[Music] heat Heat
[Music] Good evening I'd like to hereby call the meeting of the Howell Township Council
to order Opening statement This meeting is being held in accordance with public law 1975 chapter 231 open public meetings act Adequate notice has been provided in the matter prescribed by law This agenda is complete to the extent known and formal action will be taken
I'll begin with a roll call Councilwoman Fischer here Councilman Nadell is absent this evening Councilwoman O'Donnell here Deputy Mayor Gajer here And Mayor Leio is also absent this evening Thank you Is there any need for us to go into executive session tonight and Mr Clark
yes there is Uh Mr Deputy Mayor we have matters to discuss including potential litigation um land acquisition and attorney client Can I have a motion authorizing a resolution to go into executive i'll make a motion to go into executive
session I'll second Councilwoman Fischer yes Council Nonno yes Deputy Mayor Ger yes Thank you Would everybody please take a seat [Applause] at this time I would like to reconvene the meeting Roll call Councilwoman
Fischer here Councilman Nadell is absent this evening Councilwoman O'Donnell here Deputy Mayor Ger here And Mayor Lejo is also absent this evening Okay Thank you Would everybody please rise for the pledge of allegiance and a moment of personal reflection
i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Thank you
We're going to have a couple proclamations tonight The first one will be uh a April is alcohol awareness month uh read into the record by Crystal Riddles Thought we were going to switch
it down after Hi good evening I know everybody is not here for my proclamation It's for the next one So congratulations to Captain There he is over there but I'll take advantage of the full audience to read my proclamation as well So um April is
alcohol awareness month 2025 Whereas 2.6 million deaths globally per year are attributable to alcohol consumption and about 400 million people globally live with alcohol use disorders according to the World Health Organization And whereas approximately
28.9 million people in the US ages 12 and older had alcohol use disorder in the past year according to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health And whereas excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death
in the US And whereas alcohol use disorders are among the mental disorders with the lowest treatment rates due to a lack of awareness denial stigma and limited access to support resources And whereas underage alcohol use can
interfere with normal brain development increase the risk of alcohol use disorders across a lifetime and contribute to a range of negative consequences such as sexual assaults alcohol overdoses motor vehicle crashes homicides and suicides Whereas the
health alliance for substance abuse prevention and mental health awareness remains committed to community education and awareness on the prevention and treatment of alcoholism alcohol misuse and underage drinking Now therefore the governing body of the township of Howell
does hereby proclaim April 2025 as alcohol awareness month in Howell Township New Jersey and commend its observance to all citizens Thank you Thank you Thank you [Applause]
Okay our next proclamation It is going to be to uh Captain Thomas Rizzo for uh his being inducted into the National Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame founders award Uh that will be read by Councilwoman Fiser Captain Rizzo front
and center please I haven't seen any fans here from patrol live tonight Um I'm very honored to to present this to Captain Tom Rizzo on behalf of the Howell Township Council Whereas the National Law Enforcement Officer Hall of
Fame was created in 2017 to honor and support the law enforcement community and as whereas this year the National Law Enforcement Officer Hall of Fame's founders award inductee was Howell Township Police Department's very own Captain Tom Rizzo And whereas this award
is given to an officer who goes above and beyond in the line of duty and off And whereas Captain Rizzo is the first police officer from New Jersey to receive an award from this organization And whereas in addition to his excellent work within while on duty in Howell
Captain Rizzo has made a name for himself as a host of the television show on patrol live And whereas through his work as a police officer and in his role as a television host he brings honor and renown to the township and its police department And whereas Captain Rizzo
continues a tradition of excellence that runs through the entire police department here in Howell making this township one of the most blessed in the entire state Now therefore the governing body of the township of Howell wishes to take this opportunity to recognize Captain Thomas Rizzo and congratulate
him on earning the National Law Enforcement Officer Hall of Fame's Founders Award and making Howell Township proud Congratulations Captain [Applause] Thank you so much I appreciate it Thank
you Well thank you everybody for coming I know obviously it's spring break It's hard to get out especially uh in the evening hours with everything going on I have to say this has been the most surreal stretch of a few days of my career Just a few nights ago I was in Texas accepting the induction proudly
And uh I think you know to be up here and to pretend as if this is a result of individual effort and to accept an accolade I'd be a fraud Uh you know I look over here and there are some of the best men and women that you know I've been blessed to serve with Um I always
go back it's the twinkle in my eye 2015 we started a crime suppression unit here And I think the impact that we had on Howell Township could still be felt to this day you know TJ Nick Ryan Mike uh Jack ticking over for me to lead those guys Um it's just something that'll forever be a safe place in my heart and
uh I'd be a fraud if I didn't recognize that Another thing I want to say is the community that we work in You know despite what happens nationally politically whatever you want to say to polarization we've never experienced that here in HAL You know I've been to 46 states uh whether it was because of
my book to teach whatever it may be And I can tell you this there are police officers men and women that will never understand what it is to be supported by their community So what we do is we go out there and we do what we do not because we seek recognition We never do that I've never met a police officer that does it because of that Uh but to
receive recognition is something that feels pretty damn good And the reason is because you know when we do it and I speak proudly for myself with this uh we just want to know that you guys are proud And for me you know in the twilight of what I would consider a mediocre career I just always wanted to know that you guys were proud That was
it It's all I ever wanted And tonight finally uh I feel that maybe that's a testament to just that You know I'm an advocate of some quotes and I'll leave you with this I firmly believe that when a flower doesn't bloom you fix the environment in which it grows not the flower You know my environment was stuck between my ears and I recognize that and
I had to fix that when things didn't work out as I planned So I've tried like hell to do what I can to reinvent myself and you know to look around and take my good and use my good to make other people better I think that's the definition of success So I pray for some of the guys and girls that are in the
room that'll you know continue the tradition of working here long after me is to always understand you know don't worry about 100% How about you take your 100% effort and you change and effectuate change and impact on 100
people even 1% That all equals a hundred But that's how you make a movement And I pray that when my time is done here and my son finally sets that that's exactly what I'll be known to have done You know I see some people in front of me that have been my mentors You know my grandfather God rest
his soul was the first You know I have my father teach me work ethic I have Mr Ols was you know probably the baddest police officer I ever met He's a hero to me And these are people that set the groundwork before me Guy Ransio here in How and then some of the guys and girls I've worked with along the way and then
some that are going to tradition continue to take this tradition and this legacy along after me and I just pray that I've left a thumbrint on the organization and on the township not because it's what I should do It's because it's what you deserve So that's what I hope I've done for you to Miss
Fiser and the governing body for taking the time to you know do this just for me I appreciate that But again this is a result of a collective effort of some of the best that are in the game So from the bottom of my heart uh with mixed emotions this is a tough moment for me
uh for a lot of reasons I just want to say thank you for everybody in the room that has contributed to a moment like this for me because uh it's been a tough road And I tell you this the fact that it's not about how hard you hit it's about how hard you can get hit and just keep pushing forward And I believe that's how winning's done And I hope
that represents it to you And the last quote I'll leave you with is the fact when you learn you teach and when you get you give So the fact that I'm getting tonight I plan on giving it back to you until I just possibly can't do it anymore So from the bottom of my heart thank you very much God bless Be safe
and enjoy the rest of your evening Thank you [Applause] How are you get it God forbid Allerg
Oh sure You want to go in there i'll take you You want to do So police officers would you like to come and take a picture oh yeah All
right So where are we they'll settle down when we start the meeting All right Ref reports from our officials Does our clerk have anything no nothing Thank you Does our manager have anything
i do I have some announcements about summer events coming up So uh we have camp dates for teen expedition It'll be uh Monday June 30th through Friday August 8th You can contact Steven Fetcher in the community relations
department Um and you can register online The information is available on the Howell Township website Another reminder that on Thursday May 1st here at Town Hall at 7 p.m will be
the four 74th annual National Day of Prayer Always a great event Um babysitting course The course length is 4 hours It will be held here at Town Hall on Friday May 16th Uh it is for
children ages 11 to 15 and the cost is $30 That's not bad Hooked on fishing not on drugs And Baxter's fishing derby is coming up on Saturday June 7th 2025 at Echo Lake Will be 8:00 a.m to 11:00 a.m
And that is always a very good event Highly recommend it Howell Night at the Blue Claus Thursday July 24th 2025 at 7:05 It's $18 and you can reserve now online back for its second annual and
hopefully many more years is our summer concert series We're spacing them out a little bit more this year So starting on June 2nd which will also be our Independence Day celebration It's at Soldier Memorial Memorial Park starts at
5:00 pm Super Amam will be playing at 7 and we will have fireworks July 16th 5:00 pm it opens up We will have a DJ 7:00 the band will come on and that is Austin City Nights July 30th uh 5:00 p.m it
will open up with the DJ 700 p.m the band White Wedding will be playing August 13th 5:00 p.m DJ 700 p.m the band which will be Garden State Radio Um if you went to these events last year they
were amazing So I highly recommend everybody coming out this year And our movie Under the Stars is coming up as well July 10th we'll have Ghostbusters July 17th The Grinch August 7th Sonic 3
August 21st Minecraft movie It's on the Howell Library Hill at 318 Old Tavern Road Starts at 6:30 and movies will begin at dusk Always a great event And that is my update Matt you have anything i have
nothing John anything all right Thank you At this time we'll have hearing of citizens and public comments on the consent agenda and general matters I would like to now open the floor for the hearing of citizen and public comments
Each person shall first give their name and address to the clerk The council shall be addressed as a collective body and not as individual members Each person shall have one turn to address the council and comments shall not exceed a total of five minutes speaker shall be notified when their time has run and no time extensions shall be
permitted Thank you Uh first on the list um excuse me if I mispronounce your last name but it looks like Yakov Wexler Come up please
Yeah that hold Yeah that was pronounced correctly Thank you My name is Jacob Wexler I live at Seven Kettle Court in the Glenn Arden neighborhood right here in Al Um first and foremost I want to give a big thank you to the to the whole Harold Township They really have
distinguished themselves as uh um a community of tolerance inclusion and acceptance I'm living here almost three years and it was the best decision I ever made Um we just we're now middle of the the holiday of Passover which
started on Saturday night Um we're very thankful the Howell Township you know jumped in right away and we had a on Passover One of the pivotal um customs is not to eat any what we call humit leaven bread We eat
the matzah and we burn all the bread right before the start of the holiday and Hell Town was very um forthcoming um in in arranging it The police department the fire department public works uh I think the you know what I've heard the join township
manager was very pivotal in that and that was really very warming warm and welcoming and um very we're very thankful for that I just want to state my support I know they're working on now an a- roof ordinance That's something that uh you know with regard to our uh
uh Sabbath laws that we're not permitted to carry in open public places One of the remedies for that is to cordon off uh sections of neighborhoods in a very um um um very simple manner And the the
we're very pleased that the township is working with us to to try to see you know make a satisfactory um ordinance that that will make everybody happy And that's another that brings out that point again how how how um tolerant and
and welcoming and and willing to work with they are with all you know members of the community and we're very grateful for that Thank you You're welcome Danny N Danny Nye Hi I'm Danny Ne I live at 204 Broad
Street in Madawan New Jersey Uh hello I'm also here I'm Dylan Casillas I live at Five Angelica Court Madawan New Jersey Uh we're from the Madawan Regional High School Students Against Destructive Decisions or SAD Club And you might be wondering why two students from another town are here to speak at
the Howell Town meeting But we're here because community working together helping each other out shouldn't be just be dictated by zip code In December of last year our adviser Mrs Tavino lost her dog Stella when she was hit by a speeding car in front of their house on
Aldridge Road Shortly after that incident Mr Tavino saw a teenager like us almost get hit crossing the road in the afternoon again by a speeding driver just after a blind hill As the Cheravinos were preparing for a meeting with the town manager chief of police and traffic officers Mrs Cheravino
discussed with us all their preparation and we her students wanted to help I want to just share with you some data that has been collected as I think this information is important On the two-mile stretch the Cherinos live on Aldrich from Wendeller Road to Route 9 in Oprah an Oprah accident report from January
1st 2019 to December 31st 2024 It showed that there is 56 vehicle accidents on the east side closest to Windler Road without injuries and 27 with injuries 40 accidents with injuries and one fatal one fatality on the side of Aldrich Aldrich closest to Route 9 82 accidents
on the side closest to Route 9 without injuries And in 72 months there are almost there 205 total accidents and that's 2.85 accidents per month We also know that there have been more accidents since We even saw a how police
department Facebook post about a bicyclist hit last month on the side closest to Windler Road And I think we can just all agree that these numbers are kind of high Now after the Cherabinos had their meeting with the town manager and the
police department members the council had voted to target enforcement areas just like we do in Madawan and Aberdine Obviously these enforcement areas are more than just the two-mile stretch of Aldrich Road that her teacher and her family live on But nevertheless these
figures point to the issue of speeding on Howell roads Two special officers Casterlin and Curtain have been assigned to these areas and in the first week made over 100 motor vehicle stops issued
600 or 60 summones and gave 58 written and verbal warnings In the second week again there were over 100 motor vehicle stops made 67 summones and 60 issues or 60 or warnings issued Now if we look at
these numbers I think we can all agree that the people are driving too fast on how roads The speed limits have been the same since the '9s but obviously the population has grown Uh in the '9s the population of Howell was about 39,000
Uh come 2000 the population was about 49,000 Uh 2010 brought about 50 made a population about 51,000 and as of 2020 the population was about 54,000 That's about a that's a little over a third uh
a 33% population growth With that being said we both hope or we all hope that you consider lowering the speed limits here to protect younger kids and teenagers like us The Sherinos have lost their beloved dog but I think about how it could have been my little sister which would have been very bad Now thank
you for listening to Danny and I and I'd like to introduce Mr Chair Have you noticed that second person who spoke what was your first name sorry Uh I was Dylan Casillas Just want to make sure It's all good All right Thank you Dylan Thank you
Uh next on the list I have Tony Hey Tom Thank you Thank you council Um sorry Uh I appreciate your time and attention to the matter My family and I really appreciate Excuse me Your address please for the record I'm sorry 388 Road Thank you Uh my family and I appreciate
all the ref uh the efforts made to raise the level of safety on the how streets the signs the police activity um where we live and we see these issues every day right in front of our door every day every hour I work from home My in-laws are home every day We go in and out of
our home all day long I see what happens to my neighbors Um while the mandatory court appearance and the speedlight sign may deter some there are many that just do not care I watched them speed by ignoring the sign I watched them fly by
my house every day They don't care They're risking the safety of the How residents and especially those on Aldridge Road My el my elderly father-in-law has been hit almost twice this week just pulling out of our driveway My wife has been passed several times in the past two months for just
doing 35 miles an hour on Aldidge which is a 40 with the school bus stop in front of our home Every week I see a car speeding by and I hear the horn from the bus uh very loudly from my front door Um Aldridge is a residential road Uh it's
the most densely populated area howl It's heavily traveled uh the point to the point where the residents have a hard time leaving their driveway Our roads have our road has hidden driveway signs on Aldridge Road It has a posted dangerous intersection severe sun glare
in both the morning and the evening since it runs east to west and three blind hills In fact one of the hills is so blind that if somebody was coming over the top of it they would surely hit the car in the driveway coming out Um it has the same speed limit as many
of the less populator populated roads There are no where there are no sight limits Many roads including Friendship Road Burbivville Road which are also through roads from Jackson to Howell have less intersections less driveways no sidewalks but yet has a lower speed
limit than Aldridge And I ask why At the current posted speed limit of 40 mph the risk of death to a pedestrian is 50% Which means all the residents especially children children and elderly have a higher risk of death crossing our road I have reached out to our leaders by email
by mail and by phone and I'm requesting a lower limit now here in person The call has the support of many of the residents especially that live on Aldridge Uh we want a safe road to walk with our family our children and our pets Uh I understand the Howell PD and
our township resources are limited I understand we can't make every road a 25 mph road but consider Aldridge Road especially on the east side it's a two-mile stretch would take 108 seconds more if people drove at 25 m an hour We
know they're not going to We know everybody's not going to But if we could lower them down to a safer limit of even 30 that would reduce the injury and possible death It's not a matter of when the next if the next accident but when the next accident will happen So I'd like to be proactive and lower our
chances now of anything happening to anybody else And I call on all of our leaders to look at this a little more closely Thank you Thank you Thank you Eli Evening Eli Landman 15 Reed Road in uh in the Heritage Point neighborhood I
would like to thank you publicly for for what what you the public burning that you that that the township helped out on Friday and I would like to show full support behind the air of ordinance Thank you Israel Israel felar 30
highred I stand before you today with gratitude I've been a resident of this wonderful town for quite some time now and I must express how incredibly appreciative I am of the welcoming and and kind spirit that permeates this town
Everyone here has been so accommodating making it a truly special place to live I want to take a moment to extend a special thank you to the town for arranging a local location for the burning of the KTS This act of consideration is deeply appreciated by
the Jewish community I'd like to specifically acknowledge and thank town manager Joe Clark and Brian from the fire department Brian from public works and Matt Howard for their dedication and effort making this possible and of course the
council I've also heard that there's an ordinance being considered regarding Arabs in our town This is an issue of significant importance to me and to the broader Jewish community as an Arab is essential for us to be able to carry items outside of our
homes on the Sabbath making it very difficult for us to fully participate in community life without one Once again I want to thank the members of the council for your time and consideration by demonstrating how we respect and support each other's diverse needs and traditions I sincerely hope
that our town can serve as a model of all neighboring towns Thank you Thank you Welcome Anyone else ronald Springer 494 Lakewood Farmingale Road What was your first name again sir ron Thanks Ron
Just came here tonight actually uh we are farmers and we just received approval to uh have events at our farm and I know that the council has just uh given us a waiver on the sidewalk fund and I am beyond grateful I don't have the words to tell you how much it means to us a lot of the expenses we incurred
I thank you Matt and thank you Joe for your consideration on this thing and uh I'm just here to to really thank you and you have my respect and and thanks Thank you Mr Spring Thank you Good evening Mark Pleki Oral Lane How
Township Uh I want to thank the mayor and council for what they just did for Captain Rizzo All right Long time coming Uh he's a good man I just find it disconcerting that I don't see any of the uh chief members of the department
here to uh be with him on this day or to recognize him And again I came here in February and brought this to your attention and uh you guys did something about it and said they were going to be doing something about it To this day I
haven't seen anything on social media from the HTPD page uh recognizing this officer for his achievement It's a once in a-lifetime thing and uh I think it's important What you did was important and I think from
all the officers that I know of thank you And uh I just find it disconcerting that uh you know you have something here You praise the officer for his achievements You don't have to like the man but you have to recognize his achievements Goes a long way to the
department too Uh seen a lot of this going on in the last three years and it's just it uh wouldn't happen on my watch Thank you Thanks Mark Anyone else caim Lob 39 Bunker Hill
Drive Um I'd like to I'm living here for about three years Um and I was a shocked by the amount that the township went out of their way Um throughout the time we had
countless meetings with Matt and Joe and um others just the way they were out there ready to work with us um throughout I stand here really the 70 people really wanted to come too and we figured you know it's going to be you know take too much time but they all
sent me as a representative to thank you uh for doing all that you do yes with the and with the uh the fire the burning too and just just you know we realize that there's different ways to approach there were different townships that have different ways to approach it and we
heard clearly and we see it clearly how you're ready to include and understand each of our needs and I speak to others in the neighborhood to Christians and others that are just feeling the same way that just all inclusive
um and we thank you for that and we're you know hoping to be able to continue working with you guys uh the council and all that um you know the way you're going and just keep it up Thank you so much Thank you Anyone
else no one else wishes to speak Can I have a motion to close please motion to close public session Second All in favor i I Can we get a response from our our professionals please
sure So can start with sort of the easy one and to the members of the Orthodox community thank you We appreciate coming out and it's always good to hear kind words So that's always much appreciated Um with regard to the traffic issues we
have brought it to the attention of our traffic division We continue to work with them Um we have done targeted enforcement It's been successful We know that Aldrich Road has been a secondary arterial road in this town since at
least 1977 So it will be difficult to probably find justification to drop the speed limit down to 25 on a road of that substance Uh but we will I will discuss it with
the chief and with our traffic division tomorrow That it Matt Anything from our uh elected officials councilman Fischer Councilwoman O'Donnell Uh just to re
reiterate May 1st National Night of Prayer everyone is welcome Um all denominations residents of Hal residents of surrounding communities everyone is welcome And we hope that you do come out were usually packed and I anticipate the
same response this year So thank you The only thing I have to say is for those people who came up to thank us about the the religious events and what we're doing uh this this is something that we have looked at for a long time and it's not
only a matter of a religious tradition There's also legalities involved that we look at case law and things from other towns and we try to follow along with what other towns are doing and we really try to stay ahead of the curve here So
you know we thank you for coming up and speaking but it it's not that easy to just do it you know we we really take a look and we appreciate the meetings that we have with people too that are quite uh for
forthcoming Uh okay we'll move on to the consent agenda Next we will vote on the consent agenda items Does anyone wish to pull any items out no sir No All right Uh I'd like to get a
motion to accept resolutions R25-130 through R25-141A So moved I'll second Councilwoman Fischer yes Councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Ger yes Thank you Consent resolutions
pass Okay None separately We have no unfinished business Introduction of ordinances Can the clerk read please read ordinance 25-17 please capital ordinance providing
for information technology improvements and appropriating $65,000 Therefore authorized in and by the township of Howell in the Kane of Mammoth New Jersey I'll make a motion to introduce same ordinance I'll second Councilwoman
Fischer yes Councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Ger yes Thank you The ordinance is properly adop properly introduced Thank you Can our clerk please read ordinance 25-8 please an ordinance of the township of Howell
supplementing chapter 265 snow and ice creating article 3 private salt storage consisting of subsections 265-16 265-17 265-18
265-9 265-20 and 265-21 Could I have a motion to introduce I move to introduce ordinance 25-18 I'll second Councilman Fischer Yes Counciloman O'Donnell Yes Deputy Mayor Ger Yes Thank you The ordinance is
properly introduced Thank you Can the clerk please read ordinance 25-9 an ordinance authorizing traffic enforcement upon real property located at 783 Highway 9 in accordance with the request of the property owner
I'll make a motion to introduce ordinance uh 2519 Second Councilwoman Fischer yes Councilwoman O'Donnell yes Deputy Mayor Ger yes Thank you The ordinance is properly introduced Thank you Can the
clerk please leave read ordinance 25-20 an ordinance of the township of Howell County of Mammoth state of New Jersey amending and supplementing the township code as to amend chapter 188 entitled land use Motion introduced U move to introduce
ordinance 25-20 Second Councilman Fischer Yes Yes Counciloman O'Donnell Yes Deputy Mayor Ger Yes Thank you The ordinance is properly introduced All right Next meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting will take
place on May 6 2025 Executive session begins at 6:00 p.m and the regular session will begin at 700 p.m Does anybody else have anything they would like to add tonight no sir Can I have a motion to adjurnn
motion to adjurnn Second All fair I thank you