Good evening everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting for Vini City Council, Tuesday, December 9th, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. Roll call, please. Dr. Arthur, here. Council member English here. Council member Vargas here. Vice President Gomez here.
President Spanelli, dear. Tonight, we'll have the uh fabulous 12. Is that what you call them? [laughter] the Palto Elementary School safety patrol members coming up and helping us with the pledge of Palto doesn't I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [applause] We'll take photos. You guys
Great job, guys. [applause] Way to go, guys. Good job. [snorts] I'd like to thank the administration, teachers, parents for getting their kids here and helping us out with the pledge of allegiance. It's always a pleasure to have them.
Public notice. This meeting pursuant to the open public's meeting act has been given by the city clerk on December 11, 2024 and is amended in the following manner. Posting written notice on the official bulletin board of the lobby of city hall. Providing written notice to the offices of the daily journal press of Atlantic City and the violent voice
and filing written notice in the office of the city clerk of the city of Mr. President, I present a communication from Mayor Anthony Fenucci, honoring Sue Finelli for faithfully serving on the violent environmental commission since September 25th, 1973, and requested the
same be received and followed in the city clerk's office. St. Her up on stage [applause] up here. Want me to do I'll do the resolution. Do the resolution. Mr. President, I present resolution
number 2025-618, a resolution commending Sue Finelli for faithfully serving on the Violent Environmental Commission since September 25th, 1973. So I'm not just a little old. Not a little old. Not a little old.
Any discussion by council? See none. We have a motion. Did you get a motion? Get a Yeah. Okay. All right. No discussion. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Gomez. Yes.
Council member, sorry. Vargas, yes. Said that. Uh, President Spinelli. Yes. Okay. I'll read this into the record. Uh, there are two. You have a mayor's proclamation and a commending resolution from city council. Basically, very
similar from the office of the mayor of the city violent proclamation honoring Sue Finelli. Whereas Sufanelli has faithfully served on the Vinland Environmental Commission since her creation since its creation on September
25, 1973. And whereas prior to that, she served on the former board of n natural areas preservation commissioners beginning December 12th, 1972, which later became the environmental commission. And whereas throughout all 53 years of service on the environmental
commission and the board of natural areas preservation commissioners, Sufanelli has given her time and expertise as a volunteer without compensation and steadfast commitment to the betterment of our community. Whereas Sufanelli has contributed a vast wealth of knowledge, experience, and countless
hours of community service toward improving and protecting the environment within the city of Vinland. And whereas her exceptional efforts in anti-litter education and distribution of Arbor Day trees to local schools have left a lasting impact on generations of violent
residents and students. Whereas Sue's long-standing dedication to the protection, care, and development of the city's natural resources serves as an inspiring example of civic pride and environmental stewardship. Now therefore, I, Anthony R. Fenucci, mayor of the city of Vinland, do hereby
recognize and commend Sufanelli for extraordinary service and invaluable contributions to our community. Congratulations. [applause] [applause] [applause] Congratulations. That's all. Don't worry about that.
Can't hear that. Oh yes. The world might be in a mess right now, but you can make a difference. Be that difference. God bless. [applause] [clears throat] We'll open up the general public comment
portion of the meeting. Public comment provides an opportunity for members of the public to inform the governing body about their views. The governing body prescribes the city council's bylaws in the New Jersey statutes on open public's meeting when engaging during public comment. As such, each individual shall
have a fiveminute limit to comment, cannot yield time to another individual, may only approach the podium once during public comment for any one topic. Vulgar offensive language is prohibited, and the city council will not engage in dialogue with the public during this time. The governing body maintains model
courtesy and respect and requires the members of the public to do the same. This time, I'd like to read a statement to the citizens of Vinland. Please accept my sincere and unreserved apology for my unprofessional conduct and inappropriate language. I used
during a private conversation after city council meeting was over November 25th. A comment brought on by remarks about a local pastor and his wife which questioned his religious beliefs which I found offensive. Regardless of this circumstance and the nature of the comment as your councilman
is my personal responsibility to maintain a high level of professionalism and respect in all communications with the residents in this situation I failed. In the future I would do my best to represent you in the highest professional manner possible. Thank you very much.
Rich anyone. All right. First up to publicly speak we have Zack Landosini. Zach Lannosini. Following him, Steven Brown. Following him, Steven Brown. Sorry to cut everybody.
I think we're good. All right. Thank you. Good evening. In the closing remarks of the last city council meeting Oh. My name my name is Zach Landisini. I live in the city of Vinand. Thank you
for letting me speak. Good evening. In the closing remarks of last city council meeting, council member Spanelli stated that the data 1 construction on Lincoln Avenue has been in development for 5 years.
This comment is misleading at best and simply not true when reasonably considering when the public would be aware of this construction. Let's try and start from the beginning.
From 2018 to 2022, over 4 million in grants and loans were awarded to Northeast Precast by the city. This hardly seems like a fair beginning of the timeline, especially considering
that during this period, there was no public statement regarding a data center, let alone construction. In March of 2022, the reasonzoning of the land was first proposed roughly three and a half years ago.
Arguably, this is a fair start of the timeline, though still at this point there was no public statement regarding a data center at the South Lincoln Avenue site. Construction of the existing data center building did not begin until the summer
of 2024 with the first phase of the construction beginning being completed in 2025. The Vineland Water Utility presented an analysis to the B planning board on June 25th, 2024.
At this time, many of the details regarding the water usage of the data center were unclear. A result of lack of details provided by the developer data 1 and Nebus. To date, as far as the public is
concerned, these details have not been provided. Nevertheless, the Vineland Water Utility projects an annual water usage of roughly 200,750,000 gallons based on the approved site plan.
Why is the city satisfied with this ad hoc analysis of water consumption done with no input from the Nebus from Nebus or data 1? If they are not satisfied, why are they voting today on a loan over
of over $6 million to accelerate the development? Rather than scolding the community on the timeliness of our push back, the members of city council should be working with the community to address
all of our concerns. No air quality study, an inadequate and ignored water use study, misrepresentation of noise pollution by some people in this room tonight, an expedited timeline that has left the
community scrambling for answers. Over the course of the last month, we have spoken with over 500 Vinland residents. An overwhelming majority have stated that they know little to nothing about this project.
If the city council does not want to be accused of rubber stamping development, they should listen to the public instead of belittling our concerns. Can any member of city council point the public to a single instance where they
have mounted any push back on this project? The responsibility is on those elected to prove to the public they are diligently seeking out every pertinent detail before voting to fasttrack a project that will jeopardize the
resources and well-being of the community they serve. As of right now, regarding this project, from our perspective, this city council and the mayor have failed on this front.
Vote no on the $6 million loan that's on the agenda today. Work with the public to appoint a qualified health professional to assess the merits of a temporary development moratorum.
Thank you. [applause] [applause] Next, Stephen Brown. Steven Brown. Followed by Nicole Gardner. Hi. Uh, my name is Stephen Brown. I live out in the Rolling Hills Estates area.
Uh, my wife and I have been longtime Vinland residents. In 1999, we started to look for a lot to build our house and eventually bought one over in that area. We liked this area because it was quiet, peaceful, out in the country amidst mostly farmland and woods. We built a
house in 2000 and moved in in early 2001. Jumping forward 25 years, we're now faced with a decimation of the much of the farmland and forest that were adjacent to our neighborhood. The golf course has turned out to be something out of reach for virtually all
Vinland residents, although I admit it is still better than having the 300 acre solar farm that was previously proposed. I'll wait to see what the golf course looks like when completed. However, when driving down Hbridgeidge Road, it's like driving past a prison or a major highway
with a massive concrete walls. And I'm sure there are more walls to come around the Sonkis, Perrymans, and uh the Antonio Place. In my opinion, even a tall row iron fence would have been more aesthetic as it would have been at least allowed neighbors and anyone traveling
past enjoy the scenery, greens, fairways, and such. Uh the stretch along Milville Maze Landing Road is somewhat better with attractive landscaping. Otherwise, it just seems like it's an in-your-face keep out sign that locals are not wanted. Anyway, the golf course
is what it is. That brings me to the data center project. It seems that I, like many residents in the area, have been unaware or at least under aware of the plans for the project. On the surface, it looks like we were purposely deceived. The old youth ball field was
demolished and a golf course was initially constructed. This purportedly was to be a public course. However, soon after the fence log, Lincoln Avenue was screened off with some kind of black barrier material. Uh, behind this curtain, the appar uh the data center
started to go up. Um while while it still appeared that the golf course was being developed, was this a deliberate effort to obscure what was going on? Um city council stated they had posted uh legally required notices and that may be
so. However, doing the bare minimum to meet the legal requirements is one thing, but perhaps they should have gone a little further. Notices could been mailed to residents uh within a certain radius of the project. notes could have been included in newsletters that come out with the electric bills. Uh you
could even come out to the neighborhood and visited and spoken with people. Uh it seems like this is only done when you're asking us for votes. Uh posting public notices buried in a sea of other public notices in a paper that isn't
even a local paper anymore just seems like an convenient excuse for not getting the message out. Um, now that this project is underway, we're faced with a lot of unknowns. Is this going to be an air cooled facility? As stated in the June 26, 2024 special
planning board minutes, uh, indications are now that it's going to be a water cooled facility using from what I thought was 2 to three million gallons of water per day. Now I hear 200 million per year. That seems a lot of water,
you know, a mile from my house. What's going to that hap what's going to happen to our wells in the area? Two, what noise levels are we going to be subject to? The minutes from that same meeting also mentioned noise. And I quote, "Data centers almost have no noise to them at
all." That's the way it was written in the notes. And further, the minutes state he is unaware if anyone will hear the generators when the power goes out. Perhaps the data center itself won't generate any noise, but the generators and cooling water pro pumps certainly
will. From our home, which is a quarter mile away, or I'm sorry, about a mile away, we can hear the constant drone of machinery. I'm guessing it's either generators or pumps running 24/7. Depending on which way the wind blows, it can range from mildly irritating to
outright annoying. Not only is this noise heard from outside our house, but in inside the house. I woken up many nights between two and three in the morning to the sound of this noise droning around and it's nonstop. Now today I didn't notice it, but for the
last three months when I first became aware of it, my wife said, "Hey, is there a helicopter in the neighborhood?" I'm like, "No." She says, "It sounds like there's a helicopter." And I listen like, "That's not a helicopter, but it does sound like one, but it it's not moving."
So, I guess my other thing is, so I talked about the noise. You know, it's rumored that there's a 25-y year tax abatement. So, h how does that help us out over the next 25 years? Um, and jobs, and that's that was all talked
about last time. Um, seems like 50 to 75 jobs is not a big win for the city of anyway. I came here because I figured if I didn't come and speak my peace, uh, at least you guys can't say, "Well, you never told us." So now I've told
you. And thank you. Thank you, [applause] Nicole Gardner. Nicole Gardner, followed by Justin. Rowig Roy. Apologize. Hello, my name is Nicole Gardner and I'm a Vinland resident.
Um, I don't have a specific request of the council today. I have more of a general statement. Reading this resolution to provide the revolving loan funds to data 1 in the amount of nearly $6.2 million is astounding.
specifically the line whereas it is considered to be in the best interest of the city of Vineland and the in the community in particular. The fact that you think without any reservations that this kind of loan
benefits the members of your community mean you either don't know what the citizens of Vinland want or you don't care. Either way, it's a slap in the face of the people you serve, considering how long most of you have sat on this
council. If nothing else, this development will bring about a grassroots movement of local residents who are tired of being left out of the conversation by those in charge. It's highly unlikely at this point that
this project won't continue to move forward. I can only hope that it serves as a monument of your hubris. a daily reminder that we all need to be part of the conversation. Otherwise, a few will get to make the decision that
works for them and not for us. Thank you, [applause] [applause] Justin. Justin, followed by Steve Solaf. How do you say the last name, sir? Uh, Roy. Roy. Okay. Yes. Thank you. All right. Are we good? We're good. Uh,
my name is Justin Roy. I live in Philadelphia for college, but I am a proud Vinlander. This is my home. I came on a three-hour bus ride today to speak here today. I love this city. It is my home. It is the humble opinion of this Vinlander that its government operates
in contempt of this city. Many of you say that you desperately want the city of your youth to return. Yet, many of you have been part of defunding and destroying every aspect that made it great. You operate in contempt of its residents for challenging you. I'm sorry to tell you, but if you can't listen to a contradictory viewpoint without
calling someone an a-hole on the mic, maybe you shouldn't have run for office. If you can't tell already, I'll be happy to be the one to break it to you. You law aren't fooling anyone. If you aren't operating as agents to defend this data center, then why are you so personally insulted by people coming to challenge
it? Why are you repressing people's s uh of the city's constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly at the library? If you don't know what's going on on the property because it's private land, as if zoning boards and urban planning aren't something a municipal government hazard does, and if you share some of our concerns, Mr. Spinelli, as
you claim to do, then why and you guys want to detach yourself from data one so much? What's with the $6 million loan you want to give them for two cranes? Why is a poor city in the poorest county in the state giving corporate welfare to a major corporation whose parent companies and partners have millions in
assets? If data one wants shiny new cranes, shouldn't they pull themselves up by the bootstraps like we're expected to do in our own lives when we want to buy something? And what's with all the shadiness? We already are going to have to foot the bill for potential electric hikes and air pollution. What about our seniors, many of who live on fixed incomes like
pensions and social security? What about young people who are struggling to afford to have any stability at all? And what's with all the shadiness? Are you scared that violenters are finally going to council meetings? Are you mad that you can't rush through every meeting anymore, uh, passing what you want without controversy? I'm sorry to report
to you that the days that you operate without impunity are over. The people of this city are waking up. They're watching. And if that scares you, then you got some reflecting to do. Enough with the weaponized incompetence. You guys know what you're doing and you know what's up in this city. Cuz if you really don't, that means your incompetence reaches a level that we
must vote you out of your jobs for being unqualified. Anyways, the coun to the council members of conscience who maybe you're thinking maybe what we're doing is wrong. You got a question on yourself. Which side are you on? Is your loyalty to team Fenucci, to the good old boys, or the corporate interests or is it to us, the city's residents, to the
city's young people? I graduate from undergrad at Temple this upcoming year. And I'd really like to think I have a home to come back to when I when I do. Mr. Fenucci says he wants to combat brain drain in the city. This is not how you combat brain drain. This is not how you do economic development. by making vine what we in the geography trade
called a sacrificial zone. Sacrificing the city's resources and the things that makes this areas great like its publicly owned utilities, our agriculture, our forested areas. And where's the environmental impact study for this data center? Where's the employment analysis? Most data centers that are being built now are operated remotely. Who is this
place going to hire and how many? How many of them will be from the city if they do? I'll tell you this much. I'm not convinced of the leadership of this city council or its agenda and I doubt many here are either. You are doing to us what the leaders of the city cities of Camden and Chester did in the 80s to their communities. Slamming them with
the literal trash of incinerators and prisons, taking any fat cat millionaire who says they'll buy property as if it were divine revelation. Last time I checked, that mentality in those projects failed to help their cities and invited worse and worse land uses. They also failed to employ their own people.
Those fools sacrificed their homes, most vulnerable communities, and that's what you're doing with this data center. We already got prisons in this county. Now we're going to turbo nuke our water table with a millionaire golf course in this data center nonsense. And for what? So someone that doesn't live here can make millions. For someone to make a
poor quality piece of artificial intelligence artwork to post to Facebook is sacrificing our clean air, our water, and our town's future worse that worth that. This is my home. This is our home. This community raised me. And I will not sit idly by as you lot tried to destroy
it. My home is not a sacrificial zone. And the we the people are not sacrificial lambs. Like it or not, the politics of this city is changing and we shall be the ones to change it. This is the people's city hall. This is the people's city and we deserve a say
in how it's run. Remember, when you vote to approve or deny this loan, your position in that chair is dependent on us. And if you want to stay in that chair, I'd urge you to vote no on that 6 million. Or come the next election, we'll find someone else to sit in the chair. Thank you very much, [applause]
Steve Solo. [cheering] We have Steve Solo followed by Matthew Williams. I'm short. [laughter] Good evening, everyone. My name is Steve Soloff. I live in Vinand and I run inform the votenj.com. For those here in the room or watching
at home who haven't heard of me and my project before, a few years ago, I had a genuinely difficult time finding basic candidate information about local elections. I spent weeks googling, calling, emailing, sending social media messages, and discovering the hard way
that our local newspaper infrastructure had seemingly collapsed. So, I built a website to make it easier for the public to review all the information in one place. And because so much of that information simply didn't exist, I evolved into also
producing interviews, videos, and other press related content so voters could actually see what where the candidate stood. I'm here tonight largely because campaign season has already begun and at least one pro prospective candidate is in the room, meaning coverage is
directly relevant to my project. But before anything else, I want to offer a little perspective that I don't think most people see, especially for those of you casting aspersions online about some of our elected officials. When I was struggling to get this project off the
ground after six weeks of dead ends and unanswered emails, do you know who picked up the phone, listened, and pointed me in the right direction? Mayor Fucci. He didn't just help once. He has consistently communicated and supported the idea that voters deserve accessible
information. He has directly participated in my project, provided campaign information and explained issues happening in Vinland so the public could understand them. And let me mention someone else who has done similar. Council President
Paul Spinelli, who told me when he was running for reelection, "Give me a few more weeks. I just want to make sure you know I'm not dodging you. That kind of communication means a lot, especially compared to what I often experience countywide.
Just last night in Lawrence Township, despite my good faith effort to cover their upcoming election, the reception was, let's just say, less than ideal. On the other hand, when I hear some of the complaints going around from residents,
I do want to offer some empathy. Some leaders in Cumberland County communicate very well. Some others do not. I cannot count the number of unanswered emails, unreturned calls, and moments of stonewalling I've encountered. So, when
I hear comments like, "Well, so and so usually gets back to me," that may be true, but it's equally plausible that it isn't true for the average resident. And when I hear maybe we should do a better job getting information out, I would gently suggest that the maybe in that
sentence is what's up for debate. I've been seeing something clearly over the past few years. When the middle mile broadband project was up for discussion, there was a major town hall at CCTech. Congressman Vin Drew, Senator Ta, DC
lobbyists, and a full packed room. When policy 5756 was the issue, the Landis building overflowed with parents, students, church groups, activists, everyone. When the NAVAB extension needed explan explanation, there was a town hall at the 4 building. And just
last week, Cumberland Regional High School held a full town hall full town hall for their bond referendum. In other words, when government believes something crosses the common sense threshold of we should probably talk to
the public before we do this, town halls regularly happen. And I will be honest, I had no idea about the upcoming data center project being controversial until controversy began circulating online. That loops back to why my project
exists. Former Commissioner Director Silio once told me after one of my public comments in Bridgton that what I'm experiences experiencing is probably due to the lack of a newspaper. He wasn't wrong, but I think the more
accurate point is this. What maybe everyone in this room might be experiencing, at least in part, is the lack of a functioning local press. Because a piece of paper with text on it is not strong journalism. Standards and work ethic are what create strong
journalism. So in closing, my suggestion is simple. If we want a strong pipeline of information, we all have to commit to the two-way street we oftentimes talk about. The public has to participate
consistently, not just when there's a convenient controversy. Government should make proactive good effort, good faith efforts to keep people informed before decisions are finalized. And some type of local press, whether it's me,
others, or ideally many voices, has to help bridge the gap because the average resident cannot research every issue and the average elected official cannot anticipate every concern. So, all I'm asking for across the entire county
is that we communicate better moving forward. Thank you. Thank you, [applause] Matthew Williams, followed by Kate Delaney. Is it Kate Delaney? Uh, good evening, council. Matt Williams, uh, Vinland resident. Uh first
off, I'd like to say uh Sufanelli's names come up a lot recently um on what I see as the right side of things when it comes to sustainability. Um her work ensuring safe quality water for the area and her education through her efforts are immeasurable contributions and I'm
glad to see that they're honored tonight. Uh Vineland's role in protecting nature's resources and ecosystems can't be underestimated. See, our water supply is strained at the moment. New Jersey has just entered a
drought warning status with two weeks of extremely dry groundwater conditions for our region. We have now gone 13 of the past 15 months with below average rainfall totals. In 2018, in this room, representatives
from the Association of the New Jersey Environmental Commissions stood here and explained their reasons to believe that the Kirkwood Cahante aquifer is being depleted at dangerous levels. As we know, aquafers are reliant on groundwater recharge and drought
conditions add further risks to this fact. Now, to anyone that I've asked, it's been incredibly uncertain how much water will be used by the data center. Calculations were provided on assumptions without full design
information, and so far, we haven't seen or heard anything that says this info has been provided. The implications are terrifying when you consider the governor's conditional veto. Data centers are currently not required to fully report on their energy
use when operating. Even if it's a percentage of the billion gallons a year initially speculated because again design criteria was not provided. I would think any significant use will further risk our supply.
Now, right now we are told that the data center is an air cooled radiator-like system and that any water use would only replenish cooling methods. Well, what does preventative maintenance look like? Where does the waste go when you flush,
clean, prime the system? Shallow, unconfined aquafer water supplies such as the Kirkwood Cahansy are more susceptible by groundwater contamination. Is the city council going to hear and consider the questions that we have now?
Or are we asking 5 years too late? Are you aware that online comments by shareholders of Nibbius stock celebrate easy regulatory environments? What do you think that says about how they view the city of handling this? Please
tonight vote no on expediting the construction of the data center and work with us to call for a moratorum and evaluate what is getting put up. Thank you. [applause] Kate Delaney Kate Delaney followed by Andrew Gretch.
Good evening city council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here tonight. Sorry I'm a little loud. Uh my name is Kate Delaney and I'm the South Jersey organizer for New Jersey Food and Water Watch. We're a national environmental organization. Um I'm a resident of Camden County and a lifelong
South Jerseyian. Um a goal of Food and Water Watch, our main areas of action are addressing climate crisis, protecting public water, and opposing new fossil fuel projects. And I would say that the issue that has brought your residents out here tonight actually
unfortunately checks all three boxes. It's my understanding that this data warehouse would initially would eventually be powered by three fracked gas plants um which would further the climate chaos that we've already experienced here in South Jersey. Um
you've heard many of your residents talk about water impact um as Matthew just said, right? This is proposed for the Kirkwood Cohen aquifer which is already overt taxed. Um and again this is also you know an economic impact on your
residents costs are rising on everything. Certainly energy costs are rising and this would ask the residents of Vinland to foot the bill. Um and apparently the corporation may be getting a 25-year tax abatement. So this is really being
subsidized by the people of Vinand for corporate profits. Um, a student was here earlier and talked about similar things that have happened in the city of Camden and other places. I've watched that happen. Um, and they are losing deals for the residents. So, I'm here in
solidarity with the community members in Vinland who are calling out the water wastefulness, the potential endangerment of the aquafer, um, how this would continue to climate crisis and would just be economically um, a burden for residents. So, I'm joining them and
asking you to please vote no to this project and put residents first. Thank you. Thank you, [applause] Andrew Gretch. Andrew Gretch, followed by Suzanne Middleton. Good evening, city council. My name is
Andrew and I'm here to express my concern with the external costs the data center will impose upon our community. What city you live in for the Yeah, it's Vinland, New Jersey. Anyway, I'd like to read to you some items that I pulled directly from the
city's website to help establish a timeline and some background. Um, these are available online for anyone who wishes to review the information's validity. number one on the city planning boards on the city's planning board homepage there's a tab rules for citizen
engagement within this tab in the first paragraph quote meeting agendas are posted on the city of Vinland's website one week in advance end quote please remember that detail number one uh number two um the June of
2024 there was a special meeting announced for the project and the agenda is posted on the city's website the minutes from this special meeting offer an illustration of the project. The applicant's attorney states, quote, "Data centers have almost no noise to them at all." End quote. I can tell you
personally that's just not true. I live about 3/4 of a mile away and I hear this thing vibrating through my house while I'm reading my children bedtime stories. It's concerning. Number three, additional notes from that
2024 special meeting. When asked about power generation, the applicant's attorney states, quote, he is unaware if anyone will hear generators when the power goes out. End quote. How often does the power go out in violence? Not very often, right? So,
the city professional staff, planning board members, and the public have no concern here. I'll also mention on that plan for that meeting, there were no generators or power buildings displayed. Fast forward uh nearly a year, June of
2025, there is a second special meeting addressing some major changes to the site plan. But this time, is there a meeting agenda posted on the city's site as they promised? No. No, there isn't. What was revealed at the meeting? A new
site plan with Vinand's newest private power plant, cranking out nearly 13% of what the Salem nuclear power plant produces. It's a massive project. Generators and turbines humming 247,
putting out a full gambit of emissions that decrease life expectancy, turn children into aszmatics, damage sleep cycles, and disturb the general peace. Did this go through the proper proper permitting for a private power plant?
Before this was ever going to be a data center, it needed to be a power plant. A detail that was held out of the June 2024 meeting. A detail likely spared when presenting information to the environmental commission, the professional staff, not to mention the general public.
At the end of last month's city council session, after hearing the public's call to arms over the project, we were met with a remark from council claiming that we didn't do our due diligence and that we should have been paying more attention. As previous me previously mentioned, we
were paying attention. However, the application came with false statements and further meeting agendas were kept hidden. We followed the city's rules for citizen engagement listed on the website. Shouldn't the city follow their
own rules as well? To further add insult injury, the chairman recounts a recent time where he faced some adversity. He saw a water mane break by his home. Being the concerned citizen that he is, he went over and asked questions. If we walked over to the data one site with inquir in
inquiries, we would be met by armed violent police officers and turned away for trespassing. It's not apples to apples council and the suggestion that it is is offensive. Sort of like the emissions from the data center.
Lastly, we meet tonight with two very relevant items on the agenda. one being a proclamation honoring one of our environmental commissioners for her hard work and the second being a massive $6 million loan from the city to the data center operators. For those who don't
know, per city land use documents, the environmental commission is tasked with making recommendations to professional staff and board members regarding air pollution, noise control, water resource management, etc. However, they must be presented with all information to do
their job thoroughly. I question whether they were given all the information relevant to a power plant. To any member of the environmental commission who was still in attendance this evening, for sake of continued dedication to environmental stewardship, it would be appreciated if you could share your
recommendation from the previously conducted review of this project. Your statement may guide council's decision on a massive loan that will be provided to further pollute our community. Council members and the general public, I hope you all have a great holiday season and I wish you a happy and
healthy new year. Thank you, [applause] Dan Middleton. Suzanne Middleton followed by Victoria Loach. Good evening, city council members. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. My name is Suzanne Middleton and I'm a proud resident of I'm here
because I have serious concerns about the AI data center and I know many others in our community share these concerns. At the last city council me meeting, we were told that it is our responsibility as citizens to pay attention to what is being planned and
approved for our community. Well, you have our attention now. And while we absolutely take responsibility for being informed and involved, I must ask you as our elected leaders, is it not your responsibility to look out for the best
interests of this city? Were you aware of the massive amounts of water and electricity required to operate this center? Were you aware of the environmental impact, the constant noise from the cooling equipment, the use of backup generators, and the
emissions associated with data data center operations? Was an impact study done, one that clearly outlines how this facility will affect our community's quality of life? And if so, how did you conclude that
these negative impacts were outweighed by benefits? What positive impacts do you believe this center will bring to Vinland? Because from where many of us stand, this project does not reflect the will
of the people. And respecting the will of the people is also part of your responsibility to those that you represent. At this stage, we ask you to do everything in your power to stop the AI data center and consider a different
path forward. One that truly aligns with Violin's strengths and values. Violin is known for its beautiful agricultural landscape, diversity, affordability, access to healthcare and entertainment, and proximity to both the city and the
shore. These are the qualities that make our community special. These are the qualities that led Travel and Leisure magazine to name Vinand one of the top 10 places to retire in 2025. Our future prosperity lies in protecting
and building on these assets, not sacrificing them. I urge you, please halt the AI data center project and choose a vision for progress that reflects what makes Violin unique. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. [applause] Victoria Loads. Victoria Loads followed by Mala. Mallet. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Good evening. How are you? Okay. I'm Cumberland County Commissioner Victoria Loads, also otherwise known as
one of your Vinand residents. First and foremost, I want to take a minute to thank each and every one of you for your service to the city of Vin Island. I don't think that that should go unnoticed. As a fellow elected official, I'm no stranger to the amount of time,
resources, and effort that goes into public service that I know each and every one of you put in. Over the last 25 years, I've spent a majority of my career working in various capacities in state, county, and municipal government. As many of you know, the issues that we elected that we
are elected to vote on are wide and varied. Surely, no one can be an expert in every area. I have learned so much over the years, as I'm sure each and every one of you have as well. But I know what I don't know. Some agenda items require research to
understand, and I know how and where to seek out the experts. I need to educate myself and make sure that I can make the most responsible decision I can on behalf of the residents and taxpayers that I'm elected to represent. You know, we're here talking about
political things tonight, but I wasn't always raised in a house that was like that. In fact, we were not a political household. We were a family of small business owners. There wasn't much time for anything but working. And I know some of you have very similar stories to that. I remember the first time I went
to Trenton and I spent the day on the Senate floor as hundreds of bills lit up on the board for a full vote of the legislature. I went home later that night and I sat at the dinner table with my parents and I was excited to share everything that had happened that day and tell my dad about some of the things
I saw that I thought would affect our small family farm. And I said, you know, dad, you know, I can't believe, you know, how come we're not talking about these things? They're important. And his answer I'll never forget because I didn't often hear it. He said, "You're right." And he said, "But these are policies that come down from the state,
come down from everywhere that impact us all the time." But unfortunately, Mother Nature's my boss, and she doesn't give personal days to go talk to politicians. And in that moment, that was where my calling for public service began. And it's why I'm here right now talking to
you. I wanted to be an advocate for the hardworking families who needed to help amplifying their voices to the decision makers at every level. And tonight, you are the decision makers. For weeks now, I've received hundreds of calls, emails, even house visits from concerned
citizens and neighbors with questions about the data 1 project. I've listened to the last several council meetings where so many people took the time to come here before all of you with incredibly wellthoughtout, well-ressearched questions of concern about this project. And as an elected
official myself, read getting those same questions. I was doing my due diligence and my research. To date, it seems that very few, in fact, almost none of those questions have been answered. I am here tonight as a commissioner to do my job and to advocate for the people
I was elected to represent. the same people all of you were elected to represent to respectfully ask that this board answer the questions that have been asked in a thoughtful intelligent and some of these alarming questions need to be answered. I know each of you
personally and I know that transparency and responding to the public is important to you. If there's anything that I can do to help you facilitate that communication, I'm happy to do it. I'm also here tonight as a mother raising two sons about a half a mile away from this project asking my own
questions. What are the effects of living so close to 337 generators and dozens of gas turbines? I'm here as a taxpayer and city and city of Vinland electric utility customer asking what are the effects of building a private generation plant in our city.
The data 1 project requires 330 megawws of power and the city can provide five. At what point does this project stop qualifying as a data center and instead qualify as a private power generation plant producing nearly 99% of their
energy. I'm also here as a daughter of a five generation family farm that neighbors this project in the city of Vineland where it's always growing season asking how data 1's reported. I mean, we can pull any number out. I've heard upwards
of 11 billion gallons. Um, enough water to power thousands and thousands of homes. How will this water usage affect the life supply of our farm, our water? Without it, we will cease to exist. Agriculture will cease to exist and
growing season will assuredly end. Again, I want to thank all of you for your service, for your time, for your attention, for standing up for the citizens of Vineland. I know that you want to answer these questions. I know that everyone's input matters to you, and I want to thank you in advance for
taking the time to thoughtfully answer the questions that have been asked. Thank you. Thank you, [applause] Laura Malik. Thank you, Rich. Help. Oh, I got it. I got it. Yeah. Wait, hold
on. Okay, thank you. As you can see, I'm uh pretty short. All right. All right. Um, my name is Laura Mallet. I am a very proud resident of Vinand and I have more I have the
same concerns about this AI data center like everybody else and I think I speak for everyone present in this room when I say we were not told anything about this AI data center and having to find out
via social media about this loan is pretty much a slap in the face. And I also think I speak for mostly everyone here when I say screw AI because nothing good can come of it. We
have seen AI being used to scrape data to scrape writing audio tons of illustrations and art from artists and writers both living and dead. And the one statistic I remember two
weeks ago that Zach presented for this AI data center is 337 generators that would potentially be needed. And several of us came to the conclusion two weeks ago that you guys were in fact pretty much lied to about
any data, any preliminary uh studies done that could potentially impact the environment. And I am pretty much convinced you guys were not given the correct info because the person who told you this was more concerned about money because of greed.
But I think that think corporate greets everywhere. But anyway, [sighs and gasps] to uh quote from one to paraphrase from one of my favorite video games, Meler Solid 3: Snake Eater, uh what's it going to be? Where does your loyalty lie? Does it lie to the citizens of Vinland or
does it lie to the corporation that wants to build this AI data center? Does it lie with the people or does it lie with your own personal self-interest? Does it lie with the people or does it lie with your cushy seats on city council?
If you were truly concerned about this AI data center and were going to vote no, which I really hope you guys do on this loan, otherwise if you vote yes, there are not a single one of you are going to be
winning re-election when your term is up. Uh once again I am spitball in the speech because uh I'm not the greatest at writing speeches but um as was as Victoria stated yes it is always growing season that's one of
violence mantras but have you considered the environmental impact have you considered the water usage as was previous state. Have you considered the drain on the grid? Can the grid handle the power load as it is without help from Atlantic City Electric? Absolutely
not. The grid is old and work needs to be done to update it. And the fact that you are still convinced that you still that this loan was even a thing that got even mentioned uh shows that it is smack your your
decision process is smack of ignorance, smack of ignoring our concerns as a as the people of this city. My grandfather, Nathan Mallet, once had a farm out on Elmer, and vinyl was once known as the egg capital.
And I'm pretty sure my grandfather, may he rest in peace, would also be telling you guys the same thing. What are you doing? Have you actually given this enough thought? And I really don't think you have because it seems like you are
prioritizing future profits of which there won't be many as was previous stated two weeks ago over the concerns and the what actually needs. As I stated two weeks ago, Chestnut Avenue is a
complete hot mess from Main Road to Deli at the bare minimum. Riding past the what used to be a foot doctor's office and a tennis court is awful. And a a friend of mine sent me a
screenshot of something that I think you'll be interested to share. You'll be interested to hear. Where is it? Ah, yes. Uh, Amazon data center linked to rare cancers and miscarriages in Oregon report warns.
This report was originally appearing in rolling on rolling stone and the tech giant Amazon has settled on agricultural land in the east of the state exacerbating a problem of water pollution now linked to cases of cancers
and miscarriages. investigation into a health and public political scandal in uh well this a couple years ago but the fact that cancer rates are going to go up, miscarriages are going to go up, the effect on the people as a whole is going
to go up. My other question is can this data center handle the potential of a natural disaster? Probably not. Ma'am, wrap it up. Your time is up. Thank you. [applause] Is there anyone else that would like to
speak publicly that hasn't signed in on a form? Just please state your name on the record. If you want to write it down, you can, but we need it on the record. So, sure. My name is Terry Ree. I'm an Atlanta County resident and candidate for Congress in 2026.
Thank you for allowing me to speak here today and I hope to do I don't think I can do justice to what your residents have said in talking about this issue, but I'm going to try. South Jersey relies on the Kirkwood Cohansancy aquifer for nearly all of our drinking
water. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on it every single day and right now it is under real strain. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has already issued drought advisories, asking families to conserve with shorter showers, reduced outdoor use, and cutting back everywhere that
they can. But while residents are being asked to do more with less, massive AI data centers like the Data One project here in Vinland are moving forward with the potential to use huge volumes of portable water to cool their servers.
Large data centers of similar size across the country can require hundreds of millions of gallons of water per year depending on the cooling technology that they select. And that water could come from the same aquifer that feeds our homes, our farms, and our small
businesses. This proposed this proposed vinand facility is enormous and one of the largest industrial projects in our region. The development of this size consumes the electricity of hundreds of thousands of homes and has the potential to add dramatic new pressure to a water
system already stressed by drought and overpumping. And the residents are right to raise concerns about water availability, environmental damage, and long-term infrastructure costs. These concerns are justified as a similar project in Swedesboro was just put on hold because
the water impact analysis was not complete. And that tells us something that's very important. These are questions that must be answered before any project moves forward, not after ground has been broken. [applause] Let's be clear about the risks.
Overpumping of this aquafer can lower water levels, dry up wetlands and streams, harm wildlife, and in some areas even lead to saltwater intrusion, an incredibly costly problem to reverse. High volume industrial water use constrain municipal wells and treatment systems, forcing towns to upgrade
infrastructure. And unless strong conditions are in place, those costs will fall on taxpayers and rateayers, not the developers. Meanwhile, once again, families are asked to conserve while corporations fa face no clear commercial water use
guidelines. In drought conditions, who is going to get the priority? are residents who need drinking water or machines producing heat. This isn't about rejecting technology. It's about insisting on responsible development. We
have amazing innovation, innovative leaders and intelligence in our country, in our area. And we have modern engineering solutions, closed loop cooling, recycled wastewater, storm water capture, and solar offsets. Some data centers across the country already
use them. The question is not whether responsible design is possible. It's whether we will require it. I am asking the Vinland City Council to pause all approvals and permits for this data 1 center until an independent comprehensive analysis of its water
demand, aquafer impact and infrastructure costs is completed, released to the public and reviewed with full community input. And beyond that, the city should require the developers to use the least water in intensive cooling technology possible and
available. Prioritize non-potable or recycled water sources and guarantee that no infrastructure upgrades are paid for by the violent families. This project should not advance another step without binding protections for our
water, our environment, and our taxpayers. South Jersey deserves smart growth that strengthens our community, not development that drains our aquafer, burdens our families, or compromises our future. If corporations want to build
here, they must respect the people who already live here [applause] because protecting our water means protecting our future and nothing nothing is more important than that. Thank you. Thank you.
[applause] Have to fill this out. Just state your name and state your name, sir. Yeah. Roger Merl. Uh, born and raised in Vineland, currently living in Malaga. Uh, I'd like to make a couple points that have not been addressed here
tonight. And the first is that mega projects like this do tend to become net negative assets for the communities they're in. One aspect that has not been mentioned here tonight and it relates to all of
the noise problems and pollution concerns and water depletion concerns that people have is that I can guarantee you right now there is a very large percentage of people
living in the impact zone around there, property owners, property tax payers who are planning to leave. And when they leave, their properties lose their value because nobody's going to want to come in and buy it and live
next to this sort of nonsense. I don't think anybody has addressed that issue. Where is the benefit to public to the public to property owners in that? Where is the benefit to the city? What does it do to
the tax base in terms of financing? There is no damn reason why the corporations and the deep pocket investors and the tech moguls cannot pay for this on their own.
[applause] They are spending not tens of billions but hundreds of billions of dollars just shuffling projects back and forth. The money is there. There is no reason why any
taxpayer has to spend one penny for it. Uh the other thing is this area. I mean it's going to become a project like the golf course. It's going to become a project like that egregious boomle called the motorsports park in
Millville. A big money drain that does not produce jobs and again is a detriment to the environment in which it's located. Thank you. Thank you. [applause]
Hi, my name is Lawrence Garity. I'm from Vineland. According to Mr. Spinelli, I'm an though, so that's pretty cool. I think we passed that. I mean, you apologize to the whole crowd and couldn't apologize straight to me and you said it after everybody left. You couldn't even say it to my face. So, I mean, you could say we're past it. you
were past it. One month ago is all it took. I came here on October 28th asking to understand what the hell was going on in this city. No, Kings Day was thrown out of the uh city and the public library was not have nobody have meetings. One month I came back after
one month and you'd even know who I was. That's a problem. On December 2nd, I would finally get the email I asked for on October 28th. And the email showed a excuse for cancelling the down jersey coalition's meeting at the library
and a policy change for the library barring political meetings from meet the meeting rooms. Most people didn't even know about this policy change. So they kept trying to make meetings and kept getting cancelled without reason. When a public library opens up its meeting rooms to the public, they become public for rooms.
How is this legal? Does the constitution not matter in this city? For the no kings protest, I was at best given misinformation while the city council showed lack of knowledge regarding the old Sears property. Before the down Jersey coalition gave the
Vinland police a heads up, the no trespassing signs were not all over the property. And there were consistent vehicles parking on said property. We'd even learned the property was sold until 6 months ago in October
after the fact. As for who bought the property, True North, Mr. Spinelli's friend, I guess most people again did not know who True North was. I will re reiterate that this property will not provide jobs or
property tax. On top of doing damage to our community, I'm going to talk about three videos that are publicly on their website and Subsplash. These are not hidden in any way and openly available to the public.
The one video is called Politics where Jesse Eisenhard goes on a Christian nationalist rant that he tries to justify with the Bible, encourages congregation to get involved in local government and put their religion over the government. Jesse even claims separation of church and state is the
enemy's tactic. That is his word. If you don't like what I had to say, get out of your seat. It's inappropriate. It's not inappropriate. You let True North into the city. We did not sell the property. It was bought privately from a foundation. IT'S YOUR JOB TO FIND PROPERTY BUYERS.
The property sat empty for seven years. Please. Nobody can even understand what you're saying. Normally the micer. You want to fix the mic? Go ahead. Go ahead. Jesse claims in a video, word for word, that separation of church and the state
is the enemy's tactic. He goes on in a video labeled sexuality part one. At 25 minutes in, he goes on a homophobic rant, using the Bible again to justify it. In sexuality too, Liza Eisenhart talks herself about being a lesbian like she's
a recovering alcoholic. She goes on to allude that being gay is a choice and that marriage can only be right with God underneath a man and a woman. So did the city council not look into this place or did you fail to represent your people? Is Jesse Eisenhart more important to Paul Spinelli than the people of Vineland? Because the people you claim to
represent, they are gay. They are trans. They choose to follow the Bible, the Quran, or they just choose their own path in life. Who they love or worship is up to them. True North does not want that. Now, what does all this have to do with the AI data center and a $6 million loan? The city council has a history of
not keeping people informed, not doing their research, and not representing their people. They have shown irresponsibility, even ignorance when it comes to a citizen's concerns, going as far as city council president Paul Spanelli calling me an It is time for change. put the people
first and show them the city council gives a damn about them by voting no on this loan or we will find people who will stand up for the people of this city. Lastly, I'm not an I'm a concerned citizen who wants what is best for his city. I'm
sorry that is something so new to you. Thank you. [applause] Good evening. My name is Nicole Alvarez. I'm a Vinland resident and I've been here for more than 25 years. I'm here today because I'm concerned about the health and safety of my community and in
violence future. When I just recently heard about the data center, I wanted to seek out the facts for myself. Rather than rely on hearsay, I went straight to the source and filed an OPER request with the city of Vinland. I requested any and all environmental reports or
assessments related to this project. I was surprised by the very little information that was provided to me. One of the only documents provided with any useful information regarding the impacts was a two-page letter completed by the violent environmental commission. This
letter contains concerns surrounding the data cent's noise, water consumption, impacts on water quality, electronic waste, and much more. Today, I would like to focus on one section from this letter. Quote, "The proposed development
is in a wellhead protection area, which requires that an environmental impact statement be submitted. The planning board should have this for review prior to any approvals to determine if the proposed development will satisfactorily
protect groundwater quality per city code 425-84G. End quote. Through my due diligence, I confirmed that the environmental impact statement does not exist for the data center. I researched this section of the
code. I have it with me tonight. I can leave it here. and I highlighted the section, but I can confirm it does require the environmental impact statement. For those who do not know what an environmental impact statement is, it describes potential adverse
impacts of a development and proposes steps by the devel and proposes steps by the developer to minimize those impacts during and after construction. This is the information I am running in circles searching for along with everyone else
here. Without this report, how can the city claim that this project will not have negative impacts on our community? How can the developer be held accountable without a clear plan to protect our water, soil, and air? My search for the facts was left open-ended
because the city could not provide the facts. Residents deserve clear answers and corrective action. Don't allow this project to progress without the most basic environmental safeguards. I'm asking the city to demand the environmental impact statement required
by law. I'm also asking the city to place a six-month moratorum to pause this project pending the environmental impact statement. We need this information and much more to assess the to assess the health impacts of the data center. Lastly, I'm asking the city to
vote no on the loan for additional cranes. These cranes will allow this project to accelerate even more aggressively. Please seek out the facts the rest of us are seeking. Don't allow this developer to continue to cut corners and instead demand the facts so
you can make a fully informed decision. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] [applause] I am Diane Gity. That was my son. I have lived in Vinand. I work two jobs. Part of my jobs is working at Violent Public School in the special education program.
It is called the RISE program. These children hopefully will get employment if they are able to. Part of their projects is to help the environment. You're going to stop it. If the water he goes all over the bluffs, he goes to
White Oak. He takes these kids out. We plant trees. There's not going to be any water. And these kids don't have a lot of job choices. They're not exactly going to be able to go on to sit on a city council.
Green houses might be their only hope. Helping parks might be their only hope. It gives these children purpose. And you're going to take it. And I'm quite surprised that you would be willing to risk the environmental danger this is
going to cause. We don't need anymore. What's that? Global warming. It's not a joke. It's real. Aside from that, the True North Church that you are so thrilled with, it's a mega church. It is a man-led church. It
is not a Christled church. I am a Catholic. I have been to several churches. My son met a young woman who was thrown out of her family because of that church. Her family was a part of that church for multiple years.
He is allowed to be upset. Have a great night. [applause] [applause] Hi. Hello. My name is Caitlyn Rooney. Um, I'm a vinyl resident now and I had nothing prepared for tonight. I just came for pure education. I've been following this
along. I've been looking into data centers since before even I heard about Vinand. So, seems like they're relatively new and there's maybe not a lot of regulations, but I'm not getting back to where I was saying I'm from Vinland. I'm not from Vinand. I'm from
Camden County and when I moved to Vinand, what I've learned over the years is I love Vinland. I've loved the people I've met. This community does care about each other. Everyone's I was like, everyone's related. Everyone knows everyone. and neighbors watch out for
neighbors and it's just a nice place to live especially with the landscape the agriculture met lots of farmers and and uh the people here are great so I I have two daughters I live in East Violence I have a well so there's a lot of unknown
and scary things and um questions that people have so I just think that it's really responsible to um look into more since these are new centers and maybe there's not a lot of regulations and research on it yet. So,
if we don't know the we don't know that then we don't know the impact and I think everyone has valid questions and if you wouldn't want your house right next to that it's something to consider. Um, we don't know about the pollution, the off gasing, the water consumption,
they've said it's been recycled, gas turbines from what I re researched, but in nature, nature keeps a balancing act. Um, that's the way it was made. And it's man that throws that off. So, we
really have to think about the long-term consequences. Everybody here probably has children, grandchildren, and I'm a nurse, so I know our health generally population is declining. More asthmatics, COPDs, we can't say that
it's all our lifestyle. There's a lot of environmental impacts. And so if we don't know, sometimes technology is great, but then we found out even in medicine over times things that were prescribed were given to help
were harmful and this may be the same thing and it won't be you it may not affect your your your children it may not even affect your grandchildren might be affect after that so if nebas wouldn't put this I don't know it seems like they've come to
like an economically declined area and lots of times those areas are um they're chosen for a specific reason so because there's not a lot of push back there's not a lot community involvement and that's what I love about
Vinland. That's why all these people are here today. So, I I appreciate you listening and I just hope that you really take into consideration um the impact that it's going to have not only environmentally, but the people that living there are generally feel bad
about their house value. That's lifechanging to people and this is an area where general people are not making a lot of money and if you want to keep them here, you know, this is something that you you make those
decisions to improve your community and bring people in to want to come to Violin like I did. So, I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] There anyone else? Seeing no one, we'll close the public
session. Mr. President, I present ordinance number 2025-88, an ordinance amending ordinance 89-13 as amended, chapter 425, article 1, section 425-5 of the code of the city of Ireland, entitled land use, general
provisions, fees so as to add a fee for an amendment to master plan of streets in accordance with resolution 6732 of the planning board is ready for a public hearing. Chair Entain a motion that ordinance number 2025-88 be taken up for public hearing open to public for
discussion. So move second. Anyone in the public speak? I'm sorry. Go ahead. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Vice President Cruz. Yes. President Spel. Yes. Anyone in the audience wish to be
heard on ordinance number 2025-88? Seeing no one. Chair entertains a motion the public hearing on ordinance number 202588 be closed. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes.
Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Chair entertains a motion ordinance number 2025-88 be taken up for final reading and adopted according to law. So move. Second discussion. Seeing none. Dr. Arthur. Yes.
Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spinelli. Yes. Ordinance 2025-88. Ordinance amending Ordinance 89-13 as amended. Chapter 425, article 1, section 425-5 of the code of
the city of Island entitled land use general provisions fees so as to add a fee for an amendment to master plan of streets in accordance with resolution 6732 of the planning board with a vote of 5 days. This ordinance is hereby adopted. Ranchetta, please submit ordinance number 2025-88 to the mayor
for his approval or disapproval. Yes. Thank you. Present ordinance number 2025-89, ordinance denying an application to amend ordinance 2004-25 as amended entitled an ordinance adopting the center city redevelopment
plan consistent with resolution 5203 of the planning board of the city of Violin so as to deny an amendment to block 3015 lot 14 consistent with resolution 6731 of the planning board which is ready for a public hearing. Chair entertains a motion ordinance
number 2025-89 be taken up for a public hearing open to public for discussion. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas? Yes. Vice President Gomez? Yes. President Spanelli? Yes. There anyone in the audience who wish to
be heard on or number 2025-89? See no one. Chair will attain a motion public hear on December 2025-89 be closed. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes.
President Spanelli. Yes. Chair entertains a motion ordinance number 2025-89 be taken up for final reading and adopted according to law. So move. Second. Any discussion? Seeing none. Council member Arthur. Dr. Arthur.
Yes. Sorry. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Ordinance 2025-89. Ordinance denying an application to amend ordinance 2004-25 as amended entitled an ordinance
adopting the center city redevelopment plan consistent with resolution 5203 of the planning board of the city of Vinland so as deni to deny an amendment to block 3015. Lot 14 consistent with resolution 6731 of the planning board with a vote of 5.
Yes. This ordinance is hereby adopted. Mr. Franchetta, please submit ordinance number 2025-89 to the mayor for his approval or disapproval. Yes. Present ordinance number 2025-90, ordinance authorizing the execution of an agreement of sale and such other
documents necessary for the acquisition of certain property known as 552 East Lennis Avenue, block 3019, lot six, Vinand from Newfield National Bank, Newfield, New Jersey in the city of Vinland, which is ready for a public hearing. Chair entertains a motion and ordinance number 2025-90 be taken up for
a public hearing and open the public for discussion. So move second. Dr. Arthur, yes. Council member English, yes. Council member Vargas, yes. Vice President Gomez, yes. President Spanelli, yes. Is there anyone in the audience who'd like to be heard on ordinance number 2025-90?
Seeing none, chair a motion public hearing on ordinance number 2025-90 be closed. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur, yes. Council member English, yes. Council member Vargas, yes. Vice President Gomez, yes. President Spanelli, yes. Chair entertains a motion ordinance
number 2025-9 be taken up for final reading and adopted according to law. So move. Second. Discussion. Seeing none, Dr. Arthur? Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes.
Ordinance 2025-90. Ordinance authorizing the execution of an agreement of sale and such other documents necessary for the acquisition of certain property known as 552 East Landis Avenue block 3019 lot 6 Vinand from Newfield National Bank Newfield,
New Jersey and the city of Vinland with a vote of 5 years. This ordinance is hereby adopted. Chad, please submit ordinance number 2025-90 to the mayor for his approval or disapproval. Yes. Thank you. Represent. Hold on a second, please. Yes.
Um, I think that we need to go into a close session to discuss this at this point. Oh, we have a motion to go into a close session. Need a motion. Second. All right, Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas.
Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Everyone, we'll have a brief recess and we'll be back in a few minutes. We got 91. That other one is what number, Rich? Oh, sorry.
608. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your indulgence. We appreciate it. We need a motion to uh come back to session. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas.
Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Mr. President, I present ordinance number 2025-91, which is ready for first reading. Chair entertains a motion ordinance number 2025-91, be taken up for first
reading. So move second. Dr. Arthur, yes. Council member English, yes. Council member Vargas, yes. Vice President Gomez, yes. President Spanelli, yes. Ordinance 2025-91, an ordinance to amend and supplement ordinance number 8, which revise the
classification and compensation plans for the city of Bland various unit 2 and two titles. Chair entertains a motion ordinance number 2025-91 be passed for first reading. That the public hearing be held on Tuesday, December 23rd at 5:30 p.m. So move.
Second discussion. Seeing none. Dr. Arthur, yes. Council member English, yes. Council member Vargas, Vice President Gomez, yes. President Spanelli, yes. Mr. President, I present ordinance number
2025-92, which is ready for first reading. Jetains a motion ordinance number 2025-92 be taken up for first reading. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur, yes. Council member English, yes. Council member Vargas, yes. Vice President Gomez, yes.
President Spanelli, yes. Ordinance number 2025-92. an ordinance to amend and supplement ordinance number eight which revise the classification of compensation plans for the city of Blandin various unit 3 and three titles. Chair entertains a motion ordinance
number 2025-92 be passed for first reading that a public hearing be held on Tuesday December 23rd 2025 at 5:30 p.m. So move second no discussion. Dr. Arthur yes council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes.
Vice President Gomez. Yes, President Spinelli. Yes. Okay, we got to do a motion for it to pull it. Pull it. Going to move. You're going to move to have that resolution table. I need a motion to uh pull and table
resolution 2025-608. So move. [applause] Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Yes. Council member Gomez. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Resolution number 2025-608, a resolution
approving violent revolving loan funds for data 1 USA LLC or signs. We'll table that for two weeks. [applause] City Council is approved that all matter matters listed below in the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial and be adopted by one
motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member so requests in which case the item will be removed and considered with an individual vote. All matters on the consent agenda have been presented to city council during either a work session or the premeating conference and appear on the consent agenda without
objection. Their titles will not be individually read into the record but will be properly memorialized in the meeting minutes. CH entertains a motion to approve all items on the consent agenda. So move. Second. Dr. Arthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes.
Council member Gomez. Excuse me. Vargas. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. At this time we have a privilege of the floor. Council members,
Liz, I want to say thank you to the Depalto students for coming out tonight. It's always a pleasure to have the school participate in our or be a part of our meeting. Also want to say thank you to all the residents that are here and we heard your concerns and we are very much
in tune with what you're asking us to do and so we are hopefully going to do our more due diligence as well as what what has been done here tonight. So thank you for your your [applause] comments. Now
just echo that same as Dr. As said, we uh we hear you loud and clear and uh we will uh we will move forward with this in two weeks. Thank you, Scott. Uh yes, I too echo the sentence
of um to the left and right of me. Um public comment is exactly that and it's so important to let it let it be known that you're heard because you have done your homework. Okay, we and two we too have done homework and sometimes we
tend on focusing on the negatives but I haven't heard many people even have you done the research on the positives as well you know there's two sides to it um that's
order please you had your time that that is that you can be removed Doesn't [snorts] matter to me either. It's up to you. We tried to give you courtesy. Give it back, please.
Again, with the negatives, there could be the positives. Does that make you happier? Um, one thing that I've noticed, guys, and again, it it really comes down to your what will make you happy. No AI
center at all. I'm going to tell you, it's come. Okay. Hey, I I I understand that. But then there's others that talk about other things as well. So, we are hearing everything and we will move forward and make the
decision. You want to know what we have to say? I'm telling you what I have to say. That's it. You You're worrying about the rubber stamping and the other things. Hey, that's fine. You want to have a discussion in the hallway, we can have a discussion in the hallway. We don't run and hide, but it's it's it's
more important that you understand this. You were heard tonight and I hope that's what you wanted to happen tonight and we heard you the other day as well. Like I told you, I came here in January and I do believe in transparency. So that's
the piece. even when it's transparent. I've found through a lot of meetings I've been through over the years. If you're still coming here for what you want, then are you really looking for transparency? That's the difference. That's all I have this evening. I'd [clears throat] like my fellow uh
councilman and councilwoman. Um thank you for coming out. We're we're listening to you guys. I I love education. I I don't sit up here and proclaim that I know everything. Um but I'm I have a heart, right? and and I feel your I feel your sentiment and
we're going to do our due diligence, whatever that looks like. Um and we'll see where where this plays out. Um on the positive side, um thank you to to the Christmas um wonderful Christmas um tree lighting that we had in the city.
Um there's so many there's so many nonprofits that are doing great things. Um and I just want to just want to keep this city moving forward, whatever that may look like, right? Um, but we value your opinion and we value your sentiment and we're not judging you in any in any
way. So, thank you. I think all my council members have pretty much hit it on the head. We do hear you. Sometimes we're not allowed to answer because it just we don't have some of the information. The planning
board, unfortunately, is the planning board. Everything doesn't come across our desk all the time. example, the environmental study. All right, that goes in front of their desk and the planners get it. We don't see it. Now, if it's not there, that's
that's another that's a problem. We heard you. We stopped this temporarily, I don't know if it's going to come back and be voted yes or no on it, but we will continue to do our due diligence. I've researched Nebus.
There's some things I think could be good and there's some things that aren't good. All right. And and I and as Scott said, I I try to look at the whole picture, not just one side of it. That being
said, we will do our best to continue to hear what you have to say and to research, etc. And I think I had this conversation with a young man uh this weekend who is actually in the media about,
you know, going and doing the research as many of you did and I did as well. And I think he knows it because the information I said to him kind of let me know that I pretty much know what's supposed to be in there as per what
those people say because that's what's online. So AI gives you information, but you can use information that Google's telling you about Texas or you can use Nebus. Which one's the truth? Who knows? I don't. So, we're going to
find out more. All right. And that being said, this will be table for a couple weeks and and we'll see where it goes because uh basically they're purchasing two cranes. All right. At this point in time, we'll take a motion to adjourn the
meeting. So move. Second. Dr. Garthur. Yes. Council member English. Yes. Council member Vargas. Yes. Vice President Gomez. Yes. President Spanelli. Yes. Thank you everybody. Have a safe trip home. 7:18. Thank you. Good night.