I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings act pursuant to public laws 1975 chapter 231 this agenda is complete to the extent known it was sent to the Trenton Times And The Trentonian newspapers posted on the first floor Bing board 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 counc Figo kber present councilwoman frisbee present councilwoman Gonzalez pres councilman Harrison presid councilwoman Williams pres and council president Feliciano present myself Brandon Garcia municipal clerk present and I believe M uh Mr Ki is excused from this meeting and I believe uh Mr director Bridges director Bridges is in in rote thank you yes and Madam president if you wish I will now read the invocation thank you 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 and understanding for the good of our community and thy greater glory amen amen council president at this time I believe you have some recognitions and if you want to announce those yourself or if you would like me to it would be my pleasure thank you Yes actually councilwoman Gonzalez and I along with members of council are very pleased tonight to honor the national pan helenic Council the Mercer region councilwoman Gonzalez and I are members proud members of Delta Sigma Theta sority Incorporated we'll be approaching seven years on April 22nd yes of this year and so we found it fitting especially during we were going to do it earlier but the weather got in the way but it is fitting during Black History Month that we do salute each and every one of us and all of you and your tremendous efforts to you give to the communities here in the city of Trenton and at large and so it's our way to acknowledging all of you and to say thank you we present you all with the following the following is a resolution honoring the national pan helenic Council Mercer region whereas a group of nine historically black Greek letter organizations called The National panh helenic Council also referred to as the Divine n have had a long and successful history of promoting Unity service and Community involvement and whereas the National panhan panhel Council Mercer region consists of the following sorties and fraternities Alpha Kappa Alpha sority Incorporated Alpha F Alpha Fraternity Incorporated Delta Sigma Theta sority Incorporated Z Zeta 5 Beta sorority Incorporated Iota 5 Theta Fraternity Incorporated Capa alpha s Fraternity Incorporated Sigma gamma Ro sority Incorporated and five Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated and Omega SciFi Fraternity Incorporated and whereas the members of these illustrious organizations have made significant contributions to our community Through philanthropic efforts mentorship programs educational initiatives Civic awareness engagement and advocacy for social justice and whereas these sororities and fraternities have consistently upheld the values of scholarship leadership and service positively impacting the lives of countless individuals throughout the nation now therefore be it resolved that council president Crystal Feliciano a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority Incorporated Trenton alumni chapter and councilwoman at large Yas Manelli Gonzalez a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority Incorporated Trent alumni chapter along with the entire city council of the city of Trenton County of Mercer state of New Jersey hereby recognizes the National panh helenic Council Mercer region and these outstanding sororities and fraternities for your unwavering dedication to strengthening our communities through education promoting Unity service and awareness thank you for being positive beacons of light for the capital City and the nation presented this 8th day of February 2024 Mr rice if you like to come forward brother and say a few words and just to let everyone know each uh fraternity and sority will also receive a certificate from the city council members as well turn hit the button to turn the mic on oh yeah hello hello there you go again good evening city council members of the public um you kind of took the thunder away my from my speech so I'll just say on behalf of the Mercer uh Regional panhel Council we thank you um for this recognition um we do this out of a lifelong obligation and commitment to our organizations that we represent um whether it's scholarships whether it's volunteering we do this out of our needs just to give back to the community what they've given us so again this it's we don't do it for awards or for accolades but we do appreciate the public knowing and acknowledgements that come through especially through city council for the work that we've done here in Trenton so again thank you all who made this possible good evening thank you so we're going to take a picture with everyone um and present you with your resolution and certificates because it is an um a large number we'll just ask if we could just quickly go out to the staircase and do it out there and then we'll come back in to continue the meeting we thank everyone for your patience as we do this as quickly as possible thank you hey baby right you good [Music] yeah all right Mr [Music] Garcia on your call Madam president proceed certainly first let me thank everybody for your patience as we went and did that that was a larger crowd for the presentation so we thank you for bearing with us as we did the photos and everything go ahead Mr Garcia thank you madam president next on our agenda we have a presentation is a cannabis application and is for Nirvana dispensaries okay thank you if that individual come forward or individuals come forward and gentlemen if you have any handouts or anything for the council if you want to give that to us now Elijah be sure to turn the mic on when you're ready somebody mute whatever's happening on Zoom we we'll just wait until the handouts are finish being passed on thank you guys uhuh also you have 10 minutes for your presentation okay thank you thank you council [Music] president just kid so good evening good evening my name is Elijah Dixon I'm Andre McNair and we are seeking approval to this the city council body to open up a class five uh social Equity dispensary it would be a microenterprise here in the city located at 227 North Broad Street that is within the canal Banks re Development Area and as a handout we have passed out an an extended version of our business plan we believe that a previous Model A previous iteration might have been circulated but we've made some uh updates to include our financing strategy as well as um more on our security plan since we felt as though it was very wasn't robust enough in the in the previous um iteration of this and so I'm just going to do a very brief introduction of pass it off to my partner Andre to introduce as well so um again my name is Elijah Dixon and I am a organizer entrepreneur and a Community Development professional here within the city I live within the north Ward at 134 East hver Street uh second floor also offered a cafe orchad House Cafe on the first floor um of the building there and I and Andre have been embarking on this journey for the last uh I guess two and a half years but been preparing and the concept of it has been about five years in the making pass it off to Andre even Council my name is Andre mcir I am a local entrepreneur entrepreneur here in the city uh business developer um I do community organization work all types of different things as well with that uh also investor and I also live here in the city I've always lived here in the city um for 32 years and I partner with Elijah with this project of 227 North abroad um for the Nana dispensary llc's so we just going to really quickly on page two of our handout uh go over the high level high bullet points of our uh executive summary so again we're looking to locate at a 227 North Broad Stree we currently have a contract uh in place with a deposit um you know to to close on the deal for the property uh believe the closing need is March 15 and uh the building that we're looking to operate in has been uh vacant so it's going to require total gut rehab to to get us going however as further detailed on page 10 in our our financing plan we are listing our our financing our our financing strategy for that we're going to seek a construction uh construction loan to be able to fix up the building and then we're going to invest uh our own Equity as well as using a loan and a loan capital from a family member to for technology and uh point of salees systems training for our staff as well as the physical product but but we can get to that um the the product and uh the whole premise of our business model and and I'll just speak very quickly to my history and and with weed or cannabis as it's called formally uh you know I was smoking from about 15 to 25 and I had stopped because the the Cannabis and the weed that was ly available in the market and I guess in like the illegal Market it was being cut up and people are spraying different things on it and they're crushing up pills and one time I smoked and I got so high and I'm I'm young I got so high like this isn't this isn't natural this isn't real and um I became a very strong advocate for actually for for the legalized Market because I'm sure I was smoking something I don't even want to faom what it was but it wasn't just we and uh you know we we came together to to come up with this with this unique with this unique proposition which is to open up a dispensary but to offer heirloom strains or land race strains which is so you think about if you guys are farmers or over in agriculture you guys are into the the whole Urban agriculture field there's these Heirloom Seeds where the these are seeds that have not been genetically modified you know so like they're like non- GMO form of weed whereas today in the in the market you go to any other dispensary um you know you'll see these hybrid strains that have super crazy THC amounts and it's like really destructive for for for our minds over time and uh so the strains that we be prioritizing and offering to the market they would be not readily available uh in in other dispensaries and these are like as I was joking with somebody prior to coming up here this is like a grandmother's weed where you know maybe decades ago uh you know you could you could smoke or you partake however you're going to partake and you're not going to become slumped you know this is more of like a creative functional high and that's more in line with our brand of of of of thinking like we're really down I say down on the Earth but you know we both guard and then our our our produce is like non GMO and even our Cafe you know it's like non GMO ingredients and that's how we're looking to approach this and and bring and bring to the public we also believe with these heirloom screams um that we will also uh help with the target market our target market would be um participants that are over at the age of 21 but not only in the city of Tron but around surrounding areas as well uh we believe with this dispensary opening and us bringing in a large Market will also be great for the business around as well for our downtown revitalization that we're going for um but we also just want to make sure that people are doing it the right way and they're doing it safe in a legal way and so so we we do have more information on you know with with our ter in terms of the product and the actual flowers there would be Edibles that we're also looking to looking to sell as well as uh guess paraph Familia such as Rolling Papers things of that nature but I think I think the main the main unique value proposition for our business model was that we would have seeds that are that are heirloom and like non GMO and so it's it's less of like a psychoactive High more of like a functional you can still let's say go to a meeting or send out some emails without feeling as if you're about to float away and and please feel free to stop us at at at any points we're looking to cover so much um in about 10 minutes so uh again I think I mentioned that we're looking to open up a microenterprise so our life that we have from the state is a conditional class five uh retail retail dispensary so we can have no more than 10 employees and occupying no more than a th square feet of space um you know at one point in time and uh and we have to maintain the ownership stake has to be um what it is now or at least two-thirds or something of that nature of the ownership stake has to um still always qualify for that social Equity status you know in order for us to maintain um our our our current life license however after a couple of years we do look to be able to expand and grow and eventually open up our ownership state to our employees who have been with the company for more than a year we have a very Community oriented approach and I think as Andre already or might might have mentioned uh with our business is it's a social Enterprise so we're looking to hire from within the community we actually you know we legally cannot bring on any employees yet until they're vetted by the state and there's a whole rigorous training process in which we've done research on we've already expressed interest with the state's uh business act the state of New Jersey business Action Center um which which is offering a free training uh and and they have programs for social Equity applicants such as ours or or lenses such as ours in which we'll be able to get training notches for ourselves as as as entrepreneurs but also for our team members which we're looking to hire right from within the city excuse me even while opening the uh venturing into open it the dis we do notice that there are some weaknesses that we have to deal with um the look of the city so we're looking to beautify this area um as well to bring more participants into the city uh we also still do realize that there's opportunities because there are some illegal dispensaries here in the city as well that are operating um so we are um putting up a plan together to try to make sure that you know it's all done on a legal um the process done legally um we also want to make sure that even with our employees that we're on the top of our business we're offering housing for them as well um at a very low rate um just to to get back to the community um we have also decided to invest 10% of of our profits back into the community um that can go to either scholarships that can go to uh any you know potential any other steam programming things of that nature any anybody else that wants to come on board and try to reinvest and things like that we'll have this funding um toh help out with the community I'm just going to jump over to uh on page eight of our handout we have our security plan overview now do we we've read the uh the state's law back and front 20 times all 250 pages and so um there's there's a lot there's a lot more we'd have covered at least the high the the high uh points here in terms of like security we understand that the dynamic of the neighborhood and and a lot of it's still perception you know I actually live in neighborhood but a lot a lot of it's perception but there are some realities in terms of crime and violent crime and and so we are going to have to I mean the state mandates we have to have security security pres at all times during the operations but we will be having a security system that's backed up by uh by I guess a generating system so that if the power goes out for our main system then one the the Trent police department will be notified and two um they the backup system security system would then trigger as well and this and the trans department would have access to that system as with the state uh the the products uh themselves would not be viewable from the street level so we have tinted windows and they'll be locked up in a temperature control facility uh as well as in different times a vault and and the we have information here about the transfer of not just the product but also of the money so any it's it's like a cash based business largely since many um put Sales Systems your Visa your master cards are not trans is that they're not accepting cannabis dollars because it's still legal on the federal level and so um we we've identified several different vendors uh you know who would serve as as I guess a transportation specialist for us you know that could transfer not just the product but also but also the money that would be generated and they would do it at a regular periods of time that way it's not so predictable and I'm just going to jump to page 10 for the for the financing um brella if you want to Sure tag it or or I could finish off and then we that's a question okay so for our financing um like Elijah have mentioned the building needs a total rehab floor is caved in the roof is caved in caved in uh it's kind of dangerous we even took the doors off it's hard to even get in the building you have to look from outside um so we we do know there are some opportunities with that uh so the with our licensing training and things of that nature it's going to be about 125,000 as far as the dis startup cost the startup cost uh for the building we're looking at about 425,000 for rehab and we have a relationship with a with a Community Development lender who actually provided our financing for our our building at the corner of Perry in North Broad Street and so we already have a a conversation going with them we've had architects in structural engineers in and so it's not going to be a cheap cheap cheap project however it is going to be structurally sound once it's done and I think as Andre mentioned earlier the second and third floor which historically was housing we're then going to be able to use it for housing for for our employees so it'll be like employee housing subsidized you know at like a subsidized cost so that folks can still you know one we're going be paying living wages it's just like we're doing with our existing Enterprises and um being able to provide subsidized housing so that you know we people have incentives to not just grow with us as we're growing but you know to have housing that's right above so um it's to say very convenient we actually do that for the cafe around the corner so um those are the the high level points and please um we open it up for questions I know that there's probably some items that prent we not jump to so if there's those questions I thank you gentlemen Council are there any questions council president you saw you know that's how it look councilwoman Williams thank you very much I just uh I want to say uh very impressive gentleman I know you've been quite diligent over these many months and trying to always do the right thing and study what the right thing is and always coming through so I just want to acknowledge that publicly you've always been very very professional and I very much appreciate that thank you I just have a couple questions um actually one more say I I really think it's awesome that you're going to be offering a percentage of profits to your employees uh because from you know what I've heard so far that's not been mentioned before and that's really great when a business can do that and shareing in the success so kudos to you for that thank you um so regarding uh right off it was very very good to see that uh the Philadelphia reinvestment fund is involved I wondering how you got started with them yeah so uh I I actually work for um so the reinvestment fund is a nonprofit um community development financial institution they're like a nonprofit lender essentially that um deploys capital and and Loans into uh into like urban areas that have been redlined you know by like more like mainstream lenders like your wells P Bank of America TD Bank and um I uh I used to work for New Jersey Community Capital which is another cdfi end up at a njcc as it called could not provide F so when Andre and I had first purchased the building at the corner of uh 200 to 206 North Broad Street we tried to get traditional financing through a TD Bank and like they wanted some astronomical amount down in equity and that's just something that we didn't have um and so then uh I talk to the people I worked at at the my cdfi at the time and they recommended the reinvestment fund Out of Philly and they were able to come in and and and do that deal for us the woman's name is Nancy Gallagher she was actually the um Chief investment officer there we were very fortunate to be working there with her she's now moved on to another organization but so that's how we got connected to the reinvestment fund and they've been they've been supportive of uh of our initiative to date and they're actually we're planning a major revitalization Initiative for our Perry Street Building if I don't know if actually doesn't even matter probably to talk about it right now but so that that's how we got connected to them that's good they're very impressive um got a excellent reputation around the region uh so as far as security plan it's great that you beef that up uh did you have have a chance for the police department to review it with you just in case we have not yet it's just a suggestion you might okay uh in the future and then um my last question is uh regarding uh a timeline if everything finan comes through your approved such do you have a guesstimate of when you might be able to begin operations should be okay so so it's that didn't happen at Qui you know so it's it's not here so um so like right now and this is we actually just had a an architect actually two architects out at the building last week and they're they're talking about 4 five months just for like the design of the space since again like the the beams are collapsed it's going to be a very um think it's like a very comprehensive project so it's going to be about 16 months in terms of for like four to five for actual design and like another 8 to n to 10 even uh depending on the city suspection Department uh from from when we can actually open up you know you know but but we're already like looking to align the financing so that you know once like the design is done we can then bid out the project to local contractors and and be able to and and we we actually have construction experience itself but um there's going to be a certain degree of like specialty that's required in terms of meeting all of the state's requirements for like the security gates they know going to need like Technical Systems and uh lighting so all that Panic buttons TR to get some Specialists and so it's going to take real estly speaking it's going to take time it's about 16 months but that's a realistic estimate based off of um our our previous construction experience okay thank you very much and good luck gentlemen thank you council president council president oh goad she was first first I'll I'll defer think she was first sorry council president councilwoman I just look straight ahead councilwoman frisbee thank you so I want to thank you both for bringing this to us and also for the revision uh I think you've done a thorough job a very good job the only question um that I see and not not necessarily for the police because this would also be for any Security Agency is just considering the idea of having armed security I did see that you have um panoramic cameras in all areas with a operation such as this even and it may be something that you just want to start out with and maybe um you find a need that is not needed come later on but just for your safety to start out with something that you have someone that is armed in there um at least on the the moments and you'll feel your way through so that's really my only uh my only comments for this is I think it's well thought out I love the idea that you're giving back to the community I love that you're giving to um the employees that is fantastic um I love that it is two minorities that are starting this as well I appreciate you sharing um Elijah your experience and your reasoning for doing that because no one can have your experience except you and so you'll be the best teacher for others um and also that is uh GMO non GMO I also appreciate that also that you guys will be taking um Quality bringing quality into our community so all of those things I am uh grateful for and for whatever um purposes it's going to be used for I've trusted it'll be um the best quality that you're bringing to those who will be partaking so thank you thank you um so they kind of cover I was really going to ask about the uh the police if you collaborated with the police too but she asked that question so that was good um also just if you first of all thank you for the presentation I think it's very well thought out um I know you guys put a lot of time and thank you for wanting to continue to invest in our city like you guys have invested already and you continue to want to do that so thank you for that um they that was my main question was the the collabor collaboration with the police um but I just want to just say I'm commending you also on the housing and providing housing for your employees I think that's awesome um we haven't heard that at all um with any of the presentations we've heard so far I do have a question because I would hate for them to take so much time out are would they be considered a part of our 10 and that question really would go to that the attorney okay I'll wait till the attorney gets here that's all but thank you anyone else council president councilwoman Edwards thank you you're welcome uh Hey guys good to see you today um I'm very excited and thoroughly impressed by your presentation and your application here your business plan thank you for providing a copy of this in person um and you know taking the time to just address our issues address our concerns and and inform us on what your business plan is um I just want to say that on the record you guys are two Community oriented people some of the most Community oriented people I know in your age group and um the fact that you guys consistently invest and reinvest in our community I think that you are a great example of what we need and what we are looking for for this industry um and as business owners in general um so I just wanted to commend you on that um I look at you as stakeholders you guys own not just this property but the one at the corner as well properties on Handover as well and you're very invested in revitalizing the neighborhood and I am aware that you hosted a community uh like meeting or something like that so you are doing an Outreach to let people know what you're looking to do in the area and working with the local business owners and Property Owners so I I do commend you on that as well because this building that you're trying to rehab right now um is horrible like I'm surprised that it's still standing so I'm glad that I'm glad to see two minorities owning that and doing something with it after all these Decades of it sitting there vacant and dilapidated so um you do have your work cut out for you so good luck with that and um I definitely want to commend you on using non GMO parom seeds so that's something that we definitely need um we deal with a lot of chemicals in our food that cause a lot of obesity and a lot of uh medical issues asthma you name it um so I do commend you on that because um safe consumption is also a part of the process so thank you and um good luck to you thank so I'd like to partially Echo right the sentiments of my colleagues um and say that it is commendable you two young men um that continue to say yes to Trenton and to sew back into Trenton and so we thank you for that right um from your building on Broad to the Orchid House to everything that you to have touched that it continues to blossom into something um sustainable worthwhile and a benefit to the city so thank you for that right um I also know you are a part of councilwoman Edwards young Pros Network and so my hope is that through your conversations and talking through to other young professionals right that she look to bring them into the city as well and get them to see the beauty and richness that does exist here in the city that others will come and say yes to Trenton so um young black entrepreneurs I love to see it I am I am open to all entrepreneurs let me be clear with that but I am proud because was when I'm teaching at the school I tell my students to be the success story and not the statistic and you two are wonderful examples for our younger generation and for your own children of what is possible through hard work through dedication and perseverance so I thank you for your commitment to the city of Tren wish you the very best with this thank you thank you Mr Garcia certainly uh Madam president this time we have arrived at public comment uh okay the public comment clipboard could be brought up thank you so much thank you and for the Public Public comment is five minutes for each individual please do know that the public comment is not a Q&A session so you are able to address whatever you wish the council is not uh obligated to respond thank you our first individual up for public comment is Al on Ward yes I'm sorry thank you Mr Garcia um and city council um I'd like to introduce myself and many of you would say that we know who you are but I'm not sure that's true you know me but you don't know my story I was born here in the city of Trenton on Clinton Avenue in a hospital called Trenton General Hospital that hospital doesn't exist anymore it's on the same place where the Trenton Board of Education now stands it moved out to Hamilton and now it's Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Mr Ward I'm so sorry and I do apologize if you would be so kind could you just state your name also your address for the record I'm coming to it you got it alany Jr also known as alga de great from the Garden State at 688 Martin Luther King Boulevard thank you sir I was born uh as I said in 1953 at Trenton General Hospital at the time my parents lived on the Southern Street Bridge many you don't know there used to be houses on the side of the Sun Southern Street of the Southern Street bridge where the Princeton delivery Center is there were homes there and my parents lived there my father had come to Trenton from West Virginia and brought my mother here and shortly after she arrived in Trenton she gave birth to me so I'm born Trenton born and Brad um we moved to South Trenton lived on 454 Lamberton Street where I went to park at school and Junior 4 I made many my growing up friends in in South uh Trend under the bridge as we call it and uh lived there for until about the sixth grade where I then moved to our first family home on Marther King Boulevard and when I moved to oh excuse me Princeton Avenue because that was a step up all of my neighbors were white who lived across the street from the M the nlife bar which was owned by Miss Rainey lived next door to me a white woman on the other side was Mr Jimmy an Italian family who gave me my first taste of homemade wine that he made this basement and most of my neighbors lived in a Dowling homes which was predominantly white it was NAACP that argued a case to allow African-Americans to get to move in dowy homes and within about five years white flight to the suburbs completely changed the complexion of the Donley Holmes which is now almost 100% African-American so I grew up in the 60s I'm a baby boomer so at the early age I'm saying about uh 13 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated my social awareness blossomed and from that time forward I dedicated myself to Human Rights and I bring that up now because from that early age I felt that calling and I dedicated my life to serving my peeps here in the city of Trenton because I felt that very strongly I I I was there when John fist Kennedy was assassinated when his brother Robert was assassinated but Martin Luther King was assassinated so my generation felt a strong dedication to the environment women's rights gay rights so I've always felt that calling and always dedicate my efforts to that cause now I'm coming to the point of why I came here tonight on October I want to say about 25th I stomach started hurting me and uh for a couple of days I had bad stomach pain so I went to the hospital on October 27th uh for a CT scan to figure out what it was well the diagnosis came back irregular wall thickening concerning gastric cancer hepatic metastasis is spread gastrohepatic and periportal lymph indomy both the stomach and the area around it were infected with cancer momental nodules and masses in my stomach non-specific adrenal gland thickening spread to my liver and my lymph notes stage four inoperable sence now I have not cried about this from the moment I received my diagnosis men don't cry but when you come face to face with your own death shedding a tear can be excused but I have saved my tears to share them with you my peeps all of my Tren peeps so ask that you please indult me as I share my tears with you the reasons I had for not sharing this just like Lord Austin the Secretary of Defense he gave an explanation of why he didn't disappeared for a week and nobody knew where he was he was in a hospital suffering from prostate cancer and he said this huge big man Secretary of Defense Warrior for the United States said it was a body blow he didn't quite know how to handle and for the same reasons you keep your business to yourself and I felt that same thing but he also said at the end of his speech that was a mistake because his example could be example to other black men to get their prostrate cancer diagnosis and King Charles of Great Britain points out that is spares No One by title or race so I'm sharing my cancer awareness story with you all tonight that you must pay attention to your health I lost over 40 pounds from October until now I have my chemotherapy bag now I'm in my seventh cycle of chemotherapy and the good news is that I'm no longer in pain I'm regaining my energy I picked up a few pounds in the last couple of weeks and my appetite's returning so my chemotherapy seems to be working and that's through the prayers and love of my family and close friends so I have informed so I ask you my friends my Trenton peeps say a prayer for me I think that's the reason why this chemotherapy is working is not just a medicine it's your prayers so I came here tonight to share that with you all because I spent my life loving the people of Trenton and then loving me back as I said it was a death sentence but I'm not ready to die I got too many things to do the Trenton Community Credit Union is exactly the kind of institution that we need in Trenton so people like Elijah will have the funds they need but going to Philadelphia find it right here at home the locus Hill black Museum where we can celebrate the contributions of our ancestors from right here in Trenton that's an important project we've gotten most of the funding but we're not done yet I still want to indulge in Trenton's black history through the reenacting groups the six regiment United States Color troops were in very high demand during Black History Month in the first Ro Island regiment that talks about the Revolutionary War history of African-Americans in the city of Trenton Health Department Department it's an as shambles our city suffered more covid deaths than anybody in this County and we have not fixed it it's in worse shape today than it was during the height of the covid pandemic and it's for city council you got to fix this this is life and death I'm going to constantly be in your ear about it until we have taken this necessary steps to protect the lives of the people here in the city of Trenton so there's still a lot of work for me to do and with your prayers my health will be restored long enough that we can get these important projects done but nobody can say this is something that's in the hand of our Lord and savior in the hands of God so I've submitted to that but I appreciate that you gave me the Indulgence to share my tears with you and I'm going to fight right I'm from North Side Southside you mess with me that's not a good idea because I will fight you and when you mess with my peeps I will fight you I don't want to fight but I will when it's have to but that fighting spirit I think is what kept me going through this tribe so I won't take any more of your time I just want to thank you for your love and your prayers and may God bless you from algae the great from the Garden State at 688 king of Trenton so before we continue Mr Garcia um I just want to say a few words to you um algae know that you are in our thoughts and in our prayers thank you for taking a courageous step to come forward to share openly what it is that you shared with us tonight certainly it's not an easy thing to hear um to even go through but we're rooting for you I'm rooting for you and praying that God will give you exactly what it is that you need to continue to press forward and persevere and just know that you know um Trenton loves you sometimes we agree sometimes we disagree but one thing about the city of Trenton and the great people in it is that when someone is in need or is going through we tend to Rally around the person together and can put all of that other stuff aside so just know that we're with you you're in our thoughts and in our prayers all right God bless you Mr Garcia you can continue certainly Leslie wilbourne I'm sorry oh oh gocha understood no problem in that case Madame President we have no other members for public comment at this time and if you wish we could proceed into all business okay you may proceed thank you certainly excuse me Madam president uh we have minutes for approval if you want to ask for a motion to approve the minutes of September 5th September 21st October 17th December excuse me September 7th October 3rd October 19th and December 5th minutes uh all of 2023 you said September 5th I'm sorry September 5th September 7th September 21st October 3rd October 17th October 19th and December 5th may have a motion to approve the minutes from September 5th 7th 21st October 3rd 17th 19th and December 5th so second been moved in second councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried and Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve Communications and petitions one second Mr Garcia just just a quick question there's no minutes from November uh not at this time yet there is draft but we will have those at your next public meeting thank you Sor may continue thank you sir um where were we I'm sorry we were at communications and petitions Madam president you want to ask for a motion to approve communicate Communications and petitions yes motion to uh approve Communications and petitions and reports yes thank you so move second Mr Garcia can you call the rooll certainly roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figero kenberg yes councilwoman Frisby yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes thank you moving on to ordinances for second reading and public hearing we are at ordinance 24-2 ordinance amending and supplementing Trenton city code to regulate the use of fireworks within the city of Trenton are there any any members of the public that wish to speak to the swords at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve I have a motion to approve so moved second Mr Garcia certain call the role certainly roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figo kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24- six calendar year 2024 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank njsa 40a colon 4- 4514 in an amount not in the amount of 6,866 185 are there any members of the public wish to speak to this ordinance at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve we have a motion to approve so move second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes coun vice president figuro kenberg yes coun uh councilwoman frisbe yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Felician yes motion carried moving on to resolutions Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve a consent agenda consisting of resolutions 24-31 24-33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 and that will be all of your resolutions for your consent agenda mam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve may have a motion to approve all the resolutions that have been read into the record by Mr Garcia so moved second second certainly roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried on to roll call resolutions resolution 24-32 resol ution authorizing the settlement of a workers's compensation claim in the matter of Jose Roa versus the city of Trenton claim petition number 2016 8231 and 2017 23834 in the claim amount of $25,900 including attorney fees and costs I have a motion to approve so moved second Mr Garcia if you could call the role certainly C uh councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried on to ordinances for first reading and introduction ordinance 24-7 ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 14 of the code of the city of Trenton traffic four-way stop intersections as it applies to Martin King Jr Boulevard and Ingam Avenue have a motion to approve so move second Mr Garcia councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24-8 Capital ordinance Prov providing for improvements to the West State Street and San Heen Drive Improvement project 11 by the city of Trenton in county of merer state of New Jersey appropriating 1, 39,9 38 to pay for the cost thereof which am which amount will be refunded by a grant from fiscal year 2024 Municipal aid program received or expected to be received by the city from the New Jersey Department of Transportation may have a motion to approve so second Mr Garcia call the role councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figo kber yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and counc president Fano yes motion Carri we are I'm sorry okay ordinance 24-9 ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 14 of the code of the city of Trenton traffic oneway streets as it applies to Hill Avenue so so move may I have a motion to approve second Mr Garcia if you could call the role certain move second call the role Council councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried uh ordinance 24-10 ordinance continuing certain positions fixing salary ranges therefore and setting forth certain regulations for the implementation of the same analyst trainee assistant purchasing agent senior purchasing agent senior program development specialist aging yard supervisor may have a motion to approve so move second Mr Garcia the role certainly councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kber yes council president councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 2411 ordinance to revise certain positions fixing salary ranges therefore and setting forth certain regulations for the implementation of the same administrative secretary employee benefit specialist paralal specialist account clerk senior account clerk principal account clerk management assistant sanitary driver may have a motion to approve so moved second Mr Garcia councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried uh ordinance 24-12 ordinance amending and supplementing Section 1 15-3 of the Trenton city code relating to penalties for illegal dumping we have a motion to approve so move second Mr Garcia councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 2413 Bond ordinance providing for phase four of the lead service line replacement program in the Trenton Water Works service area by the city of Trenton and County of Mercer state of New Jersey appropriating 10 million and there $10 million and therefore authorizing the issuance of $10 million in bonds or notes for finance to excuse me to finance the cost thereof may have a motion to approve so moved second Mr Garcia certainly councilman Edwards yes vice president figuro kber yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Felician yes motion carried and Madame President I believe you have a walked on resolution yes and I walk-on resolution is 24 resolution 2446 resolution in support of Kingsbury preservation llc's funding application to the New Jersey housing and mortgage excuse me mortgage Finance Agency for the Kingsbury Towers multif family housing project and authorizing an agreement for payment in Lee of taxes between the city of Trenton and Kingsbury preservation LLC may have a motion to approve so move second Mr Garcia certainly councilwoman Evers yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried and Madame President at this time I believe we have arrived at Civic comments yes thank you tonight we'll begin with Council woman Williams thank you very much ma'am uh I just want to thank everyone for coming tonight uh it's really important um I do want to share uh with Mr Ward thank you um for sharing what you shared with us tonight I'm sorry um that you're fighting this I have family uh my sister my brother and my nephew fought the same terrible terrible medical condition I know you're strong I know you will fight this like hell and the city is behind you and we all are behind you and we keep you on our thoughts and our prayers so please know that each day but it's important for people to go get checked and people to have their health care monitored just as you said and that's an important lesson for all of us so thank you for reminding us of that I'd like to respond by thanking you for your generous comments and also I didn't get a chance to speak on the four-way traffic uh stop sign yeah okay I was gonna actually if you give me a moment I'll probably fill you in on that yeah but we would like council president how would you like to Council that's okay um so I just know so what situation just could you bring that up I wanted to make sure that we're clear on it uh it's because the process it's been approved for a street light but the street light installation uh all the reviews the funding uh all the entire process design Etc may take 18 months uh it's also been approved in the interim to put a four-way stop there with lit stop signs so at least we would have something at that intersection until a street light can be installed and hopefully uh we actually hopefully we're also going to be uh placing other traffic calming measures at that intersection so thank you very much for bringing app petition to us previously um but we definitely are going to be putting a street light in just because of the way you have to have everything done architecture state regulations and so forth it's just going to take longer than you know we would like but we have to do it the way that the process is done you're welcome sir uh so I just will be real brief I just want to uh thank again uh the Nana dispensaries um and Andre and Elijah for coming tonight and I won't brag too much I know I always do that but I'm very glad that you're part of this city and you're are great entrepreneurs and you are very caring entrepreneurs at that for our city um so y just leave it a quick reminder um uh also uh tomorrow for Black History Month we have a really great event uh here at City Hall it's going to be an emergency sponder and health Expo uh and that's going to be tomorrow from 12: to 2m in Atrium so please spread the word uh for that it'd be great for folks to meet our First Responders but also uh be a part of the healthc Care uh proponent of this and then um I'll just say finally with this this is more so from our safety in because some uh constituents have brought this up to me as we're trying to improve things and improve quality of life if we could um Start Spreading word for people not to double Park uh in streets particular our smaller streets and we all do it I'm guilty I've done it in the past but um with so many more cars in the city it is getting very dangerous uh we have problems with people double parking on on Market Street and Main thorough fars um so it's just what is things we need to start looking out for each other but we also need to remind our neighbors um our friends you know we got to start doing with ourselves we have to start obeying the laws we just have a new ordinance that's going to uh be a fine of $300 for parking in front of a fire hydrant because it's very very important and puts people in danger but we need to do things where we don't need a parking enforcement office or a cop to tell us to do the right thing so that's it and just want to wish you all a great weekend uh God bless and thank you again for coming thank you councilwoman um councilman Harrison uh first I would like to thank um Andre and um and their wonderful proposal here it's um it's unbelievable that you two young men are not only um out in the streets doing community cleanups do anything you can to promote a positive message to give back uh for the Next Generation but but your leading example to show others that here's the way to do it and how to help the Next Generation so I commend you for all you do um to Mr Ward I've been seeing you many years just like myself been coming to these counsil meetings for many years so my prayers are with you and your family um when you spoke tonight everybody up here on this dice had a tear in our eyes so uh affected everybody in this room so my prayers are with you known you many years and I'll be hoping and praying that things get better for you because you're you know you've been here and you and you've always commenly stood up for the north W but actually for the people of this great City for many years um so you're right I know you're a fighter but there's a lot of people that know you and um know how hard you and love this city so my heart is with you um and then um I would like to State uh tonight Sunday Super Bowl um TIG Brown is playing his Super Bowl local Tron um which is unbelievable so hopefully everybody will be rooting for the 49ers on Sunday um my heart is that I want TIG not only win that Super Bowl to make that winning interception to seal the game for the 49ers and hope he's the MVP of the Super Bowl because takes prime example of being at that high school and staying there and signing all those kids autographs and take a picture with every kid that's the NFL player you want to see that's a kid that gets it he's born and bred in the city of Tren and he loves the city so let's go TIG Brown let's go 49ers bring home that Super Bowl thank you yes sir thank you councilman councilwoman Gonzalez yes so thank everyone for being present um thank you Mr Ward we all share the same sentiment we all love and appreciate all of your work your advocacy your fighting for the city not just for the north Ward but for Trenton and our prayers are with you and your family um just want to say thank you again to Elijah and and Andre as you guys continue to impress us every every every project that you guys want to put your your stamp on you guys are doing it well so thank you for continuing to want in to invest in our city um just another just I'm going to be very very brief tonight just want to say congratulations to our D9 family um I know councilwoman Feliciano came up with this idea and it was fitting and I know people see us with letters on and you see our colors and you may see us stroll or party you know dancing around but we do a lot more in our community we we try to positively impact the lives of those um in our area and I just want to say congratulations to the entire D9 family um thank you to uh all of you for being present and I just want to say tomorrow Tren high plays tomorrow and Saturday um we also have the Puerto Rican Day parade is doing uh their event Saturday February 10th from 6:00 to 10: p.m. at St Mar's and then you also have the NAACP who will have their event at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and and that would be at Cooper so you are able to support either of the events there's tons of things going on as we stated on Tuesday so please just look out for flyers or information as there are a lot of um events going on during the month of black for Black History Month um also as uh Mr as councilman Harrison said we have jier brown who is playing in the Super Bowl I am always going to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan let me just make that publicly clear I've actually been getting blamed because I put on my TIG uh my 49ers outfit for the game and ever since then the Eagles been losing but um Jer Brown is like a nephew to me I watched this young man grow from Trenton this Trenton tornadoes um he played at um Trenton pop water went on to play at Trenton Central High School not only football but basketball and even when he went off to college that young man came back with his colleague with his classmates and his football his teammates and he came and he made sure that he invested in our kids and he continues to do that so he's one that we want to support so we're going to say can't believe I'm going to say it and you already know but I'm going to say go ners for the Super Bowl let's all enjoy the Super Bowl game responsibly thank you all for being present this evening thank you councilwoman Council woman frisbee it's not I'm telling everybody else good evening everyone I just want to start off like the rest of my colleagues and [Music] um acknowledgement algae um we have been doing uh in many circles for several years and your dedication your Devotion to Trenton is commendable and I know the fight is not over um you showed us if nothing else what you are made of during the campaign season um fight uh is only that we know to be in you um what you have planted here these seeds for be it for the Locust group be it for the black historians what everything you put your hands to it is done with your heart and so um know that we're praying for you know that we are fighting with you if you need you have all majority of our numbers up here we're a phone call away whatever we can do but thank you for pushing us pushing us um to do better to be better at all times and you are appreciated for that if you have not been told we do appreciate what you do we appreciate who you are and how you show up for our community everything that you do we know that it all comes from a genuine place and I'm grateful um for all that you do the road that you have already laid for us and I know that it's not over I continue um to watch you listen to you and move um to see how you honor your people and I honor you on this evening um algae you're welcome and you don't have to ever cry alone we've got you um know that um when it comes to the divine nine I am uh glad to have been a part of this I commend council president um for coming up with this idea I think it was absolutely fantastic and to see everybody come here in their excellent um was absolutely wonderful um when it uh come to Nirvana Andre we've been working together for some years matter of fact the time of the pandemic kicked it off for us and you're just high quality you whatever you put your hands to has been prosperous Elijah the exact same thing you guys move in excellence and I appreciate how you show up in our community you don't show up half half passs everything you gentlemen do you do it the way it's supposed to be done your presentation you move the way it should be done the way we are proud to see you in our community so kudos to you hats off to you for how you're you're moving in our community keep up the good work and showing up as Role Models they are role models for your children Your Role Models for the young men and women that are in our community especially being so young in the community you are absolutely great examples of how to do it and how to do it right and not having to go back and reinvent a will you know learning how to do it um off the wheels of what others have done seeing what was done and wasn't done right and you're getting it right so kudos to you thank you for how you come and thank you for how you come up and you show up in this room um of course I'm voting for T Jer Brown was just all over the place 49ers everywhere we're proud of him excited for him um and I do want to acknowledge how he came back to the city and continues to come back and gives back fact seeing him working out with the chent students on the field was absolutely commendable he didn't have to do it but he did and so we commend him for doing just that I do want it was already mentioned that the NAACP they are having their event this Saturday at Cooper's tickets are $85 they are still on sale and we would love to have you come out and I want to thank those who some folks from online did reach out to me and I do have the Flyers now for United Way the four places that if you have make $65,000 or less there are four places in the community that you can get your taxes done for free one is the Boys and Girls Club on Spruce Street the other one is Hamilton the Hamilton Public Library um in Hamilton New Jersey one Justice Samuel one Justice Samuel outway the third one is Salvation Army Trenton 575 East State Street and the fourth one is United Way of Greater merer um on craer Bridge Road in Hamilton New Jersey there are lots of Flyers they're both in English and in Spanish um that I have and again if anyone needs to reach out to me I appreciate folks calling um to get the information the other one was the FBI job um the in internship program that information the application is opened on open on February 12th and they close on March 1st there is a a scan code so if anybody needs this I will ask leave this at the clerk's office so if anyone wants to come to the city they can do that as a matter of fact what I will do is all the Flyers that I have I will leave there all of them have Scan Code so they anyone who wants to they can come to the clerk's office the other one let's film um this is absolutely fantastic for anyone who's looking to get into get into the filming industry that also that's handled being done by the James R houndy Foundation all right and that classes will be held on Franklin Street here in the city of Trenton councilwoman I apologize but that is your time that was not five minutes yes it was it was I promise it was children's F five minutes and 10 seconds can I take 30 seconds 10 seconds through the chair through the president if okay the city's um mission statements in regard recognizing that the people of Trenton have made us Guardians in the public trust we are committed to govern with integrity and fiscal responsibility to seek excellence in the city's operations and to serve all the city's people with respect and compassion thank you and everyone get home safely thank you Mr Garcia put the sound on put the sound on the timer you got it my AP The Zone you're in the zone so just put holding it up we're gonna have to get something for right here no I have the timer in the back I just bring it out so we can show the people so that's fine councilwoman Edwards I wasn't ready good evening everyone um thank you all for coming um there's so many things that I want to say today but I'll I'll start off with saying congratulations to jier TIG Brown on on going to the Super Bowl uh I can't believe I'm saying this as an Eagles fan but I'm definitely rooting for the ners this year and that hurts to say that but but um at the before I was an Eagles fan I was a Trentonian so I have to go with Trenton all the way so I'm I'm praying that he brings home the Chip And we we definitely have to you know show up and show out for him and congratulations to his mother and the rest of his family too I know they're absolutely elated on his success I mean being a rookie in the in the NFL first year you know being drafted like that's a that's just heard of is amazing and Trenton does uh breed greatness [Music] um and on that night and on that note we also breed Fighters um we don't go down without a fight anyone that you know from Trenton um throw a stone we all have a story uh and algae you and I share a lot of memories and I'm not going to sit up here and give you some type of eulogy as if you're going to be gone because you have a lot more time left on this Earth you have a lot more work to do and we have a lot more memories to build um I'm sure you will see me in my indigenous garments um and I'm sure that you will make a beautiful Museum a beautiful beautiful Museum and I'll be there to continue to help and continue to raise money with you and bring attention to that area and everything else that you're involved in you do God's work here on Earth so and he has a last word and there's power in prayer and I will be praying for you thank you have a good night everyone thank you councilwoman Council vice president Figaroa kenberg good evening everybody um thank you all for being here um and for those who are watching at home um who cannot be with his with us tonight this evening um I just I share my Council colleague sentiment um Elijah and Andre I mean you guys continue to do great things um I'm really proud of you guys the community is proud of you guys and I just want you guys to bring some of that energy to South Trenton just bring it on just bring it on to South Trenton so um but congratulations you guys are really doing great things and you guys keep pouring into the community so thank you for that [Music] um okay aine we don't have each other's phone numbers we don't call each other you know we don't sit down and have coffee you sat up here the courage you had and you sat up here I have respect for you you sat up here and you had the courage to share your story and I saw my dad he went through what you went through he didn't have the opportunity you have now you have a fighting chance and he didn't speak as eloquently as you do but he had a lot of passion and so just thank you for all you do thank you for all the courage you have and use that to be your light and your fight because there's so many people who look up to you you know and just just keeping the advoc kid that you are um just thank you for sharing that um um um council president Feliciano um thank you your fellow Lamberton street thank you I live in the western we don't care about that um president Fano can you please um give the announcement I'm thank you thank [Music] you are we offline are we offline the wire behind foot I don't know oh the can you check the wire behind your foot behind me no behind you Mr [Music] Garcia it's okay okay well we'll keep going that's all right um bear with us one second it's okay we're gonna keep going in the essence of time it's all right figured out so Mr Garcia I'm going to um yield two minutes of my time to um Mr Andre English who has something that he wants to say to council about the fireworks ordinance he actually um came um from work so he missed the comment but it's something that I'd like my colleagues to hear just to hear what he has to say so we're giving two minutes to him to go ahead go ahead Mr English understood go ahead press the button to turn your mic on please thank you thank you very much um initially had certain concerns about you know the fireworks put to your mouth my mouth thank you initially had certain concerns about the fireworks and uh what it would do to the city the elderly the small children's so I thought about it I said okay what if um the fireworks are allowed to go by permit request so that way if you had a permit request on any celebration you would know a for time when the celebration is coming up and that way you'll be able to make proper requests for a permit not a license so in having a permit for hypothetically 35 bucks it would allow residents to have time and also obtain a permit and then light off the fireworks but the permit would um essenti mandate that a fire extinguisher would be locally or centrally located um a safe environment it would be you know in a form of agreement that the residents would have to fill out uh and requesting a permit um secondly or thirdly it would uh stop like premature fireworks going off from kids who find it legal or people find it legal to just light off fir cracks whether to annoy neighbors or you know just to cause problems and just make noise unnecessary no so um this is what I present and just you know not stopping it but having a greater sense of responsibility for those who would like to light off fireworks thank you thank you and so in the ordinance it has the part about the the permit already in there right but I wanted you to say what you wanted to say anyway because you came from work and we just want to make sure to get you on the record because you missed that time to be able to say it right right okay so it would have to be a state permit because there's certain fireworks that aren't allowed but the state would have to regulate that but thank you for that commentary Mr English in your time so I would just like to also congratulate jier Brown um on making it to the Super Bowl I am also a Philadelphia Eagles fan but I do have a 49ers jersey um in support of TIG right because he represents Trenton so we want to rock out with him all the way his mother is going to be interviewed on 94.5 tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. my daughter had text me to let me know so if anybody's around and can listen in tomorrow morning 94.5 um zier's Mom Joy Ingram is going to be interviewed by the radio station um I just want to say shout out again to Andre Elijah thank you you for doing what you do alanine I've said what I had to say um with regards to you my prayers and love is with you you need anything you let me know um in closing I want to announce councilwoman Edwards myself and councilwoman figuroa kenberg are hosting lunch with a cop on February 19th that's President's Day at the McDonald's on cash Street um and that's going to be from noon to 1:30 p.m. there's also a coffee with a cop that day that's happening at the Dunkin Donuts on Pennington Avenue at Pennington and Parkway in the city so they'll be doing coffee with a cop in the morning and then we're going to shift on over to the McDonald's on cash Street and do lunch with a cop so that way people can meet Trenton's finest talk to some of us hang out and have a good time that being said thank you all for coming out tonight once again God bless and safe travels going home can I have a motion to adjourn second Mr councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figo kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes Council W Williams and council president Feliciano yes motion carried meeting adjourned for