##VIDEO ID:CEtCRVuy0FA## says up good evening everyone this meeting is being held with the benefit of public notice as required by the open public meetings act uh Madam clerk will you call the role Mr caravelli here miss Phillips here Mr wh here Mr Ty here and Mr P is absent would everyone please rise for the flag salute and the invocation pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the for which it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all dear God grant us the strength to embody humility and compassion in all our actions may we never allow Pride or self righteousness to Cloud our judgment this evening we lift up those who suffer from loss and those who face hardships may they find comfort in our support and the relief they so desperately need we offer these prayers in your holy name amen amen uh so I just have a few comments every please be seated thanks uh just a few comments to open the meeting tonight um first of all uh I would like to welcome e uh Dina Thorton not Eileen thoron Dina thoron uh from the school board thank you for joining us tonight Dina um we have three special hearings on the agenda tonight uh the first is to adopt measures uh that will allow the township to move forward with the historic restoration of the Isaac Pearson house uh the second uh we'll be holding a hearing regarding a resolution to apply for grant funding uh to build uh an inclusive accessible playground at switti Park uh and this needs uh to hold hold a hearing because of the type of funding that we are seeking uh to fund this project uh and third we are going to have a hearing regarding the proposed suspension of the landlord license of Jean Alexis uh additionally there are 41 consent agenda items on tonight's agenda included in the uh consent agenda items tonight our resolution enabling the township to be reimbursed bya green acors fund uh for over $1 million in uh open space that has been preserved in the township uh there's a resolution in support of the mayor's Fitness campaign uh there are two additional Grant resolutions totaling over $1,000 on the agenda tonight uh there's a special item to uh get street sweeper replacement parts there are five resolutions on the agenda funding over 2.5 $5 million in roadway and sidewalk improvements uh that'll those are projects that will take place throughout the township and that'll improve uh pedestrian safety and accessibility uh there's a resolution supporting the repurposing of the old Convent at Our Lady of Sorrows uh into affordable senior apartments uh by designating the parcel as a non- condemnation area in need of Redevelopment um and we will talk more about all these matters uh but before we move forward with the rest of tonight's agenda we need to go into executive session uh Council needs to be updated by the township attorney on pending uh litigation and negotiation matters so can I have a motion to go into executive session I'll make the motion I need a second I just said um are individuals here for the accommodations um do we want to get you know I think it's in here let's see what do we have no one's here for the accommodation right okay no one's here for the accommodation I just want to make sure so we can expedite that um yeah I'll second that we always we always try to save everyone time if you're for a specific item but um okay so I have a a motion and been seconded to go into executive session Madam clerk Mr Mr Mr yes all right we'll be back shortly try to hold that up I just that's you know what I mean you're I yeah they're just here [Music] okay we're back on the record we need a motion I'll make that motion um to recompete as the uh Hamilton uh Council and close our executive session thank you I'll second it thank you uh Madam clerk Mr yes yes yes okay so uh we have minutes Madam clerk uh we'll take care of the minutes but can we move the um public hearing for the housing matter uh to the top of as as close to the top of the agenda as we can they could they could be the next item on the agenda yeah let's let's bump it right up to the top of the do you need a motion for that not to move it in the agenda that like I said just adding in the amendment so we can work about that all right so we are uh going to be moving to uh let's [Music] see four public hearing there we go so we are going to be moving to resolution four on the agenda which is a public hearing on the suspension of the landlord license of Jean Alexis and I'm going to uh hand it over to our Township attorney uh to take it for May uh good evening uh president Tha members of council counc my name is ler I'm the director of law coun attorney for the town Hamilton we are here having a hearing before the governing body to DET whether topend a land license of G Alexus pursuing to ordinance 26818 Q4 a verified complaint was submitted to Council on January 15 2025 director Dumont swore under oath that the information stated within the complaint is true and accurate essentially affirming the facts of the case is being truthful to the best of his knowledge proper notice was given to the defendant in fact he confirmed my office last week at the date time and location of the hearing burden of proof in this matter is the preponderance of the evidence not the criminal standard not the criminal standard of Beyond Reasonable Doubt in order to prove the Township's case I must show you evidence that is more convincing than the defendant's side the witnesses will be given testimony under oath tonight and the hearing is being recorded and his testimony can be used against the defendant here in this proceeding and in any proceeding under the court of law the facts of this case are simple and abusive in the repetition landlord Jus owns a multi-unit residential property located at 1633 East State Street in Hamilton Township uh in the complaint which was provided to you uh the in past years the property has been twice declared unfit for human occupancy and boarded up by the township leans have been attached to the property for the cost of the township for the boarding defendant made appointments with a housing with the housing division to make inspections for a CE but defendant would then cancel the appointments the property was to remain boarded up and no one was to be living there recently over Thanksgiving weeken on Sunday December 1st 2024 Hamilton police were called to the property by one of the residents Gerald Alexis son of G Alexis who reported a stabbing director Dumont and chief housing inspector Mr merger reported to the property and witnessed that although the property had been boarded up and placarded by the township the boards had been removed a family with a young child was living in the second form apartment a single male individual was living in a separately locked room on the second floor Gerald Gerald Alexis was living on the first floor apartment and Gerald Alexis's mother and the defendant's wife or ex-wife was living in the basement the illegal attic apartment seemed to be empty the property has no cosos as defendant canceled scheduled inspections the basement is not a living legal living area under any circumstance and the township rewarded and pl carded the property that day in is that day the defendant told both police and the township officials as well as the resident that he would remove the boards and they could move back in as soon as the township left defendant was served with three summonses to appear in M Court a 041 471 for failure to obain a CO for the second floor which was his third offense pursuant to ordinance number 2683 041 440 for failing to obtain a CO for the first floor also a third offense pursuant to ordinance number 2683 and 04139 occupancy of a basement prohibited finally a third offense pursuant to ordinance 268-9228 CRI as it presented an immediate danger to the public health safety and Welfare to the township residents on January 13th Council appeared at Municipal Court defendant Alexis failed to appear despite direct court order and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued the hearing went ahead in absentia and chief housing inspector Richard merger and senior housing inspector Vincent dado testified to the above reference facts as a result the court entered order temporarily suspending his landlord license of the defendant until a day after this hearing and on this complaint the court further ordered the property remain boarded up until which time the landlord license is no longer suspended either by court order or by the governing body decision the township after approving these facts respectfully requests that Gus's landlord registration be suspended for 90 days pursuant to 26818 Q4 C1 as part and partiel of that suspension goxes will be forbidden from renting any unit to any tenant until the suspension ends and he reapplies for pays for and receives a new landlord res registration pursuant to our ordinance his registration does not automatically become valid upon the end of the suspension I call Fred jamont as as the first witness Madam clerk we please swear him in Mr you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give in his hearing before the governing body of the C peton is the truth whole truth and nothing but the truth so how got please state your name of position Fred Dumont director of community Economic Development Hamilton Township how long have you been in that position uh began January 2nd 20120 generally speaking what is your background in construction and safety matters I'm a uh 41-year member of insulators Local 89 serving my apprenticeship there journeyman uh uh General foreman and superintendent ending my career as business manager in Your Capacity as director are you the mayor's design KN in matters concerning health safety and Welfare of all residential housing and landlord licensing I am do you oversee the housing division in your department I do the inspections in the housing division conu on rental properties correct they do on December 1st 2024 this Sunday Thanksgiving weekend were you called to 1633 East St street I was do you know who owns that property Gan Alexa are you familiar or were you familiar with that property and the owner I was generally speaking during this past year did the housing division keep you appr prized of the violations committed by liis and the status of 1633 East St Street yes was that property supposed to be boarded up yes when you arrived what did you see what happened uh Hamilton police were on site residents were lying the street um Chief housing inspector Richard merger was there and U Mr Alexa was there were you made made aware of statements made by Gan Alexis I CH was tenant and the police on the scene yes the police inform me of those statements what were those statements uh just the stamp Pat that wants to have Township people left that uh boards will be taken off they can move back into their uh property is that property a safe place to live no honor about January 15th 2025 did you swear under oath that the information is stated within the verified complaint to the govering body was true and accurate essentially affirming the facts of the case as being truthful to the bested your knowledge I did do you remember the complaint I do could you just go over some of the statements and the facts as alleged sure if I could sum it up briefly that that house was not safe or legal for any illegal uh resident to live in there it had failed numerous violations and we were concerned about the life safety of anybody being in her is it your opinion that the ordinance violations committed by G Lexis and at 1633 State Street so constitute an immediate danger to the public health safety and Welfare that you as the mayor design felt it necessary to not only reboard up those property but to remove the ten tenant and also file the complaint with the governing body yes I do thank you sir I call Richard murder Chief housing inspector Mr Mur do you swear or affirm that the testimony you were about to give in this hearing before the governing body of family is it truth the whole truth and nothing about the TR yes I do would you please state your name and position Richard merger I'm the chief housing inspector for handon Township how long you you been the 2 INSP since 9 2021 could you just briefly explain to it guard about of your experience with housing and safety um with inspections I've been doing uh commercial property inspections for over 25 years and in 2015 I was hired as a housing inspector I've been performing safety standard inspections co-compliance inspections uh since then and I hold uh multiple licenses in those inspections are you familiar with G Alexis in 1633 East Street yes I'm showing you a 926 2024 order do you recognize this yes will you please tell tell the governing body what this order uh from the mpal judge established I believe this is the one that we took as uh landlord licenses did you also board up the property as a result of this order multiple times but this yes we did yes these are copies you say had the landord license that did have the co correct for 1633 E Street yeah there's been no Co issued for 1633 uh East St streets before 2020 in the last since September 2024 was the housing division ever able to enter the property to do an inspection after the order to see whether Gene alexit had remedied the life safety hous of the property no he had applied for the landlord license and our office wasn't interact was no we were not able to he canceled it um he canceled our housing inspections and what do you do a housing inspection for we go in to make sure that there's a minimum compliance of Life Safety so detector carbon monoxide detector the outlets work fire extinguisher make sure the house is generally habitable or in good condition to be able to live let me bring you to uh December 1st 2024 which is the Sunday thank giving weekend were you called to the property at 1633 Easter yes were you able to go inside yes that was why I was called he was giving the police trouble for not letting them him the he wasn't letting the police for the second floor Public Works called me to ask if I can help him get Gan to get us in I showed up I have a relationship because he wants the documents from my office and he's you know landlord license so I was able to get him to let me upstairs and I had discovered that he again was runting rooms out so you went inside could you describe to the governing body uh each floor what what does it what does it look like inside sure if we start from the basement up basement is an unfinished um supposed to be a completely unfinished room where the heaters and water heaters are there was at some point somebody partially finished it without permits or approvals the first floor is a one the two bedroom depending on how you use it um single dwelling that does not have um proper kitchen and the bathroom is not functioning you move to the second floor the second floor is a long hallway and it has four rooms then into a kitchen and a bathroom none of the bathroom or the kitchen facilities function and then there's a set of stairs up to the attic that is at some point was finished without approvals and turned into a vro and and just to confirm the property was still required to be boarded up at this point at this point went on December uh 1st yes the property was supposed to be ported up it was a family living upstairs there was a uh husband wife and child running one room an individual male in another room and another individual male in a third room at this particular time and on the first floor uh we believe his son um was living there and in the basement uh there was his I guess it's his ex-wife he keeps calling him his wife but they're not together she was living in the basement I'm going to show you some pictures good catch nice catch thank you I submit to the governing body these screenshots I took of body cam footage brought uh made by police officers who recorded to recorded to the scene on 121 2024 these are pictures of the uh first floor apartment uh which is the first several pictures and then the second set of pictures are in the basement I submit also that I did not provide uh pictures for the second floor because as was saved there was a minor upstairs and I didn't want that going into the record all right so if pleas look and prescribe to the governing body what you see uh yeah so it's the first floor of genexus is uh of that unit 1633 it shows the second picture there shows you the condition of the kitchen how it's unusable there's no stove the uh microwave our Hood's gone cabinet doors are open and the second floor is very similar uh to this condition the only difference between this one and the second floor is he actually has three separate refrigerators on the second floor kitchen for the rooms that he rents out that each get apparently get their own refrigerator uh the outside uh third or fourth picture this would be shows the bco doors that the wife was having to go through to get into the basement where she was is living and then that would be the basement and you can see her personal items there that were up against that wall cuz when we were boarding it up we were trying to assist her to get um that stuff out so she could have access to it and actually that same picture where you see where there's the yellow um can if you look at the lower portion of that picture you will see the door that she slept on and that was a some kind of makeshift mattress that was on top of it and I'm not exaggerating this at all and then you can continue to see how she was storing her stuff in the basement and then the condition of the basements what you can't see on the very last picture which is also you can see in the last picture you see two metal gray panels on the floor below what looks like a cabinet what that cabinet is is the electrical service to this house and both of them is off n covers would protect the wires from anybody accessing live voltage so is is the basement a habitable space no is that a violation of ordinance 2689 yes on hand or just tell me just tell thebody generally some violations that you saw when you were inside the second floor or the first floor you alluded to it already there was no smoke detectors there was no carbon monoxide detectors there was no normal hot water uh the bathrooms were in a condition that were unusable the kitchen was not usable um there in this particular property if we keep going with the laundry list it's be built before 1978 there was peeling paint cracking paint so it was obviously a lead pain Hazard for the young child that was living there um the floor surfaces were not cleanable it was in bad shape did any departments and to confirm for the governing body do any departments on the first or second floors have cosos no what is a CO for this the co is a brief name for a certificate of approval for occupancy the housing office deals with rentals and sales of existing homes so the term certificate of approval for occupancy is what we issue that says that you've met our minimum standard and that the property is safe to be occupied and that Co would be issued in a specific name like my wife and mine and may have one for my home if I was to rent a home to Mr Smith I would have to have a CO issued in Mr Smith if I change Mr Smith to someone else I need a new certificate of approval for occupancy with people res is living in that apart those apartments with that c the violation of or those violations of ordinance 2683 yes landlord has serve sues for these violations correct multiple uh all the way from 2020 up till the last one which was December 20124 so he's been issued 1 2 3 4 5 6 seven sets of no cosos since 2020 will the record to do appearal court for he testify G Li on January 13th 2025 yes J Alex failed to show despite specific court order to appear correct yes uh did you testify at that hearing that the township came to learn that after the property had been boarded up again on December 1st that his son had partially removed the plywood once again was living on the First on January 10th that was discovered showing you the order from Judge H this the order that was entered that day yes [Music] body in that order does that s temporarily suspend Mr land registration until tomorrow which is the day after tonight's hearing yes does this order also ordered that the uh property be continue to be boarded up until which time the landlord registration is renewed and in good standing yes thank you sir in closing uh uh Council G leses and his property are repeated danger to the health safety and Welfare a Township residence he is abusing his tenants taking rent payments or properties that are illegal he is he and his associates intimidate tenants and other Township residents he is a repeat offender requiring extensive man and woman hours of the township Administration to ensure the health safety and Welfare of his resid of our residents as the record has shown he has failed to remediate material statutory and code violation of rental units yet he has allowed tenants to move in he's failed to obtain a certificate a change of occupancy inspections prior to re occupancies by new tenants he has allowed tency of a space that is not fit for human habitation he is in violation of his landlord registration pursu to 2688 q1 for these reasons the township respectfully requests that his landlord registration be suspended for 90 days as part and partial of that suspension G Alexis will be forbidden from renting any unit to any tenant until the suspension ends and he applies for pays for and receives a new landlord registration pursuant to our ordinance his registration does not automatically become valid about the end of the 90day suspension I ask that the governing body make this decision tonight by Oral vote which can be reduced to writing andert upon Gene Alexis as soon as possible Mr Alexis has the opportunity to present his defense to this matter but I caution him he has the right to remain silent he is under criminal investigation or he's a criminal case filed against him in municipal courts so it's up to him whether he wishes to make a statement on the record under oath Mr Alexis do you wish to Mr Alexis do you wish to um make remarks at this [Music] time again yes you need to be sworn in do you swear or affirm that the testimony you were about to give in this hearing for the governing body of the town pamilton is it truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth or somebody say I can't stand I to say do you need a do you need a Haitian translator yes then we will we will a translator will be provided for you I don't know how long this thing be coming up so it'll take how long it takes we'll see this through take that uh no see it says it's in there hello hello thank you for language Solutions this isber 43319 interpret to serve you this be for training andity insurance purposes yes thank you uh Mr translator my name is Alysa gr shager I'm the director of Law and Township attorney for the township of Hamilton the uh defendant Mr Alexis requires your services I ask you to uh advise him that he has the right to remain silent he is under criminal investig criminal case in the Municipal Court anything he can will be used against him in a court of law uh as he will be giving testimony under oath thank you I was repeat this yes Mr Mr do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give in this hearing before the governing body of C of Hamilton is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I will be telling the truth what do you uh wish to say for yourself Mr okay I readed um a little boy that is name j Alexis at the the house um he wasn't at the house when he comes back to the house he found that the door was locked but he managed to get in uh the house is mine and um there are the one who making decision I'm not able to do anything is there anything else that you wish to add Mr Alexis [Music] okay now uh what what I would like to say in addition is that um the law is the law I can't fight with I cannot fight with the law but what I would like uh is for uh the government to take out the Restriction that they have at that house so that I can go in because there are tapes around and I'm not able to go in is there uh Alyssa uh is there any or or Fred is there anything stopping uh the property owner from making the needed uh repairs to his property at this time yes there is council president he needs to follow the the rules and the processes applying for permits with our Construction office they will uh walk him through the procedures and then he can uh conduct the proper repairs but under our supervision to make sure everything is done safely thank you so would you translate that for Mr Alexis Please Mr translator yes yes but everything that they asked me to do the perit the contractors follow up with the with with the instruction there is no violation uh Governor body the he did start riting some of the some of the situation in the house however once we went in on 121 we found a lot of violations that had not been fixed and also he kept cancelling as as testimony shows he kept canceling the co inspection which would have found these violations and these dangers to health safety and Welfare of the tenants this is the problem we have with Mr Alexis we start working with him and then he goes ahead and doesn't finish the job doesn't finish the inspections but nevertheless puts tenants in his house okay [Music] can for down simple okay uh here's what I would like uh theor to do if there is any violation uh I would like the inspector to moove the the wood and get inside the place and let you know all the viation so that I can contractor to fix all all the um all the ation that the insector is able to see Council this has been done already and he's wasting your time I think at this point of you has no nothing further to say in defense of the violations that we have alleged to a prance of the evidence you have enough in which to make your decision all right has has Council heard enough okay okay what it is um so that I can get it I I got I got Mr Alexis um you have been provided and uh probably can be provided with another copy of uh the list of violations that need to be repaired um based on uh the evidence that's been presented tonight uh I am prepared to find that you um have repeatedly disregarded uh the housing standards uh and the law in the township of Hamilton um I'm going to allow my Council colleagues time to comment or or any questions that they may have but I do think that uh the next order businesses uh we have a proposed decision and Order uh which I want to read into the record uh and then Council can vote on but first I want to ask if anyone else would like to uh make any comment um okay so short of that uh we have a proposed decision and Order uh which states that this matter having been brought before this governing body by the township of Hamilton by and through its director of Law and Township attorney Alyssa groder at Squire and the director of the Department of community and economic Affairs Frederick Dumont by way of this verified complaint pursuant to Hamilton Township ordinance number all documents Andor photographs and having made certain findings of fact and law and other good cause having been shown it is on this uh fourth day yes fourth day of February 2025 ordered that the def defendant is found guilty of failure to obain obtain a CO for the second floor pursuant to ordinance number to obtain a CO for the first floor pursuant to ordinance number 268-3837 C1 and ordered that defendant is prohibited from engaging in any new lease agreements for any rental unit during the suspension period and ordered that the defendant's landlord registration shall not automatically be reinstated at the conclusion of the suspension and ordered that the defendant must affirmatively reapply with the appropriate Township Authority for a new land Lord registration after serving the suspension and shall not engage in any leasing of any rental unit until which time defendant receives and pays fees for a new landlord registration and ordered the property at 1633 East State Street remain boarded up until which time the defendant receives a new landlord license and so this is the uh proposed uh decision in order this being a hearing do we need to you should vote on it just verbally vote on it decision okay transision I don't think the whole thing can be translated at this time um we'll give the order if you guys speak English your honor okay I've spoken with him so with that uh do I have a motion to um I'll make the motion Mr President second motion Madam clerk Mr Carell yes M PHS Mr yes yes okay this hearing is concluded thank you thank you okay thank you so much thank you again foring our have a great you too all right thank you everyone thank you um all right we are going to go back to the top of our agenda agenda to the m m um could we just get out of the way amend the agenda so we pleas so we need a okay uh we need a there have been amendments to the agenda since uh the agenda was posted on the website uh amending uh consent agenda item number 325-8962 Municipal budget in the amount of $48,000 it was originally marked as $30,000 that item has been increased to $48,000 and we have added consent agenda item uh ca19 uh 25-15 which is a resolution authorizing and directing Hamilton Township planning the Hamilton Township planning board to undertake a preliminary investigation to be made pursuant to the New Jersey local Redevelopment and Housing law as to whether a certain area in the township qualifies as a non condemnation area in need of Redevelopment block 1666 lot uh and may I have a motion to accept these amendments council president I'll make a motion to accept these amendments to tonight's J I'll second that mad cler Mr yes pH yes yes yes now moving on with the minutes we have for your consideration the minutes of December 17th regular council meeting and January 7th uh December 17th obviously is 2024 January 7th is 2025 the council reorganization do I have a motion to accept the minutes motion second Mr car yes yes Mr yes Mr T yes Communications uh we have three joint proclamations the first being team Dating Violence awareness and prevention month 2025 and the theme is respect that um we just make a motion yeah we we'll make a motion on that one uh so I'll accept a motion to accept uh Proclamation um the first of well okay so what we're going to do is we're going to move let's continue on because it's all one we have three proclamations let's read them all we're going to read out loud two of them uh to the public okay um so the second is commemorating American Heart month and uh wearing red on February 7th the theme call attention to your heart and then the third uh the gr Proclamation commemorating February 2025 is Black History Month and the them is africanamerican okay so uh I'm sorry do you want to read uh from the Teen Dating Violence awareness and prevention month Proclamation yes thank you president um we have a proclamation recognizing February as teen Dating Violence awareness intervention among 2025 theme respect that whereas teams between the ages of to 24 are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence experiencing abuse at a rate almost triple the national average and whereas one in three girls and one in four boys in the United States are victims of physical emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting Youth and whereas high school students who experience physical violence in the dating relationship are more likely to use drugs and alcohol are at greater risk of suicide and are much more likely to carry patterns of viws into future relationships and whereas nearly half of teens who experienced stating violence report that incidents of abuse took place in a school building or on school grounds and whereas only 33% of teens who are in an abusive relationship ever tell anyone about the abuse and 81% of parents survey either believe Dating Violence is not an issue or admit they do not have knowledge of it and whereas by providing young people with education regarding healthy relationships and relationship skills and by changing attitudes and behaviors that support violence we recognize that Dating Violence can be preventive and whereas it is essential to raise Community awareness and to provide training for teachers counselors and School staff so that they may recognize when the youth are exhibiting signs of Dating Violence and whereas the establishment of Team Dating Violence awareness and prevention mon will benefit young people their families schools and community ities regardless of socioeconomic status gender sexual orientation or ethnicity and whereas everyone has the right to a safe and healthy relationship and to be free from abuse now therefore be resolved by Mayor Jeffrey s Martin and the Hamilton Township Council to hereby proclaim the month of February is teen Dating Violence awareness and prevention month in the township of Hamilton and urge all citizens to promote healthy teen Relationships by having conversations about respectful and nonviolent relationships in hom schools and communities thank you February is also American Heart month and council member thank you council president um I'm going to read this um U commemorating American Heart month and wearing red on February 7th 2025 the theme is call attention to your heart whereas ham Township celebrates the extraordinary progress in heart health and recognizes that more needs to be done to safeguard the health of the citizens for generations to come and whereas the risk factors for heart disease are smoking high blood pressure high cholesterol High triglyceride levels overweight obesity physical inactivity metabolic syndrome diabetes pre-diabetes a family history of of early heart disease age and whereas people can take take action to protect their heart health and prevent heart disease by taking steps to prevent and control the risk factors for the disease and whereas staying healthy and promoting awareness of health issues including heart disease is an important responsibility depends on the actions of many organizations and groups in our community now therefore be a jointly resolved by Mayor Jeffrey s Martin and the Hamilton Township council do bike proclaimed February 2025 as American Heart month be it further resolve that haml Township will s support for American Heart month by wearing red on Friday February 7th 2025 thank you councilman whan uh and February is also uh Black History Month and uh I've asked councilman Carelli to read from the proclamation my pleasure uh this is a joint Proclamation commitment ating February 2025 as Black History Month African-Americans and labor whereas Black History Month is a time to honor and celebrate the history culture and contributions of African-Americans to the United States and to the world and whereas this theme underscores the diverse and significant ways in which labor whether voluntary or involuntary skilled or unskilled has been as the core of the Black American experience that has shaped our shared history and strengthened our communities and whereas the observance of Black History Month was established to recognize the invaluable contributions of African-Americans in fields such as education science politics business arts and civil rights and whereas we recognize the struggles resilience and accomplishments of countless African-American individuals who have paved the way for future generations and whose efforts have helped move our society closer to achieving equality Justice and freedom for all and whereas the township of Hamilton is committed to to fostering inclusivity understanding and mutual respect among all its citizens and recognizes the importance of learning from the experience and wisdom of the African-American community be it resolved that the contributions of African-Americans have been vital to the growth and development of Hamilton Township now therefore be it resolved by Mayor Jeffrey s Martin in the Hamilton Township Council that the month of February 2025 be celebrated as Black History Month in Hamilton Township and urge all citizens of this Township to participate appropriately in its observance thank you councilman Carell and may I have a motion I'll make that motion for the communication items I'll second Madam Clerk and we're also acknowledging the Ry Club request uh well that's C that's C2 so we have all communication okay so yeah go please Robinsville Hamilton Rotary Club request permission to conduct food collections of The Bu Family Market 1080 Road on various approved Fe so I'll make a mo yeah I'll make a motion for those two uh communication items C1 and C2 on the motion Mr car yes Miss Phillips Mr yes Mr yes uh first I'm sorry resolution 12584 is a resolution authorizing the adoption of pre prequalification regulations as required by njsa 4A 11-25 for contractors to apply to the iated bid for the restoration of the exter exterior masonry on the North and South facades installation of accurate wood for window openings sashes and shutters at the historic Eisen Pearson house located on Hopson Avenue this is a public hearing okay and and for this matter we're going to turn to our Township business administrator Kathy monzo uh to S on you you got it thank you um you know the Isaac Pearson house is listed on the New Jersey and the national registers of historic places so anytime you want to make any renovations to it or any fix UPS or any projects whatsoever on the property you need to go through this process in order to ensure that we're maintaining the historic relevance of the property and so that it it stays on the registry and stays in historic property um we have uh the with the Historical Society they've um gotten an architect that is familiar with historic uh historically registered properties and uh that architect has come up with um and established reasonable regulations for contractors to be able to do the work so the hearing tonight and we can hear from the public in case they want to speak on this or or or any of you have anything on this but you would basically be saying okay we approve those regulations and the process to go forward because after this it would be then having um another uh a preon meeting and that would bring in contractors who presumably are qualified and they would have to meet those regulations that were drawn up already by the architect so it's part of the process that we're required to do because this is an historic property that's great and this is a house that was originally constructed in 1773 so it's older than our country so it's a it's special special property and can I uh just want to make a one comment and um the the total project is estimated to be roughly about $250,000 for this project with 150,000 being covered by a grant that's correct so the 150,000 would be covered by the grant the 100,000 is the required match from the township which we have put in our capital in order to be able to to establish that and the project so you know is for the windows the the sashes on the windows and if you've been by there recently you can see that there are plenty of Windows that need to be restored to their historic uh significance in that I think right now we have some more boarded up Windows and there's even um the the panes of the windows are drawn in so that it looks somewhat presentable but you can tell that they're not real windows so we want to make sure that we're renovating this properly so okay any other Council comments no no uh let's open it up to the public any members of the public wishing to comment on resolution one uh regarding uh the restoration of the Isaac Pearson house seeing no members of the public wishing to comment I'll take a motion yes council president seeing no members uh from the public would like to speak on this I close the public uh portion and move on resolution 124 25- 084 I'll second the motion thank you madam clerk Mr car yes yes yes score Z resolution 22585 is a resolution authorized in the township of Hamilton to apply for and obtain a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection green neor program in support of Jake's law for the construction of an inclusive accessible playground at swil Park located in 55 Fisher place in Hamilton Township merer County New Jersey grant that requested $750,000 this is a public so uh fully accessible playground uh this would be the first of its kind in Hamilton uh uh anyone with any type of any child with any type of disability uh ought to be able to enjoy this um 750,000 is a substantial amount of money um a part of this process is that we have a formal public hearing uh Thus We've separated this out from the rest of our agenda uh in order to meet that requirement um any anything you wish to add Kathy nope that covered it perfectly okay uh any comments we'll open it up to the public anybody wishing to comment seeing no members of the public wishing to comment I'll accept the motion council president I'll make a motion to move on resolution 2 25- 085 I'll second that thank you madam clerk Mr Carell yes yes yes and we've already handled resolution 3 286 is the resolution of Hamilton Township County and Mer state of New Jersey supporting jsnn T LSI llc's doing business as sweet spot dispensary application to the reg Regulatory Commission for a class 5 cannabis retail a dispensary license do we have any Representatives would you like to come up thank you good evening Council let just get set up hopefully that's okay uh my name is Ben herbs and I'm the chief Business Development officer for Sweet Spot I'm a partner I'm here as a partner of jsn Tulsi the applicant which is a social Equity company uh owned by Drew Patel who is here with us today and I'm also joined by Peter Frank Franklin the vice president of retail operations of sweet spot who's here as well together we plan to open Sweet Spot dispensary at 199 Sloan Avenue we're here to present our proposal for the dispensory demonstrate our commitment to compliance Community engagement and contributing positively to the community in Hamilton sweet spot's been a trusted name in cannabis industry for 6 years with active retail operations in five states Rhode Island Maryland New Jersey Connecticut and Vermont and a cultivation facility in Rhode Island and we're also in construction for another cultivation facility in New Jersey in 2024 alone we process over 350,000 transactions Nationwide earning a stellar reputation of with 4.9 Stars ratings on Google we are one of few companies in the Cannabis industry to partner with a federally funded University with we've had internship excuse me we've had internship programs we sit on sustainability Boards of universities and we're in the process of setting up a partnership with Rowan University in South Jersey for our cultivation facility we've secured a contingent lease for a 3,300 ft² property at 199 Sloan Avenue we've received a zoning certificate from the municipality confirming the use is allowed on site based on the city parking code we would be required to have 17 spaces based on our square footage which is 3,300 ft which I believe is 200 per Grill square foot and for our enti building would be 44 spaces our building has 85 Reserve parking spaces so we meet the requirement uh plenty uh we are only doing interior updates to the property and we will not be doing anything on the exterior besides adding signage and security equipment in 2024 our Vorhees location in New Jersey handled over 106,000 transactions efficiently with an average transaction time of 2 minutes and 19 seconds for pre-orders and 4 minutes and 45 seconds for inore orders we know the industry but most importantly we know the industry here in New Jersey the market the local consumers and the New Jersey regulatory environment the combination of our operational exper experience and the amount of parking spaces we have on site we can ensure an efficient operation Sweet Spot security uh procedures are designed by our CEO uh coo and director of safety security Blake CA who's a military trained expert with 17 years of experience in the US Marine Corum and the Armory national gr dve from his extensive background in securing US embassies worldwide Blake has implemented Advanced security protocols at all of our facilities we have 24-hour surveillance with with cameras directed at all points of entry and anywhere where regulated products are stored or sold we have a DEA approved Vault we have secure cash and inventory management practices compliant with state regulations these protocols protect our employees customers and the community while preventing product diversion which is why we never had an issue over six year six years of operations with five retail operations in regards to odor mitigation all of our products are prepackaged before getting to the store we also Implement a number of air purification systems which include Advanced filtration systems HEPA filters and activated charcoal filters and air scrubbers in all rooms where there is cannabis to mitigate any contaminants and oders these steps will ensure that the smell will never become an issue for our neighbors in closing we're excited about the prospects of opening our newest dispensary in Hamilton have spent time energy working to ensure that our business will provide EAS of access for customers and positive benefit benef to Hamilton while not disturbing Town activities we're happy to answer any questions you guys may have and appreciate you listening to us thank you uh any questions or comments from Council I just got a quick one I know there's some vacancies in that strip um is it is it front facing along Sloan Avenue and is it the end unit it's the corner unit faing it and kind of the side going up to the hair cutting place so there is another unit in between us and uh Pizza Arena un okay but they're separate buildings used to be a different pizza place right yeah okay yes one more quick question how many um employees you venture that like that you're going to have at that facility yeah probably start with 10 to 14 and then grow up to maybe 20 okay okay so I'm just happy to see some potential new business to to that um Center so that's great we're very excited and we're going to be moving pretty quickly to try to make it happen for you guys okay thank you okay with that uh we'll open it up to the public do any members of the public have questions or comments on this seeing none I'll entertain a motion uh council president I'll make a motion to move on resolution number 3 25- 86 I'll second that Madam cler Mr yes Mr yes pH yes Mr wh yes Mr yes uh excuse me sorry I need to obain uh due to my work was in New Jersey Economic Development Authority Okay resolution is approved thank you thank you good luck so the remainder of the consent agenda 19 items tonight you already over yeah I did thank you uh so I did uh touch on some of the uh items in the consent agenda uh any questions or comments from Council on the consent agenda I I'll just mention that I like the um and you may mentioned this before uh in your introductory uh comments but uh ca9 uh the Farmingdale Park equipment relocation us utilizing cdbg funds um I think that's a useful project and then also the proposed Grant application for the renovations over at um basketball I think it's the basketball Kathy which uh is it the basketball um Courts at I forget the part I think yes um it just says basketball court renovation I forget which part um yes I think that's where it's at yes yeah and I I'll just uh say w welcome and thank you to Misha Stanley for being willing to serve on the um Township municipal Alliance committee on alcoholism and drug abuse uh there are several reappointments uh to various boards and committees uh in the I believe there were some additional appointments um so I just well at any rate I I appreciate the service of of Miss uh Stanley and uh We've touched on a lot of the other items but do we'll open it up to the public at this time do any of the members of the public wish to comment Janice Janice GL for dity Avenue Cornell Heights I was hoping you could elaborate more on um ca19 you said the convent at lyia Soros is going into a what into a house into going to be uh over 55 affordable apartments uh J yeah that's the one portion of the property though closest to which used to be um uh a daycare facility it's right it's right at that location where that in the back I think they're looking to well that's part of the convent too though isn't it yes so the whole thing's going it's well the the convent build they're going to repurpose the building we're keeping the building right and they're going to convert it they're going to be eight Apartments constructed in the existing structure and then there are going to be another 42 units um built in an extension extension of the proper of the structure behind almost I would think almost similar what they did to m years ago with square with that where they call mcon square that was the former rectory um or or the convent for the nuns and by the way I spoke to director Duma cuz I was concerned about the soccer field behind the convent and um the township is going to invest some money to reconfigure the soccer field so we'll continue to have a field there uh and we're the Township's actually going to invest some money to make some improvements uh to that that playing field well that's part of the school isn't it that playing field it is it's uh it's it's dases property so you could say it's part of the school right I I just want to caution the council this resolution is specifically just to do sending this to the planning board to determine whether this is an area of need of Redevelopment so we're at very preliminary stages what we're what you're talking about is is the Hope and the you know the plan but the planning board still needs to determine this first step so noted we're we're voting thank you for the clarification we to to the planning board foration that's our Ro in in this matter cuz I know that they were uh when they wanted to you know do something with it since I go there but um they were you know you had to be careful you've got school there so who you have next door so over 55 they should not be causing any buckets or anything for the kids and you know keeping it cool calm and you know Janice you CA rockus all the time I I Wasing you didn't notice I got it in with M senior y thank you any other members of the public with questions or comments seeing none council president move uh close the public portion and move on consent agenda items ca1 through ca19 second the motion M clerk Mr Carelli yes M Phillips yes Mr wh yes Mr T yes for your consideration ordinance number 125 g002 is an ordinance accepting temporary and permanent construction eases for the 2018 safe routes to school project clner Elementary School pedestrian safety improvements Federal project number T aish d002 411 state job number number 650 3342 first reading and introduction I'll make a motion to move on ordinance number on first reading introduction ordinance number 25-2 I'll second that yes yes and at this time we will that concludes our formal agenda at this time we'll open up the meeting to uh any comments um from the public on any [Music] matters well it appears that no members of the public wish to comment so we will move right into Council comments I'm going to be as brief as the uh comments from uh the members of the public this evening um I just want to wish everyone a good night and um um thank you all for your patience this evening with the executive session yeah um I'll be I'll be I'll try and be quick um just I was happy you know you I don't know how to word this properly I guess um but I'm happy to see that our housing department you know did their job right that's what they're there for and to have um um uh individual that that owns a property that is leasing out property and it's not inhabitable um and looking at some of the conditions they're pretty deplorable you know when you hear about uh no working kitchen or bathrooms that don't work first thing enters my mind is where are they going and uh you know so kudos to our our law our legal department um C kudos to the Hamilton Township Housing Department I think they did a a a great job that's what they're there for to to make sure that uh Public Safety is uh is first and foremost so that I hope everybody has a a safe uh journey home and look forward to seeing everybody at our next meeting thank you I'll keep my comments brief as well but I do want to thank everyone who was here tonight I know we had the Boy Scouts here yourik Nottingham they snuck out there oh on sorry um I just want to thank everybody for coming tonight and just on a side note I just want to I wasn't here at the last meeting meeting cuz unfortunately I was one of the many victims of the flu a that's going around but I wanted to commend um the administration and and those who designed our calendar this year I love the theme of for those of you who have it of our history and then our future and um I just wanted to thank everybody for their hard work of putting that together that was a great job and thank you to everyone here and get home safe tonight yeah I appreciate everyone uh for coming out and uh thank you to everyone for all the work on all the matters that we had tonight some some extraordinary items on the agenda tonight and with that this meeting is adjourned