I don't need a sign. An executive session was held tonight at 6:35. We are now reconvening. Miss Break, please call the role. >> Command Bing, >> here. Committeewoman Gomez >> here. >> Committeewoman Hand >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Leani >> present.
>> Mayor Payne here. >> Administrator Ferrer >> here. >> Attorney Willard, >> thank you. Please join me in a salute to the flag. >> I pledge algiance 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. At this time, I would like to request that an item be taken out of order. May I have a motion and a second to present the top 10 firefighters proclamation at this time? >> So moved. >> Second. Thank you. Roll call. >> Committee Bing. >> Yes. >> Committee woman Gomez. >> Yes. >> Committeewoman Hand.
>> Yes. Yes. >> Mayor Leani. >> Yes. >> Mayor P. >> Thank you. Yes. >> Yes. >> Is the proclamation over? >> Should probably take the readers. Can I have a repres? There's one for each
and then there's individual. >> Oh my, we had to do math. Sorry everybody. >> We good? >> Okay. Okay. So, this proclamation um so whereas the top 10 response I'm sorry, where the top responders have served as examples in the highest standards of the
Hillsboro Township Fire Stations through their heroism and willingness to help others and whereas the top 10 responders of fire station 36 Flagtown are Matt Deco, Ryan Guzy, Kyle Hudach, Greg. Okay. Um Greg, you know what? I'm not going to read it because I don't Yeah.
Okay. Soie whereas the top 10 responders of firehouse station 36, 37, 38, and 48. Now, let it be therefore be proclaimed that we, the mayor and the Hillsbor Township Committee do hereby recognize the top 10 responders of each fire station for their outstanding service to
the residents. I'm going to let each of the respective chiefs read off their members who uh were part of the count. introduce yourself. >> Hi, uh, Bill Woodruff. Um, top 10
responder, not a chief. Thank you. Um, stop that. Uh, so our top 10 responders were Matt Tigo, Ryan Guzy, Kyle Hudac, Greg Kaine, Zack Larson, John Novak, William Reordarden, Santiago Urosa, Ryan
Vladka, and myself, Bill Woodruff. Vince Patty, chief from 37 Fire and our top 10 were Corey Best Paris, Antonio Class, Matt Frankie, Rob Gilde, Nick Nesta, James Paterno, Joe Patty,
Vince Patty, Carl RWS, and Steven Shrauss. Matt Han, Chief 38 Firewoods Road. Our tap responders are Rob Capidana, Justine Dao, Christian Filmino, Halley Hand, Sean House, Ken Johnson, Vince Lie, Tom
Lynch, Chad Mcones, Jeff Pearly. Hi, David Grim from the Shannik. Our top 10 responders were Richard Bullock, Randy Conington Jr., Randy Conington, senior Charlie Davis, CJ Davis, Tanner Gorki, myself, Pete
Middleton, Ted Spoolock, and Thomas Vanlon. >> So, on behalf of the town, I just want to thank you all for your service and for all of your attendance to these fires and for all of the members out here that qualify at the top 10 in your respective. Thank you very much for your service to our town.
and then we'll get >> I have all of them. And then what they're going to do is firehouse by firehouse. So we're gonna first you want to call up all your top 10 responders. >> Those who showed up that are um part of this firehouse
>> or that Yeah. Give a little. Are you guys part of the Okay. >> Thank you. Thanks so much. as an auxiliary member. I'm getting I would love you. >> Best for last.
Thank you. >> And don't get me in trouble with Chris. >> And before all the firefighters walk out, everyone here, dig out your fire hydrant. Encourage your neighbor to dig out your fire hydrant. Help these people out. They're trying to save your
property. Okay. Yeah. No, I know. >> I just catching my breath. >> No. Okay, thank you everyone for letting us do that. I promised Chris Waker that they would be there before 7:45.
>> I I think I did pretty good. Yeah. Okay. Uh so approval of the minutes. May I have a motion and a second to approve the reorganization meeting minutes of January 6th, 2026, please? >> So moved. >> Second. Roll call.
>> Yes. >> Yes. hand. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. Tonight we are changing up the order for reports. Um so we're going to start off with uh my comments. So uh first for the
blizzard, I'd like to start tonight by acknowledging our DPW team once again. They worked around the clock, late night, early morning, and throughout the day keeping our community moving. While we were home safe at um safe and sound, they were on the front lines making sure that we could all get to work safely
this morning. And thank you all so much for all that you do. As the holy month of Ramadan begins, so does the Lenton season. This is a sacred time of reflection, prayer, and community for both religions. This season reminds us of the power of sacrifice and the importance of helping
those in need. Ramadan Mubarak. Hillsboro has also been named one of the top 10 safest towns in New Jersey for 2026 by security technology company Uffy and Riolink ranking 10th and fifth respectively. This ranking I'm sorry
these rankings which place Hillsboro safer than 84% of the US towns are based on comprehensive FBI and state crime data, police presence, and emergency service quality. This recognition highlights our commitment to maintaining a secure and protected community for all
residents and speaks to our amazing police officers. It's also a great time to be a Raider. I want to extend a huge congratulations to the Hillsboro High School boys swim team. They are the boys state section champs, sectional champs for the sixth year in a row. So that's awesome. I also
want to give a big shout out to the girls wrestling team who brought home the conference championship title in their very first year as a program. And finally, we would be remiss if we didn't congratulate the girls track and field team who are also state sectional champions. You all make Hillsboro very
proud, and we can't wait to see the future holds for you amazing athletes. Um, last two weekends ago, uh, Boy Scout Troop 1776 was working with me on their citizenship in the community badge and stopped by my office. We had, uh, two
sessions all day Saturday. Uh it was a lot of fun and a lot of really good engaging questions. It was uh pretty impressive to hear. Uh so there was like a nine to 11ish and then like more of a high school aged group and uh it was
really nice that they even knew who we were and what we do and things like that. So it was nice. It was a good group. We also have the global uh global day of play. I recently attended the global day of play at Amsterdam school. Um, we played life-size Sorry, which was
incredibly fun. And, um, definitely a big hit with the kids, too. So, we had a great time. That's all for me. Um, so we're going to start with Deputy Mayor Leani, please. >> Nope. I'll out of order.
>> Me off. Um, well, I'd like to first off, uh, Principal Fischer uh, from National School for inviting me. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to be on camera, but uh we had a great time. The I played with uh kindergarten kids
and they kicked my butt. Um so, uh that being said, uh we'll move on to the 250th anniversary. Obviously, we've been talking about this, not only us, but uh the whole country. Uh the committee met last week to plan activities for a celebratory year. Stay tuned for more
information regarding a patriotic house decorating contest. So you can think about how you want to decorate your home, interactive historic maps, installation of a historic trail marker and other activities and initiives which we will reveal as we get closer to those dates.
Uh with regards to and people have been asking us the pedestrian bridge on Route 206 that we had to close for safety reasons. Fabrication has begun on the bridge following the contract award last year. Because of the material and construction requirements for this project to take several months,
Hillsboro temps will continue to monitor the fabrication process. The temps will provide a further public update as a project nears the installation phase, but to be safe, it's going to still be a couple months away just as a timeline. Um, planning zoning uh has selected
Rehabco Incorporated as the new administrative agent for the local affordable housing program. Uh, applicants for rental and ownership opportunities are now available online and households must submit a pre-application be placed on the wait list. Applicants should ensure their
contact information is correct as Rehabco will provide availability notifications via email. My public works section got nicks, but I'll just copy the mayor's uh statement regarding uh our great guys uh that are out there and
gals. Uh if they're out there plowing if you've ever had to do it, it's very taxing. Um and it's late nights again. It's another weekend away from your families. Um so please uh be cognizant of them out there and get your cars off the streets and and make their job as
easy as possible. And lastly, I'd like to say uh I'd like to thank and congratulate all the US athletes that competed in the Olympics. I'm an Olympic nerd. Um I think it's the greatest thing that you can do to go out there and recreate your country in all sports uh
in the right way. And of course, we finished it with a bang with the you know, you know, I'm a hockey fan, so both the women and the men taking home gold. And I remember 1980 because I'm old and I was there. So, uh very proud moment. um you pass along to your your
children. My daughter was crying um about the US winning and she's 27. So um it's a great time to feel good about uh our athletes. Thank you. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor Committee Bing. >> And I can just uh piggy back off that
with the with the team USA. My boys loved every second of it. And we had some little Olympic games in our house, too, which Grayson, our four-year-old, won all of them. I think Robbie helped him win everything. They helped him win. make them feel good, which is good. Um, all right. So, health. Let's start with well water. The health department strongly recommends that residents with
potable wells consider testing their water for PIFA. Well owners uh whose water exceeds drinking water standards may be eligible for free filtration, public water connections, or testing cost reimbursements. Please contact the health department directly to learn about these resources and eligibility
requirements. They are a very good resource in the health department there about this subject. Bird flu. The NJ DP and federal partners are currently monitoring a statewide outbreak of highly pathogenic aven influenza HPAI uh which has affected birds nationwide
since uh 2022. Residents are asked to report sightings of sick or dead birds especially in groups of five or more via the wild bird disease reporting form found on the health department web page and there will be a link in tomorrow's e-news. So again, the health department has a really good website with all links to all those great resources.
recreation. It is almost spring even though it doesn't feel like it with all of this snow and we have more snow coming this week. I think like an inch an inch. So hopefully we'll make it a half an inch. I'll just say it for fun. The boys like it. They like the sled. Registration for 2026 uh spring programs
is now open featuring new intro to art sessions through art uh through the Art Academy of Hillsboro. Popular returning options include basketball skills and drills, STEM, tennis, and uh adult, excuse me, adult programming like uh line dancing
and pickle ball. Please visit the municipal website for a few full uh listing of all available seasonal activities. And I'll say it again, they also have a fantastic website. Griffin and team is sitting in the audience today. Do a fantastic job of making things accessible to the children and to everybody across the town. So it goes from from brain to to athletes. So it's
it's good stuff. Um, one last thing with recreation, I want to call a shout out to all the young basketball athletes in town, the boys and girls. There's a lot of teams in the playoffs. I have to say my son's in the playoffs right now and they're having a really good time. So, I think Hillsboro sports across the board are really growing for this the young athletes across the town. So, keep your
kids in sports if they can get into it. It's really good for them. Social services department, one of the best in the state. Social services has added an additional senior exercise class to their program. The new class starts at 2 p.m. at the YMCA facility. To register, please contact the social services
office at 908-3693880. And the last message here, it's very important for social services always and always make sure to support the local CAN, which is the essentially the food network that we have here, by visiting their website and see what what donations are needed because you may feel that you want to donate something,
but on the website they may say we have this time of year and these are the certain resources that the township residents need. So, please visit the website and donate whatever you can. That's all for me. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, committeeman. Committeewoman Gomez, please. >> Thank you, Mayor Payne. So, first up,
dog licenses. To avoid late charges, please make sure to renew your dog licenses before February 28th. Up next, we have the Lewis Bay 2 scholarship. There are still a couple weeks left to submit for the scholarship to the mayor's office. See tomorrow's
e-news for a link to the application. The Economic and Business Development Office will host the 2026 HBA job fair this Thursday, February 26, from 10 to 12 at the Hillsboro notes building. This event connects local job seekers with
hiring businesses and features on-site resume support from the Greater Ritan Workshop Development Board. Please see tomorrow's e-news for details on how to register in advance. Up next is human resources. Hillsboro is
hiring. Please see tomorrow's e-news for a list of available opportunities to join us. Tax assessor next. All right. The accessessor's 2026 tax list is now available on the tax
assessor's web page. Annual reassessment postcards detailing your new 2026 property value and 2025 tax billing will be mailed to residents in March. Some updates about our library. The Hillsboro branch of the Somerset County
Library will close for renovations starting uh yesterday through March 12th, reopening on March 13th. During this time, residents can pick up holds and museum passes Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. And on Sunday, services are suspended. Returns
will remain available 247 via the rear book drop. Also wanted to add that our adult the adult services supervisor through the our library is hosting a book discussion on the first Tuesday of every month at Flounder Brewery. There's no assigned reading and there's no
homework. Just bring a book that you've read or currently reading and share it with the group in a casual roundt discussion. The next one is coming up on Tuesday, March 3rd, 7 to 8:00 p.m. and it's a relaxed setting where people can
just get together in community. Lastly, um on Saturday, February 7th, I attended the I Still Have a Dream community event in Somerset honoring Black History Month and reflecting on the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.'s dream. I'm seen here with Veronica Spurl. She is a Hillsboro resident and artist who specializes in sculptural paintings. And I just wanted to add a little bit as well. I wanted to say thank you to the township um for recognizing Black History Month in our
last meeting and for presenting a proclamation to the Black Student Union from our high school. Black History Month is not only a time for us to celebrate and reflect on Black excellence and the countless contributions made throughout our history. It's also a time for us to
confront our nation's painful history and recommmit ourselves to the ongoing fight for equality and justice. Over the past year, we have seen efforts at the federal level to diminish and erase parts of black history. These actions have included eliminating diversity,
equality, and inclusion initi initiatives, limiting hundreds of words including black racism and injustice from government websites, eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Junth from our national park fee free days and
removing information about black and female service members from the Arlington National Cemetery website among other concerning actions. These developments remind us why Black History Month remains so important here locally. I hope we continue to not only honor our
shared past, but to ensure that our upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations fully reflect the rich, complex, and diverse history of our entire community. Thank you. Thank you, committee woman hand. >> All right. Thank you very much. All
right. Happy Lunar New Year for those of you um celebrating and again it's an auspicious year of the horse also Ramadan Mubarak. I'll echo that. And because the Olympics were mentioned um I would like to congratulate all the athletes regardless of gender. We are
proud of all of our American athletes that competed. Um and we're just very excited uh whether they won medals or not. Very very um great showing for the US. Um, also from leadership Somerset.
Uh, so I was very excited to participate on a panel for Somerset County. They have a um, leadership program that meets once a month for the entire year. And these are like really incredible people who um, volunteer to be part of this
program and want to, you know, give back and and be more um, integrated. So these are folks from all over Somerset County. They had a number of elected officials and I was very proud to have represented Hillsboro. So, that was very nice. Also,
the Global Day of Play, I did not take pictures because uh of the kids involved. Um I will say that I lost at headbands. It was a harder game than I had anticipated. Um it's very hard to guess uh based on on the clues that that but that's okay. We had a we had a good
time. And then um >> they're tricky those seven-year-olds. I mean, it was it was competitive play. Uh, I hung in there, but I I you know, I did okay. Um, also for the fire district, the Hillsboro Fire District is asking all homeowners to clear out the
snow surrounding any of the fire hydrants. You heard me mention a couple minutes ago, please shovel a three-foot radius around the fire hydrant so first responders can access them. It And if it's near your house, you really want to dig it out. um god forbid uh something
happen, they need to access the fire hydrant. The last thing you want is them trying to dig it out as um as a structure is burning. So, please do that and encourage any of your neighbors. Um, OEM Tills Hillsboro Township again expresses our very deep gratitude to our
awesome first responders, offices of emergency management, um, PSCG for the tireless work in managing the underground gas fire um, that was on Milstone River Road. It was an alarming fire. It was a really unprecedented
situation. And I just want you to know that the OEM, our OEM coordinator, police, fire, um, everyone in the town, uh, quickly reacted to make sure residents were safe, to make sure structures were safe, and to find a, um,
a a solve for the problem, which they did, which was very exciting. I think folks were back in their house um, the within 24 hours. Uh OEM was also front and center throughout the weekend's blizzard and we appreciate them for keeping us moving. Police um they are
asking please to remove snow from your vehicle prior to driving it on the roads. We want to avoid ice missiles and and snow coming off. It can cause accidents. It can cause damage to cars. So please um it you know it can result in a fine as well. So please take take a
couple minutes. And I know it's hard for those of us that are vertically challenged, but try and get the roof clear uh cleaned off. And please um if you're not uh not busy on March 11th from 4:00 to 5:30, we have coloring with the cops. Um that will take place, I
believe, right here. Um there will be more information on the e-news tomorrow. Um it's for prek through fourth graders. And uh looks like there will be pizza, crayons, and cops. that equals fun in any book. So there we
go. Thank you, mayor. Back to you. >> Thank you very much. Um with that, we are going to do a presentation from sustainable jury gold star. Davis Kois will be accepting on behalf of Samantha
Ball. Is there a presentation? Yeah, >> we've KPG says sorry. I didn't know you were the mayor. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> This is Randy Solomon. How are you?
>> Wait, is there something nice? >> Oh, yeah. >> There's only like these are your notes. >> Perfect. >> Here you go. >> Oh, look. We're doing this Madonna style. I love it. Okay. >> Hillsboro is thrilled to accept the gold
star in water from sustainable Jersey, an accolade that is given to uh communities that follow the strict requirements and guidelines regarding the preservation and improvement of water quality, quantity, and access for the residents. The sustainable Hillsboro steering committee embarked on a several
year initiative including the creation of the municipal water story, a narrative combined with community input describing all of the township's drinking water, storm water, and other forms of water in our community. This gold star is Hillsboro's second with the gold star in health received in 2024.
Hillsboro is grateful to the community for their participation in all the efforts regarding these initiatives and thanks Sustainable Jersey for recognizing the impact of Hillsboro's care and med uh dedication of our natural resources. >> So here's the cool.
>> Do you want to >> Yeah. And our exe the executive director for Sustainable Jersey is Randy Solomon. Uh thank you for being here this evening. >> Sure. Um, so sustainable Jersey is a certification program that recognizes municipalities that are thinking about
the future. And I think um, local governments in general and in New Jersey in particular are under a lot of strain. They have tremendous amount of responsibilities and the capacity that they have, the staff capacity, the tax base um, means that they've got to make
a lot of choices about what to do. And it's very very easy for local governments to deal with the things that are in front of them today. and not think about uh and kick the can down the road and not think about addressing longer term issues. So, we try to help them think about what those issues are. Uh but it's a voluntary program and it's
up to the municipalities to decide that they're going to take those on. So, the gold star in water recognizes the fact that they went through a comprehensive process to think about drinking water, storm water, you protecting your natural water bodies, um and creating a
long-term plan and then taking action to protect those things. And one of the things we heard from uh council committeeman Britting was uh discussion of the fact that you've got a program to support people doing private well testing which is another part of protecting your water and a part of this program. So there are um almost 500
municipalities in New Jersey that participate in sustainable Jersey. 180 of those have met our standards for becoming sustainable Jersey certified. Um there's only 60 of those that are at the highest level of certification and Hillsboro is one of those 60 and there
are only five that have achieved one of our gold stars in uh in something and there's only one that has achieved two gold stars and that is Hillsboro. So I just want to say it's a tremendous accomplishment. It's a sign of good government, good leadership from
volunteers, um, excellent capacity and support from the staff, and I just want to say congratulations and I'm so impressed with what you've achieved. >> Uh, this work would not be able to have been done without the amazing work of our volunteers. And I just wanted to
give everyone a chance to introduce themselves and to pass it down. Hi, my name is Jenna Hamid. >> Hi, Kelly Francisco. >> Hi, I'm Phil Rudio. >> Hi, I'm Randy Solomon.
>> So, this is just a portion, by the way, of our sustainable group. Um, there's, you know, I was a part of it last year and it's just a really energized, excited team of volunteers and they all have specialties in the areas of
sustainability. So from plant and botany to water and engineering and things like that. So they're all like very equipped to do this which is why we're really so good at it. We stack the tables. So So thank you. >> And uh mayor if I could just say one
more thing. Uh last year's chair is uh was Dr. Kelly Francisco. And I just wanted to bring to everyone's attention. This work would not have been able to get done without the work that she put into this. Dr. Abbrupta and also
Samantha Ball who unfortunately could not be here tonight. Uh the entire committee was a part of it but they were the primary ones that really drove this and I just wanted to bring bring that attention. >> Yes, absolutely. Agreed. Thank you everybody. You guys are awesome. >> TAKE A PICTURE.
I >> I CAN'T DO THAT. >> SORRY. >> I wasn't gonna >> I learned that >> everybody. Thanks, guys. Please return to your seat. >> It sounded like it said please return to
your seat. >> Okay, moving on. Now we have some personnel items. Uh so we have um three personnel uh resolutions. Is there um any uh sorry we'll hear all
the comments first after that if the committee member would like to vote on any of the personnel items separately I will give you the opportunity to do so there's no need to take items separately for the purpose of commenting or questioning comments from the deis I have a comment I just want to say
congratulations to Jennifer Vincent and Joe I was able to be part of his interview process and I wish you much success in your new positions Mayor, I just had a couple comments as well. So, I just want to u welcome Jennifer Jeremiah to uh the courts as
assistant to court administrator. Also, um Vincent Pulio for uh DPW to join as well. Um and for uh Joe who's here this evening. um Joe Muran uh moving up to um management position going through
Hillsborough leadership uh training now and going through the process career development also thanking uh Griffin Dun as director tonight supporting him as well as Tony Ria his supervisor and his son uh for being here this evening so uh I know it's an exciting um night for Joe
and looking forward to being part of the management team and he's got a great team right there in park. So, as the committee said before too, I just want to thank DPW and parks for each and every not only the storm here, but every emergency they work through. So, do awesome job. So, thanks.
>> Any other comments from the DES? >> Thank you. Welcome. Um, comments from the floor. >> Would anyone like to take any of these items separately? >> Can I have a motion and a second to approve personnel and appointment items one through three?
>> Some moved. Second. Roll call, please. >> Committee Bing, >> yes and welcome. >> Committeewoman Gomez, >> yes. >> Committeewoman Hand, >> yes and welcome. >> Deputy Mayor Leani, >> welcome. Yes. >> Mayor Payne,
>> congratulations. Welcome. Yes. Okay. Moving to consent agenda 1 through 14. We're going to hear all the comments first. After that, if any committee member would like to take an item from the consent agenda and separate voting,
uh I will give you the opportunity to do so. There's no need to take items separately for the purpose of commenting or questioning. Are there any comments from the day on the consent agenda? >> I have two just want to recognize. >> So, first I think it's important for the residents to know that we are keeping up
with our rocksol purchases because we need to. There's a lot of salting going on and thank you to the uh DPW and everybody else that's been involved. Um, so I'm glad that we are being proactive here and purchasing as needed. I think that's very important. That is I believe number uh number three. Um, taking one
step further, number eight, uh, I think this is for the for the police department chief in back of the room. I think it's great that we are empowering your organization, your team with AI and technology. So resolution authorizing the purchase of two drones and accessory equipment from terrestrial imaging through the Bergen County Cooperative
Contract. I think it's a great opportunity for to help empower your team to make sure you keep everybody safe and I think it's the newest way to do it and I'm glad to see that we're going in that direction. >> That's it for me. >> I'd also like to echo that on the drones just for the um purpose of the residents that you understand those drones will be
incredibly helpful and time-saving for the residents that we lose every year while hiking in the Slands. you know, those woods are very dark, those mountains are very windy, and sooner than later that dusk turns into nightfall, and inevitably we, you know,
misplace someone temporarily. So, these drones will be integral in finding them quickly, uh, before hyperothermia or anything else could happen into them. So, it's a great purchase for our town. >> Anybody else? >> Thank you, mayor. Um just wanted to
obviously echo our rock salt and safety precautions with the PD, but uh also that we're moving forward with some of the things that we had planned last year. One is the uh police department renovations um that uh are vastly needed
for our expanding PD for our um locker room for our female officers who are very valuable to us as well as our other ones. Uh and then also the um repair of the roof of the library since we're nice having a nice renovation. They're being closed to redo the carpets. Uh it's
important for us to uh to repair the roof. So those are two um capitals that we had started last year that I'm I'm happy to see that we're moving forward with. >> Anyone else? >> Yep. So um again, our DPW has managed
salt very well. I think you all know in the last storm um other towns were, you know, going through emergency uh emergencies to access additional salt, our town had managed it very well. I think we're all hoping that this additional salt does not get used
anytime soon. I think I do love snow, but I think we we've all had enough. Um regarding number eight, so keep in mind we actually have four qualified um FAA drone operators. So, these drones are for them to be able to use. As we said,
not only missing persons, um things like that. I don't know if any of you remember within the past year or two, uh one of the mysterious drones had gone down over near Lowe's and our >> first responders.
The drone went down. >> Okay. The drone was suspected to have gone down over by Lowe's and it took hours and hours in the freezing cold for first responders to comb the field. So, this would have been a great opportunity to be able to have used um a drone to
find the drone that never fell but uh was cited. So, thank you very much for the clarification. And then um the other comment I had was on um you know 13 again uh I I think if you're looking for a lucrative career it
is definitely an attorney representing Hillsboro. So um 13 is we will be paying out you know 50,000 in cash. Um that is a settlement to for one of the lawsuits you'll see. And again, in addition to
the 50,000, we will be um forfeiting $250,000 in profit um from the solar farm to be built on that property. So, um this was an agreement in order to settle the lawsuit. So, uh again, just
bringing that up so that the town is aware of what's going on because I know this was added and it's a lot to read in between five o'clock and uh 7:30. So, thank you very much. >> Anyone else
comments from the floor? >> Oh, I'm sorry, Maria. Let me grab that for you. >> No, I got it. >> Thank you, Sarah. Sorry. >> Good evening. Maria, January 6, 720 East Fick Avenue, Manville, New Jersey. I'm also a a Hillsboro Township property
owner, block 86, lot 3, 215 Camplain Road. Uh some of these uh were mentioned, but I have some questions on them. >> Sure. >> Uh consent number four, uh resolution authorizing emergency temporary appropriations prior to adoption of 2026
budget. Um how many temporary appropriations have there have there been? Committeewoman Gomez, would you like to answer as the finance liaison? >> This is the only one so far since the
adoption of the temporary budget. >> I'm sorry, what? >> This is the only appropriate emergency appropriation we filed. >> H >> it says here authorizing emergency temporary. Well, what is what is the appropriation? What is the emergency tempor uh uh appropriation for?
>> It's in the amounts you'll see in that form. So you'll see what was appropriated in the temporary budget and then if there's another amount in the next column that's not zero, that's what the extra appropriations are for. >> Can you say what it is? I mean, I know
you're saying what that it's in the paper >> for what all the items are. I I don't have all that information. Uh perhaps Mayor Payne can >> as the committee would have indicated the township at the beginning of the year uh adopted a temporary appropriations before he adopted budget and these are additional line items to
add to that to pay current expenses and as the committee would have indicated this is the first and only amendment to the original. So the uh uh >> so if you have any further questions >> emergency temporary appropriation was to
>> so our budget isn't approved yet Maria >> our budget isn't approved yet so we pay our bills every month and we'll be doing this every month until the bills until the budget is approved >> for for it's every bill that you can
imagine. And it's any check that we have to cut. It goes on this uh it goes through this way for organization >> until the budget is approved. >> It's just I don't understand why I don't understand why this is being called emergency appropriations if these are
bills that have to be paid. That's what it has to be called until the budget is finalized. >> Okay. Um, number eight, resolution authorizing the purchase of two drones and accessory equipment from terrestrial imaging through the Bergen County
Cooperative Contract number 25-42. >> What is the price of the drones? >> It was a grant. >> It's a grant from from where? >> You just read it. >> It's a grant >> from the Bergen County Cooperative.
>> Correct. >> Um, okay. Okay. So, the the the the drones and the accessory equipment are grants. So, there's no >> outlay from the community outlay from Hillsboro. >> Okay. Well, but this is being it says resolution authorizing the purchase of
how is it correct purchase >> because we get the grant money and then we're we're using that grant money to purchase the drones. >> And so, how much was the grant >> offhand? Do you have that number? >> It's probably in the actual resolution.
>> Combination $5,000 grant. >> Thank you. It's a $5,000 grant and the balance was paid through donation. >> $5,000 grant and a,000 through donations >> and the balance was paid through donations. >> $20,000 donation and a $5,000 grant
totaling 25,000. And the purchase is $24,999.91. So that um those two items are paying for the drones. So somebody donated 20,000 um to the police department to the uh I believe directly
to the PBA benefiting the police department and then there was a $5,000 grant. Is that what you were asking? >> Okay. >> And is there any in information as to who gave the donations? >> No, it was an anonymous donation. It's
it's 25,000 for the drone. So 5,000 is the grant. So 20,000 is donations. Correct. >> But you don't have information as to who >> donated. >> It's anonymous. >> Well, yeah, it came through the PBA. >> There you go.
>> Um, resolution 13, uh, authorizing the execution of a settlement agreement and general release in Donald J. Vulker Ital versus Township of Hillsboro. Um, what was this this um litigation about?
>> Committeewoman Han, would you like to reinstate that? >> Can we talk about that? >> I would I would say if somebody's going to answer that, it should be the attorney. >> I would defer. >> Um, okay. Uh, actually I I know about it, but uh I was not involved. Uh, this
was handled by Eric Bernstein. It was a matter regarding Hillsboro properties and the purchase of the uh GSA site. Um there was litigation regarding that particular purchase. The township teamed up with the Somerset County Improvement Authority uh for the purchase of that property. Um I forget the exact total
price uh but there was a dispute between the parties as far as when his payments were due under that agreement and uh then there was a lawsuit about when payments should have been made and that lawsuit is now being settled as a result of the settlement agreement.
>> Um that was the GSA prop in regard to the GSA property. >> Yes. >> Where is that located? >> Um up by Mountain View. Is that cuz I know there's I know there's different propert. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And so how how much once again how
much uh is Hillsboro having to pay? Uh >> according to my review of the settlement agreement, there's a $50,000 from payment from Hillsboro. There's a $50,000 payment from the Simmer County Improvement Authority. U my understanding is there $150,000 payment from uh the solar provider who agreed to
kick into the settlement. And then the first $250,000 in lease payments that would have been made to the township uh will be made to the plaintiff. >> Okay. And and who who was the attorney who represented uh Hillsboro? >> Eric Bernstein.
>> That was actually uh Brian Hack. >> Brian Hack. >> Okay. Eric Bernstein's office. >> Mr. Hack, which is part of Mr. Bernstein's office, but it was Brian Hack. >> Brian Hack. And he's from the the same law firm as as Attorney Willard. >> Correct. And I was no Eric Bernstein. No, I thought you said from the law firm
of Mr. Bernstein. >> No, she's from Mr. Bernstein's law firm, not Mr. Willards. >> Attorney Hack is from the law firm. >> Eric Bernstein, who was the planning board attorney. Correct. >> Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Any other comments from
the floor? >> Okay. >> Seeing none, would anyone like to take any of the items separately? I make um well it doesn't have to be motion. I would like to take number four separately.
Anyone else? Can I have a motion for numbers 1 through 3 5 through 14? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Committee Bing. >> Yes. >> Committee Gomez. >> Yes.
>> Committeewoman Hand. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Lean. >> Yes. >> Mayor P. >> Yes. Can I have a uh res I'm sorry, a motion and a second for res uh consent agenda 4. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. Roll call.
>> Committee member braing. >> Yes. >> Committeewoman Gomez. >> No. >> Committeewoman Hand. >> No. >> Deputy Mayor Leani. >> Uh yes. Uh just so the township committee is aware, I believe that required a twothirds vote. So you're
going to have to notify the CFO. He's not going to be able to pay certain bills. >> Okay. >> Mayor Payne. >> Yes. >> Just so the committee knows that that could be an issue with having things shut off. Most of our bills that keep
the township running. >> Never anything. Yeah. Okay. So I would like to clarify that there has the township is able to put 35% of our budget forward and that is
supposed to get us through April. So we shouldn't have emergency appropriations. So you would take 35% of you know what you think uh you know 35% of your budget for the year what's going to be due. I think that's how you would manage your household, right? And and be able to pay
the bills. Do >> you want to speak? >> So, we've already passed, I believe, we've already passed $13 million. This was going to be another 5.389
taking us up to 18.3, which is almost 50% of the budget. So, it is February 24th. Not sure why we would account for 50% of our budget already being appropriated. So, um I wish the CFO was here. Uh not
that this is his fault by any means, but unless uh mayor or administrator Ferrer could represent the information for us. Just for factchecking, uh our budget is about $47 million. So certainly not half. >> Committee woman, this excuse me, mayor
off of last year. >> Um >> excuse me. I will say since we didn't want to go line item by line item, but there were certain things that we could not put in the budget estimate budget till we got the numbers and the two biggest ones are pensions uh the PERS
and the uh >> PFRS >> PFRS which is uh about $5 million worth of of payments that we had to pay out. Um, so the rest of it is
the total is 5,389,987. So of that amount over most of it is is those uh those two line items that we did not know of until after we could do the budget when those numbers come in. So I think it's disingenuous to vote no
on something uh and um that was a known that was coming. Uh it's not a surprise. It's the same thing every year. I'll give Miss Gomez a pass because again, she's been here long enough to get two paychecks. Uh but the the point of the matter is is it's uh it happens every
year because you don't have that number when you have going to the rollover of the year. Uh plus we've also had if you haven't I think we've talked about it about five snowstorms over the year. So our payroll has gone up significantly because each snowstorm for edification of the public cost us
about $80,000. So you want to do the math. You can't budget more than you think you had in the year prior. >> Uh we buy salt and I don't think anyone's complains when we plow the roads. So unless you don't want the roads paved. So evidently the two my two
my two colleagues don't want the roads paved and they don't want the DPW out there to work over uh $380,000. So, shame on them. I believe this is a complete political ploy. Um, and uh I'll let them answer their own questions to
the to the people in this building when it when it comes. Okay. Public hearings. uh 2026-1 ordinance amending chapter 188 land use and development article 1 title purpose and definitions section 188-3
words and terms defined and article 5 districts and standards section 188-106 uh 1-1 1-2 and 1-3 light industrial districts is that I I'm Sorry, thank you. I was
like, is it Roman and numeral? I was I'm sorry, folks. So, I-1, I-2, and I-3 light industrial districts for the code of the township of Hillsboro, Somerset, New Jersey. Uh, Somerset County, New Jersey. The ordinance, I'm sorry. May I have a motion and a second to open the
public hearing for ordinance 2026-1? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I I >> I. Any opposed? Are you abstaining? >> No. I >> Oh, you said I Yeah, we didn't. >> I said all in favor. Yeah. Okay. Thank
you. Uh, is there any discussion from the de? Any discussion from the floor? Come forward. Maria, you got beat. Sorry. >> Too slow. Hi.
>> Hi. >> Thomas Rodriguez at King GR Road Hillsboro. Um, okay. This is the uh ordinance for 2020601. Right. >> Correct. >> Okay. I'm just going to read the uh previous
or ordinance. Hillsboro Township Committee in an effort to maintain the goals of the master plan and to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of its residents introduced ordinance 202308. The ordinance removes warehousing and shipping and receiving facilities as a
principal permitted use in the I1, I2, I think it's L or I. >> It's I. I did the same thing. Thank you. >> I1, I2, and I3 light industrial districts. uh GI general industrial districts and LI light industrial districts. The
committee concluded that although such warehouses generate economic activity including jobs and ratables, it would be at the expense of the public good and would had have a negative impact on the community. The ordinance recognizes that
any benefits from such facilities would out be outweighed by noise, truck traffic, and air pollution. Warehouses have been a hot topic at many board meetings as many residents vehemently oppose the construction of warehouses, especially in or near
heavily residential areas. The committee recognizes residents rights to quietly to quiet enjoyment and to maintain the natural landscape of the community. This proposed ordinance along with proposed ordinance 202309
demonstrates the committee's objective to maintain a desirable community and to lead Hillsboro forward in a manner that is consistent with the master plan. Now this is the ordinance that is being replaced
just uh for the record. Now according to CBS news report back in 2016 we had a massive fire at the which is now I think the mid mid uh what's it called the mid something logistics where the veterans
incestial park was correct burned for more than 24 hours. >> Yep. Um so that was a you know big deal. In addition before that there was mercury stored at that industrial park that was the n which was the nation's
largest stockpile. >> Correct. >> So with this uh new ordinance I have some questions. Um first of all we uh do not want any hazardous chemicals or industries in our
neighborhood. The letter sent to this residents about this ordinance change ordinance change include residents within 200 feet of proposed properties. Also, our roads already choked with 18 wheelers on single lane back roads and
how does the town ensure that no additional 18 wheelers will be added? Also, we do not want any ice facilities anywhere in our town. They have already already demonstrated unlawfulness and unconstitutional actions against people
in our area and other areas of the nation. Also, we do not need need any data centers here in Hillsboro. They can be any size up to, you know, don't have there's no like limitation to them.
>> They use critical utilities such as electric and gas. Our utility bills are already higher and our groundwater is filled with PAPS. I mean, we use a well myself. I had it tested and uh I know all the neighbors around
uh uh Falcon uh Sunnyme, etc. I think their PAS were pretty high over there. Let's see. The residents depend on clean unpolluted groundwater for consumption and use which is currently being impacted by industrial and residential
construction. And lastly, why is this ordinance being changed and how does this ordinance benefit the surrounding residents as well as the quality of life in this to this town versus the old ordinance? >> Perfect. >> Thank you. >> David Co, do you want to add on that?
>> Thank you, mayor. I just wanted to bring some things to everyone's attention. This proposed ordinance does not permit data centers in the I1, I2, I3. Um, I wanted to
clarify that the use that is being considered by the township committee is called smallcale storage and distribution. It's a use of no more than 25,000 square ft of gross floor area per building that is principally used for
the storage of goods and materials with limited frequency of pickup and delivery completely with an enclosed building. Such facilities are characterized by low daily trip generation, infrequent truck traffic and the absence of continuous
shipping receiving or order fulfill fulfillment activities. trailer parking uh other than at the loading dock is prohibited. Uh this ordinance was designed as
an answer to the prior ordinance that essentially made all warehousing as a principal use prohibited. The reality of that ordinance is that we have several of these buildings that have then become
non-conforming uses. As the township committee took action with the LI, light industrial district, not to be confused with the I1, I2, I3 light industrial district, that was associated with a settlement agreement
with Larkin in that neighborhood of town. That use is a more intense and larger use than what's being permitted potentially by action of this township committee in the
I1, I2, I3. What this is trying to do is to try to make those buildings and those uses that are going on in those places to make them permitted so that they can continue. Uh, ratables are certainly an
important part of a town's function. And by having less non-conforming structures and uses is actually a benefit to the town because if something were to happen in those buildings were to be destroyed or if different tenants were to leave
and they would try to get additional tenants, they may have to go to the zoning board of adjustment for approvals, which is an additional additional hurdle. And mayor, as you know, um the township adopted ordinance 2023-08.
The reason the township adopted ordinance 20 uh 23-08 was to avoid um the proliferation of large scale warehouses. Um it was happening throughout the state of New Jersey and other parts of the country. Um in particular, right after COVID, there was a large demand for
warehousings. As everybody knows, retail is dying and it's changed over to online and uh based upon these online orderings uh more and more warehousing demand took place because people want that last mile, right? Uh people now nowadays you can order something and maybe you get it
that day. Uh that's because these warehouse facilities are located closer to to the residents now. Um in particular, so this ordinance was originally adopted to remove these large-scale warehouses and that continues to be the case. this particular ordinance though we asked the planner because we did receive a number
of lawsuits involving uh the township's adoption of that ordinance removing large scale warehouses. We've received a number of challenges to that ordinance and in particular we received two particular challenges. One was from Larkin and his properties and another was from this particular property owner
Hillsbor Industrial. And what they were saying is we're not looking to build large scale warehouses. We have existing operations going on right now. All we're trying to do is keep doing what we're doing. And we had our planner take a look at what was going on in this particular zone in the I2 zone. And
looking at it, he came up with this definition of these smallcale facilities, which is only 25,000 square feet. Again, we're not talking about any large scale warehousing. And so, we've added a definition for that to address that particular use and also the manufacturing that was currently going on in that zone. And so all this
particular all this particular ordinance does is takes a look at what was going on in that zone and permits it and it settles that particular case that we the township did enter into a settlement agreement. >> More importantly, if to your point there was a fire or a mass destruction of that
area, David, then they would not be able to rebuild something bigger than that zone permits. So this was a limiting ordinance. Well, again, how does this benefits the residents that are within 200 feet of these properties? And also,
it's been stated in the news also that uh there's been battery storage of lithium batteries. Now, they're making battery locations basically as backup storage. >> And if uh you know, they catch fire, that's like be like the industrial warehouses fire that we had back in
2016. So, again, how does this benefit the residents from the old ordinance? So if you're right now living within 200 feet of an existing warehouse structure, light industrial structure, you know, it will never be bigger than it is today.
First, secondly, we do not have ion storage in our town. >> It may require bigger facilities, >> much bigger facilities, >> which they can't do. >> Okay. And and how do we know what's being stored at these uh facilities right now?
>> Well, we do. I mean, we have we know we have records of what each building is manufacturing. >> I don't know that they're public. >> I know there I know that both health and fire do inspections. >> Yeah.
>> As well. We can go in there anytime we want. And health and fire and they >> are they public was the question that >> that I don't know. I can check with fire. >> All right. If you could uh let me know or let us know. >> Sure. And mayor, if I could just add another another fact to this,
>> the planning board took action on February 5th because what happened when this township committee introduced the ordinance, it needed to be referred back to the planning board. And on February 5th, the planning board found that this ordinance is consistent with the master
plan. And so I just wanted to point to something that I had included in my memo before uh that had helped advise the planning board. These provisions are also consistent. Um, and just let me provide some clarification. What this ordinance was also attempting
to do was to have uh basically some guidelines in there to try to prevent someone from making one of these uses even more intense or trying to bring in tractor trailers and to try to address a lot of the things that you're bringing up.
These provisions are also consistent with the master plan's long-standing objective of ensuring that the scale and intensity of development is appropriate to its context and that non-residential uses are designed and operated in a manner that minimize adverse impacts on
surrounding residential neighborhoods and that's there was a lot of care and thought put into how this ordinance was being designed. In addition to that, the township through its land use code already has performance standards. We have performance standards in there that
when we look at zoning permits that are potentially going to be issued, we have to make sure that whatever they're storing there that it meets the base standard of the performance standards. Plus, we have additional additional uh people that are looking at these things.
We have annual uh fire inspections that are going in there. There's also cos that have to be issued from the building department and in some situations there might be state authorities that have to get involved depending on on potentially what is being made there or stored there potentially. So there are there are the
typical safeguards that are there. >> Okay. Uh do they have the possibility of implementing any kind of like ICE facilities or data centers there? >> They're not large enough. That's the point. 25,000 square feet is pretty big.
>> Not really. >> When they want data centers, we're talking hundreds of thousands. >> Yeah. >> What about ice facilities? >> Way too small. >> Know what ICE wants or doesn't want. >> Yeah. >> This is an industrial zone. It's not for
>> We don't have that. Yeah. >> Okay. >> So, sir, I understand your concerns. You obviously appears you live within 200 ft deep. Um so so I would say if you uh are uh against what's going on in that zone z zone right now then understandably you
would be against this ordinance but this ordinance is just to maintain what's happening in that zone right now. >> Okay. >> I appreciate that. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> Any other >> You can just say your name. Maria, January 6, 720 East Freck Avenue,
Manville, New Jersey. Um, I received uh through regular mail and certified mail a copy of this ordinance. >> I'm on my my Hillsboro property is on Camp Lane Road. Is there a reason why I would receive something uh in regard to
this ordinance uh through certified mail? >> Yes. But >> she must have been within 200 feet of the I2 zone. >> Exactly. You're within 200 feet. >> 200 feet of >> that property of that zone of the I2 zone. >> Of the I2 zone I2 or I3 >> I3. Yes.
>> Were was um this ordinance also um with information regarding this public hearing. Was that also sent to the mayor or burough uh council of Manville? >> Yes. >> I believe so. >> Also as he was here. Yes. So, so they they would have gotten it too because
this is something that uh uh one uh municipality or township cannot um institute something in in their uh uh uh in their uh uh uh area that can that can
be detrimental to the adjoining. So that's why they are sitting in the back. >> Excuse me. Yeah, >> I know they're aware of it because they're in the back. The mayor of Manville sitting in the back of the room. >> The mayor is back here. Yeah, I see him right there. >> So, he's well aware. >> I'm I'm I'm very happy to see that
because that is that is very important because there are a lot of things going on in the Hillsboro planning board that would was uh would have been negatively impacting uh Manville. Uh, another thing is I had gone to the um
um planning board meeting uh Hillsboro planning board meeting uh on February 5th. And on the agenda it says um just a
minute I'm sorry consideration of ordinances and it's ordinance 2026-01. Um >> that's this one >> today. Today this public hearing is when you decide whether or not this ordinance
is going to be approved. Right. >> Correct. >> So right now it's still not approved. >> Correct. So why would that be uh uh on the planning board's agenda for consideration of ordinances >> pursuant to the misp land use law any land development or zoning ordinance uh
gets introduced first by the township committee and then by statute munuse law it then needs to go to the planning board for a master uh plan consistency evaluation and then they report back as Mr. and Mr. quis had actually given that report
>> because it really doesn't doesn't it's not clear as far as that this is being at the planning board that this was being um that this wasn't uh what isn't is it isn't an approved ordinance and it needs
to be uh approved by the by the by the uh governing body. How does this how does how does that how does that go to the planning board before it's an approved ordinance? >> Uh again, Miss Janisk, I would just say that it's pursuant to statute. If you take a look at the ordinance itself, I put all those notice provisions in
there. Um those ordinance uh provisions that you see in the Barry sections are taken right directly from the statute. Um and it does indicate that uh it has to go to the planning board pursuant to the Miss Bolanius law uh for consistency evaluation. Again, all the ordinances
such as this, they originate with the township committee uh and that's an introduction and then they need to go to the planning board for a master plan consistency evaluation and then they come back to us for adoption. >> So that all right. All right. Thank you.
Uh so in regard to this ordinance where it says here smallcale storage and distribution um so the uh that paragraph is underlined. So this is the new this is the new >> correct.
>> Okay. So it's a use of no more than 25,000 square feet of gross floor area per building that is principally used for the storage of goods and materials with limited frequency of pickup and delivery
completely within an enclosed building. Do you have a little bit more um specific uh wording other than limited frequency? What does that mean? Limited frequency of pickup and delivery. What would that
what does that mean to one person versus to another person? Limited frequency. >> Uh I don't believe that's defined anywhere. The only definition we have is what's set forth and you read it. Isn't that is isn't that very ambiguous?
Shouldn't that be shouldn't there be a little more more clarification as to uh how often there can be a frequency of pickup and delivery? >> Again, I can only report uh refer you to the language. It says the following sentence says such facilities are
characterized by low daily trip generation, infrequent truck traffic, and the absence of continuous shipping, receiving, or order fulfillment activities. So who who who drafted this ordinance? >> If I may, David did, but if I may, when they come to the planning board and any
board of adjustments or anything like that, the these are the questions that they're answered or asked of the builder or prospective buyer, owner at that point also to understand the frequency and then we would work to mitigate that.
But shouldn't shouldn't the township have set guidelines on on on what could be permitted is because because this is >> we do have guidelines of what's permitted. That is the ordinance for what's permitted. But as far as
>> guidelines as far as how much what the frequency would be of pickup and delivery, you know, somebody can come in and say they want to have 30, you know, trips uh uh per day and they think that that's okay and then that creates uh problems with with with
the with the township and then creates an issue that has to go into litigation. 30 trips per day, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 is very different than 30 trips a day Monday through Friday, right? But from 700 p.m. to 7 a.m. You can say, I'm sorry, excuse me. You can say you can
say that because that sounds right, but the developer can say, >> but they have to come to us and those boards with that information, >> right? And with and with something so ambiguous, they can then go to the courts and say, "Look, this is what we want and it doesn't specify here."
Correct. >> And then and then the next line such facilities are characterized by low daily trip generation. >> What you may consider low daily trip the developer is going to say so I the wording I think need some more guidelines.
>> Miss Janac what's considered low but you might think is low one to two 3 to five. Who sets that number? >> So >> exactly. So I'm saying if >> can I finish? >> Thank you. So part of that which you didn't read, trailer parking other than at the loading dock is prohibited. So there's no excess of trailer parking is
prohibited. You're allowed one loading dock per per five uh 5 5,000 square feet. So the size of scale of the building is actually prohibitive to having large and frequent truck traffic. It's just not going to happen. You can't have 30 trips of a truck and trailer out
on a 25,000 square foot loading dock with one loading dock and the ability that you can't stack uh rigs. So the the restrictions that David has put in here has pro has basically encapsulated restrictions that will
prevent from a lot of truck traffic. Um and I think that you're going down a rabbit hole of who's going to count, how are we going to count, what's what's the what's the number, what isn't the number, right? If we could put 20, 19, 18, it really that that's almost
impossible because it's not there is nothing in language put anywhere in any ordinance that I know of David maybe you can correct me that says you are allowed x number of trucks into your place in any application in this town. So that's not going to happen. So the ordinance is
structured to create uh checks and balances to prevent largecale or frequent truck traffic. So that's the answer. >> Okay. >> Okay. Okay. commit committed leani when I said 30 I was being facitious because
I know there wouldn't be 30 I'm just saying when people have a discussion though it depends on the business right if you have a garden center you're going to have little trucks in and out all day long picking up mulch picking up gravel things like that as someone does so or
if you had an export business you might have less pickups in that same window. What we are trying to avoid is a frequent stream of traffic, one large oversized trucks, two and like again
when they come to the planning board, you've heard those conversations, Miss Januac. We're very, you know, prideful in the questions that we ask the manufacturers especially of what are your business operating hours, right? We don't want them running all night
long. We're very cognizant of when these businesses operate. to mitigate that traffic. >> But but what what you're saying right here uh low daily traffic low daily trip generation infrequent truck traffic.
Yes. But shouldn't there be some kind some kind of guidelines because that it's it's >> Thank I understand your concern. Um we've answered the question over. I think Mr. Leupan's u committee lean's comment was directly on point. The size
of the facility itself, the fact that it only has one loading dock is what does it. If I put 20 in the ordinance, the size you can't have more than 20 trips, who's going to monitor if it was 25? Am I going to have an employee stand out there and say and and every single day,
365 days a year, and watch how many trucks go in and out? Oh, it was 25 today. It's impossible to enforce. So, what is the enforcement mechanism? The size of facility and the amount of loading docks. That's what that's what generates it. The size of the facility, only 25,000 square feet and only one
loading dock. That's what gets us where we need to be. >> So So in these in these zones, the I1, I2, and I3 light industrial, you can have uh how many how many uh uh facilities can there can there be like
say in in in in the I in the I1 zone. How how how big is how big are the in general are the I1 uh the zone that you could how how many how many facilities could be in could be could be in that zone.
>> How where is the I1 I2 and I3 zone? >> Okay. >> They're all over town. >> They're in different You can take a look at our zoning map for exactly where they're located. >> And some of them and some some of the >> That's online, isn't it? >> Correct. >> It's online. Our zoning map is online >> and some of the property some of the
properties that are zoned I1 or I2 or I3 >> are pretty big. >> I mean there's all different sizes of them honestly. >> So so you could have several um >> there's not a lot to be clear there's
not a lot of new space in those spaces. >> Am I wrong? >> That what >> you're you're correct. I1, I2, I3 is is mostly developed. There's very >> So, we're just again saying that if this building burned down >> in let's just it's an I3 zone, right?
And we're talking about the I3 zone. If that building burned down, if there was a fire that took it down, they can't take it and put in one building beyond 25,000 square feet beyond one bay per building. So, that's what we're trying to limit here. What is existing is
existing. I thought I wasn't wrong on that, but most of these spaces are already built out. What we're trying to avoid is like a a Okay, let's just say I3 has 300 acres. Now, you're going to take and there's going to be a fire. One of the buildings burns down and now that
fire leads us to a new rebuild. That rebuild cannot be the entire 300 acres. It's dramatic, folks, but I'm just saying. So, this is what we're limiting. It's a 25,000 square footprint. one loading dock and monitored like
moderate traffic. >> So, what you said was if there's something in the I3 zone that is bigger than 25,000 square ft and it burns down, then they can't they can't uh >> re rebuild the size that was there before. They have to now go with what is
correct >> for this particular use. Correct. >> Correct. Yes. >> For small for a small scale storage and distribution facility. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. How you doing? I'm Paul Candon, 24 Campbell. Um, thanks for the opportunity
to talk. Um, we touched on some of these, but I figured I' I'd just ask real quick. Sure. >> Hours of operation. Is that something that would be determined if it came up before the planning board or is that something that is written somewhere in the code? >> Hours of operations do come up before
the planning board. That's definitely one of the questions that we ask there. >> Okay. So, that's not something that you would put into >> an ordinance to limit. No. >> No. Okay. All right. Um, >> it's also case by case, you know. >> Okay.
um the uh one principal use per site, is there a particular reason that that's being eliminated in this circumstance? >> David, >> uh yes, thank you, mayor. So, that was more of trying to clean up this ordinance and make it consistent with
the with the rest of the code. So, the code already allows multiple permitted uses on on one lot. This was one of those zoning districts that had specific language about not allowing that. Uh I believe through my research that
basically that's because the I1 I2 I3 has has been around for a long time and when the township took action to to basically put in its design standards of a set of standards that would apply to the all the districts. It was just one
of those things that might not have been caught at that time. So that was more cleaning that up and letting in the design standards the section about a multiple permitted uses on one site letting that govern so that it's very clear to the zoning official who's
reviewing every application. >> Yeah. Okay. I mean, my concern is that um this limits kind of uh like per building but not necessarily per site. And so there's a potential for it to scale up because it's 20,000,000
ft per building, not per site. Right. So there's a potential for someone to come in and build multiple buildings of that size. >> Again, most of this land is already built out. >> Yeah. So, we're just cleaning up the language a little bit to make it more
concise. In the event that to your point, let's again argue that like there's a fire, things get burned down, and now there's a rebuild, they still Yes. to your point, they could have more facilities, but they still wouldn't exceed 25,000 square feet for each.
>> Yeah. >> And also, if I may, mayor, >> does that answer? >> Yeah. Somewhat. I mean, so the potential is there for someone to >> have more buildings, not more space. >> Yeah. >> Yes, that's Yeah, that's what I'm trying to
>> David. >> Yeah. >> I think it would have to go through the planning board and there's different restrictions on impervious land. So, it's not like they can build out every square inch. So, >> I don't know if you want to come. >> So, there's there's other limits here. There's and again, the limits I'm about
to talk about are are not being considered tonight because they already exist. >> So, we're talking setbacks. We're talking minimum lot size. We're talking maximum impervious coverage. Plus just having to address storm water if you're going to build a new building or put an
addition on th those are all limiting those are all limiting factors that that would contribute >> other ordinances that we have in place. >> Right. Yeah. Okay. All right. So issues like let's say someone knocked down all the buildings on site and built new
where loading docks would go and everything. That would be something to address like >> planning >> the planning board when that proposal. >> So when you come Yeah. Like they literally draw out like a square. This is what it's going to look like. I know you have. So just for edification. So
there's a drawing and then if that loading dock is facing towards the residential area, we might ask them, could you just turn the building and put it so it's facing internal to sorry internal to your property versus external to like we wouldn't want a
loading dock facing a residential fence or burm or >> Yeah. >> Okay. All right. So that's something you would address at that point, not necessarily in the ordinance that you're considering >> kind of because also we do have ordinances that the planner was
referencing. There's setback. It has to be set back a certain amount from your neighbors, from the road, from like all the things, right? So there's other things. It can't be a super tall structure because there's limits on height. It can't be um super impervious
because we have storm water issued. like there are other ordinances in place that cover other aspects of this. >> This was just to try and triangulate a little bit better about the industrial zones, how they look, how they feel, and
that they're not going to be ever like overexposed, over imposing to our town. >> Okay. Yeah. I mean, I live by two 36 Dukes. I know they're older buildings. I I I could see a point where someone comes in, says, "I can't use these buildings. in to start fresh. >> Yes. >> Um
>> but they still have to be 25,000. >> Yeah. But they they could do multiple buildings under this ordinance. Yeah. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> But there has to be the right spacing and all the things still. >> Okay. >> And then excuse me, mayor, if I could just add one more thing to that. Our
ordinance is very is very good at uh specifically stating that if a use is abudding a residential use that there's additional standards that the applicant would have to address. Those are, you know, certain types of buffers that have to be put in. Some of these buildings
predate a lot of those requirements as as you know in your in your situation, right? Uh which I'm also familiar with. >> Yeah. I think you were at my house one day. >> I was. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Thanks for letting me go on your >> Yeah, sure. >> Uh I was able to to to see the neighbors
property better. Um, so, so yeah, I totally understand where you're coming from, but our ordinance is very good at at addressing those and the mayor's correct sight by sight as someone's coming and putting on new development. That's those types of things would be addressed by the planning board.
>> Yeah. Okay. So, you don't anticipate this opening up a a flood of of new use or or new activity or or that doesn't currently exist? >> No. Essentially, every building that is constructed u unless it predated site plan
requirements has a site plan and every site plan has hours of operations and different standards that are on there. In your situation, we're able to pull out uh a site plan from from the late 70s and 80s and find those hours on there and find the buffers and the
requirements that were law back then and we're able to to do enforcement based on that. So, so yes, our our ordinance is and again what the township committee is uh considering is is bolstering the ordinance and by allowing these uses,
it's also taking into consideration standards to to help to help manage it >> responsibly. >> Okay. All right. Good. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you. Anyone else from the floor? Come on. Hello. >> Hi.
>> I'm Mike Cullen. I live at 12 Dickerson Road in Hillsboro. Um B's neighbor. Um I'd like to just go back to the uh truck uh traffic topic just as a point of um clarification for myself. So my
understanding is we're trying to limit the traffic uh within business hours in in these. Okay. And um >> I mean typically it depends on the business, right? Some of them run overnight >> and and the ordinance is pretty clear about that. Um, so I do have a specific
situation where um, off hours on our street, Dickerson Road, if you're not familiar with it, it's a it's it's a single access road, right? So I on our street on one of the
businesses uh had um a delivery truck, a full semi parked um and it was a cloudy foggy night and they were on the bend and it was kind of unsafe. So it annoyed me. So the next day morning I'm walking the dog and there he left. When I came
back I went out he left. Next morning I'm walking my dog and there's a truck parked on the street off hours. >> Okay. So I said, "Okay." I I went and came down and visited the Hillsboro Burough Police Department, and I spoke to a nice corporal there, the traffic
officer, and um he said, "You know, I I honestly can't help you because I there's no ordinance that I know of." So that was the that was the answer I received. >> Can I ask questions? >> Yes, sure. >> The trailer was on the road. >> Yeah.
>> And did it was it one of your neighbors or was it two business? It was a delivery to one of the businesses that I don't want to name them. >> It was making a delivery. >> He was waiting there. >> Okay. To make a delivery. >> Yeah. So, I mean, the officer did agree with me that, you know, he he didn't he
wasn't aware of an ordinance. So, I said, "Well, you know, it's one thing to be a good neighbor, right? I have another business on the street." And he actually asked me what it would take to be a good neighbor. And I told him, >> right? and and we will, you know, we have traffic issues that are mitigated.
Um, so he did agree to go talk to the gentleman and say, you know, go find another place to park these trucks. >> Yeah. Did they? >> So off hours, I haven't witnessed that. >> Okay. >> Since Okay. >> That was like >> So this was isolated two situations.
>> But however, during business hours, they are on the street. >> Okay. >> Because he's a one bay facility. So >> in Q. Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Sometimes too waiting on >> There's a man in the back corner I think you should speak with.
>> I know. I I uh So, I mean it happens. >> It does. >> Yeah. And >> and these are, you know, listen, we ask a million questions when they come to the planning board or board of adjustments when we're talking about a new business that's coming into town. Like, we do try to vet as much as we can. Yeah.
>> Um >> and then we need help sometimes when things don't go as planned, right? and you can say anything you want to the planning board when you're there. Um the execution of those things to your point it's not a frequent occurrence thankfully but it does occur that
hopefully these are anomalies with the business. Nonetheless, we do want to keep our residents ab breast of those kinds of situations and abate them where we can. So I would love for you to speak with our chief and explain to him exactly >> maybe the mayor of Manville too. He could probably help out.
>> Well, is it Manville or is it Hillsboro? >> No, it's Hillsboro. >> Okay. But you know, the idea I shared with the officer was, "Look, this this, you know, these trucks don't have to wait here. There's right across the street in Manville. There's Gerber Field and there's a big parking space over
there. Just wait over there, right?" >> And then, >> well, if they're not familiar, they may not know, but neither here nor there. >> The guy lives in my neighborhood that he could be a good neighbor. That's all I'm saying. >> I agree. >> So, the officer did agree to go talk to
the business owner. Pardon me, mayor, if I may. Uh, I just wanted to emphasize if if this uh vehicle is associated with a business, it could potentially be a site plan concern. So, if you do have a site plan concern, then please send it to our zoning official in my office. And that's
something that they could look at because there might be things going on on that that site, the circulation, the parking lot, the loading areas that when they got permission to build that building through the planning board or whichever board they might have gone,
there's most likely enough on the record for us to be able to to look at that. And uh even though it's a it's a public street and there's my understanding is that there's no restrictions during the day. uh that there are restrictions for overnight commercial parking is is my understanding. Correct.
>> But but not during the day. But if it is associated with a business, please send that complaint to my office and we will investigate it. >> Can you take my pen and this piece of paper and write down that address for us? >> Okay. >> And then bring it. I'll get you before the end.
>> Okay. Thank you. >> Five Dickerson. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> You know, >> you know who it is, right? Do you know who? >> I I've been here a while. >> But you know who? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> And still talk to
>> Thank you. Thank you. Perfect. >> Thank you, sir. >> And then you >> Thank you very much, >> Joe. Oh, yeah. You guys can go if you want to, too. >> Joe. >> Yes. >> I was going to say the employees have fallen asleep. >> The employees have to go to work, but
the little guy has to go to bed. I know. I'm sorry. Trooper. >> This is boring adult stuff. >> He's not a trooper. He's sitting in front. Sorry, >> he's listening too. Good for him. >> Kelly, if you guys want to go too, you can. Yeah. Yeah. >> Well, we do appreciate all the questions from the residents. >> Are there anybody else on the floor?
Come on up. >> You have in our town. So, thank you. >> It is. >> Hi, Philip. Evangelista 25 G Road. Uh, first time being here, so I appreciate everybody's patience with what might be some dumb questions into this a little
bit. >> Yeah. Um, so I keep hearing a lot of good things. I think what I'm hearing and it makes a lot of sense is that it's pretty proactive and protecting what already exists, which makes a lot of sense, especially if a fire comes through. I totally buy that. >> But mayor, you did just say that people
will come up in front of the planning board and say whatever they can to get it done. So, how can we potentially work in, and again, this is where the ignorance comes in, but like how can we be specific with what we don't want to allow? So that gentleman came up and said things like data centers understand that they need to be much bigger today.
Who knows what that's going to be like 5 10 years from now when tech gets more efficient, smaller, etc. Or ICE, right? Like that's happening as well. So how can we be more specific in what is allowed versus not allowed both on the short term and long term knowing that this is a proactive engagement.
>> Yeah. So we have a lot of different ordinance. >> I defer to you mayor. >> So thank you so much. I was asked a question. I'm just trying to answer. Uh so you're right. They can say anything you want, but as um our planner just mentioned also, we circle back with
these businesses quite frequently. There's um the administrator also mentioned, there's fire inspections, there's police inspection, there's health inspections, there's all these different things that have to occur. So there is a compliance structure in place with all of our other ordinances that we
are very like full-bodied. So, yeah, you come up to me and say, "Oh, it's absolutely not a data center, and it's absolutely not going to be, you know, uh, Monday through Friday, 7:00 p.m. to 7 a.m., right?" Okay, terrific. Well, Sally, your next door neighbor, is
absolutely going to call the police when you are 7 to 7 and she can't get into her driveway in the middle of the night or whatever, right? And then the light is too bright, the building is too loud, whatever's going on. We're going to hear about it that way. But all of these ordinances are in place. It's not this
is one piece of the ordinances that regulate what can and can't happen. And now I will let the planner anything I missed. >> Thank thank you mayor. So just just to add to that and thank you for coming here and thank you for asking these questions that this is a good thing. So
in our code essentially what it says is anything that's not expressly permitted is prohibited. So we do have a zone that that does permit a data center. But so therefore in that district it's
expressly permitted. When you look at other districts like the I1, I2, I3, it it's not listed. So it's prohibited. So it's very very clear to my office, to our zoning official when we're reviewing those things on what's permitted and not permitted. Uh best practice is to have
uses that are defined. Uh that's hasn't always been the case. We have uses that are just generally interpreted as what they might be by the common meaning. That becomes challenging over time when industries change and
transform. And so now what we're trying to do and even through the master plan process is to go into some of those definitions and be very clear and try to make sure that it's consistent with the master plan by being cognizant that these districts are adjoining
residential districts in certain situations and making sure that the standards are are going to be applicable to trying to help you know protect those residential areas. And this ordinance, in my opinion, as the township's planner, is is a step in that direction
to making sure that there's uses that are already permitted and already operating there as non-conforming. This is to make sure that we could go forward and keep allowing those and to make sure as well that the area is uh to be
protected because at the end of the day, land use uh it's trying to protect the general health, safety, and welfare of the community. That's that's the intent. That's that's the purpose. >> And if I may want add one more thing. If anyone here if you see something and you
don't believe that it's a use that's permitted again it comes down to enforcement. >> Uh that's how we find out about massage poler much smaller scale. Like that's how you know somebody went in and bought a a THC
ecigarette versus a regular e you know all the things. see something, say something is very real in Hillsboro. >> And and that's part of what my office does. My my office goes and makes sure and responds to calls and to make sure working with other partners, you know,
throughout the township, other departments, and making sure that all the uses that are that are taking place are are permitted. >> Awesome. Thank you. And then I think I've heard a couple of times that most of this land is built out. How much is left to build like in terms of like
square footage? Like how many of the 25,000 plots do we think is like remaining? I suppose. >> No. No. So that's I'm going to reframe your question just a little bit. >> So it's it's not that each plot has to be 25,000 square feet.
>> It's up to right >> up to now. >> Now. So I think what you're asking is of these zones, how many of them is buildable to the capacity of 25,000? Yes. >> Yes. >> Sorry.
That information I do not I do not have but I just wanted to give an example is >> there's other uses that could be taking place in these buildings. So when it comes to this use it's the space in which that use is occupying. It's not to stop that building from having other
tenants that have other very common uses like contractor facilities or or things like that. you know, this is specifically targeted and have these limitations specifically to this use. Okay. >> Um, and I guess again and and you kind
of hinted at it where it feels like a little bit of a circuit circuitous argument where it's like, well, if it's not explicitly written, then it's not permitted. Then why can't we Oh, so I guess what if they do end up taking it to court? and I see your attorney, so I
I'm not I work in data analytics, so just bear with me here. And they're like, well, it's not not explicitly written. Where in the ordinance is it is it that if it's not written, it's it's explicitly outlawed, I guess, for lack of a better term. >> There's an express provision in the code that says if it's not expressly uh permitted, it's prohibited.
>> 1889A, I believe. Thank you. Please check me. >> That was very like very distinct. So I >> I'll just say there's a prison in the code. I don't know if it's that one, but but that's pretty good if you got it. Okay. And then the last thing, and this is like a really very specific question.
Everybody kept saying it would only be one loading dock, but in theory, if it was the 25K full, it'd be five loading docks if I read it as correct, which I guess >> um just in general, right? Like I understand that there are multiple layers that ensure that operating hours,
the infrequent visitors of trucks and movement as was mentioned before, longer term, we were talking about salt, road care, important. And how do we make sure that as this expands potentially, we're making sure that the cost of maintaining roads, which I will say that stretch of 206 that's been under construction for
the 10 years I've been living here, it's still beating the crap out of my Subaru. Um, how do we make sure that we're going to continue to make sure that these roads are are up to to, you know, standards that don't make my car break every year. >> So, we do that, too. Uh, so I mean, we
have >> We invest in your roads every year. >> 206. Yeah. 206. we wish we had more control over. But as far as the other roads and when there are like, you know, in these areas and things, again, these areas are mostly built out. We're not looking to have like some expansive new
um and if you looked at the map that's on the website and you overlaid it with like a Google map, you'd be able to see that these are pretty full industrial areas. Again, the intent of this is not to increase building of them or truckload or anything else like that. So
pretty much what we have is what we have right to the road point. We're doing the best we can to catch up with that. So bear with us, but we're getting there. And by the way, I just want you to know, thank you so much for coming up. And your questions, they're not stupid because there's 45,000 people in this
town. And I guarantee you at least a hundred of them have every question that you guys all answered tonight or asked of us tonight. So it's hugely helpful. That's why we have Q&A. We want to have your feedback. We want to make it clear for everyone. We're not trying to like, oh, look over here, shiny thing, you
know, like we want this engagement. So, thank you for coming up. Did you have anything else? >> One last question. Um, explicitly because it's not explicitly written. I think the gentleman back there brought up a good point. Um, no ice in these potential spaces. >> They're really tiny. Like I know that
25,000 square ft sounds huge, but it's certainly not big enough for inhabitants and um >> I just worry given what we see. >> So I think you would be more uh looking towards the 400,000 square foot building that was built out in um Ron Township
that's already zoned for industrial. They already have an industrial customer. I'm just saying like these are hundreds of thousands of square feet. This is much much too small. So I will ask I'm gonna so I think it's a great question. So I'm going to turn to David not to put you on the spot, Mr. Kois,
but um from a conforming use if ICE being a a government, you know, agency were to come in, is that a conforming use and does that matter? >> Well, I could answer the first part. The first part, we would look at it and we would look at the zone and see if that
zone permits it and we would make a decision on it. And to the best of my understanding, none of our industrial districts and none of our uh zoning districts throughout the entire town permit detention facilities. The next thing we would look at, we would look at
New Jersey law and try to see if there's anything specifically in the municipal land use law that would say it or if there's any other state regulation. And if it comes down to looking at federal law, that's when we start to defer to our to our attorneys to assist us in
that. But essentially, there's a saying that goes amongst zoning officials is to doubt is to deny. So you do your homework and you understand it the best you can. You protect the township and if you deny it, you deny it and then there's options for the applicant to
then appeal your decision. >> I appreciate the specificity. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? Come on. Hi, >> Tom Sulich 161 Johansson. Uh, few quick questions for clarification. So, the
lawsuit settlement was strictly for buildings that are currently built. >> The lawsuit settlement for this particular claim is this exact ordinance. >> Okay. So, that's it. It's not for any future planning. >> No, no, not for now. There was more than
one litigant. Uh, we had uh six I think different litigants. Um, so this particular again, no, it's just this particular ordinance. That's it. >> Okay. Um, >> sorry if I could just I just wanted to make make clear though what the ordinance does allow. Like let's say there is vacant land
>> and someone wanted to come in and and build according to this ordinance, it would it would allow it. But the way I also heard your question as it related to the specific litigation, the specific litigation was to existing buildings. But what this ordinance can do, not that
there's a lot of vacant land left in I1, I2, I3, but this would apply to it if someone wanted to develop it. >> Sure. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure see if it was a current um lawsuit or not. Second question, the letters that was sent out by certified mail, did that
go to everybody that was in I1, I2, and I3 zone >> and and 200 ft from Yes. >> Yeah. Okay. Um, last question is, if somebody were to build more than one
25,000 foot uh, building, how far apart would they have to be? >> They can't. >> I'm sorry. More than one. Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking congruent in my brain. I'm sorry. I'm tired. Um, >> I mean, essentially, it goes to the
other ordinances that we talked about, right? So there has to be the proper spacing and um >> so they can be right next to each other like a couple feet apart, right? >> Our ordinance doesn't specifically address how close the the buildings are. Not not this particular ordinance, I
don't believe, but there's building code. You start to run into building code issues. If the buildings are too close, you have to make sure that the walls are fire rated and things like that. These are all things that cost more money and these are things that would limit that would essentially limit development. But again, the bulk
standards that are already in the zone, those are there to help to help regulate and address these things. >> Okay, great. That's all my questions. Thank you. >> And like fire trucks have to be able to get around them, like all the things. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. You're welcome. Anyone else?
>> Okay. May I have a motion and a second to close the public hearing and adopt ordinance 2026-1? >> It's all moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. Committee Bing. >> Yes. And thank you, David Kois, for for
protecting Hillsboro from massive warehouses and lots of trucks. I appreciate it. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> Committeewoman Gomez. >> Yes. >> Committee woman Han. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Leani. >> Thank you to all came. Yes.
>> And Mayor Payne. >> Yes. Thank you so much. Introduction of uh new ordinances 2026-2 ordinance amending salary range ordinance of the township of Hillsborough to set forth the salary ranges for the positions set forth in said ordinance. Further
consideration and public hearing to be held on March 24th, 2026. Further consideration and public hearing on March 24th, 2026. >> It says that twice. Sorry. >> What? >> It said that twice. Sorry. >> Yeah, it's okay. Um, may I have a motion
and a second to introduce ordinance 2026-2? >> So moved. Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Committee Bing, >> yes. >> Committee Gomez, >> yes. >> Committeewoman Hand, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Leani, >> yes. >> Mayor Payne, >> yes. Claims list. May I have a motion in
a second to approve claims list 2026-04? Is this move now that we can't pay certain bills? >> I would think I would think that anything you put on the bill list was probably already approved, but >> I don't know.
>> Okay. >> I I don't I don't know. >> We should >> So, we can't >> I think we should approve to pay it, but I mean, if we can't, then we have to come back. >> So, we already have >> I mean, I don't know if he's got on the bill list. Does he have police and fire retirement system payments? Um, does he
have public employees retirement system system payments? If he has those on the if he has those listed there, >> do we have a list? >> Might be a problem. Also, snow removal. Uh, he increased the snow removal counts. >> So, we can't pay people or pensions or the snow removal. Okay. I just wanted to
make sure what we're >> Anything that exceeds his budget appropriations and he might have calculated that in there. So, you also got snow removal because we have we've had the storms and you spent more money in snow removal than anticipated, >> right? >> How about the salt that we just we just voted on as well? >> Hang on. Sorry.
>> Yeah. The other thing is claims list. I don't believe any of that was on the claims list. And I think that if we are going to do an emergency appropriation, >> which has the word emergency in it, then it should be specific bills that are
due. Excuse me. It should be specific bills that are due. Um, I had a very detailed conversation with the CFO. Not all of what was in the emergency appropriations were bills that were being paid. Committed >> women hand. >> So, there we go. >> Thank you.
>> You're welcome. >> I can figure out how to turn this side. >> Okay. >> It's $562,000. You see that? Make it bigger. >> Yeah. So, this is 29 pages, >> not touch screen. >> Yep.
>> Okay. So, this is uh phone bill. >> Gosh. animal control salt. So, I'm sorry, just to refocus, I don't believe we have any evidence that what
is on the claims list had anything to do with the emergency appropriations. And I believe that anytime something financial is on, we should have our CFO here if nobody here can answer the question. >> We are answering the question and I'm reading it right now.
So this is the uh I'm reading only the bigger ones. So we have labor for the doors. We have the snow event. We have battery pack wall chargers for the um flock safety.
So mayor, I have a question for you. Do you believe that all of our accounts are at zero and none of the bills can be paid? >> Well, I'm just saying that we didn't approve the budget to pay our bills and now we have a >> incorrect. No, it is correct. >> It is not. It is not correct.
>> It is absolutely correct. >> It is not. That was an original. So, you're saying that it is February 24th and we have spent $13 million. Is that what I am to believe? Because by the way, if it is February 23r uh 24th and we've spent all $13 million that was
already in the temporary budget, we have a problem >> and we should look at the management of the town. >> That is a problem. >> This is an emergency appropriation how it works. >> It works by line item. >> So yeah.
>> Yep. That's how that works every year. It's the same. That's exactly how it works. Every year it's the same. So there's $562,210 for the claims list. Um, so how do we want to work this? Do we
want to postpone? >> May I suggest that you vote on the claims list and approve it subject to um, you know, there being sufficient funds in each of those line items >> and that's for the CFO to determine.
Yeah, in all fairness to the CFO, the claims list was out on Friday. We we probably should have asked him prior to that. And I have to also make sure that all these pension payments and insurance payments and everything else by law that we're meeting the deadline or we're going to be in trouble that you guys
just voted no before. >> So, we need to talk to CFO cuz this is not good. >> And we have a meeting in two weeks. So, I would assume that we would have that information administrator Well, I'll have it a lot before two weeks. And like I said, if I'm saying we
have a meeting in two weeks, you could also schedule a special meeting on 48 hours notice. Right. >> Exactly. Okay. >> Yeah, you might have to. >> All right. So, motion a second. >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. Comments.
Are there any comments from the DES other than what we've already had? Are there comments from the floor on the claims list? Roll call. Committee Bing. >> Yes. >> Committee B Gomez. >> Yes. >> Committee woman hand. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Le. >> Yes. >> Mayor P.
>> Yes. >> New business. There's none public comments from meeting matters not on the agenda. I will now open the meeting to comments from the floor. Please keep in mind this is for comments on matters not on the agenda. Miss Break, please read the statement regarding public comment. The township committee now opens the
floor for public comment. To ensure a productive and civil environment for all, please approach the microphone, state your name and address, and spell your name for the record. The township of Hillsboro maintains a strict standard of decorum. Please ensure your remarks remain respectful and focused on township business. Each speaker is limited to a single threeminute aotment.
This form for public comment rather than a dialogue. Please address all remarks directly to the mayor. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and for treating your neighbors, township employees, and this committee with courtesy. comments from the floor. Come on.
Maria Janusk, Jan UK, 720 East Freck Avenue, Manville, New Jersey. Um, Hillsboro is a share has a shared municipal court with Montgomery, Manville, and Branchburg. I was at a Manville burough meeting and I asked
about uh what kind of reports are given to Manville in regard to the Manville Municipal Court and how much money uh Manville gets from fines and uh DUIs
or whatever. And um the answer was that no report is given. Um, I know that Manville paid over $100,000 towards the municipal court to Hillsboro
and um I don't know why more information isn't being given to Manville and I was also wondering if any reports are being given to Branchburg and Montgomery as well. So that's something that uh I would appreciate if it's looked into. I
think they had mentioned uh in in Manville that there that that uh that's something that was going to be requested from Hillsboro to get those reports. >> Thank you. >> My other issue is um my property is on Camplain Road, block 86, lot three, and
there's a property that's called the Sherman uh tract, which um is supposed to have which which had been subdivided. affordable housing was put on one uh section block 86 lot uh 21.01
and then the other portion of Sherman the Sherman tract block 86 lot 21.02 02 um is is also supposed to be uh uh having affordable housing built on it, but it's owned by Hillsboro and nothing's being
said about it and I don't know what's going on with that. And so, uh, being that that's something that would impact my property, I would like to know, um, what what's go what's what's going on, um, with Hillsboro with that property
and whether that property is going to be sold, uh, to to the developer, Eminem realy. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you. Any other comments on the floor? >> Come. Hi, mayor.
>> Good evening, mayor, committee, members. Richard Anderko, 325 North Main Street, Manville, New Jersey. I'm here tonight speaking as the mayor of my community, not just as a resident, but I am a lifelong member of the
Burough of Manville. and I'm very proud to say I'm from Manville. Um, I want to ask a question about public safety because that to me is my number one priority when it comes to protecting my residents. There's an intersection
that's really close to my town. It's the intersection of Sunnyme and West Camplain Road and Old Camplain Road and I was told or I heard through the grapevine that a traffic light is planned long overdue. Okay. So, what's
the latest with the traffic light? When will it be installed? Does anyone know? >> This is not a question and answer. It's a comment only, but we can definitely meet mayor to mayor. >> Okay. There's been too many accidents at that location. >> Agreed.
>> I would hope that the committee can take some immediate action. In other intersections in Hillsboro, I noticed flashing stop signs. It would greatly improve the safety at that intersection because at night you really can't see
those stop signs and with all the development that's gone on with new people in the area, people aren't familiar with the traffic patterns and I don't want to see a fatality happen, but eventually something's going to happen there where it's not going to be good. So, if someone can get back to
me as to when the traffic light is planned because I know how government works. It took 10 years for my main street to be reconfigured. And in those 10 years, five of those years, 644 accidents, 19 pedestrians were struck and three were fatal. It
should have been addressed immediately. So, I would like to see that light go in this year. So, let me know. I know we have a representative here from our assembly. Mhm. >> Um let's move forward. Let's get let's uh protect the residents because a lot
of people that have accidents there live in my town. >> Right. >> So, thank you and have a good evening. >> Thank you. Any other comments from the floor? >> Thank you. Motion to adjurnn. >> So moved.
>> Second. Roll call, please. >> Committee Britting. >> Yes. >> Committ Gomez. >> Yes. >> Committ Hand. Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Leon. >> Yes. >> Mayor Be. >> Yes. Thank you. Good night everybody.