some of them who mentioned that um especially during morning rush hours um it's really hard to cross over there and um cars hardly stop for them so um I think it would be great um if we could get rfbs added over there and also have the speed limit reduced which is currently 40 MP but um like I mentioned before during morning rush hours that can be dangerous and um there's also a steady stream of um new student drivers so we'd also like to know um if um like when the rfbs could be installed like if it would be before um the start of the school year or if not just when okay good good thank you ladies for your comments thank you yeah that's a lesson in how the government works so once the budget is approved uh those are capital items which means they are not paid out of operational funds but long-term bonds so we will do a bond ordinance that will uh allocate money for all the projects that are in this budget once the council approves the bond ordinance the CFO can certify that we have the money available and then we will go ahead and do that so um probably at least uh you're looking at at least four five months but we'll try to do it as fast as we possibly can thanks for coming out I always appreciate when our students come out and talk to us it's great learning experience to to be exposed to all this you can share that good news with your friends any else like to make a public comment yes good evening again John Church 11 Princeton Place it's a great budget please go ahead and pass it we I'm sure speaking for the other residents in town we appreciate the fact it's a plate flat tax rate whether you can do it next year I don't know but this year very good news so congratulations on a good budget and please go ahead and passion thank you thank you anyone else they seeing none uh motion to close public comment salute second Tas yes mandal yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes um motion approved motion to adopt the 2024 Municipal budget so moved second okay uh any Council comments I think we've probably talked about this budget for months now um we've added some things that we've wanted to put in here um we'd love to have lots more money and lots but we don't so um I I think uh I'm I'm proud of this budget I think we did a really good job putting it together and allocating the monies that we have and um I don't have anything more to say I think at this point anybody I think I think we have spent empty number of hours on it already and I think it's a good budget um glad glad that we were able to keep it flat again this year so we'll see what next year brings but at least this year it looks good I can do without I could do it a calm year good good good all right I'll just make a few brief comments um as the mayor and Chief Financial Officer has mentioned the municipal tax rate remains unchanged so 0% uh increase uh it's been a challenge to do so but with care careful planning between the administration and the council we have been able to achieve a responsible 2024 budget as all all of us can see by driving by around town from Old Trenton Road to the Redevelopment uh area near the train station to to Route One and to Princeton University's expansion of its property on Washington Road there is tremendous growth underway this presents many challenges in budgeting especially for personnel considerations the administration continues to review workloads and succession plans so that the township can keep up with a high level of service in particular police fire and emergency services are constantly reviewed so that response times and assistance is accomplished for the best possible outcomes this year we will hire two additional police officers as the number of emergency calls continues to rise I'm also grateful to all the volunteers at the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company and the Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Company who save our Township considerable money through their dedication and service one of the more talked about topics for this Year's budget was on bicycle and pedestrian safety flashing beacons and uh increased Lighting in the capital uh Improvement program the council in conjunction with the administration increased the budget proposal to $100,000 for crosswalk improvements the description of this program also includes new additional wording that states funding for improvements to existing crosswalks and construction of new crosswalks under a form of of government the administration will recommend uh where such improvements are to be made based on their professional judgments with Council eventually voting on bond ordinances and resolutions to award contracts at the appropriate time so I thank everyone for coming out tonight and making public comments and uh well for the past several months and and also tonight and uh together we continue to make uh West Windsor the best community to live and thrive in thank you okay with that we'll take the roll call vote on the budget gaas yes mandal yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes okay we have a 2024 yes we do and I'd like to thank the May John Council and the administration you yes thank thank you also we appreciate the administration and everyone's input thank you motion approved I'm yes thanks okay move on to the consent agenda April 8th 20124 business session as amended bills and claims does anyone need any um thing C on the consent agenda no no no no okay um can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda Some Mo second AAS yes mandal yes Weiss yes yes Whitfield yes Jers yes uh motion approved uh recommendations from Administration and Council clerk 2024 r117 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute an easement modification agreement for 12 Highpoint Place 2024 r118 approving an additional extension of reservation of sewer capacity for the project known as senior living at Bear Creek pb1 19-3 2024 r119 granting the extension of reservation of sewer capacity for the project known as Avalon Bay Princeton Junction train station Redevelopment project PB 20-15 20124 r120 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional service agreement with Aurora and Associates PC for Engineering Services for the project known as trolley line Trails pedestrian cross ing for for for $13,800 and 2024 r121 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute amendment number three to the Professional Services agreement with spel Architectural Group Inc to provide supplemental architectural services for the project known as Municipal Building Renovations in the amount of $ 7,765 6 for a total not to exceed of3 $74,999 okay does any council member need any resolutions pulled no no no okay uh seeing none uh motion to approve 2024 D R17 through 202 24- r121 salute second moova gas yes Mandel yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes motion approved move on to introduction of ordinances 20241 and ordinance amending and supplementing part two general legislation of the revised General ordinances of the township of West Windsor New Jersey 1999 chapter 4 administration of government section 4- 37e police division of the Township Code of the township of West Windsor Mo can I have a motion to introduce so move second roll call daas yes Mandel yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes motion approved public hearing will be May 28th 2024 22412 and ordinance amending and supplementing part two general legislation of the revised General ordinances of the township of West Windsor New Jersey 1999 chapter 168 traffic and parking Article 5 traffic and parking regulations on private property section 168-173 control of movement and parking on public and private property of the Township Code of the township of West Windsor at W Squared motion to introduce so move second gaas yes Mandel yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes chers yes public hearing will be May 28th 2024 okay at this time we we have our second opportunity for public comment uh if you'd like to make a public comment please come to the microphone and state your name and address one more time Johan Church 11 Princeton Place I just learned this evening that our Township Clerk is going to be retiring in September I just want to say uh thank thank you to her for all her great services to the town through the years and uh always being responsive to request that I might have for additional information so thank you gay and I look forward to coming to your retirement party in due course thank you thank you anyone else okay seeing none uh we'll move on to council reports discussion new business uh we'll go the other way around the table Mar uh I don't I do not have a uh councel report this uh last planning board meeting was uh April 17th and the next planning board meeting is going to be June 5th so there's no planning board meetings this month all right thank you okay the environmental commission meet on May 9th and I do see a Fran books Dr books is in the audience tonight he's the chair of the environmental commission so I wanted to thank you um the township engineer Francis gik is taking Dan delski's place as the staff liaison to the commission so he's come to the last few meetings uh Francis gave an overview of the revised storm water ordinance that's based on the new Inland flood protection New Jersey D rules that were adopted in July of 2023 uh the draft is still being worked on by engine in uh and it needs to be passed this July Council should be seeing this draft within about a week um one of the topics that came up again was the light regulation project that's being done uh for uh for engineering by the commission and um the EC is looking at further regulations and effects of light and we'll be putting together a report for engineering and um they did um uh Elliot did Supply a lot of background information on that and sent it out to the committee members and on Wednesday May 1st I attended a webinar on funding opportunities to pursue climate action for governments and other groups so I'm hoping there's going to be a monies available for some future projects affordable housing commission uh committee did not meet since the last meeting uh the May meeting was cancelled and the next meeting scheduled for June 6 very good thank you Sonia um Board of Ed met on April 30th um for their budget hearing um where we also um got an opportunity to get the presentation from Dr adrol um unlike uh Municipal Taxes where we Municipal Taxes is um zero% increase um Board of Ed um our school budget is increasing by 2.82% um this year um so which is what about I think what 59% or 60% is of all our tax taxes collected goes to schools um so there we we will see some increase in our taxes due to the school budget um increase right if you have questions call the school if you have any questions about that please call the school um District so so when we get the call saying I thought you told me our taxes isn't going up that explain the yeah the municipal portion of the taxes which we we uh have have control over we have 0% increase but the school budget which is our majority of our taxes goes there um 2.82% is the increase so if you have any questions about that um go to the school board meeting next meeting is tomorrow so that that's that uh parks and recck met on May 1st um some of the Camp registrations um are a little lower than last year so they may be um looking at combining some of the programs to um so that they don't have to cancel it necessarily but um that might be um something that they are looking into um and hopefully um they're planning to the program committee is planning to meet sometime next week to make a decision on that so parents have a little more time to make any adjustments or changes if they need to do that um the Waterworks pool early registration ends May 17 so if you haven't gotten your memberships early bir M's in M's in early early bird registration ends on May 17th so uh which is just few days away um the new pickle ball courts um still awaits um some maintenance work um the rec department is having some difficulty connecting with the contractors who did the work they have been unresponsive so um that could be possible performance bond issue that needs to be looked into so the the the two old pickle ball cods are open and um for residents but the new pickle ball courts that was built last fall is stays closed for now um Greg department is also putting up and they should have put up um already this week um some um court rules for pickle ball courts um just like the tennis courts have them because there were some complaints about um Court hugging happening so some rules are going to go up um so please please obey those rules do not let your pets run around in those courts that is another complaint that the rec department has received um residents can take their dogs to the dog park we do have two dog parks um not at the courts um and clean up after themselves please um there is a new possible uh bike fest date um the Monday of Labor Day is um the date um that um there's a volunteer group that um is looking at um having that event so just stay tuned on Labor Day yeah so stay tuned um once I have more information I will let everybody know but that's a possible date right now good all right thank you Dad yes the uh human relations Council met on First Tuesday in this month and we have nailed down the date for the diversity Day celebration which will be Saturday June 15th uh from 2: to 4:30 p.m. at the grover middle school and similar to last year the theme is is tea and conversation um it's going to be less focused on tea and more focused on conversation this time with some musical um interludes as well so there it is the Saturday before Father's Day yes um there's no good what time is that GNA be pardon what time is it afternoon 2 to 4:30 and so they're um now busy getting volunteers to to present um and the parking authority also met that that same week I my two Council meetings and two committee meetings meet on the same week every month so I have backt backs and sometimes we have a council meeting so I have three meetings maybe next time we could spread it out more um with the parking authority met um I've exchanged some emails I think you saw response from the mayor about anou that um they're discussing regarding the um the the bus depot um renovation and parking lot creation and they're you know they're looking forward to moving that as soon as theou is worked out then they're ready to to make that happen and they they think that they assuming a timely umou creation then they probably can do it this year so that's Sor good thank you yeah I I don't have any U meetings to report on um guess Francis gzik will be the uh as far as I know the administrative Lea is on to the shade tree commission um I know he's attended you know some meetings and events of there so looks like that's what's happening um okay Administration updates um okay see none uh is there any need for a closed session seeing none okay so a motion to adjourn so moved second all in favor those opposed okay motion this meeting is adjourned thank you everyone thank you