okay Good evening and welcome every good evening and welcome everyone Madame clerk read the welcome Adequate notice of this meeting of the
Lawrence Township Council being held on Tuesday April 1st 2025 has been provided through the posting of the annual meeting schedule of said council in accordance with section 13 of the open public meetings act said notice
forwarded to the tranium the times and the princet on December 13 2024 We may now have an inspiration 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 aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God
indivisible with liberty and justice for all Mr here Mr Kaki here Mr Mayor Mayor here that this is a financial union today I just wanted to give a quote an
investment in knowledge pays the best interest And now um we'll have The proclamation declarated April 25th 2025 as Arbor Day in the township of Lawrence Read the proclamation Whereas in
1872 yes 1872 J Sterling proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees And whereas this holiday called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting
of more than a million trees in Nebraska And whereas Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world And whereas trees can reduce the erosion of precious top soil by wind and
water cut heating and cooling costs moderate the temperature clean the air produce oxygen and provide habitat for wildlife And whereas trees are a renewable resource giving us paper wood
for our homes fuel for our fires and countless other wood products Whereas trees in our township increase property value enhance the economic vitality of business areas and beautify
our community And whereas trees whenever they are planted are a source of joy and spiritual renewal And now therefore I Patricia Farmer mayor of Township of Lawrence hereby
proclaim April 25th 2025 as Arbor Day in the Township of Lawrence And I urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodland dated April 1st
2025 All right Um and now uh we will have our first opportunity for public participation And I understand that um the task force for the Lawrence Community Center will be coming forth and making a presentation
Thank you I'm good Okay David Spalding 94 Altimar Avenue U Good evening Mayor Farmer members of the Lawrence Township Council Thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on behalf of the mayor's task force
regarding uh resolution number 346-24 and the future use of the Lawrence Community Center As outlined in the resolution the community center has played a vital role in fostering unity addressing economic challenges and
promoting exclusive development in our township This history of providing shelter food clothing and essential services to families in need underscores the importance of ensuring that its future use reflects the evolving needs
of our residents The task force was established to advise council on the concerns of the residents of Lawrence Township address the mission statement and future vision of the center Engage the community by ensuring the decisions
made reflect the overall needs of the Lawrence Township community Preserve the center's legacy for all the residents of Lawrence Township Progress and community engagement efforts Since the adoption of
the resolution the task force has met multiple times to develop an exclusive engagement strategy Our focus has been on ensuring that all voices are heard with a particular emphasis on reaching diverse segments of our
community To facilitate this process we have planned a community engagement meeting on May 13 2025 at 700 p.m at the Lawrence High School cafeteria A historical overview of the center will
be presented at 6:30 followed by an open discussion at 7 p.m This meeting will provide a platform for residents to share insights concerns and ideas about the cent's future In addition to the
meeting we are also doing the following things working on distributing a community survey to collect qualitative and quantitative data on preferred uses for the center Implementing a multi-ch outreach strategy that includes the
following things School and township communication channels digital media through large links community news print media and local radio multilingual materials to reach
non-English-speaking residents gathering data on current center usage and recreation department demographics to better understand the existing program and community needs Alignment with the recreation department proposal is also something we're going
to be working on The task force is reviewing the recreation department's proposal submitted to the township manager on July 31st 2024 and we find significant alignment with some additional ideas between the recreation
department memorandum and the feedback we have gathered to date from the residents The alignment reinforces the importance of integrating community input into any future plans Our next steps are as follows
Following the community engagement efforts the task force will analyze survey responses and feedback from the community meeting Draft a comprehensive report outlining the community concerns priorities and their
recommendations Propose a mission statement and future vision for the center Present actionable recommendations that preserve the center's legacy while addressing the future and current needs We also will be establishing a
timeline for presenting our findings and next steps to the council A call to action and conclusions We appreciate the council's ongoing support and encourage all members to attend the May 13th meeting and help us
spread the word to maximize community participation Our collective goal is to ensure that the large community center remains a vibrant and valued resource to all our residents We look forward to continuing collaboration with the council and
community stakeholders in the coming months Thank you for your time and commitment to this important initiative Respectfully submitted the mayor's task force on the future of large community center Chris rolling share and Martha
friend secretary Thank you Thank you Mr Spalding Um and thank you for that um elaborate presentation on what the the task force has been doing to date and also the findings already with the
alignment between the seamlessness that will happen with the transitioning of the community center So want to encourage everyone to attend the community meeting on May 13th and also want to thank the task force for all of their hard work today Thank you Any
other comments on council thank you Is there any other um public participation it's nice It's like a casual Yeah Good evening Katie MDA 141 Hazelhurst Avenue I'm not going to take up a lot of
time I just wanted to say that I am disappointed to see tonight that there's a resolution um to adopt the budget and go through it by title rather than line by line As members of the public may not know I am president of the Township Democratic Club and also secretary for
the Township Democratic Municipal Committee Um we have had multiple meetings in the last few months um particularly our last committee meeting and our last club meeting and and last two club meetings really where members of this community who are um you know
they're plugged in They're voters They knock on doors for elections when needed They're you know they're committed to this community and to making it a better place have repeatedly said time and time again they want this budget to be reviewed line by line and not by title And it's it's disappointing to see that that is not coming to fruition I know
that in my short stint on council that was something um that myself and and Councilman Ryan also pushed for and and were not able to accomplish Um so I do hope that you know council will reconsider it if not for this year than for next year Um I know that it's something that the public would really
like Thank you Thank you Thank you for your comments and also um just to reiterate we the council we take our responsibility with regards to the budget very seriously Um and we do go line by line um over the budget with
professionals several times before coming to today's voting Um but I do understand um that there is a public interest in seeing it um done in a different format and that is something that we may consider for the next um
presentation in 2026 So we hear you See no additional public comment at this time One more [Music] In the meantime we didn't hear um the
weather didn't affect any in the town right we right disable I'm getting a signal from Jeff here No right We're good Hi my name is uh Mark Hulk uh lifelong
resident of Lawrence Township and uh I'm proposing that uh as we all know next year July 4th 2026 we celebrate 250 years
You got one Jim thank you Thank you very much We celebrate 250 years of our anniversary The Declaration of Independence was signed
uh in Philadelphia as we all know But uh the freedom and winning the war was right between Trenton and Princeton Uh we became from defensive to
an offensive uh militia at that time And what I'm proposing is as you can see is a a statueette I call it the spirit of 76 And uh I think we could erect that uh on
the third page It shows uh uh on a pedestal located on the north side parking lot between the retention pond and the parking lot And uh we strongly consider Johnson and Turi
to make a lifelike full-size uh sculpture um that would be erected and placed over there And uh because of uh additional traffic possibility I'm
recommended that we put uh an entrance to West Long Avenue on that side and uh a few more parking spots And what I'm asking of the council is to consider I'd like to do a feasibility study and get
back to you within a month of all the pertinent information which would include uh uh how long how much uh the putting it on the edge of the retention pond to make sure we're not
infringing anything and doing there But uh I'd like you to consider it and uh get back to me Uh the cover note was just uh a brief message I sent to uh Kevin Thank you for your time
Thank you And it is an exciting time that the 250th is coming up and that uh Lauren's pound absolutely played a role in that time part of our history
See no additional public participation This was that public participation at this time Are there any revisions to the agenda for tonight did you want to put on one for the senior on the municipal
alliance We're taking something off of the agenda as well Can we table till next meeting 10 we're tableing 10 a 10 a 10 a as per request
Okay And then you which one is the other one the other one is the is the um application I sent you for the mis application Put it on
Okay Thank you Oh let's go back So we have those two um revisions alliance Was municipal alliance on here already or Okay So that's not any any other changes Any other changes to the agenda uh yeah I have one for the
closed session Mhm Uh we need to have a discussion uh with regard to the tax assessor position And I guess we won't have that other discussion No All right So seeing those changes too
Yeah All right Mayor I'll make a motion to table 10A I appreciate Councilwoman Perry's uh tableabling it So I' I'd love to help uh craft that ordinance and make it even stronger Um and then we will amend uh
resolution 18H4 to include tax assessor position Is that correct yes Correct That's my motion Okay Do I have a second i will second the ordinance Um we need some clarity so that's why we're
tableabling it Okay So we have some more clarity on we have a motion in a second Madam clerk you call the role please Mr B Yes Mr Ki Yes M Yes Mayor
Yes And now we need a motion to adopt the minutes All right I'll move uh 10A regular meeting of December 3rd 2025 So second Second And the call vote
please Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Yes Mayor yes I'll move 8 the uh meeting minutes of regular meeting December 17th 2025 Second call
Mr Bab yes Mr Kaki yes Merry abstain It was not here Yes And just a correction for that should be 2024 because we're not in 2025 yet Oh right We all
miss you that correction Good eyes Good eyes Don't rush it Don't have the warning We have a so we've tabled ordinance 10 So we'll move to the adoption of ordinances All right Mayor if I may I'd like to
move 11A ordinance number 2488-25 ordinance amending ordinance 2427-22 by the township of Lawrence the county of Mercer state of New Jersey in order to revise the description of the approvement herein acquisition of fire
rescue equipment ambulance and equipment I'll second Okay Um is there any explanation needed for that this is a this is a capital improvement ordinance that by law requires a vote by the governing body to revise the purpose of the description to include the
acquisition of a fire rescue equipment specifically ambulance and equipment to address a current need Thank you Is there any This is not an expenditure of new money Okay Any public comment on this
seeing none Madam clerk would you call the role mr Yes Mr Ki Yes Mr P Yes Mayor Farmer Yes Mayor if I may I'd like to move 11B ordinance number 2489-25 ordinance amending ordinance
2449-23 by the Township of Lawrence County Mercer state of New Jersey in order to revise the description of the improvement herein acquisition of fire rescue equipment ambulance and equipment We have a second I miss if you could just give
clarification between the two This is a companion amendment to a separate ordinance funding ordinance So we're using both of these ordinances to fund the acquisition of the ambulance and equipment
Okay Is there any public comment seeing none clerk you call the ro please Mr Bin yes Mr Yes M yes Mayor Farmer Yes Mayor move 11 C ordinance number 2490-25 Ordinance adopting the
regulation of invasive bamboo Okay Do we have a second second Is there any discussion um Mr This is pretty straightforward This is this is um uh amending our ordinance to include invasive bamboo as a species that
um can be regulated Uh and this this is frequently a situation we receive calls throughout the year Um a resident has bamboo on their property and because it's such a fast growing thing it starts to encroach and
invade another property Um this will allow the the township to resolve these matters in a way where we can regulate and um provide guidance on how to remove the encroachment Thank you Is there any comment from the
public seeing none call the role please Mr B Yes Mr Kaki Yes Mr Perry Yes Mayor yes And now we're going to the manager's report Yes Members of council this is our um
time to for a public hearing and on the adoption of the 2025 budget Um the New Jersey budget law specifically NJSA4A 40-8 permits a local governing body to read the budget by its title if
it had met certain conditions which we have met Um so we need to have a resolution um made and seconded and voted on to allow us to do that Okay Is anybody interested in making
Mayor if I may I'll move 12A number 147 author authorizing the budget to be read by title only I second Second Okay Member do you follow
mr B Yes Mr Kaki Yes M Perry Yes Mayor Farmer Yes And for the members of the public here that what we just did is something that the township has done for 25 30 years It's just a function of
the of the adoption process And um in our discussions through this process there was an indication that the governing body has a has a want for a change of the process to have it uh read line by line And we're certainly willing to do that um for the next budget
process For sure to do it publicly That's public reading because we do read it and go over it several times line by line as a body individually and to um with regard to the adoption of the budget the 2025 municipal budget of
the township of Lawrence County of Mercy for the fiscal year 2025 This is a budget that was approved by resolution of the governing body on the 4th day of March 2025 We have complied with the local budget law
NJSA4A 4-1 at SEC The total budget is for 60,445,725 The local tax for municipal purpose is $31,179.39 and the tax rate remains stable from last year at 652 So this starts the uh the public hearing process
So if council comments remarks any questions okay Madam Mayor may I start yes if you were council Um so I just wanted to highlight some key things that shows the uh first of all the management of our
budget and some key things that could affect our township in the future that we've already um put on the radar Um I'm sure everyone knows what's been going on in another part of this country and we won't go into the discussion But in that
um that being said there's a potential a loss possibly if we do not receive the aid of approximately $4 million Now our CFO and our manager has accounted for that so that we would be prepared in
case we need to move forward without interruption in our budget We are also um pleased to say that um we have collected more uh more sewer tax um this year We have also
um had ironically a flat increase to uh excuse me a increase to our alcoholic and um some of our licenses And that is something that can really help the township as we continue to grow and use
those excess funds to um continue to maintain and keep the programs and um different opportunities to um do other things in this town Um a lot of people are concerned about how are we funding
new police well there are some police that are retiring and their salaries are much higher than the incoming class So that keeps the budget for the police flat We are increasing and hiring three new firefighters which I'm very happy to
see and maybe more to come Um but again we have accounted for that in our budget Um looking at some things that we are funding down the line besides the police and the um and fire the budget
has allocated for the repairs necessary for the uh recreation center as the task force has been actively working to find the right mix for that So if there's any other questions um we are here to address them but those are some
highlights that I wanted everyone to know that we are focused on and making sure that we maintain the the standard that is in this township Thank you Thank you council Thank you Councilwoman Perry And
if I can just add um that uh we are really well positioned This is a really good budget Um as as you all know taxes are not going to be raised this year And I just want to express my thanks to Mayor Nolinsky and his staff especially
our CFO here because they've done an outstanding job in preparing us for the future making sure that we are in in a good position for when that rainy day comes because we know that the current climate we're not sure federally how
funding is going to trickle down to us So I just want to thank them There are new businesses that are coming to our township which is also great There's new housing stock in our township There is more revitalization to come um of
existing properties and we are adding as was mentioned both professional fire and police and you know so I just want to say that you know again it is a very good budget very thought out conservative um and you know again
planning for a rainy day because of the uncertainty that we face on a national state and county level we know that everyone is going to be tightening their strings this year Um and to our residents in our budget we are making capital improvements as was mentioned in
our real estate um in our parks in our roads in our public safety and providing exceptional customer service to our residents Um you know that is all accounted for So we are really investing again also in our
employees I can't emphasize that enough I know that it's really important and it shows in our community and the services that are provided So I just want to say I support this budget wholeheartedly It's um a positive budget and I will be
building this So um I just want to share that and we're all working together to make the improvements in governance of our town and um it's good to see how mayor I left out one of the best parts and correct me if
I'm wrong here We will be debtree Oh yeah By 2027 which is amazing to do that continue Well to be technical if everything goes the way we plan yeah
I'm speaking it into existence All right It's a vision board that vision board We don't take that lightly And there are a lot of people working on this You know our our committees our volunteers it's you know it's really all of us working
together in this town that make it happen That people want to come to Lawrence Township and bring their businesses here they want to come live here they want to be educated here That is all a reflection of the work that we all do um both you know as the um the
administrative body but also as the residents you know Thank you mayor I just wanted if I don't if you don't mind Um I know everybody's thinking it You referred to me as mayor I don't want that position
Everyone's listening That's good You're listening Anybody else have any council about it i'll just say that you know I always I always go into to the manager's office and I stop by the CFO as well and say "How's it looking in
December?" Um and they always give me the straight on it Um and tell me what's going on So I kind of knew going in that we were looking really good I was impressed that we could we could hire as many people as we could without raising the taxes But at the same time looking
at the valuation of the town based on smart growth throughout the township our valuation as as a municipality has grown And that's that's in relation to both uh wise development wise redevelopment as well as having a strong assessor who you
know taxes properties fairly I think the assessor is so vital to to this proposition right um because that's how we sort of base what the tax rate is Um and and just the smart use of surplus and regenerating the surplus I you know
I looked at where we were 20 years ago and it was it was a scary place We were almost down to using all of our surplus on a year-over-year basis to sort of paper over the cracks And now we're in a strong healthy position And that's reflected in not only sort of what the
township can do but also our bond rating So that when we need to get more fire equipment or bond for renovations to the community center anything like that we we save the residents money by being wise about how we're using the money right um so all great things Um and
again I you know I just go back to you know seeing all the department heads who are here tonight um giving their presentations and just the the sort of I I I can't say it another way just the love of working for the residents of
Lawrence Township and just the the the sheer joy of working in partnership You talk you listen to you know recreation talking about public works You hear about the police department and public works and recreation and national night out and just that community and it's so
palpable in how services are delivered to our residents is because every one of our staff members from police officers and firefighters all the way down to the guy working cutting the grass cares about our community and it and it shows
Um and I just want to say publicly thank you to all of the staff involved You make us up here look good So thank you All right Jim you have anything because the next thing will be going to the public
One I want to thank council that we're going to have a budget tonight Uh we got through it Thanks a lot heads for being out here and keeping their part tight not asking for a
lot Our police and fire are always out there doing an excellent job I can't say enough about you guys Uh and I'm very happy with being on this council for 16 years that I can say this
is one of the better budgets that I'm really proud to be supporting Thank you All right Okay Now that we've had all of our comments from council we will open it up for public comment
Good evening council Greg Woody Just just a couple questions on the budget Um according to budget message uh last year's budget was 60,720,000 and this one up a little more since the introduction I think he said
660,445 I guess So but it is less than last year's Is that correct okay Yes So according to schedule D budget package um you're using a million dollars more from surplus Is that correct we used 8 million last year and now this year
we're using 9 million Is that correct did Did you say schedule D What What document is that that you That was in your uh So it was on It was your message It was the package The package we what we submitted to council The council Yes Yes Yes I called it
schedule D It had D on it before So the $1 million is being moved over for improvements to the community center So we we we have identified that the community center is a center that has been long languishing Uh we've had uh
the ability to go in with experts to determine what improvements are necessary and we've identified for this year that is it appropriate for us to add $1 million move it over from the surplus fund to uh the budget uh as a plan for a capital improvement That
would have been nice to seen the budget message a little before Very good Uh quick So I looked at budget over the counts over the past five years And I know budget's not an exact science You know you always have to budget just a little bit more but that there's a lot of them that seem to be a little more
overbudgeted And and one item which just sticks out and I just wonder if you get some clarification fire it service That hasn't changed in years uh that's been build at $310,000 but uh for the past three years including this year for the past two
years including this year we're budgeting $414,000 an extra $100,000 What's the reason for that uh Pete you could jump in on this one but I think it has to do with the fact that um we don't have the final total for for water charges Fourth
quarter gets built after the fourth quarter the fourth quarter be so that's the reason it just seems it's the same every year and it's the same $100,000 if he's giving push back well that's during the bud during this budget period then we get build for it and then that's a
thank you what is it I'm sorry Mr is correct It's it's a constant It's a constant Yeah Correct me if I'm wrong You're projecting and protecting it You don't want to underfund it and then we have a problem Well I can I can I can say this to the governing body When you when you
have a budget and you you have to forecast a lot of line items Um you know picking one item is is probably not the way to review a budget And I know that Mr has been a part of of budgets in the past that that um required our town to
really consolidate to lay off to um have not no cost of living increases So it's it's a different type of philosophy in terms of how we prepare a budget how we prepare for the future And he's right when he says you can't underestimate and
uh under forecast you must over forecast But the most important thing for everybody to learn and to understand is that this is not waste This money if it's not expended goes into the fund for us to use as a community should we need
it So this is not a wasteful budget This is a budget that builds every year for the past seven or eight years We have reduced our debt We have maintained or built our surplus And that makes us a very strong financial community should
something happen and we need the money for the future So it's a conservative approach It's not wasteful It's not spending money It's saving money and we'd rather heir on the side of being conservative and forecast in a manner
that we know we're not caught shorthanded in the middle of the year because there are times and you you've seen this already last year where we have to make transfers from one account to another because something came up that we can't possibly know is going to
happen So for me the way I've spoken with Pete Kerakatus in terms of how we want to build a budget how we want to protect this community um and comply with every single New Jersey budget law we were just audited last year with no issues We are independently audited
every year with no issues with regard to our finances So I stand by this budget and you know there's a lot of lines in it So u may just say one thing about the fire hydrant uh fee I I I I spoken with uh Mr Pitty about this last week and I
took a look back at all of my budgets that I've been a part of even the ones before So stretching back to 2015 and the fire hydrant uh service has been 400-400,000 every single year from 2015 until now So the past 10 years it's been
that number So yeah sometimes I guess Trent Waterworks bills within the calendar year sometimes they don't And so the surplus varies you know the amount used but but that budget number has always been the same Okay Nothing out of the order
Any other comments from the public seeing none Seeing none we'll close out publication And mayor I have one final comment if you don't mind Um I just want to um express thank you to our CFO Peter all
of our department heads um our police command staff that's here the police officers that are here the EMTs and fire officers are here This is um this is a display of dedication and caring And uh we are very fortunate to
have um people who work for this municipal government who who do care who are knowledgeable who are experienced and who are dedicated And this budget is a reflection of all of their work It doesn't come from Peter just picking
numbers out of the the sky or or me with my uh budget philosophy It's built from the ground up with um with our department heads and their staff and uh we benefit from their experience and the fact that they are dedicated to doing a good job and I want to publicly thank
them all for being here today Absolutely And being a part of uh something that I am very proud to be a part of Thank you Thank you Okay Seeing that there is one additional comment from the public I just Is this on on the budget or are you going to come back Mayor this is on the
budget This on the budget Okay No thank you Okay So at this point it would be closed and then Oh okay Hi Katie Maver Avenue Again um I wasn't going to say anything but I I really
heard the manager's comments and council's comments and again wanted to reiterate we know that this is not a budget that was thrown together last minute that this takes months of planning and dedication from Peter as CFO who does a great job and I know that from experience um as a as a lifelong
resident of this township But I just want to underscore that there's questions and confusion and and people don't even know what questions or how to ask them or they're timid to ask them or they're not able to come here tonight and ask them If we had the opportunity to go through it line by line like it's
been said multiple times that there are knowledgeable professionals who have put this budget together great But I'm not I don't have any financial training I'm an attorney but I don't I mean as as Mr Ciphek can say or maybe differently I don't like numbers That's why I became an attorney I like you know I I focused
in English and in the humanities A lot of people here are not qualified accountants to be able to look at this budget that's got line after line after line that's so thick you could drop it and it would make a sound and understand what they're looking about you know looking at and digesting it So I get it that the train has left the station But
we said it last year when I was on council that we were going to go through the budget line by line in 2025 And here we are in 2025 saying we're going to go through it line by line in 2026 and to trust us because the professionals have drafted it We want to hear from the professionals We want to hear from Peter We want to hear you know from the
manager from the CFO from whoever But you know I get it I'm not going to sit here and and waste the rest of the three minutes But I just want to say that there's a lot of frustration we want to be part of the conversation and and to have it explained to us as residents so we understand where our tax dollars are going um because we're not professionals
who are who are qualified accountants or have you know financial degrees necessarily Thank you Thank you for your comments total out of the box idea I know like throw it out here but is there ever a time where um
there could be a public discussion about the budget even after it's passed i I don't you know that just for clarification is that totally unheard of if people want to know more and
provide an opportunity Mayor Mayor I I I can tell I can tell you historically um over the 25 years that I've been connected to the the township um there has always been the ability for anybody to come and ask any question and sit
down and talk with either Peter or I and ask and have them answer and it has been done This budget has been posted on our website since February 4th and um receiving questions from from residents about specific items is absolutely part
of the process It's welcome Um but but I'm just saying I know it's kind of out of the box if the what did they say the horse has already left the station but for transparency and if people are truly interested in how government works and why you make you know the
decisions just offer that opportunity people may take it and may not take it to your point I think I I don't see what the problem would be if if somewhere down the road a month or two or whatever
you could have an open house and invite the public in and you could walk everyone line by line and and and tell them why we do Yeah Yeah I mean talk about the priorities and and sort of the push and pull and and you know this is anticipated revenue These are the
expenditures These are things that we cannot change because of you know um labor agreements things like that And I think you know I I think between the manager and the CFO Mr Kirkus um you
could you could be a amply prepped for it and and and and tell tell the whole community what's going on right because for me I mean I know it's a fascinating um experience to go through a budget
like this that impacts so many people um in great detail and gives me a better understanding of my town and you know how the town operates And if there are individuals in the public who would have a true desire to know more and have additional information perhaps an open
house um on the finances of our town or something like that may be enough from opening up uh but it's public information It's public knowledge and like I said uh persons of the public are
made available the same documents that we have beginning in February of each year Um and we are working towards doing something more uh transparent like a line by line but it is um it is a two-hour minimum process and if there
are individuals who are interested in something like that for education purposes and for knowledge and transparency and if we can do something like that um I think maybe you may want to consider that So we'll talk about it some more and uh see if it's something
that is possible Um it is very interesting because um when you look at what we've collected and what was anticipated you know um Peter you're a rock star Um just looking at one of the
favorite things that popped out was um we had this discussion about cable TV fees Oh yeah Okay So that's an interesting thing We all know how expensive cable is Um we realized over
347,000 in cable fees but as everybody knows less and less people are are using cable They're getting rid of it So that's a a a place where fees we have discussed are probably going to go down So uh we don't have an issue This this
is um it is tedious but it is transparent It is right here And one of my favorite things that we always talk about is the pilot programs Yeah Well we thought we would collect 431,000 in in
pilot Some people don't agree with it We collected $793,963 So we will gladly go through this budget because other towns don't have the luxury that we have We don't
So now that I as a financial person have an even better understanding of the budget we are in a good place We've budgeted for additional staff We've budgeted for repairs and not raised
taxes Good workshop All right So now somebody to make a motion I make a motion to adopt the budget for
municipal year 2025 of Lawrence Township Do I have a second second Madam clerk motion second You call the ro please Mr Bobby yes Mr Kaki yes Merry
yes Mayor Farmer yes And again thank you to all of the directors the staff the manager for putting together the budget for us to be able to and absolutely Okay
you guys can go on Um the next item will be the support Yeah madame mayor we have a number of items we need to discuss However they will be subject in our close session Just two items You have your financial
disclosure statements They have been passed out April 30th is the cut off If anyone needs help please let me know You have yours too And also I have certified our two counselor Councilman Kaki and Councilman
Robin I'm happy to say each votes and I am be primary election Okay Okay So we have two candidates for November Congratulations Councilman and Council
Congratulations Opposed Do you have any unfinished business [Music] okay See none Uh new [Applause] business We have
none This brings us to the second opportunity for public participation Three minutes Eric Lee Bunker Hill Avenue I just had one question about um an agenda item Um a lot of us in the community have been
following um the uh RPM development shopping center very closely Um it's been ongoing for I think almost 5 years now Uh it's something that a lot of housing advocates have opposed had a lot of environmental concerns There's concerns about conflicts of interest Um
so I just see that there's bond acceptance regarding it So if we could just get some insight on what that does its function and everything like that this they're ready to go So this is in preparation of them uh starting their process They've gone through the process
with the with uh the zoning zoning board and fulfilled all their obligations So this is part of the process prior to uh shoveling ground So what's it do the bond ensures performance
Can you expand on that this is what we're talking about with transparency if you could just kind of give us some insight some color whatever I just need a moment Um if we could have just a summary of what RPM is and what RPM is a development that is
occurring on Texas Avenue It's an affordable housing development in the back of um the shopping center It faces um Texas Texas Avenue Kevin remind me how many units are in
there it's affordable It's affordable housing right so this bond protects against um well pursuant to the municipal land use act the bond is for performance by the
developer of certain things as outlined in the uh resolutions uh by the planning board and it's standard Nothing unusual Almost all developments have that and they're all
public record right it means that they're closer to Yes Yeah I'm just not clear what they're bonding for and I understand that because there's a couple others on there It's just because a lot of people are following this process and this project closely and so you know any insight I
mean it's a little less than I think what a lot of people would like and again this is what we're talking about with the transparency the bodies of the resolutions were in were included in the agenda so and so forth I think you get a lot less questions like this is there is there something you can
share just listen this this just this came to me out of nowhere so I can certainly I have compile some information I have the bond We'll let you but the bond is to stay in our office But if you want to see the bond okay I'm just trying to figure you know what it's for like is it you know for
the tree cutting you know because they're clearcutting that whole area you know I'm sure a lot of community members say it's a public improvement and safety bond and in the bond they just put up a certain amount of money the irrevocable uh letter of credit that they put up
that they are required to put up by law Sure Just that's where I was confused like what public improvement what safety and stuff like that But thank you They didn't put it in It's not in here stipulated but I'm sure if you come to
the office we can find out exactly what it because that's where it gets difficult It's the same with the budget Well we come here during business hours We can have a private meeting like again like you know and I can understand you know I didn't presubmit a question for the manager or anything but like when
this stuff's on the agenda I think there should be a presumption that a question could be asked about anything you know and so um so yeah because that because like I said it's the the project itself is maring controversy there's an issue with conflict of interest like I said affordable housing advocates even oppose
the project so you know information benefits everybody uh because maybe some of the name saying could be qualled with that or sometimes unfortunately it's affirmed by that So thank you
Thank you for the comments Good evening council madam cler counselor with an s manager [Music] Um my name is Jim Hooker Uh I'm a resident uh town and I'm also a founding
executive board member of the Prince of Money Lake Park Um and I was expecting this evening to uh be giving a thank you for adopting for the council adopting a resolution for Elsa New Lawrence Suridge Association to move its planned pipeline
extension from an extremely environmentally sensitive area uh containing many 100-y old trees happen to be home and well not the nesting home but habitat for the bald eagle and others and of course shade
viewshed peace and enjoyment for visitors Uh so from last uh the last meeting of the council um you uh voted to adopt a resolution to support the French group's appeal for the council to support a waiver bear with me please
from a state green acres restriction that Elsa says stands in the way of moving the pipeline Um we trust formalizing such a resolution is hopefully um merely uh something in the details
that's going on perhaps at this moment So that would be the question Is that what's happening respectfully yeah I did see we did d um there was there has been a draft Yeah I I don't think so
I don't think we're ready this evening to adopt anything but you're correct in that there will be a a formal uh document resolution on that Okay Thank you May I May I just say something Mayor i think
um the resolution was already was already passed it was um so it just it needs to be approved by and not by a vote You know you can you can just approve it uh with your with your
authorization to Mr Cypek and then it could be forwarded on to the uh entities that need to see where you all stand with regard to that So that's not it's not anything that has to wait till the next meeting There's no additional vote Mhm
We did vote for it We're interested to go to the next So then the thank you remains in order and I appreciate it I I thought so thought as much I thought it was interesting mayor you opened today with a resolution on Arbor Day and how fitted you know here in this township
with Drexel Woods Carson Road Woods even the Loveless Nature Preserve throughout this township a great um caring and appreciation for nature Uh and I love when you read and then I looked it up because I lost the back end
of the quote in my notes that trees are a source of joy and spiritual renewal providing habitat and promoting a connection with nature And um you know that's just perfect And that's exactly what these trees are doing uh with the bald eagle up there um and the others Uh
in addition it says to providing clean air and water if you look that up and even uh property values Of course conversely you know everything is terrible without them especially these guys because they're really um uh
significant and um signature to the park and that area and critical to the park in that area and the wildlife and the folks who enjoy it for that uh joy and and soul renewal and things like that So I know I've said that maybe a million
times but maybe it can't be said enough Um and it's really deeply appreciated and you heard that last week from the couple of dozen folks we had out or last time you met um that that you've done this and I hear about it in the neighborhood and from folks visiting the
park So it's greatly appreciated almost to a point where if this happens if you're able to do this uh similarly to the way you you saved the park from hotel development those years ago you know it's pretty much beyond words in
terms of appreciation thanks and gratitude So thank you very much again Thank you Is this the time of year when you get trees count Is this the time of year when you get the season it should It should be Yeah
Do we get them yet not yet but it's Good evening Sylvia Um I'm very glad to hear that those trees in the park are continually to be that the park is continually being protected uh for um the Colonial Lakelands uh
neighborhood Um I would like to ask renew the ask for the block 503 lots 15 through 26 to be included in green acres and um as property values have been me
mentioned uh for Colonial Lake Um we would like that same privilege extended to Colonial Heights that our neighborhood is not forgotten in on Arbor Day because those
lots are um two lots were cleared of trees and vegetations for but some of them still remain as wooded as they've been for many decades and u containing wetlands So I think that it was great
and as I've said it multiple times from this podium that we appreciate I appreciate that Colonial Lakeland's neighborhood had been saved from um maybe not
very good development of a motel at the edge of it Um we would like the same protections for us Those lots were there was an attempt to resone those lots into mixed
reszone and that's the last spot th those lots are the last piece of publicly owned property in that neighborhood that's not contaminated So um it's a sound barrier for our
neighborhood uh from uh Trenton Highway It's um it's a great opportunity to create really nice trails in the woods in the shade Um we we do have uh the toe pad uh
very close by but it runs all along Trenton Highway It's not a very uh relaxing walk especially in the rush hour with all those cars driving by right on the other side of the canal So uh I took a walk with my daughter
through those lots uh just recently and um it's a nice walk It would be a really nice walk and it connects to um New York Avenue So um on the railroad I believe
So it's it's a really it's a really nice walk It's a really nice stroll in there um the trail in the Nesh Park and it's not creating a new park Let's let's just I think that's um let's add that it's an
expansion of the Nesh Park Those lots are already connected to Green Acres So that would only be an expansion just as it was in Colonial uh Lake Park So I would renew the ask and would love for
you to consider that and um we would be in my neighborhood uh our residents we would be very grateful if that had uh been put into the green acres It had been asked before with the previous council Unfortunately it was um shut
down So please reconsider that Thank you Thank you maybe uh take a walk I know you know that area So maybe um I would like to take a walk in that area so that I'm more familiar I go now to the dog park every day I'm interested
in getting to know a little bit more about them So I think it'd be valuable for us to take a little walk Hello Katie Ma staff Third time's the charm but I promise it's not about budget No Um two things One I just
wanted to say that I am very disheartened that time and time again the solution to so many questions and concerns is to just meet with the manager privately Um or to come and have these private meetings and discussions I get it and I appreciate that township staff is available to residents but I
don't think I've been at a council meeting in almost a year because it's hard for me to get away from the office I don't have an hour or two hours during my day to step away and have a meeting with the manager to go over things Um you know I'm I'm usually watching the live stream on YouTube So it's it's
really like I said disheartening and sad that the answer is it's never like great we're gonna be open about this and discuss it It's always oh well we're manager available Come meet with them come discuss it etc Um but more importantly I just wanted to say that there is a I want to say two foot high
excuse me concrete wall off of Zor Street um that basically protects it's a barrier between Zor Street and a feeder creek that feeds into the Shabakunk Creek Um and somebody hit it with their car a few years ago and it is crumbling and half of it's been destroyed and the
township never repaired it Um people have like dumped chunks of concrete in the actual creek bed There's at least one if not more pieces of concrete trash that are down there with like at least a 6 in piece of rusted rebar sticking out of the concrete Um and because the
little retaining wall or barrier wall whatever you want to call it is half destroyed uh a lot of the kids in my neighborhood are now going down and playing in the creek because they're of that age of like 5 to 10 where they're kind of allowed to roam the neighborhood without their parents Um and I routinely
walk by it or drive by it and they're just like down there playing Sometimes it's got two three feet of water when we get a lot of rain Sometimes it's dry but again like it's a pretty if you walk by it's pretty steep drop crumbling concrete and and like three pieces of rebar in there Uh so pretty dangerous So
I know some of my um neighbors said they were going to uh email Greg Whitehead about getting it fixed But I figured um since council's here tonight and the manager I would just throw it out there that if somebody could come take a look at it um and hopefully we can get that fixed so that way none of the kids get hurt I think that would be a great thing Thank you
I know but that's on Zor where the creek is Yeah on Zor Somebody hit the thing Yeah I I I think my neighbor sending Mr Mayor may I have a comment um sure And this is to everybody in the audience and
listening live stream Um um if if if you have a question that you know you're going to ask at a at the public meeting um I used to receive emails from Mr Pitty all the time asking questions throughout the day and um he would get
answers from me Um so to Eric Poly out there if if if you have a question and you're looking for an answer um we could have this interchange You could ask that question in public and then we could have an answer because I don't know if you can imagine there are you know the
budget was on today There was a a lot of other items and it's very difficult to anticipate because I know you're looking at the agenda and you're looking for deficiencies So in the spirit of of of transparency why don't we just if you have a question you can ask that
question by email If if you know it in advance and then we can have that information provided to you uh as as an alternative you know because I just I I didn't have the information that you were seeking right now and I just wanted to offer you an alternative to that The
other thing I wanted to uh make a comment of that I know Councilwoman Perry and I have been discussing is doing an open house We haven't done that in a while because you know council we're very interested in engaging with the public beyond just you know council
meetings We'd love to have an opportunity to sit down and get feedback from the community with regards to things that are happening in your neighborhood you know that we can address or take notice of any you know uh work on it on our end because we
really are interested in engaging more with the public Mayor in this day and age I get emails all the time from residents about all issues Yeah sure Um and it it's the exchange of information is is always there It's just that um you
know hearing things for the first time you know you don't have all the information This this particular bond is a part of a process that was uh approved um through the zoning board and it's a compliance piece Um so
it's a part of uh the obligation of the town to and the governing body to vote to accept these particular bonds to protect um the community So uh organ developers don't just vacate the site and all that I mean it's a general
reason for what bonds are Um but specifically for what this is I'll make sure to ask Mr Parvis to provide uh a memo to better describe the details the details of it Okay Thank you Because there's no I don't want anybody to think
that there's a purposeful denial of of information I just I would share it if I had one thing Um [Music] um you know I I had a question about it because a it was is on the agenda
and public participation It's a project that has been deeply controversial in our community and um you trying to keep up on it trying to follow it So they had it all staked out and everything like that I'm not gonna get into I've spoken on this project on a lot of groups I'm
not gonna get into it now What's disconcerting though is when I'm sitting in the audience after I've had my time I asked my question got whatever answer I was going to get and that's it And then I'm sitting there and then you know I'm addressed by name long after multiple
people have come up to speak Okay And it's implied that I'm sitting there looking at the agenda for deficiencies Um I don't believe that That's I and I and I know you don't Thank um this is part of a pattern of behavior that's
been going on for a number of years It's always been very deeply concerning in terms of the interactions with township staff and residents when they have valid concerns You know we're not talking about inflammatory things We're talking issues of policy which there is frequently disagreement on Of course you
know there's more than one direction that we can always take and that's that's democracy Exactly Um and to that point about you know reaching out you know I don't I've had experiences interacting with a manager that doesn't make me feel
comfortable doing that And so I would just give it food for thought I don't know how that best gets addressed but if it involves something like a performance review of the manager or something you guys should consider doing that perhaps
at a at a meeting because I don't think that this interaction has happened a lot I understand I'm not asking you guys to comment on it What I'm saying is is that I'm a little shaken and upset that it's
happened again and so this time I think it's important to stand up and say this is not appropriate and I think the council should address their employee Thank you Okay Well I will apologize um to you if if it made you feel um
uncomfortable but we're here to have you know discussion We don't always have to agree there are various uh viewpoints and the purpose of our public meetings is to hear from the public Um and that's what we're going to do It won't change
and we'll try not to address people by name uh if that makes you uncomfortable Yeah Listen I I apologize I was just I mean we're are we are a community and I've I've known uh the person for many
many years and um yeah I won't I won't uh refer to people by name I was trying to offer a solution to you know it takes a village to to get things right and I was offering a solution and I apologize if it was
offensive Thank you Councilman Bob has an objection that was pulling my leg I hope Um wouldn't blame him if he wasn't Uh but since Miss Culvis came up I figured I should come up and um to make note of something I've
had the honor of serving on the trails open space and stewardship committee where it's now going to be my 10th year Time time really flies and mayor you're the liaison there and we hear your reports sometimes here and love having you as liaison Um and I'd
just like to make note that for the record that this committee um and I'm not speaking for the committee I don't have that authorization but I as a member who was there I actually advocated Miss Cullis Sylvia has been
there you know often as much as a member anymore and advocating for that green space in her neighborhood and her area and um I took up that that lance as well and said yeah this makes all the sense
in the world and advocated for it and maybe even moved to have the committee go on record to advise the council to do this to make that open space uh green acres um parcels and I mean when I say
it makes all the sense in the world as Miss Cola said you know it's land we don't have to buy we already own it it's not dirty apparently there's no toxic stuff which was a concern some time ago I guess also it's as Colonial Lake is by the way
uh contiguous to the where we are in uh state park which is the longest ribbon of a state park that we have in New Jersey which is beautiful uh and critical environmental habitat So it runs right up against that and it's you
know quite beautiful Um and so it as I say it makes all the sense in the world and I just wanted to sort of second Sylvia's notion here um that that we I believe we should do that as a township And um I voted for the same uh on the
committee that I serve on to advise the council that we would uh we would support that We do support that Thank you for your comments And I think I did mention it at the last meeting um what the the committee had and also
shared about their interests discussion with the master plan Yeah thank you Appreciate that I just wanted to remind everybody again Okay Thank you With that see no additional comments We're going to close public
participation Thank you for all your comments Very We are now at the resolution We can have a motion Mayor if it's all right with council I'll move 18 A1 through H4 block Do you have a second second Madam Cler
you call the Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Yes Mayor yes And now if we could have the refunds Mayor I moved all them all the way down Okay Sorry
Uh it professional service How far do we go thank you Madame mayor may have reports Um I would like to remind everyone that
the growth and redevelopment committee will be having a small business fair on April 30th at the library starting at 5:30 Um all those that would like to participate please reach out through the
um through our website and also um we will be giving the um report on the fire survey uh next meeting the subcommittee will be reporting Thank you
Are there any other reports um I do want to report that we did have the unveiling of the Louisville marker um last Tuesday Councilman was in attendance Thank you for your support
And also just want to publicly thank um Mr Ninsky and his staff I know that police are there to assist us with the um the control of the traffic and Mr Parisi He also helped us with the um the actual sign making sure that we were in
compliance with everything It was a marvelously well attended There's some members in the public who are also there Thank you for attending Um for those who don't know the Lewisville marker um was a designation representing um the location where the first free
African-Americans that settled in Lawrence Township lived Excuse me It was in partnership with excuse me the Lawrence Township public schools the Lawrenceville School
Lawrence Township Oh I'm sorry I apologize The Lawrence Historical Society Lawrence members together I believe the Lawrence Hill Presbyterian Church So it was a wonderful event well attended I just
want to thank the public and all those who help make it possible Excuse me And then there is one I received a written communication from the national Washington
revolutionary root association which is in line with the gentleman um who asked about the 250th anniversary I received a letter from an organization that um is congratulating us on I'm just
gonna read it Dear Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer congratulations You are the senior elected official of the victory town of the American Revolution In 1781 thousands of troops American and
French passed through Yorktown in route to Yorktown Virginia where they were forced where they forced the British to surrender at the last major battle in our war of independence Your town witnessed one of the largest military maneuvers on US
soil leading to the world's first endured democracy I'm writing on the eve of our nation's 250th anniversary in 2026 to invite your municipality to partner with us in celebrating the semiincent
quincentennial The National Washington Ranchbo Revolutionary Road Association has worked for two decades to establish and promote a national historic trail named for the Jenner Gross who in
1781 led the march of American and French forces nearly 700 miles from New England to Virginia to force the British to surrender on October 19th at your town In 2026 every American city and
town will find its own way to celebrate 250 years But your community is one of nearly 200 we call victory towns For having witnessed the passages of victorious troops to and from your town
Given your town's role in this history we would like to include you in our anniversary plans which include and I'll just briefly mention what they are They're um educational There are road signs There are banners There's
merchandise There are speakers And the trail involves many stories of heroism Few realize that 600 French soldiers and sailors lost their lives in the siege of Yorktown paving the way for our independence And you have heard
about the racial diversity of the Continental Army especially the Rhode Island regiment who took part in Alexander Hamilton's assault against the final defensive position of the British state type forcing the British to
surrender and this is signed by Lawrence Trail who's the president of this organization So I just wanted to share that with you and I know that in speaking New York working and thinking about what we're going to do in our town with regards to the
250th And with that I also want to recognize um Miss Bergen Nancy Bergen I know that recreation department recently won an award for the Colonel Hand U March and I just wanted to reach out to
you and congratulate the recreation department on a job well done and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that march every every January So just like to recognize your efforts on that Um anything else i think you will
receive this letter as well Okay Very well Okay That brings us now to our executive session I want to thank the public for engaging with us in good conversation and
discussion I appreciate you all being here Thank you to all of you for Thank you guys Whatever you got to do to get through the day [Music]