Thank you. You're welcome. Business. Okay. Today is May 6th and welcome to the student session. Township clerk, can I have the opening statement and a roll call of the student town student Howell Township council?
This meeting is being held in accordance with public law 1975 chapter 231. This agenda is complete to the extinct known and formal action will be taken. Student council member Daniela Franco here. Student council member
Maisie McCarthy here. Student council member Megan Moshberger here. Student council member Bridget Shear here. Student mayor Paige Marcy Seaman here. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. 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. Our first order of business is proclamations.
Be kind to animals week May 5th through 11th will to be read by student council member Daniela Franco. Whereas since the first celebration in 1915, the American Humane Association
has hosted be kind to animals week all over the US. The the week's aim is to spread awareness about the need to be kind to all animals and to protect them and their habitat. And whereas be kind to animals week is designed to
acknowledge and appreciate the efforts made to ensure animal safety in the US and around the world. And whereas over the years many organizations have come up come into existence with the goal of safeguarding the lives of domestic and
wild animals. Local and international efforts are being made to foster a culture of caring and respecting animals. And whereas from the domestic animals who keep us cover and make our homes whole to wild animals that we get
to observe in their natural environments. All animals of deserve our kindness and respect. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of Howell does hereby proclaim the week of May 5th
through 11, 2025 as be kind to animals week in the township of Howell and encourages all citizens to always show kindness to all animals. the emergency medical services week May 5th through 11th to be read by the
student council member Maisie McCarthy. Whereas emergency medical services is a vital public service. The members of EMS teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas this year's
theme is we care for everyone. 50 years ago, a presidential proclamation called on the nation to support efforts to improve emergency medical care across the country. It also established the first national EMS week. And whereas
much has changed since 1974. Yet, there is still much to be learned from those trailblazing clinicians who helped EMS evolve into the sophisticated branch of medicine it is today. And whereas the EMS system consists of emergency
physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, educators, administrators, and others. And whereas the members of EMS teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of
specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of Howell does hereby proclaim the week of May 18th through 24th, 2025 as emergency medical services week in Howell Township and
encourage residents to recognize the dedicated service of EMS personnel in our community. Memorial Day, May 26th, 2025 to be read by Mayor Seaman. Whereas on Monday, May 26th,
2025, in cities and towns throughout our nation, Americans will join together to honor the fallen heroes of our armed forces. And whereas the origins of the holiday can be traced back to local observances for soldiers with neglected
grave sites during the Civil War. And whereas in May 1868, Mayor General John A. Logan called for a nationwide day of remembrance to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives serving our country, which would
officially be designated Memorial Day by Congress. And whereas our men and women in uniform have sacrificed their lives to maintain the security of our great nation and the liberties we hold so dear. And whereas we must pledge to never forget our members of the armed
forces who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedoms. We should express our gratitude to the family of our fallen warriors and we must honor our unwavering commitment and support to all members of the armed forces. Now therefore, be it resolved
that the governing body of the township of Howell does hereby encourage the observance of Memorial Day in recognition of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. Proclamation Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5th through 9th 2025 to be read by student council member Megan Moshberger. Whereas teachers support, inspire, motivate, and bring learning to life for students in Howell Township and across the US. And whereas teacher appreciation
week is a chance for students, parents, and administrators to thank teachers for their hard work and dedication to quality education. And whereas in 1953, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt urged Congress to create a day to recognize educators, but the first
official teacher appreciation week did not occur until 1984. And whereas during teacher appreciation week, we take the opportunity to honor teachers and recognize the lasting contributions they make to students' lives. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of
Howell does hereby procla pro proclaim the week of May 5th through 9th, 2025 as teacher appreciation week in the township of Howell and reminds all citizens to appreciate and support teachers in our
community. World Turtle Day May 23rd 2025 to be read by council member Bridget Shear. Whereas World Turtle Day was first celebrated in the year 2000 as a way to raise awareness of the need to
protect turtles and tortoises. And whereas the main difference between turtles and tortoises is that turtles sometimes live in the water while tortois only live on land. Scientists believe they have existed for 260 million years. And whereas some ways
to help turtles include never buying a turtle from a pet shop, or removing one from the wild, reporting the sale of any turtle or tortoise less than 4 in in size, as this is illegal in the US. And if you see a turtle crossing a road, pick it up and carry it to safety in the
direction it was going. And whereas on May 23rd, we honor these resilient reptiles that are often associated with wisdom and perseverance. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of HAL does hereby proclaim May 23rd, 2025
as World Turtle Day in the township of HAL and reminds all citizens citizens to appreciate and respect turtles in their habitats. Township clerk voucher, please provide your township clerk's report. The last day to register to vote for the
June primary election is Tuesday, May 20th. Early inerson voting begins on June 3rd and runs throughout June 8th. The primary election is Tuesday, June 10th, with voting hours from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Does any member of the student township council have anything
to report on? Today during student government day, I learned about the part of our township that helps people whose houses were destroyed and became unlivable because of disasters. Another thing that we learned about
today was the canines that protect our community. We learned about how they can apprehend criminals and how they sniff out narcotics. One of the things that we did was a fire simulation where there was a mock fire and you had to put it out with a fire
extinguisher. We also learned about EMS responders, um the interior of ambulances and how to wrap a head wound. We also learned about the senior centers and more about the
seniors. Hearing of citizens for the student government council. Any member of the public can come forward to the microphone and address the student government council. Each person shall have up to 5 minutes to speak. Please provide your name for the record. Would anyone like to come up?
Good evening. My name is Evelyn O'Donnell. First, I'd like to congratulate you on being selected to be representative this evening. I know it's a great honor and you must be very special to have been selected. Also, I'll give a shout out to your families
who obviously have spent a great deal of time with you to teach you to be civic-minded. And that's something that we seem to be losing through the years. So, uh, I thank your families and I thank you for caring enough to take time to participate in today. And I must say
that the tortoise information was news to me. So, thank you. I didn't know the difference between the two and I appreciate that info. Good evening. My name is Mrs. Loinger. I am the social studies supervisor for the Howell Township
School District and I had a wonderful day with all of you today at student government day. Um, we were so proud of how you and your classmates conducted yourselves. You were eager, you were enthusiastic, you asked great questions, and we loved hearing your ideas for how
we can continue on our journey towards making Howell a even more special place to live. So, thank all of you. Um, and I'd also like to thank your teachers who had done such a wonderful job helping you prepare for this day and supporting you as you composed your essays. And I
hope your taste of um, civic responsibility today really inspires you to take on more volunteerism or activism in your communities as you grow older. Thank you. Would anyone else like to come up? Good evening. Fred Ger, 24 Gristill
Road, Howell, New Jersey. I would like to commend all of you for the job that you've done, particularly these proclamations because every one of these in some way touch me and other members of the council. Uh I'm going to start
with World Turtle Day where we live. uh on a daily basis we see turtles and I can't tell you how many times that I have stopped to move a turtle in the direction it was going. Uh teacher
appreciation week uh I'm a high school teacher. I know that councilwoman Fiser also is a teacher. uh Memorial Day. My dad is a World War II veteran
and National Emergency Services uh medical services. I'm a retired state trooper council person uh Nadell's retired New York City PD and be kind to animals week. We all love animals, don't
we? So, I thank you for all of these. They are very appropriate and a great job that you're doing. Would anyone else like to ask any questions? Public comment is now closed. I will now read my
essay. Did you know that the doomsday clock has been set 1 second closer to midnight? Every day, our environment gets more polluted, and I believe that if we all work together, we can change that. If I was to work toward a change in our community, I would aim for the
conservation of our environment and I would try to create a positive community while doing so. There are so many things that we can do to improve our environment. And if we work hard enough, we can reverse the damage we the damage we've done and create a better world.
For starters, an effort I would make in order to improve the environment is I would work together with PAL to create a program where people can get together and create a community garden club. It is known that plants produce oxygen and make air cleaner by absorbing the carbon
dioxide. These efforts will not only make a healthier environment, but it will also improve human health since there are no gross pesticides on the food they grow. Furthermore, according to the article earth friendly farming by the UC main
master gardeners, gardens save water and energy. It is plain to see that our community and world would benefit from such things. Furthermore, something I would try is to encourage the use of compost.
Not only does this idea coexist with the idea of a gardening club, it can make those gardens even better. Composting improves gardens. Compost that is full of nutrients, which is amazing for growing
vegetables, fruits, and flowers. There are some places in the world where they even find residents for not putting anything in the compost, such as San Francisco. According to their environment department, San Francisco San Francisco's mandatory recycling and
compost ordinance requires San Francisco residents and business to properly separate recyclables and compostables and keep them out of the landfill. This encourages people in their community to work hard to decrease
the amount of waste, thus reducing land landfills. Although legis legislation to enforce composting is a bit extreme, having the encouragement to use less wasteful products would go a
long way to help our environment. I believe that our town would also benefit from doing community cleanups as a public event. A good place for the cleanup to take place is the Mandisan Reservoir. I know that sometimes the area faces littering and
this would be an easy way to fix it. Many people in our community use this area to hang out, walk, and bike. So, I believe that it will be easy to gather a large group of people to clean it. This event could also be advertised to the middle school students as well as other
schools as a public event and we can encourage them to participate in it. Some children may not want to participate it because it's boring or a waste. However, something that may encourage people to join would be prizes such as
t-shirts, small trinkets, and more. This will act as encouragement for people to put in work for our community. To earn the prize, you would need to get a full bag of trash. If people got full bags, then the cleanup would be so easy. This
activity could work as a catalyst that may encourage people to pick up trash in their daily lives. As you can see, there are many things that we can do to help our environment. We can hold a gardening club, encourage the use of compost bins, and hold
community cleanups. This would not only be personally re rewarding, but it would also help the world, and that is the most awarding thing of all. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you for coming out to our student government day meeting and have a safe
drive home. Great job. Very nice. You want to take some pictures? Wait, can you see her? Do you want to see? Yeah. Come here. Oh yeah, it's almost our birthday. Happy
birthdayies. All right, we're going to now take pictures in front of the step and repeat all and then cancel if your parents want to jump in whatever celebration. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I didn't say I appreciate that. Well, yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, like you say, you know, they were all Daniela
is like All right. No. No. Bridg. All right. Test it on this later. Yeah. Are you sure? Does this work? Very nice. Do you want me to take one so you can
get All right. Great job. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. Link for tonight. It's not going live. It's just for you all. Okay. Thank you. Congratulations. Very good. Thank you again.
Hey everybody, call the meeting of Hell 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 manner prescribed by law. This agenda is
complete to the extent known and formal action will be taken. I'll begin with a roll call. Councilman Fischer here. Councilman Nadell, Councilman Noono here. Deputy Mayor Ger here. Mayor Leio here. Thank you, Mr. Clark. Is there a need to go into an
executive session this evening? Yes, there is, Mr. Mayor. We have topics to discuss, including contracts, attorney, client privilege, and litigation. So, resolution 25-154. like to make a motion to uh accept resolution 25-154.
Second. Councilman Fischer, yes. Councilman Naidell, yes. Counciloman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leio, yes. Thank you. Rec reconvene meeting, please. I'll begin with a roll call. Councilwoman Fischer, here. Councilman Nadell here.
Councilwoman O'Donnell here. Deputy Mayor Ger here. Mayor Leio here. Thank you. Please stand for pledge of allegiance and individual moment of prayer. I 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. We have a few proclamations. Could Anthony please come forward and
his family or Okay. Whereas May 14th, 2025 is childhood epoxy of speech day during which awareness will be raised throughout Hallow Township about childhood epoxy of speech, an extremely challenging speech disorder that affects
one in 10,000 children. And whereas childhood a proxy of speech causes children to have significant difficulty learning to speak and is among the most severe speech deficits in children. And whereas the act of learning to speak comes effort at least to most effortlessly to most children. However,
those with Aroxia require early, appropriate, and intensive speech therapy, often for many years to learn to speak. And whereas without appropriate speech therapy intervention, children with a proxy will have diminished communication skills and are also at high risk for secondary impacts
in reading, writing, spelling, and other school-related skills. And whereas such primary and secondary impacts diminish future independence and employment opportunities and challenge the ability to become productive contributing citizens if not resolved and improved.
And whereas public awareness about childhood a proxy of speech in Howell Township is essential for families of children with this neurological disorder and the professionals who support them to achieve the needed services for those learning to use their own boys.
And whereas our highest respect goes to these children and their families for their effort, determination, and resilience in the face of such obstacles. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of Howell does hereby proclaim May 14th, 2025 as a
proxy awareness day in Howell Township to increase awareness and understanding of child a childhood approxy of speech. This is for the Baldone family. I'm familiar faces. Is that National Police Week?
No. One more proclamation for National Police Week. Mr. Nadell will read the proclamation. Whereas there are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers serving communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the Howell Township Police Department. And
whereas Peace Officers Memorial Day was created on October 1st, 1961 when Congress authorized President John F. Kennedy to designate May 15th to honor peace officers. The week of each year during which May 15th occurs was proclaimed National Police Week. And whereas the police officers of America
work devotedly and selflessly on behalf of the people of this nation regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves. These officers safeguard the lives and property of their fellow Americans. And whereas during police week, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington DC to participate in events
that honor law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. And whereas the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, where members of law enforcement, survivors, and citizens can gather to honor those who gave their
lives in the line of duty. Now therefore, the governing body of the township of Howell does hereby proclaim the week of May 11th through 17, 2025 as National Police Week and May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day in the Township of Howell and encourages all citizens to recognize the dedicated
service of the law enforcement officers of the Howell Township and across the nation. Good. All right. Accept acceptance of minutes from previous meeting. Uh, may I have a motion for acceptance of minutes of
April 1st, 2025? I'll make a motion to accept the minutes of April 1st, 2025. Second. Councilwoman Fischer, abstain. Thank you. Councilman Nadell, yes. Counciloman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leia, yes. Thank you.
Accepted the minutes from uh April 15, 2025. I'll make a motion. Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadell, abstain. Councilman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leio, abstain. Thank you.
All right. On to uh reports of township officials. Okay. I have a few. Um just a reminder that teen expedition starts this summer. Um it will be Monday, June 30th through Friday, August 8th, 6 weeks. And the
sign up form is available on the township's website. It's always a great time and highly recommended. Saturday, June 7th, the Hooked on Fishing, not on drugs and Baxter's fishing derby will be held at Echo Lake. Um registration,
learning stations, and fishing derby contest will be from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. And then trophies, awards, and prizes will happen after that. 2nd of July, we will be having the Independence Day celebration 5 to 9:30
at Hold Your Memorial Park. Um, fireworks will be at dusk. If you were there last year, your memory was great. So, there's food vendors, uh, beer and wine, totally free event. And one of the favorites from last summer, Super Amam
will be playing uh the Howell Concert Series. Again, as I said, on July 2nd, Super AM Friday, July 16th, 5 to 7 at Soldier Memorial, Austin City Nights. Friday, July 30th, 5 to 7, White
Wedding, Soldier Memorial Park. August 13th, Garden State Radio, 5 to 7 again at Soldier Memorial Park. and we will be having fireworks every night afterwards. Um, movies in the park July 10th, 17th,
August 7th, and August 21st, uh, featuring Ghostbusters, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Sonic 3, and Minecraft. Uh, activities will begin at 6:30, movies begin at Dusk. Again, that is at
the Howell Library Hill, 318 Old Tavern Road. And that is another one of uh our community relations. Stephen Fetcher's great uh great nights. How night at the Blue Clause will be Thursday, July 24th,
2025. Starts at 7:05. Tickets can be purchased through the link on the township website. Um always fun. And we may even see one of our council people throw a baseball. So, um, finally, just
a quick update. Some people may have been seeing signs going up around town. There's one outside here, town hall. There's one going on Route 9 and one up on Route 33. So, that was part of a plan
that we had discussed going back about a year now. Um, we've been working with the sign company to replace the sign in front of town hall uh and to install two other landmark signs uh at no cost to the township and in fact uh it generates
revenue for us. So between the three signs, it brings in about $100,000 a year. Um they're in the process of installing them. The old sign from town hall is currently in storage at DPW, but will be installed um courtesy of Premier
Media in front of the Howell Township Police Department. So, that sign will be back up and running very soon as well. So, that is my update. Nothing for me. Nothing, Matt. Nothing,
Mayor. I can Can Mrs. Riddle and uh Captain Rizzo please come up? update on smoking in public places. Good evening. As you said, I'm here with Captain Rizzo of How Township Police and we just wanted to provide a public announcement and update on the
upandcoming um smoking and public places enforcement. As many of you have already learned through press releases and social media announcements, how Township will begin enforcing another component of its 2023 ordinance, smoking in public
places, electronic smoking device use and sales, and tobacco sales. This is a brief overview of the ordinance in a timeline as another measure of public education and announcement that smoking in public places is prohibited, which is especially timely as warmer weather
arrives and time outdoors increases. So, I'm just going to quickly just go over what that means and then captain will add on about um the enforcement that will be taking place. So, how's ordinance aligns with the New Jersey Smokefree Air Act? Smoking is prohibited
in parks, recreational, and athletic facilities, public places, and other township owned properties. This includes electronic smoking devices, combustible smoking materials such as cigarettes and cigars, and marijuana. Smoking in public places is
prohibited regardless of the substance being smoked or vaped. They don't have to check that. It's just smoking in public places. Um, hell is not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2023, over
313 of New Jersey's 564 municipalities have ban smoking in parks and recreational areas. The reason for enforcement is to keep public places healthy, safe, and enjoyable for everyone, including youth and people with health issues that may be affected
by secondhand smoke. And this law is not new, despite what some people think. Um, its roots go back to 2006. In 2006, the New Jersey Smokefree Air Act took effect, banning smoking in workplaces and indoor public places. In
2010, under a New Jersey Smokefree Air Act amendment, electronic smoking devices became included in the smoking ban. In 2019, the New Jersey Smokefree Air Act smoking ban was updated to include beaches and parks. So, it's a
state law. In 2021, how township hung bring breathe easy no smoking signs in parks, recreational areas, and other municipallyowned public property areas. In 2023, so it's exactly two years ago,
How Township smoking and public places, electronic smoking device use and sales and tobacco sales ordinance took effect with a unanimous vote by town council. How's breathe the easy signs were then updated to include a sticker with a QR code to the ordinance and the fines and
violations for easy public reference. So that was two years ago. Um house fines align with the New Jersey smoked free smokefree air act fines $250 for the first offense 500 for the second offense and a th000 for the third and subsequent
offenses. And the first fine can be waved at the How Township Municipal Court judge's discretion if the person proves completion of Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health's 8week nicotine and tobacco recovery program or another similar accredited cessation program.
And in New Jersey home rules, which means municipalities can choose to be stricter than the state with enforcement of laws. So that's just an overview and a timeline for people who were thinking that it was a cash grab or that we were just making this up and pulling it out of thin air or ordinance to pass two
years ago and it has been state law since 2019. So I'm going to hand it over Captain. Good evening everybody to go off uh and to add on to what Christa was talking about. We also felt it was responsible after we met to give the public ample
and adequate notice that not only have these things been legislated and issued uh that here are the warnings, here are what we are doing. So plenty of heads up to be compliant in this and it's not about enforcement, it's about quality of
life. So that was the whole purpose. This is in conjunction with what we've already done uh to enforce underage sales of uh and flavored vape products, underage sales of tobacco products throughout the town. It was uh very successful the last time that we came
up. Uh so this is all, you know, geared toward the same result in quality of life for the residents. not to infringe upon anybody's rights and their habits, but and then um the program with the court. The reason why we also spoke about that to have means to have a fine
be waved, it's not to be uh lenient, it's to also to be very conducive for people to kick the habit just like we did for other uh you know uh subjects that are suffering from addiction in various ways. So that is we're all trying to be on the same page and uh in
unison with what the goals are, but it's going to be geared toward the quality of life of the residents. So the officers will be issued guidance as to what these uh violations look like, how to take the appropriate action while being respectful and courteous, of
course. That's all we have. Thank you. All right. Uh to hearing of citizens and public comment on conset agenda items and general matters. 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 comment shall not exceed a total of 5 minutes. Speakers shall be notified when their time has run and no time extension shall be permitted. If you're here to speak on
a specific ordinance, I ask that you speak on that individual ordinance and not on the consent comments if you'd like to come up. And so to just to key off that, if people are here to speak about a specific ordinance, there's going to be a hearing on each ordinance
to be adopted tonight. So, in the interest of having everybody's thoughts heard, it would probably be best to wait until that ordinance is called so that we can hear all the comments at once. Well, there's there's two names here. Mosy
Pinter, is he still here? And uh Danny Adelman. That's me. Yes, sir. Sorry about that. I had a question for the captain. Good evening, council. Donnie Adelman. Uh, I'm a Jackson resident right now. I
am going to be moving to TAL sometime in the near future. Um, I am here for two reasons. Number one, couple years ago, I was involved in a pedestrian fatality. And for the past couple years, I've been petitioning the state DOT because they're the ones that oversee Route 9
and the controls of Route 9 in regards to putting up a fence, separating the barrier so that people can't cross illegally. They've run circles and r and they don't want to do it. I spoke to Manalopin who
has a fence along there because they've had a again a similar amount of traffic fatalities and they went ahead and they paid for it themselves. So I may suggest if not request that how will look into putting up fencing along Route 9 so that
pedestrians whether they're sober or intoxicated will not cross illegally in the middle of the night and get hit by cars. That's number one. Number two, um I've engaged in some first constantly protected activities throughout the
township and had a few run-ins with how police department. Some went good, some went bad. And I was kind of hoping that uh the chief was going to be here tonight because I've sent him certified letters. He's ignored me. I did the
normal IIA thing. I hate to say it and it sounds spiteful, but they're just covering for each other. I asked the internal affairs officer if I did exactly what that police officer did to me to you right now, which you say is okay and perfectly legal and not in any
way irregular. He said he'd arrest me. So I guess at this point, I don't know if it's possible, but can maybe the chief be ordered to communicate with me? I tried going to Mammoth County prosecutor's office. Once they heard
that this was about another police agency investigating an internal affairs, they decided they were not even going to take it seriously. They didn't even write anything down. So, if that could be done, great. If not, then there's only one alternative. I'd rather not go that route. All right? But
there's some really bad going on. And again, your police department is more afraid of a camera than they are of somebody walking around with a machine gun. I haven't tried walking around machine gun but believe me I have no intentions of doing anything like that but for the way they've responded I am
very I am telling you those officers are more afraid of cameras than they are of weapons than they are of drugs and they are of you know if somebody would throw a an open bag of fentanyl in the middle of the police station put a pull a camera out and that's how you make a police officer
scared all right it needs to be addressed and I would like some help with the township so this way you know I don't have to sue the township and the officers will get some sort of retraining, I guess, might be the thing that I'm going after. It's not punishment. It's not anything. I'd like
to have it not happen again. But when the police chief, it doesn't even want to respond. I am I'm left with very few options. You know, like I said, the prosecutor's office once they hear I'm trying to have a internal affairs investigation followed upon, they don't want to do anything about it. Have a
great night, everyone. Anyone else? One more. Mrs. Vez. Betty Veles Gimble, Victory Road. My presence today is merely as a reminder to the public and council of
the ongoing Victory Road warehouse litigation. I am well aware of the many topics and needs within the township. So, we don't want to get lost in the shuffle. I hope Mr. Clark has been updating you regarding Victory Road, and if not, I hope you're asking questions.
Most recently, the plaintiff requested a case management conference with SK uh to be scheduled by the court. I'm sure you have been made aware that the plaintiff wishes to move this along. So, I am praying that our township attorney is
well prepared. I'd also like to address uh some comments made on the April 1st council meeting by Councilman Fred Ger about me. I would like to quote Councilman Ger because I'm a bit
confused here. I understand everyone has the right to say what they want to say on the First Amendment, but that right does not preclude you from the responsibility of what you've said. End quote. My response to this, Councilman, is that I take full responsibility for
what I have said and always do. Councilman Gazer also stated, "Understand it's not the zoning or planning board because those are quasi judicial boards and when you come before those, you have to tell the truth. So
anyone can come up here and say whatever they please and that's it." I'm not sure that was end quote. I'm not sure what is more upsetting. The fact that his statements elude that I'm being untruthful or the lack of empathy
for the residents of Victory Road in that you focused on what was said about you and Councilman Woman Evelyn O'Donnell or the inability to assume responsibility for your actions. You went on to say that you intended to set the record straight. You stated that you were asked to meet
with the people like you always do at the time and had no idea the residents you were meeting with were all from Victory Road. I would like to provide information which proves otherwise and definitely shows that you do more than dismiss social media. The folder that I
provided you is of social media um websites I'm sorry not websites um social platforms in which uh we are Howell New Jersey. On March 31st, 23, there was a thread regarding Howell's warehouse, Victory Road, 200,000 square
ft um in space. Uh Frick Ger responds and engages in this thread. If you look to page four, Councilman Ger says to one of the residents on Victory Road, I sent you a private message. On page
five again, he states, "I suggest you take the advice that I sent you in the private message and we sit down to have a nice chat together." That's an invitation. Excuse me. Excuse me, ma'am. I just want to say at the outset, one of the main rules of addressing the body is
to address the body as a whole. It seems the thrust of your comments have been to single out a single member. So, I just like to have that said right now. One of the main rules of this I understand the rule. If you had seen the April um he
called me out by my name and alluded that I was being untruthful. So I am addressing his comments. I understand where you're coming from, but one of the primary rules I'll continue without his name. Is that okay? If you address the
council as a body. Thank you. As a body. All right. I'll continue. So a message again was sent that uh private uh to uh chat on page six. Victory Road residents uh resident that
was um discussed with the private message says let's keep our private message private. Okay, which acknowledges that the message was sent. On page seven, a second Victory Road resident chimed in. And on page eight,
Councilman Ger jumps in. and also invites for a meeting. The meeting took place on April 3rd. I do have a text uh uh thread uh which proves this. So, the meeting with with residents was a rookie
mistake and it was puzzling is that Councilwoman O'Donnell didn't advise you of such since she had been on the planning board a number of years. If you noticed that the Victory Road residents were there, why didn't you excuse yourself? I think it's important to know that
Victory Road residents again have been through a lot and I've given you information. Even the um Republican chair discusses your request regard uh behavior regarding regarding Victory Road and not being able to be part of
the vote. So, I've given you all of this evidence. Thank you, Betty. Your time has um you did in fact know who you were meeting with. Thank you, Betty. Thank you. prior to the meeting. Anyone else from the public? Good evening. Mark Paresi, Castle Court.
I I had a question about the new signs that are being put up that are going to generate $100,000 of revenue a year for the town. Um, I mean, it looks nice. it. But who these are questions I suppose that could be answered after I'm done asking my questions. Um who technically
owns those signs? Uh is it the township? Is it the company that in install the signs? And I guess the main crux of my question is who gets to decide what gets put up on the sign for advertising? If
the town is going to be um selling the the space as advertising space, who regulates who gets to advertise on that sign? Can like any third party outside entity come in and say, "We want to pay,
you know, $5,000 for a week to advertise our business." Could a political candidate get up there and say, "I want to spend $5,000 for a week to advertise my candidacy on the sign." Could a an an organization connected with the
Middle Eastern conflict come in here and say that we want to buy advertising space on this sign? if you could just share with the public if there's any parameters or regulations regarding advertising on that sign. Thank you. Anyone
else? I'm seeing none. So, I have a motion to close public comment. I'll make a motion. We'll second. All in favor? I I I response to public comments.
So, fencing along Route 9, we are actually looking at it right now. Um costing it out, trying to figure out what uh what we can do with the state with regard to it. So, that is a work in process. Um in terms of ordering the
chief to communicate with Mr. Adelman, um I'm not even sure what's going on. So, what I'll do first is reach out to the chief and find out what's happening. Um, and then advise counsel with regard to that. Um, Miss Vez, uh, you know,
we'll take it under advisement and we'll have Mr. Glenn reach out to Mr. Gazer, I guess. Um, and then Mr. Py, who owns the signs? the sign company owns them and they control the content um subject to
certain restrictions and parameters that they set. So um we can reach out to them and get more information and if you want it just shoot me an email and I will provide it to you. Any elected officials like to make any comments? Two.
No, I only have one uh comment to Mr. Adam. I I don't know who you are, sir. And I don't I uh am completely offended that you came up here and you disparaged our police department and Mr. Star was not here to defend himself and your
comments about the cameras and all the other stuff uh is uh a little concerning to me. And uh there's three sides to every story. There's your side, the police side and the truth. So you coming up here and uh you know running off at
your mouth for those few minutes, I do not appreciate you know you going after our police department. Period. Not from the floor. Sirv point of order is not to be called by a member of the audience. It's not part you don't have the privilege.
Shall we continue? All right. On to um consent agenda items. We will vote on consent agenda items. Does anyone wish to vote on any of these items separately? No.
No. So we have um resolution. I would make a motion for uh resolution 25143 to and including R25151. Second. Councilman Fischer, yes. Councilman Nadell, yes. Councilman
O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Gazer, yes. Mayor Lejo, yes. Thank you. The consent resolutions passed. Okay, we are on to unfinished business. Public hearing, adoption of ordinances. I am ordinance 25-15, an ordinance of
the township of Howell supplementing chapter 188, article 10 zones creating subsection 73.1 establishing the residential 25 R25 zone. So, Mr. Mayor, before we open it up for
the hearing, um we're going to have Mr. Howard and our planner, Miss Beam, go through what's going on with regard to this particular zone. Okay. So, what this first ordinance is doing, it's taking a small chunk of property,
about 300 lots in the Ramtown section of How, which is southeastern section of Howell. Um, creating a new zone. So, this ordinance creates a new zone, which is the R-25 R25 zone. Um, with that has its own bulk and dimensional standards. Um that is the the text of the
ordinance. Um just as a quick summary, the ordinance lists the permitted uses, accessory uses which are um pretty standard in terms of um what you would expect in a residential zone. So permitted uses, single family residential, town homes, agricultural
horiculture, uh community residences for developmentally disabled um and multi-generational family accommodations which are better known as motheraughter spaces. Um, accessory uses are accessory to the principal use. So, your patios, your decks, things like that. I'm not
going to go through the whole list. Um, does create, like I said, uh, bulk and dimensional standards, 8,000 foot minimum lot size. Um, 50 50 foot frontage, 25 ft front yard setback, 6T sideyard, 25 ft rear yard. I know this
is a lot of numbers. Um, not um, inconsistent with some of our other residential zones in town. Um, so that is what the ordinance is doing. It's this one is creating the zone. It's not reszoning any property. This is creating that section of the ordinance. The next
ordinance is to the specific change for block and lots to go into this zone. So that means that first the town has to create the zone and then after the zone is created there's going to be another ordinance that will reszone certain
properties from R3 to this R25. So this is just the establishment of the actual zone itself having nothing to do with individual properties. It's closed. You want to explain more or you want me to open up the public? All right. Yeah, you can if as if as if as if as if as if
as if as if as if as if as if as people have questions on that. So the bottom line is if you see the the green boundaries that's going to be the R25 zone and this ordinance creates that zone. The next ordinance is what says
these properties belong in that zone. It's a two-step process. It's just what we have to do by law. So, I'm going to open up to the public. Um, sir, can you please come forward? Anyone that wants to make a comment on this. We want to do each one individually.
Ordinance 25-15 is what we're opening public comment on right now. Yeah. to the gentleman's questions. There's two ordinances that apply to this zoning. You can come up and speak on either of them. Um, and we'll go
through it. Hi. Hi. Good evening. William Bole, uh, 54 Laurelai Drive. I'm assuming the property we're talking about is the old nursery. It's the old nursery. No, it's everything that was within that green
sort of boundaried area. So, everything in that area, which is up here right now. Okay. Uh I guess the first question I have is when did it go from uh obviously commercial property to residential? We we didn't know anything about that. I always thought it was a commercial property and now you're
talking about putting residential homes in and we're already up to an ordinance to bring it to R3 or R25 and then R3. um as a homeowner, you know, that abuts that nursery. Has anybody done any land surveys? Because Lauraai Drive is
sinking. We have sink holes in our driveways. We have sink holes in the streets. I just took a picture the other day at the corner of um Laurelai and Albatross. The town was over there filling in a great if you look at the road, it's completely unlevel. Number
two is we're looking at a nursery that under my what kind of chemicals were they using to treat their flowers, do this? Has any soil surveys been done? Water surveys. What is the change? If you look at the grade from that um nursery through our properties, the
entire development slopes down into a retention basin made for water. Has anybody done a survey of when you start digging up that property, what's going to happen to everybody's house? Um, these are things that, you know, before we jump to R3 and R25, why aren't
we jumping into what can happen to the people's homes? We get a letter in the mail and a certified letter to the same thing the next day and we're being told again. Uh, we're going to go to R3 to follow the law. We're going to do this. What are you doing to undermine people's
properties? There are I've taken pictures. I've walked the neighborhood. I've talked to the neighbors. People's driveways are sinking. My neighbor had a sinkhole. that 8 ft deep. The town came and filled it. Guess what? It's sinking again. There's something going on. It started, I think, more when you did some
work on Newton's Corner Road, but now you're talking about changing obviously the entire grade that everything is going to be there. Again, when were all of these surveys done before we shove R3 and R25 to the public? Um, who is the contractor that's
supposed to be coming in to do this? Do we have an idea of what the residents could be looking for? What are what are we looking at? Is it town homes? I heard you say mother daughter homes um 8,000 square feet. What What are we talking about? Who's the builder?
We'll answer all your questions at the end. I'm sorry. We'll answer all your questions. Okay. I'm sorry. All right. Well, yeah, I'm looking. Who's the builder? You know, the contractor that's being hired. What other things has he done in how um is 8,000 the minimum lot size or is that what we're going to say standard when we make all the property?
Um I heard mother daughter isn't that to me multif family housing. Okay. Um you know uh and I gather this uh mentioned something about property line. So from my property to wherever is going
to be built on there. Um is that going to be discussed in the next you assessment that are you guys trying to ratify how far you can build from our property lines? what's going to happen to the wooded area that does go around there or the fencing that's all there. Um, you know, again, there's
there's a lot of questions that I just had and talking with a lot of my neighbors in that area. I guess the main concern is the sink holes for Laura Lai Drive if nobody's been out there and what's going to happen structurally to all of our homes. Other than that, I'll wait for
your questions and answers. Thank you. Anyone else? Hi, my name is Judy Ligus. I live at 570 Newton's Corner Road. Um, my question is, uh, has any traffic surveys been done? The traffic on Newton's corn Corner Road in the last 26 years that
I've lived there has grown exponentially. It's dangerous and to add housing like this will add to that. um you can't really widen the road or uh do anything to improve the
traffic and uh also people live in this area, this type of area where I live to get away from the city like living and all the houses and town houses, it's just going to be so um congested, which
is not what we're looking for. We're not looking for that lifestyle. And by continuing to take properties like this and crush all these houses in and make more traffic because you have this property, then you're going to have the Ramtown Flores, which is another
property that's probably going to be developed and the whole area is just going to be um more and more congested and and the traffic is just going to get worse. So, has anyone taken that into account? Any any real traffic studies?
It's not a traffic study on a Sunday morning like I saw over by uh when they wanted to build the um the truck uh depot over by Randolph Road. They were doing it on a Sunday morning. No traffic then. We need to
have traffic studies done during the busiest time and the traffic will grow exponentially if we do something like this and take all that property. and it's just not fair to the people who want a quiet lifestyle and not a congested um area right down the road.
Thank you. Hi Jamie Zimmerman 6 Road. Um, so that zone is now zoned at R3 and it's going to go to a new zone of R25. I was wondering if maybe we could
have a description of the big differences in regards to the two different zones. Um, higher density, I guess. I I'm not really quite sure. And I think that the people probably would want to know what
the real big differences are. And also um what is the reasons for going from R3 to R25? Is there a reason that we are that that it's on the table in regards to
changing the zone? And also if it is a higher density um like the other woman had said, my concern is the congestion in that area, the traffic congestion.
um when you get into higher density um areas, you know, you obviously have a lot more cars and right by the Wawa there with even being in the morning, the congestion for the buses, you know,
there's a real issue. So, is there a thought in regards to maybe putting a traffic light there? I mean, we have to look into regards the congestion of that area. Um also the infrastructure
uh when you have higher density areas creates more um you know sewage. So if you could explain that in regards to if it's been talked to the sewage company increased sewage um like I said and the
increased congestion. So thank you Steven Moyer uh 2638 Lakewood Allenwood Road. Uh my question I will answer a couple of yours. The uh R3 currently is 15,000 square feet. We're going down to
the papers that was sent out was 8,000 square feet which is actually different than what's on that screen. Can we blow that screen up? Yeah, I made a mistake. It is 8,000 ft. I made a mistake on the map at 7500. You are absolutely correct. 800,000. Correct. The way we look at it,
why do we need to change it? We're only changing it to have a certain area get more houses. Okay. It was explained as far as keeping everything similar. Okay. Why do we need to change
it? The gasp that just came is kind of curious. Uh right there, the little top area top left. So, you're saying my property, which is 45,000 square ft. The three other ones are 1 acres
each at 45,000 square ft. So, the way that you're doing this now, and I see one of my neighbors here, we could sell those four pieces of land and build 16 houses, 15 houses. Okay, that's better for me for
my property value. Why are we doing it? Why? There's no reason. Okay, that's what I don't understand. And then also 1980 I'm actually zoned
AR1. I don't know where you got R3. So right here Howell Township Planning Board for 1980 dated October 7th, 1980. If you want, I could give it
to you to make a copy. Okay. But when was that changed? What's nice about it? Somebody stated that they received a certified letter. Okay. Where's my signature on a letter?
Certified means you sign it. Am I right? No. Certified is just dropped in the mail. It means they have to send it certified. They don't require you to sign it. They have to send it certified to you. They don't They don't require you to sign for it. That's the law.
Sorry. register. Okay. How do you certify that it was received then? Dropped in the mail. Certified mail has always been delivered, signed. The green sheet, yellow sheet, whatever color it
is, uh pink sheet gets then sent back that it was certified. Okay. It's just something that I don't understand because I've received other certified mail in the past. So, we're going from 15,000 square feet down to
8,000 for no other reason than to open up a piece of land for development. Leave it at the 15,000 square ft. It only affects that property and mine and my three neighbors. Why? That's the question. We
don't do something like this if there's a reason. There's a reason for houses. Somebody asks for the name of the builder. Okay. How many houses are proposed? Could we at least get that? So there's some sort of closure to be able
to understand. But if you want from 1980 AR1 is what I'm zoned in. So that one there just null and voids this because currently you're saying on R3 1980 which
I did speak to uh 1980. I'm sorry. Let me get that. I did speak to Mr. Howard who stated if you do have anything that predates state in the uh zoning. Okay. To please make it aware. I excuse I'm sorry for using his name.
speaking to the board, but I do have it here that I could share with you. So, that one we're moving forward with something for no other reason except to build more houses. And you're talking to someone who was here before
Parkside, before Crossroads. I was before everything. I've been there since 1990. So, I've been there before. I haven't never been up here standing to argue for Parkside across the street from me from the property behind my house that used to be low income that
should have been low income that way that was originally zoned for. So, we've changed things over the year. This one's just being changed just for more houses being built there. Mike, time's up. Evening. My name is Jim Hassner. I live
at 48 Lai Drive. I lived there for 27 years. And in that 27 years, it was woods right behind me. And understand the trees got knocked down. And ever since the trees got knocked down, my backyard and Lurai Drive from Virginia
Drive out to uh Partridge Lane is sinking. You go around my house, my foundation's got cracks in it. Over in the side of my house is starting to collapse the ground. So if you put more houses, where's that water going? Where's it going to drain? Do we
know? You just can't build something and just say we're going to build it. What about protecting us? and not the other people that build that making money. 27 years. That's all I got to say. And one
more question. Sorry. And how many percentage could be low income? Like what type of housing it's going to be? We'd like to know that also. Thank you. Anyone else? or Robert Spleer at 2550 Allwood Lakewood Road. I'm actually in Wall
Township. Uh that green line bought is my house. So I need to know exactly how much value I'm going to lose since my property taxes are like through the roof to begin with. Then you guys don't pay any taxes around here. Like you paid nothing on a dime compared to what I'm
paying. So am I gonna have houses sitting right on top of my house now. On top of that, you know, parks I went in, nobody ever looks at it. You can have drainage all you want. But when I rain today, I got the East River coming down the front of my driveway.
So I agree with these guys. I don't know where they're getting the stakeholders from, but be quite honest with you, you got a water problem, a major one on that side. So, you want to build houses, build them all the way over by Route 9. Thanks. Good evening, council members. Gerald
Skank, 115 Newton's Corner Road. Um, and my residence is on the bottom end of that between uh memorial and uh constitution. And I'm not sure I'm not clear on on how the upper half the other gentleman was talking about was included
in uh in that conversion to R25. Uh and I'm still at uh R3. So we have uh halfacre properties on those two lots. Um one lot 150 uh 135 and 136. and uh just uh just not clear
on how you know the um how that was not included in uh in that in that conversion. So I know you can't answer me in here now, but um if someone can get back to me, that'd be great. Thank you very much. Anyone else from the public? I'm seeing none. So we'll make a
motion to close. public comment. Motion to close public on that particular ordinance. Second. All in favor? I Jen, I think there's there's some misconception of I agree. Yes. Of what this is all about. And um so this is
just a zoning ordinance. There's no development application any and the majority of area that we are proposing to reszone are existing 8,000 foot lots. So what this does is takes all those
properties and makes them conforming versus the 15,000 ft requirement which they do not conform to. There is no application, there is no proposal, there is no developer, there is no contractor, there is no nothing. It is a zoning
ordinance only to take this entire area and reszone it for what the properties have been developed at. There's literally no application for development. There's no homes proposed. There's no contract or developer.
Nobody. Um I'm not understanding what the question is about sewer. The whole area is sewer. So I'm not really understanding that question. And the sinkhole situation is not will not be impacted one iota by reszoning the area.
So anything that happens in this area, the 99% of it is already developed. We'll have to go to the planning board. We'll have traffic studies. We'll have drainage studies. And quite frankly, I get that there's concerns about the drains currently.
anything that comes to the planning board or the zoning board moving forward will have to adhere to the new the new stormwater rigs which will be nothing but a benefit if that happens. So I am not 100% sure and there is absolutely no
proposal for affordable housing in this area. That is not what this is. It's a strict zoning. That's it. And you're basically taking the area that has 8,000 square foot lots currently that are und sized for the zone 15,000 foot zone and
are making them conforming. So that is what this is doing. So most most of Ramtown was built probably some sections as far back as the 50s ' 60s7s 80s. Um, there was always a cluster option in the R3 zoning
through about 19 mid1 1980s and the cluster option allowed you to go down to 8,000t lot sizes. So almost every lot in Ramtown, very few are 15,000 ft². At some point later, the zoning was changed to R3, but that leaves every lot in
Ramtown at 8,000 square ft. There are some ordinances that try and correct some of the non-conformities that exist there between setbacks that on an 8,000 foot lot are different than a 15,000 foot lot. So, for example, if somebody's house burns down, I have to do quite a
bit of analysis right now to try and avoid a family that maybe just lost their house from having to go and get variances to build back on the lot that was created by the township 50 years ago, had a house on it for 50 years, a calamity happened, and now I have to
tell you to go get a variance because there's this odd kink in the zoning. So, these standards that are being proposed are more in line with almost every house that's built in Ramtown. not 100% inclusive. As Jen had said, there's no builder, there's no studies on
chemicals, uh there's no drainage studies because nothing is being proposed because nothing is being proposed. So there is zone that this is zoning 300 plus different parcels. There's not one specific parcel we're talking about.
um changes to congestion, um whether a development has enough sewage capacity to tie into the sewer, all reviewed by the planning board if and when a development application is ever filed and reviewed. Um regarding the gentleman on Lakewood Allenwood Road who has a
1980 ordinance for the AR1 zone, we have probably from 1980 through current 12 different zoning maps. zoning changes regularly because you have a 1980 ordinance that said you are a1. The zoning has changed since then. Uh right now that area based on our current
zoning map is R3. Um when we spoke at the window, you had questions about a commercial use which could be grandfathered if there was an approval for commercial use which you were pretty sure you had and I haven't seen any documentation to that.
So we're still not sure about that. Um, in terms of again drainage issues in the area, any any development that comes forward is a going to be reviewed under today's standards which are very different than anything's ever been reviewed, especially back into the 80s.
The state has gotten extremely strict on storm water management and anything that were to come in would have to meet those strict standards. I think we addressed That's it. Anything else? One last item about the certified mail because if there's any questions about notice, certified mail means we certify that we
sent it. We do not have to, nor is it reasonable for us to confirm receipt of every piece of mail. So, we go to the post office when we mail it. It gets stamped that it was sent and legally our obl Has that cleared up uh questions?
There's no purchase of any property. This is simply a reszoning of No shouting, please. There is no this is not a reaction to any property transfer. This is a
reszoning of property based upon the fact as Matt has stated, the majority of those lots in this proposal are 8,000 square ft. The zoning has changed since these lots were created. Any person
that's in this area that wants to do anything will wind up before the zoning board because they're undersized. This will reconcile that. This there's no builder, there's no proposed development, there's no nothing. It's a simple reasonzoning. That's it. Why don't you make the existing laws?
We're being recorded. Please stop shouting. Thank you. So, why can't you make the existing law? Okay. So, the public comment period of this ordinance is over. So, I appreciate your concern, but yet we have a record
that's being recorded. This is a a meeting that needs to be done in in an organized fashion. The public meeting portion of this ordinance is closed. And so now we're back to the board. Let's go. If if anyone has further questions,
there's the next ordinance where we adopt the zone. If you have further questions during that one where it relates to specifically for your location. tonight. That's right after we adopt this one. No. All right. So, I'm going to make a
motion to adopt ordinance 25-50. Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadell. Yes. Councilman O'Donnell. Yes. Deputy Mayor Ger. Yes. Mayor Leio. Yes. Thank you. The ordinance is adopted. Ordinance 25-16, an ordinance of the
Township of Howell changing the zoning of certain properties within Township of Howell from residential R3 to zoning designation residential 25R25. So, as I mentioned previously, the um the ordinance we just passed created the
zone. This is placing properties within that zone. And based on the map in front of you, it's everything within the green area. Um, if you received the mailer and you're not within the green area, that is because you are within 200 ft of that zone and we are required to notice you. But only the properties within that
green area are being reszoned. I'll open this up to the public. Anyone like to come forward that didn't come up before? The gentleman in the back row, you had your hand up, sir. Ordinance 25-16, public comment. Sorry, I realized that you had said your
name and address, please. Oh, Jamie Zimmerman, 67 Road. Thank you. Sorry. Um, is there a reason why you can't cookie cutter it up if you're so concerned about bringing these lots into compliance by having the existing lots
as being the R25, but the lots that have not been developed yet, which are big huge lots that have been sold or going to be sold as being in the R3 so that you're still con, you know, maintaining your 15,000
square feet lots. There had been a reason why it was approved as being R3. There had to have been reason because they didn't want to have the higher density. I realized that the existing homes were probably part of a a
zone that was previously done way back when, but then you reszoned it R3, which was the 15,000 square ft. So maybe reszoning the existing lots to
conform with the lot the with the size of the lots that you had indicated as being the um R25 and then the lots that don't have any or the areas that don't have any homes at all to be zoned the R3 and and
keeping the 15,000 square foot lots. So Hi board, my name is Frankillio. I'm from 15 Albatross and I just have a question. I've been here six years. I've moved into summer 2019 and not once has this been brought up prior to this year with the sale of the florest that was
around a corner from my house. question is what is driving this decision to happen this year with that sale obviously which is concerning a lot of the residents that live in that area trying to figure out exactly why we are changing from R3 to R25 smaller lot
sizes to conform at 8,000 square ft when my house is at 10,500 ft as far as a lot size right so I'm over the 8,000 I'm under the 15,000 and I guarantee you if you look at a lot of the property sizes that are in the area they are exactly
the same if not close to it where they're under and they're over. So what is driving the change this year versus the last 6 years since I've been there? So obviously there's twofold to this question. One, why is it being driven this year? And two, is it in correlation
with the sale of the formtown florest to develop more homes in that particular zone in that particular lot? Thank you. Hi, William Oil, 54 Laura Eli Drive. Again, um I did have a question. I
noticed that the body unanimously pushed this through even with concerns raising everything. And as it said, um allegedly there's no buyer, there's no intention. We're just doing this for the sake of doing it. I don't understand it. But I'd like to ask anybody on the board or the
body, whatever you want to call it, what's the last 8,000 foot home that's been built in Ramtown? Cuz everything I see is a monstrosity going on a beautiful mini mansions everywhere I look. Now all of a sudden, as it was just bought up, the Florest is sold and now we need to go down to 8,000 square foot homes. Like to know a reason for
it. As you said, what are we looking to do? What are we looking to bring in? Different traffic patterns. I was assured, oh, we'll do the survey to make sure that the drainage is good, but I didn't hear you're going to take care of the the properties behind it and to the left and to the right of it and in front of it. Our survey is going to be do
about where that water is running. It is an issue. Um two, I think it's unpress um unprofessional. I think the body was a little hostile in the response. It's remember who we are as in taxpayers. We are people here and we're concerned about our neighborhood. We moved here for a reason. And again, I I would just
like before we just blanketly vote things across, maybe take a little bit more information of why are we doing this now? Again, show me the last 8,000 foot home. I, you know, I gather we're grandfathered in the guy that was R1. Well, we grandfathered him into R3. Why
isn't everybody at 8,000 foot or whatever, just being grandfathered into what's currently on the books? Why are we going backwards? What What are we building here? Row homes. Is is that the the eventuality of it? I heard mother daughter, but then I heard in the same thing from the body, there is no plan
for anything. So, a lot of things seems to be misinformed here. You know, the letter's a little vague about what we're talking about. And thankfully, you explained the ordinances, but in one point I heard row homes, I heard this, I heard that. And then from somebody else from the body, I heard we're not doing
anything. Has the property been sold? Who's it been sold to? I'd like to know that. Thank you. My name is John Greeny. I live at 88 Laurelai Drive. I used to be your mail carrier. I just want to say one thing and straighten everything out. A
certified letter must be sent and the return receipt, which is yellow card, must be signed. I'm a carrier for 40 years. Don't go wrong. Period. Anyone else from the public?
Any other comments from the professionals? Oh, I'm sorry. You know, I really would like to I'm sorry, your name for the record. I'm sorry. Yes. Judith Legis, 570 Newton my room. Sorry. And uh again, based on what I think his name was Frank. Um it's very
concerning that um all of you voted for this and didn't even take into consideration what we said tonight. This is our neighborhood. We don't want congestion. We don't want what's happening in other towns, people to be on top of one another and above all safety. I live on right on Newton's
Corner Road and the traffic there and the accidents by Easy Street which is two houses away from me is is expan. It's ridiculous. It's like every other day there's an accident. The traffic is is unbelievable. Are you taking that
into consideration because you already voted and we do know you have a builder. You have there's somebody already to reszone it. You're talking to me directly. I am a consultant for the town. I understand. But you made the statement that there's no visit. There's there's no fire. There's no builder.
There there must be something to have this resoning done. There there must be something. And why aren't we putting them on larger pieces of property if we're going to and why are we taking extra property? Why can't we leave something as open space? That is the beauty of why we live in the area we
live in. But you obviously have your minds already set. And that's a shame that you didn't take the time to listen and to take into consideration what everyone here took the time out to say and to come and and make a representation of our neighborhood.
We want to live in beauty and that's a shame that you already voted on it. You already made up your mind. You didn't even bother. So sometimes that's why people don't show up because to meetings like this because we already know you made up your mind and you don't really have a concern for what we say. I I hope
you just do the right thing for that piece of property because we don't want to live in a city and in in congestion. We don't. Thank you. Matt and Jen, uh, listening to everybody here today,
uh, we we still haven't closed the public hearing on the ordinance. Is there anyone else from the public that like to come forward? I just you need Anyone else from the public come? He's asking you to speak louder. He's asking you to
speak louder in the back. Someone hear some of you guys talk. Anyone else from the public like to come forward? If not, I'm going to make a motion to close public. Second. All in favor? Hi. Hi.
Is there anything going on with the sale of property over there? First of all, we're not involved in the sale of private property. People own that property. Correct. Correct. I Is there any pending applications for any of that
land? There's no application. And Matt, you would know more than me, but there's no pending application before us for any property in this section of town. I'll be very I'll be very clear on what the last application we received, and it went fully public during our affordable housing discussion, and there was a pro
two projects set forward on the Ramtown Flores site, which was a townhouse project and a single family project. Neither were chosen, neither were selected in the plan. Not heard anything about it since. So, a as that property is now that somebody owns, if somebody
wanted to do something with it, they're going to have to go through the entire process of uh putting in an application, going through zoning or planning. There's going to be studies and all that. Right now, that's just property that we want to reszone, right? Period.
Now, excuse me. My question is what Why is it better that we reszone it that way? It's not. So, this is not a zoning ordinance for that property. This is a
zoning ordinance for this entire area that's in green. Those lots, while some of them may be beyond 8,000 square ft, they don't comport to the 15,000 square foot requirement. And the cluster section in this area of town has been
removed in what the 80s, late 80s, early 90s. Any person in this section of town that wants to do anything on their property will then have to come to the zoning board for a variance because the lot's unders sized. This is an intention
of reconciling the zoning to what is actually out there. That's what this is doing. Okay, that makes sense to me. Thank you. Why are you going back? There was a question about multif uh the multigenerational housing. That was something that was added into the
ordinance in uh 2018. Every residential zone allows multigener generational housing. That's your motherdaughter space. There's um conditions within the ordinance you have to meet. You have to enter into an agreement and a license with the township. Um, what that does is it allows you to create a accessory
secondary apartment for lack of better word, but it's tied to family use only. It is not multif family housing. The whole ordinance is designed to prevent multifamily housing. It's made so that you could have your in-law move in um request that was not covered under the
ordinance back pre-18. And um that was asked before neglected to answer that. So, I apologize. I also have a question for the professionals. Uh, it's come up that the way that the letter was sent, it did not receive a signature from the residents
that I'm going to defer to you. I'm from what a mail carrier from what a mail carrier says. The MLUL requires that we send it certified. It does not require that there's an actual signature. It is required to be sent
certified mail. And the way and that is for anything to do with you, the planning board, the zoning board, any notice has to be sent certified. It doesn't require that there's an actual acceptance of the letter. That's what the law says.
So my So then let me ask my my question is if the postal service is under the impression that it requires a signature, then we have that's incorrect. I'm sorry. So, I will answer this question as a
lawyer. Now, I'll put my lawyer hat on. So, the reason you send things by certified mail is to prove it was sent. It may surprise people in here to learn that not everybody signs for certified mail. And if it would be easy to thwart
some kind of zoning application or service of a lawsuit by not signing for certified mail, people would do it. What the court requires is that it be sent by certified mail. So there is proof of service of that letter. It doesn't have
to show that it was actually accepted and signed for and that's the point of it. Okay? And so the gentleman who was the mail carrier may be correct from his point of view, but I'm telling you from a legal point of view, service is complete when the letter is sent. I'm
telling you that I will not let customer sign it. I sent it back and then we show it was delivered. My concern only is that we are following our exact intent of of the law. We are
we sent it certified mail. That's what the law requires. Period. End of discussion. Yeah. For our purposes, a refusal is as good as a signature because it shows that a delivery attempt was made on that address. That's fine. Every single applicant that comes to
your planning or zoning board does the same exact process. And like Mr. Clark said, if it took one person saying, "I'm not going to sign for it." Ha, I wasn't noticed. Now your application can't go forward. It's obviously not how it's going to work. You prove you sent it. You did your job in terms of notice and
that's it. Excuse me. Can we get somebody from the board and then somebody just stated that there was two of them? I'm going to clarify this. There's no applications pending before any
municipal body. What I will say is that the town, as I'm sure all of you are well aware, is in the process of conforming to the the affordable housing obligations. As such, we have
over the past what 6 to 8 months accepted meetings from anyone who has requested and there were requests that were not incorporated. There are no pending
formal applications in the town. Period. Okay. So, let's divide it up into two sections. First is what's pending before the boards, zoning board or planning board. There is nothing pending before the zoning board or the planning board pertaining to any parcel within this
zone. What happened was previously while we were working to comply with our COA obligation, we met with a number of developers. We met with developers who had an interest in developing parcels up in North Howell, Central, South Howell,
Ramtown, and they had proposals for it. We met with a developer. who had two proposals for a parcel in this zone and we rejected both of them. There is nothing currently pending before any board in this town or before the governing body or before anybody to do
anything with anything in that zone other than this current reasonzoning. And those were not applications. Those were concepts. They were ultimately drawings of what could go there for consideration. And that's it. Could you clarify that? Very well. Thank you.
and I appreciate what you say. However, could you and just talk, sir? We're not going to, sir. Public comments closed. I just wanted to clarify something that I don't think I I don't think what everyone realizes is that we change zoning all
the time. Matt, when was the last time we changed all those SED zones, those six zones? We did dozen dozens of ordinances, John. Dozens of ordinances. It It happens all the time. We do it to make everything compliant. that we're going to be looking at other zones moving forward as well. It's nothing
unique to this part of Ramtown that we're reszoning. We're making it compliant with the buildings that are there. We're doing it in other parts of town as well to make it compliant with the master plan. So, this is part of a longer term plan. Anybody who has been listening to me
when I was the township attorney and now manager, I've I've complained about the patchwork zoning that exists in this town that allows for odd uses to happen in places they have no business belonging. So, we all agreed like the
Monmouth Commerce Center was going to be on a 100 acres down um at the end of Randolph. It totally inappropriate. So we reszoned it and there's a different use now. So we're trying to overcome
years of sort of mishmash and make consistency and that is a goal of the MLUL so that the zones do have commonality uh within themselves and that's the point of this exercise. So yeah, I I I wish there was something
more sinister than that, but this is the part of a longer term process throughout the town to try and make things so that the character of various areas are preserved and uses that don't necessarily fit within a particular zone won't be there. They'll be in a more
appropriate zone. So, you know, I'm talking about things like our redevelopment corridors on Route 9 and Route 33 where businesses and more intense traffic uses might be appropriate. This is clearly a residential area. I mean, I can see it
with my own eyes. So, we can, you know, safely say that that's probably better for the area. And that's something that we're looking at as a body right now. And it's one step of many that we need to take to kind of get a little bit more control over what's been happening over
the years. Councilwoman O'Donnell, according to the MLUL law, I did mail each letter regular and certified mail. Thank you. Thank you. Sir, public comment period is over. I know that it's been going on.
The the time for public comment was 15 minutes ago and it's ended. All right, sir. And and and Mrs. Mrs. Pinkis, I could assure you, okay, everyone here knows I'm new, okay? We've
had multiple meetings with our township officials in regards to this change in the Ramtown section. Okay, from my understanding, okay, I'm pretty intelligent guy. Everything that we're
saying tonight that are the answers is all about conforming and consistency to what is around everything that's there. So that site is a 10acre site,
the Ramtown Forest. That's what everyone's concerned with cuz there's been talk for months and months now when it went up for sale, what it was going to be, what it could be, what uses were there, everything on the books, okay? And there's a lot of misinformation
given out, okay, as far as what could go there, what can't go there, what can be built, okay? In doing this R25, we feel that this is the best suited possibility for everything to
match in that area. Now, this multiple use term or mother daughter on an 8,000 foot lot, that's not possible. Okay? It's it would be just be single family homes. Am I correct, Mr.
Hour? So a a mother daughter can occupy a single family home. Yes. So mother a mother daughter it's not a duplex. It's a it's a a mother daughter in a single family. Not high density. This is not a mother daughter could be as simple as a finished basement for an apartment. There's a lot there's a lot of
misinformation folks going around the ramp town section about what could possibly go here, what what will go there. Okay? And whoever does buy it will have to follow all the rules through our planning board and through
our zoning board with storm water with with uh setbacks, traffic, the the buffer between you guys and Lauraai and you guys at Partridge and any else anything else that surrounds it. Um like I said, we we've discussed this
multiple times. We just discussed it in executive before we came out. We knew you guys were coming to discuss it and we wanted to answer your questions to the to the to to to the best that we could answer them. Okay? I'm not one of the professionals. I'm just one of the
elected officials. Okay. From I'm a planning board member. Okay. My fifth my fifth year. I've I I've sat on this planning board here and I I've seen a lot of projects come through. When I look at this and I see what moving into an R25 that makes the most sense. So
it's conforming and consistent to everything else that's around it in my opinion. So I like to everyone just to just to take a deep breath and take in what our professionals said and you know
we didn't come here tonight just hearing about this. We have discussed this already multiple times before this hearing tonight to to understand everything that's in it. And I'm I'm sorry that some residents are having, you know, a a tough time understanding
what the reszone will accomplish. Um, and you're, you know, any of you could during the week or, you know, call our professionals and speak to them about it, but this is, uh, here we are with this. And that's why we brought in Mrs.
beam tonight, our planning, you know, professional and everyone else that that has knowledge about this to get us to where we are right now. So, I'm sorry that we, you know, some of your answers maybe not what you wanted to
hear, but here here it is. So my question. So anyone else? We're done with public? Yes. We close public. So now I'm going to make a motion to adopt 25-16. Second.
Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilwoman Nadell, yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leio, yes. Thank you. of the ordinance is adopted. Ordinance 25-17, capital
ordinance providing for information technology improvements and appropriating 65,000. Therefore, authorized in and by the township of Howell and the county of Mammoth, New Jersey. Okay. Open public comment for ordinance 2517.
I'm seeing none. Motion to close. Second. All in favor? I I make a motion to adopt. I'll make a motion to adopt ordinance 25-17.
Second. Councilwoman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadell, yes. Counciloman Nonno, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leio, yes. Thank you. The ordinance is adopted. Ordinance 025-18, 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. Open this up to the public. I'm seeing none. Motion to close. Motion to close. Second. All in favor? I. Motion to adopt 2518. Make a motion to adopt ordinance 25-18.
Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadal. Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell. Yes. Deputy Mayor Ger. Yes. Mayor Leio, yes. Thank you. The ordinance is adopted. Ordinance 0-25-9, an ordinance authorizing traffic enforcement upon real property located
at 783 Highway 9 in accordance with the request of the property owner. Motion to open to public. Anyone from the public? We're seeing none. Motion to close public. Motion to close. Second.
All in favor? I. Motion to adopt 2519. Motion to adopt 2519. Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadal. Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell. Yes. Deputy Mayor Ger. Yes. Mayor Leio. Yes.
Thank you. The ordinance. One moment. Ordinance 25-20, an ordinance of the township of Howell County of Mammoth, state of New Jersey, amending and supplementing the township code, so as to amend chapter 188 tit
entitled land use. Like to open this up to the public. Anyone from the public comment on this? No, I will close this. Motion to close public. Second. All in favor? I
motion to adopt 2520. Motion to adopt word in 25-20. Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadell. Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell. Yes. Deputy Mayor Ger. Yes. Mayor Leio. Yes. Thank you. The
ordinance is adopted. Introduction of ordinances 025-21, an ordinance amending chapter 7-14 of the revised general ordinances of the township of Howell to wave public parking lot permit fees for disabled
veterans and Purple Heart recipients. I'll make a motion to introduce ordinance 2521. Second. Councilwoman Fischer, yes. Councilman Nadell, yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Gazer, yes. Mayor Leio. Yes. Thank you. The ordinance is
properly introduced. The budget. Now we are on to our 2025 municipal budget. Um. Okay. So, all right. Why don't we close the door so that way we'll get some quiet in here.
Is Lou here? Yeah, I'm sorry. Oh, there he is. All right. So, we we did the budget presentation last month. Uh statutoily, we can't adopt it until now, but between now and then, we've had to make an
amendment to it. And I will turn it over to our chief financial officer, Mr. palazo to describe exactly sort of what what happened and its impact on the budget and I think everybody will be relatively happy about it. So take it
away Luke. Thank you. Uh good evening mayor, council, uh members of the public. Um during the uh period in which the um the introduced budget was out um for for public inspection, the township received
$275,000 uh by for proceeds on the sale of a liquor license. Uh it was decided by management to use those funds within the 2025 budget uh and reduce uh the amount to be raised by taxation. Uh
there was also um the final uh state aid award that the township uh received from the state for its energy receipts tax was uh was $94,352 more than we anticipated in the in the introduced budget. Um therefore
that reduced the amount to be raised by taxation by $375,354 from what was introduced. uh that um basically uh when we introduced the budget uh the average uh the increase to the to to to the
average u homeowner was $110. That has now been reduced now down to 91. Uh so um so we were able to use those proceeds in this year's budget. Um and uh that is what we are planning to read in um as to
the amendment um this evening. Uh we were on state state review this year and we have been approved to go forth and and move forward as such. All right. So we can move forward with the
resolutions. So excuse me. So resolution R25152 need to be read completely correct into the record. Oh that that's part of the process. So we will read it into the record. Uh first we need to allow the public to have if they have any comments on the budget as it was
introduced. Would anyone like to come up for public comment? Good evening, Mark Priest, two Castle Court. As evidenced by the fact that nearly twothirds of the room walked out before we even got to the budget presentation, go ahead and raise taxes as much as you want. As far as I'm
concerned, it's to me it's outrageous. I go on social media, taxes, taxes, taxes. It's a budget hearing. You come here to talk about zoning. I get it, but you don't stick around to watch what's going to happen with your budget. Uh, it bothers me. It really does bother me and and I'm sure it bothers you guys, too,
because you you know that this is one of the hot topics. So, I was here for the budget introduction. Uh, I saw the presentation. Um, I was fortunate to have served in an elected capacity where I learned a little bit about, you know, municipal budgets and things like that with the board of education. Um, when I
saw the the slide about uh budget challenges, and there was roughly a little bit more than $4 million in budget challenges, those four items on that particular slide uh were all things that were anticipated that there was
going to be this budget challenge. You you knew that there was going to the ARP money was over. you knew that there was going to be a um increase in salaries because the large chunk of the increase in salaries were from uh contractually
no negotiated. So you you knew you knew that was coming. Um there was some discretionary salary increases in there but the the majority of it was from you know contractual uh labor units. Uh you also knew that there was you know some increases in the pension to health benefits like that. So all of that was
anticipated budget strains. Uh in the 2024 budget, you also realized nearly $3 million more in uh unanticipated revenues. Um, and you know, so knowing that you
were going to have, you know, $3 to $4 million in uh known holes that need to be filled and that you had roughly $3 million in uh revenues that were unanticipated. That's a good thing. You
got more money than you expected. How do we now then find ourselves in a situation where there's a multi-million dollar budget hole that needs to be filled with roughly $2.5 million in taxation? So you basically you got more money than you expected. You knew you
were going to have a hole to fill. You would think that they would kind of offset and yet we still spent in a manner that we have to raise taxes $2.5 million. And this is happening also in the
same budget year that you all of you are aware that that the the local board of ed is going out for you know three million and change. They showed some restraint and not you know going and utilizing the tax levy incentive program and going out for more money than they
could. Um the regional is has been decimated by S2. So it looks like they're having a hearing tonight. I don't know that they are going to, you know, go out for the uh the tax levy incentive program, but on all accounts, it looks like they are going to go out for roughly $19 million that's going to
be shared amongst eight towns. They could probably justify it somewhat because of how much money they've lost in S2 cuts over the last seven, eight years. So, when you total that all up, I mean, like it's like about $9 million that's going to be seen by the taxpayers
when they get their next tax bill. And as many, you know, of us know, the the school taxes make up approximately twothirds of people's tax bill. They generally don't really look at, you know, the lineto- line changes. You
know, where where does this year's tax increase come from? Is it from the municipalities? Is it from the schools? But, you know, you guys do a pretty good job of of um communicating to the public that, you know, uh the majority of your taxes go to schools. I think most people
know that, you know. Um I'm just if if you could if if it could be explained to the public, you know, what the earlier part of my comment was how how we got to where we're at that, you know, we swung from like, you know, 3 million positive to 3 million negative and we're filling
it with a tax increase. I appreciate it. Anyone else from the public? I'm seeing none. So, make a motion to close. Motion to close. Second. All in favor? So, I'll defer to Lou on some of it, but
I will say this because Mr. Paresi was vice president of the Freehold Regional Board of Ed at one point. I will stand our budget up against the school's budget any day of the week. I think it is a hallmark of responsibility and it
is very easy to pull this number out and this number out and ignore the hundreds of other numbers that make up the budget and say why didn't you wash them out against each other. So there's a lot more to it than that. Um obviously we
didn't have the ARP, we didn't have the state funds, we had some major budget challenges. We also had other things too that weren't in that major budget challenges category that do make up you know pressure on it. So you we've been
attempting to utilize a responsible amount of surplus. We keep in store another two months of operating so we hold back $10 million every year. We're not going to deplete our surplus. God forbid there's an emergency and we need
that. So, we used $7.7 million this past year, and we're are using the liquor license money, the extra money that Lou said to make up and to deliver an even lower tax burden. And again, I will
stack it up against the schools any day. So, may I add to that, Mr. Clark? Yes. And Mr. should know this and I encourage all of our residents, taxpayers to attend schoolboard meetings because again, Mr. Clark is absolutely correct. We have
maintained a a fiscally responsible budget on the municipal level and I don't think all residents remember when they get their tax bill, holy cow, 67% or more of this bill is coming from the school. how K through8 in particular um
especially recently they passed a 7% increase and didn't know what it was going to go to. Um where was the public? I don't think the public attended their budget meeting. Um so we get blamed for a lot of the tax increase when in in reality it's the school. So I I and and
I I was a teacher 32 years. Um, I just cannot insist enough upon the fact that our residents really need to get more involved with what's going on at the uh with the school budget. Um, and also if we can mention an unforeseen was
the tremendous increase in the state health benefits premium. Sure. So, yeah, that's always out there. We've been getting rad over the coals by that. Um, we have been explo exploring self-insuring. We're probably too small a risk pool to do that. Uh we've been
exploring getting out of the state health benefit system altogether. Our loss ratios aren't sufficient at this point. We're exploring other ways that we think are going to help us save on that next year because I'm hearing after this year comes an even bigger number.
Anywhere from 16 to 30% increase in state health benefits. So those are the drivers. And if you take our budget numbers over the past three years, we've averaged a total tax increase of about
$240 or 80 bucks a year. So again, I like what we're doing compared to the numbers I'm hearing coming out of the boards of ed. And again, 67% of your tax dollar goes to them. and we do a lot and
we provide a lot of service for the money. I'd like to say one thing. I'd like to commend our board of education for voting down the additional money that was offered to them by Trenton. Uh they
they did that in a responsible way. When it comes to the district, I worked for the district for 20 years. I'm still working for them now. I know what happened when they took all the money away from the freehole district. They took $27 million away just like that.
And you know what that means to its uh district that's educating under the state average? Uh the uh superintendent of schools and the board president called us personally to talk to us about it. And you know what they were told by us?
please just do a responsible budget and not have anything ridiculous in it. And their answer was, if we don't adopt our budget, we're looking at immediately cutting 40 positions. We have to put in two boilers, we have to replace two
roofs. I don't know if there's a high school in this district that has usable tennis courts. And they haven't had them for seven, eight, nine years. So, I understand their predicament. You know,
this the state took money away from them and then the state authorized them to be able to tax the public to get it back. That's not right. That That's not right. town.
Well, as far as this budget goes, like I said, uh, when we first had introduced it a few weeks ago here, you know, I came in to Mr. Clark's office with a smile on my face months ago, and I said to him, I said, "Hey, Joe, what's the chances we could
deliver a flat rate?" Right? That would be be great. Or even a tax cut. Okay? and he smiled back at me and he said, "Listen, John, we're going to go over all this stuff, okay? Ian and I went back three years on budgets like he was
saying and we are running really, really lean in our departments." Okay. Can a super, you know, mathematician come in here or, you know, someone like Lou that's, you know, maybe look at it
and say, "Oh, yeah, you know what, Lou, we could lose this. We could lose this. I don't know." Okay. I feel after sitting down with these with these guys multiple times that we we deliver something responsible here. And um like I said, no one wants a a tax
increase. None of us. I agree. Okay. But last year was flat. This year is this nice low number. I know that people don't don't want to hear low, high, whatever, depending on what your house is assessed at. But, uh, like I said to you, you know, being
new here and sitting down multiple times, having my questions answered by our professionals and learning the process, okay, it was a lot to take in, a lot to a lot to, you know, go over and
I I understand why we are where we're at. and you know this liquor sale, you know, we could have very easily moved that money to next year and not added it to this year and it would have our increase would have been a little bit higher. Um, but we were, you know, I
think that was well done by adding it to this year's uh, you know, general so we could knock the number down even further. So, I uh I'm with Mr. Clark and our our professionals on as far as uh where we're at on the budget with this uh
increase roughly 9192 depending on what your house is assessed at. That's all. So I'd like to make a motion to approve. No n have to read the resolution in full because of an
amendment. You want to read this in full? Okay. Pull up a chair, everybody. Resolution 25152, resolution of the township of hell, county of Mammoth, state of New Jersey, amending the 2025 municipal budget for the township of hell pursuant
to NJSA 484-9. Whereas the town whereas the council of the township of hell introduced its 2025 municipal budget on April 1st, 2025. And whereas a public hearing on said budget has been held as
advertised on May 6, 2025. And whereas NJSA484-9 permits the township council to amend the budget after the public hearing and whereas it is determined to be desirable or necessary to amend said budget. Now therefore be it resolved by the town by the council of the township
of how county of Mamoth state of New Jersey not less than a majority of the full membership thereof affirmatively affirmatively concurring that the following amendments to the 2025 municipal budget be made. Current fund anticipated revenues general
revenues three miscellaneous revenues section A colon local revenues sheet A licenses alcoholic beverages sheet A from 55,000 to $330,000 interest on investments and deposits sheet A from
$774,999.91 to $774,99964 total Section A local revenue dash includes total of group three items from sheet 4 sheet 4 C from 5,272,999.91 to 5,547,99964. Three, miscellaneous revenues. Section
B, state aid without offsetting appropriations. Sheet five, energy receipts tax public law 1997, chapters 162 and 167, sheet 5 from 7,912,436 to 8,6,788. Total section B state aid without
offsetting appropriation sheet five from 7,919,727 to8 million14,79 summary of revenue sheet 11 three miscellaneous revenue sheet 11 total section A local revenues sheet 11 from 5,272,999.91 to 5,547,9996
64 total section B local revenues sheet 11 from 7 million 919,727 to $8,14,79 total miscellaneous revenue sheet 11 from
18,333,640 to $18,72,91.73. Five subtotal general revenues items 1 2 3 and four sheet 11 from 28,568,640 to 28 thou to 28,937,991.73. Number six, amount to be raised by taxes for support of municipal
budget sheet 11. A local taxes for municipal purposes including reserve for uncollected taxes sheet A from 35,715,022 to $35,339 one sorry $35,339,168. Total amount to be raised
for taxes for support of municipal budget sheet 11 from 35,715,022 to 35,339,168. Number seven, total general revenues sheet 11 from 64,283,662 to 64,277,159.73. Current fund appropriations. Eight.
General appropriations. A. Operations within cap. Sheet 15 C. Joint fire district radio project inside cap costs. Other expenses. Sheet 15 C from 0 to $30,000. Total operations item 8A within
cap. Sheet 15. Sorry, sheet 17A. from 40,751,355622 to $40,781,35622. Total operations including contingent within caps sheet 15 uh sheet 17A from 40,5757,35622,787,35622. Detail sheet A.
other expenses including contingent from $15,280,68122 to $15,310,68122. H-1 total general appropriations for municipal purposes within cap sheet 17A from 48,757,78522 to 48,787,78522. Eight. General
appropriations. A. Operations excluded from cap sheet 22. Shared service agreements. Radio antenna joint project with how Township Board of Fire Commissioners Districts number 1 through 5. Other expenses 150 uh from 150,000 to
$120,000. Total lo total interlocal service agreements sheet 22B from 645,000 to $615,000. Total operations excluded from cap sheet 25 from 2,893,5864
to2,863,55864. Detail other expenses sheet 251,793,76564 to1,763,76564. H--2 total general appropriations from municipal purposes excluded from cap sheet 28 from 12,48,2364 to 12,18,2364. O general appropriate total
general appropriations excluded from caps sheet 29 12 million uh from 12,48,2364 to 12,18,2364. M res reserve for uncollected taxes sheet 29 from 3,477,853.14 to 3,471,35087. Nine total general
appropriation sheet 29 from 64,283,622 $662 to 64,277,159.73. Eight, general appropriations, summary of appropriations, sheet 30. A operations excluded from caps shared service agreements sheet 30 from $645,000 to 615,000 total operations
excluded from caps sheet 30 from 2,893,58.64 to2,863,5864. M reserved for uncollected taxes sheet 30 from 3,477,853.14 to 3,471,35087. Total general appropriation sheet 30 from 64,283,662 to
64,277,159.73. Be it further be it further resolved that a certified copy of this resolution will be filed forth with in the forth with in the office of the director of local government services for certification of the local municipal budget so amended via the fast reporting system. Uh be it further
resolved that this resolution in accordance with the provisions of New Jersey uh states annotated 4A4-9 section C numbers 1 and two does not need to be published and a public hearing on set amendment is not required. This amendment shall take effect immediately.
I'm good. So, is everybody ready for the quiz? What was on page 28? Clerk, you may do the roll call vote. Thank you. I make a motion to approve resolution 25-152. I will make a motion to approve said
motion. Said resolution rather. Second. Councilman Fischer. Yes. Councilman Nadell. Yes. Councilman O'Donnell. Yes. Deputy Mayor Ger. Yes. Mayor Legio. Yes. Thank you. The resolution passes. Moving on to resolution R-25-153.
Resolution determining that the township's budget for the 2025 fiscal year shall be read read by title only for the township of Howell. Does this have to go to the public? No. Nope. No. No. Motion to approve resolution 25-153.
Make a motion. RS25153. I'll second. Councilwoman Fischer, yes. Councilman Nadell, yes. Counciloman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Gazer, yes. Mary Leio, yes. Thank you. The resolution passes. On to resolution R-25-128.
Adoption of the 2025 municipal budget. Motion to adopt resolution 25-128. Motion to adopt resolution 25-128. I will second. Councilwoman Fischer, yes. Councilman Nadell, yes.
Councilwoman O'Donnell, yes. Deputy Mayor Ger, yes. Mayor Leio, yes. Thank you. The resolution passes and the budget has been properly adopted. And thank you very much to administration because despite what maybe some people
may feel I heard administration say no to several departments several times on things that they felt uh we're not totally necessary in this budget. I know it's hard to say no to departments when you know that they're asking because you
know they like to have something but so I will say thank you for those kind words. I point to the professionals on this. It's a great crew and thank you to council. This was probably the most active year we've had in terms of crafting the budget and I think the
product was all the better as a result. So I look forward to working with everybody this coming year. Okay. Starting tomorrow. Starting tomorrow. Next regular schedule meeting will take place on May 20th, 2025. Executive
session begins at 6 p.m. and regular session will begin at 700 p.m. I am seeing no further business before the council. May I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn. Second. All in favor? All right. Bye.