This work session regular meeting of the township council is called to order. Madame clerk, in accordance with the open public meeting act of the state of New Jersey, adequate notice of this work session and 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, July 8th, 2025. Thank you. If we could all stand for the pledge of allegiance and then remain standing for the invocation by Councilman Kimberly Francois. 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. 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 ourselves in our daily endeavors. And may we always test ourselves in our efforts to be sure that they are truth, good for
all concern, and of benefit to all mankind and provide peace and understanding. Let us all continue to strive to make the world a better place. Amen. Amen. Madame clerk, please call the role. Councilman Embarrison,
here. Councilwoman Francois here. Councilman Kurazzi here. Mayor Kramer here. Councilman Oni Jaka here. Council member Pataznik present. Deputy Mayor Udin here. Councilman Vasanella here. Councilman Wright.
We are on item number five of the agenda. Copies of the agenda are there by the clerk. Um number five is accommodations and proclamations. We have a presentation of the Garden State Track Club scholarships. Good evening. on behalf of public safety
director Corlla Mayweather and the Franklin Township Police Department. It's an honor to be here again. Um this our third year in a row where we have an example of true community policing here in Franklin Township. I think it was Aristotle who said uh excellence.
He said we are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit. And this is what we've been repeatedly doing is forging these relationships with our community year in and year year out. So again, I'm have
Detective Robert Brown. He's going to present the awards from the Garden State Track Club to our residents here in Franklin Township. Good evening everybody. Uh just want to say a few words about the scholarship and kind of what it means um and why
we're all here tonight. So, we started this this race in town um to to be a community event and to support the community. And since starting to hand out these scholarships, it's been quite fulfilling for myself and I can speak
for Major Chen and Chuck, the president of Garden State Track Club, that we are doing exactly what we set out to do. We're we're being able to find uh the right seniors and this year sometimes some juniors from Franklin High School that are going above and beyond and just
doing a little bit extra. Um and in the running community, that's where it pays off. In the fitness community, that's where it pays off. The people that show up. Um, you know, there's not a million people in this room, but people like you
that are receiving this award tonight get used to being in small rooms with a small group of people because doing the right thing, doing the challenging thing is not easy and there's not always a lot of company there, right? So, though it
seems like a local scholarship, right? This is a a testament to the years of work that you put in while here at Franklin. And it also shows that people have recognized you, right? People have spotted you out. People have taken
notice of your actions and either sponsored you or highly recommended you receive this award. So when I say your name, stand up with pride and and come ex come accept what you've earned over the last several years either from being
involved with myself or Major Chen at the high school. Um we're all very proud of you. All right, so our first name, Miss Isis Martinez. We're going to get we'll do we'll do we're going to do the pics when pics at
the end. Yeah, we'll do the pics at the end. All right, you can stay up for a second. Our next award winner, Christian Lewis. [Applause]
Yeah, he looks like he go to track athletic scholarship. Miss Sarah Vasquez tracks. Yeah. So, like we talked about uh these young people doing great things. So, our four
our fourth recipient couldn't be here tonight because she's already on her way to the next thing, right? And I and I love to see it, right? Already already in school doing a little bit more than everybody else. So, like I said, we're doing the right thing. So, here to represent her are her parents for Miss
Oli Famua. [Applause] And then lastly, our our fifth and final uh recipient also couldn't be here. Um
and under terms that involved a family illness, some hard times, which we all can understand and relate to, which which caused her to jump right back into all the commitments she had made on her own. So she she made sure she made some good contact with me. She unfortunately she had no one to come represent her
tonight, but I do want to say her name. Miss Victoria Gabzi. [Applause] Excellent. Congrats, guys. Um, we wish you all the luck on your next step, wherever that takes you. Remember, Franklin will always be your home. All
right. [Applause] Oh, good. [Applause] So, I have a proclamation that's not on the agenda.
Um, and if I didn't have a bad back that I'm nursing along, I'd be at the podium to do this, but I I think I can do it from here. This is a proclamation honor honoring the distinguished service of James
Vasinella, Franklin Township Councilman, Ward 5. Whereas James Vasinella has served with distinction as Franklin Township's Councilman for Ward 5 since July 20th, 2005, dedicating two decades of unwavering commitment to the
residents and community community of Franklin Township. hand. Whereas Councilman Vasinella has demonstrated exceptional leadership and public service throughout his tenure as deputy mayor in 2007, 2008, 2019, and 2021,
providing steady guidance and vision during critical periods in our township's development. And whereas therefore I throughout his extended service, Councilman Vasinella has consistently championed the needs and
the interests of Ward Five residents while working collaboratively with fellow council members to avoid the greater good to to advance the greater the greater good of Franklin Township. And whereas Councilman Vasinetta years of service represent a profound
commitment to dem democratic participation and civ civic duty embodying the highest ideals of public service and community stewardship. Now therefore, the township of Franklin hereby recognizes and honors James
Vasinella for his exemplary service as W five councilman and deputy mayor and extends its its heartfelt gratitude for his dedication, leadership, and countless contributions to our community. Congratulations
[Applause] I am surprised and humbled and I don't know if I can even say anything right now. Thank you. Thank you. Um
I'm asking for unanimous consent to open to the public. Hearing no objections, we are open to the public. Uh this is a public portion. People may come up to speak about anything regarding government. You have five minutes to speak. No yielding of
time. May only come up once and please state your name and address. So good evening. My name is Shabbendu Singh, Six Street Top Circle, Princeton Highlands. And before I get into the two issues that I'm here to talk about, I do
want to congratulate all the awardees this evening. Nicely done. Um, so I'm here to talk about two public safety issues um that our community has faced over the years. One is a traffic signal that we have
requested across Princeton Highlands Boulevard and State Route 27 and a pedestrian crossing from Gold Star across State Route 27. The second topic I want to quickly cover is the uh compressor station that has
resurfaced recently. So let's talk about the traffic signal first. Uh many of you know it's been a longstanding issue that our community has raised and I must add without much progress.
We continue to see accidents and near misses on a daily basis. It is a ticking time bomb. And no, it is not an HOA issue. This is not about the upkeep and enhancing
common areas of our community. This is a public issue. Safety. Do has recommended this and you've seen a lot of notes from me personally to several stakeholders but the
recommendation is from DOT and our ask is that you convene a meeting with the appropriate stakeholders um including South Brunswick obviously our township DOT and others so we can have a conversation and come up with a
pragmatic and expedient plan that defines timelines next steps and how we going to fund this project. Let me pivot to the compressor station. William trans goes back
and they have reapplied with the fork. Our community continues to see safety risks. They continue to see health risks. They continue to see ecological risk and
environmental risks associated with this project. For all these risks, we believe they are undue and unnecessary with no upside for our township. So our ask is that you continue to
oppose this project. And I want to acknowledge and thank Councilman Pataznik's support and leadership on this issue. And before I leave, I know there are several members of our community here. I
want to acknowledge and thank them for their support at their presence today and I would urge you on action on both of these items. Thank you. [Applause]
Hi. Uh, Rob Peterson, 66 Wilson Road. Uh, good evening, Mayor Kramer, Council. Um, just want to address something that was mentioned at last month's, uh, meeting. Mr. Alex Clark spoke last month about rank choice voting, or as I like to call it, rank choice roulette. Uh,
you can find it on the meeting starting at minute 2145. He said Mikey Cheryl won with about 34% of the vote. But what if one day it isn't Mikey Cheryl? What if instead it's a demagogue, a dangerous extremist, some even someone who just doesn't truly represent us who was able
to still win with maybe 34% of the vote, 27% of the vote because they have an energized cult following while the rest of the vote is split among many other candidates. with RCV that dangerous the extremist will have a harder time winning because in order to win he'll
need majority support and most people will reject extremism. Well, who do we have running in New York City? Pretty crazy, isn't it? Skip ahead to minute 3854. Your response, Mayor Kramer. You said this Democratic primary convinced you of the
need for rank choice roulette. I guess because there were too many candidates. Oh, you'd much prefer uh you know what the Democrats did at the presidential level and just pick somebody, just take the vote away from everybody and just select Camala Harris. Maybe that's what you want. Um you said a lot of people
called you the night before the election and asked your advice on on who to vote for and you concluded that you're now a fan of rank choice voting. So I I would just urge you and the council to seriously consider this. Uh maybe you'll repent. um some talking points against
rank choice voting. So RCV is unnecessarily complex. It violates the principles of most vote wins. It's the ballot exhaustion is real. If a voter's rank candidates are all eliminated, all eliminated, their ballot
no longer counts, disenfranchising them. In some elections, 20 to 30% of the ballots get thrown out before the final tally. RCV is opaque and hard to verify. You can't easily handcount an RCV election.
It requires computer algorithms. I mean, what you're espousing is dangerous. It's roulette. It's expensive and unnecessary. New machines, voter education, implementation costs, diverse uh divert resources from real election
reforms that we actually need. It suppresses bold ideas. RCV favors the least objectionable, not the most visionary candidate who inspires passionate support. They're often punished while bland consensus
candidates sneak and weasle their way through. It's incompatible with our constitutional system. If scaled up, RCV would undermine the electoral college and introduce chaos into presidential elections. Doesn't strengthen our republic. It bypasses that.
It's a solution in search of a problem. Our current system is simple, time-tested, and understandable. Let's not break what isn't broken in the name of trendy reform. And I would just close with, let's defend the integrity of our elections by
keeping them transparent, accessible, and rooted in the proven principles that have served us for generations. Ranked choice roulette isn't progress, it's a gimmick. Anyone else wishing to speak?
Alex Clark, 396 Hamilton Street. And I would be happy to talk to the speaker and or any of you in more depth about those points. Many of them were not correct, but I have a statement here and I want to focus on that because I only have five minutes. I want to talk about rank choice in the New York City mayoral
primary since it was recent. First, you have to give credit where it's due. Zoran Mamani went from single-digit support in February to winning the election with 56% of the vote. He mobilized nearly 50,000 volunteers,
50,000. Mandani ran a strong campaign, but part of his success was because rank choice voting changes how voters approach elections and it changes how candidates run their campaigns. First, we saw increased turnout. New York City saw the highest turnout of voters in a primary
since 1989. Among early voters, 21% were 25 to 34 years old. And that was easily the largest age group. Young people were also the largest age group in the election overall. Mandani
mobilized many young voters and many firsttime voters. He captured demographics that Democrats have long struggled to mobilize. In plurality elections, multiple candidates are often discouraged from running out of fear of splitting the vote or dividing their party. Rank
choice eliminates that concern because voters can rank all the candidates they like. As a result, more candidates are encouraged to run. In New York, the race was very competitive with 11 candidates on election day. In industry, we understand that robust
competition can raise quality standards. Likewise, competition can also raise the quality of candidates running for office. On the other hand, in a monopoly or an igopoly where there is limited or no competition, quality plummets because
there is no incentive to innovate or improve. We see a similar shortcoming in two-party politics. We hear of people who complain about having to vote for the lesser of two evils, as they say, and you can a case can be made that one party is far worse than the other. But
nonetheless, many voters are not happy with the limited choices they have. Rank choice helps to reduce negative campaigning because you don't want to alienate voters who can still rank you second or third if you're not their first choice. Rank choice promotes coalition building instead of
mudslinging. Zoran Mani and Brad Lander cross endorsed each other while both were still in the race. Normally, a candidate would drop out first before endorsing an opponent. Mandi reached his fundraising limit and told supporters to donate to Adrien Adams. That also would
never happen in a plurality election because you don't want to support uh a candidate that you're running against and you don't want that your opponents to steal your votes. This kind of shift away from negative campaigning can help reduce voter fatigue, which is
especially important in our long election cycles. It will also be easier to unite similar-minded voters after a tough primary where there is less resentment to sort through afterward. Mandani understood rank choice voting. He leveraged the strengths of rank choice to run a better candid kind of
campaign. It was largely a positive campaign and it was a campaign that resonated with young voters and disaffected voters and got those voters to turn out. that benefits the people because when voters turn out, we elect representatives who better
represent us and we get a government that better represents us. I want to give you an example of what a resolution might look like that the town might pass. Um, this is the resolution that Monontlair passed last year and I just want to I can leave this copy with you
if you hadn't haven't gotten it yet. Just let me know. But the what it does is one supports the pes passage of S1622 and A4042 which is the state bill that defines rank choice and allows voters in a municipality to vote on it if desired
and we're still voting on it. Two, it supports commitment of state resources to increase awareness of rank choice and to educate the public. Three, it calls on the assembly speaker and senate president to advance the bill for committee consideration and votes by their respective houses. and four,
request the township clerk to provide copies of the resolution to the assembly speaker and senate president and members of our legislative district delegation. That's it. Uh, a resolution like this is very harmless. It requires little commitment from the town. Yet, it is
very important in that it helps us signal to our state representatives that rank choice is something we are interested in. and it tells them that we want the opportunity to vote to improve our election process and strengthen our democracy. Thank you.
Sorry, there's people back there. Hi. Uh Rob Johnson, 15 Lion. Got to speak right into the mic. Sorry. Damn it. No, I'm sorry. We have a mic that's stepped out. Uh Rob Johnson, 15 Lion. We good now? Yep. Okay. Uh this is going to be simple and
brief. Uh I'm the one that's contacted Mayor Kramer concerning the animal feeding issues over uh on 27. I just want to thank you and uh the the council for uh relatively quickly getting an ordinance together. Uh and I, you know, there's some problems I have, but we'll
hammer it out during uh public hearing session. But just want to thank the uh thank thank everybody for that. Well, if we we can't change things. Well, I mean, I think they're going to point it out to you during it. I just don't want to hold There's no public hearing tonight on I know next week in a couple week in a
month, but if you won't be able to change it, you won't be able to the the Okay, then I we'll go into it very quickly. Uh basically the issues that I have uh concerning it are uh the colony issue uh that you're basically um the whole point
is to to prevent in my view uh is to prevent a colony from happening and uh that's what I've been working to stop with the local people on my near me that have been feeding the animals. Uh that if you don't stop it before it becomes a
problem uh that I mean it's that's the whole point. It's it kind of just kind of almost re rewards the efforts of them surreptitiously going on private property uh leaving bowls of food out,
leaving water out and uh you know, I just think that should probably be revisited. But, you know, if this gets passed the first time and then amend it with another ordinance later, I don't know. But whatever. We'll see how it goes. Okay, that was it. Nice and simple.
Thanks. Javon Walker, 15 Cune Street. Um, I'd like to just ask the question um there's an upcoming World Cup and this is going to sound very different than what usually people come to city council and and talk about. But, um, there's a World
Cup next year, 2026, and New Jersey has a couple matches all the way through the final. The question that I asked of the council is, is there any upcoming planning to accommodate for the World Cup? The World Cup is such a global event. Franklin Township has 60 to
70,000 residents. And I truly think that um my idea of some kind of accommodation for the World Cup. I thought about it and thought that maybe there could be daily viewing in the gazebo area to be able to watch World Cup matches. I don't know what time the matches could be, 12:30, 6, 9:00. I don't know. But I
really think that for a generational event in the US, I think that it should um Franklin Township could be the first or the only municipality in the area or the state outside of Jersey City that could make a whole welcoming event for the community. You have so many
residents from from other countries that would love to see their country represented as such an athletic event. That's the purpose of the Olympics. It could be the purpose for the World Cup. Um, I've had ideas of, like I said, accommodating a big screen, contracting out to vendors, doing whatever, but you
could make a very inclusive environment for everyone. Um, if they don't have the money to be able to pay for tickets, they could come, you know, whether Franklin charge zero dollars or even charge a dollar, $2 tickets, but a whole family could come be able to cheer on uh their respective country if not the
United States. And it's just a it's just a welcoming environment. Um, and something tells me that close by municipalities, if not every other municipality, has not even broached this idea. So, I think by nature, Franklin Township could be the leader in this.
Um, and I just like to say again that I think if this is not done or even broached, I think it could be a total I'm not going to say a waste, but I think it'll definitely be dropping the ball on behalf of the municipality. So, um, that's it. Thank you.
Thank you. Great idea about the World Cup. Uh good evening council members. Good evening everybody in attendance. Uh my name is Joseph Nygard. We're from 727 Franklin Boulevard. Uh I want to speak on an issue that um Lou Reon is familiar with.
My wife Kiana and I um we're the owners of NJ Greencene. We're a proposed dispensary right here in Franklin Township. Um, we're proudly blackowned, womanowned, and disabled veteranowned. Um, we're local residents for over 20
years. Uh, we're a true local micro business, and, uh, we represent exactly what cannabis legalization in New Jersey was meant to support. We have had site control. We've had zoning approval and a
letter of municipal support from this very council since 2023. Yet, we're still not open. Why? We're not open because you guys capped the number of dispensaries in town after we'd already begun moving forward. We
were delayed due to unforeseen investor issues, problems with the back end of our business. They were not due to incompetence or inaction, but to internal challenges that we've worked very hard to overcome. to now penalize us for that and exclude us from the
market that we helped to build is not just unfair, but it's a betrayal of the spirit of cannabis legalization. To deny a disabled veteran and an African-American woman the ability to open their business in this town is more
than just bad optics. It's unjust and it goes against the principles of equity and inclusion that cannabis legalization was supposed to be about. I also need to address a falsehood that you guys keep repeating. The township
has claimed that the state of New Jersey said they would limit the number of dispensary licenses issued in Franklin when residents or business owners come in and complain there's so many dispensaries everywhere. The town just throws their hands in the air and passes
the buck to Trenton. Well, that's not how it works. That's not how it ever worked. Okay. New Jersey's cannabis law explicitly gives local governments the power to regulate how many licenses they allow in
their town. That's not a secret. It was front page news during the legalization process. You have to stop passing the buck to Trenton. You guys approved all these businesses and now because of problems, you're going back. The real
reason for the cap is obvious. There's political pressure from the expense from the existing dispensaries. We all remember last October when Shanny Madam Nova, the owner of Leaf House dispensary on Eastern Avenue, stood in this very
room and said, "How can I bring my cultivation site to Franklin when you keep approving new dispensaries?" A statement that doesn't even make sense. It doesn't even make sense. What did the township do? You caved. You let yourselves be bullied by a business that is widely known throughout our cannabis
community as being a culture vulture and sell selling overpriced products designed only for the wealthy with no connection to the communities that made cannabis what it is today. Meanwhile, NJ Green scene a local grassroots equity- centered business is just shut out. This
isn't about rules or regula regulations anymore. It's about Franklin Township protecting big business at the expense of the very people that legalization was meant to uplift. We launched I didn't I didn't I didn't just come here to call things like that
out. I came here with a solution. We launched a petition at change.org. We received over 300 signatures from community members who support our effort. And the petition includes a clear, fair, and actionable proposal to amend ordinance number 4456-24
in a way that would allow NJ Green Scene and other equity uh will allow NJ Greencene and other equitydriven businesses a fair path into the market while preserving a guaranteed space for micro businesses, excuse me, for micro
businesses in Franklin Township moving forward. We're not here to disrupt. We're here to participate, build, and serve. We're asking for the township to stand with the people, and you guys have the power to fix this. So, we're ready to work with you whenever you're ready
to work with us. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Valerie Martelli. I reside at 41 Crab Apple Lane in Franklin Park and I'm in Society Hill at Somerset 1. Rob Johnson
spoke about the issue that I was um I am going to speak about uh regarding the ordinance that is having its first reading tonight regarding the feeding of animals. Um it's an important topic. It's particularly been an issue in my
community in the condo association. Rob's um association is adjacent to ours. Um I did forward an email with my concerns with this particular um
amendment because particularly as Rob mentioned about the issue of trapneuter release colonies which we haven't dealt with. The state of New Jersey health department leaves this up to the county and the
municipality to determine whether they are appropriate and what rules have to be followed for any of these um trapneuter release colonies to be established in our community. There have been people that have done this ad hoc on their own
uh kind of under the radar and then after the fact told us about what they had done and the people that they had involved. As it turned out, um they didn't ask permission. They didn't find out about this. I knew really very little about
trapneuter release. It sounds like a wonderful idea on paper. You're reducing the population of cats by trapping them and neutering them so that they will not produce more animals outside and reduce the number of cats in a colony.
But the part that is that is problematic is the continued feeding of those colonies. Because food is left outside or given to these cats, they're bringing them right to individuals residences.
The cats defecate all over the area. They vomit. They do all sorts of lovely things and they're in the parking lots. They get inside cars. It's detrimental actually to the animals health and it jeopardizes the health of pets, wildlife
in the community. There are also um organizations which do not support trapneuter release. In fact, the state of New Jersey doesn't really take a position on it. As I said earlier, they leave it up to the township to kind of
craft something on how this is going to be determined. Um, you know, with the county board of health. We don't have to do this. And in the way that this is proposed, we're actually kind of giving a way to
sanction these communities. It's also written here that it's up to the property owner to decide whether they want one of these colonies on their property. So, say for instance in Society Hill one, our association has
already said we do not want to support this for many reasons. It's not good in this closed community where people have access to each other. Um it's um but if Society Hill 2 say they decide we
want to have this in our community, we don't really have any say about that. Now in this proposed amendment, it does say that if the cats become a nuisance, you can deal with it after the fact. But as I said in my email, it's kind of like
dealing with the cat after it's gotten out of the barn. It's kind of a little too late at that point. We have a responsibility, I think, to protect the environment, to protect um the wildlife, to protect our pets, to
protect our humans. And I understand the concerns of the people who support um taking care of these animals who have been abandoned, uh dropped off, gotten lost, gotten out. That is a concern. But even Peeta
actually says that euthanasia can be the kindest option. Living outside for cats is not a healthy environment. They're not meant to live outside. They're not native species in an outside environment. It's not good for their health. They
don't get any kind of medical or veterinary care. So, I did speak with Katie from animal control. She's helped me with situations in our community to try to kind of educate people. I went to the
county board of health and they were not able to make any kind of progress with this because they have to actually visually see somebody feeding animals. So that's the one thing that I'm concerned about this amendment. If a police officer or animal control
actually has to observe someone doing this, that's a problem. Thank you. Thank you. Uh good even good evening everyone. Uh my name is Kunal Lakia and uh I reside at 8 Super Court uh Princeton, New
Jersey. Uh first of all, I thank the council for always being supportive and uh taking care of the community very well. So kudos to all of you and kudos to all the kids who won the award today.
Uh very well done. Uh I speak today in support of a topic that Shubhindu who's our past HOA president uh I speak on behalf of all the families
and as a current member of the HOA along with Tam and other members. Tamis is also part of and HO and other members who are here in support of the traffic like and light and the pedestrian crossing that we have been kind of
following up for a long period of time. There has been some action. There has been approvals DOT approved after doing the traffic analysis and so on. But right now where it stands, we need further support till it
actually happens. It is not just about convenience. It is about safety. Multiple and I mean multiple school buses come in and out using that entrance. Not just cars,
not just other residents. We will need support to get all the different parties that are involved and not just make it an HOA issue because it is not it is not about maintaining some lawn or something within a community. It
is about a main traffic light which happens to fall between two um townships and we need to figure out a way how we are going to make that light happen and expeditiously. We are willing to work. We are willing to meet. We are willing
to do anything that this council believes can be done. But something has to be done about it. Once again, I very thankful for all the support that we have received. But I think we have to
see this topic through. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? See no one comes forward. Ask for unanimous consent to close public portion. Without objection, public. Um
I ask for unanimous consent to close public portion. Seeing no objections, uh public portion is closed. Um time to address the questions. Oh, we began and end with the uh traffic
light. Um, so the state has approved it. I'll let Mr. Vorlocker talk about South Brunswick. So, so the state has said that it meets the warrants as as far as our warrant analysis, not that they've approved it.
There's a big difference. Um the the state requires a 25% contribution um when you to put into uh combination the two uh to two lights the pedestrian signal which is in fact proposed to be a
traffic signal just pedestrian actuated traffic signal and then the signal at uh the four-way intersection of of Princeton Highlands Boulevard and 27 you're probably in the neighborhood of about $500,000 total. um 25% then do the
math. Um and and in ordinary circumstances that cost would be split in this case between the two municipalities given the fact that the highway divides um the two municipalities, South Brunswick and Franklin. Um, we have had correspondence
and and communication with South Brunswick and they have said in no uncertain terms while they would not oppose those signals, they will not be contributing financially to those signals. Thank you. Um, can I follow up with a question for the
manager on that? Sure. There's other options too, right? There's the 25% share, but one of the options is the state would pay for it. That's correct. you put it in their capital plan. Um uh
and that my my assumption is that if the if it gets approved at the state level for inclusion in their capital plan that that could mean that a traffic signal would be some my guess sometime between five and 10 years out before it went
into design and and uh you know the full engineering of it at that at that level. So yes, that was certainly an option that was was given. Um that's the no cost option. That's the no cost to the township. Uh either township for that matter. Yes. Um
correct. Then there's the option also where we pay for all of it. There's the option where we pay for all of it and it could get done as soon as we include it in our capital budget. Correct. So, we're talking about uh 500,000
versus 125,000 versus nothing, but different different time periods. Different time periods. Correct. Um, so most of council doesn't know what I'm about to say occurred. Um, I talked
to the two of you as you well know and I thought council knows about the project, but approving the money is one issue is is one um is an issue. And I thought it would
be easier to go to council to say we're going to do this if we had the community uh HOA uh contribute. So, uh, and I somewhere between a hundred and $200 a home. Um,
the major benefit is to the HOA. And that's why I thought that would be fair. The other thing is the precedent to other there are many places, many communities that come onto Route 27. And if we put up a light for you
without any cost from you, that's a precedent and others might be asking for that. So I asked you that and I'm I was waiting for an answer and I offered as you recall to go before your
HOA uh board or at an HOA meeting to discuss that. Now that might be shocking other council members. I don't want Well, I'm telling you that because I don't want them you to blame them for that offer. If you don't like that
offer, that's all on me. Um so, uh that's where we are and I was I was waiting for you to respond. Um uh and and mayor just just to add to one part of that that there's one option
that hasn't been discussed and the department of transportation in the past over the many years that I've dealt with them has also put forward this option that the community pay for the signal in its entirety and then it could be done immediately.
That option was offered to an apartment complex on Route 27 in Franklin Park and it was also offered to a homeowners association during my tenure in the police department. So that option is also one that that certainly could be
considered as well. Clearly that's not going to happen here, but it is an option. Okay. Um, the World Cup's a good idea. Um,
I I don't know how we could we as you and I discussed actually daytime large screen. I'm not sure how we would accomplish that. I mean, I'm talking about a movie theater size screen. Um,
Mr. Manager, you look like you. No, I I mean I so I I have a son who's very much looking forward to the World Cup. Uh and so I I it's a it's a great idea. The logistics of it are difficult and it's also at a time where we'll be leaning
next year on staff for the 250th anniversary of our country and and events related to that. So I just don't want to to overstretch. you know, our recreation department is only comprised of, you know, about five full-time staff
members. So, it's not something that is uh is without some labor. Um, but certainly we can have a discussion about it. Tell Safy to do it. She can do anything. Tell Safy. Yeah. So, so understand that Safy is my special projects manager, not
a member of the recreation department. And I know that sometimes uh our council members forget that, but she has many other functions other than all of the special fun things that we all want to see happen. Mr. Mayor, may I just add one one
comment? being a a soccer fan um I think is a is a great idea and of course if you had a large place to have everybody in one place will be ideal but we have we have uh perhaps we can look at some other options to bring people together
such as houses of worship even schools in certain times of the day perhaps a school will be available with their big halls for people to go and and and watch and the house of worship We have quite a few of them in town as you may know. So we we it's a great idea, but we should
have options open. Right. And and mayor, instead of Safy, perhaps we have a staff member who I believe you all know up here who's probably the biggest in his mind football fan, not soccer fan. Um in in
Vince Dominac, so perhaps he has some spare time to organize events for the World Cup. He might enjoy that. He might enjoy that. I I'd love to I'd love to be part of that too. Mayor, I just want to add, no, I think it's great, Mr. Walker, for bringing that forward. Um, everything Bob said is
right. We don't want to stretch ourselves too thin, but could maybe, and I there's more than I realized until recently because people have been talking about it, but there's soccer clubs, soccer enthusiasts. I know it gets a little sticky, but maybe Mr. Walker and a few other key people could
get a civilian committee going and bring ideas and mom's greater worker now what we can legally do not do and we could be I mean no sponsoring and helping move it along maybe provide the space but this way the
staff doesn't get burdened and sometimes soccer enthusiasts know a lot better than than even some of our staff and Vince could as a volunteer serve on that committee if yeah we do have the board of board of ed campus building that that is a community building that that perhaps might be a a
location where um those who wanted to to cheer on their their teams might be able to meet there. We it's it's a certainly a topic that we can have further discussion about. I don't want to belabor here. We can have discussion. Absolutely. Like I said, we can have a discussion. Thank you for bringing it, Mr. Wil. So,
so mayor the last world cup I was in India at the time and um many corners of every city there were huge uh large screen TVs and and the the matches were live cast and people just
gathered together and have a good time and these are all done by local uh clubs football athletic clubs or something like that. It's a great uh community event happening all over the country. Even India is not very good in football
a soccer you know even there it is super super popular and I think it's a wonderful thing if he can pull it off somehow a manager but another thing I think that will be an obstacle is time because I I know
world cup they play world cup all through the day 24 hours so time is going to be a very important factor to keep it Owen too. Okay, moving on. Uh, Mr. Renown, would
you address the cannabis issue? Yeah, only that, mayor, as you know, we Sorry. Only only to say this, which is I have been in communication with um uh this uh cannabis uh prospective cannabis um lency uh their attorney uh probably
over the course of the last three or four months. I've answered all of their questions. Primarily the issue is is that we're over the cap in terms of the number of licenses. Um I know that you know they they one of
their points is that well I got a resolution of support. Well we gave out resolutions of support to I think a a number of people more than a number of licenses. And the purpose of that was to give everybody an opportunity to see if they could put together a business and and get it operated in town at some
point in time. And I disagree with the characterization as to how it is that council came to the conclusion that they wanted to cap it. And and the reason I disagree with that is because I have the benefit of sitting in all of these council meetings and listening to all of you talk about it. So at some point in time, as the
gentleman indicated, the town has the right to set the to set the limit. Um I don't you know I I once again and I I disagree with the characterization that somehow we were all waiting for the state to step in and do this. I don't think anybody understood because the
cannabis law is completely new how it would operate. I don't think anybody understood the fact that there were only a hundred or so towns that would allow cannabis facilities in their towns. So thus concentrating those those licenses
in in in a small number of places. Um so ultimately the council exercised its discretion. Um this property owner did not have an approval from the state. They didn't get it until I believe February or March uh well after the
license. They weren't in the pipeline. They didn't fit in the grandfather clause that got I guess got us to 23 not 24 licenses. And um you know we've been kind of open and and direct and responsive to them all all during Bob will tell you because every time I get
an email I send it to him. I ask him how I should respond and I respond almost the same day. So that that's I think that's kind of where we are. Um I I I I don't know what else what else I can say on that point later. Okay. Thank you. Um
animal feeding prohibition. Uh we're going to discuss that more later. Um uh cat colonies. Do you have an answer for that, Mr. Patasnik? I I think there's a misunderstanding
sort of how it's written. Um, so the township manager can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see in any way that it's encouraging. Um, the discouragement is still the same. If someone doesn't adopt the colony, you're not allowed to feed the animals. But if you love the cats and you want to
hum humanely feed them, there's a process to do that. As a cat owner myself, as an animal lover myself, I think that's the right thing to do. and it's modeled after our neighboring town Hillsboro's ordinance um with some slight modifications um including
homeowners associations or homeowners if you live in a rental um we need to be giving permission for that. So the the second piece of it is if the cats are a nuisance to the neighbors that's not allowed. So if they can't control the cat colony, if you can't make sure the
cat is spayed or neutered, if you can't vaccinate the cat, then you can't feed the cat. And if it's bothering you, you can complain and they have to mediate or mitigate, sorry, mitigate the cat
bothering you. And if they can't, they have to remove the cat. They have to remove the cat. So it it right now the situation is there's no ordinance around this and there's no way to enforce anything. This adds um lot of enforcement and also the
ability for someone to humanely keep the colony that is not disturbing the neighbors under very strict circumstances that protect public health and safety and also you know appreciate and respect the life of the cat and their contributions to the individual
that has a bond with them. So, and and I just want to chime. So, the the ability to enforce is one that I I'm kind of want to chime in here because I have a little little bit of experience in enforcement. Um and and
the the issue here is that I think that often times people um don't understand what is required to enforce really any law. Um so, the answer is yes. Um, someone has to make an observation of a
violation, a law enforcement officer or an animal control officer or a health inspector or what whatever that whatever that role is. You have to make an observation, right? that that you know we we in this state don't do things like
photo radar or you know there was a little experiment with photo traffic signals that kind of went down the the tubes really quickly. Um we we are a state that relies on the observations of its enforcement officers to take
enforcement action. Um, but what this ordinance allows for is to to be able to identify not only those who are doing it within the confines of the ordinance
um and and caring for and maintaining a cat colony that has been neutered or, you know, spayed or neutered, all all of those other things that go along with this ordinance. But it also allows us to identify those locations that aren't
complying with the law. And and what we don't have now is a law that um prohibits this type of activity. And if you talk about the ability of police or animal control to enforce it, well, if
we outright banned it completely, we would still have the same circumstance as it relates to enforcement. So, it's kind of a moot point that the issue of enforcement is that if we receive complaints that someone is feeding a
feral cat colony somewhere where there is no cat colony registered, then those people responsible for enforcement can take those steps necessary to identify the violators and bring enforcement action against them. That's the way laws
work. Um, so I don't think that there's what what this does is while it it gives a certain amount of latitude to someone who wants to honestly take on a great responsibility because it is a great responsibility.
This ordinance says that that cat colony is yours forever. There's no getting out from it. All right? So that means the moment that you make that conscious decision to own these cats, they are yours forever until
they're they all die. Okay? So that's a that's a a a lifetime commitment. And I don't know how many people will be willing to take on that that responsibility. So that leaves us with then enforcement
of the other part of the ordinance that says you can't do this. And I think that that's where this ordinance wins. Okay. I I I have a couple of observations on this uh subject. So, we're going to discuss this
separately. Uh I wanted to answer immediately, but when we get to the first reading, we'll discuss it in detail. Um those are all the subjects I had. Anyone else on council want to respond?
Okay, then we are moving on. Um, council comments, reports. Mr. Patasnik, I have no comments. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Patasnik. Mr. Vasanel, uh, we had a public safety meeting
today. Uh, the main thing that came out of that was that Uncle Tank's restaurant. I mean, there was other things, but this is the, you know, thing appropriate to announce to the public to hear. All the proceeds from their doggy menu and other designated items are
going to be donated to the Franklin Township Animal Shelter. I know we've had a lot of talk today about the cat thing, but in general, I think most everyone in this town is aware of and committed to our wonderful resources here at the Franklin Animal Shelter. it
could be ordered to be takeout, delivery and dine in weather permitting. So bottom line is there's a lot of um you know financial assistance that comes and um please support that effort if you can. Again that's Uncle Tank's
restaurant and that's Elizabeth Avenue from what I understand. Yes, it is. Um and you can order those dog dishes via GrubHub if you so choose to have delivered to your house and your dog will greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Um, we had a Hamilton board
meeting last night. Not a lot came out of it. Well, we did a lot, but um, a lot of it's about the events in the fall. There were some questions about the work that was going on, which is all good. The water work and other upgrades, but getting some communication um, glitches
worked out. Um, because we have a lot of contractors in the area. Uh, this year, trunk or treat. I know it's crazy. Three and a half months from now will be trunk. It's gone a Saturday the 25th instead of well not instead of because that's the last Saturday before um
uh Halloween August there's week of a people but um other projects are coming to Hamilton Street but we haven't been able to review uh plans are being redone and submitted a few new projects they looked interesting but of course we got to
review them make sure it's going to work for the overall um street Um, and I just really was overwhelmed and shocked uh just when I got thought I didn't have to keep an eye
on Phil. Apparently, he was plotting behind my back. Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry. I mean to call you Phil, but um thank you for the proclamation. You know, when you read it, I was in shock, but your clerk has a lot had a lot to do with it. Well, I was going to say I
didn't want to name names, but I I oddly um a lot of people here and I'm sitting here all you reading and realizing and just to point out a few uh mayor yourself and Carl I used to call him
Councilman Wright who's not here before I was even on council. We were working on building that TV station. So, for what it's worth, not going to go over everybody, but the mayor and Councilman Wright, we were in the trenches together before I even got on council. Very
different people, very different personalities, same goal. And I say that in the '9s, I was campaigning for Councilwoman Kimberly Francois because I didn't know her personally, but I heard all this good stuff about her. And uh she's here,
still here. Um Lou, who for the most part of the last 25 years have been here, I probably annoyed with some questions prior to getting on council, bothering him at the DOS there before we even had the TV cameras. And Bob, of course, was before I really knew who he
was, but he was so tall you couldn't miss him, was talking and complaining about auto accidents in the fifth ward where I've lived for over 60 years. Um, and God knows, I think he was a sergeant
then. So, for what it's worth, I don't know if you can find people with such different personalities and different backgrounds and different, uh, connections to Franklin. But, uh,
the irony of it is, uh, you all have the same goal. And there's nobody here, um, that I believe is not here for the right reason, whether it's been a recent council person or people like our clerk
who started around when I started. I can't remember who started first, but um, people seem to sometimes want to stay. um aren't always allowed to. I've been blessed and that's how I look at it.
I've been blessed. God and the voters are the ones that allow me to be here in my opinion. Um one last little tidbit, time goes really fast. I uh was just thinking the other day, ironically, because it is T250 or
Franklin 250, FT250, whatever we're calling it, 1976, I was delivering Starledger newspapers in the same neighborhood I grew up in in the basement of my mother's house, who she where she still lives. And it was a heatwave, and I remember reading I had a
stack of papers left over the 7 1976 we were celebrating the 50th anniversary. Well, fast forward half a century and here we are by mayors u uh permitting me to and and appointing me to serve on uh
the serve on the 250th anniversary. So, just through that little tidbit, time goes really fast and you find yourself sometimes working with people you probably don't have a real lot in common with, but you have the most important
thing in common with, service and and respect for the community and each other. So, mayor, before I lose it, thank you. And anyone else, including especially our clerk, who put that out
there, but let me tell you, um I hope if I'm ever that surprised again, it's for a good thing because I was uh really surprised. Thank you. Sorry for taking up so much time, but I figure I can capsulize 20 years in five minutes. That's pretty good. Thank you, Mayor.
Thank you, M. And thank you to the public. Thank you, Mr. Vasinella. Miss Francois, I look Councilman Bessel, I looked at the mayor and I said, he really is surprised because he has nothing to say.
Congratulations on your 20 years of service. Um the only thing I want to when we come to the cats I'll make my comment about the cats but for the world cup um there were a lot of suggestions that came out but I definitely think it
should be a ground swell from the community and you have a great idea and you need to bring some people together and come up with some ideas and you know bring them to us and we can figure out what we can do lowcost ideas. That's all I have Mr. Mayor or maybe free.
Thank you. Uh Mr. Embarrass. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh so, um we there were several meetings that I was part of starting from the YMCA um
action, the steering committee on the 30th. Um we had talked about uh reaching out to uh more people in town um and um mobilizing uh them to uh uh be all in.
Our campaign theme is all in. So uh that's going on. Um there was a storage board authority uh board meeting as well as the greater Ritton Workforce Development Board uh meeting. um on this
26th and the and the 1st um Franklin High School graduation. I'm was surprised that uh uh Council Member Patnik uh didn't touch upon that. Uh so he and I were there. [Laughter]
Okay. All right. So we were there as usual. You know, this year the weather was good. So, we we stayed uh uh nice and cool under the tent and uh 700 and somewhat students graduated. Uh it was wonderful event as usual. I think not
too long ago, Deputy Mayor Udin's daughter graduated last year. So, it was it was great. Uh and then I think there was a land use meeting that we discussed uh some uh internal um matters that we attended. Um, that's about it, mayor.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Only Jaka. Yes, sir. Okay, mayor. Um, Councilman Vinella, I want to join uh other members of the council to congratulate you for your
good job and most especially I know you're in good terms with the African community. You've been very, very helpful to them. Even before I joined the council, they've been talking good of you. So I am happy that you receive an award towards that direction today.
And um also one of my friends just left a chief the daughter is one of the recipients of this scholarship. So because of time he just left. Another thing is the Somerset Somerset Park very
close to where I live. They just installed the electric their electric car charger in their premises which makes it easy for the the residents to charge though I don't know the exact amount they charge for it but it's a good very good improvement in that
vicinity within that area may that's what I have tonight thank you Mr. Kurazzi thank you Mr. Mayor, first of all, as you may know, we had a blood drive in township at the 49 City Cedar Grove Lane Sadik School, and I'm happy to let you
know that we had a pretty good uh actually participant and donation. I was told that the blood that was donated could save up to 200 uh patients. So, that's wonderful thing that happened. And again, I encourage uh anybody who
can uh donate blood, please consider there's still emergency. there's still some need for the blood and that's really appreciated. Uh, two other items. Uh, July 12th, Saturday at 8:00 p.m., uh, there is going to be a Firefly walk
and it's going to be at John Clyde Memorial Native Grassland Preserve. So, bring the family. It's going to be a lot of fun. And also, there's an astronomy. Okay. So you will be able to uh hopefully see some of the uh the stars
and and the uh the other space areas and HRC meeting is going to be on July 23rd and we will have uh the new high school principal who will be coming. Miss Miles will be coming to talk about her mission
and the goals. And I also want to take the opportunity to wish the best for our uh uh HRC junior commissioner uh Roham Khalida who graduated and we
also want to welcome the new one who is who was appointed and uh that's Dia Patel and she'll be the uh uh new junior commissioner. And that's all I have Mr. Mayor.
Thank you. Deputy Mayor Odin. Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. So, I have a few things that I want to report on. Um, first, this World Club is getting interesting now. Um, more interested around the the logistics of it and talking about lowc cost ideas. I remember growing up and having like
bed sheets over and then putting out pointing out with the projector, right? Like just to make some here some ideas. It's a community event. So, um not sure what kind of law cost uh Miss Prince is talking about, but I'm thinking about bed sheets, massive bed sheets. Um okay,
moving on. Um so, tomorrow's planning board meetings had um Onyx on the agenda and um if you haven't seen it yet, it's been posted. The meeting is canceled now. Has been postponed for uh September 17th now. Um, so if you had it on your
agenda for tomorrow, as I did, please make sure that um you have it rescheduled for the 17th. Um, now moving on to the other um big one that we always get asked is around the B9. So, I have an update for you on the
B9 is that um on August 6th, um the planning board will meet um as of now, we know that's the date, August 6th at 7:30 at the Consala uh building and the planning board will review the draft conditions of the approval. Again, it's
a draft. Um and the public will have an opportunity to speak. So, um please put that on your calendar as well. And a lot of folks have been asking about that. So, August 6th at 7:30. Um, there's another thing that I've mentioned the last couple council
meetings is the kickoff of the summer health series. Um, and that is now officially um on the agenda. And if you go to our website, you're going to find it available. And it talks about how the Franklin Township residents are invited to take charge of their mental,
physical, and financial well-being this summer by participating in the 2025 summer health series. It's a free educational wellness program. Um, this engaging series is made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Franklin Township Department of Special
Projects, Franklin Township Parks and Recreck, and the Franklin Township Mayor's Wellness Campaign. Um, and it'll be hosted at Franklin Township Community Center, 505 Deont Lane. And the first one starts on July 21st, Somerset Help's
mobile outreach band, followed by July 24th, plan for the future state um estate planning with our um county surrogate Tina Jola. And then July 30th, St. Peters will be around um doing a bone density screening. July 31st, I
know we had Miss Tolman talk about this. Um it's let's talk about anxiety and it's led by Phyllis Beals. So there's a lot going on. um bunch of seminars that are being offered to um assist our you know residents specifically our seniors who have asked for some of these
seminars um to address some of their concerns. So please feel free to make sure you um attend these sessions and uh what else have I think and I just want to congratulate you Mr. Professor
Allah for your 20 years of service. Thank you. He's been sitting either on my left side or my right side since I've been here. So, thank you so much. Learned a lot from you. That's all I have here. Thank you. Uh for my comments, uh I
usually don't say much. I'm going to go a little longer. Uh Councilwoman Francois will kick me if I go too long. Um first of all, we forgot last time to congratulate Mr. Tasnic on being what,
the 60th most handsome man in New Jersey or No, no. 60th 60th most powerful. It was like a policy maker. Yeah. Influential something influential. I thought,
but I liked your first one better quite frankly. Um besides that I want to discuss Franklin 250 is a celebration of our 250th anniversary uh concentrating on the Revolutionary War period. Anything from the Stamp Act
to uh George Washington's inauguration. So it's going the backbone of this is going to be on five events and we want to celebrate each of the five. The first event is the conference on horseback. January 3rd, 1777.
The Battle of Princeton has just ended and they've got to decide what to do. Do we go to New Brunswick or do we go to uh Jockey Hollow and hide out uh over the winter? Um spo spoilers. Um they went to Jockey Hollow. Had they gone to New
Brunswick, they they were three days without sleep. But if they had gone there, no one was guarding the gold. in New Brunswick and they would could have ended the war there, but it's probably wise of them to not go to Jockalo. I'm getting too long-winded on this. The
second one is the Battle of Milstone. It's also called the Milstone Courthouse Battle, Vanise Mills Battle. January 20th, 1777, one of the first times the militia after the signing of the Declaration defeated the um uh British.
That happened here in Franklin. Uh then the march to mammoth or this is French fu de I probably pronounced that wrong. It means fire of joy is recognized as the first fourth of July fireworks celebration
ever. That happened on the banks of the Raritan River where landing lane bridges. Um and then Rashambo's march to Yorktown very important came through the town. um and actually went on both edges
of the town down Route 27, down River Road and finally over to a road that wasn't Canal Road then, uh but a different road. And the important thing is the that started in Rhode Island, which
had a large African-American uh mainly African-American regiment that marched through Franklin. That was the regiment. That was the regiment that Hamilton led. That was at the tip of the spear to take
out the last the leading readout of the British and won the war for us. And then the last thing is at Rockingham. Washington was at Rockingham when he learned of the uh Treaty of
Paris and um wrote his uh his uh farewell address uh to resign as his his commission and go into private life. He was then later recruited uh to become president. Um that's what I have. Mr.
Manager, thank you, Mr. Mayor. and and just so I I told the mayor this story. The the battle of Van Nest Mill, Van Nest Mill was the location of the mill. There was a mill on that location right up until it fell into the river in the in the
1980s um on the what we call the Manville Causeway or the Western Causeway. That location was Vaness Mill and that's where that battle took place. Um and my son when he was in second grade did his
um school project on the battle of Vaness Mill and it required the creation of a diarama painful as you all may be aware who have children making a diarama with a second grader and I remember it well and that's when I learned about the battle of
Vanesmill. interesting story because they that we did win that one a skirmish with the uh regular British military. Um two announcements. one uh for all
students entering grades 7 through 11. Um if you are interested in the Franklin Township Youth Council, which is an award-winning organization here for uh students grades 7 through 11, uh
actually 7 through 12, um ages 12 through 18. Uh signups and are available now. Application deadline is September 23rd. Uh all of the information is on the website. And then for the adults in the room, not the children, um third
quarter tax bills are delayed. Um this happens uh just about every year as we wait for the county tax board to certify our tax rates. The moment that our tax rates are certified, those third quarter
tax wills become will become available. Um if in the event that there's a delay beyond that August 1st date um then there will be an extension uh with no penalty uh if necessary. So just be
aware that your third quarter tax bills are delayed. And that's all I have. Mr. Mayor, thank you. Mr. Mayor, I don't think anybody would complain about the fact that their tax bill was late if they went away for good. Well, I can't promise you that at all. There will be a third quarter tax bill.
But there was one thing I forgot to say. We had fireworks here in Franklin Township and they were spectacular even though it rained like cats and dogs. We did. And I can and so so that you know some people question you know why why we didn't cancel the fireworks. I'll
just give you a little rundown rundown on how this works. And this has been I I've been on the committee for fireworks since 2000. Um, and it the call to have or not have fireworks is made right
around 8:00 in the morning on the day of the fireworks. Um, and generally myself, the fire uh John House the fire prevention official Quella Mayweather from the police department, Steven D from the the recreation department. So,
we we look at all of the different sources for weather forecasting that are available, including um there's a localized forecast subscription that the county subscribes to. Um and what Thursday called for was the chance of of
a rain or a thunderstorm between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. And we looked at the long range forecast because Friday the 11th was the uh the rain date for the fireworks. Um, and the the rain the forecast the long range forecast was for
rain from I think it's probably raining out now Tuesday through Saturday of this week. And you know what do they say? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The weather was beautiful uh on Thursday morning. There was a chance of showers or a thunderstorm between 2 p.m.
and 6:00 p.m. So, we made the decision to go. Once the fireworks company begins all of the work in preparation for the launch pad, it it's not something that we can just undo. So, while it was not
ideal and and uh I I was not, you know, the the it just continued to extend, right? And and you know, if I had a direct line to Mother Nature's ear, I would have, you know, called it and said, "Please cut us a break here." New Brunswick went through the same thing
Thursday night. Theirs were scheduled for Boyd Park. They wound up delaying theirs and and uh but continue having them on Thursday night because they had the same situation. Um sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we have what we experienced on
Thursday, but the people who were here stuck it out. When it rained, we made the buildings available for shelter or they went out to their cars and sat and waited in their parking lot like I did with my wife and the mayor two cars over for me. Waited for it to to let up a
little bit and then we uh I don't know, got some food and watched fireworks. So, I didn't know you could do fireworks in the rain. I learned something. There was one issue where they the Nixel went out and said it was going to be at
9:30, but they went off earlier. We were supposed to go at 9:15 and what happened was the the fire the company asked if we could delay it to 9:30 so that they could get all of the tarps off and and get prepared to launch and that was going to take them a few minutes beyond
the 9:15 time and then it started to drizzle again once all the tarps were off. So they said we need to launch them now. So, it was a either launch them earlier than what was anticipated with the 9:30 NIXLE or then they may not have
all gone off because they may have gotten wet. They didn't want to wait any longer with the rain. Okay. I know there are questions about that and and those questions I think have been answered by at least one of the elected officials up here who chimed in on social media in some manner as I was
told by a resident this afternoon when I called her about her email to me. Um, and that would be the mayor. Okay. Council comments are over. Um, item number 10, council discussion
items, there are none. Item number 11, approval of the minutes. There are none. Item number 12, time to pay the bills. Warrants in the amount of $2,800,814.88 cents on July 8th, 2025 are present to the township council for payment. Do you have a motion on the warrants? I move
that the warrants as read be paid. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Anyone would like to pull an item, question an item? Madam clerk? Councilman Barrison? Yes. Councilwoman France? Yes. Councilman Karazzi? Yes. Mayor Kramer? Yes. Councilman Oni Jaka?
Yes. Council member Bataznik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Udin. Yes. Councilman Vasanella. Yes. Community development block grants consolidation plan for 25 2025 through 29 public hearing and
annual uh action plan CDBG 2025. Do I ask for unanimous consent to open to the public? Hearing no uh dissenters. We are open to the public. Same rules as last time but can only talk about community
development block grants. I ask for unanimous consent that close to the public. Um, seeing no negatives, no one declining. Um, we are closed to the public. Resolution 2590,
adopt CDBG program consolidation plan 2025 through 29 and first year action plan 2025 is presented to the council council for adoption. Do we have a motion on the item? So moved. Second.
It's been seconded. Any discussion? Do only if you have Okay. Thank you. hearing. No discussion. Madame clerk. Councilman Embarrison. Yes. Councilwoman Francois. Yes. Councilman Karazzi. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Onaka. Yes. Council member Bataznik. Yes.
Deputy Mayor Dean. Yes. Councilman Vasanella. Yes. public hearing and adoption on ordinance uh ordinances on second reading. There are none. The first reading is when we announce to the world we're considering
something. The second reading is when we actually vote on it and there's um a time for the public to speak on it. Um there are so there are no first readings. There are no second readings. There are first readings. The first is
uh ordinance number 4471-25 and an ordinance amending the municipal code of the township of Franklin County of Somerset State of New Jersey. More particularly chapter 115 dogs and other animals with the addition of article 7
wildlife and article 8 free roaming cat colonies. The foregoing ordinance is presented to township council for adoption and first reading and posting and publication in accordance with law and final and public hearing and final adoption at a meeting of the township council to be held on Tuesday, August
12th, 2025 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers. Is there a motion? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Discussion. So can I make a comment? Sure. So, I I totally get what you were
talking about, the fact that, you know, people we have these colonies and now we're we're setting up rules and regulations about how to care for them when some of us don't want them at all. So, I I understand your concern and and
the the um situation and the concern over public health and all the nuisance that we have to deal with with these cat colonies. I think the township manager, he explained it in a way that helped me better understand what we were trying to get at with this with this ordinance to
enforce. If we're going to have them, then we have to figure out a way to regulate that. But, uh, they are a nuisance and it's it's hard for me to believe that, you know, people like to do this kind of stuff. I'm not a cat lover. We spend a lot of time talking about this, but we always have to weigh
both sides of the coin. So, that's all I have to say, Mr. Mayor. So, I think that's exactly right. We're we're trying to please both sides to some degree. Uh we certainly need something to uh decrease the cat
population or decrease this practice. And what we're basically saying is you can feed a cat, but you you own it. Then that cat is yours. And you can't just decide I'm going to feed it on Tuesdays. You got to you got to you have to first
capture the cat. Then you have to have it neutered, spayed or neutered. You have to have a rabies shots. You got to get rabies shots every year. So you're going to have to or you can get threeear shots, too. Um but you've got to you've got to do that. You are responsible for the cat.
And if it bothers your neighbor, then you've got to make it not bother the neighbors anymore or you have to remove the cat. I when it comes to HOAs, I think that's a the HOA becomes responsible. So if you live in an HOA
and you wanted to have cats, a cat colony, then the HOA's got to get the license. And I just don't think they will. Um but if they everyone in the HOA wants cat colonies, then then they will.
It's a it's a very steep hill to climb. Um, you asked a question in your email about bowls of water or leaving water out. Um, I was the I initially was going to do that just for droughts. Uh, but the
manager uh pointed out a good point that he didn't believe water would attract animals unless there's a not a good source of water around. Um I just think I think in droughts it's
important because well I think we have affected the climate of this planet so that we can have extreme weather and I would hate to crash a squirrel colony or a f or the fox uh
in the area because there's just no water available. So that's why I I I put it for droughts, but uh he thought it better that we just let not include uh water as a food. Um this does allow for
people to have bird feeders. We want them 5t off the ground so they're not attracting turkeys and geese. Um and um and the other exemptions for hunters who put out bait for animals. Uh that's
state law. We can't really affect that and we didn't want to confuse the issue. The fines are pretty steep for breaking this. Uh although I will admit they're half of what I came up with the fines on my own and then I looked at the Hillsboro uh ordinance and or Hillsboro
are twice what ours are. Uh first offense $100. Second offense, $200. Third, and all other offenses after that, $500. Um, so that's what I have to say about it.
Other people, I have a couple of comments, mayor, if I may. Yes. Yes, sir. Okay. So, um, I I have two concerns mainly. Uh the one is um um
in my last house in Warren uh we noticed suddenly below our deck there was a uh cat colony um living and we didn't feed them. Um so we called animal control and uh they came and set the traps to to
take them away. And then it turns out my neighbor was feeding uh these cats and they were living under our deck. So So the I think Thank you for the your email Valerie. So I remembered that
incident. So one of the things that she mentioned was um the cats can't read our ordinance, right? They they and they don't know the boundaries. So they go they go they go eat wherever
they can the find the food and they go live wherever they can find a shelter right so that so that's a that's a problem that I had firsthand experience and I think she pointed out so that I'm concerned about that right so uh so we need to think about that and and
secondly the enforcement I know manager loves to uh do the enforcement uh side of it and uh he says it's not a problem that they can handle it but are we going to open up a Pandora's box, you know, are we going to have hundreds of calls
uh for enforcement with with neighbors complaining on each other and are we prepared to handle that? So, I I think we have that now. Okay. Well, you'll get your time. Sorry. We have it now. I mean, that's the point.
All right. So, Mr. He's quite correct. It's his time. All right. So, so I have concerns about this and I think it it might rather than rushing into it and and and doing something that then we repent at a later date. Uh should we kind of discuss this
more or maybe uh delay it a little bit and get more input and have I'll take that as a motion to table. Do we have a second on the motion to table? Second. Moved and seconded. Um the only thing
you're allowed to debate about tableabling is the time. Do you wish to table it till you can table indefinitely? Not to have the time. Yeah, you're right. That that's one of the things one of the choices you could
do for a week, a month or indefinitely. So what what does the motioner wish to table it to? I think until we have a thoughtful discussion and come up with uh uh a u acceptable way of handling the
situation, I think we should table it. It could be 30 days, it could be 60 days, 90 days or or indefinite. I don't know. I I can't say a motion to tabledefinitely effectively just means that it just gets it goes away. Well, it it goes away until somebody makes a motion to put it back. That's
all it is. that's not not anything other and and as a practical matter it hasn't been introduced yet. So from you know there's Robert's rules of order which is how how we typically handle things but with regards to ordinances if it doesn't get introduced it's tabled indefinitely.
Okay. So either a motion to table it or a motion or the defeat of the motion to introduce it does the same thing because you could always bring it back. timeline. Pardon? What's the timeline? So, the motion is the motion is to table
it indefinitely, which is effectively the same as not introducing it. Any other discussions on when we should uh table it to? I have a well a question to send to the person motioning.
Go ahead. Would you consider amending your motion to amending and I don't know Lou will give us guidance whether it is an ordinance or just a directive to get this moving along but to review all these concerns
by the administrative committee say in a year from now or whatever reasonable time everybody feels is reasonable to see if it needs to be amended or to see if it's working because I share some of your concerns but I a lot of them the manager did uh uh put my mind to rest
to. So I I I I don't want to I don't want to keep it from moving forward, but I think it's important enough that uh you know, you specifically take a look and see how the concerns have played out and then obviously uh administration
committee can come back and recommend amendments, but this way we can get it out of the gate. I I don't sorry to make that so long, but is that something that the I don't know what you're saying. So I think the motion I think um so we can I
can say um maybe this being the summer I don't know we have admin committees meeting uh in the summer where you can deliberate so maybe maybe a 90-day window. Well, no, no. What I was saying is allow it to be voted, maybe hopefully approved,
introduced, but well, I was talking about like a year from now, the committee reviews the concerns, but I guess you can review the concerns and if you want to amend on a second reading, as attorney pointed out, I believe that that would probably delay
it and have to go through an reintroduction. I just I'm ready to move it along. I just want to know that the the concerns and the review of how this is playing out would be done down the road because I think it's important
enough to go back and take a look at but to get it. Does that make sense? Discussion appropriate. I think I think we're discussing it until when we're going to Okay. Yeah. So, I'm I'm okay with uh bringing this back in giving it a 90-day
window and then we can reintroduce it. Talking about That's not what he's saying. He's saying introduce. No, he's saying introduce it and adopt it. You're saying table it. You're not saying the same thing. No, but introduce it, but have the motion that it specifically, you know,
formally will be reviewed. So those concerns, but once you introduce Yeah. Once you introduce it, there's no But once you introduce it, you can't significantly change it. There was a motion to table in a second. We should move on. We should move on.
And what the the 90-day window is now the window not indefinitely. No, I'm I'm I'm okay with the 90-day window to I can amend my I can amend it. Yeah. So give us some time to uh so I would like I would like it to be indefinite because
I want to bring it back much faster than 90 days. Mhm. Okay. So do we have to vote on that motion? We have to we So will you amend your motion to indefinite? Thank you. Yeah, sure. Yeah, I'll amend it
indefinitely. How about just this motion to table? Motion to table so they can bring it back. Just reintroduce it at the next meeting if you wanted to. Mayor motion to table and it was you seconded it. Second. Okay. Madame clerk.
Councilman embarrass. Yes. Councilwoman Francois. Yes. Councilman Karazzi, yes. Mayor Kramer, no. Councilman Oni Jaka, yes. Council member Vataznik, no. Deputy Mayor Dean,
yes. Councilman Vasanella, no. Five yeses and three nos. Um Uh so we are now I got to catch find my place. We did first reading. Um,
uh, item B, ordinance 4472-25, an ordinance amending the code of the township of Franklin County as Somers said, state of New Jersey, more particularly chapter 50, police department section 50-8, requirements for uh, appointment to the force. The
foregoing ordinance is presented to the township council for adoption on first reading posting and publication in accordance with law public hearing and final adoption at the meeting of the township council to be held on August 12th, 2025 at 700 p.m. in the council chambers. Do we have a motion to
introduce? So moved. Moved and seconded um for discussion. This is clearing up some paperwork. It's an administrative. It's technical changes. Technical changes. Thank you. Very well
put. Um, any other discussion? Madame Clerk. Councilman embarrassment. What? Council, what was that? This is a motion to introduce the ordinance uh, regarding the police department, the technical changes. Yes.
Councilwoman Francois. Yes. Councilman Karazzi, yes. Mayor Kramer, yes. Councilman Oniaka, yes. Council member Verbatosnik, yes. Deputy Mayor Dean, Councilman Vasinella, yes. Mr. Manager, please stop confusing my
council. Sometimes I need to speak with them without you hearing me what what I'm saying. How about that? [Laughter]
You can't really consent agenda items A through U as listed in the consent agenda portion of this meeting are present to the township council for adoption. Do we have a motion to for the consent agenda? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion and
anyone want to pull an item, discuss an item? No. Madame Clerk. Councilman embarrass. Yes. Councilwoman Francois, yes. Councilman Karazzi, yes. Mayor Kramer, yes. Councilman Oni Jaka, yes. Council member Pataznik,
yes. Deputy Mayor Redine, Councilman Vasinella, yes. Wait a second. The You're right. No. Resolution 251312 adopting the 2025 Somerset hazard
mitigation county mitigation. I think the letters are are mixed up, but think that we're here. It's okay. Everything's fine. Everything was adopted. Nothing was pulled, right?
Okay. All right. It's actually It's 25312, right? Mhm. Yeah. On the on the granicus agenda, it's right. Okay. Yeah. Uh resolution 25 314. Oh, I'm sorry. Item number 17, resolutions to be voted
on separately. Resolution 25314 strongly urging reconsideration of a three-way stop at the Canal Road Griggstown Causeway intersection. Um, do we have a motion to in Do we have a motion on the item? Some moved. Second.
Move within second. Uh, Mr. Pataznik, would you like to Well, I appreciate this item on the agenda. There was a meeting just about a week ago now um at the county to go over option oh I want to get it right now 2A
um which is a improvement around the Griggstown Causeway which would be the addition of two lights on either side of the causeway on Causeway Road on the Franklin side and then on uh the river road side. Um, it would be they would be synchronized and timed and the flow of
traffic would be something like northbound on River Road, then southbound on River Road, then a pause to clear the causeway, then from Franklin to Montgomery Hillsboro, then a pause to
clear the causeway, and so forth, just going back and forth because it's a very dangerous intersection. Cars kind of go out into the front and do like a a staring match on whether how they should go. In addition, as part of the study, they looked at the Griggstown Causeway intersection with Canal Road and the
Canal Road intersection with Bunker Hill Road um and recommended at Bunker Hill and Canal the addition of two more stop signs on the northbound and southbound side. So, it' be a three-way stop, but at the intersection of Griggstown Causeway and Canal Road to put in a
light. And um I had questions at that meeting and the mayor was with me as well um about the the light versus a three-way stop sign which would be more in the historic characteristics of the neighborhood. Um and so this resolution would be to ask them to reconsider the
three-way stop sign as part of the design. Um the question was submitted the they're unable to answer anything because I think we had another resolution we were going to consider in supporting option 2A along with this but um they want to wait till the comment period closes next week on Tuesday. So
folks have comments on the plan they should submit them by then um before they respond to any comments. So, this one is just putting on record that we would like to see a stop sign there. Um, and if it can be done safely and not disrupt, you know, the plan and then
they can consider that as well as part of their comments and when they get back to us, we'll have a better idea with what the response is. So, that's kind of what we're doing here tonight. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, Councilman Barrison,
yes. Councilwoman Francois Councilman Karazzi. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Oni Jaka. Yes. Council member Bataznik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Dean. Councilman Vasinella. Yes. Resolution 25-313.
uh appoint Robert Russo as township engineer for 2025 and award fair and open uh professional service agreement 2025 township engineer services um center state engineering amount not
to exceed $267,500. Um do we have a motion? So move. Second. Second. Any discussion? Madam clerk. Councilman Barrison. Yes.
Councilwoman Francois. Yes. Councilman Karazzi. Yes. Mayor Kramer. Yes. Councilman Oni Jaka. Yes. Council member Vatausnik. Yes. Deputy Mayor Dean. Yes. Councilman Basinel. Yes. All business. 2025 boards committ. Does
anyone have a nomination? Hearing none. Um, do we have no executive session? Do we have a motion to adjurnn? So moved.
Second. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. Oppose say nay. Motion is carried. We are adjourned. Be well, Frank.