Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Bridgewater Township Council meeting, Thursday, July 24th at 7:30. In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act of New Jersey, the adequate notice of this meeting was provided on
December 10th, 2024 by sending written notice and electronic notice to the Courier News and the Breeze posting on the website and the bulletin board in the municipal building and filing with the township clerk. May we have the roll call, please? >> Councilman Kersh
>> here. Councilman Codilla >> here. Pedroso. Councilman Ring, >> good evening. Here. President Ogalas >> here with us tonight is John Duca who will be our our counsel for this evening. Uh Michael Kersh would you please lead us in the pledge.
>> Please stand if you are able. >> Please join me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America >> and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you. We have the minutes for July 10th regular session. I'm holding the special session from May 27th and the July 10th for the next meeting. Okay. Could I have a motion? Any other comments, changes on the July 10th minutes, please?
>> I see none. And I'll make a motion to accept them. >> Okay. And a second, please. >> Second. >> A roll call, please. >> Councilman Kersh. >> Yes. >> Codiller. >> Yes. >> Councilman Ring. Yes, >> Ogalis.
>> Yes. Okay. Moving to township council reports. Uh, Councilman Cordillic, we have your report, sir. I don't as far as reports go I just think it's proper to acknowledge from from our position here and as has as
also as residents of Bridgewater just to recognize the efforts of all of our emergency service personnel during the the rainstorms last week and the damage that we all witnessed whether it was police, fire or rescue squad to be
out in those conditions to be rescuing people and you know, just doing the job. Unless you're out there doing it with them, you don't you cannot respect what this what danger they're
in. So, I tip my hat to all first responders who go out in times of stor in times of storm and whatever and commend their efforts. >> Thank you. Councilman Ring, please. >> I'm going to be very brief. No report.
That's that's a nice report. Thank you for time. >> Councilman Kersh, your report, sir. >> Yeah, I'll be fair fairly brief on land use matters. Um uh well, the planning board didn't meet, so that's that's really easy to report on. The zoning board met a couple of nights ago. Uh and
heard the uh Cafe Amelia case. Uh they had u some of the the um uh residents had had appeared here. uh that that uh hearing uh uh made some progress and will be heard uh in will continue in the
October time frame. Uh and there was also an approval done for a um uh gas station and small mini mart over in the in uh on in Findern area um with some some concessions in terms of the appearance uh and the upkeep of that
land. Uh, and yesterday I had the uh the privilege of uh doing a ribbon cutting for the um uh renovations at the Applebees uh over in um in Bridgewater near the uh uh near the the the ballpark
and Home Depot area. Uh that that's been there about 25 years and they did a significant refresh and uh celebrated that accomplishment. And that's my report. >> Thank you. My report is as follows. The Environmental Protection Administration,
also known as EPA, has revised the cleanup standards for the cyan cyanomid site in Findern. The changes include changing the thickness of the soil cap, adding soil caps to the areas of the site not included in the original
cleanup, changing the cleanup goals for benz benzo pyrene, which is also known as BAP and chromium 4 in soilbased and most recent to make it consistent with the most recent guidelines from the new
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. They're also going to plant a number of trees to try to uh handle some of the the surface water. I attended the Somerset County Shred event last week at Chimney Rock Road in Bridgewater at the near the our DPW
location. Uh some anyrset county resident uh could bring their personal papers to have them shredded by a bonded disposal service. The event was well organized and well attended but moved relatively quickly as there were three shred trucks on site. Additional shred
dates at the Bridgewater location later in the year are October 25th and November 22nd. Just a reminder that the water main replacement efforts by American Water on North Bridge are continuing and will for several weeks and detours are in place.
Be careful of a scam that's going on where people get text messages saying their motor their motor vehicle violations and that there are very severe penalties if they do not pay. The telephone number that's included with
these texts is preceded by a plus sign. uh just so people are aware that that plus sign before the telephone number uh is recognized by the telephone company as a country code. Therefore, that telephone message is sent overseas to
someplace else and you will be charged for the international call even though you probably won't get any help with whatever scam they're running. That is my report. Anything from the mayor, Mr. Papis? >> Yes, sir. Thank you. uh uh two two short
uh comments and then a um I' I'd ask Mr. Bur to come up, but um there was a a post that some of you may have seen in uh social media, Congressman Kaine uh honored Bridgewater Township Police
Officer Noah a lot as a hometown hero. uh congressman does this uh I think on a weekly basis and he certainly made very positive comments about Noah's heroism that we heard reported not that long ago. Uh the other item that is rather
significant, I'd like to report on behalf of the mayor that the uh bond anticipation note sale that had been anticipated took place just a few weeks ago. I'm very pleased to report that Bridgewater Township had the lowest
interest rate of any New Jersey uh municipality that undertook a note sale over the past month or so. This uh information was provided by our financial advisor, Phoenix Adviserss. Uh the interest rate that we secured was
2.896%. Uh we were we had six uh entities that submitted bids, two more than last year. Last year our interest rate was 3.4415%. So the interest rate was even better
than last year's and again the lowest in the state of New Jersey. Uh I would like to commend our financial team. I know the finance committee certainly appreciate all of their engagement. Uh we have Mr. Dracoitz, our bond council is here also for on another matter. Uh
Mr. Pandos, Mr. Swisser, certainly Mr. Inverso and um very very pleased to offer that information. Uh there have been people that have questioned uh our um status and this is obviously proof
that we are viewed very favorably by investors here in New Jersey. Uh the last item I would like Mr. Bur, our township engineer, to come up. Uh we do have um a report that uh he would like to briefly present. Uh as uh was said by
Councilman Cordillo, we did have a significant rain event last year, last week, excuse me. And uh it affected most severely the eastern part of the township, but um there are a number of things that we thought would be important to give you an update. and uh
I don't want to steal any more of his thunder and let him uh give you his u his thoughts. >> Good evening. I'm going to sit here because I have a couple of slides I want to I want >> you have a mic handy. >> Yep. I got it right here. Good evening everyone. Thank you for having me.
Normally, uh, when I'm here, I'm here to talk about road projects, but as Mike said, in in light of the severe storm event that, uh, we experienced last week, we thought it would be appropriate to come in and give everybody an update on drainage projects, drainage going on,
storm water management. Um, just provide an update of of some of the things that we've been doing behind the scenes. Um Suzanne I think has a slideshow that's up on our TVs and and being streamed. Um so you all know we got hit pretty
significant storm event last Monday um July 14th in the evening hours in this area. Central Jersey a little east of here, a little north of here. East of here got um significantly impacted. Uh but you'll see in in in in a slide in a
second um some information on the specific impacts that that Bridgewater incurred. Um major issues that we experienced was a lot of localized flooding. I know everybody knows parts of Route 22 were impacted. Uh but but
by and large uh we were able to get by without any significant long-term damage which is encouraging. So if we move to the next slide, it kind of gives you an idea. Um, Bridgewater received about four and a
half inches of rain in a little over two and a half hours. Um, significant amount of rainfall. If you look back at uh what we experienced during um, Ida, hurricane or tropical storm Ida, Bridgewater
received about 9 in of rain in around 6 hours. So you can see if if the storm from last Monday had further duration, if it lasted twice as long as it did, we were on track for a hurricane Ida type type event. So we're lucky that it that
it ended after two and a half hours, but still a tremendous amount of rainfall. Um you can see the quote just under that. The rain that Somerset recorded, 4.3 ines on average in that storm last week, accounted for about 90% of the
county's average rainfall for the month of July. Next slide. Couple couple of bullet points. Again, reiterating what um Councilman Cordilla reported on. just a tremendous effort by all of uh township emergency responders, police, fire, um
EMS, OEM, um police and and DPW. So, great collaboration, communication, responsiveness. They had boots on the ground not only during the event, but also several hours after the event ended. Um you can see some of the some
of the details. 70 calls um for service or assistance, three water rescues. Um as I mentioned, by and large, we were spared. There were areas that were hit much worse. You can see how much rainfall um in Clark east of here and as
well in in Planefield there were a couple casualties unfortunately. So um again, significant event. I believe it's if if not the second most intense storm um but close to since Ida hit. So very
significant. So what did we do um since the storm hit? DPW has been regularly assessing some of the damage, responding to uh calls that have come in. Engineering has has also been doing some assessments. If
you all remember post IDA The township was fortunate enough to get about $3 million worth of disaster aid money from FEMA to address a number of of projects. A few of them assisted with drainage issues that ca came up as a
result of IDA. Um there were some miscellaneous drainage channel cleanings that were taken care of. uh retaining wall on Vaselor A was replaced that also serves as really stabilization for that or or embankment for the drainage
channel that runs down Vosler A. And then we also did a lot of roadway work um as well as repairing our sewer main that got washed out near the Lexus dealer off of 22. So a lot of FEMA money was invested. We also sought out grant
money through USDA and you've heard me report on this previously and got almost $700,000 from USDA uh to address ste stream erosion issues um health and safety issues in four
locations around town. That project was completed about two years ago. And in the aftermath of last week's storm event, we wanted to go out and see how those four areas held up. And we're going to slow show you a couple of slides now, a couple of photos of of the
condition post storm. I think the pictures were taken yesterday. So, as we cycle through, um, the first area that we performed work on was Brookside Drive, and that's, um, directly downstream of Camp Cromwell, which we'll
hear about tonight a little more detail. But this particular area, you can see all of the large boulders. We installed those boulders to stabilize that stream embankment. And for the most part, you can see it's holding up quite well. that area of Brookside, the water coming off
of township property and upstream of Camp Cromwell, the volume of water crested the roadway. If you were to drive down Brookside, you would see the staining on the road, the dirt staining, debris that's still lodged in some areas near the guide rail. So, that area was
impacted heavily. I >> think there was I'm sorry. I think there was a private resident's driveways bridge actually washed away. >> Yes. Yes, there was. And just just out of Bridgewwater in Warren Township, the roadway was significantly damaged,
similar to what we saw in some areas after Ida in Bridgewwater. So you have an area on Brookside in Warren that was very much damaged as well as the SRVSA meter chamber. The fencing was was destroyed in some locations as well. So
this was an area that got hit hard. the work that we had done previously still is holding up well. I think there's two pictures of of Brookside. Next area that we addressed was an area off of
Valley View Drive. It's a culde-sac road off of Tulo Road off of Washington Valley. This is near the culdesac on Valley View. Again, we had significant stream erosion and bankment erosion. There's also a drainage pipe that you can't see
in the photo that drains runoff from the roadway, a pre-existing pipe. The work that we did was meant to stabilize the embankment as well as protect our drainage infrastructure. And you can see it's still still looks pretty good. Um,
all the boulders are still in place. No further signs of erosion. So, Valley View is holding up well. Next project is is Long Road just up from Washington Valley. This is a private driveway but directly adjacent
to Long Road as you can see in the picture. Prior to Ida, there were Gabian baskets that um lined the edge of that drainage channel. Those baskets were completely destroyed in Ida. We got
funding to replace those baskets. I know it's hard to see in the photos because the baskets have actually vegetated. So, you don't really see what we have underneath the vegetation is baskets filled with large rib wrap stones, four to 5 in rip wrap stones. Again, the area
that we improved, as you can see in the photo, holding up well. And the last area and and and really the most significant one was an area next to Blossom Drive off of Washington Valley.
This is a large culvert that drains really from parts uphill outside of township route Route 78 down the hill. This experienced severe erosion. We had areas that were probably 20t deep in erosion. Uh very unstable, very unsafe.
Through this program, we came in employed the same idea of installing the Gabian baskets, tried to smooth out the channel so that it didn't have such a steep steep slope to it. Um, put in a new a new post and rail fence.
I was actually surprised at well how well this is holding up. And you can see it again, it's overgrown. There's nothing wrong with that, but as far as the the underlying work that was done, it it it's holding up very well. So, the
four projects that we completed a few years ago, happy to report, are still in good condition and functioning as was designed. So, what else do we have going on? Current initiatives. So, I think I've reported before that the township is in
receipt of a grant, a separate grant through FEMA to perform a townwide drainage assessment. We're looking to get that project formally rolling in the very near future. What we've been doing regularly, meeting
with administration, members of OCR, engineering, DPW, meeting regularly to track drainage issues that come into the municipal building, drainage concerns that are brought to our attention. We have an
active database, um, the location, what the issue is, contact information for folks. We look at that list regularly and we update it regularly. What the grant money is going to do is really allow us to take that database to
the next level. We're going to be able to refine scopes of work, establish budgets, real numbers, and map out priorities for how we can start attacking some of these projects. And I think that's really important. I'm going
to jump ahead to the to the next slide. what what we're doing right now in addition to tracking our database, meeting regularly, um looking to kickstart the grant project, there's also two pre-existing drainage issues,
both in the Brown Road and Carter Road neighborhood. That intersection floods regularly. I know it's well documented. We do have money set aside. We're in the process right now of obtaining engineering proposals from consultants to help us do
the drainage studies and prepare construction plans to help with those drainage issues. Um, so lot of things going on, a lot of things still to come and that grant is really going to help us kickstart that.
Last thing I want to touch on, I think it's I think it's important. It's related and equally as important when we look at these drainage issues. I'm talking a lot about pre-existing drainage issues, issues that that
continue to come to our attention with the frequency and intensity of storms we're seeing. New things are constantly popping up. It's also important to make sure that for future development projects, we're protecting the township.
And I just want to reiterate, you know, the state has been been very proactive over the last number of years, really dating back to 2004. But in 2018, 2021, and 2023, the state
has updated their storm water management regulations and they've required all municipalities to to be in line with those requirements. Bridgewater is in line with those requirements from an ordinance perspective.
And our planning and zoning boards on any new development project really review as Councilman Kersh has has mentioned in his in his um you know council reports. Those boards spend a tremendous amount of time reviewing
development applications to make sure that they comply with our ordinances, the state's requirements, and frankly protect the residents moving into the future. And I just wanted to highlight that because I think both of those
issues um both managing and and and addressing existing drainage issues as well as not creating new drainage issues with new developments both important. So that's all I had. I don't know anybody have any questions or
>> Thanks Bill. You know I noticed on your last chart brown road uh last year I went back and Mr. Quas appeared before the council back in 2012 and I know a lot of work has gone on and probably more to follow but uh
>> water wants to go where water goes and it takes everybody along with it >> unfortunately and one one thing I know people are probably sick of me saying it is >> these are not as simple as just putting down asphalt on a roadway. There's really a lot of things that have to look that we have to take into account when
we look at these drainage projects. One of which being making sure that we're not going to impact people downstream by fixing an issue upstream. So, a lot of moving parts, but we're working on it. >> Bill, how do who's the who are the boots
on the ground to go out and look at the various uh drainage issues in order to document them? What is the process going to be? >> I don't I don't know that there's a limit to it, council president. I think the boots on the ground could be our DPW superintendent. It could be the
assistant superintendent. It could be any one of his foremen. It could be our assistant township engineer. It could be Tom Goenova, the director. I go out and look at it. Um, it's really a all hands- on deck approach when something comes in. Uh, really it depends who who
fielded the call first and what the nature of the call is and then we discuss internally and figure out who's the right person to uh visit the site or address it. Um, but it could be any number any number of people and and that's why it's important that we do
have these regular meetings internal to discuss them and make sure we're all on the same page. >> Does anybody have any questions for for Bill? >> I I Mr. President, I just have a a quick comment. Um, you know, I know Bill, you are complimentary um, uh, of of the
cooperation with Trenton on this. Um, and I think that's important and should be noted, but when looking at the bigger broader picture and trying to tie this issue to others, it bears noting that Trenton continues to speak out of both sides of its mouth on on development. Um
and uh you know we do an outstanding job between the planning board, the zoning board in in trying to control uh water in trying to control factors that we can. But the reality is that the action that we were forced to take over the next 10 years is going to result in
considerable increase in imperous coverage. That water will have to go somewhere. Um and so you know we're we're we're fighting a battle on both ends. Um but you know as it relates to to your comments right and
specifically the event from last week um you know kudos um to the engineering efforts uh that occurred and and I think that it certainly stood the test of time this time uh and hopefully that'll continue to be the case. Thank any other
comments, questions? Uh, >> just a comment, Bill. Thank you. I think your presentation was very informative and the I'm glad to see the work that we've done in the past is holding up very well. >> Thanks.
>> Hey, thanks, Bill. Appreciate your time. Uh, in terms of uh that's anything else for the mayor. That's that's it for him. Okay. Uh proclamations, we have none. We're moving on to the presentation and there are two of them tonight. Camp Cromwell and Middbrook. Um, Mr. Papis,
would you like to offer some opening comments, please? >> Thank you. U, we have uh Mr. Scott Stevens, the deputy township administrator, has put together a PowerPoint. He will make this presentation. There may be questions for Mr. Burr as engineer, but uh I just want
to make comment as Scott as Scott prepares um he'll go through the history of this and uh many people here know the history u of this effort that has under been undertaken a number of years ago.
Um a lot has occurred. Uh so why don't we just uh let Scott present and then I may have some comments at the conclusion of it. >> Thank you administrator. Um, Council President, council members, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here
tonight. I'm I'm really excited to be able to finally talk about this publicly and uh I just want to call out my colleague Bill. I noticed you're not uh joining me up here, but that's fine. We're good. Um, there has been a lot of public interest in this site and what's going to be
going on with it. and uh you know again just the excitement about being able to finally discuss it and uh tell people what's going on with what I think is going to be the next uh big destination that really highlights the Bridgewater's place on the map. Um for those of you
who may not know, and I'm sure it's relatively few of you, Camp Cromwell is uh that little blue dot on the screen there. It's about 100 acres worth of property in western Bridgewater located right off of Oscar Avenue. Uh if you're anything like me, you've driven past it maybe a hundred times and might not have
even noticed it was there. Next time you're up there, take a look for this sign and you will never miss it again. I promise. Uh prior to 2017, the site was owned and operated by the Boys Club of New York. It served primarily as a summer camp
facility since its founding in 1985. But before that, there's over a hundred years worth of history on this site going back to the days of Kth North over. Um, I'm not going to go through all hundred years because I'd like to get out of here at some point tonight. But it is very interesting. There are
plenty of people in town who uh have been looking into it and chronicling it. Some of them are actually in the audience here with us tonight. And anybody who's interested, I would uh, you know, offer definitely look into it. It's it's very interesting. Um, in 2017, following a business realignment, the
Boys Club decided to sell the entire property and relocate their efforts. Uh, in an effort to preserve the land for recreational use, the township decided to buy it. And
that is pretty much where I would like to pick up. Um starting the timeline in 2017 with the purchase township used a million dollars in open space funds along with 6.5 million which was generously provided by the county
improvement authority and brought it into the township's tax uh coffers or yeah unfortunately for several years prior to the sale the boys club chose not to really invest or maintain the property. They weren't using it. Uh so
the site once purchased wasn't available for immediate use and you can kind of see the condition that it was in at the time. This is just give you quick idea of of what we were uh getting into. Uh also unfortunately for the next 3
years after the purchase it kind of just didn't get the attention that it deserved. Um, number of of discussions were had, a number of ideas were looked at, but nothing really got off the ground until 2020 when what we're
calling phase one began. Uh, we really started to ask the questions, you know, what can we do here based on the site conditions at acquisition. The first and foremost important step was to make it safe for public use. A series of professional demolition contracts were
executed. uh removed several concrete swimming pools, some equipment, numerous dilapidated structures. Um just to give you a visual idea, every one of those X's popping up on your screen was something that needed to be taken down for safety reasons, staffous,
workhouses, worksheds, you name it. Uh safety hazards like dead trees, things, you know, just waiting to fall uh remains from the camp. There was a treetop obstacle course which uh had long passed its safe life, but
we were able to get a lot of it cleaned up. Uh also want to give a shout out to our DPW who did a lot of work up there as part of the cleanup as well. Saved us a lot of money and and really took us a long way.
The last structure that needed to be taken down on the top left corner, there was actually a dam on the property. Now, I know you're probably, well, there's a dam. Where did the water go? Um, it was non-functioning.
So, there was really no point for it to be there other than to uh perhaps get people hurt. And again, just to give you an idea, the condition that it was in at the time, I don't know about you, my kids
would just be dying to get hurt on that thing. Um, so all of this cleanup, you know, not not only the safety, but just it also allowed the township to reduce our impervious coverage on this site about 48,000 square ft, which, you know, at
the moment, okay, but, uh, down the road that's really going to help us because obviously we want to do some building here and we want to, uh, have as little involvement from the powers that be as possible and being able to do what we want to do there. So, um, this will help us keep net impervious coverage to a
minimum. Also, just to continue on, give you a little bit of an idea as to cleanup. A few more examples here. Um, just debris, dead trees, all kinds of wonderful
things. Um, random holes in the middle of hiking trails. So what is left? Well, there are currently four major structures uh remaining on the property in addition to
some athletic facilities. Uh the top left corner is the welcome center. Top right corner is the performing arts building uh which contains a full stage and all kinds of of great usable stuff in there. Bottom left is a dining
hallbanquet facility and bottom right is an indoor multi-purpose athletic facility. These buildings are basically sound structurally but uh all of them are in various states of disrepair. Our our
code officials would not under any circumstances allow folks to be in in the current condition. But uh also none of them are worth taking down. There's some great buildings and there are some great opportunity there. So, we want to make sure that we're holding on to them. Moving along on the timeline, we are now
at 2022 where we began basically phase two installing trail construction. Um, again, also a lot of the folks involved in these projects sitting here uh with me tonight. the an application was made in 2021 to
receive funding and it was granted and in 2022 construction began. We have two trails that run throughout the property. Now the solid red line is a multi-use trail made
of packed stone. easy to walk on, easy to roll a stroller, that sort of thing, but still fits into the aesthetic of the surrounding area. The dashed line is a mountain bike trail, which is a little more natural, not for walking,
obviously, for biking. Um, some foot bridges, which needed to be swapped out. And, uh, this is actually a good opportunity to thank our friends at the Jersey Off-Road Bicycle Association who came in. And I don't know, you probably can't tell this about me, but I'm not a
huge uh cyclinger, but they are. And they know what folks are looking for in a good trail, and they help us put it together. We also as uh looking at you know a fairly
regional approach here we were able to connect these trails to existing systems most notably the Middlebrook trail. So what you're looking at here is a safety crossing on u I'm not sure if this is Vosler or Brookside but um
>> Vosler at Brookside. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um and you can see you know efforts were made to make sure that this is one continuous system whether you know just through through use of uh materials and
and whatnot getting everything lined up appropriately. So at this point, we were still really working through a funding mechanism for, you know, turning this into what it could ultimately be one day. And in July
of 2023, we were introduced to something called community project funding by Congressman Kaine's office. Um, I'm not going to call it an earmark because that's not what it is. It is a project funding mechanism provided to
members of Congress. It's also not a grant. It's it's an appropriation. And I make the distinction mostly because while there was an application involved, there was far more to it than simply putting some words on a piece of paper and making everybody realize what a great project
this is. Um, there were a number of tours involved. There was a lot of advocacy. I want to thank the friends of Bridgewater History, Bridgewater Recreation, a number of other groups that not only wrote letters, but helped advocate on the town's behalf, understanding how important the project
was and ultimately wound up getting the project included in what would become the appropriation bill. I'll spare you all my singing of schoolhouse rock, but you know at that
point it was in fact just a bill which is not very helpful to us. So at that point we were kind of stuck in a waiting game going through the legislative process which I know you're all very familiar
with and won't bore you. But eventually with a little persistence and a little uh patience made it through the House, made it through the Senate, received the president's signature. Ultimately, the bill was approved,
and much to our not surprise, but to to our glee, we received the full $4 million that we had requested for the project. A lot of towns, you know, were fortunate enough to get funding, but not
everything that they were looking for. And, you know, we we did a really good job there. So, >> is is that in the bank? >> I'm sorry. >> Is the $4 million in our bank account? >> So, it's not quite that easy. Um, yes,
sitting here before you right now, it is. And I'll I'll I know we all don't want to be here till midnight, but I do want to explain this as much as I can. So, I'll I'll council president, I'll brief through it as quickly as I can to give you an overview without, you know, taking up too much
time. Um, first, you know, real quick, I just want to let folks know that while we were going through this waiting process, um, we didn't just sit back. You know, we used this time to to think through some ideas and more importantly go out to the public and ask for their
input. We had an a public workshop in this very room. I think a number of you were here. It was very well attended. We had some online feedback which uh also you know was uh we got a a good response on a number of folks had some really
good ideas all of which we're looking at. Some of those ideas we got more than others, which brings us, council president, to your question. Um, funny enough, the they don't just
give you a check and and let you deposit it. We were responsible for proving that we had the prop proper project oversight, which thanks to our our municipal services and engineering departments, we do. We had to prove that
we had the proper financial oversight, which thanks to our CFO and his group, we do. Everything needed legal approval, as you can imagine it does. Finally, June of this year, we had a signed
agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And I know your next question, this is not a housing project, nor are we an urban community, so what gives? Congress can authorize spending money, but they can't actually write you a check, so they hand it off. This
actually turned out to be good for us because there's a HUD office right in New Jersey and allowed for better communication. And um I know it may not seem like it, but I think it it made the process a little more streamlined. So to answer your question, yes. Now we
have $4 million. Um the catch here is that again, as I've stated, they don't just give you a check. This is all reimburseable money. We have to spend some money. We have to provide them all of the wonderful documentation to prove
that it went to what we said it went to, in which case they will then give us the money to replenish our budget, but we have approval to move forward and that is the big thing. So now uh the moment everybody's been waiting for. We
want to look towards the future and you know what ultimately the 100 acres of property that exists up there can be. Um I want to if I can uh be indulged in one more shout out. One of our engineers, Kyle, who is uh currently at home with
his three-month old son, put together all of these uh maps and renderings for us. So we really appreciate that. Um, where do we start? Well, you know, the entrance seems like a good place.
Heading north on Vosler, we make a right into the facility and the first building you come across is that uh office build, what was the main office building that we discussed earlier. Um, again in great shape shape
structurally, but still needs some work inside before it's usable. Um, we just need to get the money in hand to do the work. There are any number of folks who are very anxious to get in
there and be able to use it for uh various purposes. you know, whether it's our own recreation departments, some of the uh local groups in town. Um there was discussion of a potential township museum. Anybody who is interested knows Bridgewater is rich in history and we
have a ton of of great items that could be displayed up there. Um so again, just you know, cleaned up a little bit. Moving further on down the road, the next major area and parking
lot is the athletic facility, which as it exists is a number of basketball courts. And this is another area that our our folks are really just salivating to get their hands on and be able to use. But
we also want to be uh we we want to pay attention to, you know, what the the feedback that the public has given us. And obviously, if you didn't count, pickle ball popped up on your screen about 12 times. So, there's plenty of space here. It's it's flat. It's paved.
It's ready to go. And could easily accommodate at least four probably more pickle ball courts. We'll know exactly once we get in and do some surveying and and can uh really put pen to paper. Um this is just a an idea of what the
athletic facility looks like today. It's been cleaned up a little bit, but you can see the cracks a little better now. Not really something that you want to play basketball on. These two locations also mark the trail heads for the affforementioned trails.
It is where the parking is best and it is contained to a particular corner of the property that you know if we can get these areas cleaned up. It is the quickest way to get the property open and usable for passive recreation for
residents and anybody else who comes along interested in in working on it. Um, I have here I want to show just some aerial shots because it really, if you'll indulge me, shows just uh the
best example, the best view of what we're working with here. So, what is on your screen is we've just made a right off of Vasler A and we're heading in now. You can see that office building on your right.
>> My left. >> Your left. Sorry. My other right. And as we head down, you can see some of the other buildings in the background. But right here, if we make that right
turn, which is now actually heading up on your screen, heads out to another parking lot. Trail head on your left. And here are the basketball courts.
And Scott, it bears noting that under one of those grandstands is uh is bathrooms, right? There were locker rooms. Right now there are garbage piles. Okay. >> But there they do have plumbing and electric. >> Plumbing, there's electrical, there's
water, there's, you know, the the basis for something good out there. Um, >> and just to give you another good view cuz I think these videos are really cool.
So on the top of your screen there, most likely we'll be looking at pickleball courts in that area, retaining some of the basketball as much as possible, and then parking as we head back out to the main entrance. With this comes some other uh you know,
necessities requirements that we need to look into. Um the orange square on the bottom right, you'll notice package restrooms. It is sort of out in the middle of nowhere and the last thing you want to do is be caught in the middle of a game.
So, uh, we're proposing something, not, you know, the Rits, but something nice akin to what we have over at, uh, well, akin to what is at street when it was new, not just portaotties or or
something. We would also like the township and specifically DPW to have a presence up there. Obviously, there's going to be a lot of maintenance, a lot of upkeep and whatnot. So, this is just an example of the kind of barn that we'd be looking at to have uh fit in up there to keep some
equipment and just, you know, generally be able to to have some of our guys up there to keep an eye on things. In addition, you know, one of the things that we really heard a lot about was using the area as a wellness center. Um,
and so hopefully, you know, with this phase, uh, there's a little bit of money left. We'd like to take a look into putting some simple fitness stations out along the existing trail. Nothing nothing fancy, just these, you know, adult playground looking things that you see on other trails throughout the
county. Uh, so folks who are out walking and and a little more fitness-minded can stop and do some pull-ups, do some push-ups, whatever, whatever, you know, floats your boat. Uh, all in all, phase three represents an investment of about $1.3 million.
Now, I know I said four million before and um we're we're looking at this as a phased approach to, you know, first of all, be careful that we're not biting off more than we can chew, but you know, programmatically and financially, um we have to front this
money before getting it back. So, finding $4 million to front, obviously not the easiest thing to do. Um, but we are working with finance making sure that we're not, you know, overextending the township or getting us into any
trouble. Um, and also we have 10 years to spend this money, so it's not going anywhere. We also, I think, want to take into account the idea that I mean, I'm not sure if you realize how, I'm sure you probably do realize how big a 100 acres
is. This site may never be done as it is. It may be something that, you know, is worked on in perpetuity. And um to that extent, you know, we want to make sure that we're addressing the needs of the time and what residents are looking for. Um but that's not to say that we
aren't thinking about the future. We're already looking at you know phase four and onward beginning to shift more towards an active recreational approach. Uh the you know wreck department there we have a number of uh folks reaching
out about the possibility of public private partnerships. Residents continue to reach out very anxious to see what could be done up there and to offer further insights. We'll definitely, you know, continue to to be looking for input there. Um, we'll be back here
obviously as we move into the next, you know, phase four, five, however many it takes to appropriately spend that money and, uh, as those phases start to become clearer. But, you know, this just to sum up,
this is a this is the best approach, the quickest approach to get this facility ready, get it open, and get residents enjoying, you know, what is really just a a diamond in the rough up there at the moment. So,
um, my mouth is dry. I think I've reached the end of my spiel. I turn to the mayor, the administrator if anybody wants to to chime in. >> And I'd like to welcome Mayor Mench to
De Microphones. Thank you. And uh sorry I missed the beginning of the meeting. I wanted to make sure that uh I got here for this presentation. And just a few additional notes from what Scott had already mentioned. So um first of all I
get a lot of questions um you know from residents including uh my wife who ask me repeatedly well why can't you just open it just open it and uh from a starting point the answer is it's not safe with until we have certain um uh we
can't have people roaming as we know that property is uh large it's uh you know would not be the kind of thing that we can just say hey go forth Earth in and Rome. Now whether some people may do that anyway now um but we we certainly
need to make sure that the property is is ready to go. Um the other uh the other thing which uh you know when it comes to the funding we have money in open space funds as everyone knows but you can we can only use a certain portion of that for capital improvements and we can't use any of it for
maintenance. Um, so and of course we also have other properties throughout town. So we can't just we take all of our open space money and dump it into this project. So working through how do we make sure that we maximize it with what we have with the money from the federal
government. Uh, with regard to uh, you know, the projects that can get the most bang for the buck the quickest. Um, that's how we're we're approaching this. There's a lot of ideas out there. Um, and I think when we look into phase four, some of it there's other buildings on site. There's, uh, a creative arts
type building. Um, you know, we have a lot of interest from different athletics athletic groups from different community organizations as Scott mentioned. Uh, I think we want to do something with the museum up there. Um, which may be in that maybe part of uh, I say phase
three, I guess, when we get that initial building opened. Although there's tons of ways that we can continue to um expand and build on those ideas and we've had a lot of conversations about different public private partnerships which could be as
uh narrow or or focused or as broad. I mean, I've had folks come forward with very grandiose ideas about what a public private partnership could look like there and the kind of things you could run uh and different programs uh versus, you know, very small having kind of I'll
say peace meal, but a public private partnership on a specific type of use very focus on one area of the property. So, um, for any residents who are are listening who say, "Hey, I was really hoping for I
hear a lot about wrestling or or, uh, my wife wants was on me about creative arts and, you know, the stage area there." Um, all those things are still, uh, things that we are pursuing. Just because they're not in phase three, so
to speak, is um, not in any indication that those are not going to be part of future phases. But if we continue to wait and say, "Well, we're not going to do anything until we know what we're doing with the entire property at one time and have everything worked out, we'll never get this open." My, you know, my grandkids will be waiting for
it to be opened if we are, um, slowed down by the weight of the project and the magnitude of what could go there. So, um, no, we're excited to get this moving. the um you know the the I say the catch but the part that Scott uh I guess left for me to mention which is
the less fun part is as mentioned we have the money but in on paper it needs to be we need to spend it and then get reimbursed so in order to do that you know what what I'm proposing administration is proposing is uh you know a bond ordinance that would allow
us to do the 1.3 million now um and we get reimbured including any interest costs that are are off of it it's reimbured reversible. Um but uh alternatively, we would have to wait to move forward with that money until we have 4 million or 1.3 or whatever we're doing
in phases in the bank. So um from a funding standpoint, uh we only have those two options. It's either funded in cash, which means we have to either raise it through taxation now directly uh or find that money in in
cuts or uh do it through bonding. And uh I am of the opinion that the bonding and one of the reasons we're doing it also peace meal is that it breaks up the we're not asking for a $4 million bond um especially when that money would be sitting there uh for some time. So, um,
that's what, uh, we were supposed to do. And this kind of project, in addition to not having to raise out of cash, the reality is is that, um, the residents that will get use out of this project are going to be residents who are here now, as well as residents for the next,
you know, 20, 30, 40 years. And so, um, you know, this allocates appropriately. Um, but the good news here is that we get the money back from the federal government. We can pay off um we don't have to wait to pay it off, but we have
to spend it and get the check. So, um, our finance team could ask any questions on that, but you know, this is not a traditional bonding situation where we're bonding and then, uh, you know, our residents are we have no options. we're going to spend it, then give the
federal government the receipts for what we've spent, and then they will give us a check. But like with all things in the federal government, we don't know whether that check is going to be written in 30 days from the time we submit our receipts or whether there's going to be a six-month lag time. Um,
so, uh, so that's where we are we're at with this. Um, obviously if the council has has questions about the, you know, the approach to the project or the funding, uh, we certainly, you know, can answer them tonight or over the next, you know, a couple weeks. There's no,
um, you know, we have, I would say, some time. I mean, we want to get this moving. So, we certainly don't want to be sitting on it, you know, for uh, for months because, um, I know residents are interested. I don't know about all of you, but I get pinged on this more and more. And, um, you know, it's a great
piece of property. We want people to enjoy it. So, um you know, the only alternative at the moment to uh the bonding approach would be to do nothing for the rest of this year and then in next year's budget when that gets approved, you know, in the uh you know,
in the spring to put the money in there in cash. Um uh and obviously you all know the challenges that you know, finding anywhere from 1.3 to, you know, $4 million total check. um would do.
>> Any questions for either the mayor or for Scott on this project? >> I I have a couple questions for the mayor. Um so are we essentially talking about a short-term bond with certainty that there is an income that there is a revenue source? >> So it's essentially like it's almost
like a ro rotational situation. Correct. Um, so and did I hear you say that that of the $4 million we could be reimbursed for interest cost even if it is for a short period of time? >> Yes, but I think keep in mind that the total number we get from the federal
government is $4 million. So um and any of the finance team if I'm saying anything incorrect can can jump up and correct me. But in other words, you know, if if we bond a full 4 million and we incur >> No, no. What I'm saying is if we bond the 1.3 for a short period of time,
there would be some limited amount of of interest expense, it sounds like we could be reimbursed, though that would now be money that still comes off the 4 million. >> So there's some future project that may not be funded because of that.
>> Yeah. I don't think we're going to plan the funding tonight. >> All right. >> Correct. >> Then then then I'd like to my my my next question is um you know if we were to be able to get this funding mechanism in place, are we ready
to get shovels in the ground fairly quickly? >> Yes. And that and that's why we were here uh you know, we don't want to wait any longer than we have to because if if the council says go um and go of course means not just we like the idea but we have a method for
doing it. As you've seen, you know, a lot of this work, the planning work has been been done. It's not I mean has been sitting around now you have to get engineers. So you know for instance we know we want to talk about the basketball courts. We've talked about pickle ball there and basketball. We
have to get an engineer out there which needs our engineering team has done initial work. But as you all know from engineering projects to go out there and do true engineering work requires actual funding not the kind of stuff that we can work into just the typical
day-to-day engineering work. So the first step upon getting the project moving with funding uh would be to hire the engineers to go out do the specific engineering all the site plan work that would normally happen with a zoning you know a land use application to go out there uh go out
and do the work. um we know what's needed to do our obviously our folks have experience with courts and recreation facilities and buildings um so we can get this moving and the trails can get opened um you know hopefully the quickest but uh we're ready to move
>> and and a component of all this from a safety standpoint is lighting uh call boxes things like that correct >> yeah absolutely if you've seen the pictures up there even just the you know you really can't play basketball up there even if we were just to say hey throw a hoop up and you Now it's the
courts cracked. It's uh you got to put make sure that it's a facility uh that is safe for our residents and of the right caliber uh for our residents. >> If I can just add one thing about lighting, I don't think if I'm mistaken, I don't think ex extensive exterior
lighting is included in this phase. this phase. It's to make the uh some of these facilities, the office building, the basketball area, uh putting a an outdoor lavatory, a small public works facility,
making at least a portion of the site accessible, allow the trails to be accessible with the lavatory, have parking. That's what But but extensive exterior lighting is not part of this phase, >> right? We're not talking big baseball style. Uh >> no, no. When I when I said lighting, I
mean lighting of parking areas and sufficient on to get people onto trails. >> Yeah. Basic security type. Yeah. You know, safety type lighting. >> Any other questions? >> Yes. >> When when we applied for this $4 million, did we not have to have a plan
as to that $4 million? >> Yes. And so we have a plan that we submitted for the entire uh you know $4 million project. I guess my question is I understand the need to complete
work in phases, >> but if we had a template when we applied for this $4 million, why are we not seeing what phase four and on? Like to me, we should have a road map. We should know that this is
what phase one is, this is what phase two is, this is what phase three is, even if we're completing it in stages. >> Yeah. And so certainly we can you know talk through um you know the kind of the full plan. Couple things though, you know, one, um, you know, the plan has
some, uh, I would say generalities, but there's some there's some flexibility within the plan, right? So, when you say we want to do recreation facilities, we're not necessarily locked into what we had put in our our submission that says it has to be specifically basketball versus
pickle ball versus, you know, other things like that, you know, tennis, you know, those kind of things. So there's so some of the you know other parts of the plan have um you know areas where we still need to make decision-m to do some things may have changed things we want to do um but that you know that grant
that plan is is you know it's a it's a public document I mean it's available to you know any of the council members who who haven't seen her in the public it's not a you know secret document in the sense but I would just caution you know both the council and the public that you know from that plan that was the grant
application submitted in 2000 and whatever it is three two or three um that provides an overall model um but we're not locked into every aspect of it. >> Mayor, if I could just jump in and and add to what you were saying because it's
not a grant in the traditional sense. Um a lot of the application was geared towards showing the potential of the property and the potential of what could happen here, not necessarily specific well there's going to be bleachers here and a field here and that sort of thing.
Alan, do you have any questions? >> Not at this time. >> Okay, Scott, thank you very much for your presentation. I think the uh township in total uh looks forward to this project moving forward at some point. >> Okay, we're now moving to the
Middlebrook pump station. And Mr. Papis, did you have some Mr. Papis, you want to have some opening comments to introduce? Um we have uh as you know heard about our various pump
stations. We we now have a uh a brief uh overview kind of a re reiteration of what you have uh heard before but uh some a specific plan and a specific approach to fund the rebuild of this
pump station. So we have uh Mr. Gova and Mr. Dracoitz here. Can everybody hear me? Okay. Okay. Thanks. >> So far, >> um, so as administrator Pap has pointed out,
we're here to talk about the Middlebrook pump station phase 2 project. I've been before council many, many times on various projects concerning the sewer utility, but that's specifically what
we're here to do tonight. Um, I'd like to introduce some of the teammate members that are in the uh in the audience, some aren't. Uh, I'm Tom Gova. I'm the director of the sewer utility, also the director of municipal
services. to my left is our bond council, John Dracoitz. Um, also, you know, on the team that has been working on this particular project for the last, I would say a good year and a half, uh, Michael Papis, township
administrator. Bill Burr, township engineer. Tony Gallow, assistant township engineer. Kyle Bow, senior engineer. Um, William Pandos, township CFO. Dicky
Shimp, superintendent of public works. Anthony Crawford, sewer maintenance division foreman, and Sarah Hman, Township QPA. So, uh, moving onward, the Bridgewater Township Sewer Utility
operates, manages, and maintains the sanitary sewer conveyance infrastructure. This includes 350 miles of collection lines, 50 miles of trunk lines. We have two large wastewater pump stations and
three small lift stations. The two large pump stations are Middlebrook pump station and the Gilbride Road pump station. The collection system takes wastewater from Bridgewater Township, also the
southern portion of Warren Township and the northern portion of Branchburg Township and conveys the same to the Somerset Raron Valley Sewage Authority for wastewater treatment services.
The sewer utilities primary purpose is to collect and transport waste water from homes and businesses, ensuring public health and environmental protection. The mission of the sewer utility is to
meet or exceed all state and federal environmental regulations and requirements. Compliance, evaluation, and inspection of the sewer utility facilities was conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on February
the 5th, 2025. The report was dated February 26, 2025, and it did confirm full compliance. As part of the mission, the sewer utility must make improvements to infrastructure to remain in compliance
and to meet the residents and business's needs. So again, tonight we are here to present the Middlebrook pump station phase 2 project timeline. The Middlebrook Pump Station located at the terminus of Easy Street is a wet
well dry well type station. Pumping equipment is located in the dry well and there is a building above the wells that houses electrical equipment and a generator. This station was constructed in 1969
and has not undergone any significant improvements since 1995. The Middlebrook pump station is the township's main pumping station, handling approximately 40% of the township's sewage flow.
The average dry weather flow is 1.75 million gallons a day. During the 4-in rain event that occurred July the 14th, 2025, the flow was 3.75 million gallons a day.
So speaking to the condition uh it it is definitely showing its age. The pump seals are leaking on all three pumps. Motor bearings are grinding. The suction and discharge valves are un unable to close to isolate the pumps for repairs.
The primary controls and drives are obsolete. So again the pump station requires a complete renovation. The phase two improvement project is critical to the sewer conveyance operation of the sewer utility.
Um so we started with phase one. Phase one improvement project was completed in 2023. This included construction of a bypass connection on the force main. The phase one project also included a
bypass manhole on the gravity influent line to facilitate bypass pumping during the phase 2 improvement project or obviously during any other type of major repairs to this station. The phase 2 project consists of a
complete renovation including replacement of pumps, piping, valves, motor control center, pump control panels, emergency generator and site work.
The phase 2 construction budget is 3,529,200. The professional engineering consultant for construction management and the professional engineering consultant for design services during construction is
budgeted at $400,000. The bond council budget is budgeted at 25,000. Now, it's important to note that all of these expenses there they are approved in the New Jersey water bank financing. The total construction budget
comes to 3,954,200. So, at that um we get into the the historical timeline um resolution. Again, we started this project about a year and a half ago. So,
we started with resolution 23316111. This was authorizing professional engineering design services of the pump station for the phase 2 project. This went to Penoni Associates, Inc. in the amount of 162,700
and that resolution was adopted on March the 16th, 2023. The sewer utility coordinated plan design progress meetings with the design engineering, township engineering and public works
divisions. So the uh at this time the township also submitted a loan application to the New Jersey Water Bank. The New Jersey Water Bank is a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. The Water Bank provides lowcost financing for design, construction, and implementation of projects aimed at protecting and improving water quality
as well as adequate drinking water for New Jersey residents. So at that I would like to turn over to the man on my left, the bond council, Mr. Dracoitz, to talk a little bit more about the water bank financing because I think it solves a
lot of problems with uh regard to cash flow. So with that close to that >> and John Draitz from Gibbons firm, fortunate enough to be bond counsel to the great township of Bridgewater. Um
let me start by stating that uh the U New Jersey Infrastructure Bank is a financing mechanism that um the township has not utilized previously as it's a financing mechanism really for significant uh sewer projects. The
transaction is small. You really wouldn't want to go through the bank because it takes time and a lot of effort. But a project of this magnitude is about approximately $4 million. uh it would be one that would be potentially a financial mechanism to be utilized.
And why is that? It's because the I bank is what it's known as in New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. I bank for short pro provides uh loans uh for 50% that is at market rate. So for a project of this
size 20 30-year project the rate would be four four and a half%. But 50% is also at 0%. So the blend of that would be for this type of project 2 and a half% for utilizing the I bank which is the really
the sole reason that governmental entities uh elect to utilize the I bank for projects of size. Also, another feature that has become more common over the last three or four years has been something called loan
forgiveness, which means that at times up to 50% of a project could have their loan forgiven. So, um on a $4 million project, it's possible that about 1 million out of the
four million would be just forgiven by the state through funding mechanisms that they have. they have an extensive um workings with the federal government which is where they get their funds from. So it's a possibility although that would not be known until a much
later date but it's a possibility that you get have some po a portion of your loan forgiven but at the very minimum you're able to get 50% covered at market rate and 0% at half of it at 0%. So it's a great interest rate which is a real
driver to utilize the I bank. One other item to note about the I bank is uh when you undertake a project uh you close which is called a dry closing which is you you close with no funds transferred and you will however
however as your project progresses you draw down the money uh for once your invoice is submitted. So, for example, if you have a if you close on a $4 million loan, at that moment in time, $4 million is not exchanged, but it's
reserved for you during the course of your project. So, if you have a uh in in month two, you submit a $200,000 requisition, you will only be paying interest on the $200,000 you drew down, not on the $4 million.
What also is very positive is uh their short-term interest rate program from the Ibank currently bears an interest rate of about 04 or 0.5%. So you're borrowing at rates well below market which is as was stated by Mr.
Papis earlier you had 2.89% interest rate or so for your notes that you did about a month ago. This rate would be at 0.5%. So it's extremely attractive interest rates if if you if you utilize this program. I will say though uh the
uh difficult portion of utilizing the I bank is it's a little more timesensitive or work sensitive. So the work that has been performed by Mr. Genova and his team from the township side is really to be applauded because it's a lot of
effort to get this money on board. uh they have a number of requirements and procedures that have to be followed on a step-by-step basis and uh so we need to follow what their procedures are which is fairly time consuming uh to access their funds but the bottom line I guess
on it is if you work through this program it's an effective financing tool and you're only paying as you go unlike when you do a regular note when we borrow the full amount in this example $4 million here you only borrow what you draw bound upon and are being charged
for that rate at that point in time. Uh to utilize the access to market to utilize this financing mechanism, it's similar to what you do for your regular bonding. You do introd introduce a bond ordinance. That bond ordance just as an FYI has no down payment when you work
through the I bank. There's no down payment required. Uh so uh there's nothing coming out your sewer budget for that uh portion. the bond or is first reading, second reading. Then as Mr. Gov and his team goes through the bidding
process, the D reviews that process along the way. They need to look at it before you advertise uh before you award the contract. They will look over the contract as well to make sure it's in conformity. And so they really are uh a partner with you during the uh during
the process. And uh once the contract is awarded and they certify the project, we would close on this loan probably about around a month later. So it is a little longer process than when we would go out on our own. Mr. Papis, as you know, we could do that fairly quickly here. It's
probably a three to four month process from when you really get started. So that's in a nutshell is what the IBM is program is about. And if there's any questions, I'd be more than happy to to answer them. But bottom line is it's a great financing tool uh to utilize. >> Any questions for John?
>> I have a question. I don't know that it's necessarily for John, but um of the I'm going to say 4 million in round numbers. Um what percentages are being allocated to
the other towns whose products flow through this pumping station? As the council knows, we are working very hard towards uh getting our partners to pay their fair share. So, I can tell you one thing that I did is uh
early on in my tenure here at the sewer utility, I have meters basically any kind of flow that's coming into our stations is being documented every month. And basically, as council knows,
we pay for our treatment services to the SRVSA based on flow. So, it would be our um you know, goal is to be when we're talking about a project specific here where another township's flow comes into
it, we would be looking for capital. But again, that as the council knows, that's another project. But that is definitely the goal. Did Bill when you were talking did you say that one of the uh pump measuring
stations was was washed out during this recent thing? >> Yes. Not one of ours. >> Not one of ours. Okay. >> That was actually the meter station that collects Warren Township's flow just
before it crosses the border into Bridgewater. And uh the station is okay, but all of the outside uh you know fencing and so forth took a beating. >> Is the measuring device working? >> Um I I'm being told so and I can tell
you each station that the SRVSA has has two forms of measuring. Okay. So uh yeah, we're we're not only is are we depending on the SRVSA's meters, again the township owns meters, and I am checking them the whole way down to the
SRVSA. I can give you my assurance on that. >> And just as a reminder, I know the the council notes it's public, but of course we brought a lawsuit against Warren Township uh which is still pending um and uh recovering costs of things like this would be something that uh
hopefully gets resolved as part of um bringing them to the table on paying their fair share of uh what's been done. >> My question though, sorry. Go ahead. >> It's a big project. I know it needs to be done, but do we try to, you know,
what I'm wrestling with in my mind is yes, it's a project that needs to be done, but on the flip side, if we have these outstanding issues with our partners we're trying to work on, is financially does it behoove us to try to resolve those issues before embarking on
a $4 million project? So, you know, I think the issue and I've been uh one who's been a little I think slower um a little bit more hesitant to, you know, engage in some of the larger scale sewer projects. Um making sure that um I'm
understood we need to do it and things like that. And I think here we're at a point now where one it's it's critical. So, as is, you know, many of us know, uh, when you're dealing
with a litigation and a lawsuit and everything else, you know, we could hope that it resolves quickly. We could be in court for two years with Warren Township. They decide that, you know, we can't find a resolution and we have to get to a a court to make a decision. And uh I can tell you that if this thing
fails uh because we took too long to to work on it uh we're going to have uh rooms full. So I think in answer to your question and then the third part piece that though Tim is with the I bank
funding if we were to say you know what we want to we want to make sure that Warren comes with this check or anybody else who who contributes comes with this check first and we lose the opportunity for the I bank funding and we have to do this through um just straight up market
rate financing >> cost a lot more. >> It's going to cost more in the long run. So, >> one of the things we'd like to do as part of this project, excuse me, is be number one in number two to be able to flush. People will expect to be able to
flush their toilets and that is very very important. Showers are optional, but flush the toilet >> and make sure it doesn't come back up. So, uh, you know, that's the other piece of this. M, >> Mr. President, two two two questions if I may. So, so first, and I know the
answer to both of them. Um so this day was >> asking him >> well no because I think it's important you know for for the dialogue um this day was definitely coming that we were going to have this conversation this is not a surprise this has been very well
planned um and uh you so that so correct this is this is no surprise this is a we've been talking about this for years um and this is a consequence of an aging system that must be maintained Okay. >> Absolutely.
>> All right. Thank you. >> So, so, so, so, so, so let me, let me, let me ask my second question. Are we now in a strong fiscal position to be able to make this investment
because we have appropriately funded our sewer utility for the present and for the future? >> Absolutely. We're managing this system better than it's ever been managed in the past. >> Okay? Because, you know, we got a lot of people that, you know, it might be very
popular say, "I loved paying $3.99 for my sewer. It was $3.99 for 12 years straight." >> 14 >> or whatever the number was. 14 years straight. I paid $3.99. It was terrific. And now the number is bigger. Well, the
reason the number is bigger is because it was artificially deflated, if you will, at 399 for far too long. And over time, we have an aging infrastructure that must be maintained both for the present and for
the future. You know, we talk about Cromwell and the benefit for current residents and future residents. This is a benefit for current residents and future residents that's going to happen every time they use the facility in their own house.
>> Absolutely, Councilman Kersh. Thank you. >> I would like to just continue through a few more things. I promise I won't be long. Um >> we had pre-planning meetings with uh the water bank. We we fared very well with all of those.
Um, resolution number 2410251 authorizing Michael Papis, Township Administrator, as the official to represent the township of Bridgewater in all matters relating to the application of the New Jersey Water Bank for the
Middlebrook pump station phase 2 project was adopted on October the 10th, 2024. The New Jersey Water Bank authorized advert advertisement of this project on May 22nd, 2025.
And Mr. Dracoitz, our bond council, has prepared a bond ordinance providing an appropriation for $4 million for the phase 2 project. >> Tom, if I could just jump in here. Um, sure. >> Thank you very much. Uh, Mr. President,
uh the last uh page of the second to last page of your of the presentation uh the product the project timeline uh that is obviously we've laid out here the proposal for the council's
consideration. Obviously today is the presentation. The next two steps really would require some uh you know ascent from the council if you're so inclined to allow us to do that within this timeline and and the uh the the timeline
for the actual project uh award of contract is laid out here and um wanted to be sure that we reviewed that and got feedback from the council. Thank you. But I want to thank Mr. Gova and Mr.
Dracoitz, Mr. Andos, Mr. Shimp, Mr. Bird, Mr. Gallow, Mr. Bow that really put a lot into this. >> Thank you, gentlemen. We're going to move to item number nine, which is meeting open to the public. Members of the public wishing to address the council on any matter. We'll be allowed
three minutes to speak unless there are unusual circumstances. Could I have a motion, please, to open to the public? >> Who moved? >> Second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> All right, we are open to the public. >> Good evening. Hello there.
>> Hold on a second. I have to write my name. Okay. Well, thank you very much, Scott, for that presentation. So, now I have better idea of what the timing is, and I'm fairly certain I still won't be here by the time
>> it's finished. Anyway, um it is exciting to hear about Cromwell. I am one of the few people left in in the township, I think, that understands what those two buildings that are at the end of your um plan um can be used for. And
I'm right there with Stephanie because I have used that room for exactly its purpose along with the barn that we keep forgetting about my barn, you know. >> I got it. I got it. >> Yeah. Um which I'm sure she reminds you of fairly frequently as well. If if anybody ever has to worry about an advocate for Cam Cromwell in in my ear
with my wife saw me almost every day. >> Good. We'll have to congratulate her for that. Um I guess if I understand correctly, you're not concerned about the money going away that the money will be there. You have it. It's not some pie
in the sky kind of thing. Okay, that's good. Um, and I was glad to hear I was a little I was wondering how things were going to work out and I was glad to hear that you are planning on doing a bond so that you can start the project and then go back and do another bond and and finish it um
because it's reimburseable. I tried in January of 2024, I think it was now, um to find out the income and expense on the project called Lane Vorhees. you know, that place over on Builttown Road that you all own. Um, and they told me
they couldn't get me that information, which is a concern to me because that's a reimburseable grant. The county owes you money. So, someone should know how much you spent so that you can, if you haven't already gotten the money back from the county, you can put that back in your coffers. It doesn't begin to
touch what you need for Cromwell, but it is a reimburseable grant. Chris, if I can, we've done recently done a very extensive audit and we think we have the um detail of all of that now. >> Okay, that's great. Do I need to open it or can you just send it to me?
>> Okay, thanks. >> In terms of Cromwell and probably the part that bothers me the absolute most is that I have someone in my house who is very frequently called to Cromwell for the fire alarm system going off.
and what I have seen of what the inside of that one building, the the old um dining hall looks like, makes me want to throw up. I appreciate that you don't have the money to to do the work on those two buildings, but take the time and mothball them. Flush a toilet. Don't
let the police in there with their guns and leaving their their their I know we took care of this, Michael, but just to give the council some idea of what that building was being used for. figure out a way to know when somebody breaks in the back window and it doesn't doesn't stay broken for until somebody goes up
there and look and happens to look around. Mothball those two buildings so that when you finally decide what you're going to do with them, I probably will not be here by that point. Um you'll have you won't have to do as much to those buildings and Bill won't be going
out in the middle of the night. Um not that that's a problem, but anyway. So, make sure if you could please assure me that the fire alarm systems are not going to get shut off like they have been because the fire department was going there too often that you're going to take the time and spend what little
you can spend the reimburseable that I for the grant okay on on mothballing Cromwell since we're not using it to mothball Lane Vorhees and I'm not I don't have enough time I've got another meeting to go to so I don't have enough time to really talk to you about what I think about
Lane Vorhees and the Hancock property. So that's for another night. Thank you very much. >> Thanks. >> Thank you, Chris. >> Anyone else wishing to address the council? >> Good evening, Mrs. Frank. >> Good evening, Kathy Franco, 766 WAC
Road. Um, thank you, Scott, for your presentation. I do want to bring to your attention though that you start with um 2020 as when items were first um phases first began there. I found an article
from October 9th of 2019 written by Roman Ushach um based upon a meeting on October 3rd where they talked about money that was spent both in 2018 and in 2019. Um, I was actually at that meeting
and I asked when or how much money we would be spending on Camp Cromwell and when we might see it. And that was, I think, the first time I came to this council and asked about Camp Cromwell. And I was told
soon. And I think I've been told soon every year since then. So, we're now in 2025. And I think we have a plan to spend $1.3 million and to bond it and to spend it and to get reimbursed.
Do we have a drop deadad date when those front gates on Bosler Avenue will be open so people can drive their cars in, park their cars, use the walking trails at least because right now, you know, I
know there's walking trails for me to get to those walking trails. I only live like a quarter of a mile, but I have to walk all the way down to Brookside, okay, to get to the entrance where it doesn't say no trespassing. And there's nowhere to park down there.
>> Miss Miss Franco, right now the plan is uh once this phase that was described tonight is completed, that's when it would be available. There would be >> What's the timeline on that? >> There will be a a laboratory restroom facilities available, which we think is important for both the timeline is it 20
is it >> I think I think >> March of 2026 >> I think it could be within the next year or less less than a less than a year Mrs. Franco, I think the hope is if if the council introduces this at the next meeting, uh, you know, and then voted on at the the following meeting and we get
the funding in place, uh, we can start with the engineering work in the fall. Um, similar to, you know, you can't doing most of the construction work in the winter. So, you do the engineering work all through the fall, then we can go out to bids to the extent we need to uh, in the early, you know, January,
February time frame, and then you can have construction uh, through that spring. uh we don't have because we don't have >> ribbon cutting by the fall maybe of 2026. >> I would hope so. Okay. Uh we think earlier if if it if we go on the schedule we've mapped out the hope would
be that you know by the late spring of next year. Hopefully earlier but you'd have it open for the public to be able to use as the weather turns and people want to be outside. That's the hope. Until we get an actual engineer and a construction, you know, construction manager out there. I don't know yet
whether we'll be able to open parts of it while we're doing work on other parts or whether we're gonna have to >> even just for the passive walking trails, you know, and you know, so people can, >> you know, not just, you know, I I do see the bikers in there, you know, who are biking over from the other parts, you know, the other part.
>> Yeah. And you're right though. We did trail work back in I think 18 and 19 and some of that work um with the >> there was a storm and there was some other stuff there. Some of the work got destroyed in terms of had to be either rebuilt or we had to recut the some of the weed. >> Yeah. And from what I hear, some of the
bridges are like getting worn and dilapidated. Okay. Um my other question is since we're on parks is what is happening with the Weo Boscher property? >> I I know we bought like a house. We knocked it down. We were going to make a
parking lot. Um, there's still no way, as far as I know, for people to drive to that property and be able to enjoy the passive recreation opportunity that that was supposed to present. >> If I may, um, I we have been speaking
with our engineering, municipal services, and public works. We are trying to see if we can do at least some of that in house. Uh, there is a a plan. Uh, we have not gotten to it yet, but it is something that certainly we have on our on our list. trying I'm sorry. What
are we trying to do in house? >> Trails. >> It was supposed to have a parking area and people were supposed to be able to use it for passive. >> Yes. Except that with that property, there was never an intention, not that we can't change future use, but there was never intention of making that like a giant paved parking lot with it was
going to be >> facilities. It was really always intended to be >> uh we purchased it mostly for preservation purposes. recreation was, you know, I want to say an afterthought, but it was >> but like if a Girl Scout troop wanted to go and just like go find whatever those frogs were that they said were on the property, you know.
>> Yeah. So, that's one of the things where if we're going to do any kind of parking facility, it would just be uh you know, gravel type of of >> a decent sized field there. You could open that chain tomorrow. >> Yeah. And what we're trying to do is with all the funding you know u you know the differences of funding priorities uh
if we can do it inhouse with our engineers then we don't have to hire you know we don't have to expend capital for outside engineers and uh you know that's reality is is that it's something that we want to do but it's not the it's not the top priority of of all the
engineering you know. >> Okay thank you very much appreciate your time. >> Thank you. Anyone else wishing to address the council, please come forward, sign your name, state your name and address, please.
>> County, 198 Hills Drive. Yes. So, I I was I I was here about a month ago about uh that intersection and uh about a stops time and I haven't and obviously didn't have enough time to address that.
But now there's another issue. Yes. So, um, on July 9th was a Wednesday, my wife woke me up. Happy birthday. There's no water in the house. American water. Um, so I took a walk, my dog up the street
where the action was on Short Hills Drive. It was uh 244. Uh the I saw the water truck, a police uh a car and construction uh equipment and
uh and a crew and they had chopped down a a tree. So that must have been why the water range uh broke, you know, because not it was built in 1967. And um I emailed uh Councilman Cordilla about this. You got that on Monday?
>> Yeah. I didn't get a response, but uh thank you for acknowledging that. And so um it looks like um what they did is they didn't have concrete,
so they paved the curb and the sidewalk and put gravel where the grass was. So obviously that has to be addressed and I have no idea when they're coming back. That was on the 9th and you know we're a a couple weeks out now. So I
just want to make sure that American Water the town contacts them to make sure they come out and correct that. our we look at all the you know we don't unfortunately or fortunately depending on the day we don't uh we don't control American water but our engineering
department when any anybody opens up a road um you know they have to get a road opening permit we can't always deny it because there's different rules of utilities but the bottom line is they have to open up the road and if they don't repair the road um as required then we you know have uh mechanisms and
you know Tom and and and Dicki and everybody uh we have meetings with them frequently on different topics and get them to repave the or fix the road, you know, to the as required to do. They don't always have to pave the entire road if the road's old and we deal with
them all the time with regard to what they need to do. But for something like that, uh Tom and his department would be in contact with American Water uh if they're done done with their work. Usually those kind of items like punch list items are the kind of thing that they would do at the end.
>> Okay, they're not repaving short hills right now. They should, but there's lots of potholes on our street. Like I I'll see kids uh on their bikes. Watch out for the potholes. >> Yeah. But um this is uh because that water mane break. Y >> Yeah. So, and that has to be fixed, you
know, curves, right? >> And the >> right often times they'll come, they'll do the emergency work, sometimes they have to do follow-ups to it, and then they'll do the punch list items >> with them doing a they're doing a large project in Bridgewater currently, uh about a seven-week long project. So,
it's quite possible that that cleanup is part of, you know, why they have a contractor in doing curbs and paving work in the area of North Bridge Street. You know, you're bringing somebody in, you're fixing both of those at the same time. >> Yeah, exactly. I feel like >> Tom, would you give him your business card
>> meeting? Because it's the first thing on the west side >> I'm bringing up. >> Tom will check with American Water and he'll get back with you so you'll know what the what the status is. General, >> I'm writing my name down now. >> All right. Thank you very much. >> Okay. Uh, anyone else wishing to address the council? If not, could I have a
motion to close public input, please? >> So moved. >> Motion second, please. >> Second. >> All those in favor of closing public input? I opposed. We are closed public. Moving item 10, public hearing and final action. There are none. Introduction of
ordinances. We have several. Uh A is an ordinance to set the compensation of the mayor, township council members, department heads, and certain other municipal employees pursuant to chapter 374 of the public laws of 1985, NJSA2A
809, uh NJSA 2A8-13, NJSA 48, uh 9-165, NJSA 48, col 9-135, NJSA4 48 col 9-146
and chapter 95 of the public laws of 1996. U Mr. Papus, do you have any comments you'd like to offer at this point? >> I was going to say uh the this is the standard uh salary ordinance. There's
nothing uh no giant uh no major changes from past years and uh it's for the council's consideration. >> Okay. Could I have a motion, please, to uh introduce uh item A? >> I'll make the motion to introduce 11A.
>> Okay. Could we have a second, please? >> With a brief comment that once again there's no change to the council or mayor salary. I'll second it >> forever. Okay. A roll call, please, on that ordinance.
>> Councilman Kish, >> yes. >> Councilman Codilla, >> yes. Councilman Ring. >> Yes. >> President Ogalis. >> Yes. And would you give us the date? >> Yes. Final action for this ordinance is scheduled for August 7th at 7 7:30 p.m.
here in the municipal courtroom. Public inspection of this ordinance is available and it will be available on the township website, the bulletin board, and in the clerk's office. >> Okay. Moving to ordinance B. uh ordinance of the Bridgewater Township Council authorizing the acquisition
through donation of land from Somerset Land Equities LLC identified as lot 4 in block 567 located on S Antonio Avenue consisting of approximately 6,000 square ft. Uh mayor or administrator any
comments? >> This is a donation which we're very grateful for and continues our acquisition of contiguous property in the area. It's a good thing. Uh, could I have a motion, please, on >> make that motion >> and a second, please?
>> Second. Uh, >> roll call, please. >> Councilman Kersh, >> yes. >> Councilman Codiller, >> yes. >> Councilman Pedros, Councilman Ring, >> yes. >> President Ogalas, >> yes. Ordinance C, an ordinance of the township of Bridgewood authorizing the acquisition. Oh, I'm sorry.
>> Okay. I beg you pardon. >> That's okay. Final action for this ordinance is scheduled for August 7th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. here in the municipal courtroom. Public inspection of this ordinance will be made available on the township website, the bulletin board, and through the clerk's office.
>> Thank you. >> An ordinance of the township of Bridgewood authorizing the acquisition of land identified as lot 25 and 26, block 256, consisting of approximately 8,000 square feet uh from Arlene F. Bean
and KA Falco as tenants in common who are the seller for the purchase price of 165,000 from the township's open space fund. I know this property doesn't have an address, but for the public's benefit, um this is property over at
Find Park. >> We're in that area. And uh council president um this is property that's been reviewed by uh uh our administration by open space and recommend uh purchasing and uh again
we'll add to our uh property that we own in the area which you know for future future uses. >> Thank you. Uh I have one comment. Uh, with all due respect to the price for this property, uh, the assessed value
is, uh, $4,600 for each of the two lots, which means the entire incess assessment is $9,200. And in this particular case, it would uh I'm sorry, I'm looking at the wrong one.
>> Yeah, D, I think you're looking at D. >> Uh, this is this is C. Uh the these are assessed uh at $7,800 per lot. So the entire assessment is only $15,600. Uh which leads me to believe that we're
we're simply paying too much. So uh I I personally uh from a financial standpoint will not be able to support this this acquisition. Is there anyone else who has any comments on this one? If not, could I have a motion, please,
on this acquisition? Mike, a question that I have is when we ne negotiated the price of the property, we took into the account the assessed value of the property and there was a negotiation for the price.
>> Yes. >> Okay. With that thought in mind, I'll make a motion to move forward with the purchase. >> Okay. A second, please. >> Second. >> Okay. I I'll just make a brief conversation that you know in a case like this I believe it is a combination
of the assessed value the potential for the property. Um this is adjacent to Harry Alley Park. There is uh strategic value in in owning it. Um and that's the reason why I I support this acquisition.
>> Quite honestly I don't have a problem with the strategic value. It's the price that's the problem for me. All right. Roll call, please. Councilman Kersh, yes. Councilman Codiller, >> yes. Councilman Ring, >> yes. >> President Ogalis, >> no. Uh, >> moving to D on a
>> public hearing. >> Public hearing. >> Final action for this ordinance is scheduled for August 7th at 7:30 p.m. here in the municipal courtroom. Public inspection of this ordinance is available in the township website, on the bulletin board, and through the clerk's office.
>> Thank you, Council President. On on 11D, this one we're going to uh hold. There was a question that came up that we want to make sure we have an answer to before. >> Okay. So D is pulled from the agenda. >> Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. Uh moving to resolutions 12A, resolution of the township council of Bridgewater Township of Bridgewater
authorizing a shared services agreement with the township of Readington for qualified purchasing agent services in the amount of $10,000. Mr. Papus, >> I can I can answer the question. So, this is we we've talked about this before, but this is uh you know, us
loaning out our uh purchasing agent, of course, how it works for us. We've negotiated this. I think we've talked about this a couple times before, but uh to make sure that it's a a fair uh agreement for Bridgewater and will not interfere or detract from any of Sarah's obligations to the township. So, good
for us, good for her, good for uh good for Readington. I >> I've had several conversations with the CFO at Readington. I think it's basically 4 hours over a period of time. Uh there would be only limited need for Persah who's our QPA uh to visit
Readington. So this is a good deal for the township. It really and for for both sides. when she does uh visit though there's always the you're traveling you know she using a personal vehicle to go back and forth or township or >> I think it depends upon when if it's
something that she can do on her way to work stopping there would likely be her own personal vehicle but we don't expect that to be an extensive time where she would be actually physically there >> just you know from a workers god forbid car accident whatever workers comp point
of view Okay. Could I have a motion, please, on 12A? >> I'll make that motion. >> And a second. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Councilman Kersh, >> yes. >> Councilman Codeller, >> yes.
>> Councilman Ring, >> yes. >> President Ogalis, >> yes. Okay. B. approval to submit a grant application and execute a grant contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation for the Country Club,
Meadow Road, and Talamini Road improvements under their 2026 municipal aid program in the amount of $696,336. Uh, this is a great program. We've utilized them any number of times. And
I'm looking for a motion, please. >> I'll make that motion >> and a second. >> I'll second. Just reminding everyone the speed limit on Talini is 25 and it is enforced. >> Well, it it isn't. It is enforced. It's
just that it's not enforced. >> No, no, it is 25 and it is enforced. >> You're speaking from experience. >> Yes. Okay. Roll >> family member experience. >> Roll call. >> Anman Kersh. >> Yes. Anman Codella. >> Yes. >> Ring. >> Yes.
>> Ogales. >> Yes. Uh C is an award of contract to AAA Facility Solutions LLC of 11 Mbury Boulevard suite number one Randolph, New Jersey 07869 for the janitorial services in the
amount not to exceed $129,600 for the period of August 1, 2025 to July 31st, 2026 to be funded through the building and grounds janitorial services account. Um, Mor President, this is uh, as
council knows, we've had uh issues with janitorial services before. Um, hence why you see in the resolution that the, uh, the lowest bidder, who's by far the lowest bidder, uh, was disqualified based upon what our past experience. Um,
that suggests that, um, it's not a, uh, an actual real bid uh, for quality services. Um, and as you can tell, that bid was way off from the other ones. So, we went with the lowest responsible bidder, which is AAA Facility Solutions.
>> Have we used them before? AAA. >> Okay. >> And we continue to evaluate, by the way, whether or not uh, you know, different options with regard to janitorial services as you know, outsourcing versus uh, you know, staff versus other options. And at the moment, this still
is the best cost-effective way of providing these services. Okay, you've heard the explanation. Could I have a motion, please? On to >> moved. >> Second. >> Seconded. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Kersh, >> yes. >> Codeler,
>> yes. >> Ring. >> Yes. >> President Ogalis. >> Yes. Uh D has been removed by the administration. So, we're up to E. authorizing dispersal of $19,000 from the affordable housing trust fund for renovations and repairs for one low and
moderate income property located at 62 Whitehead Road in Bridgewater through the Bridgewater Housing Rehabilitation Program. mayor or administrator. >> Yeah, this is part of our um uh you know the um program that we have with regard
to through our round three KA funds where uh properties can apply for rehabilitation for certain aspects of their homes to make sure that uh housing is not, you know, it's actually livable. It's one thing to have a low-inccome or moderate income housing, but you actually have to be able to live in it.
Uh so this is a project for that. It doesn't allow you to, you know, get a new just, you know, state-of-the-art uh, you know, jacuzzi or something like that, but it's for issues like roofs, uh, livable kitchen, things like that.
Uh, in this case, it was for flooring, uh, bathroom replacement, and replacement of doors. >> I'll make the motion to move it. >> Second. I'll second. Roll call on E, please. >> Councilman Kush. >> Yes.
>> Cadiller. Yes. >> Ring. >> Yes. >> President Ogalas. >> Yes. F is resolution authorizing the persontoperson transfer of plenary retail consumption liquor license number 1806-36-040-00002 from Marriott Hotel Services LLC to 365
Management Company LLC located at 700 Commons Way, Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807. Um are are they all in according since you do most of that stuff? >> Yes, this is just a simple transfer um from Marriott Hotel to a different
company. Just the name that's being transferred. It's simple and they have all the necessary approvals. >> Thank you. >> Hotel is staying as a Marriott. It's just a transfer of the management. >> That's correct. >> Okay. >> Um when that transfers to the special stipulations that are on their transfer as well. >> That's correct.
>> Okay. Thank you. >> You make that as a motion. >> Sure. I'll move. >> Second, please. >> I'll second it. >> Roll call, please, on F. >> Councilman Kersh, >> yes. >> Codiller, >> yes. >> Councilman Ring, >> yes. >> Repres.
>> Yes. Okay. Uh we're now up to item 13, which is close session. Uh be it resolved that the Bridgewater Township Council that this body will now uh convene in close session to discuss litigation including Warren Township and contract negotiations for affordable
housing. when and if matters discussed become public record. This will be made known to the public at that time. The public's excluded from said meeting and further notice thereof is dispersed uh dispensed with all in accordance with section 8 and 4A of the open public
meetings act. Could I have a motion to go to >> we expect >> and we do not expect to have any action item after this. So I assume we will simply uh >> close the meeting. So a motion to go to close session. >> So moved.
>> Second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> I Okay, we are closed as soon as we get the the door. Thank you very Ladies and gentlemen, we have completed and closed close session. We are now reopened. There is no additional
business. We are now moved to adjourn. [Music] >> Mr. Ring, would you like >> to adjurnn? >> You like to make the motion? >> You just did. I'll second it. >> Okay. All those in favor of adjourning I >> I >> We are adjourned. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you.
>> I I was waiting for you, you know.