Okay, everybody, it's 6:59. We're tminus less than one minute. You can see I'm getting excited for that. Arteimus launch. So, if you want to start settling down 7 o'clock. >> Okay,
everybody. I'm calling to order the meeting of the town council of West Windsor Township for March 30th, 2026. Allison, can you call the role, please? >> Charles, >> here. >> Gawas, Jvers, >> here. >> Mandel, >> here. >> Weiss
>> here. >> Okay. And have we adequately noticed? Yes, this meeting was adequately noticed on January 23rd, 2026 to the times in the Princeton packet filed with the municipal clerk and posted here at the municipal building and on the township website. Please stand for the salute to
the flag. Thank you. Uh, our first ceremonial matter. Um, I'm going to ask Tim Lynch to u call the West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services. You going to do firefighters first or EMS? Tim,
>> thank you very much. All right. Can everybody hear me? Normally I don't need a microphone. So, uh, good evening everybody. Uh, thank you to the council members and to the mayor for having us here this evening for this ceremony. Um, tonight is one of the most meaningful things that we get
to do in the fire service. We get to swear in new firefighters who are going to start their career dedication to uh the residents and visitors of West Windsor Township. Becoming a firefighter and EMT is not simply just accepting a job. It's accepting a responsibility.
It's committing to help others when others are having the worst day of their lives. It means long hours, demanding training, and holding yourself to a standard that extends far beyond this building and far beyond the uniform. West Windsor is a diverse and growing community. We protect thousands of
residents visitors businesses and schools. Every emergency call, whether it's a cardiac arrest or a house fire, requires technical skill, teamwork, and decisive action. But just as importantly, it requires trust. When the public looks at you in uniform, they do
not see an individual. They do not see your background, your personal accomplishments, or your years of training. They see a representative of the fire service. And they see a symbol that of someone that has come to mean safety, competence, and compassion. And
that trust is instantaneous. On someone's worst day, when their loved one cannot breathe, when their home is on fire, they will open their door to you without hesitation. They'll place their hopes, fears, and sometimes their lives into the hands of a complete
stranger. That kind of trust is rare and powerful. That trust has been earned over decades by the firefighters and EMTs who stood where you will stand tonight. by the career and volunteer firefighters who built this township's reputation through professionalism,
integrity, courage, and compassion. By those who treated every resident with dignity, who trained relentlessly, who did the right thing even when no one was watching. You are inheriting that legacy. And with that legacy comes a responsibility to preserve it. Public
trust can take generations to build and only moments to lose. Every interaction matters. Every call matters. The way you speak to a resident, the way you conduct yourself in uniform, the way you carry yourself in this community, all of it either strengthens or weakens that
trust. This o oath is not just about responding to emergencies. It's about character and about integrity. It's about understanding that you represent something larger, a profession built on service before self. To the families here this evening, your support makes
this commitment possible. But public safety is not a nine-to-five career. It affects holidays, family events, quiet evenings at home, and anything else you could imagine being interrupted. That sacrifice is shared, and we recognize and thank you
all for it. To our new members, you're going to train hard. You will be tested physically and mentally. You will experience moments of intensity and moments of heartbreak, but you will also experience the profound honor of making a difference in someone's life when it matters most. You're going to rely on
each other and build bonds that last for a lifetime. And if you uphold the values of this profession, you will leave this department stronger than you found it. Mayor and council, thanks for your continued support as always, and thanks for having us here this evening. It's now my honor to introduce our new firefighters and EMTs for their swearing
in. Uh when I bring you I'm going to ask each firefighter bring up to come up. We'll have all the families come and join us before we do the actual oath. So firefighter Lewis Depipa Lewis Deipa began his professional journey in the world of fitness working as a certified strength and conditioning
coast with sets sets hybrid training. His foundation in discipline performance and coaching laid groundwork for a seamless transition into public safety. In 2021, Lewis answered the call to serve his community by volunteering with the Freehold Fire Department and shortly after joined Freehold EMS. Driven to
expand his skill set, he completed the fire academy and nerd EMTT certification, quickly stepping into pdium roles with Miltown Township Fire District and Western Mammoth Emergency Medical Services. Later in 2022, Lewis continued his growth by joining West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services as a
PDM firefighter, gaining valuable experience in a progressive and high performing department. His dedication and work ethic led to a full-time firefighter position with Upper Freehold Township in April of 2023. And by September 2023, he was hired here, working for us full-time in West Windsor
Fire and Emergency Services. Uh, firefighter Ryan Opagard. Firefighter Ryan Opagard started his emergency services career in 2014 as a cadet with the members of the Neptune City Fire Department and Neptune City First Aid Squad. In 2017, he graduated
the Jersey Shore Shore University Medical Center EMT program and joined the Neptune City Fire Department as a full member, graduating from the Mammoth County Fire Academy in 2018. Ryan got his associates degree in emergency management from Brookdale Community College and his bachelor's degree from
New Jersey City University and fire science. Ryan has worked for multiple emergency services agencies including Long Branch EMS, Milstone Township Fire and EMS, Upper Freehold Township Fire, South Wall Fire, and Manchester Township Fire and EMS. Ryan Carter Ryan started
his career here with West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services in November of 2023. Firefighter Lavar Wright. Firefighter Lavar Wright joined West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services in April 2022 as a predium. In December of 2024, he was given the opportunity of a
full-time position, was assigned to a platoon. During his employment, he has taken advantage of our training opportunities that we offer and has gotten his hazmat technician confined space operations fire instructor one. And very proudly for Lavar, he's a certified fire investigator in New Jersey. Prior to joining West Windsor,
Lavar originated from Mammoth County, achieving his firewall certification in 2018 from Mammoth County. He volunteers with the Neptune City Fire Department where he quickly moved up the ranks for becoming an engineer and later a captain. Uh Lavar dedicated his career in emergency services to be working in
Manchester Township. Uh this experience allowed him to become a PDM firefighter EMT for Milstone and South Wall. Firefighter John Spearo. John Spiardo was appointed as a firefighter EMT with West Windsor in July of 2024. Prior to joining West Windsor, he began his
career with Milstone Township Fire District where he served for nearly three years by two years with Monroe. Before entering full-time employment in the fire service, John volunteered with the Englishtown Fire Department Freehold Emergency Medical Services. He also served as a public safety telecommunicator with Ruters University
Police Department. John consistently prior prioritizes education and training throughout his career in emergency services. He attended the Academy of Law and Public Safety, a vocational high school, and went on to earn an associates degree in Homeland Security, emergency management, and a bachelor's degree in fire science, graduating
Somaum Laad. With that, if your families Oh, no, one more. Sorry. Firefighter Cliff Craft. Firefighter Clifford Craft joined Westminster Fire and Emergency Services as a pdeium firefighter EMT in February of 2024, learning day-to-day operations
of the department and how to be an effective part of the team. In February 2025, he became a full-time employee with the department, finding his home on ashift. He has since earned certifications for fire inspector and hazardous materials technician is seeking out further technician level training. Prior to his time with West
Windsor, Cliff joined the emergency services unit at the Princ Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, as well as getting emergency service experience with the Cheesequake Volunteer Fire Company in Oldbridge and working as an EMT for the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital System. Outside of work, Cliff enjoys his free
time with his wife, Jesse, where they are raising their eight-month-old baby, Sheamus. You poor, poor man. All right, shall we? Yeah. Anyone who wants to come up and help hold uh Bibles or any other holy
book for these fine gentlemen. Answer in unison. I state your name. Do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States
and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of
the people, and that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of the office of firefighter according to the best of my ability.
So help me God. Congratulations. We're going to have plenty of time for pictures at the end of everything. So, please just hold on for that. Uh, if all the firefighters could stay here, please. All right. Now, for our new staff of emergency medical technicians. First, EM
EMT Sarah Katano. Sarah Katano joined West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services on March 31st, 2025 as a full-time emergency medical technician. Originally from Portugal, Sarah immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of five. She became a naturalized citizen in February 2021. Her journey
reflects a deep appreciation for community service, opportunity, and civic duty, values that ultimately guided her towards emergency services. Sarah began her career as a public safety as a volunteer with Plansboro Township Fire Department, serving in various capacities for approximately six
years. During that time, she earned her firefighter certification in August of 2021 and EMTB in May of 2024. Prior to entering emergency services full-time, Sarah worked for over 12 years and as an implementation specialist with Sigma Global Health Benefits. While she built
a successful career in the corporate healthc care sector, she felt a to a called to make a more direct and immediate impact in people's lives. She chose to pursue emergency services as her primary profession. In addition to her full-time role in West Windsor, Sarah continues to serve as a PDM
firefighter EMT with Plumstead and as a PDM EMT with Plainsboro Township Fire Department. Sarah holds a bachelor in arts from William Patterson University and a master of management with a concentration in healthcare administration from William Wilmington
University. EMT Taylor Bird. EMT Taylor Bird joined West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services in June 2025. Prior to her arrival here, she was a member of the Prince and Junction Volunteer Fire Company at the age of 16 and became a firefighter in 2022. Taylor
comes from generations in emergency services, including fire, EMS, and 911 dispatchers. After graduating high school, Taylor worked as a 911 dispatcher for Mercer County Central for three years in counting. Taylor graduated the EMT Academy in 2024 and started her careers in EMS in
Trenton Emergency Medical Services. At home, she's accompanied by her husband, Casper, and a crazy puppy, Ace, who keeps her extremely busy. James Brown. All right. EMT James Brown is an emergency medical technician who began his EMS career in 2005 as a volunteer
with Pennington Road First Aid Squad. Over the years, he gained extensive experience across Mercer Countyy's EMS systems, serving with Trenton, Euing, Lawrence, and Plainsboro. In addition to municipal EMS work, he spent several years in the medical transportation field with Medi Transport and Exceptional Medical Transport. James has
completed numerous professional development courses, including ITLS and specialized training in pediatric and geriatric emergencies. He's proud to be an employee of the township and looks forward to continuing work in West Windsor. He currently resides in Lawrence with his wife of 12 years and
their 11-year-old son. For obies, he's a football coach and a bass player. All right cool. All right, we could have your families come up and uh we'll get the swearing in underway. You can raise your right hand.
I state your name. do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States in the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly ly perform all
the duties of the office of emergency medical technician according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations. All right, I have one more thing for this evening. I'd like to invite up
firefighter or EMT James Brown, firefighter Rashawn Alvarez, firefighter Lewis Depipa, and firefighter John Spearo. All right, this is an award presentation. May this certificate acknowledge that on
November 19th, 2025, firefighter John Spiardo, firefighter Rashan Alvarez, firefighter Lewis Depipa, and EMT James Brown were critical in a role in a recent cardiac arrest resuscitation that resulted in a successful CPR save. The swift interventions, adherence to
high performance CPR principles coupled with outstanding teamwork and un unwavering professionalism made a life-saving difference. This achievement highlights the impact of preparation, training, and teamwork embodied by the members of Westminster Township and Fire Emergency Services. Thank you.
Thank you very much, >> Chief. Thank you. >> Did you want to bring everybody up one? >> Yeah. Uh, we're going to bring everybody in here for a minute. We're going to do a picture with the council and the mayor. So, if all of my current department can come up here. Actually, no, just the swearing in people right
now. >> We don't have one lens that wine, right? Okay, we're going to take about a five minute recess so anybody who doesn't wish to um sit through our meeting can um you know say hello. Um do you want to take some pictures out in the hallway?
That would be that's fine too. I'm I'm honest. Eric, if you want to uh do some pictures in the hallway, that's fine. I do ask you to be a uh not too noisy, please. Thanks. Whenever you're ready, Alison. >> Yeah.
>> Okay. I'm bringing us out of our short recess and that was very exciting. Um, I'm going to open up public comment at this time. We have a 30 minute public comment, three minute limit per person. Um where you can have public comment on
anything but the uh hearing which we're having a public hearing on 2026-11. So if you're speaking on that um I appreciate if you would wait until that hearing opened up. Does anybody wish to make public comment? Okay, >> I have a list. I have Deborah Margolus
on the list. Good evening, council members and mayor. Deborah Margolus, 149 Trumlau Lane. Excuse me for reading this, but I'm not going to fit everything in that I have
to say in three minutes. I spoke at the Mar March 9th council meeting regarding the car wash. As someone who cares very much about this community, my husband and I chose to move to West Windsor very intentionally
because of its character, beauty, and scent of pride place. What I want to address tonight is not the car wash itself, but rather my disappointment with the manner in which
West Windsor residents were treated during that evening. I found the tone of many remarks so troubling that I left the meeting early, which I don't usually do. During the mayor's 25 minute comment and
slide presentation, residents who raised legitimate concerns were described several times as not doing their homework and as making a federal issue out of something simple
and logical. The mayor was thankful. Quote, "There are people in West Rams who can sniff a response, sniff nonsense when they see one." He goes on to instruct those who
disagree with the car wash to stop calling themselves environmentalists. That is not what respectful participatory government looks like. Public comment periods exist so that
residents can share perspectives, ask questions, and yes, sometimes disagree. That does not make them critics in a ne negative sense. It means they are engaged citizens.
When people take the time to show up and speak, they deserve to be treated with respect, even when their views may differ. I did indeed do homework with environmental concerns not just
about the valid issue of water gallons of water used but also about forever chemicals used in the waxes and soaps by many car wash facilities. Excuse me. Even when the establishment
is required to have water treatment systems and storage, these chemicals can wash off vehicles after leaving the site and the runoff winds up in waterways. So that concerns me and I wonder and I
have to ask, has the township required of this car wash operator that this facility be free of such forever chemicals? >> Oh, thank you. That was three minutes >> also. Oh, okay.
I had more, but I wanted to recognize some of the good things that Okay. >> Thank you. Um, who else do we have that's signed up? >> I don't have anyone else on the list. >> Okay. Um, would anybody else like to
give up and give public comment? Good evening, uh, mayor, deputy mayor, and members of council. I'm also going to be reading and I'll probably let you know the >> Excuse me. Um, can you put your name and address please? >> Yes. >> Thank you.
>> So, my name is Mala Patakbut. I am a business resident of uh Wester pretty close to this place uh almost at the backyard of uh Burimat and the area there. Uh the business name is Leaporters and Leaphub Education. Leaporters is a for-profit and Leaphub
Education is a nonprofit organization catering to young schoolgoing students of Wester and uh the overall community of Plainsboro. Uh I am going to make uh the I will read the notes from my phone
and I'll give you a good reason at the end why I'm doing that. I'm here tonight uh to share something that I can deeply uh I I and my uh company and all the people that work there deeply care about and also to invite this community to be
part of it. For the past uh almost eight years I've been actively involved with an organization called FIRST. FIRST stands for for for inspiration and recognition in science and technology. Uh and it is a global organization that works across uh more than 110 countries
and uh first as a organization has brought sports into robotics. So like which year for any other sports uh first brings that element of STEM and sports blended together. Uh overall uh there is
a lot of special things about the whole cause but um educators like us add a little bit of additional value to it and develop not only engineers right while they are in the middle school and the high school so that they are much more
ready uh for the future. In the past it was a necessity necessary skill but right now it's almost mandate mandatory skill by the time our young uh students of the community when they hit their uh
graduations and move to the you know u be ready for the future uh it's just not the skills that we are teaching in the school or teaching at any of the education centers but much more than that because AI is going to do pretty much everything and that that was the
reason I had written this. I did not write the speech. It's the AI that did the speech looking at everything that I do on a day-to-day basis from my mailbox. So this is an AI written speech that I just uh uh delivered. Uh now the
last 30 second what I want to say is that uh we have an initiative that we have started for uh minorities. uh again I don't want to say girls is a minorities but in STEM I have seen it by myself I have lived it for last eight years so girls neodyivergent students uh
and everyone that we can strengthen and forge the path of success right from school we want to take that to the community and make sure that we not only uh work with a su successful student but everyone that needs help. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. Oh, could you sign in on the signin sheet so I can count you on the minute? >> Does anybody else wish to make public comment? >> Three minute limit. Please state your name and your um hometown. Thank you.
>> Hi, my name is Arjun Bach. Um, I live at 88 Cranberry Neck Road and I'm also a part of >> excuse me, town >> uh in Cranberry and I live at 88 Cranberry Neck Road and I'm also a part of Leap of Education which is a nonprofit organization located at 55
Princeton Heightstown Road. Um, I'm here to talk about uh my robotics journey. I've also been a part of the first program for the last eight years and currently this year my team pending 30439 has qualified for the FTC world championship and FTC is a program in
first respon list award and going to the world championship as a student body ambassador. This year my team has decided to start an initiative called for job where we can reach kids across the world who are not as experienced in STEM or don't have
the money to work in STEM. We have reached places like Libya, South Africa, India, Romania and the United Kingdom and places where kids don't have access to STEM or don't have centers in STEM. So we can directly reach we make videos online talking about how we can um how
we can like get kids into STEM, what do we do in STEM and how can we get them careers in STEM. This year we also started initiatives within our own team by onboarding neodyiverent members on our team so we can also give them a future in STEM and find them a good place to keep on going forward in their
later career in life. And one thing I thought about is that instead of going straight to worldwide, the best place I can start off is in New Jersey and in West Windsor where our team is located. So I'm here today requesting for help and how the West Windsor Township could help my team and our initiative so we
can keep on moving this forward. Get as many people as possible in STEM and help future generation grow and build their dreams and make their dreams come true. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Could you please sign in? >> The um mayor will answer any other if
there any questions from people from the thing at the end. Uh, would anybody else like to make any kind of public comment before we close public comment? No. Okay, then I'm going to close public
comment at this point. Mayor, do you have anything to say at this? >> Oh, I'm not moving to the next thing. I just want you want to do that first. Okay, that's fine. >> Do ordinary comments. >> Um, we're going to go to administration.
Um, I'm just going to say, um, good luck at world championships and, um, I've known a couple other deans list, sorry, it's now called, uh, chairman's list, I believe, winners.
And, um, it's it's a very very rare and exciting thing. So, um, going to now go to administration comments. Merina, do you want to say anything? >> I have several announcements. Uh DPW is
currently in zone 4. Please continue the good work of uh keeping brush and leaves separated. Uh garbage will remain on schedule. Um pickup will be on Friday. Uh town
offices are closed on Friday, April 3rd in observance of the Good Friday holiday. public works holiday schedule for Friday and Saturday. Um the facility will be closed
and um that's all I have. >> Thank you Melina. >> Thanks Andrea. I'll first answer the public comments and then I have prepared comments. Mayor, my wish you had sent me your AI comments. I would have fed it to
another engine and asked how a mayor should respond to those comments. Would have been interesting exercise. So no, I I'm just >> eventually we'll have AIS talking to AIS and we don't have to come here. >> Yeah. So no, they write the whole speech
and sometimes sounds better. Not your voice comes out very different. So I've tried that. I don't like it. It's not my voice. I'm very high sounding. I don't sound that I and to address the other criticism of car wash.
I was thinking uh issue was behind us but I want to thank you for bringing it up. But that's essentially the criticism uh Mr. Weiss made on a post on his website. So you bringing it up does help me address that issue. And I do find it
very funny that people who want to have open debate, transparency, this that anytime I push back they start crying that oh he's not being polite. There's nothing I said was impolite. Um to
point out that what you said on day one is very different than what you said on day two is not impolite. There was a lady here who has been bugging me and saying she's an environmentalist environmentalist and I simply pointed
out if you go to NJD website it will tell you car wash is far more environmentalist than the other options that is what is called not doing your homework. Um same you made some of the comments I addressed most of the comments in my presentation. It's on my
our website you can go and listen to it again. But most of the comments or questions you asked about forever chemicals other things that lot of them were answered in my comments as to how many u limitations the um the uh NJ and
state has on car washes and it's far more far more um better for the environment than washing the car on your driveway. Um I will again point out all the three objections raise noise
um traffic and environment were bogus because in fact this situation makes it better and that's my opinion. People can listen to your opinion can listen to my opinion and then make a dis make a decision as to which side they agree
with. That's what democracy is for. Um and I will continue to speak out. I mean I'm not going to be bullied because somebody says he was impolite. I mean I've been people have been complaining about me for last 25 years. So um the
fact of the matter is um it was a small issue. I mean if you ask 30,000 residents of West Windsor not even five of them I mean most of them will say car wash what's the big deal? So that's what's called making a federal issue making lot out of nothing. So I will
continue to keep speaking. I'll continue to keep pointing out that some of the stuff you said make situation worse if you wash the car on your driveway. And you don't have to take my word for it. Go on NJD website and see it for yourself and you will
find out that they beg you beg you not to wash car on your driveway. uh in fact they equate washing car in the driveway is same as washing car in the on the on the lake from where you get water to drink and if there chemicals in the uh
soaps you use to wash your car they are permanently in the lake so that's in short I um on a good note and a positive note uh Westminster was named as the best place to live in New Jersey by the niche magazine
we have always been ranked high over the past several years that I've been mayor, but this where we were ranked number one. Being number one is truly special. I'm glad that the others recognize the extra extraordinary community we have in
West. I want to thank all residents and township employees for their contribution to making Westert the best place to live. Um and I'm happy about whatever small part I paid played in making that happen.
Um the township is now very active on Facebook, Instagram and X or formerly known as Twitter where we post various township updates along with our website. I would strongly recommend that people check these locations before asking questions on peeps. Uh we are trying to
get information through all these outlets and all these venues. An ideal example was people were asking about yard pickup or delayed yard pickup in zone 4. Uh but the information was already posted not only on our website but on Facebook and Instagram accounts
as well. Just as an example during the past week we had 14 announcements on social media page. Some notable being delayed pickup on zone 4 that as I mentioned earlier, RFP request for the pedestrian safety improvements that we are doing at Emmens
Drive along Canal Point Boulevard and then Courtney Drive outside the municipal building and the emergency road repairs on village road for potholes that happened overnight. That's just one few of the 14 that we made.
I have received some complaints about condition of North Post Road and Alexander Road circle. The prior mayor had drawn up some plans for fixing the road and connecting some issues as the engineering uh department saw them. Due to opposition by certain residents, that
plan was put on hold and nothing was done for the last 8 years. This was just before I became mayor in 2018. So I have requested our head of engineering to dust off that plan again, take a look at it, decide especially based on what we
are going to do at the Courtney Drive and outside the municipal building. Um finalize that plan and we will fix the road. Um in the meantime we will have to come up with a temporary solution because there are lot of potholes um on
the road and at the Alexander Road circle. Um you can report the potholes on uh our website and we are trying to figure out a way of making it even easier where you can report the pothole.
Uh finally the topic that will be on uh my my comments for uh probably few months to come hopefully not too long uh the Clarksville road bridge update. Um I will give the update on two fronts. uh first my efforts to get the bridge open
as soon as possible and then a parallel efforts uh mainly led by Sunnia and Andrea to get some financial help for businesses in the village square complex. Um I would like to thank NJOT commissioner Jen who was just sworn in
today as she has taken the ownership of the issue. I've talked to her uh multiple times and my contact at the governor's office Carter Elliott has also assured me that this is a top priority of the governor and thus by
thus of NJ do uh the proof is always in the pudding. Actions speak louder than the words. So following my initial conversation with commissioner uh on Friday the 13th uh we immediately saw activity on the bridge right on Monday uh 16th uh the entire
week NJ dot and their contractor were on the bridge along with Amtrak. Lo and behold they were allowing work during the day by having a flagman on the on the line below. So as of March 20th they have finished all inspections of the
bridge. Uh the initial estimate for analysis of the data is 4 weeks. Uh Commissioner J has promised me to expedite the process as much as possible. I did reach out to NJ DOT today and they still can give me a firm
timeline when the analysis will be completed. They do assure me that it is treated as urgent and will get back to me as soon as they have a better understanding of what the challenges are and what our options are.
At the same time, the governor and commissioner are working with Amtrak to make sure availability of Amtrak outages doesn't become a rate limiting step once we know how we are going to fix the bridge. We still don't have commitment from Amtrak, but the state is putting
pressure on Amtrak to shorten their review timelines once an option is to fix the bridgees chosen. On the financial front, Sony and Andrea have been working with the county and the state to see if either the state or county will offer financial assistant to
the struggling businesses in Village Square Mall. Many of those businesses appreciated a dayong fundraiser for Shu. hosted last Friday through the efforts of local resident Maya and I want to thank her for taking the initiative and
I want to thank all the residents who showed up uh to help the support the businesses. The council had passed a resolution and sent a request to the governor to declare a state of emergency in the area. The governor's office has agreed
to help the businesses in every possible way short of declaring a state of emergency. It doesn't appear as if the governor is willing to do that at this time. I don't exactly know what the uh consequences of that are, but they
assure me that nothing will change because of that. The county has been actively helping the businesses with possible opportunities available to them. They have gotten a lot of state um EDA uh people here multiple times to help the businesses
fill out the forms and try to see what aid or what um loan they can get from the state. It appears that the the efforts of the county the businesses may may I and I want to emphasize the word may get limited financial support
through the county and the county and township will announce it as soon as the details are confirmed and we are 100% sure of uh that they can come through. So I know um Joe Charles is working with specific businessman business person in
the center who is facing major issues. Both Linda and Dan have been contacted our elected representative to ensure they realize this is an important issue for the town and we will need help from everybody to contact our senators because
Amtrak is governed more by the federal government than the state government to emphasize to them that they have to give us outages and not restrict us to working a few hours every night because otherwise the bridge will take forever to get fixed. So, I want to thank everybody on the council, everybody in
the community who have worked very hard. Um, a lady started a um a petition and that got over,200 signatures, something like that. >> Over 2,000 signatures now. So, everybody
should know that uh this is a problem that just doesn't affect that one business community. It affects everybody. It affects I mean, we just had a swearing in for uh emergency services. There was a fire on the other side of the bridge. Normally it would
take them 5 minutes to reach. During a busy time, it takes up to 35 minutes to reach. Luckily, luckily, God willing, nothing major happened in that fire, but it couldn't be worse. So, it really affects everybody in town and that has
led to a tremendous traffic on village road. Village road is backed up during evening because most of the people are going on village road. So it directly or indirectly affects everybody in town and uh the state needs to get Amtrak to realize that and give us the uh outages
that we need to fix the bridge as fast as we possibly can. So again, thanks to everybody who has helped. Yeah. Um, if you remember, the Milstone Bridge was closed for a few months. When they reopened it, not everything was done.
So, it's going to be temporarily closed tomorrow from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Just one day to fix the little work that was left uh unfinished on the bridge. So, yeah, just just to cut in. So, just one day 6:00 a.m. to uh 6:00 p.m.
tomorrow, uh the Milstone River B uh river bridge will be closed. That's it. Thank you, Mayor. Um, now move on to council comments. Dan, thank you. Uh,
congratulations to the first team on your um your inspiration to the world champions. I was actually at the state champions ship um was it two weekends ago, which is always
incredibly exciting event and um uh I have been involved in first for probably about two years now. Was actually at the world championship last year which is an amazing incredible event and you're going to have an absolute blast when
you're there. Um regarding support that you're looking for, please reach out to me directly. happy to help however I can in the promotion of the the great work that your team is doing. So, congratulations again. Uh and thank you
to everybody who comes out to make comments. Um sometimes that's not always the most comfortable thing to do. Um but that's how our democracy is supposed to function. And when residents ask
questions about policies, they deserve clear answers about the policy itself and not criticism of the people asking the questions. That's all I have to say. Thank you, >> Joe.
Uh yeah, first just want to say congratulations to all the firefighters and EMS professionals for their swearing in. Um, thank you very much for the extremely important work you do to protect the community. Uh, regarding the Clarksville Road Bridge, I would say congratulations to Commissioner Jane who
was officially sworn in today as the new commissioner NJ DOT. Uh, it it is great to see in the past several weeks there's been a lot more uh responsiveness from NJ DOT as a result of uh her taking the helm. So do look forward to seeing the
uh results of the inspection and uh options that we can expect as as quickly as possible. Um the um only other thing I had today is I did visit with some residents in Glennacres uh who are spending uh
thousands of dollars to fight bamboo that's encroaching on their properties. Uh I do understand that uh council president Gavas is expecting to bring a ordinance to the council uh at some point in the coming months. So I do look forward to seeing um seeing that brought
before the council. Thank you. >> Thank you Joe. Linda. >> Yeah. Well ju just an update on that. Um the ordinance the sha tree commission uh has come up with a new ordinance uh and I have asked them um to also put
together um a letter or a memo explaining the need for it and and what we hope to accomplish through it. So that uh when it when that comes package it together with the proposed ordinance and then the council will need to uh
discuss that um in my opinion under new business and then it moves onward from there but >> that's coming soon. >> New ordinance? You mean the one they've been working on? Not places for that one. Yeah, they they've worked on the new ordinance, but I I told them,
>> you know, by sending it to council, there needs to be an introduction of what it's all about, >> right? They need to do now, >> right? They're going to basically lay out why, how uh for the ordinance, but they've pretty much completed the ordinance itself. Yes.
>> Do that first as a discussion before. >> Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Yes. >> Oh, okay. I'm up. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yeah, I just want to thank um all the uh officers, the swearing in of the new firefighters and emergency medical
technicians and all of our professionals at station 45. Um they they work very very hard for us. There's a tremendous amount of training um that they have to attend and get their certificates. Um they work around the clock, 247, lots of
overtime. um and that they're there to serve our residents and the general public um through all sorts of emergencies from from fires um to to car accidents and extricating people and they do CPR and and all of that. So,
it's very they're very well trained, very very good. Um so, I thank them for all of their uh service to us. Uh I attended the village school science fair on March 14th. Uh the students enthusiastically presented their projects. It's a testament to our school
district um how strong our STEM program is. Uh thanks to the teachers, students, PTA, and parents for a truly amazing event. This past Saturday, March 28th, the West Windsor Lions Club held its annual Easter egg hunt in Community Park. And uh despite the very very cold
weather and wind, uh the children had fun collecting Easter eggs and taking pictures with the Easter Bunny. Thanks to the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company for transporting the Easter Bunny to Community Park. And thanks to my fellow Lions Club members and Leos
for all their work in this wonderful community event. Um, also I did participate in the Shupe fundraiser um by purchasing uh food at Capawanos. Uh, happy Easter and happy Passover to all those who are celebrating.
Thank you, Linda. Uh, happy Passover, happy Easter. Uh I thought it's very exciting to see the swearing in today and especially seeing all the friends and relatives and supporters and realizing how thrilled they are to see
um see their relatives uh joining our West Windsor uh first responders. um Mala and um oh as far as the first robotics as as I think you remember I've
been I spent probably eight years or something as a first robotics coach. I've also done some judging and uh I still get involved with various teams um to try to uh boost them and give them some ideas. I've been to world
championships three times and as I've mentioned um that top award that is given to um if I remember it's something like a hundred students out of the whole country and out of that they picked 10 and um that's that final award. Uh so
that's you you get to sit there with some really really top robotics uh kids there and uh it's it's um a thrill unlike any other. I'm sure I I never got it. So uh but the kids I know
that did have been um uh just just wonderful and and I will even say yeah it helps for college apps which I know is is always important to the to kids around here. I think by that point that's not really what you're thinking about. I think you're thinking about how
you got there and what it took to to get there. Um I was I was really um interested in seeing that new project that you're working on. I'm sure that um that you'll speak about that when you go to world championships to bring more people into robotics because first has
become expensive. It's become um uh something that you you need to find people and support for. So the more you can do to bring people in and to bring in people um I remember when we were on our team uh there was a girl who was
dyslexic for instance and um had problems because of that yet was a tremendous engineer and first really brought her totally out. she went wound up uh getting a doctorate in good engineering schools
um because it gave that special opportunity. So, the more we can get that opportunity out, the better. Um I want to congratulate West Windsor on becoming a New Jersey healthy town and the mayor's wellness campaign. Uh thank you to the health department. I
know Sonia was involved, the mayor for putting everything together uh to to get us that uh award. And um that's we've got I think the second level award and hopefully this year we'll uh we'll even go further. Just mentioning we had since
the last meeting we had three budget meetings. Um so I want to thank staff that came and presented answered our questions. Uh a few things that were particularly important for for the council. uh the roads, which the mayor
just mentioned, the emergency um uh repairs that are being done now, which which thank you for. I know my neighbors are are happy that the roads are a little bit smoother in in some places. uh safety, including uh whether it's buying equipment for the police and
fire and emergency services, or also for improving pedestrian and bicycle uh transport through sidewalks, road improvements, uh crosswalks, uh blinking lights, changing the way our lights are, and the many different things that we're
doing as part of um our uh complete streets program. and um communications we council is looking for um more communications communications person I do see that there's a lot more now on
the website when something's happening we're seeing more announcements now we're seeing them on uh reflected quickly on the Facebook page and on other places so it's a lot harder to miss what's going on in West Windsor right now
um other things we did uh county executive gave a budget pro uh excuse me presentation on March 26th. Uh the mayor and I went to that. Um there looks like there'll probably be a budget increase
of about 6%. We don't know if there's going to be a tax impact from that yet because uh that's the expenditure side. The re revenue side's always a different picture. Um and we did uh we did get some mentioning of our bridge there. So,
we know everybody's really really thinking about this. On on September 20th, Sonia and I went to New Jersey American Water. We learned how our tap water is processed, cleaned, uh made drinkable, and uh they did tell us since
this was a executive uh level meeting that they're asking the BPU for about a 13% increase. Um they probably won't get that amount. uh they go to the BPU the same way that the electric company does
and and the um um gas company. Um so they last time I think they said they asked for 17% and got I don't know nine or something like that. So what the BPU will actually give them at the end of this uh we don't know but we do know
they're asking for an increase and nobody was particularly surprised. Um, along with Linder, I uh volunteered for the Lions Club Easter egg hunt. It was cold, uh, but it was a lot of fun. And I think the I think the kids were pretty
decently behaved this year. There were more I know they did a good collection of eggs, but I think everybody got some eggs, so that that was nice. Uh, no, no, you a little bit less people this year than last. I only started in 30s. We started at 8:15 in the morning and um
you know takes a few hours to set up and it was really cold. >> Oh yeah, it was >> very windy. So >> we were we were Yeah. Yeah. We were in our gloves and hats and yeah, everything. Uh also attended the Village Square Science Fair. Everyone who knows me knows that that's like being a kid in
a candy shop. Uh because I, you know, can't I turn Huh? >> I saw that. >> Yeah. I turn around. I'm like, "Wait a minute. I've only been through twothirds. What do you mean this is over? Because I just love to go around and ask the kids all different kinds of questions and uh you know and and if
they don't know the science behind it, sometimes I kind of explain that to them, but that's me. Um exciting news on our watershed front. The Asen Pink watershed joint municipal meeting is going to be hold held here right in our
council room on West Windsor on April 7th at 7 PM. The Watershed Institute asked us if we would um hold it in West Windsor which they felt was a fairly central location and we said yes. Thank you to the mayor who was like of course
we we'll do this. Um so that's all coming up. All are welcome to the presentation and to uh give any information they might have on local flooding and water pollution problems to the consultants working on the plan. There's also other ways to submit that. Uh the watershed institute has received
a grant from Enjure JP to develop the watershed management plan for the acidup watershed as part of our MS4 program. Towns include Milstone Township, Roosevelt Town Burough, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township, West Windsor, Robbinsville, and Trenton who
have all agreed to work together to develop the plan. There's also a meeting coming up for the upper Millstone watershed. There's less towns, it looks like, that want to go in on that. We're going to um have some conver also, we're not getting a D grant, which makes it a
little less attractive. Um but we will be having some conversations on how to make that work so we can do another um multimmunicipality watershed. Uh keep in mind that water has no boundaries. It goes over town lines. It doesn't know where they are
and this is the best way to uh to solve the problems and the state D is trying to encourage this. >> You repeat the date and time of that meeting. >> Sure. Uh um and Allison is putting together the announcement. It will be April 7th at 7 PM and that will be here.
It will also be on Zoom. Okay. Um Okay. And that's me, Allison. >> Um I do not have any announcements. >> No announcements. Okay. All right. Then we can um move
into the public hearings. >> Okay. 2026-11, an ordinance repealing and replacing certain sections. And part three, subdivision and site plan procedures, and part four, zoning, article 31, general provisions and supplemental
regulations governing certain issues and replacing them with provisions implementing the uniform housing affordability controls and amended fair housing act. Okay, I'm going to open the public hearing which is comment only on this particular ordinance. Uh three
minute limit. Uh please state your name and address. Is anybody wish to come up to speak on this ordinance? Okay, seeing none, can I ask a motion to close the public hearing? >> Motion to close the public hearing. >> Second.
>> Charles, >> yes. >> Jivers, >> yes. Mando, >> yes. >> Weiss. >> Yes. Dallas. >> And can I get a motion to adopt? >> Motion to adopt 2026-11. >> Second.
>> Okay. Is there any council discussion? >> I just want to say that it's necessary to adopt the reddrafted affordable housing regulations ordinance uh in order for West Windsor to secure approval of its fourth round plan. >> Thank you. I just wanted to add a couple
of interesting there's been a lot of discussion over the years about uh windows and bedrooms and about dispersement and and appropriate um uh allocations and positioning of affordable housing units within
developments. And this ordinance actually explicitly talks about um that all bedrooms have to have a window, which is great to see. And there's a tremendous amount of language about uh the dispersement of of these houses.
>> Uh that's been an issue that many people on the affordable housing committee has has been very passionate about. So I wanted to make sure everybody was aware that this is the mechanism to enforce those um those regulations. And if I remember correctly,
um the um West Windsor actually went to court to try to force somebody building affordable housing to uh add windows um that because some of the um some of the units in a place that won't be named
uh were designed without with internal a few internal bedrooms that didn't have windows. uh the township felt that that was worth spending the money to go to court. Uh I know the the mayor was was fighting that. We we not we lost in the
first round. We were appealing and I think at that point, mayor, uh if I'm right, um they you were actually asked by the people who are on our side not to pursue it because they wanted to to make it a rule. And right now, um, that's
actually a rule for the for the state, I believe. So, we're we're confirming it. And I have to believe that our, uh, bringing this up that our willingness to spend effort and money, uh, and and to publicize this and complain about it.
Um, as a township, because morally we felt that and safety wise, we felt that was the right thing to do. um probably had some effect in making making this rule. >> Certainly made it visible. >> Yes, >> absolutely. >> Okay. All right. Can anybody else have
anything to say or should we go ahead then? Can we have a roll call, please? >> Charles, >> yes. >> Jivers, >> yes. >> Mando, >> yes. >> We >> Yes. >> Garwas, thank you. It passes. Okay. Consent agenda.
>> Okay. Bills and claims. Is there anybody wish to pull anything? >> No. Uh, can I get a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Charles, >> yes. >> Jivers, >> yes. >> Mando,
>> yes. >> Weiss, >> yes. >> Garwas, >> okay. Um, do you want to mention, do you want to read that first and uh we'll uh we pull at the end then? >> Yeah, we I can read them all and then go for it. Okay. 2026-R066
authorizing emergency temporary municipal budget appropriations for 2026. 2026-R067 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Phoenix Advisors LLC for reappointment as financial adviserss for
2026 $6,000. 2026-R068 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Ruddman Roth LLC for reappointment as labor attorney for 2026 $50,000
2026-R069 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with McManaman Scotland and Bowman LLC for remployment as bond council and redevelopment attorney for 2026 2026-R07
70 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with David P. Lonsky Esquire for reappointment as special tax council for defense of tax appeals for 2026 $40,000
2026-R071 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Warren M. Cari CPA RMA of SPY Clooney and Company for reappointment as municipal auditor for
2026 $34,000 2026-R072 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Piaza and Associates for reappoint as affordable housing consultant for 2026 $18,000
2026-R073 authorizing the business administrator to purchase the annual ual licensing renewal of an existing software subscription from SHI International Corp. under the New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Alliance Contract CK04
Subcontract 24-38 with the county of Bergen $124,121.50 50s 2026-R074 authorizing the chief financial officer to increase the contract amount of professional of the professional services agreement for the law offices
of Mueller and Bailey PC for affordable housing legal fees $100,000 2025-R075 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with center state engineering for engineering construction
administration and inspection services for the project known as 2025 storm repa sewer repairs project $25,000 2026-R076 authorizing the award of contract for the sprinkler system replacement at West
Windsor Volunteer Fire Station number 43 project to K&D Contractors LLC and authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute said contract $326,100 2026-R R077 authorizing the mayor and clerk to
execute a professional services agreement with Robert's engineering group for engineering construction administration and inspection services for the Alexander Road pedestrian safety improvements project $32,600
2026-R078 authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Robert's engineering group for engineering construction administration and inspection services for the North Post Road Bikeway project,
$30,760. 2026-R079, authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute a professional services agreement with Van Clee Engineering Associates for Engineering Construction Administration and Inspection Services for the Conover Road Bikeway project.
$41,000 2026-R080 authorizing the mayor and cler clerk to request approval of the director of the division of local government services to establish a dedic dedicated trust by ryder for donations acceptance of
bequests and gifts for the project known as community donations for beatatifying the 911 memorial. >> Okay. Uh I'm going to pull 2026 RO66 because uh that requires four votes and
it will be cleaner to have a separate vote on that. Uh does anybody wish to pull anything else out of the um recommendations? Nope. Okay. Um why don't we do this one first? Um
>> quick question. Does pulling that result in Do we have enough time that we don't approve that one that you pulled until the next vote? >> No. >> No, it means we'll vote on tonight. >> Oh, we will vote on >> Yes. I'm just pulling >> Oh, you're just pulling it into separate, >> right?
It requires four and never mind. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. >> Oh, yeah. No, no, I wouldn't don't want to shut us down. Um Yeah. So, um, if any, um, that's basically the reason I'm pulling it. If anyone has any comments on it at this
point. No. >> If none then, um, can I get a motion to approve it? >> Motion to approve 2026-066. >> Next. Second. >> Okay. >> Charles, >> yes. >> Gers, yes. Mandel, >> yes. >> We, >> yes.
>> Garas R 2026 R66 is approved. So motion to approve 2026 R 067 through R080. >> Second. >> All right.
>> Charles, >> yes. >> Jivers, >> yes. >> Mando, >> yes. >> We >> Yes. >> Okay. Great. Right. We have no introduction of ordinances tonight. There is an
additional public comment of 3 minutes uh 15 minute maximum comment period. Uh same rules. Please give your name and address if anybody wish to get up and speak at the second public comment. >> You can say whatever you wish in the
three minutes. >> Yeah. 1:49 2. So the part that I could not fit into three minutes um started as a concerned taxpayer citizen.
I'm entitled to have my opinions anyway. In most areas, I recognize and appreciate the work being done by council and the mayor for the betterment of West Windsor. That includes supporting local groups, students,
businesses, charitable organization, and both fun and patriotic community events, not to mention keeping a breast of everyday work of governing a growing town and challenges posed by recent
extreme weather. I applaud those efforts also around affordable housing and the work addressing the bridge closure. A disagreement on any one issue should not result in residents being dismissed,
sneered at, or talked down to. We all have we all want what is best for West Windsor. We may have different ideas about how to get there, but that does not make one side right and the other side uninformed.
So, in closing, I request that going forward you engage with residents in a way that reflects mutual respect and listen to their concerns that may not line up exactly with preconceived conclusions or desired outcomes. Thank
you. >> Thank you. Does anybody else wish to get make up a second public comment? You okay? Same thing. Name and and address. Thank you. >> Name Mala. Um residence address 88
Cranberry Neck Road, Cranberry and uh business address is 55 Princeton Heightstown Road, Princeton Junction. Um definitely 3 minutes or less. So I didn't know I was going to get chance. So I don't have the AI notes this time. So this is going to be my voice and u my
speech. So uh as being associated with first uh I do I'm I am an IT consultant and uh have a full-time professional uh role that I play. I do work pretty much two of my week day evenings with the
kids and almost all of my weekends almost morning to late evenings with the kids. So pretty much 7 day uh working between my um work day job and working with the kids. So most important aspect that I wanted to bring in front of you
here today is while working uh the team that won like my he's my son and the team that won inspire one nobody in Wester, Plainsboro, Cranberry or nearby district has won for many many uh years
within New Jersey. So we are representing New Jersey as the New Jersey champions for the first time. the last last year the New Jersey champions you know got a proclamation from their community. So I do request uh the
council mayor and council members to consider that as a request. Second thing half of the team members of this team are actually 10 of the 15 team members are rookie meaning they have never done this before. It is not a bunch of great
STEM from science community and working through multiple years of robotics within uh you know friend circle. They all did not know each other and uh five of them are neodyivergent uh and just not ADHD and dyslexia. I'm
talking about autistic and a wide spectrum of uh that layer. We have worked very very hard with them. Uh and uh the captains and the leads uh give extreme special attention and what we understood that the level of engineering
bend that they have and due to lack of explo exposure they should not miss the opportunity. So the forge ally initiative is real and uh is for us to take it to the community and make the best advantage within the uh state. I
have worked very closely with Andrea for last several years to understand. She's also my inspiration. She's probably worked uh for 22 years in STEM. I have just completed eight and I'm probably going to beat that.
>> 22. We won't go down. >> So probably I'm going to beat that someday. But uh uh lot of our kids do take a lot of inspiration from her you know just random visits and uh word of wisdoms. Thank you so much.
>> And one question ma'am do you live in Plansboro by any chance? >> The Cranberry Road. Your address is Cranberry but you still live in Cranberry or do you live in Plansboro? Okay. Because there's a port Yeah. portion of Planesboro has a Cranberry
address. Yeah. Okay. >> Um we are thinking um about about three years ago or something like that, we had several teams from the area that uh on one on each level that went to world championships and we held a little fair
for um where they showed off their robots and uh and we gave some proclamations and stuff. So um waiting to see what F FRC teams um and then we are thinking of maybe doing that that again this year. So um
that's we we'll talk about how we want to do that. All right. Thanks. Thank you. >> Okay. Moving on. Um GA public comment. We're going to go to council reports. Linda, you want to do
first? Well, I just want to congratulate the uh the first team and it's it's great work. I mean, so many kids in this area that are involved in that. It's wonderful to see. I've seen them in our uh more of our elementary schools and it's it's
amazing the projects that they've put together. So, that's great work and and uh keep keep doing it. It's it's great. >> Um let's see. Council reports now. Uh the planning board met on March 18th. The board approved application PB24-08
amended. This amended application was for construction of an approximately 1,290 square foot press box and baseball ballpark related improvements. This project is located on the Princeton University uh lake campus and is
adjacent to their softball ballpark. Shade tree commission met on March 25th. uh permit applications under chapter 170 for 2026 or four for January, one for February, and six for uh March. So far,
the committee is beginning to review an updated community forestry management plan with the assistance of consultant Dan Dopermansky. Arbor Day 2026, uh with a theme of revolutionary roots, uh will be held on April 26 at 10:00 a.m. at the
Ron Rogers Arboritum. If it rains, this event will be moved uh to the West Windsor Senior Center. Students uh contestants artwork is due by April 8th. Council will be invited to help judge the artwork and the time frame right now
is April 13th to 17th on judging the artwork. A white oak will be planted uh for Arbor Day at the Arboritum using Shade Tree Commission funds from their 2025 budget. Six other budgeted trees will be planted
on May 30th near waterworks. A date for the commission's annual presentation to council needs to be confirmed between uh the chair and council president uh Gawas. Finally, regarding the commission's work on the new bamboo ordinance, it will be putting together a
letter of introduction explaining the need and purpose and impact of this proposed uh ordinance. >> Thank Thank you, Linda. Um Joe, >> uh yeah, no new meetings of the rec commission since the last update. Uh
there was a meeting of the parking authority, discussed a number of um topics, um but nothing in particular or unusual to uh to report to the council. >> Dan, >> yes. So the uh board of ed actually met twice since our meeting. Um the first
meeting was less than 30 minutes and the second one was nearly three hours. Um and that was the um the budget proposal meeting where our superintendent walked through um the budget situation which is not a very positive story um which is
probably not a surprise. They're facing similar constraints that we faced here in the township and the county is facing with a just an enormous increase in healthc care benefits to their budget. So that combined with a reduction of
state aid of nearly a half a million dollars, which is bad. But um fortunately this year, Governor Cheryl put in um uh boundaries on how much um state aid could be reduced. They put a
basically a 3% cap on that. um where if that cap hadn't been put in place, the the the reduction in state aid would have been over $2 million. So, for better or worse, that was a smaller reduction. Um but also a significant
reduction in federal aid. Uh the bottom line is a projection of about a $4.5 million gap between um the projected revenues and the increased expenditures.
And they've had to solve that because the school budget has to pass a balanced budget um by effectively moving all of the reserve funds to a fixed to the fixed cost to balance the budget. Um
uh Dr. Aderhold provided um and the presentation by the way is on online so you can see all the slides probably about 25 or 30 slides including some sort of whatif scenarios regarding if they continue to see um these same kind
of health care increases um year-over-year. did a 10-year projection that would show that in 10 years the act just the health care costs will be more than the entire school budget today uh which is just completely unsustainable. And this is not unique to West Windsor.
This is happening the school districts all across. So um there's going to have to be some very serious discussions over the next year about how the state is going to um solve this problem because it's just going to continue to get worse. Um we have been all invited to
the um school award budget presentation at the end of this month um where we'll get additional details. >> So hopefully everybody >> probably bread and water this this year. >> Yeah. Um >> no chicken. >> Yeah. So um there is going to be an
increase. So the total budget went up about by 4.6%. Um so we can expect an increase um until we understand what the assessed values are. We won't have the details. No different than you know u the impact
that we're going to see here on the municipal budget as well as the county budget. Um it's not going to be huge but it's also not going to be insignificant at the same time. So yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but uh that's the reality of the
situation we're living in right now. Well, we're in the same boat in the township. Um, one interesting thing for the county is the county had been on the state plan and the state plan would have gone up. I think it was like 30 something%. >> Yeah.
>> And they were able to move out of the um state plan and so therefore they're only getting a 17% increase this year. We are already out of it so we don't have that option. >> School was already out of it as well. Well, the school always self um Yeah.
>> Yeah. They they had no problem with that too, I think a few years ago. But but um all the tricks have been played. >> Yeah. But we we can't do that because we've already done it. So >> we are fortunate that our school district has done an exceptional job in
managing their budget and keeping, you know, um reserve funds. But there's only so much, you know, once you start once you start cutting, you can only cut things once. and we're down to the bare bones there. You know, the la very last thing that they want to do is start
cutting actual resources that impact their education program. But it it's gets scary because if they have to start um laying off teachers as a result of the budget, that's going to immediately
impact classroom sizes and that's the very very last thing that they want to do. Um other school districts um like Robinsville is looking at cutting extracurricular funding for sports teams. >> I think they're getting some county aid. I don't know how much at this point too,
but the kind of things that are to happen. We have not fortunately, you know, would we have not yet seen those kind of changes or cuts in West Windsor. Uh but again, if you know this cycle continues at the rate that it's going
to, we're going to run out of places to to save. >> Yeah. Yeah. Between health care and pensions, it's uh >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Interestingly, just one more thought. One of the things that sort of saved them a little bit is that
>> transportation did not go up. >> Yeah. I was wondering about that >> because that was a driver. Yes. >> It's been a driver. It did not go up. I mean it might have a marginal amount but um they had actually had planned a much significant more significant increase
and um so that's >> a little shining light though >> or or they already went up last year and so they're who knows but >> anyway part of this whole issue is because the school budget is on a you
know fiscal year that starts in July >> calendar >> um and the health benefits are on a calendar year. They have to plan for some unpredictability in, you know, the second half of their budget year. >> Oh, well, good news.
>> Affordable housing committee is meeting on this Thursday. >> Thank Thank you, Dan. Um, the environmental commission met on the 12th of March. Their next meeting will be on April 9th. Uh there was some discussion
of a draft draft natural landscape ordinance. There were a number of people that came to the meeting. Uh some of them spoke and they felt that uh it would violate their right to use their properties as they wished. Others uh said that it uh discouraged native
plants and gardens by regulating them more strictly than other plants. So there was a um a lot of healthy discussion on it. Um, okay. There was a presentation by Pornneima Gupter on the U PSNG
uh sustainable Jersey energy project that I've been working with her on. We've been um uh putting that together and that's going to uh send out to people in West Windsor so that they're aware of the um PSEG offer of uh coming
into your house and doing somewhat of an inspection. I think they usually leave a few free bulbs and things like that and they've been offering that for free. Um, and a lot of people don't realize it and so the idea of this project is uh they get a letter get a letter from the
mayor, they know the town knows about it and so they realize it's not a scam from some somebody but it's actually the the PSEG coming in and and trying to help with this. And they and they um they don't do this totally out of love of their good of goodness of their heart.
they uh BPU provides for that as part of education, as part of of uh things in your fees. So, you might when we get going with this, you might as well take advantage of it because we're all paying for it one way or the other. Um there were some also we did some updates on
the bridge and the planning board and some discussion on the uh joint uh watershed municipal as pink uh that I had mentioned before for the um MS4. That was that. Any other administration updates?
>> None. Okay. Uh, no close session. So, no one has objections. I'll take a motion to objourn. >> Motion to adjurnn. Second. >> All in favor? I. Okay. Thank you. We're adjourned at 8:34.