We now call the regular meeting to order. The time is now 7:00. Requirements of the Sunshine Law have been met. Uh this meeting was sent to the to be advertised in Brunsw County Times. An electronic notice was given to the NJC 539-1.5.
We will now start with the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
We'll now have a moment of silence. >> Roll call. >> Committeewoman Dr. Cwell, >> present. >> Committee woman Maddox Canteen, >> present. Committeeman Carr >> here. >> Committeewoman >> here. >> Mayor Henley >> here. >> Also present. Township solicitor. Uh
township deputy clerk. Township administrator. Township deputy administrator. Police chief. Fire EMS chief. Approval of minutes. December 23rd, 2025 regular meeting minutes. Do you have a motion? >> Motion. Cwell. >> Second.
>> Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Dr. Cwell. Yes, ma. >> Miss Maddox Tantine. >> Yes, >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes, >> Miss >> Yes, >> Mayor Henley. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. 5-0.
>> Monthly reports of construction, police, court, EMS. We now have a presentation of a proclamation from Vince KN to our good friend Aiden. You want to come up?
right here. So, prior to the proclamation, Vince, if you want to give a little bit of while we're um celebrating Aiden today and his efforts. >> Yeah, absolutely. So on uh December 7th, we had a fire in the Dearwood development on Salt and Aiden and his
father Bill were actually the first uh 911 call we received uh for the fire as well as uh were the first ones to order the occupants of the house. So uh not only do we try to accomplish easier um by giving us
good information on phone call um and then also in the house. So obviously it was on social media seen there was a significant damage still at home. Um the homeowners actually are still not in the home but uh you know we'd like to recognize Aiden and his father. Um you
know and any residents that do this kind of thing because again we were alerted of the much sooner. We had real good information and we knew exactly where we were going. So >> So Aiden is a bit of a hero. So thank you Aiden for your service. We appreciate it.
>> Thank you Aiden. Thank you, Aiden. So, next we're going to open up the meeting to public for public comment on agenda items only. Please remember to state your name for the address and for the record. With no one to make a public comment, I would now have to ask for a motion to close. >> Motion
>> second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I >> resolutions 28-26 payment of vouchers. This resol This resolution approves the payment of bills through 120, 2022. Do we have a motion? >> I move to pay the bills. >> Second. Cwell.
>> Any discussion? Roll call. >> Dr. Calwell, >> yes. >> Miss Max Canteen, >> yes. >> Mr. Carr, >> yes. >> Miss >> yes. >> Mayor Henley, >> yes. >> Motion passes 50 >> 29-26 resolution accepting Ford Transit
van donation. Is there a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> May I ask, Mr. Mayor, from whom are we getting a donation? >> Uh, from a hotel? Well, I don't want to steal the thunder. after you Craig. >> Um, so one of our employees, our
volunteers, uh, in fire department, New Jersey, they received a van from a local hotel there. They have three uh, vans. Um, so we're talking to the hotel. They uh, looking to just get rid of the van. So, it's a fairly good shape van with
77,000 miles on it. It's good to go. $0. So, >> that's awesome. Get people back to classes. Uh, >> thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. I have no other questions. Mr. Mayor, >> roll call.
>> Dr. Cro, >> yes. >> Miss Max Canteen, >> yes. >> Mr. Carr, >> yes. >> Miss >> yes. >> Mayor Henley, >> yes. >> Motion passes 5. >> We now open a meeting for public comment. Please remember to state your name and address for the record.
>> Uh, good evening. Uh, Gary River, 138 Winstead. uh didn't get a chance the last meeting to say congratulations to Mr. Carr on his uh election and to you mayor and to the deputy mayor and to everyone that got sworn in. So congratulations happy new year. >> Thank you.
>> Um my public comment is concerning the Willingboro MUA. Um in my quarterly uh invoice for the MUA, they included a a notice that said that they're no longer going to do water shut offs. they're going to go right to a tax
sale. So, I guess that means if you don't pay your your bill, um, sounds like they're going to uh file a a lean and go right to quote a tax sale. So, I
was just hoping we could get a little more information about that. Um, and also I know that half the township is serviced by Mount Holly do does anyone know what Mount Holly does? Do they do they do shut offs or have they gone to the tax sale and foreclosure
process? I don't know if this is a new thing going on in the MUA. So maybe we can find out. >> I think Mount Holly's MUA gives a small grace period before they go to a tax sale. >> Okay, this notice was pretty vague. It didn't say that there was any kind of a grace period. It didn't say like how
many days um it would take approximately to go to the quote tax sale. And that was the other thing that was a little bit uh confusing to me. um tax sale doesn't necessarily mean a foreclosure, right? Where they're going to go and sort of sell the house. So, I don't know, Bob, do you know can they could
they package up these leans as some sort of securitization, some sort of commodity and sell it to some investor? So, yes and no. Um so, is it it is permitted for um delinquent
uh water bills to be put onto the tax sale list the same way as your taxes are? Um this is a practice that's been done for um decades if not for longer than that. So I really under New Jersey law
delinquent water bills are treated the same way as delinquent tax bills can be put in the tax sale uh and then would be sold off. Uh if somebody bids on them, they'd have to remain outstanding for 2 years before foreclosure action could be instituted unless the property is
abandoned. If the property is vacant or abandoned, then it can be foreclosed on within 6 months. Two years, right? So, okay. Thanks, guys. >> Thank you. Thank you, Gary. No other comments. Do I have a motion to
close? Public comment. >> Make a motion. Call vote. Second. All >> in favor? All right. >> Dates to remember. Uh, next township committee meeting will be February the 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Land Development Board meeting is February 4th at 7:00 p.m.
Historic Commission, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. Recreation Commission meeting is February 11th at 7:00 p.m. The Township and Chase Bank seminar, ways to help avoid fraud and scams. It's Wednesday, February 11th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Township Building. Limited seating, so
please pre-register. Re-registration is suggested. Do we have any committee liaison reports or comments? >> Yes, mayor. I have a few things. Um, first I want to start by congratulating Aiden and his father. Thank you for your fast acting and your bravery helping us
to keep West Hampton safe. We really appreciate it. Good job. Um, also I have an update from school boards. On January 5th was the school board's reorganization for Westampton public schools. Um, our leadership is staying the same. So, Dr. Beverly Hutton is
still our board president and Mr. Alan Foresight remains our vice president. Several new board members were sworn in at that meeting. So, congratulations to them as well. Uh, for Rancokus Valley Regional High School. They do have a new superintendent. Her name is Dr. Karen
Benson. Uh, she starts in February due to Dr. Hilig's um, retirement in January. So, congratulations to the both of them. Um, in February, I'd like to invite you all to come back to our February 17th meeting, uh, where we will have our Black History Month essay
contest for our M middle schoolers. So, we will, um, recognize at least three of them at that, um, township committee meeting. Um, essays are due on February 6th. Uh, for Burlington County, um, also attended their reorganization meeting,
um, on January 7th along with, um, a few of our township committee members. Um again, leadership is staying the same. Um so our commissioner director will be Dr. Hopson. Uh deputy director Allison Eckle and Commissioner Brolo and Equal
were reelected and sworn in at this meeting. Um we talked um a lot last year about Dr. Hopson, our commissioner, director, coming to be a liazison for us and give us some information about anything going on with Burlington County, particularly the emergency
shelter. So, I wanted to give you the few dates that she agreed to come for 2026. The dates are March 3rd, June 9th, September 15th, and December 1st. So, that's March 3rd, June 9th,
September 15th, and December 1st. Um, I noticed at the last meeting, it worked pretty well when um questions were submitted to me ahead of time. I facilitated it through Burlington County and was at least able to come back with answers. Um, since that works so well, I recommend that if there's any questions
that we need to be given to her ahead of time, that way when she's here, she can answer them and we can all we can still go back and forth, but also we'll have something to work with. Um, and also for our seniors, um, committee woman Maddox Canteen did a
really good job with the bingo last year and it was a big hit, so we want to bring it back in 2026. So, if you want to save the dates, it's uh going to be April 25th and October 3rd. Um those are the dates we plan to have senior bingo. And that's all I have. Thank you. >> So, I have a question. So, for the
bingo, is it just West residents or can it be any senior? >> Any senior? We're going to use any senior. Last time it was just West. >> Great. Nice job, ladies. >> Uh good evening and thank everyone for
their attendance. The monthly reports were very comprehensive and they take a great look at the day-to-day operation of the township. So, we appreciate those. I want to take a a moment to thank uh Aiden Dailyaly. Uh I've known Aiden since he was a a young guy. He's
he's one of my neighbors. Um I want to thank him and his dad and his mom and his his brother Owen. Um I was there the day of that fire. It was a terrible fire and it could have been worse than what
it actually was. But thank for not only alerting the neighbors and alerting the uh occupants of that home, but they were there for hours helping that family. Um having them go into
their home, giving them blankets, doing all kinds of things to try to make that um really, really, really terrible event a little better. So, uh, thank you so much, Aiden. I only expect great things from you with that because I know your
mom very well. I know your dad and I know your little brother. Um, and we really appreciate you for doing that because it took courage to be able to do that. It was fast thinking and and thank you so much for uh saving lives. So, uh,
not everybody wants to get involved. So, you you did it without even thinking about it. So, thank you so much. And uh I I really appreciate that. I uh too had the opportunity to attend the reorganization meeting on the 7th. Um
great to see uh the county commissioners in action and looking forward to some really good work continued uh from um that particular um commissioner group. With regard to the recreation committee,
we had our uh meeting on January 14th at 7. We have a tremendous amount of things going on whether it's adult softball, um, basketball, we have 37 teams, 362 kids going on right now. Um, as Dr.
Cwell said, we're going to do a lot more with the seniors this year. So, not only are we doing the bingo, there's a couple of other things we have under um up our sleeve to be able to do to help that population and looking forward to doing some additional good things. and thank
each and every one of you for coming out and uh looking forward to getting some good things done for the township. Thank you. >> Um I don't have any liaison reports but I want to echo my colleagues um to thank Aiden for being such a great neighbor
and citizen of our township. Thank you for your courage and bravery in helping that family and that goes along with um dad and the whole family. Thank you. I'd like to thank you again, Aiden, and family. It's neighbors like you that make West Hampton great. So, thank you
for everything you did. I wish you were my neighbor. >> Um, >> I have them. >> But, um, I'm definitely thankful for your swift action and saving lives. I appreciate you and your family very much. Thank you. Uh, finally, I'd like to ask our
administrative team to reach out to Willingboro MUA and try to get some clarifying answers so we can distribute that to our neighbors and residents. Thank you for coming everyone. Thanks for coming out. I appreciate uh your
attendance again. Thanks. Thank you, Aiden. I would ask if it's okay if you wanted to to take a picture with us. Um, and then maybe we can mail it out to you if you would like. Um, just, you know, as a memorable moment along with mailing out the proclamation so that you have that together if that's all right. I
mean, I'm a Phillies fan, too, so I'm sure we'll get along just fine. With that being said, do I have a motion for adjournment? Oh, wait a minute. Executive session resolution number 30-26. Resolution authorizing the township committee and support staff to
meet in private session and authorizing the exclusion of the public from the portion of the meeting dealing with specific issues requiring non public discussion. Attorney client privilege personnel attorney client privilege contract negotiations FOP patrol. Do we have a motion?
>> Motion second. >> Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Dr. Cwell. Yes, >> Miss Max Canteen. >> Yes, >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes, >> Miss >> Yes, >> Mayor Henley. >> Yes.
>> Motion passes. >> Have a good night. >> Have a good night. >> Thank you. Good night.