##VIDEO ID:o8xJs34F8ZM## e e e e where'd you do it in your office or or the on good evening and welcome to the township committee meeting of January 28th 2025 this break please call the role committee man bring here committee woman hand here committee man leani pres Deputy Mayor Payne hi mayor Chelli here administrator Ferrera attorney Willard here attorney Bernstein here okay so quiet please be advised that in accordance with Section Five of the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 notice of this meeting was made by the posting on the bulleon board at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex and notifying the officially designated newspapers that this meeting would take place at the Hillsboro Township municipal complex at 7:30 p.m. on January 28th uh executive session if deemed necessary to begin at 6:30 we did not have one so join me and salute to the flag I PL Al to the FL of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible liy and Justice SL order here okay okay we're on the first first item on the agenda is approval of minutes of January 14th May I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of January 14 2025 second okay any comments roll call please committee bring yes committee woman hand yes committee man leani yes Deputy Mayor Payne yes mayor chy yes great all right uh reports from committee Liaisons um starting with committeeman briding thank you mayor good evening everybody hope everyone's having a great night good week uh we're going to start with Recreation so spring it to fun with exciting spring Recreation programming from Sports and Fitness classes to stem art and theater classes there's something for everybody in town to enjoy join and make new friends learn new skills and create Unforgettable memories look for the spring guide and registration Link in tomorrow's e newss or the recreation department website a lot of great stuff going on the rec programs from a social services standpoint we'll start with gratitude so the social services department extends its gratitude to hillsbor community and Community organizations for their generous donation of paper goods uh for the Hillsboro Community Assistance Network which is c can and foods and and gifts for the 2024 Holiday Program uh we had an incredibly successful program this year we just want to thank everybody for donating and and giving the uh giving to others it's was wonderful to see this year community and crisis workshop for Hill Boro seniors so the social services department partnered with the community in crisis this is a Somerset County based organization and held its first workshop and talks about wellness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to local Hillsboro seniors for more uh information please contact the Social Services Department financial literacy Workshop social services and other from Social Services is partnering with the MTA Foundation to present a financial literacy workshop on Tuesday March 11th 2025 from 6:00 to 7: :30 p.m. um and when we put this out on the internet Miss break let's make sure we put a lot of information out there to see who it's for CU I think this is a good one right now so very very good um so last one here from me is Hillsboro leadership program uh as a part of the Hillsboro leadership program or hlp one of the teams is hosting a used crayon drive this crayon initiative takes used crayons and brings new life to them by turning them into brand new crayons for children in hospitals a collection box is located outside the library entrance and the municipal building building now through Valentine's Day which is February 14th short and sweet for me today mayor all right that's it all right thank you yes sir all right thank you uh committee woman hand yes thank you very much mayor all right good evening um since I last saw all of you I had the pleasure of attending the Muslim Heritage event here at the library fantastic event um very educational for everyone involved and on the topic of dog license renewals it's time to renew dog licenses I have three so this is very important renew renewal forms were emailed to Residents beginning in January there were also um snail mail for those that we don't have an email address for the deadline is the end of February after which there will be a $5 penalty so please register your dogs um old dog seven-month and older must be licensed through New Jersey state law as well as the Hillsboro code and if you're wondering why we need to do this and why you have to pay for a licensing fee it is to two things first of all it's a reminder to vaccinate your your animals and it's a way for us to make sure that um the rabies is uh administered also it is um a good database for disease in in pets um let's see rabies vaccination needs to be current through the 10 months through October of this year and fees collected again go to the Animal Control fund so it helps offset that as well as veterinary care and shelter for abandoned and stray animals um excellent uh additionally on the note of the historic preservation committee we have um undertaken looking at the inventory of historical houses here in Hillsboro we have a number of them to be proud of um we'll be going through that as well as the Master Plan update later this month and then again my last topic on the topic of affordable housing um please know that this is on the agenda later tonight I know it's been in the news over the past couple years and um what I would like to say is that providing affordable housing is an established and constitutional element of New Jersey state law this commitment understo underscores the state's dedication to ensuring that all residents have access to safe and affordable uh Living Spaces the need recognized for affordable housing units in Hillsboro as the community grows so too does the demand for housing that meets the needs of all income levels while the need for affordable housing is clear is equally important important to balance this against the desire to maintain our community's character Hillsboro is known for its unique charm and sense of community and any development plans must consider these qualities to achieve a balanced approach we must work collaboratively sensibly and efficiently with all parties involved this includes residents developers as well as government officials our efforts will be guided by the parameters of the recently passed legislation and defines the process for determining Hill sp's affordable housing obligation I'm looking forward to working with my Fe fellow committee members to achieve this goal together we will create a plan that meets the affordable housing needs of our community and benefits our new police teachers and medical professionals while serving the preserving excuse me the characteristics that make Hillsboro a desirable place to live for all of us all right that's it thanks mayor thank you committee woman hand uh committee leani thank you mayor um I'll just say that after the nice prepared statement that the committee of woman Han presented I mean living in this town since 1974 and walking with all of you and talking with you not only on on the streets but in my store and in in the restaurants we all know what is affordable housing and we we are for it what we've not been for and which I've heard from most of our my population is mandated affordable housing and mandated building which has been our subject to this town for the last 40 years um so while yes we are for foral housing we are not for mandates we feel mandates don't take in consideration the character the charm and the area in which it's being presented um so therefore we as a committee have an obligation to take what is presented to us by Trenton and use our powers anything that we can to get what is sensible for this community not only for the people who are looking for housing but for the people who live here and have to live and live with the burden of overcrowding our schools our streets and our sewer system so I'll leave it at that as far as other notes online permits homeowners can now apply online for eligible permits Prov you are performing your own work visit the sdl portal to see the available permit templates residential RightWay from our engineering department all roadways have a RightWay easements along property frontages the only thing allowed in this area are Utility Equipment and mailboxes no Landscaping fencing or sprinkler heads should be located in the right away from the municipal local roadway safety plan Hillsboro is participating with the Somerset County and other municipalities to review and develop a Township roadway Safety Action Plan the state and Co goal is Zero fatalities or serious injuries on Municipal and County Roads by the year 2050 we would love to see that and lastly from Public Works the Department of Public Works is doing the best they can to manage potholes this winter obviously with the heavy freeze and thaws that we've had this year uh wet conditions and extreme cold temperatures have made it difficult to apply quality patch please drive safely and be aware that crews are that of the crews making repairs on the roads uh and please be prepared to make frequent stops to allow that work to be done and if you see a pothole that you feel is needs addressed and haven't we may have missed it please feel free to contact our DPW department and tell them the location of that pothole and we will do the best we can to address the situation thank you mayor thank you committee men and uh Deputy Mayor Payne thanks mayor hi everybody if you need to report a dead deer call the not emergency police number at 908 369 4323 extension three to speak with the dispatcher once reported the police will Mark the deer with a uh red or orange x and then contact our carcass removal company to have it picked up generally about a week or so there are a couple things for veterans veteran exemption um form was sent out from my email to all of our registered veterans if you're not a registered veteran it was also added to our online uh veteran page you are eligible for a $6,000 exemption on your New Jersey income tax return if you are a military veteran who is honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active duty in the armed forces um on or before the last day of the tax year your spouse or civil union partner is also eligible for an exemption if they are a veteran who is honorably discharged or released meaning you can get two if you're both um with honorable circumstances uh and you're filing a joint return look for more information on the hillsbor township website or tomorrow's e newss also the Hillsboro Memorial uh VFW Post 8371 is pleased to announce the recognition of two local students yashi yatham and Dean Milano for their outstanding achievements in 2024 VFW voice of democracy scholarship uh program was held at the Hillsboro High School the award ceremony occurred on January 13th celebrating these two students exemplary contributions and commitment that's all mayor great thank you um so I have some remarks uh the first is regarding the Lunar New Year this is the year of the snake apparently uh the new lunar new year begins at midnight and so to all who celebrate May the year of the snake bring you wisdom strength and success in all your endeavors um I also Al had the pleasure of visiting All-American assisted living and uh met with Bill cessa uh he was celebrating his 102nd birthday the day we were there and he uh it was an honor again meeting him at a World War II veteran and he just kept saying it was wonderful we were there for another event as well so I think he thought everybody was there for him which was just perfect he was just very excited and so there's a picture of Bill and he's on the veterans wall there at all America uh the reason we were there also was for a dance party at allamerican Assisted Living uh I'm there in the second row standing out my camel jacket there um while I was there I joined residents and some staff um and police officers and members of the Hillsboro Police for a dance party we learned some Moves dance moves that that are trending on Tik Tok I think most people re you're not going to play this are you okay how much you got yeah you probably could his eyes we know the song it'll it'll it'll be trending on it it it's been trending on Tik Tok this will be a video yeah the video will be on the All-American probably Facebook page so if you really want to see uh See Us in action um they'll be promoting their their their services at all Americans so uh um my daughters know the song too so it's uh uh you'll recognize it so the three of you are doing it later oh no no I forgot it all as soon as I left I was like done Dan I forgot all my dance moves um so that was fun it was cold but but we all had fun and the staff was great um so uh on Saturday January 25th I marked the 40th anniversary of the somerset Valley players uh making Hillsboro their home and I had the pleasure of attending the 40th anniversary celebration uh the first show at SVP at the summer Valley was Guys and Dolls on January 25th in 1985 and we were treated to uh an outstanding performance of cat on a hotton roof Deputy Mayor Payne attended the night before I believe and so for four decades uh Hillsboro has embraced and been the proud home of the somerset Valley players which adds an award-winning nonprofit Community Theater provides live entertainment and is a key amenity uh of the Arts in our community so I I want to recognize president of the somerset Valley players Robert Roberta Steve for organizing the event and continuing her Outreach to the township and Hillsboro Community as part of this cultural um cultural amenity um so that was that was that was nice I honestly I had never been in there drove past it a thousand times but finally had an opportunity to to see what it was like inside and it was actually pretty interesting and nice so if anybody ever has a chance not this is their plug um also over the weekend not to be confused with that I attended a free rabies clinic at the Department of Public Works the clinic was a great success um 223 vaccines were administered the Hillsboro leadership program culminated its Pet Supply drive at the same event and thank you from the staff uh Hillsboro health department and the leadership program especially Dr schwark and Dr Harris the veterinarians who graciously donated their time and expense so it was a dogs everywhere cats everywhere it was but it was pretty well controlled and everybody was everybody was well behaved um ribbon cutting congratulations to next slash Studio as a long awaited ribbon cutting ceremony they're located at 856 us 206 site B6 next slash Studio offers top-notch lashes brows and waxing services and hers to continued success and growth in the community I think they opened up during Co and it's just been several years before we finally got around to to getting this organized with them and so uh we wish them great luck uh a reminder that as of January 1st the new payment hours for all Hillsboro Township departments is 8: a.m until 400 p.m. um the uh one mother one other thing we have the njlm Lewis Bay II scholarship uh Hillsboro's Township is participating in the New Jersey League of municipalities Lewis Bay II future municip leaders scholarship competition uh as in the past years the township is teaming up with the Hillsboro School District to allow High School juniors and seniors to participate in this competition the theme for 2025 is what I like about my hometown three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded Statewide and you can find the application on the township website so if you know any Juniors and seniors who have an interest in what I like about my hometown um you know take a look at that scholarship opportunity uh as always stay connected you can stay connected with all events via Hillsburg uh via Wednesday's mayor's ews and Thursday's experience Hillsboro bulletin be sure to follow and like the official H Hillsboro Township Facebook page X forly known as Twitter and Instagram tune in to the Hillsboro YouTube channel and sign up for Hillsboro alerts for traffic and emergency notifications so that's it for me for now but not really I have a few proclamations and presentations tonight um so I'm going to come down to the floor the first Proclamation is uh Muslim heritage month so if anybody's from that group come on up come on up turn Tech SCH all right at this team audience participation thank you all right we ready okay on come on up the Muslim religion is the second largest religious group in the world Muslim Americans strive to promote peace and mutual understanding between all faiths and identities while upholding the values and principles of Islam the Muslim American Community has made significant contributions to the social cultural and economic vibrancy of our community adding to Hillsboro's diversity and prosperity Hillsboro Embraces the the the diversity represented in our communities and seeks to afford all residents the opportunity to better understand recognize and appreciate the rich history and shared experiences of Muslim Americans now therefore be it proclaimed that we the mayor and Hillsboro Township committee do hereby recognize January 2025 as Muslim heritage month and encourage all residents to join in celebrating the the many contributions of Muslim Americans so congratulations the event was very nice um all right so if you want to read your statement take some pictures okay good evening mayor gelli members of the Town Council and my fellow residents just lean down it's okay I want to express my heartfelt gratitude towards the township of Hillsboro for recognizing January as Muslim Heritage Month as the mayor said the proclamation is a powerful acknowledgement of th diversity and contributions that strengthen our community Islam has a rich history spanning 14400 years with contributions to science medicine philosophy and art in the United States Muslims have been here since the Inception of our country and we've helped build communities fight for civil rights and have been contributing to every field or Endeavor here locally the Muslim Community is proud to call this Township our home we are your neighbors your teachers your colleagues your healthcare workers your bus drivers we participate in interfa initiatives we work tirelessly to make this town a better place for everyone this Proclamation is more than just a recognition of the Muslim Community it's a celebration of our uni our Unity our uh our inclusion and our mutual respect uh it's a testament to the values that we all hold dear As Americans which are Freedom diversity and community so thank you again for this honor and for continuing to create a space where everyone see feels seen valued and included thank [Applause] [Music] you congratulations [Applause] next is Hillsboro Youth Sports Raiders 8ighth grade football team [Applause] somebody want to hold this who wants to hold the actual Proclamation Valuable Player all right this is the uh Hillsboro Youth Sports Raiders eighth grade football team all right uh in 2024 Hillsboro Youth Sports Raiders eighth grade football team are the 2024 Suburban Super Bowl champions right so let's clap for that as first time as firsttime participants in the Suburban League they Advanced to the uh 2024 Suburban Super League uh Suburban League Super Bowl after a five overtime win it's perseverance the team also finished the season with an 8-2 record Hillsboro Youth Sports Raiders eighth grade football team consists of the following young athletes and coaches where should I start all right Sean abline Jimmy Burke Mike panis second Chris Burns we'll do the coaches first and then the players Frank chinka Rich Fedora that's your Matthew Fedora Luke panek Blake geraldi bennon Thomas Jane Hernandez Jamie Pico Patrick Murphy Jeremy McMahan Vince lakia Jake Jones Ry litz Nathaniel bind Israel Topia Mikey olivy Jack bore Dylan abine Nick Burns Logan janowitz Matt simonitis brillan dolman Ethan England Travis Hill good got everyone we get everybody [Music] we didn't miss anybody okay now therefore be a Proclaim that we the mayor and Hillsboro Township committee do hereby commend the 2024 Hillsboro Youth Sports Raiders eighth grade football team coaches and parents not only for their successful season but for their hard work dedication and commitment to the sport and to those principles of good sportsmanship teamwork and academic achievement which the organization endorses [Applause] congratulations who was gonna was it you that was gonna just uh want to say thank you to especially uh first of all the parents for your support uh not only this year throughout the years um the township for providing us with the facilities um the police department for helping us out with traffic uh the wonderful coaching staff I have uh Frank the director for helping put this together uh and the township for your support throughout the years we are always packed in the stands and we can't wait to see these kids play uh football in high school thank you [Applause] congratulations you take a KN go for take a KN go there you go really like each nobody MO [Applause] it's ridiculous how strong [Music] [Applause] we just have two more two more presentations I know mahen is here please come up yeah hi mahen hello um uh Maheen has um received the New Jersey MMA internship award I know she was an intern here over the uh over the summer um until recently right yes okay um and so I'm going to stall a little bit because we have something for you andet Sarah's running to get it right now no you deserve it but I will read this mahen Khan a summer intern for the planning and zoning department was awarded the NJ MMA internship award for a new process procedure this past November mahin's project was to update the Township Recreation and open space inventory or Rossi using the newest standards and format from the njd through her proactive work mahen not only met the NJ D's requirements for the township but laid the groundwork for improved streamlined property tracking that will benefit Hills Road Township for years to come so congratulations Mah do you have anything [Applause] yes well thank you mayor and thank you Township committee for the award working here was a great step in my journey and I look forward to what Hillsboro has to come and thank you David and Marcy you want to say you don't have to I can't work the master plan something like that am I still trying to buy time um mahen is a an a aspiring planner and to be able to work with someone who's going through school and who has a passion of you know for the industry and overall wants to try to help people and help make her community a better place it it was an absolute uh privilege to be able to work with you and I'm really excited for your future so congratulations okay thank [Music] you this works thank [Applause] you but her work will be used uh I think we already used some of it in the master planning process so it's uh it was great um it was a great summer we had a couple of interns who really helped out all right last presentation of C certificates of appreciation for the 2025 calendar phot photographers uh every year we ask for photos from our residents to put in the Township calendar tonight we present uh those those photographers with certificates of appreciation and I'll read out the names of the the photographers and if you're here please come up Helen Wong Sydney chiarelli John croen Mark Hayek Yasmin baranes Gamboa Erica lenzo Michael Mariano and Katherine Payne where's he would love to be here be telling us what to say time he said what's up [Music] she's Jun and Becky right take a where's thank you okay so well I guess there's nothing nothing more to read we'll just take pictures but again we appreciate the uh the participation and and uh the various photographs and I I know the calendars are Avail if you didn't get one in the mail they're available in the office so come come and get one and uh I think we'll be announcing next year's contest shortly shortly so so before everybody goes yeah I my daughter just groaned do you want to talk about your what your picture was and uh just what inspired you or comment on it all of you each of all right I'll go first so uh mine was Duke's Park the um the bridge over the water I think it was November I don't know what month got selected um I was on a hike it was just a really perfectly still day and it looked kind of cool so I like that I got the reflection as much as the whole bridge I had the Bumblebee which was April um I took that photo at AOS Farm Park which I never been there before and I was so focused on getting a picture of like the Landscapes and then I noticed these bees were flying around so I'm like they're a little bit more interesting so I spent like an hour or two chasing them around until I got a acceptable photo well worth it my picture is the one with the um the one in the middle on the third column that is over by the pond on pedmont um basically I was walking it was a Friday morning about 6:30 and the picture just the picture was just so beautiful that I just just had to take a picture of it and put on Facebook and it was a happy Friday it turned out to be in the town calendar so that's how I came about it you never know when you have a good picture hi so mine is um the second one um from the left on the bottom so um what you might not be able to see is that there's a blue heron in this picture and so I have two little kids and we spend all of our time outside in the summer so I have thousands of pictures of them so I just happen to get this bird um perfectly captured in one of like anvan this is from anvan and it has like these like little like Pathways that like we you know we go in and we climb and play probably where we shouldn't be but sorry um but we had but we have fun and it was a beautiful picture so beautiful picture that's all um so mine is October and it was actually just something I was doing as a promotional picture for the Scarecrow Festival which I run each month so you all are expected to sign up now that you know about this uh next October great thanks thank you all and and stay uh stay tuned for the next next calendar so you miss June sorry yeah we can do that so we'll take a break for about five minutes um and then we'll resume the business part of the meeting so smoke if you got them non smoking building do it outside e e e e e e e e e e business part here the consent agenda items 1 through 20 [Applause] um may I have a motion to approve agenda's items 1 through 20 or if they want to be taken any of them want to be taken separately motion second okay um I'll say comments from the days but I will use my mayoral position and go first go for it um so consent agenda item number 16 resolution regarding the township of Hillsboro's present and prospective fair share affordable housing obligations for the fourth round um 17 17 okay 17 all right thank you um Township prepared this resolution based on the state's DCA legislation that was passed in October 2024 establishing the guidelines and parameters for round four affordable housing obligations the state established both present need which is Rehabilitation of existing for the most part and prospective need which is new construction for the 10-year period period July 1st 2025 to June 30th 2035 uh in that legislation the state DCA calculated round four numbers for Hillsboro along with every other targeted municipality based on specific formulas in the legislation and for Hillsboro that prospective need was 565 units uh the legislation then required that by January 31st which is 3 days from now townships had to adopt a resolution out outlining the res outlining their decision to either do one of three things do nothing lose your imun uh immunity um on July 31st and in our mind that was an unacceptable option we would uh lose our immunity to uh uh to the to the developers accept the DCA numbers for round four which we also found unacceptable at 565 or review the formula and craft our own numbers based on the same formula but but adjusting the factors that contributed into the the calculation and that's what we did with our um affordable housing consultant our uh Township professionals uh the planning department and uh Council affordable housing Council and we determined that the number should actually be 270 units and passing tonight's binding resolution will fulfill the deadline that we're required to fulfill as part of this legislation um the remaining milestones for the public information in this timeline include February 28th where interested parties will challenge our calculation of 270 if there are no Challengers then the OB obligation becomes established on March 1st if there are Challengers there's a dispute resolution timeline which goes through the end of March I believe April 1st is then the next deadline for that threshold to pass and then by June 30th 2025 the municipality has to adopt a housing element and fair share plan with drafts of zoning and other ordinances so the planning department has a lot of work cut out for it as does the planning board um August 31st 2025 is a deadline for interested parties to file a response against that part of the plan as well and through the process after this uh binding resolution is passed after the January 31st deadline uh the determination does not prevent the Township from further adjusting our proposed obligation through vacant land analysis A as we create our housing element and fair share plan which is again doe at the end of June so this exercise uh as 270 versus 575 um was caused by the the legislation's initial formulas may not be the final prospective need number um but since this analysis is is purely data driven um it's it you know we're continuing to Crunch the numbers uh and look at our land and land use um just as a point of perspective the you know the township has in our ordinances a 25 24% affordable housing Factor relative to market share units uh so 270 equates to just under 1100 units uh housing units in 10 years so it's 110 per year it's another way of looking at it so um that's that's my comment on on this uh resolution it's binding resolution I guess it's consent item number 17 um you know it's an important step we have to take to maintain our immunity um the other thing I wanted to comment on and I don't know what the number is now is the sourland off by one pardon me your numbers are just off by one because wasn't numbered so yeah sorry about that um the yes 15 so designating the sourlands as an area of critical State concern um we are you know we we we are passing this we we joined in this with some other municipalities to bring attention to the sourland mountains which are a key part of uh um our the western part of our our Township I think there's four other communities townships that are part of the sourland alliance which has been somewhat dormant but I think we're trying to work with the Conservancy um and Revitalize and I think this will be a step in revitalizing the the the S and Mountain Alliance as well as bringing attention to um fundraising and things that the sand mountains need to restore the the trees that they've been losing to the ashore and other environmental factors so this is a first step and I think this expresses our desire to uh you know be tree friendly so any other comments from the days I have one uh regarding resolution number four I'd like to welcome Justin Hartman who I've already harassed enough this evening by trying to make him sing tonight which he politely declined but welcome I hope you enjoy your time here okay great thanks any other [Applause] comments all right hearing none um any comments from the floor consent on consent items not everything else right right on the consent on consent items welcome Jus thank you good evening Maria Janu 6 720 East frck Avenue Manville New Jersey I'm also a Hillsboro Township property owner block 86 lot 3 2155 camplan Road um I wanted to ask about consent number 10 which is resolution 44-20 25 resolution establishing the Hillsboro Township opioid settlement uh committee for 2025 um it says here that this has been uh ongoing since 2022 how much money has Hillsboro um been given for this in uh opioid opioid settlement does any does anybody have that number Anthony ministr F could take exact amount but we are part of the settlement that um we filled in paper actually we discussed this last year we were getting several million dollars over the next 20 years as part of that settlement um and this every year we will be doing the same thing res uh establishing the the committee and also with as part of the next one is the stiens for the people that are govering the uh the money and how we so last year if you recall we used the money to buy the uh Narcan kits I if you were here for that meeting when we had those so that was that's part of that settlement so we'll be doing this every year but the exact amount I couldn't tell you but I think it's if my memory saes it's it's like $10 million something that Hillsboro got or that the state we're going to get no well I mean the cell makers so we get like like no I think we get just a little bit of money yeah but I'm just saying there's money out there but it's and I can't Anthony would know exactly the number but and maybe we can find out for you but these this is all money that was given to us by the settlement okay all right so yeah it wouldn't be 10 million I think that I think the whole settlement was 200 millions or like it was a lot of money 120 for the whole state 120 for the whole state I'm sorry 120 million for the state state uhhuh um yeah and then also pertaining to the opioid uh settlement um consent 16 resolution 50- 2025 uh resolution appointing Melinda maio and Rebecca grman to one-year terms as opioid settlement coordinators effective January 1 2025 through December 31 2025 author Rising annual stiens for St service so what is the function of the uh settlement coordinators Financial oversight Sor I'm sorry Financial oversight Financial oversight um so what types of things will I know last year was the narcon is there anything planned for this year that they're going to be overseeing the settlement the year holds but they'll be overseeing the financials that's all that they do um and they're they're employees of of Hillsboro well Melinda Mago is not she works with bard of Ed Rebecca grman is not either no neither one does she not town sorry they don't work for the township no and Rea doesn't work for either she's she's on a couple of our boards but yeah so I'm sorry Melinda M none of them work our employees of Hillsboro Township melindia works for the Board of Ed and I'm not sure who the other is it just on one of our one of our boards okay all right so then further down through the year there'll be information as to what that money is being used for they'll make a presentation like they did last time all right thank you thanks any other public comments from the floor seeing none can I have a roll call please committee been bring yes committee woman hand yes committee M leani yes Deputy Mayor Payne yes mayor J relli yes public hearings none introduction of new ordinances so we have ordinance 2025 -2 an ordinance amending chapter 188 land use and development Article 1 title purpose definitions section 188-189 7.1 light industrial district of the code of the township of Hillsboro Somerset County New Jersey further consideration and a public hearing will be held on February 25th 2025 may I have a motion to introduce ordinance 20252 sove second and we go right the roll call right M committee B bring yes committee woman hand yes committee man leani yes Deputy Mayor Payne yes mayor Chelli yes thank you um claims list may I have a motion to approve claims list 20252 so second any comments from the days on the claims list hearing none any comments from the floor on the claims list Maria jusc um on the supplemental checklist uh it's all lean redemptions why are they on a supplemental why aren't they paid paid out normally you want to answer that well I know we've answered this question before on the on the sheet U because because between meetings and um the the the lean amount was redeemed and and was what was redeemed so it's you don't you don't wait until things are things are part of that month's payments you the thean are the lean redemptions are done differently than making the payments for whatever for the month she didn't understand can you repeat it excuse me you're referring to a supplemental checklist regarding lean redemptions you can ask the CFO for more information but what happens is uh when these tax leans are sold if somebody comes in the property owner comes in and makes the payment then that money is entitled to go out back to the investor so pretty much the uh lean redemptions are recorded ex property goes to tax sale because they haven't paid their taxes some investor buys that tax lean and they're entitled to interest on that and whatnot and then what happens is the property owner comes in and pays that money finds out what the Redeemer amount is how much to redeem the lean pays that amount and then the township forwards the payment out to the holder of the lean okay so so it's always on the supplemental list because it's done randomly you'll have to ask the CFO but that's depending upon when they come in and when they're redeemed all right thank you okay there's a um let's see I don't know what page this is page 35 of 67 uh neelon of Mars town and it's Dodge Charger and three Dodge and the the amount is $227,300 75 what is what is that police vehicles excuse me police police vehicles Okay but well how many are there I mean right this this one right here says uh one Dodge Charger plus three Dodge that would be four that would be four four so four of them so so the price for one is all four were 227,000 yeah okay I got this I'm sorry but I got this last minute and it and and they're not um stapled so it's confusing um the on page 37 the Hillsboro MUA 244,000 [Music] a project that's being done it's enging fuse that we're that we're partnering with mua to do and and being paid um by ARP because that was a usable use for anything that water maintenance I believe it's the Fox Chase project but you could uh check with our CFO to be sure which one it was I'm check with who off of pedmont path yep pedmont path with our CFO CFO that's right check with the CFO to find out what the project is mhm which particular project is but I'm I'm pretty sure it's pedmont path it's pedmont path pedmont what pedmont path it's in a development okay so there was one in regard to the Brown Avenue Extension I can't find it right now now because I didn't have time to look at this I would didn't have this so I'd like to find out about that so Brown Avenue is the road that we have uh is being put in by on 206 on the North End of the warehouses by uh northern part before Duke's estate where the light is where the hotel is Brown Avenue is a road that um is being paid for by the state uh grants and we are um was given to us by the county CU they didn't want to oversee it anymore we went through this a while ago so we are the people overseeing and inspecting it so um whatever monies are those are being paid out of the escrow that's in here from either the state and then anything above what the state will pay the property owner of the warehouse is paying the balance per per contract okay so uh I'm I'm not quite understanding that the amount that's in here which is I think 200 it's either engineering fees or I don't I don't know which one you're talking about but I'm saying the the road itself the funds are all from the grant that we received from the state of New Jersey so that's we are the administrator of that project it was given to us by the county last year so we are now in control I'll let attorney Willard expand on that if you like to Mr commit Len has it correct um what happened was this particular Brown have the extension project uh was originally a county project um the county uh subsequently turned it over to us we agreed to accept it uh but all the grant funds were coming from the state and the NJ doot uh so what we did was in the agreement uh since any deficiency like uh committee pan indicated was going to be paid by the property owner the property owner um posted an escrow with the municipality for the entire amount of the project uh we indicated in that agreement as we receive funds uh Grant funds from the state DOT we would reimburse the property owner so the property owner is paying for this particular project and being reimbursed for any Grant funds that we receive so the amount that's in here that's part of what was being paid by Hillsboro it's either one or two things M janc it's either a a payment to the contractor or it's B it's a payment to it's yeah it's either a it's a payment to um the contractor or B it's return of money to the property owner based upon Grant funds received it's not from a taxpayer's money it's from money in the escrow correct n none none of this project is being funded uh by Hillsboro Township taxpayers none of it okay all right thank you thank you see no other comments uh from the floor can I get a roll call committee Ben bring yes committee woman hand yes committee M Le Pani yes Deputy Mayor Payne absolutely mayor tarelli yes thank you um there's no new business on our agenda so public comments for matters not on the agenda Miss break please read the statement regarding public comment the township committee welcomes input from the public please state your name and address and please spell your name for the record you will be given one three minute allotment for your comments please understand that this is not this public form is not structured as a question and answer session comments are to be addressed to the mayor again please keep your comments to three minutes thank you any takers Maria janusek um in the uh resolution of for 2025 for the um uh requests for proposals Through the Fair and open selection process for Professional Services included is the um position of planning board attorney so that's part of part of what is being uh uh sought uh as far as as professionals but then in the minutes of the um reorganization meeting the position for uh uh planning uh uh board uh planning board attorney is not included you've got all the names of all the all the all the people who were who were uh appointed for 2025 but you don't have the POS position of the planning board attorney you don't identify the planning board attorney or uh the amount uh not to exceed amount um I was at the planning board meeting reorganization meeting and um on the agenda that it said resolutions but it didn't identifi had no information as to uh what the resolutions were about but verbally it was stated that there was a resolution appointing Eric Bernstein as the planning board attorney um according to information uh there's a resolution um that the information of Who was appointed has to be um included um has to be u in a in a given notice in the newspaper so you don't have the information of the planning the identity of the planning board attorney in this resolution so it wouldn't be also in the notice um and what's interesting is that attorney Bernstein has had this position for the last 23 years I think I think this is the year 24 is this year 25 I believe it's 25 now so I offered I offered you to apply last year I don't recall the apply the application coming in but that's okay so so I'm wondering why I mean are the this and and and that's one uh position the other position is is for the township attorney which is has been held by um the de Francesco baitman uh law firm and that too is about 23 years I think we had one attorney was um Albert Cruz and now it's uh William Willard and again that's a position of that's being held by that one firm for 23 years are there no other qualified people applying for these positions um the uh the uh um so the Dr Francesco baitman Law Firm has the position of Township attorney and then they have the position of Labor attorney each of those is not to exceed 75,000 so that those two positions are 150,000 and then Senator baitman when he retired from public office was given the position of the municipal prosecutor for Hillsboro court and the other shared courts of Montgomery Manville and Branchburg so he's getting a salary of for this year 95,000 why is that exclusively it's it's just two two firms that have been uh uh appointed for the last over 20 years is there a reason for for for that kind of uh you know exclusivity are these lifetime appointments I for one hope it's not because I hope to retire someday we're following you but uh but yeah you know it's it's so miss janac your time's about up so I'll just answer your question everybody submits a through fair and open a RFP which is their their billing and what they provide um the senator b or the C is a shared service um attorney we have through three towns Manville Hillsboro and Branchburg I believe now right so that's a separate separate contract that's done through the U that office but um it's not like most municipalities and I'll just put it politely whether it's Hillsboro Montgomery suers County when you have professionals that you are comfortable with and they continue to do a good job and their billing is in the uh Spectre of the lowest um submitted price why would you change and that's not unlike most other municipalities around the and the county okay and um Eric Bernstein not only is the planning board attorney but he was also appointed the uh special Council for affordable housing so is there some kind of conflict between the affable very closely together if you didn't listen to the the thing that we just passed the affordable housing is a big part of our planning and you've been to a lot of planning boards where we discussed affordable housing applications so they tend to work together and so for the settlement agreements uh that were conducted by by Judge Thomas C Miller who represented Hillsboro was it was it uh Eric Bernstein as the special Council or was it William Willard time is up your time is up and you're going past that but the answer was most times I believe it was was it not Mr do you have any other yeah any com it was I in my capacity as special counsel to the Township for affordable housing which I have been for a number of years as well so I'm I'm you know thank you for your comments thank you anybody else none my glasses on motion to adjourn oh yeah second we have a motion toj roll call thanks mayor we don't really need you anymore get my time you can go home get my time committee woman hand you're not on here that's right committee been printing yes he has to stay now yeah yes yes committee M Le Pon yes deputy mayor pay yes mayor chiar Al Yes actually it's an old roll call I I had to need update I need to update we need we need a process have a good night every thank you time is what what time is it 8:41 all right thank you Mar for resing us