Meeting act of the state of New Jersey. Adequate notice of this work session regular meeting of the Franklin Township Council was made as required indicating that this meeting would take place at the municipal building at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24th, 2025.
If we could all stand for the pledge of allegiance followed by invocation from Councilman and Barrison. 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. Wait, you all right? Careful. May those assembled here today enjoy the many offerings of our township. May we abide by the rules we have established,
those of trust, fellowship, and ethics. And may we place service above self in our daily endeavors. And may we always test ourselves and our efforts to be sure they are the truth good for all concerned of benefit to
mankind and provide peace and understanding. Amen. Amen. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councilman embarrass still here. Councilwoman Francois, Councilman Karazzi, Mayor Kramer here.
Councilman Noni Jaka here. Council member Bataznik present. Deputy Mayor Redine here. Councilman Vasanella here. Councilman Wright here. So there's uh no compl commenations or proclamations. Item number six. I've kind of um
shuffled the agenda a little bit. Um I wanted to get the energy aggregation bid results in um before the public spoke so that the public can uh comment on it during public session if they'd like to.
So take it away. Good evening everybody. Nice to put uh real faces with names be in addition to virtual pictures of everyone. Uh my name is Lauren Outler. I'm with Gable Associates, the energy consultant that's working with Franklin Township on your
energy aggregation. And a bid was issued an RFP on June 2, to take bids today, June 24th. It was advertised in the Home News Tribune and distributed to third-party energy
suppliers and we followed the bidding process as required by local public contract law. Uh you have an ordinance that stipulates requirements for awarding a GA deal 4379-22.
This ordinance requires at least 10% greater than statemandated levels of RPS be procured and the award must also provide at least four 5% savings versus utility rates. Unfortunately, none of
the bids that came in today met that specified criteria. Therefore, the recommendation is to make no award at this time, yet allow that your bid remain open for up to 120 days to allow
the township to take refresh bids at a later date within that time period and that would be subject to issuance of an addendum to the RFP. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions?
Can I ask a question? Are you at liberty to disclose what was the highest savings uh prop in the in the proposal? I can discuss that with the council and I have provided some information to the council members. We typically recommend that it not be discussed in public while the bid
is still open. Okay. So, all right. That's why I asked you the uh the bid process. All right. Thank you. You're very welcome. Anyone else? Okay. So, I'm not going to vote on the resolution now. We'll uh open to public
session. Um uh do I have uh unanimous consent to open for public session without objection? We're open for public session. Um we give five minutes to each person. No yielding of time. May only
come up once. Please state your name and address. And this is on any topic, right? This is on any topic but you you have the opportunity to talk about energy aggregation as well. Good evening. Linda Powell, 22 Buffett
Drive. Um I want to give my thanks to the council and to Mr. Vor Locker uh for their submissions to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, otherwise known as FK, and to the many hundreds of people who have intervened and submitted comments to opposition to the Northeast
Supply Enhancement or Nessie Project, NES project. Um in a very short time that we had to comment. Um, we learned about the health and safety hazards of these compressor stations in the years we were fighting
the Nessie project. Um, the project includes plans for proposed gas fired gas compressor station here in Franklin and a pipeline expansion under Ritton Bay. We know we know of the harm to health, clean air, and clean water. We understand the impact on global the
global climate crisis and the risk to more destructive storms, flooding and sea level rise. Um, when I first learned about this product, I was particularly interested in the health impacts being a healthcare worker myself. And just to remind us um
about some of the health risks, I I looked up some of the older literature, some of it's 10 years old now, but as Don Dr. Doni pointed out last meeting, um the newer research has even brought up more issues. So exposure to air
contaminants increases an individual's risk for the development of a worsening of pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular disease. In addition, some of the contaminants have adverse neurological effects. Others are carcinogenic. As with other air pollution, those at
increased risk include children, developing fetuses, the elderly, and individuals with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular disease. There are acute health effects from short-term exposure which can include headache, confusion, COPD and asthma, exacerbation,
dizziness, nausea, memory problems, fatigue, skin irritation, acute cardiac events, insomnia, eye and throat irritation, acute cardiac events, coughing, acute respiratory problems, and chest pain. The chronic health uh
impacts from long-term exposure um include anemia, bone cancer, lung and other respiratory cause cancers, lip and oral cancers, um leukemia and lymphoma, endocrine disruption, breast and genital cancers, permanent neurological
problems, bladder and urinary cancers. Um then in uh from another source um people now have heard about uh particulate matter especially with the fires from Canada coming down last year
and certain combinations of air pollutants have synergistic effects which mean they work together and with an increased effect. uh for example PM2.5 which is a small particular matter and carcinogens are more dangerous together
because the particular matter absorbs the pollutants and then carries them deep into the lungs. And then this was from um a statement by the southwestern environmental health project summary on compressor stations and health impacts. The combination of particles and
chemicals effectively increase the dose of the chemicals. Thus, the consequences are much greater than addit additivity um would indicate. The proposed compressor station, if ever built, will admit toxic chemicals that
can cause health issues, which on summary include, but may not be limited to, cancer, childhood leukemia, birth defects, developmental delays, imunological disorders such as asthma, allergies, increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, neurological issues
such as autism and Alzheimer's, lung diseases, and other breathing disorders, sleep issues, um kidney disease, kidney failure, and prematur premature death. The only reason for these projects is to feed the greed of the billionaires who control the fossil fuel industry while
they for uh while they for everinccreasing profits endanger our health, our safety and our environment. We strongly urge people to get involved once more in fighting this dangerous unneeded project. We have won before and
we will win again. Thank you. Thank you. Hi, good evening. Um, before I give my name, I'm wondering if I could just do what our assemblyman, uh, Joe Danielson does and just say, "Hey, you guys all know me, right?" You know, he does that when he comes before microphones. Yes. And then we make him get say his name
and address. Yeah. I don't think you have done that though. He's gotten away with not definitely do that. Um, or I could just, you know, do what you do, Mayor Kramer, and just say my address is here at this building. So, just curious. Um, start my timer.
I'm not going to take the full five minutes. Um, you know, Mayor Kramer, I know sometimes you name and address. Rob Peterson, 66 Olsson Road. So, I'm going to hold you responsible then for holding Assemblyman Joe Danielson to that same
standard. And maybe perhaps even yourself, right? You won't have to give this address. This is the address I work at. Yeah. It's funny though, right? So, you know, you don't have to give your home address. You know, I have to give mine. Okay. Right. So, just curious.
Let's talk about this for five minutes. Okay. I can do that. After my five minutes, we can take another five minutes. So, you've recently recused yourself uh from talking about warehouses. So, I'm wondering if you would just and you you're free to answer or not. I'm not
going to hold you to it. Uh I was just wondering if you would add some transparency to why you would do that. So that's part one. Uh part two along the same lines then Mr. Pataznac, you obviously work for the League of Conservation Voters. You've worked there
for a number of years. You draw a six figure salary from that. And yet, you know, you appear at the gazebo, you know, for uh for different events. You speak on behalf of the town. And I'm sure you're making decisions. Why are you not recusing yourself from things?
And you know, it would be polite. Mayor Kramer at least has the decency to look at me while I'm speaking. And I did address you by Mr. Paznik. Um, Mr. Ambar. So, same thing for you, sir. You own seven or more businesses
here in town. Real estate connected. Six, five, six, I don't know. Tell us the number, please. Um, you're sitting in and doing all kinds of rulings and things and I'm sure zoning and otherwise related. Why are you why wouldn't you feel the need to recuse yourself uh from
such decisions? So again, uh I'm just a thorn in your sides and I get it and you guys are in lock step with one another. Mr. Paznak is still on his computer and hasn't even looked at me. So um you know just here to provide a little
transparency, a little accountability, and to ask somewhat annoying questions. Having said that, I still do respect the fact that you guys have an office and you represent people in this town. I'm sure that that's an ownorous task. So
that's all I had. Anyone else wishing to speak? Javon Walker, 15 Street. Um, I'd like to start You can start the time. Um, I'd just like to give a a thank you. she doesn't know it, but uh Michelle Peterson
um last October, November, my grandfather went missing for about 72 hours. And the council and everyone else, they had like a frantic like search um to find my grandfather, which you found him at probably like hour 70 or 71. And I remember Michelle on the
Facebook page was like following up, asking me and doing all that stuff. Um I just want to give her like a a huge thank you. Um, you didn't even know me as a political candidate, but just as a a a resident of Franklin Township. Um, the next thing I wanted to bring up was
that um, from an existential crisis like climate change, the environment, and so forth that Linda has spoken about, another existential crisis that uh, want to bring to the table is housing. Um, I'm curious to know if anyone on the council or Mr. Warlock or whomever may
be able to give me the details of exactly how tax sales work within Franklin Township. Um, who exactly are the people that are able to participate in tax sales? How is it done? Um, from my knowledge, I believe that it has to do with the bid amount and the
percentage of the interest that an investor is able to collect. The reason why I'm asking is because I think another existential crisis that is already happening, not even just bound to happening, is housing. the median buying age has become 40 41 years of old
years of age in comparison to maybe 29 30 31 a couple years back. Um the price of housing has gotten to be so ridiculously out of bounds for the average home buyer. Um people can't afford it. People can't buy it. The the rates aren't working. A lot of people
are locked in like myself. Uh, a lot of people are locked into like sub 4% interest rates and they're not going to sell because then they'll have to, you know, resell and get like a 7%, 8%, 6% mortgage and so forth. The reason why I bring up a tax sale is because I know that municipalities always are in need
of tax dollars to be able to keep the municipality running. So, they run tax sales whenever the current uh homeowner has not paid their taxes for preceding years. So the proposal that I have is instead of a
I again I don't know exactly what the stipulations are for people for investors to participate in a tax sale process but from from what I was thinking was is it possible that a tax sale could be just for the residents of the municipality if you have Okay. I I
appreciate you shaking your head. Um because what I was thinking was if you have people that are 20some, 30ome, 40ome, have the credentials on paper to be approved for a mortgage and they somehow can't do it due to a libertarian or a type of the homeowners control the
home buying process. Is it possible that they can put in bids for a tax sale and be at the top of the list or prioritize in order for them to win a bid on on on a tax sale property? Um that's just my idea. I don't know exactly how it can be
changed or improved, but another thing is maybe a U Franklin Township First Home Buyer program. I don't know if that's possible. I don't know if if that can even be tabled by the by the township council. I just think that there are so many
houses in this township that it's not impossible for a person to to be able to purchase a house. Financially wise, it might be, but I think that there could be something put in place to be able to help out people that have been here, graduated from the local school system that just want to live in Franklin
Township and unfortunately they can't afford it. Um, just asking if anyone wanted to give their input on it. That was it. Thanks. Thank you. Uh, Benjamin Guy, 35 pat drive. Um, just uh two things. One is um want to applaud the uh the students that uh participated
in the uh the workforce development program that uh the first cohort was finished I think about 2 three weeks ago. I think it was about six to seven people that actually finished the program. So um uh I would like to see whether or not since the town council and I know most of them uh most of them haven't attended or actually
participated see whether or not they can get those uh students to come here and tell about their experience so that you know exactly what real world experience look like and how that could benefit for what it what people is and then also I recommend that because it was a town council sponsored uh uh endeavor those
type of recommendations may be done by the town council to give them off to uh other jobs that they might might have in the county at all because there's a lot of uh a lot of public works jobs and a lot of uh other construction jobs that are going to come about as we go along um over the ne over the next five to
seven years because of infrastructure improvements that needs to be done and I think these type of certificates and uh these type of recommendations with people trying to go through this stuff sort of need an extra boost to actually move this stuff along at all. So that was one thing. Second thing is I want to applaud the public works department
because uh in my area directly we had a uh we had a water main break that was there and the reason why I'm bringing this up is because we're talking about infrastructure. Um with that being said, it's these type of opportunities and these type of jobs that we need to start back filling as soon as possible because
a lot of the a lot of the people that are in these public work departments and everything else that are there, they're they're getting older. So we need to get a younger workforce involved with what's going on. And it's not just locally in Franklin, but it's just in the region itself. So using our resources to actually get these people actually
opportunities and jobs would actually be a a benefit to everybody that actually succession plan could actually do. So I just want to I want to do that recommendation. But because this happened and I just want to bring this up because of the because of the water main break that was actually happened. What's the town's assessment plan on
what they're doing with the public works department? because the one that happened in my area specifically was surprising to the whole neighborhood, right? And I know that we're all going through infrastructure stuff that's there, but is there assessment being done on these type of things that are going on in the area to actually see
whether or not this might occur again? Because if the whole infrastructure is built the same way, then this can going to keep occurring. Now, the reason why this was a wasn't a major concern is because it's not in a highly densely uh populated um intersection that's there, but it is where school kids are. So if
this happened during the day, this could have been a problem. This could have been this could have been a problem where it could have been a sinkhole or anything else that was there. So I'm just asking these type of questions to actually look at because we had we had invested money from our American Rescue Plan to repair other things at all. So I just want to make sure we're looking at
these type of things as we go forward as a town council is concerned. The the portion also to comment back on Mr. Walker's um comment. Um we have brought this up about the affordable housing portion. So, he's just one of many people that again, we say we do a great job with affordable housing, but we can
always be better. If we're going to be a leader, be a leader. A leader doesn't stop growing. It doesn't say, "Okay, I hit this bar and I just I I'm I'm happy at where I'm at." We don't have to be forced by outside entities to do the right thing. Now, if we know that we want to grow here and we know affordable
housing is a crisis, not just in in this area, but statewide, why would we not be a leader and just keep keep moving on what we say we have a great thing to do? Because we applaud ourselves and pat ourselves on the back all the time when we say we're doing the right thing, but we don't take the leadership and actually keep pushing the envelope to actually be the leader, uh, continue to
be the leader. And that's just a question I have for have for us as a whole is that we say we applaud and we say we're the greatest. But if you're going to be the greatest, you always got to train to be the greatest and you got to keep being the greatest. You can't stop. And I think a lot of times we get we've been getting content with stopping
with actually leading here. So I'm just bringing that up all together um all together as far as uh that. And then the last two points that I want to make is that I know we already agreed to a road a roadways improvement plan that was here and I'm not sure when that's going to happen again this year um or when
that's going to be rolled out when that when that uh when we're going to be doing the next set of roadways. Uh if it's going to be during the summer I would like I'd like to see whether or not we can announce it at this meeting because at least uh at least the communication will go out uh to the general public. And then I also want to ask because of the uh the reverse
conversation with the state department about a lot of stuff that's going on with the B public utilities uh with what we signed on a community solar program. I would like to get an update on what we actually rolled out probably about I think like six months ago about what we were doing with our community solar partners altogether because that portion
with energy energy aggregation is actually going to be a big thing that comes up and because they retracted back and uh PSCG has to give tax credits now we need to be looking at a different a different methodology of what we're doing going forward at all and being a leader to actually take care of our citizens. That's my time for now. Thank
you. Good evening. Uh, Alex Clark, 396 Hamilton Street. It was good to see some of you at the No Kings protest a couple weekends ago. I was also happy to learn that at least a couple of you are now more supportive of
rank choice voting, especially following the Democratic primary where the winning candidate, Mikey Cheryl, received only about onethird of the vote. I went to a few protests that day. I started at Highland Park and then I went to Piscatoaway. I where there's a couple council members
there who are who favor rank choice voting. I met with Councilwoman Laura Liboitz uh in Pascatoaway and then I finished the day back here at Franklin at the Franklin protest and all through the day I kept hearing from people how much they wish that we had rank choice
voting for the primary. Um I had I had 500 of these palm cards. I gave out 450 of them, which is a lot a lot more than I was expecting. But rank choice voting, it's a popular idea, especially among people who are awake and who are paying attention to what's going on. I emailed
you an example of what a resolution supporting rank choice might look like. We could adapt something similar for Franklin. And just last month, South Brunswick, our neighbors, they passed a resolution supporting rank choice and state bill S1622.
and the partner bill in the assembly, A4042. And keep in mind that this bill lets us vote on it. So we still have to vote on it. So nothing's changing dramatically overnight. This is something that we would have to support. Earlier this month, we had our primary election. Both New Jersey and Virginia
have gubernatorial elections this year. In Virginia's Democratic primary for lieutenant governor last week, Gazala Hashmi won the election with only 27.5% of the vote. So 27.5% was what was needed to win in that
election. Lavar Stony got 26.5% and Aaron Rouse got 26.3% and there were a few other candidates that split the rest of the votes. That's not a large number to win an election. You know, you have a pretty small uh percentage here in New
Jersey. Mikey Charl won the Democratic prim Democratic primary for governor with about 34% of the vote. I'm sure that, you know, from what I've seen and heard, most Democrats who didn't vote for her in the primary will be happy to vote for her in the general. Um, I'm sure she'll do a good job as governor.
But what if one day it isn't Mikey Cheryl? What if instead we have a demagogue or a dangerous extremist or even just someone who doesn't truly represent us who is able to still win with maybe 34% of the vote or 27% of the
vote because they might have an energized cult following who while the rest of the vote is split across many other candidates. Our current election laws leave open a pathway for that to happen with rank choice voting. However,
that dangerous extremist will have a much harder time winning because in order to win, you will need majority support and most people will reject uh extremism. Rank choice voting is about ensuring fair representation and strengthening
our democracy. We shouldn't be complacent and we shouldn't assume that a dangerous extremist can't win here. We should be proactive and push for rank choice as soon as possible. I've been working with the JFK club to set up a presentation where we can have a more
in-depth discussion about how rank choice voting works and the benefits including increased turnout, reduced negative campaigning. Um, but they they have they're interested in in having that presentation. They're very interested, but they do have several speakers already committed for most of
the year. So, that might not happen till November after the election or or even January. So, if you have any other opportunities or suggestions where we could do something like that, I would be interested. Um, but in the meantime, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on rank choice and if you have if your
feelings have changed since I last spoke on it a few months ago, especially in the aftermath of the Democratic primary. Thank you. Beverly Lawson, 2004 Amwell Road. I would like for the minutes of the June 12th meeting to reflect the fact that I
also mentioned that June was veterans month and I asked would the council be doing a proclamation for the veterans as I can see that did not happen. So I guess the veterans will not be acknowledged for the month of June.
Sorry that the council didn't think it was worthy enough for somebody to actually acknowledge the veterans because every day in this country approximately 17.6 veterans commit suicide every day but they weren't worthy of
acknowledgement from this council. So from fellow veterans, we thank you for nothing. Even though we defend you, we give you your right to protest. We give you your rights to come to these meetings and speak up. but you couldn't acknowledge them. And for that, I have
to say it's a shame that this council did not acknowledge them for the month of June. Alan Mckenzie 167 Alorn. I was here two months ago to raise my issue about the Hamilton Street Advisory Board and I was told that my address was out of the zone. I have a new community partner on
Hamilton Street, Throne Temple Ministries at 656 Hamilton and so wanted to raise my application again for consideration. All righty. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?
Um I ask for unanimous consent to close public portion with no objections. Public portion is closed. So first item of business is
um the uh resolution on energy aggregation. Um resolution uh 25-289 government and energy aggregation bid. I
present resolution 25 uh 289 entitled resolution to not award a contract to a third-party supplier to provide electric generation services to Franklin Community Energy aggregation participants and to provide government
energy aggregation services in connection with the FCA. Do I have a motion? So moved. Seconded. moved and seconded. Um, so yes means no
when you vote and as we all heard that it didn't come up to our specifications and there's 120 days left for people to enter bids. Are there any other comments? I I would say one thing. I I'm disappointed that it
wasn't able to come back competitive so that we could save families across Franklin money. that that's a really good thing that the council did to put this competitive bid forward. I do remain hopeful that maybe in the 120day window that some folks could come in and might be able to be awarded at the 5%
savings and 10% more clean energy. Um, and you know, there's no harm in trying to save people money. That's something that folks elected us to do um to meet the needs of families with soaring energy costs related to the regional grid operators inability to connect
clean energy projects to the grid. If they had connected 30% of the clean energy projects that are waiting the queue up to 5 years, our electricity rates that have gone up this month 17% from PSENG would have been 63% lower. So you might imagine if they connected a
100% of those projects, we'd actually be going down in our rates. Um the folks that work there work for the fossil fuel industry. They're the vote behind closed doors. Um there's they don't report out what they do and they pick projects of their buddies uh where they're more
expensive and that they can profit and they shut down opportunities for clean energy to build a healthier community, reduce air pollution, um get online faster. And um it's really unfortunate that our families are saddled with that burden. Um but this council stood up to
do something to save money. It's available and it was approved by the Board of Public Utilities. Um unfortunately it wasn't competitive, but I think we got to stick stick at it with 120day window and um keep doing our work to get back to a place where we can we can lower those rates. So um I just want
to thank the council for stepping forward and you know trying to make this a reality. And it is disappointing that it's not, but it is the way it is. Thanks. So I have a comment uh mayor. So this is the second time that we have been not
get a uh vendor that we could uh work with the first time didn't last year. We didn't do that. No, we didn't go out to bid the last time because it was such a negative marketplace for for meeting the criteria. We didn't go for that. Okay.
Yes. Uh so one of my thinking is uh is is the rate may be competitive. I think um my thinking is the um green energy side the 10% goal we established maybe it's high. I'm not
sure whether it is but uh looking at the bits maybe we can analyze that. Um, if we have to rebid this at a later time, maybe that could be fine-tuned to a lower level, maybe 5%, I don't know. But I think that's something that we need to
think about. But the referendum, past referendum with specific guidelines. We can't just change like that. We'd have to go back to some kind of ordinance or referendum, but the attorney, I'm sure, would would inform us as to the process. But I thought we set that as a threshold. that was like the minimum we
wanted to meet, right? So I from what I know of PG&G and all the other providers having a tough time because of the PGM um issue, they're not unable to meet the green energy the clean energy goals as a
as a state. So I think we may have to relook at that uh number, but the petitioners specifically wanted it for green energy. That's that's how the whole thing started. And they were at one point annoyed that we
add added an uh savings to it. So I understand what you're saying practicality, but you're kind of turning upside down the intention of the whole thing. But I do agree we should analyze
the bids and at least know make some decisions or understand anyway what's going on. Um any other comments madame clerk? So yes means no.
Councilman embarrass yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Onaka. Yes. Council member Patnik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Redin. Yes. Councilman Vasinella. Yes. Councilman Wright. Yes. Okay. Um it isn't on the printed schedule, but now
is time for council to respond to comments. Um we'll do them in order. Do you want to respond to Nessie? Mr. Pazzney? Well, I I'll just say um you know, thank you, Linda Powell, for your tremendous
leadership and many folks in town and uh have been very active. Kirk Frost, Barbara Cuthbird, um I'm going to forget folks if I start listing them. Um but we had an information session last week over at the board administrative complex, otherwise known as uh formerly
Consulata Missions and uh Patty Kronheim from Rethink Energy was there as well as Michelle Langa from uh the New York New Jersey Baykeeper and they outlined a lot of background information about the zombie project that Williams Transco is
is bringing back. Uh, suffices to say, um, this pipeline company, which is a multi-billion dollar company, withdrew the application previously, which was three times denied because it didn't meet the strict water quality and air quality standards to protect our public health. Um, they donated tens of
thousands of dollars to President Donald Trump, well, now President again. Um and now through his fake uh you know executive order emergency energy emergency are starting to ramrod this through including the Buddhist Bahara uh temple the largest Buddha in America
schools and homeowners that are going to be negatively impacted. Um and the township council unanimously supported a resolution opposing the project on numerous um for numerous reasons. Um, and I want to thank Township Manager Bob
Warlocker for his quick efforts to, you know, relight up the website so folks could navigate the very complex federal process to put yourself in as an intervenor, which retains your legal ability to um, uh, sort of appeal any decisions by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission. And then, um, thousands of comments went in as well from concerned citizens and environmental groups. Um, and then we also had the rally last week. So, um, you know, I think Linda, the comments that you're making are very similar to the views of the board. Um, this compressor station would be closer to my
house. 230, well, two 16,000 horsepower engines, uh, 32,000 horsepower, constantly running 24 hours a day, not monitored on site. The mayor did some quick math. It's 7,100 homes in Franklin, a third of our homes. That's not even including winter season. That
would just be their winter season emissions full year, all in one spot. Um and uh it's on an active quarry and they're jet engines and that that technology has never been tested. All the comments that folks have made previously, Transco ignored um and in fact in a meeting that they had with
township representatives, they didn't even update the cost of the project. Um they're still using old numbers and they scoffed at the numbers and said, "Oh yeah, they were never going to build it for that." And here's the amazing things folks should know. They're going to make 14% on whatever the number is of the cost. They're
guaranteed profit. it for them. They don't do this at a no cost. Not only do they make money on the gas they transmit transmit, they make money on the construction and that's why they want to build it. And the New York rateayers would pay and we would be polluted. Um so, you know, thank you to the council. Thank you, Linda and others in town for
their leadership. Um you know, we're going to continue to fight this um in every avenue that we have. So, I probably said too much, but it's nothing different than we've said previously. Just length of time too much.
Uh, so Mr. Peterson, I use the address 475 Deont Lane. When I'm there speaking as mayor, it emphasizes that that's why I'm there speaking as mayor. When I speak for myself, I use my home address.
It's as simple as that. As far as your comments about me recusing myself, you're wrong. Wrong in uh two counts. I didn't recuse myself from all warehouses. I recused myself from B9 and I went through explicit detail as to why
I did that already. I'm not going to waste council time repeating it. You can go look at the video and see that I explained exactly why. Um I'll leave till till your time you can
cover tax sales. Um workforce development that's great. Thank you for acknowledging council's um efforts there. Uh that was uh good work by all of us to allow that program to happen.
Um I'll let you Mr. Vornlocker talk about DPW assess jobs and the assessment of the system. Um affordable housing, we're going to hear what we're going to have a little presentation on affordable housing. And
I'm not sure why you don't think that we're taking a leadership role in this. We are and we we're you're going to hear that we have more than we're supposed to have and we're still looking for
additional housing. So made some assumptions there. I don't agree with uh rank choice voting. Um I be I uh my comment is which I made
told you at the uh protest. Um this Democratic governatorial primary convinced me of the uh importance of rank choice voting. Um I'm a little worried. A lot of people called me the night of the before the election and
said, "Who do I vote for? Who are all these people?" So, it's it's enough. It's hard to grab on to the idea of one what are there 11 people running for mayor in uh New York. So, yeah. So, but nevertheless, I I am
now a fan of rank choice voting. Um June's Veterans Day. Who wants to take that? Do you want to or should I? Well, you're the veteran. Oh, you're the veteran. That's a good point. June is
not veterans month. It is a there's a group of people, many people who want it to be, but it is not Veterans Month. It is an attempt by people to out to overshadow and replace Pride Month. And
you should be ashamed for not doing the research to look for that. disagree with that. You excuse me. Excuse me. No, you This is not your opportunity to
talk. If Google what month, ma'am, you're being disruptive. You spoke. You spoke and I said nothing. Now I'm speaking. Google, what month is Veterans Month? And it's November. There is no official
month. There's no official site that says government site that says June is Veterans Month. And it it's disgraceful the way you have presented it and you should be ashamed. Mr. Mayor, can I just add something to
this? Mr. Borlocker, go ahead. So what I what I'd like to add, sir, please sit down because I'd like to speak. So, I have the benefit of waking up very early in the morning and one of the first things that I do at 5:00 in the morning is I read Mr. Bowman's Franklin reporter
and advocate and I saw an op-ed piece this morning and I was president of meeting last month when I got to listen to you talk about Veterans Month in June. And so, I saw the op-ed piece this morning. So, I chose to go to my computer and begin to research Veterans
Month. and I found a number of different things and I made some notes to myself. So, I'm going to go to my notes. So, it's an interesting thing. Write this name down if you'd like or listen to the tape. Charlotte Climber, C L Y R.
She has a blog, charlotte climber.com. I suggest you read it because she talks about this very issue and how um she is a proudly gay veteran and that the number of days honoring veterans
throughout the course of the year far exceeds any other topic in this country. All right, read that blog, but then also do your research about what is declared
as Veterans Month. Veterans Month. Veterans and their families are honored by presidential proclamation and have been so since actually the first term of President Trump. It was previously
military families month and he altered it in his proclamation to veterans and military families month for the month of November. He declared it by proclamation in every year of his first term of
presidency and President Biden also declared it as veterans and military families month in November for his four years of his term. All right. No one else had done it before, but those two
presidents have. In fact, for this month of June, President Trump did not issue a proclamation for Veterans Month because the Congress and no president has ever
declared June as President's Month. However, there is a ground swell of support on social media and Reddit and change.org to supplant Pride Month with Veterans
Month. So, please do your research before you make statements. I did my research after you made your re your statements and found no credible source for Veterans Month in June. If you can
provide one, I'd love to hear it because I researched it from 5:00 this morning until I got in to go take a shower at 7:30 to come to work to start my day. So, in those 2 and 1/2 hours, I couldn't find
one source anywhere that named June as Veterans Month other than social media claims that it should replace Pride Month. That's what I found. And I would just say that, you know,
actions speak sort of louder than words, too, because Miss Lawson, when you came forward and addressed the council, you didn't recognize Pride Month. You uh sort of papered over it. Um, and then in addition, I I think that uh you know,
the the current president has a little problem with truth as well. So it's it's not surprising to me that the you know uh you all would sort of just rubber stamp the sort of misinformation. Um you know as someone who was really proud of the pride event that we did um and the
communities that came out including churches and hospitals, community- based organizations um you know to really reaffirm Franklin as a welcoming and inclusive community. I think that was a really nice show of support and um you I just invite the Republican party to be
part of that once again. I I did do that. Miss Peterson is aware um in the future and I think actions can show the way forward about how people can be more respectful and have more positive dialogues and I think your actions tonight as well as the last
meeting demonstrate a you know a polar opposite contrast to that. Um, okay. I guess can I do taxes? Yeah. Can I address affordable housing when he's done? You can go do a for housing. That's
fine. I can wait. I just want to reference I heard some interesting comments. We do have I'm not taking credit for it, but I was want to help bring it about. We do have a firsttime home buyers um
program and simply put we have a housing trust fund. It's not restricted to only Franklin residents. I believe it's illegal for anything relevant to affordable housing or affordable housing trust fund to have those kind of uh uh um residency
restrictions. However, most often are promoted and se and and and talked about locally. So, most often local people do kind of get the the jump on that, but we give I think it might be up to 30,000 um I don't want to say free money, but
it's a grant if I am categorizing that properly that's forgiven in time, but basically and nowadays moderate or low income is not all that low or moderate mean you know that that you don't a lot of people qualify. you have to go
through the paperwork, but you get that home buyers assistance for first-time home buyers for exactly I think the type of um people and that that you were addressing want to buy a home but can't afford to. So, we have a program uh like many, I'm not going to go through them all, but since you brought up the first-time home buyers, but I will echo
what the mayor said. I don't know why anybody thinks we gave up or not leading or resting on our laurels because I know a lot of us, including myself, put in a lot of time relevant to keeping an eye on anything out of the box or anything when you call that we can get assertive
with new ideas with affordable housing. So I don't know where the the the rumor that we just are not dealing with that but um housing is a debacle whether it's affordable
buying renting it's a nightmare there's a lot of components but we are doing affordable housing the one other thing that was brought up I wanted to mention the gentleman here I think he I oh he's in the back I can't see him uh well first of all Councilwoman Franis um couldn't be here tonight. Uh but I had
talked to her and I didn't want to put on the agenda for tonight, but I have a basic plan based on input from her uh where we're going to expand the membership to more at and the manager gave some good ideas uh after that time you were here last and we talked about it. Basically, we're going to expand the
membership if the council agrees to the proposal. Um, but in the meanwhile, if you're affiliated with a group that has the address in the zone, I can't guarantee you'll be appointed, but if you resubmit with the corrected address and then we get it as a qualifying
person representing an organization within the zone, um, we if we uh, choose, we could I believe there's an opening, we could appoint you. So either way, thanks for coming back and either way, we'll we'll hope to get you on on the
board along with some other uh new faces and people to get involved. That's it. Mayor Mayor May. Okay. Yeah. I just wanted to respond to an accusation that was made against me. Uh so um
first of all I wasn't aware of all the number of properties that I own apparently in this township. So I would like to know those addresses myself. Uh beyond that um I don't know whether Rob has attended planning board meetings. Wherever there was a conflict
I have recused myself. Uh you can go back and look at all those meetings when that happened actually. Um beyond that I'm not sure what to make of uh the acquisition you made. Uh we are
required as a elected official statement. Well statement your your chance is over. So you ask what don't you understand about the rules? You you spoke we were quiet. So please be quiet.
Thank you. So in in further as elected off officials, we are required to report what uh all could be financial interest within town. Um every year um our clerk administers that and we all file those
reports and uh you are welcome to look at them. Um you can Oprah and you will get them. So I would suggest that when you come next time to make public statements about elected officials,
please be truthful. Do your research and be truthful. Do not unnecessarily spread rumors which are false. Thank you, Mr. Wright. Just small comment there on that uh
housing Councilman Vasinella brought up. You mentioned our affordable housing trust fund. Well, that affordable housing trust fund has been used a couple times when developers have built houses uh uh apartment buildings. They come and they ask for money from us to
offset the cost of actually building that unit. So that's when they come in and we've given money away and said, "Hey, this is how much that apartment costs." Well, this is what we're going to give you for how many apartments you actually do build there that you want us
to subsidize. And you have to keep it that way. 30 years, M. Um, and 30 and until the township and and until the township releases it. So something maybe more than 30 years. Okay. So, as you can see, there's the
the the the law of it. And also, if you want to buy a house, uh, and I've directed a couple people to this one particular website, and it's put on by Somerset County, uh, Central Jersey Housing Resource Center, uh, and they have a guide and they do
one-on-one with you to either do a rental, do a purchase, and or a senior guide to housing. Now, I pull out that purchase guide because uh they tell you how to keep the money together with your
credit. Um so that when you walk through the bank, you have the knowledge of what is required to buy that particular house. Um and go to that website, you'll see everything there. Um it's under
Somerset County. And that's all I can say about that right quick. Um, well, this is not council comments, is it? No. No. No. Okay. Um, that knocks that one down. And as again, Councilman Fasinel has done a yman's job
on it, but I just want to make some corrections there um about what it is we do with that affordable housing trust fund. Mr. Warlocker. Thank you. Okay. So, um, I'll start with
the the lowhanging fruit. Um, if you know someone who's interested in working in public works, by all means, direct them to the website where jobs are always posted. And in fact, there's a labor position and a mechanic position and a part-time custodian right now. They're they're always there. And I
would say that the workforce in our public works department is is hardly um ready for the old folks home. Um, we have quite a number of young people that work for us and they will continue to work for us. In fact, I think, you know, I'm I'm I'm being given a look by
another member of the audience here. I believe her son works for us. Um, and so I would say that there are young people in our public works department. As far as spending money on infrastructure, um you mentioned the American Rescue Plan and I think you're aware that the bulk of our American Rescue Plan funds were
used to fund public works projects both within our water utility and our sewer uh authority here in the township, which was one of the one of the encouraged uses for municipalities like ours. Um, our water utility continues to budget
significant amount of money for main replacements annually. Um, well over the million-doll mark annually for main replacement. Uh, I believe we have $2 million earmarked for this year in in main uh main replacement and
infrastructure improvements. Um, so I think that that kind of covers our efforts as far as our infrastructure with utilities is concerned. I would just add there will be more leaks. It's the nature of a water system. Absolutely. Miss Mr. Guy, you you live
in a development that was built by Levit in the 1960s. You have cast iron water pipes in your neighborhoods and all of them are earmarked. The water utilities required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to file a a maintenance plan that's actually a
50-year plan. Um, obviously it could be long beyond most of us here. uh being involved in that process. Uh however, that that process is a is a mandate by the state of New Jersey and our plan is uh is kept current. So that's that's
what we do as far as the water utility is concerned. Sewage authority uh falls under the the directors of the sewage authority, not the township. So I won't talk. Yes. And I hate to interrupt. I really hate to interrupt, but that was part of what I said two weeks ago about
our water being being replaced along with our sewer pipes. Correct. And most of it belongs where? In my backyard because I have the oldest part of Franklin Township. Yep. So, it's in my backyard that we're doing all this great work. Hey, I think you raised a number
of the different projects as far as street uh projects, Mr. Guy. Again, I would direct anyone to the website and I would encourage people who live in this town or who have do business in this town, work here to sign up for notifications from the website because
all of that work goes out automatically from the website. If you sign up for notifications. If you're not signed up for notifications, you won't get them. But on the public works page, all of our paving projects are listed at and the projects and the status of those
projects, whether they be out to bid, the bids awarded or whether they're completed or they're in progress. So, I I would direct you to the public works website um and uh and I would uh direct you to the website in general to sign up
for notifications from the website. All right. Now, tax sales. So tax sales are not where we actually sell the property. When someone doesn't pay their taxes or they don't pay their water bills or they don't pay their sewer bills, there's
what we refer to it as a tax sale in which anyone who is interested in signing up to participate and we do ours and we have done for the last several years online in October. Um, anyone who is interested in bidding may bid and
what you're bidding on is the total cost plus interest in penalties due for whatever it is, right? So, if it's, let's just say it's taxes. So, you will then be required to pay with certified funds the total amount that was due at
the date of the sale. And what you're bidding is a percentage. And in New Jersey, that percentage of interest that you will collect starts at 18% and you bid down. And once you bid down and you are the low bid
on percentage, then the tax certificate is awarded to you once you pay the the amount in a rears. And after a a a defined period of time, if the person who
was was to pay that tax or water bill or sewer bill does not redeem the the lean, then the lean holder or certificate holder has the right to bring bring a foreclosure action. Recently, over the
last couple years, some laws have changed regarding that process due to a a United States Supreme Court ruling about and it's specifically about notification to the to the owner. Um, but and then you can certainly bring a
foreclosure action, but there's nothing that that conveys the property to any one person other than that foreclosure action. So it wouldn't be anything that that could be done. And by that process that I just described is not our
municipal process. That's state law. And state law dictates everything related to a tax sale, not municipal ordinance. So the the the idea of trying to limit that to someone who lives in Franklin
Township would not be permitted by state law. Okay. You're welcome. I think that was all of them for me, Mr. Mayor. Thanks. Thanks. So, okay, time for council comments. Um,
start with Jaka. Yes. Okay. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Um Bob, I just noticed that that building that is on that's building 200 on Leo
building 200 that building that uh is in a debated condition has been cleared at 200 at 200 Cor. Yes. So the state may have gone in and done some maintenance work on the property but Okay. Okay.
Yeah. that I I was I haven't been down south bush road in in a week or two, so I don't know. But they did mow the lawn. They mowed the lawn and cleaned up the exterior of the property. They moved along and they cleared everything because the the neighbors around that
they sent me a couple of emails. Mhm. I think she sent all of us a couple emails. Yes. Yes. So I'm very happy that that area has been cleared and uh we really still need to monitor that area because oh it's it's the police department is well aware of the issues
going on there. Okay. As well as the issues on Whiteall where several uh overweight vehicles were issued summones. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I found out that that area has been cleared too. Yep. Thank you for all this mayor. That's what I have tonight. Thank you
Mr. Graham Barrison. Thank you Mr. Mayor. There's only one uh report I wanted to make about planning board. Uh last week uh we met and approved uh the trail commission uh committee's uh expansion plan. I think they're
proposing a number of improvements in their plan and that was good to hear. I think Tanya did a great job manager. And then the um the um affordable housing plan uh got approved and I believe uh
Vince is going to give us an update on that. That's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Fasinella. Uh yeah, because of the meeting tonight, uh health board meeting for those who
weren't here, uh we didn't have a public safety meeting. We will have and we didn't have a public works month meeting last month. So we'll be having those meetings in the upcoming months and report out um including uh the status of
uh paving and other projects which will many will be in very active come come the next month or two. Uh fireworks happening July 3rd. Um, and please come out to it. I believe
I don't know if our cooling center is open, but we uh do provide emergency shelter, the manager can jump in at um at some point, but um obviously be careful and if you see anybody who looks like they need assistant. I know people
hesitate to talk to strangers, but if you think someone is in need with this weather, please um uh consider um inquiring. Um that's really it, mayor. Uh the other things I think were covered and discussed um
with the uh uh addressing the public's comments. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Patasnik. Uh thank you. So, a big meeting coming up for folks in the Griggstown area, probably likely Kingston area of Franklin Township, um,
in Ward One, um, which is the, uh, Griggstown Causeway, uh, Route 632, concept development study, and that's going to happen on Tuesday, July 1st. Uh, doors open at 6:30 at the county uh,
official executive building with a 7:00 presentation. They're going to look at the um Griggstown Causeway and a traffic study that was done there. The intersection of the Griggstown Causeway and Canal Road and then Canal Road and Bunker Hill. Um I think it's very important that folks that are impacted
or use that area go to the presentation and there'll be an opportunity for experts that uh did the work as well as county engineers to answer questions from the public um and I guess receive feedback as well. So, I'm going to try to get more of the word out there so residents are aware and uh are not taken
off guard. Ultimately, those are county roads and any decisions related to them are up to the county. I plan on attending. It's one day before my birthday. B my birthday's the next day. So, um I had plans that day, but this day I'm available and u you know, hear what the traffic study shows and what
improvements, if any, they'll be recommending for the the road intersections. That's it. Mr. Great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a couple of things to report on my committees. Uh we
had a recreation advisory meeting and what we did is we went out to Middle Bush Park and we walked around the park looking for deficiencies, not for things that were already great. What we looked for things that were wrong so that we could re report back to Mr. Borne Locker
through our open space uh committee and have those changes fixed. Now, one of the changes we looked at was our skate rink and uh skate park and everyone complained about the fence, but we needed the fence lock to keep everybody
out because you just can't go in and skate anytime you want. So, um but we came up with some ideas and um the big guy will figure this out for us. the uh housing authority. The
housing authority uh and I'll tell you what I wrote down. The inspections were good and they we passed all of our buildings past the inspections put on by the state. Uh New Brunswick is what we share management
with. their uh executive director. Uh we split between the two and the buildings management is RPM and we're keeping everything on an even kill. Nothing's wrong. Uh uh pests, uh animals, there's none of that going on.
Uh and they like being where they are because right outside the back door is Neiman Williams Park. So that's a good thing to do. Um, as far as our redevelopment agency, let get that down.
Our redevelopment agency, we haven't had a meeting in the last two months, but the agency has continued to work with RPM on the next phase of development, which will include affordable housing. Now, our executive director is uh Mark Healey, our planning uh director. And
because he's planning director, he wears many hats, and one of them is that he takes care of our redevelopment agency. Uh planning that's coming up in the future and that we have right now. So, that's a good thing that we have and
he's on point. Um what else did I have? Um, I think that's it. Yes, Mr. Mayor. I think that's it. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Odin. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um, so just a few
things. Uh, just wanted to point out, thank you, Linda, for spare hearing and the team, the Nessie um presser um rally. I was there and um it's a great event and a lot of um diverse community members were there. Um I think it was
very clear that we don't want this here in Franklin and I think we will continue to march towards that. So thank you um for informing us um on every council meeting almost from now and thank you again. Um as a citizen I was part of the new no kings rally event that happened
as well and um once again you know rain I know poured very uh heavy rain. Thank you to um council member Pataznik for um keeping us all very motivated and um encouraged us to keep our spirits high. I think that worked very well. So, thank
you. Um, we just had uh the health board and advisory board of health do um a presentation and um as I was hearing about the presentations, it made me think about what we had done in 2023 as
part of our um health study that our staff had done an assessment um in our community for all the wards. And I'm waiting to receive the presentation back to see if I can look into the data and see how it impacts some of the W 2
specifically um as it relates to um some of the top five health concerns that was um issued out. So going to try to go back to our old study that's still very relevant to today and compare it against what was mentioned by the county as well
as advisory board of health and see if I can find some common themes and how we're resolving. I can tell you like I just looked at one of the things I know it says like top 10 things and number three was mental health services needs to be prioritized. I think we all know that has kicked off. We do have a
community um and it's been going strong. Um another thing that was mentioned was um low free or lowcost preventative screenings and medical attention. I think we have also worked with couple um like zufall for the board of ed um for
the school. So a lot of this I think we have worked on from 23. So this this this survey was done in 23 and we're now in 25. So I just want to see what we have done to improve and where we still need to continue to um look at. So, just wanted to point that out. And also, um,
congratulations to all the 2025 graduates that graduated this year. So, that's why I had mayor. Thank you. Thank you for my comments. I want to thank Linda Powell for coming and speaking about Nessie and Pri, thank you
for all you're going to do to help us defeat that project. That's all I have, Mr. Manager. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I' I'd also like to thank Linda and the task force. So, you know, they they off they always thank me, right? They're always saying,
"Oh, Bob Locker did this and Bob Warlocker did that." My job is very easy in this process. They provide me with all of the information and it's kind of voluminous and all I have to do is go on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
website and keep uploading the documents as to intervenor on behalf of the township. So really all of the hard work is theirs and I'm just the last like kind of step in the process. So I always kind of get a chuckle when they say, "Oh, thank you Bob." I mean, you know,
so I'm have a job here, right, the township manager and they feed me all the information to upload. So it's really not such a bad gig that I have as far as that effort is concerned. So thank you and the task force for that. Um, as far as the one thing I have to
report because we've already heard about fireworks and a Griggstown study, which I had queued up on my computer, um, is the Franklin Township Summer Gazebo Concert Series is back. The first concert at the Gazebo is Saturday, June 28th. That's this Saturday from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m. It is full-blown, which is a 70s band. Kick off the summer with an explosive night of high energy 70s tunes. There will be another one on Friday, July 18th. That's high in the mid 80s. Guess I'm thinking it's 80s music if I had to guess. Um, and then
random acts of soul. I'm thinking it's probably R&B and soul music. So, what do you think? That one is on August 15th from 7:00 to 9:00. Um, as it gets dark later, I guess we move to later hours in August. Um, so, but anyway, bring your
bring your chair. uh free concert sponsored by Cultural Arts Council and the recreation department. Um uh good entertainment and uh a nice cheap date night if you want to take your wife or husband out. Um there you go. Um and
they say bring your dancing shoes. That's not my thing. So I probably won't have my dancing shoes on. But I think that's it. Mr. Mayor, Mr. May I what I just got a text from HRC chairman Rosenthal that they have a
monthly meeting tomorrow and the presenter will be the director of communication Isabel Nunees from Assemblyman Danielson's office. Thank you. And also Mr. Mayor Councilman Karazzi did ask me to mention that he had a family issue that he had to deal
with and and he's out of town and that's why he's not here tonight. Okay. Cooling centers. Mayor, I just Cooling centers are the library 10, the information is on the website, but library Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 PM uh the Friday hours of the library
Monday through Friday at the senior center. And if you are in need of a if you were have an emergency and are in need of assistance, I I sound like a broken record here, but our police department is the 24-hour a day, 7 day a
week, 365 day a year place where you contact when something is wrong, no matter what that might be. And their lobby is airond conditioned at 2 in the morning if that's what you need. Thank you. All right, on to item number 10, approval of the minutes. I present the
following minutes to township council for their approval. I forgot to mention, starting in July, we're doing voter registration um at our new complexes. So, I just want to make people aware that we'll be out there doing voter registration. Okay,
council comments are over. Approve of the minutes. I present the following minutes to township council for their approval. Franklin Township work session regular meeting June 12th to have a motion on the minutes. Second move and seconded. Any discussion?
Anyone like to make a correction? I will let add that Miss Lawson stated let her own that. Any other uh edits?
Uh, Madame Clerk, Councilman Barrison, yes. Mayor Kramer, yes. Councilman Nichaka, yes. Council member Breitaznik, yes. Deputy Mayor Dean, yes. Councilman Vasanella, yes. Councilman Wright, yes. Time to pay the bills. Warrants in the amount of
2,31,125.87 on June 24th, 2025 are presented to Township Council for payment. Do I have a motion on the warrants? So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Anyone like to pull an item or discuss an item?
Madame clerk. Councilman inver. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Onichaka. Yes. Council member Pataznik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Odine. Yes. Councilman Vasinella. Yes. Councilman Wright? Yes. Item number 12, public hearing and adoption of ordinances on second
reading. First reading is when we announce to the world that we may be passing an ordinance. Second reading is when we uh actually consider the ordinance and the public has the opportunity to speak. So ordinance 4469-25
an ordinance amending municipal code at the town of Franklin County state in New Jersey more particularly chapter 384 water section uh 8 384-1 terms defined 384-12
quarterly consumption charges 384-38 accessibility for meters and inspections is presented to township council for public hearing and final adoption of the public hearing ing has been noticed as required. Uh do we have a motion to open to the public?
So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. Oppos say nay. Motion is carried. We're open to the public on this item only. Seeing no one come forward, I move we close public comment at this time. So
move second. Moved and seconded. Um all in favor say I. I. Oppos say nay. Motion is carried. Do we have a motion to adopt? So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded. I'm not going to go through the long talk about how the
rates are changing, but the rates are changing so that we can afford to keep our water system working. Um, any other comments, Madame Clerk? Councilman embarrass. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Oni Jaka.
Yes. Council member Bataznik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Dean. Yes. Councilman Vasanella. Yes. Councilman Wright. Yes. It passes. Ordinance 4470-25, an ordinance amending municipal code of the township of Franklin County and
Somerset, state of the Jersey, more particularly chapter 1 uh 15, dogs and other animals, article 3, animal control section fees. Uh, do we have a motion to open to
public session? So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. Opposing nay. Motion is carried. We're open to the public on this item only. Mayor see no one come forward. A motion close the public portion of the hearing.
Second. Who then seconded? All in favor say I. I. Say nay. Motion is carried. Uh public session is closed. Do we have a motion to adopt? So move. Second. Then seconded. Any discussion?
Madame clerk. Councilman. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Oniaka. Yes. Council member Patnik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Redee. Yes. Councilman Vasinella. Yes. Councilman Wright. Yes.
Consent agendas items A through S. I'm sorry, Ernest. On first reading, there are none. Consent agenda items A through S is listed on the consent agenda portion of the meeting. I presented the township council for adoption. Do we
have a motion on the consent agenda? So moved. Second. So for discussion, I am hoping Mr. Dominic can inform us about the res item
number R endorsing the fourth round housing element and fair share plan just the residential I thought it was you Thank you Mr. Mayor Vince Dominic. I'm uh, as you all know, I'm the township's economic development director. Last
March in 2024, the state legislature and the governor signed an amendment to the Fair Housing Act. And I think anyone who's been involved in affordable housing, as most of us have for years, understands that it was monumental legislation, the quagmire and the chaos
that has ensued for the last 15 or 20 years after CO has disbanded. This legislation most of the people who are involved in affordable housing believe has done a wonderful job and making it much easier and quicker and easier understandable. As part of the process,
what the township council did is they had an ad hoc committee, four members of council, four members of the planning board in addition to the regular uh standing land use committee. And during the last six months, we've met on numerous occasions to go over the ideas,
the concepts of where the township wanted to go forward in regard to its fourth round housing need. As a result of that, we hired a consultant who prepared the plan in conjunction with the committees and staff. Last week, the planning board adopted the fair share
plan. And what you're here for tonight is to endorse that plan as as well as endorsing the spending plan and the four draft ordinances that go along with that as part of what we have to do and our township attorney can uh speak more on
this. The there's something called the program which goes to in in our case retired Judge Miller. He's the head of the program and our township attorney's office sent the the fair share plan to
the program yesterday and our township attorney's office will send what you do tonight to them and then we'll follow the the process that goes through that with people the idea they can object and we go through adopting ordinances.
It's very very important to note that this is the fourth round and as we had one comment here before about how we do an affordable housing this township in the first three rounds was not only fully compliant but did more than we
were required to do. And our last round where we had over 2,000 units we built over 95% of them. There is no other municipality in the state that came close to building that actual amount of units. A lot of times what you do is you zone and you hope for them. We actually
we built those units. In addition, and I'll talk about that in a few minutes about the numbers in the plan, the the two committees of council were were very adamant that the initial plan that we're doing here to satisfy the requirements doesn't stop here because the idea is
that we need to get a plan to get a certain number to satisfy the state law. But the council made it very clear to staff and our consultant that we're supposed to be looking for other projects during the term of the fourth round. There are there really two numbers that
we're concerned with tonight. The first number is the uh the present need which is 268. That's the number that we have to address versus doing rehab. And we have CDBG grant funds and our affordable housing trust fund. We've had a housing
program here for decades and we have a housing coordinator, a member of staff who every year we go out and we help people low and moderate income rehabilitate those homes and then of course there's a lean put on the home until they they until they sell it later on. The other more important number that
we have is the prospective need which is 659. That's the need during the next 10 year pro 10 years that we have to address by building new homes. The plan that you have in front of you talks about those numbers and there's 300
pages of uh of appendices. Really the most important thing to understand is that the 659 is being met by four projects. We have a project at 260 Davidson which is an old hotel. They're going to renovate those
rooms and turn them into apartments. We have we're tearing down well the developer will be tearing down 347 Elizabeth and building apartment buildings uh 606 to 610 Franklin Boulevard. The planning board just several weeks ago declared that in an
area need of rehabilitation. So that will be torn down and there'll be some type of affordable housing. The plan is to do senior affordable housing. The other last one is 315 Davidson. That's a B1 zone, which most like, as we
all know, if someone would propose a warehouse and instead of doing that, we're going to build affordable housing. So, tonight we're asking you to do is to endorse the plan and send it sent it to the program. The probably the most
important thing to understand and what this council and what the two committees did along with staff is that typically a set aside in affordable housing is 20%. So you build a thousand units, you get
200 units of affordable. That's kind of the typical throughout the state. the the most important numbers for everyone to understand tonight. We're building 722 units and out of out of that that's 68%
of our total units that we're building are going to be affordable. If we did the normal set aside of 20% that would be almost 2500 units. So what the township, especially with the council's guidance, was able to do was to build
and satisfy our affordable housing need, but at the same time not build all the other homes that go with the increase of taxing. So the bottom line is we ask you tonight to endorse the resolution and send the resolution and the uh the
spending plan and the ordinances to the program. Thank you. Thank you. I won't ask you for specifics, but do you have other properties already in mind to add to this? We we we have talked to numerous
developers because remember we had a a certain time period to get it and you know developers after we were a point of no return have talked to us. So there are there are other properties and other developers who are interested. And the important thing is because we've we'll
have already met our need. We can pick and choose. We're not going to be able to say, "Oh my god, we have to take Kingston and put it in our sewer service area and build 2,000 homes next to homes that are on 6 acres." We won't have to do that. the council will be able to
choose the best projects that they want to do because of your forethought in the planning that you've done in the last 20 or 30 years. And that's one of the advantages that uh came about by taking the original 721
and reducing that by correcting the mistakes the state had made. we have a lower number that we have to meet and that gives us the flexibility uh for the numbers that we're going to go beyond what we have to meet. That is great.
Anyone else? So, so the idea is there's still and I think I know some of them and you might have some other ideas, projects that we can entertain that we don't have to
change zoning or have high density or give away to farm. We could have 50% affordable and 50% market. We could have a piece of property the town owns on. You find the right person. We develop it. We work out what we give them, what we don't. So, we not only have met and
exceeded the number we're like we did last round that we're obligated to, we still have projects that we can be more quote in the driver's seat and concentrate on building all or mostly
affordable housing units as opposed to building out higher rent higher rate purchase or rent properties. Yeah. Like I said, the council's made it crystal clear to the township manager and the manager's made it clear to staff is that you want us to build the most amount of
affordable housing to address what everyone knows there's a housing crisis. But because we've been able to satisfy the plan, in fact, go over it. Now, like I said before, we're in, like you said, we're in the driver's seat. We don't have to reszone something to a ridiculous density. we can take a look
at the different projects and you can choose which ones you think are best for the community. Fantastic. Thank you. Anyone else? Just wanted to say great job Vince Mark uh staff did a fantastic job putting the
whole thing together. Took a lot of time and efforts and and talking to many um developers. I think uh credit goes to the entire team. I just want to say also, thank you, but is there um are we looking at specific
timelines that we can mention or is that still the it's it's a 10 it's a 10-year plan. My guess is that these first projects will go relatively quickly because unlike some municipalities that I we talked about that just zone them,
each one of these is either owned or contract purchaser. In fact, three of the four are owned by the developer. So, we don't have to wait for that. The township will be in charge of one of them because it's a redevelopment area. That will probably take a little bit
longer only because you'll have the flexibility to decide what you want and how you may want to change it cuz some of these projects may change a little bit depending on construction costs and everything else and how the economy goes. But the the the first three my
expectation will go very quick and we'll be doing you'll be seeing we have draft ordinances in the coming months once we get through some of the process you'll be seeing the draft ordinance the d ordinances before you to change the zoning so that they can start control I can tell you two of them are chomping at
the bit to start and if we passed an ordinance tonight they would start immediately the the the that ones that he's talking about obviously developers only make money by developing, right? So even if it's an existing building that
they're going to either convert or raise and build new that they they have their motivation is to get their shovels in the ground and get their development completed so that they can begin to collect the rent or whatever it is. So yeah, that's one of the reasons why the
properties that we we've included in this plan are are are they're viable. They're ready, you know, they're ready to go once all of these things are approved. Bless you. Thank you. Thank you, Vincent and Mark and the team. I think you guys did great job on working
out the details, at least for us that are in the community, um on this housing, affordable housing unit. We understood it. Um and I want to thank you guys for putting it together. I know we asked a lot of tough questions, but I think uh people will be very happy. So, thank you, Mr. Super Tasnic. Yeah,
agreed. Thank you, Vince and Mark and the folks on the committee that looked at all the different projects. Um, you know, I think Franklin has been a leader in affordable housing. And I want to point to an article that our very own mayor was made famous or more famous in.
Um, it was more famous. Uh, it was a Gothamist article and it's a nonprofit newsroom powered by WNYC. It was Karen Ye who did it. And the title of the article from 2023 is why these New Jersey schools are so diverse. While
many are segregated, affordable housing has been key. And Franklin was lifted up as embracing affordable housing, which has encouraged our community to be not only diverse, but also welcoming. Um, and it's something, you know, from my time on the school board when people were asked the number one quality of the
schools that they appreciated. It was the diversity every single time. And then many other things in the list. Um and that's because this council hasn't shied away from its obligations to provide seniors with a place to live um that they can afford to live in and new
graduates, young professionals and this is just another step in that direction and um you know it's a fast timeline but I think some really creative thinking uh with willing developers um and you know I think congratulations and you know more to come I think in in some scenarios but uh like continuing to lead
when you're already leading is hard. It's easy to get tired and fall behind and Franklin's not doing that. We're staying right with good stamina at the front of the pack. So, congratulations. Yeah, Mr. Mayor, I'll just say one more thing. When we got approval from the courts for the third round, both the
presiding judge at the time, which was Judge Miller, believe it or not, the same judge we're sending to you now, and fair share housing, which is the group that advocates for fair share for affordable housing. That's the one who typically objects the plans. Both of them after our plan was approved got up
and said they wish every other municipality acted like us and called us the shining star in the state. And I believe that's because that's what the council has demanded of staff to do that because you know how important affordable housing is, especially in
Franklin Township. And I'd like to add that I don't think a week goes by that I don't get an email as mayor at 475 Dont Lane that that um
that join the mayors who are fighting affordable housing um and uh they're they're petitioning to end affordable housing so that they because it's an undue obligation uh upon on them. And now I'll get a little
political. That's why it's important who you pick as mayor, as as um governor. Uh the Republican candidate for governor has pledged to end the um Mount Laurel
decision and have it reversed. So if you're from abandoned affordable housing, you will consider that. Mr. Mayor, can I just say something? You haven't said anything yet, so I have not. So I because I just want people to know I'm here. Um
um and and and there's one group that I'd like that I think we also should recognize that doesn't really get a lot of credit and that's the legislature. And no and and and I'm serious. It took 15 years to get round three done. 15
years. That's why we had a gap period, right? So the the third round instead of being 10 years was 25 years. And the reason for that is because Mount Laura litigation had gotten completely out of control. The Christy administration had completely gutted COA. Uh it became a
completely broken process. The legislature uh adopted A4. It came up with a new model, right? And this model did uh been uh Vince called it the program because we don't know what else to call it. It's
that's what the legislature called it. But the the point of it was to end the endless cycle of litigation. And while we were sitting here tonight, I pulled up because I remembered from all the times I've read it, Mount Laurel 2. And everybody should read the first three
pages of that decision. And it was Chief Justice Wance railing against the fact that 10 years before they had decided Mount Laurel won and there was nothing but endless litigation and that there had to be a way to end it and that's what forced the first uh adoption of the
Fair Housing Act which had established Koa which once again was you know then decimated by Governor Christie but the legislature I mean what what has happened now is something like 400 municipalities ities have become compliant with their Mount Laurel
obligation and the and the next round does not start until next Tuesday. Think about that. Instead of 25 instead of 15 years, it's there it's done on time. Never been done before. Pretty amazing. And like I
said, the legislature doesn't always get credit. Um and you know, but sometimes we have to give credit where credit is due. They gave us a tool. It, by the way, put the municipalities in the driver's seat. Absolutely put us in the driver's seat and we were able to get
this done. Um, and towns like Franklin who, you know, who who all always Franklin Franklin had substantive certification before the the uh in in the third round before the Supreme Court threw out the third third round and then
we went back and got it again. That I mean, that's how far ahead Franklin is. So, I just I sometimes, you know, once again, we we uh we need the tools. And I always, as everybody knows, I have a little bit of a connection to the legislature. I
always tell them, all towns need is a little help, right? That just give us the tools. You want to do the right thing. So, it worked. It's pretty good. Thank you. All right. Uh any other comments on any other items on
the consent agenda? Madame Clerk, Councilman Barrison, yes. Mayor Kramer, yes. Councilman Oniaka, yes. Council member Bataz, yes. Deputy Mayor Redee, yes. Councilman Vasinella, yes. Councilman Wright, yes. We have no
items to be voted on separately. Old business, any boards, committees, commission vacancies, nominations. I will do the last nomination for the Franklin 250,
the Randy Jones. Any other nominations for that position? The last one. Do it by That's the last one for now because there's no real rules. I just want to make
wild. There's going to be 250 people on the 250 committee. by that's where the 250 is for 25. Uh then we can do it by acclamation. All in favor say I. I. Oppose say nay.
Congratulations Mr. Jones. Um we have no executive session. Do we have a motion to adjurnn? Second. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. Oppose say nay. We are adjourned.
Be well, Franklin.