We are now calling to order the Township of Piscatoaway Council meeting of November 25th, 2025. Miss Johnson, roll call, please. Apologies. Apologies. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231
PL1975 specifying the time, date, location, login or dialing information and to the extent known the agenda by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal building, municipal court and the two municipal libraries bulletin
boards municipal website, providing a copy of the official newspapers of the township and by filing a copy in in the office of the township clerk in accordance with the certification by the clerk which will be entered in the minutes. There will be public comment periods for both remote and in-person
attendees separately. Each member of the public shall only have one opportunity to speak during each public portion. As the technology does not allow us to know if you there are multiple callers on an individual phone line or logged in user account. We ask that if you wish to
speak that you log in or dial in separately so that we can recognize you as a separate individual. Should you have any comments or questions, the township council is always available by email and phone and you can always call the mayor's office during normal operating hours.
Miss Johnson, roll call, please. >> Council member Cahill, >> here. >> Council member member Carmichael >> here. Council member Lieowitz >> here. >> Council member Lombardi >> here. >> Council member Rasheed >> here.
>> Council member Ern >> here. >> And Council President Espinosa >> here. Join me in saluting the flag. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands nationy
andice for all. Thank you. Item number five, comments from administration and council regarding adjournment of any matters on this agenda. Um, council mayor, I would like to actually go first in this item if you don't mind. Uh before we continue
reviewing uh the amended ordinance in on item number eight can have uh Karen and uh John O'Donnell come on up. Council Thank you, Karen and John. And and just so everyone knows, that isn't the only
thing that they do over there. They she always ran the tag sale. They ran the bingo. So they've given endless hours of volunteer time to the senior center to Sterling Village.
Thank you. Okay, thank you and congratulations. Uh, back to item number five from comments and from administration and council. Um, on before we continue reviewing the amended or the amended ordinance on item number eight, I want to reaffirm that
our top priority as con as a council is the safety and well-being of our residents as well as all individuals within Piscataway. The amendments to chapter 11 hotels and motel seems to address both the public safety and personal liability concerns. However, I
believe that this issue deserves additional time for consideration and for further discussion with the public, the council, the mayor, and the police department. Therefore, I propose that we amend the ordinance and remove chapter 11 at this time and we consider chapter 11 motel
amendments in January, but we move forward with the remaining items in the ordinance for public hearing at the December 16th meeting. >> Thank you. >> Um, are we doing an offer now on that or is how is that going to work? Um, Mike
So, Councilwoman, the uh when we get to item eight, uh there would be a motion to amend uh the ordinance to delete chapter 11 and there'd be a vote on that. And then there'd be a vote on the
uh mo motion and second and a vote on the ordinance itself. The resolution approving the ordinance and the public hearing would be on the 16th of December. So when we get to eight, those two motions, one to delete, one to amend by
deleting it and the other one to move to the public hearing on the 16th for the balance of the ordinance. >> Do we have the option to take all of it off and then bring it back as a first reading again? >> Uh yes. what you'd be doing is taking it all off because um you can't just table
it and reconsider because you can't go from one year to the next on an ordinance. You have to do it all in the same year. So, it' be taking it off and from what I understand the council president's recommendation would be to have it as a standalone ordinance in
January. It would be there's two meetings in January. So, you'd have it on on those meetings. The public hearing would be the 20 20th 27 whatever the second meeting is in January >> and then it would be a standalone for
discussion. >> Yeah. Everything's re it's reintroduction starting all over again in January. >> Okay. What about the other portions? Because it when it was introduced to us as first reading there were different chapters. So are we going to revisit
each of the chapters or only the motel and hotel portion? >> Chapter 11 is being the suggestion from council president. Chapter 11 in its entirety is being deleted and the others are continuing on. Chapter 11 is going
to be done, but we're going to be moving forward with the amendments of the of the ordinance, the original. Well, not the original, but the amended ordinance. >> But if we have feedback for the other chapters, is there still room for that at this point or not anymore?
not 11 for chapter 11. The other >> public hearing on the balance of the ordinance will be on the 16th of December on your meeting on the 16th. Full discussion, full open public. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. Open to the public comments regarding item number 10, consent agenda items. I have a few questions >> public for each public comment. I'm sorry. For
remote attendees, if you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand either on the Zoom app or by phone by pressing star9. When it's your turn to speak, you will receive or hear a request to unmute yourself. Please click the prompt and press star six on your phone to unmute yourself. At that time,
please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council or administration will respond if necessary after you have completed any comments or questions. Miss Johnson, do we have anybody in quue? >> Council President, there does not seem
to be any remote attendees with their hands raised at this time. >> Thank you. Opening to the inerson attendees. Again, this is for the uh consent agenda items. If you wish to speak at this time, please come to the podium, state your
name and address, and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You make you may take a seat after completion of your comments or or questions, and the council or administration would then respond if necessary. See no one at the podium, closing for
the in person attendees. >> Miss Missy Woods. Yes. >> Hello. Um I have a question about um I This is the professional appraisal at
the top of Stratton Street South. Is this where we're covering up that waterway to connect the streets? >> There's going to be a new covert bridge over that um in order for us to reconstruct a Hancock. Uh there's two
very large pipes up there. We have to build that first. Um because you can't uh and I know you live over in that area, you can't uh folks on Third Avenue and Pelmont and South View are going to have to have an emergency access out. So
when we go to construct on Hancock, uh those P the roads are going to be cut off for at least nine months that they won't won't be able to traverse that. So we have to build this one first to allow safety access when we go in and do
Hancock. >> What's the ultimate solution? >> We're probably at least two years away from Strat at least. >> So you know my neighbors have a couple of concerns obviously. Yeah. of the traffic. So, um the impact
on the stream of the wildlife and all that. >> We have approvals from the D. Everything was filed and they signed off on it. >> Okay. Thank you very much. And then also on Q, which is determining the area need of
redevelopment on Possum Town by U Circle Drive North right there. The It's on Circle Drive across the street. >> Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you. Item number eight, amendment to introduce ordinance amending and supplementing various chapters of the township code. Resolution adopting ordinance Motion to amend uh to amend removing chapter 11 and move forward the rest of
the order >> to remove chapter to amend and to remove chapter 11. >> Sorry. Do we have a motion? U council president um because it's not the public portion but just to make sure everyone's clear the council has all
seen the amended where that piece has already been taken out and so the amendment has already taken that piece out of it uh what is it called peace and good order something like that unlawful acts that was already amended out of it
and when we received the amendment the reason why the council president is putting forth to delete chapter 11 is because in the amendment that was still included. But tonight he's made a motion that we should look at that further and
vote on it separately. So the um piece about um finding homeless people is already taken out of the amendment. >> It's been removed. >> So in the amended piece that you received from council um that piece was
already taken out. >> Well just There's no reason >> that that was taken out before the amendment here, the current amendment, and now we're taking out the >> It was taken out before we got the >> That's correct. Um, may I >> say something? >> If there is so much back and forth, um,
is it okay to just take the whole thing off? We all have enough time to review it and then we vote on it together rather than trying to peiemeal it. Which way we're not even sure like, you know, are we taking out this chapter? Which one are we referring to? We're going back and forth. So instead of having
that confusion, let's take the whole thing off and then do it in one go. >> There there's no confusion. >> I don't think there's I don't think there's >> there's no other deleted out through it. I read through it. These are all like this is just a cotification. We all
voted for it on first reading and then we took a look at it and decided there were some things that like I myself saw some things with large gatherings, right? Um that I realized like a wedding or you don't want you like you don't want somebody to get caught into it. But
I mean, I've read through the other chapters. Me myself, I I realize that these three items um were issues and that's why we amend them. And so that's how we move through the process. If you have questions about another part of it,
it's certainly the time to bring it up. >> Things like noise in here. I know a lot of the council members know we've had a huge problem with these unregulated popup parties. Uh, every one of us has gotten calls.
Some of these parties are ending up having 800 to,500 people showing up at somebody's doorstep. 2500 on Michael Street >> right now. One Avenue. >> Yeah. This all over. We just had another one back on Halloween night over in the
Irish Town section. Over 700 people showed up and they were collecting cash at the door and selling alcohol to under underage minors. Community that has this problem. >> Um, Councilwoman Rashid, did you see that amendment made to the large
gatherings? >> I did not have enough time to go through it. This was given, the amendment was sent to us 7:30 yesterday and we're voting on it today, which is, you know, we don't have even 24 hours to review it properly. I would think it would makes more sense to take it off. We read
through it, whatever concerns we have, we can work through it and then we vote on it. I don't think it's enough time for all the stakeholders to understand the implications of it. >> Council President, it's up to the individual. I would just just vote no
then. I'm okay moving forward with the uh >> I mean I read there's a lot of importance and the removal of 11 I read through the amendment I I I raised my concerns my concerns were addressed
um and council revised the um re revised it as specifically just for transparency the concerns about large gatherings obviously um With the fines, of course, we we we immediately took
that piece out. Then I addressed like large gatherings. You have to have an exclusion in there. Obvious for obvious reasons, right? We're not going to criminalize people getting together. But all of what I read out of the ordinance after the first reading, I mean, I can't
see where we're inadvert, but I could be wrong. I just don't see where we're inadvertently. We we received the ordinance what was it two weeks ago I believe right so the only so so the only thing >> that as the the two items that were
removed as of that time was the um that's right number 11 and what was the other one and number three so if we read through the audience audience two weeks ago then the only thing that's really
taken out is really 11 and Section three. Exactly. Section three. >> And the section that accepted weddings and banquet halls. >> I mean, you've you've got like churches included u um in the amendment. I mean
in that one it could be you know definitely could have inadvertently caused you know an issue but um protests are excluded um obviously churches the businesses as you mentioned I mean a lot
of things that um you know with no really you know intent could have been caught up in that. Um in terms of that it looked to me if you look at it you should have it Now, Councilwoman Marsh,
at least in that section, and if you look at the exempt group um under uh the new um the amended and and that seems to me to also have been a section of the ordinance that would be definitely a hot topic and not
an inadvertently um penalizing people. Um, I mean certainly you could look to see if you felt like something else was missing in there. For sure. It feels like to me the council included enough
exemptions that we wouldn't catch somebody that would interfere with their business or political organizations or churches. um you know and obviously those people
are exempt are also not um my understanding counselor is that they would not be abiding by the that 8 am to 10. So like if you had a wedding or your restaurant where you have maybe a large party um or a private hall let's say a
firehouse or something you might not have they might not have to exactly be done at 10. That's my understanding is if they're exempt they're exempt from that time constraint. May I ask a question? Um, so if this how does the public see this copy of the
amend of the amended information now? Last night it was published. All these new additions were published last night. This is a first reading of the amendment. >> Okay. >> You have first now that it's amended a first reading. Everything's in there
including the amendment. And we're and we're pulling out uh that entire chapter 11, >> right? And it >> So now we're gonna sit on this for two weeks. This is the first reading. We're going to sit on it for two weeks. >> If we want to have changes or anything
else, we reach out to council. We reach out to people. It can get amended between today and the next meeting. >> You can you can request amendments between now and the next meeting. Then that meeting will be a second
reading with the new changes that may occur between now and then. >> If if the majority of the council agree. However, if the change if the changes are not substantive, you can go ahead with it on the 16th. If the changes are substantive, then you have to go ahead
and reintroduce it again. >> Okay. >> And just if I could summarize, council president the ordinance that you're voting on right now is the same that you saw last week with the sections deleted
that apparently caused some problems and with the addition of the one section in one paragraph and 332.4 uh accepting the uh venues that regularly host weddings banking halls etc. Otherwise it's the it's the same
ordinance from two weeks ago >> also without without the fines. Yeah. >> May I make one more um comment? Um thank you so much for explaining and uh putting in perspective of what changes
can be made and at what time. May I make a suggestion where we could put a policy committee in place. So before the council sees the first reading, we could have a policy committee where we can go through it have an opportunity stakeholders from the community to give
their feedback. So when it comes to first reading, we all are fully aware of the context of the ordinance and then we can make a better decision and much faster. I mean there's no reason we can't talk about that as a council to see if we can
put together >> conversations before are good. I think ultimately if I could c um council president just say is that there's this ongoing issue that we're some people were not aware of. I mean through the years I've known of it you know I go out
to eat and the owner of the restaurant is talking about the issues there and and of course we have a police bladder right of these issues. My concern is for the safety not only of our Pascataway residents but anybody who's even a temporary resident right they stay at a
hotel um there's a major major issue going on with some of our extended um motel where we as a governing body need to look at what levers we can pull to change the behavior of bad actors.
that's both with the hotel operators um and then also with potentially others who contract with that um motel operator and can't really discuss anything further than that here without really going into it but the point being is
that at the end of the day there are people who are temporary residents of Pascataway who may be in those motel who who are in in sort of harm's way, right? And it's
not a great place, especially for minors. And we need to address that as a as a governing body for um our duty to protect our residents, whether that's temporary residents or permanent residents. And we can absolutely discuss
the ways to do it, but at the end of the day, the governing body will have to make a decision based upon the police reports, what's happening there, and knowing that some even minors can be put in a position
at no fault of their own to be in a dangerous space. And we want to make sure that no matter what that that is addressed and that's a big thing here and um I think at the end of the day that's the lens that we have to look at it is how are we protecting our our residents while um also trying to
provide better better resources and opportunities for folks who are there at no fault of their own. Sarah, that's the reason why I wanted to put away chapter 11 now, so we can have those conversations with the police department so that way we're better informed of what's really going on over
there before you make a decision. So that's that's and to your to your committee question, you know, that's you know, us as council, we want to get informed first before we, you know, kind of make a decision and then inform the public or or inform the public.
Was that a motion that you made to make that commission? >> I was asking >> Can can I committee >> can I make a suggestion? First of all, you >> you always have to have a minority members of the committee. You can't have a majority of the members because you
violate the open public meetings act. What many towns do is have subcommittees on various issues and you're going to have to decide what issues are important enough. Do you want to have uh subcommittees meeting on every uh road
and drainage project? Do you you know there there are thousands of things that you vote on. So I think some discussion amongst the council members may be appropriate first as to what sorts of issues you would like to have a subcommittee
um review because if you have a sub subcommittee reviewing every issue um nothing will ever get done because you have thousands of things and some of them don't rise to the level of you know there's a new potholes being filled you need a committee on it. So justice
suggested maybe speak amongst yourselves not majority of you um and see what sort of issues might rise to the level of wanting a subcommittee to work on it and then you can have several uh subcommittes >> subcommittee just for policy would be
nice right especially for something these important I'm sure the potholes can >> can self-manage they can take care of themselves the public works do does a great job so we don't need to meddle in their affairs at all but u policies like
these definitely requ more insight. >> And uh also um again, everyone knows that this problem that we're dealing with is twofold. Okay, we're having to deal with a a problem that business owners are having over
there. And I surely wouldn't want to live in the backyard, but we have to deal with it in a compassionate manner in which we don't harm people that are having challenges. So it's a little bit of a situation to deal with. Okay. So, I
think everybody has to again be aware we're here for all the residents of this community, all the business people of this community, and we have to look at it with the whole picture, not just one
piece of the picture. Okay. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I believe you made a a motion to amend the ordinance by deleting chapter uh 11 and I didn't hear a second. >> We got a second.
>> I'll make a second. >> Thank you. Roll call. >> Council member Cahill. >> Yes. >> Council member Carmichael. >> Yes. >> Council member Liowitz. >> Yes. >> Council member Lombardi. >> Yes.
Council member Rasheed. >> Um, may I just ask one more question before I vote on it? If I abstain on this vote right now for the next meeting, I can vote yes. >> Yes. Perfect. So, abstain. Thank you. Council member Ern. >> Yes.
>> All right. I'm going to change my vote, please, to abstain. >> Council President Espinosa. >> Yes. be resolved by the township council of Piscatoway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general
ordinances of the township of Piscatoaway, county of Middle Sex, state of New Jersey, amending chapter 2, administration, chapter 3, police regulations. Chapter 12, parks and recreation areas. Chapter 16, housing and rent control. Chapter 17, property
maintenance. Chapter 22, solid waste management. And chapter 23, sewers and wastewater be. And is hereby amended that it be published in the official newspaper and that a second reading and public hearing be held at 7 p.m. prevailing time at the Piscatoaway
Municipal Building, 455 Hose Lane, Piscatoaway, New Jersey, on the 16th day of December, 2025. Be it further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the township prior to the day of the second reading and final passage and a copy of this ordinance
shall be made available at the office of the township clerk for any interested member of the public. >> Thank you. May I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. Council. >> Thank you, Miss Johnson. Can I have a roll call?
>> Council member Cahill. >> Yes. Council member Carmichael, >> yes. >> Council member Liboitz, >> yes. >> Council member Lombardi, >> yes. >> Council member Rasheed, >> abstain. >> Council member Ern, >> yes.
>> Council member or Council President Espinosa, >> yes. Item number nine, ordinance, first reading, amending and supplementing various chapters, including chapter 7, traffic 10, health regulations, 19, pre fire prevention of the township code,
resolution adopting ordinance. Mr. Johnson >> be resolved by the township council of Piscatoaway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general ordinances of the township of Piscatoaway County of Middle Sex State of New Jersey amending chapter 7 traffic, chapter 10, health regulations,
and chapter 19 fire prevention and protection. B and is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper and that a second reading and public hearing be held at 7 p.m. prevailing time at the Piscatoway Municipal Building 455 Hose Lane, Piscatoaway, New Jersey on the 9th
day of December, 2025. Be it further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted at at least two public places within the township prior to the day of the second reading and final passage, and a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the township clerk for any interested member of the public.
>> Thank you, M. We have a comment from uh Councilwoman Lombardi. >> Yes, I was um going through this one and I was happy to see that we are moving forward with an electric bicycle um ordinance. Um I think the safety of those is a quite a concern. Um one thing
that I always remembered when I was younger was that if you had a moped, you had to get a license to have a moped. So who would have is that would it be through the state that the the younger people would have to get a license to have an electric bike?
>> It would likely be the state through department of motor vehicle commission supervise the issuance of those licenses but it would be state legislative action. >> Thank you. >> Motion please. >> Motion
>> second. Councilwoman Lombardi. Thank you, Miss Johnson. Roll call. >> Council member Cahill, >> yes. >> Council member Carmichael, >> yes. >> Council member Liboitz, >> yes. >> Council member Lombardi, >> yes. >> Council member Rasheed, >> yes. >> Council member Ern, >> yes.
>> Council President Espinosa, >> yes. >> Item number 10, consent agenda resolution. for efficiency items have been consolidated into a consent agenda to be voted on together and the materials for these items have been distributed to the council in advance of
the meeting. Do I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Thank you, Miss Ch. Can I have a roll call, please? >> Council member Cahill. >> Yes. >> Council member Carmichael. >> Yes. >> Council member Liowitz.
>> Yes. Council member Lombardi, >> yes. >> Council member Rasheed, >> yes. >> Council member Ern, >> yes. >> Council President Espinosa, >> yes. >> Item number 11, announcements and comments from the officials.
>> I'd like to wish everyone a happy um Thanksgiving um and with time with family. Thank you. >> Thank you, Councilwoman Carmaker. >> Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Thank you, Councilwoman Leitz. >> Good evening, everybody. Um, I just want to really reiterate that it's super important that we pay very close attention to all of the language on these ordinances that we are casting a
very wide net to address every constituent that we have. We have people that are unhomed and maybe they lived in Somerset, but you know, they have no address. So they could have been in Piscataway and then they were in East Brunswick and then they were in Somerset and then they were in Union and now
they're back here. Um so I think it is very important that we continue to have these discussions and that we craft the words very carefully so that they do take into account everyone and every component. Um I think the commissions
are definitely something for a hot and important topic like this that we form. Um, and so I also want to thank all of the residents who reached out and are paying attention to what we do because words matter and what we do matters. And
of course, I do wish everybody a happy and a healthy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you, Councilwoman Lombardi. >> A good time was had by all at the senior center this afternoon. Um, also happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Happy healthy. >> Thank Councilwoman Rasheed. Um, of course, happy Thanksgiving. Have a safe trip if you're traveling on the road. It's supposed to be wet and busy. So, um, safe travels. Um, I was at the
League of Municipalities last week. My first time attending. I did two full days of sessions and looking forward to applying all that I learned and working towards the municipal leader certificate. So, thank you. Great.
Councilman Ern, >> I just want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you, Mayor Waller. >> I might go stop over with the O'Donnell's. Stop by and check out her stuffing. Uh but in in all seriousness, uh I was out
on summer shade today, this morning with Councilwoman uh Carmichael in regards to looking at that'll be the last road that we button up for the season and the asphalt paving season's over with until the spring. >> Great.
This is administrator Paula Casserelli. >> Thank you, Council President. I just wanted to I've been talking about these grants. Well, we finally got the grant agreement from the EDA for the financial support for the ecological park. That's for $290,000 this year. Wonderful.
>> And then $2.9 million for next year. Um so that's great. I will continue to work with Mayor Waller. As a matter of fact, we are working very diligently together to um get some more state disaster recovery monies uh to support our
community center and our road infrastructure projects which are absolutely eligible. And uh we don't want to give any money back. This is New Jerseyy's money. So, I want to thank Mayor Waller for uh he's a very tenacious mayor in getting money funding
I should say funding for the township and uh I appreciate working uh with him with that and the council as well. So, uh thankful for that and happy Thanksgiving to everybody. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Township attorney Michael Vicker.
>> Happy Thanksgiving and I look forward to Roger's return in two weeks. Um, I want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving and kind of echo what um, uh, Councilwoman Rasheed said. Be careful out there. It's getting colder and also it's, you know, the the roads
are not as safe uh, and it's getting obviously darker sooner. So, please be careful, be safe, make good choices. Uh, and happy Thanksgiving again. Okay. Item number 12, agenda session for December 2nd, 2025. Ordinance second reading, adopting redevelopment plan for
1028 Stton Road, block 5401, lot 1.02, resolution adopting uh ordinance. Ordinance second read ordinance, second reading, amending salary and wage. Ordinance open to the to public resolution adopting ordinance
Any questions or concerns for that item? Ordinance second reading adopting rate development plan block 6201 lot 6.02 and block 7401 lots 2.02 and 2.03 open to the public resolution adopting ordinance.
Any questions on that item? >> Moving on. Ordinance. >> Can you just give me a a ballpark of where that's located? Block 6201. across the street. It's a street on Stellen. Oh. Oh,
thank you. Thank you. Ordinance. Second reading. Bond ordinance various road improvements 6,724,747 uh 5,990 uh uh million dollars open to the public. Resolution adopting audits. Any
questions on that? Okay. Item number 13 to the public for remote attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand either on the Zoom app or by phone by pressing star9. When it's your turn to speak, you will receive or hear a request to unmute
yourself. Please click the prompt or press star 9 on your phone to unmute yourself. At that time, please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council or administration will respond if necessary after you have completed any comments or questions. M.
Johnson, do we have anybody in queue? >> Council President, yes. I am asking the first person with their hand raised to please unmute themselves. >> Hello. Uh, my name is Brian Rag, 1247 Brookside Road. I'd like to encourage you to not pass these ordinance that you're trying to do on the 16th. Um, the
noise ordinance is very badly copied from the township of Washington. It copied all their noise levels and restrictions, but included none of the exceptions. I mean, this is kind of like the large gathering ordinance. Um, as written, you can't mow your lawn because a lawn mower is louder than the allowed decibel levels, and there's no exceptions. There's also no exceptions
for construction or any sort of heavy machinery. Even if you pass it like this, it seems like you're just going to selectively enforce it. And that doesn't really make a ton of sense to me. Um, the hotel guest book ordinance has actually been to the Supreme Court already, uh, city of Los Angeles versus
Patel, and was ruled to be unconstitutional in 2015. So, I'm not really sure how that made it on the list in the first place. And then I was surprised to hear that we have a police plotter because I've been all over the township website and not seen any mention of that anywhere. So, I'd love to know where that's being posted. Uh,
that was it. Thanks. >> Any comments or questions from the mayor? Thank you. Council President, I'm asking the second person with their hand raised to please unmute themselves. >> Uh, good evening. My name is Jessica Cladavville, 1247 Brookside Road. Can
you hear me? >> Yes, we can hear you. >> Great. So, I um first of all, I had a question. Is all of section three eliminated from this ordinance that you're thinking of uh bringing on the
16th? >> Yes, it is. >> Okay. So, we don't need to cover any of the the making homelessness a crime. Um I did just want to cover that >> I'm sorry. >> Miss Katville,
>> Missville section 3-23.1 unlawful uh acts has been deleted. >> Okay. But not all of it. You're saying that large gatherings is still in there and the um >> section three dealt with noise ordinance.
Large gatherings is a different section. >> I'm sorry. What I'm looking at that I had prepared in advance said section 3-32 is large gatherings. Was I incorrect or have you Have you reumbered it and not made it available? >> 332 332.4
um is the only thing that was amended. The remainder remaining quarters 332 >> I'm sorry under exemptions 332.4 is the exemptions. Okay. So, that's been amended, but no
other parts of section three of the document have been amended >> other than section 33.1 that was deleted. That's correct. The remainder is still in the ordinance. >> Okay. So 3-38 and abetting a public
nuisance is still a part of the proposed ordinance. >> Hello. >> Uh we're we're say miss state that paragraph again. 3-30 aiding or abetting a public
nuisance. I'm it sounds like there is a lot of confusion on what's in the ordinance. >> No, a def that definition still remains in the ordinance. >> Okay. So, um, it's very interesting that
you failed to define public nuisance at all in the ordinance. And I think that it's possible that this could absolutely be used to um maybe hassle people who don't need any
more hassle. And um I would really encourage you to rethink the knock-on effects of having something like this in writing. Uh because you you haven't defined what a public nuisance is. And if we leave it open to interpretation,
it's possible that there might be an interpretation that you did not intend. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh, council president, a question was raised about the definition. Public news is a defined term. It's the first defined term under section 3-30.2.
>> Uh, council president, there are no other remote attendees with their hand raised uh at this time. >> Thank you. >> Hold on. Hold on. One more. I'm asking the uh individual with their hand raised
to please unmute themselves. >> Hi, this is Kylie Denine from Mbridge. Um I I stepped away from the uh computer to the bathroom um for a minute. Um this is public comment on a subject matter, right? >> Correct. >> Thank you. Um yeah, so I I just wanted to um first uh thank you for pulling
chapter 11 for further consideration tonight. Um uh I I know some people may um know me from local politics, but um I have uh over the course of a decade had a really small home almost charity that we've kind of chipped away at different things at over the years. And um so I
wanted to just provide a little bit of perspective. Um I just wanted to say first and foremost um some of the issues that um have been raised especially that um Councilwoman Cahill raised. Uh it is unfortunate in general that municipalities have to be dealing with
these issues. I I view this as a federal issue first and foremost. um Americans need housing and um this federal administration is not uh addressing that and it's it's very upsetting that then it gets pushed down to states which gets put pushed down to counties and
municipalities like yours. Um I I I do have concerns going forward about um placing restrictions in general on residency in hotels. I do think that that's something that should be up to the hotel operators and the people staying there, not just for the sake of
of homelessness, but also for the sake of any of your residents who, let's say, for example, there is a a sick resident and they have somebody visiting from um out of state to be able to try to take care of them or or instances like that
in which you may see extended stays um in your hotels um to be able to take care of uh the the needs of longerterm residents. Um issues like that come up all the time. Um I I don't think that this is a great avenue to start going
down in the long term. Um not the least of which is I don't really feel like it it is fair to neighboring townships. I think that this should maybe be kicked up to the county. um like New Brunswick in particular, right, already has to do so much work on this issue and I think
it creates an unfair onus on them to um have more people potentially be pushed um into neighboring towns. I think the best way to handle this is to kick this upward to the county and to the state to make sure that we are funding um appropriate uh placements. Um to to
Councilwoman Cahil's point um as well, you know, hotels for for some of these people are absolutely not an appropriate place to be long-term. Um and we have what's called PSH, permanent supportive housing, that is housing advocates we are encouraging further funding of. Um
and that's ultimately what we want to see happen. But uh we have to absolutely make sure that we're not criminalizing homelessness on a local level. and in the process of doing so also be placing a further burden on neighboring towns
and on long-term stays for uh the relatives and the friends of people who are already long-term residents inside your township. Um otherwise I think what just happens is this creates a domino effect >> and it gets blown up into a bigger issue. So thank you
>> council president. Just want to note one thing that the caller um just mentioned about, you know, not criminalizing. This is not what that's not what we're going to do and that's not what's going to be even there's going to be like no gray area. Um and we can't really um at this
point without having like all of the facts, but we know some issues going on there. My concern is that when contracts are made and uh folks are put there who, you know, are are trying to make a better life for themselves. Not I'm not
talking about the unhoused, others who may have uh had issues that caused them to, you know, have to serve some time and but then there are bad actors, right? The last thing we want is for our neighbors
to um have any kind of minors put in a place that could put this child at risk. Now that said, um I would like to make a plug for Middle Sex County. Middle Sex County does have a great program that helps folks uh better than some other
neighboring counties with that more longterm um housing, but there's a lot of work to be done for sure. If I can just comment on that. Um, I have been trying to support a Piscataway resident that is experiencing homelessness and it
is a very daunting, very difficult to navigate, full so this person can't even find a spot. So, yes, we have a system and you know, we're not here to solve the county, but it's none of it is easy.
And if you have any type of learning disability or lack of resources to try and navigate these systems is very very difficult. >> Yeah. >> Thank you, >> Council President. I'm asking the next
uh remote attendee to please unmute themselves. >> Yeah. Hi. Can you hear me? >> Yes, we can. Uh yeah, Craig Omax, Free Lake Park Drive. Uh do you have instructions on how to access the police blotter? Is it
on the township website or somewhere else? >> You can make it you can make an Oprah request for documents. >> Well, you said we have a police blotter. That's usually a published >> document. I think that's a colloquial
term that we all picked up watching uh uh cop shows on TV. >> What? >> No, that's a not that's a thing that people do in places.
>> If you're asking governments do it >> if you're asking do does the police department keep records? They keep records and you can get access to those records if they're permitted under law by making being an Opra request. >> No, that's not what I'm saying. I I definitely heard somebody say we have a
police plotter, >> which is a published list of >> We don't have activities. >> We don't have a published list. As I mentioned, it was a use of a colloquial term. >> Uh what we have is a database and you can make a request.
>> Oh, >> anyone. Why why don't we have one of those? Nobody knows. >> Uh we we file all required uh New Jersey Attorney General guidelines with regard to recordeping. Um don't have more of an
answer than that for you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Ch. Do we have any anyone else in queue? >> Council President, there are no other remote attendees with their hand raised at this time. >> Okay. Thank you. Closing for the remote attendees. Opening for the inperson
attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please come to the podium. State your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions and the council or administration will then respond if necessary.
Ed Marsh 13 Whiteoff Avenue. Uh, greetings. I'd like to say a few words about housing, not handcuffs. I urge you, the members of the council, to reject any ordinance that would criminalize homelessness, invade the
privacy of Piscatoaway guests and residents, and implement other punitive measures. Homelessness is almost never a choice. People become unhoused for many reasons. These include foreclosure, poverty,
unemployment, mental illness, and physical injury. According to my computer's AI, artificial intelligence, individuals in the LGBTQ plus community experience higher rates of homelessness,
particularly among youth. Factors such as family rejection, discrimination, and stigma contribute to this issue with LG LGBTQ plus youth being significantly
over represented in the homeless population compared to their peers. Don't criminalize poverty and homelessness. >> Thank you. Good evening. I'm Stacy Burgerer, 233
Ellis Parkway here in Piscatoaway. I also serve as the president and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. We represent 250 or so nonprofit community development organizations, private sector lenders, and other housing advocates around the state. We were proud to spearhead um the
letter sign on the sign on letter campaign. And I want to thank you for removing chapter 3 uh from the from consideration because finding and jailing people who are experiencing homelessness makes a ve very very terrible situation much worse. I'm actually fairly shocked that uh that
ever made it past whatever process you have which seems like you could be in use of some better process like a policy committee that reviews these items so people have a chance to discuss them before they get before the council itself. I did just want to share some of that letter and some of the signons with
you. Um I won't read the whole thing, but we should we will send it to your council address for those of you who have such a thing. We need to support homeless service providers and their efforts to engage unhoused individuals to connect them to rapid rehousing and housing first programs. The township's
focus should be on providing a fair share of affordable housing instead of penalizing people. We should be pursuing collaborative efforts with service providers to create care plans and connect unhoused residents to housing. Other towns do that, not just the county, but in other towns, they have a
task force and they have a housing administrator in the municipal office who actually helps people. I do that for neighbors here all the time. Laura, Council Member Liowitz is doing that. I'm sure many of you help people who have housing situations. I'm not saying you don't, Councilwoman. saying that we
don't have it in an organized fashion and it's not funded. So, it would be much better and more cohesive for everybody if there were a municipal operation where people could point to for support. Right now, we tell folks to call 211 and while our county does the best that they can. Um, they are certainly not considered, you know,
there's a lot more that we can do in two in 211. It is not considered an actual entry. They don't provide services directly. It's a referral point. So people get and and I referred council member Leboitz to 211 and she had a whole odyssey trying to help her um the her neighbor there. So you know it's it
is not a very easy or um it's not a system that is easy for anyone to navigate at any circumstance but when you're e when you might have a language barrier or a learning disability or three jobs it is very difficult to navigate that system. So, we believe that the council should withdraw all of
the related ordinances, including the public nuisance ordinance, which can be construed to to include providing street aid to people experiencing homelessness as well as mutual aid to neighbors. So, that really does need to come out on December 16th. Um because the proposals like that drain resources from law enforcement. The motel and hotel
provisions you're considering really will drain um police resources as well as potentially violate people's privacy. The idea that the township would allow the police to demand a list of hotel guests from every hotel and motel. I don't know what you all think our police
should be doing, but I definitely told you >> that they should be policing where people are staying and for how long. >> Hello, my name is Reena. I work for Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey. So, I just had to make a point
about um amendment 1121, the registry, and also um I believe it was 1122, length of stay, that is still being up for debate. And what I've gathered from what you all have been saying is that this is becoming a problem because of
minors and um those who are staying in hotels or motel. uh and that you this is not a direct hit to those who are dealing with homelessness, but rather it's more you're more worried about um returning citizens and those who are
actively trying to improve their lives and actively trying to make something of themselves whether it's trying to find a job, trying to find a state place to stay. They are actively trying to improve their lives. And this is a barrier. This is going to create a barrier for those who are trying to do
so. And it's wrong to say that those people are an active threat to society because that's a very very small population of people. Very very small. Majority of these people are trying to actively improve and just just find a job really so that they can improve
themselves. And this is going to create a barrier for that. So even if you're not saying that this is going to be a direct threat to those who are dealing with homelessness, it also becomes a direct threat to those who are returning citizens in society.
>> Thank you. >> Hello, my name is Jennifer Clear. Jennifer Lenn, that's an old name. >> Can you just lift the mic up a little bit? >> Yes. Uh and I live at 37 Radio Court. Um, so just over the river in Landing Lane. Um, I used to run a shelter for
homeless families uh in Somerset County and I was a policy researcher for about 15 years at Ruters and I'm still there. So I hear you. I hear that there's a lot of anxiety around this issue of temporary residents, people who are
unhoused concerns and fear and that's understandable. But I come from a perspective of thinking about which policies are actually going to work because I heard that concern as well, right? You want to be fair and create policies that work for everybody in your
town. So, if you don't mind, I put together a little handout. Could I come up and share? I thank you for for dropping the the ordinance around criminalizing uh people who are un unhoused. Um but I am hearing that there are other ordinances that
you're considering that could possibly displace people. And I really agree with the the caller online earlier who um advocated working together with other towns, getting the county involved, bringing this up to the state and seeking funding and policy solutions
that actually work, permanent supportive housing is certainly a keystone in that. but other outreach programs. Um, thinking about, you know, funding nonprofits that can add to the uh to the shelter system to at least to the
temporary housing where there are additional supports, counseling, addiction services, etc. So, thank you very much and you know, I hope uh you consider some of the things I gave to you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for that.
State your name and address. >> My name is Ryan Espinosa and I live one High Point Way. Uh first off, I would like to thank you guys for dropping um the whole criminalizing homelessness. I think it's a very huge problem, not just
in Piscataway, but in America itself. It's a huge problem that everybody needs to needs to unite and come together to solve that issue. However, I see in this whole that we're so divided that we can't even agree with each other and
that some people just don't want to listen. And as an 18-year-old fresh adult, I would like to say that I'm disgusted with some of the people who show themselves in these meetings or in this community because some of you are
so full of anger and that's justified with a topic like this. However, as a community, we can solve problems greater than ourselves and we just we have intentions that are so pure and we just
need to go about it in other ways. Um, I honestly think it's disrespectful that some of you show yourselves in somebody's presence like me, a young individual. And I think a lot of you are treating kindness as a privilege rather
than it being the bare minimum. And everybody should look at the views with compa compassion rather than anger. And I just I'm honestly disgusted with most of you. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Good evening. Bill Irwin, 233 Ellis Parkway, Biscataway. Um, as many on the Deis have noted, we come together today, two days before Thanksgiving, uh, a holiday on which, uh, many of us in this
room will be fortunate enough to count our blessings. Uh, there will be tables laden with food. There'll be, uh, friends and family to enjoy the warmth of hearth and home. We are fortunate indeed.
But for some, there will not be any of those things. There will be no feast. They'll be lucky enough to have food at all. There'll be no gathering of family and friends. Perhaps they'll spend the day alone in a motel room because that's the
only place they can be housed. There'll be no warmth of hearth and home because they may be outdoors and the only warmth they're worried about is how they're going to keep their body warm that day and the next through the
winter. And as the holiday season wears on, we'll hear the refrain uh peace on earth and goodwill towards all. And those words will mean a lot to a lot of people, but ultimately the measure of
our goodwill is how we treat the least fortunate among us. Accordingly, I'm thankful that the council has struck uh chapter 3-23.1 from consideration and chapter 11 and I
hope to not see them resurface. Thank you and happy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you. Pashant Patel 52 Justice Street. Good evening council and fellow residents. My favorite part. Before I begin, a
quick note to keep things clear. Under our state ethics rule, I am I am a Piscar school board member but I am not here representing the school board. I am speaking tonight purely as a
private resident speaking my own views not the Piscover school boards. My favorite part. I'm here to oppose the proposed changes to our municipal code that would criminalize people experiencing
homelessness, including fines, jail time, hotel stay limit, and new requirements for hotels to turn over guest information on demand. Criminalizing sleep does not fix
rising housing cost or lack of affordable units. It punishes people for being poor and averts police from actual safety concerns. And the proposed guest lease rule isn't
just unwise, it's unconstitutional. In city of Los Angeles versus Patel docket number 13- 1175 the Supreme Court struck down nearly identical ordinance because forcing
hotels to provide registries without judicial review violates fourth amendment. Let's not invite lawsuits to Piscar where we can afford and thank you for striking that ordinance. Now
instead of punishing, we should choose solutions that actually work. Housing, not handcuffs. That means supporting homeless services. Uh homeless service providers who build care plans with unsheltered residents.
Connecting people to rapid housing and housing first programs. strengthening outreach case management and enforcing only against genuinely dangerous behavior, never against poverty itself. Create a
task force on homeless would would let expert partners and volunteers craft compassionate community-led strategies that solve problems rather than shift them.
And there is a concrete life-saving step we can take immediately. Open a cold blue shelter or warming center right here in Piscar using an existing municipal or community space on freezing
nights can prevent hypothermia reduce er visits and create viral link to services that help people move towards stability. >> Thank you Mr. This car can lead with dignity, compassion, and common sense. I urge council to withdraw this punitive
ordinances and choose solutions that keep people safe and house, not criminalized. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. P. >> Council President, if I may, I know he's not here acting in an official capacity. However, they're s the governing body on the board of ed
sitting on a $36 million reserve. They can actually easily donate some of that money. Yeah. So to do that >> totally irrelevant. Excuse me. I think I have the floor. The bottom line is back in March I sent
numerous letters to all the board members and each one of them say well I can't speak so who's going to speak for the board of ed and you know the questions I had asked which was pertinent to the budget process where it was the largest tax
increase in the history of this town where people are still coming in to this day. So I I I just something's got to give over there. Somebody's got to be able to answer the questions. That's all I chose to answer. >> We're also not being sued like many
school districts. >> Thank you. Next. >> Thank you all. Um I'm here as a visitor. I live in Randolph, Massachusetts. My name is Sandy Cohen. I'm visiting my
family, Stacy Burgerer and Bill Irwin, and I've never attended one of your council meetings. I have attended many in my town, and I'm appalled at the kind of legislation that you're proposing.
This would not be allowed in our town. We are a welcoming town. We that in our uh information that goes out to new residents. We have services and as Mr.
Patel said um we do have warming centers in the winter for homeless people and we do have homeless people but we welcome them. We don't shun them. And I find
this council to be somewhat appalling in that you want to penalize homeless people. And um if I were to come and visit for a lengthy stay of
time, I would not want police checking on me. It would be an absolute deterrent to coming to visit if I checked into a hotel and I stayed for three months for
some inexplicable reason. So this whole proposal needs to be abolished. Period. End of conversation. It's just unfair, unjust, and cruel. And
God help any of you who wind up being homeless. Good evening. Gina register 78 Riverview Avenue. So while you're creating policy and I know this is a difficult difficult issue
to tackle, please I just urge you to keep in mind a few things. The National Coalition for the Homeless said US homelessness hit a record high in 2023
2024 and the Major reasons for homelessness are the lack of lowcost housing, limited scale of housing assistance programs, lack of affordable health care, domestic
violence, mostly against women, but it's on the rise against the LGBTQ plus community. And then you have me mental illness. Additional factors are discrimination
and a criminal record. So you need to keep this all in mind. People aren't choosing to be homeless. And I think one of the biggest things facing all of us right now is what the federal administration is doing to
health care. Unless you have tens of millions of dollars liquid, which I don't think anybody here does unless I'm mistaken. Uh if you have a major illness or disability, you are
this close to being homeless because of that. Many years ago, my family faced a situation where we had to come I had three young children. We had to come up with $20,000 in cash
to have a surgery. actually three that were needed if it weren't for family and friends. I would have never been able to manage that. And thankfully, I have to thank the surgeon, too, because he gave us a
buy and our insurance company backed us. It took me a year to get all but $5,000 back. But that's how close everyone is to being homeless. So, we need to treat people with dignity. These people don't
want to live on the street. Most of them, the majority of them. And please consider all this when you're making policy. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I see no one else at the podium. Closing public portion for the inhouse
attendees. Motion to adjurnn. >> Motion, Councilwoman Lombardi. >> Second. >> Second. >> Post. Meeting a journ.