everybody settle in we got to get We have to get the meeting started all right hello good evening nice to see everybody here tonight uh in compliance to the Open Public Meetings Act of New Jersey 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 Bolton board in the municipal building and filing with the township clerk madame Clerk roll call please councilman Kersh here councilman
Codilla here councilman Pedroso here councilman Ring here president Ogalas all right uh if you're able to stand would you please do so as we do the pledge of allegiance we're going to have
uh I don't think we ever had uh our administrator Mike Papus lead us in the pledge maybe it's of the republic for it stands nationy and justice for all thank you we have a couple minutes for
approval we have March 20th 2025 regular session and circulating a close session minutes for March 6th is there a motion to approve the March 20th minutes i'll make that motion thank you is there a second second okay
um all in favor i any opposed hearing none the minutes pass uh Township Council reports uh Councilman Kersh thank you Mr president um I'll just
focus on land use because I know we have quite a large crowd waiting to get to an item on the agenda uh planning board uh meeting was cancelled uh this past week uh back on March 25th a zoning board met heard two cases uh both are are uh uh
still in the works uh one is uh Bridgewater self storage uh at uh the uh essentially the confluence of 2822 and Garrettson Road uh they are seeking bulk and use variances as I stated that case was partially partially heard and we'll
have a another hearing I I believe in the in the June July time frame uh the other is uh Garmmuk Oil on Find Avenue uh this is an expansion of a pre-existing non-conforming use for a gas station and the addition of a food
mart this case was heard several years ago there are some other there are some deviations from the plan and as a result they are uh seeking uh use and bulk variances and that's my report well thank you sir councilman Cordilla
at this time I have no report to make okay nice and easy councilman Ring thank you sir um this past Friday I had the privilege of attending a retirement walkout ceremony for Lieutenant John Cooper from the police department um
Lieutenant Cooper not only had a uh a storyried um career as a law enforcement he's a quite a gentleman individually and a Bridgewater resident and we wish him nothing but the best in his retirement um earlier this week attended
a meeting with the school district business administrator and some board of education members to discuss some uh common concerns um the EMS advisory committee met earlier this week and then earlier today um the Middlebrook
Regional Health Commission for which Bridgewater Township is a member of issued a uh public health alert for potential measles exposure uh this is in followup to some information the state released but if anybody was in Norc
International Airport Terminal A on March 25th between 3:45 p.m and 6:15 p.m or on March 27th between 2 p.m and 7 p.m particularly in the Starbucks in terminal A um should monitor yourself
for potential um symptoms of measles uh as of April 2nd no known cases associated with these exposures have been identified 2025 a total of three measel cases have been reported in New Jersey all part of a household outbreak
that occurred in February this time there is no ongoing community transmission of measles this is being just uh issued as a precautionary but if you suspect you or your child is experiencing symptoms of measles uh they recommend that you call your health care provider before you arrive there so that
they are properly prepared for your arrival that's my report uh thank you sir uh what do I have i attended the uh New Jersey GOP summit it's a week-long event uh where we attend seminars and
and speak to other fine Republican politicians it was a nice time to network and and just see a lot of people that I I know and to meet some new people uh also just want to take time to welcome everybody here to our council meeting thank you for taking the time to spend your night here with us it's nice
to see you all that's all I have mayor's report thank you uh Mr so um just a few things there are a number of events that are upcoming here in Bridgewater on uh Saturday May the 3
there is a townwide garage sale and uh the residents who are interested in participating can go on our website and can have their location featured if they so choose to generate business the following day May 4th there will be the
annual spring carnival uh that the township jointly sponsors with the JCC it will be at the Bridgewater Commons Mall and it will run from 11:00 a.m until 3:00 p.m uh before that a week or so before
th those two events on Sunday April 27th at Crim Chimney Rock Park excuse me there will be a uh Can You Dig It which is a annual Earth Day and Arbor Day
experience and uh that will be held at between 2 and 4 p.m very very uh successful event that is growing each year uh the uh these are all featured in the most recent township newsletter that is available to the public both hard
copy as well as online the uh the last item that I want to distribute is something for members of the council this has also been posted on our social media uh PSEG is concluding a very extensive gas man replacement project
throughout throughout town throughout town and uh there have been some issues with the temporary repair to trenches that they have undertaken uh they are in the process of correcting those and if anyone has any questions or concerns or
complaints there's an eight they should people should call 833-661 64 0 that's all that I have thank you uh thank you sir uh that brings us to item number seven on the
agenda uh we we have the serving in of Lieutenant Daniel Hennessy and Sergeant Michael Leight and then we have um a new officer uh Brandon Peralta someone to come down to the podium and chief you can accompany
me all right well I got the honor today of uh of swearing in these fine officers um certainly it's my honor to do this tonight the mayor typically does this so I'm stepping in today the mayor couldn't be here tonight you know Bridgewater
Police Department here in Bridgewater we're very proud of our police department um just last the last council meeting we recognized Officer Alllet for his heroism uh going in into a a burning vehicle with a tanker on fire and and rescuing
somebody um and that got a lot of news you know a police officers in my mind you know they're heroes every day they're heroes when they go help a stranded stranded motorists on the highway and they're afraid for moving cars and they they pull up and and they help them uh they're heroes when they go
to someone's house and and they have a 911 call and and they they're in distress and it could be a medical call many times police officers are the first ones to show up um they're the ones that give us comfort in our our homes at night to know that we're safe and keep
our community safe so they're heroes every day and so I just want to make sure that the the police department here in Bridgewater knows and I repeat it often uh that we on the governing body are very grateful for their service uh we thank you for your commitment to our community and doing what you do so with
that um we're going to promote a couple officers correct a couple nice things about him and then we'll uh get to the Okay sounds good all right all right tonight we're here to gather uh to honor
the exceptional accomplishments and celebrate the promotions of two remarkable individuals within our esteemed police force it is with the immense pride and admiration that we witness the elevation of Sergeant Dan Hennessy to the rank of Lieutenant and
Officer Michael Light to the rank of sergeant this evening represents a significant milestone in their careers highlighting their unwavering dedication tireless commitment and exemplary service to this community sergeant Hennessy your promotion to lieutenant is
a true reflection of your outstanding leadership work ethic and positive influence as you step into this new role your responsibilities and sphere of influence will expand significantly as a lieutenant you will be entrusted with making pivotal decisions to impact on
the safety and well-being of your fellow officers and the community we serve as you embrace the responsibilities of a police lieutenant I have the utmost confidence that you will continue to lead with integrity inspire those around you and contribute even more to the safety and well-being of the Bridgewater
community your journey has been marked by dedication and excellence and this next chapter will surely be no different a little bit about my buddy Dan sergeant Dan Hennessy has served with honor first in the United States Army as a combat med as a combat medic after his military
service he earned his bachelor's degree from Ruckers University in 2001 that same year he graduated from the Camden County Police Academy where he was honored with the academic award for achieving the top GPA in his class retired as a patrolman in Bridgewater in
January 2002 sergeant Hennessy quickly established himself as a dedicated officer serving as a member of our honor guard a field training officer and an EMT he was known for his proactive approach on the road making numerous arrests for drunk driving and earning
the MAD the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Outstanding Service Award promoted sergeant in 2020 Dan supervised a patrol squad and was laterally transferred to the traffic safety sergeant position in 2022 in this role he oversaw fatal and
serious crashes he managed uh several grant programs and worked closely with the township administration additionally he became a certified conduct conducted energy device operator which is taser and a resiliency officer sergeant Enis Sergeant Hennessy has earned numerous
awards during his 23-year career including two life-saving CPR awards the exceptional service award and a prestigious New Jersey State PBA Valor Award it's my great honor to call Sergeant Dan Hennessy and his family his wife Cheryl son Danny and daughter Kayla
up to join us for his promotion to lieutenant do you want Mike to or no [Applause] yes sir who's holding the Bible
[Applause] [Music] okay Officer Michael Light as you step into the into your new role as a sergeant you will embrace a new set of responsibilities and have the incredible
opportunity to lead and mentor a team of officers remember leadership at this level requires you to set the standard lead by example and always act with integrity the responsibility you will bear to both your squad and the community is significant and I have no doubt that you will rise to meet that
challenge officer Light's journey began when he attended Kain University earned his bachelor's degree in 2011 he graduated from the Somerset County Police Academy in 2013 where he earned the distinction of valadictorian same year he began his law enforcement career with the Bridgewater Township
Police Department during his time in patrol Officer Light earned the CPR life-saving award and in 2016 was recognized with the life-saving award for his heroic actions in rescuing a subject trapped in a fully engulfed car fire in 2018 Officer Light was selected to be a field training officer
personally training five six officers in 2020 he transitioned to the detective bureau where he worked on high-profile cases and conducted extensive background investigations for those wishing to join the police department his leadership continued to shine in 2022 when he
applied for was selected and joined the summer county summer county SWAT team additionally that same year Officer Light was elected by his peers to serve as the president of PBA Local 174 where he effectively leazed between the Bridgewater with the Bridgewater PD
command staff and township administration you can't come into my office no more after being transferred back to patrol in 2025 to reaclimate with the team and prepare for his new role Officer Light has proven himself as a leader committed to the success and
growth of this department he's a 12-year member of our team and I'm proud to invite officer Michael Light along with his wife Caroline and his daughters Emma and Natalie to join us as he's promoted to sergeant
[Applause] god bless you sir all right one more uh just want to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to the mayor and the council for their continued support
of the Bridgewater Township Police Department uh tonight we have the honor of swearing in a new officer uh Brandon Peralta uh none of this would be possible without the steadfast backing of our leadership and thank you for your unwavering commitment to public safety and your dedication to the police
department uh let me take a few moments to share a little bit about Officer Peralta's background brandon currently resides in Jersey City with his girlfriend Alicia he is a dedicated police recruit at the Morris County Police Academy where he's working hard to prepare for his career in law
enforcement prior to joining our department Brandon served for 10 years in the United States Air Force specializing in phys physical security and law enforcement his service to our country has equipped him with a wealth of experience and a strong foundation in
public safety brandon is an accomplished scholar he earned his associates degree from the community college of the air force followed by a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 2022 and a master of science degree from the University of New Haven in
2024 after uh his time in the Air Force he worked for anal pharmaceuticals and JP Morgan Chase gaining valuable experience in both the corporate and security sectors brandon is set to graduate from the police academy this June at which point he'll be assigned to
patrol duties uh here in Bridgewater brandon we are proud to have you join our department we will provide you with all the necessary tools and training and support to ensure that you have a safe and successful career your goal like that of every officer here is simple do
your very best for the community every day and for your fellow police officers and always strive to return home to your loved ones safely at the end of your shift i always say this to the new guys remember you are the answer to someone's prayers it's a privilege to serve the
public and I know that you will uphold that duty with honor and dedication i wish you nothing but health success and safety as you begin what will hopefully be a long and rewarding career in Bridgewater Township i now invite you along with your father Peter who is a retired law law enforcement officer your
stepmother and your girlfriend Alicia to come forward as you're sworn in as a Bridgewater Police Officer [Applause] [Applause]
[Music] absolutely all right real quick before we move on I would like to quickly introduce four officers who were sworn back in in uh January uh we were unable to formally introduce them as you know um the academy moves quick and we had to
get these guys sworn in so they get to the academy that was the priority so uh I just want to when I call you guys just come up here real quick um just join me in recognizing Jonathan [Applause]
Quetzel then we have Lawrence LJ Raboli [Applause] uh Elijah Barnwell and a familiar last name Jake Se
[Applause] these four individuals alongside with Brandon are doing an exceptional job at the academy and we're eager to welcome them back to the department full-time upon their uh graduation uh thank you all congratulations once again to
Brandon and our new recruits and our newly sworn in lieutenant and sergeant thank you just stay here we're going to do some pictures john says there's any more Here i'll be close to these
perfect perfect don't forget All right agenda The proclamation seems to be cheap or Congratulations Mike congratulations sir congratulations well done
congratulations again sir i'll be back congratulations congratulations congratulations it's like you guys are at Lasal again all right all right we're going to keep moving on with our meeting here uh item number
eight is a proclamation for the 20 thou 2025 National Child Abuse Prevention Month proclamation it's uh yeah all right I'm going to come down
to the podium okay I understand that we have some uh some ladies here from the Bridgewater Women's Club welcome i'm going to ask uh you ladies to come up barbara Lebranni show May
Heberg Himbuch Mary Monahan Kathy Jeepson Diane Considine Diane
Like Pat Bevel Jane Maliki and D Pap Did I miss anyone good all right oh okay all right so we have a nice nice
proclamation here to present today more more importantly uh the township is recognizing National Child Abuse Prevention Month i'm going to read this proclamation whereas children are both our most vulnerable members and our greatest hope
for the future helping to shape the path forward for Bridgewater and whereas positive childhood experiences such as loving caregivers and safe stable and nurturing relationships can help mitigate trauma and reduce the negative
effects of adverse childhood experiences promoting the social emotional and developmental well-being of children and whereas childhood trauma can have lasting psychological emotional and physical impacts throughout an
individual's lifetime often influencing future generations and whereas children who live in families with access to concrete economic and social supports are less likely to experience abuse and neglect and whereas preventing child
abuse and neglect is possible through the cor collaboration of families advocates child welfare professionals educators healthc care providers community and faith-based or organizations businesses law enforcement
agencies and local state and national governments and whereas we recognize the need to prioritize children by investing in prevention initiatives such as home visiting programs family strengthening
policies economic supports and community-based child abuse prevention programs at all levels of government and whereas Gaza Shaw which stands for courtappointed special advocates of Somerset Hunteran and Warren counties
continues its vital work by providing well-trained traumainformed volunteers to advocate in in court for children living in foster care ensuring every child has a safe and permanent home and whereas the Bridgewater Women's Club
with its long-standing commitment to supporting vulnerable populations placed pin wheels in the municipal courtyard to raise awareness for National Child Abuse Prevention Month and highlight the mission of Kaza Shaw and that was today
right now therefore I well Mayor Matthew C mench alongside the Bridgewater Township Council to hereby proclaim April 2025 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the Township of Bridgewater and
urge all citizens to to recognize this this month by learning about the work of Kaza Shaw volunteering with community-based child abuse prevention programs and fostering a narrative of hope for children throughout our
community signed Matthew C mench April 3rd i'm gonna present this to you ladies [Applause] president All right ah thank you so much oh missing the agenda
all right so moving on we don't have any items for presentation tonight so we'll move on to item number 10 meeting open uh to the public is there a motion to open so moved is there a second second okay all in favor i any opposed hearing
none uh members of the public wishing to address the council on any matter will be allowed three minutes to speak unless there are unusual circumstances does anyone wish to step up seeing are you no seeing no one I move
to close public comment okay is there a second second okay all in favor i any opposed hearing none moving on to item number we don't have any item number 11 tonight so we have item number 12 is introduction of
ordinances i'm going to read 12A an ordinance authorizing the sale of property known as lot 511 in block 3 on the Bridgewater Township Tax Map and located at Whitney Court Bridgewater New Jersey
08807 east of Shasta Drive to Triple C Housing Inc located at 1520 Route 130 North Sweet 2011 North Brunswick New Jersey for a nominal consideration of $100 pursuant to New Jersey statute 48
col2-21 uh I to construct affordable housing if the developer is unable to meet construction costs through other sources the township may contribute up to 150,000 from the affordable housing trust fund mr papz any comment no uh
this is something that we have presented the administration has presented to the council this uh as I reported at the last meeting this would be a u a five apartment uh structure where uh we would uh a special needs uh population would
be served and we would receive 10 credits towards our requirement based upon the um presentation and our discussion of the prior meeting I'll uh move to introduce 12A
i'll second it roll call please councilman Kersh yes councilman Codiller yes councilman Ring yes president Pedroso I abstain 13 oh I'm sorry accept the public final
action is scheduled for April 24 2025 at 7:30 p.m here in the municipal courtroom public inspection of this ordinance is available on township website the bulletin board and through the clerk's office okay thank you item 13 is
resolutions 13A cancellation of year 2017 sewer capital bond ordinance in the amount of $278.76 mr papus this was a a bond ordinance for the sewer utility that t dates back to 2017 it was for
$3,719,700 there are various uh sewer projects that were completed uh West County Drive was one excuse me um West Foothill Road was one uh the Billian
Morton Klein uh sewer project is another that comes to mind those are two of the larger ones there uh some smaller uh items pieces of equipment that were purchased uh there were other I think it was um Pine Street in the Bradley
Gardens section of town um and a few others i have details here if anyone would like and uh all of the projects that uh were envisioned for this bond ordinance were completed and there's
$27876 left and cancelling cancelling this would have these funds go to the sewer utility general fund yeah the other page questions comment motion i'll move 13A i'll second it okay roll call please
councilman Kersh yes councilman Codeller yes councing yes president Pedroso yes uh 13B authorizing the disposal of township owned surplus property vehicles and equipment mr papus there are several pages I think
three pages of vehicles and some equipment that are no longer of any use to the township many of them have um have no more useful life for uh the public works department or the uh police
department and are proposed for sale through this auction process okay the uh I think Mr papis was very kind using the term vehicles maybe former vehicles based upon some of the descriptions would be a little more appropriate but just for the public's
benefit they will get listed on govdees.com all right anything else anyone interested in moving it i'll make that motion second okay roll call please councilman Kersh yes codilla yes
ring yes president Pedroso yes 13 C authorizing an agreement with the state contract authorized vendor US bank for the usage of procurement cards mr papus u the uh vendor uh is proposed to be
changed uh for the limited number of procurement cards or credit cards there are uh there's a uh a policy that for anyone that would be interested in having it that the our purchasing agent has prepared that CFO and I have uh reviewed and approved very similar to
ones that had existed in the past there are um uh slightly reduced number of uh officials that will have this uh again the limitations are uh in most cases $2,500 the credit limit in two instances
$10,000 but these are used under very limited circumstances and again pursuant to the procedures uh these individuals are required to be trained and follow the procedures we've not had any issues with this in the past but it is important to have this as an option from
time to time mr papis my understanding that this change is necessitated by the previous provider no longer being on state contract yes I should have said that thank you i'll move that's what prompted this yes I'll move it
a second councilman Kersh yes councilman Codilla yes ring yes zen Pedroso yes 13 uh a question Mr papis i know that um Councilman Kersh had raised the issue of um the AC fee on our website i
think you were going to look into what could be done to get rid of that AC fee has there been any progress um I could report on that if you want to do that the conclusion of the agenda i'd be happy to detail that all right very well excuse me 13d award of contract to
Active Disposal Inc at 10 Bohemis Lane Bridgewater New Jersey for dumpster rental and disposal of municipal refuge at various township locations for a total amount not to exceed $34,160 for the period of April 1st to
March 31st of 2026 to be funded through the 2025 temporary budget department of public works refuge collection mr papus I think I'm going to ask Mr corsini to touch on this yes ju
just briefly um the uh as the uh council will note from my memo the um the purported low bidder um was uh non-responsive in as much as they uh presented a quote that was uh through a metric that we were not um going to use
in this award it's addressed in my memo um so we are awarding to the incumbent which um presented the theoretical second quotation but in fact was the only qualified bidder i'll answer I'll answer any questions you guys might have do we know if there was a substantial change in price from prior years
i don't think so that I don't know okay now after reading the uh the resolution and the documentation it's it all made sense and I'm willing to make a motion to move this All right is there a second i'll second
roll call please councilman Kersh yes councilman Kadiller yes councilman Ring yes pedroso yes if there's no objection I will read 13E and F together 13e authorizing the award of contract to Robert H hoover and Suns at
149 Gold Mine Road in Flanders New Jersey for the total amount not to exceed 163,482 for the acquisition of one hook lift truck chassis via the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey
Cooperative Pricing System contract number 23-24 to be funded through the 2024 sewer capital accounts and 13F authorizing the award of contract to Tony Sanchez has limited custom truck
bodies at 1685 US Route 46 in Ledgewood New Jersey for the to total amount not to exceed $271,93 for the truck upfit accessory package via the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey Cooperative Pricing System contract number
23-24-04 class 4-8 to be funded through the sewer capital account mr papus uh I would like to have the photographs of the device the uh the uh truck and the equipment put on our screens for the benefit of the council there it is
that's uh the kind of a truck that would be purchased through this um um resolution this was uh funded uh from the 2024 sewer capital account uh what you
see here is the upfitting that um we expect to have for this vehicle as you can see the um the rear portion that I'm sure that guess what would you call
interchangeable yeah it's interchangeable and both for could be a flatbed could be various container dump truck as well as a plow so uh that's the reason for the two resolutions one for the purchase of the the truck and the
other for the uh accuchants that's all based upon uh Mr shimp's memo attached to this i know it's something he's wanted for some time i have no problem moving uh
both on consent no I'll second okay there's a motion and a second to approve uh 13E and F together roll call please councilman Kersh yes councilman Kodilla yes councilman Ring yes president Pedroso
yes 13g award of contract to Topline Construction Corp for the 2024-6 roadway improvement project which includes the entire length of Perini Road Davis Court Biddle Court and Weaver Drive in the amount of
$399,158.58 funded through the 2024 Capitol Road Fund mr papis any comments yes I'm distributing a um u photograph for photocopy of section six of the township the circled um roads on the top of the
middle of the page uh depict the roads that are to be improved through this resolution this was part of last year's road program uh we were able we weren't were not able to complete it last year
uh went through final design and bidding over uh through uh just a few months ago and as you can see there was a significant amount of interest from contractors i think there were 10 or 12 and um topline construction which has
been uh one of the contractors that we've used in the past was the low bidder uh about $100,000 less than the original estimate that Mr burr had thought so pricing was very good and uh this would be the project that we would
if if approved would um probably take place over the next several months i'll make a motion to approve unless there's further discussion i would second that Michael since we've committed to do this work
all right there are no other comments roll call please councilman Kersh yes councilman Codilla yes councilman Ring yes president Pedroso yes 13h resolution authorizing the person-toperson transfer of plenary retail consumption liquor
license number 1806-33-007-005 from the YC Encar Corp trading as Chand Palace in Martinsville G Martinsville Gardens to the applicant RRD and S Investments LLC trading as Martinsville Gardens located at 1801
Washington Valley Road in Martinsville New Jersey mr papas the title really says it all it's a transfer purchase sale and purchase of a liquor license for the Martinsville Gardens councilman Pedroso if I may I just want to make a
comment and um I think it's appropriate to say thank you to Well first of all this is uh the restaurant Washington Valley Road based upon the information before us uh it is their intent to continue to operate that facility but I think we uh you know should say thank
you to RRDNS Investments for their faith in Bridgewater um when I look at this paperwork uh they're spending investing a little over well well over $4 million in acquiring the facility here in Bridgewater and I think that speaks
volumes of um what they believe they can do with that business in Bridgewater so I'm happy to move it i'll second it okay no other comments roll call please councilman Kersh yes councilman Codilla yes councilman Ring
sorry yes president Pedroso yes uh Mr papus update on AC yes so um this past year as you know the township has uh transitioned from a software accounting system called
GFMS to Edmunds um and with that uh transfer uh was a difference in how these accounting systems could u process online payments uh for many years we
used GFMS and one of the a couple of the reasons why we proposed changing from one accounting system to another is GFMS really had um was an older system had limited uh capabilities and reporting capabilities as compared to systems such
as Edmonds uh but there was also a concern about uh the secure sec the ability to secure the information that was being um put into our hands and held by Bridgewater Township so um that uh
was one of the driving u driving u motives for making the change um several years ago when the pandemic uh struck the uh township through the
emergency declaration was able to um suspend the AC uh uh fees for u a payments and that was uh enacted during the emergency declaration and actually
expired the end of I think it is 20 June uh January uh excuse me December 31st of 2020 um and so um the fees that are being collected are not being collected for use by
Bridgewater Township they are the processing fee from the vendor that uh Edmonds uses which is called WIPP web integrated payment portal uh that is a convenience fee similar to when you
would make an online payment uh as I think virtually everyone does and making payments online and um just give you the magnitude of the number of transactions that we um have
for both our sewer utility and just our property taxes uh sewer utility transactions in an year uh amount to approximately 10,000 and for tax transactions approximately 14,000 so we
did a calculation that if uh we would ever decide to absorb that uh like I think very municipality very few municipalities do would be approximately a $50,000 expense to the township so that's the that's the explanation of
uh what uh prompted this and u what we are recommending that we would continue with the present arrangement because of the cost and and frankly it's just a uh a cost that we all u u have in making these online payments uh people can
avoid these payments if they come here or send a check uh traditionally or come here as many people do but for the convenience of going through the online process there would or an a check there would be these fees continued to be assessed to those using them are we
under contract with Edmonds we um we we Yes do you know until when excuse me when's the contract expire uh we just I think we're in the second year uh we actually had to I think purchase a
license it was a $120,000 expenditure that I think we undertook last year um and I I yeah license for what for the use of this their software it's an accounting software so they charge us a licensing
fee and then they also charge a usage fee for the for the uh the payer i guess that the the vendor that actually processes the payments is the one that assesses the fee last year we approved the purchase of new accounting software
correct this is just a a component or within their software so that can process the payment and record it automatically correct mr president um I I have a little bit of a alternate view of this um which is
probably best addressed during our budget process um there was a period of time when um we absorbed the expense it was during the pandemic i think there was definitely justification uh we did not particularly want people to come to our building for
health purposes um and um you know I'm I you know I'm just concerned that that there was there was really no um there was really no policy discussion of when that would end
um we could have extended it we did extend it for a period of time um I think that there are arguments to to continue to uh cover the cost as a courtesy i think that there are certain um uh savings and other benefits that that
are realized uh by keeping people in the online channel um you know I I just believe this is something we we we need to address during the budget uh process whether or not this is a behavior we want to encourage if we need to encourage uh and
and you know I think it's best handled through the budget process but you know I do have an alternate view i you know I I think a policy I think a discussion and then a policy decision was necessary independent of the vendor change yeah i
I I I'm more I'm in line with with that but I also think that uh there are there are likely vendors out there that won't charge for a transactions i mean it's pretty common in the banking industry for a to occur without fees um I have
businesses I don't get charged for a transactions i don't know why the township does but maybe they're on a different scale than than my businesses are um I would imagine that there might be vendors out there that uh won't charge the AC fee at all i think it that
should be explored um I think there is an expectation amongst um amongst people um not to pay for a because banks don't frankly don't charge for a so they're
um so I think we should explore that deeper and see if we can find a vendor that won't charge us the AC um but I guess we'll explore that further down the line all right anybody any other comments
all right hearing none we're going to move on to item number 14 uh which is a close session uh do you anticipate any business after no all right so we don't anticipate any business after our close session um but then we are going to come back to
adjourn the meeting so item 14 is is um is close session is there a motion to move to I'll make the motion to go to close session i'll second it okay is there you have the the disclosure statement
there's a disclosure statement thank you all right uh be it resolved by the Bridgewater Township Council that this body will now hold a close session meeting hereby convene to discuss the litigation in Panella versus Bridgewater as well as
litigation concerning the affordable housing program and contract negotiations for the cottages at Martinsville LLC and the Bridgewater Ritan Regional School District when and if the matters discussed become public record this will this will be made known
to the public at that time the public is excluded from said meeting and further notice thereof is dispensed with it all in accordance with section 8 and 4A of the open public meetings act um there was a motion and a second is there a roll call please
councilman Kush yes codilla yes ring yes president Pedroso yes do you want the record to reflect that Councilman Ngalas is here sure there he is the record should reflect that Councilman Argalis has joined us he arrived during
the AC discussion they're very stealth to a contract negotiations all right um we're going to amend the um agenda for the close session to include
um that there was some small discussions about contract negotiations regarding the center of excellence uh do I need a motion for that okay is there a motion to make a motion to amend uh item 14 to include uh
an additional item contract negotiation center of excellence oh great thank you for saying it again is there a second second great um we need a roll call all in favor all in favor all in favor i any opposed hearing none that passes we have
nothing else on our agenda tonight motion to second okay all in favor i any opposed doing none meeting is adjourned okay have a good night good night