We are a few minutes late. We just had some business to wrap up. I'm going to read our statement of compliance. This meeting is being held in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act. An adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law. Specifically, the annual notice was emailed to the West Essex Tribune and Star Ledger on January
3rd, 2025. and the 48 hour notice was emailed to the same publications on June 26, 2025. The agenda and resolutions for the meetings are available on www.livingstonj.org. Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of
personnel and or other matters is outlined in the Sunshine Law. Decisions made and or discussed in close sessions will be made known to the public at a later time. Notice to the members of the governing body and township staff. Any use of electronic devices during this meeting shall be used solely for the purpose of township business and any
communications are subject to the open public's record act. To the extent possible, this evening's township council meeting will be livereamed via Facebook at www.fas.com Livingston Township NJ. Questions or comments will be accepted by emailing live comments at livingstonj.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 Livingston Code 2-15.3. Roll call, please. Council member Anthony, here. Baptani, here. Vieira, present. Deputy Mayor Klein, here.
Mayor Minhard, I am here. We're going to rise for a minute of silence. Um and also I pledge allegiance of the reps nationisible for all. All right, we have a few uh
proclamations and presentations. So, if everybody will just be mindful of the time this evening of each of yours, I we certainly would appreciate it. Uh the first one up is India story contributions of the Indian Americans to the world. F is f here. There she is. It's right there walking right on queue.
So, F, I think this was your group, so the floor is all yours. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Minehardt, Deputy Mayor Klene, the town council, and all the esteemed township leaders sitting on the dis. Good evening to you all and
people who are watching at home. On behalf of Namaste Global Foundation, many thanks to you all for inviting us tonight and giving our youth this platform to share their research. It truly means a lot for them to stand here
in their own town hall and know their voices matter. Our Namaste youth have gone above and beyond the classroom, diving into deep research, thinking critically and connecting with their heritage in meaningful ways. At Namaste
Global, we believe in equipping youth with skills, confidence, and unity, all rooted in the wisdom of their lineage. I'd like to introduce our leader Joti Batya who has consistently led this
project year after year guiding our kids to be inspired by their heritage. I also want to give a huge shout out to our parent leader Amitita Chima who has worked with kids in designing the flow, the slides, the speeches and the whole
nine yards. This is truly a teamwork. Thank you Fal. Thank you everyone for coming here today. The topic you can see on the slide it's Indian origin leaders contributing to global business. These young kids who are standing in front of
you today. I'm very proud of each and every one of them who has done a lot of research has gone ahead and tried to understand what is it about these business leaders that makes them successful. What are the role models u for them? Typically when they are growing up when
each one of us grew up we had some factors to look up to either our parents or leaders wherever we grew up in the globe and today these kids very proudly they are here and they are very excited to share with you the research that they've done for these leaders. So we
welcome Shaaya Variku, Jana Bhavnani, Nikita Chima, Kish Chima, Shahin Pradhan, Sonia Bhavnani, Richa Kadam and Vidhi Ra. They are looking forward to share sharing with you their research. Good evening and namaste. We are excited
to share our research and analysis with you. Our parents and grandparents have come from India to United States with just a few dollars in their pockets and a suitcase. Early immigrants have made an exemplary life for themselves and have contributed immensely to our country, United States of America. Did
you know Indian-Americans make up less than 2% of the US population? Yet, they pay 6% of the tax. One out of every five doctors is Indian-American. Today, we are excited to celebrate top Indian-American business leaders who are helping shape the future of the US
economy. They're creating new opportunities, driving progress, and making an impact far beyond our borders. Some names are very famous, as you can see on the screen. They lead some of the largest companies in the world. These leaders have climbed to the highest levels through talent, determination,
and steady effort. What sets them apart is not just their success, but how they lead. They're not seeking attention. They lead with purpose, honesty, and a clear sense of responsibility. They build strong teams, make smart decisions, and stay true to their values. Their success isn't an accident.
It comes from years of learning, preparation, and staying grounded. And that's what truly makes their leadership inspiring. Indian-Americans have made waves in many sectors including media, science, arts,
healthcare, politics, etc. Beyond CEOs, Indian-Americans are creating wealth and influence across tech, science, and venture capital. Names like J Chri, Jri Olal, Veno Koshla, and Ramshri Ram show the breadth of success. They've invested
in transformative technologies and built endearing institutions. Their leadership style, thoughtful, consistent, and impact focused, is increasingly being recognized as a strength in complex global environments. A recent study by Newsweek in
collaboration with GHS Smart investigated 30,000 CEOs and seuite executives across industries and geographies as part of its proprietary CEO genome research which is used by Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms to select and develop their senior
leaders. They found that executives of Indian descent are over five times more likely to take calculated risks, nearly six times more likely to embrace challenges, and three times more likely to demonstrate resilience and process orientation, competencies essential for
leading through complexity and change. Their scores also disproportionately spike in adapting proactively, one of their core predictors of CEO success. Isn't that really inspiring? These leaders might be highly educated and they may work incredibly hard but
education and effort exist across all communities. The question is why this level of consistent leadership from one group. What patterns, habits or framework set them apart? The answer isn't in degrees or credentials alone. It's in how they think, how they respond
to pressure, and how they lead people. Often shaped well even before they entered the workforce. Let's dive deeper into the ind Indian X factor. What makes Indian cultural values so unique? The Dharma compass or performing one's duty without attachment
to the results paves the way towards making a larger impact. While serviceoriented leadership values prioritizes others needs before their own. Then there is the simple living highing philosophy that reveals the quality of forbearance and an
adaptability growth mindset. They know when to step forward, when to support, and how to align people around a mission. That perspective shows up again and again in executives of Indian origin. Many of these leaders grew up in high
pressure academic environments surrounded by expectations to achieve and serve. From a young age, they were trained to take responsibility not just for themselves, but for their families and communities that creates maturity, mental toughness, and a bias toward
persistence. These aren't soft traits. They're survival traits that translate directly into long-term leadership strength. The most successful Indian origin CEOs often credit their upbringing more than their education. Sindara Pachai talks about caring India
where with him wherever he goes. Sya Nadella emphasizes empathy and continuous learning. Indui describes how her mother challenged her to imagine global leadership as a child. These reflections are subtle but they speak volumes about what shaped them.
Stability, structure and purpose from an early age. Indian leadership often plays the long game, prioritizing sustainable growth over quick wins. Leaders focus on empowering people rather than controlling them. They execute with quiet humility, letting results speak
louder than ego. And most importantly, decisions are rooted in values, not just efficiency metrics. This steady missiondriven approach is why so many Indian CEOs succeed on the world stage. Let's connect the dots. Strategic
patience, focus on education, comfort with complexity, and a responsibility mindset. These traits are shaped early, often quietly. Leaders from Indian backgrounds often come with a deep internal framework that helps them stay grounded while leading large systems.
That grounding, subtle but powerful, becomes a competitive advantage. Many strong leaders share quiet but powerful traits. They practice patience, value learning, handle complex problems with calm and take responsibility seriously.
We wanted to understand the impact of Indian X factors at local levels as well. We surveyed 10 professionals from our own town, Livingston, New Jersey, leaders in technology, medicine, finance, real estate, and public service. Across the responses, we heard
common themes. work ethic, persistence, mentorship, and the importance of staying grounded while striving forward. Their actions show leadership isn't about position. It's about staying true to what your values are and how they shape our environment and upbringing.
Not surprisingly, the spiritual values that elevated global Indian leaders are the same values celebrated by local Indian leaders. The values that came through in our local survey, service, humility, and the drive to give back. These values directly reflect what we
see in global Indian origin CEOs. This game may differ, but the mindset is remarkably aligned. What this tells us is that the characteristics that build exceptional leadership are practiced and nurtured right here by people who lead
quietly, effectively, and with lasting impact. Most Indian immigrants came to the USA to study and to progress their careers. Our parents and grandparents believed in using the power of knowledge in building
the society they lived in. They assimilated and adopted their country, contributing to the well-being of the world and becoming good citizens. We as second and third generation descendants cherish their legacy of hard work,
pursuit of high education and maintaining values and ethics that reflect Indian X factor. India's large democracy and diverse culture teaches us to celebrate unity of human spirit and diversity.
One of the most defining factors is ingrained inclusive culture that shapes our belief system. Vasu deva kotumbakam it is a Sanskrit quote found in Hindu texts such as maha
upanishad which means the world is one family. Thank you. Namaste. So I we'd like So I'd like to thank F Oh, I'm sorry. So I first of all I'd like to thank Fel
and everybody for coming today because it's great um to hear and to hear what you have to present and to really what you had to present. Also, I think it's very um very timely as tomorrow we will be celebrating India Independence Day as well where we invite everybody to come
at 6:30 to uh hoist the flag here at town hall as well uh to celebrate the independence that took place uh from British rule. And so um you know I think the timing was wonderful. We had a lovely India fest as well last week uh last Sunday. So um you know we we are
always appreciative of everything that the Indian community does, what you teach us, the culture that you have taught us over all these years and for the diversity u that you have brought to this community as well. So we'd like to thank everybody involved uh with tonight's presentations.
Close quick picture. F. Thank you very much for so just a real quick fall, thank you very much for everything that you do um for this entire community. You do so much for all of us and so uh we just want to let you know how much we appreciate everything that that you do.
So thank you. All right. So, the next the next presentation that we have um is a group uh called the CASA celebrating their 40th anniversary. Um it was a great story though. Thank you first of all for reaching out to me. I know some board
members are here uh Michael and some others. So, why don't you come up please? Michael, please don't break anything. Yeah, Michael. Yeah. Yeah. Michael, please don't. Yeah. Yeah, we don't have insurance. I pick up. So, uh we we have a plaque as well which
I think we are going to read, but do you also wanted to say a few words as well? Uh um on your graph. So, there's a microphone right in front. Why don't you do that and then we'll read the plaque and we'll come down and we'll take a picture if that's okay. Perfect. So, good evening everyone. Thank you for having us tonight. My name is Mara Higin Bothotham. I am the
executive director of Quarterappointed Special Advocates of Essex County, better known as Kasa Essex. We are celebrating our year-long milestone 40th anniversary. We advocate for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. And our
volunteers, some who I have with me tonight and board member, are residents right here in Livingston. And so, right now in Essex County, there's about 600 kids who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. And we have these community volunteers who step up to make sure that these kids
don't slip through the cracks. And while they're in care, their needs are met and addressed. And they report back to a judge every 3 months to let them know what's going on so those kids can have the opportunity to thrive. Because when I see the young people that were in here before us making their presentation, it makes me think about the kids we serve.
And with a little bit of support and love and understanding, it's amazing what kids have the opportunity to do and how they can thrive. So here in Essex County with those 600 kids, we're only serving about 70%. And so when I'm out and speak in the community, I always like to tell everybody, we need more
volunteers. We need community members just like these right here from Livingston to step up and help us because every child deserves the opportunity to have some safety and security so that they can go to school and learn and become, you know, citizens in the community. So thank you for
having us here for having a moment to highlight what we do and our 40 years of of celebrating and and serving the community. So thank you very much. So thank you. So so I will say thank you very much for uh reaching out to us and making us aware
of this wonderful uh group that you lead and some of the board members I recognize from being here in town as well. Um it's wonderful um for having advocate advocation for these kids who need it and uh you do a lot of great work for so many. So we just wanted to say thank you on on everyone's behalf as well for doing that.
People want to volunteer to reach out. Yes. So So the deputy mayor is asking if they want to reach out, how if they want to volunteer, how would they reach out to you? There's a into into the mic, please. Thanks. Easy. It's cases.org.
Everything is on our website. It walks you through the entire process, the application, everything. And that young lady sitting there taking pictures, she's actually our outreach and recruitment person. So she's the first person you actually talk to. But it's very easy if you just go to our website. Again, it's www.casesex.org. Thanks.
Thank you very much. I think we're all going to come down and read this. It's it's a little different. We have something different than we have in our packets. So, why don't we just going to we'll go down and we'll read all of this together. Okay. Doesn't that pick up on Is that why we have that one? I don't know. Andy, does this does the white mic pick
everything up? Do we need to hold the hand, Mike? It'll work. It'll work no matter what. All right. Well, I'll hold it and you guys got So So, Michael, why don't you uh I think you were going to go first. Whatever. Michael, you read the first. Yeah, just go just go down. Just two two just read just go two and two. It's all
different. It's a different order. Whereas preparation whereas 2026 marks 40 years since the establishment of the courtapp appointed special advocates CASA for children of Essex County, a nonprofit organization
who whose purpose continues to provide a safety and net of support, advocacy and membership of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. And whereas CASA is comprised of dedicated volunteers and
board members, ordinary people doing extraordinary things who make certain that children's voices are heard in court and in their best interest are placed in the center of every decisions. And whereas CASA for Children of Essex
County has recruited, trained, supported, and supervised over 1600 community volunteers as advocates for foster children throughout its 40-year history. And whereas Kasa for children for Es of Ess's County volunteer advocates serve as the court's eyes and ears into a child's life advocating for
332 foster children in Ess's county as of July 2025 thus helping to improve the quality of information presented to the court and child welfare systems. And just will say one quick thing, Mara, it was great meeting you at the Rotary Club
and thank great to see you again here as well. And thank you for all the volunteers locally. I'm going to read one one paragraph and leave one for because may have counted incorrectly. I'm so sorry. Whereas as so I'm going to continue. Whereas the first CASA program
established in New Jersey, KasaX has helped lead the way in community-based child advocacy through dedicated service, community partnership, and meaningful project, meaningful impact. And we uh this one last.
Okay. Yep. Whereas Casa for Children of Essex County wishes to mark 40 years of service with a renewed commitment to the welfare of children in foster care in the years to come. And the last one.
I want me to do this one too. Now therefore, be it resolved that the township of Livingston affirms its commitment to CASA and to all the dedicated volunteers and board members and that not just reside in Livingston but throughout the Essex County community who contribute their time,
energy, and expertise to support the vulnerable children in foster care. And now therefore, now that now it be further resolved that I, Mayor Ed Minhard, on behalf of the township of council and the citizens of the township of Livingston, to hereby congratulate the kasa, the children of Essex County
for their 40 years of service and commend their continual dedication to serving the most vulnerable children of Essex County. Thank you guys very much. Thank you. It's really great work that you do. So thankf course Wonderful. Congratulations.
So Sorry. So, we have a we have a presentation by Sean Shan, you want to come up here, please? Right. It's nice to see nice to see you again. Yes, mayor. While she makes her way, can I say a couple of words for her, please? So, I think Shauna uh let me just
introduce her. Um she's a Livingston High School student, a founder of nonprofit Young Hearts for Change. uh and she has organized and led numerous community activities and projects uh very much making a difference and along
with her contributions uh the key part is supporting the veterans and therefore she was a miss buddy poppy and I don't I don't want to break any more uh you know celebrations for you but because I I'm sure you're going to talk about it but you do have some great contributions as
well so welcome and I just want to mention a couple of words for you before you start. All right. Thank you so much. So, hello everyone. My name is Sha Kamar and I'm a junior at Livingston High School. First, I would like to thank the entire town council and our mayor today for giving me this opportunity to speak. And a
special thank you to, of course, Councilman Buptani for inviting me to share my story. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate to lead and participate in many projects that have touched many hearts and have helped drive positive change across our communities. I'm the founder of Young
Hearts for Change, a nonprofit where we are committed to providing youth with the tools, resources, and opportunities that they need to provide a lasting impact. Today, I would like to talk about three projects that I have led. The first initiative resides in something very close to my heart, my
deep respect and appreciation for our veterans. In middle school, my social studies teacher encouraged me to participate in a veteran essay contest. Winning at the town level and then advancing to the state level gave me the chance to sit with veterans, hear their stories, and then translate their
experiences into my own writing. In high school, I was fortunate to become a twotime champion to the veteran essay contest, and I was invited to a state dinner honoring all the district winners that were invited. These experiences deepen my respect for the courage,
sacrifice, and pride that all of the veterans hold, not only all over America, but in our very own town of Livingston. Over the years, I've attended many of their events, learning about their journeys, moments of hardship, and moments of joy. One of these events was the Fourth of July
independence parade that I was honored to be recognized as Miss Buddy Poppy 2025. Standing there seeing the entire community come together to honor our veterans who had worked so hard to help us earn our country back was one of the most meaningful moments of my life. Our
veterans are the living embodiment of service and resilience and they remind us daily of the costs of freedom. Honoring them is a duty of not only our nation but our town of Livingston. Inspired by these connections, I learned about Livingston's Hometown Hero
Initiative, which is a program by our town that provides banners to commemorate veterans who have served in war. As part of this initiative, commemorative banners will be displayed across town. Each one honoring a veteran by name, service photo, era of service, and branch. These banners serve as daily
reminders of people in our community who served with honor. To help make sure that every hero is recognized as part of this program, I started a GoFundMe campaign to ensure that there would be enough money to go to the cause. The donations that you would make to the GoFundMe would serve to install and
create these banners to ensure that no veteran is left unagnowledged. I am proud to share that we earned $2,000 with the support of the incredible Livingston community. We are truly blessed to be home to such wonderful and compassionate people. I would specifically like to thank veterans Mr.
Mr. John Power, Mr. Charlie Quinn, Mr. Brian Bole, and from our township office, Mr. Adam Learner, and others who have guided and supported me during this process. The next project I did was inspired by my personal love for books. Young Hearts for Change launched a
community book drive last summer, going house-to-house collecting donations of books and school supplies. We received incredible support from our Livingston community and schools such as Bernett Hill, Harrison, and Mount Pleasant. and organizations such as the Friends of the
Livingston Public Library. Together, we collected over 10,000 books and thousands more of school supplies for six underprivileged schools in Newark. One of my favorite memories was seeing the smiles of all the children at one of the Newark back- to-chool events that I attended at one of the schools, which
showed me truly that every child deserves access to education and the ability to succeed as best as they can. Thus, this summer we are continuing the school supply drives which we have already raised thousands more for and are continuing to collect donations. At Young Hearts for Change, we believe that
books and supplies are the gateways to learning and opportunity. By providing them, we give children the chance to dream bigger and build brighter futures. Finally, the last thing I'd like to talk about are the summer classes that I've run. I've spent the last two summers
teaching over a 100 Livingston students debate, presentation, and public speaking skills, covering persuasive and informative writing, public forum debate, prepared speeches, extemporaneous speeches, and impromptu speeches. I worked with these students for hours of classes, and each session
ended with a competition or a conference so parents could attend and understand their students progress and see how well the class was fairing. Watching these students grow in confidence, sharpen their voices, and learn effectively was the most rewarding part of the experience. The money that we raised
from these classes were able to generate funds to give tents to the Livingston Police Department and the and the Parcipony Police Department. Since moving to Livingston, I've attended so many town events at the Oval, and I've always seen the Livingston Police Department out there working tirelessly
to support our community and be involved. I knew I wanted to give back to them. Additionally, we also partnered with Livingston Neighbors Helping Neighbors, helping to raise $500 in worth of school supplies that we donated to families in need. None of this would
have been possible without the kindness and the generosity of all the people of Livingston. Every single time we asked for help, the community responded wholeheartedly. I want to close today by again thanking the town council, our mayor, Councilman
Bupdani, and all of you here today for giving me the opportunity to speak, for supporting me in my work, for uplifting our veterans, and for making Livingston a place where gratitude is a way of life. And I'm so proud to call it home. That that was a that's a wonderful
presentation and uh I'm glad that uh you don't lack any self-confidence when you get up here and speak as well because you are wonderful. I love how poised you were and how well presented you were and how well you said your great story. I think all of us were very impressed with that as well. So congratulations. Um I
also was there a present? Yeah. Want to take a picture? Sure. Take a picture. Yeah, sure. That's why we're happy tonight. All right, we're good. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you for coming. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, the check. Yes. Thank you. It's for the BFW. Okay. So we will So we will make sure we'll make sure that they that they get it. All right.
All right. Thank you so much. CFO. CFO. The CFO always gets the money. All right. All right. I think now we have a few eighth graders who have a newspaper that they want to talk to us about. So, you guys are up. Please. I apologize for not having you on the agenda. That was my fault. Um, I had a
lot going on personally the last month in my house, so I apologize. Hi everyone. I'm beyond grateful to have an opportunity to speak about our newspaper. You would think that kids like us would just start a newspaper to make a quick buck, but we started our newspaper hoping to build a sense of
community in our town. Also hoping to start a small business. Our goal is to build a stronger sense of community in our town and to give kids a voice. We want to connect, inform, and inspire the people around us. Before we start our speech and show you
samples of our newspaper, my siblings and I would like to show you like you to know a little bit about ourselves. Hi, I am AJ Namei. I am 13 years old and I love playing basketball. Basketball teaches me about leadership and commitment which are key skills that
contribute to the newspaper. Hi, I am Prian Minti. I am 12 years old and I love gymnastics and volleyball. Both sports teach me about discipline which helps contribute to the newspaper. Hi, I'm Ana Anaminti, 11 years old and I
love music and cheerleading. I have lots of creativity and ingenuity and I love creating the games and puzzles section of our newspaper. These were our goals when we started our newspaper. Number one, fostering community awareness. Let kids know
what's going on on the in the town by sharing stories about local events, people, and places in a way they can understand and care about. Number two, encouraging creativity. We would like kids for kids to expand their thinking and learn about our town in a fun, creative way through puzzles, games, and
pictures. Number three, celebrating kids achievements. A couple weeks ago, we celebrated the Livingston Craz art show. It displayed incredible talent. It also featured in our newspaper. Thank you so much for listening to our speech. After the town council meeting,
feel free to take a copy of our newspaper as we are distributing all of our newspapers created so far. Thank you. So, so thank you guys very much. I had the honor of being interviewed as well uh by you and um it's up here. We're alo
going through the newspapers that that you gave us. Um it it it just go Yeah. one time. It just it just goes to prove that all the presentations that we've heard this evening um that we here in Livingston, the rest of New Jersey and
the rest of the world are in very good shape with all the different youth that we have here and all the different activities and what you're all doing for all of us. So I just want to commend everybody who spoke and thank you all very much for coming as I think uh Councilman Anthony has a question. A lot of polls in there. What one?
Roller coasters or water parks. Which one? But did was it a vote? Did Did uh which water parks one? Okay, good. Thanks. I I very important. I I needed to know the answer. I I will tell you one of the one of the best questions I've ever been asked from
from what you sent me was, "What is my favorite quote?" No one's ever No one ever has said that before. So, I just wanted to thank you. I thought that was I I thought that was great. So, thank you very much. have one. Mayor, what was your quote? That was the easiest question. My my favorite quote is very simple. To treat others the same way you would like to be
treated yourself. So, it's a very it's a very simple way and the whole hopefully the whole world will understand. Thank you very much. Where's the Where's the book? Okay, here. All right, come on, guys. Sit in the middle. We're gonna hold the book up.
Oh, yeah. No, we'll hold the book up so everybody can see for the pictures. Pictures always good. All right, you ready? Yeah. All right. One more. Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, real quick. It's also National uh preparedness month. There is a proclamation um that talks about the responsibility of the entire nation and every community to prepare against emergencies and for we've had certainly
had some floods and everything recently. So um we're I'm just going to read the last paragraph. It says, "Now therefore, I, Edward Minhardt, mayor of the Township of Livingston, hereby proclaim September 25 to be National Preparedness Month in the Township of Livingston. I call upon the people of Livingston to
recognize the importance of preparing for potential emergencies and to observe this month with appropriate events, activities, and preparedness programs. Information on emergency preparedness is available on the township website, www.livingstonj.org."
So, Caroline, thank you very much for preparing that for us. Uh, moving on to the business part. Uh, do I have a motion to approve the minutes for the July 29, 2025 regular and conference meetings and as well the same night's close session meeting? Motion.
Second. All those in favor? I. All right. Can I have a motion to open up the public comments on agenda items only? I'll make a motion, mayor. Second. All those in favor? I. Okay. The meeting is now open for public comments on agenda items only. Seeing none, I'll make a motion to
close. I'll second it. All those in favor? I. All right. Uh we don't have any uh final hearings. We have a few introductions. Uh ordinance 30-2025 is being pulled this evening. So will you please read
Caroline ordinance 31-2025. Ordinance 31-2025 to Peach Tree Hill Redevelopment Plan. I'll make a motion to approve the ordinance. to move it on first reading. Yep. Is there a second? Move it in front. Second. Okay. Was there a discussion? Did you
want um Barry, did you want to explain a minute or two about this one? Yeah. Just briefly for the public, this is a property that is located on the corner of Peach Tree Hill Road and uh South Orange Avenue, uh which is directly across from Kushner Academy on
Peach Tree Hill and uh across the street from Newark Academy across South Orange Avenue. approximately a 31 acre piece of property currently occupied by the uh vacant uh office building that was the headquarters of AIG. Uh property has been vacant for a number of years and
recognizing the the challenging office market and the fact that it had remained vacant, the council authorized the study to determine whether the property qualified as air in need of redevelopment. The planner undertook the study. Planning board reviewed the study and recommended designation to the
council earlier this year. The council designated that property as a property in need of redevelopment uh which opens the door to uh a tool called a redevelopment plan which allows the council to provide certain zoning and permitted uses unique to that property
as opposed to reszoning the entire district. Um this redevelopment plan was then developed by our planners. Um if introduced by the council, it will then go to the planning board for a statutory review for consistency with the master plan and then come back to the council
for public hearing and adoption. Um notably and and probably most uh relief to the members of the public, the redevelopment plan does not contemplate any residential uses and does not authorize any more apartments. Um the plan expands on the underlying research
laboratory zoning which allows a certain number of uses um to include um some additional permitted uses including offices, executive offices, um light industrial warehousing, uh distribution
centers, um storage, uh science or research laboratories, fabrication, number of other uses. But um obviously from our perspective given what we've gone through in the last few years with the affordable housing component it is relief to do a redevelopment plan with
uh no housing at all. So um certainly one we recommend it'll give an opportunity to return this to a more productive revenue producing use and ratable for the community. So thank you very much. Any other questions? U I think you you clarified uh nicely
and described it nicely. Thank you. Uh one quick thing. So this has a permitted set of uses, right? So commercial uses. Anything specific are we suggesting here or is it like any commercial use? Um it is in the plan and the plan will be available and on file with the clerk
and in the land use administrator's office renting from the public. It will also be on the website if people want to review it. On page 12 of the plan, uh there are um listed additional uses which would be over and above the underlying zoning of the RL zone remains which was again offices, but it lists a
total of most of which I just tried to read. I think I hit most of them. Um but uh yeah, they're all uh wholesale offices, executive offices, municipal offices and facility, light industrial, light manufacturing, warehousing,
distribution centers and warehouse facilities, food grade warehouses, mixed use of other per of the permitted uses in the district, meaning you can have more than one of these uses. uh storage that like a self- storage facility, scientific or research laboratories,
fabrication and assembly of products, processing of processing and warehousing facilities for finished projects, digital data storage warehouses and electric substations. Those are the listed uses. Yeah, thank you Barry. And uh I think this is commercial uh currently and it's
going to remain commercial. Is that what you're saying? That's correct. It was an office. No residential. Yeah. Thank you. Okay, we have a roll call then, please. Council member Anthony, yes. Banani, yes. Vieiraa, yes. Deputy Mayor Klene, yes. Mayor Minhart,
yes. Mayor, this will have its public hearing at the next meeting on Monday, September 8th. Okay. Thank you. Will you please read ordinance 32-2025? Ordinance 32-2025 amending chapter 35-26 Police Department outside employment of
police officers. I'll make a motion to approve the ordinance for introduction. I'll second it. Okay. Questions, discussions? If you just want a brief summary. Um, as I'm sure you're all aware, uh, Livingston police officers are, uh,
utilized, uh, by, uh, utilities, developers, people doing road jobs to do what's called offduty work. So, they provide traffic control and things of that nature. Uh historically we have handled the scheduling payment recoupment of those costs. Uh you know
getting billing the developer or the contractor or the utility paying the employee. Um and the scheduling has been done in house. Uh it's become a pretty cumbersome process. Uh there's a company that we became aware of called Jobs for Blue. Uh there's a slight increase to
add their fee into the mix but they handle all the billing, all the escrow, uh the scheduling, the work. it will take a significant workload off uh not only finance and I'm sure the CFO is already nodding that she's relieved to get this on board but also the uh uh chief's administrative assistant who's
been responsible for all the scheduling. So it's uh to us you know it'll it'll alleviate a lot of work uh with no additional cost and and make for a smoother operation. Yeah, thank you Barry. I think those those would have answered some of my absolute questions. again to make it
simple uh this is actually augmentation to make our staffing and human resources more efficient um and we have fantastic police department I think it's it's pretty much uh sort of all spots are full at this time and we are doing a
great job in terms of uh policing our town but this actually takes away the administrative part and in return creates efficiency in terms of the numbers is nodding yeah certainly as to the the offduty work that our officers when they're working they're working for us but they have an opportunity because there is a
need uh and it's just the logistics of handling all that is created quite a way you want to weigh in speak more I would actually so the law is that if we don't collect the money we cannot pay the officers using a service like this they're going to pay us upfront whether
they collect it or do not so therefore we get the money in advance and we can pay the police officers that week which is great for them Great for us. It's a win-win for everyone. So, we're really excited about doing this. Great. Thank you. Yeah.
Roll call, please. Council member Anthony. Yes. Baptani? Yes. Yes. Deputy Mayor Klein? Yes. Mayor Minhardt? Yes. And Mayor, this will also have this public hearing on Monday, September 8th. Our next meeting. Great. Thank you. The consent agenda. All matters listed with an asterric 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 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. There's only one to read. So Carolyn, would you please read?
Resolution 25-249 authorizing approval of change order number two with Arcadus US Inc. I'll make a motion to approve the resolution on the consent agenda. Second. Okay. Roll call, please. Council member Anthony. Yes. Banani.
Yes. Vieira. Yes. Deputy Mayor Klene. Yes. Mayor Minhardt. Yes. Okay. Can I have a motion to open up the meeting to public portion? Motion. Second. All those in favor? I. Okay. The meeting is now open uh to the public on anything they'd like to talk
about. Hi. Hello. Just state your name and please where you live. Okay. Um sorry, I just wrote everything down here. So, uh, hi, my name is Michelle Lemieux. Um, I'm a Livingston resident. Um, I'm here actually as a
parent. I have a 12-year-old daughter who wants to cross Winchester and Northfield. Uh, I happen to live on Byron Place. A lot of her friends live in that area, and it's a very dangerous place for kids to cross. There is a um a
sign there, but I don't think that drivers realize that there is a sign. Um, I've been, um, myself guilty of not seeing it in other areas, like in other neighborhoods where I am, where there's the sign with the school children and
there's a crosswalk and you're supposed to, you know, um, stop. Um, I've experienced this myself while walking my children to camp when they attended um, Mammoth Court or dance. Uh, when I try to get to the oval, when I go to any events there, I typically like to walk there. Um, or just trying to take a walk
myself. Um, while there is a sign posted, it does not appear to effectively communicate to drivers that they are required or even expected to stop. As a result, vehicles frequently proceed throughout throughout without yielding, creating a dangerous situation for children and other pedestrians. So,
I'm asking if the council can consider any enhanced safety measures such as a high visibility pavement marking, a flashing pedestrian activated light, or a raised crosswalk to ensure drivers are alert alerted in advance. The current signage I feel is insufficient. I've
lived in Livingston for almost 15 years now and in the same place. I just did a remodel, so I'm not going anywhere. Um, but I would hope that there could be a proactive action to help eradicate this issue. Um, my daughter feels comfortable. You know, we live walking
distance to a Dunk to Dunkin Donuts or to Shopright. In those areas, there are crosswalks with the lights. Um, but in this area and without, you know, throughout town, there is no flashing light or any way for people to know to stop. So, if she wants to go to her
friend's house who lives on Winchester or another area within the hillside community, it's very dangerous and I don't feel comfortable having her go there. Um, and it doesn't make sense for her to have to go to the corner of South Livingston Avenue or to go to the corner
of Hillside just to get across the street. So, I'm asking just for some consideration if there's a way to make that crosswalk a little more accessible to younger children because nobody really stops there in general. I don't know if there's been a safety report done or or
this is essentially crossing Northfield is your point, right? Well, there is a c there's a there's two signs on each side at Winchester pedestrian crossing. It's we talked about Yeah. No, it's um it's inconspicuous if you don't know it's there. No, I do know and I know exactly the location you're
talking about. I certainly can appreciate. What I can tell you is um I will speak to the chief police. I will ask him to have his track traffic division look at it. Uh one thing, it is a county road. So any improvements we would have to do in consultation with and with the permission of the county
and the county engineer, but we have a great relationship with them. Um and and we'll happy to to bring this up and and I will again I I know exactly what you're talking about. There is a and people go faster on Northfield than they should. Um so and that's right actually where it stops
from it goes from like a 40 mile per hour to a 30. Right. So everybody's still going 40. I mean I'm the first to say like you know if you're just going and there's no one there and if you're not you know if you if you're not used to that then you're not going to see that sign. It just looks like it's like a like I would
think it was a school sign each two lane each road as well. It's a busy street, but I just I feel like instead of having to go this way and there is the opportunity if the sign is there that maybe there's a way to make it Yeah, we certainly will. I'll again I'll
have the uh the chief have the traffic division maybe do some data collection and some of the things they have. Uh look at um traffic calming andor warning in terms of and I'm familiar with those lighting crosswalks, the stopping, the flashing. Not sure whether this would qualify for another traffic light given its
proximity to Yeah, there's north probably not going to do a stop. If there's something, especially with school starting and things like that, it would be appreciated. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Any other comments on anything you'd like to discuss?
Seeing none. Motion to close. Motion to close. Yes. I need a second. Second. All those in favor? I Okay. Uh report. Thank you. Reports of township officials. Ann, anything for this evening? Yes, I do. Actually, um I wanted to just
let you know that we received money from the 3M settlement for the PAS of $715,000. Uh this week, we will be getting another 1.6 million this year and it'll go on for a few more years up to 3.6 million.
That's net of every all the costs. So, really happy to announce that. That's great news. I know we spent a lot of money on on that so far and so that's great to to def. So thank you very much for for your hard work and making sure that we get that. Adam, our Livingston Hometown Hero program has
met its uh 45 number. So we have hit the max. Uh we are still accepting applications because as we start going through and reviewing all the applications, we're we have to double check that the picture quality is good and all the information is there. Uh, so
we are collecting names even though they're past the 45. If someone if someone's picture is not uh I guess usable, we might be able to bring somebody up. So, but just to let you know that the 45 has been uh filled. If you go over 45, does it are we is
there a plan to rotate other people in down the line or? So, this program is a two-year program. Um it will be for uh 26 and 27 and then we'll do a whole another program for 28 29 and it's been very wellreceived and the reason it's not that we're arbitrarily
cutting at 45. That's how many polls and brackets we currently have located but we are open to exploring whether other locations might be available to add because it's seemed to be very popular. So the start of the program uh for residents to expect is 2026. What? Springtime?
Uh no Veterans Day. prior to Veterans Day. We're going to try to get them up this year uh November. Um and that's kind of the the bonus that at the first group gets is they get the the 2025 November and then they'll do um two times during the year for two years.
Fantastic. and the $2,000 uh check that Shauna collected uh that goes towards that that that goes towards uh people who may have financial difficulty or the idea that if we can expand other polls, this will help us uh purchase brackets. Thank you.
Great. Thank you. Thanks, Adam. Barry, mayor, I did and uh going to ask Annie to pull up real quick. Uh just have a very brief PowerPoint. Um, some of the people who've been following may have seen in the paper andor at meetings. Um, the township, we previously had a
garbage collection contract uh with a company called RTS. They were a great company. We had a good relationship with them. Um, however, under the law, we were only allowed to have that contract for 5 years and then we had to go out to competitive bidding. We did go out to competitive bidding. RTS did bid, but they were not the low bidder. So we uh
uh at the last meeting the mayor and council awarded a contract to a new uh low bidder um basso rubbish removal. Um the go to next slide um you can see from the results of this that it was it was
fairly significant um difference uh whereas RTS over a 3-year period would have been 5.2 2 million. Vasa was only 4.17 million. So savings reduction of of a million three, it's still an increase over the expiring contract, but that was
to be expected. Uh and over the 5year, if we do extend the two five-year options, the fourth and fifth year, which would be based on performance, uh it would be 1.3 million less going with Basso. So um for the residents, we want you to know there was a couple of good
breaks that we caught in this. uh one Basso uh has hired a lot of the uh workers who did the routes, actual routes in town for RTS. So they're starting off with a crew that's very knowledgeable, knows the routes, knows the houses, knows the town. Uh that
should make for a much smoother transition. Um the next slide. There you go. Um rear yard collection. uh those people who have reard collection which is an option uh that they would pay for the bid came in
at 28.50 uh per month for up to three cans. That's less than half of what uh RTS's bid was and I believe even less than what the expiring contract is. However, if you have that and you want to continue that, there's no way to just roll it over. You're going to have to
register new with RTS or with um Basso. Uh we will be um our new public information officer Mike Kizo will be posting a lot of stuff on social media and on the website probably as early as tomorrow uh which will include links and you you register for um rear yard
collection directly with Basso. So we want to make sure and get that out there. There will be links and information available on our website Facebook X Instagram etc. Um and then these numbers which I don't expect anyone to necessarily copy them. Uh they
part of our specification they were required to have a a direct number for service to call for miss pickup directly to them and have it ma you know manned all the time as well as an email address. So um again change is is hard but legally we had to go out to bid. We
got another low bidder. We've met with them. They're committed. I think we we have a confidence level that we'll have a better and more seamless transition by way of example. Um they were we were able to get from RTS. They were cooperative and provided us with the list of the current rear yard collection
companies that we were able to share with Bass. So we should also and again that's why I do want to commend and compliment RTS. They were a good good partner for us and provided good service. Unfortunately, I just didn't get the bid, but just wanted to let everyone know that. And uh really most importantly, make sure you stay tuned to
the website and all our social media to get all the details and and understand how to sign up for back rear yard collection. Other than that, we expect um the zones to remain the same, the collection days to remain the same. Really, all the rules of collection and what you're allowed to put out remain the same. Uh we did have to clarify and
bulk waste. Um we always said it was just for, you know, a few items that you couldn't get in your trash. Unfortunately, a few bad apples, if you will, put out like an entire house of furniture. So, we did have to kind of rein in and put some restrictions on that, but I think it's still more than ample uh ability to put out, you know,
what you might need, an occasional piece of furniture or things. So, that was it. Thank you very much. Great. Uh I'm sorry. RTS's uh contract ends August 31st. So, the new technically the new contract starts September 1st, but that is Labor Day, so there won't
actually be service on that date. The contract starts September 1st. First collection done by the new company will be Tuesday, September 2nd. Thanks, Sam. Russ, nothing tonight, Mayor. Thank you, counselor. Thank you, Mayor. I just briefly, so um just like to give the public an update
on our fourth round fair housing. Uh all challenges to our plan that was filed are due August 31st. To date, no challenges have been filed. Um so that's good news. I will say though, challenges throughout the state have not really come in yet. So, I'll have an update at the next meeting.
Thank you very much, Carolyn. Nothing for me tonight. Thank you. Great. Thank you. I think Councilman Vier, you have the announcements for this evening? I do. Um, council wants to congratulate uh Aston Roberts and the Roberts family uh for a successful uh event he held at
our gazebo area called Checkmate for a Better Future tournament. Uh it was a chess tournament uh where money was raised and um he donated the money to the Essis County Parks Foundation where uh they plan on building uh permanent chess boards in the Essis County Parks.
Um also want to congratulate Saints of New Jersey for their India Fest this past weekend. Um thank you for uh continuing uh to share your culture with our community. Um this Friday, August 15th, at 6:30, um Livingston will hold
an India uh Independence Day flag hoisting event. Hope to see everybody there. At 6:30, uh the LACD pool party uh will be at the Hannes pool from 400 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19th. Um very special um uh Mr. Shu, who
has been a longtime pool manager over at Hannes, is retiring and the town is hosting a retirement celebration at the Hannes pool on August 24th from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Um, he's been uh with the town for 38 years. So, we want to
wish Mr. Shu a happy retirement, but we also want to celebrate him. Um, Assemblywoman Rosie Begali um has a seminar at our community center on August 27th. uh she'll be talking about uh the anchor program, the senior freeze program, and the state New Jersey
program from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Again, that's August 27th. Um Youth Appreciation Week uh is uh September 15th to the 21st. More information on that will come um also um probably on our website. Uh Movie at the Oval next
Wednesday. Um Despicable Despicable Me Number Four. Um starts at sundown. I don't have an actual time. I just was told sundown roughly 8 o'clock. Okay. Um the very popular doggy dip, which I think three of us may participate in this year. We
won't be dipping. We'll we'll let our dogs dip. Um will be on September 6th starting at 100 p.m. at Hannes Pool. And lastly, I uh the Quan this past Monday, the Quanis golf outing um was had a very successful event event raising money for
the West Essex YMCA. I do want to congratulate the mayor and uh Ann Coochie for uh placing first. Um also Ann won the woman's longest drive. So congratulations mayor. It was also Thank you very much. It was also a clean sweep because Councilman
Vieira won the putting contest as well. So So it was a clean sweep of the Livingston of Livingston officials and elected officials. So um so thank you very much. Uh just want to real quick shout out to the Livingston uh police for sending somebody. So we thank you officer for spending uh this evening
with us and keeping all of us safe not only today but uh every day for you and all the officers. So thank you. Officer Chen, one of our newer but not newest officers. Yeah, not newest rising up in seniority as with the rate of turnover. So I I think with that I'll take a motion for adjournment. Motion
second. Although we are Thank you.