You can come right. >> All right. >> Um Liam's dad, Brian, was telling us that he wants to be a mayor when he grows up. So, we've uh given him a little taste of the gavl. Uh so hopefully uh that'll that'll that'll kindle the spirit for him. All right.
All right, let me just get to where we're going here. All right, everyone. Welcome to uh town council's regular meeting. Um uh today is the 12th of January. Um this is a statement of compliance with
the sunshine law. Uh NJSA 104-10. This meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act. Inadequate notice of this meeting was provided as required by uh law. Specifically, the annual notice was emailed to the West Texas Tribune and
the Star Ledger on January 5th, 2026. And 40-hour notice, I guess we should say NJ.com from now on, right? Um and 48 hour notice was emailed to the same publications on uh December 18th, 2025. The agenda and resolutions for the meeting are available on livingstonj.org.
Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purposes of personnel and or other matters as outlined in the sunshine law. Decisions made and or discussed in close session will be made known to the public at a later time. Notice to members of the governing body and township staff and use of electronic devices during this
meeting shall be used solely for the purposes of township business and 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. Livingston Township NJ. Questions or
comments will also be accepted by emailing to live comments at limstonj.org by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting and shared with the township council before the meeting. Each speaker should follow the rules of order in the Livingston code 2-15 uh.3. Carolyn, roll call, please.
>> Council member Minhart >> here. >> Anthony, >> here. Vieiraa >> present. >> Deputy mayor Papani >> here. >> Mayor Klein >> here. Okay. >> So, uh if everyone can please uh rise. Uh join us in a moment of silence.
Um I want to uh just address um a big loss that the state has had. Um Senator Dick Cody passed away uh this past weekend. He was the 53rd governor of the state. He also represented Livingston in the state senate for about I think 40 years. He was in the state legislature
for 50 years. Um he was uh I think a friend to almost everyone up here on on this day is um he always had a tremendous emphasis on taking the stigma away from mental health and encouraging people to talk about it and seek treatment when they needed it. Um that
was a very personal issue to him. Uh I'll always remember him personally for a very firm handshake um and uh a big laugh and he was very generous with his time. So let's take a minute and think about uh Governor Cody and his family. Thank you.
We're going to move on to the Pledge of Allegiance. Um, Kobe Wright, I've known you since you were uh a baby baby baby. Um, will you lead us will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance, please? >> All right, Chloe, you going to lead us 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. Thank you. Everyone can please take a seat. Okay. The next item on the agenda is uh
Ex's County updates. I don't see Eileen Fisherman. She's here. She's not. Okay. So, we'll move on. Um tonight we have um a proclamation and a presentation. Um the first one is uh we are here to honor our state champion
uh Livingston Lancer girls soccer team. Um we're very excited to have them here today. Uh we're going to call everyone up and uh give them certificates and uh congratulate them for making this town so proud. Um why don't we uh uh why don't we all go down and uh we'll call
them up. Okay. This is for >> I think I'll bring him up. Good. So, um we have some citations here. Um Maya Ray not here. Okay, then we have um
Allah Sherman. >> I'm about a thousand, aren't I? Oh, that's baseball. Sorry. Um Zoe Rapaort. >> Let's see if we could do this one. Sierra Ready. Oh, thank God.
>> Congratulations. I got one more. Oh, I got two more. That was soccer. Um, >> Dindra Curtie, >> congratulations. Riley Cullen.
>> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Uh Chloe Wright, >> congratulations. >> Congratulations. Sophia Bautia, >> I need to give you a sweatshirt. That's on me. Congratulations.
>> I just >> Sienna Goldstein. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Uh, Hunter Lonsman. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations.
>> Uh, Stella De Franchesco. Congratulations. >> Uh Gabriella de Alvaria. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Uh Reese Manov,
>> not here. Okay. >> Uh Izzy Kella. >> No. All right. I said it wrong. Olivia Hans. >> Oh, for I'm doing well. >> Okay. Well, they're all the same. Doesn't matter. It's >> true. >> Mariela Favl.
>> All right. Uh, Ariana Levitzki. All right. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Way to go. >> Congratulations. >> Uh, Daisy Chang, first team all state.
>> Congratulations. And who's after that? Emily Fernandez. >> Congratulations. >> Great job. >> All right. All right. Do we have Zo Zoe in
Nightingale? >> All right. Victoria Quinn. All right. Come on up. Congratulations. >> All right. Way to go. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Here's your certificate.
Uh, Dina Bourgeovic. Did I did I SAY >> BOY? Got it. Sorry about that. Dina uh Casey Conklin. >> All right.
>> Uh how about uh Ariel's time? >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Do we have uh Olivia Gordono? CONGRATULATIONS. >> CONGRATULATIONS. >> Marisa Solomon. >> Do we have Aubrey Chong?
Congratulations. This is Aubrey. >> Congratulations. Here you go. Um, do we have our managers as well? >> You got the managers. Okay. All right. Good. So, let's bring up head coach Brian Carr.
>> All right. Assistant uh coaches Kage Swindell. It's on everyone's here. Okay, fine. Good. Okay, good. >> So, absolutely. So, I want to just um I want to read >> what the plaque says. It's short. It
says, "The mayors and members of Livingston Township Council are pleased to recognize the LHS varsity girls soccer team. Congratulations to the girls soccer program for winning the SEC Conference American Division, the North One Group Four Sectional title, and for winning the program's first ever New
Jersey Group Four State title. So, we congratulate all the players. Um, this is a plaque. Um, Coach Car, if you want to come on over here. Um, my wife, my wife is here, Cindy. We and Cindy and I went and we drove out to see the finals. >> Oh, yeah. >> And, uh, what a thrill it was to watch
you guys playing. Um, that was one of the most fun soccer games I've ever seen before. It made us burst with pride to see the Lancers win. And, uh, we just couldn't wait to get you guys in here to celebrate you, get you up on TV. You're going to be on LTV. How exciting is that?
>> Yeah. So, we're gonna Listen, come on over here. We're going to get a picture. All right. Do you guys want Council want to go up? >> It's a lot of people. Yeah. >> Yeah. Why don't you guys if you guys want a heads up? >> Ed and Kane, you want to go up? >> Yeah. is not going to fit. What's that?
Oh, okay. All right. Stay champs. Okay. >> Clear the way. Clear the way. We're going to move along. All right, stage champs, thanks for coming. Um, we're going to move along to um, Inspiring uh, Community Action Livingston.
We just give them a second to step out if they're doing that so that we can hear. >> All right, guys. Go home and study. All right. Yeah, of course. >> That was just for that. >> All right. >> So, um, uh, Dista, you're you're here
this morning. Good. Um, we'd like you to come up. She's uh coming to talk about her experience uh with the National Charity League um inspiring community action in Livingston. So, you have a presentation for us uh just to explain uh what you've been up to and and how you're helping out in the community.
Fantastic. So, there's a microphone just uh right over there if you want to just speak about it. Do you have a presentation uh that's uh just you're just going to speak about it? Uh okay. Through the mic. Good. >> To you guys? >> Uh you can face the camera. Just talk to the people at home. >> Okay. Um, hi. I'm Dist. I'm a sophomore
at LHS and I recently led like a holiday basket drive and we collected $3,000 in donations from local organizations like Pets Smart, Canoe Brook Dentistry, Livingston Family Eye Care, Livingston Family Orthodontics,
and the Stan K team with Compass and Ellen Gonic. and I went to Newark and Clifton and I distributed it with Embrace Relief and Bridges Outreach and I was able to support over like a hundreds of families and I'm so happy
because I have like such a supportive community to help me do this. >> Hang on. Hang on. Um thank you Dist. We really appreciate it. Um, why don't we go down and take a picture with with uh Dist. So, we've we've all um had members from
the National Charity League. I think Al, your daughter uh does that, right? >> Wife and daughter. >> Well, wife, right? Does it with daughter, right? It's a mother daughter uh group. And uh so we've had a lot of um you know a lot of the students that have worked with their moms uh coming out and uh talking to us about uh you
know some of the real hours of work and effort that you've made and the difference that you can make in the community when you when you make an effort. So thanks so much for coming and for telling us about uh some of the stuff that you've been up to. >> Thanks for coming in. Yes. We're going to move to our regular business. Um,
so we move now to meetings. Any corrections? >> I'll make a motion to approve the minutes of December 8th, 2025, regular and closed, the 29th special meetings, 29th special meeting closed, and the January 4th, 2026 reorg meeting minutes.
>> I'll second it. >> Okay. Um, any objections? All in favor? >> I I >> Okay. All right. Let's move on. Um this is uh we get to public comment on agenda items only. There's a four minute time limit. >> Motion to open public comment on agenda items only.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. Yes. >> Um before I open um that's uh your mic. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um are there any uh anyone have any comment on agenda items?
>> Yes. There are some fine young men who are coming up here to talk about agenda items. So, if you can uh say your name and uh whether you live in town and just talk about uh the agenda might have been interested in discussing uh we'd like to hear about it.
>> All right. Hello, my name is Ruhan Meluri and I'm from I uh go to Livingston High School. >> My name is Jack Klein. I also go to Livingston High School >> and we're here today to talk about the resolution that we are advocating for as part of our nonprofit organization,
Young Minds, Big Ideas. The resolution uh essentially creates a recognition for entrepreneurs in our town. It's going to be something that students will be able to use on college applications, resumes, and a way to receive recognition for their entrepreneurial pursuits as entrepreneurship is not something
that's, you know, typically rewarded in a in a typical sense. So we have criteria such as completion of certain business courses at the high school, completion of community service projects which culminates in a ceremony in which they would receive a certificate for completion of this program.
We really think that this will make Livingston a city upon a hill to other towns because especially in a town like Livingston where you have so many different kids with all these wonderful achievements at the high school. This gives more of a way to help distinguish kids that are inclined to
entrepreneurship that might not have been recognized otherwise. >> And uh in coordination with our nonprofit, Young Minds Big Ideas, we have roughly 24 chapters across the tri-state area. So after this is like kind of our pilot test with Livingston, uh we'll recommend our other chapters to
do this as well, bringing this to the county and then continuing our work with Senator McKon, Senator McKe's office to hopefully one day bring this to the NJ Assembly Congress. So, we want to thank again the the Livingston Town Council for helping to
bring all this together. Um, everyone who helped to draft the resolution. Thank you so much and all of your cooperation. Thank special thank you to Councilman Vieiraa for uh helping to support Young Minds for over a year now with all of our events and other stuff.
>> Yeah, we just want to say thank you to the count council for this opportunity. Definitely thank you to Mr. River for even two two and a half years maybe ago where we started and yes thank you for your consideration. >> Thank you gentlemen.
So uh when we get to the resolutions which are uh the next item that we'll be getting to um or after the ordinance but uh we'll be uh voting on your resolution shortly. Okay. There is uh one excuse me uh any other uh public comment.
>> Motion to close public comment. >> Second. Okay. All in favor? I >> Okay. Uh public comment is closed. >> We will now move to um there's one ordinance uh tonight for introduction. Madame clerk, can you please read the
ordinance number uh by title? >> Ordinance 1-2026 creating a new chapter 129 entitled electric bicycles and electric scooters. >> Great. >> Move it on first reading. >> Second. Okay. >> Okay. Um, is there any discussion?
>> Uh, yeah, mayor. Thank you. I I would like to have a couple of comments in. Thank you. Uh, I think this is uh something that stems from the conversations that uh each each of us on the council have with residents. Um,
there was a school uh PDA presidents and PDA board members that came to us. they came to me and started talking about how dangerous the electric vehicles have become. Of course, there is a benefit to
it as well in the in the sense that it gives the mobility to kids, the young adults. Um it is fun but it also dangerous is the way that if it is not regulated correctly it creates uh
situations and there are neighboring towns that has issues and that has fatalities that relates to these ebikes or e vehicles. Um so this ordinance really reflects our
commitment uh that we lead thoughtfully. uh we don't react but just lead and be proactive about it. The technology continues, right? It doesn't change. The change happens all the time. But how do we make it safer? Uh as council members
here, uh our first obligation is to the safety of our residents, the pedestrians, the families. We do not want a unfortunate accident happens and then we react on it. So what this ordinance does and I would like like Barry to sort of go give us a little bit
of a highlight of all of this but I want to acknowledge a couple of uh efforts here. These are really setting reasonable rules. These are saying that hey these are our guidelines. This is what you should do. This is what as parents you should be aware of and make
sure your kids, the pedestrians, the law enforcement how the police can really regulate it. This encompasses everything. So it's really uh creates safety. It creates the future uh of the order that we really wants. Uh I would
like to thank Jared and his office for pulling this together. We studied the ordinances similar ordinances passed in the neighbor neighboring towns. There is also an ordinance being drafted at the state level. So we are in conjunction working at variety of different levels
but also not sitting back and taking the first step forward and showing to our residents that this is what you really want to do in order to safeguard your families the pedestrians around where the where the e vehicles uh gets
operated. If you are taking it to school what do you do about that and stuff like that. So Barry, I'll hand it over to you and thank you as well for pulling a lot of these details together if you can give us the highlight of it. Okay, thank you. Um, yeah, as Deputy
Mayor Patani uh indicated, obviously I think everybody's aware of the explosion in the popularity of these ebikes and they go faster, people drive more recklessly. It's just a recipe for disaster. So it without summarize you know going through every provision. Essentially this ordinance uh makes it
very clear that the rules of the road apply to ebikes. Uh all the traffic laws apply um requires ebikes be properly equipped with brakes with lighting that the riders wear helmets that they stay in the bike lanes that they signal that they yield to pedestrians that they stop
at stop signs all the things that any other motorized vehicle would have to do. Um, but currently I think ebike people feel like they can just ride around, run stop signs, do whatever they want to do. So, I think it's a great uh measure to to show I think the
commitment of the of the mayor council uh to safety not only of the pedestrians and other people that and other vehicles, but also of the usually kids, but anybody riding these ebikes. So, um, as as uh deputy mayor alluded to, there
is some pending legislation potentially out of the state uh that may add additional layers including potential licensing things that we don't have the local jurisdiction to require any kind of licensing but um this is a great step and the first you know first step I think. >> Thank you Barry. It also adds uh the
speed limits uh component as well right? >> Yes, >> it does add that. Um so absolutely this is a first reading so we would love for community engagement on this one uh almost every home uh if you if you look around started either thinking about it
or have one so it's important that we we as parents we as families we look at this and say what is safe for us I me myself as a biker I see this all the time I ride regular bike but I do see ebikes zooming past but that's okay I
mean that they are meant for that as as long as they are having safeguards around it. The most important part which which Barry alluded to already is the law enforcement. We want to ensure that and this has been reviewed by our our chief of police as well. This needs to
be clearly understood by our law enforcement and accordingly the residents as well. So it's important that we we bring the both the sides together and create safety for ourselves. Once again this is the first first reading. before the second reading. Would love to have some engagement from the residents and
continue uh taking this forward. Thank you, Mayor. >> Great. I want to um thank uh uh Deputy Mayor Bhutani for his work on this. It's a passion project for him. Um and al of course Barry for his work on this and and uh um this is an issue that's come up even in my own household. Um you
know, there are concerns about the safety of these bikes and um you know, the the cap on the miles per hour for the level two bike is is 20 miles per hour. Um, and uh, I think we've been very fortunate in this uh, township that we have not had any uh, major injuries
related to ebikes, but we don't want to wait until one of them happens. And so it's it's great that uh, I think that we're be able to push this forward and and hopefully uh, preclude anything terrible from happening here. >> Mayor, I saw also also, you know, um, some of the additional comments that you're procluded from allowing to riding
these on sidewalks, which is a big safety concern. If you go onto the sidewalk, you have to walk your ebike. It also excludes them from public parks which is also dangerous when you have young kids riding around. So those are two other features of the ordinance that I wanted to highlight for uh the governing body and the public.
>> Excellent. Um and I just wanted to say uh Jared also did some good work on this and he's here tonight for on his 50th birthday. So we want to wish him a very very happy birthday just to just as you're picking the mic up right now and we just have to say it again. I'll say it again before the night's over. Um,
so, uh, Madame Clerk, can we have a, uh, call, please? Roll call. >> Yes. Um, Council Member Minhardt, >> yes. >> Anthony, >> yes. >> Vieira, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Baptani, >> yes. >> Mayor Klein, >> yes. And when will the second reading be for that? >> Yes. I'm sorry. The second reading is
scheduled for Monday, January 26th, 2026. >> Great. So, if the public has any comments on this, uh we really would like to hear them and uh um perhaps incorporate some of the changes if if anyone thinks they're necessary. But we think this is a really well-rounded uh it's it's we've talked to our police about this. We've talked we've seen
other towns what they've done and uh we think this is a is a very good place to be. Um that brings us, excuse me, to the consent agenda. Um all matters uh listed with an asterisk are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the council and will be approved by one
motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the governing body so requests in which the case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence of the on the agenda as part of the general orders. Um are there any uh items that
uh council me uh councilman would like to see pulled out and then also I think a couple are going to be shelled for today. >> Mayor, I'd like to see 2679 um pulled out for a separate vote. >> Okay. I also would like to see um 26 060 and 066. They can be read together,
please. >> 060 and 066. >> Those two can be read together. >> Thank you. >> Anything else, Councilman? No. Okay. >> I thought we had pulled a couple res >> that we're going to just mention that now, too. So, we're also we're pulling
um 80 was it? Uh we're pulling um >> resolution 071 and 2680. >> 080. So, 71 Excuse me. An 080 will be pulled. Um Okay. Okay. Um
may I have a motion to approve the resolutions remaining on the consent agenda? Yep. >> That's fine. Okay. Uh Carol, will you read it for us? >> Sure. Absolutely. Uh resolution 26061 authorizing the award of a contract to
Antelli Caner. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, yeah. Okay. Antelli Caner Rivera, Tax Appeal Council for General Tax Appeals. Resolution 26-062 authorizing the award of a contract to McManaman Scotland and Bowman LLC for special council I bank funding.
Resolution 26-063 authorizing the award of a contract to McManaman Scotland and Bowman LLC redevelopment council. Resolution 26-064 authorizing the award of a contract to Gibbons PC. Resolution 26-065
authorizing the award of a contract to Samuel Klein and Company. Resolution 26-067 authorizing the award of a contract to Acuity and Consulting Services LLC. Resolution 26-068,
Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse fiscal grant cycle July 2020 to June 2025. Resolution 26-069 persontoerson and place-to-place transfer of alcoholic beverage control
license Mars LP to NJ Alhouse LLC also known as Blue Live. Resolution 26-070 authorizing the award of a contract to Rio Supply Inc. Resolution 26-072
authorizing purchases under Morris County Cooperative Pricing System. Resolution 26-073 authorizing purchases under the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey purchasing program. Resolution 26-074 authorizing purchases under the state of
New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Program. Resol Resolution 26-075 authorizing the award of a contract to Edmonds Gov Tech, Inc. Resolution 26-076 authorizing the award of a contract to Prime Point LLC.
Resolution 26-077 authorizing use of com competitive contracting. Resolution 26-078 authorizing use of competitive contracting for maintenance, custodial, and groundskeeping.
Um, and resolution 26-081 authorizing transfer of 2025 budget appropriation reserves. >> May I have a motion to approve the resolutions remaining on the consent agenda? >> Motion. Second. Um, madam, can you please uh clerk, can you please roll
call the role? >> Um, council member Minhartt, >> yes. >> Anthony, >> yes. >> Vieiraa, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Baptani, >> yes. >> Mayor Klein. >> Okay. Yes. Um, so let's go back to the ones that were pulled. Um, can I have a motion uh to um or I guess we can discuss, but can I have a motion to
approve resolution number? >> I guess we'll discuss. >> They have to be. They have to be ready. Let's read. >> You can do 60 and 66 together. Um, council wants >> um resolution 260. authorizing the award of a contract to Antelli Caner Rivera Affordable Housing Council and
resolution 26-066 authorizing the award of a contract to Topology NJ LLC. >> Comments? >> Yes. I want to pull these two out. Um, at the end of this past year and the beginning of the year, uh, this town announced a fourth round, uh, settlement
with Fair Share Housing that we were required to build absolutely zero apartments. Uh we are probably one of the few towns, maybe the only town in the state of New Jersey that did such that did this. Um the two the two contracts that are up for renewal right now uh for uh uh 60 which is for the
antelli Kansas Rivera for affordable housing and for the contract to topology New Jersey LLC which are town planners. It's a direct result of the hard work that these two organizations did for this town. We up here uh do not know everything. We know very little about this. We've learned a lot over the last
few years and what this town and what this council does and I commend everybody up here is that we hired experts to do the work. Um, and they did a tremendous job along with our town manager Barry Lewis as well. Uh, I'm very proud of the work that was done last year. Very proud of the work that this whole council did as a group to get
to that resolution and as a direct result of both Jared's hard work and also everybody at top apology. And so I just want to make call that out and Jared also want to wish you a happy 50th birthday as well. But it's just important to call that out because we are renewing these contracts for that reason. >> So, um, Jared, are we are we permitted
to vote on 60 and 66 at the same time? >> Yeah. So, so first, so, so, thank you, Councilman, and again, you know, our township manager really led the charge and this council really led the charge. We had our our marching orders. They put they gave us they said, you know, be tough, negotiate hard. They really
fought hard uh for all the residents in this township. and it's a result of you know their determination and the policies they set forth that allowed myself to uh along with you know our township manager to really come through for the township. So I thank everybody up here uh for all your support and
confidence in our firm and and what we did. So thank you >> comments on this >> mayor. Most have most have been said already. Thank you. Uh most have been said already. Uh Ed mentioned it very eloquently. I I would just add that I have a personal experience when I saw on
the on the conference calls with the courts uh the lawsuits that we were facing the fourth round challenges that that came along the professionalism that Jared's office had showed the topology uh folks have come up with the details
and the plans and the and the and the material that really helped us defend and I think I underscore what what Ed said we are one of the few towns that has defended ourselves so successfully. Not only we carried with we have zero
obligation, we carried credits to the fifth round. So so that's that's an awesome thing. Thank you Barry as well on on this on this topic. But again uh I completely agree and uh wholeheartedly approve and um want to approve uh the two resolutions we have on the on the
agenda. Thank you. >> Any other comments? No. Okay. Um, I would just also, um, Jared, maybe you can remind me of the number. When those four last, um, I'll use the word assaults on our on
our, uh, um, on our agreement were made. What was the total number? You It's like 400 and something. Uh, >> over 600. >> It was over 600. They were trying to squeeze 600 more units in into our agreement. And, and as as said before, your firm was able to defense against
that. And it was a huge win for the town. All all uh we'll be amending our agreement which has better terms for the township at our next meeting, but all four challenges were set aside. Uh um where all four were withdrawn with no additional units being put into Livingston.
>> Great work. Thank you. Um so, Madam, can we uh J, were we able to vote on 60 and 66 at the same time? >> Yeah, the council agreed to it. >> Okay, good. All right. So, can we please uh call the role on that? >> Um I don't I didn't get a motion to move. >> I'm okay to move those two. >> Second. Uh, Council Member Minhart,
>> yes. >> Anthony, yes. >> Vieiraa, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Buptani, >> yes. >> Mayor Klene, >> yes. >> Uh, that brings us to the um the last one that was pulled out was uh 26 >> 07 079. >> Um, any comments on that? I >> have to read it first.
>> 2679. Establishing a social entrepreneurship certificate of recognition for the young minds big ideas nonprofit youth organization. Any comments? >> Mayor, I'd like to make a a couple comments. And uh I want to u first
congratulate um Ruhan Jaka and their entire organization. These are when they say young minds, these are young minds. And it's amazing what our high school actually produces. Um these are high school kids who've actually created an
organization which you know I I've been privileged to be um assisting them not you know for the last uh two and a half three years and it it's great to see how they're working. They actually created a 501c3 organization. It's not coming from
the school. this is their own organization and I know how difficult it is because I've created a 501c3 and it's it's not easy but um but I want to congratulate them because this is a um a project or a program that I believe Livingston and you could correct me is
is the first in the state to have and it's uh it's great that and and I said on um on um our reorganization meeting um Livingston leads we do not follow and and this is one of the um the things that I mean is that Livingston does mean
uh lead and um Jared uh I I do want to congratulate and thank Antonelli Caner Rivera especially uh Ted Ke uh who's also here in the audience with us who um helped put this resolution together to um to get this um this going. But uh uh
Ruhan Jack, congratulations. Uh I I don't think you're going to have any problem having it passed and uh whatever you need from this council. uh myself also you know that we're only a phone call away but uh congratulations on on what you guys have accomplished so far. Um I would just add to that um so uh
Ruhan and Jack um it's it's you know as a point of personal privilege to say that uh it makes me very proud to when you guys come into the chambers and present it to us what a great job you've done explaining the idea and what you come up with and um you know I think that we've heard a lot of support from
the council um about your idea and uh it's it's not something I take personally that you've done an end around around me to uh using Michael as a primary contact point but that's all right if you do that um >> mayor just just one one quick comment on this one. Uh so Livingston is uh known
for its its business acumen business from the schools coming out of a fantastic business program. What you see here with this is a practical use of putting it in action. So congratulations to both of you. I think I know both of your parents and I believe they are they
are fantastic people but then and then the insertion of the characters and the values that got into it is fabulous. I think what you did is amazing. The way you explained it and the way you explained it in the in the in the conference room as well uh last time. So
fantastic job, great articulation. Uh keep going and and fly higher. Thank you for doing this. >> And Jack, don't worry about what dad just said. Did you come to me anytime? >> All right, great. Um, so, um,
uh, we ask for a motion, please. >> Motion. >> I'll move it. Oh, I'm sorry. Second. >> Okay. Uh, Carolyn. >> Council member Minhart. >> Yes. >> Anthony, >> yes. >> Vieiera, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Baptani, >> yes. Mayor Klein, >> proudly. Yes. >> I make a motion to open the meeting to
public portion on any subject. Second. I didn't expect to have to wait so long. It's hard for me to come out. I I'm Jean Stooff 18 North Drive. Um >> Jean talking to the mic. I just if if it won't they won't pick it up at at home.
>> Yeah. I said it's not so easy for me to come out at night for these meetings and that's why I made the phone calls I did today and I was assured that I'd be able to do it before the meeting inside but
and then I was told I thought that it was going to be at the beginning of this meeting but please before I complain too much let me congratulate you for having the opportunity both to speak and get
feedback from you because unfortunately the I mean I know the spirit of the of Brendan Burn and the Sunshine Law because I was here when it was passed and uh you're exhibiting that you're following through on it. There uh it's
another body in town that is not and I hope they will be called down because of it. Um, I'm not a lawyer, but I do believe that there was an intention there for public input and feedback, not
just one way. Um, but, uh, I'd like to congratulate you on that and then I'd like to complain because, you know, it's never one completely one way or the other. Um when I came and
asked you first to consider uh having an ordinance for demonstrations, um I I made an appointment and I spoke with Ed Mineharp because you had that meet the mayor meet the mayor in the
room. I didn't want to take time from your public meetings and I believe that everything that I said was acceptable because he didn't complain about it. Uh, and I don't know where your lawyer got
the information that he had everything and that he knew what I wanted because he wasn't at that meeting and no minutes were taken. So, I don't know how he could have known what it was that I requested. I think an apology is in
order. >> 25 seconds, Jean. >> Oh, I've got 25 seconds. >> You're asking, are you waiting for it? >> Okay. Well, I The main thing is if you had had an ordinance, that incident that happened at Suburban Torah might have
been prevented. And that's what I was trying to do. I think I came at least five times. And I may have uh interjected other things when I was talking, but it had nothing to do with the ordinance. >> All right. Thank you, Jean. Um I don't
know if uh councelor if you have any comments that you want to make and just to you know in the past we've talked about this issue uh that that Jean's brought up and and the feeling of course was that um it would be difficult to accommodate what she was asking for. >> Yeah. You know, I again I think we we reiterated that we reviewed it and we
believe that um our current code um is where we is is the governing body is comfortable with our current code uh and how we handle protests. We believe that um everyone certainly has their constitutional and and first amendment right to to assemble and to protest and
to speak their minds. Um and we try to accommodate that while obviously keeping everyone in Livingston safe. We coordinate with our township manager and our police chief. Um, and we don't we don't believe that our current code needs any changes based on your suggestions.
>> Okay. I did ask rather specific questions. >> Wait, but quickly. Okay. I asked specific questions about uh checking with other towns around who had ordinances. I would like to be told back how many towns we checked with and how
many had ordinances and how if we considered the things that were in those ordinances. >> Okay. I would just say Jared represents your firm represents 20 towns. How many towns are you guys um attorneys for? >> I mean over over 30, but we're misal. >> Okay. Um, so there's eight and and so
you are familiar with the uh with the >> Yeah, I believe Livingston's, you know, comparable or or in similar similarly situated or actually Livingston, given the number of protests we've had in the recent years, I think is even more prepared for these types of issues. >> All right. Thank you, sir.
>> I was never I was never given any of that information. I'd like to have it. >> Jean, please send me an email with your specific questions and we will get back to you on it. Yeah. >> Okay. Well, you know, we want to answer your questions. Um, please, you know,
you know how to reach me. Please send me send me an email. I will I will make sure all your questions are answered. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Uh, other other members from the public wish to comment, please. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Joyce Armando, 7 Greenwood Court. I live
directly behind the express um auto spa car wash. This is my fourth time here. I have an update and um a concern that I would like to discuss. So, as you're aware, uh multiple decibel testings were conducted over the past several months
at both the car wash and at my property. Uh this past Friday, the Essex County Office of Public Health Management and Enforcement issued the car wash its first official noise violation. It's basically just a warning.
Uh the car wash has been given 30 days to reduce noise levels to the New Jersey state limit of 65 dB or below or face fines. So what that means is that I have to then put in another complaint at 30 days
and request that they go out there again and so on and so on until this gets resolved. So that violation confirms what I've been saying for months, the operation is out of compliance and the noise is unlawful. However, and this is critical, despite
this official violation, I'm still getting no relief, and the township has still taken no action to assist or protect me, the car wash continues to operate 17 vacuum stations, even though only 15 were approved.
17 air hoses that were never approved by the township. Um, and all of them independently contribute to the excessive noise. Those conditions remain unchanged today. So, while the county has now formally acted, the township has
yet to explain why these vacuum stations and air hoses are still being allowed to operate. I have sent multiple emails. I have left multiple phone messages for Barry Lewis,
none of which have been returned. That silence matters. At this point, I want to be very clear for the record that the township has actual notice of ongoing violations. The township knows the site is operating
outside its approvals. The township knows that Essex County has issued a formal violation and yet no township enforcement has been it hasn't occurred. So that is not a lack of information anymore. That's
blatant inaction. I also feel compelled to raise a serious concern that is now widely circulating in our community. I have been told by multiple sources that the former mayor, Mayor Mayheart, has a personal
friendship with the owner of this car wash. I'm not making an accusation, but I am stating on the record that the appearance of a conflict of interest now exists. For the record, for the record, I'm
gonna ask. Yeah, I'm just I'm I'm gonna go first. >> Yeah, I'm gonna let uh For the For the record, I've never met this gentleman in person. I met him twice on a Zoom, so I don't know where that comes from. >> Way off base. >> There's multiple There's multiple owners. So, you don't know any of the owners? >> I met one gentleman twice on a Zoom and
that was it. I've never met him in person. So, I would appreciate if you would take that back. >> Well, it wasn't an accusation. >> It was an accus. I just said it was not an accusation. I said it's being dis discussed in the community. >> I made it very clear it was not an
accusation. But the fact that it is being discussed in this community, it has to be it has to be discussed here on the record. >> Well, so we've heard council say heard it. >> Okay. Okay. >> Um I do um we did chat briefly before the meeting. Um I think uh you know
you've um made some comments uh that the town has not been active on this. I I would not agree with that characterization. I'm going to just ask uh um uh Barry Lewis to just uh comment on some of the discussions we've been having with the county because we are uh looking for enforcement um and he's
going to address that. >> Yeah. So, um I full disclosure, this was the first and I've been here almost eight years, the first real noise complaint that we've had. Um so, this is relatively new to us. As we got into this, I checked and historically for as
long as I've been here and even before, um, the Essex Regional Health Commission was the enforcing agency for noise. When these complaints first came up, we went to them. We don't have a we initially did it internally just with like an Amazon bought decibel reader, but that certainly suggested it was over. So, we
involved Essex Regional Health Commission. Um, they took the assignment, they went out there, they did testing. Their initial testing suggested that it was not above the state limit >> because they took it from my deck. >> I know. So then I think you and and I I
don't know if um he's your he's your cousin. My cousin cousin um came back to us and did two things. I think one uh explained that they hadn't necessarily taken it from the right right location and probably more importantly told us for the first time we were always
operating that it was the vacuums. We weren't even aware that these air hoses, they were not running when they did the test. So, we had Essex Regional go out there again. Um, they tested with the air hoses going. Uh, they did find violations. Then, they told me they weren't issuing violations. And so, at
the beginning of December, after more than a month of screwing around with Essex Regional and them leading us to believe they were doing it, we were advised that they were no longer the authorized enforcing agency by Essex County. That that had ended October 1st. They never told us that, so we didn't
know any better. We assumed they were going to do it. That's how we got involved with uh Essex County. Um I think they've been responsive. They've been helpful. We were on a Zoom call today with them. I've had multiple calls and emails with uh Maya who is the health officer and her staff. They did
confirm. Um I will say this, I'm equally frustrated with this notion and and we actually I took issue with that on the call today and I'm in the process of sending them some information. uh the way they're interpreting the code with this um you have 30 days to fix it. Uh I
don't believe I think the intent is to address a condition that you couldn't just fix by shutting off a switch, right? So to me, you don't need 30 days to abate the air hoses, just turn them off. Um they took a different position. The mayor was on the call with me. We're sending them that asking that the county
attorney review it. Um I personally believe that they should be able to direct that it be shut off immediately. Um, I do know we locally, one of the things we've learned throughout this process is because we have not adopted a local ordinance and we don't have a qualified person, we don't have enforcing authority. So, I know it's
frustrating. You say we haven't done anything to enforce. We there's nothing we can do legally under the state statute unless a a town has adopted an ordinance and hired a >> So, why do you have ordinances and why are you all here? Why why is there ordinances if you can't enforce them?
Well, the >> or the permits that you issued to approve this car wash. >> The the ordinances that we have um they are older. They're not decibel driven. I don't know if you've looked at our noise code talks about the only one that even
arguably applies would be the use of power equipment, but they're operating within the allowed hours and there's no decibel amount limits stated. So, in terms of our ordinance, it there's some question whether it's even still enforceable or preempted by the State Noise Control Act or not, but the way it's currently written, it doesn't have
any decibel limits. It only, and again, if you read it, I'm happy to send it to you. Um, the only one that arguably apply would be power equipment and there that's from 7:00 a.m. to 700 p.m. and they're within those limits. Um, as far as the planning board, we have reviewed
that. Um, there was clearly testimony. Uh but when you review the tape, their witness said, um I'm reading the manufacturer sheet says it's only 38 dB. So we're quite confident we'll comply with the state noise ordinance. That did not then carry forward into an
enforceable condition in the resolution. There was a recitation of that testimony in the resolution, but there wasn't any clear condition saying it shall not exceed X dB, which also raises the question whether that would be enforceable anyway, whether it'd be preempted by the State Noise Control Act
unless we had an ordinance. Um, so I I certainly understand your annoyance about the whole process. I'm equally frustrated and annoyed that we waste so much time with the Essex Regional Health Commission. Um, we are aggressively trying to pursue the county to take a
more aggressive approach to take the position and there's two different components in the state noise control act and the regulations, the enforcement. Um, one is they only are entitled to abatement if it's a minor violation. The definition of minor violation excludes and the language in
the statute is purposeful re reckless or criminally negligent conduct. My position was that turning on a compressor that you know is going to be loud is purposeful. So I don't think it should count as minor in which case they don't get a period of abatement. And quite frankly even if they do get a
period of abatement the statute says 30 days or such other reasonable or any other reasonable time that they think is necessary given this and what would be involved in turning it. So my point to them was, well, they don't need 30 days to just go turn off the air hoses. They could turn them off in five minutes. So
that's the position that we're taking with them. Um, to the extent I'll get Mr. Caner involved, we are asking them to have it reviewed with the county attorney. Um, I don't agree with the interpretation of the county health department, but >> but if there was 17 air hoses added
after the final site plan approval that did not display any air hoses with the vacuum stations, why are they allowed to run? >> Yeah. So, we are we are looking at as well. There does not appear to be an indication on the plan that we've seen that says air hoses. There was, however,
testimony from the operator that there would be air hoses to blow off the mats. Um, so that that's again sort of a gray area and and in terms of the 1715, my understanding is what's out there matches what was on the plans. It's really whether you're counting the
vacuum hoses or you counting the pieces because apparently the two end units have two hoses, one on each side. So you end up with 17 hoses and 15 canisters. That's what my inspectors told me when they went out there. So in terms of the number, that was what was the answer we
got. >> Do do you want to speak to that? >> Yes. Can Can he speak to that? >> Yeah, he's got time. >> Can he have his three minutes? >> Yeah, sure. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, Anthony Armando. I'm 142 South Livingston Avenue.
Um, my my number one question is this. How did this get by the planning board and and building department? It clearly there's one of two things happened. Okay. Either a big mistake was
made, which I don't believe it was. I know those guys on that building department. They're not stupid, or there's something funny going on here. That's that's one of the two things because it's this is ridiculous. It's this is blatant. It comes down to common
sense. Just go over there and listen, which some of you guys have. You're you What do you think? It sounds like Norc airport and and it's been four months now that we're going through this. Four.
The town council shut it down. You voted to shut it down. You did. You vote. You two weeks ago. >> Two weeks ago. Shut it down. Shut it down. It's still running. It's been since the end of September. This nonsense is going on. Anybody here,
anybody here would not put up with this in their backyard. Nobody. None of you guys. None of you girl. None of you. None of us. That's how ridiculous this thing is. This is not a county issue. It's not a state issue. It happened in Livingston. Livingston.
The plan the plan and the permit was issued. You approved it in Livingston. >> Protect the residents behind this car wash. >> Also, the site plan says how many? It It says 15. >> 15. There's 17 stations there.
>> Did you guys vote to take two out of service? It's on It's on the permit. It's on the plan. It's on the site plan. >> Does it mean anything? >> Two going to be taken out of service at least. >> Are you going to enforce that? >> The blow guns don't exist on the
drawing. Don't exist on the on the on when they applied for the exist. They and all of a sudden 17 of them appear. And that's not a problem. That's not a problem. Again,
town couns the the the town council voted to shut this thing down. Nothing was done four months. Absolutely. This is not the town that I grew up in. >> You would never allow this. This have never been allowed 20 years ago. Never.
>> If you go to any of these car washes that have these vacuum stations and the air hoses, they're they're on Route 10. They're on Route 46. There is none that are buted up against to residential neighborhoods for a reason. So how
Livingston, the planning board, the zoning board approved this is absurd. It is ridiculous. And you know what? >> That's what I said. >> My fight is going to be now against you, against the town for allowing this
because nobody is protecting us. It's not against the car wash anymore. And incidentally, the car wash >> antagonizing us, provoking me. >> It's not a good thing for them. Trust me. >> All right, Anthony. Thank you for
speaking. >> Are there any other uh any other speakers this evening? >> I have a question for Barry, though. We don't have an ordinance, a noise ordinance. You we we know that, but are we looking into one? and and who in your the administration or is it the
planning, the zoning, who who's going to make this so this doesn't happen again? >> Well, so I want to be clear and and it's something I um uh told Mr. Marada when he came in. When we talk about quote shutting down, we don't have and and certainly Mr. Caner can weigh in as well. Um we don't have the ability to
just go over there and turn the power off. You you give somebody a notice violation. If they don't do it, they have due process rights to challenge that violation. if they wind up getting found guilty, they can get fined retroactively for all the time. And that's sort of the risk they run. But when we talk about shutting it down, it's starting that enforcement process.
They get the notice violation, they either stop it or they run the risk of getting fined. Ultimately, the a judge is the only one, and I'd certainly defer to to Mr. Caner. Uh the judge by virtually in a court proceeding would enjoin them, issue an injunction, basically directing them to physically
shut the machine off or throw them in jail for >> Bar that wasn't my question. My question is that I I think you said that we really don't have a noise ordinance that that can address that. >> Well, so >> that's that's the question is is who can put that together for us for a future? >> But we what we the only thing that would
do is we could have a model noise ordinance that is based on the state noise control act. If you adopt a local ordinance that allows you in addition the current noise control act of the state only regulates commercial to residential. By adopting a local ordinance, you can also regulate if you
choose residential to residential and you can have other provisions that but have to be not you can't be any more lenient than the state code. If you do that the then you automatically become your own enforcing agency and you're required then to have an employee who
certified noise person etc etc. um given that this had not you know we hadn't had any pervasive amount of noise problems to this point that wasn't we always I think felt like we could count on the county and rely on the state ordinance. Um certainly in light of this and whether there's some opportunity to
potentially have more teeth than the state in situations like this maybe we're at a butts you know even though the state says 65 is good enough maybe locally we would have to look into and certainly Mr. Caner's office can look into whether we could have a lower limit for example um than the state. But
that's that's something I guess all this has come to light. We're all you know I'm learning more about noise in in the last two months. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Uh are there any other speakers? >> Motion to close public comment.
>> Second. All in favor? Hi. Hi. >> Um I would just say um Joyce, we'll be we're going to reach out to the county attorney. Um they're saying 30 days. We're going to fight to see what we can get that down to as Barry was saying. >> I asked them. >> We Yeah, we Well, they can say that, but
you you probably didn't talk to the county attorney. Maybe you did. Okay. Barry's going to write talk write a letter to them or email them explaining his interpretation of of the of the statute and we're going to fight with them and see what we can do. >> And mayor, I'm happy to assist on that
call if you like. Also, >> and mayor, I was with you on the call this morning with Barry as well. I think the the fines are are pretty substantial if they retroactively put it in play and maybe that's one of the things that we should we should highlight that the
business should really take into consideration. Um if these are I mean these are abnormal numbers then there is a need to house uh the facility if that's that's what solves it. um reduce the number of units uh whatever
technologies they need to put in. I think these are the kind of uh pieces that should play uh should come into play as soon as possible. I think that's where we should. >> No, agreed. And I and I think that was also brought up the call. One of the concerns we had um originally when this came up, it involved a vacuum turbine.
Um we noted from the manufacturer sheet that his guy was reading from, it talked about it being enclosed. We met with them uh and in good faith they said and they were going to put the enclosure in but then we came to learn about the hoses and the wall is not going to do anything about the hoses and so we brought that up today as well and said like
>> be in compliance >> ever we've only the tests that we're taking one air hose was going off >> and it went off right >> there's 17 >> there's 17 of >> it's never even the county guy said it
there's no way this is going to be ever65 We're going to do what we're going to do what we what you know what we can. >> Um we're going to uh now go to reports of township officials and professionals. >> Um town manager Barry Lewis. Uh anything?
>> No. Just um uh congratulations to the new new mayor Klein, Deputy Mayor Vatani. Uh thank you to outgoing mayor at Minehart for all his leadership. Last year it was a great reor. Congratulations and thank you to the clerk's office for all the work they did in putting together the recor re uh
reorg and uh looking forward to a good year in 2026. >> Thank you. Um Russ Jones, deputy town manager. >> Uh we recently had one of the bus shelters taken out by um east on East Mount Pleasant by Mount Pleasant Middle School. one of the bus shelters.
>> A person that was actually parked in the parking lot, hit the gas instead of the brake, rode up the hill, took out the bus shelter, and then rolled back and hit a parked car. So, there's been some summones issued, and we're in the process of trying to get >> Was anyone in the bus shelter?
>> No, but fort fortunately, it was first thing in the morning. It had been a little bit later, not by minutes or so, there would have been kids in the sidewalk area. And this is right on the sidewalk. So, >> okay. >> So, if you get any calls, but that is in the process of be being replaced and then we'll have our insurance company go
after their insurance company for the replacement cost. >> Thank you, Russ. Anything else? Um, assistant town manager Adam Leonard. >> No updates at this time. >> Thank you. Um, township clerk Carolyn Mazuko. >> Nothing for me tonight, Mayor. Thank you.
>> Okay. Um, question for you. Are there have there been any student signups for the next uh I know that we were told that a lot of the students that had volunteered before were not eligible to do a second day. They weren't going to get permission from the schools to to take off another day. >> Um yeah, and the other um additive is
that if they're not doing any training there's no time for the special election. So, if you haven't worked, if you're a student, haven't worked in the uh the general election last November or the primary the year before, depending on your age, you're not going to be able to work the special election. They could
work in the primary in June, but it's it's just such a short window and there's just not enough to dime to do any training. >> Thank you for that information. Okay. Um CFO an Coochie. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I just wanted to report that that we're closing out the
year 2025 and working on 26. And um, I know you were interested last year. We um brought in $2.9 million in interest income from investments this year. So, we're going to continue. I know that the interest rates are dropping a bit, but
I'm going to look to continue to do business with other banks, including Regal and local banks. So, um, also there's some new legislation that is permanently extending when we introduce the budget. So, that'll be on, um, March
31st. Has to be introduced by. So, we're going to make that goal this year. >> Good. Thank you, And appreciate it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we definitely want to make sure we're on time. Um, okay. We're going to uh for council comments, uh, Deputy Mayor uh, Kaitton is Bhutani is going to be doing it for
us today. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, yeah, thank you. And let me start first of all uh by thanking Kell and our clerk's office uh everyone involved I think uh Jen Walker and the senior center staff as well uh
wonderfully done reorg meeting that's that was our start of the of the um of the events of this year and uh of course Rabbi Max Edwards uh of Temple Man Ibrahim for his invocation and Fal Panda
the Hindu clergy for Benediction. Um they did a great job. U mayor, congratulations to you. Um as well as uh thank you to the the past mayor Minehardt. Um it was pleasure working
with you throughout the year. Uh and also a call out to uh to to to uh an and uh and Barry on the finance subcommittee. And the the interest income that you mentioned is direct result of the uh better ratings we get
and that is more competition healthy competition for our debt and and that's that's that's kudos to to all of you. Um wonderful to see all the appointments mayor uh in that agenda. I think our town hums it's not think I think we all
know on the council on the day here our town hums because of the volunteers we have um I speak to many council members across the state uh and different towns nobody has even remotely as close volunteer-driven
committees and and activities like we do so so I can't thank you enough I know we all thank you uh but it's it's a true appreciation And of course, uh, on that note, on that event, thank uh, Livingston Television and Mike Iso, our
communications director, for putting everything together. Um, so great work there. Um, u Ed and I were at the BOE recognization meeting as well, uh, representing, um, all of us. Uh so
congratulations to Pam Charles who was elected as uh the vice president and parlka for as a president. Look forward to working with both of them and of course in two and two with the mayor uh as we go along and uh engage our board
of education on on more critical matters. Um we had a a a comedy night uh at the temple bet Shalom. Some of us were able to make it and it was it was real good this one. uh we had a very
good MC uh of the of the event and she really cracked everything up. So that's that's awesome. Uh as far as upcoming events are concerned um we have one of the major events coming up the MLK day. This is hosted by uh Livingston
community for committee for diversity and inclusion. Um it's at 9:30 starting at 9:30 up until 11:30 a.m. on on Monday the MLK day at Senior Center. Um it is to honor Dr. Martin Luther King his
vision for beloved community and that's what this program is designed for. So all the comm leading community and service organizations of our town are taking part Rotary Lions Cavanis uh national charity league uh Livingston Chinese association Sanskriti and plus
all the temples and churches uh a quite a quite a gathering. So I would imag uh I would request everybody to really check it out. A lot of work that goes in again run by volunteers and uh hosted by LCDI. Um the new governor of New Jersey
is taking um uh taking oath on January 20th. So it's a item for note of whoever is interested. Um and of course there'll be a ribbon cutting ceremony which most of us will be will be going to January 22nd. Uh these are the number of items
before our next council meeting which is on 26th. So just want to run down on that. >> Thank you mayor. >> Uh I'll just add a couple of comments. Um so I want to uh I'm going to start uh something new this year uh which we're going to I'm going to call hats off which is um if I want people to tell me
if you have someone who deserves a brag from up here on the deis please reach out let me know and we'll give them uh some um acknowledgement. So, I want my first hats off uh to be to the Livingston uh Police Department. We received a letter from a resident, Julie
Silverberman, who reached out to let us know that uh an animal control officer that reported to her property at her house uh when a deer got uh badly injured. Um and that she was really impressed with how humanely um the animal control officer dealt with the
situation and helped her family. and uh she wrote us a letter to let her know um how well how well uh she felt after you know even a difficult situation that she really felt good about how it was handled. Um I want to talk about um
Chestnut Hill uh streets. Um I've been uh in touch uh with um the PSEG uh representative ever uh Everton Scott uh as well as with um Barry and the town engineer uh Janette. Uh I think anyone who has driven on the
Chestnut Hill streets uh in the last few weeks has seen that they are in atrocious condition. Um I certainly have all I live in Chestnut Hill and have I had all my neighbors complaining to me and I've uh been complaining to PSEG because uh they came in here and they
did uh they did some upgrades for our gas lines which of course is necessary and we appreciate uh getting upgrades because it provides better service uh to us at our homes. Uh but the job that they did repairing the streets afterwards is just not good enough. And then after the couple of storms we had
um the streets look terrible and uh there's chunks of pavement in places. And uh there's a problem with the repair because as I understand it the um the plants the asphalt plants don't even go back online until March 1st. Uh so what
we've been asking for is for PSENG to have a plan in place immediately so that uh when when early March rolls around they're not just then trying to figure out what what they're going to be doing. We're going to be pressing them to make sure that they are ready to go and have all their plans in place so that as soon
as there's a fix that's possible, uh we're going to get that done. There may be some patching in some of the worst spots even before that. Uh but we are really pushing them and uh we really have expressed our discontent with the with the work that's been done uh and the effect it's had on our residents.
>> Mayor >> um >> well thank you for the information. We'll talk to PSG about we've been we're just telling you how we're telling us the information we're getting. is open. You can get ashalt there. >> Okay, Barry, why don't we uh it may be a lot. I don't know what the amounts are
because there's a huge amounts, you know, huge amounts that are needed. >> As much as you want. You don't want to take a real lot because it cools off too quick. So, you take a half a load, fix what you got. >> Okay. And I don't know if PSG has contracts certain, you know, it may be more complicated than that, but we can we can try it. We're going to look into it. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, Anthony. Um
uh another event just all 11 uh Democratic candidates um for NJ11 seat uh were at Ben Abraham yesterday here in Livingston. So they all came to town. It was organized um and uh they had a
substantive debate um talking about a lot of the issues that people are going to care about in this election. Uh and I was uh I personally was proud to know the councilmen were here as well uh came with us uh to that event. Um, and I think it was really wellrun and uh I think it just shows that um Livingston's
on the map uh of course and that they want to be here uh and they they're you know they're looking for our votes. So everyone should be uh paying attention and reading about what they have to say. And then I just want to echo uh deputy mayor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. this town does a great job with that and
certainly as the um deputy mayor is the liaison for the LCDI committee. Um that you know the people that run that committee on a volunteer basis the amount of work that they do uh and the product for of of the work that they do is just so impressive and uh if you want
to feel really good and do some and do some really good things uh come on out and uh and help them with uh the charity work on that day. Um that brings us to uh our endurement. >> Yeah. And then so we're we're to continue. We're going to go back into
conference uh in the conference room following this. There'll be no further action taken by this council with the exception. If something comes up, we reserve our rights to pass a close session resolution. Although we not we do not plan on it, there is the possibility of such, but we're passing no other further formal action.
>> All right. So, the public is welcome uh back in the chambers uh if they uh choose to come inside. Um, thank you. Have a good night.