in city hall filed in the city clerk's office and posted on the city of Trenton website. Formal action will be taken. Roll call. >> Councilwoman Edwards >> present. >> Councilwoman Feliciano. Councilwoman Feliciano.
>> Uh Mr. Garcia, she is on I believe she's going to be on the call tonight. >> Uh for the record, Councilwoman Feliciano is attending remotely. Uh, she is here virtually. >> Hello, I'm here. Hello. Yes, >> thank you.
>> Noted. Councilwoman Frisbee, for the record, Councilwoman Frisbee is here and present as well uh virtually. Councilwoman Frisbee, if you could unmute yourself. >> Mr. Garcia, I think you have to unmute us because it wasn't allowing me to do
it. >> Present. >> Okay. >> Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, Councilwoman Gonzalez, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Councilman Harrison, Councilwoman Williams,
>> present. You present. >> Council President Figuro Kenber >> present. >> Thank you. Myself, Brandon Garcia, Municipal Clerk, present. Mr. Edward Colloji, legislative council. Thank you. And Mr. Bridges, uh, maybe in route. Thank you.
And madam president at this time if you would like I can read the invocation >> please. >> Certainly. Almighty God who holds the fate of man and nation we most humbly beseech thee to bless this our city these deliberations and these thy servants that they may act with wisdom
and understanding for the good of our community and thy greater glory. Amen. And at this time, Madam President, as I understanding, we have some presentations. If you'd like to introduce those. >> Yes. Um, I'd like to introduce our first presentation this evening. Merca County
Planning Division. Quick build round about project. There's 10 minutes for the presentation. If you forgive me, you I'll have to speak fast. So, my name is Matthew Lawson. Sure. Matthew Lawson. I'm the assistant
planning director for Mercer County and longtime transportation planner. Um, and I'm here to present on a project that we've been working on. Speak up a little bit. Okay. Um, present on a project that that we've
been working on to try to save money for the city of Trenton and improve traffic conditions. Um, this is a project that is federally funded and it is uh designed to improve safety and
congestion in the city hopefully by reducing the number of traffic signals that the city has to has to maintain and manage. Um, traffic signals are relatively expensive over the long term to uh to maintain and expensive to uh to construct.
Um, so this project has a wider catchment than just the city because we wanted to provide some opportunity, some benefit for the for the county and for Hamilton and Lawrence Township that also own signals in the project area. Um, and
so the primary beneficiary is the city. Um and it comes from my own experience driving in the city and my um frustrations with uh with the operation of traffic signals and also experience with a a
project with the traffic manager Anthony Santo years ago trying to improve bus throughput on some of the key key thoroughares and understanding better some of the challenges that that Anthony faces with maintaining those signals.
Um, so the All right, we might have a show. Cool. So this slide shows the project area in general, but the focus is is really on the signals in the city of Trenton. Um,
I have with me Joe Platt, who is the project manager for our consultant, traffic planning and design. And we asked TPD to look at the traffic signal warrants for the the signals in Trenton, 84 signals under Trenton jurisdiction.
And the pie chart shows that about 12% of those signals are warranted under the manual of uniform traffic control devices, the MUTCD. Um about 31% have no volume warrants whatsoever and the remaining are margin
marginally warranted. They might be warranted for an evening peak hour. Um or there might be other conditions, safety conditions, a walking school bus or something like that would which would warrant the safety improvements that a signal might afford. Um what we're what
we're looking at is uh what the Federal Highway Administration calls a an intersection control evaluation for those signals that are not warranted. 26 signals. And if we're taking out signals that are not warranted that that can't be uh con considered from a federal
highway perspective, then there are three options essentially remaining for us. One is a stop controlled intersection, a two-way stop, which is the most common intersection type in the city of Trenton. An all-way stop, which
is uh something that the city's been installing for safety reasons in a number of locations. Um, Brunswick and Ingam is probably the most recent significant safety in installation of that. And then there's roundabouts. Rand roundabouts are a federal highway proven
safety countermeasure. And um they don't work everywhere because they tend to be pretty large. Um so we need to go through the intersection control evaluation to see what um control type is appropriate. Um, TPD has prepared
this chart of the relative benefits of different traffic controls. Um, and in the the cost column, you can see that the traffic signals and and a standard roundabout, a single lane roundabout are the most expensive to install. Traffic
signals are the most expensive to maintain. And so reducing those costs by eliminating unwarranted signals is one of the main objects of this this project. There are other benefits and the first column showing conflicts is very important because in a traffic
signal um there are 32 points at which vehicles can come into conflict with each other and um that's so a roundabout will because it it reduces those uh
those conflicts to only eight for emerging and and departing um uh conflict. conflicts. Um, roundabouts are much safer. Um, you'll see that the conflicts for an a two-way stop are similar to a traffic signal. It's the
same number of ultimate conflicts, but with a two-way traffic two-way two-way stop, the main road has right of way. And just like a green light, um, traffic will will pass through that intersection, not even looking for cross traffic or conflicts, pedestrians in the
way. um any anybody who gets in the way is at fault. Um and so two ways two-way stop controls are are relatively dangerous. An all-way stop is safer because everybody has to slow down. Everybody
has to look for conflicts in every direction. Um roundabouts are safer because everybody has to yield on entry to any traffic that's already in the in the roadways rotary circle. Um but always stops because everybody is
stopping to look every direction instead of just looking to the other vehicles that are in the roundabout may have a stronger safety benefit for pedestrians and and for motors motorists in general. Um there are other there are other comparisons in this chart. I hope that
you have copies of the PowerPoint presentation but we can supply that if you don't. So, this project uh what what I'm trying to u encourage you to do is to consider a resolution to approve a memorandum of understanding with the
county for uh a trial roundabout at one of your stopc controlled intersections. Um and there are different kinds of roundabouts. What we're looking at is a mini roundabout. A standard roundabout generally takes about
130 140 feet of right ofway for the circular roadway. A mini roundabout can be installed in almost any Trenton intersection. Um Federal Highway Administration says that they can be installed at intersections with as small as 45 ft corner to corner diagonally
across the intersection. Um they're they're different from a standard roundabout because there's no object in the middle of the of the roundabout. It's essentially a a circular speed table in the middle of the intersection. And so we want to try a a a trial
roundabout to see how people behave, see how people react to it, and to see if it's considered safe. And so as this project continues, the council will have the opportunity to to weigh in on that and what sorts of traffic controls are appropriate in the city. Um, the mini
roundabout is something that, and I'll I'll get to some some design slides in a moment, but the county will install as part of this project that I've I've discussed with our highway department that we have the manpower and we have the resources to be able to install this. Um, but like the South Broad
Streetscape intersection or improvement project, um, we would like a memorandum of understanding assigning appropriate liability. So that will come at a later council meeting. The intersection that we're focusing on, and this was really um nominated by the
the municipal engineer and by the traffic manager, is Center Street at Ferry. Um the intersection is challenged because of both vertical and horizontal geometry. The vertical geometry, both both streets are descending, going
downhill at that that location. It's an acute angle intersection, so sight lines are bad. and it's a two-way stop control. So, it's, you know, it's a it's a safety concern. It's hard to see, it's hard to get through. Um, the traffic volumes and traffic speeds are
appropriate for the installation of a roundabout. We feel it's a safe and appropriate improvement. So, the presentation here shows a a draft of the design plan. We have a more developed design that the municipal engineer
Renaora has has considered and approved. And so we are ready to with your blessing proceed with installation of that mini roundabout. Um for the larger project for these 26 intersections, we have to go through that that intersection control evaluation.
And thinking forward to what the what how the project will unfold, it seems appropriate to do it in phases. Um, installing stop controls is much easier and cheaper, pounding in a sign as opposed to putting in electrical equipment. And that may be a the initial
phase, followed by, if it's appropriate, installing roundabouts. How how we pay for this going forward is is an open question. Um, we're starting this with federal funds and potentially we can continue it with federal funds. um whether it's it's managed by the county,
whether it's managed by the city, those are open questions, but we have to get through this phase of the project first. So um there are a number of of steps remaining after we install the trial roundabout. A decision point will come after we observe the operations and can
report on those operations. Um but then to finish off the project, we need to complete the analysis of the traffic operations at each of those intersections to do the analysis to decide what controls are appropriate. So on on the screen now is my contact
information. Um I'm I'm sure you can find my email on the county website as well. Um, and we have um a URL here that's included in in the PowerPoint which is going to a website with
information about the project and why we selected these 26 intersections for analysis. So that's my presentation. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, sir. Um, yes, I don't believe that any of council received um the information about this or the PowerPoint
slides. So that would be helpful. Um, it's kind of hard to read some of this from our standpoint and I'm sure from the audience standpoints. Um, I I want to open up for my colleagues to ask questions. I had one quick question for you though. Um, you said well two quick questions. You said we're starting with
federal funds and we should continue with federal funds. Um, what is the proposal after that? >> May continue with federal funds. >> So, Mercer County is working on on we've worked on both a federally funded roundabout and a locally funded roundabout. Um, the federally funded
roundabout has taken us probably six years at this point. Um, and $3 million. The local roundabout took us a year and $800,000. So, what if if there are many roundabouts here, they're they're not much different in construction cost than
a than a regular speed hump um because you're just pouring some asphalt in the middle of the intersection, paint and signs. Um the possibility is for for continuing this as a federal project. We have to get through from concept development which is the phase that
we're in through preliminary engineering and final design. So typically a federal project will take another six or eight years. Um stop control to reduce basically to remove the signals could happen very quickly. >> Okay. So just to be clear, we're not
asking for city funding for this project. >> Not at all. >> Okay. Um, and one other question. Um, I don't know how true this is, but generally speaking, New Jersey is the only state that has roundabouts. Um, I'm not sure if that's true, but that's a
running joke. Um, I I know you your first slide, um, I'm not sure if that kind of spoke to the safety issues as far as traffic studies, how many accidents occur around these roundabouts. I know we do see quite a few sometimes, but I don't know um, if you actually stipulated that in the
slide. Again, we it's really hard to see, right? >> Um how many accidents >> with these roundabouts as opposed to these other um four-way and two-way stops. Was that >> was that articulated? >> Yes. Okay. >> Roundabouts are safer. >> Much rounder safe roundabouts are safer
than just about any other traffic control out there. Um the uh the crash reduction factor for a roundabout compared to a traffic signal is in the range of 80%. >> Okay. >> Right. and and you know for for other intersection stop controls there's a
similar improvement. Um so much safer. Whether it's appropriate in the city context is another another question that we'll you'll have to consider later. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Council President. >> Yes. Council Vice President. >> Council President, I'm sorry. Uh Councilwoman Gonzalez did have her hand
up. I'm not sure whether she still has a question. >> Okay. >> Council Gonzalez. >> Yes. Hi. I was trying to put my camera on but it's not working but it's fine. Um so I I because I heard most of it I just want to make sure that I understood he is offering he said the first stage
was for us to do the study and those 22 26 intersections. Was that what I heard? >> Um we are doing the study under this project. >> Okay. Because I know I heard ferry and center and I know that's kind of a residential area. So that was my concern like you know is that a small
roundabout? Are you looking to, you know, knock down some of these houses? Like what is that going to look like? Or is this just at the first stage just to see if it would go there? >> We want to see if it holds air. >> Part of the part of the reason that we're considering a mini roundabout at this location or or potentially at
others is because we wouldn't have to change curb lines. We wouldn't have to tear down anything. >> Okay. >> We just need to, you know, put up signs. >> Okay. Um and and something just to piggy back off of what council president just said. I know she asked about the study on um the safety issues because I know
this the roundabouts may work in a place like Hamilton or Yuing where you know homes and a lot a lot of not a lot of people are walking but we have a lot of pedestrians that walk to and from a corner store to and from you know especially in those residential areas they're walking a lot more than you
would see in other areas. So that's my concern too about the safety part of it with pedestrians walking across from one area to another. >> Um the concern of Trenton Cities Council to about pedestrian safety and roundabouts is is not our only
municipality that is has that concern. >> Um there are a number of advantages for pedestrians. There's a pedestrian refuge island within the Splitter Islands. Um and so it's a one-stage crossing at at at across each approach. So, you're
first looking left towards the traffic in the roundabout to see if anybody's coming. And then you have a a refuge island looking right to see if any traffic is approaching the roundabout on that approach. And so, for pedestrian safety, it's often an improvement. Um, four-way stop controls may be better, as
I said before, because people approaching are looking in every direction for a conflicting move. They're looking for a pedestrian. They're looking for a policeman. are looking for other other vehicles that are approaching so that they can cross safely. >> So that's you know pedestrian safety is
a very important consideration here. U but generally roundabouts are safer than certainly two-way stop controls for pedestrians. >> Okay. Um I think that's it. CP we're going to get a copy of the presentation though. Correct. >> Absolutely. Yes. >> All right. Thank you.
>> Thank you Councilwoman. Um Council Vice President Williams. Thank you. Uh so sir, thank you very much for uh coming tonight and presenting on this because this is uh been a long-standing concern for many many years and Councilwoman Edwards and I actually uh heard formerly
she could tell about living on Furry Street. But uh we've been very very concerned and met with Mr. Santo about this I'd say three years ago at this point. So this is really exciting news. So, I do have some questions on, but one thing I want to just correct actually
the four-way stop is at MLK in Ingam with the four uh lighted stop signs and that's in preparation for someday we might be getting a traffic light there. >> But in the interim, uh the idea was to try to put the stop signs in to start orienting people that they're going to
be stopping at that light. And you know, whether that's something um that still needs to occur, I leave that to the traffic experts. Uh but it's definitely on MLK. And then uh my first question is how large would the roundabout be? And that because that is actually a fairly goodized intersection where ferry and uh
center meet. >> Um the roundabout would make no physical changes to the intersection as it exists. It's simply to the operations of the intersection. >> So do you have a radius for how big it would be? >> Oh, I don't know. It's probably probably diagonal curb to curb. That's that's
probably 70 feet. So it's well within the range. >> Okay. >> Right. Gotcha. And then um as far as the prep work for assuming you know everything's the approvals come through as they should, uh how long would it take for installation
uh to begin and be completed? Because I do realize in a sense we're this is almost a canary in a coal mine to see how this works out, >> right? Um the conversations that I've had with our highway department is that we could do it at any time as soon as we get the materials in. Basically, we need
the plastic pylons, yellow and white, to be able to, you know, direct cars appropriately within the mini roundabout. Um, and we've got the equipment and asphalt contracts to be able to install it. So, you know, I'm I'm hoping that within weeks of your
approval of anou that we can install the roundabout. >> We can do it by summer in winter if necessary. >> Okay. Um and my last question as far as uh orienting people and this isn't just res this is state workers this is everybody and their brother we have
traffic uh unfortunately we have a lot of issues with tractor trailers um particularly at night trying to sneak through the city. So it will be will there be any prep uh work on trying to get people you know ready for the idea that there's going to be a circle there
like how did how do you actually handle that? Well, we want to we want to have an outreach campaign especially to the locals near the intersection who will be using it. Um we don't expect any interruption of parking on on street because it's going to be so close to the intersection that we'll be making any changes. Um we are working on some
general outreach materials about how to operate in a roundabout. We'll have those on the county website very shortly and sharing them with some of the other towns that are concerned. Um and so how we do that outreach and whether we can use the resources of the city to be able to reach out to residents is something
I'd be very interested to learn. >> Okay. And then um actually let me add one last question because to my colleagueu's points earlier. Will there be um from the county budget for this any money for any flashing lights? Uh I know crosswalks are quite expensive.
That'd be something we'd love to have just like the suburbs have. uh what could additionally be added there just to make sure that pedestrians are number one >> um for a a trial roundabout that's a challenge we're going to we have I don't
know it's it's like 60 or 120 different plastic pylons to imitate what would eventually be there in terms of pavement or concrete >> and you know and and and that's going to be you know very visible to drivers there are some other things that that
I'm pushing for reflective markers within the raised pavement itself um to alert drivers. Um but to put in a to to put in electrical equipment like putting in a traffic light is a is a is a more
expensive alternative and for this trial that was not our intention. >> So it' be a cost prohibitive I guess at that point. >> Well it's I mean if you if if if you want to pay to maintain the the you know the electrical equipment pay the electric bills and and maintain it when it gets hit. So when a when a signal
mask gets hit, it's about $40,000 to put put back up. That's an estimate from years ago. It might be more expensive now, but when some when a sign gets knocked down, it's a it's an hour of work and pulling something out of stock. >> So it's a you know that the the cost
variation among these different controls is pretty immense. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you, Council President. >> Thank you, Council Vice President. >> Council President, Councilwoman Edwards. >> Thank you. Uh good evening. Uh first and foremost, thank you for this wonderful presentation. Um we all have been
complaining about the traffic issues and and trying to think of traffic calming solutions citywide. And as uh council vice president alluded to, we we had a walking tour with Anthony Santo around Center Street and Ferry and Bridge. I
lived on Ferry Street for five years. So, I I firsthand got to see the amount of car accidents over there, pedestrians risking life and limb. My own dog was murdered by a hit and run as we were crossing street on that street because
that intersection on ferry and bridge is crazy. Center and bridge is a little bit calmer because most people are going to the train mix bridge. Um, but I want to just go back to bridge and and center street ferry and center, I'm sorry. Um
hopefully that something happens with Ferry and Bridge Street and I hope to see that in future plans or from the city or from the county. Good. And but uh in terms of Ferry and Center Street, that intersection, I love the roundabout
idea. I'm very concerned about not having something in the middle that would kind of make them force them to go around it. I've seen dozens of people deliberately run red lights in this city. So, I'm very sure that there are
people that will ignore the roundabout and drive straight through, maybe not even realizing at first that it it's new, but there are people that will deliberately ignore that and drive through. So, I'm concerned about that. So, is there something that can be put a
small structure in the middle that will prevent people from being able to drive through in either direction? that this is why we're considering mini roundabouts rather than a full roundabout because a mini roundabout is mountable. It's traversible. That's a center street is a bus route as well.
>> Yes. >> And so getting large vehicles through intersections is a concern for all of us. >> Um and so a mini roundabout because it doesn't have a physical obstruction. It could have a sign in the middle for instance, but that sign is likely to get
run over. If we put a physical obstruction in the middle, then we're going to have crashes as people run into it and it and we'll have to make it much much bigger to have the turning radius for trucks, the turning radius for buses. >> So, in the presentation that you'll receive, there's a final slide of the
turning template for a mini roundabout in Pennsylvania that was installed and followed pretty closely by PennDOT. Um, and that shows the advantage of many roundabouts in this kind of location. >> Awesome. Thank you. Um that definitely
gives a deeper perspective of things because that is a bus route and there are a lot of um large tractor trailer trucks and a large uh box trucks that go back and forth to some of the stores over there as they're making their
deliveries. So um I'm I'm welcoming the idea and hoping that it works out and um look forward to supporting this. >> Thank you. Thank you, Council Madam >> President. >> Yes, Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Good evening. So, thank you for um this
presentation this evening and um like uh I guess every one of my colleagues have said, safety in this area um has been an issue for all of us. Even as I sat in the president's seat my um on my term, this is but something that we've been trying to address even back then. And
one of the things I would like to offer is maybe if we cannot put an island in the middle of the space that we put something um and I'm not sure what they're called, but they're similar to the little barriers that we have in our
parks. They're circular. Well, the oval um but it would be a protection so to say that to force folks to actually stay within the boundaries of where they're supposed to go on this roundabout. The other thing that I might um suggest is
if we uh and maybe I missed this in the presentation are possible rumble strips to go there to help slow the traffic um at when it um approaching the the uh roundabout. Uh, and my last one is um
flashing the the stop signs themselves. We just re had a stop sign installed over here where there would used to be a yield sign, but folks are still going through it because they're not used to seeing a stop sign. So, people need to get used to it and maybe it would be advantageous to us even if it's only on
a temporary basis to have the stop sign itself have um flashing lights on it um as folks are approaching >> to help us with that. So, those are my comments. Thank you again for the presentation. I Anything that is to help improve our safety, I'm for and I'm glad
to see that we're at least moving in the right direction with this. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Right. >> I would like a response to that. >> I would like a response to the three items that I did um put out there and if you need me to repeat them, I can do that.
So, a center island flashing flashing beacons of some kind and flashing beacons are impossible because they can be solar powered. Um, that, you know, our our intention is to try to figure out a way to make roundabouts cost, you know, cost
effective um so that they're not expensive for the city to install should you choose that route. Um, so rumble strips on the approach, we could consider that. That's an additional expense that we'd have to have to incorporate. Um Um and I thought forget
what your third point was. >> The other one was it was actually like pillars. They're little pillars that you can >> to act almost like cement >> oval. Sh. Go ahead. >> Um those are Yes, we call those ballards. And our intention with the
temporary mini roundabout is to have plastic pylons which you see from time to time. the uh the the installation that I know the best is by the county administration building on South Broad Street at the at the Riverline crossing. Um those are only glued down and I would hope that we
would we would use a different kind of pylon that's more uh more resistive to vehicles that run over them. >> Um but there are larger pylons that look like concrete structures. We're installing those in in some locations, but drilling into the pavement, you know, we're we're trying to test and see
how it works. And and from my perspective, operating on the city streets in Treton, I'm interested in something that lasts a long time. And so if a if a ballard is run over repeatedly, it's going to disappear. Um, and so part of the reason for doing a
trial is to see how people use this facility. And if they don't obey it, if they don't follow the the the rules for how to use it, then we can't advise that we purs pursue them in other locations. Um, but in this location, there will be
plastic ballards in in a very large number to direct vehicles to the the path that they should follow. >> So, thank you for that. So, I'm not I I hear what you're saying. I'm not referring to the plastic ones. I am talking about concrete. So this way it's
on it's it's a one and done. So once we put it in there it actually stays it's stationary so they can't run over it. >> Um these and I hope that we're talking about the same the b they look almost like a bullet that sits up but they stand about 2 feet tall and that's
that's what I'm talking about. We have them in um areas of Caldera Park where they actually put chains um on them to prevent cars from going in the wrong direction. But they're they're cemented pieces that actually go in those places
and they they stay they they are part of the fixture. >> No, I understand. And and and if if roundabouts are installed permanently, then there would be concrete for the divider island for the curbed divider islands to splitter islands to direct traffic and there would be a a more
pronounced edge to the to the inner circle. But if you're talking about putting other concrete structures in the street, then you're also you have to trade off the the the hazards that that presents for motor vehicles to crash into a fixed object. And you know, so so
you're you're you're choosing your poison in a way. Um you know, as a as a as a transportation planner, I would have a really hard time advising uh putting a a concrete structure in the middle of a or or close to a pathway for a motor vehicle.
Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Counciloman. >> Thank you, President. >> Yes, Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Thank you. Good evening. Um, first, thank you for the presentation. Um, and and again, thank you to the county um for wanting to step in and and assist in
this very important issue. So, I would just like to offer um the following as far as maybe some suggestions um about uh what about advanced warning signs um being put like um a certain amount of feet before the entryway to
just to um to to alert that you know roundabout is is up ahead. Um lane arrows painted right before the entry. um reflective the yield signs at every point to just you know show people that
they need to slow down um coming in solar powered LED lights for the evening time um so that people can see so that way they understand which way that they're they're supposed to go um and then with the entry like something that actually forces them to to cars to move
left rather than like go straight or move in the direction that we want them to go um so that we can prohibit as as many accidents as we possibly can. >> Councilwoman Feliano, you sound like a traffic engineer. >> So, we're we're going to be doing almost
all of those things. >> Okay. >> So, the design plan that you'll receive will will will show many of those recommendations. The only thing that >> okay is off the table at this point and and and could be added is the the um the electronic devices
>> and so we'll we'll consider that. But, you know, for the thinking thinking about the city and and and trying to reduce costs for the city, again, adding electric devices is another maintenance cost that's going to be a a routine cost that you have to bear. And I'm I'm
concerned. I want to I want to reduce your routine costs >> and improve circulation in the city. >> Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you, Council President. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Mr. Lawson, thank you so much for your
presentation. Um, I echo my colleagues sentiments. You know, safety is top-notch for us and um, you know, we have had quite a bit of lawlessness, you know, and it it is really problematic sometimes to get residents to adhere to new rules and regulations when it comes
to um, things of this. So, that is that is their concern. Um, and it is very credible. But, thank you again for your presentation. >> May I make one more very brief comment? And I was I was a little confused at the start of the presentation. So I forgot to ask my first two questions of you.
And the first question is, do you speed up for a green light ahead? I do because I want to make that green and not sit at a traffic light. The other question is when you're sitting at a traffic light and there's nobody
there, there's nobody there, are you tempted to just go through it? And so by making the traffic controls make more sense for people, they're going to abide more with those traffic controls. And so
that's one of the things that we're trying to do in terms of safety, to make it easy for people to obey the law. >> So, >> thank you, Mr. Law. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Garcia. We can proceed with our next presentation this evening.
Certainly, Madam President. Uh, and your next presentation is from Trenton Waterworks for proposed water rate increase. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Go ahead. Good evening. Good evening.
Um >> Mr. Pico, please be advised we have 10 minutes for this presentation and allow to ask questions. >> Okay. Uh this is the culmination of a couple of months work uh that resulted
from our taking on advisement the comments uh that you made at our previous presentation on the original rate uh increase. We basically went back to the drawing board uh kicked around uh
a a lot of ideas and uh kept in mind uh the main point that I heard and that we all heard about uh cost and impact on lowincome uh residents. uh we expanded that to
just talk about impacts on residential customers generally and that morphed into a whole new way of looking at the rate and uh I Piper Brandt is the president of RF Telles is our rate rate consultant he's
here tonight to uh take you through uh what we're proposing to be introduced right >> thank you u Mr. Garcia, was a copy of the amended the amendments to the ordinance provided for the public this evening? >> Uh yes, there is one in the back. There
is a copy in the back of the public uh at the clipboard that can be viewed by the public and council has copies as well. >> Thank you. May proceed. Thank you. >> All right. Great. Well, uh thank you all and I will be as brief as I can be uh with this. Uh I was in front of you
about five months ago, went through this. uh have received a good bit of feedback and really appreciate that and we've we've taken that and as uh Mr. Pico said have tried to kind of look make things um more manageable for your your customers especially your low
volume oftentimes lowincome customers as you will see. Um so real quick some of these slides are from before I'll hit those really quickly. Drivers really kind of twofold. Uh one is you haven't had a rate increase in a long time and rates water rates have been going up around the country. So inflation's
increased 25%. Water rates around the country have been going up 5% per year. Um has been a while since you've had a rate increase. Pair that with you have a large capital improvement plan. Um about 230 million to spend in the next four
years or so, 763 million over 10 years. Um, at the same time, you really need to increase salaries for some of your workers. Um, really to be able to uh attract and retain u staff so it can be a sustainable uh utility. So, that's
what you're facing. Uh, haven't had a rate increase in a while and a lot of cost. Uh, here's just the capital improvements. You can see uh lead service line replacements, uh, the Pennington reservoir replacement, um,
filtration plant, so on. Um, and then since the picture says a thousand words, here's some of what the reservoir replacement renderings would be. It become from one single uh reservoir to a
distributed uh set of reservoirs throughout your service area. So, uh provide better service and also u take care of the issue of having an uncovered reservoir which I know has been an issue with the state for for some time. This shows you what the revenue
requirements look like. Uh the darker bar is the operating expenses and they're going up a little bit. The lighter bar is the capital uh expenses with the the debt service associated with those capital improvements. And you can see that's going up uh from FY2026
to FY31 looking at about 65 66 million to about 85 million. Um so expenses are need to go up to be able to do these capital improvements many of which are are regulated by the or required by the state.
The problem is with no rate increases which is that line um you'll be woefully short of your uh the reading the required uh revenue requirements. You can see the deficit going from about
11.2 2 million up to 31.5 million with no rate increase. So it's just not an option to do these things and to have no rate increases. Um so that gives you an idea of the the challenges you face. So had that um we had an original proposal,
presented that back, you know, several months ago, went around to your uh the communities you serve, presented it to them, got some really good feedback, and then have come back with a modified approach, which shifts from a single volumetric rate, which you currently
have, which is $211 per cc, to a twob block rate uh with a kind of a we call an increasing block rate structure in the in the industry. um kind of a low volume usage rate and a higher volume usage rate. All customers will get the low volume usage rate for
that block of usage and all customers that go into the upper block will get that. So it's this you know all customers see the same um rate structure. Uh the cutoff would be at 15 ccf your uh per quarter. Your median
customer uses about 12 ccf per quarter. So most of your customers or of your residential customers, most your residential customers would stay in that block one the lower uh rate. Uh you can see um meter charge would go up 5% uh
per year and then the block one rate would go up 5% per year. Uh so for those those customers that stay in that block one rate again more than 50% of your your residential customers um they would see a 5% per uh per year rate increase
over the the period through FY u 2031. And then you can see that the annual bill would go from $418 to $439. In our original proposal where we just did an across the board rate increase, the increase would have been much greater on
that median customer using 12 CCF per quarter. Um here's what the actual rates are. I know they're small for you to try to see um from there, but basically going from the current rate of $211
again, the black one rate going up uh 5% per year, the block two rate has to go up significantly more. Uh and what we're doing is we're assuming it ends up being 225% or 2.25 times um the block one rate
by we do have kind of a three-year phase in. Um so your large customers will see a larger impact. Um the meter charge again going up uh 5% a year. So going from $7924 to $16.20
per that's a quarterly charge um over the period. You can see I have the original proposal. Uh again the meter charge goes up significantly less and then the volume rate at least the block one rate is is much lower. Um the block two rate is significantly higher though.
So what does that look like for an annual customer? I mentioned this already. Um for a a median volume customer again that 12 CCF um per quarter uh going up uh from 418 to 439
$1.76 per month for that customer. For a higher volume customer uh residential customer using 20 ccf their bill would go up $3.90. Um you know originally you can see that we were talking a monthly difference being $4.88 and $567.
And you've probably seen the New Jersey American has just come out with a a rate filing. It's been in the news uh where they were going to increase rates about $10 for a residential customer. So significantly less than that, different
volume, but this is still significantly less. Um here is a bill comparison. It's always important to know what your uh fellow uh communities are doing right now. uh trends kind of right in the middle of New Jersey uh communities and you can see the the solid kind of
reddish orange uh going to the one with the the hatched line. So it will be going up a little bit but you still kind of remain in the middle of the pack for for what the impacts would be for a customer. then comparing it to your um kind of
neighboring utilities which are Aqua uh New Jersey and New Jersey American. Um and also in this it shows what the monthly increase would be kind of year-over-year through 2031. And that monthly increase is going from the $1.76 I mentioned before$ dollar 83 dollar 94
2011 212 and 225 but you can see you remain below Aqua New Jerseys rate for a couple years. And this is assuming Aqua New Jersey doesn't increase rates at all. We all know they're likely to increase them. Uh through the whole period, this customer would have a lower
bill than New Jersey American. And that's before this new rate filing of adding $10. So um it shows that you will still, you know, your customers will still face lower bills than the neighboring uh utilities customers will
face. Um so I did that really quickly. I'm more than happy to answer any questions. uh you have about this. Again, we tried to this is kind of policy based trying to match um make sure that we can recover the revenue necessary for the improvements while
really trying to take into account the impacts on u a lot of your uh customers, your especially your residential customers. So, >> thank you so much for that. Um I know my colleagues do have questions. Um really quickly, I just wanted to be clear. Um,
at some point, um, Councilwoman Feliciano did state that she wanted to see a differential between, um, you know, lower volume and higher volume. Um, because I think the initial proposal was 14% across the board. That's correct. >> For everybody, um, there was in full
disclosure, there was a meeting with Mr. um, Pico, myself, Councilwoman Gonzalez, and Councilwoman Feliciano. um all information um that was generated from that conversation, all questions that were asked was um distributed to all of our colleagues um just so they can see,
you know, what the differentials were going to be that were proposed. Um so having said that and put that out there, I'd like to open the floor for my colleagues if they have any questions at this time. >> Council President, Council President, >> thank you. Good evening. Thank you um to
everybody for the presentation and I do want to thank um the administration for taking what I said into consideration and presenting it back again. Uh for those that didn't know the last time at the last meeting, I did ask the questions about the differences between
a residential bill and a larger use type uh structure having a bill, right? which is would be like a hospital um a state building or something like that. So I'm very happy to see now that you've come back with this. It is significantly less
than 144%. And while a rate increase of any kind, you know, anytime we have to kick out any more money, it can be seen as you know it could be an hindrance. Sometimes it is just necessary to do. We have a
situation where we have to um we have to generate something. so that we can look to maintain Trenton Waterworks. It is a minimal increase at this juncture. Um, and just to be clear again, the there are two different rates that were
charged on our bill. It is the ready to serve rate, which is designed it's it's set based upon the size meter that we have and it is a constant rate that we are going to be charged um just to have the meter and to get the water. That has
been constant. That is what it is. So there's an additional um amount that is charged on that end and then there is the usage rate which is the actual use of the water that we have. So then there's an additional percentage that is going to be applied to that as well.
When we look at it across the board um the increase is minimal at best but necessary in order for us to do what it is that we need to do. The question that I have though is that by doing this are we then
falling under the guise of the BPU or are we still independent of that? Is there any kind of authority change that would happen by us doing this rate differential? >> No, that is short answer is no. Uh in preparation for this presentation, we
had a meeting with the board staff uh last week and the guiding principle for us is the same. The board has no jurisdiction over Trenton's raid as long as Trenton
treats its customers in exactly the same way whether or not they are Trenton residents, which is why we've set this rate up the way we've set it based on volume, not residents. Uh, and it applies across the board equally.
Therefore, the board doesn't have any jurisdiction and none of the other oversight changes. >> Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you, Council President. >> Thank you, Council Feliciano. >> Council Vice President.
>> Uh, thank you, ma'am. I have a bunch of questions actually. So, uh, I know some of them might be appropriate for you, some of them might be appropriate for director Simple, so I'll just go one at a time. So, uh, starting with the rate increase and I understand the financials of it, etc. Um, one of the things that
distresses me a little bit is when we've had our interactions with Commissioner Lretet and then I saw him speak at a at a uh at a uh community meeting, he mentioned the figure $600 million. Now,
granted, uh, that might have been a figure in his head. That might have been I don't know where that came from, but we're looking at what he was saying on behalf of D 600 million versus 763. So, how did that difference come about that
we're asking for much more than at least what he was verbalizing? the uh the 600 million as far as I can determine was based on a capital plan that was had been sitting
in front of DP for almost two years waiting for some sort of formal approval. Um that's the new number, the 7:30 number that you is that capital plan minus
whatever projects we were able to complete but including additional requirements that DP had put on us since the original plan was set together. We put together uh both the D consultant
and I had done independent reports on the capital planning. We both got to about the same place. This budget reflects the capital plan in those reports. >> Okay. So he was essentially
>> wasn't wrong. He was just on I could see how it would would I don't think he ever got a full presentation on the updated plans. So, gota >> that would have been nice if had he had he had that. Um, so also as far as um
I'm going to go item by item and um you knowing that there are low to moderate income you know folks not just in Trenton but throughout the the whole uh region that we serve. Uh I'm very heartened at you heard all of her concerns and I'm very heartened even
more so uh Councilwoman Feliciano suggesting about trying to have a residential versus a higher usage. I think that's very very fair uh particularly for our city which has so much land that uh is not residential and
obviously is taken over by the state, the county and nonprofit organizations and so on and so forth. So, regarding, you know, that part of this, the higher usage, do you foresee any opposition from the state of New Jersey uh
officially to this or that's kind of like they're going to be happy that we have this together? >> I think they're going to be happy that we have a rate that is going to get us where we need to go. Um again I want to make it plain to to everybody
including people here everybody commercial large users small users the state they all get the basic rate >> their first 15,000 will be charged at the basic rate
the max the extended rate only kicks in for additional volume and only for that additional volume. So if you use 20 CF CCF, you pay the low rate on 15 of
it. You paid a higher rate on five of it. Based on just anecdotal evidence, that means that most of the mom and pop grocery store type operations, small commercial operations are pretty much going to fall in the lower category.
They just don't >> won't be right. Okay. I don't anticipate a gigantic impact on small businesses because they get the 15,000 deduction for for one of a better word off off the higher rate. It's the big
users are going to see a significant impact. Frankly, they're better positioned than anybody else to accept a a significant impact. >> So then it's almost like this idea will encourage environmentalism because conservative order or even on
the bad thing about water conservation messaging is that it's geared toward the individual. The individual saves 100 gallons a month and is doing a heck of a good job. An industry could save 100,000 gallons a month with the same
kind of effort with a much greater impact on our system. So this is in some extent a water conservation encouraging ratebased proposal. >> Okay. And um with that one of the things
I was actually when I saw the the video of your meeting and was I'm really glad that you all had that meeting I thought it very very productive as someone just observed it is uh increasing the rates over time based on inflation. One of the problems we've had as an economy is
wages have been fairly stagnant. So, if we don't move out of that cycle, are we going to be back here again, you know, at some point? Not with the repairs, but with people. Let me let me make it clear. We can't afford this. >> This is a budget that includes
increasing uh compensation for TWWW employees. The mechanism for doing that is going to involve you folks pretty closely and it all depends on how involved DCA is going to be in the process. So, but
we need to get our employee descriptions into the indust competitive with industry average or we just won't be able to attract and retain good employees. >> No, it's very true. And then because even you know to make it more macro
outside of TWWW just the general economy for everybody who's a customer if you know wages don't start improving in this country you know we might be having folks with pitchforks come into city hall about the border. let it be. >> And then uh so regarding the budget and
a capital budget plan, uh one of the things I was hoping to see tonight was a timeline. And so I don't know if Sean, sorry, director Sample can speak to that with us tonight on timelines for some of these projects if this is all approved
to get initiated. I know we're talking 10 years, but also with the smart meter program, we only have I think to December 31st, 2031. >> Good evening, council. Sean Simple, director of wins. >> Thank you, director. >> So, we have various timelines for
various projects. Let's take the smart meter project. We are running behind because we're not able to complete the first phase of the smart meter project, but we are transitioning to get an extension because as this is I bank funded. So we're waiting to get the
approval for the I bank to go um extend the the first phase of it which includes Hopewell, Euing and Tren and parts of Trenton. We also about to go into the second phase which
includes Hamilton, Lawrence and um we are changing up our whole process in terms of this metering which we want to make it more productive >> in a sense that we were changing our strategy in terms of how this is rolled
out and it will be more successful and going to be more efficient because we want to we're trying to transition to the AMI version of of of the meeting in the set of AMR who don't know what that means the AMR we have to drive and pick up the readings and the AMI we use
towers that the TR is transmitted back to our main station so those that's where we're going so we have an additional $7 million on the on the bond that we took for the meters so that is where we're going to transition on the second phase so that's what we're working on right now um once we are
granted extension we have we have to be more rigorous and with the c the problems is customers were not letting us in. It's been very very difficult. So, uh part of the ordinance that we put forth, we're going to start doing the double ready ser charge for them just to
get their attention because they're taking us for granted at this point, you know. So, this that's the plan moving forward, especially with with that. the other capital projects. In terms of the um the the tanks, the building of the tanks,
we're moving forward with with um the design for the tanks at Prospect Street. We know we putting two tanks on Prospect Street. We're building a brand new pump station. We are in the process of purchasing the land for that location as well as we already about to purchase the
two remote sites in Hamilton and Ewing Township. So the these these are going to move very fast. So we're hoping to start maybe construction on the prospective trunks sometime in the spring of this year. That's that's our plan right now.
So um I don't see anything stopping us from moving forward. Everything has been moving but in a at a constant speed. >> Okay. >> Um if I go back to the leadline program. >> Sure please. This council has approved
almost $57 million worth of work of of installations that we've done so far. We still have 16,000 lead line service replacement to do. Of the $57 million that we've bonded for,
$37 million of that is part of principal forgiveness. So, we only have to pay back about 223 million of that money because we've been a very aggressive in the opportunities given to us by the I bank and the D and we plan to move
forward in that direction and you all have been very graceful in helping us through that process. >> Okay. So, but let me ask one of my questions is you know in this uh brochure um which was very helpful but again let's have timelines for the public and for us it would be very
helpful. >> Yes. Um, we're going to be spending an extra 175 million on lead service line replacement. So, that's in addition to what we've already appropriated so far. >> Yes. >> Okay. To complete the 60,000. >> Yes. >> Okay.
>> 16,000. So, one of the things I would I would like to say and yeah, I assume my colleagues would like to also and the public certainly has because people have asked me is if we could have something on your website kind of, you know, okay, we have one column just says 63,000 lead
lines and then you have another column saying like, you know, where we at? Like we see that with fundraising campaigns. Same exact thing. Make it simple and easy so people know the information that's being provided and they know where we stand. >> Okay? because we're always having to ask for that.
>> Yes. One of the things we're proposing, and I haven't said it to the administrator, is having our own website, which is is very accessible to us >> to put more stuff for the public to see. >> And that's that's our plan for this year. >> That that would be wonderful because as
um the biggest thing that I get uh personally is, you know, I'm not seeing any information. I see things I get in the mail about water testing or I see bad stuff. You know, people are complaining, but I don't know the good stuff that it's happening and I don't know where things are at. And they they
might read a story about, you know, we just acquired land in Hamilton to put a water tower, >> but they don't know when it's going to happen. So, anything you can do to help is going to help TWWW and it's going to help us with council and I think the whole city just knowing, you know, where the heck things are and make this less
scary, right? because fear of the unknown is what really is killing us. >> Okay. >> Um and I just have a couple more questions and that'll be it. Um as far as this all going forward over the 10 years and I know particularly with the
um with the the leadline replacement that's going heavily monitored particularly because of what happened in Newark. >> Yes. Um but overall as far as fiscal monitoring um state monitoring, how's that going to look uh for all these building projects that are going to go on? Because you know, obviously we're
going to see a lot of construction happening over 10 years, but how are we going to make sure that all the money was spent the right way and all the things were done the right way? >> Well, I don't as you know, we are direct oversight from the D. We they know
everything we do. Whatever projects we build, all goes through them. They also have a consultant working for them that's we meet with and we go through all our our progressions as we go along. Um, one of the things we we are very open. We have nothing to hide and I'm
very serious when it come to the inspection process. I I wasn't happy with the earlier phases was done. It's going to be 100% oversight by consultants, not Trenton Waterworks employee. >> So, fully independent,
>> right? Independent consultants, not by Trenton Waterwork staff. >> And um each year of this process, will there be an audit or some kind of way that we can show the public, look, we have independent people on top of this. This is where we are. This is how much
money has been spent. This is what it was spent on. >> Yeah, I we could definitely have that happen. >> Okay, that would be wonderful. Uh and then just the last question would be um regarding you know things uh you know people talked about in the in the
reports and you know the different uh I want to say letters of indictment from the D they talked about the floods in the mid70s and I remember that cuz when I was a young child >> but we also had the 200-year floods in the 2000s when New York State released
water from the reservoirs to help them their problems but then it caused problems and it really >> particularly hurt the island. >> So, I'm wondering with all these improvements, how would we be able to handle if we have another 100red-year flood and
things like that or like in the 70s when the water plant got shut down, you know, how was we're going to be much more prepared to get through something like that without shutting down. >> We will well to be honest with you, we have had emergency management practices
going ongoing. So, in case that happens, we just had a a a tabletop um evaluation with the county last year, which they wanted to see how our response was and they made comments
as to what we need to fix. And in this one part of the um the bonding that we've done this year was to make sure that all the the improvement the emergency improvements be fixed within
the plan and we do constant um like testing and evaluations of what we're going to do if if we are faced with such emergencies. the flooding in itself. I don't know what mechanism we're going to build, but we could always reach out to engineers
to find out what to protect our facility. That's something that we could look into. >> Uh that I would just be curious. I know you're going to be limited because of the location on a river, but I would be very curious. I think others in the public would be to make sure you know
what precautions we have and at what point you know is the failure because like something like what happened with hurricane Katrina you know that was something that New Orleans wasn't prepared for and obviously that's it's you know once in a millennium kind of flood but then they are doing things in other places like the Netherlands that
are being affected by global warming that we might be able to steal some ideas from. So >> understood. >> All right. Thank you very much for answering all those questions. Hopefully I didn't exhaust you. >> No. Thank you, Vice President. Um, any other >> Councilwoman Edwards?
>> Thank you. Um, council vice president eliminated a lot of my questions. So, great. Um, the only thing I have to add or ask is in terms of the smart meter installations, you you I've heard you
mention on several occasions that you've been having issues with accessing residential properties probably due to various fears of ICE or maybe they're at work and no one's home. Um, but there could be other fears of other things.
Have have you considered connecting with some of the neighborhood associations or some of the organizations within these neighborhoods leaders in the neighborhoods that can help you connect with the residents who you're having issues with because they may be able to
approach them and may be able to get you access to it. And I I know that adds on some work, but it's a couple years into this now and we're still hearing the same type of issues. So have you considered that?
>> Actually we have not done went that approach because of our experience in especially in the township with the homeowners associations. It was very difficult working with them. >> You know we had times when they actually toss our contractors off off the the job
because of how the job how it was being installed. There were some issues with them that we had to meet with them and because we have a consultant overseeing this project and we had to meet with them and try to come to a a common ground to get some of
those meters installed in the townships in the city. I can't say that we have reached out to any groups as yet, but it's something that we could definitely look into moving forward. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Some people just don't want it. Some people just out blind don't want us in
their house. >> Yeah, I I definitely hear that. I go door to door a lot and some people just will not even answer the door. >> So, those are some serious concerns that I hope that you guys >> But we can apply the double ready to
serve charges. So, if they want to pay the double, >> so be it. >> Okay. All right. Well, thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Uh, anybody else? All right. See, um, really quickly before you go, I just
wanted to, um, make verify this for the public. Um, page four of the amended ordinance um, for meter sizes 6 in to 12 in. Um, those are much larger numbers. I just wanted to get if somebody could just clarify um for what types of
>> you want to go back I guess >> um >> you have the >> structures would those larger meters apply to that we be getting this extra revenue from >> facilities >> say I'm sorry say it again >> please >> uh systems for that size are usually
uh for very large industrial facilities I don't think we have any operating that I'm aware of in the city of Trenton Um, and I'm not sure how many are operating out in the townships right now. I think we may see uh Hopewell is going to be a
gigantic growth area for us and we may see that kind of uh construction out there. Uh there are no data centers in the area. You would see that kind of water use and delivery in a big data center
for instance. Uh the only other one that I could could think of would be an extraordinarily large hospital much larger than any of the hospitals that we have here. >> Okay. So generally speaking with meter sizes from 5/8 in to 12 in um how many
up to what size would you say we service um with Trenton Waterworks? >> What >> which up up to what size meters based on this chart? >> All of those meters are in technically in the system. You you're asking what size meters >> I'm so the chart here that you guys
included in the amended ordinance um goes from 5/8 meters which is generally you know small under 1200 I mean 12 ccus to 12 in. So what I'm asking you is you said there's not so many of the larger meters Mr. Pico. So what I'm asking is
generally from the 5/8 to the 12 like what is the the the max uh size meter that we generally have that we service with Trenton Waterworks? The 12 in is a larger size. >> So we do So we do service 12 in meters. >> We do have a 12 in customer.
>> So okay, Mr. Pico, it was confusing, right? >> No, no, that's Johnson Pharmaceutical. Aqua Aqua Aqua is a 10inch meter. >> Okay. All right. >> Thank you for that. All right. >> All right. So again, Johnson Pharmaceuticals is they have the largest. >> Okay. So we do have Okay. >> So I mean thank you. I want to thank
again my colleagues um for the meetings and and the input and taking the time out to have these meetings. I also want to thank the administration for working with us. We're working with council for listening to us and um trying to make this make sense um while finding ways to
uh generate revenue and move in the right direction for the city of Trenton. So, thank you again for your presentation. >> Mr. Garcia, we can proceed. Certainly, Madame President, as I understand it, you'd like to uh move up an agenda item at this time uh to uh motion to approve
the introduction of ordinance that I may of this particular ordinance, if I may read it by title. >> Yes, Mr. Garcia. I would like to move the ordinance, the introduction of this ordinance um to the next agenda item at this time. Yes. >> All right. I'll go ahead and read that by title. Ordinance amending chapter
309, article 2, water rates and charges of the Trenton Municipal Code, revising water rates for the city of Trenton and townships of Euing, Hamilton, Hopewell, and Lawrence in accordance with NJSA 4831-23C and NJSA 4831-10
providing funds for capital and operational improvements required by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection through administrative consent orders with the city. Madam President, if you'd like to ask for a motion to approve. >> We have a motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Second.
>> Second. >> Roll call. >> Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez.
>> Yes. Councilman Harrison, >> yes. >> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> And Council President Figo Edenberg, >> yes. >> Motion carried. And Madam President, moving on, we can move to public comment for agenda items
only at this time. In fact, I have that clipboard, please. To the public. Public comment for agenda items only will be only for agenda and docket items that are listed today. And you have five minutes to address the item. and the council is not obligated to respond.
First individual I have listed and please do indicate the docket item or agenda item I have quite a few here. Cheryl Snider. Good evening. Charerelle Snider, community organizer with the East Trenton Collaborative and
Trenton resident. Um, I'm going to speak today also with my c-orker Caitlyn Fair. So hopefully we can put our time together now. Okay. So
All right. So, tonight we are speaking on ordinance 2604. So tonight, I'm here to ask you to please pass ordinance 260004 so we can move forward with the slow the
curve safety project you heard about at the October 7th city council meeting. Malberry Street has been unsafe for a long time. The parking lanes are too narrow.
There's heavy truck traffic and the curve is dangerous. People in the neighborhood overwhelmingly agree that Malbury is unsafe and that speeding and reckless driving along this road needs attention. The city has already
identified this area for improvements through the city's recently adopted bike plan, the Our Streets um a Trenton bike plan for all. And from 2018 to 2022,
there were 49 crashes on this halfmile stretch of road. Two crashes involved pedestrians. And in 2025, there was a very serious crash where first responders had to use the jaws of
life. We also know from DVRPC traffic counts that more than a hundred people bike on this road every day. This street needs safety upgrades
and this project will slow down traffic and reduce speeding especially at the curve near St. Joe's. make it easier and safer for people to bike to places like the DNR Canal Trail to George Page Park
and the Future Library Community Center. We can make walking along the road feel safer by slowing cars and giving everyone more space. We can add a clearer separation between bikes and
cars, something we know is a proven safety improvement. That's all I have for tonight. Thank you. Venice Luen, >> please state your name and address for the record as well as the item on the
docket or agenda you are referring to. >> Yes. Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Venice Leuen and I'm at 408 Sanheen Drive in Glenn Afton. Um, I am a general contractor and
developer. I'm the owner of Peace of Mind Construction Group. Um, my firm will be 5 years old in February. We are Trentonbased. Um, I am particularly interested in an ordinance that I believe was supposed to be on the agenda
tonight for a property purchase um that particularly I had pending with the city of Trenton for almost a year now. Um, and so I was hoping to find out why it was removed and um, how I could get forward movement with that. I am
particularly interested in improving the city and helping move the city forward. Um, as well as having representation of women uh, contractors and developers, particularly minority women contractors and developers. Um, and it's a very hard task. It's definitely not for the faint
and heart of people. So, um, as much as support, um, I can have for that for the city, particularly the city that I was born and raised in is important to me. So, I wanted to find out about that. >> And would you state your name one more time, please? >> Venice Luen.
Okay. Thank you. Uh, thank you, Venice. Um, the council is not obligated to respond to you, so your your comment is taken into account and we are moving on to the other individual. >> Okay. Okay. Um, I can write the addresses down
for the properties. Okay. >> Paul Shore. >> Yes. Uh, good evening, council. Paul Shore, uh, a principal in the, uh, 425 Greenwood, Inc., which is to the corner of South Clinton and, uh, Greenwood
Avenue. I had ordinances um 260001 related to the water rates and I had a comment on ordinance 260008 related to historic commissions historic district regulations. The first comment
on 260001 is one I'm a licensed professional engineer. I worked for the division of water resources for 45 years. I understand I was been part of the uh administration technical advisors on drought management for 10 15 years.
I'm also a licensed professional planner and uh frankly I think the higher rates that are proposed for the tax for the taxes uh uh for Trenton Waterworks are excellent ideas. I would also recommend
two caveats that may be too late to do it now but maybe in the future. One, sprinkler systems. We have several sprinkler systems in these properties. They're encouraged by the uniform construction code. I'm not sure if they're one inch or they're certainly not uh they're certainly more
than 5/8 inches, I believe. So, those are not used unless there's a fire. And uh frankly, um we be be more than willing to go for the cost of whatever the ready to serve charge is. The usage
charge is obviously not great but I just want to bring to your attention that there probably many uh smaller facilities that may have required sprinkler systems that may have a larger meter. Uh second point was related to conservation. I was do believe you have
a uh not a declining block but a increasing block rate which will affect not just residential but all small users. So the point that was made by D uh director Pico is that uh this is not really a residential versus a large but
it's really a small or low volume user versus a higher volume user and that's really important distinction to make with respect to that in our Trenton water works bill we are
charged sewage rates based on water rates at least that's what believe to be the case. H if in fact that is true, uh we are often faced in a drought or even in just a regular usage period of time
with trying to keep our trees alive. Now trees are very important in an urban area. They provide cooling. They provide evaporation. They make everything at the pavement level cooler. They make everything in the air more breathable. Uh I would recommend that uh if you have
a chance with the next goound at this water rate uh several ways to incorporate into the uh operational or user rate a credit uh that could easily be done without
administrative effort uh to give those homeowners whether in townships or in municipalities. urban areas are particularly in need of this u with money credited against their usage rate
where they're not going into the sewer. So we have a once again a war a sewage rate that's based on a water rate even if the water is not going into the sewer. Now, I I can't make this point big
enough because you're going to be using lots of water to maintain trees in a drought or in a hot spell in the in the summertime and you're going to be paying a sewer rate for that water even though it's not
going into the sewer. And I think there are ways to administratively help those customers that water, not just landscape shrubs. I'm not concerned with too much. Trees are
very important. Trees in an urban area are very important. They'll be more stressed if they don't get the water. and especially our trees where there's lots of imperous cover around them are more likely to be uh uh stressed and perhaps die or Okay, so that's those are
the two points on the Trenton Waterworks. One is the sprinkler system meter charges if in fact the meter size for sprinkler systems could be uh uh not included in the high volume rates and two that the conservation ordinances the
conservation component of the Trenton Waterworks billing process could incorporate a not just a credit but an easily administered and I have recommendations on that easily administered uh I will call it tree conservation
component. Thank you very much. >> Caitlyn Fair. >> Good evening, council. Uh my name is Caitlyn Fair. I'm the program director for the East Trenton Collaborative and also a Trenton resident. Um, I'm here to follow up on the comments that
Charerelle made regarding ordinance 26-004. Um, just a little bit more background on this particular project. This is something that we've been working on for over a year with DVRPC um and have also had Council Vice
President Williams um consult on at a number of steps along the way to just make sure that we are doing our due diligence in terms of ensuring that this is something that's going to benefit the neighborhood in the ways that um the residents want. Um, so this project that
we're proposing will make this this particular stretch of road on Malbury Avenue safer for everyone, which includes drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Um, national research shows that separated bike lanes can reduce bike crashes by over 50% and reduce
total crashes by up to 30%. Um, I want to be very clear that this project is community-led and community funded. So this is not asking for any money from the city. We have done the work of raising the funds to implement
this project ourselves. Um residents and business owners along Malberry Street and North Clinton Avenue support this project. Again, no city money is required. The funding is coming from grants and neighborhood crowdfunding that we've secured for ourselves. We've also done a ton of outreach. We've
knocked on doors. We've handed out bilingual flyers and held a public event to talk to neighbors about this project. People are excited about these improvements. Um, at our public event, which was held on October 18th, we had more than 45 people in attendance, and
we received 31 surveys about this particular project. Um, and all but one person that we heard from either lived, worked, or regularly traveled throughout the neighborhood where this project is taking place. Um, so just a few comments that we received on the surveys to give
you a sense of how people feel about this project. Um, please get it all done. It's nice to know that there will be safe places to ride. This will make drivers more aware. This will force people to slow down. It will be safer for all. The rumble strips and the slow
markings will help people stay in their lane. Um, so we're just requesting that you vote yes on ordinance 26-004 so we can finally make Malberry Street safer for everyone. Um, I also just want to say as a resident of the city who
lives very close to Fian Center and tra traverses that intersection daily um, and also walks through that intersection on a number of occasions. Aside from driving through it every day, I'm begging you to do something about that intersection. whatever you have to do to
make that safer. It is an absolute nightmare. Um, and I would also ask to perhaps take a look at the intersection on market in South Clinton because that intersection is also extremely dangerous. And there are two um sections of that intersection where there is no
crossing infrastructure. So, you cannot cross that intersection from the southwest corner and there are residences on that corner. So if you live on that street, you can't cross the street with any crossing infrastructure. So maybe take a look at that one, too. Thank you.
>> This is Mary Horn. Mary Horn, Parkside Avenue, Trenton. Good evening. Uh my concern was initially for the uh in in reference to uh the low income
seniors with Trenton Waterworks with the rate increase. Uh my first calculation put them at 11 to $13 monthly increase. But now I came in here with a full head of steam. But now I want to thank the council, the Titan Waterworks, and
everyone who was involved with the amendment. Thank you very much. So I'll walk that one back, but and they certainly could have it. Um, also at the end I like to say, you know, uh, I was really concerned as long as it
doesn't include, uh, a regionalization, no commission, no a no authorization, no lease, no board. We should never have to venture into something like that. Then we really would have to pay monies out and
everyone across the board would have to do that. So, thank you again. But I'm also concerned about second 26017 resolutions authorization the application and acceptance for grant
funds from the New Jersey Department of Health. So I don't need to read the uh the resolution but I wanted to ask uh Dr. Diego, how aggressive has the administration been with these areas, homes, schools, and buildings? Because
we've been at this for a long time now, and the state has given money to identify the deadlines. So, I want to uh ensure that at the schools and the housings and the apartment buildings and anywhere people venture that really to
be identified with the leadline service because that's important. And for the money we're getting for that, uh, that's a lot of money, Dr. Diego. So, I'd like to know how aggressive we've been with the monies we have collected before and
inspections of the buildings, homes, and schools. Thank you very much. That's all I have. >> Robin Vaughn. >> Robin Vaughn, 1100 Styverson Avenue. Uh yes. Uh resolution 26025,
there are appointments of the council to various boards and the one that I noted was the CCRC, the capital uh city redevelopment corporation, uh Councilwoman Josie Edwards as liaison. I
just want the council and the city of Trenton to be aware that the Capitol City Redevelopment Corporation is a board that was originally established by the state senate and in that
structuring, the city council is the governing oversight to that board, not the reverse. And there was some legislation that was amended that literally took the city council out of that governance role. So
that means the city and the citizens that live here has no voice in the redevelopment of those properties that are within our borders which is I believe not aligned with the redevelopment laws of our state. So, I believe the law department should
address that. And just because uh the state legislature passes a law or the mayor goes down and amend various laws doesn't mean those laws are are are are legal and they should be challenged
and possibly overturned. So, it's unacceptable that the state is using the state legislature uh as a weapon against our municipality and it has to stop at some juncture and those laws need to be overturned.
There's no way that our city should not have a voice in redevelopment of any kind by the state, Mercer County or anybody. You are not a liaison to that board. We are that board. They report to us. So I wanted to speak on the uh
resolution 26026 uh the diff what's the difference between the senior advisory board and the senior citizen advisory council. You guys appointed one member Cadilia Stton as the senior adviser and I want to know what her role is and when that board was
created. It seems like she has unilateral powers to do a lot of things. Uh, and I want to speak on 20. I think that's it. No, no, no. Uh, 260002. You got a nonprofit organization with a
management agreement. I would want to know what DCA has to say about that because the uniform shared services and consolidation act says otherwise. The city of Trenton should not be having any agreements or share services with any uh organization, nonprofit or otherwise,
private, outside of uh other municipalities or governments. Share service agreements are between government and government. What the heck are we giving a nonprofit land? That is unacceptable. They need to pay taxes. They're already tax exempt and that that
resolution should be looked at. giving our land away to a nonprofit organization, they're already taxexempt. So, that that resolution need to be checked. And I just wanted to make a public comment about Trenton Waterworks. Uh
we're still in litigation. I I I see that the townships have submitted a response on January 15th, so we're going to keep track of that. And uh and I just want, you know, to make sure that Trenton Waterworks stays
self-liquidating and I'm very optimistic about the rate increases and our waterworks should remain competitive marketwise to other uh publicowned water utilities. At the end of the day, we are not a private water utility. We don't
have shareholders. We operate with surplus and deficit, not profit and loss. So, we don't have to have a rate increase. Okay? There's no pressure for us to do that. It's recommended we should do it every two years or so, but we go with the market and the
affordability of our of our owners, our taxpayers, and of course our customer base. But there's no law that says we have to move on that. So we always just want to keep the market and keep our utility self-liquidating and competitive
and operating at a surplus and at some juncture to give the taxpayers some property tax reduction from that surplus. So that surplus is supposed to benefit the taxpayers of the city. Okay. And no one else. That's our surplus with
a burden that we carry that water utility as taxpayers. And that's that applies to all public water border utilities and all municipalities, not just Trenton. So I want you guys, particularly Jennifer Williams over there, to stop treating Trenton like
we're second. We're priority. Our workers at the water utility are pri priority. The owner, Miss Williams, not the cure. >> Always cap them for the custom. >> Madam President, those are all the
individuals I have listed for public comment for agenda items only. Uh, at this time, if you'd like to ask for a motion to approve the minutes of December 16th, 2025. >> Yes, Mr. Garcia, may we have a motion to approve the communic uh communications
and petitions? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez.
>> Yes. >> Councilman Harrison. >> Yes. >> Vice President Williams. >> Yes. >> Council President Figuro Edenberg. Yes. >> Motion carried. And Madame President, if you want to ask for a motion to approve communications, petitions, and reports.
>> May we have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Me. One moment, please. Thank you. Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes.
>> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. Councilman Harrison. >> Yes. >> Council President, excuse me, Vice President Williams. >> Yes. >> And Council President Figuro Keber. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Mr. Garcia, for the record, um I stated
that for the previous motion. The previous motion was for minutes. >> Say again. >> I I stated uh communication reports for the previous motion. I just want to be clear that that was for minutes. >> Oh, understood. Yes. Thank you. >> Okay. >> We'll note in the uh in the minutes of
this meeting as well. And madam president from here we are at ordinances for second reading of public hearing of which we have none. There are resolutions madam president if there are any that you or the council wish to extract for questions at this time. >> Yes. >> Council president
>> colleagues. What do you have? Yes. Councilwoman Edward. >> Oh sorry. What's that? >> Gonzalez. >> Council Gonzalez. >> Yeah. 20 um 617. Just a quick question on that. >> Okay. All right. Anyone else?
>> Um, Madame President, >> Councilman Edwards, >> the only thing I have questions about is the differentiation between the sen senior advisory board and the senior advisory council. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, 26026.
>> Yes. >> Okay. >> Council president. >> Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Thank you. I was going to say the same thing as Councilwoman Edwards. I I think it's just a typo. It It should be the same thing, but we can get to that when
we get to that. But same thing. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. >> Yeah. Uh, Council Harrison. >> 2624. >> 0624. All right. >> All right. >> 26002, ma'am. >> 26002.
>> Y. Right. >> That's an ordinance, Mr. Madam President. >> I'm sorry. Thank you. >> Yep. Any resolution? No. >> All right, let's proceed. Thank you very much. Um,
so for I'd like to address 26025. Um so for the record we have removed um planning board uh liaison as well as the zoning board liaison as well as the ethics board liaison um for reasons that
I would like to defer our council um attorney to um to explain um as to why those removals occurred. So Mr. Colloji. >> Yeah. Specifically as to the planning board and the zoning board. Those two boards sit as quai judicial bodies. They
consider matters and they actually render legally binding decisions. So it was determined that having council people in the room as liaons could create an impression in some people's minds that there was undue influence or
you know that there was some type of uh subtle pressure. So to avoid anything like that, the council has determined to remove uh liaison from those two boards only. My understanding is that everything else will continue as it's been with the other boards.
>> Thank you, Mr. K. Um and then specific to um Miss Vaughn's question about the capital city redevelopment, since this is before us, I just want to get clarity. Um is there there validity that there should not be a liaison on this board?
U counc I hadn't been um directed to look at that one. I don't know if Mr. Bridges >> Okay. Sorry. >> Yeah. It was established that this is a a council governing body um adopted by the Senate. I just wanted to see if there was anything that you all can tell
us about this before we proceed with this resolution um and approving this as continuing to have a liazison on this board. with respect to director that Mr. Clo just referred to. >> No, no, this is for the capital city
redevelopment. >> It was just stated that we should not have a liazison. We are the governing body and I just wanted to see if there was any >> that's okay. Redevelopment. You're not seeing any quai judicial body that's making determinations upon applications that this body in turn voted on to
approve or allows to even be submitted to the land board land board or zoning board. So that's why in that in those two specific instances we should not have council members on her just to avoid any appearance of any undul. This board is just board that gets together
and they're coming up with ideas and issues to float and come up with ideas uh for the betterment of that area. So there is no need to remove any leaison from that. >> Okay. Thank you for that clarity. Director Bridges. Um any other questions on this 26025?
>> Yes, Council President. >> Yes. Uh Counciloman Frisbee. >> Thank you. So just for clarification on um this ordinance. That means that council members should not be in attendance for these meetings. Is that correct
>> for the zoning board and planning board? That is >> right. Whether they're acting as a liaison or not, they should not be present. Correct. >> Um >> they can sit in the audience. They not that they shouldn't appear, but they should not be participating in question and answering and vetting of uh whatever
applications going before those boards. There's nothing prohibiting the council member, any member of the public or any member of administration for that matter from attending, but they should not be participating substantively. No. >> Great. Thank you for the clarification. Thank you, Madam President. Council President,
>> Madam Vice President, >> uh if I might, um I served on zoting for 14 years and was chair uh several years before I came on council and it was custom that council members would not attend meetings because just their presence uh Mr. Colli spoke to us a
little bit earlier could uh in tune if there was a case in their ward or at some part of the city that could be uh taken that they had an interest in. um we wouldn't want to take a chance of undo influencing uh any zoning board member or planning board member to vote
a particular way. >> Yeah, I I would agree that discretion is probably a better choice in this um scenario, but I'm not going to sit here and say there's a blanket prohibition of council members attending planning or zoning board. Again, if if there's a specific granular example that you have,
I'd be more than happy to evaluate and provide an answer. But I I don't I don't want to say, you know, collectively for every matter that goes before a planning board, a council member should not attend. There may be some um some meetings where a council member may want to attend again, not participate, not uh
be involved with the conversation just to get a better idea as to what's going on. But I do agree with your position that discretion is is probably the better option here so as to avoid anyone making a claim that there was some undue influence or unnecessary pressure. >> Thank you for that. Um, Director
Bridges, I mean, I just wanted to stay for the record. I do think it is our right as as residents of the city to attend these meetings should we should it be something that applies directly to us um in our home ownership in our neighborhood or something like that. But I do agree um that we should not be
presenting or um speaking at these meetings. But if we can get further clarification for the future as to whether or not we should actually be in the building or not, that would be helpful. >> Thank you, Council President. >> Yes, Councilwoman Feliciano.
>> Thank you. I do recall um before that this was brought up with us and it was and and the the question was also asked if the council person's residence or area was affected by it then it was fine
that we would be present and could speak and everything right because of course if it's happening next door to where I have where I live or on my block then it was no problem. Um but again then it was stressed that because of the um appearance of influence that could be
given by the council people being present um in the in the matter then it was it was said that we we shouldn't be. So, unless it pertained to us directly or our, you know, our home or our block,
our neighborhood directly that that impacted us as a resident that lived there that just happened to be a council member. >> Right. That was my sentiment. Thank you, Councilwoman. Um, uh, Councilman Harrison,
>> um, are you implying that, um, members of council can't be on the planning board or zoning board? because I've been on the plenty word for many many years now. >> Uh that that is what my opinion is. I I I think that was raised in an email this
week with respect to that. And again, it's not that you cannot be on. It's that it is that you cannot be on. It's not that you cannot attend. It's not that you can't go for meetings and see what's going on. But just to avoid the appearance of any undue influence, it best not to have any council members on.
For example, if someone's going for for variance um on land use and it's denied and they want to make a legal issue about it or or some kind of objection to it, they could imply that a council member was present and that council member put some undue influence on the
body. That's the only reason that um my application was denied. We know that no no council member here is going to do that, but we just don't want to give anyone the opportunity to create some type of argument that's just not there. Uh, Madame President, I just want to
clarify something and I spoke to uh, Councilman Harrison about this today. Councilman Harrison is in a unique situation under the uh, land use act in title 4A. One member of the planning board has to be a member of the
governing body. The governing body every year selects a member for a one-year term to sit as a real member of the board. not a liaison, not somebody sitting in the audience as an actual board member. So I know council Harrison
in the past has held that position. I think there's a resolution on tonight. None of this pertains to him. He is still a bonafide full >> in every respect member of the uh of the planning board. Has nothing to do with liaison or attendance or anything like
that. >> Thank you, Mr. Clo. >> Thank you. Great. Right. So, um I would say consent. All right. >> Yes. >> Okay. Uh 26026.
Councilwoman Edwards, you had a question about this. >> Yes. Um if my memory serves me correctly, when Councilwoman Feliciano had introduced this ordinance to create this, it was the senior advisory council. So, it could just be a typo on
there instead of it saying board. I'll take responsibility for that. We uh I I I type this and I type board as opposed to council. I do apologize to the council and anyone for any uh discrepancy. >> No worries. It's typical that we use the
word board and this time it was council. So, we understand the confusion, but thank you for clearing that up. >> Counciloman Feliciano, did you have anything further on this? Um, no. The only the only thing about that would be um to address um Miss Vaughn's
concern about Cordelia Stton and um the difference in between the board. So, it is the same board um as the as the council and the board, but she along with others are being appointed to that same board. um they're seeking
appointment to the to the same board tonight as well, right? Because some come from the council um and then some come from the administration that we would see later on and everyone has had to submit documentation to express their
interest in serving as they have done on every council. So, it's it's not that it's anything um special or unique. it was we at we was trying to get this started since 2023 um and now here we finally are getting it underway. So I just wanted to express
that it could go on consent. Thank you >> madam president. >> Yes. >> One more. Yes. Um, I was wondering and not to add on more work for anyone, but in the pre the previous appointments that we had, we had the people come into
council and present themselves and ask any questions. So, if if there's anyone here tonight, I do see at least one person that is uh on listed on the resolutions here um just to give her a chance to speak if that's okay with her and everyone else. I don't want to
elongate the meeting, but um I just wanted to practice the same standards we set. >> Yes. Um are there are there members for the senior advisory? Okay. Um one of you ladies, please stand one at a time. One at a time. Ma'am, would you come up to
the podium, please, and just introduce yourself um and and let us know um why you'd like to be part of this advisory council. name is Veronica Davis and I like to be part of this council because I want to work with other seniors to
make programs for our city so we could better fit the seniors who needs our help. >> Hey, thank you so much. >> Good evening, council, council members. My name is Anita Broach. Part of the reason why I want to
be part of the board is the same as this young lady who just came up to help seniors in the city. They express certain needs and wants and I have the
experience to help them. I volunteer at the um Reading Center and I'm willing to go and help other centers to express um how much they are still counted because some of them feel like that
people forgot about them. I found that they still have skills that can be offered to the city. >> They still can be used. And I also found out they're tired of sitting home.
So when we implement different activities, get them moving, doing creative art, they love it. So they look to come to these centers and we're trying to come
up with ideas to help other seniors in the city to get out their homes. And sometime it leads to depression. So, and they had expressed to me, I'm a young senior, but they put me to work already.
>> They put me to work already. I'm the senior queen of Trenton. They voted me in because I already did volunteer work. My grandmother was a a senior at uh the Reading Center, and I remember trying to
talk her into going to one of the centers. From there, she lived to be 102. So, it works. >> It works. They want to be counted in. They want to be thought about, and I'm here to represent them. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Brooch. >> Thank you so much, Miss Davis, Miss Brooch, um for your interest and your willingness to stand up and serve the community and and those that needed the most. Um it is my um it is to my understanding um that both appointments
are maril appointments. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Um also uh Mr. Garcia, I just wanted to note um I believe Miss uh Cordelia statement state was um notified and invited to this meeting this evening.
>> Uh yes, a letter was sent via email to her um inviting her to inviting her to the meeting this evening. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Council President. >> Councilwoman Williams. >> Thank you, M. Council >> Vice President. Sorry. >> Also, uh Louise Mccantsz, I don't know
if if Louise is here. >> No. >> Oh, okay. Thank you, ma'am. >> Thank you. >> And Mr. What was the name? Louise. >> Louise MC >> was Can we verify that um this individual was also invited to this
meeting? >> Yes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. Can consent. Great. Thank you. Consent. All right. Uh, moving on. Resolution 26-017. Councilwoman Gonzalez.
>> Dr. Diego Makabelli. Uh, Department of Health and Human Services. I think this is my resolution. >> Yes. Council Gonzalez, I believe you had a question. >> Yes. It was just quick. Um I noticed on um the questions that you all sent from docker review that there was some money that was sent back and I was just
curious to know like why did we have to return um money back from this? >> Yes, councilwoman. So these monies come from the New Jersey Department of Health and they come with a lot of regulations. Um what we can how we can utilize these
funds are for salaries and uh supplies for those staff members. as is right now we play for 70 with this money is 75% for salaries for six staff members which includes the nurses um we also utilize
the Mali for supplies for um healthy homes kits mobile um uh treating capabilities and um we also purchase technology for the uh staff members um and so we do have some vacancies for
nurses and um it again the grant is very restrictive to the way that we can spend the funds. If we don't find the appropriate uh candidate, we do have to return the funds. >> Got it. >> And so that is the reason why. >> Okay. Thank you so much for that
clarification. Um it can go on consent. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you, uh Director Melly. Um all right, resolution 26-024. Councilman Harrison, this is public works.
Director Anna Terry, this is 26-024. >> Good evening, Council President. Good evening, Council Wier, director of public works. Uh the Bobcat is needed for the Department of Public Works. Not only do we need it for public property
which we use to clean up all the abandoned city own properties and other area and we also get calls to help other departments to use this equipments. That's what it is. What we have now they are obsolate. What I mean by that is we are spending so much money to repair
what we have currently and that's why we're replacing this director of first and foremost. I'm glad to see this these Bobcats to make uh make the job so much easier on your great staff. Um also I wanted to take
the time um because I know we had a conversation. Wanted to thank you for all your many years service. I know you told me you're going to be retiring so I want to thank you. Um you you've been a phenomenal uh director and you've worked hard for this great city. So I want to
thank you for all your hard service. >> Thank you. Thank you, >> Council President. >> Councilwoman Feliciano, >> thank you. Director Honitary, >> hello. >> Hello. Listen, congratulations on your
retirement. Thank you for all your hard work. I don't know when you're leaving, but they saying you're going. So, congratulations to you. Um, thank you for everything you you've done and that you'll continue to do, I guess, up until you go. Um, and you appreciate it. Thank
you. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman Harrison, consent. >> Yes. Consent. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Moving forward. Um Oh, that's that's all the resolutions.
>> Correct. Madam President, if you'd like to ask for a motion to approve a consent agenda consisting of all the uh all the resolutions this evening. >> Yes. Would you please read off the resolution numbers, Mr. >> Certainly. for uh consent as again consent agenda consisting of 26-025,
026, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. >> Uh, Mr. Garcia, could um please note that the 26 will be amended to say
advisory council. Was there a uh ah yes, minor uh minor typo? We will correct that as well. We will make sure we correct that. Um I'm sorry to either to either of the attorneys. I don't need a motion to amend that. Do I?
>> No. >> Thank you. >> May we have a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. Councilwoman Feliciano, >> yes.
>> Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. >> Councilman Harrison, >> yes. >> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> Council President Pigaro Edenberg, >> yes. >> Motion carried.
And on to ordinances for first reading and introduction. Madame President, we have passed 261. We are on to 26-002, an ordinance authorizing the execution of a management agreement between the city of Trenton and Rescue Mission of
Trenton for the management, monitoring, and maintenance of Southern Park and surrounding vacant spaces. Madam President, if you want to ask for a motion to approve. >> I I I would like to uh address it really quickly before Oh, let's approve it first. I'm sorry. May I have a motion to approve?
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. Is there discussion? >> Yes. Um it was brought up um in the comment section for um agenda items about land being given away. Um this was
one of the um this is one of the things that uh myself and council uh vice president Williams had asked um in our presession when we first got our dockets that we um submitted to all of council. Um it is my understanding and I would like um a member of the administration
to please speak to this. It is my understanding that we are not giving any land away um that this land will um purely be used um by this um organization, the rescue mission u specifically um at for maintenance um
and usage. Is that correct? Could somebody speak to that from the admin? >> Council President, if I may. >> Yes. >> Uh your understanding is correct. if it's actually um expressly spelled out in the management services agreement. We're not giving it away. It's a long-term lease by which they're going
to operate it, fix up, clean, operate, and um that's going to be for a period of years. So, we're not giving the property away. >> Thank you, Director. Council Vice President Williams, did you have a question for this? >> Yes. I would like to have uh if we could mam uh Director Harris come up and
explain uh what will actually happen at this location. uh particularly uh the discussion we've had recently in the past regarding the Harland Joseph Peace Park >> interim director Harris sorry >> Paul Harris so this land is currently
owned by the city of Trenton >> the first portion of the land is actually a vacant city park and then behind that is just vacant land uh it will it is encumbered through uh green our green acres program and it will
remain the city's property regardless there there will be upgrades it's estimated to be there's a budget of $1.7 million no as director Bridges said there's no immediate cost to the city and what this is going to do is going to
transform that area pretty much and uh but anybody who walks or drives through there it's an eyesore it's an eyesore and just so you understand we've been on all the calls and we've explained to them our concerns, but if you've been out there, you know, there's a lot of issues out there. So, you know, we're
not going to build something that we're not going to maintain. Uh, and the CEO of the rescue mission understands that. There'll be lights, there'll be cameras, there'll be adequate fencing. Uh, the park will be open for the public, but it will be it'll be a secure park. Uh, this
is a strictly Mercy Mercy, my god, Mercer County project, so we're clear about that. in partnership with uh the rescue mission and uh the city of Trenton since we own the land. And for those who don't know who um this is a community activist who was I believe
shot and killed in 1968 like he was a seminary student. So for people uh who don't know the history and it goes it's in line with what a lot of the stuff we've been doing is to ensure that members of the public understand some of our forgotten history. A lot of people
don't know. So there'll be u interpretive signage there as well so people can visualize who the man was and what he meant to the community at the time. >> Thank you very much. Uh directors he was um just if I might add for a moment he
was a peacemaker who ran all the way from his home on Carol Street nearby to downtown to try to help quell uh the riot that was happening in the wake of Dr. King's assassination. And unfortunately uh he was shot by a police officer. Uh question whether what
that how that happened but this park is to be in honor of him as a peacemaker and as a community activist. >> Madam President. >> Yes. >> I don't have any questions. I just I just want to say thank you for
getting to this point. I was there at that meeting as well a couple of years ago at this point and the rendering was it was immaculate. The story was definitely heart-wrenching and something that personally touched me as an activist myself and and peacemaker in
the city. Having been downtown in those 2020 that 2020 riot when George Floyd was murdered and having with my sister and a friend of mine to stop hundreds of people from tearing into stores and
damaging property and damaging our city. So, I love that this is happening in honor of his memory. And it was a pleasure and honor to meet his living relatives as well at that meeting who advocated for this. I think this would be something monumental for that
neighborhood. I don't want to be sound like a broken record, but that area needs some loving care. You know, it needs to be cleaned up, and I think this is how you do it. So, thank you. >> You're welcome, >> council president. Counciloman
Feliciano, >> thank you. I too was at the meeting and met the family and everything. I think it's great. I think it's wonderful. Um I thank Councilwoman Williams for even bringing it to my attention at that time. Um looping looping me in to the to
the process about it. I think it's going to be great to fix that area up. Um, I love her um her thoughtfulness about about acknowledging the history and everything like that along with our other council colleagues as well. Councilwoman um Edwards is also a big
history buff. Um but it was a pleasure to be there to see the renderings and the drawings and to sit and meet with everybody that um that's helping to put this together and I look forward to it moving forward. So, thank you very much, Director Harris. Um, and I'm grateful to the county and everybody else, the
rescue mission that wants to take part in making this happen. Thank you, council president. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. All right. Is that all the questions? Okay, Mr. Garcia, can we move um for a vote? >> We have a roll call. I'm sorry. We have We were a motion to second.
>> Did we do the motion already? >> Yeah, we did the motion second. We had discussion. We can go to roll call. >> Uh, Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. Councilwoman Feliciano, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes.
>> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. >> Councilman Harrison, >> yes. >> Uh, Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> And Council President Figuro Keber, >> yes. >> Motion carried. Ordinance.
Ordinance 26-003, Ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 14 of the code of the city of Trenton, traffic as it applies to parking restrictions for vans and trucks in residential areas. >> We have a motion to approve.
>> Second. >> Roll call. Vice uh excuse me, Council Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano, >> yes. Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes.
>> Councilman Harrison, >> yes. >> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> And Council President Figuro Kenberg, >> yes. >> Motion carried. Ordinance 26-004, ordinance amending and supplementing
chapter 14 of the code of the city traffic as it applies to Malberry Street. Now we have a motion to approve. >> So move. >> Second. >> Second. >> Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano.
>> Yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez. >> Yes. >> Vice President Williams. >> Yes. >> Council Harrison. >> Council. Sorry. Councilman Harrison. >> Yes. >> Sorry. >> Vice President. What? Got it. Vice
President Williams. Yes. >> And council president Figuero Keber. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Motion carried. Ordinance 26-007, ordinance authorizing the sale of city-owned property commonly known as
396 to 398 North Clinton Avenue and 28 East Burn Avenue and identified on the city tax map as block 21403, lots 22 and 23. Block 21501, lot 19, pursuant to NJSA4A12-13C
to 713 Whitaker LLC for the sale price of $23,000. >> May we have a motion to approve? >> Some move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards.
Councilwoman Feliciano. >> Uh, yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. >> Councilman Harrison, >> yes. >> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> Council President Figuro Edenberg.
>> Yes. >> Motion carried. Ordinance 26-08, an ordinance amending or excuse me, Ordinance amending Ordinance 25-138, which amended chapter 2, article 3,
sections 2-7 entitled Boards, Bodies, and Commissions, and repealing and replacing chapter 2, article, forgive me, 14 section 71 entitled Landmarks Commission
for historic preservation and chapter 315 article 15 entitled historic district regulations of the code of the city of Trenton. >> May we have a motion to approve? >> So move >> second.
>> Okay. I'm sorry. So was moved by >> everybody. >> Edwards. >> I'll need one. >> Edwards. >> Thank you. Second by >> Frisbee. Frisbee. Thank you.
Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. >> Councilman Harrison, >> yes.
>> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> Council President Figuro Edenberg, >> yes. >> Motion carried. hands. Madam President, I believe those are all the items I have for this evening. If you would like to move to public comment. >> No, Mr. Garcia, I believe we have a
walk- on 26027. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. >> Yes. 262027, which is a resolution appointing Councilman Harrison as a class three member of the planning board. >> Uh, Mr. Motion to approve. >> Sorry, really quickly, just before we do
that. Um, and the fourth whereas, >> yes, >> um, he is noted as councilwoman. Can we change that? >> I can't seem to do right by you, Councilman Harrison, today. >> I promise. Noted. And we will change that. Thank
you. >> Okay. Do we have a motion, >> Madam President, if you want to ask for a motion to approve? >> Yes. Do we have a motion to approve? >> So move. Second. >> All right. Thank you. And roll call. Councilwoman Edwards,
>> yes. >> Councilwoman Feliciano, >> yes. >> Uh, Councilwoman Frisbee, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, >> yes. >> Councilman Harrison,
>> uh, yes. >> Vice President Williams, >> yes. >> Council President Figuro Kevin, >> yes. >> Motion carried. And now uh Madam President, I believe we can move to public comment.
So the public public comment with five minutes for each individual. You may address any item that you wish. The council is not obligated to respond to you. Please do state your name and address for the record. First person we have listed is Victor. >> Mr. Garcia, how many people sign up for
public comment? Okay, thank you. >> Victory, 19 Morland Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey. Honor again. Um, I'd like to speak on uh Irwin Sto Mer Maker's comment about
Trenton again. uh he and uh LA Parker seem to take turns about uh on uh how to put Trenton down and uh now he this person here Mr. Irwin from West Windsor
uh before he start cutting down Treny uh uh the reason himself for being uh so uh an authority why she he has a reason from West Vinc West resident and saying the things he saying he's so well educated and uh been involved in and out
of training for many years and so forth and then he goes to say also that uh the mayor of our city uh was not qualified enough to pick uh staff members to assist him in running the city maybe two three I mean what was it five six years
like Doug Palmer did and Doug was so good and excellent at picking the people that he had working for him and uh in other words the mayor we have now is nowhere near his qualifications and uh he goes on to repeat himself in
like five five well yeah five different criterias that I was trying to you know I was breaking them down But it seems to me that it's going to be this the same thing over and over again that the he hopes and he first first of all it stucks out is that uh how is the next mayor going to deal with uh the staff
current staff and then um who or she who's who will they pick to help them assist in uh turning the city around and how they going to deal with the drugs and the uh the violence and
incompetency. and leadership. Uh again, I'll say this is bigger than Trenton, New Jersey, Mercy, New Jersey, and United States of America. Uh I know uh being coming coming to these uh meetings
here, we have qualified people. What we don't have is support from outside of the city. And today I was reasoning with myself. I was thinking out loud to myself, why? Yeah. What is it about Trenton that I know for many years the police been trying to run me out of
Trenton since I was a teenager and uh I had my incident out you know my bumps well you know in uh with only a couple cops police officers and you know so you know maybe politician here and there. So uh that part I can understand but when
it gets to we at one time or another a whole lot of my brothers and sisters have died and gone to jail and uh we try to do better but somehow uh either the police or the uh outside communities are going want to keep trending down. That's
what brings my attention is that at one time the mouthfield was out there in Chambersburg. not only Chinsburg but the house cars going to the uh boarding town and they had top-notch gangsters there. So, okay, Trenton is a cash cow. I understand that part. But this is bigger
than just you know what we have to understand next. We can, you know, the the board that we have now in politics and training to me is an excellent board to keep on, you know, continuing the struggle. But this is bigger than just uh being educated and being experienced
and being in office for certain amount of years and then you develop yourself into this this person that can be a superhuman and change things. But that's over and over and over again the same thing. This is a a a god. I mean there's a good and evil plan good and evil
battle between God and the person. This is people on the planet earth. The people in America that's being targeted that uh the uh the system well said to the dragon. Okay. The system rebels the devil system. Uh Lucifer which is
actually Yak. He has directed that uh uh uh will attempt to kill is the Asiatic black people uh of uh United States of America from 1555 619. I use the teachings of the nation of the honorable
Mama is referenced. Now when it gets to politics that this lady Renee girl she got shot over immigrants. Uh uh Donald Trump is taking over Venezuela because of drugs and immigrants. uh he wants he wants to uh he wants to take over Greenland because against security this
is all biblical and is there in the in the Bible the Quran and the teaching of Elijah Mham but when it gets to the teaching his teaching Elijah's teachings is about people and uh it was more than just blaming a white president white people because this is something that
happened before there were any color people other than black on the planet earth and I say I keep I keep saying well I will keep saying that the white man And he had a you can't blame him no more. He spoke with either right or left, Republican, Democrat, a
good Maurice where Thank you. Thank you for uh I want to speak about uh the vegan food truck that I own. Uh, honorable members in Trenton City Council, uh, thank you for taking time to consider my comments and ideas.
I'm here to see if I can work my food truck like a 9 to5, like I do as a truck driver. I've been driving trucks for 20 years. So, I care about this city deeply. And you know I just want to say that uh it's
interesting contributing to this this city and to the community through a small business and health sustainable practices. I understand that under the current regulations that food trucks are not permitted permitted in within the city. I respectfully ask council to
consider the potential benefits allowing thoroughly regulated mobile vendors, particularly those who focus on health, sustainability, and community engagement and emphasize. My proposal is for a small plant-based vegan food truck like myself to provide healthy, fresh meals
while maintaining a low environmental impact. A plant-based menu naturally reduces the carbon footprints and supports public health and aligns with broader goals in sustainability and wellness. This would be an occasional this will not be an occasional event but
an operation that I want to take on for a 9 to5 and as my livelihood creating a consistent economic activity and dependable service for residents and visitors. In addition, I am deeply involved in cycling, aid cyclist and it
is great and is an active transportation in the city being even though we have the canal path and different areas where you can cycle. My goal is to integrate food, cycling culture and open public spaces in a way that encourages people to be outdoors because we have a lot of
outdoors in Trenton, New Jersey like the canal. It goes 66 miles 33 in one way, 33 in another on the canal path. So in in the city and engage this with the city strategically in place mobile vendors that can increase foot traffic
in parks, open spaces and commercial corridors helping nearby businesses while making public areas feel more active and welcome welcome and safe. Many people today are looking for healthier food options and opportunities and live and then to live a more healthy
lifestyle. A plant-based mobile vendor like myself can help address both needs of providing accessible nutritious meals and encouraging walking, cycling, and outdoors activities. The support public go. The support is the public goals and help foster a strong sense of community.
Updated or piloted regulations could allow responsible food truck operators like myself and benefit children economically and socially and environmentally. I am eager to work collaboratively with the city to ensure compliance, safety, cleanliness, and
respect for the existing businesses. Thank you for your time and your service and willing to listen. I look forward for possibly attributing to Tren's future in a way that supports healthy sustainability and local commerce. Thank you for your time. Paul Shore.
>> Good evening again, council, council president and members. I have a handout. I will give it to the secretary. >> Thank you. My reason for uh taking this time is to
ask council to amend the land development ordinance 2023 to include the sections 315-232 and 315-2D
to 315-240 that were in the 2010 land development ordinance. Uh I believe those sections of the previous land development ordinance were omitted by
oversight. If I could briefly make a point, each ward is represented in that previous ordinance. It's a special building setback from many streets throughout the city. It has a historic
as well as present day safety function and future and present and future uses. So the ordinance that was existing in 2010 that is 315-232
and 315-240 was called a special building setback ordinance and it's uh important. it relates to every street in throughout Trenton. The reasons that it's important for example on Greenwood Avenue is going
back to the very origins of this country in 1776. I believe Washington may have used Greenwood Avenue to cross the Asen because in Greenwood Avenue was originally in Mil Hill and extended all the way over into uh up to Hamilton. But
at that time then it was then eliminated at least intersected by the DNR canal. But so there's a very historic reason why Greenwood Avenue is special. Goes back to General Washington's march on
Princeton. Uh not Princeton itself but on the the English and the Hessins in Princeton. Greenwood Avenue in 191 1820 was important because it was there that the DNR Canal Commission was established. It
was the flat and emphasize this very important today's administration. Trenton has benefited from the natural I'll call it confluence of the Delaware
River fresh salt and tidal waters for the last millennium. And then the flattest and most level route from Philadelphia to New York which made Brunswick Avenue and now Route One and the railroads all possible
going through Trend. That is what is the resilience of the city of Tren. That is the resilience that provides the energy for everything that we do in the city of Tren. Um the historic relevance is every
10 years there's something millions upon millions of dollars are invested in that whether it's highways whether it's Amtrak whether it's a train station whether it's a transit center we're talking close to a billion dollars of investment because of these natural
facilities natural facilities natural topography of the location of city of Trenton that has to be protected that was the point of special building setback 315-240. That was eliminated.
That was eliminated. I can't emphasize it enough. That was a huge mistake. Um anyway, this is the year to commemorate that. This is the year to commemorate that because this is the year we're celebrating the 250th
anniversary of all our founding fathers. What would be better than to have or this ordinance reinstated as a commemorative past, present, and future recognition of the wisdom of that
ordinance. Thank you very much. Anita Brooch, Mary Horn, Robin Vaughn, Candia Torres. Amen.
Candy Torres, 215 Stacy Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey. Good evening. I look around this room and I look at the landscape of our city as we head toward this next election runoff and I
have to tell you I am puzzled. I see names and faces running for office and some of those faces belong to the people who are already sitting in these seats. You are sitting in the seats that have failed us over and over again. We have watched you cycle in and out of power.
And most painful part, enough of you went silent during darkest times of the people who believed in you. When we needed a voice, you gave us silence. When we needed a fight, you gave us hesitation. I stand here tonight on the behalf of Trenton residents facing
unnecessary changes. And what we are fully aware of is history. When red lining took place in this country, there was a system based on where your home was. That location determine how much money, how much care, and how much standard of living will be invested in
you. And looking at Trenton today, the red line hasn't been erased. It just been hidden under administrative failures. Our homes in this city are falling through the cracks. We are witnessing increase of illegal eviction rates that should shame this
administration. We are seeing families forced to live in un inhabitable h housing, mold, cold, and decay. We are seeing properties that aren't even properly registered yet are collecting rent. We are seeing fines that are never imposed on the people breaking the law.
We are seeing questionable, comfortable, illegal relationships between city employees and the very landlords who are exploiting our residents. And worst of it all is being done while smiling in our faces. Now, I know the response. I've heard it before. It was once stated
right here in this council chamber. There's but so much we can do. And to that, I say, if there's but so much you can do and that amount is not enough to save our families or to silence our cries, then why are you here? If you have reached the limit of your ability
to fight for us, then have the decency to walk away from these seats. Allow those who can and will do so much and more to take the hymn. Do not occupy seat intended for a warrior if you only prepare to be a spect spectator. Let's
be clear about where we are today. Trenton is dang near at ground level of failure. The foundation is cracking. At this point, we have a binary choice. We can either prepare to dig our own grave of failure or we can decide right now
that we're going to be done with the digging. We can decide to build, but we cannot build on a broken foundation of trust. So, I have a message for everyone campaigning for a city seat in 2026. If your intentions for or for popularity,
gracefully back away. If you're running because you like the title, back away. If you're running but you're afraid to upset the status quo, back away in 2026 and moving forward, there's only one goal. The goal is to remove the red line
entirely. The goal is to move our people from poverty to prosperity. We are done acting nicely. We are done waiting for you to find your courage. The trust is broken. It's up to you to fix it. Whether you fight with us or you have to or we have to fight to remove you out
those seats. Make no mistake, change will come. >> Thank you. >> You, Madam President, those are all the individuals I've listed for public comment at this time. Wish you can start with anyone for civic comment.
>> Yes. Uh, Councilwoman Edwards. >> Thank you, Madam President. Good evening, everyone. Um, I just want to say uh congratulations again to my council colleagues on their uh elections to president and vice president. Uh
kudos to running a successful meeting today on your very first meeting. Um oh yeah second that's right because the reorg did start the reorg. My apologies. Well your first really full-blown official. So, um, I want to say also
thank you to the administration for taking heed to our concerns on behalf of the residents of Trenton with revisiting the rate increase and reducing it from the proposed 14% to 5%.
That right there sets the precedence on putting Trantonians first and taking into account the already very high cost of living that many of our residents suffer from. We have a lot of lowincome residents in our city. So a 14% rate
increase would have crippled them and created financial hardships even more than what many of our residents are already dealing with. So, I appreciate um you taking that into consideration in us getting past the first reading today.
Um I don't really have a whole lot to talk about, but I do want to talk about some of the issues that we have been hearing about the whole, you know, applications for the city-owned property purchases. Uh we it
is somewhat on pause because the administration does need to fill certain positions in the housing and economic development department, but the HED ad hoc committee is doing their due diligence to work with the administration to vet these applications
and making sure that we are addressing these in a timely fashion. And we will be providing updates as soon as we get them on um on when that process plans to proceed. And I just want to say that this council has approved well over a
100 properties to be sold. However, with the lack of an attorney in the HD department, the administration is unable to close on these property sales to sell them over and transfer ownership over to them. So, please um be patient as the
administration is trying to fix this issue, but just know that council is doing their part in this process as the redevelopment authority. Lastly, I want to thank the administration for finally uh putting a
meeting on the schedule for our newly formed Trenton Waterworks ad hoc committee. It's dated for January 27th and um I'm looking forward to getting some of the updates. I really appreciate my colleagues for meeting with the administration recently in regards to
the rate increases and hashing that out so that we can bring it to fruition today for you all. So, um, stick with us. We will have updates. We will be putting out information in regards to those updates to the public to make sure
that everyone is aware and we are increasing our transparency and communication on this council. So, thank you and have a good evening. is stay warm. >> Thank you, Councilwoman Edwards. Um I believe Councilwoman Feliciano has um
hopped off. That correct? Okay. Um Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Thank you, Madam President. So, I just want to say to everyone, um, thank you for everyone who, uh, we who presented on this evening, but it's greatly appreciated. Um, all the information
that was given out, and I'm really excited about the fact that we're going to have, um, regulations, well, the updates with the, oh gosh, the rates that increases for our community, but that they will be in moderation so that no one is falling um,
behind. I believe that this will be something that is greatly needed in our community to help us with what we're trying to do with Trenton Waterworks to make sure that we can help ensure and get the upgrades that we need done. I want to thank all the directors for coming out there and director honorary
especially want to just say thank you to you for all your services that you have rendered to our city and to our country. Um I am working on a resolution as I did tell you uh last week to make sure that you are um properly acknowledged. Thank you for all your services and thank you
every for everyone who came out who had comments on this evening. Um you are greatly appreciated and that's all I have for this evening. Madam President, thank you. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Uh Councilwoman Gonzalez. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez, are you still
with us? Okay. Um, Councilman Harrison has left us this evening. Council Vice President Williams. >> Thank you. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Council President. >> I was waiting for Hohead to um let me unmute. >> Okay. Go ahead, Councilwoman.
>> Sorry. Uh, CVP. Um, so I'm going to be really quick. I don't have a lot of comments tonight. Um, but I do want to just say thank you to the administration for, um, you know, working with us with the rate increase as stated before by my colleagues. um that and all of the meetings that were held. So, thank you
council president also for um organizing those meetings so that we can go back and forth and make sure that things made sense and was fair to the residents um here in the city of Trenton and the surrounding areas. Um to Mr. Maurice
Wear um that I know I spoke to him lately and we were looking into um some vendors been going back and forth about what can and cannot be done um as far as people vending in the city of Trenton. So know that that is somewhat um in the works of making that happen hopefully
soon. Um, and as far as um, Miss Gandia, I'm sorry that you feel that way um, about this council because I know that we have been working really, really hard for our residents and you know, a lot of things that whenever we get concerns, we
do try to address them and make sure that they are taken care of. Um, and we do we do share some of your frustrations. So, I just want to say, you know, thank you for sharing that with us. Um and you know hopefully we will be you will see some of the
progress that we have made in the last three years. Um, and then to Miss Miss Bennis Benise. Um, I am sorry. I don't know why that was pulled. You know, I don't know what was pulled and what was not pulled from the docket, but um, just
know that we are trying to make sure that some of our local people are um, able to obtain the homes so that we can get rid of um, people who do not take care of the homes for those who are renting in the city of Trenton. Um, I believe
that was all my notes for today. Yes. Thank you all and have a good evening. >> Thank you, Councilwoman. Council Vice President Williams. >> Thank you, Council President. So, uh, I do have a few things to say. Uh, tomorrow night is our Northward Citizens Police Advisory Councilman. There's
might be a couple flyers left in the back. Uh, please join us if you can. Uh, 5:30 to 7:00 at Galley Baptist Church, 440 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Our special guest will be Signal 22, uh the fire and police canteen. Uh they
should be bringing uh hopefully their new truck to show us how they service uh fireplace emergency responders to here in Trenton mainly, but also within a 70 mile radius if there's a large incident that happens. I may have seen him at events such as the Christmas parade that
we held uh last month here uh coming to city hall where they gave out uh cookies and hot chocolate to everyone who came. Uh so it should be really interesting discussion of finding out what they do when they respond to a major incident and trying to support. Sometimes the
firefighters are there uh 12, 16, 24 hours uh and then so it would be interesting uh to see what they have to say and they're also looking for volunteers. So, if anybody's looking to be more engaged, please join us. Again, it's 5:30 to 7:00 tomorrow night. We have the police department there who
talk about crime issues uh in the north ward. Uh also, public works usually comes uh to talk about issues and the fire department. So, uh just want to uh also extend my uh thank you to Director
Wally uh for your service to Trenton, service to our country uh for so many years. Uh we're going to miss you. You definitely helped this council get up to speed on public works and what was possible and what could be possible and what was not possible at least right
away. And it taught us a lot and I I'm personally appreciative for how much you tried to do uh to help make uh the north ward and our city uh in a better place and be a cleaner city and a safer city. So also uh regarding waterworks, my
council uh colleagues already said it best. We're really glad to be able I hate to say we're glad to have a rate increase, but we're glad to be able to handle this ourselves. The last thing we wanted is to have the state of New Jersey uh try to take our waterworks by
regionalization or some other word and this way we can fix the problem over a number of years. Uh we'll make sure as we discussed tonight that things are monitored properly, that everything's done properly. And I just want to applaud my colleagues from day one. Uh,
everyone on this council has fought to make sure that Trenton kept its waterworks and that we got the job done right. And administration, thank you very much for partnering with us on that. Uh, it wasn't easy. It will not be easy and I look forward to the success
of the ad hoc committee and any other discussions we have coming up. Uh, regarding Harland Joseph Peace Park and uh, what's going to happen at Rescue Mission, that's going to be a great project for the city. I can't wait for it to get started so people can see uh what's going to be happening here and
how we honor um a great Dantonian who uh gave his life for this city. And then I also want to thank Cordelia Stton, Veronica Davis, Anita Brooch, and Louise Mccants for stepping up as shronians to join our citizens uh senior citizens
advisory board. It'll be a board I think that makes a great difference for us. And I did just want to add uh one thing regarding zoning and planning to a council president's point. Um custom was that if you had a problem in your own block, your own neighborhood or
your own property, you would be able to speak publicly on that of course, but generally you do not come to uh meetings and speak or be a presence because it also could be seen by u members of that body since we vote on their appointments
as um something to be concerned with. And finally, I just want to uh address two things. Uh Mr. Shore, thank you for coming out to speak about the setbacks. that is something that we do need to talk about further and I'm really hopeful uh that we can maybe get a
presentation from the city on that particular um part of our plan and maybe that should be corrected because the I know the pro the property on Gwood Avenue is quite controversial with how close it is to the street and it's not within the sighteline
and I just going to close with this um I know there's been a lot of controversy lately regarding the inauguration of our uh governor Governor Mike Cheryl congratul ratulations and Dale Cannibal uh the LG lieutenant governor up in Newark. But today in her speech uh
Governor Mike said this. I have heard you in Trenton where you want safer streets for kids, redevelopment programs that work and provide jobs and for the state to pay its fair share. I've not heard that from a governor before. I'm
hopeful that it'll come through and our relationship with the state will change. And I just want to say we are in this together. Council and administration, we're going to keep fighting. I know administration, the mayor has been doing that. I know this council's been doing that. Um, and just please trust in us.
But we need your help in this fight, too. They're not going to meet their requirements. >> Vice President, that is your time. >> Unless we make them. Thank you. God bless. >> Thank you, Council Vice President. >> Good evening, everybody. Thank you all. I mean, it is cold outside, so I really appreciate you all coming in here. I
mean, it is so cold that this morning I was supposed to go to the inauguration in Newark. I got in my car in 16° weather. I bundled my son up, had him in the back seat ready to drop him off to the babysitter and realize I had not been in my car for three days hiding from this cold and my windows were
frozen. I tried to get that snow off, the ice off. My hands started hurting. There was no more Newark for me. I went back in the house with my son. So, with that, I just want to thank public works for the amazing job you guys have been doing for snow removal um and also trash
pickup and and everything else. I mean, you guys took my 10- foot Christmas tree away with with no issue this morning. So, I really want to thank you guys. Uh Miss Honer, you will be missed. Um South Ward will definitely miss, you know, your leadership and um I'm
sure you're going to miss all of the Southboard Councilwoman's uh emails through the liaison. So, thank you for all of your hard work and leadership. Um, you know, and we are going to miss you and I'm sure that whoever replaces you, they have big shoes to fill and I'm sure they'll do an amazing job. So,
thank you. Um, just wanted to touch upon really quickly the property purchases. Um, you know, for for the young lady who was here and said that she had been interested in a year and it was supposed to be on the agenda. Um, I have had publicly I've had issues with our property sales. I have either voted no
or I have um abstained from the votes for property purchases simply because I don't like how they've been done. I don't like I don't think that they are um uniform across the board. I have not um you know been on the same page as them. I have joined the Hed subcommittee
now. So I really look forward to gaining more insight on what these property sales look like and how they're how they're going to move forward. Um and then hopefully we can move in unison and understanding and moving these properties along. Um you know, it's not for everybody trying to purchase
properties, but there are some red flags um for me anyway. Um so I have been speaking out against this or about this for quite some time and I just want more clarity um for council and I want all of us to just be on, you know, an even playing field um when it comes to, you
know, getting these off on our tax reels. Um, I want to thank again um, Councilwoman Feliciano and Councilwoman Gonzalez for carrying through with me on these um, these meet these important meetings with Trenton Waterworks to get that 14% down to five um, to make it
make sense for all Trenton residents. You know, we worked uh, tirelessly throughout the weekends um, different phone calls, messages, emails, and I was just transmitting all that information to my colleagues so that they can have an understanding. Um and thank you again to the administration for hustling and making sure that these amendments were
made um to be put on the docket um today for our um introduction. Um it is something very much needed. We we need, you know, the the funds for infrastructure. Um we need the revenue. End of the story. Um so thank you again to them and um to and to Councilwoman
Edwards for um introducing and um the implementation of the Trenton Waterworks ad hoc. um you know, you myself and Councilwoman Gonzalez are on that ad hoc committee. So, I look forward to moving forward. The work is not done just with um this ordinance about the rates. Um
also, again, I said I was joining the HD ad hoc committee. Again, Council Councilwoman Edwards, I believe that's something you also created. So, I look forward to sitting on that with yourself and council vice president Williams. Um and let's move these properties um the way that they should and make it fair
across the board. Um, uh, thank you to Charerelle and Caitlyn for always advocating for the community. Um, for Trenton, um, really appreciate it. Um, and Southward CPAC is tomorrow is Thursday, um, 5:30 to 7 o'clock at
St. Mary's at 3:35 Adeline. That's on the corner of Adeline and Batty Streets. So, please come out. Um, some of our directors will be there to answer questions. And that is all I have for you guys. Again, thank you all for coming out. Stay warm. keep your uh your your seniors warm and have a wonderful
evening. >> Madam President, if you want to ask for a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Jumped it. >> Roll call. Councilwoman Edwards. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman, wait. Who's still here?
>> Just Just go through. Just go through. >> Councilwoman Frisbee. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Gonzalez. >> Yes. >> Vice President Williams. Yes. >> Council president Figuro Kenberg. >> Yes. >> Motion carried.
>> Thank you.