##VIDEO ID:wZssZ3J83vk## okay we are live good evening everyone adequate notice of this meeting of the Lawrence Township Council being held on Tuesday January 21st 2025 has been provided through the posting of the annual meeting schedule of the said Council in accordance with Section 13 of the open public meetings act said notice was forwarded to The Trentonian the times and the Princeton packet on December 19th 2024 I would um like to take this time to just give um just a BRI a few brief remarks for the new year I apologize that our last meeting I um did not get an opportunity to um to address the public and I just wanted to give a few words and wishing everyone a happy New Year um it is with honor to address you as we begin the 20125 year reflecting on the progress that we have made and looking forward to the exciting future from La Township to our incredible Community whether you reside in the colonial Lakes Society Hill Ed Crossing or ELD park or any other cherished part of our Township thank you for your trust engagement and dedication Lawrence theise because are all of you and Council I also would like to extend my gratitude to the community leaders Township employees and employers who work tirelessly to make Lawrence a great place to live work and grow the most recent display of our Township at work are the employees who work through the night to plow and salt our roads I extend a deep we extend a deep gratitude to the public works department police and also I U did not give a chance to thank the recreation department U led by Nancy Bergen and her team and committee for the wonderful works that they did for the Christmas celebrations the tree lighting and our very popular trolley rides as we embrace the possibilities of 2025 it's important that we reflect on the successes of our past year together we've achieved remarkable Milestones that continue to shape our Township for the better I just wanted to begin by acknowledging the hard work and dedication of our council members included here today councilwoman um El Perry councilman Bob and councilman Kaki and in his absence Councilman Ryan their leadership and collaboration Have Been instrumental in advancing our countship priorities and we are thankful for that um okay as we look forward to the Visions for the coming year we want to honor our history economic progress and the things to come and as we move more forward in 2025 I am filled with the optimism we all are for the opportunities ahead together we will honor our past embrace our change and create a Township that works for everyone thank you for your trust your partnership and your commitment to Lauren's Township may this year bring Unity progress and prosperity to our community thank you and with that Madam clerk if you could reach us in Inspiration okay 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 Warren a wonderful community in which to live I pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all you call R Mr Bob here Mr Kaki here miss Perry here Mr Ryan cannot be with us this evening for personal reasoning um mayor B here and now we will have a special presentation by our Municipal planner Miss uh Beth mcmanis and also um she will present on the lawence count your fourth round of the affordable housing obligation M MC thank you very much folks uh so tonight I wanted to talk about the fourth round of affordable housing and one of the uh one of the items on your agenda is adoption of a resolution that really accomplishes two things first and I guess first and foremost it declares your participation in the fourth round of affordable housing and two it declares your fourth round obligation the the affordable housing obligation for the community and is some brief background this resolution is necessary prior to the end of the month in order for the township to maintain its immunity from exclusionary zoning litigation or Builders remedy litigation and so that is protection that the township has enjoyed historically I think going back many decades now it is my strong recommend recomendation that we continue that it maintains the ability to control our own zoning but beyond that uh for the fourth round we have uh this 10year period that's upon us the the fourth round of portable housing from 2025 through 2035 and in order to maintain that immunity yes we need to adopt a resolution but more importantly we've got to prepare a housing element and fair share plan that sets forth how it is that we meet that obligation and this resolution is just simply the first step we had an amendment to the fair housing act earlier this year and that Amendment fundamentally changed the way affordable housing is going to work in New Jersey it formally eliminated the Council on affordable housing and created a an affordable housing dispute resolution program in the Judiciary which will essentially act as the new co-op another thing that the bill did was it stated in terms of our affordable housing obligation and most relevant for this evening it stated that the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs shall put together a calculation of Municipal affordable housing obligations and they were obligated to do it consistent with a methodology that was set forth in the fair housing act however uh while DCA did do that work uh it is actually not binding upon any municipality so in the past COA would issue affordable housing obligations and that was it that was your number so to speak but now DCA has uh they've done similar work they've issued the numbers but it's incumbent upon every municipality to review those numbers and the data that went into it to make sure that it was essentially done correctly and when I say correctly one of the really important principles of everything that municipalities are doing this month is that any obligation that's cited by a town must be consistent with the fair housing act so we can't can't take a step back and say you know I think Lawrence's obligation should be five units and we submit that to our resolution the the likely result is going to be that we will not have immunity from Builders remedy litigation instead anything that a town does has to be consistent with The Fair Housing Act and what the Fair Housing Act did I I I can go into as much detail as folks would like but typically uh affordable housing doesn't get that level of interest uh they set forth uh about six different steps for calculating the affordable housing obligation and it starts with what is the regional affordable housing need the the region which consists here of uh Mercer Mammoth and ocean counties and then from there it takes that Regional need and it allocates it to each municipality in those counties and there are a few opportunities for interpretation and correction in that process I would say when it's starts at the top it starts with calculating that Regional need that is very prescriptive in the ACT I I don't recommend any changes to that and to be honest I don't know any planner or any municipality that is seeking to change that and then there are three allocation factors that deal with um income in the community uh household wealth um non-residential ratables the number of jobs in the community and then vac can land for those first two uh jobs and income that uh that part of the methodology is also very prescriptive in the act and so I've cross checked the data that DCA used it is correct and as a result of that there's really no opportunity for interpretation that final Factor the developable land factor or the land capacity factor that is subject to a lot of interpretation now what DCA did was they attempted to identify developable land in the community and then miss ities and this is what I did for Lawrence are reviewing that developable land to see frankly is it correct there are some cases uh some clients I work with that have slashed that developable land to just a fraction of what DCA has indicated now here in Lawrence uh I've done that same work and I don't have any uh any dramatic change to it quite honestly so as I go through each of the parcels or the pieces of land that DCA has reviewed and identified as being developable there are some things that I disagree with there are around 16 Acres that I think are not developable and that I would be I might be comfortable telling DCA or the Judiciary that but the frankly the result is that it has a negligible impact on the Township's obligation and so while I've gone through this review and uh and have really done my best to see what opportunities there may be to reduce and to correct what DCA has done the result is not a meaningful change to lawence so more specifically DCA has calculated a uh fourth round obligation your your affordable housing obligation was 25 through 2020 2035 excuse me that 10-e period of 320 units the best I can do is to reduce that by up to 10 units now for folks that are saying well 10 units sounds pretty significant uh to me let me let me put another layer of information on that lawren Township is a vacant land adjustment community and that means that in the third round and and what you're you're going to end up doing in the fourth round is an admission that the township simply doesn't have enough vacant land in order to meet that entire obligation and so for example your third round obligation was 1110 units for which the township was unable to meet because you don't have that much vacant land and so what was done in the Third Run is you adjust that number down to reflect how much vacant land exists at that time and we did that for your third round obligation we're going to do that again for your fourth round obligation so we're going to adjust that 320 unit obligation down significantly and so that's why I say even though 10 units and 10 units is certainly not nothing if you will but in the context of a vacant land adjustment I don't foresee any change in how your housing plan will be written no change in the zoning no change in the number of mechanisms that are necessary and so as a result of that uh negligible change that lack of impact I recommend that should accept dca's number of 320 units and and really it's for a couple different reasons one it is because by accepting the uh the the DCA number that is going to have a a significant reduction in the likelihood of having an objection to what we submit because while we're all we all municipalities are submitting these resolutions during this month the following month is the opportunity for people to object to what the township has submitted but by identifying the DCA number I think we're very much reducing the likelihood of an objection and if we don't have an objection that means that our process will certainly be smoother uh subject to less uh debates potentially Court activity but also and that's a time and cost savings but but also I think more importantly practically it means that we have more time to plan for our affordable housing oblig for our plan we have more time to focus on what what it is that we're going to do rather than what the number is um and we have more time of certainty knowing exactly what that obligation is rather than potentially being World worlded in court to uh to argue about it with various objectors and so uh because of that advantage and the lack of impact to any change I strongly recommend that the township accept that 320 units and the last part of this is you know I very much focused on what's referred to as the fourth round or the new construction obligation there's a second part of our obligation for every Community that's referred to as a rehabilitation obligation and it's a similar process the DCA calculated that number the municipality is to review it and and declare its Rehabilitation obligation DCA has calculated 68 housing units and that's an estimate of the number of low and moderate income households that currently live in Lawrence that also live in housing units that are perhaps overcrowded or have substandard puming and kitchen facilities so overcrowded or substandard units occupied by low moderate income HS and that is solely based on census and American Community survey data is it does not represent somebody driving through Lawrence Township and count now I do think that the data that the DCA used to calculate that number is consistent with The Fair Housing Act and I don't believe that there is room for interpretation however for those 60 units actually similar to the vacant land adjustment I cited for the 320 there's an adjustment process that the township can take advantage of in preparing its fourth round plan if you think that 68 number is just too high if you think that the Township's housing stock is is such that the 68 number could be reduced and we can talk about that adjustment and so because of the lack interpretation I I also recommend that the township accept the 68 uh for the rehabilitation but again both of these obligations the township is eligible uh to conduct an a downward adjustment of each of them as part of its housing plan and in terms of that fourth run number that 320 that that will essentially be my next task for you in terms of affordable housing because that's that's a very critical piece of your housing plan and so uh and so with that very I think brief uh overview um I'm happy to answer any questions about the resolution or about um the process going forward um wisky would you like to I can just tell I can tell the council like we met earlier today mayor and I confirmed with you that um Mr cek and I and Beth have been in communication over the last couple weeks and taking Beth taking a stent process and I don't want to speak for Mr scyc but um based upon our conversations uh we are in agreement with uh the recommendation and we believe that the number is is negligible and should we should not be pursuing it in the manner uh through a litigation process mayor yes thank you uh I would agree uh we we spent considerable time looking at both sides of the coin so to speak and um uh I have to thank the planner for a very very diligent effort in this matter because uh this is you know a very serious situation that the township has to decide whether to accept or reject and I think uh the planner's comments were right on point this is really a Dem Minimus amount to to litigate over I mean we still have to file what's called a declaratory action uh to confirm uh our acceptance into the plan and and give us a period of protection and all this has to be done by Thursday so we're uh we're on top of it and uh on the basis that hopefully you will pass the resolution this evening I've already uh been in contact with a clerk who will send me a certified copy tomorrow and we will move forward with the litigation but uh other towns have had have decided and I've talked to a number of Municipal attorneys where where the the variation was much larg excuse me much larger 50 60 70 units and where the land involved is Highly Questionable as to the inclusion in the plant so we don't have that so uh after as I say much research and uh review planner and the manager and I have come to the same conclusion to uh move forward with accepting the plan as presented and we will move accordingly hopefully with our resolution then move accordingly in the superior court of New Jersey by Thursday in this regard and then uh well more will follow after that but uh this is uh I think a the first step for us with regard to the fourth round so thank you are there any qu any any questions from Council yeah mayor I have um M M M thank you for your presentation um really well done I have one question have a couple questions one is is the 68 rehab number is that also refer to as the present need application yeah exactly they sys okay I just want to make sure that was good um and not to put you on the spot but um the vacant land adjustment I remember um I remember going through that third round um will that be a will that sort of the scale of what that BAC land adjustment might look like not holding you to any numbers right now in terms of from the 320 so I I expect it to come down really very significantly the uh the 320 will will be adjusted down to to reflect I mean it's referred to I guess in the industry and Loosely is vacant land and and certainly that will be the case but it will also be downward adjusted to reflect any any new affordable housing development that has occurred or might be anticipated as part of the fourth round but ultimately that number I can't put I can't give a number yet because we're not at that point but yes I anticipate it'll be very significant understood and one last question um you mentioned that any uh affordable housing that is is built does that start from January 1 of 25 that would be counted towards this fourth round obligation anything that's sort of in the pipeline now or how does is certainly yes uh definitely anything that is coming for projects that have received approval but were not included in the Township's plan I'm thinking about for example um there's a project along Princeton Pike that receives site plan approval that project may or may not be part of the adjustments uh but I would say that is a a decision that will be dependent upon interpretation of the new Fair Housing Act for which those interpretations are continuing every day as folks continue to read this for better or worse for worse uh unfortunately the lack of clarity is not very helpful to the state um but also uh part of this is we're going to what I'd like to do is craft the Township's plan in a way that is most advantageous to the township and so that means that projects are looked at looked upon and categorized in ways that are flexible and in ways that are we possible most ADV most advantageous to the municipality so I'm sorry that's a bit of a non-answer but for anything future is definitely a fourth round for something that was unanticipated but approved we're going to see how to structure your plan in a way that is that puts Lawrence in the best position thank you I appreciate it thanks May I know I don't know if it would be helpful would just to give an overview of Lawrence Township's historical affordable housing um just to put in perspective that what we had um as a Township sure so I know the township uh received closely I know the township has uh received a minimum third round two two third round approvals of its housing plan um as well as second round approval and I believe the township also received approval for its first round uh but I would say it minimally goes back to 1990s so compliance minimally goes back to the 1990s and uh in the third round Council affordable housing issued rules uh in 200 four and I will say the township complied you were actually the first town to get approval from the state when that occurred unfortunately those rules were overturned uh so the the victory was was a bit short but the township went on to uh participate in the court process that occurred after Co was found to to not be functioning by the state and so we got our third round approval and has uh has enjoyed immunity for perhaps more than 30 years at this point and not only that the township has so the township has done what was minimally necessary to meet the obligation but I would say it's also done so without uh without problems and and litigate largely without litigation and the distinction is there are a lot of municipalities out there that that do get approval from the court or perhaps from COA but then when it comes time to implement or perhaps do a little bit more of the work that's when Things Fall Apart litigation ensues and and that frankly has never been the Township's isssue you guys have always found a way to meet your obligation receive approval from the court and be able to really set yourself up nicely for the next round which is exactly what I would say occurred from the third round into the fourth round thank you thank you you yeah I think you're you're free Tok with that this is to our first opportunity for public participation this is the five minute limit um if there is any just come to the mic and N moving right along to the review and revision of the agenda I don't believe we have any at this time or is there an adjustment to the agenda no that resolution was already on okay okay this us s to the adoption of minutes we are still waiting on the 20th right August 20th we need to postpone yes okay unless unless one of you is has listened to the tape oh all right if we do we I think so okay you can okay J take consider all right well so we will be skipping 8 I I'll make a motion to move 8 B Clos meeting of June 2024 a second motion seconder call Mr Bob yes Mr Kiki yes car yes may yes the awarding and injection of bids mayor I'd like to move 9A number 58 authorizing awarding of bid number 24-16 2024 drainage and concrete Improvement program to TC landscape Construction Group you have a second second M you call the RO mayor before we call the RO can I can I ask Mr nowinsky if there's anything he needs to say about the uh um just for the record the the bid was awarded is to be awarded in the amount of $ 77,6 thank you to call any questions sorry c m Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes mayor for yes and now we're into the introduction of ordinances 10 we have we made a decision on made a decision to okay I will ask the council if we are going to make um a decision with regards to tenative bringing forward ordinance number 2482 -25 and amending chapter 10 article 6 of The Lawrence Township Administrative Code section 10-38 entitled municipal clerk Deputy M municipal clerk position is there a motion to move that ordinance seeing none we will move on to the second ordinance mayor I'll move 10B ordinance number 2483 d25 an ordinance amenu chapter 435 of the Lawrence Township Administrative Code entitled motor vehicles and traffic addition of handicap parking space at 1632 Brunswick Avenue okay is there a second second before that I could just have a Moment of clarity from Mr SC with regards to ordinance 10 do we need to take some action with regards to either tbling that or there's no there's no it's up to you there's no uh action needed there's no action needed it wasn't moved and seconded it's it's it's dead it's de as of now I mean it can always be brought back at a later date but as of this evening there's no action necessary okay thank you Mr okay with the motion and the second for ordinance number 248 3-35 Madam clerk if you could call the RO Please Mr bobit yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes mayor farmer yes adoption of right okay we now at the manager report uh yeah the only thing that I'd like to report is that we are uh gearing up for our budget season um and next meeting is uh Tuesday February 4th 2025 and we have scheduled four uh brief presentations to the council Peter kirus um will be uh doing his CFO report I be reading into the record the recommended budget Keith LaVine will be uh presenting for the health department James defor for the building uh department and Jack Oakley for fire and EMS mty and then on Tuesday February 18th 2025 uh the chief of police um Public Works uh Greg Whitehead and Nancy Bergen um on behalf of the recreation department thank you mrsk and I'll be meeting with the department heads tomorrow to discuss um their presentations on on what you you guys are looking for um and we'll take from that thank you Mr uh just briefly mayor uh we'll be passing a resolution hopefully uh shortly authorizing me the file suit with regard to the uh affordable housing act that presentation we just had this is a declaratory judgment in the Superior Court law division here in Mara County that will ensure that with with the fair housing Administration that we uh accept the numbers as presented and that uh we will be given a period of protection against any challenges litigation in that regard uh so uh by passing that resolution you're authorizing the township to uh engage in this litigation this is after you know much much review and research with the planner and with the manager as to our position I think we're taking the right position it's such animous change from 10 units it' be foolish in terms of time and and truly just a lot of money to try to make that change uh I had asked the clerk earlier um for possibly a Clos session on this but I see no need for it uh this is not really adversarial in terms of you know some litigation that we need to discuss in in the close sessions so with the passing of that we will fulfill Our obligation under the statute with the uh latest changes in the fourth round thank you thank you mayor can I ask a question on Mr cek Mr cek would that mean that uh we wouldn't need to uh go into close session or is that we do not need to go in close session okay wonderful thank you all right Madam CL well I just have uh a few things here so last week it was talked about the agenda so I did uh make the agenda a little more clear if under the PSA if you notice for the public yes thank you yes you're welcome and then um you know as for the agreements they can always do the inspection of that and just so for the record all PSAs but which is Professional Service agreements or contracts are advertised that is the law okay and they are for inspection in the clerk's office if anyone needs to inspect any resolutions are always available if they call our office also boards and committees um that applic I know there was a problem um I was playing with the email one for the clerk and I did um alert Our IT department about it but you can pick up an application email L um we can back it to you email you can pick it up whatever we will make sure you get one if anyone wants to serve on the board of committee okay and anything else I think that's it okay just to recap so on the table this evening we have some additional materials for the public if they'd like to have U more detail with regards to um any ordinances or materials that we have here at the and I do also have the um DCA copies of that for GR okay thank you so much okay and so also what we're hearing is the um affordable housing that was discussed that we will yes that's here is also available to the public if anybody needs a copy of that do we have any unfinished business new Under new business we have the appointment of boards and and committees and I do believe the council is ready at this time to move forward on the committees on which we are the on support is that correct yes so we will U the best way to do it I guess is to go do you want to go through each one or so what you do is you're open it up and then whoever's the the on to that board they'll move it then we'll move the clo then we can have a roll call if you want to that would be good is that okay that works perfect okay okay no objections in Council no objection that then we will begin with the affordable housing we don't have anyone at that time I don't have anyone right now for the existing vacancy is alternate two so I will jump to environmental resources and sustainability green committee um I would like to make a motion to reappoint uh no DEA pente uh to a full term uh Miss Deon folk to a full term and Mr Michael mie to an existing unexpired term ending 12312 okay those so we're going to do it at the end okay you can do it at the end right I just wanted to should I go through each one I just cable and Telecommunications counil right now we don't have anyone to fill the V vacancies um we are still actively looking for people so that we can okay construction board of appeals diversity equity and inclusion we do have um a fill in for dapne o and there is also the student shanira after she will continue on the diversity equity and inclusion board for you lawence and SE Authority um we have um Council K did you want to address that today I'll address it U I'm not the L on but okay we have one application Sig zarski I missed the interviews but I do recommend Zig to fill that seat and also want to ask Art you can stop me if I'm doing wrong I like to have John Ryan removed from Elsa as a lays on he's not performing his duties and it's hurting Elsa so I know that will have to be discussed next month that's up to council yeah yeah that would be for Council to tonight we're only discussing the addition of the I just want on the record because it hurt us today we had alha meeting today and by him not being there hurt uh Lawrence um and perhaps quite a bit okay we probably need to have that discussion um what yeah yeah because this is the first I'm hearing of it so um I want bring it out so people know okay so Council and Council woman Perry and I did interview the applicant that um submitted the application for Elsa today um do we need to we are we are pardon I missed we all ready to appoint yes yeah I thought we were going through all of of well did you want to appoint are you appointing U Mr uh you have to say whether you're appointing or not yes we will let you should um enter that we were I recommend all right so there we go all right then to the next which is growth and Redevelopment so for growth and Redevelopment we are um I am reappointing Jeremy Ryan who's an incumbent and Alan d sarley and also um adding in Mr Garcia Alberto Garcia Health Advisory Board okay that's oh I'm sorry did did you not hear me no okay so Mr for growth and Redevelopment we are reappointing the incumbent Jeremy Ryan and the re incumbent reappointing um Allan D excuse me sarly and additionally appointing Mr Edward Garcia to the GR growth and re development committee okay next is our health Advisory Board um the lates on our J is here this evening so being that there is only um there is the one interested reappointment um I'm we can move to um the sorry B East to that board and now for historic presentation of which I am the wayon um reappointing dougas sergeant and appointing uh John Plick who are both um incumbents moving on to the municipal Alliance in drug and alcohol abuse uh let see believe here but Council if you're in agreement um we have one interested reappointment who is an incumbent and that is Kelly midy so we can make that for the planning board at this time um I'm actually going to hold off on those reappointments need to have some discussion but the two I'm sorry let me correct that the two incumbents who are still interested for reappointments we will reappoint that is Alan d schio and Leslie C Public Safety for Public Safety I am um for Public Safety I am reappointing Ron demonish and Michael forgive me Billo forgive me Michael Recreation and advisor committee councilman Ki I have uh three incumbents Maria Nick and Becky I would like to reappoint and for my last spot I would like to Appo Keith to fill the fourth vacency that's open you don't have a key Kenneth Kenneth at the bottom is it Ken Ken Ken okay that would feel right along red civilization I don't believe you have anything there at this time senior executive committee that's see Mr K executive I don't have the okay sh I don't have any uh people to nominate right now Trail is in open space um I would like to reappoint the three um interested incumbents that's Paul lson David maeno and Laura Lynch and also we see a new application from Michael Maran so we will add him also to the board Zoning Board of adjustments okay that L is on also is not here but um council did intervene one applicant this evening and I believe we're prepared to move forward with that is that correct okay uh Mr Bob would you like to yeah make that yeah I'd like to move uh Miss sigus to be reappointed to a full term as well as to appoint Mr Cohen to a full term as well okay thank you very much I believe that takes us through all of the current boards and committees and now Madam Clark if we can um have I'll call the full all right so um you're going to have someone to move I mean I guess y all move I'm sorry make a motion to move all the all the Block in a block May I'll I'll make a motion to move all the nominations that we've heard just now in a block okay and I'll second we have a second thank you very much so with with the motion in second Mr Mr bobin yes Mr can yes Miss Perry yes uh mayor farmer yes and if I could also add we appreciate the Public's um willingness and commitment to serve on all of our boards we know the the time commitment and the the expertise and knowledge that many of our residents bring to our board so I just want to thank publicly all right thank you okay this brings us now to the next uh and final opportunity for participation from the public at 3 minutes good evening mayor councel Greg I was hoping to hear the uh the budget addressed tonight and I'm just curious and maybe the mayor can check the councel um our code says that the 32-11 submission to Township Council honor before the 15th day of January each year the manager self submit to the council his recommended budget together with such explanatory comment or statement as the manager May deem desirable so is that correct we did receive from the manager as a schedule of how the budget um hearings are going to go forward but the actual budget this is the actual this is the code it says you're supposed to present the budget tonight with his explanatory statement okay so it maybe because is this correct is that correct just yeah I will take a look and I'll ask Mr cek but we did have um an addition to our meeting this evening to include the affordable housing presentation so that may have taken precedency is we're on deadline for the 31st but I'll let Mr address that I understand yeah Sobe you could address it now well I think it is sorry I believe I don't have the code in front of me bear with me but I believe that language is in there but I think there is some some flexibility usually afforded by Council U to the manager on this it's really a decision of council to enforce or to give certain flexibility on that we we did did not anticipate having the presentation on the affordable housing U situation which took some time but it's really up to council how they want to handle that in in that there is there's always there's always some flexibility due to exent circumstances for uh presentations but you're right you're right Mr K that that without having it in front of me I believe that is the correct language no I just wonder if violation of our own code that's all there was it doesn't seem unreasonable I will make a the last meeting you did adopt a resolution that extended those dates because uh there came the local Finance notice came now so the dates were extended so that it gave that flexibility thank you thank so just we will be getting our budget reviews at our next council meeting February 4th could you please sign in oh yeah thank you this figure okay good evening everyone um now the thing your name please oh yeah Tom uh Thomas Lil 15 East a lane um so I would just like to say I really do appreciate uh you know Municipal planner Beth mcis coming out and giving her presentation about the fourth BR affordable housing obligation now the thing is that I was just wondering where I could possibly find some more information about this piece of legislator BEC uh legislation because you know as a 26- year old uh individual you know I'm very much interested in you know eventually someday having you know property of my own and you know not just property that I rent but like properly own uh owned in my and everything so you know I was just trying to see where I could find the documentation about this legislation just so that I could look into it more and to basically you know see how uh you know basically just get sort I wouldn't say like a spark notes um you know uh you know abridgment of of it but like you know just sort of where I'm ble to find that the documentation on the legislation I'm sorry yes go ahead please uh and that's I think if you were to to Google the New Jersey fair housing act you would find tons of information on it also I would suggest you go on New Jersey leue of municipalities website which is uh you know for all all the municipalities in the state of New Jersey uh there is a whole section on the Fair Housing Act we go to the Department of Community Affairs website New Jersey Department of Community Affairs website there's also a section there on the Fair Housing Act uh you know you can just pick and choose what what you want to read and uh uh the uh New Jersey leag of municipality site also has uh all the towns by County uh what they're doing the resolutions ours will be on there as of Thursday to Friday and uh you can see what's what's happening not just in Lawrence but throughout the whole state it's it's very informative I commend you for your interest in it U some of it is tough reading you know it's it's it takes a while to get through it uh but uh there is uh a lot of information readily available and as I say the uh the change in well the change in the law that occurred in March of 2024 uh had much much uh written about it uh so I would uh I would suggest any of those sources you'll you'll you go down a very deep rabbit hole on any of them so yeah thank you and if I could just add um we do have an affordable housing committee and that is open to the public and if you want to know more specifically about Lawrence Township and what we're doing you're welcome to attend those meetings thank you okay see no additional public comments we close public participation at this time um we have a reading of the resolution mayor if there are no objections I'd like to move 18 B1 through H5 in a block I have a second second do we need any explanation mad pleas call the Please Mr Bob yes Mr Kaki yes M Perry yes mayor farmer yes Council initiatives and on reports who wants to go first can you hear me now okay so I'm very happy to report that the public safety subcommittee has received seven bids for for our RFP for our fire safety um we will be meeting next month to proceed on reviewing them and then coming back by the end of March with our recommendations to council to move forward thank you Council any others um I can report that the diversity equity and inclusion committee did meet this month last week was last week um and we're in the discussions of uh hosting a workshop with the Civil Rights Commission with regards to knowing your rights so the Dei committee is currently working on that uh for the public and I also just want to extend um I've also um had some U conversations with regards to um some uneasiness that um may be ex being experienced with um uh members in the general public with regards to immigration um and uh the diversity Equity commission committee is also looking to um perhaps do some work in that realm to um provide some education for our community with regards to those concerns else anything else um is there anything uh Mr P that can share about Elsa you did have a meeting earlier today some concerns also board had a meeting today uh it's in draft for so I can't talk much about it but we are very very close to settling the problem with d they're agreeing to our five-year program we're agreeing to what they're saying has to be done there's some other problems we got to look into and figure out because it took longer to get to this point than we thought so the I bank we got to ask damn how that's going to work and and how soon the project we could get it going we took a vote today to uh get ready to put the bids out because uh with the pipe work that's going to come through this Township from four street over four Street pump station has to be a lot bigger and more bigger pumps and everything else so we're be putting a bit out on that with the EP though uh with the permission we gave Bob filler today they can reach back out to D within the next day D would then if they want to say yes to everything that or we agree to everything they said as long as they don't change no language as soon as February 1st we would have the okay to start hooking up again it all depends what comes back from DPO this paperwork will be in dp's hands uh no later and Thursday okay we should hear something from what they said with the draft we should hear something very very soon it does look Fally it looks positive but then like I said four street is another whole story that we're going to start looking into what it's going to do as far as coming through our Township it's a lot of pipe work a lot so thank you for that Mr Kaki um I know I discussed in our meeting earlier today with um Mr nowinsky about having Mr filler come in and talk with the council once again and give us some more clarification and updates on What's um taking place so we're expecting that um probably in February at sometime for Mr filler to come in before councel yeah we have not we've yet to receed the the budget for Elsa Okay so be looking at budget once that's once that's received It's usually the time when we ask you to come in to discuss it okay perfect oh mayor I was just I I was going to ask that very question of Mr nnsky if he was gonna discuss the budget as well and its impact on on Lawrence's budget but he answer my question so thank you perfect okay any other updates okay we're early in the year um for written Communications do we have anything Madam cler no okay and as was stated in the beginning of our meeting we will not have an executive session this evening so we can get back to our war do we have a motion for an adj or any other additional comments on the council I make a motion toour okay thank you all in favor thank you for coming out we appreciate your this cold cold weather we I think so very accurate hey how are you okay