Good afternoon. Welcome to the first meeting of the year. Today is January 1st, 2026. Happy New Year to all. Alyssa, can you please read the publication? >> In compliance with chapter 231 and public law 1975, notice of this meeting to be held at the Criminal Justice
Building, 61 Main Street, South River, has been published in the Home News Tribune on December 17, 2025. posted on the municipal building bulletin board, the burough website, and the front door of the criminal justice building at 61 Main Street, South River. >> Thank you, Alyssa. I would like to call
our Councilman elect, Joseph Donado, to the podium, please. I'll be right next to you. >> Put your hands on the Bible. [Music] There you go. >> We'll get organized.
>> Ready? All right. Speak clearly into the mic. That's all. All right. >> Repeat everything I say. I state your name. >> I, Joseph A. Dano >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of
the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> that I will bear true faith >> that I will bear true faith >> and allegiance >> and allegiance >> to the same uh same and to the governments established in the United States
>> to the same and the governments established in the United States >> in this state >> in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people >> and that I will faithfully >> and that I will faithfully >> impartially >> and impartially >> and justly perform >> and justly perform
>> all the duties of the office of >> all the duties of the office of >> burrow of South River council member >> burrow of South River council member >> according to the best of my abilities >> according to the best of my abilities. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> Congratulations council me.
[Music] Start over now. You can shake. >> Congratulations. Right. No delay. Take your time. Congratulations. I'd like to call up Councilwoman Elect Sandra Dilva. >> Repeat everything I say. I state your
name. I, Sandra Dilva, >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of this state of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of this state of New Jersey >> that I will bear true faith
>> that I will bear true faith >> and allegiance >> and allegiance >> to the same >> to the same >> and to the governance established in the United States >> and to the governance established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of to the people
>> and that I will part faithfully >> and that I will faithfully >> and partially >> and partially >> and justly perform all the duties of the office of >> all the dut >> I justly perform >> and justly perform all the duties >> of the office of >> of the office of >> the burrow of South River council member
>> the bureau of South River council member >> according to the best of my abilities >> according to the best of my abilities >> so help me God >> so help me God >> congratulations council woman [Applause]
Now he's going there. Melissa, roll call, please. >> Mayor Gindy, >> here. >> Councilwoman Dilva, >> here. Councilman Dantis >> here. >> Councilman Donado >> here. >> Councilman Demian >> here. >> Councilman Janicopolis
>> here. >> Councilman Gchensky >> here. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice
for all. >> Please stay standing for a moment of silence. You may be seated. >> I will be opening it up to the uh new council members uh comments. I'll start off with Councilman Joe Donado. >> Thank you, Mayor Gundy. Uh wow. Um I'm
almost at a loss for words right now. And for those of you who know me well, that says a lot. Uh, but I said almost. Um, well, in any case, let me give it a shot. Uh, first I thank the mayor, I thank Mayor Gendy for his consideration
having my family, specifically my granddaughters, um, as part of the, uh, the swearing in ceremony. Uh, to my family and friends, thank you all for your support and encouragement uh, throughout this whole campaign. Um I
believe this election brought out many voters that may have been many more than had been expected. Um certainly each candidate brought with them knowledge and qualifications that attracted attention. Uh to each one I want to express my deepest
respect to our mayor and members of the council. I believe we will successfully work together to make South Burrow South River even better. and I'm looking forward to working with each one of you to realize that goal. To all the residents of the burrow who are also
here, regardless of who you voted for, thank you as well. For regardless of how you voted, I will never turn a deaf ear to your concerns and will always be do my best for the burrow of South River and each and every one of you. Honestly, I will not always have the answers you
seek, but I will give it my best try. And if the answers are not to be found here, I will let you know that too. I've been doing that for many years with the county and I will continue doing here. We have a very diverse community as you all know, different cultures and
religious roots, different languages. However, we must never forget we are all family and as a family we need to take care of each other with what we say and what we do. So, let's see what we can do together to make the Burough of South
River all that it can be. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Councilwoman Sandra D. >> Good morning, everyone. I want to start off by saying just like Joe said, thank you for all your support. Uh regardless
of what side you're on, doesn't make a difference. we're all in it for the same result, and that's to make our small town better and get it back on the maps where it belongs. Um, I want to thank the council members um for your help, your guidance, and your support along
with the residents of this town and especially my children that are both here. Um, they are my rock and my world, and without them, I wouldn't have come this far. Um, my family members, there are on the other side of the ocean. Um,
I thank them too for their support. There were many times where I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I love this town. I've lived here 24 years, had a business for 15 years. My kids started out in this school. Um, and I think together we can make it a better
town. Um, like Joe said, there is diversity in this town. a lot of cultures, a lot of religions, but at the end of the day, we're all river rats and we all live in South River and we love this town and I believe that we can make it better and I look forward to working
with the council and mayor along with everybody else that works at the burrow and all the residents. Um, everybody knows who I am in town with my business. Um, reach out to me, come by. I will an try to answer questions, but I'm sure in the beginning I'll have to come back to
these professionals on the council and the mayor to get answers. But I promise we will get answers and we will work together. Again, thank you and I promise to do the best that I can. [Applause]
I'd >> like to open the floor to a nomination for council president. I make a motion to nominate Matt DeSantis for council president. >> I'll second that motion. >> Motion by Councilman Damian, seconded by
Councilman Koshinsky. Is there any other nominations? >> Thank you. Go for the roll call. >> Councilwoman Dilva >> here. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Councilman Donado. >> Yes. >> Councilman Demian. >> Yes. >> Councilman Janicopolis. Yes.
>> Councilman Gchensky. >> Yes. >> Councilman De Santis. >> Yes. >> Congratulations, Council President. >> Like to say a few words. >> Of course. Uh first, I just want to welcome Joe and Sandra to the team. We
truly are a team. I'm grateful that and honored that those that sit alongside me have put their confidence in me to be the council president. I spent the last year and a half listening and learning. Um, and I pledge to continue to be visible, approachable, answering
questions, taking suggestions, and being transparent with our goals for 2026 and beyond. So, thank you. Happy New Year. [Applause] Now before we go into the consent resolutions, uh we I am adding the
mayorial appointments uh due to one of our boards actually meets right before our next council meeting which is on the 19th which is happens to be the land useplanning board. So as of as of right now for the class 4 Sandra Adelino will
retain the seat. Uh Christian Alto will be moved up to class four. Uh, alternate one, Brian Almeida will be moved up uh to class four as well. And then for my mayor's alternate, Caitlyn Vargo will still remain as the mayor's alternate.
Thank you. Alyssa, I'd like to go into consent resolutions 2020 2026-1 to-9. >> Organizational consent resolutions 20261 to 20269. One, rules of council. Two, council
leaison. Three, 2026 meeting schedule. Four, 2026 temporary budget. Five, official newspapers. Six, appoint of burrow attorney. Seven, appointment of burrow engineer. Eight, appointment of burough prosecutor. Nine, appointment of burough planner.
>> Council, what is your motion? >> Motion to move forward. >> Second. >> Motion by council president Danis. Coun motion seconded by Councilman Demian. >> Councilwoman Dilva. >> Yes. Councilman Donado.
>> Uh yes, with the exception of uh six, eight, and nine. Um I don't I'm not that familiar with the uh those appointments and I'd rather abstain from those. >> Councilman Demian, >> yes. >> Councilman Janopus, >> yes.
>> Councilman Gchensky, >> yes. >> Council President Dantis, >> yes. >> Thank you. Uh CMA, you could take your seat. Justin, you can take your uh Christina, you can take a seat. >> Thank you. >> Welcome aboard.
>> Like to open this to the public. You have five minutes. Uh state your name, your f uh street address. Good afternoon. Jim Hutchinson, 38 Virginia Street. First off, congratulations and happy new year to uh everyone up here. Congratulations,
Councilwoman. Congratulations, Councilman. Congratulations, council president. Um I just have a question concerning the burough attorney. Um so, Mr. Mayor, um, when there was the
RFP sent out, how many firms submitted proposals for the burough attorney? >> Two. >> And what was your reason and rationale and your decision-m behind changing the longstanding relationship with our former burough attorney and going with
this new firm? >> Well respected uh, firm local in Somerset. um very well respected in Middle Sex as well as Somerset County and very well recommended by quite a few uh legislatives. >> So, our former burough attorney served
South River for over a decade uh going back in time actually when I sat up there. Um what does this new firm provide or specialize in that the former did not? >> They specialize in a lot of municipal just like the other one also specializes more than ever on land use. Uh so yes,
it could be a very uh good uh possible for us for South River. >> So you're saying they specialize in land use and our former business our burough attorney did not. >> Not as well as I looked at the credentials. >> Okay. Um in the bid uh specifications,
which bid proposed the cheaper hourly rate >> for the attorney? >> She was hourly by $10 less. >> It was $10 less. >> Yes. >> You sure of that? >> Positive. Okay. >> And they did not the burough attorney
this the new burough attorney does not charge for uh travel time. >> Okay. So, have we had any personal or burrow dealings with this new burough attorney? >> Absolutely not. >> So, based upon that, again, my thought
is that we made a decision to go with a new unknown firm, >> correct? over our long-term successful business relationship with our former burough attorney at a higher rate. >> $10 less $10 more. Yeah. >> And again, I'll you're you're sure it's
$10. >> I'm positive. >> Okay. I'll check on that. >> Okay. Happy New Year, everybody. Oh, one more thing. One more thing. The last meeting I was at, I I talked about um possibly having more meetings because we only have basically one meeting a year
or one meeting a month. I see that in March and I believe June or July there's two meetings but the rest of the year there's only one meeting per month. >> Correct. >> Um why did we go to one meeting a month? >> Actually it was three. Three meetings are two meetings each month. >> So including the the reorganization
meeting in January. Why did we go to one meeting a month? >> By law? Well, we have to pay our bills within a month, 30 days. So we're within if you look at our schedule, it's within three weeks of each each meeting. Each meeting is literally three weeks apart.
>> As I stated at the last meeting, one of the things that I'm a little concerned about is we have one meeting a month. We used to have two. In fact, when we had business meetings and regular meetings, we had four meetings a month. Um, now we're
having one meeting a month. That allows the public an opportunity one time a month to come up to the microphone except for those where we have two. And now we've been reduced to five minutes of speaking time. used to be 10 minutes. So, we're
eliminating at least 70 approximately 75% of the opportunity of the public to come up, express concerns, ask questions, deal with subject matter on the agenda. Again, anything associated with the good and welfare of the burough of South River. Um, we may want to
consider adding some time to that. >> No problem. >> But, um, again, from the public's perspective, we don't have the as much time to react. We don't have much time to come up and address the governing body. So again, something to consider. But again, happy new year everybody.
Congratulations. >> Thank you for coming. >> Anyone else from the public? >> First call. Second call. Do I have a motion to close? >> Wait. >> Happy new year everyone. Julie Ma, 189 Main Street. I just wanted to
congratulate our two members. Um, I also want to acknowledge that we do have a full room here today, which is great and acknowledge that with a small town within South River, we do have our county here uh supporting our burrow and appearing
to our things. And I just want to thank all of our county members who showed up today. Uh, it shows that the county really does support South River and um knows we're here. I know we're a small town, so we always appreciate seeing um
familiar faces here. So, thank you. Uh I also want to thank the mayor for putting the appointments on today's agenda um because I did call the burrow this week. I do know that we made this meeting a bit smaller than we used to. We used to
appoint all of our appointments on January 1st. Uh, we changed that not too long ago, but there are meetings that do happen before your next meeting. I do believe the parks and wreck also meets before your next council meeting. So,
those are might be other members that won't have an appointment before that meeting. Um, and I do want to say I never thought me and Jim Hutchinson would have so much in common in a one council meeting here today. Um,
I think I mentioned before, uh, when I was still on council how much we decreased our meetings here at the burrow. Uh, we used to have at least 24 council meetings a year. We're down to
13. Uh, and this also happened when, not to, um, you know, bash you guys up there because I believe only Jim and uh, the mayor were on council, but we also gave the council a pay upgrade the same year
that you started decreasing uh, the council meetings. So, I you do see members of the bureau concerned about having more meetings. So, just something to think about in the new year. So, thank you very much and happy new year.
>> Thank you, >> Teresa Hutchinson, 38 Virginia Street. Okay, I never thought I would agree with Julie and Jim, but I do agree that there has to be some thought put into increasing the number of council
meetings. And um Julie brought something up that makes she made a good point. Uh an increase in pay but a decrease in meetings. I'd like to see more meetings as well. Like to say happy new year to everyone
and congrats to uh Councilwoman Sandra Dilva and Councilman Joe Donado. And really, I know you worked hard and and and you deserve the seats. And I just
want to let the members that did not make it this time around, it's it's hard. It's tough, but there's always next year. So, never give up. Never give up. And um we'll see how it works next year. That's it.
>> Thank you. Anybody else from the public? Uh >> I think I have something else to say. Oh my gosh. Congrats to our new council president, Matt DeSantis. >> Thank you. >> Welcome.
>> Anyone else from the public? First call. Second call. Do I have a motion to close? >> Motion to close public. >> Second. >> Motion by Council President uh Desanis, seconded by Councilman Kosinsky. >> All in favor? I >> we will start with governing uh council
comments. Uh Councilman Donado. >> Yes. Um first on behalf of myself and my family, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year. I'm looking forward to doing a lot with the council. I think we can do it addressing the issue of
meetings. Um 100% uh behind that. I think there's a lot of room for discussion, especially bringing the public in. You want to get the public in so they actually are a part of everything that goes on in South River. And when they have a stake in what goes on in South River, South River will have
a great chance of and I think we'll be successful in getting better and more enthusiasm in what goes on. Again, we have a lot of diversity in the town. We got a lot of resources in the town. I think it would be a good thing and we need to as a council I think we need to
discuss that. I remember and this going back many many years ago when the council meetings would sometimes go to around midnight uh with all the in fact they they'd have to cut it short because people started to fall asleep probably with everything that was going on. So I I think it's
it's warranted to do it. And as far as the pay goes I when I started running I didn't even know we got paid when they told me I said what are you kidding me? I thought this was like a volunteer thing. Uh but um yeah uh and I don't mind doing the work and spending the
time and I don't think anyone uh the council members uh will agree with me that that's why we're here. Um so that's something that we need to discuss. Um other than that, I look forward to uh meeting more people and working with the council. Um thank you very much.
>> Thank you, sir. Councilman Kosinsky. Uh Gina Cop. >> Hello everyone. I'd like to start off by saying happy new year. I think we're gonna have a really good year this year. We got a lot planned. Um I'd like to uh piggyback on what Joe just said. I was
kind of surprised to find out that we get paid for this, although it is just a stipen. I don't want anyone to think it's a salary. Um but I also recall meetings going on into 10 11 o'clock at night and multiple
meetings. But currently we have meetings and they get done in an hour, two maybe two hours at the most. They don't take as long. We seem to accomplish everything on the agenda.
You know, they're not running overtime or anything. I think just what are we trying to do? Make the meetings 20 minutes because there's another one coming in two weeks, you know? So, I'm not against having more meetings because I'm busy. But if
we're accomplishing what we need to accomplish in the meetings that we have, that's not such a bad thing. It's just I I'm not trying to say we're more efficient than it used to be. I'm not sure what the reason why is, but we are
hitting our our marks that we need to hit and getting out of here at a reasonable time. And uh I look forward to working with the boards that I've been uh assigned to and we have a lot of those meetings also to attend and those
are almost weekly. So it's not just one meeting a month. You know there's environmental, there's EDC, there's many other things that we also attend. So that's all. But I'm happy to be here and
I appreciate the thoughts and I'm sure if we ran into situations where we're sitting here till 11:00 at night, we would add more meetings. And uh that's all I have to say and welcome to our new board members and I'm happy to see my
good friend Matt there as council president. Thank you, >> Councilman Demi. >> Thank you, mayor. First, I'd like to thank uh former council members Tony Cula and Donna Ballas for their many years as councilman. In the past decades,
uh the two uh Tony was not only a council member, but he was also council president. And Donna also has many years as council council woman, was also a mayor at one time. I thank them for their services over the two years when I was on uh previously on council. They were here and I thank them for their
past years of serving the burrow. Um, I welcome and congrat congratulate Sand Sandra and Joe to the council. I look forward to working with each of you over the next year. Congratulations to Matt as our new council president.
Congratulations to the newly appointed fire chiefs. I know they were fire chiefs last year, but they did such a great job and they're continuing this year. Steve uh Drogus, Scott Wolf, and Bill Smith. a happy and healthy new year new year to everybody and I look forward to every single one here on the council.
We all work together like all of you had mentioned the new council members. Um we work together. We're here for the uh the town and that's what our goal is and we strive to do that and continue with the two of you joining us. Thank you and
congratulations to the both of you. >> Thank you Councilwoman Dilva. Well, happy and healthy new year to everybody and again thank you um for entrusting me to take on this role. Um I promise to work for the bureau um and work
alongside the council members here. Congratulations, Joe. Congratulations, Matt. Welld deserved. Um and in regards to the meetings, um I think if everything is addressed at the meetings, I've been at a couple of these meetings and they're very thorough. Um, but if
should anything arise that I'm sure we needed to implement another meeting, I think the council would work together to address the concerns and possibly schedule another one if it needed be. Uh, but I think together we'll work really well together. Um, I've been
appointed to a couple other boards, so I know there's going to be meetings involved there, too. Um, but I think together we'll do a great job and we'll make South River proud and uh, we'll do good things. Thank you again and happy new year. Councilman Kosinsky.
>> Thank you, Mayor. First, well, I'm probably the only antique up here. Uh, >> vintage. >> Aside from that, uh, there was a time, too, when we had two council meetings a week where we had the business agenda and then we had the regular agenda. And it has been brought down quite a bit and
everything like that too. It's a bit more streamlined. We do get things done. Um, also, what can I say? I thank all of the burough workers. Uh, sometimes people have issues. They may wind up at Washington Street. Contain yourself.
Think it over a little bit, too. Let's not have any disputes. I'm sure they could all get resolved. And with that, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year. Okay. Thank you, Mayor, Council President. So, I I think this year I learned a lot
and even this election, you see, it was split, but we're on the day as together. We're in a room here that effectively could be split. We have residents that are clearly on separate sides of the aisle sharing the same concerns. They share those concerns. They share this room. And when we all walk outside, we
all share this town. I can tell you I've spoken to almost everyone in this room throughout my life, whether they were my football coach or the party chair or just a colleague or someone that I know from a a charity that I'm involved in. and
party lines do not dictate the direction. I understand it's a political position. We need to move forward together. There has not been one thing that I've seen on an agenda that come across my desk that I thought it should be this or that
because I'm this or that. That's not how it goes. Joe, I've already made it clear to you that you're a part of this team just as much and you should not feel like you're the one because it's one body. It's not five to one. There's no ratio. We're going to do this together. I want to be approachable
to each and every one of you. And I promise to do that. And I cannot promise you perfection just like I said last year, but I will promise you progress and we will listen and we will take chances and we may swing and miss, but we're going to swing and we all love South River. A lot of people spread
their wings. I spread my roots. I didn't leave. I stayed. I dug deeper. For all of you, my wife, my kids, my family who's going to be over today for my daughter's birthday. I care about every one of you. Not D, not R, SR. So, please
give me that chance. Do it with me. I love everyone in this town and I'm going to make sure that you're all fully aligned with what I'm trying to do as a council president and lead by example, one governing body. Thank you. >> Thank you. Now, before I get into my talk, our
council meetings consists of, if you're lucky, maybe an hour. Uh, if you're lucky, you have maybe 10 people in the audience. I have noticed that all council meetings are behind social media. They will get
onto social media and they will dictate what we or what we're not doing right, but yet they will not come to the council meeting. We have opened the door multiple times. We have opened the door in a way that even when we're out in the open, come talk to us. If the meetings
were going that long, I would 100% add two meetings at a clip. Right now, by law, we have to be paying our bills within 30 30 days. So, if you look at my council meetings, we're doing it every 3 weeks. We have been doing that for quite some time now. when it comes down to the
council member uh when it comes down to a council member um their pay besides going to a council meeting they have so many other leaison positions that they attend do they deserve to get paid for that my personal opinion I don't even look at the number
because I don't even know what I get paid but when it comes down to us doing our job for the town there are more than just a council meeting that we attend now I'd like to congratulate and welcome our newly elected council members Sandra Dilva and Joseph Donado. We look forward
to your service and wish to you the great success as we begin begin this new chapter. To Donna Ballas and Anthony Ciola, thank you for your dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of the residents of South River. Your commitment to our community has been made a lasting impact. As we begin 2026,
I want to take a moment to reflect on what was very productive and impact and impactful year of South River. In 2025, this governing body remained focused on investing in our infrastructure, improving our quality of life, and being responsible towards stewards of taxpayer
dollars. Throughout that bureau, we completed significant road improvements, including sections of 14 streets. Projects that directly improve safety and delay of travel of our residents. Our parks also was a new major upgrades. At our Kowski baseball field, we
installed a turf field and complete additional improvements, including the new playground, gazebo, cameras, and bathroom upgrades supported by our supported by $630,000 in grant funding. Volunteer Park received a new playground, security cameras through a
$750,000 grant grant. Fargo Park was now featuring features the new pickup courts thanks to the nearly 290,000 in grant funding. I would like to applaud the county for that for helping us do that.
So, thank you and we are going to be working more with you in the future. We also made improve important investments in our municipal facilities, including upgrades to the police dispatch area, roof repairs across the burough buildings, the purchase of a new
salt shed for our DPW yard, and a new vehicles and equipments for our departments. In the water and sewer, we continue critical upgrades to the pipes, meters, pump stations, the water treatment plant, and a water tank. We
secured a $1 million grant for our water improvements applied to the NJ-1 Bank funding and begin our bureau wide water pipe replacement, one of the most significant infrastructure projects in our community's history that will be
bidded out this year. Our electric utility has achieved major milestones. The first battery project in our new fully operational, saving the burough approximately $900,000 annually. The second battery project will come online 2026 and is expected to
generate even greater savings in 2027. While many of utilities are raising rates, South River has been able to lower electric rates and maintain some of the lowest in the state, all while continuing upgrades in our electrical substation. None of this happens without
teamwork. I want to thank the members of this governing body, our burough employees, our department heads, volunteers, and residents of their continued dedication and support. I look forward to building on the monument of 2026 as we continue work together to
keep South River moving forward. I want to thank you all. Have a happy and healthy new year. Do I have an adjournment? >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Motion by Council President Danis. Uh seconded by Councilman Demian.
>> All in favor? >> I the meeting is adjourned. Thank you.