Yep. Okay. Good evening everybody. Welcome to the township committee meeting of October 14th, 2025. An executive session was held at 6:30 and we are now reconvening. Miss Brake, please call the role.
Committing here. Committee Mon here. Committee present. Mayor Payne here. Mayor Cherling here. Administrator Ferrer here. Attorney Bill here. Okay. Please join me in a salute to the
flag. Ready to flag United States of America and to the stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Right. We don't have any minutes to approve. And before we get into the committee reports, I've got I have some general announcements to make. Um, Diwali begins on Monday, October 20th.
Uh, on behalf of the township committee, I'd like to wish a happy Dwali to all Hillsboro residents who celebrate. May the divine light of Diwali shine in your life and bring happiness, peace, and prosperity. Um, I think it's actually the seven. It might we might do there's some celebrations starting on the 17th
through the 20th. Um, Red Ribbon Week. Last Friday, I attended Red the Red Ribbon Week football game. Uh, Deputy Mayor Payne and Committee Man Leani joined me along with township administrator for Anthony Ferrer and Township Clerk Sarah Break. The event
kicked off Hillsboro's celebration of Red Ribbon Week from October 20th to 24th, which is the nation's largest drug prevention campaign promoting health healthy drug-free living. Uh, I know Burough Safe is really the the the push for this. Uh, and the Hills the Mil the
Hillsboro Milstone Municipal Alliance. Uh, under the theme life is a puzzle, solve it drug-free, the week underscores Hillsboro's commitment as a stigmafree community to raise awareness about addiction, provide family resources, and reduce the stigma associated with drug
and alcohol abuse. Um, I also uh I attended a a Gerba garba event at Autton Road uh school. This was um uh one of many garb garba events,
natri garbas. And um you know, we had a little bit of dancing, a little bit of food, and um there's been several more since this event. So, uh this one was organized by a Hillsboro resident, and so we really appreciated the uh the time and effort and um uh cultural experience
shared with uh the the the residents. Um, first responder mass on Sunday, October 6th. Hillsboro Police and Firefighters attended the first responder mass at Mother Mary, Mother of God Church. Uh, Committeeman Sean Leani, administrator Anthony Ferrer, and I
attended in support of the Hillsboro Police and Fire departments. Um, so that was another nice spiritual event. Um, Eagle Court of Honor on uh, Boy Scout Troop 489. Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony was also at Mary Mother of God. I participated as a
special guest with our VFW um uh president Rich Zag Zagadio and Hillsbor Rotary Club and the Reverend Monscior Joseph Curry all made comments. So this was kind of the culmination. We recognized all of these Eagle Scouts
here and this was a uh their official ceremony um with all their families. Uh Basselon parade. I had a a great time representing the township at the Basselon parade and I attended a a pre pre- parade ball and met uh Lieutenant
General Frank Donovan, who's not in those pictures, but I also met um the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, Major General James Everett Livingston, who's on the right side there, and he was wearing his Medal of Honor. Um truly
just a a great experience um to see how the how the Marines celebrate the pomp and circumstance that goes with it, the parade and uh um what it what it means to that community. So it was uh very interesting and um you know patriotic
event and a lot of Hillsboro was represented there as well in the parade. Uh, years of service recognition. I recently recognized Amwell Dental Associates, Bentley's Fine Jewelers, BNC Hillsboro Florist, Family Chiropractic,
and the Motorworks for 45 years of service to the community as a long-standing member of the Hillsboro business association. So, uh, we went out and visited them and and, you know, made dropped in on them and and had their these certificates and everybody was very excited and happy to see us
there. And um so we'll we'll be uh we'll be keeping track of of the length of uh service if you will or business in in our community. Um on the other side we have a ribbon cutting. So for new new businesses coming in it's uh Leio
Robotics. Um we did a ribbon cutting. They celebrated a grand opening of their first US showroom in Hillsboro. first US showroom period in Hillsboro on September 23rd and it was attended by myself uh committeeman Shan Sean Leani and Zuzanna Carris from the economic and
business development office um high-tech they're from China they have offices in uh uh god where were they in Germany um Singapore worldwide global and what they you know it it really supports logistics and
operations and so this is their major showroom room and I'm going to hook them up with um the robotics club because the robots they had working were exactly what the robotics club does. It uncanny how to see the tech that what the the high school kids build implemented in
all these little yellow robots in in in this building. So, um very interesting and bringing high-tech uh high-tech industry to uh Hillsboro. Um school visits. I had the pleasure of visiting three Hillsboro's elementary schools over the past few days. I had
Hill Hillsboro Elementary School. Um Triangle School was uh yesterday and Woods Road today. And we, you know, we we answered their questions. We discussed um what it's like to be the mayor, how did you become the mayor,
what's your favorite color? Um and and uh you know, what do you do when this happens? What's your favorite law? what's what what's what's a new law you should write? So, that was one that um I was like, I don't know. That was a tough I'm like, I'm stumped, kid. I'm going to come back to you. And uh asked another
question and then came back and I said, you know, it's not about my laws. It's about what you guys want. It's about what you as residents want. So, what law do you want? Free ice cream on Fridays. So, you know, you know, we're done. So, it that was
it. It's It's been fun and the kids have been great and the teachers have been great. Um, Extra Mile Day, Hillsboro Township celebrates and acknowledges individuals and organizations who go the extra mile to make a positive difference and support their fellow community
members. In alignment with this spirit, the township encourages all residents to recognize Extra Mile Day on November 1st. So, you've got a couple weeks to plan. It's a national initiative supported by ExtraMile, America's mission to establish 550 extra mile cities. On this day, residents are
encouraged to both take action by going the extra mile in their own lives and to show appreciation for those who inspire them through their commitment to improving their organizations, family, community, country, or the world. Um,
so I think that's about it for my general announcements. I think one thing we can talk about or I want to end with is and which I should have started with probably is that um uh we welcome peace in the Middle East. Uh we get a lot of
private uh special interest groups one way or the other trying to have us comment on what was going on there. And um with recent developments, I think uh you know, peace in the Middle East is something that we all welcome and we hope that the families who are reunited
uh as well as what's going on in the Middle East, you know, that is that that everything is built and um uh we we wish everybody the the best for in this new phase of that the situation in that part of the world.
Um, with that I will go to committeeman Britting. Thank you, mayor. Good evening, everybody. Uh, welcome everybody. First would like to welcome everybody in the room. I think this is the beginning of holiday season for everybody. All different types of holidays starting now. And it's just think if you look
around in the room, Hillsboro Township is made of so many different people. And it's just so nice that we are going to be able to celebrate every holiday that we think, you know, that that that is presented to the town. and we're going to try to honor everybody um that as we can throughout the year. So, just happy holidays to all of you who are starting your holiday and happy holidays coming
up to everyone who's going to be going through all of it. So, it's just it's a good end of the year and mayor would be voting uh uh yes to that ice cream on Fridays if you're actually going to pull that forward. I actually think it's a great idea. Very good. All right. So, all right. So, from administration standpoint, early voting. Hillsboro Township encourages residents to vote
early to avoid election day lines. Early voting will be held at the municipal building from Saturday, October 25th to Sunday, November 2nd, uh Monday through se uh Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be no early
voting on Monday, November 3rd. All right. So, Scarecrow Festival. Uh, the public is invited to the Scarecrow Festival Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, October 29th from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Uh, in addition to the presentation of awards, there'll be children's activities, balloon animals, temporary tattoos,
giveaways, apple cider donuts, and the opportunity to meet the mayor and the township committee. I think this year is one of the best years. I think every year it gets better and better. They did some really cool, really cool scarecrows are really different and unique and fun. So, I think it's great. All right. From a business standpoint, economic and business development. So, first we're
going to focus on influencing agriculture. As Hillsboro, we do have 40% open space preserve land. And that's a really important feature of our town. It's why many of us move here, want to stay here. Hillsboro was strongly represented in Somerset County's influencing agriculture. After the harvest 2025 initiative with seven of the eight participating farms located in
the township, economic and business development directors served on the panel highlighting Hillsboro support for local farmers and their importance to the economy and tourism. Last thing I'll say about our farms is even if you are no longer interested go on a hay ride, go for one. Go pick some pumpkins. We
have what I think seven farms that are are around seven farms in Hillsborough if I'm getting a number right that you can go and you can frequent and have some great fall festivities. So please frequent those farms. Those are businesses as well and without farms there's no food, right? So remember that you have to support the farms. Experience Hillsboro fall 2025 edition
of the Experience Hillsboro e Magazine is now available featuring local events, farms, and farms and seasonal highlights that showcase the best of our township. Beh sure to explore the stories and photos that bring Hillsboro to life this fall. All right, next is HBA award
winners. So, we every year we have award winners from the um Hillsboro business association. We have about 1500 small businesses in Hillsboro, small and large businesses in Hillsboro that are supported um by by the township, 43,000 and change people, but a ton of small businesses and large businesses. Um we
announced our annual award winners. Um please feed the full list in tomorrow's e-news. You'll see some of them up there and this is just a good hook for you to sign up for e-news because we send it out every week and it's a good way to get information from the town. All right. From a health standpoint, wellwater testing event. The health now
this is for those who have wellwater not public not public water. The health department held its annual wellwater testing event on October 4th where over 60 residents purchased reduced cost test kits and spoke with staff about local well and groundwater conditions. Residents who miss can the event can contact Michael Carr at the health
department for assistance with testing. It's a great department with a ton of information. If you have any questions, they have no problem sitting down educating the uh the public. They're really good at that. Uh human resources uh led by our uh Harriet Fencer Harriet Fencer who's our fantastic resource director. Hillsboro is hiring for a
variety of positions. Please see the Hillsboro Township website and the mayor's e-news for a list of positions. Uh we received an award last year for one of the best places to work in the state of New Jersey as it relates to townships. Thank you, Mr. Fer, for your training and also for Miss Harriet as well too for all the work that she does and making this a great place to work.
So, if you're looking for a job, check it out. Recreation. Winter basketball. Winter basketball leagues are open for registration. Programs are available for girls and boys from grade three to high school. Join Hillsboro Recreation on the courts this winter. It's a great program. Uh Ruckers game. Oh, so Ruckers
Recreation. So, this is a good one. So, join your fellow residents and cheer on the Scarlet Knights as they take on Maryland at the stadium on November 8th. Grab your $40 tickets and bring your Scarlet Knight spirit. So, when you sign up for it, it's a whole event. You go with a group. You get a chance to sit
with the Hillsboro Township residents. It's a really fun time. So, if you're interested in going to see the Scarlet Knights, hopefully win, uh go there and go and have some fun. Social services uh social services now is world gratitude day. The social services department extends its heartfelt thanks to Triangle Elementary School for celebrating World
Gratitude Day in in in such a meaningful way. Their generous fundraising efforts and donations to the community assistance can food pantry is truly appreciated. So what this is is they went ahead and with the students and uh social services department collects food and items for people in need. uh and uh
the students through Triangle School did a fantastic job at uh bringing in a lot of materials for this time of year. Remember the holiday time when many people are celebrating with family. There are others who who need some assistance. So, please consider donating. And if you do, please go to the social services website and check
out um what is needed versus what you think you may want to give because sometimes they know exactly what's needed for the residents. Social service programs. In addition to providing transportation for seniors to medical appointments, grocery stores, salons, and local errands, the Hillsboro Social Services Department offers a wide range of programs for seniors in the
community. The department also partners with local organizations to host educational wellness events, and the department continues to pursue grants uh and partnerships to support its mission and expanding programming in 2026. Again, please see tomorrow's e-news and the website for more information. It's a great great department that's here to
help people. Last one here from is from the tax assessor's office. New Jersey offers uh property tax relief through the anchor program and other programs, but the application process varies by age and circumstances. Please visit the uh division of taxation website or call and I don't expect you to memorize this.
You can go on our website 8882381233 for more information. That's all from me, Mayor. Thank you. Next is committeewoman hand. Yes. Thank you. Good evening. Welcome to everyone. We love to see a big full crowd. always an exciting night at the
township committee. Um so the the first one here um as the mayor mentioned we had several garbas. I just wanted to to show how our police department I didn't get the video of them dancing along with us. I think it's hard with the vest on but um we had a wonderful night and it
was just again a terrific community gathering and I would encourage those of you who have not been to a garba check it out. Um the dance moves are a lot of fun. Uh, moving along for the library, there's a variety of activities at our
library, very active. Please visit the website. There's a multiple things listed. And then for National Bullying Prevention Month. So October is National Bullying Prevention Month. So again, just trying to raise awareness to
promote kindness, respect, and inclusion. Everyone could probably take a note from that. kindness, um, respect and inclusion in the schools, workplaces, in the communities. Um, absolutely. Especially in these divisive times, this is a wonderful time to
remind everyone um, you know, for a little a little civility. So, please speak up, support one another, and create a safe space where everyone feels valued, fostering a community of passion and unity. Thanks, Mayor.
Thank you. Committee Thank you, mayor. Good evening, everyone. Happy holidays. Also, I'll reiterate that. Um, talk about some from the building department. If your HVAC units, water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces, or
boiler, you know, your major appliances stop working and need to replace because they always break on the coldest day or the hottest day of the year. You know that you are required to notify the building department before beginning any work. Once department has received notification of work may proceed, the permit application must be submitted by
a licensed contractor within 72 hours of the initial notification. This procedure applies for like for like HVAC replacement. So if you're not unsure, so essentially if your water breaks down, you can go ahead and long as you notify the
department, you can start the replacement, but you have to get your permit and everything done within 72 hours. Okay. Leaf pickup. It's that time of year. are starting to fall. Uh the program officially will start on Monday, November 3rd. As we prepare for the season, please see the guideline as to
when your uh leaf pickup will be uh on the way e-news or on the DPW website. We do come twice, once early in the season or once late. So, make sure you have your leaves out for those times. And again, please don't push them into the street because if we have rain, they
will clog the gutters. So, leave them on the edge of your lawn. Montgomery Road update. Uh thank you for DPW for a job well done on the chip seal of Montgomery Road. This was essential work uh DPD DPW
has done to maintain improve our township infrastructure has not gone noticed. You can see the video here. Um you want to play it there Sarah for a quick uh swag video. Actually, this project as usual was actually one of the things that we had
to do uh to be uh D compliant. They notified us that this road needed to be done. So, this was uh fulfilling that requirement from D. Thank you as well to Montgomery resident Suzanne Horn Nickel, sorry if I said it wrong, for taking time to write a
thoughtful letter commenting our DPW team for their storm cleanup efforts. Her feedback confirms the outstanding dedication of our DPW staff and restoring conditions after severe storms of September 6th. Uh DPW swift work in clearing the storm debris from the road and addresses the ditches in that
unpaved storm-prone area was instrumental in getting the neighborhood pretty much back to normal quickly. So yeah, so our staff, you know, while you're home inside the house trying to clean, they're out on the roads in dangerous conditions sometimes getting our roads passable. So thank you to DPW
for that. And that's it. Mayor Thank you. Good afternoon, Deputy Mayor P. Good evening, everybody. Uh, first reminder is on the deer. The NJD and the NJ do um are reminding motorists to be extra vigilant on the
roads as the f uh Okay, sorry. As the fall white deer mating season gets underway, increased deer activity related to the season comes as the amount of daylight decreases, increasing collision risks, especially during morning and evening
commutes. Uh the United States Drug Enforcement Administration has declared Saturday, October 25th, National Takeback Day, a day to dispose of all of your unneeded medications anonymously and at no cost. The program will run from 10 to 2 on the 25th and more
details can be found on the uh on our website and also at the E-News. Halloween safety. Chief Michael McMahon and the Hillsboro Police Department urge residents to prioritize safety this Halloween. Children should be accompanied by an adult, wear light,
colored, or reflective clothing, and carry a flashlight after dark. Everyone should watch for traffic and please examine all candy before consuming. A full list of precautions will be available on tomorrow's e-news. This was always a fun place for the dollar store
hack of just take a glue stick and throw it in their bag or their pumpkin or what, however old they are. Um, domestic violence awareness month. Um, October is dee domestic violence awareness month, a national observance to honor survivors and victims. It's a widespread issue
impacting over one in three women and one in four men and over half of the transgender and non-binary individuals in their lifetimes. The local resource Safe and Sound Some Somerset supports healing from this trauma through compassionate evidence-based practices.
Their comprehensive services include a 24-hour crisis helpline, emergency safe housing, legal advocacy, and indiv uh individual group counseling. individual and group counseling for adults and children along with specialized crisis
response teams. The Hillsboro PD takes all domestic violence calls seriously, works closely with Safe Sound uh Somerset, and ensures that victims receive immediate resources and information to connect directly with the organization uh for support.
Veterans Day ceremony will be on Tuesday, November 11th in the Garden of Honor at 9:00 a.m. In the event of inclement weather, it'll be moved inside to the senior center room. Um, our next veterans information center will be
session will be held on Saturday will be held on Saturday, November 15th at 10:00 a.m. in the senior activity room. I have the VSOs coming from Somerset uh from Hunan County. So, there was a slight uh rescheduling for that. And lastly, Somerset County is looking
for feedback on the availability and reliability of electrical vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the county. Any responses will help the county identify areas for improvement in future EV infrastructure. Look for the survey in the next mayor's edition of
the E-News or on the planning and zoning website. That's all, mayor. Thank you. Um, before I get with my final reports, there are some red bags up here. So, we want to thank the municipal alliance for some goodies. Stress balls, a duck, chip clip,
chocolate. So, thank you for that. Um, I also had a prop up here that I forgot to use. I um, it's not a big check. I think that's coming later, but it was a thank you from Triangle's third grade third graders. So, I'll put this up in the office for sure. Um, so it was
nice that they uh they sent me that pretty quickly. So, uh, so I want to thank them for that. Um, so my remarks first with, uh, we had a couple of, uh, employees, Kathy, uh, Faber, assistant director of social services, and Lee
Santa Romita, the office administrator for social services, received a well-deserved Senate citation from the office of Senator Andrew Zwicker. [Applause] So this res recognition highlights their outstanding efforts along with their team in delivering vital so social
services to countless residents and fostering strong collaboration with community organizations. So they'll they'll get a high five for that for sure. Uh road updates from the engineering department. Um going to the the program for this year is mostly complete. We've sk we have uh we've
scheduled a small section of Bloomingdale Drive still under construction, the the end that's the the worst. Uh and the township we're going to apply for an NJ DOT grant to fund the balance of that road. So um so we're in the process of planning to get that
whole that road paved. Uh the roads that have been paved this year, they're going to make me read it. Kilmer, Beverly, Fern Way, Gail Court, Brierway, Scott Drive, Barber Drive, Arlene Court, Matthew Road, Daniel Drive, Walnut Grove
Road, Falcon Crest Lane, Falcon Road, the remaining portion of Falcon Road, that is uh towards the intersection, Township Line Road, and Auton Road, that last little piece at the light. Um, so that's a lot of lot of mill and paving
on the on the uh capital spend side. uh from the engineering department. The uh Auton Road uh and Dukes Parkway West were funded for more than half the cost of repaving that those roads. So Dukes Parkway West is going to be done uh in
the near future. Uh we also have an NJ DOT grant application to repave Farm Road. Uh actually Farm Road went in first um and um Bloomingdale went in second. So, we'll see how those come out, but but
again, there's some requirements. So, hopefully that gets a lot of farm road done. Uh Duke Duke Parkway West, like I said, is scheduled to start by November, and prep work and shoulder widening will will occur first. And milling and paving will be completed should be completed this year, weather permitting. Uh Brown
A is complete. This $ 1.9 million grant money funded fully funded the project. So we the taxpayers didn't pay anything, but the trucks trucks heading north from the industrial area should now use that traffic signal. So that should improve safety along that road and reduce some of the traffic on on other roads. Uh
Amsterdam phase three, we talked about that. That was completed with a fund partially funded by a DOT grant. Somerset County will be repaving Amwell Road between 206 and Beakman Lane. And this is scheduled also for November.
this the road will improve they're going to improve safety by reducing the number of lanes from four to two. So from just beyond the high school all the way out um towards Beakman it's going to go down to two lanes and there'll be a center island constructed. There'll be bike
shoulders I think. So it's called traffic. It's a road diet. They they put the diet on a road and so it makes it one lane. Uh it gives pedestrians a safe zone in the middle. So when they're trying to cross at some of those uh crossings, there's a spot in the middle where they can stand without having to
worry about getting hit by a car, frankly. But um they're currently working on on ramps and utilities, and so they'll be that'll be a change on the traffic patterns on Amwell Road. Uh and it'll be for the better. Uh DPW is also
compiling an update on the road work that they did to date this year and how many miles of roads they they preserved with the new treatment new pro program that we've implemented. Uh we'll have that on the road work information page and in the future probably give a total number of miles that we we paved this
year. I think based on my rough engineering math, we need to do about 11 to 13 miles a year to get to get into a cycle. And so we're we're really coming along on that that program. Um railroad update, if you haven't heard
about it, earlier this month, Hillsboro residents were reporting hazardous conditions at the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossings. Uh after receiving some feedback, myself and the township engineer Tom Banger and and township administrator Anthony Ferrer surveyed
the area and immediately requested a meeting. We had that meeting with Norfolk Southern's uh superintendent and met with him out at the tracks and first he was going to put more stone in and kind of maintain the stone. But what they ended up doing was what they should have done in the first place was filled
in the trenches that they made with uh temporary asphalt and um made those temp those a lot safer. Uh you know, no no more flat tires or damage. We gave them we gave residents the number to call if they did have damage to their cars. But I did a video out there. Maybe you saw
it. What didn't make the video was the comment I made as I was doing the video. I said, "And cars are flying over it again." I mean, it was just as I was standing there, everybody was just like it never happened. So, um, they're going to do that work in in November to replace the track uh, in that area. So,
so there will be some more disruption. We just want plenty of we've requested plenty of lead time to know so people can plan their routes what day it's going to be. Try to shut down two instead of all four. So, you know, we're we're we're work they're they're hard to work with, but I think all the outcry
from residents got got them to do something, do the right thing. So, uh 206 update, another issue. Uh I attended a meeting with the DOT project manager, myself and administrator Herrera um to coordinate their their main concern was
electrical service cutin permits. So they wanted to make sure they had all the paperwork lined up with us with our building department so that they could um so that this when they need the permit they'll have the inspectors out there and they could do the cutins overnight. So they're preparing to do
some more work. Uh they've all the other news is they've consolidated their telecommunications uh contractors. So Verizon, Comcast, Bright Speed, they've c they've they had now one contractor handling in I guess in theory they had one contractor
handling all along, but now they've got one point of contact, one subcontractor who's going to move them all because there was some infighting about who's moving what, you know, and and so they're going to take care of that. They still haven't moved any from what I could tell, but they at least have this
plan to make it a little more efficient. Um, also along 206, the bids for repairing the pedestrian bidge are being opened tomorrow right here. Right here. Uh so we'll hopefully they fall within the budgeted amount and then
we'll be will be submitted for approval of the of of award at the next meeting and uh fabrication and and it'll get replaced soon. So that can't happen soon enough. And lastly, we have a press release tomorrow for social services holiday drives. It's the uh time of year
when Hillsboro Township Social Services Department through the community assistance network can be starting their annual holiday drives. This program provides holiday meals and gifts for Hillsboro's residents who are experiencing financial difficulties. Uh the stress of the holiday season combined with financial worries is a
difficult combination for many to handle. And our goal this holiday season is to provide a day in which the parents can take a small break from the stresses that they've been under and enjoy some time spent with family. So see the press release tomorrow with ENUS for more information on h on how to help Ken and
and uh help this effort. Um, so I think with that, as always, stay connected. You can stay connected with all events via the Wednesday mayor's e-news and Thursday's experience Hillsboro bulletin. Be sure to follow and like the official Hillsboro Township Facebook page, X, formerly known as
Twitter and Instagram. Tune in to the Hillsboro YouTube channel and sign up for Hillsboro alerts for traffic and emergency notifications. So, I know the emergency notifications every day now is the train one. So, you asked for it, you got it. um they're they're reminding people that that the trains uh the train
crossings can be a problem. So, we have six proclamations tonight and two presentations. So, I'll come down to the floor and we'll uh get on with those. All right.
I have eared it. [Applause] Hello. No, stay up here. Ayvertic medicine also known as Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest holistic whole body healing systems
developed thousands of years ago. It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on maintaining balance between the mind, body and spirit. The practice of Ayurvedic medicine makes makes valuable contributions in helping people live lives that are happier, healthier, and in greater balance
through yoga, Ayurvedic bodywork, customized herbal therapies, and self-care practices. Now therefore be it proclaimed that we the mayor and township committee do hereby declare September 23rd 2025 as Ayurveda
day and encourages all citizens to become more aware in the benefits provided by Ayurvedic medicine. So congratulations I know it's in the past you speak introduce yourself. Uh hello good evening everyone and thank
you so much mayor for for the proclamation and identifying um and highlighting the importance of healthy living. Ayurved is nothing but the u Indian traditional medicine. This has been uh practiced across various parts
of not only India but across world uh and it emphasizes on healthy living and uh and keeping on aware of their surrounding and community binding. I think that's what Hillsboro uh township proclamation today highlights and I am
very thankful uh for this recognition. I hope we can contribute to the community and continue to do some uh uh work with health around this uh amazing town. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
[Music] Okay, great. Come on. Come on. These are my volunteers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right.
Diabetes diabetes awareness. I see you there. Oh, we're gonna have Edna here and her husband as well. All right. At some at some point. Um, National Diabetes. So, this is National
Diabetes Awareness Month. Is it is recognized to raise awareness about diabetes and to support people with diabetes. Over 38 million Americans have diabetes. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. 746,400
New Jerseyians suffer from the disease and 27,000 people may have diabetes and not know it. Moreover, it is estimated that 352,000 children and adolesccents have been diagnosed with diabetes. An increase in awareness of risk factors and symptoms can improve the likelihood
that diabet people with diabetes will get the attention they need before developing the de disease. Now therefore, be it resolved that we, the mayor and township committee, do hereby declare November 2025 as National Diabetes Awareness Month and encourage all residents to help fight this disease
by increasing awareness. So, we have Michael's Miracles here who are uh really focused on type 1 diabetes. And so, would you like to say something? But thank you, mayor, for having us. Uh, Michael's Miracles is focused on raising
awareness and providing support to newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic children and their families. And we are very honored that the mayor is very supportive of us um and our activities. Um, and if anyone ever needs support, please reach out to
us. What uh when's diabetes day? When are we tying the ribbons and doing the So, November 14th is World Diabetes Day and we would be honored to come and decorate your facilities for you. Yes, we'll we'll we have the circles.
So, you don't want Edna up here. You got you have partners in crime over there. The reason I'm I'm an advocate as well is I'm a type 1 diabetic as well. So, it um you know that's why when I I saw this
um charity and and heard the story about their son and and what Michael's Miracles is it it uh it was something I could I could help them with and we're trying to make other connections and do fundraising and support them in any way we can. So thank you [Applause]
All right. Uh, do not disturb while driving. Do not disturb while driving. Hear that? All right. Hey, how you doing? Good. All right. So, there you go. Read this
proclamation. So, this is You didn't know this was going to happen, right? You signed up for this. So, uh, do not disturb while driving. Distracted driving was officially blamed for 3,38 fatalities and more than 289
injuries in 2022 in the United States. The crash risk is two to six times greater when a drivers are using a cell phone. About one in five people who died in distracted driver crashes were walking, riding their bikes, or otherwise outside a vehicle. 70% of the pled drivers said they use their cell
phones while driving. Thursday, October 16th, 2025 is the 4th annual National Do Not Disturb While Driving Day to raise awareness of life-saving technology that can be used to reduce cell phone distractions while driving. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the mayor and township
committee, do hereby declare October 16, 2025 as do not disturb while driving day and encourage all citizens to commit to using do not disturb technology to reduce cell phone distractions while driving or put their phones away while driving. So, um, do you have anything to
say about uh, I don't. No. Can you come up with anything? How many tickets do you write for people with cell phones? We write many. So, put the phones down. There you go. All right. There it is. Let's take a picture. [Applause] [Music]
[Applause] Okay. The next is Hindu Heritage Month. So, anybody who wants to celebrate Hindu Heritage Month, come on up. But I know what this what this last one was talking about. There is a setting on your iPhones that's that will say you can do not disturb. I'm driving. And
that's I think what the theme is. It sounds it sounds silly, but it is what it is. Right. So, um and I also understand that police have written if you're at a stop sign and on your phone looking, you could still get a ticket. So, it's not just because you're not driving. It's if
you're in the car, you shouldn't be you got to be careful and and don't do it. So, um you're going to call up all your friends at some point. Okay. Hindu Heritage Month. [Music] We got more people.
Yeah. Come on up. Um, she'll uh she'll Erica will take it when she comes up at the end. We'll take it. Yeah, she'll take Yeah. Who whoever you brought? Hinduism is the third largest religion
in the world. The practice of Hinduism seeks to promote unity among all Dharmic communities, increasing awareness of the heritages, values, and educate society on issues affecting the Hindu American community. The Hinduan community has made significant contributions to the social, cultural, and economic vibrancy
of our community, adding to Hillsboro's diversity and prosperity. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the mayor and Hillsboro Township Committee, do hereby recognize October 2025 as Hindu Heritage Month and encourage all residents to join in celebrating celebrating the many
contributions of Hindu Americans. So, congratulations. And uh as uh we showed up on the screen, we've the township committee has been invited to many events and we really share a lot of cultural things uh in common uh same principles of family and
uh culture, family, uh country. So I'll let I'll turn this over to VC to uh he likes to talk. Oh, sorry. He wants that, too. All right. Here you go, sir. Mr. Mayor, I got to make sure I give you the right
one. Here you go. Congratulations. Thank you, sir. Namaste. Namaste is uh gestures of this way. So I respect you all and everybody who's here. They all want
to part of family. The Hindu Heritage Month is celebrating across the New Jersey, across the US and across the world. Of course in India. A celebration of October
is contribution of Indian people, Indian doctors, Indian engineers, Indian students, entrepreneurs, especially our cultural, our spirituality and our tradition that
we preserve here. And we are so fortunate the Hillsboro Township is give us this opportunity, this platform to put our heritage, our culture, our spirituality front of everybody.
In Hindu heritage month, the core value is this. Spreading love, be peaceful, harmony for each other, respect everybody including the nature.
We respect everybody. We believe everybody. We give everybody as a human. So even our neighbor, we were very peaceful, nonviolent. Hindu heritage month October basically three
major things. The most three festivals of Hinduism is in October. The first with navatri which is doctor and uh she says it's a versive for goddesses. The second is das
the victory of evil and third one is Diwali Diwali's festival of life festival of light. So these three core values in October we celebrating among everybody and spreading love again peace
harmony to each other and family values. So today behalf of all this our Hindu uh heritage people here there's so many we can invite will but we selected here to come this much. So thank you Mr.
Mayor, thank you committee, thank you Mr. Anthony Police Department and everybody who's recognized October's Hindu Heritage Month. Again, thank you and namaste. [Music] Couple more. [Applause]
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, we were talking earlier about can and I know that happens. Yeah. the donations to Dwali go get brought over to can the Hanswell can pantry. So thank you for that
Italian-American Heritage Month. [Applause] You got the shirt on. I'll give it to you. pass it around. All right.
So, so Hillsboro Township's Italian-American community has cont contributed greatly to cultural landscape since its earliest days. Today, there are more than 26 million Americans of Italian descent in this country, including me. The
Hillsboro Chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American club, was founded in 2009 and is committed to charitable work, supporting higher education, and performing patriotic deeds under the motto service above self. The Hillsboro Chapter of UNICO annually awards the
Brian Piccolo Scholarship to a Hillsboro High School student, supports the Rotary Fairs Family Fundday, and holds fundraisers for organizations such as the Zippy Fund supporting which supports pediatric cancer patients and their families and Gigi's Playhouse. Now
therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the mayor and Hillsboro Township Committee, do hereby recognize October 2025 as Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month and encourage all residents to join in celebrating the many contributions of Italian Americans. So,
congrats to great. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Township Committee. We really appreciate it on behalf of Hillsboro Unico um for accepting this this proclamation. We very much appreciate it. As the mayor
mentioned, our our ser our motto is service above self. So, we do a lot of service charitable organizations. It's a wonderful organization. So, I just want to thank everyone. Thank you, mayor, and thank you, Township Committee. [Applause]
Do I announce the uh presentations as well? [Applause] Okay, we have some check presentations. So, our own right now we're after No. Okay. Our own
Glenn Gershwindeer is uh presenting a check on behalf of Adam's RC racers to the township. Sure. [Applause] Absolutely. Me or you? It's up to you. You've been doing good so far.
Only a few paragraphs. All right. Do what I can do. How you guys doing? All right. So, a speech has been prepared for me. Adams RC RCers is a community of enthusiasts who come together to celebrate model aviation.
They are hobbyists who dream, design, build, and fly model aircraft of all sizes for fun and competition. They do this because they enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts, love flight, and want to see participation in their hobby grow.
Each year in February, they have a swap meet here at the municipal building and they donate a portion of the proceeds to the Hillsboro Community Assistance Network. CAN. Today, they're pleased to present this year's donation of $350. Great. Thank you.
[Applause] Their next swap meet will be on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, and everyone is welcome to attend. And if you know anyone who is interested in model aviation, they'd be more than happy to help you get started. Please reach out and they can be found via uh
their Facebook page which is Adam's RC RCers RC apostrophe. So somebody does have to say something like uh where do you meet? Where do you fly? Sure. All right. Hi, good evening everyone. I'm Pete Pisb. I'm the president of the Adams REI. Uh we do like I mentioned we
have the SWAT meet here. I think this February will be about our 15th. Yeah. annual one. Um, we do have a club field over in Hillsboro and this is a great opportunity for anybody that is interested in STEM, model aviation, young, old, the like. Um, please feel
free to reach out to us. We're more than happy to provide training and to help you get started in the hobby. Thank you very much. So, thanks again for the check. I know you do it every year, so we so Ken really appreciates the checks and the and the funds. So, thank you. Thank you.
Oh, do I give the check to you? Yeah, I'll take it. There you go. Is anybody Nobody from can or social services here? So, I'll uh end over [Applause] So, the Hillsboro Rewards Program does
uh you want Maria to do this or am I She's She She told me. Yeah. So, I got the list. So, should I read this and then you'll All right. So, we got the tag team here, right? Nice. Uh, the Hillsboro Rewards
Program, it is presenting its last year of grants to many deserving organizations in our community. Since the program's inception in 2008, over 100,000 in grants have been awarded to community-based youth, senior, and other local nonprofit organizations. The total
amount awarded this evening is $10,117.83. This is the final dispersement of funds from the Hillsboro Rewards program as the funds collected from the grant program have now been exhausted. Hillsboro rewards program has been a great resource for our qualifying local
organizations to obtain funding without any expense to our township taxpayers. So, I'll turn it over to the chair of the committee. The first one is the Boy Scout group, the 1776. Are you here?
[Applause] They're receiving $699. And would you like to explain what you're using it for? Yes, sure. So, first of all, thank you, mayor, and thank you committee for the award. Uh, the Boyce Scout Troop 7076 exist here
for significant period of for more than few decades. Uh one of the thing we have a small barn where we sport where we store all our sport uh scouting equipment. The barn is not does not have an electric connection. Uh we plan to buy a generator with this uh grant. Uh
thank again to the committee and use that uh to light the barn especially uh when when the kids are going for an outstation trip and we want to load everything towards the evening. Yeah, that's a little bit of a difficulty. So hopefully this will help us uh and also generate u charging for some of the
other equipments used during the scouting trip. So thank you again mayor and thank you committee. Stay up here. Stay up here. Dance for the cure. $535. You want to explain what it's for? Thank you mayor and committee. Thank you
very much. Um, so Dance for the Cure, this is our 26th year and this money, these are some of our basket genies. We have uh donated over $1.3 million to area women that are going through breast cancer. The way we raise money for that
is through various little fundraisers, but we have our largest one coming up next week um where we will have over 500 guests at the Bridgewood and Marriott for a dinner and a basket auction. And these basket genies, among others, helped to make over 200 incredible
raffle prizes. This money is going to go towards the ingredients that they need to make these prizes. I've heard they really need some good sharp scissors. They need some good folding tables. Um, we need things to wrap these baskets. So, it's going to go for all those
necessities to make our baskets beautiful and help us to continue to continue to raise money to help the community. And a cart. And the cart. I for Thank you. Yes, we need a cart because when um rolling cart, that was the main thing because they uh when they move these baskets
from place to place, we're carrying these big big heavy things and it was suggested that a rolling cart would really help us moving these things from one place to another. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. [Applause]
of feeding hands. Anyone from Feeding Hands? No one. How much did they get? $940. [Applause]
GG's Playhouse. Do you want to say a word about Gigi's Playhouse and what it's like? Hi, I was just here two weeks ago um and um for the proclamation of Down Syndrome
Awareness Month and Gigi's Playhouse has um been in Hillsboro since 2015 and I just wanted to say that our total dedication is to inform, provide awareness and make sure that
there is a acceptance of those with Down syndrome and other special needs that we serve in our community and beyond. We are definitely doing a lot of outreach. My main focus tonight is to have our one
of our parents um speak. Um I don't know I don't know if they're they're they're oldtimers if you don't mind me saying. Um this is Jason and this is Carol. Um, Tao Ta Taody and um,
Carol I know wanted to say a few words. Sure. I actually love to say a few words because it is such an amazing amazing place. Um, we call it a playhouse, but Jason is
the oldest member. Next month he's gonna be 49 years old. And 49 years ago, there was nothing nothing for our people. In fact, when I
asked nurses, "Give me something to read." They said, "There's nothing that wouldn't scare the heck out of you." Gigi's Playhouse is nationwide. We are the only ones in the state of New
Jersey. We are so lucky. We have a group of mothers with their babies so that when they have this child, they can come and speak to other women who have been through this and have the experience.
Then we have a um what is it like a teenage group, right? Oh, yes. We have several and older and older, 20s, 20s. Well, ours the group from neonatal to adult um is 18 and above.
Wednesday nights they cook dinner. They all sit down and eat together. Friday every two Friday nights are Friday friends. Friday friends. When I had Jason, I didn't know after school what kind of
socialization he would have. It's amazing. Keeps me running for sure. So, I I also want to say that we are totally funded by donations.
We get no help except from Hillsboro Township. They have been so generous with us through the years and we are very very blessed. Our our kids are out there. I know a lot of you know Jason from
Shopright and Mayor. Would you like to tell them what people call Jason? I am the mayor. He's the mayor. He's the mayor. He is the mayor.
We thank you. We thank you so much. Jason, we're just letting John stand here for tonight, so keep it down. Okay. Yeah. I did want to mention that the township has granted them $2,000. And just quickly, um it was our wish
list. Um we definitely needed a high speed. We do we're doing a lot of outreach and grants and um we're expanding our programs. We have the um most number of um uh programs this pro
uh this semester or the this uh session and we keep on growing. We're trying that's what I'm doing in my starting my fourth month as an executive director. So um we are also um we asked for the printer and also for a smartboard which
we so will benefit from or our participants will benefit from in their learning and I appreciate all the help and support you have given us. You're welcome. Uh Unico,
you coming back up again? You get a proclamation, you get a piece of paper, and now you're going to get a check. Do you want for Yeah. 1,200? No. Stick around because you got to get your picture. Okay.
What it's being used for. Thank you. Can you hear me? Thank you, everyone. Thank you, mayor, and committee for giving us this this uh donation, this grant. This is going to be used as Hillsboro Unico. We are in the community again, service above self
where we go to different places. We'll have um a tent. We'll have a a big tablecloth that will have our logo on it. So, it'll help us recognition within the community, people who'd like to join us, learn more about us, and um you
know, we partner with other other organizations as well. So, this is a huge help for us. So, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for helping because we appreciate uh the Mary Mother of God Youth Group.
[Applause] They have been awarded $2,000. [Applause] I wanted to thank you um mayor and everybody for u the uh donation. The um
Mary mother of God youth group serves the Hillsboro community and the other communities around here. So uh all the teenagers then high school age are welcome to come and join us in the Mary mother of God center that we have. The
center is probably about half the size of this room and uh it's in the basement. If any of you have basements then you know that they get damp. And so what we'll be using this money for is to uh to provide a dehumidifier down there
to help keep it dry. Um in the uh recent past in the downpours that we've had uh with the recent hurricanes um we've had flooding down there and uh we've put up barriers. Thank you very much to the Mary mother of God church for doing that
for us. But it still gets damp down there. So, the dehumidifiers will be used to keep it dry for our high school kids and for the other uses for the room, which would include uh the Hillsboro um uh needy people that come
in and stay in our um uh youth center with us and uh all the other stuff that we do. Thank you very much to Hillsboro Township. uh the resolution run. They're also known with project graduation
and they're being awarded $1,300. You want to say what it's Sure. Um, so we're from Hillsboro Project Graduation, which is resolution run, and we plan on using the money for signage, um, sandwich boards for outside and also indoor signage so we can
promote our events that we come. Uh, we raise up approximately $100,000 a year to run the project graduation night um, every year for our seniors who graduate so they have a safe place to go and celebrate. So that's what we'll be using
and we appreciate your help. Thank you. [Applause] Uh, the VFW [Applause] $383. Yep.
Coming down. So, I just want to say thank you uh for having us here for this uh you know for Freddy Ward um for the committee for the township. So, VFW8371 is here in Hillsboro. It's a veteran organization nonprofit. So, not only do
we support veterans for awareness, it's really a community- based enterprise. So, patriotism, Americanism, we partner with uh Boy Scout Troops 1776. We do the Girl Scout awards. We do flag ceremonies. So, there's a lot of stuff not only for the Boy Scouts, Girl
Scouts, veterans for community. So, what we've asked funds for was a projector and a portable projecting slides so we could showcase the work we do and showcase how great Hillsboro is. So, thank you very much, Anthony, if you have any words. Yes. No. No. Thank you.
All right. Thanks. Okay. Get ready. Here they come. The Rockett. $2,000. [Applause] Oh, and excuse me. And the Rockets. We
have a couple rockets in there. I know that's Hi, how are you? My name is Gloria Padet and I like on the from the Rockets. We are appreciate the advis. Thank you so much to the
advisory board. Thank you so much Hillsboro Township. And I just want to tell you a little bit about us. We go to nursing homes. We go to veterans hospitals. We go to assisted living. And we go to the wellness centers. And wherever we're asked to dance, we're
there. Right, girls? [Music] I am I am very I am very proud of these senior dancers. And our oldest one isn't here tonight. She's 93 years old.
And next to the youngest I call her. Come on, Sally. I know Sally because I am so impressed with her. Tell them how old you are, Sally. I'm 90 years old. Thank you, Hillsboro Township. We love
you. Thank you. Thank you. Stay up here, everybody. We have a picture. Slip in there. Thank you. All right. Does the mayor want to come? Get the other mayor.
Wait, let's move this. Can you put that back behind you? Thanks. [Applause] I still can't get closer. Closer. Even closer. Thank you.
[Applause] Look at it. [Music] I need to look like that one. How you doing? Should I make the uh You can make Some things never change.
Hit all the buttons. It's easy. We're going to get started with the uh business part of the meeting. So, we're going to get started with personnel items and appointments. Hi. Um, we have Did you talk?
We have six which we could I guess vote on in its entirety, but I think uh we want to take two of them because they're uh appointments are here with their families. So, we wanted to take uh
mayoral appointments that we're going to vote on. Um the first one is uh the mayor may mayoral appointed volunteer position of local historian and acknowledging the mayoral appointment of Greg Gillette. So we want do we want to take both sep each
one separately? How do we I would just recommend if the committee would just take uh consideration one and two separately since the families are here and they're here. If we could just take this those two separately vote on those two and then you can So the second one is a resolution establishing the
mayoral appointment appointed volunteer position of community engagement adviser to the mayor and acknowledging the mayoral appointment of Vivic Ralph. So we have those two four comments from the deis
right well just we need a motion first I don't want to I don't want to take Bill's job or Sarah's job need to make a motion that we could separate those two. So I'll take a motion and a second. So moved. Second. Okay. And any We need a roll call.
Do we need a roll call for that? All right. Roll call. Committee bing. Yes. Comm hand. And I'm sorry. We're voting on the motion or the just to take them separately. Take them separately. Just to take them separately. To take them separate. Yes. Yes. Mayor Payne. Yep. Mayor Jarlin.
Yes. Um All right. Any comments from the deis on those two appointments? I would just like to welcome both. I think this is uh Mr. Ralph and Mr. Gillette. I just we really appreciate
the volunteerism and um you know, I'll start with Mr. Gillette. Mr. Gillette, you're all over Facebook and and and in social media and and truly being a historian and and bringing to light the amazing history we have in this town. So, thank you for doing that. Mr. Ralph, thank you for all your work with the community and making sure you're
bridging um gaps and barriers for many different people and you care very much. So, you're just both very good people and thank you for being here. and and mayor just just a quick comment on on both uh first time Mr. Gillette to uh just as the historian over the years no matter what we ask he always does and
volunteers and done a lot of stuff throughout the building um and always has a great positive attitude especially for Mr. as well uh with uh faith-based community and other other volunteer uh committees as well. So, I think both uh are well known throughout the community. I think they're both really really good
appointment. So, thank you for volunteering your time. Yeah. Anybody else? If I could, mayor, I just um from being from the oldest one here, I'll be up from the history standpoint. Uh I think Mr. Gillette might be the only one that
knows as much about Hillsboro as maybe me. uh from being here as long. But in all seriousness, um Mr. Gillette has dived in and and through the Facebook page and everything has come up with very interesting tidbits about Hillsbor that honestly I didn't know and probably
most people didn't and I dare if we ever had a phone or friend on a on a quiz show for history on Hillsborough, he would be the one. But more importantly, we he's going to be very uh instrumental in moving forward for next year's 250th anniversary of the United States. So, we have a big uh program planned for
Hillsboro and he's part of it. Stay tuned for some things that uh he's going to help us with. So, I'm very excited that. And then obviously Mr. Ralph and since meeting him um about three years ago, it's been nothing but a a pleasure and a journey and sharing with me the um
the Hindu relationship between us and knowledge and um and caring and getting to understand your culture. And I think that has resonated through Hillsboro and we're better for it. Uh, thank you very much. So, I think it's just super cool to meet you in person because you've always just
been this person on Facebook who posts like the coolest pictures and things like that of our town. Um, I look forward literally I'm not a big Facebook in general person, but I love when your posts pops in my feed and I get to see like, "Hey, did you know that this is on
the corner or WS fill in?" I was like, "I did not." and you have sprouted more times than not family trips to just be like like we need to go find that place and like so it's you almost create like a little bit of um like almost like a Hillsboro
scavenger hunt kind of thing like it's actually it's super cool I think you're a huge asset to this town um and thank you for that and then Vive also I think what you bring to the table the way that you're marrying the Hindi culture with the American culture and bridging that
gap for so many folks, not just the people on this deis, but just the people in the community in general. Like I have like so many good friends now. Um Shaylee's artwork is on my bedroom wall. Like all the cool things. And that that would have never happened had you not
taken the time to do this. So again, both of you, just thank you for your time. This is awesome. [Applause] Any other comments? No, I would just say um you know I I've had the pleasure of working with uh Mr.
Gillette on the hill on the historic preservation committee and obviously VC and I have met multiple times at at events. So I think what would be helpful for the public is if the mayor could really share just about the you know the description of the positions, the
posting process and you know how many people applied just so we understand you know how fabulous it is that you rose to the to the top of all the people that must have applied for this really um neat position. So that would be great if
the mayor could just provide provide that information. That would be great. These are new appointments. It's a mayoral appointment. There's no It was um so there's no proven there's no set process. Greg Gillette was the historian. I called him the historian a
couple meetings ago uh by by kind of uh by by de facto. Um so we're acknowledging him him as his mayoral appointment as our local historian. So congratulations. Um I mean it's clear what you've done for the community. uh
VVC has been involved with the youth uh the youth community youth engaging the youth engaging his Indian community we've been talking about Hispanic community outreach uh the rel the um uh faith-based thank you um and other
communities so uh he's he's risen and proven himself to me as a worthy adviser and um as well as as uh I know well yeah municipal alliance so the liaison um all speak highly of of the work he's
doing. So we really appreciate uh the engagement and the insight he's given us to the various communities and like I said while Hindu and Indian is his main thrust we're uh leveraging that to to others and broadening it. So uh I
welcome that advice. So thank you both. So so I'm sorry. So this would just these you just created them. Yes, we resolution creates them. The re the resolution creates them. Okay. And I would just think, you know,
it would be fabulous if we really looked across our community to see, you know, anyone who wants to come forward and volunteer. I would encourage anyone within the community who wants to come forward. uh you know whether it's um these types of positions or if you have
suggestions for other positions if the mayor can create them then um people should definitely come forward with whatever interest group they have and and we could look at um other mayoral appointments. So thanks for clarifying that.
All right. So do we need comments from the roll call or comments from the public? Comments from the floor. Any comments from the public? Yeah, you're put the mic right in the middle. You moved. Yeah, you don't mind. Move it out here in the middle. Yeah, that's good.
Face you guys. Okay. Um, first of all, I would like to thank um Anthony Ferrer for bringing this suggestion to the township committee as I understand that's how it happened at Township Committee for considering it and the mayor for making the appointment, creating the position. Um, New Jersey uh
recognizes and uh establishes the ability for uh local municipalities to create the position of local historian. They see it as a benefit to not only the town but to the state in general. Uh there are guidelines and things you're supposed to do as local historian, which I guess I'm going to have to read now
since I've just been appointed, but that that'll be uh some fun reading for the next uh couple weeks uh to find out about that. Uh I know one of the things is to work with the county uh historian and the people at the ca at the county level. They're doing that and um the
last time I looked or had AI look for me. Uh there are 17 municipalities in Hunter County had local historian but only a couple in Somerset County. I think it was um Bridgewater and maybe Bernard's Township. There may there may be more but that's all I could find. So
Hillsboro would be the third. Um, and I think it's as um uh uh Committeeman Leani mentioned, we are heading into uh the 250th um an uh anniversary of the uh founding of America next year. Uh I think it's beneficial to have local
historian. I'm very um thankful that you appointed me tonight to this position. And I also want to thank um my wife who uh always lets me do all these crazy things including those like a hundred years on the school board which was frankly that that was a lot harder than this is going to be. This is going to be
a breeze and uh and of course my uh kids Amanda and Will who uh had to give up all all the time uh writing my Facebook page and which I could be spending with them but there you go. So uh thank you again [Applause] mayor. Just one thing I wanted to Mr.
Gillette mentioned about the 250. It's an important and he's on our team but also in naming him as a historian. It also could help potentially with some grants moving forward as well that we actually are one of the few in Somerset County that will now have this moving forward and will also help with the
grant uh application process. Right. Anybody else? First all think thank you committee and mayor. What you say is absolutely right. This is coming from mayor and township committee people. I really appreciate
and happy about what you give me responsibilities. I always there for community always there for anybody in community or committee who need my help to introduce you different culture different people different temples different mandis different uh different
language people and that's what my goal is. My goal is to not focus on me. My goal is not focus on Indian community. My main goal is to bring community together, bring business bridges together. Your opinions and everything
is one thing but let's spread some love and harmony and peace and that's the main core value what I'm carrying over. That's the more core value we are carrying over. And I'm welcome everybody today in my community, my people and all
of you. Just count me for anything and everything. I'm there for answers. Anything. If you don't like anything, just please tell me I don't like this. Be honest with me. I will there for you and I will make sure I correct that part for myself and my community. And thank
you again for Mr. Mayor uh Anthony on all committee member. Thank you. Namaste. [Applause] Any other comments from the floor? I need to get some ground rules here. Since we're doing two people and two
separate items, I'm assuming I get three minutes for each of these nominations. So, Mr. VC Rayo, which I have one question for the township committee. Uh, I don't know him and I am asking who is
he? Why is he being chosen for this community engagement advisor's position? What is this position and what purpose is it supposed to serve in the township? Or even who will he report to? None of
that's been made clear at all. Is it simply a madeup position for Mr. Rayo? As far as I can tell, you've not advertised, as you've indicated, to find the best qualified candidates for this position, and he may be incredibly qualified, but I don't know. I haven't
seen a resume. And I would suggest that when you advertise for a position, you would seek people's resumes to find out who the best qualified candidates for this position would be. You've also not provided any information to the public
to demonstrate how he is the most qualified person for this position. And again, it's not a criticism of him. I just don't know him. And I would want to get the best person possible. So, if we could get some clarity with regards to his qualifications or is this
just a means for, hate to say it, but the Republican le majority to groom him for some sort of position here? Um, inquiring minds want to know and helping to provide facts to the public will help uh help to convince
us that governmental transparency might actually exist for a few fleeting moments in Hillsboro. As to Mr. Gillette, I find it ironic that this Republican le
township committee is moving to appoint Mr. Gillette as a local historian. I'm not sure how many of you are aware that in 2015 when the issue of the demolition of the historic Doris Duke mansion came before the township's historic preservation commission, Mr. Gillette
was a member of the commission. Even though all admitted that this residence and the accompanying structures were indeed legally qualified as historic contributing structures as determined by the United States Secretary of Interior standards
and the state's historic preservation office, Mr. Gillette voted to approve the demolition of Doris Duke's only residence. Mr. Gillette played an active role in helping to demolish helping to demolish one of the most important and
tourism dollar drawing attraction in Hillsboro. So to the extent that Mr. Gillette played an active role in helping to destroy some of Hillsboro's history. I would argue there are better candidates to be chosen
and who have committed themselves to saving as much history and historic structures that are left in Hillsboro. It's too easy to destroy our history and then act to forget it. And Mr. Gillette has demonstrated a callous disregard for protecting our history and preserving
our historic structures. It's often said that we best lead by our examples and suffice to state the example that Mr. Let pres presented as to Dor's I'm sorry as to Doris Duke's historic residence
leaves him with a big black eye and I maintain he's a terrible example of a person to be chosen as local historian although I guess he is perfectly qualified to discuss how he personally helped to destroy some of our history
except that is part of our history that should have never happened. I would ask you all to vote no on his nomination. Thank you. Any other Thank you. Any other members of the public want to comment?
Okay, seeing none, should we move to roll call on one and two? Do we have a formal motion second? Did we No, we do we had do we have the for motion to take them separately? So, a motion and a second to approve. So moved. Yes. Second.
Roll call. Committing. Before I vote officially yes to this, I just want to ju just acknowledge that um that was incredibly aggressive and rude towards these two people who are working incredibly hard to do the right thing.
And I am just very sorry for to the both of you that you had to witness and had to deal with that. That was politically motivated. I am uh I I just the answer is yes. and you guys are just two fantastic people. Thank you for being here and thank you for volunteering your time. You're very good people and I'm sorry you had to deal with that.
Committee woman hand. Aside from your your comments, um I think this is very transparent. It's unfortunate. It is very transparent what is going on. Um, I will uh
move forward with uh I will say yes because these are mayoral appointments and apparently the mayor who is chosen amongst the five of us has the um ability to choose and appoint people in
whatever position. So I just hope folks take that into consideration when they use their voices. Committ um two things. Mayor appointments have been happening on for all the different committees for long before I was here
and they're exactly that. They're mayoral appointments. They do not need the consent of the u deis other than for the vote. um he has a chance to appoint whomever or he or she deems fit and it's been that way.
The qualifications have been stated, they are very qualified. Uh I would find that uh Mr. Gillette is by far as qualified as anybody else that would come here. He knows our town and he's worked with us. So as a first nomination, I think it meets the
criteria and fills the bill very well. Um, so to come up here and question their integrity is I feel in distaste. Um, and I will vote yes. Deputy Mayor B.
So again, my comments, Dick, I think you are being generous with your time, giving it back to the community, and we appreciate it thoroughly. And again, unfortunately, um, everything apparently lately has to be politically motivated. Um, I just think that you're good people
doing the right thing and I thank you for that very much and I apologize to your family. Uh, yes, Mayor Jelly. Uh, yes. I'm proud of these selections. Uh, they've volunteered. They've been they were volunteering
before tonight and now we're we're officially establishing this mayor appointed these mayor mayoral appointed positions. So with that, mayor, if I could just say one thing because I was involved with the Doris Duke estate,
uh, with respect to that property, uh, everybody should know, the public should know that that was a request by the people who were charged with administrating her trust and her wishes. That was that was their charge. They were the ones who brought that application before the historic commission. It wasn't Mr. Gillette who
decided it. They're the ones who brought it be before them. and they are the legal representatives of that estate. Uh they filed that application and it was a legal decision as to whether or not they had the right to demolish it. That was made by the historic commission. I think
it was a I forget how many people voted at the time, but there was only one vote that was no. Otherwise, it was unanimous amongst the rest of them. Uh Mr. Brookke, who was very involved in that transaction, uh then decided to appeal that decision to the uh to superior
court. The judge agreed with the position taken by the store commission and then he went further and appealed it to the appellet division and the appellet division further agreed with that decision. So it was uh people charged with the legal
rights to manage her estate making a decision and that was supported by the entire legal system and I was on the committee at that time and what Mr. world is saying is absolutely correct and they've now gone on to build two beautiful structures and
I was in that house and I know people were upset at the time but it did need to go down for the other structures that they've now put up. So what Mr. Willard has stated is absolutely correct because I was on the committee at that time and I would like to clarify that
like regardless of of whom was appointed I think just the concept of the way that this can just be made up um with answering the question was was Mr. Brooks accusation that Mr. Gillette was
it was a matter of the fact that it can just be made up regardless of the people um being appointed. So I'm sorry that this is happening um with the family for sure. Um but I think the the whole process uh should be reviewed and and folks should
have a an ability to apply to positions. So thank you and your children should be proud of you guys for being here. All right. Three, four, five, and six. Yes, thank you. Um the business that part is over
if you wish to leave. But uh typically we do these personnel appointments um before we get to the other business parts of it. Uh three. So does anybody want to take a picture? Yeah. Yeah. Let's do you were going to take a picture, mayor,
before all the nonsense happened. So you want to take a picture? Yeah, we'll do we'll do I'm sure. Yep, you got it. Yours first. Hold on.
I can't juggle multiple phones like Eric can. Oh, that's right. Eric lost. Okay. Thank you. Three through six. So, is there a motion? Well, does anybody
want to take any of three, four, five, or six separately? Hearing none. Okay. Can I have a motion and a second to approve three through six? So moved. Seconded. Mayor, sorry I didn't want to take them separate, but I just did want to call
out resolution number four of the hiring of Joseph tomorrow for position of part-time alternate crossing guard and uh resolution number six for the hiring of Elena uh Kickas for the position of part-time violations uh municipal in the
municipal court office. Just want to welcome uh those uh new part-time employees. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. And I congratulate the uh all the officers who've uh moved to permanent status. That's a nice I remember swearing them in and now it's a it's
good to see them getting sworn in. Um committing anything on four to six? No. Congratulations everybody. Three through six. Sorry. Uh committ hand. Anything on three through six? Congratulations, Commani
Dto. Deputy Mayor, same. All right, so roll call. Uh, sorry. Comments from the floor. Can you move the mic over for her?
actually prefer it over here. [Music] I would like to Judy Hos Titus Court. Um I would like to know what the current census of the police department is. How many police officers do we have in the
town right now? And what will the number be when we add three to it? I know x + 3, but what's x? Steve, do you happen to know offhand how many you have? I don't either. Offhand. Well, we have people rolling off, too.
So, it's a So, these are replacements. How many people are rolling off? Six have rolled off in the past year. Why? Retirement. Retirement. All retirement. Mostly retirement. Um, and then we did we lost somebody else to another town, I
believe. So, we lost um one uh he would never made it off past probation. Well, according to your user friendly budget, okay, you had 60 police officers in 2022,
67 in 2023, 67 in 2024, and 60 in 2025. There you go. Those are the budgeted positions for the police department and I for one would really like to
understand why that number is going down. Retirements we're behind. Excuse me. When somebody retires the number doesn't go down. The budgeted position doesn't go down necessarily unless you make that decision.
So we are in the process of increasing our I'm sorry this is not question. I'm sorry. I think we've authorized up to 70, right? We have. Yeah. To give the the town to to give the the
the force the opportunity to hire um to hire. So they have six vacancies and they're recommending working on it. Recommending right now to hire three and nobody knows how many people are currently on the force. Again, it's in flux right now because we
just had retirements. I would imagine it's always in flux, but everybody on this data should know what the number is. Okay. Thank you for any other comments. Later.
Any other comments from the floor public? Nope. Roll call, please. Committeeman Bing, yes. Committeewoman Hand, yes. Committeeman Ponyi, yes. Deputy Mayor Payne, yes. Mayor Cherelli.
Yes. All right. So, now to the consent agenda 1 through 19. Is there any uh Hold on a second here. So,
we have consent agenda 1 through 19. Do I read that statement about the comments now or now? So, we're going to hear all Yeah, here we go. Sorry. We are going to hear all comments first. After that, if any committee member would like to take any item from the consent agenda
separately for voting purposes, we'll give you the opportunity to do so. There's no need to take items separately for the purposes of commenting or questioning. So, we can, you know, they're all on the table for that. And then, um, okay. So consent agenda items
1 through 19 as far as taking any separately or commenting on them. the I I'm going to start and um with consent agenda number 18,
which is the resolution opposing New Jersey's current affordable housing compliance program and procedures of the Fair Share Housing Act and requesting further legislative action to address the unfair and unjust practices therein. Uh we brought this resolution because
there are towns um who are in a in the same similar boat as us where as of the date of this resolution we are fully believe that we complied with all applicable requirements filings and deadlines set forth by the uh fair share housing and
their directives. And we've found that what we've been finding is that there are deadlines that are not held strictly against the program and the courts, but it's only held against us. Um, they've issued the courts and program have issued varied and
inconsistent and contradictory recommendations and decisions with regard to the methodologies utilized in determining the municipality's present perspective needs for their affordable housing obligations. It it's I and I
find the inconsist We went through this today. Um that the the the numbers are changing. They're moving the goalposts. It's inconsistent and it's disrespectful to all of the work that we've put in over all these months
to get to our affordable housing number for them to disregard and now say, "Oh, that doesn't matter. We're going to change it." And that's what's going on in these mediations and and the alleged dispute resolutions. Um we think that these these unrealistic
requirements are are being pushed down on on communities resulting in excessive overdevelopment. It's the these obligations force municipalities to overdevelop inclusionary housing and all the market rate. They they they produce more market
rate than um than affordable housing. The township requires 24% of new developments and we're getting crap for that from the state. You believe that? We're we're requiring more than the state the minimum the state requires and they're giving us a hard time about
requiring 24%. I I just I find that unconscionable. And so we're calling on our assemblyman Roy Fryman, our assemblywoman Mitchell Dr. Dulis, Andrew Zwicker, our senator,
to publicly support our proposed affordable housing number. We got the number down from 565 to 223, more than 50%. We have some opportunities right now. And uh we want we want them to public support publicly support our proposed
affordable housing number and support the township's position that a revised developed land use calculation that's more just and sustain sustainable for determining the prospective obligations be developed. And so we're we're demanding that they enact further further amendments and provide a more
fair and just method for addressing affordable housing obligations throughout the state. I mean, they they want to make affordable housing and it makes the price of of real estate and property more unaffordable. We're developing more market rate houses and
it it's just we we just think that they should revise it and use use take um input from our municipalities to um to to take that into account when they're developing their changes. and
we're sending this on to the Senate Senate President, the the state league of municipalities who stands behind this. And uh so that's that's what this resolution is about. We're standing up for Hillsboro. We're standing up for the work we did. I mean, the the the
ludicrous part is they say that that they acknowledge fully acknowledge that there's property that's not developable. It's owned by the state. It's owned by the the the county or the township. farmland preservation, but they don't change their number. That I find disrespectful to everybody who's put
work in. So that's why this is on here. We want more help. We want more support from the people who can actually influence the laws. And for that reason, we've put this on here to vote on it. Number 19, joining the Jersey Strong Coalition um and signing a letter of
support on behalf of the township. That's a a but we are asking for we we are asking we're signing on. I'm asking as mayor I could have unilaterally signed it but I felt it should come to
the the uh deis so we have some support from the from the township committee on this um coalition on support of support of the township for this uh that promotes to promote and advocate for alternative clean energy
solutions that are environmentally and economically sustainable for New Jersey. Um, we we do recognize the importance of balancing sustainable energy and those goals with the local economy, the well-being of citizens, but the plan as
has been implemented, but right now has been has resulted in excessive electricity prices. It's just it was they ripped the band-aid off. Maybe they maybe that's the only way to get things done. But it's this is not against wind
power. It's against the way they implemented these policies that that they they just shut down nuclear plant. They shut down coal plants. They shut down anything without having a good backup plan other than to go to the the the energy swap. And so now we're we're
buying energy from outside of the state. And you're everybody knows that their their electricity bills went up. Well, so did ours. So did the townships. We got to turn the lights on. So, we're we are we are joining we I'm I'm asking
that uh I'm authorized to go forward with this copy of the of this resolution and sign on to that letter to join the coalition. And it's not just about Coast. There's a lot of let's say landlocked counties and townships and municipalities that are joining this for the same reason that it
affected our energy costs. It was bad policy and it needs to be revised. So, those are the two that I wanted to comment on. I don't know if anybody wants to add to those and then we can add more to the to the uh to the mix. So, are you going in order? How you handle? Um,
yes. Yeah, why not? Sure. All right. So, um No, I'm not going to anything to 18 or 19. I think you cover that. So, uh as it relates to uh consent agendas this evening, number 10 and 11, happy I thought you were going to comment on Oh, no. Do you want me to you want me do 18 and 19 or you want me to go the other ones? No, no, you've said enough there.
I think those are the only two that I want to talk about. So that's what you Yep, that's fine. Then I'll make my comments when I vote on the other. Okay. Committee want to hand any anything on 18 and 19? I'm sorry. We're addressing those two last or first? Yeah.
I I So I went first. I picked 18 and 19 because I think the others are on here. Yes. To be approved. We'll talk about 18 and 19 and then if Mr. If if committeeman Britting wants to bring up any of the other ones, we'll talk about those.
Or any committee person could just please uh Committeeman Britting, you you had questions on 10 and 11. Please go ahead. Uh no, I'm running the meeting here. I'll follow this process. It's fine. Doesn't matter to me. No. So, do you have any comments on 1819? No, I'll I'll follow your process. Do you have any comments on 1819?
No. Let me think of some. Please pass. Committeeman Leani. Okay. So, um, when it comes to the fair share, um, and the and the law that was
passed, it has become in sitting down and maybe the mayor and I have evolently more knowledge because we are in the meetings talking to our professionals where maybe some other members are not and just getting whatever they read on the
internet. Um, some of the planners that we work for work for other towns and is becoming abundantly clear that the rules don't apply if it's not in their favor. So, the lake and van, as the mayor said,
uh, vacant land analysis now is maybe not so important if it doesn't meet their need. the deadlines that we had to have our stuff in or become non-compliant, their deadlines to meet immediation and other things, they've missed and and far
exceeded those numbers. Doesn't matter. The um whole process is being run by a retired judge, a um
advocate for fair share. the abundance of people protesting the number and it's um become abundantly clear that nobody has control of the situation
which is wrong for Hillsboro and every town in New Jersey to be fair. Why go through all the work and the money that Hillsboro spent on our professionals to get the plan together to submit it on time and and be now
basically taking it like this with a flame torch on it and blow it up and says, "Well, it's not really what we wanted from you, so it's going to be you're going to disregard it." And I'm not talking just in Hillsboro. This is what I've been told by Jen Beam, who is our our outside planner, who just got
done with three mediations with other towns. So, who has the power? The state legislature has the power. Who drove the law to make sure that the rules are being followed? Because if they are following the rules, then how do you have a plan?
You don't. You have chaos. And people of Hillsboro, that's what we have right now. we have chaos. So, um the fair share number we've in a plan and we hope that they
would support our our plan which is best and sustainable for Hillsboro. Don't know if it's actually going to happen, but we're prepared to fight every level of the court to s to make it work. This letter is just asking them to
come help. Number two, there isn't a person in this room that says their electric bill isn't higher than it was a year ago. It would be disingenuous to say that it isn't. So, the plan is not working.
So, plans come out and then they get changed if if it realizes it's not working right. That's what this is about. We're asking for a review of what the plan is because it's hurting the people of this state and this town and
this municipality. I don't think it's hard. I don't even think it's politics. I think it's fact. I think if you go and you open up your electric bill, you see it. And if you didn't notice, the gas bill went up, too. But they snuck that in over the summer because nobody uses their gas
until the winter time. So, watch look at your rate of your gas bill because it went up. But no one noticed that yet because you haven't turned your heater on. So I don't think this is a uh hard lift. It's just assigning a letter to ask for support to review it.
That's all I say. I think you did enough. Thank you. Uh committeeman pretty items on the consent agenda you want agenda. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, no. Happy to see it from a public safety standpoint that we are
continuously supporting the police with uh with the mobile devices they need and the license plate readers. That's done a wonderful job. Just thank you to the police officers for catching criminals before in the act or before it happens and and connecting that directly to the FBI and all the great services that we
have rel relative to the uh resources they have. So, thank you for continuing to do your jobs. uh public works 8 91 12 13 and 14 all go towards um helping uh make sure that Hillsboro is a uh safer place as it relates to our public works department. That's a great thing that
we're supporting there. A couple being that we are uh replacing a plow truck hack for the township building. We know we had a challenge there. We need to fix um a leaf pickup hiring for the leaf pickup program which everybody in the township supports and is really in need of a lot of beautiful trees and we need
to make sure the leaves are moved on. So thank you to the public horse department for doing what you're doing. we're supporting you here and then recreation social services in relation to the senior exercise program as well too in item number 16. So, a lot of good things going on through this uh consent agenda today. So, happy to vote yes on all this when we get to
blasting through a bunch there. Um All right. Anybody have anything to add to what for those? What did you do? Uh eight just eight nine just all of them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you want to highlight the fact
that the fact that there's some specific themes that we're focused on. Yeah. Those areas, public safety, public works, and social services, right? Yep. Next person. All right. All right. Committee woman hand.
So, I would like to make a motion for 18 to be taken separately. We'll get to that. Okay. Thank you. We already said we would do that. So go on. Any other comments on on any of the on
the balance or one through one through are you taking 18 and 19 separately then? Yes. So they haven't been done yet. All right. So thank you. So um that's fine.
You can take them separately. So, do you want to comment on any other items on the consent agenda? That's where we are right now. Committee woman committee. Um, with the hour being late, uh, I will
I will just say that, uh, everything on here is for the public welfare and safety of our municipality, which we've been talking about for the last 10 months. not only our library but our police, our our p our DPW, our seniors.
This is everything that we said we were going to do this year. This is a continuation of that. Deputy Mayor. Yeah. So, this is the transparency of the budget, right? We went through this a couple months back when we outlined every line on the budget, what it was
for, why it was coming. This is it. So really glad that we're able to move forward with those items and keep all of our departments up to date and with technology for a change instead of behind it. Um and you know just good
that we got it on the agenda before the year closed. Thank you. I will say it is exciting that number six is on here for the Mandel property that has been sitting as a you know um giant item on the debt service. I wish this would have been
done years ago because um this this purchase was made um years ago. So I think it was like 2018 for 14 million. So again, had we had we looked at doing um farm island preservation back in the
day, I think we could have gotten um a better price on the acreage there. But look, I'm I'm glad we're moving forward with it now um to try to do something with that because right now we're just paying a giant amount of interest on um on that. So
since since you brought it up and I wasn't going to bring it up, but we've been waiting for the county to partner with us to farmland preservation this for since I was mayor. That was over three years ago and they've been dragging their feet so far that we went
over their heads and went straight to the state and in eight months we got this letter of intent. So yes, it's been on the books for a while, but we've been waiting for the county to partner with us and they have done nothing. zero zip, nada, nothing to come forward. They kept
dragging their feet, pushing it off. So, we went over their head, went to the state. It's done and it's going to be approved by next year. So, the county is costing taxpayer dollars. Thank you. All right. So, you brought your question,
Committeeman Ley. I really hope and I'm I'm confident because I was not um on the deis in 2018, but I am, you know, I really hope that the township partnered proactively with the county and didn't just kind of maybe go out and buy the property and then and then hope that the
county was going to save the day because they save our bacon quite a bit. Quite a bit. So, uh, so this land has been, this land has been on the master plan from the county to acquire. When I was on the planning board, the county planning board when we approached to buy this
land, we've talked to the to the commissioners. They were all for it and I said, "Okay, we're going to get it, take it on the roll because this is in their master plan to get this land. It's Paul Drake shared this with me when this happened." Right after that happened, we started tried to start the process to
get this farmland preservation with the county and nothing happened. So yes, we did try, yes, we did contact them. Yes, they are fully aware of this land and the value of the master plan and nothing happened. So I'm happy to make you
understand where it came from. And just uh further because I was part of that negotiations uh and they the people that actually sold it to us said they had developers that wanted to pay over 30 million for that property, but they wanted to do the right thing. Uh in
Hillsboro, they were longtime um people that were here and living here. And that 14 million was probably less than half what they probably could have received from a developer. and looking at what we're going to do now. Um, when we we look at this property that we can now
preserve it, it's going to end up costing the township zero when we're through the process. Okay. Um, let's open up to public comment on one through 19. Anybody from the public would like to
comment on 1 through 19, please come up. Hi, Jody Green, 21 Bloomingdale Drive. Um, I wanted to talk about uh resolution 19 about signing on uh with the Jersey Strong Coastal Coalition. Um, I took a
look at their website and all I see on there, they don't talk anything about shutting down any other types of energy. Um, they just complain about the the way it would look really. Um, but I
do have this to say. Dirty fossil fuels are harming our communities. Our changing climate is creating stronger and more dangerous storms and putting our communities at risk of flooding. As seen just yesterday, the temperature of our ocean is rising, threatening marine
life and coastal erosion. And our communities breathe some of the most polluted air in the nation. These problems will only worsen if we do not transition to 100% clean renewable energy. Offshore wind is a clean, renewable energy source that will help fight the
climate crisis, build our economy, and improve our family's health. New Jersey has the opportunity to be a pioneer in this effort, and offer clean, affordable electricity to our state. With hundreds of miles of shoreline and strong wind flows in the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey
is perfectly positioned to build the nation's largest network of responsibly developed offshore wind projects that can provide renewable and reliable energy to power New Jersey homes, businesses, and economy. Investing in offshore wind will create thousands of
goodaying union jobs in New Jersey and has the potential to revitalize our communities and boost our ecourism along the shore all while providing us clean renewable energy. Thank you. Thank you.
I'm also commenting on the um resolution. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Um I'm also commenting on state your name and address. State your name and address for the record. Katherine Marshall, 251 Gemini Drive 3C. Um,
basically my understanding of this letter is that you're actually shutting down any possibility of wind. And I don't think that's the correct thing to do. There are actually no active wind projects at the moment anyway. But you're even just shutting down the possibility that even
though there might be something more efficient and better in the future, you're just shutting it down completely. And I just think that's wrong. And frankly, we earlier in this meeting, I heard the mention of, oh, we need to build out the infrastructure for EVs. The use of electricity is just going to
go up and up and up. Everyone's talking about these AI data centers sucking up energy. And the mix we have now, it is it's gone up in price um because we had to, I guess, go on this open market and bid for energy. We should be producing
our own energy, clean energy, and wind can help meet that demand. It's been very successful all up and down the East Coast. It could be very successful in New Jersey. So, I don't like the idea of shutting down the option completely. I just don't think we should be signing anything that says don't do it at all
ever. It's just not right as far as I'm concerned. Thank you. Thank you. I just want to clarify that there are two active wind farms in the state of New Jersey right now. David Brookke. And since we're on the
topic of I guess it's the Jersey Strong, I find it interesting that we're blaming the boogeyman out there for the fact that electricity went up. It has nothing to do with wind energy. And I'm curious who wrote this thing and who reviewed it
because it's who reviewed it for facts because it isn't factual and you're either being misled or you're trying to mislead the public. Wind turbines have nothing to do with this
resolution. And I guess my question is what are you doing here? To me, this resolution is a joke. And I must admit that everyone's laughing at it. It reminds me when Sarah Palin, who lived in Alaska, stated she could see Russia from her
house. Can any of you see the ocean from Hillsboro? I don't think so. And I think you've overstepped the bounds of absurdity here and your elected responsibilities. You state you want to protect coastal resources. This has nothing to do with
that. It has to do with apparently promoting nuclear power or some other thing. If you want to really protect the shore communities, you should be endorsing all technologies, including wind energy that reduce our dependence,
as was mentioned before, on fossil fuels. Look, climate change is causing the rise in sea levels and the actual destruction of our coastline. Coastal communities are being destroyed by the most recent powerful nor easter storms like yesterday and hurricanes are
getting stronger and more destructive caused by the warming ocean and the atmosphere. Wind energy, I think I thought you would all agree, is one way to fight back to slow climate change brought on by continued consumption of fossil fuels.
And you folks apparently are now tools of the fossil fuel industry. If you go and support this thing, if you really want to protect the residents in Hillsboro and all residents in New Jersey, you should be endorsing all clean energy technologies that reduce
our use of f fossil fuels and not by signing on to support some dubious group that doesn't like wind turbines. You also should do your homework as to who runs this group and their own compliance with the law. For example, they're a registered charity in New Jersey.
They're listed as non-compliant by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Affairs for failing to provide annual registrations since 2021. You support this group? A group that's not compliant not compliant with the
law. Okay. They failed to file their federal tax returns for the years 2020 to 2024. Oh, you're supporting a group that is non-compliant with the IRS. They only filed one in 2024 to update some things.
In addition, Charity Navigator, which monitors nonprofits, rated them with two stars out of four with a 61% rating since they have failed to provide sufficient information as to their own accountability and their finance. So again, you're endorsing a group that is
dubious and questionable. And do you even know who runs this organization? And shouldn't you know all that first before you go and act on some very strange resolution that nobody has talked about where it came from or who wrote it. Your credibility on the line.
I'm sorry. Your credibility is on the line if you pass this resolution. Your credibility is on the line if you pass this resolution. So, I would suggest you do more homework before you act and maybe focus on addressing the myriad of problems that we have in
Hillsboro first. After you fix everything here, then maybe you can look about how we want to generate electricity or the cost of gas or how the mix is, right? It's complex and
you're trying to make it sound so simple. And as it relates to electricity, I'm not paying for electricity because I have a solar system that generates what I need. And if we all went and did that, we wouldn't even be having a silly resolution like
this. So my electric bill did not go up, Mr. Leani. And I think people who have invested in renewables are also seeing that now. We all need to invest in renewables. And that's one of the ways that we are going to make Hillsboro,
New Jersey, and this country a more sustainable place to live. Thank you. And I really would appreciate if somebody could explain where this resolution came from and whether Mr. Willard as your attorney thoroughly reviewed it to identify whether in fact
it is based on fact or whether you're just taking some lobbyist from the industry and putting it into a resolution. Please don't do that. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Any other comments from the floor on one through 19? 1 through 19. 1 through 20. No, 19. No, for them it's all Yeah. Um, I'd like to talk about item
number six, uh, which is a 120day update. Please state your name and address for the record. Excuse me. Judy Hos, Titus Court, Hillsboro. Um, resolution number six, authorizing the mayor and township clerk to execute a
120day option agreement with the state agriculture development committee. Okay. Um, so the purpose of this 120 days, in case anybody doesn't know that, uh, is so that the SADC can conduct two
appraisals, oh my god, two appraisals, uh, on property in order to make an offer for an easement purchase based on the traditional valuation methodology. And I, for one, cannot wait to see what that number is.
Uh, my belief, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, was that when you purchased the property, you had one appraisal. How many did you have? Okay, that's great. But, uh, the 30 some odd plus,000
an acre that you paid seemed very high to me at that time, which was actually four years ago in 2021, July 13th. If I Are you in the real estate market? Excuse me. Are you an appraiser? Sean, what's that? Are you a real estate market? I can't hear you. Committee Leani, just let her finish her
comments. Okay. So, the bottom line is we'll finally see what that property is worth four years later. And as far as the county is concerned, my experience with the county, not that I speak for them at all, is that when they have their own
priority list of um they have their own priority list of properties that they seek to purchase. And yes, this may have been attractive to them. And they also have a very robust staff that evaluates and weighs
whether or not properties are are worth pursuing and they pursu pursue property in a very very professional way. So, um, the fact that you went out and jumped the gun on them, not necessarily a good
thing, but once again, the taxpayers of Hillsboro will get to live with that. Um, to the tune of four years of debt service for 100% of the purchase price of a property that would be incapable of being developed for anything. So, yes,
it will be farm. the state will pay for a 50% easement at the price that they decide based on their two appraisals. So, I'm very happy about that happening and
um I'll give other people a chance to speak about other things before I come back on a please uh if you can do one through 19. Please cover them what you have. Yeah. Well, that's disappointing. Um, for whatever it's worth, I've read all your
documents, all your court papers on this thing. I have yet to see one document that claims that you have succeeded in reducing the 565 number, despite the fact that you claim that in this in in this resolution that you seek to
tell the people of Hillsboro the truth. I've also seen it on much of your campaign material, which is not appreciated. Um, the bottom line is I've spent a lot of time on fair housing in my lifetime and I'd like to just remind you where it came from.
The fair federal fair housing act came in 1968 after a hundred years post civil war of discrimination and house discrimination of all sorts. Um we had um
discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. The US law since 1968 passed one week after Martin Luther King was assassinated.
And it was a response to a century of systemic policies and practices that had intentionally built segregated America. And whenever I see a resolution that is called resolution opposing
New Jerseyy's current affordable housing compliance program and procedures of the Fair Housing Act, it occurs to me that if you're not in favor of a fair housing act, you're in favor of an unfair housing situation.
You haven't perhaps lived through restrictive covenants on deeds, telling people that they couldn't sell their house to certain people, redlinining, blockbusting, and exclusionary zoning steering. Okay,
this legislation was supposed to stop all of that. And whenever I hear people say, "We don't want affordable housing in the town." What do you want? Unaffordable housing? Seems like we have an awful lot of that in this town right now. So, seriously, you need to take
this seriously. Everybody else in the state has an obligation. They're doing their best to fulfill it. And I think Hillsboro should not be proud of itself for doing everything it can to stick a roadblock in a leg a piece of legislation that was meant for every
good purpose. So, thanks. Thank Thank you. Just a point of clarification, the Federal Fair Housing Act has nothing to do with what's going on in New Jersey with regards with regards to afforded housing obligations. Uh two two different subjects.
Yeah, David Brookke, I didn't realize we were doing all at once, so I would like to just mention the affordable housing resolution. Also, um, this proposed resolution, as I have renamed it, is
quote, "The blame everyone except ourselves resolution. I think it's misdirected and the public needs to know that the problem here is not the law. It's the failure of this, wait for it, Republican le majority
on this committee to accept your legal responsibilities to plan and construct affordable housing. This resolution and its over 18 complex whereas provisions is simply a means to
deflect your own legal responsibilities in an effort to blame everyone else for what I would call an abysmal failure to follow the law and construct affordable housing. There is a problem here and the
problem is not the law. It is Mr. Mr. Leani, Miss Payne, Mr. Cicerelli, and Mr. Britting. Each of you continue to fight a losing battle. We continue to lose at the state
agencies. We continue to lose in court. And we, the residents, continue to lose as we foot the bill for your mistakes and see huge increases in our taxes caused by increased legal expenses and
the overpopulation that's been caused by your formula that increases schoolage children fourfold instead of just one. I get it. The best defense is a good offense. But your failure to properly
explore more creative, viable ways to comply with the law is costing everyone in this township more and more money. You have lost each legal battle and now you want to blame the state for a
problem of your own creation. There's also now 12 legal challenges that were just brought against Hillsboro. And if I may say it this way, you have lied to the public about your resolution, apparently taking credit that you have
lowered the mandated units from 565 to 223 when your own legal counsel, Mr. Bernstein, has stated to the court that it's not 223, but 383 units at a minimum. And by the
way, that issue is still undecided by the courts. So it may ultimately stay with 565. So I don't believe anybody can take credit for a lower number when that number is hypothetical. I would suggest
somebody saying to me about stop playing politics. I would suggest that you stop playing politics and start focusing on affordability in this township since your tax increases are pricing everyone out of town.
Humor is always good. I appreciate it. That's adorable. Also, I also have to ask a silly question here. I also have to ask if you hate people if you hate people who live in these affordable units because I look at at least one of these developments.
Why have you, not you personally, but the planning board with the consent of the committee allowed overt discrimination like the Eminem development behind the Kohl's and the Lowe's that are only building market rate housing there where there are
services that you can walk to for food, clothing, and building supplies, but then locating all the affordable units on Campla Road across from the junkyard with no nearby services. One has to wonder what kind of decisions
were made there. I would ask that you withdraw this proposed resolution since I don't think it really has any legal authority or weight other than complaining about things and that the four of you, all five too should each
really think about what your motives are here um and really try to focus on how to best protect the residents of Hillsboro. And I think you also need to think about refusing to accept this um
respon I should say I will also ask that you need to accept responsibility for what I would call our continued failures to accept the responsibility to comply with the law. I really think that there's an opportunity to reexamine how
this township goes forward with its affordable housing obligations. And I think the way you do that is you stop fighting and you start working with those who have better ideas and solutions. Since I've been here, that's only thing that the township has been
doing is fighting and losing. And I would prefer that we work with the agencies in the state and come up with some better ways as other townships and towns and cities have done to accomplish the objective in a way that still
protects the taxpayers. I'm certainly available to answer any questions and I appreciate your time. Thank you. So all five of us voted on the affordable housing and to lower the number. We as a township have been very
compliant with the law and the timelines. So what you missed is the understanding that this is not about us. This is the state has now missed their timelines and they have let things slip. Thanks. I I appreciate that.
You also want to ask Mr. Vulpi about the um the amount of children in the schools as well too. Your facts are wrong there. We actually have less kids in our school system now. 200 less right now. Understood. I agree with it's going down. So, so but it's not going to be going down and you and No, stop. You're you're Okay, go. Keep going. So, what else would you like to say?
Oh, it's not going down when we could take the number one, but we're multiplying it and making it four. And so, if the town were to look at building its own affordable housing, which other towns have done, yes, it requires an expenditure of money on our part. But
the bottom line on that is just like open space, it's an investment. You buy, you build, and you get back from the people who are buying. So, it's not a loss. It could break even or it could actually make money and we end up with
one unit, not four. That's all I'm saying is we need to be more creative about how we're going about looking at this issue. And fighting, as you can see, in places like the Middle East, never worked. And I'm saying there needs to be a more
collaborative effort. Not the least of which is the state's giving out, I think, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, they're giving out grants to the towns that they have found to be in compliance with the obligations. So, they're helping those towns to build the
housing financially. They strip them of other funding and give them those grants. So, let's not play the game. And sir, you had a number of facts that were incorrect this evening. And you had a nice prepared statement, and I know you do this at the planning board as well, too. this is your stick. We all know that. And and you come to this and this is political for you and this is fun.
But yeah, you're you're mentioning you're mentioning the Democrat talking points and coming at the Republicans. Let's just call it what it is. Let's just be very frank about it. This is a political statement from you and you don't like the fact that the assemblymen, the assembly woman, and the state senator are called out in this because they're the ones that actually have the ability to make the decisions
here to help us. And they haven't said a word about it. They haven't said a word about it. They haven't Mayor has they have they reached out to you to help you think about this at all or the planning department? No, no, of course not. Of course not. Of course they have. Of course they have it. This is all political. I'm When you talk, you get
mad. Someone interrupts you. You get annoyed. Right. So, so, so all of you interrupt me. I don't interrupt you. You don't. I'm sorry. The other I do not interrupt you. Go right ahead. Go right ahead. So sir, you know, with that I I lost the train of thought at the end there, but in the end, sir, this is obviously political
for you and I know you've been preparing this for a while. So I'm glad I'm glad you enjoyed your weekend writing this out. I I I appreciate the fact that you believe that I like these meetings. Actually, I really don't. Uh I appreciate the fact that you folks are putting in time and doing things, you know, to help the tax.
How about the volunteers you just crushed in public? We don't want. That was brutal. No, you should be embarrassed by that. I'm just going to make that very clear. Embarrassed in any who had an opportunity to do the right thing didn't. But that was brutal. His children were there. Isn't this the month of civility? Didn't
we just talk about this? The one that attacked I No, don't don't talk down to me. He talked down to a man in front of his children for no reason. So, all right. So, you No, but you also came up and said that we weren't being factual and you weren't factual in your statement that was prepared, written out right there. And and what are you saying was not
factual? I we just miss paying committee deputy mayor just corrected you also the amount of children in the schools is less not more you've made numerous statements to to bloiate the situation and make it more than what it is let's try it slightly differently what is the value of this resolution as
opposed to going back and trying to work with people to get solutions all you're doing is complaining the state to act and do you honestly think you are going to get the state to act because you're sending a resolution Honestly, good luck
on that. I think you get the state to act by sitting down with the individuals who are the decision makers and work with them. You don't write briefs to tell the state that you think they're terrible. Okay? You don't write briefs that don't have legal support. I mean, we can't read the whole thing
again, but obviously you missed it. It's fine. Let him finish his statements. What I'm saying is I think I think there are ways to solve problems and I think you need to think about other ways of addressing the affordable housing issue other than fighting all the time. We now have 12 of
these uh challenges that are only going to consume more and more time and money and ultimately we will likely not succeed because of the state. You can't ignore the state. You have to work with
the state. And as far as politics, I'm not interested in politics. I'm interested in solutions. Okay. Maybe next year I'll be interested in politics. Sure. Sure. That will be fun. Anybody else from the public on one
through 19? Seeing none. Do we close public or pages? Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. Yes. Bear with me while I read the We have comments submitted via online that are going to be read into the record regarding
19. Yes. All reg regarding 19. All right. How about it? Alejandro Missager, 254 Newport Way, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. He submitted a link um to an op-ed piece entitled New Jerseys next governor must
double down on clean energy and added the following comments. In the face of growing global climate risks and a recession coupled with an energy affordability crisis in New Jersey, all barriers that might slow the transition to clean energy economy must be removed. Despite current federal policies, the benefits of continuing the upward clean
energy trajectory are clear. Now more than ever, we need to wind power. We need wind power to supply clean renewable electricity. He also submitted a second comment. Same Alex message. Oh, it says Alex instead of Alejandro, but same address, uh, same email address.
Um, Little Egg Harbor. The good news is that we are well on our way. Solar, wind, and battery storage together accounted for 93% of power capacity add to the US grid last year. Just before President Donald Trump's second inauguration in January, US Department of Energy records revealed that nearly
threequarters of clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act, 217 billion of clean energy investments or 1,091 per person were slated for red states. In addition, 79 billion or $559 per person were
earmarked for blue states. Lois Castroitz, 20 Pine View Court, Monroe Township, New Jersey, stated, "I implore the town council to reject the proposal to ban offshore wind projects in New Jersey in light of recent electricity
rate increases and the exploding demand for electricity due to the increase in data centers. Renewable energy from the sources such as wind and solar are not only cheaper in the long run, but are quicker to install. Thus, the positive economic effects are realized sooner. Renew renewable energy sources are a win
for the New Jersey residents. There can be no denying that. Thank you. Denise Brush 243 Booth Bay Court SU New Jersey. I urge you to vote no on the resolution opposing offshore wind and refrain from joining the New Jersey Strong Coalition. The New Jersey Strong Coalition is feeding lies about offshore wind.
Hillsboro is 26 miles from the Jersey Shore. Offshore wind farms will not be visible from the coast, let alone in Hillsboro. There will be no impact to marine mammals or to tourism. The mayor of Perth Amboy is on board with the plan to buying to bring in the electricity generated by the turbines into the grid
through his municipality. The truth is that offshore wind will benefit Hillsboro residents by providing clean energy and keeping our electric distribution companies from raising our electric rates even further. Michelle Peele, Fiveway Golfway, Hillsboro, New Jersey. Dear council
members, I am writing to express my strong opposition to the pro proposed resolution against offshore wind energy. Offshore wind is critical to New Jersey's clean energy future and to our efforts to combat climate change. Our state is already experiencing the devastating effects of warming of a warming planet, extreme heat, flooding,
and storms that threaten our homes, economy, and quality of life. We cannot afford to turn away from real solutions. Clean renewable energy is not only vital to reducing harmful carbon emissions, it's also the most affordable form of new energy available today. Offshore winds offers long-term economic and
public health benefits for our communities. It will create good paying local jobs, strengthen our economy through investment in ports and coastal infrastructure and generate stable lowcost energy that reduces our reliance or on volatile fuel uh fossil fuel markets. Just as importantly, offshore wind helps clean our air by reducing
pollution from oil and gas, which contributes to asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory illnesses. By supporting offshore wind, we are protecting both our environment and the health of our residents, particularly children and seniors. I urge council to reject this resolution and instead stand on the side of science, progress, and
clean energy. Offshore wind represents a smart investment in New Jersey's future, one that ensures cleaner air, a strong historic economy, and more stable climate for generations to come. And O Pool, 204 West State Street, Trenton.
These comments are on behalf of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby, a 50 plus year old organization that advocates for the protection of New Jerseys natural resources and public health. They are submitted by the president of the board of directors. Opponents of wind farms, many funded by oil and gas interests,
have made species claims about marine mammal deaths, electromagnetic fields, the use of diesel fuels and lubricants, and views of turbines that will not be visible from the shore. years of operation in Europe and years of independent marine research have found no evidence that wind farms adversely
affect marine life. The foundations of monopoles actually become hosts of reefs that fish need. As each of these claims was debunked, politicians moved to on to blame OSW projects for high electricity rates. The fact is that
no charges for OSW projects are included in rateayers bills. All these claims are fabrications. What is not a fabrication is the effect of burning fossil fuels on the atmosphere and marine and fresh waters. It is supported by science. The warming ocean is producing sea level
rise and more violent storms that are damaging property and raising insurance costs for residents, businesses, and local governments. Contrary to the claims that OSW development is an e economic burden on the state project developers have invested millions of dollars in research and ongoing ocean
monitoring environmental centers supporting job training programs and providing small business participation. A new industry for manufacturing the components and shipping them from New Jersey ports was developed. Not just jobs, but technical careers were also offered and thousands of construction and continuing technical jobs were in
New Jerseyy's future. NJAL urges the Hillsboro Township Committee to reject the short-sighted resolution opposing off offshore wind energy development. That's all. Okay. No, thank you.
Okay. So, couple of closing thoughts. We'll take we'll see if we take any of these separately. Um 18 and 19. 18 and 19.
Okay. Motion to take 18. Yeah. Hold on. Um we need that. Let's take it separately. 18 1819. Is there a motion to move the rest? Yeah. Um couple things to to on on on
the statements that were just made and and I read. So, you know, we don't blame offshore wind on high electricity rates. We don't blame We don't oppose offshore wind. We don't oppose solar and other clean
energies. In fact, the solar field we're trying to get um on county owned land will put us the town on the map in the state. We don't oppose other clean energies and technologies for clean energy. We
welcome the jobs and everything it brings. But earn val EV wrong wrong acronym electric vehicles, data centers, everything that's increasing demand on electricity at a time when
the current policies have reduced supply is just straight up bad economics. And we're feeling it in our pocketbooks. We're seeing it in our electric bills. So we we're doing this because it is an affordability issue
w with with policies coming out of Trenton on energy and let's expand it since we did earlier on school funding that have hurt the residents of Hillsboro that so this this is focused on
the policy the way it's been implemented and that's it. We don't oppose everything that's been talked about. I've worked on offshore wind projects. We've built them up in up near Boston. We've worked on onshore wind projects
and giants and solar plants all over the globe. So, um I understand the the technologies, the purpose of clean energy and how it's used and how it's developed. And uh so that that at least
closes my my commentary on what was brought in by the uh internet. Um so we have a motion to take just one through one through 17
motion and was there anyone wanted separate anything else? Thank you. Was there anything else wanted separately? Just 18 and 19. Yeah. Anybody else? One through 17. Okay. So, a motion and a second to vote
on one through 17. It's all moved. Second. Roll call. So, the roll call is for approval. 1 through 17. Committee member Braing. Yes. Committee woman hand. Yes. Committee. Yes. Stephanie Mayor Payne? Yes. Mayor Jill?
Yes. So, do we we'll do 18 and 19 separately each among themselves. So, uh 18 the uh affordable housing motion to approve. Motion. Thank you. Motion to approve and
and a second. Second. You guys getting tired? Nope. Yes. No. I had my cell. Yes. I knew it was going to be long. All right. Any um Yes. How many women hand on 18 only?
18. 18 only. Yeah. But I just I wanted to make a so I'll make my comment. So I think it is um we already had all the comments. I know but I just remembered my my question so or my comment so I'm going to make it now. So I think it is unethical at best and likely
non-compliant with the law that we would be asking um legislators to comment on something that is really being decided in the courts right now. So um this is not a settled issue. Uh there is
information out there. We were given 565. We proposed 223. Um there is paperwork right now in the courts with Bernstein um giving a 383 number. So this was a tremendous amount of fingerpointing. I don't know why um 18
is coming up right now unless this is just like some sort of a a last minute um you know Hail Mary before the election. I'm not sure why else it would be coming up. So I would vote no on 18.
Did we get Commissioner Bing's vote? Yes. Yeah. Sorry. Okay. Committee. Shocking that she would oppose it. Um uh before I say yes. I mean obviously again I've been in the room with the meetings and you haven't that the inner workings
of the of the program is not working. it is being um kicked down the down the road and it is being uh not just for Hillsboro all the municipalities a tedious expensive process. Uh so this this resolution is just that to say it's
not working. Maybe you can give us some help. So that's a yes. Deputy Mayor Payne. Yes. Mayor Chronley. Yes. If you thought I got a little worked up here, you should have seen me on the phone this afternoon. Oh yeah.
Um, so, uh, consent agenda item 19, a motion and a second for that, please. I would like to approve 19 separate. Yeah. No, we already did. So, just moved.
Motion to further. I would like I would make a motion to table this item and the reason being I'll give my reasoning so folks can consider seconding is this is a really complicated issue. There's a tremendous
amount of information and I think before we as a township take um any sort of side you know uh trying to um support some group that we really don't know anything about. I found the information
from our resident that he shared tonight around um Jerseys strong coastal coalition disturbing. So I would say we should table this and we should invite folks from different sides of that argument to come present at the township so that we can make an informed
decision. I have no idea why we would just um this we've not discussed this at all. It kind of came out of nowhere and and I am not comfortable um supporting it. So I don't think anyone on this deis knows enough about it. So um I am making
a motion to table this item. Do a second. Okay. Shocking. Mhm. Okay. So, we are on with We need a second to approve it.
I did. We get a motion in a second. I asked for one, but then we got the other motion. Yeah. Let me just So, a motion and a second. Motion to approve 19. So, moved. Second. Roll call. Been voting. For all the reasons that the mayor
stated earlier. Yes. Well articulated, sir. Committee woman hand. This should be tabled. I would vote no. Committee Bonnie. Yes. Deputy Mayor Payne. Thank you for bringing it to the DES
actually instead of just signing it on your own as you had every right to. So I appreciate that. Yes. Mayor Cherelli. Yes. Thank you. Let's see. And really as a chosen member amongst us, I think we all need to
remember the mayor is not elected. The mayor, the five of us are elected. The mayor is chosen by the five people up here. Um, so the fact that you would sign anything on your own, make up positions on your own, is highly
disturbing and probably an abuse of power. So, thank you for bringing it to the township to allow us to vote on it and not sign it on your own. You're welcome. Public hearings. Uh 2025-13
ordinance amending chapter 166 fire prevention section 166-4 definition section 16613 additional required inspections and fees of the code of the township of Hillsboro County of Somerset State of New Jersey
and adding a new section lithium ion batteries and electronic mobility devices to this chapter of the township code. May I have a motion and a second to open the public hearing for ordinance 202513? I would like to open the public hearing.
Seconded. Okay. Roll call. Commander Ring. Yes. Comm hand. Yes. Command the Pani. Yes. Deputy Mayor Bane. Yes. Mayor Tiger. Yes. The hearing is open. Any comments from the deis on this matter?
I I would like to make a comment. So, a couple weeks ago, we had this come up and I think that it just shows the proactivity, if that's a word, for our fire chief for what he's doing to look out for the town in addition to moving
us forward when the state is stuck. Um, and I appreciate Chief Winger's um foresight, guidance, and expertise in this area to move this on. All right. Thank you. Should we just open it to comments from
the floor? Anybody else has anything? Anybody else on the day? Wrap it up or to wrap up up here? All right. How about comments from the floor? Okay. Seeing none, may I have a motion and a
second to close and adopt ordinance 202513? So moved. Second. Roll call. Command Bing. Yes. Committee woman hand. Yes. Committee man. Yes. Captain Mayor Payne. Yes. Mayor Turley. Yes. 202514.
Ordinance amending chapter 169 fire zone section 169-5 zones designated of the code of the township of Hillsboro County Somerset State of New Jersey to add additional designated fire zones. Uh, may I have a motion and a second to
open the public hearing for ordinance 202514? So moved. Second. Roll call. Committing. Yes. Woman Hand. Yes. Commi. Yes. Deputy Mayor Payne. Yes. Mayor Churley. Yes. Any comments from the deis on this
ordinance? Yes. So once again, Chief Winger took it upon himself to um elicit Hillsboro to the top of the list for safety and concerns that the state again was stuck on and um will not be moving forward
with until 2026. And I again appreciate his foresight, guidance, and competency in this area. That's for these are for new this is for the new new developments. Yeah. Okay. Any other comments from the days? Not. How about comments from the floor?
202514. Seeing none. May I have a motion and a second to close and adopt ordinance 2025-14. I'll make a motion. So move. Second. I mean, sorry. A roll call. Committing. Yes. Committee woman hand. Yes. Money. Yes. Deputy Mayor Payne. Yes.
Mayor J. Yes. Thank you. Introduction of new ordinances. An ordinance granting, this is 202515, an ordinance granting renewal of municipal consent to Comcast of Central Jersey
uh of of Central New Jersey to LLC to construct, connect, operate, and maintain a cable television and communication system in the township of Hillsboro, Somerset County, New Jersey. Further consideration and public hearing on November 25th, 2025. May I have a motion and a second to introduce
ordinance 202515? So moved. Second. Roll call. Second. Sorry, that was my mic was committing. Yes. Committ Hand. Yes. Committee. Yes. Dr. Mayor Payne. Yeah. Mayor, yes. Look at that. Uh claims list. May I have
a motion and a second to approve claims list 202516? So moved. Second. Okay. Any comments from the deis on the claims list? Being none. Any comments from the floor on the claims list?
Seeing none, can I get a roll call? Committ Bing, yes. Woman Han, yes. Money, yes. Mayor Payne, yes. Mayor Jill, yes. New business, none. 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. Spell your name for the record. You will be given one threeminut aotment for your comments. Please understand that this public forum 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 public comments or matters not on the agenda? Okay, go. You're not paying attention. Um All right. May I have a motion and a second to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Roll call. Committee Ring.
Yes. Command. Yes. Command the body. Yes. Deputy Mayor Payne. Yes. Mayor Dickelli. Yes. 10 something. 27. 47. Thank you. Happy Halloween. Diwali. Oh, this one's wrong. Trick or treat.
Trick or treat. Thank you, sir. Have a good night.