Good evening. Good evening. Welcome to the Bedminster Township Committee. This is our regularly scheduled January 20th, 2026 Township Committee meeting. We're meeting on a Tuesday as we were off and
township was closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. recognize that we have a full quorum of the township committee here in attendance. Ms. Ray, may we please have the open public meetings act statement?
>> Yes, mayor. Adequate notice of this meeting of the township committee was sent to the Courier News Somerville, Burnhamville News, Whippony, and to all subscribers and posted on the Township of Bedminster's official website at www.bedminsterj.gov gov and at the Tangent Municipal
Building on January 6, 2026. >> Great. Thank you. Please join me in saying for the pledge of >> allegiance. I alian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Glad to see everyone in attendance here tonight. This is the time of the meeting that we open up the microphone up in front for public comment. Any member of
the public wishing to make a comment, ask a question is entitled to do so. As I say at every meeting, you are not entitled uh to a dialogue with the township committee unless anyone wants to engage
and you are not guaranteed of getting an answer to a question and you're certainly not guaranteed getting an answer you like. So before any uh township uh before there are any public comments, we ask that the speaker, you don't have to give your
house number, but we ask that you give your street address and your name. >> Miss King. >> Hi, good evening. >> Good evening. >> And thank you for allowing us at this committee meeting regularly. I'm Denise King. I live at Foxwood Court in Bedminster and this evening I'm uh
acting as the vice chair of Bedminster Democratic Committee. Uh we just had a couple of things we wanted to raise to the township committee um in regards to the the ICE enforcement actions that have been going around as we all have seen on the news recently. There have been some locally in Warren, Somerset,
and Marstown. And it's reasonable to assume that um they may be coming to Bedminster at some point. There was some um um scuttlebutt that I think something had occurred at Fresh Market recently. Um I don't I
can't validate that. Um while we understand that we agree that if there are violent criminals and they are illegally in the United States, they should definitely be detained and deported and have their right to habius corpus. And we would be aware that you
know hopefully ICE is not targeting legal residents. Unfortunately, the agents who come as we have we've all seen are masked, don't always have warrants and provide no identification
and oftentimes the uniforms are not what are standard from at least our understanding. The FBI has warned that groups of men posting as ICE uh in order to attack and abduct women. There are three acts recently that are that have come to the uh attention of the
governor. uh safe communities act to protect sensitive locations like schools and health facilities. The privacy protection act to limit collection and sharing of personal information by federal and healthcare entities. And the immigration trust uh directive which uh
codifies the 2018 direct directive that restricts state and county law enforcement from aiding federal immigration off uh authorities uh unless relevant to an investigation. At this moment, the governor has not um
signed these into law, but we're assuming that if they were go into law, obviously Bedminister would have to follow them as as any other municipality. Our immediate concern, though, is for the safety of all of our community. And we we don't know, but we
are asking if if currently there are any policies in place that protect the Bedminster community from ICE actions that are not in accordance with the law. And we really respect and um count on our Bedminster Police Department and we
certainly know that they are professionally and highly trained and they do the right thing. If they have to come and see somebody, they are not masked. They show identification and they say why they're there. So, if we want to know, will there be
policies or is and again as you said, uh, Mayor Jacobs, we may not have an answer tonight, but we did want to go on record with these questions. Um because if someone comes to you know at somebody's door and is banging it down
and not using the right correct uh law enforcement pro um protocols. We do have a concern because our our police department we understand is only 22 people and you know they're very good people but they can't be everywhere. We
would encourage the Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee under Mayor Jacob's leadership to also considering develop some policies to handle this um for the upcoming future. We believe for public safety the time is to develop plans now. So, we thank you for your
consideration. >> Thank you, Miss King. Thank you for those comments. Any other public comments? And there are some other folks out here. Um, so I'd like to address any further public comments in furtherance of this issue.
>> Hi, good evening. I'm Nicole Burnernhard >> and I'm Lori Levenson. Uh, we both reside on Old Dutch Road East and um our the topic for us is the rumple strips that uh Bedminster wanted to put on our street. We just for the record uh do not
wish for that to be done for the noise and the issues that would cause. >> We have a somewhat quiet street. I know they're speeding down the street and it's been clocked. We have the uh little speed counter there and all, but we keep
our windows open in the spring. We enjoy the birds. We enjoy the living. And to hear a car go over four rumble strips all the way down the road would be very disruptive. >> That's all. >> Okay. So, not here not here for comments
on ICE. >> No, >> but rumble strips. >> Yes. >> Oh, wait. Did we have to say that? >> No. No. No. Nothing on ice. We >> public comment. >> Rumble strip. >> We try to keep it structured and straight and organized,
>> but it often doesn't go that way. >> Well, you know what? This is our first meeting. >> Rumble strips on Old Dutch. Okay, so that's a no for rumble strips on old Dutch. >> Two. >> Two. >> Well, there's more than two. >> I know I spelling of your last name, please.
>> L V I N S O N. >> Okay, great. Thank you so much. I got your >> Okay, that's no rumble strips. >> Okay. >> We don't want ice at our house either. Oh, and you don't want ice at your house
either. Okay. Any further public comments related to ice? Okay, we'll move on. If you want to talk about rumble strips, we can certainly talk rumble strips. Any other public comments for tonight?
Mr. wrote it. >> Come on up. >> Good evening. >> My name is Michael Rhoden. I live off of Mount Prospect on Spencer Lane in Pluckman. My mailing address is Bedminster,
but we live in Pluckman in the hills, the lower section of the hills. We live in Pluckman. Anyway, I'm here tonight on behalf of the dog parks. There was a
solicitation of bids that went out for the Burnt Mills dog park. It's rather interesting. It's rather boring. I mean, the whole idea of putting a paved path around the exterior of the park,
not doing anything to draw people into the park to draw people to any features of the park. It's just pavement around the park, 7 feet wide, probably one ft one side of the fence. I walked around uh River Road
Park today. You know, it's really nice to look at River Road Park in the snow. You can see where the traffic is. I did have to walk out in the snow, pick up some poop, and I followed the path back because there is somewhat of a path
being developed around the outside edge. There are a couple people who come in and you know prefer to walk around the outside edge than stand around. But when you analyze it and you look at the snow pack, most people come in and stand straight forward or go over towards
seating, but it's a little cold to sit down at this point. But my main objection to the Burnt Mills Park is a six foot high fence. It's ridiculous. Six foot high fence goes for a kennel. six foot high fence goes for a dog park
that's going to bury the fence 6 to 12 inches underground to keep dogs from burrowing. I mean, I can understand the idea of putting a path around the park at uh path around the park. Yeah. So, the path
around the park is like uh it's like 50,000 $50,000 $40,000 sixoot fence. You know, it's got to be more expensive than a five foot fence. Uh I have some pictures here. I know you
kind of like pictures, but uh this is me if I may. Come on up. Sure. I mean, This is me standing by a six foot fence. >> Thank you. >> I will tell you that that was actually a
2 meter fence which is 6'6. I cut six inches out of the photograph for you. So, it act accurately shows me standing next to the sixoot fence. Of course, there's bob wire on the top. It's just a question how long before bob wire gets put on the retention
park. I mean, six foot fence, you know, it paved pavement all the way around the outside. It It's a dog detainment facility. It's a kennel. Maybe people will be put there when they start protesting
over by the library this summer. Seems like a great place to, you know, uh, corral people and manage them. Uh, I am 100% against a six-foot fence. 5 foot fence was what we have in River Road
Park is sufficient. I've never seen a dog get over it. I've never seen a dog dig under it. I think there's a lot of money going into that park just for fencing and for coraling animals.
I I I just find it very very objectionable. Uh I am happy to see that the two biders that bid ended up being over and above what you budget for this portion of the park. So I see on the agenda that it will be denied as far as
resolutions are concerned. And I heard that year they're going to go out for a bit again with the same thing. I don't really quite understand it because when the grant for that park was written, it specifically listed soil.
We sat here, we talked about the park. I heard Kevin Murray say, "Yeah, it doesn't drain well there and it dries out fast there because it's all on shale. I don't know how you're going to build a dog park there that gets heavy
four-legged foot traffic without building up the soil. You're going to airrate the soil. You're going to seed the soil. You're going to use the soil that's there. And there's no water. You want to look at what a good dog park is.
The second item on the list is water. We know we're not getting water out in Burnt Mills Park because there's no public water out there. You're going to have to drill a well and all that and then you're going to have to provide electric and you know getting water in that park. I don't see it. Getting water at River Road. Yeah, that that's
feasible. I mean, we're going to have lots of water over at the community garden. >> Um, >> so Mr. Rhoden, you don't like the sixoot height fence and you want water. >> Oh, I always want I'd like I'd like water. You know, >> either or. Yes. Yes.
>> We do have a threem minute limit on public comment. So you're you're hitting you're hitting that wall, 5- foot fence, water, soil, and proper paths, not a raceway around the outside
of the park to keep a dog from burrowing underneath. All your rules and regulations say you have to be there, you have to watch your dog, you can't have more than three dogs. I mean, you already have rules and regulations that that that deal with this. We we have not
seen any problems with dogs burrowing underneath. Yeah, there's some low areas there, you know, because the ground wasn't quite leveled out and whatnot when they built River Road Park, but the fact is that it it's it's an overkill for a park. The other issue with the
diagram that's out there is the common fence in between the two parks. If you've been to the dog park, you know certain dogs have an issue with the fence and they just bark through it and they go crazy. You open up the crate gate, let them in, and they ignore each other. They don't even, you know, care.
But they will run along a fence line and bark like mad at each other like, you know, like they're going to kill each other. putting a fence line straight down the middle where when both parks are being used, it's going to be disastrous when you have two dogs racing back and forth constantly that people
have to go over there and try to break their dog up from clawing at the fence. I I I find that, you know, th this whole scheme for Burnt Mills Dog Park is lacking. Totally lacking.
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Rhoden. Thank you. I am just writing your notes down. Okay. Uh public uh the we're still open for public comment. Any further comments, questions for attention of committee? Seeing none, we'll proceed with the rest
of the meeting. Um, Chief, I do want to uh just raise an issue. There is current directives out of the AG's office that remain in effect >> regarding ICE enforcement. >> The immigrant trust directive was operational since 2019.
>> Still in effect. >> Still in effect. >> Okay. Thank you. Next on the agenda, we have a proclamation for the 175th anniversary of Buckman Presbyterian Church. And we
put together a proclamation. Pastor Reken, if you want to uh come on up, we'll we'll read it into the record. And we have the >> Yeah, you can. >> So, we're put this into the record right
now. >> That's right. Proclamation from the township of Bedminster commemorating the 175th anniversary of the Pluckman Presbyterian Church at 279 Route 202 206 Pluckman, New Jersey. Whereas the Pluckman
Presbyterian Church located in the village of Bedminster within I'm sorry within the village of Pluckman within Bedminster Township, Somerset County has served the community as a place of worship, fellowship, and service for generations. And whereas the Pluckman
Presbyterian Church traces its origins back to approximately 1720 when early congregates from Holland, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany gathered in homes and in a log church on the mountain side in the area once known as
Raritin in the hills about a mile east of the present site. And whereas in 1758 the first church was built on the present site in Pluckman village known as St. Paul's and barely survived the American Revolution which in 1776
brought raids by British troops and General George Washington's army to the area. And whereas in 1850 the growing community received approvals from the Presbyterian of Elizabeth Town to form a local Presbyterian church and the
cornerstone was laid in 1851 making the official founding of the Pluckman Presbyterian Church whose membership flourished and continues today with approximately 175 members. And whereas for nearly two centuries,
the Pluckman Presbyterian Church has been a gathering place for worship, service, and care for neighbors, and the congregation has walked alongside the community through seasons of growth, challenge, and change. I therefore be
proclaimed by the Township Committee, the Township of Bedminster, County of Somerset, City of New Jersey, does hereby recognize the Pluckman Presbyterian Church and commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Pluckman Presbyterian Church, honoring its
historic significance, enduring faith, long-standing service to the community, and celebrating its legacy for generations past, present, and future. one of our one of our elders
church 175th >> and this this anniversary for the nation as well. We're very pleased to be able to celebrate on safety. >> And just want to let everyone know that Bedminster and Presbyterian Church are coordinating on America 250. There's
going to be lots of events that the church is uh organizing for its anniversary and in coordination with Bedminister Historic Preservation Commission and the Jacobus Vander House Commission as well. around.
>> Yes, this is great. >> Perfect. >> Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Good job. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> And Pastor Aken, thank you for hosting our meetings with the uh Pluckman
community when we uh what we have there. >> And we will be there. We will be there again shortly. We do have two sets of meeting minutes to review and approve. December 29, 2025, Township Committee meeting at 8:30
a.m. Our end of year bill signing meeting and January 5th, 2026, our reorganization meeting. Any comments or questions regarding the minutes? If none take a motion to approve. >> So move.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I was not at the December 29th meeting. >> Okay. I will have you as an abstain. Thank you. >> We have two permits and one raffle to approve tonight. First, a social fair
permit to benefit the American Cancer Society on April 20, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 400 pm at Pendleton Farms Golf Club and a social fair permit to benefit Satan Hall Preparatory School on May 11, 2026 from 11:30 a.m. to 700
p.m. at Fitler's El Country Club. We also have an on premise 50/50 raffle to benefit the Justin G. Model Memorial Foundation on April 2026, April 20, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club. Any comments or questions regarding permissions? >> Take a motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. monthly report discussion by
subcommittee chair uh committee Rosen will committeeman Rosen will start with you and once again condolences on your loss. Thank you. Thank you mayor. Uh the rec committee is currently meeting as we speak uh going
over uh first of all reorganizing and setting an agenda for upcoming events this year. Amongst them, uh, the Easter egg hunt, or as I like to call it, 60 seconds of mayhem. Sun, uh, Saturday, April 4th. The farmer farmers market
opens Memorial Day weekend. Uh, Fall Fest is set for Saturday, October 10th. Uh, the Bryce Rosen Memorial 5K is going to be at Turkey Strot on Thanksgiving this year. And um as was mentioned
before um the um initial bid for the Burton Hills dog park, it's going to be going out for bid again and construction continues on uh the community garden. I don't know if the frozen ground is going to help uh move it along, but it is ongoing.
So Jason, I see that the uh shed is up for the garden. any as as committee Rosen mentioned um do we anticipate uh delays with the weather? >> Yeah, they still got to do sight work.
There's still some fencing wire. >> Okay. And when do uh >> and when do those VGO gardens uh get set up >> being put together as >> want to come down Saturday? >> 280. >> Yes.
>> Okay. Thank you. And once again, um for Well, actually, Gina, you got DPW, right? >> Yeah, I'm >> all right. Gina over to you. >> Okay, sure. Uh so, thank you, mayor. Um, so for DPW update, we have snow removal,
snow removal, some more snow removal for you. Um, and looks like that's in the foreseeable future as well. Um, they're putting together the garden boxes like Jason mentioned. Uh, picked up trees and branches from the storms, worked on heavy equipment and the grading of dirt
roads, and um, there was a storage dome at the DPW yard for dirt road grit. and um the plows and the spreader repairs, you know, for this winter that's been kind of challenging. I also have a sewer
update. Um there's been some movement on the sewer project at Miller Lane. A large portion of the mechan mechanical equipment has been delivered to the site along with an invoice for these. and um this sewer engineer and our sewer
utility manager have confirmed delivery and um so we're able to move forward now because we're able to get some of the funds for that. So that's great and they have a work schedule and some actual construction equipment on site and they will have a a groundbreaking event as
well. So that's exciting. Um and that's all I have for you. >> Great. Um, TPW roads in Bedminster were well addressed by uh Jason and your uh and your crew uh getting the salt out in advance. Um, I had the pleasure or
misfortune of driving through some other towns. Um, and I will tell you that the bed roads were in much better shape than some of the surrounding towns with similar situations. Um, and by
Sunday late Monday morning roads were clear just you guys were out there just as Gina said, you know, you got hit successively uh Saturday and then again Sunday night and you guys were out there
wish that we're going to get snow that would arrive not on a weekend maybe during a normal business day but uh but we can't help that but you guys were out there and on behalf of Bedman in certain communities. Thank you very much.
>> Yes, that's Resi. >> Thank you, Mayor Mayor Jacobs. Good evening, everyone. So, I'm going to keep Jason on the hot seat um because I'm going to start my um updates with our um environmental commission where we uh
actually canceled the the meeting, the first meeting of the the month because we had reorg just like two days before. However, on January 10th, we had the uh styrofoam recycling day and I heard it went really really well. I was not able to attend, but Jason, you guys were
there. Can you let us know? >> I thoughtful. I was surprised about the outcome. >> I I was I was out there uh later that morning and Don March, the uh chair of the environmental commission.
>> Yep. um came up to me and um I expected I told you so because I was a doubter that there really was that much styrofoam that was still in use. >> Uh but I believe there was a pile of
about 20 bags that had been collected. >> It filled Wit's little pickup. I mean it's a little pickup, but it it filled >> on Monday. >> Oh, did he really? >> Yeah. Great turnout. um great job in getting the word out to recycle
styrofoam and and great to see the Bedminster community getting out there. So instead of it going to landfills or other situations uh that there's a recycling program and then we're able to get it down there. So thank you to Dawn
and thank you to Liz first who championed this issue uh to the EC. Um, and for me and any other doubters, um, we were proven wrong that there's enough styrofoam and enough interest in recycling the styrofoam to run that
program. >> Yep. So, they will be discussing it and it that was a pilot program. They were just planning on the one, but now that they see how much interest, they'll see what they can do about maybe scheduling another time during the year or couple, you know, set it up on a regular basis. We'll see what happens. But that's that
was good that that people showed up. Um, next, Jacob's Vanir. Uh, we have a meeting tomorrow, but I did want to pass this information out on the legacy of Middlebrook. It's a program that's done every year at Raron Valley Community College. I sure mention it every year.
Um, but this year is really exciting. We have John Sidell, who's one of the gentlemen who helped with the original Plugin Dick, who has um, lots of bits and pieces from the cantonment. um he's going to be there um doing a lecture on
the legacy of the Puckman Artillery Camp. Um there is a small fee um for for um for everybody. Veterans get a deal, students get a deal, and there's a live streaming option. Um but that will be Saturday, March 14th from 9:00 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. And I have the information up here for whoever wants it. Um Historic Preservation met last week. um they're very excited about the 250th and they're working together with JVH um to put some
things together in particular um um Wendy is really excited about getting some host speakers and short-term loan exhibits through HPC but bringing it over and host having it hosted at JVH we'll get the two groups put together
um uh Evan Elliot and Norm Penny who are on uh the HPC they're going to be meeting with the Forgotten Victory Trail people, which I know I've I've mentioned on occasion. Um they are putting up big signs that let you know about certain um
certain battles across a very specific amount of space in New Jersey, but these are some of the places that people might not really know anything about. Um, so they're they I think they met this past Saturday. Probably not with the weather, but um they're looking to talk to them
about where is the best place to put this sign. We're thinking maybe over um in River, obviously in River Road Park, but over towards JVH so that as you're coming into JVH, you'll see the big sign, but I think there's a financial obligation in there. So, we'll have a
discussion with everybody and see what happens. Um then lastly, just real quick, um Sergeant Beltry and I attended a Hills Highland meeting. Um and really the the meeting was just to talk about what the DPW
um obligations are from the Burners Township and Bedminster. And fortunately for me, the Bedminster Township guy was there and he had 42 pages of what DPW does in Bedminster Township. Um, and the good thing for me
is we do all the exact same thing, but they have this huge staff and we have a much smaller staff and we get the same task done. So, talking about lighting, um, fixing the roads, um, garbage collection. Um, one particular resident
was interested in the garbage collection across the streets. So, I was going to talk to Jason about that at a later time. Um, because they are very interested in making sure that their greens areas are kept nice and green. Uh we also had a question from a couple of the residents about parking t tickets
that Sergeant Belveltry um was very astute at handling because he knew all about these. Um and it was a question of the uh two to five no parking zones. But um the residents were questioning the validity of the signs and if what's
going on with those. So I told them I would get with our town people and the engineers and see why are those signs, what are they signs and get back with the residents and they were very happy. >> That was Hills Highlands. >> Hills Highlands. Yep. >> Did it get in Did the discussion get
into the um vehicular? >> Nope. >> Traffic the safety issues along Allen Road. >> Nope. that um because of the recent incidences that is all under um investigation with Somerset County and
with lawyers. So, we were not talking about any of that. But to that point, Somerset County is going to be doing a um a review, a traffic study and safety review of Allen Road um from top to bottom. I'm not sure when they they have
to plan for that um but they will be working with that and working with Ben uh Berners Township. Okay. >> There's one other subcommittee that you are the leaders on for traffic. >> Oh yes. >> Which was an issue that came up during public comment. So perhaps if
>> you don't mind. >> Nope. That's fine. >> Putting this on you. Right. >> Right. For the moment. >> That's that's absolutely fine. So everybody knows we have a lot of very small roads in Benminster. Um we have a lot of new people who live here. We have
people who don't pay attention to the signage and um our police officers have been wonderful about monitoring our streets and keeping our traffic um speed limits to what they're supposed to be. We've done
several studies on in different areas where residents have come to us. Um the latest one is the uh the old Dutch area. Um that road is traveled by many people going way too fast and it's a for a
street that crosses through it's still a small neighborhood and as you heard they keep their windows open at night. So we've had meetings of what can we do? What are the options for um traffic
calming? Um we've met with our engineers and uh there are certain things that you might think are are good to do but don't really work. example, I thought painting slow signs, you know, the big yellow SLs. Come to find out that that's not good
when you're on a bike because that um the paint gets really slippery. So, they don't want to do that. That's So, you try to fix one problem and you cause another. Um the only thing that was brought to our attention that might help
is putting the rumble strips down. Um, however, we all know they're noisy. So, um, we're in contact with several of the residents and they went basically doortodoor asking residents, are you going to be okay with this? And the one
of the the people on the um, email, the rumble strips would be put like right outside their house and they're like, "Nope, we know it's loud. We've been we looked we went they went to I forget what street they went to but they went to another road got out of their car and listened to the cars go over the rumble
strips and they said there's no way we're doing that. So the police have put up our one of our signs that tells you how fast you're going to calm the traffic back down and that's where we are. Is it working? Good. Good. Good.
Good. So, we will we will keep all these in mind and when when we find something else that will help, we will bring it to everybody's attention. But so far, the only thing that really works on our little roads are these signs. >> Yeah. The old old Dutch is is >> and our police.
>> It's a skinny, very steep road. There's no there's no curb. There's no there's no alley there. It's >> and actually one of the residents had brought up um the sun the the solar powered street signs at flash, but
because of the way that road is designed and it's windy and there's trees, those things still work. >> So the best thing we have for right now is the sign that the police have put out there and uh we'll go forward. >> And there's often police presence there. So I live right there.
>> When the police have sat there, that seems to make a big difference. I noticed when I go up there that during that period there there's a marked decline in >> perfect and it has an effect for many
days afterward. So if they sit there for 15 minutes one day it carries on the whole week just like or hills the same same thing there you have that same issue we know will be sitting there
you don't know when they're going to be there but they'll be there at some point >> the chief is taking notes so just in case anyone hasn't noted he's using a pen >> it has ink in it so I'm pretty sure he's
paying attention. >> But that is that is good to hear. So, thank you. Thank you for that. >> So, Renee, thank you for uh for for being the traffic leazison and for addressing that issue with the uh the residents committ.
>> Thank you, mayor. Good evening all uh board of health. Uh we had a routine business meeting last Thursday. I know you'll all be excited to hear one septic application was reviewed and approved. Board of Ed, there's a regular board meeting this Thursday. will be in attendance. Next Thursday, there will be
a kickoff meeting for the advisory committee that will examine the potential synergies between the Bedminer Township School and the Somerset Hills School District. So, I'm part of that effort. I will keep everyone apprised as to progress. Mayor, you and I have library tomorrow, tomorrow night.
>> And we don't have a farmers market number, and thank God we were out there this weekend or or this coming weekend. >> Yes. >> Oh, man. Um and and uh committee link and I both attended uh the language board meeting was the eighth.
>> The eth yeah I think it was >> feels like a long time ago. Um only one application regarding an accessory dwelling unit uh that was approved. Um but it then led into a discussion regarding some of our u ordinances and
restrictions on accessory dwelling on larger lots. Primarily, there's a a prohibition um for property owners to collect rent on accessory dwelling units, which is nice when you're initially installing or
constructing that unit, but I think it um uh it's not realistic that, you know, you may put your parents, your mother, your father, son into uh that situation. uh they may leave and
then you have an accessory dwelling unit. Um I I think it's impractical to have that no uh rent uh obligation in there. Um so there's a couple things that we've uh pushed back to our planner and our engineer regarding
um revisiting some of our zoning restrictions and see where it goes. uh but it may end up in new zoning ordinances before the township committee and we'll discuss those um as they are generated.
And that's really what I have for my administrators. I'm sorry for my subcommittee reports. Ms. Ray, >> you can do mine. >> I said you could do my report. >> No, it's yours.
>> Okay. Um just got a lot of stuff going on here. Annual reorganization meeting. We just held that on January 5th. Um where we uh Tom Keane Jr. administered the oath of office for reelected committee woman Gina Fernandez and newly elected committeeman Bill Rosen and
Mayor Jacobs who was elected by his peers to serve another term as mayor. Um Judge House administered the oath of office to all township volunteer committees and commissions. And for those of you who have missed it, um you can swing by the township offices and Caitlyn and myself can uh administer the
oath of office. Um public notice policy. Uh Bedminister Township is in uh fully compliant with the new laws that were signed uh by Governor Murphy back in June. Um right now it's status quo for legal publications through March 1st. We
continue with business as usual posting sending our notices to the newspaper. Um but going forward um we are going to be well we have January 1 we created a new web page and a document container on our website titled public notices which is accessible from the homepage. So not
only are we um everything's online going forward as of March 1st. Okay. Um Somerset Hills public safety meeting. We had one of those back uh last week Thursday December 15th um where I attended with Mayor Jacobs. Um the group welcomed newly elected Burners Township
Mayor Anna Dwarte uh McCarthy um to discuss JCPNL outages, crime rates, and resident scams. Um turning to the budget, uh Derek Makia and myself have been meeting with department heads regarding their 2026 budget requests in
preparation for our first budget meeting, which is this Monday, 7 o'clock. Um we'll be discussing emergency services capital requests. So, um, that's going to kick it off for us this year. Uh, B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B Mills Dog Park bid opening. Uh I attended that on January
15th. There were two biders. Um the bid tabulation as always is posted on our website for anybody who's interested and um there's a resolution on the agenda later for consideration by the township committee regarding the dog park. January 15th, we had um also was the
fourth quarter safety meeting um and affordable housing. I attended a uh a team's meeting with the DCA regarding the new affordable housing trust reporting guidelines that are coming up due February 15th. And last but not
least, um it uh Elliot I think is still here. Um effective January 19th, the township officially moved all email communications over. Um so our uh domain name is uh now bedminster njj.gov.
So all of our emails are first initial, last name. O ray at bedminsternj.gov and the police department also has implemented their emails the same way. It's bedminister pd >> nj.gov.
>> So um just um Elliot you can just shout out from the back um what is the transition period? How long will us remain uh in effect? Right now we we're guaranteeing at least six months so that we can have all the emails still coming
in and then we'll be back for them by >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> We have a notice on the homepage of our website big and bold, >> right? But we have to take advantage of every um opportunity we have to get that word out. Uh Jake, so if you could
make a note of that, we're switching from us to bedministernj.gov. >> That concludes my report. >> That concludes So there is there is one thing that I missed. It was actually a text I received um
this afternoon from Robert Field. So, Robert Field, uh, deputy chief of staff to Governor Murphy. Uh he's been our municipal liaison going back to COVID um debriefs from the
governor's office and um Rob sent me a copy of a letter that he left with um who's ever going to be taking his place at his at his spot at the governor's office.
and he just wanted to uh share it with me what what he left and so I just want to read it into the record. Uh to the person who will work at this desk, his handwriting is not great so bear with me. First off,
congratulations on being selected to work in the office of the governor for the state of New Jersey. Working in um that office is a privilege uh reserved for once in a lifetime. You will face uh highs and lows, challenges
and great opportunities. History will remember how you met any obstacle and overcame those difficult situations. So, it's important to savor the good moments and face any challenges head on. It is also vital to always bear in mind that
while we are the same party politically, this is Rob to his successor. Um, we serve all 564 municipalities, 21 counties, and 12 congressional districts, 40 legislative districts equally, regardless of whether they are
D or R. At the end of the day, we are public servants for all of New Jersey. Embrace everything that comes with a role and enjoy it. Don't take it for granted because one day
it'll be gone. Um, so cherish the moment, serve with honor, and I sincerely wish you and Governor Cheryl my best, Robert M. Field, deputy chief of staff to uh,
Governor Murphy. So, we just want to say uh, it's been a pleasure working with Rob Field uh, for the last well since I've been mayor. um he's always been there for us. Uh whether it's a snowstorm, rain event, wind event
um or any other matters of urgency and that may not have been of urgency to us, but Rob would always reach out to see how we're doing, if there's anything that the governor's office could help us with.
uh we very rarely took advantage of that um because handled those things uh well by ourselves but it was always great to uh talk to Rob and just uh bounce ideas off of and um you know I'll miss him and look forward to whoever our new leazison
is going to be. Community policing report Chief Bernardo. >> Yes. Last week we attended Bill Highland Association meeting to address some of the residents concerns open invitation invited
face to face interaction versus you know email concerns or phone calls. So um that invitation is open to any group. Uh we also attended a law enforcement appreciation day at the criminal school. We always enjoy hanging out with the little kitties. Again, it's an open
invitation. If you own our officer at your school, nursery or whatever event, give us a call and we're happy to represent. >> Great. Thank you, Chief. We uh we have an ordinance with two ordinances to introduce tonight. An ordinance amending chapter 2 entitled
administration section 2-24 entitled indemnification and defense, which provides for the indemnification and defense of public employees and officials of the township. If this ordinance is introduced, the public hearing will be scheduled for
February 2nd, 7 p.m. >> You want me to share? >> Yeah. What What do you got? >> Haven't we always had this? >> We have It's It's a current ordinance. It amends our current ordinance um under chapter administration. And essentially
what it does is it updates the ordinance to be consistent with the um NJSA4A14-155 and our PBA contract language on um defense coverage. So just just brings us a little more current outdated ordinance. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> And this came out during our GIF manual review. >> And the second ordinance for introduction tonight is ordinance number 2025002. an ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank. And if introduced
tonight, the uh public hearing will be scheduled for February 2nd, 2026. >> That's that's a routine establishment every year. >> Correct. >> Not that we're going to exceed um the appropriation limits, but just in case we do, we need to have the
ordinance in place. So, any questions or comments regarding the introduction of these two ordinances? Do you want us to take them individually? >> Uh, yes. They need to be individual. >> Okay. Thank you, John. First is
ordinance 2026 001. Take a motion to introduce. >> So, move. >> Second. >> Roll call vote, please. Committee Hickey, >> I. >> Committeewoman Moreski, >> I. >> Committeewoman Fernandez, >> I. >> Committeeman Rosen, >> I. and Mayor Jacobs.
>> I the public hearing for ordinance 2026001 will be February 2nd 7 PM at these chambers. Next is ordinance number 2026. The agenda may say 25 but it's 2026 02.
Uh this is the authorization to exceed the appropriation limits. Take motion to introduce. So move second. >> Roll call vote again, please. Committeeman Hickeyi. >> I. Committeewoman Moreski. >> I. >> Committeewoman Fernandez. >> Hi. >> Committeeman Rosen. >> I. >> And Mayor Jacobs.
>> I. >> Thank you. >> The public hearing for ordinance 2026 will be February 2nd, 2026, >> 7 p.m. at these chambers. We do not have any public hearing of uh ordinances. So,
next is the items on the consent agenda. These are items of routine nature. Any member of township committee may pull one some or all off for individual consideration. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
items on the consent agenda. Take a mot interested in discussing them individually. >> Take a motion to approve the items on the consent agenda. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. Vote, please. Committeeman Hickeyi, >> hi. >> Committeewoman Moreski,
>> I. >> Committeewoman Fernandez, >> I. >> Committee Rosen, >> I. >> And Mayor Jacobs, >> I. >> Thank you. >> There are three resolutions for individual consideration. The first is resolution 202631 appoints municipal housing leaison to
administer Bedminster's affordable housing program. Robin, you just want to uh walk us through this? >> Um, sure. I left I could do it attorney. Sure. >> Under the new 599 and JAC regulations
that were issued on December 13, 2025, municipalities are required on an annual basis to designate a municipal housing liaison. Uh we are doing that uh tonight. You might also note that in one of the clauses, it indicates that we
will follow the state regulations regarding municipal housing liaison requirements. Uh, Miss Ray is our municipal housing liaison among many other hats that she wears. And there are training uh courses. I guess they're
they're underway or will be underway. >> Will be on their way. And uh this is also a document that we will be filing with the court among numerous other ordinances and resolutions by March 15 of this year so we can turn our
conditional compliance certification issued by Judge William Menon on December 17th into a final uh compliance certification. Stay tuned. Drafts of other ordinances and resolutions have been sent to Fairshair Housing Center as required by Judge Men's ordinance and I'm working
with both Miss Ray and Janine Dleon to ensure that everything is passed in a timely fashion including the scheduling of a special land use board meeting. I believe Robin, that's going to be on February 26th. And at that time, uh the
first amendment to the uh housing element and fair share plan will be adopted and the ordinance amending our development fee ordinance and affordable housing ordinances that we're introducing on February 17th will be referred over to the board so that we
can get a consistency report back by March 2nd to pass that. So everything is moving along in a rapid and coherent fashion. >> Thank you, John. So while there's been coordination with um the for housing administrative agent, this position of
municipal housing liaison is required under the most recent change to the affordable housing law. It's it's it's always actually been required and Robin will indicate that we've we've always had one and I think the last time
we did a resolution was back when Susan Stanbury was here in 2009. That's >> correct. >> So, uh it's more of a a housekeeping measure and we also put in the resolution adherence to the new uh requirements. So, uh it's it's more
formalized and and codified, but it's something we've always always had and always been doing. >> Okay. Any questions or comments from township committee on resolution 202631? Seeing none, take a motion to approve. >> So move.
>> Second. >> Roll call vote, please. Committeeman Hickeyi. >> I. >> Committeewoman Moreski. >> I. >> Committeewoman Fernandez. >> I. Committee Rosen. >> I. >> And Mayor Jacobs. >> Hi. >> Thank you. >> Next is resolution 2026 035. This resolution authorizes
the chief financial officer of the township of Bedminster to invest funds in the New Jersey asset and rebate management program. Robin, >> sure. So, we are actually passing this resolution should we need to do this.
Um, it's all based on the interest rates of the township savings. Right now, we're getting a little bit less than we'd like to with our current uh bank, and this gives us the flexibility to move money back and forth at a higher interest rate. Township. >> Okay.
Any questions or comments from township committee? >> Seeing none, take a motion to approve resolution 202635. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call vote, please. Committ Hickey. >> I. >> Committeewoman Moreski. >> I. Committeewoman Fernandez.
>> I, >> Committee Rosen, >> I. >> And Mayor Jacobs, >> I. And next, resolution 2026 036. This resolution is to reject all bids received on January 15, 2026 for the
Burnt Mills dog park and asphalt sidewalk construction and installation due to the amount exceeding the estimated budget for this project. Uh, Robin, you covered this earlier. Um >> well you did mayor >> wasn't there also one of the um biders
was deemed not qualified. >> Um there was a minor error in their calculation. I believe it was off by one or two cents. It was minimal. Okay. That didn't really cause >> but that did not >> right but the the reason for the recommendation by the engineer was that
the bids came in um over budget. Okay. >> So which raises or begs the question What next? >> So, um, we would have to go back out to readvertise, um, a new bid process just like we did
with the community garden. We went through that twice. So, um, we're pl, you know, poised to do that, uh, next week. >> Was the expectation that there weren't enough biders? >> So, there were seven packages that were picked up from the engineers's office,
but only two put bids in. >> Okay. So, what's the anticipation for the rebid process? >> Well, hopefully, you know, um they reach out to contractors, their bevy of contractors and say, "Hey, you know, try
to this bid is available to bid on." So, hopefully we'll get more um biders for the project. >> And Jason, this project is beyond the scope. Uh not that we want to put more onto DPW. >> Yeah, pretty much. right now
>> to be honest. >> Um the it was the bids were higher than anti the anticipated budget and the anticipated budget was created by the engineer. >> The engineer developed the budget estimate. Yes. >> Okay. >> It's not usual for Paul to be
exceeded. >> Right. >> All right. Any further questions or comments regarding the resolution to recheck the dates for the Burnville dog park? >> Seeing none, take a motion to approve resolution 202636.
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call vote, please. Committeeman Hickey. >> I. >> Committeewoman Moreski. >> Hi. >> Committeewoman Fernandez. >> Hi. >> Committee Rosen. >> Hi. >> And Mayor Jacobs. >> I. >> Thank you. I'll take a motion to approve the bill list pending review of
individual invoices. >> So move second. >> Last roll call vote of the evening. Committee Nikki. >> I. >> Committeewoman Moreski. >> I. >> Committeewoman Fernandez. >> Hi. >> Committee Rosen. >> I. >> And Mayor Jacobs. >> I.
>> Any matters that the township committee wants to put up for discussion under new business? >> You don't have to. Yeah. >> Okay. Old business utilities. I may even hit you.
>> You know, with JCPNL, no news is good news, but we have news. We did have an outage impacting the Hills Village North area on Saturday the 10th. It started a little after 400 p.m. and lasted for about three and a half hours. because there was a tree down near Tarheel
Kennels that impacted the peacock circuit coming down 206. You may ask yourself, how do we get here? JCPNL just invested a bunch of money in the infrastructure here and gave us a big presentation and assured us that the network would be more resilient. What happened? And yes, there
are many outages where the system of switches and recloses they just installed will automatically restore power within 90 seconds. This wasn't one of them. I will spare you all the nerdo details of based on the exact location of the fault. The system couldn't
restore itself automatically, but power could have been restored manually within the hour. That didn't happen either. Tech 101 says you can build it, but they might not come, particularly if they don't know about it. In this case, the
crew responding to the outage was unaware that a flip of the proverbial switch or in this case the real switch sitting alongside the highway would have restored the power almost instantly. >> So that would have been the switch on
206 rather than inside the hills. >> Uh it depends. There's a series of switches, but had they thrown the switch, the power would have come back on because that switch would have rerouted the feed from the north to the south. >> So the power could have been restored
without a full restoration of that line. It would have been a temporary >> correct cut over then they could have fixed the line and then cut the customers back over. >> So after a little come to Jesus meeting and a bit of retraining, the crews have been made aware of this capability. So
any manual intervention in the future should restore power much more quickly. Why >> why weren't they aware of it? >> They those crews as you find in any large company and having worked for AT&T for half my career >> didn't trickle down >> didn't trickle down to the guys were turning the screwdrivers and man in the
wrenches and you know in some cases I'm surprised in others I am not but I have been assured that problem has now been resolved. We'll wait and see. >> Okay so the switch was there. The switch is there and literally >> you just needed to >> flip push
>> flip the switch. >> Flip the switch. Okay. Yes, that's pretty much it. >> Okay. Uh I have no more updates. I don't know. Jason, do you have any updates? >> Only is they they pulled in a mark to run another secondary from
>> they might be they're also running primaries in Stone Run right now as well. I mean, in a lot of cases, they're looking at the underground cabling that's been sitting there for 30 plus, 40 years, realizing it needs to be replaced proactively. So, they are they are doing digging right now to replace those lines. So, it's that's a good sign
as well. That's all I have, mayor. >> All right. Thank you. And nothing else on uh whether it's Altis or New Jersey American Water or PSJ? >> No, nothing else. Thank you, >> John. I take it um silence on Pluckman
Senior. No news. Okay. Uh, as Ray mentioned, Somerset Hills public safety committee, we did have a uh conference call or actually Zoom session uh last week. Welcomed Mayor Anna Dwarte McCarthy from
Bernard's Township. Um, and as Robin uh mentioned, we did talk JCPNL. One of the things that we've talked about is uh just as you are the leaison for utilities with JCPNL
um Mayor McCarthy has been and and may continue to be the liaison for Bernard Townson. So she has very much um similar issues uh that have been raised to JCPNL
um and and working with Bob Flynn and I suggested that um well actually we talked about actually bringing Bob Flynn into a summer citiz committee meeting so that Bob is the liaison for
all the municipal ity. So this way >> once again, you know, I think we've talked about um you know, increasing the power of our voice by by getting together. Um so that could be another opportunity. We also talked about um
tree clearing. I've seen JCPNL out there. I've seen them out on my street um recently right across from your your house. They were out there clearing some trees on Hillside. So they're they're certainly continuing to
double down in their efforts. Uh we raised it I I raised it at the Somers public safety committee because >> you mentioned the PPAC line. That PAC line comes down 206
>> originates at the substation in Pac. >> A tree goes down in Pac. That's an outage in the hills. Mhm. >> Our other lines come up from Bridgewater
um whether it's Washington Valley Road or up um 202 206 or coming down through Far Hills on Burnersville, Bernard Township. So the tree could go down in Bedminister, impact Far Hills residents, a tree could go down in Bernards and
once again impact both Bernards and Bedminster residents. So this is not just um hey we take care of our own by taking trees down in Bedminster or supporting our residents um in granting access to JCPNL but it also extends to
the other municipalities. So um the mayors all agreed that this is something that we should push down to uh the residents and really you know we're love trees. We all love trees. Why we live out here, but we also recognize that the
trees that are in close proximity to electric lines inevitably will lead to damage and to an outage. So, um we still need to uh get that message out there. Um on the public
safety committee, our next call is next month, right? the third Thursday >> in February. >> Correct. >> And so, uh, Denise, I will I have an email version of your statement. Um, and
as you requested in your statement, I will distribute that to the other mayors in the Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee. So, I don't know that anything's going to come of it, but I will uh make that distribution. That's all we got for uh old business.
So, we do not have an executive session tonight. So, we will run through township committee comments and we will adjourn for the committeeman Rosen. Uh, kudos to Jason and his staff for what's been a um
miserable winter so far and looks like another miserable weekend, but good job. Keep it up. And in addition to the snow, the temperatures are going to be brutal. Stay safe. Stay warm. Committeewoman Fernandez.
>> Yes. I'd just like to reiterate, thank you to Jason and the crew for keeping our roads clean and ours safe during the snowstorms. And I just want to thank all of our residents come out and um vocalize their opinions and their needs
and their wants. It's always great to hear from our our residents. Committeewoman Moreski, >> I echo um Committee Woman Fernandez's sentiments and want to just extend another congratulations to the uh Pluckman
Presbyterian Church on their 1775th anniversary. >> Committeeman Hickey, >> I will echo all my prior colleagues comments and thank you Jason. I'm a bit of a night owl. Those guys are out there with the lights flashing at two in the morning. I mean, no matter what. So,
please extend a thank you for all your work. They do a great job. >> That's all I have. >> Thank you. I have no further comments at 8:08. I'll take a motion to adjurnn for the >> So moved. All in favor? >> I second. >> I >> I
was just me. >> There were two second. >> Good night. Thank you all for coming out. >> Thank you. Okay.