##VIDEO ID:DjWQte6iKZo## Madam clerk good evening it's now 7 PM I'd like to call this uh regular yes please councilman Anderson councilwoman Macintosh present Deputy Mayor Dr worthy present mayor Whitfield and Council Peron will be absent this evening and their absences will be excused thank you please rise for the flag salute I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and through the Republic for which it stands one nation under indivisible with liberty and justice for all we will not be doing an executive session today um so next up is our prayer I'd like to invite Reverend Vernal uh Savage from Episcopal Church Christ of the king to lead us in prayer tonight let us pray Almighty go God and Father creator of all things God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob you have called us to be Servants of our brothers and sisters within willing Township we meet together this evening with those whom you have chosen to lead us the mayor and the council and so we ask for your grace and guidance help those who lead in this honorable to ask as they seek to do to serve us earnestly May the true needs of our Township and the common good of all be the main concern and above all may your will in in these matters become our will help us who serve in this elected position to remember that all our concerns are aimed at the spiritual transformation of Willingboro Township May the materal aspects we shall discuss not blind us to our primary work of our Township which is the well-being of all the citizens in Willingboro we ask for your wisdom as we begin this meeting we acknowledge that we need your wisdom and insights and we welcome your presence Among Us guide us in our discussions and and decisions helping help us to seek what is best for all involved we trust you in in your perfect wisdom and ask that you direct our meeting according to your will in James chapter 1 verse5 it says if any of you lack wisdom let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him we claim This Promise as we start our meeting and Trust in your provision almighty God as your holy spirit is invoked at this meeting at this time let inspiration flow through the words we choose to speak and the conversation we have at this meeting and that you will visit us and Grant Divine wisdom all this we ask through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth who lives with you and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever amen amen thank you thank you Reverend notice was provided in compliance with chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 to the Burlington County Times Trenton Times and Philadelphia Inquirer seeting the date time place on the agenda to the extent it was known additionally notice was filed in the office of the Township Clerk thank you madam clerk before we move to the manager a municipal update just wanted to acknowledge um some birthdays um our mayor's birthday has passed she's a January baby and our senior councilman is also a January bab well January old man and so we wna I don't be calling you baby on the record and so uh we do want to just acknowledge their birthdays and their contribution so um happy birthday you're welcome um at this time uh Mr Harris please share your Municipal updates good evening members of the governing body and members of the public um Deputy Mayor I did forward the the uh full January report or December report to the council for your review and it will be posted online for for the residents to review um statistics from uh end of year and December uh I do have a summary report of some of the activities that have been going on since uh the first of the year uh some a little bit of this may be old um but we are still moving forward with these different items um one of it is a ub2 factor authorization authentication keys that are being deployed um last year we did get uh some grants through the state of New Jersey and part of that was a test pilot you know two- Factor authentification is something that is being utilized in a lot of different areas you need to do two factors when you go to your bank and and things and it would be the same for anyone utilizing our uh Municipal Network there would be a two-factor authentification process um whereas we do not want any everyone utilizing their personal cell phones we are we enrolling a little two-factor authentification key that you will see usually you'll see with the bank where it's just scrolling numbers and you have to put in the the representative number so we are expanding those and deploying those additional keys for enhanced cyber security within the township along with that we are deploying cameras at the MLK building um which was part of our capital projects from last year we're installing Panic buttons at the Department of Public Works and we are also exploring options for uh burglar alarm system down there at the Department of Public Works the building sits very vulnerable um out in the dark by itself uh last year we investigated uh a visitor management system to address some of the concerns in the senior center uh we did identify a system that will be functional not only in the senior center uh but across various areas of the township like the rec center and at our pools as is as well and ID it deployed a virtual machine um to support the back end of that visitors management system our fire department and EMS Services graduated um Michaela Park and Dante Maro or they will be graduating from the fall 2024 firefighter 1 program on January 23rd at the Burlington County Institute of Technology in Westampton um and along with that one of our firefighters Christopher Clark will be retired iring after 20 years of service uh at the end of the month on January 31st 2025 and we wish him um continued success in his future endeavors um EMS has placed a Lucas chest compression device in service I don't Rec I don't know if you recall purchasing that last year um through our Capital um but it is in service and it is improving the Township's Cardiac Arrest responses so we are grateful to have that piece of equipment in our possession um our EMS has congratulations to them again they achieved over $850,000 in Billing Revenue in 2024 uh offsetting uh the operational cost of having a full-time Ambulance Corp here in in Willingboro we are also looking to support that by hiring for more full-time emergency medical technicians who are approved for daytime ambulance services and one additional full em EMT um is in the process and we are hoping that this additional staff will enable us to uh reach or uh respond to the over 1,000 daytime calls that are missed um that were missed last year and we also believe again that our billing receipts will cover the the salary and wage portion of those additional P personnel and our Department of Public Works uh our supervisor Kevin Gaines is waiting for quotes for uh potentially replacing the carpet at the library I know there has been some conversation about the need to have the library carpet replaced uh so we're going to look at what the cost it would be to do that as well as the replacing the cice the the carpet and former uh Congressman Andy Kim's office at the JFK Center uh we are meeting with or had a meeting with Hunter truck um they scheduled a quote for dis discussion the township received a grant uh from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection uh to to offset the difference between an electric vehicle and a diesel vehicle so if a diesel truck would cost us 200,000 and an electric vehicle would cost us 300,000 we would get the additional 100,000 to offset the purchase of the electric vehicle over the diesel vehicle as they are looking to encourage municipality to Trend towards um electric vehicles which are a lot more expensive than the regular diesel classes um we are meeting with Hutchinson to dis to address uh Kennedy Center's hard water situation which is negatively impacting the boilers at the JFK Center the JFK Center has hard water um and it corroding the new boilers that we put into um to the center through the EA program so we're meeting with Hutchinson to put water softeners uh on those boiler systems uh we are coordinating with KRS for the Willingboro T Town Center sign uh the breaker installation was complete the new sign is live if you go by the Town Center you'll see it's on both sides welcome to willing Barrow right now that's all that it says but it's a nice bright uh addition to our ability to communicate uh information to uh residents and visitors here in willing Barrow I know recently we have uh had um some very cold weather and some snow the other day um but our our recent storm events have our recent storm events have restored salt reserves um as you know we really haven't purchased too much salt over the last couple of years because we just haven't utilized it um but we have reestablished contracts with more and salt uh to receive deliveries for utilization as as needed so we do have plenty of salt and we will begin to utilize it a little more liberally on our streets um our leaf collection uh the last time they went out was the weekend before the snow they collected 19 additional loads or 435 cubic yards um our DPW inspected 309 catch basins they clean 221 um and they also perform 32 bags of trash collection as part of the litter abatement and if anyone still has Christmas trees out um or need to be collected they will begin collecting Christmas trees the week of January 27th um and that's that or DPW our Police Department is working on the Animal control officer contract we hope to have that uh in in front of you for approval in the next couple of weeks um last year there was a grant that was approved for the installation of automatic license plate readers and uh that installation will begin shortly um we have two officers Officer Kennedy and K9 Tyson graduated from the K9 Academy and Lieutenant Bankston and Sergeant Thompson also graduated from the West Point command and Leadership program we have five new police officers that are being trained at the police academy and um I believe their gr is their graduation on the 13th or they're starting on the 13 start they're starting on the 13th so uh hopefully if they all make it through that will be bring our number of sworn officers up to 77 which is quite a bit of an advance from where we started just a few years ago uh from finance department our annual debt statement preparation is underway that that's uh due on January the 31st um we have our annual financial statements um the revised uh extended due date for those is March the 7th and we are in the process of working on our revised introduction for the budget which has to be done by March 31st 2025 so um our finance department is very busy completing year and test to report our financial State preparations and as a matter of fact our Auditors reported uh to the township today and have begun their work in the 2024 Municipal audit from our Recreation Department we'd like to uh to um uh congratulate Miss Balden who was honored at the 2025 AKA MLK commemorative brunch on the 18th for her community service contributions and uh some other things in the recreation department I understand there is a roof leak in the main gym on the B side that still remains unsolved I will be following up with our DPW Department because I was under the impression that this repair had been made and if it's continuing to leak we will uh look into that and see what the the extended issues are also there have been some Expos exposed light bulbs in the auxiliary gym that were reported and uh will be um repaired uh I will leave other Recreation events uh to be shared by Miss Jackson from our inspections department there have been an increased report of nighttime and weekend commercial commercial Trucking commercial truck parking um I'm again stressing the need for our police and weakened Code Enforcement Officers to address these issues when they see them and um and to be very uh vigilant about um any illegally parked trucks where they should not be um there are still ongoing issues with illegal dumping on Commercial properties and again I asked inspections to increase patrols on our commercial properties and the hold the property owners responsible for keeping them clean I know our friends at Acme they they have a lot of litter and stuff blowing around from their property but I feel that they have an obligation to make sure that their litter is not affecting their neighbors so from my particular office um we're preparing their annual report for the governing body submissions are due this week uh our friends in Trenton have desired to have a conversation about sharing services with willing burrow uh we are we were scheduled to meet with them but it had to be canceled and we will reschedule I don't really know what they want to talk about as far as possibly sh sharing service opportunities with willing Barrow but we will entertain the meeting nonetheless uh and again discussions are rway for summer camps and our aquatic activities and we are reviewing what our offerings and the programs for our summer camps and the other recreational and Senior Center programs would be and um and on a final note um our Municipal Court is Seeking a qualified self-motivated and detailed individual for full-time Deputy Municipal Court administrator's position um the posting is on the Township's website and you can fill out an application um as listed on the website um I just would also like to bring to everyone's attention that the Willing uh the Willingboro Public School Board of Education is planning a special election in willing Barrow uh scheduled for March 11th 2025 to ask the residents to approve more than $175 Million worth of school improvements uh information about this is on the school district's website and I encourage everyone to review what the school wants to do so they can understand how it will impact the community and um and that's all that I have to present to you this evening right at this moment I'm going to ask Miss Jackson if she would come and share the activities good evening Deputy Mayor worthy council members and all those assemble it's good to see everyone so I'm just going to be real quick and update you with our Black History Month schedule we will open up on February 6 with the open Art Exhibit reception title outfly away that's going to be hosted by levette ballor and that will be from 5: to 7 on February 6th on February 8th we will host our black business Boulevard from the five that will be at the Kennedy Center where we will highlight and support um black businesses and black business entrepreneurs and then later that evening we will have performances by Don Evans players as well as Faith and Action so we're looking forward to a full day of events on February 8th we will also have panel discussions later in that same um venue and then on the 21st we will have our Open Mic which of course is held on the third Friday of every month and this um February's feature will be Black Wall Street highlights and that will be at 7 o' at the banquet hall and then we'll close out with an evening of the Arts that's going to be on Thursday February 27th at 7 pm and that will be a black history celebration through song dance drum spoken word and more that's going to be really nice I mean all of them are going to be nice and that's going to be at the banker Hall at 7 pm so that's our black history um program we will be getting on communication and flyers and that kind of thing on our website social media and weekly that thing that type of thing but we just wanted to make sure that you knew that we will be observing Black History Month in Willingboro Township this year so that concludes my report oh I will say that we are accepting um a nominations for our phenomenal women um program so that will be coming out shortly of course that event is in April but we'll be taking nominations um for that and we do want to let people know that we are still taking uh vendors for the black business Boulevard I believe that deadline is this Friday for the black business Boulevard that will happen on February 8th so that's everything any questions we good thank you so much and finally uh this evening members of the the council we have a presentation from the Beloved project which is an organization here in Willingboro I Believe Miss Miss Claudine Archer is going to make a presentation uh to the council uh on behalf of the Beloved project about utilizing their services for uh Community Affairs type activities here in the township good evening everyone good evening council members and Community leaders of Willingboro Township my name is is Claudine Archer please forgive me I have winter allergies so I'm trying not to clear my throat too much here um I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to present to you some of the services that we'd like to specifically bring to Willingboro um I serve almost all of Brunton County but I live in Willingboro and my family has been here for 48 years so I feel like um I'm invested here so um what we do is that we serve the most vulnerable Among Us um and beloved project the Beloved Project's first I'm a little bit are our big the biggest things that we make sure that we serve um those Among Us is food insecurity and housing insecurity and since Co has been a a really big issue um most people think that um that it's those that are only mentally ill or are substance abusers but right now the majority of the people that are suffering from homelessness are the Working Poor actually 45% of the people that are homeless right now so either they can't they don't have the three times the rent that they need to um to be able to rent or they require or they don't have the credit the three the 620 um credit score that most landlords ask for so I'd like to just go over a list of some of the um services that we we would like to provide directly to willing burrow um to almost work as your the hands and feet of your Community Affairs department so we have a homelessness diversion Grant from the Department of Community Affairs where we assist those um that might have um have the chance of being evicted because they owe their rent um they have back rent or their utilities might be getting shut off so we we speak to pscg and make um put a down payment to make sure that it stays on and have a payment plan for the client um sometimes the landlord doesn't want to hear the tenant after a while and we kind of step in for the tenant and um you know be the referee between the client and the Tenant and the um and the landlord we also do transitional and emergency and permanent housing places right now because of the weather when it's less than 32 degrees um it's called what we call cold blue so we have a lot of homeless um we have a lot of homeless um people in Burton County and in Willingboro that are either living in their cars or they just don't have a place to stay so what we do I'm a vendor for the county and I place them in motels I service um families with children so um either I give them a voucher or I just pay outright the motel and then the county will reimburse me um re-entry I'm on a few re-entry teams um in South Jersey uh Brunton County Atlantic County umberland County so what we do is that we get together and we put our resources together to be able to serve those that have been incarcerated um job placement you know housing because you know people have um done the time they've already paid for it and they come out they work they go to school but because of their background people don't want to rent them homes so we fight on their behalf um we have a youth restorative program which I have a retired um teacher from Camden but who's been here for a very long time Miss Yvette um who's over that program what we don't want is if possible is for young people not to have records or be on probation so I went to Junior High School here um from Brooklyn my mom sent me up here and back in the day we had Saturdays so what I do is that I come up with a program on set amount of time that the the youth would come and do Saturdays at the Beloved project and what they would do is that I take them to the woods I take them to the motels I take them behind the sheriff's office I take them in places to say that look if you keep acting like this is how you're gonna end up and they serve they pack food we also serve at other um agencies food F Banks and those type of things um we have a bi-weekly Food Bank um right now at the moment I get produce every Monday and we serve approximately 700 families a month and um we give out food every second and fourth Wednesday of the month but we also get in our cars and we go out to all the hotels and the motels we um serve anybody at the church or police departments tell us to need food sometimes people don't want people to know so we literally just drop food on their porches and leave our card on in and if they want more help they can contact us um one of the things that we realized is that um people don't realize that no credit is almost as bad as bad credit so we have a monthly credit class course that we try to um a credit class that we we give out we we host once a month not only that but a budget class we have a lot of people that are in motel that or even here that are struggling and they don't they were never really taught how to pay their bills things happen everybody's out on their own but nobody was really they weren't really taught how to pay their bills so one of the things that we do we have a budget class anybody that needs help from us for utilities and or rent mortgage they are required to take that course one credit class and one budget class with us in order for us to be able to assist them um we we have um one of the things another issue is that you have to have ID to get ID a lot of people don't have identification so we partner up with the Sheriff's Office even if we have to give them a uh Burton County ID in order for them to apply for social services you know ID out at um the motor motor vehicles we help them get birth certificates anything that can keep in order for you to get a job so that you can anything that can divert you from homelessness we we we do that um we also um we also help people with foreclosures and sheriff sales so we we go through the sheriff sales every Thursday and one of the things that we try to do we partner up with investors um a lot of people especially after covid a lot of people have owned homes for 40 and 50 years you move out you leave your parents home and then Co a lot of people a generation passed so now you leave your apartment you move back into your mom's home but you didn't realize that your mother's roof wasn't wasn't was needed work the plumbing needed to work and what happens you now have bills that you never thought that you know you weren't expecting and every time people need a little money I don't know why but we have a tendency to pinch from the mortgage or the rent you keep on pinching till you fall behind and remember you still have your monthly bills so one of the things we try to do is partner up with investors have them Buy the home we then help people fix their credit so that they don't have to leave the home the homes now are not affordable housing but they're affordable for the person to live in because remember when we bought the house from the sheriff's H there's no there's nothing owned on it right so we get to set a certain rent so now they rent from us but while they're renting from us we help them fix their credit to buy the house back we don't want to be landlords forever okay so we kind of try to think out the box outside of the box so that we can get people back on the feet every like my pastor has this thing is like if you haven't had problems yet just live it's it's coming okay um Outreach we just received an Outreach Grant from the Department of Community Affairs where we visit Three towns a day um we partner up with all the police departments and what we do is that UT tell us as oppos to wandering through the town we go specifically where the homeless might gather I know for Willingboro it might be by the library mil Creek Park so what we do we pack our truck with clothes toiletries snacks but we also have our database that we're able to we walk with all our resources you know so that we can we we have sometime we have to meet people where they are everybody doesn't want to be helped but we can give them the the minimum what we do we can only serve you the best way you allow us to so that's what we do we um sometimes we rent a hotel a motel room and have a barber have clothes allow them to take a shower andtime they just want to go back but they want to be clean they just want to think so we do that also and we have a few of our Outreach members here we also have workshops on living wheels and insurance for seniors Cara Hester is the one that runs she's back there that runs our um program for our seniors there was a time when I would be called a to the hospitals to do um Advanced directives you know uh what do you call Wills living wills you know um there's one more I'll yeah um and it made me feel like I'm taking advantage of someone that's dying and I'm like we need to do things in advance we don't always prepare especially for lowincome they're like okay they don't have the money so we find a way we literally it's is a program is these are these documents usually cost around $2,000 the Beloved project does do it for $300 because only because we have to pay people to read the program but honestly I'm not saying that we're gonna do it for free but if somebody needs it we put everybody on a payment plan pay $50 at a time because a lot of people are fixed incomes I have to tell you the truth of who I am I need you to have it if you have $150 we're going to give it to you anyway because we need people to have it I've seen people fight over raises and I've also people seen people left you know with no one with no support no one knows what to do so we're trying to you know fix those kind of issues um I have someone that works in the office that's a a vet so he also helps us with veterans that um it's not something that I'm a pro at so I don't want to say too much about it but Dwayne does and and not only so he helps them out with the paperwork and all those things uh I should be done so we have a program that we'll be able to give depending on when um how many times a year whether it be quarterly annually uh to give a report on who and how we've served the people in willing Burg and um what we want what we in order to be able to serve them they have to give valid identification they also have to come with a bill or something um that says that they live within willing burrow um so we what we'd like to do is give a numbers of how many people we served the categories of the services that we've provided and like measurable outcomes one of the things that we try our best not to do at the belov project is say that we can do things that we can't really come through on so we try to stay within we make sure that we stay within our means but we do go out of our way we know that everybody doesn't want to be helped but we help those that are will okay that that that are willing to go with us to ride it through with us and um overall we just want to be able to address um a lot of things that are going on not specifically only in Willingboro but this is my town you know I'm I get I'm this is just going to be Claudine talking now I get tired of hearing things about willing bur when I know other other townships are not that great but people will say whatever they want about will and I live here so I got a big mouth you know I'm talking nervous now because I'm here in front of you but I got a big mouth and I'm gonna fight for the people willbo I fight we also have a program for immigration I'm Haitian I'm of Haitian descent and there are a lot of Haitians living in Willingboro there are also a lot of Nigerians a lot of liberians we have um Muslims we have all typ of people and we want people to see themselves at at the Beloved project and know that they can be served and they will be served we will go out of our way to serve you and even if we have to when we partner up with other other agencies we tell them if you cannot serve them give them back to us send them back to us we a lot of people don't trust agencies like ours or social services and all these other agencies but we want to make sure that we give warm handoffs you know or take them as far as we can possibly POS take them to let them know that we care about you you're not just a number to us and we want to make sure that you're okay right and I think that that's so I don't know if anyone has any questions and I hope that I can answer them Council any questions or comments on the the presentation so I want to thank Miss Archer for coming and uh making the presentation uh to the governing body there was a resolution um that was going to be uh presented for your consideration relation in relation to the theou in relation to this um we're going to actually um hold that off of consideration after some conversations with our solicitor um that we need to do a little more constructive work on theou and then if you decide to move forward with it then we will consider it at another time Mr Harris and finally uh earlier we had a brief meeting with Mr Eric Nolan who was our affordable housing attorney um to give us a little bit of guidance on our COA obligations in our fourth round and I was just wondering if Mr Nolan would just come and give the public just a a quick uh synopsis of what co- the fourth round is um and and what the township is looking um at in relation to affordable housing obligations everybody doing yeah um so every 10 years there's a new housing cycle so we're we're currently in the third round affordable housing cycle which ends on June 30th 2025 um the town currently has a judgment of compliance and Repose in place which protects towns from Builders remedy lawsuits and and the town is completely in compliance with its obligations from the third round but that round is ending it's coming up in June 30th so at this point the town has to start to prepare for the fourth round um what the the first thing that happened was the governor and the assembly and the Senate changed the Fair Housing Act to make some to do a new process for getting your affordable housing plan approved so instead of going to COA which has now been abolished permanently um or going to the court like we did the last 10 years um you're going to go to a new I um thing that's put together is kind of a hybrid of aord and COA it's called the program and this is made up of retired seven retired Mount Lal judges and you're going to go there you're going to hand your affordable housing plan into that that body to have it approved uh if you get it approved then you have 10 years of protection starting on July 1 of uh 2025 getting into 2020 2035 July 1st 2035 so at this point what happened in October was the DCA released a report that assigned numbers to all the towns and they required that and and this program and the whole process requires that um each Town accepts their numbers or does a resolution to accept it and engage themselves into the and become part of the program to get your housing element fair share plan approved so the numbers they assign to willing bro for the fourth round there's two numbers one's a rehabilitation number that was 16 that's for existing housing units and that's that you have to rehabilitate existing houses if they're people qualify inside the houses they're low amount income households that has to be done within 10 years and then your second number is 77 that's the that number has his new construction number that also has to be done within 10 years during a 10-e period and of that you also get bonus credits so that's really that number is really 58 because 25% or you get bonuses for various things so you actually only have to do 58 total units and of that 30% can be age restricted so there's there's a bunch of formulas and that's the next phase after but the purposes of tonight they establish a deadline that by January 31st every town has to accept their numbers to get into the program otherwise you lose your immunity if you lose your immunity then you have to deal with Builders who are coming in looking to do high density projects and you don't want to have a project with two 300 units 400 units or whatever but to avoid that you you would adopt this resolution I'm going to file um it with the program in the next 48 hours you have to file it within 48 hours and then that will protect you from the Builder remedy lawsuits that gives you immunity while we put the plan together that plan has to be put together um during the Spring and then it has to be handed in to the program by June 30th 20 2025 once the numbers are handed I'll go briefly through the schedule really quick um once you hand once you do your resolution you're part of the program then you have until on February 28th when people can object to the numbers so a developer or a house advocacy group like Fier your highing Center could object but that happens then then you go into a process where you figure out what your number is if no one does object then by March 1st you'll have a number established and your number will be the 77 so at that point you start your planning process we have a the township has hired a planner that's going to put together the housing element fair share plan that amends your master plan um the planning board will have to adopt that plan this is what happened every 10 years you have to do this and then the governing body will endorse that plan via resolution then we hand that in and then people uh objectors have until August 31st so that could either be a developer that could be again the housing Advocates they have till August 31st to object if they there's something they want they don't agree with your plan our job is to you know make sure that plan is airtight so that you you know you don't get products in there that you don't want the township doesn't want and then if no one objects by August 31st you will have what's called a compliance certification is issued by the program they'll review your plan that gives you protection from all Mount Laurel lawsuits including build reming lawsuits all the way until 2035 now if there's some objection and you have to work out something with either developer or you try not to do the project and you keep your plan the way it is that that process will go into December 31st and then you have until March 15th of next year to adopt all your implementing ordinances which are ordinances that will Implement parts of your plan General ordinances ordinances for specific projects if there are any uh but March 25th and then you're done and then you have 10 years of protection so for tonight the only action tonight is to is the resolution currently before the the council is um to accept the numbers which is 16 and 77 so that we can move forward with the process have question thanks one moment Mr Nolan yeah got one I got just want to clarify the 16 um the 16 for 10 years that's the re tab of existing homes or existing dwellings existing homes that if you qualify as low and moderate income then you the program is set up that allows you to take to have one major system rehab so it be you know a heating system or the roof new part of your new roof or something like that um that Pro that program stays in place for the full 10 years and then you have to address the 16 within the 10 years okay thank you very much sure colleagues do you have any questions comments good okay thank you and that is all for my report this evening Deputy Mayor thank you very much any uh questions or comments from the governing body on Mr Harris's um updates or presentations this evening none okay I have some um the first uh Mr Harris you talked about a visitor management system in the senior system I was in the senior um Center and I was wondering if that is the same system that was currently in the JFK Center or are we looking at a different visitor management system that was a different different Vis manage a different system okay so we're abandoning the old system those old kiosks yes maybe we can sell them on miny bid or something and get some money back for those um we talked you mentioned um carpet replacement in the old uh Andy Kim office and I just want to make sure if we're doing that that we time it with if we with the other Renovations we're doing so if that space is going to end up being demoed or moved we're not going to replace the carpet and then realize that we're changing that room out or eliminating the room or something like that right there was a request for um another person to move into that space and that was part of the investigation so I think they're I think they have abandoned that Prospect so yes can you repeat what you just said please you said we will make sure that that we are will time it so we're not double dipping in the carpet replacement that's clear thank you very much um the the calendar not the physical calendar that the residents get but the calendar that Council gets for the year we haven't received all of our dates yet of all the cool programs going on for the year and I was wondering if you could share when we can anticipate receiving that uh you can have that I think it's pretty much I'll get that to you okay maybe by Friday Maybe by Friday yes okay thank you and then um you mentioned um something about the summer camps and the lesson plans and what have you and I I'm requesting support from my colleagues actually on this one for the Summers um given um the challenges we're having with literacy and math with our students in the community I think that as the township there's a role we can play in helping to better our students and prepare them during the summer to avoid the summer slide and so I'm requesting support from my colleagues that as Recreation is evaluating the lesson plans and curriculum that they contact um um Marty Hill Parker at the school district office of curriculum and instruction to see what elements we can pull into our summer programs because the majority overwhelming majority of the students who come to our summer camp at the JFK Center are willing borrow students and so if the township is able to help partner in the spirit of one willing borrow I think that could be a great initiative to work together um to help our students so I'm asking support from my colleagues for that I definitely support that right and agree with your sentiment I support as well thank you very much um so I'm happy to be involved or not Mr Harris but I I um look forward to periodic updates as we move forward so that we are um prepared for summer 2025 implementation summer 2025 and then and finally just wanted to underscore what Mr Harris mentioned about um the school doing a special election please mark your calendars for March 11th please March 11th is a special election that the school district is doing um there's information on their website that's available and as a as a council we want to make sure that you all are aware of this special election March 11th 2025 um it's about a ref rendum um they're seeking funds from the community to repair the roofs on their buildings um to be able to update their media centers and to build uh half gymnasiums in the different uh elementary schools um the school school board will be here I believe M Dr Lewis Dr Steven Lewis the business administrator will be at our next council meeting on February 4th to provide to provide an update to the community but but please if you have questions please reach out to the school district attend their meetings um you don't have to wait till meeting you can contact them via email they have some projected numbers of what the tax increase will be based on this um referendum and they can provide that information to you so I just want to reiterate please mark your calendar save the date March 11 2025 there will be a special election in Willingboro all right I'll turn it back over to you Mr Harris um to go over resolutions and ordinances thank you thank you Deputy Mayor um being presented for your consideration this evening is ordinance number 20 25-1 which is an ordinance of Willingboro Township amending ordinance 2023-24 Township officials and Township employees conducting uh official business um this particular ordinance deals with reimbursement of expenses related to the the municipality's conference ordinance number 20 25-2 is an ordinance to amend the town code of the township of Willingboro specifically chapter 314 entitled Solid Waste by adding a new article entitled medical waste um a few weeks ago we came across an issue with um medical waste being improperly stored um and uh at one of the dental offices in the township and I felt it was important that we enact um something in our code so we can enforce it on a local level although they are regulated by the state um obviously they weren't following the state rules and regulations and we want something in our code as well um that we can enforce those policies and regulations as well and just so you know I have had follow-up conversations with the Department of Environmental Protection who was investigating that issue on our behalf because I thought it was really egregious what had occurred ordinance number three is an ordinance creating the position of the municipal engineer of Willingboro uh in the township of Willingboro County of Burlington and establishing the terms of appointment compensation and benefits under njsa 48 col 9-14 and njsa 4069 a-95 um we had discussed hiring an in-house engineer and this ordinance just establishes the position by ordinance and the salary range um for that position as well resolution number 20252 21 is a resolution authorizing the approval of vouchers for payment and ratification resolution number 22 is a resolution authorized in transfers between 2024 budget Appropriations reserves uh resolution number 23 authorizes the township of Willingboro to place Municipal charges on certain properties for failing to address Property Maintenance violations resolution number 24 is a resolution authorizing cost of mailing for electronic tax sale U for the benefit of our residents we are required by law to list all of the properties involved in a tax sale in the newspaper um it could be very expensive and the state amended the law a few years ago allowing the municipalities to recoup some of that that cost for for The Mailing and the the notification by passing those onto the persons on the tax sale so that's what that resolution is resolution number 25 is a resolution authorizing an increase to the not to exceed amount for penon associ for providing Engineering Services to the township of willing Barrow resolution number 26 was authorizing an increase in the not to exceed amount for seran Edwards boac and Nolan for uh provision of affordable housing our co services as our co- attorney to the township of Willingboro resolution number 27 is a resolution approving change orders number 1 two 378 and 9 with Levy construction for the Willingboro performing arts center phase 1 construction project I stated earlier we're going to ask that resolution number 28 be held for um additional constructive work we're also going to ask that resolution number 29 also be withdrawn from consideration this particular resolution um was authorizing anou with the Willingboro Municipal Utilities you Association Administration Authority thank you I knew it was an a there somewhere uh to utilize the designated storage space in the Municipal Library basement uh we are not necessarily opposed to the agreement but I think there is additional languages that need to be included um in the agreement um and uh we need to send it out for third party because of some conflicts of interest so uh we're going to ask that be held um for further consideration resolution number 30 is a resolution entering into an agreement with Delta Dental of New Jersey for our Delta Invision plan for our covered employees and retirees here in Willingboro resolution number 31 is a resolution authorizing an award of contract for our Municipal accounting software licenses and maintenance and related equipment um that's to Edmonds who provides our ra uh accounting software resolution number 32 is a resolution uh authorizing an amendment to a contract with Ducket Entertainment Group LLC for the provision of Consulting and programming services for the Willingboro jazz festival resolution number 33 is a resolution authorizing uh Award of contract for trash and debris removal services these are particular properties that were being Abad from violations of through our Code Enforcement office and require us to go in and clean up the properties and remove trash and things like that awarding contract to those vendors resolution number 35 is very similar I'm I'm sorry 34 is very similar but it's just for landscaping services but for the same rationale resolution number 35 is a resolution uh adopting the 2024 Burlington County Hazard mitigation plan resolution number 26 is a resolution of appointing uh members of to the Green Team advisory committee and finally resolution number 37 is a resolution um of the Willing burrow committing to the fourth round co- numbers present and prospective need for affordable housing obligation and those are all the items being presented to you for consideration this evening thank you Mr Harris um at this time public comment is now open for agenda items only you have two minutes to speak to agenda items we'll start with community members who are here in the audience and then we will move to uh the online forum and then we will close public comment on agenda items public comment on agenda items only is now open seeing no public comment in the room we will move to public comment online it anybody in uh online yes deputy mayor uh Pat Lindsey Harvey okay thank you guess do anything think Council and um Administration and um fellow residents Pat Lindsey Harvey Metford Lane um I'm talking about resolution 2025 d236 and there's a couple typos in there it's says for appointment for Green Team advisory committee but it says vacancies exist on the planning board and then in the where uh in the whereas it says the thing same thing it says planning board thank you Miss lindsy Harvey welcome a do we have anybody else online for public comment on agenda items um not at this time thank you very much public comment on agenda items only is now closed Madam clerk will you please begin with the ordinances yes madame Deputy Mayor all so ordinances for introduction today for your consideration are ordinance 2025-the [Music] of Willingboro Township to establish travel reimbursement regulations for Township officials and Township employees conducting official business moved second councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you our second ordinance for introduction tonight is um ordinance 2025 titled ordinance to amend the code of the township of Willingboro specifically chapter 314 entitled Solid Waste by adding a new article entitled medical waste can I get a motion so mooved second any discussion roll call councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you and finally um for introduction we have ordinance the municipal engineer in the township of Willingboro County of Burlington state of New Jersey and establishing the terms of appointment compensation and benefits under NJ sa40 a -140 and njsa 4069 a-95 can I get a motion so moved second any discussion roll call please councilman Anderson yes councilwoman macatos yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you um for as we move forward to resolutions I'm requesting um well are there any resolutions that Council wanted to pull for uh discussion separate discussion 32 we can pull that one okay any others okay um so I make a motion for consent agenda for Resolutions 2025 D21 through 2025 d27 2025 D30 and 2025 D31 2025 d33 20 25-34 20 20 25-36 and 2025 d37 motion I make the motion yes second the correction oh I meant to that's the one I thought up yes with the corrections to 36 that Miss Lindy Harvey brought up yes so it was moved uh by deputy mayor worthy seconded by councilwoman Macintosh roll call please councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you now request I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as introduced second Council uh councilman Anderson yes councilman mosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you and just wanted to note for the record that resolutions 28 and 29 do I need to table those um Mr they're on the agenda but we did not table them okay I make a motion that we table resolutions 2025-the seconded by councilman Anderson roll call please councilman Anderson yes councilwoman McIntosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you okay um so uh would like to make a motion for resolution 20 I'm asking for resol a motion for resolution 2025 d32 we need a motion do I have a motion all right make a motion for discussion second madame deput mayor would you like me to reread the resolution for yes that's fine right so um for separate discussion we have resolution 20253 2 resolution of the Willing Boro Township Council authorizing an amendment to the contract with Ducket Entertainment Group LLC for the provisions of Consulting and programming services for the Willing bur jazz festival okay so we moved it and seconded so we can move into discussion okay any discussion I just pulled this one out cuz I I um in just conversations today there was some um uh concerns that it's not written in full or written correctly so I just want to um see if we want to table this for now um to make sure that you know where it's written correctly and what our what the council's full intent is is um established okay any additional discussion okay roll call please table oh yes I need to table it so should I retract my second yes okay um let's see oh no I'm sorry I didn't second councilman Anderson did the second councilwoman McIntosh did the motion retract my motion thank retract my second thank you you can I get a motion in second to table resolution 2025 d32 move second councilman Anderson yes Council Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr wory yes I think that's all the ones5 I'm sorry all right resolution 35 um for separate consideration tonight is um resolution of the Willingboro Township Council adopting the 2024 Burlington County Hazard mitigation plan can I get a motion and second to discuss so mve second you discussion I had a note um Mr Harris just wanted to make sure that all the updates are done to the administrative data it has some past um some old information in there but once it's updated then um the body of it the the material part of it I think it's fine but the administrative stuff is needs to be addressed so I did have a conversation with the the county and they can make um adjustments to the primary point of contact the flood pain administrator those things there are there is an additional category under here additional contributors those were the original participants that added to this program and the parts that they provided as a part of the plan those that they can't change because they were the contributors and but the other parts they will change okay Mr Hol are we able to move forward approving it the um the contact information that need to CH did they send you something in writing uh in an email yes you want to amend the our piece of legislation to reflect that you lost amend the legislation to reflect changes yes they have to get uh they have to go back to their whoever their architect is or whoever that did the plan but they they are able to change the primary point of contact the alternative point of contact and the flood plane administrator okay is there a date within which we have to adopt the legislation if not then make the changes and bring it back for the next house and that's fine too okay will you withdraw your motion sir I withdraw my motion I withdraw my second can I get a motion second to table resolution 2025 d35 no moved second councilman Anderson yes Council woman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you right now I believe we are done with separate resolution yes can I get a motion in second to approve the December 2024 Treasures report so move second councilman Anderson discussion oh discussion sure but this has as of December 30th so which is it December 24th December 30th out on the on the it says as of December 30th yes it's the as of December 30th 2024 okay but it said December 24th that's what it could sorry December 2024 oh okay all right thank you so sorry councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you um for the approval of minutes I did put on January 14th here they are are done I didn't send them to council yet so we can hold those off till February um but can I get a motion in second to adopt the January 7th reorganization meeting minutes go move second any discussion roll call please councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes thank you we need the table the minutes that AR in the back okay right any updates Madam clerk um my only big update is that our rabies clinic is finally coming up it is tomorrow January 22nd um 2025 obviously at the firehouse from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. um if you are coming we are only taking check or money orders and um rest warm because it's going be really cool yes um and it's from 4 to 7 p.m. will there be any outdoor heaters or anything um it's going to be mostly in we've uh worked with the fire department thank you Chief Bernette wherever you are um to instead of having the uh bay doors open we're going to um just use the side door so that should um alleviate a lot of the cold and they do have a heater um in the phas so hopefully hopefully it won't be too and what was that date again Madam CL um January 22nd tomorrow tomorrow okay thank you very much any other updates that's it for me okay um unfinished business um on the agenda we had two things we had pools and we had a um a note about changing the form of government um any conversation about pools the pools are an ongoing conversation and um we're going to hold off until our new engineer gets into place and then further that conversation with him okay any other uh comments or questions my colleagues pools okay and then letter C was change of the form of government um Mr H we are you comfortable sharing about um change of form of government and the committee that could be established addressing that not at this time okay um so we did have there were conversations about introducing um an ordinance around change in a form of government but um we have been advised that there may need to be additional consideration with um perhaps the establishment of a committee or some sort so we will await um additional advisement from legal counsil uh on that on that matter before proceeding new business um there was uh some legislation put up for consideration for fees for marriages and civil unions performed by Mayors and former mayors and I requested that we make this new business to have a conversation amongst the governing body if they're um what the considerations are are and what we're looking for we do have a proposed ordinance but we hadn't had an opportunity to discuss it as a body so it's here on new business for the purposes of discussion well I know years past there was um a fee that was paid out to those who oversaw the proceedings and I believe it was 2019 2018 2019 uh one of the other Mayors decided to amend it to say that it would go towards I believe it was the theater one of the projects but now that has been totally funded so as I had an opportunity to see what goes on through this process you know it's a process especially if you need a translator you need so many things that I've observed mayor Macintosh go through and I said if any of us you know are asked to do this either we're taking time off from work or you know putting this time in and if the fees are no longer going to go towards the theater you know the thought process is that those who are performing the ceremony need to be compensated as it once was and it was that way for many years until 2019 when we decided to put the funds to the theater but now that the theater has funding you know um I'm making the suggestion I would like to make the suggestion that we go back to having the individual who administers be compensated for their time an additional discussion I mean as uh councilman said it is it is work and it is time you you know away from uh each mayor's uh daily routine so um see how it goes when everyone's back and they can vote on it if want is still I would I would put it up for consideration okay Mr Hall do you have any you want to add any no comments no comments okay no worries thank you very much um so if it is it the will of the council to proceed well sounds like the will of the council to proceed with um perhaps introducing it or do we want to leave it on new business for or I guess unfinished business till the rest of the body is back I'm open so at the next meeting then put it up for ordinance okay all right amend okay all righty thank you very much all right so at this time um we are at public comment so we will begin with public comment for those of you who have joined us live and in person and then we will move to public comment online and then we will close public comment at this time public comment is open you have four minutes please state your name and address when you come to the podium public comment is now open good evening peace and blessings good evening um I'm I the garbage the cans are put ma'am please state your name and address for the record my name is Odette McCartney 76 tall with lame okay put the garbage can on the sidewalk on the grass every week or every other week it's put in a street sometimes further down from where it should be we pay these people they pick it up from one spot the arms the arms reach out to pick it up the arms should reach out to put it back in the same spot and not in the street I have pictures the next thing which I am anyway my grass pay for it in advance November first week comes collects all the leaves my leaves were this high in front of my house snow went down on my leaves they were frozen when we had the Windstorm the wind blew them back on the property everybody else's leaves I don't have those trees not a problem January 4th a truck comes I think maybe it was about 8:41 in the morning and I hear this grinding and grinding and grinding we just went about 10 minutes truck went away truck came back still and I have pictures the leaves were stuck to the ground and this is January 4th and they should have been picked up months ago now all of these leaves back on my property so man we'll respond to all the public comment at the end once all public comment is is complete that's why I'm not saying okay okay I'm I'm being cool but I was high rate and I'm not the only one this is on um in other pars there's a man that goes down in my friend's Park and he takes the garbage cans and put them back that's ridiculous why pay somebody yeah thank you very much it blights our community if we settle is there any other public comment in the room okay public comment online it do we have anyone online for public comment uh yes Deputy Mayor um Callin listener ending in 7297 all right thank you if you're speaking we're unable to hear you caller 7297 it appears that your line is muted good evening Council I'm sorry um jacine Mack Maple wi Lane I have a question um for the agenda um item that was put out for the um change orders for the johnf Kennedy Center um I'm not exactly sure what that was I thought maybe you could answer them before but anyhow my other question is when is the going is the um JFK Center Auditorium going to be ready it would be nice to know so we could maybe plan what's going on this year and uh thank you very much thank you miss Ma it is there anyone else on the line for public comments um yes Sarah Holly thank you good evening counselor Council I want to congratulate councilwoman Whitfield as uh elected mayor and also Sor worthy as the deputy mayor and condolences to uh councilwoman Peron due to the uh death of her brother so I would assume that's why she's not at tonight's meeting two meetings ago three high level highlevel employees were appointed I asked if they were taxpayers and the manager responded with he didn't pay taxes because he was a renter well according to the state of New Jersey 18% of the money that you pay for rent goes to the landlord and he pays that to the state of New Jersey for taxes okay also a comment that I made at the last meeting had to do with the presentation regarding the BD the bigd marina um at the time I asked if that was a private or public partnership and how much money the public was going to be on the hook for uh and I also spoke about nonprofits in town okay and somebody want to put words in my mouth and try to identify what nonprofits I'm talking about talking about all nonprofits in town and um councilwoman um McIntosh bless his soul and rest his soul even when your brother was on the school board with me one of the things that we always talked about was the number of group homes and treatment homes in town and how these homes um affect the um affected rather the uh educational system in town so when I talk about nonprofits not paying taxes I mean all of the people who are not paying taxes so I resident spoke after me and asked uh said that he disagreed me with disagreed with my comments so I don't know what he disagreed about because my comment was about how much the be D Marina was going to cost the taxpayers and the nonprofits uh in town so I still would like to know from my question as it relates to the three employees are they renters or do they own property in town that question is still still out there and I do want to thank you for finally picking up my leaves and I just heard the uh the speaker prior to to my comment uh you were late and picking them up I did have an opportunity to call Council uh mayor Whitfield who answered my call right away and she I guess sent someone or whatever the truck came around week later and picked up it picked up my uh well not my leaves my neighbor's leaves um next door to me and I'm on Tallwood I'm I'm on tyoga and that's it for tonight thank you Miss Holly it do we have any other public comment online this evening oh not at this time deputy mayor thank you public comment is now closed so we'll go through the public comment Mr Harris can you assist with our first resident on Tallwood about uh the trash cans and the leaf removal and the potential blight in the community so I I understand her frustration with Republic not placing the cans back um I can have we can have conversations with theu and encourage them to to do so um but I don't know why they I don't know why they're they're not placing the cans back where they get the cans from I I would have to look into that but we'll have a conversation encouraging republ to place the cans exactly where they pick the cans up um as far as the leaves uh related to her particular property I I do acknowledge that leaf collection in willing Barrow fell behind schedule last year um but we were moving to pick up as many leaves as we could for the snow cane and we ran out of time um so you know unfortunately now they are Frozen um which kind of re really inhibits our ability to pick them up at this point in time um so you know I will have a a conversation with our DPW and see what we can do to kind of abate whatever situation is in front of of that particular property um and that's what what I can do and ma'am will you leave your contact information um with the clerk's office so we have a way to contact you after the meeting thank you ma'am and Miss Mac asked about the change order resolution and when the Performing Art Center would be ready so th those change orders were specific change orders with Levy construction to make some modifications to the design uh hopefully so they can be ready to or in a position to install the seating when it comes to us in in March uh if all goes well um moving forward I would suspect that the theater probably would be fully operational in the fall right um so we're hoping for better than that yes but that is probably the realistic expectation thank you very much Mr Harris um Miss Holly related to the the people paying taxes in town in the high level positions I will get that information um and give you a call back with the information to so I can give you accurate an accurate update um and the Big D Marina private public partnership can you share any insight on that so that was just a presentation of a a developer who had an idea about coming into to Willingboro and developing that property um there is no private public partnership there are no agreements with the big D Marina if the council decides that they want to move forward with that project then that is when we will begin the legal discussions and the financial discussions and all those but it was just a presentation from a developer to the council thank you Mr Harris all right only 8:22 but here we are uh it's time for Council comments I'll open up for Council comments I just want to thank everyone for coming out I want to say congratulations to miss Balden for being honored at the uh AK event ml event uh congratulations to uh officers Lieutenant Bankston and Sergeant Thomas on their accomplishments as well as officer Kennedy and the uh K9 uh tyon right also want to thank superintendent Chapman just getting on board we had these two snowstorms um they got out there they did the cleanups they worked double shifts I mean the shifts overlapping based on the email Communications I saw and then uh you know we were in pretty good shape so for him just getting on board getting up to speed trying to put everything together with with what he had I just want to give him Kudos Mr Chapman he's busy did you just miss my Kudos I gave you here working I see I see you working I see go back to the tape but I just want to give him Kudo all right all right thank you that's it good night thank you councilman yes thank you Madame Deputy Mayor just want to say thank you for to everyone for coming out um I do want to give another happy birthday to our uh councilman wishing you many many more healthy and happy ones hope you keep your curl right when it when it starts to turn gray but um thank you thank you um again for coming out keep it short this is record time Dr worthy okay welcome you're welcome yes um thank you will and bro for coming out again please save the date March 11th 2025 special election the school board will be here to do a presentation at our next meeting which is February 4th you can get your questions um in order you can isit their website where they have information posted please whether you have students in the school district or not it will impact you if you are a homeowner and willing borrow so please take a look at that information um that is all that I have Madam clerk can I get a motion in a second to adjourn don't move second would you like uh can I get all in favor I any POS nope cool good night Willam Burl it's 8:25