[music] [music] ready. Good evening. I'd like to call this reorganiz reorganization meeting for the township of Edison to order. Uh can we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Madame clerk, roll call, please. >> Council member Brusher, >> here.
>> Council member Coyle, >> here. >> Council member Dimma, >> here. >> Council member Kentos, >> here. >> Council member Patel, >> present. >> Council member Patiel, >> here. >> Council member >> here. Thank you. Uh madam clerk adequate notice >> adequate notice of this meeting as required by the open public meeting act
of 1975 has been provided by the annual notice sent to the home news tribune star ledger and desi talk on November 17th 2025 and post main lobby mal complex on that same date. >> Uh yeah um for uh for the audience's knowledge uh there is a second public
notice that's on the agenda uh beginning March 1st of this year. Uh public notices by law will be done electronically on the township website. All right. Uh moving on. Uh we have we need nominations to uh for the position
of president for the council for 2026. Do we have any nominations? >> Yes. Um I would like to nominate my good friend Councilman Joe Coyle for council president. Um he's my good friend for many years and I believe if elected as a
council president today, Councilman Coyle would have will serve as a very good leader for this council and we would have a wonderful year. So I nominate Councilman Joe Coyle. >> Thank you. Do we have a second? >> Oh god. >> Happy to second my
>> You want to do a friend on the council? Joy. [laughter] >> He's a senior member. All right. He's a senior member. >> Do we have any other nominations? >> All right. Uh, seeing none, uh, we we'll motion to close the nominations. Can we get a roll call, uh, for Councilman
Coyle? >> Council member Brusher. >> Yes. >> Council member Cole, >> yes. >> Council, I couldn't hear you. >> Council member Dimma. >> Yes. >> Council member Patel. >> Yes. >> Council member Patil. >> Yes.
>> Council member Shuel. >> Yes. >> Rob, >> I said Kentos. Oh, I'm sorry. >> Let's go for it now. >> Yes. Council, [laughter] >> we're through. Uh the with that uh Council President Coyle, congratulations.
>> Thank you. [clears throat] Congratulations. [applause] >> We do. We're going to swear you in. >> You want to go front? >> Sure. >> Oh, thank you so much. >> Okay. Okay. [clears throat]
>> I state your name. >> Joe Coyle. >> Do solemnly swear or affirm. Do you swallow me, swear, or affirm >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that will 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 >> I will bear true faith >> and allegiance to the same. and allegiance to the same >> and to the governments established in the United States >> to the governments established in the United States >> and in this state >> in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people >> and that I will faithfully >> I faithfully
>> impartially >> impartially >> and justly >> and justly >> perform all duties of council president >> perform all duties of council president >> for the township of Edison >> for the township of Edison >> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability >> congratulations sir >> thank you [applause]
Uh yeah, >> there you go. [clears throat] >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. [clears throat] >> Good evening everyone. Uh thank you. I just first want to thank my council colleagues for entrusting me in this
honor to lead us council president. not only um for this leadership role uh but also for the residents and for uh leading the sixth largest municipality in the state of New Jersey. As I [clears throat] mentioned to a lot of my colleagues here, we're not just council
members representing Edison, we're also representing the county in the state of New Jersey as one of the largest towns in the state. And I I'm truly honored to have this position and um it's really humbling that uh this discussion was easily uh held and uh this nomination
came through. I don't ever expect things to run perfect and I understand how things change and I and I have to thank my colleagues who may have vowed to not be council president when they could have or should have and thank you for that honor and I know that you could have served just as well as I. But I I
do want to also [clears throat] thank the you know the public and those who come here every day. But I also want to talk about the people who don't come here every day. And we hope that you reach out to each one of us. And I want to leave my email with you at jcoy
edison jcoyenj.org. That's jcoy@edisonenj.org. I hope you plan to participate. Uh who comes to these meetings matters and what they say matters. However, if you have a opinion the same or indifferent or have something to add, it matters and we are
talking to you and those who are watching this as well. So, certainly reach out and anyone on the council, their emails are posted, you can also reach them uh too. I also want to make a small shout out to my good friend Bri uh Brandon Higgins [clears throat] who watches these meetings faithfully as a
resident and uh thank you for watching these meetings all the time. uh he's a young resident but cares about Edison and I just want to uh let you know how much it means to him to mention his name. Um uh most of you all you value each other's opinion and I'm looking
forward to leading this council together uh as a team. Uh this takes a lot of different patience with each one of us at different times to not just leave the council. I meant to put on my timer but uh you should have put the timer on four minutes for me real quick. Um, but
knowing how to work together and lead this town and listen to the uh members who come here from the residents, but also understand the the big vision to make sure we move this town forward. Um, I I've been working with this town for 30 years. Cheryl has known me for close to 30 years. I'm much older than her.
But >> [laughter] >> um the fact of the matter is is we have seen a lot of different leadership here, many different mayors and each mayor and each council has led this town to the place we are today. Uh you know, I want to thank our outgoing council members,
including our council president, Margot Harris, who's in the audience here today. You know, we may not have always agreed, but if you really think about it, we didn't agree on 2% of what happened in Edison. And when I look back, I only hope, you know, I miss them, you know,
as we move our agendas forward as well, because we got a lot done. We took care of 32 parks. We built a splash park. We built a turf stadium. We improved uh so many things in Edison and a lot to talk about. I can go on with that list. The mayor posted it, but all of you here did that. You have a lot to talk about. that
is legacy projects. When you look at the small things that came to the podium that I may not have agreed with and some of you here know I may not agree that didn't come close to what we got done. So, thank you Council uh President Marggo Harris for your leadership as well. But I hope that each one of you
also pay close attention to the big projects and making a big difference and that you put your decision on moving this town forward. Uh thank you coun Thank you madam clerk. Thank you counselor and thank you council members. [snorts] call for [applause]
>> I was waiting for my clap. I'm sorry. >> Okay, just kidding. Okay, I just want to move forward. Our next item on the agenda is to nominate uh for council vice president. So, I'll ask our council members uh to nominate someone for council president. >> Council vice president.
>> Council president, it's my honor to nominate Councilman Rob Kentos for the position of vice president. He's the historian, the voice of South Edison. I have seen him. He he deeply cares about the Edison residents and I think, you
know, he's going to bring a lot to this council das. And again, I would like to nominate him for the vice president. >> Thank you, council. You have a second. >> I second. >> Okay. Uh we're going to close the nominations for council vice president. All in favor say I. I.
>> I. I. >> Madam clerk, roll call. Council member Brusher. >> Yes. >> Council member Dimma. >> Yes. >> Council member Kentos. >> Yes. >> Council member Patel. >> Yes. For my very good friend Kentos. >> And Council Member Patil. >> Yes. >> Council member.
>> Yes. >> Council President Coyle. >> Yes. [applause] >> And you have someone to hold the Bible. The clerk is fine. Okay. [cough] Yeah. [clears throat] I got you. [clears throat]
>> [clears throat] >> Okay, [clears throat] >> we just did this yesterday, right? >> Yes, absolutely. [laughter] >> I state your name. >> I, Robert John Kentos. Do you solemnly swear or affirm >> Do solemnly swear or affirm >> that I will 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 >> the [clears throat] Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> that I will bear true faith >> that I will bear true faith >> and allegiance to the same. allegiance to the same >> and to the governments established in the United States >> the governments established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people
>> under the authority of the people >> and that I will faithfully >> that I will faithfully >> impartially >> impartially >> and justly >> and justly >> perform all duties of council vice president >> perform all duties of council vice president >> for the township of Edison >> for the township of Edison >> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability
>> congratulations sir >> thank Congratulations. [applause] [clears throat] >> Okay, so that's done. >> Thank you, council members. Council Vice President, do you have a statement? >> I do. First, I'm I'm honored and humbled to have been elected to council and to
council vice president. Um, I really didn't get to thank a lot of people at the swearing in, and I'm going to use this opportunity now to to thank the members here and and the public as well. I want to thank my family and friends who supported me through these past two elections. It wasn't easy. The road was
long and bumpy. I truly thank them for their support. And I want to give a a big thank you to my fifth generation friend for his unconditional support throughout this whole um election cycle. I want to thank Mayor [clears throat] Sam Joshy for supporting me this election cycle. It's not easy to include
one of your bus biggest critics um on your team and welcome them with open arms. So I want to thank the mayor for that. Um I would like to I want to thank Councilman AJ Patil for nominating me. I'm truly grateful. But before I do that, I want to thank Councilman O Assaf
Schmool for recognizing and appreciating my enthusiasm to be vice president, especially during this historic year of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Without his support, I would not be VP today. So, I truly thank him for that. I think that deserves a round of
applause. [applause] Um, [clears throat] again, a a very heartfelt thank you to uh, Councilman AJ Patil for nominating me and standing by me during this election and constantly checking in. I also want to thank Councilman Patiel for convincing me to screen for the endorsement this past year. Without his push, I would not be
here. Um, I want to thank Councilman Richer for all the help over the years. Um he's been a true friend and um I think uh one thing I want to mention is Rich has always been a good friend to me and what I really like about Rich is you
always know where you stand with him. >> And I think I I've always wanted to say that at the podium up here. You know, Rich Brusher, you always know where you stand with him. Whether he loves you today or hates you today, he knows where you stand with him. Thank you, Rich, for all your help over the years. [applause]
I I want to thank Councilman Joe Coyle for his support on this journey as well. And I congratulate him on his term for president. I was I I was really happy to support Joe. I told him right away that I would support him for president. I thought he'd be a perfect president for this year.
Um to Councilman to Councilwoman Dimma and Councilwoman and Councilman Patel, thank you for all your support during the campaigns. I truly appreciate the time we spent together campaigning and the hard work we put in. and now I look forward to working with you up here. So, thank you both of you. Thank you,
Bureau. Um, finally, most importantly, I actually before that, another another warm thank you to former council uh Councilwoman and Council President Margot Harris for her unwavering support over the past year and her commitment to
making Councilman Kentos a reality. She put in long hours and long hours, let's just put it that way. and it it it's been a battle sometimes. Um, [applause] finally, and most importantly, a huge thank you to the public, the residents
of this great town, for who I am accountable to. I truly appreciate the opportunity to serve you. As many of you know, my family has been in Edison since the beginning, and I remain dedicated and steadfast to serving you and carrying on the legacy and making the town thrive. If anyone has any concerns
or questions, feel please feel free to reach out to me at my township email or at robertkentos.com. Again, I will truly answer your questions. If you need to contact me, again, the township website or right on robertkentos.com. Thank you so much. Thank you [clears throat] to everyone
here tonight. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you, Council President. Council Vice President, I'm so used to saying council president. It's like [laughter] it's going to be a while. Rich, I'll always call you councilman. >> And I better thank my family who's watching real quick. I'm glad I didn't
have to follow Council Vice President Kentos. You did a great job in your speech. Very meaningful. And thank you for spotlighting our dear friend and council member Assafu. Uh because you've been here long enough, you could have taken this opportunity to be council vice president. And you called me on the
phone. You said, "Joe, this guy's excited and how do I how do I stop this?" You know, let let him I I want to let him do it. let him do it. >> And um we haven't felt that excitement in a while. And I I'm also happy that he'll lead the committee for the 250th year. Uh which will be a lot of work and
uh less on my plate. But uh congratulations taking that role. We appreciate that. But I thank my family and my son who's watching and my daughter-in-law, my grandkids who never get a chance to come here. So thank you for watching. Uh even though it's on YouTube, it works. Uh moving forward
with the agenda. Um council president >> did any council comments? >> Just Yes. just one. Um, >> you're going to have to get a recording because I don't think we're live on the TV. >> Yeah, I think there's an issue with the the [clears throat] live TV. >> So, our families have been, you know,
watching this last moment. It didn't [laughter] happen. We could have waited. We could wait. >> We're having an issue with actual broadcast, but you'll get the recording, >> right? You can get the recording of it. >> So, it's going to recording now. >> Okay. So, it's going to start from the beginning. Kent wrote that speech for
[laughter] a couple days before. >> Hey, I thank the mayor defeat the mayor. >> All right. Well, I'm sorry about that, but that will be the best we can do. You can I think you can rewind back, can't you? Push back on it. Okay. Any case, >> watch it.
>> You can also watch it after the meeting. Okay. So, we're going to move forward in the agenda. Do a motion. We're going to do the motion to amend the consent agenda uh to adding these three resolutions for reappointments to the members of the zoning board. R8, Daniel Gorman, Daniel
Gorman, R99, Douglas Schneider, and R10 Johnny. Have a motion to amend the consent agenda adding these three resolutions. [clears throat] >> Motion to amend the consent agenda. >> Have a second. >> Second. >> Second. Motion by AJ Patil and second by
Patel. Council member Brusher, >> yes. >> Council member Dimma, >> yes. >> Council member Kentos, >> yes. >> Council member Patel, >> yes. >> Council member Patiel, >> yes. >> Council member, >> yes. >> Council President Coyle, >> yes.
>> Now you got open. >> We just did that. vote after we get to here. Now you're going to open the public for public comments. Okay. >> Okay. I just want to right now this time we're going to open the uh open for public comments on the resolutions only.
[snorts] I'm ready for you. [clears throat] >> Your name and address, please. >> Joel Bassoff, Beach Lane Edison. I have questions about resolution 003, the temporary budget. Um, how that works. Um, so for example, if the mayor's
salary is now $198,000 a year, [clears throat] uh, according to the temporary budget, the allocations are supposed to be not more than 26 and a4% of the total annual budget. But, um, the
temporary budget allocates, uh, $75,000 to the mayor's salary. Um, 26 and a4% would be less than 52,000. And uh if the business administrator's
salary is $236,000, the temporary budget appropriates appropriates $49,500. And then going down to the bottom line, uh the the 2025 budget uh showed total
appropriations of $175.5 million. um 26 and a4% of that would be $46 million, but the temporary budget shows uh an appropriation of $57 million. So,
um I just need a tutorial on on how that works [clears throat] and and why it it seems like we're appropriating more for the temporary budget than the statute allows. [clears throat] >> Uh you have more time. Do you have any more questions? >> Nope, that's it.
>> That's it. Sonia, do you want to >> Sure. Uh, so the temporary budget uh is for the entire township. So that's the entire budget. So it allocates 26.25% by statute. So that covers the entire municipal operations includes salary and
other expenses. So that is inclusive of everything, >> right? But I was comparing the bottom line on each the bottom line on the municipal budget for [clears throat] 2025 uh versus the bottom line for the temporary budget. And it looks [clears throat] like um the temporary
budget is is way over 2016. >> Mr. Bass, >> other words, >> just just point of order if you can direct the questions to me. I I you know, I have a lot of respect for you. >> Just what what is your next question? Um well because the the temporary budget the bottom line is $57 million but the
um 2025 uh budget uh 26 and a4% of that would have been only 46 million. So I I just uh don't understand uh how that works. C >> councelor do you want to do you want to continue? Can I pass it to counselor or do you want to continue? Any other
questions to answer? Uh, no. I I not quite following um his [clears throat] interpretation necessarily other than that the 26.25 is of the 2025 municipal budget. >> That's your answer, >> right? Uh okay. Well, I I I just note it
it doesn't look like it adds up, but um if that's the answer, that's it. [clears throat] Okay. Thanks. >> Thank you, Mr. Passoff. Anyone any other residents? [clears throat and cough] I'll take a look at that one.
>> Good evening, Council President Benz from Edison. To the chair, to the business administration, can you explain the cash management for the resol uh for the resolution for one? >> You have more time. Do you have questions? Can you repeat that just
again, please? >> Resolution 001 for the cash management to the chair to the business administration. Can you explain that? What is that for? [clears throat] to a business administrator. Would you like to answer that question? >> Sure. So, the cash management plan is
our internal plan that um allows us to uh work through our deposits, our investments and it is a stat statutory requirement that we adopt an annual plan >> is that was given to the state to the chair to the business administration.
Uh I'm not following given to >> so the cash management where is that coming from from the state or >> it's a straight state requirement that we that we adopt a cash management plan. >> Okay. I have no other uh questions for the administration or the chair. I back my time.
>> Any other residents like to speak on the resolutions only hearing? None. >> Motion to close the public portion. >> I never thought I'd hear that. >> Uh can I have a second? >> Second. He's taking my Rich, you just be the
sick. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. I. [clears throat] >> Light comedy on that one. But um thank you. Um moving forward, could we have a motion to adopt the consent agenda? >> Motion to adopt the consent agenda.
>> We're pulling. >> Second. Sorry, one second. I got to back off. Maybe pulling something here. >> [clears throat] >> First I have to ask our council members any anything pull from the agenda >> for a separate vote >> for a separate vote.
>> See none. >> Seeing none. >> Now >> seeing none have a motion to adopt the consent agenda. >> Motion to adopt the consent agenda. >> Second. AJ Assaf. [clears throat] >> Roll call. >> Council member Brusher. >> Yes. >> Council member Dimma.
>> Yes. >> Council member Kentos. >> Yes. >> Council member Patel. >> Yes. Council member Patil. >> Yes. >> Council memberuel. >> Yes. >> Council President Coyle. >> Yes. [clears throat] >> You want petition remarks? >> And we have public comic oral petition
remarks. Council uh President Marggo Harris. [clears throat] >> Hi, [laughter] Marggo Harris. >> Excuse me. Point of order and name and address, please. I I was getting there. 43 Oak Hills Road, Edison. Um my first
my first part of my agenda in public comments, and I'm going to get to see how these four minutes work. Um is the egregious mistake I made in my closing remarks at the last meeting. and all the people that I was thanking for their
service, all of the departments and all of that. I was horrified at the end when I'm we're all done, the meetings adjourned, and then all of a sudden I turned to see Cheryl and it was like, "Oh my god, I forgot to thank the
clerks. I forgot to thank Cheryl and Marina and um and all the work that you do which is is so is so much appreciated and uh you're you're slammed. You are slammed all the time and you do it you
you have you served this council so well. You serve the public very well and I can't thank you enough. And so even though this is late, even though this is belated, just know that the the conviction that goes along with it and
my heart that goes along with it is just as strong as it would have been on that last C council meeting. So, thank you so much for that. I also made the mistake of not recognizing the Department of Recreation who does such a great job in putting on the growing number of events
that we now have in this town. and uh they do such a a great job. So I wanted to clear up those mistakes first and foremost. Rest of my agenda is just to number one welcome the new council members. So Kelly and Rob and Bureau, I
know all of you. I've known all of you for a long time and so it's a pleasure to see you up there. I know you're going to do a good job. And Kelly, come on. You got to carry it on for the women. You [laughter] it's the you're the you're the woman on there. And [clears throat] so you got to carry carry on the tradition. Um hopefully
we'll get some more up there one of these days soon. But uh I'm really happy that you're there. I know you're going to do a great job for the town. Um lastly, I wanted to congratulate newly sworn in council president Joe Coyle,
who we had the honor of supporting my first year on council, and council vice president Rob Kento. So, I want to say to you, Joe, I was very pleased by what you had to say in your remarks because you actually addressed something that has been a concern of mine and that is
in terms of the public and the way that you treat the public and listen to the public and it sounds like you get it. It sounds like you get it now and that you have respect for the people who do attend these meetings or who do watch on YouTube and I appreciate that and I hope
that that continues to that that that is borne out as your term continues. And Rob, uh, Councilman Kentos, I want to say to you, I think Council Vice President Kentos, I want to say to you, you're the perfect person for this position. You you have so much knowledge
of the history. I I know you're going to dig your you're going to dig in your heels in deeply and you're going to be a great a it's going to be a great partnership not only with council president Coyle but with the entire council. So I want to thank you welcome
you all congratulate you. One last question through the chair to the business administrator. Any news on the Fonte House? [clears throat] >> Council President, we are working on a list of uh items to address in the Fonte
House is on there. So, we are working with our DPW meeting this week to discuss exactly what what the action plan is for continuing the construction. Uh we want to make sure again all of the environmental um issues are being addressed. Uh which we think they will.
uh we just need to go ahead and have a plan with our staff as far as um what and our events too. We are talking about what to do with the building. So that go hand in hand. [clears throat] >> Thank you very much.
>> Okay. Thank you Mr. Bassoff. Bass off Beach Lane. So, I had to leave the last council meeting early. Um, so I'd like to use this time for remarks about the council members whose terms ended last month. Uh, regarding Nish
Patel, he always maintained a calm demeanor and no matter how much invective was hurled against him, he never lost his temper or raised his voice. And if you go around Edison, you see we have a network of bicycle paths and that's because of Councilman Nish
Patel's advocacy. Uh, as for John Pointer, uh, no one was more meticulously prepared for a council meeting. Uh, he read everything that came before the council. Uh, and he thoroughly researched every issue. Uh, and Edison now has a billboard ordinance
that reflects the 21st century technology of digital billboards. And that's thanks to Councilman Pointer's meticulous research, his hard work, and his advocacy. Uh, as for Margot Harris,
she always treated the public with the utmost respect and caring. And under council person, council member Harris's presidency, uh, every member of the public felt like they were really being listened to. [clears throat] And council
member Harris was a a vigorous advocate and champion of the animal shelter. Uh because of her relentless proddding, the shelter was cleaned up and professionalized. And thanks to Council Member Harris, Edison has a full-fledged arts
commission. And Edison [clears throat] is part of the Middle Sex County Jazz Festival. So, I hope that Nish, John, and Margot will continue to come to council meetings. Uh they still have a lot to offer on this side of the podium.
And as for the new council members, uh I hope that you'll reflect the qualities of your predecessors, um do your homework. Uh research the issues and the agenda items thoroughly. Uh maintain a
calm demeanor. Uh show respect to the public and to each other. Uh identify a problem, take ownership of it, and and work to fix it so that you can point to something for your own legacy as a council member. Um, so, uh, I
congratulate the, uh, new council members. Uh, I'm very hopeful that you'll bring good things to Edison and I'm very grateful for the good things that the council members who completed their terms have done for Edison. And of course, thank you to the wonderful uh,
Edison Township employees for keeping the township running and keeping this a great place to live. Thanks. >> Thank you. Anybody else from the public? Dr.
[clears throat] >> Dr. Nasser, Pleasant Avenue. Just want to wish everybody here a happy new year. Want to congratulate the council president uh Joe Coyle and council vice president Kentos. And I wanted to apologize to Barl. He extended an
invitation for me to um go to the ignoration yesterday. But unfortunately, well, there are a couple things there. Initially, I was going to not go because it was my 12th anniversary, but then after I got his invitation, then I felt like I should go, but unfortunately, there was a death in my wife's uh
family, so that is why we did not attend. Um, so I want to thank Councilman Lyn Patel again for the invitation. Again, I apologize that I was not able to go there. So, I wanted to give my attention to the freshman council members. Um, I'm excited to see
you guys up there and I'm looking forward to you guys doing a great job. Councilman Kentos, I'm looking forward to you doing such a great job. You always have researched and have always been somebody that I could talk to about any kind of issue and I'm sure that you'll extend that to the council and to
the public. I feel like you should have been here earlier, but it is what it is and you are here finally. Counciloman Patel, thank you for your service in the board of education, and I hope that you'll bring your knowledge to the dis over here. And councilwoman Dimma, I don't know too much about you, but I'm
sure that we will be in contact quite often as I do come to council meetings and a lot of the EDO meetings. So, I welcome all of you guys and wish you good luck. For my own education, I wanted to I asked this question at an earlier council meeting, but I'm not sure that I got the answer that made
sense to me. and maybe that would be going to the lawyer perhaps. It was about committees because you guys will decide soon who is going to be serving on committees. So my questions are is it a suggestion or requirement for council members to go to these committees or to
be asked to attend committees? How do you select which council person attends which committees? And will there and this is the important one because I've been going to library board meetings and we've heard what has happened there. Will we be appointing anyone as the
library council liaison? And I will talk about other concerns at another meeting. This is a celebration event, but I do have concerns still about safety, sidewalks, and I do think that we do need a public advocate. That's it. >> You can ask about sidewalks. You have
another minute. >> I'm going to ask that another time, but I just want to know about the the committees. Um, [clears throat] how do you guys >> Well, it's early on the committee decision today, but in the past and what I'll carry forward is that each council member will receive a list of committees
they can select to be on. We gather that together and we make a decision well council president makes a decision on which one they will be on. So that that that is it. And for library, we try to match them according to what they're, you know, they're good at. If they've been in education, we try to pick an
educator. I mean, we do a a fair balance and I do speak to some of my colleagues. Each one does call me as well. And this has been different for each member of the council. Uh I think, you know, council president Harris has been very open with us what we wanted to pick, but I picked I got. Um and I think that's
kind of how it's laid out. Uh now whether it's mandatory or not to be at a meeting, I I couldn't answer that. Councelor, do you have a liaison? [clears throat] without having a specific committee in front of me to review to see what the rules and regulations were. Uh my answer is going to be and I apologize this it's
kind of a lawyer answer. It's it's it depends. Um but typically as a liaison you're just there to monitor to participate to offer some insight but you're not a voting member of that body. So your requirement for a quorum for example isn't a requirement. Um but
again it's without having a specific >> for instance [clears throat] I'm looking at my time. Sorry. like the planning board, I believe that is a voting member and some other ones too. Are those requirements or suggestions that the council member should be there? So, part of the job is what I'm asking. >> I I know that you're running out of time and there's some specifics. If after the meeting, if you want to just give me a
list, I'm happy to go back and take a look at that and then I can report back to you on that issue at the next meeting. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any other members of the public? M Miss Conway, Elizabeth Conway, 20 Netherwood Circle.
Since this is the first meeting of the year, there's not much on the agenda. So tonight, if you notice, people have been holding to their four minutes, but I will continue to request that that be changed back to six minutes because as
the agendas become more fulfilling, uh questions will come up. So I ask that this be reconsidered and I'll ask next month and month after. Okay. I'd like to congratulate everyone that's on the 2026
council and hopefully you'll vote your mind and we'll make good decisions for Edison. Talking about committees, yes, Octar asked about a liaison to the committee from the council which I
personally feel is important because they are our voice back to the council for different commissions and committees. But at this time, if you look at the list of the committees, many of them are not full. I'm part this my
final year of being on the human relations committee. And with looking at the lists, many of the committees are not filled. We're supposed to have how many? 15 people. We can have up to 15.
And we don't. And if we had a a a liaison, maybe they would be able to support us a little more to get the mayor to appoint more people to the committees. We feel we would be a little more vibrant if we had uh a full committee plus an ear to one of the
council members on uh at least a regular basis. We don't have all the meetings here, some of them on Zoom, so it might be a little more uh easy for them to come. So, if that could be looked into to see what committees need to be
filled, I know I've um applied to numerous committees over the years, and after two years, I get a phone call. Okay, your two years is up. Did you want to apply some more? And I do, but that doesn't mean I'm I've got on one committee in all these years. I'm still
waiting to hear about the latest one, the advisory committee and supposedly not enough people have applied, but I think if we advertise it a little more, maybe we can get more people to step up. Um, a known thing that goes on in town
is the congestion of the roads and I live off of Inman Avenue and that is very busy. But now I'd like to ask about there's a company up in our area of town. I don't know if they're anywhere else. It's some kind of water mane
company and they've been doing some kind of work, but the congestion was bad before and now it's even worse. uh closing off the roads and having one lane to go two ways [clears throat] uh has really turned into uh a problem
and I'm looking forward to them going to a different part of town to be honest with you. I'm not sure of what they do. Um but if they're doing something positive, I can't wait till they finish, but I would like to know what they're actually doing. uh I'd appreciate it and
hopefully uh with the new setup of council people I'm hoping see how everybody is looking at me and paying attention. I truly hope that that happens for the uh next 12 months. Thank you. Thank you. I'll answer some of your you
can stand up there. I'll answer some of your questions if you want to stand. You can sit down. Um, [clears throat] as far as six minutes, uh, I'll share that with the council and that's something they can melt on throughout the year and discuss. As you know, I don't support that, so I don't have to disagree with you. I I I
respectfully disagree. Um, as far as the committees, um, we've been looking at this uh, committees for a while. We have some we're going to be removed. At the last meeting, council president uh took our initiative to table it because there are many committees that may not be
filled but are filled or there for a different purpose of ordinance and structure to apply for grants. So that you know as we can apply for a grant we need a committee for that. So it may or may not need to be filled, but it needs to be available by ordinance. And and and if you look at how well written some
of these committees are by ordinance, that would reflect some of the reasoning and the grant application process of what that you know vision and mission statement fulfills. Um but we were are looking at them, but we don't want it to imbalance the grant opportunities as Councilman John Pointer mentioned and
council council former council president Margaret Harris. So uh and I will speak to the clerk to advertise more uh to get more people. But as you would know, Miss Conway, the evolution of volunteering is changing. You know, a big organizations are having a challenge. Uh it it's
definitely not what it was, but we certainly will continue. We have new members of the council to invite new people to get involved as well. So I I I understand. I And as far as utilities, I will uh speak to the administration and get back to you on Monday on that. I
don't know who is out there right now but just in a glacier [clears throat] discussion you know we can't control every utility and everything that happens construction is never great but there's a purpose behind infrastructure and improvements so that we can all have you know better quality of water better
pressure there could be a you know nine answers to your question I don't have that but when it comes to utilities utilities are going to cause traffic and it happens everywhere and we apologize on behalf of that happening in Edison to make it a better place but I will certainly find who it is and we'll ask them to be a little bit more um accurate
in directing traffic or get out of the way and see what peak peak times and off peak times they can work >> with my 21 seconds left. Your time is up. >> Nixel, >> your time is up. >> I stopped talking with 21 seconds left. >> But that that we we we don't continue to
yield time once you're finished with your questions. Your time runs runs out with your questions. I'm sorry. >> I had six minutes. But and as you mentioned, Miss Conway, you can always sit back and discuss with us anytime. Each member of the council is available after the meeting. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment?
Just want to get [snorts] an Anthony Damron. Uh Edison, um you just I just thought of an idea. You know, when they when they do the cameras, the the Facebook live or the YouTube live, when they zoom in on you
guys, they should have the icon would like your name, phone number, and your email address when they zoom in on you. So, the viewers could know how to contact you. Maybe that's a better way to, you know, to have uh more of a uh
response from the from the public. So, they had the technology to do that, I believe, too. So, you can look into that. Um and uh everybody's doing congratulations. So first I want to congratulate Rich Brer um taking getting a year year off uh away from uh Mr. Coil
s I'm just kidding Joe. Just kidding. Um [clears throat] >> miss me. >> I know. I know. Um but congratulations to the three of you guys. Uh um I'm sure you guys are going to be fantastic. Um, and speaking of utilities, um, is there
something does Edison [clears throat] have any to qualify for having a, uh, municipal um, what do you call that? Uh, utilities advisory board. Would we be can we do something like that here in Edison? Is that possible? Um,
and uh, to oversee some of the budgeting for for util, you know, water, sewer, stuff like that. um or [clears throat] is Edison ever had that? Um, and then the other uh point I wanted to make was over the Christmas break I had the uh opportunity to meet with a lot of
residents in uh my part over there uh in Clare Barton and a lot of parents were there when it snowed that day and they were all excited in agreement [clears throat] that if the cross if we get a crosswalk there across Wilbridge Avenue where the greenway is the kids
going to Herbert Hoover the the the the parents absolutely send their kids, you know, on their bikes utilizing the greenway to ride their bikes into Herbert Hoover. And again, I said, you know, it will help with the traffic uh on Jackson Avenue, cutting down, you know, traffic.
But, uh, and I would even go a step further. You know, you could even, just thinking out loud because Hoover has a lot of property back there, maybe give like the police department a piece of the land and, uh, if the, you know, board of ed wants to do that, have them have a little substation for like maybe their community policing. So, the bike patrol guys could ride their bikes with
the kids in the beginning to make everybody feel more comfortable uh during the warmer months. I think that's something to look into. I will send an email to Charlie tomorrow though and uh I'll try to get on that. Um I know that's a county road, but I think it just makes sense just get a lit up crosswalk crossing guard and um start
from there. So, um is there anything else? My pen ran out of ink. So, no, I think that's it. So, all right. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, congratulations, Council President. >> Yeah, I was waiting for that. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, I know. I'm just kidding. >> All right. >> You forgot to mention you called me over
the holidays, too. >> Is really >> you did. >> Oh, yes. The cross. >> Oh, that's right. That's right. I did talk to I'm hoping to be included. Anyway, make public. >> Do you want to stand up for the answers or do you want to sit down? >> No, no, I'll sit back. >> Um, as far as your municipal advisory committee, I'll discuss that with council members. Um, and we'll see what
we can do. I understand your position on that. Uh, as far as the the the greenway in Woodbridge Avenue, we did pass this to council uh to Commissioner Charlie tomorrow. It is a county road. It would take uh a different process to change anything on there. He has felt it has
met a lot of the requirements that you want. I said, "Please look at it a second time." He said he would. Not a problem. But also take into account this is a county park. So lighting is not It closes at, you know, it's it's open and then it closes at dark. So, a lot of
parks you'll see there's no lights because it closes at at dark. So, uh there could be reason behind that. I think that's all your questions. And the substation, I'll ask uh about that in the future. That's it's a long answer for a substation on that, but great great thoughts. Thank you very much. Any
other members of the public? Please come up. >> Maria Orchid, 83 Jefferson. You have four. >> Thank you. Uh, congratulations to our new members on the council. We look forward to an exciting 250th
uh, anniversary for Edison and all the wonderful things that you're going to do. Uh, again, I would recommend if we could update the official list, that would be preferable. Some dates on there are over overexpired.
uh being with the human relations commission, we look forward to more people applying. We all have uh some vacancies and we want to reach as many residents as possible. Uh for those residents, please reach out to your
seniors and your disabled through these times. We want to make sure that they're okay. A question, how's our deer population going? Uh unfortunately, sometimes we see deer carcasses on the side of the road. Many years ago, we did a count. I don't know if we keep track
[clears throat] of the deer population and what's going on in Edison. If you could check on that. Uh, our utilities sometimes their rates are really expensive. Do we have a program that would help? I know they have the utilities themselves, but maybe the
residents don't know about it. Communication in this town needs to be worked on. What kind of events are going on? There's no one place to see we're having a trick or treat or we're having something at swelles or we're having something across town. We need a central
place to know what are the events and what's going on. I scour Facebook and I try to write down on my date book so I could be as many as these events as possible. Sometimes it's a difficult thing. Thanks again for everyone and we
look forward to an exciting new year. [clears throat] Thank you. Let me just answer a few questions. Uh I'll get back to on the deer population. Last time we discussed that. That was something that was quite expensive on that, but we can relook at that with other members of the council. Uh the utility rate committee, that's
something we can look into. The high cost of utilities is definitely important. Um as far as events in the calendar, I I've been pleased with what's available on the calendar through the website, but I will reook at that again tonight if any members of the council want to look at it and discuss that. Uh next week we'll do that as
well. Anybody else from the public? Please come up sir. >> Ajin Nagaraj Raj Rajan 33 Heritage Drive Edison, New Jersey. >> Welcome. I've [clears throat] been here since 2019. So I just thought since we have new council members, I
would just come and welcome them as well. Right. Congrats to Bele Patel. Congrats to Rob Kintos. And congrats to Kelly Dema on being elected to the council. This council has been uh uh pioneering and innovative in many ways,
right? So our Edison Council is one of the councils that had Facebook live, right? And we started broadcasting live in Edison TV. So, one of the things I want to bring up that I have brought up to Mayor Lanke as well as Mayor Sam Jooshi and as well as to this uh
council, right? Edison TV is being broadcast on Optimum Cable Vision, whatever, right? So, I know you put in videos and snippets, but it would really help if you had live TV, right? Whatever we could see on um you know the cable,
right? If you can see it on YouTube, because that's the new medium. Because one of the issues that we had during Lankey's administration is you know there was no information going to the public and then what the mayor said is hey everything is on Edison TV right but
those who don't have cable most of us have cut the cord right so there's no way we could have seen it right so if you can keep that in mind right uh second issue I want to bring up is also about grow revenue okay I mean I travel
grow revenue a lot I know uh you you reduce the speed to 25 miles per hour. I don't think that's helping because enforcement is the key to make it happen. But beyond enforcement, what would work is one way, right? I mean, I had a meeting with Lisa and the community uh unit of traffic unit of the
Edison police, right? So, what they had mentioned is if you could make it one way because there are two intersections where people try to cross over on Grow MD, right? And the people who are crossing over lose their patience, right? And people coming from Grow, it's not their fault, right? And that's how accidents happen, right? If you can
consider that. And the third thing is uh I just read an article in my central Jersey, right? Uh stating that their their um the 30-year break was tax break was given to a developer who was going to develop the golf course on Inman
Avenue, right? So, you know, it is concerning because Inman is not fit to handle more traffic, right? So, if it ever comes up, if you can look into it, that'll be really awesome, right? And I really want to thank the previous council members including Margot Harris,
John Pioneer and um Poer and Nesh Patel, right? John was a great data guy. I'm [clears throat] very glad that we have uh Rob here, right? Who can pull in the data and history as well. So it's going to be awesome. And my only request to the new council members is if you can
hear the voice of us, we the people in Edison and vote accordingly that would really help, right? because that's the most important thing because again we are so proud of the democratic process here in Edison right I mean there have been so many um good things and bad
things but the population has always stood up the residents have always stood up right I mean the whole council knows it right so I just wanted to reiterate that please think about the residents and what is the opinion of the residents right because many um resolutions were brought here but then they had to be
rolled back because the residents didn't like it right so All the best to the new council and thank you for everything you do. I'm really proud to be a Edison resident because [clears throat] when I talk to other um people who live in other towns, I don't think they have progressed as much as much as this
council has. Thank you. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Just uh quick free answers. We will look into the live TV and I'll reach out to the clerk to speak to Optimum on that. As far as enforcement, I'll each one will speak to the chief separately unless you want to speak now. Chief, you want to hold on?
Do you want to comment? >> [clears throat] >> I appreciate the resident's concern. Uh we all do for the traffic there. Uh we do provide selective enforcement there quite often and do issue motor vehicle summones to correct the behavior of the motorists there. We will continue to do
that. Also, as you know, we have reduced the uh the speed there also. Uh we we do occasionally you believe like once a year conduct traffic studies there in that area too. I don't think that a one-way would be feasible there though uh to answer your question sir. Uh but
we will continue to look at it. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you chief. As and as far as Iav and the development in traffic I will look into that with you. Most most approvals have a traffic study and that traffic study could be shared with you when they approach the planning board. Thank you. Any of the members of
the public like to speak? Good even good evening. Ben from Medicine to have the floor. Council President, >> you're recognized. >> Thank you very much. Good evening, everybody. I just wanted to say to the former um the council meeting, they did a great job
last year, last four years. Now, this is another four more years of this administration. Congratulations to every single one of you guys. For real. I'm looking forward and the township and the people behind me are looking forward to you guys as well. So for this year to
start off with um I do am asking including my my neighbors as well my residents to bring back the six minutes. That's number one. Number two if we can get more information about the snow plows when we do have recent snowstorms
um that'll be highly appreciated as well. if we can also um can uh please um if I can well I'll talk offline on that but um just want to say congratulations to everybody. I have nothing else to say at this time. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Um council vice president snowplows you want do you want to talk about that at all or no? Did he mention a question on snowfl? >> Um I mean his question wasn't that detailed. I can tell him that. I know off the top of my head. I believe we
have 37 routes, plow routes in in Edison. And I believe we have um there's 37 routes around 40 I think uh 40 something trucks go out. Two of them are dedicated to our our main thoroughares. Um I [clears throat] I don't again he
didn't give me that much detail, but um I I did tour um before and after the last two snowstorms before I was even uh you know sworn in. And um but we did a pretty good job of cleaning curb the curb.
>> Thank you. Your your time is up. >> Okay. >> I mean, >> your chance was to stay at the microphone. Thank you. Thank you, Council Vice President. Any other members of the public like to speak? >> Seeing none, can I have a motion to close the public portion? >> Motion. A
>> second. Second. All >> in favor say I. I. >> I. Okay. Where are we on the stand? We at the adjournment of the motion to [clears throat] >> Okay. Before I adjourn the meeting, as I
mentioned before, and I hope I may share this with other members of the council to speak before we adjourn. Uh we're thankful for those who come to the meeting and very thankful for your input. It's always been weighed seriously. Um although you may see Rich and I talking at different times, but a
lot of times that we're talking uh and some people may not like it, we're actually looking up something that you're discussing with us that you complained about and we're pulling up that video or that um piece of property that you're complaining about and that that's a lot of times what we're doing. Um and we're talking sometimes 10%. But
hey, but we respectfully we'll fix that. Um but that's Rich is on that end now. though. Um, but as far as those who are watching this now and who don't get a chance to come here and let's face the facts, volunteering is not easy to come here. I'm not accusing that [clears throat] 60% of this room is
retired and in a good place to have time to come and donate and we appreciate that. There are a lot of people who are working and can't be here who are raising a family who are taking care of a loved one and we are listening to you. If you have something to comment, please send it to the clerk or send it to Joe
Coyleisonj.gov. I'd like to [clears throat] ask for a motion to clo to adjurnn the meeting. >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All in favor. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Meetings adjourned.