##VIDEO ID:C9LLTntFxW4## we are live good evening everyone good evening everyone adquate notice of this meeting of the Lawrence Township Council being held on Tuesday September 17 2024 has been provided through the posting of the annual meeting schedule of St Council in accordance with Section 13 of the open public meetings act said notice is fored to The Trentonian the times and the Princeton pet on December 11 2023 I'd like to just take a moment to thank our councilman Kaki and Bob for the September 11th remance it was a very beautiful ceremony we just want to take a moment to acknowledge their hard work on that as well as the 33rd anniversary of our Lawrence Senior Center which was this past week and executive director Olivia wcal also did a beautiful job with that celebration I also wanted to um share that it is currently Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from September 15th to October 15 and being of Latina Heritage I just want to give you two quotes from m favorite um Sports people Roberto CL who was my grean hero he said anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't then you are wasting your time on Earth and then from the great gas he said only FS live in the past or carry Envy to the present and with that we'll have our moment of insallation may we carry out our work at this meeting in a just honorable and sincere manner always bearing in mind our duties and continuing to keep Lawrence a wonderful community in which to live I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation Mr B here Mr Kaki here here Mr R here mayor here and now we will um are there any special proclamations we have okay recognitions at this time we will have a presentation from council member Olympia in regarding the fire stud update sorry Hey Kevin can you see this I got a no one the residents said they couldn't they heard from speaking but they didn't see who was speaking can you want to move well I just is it set up where you can it should be following this the sounds okay so let's just it's even better if no one can see me good evening Lawrence Township residents um Council and distinguished guests um I'm going to ask your Indulgence because I hate standing still so I may move around but I will make sure that um audio can always hear me um my name is Olympia IL Perry councilwoman for Lawrence Township uh for those who don't know me and also the liaison for the Public Safety Committee the committee was the council had requested a subcommittee to discuss and review the safety the fire safety reports that had come out but most importantly we were charged to analyze whether or not centralization of the fire department at Lawrence Township was feasible or should be done with that these are suggestions from the subcommittee not from Council woman Perry but the subcommittee and that subcommittee consisted of several members of the lawen fire department and a civilian that provided Decades of experience from the fire department and the civilian has had many many years of Public Safety experience in his um normal duties in his profession so this subcommittee discussed first of all what we were charged to do should we have a centralized location for fire dep department now as with anything you have to start with a foundation before you can come to a conclusion and that led us to the discussion of what would that look like at this moment in time we had to actually take that off the table because there were other things that we needed to discuss and review in order to move forward as with everything again you lay a foundation based on plans and then you move forward so here are some some of the suggest these suggestions that we are putting forward so that we can start with the conversation of centralization number one in order to leverage and really secure and protect our community the discussion was to consolidate all the volunteer firemen to one location that was again to make sure that we pull our resources because currently there are volunteer firemen at each of the home houses but at times there's not enough people in one location to actually answer a call so if we pull our resources and have them in one location this way we are more efficient and we can get to calls hopefully quicker and um better response this ironically was a conversation that Chief Oakley and the manager was already having with the volunteers so the fact that we came out on top of their current conversation to say this should be a recommendation a suggestion they moved forward to implement that as of July 1st it wasn't a policy change or procedure change it was a management um it was a management decision that would be best for the township it was not anything that we um gave them direction or order to do but it was part of our suggestions and I'm happy to say that the volunteers were very willing and have been very happy and the project going is been successful there has been a significant reduction on the uh a significant uptick on responses to the calls on 911 so I'm happy that's one suggest we made that has made that has gone forward suggestion number two we all know that our great history in this Lawrence fire department has been a collaboration of volunteer firefighters and career firefighters now as with everything change comes and we have to adapt so we made the recommendation that at this time we need to hire career firefighters immediately as soon as possible with the approval of council within our budget restrictions go big or go home I said we all suggested 5 to seven but I'm happy to say that with the approval of council the town manager and the CFO have come have come back and said to us that within our budget we can afford three additional firefighters with the 2025 budget not um proc cluding on anything else again this is a suggestion that still has to be approved but we we went forward and asked for that the third thing we did was we understand that volunteering is a tradition volunteering is a core that has sustained this community for decades so we want to make sure that they are being compensated and most importantly know how much we appreciate them so there's a volunteer incentive program where they receive $50 so just think about that we are blessed that their lives are in Jeopardy they take the risk for $50 we suggested that that be increased which would beable to some areas in the in New Jersey to $100 now they do receive additional pay once they're on call and we ask that that be reviewed too which is $7 right now that the town manager will come back and and make a recommendation um within reason to that being increased so you may say how is this going to affect the budget just consider we have actively 20 Volunteer Fire Ires so that will be a minimal increase to our budget the third thing that we suggested which it's important to understand that Laurence station excuse me the Lawrence firefighters um again go out and work on our behalf they work Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. and then our volunteer staff fill in so the third thing that we have requested is to review um the feasibility and forgive me I'm skipping ahead here thank goodness for review the feasibility of combining we did the combination we did the oh most importantly review the feasibility of it independent survey so many of you have weighed in many many of you have discussed the fire surveys that have already taken place but we are requesting an independent bid survey that anyone in New Jersey who is a consultant that has the experience that could give us guidance as does our fire department even warrant centralization what is is the best option for our Township what is the combination the right number of firefighters to volunteers where is the best location what is this going to look like as cost what plans or what type of facility all of this specifically with a open bid so that this major decision is not taken lightly or quickly because it will impact our community decades I'll be gone and will be something still here so we've got to make sure we get it right so we thank you for your support for always coming out and always um engaging with us for um the communication and transparency of what council is trying to accomplished so going forward we will be putting an RFP for the bid and we will confirm to you uh when the bids come in how long it's going to take but most importantly um what the continued process would be so this subcommittee was formed to discuss centralization but again we cannot move forward until we have foundational things corrected and find out does that make sense thank you that are with that are there any questions from Council Council I have a few mayor that's all right yes um you you'd mentioned sort of the uh expertise of the at your ad hoc committee that um were any of those members part of your regular Public Safety Committee or were they separate from the atoc committee I mean from the regular public so with transparency our committee consisted of um uh captain from the fire department um representative from the EMS Department um a volunteer firefighter and a regular firefighter and a civilian with Public Safety experience and myself and and and just a few more um it's great to hear that you want to do a h fire you know put a put an independent study out there I'd love to I hope that Council will be able to help with sort of putting together the RFP about that that because I would say that one of the things that I had big concerns about from former surveys was sort of living in South Lawrence and knowing that the focus seemed to be much more up in North Lawrence in a way or Central Lawrence um just being concerned about what response times really look like for say the lakelands um Colonial Heights or even below the Brunswick Circle so I'd love to you know be able to talk about those things as well so that we don't miss those things in the next study and so that we don't have to have a fourth or fifth you can get it right this time and it sounds like you're on the road to that so I really appreciate it um and then I guess I'm excited about this I don't know about people out there but I'm excited so I just would love to know what the timeline is going forward when we can sort of start this this process in terms of well first of all uh we have to put an RFP and a request for Council to approve to move forward with the survey and then from there um we will put the bid out and we will give you an update on the timing as soon as um I know we're getting believe it or not closer to the holidays I'm hoping to at least with the approval of council secure someone before the end of the year so we can move forward with this and then one last thing there if I may ask Council Perry um would this be the work of your sort of ad hoc committee um doing this piece or would it go back to the Public Safety Committee so the ad hoc committee will simply um with the permission of council once the bid goes out we will present all the bids that came as a normal bidding process we're not doing anything going forward from there but um there are a couple of things that we have been discussing which I will update you after we've put the RFP on that again are the next steps that that hopefully will come to fruition before we can even again talk about centralization and location and everything else so um not in October and November I hope to give you an update on that mayor thank you and thank you councilwoman Perry for all the hard work sort of wrangling all this together thanks thank you may yes thank you thank you for uh giving the suggest and sub Council councilwoman uh on that since we're talking about that and and councilman Bob is pretty excited about it um putting out the RFP and stuff like that I mean couldn't we do a vote now Mr C on this on there's nothing on the there's nothing on the agenda there's nothing on the agenda right now U I mean you could I don't see the emergent nature of it I mean I think and I was a ad hoc member of the committee to give whatever legal advice uh I think we really need to put some parameters together with with regard to the RFQ RFP I've done many of them uh and hopefully U we can have something uh possibly by the next meeting in terms of I hate to say this a concept of a plan to present the council in terms of what we want to look at in terms of of an RFQ RFP will determine what we're going to do but um I think the speed that that councilwoman spoke of is really uh one that the committee took seriously and I think there will be rather quick movement on this because I think uh the committee excuse me the subcommittee knows uh what it wants to put out there and present the council so I I don't see this as a long dragged out Affair if I could um Council to council point if Council wanted to give any input into the how would we go about doing that uh we can we can discuss through with the town manager how what best to to handle that I I think the best thing is to um uh man Kevin not to to throw you in but to send the suggestions directly to him so that it can be all Consolidated and compiled and then we can decide from there because we we as the subcommittee as the council and the community knows what we need to find out so the parameters of the analysis is going to be relatively simple yes but it's just procedure transparency and making sure that we are dotting all our eyes and Crossing all our teeths um would you like to say something I want to thank you and your subcommittee for presenting this information tonight uh I know residents out here and I know me one it's long over do and I'm glad to hear your report and look forward to working with you to moving forward and that's the main thing we're going to need everyone collaborating together because I've been very fortunate that the expertise on that subcommittee um I love that nobody necessarily agrees with everybody but we came together for what was necessary for the town and that's what I was proud of because you know when you get a volunteer you get a career you get you get all the different perspectives and most importantly what do we need to do to pull everything together okay manager you had some comments uh yeah for thank you oia for for all your work um you took on a difficult task and um I think you're doing an excellent job for credibility purposes I don't want to be involved and that that I expect that that's the reason why I'm doing it I'm withdrawing from this process however I will work in any capacity that you want me to that's my job to do that I will support you in any way I think that my removal from the process um will lend to more credibility for the people that are out there I've already done my review with Jack Oakley I've already made my recommendations to you with regard to what I think is in the best interest of the community it's now in your hands the council's hands to make the decisions with regard to it I think it's a wonderful idea to have another study done it's certainly and it will come from from the details that you all find important in terms of arriving at the conclusions that you need to arrive at which are big time decisions so that's fine um I think if just for the purposes of moving this along and that's the only thing that I'll say if there is just a a sense from Council that you want this to move forward I think that would all that's all you would need in terms of right do all of you all agree you know raise of hands that that it's something that you want to move forward with yeah yes so so we have the poll of counsel that that's done I think Mr CC's been involved in a lot of RFP process and um he could certainly take on the point uh parameters with regard to this I will be there whatever how you want me to help but I think for the process me being removed from it is probably more appropriate because I because you know you know where I land on this um and I don't want any speculation from anybody that I've had some to do with getting you to arrive at my conclusion I don't want that to happen you guys are the elected officials you make the decision and whatever you decide 100% I will I will be diligently making sure that your policy is implemented thank you manager okay okay with that we are now at the on the agenda for public participation we have a five minute limit if you would please come to the mic and also sign inici good evening my name is Ken Kieran from Gainesboro Road I just had a few questions and I talk to M Perry councilwoman Perry specifically about this study um a good base for this would have other people besides just firemen EMS and Public Safety people that have and based on what I read on the Rogers and motter um things they that's not the right way to approach this um there was no impact no history based on what they recommended um and have people that know and understand what the impact is to the township the roads the public safety everything not just what good to put a house a Consolidated house or houses throughout the township the best fit um I had a couple questions you had mentioned um the compensation the 50 $100 is that per month or is that per call or is the $7 per call so the VIP is when they're assigned so it normally um I will confirm that me yes please I was just about to say so it's it's the $7 is the pay per call it's when a volunteer arrives and gets out on to the apparatus to respond to a call the $50 is for um the the the um when they stay over and they're on call okay so so that's what that's for for I guess the weekend call um yeah couple other things um um the First Responders you know so within this study are you going to separate the First Responders from a flyer apparatus responding to a first call or just the MS so for clarification can um first of all the fire study none of the subcommittee was ever involved in that so the fire okay going forward this is going be no they're not gonna be involved either they're not going to be involved there's going to be independent Consultants who are going to bid who we we as as a council will choose who would best serve us to not just give us what we need to hear but what's really going to be best for Lawrence for decades and decades to come so that's what we're looking to do and respectfully if you need to fix plumbing don't you ask a plumber that's why we chose who we did simply because yeah they they have a particular stake in the game but also they're the experts they're the experts in their field in fire management Emergency Management are they experts in the planning of such that was not the point of the subcommittee the planning was not the point the sub was to review what's working what needs to be fixed is centralization the fixing of the problems but when we started and started discussing what the steps should be that's why we chose who we chose so that we could understand the steps and then go back and that's why they they even so they asked someone to come in their house and check it out they were the ones as the sub to say we need to do an independent I'm not debating whether they're they're an intricate part of the group they should be but there should be other people that impact studies within there as well not just people that are involved in emire I agree so that's why the Consultants will hopefully give us the information we need to move forward thank you thank you hi good evening my name is Hillary Jersey my husband and I own the Home Direct across from this proposed Firehouse location at Route 206 in West Long Drive I'm considering location there is no propose there is no centralization on Old information yes okay so there's nothing with those no not at all so can I State a concern if that is lo fut location okay so my basically my concern was um with the current runoff or water basin that's there um if it could cause undo harm to my home if there is a structure on that space um and what a possible impact you know water inflows if there's a building there um our our lower level is already moiser than I'd like and I don't want further issues that can lead to mold that affects human health or structural issues from water damage in addition I do have concerns that a central Firehouse will cause more harm for those Florence residents who are further than a few minutes away from the equipment and trained firefighters who can come help them should a fire emergency exist in their homes uh it doesn't seem to make sense to not invest in the safety of all the residents of Lawrence the area of our town is large enough that the closer firehouses are to residential areas the quicker Health can arrive to make a difference in quick burning danger such as a House of f fire uh we shouldn't rely on the neighboring municipalities to assist Lawrence residents as a line of First Defense uh the Lawrence firefighters and equipment should be on the scene first and receive support from neighboring firehouses I had heard that earlier that the area you know give there's agreements among the towns to help each other anyway I look forward to continuing to be updated on the process and discussions that come forward so thank you for all your work on that thank you good evening Exar Sunset Road and good evening Council mayor and U Council and Par thank you for your leadership and taking this task on and good evening Mr manager um one issue I'd like to discuss is the amend the amendment of The ordinance 2394 D21 being amended by an ordinance 2477 d24 this was part of the manager report to council so um the original ordinance was me is this on the agenda yes we should really should discuss that when it comes up in the in the council meeting of the agenda items please appreciate your comments that's fine this item is not on the agenda I'm sorry thank you and mayor is correct me if I'm wrong but this an item that is being introduced yes so there's no public comment so for the next so typically go ahead I'll let you you introduced ordinances there's no public comment it's the second reading that is public comment when will the second October October 1 if it passes tonight that's that's the point we want to make some points prior to the consideration of well under the under the is it on the agenda or is it it is it's 2477 d24 it's on it's I'm sorry mayor it's on for introduction under the statute it's on for introduction only uh and this is not just Lawrence Township it's all the municipalities and counties it's on for introduction there is no public comment at the second reading which would be I believe our October 1st at 6:30 uh it will be open for discussion uh and at that time Council can consider any and all uh comments and make a determination to accept reject table whatever they want to do so there the fact that it's it's on for the next meeting is not an automatic approval of anything it's it's just the procedure that that has put in C Council how how can the council members make it make an intelligent decision without knowing all well they will they will have the ability to hear you and any other uh residents that day excuse me that night uh and uh can can certainly ask any questions and review any any comments and any material you want to present when it's introduced I could make comments to describe I will but it was introduced at last month's no it wasn't no it wasn't table was table it was table table ad no it was up for adoption last meeting and it was it was tabled so it killed them so it had to be it start over it had to start hi I'm um just two things I wanted to comment on the woman who came up who said her house was across the street from Hillary Hillary um so sometimes when you hear oh I have more moisture I'm concerned about the water table you go well that something may not happen when we lived on we lived on that road for a long time 20 something years 29 years and when we were here before the new police station there was a swamp there you may not know that there was a swamp there and when the new police station was filled the water had to go somewhere so it went into my basement it went into Orchard and went into the one next to me so I had to do extensive work to get the water out of my basement so that's a real issue when you're dealing with water tables that's that that happened uh the next thing was the fire thing she mentioned about the other rest of the Town that's something that I'm very concerned about I lived on M Street houses I mentioned to the committee to council before that the house next door to me which was maybe 10 feet away houses were closed together got on fire and slackwood came the slackwood firehouse came because they were so close had they been further away my house would have definitely caught on fire so those concerns are real concerns about other places in the township I think that's important to consider as well now may I do something a little off topic I just have a question on on um Orchard Road there's there was construction with the piping for the whole summer you know they put in new water pipes and there's still a um an output like a what I call the portapotty on the street is that going to be I'm just mentioning if anybody can make a note of that thank you yeah n hi I'm Carol cats Conelly from West Long Drive um this is not I know we're not supposed to come on the ordinance I really didn't come to ask about the ordinance but I guess I'm learning it may be related I drove down West Long a little while ago and I saw that one of the trees in that beautiful row of trees has been chopped down I didn't really know why I didn't really I sad but then I understand there are some I'm just I'm just asking what are there plans is that part of a re putting a new driveway in to go to West or anything like that wonder why the tree was cut down dark land I don't know what I don't know what I can tell you definitively there is no plans no idea what at all to make any roads anywhere in this Municipal complex to any other part of any other roadway on or around this area at all just just so I can just very definitively say that this ordinance it it just walk out and you can see the potholes I saw the tree it was know are beautiful and all sudden this big tree was the tree was a storm I can tell you thatmall I don't recall cutting down it's a storm I want to thank you Council for the hard work and and the recommendations app I just want to confirm for the record that there's no action taken on ordinance 2477 d24 and uh ordinance 23942 today question there's a introduction of ordinance 2477 is is on the agenda there's no public hearing on it okay and and just one other I want to confirm manager nosky had just stated I believe I heard it correctly that there will never ever be any exit from this facility into any Street in long is that correct what I said can go to the table this particular ordinance does not involve any creation of any new roadway from this municipal complex to any other portion of any other surrounding neighborhood street or anything else so that's I can't say never ever I may not even be here tomorrow here here's my question we were told by you that there was a mandate from do to install a light that required and it's in writing in a text message that in order to install the traffic light there was supposed to be the South exit was going to be closed and this front row is going to continue on exit onto west long drive so my question is was there a mandate is there a mandate or is the road ever going to extend through I can tell you that that has been abandoned that's not being done as it relates to this ordinance it's not a part of this ordinance so was or was notand I don't know what the word you told us the answer is no okay thank you Mary that's what I want to know it wasn't a hard question I have chicken scratches L for me hi I don't know if this is the right place or right time long time Watcher but first time so I live very close to part the actual part just oh men Torres I live on Greenfield Avenue 42 no stalkers anyway I live very close to the playground on El Park and I've been there for about two two and a half years and I saw a surveyor in the park about I know my f men's going come up quick and there's a Ted plan to build um like parking spaces in that fence and area with the metal slats and uh sort of a track and I was just wondering will there be a public comment on that proposed park because I live very close to it other neighbors have some thoughts about it so I'm kind of coming here on some of their behalf so that was our already uh before the council it was a grant that was received from the New Jersey do um it was for a walking path around the outer perimeter of the um of the park to make it safer for people to enjoy the park and not have to walk on the streets um and the parking area is just limited to handicapped parking spaces I don't know about a fence or anything like that well there's a fence there now iOS the hand I was just curious about that and so that going to Happ and the location I don't think has yet to be confirmed where where those handicap spaces will be it's all part of an effort to make that Park a little bit more accessible to others to enjoy as well understand I totally get I totally get I I was just curious about that and uh will there be any lights put in in the area in the park or I say I live very close to it I know Green Field I know exactly where it is a lot of cars currently par on that road C Road and and towards the end of summer a lot of teenagers like to call their own and hang out there till midnight and they run by my window and so it' be kind of cool if there's like a light or something because one time you know I had some stuff illegally removed my property and so I was up way one night and I took a flashlight and went over to the playground equipment and some kids around midnight and you know they were having their own little Festival there in the equipment for let because I don't believe the part should be accessible well Kid last few weeks of Summer the kids are hanging out running back and forth like on that big intersection with one light they're all there till about 11:30 midnight so I don't know I just like I mean I hear them R by the window and so that this is my a little two cents but I really appreciate this um my main thing was there's be more comment on the park itself um because some of the residents just I I appreciate that' been very informative thank you so much I appreciate that and that was just the bit about more a chance for other residents to come as well because you know my two kids are out there well just checking in thank you very much everyone enjoy the night I really have to go because it's dinner time I promise you Burger King have a good day Dr Lardo um my God what a day to be here right she I feel like in the last hour we progressed more than what we did the entire last year I'm excited I'm grateful honestly to be able to be here and here I mean we went from like fear of a fire housee to I mean deliverables that I mean we could never dream of real consolidation hiring firefighters increasing their pay transparency when it came comes to creating a new RFP process I mean I mean guys let's if I could add just one ask on that um one one of the things that really you know made us struggle last time was that um between the two studies um there was an overlap in Executives 10 of the executives were on the 11 executive company that was in the second study um and it was two different companies so obviously none of those Executives can be at any of the companies in thep process because that's what tainted you know the the first two studies obviously an exchange of money there um and man again I'm I'm I'm feeling like I'm running on a high here because this is this is the council that I that I that I hope we we had and this a that that now is delivering and over the last few you guys haven't seen me in month maybe since last year and I mean I've been able to engage with some of these folks different events bobit one of the smartest people that we have in the County serving Brian that guy has heart that guy will show up even if he's sick to everything Olympia she's a Trailblazer whenever you see uh Kaki he served that served and Olympia showed us all today that she's a a strategic leader and and that's very much appreciated um so I just want to say thank you now for future States right and and you know I don't know if you ever had a teacher that said hey this is what's going to be on the test um I know that you guys aren't voting on ordinance 24772 24 we basically introducing and that's tied to ordinance 24 9421 right so just like that teacher that told us that's what's going to be on the test we're gon to ask about this right I'm telling you we're gonna ask about this up for the reason being that last month there was some back and forth amongst you concerning what was that all about and one of the things that you guys have proven is that you're able to ask questions and be prepared for that so again we're excited I know there's a lot of chatter about what you know how the council's delivering now but we're excited to be able to work with you and we're excited just basically to have our answers uh questions answers concerning that but B thank you you guys did a really great job to good evening Martha friend 976 lawrenville Road I just wanted to clarify something that um and maybe I was confused centralization might still happen based on what we find out from this third study if that's best by the expert for our town and so that was my understanding is that true it might still happen depending on what this study shows right mayor I may if the study comes back yeah recommending centralization hypothetically they that's not the determination the determination lies with these five people here no I understand that I just it sounded like it was off the table and as a resident if the experts say it's the best way to keep us safe then I would say we should do it so I just wanted to clarify that it's not off the table it's just we have another study and then we're going to go through this whole thing again I just thought that was important because we do have a whole lot of folks who seem to be against that but I want to follow the experts so I just wanted to clarify that point yeah May nothing's legally nothing table but there'll be a determination made be excuse me a report will be given to council they can accept reject question so we're Far From Any determination on any any of perfect I appreciate it thank you greig BL good evening councel I am here to speak on agenda item F1 Professional Service agreements all authorizing professional service for the Redevelopment 3131 Princeton P this action starts the irreversible process for tax evat for a developer really we should we really should discuss Mr py we appreciate your comments we really should discuss it when it's brought up on the on the agenda there was no the answer saying public participation and this is that's that's uh what you Mr you know obviously but so there was no uh took the council they want so I mean I'll gladly wait till it comes up because it's probably more beneficial before they take the vote I'd be very happy to do that it's up to you mayor whatever you wait I'm just it's just a procedural thing that's and then I got something for the three minute portion that's fine okay just procedural no no no thanks what you do now oh I don't know that golden years yeah old ages good evening sorry I'm walk wound here as I listen to the long range planning here I'll be 86 on Saturday so maybe I'll have to worry about and certainly as it moves along if I'm around I a lot of more comments on that but on a totally different subject a couple meetings ago there was discussion about what was the status of os Crossing community center and the proposed changes which I thought were going to be around the end of September or something to talk about it and I never I knew how it worked and I was totally ignorant then I it sounded like they were staying home front owned it they were giving it up and then I gathered afterwards they rented it for $1 a year or something like that but anyway and then now the proposal was that they would be out of there for it to be possibly used for recreation center you know the recreation headquarters and I'm just was asking what's the status I can certain L that um so what what happened was is that the Lawrence Neighborhood Center was an asset and property owned by the township of Lawrence right that's what I then home front operated out of that facility uh as a service to the community and to continue to run the operations of the neighborhood center along with whatever Homefront was doing in terms of their charitable efforts um about a year ago they've indicated that with their expansion on Princeton Avenue of the of the building that's there that they felt that their mission could be accomplished there as opposed to at the egg Crossing site because of that the township had the opportunity to take over take back the building because they were uh going to cease operations from that facility effective September 30th 2024 right um it was our plan to take that Center and turn it into a Lawrence Township Recreation Center with the opportunity to have the recreation department operate out of that site and also do expanded programming and incorporate some of the essential uh services that were provided from that site as well home front committed to um work with us with regard to Contin the food pantry and things like that so where we are right now is uh we're working out the details on what that made look like um but effective September 30th homefront is vacating that and the township will be taking it over not running it as home front dat it's not going to continue on it's we're we're ceasing operations there and we are undertaking renovations to the interior of the building because they're desperately needed and while we work on what the new site and activities will be go and to that point I'm going to discuss with Council business some some additional information the um thanks that's kind of what I thought the only thing was I I had the impression maybe home PR was kind of being forced out but instead they decide to go and I know about the renovations are necessary one um last thing when you talked about the uh the survey or whatever and trying I think there was some mention about trying to make sure it was covered southern part of the township I think somebody mentioned and I don't know if I'm right about that or not but but I think if if I am I think that's a good idea because the people that I know down there not a whole lot of them but they feel as though they're the kind of Forgotten souls in the township a lot of them it seems to me and maybe it's maybe it's their own fault but they aren't you know U they feel like things like for example the firehouse issue is you know like some lady here mentioned about the houses right next door to each other they kind of think the emphasis is an awful lot on the Northern section I've heard that comments made to me as though I'm in the northern section 70 hour Lane is right in the middle but thank you for your comments thank you syia C good evening um excellent uh work on the fire study I think we all feel much better knowing that when we come um with the concerns to the current um Township Council we are heard and I think that was a perfect example of us being heard and our comments being taken very seriously I want to also thank Mr bobit councilman bobit for standing up for our sou lence and making sure that we are fire safe and um and that the firehouse if uh consolidated is not moved away far far away from us and all those houses so close together because the the further south you go the closer they the closer they get so um we have uh in our neighborhood quite a few houses that are two family homes so um I mean even even though I live in a um one family home the the house next to me is just the width of my driveway away so that's uh response time is very important uh let's keep the Lawrence uh Township um center community center a community center um um um Recreation great but let's make sure we do have a space within the township that is centered on the community and not on um providing storage for uh Recreation Department uh equipment so let's let's keep that and also I noticed in the announcements that uh there was put out you know what what would happen to people who cut down trees who over trim trees uh on their own properties um one item that I noticed was missing from that what happens to businesses that encroach on the township property and cut down trees so um that would also be important the RightWay and the township property we have that example in our neighborhood Trenton block yes I'm bringing that up again uh even though I heard mayor your uh inspiration for today don't live me the past I feel like this is still our current situation and um those trees were removed Mr PV had put that in his report for the planning board two years ago um and the pictures the aerial pictures of how the encroachment was progressing and with that removal of the vegetation from those encroached uh Lots so um that was never looked into that was never um even though even though the owner of that business said that at that planning board meeting over two years ago that he did take care of those lots so the ones that he encroached on so he basically ad to removing of those trees and also former councilman uh Powers told me personally that I should go and count the stubs that were left after being the trees being removed uh me the resident I was supposed to go investigate that so um on that note thank you again for your hard work I know you're working is hard to make to keep our to keep our uh Township a wonderful community and we truly do appreciate it good evening I wasn't going to speak tonight I was just going to come and watch listen to my fellow residents and and the council members but a few things came up about trees um Miss cats some time ago asked about a tree happened to be blown down in the storm uh but it shows you the love that the township folks have for these things that can't be replaced Miss cus you just heard her about the trees that Trenton block apparently you know wiped out uh oh and also about the receptiveness of the council and I agree with the doctor and with the others and I did say that doc you might remember some months ago I got up here and I said well we had trouble with they were going to build a hotel in a park and this Council stepped up and the manager um and made a deal so that it wouldn't happen um so anyway so they are receptive and we really appreciate it very close to the people um mayor I know you'll be at our Centennial picnic uh friends of colonial Lake Park I'm not speaking for that group but we are having a centennial picnic on Saturday and uh the good mayor has we had some correspondence and she was kind she said she'll be there but at any event I came up really for the trees um and then he was invited Mo to for for the picnic but I came up for the trees because the last time I was here I was really um wound up because I had been called by somebody that there was a tree that was being um taken down uh it appeared by Lawrence Chiropractic um and so I called the police because I said you can't you need it permit we went through this whole thing councilman Bob it you know looked it up yes we do have you can't just take a tree down that's a it's called Heritage or something speci specimen Tre you can't take a treat specimen Tre without a permit I called the police again kudos to our police department they showed up they weren't called because I was there as I understand somebody might have been saying somewhere that's not the case I called them I I also commended the officer um because I was hot and he said you know cool off you know we'll get this straighten out okay the chiropractor uh said to Mr klyy over here myself and Tom Ritter who showed up and maybe one or two other people oh this is a mistake my wife wasn't supposed to do this um and the tree company's going too far for to stop okay well he went in the office and they kept going I love you guys in the park and I'm supportive of the and then they kept going so I called up I said come outside the guy won't stop they stopped and at that time the tree still had a pretty good Crown I took pictures I have them because I wasn't going to do this tonight but now I said since people are talking about trees let's bring it up again these trees are beautiful this is on Route One just as you sort of enter the park it happens to be on the chiropractor's property and he spent a lot of money on this building of his that he should have built somewhere where it didn't have trees uh in my estimation so anyway I thought it all stopped there and we walked away and I'll be done shortly the point is uh when everyone went home he apparently and here I'm a little shaky again he apparently had the tree people come back and then Denude the tree and to Sylvia Miss KB's point of of last week or two weeks ago they sometimes cut these things back so far that they know they're going to kill it and this is a beautiful Sycamore on route one and it had one right next to it they're all in a line up there and Miss CB said to us last week two weeks ago they planted for World War I soldiers in memory of a 100 years ago um so when we turned our back he turned his back he said that he was supportive this was a mistake he apparently I don't know I haven't spoken to him and I won't speak to him because that only would lead to problems I suppose but I don't know what the reason is he knew where we stood and I don't know whether that tree guy came out on his own and went and cut the thing down to a stump almost uh so and I was livid but I didn't go there I said the place to go is here and I happened to see councilman Bob in the neighborhood um and we talked and he said and I'm not calling out on this councilman Bob instead I'll give you a tip of the cap well let's make something good out of this and then I go back to the mayor's Roberto Clemente comment let's do good in our lives and that's what I'm trying to do here and that's what everyone here is trying to do make the community better this doctor happens to be from Freehold he goes home at night I don't know where he goes but we're just trying to make the community better don't look at scans at us don't look like we're trouble because we're not we're only trying to defend the community and when others step on us we'll come back out again and that's what I'm I'm coming back out because this guy turned around and stepped on us and denuded that tree and the one next to it well beyond where he should have been now and finally in the final thing here Council B said let's make something good out of this when I walked into him ran into him uh week or so ago let's maybe license I don't know whether you said this but I said let's license the tree guys because this Basque guy who cut the tree down I've seen the other work he's done it's not great yeah so maybe we need to license the tree people people in this community care about these trees they can't be replace or have an arist or something go out and check they said they call Town Hall for permission they give some voices said yes we don't know whether that's true or not but in any event let's let's let's do more let's try our best to defend our trees and um that's why I came out here and it's a shame because it can't you can't rewind what this guy did uh and as I said a couple weeks ago King of England president us whoever can't replace those trees not the way they are you can you can plant a spray but you can't replace the tree so I come to complain about that and to councilman bobit in the final analysis says that he may have uh an answer for this and we'll take a positive we take a negative and make a positive out of it so I'll take any response over there if you have one C it thank you I have something briefly mayor if I may just just for the public and for Mr hooker um one of the things I did learn um that uh all tree companies in the state of New Jersey operating need to have a licensed tree expert so if you have issues with the tree company this is not just for Mr hooker but anyone in this community uh it's called the New Jersey Board of Tree Experts uh they're the licensing uh Organization for these people um and I'm also the liaison on to shry committee so I'm speaking with uh community members who serve on that committee to look into things that we could do that aren't owner but at the same time protect sort of the character and health of our community thank Greg uh kudos to Jim hooker for speaking out and attempting to say the sycamore trees I really appreciate that J but unfortunately there seems to be a disconnect between the township being a Tre City USA and the township Administration is disregard for that designation our nevering town ying is also a tree City USA however unlike Lawrence they have a business administrator who likes trees there I was driving in yu the other day by Moody Park on Buttonwood Rod which is lined with mature sycamore trees that coexist with power lines running through them they look beautiful they are not cut back to one side like the sycamore trees on Route One to where the trees look abnormal and their Beauty has been taken away they were meticulously and carefully cut by psng so why aren't the ones on Route One trimmed to a natural state because our Township engineer apparently under direction of the township manager told PSC to do whatever they want with them this is what I was told by the psng community representative from our area when those trees were cut in half in fact psng was going to cut down the sycamores on Route One before the neighborhood got up in arms and complained and I think Jim can you know agree with me on that bottom line it appears our Administration could care less about the destruction of trees including trees on Township properties you just heard missil and here's why I said that in August of 20122 the manager was made aware in a resident email along with pictures of credible evidence that treton block on Cherry Tree Lane was destroying trees to encroach on public Parkland here was the response to that email thank you Glen it is unacceptable behavior and we will not tolerate it Jim referencing the township zoning officer who was copied on the email please look into this tomorrow by doing a sight inspection let me know how you make out nothing ever happened with that Resident inquiry the same resident and other residents including myself have complained about those in actions of an investigation for months until we got tired of our questions going unanswered by Council in fact those residents have been coming to council meetings for two years and we're still waiting for answers so much for accountability of public officials and as far as Lawrence being a Tre City USA unfortunately that designation should be taken away because it's not always true thank you for your comment um but I do recall that Council yeah I i' mentioned that but I think I think it is what it is thank you ER everybody um I was going to come up to speak that and intend that I am about do that later um I noticed with all the resid they came there's some confusion about when to address certain items whe they're on the agenda whether they're issues of General concern and such so I was wondering with a two-part request the council would consider um first would be can those sort of parameters be articulated on the agenda that when people pick up the hard copies they see and that might prevent some of the confusion because sometimes you know when people talk about transparency and stuff sometimes it's it's about Clarity more than it is just the basic information and then since we're considering that possibility um I know the county and I know a lot of other municipalities do this can when residents download the copy of the agenda can we get the actual bodies of the resolutions in there as well a lot of times the titles on the resolutions are big um and that again you know the titles are there you know so it's transparent but there's a lack of clarity and I think that it would improve both the questions that the uh residents have it might answer some of them and kind of prevent some of that consternation and um and I think it would make her a more active process that way if you would consider those to thank you com I was just gonna say Mar at the at the end of every agenda ever since I've been on Council since 2015 there is a one Aster that says with public participation so that would be nine aing or rejecting of bids 11 adoption of ordinances and um and then there's another one that says no public participation can be made regarding ordinance intruction so that 10 so I hope that helps but um we we listen and if there's anything we can do to make the communication clear for our V thank you may and to council I work through these resolutions for these kinds of agendas for almost 15 years like saying with and without again there's an onus on government to to be extra clear to be provide extra Clarity and so while that may sort of articulate it in a way for someone who's very informed again we want to create an inviting atmosphere for when people come here for the first time and they express concerns or things that are of you know a tender nature like to Mr Hooker Point um they're not nervous to come up here because I know a lot of people these days especially within the past two and a half years that I've been coming um there's people that don't come it does hello Nancy Albertson just a real quick question we're waiting for fence to be put on the property that orders traton block wondering what the process or the progress with that or I think we've been waiting well over a year yeah uh yeah I think we um are the Public Works director is here I think that we just need to um um schedule the work to be done it's not it's not going to be done by uh an outside source is that correct BR it's going to be a contractor I think engineering um was getting the boundaries and that all worked out um it's going to go out the bid through engineering so is there a I I I'm sorry I I believe before the end of the year the work was supposed to be done that's that's the last word I got on that okay so we're hearing he's still using the property the other question the dog park is great I love walking around it but I don't know if everybody heard but there was a fight there a week and a half ago maybe a little bit of police presence um cameras maybe somebody got almost they tempted to back up and hit somebody they got spit at slapped yeah so not very I mean somebody from not Lawrence Township was a resident involved um so it's cameras are definitely going to be installed we've already started that process and the police chief and I have already discussed the uptick and we're also going to discuss for a 2025 budget tab uh maybe a park ranger type of person that kind of circulates all of the um Parks see if we can make that happen in some way yeah we're we're going to have some addition additional staff to our budget we we hope we think that that could help the police in having a more of a presence without using a police officer to do so we're exploring that then maybe we get some new equipment up at that Park it's been the same equipment for 35 years so I could tell you that we do we the equipment that we we rotate our improvements with all the parks um and that certainly is is is on our radar it's at this point not we were focusing on all the improvements that was going on down thehill um so we'll definit take a look at that yeah because a lot of more kids are there so a lot more people are using that part which is nice but I think the equipment could be updated another piece out it yeah thank you okay that with that we're going to close our public participation at this time there'll be another opportunity for the public to engage with us are there are there updates to the agenda um mayor uh I believe the clerk has handed us an ordinance uh ordinance number 2478 d24 ordinance amending ordinance 2428 d22 in ordinance of the township laws regulating residential rental units from the email that we I believe we all received it concerns um landlords needing landlords needing to uh furnish uh both occupant or the tenant a copy of the amended certifi amended certificate of uh occupancy as well as um having insurance for that for that building so liability and insurance for business owners and rental unit owners supplementing title for of the New Jersey statute so we're just from what uh Township Council has told me um that or Township attorney uh it's so that we're more in line with with uh state mandate and then um also uh I'd like to make a motion to remove 18 h10 close session because I understand we don't have a close session it doesn't have a it's not it's just if so um I'm making that motion to I guess then add 10 I second Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes m m Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor farmer yes okay if I can have a motion for the adoption of minutes of previous meetings mayor I'll make a motion I'll move them in Block since we are approaching 8: uh I'll make a motion move 10 a through C in a block no the minut N sorry we're close apologies man I'll take take a second try uh if I may I would like to move 88 a b and c in a block we have a second I'll second okay M you call the RO Please Mr Bobby yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes Farm yes okay now we have the awarding and rejected this this is open public participation right try this again bear with me mayor I'd like to move 9A number 311 authorizing awarding bid 24-7 2024 drainage Improvement program any public participation need a second do I have a second second thank you Kevin would you like me to just destion thank you this is a a program to install some pump collectors on various streets uh that experience icing problems during the winter with no other drainage resolutions available to them so so we're going you know each winter we have uh residents on certain streets that um have this issue of accumulation of water that's ises and we're hoping to kind of counteract those concerns with installing these collectors okay any comment C closing public participation Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Mr Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor farmer yes feel a little better i' like to move 9 B number 312 authorizing rejection of bid for lawence Township Home Improvement program for three alany Avenue have a second second this is a part part of our rehabilitation program there is a maximum limit of $225,000 for each project we did not receive a bid that was under that limit so we need to reject the business is there any comment from the public participation pleas Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yeah Mr Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor far yes mayor I'd like to move uh 9C number 332 authorizing contract with key Tech Laboratories for pavement T samping NJ do 2022 trust fund improvements Lawrence second any comments from the public this is this is a compliance issue with Grant monies that we received from the New Jersey go and U once we do work utilizing those funds we're required to uh do this type of testing to be able to certify that we were in compliance with the grant requir thank you any comment questions to the public n publication M Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes M Barry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor far yes the introduction of say without public participation mayor I I'll make the motion to move 10A ordinance number 24774 ordinance amending ordinance number 2394 D21 by the township of Lawrence County of merer state of New Jersey in order to revise the description of the Improvement here in do I have a second and yeah this is a this is an amendment to modify the description of anticipated work to improve parking lot within the ordinance it's it's in order to comply with New Jersey budget law um this is not a a request for additional expenditures it's not a request to approve work it's nearly a request to include a description within a funding ordinance um and the the principal reason is to for milling and Paving into repairing the municipal parking lot area the reason why the language Municipal complex parking lot improvements it's a little vager you kind of you do that to allow for um if there is something that um needs to be addressed within the scope of work you can do it like for example we have um some foundational issues that are involved with the poles on the solar holding up the solar panels it's collapsing and so that's not within the milling and Paving description so but it's Al but it's a municipal parking lot Improvement so it's just a a language to allow us to do all this importantly there's you will have the opportunity to review the bid and approve the bid to understand the scope of work that ultimately will come out of this this particular project this was funded already through the budget it's shifting it and moving it into a different funding Source but you are not approving or giving green light for me to go out and do improvements that's still a part of the procedure where there is a bidding process and you just like we're rejecting and AC authorizing bids it's the same thing you're going to get to see everything that that's going to be under this particular project it's administrator it's Budget Finance Budget Finance compliance perfect okay question we have a motion and a second we already have itoll Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Miss Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes uh mayor farmer yes yes okay now we have the adoption of War mayor there was the one I'll make a motion to move 10B ordinance number 2478 d24 and ordinance amending ordinance number 2428 d22 and ordinance of the township of Lawrence regulating residential rental units do I have a second second and anything yeah the New Jersey passed the law that put an additional obligation on municipalities to um collect um liability proof of liability insurance for landlords both residential and Commercial um our clerk identified that we needed to uh make this amendment uh to comply with New Jersey state law so we kind of rushed to put it on for this one so we could get the it passed hopefully the next time so we remain compliant with New Jersey Law yes Madam mayor May I've had opportunity to review the existing ordinance the statute passed by the New Jersey legislature and find that the revised ordinance as composed ords with the New Jersey statute and we would be in compliance by by moving forward with this thank you okay we you call the Please Mr B yes Mr Kaki yes m Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor Farm yes next we have the adoption ofes mayor I'd like to make a motion for 11a ordinance number 2476 d24 and ordinance amending chapter 435 Article 4 of the township of Lawrence Administrative Code entitled motor vehicles and traffic hyphen engine braking do I have a second second this comes from the recommendation of the police chief in response to resident concerns about tractor trailers that are uh doing hitting their brakes systematically uh causes great noise and disruption to the quality of life of neighbors that live near the streets um and with this it will allow our Police Department to better regulate and enforce the unnecessary activ that type there any questions from the Public cing Public participation M to call the RO Please Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor farmer yes okay now this brings us to our manager's report I don't have anything to report though to say that I do love trees very um next we have the attorney's report uh nothing yet the only thing I commented on was the addition of 10B and and that is in line as I said with the New Jersey statutes thank you I just tomorrow I have a meeting uh with the county for elections um they are pushing for uh a lot of us and promoting that you vote early um and that you know do the early voting so we don't have long L they expecting a very good turnout or we expecting a very good election all right okay do we have any okay and then new business I just wanted to I know it was commented on earlier regarding the L Community Center and the status of what is happening there um with the departure of Homefront who serve um the neighborhood tremendously we are so grateful and thankful for all that they did for during the time that they were at the lest Community Center and um look forward to the additional services at the Princeton Avenue location um I just want to say the community surrounding the Laurence Community Center and abroad um is very very excited about the opportunity of the recreation center the L Township Recreation Department coming to that location um I have however received um a lot of some concerns with regards to um what will happen during the closure um how there are certain um organizations that will be displaced during that time of the closure um and that in the moving forward of the recreation uh Department as was mentioned you know they're very we're very excited myself included about the programming that our Township Recreation Department has to offer the expansion of services and the ability to increase the space for our community so very excited about the ongoing Community engagement I know that councilman Bob very recently um on Saturday attended an event there that was Community Based very well received um about 60 people just you know you need a place in Lawrence where members of the community can come and gather um be it for educational purposes or um some historical um you know opportunities as many of you know there there were members who came from the community who came and spoke about the historical significance of the community center and members of the community want to make sure that as with welcoming the recreation department that the community is not left out so to speak and so as the mayor I um I know I've spoken with um manager ninski about my concerns with regard to that and that I wanted to make sure that for all tends and purposes members of the community at minimum have an opportunity to share their concerns with Council and to um you know as we move forward you know it is important that they're included in the process um as was mentioned the food bank being one of the possibilities that could continue with the recreation center um if you know there about 100 families um that receive food at that Center and I had the opportunity to see with my very own eyes the impact that not having that there at the community center would um impact members of our community that uh in your that service so I am asking and I'm uh bringing before Council this evening I would like to create a mayor's task force with with community members with the objective of advising Council on community concerns that um moving forward giving voice to certain matters such as for example um the the Ed C civic league is an organization that was profound in starting that Community Center so what role can they play going forward for our community and so I come before Council today to to see if you know if you one our in agreement and two if you would support such um a task force that would exist for a minimal time as to um B solely for the purpose of advising on some of the concerns with regards to the Lawrence King Center yeah and as I st again the community is very excited for the recreation department to come to the LI Community Center you know it is an asset it is a tremendous opportunity for the programming the excellent programming that we do here to expand it to give it more space to give it an opportunity to grow and many will benefit from that Madame mayor may ask a question has there been a commitment to continue the food bank on record we would like to make that commitment to continue to continue that through the recreation um through the site of the recreation yes and who would be funding continued to fund it um the fun it is an existing program that is done other the county or some other organizations and also there are several organizations right now and this may be an education for some you know um got food relationships with various organizations and there churches that donate food to the Center for people to have access there are some other larger food share types of organizations similar to so it would be at no cost to the township other than to distribute the and there is well the committee could get more information thanks G um mayor as as you were talking about some of the the organizations that will be displaced I immediately started to think about some of the this the the community organizations that are still sort of around that area um I'm think um AG Crossing Village I believe has a clubhouse that maybe uh groups could meet in uh I know um Ed Crossing Baptist Church has a beautiful Fellowship Hall that could could be possibly used in this interim period as well as even if people are willing to sort of go around the corner maybe possibly St an as well so I think I I agree I think a a sort of a mayor's task force on this issue uh sounds appropriate if only because there's so many moving parts that I think even the five of us together we would still be trying to figure out what's going on um and having sort of people you know who were connected with the community who know that area better and who also I think it I think it would also be really helpful for recreation department Council and the township to have also people outside of that immediate area on that task force to also give insight into a why it might not have been utilized as well by say people in Council Perry's neighborhood on the other side of town or in the North or the very south right like so to to have those different voices together I think sounds really wonderful to me so yes thanks mayor I I totally agree with you on that doing is mayor's task force on that because and also get the community involved in it uh is a big part you don't want to let the community out just go in but I totally agree and I think it's great idea M mayor what I'll do is I'll check with the hunter Phil we used to do a food food bank there I will speak to them this week and I will give you the answer and maybe for the time being it's a short walk where they're at to come up to the center and do it in dra Hall there all right I I will find now Friday I have a meeting I will find out then and I will I will get back to the no only U just for matter of record do we need to take a vote to um set up the Comm I think it would be very valuable to us moving forward mayor before we do that could I just ask uh Township attorney would it make more sense to have resolution sort of outlining that kind of stuff would it be possible to have something ready for the next meeting yeah I think he would be better to have something outlining the tasks of the committee uh and we can have that for the October 1 meeting thank you thank you thank you all right and thank you all for your support mayor can I just interject just because we're having this community conversation right now um one of one of the things that maybe the task force can um do um because you're going to have to make a decision um the recreation department cannot run a community center it's just not properly stapped or funded that way um so certainly um if if if there is the sensus of the policy of the majority of council that this should remain a community center in in its sense of a community center then maybe um there should be um we should be looking to organiz nonprofit organizations that may want to fill the role that um Homefront filled um because it's if we take that building over we have to immediately start to do renovations to comply with the handicap requirements there is no elevators there there's no way for handicap individual to get to the second floor or to the basement um so when we take that over we will be limited in the area to open up to the public until we start to do these things now was grandfathered in and Home Front was a nonprofit fully operating that and and um through State uh funding the township was providing $108,000 a year to assist home tront in doing that and they were able to do do it in compliance with the law because they it was it was all a grandfathered situation if we take this over as the recreation department with expanded programming we will immediately have to begin substantial renovations to give access to everybody that wants to utilize that as a community resource so so that's something that should be that should be a a preliminary um uh topic for discussion where do we want to go um because the recreation department can remain right where it is and continue to do all the programming that it does and we can um try to engage a nonprofit to to operate in whatever fashion this this um advisory task force wants to do and that will because we're looking at costs I mean the reality is I mean I'm sorry that I'm the money you know like money has an issue we're going to be expanding our fire department expanding anding more police officers and things like that the thought of running a community center in addition to a recreation department it's just something that can't be done with the c so that is not what we're proposing at all that is not I know it's not a propos discuss that that's not we're proposing and I did um ask Council to look into um whether uh if another organization because you had mentioned that another organization and the township could not be in the same building is that right so to have a tenant sharing a same building with the recreation department is not um not yeah that's what I was I I would think that there would be some legal situations in there would probably be some issues there uh to uh facilitate that but I can get you more definitive answer so there are there so there are a lot of question and and I know you didn't you're not proposing I know that but these are things that that need to be aired out and discussed because we could go any way you want to go it's just that one way will will allow us to continue in maybe very similar fashion right and and the other way could present a change that we may not be able to financially take on and I just want to just get clarification when the building is grandfathered in and you're saying that with the renovations that Township would make for the recreation department would not be suitable for other public no groups no no no okay what I'm saying is that if once we once we occupy the building and and utilize it as a center we will now have to make it handicap accessible in in the areas that that programming is going to happen there's two beautiful buildings on that second floor handicapped individual can't get to it so we need the case today yeah because it was being operated by home front a non a non profit there was no does not own no the township own the building the building correct but while home front occupied as occupied it for 30 years 20 yeah that they were grandfathered legally grandfathered and did not have to make those improvements the minute they move out and no matter who goes in there this it's state law it's not it's not our Municipal law it's state law it would be the township as well have which we which we have begun the process of um uh we had our engineer and our um Public Works director and our Recreation go through the building to see all the different things we so with the recreation department we to move into um 371 Aces crossing road which is the law Community Cent Renovations and improvements would be made um so that handicap accessibility and any other state required building laws would apply correct so the improvements would have to be made either way no matter what no matter what so if if if if there were some additional things that needed to be incorporated in that building how would that impact you doing the r well well that's what the committee will advisory committee discuss we don't need to do it out here here okay we'll that out and then you can come forward we enter into the three minutes good evening everyone uh Laura Hy 57 L long drive I just want to get clarification because I'm trying to understand if the community center if we're just moving the rec department in there or if we're keeping it as Community Center regardless of what home front is doing because I'm hearing the rec department is moving over there we're going to do programming and I'm hearing the neighboring communities excited for it to be a community center if we're moving Recreation over there that's one thing if it's going to remain a community center that's another what are we looking to do here I think that's the point of the whole thing that's what we're that's the decision process that needs to be made it has been fined it hasn't been finalized correct correct the only thing that's been finalized so far is at home front is leaving the leaving the community center in September 30th right I understand that September 30th $1 they've been paying rent I heard a $108,000 figure to what is being going into home front to subsidize them right um food pantry and just educational for everyone the Eldridge Park um Elementary School does have a food pantry that's open to everyone in the community regardless of whether or not you have a student there please feel free to stop by contact the principal I'm the PTO president there I'm happy to put you in touch with anything that you may need I would be very interested in being part of the task force I think the community center is a huge part of Lawrence it has been for a very long time in addition to being uh president of the PTO at elage Park my three children are involved in sports here in this town in their Church here in this town um and I think the community center is an invaluable part of our community and I would hate to see the recreation department put there and it lose everything else that it means to this community so I just want that to be kept in mind thank you here um well first of all um mayor thank you um for highlighting that that that actually it it shows how connected you are with the constitu of the city um pushing for things like a food p remain in that area I don't know one of one of the things that my parents always taught me is you guys know I think I mentioned my parents were janitors at one like we're one thought away for having a need in that BL Pantry literally one thought away one job lost away one accident and one of the things that I realized this summer was this um one of the kids and I went to pick up my son at elri Park I bumped into one of the moms and I I noticed there was a food pantry there and she said something along the lines of oh wow they don't they haven't brought me in a long time and that's how I realized she was one of the people that was know home from and I realized that's her only source get someone that my kid plays with con spending time together we weren't aware of their need I know at times this is quite humbling um thank you and I think collectively as as we shared stories about our background and our struggles um I think that's an important thing to keep up front I'm not sure about the needs of the rec department but I'm pretty sure they have a place to meet right now um but that Rec Center it's the only safe place for a lot of people and uh if there's anything that I can do or I'm pretty sure more than willing there's a lot of people talking that we're willing to support you and sign up whatever it needs like we want to support it because it really is um a major need in our city y yeah Greg buy I'm here to speak on agenda item F1 Professional Service agreements off PR and professional service agreement for to Redevelopment 3131 Princeton pipe as long as it's on the agenda I'm going to get up and speak this action starts the irreversible process for tax statement for this developer the 3131 princi bike development plan is the perfect example of how to abuse the New Jersey Redevelopment law and Duke the citizens of Lawrence Township I have spoken several times in front of this Council and at no time this Council ever dispute that this project was concocted as the result of the manager having private meetings with the developer at no time did this Council ever dispute that the township planner has an appearance of conflict of interest that allowed her to benefit by ually by her actions working on this project and at no time did this Council ever dispute that the planners produce the fox report and support of this project at no time that this Council ever dispute that the township used the New Jersey Redevelopment law to bypass our citizens appointed zoning board so as to guarantee approval of this project without sound planning principles the township Administration touted this plan to the council planning board is a much needed rateable but what they did not say until the deal was legally locked in with the developer is that they are now seeking a pilot agreement payment and lbe of taxes here's how a pilot works the developer agrees with the town to pay more Municipal Taxes than it normally would and locks in that deal for 30 years why does the township get more because the town can and legally let the developer off the hook for 95% of the county portion of taxes it would have normally paid and it also lets them off the hook for 100% of the Schoolboard taxes that they would be liable for what a way to stick it to the hardworking families in this town who have to pay County and school taxes for the next 30 Years I ask the council to reject the service agreement it is not fair at taxpaying residents of this town who PID their full share taxes developers and holding companies should have to pay their fair share to I ask Council to reject this service agreement because once you agree to it the developer will take you to court if you don't follow through on it thank you for your time councelor siia K uh I was present last night at the planning board meeting um where the vote was uh for the 30 uh 3131 princ and Pike uh the um impact on the school were on schools were was discussed last night um and the one of the I I can't remember exactly who it was I think it was the planner for the developer uh who kind of wanted to put a um smoke screen uh for us the residents uh with the impact on the schools um saying talking only about the affordable housing units uh they're going to be great wonderful apartments from what I heard um excellent the same quality as the market uh price Apartments all of that wonderful absolutely for it uh the problem is they were the discussion was how only the affordable housing units are not going to impact the schools but not the rest of them I think I believe there's 30 affordable housing units uh in that development we're not worried about that affordable housing is great it should be brought into the township as as much as possible uh the way that developer puts those into into that uh Community is great um however we're not worried about that it's the rest of the apartments um it it said that um three bedroom apartment might have only two children because of the beding that needs to I'm not going to go into the detail with that uh because of the vetting that goes into affordable housing units but then the rest of the apartments uh with uh two bedrooms you can still have two or three children living in one bedroom because they will not be vetted for that so there might be an there there might be a greater impact than what uh the example used of affordable housing which I thought was a terrible example to use at a public setting as if the township um residents came out against the affable housing unit being there and we're worried about the affordable housing units putting impact on our Township Schools absolutely not um so we're worried with the uh uh payment in L of taxes how that's going to impact our schools we're paying my my daughter is out of school out of public school I continue to pay taxes school taxes which I think is great because I want when I move out I want great schools for someone that's an incentive for someone to come in into Lawrence Township to have uh those schools great being wonderful still and I don't mind paying my taxes for the school board but when a developer with so many apartments 200 about about 260 Apartments um that's that's a lot of Apartments that's a lot of money that they're going to be making and not contributing towards our school enough towards our schools our um fire department and our Police Department so please please consider that in your voting when you uh vote on this to make sure that we the people who are continually to continue to pay our taxes the way that we're supposed to are not bured by someone who comes in makes money and pushes the responsibility on to us thank you um I want to talk about obviously F1 the pilot pay taxes um I'm really glad that we had a little bit of a communal conversation here about the community center um I'm a little bit of an oduct I I grew up um I'm led to the other guy I grew up um having a lot of pride in what my taxes paid for um obviously police and fire we know all of this things that protect us to keep us safe but also social programs um schools I went to Lawrence High School all through Lawrence I benefited so greatly I would not be bu without La down public schools and as an adult as a homeowner in town I also know that the cost of living is increasing and that's not entir the any one person in this room there's a lot of things that play there um um but when we have a large Christine piece of land that understandably although to a lot of people's point you know the the property was 60% full so I wouldn't exactly call it development but that's happened once again the past is the past but it's a really pristine piece of land and we're at a Crossroads in this country where especially people of my generation are seeking out um affordable places to live um I would certainly like to see um you know condo options or something where people could build equity that's something that a lot of people in my generation aren't entitled to but again not entirely with M but I want to tie this together to a couple things um because we have heard about Tren block there's another development here my end of town um it's known commonly as RPM and it's 100% affordable housing but it's put in a place that puts the folks who live that they at an enormous Environmental Quality of Life risk um the developer themselves said that the playground for children was made to flood and since it's next to the shopping center it's going to flood and get caked in oil gas pesticides and things like that and I say all of this because now we have 3131 and I think about and I've addressed various steps along the process trying to be engage and that's because I'm hyper visual when it comes to um things in our town I'm in od duck I understand there wasn't exactly a public Outreach to see what the public thought of this plan in fact by bypassing the zoning board there were certain notifications to local residents that really didn't occur again the P but during that um our community development director had said that fundamentally this project is about affordable housing and that um we need to meet that application of Developers take us to court which is is true and fair and this project is 15% affordable housing if it was 100% I could understand a pilot but this pilot says that this developer won't be paying for things like substance abuse treatment services from the County homelessness services from the county band equipment for students books basic things this is really a question of social equity and you can always visit later you can say we want to see a larger share of that be affordable or we want walkability or what have you because those things had in fact the shade tree commissions request for this development were were cast aside and so I would say you know reconsider this because we're all very good neighbors here despite all the pushing and tugging but this project is being touted in magazines as an investment opportunity for developers who haven't even bought it yet and something like a payment in of taxes is going to make it all the sweeter for them make a lot of money that drain money from the vital resources that they need and I just hope you consider that um yeah thank you for um I had uh three things on my list two were good and one was negative but for some reason um I can cross the negative off because I don't know what it is tonight but somebody found the volume or somebody is using their outside voices the sound system seems to be working much better tonight so thank you whoever found that volume control um can we have your name we have your name your name I'm sorry Cheryl Selman West Long Drive um on the good side um I want to thank uh the public works department um I had sent an email to them in regards to um the walking path at um the lake colonal lake um there was a vehicle that was actually driving down the path um they quickly responded to me and they quickly put up a fence and a post so thank you for that and um also um we had a tree come down across the street the other night in our neighborhood and um my husband spoke to the public works when they were picking up the branches and um this morning promptly that debris was also up so thank you for that thank you for your comments syia C I just wanted to add another thing that I heard yesterday at the planning board one of the experts um spoke very disparaging towards our committees uh environmental committee and shade tray committee he said that their reports were uh a lot of mumbo jumbo or something to that effect I don't remember exactly but he was um they were disregarding those completely because that was just not necessary comment for them so just just to let you know that this developer does not take our uh community members who put in their time to keep this community what it is and and make it better and calls it mumbo jumbo or something to that effect I I I cannot quote directly so thank you again I'm sorry for standing up again hooker uh we're really having quite a dialogue tonight so appreciate the time of the council surely my fellow citizens I just want to jump up because tomorrow we're going to meet friends of colonial Lake Park nonprofit that is an advocacy and helps the park in many ways um we're meeting tomorrow night at the community center yeah we had our first meetings of the community about this project that we were fighting um at that Center and the reason was we couldn't get into the library I went to the library to try to get a room years ago can't get a room you couldn't get you could never get a room uh Tom rter our president was able to get a room a couple of times with this we had we had an arrangement with a local corporation that took that back so um that Community Center has been uh key for us in ter what we're going to meet as the executive board tomorrow night I think there's a basketball court the bag a lot of kids um it's a great place and I agree that with you mayor um that it should definitely uh remain as a as a community center because it is so vital for everybody and the food um pantry you mentioned as well um I also thought since we talked about the fire department tonight in a bunch of different ways I forgot a couple of times I wanted to mentioned a few months ago I had to call the fire department because um uh my um burners wouldn't go out on my gas stove and um it just wouldn't stop and so I was really concerned everything's red around it I'm not going to go back there and try to mess around I called the fire department and our Lawrence rode I live closer to slackwood but I don't think they had enough folks there that evening or whatever but Lawrence Road came out with a full H group of guys uh two three three young men and an older guy who was like the captain and another guy who was in the truck and um they were just fantastic and they pulled the stove out of the wall and they took the the smallest guy jump behind there and turn the gas off but they were there you know in minutes they were fantastic Lawrence Road um and you know I've had occasion to use that service so you know unfortunately but they made everything great so um I don't know about what Mr P saying about pilot program but it it sure does at first blush doesn't sound great to to give those kinds of breaks with that many kids coming in and then you don't pay a school tax that just doesn't seem to wash as some would say in the oldfashioned way um but I mean I don't know the details but it doesn't it doesn't seem like it makes a lot of sense uh with however many 250 or some kind of number of apartments that M cus just mentioned so that that doesn't seem make lot ofense but um anyway so just a few things to to to bring up that yeah we I'll be there tomorrow night at the community center with with with a a board of folks that do um things for one of our Parks so there's an example of of the use and and the library is overstocked you can't get you can't get in there all the grounds good as they are thank you very much thank you for that we're going to close that public ipation and move on to our resolutions I can do it I have a written down so I can pull mayor if I may I like to move 18 A1 through E4 and H1 through e H6 and h8 through H9 in a block yeah perfect thank you second Mr B I'm sorry I didn't hear you if you could do yeah all right 18 A1 so Bond or acceptance number one through E4 which is the end of the special items of Revenue uh then H1 uh through H6 uh because Mr Councilman Ryan had a question about H7 so I'm going to introduce that separately correct and then uh h8 and H9 because h10 we do not have a closed session so that's why I was skipping them and you've separated out F1 great between yes are we good Mr Bobby yes Mr Kaki yes Perry yes mayor Ryan yes no Mr Ryan I'm sorry I'm tired Mr Ryan got to correct you on that one may sorry yeah right so we ready sure I mean we can hang out it's all good mayor I'd like to make a motion to uh introduce F1 number 320 authorizing a Professional Services agreement for the Redevelopment of 3131 Princeton Pike may I ask a question yes coun we need a second person oh sorry second second um Mr manager Kevin could you clarify uh pilot payment in Li of taxes so for example if the developer was going to pay $100 in taxes of which um what percentage would go to the county and then come to us which would also include paying for uh services and and the school payment in L we would get $95 of the $100 I want I don't want to step on Art's toes with regard to this but step on Just for I like seeing things in numbers I mean first of all I did I did provide you the extens is memorandum explaining the pilot program several but for yeah for for for the people out there yeah so 5% goes to the county and the rest goes to the municipal government okay which we can spend where we need it okay so for example if we would need the regular distribution is something like 55% to the school I don't I don't have the exact amount 55% to the school 2 4% to the county and 22% to the town something but that's kind of what it is so but in this in this scenario with a pilot and we have six already in our town and recently approved for 40 Enterprise and the last one was Heritage Village that I think was approved as well um 20 years ago 15 years ago whatever it was yeah so that's how it works okay so again for clarification um down the road if the developer is making a lot more money can that be adjusted it's a it would be in agreement for a period of time for a period of time okay like 30 years and um to be 30 years doesn't have to be we we can set understand that you're you're not being asked to vote on the pilot tonight I was about to say that or enter into an agreement for the pilot this is solely to engage professionals to provide us with you and us with information relating to what a pilot would look like for this town so you can ultimately make the decision on whether or not to go forward with it so and we're not paying for that correct and the there's an escrow there's an escro that's drawn from a paid for by development and what type of transparency do we have for the results of for example they come back with a number how do we know that's the right number well it's a public document I mean you know it's it's a report that would be given to council it would be a public document uh subject to Oprah uh and uh you can agree with it disagree with it accept it not accept it send it back I mean it's your it's it's it's up to you to make that determination the fact that you award a u and this it's a little misnomer here in terms of of the title authorized professional service agreement for the Redevelopment it's it's it's it's professional service agreement to to allow a pilot study uh to be obtained paid for by the developer as to the viability of a pilot for that uh development it comes to council uh for review and uh discussion uh in public and uh it's up to you collectively to agree disagree Senate back whatever you whatever you want to do and and let me just say based upon statements that have been made here with regard to the Genesis of all this uh several years ago the uh Property Owners developers came to the township and requested a courtesy um meeting with Township officials myself the planner missile engineers and attorney to discuss the development of this property um it came in uh their proposal like most developers do came in ridiculously large and dense and five story buildings and hundreds and hundreds of rental units for which we responded now this is not consistent with the character of our community we are not interested in it they indicated to us you know can we collaborate together to to come up with uh what the town the professionals think would be something that the community would find um to be an asset and so over the course of multiple meetings and interactions and collaborations the project was greatly reduced and it was the township officials um idea to put forward the element of a mixed use situation keeping the uh um the setback as it exists now from Princeton Pik to preserve the character of of of that area provide mixed use opportunities for businesses um to go there and be a part of that situation but also potentially be a destination for uh residents at large um also uh what was discussed was what we felt that potentially was needed in our community and one was for housing for young professionals who will grew up in Lawrence and want to stay here and and gives them an opportunity for uh the opportunity to do that also elderly people who sell their primary resident but they want to stay in the community that they've lived in for 40 or 50 years so the developer took what we felt could be a very good opportunity for the town and met us in a collaboration to come up with this with this plan the the scope of it in the beginning was so big that a pilot was not even an issue because they were going to get their uh justification for for all their investment into this property because there was so much involvement over the course of time it was greatly reduced and became something that the township officials felt was better suited for our community but then what resulted was this isn't going to work for us at market rate taxes um in order for us to do this we have to enter into a pilot agreement meaning uh the ability to find a way that we could do this project and Al financially make it work and have the town have something that it's participated in and collaborated in that thinks it's going to be an asset to the community that's what's that issue here um and we have engaged in Pilots through our history it's the whole purpose of Redevelopment Redevelopment is we've got a dying section of town over there and the opportunity do not doesn't present themselves a lot to to me seven and a half years there's been two Redevelopment pitches to me um so we have an opportunity to redevelop an area of our town to provide housing sources and mixed use element and um in order to do that we have to meet the developer in the Middle with the pilot um to make it happen if if we don't do the pilot my sense is there will be no development they will not do it because it doesn't make sense what potentially will happen which will Mo most likely happen is those front buildings will be raised to the ground and there will be a potentially a tax appeal that would reduce the taxes from that area so this is not a situation ultimately that says Ah we just say no to the pilot they're still going to do what we've already negotiated and ask for them to do um you know so so there it's it's bigger than than just saying no make them pay Market it's not going to happen so we have an opportunity to do something special for the community so it's a little bit bigger than that but this just to prepare you guys for what a pilot could look like this is just get to get us can I can I just read something um I think it would be helpful about what uh in our packet and I appreciate a member of the community asking to see the rest of these no no just it's it's late let's um and so I think I think it would be appropriate for me to read this into the record as as to exhibit from from Phoenix from Phoenix advisor LLC what their sort of their scope of services are for pilot evaluation I think I think many in this room would be interested in it so bear with me while I have some water because my mouth's already drying up and I haven't even start do you want it I'm good pilot of valuation services so they say Phoenix advisor provides expert Financial advice at each stage of the Redevelopment project from conception through operation the losss of stuff I'll skip over because I really need to go somewhere else right now um pilot evaluation Services review developer proforma assumptions to confirm projected rents expenses construction costs and financial terms are in line with the market analyze the proposed pilot terms debt issuance request if applicable and general level of tax abatement to confirm that they are consistent with broader market trends state law and are so to meet the needs of your community independently modeled projects viability including analyzing and critiquing developer Pro projections when available analyze the financial impact of real estate taxes and pilots on the project evaluate the need for tax abatement along with various ta alternative tax abatement structures estimate the impact on of the development on Municipal costs and school costs on taxpayers prepare pilot projections and compare benefit uh compare benefit versus traditional and current taxes analyze propose and negotiate additional financial and Community benefits as may be requested to address unique circumstances conduct and support negotiations with the developer regarding pilot calculations escalation the timing of payments and the terms of the abatement and other incentives thoroughly analyze pertinent Financial aspects of the financing agreement comment and propose changes as necessary prepare presentations to the administration governing body and the public as required attend working group meetings with the administration developer represent and other professionals as necessary and finally provide a final comprehensive report on the impact of the development including a recommendation on the proposed file of terms to me mayor this seems like a a a Professional Services contract that would help me understand the situation so that's why I'll I'll most likely be voting yes on this thank you for letting me read that in thank you thank you Council for introducing them to the record and also yeah I would agree it allows us to make an educative decision may he said most likely so there is a chance that he won't vote for this too just saying I mean you stayed this long got keep I pick that up most likely so there is a chance iate you seeing there's a chance we're all working together here we're all working together here let's put everybody out of their misery and take a vote Let's see we have a motion a second TI you're all tired motion motion to move you made a motion I made a motion second you guys have discussion and now call unless there's anything else any okay we're closing the discussion now we'll have a call okay Mr bobit yes Mr Kaki yes M Barry yes Mr Ryan no May farmer yes now we are on H7 H7 H7 all right I there if I may I'd like to move to H7 number 329 authorizing the acquisition of 12024 schop M6 Avalanche street sweeper do we have a second coun can second that and now discussion mayor yeah I just have a question Mr nnsky do you know when we bought I thought it was recent a couple years ago that we bought a new sweeper or just a new sweeper on that well luckily we have Greg I that's why I'm asking you but if I ask Greg yeah no that's fine so um so I'm asking you I don't want to get no you're fine I don't have a recollection of us buying a sweeper but Greg you you I just have like two questions the answer is no we've our current street sweepers over 10 years old street sweepers mechanical street sweepers as what Lawrence uses uh has a lifespan of s Years and we're we're at the end now and just some something to add to this we me and Peter um and Debbie have been saving grant money towards this for the last 10 years so each year we've been squirreling away grant money which I believe we have about7 is it 150 yeah I don't have my $150,000 worth of grant money to go towards us that's been scrolled away over a decade so we knew this would be coming um and street sweepers are everything in public works now is very expensive so that that's my I know that we put 150 in grant money Mr nowinsky and in your budget in January was that you proposed 100,000 so that would be 250 between that and the the sweeper is 432,000 yeah that's correct that's the price of the street sweep wow so we're over 200,000 that we're no no no I'm not sure what you're looking at yeah I saw this here and then in his budget address I went back into his budget it was 100,000 for street sweeper so this is uh mayor if I if I'm reading it's correct correct me if I'm wrong manager Newland here Mr whad uh under Revenue Source we have one Revenue I won't read the account numbers because it's yeah it's really uh there's the 2024 various equipment street sweeper that's 150,000 2015 clean Community grant for $16 16,924 35 and it goes on to the 2016 clean Community Grant 2017 clean 2018 2019 2020 21 22 and 23 all clean Community grants of various numbers uh ranging from a low of 13,000 to almost 20,000 and then there's the 2020 various equipment heavy various equipment heavy equipment fund that's another 1344 55 45 and I think Councilman Ryan that's what you're seeing is the different accounts cor that we were that we were making this purchase from um and I I think at the end of the day it equals out to the $432,000 we add everything up that's that that's that's correct and what what clean communities allows is 20% a year you can tuck away and save for a future purchase like this got very good thank you thank you so much so the best thing the price is covered the cost is covered com coun Mr B yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor farmer yes mayor I'll be I'll just start on this side and keep it moving I'll be very brief um I the shade tree we're going to look at starting this fall about ways to protect our trees so I'll keep I'll keep Council informed on what that might look like there we're good except Colonial Lake LAN Saturday 21st okay 12 to 4 100 years 12 to 4 12 12 to 4 excuse me and these are Ming project and St was approv the the pattern the extension the expansion of the Starbucks um just quickly for growth and Redevelopment there have been um several new um businesses businesses that have joined Lawrence which is always a great sign the last of which we attended the uh grand opening for the Affinity Credit Union which was last week which is here so it goes to show you that our T town is thriving with new and um additional businesses to continue um the great town that we live in the last thing I'll say about the fire subcommittee is that I understand being a man on an island because I live in Liberty green we don't have any fire access if it wasn't for Mutual Aid I don't know where we would be so trust me when I say we are going to do what's best for the entire Township and make sure that everyone is supported and protected because in 2012 what I went through with a fire there I never want to speak about again and never want anyone else to go through that so that's why we're going to make sure that from one end to another end as per the experts we are protecting this community okay thank you and you that wonderful sep 11 okay um now for written Communications we are going to hold on um the written Communications there are some questions that ERS of counil still may may ask why uh hold 20 say it's been since uh April that this gentleman applied and ever since then we've been putting this on hold there so we had plenty of time to review this application yeah plenty of time I thought mayor may I thought that we were sort of downsizing because it was so big no uh that how many numbers are on there there 12 or so Department group is there for the Fourth of July is out here for well I thought you were no I'm no I don't disagree you mentioned about downsides and I said we would talk it was you not me I was never for downsizing you asked me to hold this application and I said yes because I thought we were going to talk back in April all right I just feel it's time we appoint this genten there is an opening we do have a slot open yeah there was actually there's another discussion that we probably should have offline but with regards to some of the changes that are happening with the Department of Department of recreation that we um may want to consider yeah if someone wanted to apply they would have applied by now this is only any gentleman has applied for this position and every month that it comes up or whenever comes up we're we're ignoring it and saying to this guy who wants a volunteer to for this Township and who was a previous I think president of the Little League very much involved with the community from what I see on his application he he was a thunder football lacrosse Little League helmet uh little league president Treasurer he is a very involved person here I would like do I personally to reach out to Mr know that there are some other members on Council that also wanted to as well may then it should have been said for us to do an interview it was never mentioned see what's getting me it was never mentioned since April and again we're going to tell this gentleman let's hold off so we get come in and do an interview to interview a person that is well qualified to be on a recreation I hear what you saying mayor I'd say I I'm sort of surprised at this conversation because typically in the past we've always allowed uh for sort of the non-statutory one so not zoning and uh planning we would interview but typically all the other sort of advisory committees we would defer to the Council on for that committee so I was not because coun said that no one reached out to the gentl so I wanted to make sure to reach out to him I spoke with him that's why I'm recommending them I if if I didn't feel he would qualify I won't recommend him and I think most people up here know me and I will tell you straight out he don't qualify this gentleman qualifies and and unless we say yes we're going to say no again tonight for that we don't need an interview for no interview was requested I said okay I'm just saying I I just feel we should make a U you want to do a vot yeah I feel we should do something with it it's either yes or no V but I think we should move forward with it say yes if he's on if he gets to know then we'll tell him come back taking a vote so we'll take a vote on application for recreation I'll make a motion to appoint Anthony muy to the recreation advisor committe second Mr bobit yes Mr Kaki yes Miss Perry Mr Ryan uh mayor farmer yeah okay do we have a motion for adour I second I make a motion to adour thank you everyone thank you all for Oh I thought I thought the