ch year second Sy get United States and Nation each fatherday BL and depression posttraumatic stress disorder and self harm there are multiple warnings and sign symptoms such as pulling away from people and usual activities having low or no energy experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships and thinking of harming yourself or others and whereas living with mental health can be challenging and can prevent someone from carrying out their everyday responsibilities to prevent mental health from progressing and to live with mental health condition it is a great strategy to First make the initiative and cognitive decision to First want to get help for example at an early and consistent treatment plan is it possible to manage and overcome mental health illness some tips tools and strategies include sticking to a treatment plan keeping in contact with your primary care physician learning about the condition and practice self-care with family and friends and now therefore I K Macintosh mayor of willing bro Township along with the Willingboro Township Council and the Willingboro residents do hereby Proclaim May 2024 as mental health awareness month I encourage all willing BR residents to learn more about how we can support individuals with mental illness thank you so much Deputy Mayor Anderson and as we enter Mental Health Awareness Month let's just make sure we have some empathy and some kindness to one another because we never know you know what someone may be suffering with you know we can't comprehend their struggles so you know just let's you know just exercise some extra kindness to one another um Also if anyone feels like they're suffering from mental illness please seek professional help there is no shame in that um that taboo you know fortunately is dwindling so you know if at any point PRI always prioritize your mental health um also in March um Miss Torina Williams did bring to my attention that the Lupus Awareness Month so we'll have a proclamation for the next meeting um and but I just want to say May 10th she did say May 10th is uh Lupus Awareness Day so um just want to make sure everyone knows that world world Lupus Day um it's a global observance dedicated to raising awareness about lupus so we'll speak more on that at the next meeting all right Mr Harris I will turn it over to you thank you mayor good evening everyone members of the governing body uh members of the Willingboro Community uh did you introduce our new clerk I am at the clerk's update okay I'm sorry okay uh I just want to uh touch on some of the things that are are happening here in Willingboro have been going on uh there is a lot going on in our community a lot of infrastructure work um improvements going on it's exciting time here in Willingboro and we're looking forward to the positive accomplishments that are moving forward one of the projects that have been been moving along is uh pscg has been uh doing their gas line upad within the community uh in effort to do those prior to us moving forward with our multi- road project we have uh fostered wonderful Partnerships with pscg and who have been very supportive of this community as we look to uh improve our infrastructure tonight I have with us miss Karen frier who is the regional public affairs manager with psng and would like to just come and uh take a moment before the governing body to share some updates uh regarding uh their efforts with u the lighting upgrades of within the community thank you Miss frier yes uh thank you so much mayor mckintosh manager Harris and and Council so I'm Ken frier Regional public affairs manager psc4 Willingboro and we're very happy to be able to partner with you on this critical infrastructure project with the replacement of the Aging gas Mains uh this will improve the environment there'll be less methane released and the system will be much more resilient with future storms ahead so less gas leaks and and hopefully uh less emergency condition overall uh we were requested this evening to quickly share with you psc's plan for the lighting upgrades uh with LEDs also state-of-the-art to protect the environment and I'm happy to introduce you to my colleague Walter Ruff Walter has been with the utility for 40 plus years and his claim to fame in Willingboro is that he was actually a football coach and he personally was a wrestler now that makes me happy because I also come from a family of wrestlers although I don't wrestle myself uh my son just so that you get to know something about me was also a wrestler so with that Walt uh if you would please come forward thank you well presently we are going through upgrading all the lights the high press sodiums to uh LED versions of Lights uh I brought a sample here to show everyone uh we've already started to do some of them um in this parking lot here we upgraded these uh shoe box style lights in the back around the front they're uh to to LED they're much brighter um there's less outages with them um and you know so we're starting right now we're waiting for a filing to go through the uh Board of Public Utilities but we're still waiting for them to approve it 100% but we are right now what we call a 5% rule we're doing SE sections uh I know uh we're doing like a uh the P section pemrose uh you know so that's in the works uh right here um ml is in the works to get upgraded so basically this bigger than a little visual would be something these are the these are what we call the Cobra style lights so as you can see um you have the LED strips in here um with with the diodes this is the they all look the same it's just different wattages so this is what you're see going to be going out their cut offs which means you don't see that that Globe anymore and they're very they're they're very bright and they cast They cast a lot of lumens off they're all 4,000k Kelvin so basically this is what is going to be going in replacing all the ones on the roads um so that's pretty much that's pretty much it as far as you know what what that's going but like I said right now we're working on steps uh I work with Gary and you know we're going around we're doing different uh different things so um so quick question Mr Ruff because one of uh the requests was since we have just or the county has just finished Paving uh uh Veterans Parkway it's all nice and and smooth and we're going to have nice lines if we could go ahead and move forward we with maybe replacing those lights so that'll just make that area in our community pop now I've sent you over four agreements there's six total because we have to do it in sections right we're going from Route 130 to JFK uh and then from there but uh you've already signed off on four of them so they they are all in the works excellent thank you uh you know at all along there you know you know they'll be replaced with I'm sorry they'll be replaced with these these sty lights thank you yeah can I ask you a question sir one question yes so um with the so um solar panels that we have in some places will that benefit affect it or let me I'll give you the solar panels have nothing to do with the lighting the solar panels there's 200,000 of them throughout PSG territory the solar panels go back into the grid so anything that they generate just like if you had solar on your house it goes back into the grid so you know uh an average kilowatt hour for a home that you pay through your electric is 14 cents they're on there to drop at at least a half a cent to a cent off of that so to bring it down to like 13 and a half cents 13 cents but you know there's a a lot of a lot of people think that those you know because they're on the pole with the light they have nothing they have nothing to do with the light no connection okay and um with regards to these type of LED lights how often would they need to be replaced comparable to the other lives that we used before well any everything is man you know every everything is put together you know these go probably 10,000 hours the 20,000 hours and you know unless and unless it's some you know manufacturer uh or or or something malfunction they be less calling and we're also once the CF filing goes through they're going to be putting smart photo cells in the lights so this way here a resident BPW police department does won't have to report them they're going to it's going to come back to us that the light is out oh so you'll have oh that's good yeah it's see on the top of this here on the top of this here you see this here yeah if if you look at the lights out there you'll see it's it looks like another Knob that goes on there that's the photo cell so basically what they're working what we're introducing to start to be able to use once the BPU approves it is that will have a the smart technology so if the light goes out it'll tell us that the light's out so we don't have to rely because right now we rely on everybody police DPW residents you know calling them when they're out right sure okay thank you thank you mayor um Mr Ru I know you said um there are four agreements that have already been signed and two that are in the works do you have a timeline for right right now because of there right now it's 20 to 24 weeks okay due to material all right U but could be sooner but that's what the manufacturer tells us the manufacturer tells us it's a 20 20 20 to 24 week time frame now there's probably is that just to receive the materials or for them to be installed that's to receive the material okay you know before the pandemic we used to get two three shipments of Lights a week you know it's it's it's picking up to where you know manufacturing's picking up and so on so like I said from from Route 130 to JFK on on Veterans I I believe it's a total of it's got to be aund uh it's at least 100 it's at least 100 lights that are going to be upgraded because they're on both sides of they're on both sides of the road okay so 2020 20 to 24 weeks to receive the light that's the estimated time for estimated and then for installation how long does that take once once they come in they go out now the only the only difference that might be on on on Veterans is we we might have to have traffic control you know to close are laning down because what they'll do is they'll contact and then you know because the guy's up in the bucket on the truck okay thank you okay oh just um one other thing uh they sign we we are upgrading every school to led to LED uh LED also perfect no I mean and I have to say for the record that I am very very pleased with the progress we've made with psng um over the years um I know we had a bumpy start in 2020 but I'm you know I'm very pleased with the response times that we're getting I'm really happy that this is happening we're brightening up Willingboro with the LED lights so I think that's great progress so I'm I have to say on the record that I'm very pleased with you know the progress that we're making mayor we greatly appreciate uh the teamwork and the partnership which yes from 2020 until now we have dedicated more resource and we will be also asking for Willingboro respectfully to partner with us so that when we go to the Board of Public Utilities for additional support be it for lighting electrical vehicle Chargers or more of the gsmp budget uh to have a fair share here in Willingboro uh that we may be requesting a letter of support go to the Board of Public Utilities and I may in fact be sending a draft for review very soon so so thank you those words are heartfelt yes good I had one more thing while you're here um I was going to save it for later but since you're at the mic um I got some reports today of some tree trimming that's going on at the intersection of levit and sunset um and that the brush was just being left I just want to make sure that um your workers and employees are taking that brush away and not just leaving it I see if I could please through Gary get an email and maybe even a photo of this uh we can then get back and learn what the situation was with that vegetation management because the short answer is it always depends if if uh the utility removes you know totally or if it is the responsibility of of homeowner what the circumstance was okay but I will certainly look into that in in the morning and let you all know great thank you certainly and finally as another example of you know our Partnerships with pscg as I stated earlier they have been uh doing a lot of work on their gas line Replacements and uh in partnership with them and for the uh allowing them to utilize some of our space in our DPW Yard to store their equipment and Trucks and Things They have agreed to make certain improvements to our DPW particularly pavement improvements in the installation of storage bins at um at no additional cost to the municipality so when I say we have forged a a a mutual partnership that is exactly what it has become so moving on I just would like to report on our finances on March the 19th the municipality introduced a 49 m271 th000 budget to the governing body and the taxpayers for their review and consideration this proposed budget represented a decrease in Willingboro tax rate by one penny uh however at the request of the mayor and governing body on on April the 16th uh under the guidance of our our excellent Chief Financial Officer Miss UIA Diggs we fine tooth combed the budget and we're able to make certain amendments that resulted in a two Penny decrease um in the tax rate so that budget is going to be presented for your consideration in public hearing this evening and hopefully uh adopted a total of 8,679 were expended in the month of April as of the 26th 1.4 million of that represented salary and wages uh almost 300,000 of that were health insurance expenses 4.4 million were statutory expenses like fic attack Social Security our were and certain pension payments uh 500,000 went went to other expenses the day-to-day operational expenses in the township and about 1.2 million of that was uh utilized to pay principal and insurance payment uh um servicing our debt our inspections department uh completed 1,7 exp inspections between April 1st and April 22nd uh they collected $52,400 in Revenue our DPW Department cleaned four drain drainage head walls um at Bradford babbit Evergreen and Baldwin hot lot uh in case you don't know a drainage head wall is a wall that's built at the inlet of a drainage pipe or covert that controls the water flow and prevents erosion um and direct water we from uh structures like roads and buildings so that will help with the uh the water flow uh in our community in our drainage our fire and EMS Department the third annual citizens fire academy started on Wednesday April the 24th there are nine participants or I believe the number was adjusted to 11 participants uh signed up for the Academy which is the highest class ever the classes meet on Wednesdays between 6:30 and 9:30 from April 24th through June the 12th uh for a total of eight weeks the 10th Annual youth Fire Academy registration open on Monday April the 15th the academy will run from July the 8th through the 19th and it will be open to students uh between the ages of 13 and 17 years of age and those classes will be limited to 25 participants the rain raining spots for the free community CPR AED classes that were provided to the first 100 citizens is now filled um there are many there may be more free courses offered in the future so please keep an eye out for any future Flyers that may offer free CPR AED training courses uh from our Public Safety our citizens Police Academy recently graduated 13 residents on April the 27th everyone who attended received a certificate and a Yeti style tumbler with the police logo and it was very nice and I'm still waiting for mine thank you most importantly they were able to get a better understanding of policing in Willingboro and form relationships with our police officers um they did finish up their uh driver campaign and conducted 125 additional hours of Motor Vehicle Enforcement through the municipality and the officers made a total of 226 motor vehicle stops during that period at our last meeting I kind of let the cat out of the bag that the captain that Captain bucks and I were talking on some things regarding Public Safety and dealing with the traffic and traffic speeding and issues in the municipality um the mayor asked for a brief hint as to what we were talking about so I did ask uh Captain bucks to prepare a presentation for the governing body this evening I believe uh so I'm going to ask him to come forward at this time and um share with the governing body good evening mayor deputy mayor council Willingboro residents uh like Mr manager uh said is we prepared myself and uh and Captain Perez uh prepared a presentation for you all tonight and at this point I will turn it over to Captain Perez Captain Perez is our Patrol Commander so he oversees our entire Patrol Division so Captain Perez than you sir good evening city council good evening Willen bro residents I have a PowerPoint presentation I won't take too much of your time um you see here so it's in reference to again willbo Town Police Department traffy safety unit proposal uh it's a unit we're proposing and we'll show you why why we feel it's very important so the purpose of this project this proposal recommends the establishment of a specialized police traffic safety unit done in response to the increasing challenges posed by traffic related accidents related injuries deaths and overall disregard for traffic laws within our community this unit will improve Road Safety reduce traffic violations and enhance overall traffic management next slide please all right statistics motor vehicle accidents past 5 years 2019 to 2023 so we show here we have 3 3,846 accidents most motor vehicle accidents occur during a day shift so 2800 2857 out of 3846 during the peak commuter hours Monday through Friday so that's a bulk of our accidents and the top three traveled roads where these accidents occurred are Route 130 Beverly ran cookus Road Veterans Parkway and a traffic volume daily average as per New Jersey DOT numbers the last numbers we have are from the 2012 through 20 20 which is the latest available uh Route 130 daily traffic 40,000 over 40,000 Vehicles b ran cookus a little over 18,000 and Veterans Parkway a little over 16,000 so that shows us the most traveled um TR travel roadways we have in our town and if you see our heat map here next slide please sir if you see our heat map here just shows you where the majority of our accidents occur like you like you see here Route 130 you see the little the little clusters the the reddish clusters the orange clusters those are where the concentration of our motor vehicle accents are so you see Route 130 um Beverly Grand cocas and le le Park um I'm sorry Veterans Parkway are where the majority of these accidents are happening which makes sense because that's where the majority of our traffic goes through town next slide please sir so the objectives of our of this unit enhance Road Safety so that that's by just having a constant present on these roadways you know people coming into town or leaving town and we have officers on on that on those paths Route 130 uh ran cus and let um Veterans Parkway having a constant presence there it's it's goingon to it's going to have to enhance Road Safety because people are going to be seeing them there doing their car stops or just stationed there on on a static stop and it'll it'll slow just our presence alone is going to slow people down Community engagement um I'll speak to that in a moment traffic flow optimization specialized training and Public public awareness campaigns so as we go further on the proposal we'll touch upon these next slide please so the unit structure so we propose a unit size of five sworn team members one supervisor to oversee the whole unit four officers and again they will also be um overseeing our 47 non sworn traffic guards and the responsibilities would be to ensure safe and efficient traffic patterns traffic law enforcement handle all motor vehicle accidents minor and major during their shift and citizen education uh an example of this would be the child passenger safety CPS training so the division of Highway Safety offers accreditation courses for officers where they can get certified and assist the public in having safety clinics we we can hold at the police department and we could show people or train people especially newer parents how to properly have install um safety seats into their vehicles um that's is one of the things we're looking at um also partnership with the Willingboro fire department and EMS to conduct a yearly prom uh drug driving demo and training so there are there are programs out there that we can fund you know there there the special the software these goggles that it U it simulates you driving Under the Influence or high or while you're texting so it simulates that and it shows the youth how drastically affects their responsiveness and how they they handle on the road so that's just one of the the um awareness campaigns the way we would educate the public uh regarding um Traffic Safety next slide please expected results um reduction in traffic accidents so again our aim is always Public Safety to make Willen bur safe for our safer for our citizens and for the people visiting in natat town compliance with traffic laws again when there's a presence out there constant presence it'll deter the constant speeding or the aggressive are driving through town and that's the aim of this uh one of the main main main aims of this unit improve tra traffic flow and positive Community perception again so we're out there to not only keep it safe but also to educate next slide please so the timeline phase one planning and formation phase two Recruitment and training implementation so we're looking to implement this unit if it's approved by the governing body uh July first um we already done a lot of the background work for it the the recruiting the training is under way already I mean we always keep our offices constantly trained but now we're introducing more traffic training accident reconstruction things like that nature that that can assist us better with this with this unit uh evaluation and adjustment so um we're going to have a dedicated supervisor for that unit to constantly keep quality control but on a yearly basis we're going to evaluate the officers that are involved in this unit the efficacy their um their workload and to ensure that we have the proper people in those positions and ensure that their output is is optimal next slide please sir so the training um these are just some of the trainings that we're we're going to if this is implemented that we're going to send our officers to and as you can see with a lot of these trainings most of them are free you know a lot of them are State uh run agencies that run these trainings a lot of them are free and some of them have minimal cost um so it's not cost prohibitive to train our officers to to operate in this unit next slide please so equipment pricing so first Lem the first item here is e ticket and that is a software that we are requesting to use what happens is they would um it's a database that connects us to DMV connects us to tons of other towns within the state that use the same software and it gives our officers quick access to driver patterns and behaviors so not only does it connect us to the DMV but it connects us to other towns again so we pull over a vehicle and we look up the DMV and we don't have much activity there but we can also look up on the on the same database this off this person was pulled over in Edison and for what he was pulled over for so we have a pattern of let's say aggressive driving what the case may be so paints a better picture for the officer handling that hard stop also it's it's it's makes things faster so for example with the software and the equipment that's installed in the vehicles the officers can just take the license scan it and everything comes up on the screen because it's all integrated into into our laptops so it makes the car stop a lot quicker which is good for officer safety and also good for the citizens because whe they're going home or they're going to work we don't want to take up too much of their time um also this software also can be integrated with our cord system so it makes their job easier because they no longer have to input these uh uh traffic tickets in the system it's everything is done automatically also it can be used by inspections department so you know how inspection does give out summonses or whatever the case may be or ordinance violations that could be integrated into the same system they can do the same thing from their vehicles they can just issue the summons from the uh printer in their vehicle so would serve the courts the police and inspections as well um the cost annually for that software is $974 annually um if we get a five-year contract which would be which fix the price of five years would be a $ 48,52 for a 5year contract but it would be 9,700 annually for that um software uh training again approximately $1,000 in training um but again it's it's a minimal cost to the township for the training and the true speed XV laser for $150 that's the laser that we use it's a piece of it's a piece of Hardware that we have so if for example if we have a major accident in Willingboro where we have a death or serious bodily injury we have a special unit that goes out there and makes the measurements via laser um and they they need an upgrade to that laser and that's what that price shows um and in conclusion uh the establishment of a dedicated police traffic unit is a proactive and strategic approach to address the growing challenges of traffic management and safety within our community by investing in this unit we demonstrate our commitment to creating a safer environment for both our residents and visitors um sorry I dragged on a little bit but that that's my last slide any comments or questions I have a question cwom okay just real quick um with regards to um thank you for your presentation by the way um what hours of operation would this be is it 24 hours or is it daytime afternoon evening so we thought the best way the most efficient way to handle this unit would be to have it Monday through Friday through the commuter hours so we're thinking from 7 o'clock in the morning till about 6:30 7 o'clock maybe 7 :30 in the evening um that way we have full coverage throughout the busiest times the commuter times that be Mond through Friday that's when that's what the proposal would be okay and then my other question is um would the traffic officers be on foot or in vehicle or both they would be in vehicles man in vehicles okay all right that concludes my questions woman withi yes thank you mayor um thank you for your presentation um Road Safety is you know critical for the residents and and keeping our town safe so I appreciate your time and attention to prepare this presentation for us today um a couple questions that I had um one was the I noticed the budget um and it's pretty you know it's a pretty significant cost we on track to pass the budget tonight were these numbers already factored into the existing budget yes ma'am oh okay all right and with that um what I didn't see was you had um mentioned the prom DWI demo is there any special equipment that would be necessary for that that was not so for things of that nature we would look for Grants oh okay grants partner with other agencies that have that software and equipment and we do it that way okay partner with them for that I'm sorry no I said some of the things that they do too is we partner with the um with um the Emergency Services building out in West Hampton where they would take a vehicle and they would put a vehicle maybe in the front of the the school that was um that was uh what's the word I'm looking for deputy chief they used to say an extraction that was kind of chopped up cut up to show the you know what it would look the the what it would possibly look like if if someone was in a motor vehicle accident and kind of use that as a visualization to deter you know uh uh drunk driving distracted driving or something like that okay um for the EET you mentioned like in inar printing of tickets and things like that that can be used not only in the police department but in other departments but I didn't see that like physical equipment included is that part of the package ma'am that's part of the contract yes so the uh all the equipment the software everything the the paper everything is included in that price man okay oh nice really did your homework all right and um the extra oh no I think you answered that y yeah oh does it require additional hires no ma'am oh all right using existing Personnel man all right well thank you those are all my questions well the one question I got is uh looking at the dollar amount 9700 a year 48,000 for five at any point will it be self selfs fish to pay for itself so it no longer becomes a budget item or how do how when Once the funds are collected would you guys like I said at the end of The Five-Year contract if you like the software everything's running are you still coming back that would be a yearly cost the 907 the 97 would be a yearly cost each each year that fivey year would lock us into that price for for that five years after that five years up we would renegotiate with the vendor you know their prices May increase decrease or whatever and that's what that price would be going forward um as far as as far as a a I guess you could say Revenue generator um Motor Vehicle Enforcement we do get a a small percentage um when we write motor vehicle tickets um but that's really not the main focus of writing traffic tickets is isn't for um for Revenue it's more for education and awareness and curving the uh you know the the the bad drivers out there okay thank you one more thing mayor go um in should we pass this you know tonight or approve it um I would just ask that special attention be um paid to the 18 wheelers and large trailers that have been coming through town they do travel those roads at very high speeds um and also as we're rolling it out just a little grace to be given to willing bro residents in particular um you know visitors you know our visitors and they need they need to know but our residents yes West Hamp we will say always say our our police officers uh they can use discretion yeah and they use discretion very well um and one of the main reasons we came up with this proposal is you know our our our officers on a regular basis are out there doing Motor Vehicle Enforcement but we also have to answer you know 39 or 35ish th000 calls for service having this designated unit allows us to focus on TR traffic enforcement and Motor Vehicle Enforcement where that's their main focus they're not going to be answering the 911 calls unless it's you know unless more officers are needed for that particular call their main focus is going to be for Motor Vehicle Enforcement and traffic enforcement so those designated officers that's their that's what their job is to is going to be right one more thing I'm sorry so please understand also that we're not just going to focus on those three major roadways so we have an analyst who gives us a monthly crime I'm sorry a monthly traffic app and he identifies because everything can change you know month to month he identifies the problems in willbo regarding traffic flow or accidents and we can always redistribute that uh that unit to where it's needed the most so it'll be based out of those major roadways but we can always move them along so that's the luxury of having that you okay is there any response you need from Council today no unless there's some major objection to us moving forward we're you know we're pretty much going to go ahead and take the steps necessary um to to implement the changes one of the reasons is not going to have a Major budgetary Impact is because we are already hiring the police officers are coming out of the academy we already have the vehicles um with the hiring of police officers they get uniform they get body cameras they get all these things already so those additional expenses are already written into the budget as the captain had had stated so really the only major expense outside of that was for the eting system okay perfect are there any major objections today from what was presented today no none here it sounds like good option thank you very much thank you thank you so continuing on with my report Community Affairs in April 2024 concluded federal and state income tax preparation services for senior citizens and Veterans with 55 free tax preparations completed by ARP um uh for the residents and it happened usually Wednesdays during those that tax period in April the annual Health uh Center health fair was held on April the 17th with 18 participating Center sponsors and over 100 senior and Veteran participants uh Recreation Department completed and successfully submitted the Historic Site management Grant on April the 18th they celebrated their 12th annual phenomenal women's event with ax proximately 140 attendees it was a phenomenal event uh well attended and well uh presented um uh honoring our phenomenal women here in Willingboro and I thank Miss Balden and her team for all the extra efforts and work uh put into that project um our Friday Night Live series will kick off on this Friday at 7 pm at the amphitheater and at this time I'm just going to ask Miss Jackson to come forward and give you a briefing on the other updates or activities going on in Willingboro thank you Mr Harris good evening mayor Deputy Mayor members of council and the Willingboro Community uh we just want to bring to your attention that tomorrow our Township clerk's office will host our annual rabies vaccine clinic this is a free clinic for our Willingboro residents the clinic will be held from 4 PM to 7 pm at M Creek Park all dogs must be leashed and proof of residency a photo ID and proof of rabies vaccination are required free identification tags will be provided um cats are also welcome and we want you to be aware that the township clerk's office will be closed at 1 pm tomorrow in order to fully service this event so um make note of that as you heard the applications for both our youth police academy and our youth fire academy are now available we also have the stop to bleed course on the second Saturday and third Thursday of each month this is hosted by our willing bro fire department as Mr Harris shared we are excited to share that our Friday night music series will kick off this Friday May 10th at the amphitheater live music will be held on the second and fourth Friday during the months of May June and July and um on Friday s Centron and the Inca band will specialize in Latin music and kickoff the series so we're looking forward to um this year's Friday night music series and then on Saturday May 11th we will host our wreck at Rus um in Willingboro from 12:00 pm to 2 PM register for our summer programs grab a hot dog and of course enjoy some great Rita water ice at a discounted price and then on May 25th which is Memorial Day weekend the country club po pool will open so we want to encourage your to mark your mark your calendar for that and plan to kick off this summer at the pool and then closing out will be our me Memorial Day observance on Monday May 27th we will honor the memories of those who sacrificed their lives while serving our country that observance will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will be held at milg Greek Park and lastly we want you to save the date of Saturday June 15th we will celebrate juneth from noon until 4 at mil Creek Park we're looking forward to another great opportunity to celebrate African-American culture freedom and education and as always all of this information is found on our website social media platforms our YouTube channel and by subscribing to willing bro weekly and we also want to make sure you are aware um not an event but the annual reports are now available um they have the uh link to the PDF on our website we also have some hard copies in the carel so we want to make sure our residents are aware of that as well thank you thank you thank thank you Miss Jackson and finally uh just some happenings around Willingboro uh our uh FY 2024 New Jersey Department of trans uh Department of Transportation a municipal Aid Grant in the amount of $ 47,4 25 was received by the township uh the NJ do has authorized the advertisement um for this project the bids are being advertised and I believe they are scheduled to be open on June the 15th um for that um that complete uh reconstruction of Marshall Lane um as again stated earlier the county has been repaving Veterans Parkway from JFK to Millennium uh they are almost completed and I believe the striping will happen in the next couple of weeks uh the bathrooms in the municipal complex are are finally finished and I encourage everyone to go and enjoy them at your leisure willing Barrow has received an additional $117,000 in opioid monies from various entities in this opioid settlement um I suspect we will be receiving that same amount of money uh in future years as well so we really need to start investigating different mechanisms on how we can uh utilize uh this money um maybe sharing it with other entities in the community that would qualify under the rules and regulations for the usage of those monies uh I am ecstatic and happy to announce that Green Acres again uh thanks to the work of Miss Balden and uh Mr Brunson in recreation department has approved our Grant application for $820,000 to fund uh the pickle ball Courts at mil Creek Park and the Jake plakes so uh pickle ball courts will be coming to willing Barrow and again um that's a a major huge uh achievement uh again thanks to our Recreation Department for uh the energies put into that uh think papers has been working and almost is complete with the emergency sinkhole repair uh for Penny Packer um they will go ahead and proceed to do other storm water upgrades um in the community um and and move along uh on April the 21st we did have our clean communities clean up I just want to ask Mr gains if he will just take a minute and give us some of the statistics um that um were resulted from our efforts Community efforts good evening everybody so I just like to say that uh this year's event was a very successful event um this is one of our highest numbers of participants ever in Wen bro so to the residents out there thank you very much for participating so on the 20th of this year uh we had about roughly 82 participants that actually came out and um participated in our cleanup um we had a roughly estimate about four hours worth to work uh there was about two miles of uh land throughout wiro that we covered for trash um we collected about 77 bags of trash uh which was 50 gallons worth of trash per bag uh 20 bags of plastic material that were actually going to be sent to our OT Center to be recycled um we gathered up three blue gallons of drums of materials throughout uh mil Creek Park which was in the Wasteland residents uh went out there and gaed them up and um we actually got rid of that plastic and actually recycled it we collected about 18 PES of brush throughout brodia Park uh which beautifi the Landscaping of the park and makes it easier for our long more to going there and got the grass throughout the year and we actually gathered up a total uh with the 80 with the 77 gallons of excuse me 77 bags of trash and the 27 bags of trash was a little bit over about 100 bags of trash and recycling products that been collected um this year um Chick-fil-A partnered with the wibo Township community and actually gave out uh 50 excuse me 100 um prer sandwiches to the public which was a success uh we had um reusable bags for the public we actually gave out and we actually gave um t-shirts to the public this year there was actually three winners that actually won three trash bags uh containers that were actually recyclables and it was actually a success so with that being said U go Wen Boro and um this is only about the beginning of this process and U Mr Harris's guidance this is going to be a yearly event it's going to get better thank you yes we would be remiss if we did not thank Amazon who came and brought 60 participants uh as well to participate in the cleanup and after they did the cleanup they went in and lended a hand in the community garden as well so again we thank our our corporate Partners who are beginning to uh uh tether with willing Barrow and uh you know together we are working uh to make Willingboro an outstanding community and I thank all the governing bodies participants all all of our employees who participant and all the different organizations in willing Baro who did not find it robbery even in the rain even come out and help keep willing burrow clean so thank you very much that's something that's very near and dear to my part in particular uh finally I'm sorry before you I just wanted to interject um uh Troy Singleton Senator Troy Singleton was out there in mil Creek Park and they did a whole lot of work oh and the um sigmas right no the omegas I'm sorry get flat TI the megas the the purple and gold was out there also I apologize that but um it was a successful event and I definitely um applaud uh Mr gains and Mr Harris and the whole team um for really really um making that happen and it is did it was a lot of people was really well done so thank you so finally a major project that we've been working on for the past two years or at least a year and a half our segment four roadway project is scheduled to start on May the 20th um the work will begin with concrete work which is sidewalks and curvings just as a reminder these are the 14 worst roads in Willingboro that will go uh and be re uh redone um the anticipated sequence they will be starting on Garden Broken in Clear Water move to Primrose Lane Pastor Lane Montclair Moss Hill and Montrose then they will move on to mainbridge and metalark Sedrick Lane and Hazelwood Circle and once the uh sidewalks and curbing is complete then they will begin the uh milling and Paving on those particular streets and just finally um the tax collector by Statute is required to report every year um in all taxing districts whether or not they're from time to find file a list of delinquent taxes which he or she believes are uncollectible by reason of fictitious double or other erroneous assessments our tax collector is putting on the record in 2024 in compliance with the statute that there are no uncollectible taxes in Willingboro for 2023 so I will give a copy of this letter to uh the Township Clerk to file into the records of the municipality and that is all I have to report on this evening thank you okay just one um just one more thing Mr Harris I know we um do go over this pretty much for the last couple of months at the meetings but I I just need you to go over what's happening in willing bro in terms of the tax assessment um and we probably have some new listener a new um residents or new join new people to the meeting so I just want for their for the good of them um just an explanation of what's going on um with that so willing Barrow is going through the process of a a tax reassessment um this is something that uh is been mandated um through the Burlington County uh office of tax whatever it is the Burlington County Tax Collectors um this is not something that we are doing arbitrarily um there has been some shifting uh in the way that a property tax is evaluated in the state of New Jersey the requirement or the Mandate is that that property be taxed on its uh real value or market value uh where many years past there used to be a value on the property and the Improvement um that has all kind of been transitioned so our tax collector and our tax ass or not collector our tax assessor and his department is systematically uh engage engaging in the reevaluation of all homes in Willingboro it is a multi-year project once that is done then the new Total valuation for all of Willingboro will be finalized and then at that point there may be some increases there may be some decreases there may be some that experience no increase or decrease depending on what the value of their home is based on what they're currently paying um in taxes so uh I believe they just finished up um uh Garfield and um uh he did tell me that they were getting ready to send out letters to the next area but I don't know what that is well I will find that out and we will make that information available on the website there is some information uh on our website that uh has a little more detail as to the why and the how and what they're going to look for um the letter that's uh being sent out to Residents so if you receive the letter you know it is not fictitious uh again the person who is going to be knocking on your door will have identification and if they don't have appropriate identification please do not let them in and you can always call any of the municipal offices or the police department if you have any questions or concerns Clarity um this assessment is stemming from the state through the county right into the township and it's not just willing bro it's pretty all municipalities all municipalities all over the state of New Jersey there are many counties that actually started this type of assessing or reassessing uh years ago um and it is finally just kind of hit home here in Willingboro just one question um with regards to and I think you mentioned it just a few seconds ago you said they will have identification but with home invasions and things like that what will their uniform look like and how can somebody identify whether or not this is a true identification so what is the safety mechanism of having somebody knock on your door and they want to now walk around your home how do how does a regular resident know this person I mean we can recognize a police officer of Willingboro or a Township um Public Works officer what do these people look like what are they wearing and what's their um that's my question what are what is their identification at who they are well I believe the individual's name uh is provided to the residents in the letter uh so they know who that inspector is and again they will be carrying a you know Willingboro identification with their name uh something very similar to to this like our badges yeah identify themselves um and and I don't know that Justin or the tax assessor has a defined uniform but that's something that I didn't think about that we can look into and maybe they should have and maybe and maybe we can post like a picture of what the uniform should look like on our website this is what the person should be dressed in just for you know and maybe the police department can help you gather what that information looks like on our website so they know who to look for right and again no the council woman fr's point you know a photo of who this is coming to the home right you know for those seniors and all that if you have a photo that's on the website that's also another visual that's all thank Youk so being presented to you this evening for your consideration is ordinance number 202 24-5 we are having our public hearing and final reading on this ordinance to amend the code of the township of Willingboro spec exp uh again specifically related to chapter 272 entitled Property Maintenance by adding a new article entitled outside storage and deliveries of firewood in residential areas this is uh put in place to regulate the placement and storage of firewood and wood piles on per people's property up within the township of Willingboro ordinance number uh six is an ordinance amending section one of bond ordinance [Music] include that project in this Bond ordinance which will enable us to dedicate ARP monies towards uh the fixing of that project so we're asking that the ordinance uh description be uh amended to include uh Charleston Road uh ordinance number 2024-25 th000 in unused debt in order to provide for storm water project again for that Charleston Road Project we are taking 125,000 from the balford lane ms4 project that was it has been completed and uh was residual monies and going to uh rededicate that to the Charleston Road Project ordinance number 2024-25 And1 uh in order to provide for the renovation and improvements to municipal buildings parks and roadways a portion of this money will be used uh for the contract construction uh and management um and as well as uh potentially redoing the bathrooms at bro Park so that again is re-appropriating monies from prior ordinances to uh move forward with these improvements in Willingboro uh resolution number 2024-25 one is a resolution establishing a petty cash fund in the municipal clerk's office uh in the amount of $250 resolution 122 is a resolution authorizing an addendum to the uh Collective negotiation agreements uh between willing burrow and the professional firefighters Association a local 3091 uh the firefighters would like to extend the term of their collective bargaining agreement to December 31st 2025 to align with the supervisor officer contract term um and I thought that would be a a sufficient move to move forward with that contract extension resolution number 123 is a resolution authorizing the township to an establish a not to exceed contract amount for cdwg government uh we are looking to establish a 250,000 not to exceed amount to be utilized for the purchasing of computers for fire and Ms Public Safety and to also provide for our Adobe and zoom um programs that we use uh in the township resolution number 124 is also to establish a nut to exceed uh in the amount of $863 [Music] 5125 for main access systems uh this money is to be utilized for the Performing or to perform camera repairs uh for legacy equipment for door alarm Services key fobs installations intercoms but the biggest project is the gate repair at our DPW Yard resolution number 125 is a resolution authorizing the cancellation of certain balances on the general Capital fund balance sheet uh the debt incurred associated with uh prior ordinances went to permanent financing back in with the issuance of our bond in 2023 so any money left in those ordinances can no longer be moved or reappropriated into other areas so we are canceling those balances and those unfunded amounts uh will be utilized to offset The Debt Service associated with those projects so we're cancelling the balances and we will cancel our overall debt uh equal to the sum total of those balances resolution number 126 is authorizing Willingboro town ship to place Municipal charges on certain properties for failing to address Property Maintenance violations as you are aware when Property Owners uh uh ignore violation notices or fail to Abate any outstanding property maintenance issues the township will go ahead and uh expend the necessary funds to uh do what is necessary but then we also go and put leans on the properties as a means of recouping our expenses resolution number 127 is a resolution authorizing the payment of bills resolution 128 is authorizing a contract with uh sourcewell competitive pricing systems uh their contract vendor that we will be utilizing for equipment for the fire department uh on the attachment there is $113 uh $113,000 listing for U PL custom company that was money that is going to be utilized for our new ambulance but it was a little premature to put that on this resolution at that time until our capital budget uh for 2024 is finally approved resolution number 125 is a resolution authorizing an increase to the not to exceed amount for Remington Vernick engineering this is specific to the Eagle Lane drainage improvements um we needed to in increase there not to exceed from 25,000 to $92,400 is a resolution approving a change order number one with Longo Associates for the Willingboro Performing Arts Center the seating we had ordered the seating for the Performing Arts Center because of a delay in the construction um the company is not ready or able to come in and install the seating so they're going to charge us uh [Music] 3,700 or $675 to store the seeds and then come back and install them in September so that is a change order to that contract resolution number 131 is a resolution authorizing a contract with a nationally approved compet Cooperative contract vendor um which is source well uh back in last year through resolution 2023-the as our Fleet Management Service um that service is or Enterprise is a member of sourcewell Cooperative purchasing program and we are uh just authorizing the utilization of source will that Source will contract as uh the authorized vendor for Enterprise can provide Fleet Management Services for 48 months for the township of Willingboro under that contract at um discounted prices our resolution number 133 is a resolution authorizing the overpayment of taxes um as listed on the attachment resolution number 134 is a resolution authorizing the township to establish the not to exceed for the provision of registar of Vital Statistics Services uh we have been utilizing temporary services of two former registrars here in willing burrow to cover uh the vacancy in that office um we will continue to utilize them on a part-time basis throughout the year to provide support to uh our registar and the uh anticipated value of that will be $43,000 for uh 2024 um between the two uh employees and resolution number 135 is a resolution uh authorizing a not to exceed contract uh for Dell uh the additional monies that we are looking to encumber is $97,000 uh which is a little bit more than or substantially more than the $250,000 that were originally anticipated um that's usually uh primarily to cover the cost related to uh UPS replacement batteries uh a sonic wall and some time clock um repairs in the the township and those are all of the uh actions that I'm preventing presenting to you for your consideration outside of the resolution and public hearing for the amended 2024 budget so at this time public comment for agenda items only is now open again this is public comment for agenda items only you have two minutes please state your name and address for the record thank you good evening good evening my name is Bob Jackson I live at uh on Wasing Lane now I'm sorry that that young lady from public service left because she needed to hear this you know what I'm saying they started in in in in no started in our section right all right you got the whole street they dug up one side of the street like a trench to put the to to to replace the uh the cable right okay then they black top that but when they come in to connect uh to the houses they replaced you know all the all the uh the meters right they dug up sidewalk right to run the line under the street right they dug up sidewalk on the other side right they didn't just dig it up they didn't put the concrete back they paved it they paved the sidewalk so when you give out big operations like that somebody need to walk through and make sure people doing what they supposed to be doing CU that's kind of if you if you look at milbrook this my street in particular go down the street like black top black top on the sidewalk right they they they took they took like like a cube a portion and uh they Ed the machine to run the line under the street right they come up under the other uh sidewalk and then there there was from that point to the to the meter right they ran it in to the meter replaced the meters I mean all this is fine I mean it's NE Neary but what's going to happen when they finish doing what they're doing right now Street's bumpy it's just going to get worse you know somebody need to sit down and talk to Public Service you're doing the job put the street back like it's supposed to be you know once you finished put the sidewalk back like it's supposed to be all you do is walk through it and you can see it you know it's very obvious big jobs somebody need to just walk through at times to see that these people are doing what they supposed to be doing I'm serious the end result is you need to bring Public Service in and find out what the end result is after they finish doing what they're doing because not my section it's gonna be every time is up thank you we'll address that after we do our resolutions for the for the regular public comment okay I know this was during um the manages update so I but um well if you if you had a call for questions when that young lady was there that spoke on the D yeah this is we for public comment though yeah okay appreciate it thank you and you said your name was again I'm sorry Mr Jackson okay thank you is there anyone else for public comments for agenda items only is there anyone online uh yes Mayor Brown anyone's talking hear you at this point good evening can you hear me now some you're talking but we can't hear you I don't know why can you hear me now can you hear me now yeah we can hear you okay good evening everybody good evening mayor good evening Deputy Mayor good evening counselor thank you for the report I just want to elaborate more on the Kennedy Center um theater that you're doing I'm sorry you could give us your name and address 78 executive Lane Sharon Brown thank you I want to um some more information about the Kennedy Center um last time y spoke you said they had done some renovation which you wasn't um complying what they was doing now you're saying that we have to pay additional money for them for the chairs could you elaborate more on that and is there another way of um going about this like suing them thank you very much thank you Miss [Music] Brown is there anyone else online for public comment for agenda items only uh not at this time May thank you public comment for agenda items is now closed um Mr Harris can we elaborate on the Kennedy Center chairs so the Kennedy Center uh the the the forming Art Center in the Kennedy Center is being remodeled and there was a delay because of uh some discrepancies or issues with the sound system and modifications being made uh to the sound systems uh we are actually in the process of having discussions with uh our sound engineer and our Township engineer uh to work through those issues we don't do not have a finality in that uh particular situation but because of the need to pause construction while this matter is resolved um as I stated the vendor who was coming to install the seating had to also be put on hold um and because they are not able to move forward with the installation the next time they were available to come to Willingboro and install is in September so they will do the installation in September they will need to store the seating until that time and they just charging us an additional $3,000 of dollars plus uh to come out in September and to uh store the seaing until that time as well but that point we are in discussions with our engineer because the delay was because of them you know we are looking to pass that cost on to them I mean we're in discussions of that right correct yes okay and then we can go ahead and address Mr Jackson's so yes and I was listening to what Mr Jackson was saying in particular to to Marshall Lane um Marshall Lane because of the way the street is was made it's like all concrete underneath so when pscg came and to do their gas line and piping it was always under the understanding that they would do what they needed to do because the township would be coming behind them and doing a full reconstruction of that street so the condition of Marshall Lane is just a temporary condition but it will be uh completely refurbished as part of that 47,000 2024 NJ doot Municipal Grant So within this year yes okay within the next six months okay so it's just a temporary yes temporary bumps and um okay all right but they but we are ensuring that Marshall Lane Marshall Lane in particular will be smooth yeah out okay all right and I appreciate that all right we'll move on to the ordinances final reading for ordinance 2024-25 public hearing is now closed for ordinance 2024 D5 is there a motion to adopt 2024 D5 so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor Anderson seconded by councilwoman Whitfield any further discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor Macintosh yes ordinance 2024-25 D6 is an ordinance amending section one of bond ordinance the township of Willingboro in the county of Burlington New Jersey finally adopted June 21st 2022 in order to amend the description of the project to include Charleston Road is there a motion to introduce ordinance 202 24-6 so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor Anderson seconded by seconded by councilwoman Whitfield roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor McIntosh yes moving on to ordinance 2024-25 th000 in unused debt authorizations not needed for the original purposes in order to Prov for storm water project for Charleston Road is there a motion to introduce 2024 D7 so moov second moved by Deputy Mayor Anderson seconded by councilwoman Whitfield any further any discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor Macintosh yes final ordinance this evening is ordin 20248 which is an ordinance of the township of Willingboro in the county of Burlington New Jersey providing for the reappropriation of 8,603 and 1 Penny 78,3 and 1 Penny of proceeds of obligations not needed for their original purposes and 2,500 from the capital Improvement Fund in order to provide for the renovation and improvements to municipal buildings Park par and roadways is there an ordin is there I'm sorry is there a motion to introduce ordinance 20248 so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor Anderson seconded by councilwoman Whitfield any discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor McIntosh yes okay I'd like to make a cons I like to make a motion for consent agenda of resolution 202 24-11 through resolution 2024 13 2024 131 so moved I'm sorry and and resolution 2024 d33 through [Music] 135 so no we have to pull 20244 but there was nothing there you included that one that was the one where we couldn't vote on because the budget hadn't been passed that's 132 no 124 was pulled it's not it's nothing there I have resolution authorizing the township of willing bro to establish not to exceed contract amount okay I apologize moved by moved by mayor McIntosh seconded by um I'm sorry councilwoman Peron yes roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor McIntosh yes I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as stated previously second moved by mayor Macintosh stated seconded by councilwoman Whitfield roll call please councilwoman Whitfield yes I'm sorry councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor McIntosh yes move on to the treasurers report do we have a treasurers yes okay is there a motion to approve the treasurers report for April of 2024 so moved second move by councilwoman Whitfield seconded by mayor McIntosh any further discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor McIntosh yes okay is there a motion to approve the minutes for April 2nd 2024 and April 16th 2024 so moved second moved by councilwoman Whitfield seconded by mayor McIntosh any further discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman Whitfield yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor Macintosh yes all right we'll move into our Municipal Clerk's update um the biggest update we have we have a clerk I'd like to introduce Mr Everett fault he does come to us with a wealth of experience and we're excited to have him so I don't know if you had a couple of words to say hi hi I'm ever fall um I'm a New Jersey resident I was born and raised um I uh got my bachelor's degree at Ruckers University in political science and history of a MERS in public administration from Kane University uh this is in addition to um certifications I have through New Jersey for the registered municipal clerk qualified purchasing agent certified Municipal regiser affordable housing professional I'm also recognized by The International Institute of municipal clerk as a certified municipal clerk which is a step up from the RMC uh and recently I was appointed I was I was um not awarded but I achieved my uh Athenian Fellowship Through The International Institute of municipal clerk so it's um really exciting um I really just look forward to working with everybody here in the in the township thank you thank you every we welcome you we're happy to have you and I would be remiss if I did not take time to thank Deputy clerk Latoya Cooper McBride you know that did step up you know in the absence of a clerk you know filled in um so I just want to you know let you know we appreciate you um but yeah I know you're happy Mr [Laughter] faulty and for the update can we just go through um real quick the dog license the um clinic for tomorrow um the time um what paperwork um and mention any other partners or vendors that will be there also okay um I'm not aware of any other vendors that are going to be there besides the veterinarian uh everybody uh is entitled to who lives in the county to attend uh the rabies clinic tomorrow everybody should bring their dog leashed any cats that are to be vaccinated they also have to be brought in crates for all the obvious reasons uh the Clinic's going to run from 400m to 7 PM um I think that's just about we'll be there we'll be available to license any unlicensed animals in addition uh to providing the free rabies vaccination and for the licenses they need their ra if they already previously had their rabies correct okay that's what they need okay um they were supposed to get the dogs issued on license is issued on January 1 so they there may be an additional fee okay um but again the rabies vaccination they can get one or threeyear vaccinations depending on what's most appropriate um did anybody have any questions no I just wanted to add something um the Burl pet project um run by Miss Sharon Anderson will be a part of the um dog clinic providing free um dog tags for any residents or animals that are present so my apologies no worries all right so thank you very much and we'll be moving on to unfin um yes unfinished business again thank you uh mayor uh at this time we need to open our public hearing on our uh 2024 budget amendments and U if there are no further amend amendments uh we will present uh to the governing body the 2024 Municipal budget for final adoption open up to the public okay so who does that you we can open this up to the public hearing is now open for the amended 2024 budget public hearing I'm sorry I do see brown okay good afternoon again can you hear me yes good afternoon can you hear me yes we can hear you yes Sharon Brown 78 executive Lane with the budget is does budget include the traffic safety unit and if so I wanted to know what other Township has a traffic safety unit and also the function of the safety unit and also I know it's a very good idea cuz of the results of the road and the safety travel in the street that's very important but I also want to know if we're going to have a safety unit what are the other officers going to be doing because I thought that's what basically more that they do so could you inform me more about the traffic safety unit or what other Township has it thank you very much thank you Mr [Music] Brown so miss Brown in regards to Traffic Safety units uh many surrounding townships that have heavy traffic flow have these units in place uh just for example you have Mont Laurel you have eam you have um Cherry Hill pens depford so these bigger departments that have a lot of uh major roadways growing through their through their townships have these units um and they're effective in uh traffic flow and traffic safety um in regards to what our other officers are doing ma'am we have the busiest the Police Department in the county we average about 35 to 30 35,000 incidents per year um so we're very busy so sometimes traffic enforcement by those officers has to take a back seat to Priority calls um but with the implementation of this unit we'll be able to address the uh traffic safety issues uh in our Township in a in a much better more efficient way and one of the other aspects of it too do is just to be able to identify some of our our our roadways and streets that may need additional signage additional uh crosswalks and things of that nature also Kim Bradley 44 Wood Haven Lane just one question on the budget and that is rather or not we have uh discussed having a AV Service Officer or a Township service officer for veterans uh we I brought this up on a couple meetings and you said that y'all were going to visit it and um I haven't heard anything I'm just wondering um if we haven't why not having this service officer and the war bro thank you so to answer Mr brantley's Question uh we are actually having discussions I believe next week um uh reorganizing and reestablishing our veteran services department um within Willingboro Township and um you know having a a veteran service officer and those are all part of those discussions so um it is not as if um we haven't been uh moving forward with that um we're just not at that point um uh yet but we will begin having those uh discussions um next week tomorrow sooner than next week any public hearing for the amended 2024 budget is now closed yeah the intro to introduce the resolution to adopt the 202 for municipal budget resolution number 132 resolution 2024 d132 is a resolution to adopt the amended budget so is there a motion second moved by Deputy Mayor Anderson seconded by councilwoman Whitfield any further discussion roll call please councilwoman Peron yes councilwoman whitfill yes Deputy Mayor Anderson yes and mayor Macintosh yes thank you all right is there any other items for unfinished business yes just want to uh bring up the golf course we had asked the attorney to look into it she did provide some communication back as to an offer so I just want to uh Council to look you know get the look at the email we'll send it out and let's decide on you know how we want to direct the uh solicitor to move with the uh numbers being presented everybody got that for the golf course there was an email that came out today okay good all right any other items for unfinished business any items for new business I have one yes um so a few years ago during one of our cleanups the trash cans that were along the roadsides were removed and we were told um some time ago that there would be some sort of replacement pan but we haven't seen any movement on that and um I spoke to some residents yesterday about a major trash problem um along I want to say Veterans Parkway um just it's a bus stop there people get off the bus drop their trash um when they're waiting to pick someone up they'll clean out their cars while they're waiting and drop the trash on the sidewalk but I think that could um be significantly cut down if we were to reinstall um some Street trash cans especially at some of the bus stop locations so I just wanted to pose that um idea to council I totally agree with that we're way past two I know yeah they pulled them up when we changed over um about in 2020 they did pull them up and yeah there's there's nothing along the sidewalks even on the routs when the kids are going to school um so we might have to look into that and I don't know the best way to do that considering you know we were in we were fearing that people were going to dump garbage in um all their garbage into it but um I think we do need to to um councilwoman whitfield's point you know really look at that so my understanding mayor is that was actually the problem um is that those trash cans became dumping grounds for household waste um and that was part of the motivation at DPW at that time which was again before my time and that was some of the motivation at removing them I have been having conversations with DPW to install trash cans at the schools um along the the walk paths because one thing that I do notice is that students will come out and they'll do and then they'll just dump um but there was a little uh hesitation uh installing them just generally all over the municipality because they have turned into dumping grounds for residential trash so you know we can further that conver conversation um but I will support your decision along the school Pathways um but I think we should have a little further uh Dialogue on other locations in the township yeah and even if it's not generally throughout the township I think the bus stops are you know Prime locations because those um you know commuters that are using the um bus system you know have nowhere to put their garbage when they're waiting for the bus or when you know exiting the vehicle so um it it's become quite a nuisance a neighbor um that I talked to or a resident that I talked to just yesterday said that they pay a a young resident to clean up daily um because of the amount of trash that accumulates on that corner so um yeah that would be much appreciated if we can look into that excellent does anybody else have any input on that topic support or any I mean I would definitely want to include wind over Lane okay you know as they because a lot of high school kids you know walk down that service road past the golf course because I know a number of cans were removed from there as well right any any other council member no all right I think that's a great I think that's a great point Thank you thank you any other items for new business all right moving on to public comment public comment is now open you have four minutes this is public comment for any anything any issues or concerns that you would like to bring before the governing body um you have four minutes please state your name and address for the record public comment is now open we have some people online host uh yes mayor Martin knock uh good evening good evening everyone um Martin owin Lane first I want to say thank you to the township the township manager and all for getting the tree cut at the corner of bever cookus and Windor uh it has made it uh much more visible to see the traffic coming um up past Produce Junction um every day makes more um and so forth number two uh I want to say about the lights it's great that we are moving towards those uh LED lights it's also great to hear the PSG lady talk about uh smart Concepts I just want to make sure that we do not sign any contracts that give away ownership of the street light poles they do not belong to psng based on as you guys some of you know my previous uh research and involvement because in the future if we ever want to use uh those poles in front of our homes for communication devices or Broadband for the township we have to think forward uh that um the contract that we have just to put the the headlight on or or or the head uh does not give them uh ownership of those uh Street poles that's a critical piece because when a township owns uh its own uh light poles I'm not talking about the wooden poles I'm talking about those poles that light up our streets because at some point we might want to put devices on them that brighten them up lower them in certain sections and things like that that we want that uh capability instead of having to go through psng because there's a conflict or some misunderstanding about who owns those street lights levit did not give them to psng when this town was being built you can see that from any of the Deeds anything in the uh Burlington um uh uh clerk's office and so forth um but you know there's always some dispute since they've been maintaining some of it but we also have been paying for those lights um question from Mr Harris any uh estimation on once the lights are in uh the the what we would possibly save uh in terms of uh the light bill that we have since uh the LEDs uh should be cutting the bill 30 or 40% did they give you any projections on on that once they have completed I think we got about 3,300 street lights here and then in those uh places where there are um multiple lights and so forth even though those heads look the same they do come with different lumens and to put the brighter ones there and and uh the wattage of the ones that are in our Parks but overall I think it's a great idea uh uh it is really good idea I'm glad this we at least moving forward to some degree with psng thank you uh for listening thank you Mr okay Ed are you able to hear me yes we can hear you okay um so my question is uh with regards to the um tax assessments so my understanding is the count or if you could give us your name and address for the record oh sure Ed ala 33 Express Lan all right uh so so again my questions with regard ards to the the new assessments so the Count's um leving the new or requesting the new assessments and the assessments are going to be conducted by the Township's um tax assessor correct now um What mechanisms are there to appeal any assessments do we have to go through the whole process of appealing whatever assessments are are done because I'd gone through the process before and I was successful um however you know some of the reasons that were provided for my increased assessment rares um oh well you've got new siding you've got a new kitchen well the siding was from the 80s as was the kitchen so you know it seems to me it's just kind of like a um uh a guesstimate if you will by people doing drive by assessments if you will um you know versus some of the properties on my street many of which some of which I should say have been fully rehabbed that are also rentals right so those properties have had a lot of money sign into them but they're currently spending you know couple couple thousand less than what I spend a year so when you're looking at it in terms of I guess what you would call fairness right myself and many of the seniors on my street have a concern about that because at some point you know the county has to take that into consideration you look at similar homes in West Hampton they're paying half of what we pay in property taxes in some instances and I get it we're landlocked we've got you know those other townships they have more economic re revenue generated through tax sales things of that nature but you know I just think there has to be a more robust way um and a more accurate way to provide these assessments because my experience has has been that they are not as accurate as they should be you know and then again you know um what is the county doing to try and push new legislature if they can because it's really not sustainable there I count at least 10 seniors on my street some of which I've talked to recently who aren't able to maintain the proposed tax increases that are coming you know and that's only going to get worse if you look at it every three years or so I think taxes go up about 300 bucks a year I mean what happens 10 years 15 years out from now you know we're going to place folks in a position where they're not able to maintain their homes social security for them is maybe 1700 a month if your property taxes are 2500 a month then what do you do so I'd really be interested to see what conversations that Township can have at the county level to see if we can spark some kind of um debate about how that can be rained in a bit for future for future consideration I know Troy Singleton was just touting a couple years back how he was doing all this great work to reduce property taxes well we went up R about 1300 bucks six months ago the school board says they're raising taxes again next year now the county saying they're raising taxes again where are we going to be at in five years at this rate that's all I have thank you thank you Mr di Alara sure okay Maddie mallerie M mallerie Hudson Place and um Mr Harris was talking about cleaning out uh drains and there is a uh drain ditch in back of my property uh that runs across Charleston should I say under Charleston Road and about a month ago I reported to uh Public Works that there are a lot of logs right at the entry of where the drain goes under Charleston Road and I'm not sure that anyone has come out to um check that and my neighbor that lives at three it's uh Main in back of his property but it appears that uh the last time that we had a p outage and psng came out and had to cut some trees or parts of the trees back the heavy rains have uh pushed all of those logs down to the mouth of the drain so you know um we are concerned that if it continues uh if the log stay there and we continue to have the type of rain that we've had that we're going to have a real problem with because the water uh won't have any place to go so I would appreciate if someone would um give me an answer as to whether or not this has been reported and uh if someone could come out and take a look at uh that situation um the other thing is um this may have been discussed and and I could have missed it but because Veterans Parkway is a County Road um I'm curious to find out who's paying for the um Paving of of the Veterans Parkway is it being paid for by the township or is the county um you know paying for the uh repavement of Veterans Parkway and the other thing is that at 1:30 the sign still says let leit Parkway uh 130 and Veterans it does not say Veterans Parkway it says levit Parkway so just wanted to bring that to your attention and those are my um comments for this evening thank you address all right thank you Miss mallerie okay uh Terina Williams give me one second I'm have Mr Johnson just speak and then we'll sure all right go ahead go ahead for the rest of the zoom host you oh Miss Williams if you're speaking we can hear you oh um good evening mayor Macintosh Deputy Mayor Anderson councilman withfield coun Peron Miss Latoya MCB as a deputy Clerk and our new Township Clerk Mr faul were're both Keen alumni my name is Terina Williams of 8 botney Circle I first want to say special thanks to Mayor Macintosh for acknowledging World Lupus Day and informing our community of Lupus Awareness Month it meant it means a lot to me a second want to say special thanks to the police department for the thorough report that they did um this evening I admire and appreciate the police department for the great work they do for our community and the community outreach just about every time I look at a newsletter or I'm online I see different um activities that you guys managed to invol get involved in the mentoring program and the list goes on and on I really appreciate all the great work that you do um I want to say a special thanks to P psng for the hard work that they've been doing in our community um for Willing borrow connect and there it's an awesome app whenever I find out someone has moved into the community I promptly tell them make sure that you download the um the app on your phone so special thanks to Miss Jackson as well as the other members of the communication department for this app willar weekly and I always keep up to date with our Facebook page as well congrats to Parks and Recreation Department for the the grant that you got for the pickle um ball table at AR Creek Park I'm just in a about all the great works the various departments do for our community as we work collectively as a body to do great things for our community um thank you to Mr Harris for our monthly report and all the hard work that you do as well last but not least a special thanks to all the mothers star of course I have my own but I also want to wish everyone who are mothers grandmothers aunts and so forth or even mentors to different um Our Youth and children of our community may you have a happy Mother's day and may God richly bless you thank you thank you Miss Williams God bless okay bu Williams good evening mayor McIntosh Deputy Mayor Anderson councilwoman Whitfield councilman Peron and office manager not office manager Township manager Mr Harris and um congratulations to the new clerk welcome and our acting clerk thanks for the great work um Mr Harris always has such a comprehensive um report we appreciate you um I also want to let the police department know how much we appreciate them the uh the the um Workshop that we had uh they participated detective Richard Coupe um was one of the speakers he was articulate and helpful and informative and we really appreciate him also um officer landram and officer Jackson we appreciate them as well they were there um I can't say enough about how much we appreciate the police department um to me they are willing B Police Department is Second To None So kudos to them um also um the Burlington Health Department um I I appreciate them appre um participating in the workshop as well unfortunately um it coincided or conflicted with the um Township the Willing Township cleaner and it was on our service as well but we appreciate all the participants who um serve so valant to help make you know willing b a better place for us to live thank you so much um this Saturday we're uh uh celebrating women's Mother's Day really Mother's Day um celebrating Mother's Day on on Saturday and I want to personally um invite the mothers especially mothers who probably their children are far away or you know they will be alone come on out and enjoy a free meal a just be celebrated so please um this is Saturday um for service and lunch and if you don't feel like having the service you know come to lunch anyway um service begins at 9:30 and um usually the the service is over by say 12:30 quter one and then there's lunch right after so um please feel welcome because we welcome you uh let's see um couple couple uh meetings ago I mentioned or maybe more I mentioned the potholes and um they were filled so thank you thank you for being so responsive um the one and Bayberry and the corner of I think barington Lane I think it needs to be redone but I appreciate you know your prompt responsiveness um it shows that when the residents speak you know Mr Harris and everybody else the council you're listening and you're responsive to us and we appreciate it I think we have a wonderful counsel all of you are wonderful and I appreciate you and happy mother Mother's Day to all of you you know some some some mothers are not biological mothers but they're just as valuable the mother so thank you and come to lunch or come to the service we welcome you God bless you I'm sorry for overo sorry great happy Mother's Day to you thank you hey uh Brown good evening Sharon Brown 78 executive Lane I want to talk about the tax assessment moving forward we need to come up with a a way to reorganize things because I'm seeing the tax going up least $10,000 for the future or more we need to reorganize the system for the fire department the police department and the school we need to have something designated in Burlington County like a like the way we have cop City we need up one designated building for the police officer one designated building for the school in Burlington County so that we won't be burdened with the taxes and also the assessment Governor Murphy he ran on lowering the property tax now we're going forward to raising it again it's going to be soon for election we need to invite him to the township because we need answers about this change in the law assessing the property Tech to Market value that's I don't understand that at all it only looks like you want more money from my pocket that's what it looks like to me so moving forward we need to reorganize how we do things moving forward because sooner or later we're not going to be able to live in this Township the people that looks like me that's what it's looking forward as the future so we need to reconsider a lot of stuff that we're doing there's other ways of reorganizing things so we don't have to be burdened with increase because increase is important salary is important all of that is important but you can't burden the resident constantly about this so I'm want moving forward Governor Murphy come here because he need us to um let vote for him come here and talk to us of what he's going to do new law for property assessment not property value my house I bought it was r renovated all all the whole thing was renovated so you coming in my house telling me this and that when it was already done when I bought it so I'm very concerned how are we going to moveing forward and assessing this thank you very much thank you Miss Brown and Happy Mother's Day thank you Miss bran all right Sharon Anderson um hello this is Sharon can you hear me you can hear you miss thank you uh hi it's Sharon Anderson I'm from Seven bhur Lane and I am one of several people involved at Burl pet project and very pleased to partner for the second year with the town clerk's office for the pet clinic tomorrow um we're very excited because through a partnership with full house pets in Mount Laurel we're going to be able to provide free engraved tags for any pets um and if you don't have your pet with that's okay um we want to get more ID tags out because it's pretty much it's quite a shame of how many lost dogs can't be returned to their family because they don't have an ID tag um we're also going to have Tiny Paws Rescue with us and they're going to have some uh puppies uh I think bringing puppies as well as full grown dogs that are up for adoption friends of Burlington County Animal Shelter we expect to have them uh a couple Foster families from there and we will have information on cats and kittens and what to do if you find a litter um we have uh some teen helpers who are going to be coming we're very excited about the youth who are joining in our project and just to give you a heads up they are also uh conducting research on pet ordinances in surrounding towns and um similar towns um and apparently this is going to be good for their extra credit in their government AP class so we're very excited to have them working with us on the research it's tomorrow mil Creek Park 400 p.m. until 700 p.m. town clerk folks and neighborhood folks thank you very much thank you Miss Anderson is there anyone else online or public comment uh Sarah Holly good evening Council Sarah har n tyoga willing burrow I'm so glad that I could make it tonight um but I'm here and well so thank you for asking I want to take the opportunity to uh welcome the new Township manager to the community and I hope you will do a great job in Willingboro and spend your time making sure that all of the residents of Willingboro are treated fairly and equal especially for the Oprah uh requests uh make sure you're lawful and you abide by all the laws and not deny some uh simply because they are not associated with others so welcome to the borrow as we love to say and I'll be be on a lot but that's all I have to say tonight oh and I I want to brag since I'm on we always talking about Willingboro residents I want to brag about my two lovely Angels born and raised in Willingboro Township Willingboro Public Schools is the only education that they have known except for college my son tonight which is why I'm late just received his Doctorate from Satan University okay and I'm sure by now you know that my daughter was recently appointed superintendent of BCIT special services School District councilwoman Peron I just want to tell you personally that your daughter was magnificent uh the pictures that were post on Facebook is absolutely beautiful and with that ladies and gentlemen have a great night how you doing Mr Harris how are you Miss Holly it's a pleasure to hear from you this evening I know you missed me didn't all right good night thank you happy Mother's Day all right Bernice can you hear me thank you thank you Miss Bernice we can hear you we can hear you a little bit thank you mayor and counsel can you hear me now yes we can hear you perfectly now okay I'm Charles Johnson 45 thill Lane in the past Nate Anderson has helped us with a with a a problem years ago very thankful have three concerns one is street cleaning on occasion that's one the next one is uh the use of uh there used to be two Leaf pickups in in the fall now it's only one the third one we live in a a horseshoe a lot of speeding we're we're are thinking about if we can possibly getting one or two speed bumps which would be very very helpful especially on Lane children walk that street and they and they the traffic is horrendous and they drive very very fast excuse me who's speaking now this is berinice this Bernice Johnson yes and what's your what's the address 4 Thornhill Lane okay okay you can continue so on Tyler Lane uh I see kids walking back and forth to uh school and traffic is horrendous and they drive very fast down the street the issue needs to be addressed by possibly having more traffic cops out there to stop them and give them tickets or Warnings or speed bumps that's a very very uh big concern of ours for the safety of our children Also earlier someone mentioned about the trash cans I am a traffic guard and my post is at Veterans Highway and chareston road so we know that there is a lot of traffic people don't pay attention and they turn when we're crossing streets children crossing the streets they turn on us all the time and when they say that we could get their um tag numbers and report him well just how fast do that at the same time is crossing crossing the kids I think they probably need some type of a camera there there is a lot of traffic that come through there uh that turn when they're not supposed to turn and one time I was well more than one time I was crossing the kids and cars turn right behind the kids or in front of the kids that's a real serious concern of ours earlier someone spoke about TR uh trash can now we definitely need a trash can on that corner because people come this trash bottles everything in that fill right on that corner so please consider that as well that's all I have to say thank you there happy Mother's Day thank you thank you Mr Mrs Johnson thank you anyone else online Mr Johnson I don't feel a day over5 good evening councel and always good to see you um my name is Gary Johnson 54 grammar Elaine and I have just a couple of questions I wish that we would had a chance to talk to people from psng because I have a pet peeve that there's a street light on my street at grammar C and Gallum that has been out for over a year now last time I looked there was a little sign on it that said they were waiting Parts well okay now they're getting parts can we get it changed uh they very much appreciated also with the issue of LED lights and being brighter I am all for brighter lights and better illumination however I'd have to ask are there any consequences of this like environmental does this have any environmental impact anyway LED lights are brighter but that can also cause people's Vision to be kind of blotted out the lights make it more difficult to see things in the dark and that might be a problem for some in some places so it's all good that we have better lighting but we we really want to be conscious of whether there's any consequences to that lighting um to the safety unit I think that's a that's a good unit and I think one of my questions has been partially answered that the presentation identified certain locations that had higher incidents of traffic and identify those as good but another thing is to have to look at the data and say well you know do we have a cause here that could be mitigated and he mentioned part of it of of looking through the data and do that but I think we ought to be very careful about not ignoring that aspect of it because if we can do something to medicate it and improve it that way that's almost better than and than taking up an officer's time with regard to the officer time I can understand that this might not require an increase in officers however I do have a concern that in a major well in a number of instances of police stops a backup unit is dispatched and that's going to take another unit so does that in any way affect the Manpower situation um another thing is and I may be way off base here because I'm not saying this from personal observation but when the work on Veterans Parkway began I decided I wanted no part of trans facing it so I rearranged my route to go from Kennedy over Charleston Charleston all the way down to where I work work but the other day I took Veterans Parkway anyhow and I thought I saw a change in the lighting at Charleston Road in veterans Parkwood that it looked like the Green Arrow was no longer there it just was a green and one of my colleagues at work this morning said something about maybe there was an accident there this morning or because he space situations where the green lights have been on that would indicate a a turn was permissible but traffic was authorized to go anyway in NE Direction which is certainly not a very good situation uh and he also said that he had observed instances where traffic has been backed up from Charleston Road all the way back to the bridge because someone was sitting at the light looking at a green light that would allow him to turn but because it wasn't his green light he was familiar with he was afraid to turn so my reason for bringing this up is if in this case there is some element to it I was una aware of any notification of changes in the lighting at Charleson so if changes were made they really should have been advertised there so that people and residents were prepared for it and better looking for it I think it's just in the better interest in traffic in Willingboro to make residents as aware as possible to changes so they can be looking out and if that statement is true we can slip the ball a little bit so thank you and Happy Mother's Day and have a good evening haris all right start May or not kudos for the there are uh savings associated with LED lighting um I do not have the anticipated savings for the municipality um overall um but with each light transition he was talking about the contracts um part of those the information that's provided from from psng is what the current um wattage currently is and what the anticipated um wattage would be with the LED lighting so we are aware of those down uh adjustments um but I don't know how that transitions into overall uh savings cost across the whole municipality because we're just really beginning the process um as far as the giving away of the polls there were no transition ition of lighting poles or any of that it's just their agreements to um transition the lighting on those poles and the associated um anticipated um usage of of electricity associated correct you know to the LEDs um Mr di ala um his concerns as many other residents the new assessment going um going is there a mechanism to appeal yes and the the mechanism to appeal would be the same mechanism that is in place now up for your tax um assessments uh you can apply for an appeal at the designated time um with the township and the County Board of Taxation and those appeals are held at the County Board of Taxation and then um the decisions are are rendered okay I appreciate that um um Miss mallerie um did say that she had some drainage issues in her backyard I don't know if there's some waterf flow and was it new is it Newport Lane who's is it Hudson Place I'm sorry yeah I'm not aware of any reports um on for Hudson Place made with DPW but I will follow up with that uh she did mention that pscg had come down and cut down some brush U my understanding was psng addressed those individual situations uh but we will follow up with with that as well one of the issues that we've noticed that people are property owners that are along and they have the culverts behind their homes and that they need to understand that those culverts technically are municipal property okay however what they are doing is they're dumping their grass clippings and their yard clippings and their brushes and all of that into those coverts and uh they're uh continuing to get clogged and clogged um we're developing plans with DPW to get them cleaned out but we ask persons to stop dumping their glass clippings and brush into those covers and that will help alleviate uh problems through the whole system is there are there messages going out to direct houses that we know their backyard uh not at this time but there will be yes all right and yeah can we just check out um Miss mallerie's just make sure there's no logs um lodged yes um also Veterans Parkway we're still are we awaiting a signage from the county from Route 130 yeah Route 130 is a state road so we're waiting for the state to change that sign we'll follow up with them because it's been a bit of time now okay all right um the Williams they did indicate that they will have a Mother's Day event at the 7th Day of Venice 12:30 lunch um uh Miss Brown again concerns about the tax assessment um and maybe some reorganiza reorganizing into the regional system a regional system I don't know that's not even on the table right now um but I I would recommend also with the tax assessment that we do reach out to Senator Singleton's office for the state um because I did talk to the county and they did indicate that you know is really um their tax their tax assessment um building is separate from them um or their tax assessment way method is separate from you know their purview and that is really coming from the state so I would recommend I'm going to send a I'm going to speak to senat Singleton um but if any residents have any questions I would reach out to sen Senator Singleton also um Miss Holly um kudos to Dr Dr Darvis Holly she had a uh you know pretty eventful couple of weeks for um Ashanti and Daris um Dr doc both doctors so yeah congratulations to both congratulations to Darvis and congratulations to Ashanti for um her promotion um I think that's great and yes as she indicated Willingboro educated children um grew up in willbo so you know I think they do make Willingboro proud so I think that is a you know a great a great kudos to them um the Johnson's Charles and Bernice Johnson um some in some speeding issues on Tyler Drive and I've seen that too so I think we do want to um assess some speed common measures on Tyler Drive um some also concerns the leaf pickup I believe we went through there twice with Hills all right and street cleaner you know that I guess there's some debris on Thornhill um also miss Bernice had some issues with the she's a crossing guard I guess public safety's crossing guard having some issues with people turning rapidly while she's on duty and was told to get license plate but that's a little hard in the middle okay take care of that okay um Mr Johnson he had um Mr Johnson had some issues or no concerns um about the environmental impact and the vision visual impact of the LEDs I don't think there's any environmental impact um with LED lighting um I don't know if you've had the opportunity to go out into our parking lot after dark but the lighting is just tenfold of what it was but there's no glare or you know visual impact on at least my vision um the lights aren't directed into Lanes of traffic they're just kind of glooming down into the street um and they're a little more directed whereas now you have kind of like the Globes the bulby and they just kind of spread light these are kind of more focused that the light is kind of and and they're what so these are the problems I have every day my office kind of more straight down and direct that how you straight down and directed okay so uh yeah so that's that's all I have to say for this evening thank you very much you know but there is some can we just make sure we follow up because sometimes even with the LED headlights they do cause you know they're brighter and nicer but they do some oncom oncoming but led headlighting they're kind of in your face pointed directly to you and yes exactly thank you mayor again I'm done happy Mother's Day you in weeks um can we just bring you back up just to address some of Mr Johnson's um questions about the yes sir I believe one of his questions was uh was in reference to um the additional Manpower um that's why the unit is was formed so there'll be no additional Manpower that's needed it's self-contained one one unit they'll back each other up and they'll assist and help each other um his other uh question he talked about was the traffic pattern on uh Veterans Parkway I know during the paving they covered those directional lights up um uh we'll go ahead and we'll check to make sure obviously um they didn't take them all down so that sounds like what the problem was is that they didn't they didn't make a permanent change to that light those light fixtures that they covered them with with bags and electrical tape and maybe that one was just missed so we'll take a look up and down veterans to make sure that all of the traffic signals are are working correctly yeah and and can somebody help me I have gramy gallant and I don't know what that referred to what you said something about gramy and Gallant Lane the light the light light was out yes thank you yeah thank you lights out can we look at that we made oh oh you're doing it okay did I miss anything outse did I cover everything no I think you got everything there all right right well we'll go into Council comments does any Council have any comments yes ma'am Deputy Mayor all right just want to thank everyone for coming out as usual the uh clean communities project uh was a great success as identified want to thank Kevin and his team um the Partnerships that we formed you know it it was just great keep up keep up the good work the Phenomenal Woman program was great very well attended we we had the opportunity to honor our very own uh one of the honores was officer Jackson uh unfortunately she couldn't be there our prayers are with her but the way the the the police force showed up for her it it was awesome the way the guys showed up to show their support so she's in our prayers for a speedy recovery um Dr Bernice King Board of Education was honored Debbie price and uh Denise I'm sorry Denise I'm thinking Dr Denise please don't tell her Marcus and uh Dr Worthy's daughter uh Khloe Simone worthy received the Trailblazer award in honor of uh Miss Kim kensaw who has passed on so it was a wonderful wonderful event um Miss Holly already beat me to it but congratulations to both doctors uh Dr Shanti Holly and to Dr Darvis Holly um let me see what else what else what else thank you Captain Perez for the uh presentation uh with the Traffic Division it it it appears that it will be a a great addition to uh what we're already doing here and just a little side note one day this week our mayor was coming in she parked in the mayor spot one of the officers said one of the officers because I I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry one of the officers had scanned the plate yeah yeah yeah but no no I'm just saying it was just hilarious so the program is working the program is working [Laughter] um thank you thank you to uh thank you to Deon Kindle for the grant H for the pickleball courts my girlfriend uh Chelly Miller will be very happy to hear this um Latoya thank you very much for the the work that you put in just jumping into the fire taking on a responsibility you would a glued to kept us going so thank you for that and happy happy Mother's Days to all to include you Kevin have a good evening any other Council comments um good evening everyone first I want to extend a warm welcome to Mr fault we're glad to have you on board and excited to working with you as we go forward and creating a better willing B um Miss Cooper McBride thank you so much for your dedication and um your support of the council over the past few months I know it was not easy um but you did a great job and I just want to thank you for all of your hard work um also I want to um acknowledge and and give a big thanks to Mr Harris and Miss Diggs and all of the Departments for all of their hard work on another successful budget season um for the second year in a row we've been able to decrease taxes um and for the second year in a row we've been able to decrease taxes um and not by cutting services we've actually been able to increase Services while decreasing taxes um which is almost unheard of in municipal government um so thank you to the administration um thank you to my Council colleagues um for all of their you know support and ideas and um it couldn't be done without a team effort so thank you everyone and I'm sure the the residents will will be able to feel this one um even though we went down last year it was just a slight decrease but this one's a little bigger than slight um um I'm looking forward to seeing all the dog parents tomorrow at the dog clinic tomorrow at mil Creek Park from 4: to 7:00 it's going to be a great event um so I'm looking forward and I hope some some we make some new dog parents or animal parents while we're there with all of The Fosters and adoptable animals that'll be there um also I want to see everybody out on Friday to hear the Citron and incab band um they are a fantastic group they perform at the Jazz Festival all the time um incredible music and that'll be at the amphitheater outside of the library on Friday at 700 p.m. um the first of our summer series so it's nice with the warmer weather to get out and and fellowship together um and lastly but certainly not leastly um I want to take a moment to wish all of the mothers a Happy Mother's Day it is your love and dedication and support that helps keep our community strong so thank you to all the mothers out there there um for all that you do and that's all I have mayor thank you um I just like to Echo um the my past colleagues um that just spoke before um to congratulator to all of the honores and um of course to my neighbors Daris Holly and Ashanti Holly congratulations on your accomplishments I also want to um extend an um a sincere appreciation to miss Latoya for stepping in um she was a wonderful Clerk and um I want to um also welcome Mr ettz I'm looking forward to working with you I'm sure you're going to do an amazing job and um that's really all I have I just want to um wish all of the mothers a Happy Mother's Day and that's it thank you thank you councilman per I just want to say everyone thank you for coming out I am excited about Friday for our Music um our music series I'm I'm I'm glad um it's expanding from last year um so now we have a dedicated time to get together bring your chairs just bring your chairs um and I look forward to seeing everyone Friday also um a lot of work was done in our garden at the Kennedy Center so I don't know the hours please fill me in the hours but um if you want to any resident can go take a look and volunteer um over there we have a great thing going a great start to a community garden um it's over at the JFK Center I just don't not sure the hours of the weekends oh the building hours oh okay yeah just go okay volunteer or come take a look um what we got I think that's a you know it's a great Endeavor um that the recreation is partnering with goow um um also I'd also want to just say happy Mother's Day to everyone the aunties the stepmothers the mothers that didn't yeah a lot of a lot of mothers out here let the women stepping up and taking care of um our future so just want to say Happy Mother's day and thank you Mr Harris for expanding my vocabulary [Laughter] today so with that being said I have a great night willber we're not we're not going to have executive tonight so we can close out motion to adjourn all yeah May no moot second yep all in favor say I all right thank you you said 9:33 oh