##VIDEO ID:khv5AXw2_RI## for I call this meeting to order it is the uh council's business session meeting of October 28th 2024 welcome everyone we had the roll call vote we call this meeting to order it is the uh council's business session meeting of October 28th 2024 welcome everyone going to go in a loop before I call this meeting to order it is the uh council's business session I don't need to start over for the start okay yes start all right I call this uh meeting to order is it is the October 28 202 for uh West Winter Township council meeting uh welcome everyone roll call vot I mean roll call gaas here iers here Mandel here Weiss here Whitfield here have we been adequately noticed for this meeting yes we've been adequately noticed to the times in the Princeton packet on January 19th 2024 uh posted in the municipal building and on the website thank you please stand for the salute to the flag we have no ceremonial manners this evening so we will move on to the first public comment if you'd like to make a public comment please State your name address and you will have up to three minutes okay I have a list from the audience David Paris I'm David Paris 207 Washington Road I spoke about a year ago before the council and my concern Remains the Same i' I've got hundreds of dump trucks clogging the traffic on a residential neighborhood in pens neck they are perfectly legal in most respects but they do affect our quality of life a great deal and uh today wasn't too bad I was really surprised that Friday was unbelievably bad he had dump tracks every minute or so some of them in practically in convoys I can't believe that my wife and I are the only ones concerned about this and I don't know what else is been spoken to others about it but I think that we do need to have some ongoing study recognition perhaps some corrections that can deal with this and I'd like to know what has been learned in the meantime that as I said I feel compelled to speak on behalf of Pen's neck residents generally even if others have not stepped forward so are we coordinating with the county regarding this it is a County Route as long law enforcement involved in any respect I don't know are plans for the pens neck bypass continuing where are we with that what's the progress that's the kind of thing I would like to hear reports for many of you I have spoken with some of you one onone and I do know that that there have been concerns but as always um if I can be of any help there's any volunteerism can deal with this matter I would certainly like to be involved and I think you all now have a contact thank you thank you okay um Sharon leforge hi my name is Sharon lege 105 Rabbit Hill Road the thought of public speaking makes me very uncomfortable but learning of a group that wants to change our local government from nonpartisan dep partisan has made me want to speak up I am a lifelong 64-year resident of West Windsor my great-grandfather who immigrated here from Ireland started a very small farm on Rabbit Hill roads my mother grew up on the farm the farm has been relocated because of development pressures that started in the 1980s I currently reside in one of the original farmhouses over the years West Windsor has grown in culture and education it has become very Diversified and an ideal town to raise a family commute to New York or Philly gain employment eat shop or even retire in my grandmother was a Democrat and my grandfather was a republican one party rule divides people families and communities by taking away the voice of those with differing and Nuance perspectives but in my family we were raised to recognize and respect diverse opinions and take the best of both that was the key to one one of the keys to our family success we are lucky in West Windor to have a nonpartisan Council unlike many other communities we have mastered the ability to work together with people of differing political opinions and make the best decisions for our Town's future and continued success until this election cycle I have never felt so betrayed and let down and disappointed by a group of people this group is looking to change our local local government into a partisan one as the weeks have gone on I've been shocking I've seen shocking displays of immature Behavior marked by lying cheating greed and a desire for power not only that this group is primarily being funded by outside groups that should have no influence on our elected officials this is an embarrassment and clearly not an example to set for the Youth in this town as it stands now our nonpartisan elected officials had the ability to make decisions based on what is best for our town without having to adhere to any party's Dogma National politics has become chaotic and divisive and we don't need to bring bring that to West Windsor when I think of all the time and money this group has spent trying to gain power for selfish reasons including everything from trying to change how our elections work to F filing frivolous lawsuits against West Windsor I can't help but wish that these resources had been used to better West Windsor and address the actual concerns of the taxpayers in this town thank you thank you Anthony man G good evening neighbors my name is Anthony mangone I live at 34 North Mill Road thank you for letting me speak on this partisan issue I'm a lifelong resident of Princeton Junction my entire family my parents my mother-in-law my sisters my children and my granddaughter still live in town I also am not a Republican or a Democrat I'm I'm an independent I live with two women in my house my wife who is a Democrat my mother-in-law who's a republican if I was to buy into the logic of partisanship my household would have to be either Democrat Republican or independent does that mean we can't coexist no should one of us have more of a say than the other no but because if that is the case I truly believe I should have a better say um I'm not here to represent political agenda I'm here because I've lived through multiple forms of town government chaotic as it may be sometimes but from what I've seen it has been the most Fair form of government so far it's been over 30 years since we've dropped partisanship in the township committee and enjoyed the luxury of non-influential politics we've tried partisan government and found that it was non- inclusive and it was easily manipulated by the ruling party I asked why would we now want to go back to that allowing outside money influence along with depriving some of our residents the ability to participate in Fair balanced process I encourage no vote so that my family still has a fair say in the town they were born in I also urge that the residents research both sides of the public question before voting thank you very much thank you Deborah Charles Deborah Charles nine aloof drive from inception of the supposed Grassroots partisan campaign over the summer they have been misleading people every candidate in West Windsor should have an equal opportunity even if they are not the preferred Party leaders candidate for folks that are confused with not knowing what each candidate's affiliation is you can do a S simple Google search on the website voterrecords.com in advance of the election the notion that over 85% of the money collected from the partisan campaign was received from outside of West Windsor is a major red flag in contrast 100% of all fundraising efforts from the nonpartisan team are from West Windsor resident contributors folks that have a stake in the game to keep our town our town and not influence from outside money from Denver Colorado yes I just said actual money from the partisan campaign came from Denver Colorado how baffling and concerning is that why wouldn't you want anyone that is qualified hardworking and passionate with the best interests of our town to run for our town elections just because you do not like a candidate or incumbent it is not a reason to change the entire election process going forward and if you don't like your town representative in the next election find another qualified candidate and vote that incumbent out it's as plain and simple as that in next week's election vote no on the ballot question to keep our town nonpartisan thank you thank you um Juan Juan deos good evening ju cardos of 255 Henderson Drive I've been a resident of West Winter for 20 years 20 years communting my bicycle to the train station I have noticed uh anecdotally traffic has gotten worse meaning more dangerous uh about two months ago trying to cross Clarksville and 571 uh even though the button to stop all traffic the light is red I observe uh cars running the light uh heading west on 571 uh I have reported that to the police the officer was very polite and this is not trying to get any officer in trouble but the attitude seemed to be uh oh they were trying to beat the light so they were trying to be light nothing we can do uh I I decided to wait they did tell me they would do some enforcement once school started did see a police officer uh but in in in the afternoon uh not in the morning I commute around 6:30 a.m. just last week again once the but pressed lights uh turned all red there was not one car that ran the light not two cars but three cars in succession all going West on 571 ran the red light which cannot be ascribed to uh trying to beat the light so I would suggest the attitude should be this is not okay and and I understand the police have better things to do but this uh is becoming quite dangerous I would also suggest to the council that in your contacts with State officials they try to enable again uh traffic cameras red light cameras thank you Andy lofo Andy Lupo 47 s Marco Street on Monday October 21st the yes Group West Windsor voter for transparency and representation crossed the line by launching a Despicable personal attack on former council president Allison Miller just because she publicly endorsed voting no on the West Windsor ballot question I was appalled I hope every West wi or resident who saw this reprehensible email blast is equally upset this is the kind of National Party level vicious attack that we expect if West Windsor becomes a partisan town by being nonpartisan we have managed to avoid these divisive personal attacks of neighbor vers neighbor and kept campaign discussion to issue and accomplishments by leaving Party politics out of it Allison is not even running for office is this what we want for West Windsor Allison has given over 30 years of her life in service to West Windsor and has been a leading member of the local Democratic party if disagreeing on one issue leads to personal vilification would we expect any independent thought from any candidate chosen by the proponents of this question no wonder they are pushing A system that leads to unopposed elections and party leader selection of candidates I'm extremely disappointed in the current Democratic Leadership to allow this type of attack on a Westwinds a resident the fact that it was one of their own they attacked certainly gives a very strong indication of the future you are a part of our group if you agree with what we tell you to do disagree and we will come after you sadly I was not surprised by the yes group's action given all the misleading things they've been doing to confuse voters about a change to a partisan election this is not what we do in our Township we should be able to agree to disagree with without personal attacks I expected better and our residents deserve better I stand with Alison Miller and voting no on this bot question um Becky marks hello Becky marks 28 Westminster Court thank you mayor and Council for opening up this for everybody and continuing all the hard work that you do for us as someone who grew up in Washington DC I experienced firsthand the divisive two-party politics that over offer overshadow real Community needs when I moved to West Windsor 13 years ago I found something refreshing a Community where we voted for people not parties here candidates can come together based on shared values and goals for our town not party labels and run under the same ticket regardless of party affiliation how unique how special how much do we need to protect this in my experience the openness to collaborate cross party lines has been a Cornerstone of our success as a community I remember the unity we demonstrated when we stood together to protect our town against Howard hughes's proposal prioritizing West wi's character over outside interests and funds we came together because we all care deeply about our Town's future partisanship did not play in as an aside I have worked with many of you here today preserving open space advocating for our children and making this an amazing place to call call home regardless of your party affiliation the other side of this argument has chosen to make a personal attack on one of the pillars of our community Allison Miller someone who has never let a party line dictate the way she governs and I thank her and all the rest of the people who work so hard to keep our town as best it is changing our election process will force candidates into party defined boxes limiting our ability to choose those who are best align with our Town's needs I believe that funding from the outside influence should not dictate our local politics and that Community functions best when we can collaborate freely without party constraints so I I ask everyone to vote just vote first of all let's stop and all say please vote the national elections we have candidates everyone has to pick a side but here in our local politics make your ver voice heard to say parties don't have a place here we are all wanting to pre preserve West Windsor's unique character so please vote no on the ballot question to change our government let's continue working together for the good of our town without outside influence thank you Joe Charles Joe Charles nines aloof Drive let's be crystal clear about what the vote Yes campaign is all about it's a pure power grab 85% funded by Outsiders in virtually all of our neighboring partisan towns elections a partyback nominee fa is no competition in either the primary election or the general election the election is meaningless and whoever the party leaders pick is Anointed the position this is the true goal of the yes campaign plain and simple all the other stuff you hear it's just noise the senior leaders of the yes campaign know this they just won't speak the truth at the last meeting I read a list of their top donors since then they've reported another $112,000 in fundra raising 11 of which is from County politicians specifically $2,500 from Samuel Frisbee for Freeholder Trenton $2500 Christen mclin for County Commissioner in Pennington $2500 from teren Stokes for Mercer County Commissioner in in Ying $2,500 John kemler for Sheriff Hamilton $1,000 friends of John Simo for commissioner Hamilton in total they've raised $30,000 26 ,000 as from outside politicians and politically connected entities over 85% of their funding you've got outside money from a labor union connected to a state party boss a whole bunch of Mercer County politicians a Hudson County politician lobbying entities and corporations and a company in Denver Colorado it's absolutely sickening councilman Weiss you're an elected official who supports going partisan your responsibility is to serve all your constituents as one of them I ask you to explain these funding sources during your upcoming comment period can you please do that West Windsor our elections are not for sale please vote no thank you Deborah debah Maris Mar guess I have to tilt this down debor mar9 tunic I thank the council for this opportunity to make my voice heard with apologies for the rudeness of reading my comments off the printed page I've only spoken in public once before and it was rather n wracking in many previous meetings I have respectfully listened to other citizens opinions and notice that everyone begins with a tally of how many years they have lived here well my husband and I have only lived here for about four and a half years um that in no way negates my right to a voice or diminishes its import we did already vote and we voted yes on the ballot issue we moved here to downsize from our home in Upper Freehold at Four Seasons where it was a 4,000 square foot home and we moved to uh the beautiful community of Village Gran at Bear Creek completely cutting our size in half it's a beautiful place in close to our doctors in Plainsboro and Princeton and easy pops the train going north or south the turnp for trips to the city to see our grandchildren shopping's convenient in many directions the mcarter theater and other venues that we frequent are easy to get to it never occurred to us to check on the form of government that West Windsor had in Upper Freehold where we lived for many years it was a partisan government yard signs and other forms of candidates communication showed what party they were aligned to it was a piece of information about a candidate that they I for one without resorting to Google would like to know this partisan model is in no way resulted in dark outside influence when our local issues were concerned fellow Four Season seniors regardless of party resoundingly voted to build a new Middle School Stonebridge because of the education of our future adult citizens that we all supported regardless of party that was the right thing to do despite the fact that it would result in a possible raise of taxes likewise we all banded together to prevent a warehouse project from intruding into our residential Community we were fellow citizens supporting our community not following the dictates of any party bosses I was surprised when learning about the unusual Arrangement here in West Windsor residents have made their choices known as they have a right to do um but I feel like they should do so in a polite manner Free Speech cannot be squelched but when Time After Time some of the speakers personally attack one of our councilmen I think the responsible thing for council members to do is not to praise them but to admonish them for lack of Civility I guess I am old-fashioned in wanting to be polite than k is there anybody else that would like to give a public comment please come up and give your name and address okay I've had no sleep because I'm scared to death of what's going to happen Tuesday my name is Mark pepper um 43 Providence Court pant Junction Princeton Oaks home of the sewers versus the septic tanks okay I'm for septic leave well enough alone okay um I've lived here for 32 years I know just about everybody or else I know one or two degrees of separation I can figure out who they are I he has a sign over there the Sign Guy my suggestion to him is instead of trumpism is racism eded it to trumpism is fashist because that's what it is it's also racism but the bigger problem is fascism and one party rule is is very close to Fascism and Princeton has one party role Republicans don't bother to run I'm a lifelong Democrat I'm a Bernie Democrat I'm a I guess I'm a the point where I'm a professional canvas Advocate Community organizer involved in Progressive organizations out the wazo I always carry some whatever cause I'm with I'm always have one with me because you never know who you're going to run into I was Voting today finally got to early vote over in East Windsor not West Windsor because apparently West Windsor doesn't have early voting because apparently we're nonpartisan I mean because the fact that we're nonpartisan I think that kind of stinks because Robinsville is also nonpartisan and they don't have early vote Trenton is nonpartisan but they do but it's Trenton most big cities in this country are nonpartisan because nonpartisan is the way to go for Municipal elections we don't need said the divisive Party politics at the at this level the funding from the I fund campaigns all over the country I'm on elect lists at the wazu as well okay I'm proud to be on the the no El side, 1500 bucks which I would have rather donated to sue Alman who's the Archen enemy of George nor cross the the who holds the leash of Steve Sweeney who donated the $2,500 to the yes campaign and I I was instrumental with a group that got Terence Stokes elected four years ago to county commissioner and because of us we displaced an Cannon who was and the county commissioner way too long because she always got the party line the in the primaries the party line is is the most corrupt system of voting in that this country has we're the only state that still does it because we still have it because it's only a temporary injunction so far thanks to Andy Kim so he'll be in and he was for the line before he was against it and he became against the line because Phil Murphy who bought his seat the governorship wanted to buy his wife a seat in the Senate but then there was so much outrage she dropped out thank God and now Andy Kim will be the next Democratic senator senator from New Jersey thank goodness we need all the Democratic and Republican and senators in congress we can get so we can have a um buffer against Trump who's likely going to win again on Tuesday so you can take that that sign and like I said change the fascism because that's what we're going to get next Tuesday and that's why I can't sleep and please vote no thank you is there anybody else that would like to give public comment please come up and give your name and address I yes good evening uh counc and council members John Church 11 Princeton Place um this whole the whole basis for the yes campaign on this is uh the is false it it is saying basically that a person's whole identity and outlook on life is determined whether you're a Democrat or Republican that is totally false you can be an independent and and and you can do whatever you want and say whatever you want so I totally reject the premise that uh a person's party label determines everything about that person that is completely false I likely I like to quote to the poet Walt Whitman long ago who said uh I am large I contain multitudes I think most people are like that they they can see things from all different points of view and make up their own mind on various issues that's the way it should be so I completely reject this idea that you you got to be a Democrat or Republican and that determines your whole personality and your whole outlook on life that's totally false anyway uh you might as you might guess I'm going to vote no on this uh valid question and I hope everybody else does does that as well and I I thank you for your attention and by the way I want to add that I was very much upset by this personal attack on Allison Miller a longtime friend and neighbor she's done so much for this town and I I thought that that personal attack was totally out of line it should be rejected by everyone and an apology should be made to Allison thank you thank you is there anybody else I would like to come up and give public comment anybody else seeing none Al just as a point of information was mentioned about we we're not having early polling places in West Windsor because we're nonpartisan Robinsville is also nonpartisan but I believe it's because the county um did not permit us to do that the county never confirmed that as a reason they just they choose the locations right right because we we we would be fine with that but that didn't happen so no okay that's right but I but I just want to I just want to clarify that yeah all right well we'll let our uh County Representatives know about that we'd like to have early voting here too yes all right um Administration comments good evening um we have several updates and comments for today um just a reminder that October is pedestrian safety month and that everyone is a pedestrian every day whether in a parking lot crosswalk or on a road with Halloween coming up remember to practice safe driving on Halloween as well as every day a few tips and reminders for safe Halloween safe costumes with reflective tape stickers and lighter colors use a flashlight while walking or glow sticks and ensure proper fitting costumes for no tripping for safe driving slow down in residential neighborhoods remember that popular trick-or Treat times are from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections or just in the road in general medians and curbs children are excited about Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways reduce any distractions that you may have inside your car such as talking on the phone or eating so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings be cautious when backing out of driveways and parking spots expect to see children late at night or in areas that you usually wouldn't and some tips for safe walking stay alert watch out for cars that are turning or backing up don't dart out into the street or crosswalk in between cars um in between parked cars walk on sidewalks or paths if there are no sidewalks walk facing traffic as far to the left left as possible put electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk don't run across the street it's best to cross the street safely at Corners before looking before Crossing look left right and left again and make eye contact with drivers when you can the D has um issued a drought watch for the state of New Jersey last week and residents and businesses are urged to conserve water now as dry and warmer than average conditions continue to persist individuals are encouraged to practice voluntary water conservation measures in addition the DP forest fire Services implemented mandatory Statewide stage three fire restrictions Banning wood and charcoal fires as extremely dry conditions are expected P to persist across New Jersey these mandatory stage Statewide stage three fire restrictions put in Place earlier this week prohibit all fires unless they are contained in an elevated stove using only propane natural gas or electricity Additionally the office of the Fire official in alignment with the state division of fire safety will not issue any bonfire or firework display permits until further notice residents should refrain from using any type of fireworks including legal fireworks these precautions are extremely essential to ensure everyone's safety during this critical time of drought and extreme fire danger any additional updates to this will be posted under news and notices on the township website um due to these dri conditions leaves were falling earlier so Public Works was able to start collecting leaves earlier and they are currently in zone four as of today as a reminder the new tree removal permit requirements went into effect yesterday October 27th please check the town shade tree commission website for additional information taxes for fourth quarter are due on 111 um but we have a grace period until 11:12 payments received after 11:12 will be charged interest from 111 to the date it's received according to njsa 54467 for additional information on tax payments please visit the Township's website Office of the tax collection winter Recreation program registration is open so you can go on to the parks and W Rec web page to register for any winter programming the township will be closed on Monday November 11th in honor of Veterans Day um and then some upcoming events for the township on Sunday November 3rd from 400 p.m. to 7 7 p.m. the township will celebrate its first ever dwali Festival of Lights at West Windsor Plainsboro high school for additional information please contact the recreation department on Thursday November 7th at the West Windsor senior center from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock p.m. the health department in partnership with Wegman's pharmacy will be hosting a flu vaccine clinic which is open to all residents of West Windsor Robinsville in heightstown ages three years old and older pre-registration is recommended but walk-ins are welcome if you need further information on this Clinic you can call 609 936 8400 the health department the health department will also have a flute clinic in heightstown um Friday November 8th 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 2m at the heightstown fire department and for additional information you can contact the health department they will also have a um free rabies vaccination clinic on Thursday November 21st from 4 o'clock P.M to 6:00 p.m. at the Princeton Junction Firehouse pre-registration is strongly recommended but walk-ins are welcome and you can contact the health department for more information and you can also register online by at the Health Department's website and that is open to all Township residents and all animals must be registered separately and accomp accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 and then finally the West Windsor Police Department is starting its collections for its annual bark drop and more information can be found on the West Windsor Police Department's website that is all our updates thank you mayor thanks Linda I do have a couple of uh announcements but before that I'll try to answer some of the questions that were raised during the public comment um number of polling places I was told the state gave the county a fixed number of polling places but I did hear that everywhere in the county over the weekend there was a half hour to 1 hour line to vote so I am going to request next year uh to the state or County whoever is responsible more number of early early voting places especially since uh we are encouraging people to vote early or vote by mail uh so I'm going to request and I will request a place in West wi so you don't have to drive uh to East wi to W so I will try to do that yeah yeah there I did hear from and I was at a MCE meeting and that was in every polling places not not just East wior there was a wait over the weekend but I'm told during the week it's very light so if you still planning to vote early during the week There's No generally there's no waiting uh in line so you can go and vote early ideally just to vot by mail I mean then you don't have to stand in line um you can just drop it here or drop it in your mailbox and you can check online whether your ballot has been received um if you don't get it you can call and request a uh a second ballot and they will send it to you um you can only vote once but they will send it in case you don't did so that's easiest and I have chosen to do that um I'm sorry about your experience at 571 and uh Clarksville I come home on Route One and I see every red light somebody breaks a red light that's just unfortunate I mean I never go on red light until I see both directions because I know it's very dangerous the police are always out there they are ticketing um most people say that we never see it that's because you drive responsibly and that's why you don't see it but the chief will tell you there are four cops out 24 hours a day in West Wier and they do right there share of tickets and they do Monitor and if you complain um they will come and monitor a specific intersection and they do run reports as to how many um violations were found and they do it uh where to monitor based on the data uh so they do do that unfortunately the state law doesn't allow you to write tickets based on traffic camera I mean that was taken away a few years ago you can yourself logic complaint against some somebody if you videotape or if you notice somebody breaking a traffic law the police can't take your video or take your word and file a complaint against somebody but you can yourself do it in Municipal Cod that is allowed you can go to Municipal cord and file a complaint against anybody that is perfectly allowed um the dump truck issue I've talked about it a few times uh lot of drum trucks are coming from out of town and I've always said that um there's so many trucks going through West Wind which have neither the origin our destination about uh in West wior um we have done a lot of things to stop drunk truck we have um the police monitor it the police got uh DMV visit West Wier which is very rare DMV usually doesn't go to towns but because of efforts of the chief the DMV did come and they did monitor on Alexander Road to and and police do have occasionally uh signs as well uh saying no dumb trucks on these roads and stuff but there's construction going on and we can't monitor all the time but we do we do our best as much as um as much as possible uh and we will continue to do that I just want to um express my support for Alison Miller um I mean I've served with her both on the council and as mayor and we didn't agree all the time we are we were I I uh she didn't vote for me I didn't vote for her but we were still friends and that's that's the important thing and I will always say that she always did what was best for West Wier no doubt about it I mean in my mind whenever there was an issue um she will always do what's best for West wi I mean same John Church mentioned they are not of the same uh political belief but they are best of friends that's what it should be it shouldn't be divided based on uh what party you belong to and which leader in the party you pledge allegiance to um so I I I wish her a speedy and full recovery she is facing some health issue but I'm so glad that so many people uh stood up to the Ming and if you feel that uh people have been unkind to the yes side then you have lost the right to complain after what you did to Allison that was really really really not a a good thing to do um two announcements I have um one posting uh the tax payment is due on 111 it's not due 1111 we do give you a grace period till 1111 but the payment is due on one 111 I don't want to lose interest for 10 days so do pay on 1st of November now it's a lot of interest now the interest rate is little better than before two years ago I I wouldn't have complained but no a lot of people forget that but by state law if you don't pay by 11 we have to go and charge taxes effective 111 and then people complain oh why didn't why can't you charge taxes just 1111 um and it's few dollars but still people complain so better play early and don't wait for till 1111 um um the the most of you know there's a um drought going on um for over a month we haven't had uh rain some of you who have tried to put campaign signs I've realized how tough it is to put it in the ground so uh you know how how difficult it is so the state has uh declared that um implemented a ban on bonfires and firework displays in New Jersey fire service areas we are not issuing any new Bond for our fireworks permit in fact uh the council had voted on a fireworks for lymphoma and Leukemia Society last weekend at Mora County Park and they graciously agreed to cancel it after speaking with our Volunteer Fire Chief and fire chief Tim Lynch so I want to thank them for that um there's Diwali coming up and Happy Diwali to everybody and diali means Indians will tell you a lot of fireworks um there's not a legal ban on fireworks but as a good citizen I will urge everybody not to do fireworks this year uh the ground is very dry there are a lot of dry leaves still on the ground uh we did start leaf collection a month early but still there are a lot of leaves on our street there's still lot of leaves on the ground so I would strongly strongly encourage you as a good citizen not do fireworks if you have not bought it save the money use it for sweets you know the sweets you eat in Diwali don't add to your waight so save the money and buy sweets if you purchase the fireworks save it for in future whenever your team wins some Championship not the Yankees because if the Yankees win they still will be dry conditions so save it for future years but um although there is no legal ban on fireworks I would strongly strongly encourage as a good citizen please please don't use any fireworks this Diwali put your lights out um enjoy with your family and friends and uh eat lots of food but please don't do fireworks um and lastly um the as expected the state put out the affordable housing numbers for round four um I've been talking about it till I'm blew in the face for last 3 four years and some of the people uh claimed uh I was fear mongering but as as expected our numbers West wi's numbers is 6 61 again the highest in the state what that means is between 2025 and 2035 we'll have to build roughly about 2500 homes uh for every affordable house we have to build three regular price homes that's how the uh Builders are willing to build affordable houses so if our number stays at 661 uh we will be building roughly 2500 new homes um in in West Winder in the next 10 years uh they consider various factors in coming up with the number one of the factors is land capacity Factor as to how how much open land you have our land capacity factor is one of the highest in Mercer County at 6.87 hopwell is a little higher 6.9 but the number is still only 543 uh little less than hours Princeton numbers is half of hours is 276 um so again if if the Howard uses land was available for um development our land capacity Factor would have been much higher than 6.87 and the 661 number would have probably been closer to 100 now we are studying this number the report just came out last Friday we are studying the number our planner is studying the number I'm meeting with the planner sometime later this week and then I'll have further comments as to whether we agree with the number we disagree with the number the council is required to pass a resolution saying that they think our number is XYZ what your number number we decide to come up with by end of January so much before that I'll come to the council with the report is saying whether we agree with the number if the calculation is correct but uh we will try to deal with it as best as we can uh but we will have to look at so if you complain about traffic if you don't like traffic uh it's going to come I mean those houses have to be built somewhere um I don't have the choice to say just no and except for that question that question you can say no but other than that I don't have a choice to say no I just have to build 661 affordable houses between 2025 and 2035 and come up with a plan that is acceptable to the state and fair share housing center the worst thing you can do is not have a plan because then the court and the developers decide where they want to build what density they want to build and how much they want to build so I'll continue to look at this continue to do what's best for West WI sir and try to minimize the impact um as much as I can so stay tuned it's going to be a long process so thank you yeah and mayor is is there any Washington Road bypass update anything thank you thank you for reminding me I forgot that okay so uh again for last four or five years I've been talking about two bypasses the W drve bypass and the pens neck bypass W drve bypass thanks to parking authority and L the first phase is ready it's not open yet but whenever Avalon development opens the road a now connects directly to the New Jersey Transit parking lot so you can connect rather than going circuitous route you can connect directly from Washington Road to Alexander Road we are working on a plan to make it uh even straighter I don't have the I'm not ready to announce the plan yet but we are working with NJ Transit we are working with the county to make it even straighter so that I do fully expect that to happen within next four five years I mean the first part is complete but even the second part regarding the pens snake bypass every time I talk to any developer regarding the property um they have been told that uh building that road connecting uh near the circle the new Circle to Harrison Street is a must is a requirement before they can do any development on the SAR of property there's currently no active project we did talk to a few developers but then covid happened and it fell through uh so nothing active right now but we do keep talking to various people and that's always a non-negotiable that the circle should be connected to Harrison Road anytime uh s of property is developed so stay tuned that that will happen I don't have a timeline but uh if I mayor that will definitely happen thanks thanks very much me okay thank you mayor all right we'll move on to council member comments uh Dan thank you um thank you everybody for your public comments they've been recorded and they're on the record I want to remind everybody that this is a council business meeting and the purpose of this meeting is to conduct official government business regarding the financial and business operations of the government of West Windsor earlier this year I took an oath of office that I would adhere to the Constitution statutes and regulations of the state of New Jersey as as everybody else and I take my job very seriously New Jersey statutes have guidelines on the use of government meetings for election related and political speech generally restricting government officials from using public resources or official meetings for overt political campaign here are some of the key points njsa 104-7 to1 4-21 the open public meetings act also known as the Sunshine Law this statute requires transparency in government government meetings but also implies that these meetings should focus on official business it discourages the use of these settings for campaigning or other part political activity especially aiming to prevent the perception that the government endorses of specific political people njsa 5213 d-23 this is the ethics code for public officials New Jersey's ethical standards prohibit public officials from using their position to promote personal political views or influence voters improperly engaging in partisan speech during an official meeting could be seen as an Ethics violation as public officials are expected to separate personal political advocacy from their official responsibility njsa 1934-a for any person to attempt to influence voters within 100 feet of a pulling place and public officials are expected to maintain neutrality during official duties and finally njsa 1944 a-201 this is the use of public funds public funds cannot be used for political purposes including advocating for a candidate or ballot measure public officials must refrain from promoting specific election outcomes in official capacities or using government resources to do so these statutes aim to prevent the use of government meetings as a platform form for electioneering or campaign activities and so I will continue to abide by these statutes but if you would like to have a respectful conversation about politics or elections I'm happy to schedule a time to meet with you outside of our business meeting and speaking of business I'd like to sort of continue a little bit on um the mayor's comments about our affordable housing obligations as he has noted the DCA released their affordable housing figures for every municipality Statewide these figures were calculated using a formula pulled from several different economic and land use data sets and West wind's obligation as the mayor pointed out is 661 this is the number of units that are required to be built in a 10-year period starting in 2025 now the actual number of units may vary depending on a variety of credits for certain types of housing that the state incentivizes and there's a 25% cap on those credits but the most important business matter ahead of of us for the council is to pass a binding resolution that memorializes our commitment to Our obligation uh we do have an opportunity to present an alternative figure uh which must still be based on the published formula and we will rely on the mayor and the administration and subject matter experts from the administration and legal Representatives um to evaluate if the DCA figure is an accurate result of that calculation our goal as council is to pass a resolution for this obligation in January which will protect the Township from Builder remedy lawsuits in Superior Court that's really important um and this is really the first of several steps as the mayor pointed out that the council Administration will need to take to ensure compliance with this constitutional requirement and if we follow the process correctly we will protect the Township from costly litigation looking at this from a different lens this is also an opportunity for us to decide how our land use and housing growth will look like for the next 10 years and so I look forward to those discussions over the next several months thank thank you maam uh Andrea sorry this cough has been going for two weeks but getting a little bit better um I want to thank everyone who spoke today I'm constantly Amazed by the diversity of people from all backgrounds and political Persuasions that have eagerly joined this vote no movement to keep West Windsor nonpartisan some have never paid any attention to town politics before and have put aside part of their lives for this effort I hope you continue to be engaged in many aspects of service to the town the Spirit of 76 is Alive and Well in West Windsor in 2024 Let Freedom Ring um I think I'm allowed to thank people for speaking on October SE 16th I visited the official opening of empowering pediatric Wellness mayor Marathi and I welcomed Dr Megan Andre Brown and her new pediatric practice to West Windsor if anyone wants to check that out on October 22nd I subjected my tesler to The Tender Mercies of volunteer fire departments along with many other EVS in our town I want to thank Princeton Junction 44s Mike Hornsby for an informative seminar on how to handle EVS in emergency situations for the firefighters in our area this is becoming more and more important as we unfortunately found out firsthand in a recent tragic accident on Saturday evening October 26 Sonia and I attended a Halloween open house by code njas here in West Windsor I got to some spend some time with their F robotics team which is always a lot of fun good luck to the Firebolts in their upcoming competition and finally on Saturday I also went to the Arts Council Halloween War of the Worlds and I got to meet Robert hmel who I have been looking at his H picture at the Grover's Mill uh coffee shop for more years than I like to think and understood that he was the artist for the for that original picture which I've also seen in various places from Google all over and was happy I was actually able to meet him and have some discussions with him so that was that was fun for me too um lastly I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween and Dali I'm looking forward to West wind's first official dwali event on Sunday November 3D and I hope to see everyone there thank you thank you Martin very brief tonight as I've always said before I just wanted to take the time to thank all of our residents for coming out to voice your opinion voice your thoughts and your ideas and your perspective on everything that's going on either locally or even nationally icage everyone to get out and vote um in this community for the national election but as well obviously pretty important uh local election as well so thank you so very much continue to um present your thoughts in a very very logical intelligent way that I've seen um continue to stand on your beliefs and the things that you believe in it's very very important and continue to push for unification I've been here 18 years and anyone who knows me that's what I've been pushing for um and when I see things that may be unjust or unright because I've been fighting racism discrimination my entire life I will always be against those things so I just want unification in this community because it's very very important for us to be unified to understand one another uh whether we disagree or agree it has to be done civil uh it has to be respect and we have to teach the Next Generation about what true humanity is so we have this opportunity at this time to do so so let's continue to unify one another continue to respect one another um and continue to respect each other's backgrounds whether it's ethnic religious political uh it's very very important for us to be on one Accord with one another as a Township that's the only way to do it it's the best way to do it and we been doing it effectively for the 18 years I've lived here so thank you so very much everybody thank you uh Sonia well thank you everyone for coming and uh voicing your opinion um just I I'll be very brief um reminder that the early voting is um ongoing um and will end on November 3rd um tomorrow October 29th is the deadline for um um registering for um receiving wood by mail so if you have not done so and you want to um tomorrow is the deadline for that um I want to take time to thank our First Responders today is the national First Responders day um I do see members of first responder in our um audience today so thank you um I'm a very proud wife and a mom of a first of First Responders um in our town so um it's dear and near to my heart um daylight savings is um coming up next weekend um with that what that means is uh it's going to get dark very soon and um uh yeah so this coming weekend right um um for those who have been watching me it's a pet peeve of mine I think this time of the year I always remind everyone and gays nodding um please be visible um you know drivers be cognizant of the pedestrians and the bicyclists and um people on the road and um as pedestrians let's make ourselves visible um please don't wear all dark clothes and walk on the dark streets because that's not going to be safe and we don't want to wait for something to happen um I live right off of CR Road and um I've seen many people walk you know we leave early for work bearing dark jackets but when we come back gets dark at four o'clock so just make ourselves visible um happy Halloween to everyone happy DEA for to everyone um as uh mayor and um krie mentioned with the drought um watch and uh stage three fire restrictions um please be cognizant and refrain from using any fireworks um and um live oil lamps because that's part of diali um celebrations so let's let's be safe thank you thank you Sonia um also want to wish everyone happy uh theal festival of light so it's a big big celebration in our town and and a lot of lot of fun uh um all the promise of prosperity and good fortune uh Halloween we've already mentioned it just be careful all the kids are running sometimes running across the street it's very it's very dark you can't always see them with the lighting so just be um aware of all the trick-or-treaters we just want everyone to be safe uh national weather servic has put out warnings um emphasizing The increased risk of fires I I know being on the fireplace we've had a lot of calls lately for brush fires um so and there's no rain in the forecast for for quite some time so the leaves have come down they're very dry and it's very easy if anyone um has like sparklers or things you know that they're they're using for celebrations that could easily um catch fire outside so um let's just be be careful about that or or not do anything like that uh hope to see everyone November 11th Veterans Day ceremonies uh timing of all that is on the township website so I hope you can attend and um as far as Allison Miller I certainly wish her um well in her recovery she has you know mentioned publicly that that she um is undergoing treatments for cancer so we we wish her very well she's a former council member I served with her served with her uh on the affordable housing committee also um so I I I also hope when when people can agree or disagree that they don't personally attack people no matter what I mean we can all have our opinions we can discuss those opinions but it doesn't need to get nasty so uh I I hope in the future that um we don't go down a nasty path especially next year um and again just encourage everyone to vote on uh November 5th early voting has started um I I know I have been going door Todo particularly because of the uh the question that is on the ballot so uh please um stay informed on that and I believe everyone is is pretty much informed and um has solidified some of their opinions on that but not everyone um so uh please um please make sure that you vote on that question it's probably at the end of the ballot all right we will um move on we have no public oh clerk yes clerk mention some have some election information to mention I'll just reiterate um tomorrow October 29th is the deadline to apply for a mail and ballot um registered voters can then apply in person up until November 4th until 3 P.M on November 4th for the mail and ballot early voting began on Saturday October 26th and runs through November 3rd um hours are Monday through Saturday 10:00 a. to 8:00 pm Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 6: p.m uh please see the township website forc ations vote registered voters in Mercer County can go to any of the seven voting locations uh noted on the website um a sample ballots were also mailed out by the county so everyone should have received a sample mailing ballot and let's see and of course the sign up for the ebulletins and nixel where you can receive also all this information that can be found on the homepage of the website good eils are very good tells you about all the meetings going on yes All the blasts for meetings uh Township events and cancellations too and you did tell people they could vote at any location which unfortunately the county piece that they put out did not say so I've been getting people constantly say we're I've looked this up there's no place for me to vote and any registered voter in Mercer County can go to any of the seven locations denoted by yeah by the county right there's also a very handy website it's called I will vote.com and if you put in your address um it will tell you what your early voting options are as well as your polling points but but the sheet that came out from the county is very confusing because it lists here's all the towns here's where the voting places are and it doesn't say on there you can go to anyone you want should have said every County Yeah well yeah and we asked and I guess it was too late to change so hopefully if you if you meet anybody who wants to know let them know please good thank you um we have no public hearings this evening so we move on to the consent agenda uh okay and that is bills and claims anyone need anything pilled none all right motion to approve the consent agenda salute second second okay roll call V gaas yes mandal yes voice yes field yes yes motion approved okay recommendations from Administration and Council CLI okay 2024 D r204 authorizing the tax collector to conduct conduct an electronic tax sale 2024 D r205 authorizing the request by Christian Deo for a 100% disabled veteran exemption and to cancel all subsequent taxes per state statute 54 colon 3-30 2024 D r206 authorizing the refund of the municipal portion of property taxes bill for 2023 to PSC and Via ACC Credit in the fourth quarter for 2024 $ 6,227 61 20 2024 r207 authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Eden Autism Services Inc for partially covering the cost of Renovations of a group home 2024 r208 authorizing the full release of a performance bond for Street opening permit number 2024-25 r209 authorizing the rebid for the project known as fiscal year 2023 Community Park Grant Trail resurfacing 2024-25 authorizing rejection of bids for the project known as sidewalk repair program 2024 and the rebid of the same project 2024-25 Wallace Road bus garage property block 59 Lots 1 and two including the Wallace Road in Old Washington Road right of way $1,775 2024 D r212 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a Professional Services agreement with starnet Solutions Incorporated for Information Technology support services for the police division $14,400 20 24- r213 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute professional service agreement with Edward H Craig Incorporated for Transit Village pedestrian safety Improvement project TV 2022 Alexander Road pedestrian safety improvements and TV 2023 Wallace Road and Scott Avenue intersection visibility improvements $179,500 20 24- r214 authorizing the business administrator to purchase two new Kabota Zero Turn Mowers from Cherry Valley Tractor Sales under New Jersey state contract T 3129 22 Fleet 100062 for $335,500 2024-25 authorizing the business administrator to purchase one new single engine truck mounted self-contained vacuum debris collector from we Timberman Company Incorporated through sourcewell Cooperative purchasing program contract 0311 21 ODB for the Department of Public Works 364,000 okay does any council member need any resolution uh pulled no okay uh can I have a motion to approve resolutions 2024 r204 through 2024-25 so moved second roll call gwas yes fandel yes Weiss yes Whitfield yes Jers yes motion approved right we have no introduction of ordinances um so at this time we'll do our second public comment period you'd like to make a public comment please come to the microphone state your name and address and you will have up to three minutes once again Mark pepper 43 Providence Court Princeton Junction um while although I'm voting no I usually vote Yes I'm talking about the Schoolboard um School budgets okay but I want to offer a very constructive idea for the warehouse if they actually ever get built because who knows okay um uh one of the I kind of was in a panic state today I didn't get any sleep wife had a medical procedure this morning we're got leaving for Texas on Wednesday we're coming back on um November 5th so that's why we needed to early vote today tried it yesterday it was an hour wait we can't went back today 45 minute wait so you know better than yesterday but if you want to vote early vote late because at 6:00 when we left there was no line okay but here's my suggestion um speaking of Texas okay we all know I love Wawa and so does just about everybody else in this town mostly okay um in Texas they have bies in right in the Dallas area if you know Texas you know bies I would suggest reach out to bies try to get them here I think there's a sign on the turnpike that says Bucky is 600 miles I think it's maybe down in North Carolina I'm not sure the other suggestion is Nebraska Furniture Mark it's a Warren Buffett company also in Texas Al Nebraska Texas Dallas in a development called The Colony it's probably bigger than all of Mercer County it's huge Nebraska Furniture Mart 1 million square foot Warehouse 600,000 square foot showroom every Appliance every brand of furniture you can imagine the last time we were in Texas we bought my daughter Leah and her husband dining room furniture and kitchen Furniture were going back this week to look at it and to meet her our newest granddaugh um when we moved here to West Wister 30 years ago we all bought big houses none of us could afford Furniture a lot of folks I knew drove down to North Carolina High Point got a big truck filled it up brought all the furn back with them bring Nebraska Furniture Mark here you'll make a lot of people happy so that's my that's my suggestion and I'm serious I am worried if you bring in bies it could put West waas out of business but I hope not bies is at least 10 to 20 times the size of a typical Wawa 100 gas pumps uh 100 bathroom STS with paintings all over the walls you can buy paint paintings in the bath I mean you can select paintings in the bathroom the whole it's a whole department store in a you convenience store but it's huge thank you thank you and thank you Martin for your amazing edit I mean Facebook turned up post turned at oped in the Tren brilliant and upst thank you William rutley 19 Scott Avenue again um can't hear me thank you William rutage 19 Scott Avenue thank you all for the service you provide to the town um you don't hear it enough but you'll hear it from me um I would like to request a copy of the plans that are uh you just approved for the intersection pedestrian improvements for the princ Junction I don't think I've seen them and none of my neighbors are aware of what was approved we're happy that you're approving stuff but we would like to know what's what's going on thank you sure yeah clerk's office can can send you that information I mean there is there is a limited amount of information but we'll we'll send you um yeah if you can email the office y we'll send that to you we what we have okay anyone else all right seeing seeing none we'll close public comments we'll move on to council reports discussion new business Martin planning board met on uh Wednesday October 16th uh the evening started out with the preliminary major site plan with variance relief and wavers for Woodmont commercial in addition to conditional use approval for a new 24-hour pet hospital at the Square West Windor being built that which will be built uh next to l go um in terms of applications the big application of the night was PB 2410 for the projected new Chick-fil-A which will be built directly behind Wawa on route one we listened to a thorough presentation from their traffic expert as that was a lot there were a lot of questions uh in terms of traffic on image drive and Route One and coming to and from Wawa um in addition uh the traffic experts discussed the traffic flow and parking that will be within the site uh all DT requirements are satisfied uh we also listen to signage and lighting presentations to ensure safety standards are fully met lastly landscape options were discussed throughout the site and near the building uh next planning board meeting will be November 6th uh where we hear applications uh in terms of regarding the princeon university General development plan as well as an application for the Princeton University baseball stadium on the Lake Campus medals uh location which is technically in West Windsor thank you okay thank you Sonia Parks Andre um met on October 23rd um a quick report about um bike fest um there were 120 pre-registrations and 129 um registrations on the day off um so there were about two almost 250 um uh registrations um for a bike fest so the fall timing definitely worked and also it worked that it was not a long weekend um so it seems like we have a new um bike fest committee um who plans to uh plan another event next year um one thing that they dis did discuss is possibly trying to see if online uh registrations can be taken as opposed to the um paper registrations so the pre-registrations can be um improved um summer camp for next year is going to be planned at the pool um to help with um um Camp registrations um the um Aquatics manager is um position is open um now um as norin would be uh retiring in February so I think um Parks and Rec is looking for replacing that um position well the frous pickle ball coats are open [Music] um um the um count we we just passed um two resolutions to rebid the Community Park um path as um last time we did not receive any bids so that's why we have to re go into rebidding which we just passed um the next Capital project is going to be the Duck Pond Park um rehaul um with adding utilities and um there's some conversations about possibly converting the tennis court to pickle ball courts because um the tennis courts over there are not utilized for tennis court tennis purposes um as the development right across has their own tennis courts so there's some conversation about um possibly putting four pickle ball courts because it's seems like that's a popular sport right now in our town or possi or also or maybe a um hybrid version where it could be yeah they can put to both the lines so you could use it for tennis or pickle ball um the outdoor Fitness Court Grant um was approved um Ken Jacobs is in in talks with um with the company to figure out uh details of that um so we have to figure out if that's something that we would want to pursue um the Halloween Trunk or Treat was cancelled but Parks and Rec was present at the farmers market this past weekend um giving information um and candies and stuff um Dali event first ever Diwali event is on November 3rd 4: to 7 p.m. at High School South um it's a free event all are welcome there's I I hear many vendors are going to be there food jewelry clothing um they're planning to go all out so I look forward to that um the tree lighting ceremony would be on December 8th um which is also the same um same morning would be the breakfast with Santa at Station 43 so that's going to be a busy weekend um next meeting is December 4th good thank you uh Dan there were neither the maor c or the WPA met since our last meeting so okay Andrea okay I hope it rains before the tree lining um yes otherwise uh we won't have fireworks uh we'll have worse problems actually I think if it doesn't rain by then yes the environmental commission uh hasn't met since the last meeting the next meeting is scheduled for November 14th um affordable housing met earlier in the month um we did not have the 661 number that everybody's been whispering my in my ear and putting up and and and signing and everything um at that time but we did have some discussions that because we knew something was coming um the affordable housing committee had some very very brief tentative kind of discussion on what do people think about um the fact that we do um do all inclusive uh in West Windsor and um that puts us where we do 25% affordable to 75% market rate and there was some very light discussion on is are we going to be able to meet whatever whatever the numbers we're going to be continuing to do that because of all of the housing that's going to require um but I don't think it anybody came to any conclusion I sort of said okay let's go around the table and who's willing to commit to what and at that point um people uh really weren't sure it uh as far as the 661 number um I'm looking forward to seeing what the um what what the possibilities are in terms of looking at I know that there are are set um formulas but what you put in the formulas is what matters so I'm looking forward to the mayor coming back with some more information uh after working with the planner planner and seeing if um where where we're going to want to go on that and I assume that we'll have that discussion in Council and at this point obviously the decision would be do we uh appeal it or do we accept the number so it's a kind of binary decision and um will'll you know that will be some matter of discussion thanks yeah um I'll coordinate uh with the administration a date where we can have you know a presentation yeah the beginning of the meeting so have discuss on that I don't think you really like appeal you pass a resolution saying this is what we think our number you give an alternate number right and then yeah I I know how it works um so we would we would come up with an alternate number possibly and then we would have to show that we uh had rationale for that number so but the basic decision is do we feel we can do better that way um and so that's that's going to be the next decision and obviously it's not something that we'd want to publicly discuss yet because that's a negotiation so um looking forward to that thank you okay thank you uh shade tree commission met on October 23rd uh members voted to approve uh with a couple of minor changes to the Township's tree removal permit application they also voted on the do not plant anywhere list the Do Not plant Street trees and sidewalk border tree lists and also the Township's recommended tree planting lists I mean this is all coming down because there's there's the new ordinance uh for on tree removals and that is now in effect uh the commission voted on a budget for 2025 this now goes to the administration for review along with his 2025 goals and objectives and 2024 accomplishments uh the commission will be putting together a list of new trees planted by the township uh in order to keep track of proper maintenance such as uh taking down the guy wires and Stakes next shade tree Commission meeting uh has a new meeting date which will be Tuesday November 26th at 6:30 p.m. so that's changed from the usual Wednesday uh but that's that's the uh night before Thanksgiving so it's been changed next shade tree commission meeting is Tuesday November 26 at 6:30 p.m. okay uh any further Administration updates none okay any need for a Clos session none okay motion to adjourn so move second all in favor say I this meeting is adjourned