here we go okay welcome everybody it is February 12th 2024 this is a meeting of the mayor and Council of Princeton New Jersey and could we start with the meeting statement please 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 Princeton's meeting portal and advance of the meeting thank you very much David's going to do the land acknowledgement for us tonight We Gather today on the land of the Lenny Lenape as members of the Princeton Community we aspire to show appreciation respect and concern for All Peoples and our environment we honor the Lenape and other indigenous caretakers of these lands and Waters the elders who lived here before the indigenous today and the generations to come thank you we have a roll call please miss Peron lambrose here miss Neer gang here Mr Cohen here miss sax here miss froga here Mr nulan here Maya fra here you have Quorum thank you if you'd like to rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance 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 thank you okay I believe there's one Amendment to the agenda tonight and I believe that's going to be resolution 2447 which we are going to postpone so just so people are aware of that when we get to that all right next up on the agenda we have a proclamation that we are going to read jointly so just give a second as we pass the proclamation from one to the other as we hit all the whereases lon will start us off evening thank you good evening and thank you mayor this Proclamation is from the office of the mayor Municipality of Princeton Proclamation for Muslim heritage month January 2024 whereas on April 26th 2023 Governor Phil Murphy signed a joint resolution by the Senate and general assembly of the state of New Jersey designating the month of January each year as Muslim heritage month and whereas Princeton is proud to recognize the contributions of the Muslim American community that plays an important role in enriching the unique character of our community and whereas Muslims are the world's second largest religious group practicing the Islamic faith with 1.9 billion followers representing approximately 25% of the world's population there are about 3.45 million Muslims in the United States from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds the Muslim Community represents 1.1% of the population in the United States and whereas Muslims first arrived in North America along with enslaved Africans whom historians estimate 30% were Muslim their Islamic beliefs and practices contributed in numerous ways to the founding of our nation including courageous and dedicated military service in every major war including the American Revolutionary War and oops whereas Muslims have made significant contributions throughout history including notable achievements in philosophy mathematics chemistry physics astronomy medicine music architecture literature and the Arts their philanthropy humanitarianism civic responsibility and culture help enrich the United States socially economically and historically and whereas Muslims have made significant contributions throughout history including notable achievements oh I'm reading the wrong one oh sorry whereas there are nearly 300,000 Muslim Americans in New Jersey representing one of the largest Muslim American communities in the United States their contributions help fortify and strengthen the economy and diversity of the people in our state and local communities and sorry whereas the municipality of Princeton supports the rights of all its residents and calls Upon Our Community to eliminate prejudice and bigotry everywhere Princeton was the first municipality in the state to pass a resolution to condemn in com Inc combat Islamic phobia we celebrate the great diversity of all our citizens and extend the promise of our country to all now therefore I Mark Freda mayor of the municipality of Princeton County of Mercer state of New Jersey on behalf of the entire governing body do here do hereby recognize the month of January as Muslim heritage month thank you very much I think we have a couple comments and let me [Applause] just asum I'm am ha Mia a junior at Princeton High School I would first like to thank the township of Princeton the mayor of prin Mark fra and the Muslim Community of Princeton for making this Proclamation possible January being declared Muslim Heritage Month marks an important and thoughtful milestone in Princeton's Muslim Community of which I am proud to call myself a member growing up in Princeton I have been surrounded by an amazing group of women and men who have guided me to become not only a better Muslim but a better member of this community the proclamation mentions how long there has been Muslim presence in the United States for centuries Muslims have included themselves in the community working hard to make sure that the USA is a safe place for people of all different faiths races gender and more this Proclamation gives us visibility and gives a community and incentive to engage as Citizens so our point of view is relevant and important in the Quran Allah says is the reward of goodness anything but goodness as a member of Muslim population in Princeton I would like to reward this goodness by continue to work to make Princeton a better place for people of all faiths and beliefs thank you [Applause] hi everyone my name is nabas Sharif I'm a local physician in the community I'm an allergist at with pen medicine Becker Ian and Allergy I live with my family in the Autumn Hill Reserve area with my husband and my three little children soon to be four any day now and the oldest just turned five um I'm also the Interfaith chair of the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton located in West Windsor and we've had the honor of Hosting mayor Freda there at many of our events so I want to thank mayor Freda I want to thank the township Council for supporting this really important Proclamation for Muslim Heritage Month um it's been a really hard time for Muslims with the rise of islamophobia lately and so it's really important in this time to really recognize the contributions of Muslims um to this country and as written in the proclamation and as many people don't know Muslims really have been a part of this nation's fabric from before its founding even and have been part of the rise of this nation um with every step every step along the way including you know even the Civil Rights Movement um and more recently even in local politics and Civic engagement it's it's really a a huge part of our faith um so I look forward to raising my children in this Township where their identity where their Heritage is going to be not only recognized but celebrated because as we know inclusivity and recognition really just enhances the fabric and the richness of the entire Community as a whole so thank you so much really appreciate the time and thank you again mayor Freda thank you very much good evening my name is uh thein Tav I'm an assistant professor of religious studies and Islamic Studies at Princeton University I want to commend the town of Princeton for this important step to recognize not only the rich and complex Heritage of Islam and Muslim societies but also the centrality of Islam and Muslims to the past and present of this country but as we commemorate the proclamation of Muslim heritage month we must remember the significance of Palestine to Muslim life and Heritage one cannot possibly celebrate Muslim Heritage anywhere today without highlighting the most staggering and violent example of Oppression of Muslim and Arab life in the world today the ongoing genocide of the people of Palestine this is especially the case here given the direct role of the United States in authorizing supporting and funding this genocide the heritage of any Community cannot be recognized without recognizing the injustices that its people suffer from grieve for and constantly confront if we're indeed serious about this laudable goal of respecting and cherishing Muslim life the least we can do is raise our voice against the daily Erasure of Muslim life and call for an immediate ceasefire to the state of Israel's ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine thank [Applause] you good evening or amum which is the traditional Islamic greeting which means peace I want to thank Princeton's mayor Freda and Council for this wonderful Proclamation for Muslim Heritage Month in January at a time when islamophobia in our country and state is in at an all-time high and I have friends reaching out to me from different towns across New Jersey sharing that it has been difficult to get their Mayors to issue a Muslim Heritage Month proclamation in their towns and even getting their local councils to pass a resolution to condemn and combat islamophobia has been tremendously difficult I'm truly grateful to our leadership's elected officials for being inclusive of the Muslim Community in December with the passage of the resolution to condemn and combat islamophobia the first in the state Princeton became the first to pass in the state of New Jersey and probably the country as well and in January with the proclamation acknowledging Muslim heritage month I'm truly grateful to live in a town that values diversity and believes in being inclusive of the divers of of of all of its diverse communities thank you so much thank [Applause] you okay thank you all for that uh the next item on our agenda is a presentation uh Bloom local spring campaign and Michelle you going to kick us off on that thank you uh thank you may um I'm really excited about this collaboration this is really a great example of the town and the um experience princ in the business Community coming together and working together and to bring a lot of Community Partners uh together so I'm really excited about this presentation I just I want to thank and acknowledge uh my colleague uh councilman Leon nulan uh for his uh wonderful ideas about making a kindness campaign and our staff about making more of a cleanliness and um taking ownership of the uh the outdoors more so um pulling all that together we have a wonderful uh presentation tonight from experience Princeton's marketing arm which is called um same brain and Martha Smith will be doing the presentation tonight called Bloom local so uh with that I'd like to welcome Martha over uh she's zooming in from elsewhere from Chicago I believe so welcome are we able to put Bloom local on the uh yeah she's yeah Martha thank you she should be able to [Music] speak okay they're uh working on this in the back room again no I know they're trying to fix it that's why Raina got up and went in the back to talk to Adam to fix it I'm sorry there's no way let her know now Martha if you can hear us we we know you're talking or we're talking and we're trying to I'm going I'm actually in the office so I'm going to go to a different room and we're going to get it all straightened out but you should be able to share your screen now okay thank you let me see I can he my screen I have you can hear me now okay do we have this fixed is that the yes it's sharing okay so we're that yeah it's sharing so just give me two seconds to go back into the room okay and okay and let's turn the volume down it was up like at 77 we can bring it back down to it went a 77 11 out of 10 I'm a little behind hey Isaac Reena is trying to figure this out okay Martha just one sec sorry hey Adam can we just turn the volume down a little bit sorry the volume still she's still coming through like Extremely Loud oh to loud okay yeah can we just turn that down a little bit one of those kns so I can hear her somehow you muted it did you okay why don't we why don't we try to get now Martha can you hear me I can hear you hey Isa there me you have any yeah Adam Arena are you able to talk to Martha see if we can hear her okay can you guys hear me now barely all right now now we can hardly hear her yeah if it yeah if it doesn't work Isaac's here present so to have him do yeah yes maybe so there we go oh I hear me we have liftoff Martha go ahead okay Rea Rea Rea say she can hear me yeah we can hear you um I'm gonna hang up on Isaac I think I'm on the phone with him go ahead okay I was getting Echo from Isaac but uh I think you can hear me in the room I hope this is true it is let's go ahead Martha oh I can hear me too okay okay guys thank you for your patience um at some point only Raina could hear me and I felt like I was her imaginary friend or something so yeah I appreciate your patience um let me see here if you are seeing the screen that says Bloom local please wave a hand in the air bless wonderful wonderful okay great thank you guys uh for your patience and your kindness uh appropriate that we were talking about a kindness campaign somewhat here um well I am excited to finally present tonight uh Bloom local which was a spring campaign for Princeton uh as I think Michelle teed up as I heard uh in a Tenny fashion through Isaac's telephone um we've working with experienced Princeton and the municipality and local businesses Etc uh to present sort of a cohesive campaign um for for different areas so we had gift local for the winter we had dine local coming up right around the corner and this is Bloom local so I promise not to do too much reading for you um but you will hear this in my MTH leis voice uh so spring and our step priston comes back to life in the spring the weather is warmer flowers are unfurling lime green leaves are clothing bare branches people are eager to be out again stores and restaurants greet more customers and new seasonal attractions entice both local residents and out of town visitors to celebrate this time of year we'll turn Princeton into a Bloom Town from March to may we unite our efforts under the campaign Bloom local this memorable phrase brings to mind Bloom where you are planted which means be your best self right now where you are and ties into our focus on local living pride in the appearance of your community and showing kindness to those you share the feelings we want to create with this campaign civic pride taking good care of the place we call home kindness thinking of how our actions affect others Community Pride and participation look at everything we can accomplish when we work together connectedness among local government Community organizations and businesses in Princeton and most to the point I suppose uh Joy fun warmth comfort and Trust what this would look like for the municipality it would look like broader messaging uh among your Communications can adopt slogans like Bloom local help Princeton streets bloom or businesses blooming and related content in social media we' like to recognize the Municipal Employees who keep our streets clean and raise awareness about all the work we already do regarding trash collection cleaning sidewalks we're thinking about a spring pH contest to ask members of the community to submit photos Springtime in Princeton and then there'd also be a community vote on the winner uh pitching a story to press I I get my tap into my mailbox every morning I know um but hiring professional photographers to go around and cover some of the events in marketing share compelling visuals with a press release a video interview series to catch up with Princeton's unsung heroes people on the street style asking how will you bloom this spring and to reassess signage to look around our our immediate environment and explore Alternatives that are more neighborly uh one example of this could be the walk your wheels campaign uh I think right now when we visited October uh there were signs that said like it's the law walk your wheels but recasting things like that in a more neighborly way so walk your wheels for safer sidewalks or um you know having imagery of like seniors and strollers and things like that uh you work with B groups part of the beauty of this campaign is that it doesn't have to necessarily cost a dime for the biggest impact um April as Craig at the municipality wisely pointed out to me was National volunteer month this would be a good time to activate local schools and become part of their service projects for the month we could connect with places like brandy wine or other senior centers to be inclusive of senior citizens send them out with students for truly heartwarming pictures um Maybe the Boy Scouts or girl scouts and of course because of Bloom local I thought a daisy troop volunteers could wear 3x3 buttons made by experienced Princeton that say Bloom local for both visibility and a tangible reminder of their work and then after the cleanup have signs showing Bloom local volunteers of our professional photographer from earlier in special locations especially places where people often liter to deter them from messing up something that community members work hard for other planned Outreach for Bloom local local businesses naturally uh local historians or Architects could have a hand in this sustainable Princeton churches Garden clubs Mercer County uh for prescription disposal I I know that a lot of uh good spring cleaning efforts start with like a donation Drive prescription pickup and bike tuning or something like that um I know that uh Prince police department has a a bin to drop it in but having like a mobile unit go out and do this would keep things out of the drinking water and help people uh stay healthy uh Goodwill Salvation Army and vets are something equivalent uh to have a Big Spring donation drive for clothing Furniture Etc um and of course my faves the Arts Community uh pulling in the Arts Council the Princeton makes artist Cooperative uh local dancers musicians and theater performers it's interesting to imagine like right of spring being performed in Palmer Square um the visual here is actually a mural that was at princess Shopping Center done by the Arts Council of princes that falls thematically in that kind of Bloom local effort um for events and branding having Bloom local events having local experts speak on growth and change in Princeton as well as what upcoming projects are going to beautify the area I know Bob hillier's studio is amazing and has kind of a sneak peek into what's the future of person could look like this would be key too finding out about already in The Works Spring themed or at least spring timed local events we could pinch co-branding to them to expand expand the bloom local reach and also Elevate their Communications we could work with streetscapes local florist or landscapers to get sponsored locations with signs uh this bed brought to you by uh Bloom local banners up and down the streets you've probably seen these around uh in their gift local and dine local iteration uh finally there could be tie-ins with fun giveaways like branded seed packets uh for people Bloom local Bloom very local I suppose their own yard um present people with pots of blooming daffodil as a trophy for winning that best community photo for a group having most volunteers Etc and then of course uh there's always a nerdy aspect to this too um measuring the results you could uh find out if we've made a change or made an impact we could count the number of trucks filled with Community donations pounds of prescriptions collected number of bikes tuned up as part of a bloom local campaign the number of community cleanup volunteers or volunteer teams activated in April um the number of Bloom locals Affiliated spring events or performances businesses are miles of street that we window wash or power wash flowers or flower beds planted um we can measure the reach of social media posts with a bloom local hashtag um and the window for this I think could be March 19th to May 26 that's the 2024 spring equinox to the day before Memorial Day a nice big chunk of spring um and and then finally the estimated monetary value of all the work done on the streets um for the businesses in the restaurants Etc all right that's what I have to present for Bloom local um I think one thing that's really exciting about this is that it could have participation from all groups anywhere um I think it also inspires ideas in others uh thinking about how you could bloom local personally and and how you can bring things along to make real tangible visible instant differences in the community all right I can't guarantee that I can hear you but but uh hopefully Isaac can help field questions if needed thank you Martha that was great I think we we all were able to hear um I wanted to just U mention a couple of things so the the the main uh focus is really tonight to just reach out and let all of my colleagues know and the community know this is real Grassroots type of effort um and it's a lowbudget type of effort as well but what it really is going to take is a lot of volunteer time so it's reaching out like I have the shade tree commission that Amia is on to and the um pedestrian bike advisory committee so those are two commissions and committees I can work with to bring them into this um it's the time of porchfest it happens to be the same time as Arbor Day so there's a lot of things already happening that that we can tie into and I know that my colleagues have other various um events and um committees that you're working with that may also tie in so we just thought we'd do just maybe a little brainstorming just go around and I also really need to give a shout out to Craig dinwoody who is our communications director who's spearheading this and coordinating all of this uh effort there's a lot can do with social media um so want to get your feedback and your ideas thank you okay thank you David yeah in the spirit of involving uh bcc's I think it would be wonderful to and I'll ask the flood and storm Water Commission if they'd like to install a rain Garden somewhere if we can find a spot because you know it really works with the theme and uh I think we need more promotion of that uh Green Storm you know Green infrastructure okay Eve uh thank you Martha uh Isaac Michelle uh for this I think this is uh uh a really exciting project and I hope that will uh tie in to um you know other events that are are happening already locally uh April is the month that that hosts Earth Day uh The Watershed has its stream cleanups uh then uh scheduled for April 13th someplace really trashy but we don't know where yet so if you see a lot of trash somewhere please let me know um also I think um I went out um just a a week or two ago with a woman who contacted me because she was on her own kind of Mission to clean up her neighborhood and we went in the mount Lucas area and did a walk and picked up a bunch of trash that mostly seem to be coming from people throwing thing out things out of wind out of their car windows um so that's something I'm not sure what the solution to that is but if anybody has any uh ideas I would love to take that on and I hope that we can reach out as this uh you know kind of indicates to to various uh parts of the community maybe the entire Community to have everybody go out sometime during this period and do a walk in their neighborhood or another neighborhood and and pick up some trash and just I want to just say from the environmental side that you know trash by the side of the road often ends up going into our waterways you know things roll downhill so that bottle of you know uh soda that gets tossed out the window or a can of soda more likely you know gets filled up with various things and then ends up in one of our our waterways and that is you know the water we rely on so it's not just aesthetic the Aesthetics are important too but it's also a real uh step towards a healthier environment so I'd love to tie all of those things in so thank you thank you other waon yeah I just want to um thank Michelle for the shout out and I I want to commend Craig Den Woody and uh the administrative team Bernie and and his through our clerk Raina everybody who you know works in the background on uh facilitating you know the great ideas that we we as Council people have but this is really uh a campaign about kindness It's about what can we do to build community and I think a lot of people just kind of take for granted that you know we here in Princeton like said through through some sort of magic that things happen it doesn't sometimes you have to plant seeds so that people can come together here you have a kindness campaign a campaign that can bring young people a campaign that can bring old people a campaign that can bring in our business partners a campaign that can bring in those people who have different modes of transportation to get around town you know a campaign that can combine various elements of government sustainable Princeton the shade tree commission maybe as part of this Taylor AER can uh come to a neighborhood and plant a tree if that's what is needed in the neighborhood so you know if if we can just sometimes have a vision and stay creative and and and look for areas to build community uh and and to help people engage uh that I think is a very necessary and essential part of what we do as elected officials and um this will work if we get volunteers and that's the effort you know to get people to volunteer for good stuff and to stay in the game so um you know we welcome people to be a part of Bloom local uh it's that time of year Springtime people should be feeling good and uh this is something to be to feel good about and again thank you to Craig to Michelle to team Bernie Tera to the staff that help put this together and also thanks to the young lady who made this presentation today thank you thanks Le other okay all right so m Michelle do you just need like we we all Buy in or what what do we need here yeah Buy in and um and get you know get involved think about the partners the Community Partners that you all work with I mean we all have so much of a large Network and this is just really it's a Grassroots effort you know it's it's really not a high budget type of thing it's just getting people involved and getting excited so I'm really um I was just thrilled to be able to present it tonight and get the word out okay I think uh I think we're all in general agreement clean up is good spring Bloom is good good okay i' like to talk about spring we we're on board Martha thank you thanks Martha okay next up our presentations so as usual we'll start with council members any Council presentations reports Michelle well speaking of spring I I'd love this uh this announcement is that we are uh looking at the Recreation Commission uh the recreation department is looking to um open up the summer applications for uh summer employment opportunities you can go to princ and recreation.org uh if you um have any uh young students or anyone that's interested in applying uh so it's always fun to be able to make that announcement in the middle of February uh the only other things I just wanted to um just bring everyone up to speed we are the Recreation Commission is moving forward setting up a subcommittee to continue the work on uh Community Park South uh to start to look at priorities and how this project could be tackled maybe in various fa phases um and to talk about what the priorities are because obviously we can't do it all um and we can't do it all at once once we have um some uh feedback the Recreation Commission will make their um their their you know ideas known and then looking towards um working with engineering to create the RFP process for the next phase that's it thanks thank you Leticia did you have your hand up oh s other Council announcements or reports or anything okay anything from the staff here yes uh thank you Mr Mayor um and engineering wants to report a little bit about the developments in the cell communications field um if you recall we had a meeting in May of last year where Verizon and crown castle appeared to discuss um the coverage uh in Princeton um I'm happy to report that they listened um they were uh cowed when they were here and they walked away and decided to work together um and I'll just give a few statistics since that meeting um we have approved 38 um installations of new uh or replacement or um um swapping out upgrading of uh existing facilities um 26 of the 38 of them are actually existing a replacement of polls that are going to be upgraded um we have 60 of those installations currently in the review process um you will be seeing site license agreements um come in front of council for approval to um take care of these upgrades uh I do have some graphics but I noticed that the screen's not working um I do it was okay um if Adam could oh he has thank you you it's kind of hard when you're not facing the screen so if you recall in May and I don't see it Adam it's table 2 HDMI it's not showing up on your screens is it we're we're happy to just listen Okay um our Police Department drives around the community of course all the time and uh while they're driving around they're able to detect the level of signals that they're um they're getting in their own vehicles um and if you recall there was a a map that was shown in May that had a lot of orange and red um red being areas of almost no service orange being a little bit of service and then green some green areas um in the beginning of February this year um a lot of the orange has disappeared and um which is just indicative of the fact that they are upgrading their equipment um we still have some pockets of poor service areas particularly up up along the ridge um but um Verizon is putting in some new facilities on Drake's Corner Road and on Bogart Court um in the pretty Brook area we're going to be seeing some new small cell antennas put up and I'll remind everybody that these small cells they're just um most of them out in the uh the Township area in the rural areas they wooden poles with what looks like a large can on top um those are the the small cell antennas um we've already got a couple of them that have come online um one of them was at Walnut and guo um if you drive by uh you may not notice it did I do something wrong yeah so anyway the I mean the big the the whole point of this is that we're working very closely with Verizon and crown castle inciting these in the right locations to enhance the services and and make the community safer so that they have uh access to um cell service so terrific glad there actually some progress thank you Jim and we have two more updates Adam we don't need that anymore perfect timing can I can just make a a a brief uh thank you Jim in particular I mean all of engineering but I know how hard you have worked on this and really that that meeting where we had so many residents come in and I vividly remember the map the police scanner map and that was just it was like it was staged because people went in and said I live here and I don't have self service I live here and I don't have self service and then there was the map showing there was no self service so so this is really exciting and I know it's been a lot of work and I just want to express our appreciation uh for you know for for all of that so really thank you I think the important point is that Verizon lten going to have both Verizon and T-Mobile on them instead of having multiple polls around the community um they're working together to have either one antenna the new technology is one antenna with each of the providers having connections within the antenna in some cases they'll have two antennas on the same poll thank you can I Dean can I just interrup and thank you Jim that's a great news um the bad news is I just uh noticed that uh some people maybe are not able to hear on the zoom link did we know that that the zoom isn't working just to let Adam know okay the zoom okay there go ahead di go ahead there thank you mayor uh two more updates from the engineering department uh first is that we have successfully been awarded a Federal grant through the US Department of Agriculture to expand um our food scrap recycling program uh we had put in an application through this program last year and just recently heard that um we have been awarded the grant it will start in on June 1st and uh the proposed project is to site 10 additional food scrap recycling drop off locations throughout Princeton um to date since we started the program on October 27th we have recycled over 5 tons of residential food scraps so it's pretty exciting that we can move ahead with that uh the other update to give is more of an announcement and that is uh we will be having a neighborhood meeting prior to the start of construction on Witherspoon phase 3 improvements that meeting will take place here in this room on on Tuesday February 20th at 6:00 p.m. we have distributed notices to businesses and residents in both English and Spanish uh to the community and so just as a reminder wither spoon face three will take place from Lee Avenue down to valley so it will directly impact access to our parking lot fire police um and we are we have coordin ated with those groups to make sure that they will still be able to pass through during construction so everybody everybody is invited to attend that meeting and learn more about um the specifics of the project we do have an opportunity down in this area we will be building a demonstration rain Garden um out in front of our parking lot here we're working with sustainable Princeton uh to put in some interpretive signage to educate people up about that rain garden and um we've started preliminary conversations with Community Park Elementary School to have the students assist us with putting the plants in the rain Garden so it's kind of exciting it's really it's our first big project to show Green infrastructure to the community on a municiple um piece of land great y maybe we can get some of the flooded storm committee members to participate too definitely thank you yeah and I also just wanted to mention in case others haven't heard I privy as a participant in the food waste recycling program um to Jim's update emails and in addition to the success of the volume that were're that we've recycled there's been almost 0% uh contamination so it really I I just feel better and better about this approach you know it's so much more coste effective having residents bring the the waste to these Central locations if we can have more of them it will be more convenient um but you really end up having participants who are invested in the success of the program self- selecting and um you know it just works so much better that way so I I really uh want to just shout out to the the folks who' have worked on putting that together I just want to throw in another advantage of this is that it's free for all the participants so it is you know we're always keeping our eye on Equity so this is something that anyone can participate in so including residents of our rental housing uh properties which they could not participate if it were curbside so okay thank you any other staff announcements presentations okay Council last shot anything else terrific okay uh Isaac I think you are up next sir good evening your honor I was scared to ask if this is working uh but I think it is so uh good to be here uh with you tonight uh I know we're getting late in the hour and uh I'll try to keep my comments brief uh as you know i' like to share what we've been working on the last 30 days uh what we have planned uh for the next 30 days and then one big item uh to share with you so with that uh in the last 30 days uh we've been providing guidance uh to owners of vacant properties um attempting to match them with prospects um and to enhance the business mix in Princeton um so as you imagine uh it's very sensitive work when we're talking about a building that's in transition um but it's an important role uh that the organization is playing and I hope uh we'll have more to report on that especially as we score some wins uh in the month that ahead uh months ahead that is uh our website directory uh is getting closer to completion uh with many of the categories finalized I would encourage people uh to visit and view at experience Princeton uh.org we're at about the 70% completion Mark uh But continuing to chip away at that I received a question from the administrator uh today about how many gift cards we've sold uh the answer is $4,185 uh to date uh that's since October last year um we've also seen $572 667 redeemed uh at local participating businesses of which there's 62 um the banners uh for restaurant week uh were designed uh actually by same brain uh who you heard from earlier uh and a special thank you uh especially uh to Dan and the team with DPW uh for assisting in that installation uh they've been really exceptional in all of our work with them uh we have a wonderful crew of workers there and a special thank you um and finally our gift and sponsorship policy was approved by the board at our last meeting and this will help to guide uh future actions when experien Princeton is asked to sponsor activities of other organizations so what are we working on in the next 30 days as we speak we are finalizing the Main Street New Jersey uh application uh for Princeton um it's a fairly complex undertaking I already probably have about 60 hours invested in it and uh several more before we complete but what will this do it'll give us access along with the 25 other current Main Street communities to technical assistance uh from the Department of Community Affairs but also through the Main Street America Network um and there's also opportunities in the future to apply for Grants but this is not a grant it's a community designation and we will bring forward the resolution and look forward uh to your review and hopeful approval of that we have our next experience Princeton meet up uh Fe 29th 4 P p.m. at the art on hulfish the RSVPs are open uh and our experienced Princeton Restaurant Week is from March 2nd day uh you can see the poster here uh they'll be distributed uh throughout Town we've also uh printed 5,000 of the cards the rack cards uh to hand out to people in advance um and some of the places I suppose I should hold it up when I talk about it some of the Places You'll expect to see us are on the front page uh of the Star Ledger uh coming weeks on the screen of the garden theater and of course all throughout local media uh including with uh tap into uh town topics Princeton magazine Princeton monthly and a number of others uh it's our most comprehensive campaign to date and it's largely supported uh by the sponsors uh who have given three times the amount that we raised in sponsorships last year so everything's shaping up to be a big success but the biggest part will be your help and others uh getting the word out uh and last but not least um our uh streetscapes team is going to be working to refresh the planting beds on Nassau Street uh that we started work on last fall especially as the weather improves um and we're preparing for a board training uh with a nationally recognized expert on March 12th uh which we're looking forward to so lastly the big item that I'd like to share with you tonight is this experience Princeton has been selected to present a 90minut to 3our presentation uh Deep dive set as it's called at the main street now conference in Birmingham Alabama uh we're one of about 120 uh sessions that will be presented this is the largest gathering of downtown revitalization Professionals in the country each year uh so it's a big honor uh joining me on the panel uh will be Marina Rubina uh who many of you know uh and also two other uh folks from New Jersey with a special connection to the topic um in the topic we'll deal with mental health uh as it relates to downtown revitalization uh which should be very interesting um so uh just to note that the conference starts in 83 days and five hours uh not that we're keeping track but really it's a great honor almost in our inaugural year uh to be selected and highlighted at this Premier event with that that's my report Isaac thanks go ahead sorry um I think that this is okay to say at the last uh last experience Princeton uh well at the restaurant Week kickoff you talked about an incentive for the and I just think maybe that should get mentioned if unless I'm throwing your cover in which case no not at all not at all uh your your honor uh reference was made to our Meetup uh which is open to the public so anything we say there can be shared we encourage it um but the council member was kind to point out the fact uh between now and uh as long as the funds uh to support it uh are available uh we're offering a one $1 bonus for every $2 of gift cards people buy up to $200 uh you can buy a gift card receive a $100 bonus uh two gift cards per person so I'll let you do the math and I'm pleased to report um that we have uh right in the neighborhood of about $112,000 of bonus funds still available uh but we've sold more gift cards since launching that in the last week um than almost month or two prior so uh and once that hits the Star Ledger all bets are off bonus will be gone in probably minutes uh but thank you for bringing that up Isaac thanks and that's great hearing about the uh that you'll be presenting and others will be presenting with you I have your honor for you ISAC um uh I'm so I'm intrigued at about the connection I'm curious about the connection between mental health and downtown revitalization I mean I know there's Chicken Soup for the Soul but beyond that um what is that just your panel or that's the theme of the whole conference and what is can you flush that out um I'd love to and I actually have a prop if you don't mind if I could grab it real quick sure um so this is a copy of the book uh the motivational interviewing path to personal change uh WR written by another New Jersey resident Dr Michelle drapkin um who's both a colleague and a friend uh who I encountered through the work so ours is not the theme of the entire conference uh but we do feed in uh to one of the conference themes which I believe deals with inclusion and resilience uh something to that effect um but uh What i' uh commend to you is that about 2,000 people attend this conference many of them are directors like myself but board members public officials others attend the conference as well in fact I believe there's a discounted rate for public officials to attend which might be of interest and worth looking into uh for anyone who would like to be there um but what we're going to go through through uh is an approach that really puts mental health uh at the Forefront of the work that professional staff are doing but also the people who support those staff members such as board members elected officials and others um and I think it's a very timely and relevant topic I think that's one of the reasons they selected it and for me uh it's really been a personal passion for many years now uh bringing this mental health awareness uh to the work that we do day in and day out because we both need to refer to ourselves um and how we can bring our best self to the work but we need to be sensitive that we're often operating an environment that's informed by trauma uh and how can we interact with uh people who may be going through a traumatic situation uh in an empathetic and constructive and supportive manner thank you Isaac you're welcome thank you your honor okay next up on the agenda are comments from the public for items not on the agenda just come up state your name your address and the wicked three minute limit but okay uh Wilma Solomon 41 TR place um first of all I really want to thank council president Sachs and members Peron lambrose and Neer gang and maybe there were others who negotiated uh with Princeton University and part of that of course was funding for rental assistance emergency housing and higher education scholarship and um so thank you so much so needed and I hope that the relevant funds will help to keep our more vulnerable residents right here in Princeton so last month I spoke about the racial Equity impact assessment toolkit uh that was presented and supported by Council most of you uh were involved in December of 2020 and um the toolkit was the operational followup to your resolution declaring racism as a Public Health crisis so this toolkit will provide a lens through which proposed or existing implementation of budgets programs activities policies guidelines projects or procedures can be examined for their impact on different racial and ethnic groups the goal is to prevent structural and institutional anti-black racism and to minimize adverse consequences to historically marginal ized communities and therefore addressing long-standing inequities in Princeton members of this Council described the toolkit as quote very necessary that it will quote provide incredible value in making decisions to ensure equity and that it really touches on everything at that meeting over three years ago three steps were identified regarding the toolkit these were to provide Municipal staff with training on implicit and unconscious bias something that David really brought up how important that was initially to have members of the Civil Rights Commission subcommittee that drafted the toolkit make presentations to department heads and then to create a plan and do a pilot study with one Department to see what modifications might be needed in the toolkit this would be followed by us of the toolkit throughout the municipality including on boards and commissions whose members also would receive training with the large list of resources that exist in this document along with the commitment of the council members the expertise of the former Civil Rights Commission subcommittee that put this together and others in in community I am hopeful that implementation of this toolkit will be a reality this year thank you um want to say one little thing about the presentation on Bloom Princeton I noticed that an Outreach it said churches so maybe some of us don't think of churches as a generic term so I would offer congregations religious groups religious institutions or something else like that thanks thank you woman thank you okay any other comments from the public for anything not on the agenda in the room all right Adam do we have anybody on Zoom that has a hand up all right seeing no hands up and no one else in the room we'll close that part of the meeting and we have two sets of minutes to approve November 27th a regular meeting and a Clos session on December 5th both of last year if someone wants to move thank you Eve uh is there a second thank you David all in okay sorry any questions or comments on either one of those no all right all in favor please say I I okay my agenda next is a work session but I don't believe we're having a work session tonight right okay sorry right we're not right no yeah I know it's on mine for some reason works whatever you'd like it's whatever I like okay all right I got to run out and buy a lottery ticket so I can retire tomorrow uh okay ordinance we have public hearing on ordinance 20 24-4 an ordinance authorizing the lease of a portion of the community park south tennis facility for a public purpose to the Princeton tennis program pursuant to the local land lands and Building Law njsa 42-14 C and njsa 4A 12-15 I is there a motion thank you David leighton's got the second any um any Council questions if I may I'm sorry that's a good thank you thank you um I just want to uh mention that uh this has been a longstanding relationship with princeon tennis program it's really um an important essential uh group and uh they do a lot of good in terms of managing and bringing the community there to play tennis it's really helpful for the recreation Department from a staffing standpoint and also from a maintenance standpoint we are um extending this only for a year and then a year at a time after that so to give us the flexibility and we're also um only extending it to 12 courts to allow for three courts to be converted to pickle ball on an ongoing basis um other than that there was an increase in terms of the um commitment to help with maintenance it hadn't been increased in many years um so I just like to thank the recreation uh Department team uh the Commissioners that um were on the negotiating uh committee and also to Prince and tennnis because it's um it's really a good relationship so thank you thank you Michelle any other comments and questions by council members David yeah I just want to I I know Michelle already sort of said it but underscore it's pretty cool that we got a substantial increase while we're giving them use of fewer courts so good job negotiating team okay any other Council comments questions any public comments or questions on this ordinance introduction on this ordinance hearing all right seeing none we have 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 carried thank you very much next we have uh ordinance introductions ordinance 2024 05 an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton concerning noise from gas power generators and amending chapter 21 of the code of the burrow of Princeton New Jersey 1974 the public hearing would be February 26 2024 is there a motion on that Eve thank you very much is there a second Leon thank you roll call vote Miss Peron lambrose yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss Sachs yes Miss froga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you next introduction is ordinance 202 24-6 an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton pursuant to njsa 42-3 accepting the donation of vacant real property located on River Road and designated as block 1504 lot 3 Q13 Princeton tax map public hearing February 26 2024 is there a motion thank you David M has got the second roll call vote Miss pron lambros yes Miss Neer gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss Sachs yes Miss froga yes Mr nulan yes carried thank you next is ordinance 202 24-7 an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton County of Mercer state of New Jersey pursuant to New njsa 42-3 13 B4 authorizing the Vaca the the V vacation it just say the some way I just keep thinking my mind's going wait a minute I'm not going on vacation vacation sorry of an abandoned sanitary sewer easement on block 27 0.04 Lot 19 Princeton tax map 43 Spring Street public hearing February 26 2024 is there a motion on that thank you Mia is there a second Eve's got the second roll call vote please Miss Peron lambrose yes Miss neerg yes Mr Cohen yes Miss Sach yes Mr nulan yes oh miss Fraga sorry yes who's ever whoever too fast okay ordinance 22408 an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton regarding the Princeton fire department and amending chapter 8 of the code of the township of Princeton New Jersey 1968 public hearing February 26 2024 is there Michelle thank you and is there a second thank you Mia uh roll call vote Miss Peron lambrose yes Miss n gang yes Mr Cohen yes Miss saxs yes M froga yes Mr nulan carried thank you next up we have resolutions as mentioned at the beginning of the meeting the first resolution 2447 will come back to us at a future date next would be 2448 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of a Professional Services agreement to to Remington and and Vernick Engineers to create and update sanitary sewer and storm water systems GIS layers for an amount not to exceed $39,995 is there Mia thank you Eve's got the second questions and comments I'll just say it's one more step towards having a a real GIS sympt system it's something we've been dreaming about for many years yes both GIS and Sewer two two of our fantasies all right see no other questions or comments all in favor please say I I 2449 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing a one-year extension to the contract with us athletic fields Inc for Turf Management Services for an amount not to exceed $24,300 66 is there thank you David is there set lon's got the second questions or comments seeing none all in favor please say I I 2450 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing a one-year extension to the contract with us athletic fields Inc for mowing and trimming of grass areas in public parks for $13,300 347 is there Eve's got the motion David's got the second questions or comments Eve uh yeah I just want to make sure and I guess this is something I'll reach out to uh to wreck on directly that we're using the most sustainable most environmentally friendly uh methods here as we mow that is in areas where we can mulch the grass back in rather than uh get rid of it that that we're doing that so if and if you're nodding if you know if if we're already doing this yes we're already doing that excellent okay thank you saves me an email okay any other questions or comments seeing none all in favor please say I I 2451 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton amending a Professional Services agreement with nv5 in the amount of $3,734 fore preliminary Engineering Services in connection with the Princeton safe routes to school project resulting in an amended contract total of $36,800 63 David's got the motion Michelle's got the second questions or comments David yeah I just uh wanted to give Jim an opportunity I had a question in reviewing the proposal which makes reference to the possible need to delineate a historic district um as part of the services that are being uh provided and Jim could you tell us a little bit more about that yes um the uh review of the environmental document um identified the need for a section 106 which is a Federal review of cultural resources um so this proposal is related to uh getting the appropriate professionals out in the field to do um historic AR architectural surveys um and determine whether or not there are any historic resources if they do identify any historic resources there is a possibility that they could recommend that we designate an historic district there's no reason to believe that that would happen at this time um hence the survey needs to be completed first before we know anything more great thank you thank you any other questions or comments all right all in favor please say I I I 2452 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing release of a performance guarantee in the amount of $267,100 3 to the Snowden Development LLC for windy top major subdivision block 30 01 Lots 1 and2 542 and 546 Snowden Lane is there a motion on that thank you David is there a second thank you Leighton I would like to note that uh with council's support of this resolution uh that includes dedicate that Princeton is accepting the dedication of the the public improvements which includes the roadway so just wanted to make that clear that with this action uh the the roadway will become public and maybe even tomorrow we might need to start plowing it so we shouldn't approve this till tomorrow night after the snow is G let's put an effective date of like July 1st no thank you Deana any questions or comments I see none all in favor please say I I I 2453 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing change order number one to the contract with Omar and Justin zinc trading as Justin tree services and lawn care for the 2023 tree removal project for additional Municipal tree removal services for $326 65 is there a motion on that thank you Leighton Eve's got the second questions or comments all right seeing none all in favor please say I I I 2454 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of an extraordinary unspecifiable Services agreement to sustainable Princeton for an amount not to exceed $105,000 Mia has got the motion David's got the second questions or comments sustainable Princeton yes ditto Jinx and thank you Jenny for being here tonight is the public allowed to speak to any of these sure can I just ask Jenny this question I this struck me because I'm ignorant about it um unspecifiable Services um and I actually don't understand how sustainable Princeton fits into the mun municipality are you private are you governmental and what is this so you're saying you're just giving them $105,000 to do whatever they need to do is that what it is because I just exp not what it is just explain can you just just explain there's a list a a specific list of services let me pull that up and while while Eve is doing that I'll just mention there are several um NOS in town sustainable Princeton the Senior Resource Center um the library where we provide funding in exchange for services that we would have to provide ourselves if they weren't being provided by the NGO so that's that's the basic model that we're operating on a got it I guess I got confused because you have an office right there in Monument Hall and I always thought it was part of the government but then I got it got it great okay yeah yeah thanks I can read it's okay just a few of the things things uh it it's exhibit B in the agenda you wouldn't have it printed out it's part of the the longer agenda packet but here's a few things uh oversee ongoing implementation and fulfillment of the climate action plan support measurable performance objectives cost assessments and tracking methods for sustainability goals support Municipal staff in fulfilling sustainability priorities that align with Council and staff goals attend infrastructure and operations committee meetings to support sustainable sustainability related initiatives maintain Partnerships with Community institutions businesses educational institutions and other stakeholders to help carry out the municipality sustainability initiatives prepare Grant applications help to infuse a sustainability lens through all Municipal initiatives work with Municipal Department boards committees and commissions to manage Princeton's sustainable Jersey certification leverage Community networks to support the municipality's communications about sustainable related issues I'll I'll just mention two things real quick that um sustainable Princeton uh is doing one is helping us uh come up with a plan working with grant funding through our uh utility company to uh enhance the sustainability of our municipal buildings which will save us money and reduce you know greenhouse gases and then they're are working on a um Community solar which would be for middle and lower income people which can offer 10 to 20% decrease on your uh electricity electricity bills you don't have to put anything on your your house you just kind of indicate that you want to be a part of it so uh sustainable Princeton will be leading us through that process um so they're an invaluable partner but got it thanks for asking thank you so much but I you know a good question taxpayer here and actually I love Jenny but you know be responsible citizen yeah no know it's good and I'd like to just give trishka a moment to speak to the extraordinary and unspecifiable services which does sort of jump out as kind of a suspicious if you don't know about it so yeah sure so it's uh one of two kinds of contracts that you don't actually have to put out to bid um so but it's a situation where wima Wilma I'm sorry trishka is answering your question it's also for the council go ahead she's describing in legal terms what extraordinary and unspecifiable services are in essence it is types of services that really you can't fully Define and express the qualifications in such an objective way that you would be able to Simply bid and award on the basis of price there's a lot of discretion involved and kind of things that aren't quantifiable hence the title unspecified yes thank you and I'm sure it's good for all of us to be reminded why that exists as well actually occurred to me it's not the services that are unspecifiable it's it's difficult to specify exactly what the qualification are what the person is that would be in the running or that you would award the contract okay great and I'll just say that sustainable Princeton staff work around the clock seven days a week really uh between all of them in in building community and and do a lot um wear many hats um uh to integrate sustainability in in a way that um is uh prioritizes Equity as well because uh very important in in the way you approach sustainability um and we are very very grateful for their commitment to and Devotion to our community um maybe we should give them more well well you can uh easy there come to the microphone next year and advocate for that and and just for anybody that happens to watch this broadcast to this uh meeting if you want to see all the details it's on page 124 and 125 of the agenda packet any other comments or questions on this I see none all in favor please say I I I 2455 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of Professional Services agreement to Clark Kon hence for affordable housing planning services for an amount not to exceed $50,000 is there thank you Mia David's got the second questions or comments Mia I just want to say that this um uh that I was the Wilma on this one and I this came twice to Council in both times I bumped it off because I I wasn't sure exactly uh we we use this planning firm for a number of in a number of different capacities this has nothing to do with master plan it has nothing to do um with uh planning at all in fact this is part of the state's requirement that we comply with um all sorts of um reports monitoring monitoring reports it's monitoring it monitors our affordable housing trust fund making sure that those monies are being appropriately separated and um the expenditures are targeted for things that are authorized um it it's a it's an amazing morass of regulatory um uh compliance uh mechanisms that we that Clark Kan and hint is doing for us so now that we know what it is we're I think we're ready to approve it after what three four months thank you other questions or comments on this one i' seen none all favor please say I I I 2456 resolution of the mayor and Council of Princeton supporting the establishment of a New Jersey Target zero commission as proposed in Senate Bill 361 Michelle's got the motion David's got the second I'd like to um move it but with one slight addition if I may mention that there's an accompanying assembly Bill 1476 that we should also note um in the title of this it's also very important that we um have this resolu olution so if we could just make the motion with that slight amendment to add that assembly bill again it's 1476 I will second with that Amendment okay thank you Michelle any other questions or comments on these two bills seeing none all in favor please say I I I 2457 resolution authorizing the execution and submission of application for the 2024 First Responders radio Grant which makes available $222,000 to the fire department and Princeton first aid and rescue squad is there a motion on that Thank You Leon is there a second Eve questions or comments all right see none all in favor please say I I next up is the consent agenda if anyone has anything they want us to pop out of that if not somebody could move the entire consent agenda can can you just give us a moment I just want I'm sorry yeah sure we're going to take a minute everybody can look at each thing make sure that you're C can I ask the clerk a quick question there was I sent you an email about a small error on the last one can we just pass it I I've made you've made the change back I I was not I was eating dinner but thank you okay you're good any okay I'm ready to move it okay David's moving the consent agenda is there a second thank you Eve all in favor please say I I David do you have a motion I move we adjourn thank you is there a second thank you Eve all in favor say I I we are done thank you very much have a great evening um