[Music] [Music] [Music] Evening everybody. Welcome to the uh November 10th uh town council meeting. This meeting is being held in accordance with the open public's meeting act and adequate notice of this meeting has been provided is required by law.
Specifically, the annual notice was emailed to the West Distributed Star Ledger on January 3rd, 2025. The agenda and resolutions for the meeting are available at www.livingstonj.org. Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for purpose of personnel and/or 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 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 businesses and any communications are subject to the open
public's record act. To the extent possible, this evening's Township of Council meeting will be livereamed via Facebook at www.fas.com. Livingston Township NJ. Questions or comments will also be accepted by emailing live comments living.org by 4
p.m. on the day of the meeting and shared with the township council before the meeting. Each speaker shall follow the rules of order in living sin code 2-15.3. Roll call, please. >> Council member Anthony, >> here. >> Banani, >> here. >> Vieira, >> present. >> Deputy Mayor Klein, >> yes. >> Mayor Minhartt,
>> I am here. We're going to rise uh for a moment of silence followed by the pledge. to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.
>> I do not see Eileen Fisherman here from the county. Uh, Harsh, you want to wait for Andrew? Should we? >> All right, I we'll just keep going. Is it okay if we keep going with our business until Thank you very much. All right. Uh, moving on. Can I have a motion uh to accept the minutes of the October 29th, 2025 regular and
conference meeting minutes? >> Motion. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I uh can I have a motion to open up the public comments on agenda items only? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> Okay. The meeting is now open for public comments on agenda items only.
Motion to close. >> Second. Second. All those in favor. >> All right. Uh 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. And there will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the
governing body so requests in which case this item will be removed from the consent from the consent agenda and be considered in its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the general orders. Did any of the councilmen want to pull out any of the uh consent items? No ma'am. Okay. Then Caroline, will you
please read all four of them? >> Thank you, mayor. Resolution 25-311 authorizing the award of a contract to Mont McDonald LLC. Resolution 25-312 authorizing a contract extension with Hawk Graphics Inc. Resolution 25-313
emergency appropriations and resolution 25-314 authorizing the execution of the first amendment to the developers agreement with Mount Pleasant Partners LLC relative to property nose block 2100
plus 22 to 25 30.01 35.02 and 35.03. Motion to uh move the resolutions. >> I'll second it. >> Roll call, please. >> Council member Anthony, >> yes. >> Banani? >> Yes. >> Vier? >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Klein? >> Yes. >> Mayor Reinhardt? >> Yes. Thank you. Can I have a motion to
open up the public portion on any subject? >> Motion. >> Second. Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Okay. The meeting is now open for three minute time limit on any subject. >> Thank you so much. Council members, mayor,
>> name, name and uh and where the town you live, please. >> Sure. My name is Dana M. Reese's. I live in Livingston, New Jersey. >> I know that most of you are very confused about the recent set of actions that surround me, my family, my
extremely open and verbal form of communication via public social media. But I assure you one thing I will tell you is that everything that you've heard from my own mouth is 100% true.
We live in a amazing town. I've lived here my whole life. Retail businesses have gone out of business in front of my eyes. And I just want to highlight that we have an incredible business in Livingston Pharmacy that has this unbelievable soap section. It is not
something that you would expect me to talk about, but the reason why I'm saying this is because this soap is some of the most effervescent and wellsing at a time where retail is dying. And I really want to buy this soap every time I come in. But I don't buy the soap
because there's no soap dishes for sale. and an entrepreneur with the brains like Meyer who was able to bring in an incredible pharmacy in this town and offer a lot of really really great services. The pharmacies are great. All
he was missing is one 79 cent soap dish that he could just add $1 to the price of each bar and give it out for free. This man would sell probably double the amount of bars of soap. You might be confused. Please let me explain. You see, ladies and gentlemen,
this town is exactly like that shelf of soaps. And this town, all it needs is one tiny little bar of soap holder, which will allow people to buy beautiful bars of soap and not leave that cruddy
mess after the first time you use a bar of soap. And that's why people don't use bars of soaps. But in order to support to support small businesses and think outside the box, you have to think differently. I ask you that I presented
you my small box of uh soap box. I don't know what it's called. Soap dish. Uh that's a great movie as well. Take your time to take in my little soap dish that I gave you today as a gift. I assure you I'm going absolutely nowhere. this issue
will be resolved either amicably or through the courts. But I present to you an amazing solution which would absolve a lot of the anxiety and confusion from 31,000 people and remove the walls of bureaucracy that
have really held back progress. And the girl that presented you have a bottle king that's rotting eyes sore for 10 years that can be converted into an art space. I don't know if I was able to speak on that agenda, but my time is up.
>> Thank you very much. >> Any other comments on on any subject? >> Okay, seeing none. Uh close. Mayor, >> second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> I Okay. Um we'll still wait. We'll keep waiting. Um uh we'll go to uh uh the
reports of township uh officials and council members. Um I know an Cuchi, our CFO, is going to say some wonderful stuff. And I would like just to on behalf of the entire council um express our sincere sincere thank you and gratitude for all the hard work that
you've done all the years that you've been here uh along with our town manager Barry Lewis as well. the announcement that you're going to make is really just, you know, warms our heart on a cold day like today. It's good for the town and it's good for everybody who live in this town. So, uh, we just want
to take this, I express this gratitude, say thank you very much for everything you're doing for all of us. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. Um, well, the big news is that, uh, the township was upgraded from a double A2 to A1 in Moody's rating, which is huge. Uh it's
taken us years to get to that point. When we came on board, both Barry and I, we weren't nowhere near getting to this level. And the good news about this is really it gives a very low credit rate risk for us. Uh improved financial
health. They cited all of that for us. Um the interest rates will be lower when we go out to bid on our notes and um because we're a low credit risk. So that means we'll have more uh biders on our on our notes and bonds and um they cited
a couple of things. Residential wealth is one. I mean everybody wants to come here. You can see that from the sales of the homes. Um we have a well balanced economy and sound financial reserves. So that's key because we've been working
very hard on long-term planning and Moody's like that. We're not and the council is not looking for a one-year solution. We're looking for a long-term solution. And Moody's recognized that. And they cited a big part of why we are where we are is because of the council
and the ma and the management and the finance and looking ahead of things. So, um, with that, I'm just so proud of of being here and working with everyone. And, um, we have a finance committee and we we do a lot of work in there. and
then we meet of course with the whole council. So I thank everybody for supporting what we've been doing and um congratulations to the town. >> Thank you very much. And I just also I also should mention I just um I'd like to thank Ann and Barry for their times
and Councilman Batani who has joined me at these finance committees. We've met maybe about eight to 10 times so far this year. Maybe a dozen. I can't really know but somewhere around that number. And uh I appreciate the extra two hours that you both have given to us. I think it's proven this council and this town
very well and the meetings have been very productive and I'm very appreciative of all the of all the time that you've given us and to thank Councilman Batani as well for that. Thank you, mayor. If I may add, um for all of these uh meetings, I have seen you and and Barry as well to living
to the true words of what you said, planning for long term because you're always concerned about the reserves, making sure we have emergency funds, we are at a level where we can sustain if there is something to happen, etc. besides doing the capital projects and
in doing so finding creative ways to to serve our debts, debt financing and debt servicing. It's been very creative and again as as mayor said, thank you very much. It's it's it's a it's a wonderful way to to to manage this and result is
AAA 2A1. Um I I heard last note I've heard that and I've seen I googled it. Um we are better rating than New York City as far as uh as far as those obligated obligation notes are concerned.
>> Right. So there you go. There you go. That's I wanted to make sure you know that's registered. So So good job there. Good job there. >> Thank you. Mayor, may I just uh Ann and Barry and the administration too just congratulations. Uh I know that uh Joe
De Vincenzo is always proud of what he does for Essis County and we are right now equal and and on the same level as Essis County. So uh it's been a long uh long road, but I I just want to just say congratulations and uh you know, our entire town will will benefit from this.
So congratulations to both of you, Barry, and the entire administration. >> Well, thank you. >> Thank you very much, Barry. I'm sorry, Ann, were you done? An >> okay, Barry. Um, so just quickly on the same topic, I I want to also recognize
Ann, all her hard work. It's been uh quite a payoff. The two of us have worked very closely in five years. But I also want to give credit to the mayor and council because this is all a collective effort. The support that you give us, um the the you know, the public, I think, should be aware that the mayor and council, you know, take
their job as stewards of public funds very seriously and and we, you know, proceed deliberately. we don't play, you know, gimmicks and one-year fixes and things and and it really has paid off. And just another quick shout out as well to uh uh Joe Fakone and Andy Pascal from Samuel Klein, our auditors. uh John
Drakowitz from Gibbons who's our bond counsel and our adviserss at Phoenix adviserss, our financial adviserss uh all have been invaluable in the overall process and in this whole uh mission and and just really great and as Ann alluded to it, you know, the the better the
rating, the more interest we get, the more biders you get, the lower rates you get. Uh and ultimately that pays off in less debt service we have to pay, which uh serves to help the taxpayers. Um, one other bit of good news. I'll have something more official, but I did have a conversation with Nathan Kirkoff
today. They're in the final phases of aligning the skate and stuff, but phase A of our PFAS treatment should be online within the next week or two. Uh, and that again was a significant percentage of the water. Uh, phase B is underway. Uh, so that's good. I know that's been
something sort of hanging over us, but I think again it's credit to uh to Nathan, all our professionals and and being ahead of this and getting it. So, uh, we are at this point where our water will be fully treated and all PFAS removed from it. Um, another note, we, uh, there
was a photo, uh, we we took a little photo outside with the veterans, but, um, the veterans banner, the hometown hero banner program was wildly successful. We had, um, more interest than we could support based on the number of brackets, but the banners are all up. Certainly encourage the
residents to take a look at them. Um, uh, thank you to Mr. Learner and Lorie Patino in particular who was charged with all the the paperwork keeping track of all the banners. But um very proud to say that the two that we selected for right out in front of town hall are uh
Bob Harp who was the first ever township manager served for 30 years and Chuck Tahaney who was the second ever township manager served for 20 years. Both of them were veterans and uh certainly honored to be able to to honor them out front. Um and I think that's what I had for tonight.
>> Thank you very much Barry Russ. Uh just that we remember the family of Terry Coker who is a retired police dispatcher who passed away recently. >> Thank you Russ chair. >> Uh thank you mayor. Nothing tonight.
>> Okay. Uh before I go to the next person uh just so everybody knows out there in TV land as well it is Carolyn Mazuko's birthday. So so she shared so so she chose to share her birthday with us. So Caroline, we wish you a very very happy birthday uh and very many returns. And I
will also just take this opportunity um among the council and all the residents to thank you and an as well for all your hard work on election day last week. Uh you did a great job with the program with the teenagers with the 17 18 year olds as well. I think they all enjoyed it. I think they all learned something and I think they're all most of them who
can come back because there'll be seniors in high school will come back. Um I know you've stewarded this um program for a few years now. So just want to thank you and an for all your hard work. I know it was a couple of late nights in a row, so thank you, >> Caroline. Anything to say after that? >> I couldn't have said it better myself.
Um, but you're right. And the CFO, I mean, what town has a CFO that comes and works the elections with them until 8, 9:00, 10:00 at night packing everything up. >> Well, we're fortunate. We're fortunate to have a CFO that does. >> Unbelievable. Unbelievable. And uh just a big shout out to Liz Peterson, Renee
Rusky, and Lauren Costello because um you know it's a 18 19 hour day and they are they're a great great team. So very h fortunate to have them also. >> Y thank you again. Yep. Yeah, that's a good idea. I think u maybe you can coordinate uh deputy mayor just brought up a good point. Maybe you can reach out
to all the kids and maybe we can bring them in uh for a presentation um and say thank you to say thank you. Okay. Yeah, I know you have the list of everybody. Thank you. I think the deputy mayor is up for this evening's announcements. >> Thank you, mayor. So, I'm going to just start off by saying happy birthday,
Carolyn. >> All right. Um, just to run through what we've been up to. Uh, first of all, uh, on the 3rd, uh, we had the Rotary food tasting, which was a huge success. I didn't hear numbers on how much money was raised, but always a packed room with lots of people having fun. It's
just a great night for everybody. So, good job there, Rotary. Thank you. Um, and of course I was going to on my list is election day and what a great job Caroline and her office did uh running it for for the um for our township. Always goes smoothly um because we have smart people watching over and with a
lot of effort. Um on the uh on the 6th uh the Israeli uh baseball team uh had an event uh over in uh near the uh circle uh in the runup to the World Baseball Classic. So that was really exciting. they they uh announced that
their new manager is going to be Brad Amus and um they had a nice crowd that was there and it was just a fun event to see uh the presentation from the Israeli baseball team. Uh and then on the 9th there was a hackathon. Um what was the
name of the organization Kaden? I didn't uh see. >> It's a GICOM. Geico. >> Yeah, Geico. They are involved in communitybased service to kind of you know showcase and teach and spread the word for artificial intelligence. Excellent. And as you said, it went very
well and exciting to see all those young brains working hard. Uh tomorrow, um is Veterans Day. Um and we're going to have a ceremony here in town at 11:00. Uh Governor Elect, uh Mikey Cheryl is going to be joining us. So, uh everyone should come out and and uh and see her there
and uh it's really and she's a vet, of course, so it's really appropriate. Uh so I'm I'm I'm personally very excited to be able to uh thank her for her service. Um, also, uh, we took pictures outside today to help, uh, to, uh, celebrate the new banners that were up that, uh, Barry just presented, uh,
talked about. So, um, I've had the banners just went up, and I know I've personally been contacted by three people who I don't usually hear from to say how wonderful they looked, uh, and how proud it made them feel, uh, of the township. So, I think this was a great thing that we've done. Um, also,
tomorrow there is the unveiling of the Patriot burial marker, uh, at the Eli Cemetery at 2 o'clock. Um, there is a Gotta read. Hard to read my handwriting, folks. Let me see here. >> Typical of a doctor.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I'm going to skip over that one. On the on the 14th, let me look at my phone. Hold on one second. Hold on. That's atrocious. I'm sorry. Um Oh, we have our veterans lunch. Especially it's atrocious because I'm not reading that. Um we have the the
town has its annual uh veterans lunch uh at 11:30 at the uh senior center uh which is always well attended and and a pleasure for us to go and to um say thank you for everyone who served us by serving back uh to them. Um and that's uh really a special event. So everyone
should come out at 11:30 on the on uh 11:14. Uh and then one other item is on the 22nd, uh the town is sponsoring a Thanksgiving food drive from 8:30 to 3 outside, uh the back of town hall. So, uh if you have canned goods and all the rest of the uh goodies for Thanksgiving,
uh please think about um in these times of food insecurity, uh supporting your neighbors. Thanks so much, Mayor. Thank you very much. Just two quick follow-ups and then we'll let Harsh and Andrew come up. Just want to thank uh we've been fortunate every uh meeting to have a representative of the LPD here again as we have tonight. So, thank you very much
for spending time with us and keeping us safe in the town and the entire town safe as well. So, thank you and also a big thank you uh to all the veterans who will be celebrating tomorrow, thanking them for their service uh in all the different wars that have placed and we look forward to having the governor
elect here in town as well. So, thank you. Um Harsh and Andrew, I I have stalled as long as I could on this agenda. So, either that or I'm going to call for I'm going to call for uh an adjournment. So, you guys are up.
uh for thank you for having take it up. Uh thank you for having us here tonight. Uh it's a privilege to present in front of the town council. Um I would um like to first to thank the council for attending all our events because it's
one of the ways that we um uh get to highlight the town's commitment to diversity, unity, and inclusion. So we I thank you and we thank all of you to uh uh that you guys attend our events and uh a special uh thank you to our town
leaison Ketan Btani. Thank you always for your support and direction. So we really appreciate having you and after the reorganizations I hope you continue to be our town leison and I would also be uh remissed to >> it's a permanent that's a permanent
position. Okay, just just making sure >> no displacement here now. >> Okay, >> so I would also like to um as Andrew is getting the pictures together, I would also like to thank uh the town manager's office, both Barry, Adam, and Lori in
the office. Um all of them have always been helpful and has always been helpful answering any of our questions. So an thank you >> and we appreci we appreciate all the effort. And of course, um, Caroline and Liz in the clerk's office, anytime I have any questions, I just reach out to
guys and you have always been helpful. So, thank you so much. >> While you're at it, I'm sure you have a thank for Tribune as well. They they publish your >> Thank you to the Tribune, too. >> So, so far, so, so far, everybody got thanked except for Councilman Anthony, the mayor, and the deputy mayor, and
council. Just want to point that out. I just want to point that out. >> We appreciate you've been at every event down. So, I I uh started off by thanking the council. >> I'm totally kidding. You know, >> it's because of you guys attending all
our events, we are able to highlight the the town's commitment to inclusion and diversity is what I >> listen really, you know, listen, I I'll say now I was going to say to you and Andrew and your whole committee. You guys do, you know, spectacular work. I know you're going to talk for a few minutes, but just want to say thank you. I was kidding about the comment before,
but we, you know, I think all of us, this entire town owes you, uh, Andrew and your entire committee, you know, a major round of thanks and applause. You have worked very hard this year. You continue to work hard next year. I know for all the events you put on. So, really ma major thanks for all of us. >> Thank you. I mean, we're not alone. We
have a committee of 25 people that I mean, we do a lot, but the committee also does Yman's work in terms of putting things together, and they deserve a lot of the credit as well. So, thank you. Hold on. >> So, what we're gonna what we're trying
to show is well, for lack of we'll we'll try to do it the oldfashioned way. Um, we've done a number of different events through the year as you all know. the community the the community may not be aware but we've from Martin Luther King Day to
Black History Month. Uh Martin Luther King Day is we we the LCDI produces two major events a year. Um right right now we produce the Martin Luther King Day which attracted over 500
people um at uh the community center. We also do the celebrating women of Livingston event. Um, Black History Month, we did Women's Veterans Day over at Memorial, the Memorial Oval. Uh, we support the Ramadan crescent lighting
over at the uh, gazebo. Uh, we work with LH, we we work cross community, so we work with LHS. Um we supported their national English national English honor society social justice readin
um which was a successful event that got a lot of high school students. We got a lot of community participation uh both from restaurant tours and vendors to really attract the students. Nothing attracts the students like food. Um and it was really just a a fun time. Uh
we celebrating women of Livingston. you all were there. Uh really successful event. We honored 14 dynamic women uh in town. We're already starting to plan for next year. Uh we're excited about it. We've got the committee is excited about we just had our meeting last week last
week >> and they're all engaged to really get it up and going for next year. So we are starting to be probably in January accepting nominations. uh Israel flag raising, the AAPI picnic, also big event in town,
uh pride picnic, very exciting event, uh first first weekend in June that celebrates um LGBTQIA and we work with Shivai, the Portuguese flag raising. Thank you. Thanks to Michael uh that was brought to us this
year and Sison uh which was happened in September. We had about 200 people or so at that event this year. >> Yes. So through all these uh programs what we have tried to highlight and with direction from uh councilman Tani is that we try to include all the different
organizations in town be it the library because the uh Junth event we held it completely in the library. So all these partnerships that we are building through the all these other organizations in town I think is really helping us uh getting a cross community connect at all our events and we that's
something that we want to improve on as we go forward >> and we're also working with LTV >> LTV >> uh we've reached out to the arts council to the LS the LSO um they were at our um MLK day last year if I recall u and so
we are really trying to bridge the gap across because diversity inclusion isn't just one committee. We do a lot for individual groups for recognition but it's really something that should be brought across as opposed to siloed.
>> So thank we again thank you all for your support for your endorsements. We appreciate it. >> Um and this is an important initiative that the community undertakes. >> Thank you. We as I said earlier we thank you for everything you do. It's uh the two of you represent the best of the town when it comes to volunteerism. So,
we thank you both very much and your entire committee as well. I'm not leaving them out as well, but since you since you're here, I can thank you guys especially. So, you know, >> mayor, >> we look forward and I just we look forward to your continued leadership. So, >> thank you. >> Yep. >> Sorry. >> So, if I can add a couple of uh words
here. Uh I absolutely second what what the mayor said. Uh thank you both of you for your leadership. Um I remember last year when I took this committee over as a liaison, my message to you was and to the committee was how do we really
integrate meaning not just siloed perform have an have an event and then some other you know committee and some other institution does almost similar event for township and for township resources. The smart way to go about it is to bring everybody as together and
sort of do a bigger event and sort of make sure that you know we smartly use our resources. You not only just did that, you actually embodied that in every new event and every new uh sort of you know occasion that we that we celebrated. So kudos to you guys. Kudos
to the committee. I I attend those meetings and I see the the energy that flows and it's all because of the nice leadership as well as the the commitment from the from the committee and the volunteers that that put their time and effort in there. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Thank you. >> Thank you, council. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Okay, with that uh this meeting will be ajourned. We are going to go. >> Mayor, we're going to do a motion on the closed. I think >> I'm sorry. >> You're going close. >> Okay. Uh I would like have a motion to go into close, please. >> So move. Second. Second.
>> Okay. Roll call, please. And to read the uh resolution. >> Resolution 3 uh 25-310 to go into close session. Whereas the open public public meetings act public law 1975 chapter 231 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances. And
whereas the township council is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist. And whereas the township council wishes to discuss personnel fourth round fair share housing lives mall attorney client privilege. Whereas minutes will be kept and once the matter involving the confidentiality of the above no longer
requires confidentiality of minutes can be made public. Now therefore be it resolved by the township council of the township of Livingston that the public be excluded from this meeting. Council member Anthony >> yes >> Banani. >> Yes. >> Vier. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Klene. >> Yes. >> Mayor Minhard.
>> Yes. Thank you very much. >> No further action be taken uh from this council following close session. So there will be nothing more for the public. >> Thank you. Two minutes and we're going back. We're sorry.