I call to order this regular regular meeting of the township committee of the township of Mars this Wednesday, June 17th, 2026. The time is now 700 p.m. This meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act and
adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required by law. Specifically, notice of this meeting was emailed to the daily record and the Mars Newsby on January 8th, 2026 and posted on the Township of Mars website. The agenda and resolutions for the meeting
are available on marswp.com under the agenda center. Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of personnel andor other matters as outlined in the sunshine law. 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 purposes of township business and any communications are subject to the Open Public Records Act. Madame Clerk, roll call, please. >> Mr. Griselle, >> here. >> Mr. Janata, >> here. >> Mr. Ravitz,
>> here. >> Miss Rothman, >> here. >> Mayor Grigley, >> here. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance and please remain standing afterwards for a moment of silence in memory of Walter Clark in recognition of his service to Mars Township.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag 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. >> Mr. Quinn,
>> thank you, Mayor. We just want to honor uh and remember one of our detachment employees that suddenly passed away last week. His name is Walter Clark. Walter served with the tantrum for the past 18 years. Um he was our parking lot enforcement and also did our property
maintenance enforcement uh for us. Prior to Walter coming on board with detachment in 2008, he had served as a police officer with the West Orange Police Department serving admira for 30 years. So, uh, Walter was a bright sunshine here, made a lot of people
laugh, had a great sense of humor, and we'll be significantly missed here by all those here at town hall. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have the approval of the minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes from March 9th, 2026, the
special meeting >> by one motion? >> Oh, wait. >> Roll call. Do >> we roll? >> Yep. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Griselle, >> there's an abstension on the minutes. That's why we need to do a roll call because she wasn't here.
>> Samantha wasn't at the meeting. So, we're doing a roll call >> on the minutes. >> Yeah. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Uh, Mr. Janatada. >> Yeah. Here. >> Mr. Ravitz. >> Yes. >> Miss Rothman. >> Mayor Grigley. >> Yes. Tonight we have two proclamations
on our agenda. And the first one is honoring June 2026 as Pride Month. And we'll have Committeeman Rabbitz speak to it. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I'm going to read the proclamation. uh township of Morris proclaiming June
as pride month whereas the month of June is recognized as pride month celebrating the diversity, resilience and history and contributions of the LGBTQ plus community and pardon me whereas
Mars Township values and supports a welcoming and inclusive community where all residents are treated with dignity, respect and equality And whereas LGBTQ plus individuals contribute to the social, cultural,
civic, and economic strength of our community and help make Mars Township a more vibrant, compassionate, and inclusive place to live and work. And whereas Pride Month provides an opportunity to recognize the importance
of acceptance, understanding, and equal opportunity for all people while acknowledging the ongoing work toward ending discrimination and promoting inclusion with our within our community. And whereas communities are strengthened
when people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences feel safe, valued, respected, and supported. And whereas Pride Month also serves as a time to celebrate the spirit of unity, encourage meaningful dialogue, and
reaffirm our shared commitment to kindness, fairness, and mutual respect for all residents. Now therefore be it comp proclaimed by the township committee of the township of Mars, county of Mars, state of New Jersey that
June 2026 be recognized as Pride Month in Mars Township and all residents are encouraged to celebrate diversity, promote inclusion, and continue building a community rooted in kindness, respect,
inclusion, and equality for all. uh all signed by the members of the governing body. Mayor, >> thank you. And I just want to also thank Committeeman Rabbitz. This was the third year that uh three years ago he had put together and the township committee
agreed to create a Pridefest. And again, it was did a tremendous job. Chair Noah Richardson um who's a young much younger and we know we'll keep this around for a long time. But just thank you again to you and the committee and uh everybody
who participated. >> Absolutely, >> including staff. They did a great job. >> The the town the governing body of the Mars Township has been all about community building and unity for as long as I've been on the township committee and I know it will be long after I'm gone.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. The next proclamation we have is honoring Junth Junth and Deputy Mayor Janata is going to address it. Thank you, mayor. Whereas on January 1st, 1863, President
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation setting in motion the end of slavery in the United States. And whereas on June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveistston, Texas, and announced
freedom for enslaved people in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation. And whereas Junth is recognized as the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and was established as a federal holiday in
2021. And whereas Junth provides an opportunity for communities to reflect on our nation's history, recognize the strength and contributions of African-Americans, and celebrate the values of freedom,
equality, and opportunity. And whereas communities across the nation commemorate Junth through education, cultural events, music, faith services, storytelling, and gatherings that promote understanding, unity, and
respect among all people. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the Township Committee of the Township of Mars, County of Mars, state of New Jersey, that June 19th, 2026 be recognized as Junth and all residents are encouraged
to participate in activities and events commemorating this important day in American history. Thank you. >> Thank you. We will now, this will be our first public commentary. There are currently six members of the public
joining us via Zoom and seven are here in per or maybe there's eight now. There's eight in person. Um we will open public comment. We'll begin with comments from those who are present here first followed by the recipients on Zoom. If you are participating on Zoom,
please raise your hand if you wish to speak. Before speaking, please state your name and whether or not you are a resident of Mars Township. For the record, comments are limited to five minutes per speaker. If you have questions and would like response, remaining time will be used for that
purpose. Is there a motion to open the public comment? >> Some second. >> All in favor? >> Is there anyone here who would like to come to the podium? >> Hello. Hello. My name is Dr. Linda Seabird and I live
I am a township resident for almost 50 years. 178 Hillrest Avenue uh is my address. Just going to adjust this. >> You want you want to move it to the side of the podium perhaps? >> Well, it's okay. Wait, we we're getting
you some help. >> I'll take care. Let's put on the other side. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You get one, too. >> Okay.
>> Okay. Thank you. We can hear you just fine without you pulling the microphone. >> No, I was just steadying it because it's falling over. Oh, >> see it was tilting >> timber. >> It's not stable. Uh, first I want to express my appreciation for the
township's outreach to the larger community seeking Do you need one? Thank you. >> I just wanted to express my appreciation for the township's efforts and outreach to the larger community in seeking uh
input for the ongoing master plan revision. It was striking and frankly not surprising that every one of the citizen groups that attended the May 31st session cited the tree canopy of Mars Township as one of the things they
valued most about living in the township. With that in mind, I am here both as a nearly 50-year resident of the township and as president of the Burnham Park Association to strongly urge the township to take immediate steps to
employ a New Jersey licensed tree expert before removing any more mature trees and to follow best practices, including consideration of a shade tree commission to maintain and manage that much valued tree canopy. At the May 31st meeting, it
had already come to my attention that two mature specimen oaks on Midland Avenue and a hickory in the Green Strip were marked for removal. After the master plan meeting, I spoke briefly with Mr. Quinn and Mayor Gor Guariglia
to share our community's concern that the township lacked a New Jersey licensed tree expert to assess these trees to determine if their removals were necessary. At that time, I also requested that the township briefly
pause any plans to remove the trees for several days to maybe a week at most to allow assessment by a trained tree expert. Additionally, as a show of good faith and in order not to burden the township, I indicated that the Burnham
Park Association board was happy to secure such a tree expert and to cover whatever costs might be involved. Mayor Gore was open to the idea of an expert assessment, but I don't think Mr. Quinn was. The mayor then went out of town
that weekend and to our surprise and disappointment, the removal of the oaks took place very suddenly on June 3rd, just a few days after the May 31st request. The packet that you have is one that I
compiled of information with photos for your knowledge and understanding of the process that occurred. In it, you'll see photos of the two majestic oaks on Midland and their healthy canopies, followed by photos of their stumps. You
can see clearly see that one stump showed some decay, but that the second stump, which was over 5 ft in diameter, showed no evidence of disease or decay. On the day of their removal, Mr. Quinn
did share a photo of the decay cavity from the first tree, but no photos were provided from the second tree. Please review the commentary provided in the email chain that's included in here below. Throughout this experience, I
consulted with Mr. Evan Duvio, a New Jersey licensed tree expert, which is the highest level of tree expert training. It's higher than a certified arborist. He is the tree expert who advises the town of Morristown, its
shade tree commission, and multiple other communities throughout the state. As you can see from Mr. Duvio's emails, which he authorized me to include here, he disputed the need to take down these oaks, including the one that had some
decay, and he provided his reasoning as well as recommendations for proper assessment. He also felt that the hickory on the green strip should likely not have been removed. You can see his comment on the bottom of page four.
Furthermore, he quoted the New Jersey licensed tree expert law which says, quote, "Only New Jersey licensed tree experts are allowed to assess and make recommendations on tree health and hazards, etc. No other certification is
recognized by the state to allow for tree assessment. In other words, in the absence of having a New Jersey licensed tree expert assessing its tree its trees, the township is liable if there are problems with the trees. I would
call to your attention to page five of the handout which I provide information on other considerations including the financial impacts of not consulting a trained licensed expert. At prior meetings the costs of hiring
the costs of hiring uh have been cited as a deterrence for the township taking action in this way. We might want to look at the costs of removal versus the cost of having a consultation which would have cost $90 an hour versus the
cost of having tree removals of large scale remove trees. >> Dr. Saber, you're at your five minutes. >> Well, um, since your five minutes, >> is that including the time that it took to >> No, ma'am. I did not started till after you started and that was fixed.
>> All right. Um, I have a very short amount to go. We have a second commentary. >> There's a second public commentary at the end of the meeting. >> All right, then I will continue at that time. >> I would ask that you take these handouts home with you though and give it time
and consideration and I will come back at the end of the meeting for the second public commentary. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Is there anyone else here in person? >> Hello. My name is Harvey Klene. I live at 18
Haworth Court. Uh, those of you who know me know that I tend to go on a little bit when talking, so I actually have my comments written down. We all know that next month on the 4th of July, we will be celebrating the
approval and uh and we will be celebrating the approval and signing of the Declaration of Independence. This declaration is in fact based on the passing of the Lee resolution on the 2nd of July 1776
by 12 yay and one abstension. Uh New York abstained eventually voted yay on July 9th 1776. The Lee resolution was proposed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June
7th, 1776, almost exactly 250 years ago. I believe it was seconded by John Adams of Massachusetts. The June 7th, 1776 Congressional Documents included certain
resolutions respecting independency and being moved and seconded resolved that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and
that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved. The resolution was, as many resolutions are even today, tabled until a committee
of five wrote a document declaring these words. However, it is not because of the Lee resolution that I stand here tonight. The very next paragraph state that a congressional committee was set and that
committee beg leave to report that it appears to the comm to the committee of sundry affidavit confessions of the party's charge and other papers that Elizabeth van the wife
of Henry Vanine of Mars County in the province of New Jersey with the privity of her husband's of her said husband has counterfeited several bills of continental currency, some of which were passed by the said van dyne and others
of them by his wife, and that the sen van dyne and his wife were for the set offense committed to the jail of the county of Mars by order of the committee of the township of Mars. this very body.
Back then the jail was on the green. Here is history. Some major, some minor, taking part, some taking part in Philadelphia, some right here in Marstown. That to that I have but to say
huzzah huzzah huzzah. >> Thank you very much. Well, hard to follow that act. Uh, I I salute his knowledge of history and his appreciation of our history and our past. That's amazing. Um, Charlie
Shakar, Ten Raleigh Court. Uh, good evening. Before I get into my usual comments about gas leaf blowers, as you know why I'm here, I just want to say that I do support what Dr. Sebert was saying. We do value our trees here. I attended one of the master plan meetings
and the trees were brought up several times in my focus group and then I noticed that each of the focus groups brought them up as well. Um, I will say this also, I know we have a current tree ordinance and I know some people have proposed making changes to it, but I don't believe that our current tree
ordinance is even very well enforced. I have a neighbor in my neighborhood who recently basically clearcut his entire backyard and took out I think a dozen trees, many of which I think had 12 to 24 in diameters. Uh the tree company was
there for two straight days uh working. So I don't think they filed a permit. I don't think they're permitted to take that many trees out at once. All right, enough said. >> I have not and uh maybe I if you give me the proper channel too, I I could. Um,
all right. Good evening. This is the seventh uh consecutive township meeting that I've attended to raise concerns about gas leaf blowers. As a reminder of why this issue is important, I'm just going to mention one group that's affected right now, which is children. According to the Icon School of Medicine
at Mount Si, pollution generated by gas powered leaf blowers po pose multiple health hazards to human health. Children are highly suspect susceptible to these hazards because they breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults and
thus inhale more of the pollutants that are thrown up into the air by this equipment. Children's vulnerability is further magnified by the fact that their lungs, ears, eyes, and other organ systems are still developing, making them inherently more sensitive to
environment environmental hazards than adults. I've also mentioned other groups that are at risk such as seniors and uh people with pre-existing conditions. Uh so I'd like to give you first four quick um uh updates to the quiet summer initiative which again I thank you uh
for pass or for agreeing to. Uh first thank you to the administration for disseminating information about the quiet summer to residents. I hope that we can continue uh to share this information in a variety of forms until the end of September when this initiative would end. Um, second, the
Morristown Shade Tree Commission uh asked to have their logo added to our flyer. Uh, which means that five towns have now gotten behind this initiative. I'll repeat, Madison, the Chadams, Morris Township, and now Morristown. Uh number three, an organization called
Quiet Communities, which is very involved in this issue nationwide, uh sent an email to us and said of our quiet summer initiative, quote, "This approach is the best we've seen as a model to emulate across the state." So, I'm very proud of that that we have uh
that we have collectively done that. Uh and um fourth, I just anecdotally, I recently went door to door to let some of my neighbors know about the quiet summer initiative. I got to tell you about nine out of 10 people I spoke to were receptive uh to the idea and many
were highly enthusiastic in fact. Uh I know again this is purely anecdotal but I think it accurately reflects public opinion. Um finally I'd like to sort of discuss again other actions I believe that we can take without going to ordinance. So, first, as I repeat, we
can apply for a $10,000 sustainable Jersey grant to convert the township's gas blowers to electric. $10,000. That would buy a lot of leaf blowers. So, I asked last month, and I'm hoping maybe to get this information at some point in
the future. But first, to apply for or to think about such a grant and to understand the budgeting behind it, we would need to know how many leaf blowers the township currently operates and what kind of models they are. just to know the strength and the power of them. Is that information available? Can I ask a
question at this point? Or maybe I'll save my question. Sorry. So, I'd like to know if that information is available. >> Obvious, we can definitely get that information. >> Thank you. Second, uh is there any update on the um on the thought of of a resolution in support of New Jersey S27,
the state law? And thirdly, has there again been any thought towards amending the current noise ordinance to include gas leaf blowers? Those are my three questions. Thank you for your consideration and as always, I'm happy to answer any of your questions.
>> Thank you very much, Charlie. We will get those responses back to you. >> Thank you. Good evening. George Quillin, 9 Barbar Road, and I'm here to talk about some signs that have appeared in strange places in the township recently. I guess
a few days ago I learned that um what are essentially political signs have been put on properties that have been designated for affordable housing development in our fair share housing
plan. And I wanted to know um if the township committee is aware of this. Uh I also noticed one of my neighbors has a sign in their yard. That's fine. People can put signs in their yard, but um I
walked past the um past the JCPNL property, for example. Recently, I noticed there are a couple of signs stuck in that property, private property. I assume the people who do this, who did this, did not ask the property owner's consent.
I uh walked past the site of the Cozy Cupboard, which is now um Township property as I understand it. And there's a sign there as well. Um, so that's um plainly not something which is in
compliance with the ordinance uh forbidding political science does not belong to the town. >> I'm sorry. >> That property does not belong to the longer. It was sold. >> I'm sorry to community hope. It was sold, George. That property. Um, well, I
certainly suspect that the people who put up these signs made no attempt to get consent from any of the property owners and a number of the signs are in the right of way also. So, I wanted to know if you're aware of them and if you have any plan
to remove them. >> Well, we are aware of them and yeah, Mr. Quinn will explain. We do have an ordinance regarding this. However, we the ones that were in the um >> you get a letter from me every year about political
>> I know and I like that. I was going to suggest you send that out again. >> We are going to send it out again, but those that are on private property. Um we don't touch signs, especially political signs on political property. If it's on property or if it's in a public rightway such as an intersection that's a sight hazard or anything else,
we will remove those signs. But we do not touch political signs that are on private property, >> including in the rightway. >> Including in the rightway. And that's we have complaints against both Democrats and Republicans every single year for that same thing. That's why we are hands
off on political signs. We don't want to take a position of favoring one political party over another political party. So those private property owners can certainly remove them if they wish, but my employees are not going to remove those. I guess first the property private property owner would need to be
aware that there's a sign in their property. >> That is not our purview to notify them. >> Yeah, that's a sad thing to see. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello. >> Hello. How are you? >> Good. How are you?
>> Um just a comment on Uh David Okcado. Uh I'm a Morris Township resident. 5B Leave It Drive. Just to comment on what Charlie's doing.
Um I attended a clean community um leazison group which is a national organization and we were discussing about gas leaf blowers and uh we passed on the flyer that you created and so
South Orange is going to be u taking initiative as well. So I think that's good. Um the only thing I want to comment on today is um the adverse health effects. I've always been a big health addict. Uh, and that the 85 dibel
level that these uh gas blowers um uh emit uh have found the CDC has found that 2 hours of exposure to that gas leaf blower causes induced permanent
damage for hearing. So I think that in itself would be a reason to eliminate the gas leaf blowers. The other thing is um if you look at the emissions
uh it's an oil it's a two-stroke engine. So it's oil and gas mixture. Uh the two-stroke is an inefficient engine and about 30% of the fuel is not burned. So creates obviously
uh pollution, air pollution uh as well as noise pollution. Uh that's my only comment. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Hello. >> First of all, I just want to thank uh committee committeeman Ravitz and
committeeman Janata for their kind words this morning. is Steve Lis 20 Park Drive. I've been here for about 29 years and I just want to welcome committee person Rothman to the uh to the council and I want to thank you all for your for
your um work here. Uh I use a leaf blower. I use a powerful leaf blower because I need to move acorns and wet leaves. I've never had a complaint. If anybody doesn't like a leaf blower, and I agree about pollution, let's all give
up our automobiles. Let's all give up our hot water heaters and our boilers, and let's go back to horses and burning wood because we run on fossil fuel. This country runs on fossil fuel. If you're concerned about children as I am and the
noise, then let's ban commercial um landscapers from the township on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday and Sunday is the day for people to be with their children. It's the day for church and synagogue. It shouldn't be the day when
we wake up to lawnmowers and and uh leaf blowers. So, let's be real brave township. ban commercial landscapers on Saturday and Sunday unless there's an emergency in the township. They have
five days a week. Let's do that. The last thing that I wanted to mention is about Woodruff Road. The speed there is incredible. It's incredibly dangerous. I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've been here. You guys, including Mr. Quinn, have been very nice. Police chief
has been very nice doing the traffic survey there. But I think we need more speed signs on Woodruff. I need we I think we need crossing signs where it says you have to stop for a pedestrian. I've stood there with my dog for several minutes before anybody stopped.
Sometimes nobody stops. Can we talk about stripes that say this is a crossing area on the streets that are bordering that are on Woodruff Road? Um, and the last thing I would like to know is how much are we spending on this
lawsuit uh fighting the um depart the uh department of uh federal government? How much of the town spent so far? How much do we intend on spending? Do we have to worry about the budget? And the last thing if Mr. Clint could make or the
mayor could make a comment on these law firms that are doing this pro bono. As we all know, nothing in this world is for free. And if they are working for proono on this this um um this item, then maybe they should be banned from
doing business with the with the township in in other areas and they should be published so we know who these law firms are that are providing this proono service. Last thing I want to say is
this is the 250th year founding of this country. People die. They put their lives at risk as veterans do. There are two veterans commit suicide every 24 hours in this country. Two veterans kill themselves in this country. Okay? We
have women that are going to be beaten tonight. We have children that are going to go to bed because they're hungry tonight in this town and in this state. Let's take some time. Let's take some money and spend it on those items. Let's not worry if someone's using a leaf
blower. If we're so concerned, then walk away or go up to your neighbor and say, "Can you do me a favor? Don't use your leaf blower today. I'm having a barbecue. We're having a child's birthday." That's all I have. This country is built on freedom. It's not built on rules and regulations.
Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your comments. Uh >> can I answer two questions on leaf blowers on Sundays and >> Yeah, sure. Sure. >> Just on two of your items, Mr. Lyus. Um reference to uh Woodruff Road. You may
have noticed last week we put in the fog line. So we we narrowed the lanes on on Woodruff Road. Um and then we found that on other streets that that has brought the speeds down by narrowing the lanes. Um, you'll also see that there's a resolution on the agenda tonight that
the township is applying to the state department of transportation for a grant for the repaving of Woodruff Road. Um, we have two two uh applications and usually we get one. I don't know if we'll get the first one or we'll get Woodruff Road, but um usually we'll get
in a couple years. that we have put in for doing that and that also includes doing upgrades such as you know crosswalks and things like that when we get if we do are awarded that grant by the state. So those are two things we've done in reference to Woodruff Road. Um also in reference to your comment and
commercial landscapers they are not permitted to work on Sundays on residential properties. That is in the ordinance. So, if there is a complaint of landscapers working on Sundays on a residential property, notify the police department. They will respond and they will put an end to it.
Um, they can work on Saturdays, but they're not permitted to work on Sundays. >> And I just want to uh Mr. Caner, I just want you to comment because we are in litigation with the DOJ, but um it is my understanding that the law firms are listed.
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. We passed agreements in in our public meeting uh to engage them. It's democracy forward uh which is um you know they they take these proono cases on and the plaque and law firm which is located in Newark. Um the agreements provide that no monies will
be given to either of these firms. Um and to my knowledge democracy forward certainly won't be doing any work with Morris Township and the plaqueing law firm currently and in the past has done no work with the township of Morris. >> Thank you Mr. winner or Mr. Caner of
just a followup to one of Mr. Larus's question. Uh, do we have the ability to ban landscapers, commercial landscapers on a Saturday? Could we do that in an ordinance or we will we get sued? >> I I mean I I we have the ability to do
it. I don't know the practicalities of, you know, the township and the landscapers, but we certainly do have the ability to do that. It's certainly difficult with rain and other things when they get pushed back and you're going to have all your >> um people like myself who are your weekend warriors that do their lawns on weekends most Saturday.
>> You're a private resident. I know >> we're talking about services. >> They're they're you know private is it you know if you're doing it yourself you're exempt, >> right? Um one other question during the week they can start at 7 a.m. but on Saturday they can't start till 8. Correct. >> No, I believe it's 7:00 a.m. >> 7 a.m. on Saturday. So, the ban is from
6:00 p.m. Saturday until 7 a.m. on Monday. >> So, okay. I thought for some reason weekends had a later start time. >> Demolition work. >> That's for demolition work. >> Oh, yeah. Right. The next paragraph is demolition work. Yep. >> And that starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
>> Maybe >> uh 9:00 a.m. on week on weekends. >> Yeah. >> Uhhuh. >> Okay. >> Saturday, not just weekends. Be Saturday. >> No, it's Well, it says weekends. >> Yeah. All right. >> We don't have much demolition of demolition. >> Yeah. >> Right.
>> But we could put uh commercial landscapers on that same schedule possibly. >> Yeah. It's a it's our code. We could regulate commercial landscapers as we wish. >> The enforcement is the hard part. >> Yeah. Enforcement is hard part. >> The only one who's going to enforce it your police, >> right? >> So why that's what you want them to do.
>> Yeah. >> And change the ordinance, >> right? >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks for coming out, Steve. Good questions. Hello. >> Hello. I'm Jean Cass at three I live at three Frasier Lane. I want to thank the
committee for the uh the queen the quiet summer initiative. Um I think it's a it's just the first step hopefully in progressing uh as a town. Um and I hope the town converts to electric blowers especially
if we can get a grant. That would be that would be very good. Um, if we did that, we could advertise the town uh as cleaner and quieter than other towns, which would be, I think, a feather in our cap for people who might be
considering moving here or staying here. So, that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Seeing nobody else here in person, Brian O'Shea, you have your hand raised. >> Hi, good Brian O'Shea 51 Road.
Um, joining this evening via Zoom, partly for convenience and partly because the drive would have added to my own carbon footprint, which given tonight's subject matter seems worth avoiding. I want to talk about what Morris Township's all electric ordinance actually delivers environmentally
because the answer is considerably more complicated than its advocates suggest and Mars Township residents deserve an honest accounting. The ordinance's premise is straightforward. Ban gas appliances and new apartment construction mandate electricity instead and reduce carbon emissions to protect
public health. It sounds compelling. The problem is that it rests on a fatally flawed assumption that electric electricity generated by our power grid is clean. Let's look at where New Jerseyy's electricity actually comes from. According to the US Energy Administration in 2024, approximately
50% of New Jerseys instate electricity generation came from burning natural gas. Nuclear provided another 45%. Solar contributed less than 3%. Wind less than onetenth of 1%. So when you plug an all electric appliance into a New Jersey
outlet, roughly half the energy powering it was generated by burning the same fossil fuel the ordinance prohibits at the building level. But there is an additional complication. New Jersey doesn't generate enough electricity to meet its own needs. It is in EIA's words
an intensive net importer of power, meaning it draws heavily from the broader PJM regional grid that serves 13 states in the District of Columbia. And across that broader PJM grid, approximately 403% of generation is
natural gas and a further 27% is coal. Combined fossil fuel generation across PGM is roughly 70%. So the actual grid powering a Mars Township all electric building on a cold January morning when heating demand peaks is predominantly
fossil fuel. The gas hasn't been eliminated. It has been moved to a power plant somewhere in Pennsylvania or West Virginia, burned less efficiently, and transmitted across hundreds of miles of wire before it reaches your building, losing another 5 to 8% of its energy to
transmission resistance along the way. Compare that to a modern high efficiency gas furnace operating at 90 to 97% efficiency at the point of use. The all electric alternative provided by the current grid may well produce equal or greater net carbon emissions while
costing the tenant significantly more. And here the numbers are not of extract. JCPNL the utility serving Morris County raised residential rates by 20% beginning June 1st 2025. A typical customer using 777 kilowatt kilowatt
hours per month saw their bill climb from $112 to nearly $135. That was not a one-time correction. The PTM wholesale capacity auction for the 2026 2027 delivery year hit its price cap of $329 per megawatt day, signaling
further rate pressure beginning this month, June 2026. Industry analysts tracking JCPNL rates not a consistent pattern of 5 to 8% annual increases compounding across the rate base. And the BPU's own approved energy efficiency plan projects
additional monthly bill increases of nearly $5 per month by July 2026 on top of the supply cost increases already in effect. A tenant in a new alllectric Mars Township apartment locked into electric only infrastructure with no gas
alternative has no hedge against this trajectory. They cannot switch fuels. They cannot install a gas appliance even if gas becomes dramatically cheaper relative to electricity. The ordinance has made that choice for them permanently and in one direction only.
This mandate is funded with other people's money, other people's energy bills, and other people's futures. Before I close, I want to address one practical reality directly. The Mars tax committee is indicated will not comment on ongoing litigation. That is their
prerogative. But the absence of official comment does not mean residents are entitled to no information. It means the information will have to come from somewhere else. And that's precisely what we at Morris Township Future Forum are here to provide. Among our membership, we are fortunate to count an attorney who has been following this
case closely from its inception. His analysis identified significant vulnerabilities in the township's legal position. Most notably, that the township is a legal doctrine that simply does not apply here because Congress has explicitly stated that federal laws take
precedence over local ordinance like this one. He also identified the inconvenient reality that only the federal circuit court of appeals to a rule in this precise question ruled against the local gas plan. That analysis was published in our most recent supplemental newsletter. As a
member of this community and of MTF, he will continue to monitor developments and share his assessment as the case progresses through the federal courts. This is not commentary from a past outside observer. It is informed legal analysis from a Morris Township resident who has as much as legit as anyone in
this room. Mr. >> ruling, you you're at your limit. Thank you. >> You're more than welcome to come back for the second closed session. I mean second public commentary session. Marlene member Marlene.
>> Yes. Hello. Good evening everyone. 63 Independence Way. Um just following up on things that have happened well they've been going on for a while now. The first thing is the Abbey the U
restoration hardware. Um a number of months ago it was mentioned that they were back on track again and um as I pass that every day doesn't seem that there is much going on there. So, uh, what was is the story on that? Also, um,
there's a sign going on in Park Avenue as you get off Colombia. And, um, wasn't I'm trying to remember whether this was a proposed area where there was supposed to be an off-ramp for Route 24 or not, but there's some strange being
constructed there. So, if you could fill me in on what that is. And um I a number of maybe last year I forget exactly when but uh I had made a comment about uh artificial turf. Uh I'm not going to
approach that right now, but as you know um as you may suspect I belong to a number of environmental and conservation groups and I get uh periodically I get emails regarding current um issues that
are going on and one of them is about the um there's a lot of this on the news about the um the data centers that are being um you know put in throughout the country I Yes, but I guess New Jersey
also is feeling the impact of this. And basically they uh sent something that said that if there was a way to to tell your town to pass an ordinance to regulate data centers. And I believe the
reason for this is that the existing zoning laws are often insufficient to handle the unique demands of data center facilities. So, I'm just putting that out to the committee and if you could give me some information on h how or how
we would respond to something like that. Thank you. >> Thank you. You want to handle that first? Go ahead. >> Okay, >> Mrs. Member. Um on the Abbey, that project is currently on hold.
However, um, as you may have seen, there was some property maintenance issues, large mounds of dirt, those kinds of things. Um, pleased that we've been, you know, going back and forth with RH to make sure that they properly maintain the property. Um, the grass was cut, those large mountains of dirt were were
removed, and we'll continue working with them to make sure that they keep up on the property maintenance, but there is nothing right now with that project moving forward. on the second item for Park Avenue at Columbia Road. That's actually an apartment building with an affordable housing complex
um that is being built that's in Hanover Township. However, it does not impact the future for the Route 24 ramp. That ramp is in the design stage and that will actually come out a little bit farther to the east uh farther down Park Avenue uh where that's going to be
located. And then on the other two items, um, as far as the artificial turf, under totally understand your concerns there. The field that is going in up at Freeling Heisen was put done by the school board for it approved that. Um,
at this time we have no artificial turf fields set to go anywhere else. >> We have no applications. >> Yeah, we have no applications for that. And also the same on the uh data centers. Obviously, the committee is going to look carefully at that at this
time. There's been no um as far as we know there's no reason to be concerned that anybody's looking to put a data center here in Mars Township. But we will discuss that further because that is an issue across the state that everybody's concerned. >> Okay. Uh you know uh you are breaking up
on my end here. Uh if I could just um respond but you know I do listen to the um meetings online afterwards. I get on the TV and I get it and hopefully I'll get the uh you know your uh answers to me more clearly that I'm getting it
here. But um the reason why I mentioned the artificial turf is because of the um you know golf courses that we have in the uh area. I know we may have the schools that may not have this on the on their properties and everything but you know we do have golf courses. We are
we're in Liberty Greens. We're right across the street from a golf course. some impact that we might have there. >> Thank you. And Marlene, I'm happy to give you a call if you can't if you aren't hearing correctly. So, I'm happy
to do that. Okay. Thank you. Uh the only other hand raised I see and if you could identify yourself, it says iPhone 475. >> Hello. Hi, this is Dan Riff 7 Ironwood Road in Morristown or Morris Township.
>> Hi Dan. >> Hi. Um, so I'm just calling to speak out against uh the gas leaf blower ban. Um, you know, I really don't have an issue with it, but you know, as taxpayers and residents were already facing increased
property tax bills due to rising health insurance costs. Uh the school has a bond out which I support because I have kids in the system but essentially making people go all electric is just another tax on the residents. Uh so I
don't think you know we're a country with freedom of choice. If e electric uh leaf blowers uh are that much better the consumers will ultimately choose them. I think there's a lot of people that talk about the environmental concerns, but
they fail to talk about the concerns about how do you get lithium that are the main source of the battery power out of the ground, you know, the deforestation, the water concerns. So, they kind of fail to address those concerns. Again, once the technology
improves, I think, you know, people naturally move to the better technology when it's more costefficient. I also a gentleman earlier talked about how the town was distributing flyers. You know, a flyer was put into my mailbox with no
postage stamp and I don't appreciate that. You know, that is a federal uh uh u breaking, you know, federal law of, you know, including something in someone's mailbox. So, you know, again, I spoke to Donna and I appreciate her transparency, but she had told me the
town was not behind that. But I also, you know, it creates confusion on who's actually behind this. So that's all the comments I had. I just, you know, as or sorry, one last thing, a gentleman earlier came out and said something like speak to your neighbors, speak to the landscapers. Like why can't we just do
that as a society? I think, you know, that solves a lot of issues instead of just coming in front of here and having to make a point. But that's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dan. And uh again on the issue of the flyers actually going into mailboxes, we're just trying to
determine who might have done that. Um not understanding that is not something that you can do is put them into the mailboxes. So thank you. At this time, seeing no other members uh wishing to speak, is there a motion to close public comment? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> All in favor? I >> I. >> Ordinance for public hearing and adoption. This evening we have one ordinance scheduled for public hearing and adoption. Ordinance 26-26. Before proceeding, I will ask administrator Quinn to provide a brief
update regarding this ordinance. >> Thank you, mayor. That deals with coming to agreement with our firefighters which are represented by FMVA70. Um we have a memorandum of understanding for a new contract covering the period
of 2026 through 2029. Um with that comes a salary ordinance um that gets enacted so that we can give the firefighters their compensation uh that was negotiating the agreement. This was introduced. We do not have a signed contract with the firefighters
yet. It is forthcoming. Um we wait until we have the signed contract before we uh give them the raises which would be enabled by this ordinance. So, respectfully requesting that this ordinance be um tabled and to the July 15th uh meeting for public hearing and
vote of adoption. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to table ordinance 26-26 and carry it to the July 15th, 2026 Township Committee meeting? >> I'll make the motion. >> I'll second it. >> Roll call, please.
>> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Ravitz? >> Yes. >> Mr. Gazelle? >> Yes. Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Griglio, >> yes. >> The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance 26-26 will be held on Wednesday, July 15th,
2026 at 700 p.m. here in the municipal building. We have one ordinance for introduction. Please read the title of ordinance 27-26 into the record. Ordinance 27-26, an ordinance of the township of Morris,
Morris County, New Jersey, establishing salaries and compensation for employees of the fire officers association, FMBA, local 270 of the Township of Mars. >> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 27-26?
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> May I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Rabbitz? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mr. Ganata, >> yes. >> Mr. Gazelle, >> yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Griglia, >> yes. The public hearing and finally
final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 27-26 will be held on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026 at 700 p.m. in the municipal building at 50 Woodland Avenue. Tonight, we have 28 resolutions on
tonight's agenda. May I have a motion to approve resolution numbers 121-26 through 148-26 by one motion? >> Second. >> May I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Gazelle? >> Yes. >> Mr. Janata?
>> Yes. >> Mr. Rabbits? >> Yes. >> Miss Rothman? >> Yes. >> Mayor Griglia? >> Yes. >> We have five items on the consent calendar this evening. Can I have a motion to approve the items on the consent calendar by one motion? >> So moved. Second.
All in favor? >> I. >> Consideration of monthly reports. The following reports are on file in the office of the township clerk and township administrator. Finance reports for December 2025 and January, February,
February, and March of 2026, April 2026, police and fire, May 2026, Tax Collector, Joint Court, and the Marstown Mars Township Public Library. Is there a motion to approve the monthly reports? >> Some move.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Claims for payment and the list of bills and vouchers. The total amount of bills and vouchers for this meeting is 8,837,5352. We are also the tax collector for the school district, the library, and the county. May I have a motion to approve
the list of bills and vouchers? Some >> move second. >> May I have a roll call vote? Mr. Gazelle, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Mr. Janata, >> yes. >> Mr. Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Griglia, >> yes. We've received for the record, we have two items, the board of adjustment
annual report for 2025 and the resignation from Joshua Saxs from the environmental committee and we thank him very much for his long-standing service on that committee. We will now turn to the standing committee reports and commentary by the
township committee. and we will start with committeewoman Rothman. >> Thank you. Um quickly I wanted to remind uh particularly parents please remind your children that if they have an ebike, an e motorcycle, any electric
vehicle, they're not allowed on the paths. I've gotten, excuse me, complaints about people who are on uh bicycles, not assisted bicycles, just straight up bicycles, that they are seeing people moving very quickly on
these devices, fullface helmets and the like. Um, not only is it dangerous, it's not allowed, but it's really bad for our paths in the parks, um, it causes a lot of soil compaction. So, I just wanted to remind parents specifically about that.
Um, also wanted to thank Dr. Sabert for coming in today as well as giving me a tour of her neighborhood. Um it was super informative. There's so much good work being done in the Burnham Park area. Um specifically too, I wanted to
touch on this issue regarding trees. So um for those of you who don't know, my background is in forest ecology. And this is an issue, um you know, forest management is not only something I've studied, but I've worked in professionally. And we have, excuse the
pun, a lot of lowhanging fruit. Um, there's a lot that we can do to improve our management practices here in the municipality. We have a lot of people with a lot of training, a lot of
expertise. Um, and I believe I had a great meeting with uh, Administrator Quinn. Um, we're all in agreement that we can always do better. And one of the things that um this incident,
you know, brings to light that we see over and over in forest management is that you have um natural conflicts that happen when you're managing uh natural environments. So, you have the desire to
have beautiful treeline streets. It improves homeowner value. Um, we all love parking under big shade trees to keep our houses and cars cool. Um, but simultaneously we have to protect for the safety and well-being of our residents as well. And so sometimes
those two desires can come into conflict. And so the way to move through that is by developing processes that everybody um feels comfortable with that there's transparency that's professional um you know and that's that's grounded
in science and management. And so I think um we've opened up a great conversation and I look forward to continuing that work. Um and I also invite the public too to be a part of that process. So if you're into trees uh please reach out. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Committeeman Grazel. >> Uh, thank you. Uh, first I'd like to uh say thank you to the police department for their inforcement during the World Cup of uh >> people coming into our town trying to
get a peek at the the Red Bulls facility and uh the Brazil team that's practicing there. I know that there are a lot of Rapid fans and they're very excited to have their, you know, preferred team here. Um but the and the police department's done a lot of good work uh
to protect our residents from those I don't want to call them intruders but uh those onlookers um and enforcing traffic uh in in the streets surrounding the Red Bull facility uh when Brazil is present and and practicing. So thanks uh to the
police department for that. Um, also want to congratulate uh patrolman uh Maser Rico and patrolman uh Palasio for receiving the Mothers Against Drunk Driving recognition and excellence award for DWI arrests in
2025. Um, this marks uh uh patrolman Marco Rico's uh fifth award and Palasio's uh second award. And so their dedication and commitment uh to keeping drunk drivers off our roads uh should be commended and glad to see the police department uh continuing to do that that
good work. Um I'd like to send my condolences to the family of Walter Clark. Uh he, as Tim mentioned before, he's uh been here for quite a while and always a pleasure to be around. um we're sorry to lose him and so my condolences to his family on that. Also like to
congratulate Albert Levvenberg on our agenda tonight was his uh 40y year anniversary with the township and it's always nice to celebrate those occasions. Uh we have a lot of employees who have been here a very long time and Albert just hit 40 years. So uh thank you Albert for your service uh to the
community. Uh last month we recognized gun violence awareness day which was June 5th in June but since uh this meeting is coming after gun violence awareness day the committee recognized it last month. Uh but it did want to recognize it again
and uh the weekend following June 5th. So June 6th and 7th was uh wear orange weekend which is to promote uh awareness of gun violence and I was proud to wear my orange shirt to the PrideFest um and promote gun violence awareness there. Um and kudos to uh Bud for everything
you've done to get that Pridefest up and running. It's really uh really very nice this year. Um and thank you for that hard work. And that concludes my remarks. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Committeeman Rabbitz.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, just a couple of things. I also want to echo what Committeeman Gazelle said. Congratulations to Albert Levvenberg on his 40 years. That's quite a remarkable achievement and and really appreciate his service to the community. Also want
to congratulate uh Taj Valentine uh on being appointed as a probationary firefighter class 2. The mayor and I had the um had the pleasure to interview him and he is going to be an exemplary addition to Mars Township's bravest. So
we wish him uh all all the best luck and Godspeed. Um, also want to talk about the Collinsville Park uh, grand reopening. For those who were there, uh, whether you're listening to this uh, here in person or you, you know,
watching on video later on, it was a tremendous uh, reopening. Was a gorgeous, gorgeous day. We had so many people who had their hand involved in the um, in the redesign, the reimagining
uh, of the park. Uh it got to cut the ribbon. Our our congresswoman Analia Mahia was there and she spoke in both English and Spanish. It was really wonderful. There were so many residents and so many children already using the
water park. It was just fabulous. And I know and I said this before that we, you know, we overcame some hurdles. It took longer than we had anticipated, but we got it done. and it is a definitely our Mars Township's latest crown jewel.
So, congratulations to everybody who um who had their hand in that project. Uh we also did our our Pridefest which I um I I I can't say enough about, you know,
how this what it has meant to me and I think to the community. Uh, one of the things as long as I've been on the township committee really has been about community building, bringing us together a as a community, recognizing that
there's strength and diversity and that um, everybody treating everybody equal doesn't diminish the rights of anybody and including anybody in the conversation that wants to be heard is welcome to be included in the conversation. And it's something that,
you know, I live by in my own personal life and I know on the on the different governing bodies that I have been on, it it has been echoed by every member of the governing body and I really really appreciate that. Uh I was a little disappointed
when the post went up onto the township website, some of the some of the posts, the vitriol that came out um anti-LGBTQ plus. I was really kind of saddened to see that. And I think a bunch of us um were sad to see that. And it's really
unfortunate. Um if if you don't believe or one doesn't believe that you know LGBTQ is is right for them, that's fine. Um but it goes back to a lot of what I have said on here on the DS for years
now is to be kind and there's no reason to post such vitriol onto the township website. It just it just diminishes what we have accomplished here. And I would urge anybody who doesn't believe that diversity makes us stronger or that
equality makes us stronger or that inclusivity makes us stronger should come up to that microphone and be heard rather than sitting behind the keyboard because you know what? It's just not right. We should we we're better than that. Um, also, um,
I guess that's really kind of in keeping with a, uh, a resolution that I had written a year or so ago declaring that Mars Township is a fair and welcoming community. It's something that we that governing body believed in. It's something this this governing body
believes in. Um, and it it's really kind of keeping with the spirit of what we on the as the township committee have been trying to do for many many years in a in a world that is sometimes seems kind of upside down to, you know, to bring it
together to bring it back to a sense of community. These we we're neighbors, we're friends, we're family, and we need to start acting like it. And when we start talking to each other rather than at each other, we're going to find that
we have a whole lot more in common than should ever divide us. Mayor, >> thank you very much, Deputy Mayor Janata. >> Thank you, Mayor. And just echoing everybody's um comments about the uh two the events the two events from last week
the pride event uh was I I thanked the parks and recck personnel for running us smooth running it smoothly and for committeeman rabbits for initiating the first pride event three years ago. It's like every year it just gets better and
better and uh this this past event was very was run very well and just yeah we we must always remember that the reason for pride festivals and pride month is to let people be themselves without fear
and we had the grand opening at Collinsville playground with the state-of-the-art equipment and um and the very popular splash pad. I mean that's one of the greatest things that people were the kids were using a lot and um again I commend parks and wreck
and especially administrator Tim Quinn who gamely stayed there for the whole 6 hours and thanks and we also had the watch party which reminds me we welcome the Brazil national soccer team for training for the World Cup at the new
Red Bulls training facility on Colombia Road. I pass it every day and whenever the uh I see the roadblocks up there, I I'm just say hope you guys do well and so best of luck to them and the US team
and those of the other countries and if you look on your calendars, there are many watch parties in and around the town and I I encourage you to watch them and cheer on whatever team you want to support. and uh the and also on June 21st it's
international day of yoga which was proclaimed by the United Nations in 2014 and it recognizes the universal appeal of the practice including for many residents in the township and surrounding areas and the practice originated in ancient India but has and
it embodies the unity of mind and body and it improves the health and stress reduction. It contributes in improving health and stress reduction among other benefits. And on my committee reports, environmental commission, I'm saddened
that Josh Saxs had to resign. Both Josh and I had joined the environmental commission on the same time seven years ago and he he did very well and he's going to be shortly missed. But uh also on good news, the environmental
commission received two grants. the sustainable Jersey grant for the environmental resource inventory and the Anjek grant for purchasing native plants for the community garden and that shows how on um the ongoing good benefits that
the environmental commission has done and the transportation advisory committee TAC will be holding its first Morris Township in motion event this coming Saturday June 20th at 10:00 a.m. at Vernon Park beginning at the Thomas Payne statue. Rick Bay of the planning
board and I will be leading the walk and the weather will be cooperating. So I hope I see many of you over there because I I'll be one of the presenters. Uh now for the little history commentary. Since graduation season is
upon us, I thought it was appropriate to speak briefly about some of the teachers that have influenced me. My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson drilled in us to write outlines, and lo and behold, I still write my notes in an outline. She also wanted us to write neatly, but
alas, that didn't catch. In high school, I recall two English teachers, Mrs. Barbara Stewart in 10th grade and Mrs. Joyce Levenson in 11th grade. To this day, I remember the diverse nature and quality of writing of the novels and stories we had to read and the rigor we
followed in writing our term papers. And as just a followup, I um still have a lot of the books that uh they had let us made us read and I reread them as an adult and I enjoyed them immensely. And among the many college professors I had,
I recall my political philosophy professor Roloffs. In particular, he stated that the perfect example of participatory democracy was the New York Knicks coached by Red Holtzman. This was a team that won two championships in the early 70s with Walt Clyde Frasier, Earl
the Pearl Monroe, Dave De Busher, Dollar Bill Bradley, and Willis Reed. He's no longer with us, but I'm sure wherever he is, he's been cheering for the new champions. And by the way, one of my classmates was Sean Hannity. I'm not
sure what he got out of the class, but I remember having to do a lot of reading, which has still stuck in my mind. But I really wanted to talk speak about one teacher in particular, my seventh grade social studies teacher, Mr. Mr. Joseph Alomo. I recall the first day of class, he had
mentioned the fact that President Richard Nixon had just resigned a month ago and that Gerald Ford's photo was on the row of presidents was not ready to be posted yet because it was just a month. Mr. Paloma also told the class that what we should note is what we are
hearing on the evening news. We must remember what we are hearing on the evening news because this would mark an important time in history and it did. We learned much about civics and the formation of governments among other things. But that lesson on history taking place at this moment stays with
me. I recently had a cordial phone call with Joe Balomo a couple of weeks ago and he was thankful that at least one former student remember what he taught. He had mentioned that I had met him at um at one of the dinners at a lat Latin
American restaurant that Dr. Steve Line had set up. So I look forward to seeing seeing him again when I attend the next dinner. May we always remember the teachers who had influenced us and thank them whenever we get the chance. Thank you, mayor. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor. So again, my
report will be rather short. Again, I'm just checking off. There's so many things that even quite a few of you have mentioned. I did though want to express my own personal condolences to the family of Walter Clark and also to the family of John Landau who was a contributor to our environmental
commission and also very much responsible for um how well Foots Pond has been taken care of. So um condolences to both those families. I would like to congratulate we do have a new recreation director Russell Sorren.
He begins >> Monday, >> Monday. So, we're excited about that. Again, everybody's talked a lot about the Pride event in Collinsville, um, which were absolutely amazing and I hope that people do go visit Collinsville because it's it's great in that
neighborhood, but it's also an asset to everybody in the township. Um, I too would like to thank not only our police department for all they've done around the World Cup. They've been doing a great job. Um, and I would also like though to thank the residents,
especially those who do live over by uh the Red Bulls because they have been incredibly understanding. You know, obviously the first day when all a lot of the Brazil fans came out before anybody had any idea that that many would just be driving up, literally
parking cars and rushing to try to get up to see them practice. But the residents have been good. You know, there were a couple who called and the police helped take care of it. And right now things are running incredibly smoothly. I also just want to mention uh again you
all know we're working on the master plan. We're continuing with our some of the smaller group sessions going in to the advisory committees and we'll continue to do that work over the summer. So I hope residents understand this is a long process. You have plenty
more opportunities to submit either by email or get involved and give us your feedback. The economic development advisory committee is meeting uh with our planner and they too have some really great ideas about the things that were already put in place by that
committee and moving forward what we expect to see there. The next coffee with the mayor is on Saturday, June 27th. It's from 11 to 1, but this time not at Firehouse. It will be at Streeter Pool. And if you come for coffee with the mayor, bring your suit because at
right afterwards is the opening party at Streeter Pool. So we encourage everybody to attend. I will be attending tomorrow night the Marstown High School graduation ceremony. That's always something that is incredibly special. The fact that our school district does
have students from all three towns, Marstown, Mars Township, and Mars Plains. Um it's an incredible when you're sitting there listening and watching all the graduates come through. So really proud of the Mars School District and happy to attend that. It is
National Safety Month and as committee woman uh Rothman explained, not only with bikes, but also in the summer months, please urge everybody to be careful around the pools. There's lots of outdoor activities and especially remind your children, especially teenage
kids, that we understand they all want to have a great time in the summer, but safety is really important. So, I'm going to close with a quote by author Jenny Han. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of
June and August. So, enjoy it. At this time we will um have our second public comment session. There are currently five members joining us via Zoom and six here uh in the meeting room. We will begin with comments from
those who are present here first and then we will go to those on Zoom. Please raise your hand on Zoom if you would like to speak. Before speaking, state your name and whether or not you are a resident or non-resident. Comments are limited to 5 minutes. If you have questions and you would like a response,
any remaining time will be used for that purpose. Is there a motion to open the public comment? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Is there anyone who would like to approach?
>> Hello. Uh, thank you. I'm back. Dr. Sebert, 178 Hillrest Avenue. And I was almost done before, so I won't bel labor things, but I did just want to uh thank uh uh committee woman Rothman for her
comments and her expertise. And um I just wanted to call attention to uh page five of the handout that I've given you uh which does outline some of the financial impacts and the possible protections that can be gotten benefits
for the township in terms of its liability protection uh by having a a certified uh licensed professional tree expert on staff who are on call either part-time, full-time or sharing on consultant basis. Uh I also think that
some of the comments that I included in the handout which uh are along with the email thread from Mr. Duvio do give you some additional helpful information which I hope you will take to heart. Um,
and the final pages, uh, from 9 to the end, uh, include links that, uh, give you background if you're not up to date on, uh, your tree information, especially regarding oak trees. I hope you'll read it or at least check out
some of those links. uh their references to Doug Talamy and to some other experts uh on the areas of how important uh the the oak trees in particular are and how strong they are. Um one of the things
Mr. Duvio did point out was that uh oaks are incredibly strong and even if they have cavities um he cited the Mercer oak for instance which was 300 years old or 290 years old on the Princeton battlefield. The last h 100red years of
its life, it was known to be completely hollow. But it was such a strong tree, no one felt it was a danger. And it was only when there was going to be a severe windstorm and some of the limbs were going to come down that they did ultimately take it down. But um we're
all concerned always with with uh with safety. The township is blessed by its beautiful tree canopy. We are all appreciative of that. That's one of the reasons we choose to live in this area. Um, and I just hope that you will read
and consider the materials that I provided and that the governing body as the governing body, you will move quickly to establish and implement a transparent and science-based uh expertguided
um process for uh assessing and uh maintaining and managing our our beautiful uh tree canopy throughout this area, including properties that are private properties. This is important for safety. It's important for the
township's critical natural resources. It's important for mitigating climate change impacts. And it will also protect the township from liability exposure and possible needless expenses for removal of trees that don't necessarily have to
be removed. I appreciate you're taking time to hear what I had to say and I hope that you will take some time to read through the materials I provided and give serious thought to uh implementing a really comprehensive and
thoughtful uh professional best practices approach to uh going forward in managing our tree canopy. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Seabird for staying through to to come back to this and finish your opportunity. And I do know the township committee members will read
through all this information. Appreciate you compiling it and hope that you do understand along with committeeman Rothman and the rest of us that we will, you know, we all want to provide the best possible solution moving forward on this issue. So, thank you.
>> Thank you. I do appreciate that and I believe that that's in the best interest of everybody. Thank you. Hi, Charlie Shaker, 10 Raleigh Court. Um, thank you for giving me the second opportunity to speak. I just actually really quickly wanted to address the uh
gentleman who made the um comments about the lawsuit. And this is not about the lawsuit itself or any of the merits of that. I just wanted to remind the committee because I think he was conflating different issues. He was talking about the emissions that come out of power plants. This is really not about that. So, let me just read what
the first results that come up in the internet. Uh, indoor gas appliances, particularly stoves and heaters, release pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and benzene. These emissions can degrade air quality, trigger or worsen asthma, and at high exposure
levels, increase risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular stress, and certain cancers. From what I understand, because our houses are essentially sealed, when we run gas appliances, we are actually exposed to high levels of pollution, which is very different from
what he's talking about, which is emissions from plants. Now, most power plants today have scrubbers. They operate under very strict emission standards. And so, I just want to reinforce that in many ways, I think the law you passed is about protecting people's health from unnecessary
pollution. Okay, in that regard, let me pivot now to the back to the leaf blowers because I just wanted to address a couple things that were brought up. Um, I think that cars and leaf blowers are not equivalent. Um, cars are four- stroke engines. Leaf blowers are two-stroke engines. Cars have catalytic
converters. Again, highly regulated emission controls. There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of pages about emission controls, I'm sure, in federal law. um driving a car. It's well known that running a leaf blower for about one hour is equivalent to driving
a car they often the the most cited statistic says about 1100 miles which would be from here to Disneyland about 17 hours. So we're talking about 17 times more pollution causing and you know I think that also yes speaking to
neighbors and speaking to landscapers about this that's what the quiet summer initiative is really all about. It's about educating people, helping them understand what the risks are, and then encouraging everyone to take steps themselves, not to even talk to their neighbor Nesley, but to talk to their
own landscaper and say, "Hey, I don't need you to do this during the summer. We're not doing major leaf cleanup. We don't have wet leaves on the ground." What we're talking about usually is often grass clippings or sometimes I personally see leaf blowers blowing literally nothing. They're using the
tools because they have the tools. Um, I also just want to mention that we are a nation of laws. Yes, we have freedoms and I appreciate all of our freedoms. Freedom of religion, freedom of press, all of our freedoms, but we are also a nation of laws. And as I'm sure Mr. Caner would attest, we you
could fill this entire room with books of all of our federal, state, and local laws. Um, and then finally, I would say this that if we did want to control landscapers and inform them about things like no, you know, use of uh landscaping equipment on Sundays or even Saturdays
with that change, many communities have created what are called landscaper registries. They ask landscapers to register with the town. And this ensures that they have proper liability, that they're, you know, insured, that they're following all the rules. And this also then gives you a communication channel
because then you would have an email address and you could send them all you know information about gas leaf blowers. Um and finally I would just urge that um the health department get involved in this. I think this again is a health issue and if the health department wanted to again distribute the flyer
about the quiet summer I think that would be appreciated. Finally in terms of the flyers I will make a confession here. I didn't hear the the street that the gentleman named >> Ironwood Ironwood was >> not in my neighborhood. So, I don't know who did that, but I I did, as I mentioned, go door todoor and in a few
houses where nobody answered, I did put leaflets and I did not know that that was an issue and I follow law. So, I will now cease in doing that. And also, I got to tell you, the reason why I thought it was okay is because I receive unpost flyers all the time in my
mailbox. And guess who they're from? Landscapers. >> How ironic. >> Nice meeting you, Charlie. >> Thank you, Charlie. Can I make a quick followup to what he said? >> Sure. Okay. Um I just wanted to also the idea about um landscaper registries that
is also something that as we move forward talking about trees is important because you would be surprised by the number of tree companies. I use that almost in air quotes that don't have proper insurance. Um and so that is a huge risk to homeowners, you know,
people who don't know better to ask for all of these things. So, um, I just wanted to follow up with that. >> Thank you. >> If if there's is there anyone else here? We have one hand raised. Steve Lur is 20 Park Drive and I've lived in this
wonderful town for almost 29 years in a couple weeks. I just want to make two comments. First of all, I want to apologize to Councilman Committeeman Ravitz for any thing you read on the internet about what you're trying to do.
What you did is amazing and you should be very proud and hate speech is not free speech. So, I just wanted to apologize for that. The second thing is does the town have a slogan? Maybe we could be the township of trees. which
could could be the where freedom began because trees are all important to everybody. And then the last thing, a couple things I wanted to say about the Restoration Hardware building. Can we be aggressive with the at this building and contact Restoration
Hardware about donating it to the town or purchasing it for for open space? It's a beautiful, beautiful building. We can lease it out to a caterer for affordable weddings for people in town. Let's just be aggressive about this.
Let's not come back here five months from now when there's something going in that building that the township is against. And then the last thing I want to talk about leaf blowers, and I just hate this whole discussion, but I don't have an an
acre of land. I have almost 3/4 of an acre. I'll give up a car if you guys would approve me having a horse. I'll give up my stove if I can cook on my front lawn in an open fire. Okay. I'll give up my hot water heater
and my and my boiler. You have to get that by my wife. But I'll give up my hot water heater. I'll give up my boiler if if the township gives us cold weather training. Okay. Let's all be mindful that the landscapers that show up in our town,
most of them are illegal migrants. Most of them are not paid a fair wage. They have no health insurance and they're being abused by the citizens that employ them. Not only the people that haven't come and cut their grass, but the people that are actually employing these
people. We all know that they're not being paid fairly, if they get paid at all. We all know they're living in Marstown in four people to a bedroom, five people to a bedroom, that they're getting drunk on Friday and Saturday night, and they're getting arrested looking for drugs or prostitutes. That's
the reality here. If we want to get real about what's going on in this town, landscapers are abusing people, and that's the truth. You want to you want to do something really in this town, promote teenagers cutting grass. Okay? When I grew up, it was my brother's job
to cut the grass. We fixed the lawn mower when it was broken. Kids don't do this stuff anymore. Let's all be real, okay? These landscapers that show up and make our yards beautiful are illegals and they're being abused.
Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your comments. We'll now go to Thelma Aenbach on Zoom. Hi Thelma, you're still on mute. >> Thelma, there you go. There you go.
Uh, I reside at 23 Sherwood Drive and I'm a member of the Environmental Commission. The Environmental Commission and I've heard all of you say are supportive of environmentally responsible lighting
that helps keep our residents safe and healthy while saving money and resources, otherwise known as dark skies. I thought I might hear it on the agenda tonight, but I haven't. So would you please provide an update regarding
the status of the dark skies ordinance? >> Yeah, Mr. Quinn, do you want to express >> my understand? >> Uh well or it I mean I can too as well, but Joe, >> our our professionals have it. They have
a lot on their workload with the master plan and affordable housing. Um but it is one of the items they're working on, but we also know that it's a priority of the planning board for when applications come through. They are requesting that the dark skies uh protocols be incorporated into those plans, but it is
being handled by our professionals, but there are a number of things going on that taken some priority because they're time sensitive such as the affordable housing and the master plan being done. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Anything else? No, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Seeing no other members who would like to speak, can I have a motion to close public comment? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I. >> The time is now 8:33. Can I have a
motion to adjourn the regular session? >> Some move. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. The next regular township committee meeting is Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 7 PM for the regular meeting 5:00 pm closed in the municipal building here at
50 Woodland Avenue. Thank you all and have a great night.