Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026. The time is now 7:07 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 this meeting are available under maristwp.com
under the agenda center. Certain portions of this meeting may be closed to the public for the purpose of personnel and or other matters as outlined in the sunshine law. Notice to 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. Gazelle, >> here. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> here. >> Mr. Janata, >> here.
>> Miss Rothman, >> here. >> Mayor Griglia, >> here. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. >> We have the approval of the minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes from December 17th, 2025 for a closed and regular meeting, the January 7th,
2026 reorganization meeting, and January 21st, 2026 for the closed and regular meeting? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> So tonight we have two proclamations on our agenda.
>> Just for the record, uh committee committee person Walsh is uh abstaining from those minutes. She wasn't here. Rothman. >> Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. >> Okay. So, we have two proclamations on tonight's agenda and we're going to start with the Earth Day and Arbor Day
and Committeeman Janata will read the proclamation. >> Okay. Whereas Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22nd and Arbor Day will be observed on April 24th, 2026. And whereas both observances provide an
opportunity to recognize and celebrate our planet and its natural resources while promoting environmental stewardship. And whereas the township of Mars is committed to environmental stewardship through the efforts of the environmental commission whose work helps preserve
open space, protect natural resources and enhance the quality of life for all the residents. And whereas the first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10th, 1872 as a dedicated occasion for planting of trees to promote
conservation and environmental well-being. And whereas community participation in tree planting, recycling efforts, and environmental programs strengthen the town's township's commitment to a sustainable future. And whereas Earth Day and and Arbor Day are observed worldwide to
inspire individuals and communities to take meaningful action to protect and preserve our environment for future generations. Now therefore, be it resolved that in April 2026, the Morris Township Committee proudly recognizes
Earth Day and Arbor Day and encourages all residents to support the environmental commission and participate in activities that preserve, protect, and enhance the township's natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. Madam, thank you.
>> Thank you, Deputy Mayor Janata. The next proclamation that we have on the agenda is recognizing April 2026 as National Autism Acceptance Month and Committeeman Grazil will do this proclamation and present it. >> Uh thank you. So supporting the special
needs community has always been something that's very uh near and dear to my heart. My mother was a special education teacher growing up and uh she taught me how uh how much empathy this community really needs and care and support. and I've carried that with me
since my childhood. Uh we have a local organization here in Morris Township that we've acknowledged pre uh previously called SNAP, the special needs athletic program and it's been hugely influential in in the local community here. Um my son has been involved since he was 13 years old and
I'm proud to say that he's on the board of SNAP now u and making an impact along with a lot of other young uh kids. it impacts their lives because they get to interact with the special needs community um on a weekly basis. They would be here tonight, but they actually have a session tonight, so they couldn't
make it here. Uh but I also have a friend who works in in this space also, Michael Alanus, who's here with us tonight. He's a board, excuse me, a board member for Autism New Jersey, and he's going to say a few words. uh but I did want to read a couple lines from the
uh proclamation before Michael comes up and and speaks to us. So whereas autism or autism spectrum disorder is a developmental condition which affects communication, social interaction and behavior and presents differently in each individual. And whereas according
to the center of disease uh CDC prevention um autism now affects approximately 1 in 36 children in the United States and I think that number is actually increasing um now that we have approved diagnostics that that tell us who has the uh condition. Um whereas
organizations such as Autism New Jersey work to promote awareness, acceptance, and inclusion by providing education, advocacy, and resources for individuals with autism and their families. And I'll skip below. Whereas National Autism Acceptance Month provides an opportunity
to foster greater understanding, promote inclusion, and celebrate the contributions of individuals with autism in our community. And so I I'll present this to you to take back to the organization. Uh, but I welcome you to come up and say a few words, Michael.
>> So, thank you to the entire committee uh for recognizing Autism Acceptance Month and allowing me the opportunity to speak. Uh, thank you to my uh longtime colleague and friend Jeff Grazel um for all your advocacy, for all you do. Um,
I'm very proud to be here, uh, representing both Autism New Jersey and our company, Your Choice Homeare, uh, where our work is centered around supporting individuals and families navigating life with developmental disabilities, specifically on that
transition to adulthood. In the work we do, we speak with families every single day in this town, throughout the county, and throughout the state. All of which are navigating the realities of raising a child with autism. And while every story is
different, there are some things we hear from families over and over again. The uncertainty, the exhaustion, the advocacy, and sometimes the feeling of being alone. But what's often missed is the
resilience. These families become experts, advocates, and problem solvers. They fight for services, for inclusion, for dignity, not just for their child, but for the future that feels secure.
And the good news is when communities lean in like this one is, one day real change will happen. So today matters and even though we are celebrating here today this proclamation
which is greatly appreciated and townships across the state are celebrating autism acceptance month. It really is a 365 day job. Especially
for the moms in the room because I speak to close to three dozen families a week who are going through the trials and tribulations of raising a family member with special needs. And even though most
of us talk about people in the schools, the adulthood is where some of the more severe problems start as parents begin to age. So I thank you for the recognition. I thank you for um the acknowledgment of the importance of
raising this awareness and also acceptance and also inclusion. So thank you. >> Thank you. And my like to give this to you. You're probably going to be heading out soon. >> Can you take a quick picture?
>> Absolutely. >> Yeah. Thank you, sir. >> Couple. >> Thank you so much. Thank you all. >> Thank you so much. And thank you, Committeeman Grace, for your advocacy on this issue. You have
always been very outspoken and autism touches so many of our lives in so many different ways that we appreciate you being here and especially appreciate all that you bring to help people realize that it's not just something that's highlighted every once in a while. It's
a lifelong situation that families have to go through. And luckily so many of them do have the tenderness and kindness to help deal with what from when they're very young to a full grown adult. So appreciate that.
>> You know, can I add one? >> Absolutely. >> Just want to let you know that I'm in my family is in that situation right now. So thank you again for um doing what you're doing and uh thanks to Jeff for reading the the proclamation.
>> Yeah. And like I've said before, and I'll I'll say it again, I'm very proud of this uh governing body for taking the opportunity to put in supportive housing in our community whenever we have the chance to do that. Um we have more supportive housing being built uh this
year uh in Morris Township and not necessarily for the autistic community, but supportive housing for the community, the larger community in general. And we take that opportunity whenever we can. >> Thank you. Before we open our first
public comment session tonight, I am going to address the township's public statement on the lawsuit recently filed by the United States against the township of Mars concerning our 2022 ordinance requiring certain apartment
developments to be built as all electric buildings. Let me be clear. We stand by this ordinance and as such we intend to defend it. We adopted this ordinance after thoughtful public consideration
because we believed and we continue to believe it was the right policy for our community. Mars Township is experiencing significant apartment development. As new multifamily buildings are constructed, we have a responsibility to
think not only about today, but about the long-term safety, health, environmental impact, and resilience for those buildings for decades to come. It is important to be clear about what this ordinance does and does not do. It only
applies to newly constructed apartment complexes or apartmentstyle housing with 12 or more dwelling units. It does not apply to single family homes, town homes, or existing residences.
This ordinance reflects responsible local planning. It advances climate leadership and environmental stewardship. Buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Encouraging cleaner, modern electric construction in
new large residential developments is a practical step towards reducing emissions, improving air quality, and preparing our community for the future. Local governments should not be able to make sensible should be able to make
sensible decisions that help address climate change in ways that fit local needs. It also promotes public safety, especially the safety of our residents and our firefighters. Large apartment buildings with gas infrastructure can
present risks associated with leaks, explosions, and more dangerous fire conditions. Our firefighters already put themselves in harm's way every time they respond to emergencies. If we can reduce
hazards in future buildings through smarter design and safer energy systems, we should do so. It is also a matter of responsible growth. This ordinance applies prospectively to future
largescale development only. It does not require anyone to remove appliances from existing homes or buildings. It simply sets standards for a narrow category of new construction so that growth in Mars
Township reflects modern priorities and sound planning. Residents should be assured that defending the township will be done responsibly. On tonight's agenda is a resolution authorizing the retention of
highly respected outside council who have agreed to provide substantial proono legal support. That means the financial burden on township taxpayers will be minimal while we defend a policy we believe is lawful and in the public
interest. At the same time, I think it is unfortunate that Morris Township has been drawn into a broader national dispute. Our township committee did not pass this ordinance to make a national statement or join an ideological fight.
We passed it to serve Mars Township residents to promote safer buildings, cleaner air, and responsible growth in our community. This lawsuit may be part of a larger political debate elsewhere, but here at home, our focus remains
where it should be, protecting our residents, supporting our first responders, and planning wisely for the future. We respect the legal process and we will respond through that process. But we will also continue to stand up
for the right of local communities to make thoughtful decisions about their own development and public welfare. As this is ongoing litigation, I will not get into further specifics, but will provide periodic updates to the public
on this matter when appropriate. Thank you. So, we'll open our first public comment. There are currently eight members of the public joining us via Zoom and 11 attending in person. At this time, we will open the meeting for public
comment. We will begin with comments from those who are present in the room first, followed by those participating on Zoom. If you're participating on Zoom, please use the raise your hand feature. Before speaking, please state your name and whether you are a resident
or non-resident for the record. Comments are limited to five minutes per speaker. If you have questions or would like a response, any remaining time will be used for that purpose. Is there a motion to open public comment? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> I >> Good evening. >> Good evening. Uh Charlie Sharley Court. Uh so this is an interesting time to give this um public comment because I agree wholeheartedly with the statement
that you just gave about the uh lawsuit and I think that your uh words about clean air and uh emissions and the environment and health uh all pertain to the uh subject that as you all know I'm here about tonight. Uh also
interestingly transitioning from gas to electric is another theme I think that we see here. So um so as I have been since December coming to you to talk about the uh public health impacts of gas leaf blowers and I just want to read again I think I might have uh repeat
done this once before uh a quote from the author uh James Fallows who wrote in the Atlantic that poundforound gallon for gallon hour for hour gas powered leaf blowers are vastly the
dirtiest and most polluting kind machinery still in legal use and that's in our residential neighborhoods every day. Okay. So, I just really wanted to give you a couple of updates. I'm sure you'll all you either know or will find out by the end
of this week that I have made an effort through my membership of the environmental commission that I hope you'll consider voluntary educational. But I'd like to continue to pursue my track of trying to persuade the township
committee to consider adopting ordinance. So, just a couple of things I'd like to share as an update. One, uh my petition continues to grow. I now have 145 signatures. Two, walking around my neighborhood now that the spring has
sprung. uh and and the leaf blowers have been out for spring cleaning. I personally noticed and I have not been really mindful of this until now because I have not been as focused on this issue until now. I really noticed that the vast majority of landscapers are not
wearing personal protective equipment. Now, I can't see what's in their ears and I don't know if they're protecting themselves from the noise, but they're certainly not protecting themselves from the air pollution. And since these uh workers are generally immigrants who are
working uh subsistance level jobs, I would call that a social justice issue. And if we can help make their lives healthier, I don't know why we wouldn't. Uh second update, uh S623 is a state legislation that has been
reintroduced in January in Trenton. Uh this proposed legislation prohibits the sale and use of certain gas powered leaf blowers namely two-stroke uh and provides a corporate business tax uh tax credit uh for purchase of electric leaf blowers that replace gas
powered leaf blowers. Uh regulation obviously at the state level is optimal because it eliminates and relieves the township of doing something locally. Uh there there are a lot of details about this legislation that I could provide now but I don't think I have the time. So, I would urge you to research it for
yourselves and I would urge that the township pass a resolution in support of S623 because I think it's important that this legislation get passed in Trenton. Um, and finally, uh, while you consider the possibility of regulating gas leaf
blowers, I'd like to propose an amendment to the existing noise ordinance. Uh currently I was amazed to learn that all construction and landscaping equipment are exempt. Uh but in my mind these are very different categories of tools. A backhoe and a
leaf blower. Uh construction equipment is used infrequently and often outside of residential areas and for a defined set of time. Right? Construction does not go on for indefinitely. Landscaping equipment by contrast is used regularly across seasons and primarily in
residential neighborhoods. Thank you. uh with no clear end point. Uh the amendment I'm proposing would be narrowly focused. It would apply only to leaf blowers and not other equipment like mowers and trimmers. So simply change the existing exemption you have in your existing noise ordinance. Um and
I just don't understand. So as we talk the rationale is straightforward. A typical gas leaf blower blows at about 80 dB at 50 ft 15 above the township's legal limit of 65. And this difference is not minor. It's perceived as 2 and a half times louder by the uh human ear.
And this would be the equivalent of driving 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. And I don't think we would ever create an exemption for that. Perhaps for public safety for, you know, fire and police, but we're not talking about fire police here. We're talking about leaf blowers.
So, uh the advantage of this approach again is its simplicity. It builds on an existing ordinance rather than requiring an entirely new one. And as always, I thank you for your time and consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions if there's any time for that. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Thanks, Charlie. >> Good evening. >> Hi. Um, my name is Kathleen Harahan. I live at 8 Sherman Place and, um, I happen to be a member of the environmental commission. Um, but I'm not here tonight representing the
environmental commission. Um, but I do want to commend the township council for both uh of the proclamations for Earth Day and um actually for all of the proclamations for Earth Day um Arbor Day and for the special needs uh
proclamation also. Um happy Earth Day to everyone today. Um it's a great way to celebrate it. Um, and I also want to um commend the township council for defending the current ordinance that um
is um planning for the future um to require electric um powering for multif family complexes of 12 units or more. So, I I don't know the name of it, but uh I commend you for doing that. Um, I did want to echo some of what Charlie
said that um I'm very concerned about gas leaf blowers as well. Um, I the section of town that I live in has very small properties. So, when there is a a leaf blower, I I work from home and when there's a leaf blower, it's uh it's
it's a very loud noise uh nuisance. Um, but I also walk and run a lot in my neighborhood. And so when I go by a um a property that's having their leaves blown while I'm running, I I feel like
I'm anyone who's doing physical exercise around that, you're inhaling. Um, and so it's not only the fumes from the two-stroke engine, which um is emitting a lot of harmful fumes, but it's also
all of the dirt and anything else that's lying on the ground that's getting blown into the air. Um, and it becomes something that you're then object ingesting particles. Um, and I believe that the two-stroke engine is of particular
um, concern because I'm not that much of a motor person, but my understanding is that we all have catalytic converters on our cars because there is incomplete combustion that is happening with a with a gas piece of a a
gas burning engine or motor. And the catalytic converter, I believe, takes the unburned um portion of the fuel and recirculates it and burns it. But the the gas leaf blowers don't have a catalytic converter. So I believe that they are
very harmful emitters. Um so I just wanted to say that and I I appreciate your time. Thank you. Hello, I'm >> Jean Cass from uh I live in the township
>> and uh I want to speak on um leaf blowers personally and as a community kind of feeling. Um my experience is starting now. Uh just the other day I was, you
know, starting to enjoy the spring and had the windows open and of course the landscapers came to um do their work next door. And I go inside, you know, I have to I was out on the deck. So I go inside, I close all the windows because
the breeze is bringing the fumes in. And I I go inside and wait till them to disappear, wait for the landscapers to go away. And uh and it happens twice a week, I guess, uh on average because
once on each each side of the property, two different uh uh landscapers. So I don't think I'm just I'm not speaking just for myself. I think it other people everywhere in town experience this
because there are these landscapers. So, um, I did speak to a business owner and it was a few years ago who who he went totally electric and he was he was very happy with his business cuz he said the expenses were longterm were were
less than um than he than he was in the past because of the there's no virtually virtually no maintenance on these machines. is just swapping out the batteries. And um finally, uh Marstown has their
um their new rules and Madison's considering it. So Mars Township's right in between. So I think, you know, you're not like breaking new ground here. It's just it would just fill in the the donut
uh uh to uh to complete this, you know, to I I think it's inevitable uh cuz you know, so many tools and especially landscaping things and you've seen them in Home Depot and stuff that uh the the
electrical equipment is getting a lot better and it's getting to the professional grade. uh use. So, thank you for your time. >> Thank you for your comments. >> Seeing nobody else here.
Wait a minute. Hello. >> Hi, I'm I'm Gail Biggs. I live at 30 Sherwood Drive in Mars Township. I'm really here just to really say that I support the ordinance
um to eliminate the gas uh leaf blowers. I live in a town home community. They do a wonderful job of making it all ship shape, but I have a lovely screen porch I can't even sit on because the noise
and the terrible dust that it brings up. um when they do this, which is often um is very bad and it's bad for the men that's that are running these machines also. I have concern for the um the
business owner, but I think the ordinance, if I read it correctly, you you give people a certain amount of time. It isn't this going to happen overnight. So, I hopefully um that would help. I think it's very important to
pass this and it fits in with the townships I feel having the philosophy of encouraging a healthy lifestyle in Mars Township. And if you don't mind, I'm going to branch off into something
I've been meaning to do and say thank you so much for paving Southgate. I drive that road at least once a day, many times twice a day, and it is a joy. I ride my bike, people walk, and it's a
joy to drive down. And the design was absolutely spot-on. A big improvement. So, thanks for that. >> Thank you. >> Appreciate that. >> Is there anybody else in the room who would like to approach the podium?
Hello, >> my name is Lorine Singh. I don't have anything prepared. I live in the township for the last 30 years and it's a lovely place to be. We surrounded by all these beautiful parks and places to walk and um I feel that uh that this
ordinance should be passed that they're very unhealthy for everybody and I think it's just not that necessary to blow every leaf off your lawn. lawns are not even a healthy thing to have either, but
that's a whole another topic. But um yeah, the noise I don't know how much the uh noise abatement is enforced. I doubt if it is, but uh it's just my pet peeve that they're just,
you know, everybody's trying to striving to be healthier. You know, we're all told to walk more, drink more water, eat healthy, grow vegetables, and but this is just defeating everything and and it's inescapable because it's I understand people have bigger
properties. I don't own personal property. I'm in a condo development, but I'm sure there are ways around addressing the issue. If you insist on on having um you know a leaf free lawn,
get some landscapers with rakes. What's wrong with that? It's cheaper and it's cleaner. And um they even have those um you know those mulching lawnmowers and things. It's just it's overkill. I mean they're
just I've watched them. They blow the leaves one direction and then 5 minutes later they're blowing them the other direction. And uh you know I I don't buy that it's that the landscapers can't afford to switch. They make a lot of
money and they probably pay these landscapers minimal pay and I know I don't know for a fact but I know a lot of them are paid in cash because they they want to avoid paying taxes. Maybe the launchcape
owner should be pursued a little more. And the other peeve is that they take up the whole half of the road and it's a dangerous issue. You know, they should be made to pull onto a property if feasible.
Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. If there's nobody else here in the room, I see Brian O'Shea. You have your hand raised. Go ahead, Mr. O'Shea. >> Uh, yes. Good evening.
Uh, yes. Docket number 226 CV3412, United States of America v. Township of Morris, New Jersey. At all. Sounds like a line from Law and Order, doesn't it? Alas, it's a real lawsuit with a real federal judge and real legal bills
coming due on our the taxpayers's dime. This is not the only act of litigation against this township. There is also a prerogative writ pending in superior court. That matter is shudacy and out of respect for the court, I will not address its substance tonight. But I
will say this, when a municipality finds itself defending its decisions in two separate courouses at the same time, that is not bad luck. That is a pattern and patterns have causes. The cause, in my view, is a failure of due diligence before this committee
takes any actions. A failure to ask before voting the most basic question any legislative body should ask. Do we have the legal authority to do this? and have we followed every procedural requirement the law imposes on us? The
federal case filed on March 31st is a textbook example. The Department of Justice alleges that ordinance 08-22, the All Electric Building Ordinances Committee adopted in May of 2022 is preempted by the Federal Energy Policy
and Conservation Act and is therefore void under the Supremacy Clause. I am not here tonight to debate the policy merits of electrification. I am here to ask how this committee came to adopt an ordinance
in a field Congress had already preempted without availing itself of the one procedural avenue Congress provided. The legal framework was not a surprise. EPCA has preempted state and local
regulation of the energy use of covered appliances for decades. Congress provided exactly one path for the municipality to regulate in this space. A waiver petition to the Department of Energy.
Paragraph 42 of the DOJ's DOJ's complaint states plainly that this township never sought that waiver. And the legal writing on the wall has been visible for some time. In January
of 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California Restaurant Association v City of Berkeley struck down a nearly identical gas ban on EPCA preeemption grounds. The City of Berkeley sudden subsequently repealed
its ordinance. That decision had been publicly available to this committee for over two years and no action was taken to review ordinance 08-2 in light of it. This is what I mean by a pattern.
Decisions get made the due diligence that should precede them not. years later, the bills arrive. Not to the members of this committee personally, but to every taxpayer taxpayer in Morris Township.
So, tonight I am asking this committee three questions, and I'm asking for answers on the record. First, what is the township's current estimate of the legal cost to defend this action through judgment?
Second, has this committee sought or received a legal opinion on the likelihood of prevailing given the Ninth Circuit's reasoning in the Berkeley case? Third, is this committee prepared to
consider repeal or amendment of ordinance 08-22 as an alternative litigating to judgment as the city of Berkeley ultimately chose to do? And beyond those three questions, I propose a border question.
What is this committee going to change about its process before it votes, not after it gets sued? so that the pattern of tax fa taxpayer funded litigation ends here. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Caner. >> Yeah. So, mayor, I I just like to respond briefly. Um I believe the resident missed the mayor's comments at the top of the meeting that the township uh has been offered and will be accepting tonight uh proonal counsel um
from two prominent uh law firms. Um, and as far as the criticism of this committee's diligence, um, at the time, uh, the district court in California had upheld, um, the the municipal ordinance,
and that was a complete ban of all, um, of all gas throughout the entire including single family homes. Uh, it wasn't limited to apartment buildings. Um, it was it was blanket. Um, the ninth circuit did reverse the district court, but at the time it was good law. I I think what the resident probably is
unaware of is since the ninth circuit's decision um there's been three reported cases directly on point. Uh one coming out of New York New York which is the second circuit. Um the district court upheld the municipal ordinance which is similar to ours. Um there was and I have
I have the cases here. I can cite them for you. Um there was also a case uh in Maryland um in which uh the district court upheld um the municipal uh a municipal ordinance similar to ours and there's also been a district court case
reported in the District of Columbia um which also upheld. So since the Ninth Circuit's decision, there's been three district courts um that have upheld municipal ordinances with similar bans that the town Morris has. Um each of those cases we believe one has already been appealed to the second circuit.
Maryland sits in the fourth circuit. We believe that one's going to be appealed. Uh and DC has its own circuit. So we believe that's going to be appealed. Um but currently out of the report there's four reported decisions and the only decision against municipality comes out of the ninth circuit which would not be binding on the third circuit. Uh and we
believe uh given the structure of our ordinance um given the decisions of the district courts in the second, fourth and DC circuit that our ordinance has a very high likelihood of success of being upheld uh by the district court and ultimately if it gets appealed to the third circuit. So um this committee did
do its diligence. Um it it it did have the proper legal review before it went before it. Um so I don't think that's a proper criticism of this committee. And secondly, as the mayor stated, um they've been very diligent in going out
and finding resources and getting proono help to keep legal costs down. There will be some minimal cost uh given that my firm will be involved in reviewing papers and making sure that there's coordination between uh the township and our proono council, but the lion share of the work and lion share the cost will
not be borne on the township or its residents. >> Thank you, Mr. Caner. Thank you, Mr. O'Shea. will continue to keep the public updated as we continue through this process. Seeing no other hands raised, is there a
motion to close public comment? >> Some moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Tonight we have one ordinance for public hearing and adoption. Madame clerk, please read the title of ordinance 16-26 into the record after
which we will open the public hearing. Ordinance 16-26, ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank NJSA4A 4-45.14 calendar year 2026. note authorizes the
2026 budget to be 3.5 above the 2025 budget and any amount authorized that is not appropriated as part of the final budget may be retained as an exception to final appropriation in either of the next two succeeding years.
>> May I have a motion to open the public hearing on ordinance number 16-26? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? Hi. >> Hi. >> Are there any members of the public wishing to speak on this ordinance?
>> Seeing none. >> Will someone make a motion to close public comment? >> So moved. Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> May I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 16-26? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions or comments?
Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Miss Rothman? Yes, >> Mr. Gazelle. >> Yes, >> Mr. Janata. >> Yes, >> Mr. Rabbitz. >> Yes, >> Mayor Griglia. >> Yes, I, Donna. >> Did someone say something? Oh, >> I think somebody coughed.
>> I, Donna J. Gerrigia, mayor, declare ordinance number 16-26 approved and adopted and direct the township clerk to publish notice of adoption on the township website or as otherwise required by law. At this time, we will begin the
presentation of the 2026 municipal budget. The presentation will be provided by Township Administrator Tim Quinn, Chief Financial Officer Shan Ferguson, and Township Auditor Valerie Dolan. Mr. Quinn, you may begin whenever you're
ready. Thank you, mayor, and members of the committee. Um, I am pleased to present to you um the corner 26 budget um that was introduced back in March. Uh with us tonight is our order from Mission, Miss
Valerie Dolan working with us for many, many years. um how we've done this in the past. I always like to start with Miss Dolan and then we'll get into um nuts and bolts of the budget and Mr. Ferguson will be assisting me with that
um as we go through it. >> Okay. >> Um I just want to make a couple statements that the budget has been reviewed and signed off by Nissia for our review with all statutory compliance in the budget guidelines. The P township's budget also this year was
subject to its um review by the division. You were subject this year, you were in the three-year review. You actually have completed the approval and have received the state's approval to adopt your budget. Also this evening, this budget is within the statutory appropriation cap and the tax levy caps
required by the state of New Jersey. Also, I will say there's nothing in this budget that would consider or place an unnecessary burden on future budgets. I do want to make a a comment that I commend the effort made this year by all those parties involved in putting together a fiscally sound budget that
was balanced and thoughtful to the residents of Morris Township. While Morris Township's desire to not eliminate services to all of the residents, as you will hear later, there is was a very challenging year for many municipalities across the state in preparing their budgets. While there is
a small increase in the township this year, it is on the lower end that we are seeing across the state. This our firm um does about 90 municipalities and this is one of our lowest budgets that we are introduced and adopting this evening.
Um, I believe this is because Morris Township continues to be fiscally responsible year after year and ensuring that their budget decisions that you make each year are not on a single single thought process but are always with future budgets in mind.
>> Thank you, Miss Dolan. Um, as we commence, um, I also want to thank all of our department heads, um, that work diligently. It's a long process. we started in October and starting putting things together. Um, they know the fiscal constraints of the township they
worked at. So, they're coming in with what they actually are needing for to run their departments, operating expenses, um, salaries, capital projects. They're not trying to come in and ask for 100,000 when they need 50,000. If they need 50,000 for something, they're
asking for 50,000. Um, and we've all worked with the standing committees for each of the departments and you know, a lot of time and effort went for each of you and assisting us as we reviewed each of the department's budgets uh throughout the process in November and December and a little bit of January and
then taking on the finance committee uh which was primarily Mayor Griglia um for the most part uh going through the process along with Mr. Ferguson and myself um and bringing everything together for the introduction that was done back in March. And again, thank you
for Miss Dolan here and this always there at a phone call and as things come up and we have questions and you know how close are we to the cap and you know can we do this is this you know permissible those kinds of things and um always right there for us in uh getting
us the correct answers as in every year um we have challenges and we we certainly had our challenges in for 2026 um employee costs uh salary and wages of approximately 3%. The biggest one is health insurance. Our health insurance
premiums went up 31% with the state health benefits plan. Um and we saw, you know, significant increases uh on our pension payments, especially the the police and fire pension, which we'll get into a little bit. We still have our challenges with our swim pools and the
minimum wage for our lifeguards, the operating expenses for that and making sure that we have enough lifeguards to um run the pools for the entire summer with two pools. Um we have debt service interest. Last year we saw a reduction
in our debt service um with paying off one of our our notes, but we've been on bond anticipation notes for um this year. Now we're starting to pay some of the principles. So, we saw some increases on that. Um, state aid, which it really isn't state aid. I'll get into a little bit later. It's really energy
tax receipts, and it's been flat for the last 15 years, and to no surprise, it's flat again. Um, our year-end fund balance came in approximately what it was in 2024, uh, for the end of 2025, and we have the 2% appropriations cap
that we're always looking at. And that's one of the things that Mr. Ferguson and Mr. and I constantly look at to make sure that we're in compliance for that moving forward. So, so the budget process is what we do. As I said, we start in October, November. We're starting to work with
our department heads to put those requests for the operating budgets to uh prepare them along with their capital budgets. um they come in, we get all those right in middle of November and we start working on those um setting up the standing committee reviews that take
place in December and January going over each of those budgets. Um and then we bring it into January and February where we're working with the finance committee uh Mr. Ferguson and myself uh putting the bringing everything together of all the the different budgets and the
different um requests from all of our 16 departments and our three utilities. Uh March was the introduction of budget and that brings us tonight for the adoption of the budget. Talked a little bit about state aid. Um it's really energy tax receipts. Um we
get about $3.3 million a year. Um we've been getting that um since 2010. Um we should be getting about $6 million a year on that. So um it's interesting when as first municipalities
uh the state took it over in 2001 we got 4.5 million. Um 2007 4.8 million. Um and then it started to drop in 9 and 10. And we've been you know at that 3.3 million for the last 17 years. Our
pension costs are up. Um, this is an assessment that is done by the state. We're up about 4% this year. Um, on our public employees is just under 30,000 or 29,000. On our police and fire pensions, it's up $114,000.
It's an overall increase uh for 4%. One of the things that we've always looked at and and it's now has stabilized over the last couple years and we were seeing was the recycling and tipping fees um were very very challenging especially on the recycling side where they were up and down and up
and down but they have stabilized and pleased that that budget line item is going to stay the same it was um in past the past two years. So one of the things that we have to deal with every year is the cost of state mandates. Um these are expenses
that are you know beyond the township's control. It's either an assessment or things that we have to do provide uh by state law to our employees. Um as I said we were going up on our public employees u an increase of 24,000 police and fire
114,000 social security 47,000. uh that increase on the health insurance is over half a million dollars. Um so just on those alone, we're just under $700,000 that has to be raised in the budget for the cost of the state mandates.
Um township has always been very fiscally conservative on keeping our municipal debt. Um we keep on following the policy that we're only going to bring on debt of what we retire. Um and we continue to do that again with this year's budget. We are retiring about
$2.8 million. Um, but we will bring that on as you will see later on in the capital budget along with what other projects we can fund. Uh, where we're paying 100% of the costs. So, they're not going into debt for those projects. So the other variables that we have and this is also a part of our challenging
year that we have here. We have uh five union labor contracts. Two with fire, two with police and one that covers our department of public works, our parks department and um our sewer utility employees. Um all those contracts
expired at the end of December. Um and we're working through them. We're currently in contract negotiations. It'll also be part of the budget that we have to then kind of project how are we going to come out of contract negotiations and you know make sure that when we do come to a settlement that we
have enough funds uh to support that. So Mr. Ferguson and I work on that looking at different scenarios as to what we can do and making sure that what we budget for salaries and and wages uh will be sufficient for once we settle with those those different contracts. Um you'll
also see an increase in in library costs for this year. Library costs are based on equalized value of the assessment. So they do go up. Um we have a shared library with Marstown and we split that um as it goes, but it's based on the equalized value. So but it is one that
although it's going up, you know, over $100,000 um it's a raise as a separate tax. So it's in our budget, but it's on both sides of the ledger. We spoke a little bit about the state aid, the energy tax receipts that have done that. But one of the other things that significantly helped us this year
and kept us here we are asking for a 3% raise where many towns are you know much higher closer to the seven eight nine% um we had $111 million uh increase in our ratable base uh from office building improvements to the Red Bull's facility
other things that have helped us and hopefully we'll see more increase in the ratable base for 2026. So, um, grants are challenging. We're not getting as many grants as we used to, um, coming out.
Um, right now we we have two grants. Usually we have more by this point. We're certainly going to get more as the year goes on. Um, our municipal lines grants been steady for the last several years. Um, our bulletproof vest fund for the police officers. Um, we've got the
state so far. We're still waiting on the federal. We're still waiting on our clean communities grant which will be about $60,000 that we can go back into for the clean up of the community. The salaries for those parks individuals that do that. Um we also have the drunk driving enforcement fund that should be
coming. That's a search charge that goes on every drunk driving conviction that comes back to the township for drunk driving enforcement. And then we also have the tonnage grant um that we get back for what we recycle so that we can put that back into our recycling costs
um to help offset that. That should be somewhere around the $35,000 range. Um and then we there's some other smaller grants that we certainly anticipate coming through. We have four or five grant applications right now that are out there. Um
hopefully we get some of them. We did put one in for the local recreation improvement grant um last year that we were hoping to get and unfortunately we did not get that for one of our playgrounds. So we'll be looking at how to fund that in future budgets. Okay.
So what we always want to do is keep our high level services uh that we provide to our residents with whether it's police, fire, EMS, OEM, emergency responses, our health services. We have a full-time public health nurse um a
health education program run by our health official um and putting out all those to our residents along with then moving on to providing waste disposal, recycling and the road maintenance by our department of public works. And we have one of the premier recreation
departments and the different recreation programs that we provide to our residents from toddlers all the way to our our seniors and um many different types of programs. And we have the senior room down here so we can offer those services and programs also during the day to our seniors. And then we have
our professional services and and that is um our CFOs, our municipal clerk, our construction officials, um tax assessor, tax collector, admin that all work together hand in hand to provide exceptional services to our
residents. One of the things that we do um try and help offset costs is for shared services. We have the joint uh court with Madison, Chattam Township, and Chattamboroough. That's saving us hundreds of thousand dollars a year. We
have uh contracts with our neighbors for sewer. Most sewer runs on gravity. So, some we take and some we give away, but um all of those agreements and working with the different municipalities uh for that. Then we have the joint public library with Marstown. Um and then we
also have a joint service with the county of Marsh for our public safety communications mutual aid and shared resources and we continue to look at shared services with other miss how does it benefit March is this you know worthwhile for more
looking into it. So with that I'm going to ask Mr. Ferguson. He's going to um do all the financials for the budget and I will turn it over to her. >> All right. Get into some of the numbers
for this year's budget. Uh some of the key offsets that are actually going to help budget this year. Um have a pilots are increasing by about $210,000. Uh that comes from the commercial pilots
being fully occupied for the marketplace district. Um uh we have almost $250,000 through our investments. Um our investments have been able to stabilize and we're able to, you know, maintain
decent amount of uh investment income coming in. Uh we are also our licensing permits and fees have continued to increase over the past couple years which is been helpful. And uh also what Kevin mentioned is the increase in
ratables of $111 million. So $11 million which gives us an increase of $520,000. Our anticipated revenues this year uh we got we're including 6.5 million in fund balance which is the same as last year
to help offset the some the costs. Um we have 9.9 million in uh miscellaneous revenue through our collection license permits fees etc. And uh our municipal taxes are at 26,475,000.
>> And the challenging part to our appropriations um couple of items that you know we had to contend with this year where salary wages were up. uh almost $830,000. That's net of retirements, new hires,
union contracts, etc. Uh we're going in with no new headcounts for the year. Um our operating expenses are up over $700,000. Uh $500,000 is the health premiums themselves.
Um again, statutory expenditures, which include our pensions, our social security, that's up over $200,000. Um and our capital programs which one of the areas that we can kind of put some
restraint on. It's the same as 2025 just covering small new projects with kind of new debt. And uh and finally, debt service is up over or up 120 $150,000 which is taking into consideration uh
interest on bands and uh principal payments for the bands themselves. Get to our capital programs uh staying consistent with their debt policy tying new authorizations to the amounts retired. Our capital bond program is uh
coming in 2008. So 2.8 million uh for projects which is also portion of that is funded through capital improvement fund and capital fund balance which offsets about $185,000 in as a down payment. Uh programs that we're looking
to cover are our annual overlay and crack sealing throughout the township. Um acrefield farm playgrounds. uh Lake Valley Road sidewalk projects and intersection alignments along with catch road and lake road sidewalk
projects. We have a new DPW truck that we're purchasing this year and uh the green or Jean Street community center design phase project that we're still involved with. Um for some of the capital programs that were being fully funded
without any debt involved, we have a capital improvement program. We got $320,000 which is covering police equipment. Um improvements to the OEM trailer and our general services sidewalk and storm
basin repairs drainage or which are annual contribution storage infrastructure. Um capital outlay which is our basically our one-year use or loser programs. We have uh about $230,000
um appropriated for security cameras, EPW improvements, municipal office improvements, parks equipment, and uh continuing ashtree removal throughout the county. um our capital fund program which is
coming out of the fund balance that we have available. We have $641,000 going towards fire equipment, the SPCA equipment, uh firehouse improvements, sports court lighting upgrades, security
c cameras for Collinsville playground, and uh road reconstruction projects. And we also do have some open space money that we're putting out for what do we have? >> Yeah, 278,000. Sorry, I don't have it on
my paper here. It's a dangerous for dangerous tree removals, shroa meadow planting, and some open space projects that you know be funed to the open space collections. That's okay. So, we we look at our property values
that that help out and for our taxes that um are raised for the library, for the county, for the school district, they're all based on equalized ratio. So, our assessed property values, you know, are $5.5 billion. Um our equalized
ratio has dropped from 78.9% last year to 72.98% this year. That's actually a good thing for our residents because that means that their h homes are worth that much more. Um so it's a inverse for that. So our localized, you know, value has gone
up significantly from last year. And you'll see that reflected um once we get into what we're paying for the school district, the library, and the county of Mars, which bases their budget off an equalized ratio throughout the county for all the municipalities.
Um looking at the total property tax rate um for this coming year um we are you know recommending a 3% uh municipal tax increase. Um that equates
to approximately $81 per year for the average household of $600,000. Um the county um as I said is based on equalized. we are still at 5.5% of their budget. Um so we're projecting that that number is going to remain very close to
what it was for last year. Um for the school, we've seen a little bit of a difference in the ratio. Um you may recall last year we saw a very significant decrease in the ratio where um one time we were paying 2/3 of the
school budget that dropped down to 58% last year. We're seeing a little bit going back up this year to 59%. Um with that we're seeing approximate increase this year of $83 on the school budget.
Um based on the open space attention committee also you know the value of open space was to um increase the open space tax from 013 to 015 bringing it back uh where it was a number of years
ago. um approximately 15 years ago and we've been gradually doing that for the last three years is bringing it back to that 015 and that's an increase of $12 uh per household. Um the library you'll see is going up about $15 per household
because of the equalized value. So where we're seeing that benefit for that um it also factors into what our assessment is. It's a state formula called a third of a mill um that establishes what um goes to the library. So, um, it's all
done. We don't negotiate that. We don't do anything else that we get quote unquote our assessment is what it's going to be. Um, so we're looking at the total tax bill um for the township to resident to be just over $12,000 a year.
Um, it's an overall increase of approximately $191 um per household. We always like to look at the, you know, property tax distribution. As you know, we we collect the money, uh, but we only get to spend 23%.
So, the majority of it is going to the school district, uh, 60%, county gets 15%, and the library gets 2%. Um, but we are right around 23. We've been at that number for a number of years, and that's pretty steady where we're going to be.
Well, just kind of looking at, you know, where we've seen the increases between the municipal rate and the school rate. Um, municipal rate has always tried to be a little bit lower than the school rate over the years as you can see where that bottom line that's, you know, relatively flat in the school district
is a a little bit different. And, um, we do extremely well in the collection of taxes. Um our tax rate is well over 99%. Um we do budget in there what's called the reserve front
collected taxes. If I get it right >> got the right. >> Um so it's about you know it equals to about 97.10 overall. It's about $3.2 million that goes into the budget every year. It helps stabilize that we're going to talk about a little bit later with our our fund balance.
And speaking of fund balance, back here we go. Uh what we have here is just some of the positive aspects of maintaining a a stable fund balance. Um it allows us to roll, you know, balance into the forward
into the following year to avoid any tax spikes. Um it maintains a levy cap of 2%. Um it also it's insurance against any loss of uh revenue and available for any emergency appropriations that may
come around for any national natural disasters or anything of that nature. Um and also for any tax bills that might cut up come up during the year. In regard to that we have our fund balance policy. Um, township policies
maintain a fiscally conservative position, safeguard its financial stability. Uh, this approach supports the preservation of the township's AAA credit rating and ensures that the sufficient funds are available to address any unforeseen circumstances. Uh, a healthy fund balance also provides
essential cash flow liquidity for the township for for day-to-day operations. Insufficient levels could expose the township to fiscal stress, potentially lead to substantial increases. Uh maintaining an adequate fund balance allows the township to sustain a stable
tax rate and avoid uh significant fluctuations. Fiscally responsible require fiscal respons responsibility, excuse me, uh requires the township to maintain an unreserved fund balance in the range of 15 to 20% of appropriations
for the 26 budget. It aligns with the township's conservative fiscal strategy maintaining a fund balance of 16.4% which falls within the established target rate. And here's just a a little history of the fund balance over
the past eight years or nine years we have on there. Um, as you can see, we've been we've been able to maintain our year-end fund balance uh to keep it stable and also been able to use um an amount to
appropriate towards our our budget in order to help offset our uh taxes. Uh now we coming down to our utility funds which are you know separate funds alto together from um the current fund in general capital. Uh we have
our sewer utility which is this year is coming in at $9,620,000. Um and again it's sustained by its own fees. uh we have some mis mis miscellaneous revenues that come through
and also we supported by some fund balance through the sort utility itself. Um we have our our parking uh utility enterprise utility which again is all appropriations are funded through the permit permits and uh meter fees that
are collected and it's self sustaining. And finally, we have our swimming pool which is coming at coming in at 1.7 million. Um, majority of it's covered by fees and uh, we have a band premium that
has been collected off of the the notes which allows us to fund some of the revenues and it's also funded through the swim pool deficit which is a funding source which allows us to cover the debt service which is a little extended above
our operations. >> We do have a good though. Yes, >> we have this is the last year for the 2016 debt of $400, $20,000 $420,000 payment plus interest that we no longer have to make after this year. >> That's great.
>> Y >> good job. >> So that is our 2022 budget. Um as we mentioned before, we are maintaining all of our services. Um we have our capital program is fully funded so we can
maintain our annual road overlay crack sealing program. General services for drainage curbing improvements, infrastructure improvements as needed and also making sure that our equipment, our trash trucks and other things um are up and viable and you know that they're
reliable for that. that we are asking for a 3% municipal tax levy increase um primarily driven by you know state cost mandates that are you know somewhat beyond our control. Um so our increase
for 2026 is just under $7 per month for the average residential property assessed at $600,000. It comes out to just under $84 a year. Again, I think this is a very fiscally responsible budget following the tantric's longtime policy about being fiscally responsible.
Um, and that we've been able to complete that again in a very challenging budget year. We did make a lot of cuts through that. Um, things that we could, you know, would have been nice to get a few new vehicles and other things for to replace, but we'll get through what we need to um for this year and hopefully
better news for next year. Um, with that, >> thank you very much. Uh Mr. Quinn, before we open up for public comment on the budget, is the uh slide deck, the presentation already up on the website or after tonight, will the
>> on tomorrow going up will be the budget document, >> the user friendly budget document user friendly everybody except for the CFO. >> Okay. and the budget presentation. >> Okay? Because I think for for the residents out there, sometimes the presentation is really easy to go
through and very easy to read and makes a lot of sense for those who don't want to get into all the >> fine items. As long >> as you guys adopt it tonight, we're good. >> Right. After adoption. >> Um yes. And again, when we do the budget, we're always looking five years down the road. We don't want to do
things this year that hey did we hit this nice pile of money here and let's go spend it and not have for next year. It was like the co money that came in. We did not use that for operating expenses. >> We used that you know the American Rescue Plan money for special projects so that it did not have an adverse
impact on future years budgets by spending it and then trying to fill in that gap after that. And that's the same followup we do on a lot of things is looking longterm you know what's coming in. We don't, you know, we saw some um with Mr. Ferguson and cancelling some
debt services and other those funds came in. We just didn't take that and roll it all into the budget. We're looking at a four-year program to start rolling that back into the budget. >> Um again, we'll you know, cost of goods and services insurance premiums. We think we're going to be um have some
challenges coming up with healthcare insurance for 2027. Um and you know our revenue projections have been going up so hopefully they will continue to to go up uh for that and then as always the impact of our state aid health benefits and pension costs are you know our
drivers that we had that we have to drive. So >> so that will um you know conclude conclude our presentation for tonight um on it. Um certainly open it up to the tension committee, mayor and tension committee for any questions and then
>> yeah before we go to the public any comments or questions from the township committee. >> No, please ladies first. >> Excuse me. I just wanted to say that this has been my first budget process and I came in, you know, quite late in the game. Um, and as a long-term
resident who over the years has seen, you know, a lot of improvements, I know just on my street, I got a sidewalk. Um, the new trash service, well, the first time I saw that small dumpster appear, I thought, how am I going to wheel that thing out? It's been amazing. Um, so I
feel from the resident side every year, you know, we are seeing improvements in the township, but then being on the committee and getting to kind of peak behind the curtain, see how the sausage is made. Um, I was really pleasantly surprised and impressed with the
thoughtfulness um, and the long-term thinking that goes into this process. I'd also like to say that I was really impressed with Mr. Ferguson's um ability to take the money that we bring in and make money on that money that you know
that takes talent to do. So um I just appreciate all the hard work that went into this and also the committee members who I know have been working on this before my arrival. So thank you. >> Thank you. Anybody else? >> Mr. rabbits.
>> Of course, I I'm going to echo what uh Committeeman Rothman just said, although except for the bin, I don't have as long a driveway as she does. >> Um again, I want to this is my sixth budget process. Um
this is the sixth year we in a row that for me uh that our township has has had a AAA bond rating. uh the f the fiscal fiscally conservative practices that we
that we use as various township committees has been steadfast for us. We continue to be and in my mind the crown jewel of Mars County in the way that this township is run. And I want to thank all of our professionals um the
folks on the township committee who you know are part of the budget process u certainly our auditor um and we have done an incredible job and I am so proud and I'm so thrilled to have been part of that you know for the residents of the
township for the last six years. So kudos to all the township committees that have come before me and this township committee and uh continued good fiscal health into the future. >> Thank you. Anybody else?
If not, we'll open up the public hearing for comments for the 2026 municipal budget. Please state your name and if you're a resident or non-resident for the record before speaking. Please note the comments are limited to 5 minutes per speaker. If you have questions you would like answered, returning time to
speak will be yielded back for that purpose. May I have a motion to open the public comment? >> Second. >> Members of the public speak. Okay. I'm sorry. All right. Mr. Shackner.
Uh Charlie Shakar, 10 Raleigh Court. I didn't expect to get up to talk about this portion of the meeting, but since I'm here and I heard it, uh, first of all, again, I want to commend the township on its incredible level of uh, financial responsibility and and fiscal uh, just stewardship. Uh, I've been a
resident for uh, 20 over 20 years and um, very pleased with uh, the way the township spends our precious tax dollars. As you guys know, every dollar is precious these days. Um because of my uh membership on the environmental commission, I have a special interest in
um the open space fund. And I was just curious because as I noticed here of the 278,500 that was allocated uh 40,000 for tree trimming, 15,000 for uh plantings that left 223,000 for what's called various open space improvements. And it says
that there's a project list filed in the Department of Finance. So, I was just curious because that's relatively vague and I was just kind of curious about what those specifically projects were. Is that list available to the public or will that list even be presented to the environmental commission so we can provide advice on those projects?
>> Mr. You also see it later on tonight in the open space. Uh there'll be an ordinance for that. >> Ah, wonderful. Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. Seeing nobody else and seeing no hands raised, is there a motion to close public comment? >> So moved.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> At this time, Mr. Quinn will read the resolution for adoption into the record. >> Thank you, mayor. I'll read the resolution and I will ask you to do a motion and a roll call. Uh this comes
from page 41 of the budget document. Be it resolved by the committee persons of the Tatch of Mars, County of Mars, that the budget herein before set forth is hereby adopted and shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated of the sums therein set forth as
appropriations and authorization of the amount of 26,473,8326 for municipal purposes and $834,37.94 4 cents for open space, recreation, farmland, and historic preservation
trust fund levy and 2,490,569 as the minimum library tax. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve and adopt the 2026 budget and tax resolution? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion or questions?
>> Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Ravitz >> enthusiastically. Yes. >> Miss Rothman. >> Yes. >> Mr. Griselle? >> Yes. >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mayor Grigglia? >> Yes. >> Mr. Quinn? >> Notice is hereby given that the budget
and tax resolution has been approved by the cash committee of the town of Mars County of Mars on April 22nd, 2026. Uh Mr. Ferguson did pull out our capital budget spreadsheet which includes the open space projects. He'll read those in
too >> for our 26 open space trust projects that we have set up for some capital improvements. First one, second's a little small for my my eyes, but uh we have uh
>> is it Corman Field? Four mine >> four mine fields steps step replacement and retaining walls. >> Uh we have Lake Road infield renovations. Greenfield infield renovations. Breland Heisen infield renovations.
Joneswood preserve deer fence and the emerald ash trees and shrub which we've talked about. And that's covers the 278. have a breakdown of the dollar amounts if anybody's interested.
>> Thank you, Mr. Ferguson. >> Are you finished? Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. Before I let you go though, just have to say which I know you've heard, but uh on behalf of the township committee and especially on the behalf of all our residents, we can't thank you enough. Um the hard work that Miss Dolan
and Missia that you do for us and again, not only Mr. Quinn and Mr. Ferguson, but all the department heads, everybody in this building and the township committee members that do sit down and meet with the different departments to go through this process. Every year it just gets
better and better. I feel like it's such a fine-tuned machine and yet the challenges that we face, they're really hard decisions to be made. So, we just can't thank you enough. Excellent work and the residents of Mars Township should be proud that they have people at
this level to doing this kind of work. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor. >> We have nine ordinances for introduction on tonight's agenda. Madame Clerk, please read the title of or ordinance number 17-26 into the record.
Ordinance 17-26 bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements by the township of Morris appropriating appropriating the aggregate amount of 2,993,000 therefore including a grant in the amount of $200,000 expected to be
received from the state of New Jersey Department of Transportation and authorizing the issuance of $2,69,000. bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof. Note provides funding for various township
capital improvements, including $200,000 NJ do DOT grant with the remaining costs financed through bonds and notes. >> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 17-26? >> Second.
>> Any questions? Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Mr. Griselle, >> yes. >> Mr. Janata, >> yes. >> Mayor Griglia, >> yes. The P public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance
number 17-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 50 Woodland Avenue. Madame Clerk, please read the title of ordinance 18-26 into the record. 18-26
ordinance appropriating $641,000 available in the general capital fund balance to provide for various capital improvements by the township of Morris. Note appropriates general capital fund balance for various township capital improvements.
>> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 18-26? >> So moved. Second. >> Any questions? Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Gazelle? Yes, >> Mr. Ravitz. >> Yes, >> Miss Rothman. >> Yes, >> Mayor Grigglia.
>> Yes. The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 18-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building 50 Woodland Avenue. Madame Clerk, please read the title of ordinance 19-26 into
the record. 19-26 ordinance appropriating $320,000 available in the general capital improvement fund to provide for various capital improvements by the township of Morris. Note appropriates general capital improvement fund for various
township capital improvements. >> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number are we on 18 or 19? >> 19-26. So moved. It's second. >> Any questions? Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Gazelle,
>> yes. >> Mr. Janata, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Grigley, >> yes. The public hearing and finally final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 19-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 700 p.m. at
the municipal building 50 Woodland Avenue. Madame Clerk, please read the title of ordinance 20-26 into the record. 20-26, an ordinance appropriating $278,500 available in the open space trust fund
to provide for various open space improvements by the township of Morris. Note appropriate open space trust fund for various open space improvements. >> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 20-26? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> Any questions? Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Rabbits. >> Yes. Mr. Janata, >> yes. >> Mr. Griselle, >> yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. Mayor Griglia, >> yes. The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 20-26 will be held on Wednesday,
May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 50 Woodland Avenue. Madame Clerk, please read the title ordinance of 21-26 into the record. >> Ordinance 21-26. Ordinance ordinance appro appropriating
$1,250,000 available in the sewer utility capital improvement fund to provide for various capital improvements by the township of Morris. Note appropriates sewer utility capital improvement funds for various capital improvements. >> May I have a motion to introduce
ordinance number 21-26? >> So moved. Second. >> Any questions? Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mr. Griselle, >> yes. >> Mr. Rabbitz, >> yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Grigalia, >> yes. The public hearing and final
consideration and adoption of ordinance number 21-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building. Madame Clerk, please read the title ordinance 22-26 into the record. 22-26
an ordinance appropriating $50,000 available in the parking enterprise capital improvement fund to provide for various capital improvements by the township of Amoris. Note appropriates parking enterprise capital improvement fund for various capital improvements. >> May I have a motion to introduce
ordinance number 22-26? >> So move second. >> Any questions? Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Gazelle, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Mr. Janata. >> Yes. >> Mr. Moffman, >> yes. >> Mayor Greglio, >> yes. The public hearing and final
consideration of ordinance number 22-26 will be held on May 20th, 2026 at 700 p.m. in the municipal building 50 Woodland Avenue. Madame Clerk, please read the title of ordinance 23-26 into the record. 23-26,
an ordinance appropriating $75,500 available in the swim pool utility capital fund balance to provide for various capital improvements by the Township of Morris. Note appropriates swim pool utility capital fund balance for various capital improvements.
>> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 23-26? >> So moved. Second. >> Any questions? Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Rabbits? >> Yes. Mr. Gonado, yes. >> Mr. Griselle, >> yes. >> Mr. Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Grigley,
>> yes. The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 23-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building. Madame Clerk, please read the title of ordinance 24-26
into the record. 24-26, an ordinance appropriating $437,000 available in the sewer utility capital fund balance to provide for various capital improvements by the township of Morris. Note appropriates appropriates sewer utility capital fund balance for
various capital improvements. >> May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 24-26? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions? Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Gazelle, >> yes. Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mr. Gonado, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz,
>> yes. >> Mayor Grigglia, >> yes. The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance number 24-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 700 p.m. in the municipal building. Madame Clerk, please read the
title of the last ordinance into the record. Ordinance 25-26, an ordinance of the township of Morris providing for a special emergency appropriation in the amount not to exceed $250,000 to fund the engagement of a special of a
special consultant for the preparation of a master plan. Note authorizes a special emergency appropriation to hire consults to prepare the township's master plan. May I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 25-26?
>> So moved. Second. >> Any questions? >> Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Mr. Danata, >> yes. >> Miss Mr. Griselle, >> yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Griglia, >> yes. The public hearing and final consideration and adoption of ordinance
number 25-26 will be held on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 50 Woodland Avenue. Tonight, we have 15 resolutions on the agenda. Three additional resolutions were added
following the closed session and we will address them separately. May I have a motion to approve resolution numbers 89-26 through 103-26 by one motion? >> I mayor, I I respectfully request we
pull 103 and discuss it separately. >> Okay. So then I'm asking for >> Yes. So I'll move 89-26 to 102-26. And do you want to add the other three? The one or we're going to read them into the record? We're going to we're going to do them separately.
>> So, I'll move 89 through 102-26. >> Okay. Is there a second? >> I'll second that. >> Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> 26. Uh, Mr. Griselle? >> Yes. >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Ravitz? >> Yes. >> Miss Rothman? >> Yes.
>> Mayor Grigley? >> Yes. >> So, do you want to do 103 now or do the others first? >> Motion for 103. Yeah, we'll do a motion for 103 and then have a discussion. >> Okay. I'd like to make a motion to approve
103-26. >> A second. >> I'll second it. Okay, we'll go through discussion. >> Yeah, I mean we so we we've had issues with SMC MUA um that we've discussed in public here at the meeting and uh we
talked about this appointment previously and um I was not aware that we were going to be doing the appointment tonight. Um so we had talked about speaking to Mr. Longman. I was wondering if that had happened. >> Yes, sir. Of course it did. >> Yep. And >> he graciously accepted he'd like to
continue serving. >> I assume so. And what about the issues that we had discussed? >> They were they were discussed with him. Like to continue to serve. >> Okay. And was anybody else in the meeting? >> No sir, it was just me and a phone call.
>> Uh-huh. Okay. >> Following what was I was advised to do when we came out of close session. >> Mhm. >> Uh Okay. any any other >> I I thought there would be a discussion but okay
or I thought you one of us would be part of the discussion >> that wasn't the direction I was given sir >> okay >> okay who who made the motion and seconded >> made the mot I'm sorry the mayor made
the motion and and committee rais second Okay. Ready for roll call? >> If there's no other discussion, >> yeah, I mean, I don't have sufficient information to vote on it. So, um, >> you can go ahead, but I'm not going to vote for it.
>> Would you second? >> Okay. >> I don't think I think he seconded it to get the discussion. >> We should take We have to take a roll call vote. >> Right. >> So, madam clerk, the mayor the mayor moved it and committee members second it. Now the mayor's asked for roll call.
>> Okay. >> Y >> Mayor Grigglia, >> yes. >> Mr. Griselle, >> no. >> Mr. Janata, >> yes. >> Mr. Ravitz, >> yes. >> Mr. Rothman, >> yes. >> Yeah, we have to do 104. >> Yep. Madame clerk, please read
resolution number 104-26. >> Am I just reading the title or am I reading the whole thing? >> Yeah, I can. >> Okay. Yep. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> Uh we had several items uh in close session um and they resulted in in resolutions. Um one we had a personnel
matter that was discussed in close session and coming out of it we're placing resolution 104-26 which is I'm sorry, excuse me. We had a Yeah, I guess it's also a personnel matter. >> Yes. >> Yeah. um denying agreements filed by
Morris Township of PBA Local number 133 agreements number 26-01 um and um the resolution will be denied to step three grievance um for the reasons set forth in the prior letters of denial.
>> May I have a motion to approve resolution 104-26? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Madame clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Miss Rothman? Yes, >> Mr. Janata. >> Yes, >> Mr. Gazelle. >> Yes, >> Mr. Ravitz. >> Yes, >> Mayor Grigalia. >> Yes.
>> Uh, we Mr. Caner, >> we also had a discussion in close session regarding another personnel matter. Um, the result of that um is uh we added resolution 105-26 titled authorization for town Morris staff to process an involuntary
disability retirement application. Um, this involves uh William Force, director of of the township's parks and recreation department. Um, and this authorizes the township um, excuse me. Um, for an involuntary
disability retirement application on his behalf. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve resolution 104-26? >> 105. >> Oh, 105. 105-26. >> I move. >> Second. >> Madame clerk, may I have a roll call
vote? >> Mr. Griselle? >> Yes. >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rabbitz? >> This is a hard vote, but yes. >> Miss Rothman, >> yes. >> Mayor Griio, >> yes. >> And lastly, mayor, um we had a discussion in close regarding uh open
litigation. It was a matter that was discussed prior US vantage Morris. Um, as the mayor stated at the top of the meeting, um, the township will be engaging, uh, two firms. Um, those firms are, um, the Plain Firm LLP
and Democracy Forward. Um, and this is a resolution authorizing uh, the township to enter into a retainer agreement with those firms. And the title is a resolution of the township committee of the township memorials authorizing the execution of a legal services agreement.
>> Thank you, Mr. Caner. May I have a motion to approve resolution 106-26? >> So move. Second. >> Madame clerk. May I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Ravitz? >> Absolutely. Yes. >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Grielle? >> Yes. >> Miss Rothman? >> Yes. >> Mayor Grigglia?
>> Yes. Tonight we have two items on the consent calendar. Can I have a motion to approve the items on the consent calendar by one motion? >> So move. >> 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. February 2026 police and joint municipal court. March 2026 tax collector joint municipal court and the Marstown Mars Township Library. Can I have a motion to approve the monthly reports?
>> So move. Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Claims for payment list of bills and vouchers. The total amount of bills and vouchers for this meeting is $13,470,44767. 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? >> So moved. Second. >> Madame Clerk, may I have a roll call vote? >> Mr. Rabbits? >> Yes. >> Mr. Janata? >> Yes. >> Mr. Gazelle? >> Yes. >> Miss Rothman? >> Yes. >> Mayor Gurgalia? >> Yes. received. For the record, we have the resignation of Michael Schumer from
the SMC MUA board of members and 14 different tax appeals. At this time, we will start with our standing committee reports and we'll start with committeewoman Rothman. Um, nothing specific to report. Uh, one,
well, two things I wanted to talk about was one is that New Jersey is still in a drought warning. Um, for those of you that don't know, we've been below average rainfall for over two years now. We're still at a current deficit of 25%.
So, while it feels like spring and it's a little bit raining out, please know that we are short water. So, please be conscious in your water use. Also, um, the ebike, excuse me, the ebike law is coming. Um, they're anticipating this
law will take effect by July 20th. Um, for those of you that don't know, all ebikes in the state of New Jersey will need to be um, registered with DMV and that uh, you'll need insurance for the
ebike as well as I do not believe anyone under the age of 15 will be able to ride an ebike. So, um, please take note of that. Um, and you know, before that takes effect, please still be safe with
ebikes. Um, so there's that. The last thing I wanted to mention is, uh, from the TAC committee, uh, one of the things that I've been talking about has been the bridge at Normandy Parkway. Um, we have been moving forward in
communication with New Jersey Transit. Uh, for those of you that aren't aware, there was a a vehicle accident there which further exacerbated the deterioration of that bridge. Um, so we are working to figure out how to get that fixed. Um, and we're still in
communication with New Jersey Transit and any updates we have, we will pass them on, but it is moving forward. >> Thank you, Committeeman Grail. >> Uh, thank you. Um, I don't have much in the way of uh, committee reports and
spoke earlier about the importance of uh, raising awareness about autism. um would like to be probably the first on the days tonight to uh talk about the the great day we had today in Morris Township uh with the uh the Red Bulls ribbon cutting of their facility. Uh
what a fantastic day. What a fantastic accomplishment. Years and years of work went into this and it's going to culminate with the World Cup uh coming to Morris Township in Brazil being uh the team that's being hosted here. So kudos to everybody who contributed along
the way. Um, it's been, like I said, a a road and a process. Um, but it's been a team effort and so proud to have the Red Bulls here. Um, and being having them call Morris Township home for the next hopefully forever years. >> Thank you, Mayor.
>> Committeeman Rabbits. >> All right. No bombshells tonight, but I a couple of things. I'm going to be a little bit more long-winded than than typical uh because there's a number of things that I have to report. And I want to thank uh first I want to thank
Charlie uh Shakar and the folks who came out in support of uh the the leaf ban. I know you've been coming out now for the past number of meetings. Uh I I personally I can't stand the leaf blowers, but I want to look into uh New
Jersey state um resolution. Was it S623? So, I'd like to learn a little bit more about that and perhaps it is something that this township uh can get behind. So, you know, thanks for bringing that to our attention. Um, regarding the um
the litigation, I'm not going to have a lot of comment on that. I think that what the statement that the mayor reades the spirit of how we on the day feel about that. Uh I will say kind of restate one of the things I've stated up
here a number of times and that is one of the jobs of the township committee is to vision proof uh the future and the future is moving to renewables despite whatever happens outside of this courtroom. So um I'm the only person on
this day as on township committee that was around in 2022 to vote yes on this. It was a good law then. It's a good law now and we think it's worth fighting for. So, uh that's my only comment until there's further updates uh that's come
officially from the township committee. Um moving on to parks and wreck, there are some updates and things. Um our third annual uh pride pridefest will be held on June 7th at
Ginty Field from 11 to 2. Uh come as you are, come as you see yourself. All all are welcome to take part in the festivities. Uh we welcome participation of local businesses and affiliated organizations, crafts people, whatnot to
market their products and services. It's free and I would urge folks to those interested in um having a table or whatnot to contract contact the recreation department for details on how you can get your business involved. in
Mars Township. We believe in uniting people no matter whatever demographics they happen to fall into. Also coming up the following week is the Collinsville and Tuckerfield grand reopening. So that's scheduled for June 13th. It's
been a long time coming and we know uh we know that the residents will find it was it was worth it even though it was seemed a time agonizingly slow. All are welcome to join again in those festivities and for the uh the grand reopening of a re-imagined uh recreation
park in our town. I also want to acknowledge and recognize all the efforts of Alexis Voloy on of our recreation department um on her incredible contributions to Mars Township over the years. Her last official day will be Friday. Uh but
she'll be coming back for special events throughout the spring and the summer. And I wish Alexis all the best in her new job. Um, and she'll be missed here. Today, as Committeeman Gazelle had mentioned, was the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Robert Wood Johnson
Barnabas Red Bulls Performance Center. It was great to see so many dignitaries from all over who were part of the effort and it was especially great to see so many of our township professionals uh and board members who have been part of that process through
every step. It's a true state-of-the-art facility and acknowledged to be a top tier performance center in North America. And as uh committeeman Griselle said, we look forward to decades of partnership with the Red Bulls and the economic activity potential that it
brings with it. I remember on a on a personal note, I remember when I was new and kind of wet behind the ears on the township committee when it was first brought I think you were the mayor, Jeff, um was brought to our attention that the Red
Bulls were interested in in you know building a training facility here in the township at the at the Honeywell site. And I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, to be part of something so incredibly special like this. What a boon it's
going to be to the township." Um, and I remember saying to to the administrator, uh, saying, "Well, we got to do whatever we we need to do to make this deal work." And at times, you know, it was it had its trials and tribulations, but at the end of the day, our township
professionals, our our planning board, um, our township committee, we we went the extra mile. We made it work and it is an incredible center. So if you ever get a chance to, you know, be invited inside, it is an incredible facility.
Um, in recognition of Earth Day and Arbor Day, I just want to say a couple of words. It's two powerful reminders, Earth Day and Arbor Day. You know, one calls us to reflect on the health of our planet as a whole. And this kind of ties into um you
know all the a lot of the things the environmental um resolutions and and and whatnot that we worked up here on the deas and taking that planet as a whole is something that we take very very seriously. and the
other uh you know Arbor Day invites us to take a simple tangible step and plant a tree. And together these two holidays or these two you know um days they tell a single story about stewardship,
responsibility and hope. Earth Day Earth Day asks us to think big, right? Climate change, clean water, sustainable energy. These are global challenges that demand collective action. And Arbor Day reminds us that meaningful change can can start
small. One tree at a time. We restore habitats, clean our air, and invest in our future. A tree is more than wooden leaves. It's shade on a hot day, a home for wildlife, a quiet promise for tomorrow, and that could be better than
today. And when we plant one, we're not just improving our environment, we're making a statement about the kind of world we want to leave behind. So today, let's honor both days, not just with words, but with action. Plant something, protect something. Commit commit to
something because the future isn't built all at once. It grows just like a tree, one careful step at a time. And finally, remember that as you go about your day to be kind. Kind to yourself and kind to others because kindness matters. And as
my mantra always has been, we have more in common than should ever divide us. Mayor, >> thank you, Deputy Mayor Janata. >> Thank you. First, congratulations again to the Red Bulls training center being uh for their grand opening. This is a
reminder that this will be the site of for the soccer teams for the FIFA World Cup. Eight games will be played at the New York New Jersey stadium in the Medallands as Metife Stadium will be called during this month. As such, travel around this area will be affected
on those dates, including NJ Transit trains and nearby highways. So, please take note of that. I want to also welcome to our new volunteer members to the township committees and commissions. Environmental Commission has a new associate member, Kate Drummond.
Transportation Advisory Committee or TAC has three new members, Chris Oakley, Bill Bryan, Ed and Ed Vandervine. I and the respective chairs personally interviewed at each each of them. They have showed all showed enthusiasm in joining and hoping to provide needed
advice and help. Each of them expressed that they wanted to do quoteunquote do something and volunteering in the in their local municipality was the best way to do this. I absolutely respect that since this was how I had started by joining the environmental commission
back in 2019. I still hear from some constituents have expressed their desire to quote unquote do something and I've directed them to the township website to fill out the volunteer form. In terms of transportation tech, look for upcoming
Morris Township in Motion events. We have only five events, but in one includes Burnham Park on June 20th, which is my neighborhood. And on September 19th, Normandy Parkway, which is Committee Women Rothman's neighborhood, I'll help lead the Burnham
Park Walk. And Carl Barkin of the Historic Preservation Commission will lead the Normandy Parkway Walk. An environmental commission, Mr. Charlie Shaker, is here. The newsletter continues to get accolades. Last month, Sustainable Jersey gave honors. This
month, it was ANJ that praised them. Anjek is the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. And we also held a school poster contest and awards were distributed by Mayor Geriglia and myself to the winning teams from grades 3 to six, which showed innovation and
imagination. Now, to my little historic presentation. Like millions around the world, I watched the journey of the four astronauts on Artemis 2, traveling around the moon and safely returning back home to Earth. My family and I watched the end of the 10-day journey as
the capital capsule splashed down into the Pacific Ocean. The most important part was on the sixth day when they traveled around the moon and took very sharp photos. This reminded me of the first space flight around the moon back in December 1968 when Apollo 8 made the
first humankind journey out of Earth's orbit. Astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Levelvel reached the moon on Christmas Day and read from the Bible's book of Genesis. I remember seeing the sun reflecting from the window as one of them read the passage,
"Let there be light." Much like the present, the space flight in 1968 took place during a time of extreme strife. The year started with a Ted offensive in Vietnam where enemy troops took over much of South Vietnam. Later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert
Kennedy were both assassinated. There were uprisings in Paris, France, and Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. Both will be put down by their respective governments and others, especially in Prague where Soviet tanks rolled into the city. When these astronauts made their flight
by the end of this this turbulent year, they reminded us that our world is all we have. The most memorable photo was not of the moon, but of the earth rising above the moon's surface. This Earthrise photo was published the following year and moved many people by
giving us all a different perspective of the world and its problems. Today is Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 on this same date. That Earthrise photo was a major impetus for this and the environmental movement
was a result. The Aremis 2 astronauts answered this with their own Earth set photo which was equally beautiful and moving. The astronomer Dr. Carl Sean famously called Earth a pale blue dot where he stated, "Look again at that
dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. The earth is where we make our stand. We meet we need to preserve and cherish this pale blue dot. The only home we've ever known. Every April I fly an Earth Day flag at
my house. It's to remind us that this planet is all of us. Our Earth, our home. Happy Earth Day. Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor. The first comment I want to make is I would like to provide an update on legal
advertising. Since March 1st under public law 2025, chapter 72, the township has been following the updated notice requirements in accordance with local finance board guidance. This includes posting required notices on the
municipal bulletin board and posting legal notices on the township website under legal notices. I encourage residents to regularly check the township website for legal notices, meeting notices, updates, and other
important information. It can be found there, and if you go and check, you'll be up to date on everything that's happening. Um, just a couple quick things about the Red Bulls today. Uh, there's just one, um, it was an incredible experience. It is an
incredible facility. And I did say there, but I also want on the record that I want to express the township's gratitude to everyone who was involved in making this vision a reality. There's so many of our former township officials,
uh, our township professionals and our land use and advisory boards and especially our residents who many of whom became supporters and understand the power of sport to unite us. It was
incredible to be there and I think it's going to be a whole new chapter in so many positive things coming here in the township. Another quick thing just about the budget. While it is very clear rising costs have put a strain on our budget, I want everyone to understand
our departments have met the challenge. Reviewing our expenditures and identifying those areas where we can make adjustments without impacting the essential services so vital to our residents. Our approach has always been
one of prudence and foresight. Our our focus remains on delivering quality services while ensuring that we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We also want to thank you, our residents, for your continued support and understanding, knowing the township is
in good hands, and we will continue to make sure that Mars Township remains vibrant and strong for many years to come. Just two other quick things. Again, when it gets to me, I'm always crossing things out um that the others have said, but I do want to mention that
last Sunday, we had coffee with the cop at the Jersey Artisan Cafe right in our Fairchild neighborhood, which is really special. Chief Shear is there with about five or six of our police officers. It was very busy that day. Residents come in, they can chat with any of our
officers. So, it's something really special that they do. And the last thing is just I want to mention on May 6th at 700 p.m. in Hanover, but we also are part of um there's an event, the human trafficking awareness event. It's part
of the mayor's wellness campaign and we urge people who need to learn more about all aspects of human trafficking to go. It's going to be a great presentation. So, we hope that we see you there. Other than that, I think we're ready to go on
to our last public comments. There are currently seven members of the public joining us Zoom and two in the audience. >> Three in well, one's a one's the press. >> Right. Right. At this time, we will open
the meeting for public comment. We'll begin with comments from those in person first, then go to Zoom. Please raise your hand on Zoom if you would like to speak. Please state your name and whether you are resident or not for the record. Comments are limited to 5 minutes. However, if you have questions
and would like a response, any remaining time will be yielded back to you. Is there a motion to open the public comment? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I >> Hi. Uh my name is Kathleen Horahan. I live at 8 Sherman Place and I just have
two questions. Um, I'm going to guess that information about the federal court case is probably not going to be able to be forthcoming from this body, but um, if a resident wanted to follow along, um, what's the best place to get
information about that? >> Um, the complaint is a uh is a public document. Um, I don't know if we're going to provide it. We certainly could provide a request. The complaint would go to you. Um, other than that, the
filings, um, if you go online to Pacer on the federal courts, um, unlike the state courts, in federal court, the public has access to, uh, all the filings on the federal court. Um, so you can go and take a look and you can see, uh, what has been filed on the docket.
>> Did you say Pacer? >> P A C E R. >> P A C E R. So, look that up online. Okay. Okay. Thank you. And just one other question was that um I was very happy to hear that um committeewoman Rossman brought up the um did I say her name right?
>> Yes. Um the current uh drought situation that we're in because I follow that very closely on uh NJ drought website. And so I was just wondering um does does the town are we at a point where there are
any restrictions in place that the township has imposed? >> Not as of yet, but when we get to that point >> the water utility >> it'll the water utility will send that out. When it gets to that point they're the ones who initiate >> but as of now we don't have any
>> restrictions. Not that I'm no >> the state is just suggesting volunteer. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> Seeing nobody else here and no hands raised, is there a motion to close public comment?
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> The time is now 9:06. Can I have a motion to adjourn the regular session? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I I. >> The next regular township committee meeting will be Wednesday, May 20th,
2026 at 7 p.m. for the regular meeting. 5 pm for closed in a municipal building 50 Woodland Avenue. Thank you and have a great night.