okay we are live good evening everyone and welcome adate notice meeting of the Lawrence Township Council being held on Tuesday December 3rd 2024 has been provided through the posting of annual meeting schedule of
said Council in accordance with Section 13 of the open public meeting said notice was forwarded to The Trentonian the times and the pron packet on December 11th 2023 I'd like to just take a moment um
uh at last council meeting I um read Proclamation for several members of our community who were celebrating 100 birthdays in 95 um one person that I didn't get to mention who recently passed uh was Mr
George ders who was a resident of Orchard Avenue in the Ed's Crossing Eldridge Park Community Mr of ders was 95 years old and he has uh three children in the
township um George Lori and Bryce who some of you may remember U was a police officer here in the township his father was my neighbor and um Mr DS was a lively Young
you know scy of a man he really was a true um special person in our community and we will miss him and we send our condol to the Dallas family so with that um Madam CL the
inspiration may we carry out our work at this meeting in a just honorable and sincere manner always bearing in mind our duties in continuing to keep Lawrence a wonderful community in which to
live I pledge alce to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all
[Music] M we have the call please Mr Bob here Mr Kaki here M Perry here Mr Ryan here mayor far here thank you and now do you have any special proclamations recognitions or
presentations not to see okay this will then bring us to the first opportunity for public participation with a five minute limit per [Music] just St your name and your address syia 1547 Ohio Avenue
um I wasn't planning on speaking tonight well first of all happy December uh happy almost holiday season and um the room looks beautiful um uh today as I was leaving my
house um as I cross cherry tree or turn into Cherry Tree Lane um a truck from Trenton black and heart tap Supply was um going towards the business it was a fully
loaded flat bag truck with papers stucked up um on it um it couldn't enter or go any further than Ohio Avenue pretty much because the Trenton black employees had
moved the stocked up curbs uh we have um suppli the township council members with those pictures multiple times um and in the front of the business um there are curbs um that you put in the ground so
they have all of those stucked up on like wooden beams to separate them that whole thing was on the street uh today the truck was stuck um waiting for
them to make room for that truck to go in further the truck was blocking uh a mailbox of a couple of my neighbors um the again the forklift was going back and forth without any
spotters so it's a continual issue we we continuously come and ask for resolution with that um this is this is a problem because we feel or
I feel my husband I can only speak for for for myself and for my husband that unfortunately the township does not or uh code enforcers whoever it is responsible for that there is no
upholding of ordinances within the township and it's an issue um the only the only person is Mr daser I think who upholds the ordinances of the leave disposal brush disposal all
of that he's he's out there all the time um I think he's the only one and um it's it's unfortunate because with Mr dasher's example the individual homeowners are kept um responsible for
incorrect brush disposal or leave disposal or trash disposal whatever it is we are held responsible for it and then there is a business it's a it's not a nonprofit organization that's doing
something good for the township it's a for-profit business that continuously is using our residential street that is the access to the canal uh Delaware River
reron canal and um making it dusty and dirty and uh dangerous sometimes to walk on because of all the uh gravel and dust that's spilled there all the
time um couple of weeks ago maybe a little longer than that there was a major spill during the delivery for that Trenton block uh from other company the gravel was spilled right by
CVS on Cherry Tree Lane that's the entrance to the CVS um that's the only exit from the parking lot from CVS cuz the the other one is only the entrance to Valley Forge uh I know that the
police did come I'm not sure of the outcome because we were not the one uh we were not the ones notifying the police about it I believe a sweeper was also uh there after it uh there was no
cones nobody was watching that intersection it was right right as you entered tree line from rout one so it's an issue it's a continuous issue and uh they have outgrown their property lines
they continue to use public Street as a an extension of their business and it's unfair to all of us to the taxpayers not only in my neighborhood but if that's allowed in my neighborhood when we come
and report it over and over for two and a half years um what's happening in other parts of the township where residents are not engaged so we keep on asking for some
kind of resolution we keep on asking what's allowed what's not allowed for them to do um they um one of their advertisements says you know they have on their trucks since
uh operating since 194 7 they're not operating since 1947 they're operating from there and existing there and existing all together as Trenton block and hardcap Supply since 2003 not
1947 so um I'm asking once again for some kind of resolution and some kind of action on this because we're not only frustrated but also disappointed thank you um
council is there anything that it's really I would agree it's an Enforcement issue and you the council does not enforce it's obviously the um officials within the township that have
to enforce the ordinances and you know if there's continued uh repetitive violations they should be cited the there's really you know we we've gone through this I I did an extensive review of of Mr rosos uh
analysis of the zoning uh it it's a complicated uh matter but I think he he was basically correct in in uh this being grandfathered and uh I I'm familiar with
the site I went over there I driven over there a few times I understand they frustration it's unfortunate but uh I really think it it it has to go towards more of an Enforcement issue and if there are violations of our ordinances they should be
cited thank you may ask a question are there ordinances that we can improve upon that we could I I guess we could we could look at that but but you know if if you if
you do something just in essence against a single entity a single business a single homeowner whatever that would be illegal you you can't do it just just for one if it's broad enough to cover you know the
entire Township uh we really have to be careful on our language but but doing an ordinance to to try to in essence stop whatever activity for particular business would would legally
be very a very difficult thing to do so just understand it's an enforcement issues that we would need for someone to visit the business and have a conversation with the owners about the for the administration to to
uh to do so uh you that's really a outside of obviously the council has no enforcement of building May question did um did we send our sweeper down to clean this up by any chance do you know oh I I
don't know could you find out I mean I mean we we shouldn't be paying for the cleanup it should be billable abely this this is the first I'm hearing it yeah this go it's an interesting point if this is the right form for but just in terms of the dimension of the
Lea situation how we enforce leave pickups and stuff like that um although that's individual residents versus a business who's responsible for clean up or or things of that nature is that similar is that Apple Lawrence Township has has never
had um to my knowledge um zoning Enforcement Officers traveling around the town proactively looking for um enforcement issues we have selected to do that for the brush or
because we were having a problem Township wide in terms of people not following the rules and that's why to get a handle on it we hired somebody to proactively educate those that were uh violating it and it's been very
successful in terms of keeping our roads clear from leaves in uh and safer for pedestrians and Bic bicyclists so we we don't have someone driving around looking for ordinance violations if if
there's if there's uh individuals that report timely report an active situation I think we would absolutely send somebody out there send a police officer out there [Music] to I'm sorry when you're
done yeah Mr manager wait wait a minute Mr manager at this point because it's become quite a bit of a quality of life issue could we look into that possibly using the model of brush to somehow
monitor this particular monitor this business you can't do yeah so I can't tell you words back this is not this is not as much this matter this town has
spent hundreds of hours on both legally and within staff to address the issues that are involved the township attorney at the time and Mr cyck has just indicated he's reviewed the legal um aspects of this whole thing and
that particular business is grandfathered in in terms of loading and unloading product it's just it's a it's been around to a point where it's establish that grandfather was that's a legal thing so when when issues that
that Mrs K has has identified go beyond that that's certainly something we should absolutely be looking at and responding to for sure but the loading and unloading aspect alone they're well within their rights
to do it um is it ideal absolutely not I mean it's been talked in you know their neighborhoods it's it's awful what's happening right we all understand that just to be a good good neighborly business maybe I don't know how you know um say that
just people could have had conversations with the business you know you guys weren't here when a lot of this was happening right and there was there was attempts to eliminate some of the issues
that we're having and it it was uh shut down um and we we've now have an issue where the products are now pushed closer to the street and it's it's it's a more
exasperated um situation than it was three or four years ago because they were using Township land and and and we went to court spent thousands of dollars and told them to get off a Township land and now that
pushed all that inventory onto their land and intensified the work that was being done out in front of that location and on that street to the detriment of of the residents [Music]
name is Nancy Albertson um just in reference to what Kevin is saying loading and unloading on the street I don't think that's really legal on a public Street in front of a state park and they're still loading on the back
end of that property that the township owns because I've seen them now that the trees are all gone you know all the leaves are down so and I don't know Kevin what are you speaking about resolution to issues because I don't really see much resolution except they
cleared off their stuff um that all their inventory has always been close to the street so I don't know what really has well I'm going to defer to Art site back with regard to the law so because you made a comment about what you think
the law is Art Is Well situated to be able to provide the law with regard to that um and that's something that um the township attorney has spent a lot of time researching going through the historical documents and our zoning laws and things like that so I'll defer to
the council with regard to that um with regard to the product being pushed forward I mean if it we we'll based upon what's happening we'll send somebody out again tomorrow to to to figure this all out and and do more but it's got to be
within within the law it's not to say it's an Enforcement issue what are you enforcing you have to enforce a law that is enforceable right so uh with a fresh set of eyes uh maybe Mr C can can look and
see if he can give us some direction on what else that we can do um yeah I do think that the business is actively looking for another safe actually I know that for a fact and this hopefully could be well that would be a great resolution
but well that's that's I cannot I can't comment on on that issue but I'm informed that it's something that um could prove to be a point yeah they've outgrown their site obviously abolutely they've used
Township property for years without any ramifications well the ramifications was we we took them to court but nothing what was resolved they moved off they moved off but they're still using it that's they never re restored the property they built a lot a lot of times
I was talking they never built up they built up the property they never returned it to Prior the way it was there trees will not grow there for years probably none of our lifetime and so they were asked to move off okay great but the next upep is the fence
yeah you know well the fence yes but and we're waiting for the fence so they you guys said by the end of December so I'll be back up here again in January thank you so much thank you okay okay right thank you moving on is there any additional comments
[Music] hi my name is Cindy zagari um I'm kind here to talk about the recreation department and the community center I've been involved with the recreation department since 1975 and I don't look that old but um I
was wondering about the task force that the mayor has put together is anyone from the recreation department involved with that um we will be hearing from the superintendent oh okay okay because we
um as a group The advisory committee we were going to get together and present have a little presentation we haven't done it yet we're just reviewing all the reports and uh we were told that there were members of the council that voted against US during a
presentation so I I kind of thought that was odd because we're appointed by the council but yet we can't speak to the council you're you're a committee and you have the L on right on the council right and will he be a part of the task force no he is
not it's not about it's a community task force it's not about it's not about yeah recation Department oh doesn't the recreation department have possibly couldn't they
be involved with this building please okay the task force is for community members with regards to the Law Center and how did you get this group of people I just they're commune
members it's the mayor's TR force it is not the rep depart dep the left department is a separate entity right so it sounds to me like you're going toward the direction that that building will have nothing to do with
ination you're assing correctly you're just okay well time will tell thank you you're welcome Eric bloody um just with regards to Trenton block there's a little bit of gaslighting that's happening here from the administration as far as the
enforcement of ordinances the the the historical nature of the whole situation and I think it it's very necessary to put it on record um first of all we're talking about a business blocking a right away to a state park um now whether or not that's
something that is somehow allowable because it's a business operating the street I'm not going to make that determination there's a business that regularly and actively creates unsafe conditions for entering a State Park from there and that's a community Equity issue that's a health issue it's a public safety issue it's an
environmental issue it's an issue across the board and it's it has not been tended to at all since the Inception of this sort of since this has all come to light residents called whether it's the township or the police when this stuff's
going on when access is blocked when it's unsafe nothing happens for whatever reason and that's not your five's role that's not on you guys I'm just alerting you that that is the reality of this same thing happened when trees were being cut down
Township was informed as it was happening on Township Parkland a business cutting down Township trees so that they can use the space for profit nothing happened the township did take Trenton block to court after I want to say it was a year maybe even a year and
a half of lobbying from the resident we paid for that there was no as far as I know attorney's fees recouped all they did was pull off they didn't restore the land and now while the fence is certainly necessary and welcomed by some of the residents we're paying for it it
says what what it sort of speaks of to other businesses in this town is that crime does pay because they were allowed to do everything they did with the knowledge of the manager who at the time even was the township attorney he said himself I laid eyes on it when that
property transaction happened that they were on Township property then nothing happen you know what that's not true you said it you said I la eyes I asked that is not true and I'm sorry but I'm not gonna continue to allow untruthful
things to be said about me it's unacceptable and you said as it was happening trees were being cut down as it was happening got email as it was as the trees were being down you got emails okay this has been going on for years Mr n as it was happening you got emails
then you did you did it's just like when the sycamores were being cut down along I'm sorry Mr We're not gonna have back and forth understand it's not the decorum for for this meeting understand we recognize the concerns of the
residents and the community and thank you for bringing it to our attention as I stated as members of council we are not enforcers we will go back to you know review the council we'll speak with Mr
ninski to get additional information and to see what it is that we can do as we stated there's a possibility that the business may be considering moving location which I think you know they're that's their
right to do okay so for this meeting we'll pause here and we'll do um some more review thank you for your comments and for your passion about your last question would be there are numerous businesses at that end of town within a
one mile track that are violating zoning ordinances what recourse should we take if there's an unwillingness from the township to enforce those Ru laws when it's brought to their attention and I propose that question because residents
just don't right now because they say it's a business what are you going to do they come after people erroneously arbitrarily sometimes capriciously about weeds but these zoning matters are just not enforced drive by every day been
driving by them for years not just tread block so I don't know what recourse we have okay thank you for the comments mayor May yes um I would ask the township attorney to provide legal guidance on how to enforce the current
ordinances and zoning laws in the state of New Jersey and what guide municipalities in the state of New Jersey give us guidance on what exactly we could do in terms of the loading and unloading of of inventory on the street
in front of that building that would help us and and if I could just add to that point um the comment that was made regarding a public park okay access to a public park access
to a public park okay but don't you have to look at it as the whole Township because not just there but on one when they unload the cars they on that side
road all right loading and is allowed all over the community for the oneoff situations for sure right it has to be the whole Township this not that area or even if we could find something similar elsewhere you know just Statewide or
national just so we have something to compare to okay yes corra I would just like to add and I know we're talking about grandfathering everything with Trenton block but there's outside displays at that
property which if you look at Google photographs they were not there when this was grandfathered in and that's against the Lawrence Township Zing ordinance they also have product in the right away where the street is which is the legal
right away and we're talking about a legal right away to a state park okay and that was not blocked from 1947 it was just recently done so when these ordinances were looked at and I believe uh the attorney from Miss kovis has the
exact ordinances written out that we're concerned about in the documents that she gave I think about maybe four or five months ago okay we'd like to see answers to all of those and we ask four answers to all of those so I understand their grandfather but I also understand that
there's no records of them being grandfather or asking the zoning board for Relief on that and I think that's a legal matter that also has to be looked at but as far as the street goes the street should be clear for people to go up and down and there should not be product stored in the right away thank
you thank you okay see no additional [Music] comment oh it's a Giants fan he's dedicated I was just thinking that it doesn't get any worse the jet you know what they were looking good on Sunday until the end the
end good evening everyone um I was going to speak but a couple things your name sir uh ni Fair 116 Oakland terce um touching back to the ordinances I mean there's there's enforcement on the
leaf ordinances we know that because it was an issue I drive around this Township and I've addressed stuff with the DP as far as trash up against the shenan Brook Creek in the Home Depot section which they did clean up and
much like the concerns of these residents on Ohio were're enforcing leaves and twigs but yet I can drive around and look at privately owned properties we we'll call out Lauren shopping center for one there's trash all over that place we
don't have code enforcements that enforce the leaves and twigs that drive around and see this amount of trash that's getting into our waterways the capital car wash every time I drive by there there is a ton of trash out front no one from this Township enforces littering in this in this Township I
mean the the amount of trash that's getting into our waterways if we have a code enforcement you know if I if I deter if I leave a vehicle on blocks registration I'm getting a letter in my mailbox and little things like this these people have a right to live in their neighborhoods grandfathered or not
if we're enforcing leaves and twigs we need to look at the rest of this Township and somehow enforce the blights that are blatant that we're not addressing you know I've reached out in the past about the the shopping center and it was Co but you look at Mercer M
and you look at any of these other one on one whatever that's called now but they're neat and clean because their owners care I've reached out to the large shopping center owners with nothing so it's up to our our Township ordinance enforcers whoever to keep this
place clean um done with that one the rec Advisory board right is is um reading right from the township website the Lawrence Township Rec
advisory committee is appointed by Town Council to work with Lawrence Township Recreation Department to evaluate recre recreational needs of Township and to plan promote activities for residents of lawrs committee meets first Thursday to mon we have a tree lighting this year
this week so the council their committee asked to meet with Council and Council said no based Bas on the what are we calling this the community center what's what's the word that I just want to let me just clarify something and I'll refer to the
rec department is a function of the Town manager the man's task force is a Community Committee based on my request to study to advise Council on a very
specific subject so there are two two separate things what is that specific subject that you the Lawrence Community Center the Lawrence Community Center so when this community center comes to home front dedicated October 1 understood but
when this thing comes to full fruition and it's in place however we manifest it what department will be managing that Community Center that will be determined the manager is responsible for the Department the community group is
advising Council there are two that's not the question I asked the question I asked there's no answer to your question today so this community center is there is no answer to your question as of yet that is why there is the Task Force okay but with that task force you don't think
that you would include community members that are already and separate entity I do not it is not rec department it's a community center the the community but go ahead I'm sorry I'm just I'm just telling you the facts the rec department is a direct
responsibility of Township manager Nowinski okay and this community center is yet to be determined the community center is a real estate property of Lawrence Township okay so we don't know what direction we're taking in I mean re Rec has made um recommendations to take
over that Community Center yeah will you will hear more information once the the Committees meet okay well like I said I would hope that you would consider at least picking from the advisory committee part of your group just to help steer the committee and the
decisions of the community the committee is based on the historical importance of the community center the rep the rep committee as I mentioned is a direct relationship with the rec department the the um Township
management so there two separate things Goa so this community center is for the is real estate of Lawrence taxers the purpose ultimately is for the entire community of Lawrence Township it has always been the community center's
mission to support the entire lawence Township nothing changes there that's why I ask that you consider whatever your committee is the Task Force has been has been selected and is that public knowledge we have that information you read the newspaper
article right I did not okay I'll give you additional information we'll come out the the committee's meeting on December 4th more information to come from that okay thank you you're welcome and then uh one more thing I'm still waiting for an email from we're one time
okay but I'm still waiting for my email from two meetings ago that people were going to get back to me about the statement that I made about the Committees being cut and I was told I think Mr nowinsky my information's on record we were going to get the information back to me we actually we're
in the process Kevin I'm sorry not we somebody whether it was the attorney said that yes we'll have someone contact you information's on file I yet to receive it we're in the process of reviewing committees that's coming up now we be determining the size of
committees at that time and ultimately from what I understand Mr this the issue was about a council member indicating a reduction of the correct I have nothing to do with that I've got my own problem I know so the
governing body is the one that discusses and makes decisions with regard to its advisory committee so you're not going to receive an email from me it wasn't from you ultimately whether it came from the attorney or somewhere on that end I was told that someone will email me so I'm sorry Kevin I I put you on the spot
I was told I would get an email from this group and I have not received anything yet um as far as cutting thank you for your comments we on time okay thank you but as far as cutting people that volunteer that's something that really need to yes Council
comad I I would like to make a general comment because I want to try to clear the air the mayor's task force is focused on the community is focus on how do we fill the void of the
nonprofit that is no longer in the community center that is a key part of this community going forward it does not hinder it will not take away from the
wck Department the rec department is the governing body that the manager controls what the mayor is trying to do and forgive me if I'm putting words in your mouth is fill that void and see what the proper strategy would be to make sure
that the community is continued to be serviced as it has always been we are not the wck department against the community center which is what I'm hearing and if it's someone is watching this video that's what they're hearing
we are Lawrence Township we are here as a united front to do what's best for the community with the guidance of the manager that we will ask if anything needs to be done but we are here to set
strategies not to be pinned against each other but most importantly to grow the community to grow the rec center if it needs more volunteers the growth in development all of the the the Committees so I hope going forward
that's what we focus on thank you you passor woman Mar man sure uh I would in in terms of uh sort of unity I it would be nice if you could share with the membership of this task
force before it's made public so that we can all be able to speak with residents about this this is the first time hearing that this is you've already chosen I'll take that and sure you can take it under advisement that's fine there um and also
I hope to to I I think we're we're missing the point that the the the recreation committee is actually an advisory committee chosen by Council it is not part of Mr nowinsky it's not part of the day-to-day operations the recreation committee are volunteers in our community much like the ones that
you've chosen for your task force who care about Recreation opportunities in this Township and so I I think you're you what I was hearing was that you were pitting them against no that's what I I'm saying
that's what I heard right that's my truth all right and so what what I would love to I would like for us to get to a more collaborative place with the task force and what concerns me is when I hear
historic the historic background of it and not looking forward to the future right I don't think I don't I I would I would hope that this task force is looking towards the future of Lawrence Township and all the residents of this Township and not looking to the past and
trying to keep the the the community centers stuck in the past right that's all thank you for your comment okay all right I think we've closed now uh the public participation and we're moving on
to there any review um revisions of the agenda councilman B uh mayor I'd like to uh pull uh 1810 uh to further work on it and speak with members of councel okay
so I'll make a motion to remove that from today's ad I second we have a second M you call the RO please yes Mr Bob yes Mr K Kaki yes M Perry yes Mr
Ryan Yes mayor fman yes adoption mayor I would like to uh hold for discussion purposes uh introduction to ordinance to speak with the attorney uh on this ordinance and see if
it can be CL clarified a lot better than what it is there's too many open ends on it and to talk about this tonight I don't I think we first talk about it and then if it goes to a vote okay is which
one you 10 I'll second that motion all Madam you call the RO Please Mr bobin yes Mr Kaki yes Miss Perry yes Mr Ryan no mayor
farmer yes just just so I'm clear was that a motion to table or we do to table was that a tabling motion I I'm not sure we leave the ordinance please that
weate the ordinance that the name of thein that no it's 10 I guess what my question excuse me my question is just what action you want to take do you want it
do you want to discuss it tonight you want to discuss in the future you want to I'm not sure what we're I just so I have some direction what you want to do well I I would like to see your direction go into it and you revise it
and give us a better idea exactly what takes place under this uh ordinance that that's in here all right it's too open-ended and it's really not in my opinion it's really not telling counsil
how to do it just like when we pick a manager we hire a firm all right is is a firm involved in this here to uh receive the you know resumés and then counsil like we do when we interview for manager
we say yes or no to it and we cut the number down see there's nothing in here that I can see that's fine I I just what I Me by it idea what you want to do that's what I meant so are we talking about it under this
uh amend uh amendment I thought or are we talking about tape I'm with him I'm kind of like I thought it was under may I make a recommendation sure why don't we wait until we get to the introduction of ordinances and that whoever moves it
moves it then Mr Kaki could jump jump in and indicate his concerns there's a motion to table table there if we can resolve it with added language fine but I don't think it needs to be removed from the
right my concern remove it so we're not moving it from the agenda we will R it at the time there's an opportunity to table it if if the majority of council supports table
revision that's fine that clear so we're ad at awarding we are number yeah we're we haven't adopted minut so do we have a motion to adopt I got confused mayor I move uh AA regular
meeting of June the me regular meeting minutes of June 19th 2024 Madam cler call Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes Mr Ryan yes mayor far
yes mayor I'll move uh 8 B regular meeting minutes of July 16 2024 is there a second second mad cler if you could call the Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki
yes M Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor farmer no yes okay next is the awarding for rejection of
BS mayor I'd like to move 9A number 384 authorizing a contract for the rehabilitation of 13 White Marsh Drive is there a second [Music] all right is there any discussion
Mr this is this is just Rehabilitation under our affordable housing rehabilitation program paid for the trust fund and a requirement under our affordable housing utation a question how residents qualify for
this they can go on our website and um and they'll see all all of the qualifying it's an income requirement um and and I agree with you not enough people take advantage of this and and we are going to be taking steps to get the word out a little bit more since our
obligation has increased the anticipated increase in 2025 based upon what's come out in the fourth round okay thank you there any public comment seeing none Madam clerk if you could call the Please Mr bobit yes Mr
Kaki yes Miss Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor fmer yes inan we mayor I'd like to introduce 10A ordinance number 2479 d24 an ordinance
amending chapter 10 article 6 of the code of Township of Lawrence entitled municipal clerk is there a second this is okay um now is there any discussion yeah
discussion all right well would ask the attorneys to review what's in front of us tonight clarify a lot more on how do we look at hiring the person is it a firm that we
have to hire to receive the applications and then Council says yes or no uh and just a little more understanding of uh who hires or who has the right to
fire there's nothing in here that says who would have enforce if the person had to be fired stuff like that yeah I think I understand where where you're coming from councilman and I think the direction I need is from
Council as to how they want to Fashion uh this particular Amendment to the to the ordinance my my instruction my recollection my instruction was to amend to allow the deputy clerk to be
appointed by Township Council no more no less I understand your concern as to other areas of Direction and uh and uh all the day-to-day activities uh I would need some
direction as to uh which way uh to possibly amend and keeping in mind our former government with the strong Municipal manager uh who has certain rights and uh uh obligations really uh
under the ordinance under the fauler act for employees uh you know this is kind of a hybrid that this individual works and I think everybody would agree you know directly for for the clerk uh there is
language in one of the ordinances which I don't have in front of me but indicates that the municipal manager can also direct U certain activities if the clerk if that person has in essence free time
which I would highly doubt and all cander knowing the workload I'm not I'm not over look any I highly doubt that that the there'll be a lot of free time to do other work uh and this is no reflection on the clerk it's
just I I'm you know deal with the clerk a lot there's a lot of work in there so this person would clearly take primary Direction uh from the clerk but as to uh you know any disciplinary situation
ultimate firing uh you know I I think there there are Provisions within the the uh structure of of the township of Lawrence that provides for that and the enforcement of
that just off the top of my head without doing any any further research would probably lie with the with the manager um because of our form of government however as I say it's a hybrid this person is you know directly
under the supervision of the clerk and I would think the clerk would have certain rights and uh certain ability to uh make recommendations on that but you know I would
certainly certainly uh appreciate any any comments from from Council or the manager in in that regard may may make just one one comment yes um you can agree to disagree I disagree with Mr councilman kackie on
that um we went through that with the judge on applications and I thought we did pretty darn good we put it out there and I believe Mr cek we put it out you put it in the league of municipalities and what not what you're looking for uh
in your email uh so we interviewed we got the what we were doing I think it was 10 days you put it out we get the applications in we select it we do the interview and I thought we did a wonderful job on the municipal judge on it so it would be the same way of doing
it yeah I'm done well I I want um everybody to be clear and especially the residents that are here that the this is a title Deputy municipal clerk is a title to be
filled it's not a position it's not a situation where there is a vacancy in the municipal clerk's office where an individual we need another body working at the clerk's office to the cost of the
town of approximately $90,000 to 100,000 including benefits this is a title that was required do our code change in 2019 right now we have two individuals working at for the clerk in the clerk's
office staff members one has the title of assistant Township Clerk it's the same position doing the same the same work um so this this issue of going out
and hiring another person to come in and work within the clerk's office and I Madam clerk you you can join in if you want to but we' we've already discussed the Manpower issue the need and the not need for it uh we have
individual in the office that absolutely can take that title and do exactly the same work that she's already doing under that title okay at at no additional cost to the taxpayers I just going to double check because I want to
be within the law um in terms of discussing members of the staff just so because you're saying that there's an existing person that office who can do the work but it does not have
the current title that we are requesting Council has the power to appoint right so the state the state law the state statute provides for municipalities such as ours the faler ACT Council manager to either have the appointing authority be
the municipal manager or the um governing body our particular ordinance code was silent on that issue and for 53 years that the municipal manager has always been the hiring Authority for the
clerk's office for for the staff assistant C clerk right so but since the law provides for the governing body to to be the appointing authority you're well within your right to change it right or to actually clarify and
establish new policy which is what this is and that's what this ordinance is doing yeah that's what's happening like if the majority of you vote you now take that the appointing authority that's your Authority that is separate and apart from making a decision about
staffing issues within the municipal government right that's that's separate that's separate and that's just our form of government and I want to make sure to always protect our form of government absolutely what that so Council May okay
one one second the current the clerk is an appointment of counsel correct okay so what we're asking is for a similar um scenario abiding all of the same laws regulations nothing different
it would just be you know because ideally the deputy clerk steps into the role of the clerk with time and experience yeah that's Prim resp responsibility responsibility in preparation for that so we're within our we're within reason
nothing no no absolutely our our ordinances were basically silent as to the appointing authority there's we can debate that but but I think this is just simply makes it clear you're the appointing authority
for that position we're not talking about any individuals we're not talking about any current employees or future employees or any employees just that that position will be uh would would be uh enacted by this
ordinance that that is it I understand Mr kak's concern valid uh we do have certain peculiarities with with that may not be the right word but with with our
for of government in terms of the strong Municipal manager who would have uh control over uh you know needed disciplinary action or or any administrative action would lie in the manager's office not with
councel that's not the way we operate just for any employee so but the the the the amendment to the ordinance simply says that position um uh would be
uh you would enact the deputy clerk position uh uh to the appointment by the uh by the council yes is that correct yeah it's a it's a TI simply and there is enough in and and you can confirm
this after you you know if you're going to do more research on it there's enough in our code that provides that the subordinates to department heads or other similarly situated are under the control uh supervision of the municipal
manager so I I think if there's some language that we could put into to this ordinance finally that just simply affirms that it's a subordinate under the you know because you don't really want to have somebody that's not bound to the rules and regulations of
every other Township employee working side by side I me but this is just an introduction to it it's just introduction so it's not adopted yet no no no we're not adoped so may I've been waiting so I'd love to to
weigh in on this um I think what what surprised me was that there was so much gray area in this our current ordinance and how we've modified it and added the deputy clerk a position and so there was this concern about who's the appointing authority right like I we we had always
had the manager do it and then this this Council has decided to go in a different way and wanted to appoint it um with I won't even go down that road I'll continue going straight um and so I was surprised to see that that in the ordinance it was it was very very simply
stated that we're just going to amend the ordinance to say that the deputy M municipal clerk who shall perform the duties of municipal clerk in the absence upon direction of the municipal clerk is going to be appointed by the township Council that was lit the only change and it it surprised me because I one of the
one of the towns that you provided and I appreciate the report that you gave it was very thorough in the back uh you you pointed 60s something random municipalities throughout the state and I really appreciated that and one of them is
close to home in East Windsor within our our merer County and also thankfully is sort of same form of government correct exact same form yeah and so their Deputy clerk ordinance is very specific maybe a little overly specific but I won't say
too much about that but it talks about appointed by majority of uh Council serves at the council's pleasure initial appointment has a probationary period it sort of lays out a structure it also lays out sort of semi- evaluated uh by the municipal clerk in accordance with
Personnel policy evaluated once a year by T Council and it's very specific about sort of who's who's in charge right and so that's what I was I would really love to see in in the ordinance is something along those lines of really sort of laying out so we don't have any more
gray area um I feel as if if we're going to come at something that had some gray in it to begin with it would be nice to to Really nail it down and have it in black and white so um happy to discuss further with mayor councel or uh Mr cek but that's kind of what I'm looking for
something along this and that is because that AB that's because a lot of them are you can have it by compensation um I didn't I didn't think we was going to discuss this tonight but that's the terms you set the terms of
compensation um how many uh how long they're going to be um and things of that nature their duties and things and most towns do have that specific if you go I live in bolon
County we have 40 municipalities and all of them are pafic as to how it's going to be and the same thing here we have to remember you know when you go around and you look at other towns we are not a strong mayor for of government even in
Mercer County most of them are strong mayor form of a government with the exception of East Windsor but you also have to remember that a lot of them aren't civil service at the same time and we are so you really the mayor I
mean the mayor and the council duties when it comes to subordinates are very specific to under the fauler ACT law okay thank you m okay are we do we have a motion in a second I have one I have one question
for clarification so to councilman Bob's point and for clarity should that language be added in so there are no gray areas so that it is clear that the appointing body will follow the following process based on the report
that you also provide yeah I I I will I will revise the amendment to the ordinance to try to cover these various issues and then it's up to you to accept reject modify whatever I
understand the direction now we didn't have that that Clarity last time and I I and councilman Bob is correct you know I provided 40 50 different ordinances around the state
and it was very helpful actually uh and some are razor and some are you know quite large in their description I think we could probably have a happy balance there U and uh I'll
provide that and then then you can decide if that's that's the way you want to go or pair it down or whatever but I'll be happy to do that between now and the next meeting so mayor can I can I ask uh the township attorney would that
is that something that we can sort of pass it as is and then have it amended or reintroduce I think that's a substantial change that's that's not the Minimus change that's a substantial change uh so
I think uh I think we should all right so I'll make a I'll make a motion to table ordinance 10 a have a motion second second okay m
for Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes Mr Ryan no mayor farmer yes so um Council you will get additional information for us but you have an understanding
of yeah I I just said better direction now [Music] any [Music] ordinances manag as you know uh police chief
Christopher Longo has submitted his retirement papers to be affected January 1st 2025 as a result we underwent a process of selecting his replacement and I've appointed Lieutenant Kevin reading Jr as
the intern police chief as you know uh we are um a civil service community and we uh base our promotions and appointments off of a civil service list the list that is currently in place uh was incomplete so there will be a new
testing cycle for police chief that's going to occur sometime in the first part of 2025 the those test results will come back to the to the town and um the appointment comes from the top three candidates on that list
so um as it as it is right now we importantly have somebody that's a police chief that's going to be able to do the work of a police chief effective January 1st because we've got a lot going on in our town over these next six
months with transitioning to in-house 911 Service as well as new systems being installed in conjunction with the merer county as well so it's important to have uh this individual in place and um I think the department is it was a really
difficult decision I must say um but I think uh Lieutenant reading is ready for for the task and um he has my full support and I know I'm hoping that he has all your support as well thank you and the uh only other
comment I'll make is um I I'm not sure if you all read I'm sure you have another report came out about Trenton waterwork and and it was about issues negative issues occurring in
2023 um and the Ying mayor mayor Simon came out and made a very strong um uh advocating for his resident customers of Trent Waterworks demanding better from Trent Waterworks um so um I would ask
all for you to consider um um reviewing the issue and joining in some way a resolution or something um in support of uh the concepts that were put in place by that were stated by mayor Ste in
terms of U transparency um and maybe heightened um New Jersey D oversight over that public entity until they get uh that public utility until they straighten out um
these are things that you know these these reports come out notices come out and they're actually required by law but they actually are things that happened we're at the end of 20124 and this is coming out in 2023 um that that's not the issue other
than these are things that happened in the past and not currently happening right now and this has to do with monitoring on not order quality that's coming out at this point in time but listen it's a problem and I think um we are involved in litigation we've joined Hopewell
um Hamilton and Ying um and joined the litigation by the New Jersey DP against TR Water Works it's still on going um and um we are going to continue to Advocate advocate for our Trent Water Works customer presence here um and I
think I think you should consider some type of resolution that that supports further oversight and and better just as a further Advocate on behalf of our U resident customers and finally and I'm going to um the trolley the holiday TR mayor I don't
know if he wants to step on this no I mean I I listen it we are it's it's Nancy berens created this event that everyone just loves and it's we are now the victim of our own success because we're now at a point where the
tickets they're it's sold out within minutes um I think it's 194 attendees two trolleys three times in a span of one night and so we have an event now where we have to turn residents away and that's that doesn't resonate well with me like you know when we have other
community events is like everybody come and you know participate and be a part of it this one is is peculiar in the sense that we have to turn residents away who who who aren't lucky enough to get tickets to do it so what we we done is we reached out to The Trolley company
to add another trolley um and um we're going to get that information out there's a waiting list of I think 41 people who will be informed that there's a place for them and then there's going be I was about to say 43 you got to get on and make your
requests and you know the the Facebook post had a lot of um not accurate information this is not a a revenue event for us at all like the the I think it's $12 a person and it goes towards paying for the event but
we're still it comes out of our Municipal budget so it's not a situation where we can just keep expanding it and expanding it until no one is turned away I don't know but we're going to have to revise how we how we
um offer this up and I think one of the things that Nancy and I discussed I think that we're going to do is have a lottery system for next year and and instead of having to wait to six o'clock or whatever it is and then put in for it and see if you get it like we used to do
in the 80s for concerts uh hopefully we'll have a different way and more and then add add on to it uh in a responsible way so that information is going to come out so hopefully um you know it reduces the people who are upset
that I they can get a chance to participate in it but we heard we heard the feedback and we're trying to do something about it problem to have I mean not so that's all all right Madam
attorne huge report no just very briefly I want to say I attended number of U pretty interesting uh seminars at the New Jersey League of municipalities couple weeks ago some
gear primarily for the attorneys and I thought the most interesting one probably was the one on the use of social media by council members Mayors and council members and after sitting there for whever it was a couple hours whatever I don't think you should ever
go on social again I don't um there are there is litigation in you know all over the state over what's being said on social media by council members in their official capacity their unofficial
capacity uh you just got to be very careful if you if you are on social media that no matter what it is that that you differentiate your opinion versus private opinion versus your opinion as a council member opinion of of the
township of Lawrence it get very and that can be very diff ult to do I understand that but but U I would be remiss if I did not tell you to to Really you know before you push the send button or whatever you
know read it and and make sure it's clear that if it is a certain opinion uh you you clearly differentiate from your your your personal view versus the entire Cas of Lawrence uh because there's there's
been some difficult litigation for some Council people around the state that's all I have thank you thank you happy birthday that's it m okay so just a few things I have um
the payto playay statements have been sent down to everyone so just we've been getting a few of those in what was that pay to play Oh pay to play yes that's for the Professional Services yeah we're getting ready for New Year yeah okay
boards and committees um they you I gave you upto-date listing it's it's dated so you'll know which one um we did get three new um people I think one for the health advisory Mr lson he and also I
think there was one other person that was on the new listing um as you can see the meeting dates are set for next year I put that on that'll be under resolutions um just a little house
cleaning item when we attend seminars or any type of seminars we just got to be mindful that uh we have to um either send an email or let them know in advance because if we don't um cancel
in time we're still responsible for pain okay just be mindful of that and then um our wonderful wonderful um Public Works uh Department you see this beautiful display that they did here it looks
great um you asked for and I didn't even ask they just did it for me it's so sweet well anyway he asked me to ask the counsil if he can have about five minutes
uh time of next meeting um Kirt Kenny is retiring and he has as a January 1st and he has been with him through thick and thin floods storms everything and he just want to give him a little plaque or
recognition um before his peers so he asked if I could ask the counsel and that is it unfinished business we [Music] have new
business public participation now for three minutes your minutes don't start to get to the okay slow I got um to quote Whitney Houston I do have
some receipts here just comments not questions not nothing I just wanted to clarify on my statements earlier um on August 23rd 2022 um the manager and the engineer were notified with photographs realtime
property damage at Trenton block nothing came of that and then the comments I referred to about prior knowledge by the manager of the damage uh that Trent block had caused on Township Parkland were from October 18th
2022 uh the specific comment I referred to is quoting this is an unfortunate situation this was land that was already occupied under Mr Hickman was the previous owner I know I laid eyes on it back then um so I just wanted to cite my
sources and that is all thank you madam mayor a comment yes and did you say your name just so uh in our tree ordinance um often times um residents of a joining neighbor of a
joining properties observe trees being cut down for example there was a business on route one that was cutting trees away without a permanent without any without meeting the requirements of our
code re a phone call we immediately sent somebody there and enforce the law trees that were cut down in the past with no personal observation of the tree being
cut down presents a proof problem for court uh and enforcing ordinances like that so when uh Mr PID said while they were being cut down I took that to mean while the act of cutting the tree down
and I've not I don't recall ever hearing while they were cutting it down that's something that if that if that was done then somebody needed to go out during act but tree stumps that that were there for for a
long period of time that's a whole different proof situation um you responded to that email saying that it was unacceptable Behavior you will not tolerate it and you will look into it at your earliest convenience by doing a
sight inspection yeah that's true I I said I said real time just to be clear and what do we mean by real time if we could just if we could just flesh this out was there was there observations of cutting down trees at that
time I'm not sure if I'm allowed for the back and forth because I I want to respect excuse me I'm trying to respect the mayor's yeah the I think we need to just well I mean it's okay because it's not attacking your character that's that's the problem that I have like if I
have to sit here and listen to uh comments that are inaccurate or out of context I should be allowed to respond right can you that is not true yeah
it's just mayor you're the chair it's your decision I [Music] just syia uh just as a clarification we are not trying to
attack Mr nowinsky character we never had an intention of doing that we never um said he did something illegal we never said that uh Mr nnsky
was responsible for all of this never ever that was never Our intention if it was misunderstood that is an incorrect interpretation of our statements that's
first of all second of all Mr Jan at a the planning board meeting um that was held in 2022 on July 18th if I remember correctly held up a piece of paper
saying I notified the N that's a loose quote that's not a direct quote but he said something to the effect of holding up a piece of paper that he notified the neighbors that he will be cutting down
the trees I did I'm not his direct neighbor I did not receive the letter but I was present at that thank you m c residents as they come up are not interos they're stating to their recollection their own words their
interpretation so um you know that's you know in terms of you know definition you know we just need to have to take it for its face value and and move on three minutes anybody anyone
else leges start you get to that's right hey uh Mr nowinsky name Nick far I'm sorry Oak feris um thank you for listening to the community and getting
the extra trolley that is the hottest ticket in town I mean these things sold out in a minute so thank you for listening hopefully we'll find a better solution for next year um Miss Perry I heard what you said and I don't want it could be misconstrued that it's the rec
Committee Against your committee we're all here for the same purpose like Mr Bond said um I apologize if it seemed to come out that way but at the same time when the committee members all 10 us were
denied presenting in front of council it's troubling so we'll move forward we'll try it again another time but at the same time we are I think kind of the pulse of the community we were elected by you to be part of the members to help with the rec committee and I understand
what you explained that they're two different groups but these 10 people that volunteer their time are the community and I think their voices need to be heard for the whole Community thank you thank you and don't forget the tree lighting tomorrow
night Thursday Thursday [Laughter] okay we're closing now the public participation and moving on to resolution yeah mayor i' like to move 18 D1
through patient with me H6 and then h8 H9 and h11 in a block which which one did we pull can we P seven out so 10 so I'll I'll I'll reverse it for help before I
can get a second um I'm pulling out H7 for a discussion and h10 had already been remov so that I can have further conversation does that help in everyone keep score wonderful all right do we have a
second second second mad call please Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes Miss Perry yes Mr Ryan Yes mayor fan yes and then mayor I'll move H7 number 394 authorizing resolution appointing a municipal
housing liaison second a second and there's discussion on this item I just have a question is is this the affordable is this a stien for the affordable housing this one no no this is a requirement by the DCA um
I've been acting in this capacity this is just complying with um their their regulations there there must be Lea on employed with the town under the housing program and so when uh
Andrew link retired I took over his responsibilities and I've been acting as Municipal a on I think we even had a resolution I think it was 2019 or so but weed notice of that we they're compiling a new list and they want they want this
to happen they compiled a new list and they didn't have a resolution on file so that's what they wanted there is no ST there's no okay so there you second yes and now mad cour you call the RO Please Mr bobin yes Mr Kaki yes per yes
Mr Ryan Yes mayor BR yes we're now to the section of council initiative and L on reports and do any updates on Elsa Mr
no um I think is the lighting tree lighting is there anything else you want to share about sorry W no talking to kak Kaki is there anything else you want
to share with regards to Recreation or besides tree lighting tree lighting well Thursday Nick is Thursday night not tomorrow night week away we need some heaters out there tomorrow night okay other thing I
noticed that there's a welcome home ceremony for the res today uh they were supposed to report in at 1:00 from uh company of the tag unit
which is the headquarters next to the 112 the white building and another unit uh that's part of it son about the plane uh it delayed it they weren't
going to land until 4:00 today in Philly and then be escorted by the state police to the 112th we heard of got this this morning we were not notified it was strictly for
family members only all right nobody else believe me at 9 o' this morning we we heard this and there saw the sign that said the welcome home and so the next time a group comes
in uh from the Brigade that went from New Jersey is the 16th of December which will be a big group than I think today might have been maybe 250 people all right the next group will probably be
closer to four or 5,000 people wow and on the 27th of December you got about another maybe 3,000 coming in because when you s a brigade it's plenty of people what will happen at that point we will leave
behind maybe 90 people to help transition from us to the group grp that are taken over they might be there to say February and then they will become a home then as far as New Jersey we won't
have nobody at least guard wise in uh the zones that you know everybody knows it's three zones it's really five zones and two zones we can ever talk about because they're that hot
all right so when you send a package that we did do uh three times it went to one area from there it went to the areas that they couldn't even tell her say parents wife whatever they uh but yes
but 9:00 this morning we heard this wow all right and when there was a group that came home I think last Friday but uh they really weren't from New Jersey even though it looked like it was it wasn't a New Jersey group all
right so this is our first group that came home now well that's good news yes thank you and in the hot areas that they were in knock on wood none of our soldiers got
hurt at all and the big thing was the the new thing is uh when I went in anyway it was look forward look left look right look behind you but a new thing today is look for look left look right look
up they were bringing in drones and dropping bombs on our base oh my God so it's something new now totally different type of War thank you thank you for their service we are so fortunate I just wanted to make sure that if someone was
home that we we recognize them and could celebrate them yes yes okay um councilwoman do you have a well um I'm happy to say that we have the RFP on the agenda for the study that is going to be
bid and independent for um the needs of the fire department and uh em Ems for Township um at once we receive the bids we will review them we're hoping it oh excuse me I didn't hear any of
that we we have put on the agenda the rfp's request bids for um independent contractors so that we could get information and best what would be best for the township um as far as the fire and EMS Direction now um we are giving
them at least um six months it may take a little bit longer but we're hoping that within late spring early summer that we will have a direction to move forward on the I'm a little confused can you
repeat what is yeah what is the question I mean the RFP is has gone out it will go out it will go out it's authorized today authorized today so it will go out by next week hopefully early January we get
some um bids back and then from there um we're hoping by late spring early summer that we have the you know the the report back to us report report back yes the report back giving us guidance so that
we could look at what is the feasibility of centralization if that's necessary where um all the things that we've been discussing for the last few months as far as how to bet best structure our um under the management uh our fire and EMS
supp that's the report back from the independent contractor correct that's select correct correct so the bid is going out we hope to select someone um by the by the end of January and then from there
um to to go forward and um get a report back from the person that we selected and we will be giving you updates um along the way so you know who who participated in the bid who was selected
and why and then what the results are [Music] question yeah it's not a question answer just she's just reporting on her committee and giving you an update on what's going on Council Ryan do you
have no mayor okay coun okay uh let's see what we have the planning board met this week we are still um in the process of reviewing our master plan um there will still be
stakeholder meetings to come um there's just been an extension of our timeline for completing the master plan and we're also will be uh revealing the uh affordable housing numbers um mrsk I just is there anything that we can share
about the affordable housing numbers just that we'll be revealing the numbers that have been go ahead no I mean so we got our affordable housing obligations for the fourth round um um art art and I will be going through
uh and and provide a presentation to you all whether it's the next meeting or the meeting after that because we're trying to we're g to get feedback from our planner as to what this actually means um my first look at it um it's a lot but it's not nearly what it was for the
third round so can we have the planner come in next meeting we can make a request up to you okay we'll take that into consideration yeah believe and I don't have you know my file here but I believe we have to act
uh respond by January 31st I believe uh and I've already uh started to draft a resolution that uh hopefully will comport with uh what council will want to do on this but I I agree with Mr
winsky I I looked at the report quickly talked to some people actually down at the Le about it uh I think and I don't recall the numbers but they were not nearly as severe as the third round and uh we'll
see what excuse me we'll see what the planner says but they seemed within the realm of reasonableness so and a lot of a lot of other some other attorneys I talked to felt similarly that this
fourth round was not as severe as a lot of people were fearing that doesn't mean it's that way throughout the entire state but I think I think we're going to fear fairly well with it so but you know planner certainly can give comments on that
okay and then um since our last meeting um I did attend another um Grand Opening of a new business in the township um a very tasty one that lot of restaurants or food um establishments have been
opening up in our town so I'm very excited about that anytime I get to taste burger or um also I did um visit um our Centurion at her birthday party um I
think that was last Sunday great celebration i g to tell you it was a real show of the love and support um for our community for this particular individual and our community under BL
Miss uh Miss pman Miss Pikman she Veronica P Veronica Pikman it was just such an honor to have an opportunity to meet her her family she's 100 and she was uh The Story Goes she wanted to get
on a horse she loves horses and uh they wouldn't let her Mount the horse at the county requesting Center please beautiful picture next to the horse but she has a a lovely family and what impressed me most was her neighbors
how her neighbors came out um you could tell they really care and they have a good time with one another um she's very much um been mared in her community so I was an honor to attend her birthday
celebration um anything else oh yes I'm sorry I also last night um both councilwoman and I attended the unity former women space um lighting of um luminaries um in recognition of
um women's unities which formly women's faes work over the many years in helping uh women children and men in domestic violence situ ations also there with us
was our police chief Mr Longo and two officers um officer leing and officer Ryan also attended in our County Clerk Paula was there as well and um and me
representation from the rec department Bon gigo and yes and Miss G was also there from the rec department and Girls Scout it was nice um we uh we all were there and and U again once again just The Illuminating of of Hope and the
great work that women's B Unity does for our community we're very fortunate um that they've been at this work for almost 50 years those are 47 I think years that they have been in this mind of work and you can't thank enough our police officers who are the First
Responders in many um occasions and not an easy thing but they they do a tremendous service to our community just keep everyone in the in your thoughts and prayers for the holidays because um unfortunately the increase in dective violence in our
community is triplefold yeah um the statistics were very alarming yesterday when the staff was um telling us about how the increase in domestic violence continues here um and you know this time of year people
are even more tension more stressed so we pray that it would not continue to increase you know the hope that we all discussed yesterday was that 50 years from now that we don't even need the the community Unity program but that is you
know my big heart hoping for the best okay and I guess lastly we talked about the leag I I had the distinguished honor and opportun to uh present or be a panelist u at the leag this year and
represent Lawrence Township and it was a great panel with fellow Mayors and Council people from throughout the stage to talk about U the work that we do in L with regards to our businesses to the diversity of our community and I want to
thank um count manager ninski for your support and information to help me do that presentation you it was well received and I was happy to do that on behalf of La C and Council all
right so now um BR communication I [Music] have we received a thank you letter from the United States Senate on behalf of um Senator Corey Booker of New Jersey he
says uh dear mayor Hendrick Su thank you for welcoming you to laurren Township and joining me at Special Olympics M Jersey I appreciate your commitment to supporting your residents and your continued work to ensure the wellbeing of the entire Community I'm grateful for
your leadership and look forward to continuing to work together sincerely Cory Booker United States Senator I can't receive an award mention it I um had the distinguish honor um
last Friday of receiving an award and it says um it's a gracias award um honorable Patricia Hendrick rner thank you for your dedication leadership and commitment to culture and the community your efforts have made a
transformative difference in the community you serve we present you with this award and appreciation of all the work you do preserved by his his presented by your friends in merer County November 27 2024 I do it all for you all not me
alone this together okay um anything else yeah mayor I under written communication we got a uh a notice from the New Jersey Department of Transportation public about um they're
going to be doing some work on littleit let me just read it so I don't butcher this um there's going to be an informational meeting Monday December 9th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. here at the lawence Township Municipal Building you'll have an opportunity to review presentation exhibits and relevant items
submit questions and leave feedback it's about uh the project aims to provide design improvements to decrease traffic delays and reduce crashes on I 295 approaching the exits to Route One Northbound and to maintain traffic flow in the project area along Route One Corridor to three nearby shopping
centers including Quaker rdge mall they say Mercer Mall but we know it's Mercer one now and Nassau Park along with other retail office hotel and residential development along the corridor the uh preliminary preferred alternative or PPA
for the project includes the following provides a two- laning ramp from I 295 southbound to Route One Northbound widens the bridges ramp bridges over the DNR Canal on Route One adds new ramp from Route One Northbound Through The Interchange for local traffic to Grovers Mill Road and businesses on Route One
Northbound provides barrier separation of Route One Northbound from ramp traffic Beyond Renaissance Boulevard to improve safety Route One Northbound auxiliary Lane to Second Quaker Bridge wall to the driveway so it's something that's happening next Monday I think we've all
experienced the joy of Route One in that area 295 so if you're interested come to the uh Township municipal building Monday December 9th uh meeting scheduled from 6: p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ning communication touch SP
with I noticed there's another Improvement on the Franklin Corner Road um 206 intersection there's a left hand turn now it went up quick but it took 20 years oh my
God am but it's it's funny to see the muscle memory of people who still take and then they're looking and seeing seeing the situation where people are going so so far so good yeah I haven't made the left turn yet but what a
tremendous yeah it was getting right okay all right okay um so that concludes our written communication comments and we are now going to enter into executive session I'll make ation ex
session motion second for ex session all in favor okay thank you to the public for coming out tonight uh hopefully there isn't a lot of sell out [Music] there I'm going to drive in the thank you