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Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=AAxOfZIpRbI

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Michael. >> Okay. [music] >> Waiting in. >> No, mine's in the car. >> Hi everyone. Uh, welcome everyone to uh the Livingston Town Council um our

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regular meeting uh July 28th um 2026. Uh this is the sunshine statement for the for uh how we conduct ourselves. Uh it is uh in compliance with the sunshine law NJSA 104-10. This meeting is being held in accordance to the open public meetings act and

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adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law. Specifically the annual notice was emailed to the west distributor in the star ledger on January 5th 2026. The agenda and resolutions to the meeting are available at limsonj.org. Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of

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personnel andor other matters as outlined in the sunshine law. Decisions made and or discussed in close session will be made public uh excuse me will be made known to the public at a later time. Notice to members of the governing body and the township staff any use of electronic devices during this meeting

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shall be used solely for the purposes of township business and or any communications are subject to the open public records act to the extent possible. This evening's township of Livingston Council meeting will be livereamed via Facebook at https www.fas.com/limston

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township. Questions or comments will also be accepted by emailing live comments at livingstonj.org by 4 pm on the day of the meeting and shared with the town council before the meeting. Each speaker should follow the rules of order in Livingston code 2-15.3. Madame clerk, please call the role.

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>> Council member Minhart >> here. >> Council member Anthony is absent tonight. Council member Vieiraa >> present. >> Deputy Mayor Banani >> here. >> And Mayor Klein >> here. Uh if everyone can please uh rise for a moment of silence uh followed by the pledge of allegiance. Uh, I just

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want to um acknowledge uh the passing of Jud Bata, longtime um uh crossing guard uh in town, known by uh many of us uh and his families in our thoughts. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag United

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States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. >> Um uh the next item on the agenda is our Essis County update. Eileen is not here

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that I can see. Okay. And so we'll move along. Uh we do have uh one um presentation of sorts tonight, which is the police promotions. Uh it's wonderful to see a great turnout for this. Um these are very special events uh for the township uh for the police department,

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for this council. I want to acknowledge um the first aid squad, bunch of angels over there. Thank you everything for all the work that you do on behalf of all the people in this town. Um it's just so deeply appreciated. Um let me call up uh Chief Gary Marshoots

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uh and uh we'll we'll uh let him run the show for a little while. [laughter] Sure. Just a few just a few minutes. >> The chief is going to give us um do we're going to do a couple things tonight. Uh he's going to and chief, I'll let you uh determine the order of of of how you want to proceed, but uh

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we're going to go through promotions and um uh and the oaths of office. Uh and and the chief's also going to take us through um some of the new uh statistics in town. Uh I think something uh he's assured me it's something we're all going to be proud of to hear how well uh the police have been doing.

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>> Thank you. Can you hear me? >> Okay, >> welcome everybody. Thank you for being here and uh always thank you for supporting the Livingston Police Department. Um before we get into celebrating our new officers, that's what we're all here for tonight. um they

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worked very hard to get to this point and uh we're proud to have them as part of our family now and our greater Livingston family and that's also why we're here tonight. Um I do want to share some statistics and some you know kind of like an update state of the police department state of um the

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township. So just give me one second. >> I need these. I apologize. >> Chief, if also after you do a present if you're going to do any kind of formal presentation, can you just uh send a copy to us just so we have it? I'm I'm sure we'd love to share it, you know, in written form with the public. >> Yeah, sure. >> Thank you.

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>> Um, okay. As a police chief, I am sometimes a coach, sometimes a quarterback, but the best role I have of all is being a cheerleader. And that's what I'm here to do tonight is to be a cheerleader. And, uh, when you have two good captains, which I do, um, I get to

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be a cheerleader more often. Uh, so thank you to Captain Mueller and Captain Deandria who um basically they do things, you know, I call them and they're like, "Don't worry, it's already done. We already took care of it." I come in in the morning, they start at 7:00, I start at 8, I come in at 8,

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they're already on top of all the I'm receiving phone calls at 5:30 in the morning. By the time I get to work at 8, they've already addressed half of the issues before I even get there. So, thank you to the two captains. Uh, I couldn't do this without you. Um, in the interest of time, I'm going to swiftly move move through some bullet points um

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on our highlights and achievements throughout the last year. This list is a pat on the back for all of our officers because so many of these projects that we do involve officers from every unit and every level of our organization. We truly try to engage with everybody in the uh in the department. Uh it is truly

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a team effort. So, crime stats, I'm going to switch real quick because I know the council likes to hear this and I'm very excited to share these tonight. So uh so um crime crime wasn't the best for us in 2023. So I did kind of pick that year as a um a denominator or a

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constant. Um so in um in 2023 compared to 2026 so far um burglaries so let's start start with stolen motor vehicles. We had 35 stolen motor vehicles in 2023. This year

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so far we have five. Um so that's pretty good. Um, burglaries. I know burglaries another big statistic. And uh, in 2022, 2023, again, I'm always going to go back to 2023. We had 22 and, um,

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hold on a second. I'm can't read my own notes here. So, uh, >> when you send those over to the council, they'll be they'll be able to [laughter] see that, right? >> So, some are attempts. we have it broken down further and that's what I'm trying to uh get to here. So basically,

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you know, it looks like about 11 compared to in 2023 we had 43 burglaries and uh we're tracking about 11 this year. So every we're down in every area. Burglaries we break down into five different categories and that's why I'm having trouble reading it, but we're down in in every area uh of burglaries,

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whether it's a homeowner on scene, whether the target is a motor vehicle. Um but again uh they're down drastically. Uh stolen motor vehicles, like I said, are down and uh eluding or um pursuits, right? People who flee from

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the police department. Uh in 2023, we had uh 55 motor vehicle pursuits involving our officers, which we don't like to see because they're dangerous, right? And uh in 2026, so far this year, we had six compared to 55 in 2023. So,

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um, again, what we attribute to this is that we have more officers on patrol now than ever before. Um, we have a young patrol force that's eager. They're out there. They're, uh, mentored by some of our senior officers are here tonight. I see two of them in the back here. Um, who really give them a good foundation

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when they come to Livingston and um, uh, we're constantly working with them. And also the, uh, council has been very supportive of us. We have ALPRs now all over town and we're constantly updating the ALPRs and um almost every AC

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criminal activity we have now the ALPRS help us and assist us investigating them and bring them to successful conclusion. Um also if there's any any of my friends from Bair and Belair Woods that are listened to us tonight our statistics for 2026 zero across the board. So Bair

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and Belair Woods is a um you know one of our affluent neighborhoods in town that is often targeted. Uh right now for 2026 there's zeros on on every metrics here. So um I'm happy to report that as well. So that's what I have for you now. I'm

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going to keep moving on. Um okay. So just some other honorable mentions from our department. Um the within last year we upgraded our uh call center dispatch station. Um that was a big project for us and um it it hasn't

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been updated in over 20 years. So it was a big undertaking for us. But now we think that uh with the new technology we have our call center state of the art and it should be for the next 20 years. Um the only the last part of that is the fire whistle which we're still working on. I know that's a buzz around town that they don't hear the fire whistle

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anymore. Well that was uh a little bit more involved. Um it is coming. Um, actually our police department has done a lot of work on bringing back the fire whistle and we uh we plan on having that done as well in the future. Uh, we've been upgrading our patrol vehicles. We've been upgrading our technology,

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including our body cameras, our ALPRs around town to the protective bubble, our AP LPRs do for us. Also, our officers are now state licensed. So, it's a big process now in the state of New Jersey. Police officers have to be licensed like I'm assuming teachers and everybody else. So, um, every police

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officer, there's a lot of training involved. There's background investigations and a lot of records that you have to find. So, just to give you example, I had to go through a licensing process this year. Um, 38 years I've been uh with the police department. So, I had to go back and find my high school

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records from 1986 and the transcripts that they needed so I could become licensed again. But the good news is I'm good for three more years now. So, um, we brought back performance evaluations for our officers, which is a positive interaction in most cases, and it's a tool for our first line supervisors.

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They're the only ones that could do the performance evaluations, our first line supervisors. We've um had a lot of positive feedback on that. We can continue to train officers beyond the minimum requirements, and that includes our emergency services unit. And in 2025 and 2026, our department held three

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hiring processes between the two years and hired 13 officers in uh in two years or actually a year and a half, right? Um and five of them are here tonight. Um our whole department gets involved in this process and uh they're hired, they're onboarded, they complete the

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academy training. um they have to go through orientation and then they receive up to three months of field uh training before they're cut loose and released to go out on their own to patrol. Uh we conduct uh many interviews to hire these 13 officers. I want to thank the township manager Barry Lewis

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for sitting in on each and every one of them. So to hire 13 officers, we figure that the final interviews that we do, myself, the township manager, and the two captains, we probably interviewed about 40 45 candidates to get to 13 that we're happy with. So thank you to Mr.

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Lewis for always finding the time for us for that. Um, our department has uh many of our own events including Coffee with a Cop, the Junior Police Academy most recently, which was very successful. Um, charitable fundraisers, and uh, and we have a full schedule for this fall,

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Citizen Police Academy coming up, and also Livingston Night Out, which replaced National Night Out. Um, I'm also pleased to report that Officer Joy Clapp decided to stay with us. she was going to retire and Joy uh does a great job in community policing. So, we're happy that Joy is staying on with

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us for a little bit longer. Um our officers continue to work with many township committees and with community groups and play a huge part in making their events successful. Uh we continue to protect our soft targets um on a daily basis including schools and houses

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of worship. Uh this recognition includes uh all of our units including patrol, traffic, detective bureau, community policing unit, and our auxiliary unit as well. Uh we created an internal outside uh duty policy and contractor with a vendor to help us manage our sidework. I

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know an Coochie's happy about this, our CFO. This project frees up our admin administrative staff, some of our finance staff, um, and creates a fair system for the officers and gives us the ability to receive assistance from surrounding agencies to fill gaps for, uh, road

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construction jobs which need protection from from the police department. Um, all in the interest of public safety. Our records department is under leadership of a retired captain from a nearby agency and is operating uh, the best that it has in years. and it provides

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exemplary service to the public and anybody who had any interactions with our record room I would uh say would would totally agree with that. Uh we are dedicating resources to vehicle pedestrian and cyclist issues. Um speeding complaints receive attention

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regularly in our department. We created a new policy on ebike enforcement and the officers do not waste any time addressing the issue. They've already been out there enforcing and impounding ebikes. Um, thank you to Deputy Mayor Bhutani for his passionate insight when it comes to pedestrian and cycling uh,

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cyclists uh, around town. Um, our supervisors have been successful in retraining officers when corrective action is necessary. Formal discipline is rare and often does not rise past a a written reprimand. uh major discipline is published across the state for police

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departments now and um that's a requirement and it's part of the policy on the state website and uh our agency has not been on there for major discipline in years and I attribute that to our uh supervisory staff who are constantly mentoring and correcting uh

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where where need be uh you know take care of the small problems before they become big problems. Uh we have three uh labor unions in the police department uh working alongside alongside non-UN personnel. I'm proud to say that we have zero we have had and I'm I'm going to include Mr. Lewis on this for sure. Um

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I'm proud to say that we have had zero grievances and that is unheard of in any agency. Uh the manager, chief, the captains and union leaders are able to communicate and work towards remedies and resolutions that are acceptable for

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both management and labor. And lastly, our biggest threat is and always will be domestic terrorism. We continue to train and prepare for the unthinkable. But more importantly, uh we try to understand hate and

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self-radicalization to prevent it and deter it from ever happening here in Livingston. I'm moving quickly, right? I'm I'm all right. Not all right. I'm I'm moving along here. Hold on. I'm a oneman show, so you got to give me a second every once in a

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while here. Um, this is a report on the fire whistle. M. Uh, manager Lewis, I'm going to give that to you. That's a document on where we are. That's a status update from Captain Deandria. So, thank you for that. A lot of work went into that project.

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All right. And now we're up to Hold on. Let me see where I'm at. Okay. Now, to the swearing in ceremony, what we're all here for. And I want to thank um the first aid squad who definitely turned out and forced tonight to support us. So thank you and thank you for what you guys do. Definitely

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part of our extended family for sure. Um all right, we are extreme extremely proud of the five officers being sworn in tonight. They have all served in other agencies and have been sworn in before, but I will go out on a limb and say that this will most likely be their

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final law enforcement agency. Very few officers leave Livingston and the number one reason why I believe is the support we receive from the community and from the council. Uh we we know officers are going to stay with us for 25 or 30 years. So we have a

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difficult entry a difficult entry process that engages officers from every area of our department all with the goal of finding the candidates who are a good fit for our community and will serve the community with pride. Tonight they are

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renewing their commitment because they were sworn in in other departments, but they're renewing their commitment tonight. Kind of like redoing your wedding vows [clears throat] to being an ethical warrior. And wherever they go, everyone will be a

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little safer because of their presence. For this transfer process, that's what we held. We held three hiring processes. This was a transfer process. For the transfer process, we handled 75 applicants and we hired five out of 70 uh I'm sorry, 65. Did I say 75? I meant

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to say 65. Um, so they really do deserve a round of applause. So, can I have a round of applause for them? [applause] Um, okay. So, what we're going to do is we're going to call them up individually. We're going to swear them in with their family. We're going to let them have a photo with their family real quick. Then, we're going to kick them

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off the Adas. Then at the end, we're going to call them all back up and take one final photo at the end. I'm going to read their bios as they come up. And some of them I'm going to pin her badge on and some of them have family members in law enforcement. And that's our tradition here that they're going to um excited to have a family member do for

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them. So with no further ado, I think we're ready to go. And and before I forget, I want to recognize two birthdays this week. Captain Deandria had a big one. Ended with a zero this week. Right. I'm not going to tell you what it was, but it ended with a zero. And uh Council Member Vieira's got a big

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one. Is it a zero? >> End zero. >> Does not end in a zero, but I know Michael Vieira has one coming up, but he's getting close to one that's going to end in a zero. Okay, Elisa, you ready? Call you up. Alisia Angelo, come on

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down. [applause] You ready? >> Hold on a second. Stand here. We have to You're the first one. So, we got to get you every >> We got to get >> I can read the bio whenever you want. >> Okay.

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>> All right. Let me do her bio real quick. >> Okay. >> Where do you want me to stand? >> You stand a little bit closer. I don't I don't >> I don't bite. [laughter] All right. Officer Angelo attended Ruckers University and graduated with a

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bachelor's bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in criminology. Officer Angelo also earned a master's degree in public administration from Fairley Dickinson University. Officer Angelo grad graduated from Ocean County Police Academy class 38 which is a SEO2 program

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in May of 2016 and sub subsequently uh completed a basic course for police officer from Mammoth County Police Academy in May of 207. She previously served the Ocean Township Police Department before joining the uh Township of Livingston in January of

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2026 where she is currently assigned to the patrol division. Officer Angela would like to thank her family and her fiance Courtney Tardamela. Did I say it right? >> I got it all right. For the years of love and support. Officer Angela will be receiving the badge receiving her badge

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from her cousin Alisa M uh Martinez. >> Martinez. >> Martinez. I should have got that. Um, okay. A lieutenant with the Ocean Township Police Department. I apologize for that. So, all right. Come on up. You want to call them all up? >> You want my whole family?

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No. >> Okay. [laughter] >> All right. >> All right. >> All right. We need a We need a second mic. >> I'll never get it back. >> All right. I have the mic. I got the mic back from the uh from the chief. All

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right. So, we're we're gonna we're gonna move this a little quicker. I'm sorry. [laughter] >> You ready? >> Yes. Okay. Uh, you can follow this one. I >> I Alicia Angela >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States

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>> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and that [snorts] I will bear true faith and allegiance >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> to the same >> to the same >> and to the governments established in the United States >> and to the governments established in

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the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the I do further solemnly swear >> I do further solemnly swear >> that I will faithfully >> that I will faithfully >> impartially >> impartially >> and justly perform >> and justly perform

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>> all the duties of police officer in the township of Livingston >> all of the duties of police officer in the township of Livingston >> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> Congratulations and welcome. [applause] CONGRATULATIONS.

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[applause] >> Come on. >> Turn to take a photo. >> Don't hurt. [laughter] >> [applause] >> Just got to get somebody. Okay. >> Thank you. [applause]

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>> Thank you. >> [laughter] >> It's a lively crowd. >> So was her interview. Believe me. >> Definitely. We're not going to give her the microphone tonight. That's for sure. She She'll show me up. Um Okay, Tristan, come on down. Where Where's Tristan

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Whitehead? >> [applause] >> pass the test. >> Okay. Officer Whitehead attended uh Rambo Po College and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science. Officer Whitehead graduated from the Cape May Police Academy class 58 in June

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of 2025. He previous previously served with the Cape May Police Department before joining the Township of Livingston in January 2026 where he is currently assigned to the patrol division. Officer Whitehead would like to thank his family and his wife Rachel Freeman for their years of love and

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support. And if anybody's wondering why he's from Cape May, he's not. He's from West Orange, New Jersey originally. So, so he's home. You want to call up your Yes. Good. Okay. Um I, Tristan Whitehead >> I, Tristan Whitehead

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>> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> to the same >> to the same

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>> and to the governments established in the United States >> and to the governments established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people >> I do further solemnly swear >> I do further solemnly ly swear >> that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform >> that I will faithfully, impartially, and

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justly perform >> all the duties of police officer >> all the duties of police officer >> in the township of Livingston. >> in the township of Livingston >> according to the best of my ability. >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> All right. CONGRATULATIONS. [applause] >> OKAY.

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YEAH, let him have his camera. >> 30 years from now, they're not going to want me in a photo. >> Wouldn't say that. >> [applause] >> Roshan, you're up. >> Roshan Aby,

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come on down. [applause] Okay, here we go. Officer Nakavi attended uh New Jersey Institute of Technology and also Mars County College where he studied engineering science and mathematics. He is currently completing his bachelor's degree at Thomas Edison

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State University. Officer Nakavei graduated from Essis County Police Academy as a SLEO2 class 23-1 in December of 2023 and subsequently sub subsequently completed his basic course for police officer class 24-1 in May of

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2024. He previously served with the North Cwell Police Department before joining the township of Livingston in January of 2026 where he's currently assigned to the patrol division. Officer Nagby would like to thank his family, his wife Haley,

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uh, for their years of love and support. Officer Nakvi will be receiving his badge from his father, Detective Sergeant Sed Nakbi of the Essis County Prosecutor's Office. [applause] So repeat after me. I motion Novi do solemnly swear

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>> I motion Novi do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. >> And I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. >> And that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. and to the

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governments established in the United States. >> and and to the governments established in the United States >> and and in this state under the authority of the people. >> And in this state under the authority of the people, >> I do further solemnly swear >> I do further solemnly swear >> that I will faithfully and partially and justly >> That I will faithfully and partially and

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justly >> perform all the duties of police officer in the township of Livingston. >> perform all the duties of police officer in the township of Livingston. >> according to the best of my ability. >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. Congratulations. [applause]

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>> Just turn. I don't know. I'll put this right in the middle. Next. >> [applause] [applause] [clears throat] >> And when I um discussed our crime stats and how well we're doing, I do I would like to give some of that credit to the

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Essex County Prosecutor's Office, too. We do work very closely with that agency. [applause] So, um we do appreciate their help. >> Thank you. I appreciate Thank you. Owen Mueller, where are you? Owen, [applause]

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welcome. Come on in to the house. Okay. Officer Muller attended Scranton University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and cyberhomeland security. He also earned a master's degree in cyber security and cyber crimes

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investigations. I get that right? All right. Officer Muller graduated from Ocean County Police Academy class 121 in June of 2025. He previously worked for the Lafayette Lavallet Police Department. I was going to say that can't be right. before

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joining the township of Livingston in January of 2026, where he is currently assigned to the patrol division. Officer Muller would like to thank his family and his girlfriend Men Sodto for the years of love and support. Uh Officer Mueller will be receiving his badge from

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his uncle Russell Mueller, a captain with the Livingston Police Department. Sum it up. [applause] Congratulations. >> Somebody's holding the Bible. Ready? >> Yep. >> Yeah. >> There you go. >> I, Owen Müller,

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>> I, Owen Mueller, >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. and that I will bear true faith

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and allegiance >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> to the same >> to the same >> and to the government established in the United States. >> and to the governments established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people. I do

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further solemnly swear >> I do further solemnly swear >> that I will faithfully >> that I will faithfully >> impartially and justly >> impartially and justly >> perform all the duties of the police officer >> perform all the duties of the police officer >> in the township of Livingston >> in the township of Livingston

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>> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> Congratulations. [applause] At the end, we're going to call everybody back up and take one group photo with all of our uh new officers.

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[applause] >> [applause] >> Uh at the end we're going to have them all come all the new officers come up to take a group photo real quick with the council. Okay. And last but not least, Sergio Kuna, come on down. [applause]

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Sergio is a Marine, so he likes to salute me a lot. So, [clears throat] all right. Officer Kuno, let's get you stand face to face everybody here. Officer Kuna was honored to be the first member of his family to serve in the United States Marine Corps. During his service, he was assa uh

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assigned alongside the Secret Service as part of Joint Task Force National Capital Region and was deployed in Okinawa, Japan. During his service, uh Officer Kuna graduated from the North Police Academy class 25-2 in August of 2025. He previously served with the

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Eastnor Police Department before before joining the Livingston Township of Livingston in January of 2026 where he is currently assigned to the uh the patrol division. Officer Kuna would like to thank his family for the years of love and support. Anybody here tonight? [applause]

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All right. >> I can hold it. I haven't had the hold of >> I, Sergio Couna, >> I, Sergio, >> do solemnly swear >> domly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New

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Jersey >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> to the to the same >> and to the governments established in the United States >> and to the governments established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people. >> I do further solemnly swear >> I do further solemnly swear

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>> that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform >> that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform >> all the duties of police officer >> all the duties of police officer >> in the township of Livingston >> in the township of Livingston >> according to the best of my ability. >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. [applause]

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my glasses on. There we go. CONGRATULATIONS. [applause] >> All right. I know the council's disappointed, but I think I'm done talking. [laughter] >> Chief, thank you very much. Um, I'm going to uh thank you on behalf of uh this room and your department and uh the

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township for all your steady leadership over so many decades. uh the as much as anyone your character is reflected by the town's character uh because of the leadership that you provide with the good nature that you do it and uh we're all very grateful for

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your leadership. Thank you. [applause] Hey, can I jump in and say this might be the last time I'm here for this year and I just want to thank you personally for all of your support for the police department and for everything and we've been through some difficult times together and um you've been very

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supportive uh and we appreciate that. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, CHIEF. [applause] >> OKAY, we're going to move on uh to >> I'm just going to take one if the council can get in. Right. What do we normally do? You get in the back usually. Yep. >> And the officers we're going to cover

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for this because we look better with hats on. >> And no. >> All right. Somebody grab my hand. is a very tall [laughter] >> and I would just say, you know, the story that we always hear about the

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recruits, there are so many people who want to serve in Livingston and we always get the cream of the crop and just to, you know, see everyone up here again and and and see the talent uh that's been uh that's going to serve us, it just it really is a fantastic asset for our township.

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Tell us what to do, Russ. >> I wasn't on my tippy toes two seconds ago. You're in good shape now. Just a fun fact while we're standing here. over three hiring processes that we had in 25 and 26. Three hiring process. I think we had a total of 527

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candidates that we had to process in a year and a half. So, and again, a lot of people in the police department deserve credit for that. So, I couldn't even start to name people. [applause] >> All right, everybody. Congratulations. >> We're going to move along to the

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approval of meeting minutes. Uh pending any corrections? >> You deserve it. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes of July 13th >> for the regular at conference meeting uh minutes uh dated July 13th and the close session minutes of the same date. >> Second. >> Yeah.

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>> So we have a motion >> and second. Okay. All in favor? >> I >> Okay. Uh any opposed? All right. We're going to move along. >> Let me just get a second for the uh for everyone to file out here. You're not

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All right, we're going to move along to public comments on agenda items only. >> Motion to open public comments on agenda items. Second. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. >> Okay. At this time, the meeting is now open for comment on agenda items only. There's a four-minute time limit per

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person. Residents can come to the phone and please give your name and whether you live in town. >> Motion to close. Second. >> Okay. Um, >> all those in favor? >> All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. All right. Let's move along to

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passage of ordinances. There is one ordinance for second reading. Um, madame clerk, please read ordinance 25-2026 by title. >> Ordinance 25-2026, uniform fire code enforcement amended fees.

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>> Thank you. I'll make a motion public hearing. >> Second. Okay. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Uh if you come to the microphone, please uh state your name whether you live in town. Residents can come to the uh microphone to speak on 25-2026.

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>> Motion to close. >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. >> Can I have a motion to adopt? >> Motion to adopt. >> Second. >> Okay. Do any council members have any comments on 25-2026? >> Okay. Madam clerk, please uh proceed with the roll call. Council member

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Minhart, >> yes. >> Vieiraa, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Baptani, >> yes. >> Mayor Klene, >> yes. Now we move along to ordinances for introduction. There are three ordinances for introduction this evening. Madame clerk, please read ordinance number 26-2026 by title. >> Um, yes, mayor. Ordinance 26-2026

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adopting the redevelopment plan entitled 156 East Cedar Street, redevelopment plan, block 3000, lot 1.01. >> Can I have a motion? >> Move it on first reading. >> Okay. >> Second. Is there any discussion? >> Madame clerk, please call the role.

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>> Council member Minhardt, >> yes. >> Vieiraa, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Ruptani, >> yes. >> Mayor Klein, >> yes. >> And mayor, the hearing uh for this ordinance will be August 11th, 2026. >> Thank you. Um Carolyn, can you please read ordinance 27-2026 by title?

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Ordinance 27-2026 amending chapter 316 water article 1 meters and meter use charges of the township code. >> A motion. >> I'll make a motion to approve for second. >> Any discussion for members? >> Carolyn, please call the role.

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>> Council member Minhart. >> Yes. >> Vieiera. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Buptani. >> Yes. >> Mayor Klene. >> Yes. >> This will also have its public hearing on August 11th, 2026. >> Thank you. Can you please read ordinance 28-2026 by title? Ordinance 28-2026

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amending chapter 251 sewers article 2 fees and charges of the township code. >> Motion to move for first reading. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Okay. Uh please call the role. Carolyn. >> Council member Minhart. >> Yes. >> Vier. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Banani.

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>> Yes. >> And Mayor Klein. >> Yes. Okay. That brings us to our consent agenda. All matters listed. >> Oh, public hearing will be August 11th as well. >> Thank you. Okay. Um all matters listed with an asterisk are considered to be routine non-controversial by the council and will be approved by one motion.

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There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the governing body so requests in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the general orders. Okay. Do any members of the council wish to have any items removed from the

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consent agenda? Okay. Uh madam clerk, please read all the resolutions uh by title and resolution number. Resolution 26-20 229 authorizing the award of a contract to PowerPlace Inc. Resolution 26-230

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authorizing the award of a contract to Rio Supply Inc. Resolution 26-231 authorizing the award of a contract to Hudson County Motors Inc. Resolution 26-232 referring to the planning board a redevelopment plan entitled 156 East

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Cedar Street redevelopment plan. Resolution 26-233 authorizing the award of a contract to Rapid Pump and Meter Company LLC. Resolution 26-234 authorizing the award of a contract to M

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McDonald LLC. Resolution 26-235 authorizing the award of a contract to Arcadus US Inc. Resolution 26-236 rejecting bid for water and sewer parts. Resolution 26-237 authorizing approval of a change order

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number three and final with Capola Services Inc. Resolution 26-238 authorizing the award of a contract to Pumping Services Inc. resolution 26-239 authorizing the execution of a settlement agreement with Health

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Resources of New Jersey LLC. >> Can I have a motion? >> Motion to move the >> second. All right. Uh please call the role. >> Council member Minhardt. >> Yes. >> Viera. Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Ruptani. >> Yes. >> Mayor Klein. >> Yes. >> Uh we now move to public portion on a new subject with a time limit of 3

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minutes. >> Motion to open the meeting the public portion. >> Second. >> Okay. Anyone who uh everyone in favor? Anyone? All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Okay. Uh the meeting is now open on any subject. A threem minute time limit. Uh residents can come to the microphone to speak. Uh please name state your name

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and whether you live in town for the record. Tim Foley, >> resident for uh 55 years, fourth generation. Just want to come up and say hello because no one else is here. So, burn off a couple couple minutes so you

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guys can get out here somewhat early. But again, just keep on doing what you're doing. And you know, you know, just wanted to say hello. Hi Tim. >> Hi guys. [laughter] >> Okay. Um >> Okay. Uh seeing no other speakers, can I

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have a motion to close public hearing? >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay. We're going to go to reports of township officials. Uh town manager Barry Lewis, please. Uh just a couple brief updates uh which

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we touched on in conference, but just for the public's benefit, we're making uh I think significant progress both as the new DPW garage and the new pool. Uh and and hopefully there'll be some more detailed news coming out soon. Thank you, >> Russ.

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>> Adam, >> nothing for tonight. >> Okay. Uh [clears throat] Carolyn, >> nothing for me tonight, Mayor. Thank you. >> All right. Uh Ann, >> nothing for me. Thank you, Mayor >> Jared. Mayor, I'll just repeat what I said in conference. Um, we passed an ordinance approving the Mammoth Court transfer and I'm happy to announce that

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that closing has taken place and title has been transferred to the board of ed on Mammoth Court. So, I thank everybody again for all their hard work on that. >> Thank you, Jared. Uh, we will move to council comments. Uh, Deputy Mayor Kent Bupani will be doing that for on behalf of the council tonight. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, pretty light

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calendar for the council. Uh, but it was very interesting. Um on 15th of July we had a fantastic ribbon cutting ceremony. Uh it was a it was a very good child care uh office that opened up. A very good business. Um moving on on 17th of

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July an exciting uh graduation ceremony, Junior Police Academy. Uh many number of kids and families. They all spent a very good amount of time. Uh thank you again to the LPD, to the fire department, to

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first aid. They got a firsthand look at what an emergency service uh professional official would be uh it would be like to become one. Um uh then we had uh couple areas I mean couple uh ceremonies which um uh councilman Vira

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attended. Uh Anna Mcdana, 100 years old. Uh that was a good celebration I hear. And the arts council, oh the stories we can tell. So that's open till uh August 30th. Um so that was uh the calendar for what we did. Uh the upcoming also a

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little bit lighter relatively speaking. Uh but which starts with exciting summer concert series um middle of week this week on Wednesday. Um I think that's the final one for this season. Um, then we have on August 1st, uh, somebody's

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turning somewhere. Uh, but it's Michael Rier, yours birthday, Councilman Ria. Uh, and August 2nd, we have a >> he made us announce that. >> That's right. Um, and I think it's it's announcement number two now, right? So, it's already chief said it and and Okay,

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so Michael, you got multiple. Um, but on August 2nd, this is the event that I personally love it and I know many of us on the council do make sure we attend. Um it's uh it's now the organization called TOA. It's uh back to school night

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uh you know supporting the underprivileged families, the kids especially uh at Temple Bet Shalom at 9:30 a.m. Uh I look forward to attending as well myself as well as I'm sure a few members from the council. Um we have uh

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on August 9th in the morning a music concert at the gazebo by Sanskriti of New Jersey at 9:30 a.m. and followed by India Fest at 3:30 p.m. Uh till I think little later in the afternoon they'll be closing but the council will be there

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about 5:30. Um and rounding up on August 10th we have Kanis golf outing uh where council will be there as well. So thank you mayor. >> Excellent. Uh I just want to give a mayoral hats off to Spencer Palmer who is the serves as the vice president of

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the bell and siren uh organization. Uh as we know they feed firefighters and uh he made Livingston proud by being recognized uh by the township of Orange uh for uh for helping to feed uh the firemen u during the big fire in in

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Orange that uh happened uh recently. So uh way to go Spencer and thanks for making Livingston proud. Um, we're going to go into closed session. Do you have a copy of the uh closed? >> Yes. >> Just because I'm going to read >> I'm going to read. Okay, that's fine. >> Yeah. This is um resolution 26-240

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resolution of uh township of Livingston to go into closed session whereas the open public's meeting act public law 1975 chapter 231 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances. And whereas the township council is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist. And

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whereas the township council wishes to discuss. One, legal updates attorney client privilege. Two, Federated Church contract negotiations. Three, Livingston Mall attorney client privilege. Four, Department of Public Works contract negotiations. Five, Pacific Avenue

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Partners, a client privile attorney client privilege. Whereas minutes will be kept and once the matter involved in the confidentiality of the above no longer requires confidentiality, the minutes can be made public. Now therefore, be it resolved by the township council of the township of Livingston that the public be excluded

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from this evening. >> Council member Minhart, >> yes. >> Council member Vieira, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Vani, >> yes. >> And Mayor Klein, >> yes. There will be uh no further action, no further formal action of the council once we come out of closed.