Roll call, please. Janice. Mr. Bartlett here. Mr. Patrick here. Mr. McFaten here. Mr. Oat here. Mus here. Also present, Mrs. Simona for her first meeting. Uh Mr. Fox, our engineer. Mr. Heinhold, our solicitor. Mrs. Lur,
municipal clerk. Mrs. Russell, deputy municipal clerk. Mr. Fenomore, our superintendent of public works, and Mr. Warren, our police chief. Please rise for the flag salute. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Janice, could you please read the sunshine and live stream statements? Please be advised that proper notice of this meeting has been given in compliance with the public meetings act in the following manner. Written notice
has been mailed to the Bronx County Times and Curry Coast and published in in the December 30th, 2024 editions. And written notice has been posted on an official wholesome board of the township of Delanka at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. This meeting of the Zelanka Township Committee may be transmitted
via liveream on YouTube video. The streaming of the meeting is not intended to be relied upon as formal public access under the open public meetings act. And if the technology is disrupted for any reason, the township meeting will proceed in person as an official meeting in accord with the official
notice. Thank you. If you could please take a minute to please silence your cell phone or put it on vibrate. Um I'd also ask for a moment of silence to um remember all the victims of the Texas flooding that's gone on the past week or so.
Thank you. Mr. Barllet, did you want to add something? Yeah. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, loved ones, and communities grappling with the heartbreaking loss uh in Texas. And although very far away, about 1,800 miles away from our little Deleno. I was
devastated to learn last Thursday that someone I've been working with for the last year and change uh lost his 8-year-old daughter in those floods attending Camp Mystic. Let us let this be a reminder to all of us. Life can change in an instant. In times like this, we're all reminded of what truly
matters. Whether uh we are stronger when we come together, not divided by disagreements or petty differences, but united by our shared humanity. And I hope uh you all able to take a moment to honor those that were lost and recommmit
ourselves to kindness, compassion, and perspective. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Matt. Um, I will read this the rules governing public comment um right before we open the meeting to public comment. So, let's move on to the
most important item on the agenda tonight, the appointment of our police lieutenant. Um, should I do the resolution first, I guess? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Uh, resolution 2025-108, resolution of the committee of the township of Deleno, county of Burlington, New Jersey, authorizing the
appointment of police lieutenant. Can I get a motion, please? So, so moved. Oh, everybody. I think it's I think they're really excited. I think it's unanimous. Okay. Um, how about Kate? And somebody want a second?
Second. Okay. Motion by Kate, second by Matt. Roll call, please. Mr. Bar. Unequivocally, yes. Mrs. Patrick, yes. Mr. Mr. Yes. Mr. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Um, congratulations,
Vince. and we'll administer your oath of office. for me. Iette I do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or that I support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the government established and to the government established in the United States in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people
under the authority of the people that I will faithfully And I will impartially impartially and justly perform and just perform all the duties of the office of all the duties of the office of police. Congratulations to the best of my
ability. and we'll sign them. You want to sign this now, Janice? Uh, sure. Okay. We'll be done. Your signature and address, right? Yeah. One coffee be yours. Thank you.
Congrats, Vince. Sure. We'll just take a brief recess and you guys can go ahead and celebrate. So, congratulations Got your picture too. Yeah, his brother looks just like him, doesn't he? Congratulations. Thank you for coming.
Aren't they cute? That's one of the best parts of the job, getting to do that. Okay, we back recording. Maybe we never stopped. We actually Okay, so we're good. All right, we'll move on to our first public comment period. Um, rules
governing the public comment period in accord with subject and to the provisions of the open public meetings act NJSA 1012- 10 col4-12 at seek. During general public comment periods, the Deleno Township per uh committee is permitted to institute reasonable rules and
regulations to allow for a smooth process and ensure reasonable opportunity to be heard. Calling out from the audience outside of one's time at the microphone is disruptive to the person speaking at the mic or to the committee member speaking from the deis and will not be permitted. Each speaker will have a maximum of five minutes to
speak and should limit the comments to the matter at hand. The speaker will be directed to conclude the remarks once the speaker's time has expired. No time may be yielded to a speaker by another speaker. Groups are asked to select a spokesperson to speak on their behalf. Speakers will address the committee from the podium and are asked to begin the remarks with their name and address.
Township committee members are not obligated to answer impromptu questions or address remarks from the committee of the public during the public comment period. Speakers should expect the township committee to refrain from engaging in dialogue except to the extent necessary necessary to clarify the speaker's comment. The allotted time
for speaking from the podium is a method to address the township committee during the public comment period. The committee will not entertain questions or comments called out from the audience during public comment or at any time. Speakers and members of the public should at all times maintain proper decorum and shall make their comments in a civil manner.
Personal attacks obscenity, derogatory or slanderous remarks will not be tolerated. So with that, we'll open this um first public comment session uh now on agenda items only. So, if you'd like to comment on anything agenda item related, you can come up and state your
name and address for the record. I'm out of breath. Going once, going twice. Close this session to the public and we'll move on to our comments and reports. Start with our professionals, Mr. Fox.
Thank you, Mayor. I have quite a few items tonight. uh be up to date on our various projects. The uh Mid-Atlantic Logistics Center, it's a Stanker and GTO um site up the road here. Uh phases two and five, they have
been completed. Can you move that mic a little closer? I can't hear you. Thanks. Phases two and five have been completed. Um they still need to do punch list work and get us some documents and revised grading plans. However, they u we did
recommend a TCO for 90 days for them to start occupying the building. Um and while they get all type of work together for those for those items, uh the crossings at Deleno, I have a meeting with the developer tomorrow uh on site to go over our concerns, our
punch list items, uh the falcon report and and anything else to do with it with the development. Um, so I'll have an update after that meeting on on where we stand on a much clearer picture. The 2023 local aid grant. Um, on the
agenda, you have a change order that that project is complete. They finished all the fun work. The change orders for a reduction of $9,82153. Um, so that project can be closed out at this time and they will be on a two-year maintenance bond. So starting from
substantial completion, they they still are responsible for any defects that could occur within two years. The 2024 local aid um program. Uh we held our pre-construction meeting on last Friday. Um they're expecting start
work on that the week of August 11th. Uh depending on weather and other factors, it's crazy this year with weather. So um they're hoping to make it for August 11th. If not, it'll be the following week, August 18th, they'll start construction. Uh, and there's a 60-day
contract period before that. So, they have to be finished after they start. Um, and so I guess the public knows what that what that is. That is a Hickory Street um from Burlington Avenue, I'm
sorry, Walnut Street from Burlington Avenue to Hickory Street. And then Chestnut Street from Union swings around, turns into Spruce and comes out to Bhun. So those roads will be being paved um starting on or about August 11th. How do we make out with Chestnut Street?
Are we going to do that one way? Yeah. Um what I was anticipating doing was talking to the residents there when the project's going on, get their input, but I think what we're pretty sure on which way we want to make the only input we really need is which way they would
like to do the one way. Um, it is it's it's it's a it's kind of a four oneway street. So, we can do it just with Okay. Um, the River Seaw wall, I'm sure everyone has
seen that. It's coming along quite well. Um, that's the Woodfront Park. Anyway, the uh project is approximately 95% complete. Uh they're going to be installing a sod tomorrow. Um after that, then have to tweak out some
things. Um and and they'll be done. The only exception is the decorative lights. There's seven decorative lights that are backorded. Um so they won't be installed until sometime in August. They we are going to put covers over the light bases
for safety reasons. Um, so no one messes with the the electrical and and also no one gets hurt on them. So you're going to see some wooden boxes on top of the light post for about a month. Um, as soon as they come in, they'll be installed. I did ask Fred if he can install the
light that's actually in the gazebo though or the pavilion. Yes, can Yeah. So he said he was going to have um Delgato take care of that. Y just so we have it there so it's not super dark. Yeah. So you have one light. Mhm. Correct. Um on your agenda also there's a change
over for that project. It is an increase of 12,632. Um that is for also the light post faces I just described the safety boxes to go on top and there's additional concrete that had to be removed uh during the
project um due to site conditions. So there shouldn't be any more changes. There may be a minor change order after this for some landscaping and quantities go up and down, but we're in pretty good shape with that project. The CDB CDBG uh grant for the handicap
ramps uh is going pretty slow, but it's it's getting there. It's about 80% complete. They only have uh four ramps on Malbury uh and Union and one ramp on Third Street to finish up and and they'll be done with that
project. The last thing I have um is 401 Creek Road. I I did receive and I put a copy on all the committee desk. Um, this just came in today. I received it at 4:30 today. Um, it's a press
release from D with regard to the new what they call real R E A L. Um, it's resilient environment environmental landscapes. Uh, that's the um the law
that changes how we how we deal with storm water um and mostly due to climate change. So, we've talked about this in the past where it was September was supposed to be the adoption date. What happened? They they received
comments and I'll paraphrase what the press release, but it's it's online. Um, and I'm sure you get it at the township. Um, they are pushing off um adopting the rule. Uh, they're taking
comments. Um, it's going to be published on July 21st, the new rule with the new revisions. They're going to take comments till till September. Then they're going to have a hearing on it. Um, and they're anticipating somewhere around the first of the year next year,
uh, adopting these new revised rules to the law. Um the key points of the changes are the the proposed law was going to raise the flood elevation to 5t above FEMA's regulation. They check they dropped that
back down to four feet. So the elevation is is lower. Um which reduces the area what they call the area of inundation. Um so in the future for floods uh they reduce that area back to four feet above
um beas levels which actually agrees with our our local ordinance requires any buildings um to have habitable floors 4T above the FEMA line as it is now. Um so it kind of all goes
together with our local ordinance. Um the timeline for it is uh well they also have or assuming it's being adopted in January developers or or anyone um are
grandfathered in for 188 months from the point of adoption and they which which means when they build they can use the existing regulations not not the new regulations for six months past when this bill's is going to be adopted.
Um they they reason behind a lot of this is they went we re we re revisited a Rucker's uh science and technical study um and and determined that 5 foot is is not as realistic as 4T and that's why
they changed that number. They also put a provision in there that every 5 years the D will reanalyze this. So if they see that the levels are rising higher than they anticipate, they can revise the documents and and change the the
elevations. Um they they're revising some of the some of the actual engineering um design aspects, but they're not they're just saying even a general note here saying they're revising those and it will be
published on the 21st. So on the 21st, we'll know what those actual design considerations will be. And that pretty much sums it up. Um, but that's that's the update on on that on that um that bill considered.
That's good news. So there's really no change then to what we already have on the books, right? That's the gist of it. Now prep. Awesome. Good. Thank you, Harry. Harry, you won an award recently, huh?
Yeah. For the seaw wall. I did. Yeah, we all did. Oh, yeah. Mostly you. So, on June 26th, the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers Installations and at the awards reception, um, our engineering firm,
Environmental Resolutions, and its project manager, Harry Fox, received the second place public project award for the Zerberg Seaw Wall project. Uh, as we all know, the seaw wall was completed earlier this year at the site of historic waterfront park that's under renovation. And I'll just read kind of
the excerpt from the from the printout that they gave. Um, the original seaw wall along the Delaware River at the historic Zerberg mansion property was collapsing and the shoreline itself was deteriorating at a rapid rate of about a foot a year over time. Numerous meetings were held with D to discuss what type of
repairs would be approved at the historic and popular waterfront park that had been purchased using green acres funds. D indicated that they had preferred a living shoreline installed with rip wrap in lie of replacing the seaw wall itself. Deleno wished to maintain the character of the site and
to have safe public access. Therefore, a seaw wall was a more desirable solution for the town. In 2022, erri persuaded the state flood plane administrator to visit the site to understand the importance of constructing a seaw wall and not a living shoreline at this particular site to solve the problem.
The meeting was attended by numerous D staff and despite extensive permitting the project would require. It was this visit that would be convinced the D that indeed a seaw wall would be acceptable for this location. Chris Null, the township engineer, prepared the design of the seaw wall in a zigzag fashion to
address the DP's desire for the living shoreline. Harry was the project manager for the seaw wall and Jared uh D. Benedictus was um he served as the inspector. So um I had the pleasure of attending the award ceremony to congratulate Harry and he actually
didn't find out he won second place um until that night. So there was three projects that were up. I think the 29542 project 1/3 and then a a beautiful u bridge reconstruction historic reconstruction in the Trenton area one first. So just wanted to recognize you
for that Harry and say congratulations on a job well done. A lot of work went into that project as you know and and there's been a lot of people involved with this throughout the years. Yes. Um it it was a total group effort honestly from from
everyone committee past committees. Yes. For the last 18 years. 18 years. Yes. A long time. Thank you Harry. We appreciate it. Sorry Harry. I hope I didn't embarrass you too much. Thanks. Thank you for that report
and we'll move on here. Mr. Heinhold. Anything to report? Yeah. Just quickly I want to mention affordable housing again. Um we have adopted our fourth round plan that has been filed with the state program
and uh there is a deadline by the end of August if there's any objections to that. I don't anticipate any objections will be filed and if any objections are filed we're on very solid ground. Uh again, we anticipate uh full compliance
for the fourth round with no new construction. That's all I have to report. Great. Thank you. Mrs. Simona, would you like to report as our township and administrator? Sure. It has been a quick two weeks. Um but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention
the staff and how amazing everyone has been. They've been very welcoming. They've been very informative. I've been kind of meeting with them one-on-one and in groups and just learning about um wish lists, priorities, what's important. Um you know, Janice took me on a drive throughout town to see I'm
going to get the public works drive tomorrow. So, it's it's it's really I can't say enough about what a great group of people that that work here. They've everybody's been amazing. Um, and Richard, um, he's he's been coming in and he's been making the transition
so smoothly and he's been very very helpful. Um, and the and the big ticket items for the past couple of weeks are just kind of reviewing the budget and working on the contract negotiations for our bargaining units with our CWIM police. Great. You're doing a great job. I know you uh
are coming in and um, you know, kind of reworking some things, make it more efficient. reports are looking a little cleaner, a little easier to read, and um just kind of getting the town up to date with the latest technology that we have, just using uh software to integrate to better function to serve our residents.
So, thank you. Keep up the good work. Um department heads, Mr. Fenomore. Yes. Good evening. Um as usual, our brush pickup was a little bit more this month. 72 cubic yards of
brush. Uh we cut all township properties four times. Uh we barely got through them. The grass has been phenomenal this year. Um turned the leaves and had an inspection by the EP and apparently
everything is okay. Um I didn't hear back from him, so that's a good thing. Uh we put up 13 signs. Most of them was the engine brake. We put seven of them out and um other signs.
Uh we've been emptying the trash cans along the river, but we got 65 cans that we got to empty every Monday, including Hawk Island. So, um keeping up on that. Um there's three trees that went down up
at West Avenue due to storms. No big deal. um put out about a ton of asphalt out for potholes. Uh we took down the flags and uh we're going to probably need some new flags,
so just keep that for next year. And um we picked up 50 uh new lids for our old recycling cans that we go out every once in a while and replace any ones that are broken.
And uh keeping the storm drains pretty clear was it's been ongoing. and with public service uh doing their thing and it's really making the streets uh pretty dirty
and we'll be getting back to start sweeping them again and uh we want to clean up down the columns on Wednesday because the sides coming in so we want them to try to get everything cleaned up. That's all I have.
Great. Thank you. Thanks to your guys for keeping up on everything as always. town looks lovely. Mr. Warren, good evening everyone. Um, as of today for total police cases for
the year, we have 124. There were 391 to date motor vehicle violations issued with 1,045 vehicle stops. Total call for service as of today is
5,954. So again, officers have been very busy. I'm in the final stages of uh planning for the National Night Out event. So, looking forward to that. We should be squared away with another week or so and ready to go. Great. So,
we're excited. August 4th. August 4th. So, please come out. Definitely. We'll all be there. Have a good time. That's it for tonight. Awesome. We're looking forward to it. Anybody have any questions for the chief or public works or anybody else for that matter? Good. Um, John, I just wanted to
mention that we should give a shout out to Paul Newman for his work out at Hawk Island making sure that trashes in the cans and everything. He really does a good job. Yeah, thanks Paul. He takes a lot of pride in Hawk Island. He He does. He really does. And he emails us.
A good pain in the neck. Yeah, I know. But it's it's in a good way. But uh Yeah, those boers are brutal out there with their but um Paul is it's unbelievable. Keeping the trash intact. And what gets me is it I wish we could
recycle it somehow. Yeah. To go through all that and not knowing what's in it. You can't do it. You can't. No. God only knows. Sanitary. And Mrs. Lure as our department head down there. Nothing specific. Just want to remind
everyone that um July August, this is the one meeting for July. August meeting is actually August, what is that date? August 11th. 11th.
Um because the 4th is our first uh national night out, right, Chief? Yes, ma'am. So that's the night that they're going to do that. So the meeting for that was normally scheduled for August 4th is now August 11th.
So I just wanted to uh mention that. And uh I don't have anything else. Do you have anything for activities coming up or anything? That's it. Thank you. Um we do have our park grand opening uh on Saturday 5:30 for the historic
waterfront park and then our next um township meeting is uh the 21st. It'll be our um town hall for discussing 401 Creek Road. Okay. Um next up on the agenda, township committee reports. Uh Mr. Rolette, did
you want to start? Uh, the only thing I have is the history board will be at the farm fair uh from July 22nd to July 26th. That's Tuesday through Saturday. Uh, and they'll have displays uh in the history or the county
history tent out there. That's all I have, which is sure to be the hottest week of the year, right? Well, they moved it right supposed to be this week. They moved it out to Well, fingers crossed it's not too hot for them. Phil
mayor at this time I have nothing slacker next okay since we last last gave report on June 23rd I attended the fire commission meeting on the 24th normal business occurred uh the fire department is still
looking for more volunteers if you are interested go to delankoire.com or reach out to anybody within the fire company I attended the local OEM coordinators meeting with the county on June 25th. Among the topic of discussions is the
storm outlook that just seems like it just started outside uh for this hurricane season. It started on June 1st and as we've seen here in Delano, lots of storms thus far, but nothing that became a tropical storm or a hurricane. Uh, so far we've made it through the
letter C in the list of names for the season and thankfully nothing up here so far, but it's still early in the Atlantic hurricane season uh since it runs through the end of November. Uh, next up in alphabetical order for those keeping track are Dexter, Erin, and
Fernand. We are two errands already already left the office for the day, but Fern's still here, so look out with those hurricanes. On to the schools. I didn't make it to the board of ed meeting on the 25th as I was under the weather. But on July 3rd,
I stopped by the Pearson School for their free summer basketball clinics that the school district is hosting this summer and I had a chance to sit down and meet with our new superintendent, Dr. Tartici, who is sitting in the back of the room. Wave to everyone.
Hi, Dr. T. Nice to see you. Welcome to Deleno. And I see uh great things coming to our district which we're so very much so entitled for or entitled to after the last number of years. And looking at the agenda posted for the board meeting this Wednesday
night. Among some of the hirings that are being done, they're hiring a foreign language teacher which is something that we've been without for a while and it's something we should all look forward to as we're living in a global society. You should learn a foreign language. The kids should learn it. So it's great that
we have that coming. Uh the roof replacement project at Pearson is full speed ahead and is underway right now and hopefully they sealed the roof up for tonight. Um again, as mentioned, the next board of ed meeting is this coming Wednesday night, July 17th, at 7:00 p.m.
at Pearson with the work session beginning at 6:00 p.m. I've been doing a lot of coordinating with PSENG the last few weeks on the gas main replacement project here in town. There's been some hiccups in communication from PS on the sections of
streets that are going to be closed and where work is completed. However, I think we're past that now. And each week they're going to be delivering a two-week outlook to the town so we can inform all the residents. Uh that information is going out via email blast and on the township Facebook page.
Public service should also be emailing the residents and do uh doing door hangers in advance of the work. And they're also now looping in our garbage contractor Seaside so they know where they could expect road closures so they can make contingencies to make sure everyone uh everyone's trash gets picked
up and our fire department and EMS departments uh are getting notified so they're aware of any detours uh that may impact any responses. Um, not really related to anything I've done for the town over the last month, but last week I went to get my Real ID
at the MVC. And I know a lot of residents have been getting uh having issues getting appointments. I made mine back in April. And the good news is once you get there, as long as your paperwork is in order, I was in and out in 15 minutes and they have it down to a
science. Uh, Senator Singleton is posting on his Facebook page every day when they see new appointments come up, new appointment windows, and he's also been sponsoring some mobile MVC trucks that come out in the area. So, keep an eye out for that if you do need an appointment.
And finally, my home away from home for the last week and a half has been at historic Waterfront Park monitoring the construction process while the mayor was on a well-deserved vacation. And those guys out there have been busting their butts in the heat and the rain and a lot of rain. It is a lot of rain delays, all
the storms we've had, but we finally got water down to the park and we got PSCG approval on the electric that was ran and everything will be done in time for this Saturday's grand opening that I hope to see you all there. That's all I have. Mayor, thank you, Matt. And uh thanks for being
my um eyes and ears sending me updates while I was away. Appreciate that. You're welcome. I know you just were excited to use your drone and use that as an excuse, but thank you, Kate. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I was unable to attend the Dyson meeting on the June
24th uh Del Riv Youth Sports Association, but um they are um fall soccer registration is open until August 1. Uh and they're offering a clinic for girls flag football on July one. uh the
wait list open for basketball. Uh they are in need of fall soccer coaches and volunteers for the concession stand. So please feel free to help them out if you have some time. Uh Shade Tree met on June 25th. Residents requests were
reviewed as follows. 210 Peach Tree Lane. The resident was present and unable to provide some proof of interference with utilities. uh she re referred to the re recommendation of the sewer authority and stated that a prior
resident uh had to have the line replaced because of interference from tree roots. Uh the board did not agree to remove the tree. 41 Emory resident was present and his property was listed on the sidewalk enhancement program.
Information regarding installation of pavers would be sent to the resident. 72 Pennington, two dead dead trees were requested for removal. The board agreed to do so. Several other properties were
discussed. Additional removals were recommended for 545 Burlington Avenue and 405 Union on Ash Street. Uh the tree replacement program was discussed and plans to plant some new trees in the
fall. Uh it's a work in progress. I suggested they prepare a pamphlet regarding replacement of sidewalk panels uh with pavers to present to residents uh when a tree is not being removed uh but a good alternative to the homeowners
uh to correct the existing pro uh problems. Um, next meeting is July 23rd. Um, recreation, as everyone has mentioned tonight, the historic waterfront park is scheduled for uh, July 19th at 5:30. Please be sure to
join us for celebrating this long awaited park with fun and food for everyone. Um, there's no meeting for Wreck this month. The next meeting is August 14th. Uh, school board. I attended the special meeting of the school board on July 2nd and had the
pleasure of meeting their new superintendent, Dr. Ronnie Torchici, who is with us tonight. And I'd like to mention that there are three school board members here tonight, Joanne K and uh Steve Jazz. Uh and uh it's really
nice to see them attend our meetings because most of those members are here every month. Um they approved an affirmant action team in order to conduct an assessment for the development of a comprehensive equity
plan for the school year 2025 2026. It's my understanding that it was submitted for approval at that meeting so it could be submitted to the state department of education. Um, I did report on the ongoing activities of
recreation and Dissa Del Riv and also on the grant we received for $100,000 from Senator Singleton to repair the existing parking lot at the Pearson School. We're hopeful for a good year and a great working relationship with the school
this year. Uh, and I want to mention that there is a great article in the Beverly B this month on our new superintendent. Uh, I suggest everyone grab a copy and read it. There's also a great message from our mayor in this issue.
So, please grab a copy and read it. Uh, code enforcement. I did meet with our code enforcement officer on July 7th regarding several complaints I received from a resident in town. Um many are now being addressed and some uh are not and
I will provide that information to the resident with an explanation. Sewer authority we met on July 8th. Um, we approved the bid of $111,750 to Pioneer General Contracting for an
emergency uh removal and replacement of the sanitary sewer line on Rancokus Avenue with PVC piping and to reestablish complete lateral service. Um, the township has revised their shared shared services agreement with
Hannesport Township to include the sewer authority for use of their QPA, uh, which will provide the sewer authority the ability to obtain quotes for work up to $53,000 without going out to bid for certain projects. Uh, thanks Doug for your help
on that. a roof replacement at the plant was to start on July 9th and Doug was at the plant during our uh meeting that night due to the torrential rains uh and there was flooding at the plant. His report is
on file. The TNVNR program since my last report I have talked with both entities mentioned in our proposed ordinance. Uh changes will be made after further research since most animal control service providers do
not usually work with the friends of Burlington County regarding the community cat care program. So I'll be rewriting that ordinance. Um that's all I have. Mayor, thank you. Thank you. Busy as always, Kate. Um just
uh wanted to thank Phil and Steve Jazz for their hard work um working the concerts the past few weeks. It's been super hot and a little hectic with the weather. So, thank you both for your continued work on those successful events. Um, speaking of the
superintendent and the schools, um, we were excited to uh, get the email from Senator Singleton's office letting us know um, that we were able to secure a thousand $100,000 in the state budget um, specifically for Deleno and Pearson
school parking lot. So, um I guess about 8 weeks ago or so, two months ago, the uh senator's office in the past 3 years have reached out to us asking us for a wish list of projects that um they may be able to secure funding for. So, we sent them um four different things. It's
how we were able to secure the grant for 250,000 for the Field of Dreams lights a few years ago. So, um, we did include the school parking lot and we were excited that they chose that project to help out the district to, um, to pave the parking lot and to get, uh, get that up to where it needs to be. So, thank
you to Senator Singleton's office, and we're excited for that to move forward. Um, Dr. Tartishi, did you want to come up to the podium and introduce yourself formally, say a few words about yourself, and then lay out your entire plan for the next year.
Just state your name and address so they have it for the record. Um, that's you're just a superintendent. You have to say where you live. Ronnie Tarishi. Um, 217 Hooton Road, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, 08054. Um, I wanted to just come here and uh,
first um, thank you for having me in the township. I appreciate it. Thank the board of education. Um, and um, just say that I'm I'm looking forward to working with all of you. you know, this is my 13th year doing it. And the best um
townships and school districts and even counties and school districts like do is when local ordinances and school boards work together and they're not at odds with one another. And I've seen it in both ways. I've seen um you know, no
relationship. I've seen a tumultuous relationship and I've seen good relationships. And for what I see here, it's a good relationship. So, what I'd like to do is continue a really good relationship and make sure that we invite you to everything and then we
come to everything and you guys see the growth of Delanco schools. And um I can assure you that um the board is a good board. I've again I've seen really good boards of education and I've seen interesting boards of education. So, I
um I'm very excited about our board of ed and I'm very excited about what I see here and um I just want to say that if you ever need anything from me or or you know, Delanco schools, just please reach out and um I'm happy to come and meet
with you, have a cup of coffee with you, uh run a mile with you, lift weights with you, you know, whatever you want to do. Not going to happen. All right. But um I again thank you very much and thank you for coming to our meetings and uh we are hiring um a world language teacher
because you have to have one and um but uh we are actually going to hire a Latin teacher which is interesting. So I hope you guys uh you know come out and see all the new things that we're going to do. It's going to be really cool for the kids and making sure that you know they
grow as young scholars and um our pecking order rises and rises. So um thank you very much. All right. Thank you Dr. T. We look forward to uh to working with you and the board as well. Um, I know,
uh, Debbie, you had mentioned that you and the chief might want to stop by there and introduce yourself later on in the week to get that, you know, connection established. So, they'll be reaching out to you as well. And of course, we have spoken before and we'll we'll continue to to get those meetings on the books. Whatever we can do to
help, we're here as much as we can. I mean, you know, our powers are limited, but we're here to support. Okay. Oh, what have I done this month? Just mayor stuff. nothing really important to talk about. So, um, consent agenda,
we'll move on. Consent agenda items are considered to be routine and will be enacted with a single motion. Any item requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda. All consent agenda items will be reflected in full in the minutes. Resolution 2025. Oh, does anybody have anything they want to remove from the consent agenda?
Everybody good? Okay. Resolution 2025-109, resolution to cancel taxes and refund tax overpayment due to a total veteran exemption pursuant to NJSA54-3A. Resolution 2025-110 authorizing funding expenditure to Abundant Life Community Development
Corporation from the Delo Township Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Resolution 111 authorizing a shared services agreement between Delanco Township and the Burlington County I don't think they're called the freeholders anymore. Uh the Burlington County Commissioners and the Burlington
County Department of Public Safety for Central Communications and 911 call services. So we'll just change that if that's what the title is. Right. No worries. Resolution 112 authorizing handicap parking space on Burlington Avenue for 229 Vine Street. Mayor.
Sir, it should just be 229. It should just say for 229 street. It's not Burlington Avenue. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. So, it's 112 is just authorizing the
handicap for 229 Vine Street. Thank you. Resolution 113 authorizing change order number one for the 2023 road program project, Third Street and Venomor Lane improvement projects. Is that 2023? That's right. It's not the 20. Okay.
All right. 114 resolution authorizing the change order number one for historic waterfront park project. Payment of bills account current fund $366,216.15. Payroll $240,753.78. The dog fund $577.
Escrow trust $7,418.25. Housing Trust $1,21 and Capital Fund $136,26143. Uh moving forward, we are just going to have one line item to pay the bills and not list all the different accounts for
simplicity purposes. And we'll have the approval of minutes from April 21st and May 19th. We also have approval of businesses licenses 2025-1 27 30 31 32 34 35 36 37 38 39 and can I
get a motion for the approval of the consent agenda please move second motion by K second by Fern roll call please Mr. Bartlet yes Mrs. Patrick yes Mr. McD yes Mr. Yes, Miss Seuss.
Yes. Thank you. Any correspondence to report, Janice? I have no correspondence. Thank you. Okay. And we'll move on to session two for the uh public comment session. So, the meeting is now open to the public. This is session two, the final session.
If you have anything you'd like to say, uh you have five minutes. I have a timer. I will start. If you'd like to come to the podium and state your name and address, please feel free to do so. Thank you very much. Uh Edward Deini, Ed Deini at 100 Union Avenue. So I have a
comment uh that applies maybe to the discussion that's going to take place a little bit later. Um so the new historic riverfront park is is shaping up very nicely. I take a look at it every day and see see how it's coming. Uh it'll certainly be a target for walkers and
bikers, things like that. Now, in architecture, there's a saying that form follows function. Um but the park architecture is fixed by space and the environment. So, I'd suggest that function follows
form might be the way to think about what to do with this park, what what would fit. uh so I hope that uh people that we will all consider function follows form uh regarding the event draw
and finite parking realities. So tried to be considerate of that concept. I can see I made a big impression. I don't follow. I'm sorry. Yeah. Could you repeat that? Yeah. I'm just trying to say um what you
can do with this park is limited by the environment and that has to do with you know parking and events and things like that. So when you're considering how to what to do at the park I just hope you'll consider the limitations imposed
by the physical layout very carefully. Right. That's it. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Anyone else? Going once. Go. Go ahead. Tim. Mr. Kishler.
Tim Kishler. 12 hours court. Excuse me. I've already voted in the election, the special election, and I won't be available to come to the uh to the town next town hall. So, I wanted to make some comments.
Mr. Allette, you said your actions regarding 41 Creek Road were taken on behalf of quote the folks in town, unquote, referring to those residents in Delanco who don't live in Newton's Landing. You seem intent to drive a wedge between these two groups based on what you think you know about their
respective financial circumstances. You claim that those who live in Newton's Landing can easily afford a local property tax increase since they are eligible for up to $6,500 a year in state reimbursements and that those who don't live there, who you seem to
consider the real residents of Delano can't. Now, I can understand a disgruntled former Newton's Landing resident harboring resentment, but it is both inexplicable and inexcusable that a former township mayor would fan these flames of division. If your true
aspiration is to be a community organizer and for just one part of the community, you should realize that acting as such while continuing to sit on the committee is a blatant conflict of interest and that your immediate resignation is called for.
Newton's Landing has 264 age restricted homes. The minimum age is 55, so it would be 10 years before some could receive the benefit Mr. Olette seems to resent their being eligible for. These same seniors might live for another quarter century or more, paying some of
the highest taxes in a township to support schools no children of their own would ever attend. If any even suggested that they shouldn't be required to pay to educate other people's children, they would be considered selfish. But those who oppose the 401 Creek Road purchase
have only a single and yes, selfish reason. They fear a property tax increase even though they really don't know if, when, how much, or for how long their taxes would be raised. They are unconcerned about the adverse effects of a massive commercial truck repair
facility operating on the premises, the traffic, the road damage, the wildlife displacement, the air noise and water pollution, and believe only those few with homes bordering it on Pennington Court would be impacted. They think this is just an issue for those who live in
Newton's Landing. and they've made it clear that they don't care what happens quote on that end of town unquote. Now, many Newton's Landing residents have lost their spouses. Others deal with serious medical issues. Some have even experienced religious persecution as well as ethnic and racial
discrimination in other countries and unfortunately in other parts of this one. And still they don't wish ill on anyone. They remain what used to be called salt of the earth. But having a fleet truck repair facility literally in their backyards would cause all of them to have their homes reassessed. With
their properties devalued, their tax obligations would be reduced and collapse the tax base. It would be left to those real Dano residents who live outside of it, including the homeowners over 65 who also qualify for the state tax rebate to make up the very large
budget shortfall. Remember, our entire representative committee voted to approve purchasing 401 Creek Road before Mr. Olette went rogue and voted against paying for it. The remaining four members have worked hard to inform the public and encourage their support, but
they have not identified one very serious potential threat if the township is unable to buy the property. Perhaps they feel uncomfortable associating a particularly heinous crime with a single group of people, in this case commercial truck drivers, the same way that has
been done with other groups in the political arena. But I don't. Child abduction. Think about it. With unlimited access to an area right next door to a park, who is in a better position to prey on children, to kidnap and transport them several states away
before they're even known to be missing? Now, as adults, we are tasked with ensuring the safety of all of the township children in the same way that as taxpayers, we are charged with sharing the cost of educating them. But we can prevent this and many other harmful things from happening by voting
yes to purchase 401 Creek Road. It is the only option that remains for the township to control its development and Delano's destiny. We rarely get such second chances in life, and it will likely be our final opportunity to do the right thing. I know of the regret that results from selfishness. This is
how my generation ultimately lost its way. We failed to protect all that we had yet knew we were in danger of losing. This included the environment as well as a constitution full of rights and freedoms. Sadly, we are now paying the price.
Those who initiated, circulated, and signed the petition to hold a special $70,000 election took the decision-making responsibility away from the very people who were chosen to have it. Voting no to continue this power grab will be one last wrong move. This
truly selfish undertaking will also only end in regret. Criterion will be the real winner with everyone in Delano suffering serious consequences. We will all pay too steep a price for surrendering control of 41 Creek Road and our future. Thank you.
Thank you. Vera Dharma, 605 Hickory Street. Um, in the beginning I was a yes vote, but um, I knew it was sort of a gamble because there was no clear plan what developer was going to be involved. Um, could you
tell me when I have one minute left? I sure will. So, I actually really wanted this to work because I love nature. I was even texting with a guy who was here at the December meeting who was interested in uh working with developers and maybe
looking at the property. So, I was all in, but I researched it. I'm not going to talk about all my concerns. I'm just going to say that I was involved with open space um in my town, Morristown. Um I know the people who are involved in
open space conservation the the uh main group that preserves land on the Rancco is called the Rancokus Conservancy. I called their president and asked about contamination issues because I was very concerned and
I was willing to even pay more and take a big risk if it meant the Rancus might be contaminated by a trucking facility. That was like my red line. He told me, and again this is the president of a
conservation group conserving land all up and down the Rancokus and and branches of the Rancco. The contamination was a there was a minimal chance of that because of today's regulations and
procedures that truck repair facilities follow. That was one thing. But that was not enough for me because I was concerned about the the Newton's Landing residence about the noise. So I drove out to the Delran um
facility, the truck repair facility, and I went to there's like a development in back of it and I was hoping I would run into someone and there was a man sitting out under a tree and I said, "Oh, I'm not selling anything. I just want to ask
you because we're having this vote coming up and how you know it's about a truck repair facility, a new one that's coming in. Um can you tell me your experience with the one that's right near you over here? And um he said,
"I've lived here for 10 years. I've never had a problem with them. They face away from me and um didn't hear anything like any other concerns than that. And so that was also went into my
calculus about why I wasn't um as enthusiastic about about this purchase. And I have other concerns, but I'm going to leave those for right now and just say that I do take the concerns of Newton Landing residents seriously and
that's why I did what I did to research this. So that's all I want to say at this point. Thank you. Anyone else? going once. Uh Zire Carter, 19 Fawn Court.
Uh before I begin, uh I just want to thank the committee for bringing up uh for having that moment of silence for what's happening in uh Texas right now. I don't know if anyone knows but there's a article in the Bergen record I think about a US Coast Guard Petty Officer
Scott Ruskin who was an aviation survival technician third class who was stationed in Corpus Christi uh a New Jersey resident actually who directly saved I think some 165 people from rising floods in Kirk County, Texas. So
it was his first deployment too. Yeah. So really, um, I read it. Even in, you know, even while Texas may be pretty far away, let it be a reminder that even in our darkest moments, we're still stronger when we are together.
Uh, today, I'd like to bring up um something that I care about very deeply and something that I think we all value, and that is trust in our local government, especially when it comes to how public money is spent. And I believe that trust
begins with fairness. Now, it's already been acknowledged by members of this committee that taxpayer dollars were used to print signs and brochures urging people to vote yes on the ballot question. Now, I'm not here to debate the legality of the township
committee's decision. I've communicated with both the administrator and the solicitor, and while I appreciate their responsiveness, I respectfully disagree with their opinion. I understand that civil residents has have also expressed their grievances with the appropriate state agencies
including the New Jersey comprollers office, the Division of Local Government Services, and the Election Law Enforcement Commission. And I trust them to sort out what is lawful and what's not. But I'm here to talk about something deeper, something that doesn't require legal opinion or a court ruling to understand, and that is the issue of
fairness. And I'd like to start with Mr. Olette. Mr. Charlette, when this campaign started, when you started printing materials and you put signs up promoting your position, did you use your own money or did you use taxpayer dollars? I used my money and some other folks
used their money to uh buy signs. Got it. Okay. And why did you not request to use taxpayer funds because we know that they were available. I didn't know that they were available and I would not use taxpayers dollars to uh
support or uh do the the no vote. I in my when I started out uh with my signs, they were very neutral. uh you know, just putting the date out there. And uh
once we got to the point where uh we needed to make a decision because there are 3,500 voters in this in our community that everyone should have uh the opportunity to vote on this 3.6 million.
Got it. Got it. Thank you, Mr. Olette, for that. Uh, and thanks for clarifying that, you know, and I I really do believe that that you know what most of us instinctively understand that just because you can do something doesn't mean that you necessarily should. And you understood that it wouldn't be fair
not to those who disagree with you, not to the community as a whole. And let me be clear, until these state agencies reach a conclusion, we still don't know whether the committee's actions were within the law. But even if we assume for a moment that they were, was that fair? I mean, why didn't the rest of the
committee come to the same conclusion that you did, Mr. Why didn't the rest of the committee say even if our lawyer says it's okay? It doesn't feel right to use public funds to push one side of a controversial issue. I mean, that's not what fair government looks like. I mean,
I I just This isn't about whether 401 Creek is a good idea or a bad one. This is about something more fundamental. Is it fair to use public money from an entire community? Money that belongs to all of us to campaign for one side of a public question. And I've heard some of
the arguments around town and with people and they say, "Well, look, the majority of the committee agreed and that somehow justifies it." But fairness doesn't depend on who has the most votes. Fairness depends on on everyone respecting one another, especially those
who you don't agree with. I mean, when you took your oath of office, did you pledge to serve only those who agree with you, or did you pledge to serve the whole town, those who voted for you and those who didn't? Fairness requires restraint. It requires leadership that understands the weight of public trust
and the responsibility of using shared resources. And when an issue as hotly debated as this one, when it divides neighbors and it's being talked about in coffee shops, it demands cautious, balanced, above all a fair approach. And why not Just one one minute left. Just
Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. And I want to be clear to everyone here. I I think it's completely appropriate for the township to provide factual information, what the votes about, what the process looks like, what it may cost. That's a part of governing. But when the township crosses that line from
informing to campaigning it and it does it using taxpayer dollars, it breaks that trust. It says to residents, "Hey, look, we've already picked a side and now we're asking you to help promote it. help you help pay to promote it. And that's not fair. And that's what concerns me the most, the precedent that
this sets. Because if it's okay to use public funds to influence a local ballot question, what stops future committees from using public money to sway outcomes in other elections? What about future races, local, state, hell, even even national? Where does that end? And more importantly, who stops it? And my
friends, I think the answer is us. And I want to be clear. I don't believe anyone on this committee acted out of malice. I believe each of you cares deeply about Delanco and want what is best for our town. As I've said many times, our differences are not about goals, but rather in the path to get there. So,
let's keep our shared goals in mind. Let the government provide the facts. Let people decide. And let's do this the right way, the fair way that honors the trust of every resident in town, not just the ones that agree with us. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time.
Uh Mr. Heinhold, did you want to comment at all on that statement? Yeah, I'll respond after we're finished public comment. Okay. Anybody else? Uh, and Deini 100 Union Avenue. I happen to be thinking about that question that was just brought up and I wrote a little
bit here that will take very little time. It's a fundamental principle that citizens don't pay to be lobbyed by their government entities. regarding the upcoming land purchase ballot. If the township has paid for the mailed out flyer in favor of the
purchase, maybe inadvertently a line has been crossed. If so, it should be acknowledged and the funds reimbured by the relevant parties. Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you. So many big ideas. I want to
talk about parking on Delaware Avenue. It's okay. Jay Cohen, 625 Delaware Avenue. It's the corner of Delaware and Walmart where we've had a vantage point for almost 40 years. And
uh we were we had another commitment missed the discussion, but and I'm speaking for Joan, but she will correct me if I misspe. Um I know she will. First, I'd like to congratulate the township committee on
the progress with the the historic park. Uh especially the current members and previous members who were active in getting this done in the beginning. Um I think parking on Delaware Avenue is is
a good idea. We have one of the few houses that accesses uh Delaware Avenue to get to our property. Many of them are second street, many of them are side streets. So, we do have some skin in the game. Um, we think it's a good idea to
encourage people to attend events there. Um, with the issue of um accessible parking or as it was called handicap parking, I think they should be in the corners and on the side streets. They
should be as near to the location as possible. really putting them in Del Raven moves them farther away. Um perhaps even permanent accessible parking on the ends. For
example, um Walnut Street where we live, if there were an accessible spot closest to the river, people could park there to access the benches. Um but I think it makes no
sense even temporarily. temporary parking on Delaware Avenue does make sense. Um I am concerned about safety. We've lived there and Delaware Avenue functions in a way as a main street and we see every day people walking their
dogs, people uh teaching their children to ride bicycles, people walking. The sidewalks are um not continuous. There are places without sidewalks. There are many places where the sidewalks through
no point of the homeowners are disrupted by the trees and they're not very walkable. So people have to walk in the street and we see more and more people walking in the streets over the years and the more traffic that we have on
Delaware Avenue enhances the dangers of people that I don't have a solution to and that you know I trust our police force to you know monitor this. Is there anything else for you to tell me about?
No, I don't think so. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Jan J. Scott Bu 18, Pennington Court. Fern, it was a good thing you ran through Pennington Court on Saturday morning because a lot of people who got those things on their doororknobs were
not happy. They haven't been happy with this whole thing with the way that it has come. The younger gentleman spoke before me and he talked about public trust. Somehow I recall
the whole council voting for this and then agreeing upon acquiring 401 for multiple reasons and we hear a lot about Newton's Landing. There's a lot more than Newton's Landing over it. I will show you pictures of tractor trailers
going through town. You want that to continue? Build a truck repair. You will get more. The trucks are going all over. I followed one. No, I turned left at the uh watchtowwer yesterday and coming from the bridge was a tractor trailer. I
don't know what weight it was. Does anybody know what weight it was? There's a lot of trucks going back and forth. But talking about public trust, when when information from a council member is used then against the council and the
people, I have to question public trust. Not only that, improper information was sent out originally with the correspondent that was put on people's doors, most of which didn't get to Pennington Court at that time. But uh
yeah, I went to a funeral Saturday morning on the way and and I gave uh Fern a little bit of my uh didn't care for what was going on along with Eric Dasher. Told him don't walk up to my door. But uh yeah, I saw a few other people from Newton's Landing on the
other side and they too were not happy with getting their uh getting those things on the door knobs. So let's not talk about public trust until we understand what it's all about. Thank you, Mr. B.
Anyone else have any comment? I'll close this session. Um, Doug, if you could please speak on the uh this the use of public funds. Um, sure. Situation, please.
Yeah. First, I'm going to go big picture. Um, perfect. I have been serving this town in some capacity for about uh 25 years. And um I love this town. No town keeps me up
more at night than Delano. It is it it unfortunately is a beautiful small town that faces all the issues that towns have to face. We have um the difficulty of meeting affordable housing which
costs taxpayer money regardless of where you stand on the issue. It is an expense the town has to meet. We have uh issues that pop up like the mansion years ago, like uh the uh the dunes litigation.
And you know, every time we're faced with these issues, I I sometimes say to the mayors, sometimes you get to choose your agenda and sometimes your agenda chooses you. And right now I I unfortunately and Delano is not alone in this but it's
been a microcosm of the issue. The way that things changed in the warehouse industry and the industrial industry dramatically over a short period impacted communities and the infrastructure that was taxed because of
that. So the governing body set about to try and address that issue. Um there was a big swing right trying to trying to reduce the potential for future warehouses
and the result of that big swing is that criterion who has been I think look it's easy to malign big uh industrial users but honestly in dealing with a lot of
corporate entities over the years they're they're not bad people right they've got their role in society. They're trying to accomplish what they're trying to accomplish. When they bought that property, think they were they thought they were going to be able to use it for a warehouse. We took that away from them. They filed litigation
against us. We resolve that litigation. We resolved it in a way in a way that we thought we would try to intro in uh sort of limit the impacts out there. As that process moved forward, it was clear that that wasn't going to be enough. So then
the next step was let's try and purchase the the piece of property. Um we went through that process. That was not an easy process either. You know they're well healed. They know what they have. They'd already expended a year and
a lot of money pursuing what they intended to pursue out there. And yet they still sat down with us and reached an agreement with us. Um, and now we've had the petition process, which is a procedural issue that we had to deal with. Janice and I spent a lot of time
on making sure that that was monitored and reviewed correctly, approved, which which it was. And uh, it's not a common process. I've been doing this again, not just here, but in my whole career in many towns, and this is the first one
I've had. I'm aware of one other that predates me in one of my other towns, but it's in the statute, right? You can do this process. So, there is a process in place where residents have the ability to bring these issues forward. So, we've got a $3.5 million purchase.
We've got a special election that's going to cost $50 to $70,000. The issue was put to me of whether the the municipality could having already taken a position on the issue continue now in the face of this special election
issue to state its case and not just uh provide information what whatever limitations that may have but actually encourage voters to vote yes. And my my conclusion was that yes, they could.
I'm doing the best I can with the limited amount of law that's out there. There's a 1950 New Jersey case, 50s New Jersey case that has to do with schoolboard issues. I think you know the schoolboard cost issue. I'm going on a lot longer
than intended, but bear with me. Keep going. This the schoolboard cost issue is up every single time. Anytime a school board wants to do any bond referendum that automatically goes to the voters there's separate statutory process for
that se separate limitations. The municipality had already stated its reasons as to why it intended to do this and that it it wanted it had passed the bond ordinances saying we we intend to move forward with this to suggest that the municipality then
has to become a neutral after that when the majority of the governing body feels that that is the correct action to take here for the betterment of the town and again I agree people can disagree whether that's the right policy or not that's fine, but the majority of the
governing body has taken that position. The amount of expendure we're talking about is a couple thousand dollars and some envelopes. So, in the big scheme of things, I I it doesn't offend my trust principles and I have pretty strong trust principles. And I think to expect
that the municipality is suddenly going to become neutral when it has stated a policy goal and wants to see that goal carried out is is illogical to me. Um I also really struggle with where do you draw the line with that. So if a sign is
not okay, is putting up a special section on the web page okay because that technically is a cost associated with public funds. is holding a special meeting to talk about the issue where the majority of the governing body has already stated
their favor and is likely to state their favor at that meeting again. Is that an unlawful expenditure of public funds? I think there's a whole lot of gray there. And I just think the information's out there. The public's been made aware of it. It has not been secret that the
public expenditure was made. It's not a large amount of money in the scheme of what acquisition we're talking about and what special election costs we're talking about. Um the committee asked me the issue and I gave the best
answer I could under the circumstances. If there is fault in the conclusion, I accept the fault. So that's where we stand on the issue. But there's nothing in the law that specifically says that because there in in the absence of something.
Yeah. I mean, so there's an analysis I did. Basically, I in the schoolboard context, there are specific limitations. There are no such similar limitations in this very brief statute about the petition process that we're operating
under here. That petition law is too brief in my opinion. It leaves a lot of work for the clerk and I to do to try and make sure this process is fair as possible. But when you don't have when you when the legislature says something here and then doesn't say it here, there's analysis that says under the
rules of statutory construction, there's meaning to that. If the legislature intended the same restrictions, they would have put the same restrictions. Um, I also looked at case law. Again, there's there's um federal case law out of uh Ohio, but it's at the federal level that has very good language that I
think is very logical that talks about, you know, again, the sort of the issue that I'm talking about where a governing body has stated a policy. That policy is now going to be before the voters to suggest that just because it's now in a petition process and and let me just add
one thing. Some larger municipalities have in-house public relations people. They may call them an information officer or something like that. A lot of what they do is public relations. They are selling programs, things that the town is doing. I don't think that the
mere fact that a petition has been filed now changes everything and the municipality is handcuffed to be able to express its viewpoint. And let me add regarding the public relations officer, we could have hired a public relations uh team to handle this
if we wanted to. Um but we didn't. We took on the time and the effort on our own to put together all that material uh hours and hours actually of our own time so that we wouldn't acrue that cost because none of us are happy that we have to spend $50 to $70,000 now for a
special election which speaking of special election couldn't wait until the November election because criterion um wasn't wasn't they weren't even going to entertain that at that point it was going to be over a year and they weren't even willing to entertain that. they were already losing money by not having a tenant, by not having tax by paying
taxes and expenses. So, I mean, if you were under contract to buy a house and the buyer said, "Can you wait another month?" You would ask for them to pay you for your expenses that month, right? They shouldn't be asked to just hang on for another couple months and not be compensated for it. So, it was either pay for this special election or pay
criterion to extend the contract. So, either way, right? And I'll just add to that, the problem with the pay pay them is we can't pay We can't pay them. Exactly. We'd have to go back to adopt a new bond ordinance on an increased price, which just puts us in a circular issue that doesn't we can never get out of.
So, at that point, the deal would have been dead, which I'm sure the petitioners would have, you know, been happy with that, but that's not what the majority of us wanted. Um, there was another comment by Mr. Carter about why Fern wasn't able to utilize public funds for for his vote no campaign. Could you
just kind of speak to that? Well, I think the governing body has stated its policy as a majority. I've said this for many years and uh I wish Mr. Templeton were here. I don't see him in the audience, but he he says this back to me sometimes is, you know, the the the reality of what
we're dealing with and sometimes it's 50 up here. Sometimes it's 32 and it and you know trying to I I remember when we did the whole sidewalk ordinance, we're we're we're we're trying to find consensus. Where the consensus lies is
the direction we take, right? So that is the consensus of the township governing body at this time is that they want to see the bond ordinance referendum passed. That has been the stated principle. So there has been no
authorization or to my knowledge even a request for funding on vote no signs. Nope. Nothing that I know of. Um I think a good example of the consensus was the mansion. Um when we were not in a
position to keep it, we had a buyer um Grapevine who um offered to purchase it and they had a plan to renovate the mansion, 27 senior apartments, age
restricted and um the town houses and to renovate the um the uh carriage house. And um the consensus of the township committee was originally two to three.
Joan Hinkle and I in favor. Um Ferno led against Mike Templeton against and Ed Deini against who Ed finally changed his vote to yes. So we were able to sell the mansion because of Ed Deainy, not because of Fern Olette or Mike
Templeton. So, thank you, Ed, for that because because of you, we were able to sell the mansion and have a jewel and keep the waterfront property, which is now a jewel, another jewel in Deleno. So, that to me, that was a consensus of
the township committee at that time. Um, and yeah, I think there's a lot of um, well, I know there's a lot of misinformation out there, but one of the one of the things that we seem to be um, you know, getting called out about is this tiny subcommittee of two people. Well,
there's five of us up here. If there was three of us on a subcommittee, that's a quorum and that's a majority. And that's not what a subcommittee is. When you have five people, you can only have two. So, that's why Kate and I were a subcommittee. That's the definition of a subcommittee when you have five. um that we approached Criterion and we did this
behind closed doors and it was secretive. Well, Kate and I didn't weren't the first ones to approach Criterion. Mike Templeton approached Criterion the night of their hearing and said, "What's it going to take to make this go away and contacted people and got the ball
rolling before we did?" So, it wasn't our idea. So, it it was I think everybody had it in the back of their mind. I'm I'm just making assumptions here that it's probably not the best place for a truck repair facility. What can we do? And that's when we came up with it. I mean, we weren't happy that we were being
sued. We wanted something better for our town and that's how we got to this point. And we all agreed in February when all five of us voted yes to sign the contract. Nothing was done. There was no set in stone. Things weren't done at that point. We didn't even sign a
contract yet. Had we talked about negotiations? Was there a verbal agreement? Yes. But that there was no ink signed. So when we all voted yes, we thought, great, we're moving forward. We're going to spend the money now to to do our environmental testing and to do
our due diligence and work with a title company. But then when we had to pay for it, all hell broke loose and and that's how we got to this point. So you can't sign a contract and not pay for it. So that's kind of how we got in this big mess that
we're in. um because we went off the rails somewhere. But there's a lot of misinformation being shared about us, being, you know, not transparent, you know, attacking us for for trying to be shady. And we're not at all. We've done everything by the letter of the law, whether you agree
with it or not. Um we've had the public hearings as necessary for the ordinances and resolutions. And because, you know, we didn't post it on Facebook, we're being shady. Well, we post on our meetings are online like I you know YouTube. We post on our website Delanco
Township's Facebook page post all of our information. We don't have to do a public campaign every time we pass an ordinance. And that's all this is. It's buying a property and and passing an ordinance. So, it's been a very rough couple months for us dealing with this. None of us asked for this and we've been put on the defense and personally
attacked uh on a daily basis and it's uh it's been very um very stressful for us and we're only trying to do what's best for this town and that's how we got to this point. So whether you agree with it or not, just remember we're still citizens of this town and we are humans. So please treat us with the dignity and
respect. We're hardworking up here and we're just trying to do what's best for this town. So that's all I have to say. So anything else on the agenda tonight? Yes. Let's move on to our public comment. No, I closed that. Did you? Okay, good. Yeah. So, um our discussion items. So,
uh we have the continued discussion um to allow the parking on Delaware Avenue for the township events at the waterfront park, historic waterfront park. So, we talked about this briefly um at the last meeting. Excuse me, I'm just getting over a cold.
We want to allow parking on Delaware Avenue for the events, the three concerts, the two concerts and the waterfront park opening on Saturday. Um I we had talked about maybe just allowing handicap parking or accessible parking. Um after thinking about it
more, I I think it's best that we just allow parking but do it on one side only. Um for that for those events for the two blocks between Union and what's the other street? Union to Willow. Hazel. Will H. Is it Hazel?
Which way are we going? We're going the other way. Towards my house. Towards your That's Hazel. Yeah, Hazel. So, the two blocks from Union to Hazel um allow parking on one side that would be handled by recreation. They would open the parking up um have the accessible parking in the beginning.
Once they fill that, it would then be closed off to anybody. Um that would be like once the parking is filled, we would close that off to public access. Right. Correct. And then it would stay closed off. So we wouldn't just like if one car leaves, we would allow another one in. It would just be closed off. Period.
And what side? Well, we have to go with the flow of traffic, right? So whatever. We'll figure out the logistics of where they come in, but I would think they would come in from Hazel to keep people off of Union where people are going to be walking. Does that make sense, Phil? Makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. So come in from Hazel, park on the
Riverside on the right hand side, fill up those two blocks, close it off, and be done with it. This way people can walk on Delaware Avenue. that's not a pedestrian hazard. And then when they leave, the barriers will be taken off and there'll be barriers at every street end. So no cars will be coming down those two blocks. Does that make sense
to you? Makes sense. Just for those events. Just for those three events from the same thing we do for the carriage. It's Yeah. Same thing. Okay. And you'll have an officer there too, right? Of course. Yeah. Good. And um the time on Saturday is 5:30 to
8. So we would start closing the street um at that time. We'll we'll handle it with public works and then um we'll adjust the times for the additional concerts. Yeah. Um anyone else have any feedback? Just a question. Sure. So I understand. Uh so they're coming
down Hazel and then they would make a left onto Delaware and park on That's what they want. Yeah. They would make a left onto Delaware Avenue to go towards exit. They'd be exiting out Union. Correct. Yes. Or or want it. I mean, because it's over. Yeah. Wherever they're Wherever they're
closest to. Yeah. I mean, nothing. I'm I would imagine when it's over, we're gonna remove the barricades. They're gonna Yeah, they're gonna remove the bar. They can continue all the way down Delaware to Willow or wherever. Yeah. Once it's open, it's open. Yep. Anyone else? Phil,
are we setting up the food trucks out front of the mansion? Yeah, the mansion regardless of parking was closed anyway, that block. So, the food truck will be there as well as the bouncy house. So, it'll be closed from Willow all the way down to Hazel. And they're going to be right in the street then.
And public facilities, uh, portaotties. Yeah. Two of them. Okay. Thank you. They'll be delivered on Friday. One accessible and one regular. Matt. Well, as long as the chief uh thinks from a public safety standpoint, we're good. I'm not concerned.
Barricades and I have guys out there director patrol as well as I'm going to have someone assign number one. Um, but the officers that are working will be available as well. Just let the EMS know that we're having the event as well. Yeah, I'll reach out to them tomorrow. Yeah, I I do like the the fact that the
accessible parking will be up at the front. That's important. Yep. And we'll coordinate that with recreation volunteers. Okay, good. Okay, moving on to the proposed ordinance to amend chapter 216 of our code to prohibit the fishing
activities at historic Waterfront Park. Um, so the um the park is not going to be uh permitted to have any fishing access there. So we just need to amend our code to reflect that. There is fishing at I believe seven or eight street ends currently at um Delaware
Avenue that people can utilize, continue to utilize for fishing as well as the creek access, but um historic waterfront park is not set up right now. It was not designed to be a a fishing access for the public. Um we have railings there. We have very narrow walkways. It's more
designed for a passive park. Um, you know, accessible for families and, you know, walkers to to utilize. So, we're not going to allow fishing there. So, we just have to amend our code. Um, we have a draft ordinance that Janice and Doug worked on today.
Is that in here, Janice? Yes. Okay. Here we go. the end. So, basically, it's just stating um historic waterfront park um any you any activity requiring use of
bait, fishing hooks, string, lures, traps, or other equipment for fishing is prohibited unless otherwise permitted by the governing body on a case-byase basis for limited events. Um and it doesn't change anything else with regards to any of the other locations.
Anybody want to add anything? Just in the second whereas I would change gazebo to pavilion. Sure. Pavilion. Um and this would be section two chapters 216
section one. If no one has anything to add, can we introduce this? And what number would it be? 10. Okay. Can I get a a motion to introduce ordinance 2025-10 amending the township
code 216 governing park regulations to add the fishing regul regulation for historic waterfront park? I'll make a motion and set public hearing for Yes. Yes. And we would set public hearing for August 11th at 7 p.m. So it's amending township code of
chapter 216 governing park regulations regulation for historic waterfront park 2025-10. First reading by title only public hearing August 11th at 7:00 p.m.
Yes. And who made the motion? Phil. Second. I'll second it. Yep, that's me. And then roll call, please.
Mr. Bartlett? Yes. Mrs. Patrick? Yes. Mr. McFab? Yes. Mr. Olap? Yes. Mus. Yes. Thank you. Anybody have anything else they want to add? Motion to adjurnn, please. Tim moved.
Okay. Kate and Matt. All in favor? Hi. Hi. Hi. Good night. Thank you. Thank you. Before it starts raining. Yeah. I'm shaking. Yeah. Shaking.