All right, good evening everybody. Thanks for being here. It is Monday, July 27th, 2026. This is a meeting of the Mayor and Council of Princeton, New Jersey. Madam Clerk, could we have the meeting statement, please? >> Notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with the requirements of the
Open Public Meetings Act and state regulations governing public meetings, including the time, date, and location of the meeting and clear and concise instructions to the public for accessing the meeting and making comments. In addition, the agenda and all related materials were posted electronically and
made available to the public on Princeton's meeting portal in advance of the meeting. >> Thank you. Leighton, could you do the land acknowledgement tonight? >> Thank you, Mayor. We gather today on the land of the Lenni 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. Could we have roll call,
please? >> Mr. McDonald? >> Here. >> Mr. Cohen? >> Here. >> Ms. Perlman Lambros? >> Here. >> Ms. Sachs? >> Yes. >> Ms. Fraga? >> Here. >> Mr. Newlin? >> A key. >> Mayor Freda? >> Here. >> If you're able and like to stand and
join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. >> [snorts] >> 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, but great nation, with liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you. All right, first up we have three sets of minutes uh to approve. Thank you, Brian, for the motion. As a block. >> Move as a block. >> Move as a block. Thank you very much.
>> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mayor. >> And and I will be abstaining. I was not present for the February 17th or the February 23rd meetings. >> Okay. >> But yay on the other. >> Okay, got it. Don, you're good on.
Okay. All right, any questions or comments on those? All right, if not, all in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> All right. Next up are council announcements or reports. Anybody with uh anything to report on tonight?
Okay. Uh Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Mayor. >> Yeah, sure. >> Thank you. Give me just a minute here to find my notes. >> [snorts] >> Yes, uh just want to bring to people's
attention that featuring now at the Arts Council of Princeton is a beautiful rendition uh by the Sankofa uh group is uh 10 years of threads, Princeton Sankofa Stitchers Modern Quilt
Guild's Journey Through Fabric and History. Uh it is happening now at the Arts Gallery of Princeton, Arts Center of Princeton, and also I want to let people know that this Saturday uh between 4:00 and 6:00 in the
afternoon, I'm sorry, this this Saturday there's a yard sale, not yard, but yard, y a r t sale, from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the Arts Council of Princeton and this is affordable art, art that is less than $50. So, if you're interested in art
that you can buy for not a whole lot of money, I encourage you to come by this Saturday the Arts Council at 1:00. And also, I just want to announce a very exciting uh an interesting thing that we're doing for at the HPC is the design guidelines
and navigation toolkit that will help people uh understand what it is to change uh anything that might be attached to property or homes and architecture in our historic districts uh throughout Princeton. So, that's
exciting and I just want to let people know that that is and will be coming probably, what do you think, David? Before the end of the year? >> Definitely before the end of the year. I mean, it's going to be in deliberation, I think, over the next couple of months
and >> So, thank you, Mayor. We have some exciting stuff going on. >> Thank you. I know uh Michelle and I were talking earlier, there is an item involving Experience Princeton, but Robin, the executive director of Experience Princeton, isn't here yet. So, we're going to reserve the right to jump back
to that at the appropriate time. Uh any other council reports or announcements at this point? Okay. Uh Lieutenant, the uh police report? >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. Tonight, I am pleased to present the Princeton Police Department's June
Chief's Monthly Report. During the month of June, our Community Relations Bureau launched two new community-focused initiatives designed to strengthen relationships between the police department and those we serve. The first is our Blue Envelope uh program, a voluntary initiative that
assists drivers on the autism spectrum during motor vehicle stops. The program is intended to improve communication between officers and motorists, helping to reduce misunderstandings and create a more positive interaction for both our residents and visitors.
We also began implementing our new walk and talk program, which provides an opportunity for officers and community members to walk through our business district and neighborhoods together, where they can review identified concerns, discuss challenges, and collaboratively develop practical solutions.
This initiative embodies the principles of community policing by fostering open dialogue and strengthening partnerships with the with the people we serve. In addition to these programs, our community relations bureau remained actively engaged throughout June by
participating in numerous community events, including assisting with the New Jersey Special Olympics, attendance at the Princeton Farmers Market, school graduations, field days, and several other community activities. These engagements continue to strengthen the positive relationships between our
officers and the community. Traffic safety also remained a significant focus during the month of June. Princeton police officers conducted 980 motor vehicle stops, resulting in 550 summonses, including 139 speeding violations. We continue to receive traffic-related
concerns from residents throughout the community, and our officers remain committed to proactive traffic enforcement and education to improve the safety of our roadways for everyone. Finally, you'll notice a new section within this month's report categorized categorizing crashes
involving e-bikes and e-motos. With New Jersey's updated e-bike legislation now in effect, we believe it is important to begin tracking and sharing this information with the community. Our goal is to better understand trends, educate the public, and ultimately reduce crashes involving e-bikes,
e-motos, and e-scooters through enforcement, education, and outreach. I'm also going to mention that uh next Tuesday, August 4th, is the Princeton Community Night Out, and we hope that all uh residents come out and uh join us on that night.
That I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding the report or any other police department matters. >> Thank you, Lieutenant. David? >> Um, just a comment. Um, in addition to the great community policing stuff you mentioned already, I
heard from the the chief this week that there's going to be a senior stroll, which I think is another great um initiative in the same direction where uh officer the community I think the neighborhood bureau officers are going
to be walking around town with seniors and uh hearing their concerns about public safety and stuff like that. So, I think that's a great initiative as well. And then just wanted to thank you for tracking the uh statistics on the e-bikes and the e-motos and tracking
them separately. Um, you know, it's super important for us to understand uh the role that the different types of vehicles play in um in injuries and crashes. And uh I know, you know, the data coming
out of California is that the um e-bikes and e-motos are really seeing an enormous increase in rate of injury compared to traditional bicycles. And so, um it's important not only for us to
understand it, be able to share with the community um the safety concerns involved with those vehicles. >> Yes, as far as the senior stroll um Officer Demetrius Stupakis was actually planning that today uh when I walked in the community relations bureau office.
And um the e-bikes and uh e-motos, I think that's something that we're all learning and we're trying to take an approach to educate the public about it. Um, you know, before we really get to enforcement, we want to educate everybody because it's new to everyone
including the police department. So, um as everyone knows as of earlier this month, you're now required to get um e-bikes registered and insured based on whether it's a low-speed vehicle or uh or not. >> Thank you.
Any other question? Yeah, Luz Usuga. >> Yes, uh I wanted to commend uh the department and the officers for all the uh uh events, tabling, and and collaboration with including with human services and uh informational and
also specifically the community building events that I see taking place on a more regular basis. But, thank you for that. >> Thank you. >> Layton. >> Yeah, I just want to acknowledge that uh you know, as one of the members along with you know,
Brian and David on the uh traffic safety committee, that um the increase in stops and enforcement uh it it is very helpful. You know, for somebody who drives around uh many days during the
week, I can tell you that it's making an impact. We're we're not Cranbury, we're not Pennington, uh we're Plainsboro, but you mess around and speed around Princeton, you getting ready to get a ticket right about now. So, thank you and please keep it up. >> You're welcome.
>> Yes, Brian. >> Uh yes, just uh follow up on what Layton said. Um three residents reached out to me to express gratitude uh for what they perceived is increased enforcement for speeding especially on Route 27 and 206.
And I I forwarded them on to Chief Solway and uh Detective Matthews, but it is one of the complaints we get the most. Uh you know, speeding and and matters related to uh traffic safety. So, having a fully staffed traffic
safety bureau that's uh out there doing good work is very much appreciated. Um the other thing I just wanted to note is the number that really caught my eye was it through 6 months there have been more
than 24,000 calls for service. Um and if you double that, it would approach 49,000 um which compares to an average of 37,000 over the past 4 years. Um and I I just wonder, I know that you guys
collect a lot of data. I just wonder if you have any thoughts or comments about the increased um calls for service. >> Yes, I I believe it's a a combination of increased traffic enforcement which generates a call for
service number as well as a community that's growing rapidly right now. Um it seems that the town's getting busier and busier. Uh population obviously seems to be increasing, so I think a combination of those two things have led to the
increase in calls for service. >> Okay. Any other questions on the police report? Thank you very much, Lieutenant. >> Thank you. >> Yep. All right, we'll jump back to Michelle's item. >> Thank you. Um So, I wanted just to thank Experience
Princeton for putting on some really great um World Cup watch parties. Uh and Robin Lapidus, our executive director for Experience Princeton, is here to say a few words about that. But thank you. I want to say thank you to
Robin first and foremost. Please. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I'm Robin Lapidus, the executive director of Experience Princeton. Um I wanted to say thank you really to you and to all the municipal
staff that we worked with. Um the uh governor made a great decision by moving a lot of millions of dollars from having one party to having multiple parties. Um we found out in April that we could
apply. We put together an application and we had our first uh watch party on June 20th. We had three. And we had them each in locations that really hadn't been used for this purpose in quite the way that we used them before. So it was
a lot of new. I'm still kind of new. So I worked with a lot of people I hadn't worked with before and we did something novel and fun and the results were spectacular. Um we had uh at every event somebody said, "I've
never seen this group of people come together in this way before." At every event we asked who was rooting for whom and we had like equal numbers of fans on both sides. We just had so much
community fun and it really wouldn't have been possible without the police being very generous with us about trying to figure out, "How can we have events without closing streets?" Because as you know,
um our businesses are often uh often feel sort of stranded or isolated when we close the street. Sometimes it's a benefit if you have hundreds of thousands of people show up and they still are thirsty and want to shop. And
that actually happened. So, we we didn't close streets to uh strangle traffic or strangle businesses. We just closed them efficiently enough to get the space we needed and people still ate and shopped and had a
wonderful time. So, it was a great experience. We look forward to uh the Women's World Cup, which is coming sometime in the near future, and we just look forward to working with you again to find the right events that really
activate our business our community and our businesses uh together. So, that's all. I just wanted to say thank you and thank you for Thank you all for showing up at our events. It really means a lot when you guys also come and see how
these things are working. So, thank you. >> Thanks, Robin. >> Thank you. Robin. >> Uh yes, Robin, I just wanted to offer my own thanks. Um I had an opportunity to attend the third and final event um on
Hulfish Street, which was an awful lot of fun. And at least three residents I I know came up to me and and said we need to do events like this more often. Um so, that is the curse of success that you guys uh now now need to um work
through. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> Play. >> I just, you know, I stopped by and it was really exciting to see the mix and the matches, the fun, the entertainment, and the diversity. Um and I I would just, you know, I know,
you know, we the the next World Cup is 4 years away, but I would love to see uh additional venues the next time we get we get started with it. Thank you. >> Yeah, on that note if I could add in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood,
I think it would have been great to host something, let's say community park, especially for our our Latino uh residents. I'm sure that you would have gotten a lot of excitement um if we could have hosted one in that
neighborhood, especially covering some of our uh Latin teams. Next time. >> Good. All right, move moving on. Uh we have three proclamations tonight
and let me just ask Hey, Adam, I'm talking to our tech guy in the back. Adam, can you bring Sandy Webb as a participant into the meeting, please? She's down at the bottom of the list. >> Mark, I I think there may have been a shift in order. >> I'm sorry. Why would we do that?
Uh let's send these proclamations here. >> Okay. A proclamation from the office of the mayor, Ms. Paley of Princeton. A proclamation honoring Sandra Webb on the occasion of her retirement. Whereas the municipality of Princeton is
proud to recognize Sandra Webb, chief financial officer for the municipality of Princeton, for her dedication to public service on the occasion of her retirement. And whereas Sandy began her career with the former Borough of Princeton on February 7th, 2000 in the
role of assistant administrator. And whereas throughout her distinguished career, Sandy was appointed as chief financial officer on February 1st, 2008 and tax collector in March of 2012, notably holding all three positions
simultaneously during 2012 before being appointed chief financial financial officer for the newly consolidated municipality of Princeton on January 1st, 2013. And whereas among her many contributions
to the municipality, Sandy played an instrumental role in the historic consolidation of the former borough and township of Princeton, guiding the successful integration of financial systems, budgets, and operations, and exemplifying the dedication and
professionalism that have defined her career in public service. And whereas Sandy's retirement from the municipality of Princeton will be effective August 1st, 2026. And whereas Sandy has dedicated over 26 years to serving the municipality of
Princeton. And whereas Sandra Webb has served the community of Princeton with pride. And upon the occasion of her retirement is deserving of recognition and the highest commendation. Now therefore be it resolved on behalf
of Mayor Mark Freda, Mayor of Princeton and the Council of Princeton, County of Mercer, State of New Jersey, extend the municipality's humble expression of appreciation and sincerest congratulations to Sandra Webb. We offer
our best wishes for a long, happy, and healthy retirement. >> [applause] >> Sandy, feel free to jump in if you have anything you want to state say. >> I was like a blip on the screen the last 26 years, but I'm very humble to have
served. I think we're leaving uh Princeton in great financial shape thanks to Bernie at the helm, Dianne, and all of our colleagues, and and certainly all of you up on the dais. I know the decisions that you make a lot of times are not the most popular, and
you know, they're not always easy, but I truly appreciate all the support over the years. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Sandy. And uh I think many of us will see you on on Wednesday when you're in the office. >> Great. I look forward to it. >> Okay. >> Mark, I just had one note. Um Sandy let
us know uh earlier today that Director Michael Ryder of the Division of Local Government Services uh announced that the statewide average municipal municipal tax levy increase was 7%. And for the last 2 years, we've
been below 3%, and a lot of that is due to the years of careful planning and uh conservative budgeting that Sandy has done uh with this group uh strongly supporting that. So, taxpayers should really understand um how much they have
benefited from Sandy's service to this municipality. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Brian. >> [applause] >> Wait. Wait. Wait. Please. >> Sandy, I would be remiss if I didn't give you a personal shout-out and thanks because
since I've been on council, and you know, I'm just going to be honest. I'm I'm not a financial wizard. As a matter of fact, I'm not even close. And I can't tell you how many times before we have meetings that call upon financial
information, I call Sandy and say, "Hey, can I come see you?" She always says yes, and we always spend 15 or 20 minutes, and I probably leave dumber than I got there, but thank you, Sandy, for for helping me work through not the nitty-gritty, but understanding
the big picture from 30,000 ft of everything we do here in the municipality, because it means everything when you're trying to do right by the people that you represent, and you promise them that you're going to do everything you can to have really talented and dedicated professional and capable staff that can
help you do your job. So, hats off to you. Thank you and God bless you in each and every day you go forward in everything you do. Please, thank you. >> Thank you, Leighton. >> Thanks, Sandy. All right, Sandy, thank you again. We'll We'll see you. >> Okay. >> Thanks.
>> Thank you. >> All right, we have two more proclamations. Michelle, do you >> Yeah. >> You're first and then David will do his. >> Okay. Proclamation honoring Brian Mayor on the occasion of his retirement.
Whereas, the Municipality of Princeton is proud to recognize Brian Mayor, foreman in the Department of Public Works, for his dedication to public service on the occasion of his retirement. And whereas, Brian began his career with the former Borough of Princeton on August 19th, 1996 in the
role of temporary maintenance in the Department of Public Works. And whereas, Brian advanced through the ranks of the Department of Public Works, serving in multiple maintenance positions before being promoted to foreman on May 4th, 2015.
And whereas, Brian's commitment to service extended beyond the municipality through volunteer humanitarian efforts in Peru, Africa, and Ecuador, where he generously donated his time and talents to community construction projects and
efforts to improve access to clean water. Whereas, Brian's retirement from the Municipality of Princeton will be effective August 1st, 2026. And whereas, Brian has dedicated over 29 years to serving the Municipality of Princeton.
And whereas, Brian Mayor has served the community of Princeton with pride and upon the occasion of his retirement is deserving of recognition and the highest commendation. Now, therefore, be it resolved on behalf of Mark Freda, mayor of Princeton, the council of Princeton,
county of Mercer, state of New Jersey, extend the municipality's humble expression of appreciation and sincerest congratulations to Brian Mayer. We offer our best wishes for a long, happy, and healthy retirement. Congratulations.
>> [applause] >> Okay. And one more. Proclamation honoring Gregory Faff on the occasion of his retirement. Whereas the municipality of Princeton is proud to recognize Gregory Faff, maintenance three in the Department of
Public Works, for his dedication to public service on the occasion of his retirement. And [snorts] whereas Greg began his career with the former Borough of Princeton April 30th, 2001, in the role of maintenance one in the Department of Public Works.
And whereas through his work in the Department of Public Works, Greg played an important behind-the-scenes role in maintaining the operations that enable municipal government to serve the Princeton community. And whereas Greg's work supported the
municipality through periods of significant organizational change, including the historical consolidation of the former Borough and Township, by helping departments transition into unified facilities. And whereas Greg's retirement from the
municipality of Princeton will be effective August 1st, 2026. And whereas Greg has dedicated 25 years to serving the municipality of Princeton. And whereas Greg Faff has served the community of Princeton with pride, and
upon the occasion of his retirement is deserving of recognition and the highest commendation. Now therefore, be it resolved that Mark Freda, mayor of Princeton, and the council of Princeton, County of Mercer, State of New Jersey,
extend the municipality's humble expression of appreciation and sincerest congratulations to Gregory Pfaff. We offer our best wishes for a long, happy, and healthy retirement. Given under Mark's hand and seal, this
27th day of July, 2026. >> [applause] >> There'll be an event on Thursday, an internal event, where we'll be able to hand these proclamations to both of those employees in person. Wendy, I mean, Sandy has an event on Wednesday, where we'll be able to give
her her proclamation. Um so, and I I I think it's nice that it's kind of happy to give people a proclamation recognizing their years of service and all the good they've done for us. Kind of bittersweet knowing that some really excellent people are are leaving our family. Um but, you know,
that's life, so we wish them a lot of success. So, thank you. Next up, we have uh ordinance introductions. The first one is ordinance 2627, an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton regulating parking on Hun Road
and amending chapter 11 of the code of the Township of Princeton, New Jersey, 1968. The public hearing will be August 10th, 2026. And if someone could move that. Thank you, David. Is there a second? Thank you, Michelle. Uh roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. McDonald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Cohen? >> Yes. >> Ms. Pirone-Lambros? >> Yes. >> Ms. Sachs? >> Yes. >> Ms. Fraga? >> Yes. >> Mr. Newlin? >> Yes. >> Next up is ordinance 2628, an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton regulating parking on Walnut Lane and
Guyot Avenue, and amending chapter 11 of the code of the Township of Princeton, New Jersey, 1968, and amending chapter 19 of the code of the Borough of Princeton New Jersey 1974. The public hearing will be August 10th, 2026. If someone will move that, thank you Laetitia. Brian has the second. Roll
call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Cohen? >> Yes. >> Ms. Pirone Lambros? Yes. Sachs? >> Yes. >> Ms. Fraga? >> Yes. >> Mr. Newlin? >> Yes. >> Next up is ordinance 2629 an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton updating
public parking fees and regulations related thereto and amending chapter 19 of the code of the Borough of Princeton New Jersey 1974. The public hearing will be August 10th, 2026. Is there Michelle has the motion, Mia has the second. Uh roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. McDonald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Cohen? >> Yes. >> Ms. Pirone Lambros? >> Yes. >> Ms. Sachs? >> Yes. >> Ms. Fraga? >> Yes. >> Mr. Newlin? >> Yes. >> Next we have resolutions. Resolution 26213. Resolution of the Mayor and Council of
Princeton authorizing the award of a professional services agreement to Advanced Infrastructure Design Inc. for a pavement condition assessment and management system for an amount not to exceed $150,272.18. Laetitia has the motion, Brian has the
second. Questions or comments? Brian. >> Uh yes, I would just say that um uh the infrastructure and operations committee and traffic safety strongly um endorse this. It was last done three or
four years ago, Dan DN I think. And um in addition to concerns expressed by residents about uh speeding and uh unsafe driving, uh road condition is one that we hear an awful lot about. Um
so, I'm uh pleased that um this is going to take place and I believe it's just a little bit uh and it's sort of an enhanced study um that will pay particular particular attention to surface condition in addition to the other
factors. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Resolution 26214, resolution of the Mayor and Council of the Municipality of Princeton authorizing the award award of a professional services agreement to M&E
Engineers Inc. for engineering design services to design two replacement steam boilers at the Westminster Choir College site for an amount not to exceed $49,925. Mia has the motion. Michelle has the second. Questions or comments?
David. >> Yeah, I just wanted to ask Tiana, is is this technology steam boilers something that is sort of uh uh phasing out, I guess. I don't want to
say obsolete, but I'm just curious um whether replacing in kind is the right thing to do for buildings that we do intend to keep in service for a number of years in the future. >> Thank you for asking that question.
This type of technology, according to our consultant, is the most appropriate type of technology for buildings of this size. Um it from what I understand, it does have a fairly good lifespan compared to
other technology um for heating buildings. And um so yeah, that's why we're going along with um a replacement in kind. >> Thank you. >> Any Mia? >> Yeah, I just um for anyone who is not
clear about what buildings this boiler services, it is the historic historic quad buildings on the Westminster campus Um and the boiler that is there um services
the uh Erdman, Taylor, Williamson, and the Bristol Chapel. And it's all connected uh underground. And I guess we looked into the possibility of separate um a separate system, but as Diana just
spoke, this seems to be make the most sense. Um and it's really critical to get this in place as soon as possible because um these are buildings that um will be impacted if they are not kept at
given how old they are, if they are not kept uh at some with some degree of climate regulation. So. >> I'm sorry, was there another wait? >> Yeah, Diana, my question was when I read this, this says for engineering design
services to design two replacements in the boilers. Is that $49,000 all in, all inclusive, or could there be additional cost after the design work is done? >> There will be extra cost after because we will need to go through a public bid
process to purchase the new boilers and have those installed. This is solely for the services of the consulting engineer to put together the bid package for us with the drawings and specifications
and um then to provide services during construction of answering questions, reviewing submittals of those consultants. >> Thank you. It is there a guestimate or an estimate as to what percentage
of the whole cost this $50,000 is? >> Uh it's I would um We've I don't know. I can't speak to that. We we do know it's in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
to replace the boiler system. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Resolution 26215, resolution of the Mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the award of a contract with
Asphalt Paving Systems for 2026 pavement preservation services for an amount not to exceed $183,418.96 utilizing New Jersey State Contract 17-GNSV2-00181. Thank you, Brian, for the motion. Thank you, Leighton, for the second. Questions
or comments? David. >> Um Deanna, could you just for the benefit of the public describe a little bit about what the pavement preservation system how how they will experience it. In other words, you know, is this sort
of this wavy black lines that are sealing little cracks or is it going to look like a new surface? What what's going to be like? >> Yes, thanks for asking. Um so, just to give an overview of this, um
previously we had talked about the pavement condition assessment and in that pavement condition assessment, um there are recommendations as to how we manage um our road pavements. One of
those processes are to do a mill and resurface where you take off about 2 in of surface pavement and then replace it. Uh another option is to do a full reconstruction when you don't have the pavement
structure to support uh just doing the top um milling and resurfacing. And then the third option is pavement preservation. And by far, when it is used strategically,
it's the most cost-effective method and environmentally sustainable method to extend the life of our pavements. Typically, you want to bring those in say within 6 to 10 years of one of the
other two methods being employed. So, in this case, if there are cracks in the pavement surface, like you said, the contractor will first come in and put some of tar in the black squiggly lines on the surface.
That and they will also be filling any pothole minor potholes that may exist in the pavement surface. And then what will happen is they will come in with a machine that will lay an emulsion, which
is a mixture of a polymer modified asphalt, fine graded aggregate, some mineral filler, and water. So, it will go down. It's It's a cold or a cooler application unlike a normal
pavement surface. So, it will go down and it'll be dark brown rather than your normal black new asphalt look. And then it needs a little bit of time for that for the water to evaporate to for it to
cure. And that little bit of time is, you know, within hours or or days. And then it will become a black surface or a darker surface. And it will be it'll have increased skid
resistance, so it may be a little bit rougher than you might see a regular pavement after it's been resurfaced or reconstructed. Um but again, it's it's a good tool to have in our toolbox that um
the application is 40 to 60% um less expensive than milling and resurfacing and you don't have that waste product that all of New Jersey is trying to get rid of this, you know, extra asphalt that is
pulled off the roadways. So, um that's that's what it will look like. >> Great. I'm looking forward to seeing it for myself. >> All right. >> Uh yes. Um Jen, I I hope um I'm sure it's part of the plan um that we give residents um significantly advanced
notice, perhaps even notice them twice um because in the earlier our our first sort of trial run of pavement preservation, um some of the residents uh did not um place their cars outside of the treated
area and did drive over um the roads during that short uh cure period and it uh it doesn't help the appearance um when they do that. So, uh they they they if they can just you know, figure out
how not to drive over the treated roads for those 2 hours, um the the um look and feel and overall aesthetics of the road will be better. >> Yes. Yeah, we will be um
addressing that. We will be sending a letter to all of the properties um on the along the roadways to be addressed and then the contractor as well uh prior to work taking place
will also put a hang tag out um at uh each door so that they are aware of of how to um um you know, move their vehicles, where to place them. >> Any other questions or comments? Diana, thanks for all that information.
Uh all in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Resolution 26216, resolution of the Mayor and Council of the Municipality of Princeton authorizing an increase of $8,245 to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with Environmental Management Associates Inc.
for additional work in connection with the Phase 2 assessment of 303 John Street for a new not to exceed amount of $59,125. Layton has the motion, Mia has the second. Questions or comments? I see none. All in favor, please say I. >> I.
>> I. >> Resolution 26217, resolution of the Mayor and Council of Princeton authorizing the execution of a license agreement with Sotera LLC for permission to install awning which will encroach into the public right-of-way.
Is there a motion on that? Thank you, David. Layton has the second. Questions or comments? All right. Yeah, Layton? >> Is this where the new bagel store is coming in? >> I'm sorry? >> Is this the new bagel store? >> No, this isn't the new bagel store.
>> No, this is Baked Bear. >> Oh. And that this is to essentially a new business getting permission to have awnings that are already there for another business, right? >> Correct. >> Yeah, so it's not like a new It's not
going to change the streetscape from what people are used to. >> Yeah. Okay. Any other questions or comments? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Resolution 26218, resolution of the Mayor and Council authorizing the award of a bid contract to Black Rock
Enterprises LLC for traffic and road safety streets to transit pedestrian improvements for a an amount not to exceed $3,039,948.55. Thank you, David, for the motion. Thank you, Michelle, for the second. Um Deanna, do you want to give us the
30-second highlight of what's happening here? >> Sure. This is This is for sidewalk replacement and extension on Terhune Road between Mount Lucas and North Harrison Street. We have
partial funding for the project in a $1 million grant for Safe Routes Safe Streets to Transit Program as there is a New Jersey Transit bus line that runs along this roadway. Also included in the
project is traffic calming in the form of raised intersections at three intersections of Jefferson, Dempsey, and Walnut.
>> Thank you very much. >> You're welcome. >> Okay, David. >> And I just wanted to comment that while this is under a Safe Routes to Transit grant, I think it's going to serve a lot more than just Safe Routes to Transit.
You know, this is on routes that are highly traveled by school kids accessing the high high school and middle school. Um it's even a great connector for folks in the sort of Little Brook neighborhood to get over to the municipal complex and
the pool if they're so inclined to walk that far. It's not that far. Um so, yeah, you know, right now we have sort of sidewalks on Terhune on the other side of Harrison. Um but and certainly once you get to uh
um Mount Lucas and Witherspoon great pedestrian um accommodations, but there's this gap. So, it's it's really um filling in what I consider an important um
need in in our pedestrian uh network. >> Thank you, Brian. Uh yes, Deanna. Um that uh stretch of Terhune is especially from Harrison to Jefferson has some really spectacular street trees, and I
wonder if you could just talk about uh the care that is being taken to um protect and preserve those trees. >> Yes, thank you, Brian. Uh so, that corridor of Terhune Road has about a 70-ft wide road
70-ft wide right-of-way. Uh which if you're measuring from the center of the road, then means that the uh public portion of the road extends 35 ft on each side. And as Brian mentioned, we have a lot of
large London plane trees along the corridor. So, uh a lot of care was taken in laying out the um location of the sidewalks to be as far away from those existing trees
as possible. So, they are literally being in some cases located at that, you know, 30-ft mark as as measured from the center line, so that we can have the greatest distance
between the trees and the sidewalk. Um and as part of the project, too, I do want to point out pervious concrete is being used. This is the first time we've used pervious concrete. We've used
pervious asphalt in a many other places in town. Um but because this is a more residential area, we wanted the look of concrete. But because it is considered impervious
surface, um we are putting in pervious concrete with a stone bed underneath for water quality treatment. Um so yeah, so there's there's going to be a lot of uh working with a contractor to make sure
that we are protecting the root systems of the trees. And um Taylor has done a great job going through and assessing the health of trees so that uh if if there are any that are already in decline, then then we can have those
removed and we'll do a subsequent planting. >> Okay. Wait. Thanks, Diane Deanna. Just just a question. I noticed when I was looking at the bids, two of the bids were extremely close to each other. One
was out of the ballpark. When that happens and bids with this much work involved are that close together, are there any other factors that you consider in choosing the the the the
I guess the lowest bidder. It was the lowest bidder but not by much. >> Uh local public contract law requires that we go with the lowest responsible and responsive bidders. Both of the um bidders, number one and number two, have
done work within Princeton and either of them would have been um competent to complete the project. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Just just a question. >> Good question. Any other questions or comments? All right. All in favor, please say I.
>> I. >> I. >> Resolution 26219, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton appointing Phoenix Advisors to the position of temporary Chief Financial Officer and Director of the Department of Finance in accordance with NJSA 489-140.10B
and authorizing the award of a professional services agreement to Phoenix Advisors to serve as a temporary Chief Financial Officer for an amount not to exceed $180,000. Is there a motion on that? Thank you, Brian. Is there a Thank you, Michelle, for the second. Bernie, do you want to just explain to
folks why we're doing this? >> Sure, Mayor. Uh so, we are required to have a Chief Financial Officer. Uh in instances where we do not have one, we are allowed to use a third-party service to do that. Uh in order to do that, you have to reach out to the state and get approval. We
have done that. We've received uh approval. Uh you are all familiar with Phoenix Advisors who does work for the municipality now. Uh they are able to provide CFO services. Uh as we heard earlier, Sandy's last week is this week, so there will be a brief period of time we will not have a
CFO on staff. We will use the services of Phoenix Advisors only for as long as we need them until we get a CFO on board. And uh the uh agreement is good for a year, but that's really to cover if we had a CFO and then they won the lottery and left after 2 months, we
wouldn't have to go back to the state. We can uh bring in a third party until we get a new CFO. So, we will only use them as long as we need to fill that gap. Thank you. Any questions or comments? All right. All in favor, please say I.
>> I. >> I. >> Next up is the consent agenda paying some bills, uh grace period extension for uh tax paying paying taxes since the property bill is about to go out this week. Uh and so forth. Would somebody want to move those in block? Thank you,
Leticia. Is there a second? Thank you, Brian. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Okay, next up, sorry. I forgot to flip the page. We have Oh, those are on the consent agenda. Never mind. Next up is public comments for items not
on the agenda. So, if anybody wants to speak to something again that was not on the agenda, you have 3 minutes. You come up, you introduce yourself, say where you live, Princeton or wherever. We don't usually engage in a debate, but people are more than welcome to make comments on whatever they wish. We had
two people sign up before the meeting to speak, and then anybody else that's here can also speak. Uh, Ari, I think is first. >> Good evening, guys. >> Good evening. >> Thanks for your time. I appreciate it. Um, I'm Ari Adjei. I'm a rising junior at Princeton University studying history. Um, I've had opportunity this
summer to work with the Pinelands Alliance, which is actually a non-profit that does uh, environmental conservation work in South Jersey in the Pinelands, but also elsewhere. Um, and today I want to bring up the topic of data centers, um, because it's kind of relevant to all of New Jersey, um, and I'm sure you all are aware of, you know, some of the
debate that's happened around here in South Brunswick, um, you know, not too far from where we are right now, but kind of just outside the actual uh, Princeton jurisdiction from what I understand. Um, but I saw in the April minutes of a meeting of the Princeton Environmental Commission that some residents brought up concerns about the Sentinel data
center that I just mentioned. Um, and I won't comment extensively here on the environmental impacts of particular data centers because there's certainly a lot to that. Um, but I just want to say that, you know, because of the energy, water, and oversight that's needed for these hyperscale data centers, um, and yeah, this really is new generation of
these facilities that are coming up with new AI development, uh, there's really a need for much greater public attention in various capacities. Um, and to briefly give a sense of just the scale, um, some estimates show that the Sentinel data center at the Princeton Nurseries in South Brunswick, the one I was just mentioned, um is going to take
about 70 megawatts of electricity every year, which to give some context is about the equivalent of the annual household electricity consumption of Princeton, South Brunswick, and Trenton combined. So, very significant amount of energy going into that. Um and again, this is without getting to the question of water consumption, large-scale
chemical coolant usage, air pollution associated with these backup generators that are required, as well as noise concerns. Um but I think the big thing here is just I want to bring this to your attention and kind of give you a little bit of context on some of these issues, um as well as some different solutions that other municipalities in
Princeton have um sorry, not in New Jersey, I should say have um used to approach this. As you may know, recently New York became the first state in the nation to put a moratorium on data centers or specifically hyperscale data centers in the whole state. Um and unfortunately, that hasn't quite worked
out to the same level in New Jersey. Um the leaders haven't been too behind it on the state level, but there have been 40-plus municipalities um throughout the state, really all over the state, you know, northern, central, southern as well, um in 13 different counties, I should mention, that have passed ordinances either banning data centers
temporarily, putting a moratorium on them, um or at least starting some of these introductory talks about this problem. Um and I really think that, you know, right now Princeton has a great opportunity to get ahead of the curve, to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to something so relevant right now. Um and what I would say is
that, um you know, the Pinelands Alliance has really learned that getting ahead of this is very helpful in the context of um this problem from working with residents in Vineland, Monroe, and Manchester. And, you know, I'm aware that uh I don't think there's any proposals right now in the Princeton municipality, but I would say that the
proximity of projects in South Brunswick, Somerset, and East Windsor, as well as the location of the NJAI Hub, you know, just down Alexander Road, shows that this really is a time to consider a temporary moratorium on data centers in New Jersey, in Princeton, I should say, um in particular. And just to give you guys some context, you know,
I really understand that this is a topic that um is difficult and of course data centers are really important step of developing AI um and as a student, you know, I understand that this is part of the future of Princeton, of the nation, of humanity, of solving various problems, but I just wanted to bring that up and say that I think it's a
relevant thing to start considering right now. I appreciate you guys. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right, next on the list, Sean. >> Uh it's nice to see you guys again. >> Good to see you. >> I just wanted to to take this >> just for the record, so they have it when they do the minutes, can you just say your name?
>> Okay. Yeah, my name is Sean Elwood. Uh I live at 137 Poe Road in Princeton, New Jersey. Um yeah, I just wanted to to take this time. I'm going to you know, try and keep it brief, not not take up too much of your of your time this evening. Uh just to give you a a basic recap of the Princeton Triathlon this past year. Um I
just wanted to start off by thanking all of you um from you know, from me personally, from the Princeton Triathlon team, and from really from everyone who was involved uh with the event this year. And you know, we couldn't do it without you guys. We couldn't do it without all the the support from the Township, all
the departments, police, wreck, uh EMS, just to name a few. Um Yeah, it was it was really amazing. So, I kind of want to just break it down into to two basic buckets, just some basic uh basic stats, basic uh uh info of the event this year, um and
then kind of uh uh a new direction that that we took it in that that I'm actually pretty proud of. Um so, this year we estimated that uh we had a total involvement of about 800 people um broken up into uh participants, volunteers, uh spectators, uh
other personnel, sponsors, um and the break up there is about 500 sign-ups, which uh is over double from from last year, uh which is pretty amazing. Uh and I just want to highlight uh we had about 100 youth athletes, which uh uh nationally is is one of the
one of the largest youth specific events in basically in the entire country, um which which is pretty amazing. Um we had a a force of about 90 volunteers, police, EMS, um and lifeguards, which uh led to another year without any major safety issues.
Um we had sponsorship from over a dozen local companies, Pizza Star, Bank of Princeton, uh you know, among many many others. Um we were featured in in multiple news outlets, including Town Topics, uh Town Topics, and I believe Planet Princeton as well.
Um and then just like last year, 100% of the proceeds went to went to charity. Um uh one being Dare to Try based out in Chicago. Um they they aid disabled athletes, kind of give them a pipeline up to the Paralympics. Um and then uh
another part of the uh part of the proceeds went is going to um uh all the township departments that were involved um that I that I named before. And then Yeah. I mean, that pretty much wraps up uh the basic stats for Sorry, for this year. Uh it was
incredibly successful, um and and now for the uh second part, there we kind of took two new directions with with this year. Um you know, obviously we we uh expanded pretty significantly from last year. Um and the the two ways we were kind of able to do that is uh a larger focus on
like the the family element of it. Um we, you know, we did many many smaller things to to kind of, you know, increase that family focus. And we had in specific specifically one uh like a branded family corner uh at which uh over 80
families participated in. Um and even just uh you know, seeing walking into Princeton after the event, just seeing all the all the families wearing the Princeton Tri shirts, it it's an amazing feeling and it's an an an energy that that is kind of hard to capture. Um and I'm really glad I can be a part
of. >> Sean. >> Yeah. Sorry, I said. Um Yeah, just wanted to that wraps it up for for this year. Thank you again for for all your support. >> Thank you. That's amazing the difference. Thank you. Great job. >> Well done. Yeah, just want to say thank
you. I you guys are really amazing. Really it's just it's inspiring that a high school group can put something like that together. So, congrats to you guys. >> Thank you. >> Have a good night. >> Is there anybody else in the room that has any comments or anything that wasn't
on the agenda? Okay, anybody on Zoom has comments for anything not on the agenda? All right, we'll close the public comment part of the meeting. David? >> I move to adjourn. >> Thank you. Is there a second? Thank you,
Michelle. All in favor say I. We're done. Thanks for being here. Have a great evening, everybody.