##VIDEO ID:3elePtpbnVA## yeah no just yeah problem hey everybody thank you for being here with us tonight it is December 9th 2024 this is a meeting of the mayor and Council of Princeton New Jersey and we'll start off with the uh meeting statement please oh wait a minute no clerk I'll read the statement adequate notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings Act including the time date and location of the meeting in addition the agenda and all related materials were posted electronically and made available to the public on prinston meeting portal in advance of the meeting I'll also do the land acknowledgement We Gather today on the land of the Lenny lopi as members of the Princeton Community we aspire to show appreciation respect and concern for all peoples in our environment we honor the LPI and other indigenous caretakers of these lands Waters the elders who lived here before the indigenous today and the generations to come all right next we're going to do roll call uh councilwoman uh lambrose here councilwoman neeran yeah you're really uh an amateur at this here thank you councilman Cohen here councilwoman uh where am I going saxs sorry I'm going this way do we need to introduce ourselves no here than you councilwoman froga here councilman nulan here mayor Freda I'm here all right so what we're going to do is in five seconds I'm going to ask you all to stand the honor guard is going to come in and they're going to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance so if we would all stand that would be very nice DJ DJ 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 okay please be seated yeah so the chief's going to come forward and lead us in the uh the promotion good evening mayor members of council administrator hovic family friends and colleagues thank you for being with us tonight on this special occasion this evening we celebrate six outstanding officers as they ENT enter a pivotal stage in their careers a culmination of years of unwavering dedication and hard work for our department and for the community their journey to this point reflects their perseverance commitment and professionalism that Define the men and women of our department each of these officers has carried their place here tonight and I cannot be more proud to honor them while we celebrate their accomplishments we must also recognize the vital role their families and friends play to the loved ones who have supported these officers along the way your encouragement has been instrumental in their process I understand the sacrifices you've made and the challenges you faced please know that your support makes an incredible difference and we are deeply grateful for all you have done to help them achieve this Milestone I'm confident that these six officers are fully prepared to embrace the new challenges and responsibilities that come with their promotions they've consistently shown that they're capable dependable and ready to rise to any occasion their dedication inspires confidence not just within our department but also within the community congratulations solve tonight honores I wish you every success in your new roles thank you the first officer uh to be promoted tonight is Sergeant Craig humble Craig graduated from Kings College in 2004 with a dual major in criminal justice and sociology Craig graduated from the 97th class of Burlington County Police Academy as an alternate route candidate Craig began his career in law enforcement in 2009 with the Medford Township Police Department and served there until 2011 in 2012 Craig was hired by the princ and Township Police Department and served within the Patrol Division for several years in 2015 he was assigned to the newly formed Community impact unit and served there for several months in 2018 Craig was assigned to the Mercer County prosecu Special Investigation Unit as a member of the Mercer County n narcotics task force in this capacity he investigated and apprehended numerous high level narcotic traffickers homicide suspects and sexual offenders at both the county and state level in 201 202 Craig was promoted to the rank of Corporal and served within the Patrol Division until his promotion to Sergeant in November 2024 Craig is married to his wife Sarah humble and together they proudly Share three children James Vivien and Everett Sergeant humble please come up to be spor now bring your family up you want okay you could repeat after me I state your name I Craig humble do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the United States and in the state in the United States and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of the office of Sergeant of the office of Sergeant according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability congrat conratulations [Music] thank you next up is Sergeant Eric Dawson Sergeant Dawson graduated from the Burlington County Police Academy in 2004 and began his law enforcement career with the Burlington County Sheriff's Department in 2007 Sergeant Dawson was hired by the main Township Police Department where he remained employed there for over 8 years in 2015 Sergeant dwson was hired by the Princeton police department and has served as in the capacity of a patrol officer detective and most recently as Corporal for the past two years Sergeant Dawson has previously served as a field training officer officer in charge and as a member of the agency's serus Collision Response Team Sergeant Dawson attended the Mercer County Community College where he obtained an associates degree in criminal justice in 2003 during his years of Police Service Sergeant Dawson has received the Mothers Against Drunk Driving law enforcement distinguished service award patrolman Billy D Ellis honorable service award on three separate occasions and the Walter E Harris meritorious service award Sergeant Dawson please come forward with your family to be sworn in I state your name I Eric Dawson do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same to the governments established to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in the state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will Faith faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of the office of Sergeant of the office of Sergeant according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability congratulations thank [Applause] you next up is Sergeant Darwin kefir Sergeant Kefir is a third generation police officer who joined the Princeton burough Police Department in August of 2010 after graduating from the Mercer County Police Academy's alternate route program Sergeant kefir has a bachelor's degree in history from Ruckers University as well a master's degree in human resources and training development from seatan Hall University Sergeant kefir has served both in the patrol Bureau and detective Bureau during his 14 years with the Princeton Police Department Sergeant kefir was promoted to the rank of Corporal in the patrol Bureau in 2022 Sergeant Kefir is a field training officer Firearms instructor instructor at the Mercer County Police Academy member of the honor guard unit and former president of PBA local 1130 Sergeant Kefir is married to his wife Stephanie and has three children Darwin Cora and Brooke Sergeant kefir please come up okay I state your name I Darwin keeper do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in the State and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially and partially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of Sergeant of the office of Sergeant according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability [Applause] congratulations thank you next to be sworn in is corporal Steven Laten Corporal Lattin began his law enforcement career with the prince and Township Police Department in January of 2010 he served in the patrol Bureau until being assigned to the safe neighborhood Bureau in January of 2020 in March of 2020 Corporal Laton became the Department's second canine Handler upon his graduation from the New Jersey State Police Canine Academy he and his partner K9 Ali are members of the New Jersey detective render safe task force in 2023 Corporal Latin was assigned to the traffic safety Bureau he holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Duane University Corporal Lon resides in Chesterfield New Jersey with his wife Jacqueline his two daughters Aubry and Kenley and their son Trey upon his promotion Corporal Laton will serve in the patrol Bureau on up and I'm so sorry now heard glasses I could read it repeat after me I state your name I Steven Len do do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in the state and in the state and the under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will f faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of the office of Corporal all duties of the office of Corporal according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability [Applause] congratulations next to be sworn in is corporal Deshawn crib Corporal crib began his law enforcement career with the Princeton Police Department in September 2014 he served the first 10 months or 10 years excuse me of his career in the patrol Bureau and was assigned to the detective Bureau in 2024 during his time in the patrol Bureau Corporal crib served as a field training officer officer in charge in 2020 he was also assigned to the Mercer County prosecutor's office special Investigation Unit Corporal crib is trained as a community law enforcement affirmative relations and crisis deescalation trainer he holds his bachelor's degree in sociology with the concentration in Justice systems from Montclair State University and a master's degree in human resource training and developing education Administration and supervision from seen Hall University Corporal crib resides in Riverside New Jersey with his wife Jasmine and his son Jackson upon his promotion Corporal crib will serve as a supervisor officer in the for the Princeton Police Department cor crib want to be sworn in raise your right hand and repeat after me I state your name I do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in the state and in the state under under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of the office of Corporal all duties of the office of Corporal according to the best of my ability to the best [Applause] congratulations okay next to be sworn in is corporal Dan enstrom Dan enstrom's Law Enforcement career began with an Educational Foundation earning a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Justice studies for Monclair State University in 20 2004 he continued his professional pursuit in May 2005 by graduating from the Ocean County Police Academy becoming a certified New Jersey police officer following his graduation he first served with the Beach Haven Police Department as a Class 2 special police officer gaining initial law enforcement experience before being hired in a full-time capacity with the Mansfield Police Department in August of 2005 in January of 2008 Dan was assigned to the detective Bureau while in that position he was honored as the Department's officer of the year in 2011 in addition to his duties as detective Dan was also assigned to be the Department's juvenile officer biased crime officer Alcoholic Beverage Control officer public information officer member of the fatal crash reconstruction unit crisis negotiator Megan Law officer and liaison to the Burlington County Domestic Violence response team in February of 2015 Dan returned to the Patrol Division when he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in nove November of 2015 Dan was hired by the Princeton Police Department initially serving as a patrolman in 2017 he received the mother's Against Drunk Driving award in recognition of his commitment to the community safety and DWI enforcement Dan was assigned to the detective Bureau in January of 2022 a position he currently holds in addition to his detective responsibilities he serves as a field training officer Firearms instructor Megan's lawly aison and is also a member of the department serus Collision Response Team Dan was awarded the Walter E Harris meritorious service award in 2023 for an incident that occurred in 2019 Dan resides in Hamilton New Jersey with his wife Nicole and her three children son Jackson and daughter Sophia and Isabella corpor you want to come up repeat after me I state your name I Daniel edrom do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in the state and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of the office of Corporal all the duties of the office of Corporal according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability congratulations thank you sorry not the bike over there okay yeah thank you to all the officers that were in attendance thank you to all the families you really don't need to stay for the rest of the meeting so feel free to feel free to cut out [Applause] yes hey Rob do me a favor and shut those doors [Laughter] as I figured there might be a little noise out in the hall for a little bit oh well easier said than done okay next up we have a a proclamation and Eve will take us through the proclamation I'm just going to give it another another few seconds to see if we can wrestle that that oh there we go there we go there they go okay uh Proclamation Office of the mayor Municipality of Princeton a proclamation honoring po paully Burlingham for her community service whereas paully buring Burlingham has been an invaluable asset to the municipal of Princeton for many years and whereas after completing extensive training in Horticulture through the ruter Master Gardeners program of merca County paully earned the title of Master Gardener in 2001 and whereas po has dedicated countless hours and lent her creativity and expertise as a Master Gardener to beautifying our town and whereas Paulie's passion for gardening is evident in her meticulous care of the flower planters that Adorn Nassau Street Witherspoon Street Barber buug Sigman Park Hines Plaza the municiple parking lot and throughout Princeton and whereas pully's efforts have brought joy to Residents and visitors alike and whereas Paulie's artistic talents extend beyond gardening as she enjoys knitting quilting and pottery and whereas Paulie's love for nature and dedication to to Princeton has beautified our community and inspired a legacy of community service and now therefore be it resolved that I Eve Neer gang speaking on behalf of the mayor Mark Freda of Princeton extend the municipality's humble expression of appreciation and sincerest gratitude to Polly Burlingham let us all be inspired by Paulie's dedication and creativity and strive to make Princeton an even more beautiful place to live [Music] paie come on up there in the center somewhere we're going to give you the proclamation and can I thank public works for all their hard work I think you can all hear me as I've been told my voice carries I want to thank Public Works especially Dan benm who has been um a champion of making sure that all those baskets and plants get watered because as I told Bob Brushy 20 years ago when I was going to start this project if they don't get watered then don't waste your money and it's become a 7day a week project so thanks to the public works we have had beautiful Planters so and thanks for for this hello mayor you're the only one I know now on Council yes right there okay yes than 25 years [Music] okay next up we have Council announcements Endor reports any council members that have any reports or announcements at this time see m Michelle there's a delay interesting yeah I do yeah go ahead Michelle thank you thank you um so I wanted to report that um although a few uh Council meetings ago we voted to um to remove the kiosks that are on Nassau Street as part of the Nassau streetcape program um we are working engineering is working uh the infrastructure and operations Department along with the communications director uh on replacing them so there will be something there that we'll replace them because it's the end of the year it's just um really busy so we're looking at January February time frame to bring it back to work session so just so the community and colleagues know that it's being looked at um so there's some really good options out there so just wait please and and we'll we'll get there thank you thank you any anybody else Leon yeah thanks mayor I I just wanted to to say to miss Burlingham you know probably on behalf of not only myself but for many people who live in Princeton who visit Princeton who appreciate you for the Way Princeton presents itself and it feels when you come here here who don't even know who you are so it it is beautiful to put a face to the face of Princeton uh thank you for all that you do and all you have done uh on behalf of just so many people who who really appreciate uh how Princeton is and thank you for all you do all right thanks uh mayor I just want to make a a quick statement uh my colleague David and I have have learned a lot and we've been looking at a lot over the past year with regard to uh a study that was done and revealed at the beginning of this year by the uh state of New Jersey and I just want to make a quick statement uh as we approach 2025 I want to put us all on notice that we must take a hard look at how we spend the significant sums of taxpayer money entrusted to this municipality and this again is is based on a disparities report a proc disparities report that was done by the state of New Jersey according to New Jersey's 2024 disparity study less than 5% of billions in state procurement spending goes to minority and women-owned businesses that's right less than 5% despite minority women in business enterprises make up a much larger portion of the marketplace this is not just a problem of disparity it is a violation of fairness and Equity this coming year I want us as a collective body to commit to being accountable to Equitable spending because as I understand it it is the law procurement practices must reflect our values of diversity and then inclusion and we already know the problems exist now it's time for Princeton to lead by example we are not making decisions tonight but I am signaling signaling that we need to set the stage in 2025 for policies practices and transparency that ensure our spending aligns with the principles we claim to uphold let's be clear addressing the addressing these issues is not just about compliance it's about doing the right thing for Princeton for its residents and for the local businesses that keep this town thriving thank you thank you Le any other Council announcements or reports okay why don't we go to the uh police chief's report for October 2024 Chief good evening again I just want to say too thank you for taking time out of your meeting tonight I know that was long we had six officers getting promoted but um it means a lot for us to do these ceremonies so thank you um October just want to highlight a couple things from the report October is a um busy month for us it's the first full uh month of school so our safe neighbor Bureau is doing a lot of um presentations in the schools with the children um so we're busy with that and also um Halloween is a busy time for us so this year we had another successful Trunk or Treat event here at the municipal building and Halloween night itself um was another successful night we didn't have any incidents um and with the amount of people that we had in town that's um a pretty successful night so just want to highlight those those two things thank you okay any e uh thanks for that uh Chief Tash I always uh enjoy looking at the police report I just want to um have you talk a little bit about something this this is not I think an unusual uh statistic but on on page seven of the report uh something I've kind of been keeping my eye on is emotionally disturbed person the number of incidents and uh I think this month October is a good example if you look back to 2019 you see there were five five incidents and October 2024 if I'm sorry I got to scroll across here and make sure I'm getting the right number we have 20 and and this is not an unusual uh you know develop this is pretty consistent and I would would just like to give you an opportunity to talk a little bit about because I know the department puts so much stress on how the officers deal with these situations and I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up about this but if you could just talk a little bit about what what the philosophies are and The Guiding uh you know principles behind how uh the the uh police officers are are dealing with this more and more frequent uh occurrence I think be very Illuminating for you know both Council and uh for people in the audience sure so the first thing um policing has changed so much in my career and one of the things that's really changed a lot in the last maybe 5 years is dealing with um people who were um you know in a state of emotional distress so there's a lot of mandatory training that our officers go through that um helps deal with helps us deal with um people who are experiencing this um we actually have additional training that we mandate our department to do to with in dealing with emotionally disturbed persons and the other thing is our network of um organizations that we make referrals to when dealing with people going through a tough time has really grown lately we have some fantastic partners and um you know we encourage people that if they are um experiencing an issue that you know they could always call the police department um and we can direct them and and help them get the help that they may need thank you any other questions for the chief okay uh next up Isaac kemer from the executive director of experience Princeton good evening your honor uh as I do every month uh four things that we did last month four things that are coming up uh this month and one big item you should all know about uh so to lead off uh we were really happy to have the ribbon cutting for Alfalfa uh last week uh new health conscious restaurant at 140 Nassau Street and thank you to everyone who enjoined uh joined us for that um I think it's going to be a wonderful addition to Princeton uh secondly our shop uh local to win campaign uh wrapped up yesterday uh we've already awarded $5,000 uh tomorrow we'll do the final draw of the ,000 weekly draw and the $1,500 grand prize I can tell you it's been a lot of fun uh going to the stores and also interacting with the customers and especially this time of year to see families or longtime Princeton residents or people is far away from Ridgewood uh uh winning the contest to a person everyone's been really uh excited and happy about that we've touched over 120 businesses with that promotion too uh which is our biggest yet uh next up uh we prepared an info sheet on how to keep Princeton clean and welcoming especially with an eye towards sidewalks and garbage um and it'll be distributed in the coming weeks along with an infographic on organic waste hauling uh which we want to uh try to encourage um uh seeing more of that to divert from landfills of course uh and last but not least our volunteer recognition event on November 21st in morvin was very well attended uh it was a really good opportunity uh to recognize the volunteers uh who have been part of experience Princeton from the start um so hopefully we'll have more events like that in the future and more recognitions to give out uh coming up this month uh we uh have a booth at the international Council of shopping centers deal show at the javitz from December 11th to 12th I'm looking forward to being joined there uh by Michelle uh council member uh Peron lambrose um also our partnership Agreements are being finalized with our first two organizations uh once we have those in place it'll be a good model or template for others to follow um we're looking forward to the spring already and expanding plantings we have an eye towards Witherspoon Street to help complement some of the wonderful streetscape work that's been done there um and of course we'll bring that forward uh well in advance um of the install uh last but not least we're starting preparations for restaurant week in March uh and I'm pleased to report we've already secured our first sponsor uh with the Princeton Federal Credit Union uh finally I don't know if it's news to anyone uh but I'll say it anyways our big item uh is that Princeton is one of four communities that's been selected into the Main Street New Jersey program uh that brings the total number of communities up to 29 uh the only other one in Mercer County is lawrenville um the three other New Towns joining along with Princeton are planfield Milburn and haddenfield uh and it's actually been really nice to get notes uh from the leaders in those towns uh recognizing our our accomplishment here uh but I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you uh to everyone uh who assisted in securing the designation uh and really uh standing up for Princeton and making the case that this is an important designation for us it's going to help us uh secure additional technical assistance and hopefully some funding uh to help with important initiatives in the years ahead uh so thank you for that um last but not least uh this wasn't on my agenda but it occurred to me uh this will be the last meeting uh with outgoing council member could I ask just to point a personal privilege uh thank you mayor um I'd like to recognize uh council member uh Neer gang uh for just being such a positive Pro Princeton uh voice um you attended almost every one of our meetups we've held 25 of them uh over the last two years um and it's just been a constant pleasure uh to interact with you your leadership from the days and in the community uh really is your legacy uh and uh I thank you for your service thank you Isaac that's very sweet yeah great thank you thank you Isaac just did anybody have any questions for Isaac to make it come back but can you just share with us because we in the throws of the holiday season do you have a feel for how it's going for the um businesses in town yeah so I think we're tracking with national Trends there's a projected 5% increase in sales uh and we can see it in our especially the weekend visitation uh which is peaking so um but remember uh about 40% of the sales are occurring right now um so anything that impacts a dis business might disrupt a business we want to be ultra sensitive to that uh because it's really make or break time for for them so um but actually tomorrow I'll be attending the Placer AI pre-conference in New York uh before ICC and uh for folks who are unaware this does place-based analytics and gives you very detailed information about who's shopping how many visits you get uh in real time so uh that's certainly a question I'll be asking them and and we'll work in the future maybe getting a place or a AI license to be able to give you more detail uh uh in real time data about uh who's visiting and where they're shopping thanks Isaac one more thing sorry can you just explain for everyone what IC is and where we're going thank you it's just in the trade you kind of know it but outside you it's just an acronym so the international Council of shopping centers is uh one of the leading uh Gatherings of commercial real estate uh Professionals in the US uh the only bigger show is the in Las Vegas uh held by the same organization uh so as I mentioned I believe in my prior report last month Princeton is the only downtown maybe the only municipality to have a booth at ICC uh we'll have a 10x 20 foot uh Booth uh sounds huge but it's actually tiny uh for there and um we'll have an opportunity across the two days um on the 11th and 12th to really present Princeton in the most favorable light um to uh the other attendees uh that are going to be there uh I'm really pleased by the way that several of our partners including Edens have booths very next to near to us and we're just across the road from the networking area so hopefully we'll get a lot of spill over traffic and the last thing I'll add to that is uh I worked with some local businesses and we're going to have some Princeton themed swag and prizes to give away to people as we interact with them over the two days we're the only Booth that's going to have an Einstein plushy uh thanks to uh the public library so but don't tell anyone about that thank you thanks Isaac okay I think we have a church we have an update on our deer management uh Saga uh yes not necessarily as positive an update as I had hope to be able to present um couple of developments so just to catch people up we submitted our application back in July which is several months ahead of schedule uh included both a lethal component as you have every year and non-lethal as you have tried to do for the last two years um we provided a ton of information on the non-lethal uh in October we heard back from the division of fish and wildlife in response to the non-lethal I think they had about a two and a half singles based you know P two and a half pages single spaced of requests for clarification uh so we submitted our response in early November gave them a ton of information Publications it was a it was a massive submission uh we heard back from them believe it was last week maybe the week before a request that we consider bifurcating the application because they continued to have concerns about the non-lethal they needed further information and clarification they didn't explain what and they were concerned um they were ready to present the lethal component at next week's meeting of the fish and game Council they didn't want their concerns with the non-lethal portion to hold things up so would we consider bifurcating I said yes we would because quite honestly I didn't want to take the entire program and I also made it very clear in my response but please get us your comments fast because we'd really like to have both components presented in December [Music] the the response was that there must be some confusion on my end that they were asking the just to present the lethal in December and then the lawn lethal when their concerns were addressed in other words whenever they get around to it so I responded that there really was no confusion whatsoever on our end we were clear on that and we were fine with them presenting the lethal but could they please get back to us asap with their concerns about the non-lethal so we could actually address them in time for next week's fish and game uh council meeting so we received those concerns on Friday afternoon I think this time they got them down to two pages or one and a half pages single spaced um a lot of it was dissatisfaction that we hadn't presented enough information in our prior response including just you know for example uh they they want us to document the efforts that we have made in the areas where you want to use the sterilization to obtain permission for Sharp Shooting so we had given them some general information about the efforts we've made over the years in general to find sites they want very specific documentation I think in so many words how many doors and which doors have we knocked on is it that we've been denied permission only for Sharp Shooting for netting uh for is it for darting and euthanasia so um that's one question they have a lot of concerns about the mortality rate of the deer that are sterilized they want a lot more information to justify why we cannot use lethal means in those areas they are also asking questions about why typically you stop the call after two weeks and I mean from the get-go White Buffalo basically is here for two weeks and the answer that we've provided is that after two weeks there is a very clear diminishing rate of return in white buff Al Lo to their credit although they could charge you to sit in a tree stand for 6 hours on end shooting at nothing they prefer not to do that and so they tend to leave after two weeks so we gave them that explanation the response is they would like to know why we cannot have white buffalo do the two weeks go away for a while come back and do some more um they also want to know by the way how much it's costing every year now I think for your taxpayers that's a very legitimate question for the state that does not provide you with a dime not one dime to take care of this I'm not sure that's a relevant question on their part in Prior years when they've asked I've told them it was none of their business that's between you guys and your taxpayers I think this time I might actually just give them the numbers I think I'll find other ways to annoy them so where we are at the end of the day is I think they have made it pretty blatant that they're going to continue to Stonewall and you know I'm sparing you some of the other stuff you know they're they're fighting us on whether the dart guns are in fact a firearm which could effectively put bring this to a halt I'm working with uh Chief Tash on that there's some other stuff too that they're throwing at us but there's been enough in the in the back and forth candidly and the fact that they waited until October to get us their initial response for 3 years we've been asking to meet with them in the summer with representatives of white buffalo with representatives of Princeton to try to really address all of their concerns so that we don't have to engage in the back and forth they've never so much as acknowledged the request to sit and meet and meanwhile you've got lots of other parts of the country that have no trouble whatsoever with incorporating non-lethal as part of deer management and we've given them the examples we've given them the information White Buffalo has published extensively on this we've given them all and these are Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals this is not self-publication we've given them all of this we've given them other Publications um I I think what's really disappointing is that as you know New Jersey likes to be at the Forefront on a lot of issues this is a state that tends to lead and back when I was in law school a lot of the cases that we studied in novel areas of law came out of this state in so many Arenas and and honestly South Carolina gave White Buffalo it took them four days to give White Buffalo a permit to do sterilization took a little bit longer in uid Ohio but they worked with white buffalo they worked with the state lawyers to make sure that they could interpret their regulations and they worked cooperatively with the community to get this done I wish I could tell you that you had a division ficient Wildlife that was willing to work in the same spirit and I can't I think they are taking the exact opposite tasks and while I had feared this would happen I am still very disappointed really disappointed you guys spent so much money on this program all paid for by your constituents who have asked for you to include non-lethal as a council you want to include non-lethal White Buffalo wants to include non-lethal they want to assign scientists they want to is people who are committed to deer management because they want you to be able to use every tool that's available in your toolbox and you are being confronted with a division that for reasons I cannot understand seems Dead Set against it and I the only thing I can tell you is the more any of you who know me it's not good to really push back against me because I am very stubborn and and I'm getting very angry and so I'm not prepared to give up we're going to come back to them with the information that they are looking for as much of it as we can provide and what we can't provide I think will have a very good explanation for why what they're asking for is ridiculous but in the meantime I also think I'm speaking about this publicly because I think it's very important for your residents to understand that this is not a lack of commitment on the part of this body this is like you are hitting your head against a brick wall when it comes to this agency and I'm happy to keep bashing my head into that brick wall but I think people have the right to know where the problem lies so as I said I wish I had better news maybe on the 19th I can come back to you with something slightly more encouraging or maybe in January I will continue to hold out hope um and in the meantime let's just hold their feet to the fire because I want to keep pushing and just make it really apparent where the problem lies anyway thank you for listening to me thank you to be continued okay next up approval of minuts we have a regular meeting minuts from October 28th 2024 it its low session from November 6 2024 which Eve was going to move those thank you is there Michelle's got the second any questions or comments yeah I just need to uh abstained from the 28th I was not present okay all right uh been moved and seconded all those in favor with David's abstention for the 28th please say I wave a hand do something so I know you're hi okay there we go thank you very much next up public comments for items not on the agenda if you want to talk about something that's not on the agenda we're going to start here in the room and Mr William Shields is coming up to talk to us first he knows he's got three minutes and uh thanks for being here Willie all my name is William Shields I live at 1558 Line Road in West Windor I'm here to just make a little statement about the chest Street Firehouse the chest Street Firehouse is a two-story structure located at 13 ches Street it has a basement a main floor and kitchen an assembly area and a rig room the upstairs contain large meeting room and two offices all with parquet floors and a half bath the meeting room walls are lined with curry and IES prints and assortment of fire department memorabilia currently the rig room has the fire department equipment stored and is home to two of the active fire police vehicles the kitchen area has been recently used for the Mercer County Senior lunch program the building over the years have been maintained by the municipality of Princeton with routine repairs and some major upgrades that include air conditioning and a fire alarm pool station sensor and Ada approv emergency notification the rig room floor has additional reinforcements to allow for vehicles vehicles such as cars pickups trailers and smaller utility pieces to utilize the space the Chester stre Firehouse is home to Princeton engine company number one Princeton uh fire police and the New Jersey fireman Association Princeton chapter is also used regularly as a polling site for elections it has been the Operation Center for the Princeton fire Poli during various various functions including communiversity today the high top marathon pu reunions the pomet square tree lighting and various storms or public demonstrations that require a coordination or staging State site any decision that is made by the council in regarding the future of the chest Street Firehouse should consider information from all relevant areas there appear to be a limited participation from the rank and file of The Prince and Fire Department in obtaining input towards possible solutions in addressing the need for a larger or better functioning fire station prin should not rush to to quick fixes that would be irreversible and could ultimately increase cost to the town and taxpayers as a member of the Princeton fire department with nearly 55 years and president of engine company one for over 20 and past chief of the Princeton Department I suggest a committee be established to evaluate use options of the chest Street Firehouse the group should be uh a blend of princing community volunteer and paid firefighters P fire officers and the presidents of the Princeton three fire companies in an effort and to address the need for such space and storage at the Witherspoon Street headquarters the committee should look towards Chester Street Firehouse for possible uses the options are many and would help in providing more time to obtain verifiable data for an educated decision the Chester Street firehouse has Flex space capabilities that will allow the fire department to provide better service save taxpayers money preserve artifacts at of the fire department at a central location and retain the sought after neighborhood lifestyle that Princeton is known for chest stre has been the home to a firehouse from the early 1800s to present day to consider removing this property from the town rolls in an effort to acquire quick funds to address Renovations at station 60 could result in major regrets once the chest stre Firehouse is gone it may be it will be impossible to duplicate a location like this in the center of town without a high cost to the community and a Municipality of Princeton I thank you thanks Willie appreciate it thank you CH anyone else in the room have a comment for something not on the agenda anybody on Zoom have a comment I did provide cop for everybody yep we all got got got thank you thanks will anybody uh anybody on Zoom with a comment for item not on the agenda all right seeing no other hands raised I'll close that part of the meeting now we're going to uh public hearings ordinance public hearings ordinance 2024-the and amending chapter 29 of the code of the burrow of Princeton New Jersey 1974 entitled outdoor dining um does someone want to move that Michelle's moving that is there a second thank you Eve I mean thank you Mia sorry I can't see who I'm looking at thank you for the second okay does somebody want to summarize what this is and then we'll see if there's questions or comments thank you Jim yes Mr Mayor um as you know we have an outdoor dining ordinance that uh provides for or gives Provisions for restaurants to have um outdoor seating on our sidewalks um we did not have and still do not have jurisdiction over uh State and um County RightWay however we are extremely close to getting that uh approval for Nassau Street uh through a New Jersey do occupancy permit and uh we want to be prepared to be able to issue permits for outdoor license uh outdoor dining licenses uh on Nassau Street as soon as that uh approval comes in from the from the state of New Jersey Department of Transportation um this uh ordinance Amendment will uh remove the Restriction that was in the prior amendment that stated that uh State and um County RightWay were not included in our outdoor dining ordinance simply adds it back in when uh we receive permission thank you very much uh Eve I'd just like to take a moment to thank Jim who's here and uh our uh Municipal engineer Dean Stockton who is not here because this has been an incredible uh labor with many many many meetings uh with state do and just my uh commendations to you and Dean for your perseverance and and such a good outcome so thank you very much any other Mia I think while we're giving thanks we have to thank councilwoman lambrose who really was the initiator of all of this outdoor dining and who has shephered this ordinance through thick and thin and um for whom we will all be grateful when it's summer and we're sitting out dining Outdoors yeah when it's when yeah when it's over and you know I yeah just was going to Echo the same thing it hasn't been easy uh to deal with the with the state um regulation that just kind of came up out of the clear blue sky so thank you uh again to the team and thanks me I appreciate it okay any other Council comments or questions all right thank you for the game changer in our downtown Corridor job well done thank you anybody in the audience have a comment on this here in the room all right see no comments in the room anybody on Zoom have a comment or question on this all right seeing No Hands raised I'll close the public hearing and this is a roll call vote Miss Peron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss saxs yes Miss froga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you ordinance 202 24-40 ordinance of the mayor and counsil of the municipality of Princeton concerning salaries and compensation of certain Personnel of the municipality of Princeton is there a motion on that thank you Eve ltis has got the second uh Bernie do you want to comment on this or sure mayor uh we make regular adjustments to this ordinance uh in this case uh there are some additions to job titles uh particularly planning and in zoning uh We've made some positions gender neutral in our ordinance and then we've also eliminated positions that no longer exist such as clinician so it really is just kind of some housekeeping and cleaning up as we move into 2025 thank you very much any Council questions or comments did did somebody move in I can't did I not ask for I I did yeah yeah right okay Sor sorry come on don't do that to me I sorry did you have a comment sorry I did have a comment I guess I was thinking about my comment and not paying attention um I just wanted to say that you know as the Mayors were up to the planning board and working on the code Review Committee um I just see firsthand every day how hard our zoning official Derek Bridger and uh our planning director uh Justin Lasco are working so I am really pleased to have introduced the positions of a planning assistant director and a zoning uh assistant uh officer it's sorely needed thank you for that any other question M yeah I would uh just like to thank my colleagues on the Personnel committee uh the chair Eve Neer gang and letia Fraga for having um for their hard work on uh fleshing out uh what these positions should be and they and they don't have the front row experience that David and I have of in code and un planning and seeing how desperately these are needed but they have um taken my word for it in personnel and um have been ex extraordinarily supportive of um the need for these positions and um it's not a moment too soon so okay any other Council comments or questions all right anybody in the room have a question comment all right no one in the room anyone on Zoom have a question or comment for this i' see none I'll close the public hearing and ask for a roll call vote please miss Peron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss sax yes Miss froga yes Mr nulan yes Carri thank you next up we have two ordinance introductions ordinance 2024413044 thank you Eve for the motion leighton's got the second roll call vote Miss Miss Peron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss Sachs yes Miss Fraga yes Mr nulan yes Carri thank you ordinance 202442 ordinance of the municipality of Princeton authorizing a tax exemption and payment in Lee of taxes pursuant to the long-term tax exemption law njsa 48201 uh concerning Block 3501 Lots 25 and 26 and block 3601 Lots 1516 and 17 and authorizing the execution of a financial agreement with HP 108 Stockton urban renewal LLC the public hearing will be December 19th 2024 thank you Leticia Leon's got the second roll call vote Miss pron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss saxs yes Miss Fraga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you all right now we have a set of resolutions 24349 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the execution of a memorandum of understanding with Mercer County in connection with existing school zone flasher equipment and related signage on Rosedale Road County Route 604 for the Johnson Park Elementary School Davis got the motion M has got the second any questions or comments no all in favor please say I I I I all right 24350 was removed so we go to 24351 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing a final change order in the amount of is this Aus that's a minus sorry this is rare yes I know I almost lightning strikes took my breath away in the uh change order in the amount of minus $ 56,3 one17 and authorizing a final payment of $16,728 78 resulting in a final contract amount of 3,958 81.9 and and release of performance bond number K 4444 361 for the improvements to Wither spr Street Phase 1 Nassau Street to Green Street to Earl asphalt company in the acceptance of a maintenance bond in the amount of $593,000 okay I mean you just got to like say wow okay sometimes the whole contract thing works once every 33 years okay all in favor please say I I I next up 24352 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of a bid contract to Earl Asal company for the Cherry Hill Road shared use bike path bid for 1, 1584637 Eve David's got the motion Eve's got the second questions or comments I I'll just say taketh with hande out with one hand and taketh back with the other well who knows what the final number will be David yeah I just want to comment uh as somebody who used to ride this road um it's a pretty steep hill and it's really hard for bicyclists to do it in the roadway so this is a terrific place to um have a side path have a shared side path I also want to um little speak a little bit more than is characteristic for me but the very first babysitter we hired when we moved to Princeton almost 40 years ago lived up on the Ridge and I was driving her home and commenting how gorgeous the neighborhood was and she said to me I hate it because it's too far for me to walk into town and the Hill's too steep for me to bike and my parents have to drive D me everywhere so there are actually people who live up there who want to be able to uh walk and bike into town and this makes it possible so thank you thanks David any other comments or questions all in favor please say I I 24 353 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of a bid contract to Black Rock Enterprises LLC for roadway improvements T Hune Road Improvement project from North Harrison Street to Grover Avenue for $85,200 15 Mia's got the motion who's leighton's got the second questions or comments I know we got state grants for a good portion of this one right Jim I forget almost three quarters yeah yeah okay no questions or comments all in favor say I I I I 24354 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of a bid contract to we drive you Inc for the operation and maintenance of the Princeton Transit service service in 2025 for an amount not to exceed information there'll be further contracts we have the buses coming in uh the you know EV buses mid mid year but this is to continue what we have currently just so you know in case it wasn't clear Jim I don't know if you want to elaborate more on that I just kind of sorry um I just was filling in that you know we have Nelson niggard we're working on further enhancing our our transit system um throughout the municipality uh this is really just continuation of the type of Route the route that we have today but it's also somewhat flexible if things change down the road but maybe you want to fill in a little bit better on than than I did yes that that is correct we drive you as willing to uh work with us to make changes as we need to see them done and um you will be seeing an a resolution um of uh accepting an award of $354,000 toward the acquisition of those EV um uh buses uh at your next meeting okay any other questions or comments all in favor please say I I I I 24355 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing a final change order in the amount of minus $1,794 12 and authorizing a final payment of $319,450 resulting in a final contract amount of $1,534 419 2 and the release of performance bond for the roadway resurfacing 2023 project to Earl asphalt company in acceptance of a maintenance bond in the amount of $232,800 the roads some of the highlights of this resurfacing project the uh wow um it's hard to remember last year because we're doing this year's right now uh ridg viw Road was one of them um um Washington Oaks uh um what is that main road over on through Washington Oaks uh was another one um I'll put a I'll put a list together um one of the things that we do want to do this year um is to provide council with a report from engineering of all of the projects that we have completed and and what the status is so I'll add in 2023 resurfacing to that list that would be great thank you so much and sorry to spring it on you any other questions or comments all right all in favor please say I I I 24 356 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton approving transfers in accordance with njsa 44-58 current fund and affordable housing fund Appropriations thank you David is there a second thank you Lon questions or comments all right all in favor please say I I 24 357 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing payment and installments of delinquent property taxes for Block 10001 lot 18 is there a motion on that Davis got the motion Mia has got the second questions or comments okay David yeah I don't know if again I should add the question beforehand but how often do we see this kind of I I don't remember having an installment payment plan in in a long time I think it's the first one since I've been here this was a very odd situation that arose where we learned of in reers by some other means that the taxes were not properly being charged to this uh resident and the resident said well I can't just pay this so trying to do the right thing we've made it uh installment payment so that the resident could pay off the okay the money over time that's why but it is very fact specific in this in this case thanks okay any other questions all right all in favor please say I I I 24 358 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton calling on state leaders to swiftly enact legislation to permit on online news platforms to qualify as legal newspapers for the purpose of publishing legal notices Mia's got the motion Michelle's got the second questions or comments since newspapers are fading quickly it kind of makes sense that they you be allowed to use something else e i I just wanted to ask uh U me I know that you're kind of in touch on this one maybe more than I am is there any do you have any information on what I don't mean to Spring this on you do do you have any information on what might be happening at the state level uh on this I think we just there's legislation that's been proposed and and we're supporting um I mean this is a no-brainer it's overdue um you know I mean if we really want the public to know what's happening they need to know what's happening in the fora that they're that is accessible to them and you know especially in you know in the last two weeks most of a large swap February where print newspapers have been um you know uh discontinued so um to the point of transparency and and letting the public know um when meetings are held and and we really need for this to be available online and do you think that'll get done this year or highly are you asking me what the possibilities are for the New Jersey state legislature to move forward on things that we think are important I'm going to say no [Laughter] comment any other questions or comments all right all in favor please say I I I next up 24360 resolution of the mayor and Council of the municipality of Princeton in the county of Mercer New Jersey approving a Redevelopment agreement with HP 108 stock in urban renewal LLC concerning a Redevelopment project undertaken pursuant to the Redevelopment plan for Princeton Theological Seminary properties uh sorry Leticia had a motion Leighton had the second questions or comments all right seeing none all in favor please say I I I 24361 resolution of the mayor and Council of the municipality of Princeton in the county of Mercer New Jersey approving the application by hp108 stockt in urban renewal LLC submitted in connection with the Redevelopment project undertaken pursuant to the Redevelopment plan for Princeton Theological Seminary properties is there a motion Leticia has got the motion leighton's got the second questions or comments all right seeing none all in favor please say I I I I next up is the consent agenda three item items if no one needs one of those discussed someone can move it David's moving the consent agenda Michelle's seconding it all in favor please say I I I David I move to adjourn oh SC there a second I thank you very much all in favor say I hi all right we done good night goodbye thank you