##VIDEO ID:dz4-K8mloGg## e e e e e e e e good evening I'd like to call to order the January 28th 2025 Oldbridge Township meeting would everyone please stand for a pledge of allegiance remain standing for a moment of silence and for our prayer I pledge Al 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 stand here tonight for a moment of silence remembering those who are protecting our freedoms both here and abroad for our First Responders for those who made the ultimate sacrifice and for anyone who is suffering around the world a moment of silence please Mr pasetti our prayer oh Lord bless thy servants and the ministry of public affairs who serve you in this chamber give us quiet minds and hearts that we may hear your voice help us to know when to speak when to be silent give us strength to up to oppose the wrong and uphold the right and Grant that we have a good conscience and Soul at peace with thee and with one another amen thank you please be seated roll call councilman ASI present councilwoman dearo here councilman D here councilman Desai is absent councilman Garcia doesn't councilman Murphy is absent he told me he wasn't going to be here this evening councilman Pas gidy pres Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell pres and council president soar here this meeting is being held in conformance with the open public meetings act notice has been given to the official newspapers of the township on December 16th 2024 has been posted in public places next open public meeting of the township Council will be held on Tuesday February 11th 2025 at 7:30 p.m. okay thank you very much good evening everyone welcome to the meeting and we'll begin with presentations uh community service acknowledge for Dennis kilduff mayor good evening everybody thank you for joining us here tonight um we are recognizing somebody who has done great things in the community on a personal level and a professional level in his volunteer service with our Recreation board but as well as throughout the entire Township for many many years Mr Dennis has always volunteered and stayed on our W board for as long as he has because he enjoyed coaching and teaching the next generation of athletes Sports has been a big part of his life from a kid to an adult here in Oldbridge as a lifelong resident who played football for the rebels and baseball at saood South Little League he always wanted to give back like his father and his brothers did with over 40 years of coaching and part of the overridge wreck board he enjoyed it all the best part for Dennis has always been teaching the kids that's fine to this day he still sees men and women out and about town that he coached and they still call him Coach they talk about games and other players that they played with and talk about all the great memories that they shared these are the reasons why he coached and why he stayed on the wreck board all these years I'm going to list off some of his um accomplishments that he had um these are just a small snapshot of what he has done he coaches award South Rebels for 32 years president at the same time for 19 of those years Central Jersey Pop Warner executive board and football commissioner for a total of nine years coach at oers little league for 10 years obers Little League District coach or manager six years coach of orridge Junior kns Hockey program two years coach at orridge Matt Ratz wrestling program three years coach at Madison Park girl softball nine years I just listed all of those I can't think of any other sport in that he hasn't coached or hasn't been involved with or hasn't volunteered and that's just his personal time on top of the years that he served on the wreck board some of his accomplishments from the W board that he is most proud of is he was on the subcommittee for the YMCA and the Oldbridge golf course and he had always joked around that once that Golf Course got built that his time on the wreck board he was done he seen it [Laughter] all he was an intrical part in the shared service with orridge high school when Lombardy field was renovated phase one of manino Park he was the committee chairman for many years and one of the things that he's most proud of is the youth Sport parent and athlete code of conduct that we still enforce through all of our youth sports leagues throughout the entire Township he championed and came up with the idea to name the ice arena after the late John Piccolo these are just a few accomplishments that we would like to highlight on a personal level me being born and raised here in Oldbridge and on a professional level and being charged in Recreation I want to thank Mr kilduff and his family for allowing um him to volunteer all this time for his dedicated years of service to the township of Oldbridge Mr kilduff can please come up [Applause] uh well a few words that's the tough thing for me to do my kids say all the time don't give him a mic he won't shut up uh just I just want to say thank you it's been a pleasure and an honor for me to be able to be part of this town and be part of this Rec committee uh it's I kind of like I lled people into coach and I got lled into that John P overon said to me one day at Rebel field come on why you get on the rec board me we need some people two years later he left and I was still there for another 20 plus years but it was it was great we did a lot of things in this town like I said the golf course Joe Dunn and I we were chair and co-chair for years when that was going on and we both said once it gets built we're getting off but he got off before I did but uh it's an honored and I just really I did this not for this award although I appreciate it uh I did it because I wanted to and it was a lot of fun a lot of time but it was great and I'm happy to do it and thank you very much I appreciate it if Mr kilda's family would like to come up so we could take a picture then after that we'll take a picture with any current and former wreck board members that are here tonight I just want to thank Dennis for all his many years that he's de devoted to the Youth of Oldbridge it's people like you that make orge such a wonderful Community we just want to thank you I served on the rec board with you as well and uh I do love the golf course to thank you [Applause] girls e see thank you so much Dennis for everything and we would be remiss if we didn't thank your wife too ginger for all the time that she let you be here and be with us and not be at a lot of things that she could have had you at so we thank her as well thank you so much for sharing for sharing him with us that was really amazing thank you very much take care have a good night thank you okay next will be a Safety Committee presentation okay mayor and our acting ba Casey good evening everyone welcome to the meeting that is slow that's like at the at the Kids Table Thanksgiving oh my goodness you know when they put you at the Kids Table well anyway okay good evening everyone and welcome to the meeting good evening Madam chair uh we'll try to keep the trouble at the middle of the child's table to a minimum uh having sat at the day in my Township presentation is the best part part of the meeting I can guarantee you uh my name is Tim Weir I work for the PMA companies we handle all the claims management and the risk control services for the New Jersey intergovernmental Insurance Fund of which you're one of now 27 members of municipalities throughout New Jersey and uh we're proud to be in partnership with Lincoln risk management as your risk management broker and Tom houdan is with me here tonight uh for this recognition as part of the GIF you have received received a uh cash award incentive that's been received by the business manager uh earlier on and the GIF will be here to present a plaque once we get past what they call uh production slowdowns with things that are coming in however uh Tom and I felt it was important to recognize how well this town continues to do and their efforts to improve workplace safety across the board of the 27 members of the GIF of which I've worked with for years and this Township since you joined the GIF you are the only member we have who holds monthly safety meetings and they've been handled for all the years I've been with by Frank Speranza as our coordinator for safety who does an excellent job and everybody participates the participation across the board has been excellent and as Anna has now come into the lead spot and the work with Casey it's just a pleasure for us to come and work with your Township as we continue to look for ways to improve in that light uh we want to just have a very simple recognition uh we have a simple certificate it's a safety recognition certificate presented to Oldbridge Township in recognition of consistent and proactive efforts to improve safety for all employees while we do recognize employees we do also work for Fleet Safety property and liability issues but we're really focusing on the employees tonight and we hope as a council you'll continue to support the SA efforts of your town uh department heads I've thoroughly enjoyed working with Matt and Casey and all these it just makes life easy for us and hopefully you'll continue to be part of our joint Insurance Fund for many many years to come so I'd like to present this since Anna's not here mayor if you don't mind I'm GNA present to Casey who is barely filling in for Anna tonight [Applause] thank you madam chair thank you very much thank you before we disperse um just wanted to say a few words about the uh Safety Committee so I uh joined the Safety Committee about eight years ago and um it's been a fun ride you know we meet monthly and we have participants from every Department that come and you know everybody really cares and if they see something they let us know and we're able to get it fixed right away we bounce ideas off each other you know Frank does an amazing job with that you know he puts minutes together and makes sure that uh you know nothing gets missed so thank everybody that's involved and we really do appreciate [Applause] this okay next will be Route 9 Transit oriented development presentation good evening ladies and Casey good evening Council uh um as you may recall it was in 2019 that I had reached out to NJ uh to pursue a Transit Village designation for the Oldbridge commuter parking lot and uh it was in February of 2019 that here at the municipal building for the first time we had officials from DCA NJ Transit NJ do everybody gathered together and I had made a presentation as to how um the the shopping center near the Oldbridge commuter parking lot had ample uh vacancies and there was a lot of parking that was available the planning for that shopping center is something that was planned in the' 70s where you have a sea of asphalt and then the shopping center is set back and I think it offers an opportunity for us to develop a Transit oriented development transis Dage designation comes from do and it's a multi-step process so we began that day with a pre-application meeting with NJ do unfortunately for us we were amidst of uh the pandemic and things slow down but NJ do since then has been pursuing and following up if Oldbridge is still interested in pursuing that Transit Village designation in the interim you may recall almost three years ago NJ Transit received funding from FDA to do a corridor study for the route n and that corridor is 21 mi from starting from Oldbridge Township to Howell Township there are 17 stations NJ Transit myself uh their consulting firm Perkinson Eastman has been working together to put up this presentation uh this is just the beginning there's a lot more work to be done lot more work on our end to be done because uh when you try to pursue a Transit Village designation you have to go through the Redevelopment process so first the area investigation study coupled with uh number of shets that you conduct and then you have a Redevelopment plan in place but uh tonight we have a representative a planner from NJ transit to show their support we have um a consultant from Perkins Eastman and she would make a presentation on how they have worked through and what they have come up with so far this is the man tiku hello good evening can you all hear me okay great uh hi everyone I would request your attention to the screen I think it will help it will Aid um your understanding of the presentation um so like Vina said uh NJ Transit received this um Grant from the FTA um and in 2019 the route N9 Corridor carried uh 10 New Jersey Transit bus routes with 80 bus stops and around six 6500 weekday boardings which can be compared to a lot of commuter rail stops nearby as well so this is a really robust Transit Corridor 21 mile long as Vina mentioned already so out of the 80 bus stops 17 were selected uh uh in five municipalities uh Oldbridge malbro Manalapan freeold and howl um the approach of this study was sensitive to the unique existing conditions of each of these 17 uh stations today I'll be sharing our study of the Oldbridge park and ride the overall goals of this which is the first uh station along the corridor and the closest to New York City the goals of this uh study uh have been to assess the potential for Transit oriented development for all of these 17 uh sites um and we have engaged local government and Regional and state agencies uh our purpose is to create a collective vision and strategies for Transit oriented development along this Corridor and reach out to communities as much as possible to understand their specific needs in each of the communities uh we wanted to build support for to along the way uh especially for the route n Corridor uh I have here some images of the uh Old Bridge Park and Ride uh station area uh apart from the bus stop um you can see the uh old brid shopping plaza has been struggling uh with vacancies um for for a few years now um the malleta bridge uh the malleta way Bridge Crossing Over Route 9 UM presents its own unique um challenges for pedestrians uh since the southbound uh Route 9 bus stop is on the other side of malleta bridge and the Northbound as you can see is right along Route 9 UM overall uh there were some smart growth principles that we applied to all of the sites we uh looked at we wanted to concentrate higher uh density housing as close to the bus stations as possible we wanted to Cluster development to allow for more uh contigous Green Space and more access to Green Space uh for all new development um we wanted to use Redevelopment of underperforming shopping centers the Oldbridge shopping plaza is not the only underperforming shopping center along the corridor but we wanted to use this opportunity to open up pedestrian and bicycle access uh to the existing Transit um and we wanted to great open space with storm water management measures uh and green infrastructure as well as the roadways uh overall uh just want to call out a few key benefits of uh Transit oriented development along Route 9 uh Not only would it help aid a better bus service and reduce travel times uh it will help safer and safer pedestrian and bike access to these bus stops for existing as well as new residents um a new vision for the struggling shopping center and and opportunities for a variety of housing options near high quality Transit um with this uh I would introduce you to the site uh within a 10-minute uh walking radius uh which is um what we refer to as a station area we have around 150 acres of potential development sites on both sides of rout9 on the east side there's 41 acres and on the west 108 um you can see that they owned by a variety of uh the ownership varies from some parcels being owned by uh New Jersey Transit some by the township and some by private owners uh the context is pretty mixed with retail residential as well as natural features but there's an opportunity to create a cohesive to District around the transit node in the existing condition the access to Transit from say the existing London Terrace Apartments or the uh Parkwood uh Village Apartments to the east of the Oldbridge shopping plaza is really limited and the shopping plaza inhibits not only visual but pedestrian access as well because not a lot of streets are able to go all the way to Transit so these people don't have uh very good or clear um access to Transit uh on the west side of Route n there are a lot of uh substantial uh wetlands and there is a key um utility easement going through the site as well um but we can use all of these as opportunities to help us organize the site they really help break up the site into four clear Parcels um and they can help aid the organization um of the development when it happens uh there's also a lot of uh existing commuter parking um uh around 1,53 spaces uh across five Lots so to allow for development on New Jersey Transit own lot SE the existing parking spaces would need to be relocated elsewhere so whatever Redevelopment plan is proposed will have to account for either a stacked structure so that you know more land is available for development or some phased strategy to relocate parking uh in terms of circulation um we would highly recommend that the uh bus stop on the west side of Route 9 which is if you can see my pointer be tucked away behind the Walmart currently be brought back out to Route 9 to maximize visibility you would like to link the east and west side bus stops with an enclosed pedestrian bridge over Route 9 so that pedestrians have easy access on both sides of Route 9 um we would extend uh recommend extending Westminster Boulevard uh across Route 9 UM as a potential midblock connection um and we would propose a street Network that reimagines the existing shopping plaza uh with uh new connections between Downing Street and Route 9 on the left you see uh you'll see an existing condition image and on the right is what is potential so like I mentioned earlier there is a 10-minute walking Circle um on the out uh that you can see on the left image which is not pedestrian accessible currently because of lack of sidewalk connectivity with a robust network of streets blocks uh and uh continuous sidewalk connectivity you can see how almost the entirety of a 10-minute walking Circle can actually be walkable to Transit and accessible for users um so we just going to end here um making this case for pedestrian access to Transit and increased Housing Opportunity at the station thank you thank you so much for the presentation it's great um my only qu my one question question is you did say that that this is being funded all or in part by federal grants is that is that what I heard in the beginning yeah um the study is or the whole thing the study is oh just the study was it paid out already because I I just know that there's a freeze on federal grants now that I don't know if that's affected by the grant was uh it was funded almost three years ago it was okay yes that's fine thank you thank you you I think it's funny I think six seven months ago if you would have came in and done this probably people would be looking at you a little sideways with everyone working from home but I think it is starting to become more and more prevalent as folks return to the office I know in financial services industry which is mine and and a lot of other Industries are where we're starting we're starting to return if not full-time pretty close to it the question I would have is when we looked at this did did we did you have any engagement with the like the owners of the properties that are there now or is it just a study and then so I'll take that so as part of the uh application process for the transit Village the township has to undertake that study and it is a requirement that the public be engaged I think the township has to conduct a minimum of three um public Outreach um sessions I know that NJ Transit themselves are also planning to conduct those Outreach sessions I think the first one is coming up soon uh and the public will be notified I will be present at the presentation as well and their input is vital to this whole process so it would be similar to what we did um for the project at over Lake lefors on 516 so they would have multiple process where folks can come in correct that is correct just like I know that not only touch it's obviously a big swath of folks that are in Elbridge and What affected it's also folks that are right over in sville that is correct uh the transage designation does help sville as well as oldridge so the public Outreach would be on either sides all right thank you thank you I love it um I hope it happens um did you envision Westminster Boulevard being an overpass or an underpass I mean how did you think about that road connecting ideally it would be an ad grade uh an ad grade connection on both sides of root 9 and there would be no need for adding another overpass over Route 9 so we would propose um add grade crosswalks sidewalk connectivity and all that okay so no traffic light yes traffic you would think of traffic light traffic light potentially it's too soon too soon to yeah thank you yes Mary um you mentioned something about bicycle path did you mentioned something about how does that where is how does that intertwine okay so a um I guess this is a good slide um this slide as well as the next shows uh shows a variety of streets right so what we didn't present today but we did study um is a variety of Street sections so none of the all of these would be there would be some um narrower 40 to 50 feet wide streets here but some much wider uh Boulevard size streets that would accommodate uh the existing Creeks uh and so there would be a variety of ways to accommodate bicycle paths within those Street sections some would be within the boulevard some would be close to the sidewalk but there's a there's there's so much land that there is no um excuse for not considering all kinds of users including pedestrians and bicyclists with their dedicated Lanes so quick question so from a safety perspective right there's so many accidents like in the cities right you know with bicycles all over the place now we're creating paths for bicycles and cars and you know how does that kind of tie in because wouldn't it be a little bit of a safety issue the safety considerations would be topmost uh on on top of mind while designing uh the streets but I think it's a little premature okay and and and to answer to that right when you create a Transit oriented development the focus is more on pedestrian safety than vehicular circulation like the whole idea is people should be able to walk to the transit sta they should be able to walk to the stores or the restaurants you don't want to promote people to uh drive cars so having that connection or planning for it is vital when the Redevelopment plan unlike other Redevelopment plan when a Transit oriented development plan is written the focus is mostly on sidewalks bicycle paths so safety is important and the circulation element is the major part of the uh the Redevelopment plan so I think that will be a focus anyways thank you yes thank you um my name is roari um I actually came to this meeting specifically because I had an issue related to NJ Transit um and a recent change that happened inridge that I want to bring up I was going to bring it up later this being pretty pretty perfect Segway um so this is the route n stop there's also one additional Bridge stop right next to GSP Exit 120 um it's the Route 135 bus uh and it's the morning bus so recently um I from my understanding and what was told to us in the morning the bus stop that I would usually take the bus at to commute into the City Daily um was actually removed because of a safety reason um however I think while that was made with good intention um has actually resulted in a slightly more dangerous situation and so basically what I'm talking about is right um across from GSP Exit 120 where the original bus toop was it's called U modan Road north of 1500 Cliffwood um I think I believe it's like 23653 is the official bus route number stop number um that stop has now been removed in favor of picking people up in the parking lot directly where people Park and then you know the bus kind of goes into the highway well I understand the importance of having that stop um so that people who are parking can directly get on the bus for folks that actually used to walk to the stop um including myself including many people I know in in the neighborhood including elderly including pregnant women uh many folks it's actually become much more dangerous because now instead of walking along with walking we still now we have to actually cross the street and that intersection where there's no traffic light to get over um to where the bus is is is picking Folks up um so I guess my question was does that stop need to be removed um because there's been a notice up that that stop is now officially been removed um and can we just keep that stop while also adding that new stop that that was added that's something that New Jersey Transit would have to address if you could send an email here and let and let them know what you know what the status is and see what the response would be correct I think they should reach out to Nicole she has been working with them closely and she has been part of multiple meetings so have I yes so then you can email our um you know our engineer and she would be able to give you some direction on the reasoning behind all of that okay yeah she's right behind you okay yeah yeah that would be more in keeping with what you're you know what you're discussing rather than the transit Village so she'll be able to give you Direction okay all right you're welcome very good okay did you want to add anything I just want to say uh I don't know if anyone has ever taken the bus from that Bus location to Manhattan and home it's very dangerous when you return and you get off by the Walmart and you have to cross that street and then you have to walk over that overpass and it's it's very unsafe over there so hopefully by doing this it's going to make it a a much safer place and like like they said it'll be much easier for people to get to the bus stop because right now it's very difficult okay yeah it really is thank you very much Casey did you want to add anything as Okay and like Mr dama said it's going to get busy again because people are going back to work CU at one time you couldn't even get a space in that lot and I think that's going to happen again vitalize that yeah and the shopping center is empty a lot yes okay very good thank you so much for the presentation very appreciated okay now we'll go on to council uh appointments resolution appointing a council liazon to the shade tree commission do I have a nomination I'll nominate Dr Anita Greenberg Bell do I have a second second you don't need a second that's right yes absolutely roll call on the uh nominations oh any other nominations first nobody okay roll call on the nomination for Dr Anita Greenberg Bell for the shade tree Council leaon for a term to begin January 1 2025 and to expire on December 31st 2025 councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg B yes council president soart yes seven yeses and next will be Oldbridge Municipal Utilities Authority a seat from February 1st 2025 to January 31st 2030 do I have a nomination I nominate par Moon for the for the regular seat Frank Weber sorry second okay second Frank Weber by Dr Anita Greenberg yes yes no second is necessary any other nominations for the for the full seat okay roll call for uh Mr Frank Weber to fill the seat on the Municipal Utilities Authority with a term date of February 1st 2025 to January 31 2023 councilman auli yes I'm sorry 2030 I'm sorry 2030 it's a fiveyear term yep uh councilwoman dearo sound councilman dep abstain councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes Frank counc council president soar yes five yeses one no and one exstension okay next Oldbridge Municipal Utilities Authority alternate the term is February 1st 2025 to January 31st 2030 do I have a nomination I nominate Paris for the alternate okay any other nominations hearing none I don't see a Parry Simone thing in my packet I resent them out a second time first I sent them last week and then I sent them again okay I still don't see it but that's all right um so for the nomination of Harry Simone for the alternate two position for five years February 1 2025 to January 31 2030 councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes that's seven yeses okay uh zoning board first it's zoning board full member position it's January 1 oh yeah oh yeah I'm sorry go ahead you do that yep so we did have some uh movements on the zoning board we had with the resignation of Mr Michael Victoria from the alternate one position uh but we do need to First resend a appointment uh to the zoning board to the full member position uh last meeting we had appointed a Dolores Gomez so we need a motion and a second to resend that res that part of the resolution motion moved by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr Garcia roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo no councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes so with the um resending of that resolution we're going to start with the full member position to the zoning board with a term date of 11225 through 1231 2028 any uh nominations I'll nominate Ben Stoner Benjamin Stoner okay any other nominations hearing none on the appointment for Benjamin Stoner to to the zoning board for a 4-year term from January 28th um January 1 2025 to December 31 2028 councilman auli yes councilwoman decaro abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy I'm sorry councilman pasti no council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president yes five yeses one abstention and one no second appointment would be for the alternate alternate one position for vacancy I'm sorry uh right I yes that's right right so there was an alternate One V uh seat which is open and we're by the res designation of Michael Victoria so are we taking nominations for the alternate one seat I nominate dender Singh no the vendor sing's already yeah so this maybe I can help here from what I was explained Mr Singh is currently the alternate two he's the alternate so I I think what council would like to do is move Mr Singh from the alternate two into the alternate one to fill that to fill that vacancy so it would just be a a motion in a second to uh uh to appoint Mr sing to the vacant alternate uh number one position for the remainder of that term which is a term ending uh 1231 2025 right okay so do we have a nomination that is that's the okay so uh did we needed a second on that one second second and roll call for the appointment of dender Singh for the alternate one seat with a term date of January 1 2020 for the unexpired actually would be as of today to the unexpired term till December 31 2025 yes so it doesn't go back janary 20 roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo no councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pass giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes yes so as a result of that appointment now the alternate number two is vacant and um and and then so now you have to make appointment for the alternate number two position for the unexpired term commencing today through 1231 2025 nominate Dolores Gomez second nominated by councilman Pas gidy second by councilman Garcia councilman uh auli yes councilwoman dearo obain councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas giddy yes council president Dr Greenberg B yes and council president soar yes right okay next will be public hearing H1 performance guarant guy release Wawa Incorporated 1886 Englishtown Road Oldbridge New Jersey 08857 block 2210 lot one application number 31-15 P County Bond release so we did receive a bond release request from Wawa at that at that location of 1886 Englishtown Road upon further investigation there is no bond with the township regarding that particular location the bond is with the county so um they have been told that they cannot request from the township that they needed to request from the county okay so okay thank you very much next is H2 performance bond release Wawa trash enclosure 177 Route 34 mwan store number 934 block 4230 lot 3 application number 32-15 Z and this is going to be carried right yes this will be carried to our February 25th 2025 meeting uh this at at the request of the applicant they will need to do notice because they did not meet their noticing requirements H3 performance guarantee release Wood Haven Village section two Phase 2 blocks 220000 and 220001 lots 37.1 24.11 31 32 35 37 through 45 application number 14-13 P this uh we received a request from the applicant to carry this to the February 11th 2025 meeting um they also did not meet their notification requirements thank you very much approval of minutes resolution they have to no okay yeah they have right they have to notice okay Noti yes okay approval of minutes resolution approving executive session minutes of August 13 2024 October 22nd 202 24 and December 3rd 2024 and the regular combined council meeting minutes of November 18th 2024 December 3rd 2024 December 17th 2024 and January 7th 2025 do I have a motion yes second move by Dr Greenberg belli second by roll call on the approval of the stated minutes councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo um I know I missed one either the November 18th or the December 3rd I can't remember which one I missed so I'm just going to abstain on them all because I'm not sure which meeting I missed I think you missed the November 18th and the December 5th meeting okay so can I you can just abstain from those okay abstain from those two just from those two yeah okay and the vote on the rest is yes yes councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti stain on all Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes motion carries Bill list Mr Garcia hi yes thank you uh Bill list as of January 28 2025 5 accounts payable January 28 2025 14, 5927 329 payroll January 3rd 2025 1,1 152,00 5801 payroll overtime January 3rd 2025 $ 41,8 19562 payroll January 17 2025 1,1 161,162 36 payroll overtime January 17 2025 37,8 7464 and that completes my report thank you okay thank you Mr Garcia can we have breakdown of the overtime Please Mr lenning yes thank you council president as uh councilman Garcia indicated there were two payrolls on this bill list the sworn police overtime for January 3rd 2025 uh is$ 27,29 683 when you deduct grants of $1,952 67 deduct etto of $ 4,413 15 that totals $2,931 one representing $2 period and two officers injured on duty moving to the January 17th 2025 payroll uh sworen police overtime is $ 23,26 a39 deduct grants totaling $ 33344 deduct etto totaling $595 43 this represents 9,369 52 which is 2475 sworn officer hours there were three officers on light duty for this pay period and two injured on duty that completes my report okay thank you Mr lenning do I have a motion move it okay moved by Mr dama second by Mr Garcia roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas gidy stepped away from the off Council Vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes motion carries first ordinances for first reading ordinance of the F fr1 ordinance of the township of Oldbridge County of middlex state of New Jersey amending chapter 5 article 8 of the code of the township of Oldbridge entitled Department of police by amending 5- 97 testing procedures for entrylevel officers applications qualifications do I have a motion move it move by Mr jaama second by Mr auli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasky is still away from the de Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and Council president soar yes motion carries public hearing Set for February 11th 2025 F fr2 ordinance of the township of Oldbridge County of middlex state of New Jersey amending chapter 5 article 3 of the code of the township of Oldbridge entitled Council by amending f up sorry 5-25 ordinances and resolutions do I have a motion move it second moved by Mr dama second by Dr Greenberg roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pases away from the de Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes motion carries public hearing Set for February 11th 2025 okay discussion ordinances ordinance amending chapter 10 vehicles in traffic section 10-14 and 10-16 of the township code regarding stop and yield interceptions good evening Mrs Shapiro how are you good evening Council sorry I was back there emailing NJ Transit about that bus stop so no that's okay you're he's on she's on the go um so I think when I put this map up here and you see uh Southwood Drive coming off of County Route 516 and connecting to Route 18 I think you know why I'm sitting in front of you um it's an ordinance here to control the intersection of Southwood Drive and marbor Road in proximity to New Jersey State Highway Route 18 so at the bottom of the page in the yellow lines you'll see from left to right is roote 18 you'll see that to the left of the page there's The Interchange of root 18 County Route 516 and County Route 527 so North is to the left not typical on a plan but I was trying to fit it all in you'll see diagonally coming from the bottom left corner up until the right um is County Route 56 and then in the blue dotted line if you could see those colors from from where you're sitting is is uh the delineation of Southwood Drive as you approach um Route 18 um over the years um we have tried to make the stop sign on Southwood Drive in the westbound Direction a little bit more visible right now there's an LED sign out there um that is solar power that flashes unfortunately when I look at the accident reports for the last 3 years it seems that that direction is where the accidents are occurring we worked with uh Captain sne to get the accident report so we could share it with middle sex County we worked with Sergeant M kones to get just some Insider information on the intersection to see what we're missing um we worked with middlex County over the years because we wanted to see if there was a conversation that they would have with us on stopping marbor Road so I'm going to share with you this next slide so as I discussed before the top of the page coming down that's Southwood Drive um in the westbound Direction approaching 18 bottom bottom of the screen is Route 18 left to right that little connector piece is actually NJ doot jurisdiction that's part of Southwood Drive running left to right on on the top of the screen the one lane in each Direction with the double solid yellow line and then the the do not block this box painted in the center that's Mar that's marbor Road under County jurisdiction so now you have four legs of an intersection two of which are into County jurisdiction one Southwood Drive where the flashing stop sign is under Township jurisdiction and then the piece that connects um Southwood Drive you know to Route 18 that's under do jurisdiction when I was looking at my emails I started here in 2013 I think like the first day I started writing emails on this intersection what what's nice now is our the the old traffic engineer at um at middle six county has since retired the new traffic um engineer there has been very cooperative and having a discussion with the township the county do myself Fred Kish and my office um had basically met over a teams meeting and we had discussed this intersection the easiest way was to put a stop sign on marbor road to stop the traffic now the accidents that are occurring coming coming in the westbound approach off of Southwood Drive when I talked to Sergeant manac conus he says it's not that they don't see the stop sign it's it's that they see it they try to stop quickly and then they try to make the light for Route 18 so it's not that they don't see it it's not that it's not visible um and so there was a hope that do not block that you know intersection would would help the situation but stopping maror Road would give a chance to the vehicles on marbor road to see that car approaching to see that car Crossing and so um when we had talked to do in my previous emails and I I want to say going back to 2016 I tried to ask them to make that yield a stop a stop sign in the conversations recently that we had they wanted that free flowing movement off of Route 18 because they don't want the cars to back up onto Route 18 if you look at the bottom of the screen there's almost a dedicated right turn lane um approaching there that didn't exist until some somewhere about 2017 2018 when they came in with their resurfacing contract they widened that to be a dedicated because they didn't want the backup this right now and what you have in front of you in the ordinance is just me saying I want to legitimize the stop sign on Southwood that is there already in the westbound approach I want to legitimize the yield condition that do has on their eastbound approach on Southwood Drive and I would add two new stop signs on marbor road now this is not going to be easy people are used to Marble road being free flowing one after this this then goes to the county for their work they will prepare a plan not it's not as simple as just sticking a sign up there we'll work with the county to put advanced warning signs two weeks prior to the change in the traffic pattern we will work on our social media to put the put the word out that this will be stopped on marbor road and sergeant manac conus and the traffic Bureau have um suggested that they be present for at least five business days to get people used to being out there especially during peak hours to get people used to it so hopefully those three things can get um our residents used to and the commuters that travel through our town used to than the change in the traffic pattern how many cars would have to line up in that accessory Lane going off of Route 18 to marbor Road for there to be a backup probably about six six okay I actually I thought more but six I I just took that one car you see that one car yeah and I just in my eyesight here I did one two three four in front and one probably in the back I can imagine ex you know the accidents now I want to do everything to make um roadways safer and everything what I'm visualizing is that the people who are used to going on our Marble road will go through that stop sign where the car coming now from Route 18 to Southwood and going across is going to be going fast too so the speeds for both vehicles will be you know f when I worry about an accident so I hope that possibly what how we have those um signs that give um just how we have on Katrell Road um the signs that are you know the carts that read out different things um would be there with the lights that give notice to this for a while like like a really a month oh so a VMS a a variable message board it will be on both approaches of marbor Road yes right yes I hope that that will do that and I think it will make it safer for them thank you I think it's a great plan um I think it's a great idea I used to work in Southwood um uh Southwood School as a Paris so I would come and I would go down 18 and I would make my right hand turn there and um and then going and coming home I know exactly you know what how difficult that is um now what I'm a I guess what my my question is are you going to so you're putting the stop signs on Marboro road to stop the marbor road traffic are you proposing to take down the stop sign and the yield sign so that's going to stay no the the only thing is when I noticed in our um ordinance under the yield conditions that yield was not there it was n listed in our ordinance and that should be in in chapter 10 uh chapter 10 of our ordinance under the yield condition so I added that and actually surprisingly that stop sign wasn't there either the the one on MAR on uh Southwood Drive in the westbound approach right that wasn't there so I added those two there and then I also added the stop conditions on marbor road okay so that'll that'll hopefully help in the transition even as well but also with yes you know putting up those so we have the variable message signs in advance of the of the stop sign and and what councilwoman uh Greenberg B was suggesting was that we leave it up for a good amount of time so that we could um sort of get people's attention before they even get to the stop sign no I think it's a great idea yeah I think I'm I'm all for it thank you I i' I've gotten a number of complaints um coming off there and I know just from my myself coming off Route 18 it's it is a tricky if you don't know it It's Tricky and it's literally the last stop in Oldbridge to get into Oldbridge before having to go to East Brunswick and and wrap around back to 18 South what is the the time frame that you're looking to have this done should we move this up and we go to it so I mean they were the county was very receptive when we had the teams meeting they seem you know they just said this is the next step get this done I even shared it with George from middlex County to get his comments on what I'm doing on the in the ordinance if that would suffice because a copy has to go to the county um and he said it was it was perfect it was fine he's actually the one that suggested that I added the yield in there as well and so he did comment on that and he they were very in favor of it um which was nice to hear because it's been over 10 years I ask if it's not going to be a plan that we all get maybe excited about get done and then they put it in a pile somewhere and forget about little that's not the vibe I was getting from from them yes so I know we've had that quite often in the past no they seemed very receptive to the conversation um and and George was actually from um middlex County was actually the one that got do on the call within a day okay so he's a he's a good guy in middlex County he's lucky to have him okay yeah [Laughter] yeah hi thank you for um it's been a long haul yes lot of complaints did you have did you actually have the um incident reports um you know how many accidents how many people got hurt yes so uh I've actually asked the captains to provide me with the accident reports in the last 10 years three different times so every single time you know uh County asked me for data I had to update it because it has to be three Re three years recent so it doesn't matter in their mind what happened before they want to know what's in the last three years so what was I I guess not good um was that there were 27 accidents so ultimately to put these stop signs up we have to do traffic counts to run through the warrant analysis to see if they're warranted but just with the accident reports alone middlex County had agreed that a warrant analysis is not required and we're using engineering judgment and we're putting up the signs so that was their response to me okay great thank you very much you're welcome thank you Nicole for um I drive this intersection an awful lot I have my family in the car so I'm always cringing as you cross over I do everything possible to avoid it um something you said that really made me start thinking um Sergeant matak conus mentioned that people try to catch the light on Englishtown Road they have like staggered uh streets so some of the lights have like a shield so you can't see it if you're far enough away because they don't want you to accidentally drive you know when you're not supposed to would that be an option for that light also sometimes you know they have it on um like moristown Road as you're approaching Gordon where you don't see it until you're right on top of the light like the lens i i i honest to God I didn't think it even to look to see if it's there I don't I I don't know I mean I could always ask do if that's something that they could put in there if they want to change the lenses of the traffic signal itself um and see what they say if you don't see the light you know you're more apt to stop you know take your time cross the street safely all the stop signs and signs that you propose or need it but that's just my be an extra measure to to keep everybody safe what about the timing of the light because I go that way quite a bit and um it changes very quickly and I think that might be one of the reasons the people try to run it because they know if they get stuck they're going to be there I don't know well most of Dot traffic signals are camera detection back in the day it used to be Loop detectors in the ground and you might go up to an intersection and almost see you know just like black squares sometimes people think that you know there're oh the pavement is really bad in this area and then they came and they did some you know um uh crack sealing which is not the case it's the loop detectors sometimes they abandon the loop detectors in place and just wait for somebody to come and Mill and resurface but there's cameras on top of the traffic signals on the arms themselves very skin skinny tubular they Point down at the lane itself so for example this Lane here it might point to c when it Stacks two cars here so if it doesn't stack two cars it will flip so and and even if no cars come there's a minimum time before the light will flip so maybe it's 90 seconds of green time or maybe like you know 12 seconds of green time for because the dominant is Route 18 so in the middle of the night you might not see it flipping for a long time because then it defaults and then that gets a a lot quicker when it's uh during uh Peak peak times yes that intersection that that little piece the Southwood is is State jurisdiction yes that's probably why it's not the ordinance because it's the county road and then there's the state road the ordinance deals with local roads oh I so I thought I saw some County on there no there there may be but you have to get the approve write the approval so I'm not sure you know maybe the county put those up on their own because it's a county road which they can okay so can the state but I'm just thinking why why it wouldn't been in the code book so so tonight is on for first reading I did add that yield in there should I take it off if it's under do they did they review it dot did not George phet did well it's yeah right it is there I mean you know it's their Road it's there I I know it's going to do anything but I think you know they should certainly my guess is they probably installed it themselves dot yeah the yield yeah yes they did yes in 2014 it was uh in 2014 the sign got hit for a very long time it wasn't replaced when they replaced the sign something like 2016 they replace the sign they added the striping because they came and they did a resurfacing project from Texas road all the way to ruse Lane in East Brunswick when they did that they improved all these little you know pull-offs I mean you know I think it reflects existing conditions and it also would help to the extent our Police Department wanted to write a ticket right soone running the yield at least it's there yes everyone is good all right we're all set okay well thank you Nicole I'm very happy with this I'm pleased I think the residents are going to be pleased as well this is a safety issue and I think it's time that we addressed it and thank you for all the hard work thank you uh council president if you look favorably on this tonight I would ask that you move to First reading exactly move first we're gonna okay move by Dr mooved by Mr dama and second by Dr Greenberg B okay and thank you very much roll call councilman aset yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman de yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes this is a good good measure for safety seven yeses public hearing Set for February 11th 2025 thank you very much sir okay next is going to be an ordinance amending the code of the township of Oldbridge specifically art article 8 daycare program section 16-31 fees for full-time summer camp good evening Matt how are you good thank you guys for having me again talking about summer okay yes talking about full day summer camp sounds good um so we are proposing to raise the rate of our full day summer camp for this upcoming summer our current rate for tiny turtles and sharks is at $1,940 and middle school is at $2,50 respectively and we're looking to increase each by $100 this is only for our full day summer camp which operates 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and runs for 8 weeks throughout the summer this Camp is not included in the township budget as is as it is a self-sustaining program and no tax dollars fund this program or or offset any of its costs uh we're already seeing an increase in minimum wage requirement trip pricing uh security as well as transportation costs with this increase parents parents will still be paying approximately $54 to $57 per day for child care summer camp trips security snacks and Juice over the eight weeks of the camp which this year will operate for 38 days this increase will will equate to an increase of $263 per day for your information this camp program and fees are all inclusive so you're only paying one price that gives you your trips your busing so the price covers everything that you need for summer camp there are no additional fees associated with this these camps are staffed by highly qualified individuals who have a vast experience in summer camp programming there are not many other Township run camps around that offer the full day option that we do here in Oldbridge for the length of Camp which is eight weeks and the length of the day offered some of the trips uh that we're interested in Booking this year um are but not limited to Philadelphia and turtleback Zoo Funplex Six Flags Adventure Aquarium climb Zone diggerland dony Park I playay America Top Golf Tomahawk Lake Somerset Patriots and treescapes and if you see what our camp totals were as you see we are growing uh we have our 2023 Camp totals there you'll see our 2024 Camp totals which all rate which were all more children in 2024 and we are projecting more children across all levels in 2025 if you flip that piece of paper over that I gave you it'll show you the nearby camps that offer the full day programming um I just want to highlight some of this um East Brunswick Township Camp six week program only operates 99: to4 not 7:30 to 600 p.m. like us and their rate is 2400 or 2600 for that program like I said only 6 weeks versus our 8 weeks 9 to4 versus 7:30 to 6:00 p.m. uh then you start looking at Lake View Day Camp obviously they run an 8we program like us but they're only 9 to4 and they're between $3,600 and $3,900 Oldbridge YMCA we were able to grab their prices uh these are their 2024 prices they haven't advertised 2025 yet um but if you're a member there you're paying 2,800 a non-member a little over 3,000 once again those hours are still shorter than ours 9:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. and obviously once you go down that list those are uh very very high numers for summer camp um so if you have any questions please let me know and if you look favorably upon it just like Nicole had said if you guys can move it up to First reading that would be great okay any excuse me anyone on my left have a question for thatt okay Mr you do Matt the I know a lot of this stuff needs to go up because you minimum wage and the cost of insurance and stuff like that I mean I know my children used this they've used it for a number of years while I've been a counsman prior to being a counsman I andan I know that from a value perspective it's there old I mean it sells out pretty quickly three minutes yeah so I mean I understand raising the price for anything is not it's not what anyone wants to hear but unfortunately it's necessary with the cost of everything going up I know that this is a valuable asset to the town and to the residents you know and hopefully they understand the reasons why some of this course does need to grow up yes thank you anyone else Dr greenber yes it is unfortunate when you do have to raise um prices but everyone looks around what the price has been and when taxes have to go up that's really out of your hands like you say for salaries for insurance Etc but when you look at this for 10 and a half hours a day for five days a week for eight eight weeks that is 420 hours so it's 24 cents per hour for that you know by raising it that much I think that is pretty reasonable to send your kids and know that they're going to have fun be with friends and be safe so it's unfortunate but something has to be done thank you thank you anyone else on my right okay I just want to add thank you again for all you do and how you try to keep the costs down but again there are things that come up like you said minimum wage and so on and we have to make sure we meet all the standards that are necessary to run this program but I if I could just add one sure go ahead Matt um obviously we are licensed by the state of New Jersey um and the good thing that our camp is licensed our our camp and our before care and after care is registered as a uh daycare facility that's recognized by the state of New Jersey the one thing that that that gives us if there are families that are in financial need um if if they don't reach a certain threshold uh there is an organization out there that's sponsored by the state that does come in and does assist um if we weren't licensed by that we wouldn't we wouldn't have that Wing to help out those families who are really really in need right well that's why I said we meet all the all the state requirements and that's a big thing and that's a positive for the town you know and we all the goal is to have as many children come participate and have a fun safe summer at a price that's not crazy I mean I have grandchildren daycare it's outrageous so this I think you really have a good way of keeping things you know in a good in a good place for everybody and thank you very much we really appreciate can I have a motion thank you move it okay move by Dr Greenberg b i second by Mr auli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg B yes council president soar yes seven yeses public hearing Set for February 11th 2025 he summer is coming the ordinance amending the 20 uh 2006 crossroads development plan speciic specifically block 210 lots 6.11 6.12 and 13.12 good evening Vina good evening Council again I know you'll see me again frequent flyer um this is basically a continuation from our discussion we had last uh meeting on the crossroads Redevelopment plan at that time I didn't have a draft ready um uh it was last minute uh because I was trying to meet other deadlines of the State uh but there is a plan that was circulated to the council so that uh you're assured that the plan is complete on my end uh Mark has not got a chance to review it um so I would really recommend uh that the council carry this for first reading at the next meeting the uh one thing is I have reached out to the re developer to get their input I have not heard back I want to give it one one more try before I move it up in uh for the first reading and also there is no planning board meeting until February 27 so it really does not uh affect the uh final hearing date so uh the plan is complete um I would just want Mark to look at it before uh we move it up but thank you thank you very any questions have a question first reading you want a question yeah oh okay hi hi um I was just briefly going through it um I'm just confused I I don't understand I thought um the a project goes through like the Redevelopment agency right and then comes to us correct right so is that have what is this was a plan it went through the Redevelopment planning process in 2006 so the area was designated as an area in need of Redevelopment there was a plan in place um the T plan didn't come to fruition all these years uh if you may recall four years ago I came with a plan Amendment for the uh 100% sent municipally sponsored project across the streat from Malo now I'm amending just these three Parcels so it's a huge plan but this this went through the Redevelopment planning process in 2006 and that's why you're directly seeing the plan because it's an ordinance and the council adopts the ordinance thank you is there anyone else just so again this is overall Crossroad R cross is gigantic um and there's different sections to it and this is another section that deals with um the proposed redeveloper uh to uh for the additional um uh uses for the warehousing data centers that who's already been designated conditional redeveloper so this is a planned amendment to address uh that portion that that's still Tang of own property question um Sav are you asking us not to move it to First reading today to allow Mark to to review it and and we have to redraft the ordinance is that what we have to do no no so I just actually me just sent this to me today so I'll I'll review it I think she wanted to make sure the see if the re proposed redeveloper conditional redeveloper has any additional comments okay and then the I think it what V had said the timing won't change because after gets introduced because it's a zoning ordinance it gets referred to the planning board they don't meet until when February 27th right so 27th so the actual adoption of uh the ordinance won't change okay right so but it'll be first reading then for next for the 11 yes okay so 11th will be first reading 27th will be uh the planning Board review and the following the March meeting would be the second hearing the public hearing when's When's the second hearing here March 3rd no the council second council meeting in February it's the 11th and then it's the 25th okay so the first meeting in March would be the second hearing thank you see just when everybody's getting this whole pattern down we have the ordinance that's going to change this introduction yes then you're going to throw us all off again and then I'll be accused of not knowing what I'm doing you'll be saying what is she doing on social media very thanks Mark I'm getting creamed as it is okay consent agenda I'd like a motion oh wait oh I'm sorry or oh here we go ordinance establishing the flag display policy for the township of Oldbridge County of middlex state of New Jersey okay good evening okay this is an ordinance about uh our Municipal flag poll out in front here uh statutorily by federal and state law we're allowed to fly the American flag the state flag and the flag this is just establishing that in Oldbridge um because we get numerous requests to fly various flags and we want to prevent lawsuits from hate groups and things like that so we just want to make it so that the three flags the statutorily by the federal government and state government can be formed I think the idea again is um obviously there's both there's both federal law as the mayor and state law that dict that deals and dictates how uh flag should be displayed and under those uh Provisions again it's obviously primary is the uh United States flag secondary is this flag of state of New Jersey then third would be the pmia flag um you know and and I think I think I unfortunately those types of flag poles have been used for purposes of uh expression which really is not the intent of of a flag pole or monuments for for those flags so I I think that this would the purpose again if you look at the ordinance is to establish that policy to ensure that flag poles not only at at this complex but other Municipal properties because we can only control Municipal properties that have flag poles would follow the state the federal and state uh protocol relative to the uh to the uh flag uh flying of flags thank you very much does anyone have any questions or comments I'll move it and I'd like to ask you to move it to First reading yeah I'll move it okay second it okay move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr pitty roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo to move it to First reading yes sure councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes seven yeses public hearing Set for February 11th 2025 consent agenda I'd like a motion in a second and then we'll go back for uh separations second okay moved by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr dep Mr dep councilman auli any items for separation no thank you councilwoman dearo any items for separation no thank you councilman dep just C6 C six councilman Garcia I have none thank you councilman Pas gidy no separations thank you Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell no thank you and council president SAR no thank you okay okay so we're g to go for a with the exception of C with the exception of C for the balance of the agenda with the exception of C6 councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman Deon yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg B and council president soar yes seven yeses okay C6 Mr jaama yes just wanted to separate it to um thank the ministration the mayor and everyone for kind of getting on top of some of some of the issues we've had at some of our Parks like Park that Pavilion it served its time very very well it served camps it served fam it served a lot it's it's about that time that we uh that we start to spruce up some of those things so I just wanted to make sure that we separated that to let the um the public know that there will be a new Pavilion coming soon and just to make sure that we um that we thank the administration for making sure that we are taking care of those Parks if no one has anything I'll move it okay second second by Mr pesky roll call councilman yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes seven yeses report of the Township Clerk I have no report okay report of the township attorney no report Madam president and administrative report thank you council president uh short report but we have a lot of really nice things in it uh tonight so item number one first quarter tax payments the township division of tax collection will be open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the first quarter tax collection period the tax office will also be open on Saturday February 1st from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on Monday February 10th from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. payments can be made in person at the tax office at the Dropbox in the entryway of the Thomas English administration building by mail online and by signing up for automatic withdrawal for homeowners enrolled in the automatic withdrawal program your taxes will be withdrawn on or about February 4th 2025 for more information please call the division of tax collection at 732 721-5600 extension 2999 we're getting to the good stuff item number two uh njrpa 50th annual conference Awards the new New Jersey Recreation and park Association known as njrpa is dedicated to enhancing the lives of New Jersey residents by supporting outstanding parks recreation and natural resources management programs since 1928 we are honored to announce that njrpa has selected the township of Albridge to receive the multi-use facility design award for catrell Farm Park orridge Township will be recognized at the njrpa 50th annual conference award dinner on Tuesday February 25th limited limited seating item number three AC C NJ 54th engineering excellence awards the American Council of engineering companies of New Jersey known as AC andj recognizes the top accomplishments and contributions of New Jersey engineering profession we are honored to announce that AC NJ has selected French and Perlo Associates Consulting to the township of Oldbridge to receive the distinguished award for the design and construction of catrell Farm Park French and Perlo Associates along with alridge Township will be recognized at the AC NJ 54th engineering excellence awards banquet on Wednesday March 12th 2025 the last item Ice Arena the we like we would like to remind the residents uh that our Ice Arena will be open until March 2025 the whole public session list will include dates times fees and available on our website at www. Oldbridge Doom Recreation we hope you come out and enjoy public skating sessions thank you does anyone have a question or a comment case good job casy okay seeing no hands I'll ask for a motion accept move it okay move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr auli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman garca yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg B council president soar yes seven yes thank you casy okay next will be public comment on any subject matter for a maximum period of three minutes the public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments this section is open for any top topic or items in the consent agenda in accordance with njsa 10 col 4-2a and the Oldbridge rules of council the council asked the public to limit their comments to three minutes or less only one member of the public shall approach the to speak to the council at a time the council will respect the Public's Time by refraining from any comment until the speaker is finished with their a lotted time should be F further noted that the public comment portion of our meeting is not structured as a question and answer session the member if a member of the public has questions they seek answers to an ointment can be made with the corresponding Department's office during regular business hours the Township Clerk will regulate the time during the comment portion of our meeting okay thank you is there anyone in the audience tonight who wishes to be heard good evening good evening council members how are you Happy New Year happy to see everybody here doing well my name is Michael I know we don't share names but I will Michael I live here in Oldbridge again proud resident like I've said before I have a simple request it's been the same request I've had for the last 10 months that's time on your calendars I've spoken with some of you in regards to what I'm trying to do and I've made it clear where I stand um and I've listened to this Council many times some things being along the lines of how you're trying to grow how you're looking at older ways and what's coming new starting new businesses bringing life back to Oldbridge one of the chall challes that was said recently um in the December meeting was that government wasn't listening you know in instance where um you know something was trying to be said and you know they were told hey we just don't have the ability or we don't really care to hear you and at some cases I could see where that could fall everyone's busy everyone has a life so I do ask if you do find time I would love to sit have a conversation and just see where everyone Falls in certain plans views and businesses going forward have a great evening oh thank you very much is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to be heard this evening okay seeing no hands I'll close the public portion and we'll go to council comments councilman ASI yes um just want to congratulate Dennis that's 40 Years of impacting this community and the children I mean dedicating that much time they say if you love your work you'll never work a day in your life and that's what Oldbridge is Dennis is Oldbridge and just like when Casey came up and said look how much we care when Casey came up and talked about the veterans and putting up signs for veterans we have people from the outside doing Audits and saying O bridge is Flawless now we have somebody coming for safety saying we're like the top in safety so what do the voters want what do the taxpayers want fiscal responsibility and safety that's important so when you vote for your elected officials we have to make those promises and keep them and there's three things that we do number one you you keep Oldbridge strong number two you keep Oldbridge safe and number three you make sure that it's fiscally responsible and not just coming from us but when people come from the outside and say what a great job the administration is doing all of you that are here today Nicole everybody that's in here you make our lives a lot easier because I think it was an that said one day we don't have many problems in town so many you know why because it gets taken care of and it doesn't come to us so I want to thank you for serving this town because it's a great saying it says people don't care how much you know until they truly know how much you care and as a resident and even on Council I think that's what Oldbridge is about and I appreciate you I mean that sincerely so thank you councilwoman dearo thank you um I would also like to congratulate Dennis uh kilduff on his um Community award um he was the uh the head of the rebels when my kids were there and uh I actually worked directly with them I was on the Executive Board of the rebels back then and you know we had a we had a great working executive board then we did a lot of really great things so um I congratulate him on his award very welld deserved and I also agree with acknowledging his wife Ginger because she does she works right along with him with everything he does they're a team um and she's uh wonderful also um the only other thing I want to say is you know if anybody has uh if there's any Resident that has any concerns or any issues Michael if you can just send that email again to me because it was all the way down you know if you can just resend that to me so I can respond to you that would be awesome um and um you know if anybody has any any issues any problems you know feel free to reach out for any reason um on my email is J dearo Oldbridge decom and uh if I can't help you I will figure out where to send you to help okay thank you councilman dep thank you just a couple things uh before the council meeting today um I was able to go to the schools oldb toship public schools had one of their three art festivals the first one today was for vocal and visual arts so I found out about it because my youngest daughter uh that goes to mcdot her one of her school pictures were up there that she did with Miss McHugh um I also was able to sit in the back of the auditorium and listen to some of the music that was was being sung by the um by the vocals over the next I guess a couple months from now we have two additional ones just so folks know on April 29th there's going to be the band and then on May 1st the orchestra so I know I think in the past this has always been in one one felt swoop the school's kind of broken up now so if you do have the opportunity at those times to go see it it's great to just get out there and go uh support our children congratulations to all the fire districts this year on their yearly installations you know May the new offices have a wonderful year and good luck and thank you very much for your service uh Mr kilduff I know I've thanked him personally but thank you very much for for all your years of service all the time that we've spent together on the on the wck board but it's like I think like everyone will will agree it's folks like Dennis and Dennis's family that does bring this town A step above a lot of other towns it's the folks that really want to volunteer their time and their effort above and beyond just what their kids are doing you know a lot of us coach when our kids are playing and then kind of Step Aside but for folks like Dennis who continue on on that path even after their children and as you see he had his grandchild here it's such a wonderful thing to see those folks continue on that path and we thank you uh Dennis but not only you but also all the folks in town that continue that and the final thing tomorrow is the Chinese New Year uh for those who will be celebrating Happy New Year I believe it's the year of the snake so please uh have a wonderful new year uh and good luck thank you councilman Garcia hi yes thank you I also want to congratulate Dennis Mr kilduff on getting his award tonight I don't I I only met him a couple times I'm still amazed he did his job for 40 years well it was even a job volunteer for 40 years and he looked so young he probably started when he's about 10 years old but uh really we towns most towns run with volunteers I I know we're slowly losing volunteers but he spent 40 years with us and I think that's that's great we need more volunteers like him so I thank him and all the volunteers in orbridge who do help cuz without you know it's just hard to not have volunteers so I thank him also uh councilman as Tuli mentioned early about our leaders in town whether it be Nicole mayor Casey Dawn Matt everybody you know I I can tell you today I had a I had a a resident emailed me and I sent it over to the proper channels you know Casey took care of it I came in he told me he took care of it this is what this is what they do whenever whenever there's an issue they take care right away so people say we don't I think it's complete nonsense every time I get an email from a resident It Gets Sent right away to the proper Channel and it gets taken care right away so I thank all you guys for doing what you guys do uh also in the with the I think it's going to be done tomorrow you said correct so so thank you again and every everybody just be safe out there with the police you know guys be safe and uh that's all thank you councilman pasky uh I too want to thank the department heads and all the folks that work um I have the same experience I I have an issue a resident sends me an email or a phone call and I forward it on and and it take gets taken care of it's it's really good thank you very much appreciate it uh did I got a call from um the county and they're looking for um a list for the poll workers already this is really early it's never been this early but uh because they have this new payroll thing um they're asking for uh names so um as I send out the emails a lot of people dropping out so if anybody's interested in being a PO worker please send me an email t pask bridge.com thank you Council vice president Dr Greenberg B yes um so one thing I wanted to speak about um because it's always un unfortunate how things get misconstrued and people give out false information and don't show any desire to get the correct information before they spew vile things on Facebook so once again as you know know there was an article about the um alery project which is um by the gar State Parkway and Madan Road no one on this Council voted for that project not a single person up here has voted for that but people these I call them Facebook Warriors Facebook or U Facebook cowards whatever you want to call them are spewing all these falsehoods so here's what happened it was voted down it went back and a judge a judge is approving this so the judge is dictating what is going on in our town it's the same thing when you think of this COA Co it was now that it was Coalition for affordable housing and now it's um fair fair share housing that what a misnomer that is you know so really they're really lobbyist for Builders because it allows them to build more units for affordable housing everyone agrees you need affordable housing but who is what H what overreach is there now with government that they can decide by doing an aial map on your open space in your town that would dictate how many units your house your town has to build every year yet you have the same people that support individuals that pass on this Insanity to each municipality and just not Albridge it is across the state so this will no longer in the future if this happens every cycle can you imagine you're building out building out building out the state will no longer be the Garden State this is just crazy it's happening in every town so what happens when that happens when they talk about open space I feel the open space is between the ears of the people that do this because it's just wrong it is just wrong that someone can come come look at a map or or look at the amount of open space you have and say you have to go ahead and build this many units when they don't even come here they don't know your town but they don't take in account the most important things they don't take in account the infrastructure so you're saying you have to build all this well maybe your roads don't support it who's going to pay to do your roads who's going to pay when it costs every other maintenance in your town to maintain that it's just unfair so then at the same time when you think about open space we all want open space up here but if we don't have an open space Revenue how are you going to buy open space so all these people that are screaming they want open space they need to do several things first of all as s far as the fair share housing this is a policy that's made mostly through I I hate to say the Democrats this came out of a Mount Laurel decision but it's also changed can you imagine that they can tell you to build so many units that it doesn't even go around with your zoning ordinances so what's the use of having zoning ordinances also but at the same time I I am asking those who are in affiliation with the individuals that do this and every resident who wants open space needs to do two things and this is across the state to get in touch with the state to say this is unfair you're talking about fairness for for Lo affordable housing and they're not affordable I'll tell you that so it's they're using these words that aren't Fair it's not fair to the people live here it's not fair to the people that are forcing that are have to purchase these um units rentes it's only it's only a play on words so it's not fair so you have have to go after those individuals to change this policy then you have to get a referendum where we need signatures to get on our on our ballot to have an open space tax because if not everyone can scream we all want open space who's going to buy this someone's going to come in and just give us the money to buy this no and this land is going by the wayside so we have to really be serious about this how we want to go about doing this because it is not fair for this to be shoved down every municipality's throat all this time telling us we have to build this many units and we have to have this many affordable for units they don't even do a study on all the apartments and everything else that are here already are their vacancies or their units um are there vouchers there's so many other different ways to do it we're building a veterans I I would go for the veterans we have special needs children in our town that are going to be adults we should have more units for them so there are so many ways aspects to do this but when they just rush us down our throat but don't even take in consider consideration any municipality or have a discussion with them about anything that's going on in their town but dictate dictate so when you talk about a dictator that's who the dictator is they are the dictators telling us what we have to do without taking anything into consideration for the residents of this town or any other town or municipality in this town and if you just don't focus on Oldbridge this is going on all over all over the state hathorn um every every town and they're telling you what you have to build and where you have to build this this is just wrong and it's not conducive then when you talk about open space we all want open space I've said it a million times someone has a farm they don't have children or their children are all over the the country the parents die they go to sell their Farm the state you can't even purchase it because it's coming in at a a price what Builders would pay for it well there should be a fund that's compatible with it um where so then the person has a desire to put it into open space because in the long run spending that money up front really saved you money in for the long run for infrastructure for police for fire everything else with roads so it really makes a a difference so you may be shortsighted if you only think of the cost right now but if you think about it 30 years 50 years down the line you are going to be saving money so I I just have when I when I hear this and and saying it's on us it's not on us we had nothing to do with Al Fury other than a judge is remanding it back to us and shoving it down our throat so these Facebook book Warriors really better get their story straight so if you know any of them I hope you talk to them thank you council president So yeah thank thank you Dr Greenberg um it is true there's a lot of stuff on social media a ton of it I'm sent all kinds of things about how I'm incompetent and so on and believe me it I I when they send it to me I look and some of the people I actually know so that's okay but in the meantime you know she is right as far as the mandates that are put upon us and it's very difficult for us now to to Grapple with this and to do what we have to do because as she said we're dictated to make these numbers so please realize that and realize that you know we are trying the best we can to maintain this town and keep it the way we all felt about it when we first moved here we don't want to see all this housing either not there's not a person up here that wants to see all this housing just everywhere people are concerned and they should come and they should listen and understand what's going on rather than being on social media and and everybody you know making all these crazy accusations it's not right it really isn't come here and talk to us well that being being said um as far as Dennis is concerned kilduff I too want to thank him I've known him now quite a few years and I think him and his family really have done so much for this community Ginger's great as well and um that's the kind of people that sit on all these committees that we thank for all the time that they take as volunteers so that really thank you so much to the Kilda family um every anything being said I just want to make sure everybody knows have a great you know have a great week enjoy and be safe and listen to what you know what's going on but listen with an open mind thank you I I neglected to say I wish um Dennis Mr G um Dennis does enjoy his free time with his family but now he's got a grandbaby I think his time's going to be taken up with a good thing can we get a um motion to enter into executive session but we are coming we will be coming back yes motion by Dr Greenberg B second by councilman dep roll call councilman auli yes councilman dearo yes councilman dama councilman Garcia yes councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar we'll be entering executive session for matters of uh attorney client privilege potential litigation affordable housing CBA contract negotiations litigation iob vers Township of Oldbridge and potential litigation for a liquor license anyone add add a Township personal man e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e uh present need and prospective need obligations for the township of Oldbridge move it mooved by councilman pasky second second by councilwoman dearo roll call councilman auli yes councilman de councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell reluctantly yes council president soar yes seven yeses we have a resolution approving the settlement and a release agreement can I get a motion move it moved by uh councilman dama second by councilman auli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dep yes councilman gar yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg council president soart seven yeses motion motion toj second councilman dep roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes meeting Jed at 11:04 p.m. e