[Music] hello and welcome to wiers the best town around my name is John McCormack I'm the mayor of this great town and we're here tonight for the always Pleasant task of recognizing police officers for heroism and bravery and just simply doing a terrific job as a police officer in Woodbridge Township and we also have a special Proclamation uh right after that for a young man who retired after I'll read the proclamation in a few minutes but a long long time working not only for the township of Woodbridge but the county of middle sex and just an impressive career of public service but let's begin with officer Michael Schneider who is in the house officer Matthew Murdoch is not but they are Partners come on up Officer Murdoch I mean officer Schneider I'm sry officer Schneider here Murdock SN he's got two this is not just one Proclamation this guy's got two let me read them both uh on February 1st 2024 officer Michael Schneider in concert with officer Matthew Murdoch we're conducting a proactive investigation targeting identified crime trains in the area of US Highway 1 in the avano section of town at 239 a.m. officer Schneider and Murdoch observed two adult males walk into a wooded area behind the avanel motel and subsequently observed the suspects attempting to force entry into the motel through a rear window and where as they approached the suspects in the midst of committing a burglary in process they attempted to flee in opposite directions officer Schneider and Murdoch ordered the suspects to Halt while taking up foot pursuit the suspects complied and were taken into custody whereas further investigation determined that the suspect individuals apprehended were attempting to gain unlawful entry into the Deo motel for the purpose of committing a burglary and number 2 on February 23rd in a busy month officer Schneider in concert with Officer Murdoch were conducting a proactive investigation uh Y at 11:53 p.m. they observed a black Toyota Camry back into a parking space in front of a closed business adjacent to America's Best Value in officer Schneider and Mur Murdoch undertook surveillance of the suspect vehicle and within a short period of time observed an adult female exit the hotel and approached the vehicle utilizing experience and training they approached the vehicle and observed in plain view illegal narcotics which allowed for the probable cause search of the vehicle and they recovered a large bag containing oh boy siloc cyon mushrooms 10.5 ounces of marijuana additional THC products 1415 Reus resellable bags labeled nothing but heat 133 packages of Vapes and 180 claing containing 180 gram of THC and assorted drug paraphernalia that's a lot of information there and they secured the arrest of the individuals on various charges related to The Possession and distribution of illegal narcotics ladies and gentlemen officer Michael Schneider and his partner who's not here officer Matthew Murdoch now the answer is usually no but I'm going to give you an opportunity if you'd like to say a few words I'll say something real quick okay I just want to say thank you to everybody here um I want to say also so I'm grateful to work on an awesome Squad I worked at midnight shift Squad 12 um everybody who works nights uh a lot of these incidents we all work together we get the job done I have great supervisors great fellow officers uh couldn't ask for a better team and uh that's it thank you and you apparently have an eye for Poli we've all try we terrific can you pass one of these along once for you and once for Matthew B oh no I'm sorry they're both yours they're both his okay we're good yeah we're good before doing our next Proclamation let me introduce the people at the deas here all the way to the left councilman large Greg ficara to his left hoe Bower covering the second of Fort so on casby to his left councilwoman large L Beth De Jesus to her left fifth W councilwoman Debbie mean to her left fourth word councilman Vero Patel to his left councilman at large and current council president Kyle Anderson to his left Deputy Police director Joe nisi and to his left the Police director Bob hubner let me ask you two guys first if you want to either one wants to say something about our officers you know first ID like to thank the mayor for recognizing the outstanding work the men and women of the police department do um officer Schneider's Dad's on the job so Apple doesn't fall far from the tree does a great job young officer and this is the first time he's received the words from the police department so congratulations than all right next up I'd like to call up Chief Patrick Kenny from the Woodbridge Township office of emergency management one more officer I'm sorry I thought you said we were doing now oh sorry you did tell me this is not my this is my fault not your fault all right sorry officer George biato congratulations police officer George did I pronounce be out all right yes sir even if I didn't you wouldn't say would you a three-year veteran assigned to radio Patrol has demonstrated commit to policing Public Safety and law enforcement and on February 3rd 2024 multiple Patrol units were dispatched to mam Joana Cafe in the island section of town on report of an assault in Pro progress resulting in injuries where his officer Bato arrived on scene and observed an adult male victim lying on the ground in the parking lot suffering from a serious taboo into the right leg officer Bato immediately conducted a medical assessment and applied an emergency tourat to the victim's leg which effectively stemmed the arterial bleeding until the arrival of emergency medical technicians and whereas officer biato is hereby recognized for his commitment and dedication to duty in providing emergency medical treatment which saved the life of the seriously injured victim of a crime and he's honored today before the PD fellow officers family and Community once again ladies and gentlemen somebody's alive because of the actions of a Woodbridge Township police officer congratulations I give you the same opportunity all right I'll say something real quick so I just want to thank everyone for your presence tonight the mayor's office and our police directors for awarding me this recognition I must say that everyone played a role that night and um in addition to that our EMTs Who provided further care for the patient while transporting him to the hospital thank you do you have um specific EMT training besides what you have as a cop I I do not but uh we do training right every year orderly with uh EMT uh first aid and things like that sir so a lot of the stuff that I did that night is from the training that we received from our Police Department great how does it feel to know somebody's live because of your actions feels good sir all right great thank you okay now we'll get to Chief Patrick Kenny W brid Township office of emergency manager first I missed your little lunch in a couple of weeks ago I was out I got back but I was late you were gone you must have known I was coming and then you had uh something else the next day I don't know we were so busy that week I'm sorry I missed both of those but we've seen each other enough over the past many years let me read the proclamation whereas Chief Patrick Kenny Woodbridge Township office of emergency management and lifelong Woodbridge Township resident represents the Woodbridge Township First Response Community as director of the office of emergency management and whereas Chief Kenny began his story story 39-year career 39 folks with the township of Woodbridge in 1985 as a special law enforcement officer and received appointment as coordination of OEM and supervisor of the Woodbridge Police Department traffic maintenance and toyard Division in 2008 and whereas Chief Kenny uh coordinated the Woodbridge Township emergency response to superstorm Sandy in October 12 the covid-19 pandemic in 2021 by providing Frontline life-saving Protective Services to the Woodbridge Township First Response and essential Personnel Community to include medical health and assisted living providers and Township residents and coordinated Community response following hurricane Ida in August 21 and whereas Chief Kenny o stands as a life member and ranking officer of the Woodbridge Township Fire Department having served in every capacity of Fire Company operations to include Chief 93 first assistant chief 92 second assistant chief 911 Captain engine division 1990 Lieutenant engine division 89 and has further served as president of the Volunteer Fire Company 97 and 98 and whereas Chief Kenny has demonstrated leadership Community involvement and dedic ation to purpose and upon occasion of his retirement is announced and honored before the Woodbridge Township municipal government and First Response Community peers family and friends now therefore I John McCormack mayor of the township of Woodbridge in coner with the Town Council proclaim the 16th day of April in the year 2024 to be Chief Patrick Kenny day throughout Woodbridge Township this is his own day and the good news is that he has his own day the bad news is that 18 hours went by and he didn't even know it yet so he's got six hours left to celebrate Chief Patrick Kenny day I just want to say this is a day this is not a date so don't call me next year and say what are we doing on April 16th for Patrick Kenny day there's no that's not it it's today that's it period but I just want to say it's it's it great being it's great being a mayor all the time time but it's really comforting having been a mayor the whole time where Pat was involved in this town government we were so lucky to have Pat basically he's done so many different jobs that when when he left we had to get different people to do different things but we always felt comfortable I'm sure Council would agree we always felt comfortable during uh covid during Sandy during Ida knowing Pat was on the job I think he was very instrumental in St Joe's nursing home that was a very tough situation during covid it wound up being the only Nursing Home in the state of New Jersey they got completely evacuated people transported somewhere else the facility was deep cleaned and sanitized and people were brought back that wound up being the first and only one that happened like that I know Pat was very involved in that I know he was out there uh coordinating the the effort there it was a very serious situation people passed away who were living there uh and then again Sandy Ida you name it anything that's ever happened bad in town hate to say it that way but anything that's happened bad in town Pat's been involved with making sure it was not so bad and in many cases very good so again the Comfort we had knowing we didn't have to worry about things because Pat Kenny was on the job I just can't tell you how much that meant to us we're going to miss him uh and he just did a wonderful job for the township of Woodbridge and we heard about his fire company uh experience for some somebody to maintain a full-time job working for the town like he did and still have the time to do all the work for the fire company is just unbelievable the amount of Public Service this man has done for wber Township so ladies and gentlemen Chief Patrick Kenny thank you mayor thank you to the Police director that director Council Administration want to thank my wife my brother my sister my sister-in my mother-in-law my sister-in-law is over here commissioner how for coming out I want to thank everybody uh it's a long career went through a lot of stuff airplane crashes how about that oh you forgot that see the gamut I retired two weeks too early I miss the earthquake that's it thank you very much I appreciate I'm going to give uh Bob and Joe a chance again to talk about Patrick if you don't mind yeah first I'd like to congratulate Pat on his retirement he wore a lot of hats for the police department he was uh in charge of the towy yard for a while our operations and man uh operations and planning manager uh he was the OEM coordinator and he was chief of the specials so he wore a lot of hats he did them all well uh he was my go guy if I needed something I knew I could call him 24/7 he always answered most of the time he was already working so uh you know congratulations to him on a long great [Applause] career so so Pat Uh I don't know if you realize it but you're the longest standing member of our Command Staff uh Pat only Bob and Pat and I saw everybody come and everybody go so so you you hung in there a long time he been a wonderful part of our Police Department uh one thing that we didn't get to highlight is the uh auxiliary and special police I mean we depend on the auxiliary and special police so much Pat was Chief and he always made sure that they were there when we needed them like the mayor said he wore a lot of different hats and I don't know how many times when I needed something and it was always Pat that we could call and he could figure it out for us so he's going to be sorely missed uh we really did do appreciate everything you did for us P thank you I guess I can now eras 732 425 2157 from my memory bank and from my phone directory because I won't need to call Pat for an emergency anymore anybody from the Town Council Kyle anybody want to say a few words great come on up yeah I've had the pleasure to work with uh Pat in Pleasant things uh road races bike tours and when you're running those things you know you have a checklist and you're looking at it you're going down and I and I go to Pat I go Pat we do we have the con that we have this the most reassuring words you want to hear is don't worry sir we've got it that was it thank you brother um I've had the pleasure of uh just seeing his career in in in a town the size of Woodbridge we have a lot of emergencies so uh from all of the people uh on the council the mayor and our Police director and assistant Police director we always had confidence in the decisions they made based on the information that they got from from Pat I also had the pleasure of working closely with his brother Jack and and Charlie and uh the the Kenny family's really uh done a lot for wber Township and um while Pat is up here today I know that um it was um you know a family affair uh with the Kenny so I just want to thank you all for for the time and effort that you've given our town thank you [Applause] should have introduced and I failed to introduce the other elected official in the off in the audience which uh kle just mentioned former first award councilman 16 years and now he's in his I'm here as a brother you're here as a brother but you're still an elected official so longtime councilman Curr middle SE County Commissioner Charlie [Applause] Kenny all rise for the flight for the flag I to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible with and justice for all I'd like to ask if we just remain standing and give a moment of silence uh there's a lot going on in the Middle East right now and let's uh let's pray and and hope uh for for peace in the Middle East thank you notice requirements of the open public meeting law have been satisfied concerning this meeting the home newswing The Star Ledger published a notice on October 6 20123 was posted on the municipal bulletin board and should be so noted in the minutes of this meeting councilman Bower here councilwoman de Seuss here councilman bicara councilwoman moli councilwoman M here councilman Patel here councilman small vice president Spiller and president Anderson here can I get a motion that the minutes be approved from April 2nd 2024 motion second any questions or comments from Council all favor I I I oppos eyes Havoc beginning with second reading ordinances this evening we will take letter a first which is an ordinance amending chapter 7 in titled traffic and this is with regards to parking time limits set on Marone Avenue I get a motion that this ordinance you take it up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open second any questions comments all in favor I I oppos I have it the public hearing is now open on letter a letter A only hear no comment from the public can I get a motion at the public hearing be closed the ordance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppos eyes have it letter B is an ordinance that resends ordinance 20243 this is with regards to drainage easement of for the county uh on Chen Hills Road can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open mo second any questions or comments from councel all in favor I I oppos eyes have it public hearing is now open on letter b letter B only and reminder this is resending an ordinance that was previously adopt uh John Wood um that eement on the county uh is there something to do with Herz uh Creek because mayor said let let it be uh the Ean at the County uh for drainage it's something to do with uh Herz Creek because mayor said that's that's a county project on Main so uh actually it's the uh Port portion over by the um chainer Hills Road that we talked just a county project it is a county project uh over off of chainer Hills Road where chainer Hills in new do okay over there it's not to do with over here no thank you you're welcome any other comments or questions from the public on letter b letter B only here no other comment can a motion that public hearing be closed the ordance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I opposed eyes have it letter C an ordinance uh amending the chapter 150 land use and development ordinance in the township of Woodbridge with regards to storm water control can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open m second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have it the public hearing is now open on letter c letter C only he no comment from the public can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law Mo second questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have it listed before you for first reading ordinances letters d e f g h and I can I get a motion that these ordinance we pass on first reading published in the home Tribune on April 19th 2024 with notice of public ter be held on May 7th 2024 at 6: p.m. thank you and second give a second second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I opposed eyes have finally Mr President to have resolutions listed as 1 through 22 can I get a motion by consent second second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppose I thank thank you uh we will now go into our public portion of the meeting uh When approaching the microphone in the back please state your name in what section of the township or state that you live in uh you will have a one-time opportunity to speak up to 5 minutes uh all videotaping must be done in the ribbon area over there and um we just ask that you're respectful to one another uh please make sure that there are no signs or posters in the aisles or walkways during your uh once you start winding down in your time I'll give you a one minute warning if you would then just wrap up your comments your comments uh your five minutes does include any um back and forth exchange between myself the mayor or any of the council people so uh if we do have anyone that wishes to speak to the uh tonight March Pat Woodbridge first of all I want to mention that the mayor is a huge animal Advocate and I can say that I've known for many years is he what oh yes he is we would have gotten sh if it wasn't said going back to the rest meeting uh you had said that there is noin pertaining to this is shelter page which states there is an ordinance inting cat that have so yes I have a list of the ordinances that um I don't know if I said that there's no ordinance that has no TNR I said we had no budget line item for TNR in Woodward town just now my second thing is there's a colony we TN many many CS but ear half about two years ago right the one kit it's located now and now sign is up there that cat explain that to me are they start check there's a sign at the colony yeah okay here it is all right and it's saying not to feed the cats okay say any at this location folks years so there is an ordinance that does address that what does it say Okay um so I'm going to go into it right there I'm sorry gotcha okay all right so there are a few ordinances one is 11-4 one uh when applies to the proprietorship of a cat or domestic animal or a dog um shall mean every person have a right to property in such dog cat uh other domestic animals and every person who Harbors or has such a dog cat or domestic animal in his keeping okay um and then and um it does discuss regarding the uh feeding of a of an animal excuse me um Mr Anderson but I know all that okay my my question to you andoun Administration and i' like to that sobody going to feed those cats contr colony which there is a feeder they're going to feed La so it does say this this ordinance existed before our prior meeting where it says no person shall feed an outside cat unless the cat is spayed or Neu yeah so now this the animals and it's on the fence my question is if theer his ta what happens he will be pred is that our sign yeah okay uh Mr simuka if you just step in on I I'll defer to our our Township Council it's a it's a ordinance on the books you shouldn't feed stray animals so okay yeah so yes they would have to be spayed or neutered before they could be fed they would have to be what spay or neutered before they could be F feeder yeah so the colony so the feed okay so okay so then nobody's going to be prosecuted for feeding an animal that's spay or neutered no one's not if the Spade or neutered that's what the the law is understand that it does that this sign we saw today okay well this is the sign was intended for animals that weren't spad or neutered for people feeding wild animals to to avoid bringing wild animals located is exactly what okay that is your time what we'll do is take a look at that sign but uh to Mr Nolan's Point um the sign it just specifically says that you should not feed any animals okay we are aware if there is a spay or nuted animal um that that animal can be fed all right but there's also other ordinances regarding um if you feed those animals and who those now animal you now assume ownership of those animals you came at the last meeting and asked where five cats were that were missing and we don't we don't keep track of of uh wild animals we don't keep track wild animal cats we don't keep track of feral cats either but I still didn't get an answer to the wants to know go I already answered that I said I said to you yes if they are if they are why sign we're going to keep going around in circles the sound I I'm not getting an answer you are getting an answer you asked me if you're if somebody's going to be prosecuted and I said no the sign is there the sign the sign predates this ISS issue and we'll look at sign but the law says you can't be prosecuted so forget the sign you can't be prosecuted for it okay how about your time is up Mr Petro we have to ask someone else we yeah we we as I said in the beginning um you have five minutes and it does include our exchange I'm sorry I didn't get to your question but we can put that question if you want to put it in writing we'll try to answer that question or you can come back at the next meeting or I'll talk to you after the meeting if or we'll talk to you after the meeting hi Allen roads forts last meeting on April 2nd the county you're breaking the place up AR [Music] I'm the council meeting last April 2nd everyone agreed on the board that te R 100 cats in Woodbridge was suffice can you hear me yes okay and I just want to know where you came up with the number for 100 because in the last previous three years you have not done 100 cats in our Township plus when you break that down it really only is 10 cats per town so how did that number come into play with a community as large as ours do we really think 10 cats per town is going to be sufficed for TNR in our community so that number was extrapolated based on the fact that we had 23 cats at that present moment which was basically the first quarter we're in April right now okay so if we are stay on that pace then we will have uh we will have 100 um approximately 100 cats now as far as what section of town I can't tell if one is an isling cat or one is an avanel cat okay right you're right yeah I just wanted to know if you breaking it down for town or how you would you know helping people I had asked for the policy and procedure and how this was developed and I never got it to to date so I would know when people are calling what they needed to say what how they needed to approach the shelter no one had given me anything in writing I sent it to the mayor I sent it to Phil and I'm still waiting so and then I want to know why is the township so opposed to having a mobile vet come in maybe twice a year to in at the shelter to do all the spade and neuters to help the the township people we could do it as a fundraiser with a 50/50 with some baskets you know and and a meet and greet with the animals that are currently residing at the shelter you know and and work with the people in our community to try and get some more cats and dogs fixed it wouldn't just be exclusive for cats only but it could be a fundrais that the township could could present you have the property you have a big enough space at the at the shelter to do something like this so I I when you say opposed we're not opposed to what it is is um we're comfortable with the program that we're operating under as far as our health department we're comfortable in in the process in which it happens we do work with a a local vet um in which these uh animals are uh neutered and um and that's really basically what it is is is that we're comfortable with the information that's been given to us from our Administration and our health department based on the cap population that we have here in Woodbridge Township and and how it's how it's being handled I understand that um some of you represent different organizations or other groups that you work with um but what it is is we're we're just comfortable in how it works works now and I guess in a sense like uh we have Wag that we work with and you know what is the opposition that maybe you guys have with working with that within that organization well I'm blocked from that organization okay so I mean I had no problem working with it they blocked me for some reason so I mean I was I I approached them I said I would help them with fundraising I would help with transporting you know and I was blocked so whatever reason that is maybe I don't I that's another thing I don't see why they don't want to work with people who are currently doing stuff within the community why do we have to be a separate entity yeah you have one minute or okay I you know I don't know why why they feel like we're against them or that we're doing something to hurt them we don't ask for any money yeah and it's really against the law to basically probably have me blocked from a public page but whatever that's not you yeah that I I don't know what the reasoning is right I don't I don't either yeah I mean what it is is as a council we've met with our mayor our Administration and our health department and we've been comfortable with the information that they've presented to us okay how we can help control that population as well our goal is is exactly what your goal is all right our goal is is to have a controlled population of feral cats in our community and we feel that our health department has been hand that might not show up as a line item as far as tag and you know neuter and release or trap neuter and release it doesn't show up as a line item but it does show in the budget that we have there that we're handling that problem as a part of our overall um Public Health objective okay thank you thank you are there any other comments from the public this evening hi my name is Judy I lived in Mena park for over 50 years I'm just talking um from the heart on behalf of this program um I think you're comfortable with what you're doing but we need more there we come across hundreds of cats I mean just in my area alone I've seen tons of them over the years um mommy cats who are desperately in need of food and then they wind up they can't take care of themselves their lone babies and this program does all that they Foster they know how to catch cuz she can't just go up to a feral cat grab it and I it's just so important to have more help I I I think um there's just so many more cats than you're probably aware of perhaps um and and I just you know I I just think it's just so important and teamwork is the best thing if there's just a way that we could all somehow do more together somehow I I don't know how to make that happen but maybe you could be the first one to figure that out and and somehow get more results together CU there's a lot more than 100 cats right now they have four mommy cats and 13 babies they're taken care of that's only a piece of it I mean all the years I've lived here I've seen I can't even count and I have a backyard full of than myself that we just had taken care of and that's only me so it's just endless so I you know now Judy I I appreciate your comments and uh what it is is we don't I if we did 125 or 150 how much would be the number that what is the target well is there a way that we could just all somehow sit down someday and have a meeting and go back and forth and everybody figure out what each other needs well I I have met I've met with Arlene and I've spoken with her but uh it was more about the program that uh she felt was uh that she was working within that she wanted to perhaps the township to work with um but then when I went back and spoke with the administration um we felt that I felt more comfortable with the number you know it's like if you go and start uh one program and then someone else comes along and says well this program's better and this is why and then we go and start that program and then another group comes along and says the same thing um just the other day there was an article in in uh the patch about a a coyote following a dog walker in Westfield in a park and it was a vicious picture of a a a coyote following him one of the things that they stated in there was residents should not feed animals uh wild animals they shouldn't feel feed feral cats uh because that does attract act animals this is a picture of a fox that was sleeping on my mother's loan furniture all right very big fox I've heard about Fox's big ground and I saw a fox the other day just walking very casually in my neighborhood which made me want to bring my dog uh inside and sit out on the porch with my dog so just as much as you're you're concerned about that there are other people just including myself and I I had a cat growing up so I I love cats however I I am aware of concerns in our neighborhoods about food being left out or food being fed at these colonies um for that it attracts other animals as well so it's a it's it's not just a an issue of cat controlling cat population it's also an issue of uh you know what do we do about controlling this population of wild animals that are coming into theun for those animals you know we need a lot of help I mean we could all I appreciate everything and everyone on the council and I know the mayor and the administration we appreciate the work that you do what it is is we just feel that we're feeling comfortable about the work that our health department has been doing and the information that they've been providing us at the end of the year I'm hopeful that we'll be able to say that we did um achieve that number of 100 maybe more all right um but we're um we don't know what that number what the target number is and how we control that population better because if we do 125 someone will say why didn't you do 150 or as you pointed out there's there's litters all over but I I can honestly say I don't see a stray problem uh in our streets you know I know that there's colon that have been created but I don't I don't see it um you know where I look at it as as an issue surprised okay I I I do appreciate your comments more help the better and we should all support each other if anything it's just we we do support what what your what your efforts are I want you to know that we do appreciate what you're doing we don't we don't you know none of us are not thankful for the work that you're doing the volunteer work that you're doing we all do volunteer work up here uh this is the volunteer work that you've chosen and we we appreciate that I guess I just wish it was easier for everybody to work together I understand thanks for but thank you no thank you [Applause] hi my name is Linda delap Pito I live in Fords um I just want to say on my block Alone um arleene and her group I had a neighbor that threw out 23 cats so they were out one day we walked out onto the culdesac and they were all over the culdesac they came and they helped me get them all fixed we got a lot of them adopted I'm still caring for three but a responsible person who takes on these cats would never leave food out overnight like that maybe that is something you can Implement if you have a program like this if someone's going to take the responsibility they should also be responsible to pick that food up you feed the animal you pick it up so that you don't have wild animals like that come because the wild animals really have nowhere to go they're left with no Woods they're left with nothing so they're they're venturing out we I do know that we we have Fox we have deer I have everything by me but I don't find a problem because I do pick it up I have shelter for them I actually built an outdoor kitty litter for them there's no smell there's no poop there's nothing so I don't know if you can maybe do something like that that makes a person responsible for these cats that they can also be responsible feeding them and caring for them just like you would for your own pet I know I do yeah oh uh Mr Del future I I do wish that every resident that was involved in this uh was this responsible um we've seen video um in many many people have submitted videos to us that um show different as far as um the the animals that are coming out um they're doing their business on their lawn they're they're threatening their pets um and uh and they're a you know um threat to um people going going in and out of their cars um but uh just as many people um do complain about a neighbor that like yours where you had someone throw out 23 cats like that we get we get complaints like that too I mean how irresponsible is that person to throw 23 cats out into just for the community to handle and for their neighbors and knowing what that does to their neighborhood correct but had had we not taken care of them all of those cats would have either died or gotten hit by cars so maybe there's another way around it that you can you know I I know like giving people cart blanch on feeding animals is probably not the perfect answer so maybe you can Implement something else that says if you're going to take responsibility for them you need to be 100% responsible pick the food up bring it inside you know so the cats don't hang around your cars and there is an ordinance that kind of um you you do have now have ownership once correct you feed the animal um you begin feeding it it is now yours and it's your responsibility to keep the animal inside because animals are not allowed to just have free Ram so that's that's one of the ordinances that are not always observed because people are feeding the cats but they're not necessarily bringing them in the home and keeping them as a as a pet right so a TNR cat has to be kept inside if they're fixed and neutered is that the is that the law no that's what I mean so if you're feeding a cat that's been spayed or neutered and you're not bringing it inside is that against the law well well you know we're those are those are TNR as as our out yeah the ones that if they're if they're feral uh and TNR U they can be fed but if they're someone's feeding cats but we getting people that are feeding cats that are not TNR throughout the community okay so the ones that are TNR like mine though that's what I mean like I'm very responsible I pick the food up I have three left out of 20 some odd cats I have three left um and I always pick up the flu so if I'm feeding them I have a little shelter for them right near my porch they never seem to go away from the house um I don't know know is there something that you can Implement that's what I'm asking that could make anybody who decides to feed a tanard cat responsible that way M rather than just oh throw the food down and ignore it so that while the animals now are a threat you know I I do appreciate what you're what you're saying yeah and uh I didn't give you a one minute warning I think you have a few seconds left but I do want to thank you for your comments okay um and as I said we had we had a neighbor leave mhm and left their cat and just the other day on Saturday a fox was just walking very casually up our front yard looking around for some food and we I was a little concerned about that because uh there are small children on our streets yeah no I totally understand especially if they're Rabbid I I get that whole thing you know so all right thank you thank you very much thank you are there any other comments this seeing from the public great uh John very well put up I I really know and I do know all those people we think good what we're doing but we actually doing bad uh if we don't feed those cats they will not hang around they will not die they will look for food sampl they would not but if you have feed them like anything else they're going to come there it's a chain of chain food if you have a cats you might have a mice or rats but you will have foxes you have a coyotes and most important if so many cats those animals they actually dangerous even to the kids you could have a disease brought into the Town M and things like that be beaten by the some of those animals uh I think people should be educated and most important how do you know if that cat was or de was fixed if you before you feed them you don't know this Mr John there there's a I think they clip their ear and that's how you're able to tell I know but if it's a tag so that mean that means the clip here so that means those people should not feed those cats that don't say a clip here right M you really great job tonight no I so we have so we have to we have to be educated are people I know we try to do good but we're not doing like a wild animals the worst you can do just feed them depend on you they are going to find the food they don't have to hang around with a house or something that I could see injured care your dog anything like that but we got to kind of educate the public because if you look in a in a country over there uh it's a like I say the food chain case of food Change just like a they kill stuff some going kill them and that's a through population but as long as we feed them like we do I don't see there's nothing wrong with it but again we actually hurting them more they we helping them uh so very well done but something should be done uh I don't know if the other communities got same problems like Woodbridge I when to go up in the certain part of the other towns and state nobody complains about it and uh so that's why I want to say that's I know why it do I would do it probably too but not because it's it's not good for the animal as long as they're not hurt they're going to find their own food except they said last time they do harm to the birds they don't know pigeon which I don't care about but other birds the cats will get them and that's actually kind of destructive uh that's enough of our cats tonight uh last meeting I was cut short I was W about the mayor last year a kby park should be open this spring sometime uh in in kesby and the question was EPA did EPA approve it or not and uh make it very fast and another thing I was going to ask about the wi Martino we brought up after the passed away uh do something his memory we all know V Martino uh I mean I'm here for 60 years and I don't think any person was any B about that man and of course of course the uh Mrs Martino we know she's up in age so could we please do something uh in his memory uh not just because of the I know he has no kids I know his brothers got a nephew things like that but I think good for the whole town that we did something for the man they did so much for this town and more lot of us he just made us happy for some somehow even when when is arguing over here we never took him seriously because he was good he did job and I think we should do something and that was brought to my attention that in uh Bai pool in casby I mean in ping is been uh met soccer field or something there'll be a good spot with something like that again and uh that would be a the thing about it again the U croser Street from the Perkins Restaurant there's construction going on I believe mayor said a couple minutes ago that uh will be a couple of big projects coming to the town um my question people want know there some construction going over there uh and what are those what's going to be some people Supermarket some people this and that so that's all I want to ask tonight the three questions if anybody would know mayor would be kind enough to say so first of all number one the part is not opening yet because the D has not given final approval but of course we wouldn't be building a park on the site that it's on without getting approved so it's pending but it's not received yet uh second we're way ahead of you on Vinnie Martino we had conversations with his family not long after he passed away we can't say what we're thinking about but you're not far off uh we're waiting for the appropriate time when things are completely constructed and when the weather's nice which is we're getting to that point now Vinnie's first day is a councilman was my first day working for the township I go all the way back to literally January 1st 1992 uh having been as a colleague in public service and actually a friend he was an amazing man uh did great things for the town he was happened to be a Freeholder before he was a councilman uh ran for higher office Prince of a man and we're going to do the right thing and and name something in honor of him but at the right time and last up all anybody has to do is look at our website the state of the toia speech is there it's it's on TV it's on YouTube it's all over we explained everything with that corner of Route 1 and Route 35 used to be Pier 1 Imports right now it's owned by a redeveloper who's constructing about 880,000 Square ft of retail space there that's why you start to see pipes and things like that on the ground he's got he's got room for four major tenants and 10 minor ones one major tenant is going to be Sprouts which apparently is some kind of organic uh Supermarket so whoever said supermarket Market probably knows a little bit um so that's one of them Sketchers is another one the other two anchors are not young yet and the 10 um minor stores are not probably not even negotiated yet until they get the big ones done but all people have to do if they have a question about anything in town is just contact any one of us contact anybody in the council we all sat through the speeches we all know what's on TV we all know what's on our Facebook pages just ask us you know need to tell them to just ask us and then it doesn't go between anybody else who can get the story wrong somebody says what's going there say call Sharon mola if they're from Fords call Howe B call the mayor's office just all anybody has to do is call us or read and watch and you'll see what's happening thank you mayor are there any other comments from the public to see me comments motion public be closed second any questions or comments all in favor I opposed we go to the agenda thank you I will start off uh first I I want to thank everyone for their comments tonight I know that uh groups are very passionate um but we we also have a a very similar passion for our animal population um I want to announce our Recreation baseball and softball uh programs have kicked off this week we have over 800 kids playing baseball and over 300 kids playing softball every night on our Fields throughout Woodbridge Township Rex soccer has over 1,00 kids um and that kicks off this weekend um and we have a big special thank you to all of our volunteers and all of our Park uh Park Department employees for their efforts in getting the uh our facilities ready for our kids so I just want to also thank um our rec department director uh Mr um Mol and also our rec coordinator uh Mr timinsky uh for their work around that also um I wanted to point out and I see one of the young ladies here that attended our um uh special night at The Acacia center for the watch party for the women's basketball how was it did you enjoy it did you enjoy it yeah okay I got a nod it was nice we had we had about like uh about 15 or 20 Young ladies and and about like 10 boys that came out with their families and um they were in the back in the game room came out had some food uh but it was really nice to see that and um you know on on the note for um basketball season um I was doing some research and I actually posted today that the ivy league has two players in the top 15 for alltime leading scorers that are from Woodbridge Township one is Zach Rosen who played at upen and Colonia High School who is 15th on the scoring list and the other is Buck Jenkins who played at Woodbridge High School who played at uh uh Columbia University who is 11th all time and um and respectively they are they are top scorers in their their two schools um but uh the basketball season um concluded with some some wonderful accolades on the uh the women's side it was really nice to see the township step up and get the girls excited and and all all of the people excited about women's basketball I'm excited to see what's going to happen I want to steal your thunder because you know councilwoman De Jesus is very big on on girls in sports but um I did attend that event and I thought it was um just well done and hopefully uh it'll grow it'll continue to grow and I want to encourage people to go in and sign on through the community pass you go into the community pass which is on our Township website just type in search bar Community pass it'll bring you up you sign in you get a lot of information from Woodbridge Township a lot of recreation information you get senior information Sports you can register for sports all through the community pass so I just want to encourage everyone to to do that and you'll find out and also if you're out of work right now please go on to the township website and go under employment opportunities that's where you're going to find local companies that are looking for Township employees uh and this is you know time of year we're going into our summer and uh also I encourage our our young people if you are interested in being a Township counselor you need to contact the recreation department a ASAP and let them know that you would like to be a Township counselor in Woodbridge Township um and also if you're interested in our tooling around the township program please contact our Recreation Department they'll get you into the right area so you can at least be on the list for next year or you can be considered um for that program and with that said I am going to move along that would be to council missing our Council vice president so councilman ficara you uh a couple of announcements first at the Woodbridge Community Center one is a uh important announcement of an actual cancellation Friday April 26 there's an event going on at the community center so uh morning classes will be cancelled there's a Zumba class A Classic class and a Tabitha class not sure what that is but those are all cancelled specifically on Friday the 26 the gym will reopen at 2 p.m. just an update as the weather gets nice and it seems to be up and down with the weather but the mini golf and batting cages behind the Woodridge Community Center uh the Spring hours April 6th all the way up to June 23rd Fridays from 4: to 10: Saturdays from 12: to 10: and Sundays from 12: to 9:00 really nice area to go back there uh good family events going out there just kind of a fun place to be uh also I'd like to announce the 2024 mayor senior Summit and older adult Expo that will be on Wednesday May the 1st 10:00 a.m. to 12: p.m. that is at the community center on the second floor I believe I'm not sure but once you get in there you'll find it roller rink roller rink like I said roller rings on the first floor strap that second floor there's over 20 uh different vendors everything from the office our Office of Aging all the senior centers will be represented there's information on health and wellness medication uh management uh Medicaid and Medicare state federal programs it's just a very informative program for older adults and it's a good place to be uh Wednesday May the 1st 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and it's so well received that's why we have to move to the larger roller rink and then I'd like to close with a big thank you to uh director brew and everybody that was involved in Big Wheels stay a couple of weeks ago uh Mr Hagerty was involved with arranging all of it it was so exciting in the parking lot of Woodford Center all of these big vehicles as someone that was going around doing interviews and people that were attending you could see the joy uh that everybody was experiencing I must say it was a little little challenge because all of the kids were allowed to toot the horns and blow the whistle so it was hard to speak but everyone law enforcement was there fire departments were there there were trucks from I think amp Trak and it was just it was just a fabulous place it's a great tradition thank you Mr breu and if you could share that with everyone involved thank you council president thank you councilman Bal thank you council president my agenda's order I have a few announcements excuse the historical Association of wber Township it's of the Gilded Age in New Jersey presented by Melissa Zabo be held on Monday April 27 22nd 2024 at 700 p.m. at Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church at 600 rway Avenue Woodridge New Jersey as part of the Victorian age series sponsored by the historical Association this program will feature the Gilded Age in New Jersey and robt baron built Estates and Jersey became the playground of the presidents the speaker also will discuss the wide disparities and we between the halves and hav knots that occurred during the same era for further information contact Brenda Basco Township historian at 732 428 2403 and I have one more announcement uh the Woodridge Township Farmers Market be starting every Saturday starting June 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 1: p.m. that'll be held at Parker press Park 400 rway avenon Woodbridge parking is located across the street at Berkeley College and behind the park at the W train station that's all I have thank you Council president thank you so much councilwoman de thank you council president I item number five police community relations the junior Police Academy applications are online so please contact our um Police Department for more information they are for students entering 6th grade seventh and eighth grade and it's a two two different weeks so two different groups of kids again if you're looking for something for your child to do this summer I highly um recommend the junior Police Academy I will also like to congratulate officers B and Schneider on getting recognized for um a job that they're trained to do but we always appreciate when they do um their job and they do it well and congratulate Patrick Kenny on his retirement um you know he served this Township with Grace and we appreciate everything that he did for all the years so congratulations to Patrick the baron Art Center has the senior art show the exhibit dates are April 18th through the 25th again that's at the baron Art Center join them for a reception and awards on Thursday April 25th from 600 to 8:00 p.m. you can call the baron Art Center for more information at 73263 40413 and this is exciting it's called Art that tracks and is a visual artist explor trains and locomotives on view from May 3rd through 31st the exhibit will open on May 4th from 12: to 4: with a closing reception on May 31st against that's art that tracks and I believe that it goes Woodridge roow and avanel NJ art and music express um if you need more information contact the baron Art Center for that the gallery on Maine is having an open house this Saturday April 20th from 12: to 4:00 meet and gree some of the gallery on Maine artists enjoy light Refreshments the artists are Laura Brown Lily tone and Robert Hopkins again that's this Saturday on the gallery on Main from 12: to 4:00 and then the free public library of um Woodbridge um is having their annual front of the library book sale and it's held in the ground level on the main liary on Thursday April 25th from 4: to 9: for members new members are always welcome it will be Friday Saturday and Sunday during regular Main Library hours they are also hosting a new e preschool and family Story Time on Tuesday April 23rd from 7 at starting at 7: you can visit the Woodbridge library.org for more information and that is all that I have thank you thank you so much and the junior Police Academy is named in honor of detective ericon grandson all right uh so we're going to move along to councilwoman Mian welcome back thank thank you council president I just have uh my agenda is in order I just have three announcements this Saturday April 20th will be the annual Colonial cleanup at the Charlie sty park at the corner of imman and amers Avenue starting at 9:00 we welcome volunteers to come help spruce up the park in the surrounding area if you would like to volunteer you could show up at the park with your work clubs and your shovel or ra and if you have any questions you can reach out to Dan Harris at 732 754 5970 also that Saturday um the Henry Henry in Min Avenue live gr will finally be opening well it is open but we're doing the grand opening uh starting at 10:00 a.m. please stop in they have a lot of activities during that day and they're excited to have everybody come back um it's been a long time and we appreciate all the hard work that everybody's done to get the library back and running and lastly save the date the wridge township support the troop rally this year will be May 22nd at six P 6:00 p.m. at the George Frederick Plaza located next to the wridge main library if you know the name of a resident that is currently serving our country please reach out to me at 732 382 0273 so I conclude their names to be read during our program and that's all thank you so much councilman P thank you council president my is also in order but I have one important projects announcement for tonight uh this is the biotic construction project which is underway on Magnolia Road in Easley which will make the road safe for pedestrians the homeowners living on Magnolia Road and the vehicles which uses Magnolia Road a notification letter from the township Engineers office was sent to the owners on April 8 2024 magod road is a main through faed on the Northern side of the state rout in Newland and which provide direct access to metropath commuters from islen and Aris our Township is constructing a brand new sidewalk about 2,000 ft long and 5 ft wide on the Eastern side of Magnolia Road from oaki road to Walnut Street that will include the installations of new curbs sidewalks and wheelchair ramps in accordance with the American Disabilities Act this project also includes the relocation of some telephone and light poles traffic signs and the removal of other items located within that 5 ft width of the sidewalk and the lawn restoration where it is required Township has contracted Crossroad Paving Company for the road res resurfacing job and the construction is underway now we advise residents and commuters to use alternate routes to avoid traffic and and follow detours till the construction is complete and very importantly that we secured a grant of about $410,000 from the federal government through the office of congressman Frank palone representing New Jersey's sixth congressional district and our Township has committed about $250,000 from our annual budget I would like to thank congressman Frank palone his staff members those residents living on Magnolia Road our mayor my Council colleagues our business director office of our Township engineer and the township construction administrator office of planning Departments of public Departments of police and whoever involved in this very important project I would like to also announce about our oi Senior Center which will have the April Shard lunch on on Friday April 16th from 11:00 a.m. to 2: p.m. anyone interested must RSP by April 24th and the luncheon tickets be paid by a check payable to Township of wood beachs that's all for FR than thank you so much council president can I grab another 30 seconds one is that uh Saturday this Saturday 20th is a very busy day we've heard about the grand opening we have Earth day going on AAA but most importantly um council president Anderson's being honored by the NAACP at the Pines manner so I want to take the opportunity to congratulate you it's welld deserved for the good work you do in town so thank you appreciate thank you and before I go to Mr Mitch he shared some great information uh regarding another local talent in our town Jordan derak who played at Colonia High School uh was the NEC player of the year for Marry Mack and he won uh he was player of the year for his conference he's now transferring and has uh been brought on to the Ruckers University basketball team so we'll get a chance to see him play for our home state and home University excited to to to see that because recers is going to have a very good year next year Mr Mitch thanks for that information you're welcome uh my agenda is tomor okay all right thank you uh Mr Sim thank you council president I have one item tonight a tax and Sewer over payments thank you all right director Hub thank you council president I have two traffic ordinances thank okay Director D nothing this evening thank you Council director Brook thank you council president my agenda is in order thank you so much Le nothing all right did I forget any oh Mr M sorry council president nothing from help this evening thank you thank you director I appreciate it and appreciate your support here tonight okay uh motion to adour motion second