to the meeting of the upper township committee was posted on the official township bulletin board, the upper township website and emailed to the Atlantic City Press, the Ocean City Sentinel ledger, the Herald Times and followed the township clerks. Tonight's meeting is being video recorded up until
the close session portion of the meeting will be available in the upper township website. I hereby direct this announcement be made part of the minutes of the meeting. >> Hi, daddy. >> Hi, Chameleia. Hello. Um,
>> uh, would everyone please stand for flag service? Aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty andice for all.
>> And please remain standing for a moment of silence and reflection. Amen. >> Joanne, will you please call the role? >> Mr. Casachio >> here. >> Mr. Nappen >> here. >> Mr. Sam Palumbo >> here. >> Mr. Zack Palumbo >> here. >> Mayor Corson >> present. >> All members are present. Has everyone
had an opportunity to review the minutes from the May 26, 2026 meeting? >> Yes. Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Please call the role. >> Mr. Casaceio. >> Yes. >> Mr. Nappen. Yes. >> Mr. Sam Palumbo. Yes. >> Mr. Zach Palumbo. >> Yes. >> Mayor Corson. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Okay. We're going to go a little bit out
of order tonight. Uh we're going to start with Jim. Mr. Man, would you like to uh go? >> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the committee. Uh good evening, everyone. So, I want to take uh take this opportunity to address the questions and concerns raised by
residents regarding the recent data security incident involving upper township. The township committee completely understands that the notification letters received by our community have generated valid questions about what occurred, how we responded, and the timelines of this process. We
are fully committed to the governance, accountability, and protecting the privacy of our residents. The purpose of this statement is to provide a clear, factual, and logical overview of our response efforts. On December 8th, 2025, the township
discovered suspicious activity within our network. We promptly responded by isolating our systems and launching a comprehensive forensic investigation with a third party specialist to confirm the nature and scope of the incidents. It was ultimately determined that the township was a victim of an outside
cyber attack. The event was immediately reported to local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities between December 9th and December 12th to ensure a thoroughly coordinated response to township engaged directly with the New Jersey State Police, the State Police
Cyber Crimes Unit, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security. Additionally, we cooperated fully with the FBI and to the matter to ensure all federal protocols were strictly followed. We have heard the primary concern from our community regarding the duration of
time between the initial discovery in December and the arrival of notification letters in June. I want to explain why the process required a significant amount of time. Following the attack, the township worked diligently with the third party IT specialist to ensure full containment of our network and the
implementation of remediation measures. Investigations of this nature are highly complex and it is vital to the township to prioritize security systems and data accuracy before providing public updates. Once our systems were secured, the township worked with in industry
specialists to conduct an exhaustive review of the impacted data set. This review was necessary to evaluate whether and what specific personal information was subject to unauthorized access or acquisition. Meticulously verifying this
data is a time-intensive process, but completing inaccurate review is imperative before additional details can be communicated. Rushing this process would have resulted in inaccurate notices causing unnecessary panic and confusion for
residents who were not affected uh not not actually affected. Once we received the verified results of the interview, we worked expeditiously to finalize correct address information relating to affected individuals and provide notifications via mail. To ensure
widespread awareness, the township also posted on posted on our website and provided not notices to prominent New Jersey media outlets. Based on the final results of the data review, it was determined that the information was accessed and acquired by the unauthorized actor. The review
determined the information may include names, dates of uh birth, medical information, health insurance information, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, and financial account information. We also confirmed that the township received a demand
related to a ransom from the unauthorized actor. The ransom demand was not paid by the township. We know that residents have highly specific questions regarding tactical forensic firms, internal cost breakdowns, and technical vulnerabilities. At this time,
to protect uh protect the ongoing integrity of our infrastructure and ensure the security of our network and to protect the sanctity of the investigation against future threats. We are limited in the operational details we can publicly disclose. This is a
standard security precaution to protect our infra infrastructure, not an effort to limit transparency. Since the inf incident, we have successfully implemented significant remediation measures to stren strengthen our defenses and protect our data. We have
also established a dedicated toll-free call center at 1877-429-9759 to help residents check their status and answer specific individual inquiries. I want to thank you for your your continued partnership, civility, and understanding as we work through the
security recovery process. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jim. >> Thank you. >> All right. Okay. We're going to start with government official reports. Uh you would like Tyler, you have an invoice tonight. >> Uh yeah, it'll be very short and brief. Uh I just want to congratulate Mayor
Corson on his successful re-election campaign last week. It's a pleasure to work with you, Mayor, and I look forward to the next three years working with you and uh you've taught me a lot. I can hope to continue to learn a lot from you. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Is that it? >> That's it. >> All right, Sam, do you have anything? you're going to be hearing for from me for quite a while in a little bit. So, I'm good for tonight. Thank you, Mayor. >> Okay, Zach, do you have anything for us? >> Uh, I do. Congratulations again, uh, mayor and your successful reelection uh
in the primary. I'd also uh want to bring up uh to everyone up to speed on public works. Uh, the brush cleanup is finally completed. It's been a ridiculous amount of tonnage that of brush from the March storm, March and February storms that have come up for
there. Um, also the uh public works has broken ground on uh the initial init uh installation of the facil uh gym facility at Amanda's Field. And it looks like we're going to have uh breaking ground for the lights for soccer uh at
Amanda's Field by September. So, we're looking moving in the right direction. And hopefully we can get softball stuff squared away so that way it's ready for their spring season of next year. >> Perfect. >> Vic, do you have anything to >> I do have a couple things. Good evening everybody. Thank you so much for coming
out as always. Great to see the football team out here. Uh great to see Miss Southern Gardens out here again to honor you guys in a little bit. IT front, I want to thank public works IT buildings and grounds for the courtroom upgrades. The microphone system you guys are hearing tonight. It's a testament to a lot of hard work and a lot of planning
that went into that. um upgrading how our social media is presented and how our meetings are presented has been something that's very important to me and um we're definitely moving that in the right direction. EMS call volume is increasing significantly as our community is going into summer season which reflects the growth in our
population and all the increased activity in our area. We've responded to multiple calls for service daily and continue to maintain readiness to meet that standard. Opening of beach season's off to a great start. EMS and beach patrol have conducted joint training daily to enhance coordination, ensure the best
service to provide at Strathmir Beach. EMS has responded to several emergencies off the beach at Strathmir in the past few weeks, reinforcing our strong partnerships with the MS Strath NOOCC fire department. These agencies are working collaboratively as a critical
part to our system and as we get into our busy summer months. Additionally, EMS has partnered with beach control last week to provide water and beach safety education students at Upper Township Primary School, which I know um Mr. Palumbo, that's a big one for you.
So, they're in the schools promoting safety and all the kids out there. Make sure you guys are safe on the beaches this summer. Swim where there's lifeguards, please. The program included interactive stations. Students were able to see the inside of ambulances, learn about lifeguard equipment, receive important information on boating, beach
safety, and what to say if they need to call 911 during an emergency. This type of outreach supports our community, and helps promote preparedness among our younger residents. And I thank Chief Britain. Chief Britain helps me put those together every week. I don't want everybody to think that's me talking. He's he's a wonderful chief. That's all
I have, sir. >> Thank you. >> Yep. And Oh, and congratulations on re-election. It's great. >> Thank you. >> Yes. First of all, I'd like to start by thanking the voters of Upper Township and their confidence in coming out and voting and very successful election junior. I also want to remind everyone,
please swim on guarded beaches. As of Saturday night, I think there was four drownings this season already from Seaside Heights, Asbury Park, Ocean City, and Wildwood. So, it's uh very important swim on guarded beaches. I believe all the
drownings were on guarded beaches. I had the pleasure June 3rd of going to the Strat Pro improvement association monarch way station dedication. If anybody has not seen it, it's on the Russ Chatton Causeway. They put a beautiful garden in for monarch and
local butterflies. So that's was very nice to see that. And that is all I have at this point. Well, the beach replenishment is going to be scheduled to start. It's a little bit delayed. So first week of July sometime it's every time we have a little northeastern rough
seas it gets moved a little bit. So >> Jim, do you have anything for I'm good? >> You're good. John, do you have anything? >> Uh just a couple things. Mr. Number 18, there's a slight uh amendment to the title just to remove the year 2019 and the word end that follows it. Those two
will be removed from that title. And uh based on an objection received today related to number 22 on the agenda, that's going to be removed from consent. There will need to be a public hearing that's held on that and that'll be conducted at our next meeting um 22nd. Okay. >> Joanne, do you have anything for us
tonight? >> I have nothing. Thank you. >> Barb, do you have anything for us? >> I have nothing other than to say congratulations, Mayor. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we will go on to our presentations. First, we have This is
Shice. >> All right. So, >> would you like to come on up here? >> Come on up. And I'm going to read this long winded thing and we're going to take a picture. Okay. >> Good job. Come on. >> Come on up. >> Come all the way around. >> Where? She's going to come up. >> Congratulations. Great job.
>> All right. So, I have the pleasure of reading this tonight into the record. Whereas Cameron Schultice, title holder of Miss Southern Gardens within the Miss America organization, has demonstrated outstanding dedication to leadership, service, and community engagement. And whereas Cameron is the founder of the
Poverty Promise, a 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to supporting undeserved communities through education, outreach, and volunteerism. And whereas in recognition of the spirit of service highlighted during National Volunteer Month, her efforts continue to inspire meaningful community
involvement, sustained volunteerism beyond the month of April. And whereas through her leadership, the Poverty Promise has mobilized volunteers, including high school students to participate in impactful service initiatives, organized donation drives, and provided essential resources to individuals and families in need
throughout Atlantic, Kate Bay, and Cumberland counties. And whereas her efforts have resulted in the collection and distribution of thousands of essential items, positively impacting the lives of local residents and strengthening the spirit of service within the community. And whereas Cameron serves as a role model for young
people, exemplifying compassion, initiative, and commitment to make a difference. And whereas her accomplishments reflect great credit upon herself, her family, and the community of Upper Township, New Jersey. Now therefore be resolved by the township committee of upper that Cameron
Schultice is hereby recognized and commended for outstanding leadership, community service, and dedicated efforts through the poverty props. >> Close these computers down. There we go. >> Good job. 30 seconds.
>> Great job. >> Congratulations. >> Do you want to talk do you want to talk about your project or say anything? >> Um I want to speak. Yeah. >> Thank you. Um so I run a a local um 501c3 nonprofit called the Poverty Promise. Um like you said, we have three branches which are outreach, education,
and fundraising. We do a lot of projects with high school students to get students involved to get community service hours so they can help the community. But the biggest thing that I want to say is it's the small acts that matter. So if you see someone that's struggling, being able to help them. There's these things that we distribute which are called blessing bags. So they're bags with local like essent
essentials food items. And if you see someone that's struggling, you know, give them a bag, give them a smile, give them a wave, and recognize these people and show them that, you know, you care about them and that you're here to help them and lend a helping hand a hand up. So yeah, thank you so much.
>> Thank you for contact your contact website. >> Yes, we have a website called the poverty promise. So it's just www.thepropypromise.com and then we also have an Instagram, Facebook, the poverty promise. So yeah, thank you so much.
>> Thank you. Congratulations. That's fine. >> Thank you again. >> Okay, I call. You ready? >> We have a presentation for our football. So, we're going to ask Sam to read those. As we read your names, please come up. We're going to put you guys up
front here in front of the DAS. and we're going to come down to meet you because >> there there's too many of you to come up here. >> Hold applause to hold applause. >> Please hold all the applause to the end. We'd like all you kids, but >> time we want you guys to get home and do your homework.
>> Not in Mr. Nap. >> All righty. Here we go. Uh, if I get any of these names wrong, hold me accountable as always. Congratulating the Upper Township Indians Junior Varsity Football Team on becoming the 2025 Cape Atlantic Junior
Football League Champions. Whereas the Upper Township Indians Junior Varsity Football Team completed an outstanding and undefeated 2025 football season, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 301 to 20 and earning the title of 2025 Cape
Atlantic Junior Football League Champions. And whereas on November 29th, 2025, the Upper Township Indians Junior Varsity Football Team competed in the Cape Atlantic Junior Football League Championship game held at Birch Grove Park in Northfield, New Jersey, and
defeated Northfield the Northfield Cardinals by a score of 12 to8. And whereas it is fitting and proper that on behalf of the citizens of Upper Township, we recognize and congratulate the players listed below for their dedication, teamwork, and athletic achievement.
Deacon Adams, Santino Bellow, Hunter Blizzard, Carlo Constantino, Jaden Cruz, Ethan Edwards, Matthew Endicott, Declan Garvey,
Roman Jennalini, Charles Griffin, Nicholas Jackson, Cameron King, Jared Clebar, Jace Clebar, Axel Leighton, >> Luke Lcap,
>> Eastston McConnell, Anderson McDaniels, >> Ethan McMahon, >> Carter McMahon, Logan Mitchell, >> Nolan Moratelli, >> Trip Nappen, >> Jace Pera,
>> Blake Priest, Mason Shrader, Mlin Shaw, Luke Snder, Maddox Vaughn, Dylan Warren, Landon Weissback, Shane Wheeler, Max Yakobsick,
Bla1 Dentner. Whereas special recognition is extended to Jared Clebar for being named the championship game most valuable player. And whereas the township committee also wishes to recognize and thank the coaching staff who generously donated their time and service to the youth of this community,
including head coach Tom Golini, assistant coaches John Clebar, Kevin Mitchell, Robert Deari, Nick Jackson, Tyler King, Jim Blizzard, Mike Endicott, Paul Garvey, and Steve Adams. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Township Committee of the Township of Upper on behalf of its citizens that
heartfelt congratulations and hereby extended to the Upper Township Indians Junior Varsity Football Team for becoming the 2025 Cape Atlantic Junior Football League Champions. And sincere appreciation is expressed to the coaching staff for their commitment and service to the young people of this
community given under our hands and the seal of the township of Upper February, 2026. Where's Deacon Adams? Adam's the only >> picture. It's probably All right.
>> Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Tomach by the time he break So, we're headed against >> pretty much. >> Thank you, Larry. >> Great job there.
>> Those were easy. I was literally just about to say that. I feel like they didn't give you too many zingers. That wasn't that was too easy. See, >> I was due for a few easy ones, but that was too easy. >> Okay, at this time, >> we're going to open it up for public comment
>> pertaining to the agenda only, items 1 through 24 >> or items 3 through 24. >> And the only thing I'd add, Mayor, if you're going to comment on number 22, I'd save that for the general public portion because we've removed that from consent based on the testing the new mic.
>> Yes, >> I'm Alice Marge 19 East Vincent Strathmir and at this moment I'm representing the Strathmir Fishing and Environmental Club. I am an active member of the environmental committee and also representing the Strathmir
fishing and environmental club president Wayne Thomas, environmental committee chair Randy Ro and engineer Doug Doug Gaffne and uh we're asking you to explain the reasoning behind resolution number 15 which is rejecting the bids
received for the Straner Living Shoreline project. >> Jim, you want to take that? >> Yeah. say uh good evening Alice. Um number 15 is because uh generally bids have to be in the range of the engineering estimate um that authorizes
us to go out to bid and in this case I think they're about a million dollars over what the engineering estimate was for those. So, we were going to reject them outright um and then ask it to be value engineered into a way where that uh the bids come in closer to the money
we have allocated for it because as of right now um you know I I think we had $870,000 or something similar, don't quote me, um allocated for this via grant and then the bids came in well over $2 million. And so in order to get more reasonable
bids um we are asking that the engineering communities in this case act engineering who we're partnering with goes back and then redesigns it and redo the the plans and the bid specs so that we can go out to bid next meeting and then hopefully get bids closer to what
the estimate we're aiming for. >> Okay. So you're saying to rescale the project? >> Okay. Um good. How do you anticipate this is going to affect the timeline? Because we're wondering that because um is there a chance that the grant will
run out? Number one. Or number two, we also have a groundbreaking um planned with Congressman Van Drew and that's scheduled for September 15th. And will that be possible or will we have to start the gears of rescheduling because it took a long time to get that
scheduled in? Yeah, I at this point um it's hard for me to make a commitment um because you know you're that entirely depends on third parties, right? And so I would say uh I think it's achievable. Um as long as we get the bid package out to bid
next meeting on June 22nd. Um how long do you have to keep a bid open for? 20 days or something like that. um you get bids in afterwards if they're reasonably priced towards an estimate and is value engineered back to something that's executable. You know,
we're talking about groundbreaking in September. I see no reason why that couldn't be achieved. Um but again, that's relying on a lot of third party outside variables. >> Okay, great. Thank you so much for explaining that. And I just want to make clear that this is a very important
project to the island of Strathmir. The living shoreline is not just going to protect the meadows, but the meadows protect the entire island. So, uh the process has taken four years to bring about and the formation of a living shoreline and it's it's imperative that
it goes forward um whether originally planned or scaled back. So, thanks for your information and keep going with that living shoreline. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to comment on the agenda of items 3 through
24? Mayor, I'll just note quickly too, just in response or in followup there. The resolution that we do have on tonight for number 15 does authorize the township to revise the bid specs and to go back out. So, we won't have to wait till we can do that in advance of that
meeting based on this resolution. >> Alice, did you hear that? the resolution 15 we are authorizing to go out to bid so we don't have to wait till next meeting to authorize it so that part of the withdrawal yes
>> okay hearing no more public port meeting at this time we'll close the public portion entertain a motion for the consent agenda >> motion to approve >> second >> Mr. Kachio >> yes >> Mr. Nappen yes >> Mr. Sam Palumbo yes >> Mr. Zach Blumbo.
>> Yes. >> Mayor Corson. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. Under resolutions to be acted on separately appointing Norman W. Briggs to act as special legal counsel. >> Motion to approve. Second. >> Please call the RO. >> Mr. Cassaceio. >> Yes. >> Mr. Nappen. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sam Palumbo. >> Abstain.
>> Mr. Zack Palumbo. >> Abstain. May >> Coren. >> Yes. >> Motion carried with three in favor. >> Next we have authorizing the donation of Cedar Signpost to Strathmir United Methodist Church pursuant to NJSA 4812-21.1. Motion to approve. >> Second. Please call the role.
>> Mr. Casaceio, >> yes. >> Mr. Nappen, >> yes. >> Mr. San Palumbo, >> yes. >> Mr. Zack Palumbo, >> yes. >> Mayor Corson, >> abstain. >> Motion carried. >> I hereby move that all claims submitted for payment at this meeting be approved and then incorporated in full in the minutes of this meeting. >> Second.
>> Please call the role. >> Mr. Cassaceio, yes. >> Mr. Nappen, yes. >> Mr. San Palumbo, yes. >> Mr. Zack Palumbo, >> yes. M >> Coren, >> yes. >> Motion carries. before we open to the public. Lieutenant, do you have any questions tonight? >> Okay. Thank you, sir. Um, at this time,
we're open to the public. We have anybody have any comments on anything? Now's the time. >> Good evening. I'm Dodie from Strathmeir. I wanted to take a moment to thank those within the township, including the administrator and public works for the
new street signs installed throughout Strathmeir. The updated signs with the clear east and west designations have improved visibility, making navigation easier for residents, visitors, delivery services, and emergency responders. I appreciate the
township's attention to this important improvement and the enhancements to both the clarity and to public safety within our town. So, thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Is there anyone else like to address town committee? >> Hearing no more public comment. We'll
close the public portion and entertain a motion for close session. >> We don't actually need any tonight, mayor. But I just do want to add, mayor, I know we mentioned earlier that we were going to remove number 22 from the consent agenda. If I didn't say it already, we'll have a public hearing on that at the June 22nd, our next meeting,
the June 22nd meeting for number 22. >> Okay. Item number two, 22 then will be heard with a public hearing June 22nd. >> Yes, >> there's no >> So, we don't need a close session. >> We do not need a motion to adjourn the meeting. >> Second.
>> Second. >> Mr. Cassagia. >> Yes. >> Mr. Napp. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sano. Yes, >> Zach. >> Yes. >> Corson. >> Yes. >> Well, I would say one thing. If we didn't have a presentation, tonight would have been a record. >> Yeah, that would have been This already
is sort of a record. John, we