##VIDEO ID:Fi6gs-EwfUo## e Madam clerk the time is now 7 P.M that came up pass okay it's now 7.m I'd like to call this regular Township council meeting to order roll call councilwoman Peron present councilman Anderson is running a little um a couple minutes late but he'll be here councilwoman Macintosh present Deputy Mayor Dr worthy present mayor Whitfield present thank you please rise for the flag salute to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indiv with liy and justice for all I'd like to invite Pastor Kennedy from the Willingboro Christian Assembly to lead us in prayer the here with you we are thankful that we have the opportunity to ser most precious and holy father we thank you and praise you for your good we appreciate all app all father we thank you PR we pray your will be done Jesus everyone today have the opportunity [Music] [Music] we ask for your protection father you are living in [Music] [Music] the way we pray ask not only ask your prot the PE of God will [Music] reliz [Music] usar to know Jesus Christ as Lord and God harm violence Lord we ask for you to from [Music] and they may [Music] amen the compliance statement Madam clerk thank you uh Pastor hawaa Kennedy from the Willingboro Christian Assembly notice was provided in compliance with ch chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 to the Burlington County Times Trenton Times and Philadelphia Inquirer stting the date time place and the agenda to the extent it was known additionally notice was filed in the office of the Township Clerk thank you madam Clerk and now we will go to the manager for the municipal updates good evening mayor and members of the governing body members of the public I have a few items for you to bring you up to speed this evening um I think I last reported that our Auditors were in the house um doing the 2024 Municipal audit um our 2024 annual debt statement has been completed in New Jersey the debt limit for municipalities is 3 and a half% um of the average equalized value over the previous three years um this is a limit that is set by law uh willing Barrel's Debt Service is 1.39% which is excellent in comparison to our our sister municipalities um again that's 1.39% of the municipalities average equalized valuation over the past three years so that's a really really good number uh total revenue collected for the month of of January is a 12,348 4.62 uh 1.5 million of that was tax revenue $179,000 of that was U Municipal Revenue that was not expected and 297 ,000 in other revenues um of the tax revenues collected 2,829 th000 was wired to the Willing Baro board of education for school taxes our total expenditures for the month was 2,775 31067 1,93 thou 1, 93,9 35 of that was um operational expenses and 1,6 181,000 pothole reports in the month of January and filled 46 potholes um we did have a few snow events this month and the last snow event on the 19th they applied 225 tons of salt uh thanks to Burlington County who over ordered their supplies we were able to refill our coffers at the County's expense so thank you Burlington County uh they were out collecting Christmas trees and they collected 24 trees to date um as some of you may know our speed RoR signs are up and operating um there two that are on Beverly ran cus Road are going to be relocated um into more applicable locations and um they are continually U monitoring trash and litter in our parks in January they collected 55 uh 29 55 gallon trash cans and um and recycling cans I I forgot the recycling cans number but it was a significant amount um and again they collected 45 cubic yards of leaves and I do believe they are still out and about collecting leaves um in this non-s snowy season um The Eagle Lane drainage project is uh scheduled to commence on March the 5th whether permitting in accordance with the contract documents we do believe that will take about 75 days for them to complete which would lead them done around May the 18th barring no unforeseen circumstances in our inspections department there were 255 inspections completed between January 1st and the 21st Revenue collected during that time was $44,500 Departments of violer firefighters Michaela Park and Dante Maro graduated from the fall 2024 firefighter 1 program in January uh graduation was held at the Burlington County Institute of Technology and all the fire fire platoon conducted ice rescue training in the pond at mil Creek Park and this training allows the fire Crews to make a rescues on the ice in the event someone falls into a pond or a Creek um Personnel we hired one new code enforcement uh and they began this month as well we did one interde departmental transfer an employee who transferred from DPW to code enforcement and that were all the Personnel moves during the month of January and just some miscellaneous items I just wanted to share with you the um Municipal excess liability or known the the Mel which is part of our insurance carrier their annual elected officials training program is available online through their safety Institute the mail will apply $250 credit against each member's assessment for each Municipal elected official who completes the course by May 25th so I will make sure that you all receive the links to that course and we do ask um that you go ahead and just complete the course this is kind of an annual thing but they do credit us $250 per each member um that that completes the course and that credit is also extended to the myself as well on the 28th of January the deputy manager and I attended a a a discipline and grievance training course offered by the New Jersey civil service commission that was held at Mercer County College it was a really excellent excellent training uh this one-day course focused on Guiding profession in the New Jersey Merit system in learning ways to guide and preserve our employees it was not the goal of the class was not to remove employees but it was um uh how a schedule of infractions and penalties and Progressive discipline and sound documentation will reduce employee appeals and Grievances and help manage our employees better um as you may recall the library was closed for a period of two days because was there was a heating issue with the boiler uh the gas pressure would not regulate properly uh between the two boilers allowing the boilers to operate simultaneously um psng and the installer were on the site to resolve the problem and the the library is up and and functioning uh now we did receive a quote to replace the carpeting in the library it came in at $235,200 cents uh if the council approves this as part of the capital budget uh we will go out to to bid for that um we're going to also look for an additional well we're going to go out to bid for that uh and really that's all the information that I'm going to share with you this evening I'm am going to ask Miss Jackson if she will come and give us uh updates of our activities that are going on in Willingboro during the month of that you have that effect on people so apologies good evening May Deputy Bearer members of the council and all those assembled just as uh I want to give you an update on the our Black History Month activities so we will be kicking off our Black History Month events on Thursday February 6 from 5: PM to 7 PM within open art exhibit reception entitled outfly away hosted by levette Ballard and art cator again that will be from 5: to 7: and that will be at the Kennedy Center Lounge area and then on Saturday we will have our black business Boulevard Expo we invite um residents to come and join us as we highlight and support black businesses entrepreneurs there will be um performances by the Don Evans players entitled Black Wall Street memories and we will also have faith in action there performing shades of us as well as Round Table discussion and classes so that day is a full day it's from 10: to 5: and it will be held throughout um various rooms in the kity center but the um black business Boulevard will be in the main gym and then the performances will be held in the banquet hall on the 21st February 21st we will have our Open Mic Black History Month Edition featuring Black Wall Street highlights that will be at 7 p.m. in the banquet hall and then we will wrap up the month's activities with an evening of the Arts and that's a celebration of song dance drum spoken word and more and that will be at 7 o'clock in the banget hall and all of these events are free and open to the public any questions all right thank you so much we look forward to seeing you thank you Miss Jackson does that conclude your report M sis yes mayor thank you thank you sir and we will add one other thing to the agenda we have a proclamation for Black History Month that will be read by Deputy Mayor Whitney sure thank you Madame mayor Proclamation declaring Black History Month whereas National African-American history month is an occasion to ReDiscover the enduring stories of African-Americans and the gifts of Freedom purpose and opportunity they have bestowed on future Generations it is a time to commemorate the score of segregation racial prejudice and discrimination to enrich every fiber of American Life many diverse ethnic and racial groups have played a vital and positive integral part and contributed to the promulgation of America's unique social cultural scientific spiritual political and economic development and whereas the origins of Black History Month can be traced to The Scholar Carter G Woodson who in 1929 conceived a yearly celebration to help rectify the omission of African-Americans from history books Dr Carter Woodson was an American historian author journalist and the founder of the association for the study of African-American life and history he was one of the first Scholars to study the history of the African diaspora today the observance of black history month or national African-American history month throughout the United States stands as a testament to the success of Woodson's project and an example of how we can work together to teach and appreciate iate such history and whereas the theme of Black History Month 2025 is African-Americans and labor this theme was chosen to highlight the role of Labor in the black experience from enslavement to Union leadership it was also chosen to recognize the importance of black labor in the black experience including the contribution of black workers to the economy culture and Society continually this theme also acknowledges the ongoing struggles for racial and economic Justice and encourages reflection on the intersections between black people's work and their workplace now therefore be it resolved I Samantha e Whitfield mayor of the township of Willingboro along with the township Council hereby proclaimed February as Black History Month in 2025 thank you Dr worthy now it will we will go through the ordinances and resolutions um Mr Harris yes uh first on the agenda for this evening is the ordinance for introduction number 2025-the for expenses and authorizing payments ordinance for public hearing and Final adoption is ordinance number 2025-the conducting official business ordinance number 202-214 entitled Solid Waste by adding a new article entitled medical waste ordinance 2025-the the position of Municipal engineer uh and establishing the terms of appointment compensation and benefits under njsa 48 col 9-1 140 and njsa 4069 a-95 the resolution being presented for your consideration is resolution number 29 which is the resolution that was tabled from the January 21st meeting authorizing the Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority to utilize designated storage space in the Municipal Library basement under a memorandum of agreement resolution number 36 is a resolution authorizing the approval of vouchers for payment and ratification resolution number 37 is a resolution authorizing a change order number one for Le pristine cleaning LLC for the provisions of custodial service to the township of willing Barrow Lee pristine did a deep cleaning in the library in preparation for them to take over that cleaning contract um although they did the cleaning in 2024 the building came in 2025 so we just needed to amend the not to exceed amount for their 2025 contract to cover those additional costs resolution number 38 is a resolution authorizing change orders number 6 and 10 for a contract with Levy construction uh for the Willing Baro performing arts center phase one renovation resolution number 39 is a resolution authorizing the First Amendment to agreement with virtual Health Incorporated for the provision of advanced life support services Transportation um most first aid uh organizations in the state have the ability to to recoup um fees from insurance companies for billing the hospitals have those same abilities to recoup expenses for transport for their services through insurance billing um however Paramedic Services don't really have the capacity to transport um individuals to the hospitals so when they rely on the municipalities to do the transport they reimburse them or give them a portion of their payments so this is just establishes the the the ratios in the amount for non-medicare and Medicare payments so that's what this resolution pertains to resolution number 40 is a resolution authorizing the submission of application uh to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for the food pantry study 2025 we did receive notice from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs that we we were eligible to be awarded a $500,000 Grant to study um a food to conduct a food pantry study this is just authorizing the submission of that application to the DCA so hopefully we will uh wrap it up and receive those funds resolution number 41 is authorizing a fair and open contract to the New Jersey Animal Control LLC for animal control services for Willingboro Township we have been utilizing animal control services for a few years now and it has been uh working relatively well uh this is to renew their contract although the resolution says 64,000 that is the not to exceed um expense for the that we anticipate to pay for this contract year which includes their regular services and additional services that they've done been called out to handle throughout the course of the year so I believe last year we were just about um just about 60,000 so this year we included the not to exceed amount at 64,000 anticipating covering um all the expenses related to animal control in willing Barrow resolution number 42 is authorizing a fair and open contract to Bell for Property Restoration for emergency board up services for Willingboro Township we utilize emergency board up services when there is a fire in someone's home and the the property has to be secured uh if the property is is abandoned and and disrepair and the property has to be secure that's why we utilize these Services we did go out to to bid for these services or we did an RP last year for these Services the contract awarde has been zero responsive to our request for services here in willing Barrow so we are going to add on vfor property um and award them they were one of the respondents in the RFP to utilize their services resolution number 43 is a resolution authorizing contracts with approved Educational Services Commission also known as escj of New Jersey it's a Cooperative system uh to con to purchase uh certain services from them our resolution number 44 is a resolution authorizing in contracts with amnia Partners formerly us communities this is also a Cooperative contract vendor um to to purchase um specific services from them as well by law whenever we utilize a state contract or or a Cooperative contract we are required to do we can only do so by resolution of the governing body so it is standard practice for us to award these contracts every year um and then if something shifts during the course of the year we may add or adjust but this is a requirement to be compliant with our local public contracts laws resolution number 45 is a resolution authorizing willing burrow to enter into an agreement with casc signs and awnings um they are also a contract participant in the New Jersey state approved purchasing cooperative for the purchase of Park signs and Municipal entrance signs and related Services if you recall last year we did include in our capital budget um Monies to include new signages we did a survey to poll the residents what signs that they would prefer and we took um those responses and are going to go ahead and move forward with installing uh new welcome to Willingboro signs and upgrading the park signs and if anybody kind of wants to see what they kind of look like they're very similar to the ones at at the Lizzy Mars field um on Beverly ran ccus road so we're going to begin installing those um in Willingboro as as the weather breaks uh resolution number 46 is awarding a contract for public meeting agenda management system and that is the granite kiss system that we are currently utilizing resolution number 47 is authorizing the township of Willingboro to enter into a contract with main access systems for door carard reader upgrades we have the Met magnetic plates on the doors we just need to to upgrade uh some of those in some of our buildings uh resolution number 48 is resolution requesting permission for the dedication by Ryder for donations scholarship funds and required by njsa 4A colon 5-9 um this is uh something that we need to do in able to receive monies and donations that we intend to turn around and pay out to scholarship recipients so we need to create a dedication by rer line in our trust accounts uh so we can receive donations and then turn around and utilize donations to give out scholarships this line item has to be approved by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs before we can can Implement and utilize it and that is the only thing that this line item can be be utilized for it's scholarships and that's it so every dime that goes in uh is for scholarships and every penny that goes out um is in somehow related to scholarships so we are going to submit the application asking them for permission to include this dedication by Ryder resolution number 49 is the resolution authorizing contracts with approved New Jersey state contract vendors again um this is a whole list of ones that we need to do business with in 2025 and then finally resolution number 50 is a resolution granting a social Affairs permit and authorizing the Township Clerk to certify the same application and that is for Diamond Dogs Social Club on JFK Boulevard JFK way JFK way and those are all of the items uh being presented to you for this evening thank you Mr Harris um all right for Council the items that I have to pull um okay um now we will have public comment um public comment this public comment is for agenda items o only the agenda items that Mr Harris just um went over if you have anything any question questions comments concerns you can come up to the mic for those you have 2 minutes please state your name and address for the record public comment is now open I have a question you can come up for a public comment no before this this is with regards to what we can speak to uh will there be a presentation by the Board of Education that's later will that be able to be spoken ma'am any um public comment online um not at this time here thank you seeing none oh all right we do have one good evening good evening I greet you in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can I have your name and address please um Martha gunning 146 Country Club Road Willingboro New Jersey thank you um my first question is are you awarding any contracts to any companies that have denounced Dei these contract awards are contracts that are Mr Harris we'll wait until the end of public comment respond that's my first question the other thing I want to address uh is are the referendums that's uh the two referendums that's been posed uh to the public regarding the school um from the school district Miss gunning we'll have that public comment after their presentation all right well my first comment would be are you awarding contracts to uh companies that are have denounced renounced Dei thank you Miss Denning any other public comment seeing none public comment is now closed Mr Harris again um as far as the company's individual political positions I don't I can't say that that I know if any of them have denounced Dei but these contracts are contracts that are awarded uh through Cooperative purchasing processes and are utilized for things like communication Services paper uh cleaning supplies um things of those those Natures um but they're not really substantial heavy lift contracts but specifically I don't know what their personal corporate philosophies are in relationship to Dei okay thank you Mr Harris for that response um I think you know for some of our other contracts and and definitely our professionals we do do interviews and have talked with our Professional Services to um ensure that they support us as a Township and as a people all right with that the two items I have to pull for um discussion are resolution 202- 40 and that anyone would like to pull for discussion none being heard I move to do a consent agenda for agenda items resolution 2025 d29 through 202- 39 and 2025 d41 through 202- 49 Second it's been moved by mayor Woodfield and seconded by Deputy Mayor worthy Ron councilwoman Peron yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman McIntosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you and now we'll go back for the ordinances oh motion for approval of those I need a motion for approval second moved by councilman Anderson seconded by Deputy Mayor worthy R call councilwoman prone yes councilwoman councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you and now we'll go back for the ordinances Madam clerk ordinance 20254 all right so we have one ordinance for introduction tonight um can I get a motion to introduce ordinance 20254 titled ordinance establishing fees for marriage or civil union ceremonies performed by the mayor or former mayor outlining reimbursement for expenses and authorizing payments so moved second moved by councilwoman Peron seconded by councilman Anderson councilwoman Peron we have a discussion or oh do you want discussion yes please discussion discussion okay thanks Council so um I understand that um I saw some emails regarding this item and it's to my understanding that uh initially there was a fee and um the fee was to be sent the fee for the marriage licenses were used for the township like to go back into the Township's budget or to be used for the community is that right is that what we're changing like now we want to use it for some other purpose or we not charging for the marriage license mayor whill yes go ahead councelor so initially the marital fee was given to those who performed the weddings I believe in 2019 when we were looking at doing the theater the fees were reallocated for the theater so now that that's up and underway and those fees actually never went to the theater they were earmarked but never went there so what's being asked um is if we can revert back to having the individuals who perform the weddings continue to get those fees I sat in on uh several weddings that mayor McIntosh did and it's a it's a a a process it's a lot that goes into it so in the event the mayor's not available another council person has to step up you know if we're taking time off from our job to do it or whatever it is I just would like to see us get that fee and get compensated as it once was okay I don't know for me because we have um a shared salary I know that our salaries are shared as one per individual salary and that we don't necessarily check in to the building 9 to-5 um I find that it's just a part of our put aare responsibilities as far as this position to conduct the the marriages if we are able to do so and if the mayor is not then we have the deputy mayor and so forth um I don't see it something that we need to be additionally paid for I find that our salaries are already what they are and the fact that we meet twice a month um and of course attend any other events that may have that may take place it's still not a 9 to5 where I think there needs to be additional compensation so for me I would be okay with the money being used back for the township to put back into the township budgets for other purposes as opposed to just us individually that's just my thoughts any other discussion um I just wanted to add um I don't have a issue with um the efficient getting a portion of the money um I do over the last 5 years of me doing the web um we did with the registar did streamline the process quite a bit um so I would just say a portion should go back to the township um for um the facility fee or facility something um but I also think the increase may be a little bit excessive in my opinion for right now um start from where we are right now um I don't the state the that fee $25 goes to the state correct or does it go to our so there is a fee that is required or paid to get a marriage license which is a separate fee right and out of that I believe it's $22 or 28 25 of three $25 goes to the the fee is right okay 25 out of 28 $28 is the fee $25 goes to the state and the municipality keeps $3 that's for a marriage license yeah but this fee is related specifically to the performance of the ceremony correct okay so I think I mean to me that's a um the ceremonies lasted maybe 20 minutes um maybe a little bit excessive but I you know i' leave it up to the will of the council any other discussion um is there any desire to look over this further or adjust it or I mean we could look at uh looking at what the fee is and looking at adjusting the fee okay I wouldn't be opposed to that okay so we'll move to I moved to table this one so I'll need um councilwoman Peron to retract your motion and councilman Anderson so retractor second Madam clerk I move to retract my initial motion all right retract my second all right and I need a motion to table so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor worthy seconded by councilman Anderson Roll Call councilwoman Peron yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you ordinance 2025 just one um so I have three ordinances for public hearing and final adoption um we'll start with uh Ordinance one I'd like to open the public hearing for ordinance 20251 titled ordinance of the Willingboro Township amending ordinance number 20231 titled an ordinance of Willingboro Township to establish travel reimbursement regulations for Township officials and Township employees conducting official business anyone wishing to come forward to comment on this ordinance only please do so anyone online uh not at this time seeing none I'd like to close public comment on this ordinance may I get a motion in a second to finally adopt ordinance 2025 D1 so moved second moved by councilman Anderson seconded by mayor Whitfield roll call councilwoman Peron yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you um ordinance 2025 D2 I'd like to open the public hearing for ordinance 202-214 entitled Solid Waste by adding a new article entitled medical waste anyone wishing to come forward to comment on this ordinance only please do so anyone online uh none at this time seeing none I'd like to close public comment on this ordinance may I get a motion in second to finally adopt ordinance 2025 D2 so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor worthy seconded by councilman Anderson Roll Call councilwoman prone yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you um and finally I'd like to open the public hearing for ordinance 2025 D3 titled ordinance creating the position of Municipal engineer in the township of Willingboro County of Burlington state of New Jersey and establishing the terms of appointment compensation and benefits under njsa 40a 9140 and njsa 40 coland 69 a-95 anyone wishing to come forward to comment on this ordinance only please do so anyone online not at this time I um all right seeing none I'd like to close public comment on this ordinance may I get a motion and second to finally adopt ordinance 20253 second move by councilman Anderson seconded by councilwoman Peron roll call councilwoman Peron yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you and that is all I have for ordinances this evening we'll go to resolution 20254 all right um so resolutions for separate discussion tonight we have resolution 20254 um titled resolution authorizing the submission of application number 20259 64- 11117 to the NJ Department of Community Affairs for the food pantry study 2025 can I get a motion and a second to discuss this resolution so moved moved by Deputy Mayor worthy seconded by councilman Anderson discussion Mr Harris can you explain this one a little bit more I know you you highlighted um some things but can you just go into a little bit more depth of what this is and what we're trying to accomplish so again um This was um or the purpose of of of this application would be to utilize uh surplus food donations from local businesses grocery stores Farms community members to create a dual purpose facility here in Willingboro serving as a a food pantry and a community Cafe um this project hopefully will emphas ize the pro the provision of affordable nutritious meals while fostering a welcoming environment for social interaction education and Community empowerment there is an area to the right of our Municipal Library that is set up for some type of restaurant type of facility um for the longest time it has sat vacant um and there has been an expressed interest in not only creating a some type of food pantry holistic in the township of willing Baro from the township of willing Barrow um but we thought that that may be a wonderful way to utilize that space as well so it really would be an opportunity for persons to um to to have a food pantry that is a little bit more consistent than the library on Tuesday this church on Wednesday this facility on on Thursday um and then it would be an opportunity for persons to come in um and um obtain jobs and um provide Cafe type services to uh other members of the community kind of like a pay as you will or pay as you can type type concept so that's what it was for and we're going to utilize the $500,000 seed money from the state of New Jersey uh hopefully to to get this off the ground and then hoping that it will become self- sustaining in the Years forward and how would we how how could we become self- sustaining if we're going to rely on a grant initially correct and if that Grant runs out what happens how do we fund it from there because I I'm I'm just a little bit concerned because Willingboro has a habit of getting with grants and then at the end of the day taxpayers end up paying you know certain things um because we don't maintain the grants or you know considering a political environment um sometimes that can change and then we're on the hook for you know you know certain amount of money that taxpayers have to right Inc so um the the model hopefully that would be uh subsequent donations would cover uh the operating expenses um moving forward and I don't I don't there are some um but they are pretty limited as far as Personnel costs and and things like that most of the expenses are related to um getting the space renovated um purchasing small Wares and shelving and things like that most of the food would be donated and uh some of the V some of the services would be donated as well so there would be salaries for like a a a manager uh things like that and um and then hopefully subsequent donations will cover those expenses the property is owned by the township already so there are no real estate expenses related to that um yeah okay and um we'll be partnering with beloved project that how did we select them that is conceptionally um the plan okay um they kind of uh we kind of had a meeting and they kind of formulated um how we could utilize that space right so that concept was the basis for the Grant application but we don't have any contractual agreements with beloved project for that um and then if we were to move forward with them then we would have to do some type of formal process to to contract with them for those Services okay yeah I mean I'll I'll just stay for the record I'm just concerned on the longevity of it I don't think it's a bad idea but we you I've seen over the years we get caught on the hook after certain grants don't come and this I mean even that administrative cost you know that's they're a cost they're cost so okay and I I mean are we overlapping what the county is responsible for County doesn't no the county has their services they will continue to provide those services but these would be specific services for for Willing burrow U hopefully surrounding surrounding and surrounding neighborhoods which which is okay but I'm but I don't want willber on the hook of funding it and everybody you know understood that's that's my concern any other discussion yes Deputy Mayor worthy thank you madam mayor um I understand what councilwoman uh Macintosh is saying and I would just add that um something to consider is that because and I think you mentioned it because we do own the property the township owns it there are opportunities during the pilot to really evaluate what the costs are and how we're spending the Grant and if we see that this isn't something that would fit within perhaps Our Community Affairs division or it doesn't complement what other churches and other groups are doing where they may want to cover down down um it may be an operation that we wind down and perhaps have someone else take the lead on we do have a lot of churches that do similar work um but they don't have the space and so there may be an opportunity where they're looking to provide the the actual people um so that they can use the space it may also um bring out different people who already have some of the skills who'd be willing to to work with the township or perhaps even rent the space and take over the operation um I think the good thing about the p with the money as we get a chance to kind of test it and really look at how the money is being allocated and then be able to predict what the expenses would be and at the end of the pilot then make a decision I'm sure Mr Harris will bring it back to the body for us to then decide how we want to proceed um and how it impacts us financially thank you madam mayor thank you Dr worthy councilman Anderson good any other discussion all right seeing none we'll go to roll call sorry councilwoman Peron yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you the second resolution for separate discussion tonight is resolution 20 25-50 uh titled resolution granting a social Affairs permit and authorizing the Township Clerk to certify the same application sorry can I get a motion in a second to discuss so moved second moved by councilwoman Peron seconded by councilman Anderson any discussion being none roll call Council perone yes councilman Anderson yes Council mosh no deputy mayor Dr worthy no mayor Whitfield no thank you and that is all the resolutions for separate discussion thank you Madame clerk um we will quickly go through the vote for the treasures report and the approval of minutes and then we will have the presentation for the school board can I get um a motion and second to approve the January 2025 treasurers report so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor worthy seconded by councilwoman Macintosh roll call sorry councilwoman Pon yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes can I get a motion in a second to adopt the January 14th special council meeting minutes so moved second moved by Deputy Mayor worthy seconded by Council woman McIntosh Council PR yes councilman Anderson St Council Macintosh yes Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes thank you you want me to do my report really f um we'll hold your report um The Unfinished Business on the pools we will move to the um February 18th meeting and now we will go to new business we have the Willingboro Township Board of Education here tonight to do a special presentation on the uh special ction on the bond referendum that will take place on March 11 yep please come forward Dr out Pres [Music] good evening Dr Outlaw good evening Madam president how you doing I'm well thank you right uh I'd like to bring greetings to the whole willing bro Township can you hear me greetings my name is Dr Alo I'm the superintendent of Willingboro Public Schools uh as we move forward I have over here my team that introduce themselves as they come up uh for their part of the presentation next slide please I would like to thank the Board of Education president miss Deborah Williams vice president miss CE entire board some of them are on the back if you can raise your hand please some of them on the back next slide please uh please remember to go out and vote uh we'll be voting all day I believe it's 6:00 AM to 8:00 pm on Tuesday March 11th next slide uh the district regularly monitors uh the facility issue uh then when we modify it and we monitor it we then changed our long range facility plan uh staff reported numerous water leaks in the roofs that were uh seeping water into their uh rooms uh that issue raised concerns that needed immediate attention um we looked at it and then we decided to go through and see how many schools had warranties on their roofs and then we noticed that it was only one and that particular school was hawthor Avenue School next slide infrared study was conducted as you see by all the red uh markings there uh it was done to see where the water marks were actually uh located so if you look at the drawing of the school you'll see that all the red markings mean that water has went under the layer of black top that's on it on the roof during heavy rains you'll see water go in is it's a safety issue to have people up there because they can fall through the roof so we've been patching it for 10 to 15 years so we try not to continue with the patching um next slide please rufing makes up we have two questions on the ballot Roofing makes up 59% of the first question uh it's not anything flashy you're never going to see it it's not going to be glamorous but it's a want that we have to have in order to make sure that our school and our students are safe next question next slide please I want to point out again that the roofs are old um only hathor is covered by the warranty one of the things that we noticed or uh when I first got here is sometime we waste money uh during repairs instead of replacing the whole thing uh when we went our boiler at Country Club went out so we had to pay $250,000 for a temporary boiler but then we also had to pay $250,000 for a new boiler so we could have bought two boilers instead we only got one and so sometime we have to replace things and get out the way and start over uh you next slide please next up I'll bring up Miss Marty Hill Parker who's the assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction good evening um Madame mayor deputy mayor and council members thank you Dr Outlaw um as he mentioned my role is primarily to analyze our academics and identify our areas of strengths and our opportunities um we spend a lot of time looking at student data and meeting with teachers to identify what works and what we still need to do to improve and one of the things that we've identified as helping is our intervention um it's no secret that our significant challenges over the past 5 years have included changes in academic standards or what we expect from our students and pandemic related disruptions through that analysis we've identified that our intervention or our targeted instruction in small groups and our tutoring have been the things that have impacted our data in a positive way including accelerating student learning next slide please as we're talking about the referendum you might be wondering um what's in this for academics and the answer is a lot um and right where our data is telling us that we need to focus the most are striving Scholars or those that are still catching up um our currently experiencing classrooms that or intervention classrooms that have a struggle to find dedicated space um that's free for from distraction so often our striving students um they need a quiet space to learn and right now they are currently sharing spaces in most cases um with intervention the goal is not to replace your core instruction or what all students get but to deliver it in short spurts which is for us 20 minutes or less and so if you have to redirect students and help them concentrate quite frequently your efficacy of the program um could be diminished reimagining intervention um would be through more classroom space through the gym annexes opening those new gym uh facilities could help free up a classroom or more um which would allow um current intervention staff not to work in the same space um it also would allow for students in gym classes to actually Experience Gym in the way that we want them to so not in a small space it's kind of difficult to test a student on how fast they can run or what agility they have if you can't get a full stride um again we also are including our media centers we want our Learners to engage in spaces that we do as grown-ups um there are currently spaces around the country right now where people rent out space to work we want our media centers to reflect that so a learning space that has flexible seating but is geared more to 21st century learning standards thank you for your time at this time I'll pass it to my partner Dr Lewis I got you next slide please there we go good evening mayor deputy mayor council members thank you for having us tonight along with me we have Ron swanki assistant vice president at L associates they are our architect and engineer of record for Willingboro Public Schools along additionally we have Mr Peter temperino the facilities manager for the district sitting in the back supporting us from there so the path to this this referendum the district has invested time resources into our students staff and Community investments in items such as playgrounds that are used by the community and students Stadium enhancements security upgrades and a few are those are a few other items that stand out due to deferring maintenance annual maintenance there have been several items that are in Desperate needs of repair and replacement next slide we're coming to you today because we are going out for a bond referendum advantages of bond funding school districts school districts are able to sell bonds to investors to generate fundings for long-term Solutions the bond funding comes directly with the opportunity to get $21 million in State financial aid with this Aid Willingboro residents already PID into the state funding by going off for Bond referendum we remov large scale costs from the operating budget to keep that focused directly on instruction in the next couple of slides we're going to talk about the needs and solutions and where this originated from Mr Swanky will take the lead and then I'll come back Mr Swanky thank you sir good evening everyone thank you very much for having me this evening I appreciate the opportunity to walk you through kind of the scope of work of this referendum as noted by Dr Lewis my name is Ron schwanky vice president of land Associates I've been your District architect for multiple years I've been assisting the district with everything we've done up to date I've been involved in the EIP project which is ongoing with the district as far as a budget neutral upgrade to um Building Systems energy related improvements and here before you tonight to talk about a bond referendum um so what you see is what we often do land Associates we're Architects we serve public school districts all over the state of New Jersey we often get faced with this challenge you exhaust your Capital expenditures you look at other avenues you look at Grant monies you look at EIP projects which for those of you don't know that's an energy savings Improvement project you get through that process and you realize I still have a bunch of Capital needs how else can I do this that's where you come to the public and ask for their investment in your facilities so that's why we're here tonight and as Dr Lewis stated when you go to a bond referendum there are projects which are eligible to receive state aid that is a huge part of this equation because that eligibility literally is funding given to you to help support the district's needs so when I make a submission to the district or to the New Jersey Department of Education they agree to the requirements they agree to my cost estimates and then they deem what eligible that's what you're seeing tonight this 42% discount the state has said we agree Mr schwanky these projects are eligible we agree with your cost determinations and we're going to help fund these projects so that's literally what the opportunity presents and that's why we go down this path if you wouldn't mind go to the next slide please so just to give you a feel here's one of the gym annx editions that we've designed this is for the Twin Hills Elementary School we currently have three gy anx projects planned at each of the elementaries twin Hill Elementary WR James and hathor park those gym annexes as discussed previously will free up some classroom space provide proper student athlete educational space and curriculum spaces that are currently not existent in those school facilities and when you free up those classrooms allow the district to subd deside some of the spaces are currently seeing du duality of use if we go to the next slide please Roofing repairs you're going to hear this is a common theme as you saw from the intro question one the roofing repairs are approximately 59% of the scope of work I was involved in each one of these assessments by the company what you're seeing there just to give you a feel for that and it was mentioned by Dr Outlaw is the red is moisture trapped in the building Roof System when you walk up on those roofs they appear dry you wouldn't know otherwise what's happened over time is all that moisture has incidentally gotten into the roof system system it can only hold so much moisture what you'll start to see is stained ceiling piles damage ceilings water on Floors if that exacerbates and gets increasingly problematic then you start to worry about jeopardizing of the roof structure and roof deck so I just want you to understand that every time you see that red that says to me all those areas of that roof are wet and there's a finite return on investment of when you can make a repair versus where you just have to tear a roof off and start over and that's what the districts realize we're at that point where there's just no salvaging the roof it would be too costly to do repair it's time to tear it off and start clean we're also going to do science labs we have science laboratory renovation shown at the high school and the middle school science labs are very Antiquated it's existing Labs we're going to basically gut and refresh those spaces bring in the new technology equipment Furnishings you need to support today's educational curriculum if you would go to the next slide please I'm going to walk through kind of each one of these buildings here's Memorial it's again faced with a roof replacement as you can see by that white area white overhead view of the roof with all the red and as I've just mentioned you can see in the lower left corner this is a picture of the current science lab space nothing wrong with it just neglected space that needs to be brought up to speed with what today's curriculum and educational system offers the space is just isn't conducive to the modern-day learning environments if you would go to the next slide please here we are at James a cotton Intermediate School this is one of the really really bad rofs um coincidentally you know exactly where this building is it kind of sits across the street here uh we recently did a lot of work on the site um we're endeavoring to do a column repair on the entrance canopies that's all out of the capital funds but what we found here is this building's then neglected from the roof system which is a common theme and then the interior flooring dated Antiquated we want to revive it refresh it get rid of any hazardous containing materials that can exist in floor tiles and liven the interior of the space we all know when you enjoy the space you're in your performance is better and that's what we're trying to accomplish with this equation if you go to the next slide please Garfield East so now we're going to talk Early Childhood Development Centers so we have a common theme approach one of the challenges with the Early Childhood centers is currently a lot of the educational spaces for ear early students does not have a toilet room located within those classrooms the doe standards Department of Education require those toilet rooms in those prek andk classrooms that is to do one of two things one students have the needs urgent needs especially as little children we all know the other aspect that is currently if a student has to be taken to the restroom they have to be escorted by a teacher's aid or a teacher staff so now you're taking time away from the curriculum for the staff member to take those students down the hall and every year your District applies to the Department of Education for toilet room waivers it's basically an educational variance that you request because you don't have those in your facilities the state historically has said yes they could say no so this is an opportunity to correct that wrong and resolve those waivers and get rid of that issue moving forward we're also looking at a parking lot expansion in roadway um at this facility the reason being is a there's inadequate parking we've done some upgrades to the parking in Prior years however there's just not enough of it and the roadway will allow Peter temperino and his team to better service the facility and get around that facility to service the exterior of the building we'll also do roof repairs so in some locations we've deemed you can see the white image doesn't have as much red still significant but not as extensive we're able to do a roof restoration where we'll do selective replacement and then restoration to get that building back under a roof warranty if you would go to the next slide please you're going to see basically the exact same scope of work at JC Creswell or J crestwell sorry I always call it JC Stewart um roof replacement in its entirety and the same thing with the prek toilet rooms we need to bring those toilet rooms into the classrooms to get rid of that need for the educational variants and waivers from the State Department of Education and if you would go to the next slide media centers it was mentioned libraries historically libraries librar are full of books wonderful resources Student Activity as we navigate into a technology infused environment some of the physical Publications go away and you start the infusion of Technology media centers have become educational spaces beyond the classroom it's not just where you arrive to grab a book off the shelf it's where sometimes you can have a breakout session or a class that utilizes that Media Center the students have technology and Wi-Fi access at their disposal and then you still keep all the importance of the books and physical volume as well what we're trying to do is upgrade those spaces bring them to life that's very dim dark Antiquated old finishes needs a reinvigoration of the space so that it creates the excitement and affords student the opportunity they're looking for in the elementary schools it's a common theme we're looking to do Media Center Renovations I believe at three of the schools yes all three elementary schools that that rendition by the way is a rendering done by one of my team members to give a feel for what WR James could become next slide please ha Park Elementary School we're back to the gym Annex editions again we've kind of talked about those I won't reiterate all those facts and the reasons why and then we're looking at the media center Library renovation at hawth Park as well if you would flip to the next slide Twin Hills Elementary I'm starting to sound a little redundant so I'll skip through and touch on the highlights again this one had enough damage to the roof enough moisture in the Roof System it requires a complete replacement we're also upgrading the media center in this space you can see the picture in the lower left corner there it's just dark and uninviting and when you're in a space that isn't vibrant kind of brings your mood down we want to increase the Vibrance of these spaces and bring the activity in life back to them and then the lower right hand corner is a small glimpse of what a gy anx Edition when we say a gym Annex Edition it's a gym space for the younger students it's really take a full basketball court chop it in half it's really a half court is what it is next slide please and then we'll go to WR James Elementary you'll see a common theme WR James warrants a complete roof replacement the media center will be completely overhauled that was the rendering I mentioned earlier and then the gy annex Edition again similar rendition of the gy annex just to understand the the scope of what we're looking at at WR James and if you would flip to the next slide then we get to the indoor track and basketball court complex this is a unique opportunity a vision of the district we've looked at multiple sites around the district I'm going to ask Dr Lewis to come back up here and speak a little bit more about this but what you're looking at is the interior of an indoor 200 meter track facility it is a banked track facility it' be the only one in this region um maybe the state and it is currently we've looked at every location across the district from Logistics because this is going to bring a lot of traffic to the area we looked at site proximity to the mainers thorough fares 295 and 130 and we've actually decided best location for this is to plant this facility on the country club site so behind the country club administration building would be this new track and basketball facility there would be two indoor basketball courts as long as as well as the indoor track Public public restrooms and all the amenities necessary to support full day events at this facility I believe we have parking for I don't even want to quote myself but I believe it's 500 to a th cars we're figuring in parking and also Bus Parking because we're envisioning student athletes coming in hordes to events focused at this facility Dr Lewis I believe you've you have much more inspiration to the indoor track facility than I yes thank you thank you Mr Swanky um when we looked at this at this facility we also thought about we understand that a school district in any Community tends to bring a lot of Appropriations a lot of expense so we thought about okay we want to bring Revenue to the district to the community we want to invigorate the community by bringing additional people and showing the the Great that Willingboro has and will what willber is known for and bringing an indoor track and field and basketball complex brings so many different Revenue opportunities and revenue ideas that will come to the district that will bring additional influx of funds not only to the district but to the community next slide please this would be a beacon of barel Pride I know know that um when I used to run track in high school Willingboro was always known as the home of track and field uh when you look at a the only competition in the area this will stand out not only in the state in the Northeast region but will bro is already known for something great we will continue to be known for greatness and continue to show off the beauty of this community next slide please so question one is turning imagination into action question one encompasses the roofing the elementary gyms the media center the science lab the floor replacements that is a total cost of 49.7 million but question one does bring the state aid we would not be able to receive the state aid if we were not doing the bond referend it comes along with doing the bond referendum we would receive approximately $21 billion the local tax share for the average home assess value would be approximately $14 per month next slide please now question two reimagining the unused field building the indoor track and field and basketball complex for an additional $9 a month on an average home assess value for a total of $23 per month which is actually now is less than a Netflix account um but that to kind of compare that would bring for additional $9 a month would be able to do both the question one and question two question two can only pass if question one passes question one does stand on its own question two is contingent only if question one passes so it does not stand on its own next slide please I want to reiterate the assess value is not the market value so what we have in in today's day right is that you might see a house that sells for $400,000 that is not the assessed value that might be the market value or what somebody's willing to pay for it but that is not the home assessed value you can go to njpropertyrecords dcom put in your address you look down to public record look at assessment and you'll be able to see 2024 what your home was actually assessed at and then you could do the calculation from there to get an estimate of where your your share would be next slide please the power of state aid for willber public schools that's approximately $21 million state aid is already collected from all all New Jersey taxpayers and can only be shared when voters approve a bond referendum next slide please so we ask the community we ask the council council members to join us for a virtual town hall on February 12th at 6:30 you can go to Willingboro schools.org back reimagine for the direct link we also have various Town Town Halls at the various schools within the district each week this week tomorrow we'll be at JC Stewart that will give the opportunity for community members to ask and have a question and answer session with the administration and with our professional at that time on February 18th we will be at WR James and on if you go to the website again willber schools.org reimagine you'll see the list of all of the Town Halls that will be available to the to open to all community members next slide please so we ask you to come out and vote Tuesday March 11th 2025 the polls open at 6:00 a.m. until 8 8:00 p.m. there are your normal polling locations and vote by mail ballots have already been sent out but they must be postmarked by March 11th again Willingboro schools.org reimagine if any community members have any questions you can email us at reimagine w.net thank you very much for your time and consideration thank you Dr Outlaw Dr Lewis and team for that presentation now I'd like to move on do we have any um discussion or questions from the council councilman Anderson yes uh thank you for the presentation uh the information uh but I do have a series of questions being a you know homeowner taxpayer in the community now I understand you stress the need for the roof project to be done because of the leaks and so forth but my question is last year you guys installed the turf field you redid the gym you redid the fields of Memorial where was the priority for the roofs so just looking at it I would have thought as you prioritize the roofs would have come first if it was that urgent prior to the fields that's the first question have you informed the homeowners surrounding the board office about the potential development of the athletic complex and once again it's just questions I'm asking just to put out there has a traffic study been conducted to assess the high traffic events have any studies been done on potential noise impact during hi traffic events what percentage of the students are involved in sports broken down by gender Sports and grade level based on the information I received both q1 and Q2 question one and question two will have a total impact of $23 per month price of a premium Netflix subscription as it's been stated but that when you multiply by 12 is $276 per year this Bond referendum is for 20 years so that's based on the numbers here if they're correct $552 over the next 20 years if this is correct I will ask what data did you use to get those num numers because we do have a large number of homes where they're 100% um taxfree they don't pay taxes so was that taken into consideration as these numbers are being uh delivered let's keep in mind that willing bro High School just installed a new turf field got the baseball field at Memorial renovated a gym which has caused an increase in the current tax base this new initiative will generate another tax increase and let's not forget the state mandated re-evaluations on every home that's taking place in every Community we don't know as to date who's going to be impacted and what that impact looks like not to mention the upcoming increases due to our daily living products and goods due to a newly implemented tariffs that's being placed on Canada Mexico is on hold right now but we also got to consider you know China what will that look like for the average home buyer so is it true that the willbo Board of Education expects to generate uh $200,000 on a yearly basis it's my understanding I believe the sports complex in I believe mortown or Mount Laurel that's that's what they generate if I'm not mistaken um so my question here is if so where did that where where do you have this data to back it up if that is the number and is it also true that if you eliminated some of the top heavy Administration positions you could also generate the same savings so that's once again just food for thought so I am not in favor and I'm speaking as an individual not as the councel but I'm not in favor of the upcoming Bond referendum for the new athletic complex while I understand the importance of extracurricular activities and Athletics for our students I believe the primary focus should be on addressing the current needs of our school buildings and pro uh improving academic achievement our schools are in desperate needs of upgrades including improvements to classrooms bathrooms and overall infrastructure these are the basic conditions that directly impact our students education and I worry that without addressing these issues first we are investing in something that does not benefit all students equally additionally I am concerned that the bond will increase taxes over the next 20 years and yet we still may be ask for more funding for necessary upgrades to the existing school buildings I believe it would be more prudent to Prior prioritize improving the learning environment and addressing the fundamental needs of our schools before investing in a new athletic complex please be reminded that in 2010 the Willing bro Board of Education did a bond referendum for approximately $67 million for repairs and upgrades we are still paying for this tax increase up until 2030 while I recognize the value of sports and physical activities I believe that our focus should be ensuring that every student has access to Quality learning space academic resources first and foremost at the last state of the district in 2024 the New Jersey standard standardized test scores were well underpar my final statement in my opinion access to a quality education for all should not take a backseat to the athletic facilities for some especially for those children who do not for those parents who do not have children in the district we have many children that don't participate in the district so if we're going to do a tax increase and this is also something that every resident will not have access to so if you look at the turfield at the high school can you go up there on your own and just walk the field no but so what I'm looking at is these are the facts that I just want to point out now on the other hand the township has multiple projects going on but what we did was we were fiscally responsible and waiting until some of our debt went down to put these new projects in place we we have a sports complex coming a turf field other athletic equipment the Kennedy Center is being renovated we have a a willing bro Performing Arts there and guess what none of it is at an increase to the taxpayers because we were fiscally responsible and how we planned it and how we considered your dollars not what we thought as a council was needed for some but for all and these opportunities that the township is creating will have access to all and not just some thank you thank you councilman Anderson any other comments from Council Madam may I just have one question Council McIntosh thank you um this is a question I have a question also um thank you thank you so much for that comprehensive report um I think it was needed to let um residents make their own decisions and residents to be empowered with the information so I definitely appreciate this comprehensive um report or um presentation and you've taken the time to come to a council meeting um to make sure it's a broader um audience for your presentation um but I do have one question um in terms of the facilities um If This Were to go through the referendum were to go through would we be a did y'all do a comprehensive analysis of the buildings so that we wouldn't have any more surprises um going forward are the floors okay the walls okay are the facilities okay after the roofs are done you know I'll say for the next five 10 years um have we done an analysis of that a comprehensive analysis of the buildings outside of the roofs because if we invest in the rof that's a you know tax increase is there going to be something else later on um I think the residents would want to know that you know are there any anything that you foresee um big Investments That You foresee in the near future yeah I'll have them come back and answer any other comments and um okay Council I ask come back up thank you um yeah I um I did appreciate the report as well it was informative um there were some valid questions from Council already asked so I'm looking forward to some of those responses I do want to um just point out that with regards to the presentation there are uh concerns that I have just as an an individual resident to be honest with you for the safety of the children the it's evident that the roofs need to be replaced um whether or not it was over sought before it didn't happen sooner at the end of the day um I find that um we should support the school district at least to get these roofs up to par so this way our students are in a safe environment um and I would like to hear with some of the questions that um uh councilman Anderson had asked about um certain reports have they been looked into outside of that um I do think that um we are one community and um sometimes we fall short and just working together as one Community um to help another group um I think is what need is needed right now I don't have small children in schools anymore here um but I know a lot of people who do and I would be very concerned if my my children were at school right now in one of those buildings after I saw that report so um it seems like they've exerted the funding that they do have um and they will be getting more funding if everything is approved um I think that uh just working together to try to get everything to par will be um my greatest concern and um point that I was try to make that's it thank you thank you councilor Dr worthy thank you Madame mayor um thank you Dr Outlaw Dr Lewis um for the presentation and the team um I also want to say I appreciate you all coming out to do the presentation in this way um to engage the entire Community I did get my mailer I appreciate you all sending the mailer out um so that the entire Community had an opportunity to see it um I know uh the mail and ballots have gone out and so um hopefully people will will take a moment to participate in a town hall um or or listening tonight to hear what's going on before they cast their vote um so I do appreciate that um this is probably my third time hearing the presentation just from different meetings in different settings um do so I do appreciate the refinement of the presentation one thing that I didn't hear mention that I think is important for the community to know um one thing when Dr Lewis and I think Dr Outlaw came to the district there wasn't a uh capital reserve for long-term projects and so a lot of people had asked you know why didn't the the the district already have this money to just go by these roofs like you know like you with the house you save money up because you know the hot water heat is going to go out and things like that and so the district didn't have um a long-term uh capital reserve and so something that has been established um because I was asking a lot of questions well how do we keep this from happening again or are going to be in the same situation again to some of the comments that were made so they have established this um capital reserve and it's going to take time to build that capital reserve and supporting the roofs um that roof project will allow them to be able to move forward with that and not have to use the educational money for um you know roofs and infrastructure projects um I do have some additional questions I've asked them um previously about the actual building the inside Athletic Facility so I do look forward to more discussion and dialogue about that um and to council peron's Point yes we're one one willing barl and I do look forward to opportunities to synergize sooner um so that we can plan out sooner um so that we can figure out how we can respond to our residents needs together and and and maybe we won't end up in a situation like this where we're at the last minute we're getting the presentation I'm happy to have the conversation but if we had started the conversation earlier perhaps we could have come up with some more creative solutions for the community um so I do appreciate the Outreach I look forward to more conversations more Synergy um we've already talked to um we're meeting with the recreation we've met with assistant superintendent Marty Hill Parker on synergizing even on um instructional programs how we can enhance our uh summer camp programs how we can have more redundancy in those areas how our our Willingboro Public Library can offer some literacy programs and so we are um as a community trying to respond to some of the challenges that we're having instructionally and I think helping to resolve this infrastructure piece is a really important um piece um thank you councilman Anderson for your questions and I do look forward to continued conversations and a few responses if they have answers tonight thank you Madame mayor thank you Dr worthy all right I'll ask um Dr Outlaw and Dr Lewis if You' come forward and maybe answer some questions or maybe offer some responses and as he's coming up I i' just like to say one thank you everyone for coming out to hear this important um conversation and presentation from our school board it is a big decision it is a big ask but the decision is in your hands the resident's hands um there are two questions that is broken up in those critical infrastructure repairs and then also the indoor track facility um you know I I think that there um I would have liked to see some creative um Solutions as Dr worthy put it for the track facility I know we do acknowledge that there is a need for an indoor sports facility here in Willingboro um we have as a council have been exploring ways to do a public private partnership possibly on the Grand Marketplace site we've been asking and presenting it that opportunity to developers but we are still looking for a partner to do that so if anyone knows anyone that is interested in helping our town out with that effort um please send them our way but I'll turn it back over to one of the things that our consultant talked about was making sure this was just for information and then for us to get all the questions and then that way we can answer them fully uh I'll answer the question about is this it with the repairs I think the total amount was what 200 million something like that yes so um when when we talk about what is the true scope right we have to look at one what we have is called the long range facilities plan that looks at the whole District as a in totality to see what are the UR what are the needs of the district we know that we have a limited bonding capacity and that's why we came with We Shrunk it down but the total needs of the district which includes agac electrical and to meet to put it to the standards that Willingboro deserves is about 177 million and that's at the current rate not inclusive of any inflation not inclusive of any possible future teris or any increase of Labor so that's the long range facilities plan now as our Deputy Mayor Dr worthy stated prior to this Administration the district had no reserves we have two Reserve accounts capital reserve which is necessary for Capital Improvements or Capital emergencies and maintenance reserves which is used for general maintenance of the facilities part of the issue was that annual maintenance was not being done appropriately in the past for whatever reason we we don't disparage anybody from the past for whatever reason it was not done and that's why it was our roots are out of warranty now what we have done is we started to build up both Reserve accounts which now have approximately $2 million in it that's not enough to do a roof that's not enough to do the the projects that are listed in this referendum part question was why did you do the track why did you do this and not the roofs part of that is because of the state aid and that's the state aid is only available on on these aspects that the state Fe finds deemable to invest in and the ancillary things were not part of that so that's why we rolled that into the general fund because we thought coming together and putting this package together knowing the needs of the district and not peacing it over time which would increase cost and have a liability for our students our staff and our community because God forbid something false so part of that is the getting the state aid of state aid of approximately $21 million that will help the district help the community fund these projects also a lot of our students when they were playing on the football field they were actually getting hurt we actually then had to use uh JFK we actually used the senate in order for the track team to practice so now they're still running through the hallways and things like that well before but this was also a safety issue because they would get hurt because when it rain you know it swamp land it goes up and down and then you got crevices here and there so the kids who will be playing football will get it's spraying the ankle a lot so that was one of the reasons behind the football field as well so uh councilman Mr Anderson if you email me your questions I'll make sure I get them to you a response to you okay also post I'll send you my phone number so if they any community members have questions they can also call me oh you have it already you can give it to we do thank you thank you all right now we'll open up for um public comment on uh this presentation this public comment is for four minutes you'll have four minutes um please come to the mic stand or raise your hand online and state your name and address um before you speak public comment is now open you can come up to the microphone like speak someone online I someone online you can come first or there anyone in the public audience come on up to the microphone today Martha gunning 146 Country Club Road good evening Miss gunny good evening to the Board of Education members any members from the Board of Education here to the Board of Education members to the dedicated administrators teachers staff and our students please know please understand that I stand here not as an adversary but as a supporter along with every member of this community who supports you our schools and want the best education for our children Congressman Anderson you read my notes you read my not you read my notes and when you said about alternative uh means you read my notes so I'm gonna be very brief because I would someone like to yield me their time but I just want to say I just want to add that we're living in a different time when you went to bed last night and woke up this morning the world wasn't the same way it was when you went to bed it was not the same our dictator is demonstrating every day what he meant when he said he wanted to be a dictator for a day today he abolished he said he's going to abolish the Department of Education and he will do it so what does that mean for the $21 million that you're expecting the calvary is not coming also I just want to add talk about the burdens the uncertainty the taxpayers are facing the residents are facing how many people here do we know where employment were has been affected it's going to be affected by the purging of this government that that trickles down how do we know how many people are employed or unemployed based on the policies that are being made how do we know that tomorrow we won't have to stand and salute when the bell rings we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring because it's Shifting the only con we have right now is God but I want to say this if Elon mus can appoint himself AAR and confiscate our our our uh federal government and our currency and go and steal all of our money I'm going to appoint myself Zar of alternative changes to the referendum because I feel that the referendum that this this community cannot afford the referendum time is everything yes our roofs need to be replaced and therefore I want to ask the representative the architecture Sor you still here would you come over please I have a question I'd like to ask you okay now I would like for you to be work with a group of citizens to come up with alternative means to get the roots placed Miss gunning there's no doubt that the roots need to be rep Miss gunning your comment should be to the thank you I would like to ask and I would like to um speak with the I plan to speak with the with the architect to see what alternatives we can come up with to a referendum because we can't afford to have residents in a dist ma'am it's your time okay okay is my time up all right my time may be up but there are alternative there are alternative ways to get the root repaired yes we will get the roof repairs and we will get the roof repairs without having a bond referendum thank you Miss gunning any other public comment hi Micah schaer 112 Niagara Lane I have a question concerning the closed and abandoned schools in Willingboro that are sitting there and rotting like in my neighborhood what have we thought about doing with them have we considered selling the land to a developer and having homes built and have more taxpayers in our community they're ugly and they're dangerous thank you thank you Miss schaer yes William Weston 44 BS flan and this is to the school board uh and I thought councilman Anderson did make a good point the roof and the track and and I just want to get some warm and fuzzies that if if the bond referendum would have passed that uh the school district would be good stewards and also what is what is the plan if the first referendum does not pass like if it doesn't happen what would you do and currently the district school tax is about 2% and I was just wondering how if the first referendum was to pass how that that would impact that 2% uh tax rate and that concludes my questions thank you thank you Mr won any other public comment in the room good evening Marcus King 135 torington Lane good evening Mr King um my concern is and I've gone to uh school board meetings um and one of the concerns that um the administrator brought up uh he pulled the teachers throughout the schools of Willingboro and what was their number one issue that they wanted to get resolved and and that was the roofs so this issue has being a long-term issue my biggest concern that I need everybody to know that uh when do Lewis talked about the warrantee on the roof it's not a warrantee what it what it's going to cause is a bigger problem for all of us in Willingboro because if somebody gets hurt because of that roof then we're all liable to get suit so I don't know that this is something that we want to play with when it comes to the roof I think it's something that has to be done the warrantee is not to fix the roof the warrantee is the safety of those children and anyone who's in the school so I hope everybody takes this a real consideration I know um we're thinking about the money of what it is but we also have to think about the safety for our children in the schools because if something happens something happens then we're all liable for uh being sued and then it will come out of taxpayers money so just something to think about thank you Mr King nemia Claude 15 CR H Court good evening everyone I hope you are doing well tonight I come before you not just as a resident but as someone who deeply cares about the future our community and the opportunities we create for our students before I begin I want to express my sincere gratitude to the township and District leaders your dedication and hard work in shaping Willen bro's future it is my hope that we continue to see the power of unity between our district and our town as we continue to make important decisions together I know that the upcoming referendum may feel overwhelming with a lot of information to digest before the March 11th deadline I want to take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate every resident who has been actively attending meetings researching through the school website reading materials sent in the mail and spreading the word about these proposed changes your engagement shows the strength of our community I am not here to tell anyone how to vote but I do want to speak on both questions on the ballot I encourage everyone to consider not only what is financially feasible for them but also what kind of future we want to create for the generations that will follow us question one question one focus on essentially facility improvements expanding instructional spaces replacing aging roofs modernizing media centers upgrading science labs and making critical repairs that go beyond the regular school budget the state has committed 21 million in Aid towards these projects which is a major opportunity that we should consider having personally walked through the hallways of our schools I can say with certainty that these repairs are necessary just as we maintain and update our homes to prevent costly damages in the future we must do the same for our schools to avoid even greater Financial burdens later improving instructional spaces will also directly enhance academics especially in the libraries places that played a crucial role in my educational Journey where I both received and gave tutoring I'm excited to see the positive changes that question one can bring to our district now question two question two presents an opportunity to build an indoor sports wroo has always been a place of greatness especially in athletics our students earn D1 scholarships and go on to achieve remarkable successes right now Tom's River is the only indoor track facility in New Jersey where high school and Collegian athletes compete imagine if Willen bro could be home to such a facility Not only would it serve our students but it could also generate revenue for our district potentially alleviating future tax burdens this is an investment an investment in our students our community and our future we often hear about what willing bro isn't but this referendum gives us the chance to shape what it can be this decision is in the hands of our community and I trust that you will choose what is best for you your family your neighbors and most importantly our students the future of willo thank you for your time and may God bless our community thank you Miss Claude good evening good evening Madame President not anymore but it's okay thank you for the uh April Michelle Maxwell Henley I am speaking as a community member and not as a board member um you've heard it all I'm G to try not to be redundant but I am going to be all over the place because I too have questions um Deputy Mayor Nat Anderson um our schools are the foundation of our community and this referendum gives us the opportunity to invest in the necessary improvements so I do appreciate the council people who did say they were in favor of question number one because the roofs are leaky so if we think about it um we're not just a school district District just for the students that are in our building we're also a community Hub because the township utilizes our buildings as well for their recreational team so would you want the kids to go into our school houses with leaky roofs I don't think so so that's the question I have for you all because we do share some Services right it's not an agreement but we do share some services so that's one thing the other thing um to Deputy Mayor Anderson um do you live in Willingboro or do you own a home in Willingboro do you pay taxes in Willingboro that's but this is my time so you can answer later okay our school buildings they are aging and they're in need of essential repairs and upgrades to ensure a safe modern learning environment just like board member nemia claw just stated we need to fix the Leaky Roots we need to upgrade the libraries uh our board president Deborah Williams every time we do a walkthr I'm sick of telling me these Theus and dictionaries was here when I graduated that's how old they are so are we really doing the right thing by our students or what we're just putting Band-Aids that's what we're doing that's what we've been doing we've been putting Band-Aids so we need to fix that and we're asking for your support now for question number two I know many are saying that's not a necessity but the way the board thought about it and let me speak for myself scratch that the way I thought about it when it was presented to me and when we had this wonderful idea as a board it was that we can generate some Revenue to offset the cost from the taxpayers I'm a taxpayer I got three kids I don't want my taxes going up but when I look at the whole and some people may disagree and I don't even care um some people claim the school board raised taxes we raised taxes in 23 we are entitled to increase taxes by law 2% am I right or wrong just yes okay 2% so we've only raised taxes we haven't raised taxes in seven years prior to 2023 so let me think I'm not a mathematician so seven times 2% that's 14% the community should be giving the school district but we did not do that I don't know you might want to get up in asking when it's your turn but um I'm just asking for y'all support really I'm asking for y'all support and now I did a little research myself how much time I got 54 seconds dad going okay but that's okay I pulled out my own tax assessment right so my home where I live at is 15500 so that's $155,100 times the tax impact per year which is 0.105 that would be roughly $162 per year divided by 12 is $13 a month that's what it is it's $13 a month I buy a cup of coffee from waa from Wawa almost every day I'll sacrifice for these kids because they deserve it they deserve it and to have a council person um knock down both of them I mean you can vote how you want because your vote is your voice do what you feel I don't care about that because you're only one vote I have to just go find 10 other people right but it's disgusting because the district does have a partnership with you all faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of Things Not Seen I see a track I got another thing hi good evening Justine Vargas I'm at 112 Hampshire Lane my husband and I just moved into the township about a year ago the reason that we moved here is because of the community demog rhic and the neighborhoods really felt like our childhood in the 9s we graduated from public high schools and I earned my bachelor's degree and the first of my family and my Master's Degree too I credit that to my family but truly who deserves the praise were the Educators because my parents pushed me forward but they pulled me up they always made me feel like my potential was Limitless and they taught me the value of learning so did my community when they showed up at Council meetings and board meetings and they advocated on behalf of the things that we wanted which is see if our teachers employed I hear a lot of people in the Facebook groups and Community groups constantly complaining that they wish businesses would come into willing borrow and transform this place because businesses create Revenue here's your chance and I'm calling on my neighbors we live in Hawthorne we're childless taxpayers who are willing to endure $330 a month even 40 if it means the kids that we see every day being dropped off at Hawthorne High School and being picked up by their parents or whomever it may be have the access to a learning environment even better than what I had a lot of people like to say it's not about them it's about me and you're right it is about me it's about all of us as neighbors we're the community that they're going to remember that they grew up in the same way I remember mine and it's our decisions that are going to impact them forever forget kindergarten forget High School look at us as adults in our careers in our lives don't you want the same for them as I ask people to heavily consider what this means for the future of the children here who will grow up to be the neighbors somewhere else voting somewhere else own that responsibility that you have and do right by them I ask our officials too that if you want us to back you remain transparent I work in higher red and I have worked in nonprofit Grassroots movement my whole life I do not lend my voice lightly when I advocate for things that I think are important I expect you all to pay it forward in the same way that I expect my neighbors to pay it forward in the same way I will too and whoever was responsible truly for putting the marketing materials together thank you for making it as comprehensive as it was thank you thank you Miss Vargas evening my name is Barbara Williams I live in Rittenhouse Park and I will say I've been very disappointed with the so-called leadership of Willingboro because you do not really represent and help the people the way you should I have even suggested that certain people who don't perform their jobs need to resign or fired be fired you haven't done that I actually came here to speak on behalf of an elderly lady in my development uh that you're not providing proper services to and you've been ignoring me I've been coming here since February regarding recycling for Rittenhouse Park and the other um the other tow houses that are being ignored and I said you don't treat us like residents here you treat us like initially St uh stepchildren but then I said Outcast and you do there are people who are living out because they're not happy with the services here and I've been living in William BR since 73 and things have changed and when you hear the word ghetto you get upset but it has gone down and I will say this with the Board of Education children are the future and you should be fighting with everything to keep it because Donald Trump is trying to eliminate education especially when it comes to Black History the Holocaust he doesn't want that known um I also want to say usually when school isn't concern it's always the teachers the teachers Aid the cafeterias they're the first ones laid off when I think you should go to the top to the superintendent because they're not making things doing things right to be run so stop going to the lower and deal with the top because they get paid the top dollars to make the programs work right but on behalf of the lady and I'm willing to yield my time to anybody else with the um information on the school I wasn't aware that that was going to be discussed um but but we're wasting tax dollars on closed schools that you could otherwise be using that money wisely for and there's a lot of wasted dollars here in Willingboro that could be used otherwise the roads here are pathetic you come into Willingboro from other Route 130 and William bur is the worst ever and I don't know why you're not doing anything about that but on behalf of this elderly lady I have been coming here since February complaining about recycling the single family home dwellings have gotten theirs quite a while ago we're still waiting on ours 618 units in ritten house alone and not even half the people have gotten there I don't think I've counted 200 people and people that I personally provided the slips with because they're being ignored still being ignored they're not getting it and we're paying the taxes they're entitled to it but this elderly lady almost fell because she's not allowed to receive the smaller one you've given her the large one and that's not right so you're also wasting tax dollars because the smaller ones cost less money but you're insisting that we all get the large recycling uh we should have had them according to Mr proval by 2022 it's 2025 I've had mine since 2019 and recently got a few neighbors theirs because they were being ignored so you need to stop ignoring the people of this town who pay our taxes and services are not and I will say they're not good so you need to fight for our children you need to listen to everything these people are saying they're the future of the children and their children look up to them so listen to them for a change help willing B bring it back to what it used to be and it's far gone from now so again I would like from you Mr Harris to address services that we the townhouse thank you Miss Williams thank you hi this is my first council meeting and I I will say it's quite interesting and entertaining at the same time but your name in address please I'm here I'm sorry 46 Buttercup Lane I'm not from Willingboro but this is my second home in Willingboro and I've been drawn back to this community and your name Jennifer would like to help in any any way that I can um I am here to advocate for Burlington County Animal Shelter but since it's a public form there are a few things I would like to address some concerns that I have and um one is the um the street repair um that specific Street on Buttercup Lane look it looks like it's never been repaired ever it's cracks everywhere and um I think this spring PSC and came through to do some work and they never came back to get all the gravel up that is on the street and the spray paint um despite my physical limitations I've got out there several times got it up only for it to just come back because it's on the entire Street um I'm hoping that uh we can get that resolved um as uh well as um issues I've had for years since I've been in this home um for about 12 years is uh both of my neighbors have uh sumac poison ivy growing over my fence to where it is ruined my fence I have before and after pictures I have had sumac poisoning so many times I lost count I had to get on stair oids every time I could provide medical proof of that and the inspectors have done nothing about that the only time something was done was when there was an inspector here named Barbara but I know she's retired now other than that they have done nothing to address it with the other neighbors I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Roundup I'm on Social Security I cannot afford that I really hope it's addressed before the the weather br breaks um uh the uh other issue I um would like to address is will there ever be a school tax break for seniors um I just feel at some point again with just being on the income relying on that of Social Security and being single it is very difficult um you know terms of taxes and everything like that um my neighbor what I last is I like to dress is um handicapped and um she is completely bent over and walks with the cane um she has her trash cans in front of her garage um to help her you know we help her pull the trash cans down but just for her to put her bags in there and she was uh told um that there was she would be fine if she did not move her trash can or her recycling bent and I I just feel that's so unfair I really do for a senior if you're doing it for someone else that is in good health and is not a senior and is not walking with the cane and bent over that's just so unfair it really is and and maybe you can address uh that maybe with individuals um that can prove that they have disabilities and allow some sort of um you know leeway for them you know I think that's it for now and I just thank you for hearing me out thank you Jennifer you're welcome hi good evening everyone my name is Crystal Wilson 35 Somerset Drive here in Willingboro um I wear many hats here in Willingboro I'm a resident of over 25 years preschool instructional coach here at Willingboro Public Schools PTA parent teacher liazon and I'm also an officer with the Willing bro Education Association as mentioned during the presentation um about the referendum the replacement of the roofs for the schools um with the accessment of one I want to say personally I work at the school with the worst roof uh in the district so what does that mean for me and my Scholars constant leaks from the ceiling in almost I'm going to say every classroom but in many classrooms offices the and the hallways teachers students and even our principal are currently displaced due to some of the latest series of leaks what else is associated with standing water can anybody tell me and structures I didn't say it we cannot subject um our most precious population to these hazards patch jobs are just not it I'd like to say thank you to councilwoman Peron for showing your concern about the safety of our Scholars also within the referendum it includes replacing um floors in some of the schools does anybody know what the floor tiles are made out of well the building that I was that I'm in was built in 1958 I don't know about you guys but I was not around in 1958 some of you may have been okay and asbest Floors must have been the Rave because it seems like a lot of Willingboro Public Schools if not all have that type of um tile within it I'm not sure about everyone here in the room but I'm vested into this community I want the absolute best for our students and the excuse me the students that I've been serving here for over the past 25 years our children are a future and we need you to support them and also invest in them thank you thank you Miss Wilson yes I knew you were doing this first but hi my name is Ann rapisarda I live actually in Lumberton five Welling Dr Wellington Drive in Lumberton I'm a Burlington County resident and I've worked at Lockheed Martin in mortown as a CPA for the last 30 years I work to help the communities throughout our County including Willingboro in a volunteer capacity serving as the vice president of the friends of the Burlington County Animal Shelter we are nonprofit organization that raises over $500,000 every year to support the county animal shelter we pay all their Advanced medical bills we provide dog training foster care lowcost spay neuter Community cat management through trap neuter vaccinate return and many other expenses that that the county unfortunately is not able to fund by doing so we help reduce the burden of these costs on taxpayers in Wilmington and other towns I'm sorry Willingboro and other towns throughout the county we are very we are working really hard to get our County Animal Shelter to a no kill status and we're currently speaking to all the towns in our County we have engaged all the municipalities in our County with proactive and positive Outreach and that is why we are here tonight we have received positive receptions from many towns due to their concern for uring the public health and safety of their residents as well as recognizing the important status Animal Welfare issues have in the minds of their residents through a lot of hard work and partnership with the animal shelter we have kept the dog save rate above 90% which is really amazing since most of the dogs of the shelter are pitbull mixes and there's usually a hundred of them at every moment these large larger dogs are very hard to adopt and the victims un of sorry I can't even talk victims of unregulated back yard breeding which ultimately results in these animals filling the animal shelters so we're there with the dogs at no kill but our last hurdle is getting the cat save rate to a no kill status adoptable cats are not the issue but rather it's the community cats that are dragging down our save rate these are cats that are not owned not adoptable as pets and living outside through no fault of their own over 200 Community cats are euthanized every year at our County Shel and the majority come from willing burrow and pton not only do we want to help these cats we also want to spare our County workers from having to euthanize perfectly healthy animals on a daily basis this is very painful not fair to our County Employees when there is another better more Humane and cost effective way to go these shelter workers experience compassion fatigue and I'm sure none of us would want to do their jobs our organization has reached out to your town represent AES to discuss an alternative that would not cost willing burrow any additional dollars in fact it would save money we understand you are all very busy with other important human items but we have yet to have a conversation about this very important issue we are asking tonight that your Council designate aaan who can speak with our organization about the ways we can help willing burrow better address this issue with proven and Progressive approaches supported by the national animal Control Association and many other leading national state local organizations that are involved in this issue I am sure the current record of sending so many cats needlessly to their deaths does not represent the town council's combined view of homeless animals we look forward to this opportunity to collaborate with you it will save money it will reduce complaints and reduce the needless killing of cats thank you for your time thank you Mr Barta good evening good evening my name is C willo Hansen I live at 467 West Country Club Drive West stampton New Jersey I'm a volunteer and I'm a board member for fob cast I've done a number of volunteer jobs for fabcast and one of those jobs was as a TNR coordinator for 5 years in this capacity I interfaced with the public the trapper uh TNR clinics and veterinarians as well as the shelter and various municipal authorities I wanted to let you know about my personal experience with TNR because that's what an was alluding to when we moved to West Hampton in 2004 where we faced Farm fields and a golf course we saw numerous outside cats we realized we had a big problem when we began to see batches of kittens being moved by their mother cats to safer locations s what we did was start to trap neuter and to return those cats back outside some who proved to be friendly as well as the kittens we were able to get them adopted through the Burlington County Animal Shelter after several years what we noticed was that there were no more kittens and all of the adult kittens and I'm sorry all the adult animals were ear tipped which is a standard indication to mean that the cats have been spayed neutered vaccinated and returned to the field from a personal perspective I can tell you that TNR does work now when I see a new cat appear at my home that isn't ear tipped I work to get him used to my same process that I've used multiple times before which is called TNR we have not seen any kid in litters for the past seven to eight years with that I just wanted to say thank you this was a very informative meeting today and uh we look forward to working with you thank you Miss Mike Bird 23 Gaff Lane good evening uh mayor Whitfield Deputy Mayor worthy council members and the community at large um I'm a lifelong resident who moved here in 1979 for the most part these schools um look exactly the same way they did um when I was in elementary school in the 80s and graduating high school in the 90s um as a a community volunteer um and currently on the school board I've had the opportunity to be in these schools quite often um I have friends and family nieces and nephews that go to these schools and this Bond referendum is very important for the main fact that this project would take us the things we want to do and this isn't even about the track the things we want to do for these buildings to make them 20 to make them current as possible would take years we say the children are our future and I've heard that a million times tonight no the children are our present because if it could take us 8 to 10 years to do all of those things and during those 8 to 10 years as uh April Maxwell Henley said we would have to raise we would be raising taxes probably 2% a year which is what the school district is allowed legally um I hope that those that are in support of this or uh on the fence about it really look into it come to the town halls get your questions answered um more specifically or come up with more questions test test the school board make sure that this is something that is good for everybody um but ultimately if one of these roofs goes bad tomorrow and there's a major leak that just doesn't affect um just the roof and just the floor it affects the electronics and all the things that go on throughout the school um could could get messed up and then we're fixing more stuff and we're taking money out of our regular budget for more and more repairs this is preventive maintenance um it's like getting a um a home equity loan to put a new roof on your house and that's what we're trying to do as a school district um so tell your neighbors tell your friends look on our website um thank you thank you Mr BN hello Council my name is Elma Spalding and I am a previous resident of Willingboro as a matter of fact Miss gunning my parents bought Miss gunning's house back in 1982 I believe um I'm currently working for the school district right now and um I want to say I hear every resident in here especially the residents that have been here most of their lives we appreciate you guys um I know I graduated from Willingboro in 1986 um the schools are basically the same we got the same fixtures same lockers um you know roofs are bad and I know everybody in here does not want uh they want the roofs fixed um the young lady mentioned about the empty ugly schools in her Park when I grew up here there were pools in all the parks um I think that the current Administration in the board as far as the presentation goes I think it's a it it is it is an invest investment in these kids um I'm working with these kids these kids are excited these kids are basically begging us to pay attention to them you we have the sports complex um you know willing bur is known for sports we know that uh Deputy May worthy came over the other day we have the parents Center the school district does so much for the for the community I don't really think that the residents really know and we've been doing a bad job of not being able to to relay those relay the information um uh I also wanted to say we currently have uh students now that are in our TV and Film Production classes that have submitted to the Garden State uh New Jersey Garden State Film Festival um these schools that we have that are empty I heard she's saying about maybe building new houses I think um right now currently we have CTE we're expanding our CTE program a Career Technical education um we know that college is expensive um we're want to invest in these kids to expand those programs and I think those schools we in the future could use use them to do that um right now we I think the the population Willingboro is 32,000 we need to bring more residents in in in the district we're not going to do that by staying the same you know our taxes are going to get raised whether you we fix the RS or not you're always going to get your your taxes raised in the community especially Community is not growing I think what I basically I'm trying to say is staying stagnant stagnant in this community is going to cost us more money if we don't pass these these this referendum staying the same is not an option it's too expensive to stay the same I know we're worried about the Trump Administration black people were enslaved for over 400 years we made it here they got us here we can't worry about what the outside and what the boogeyman is going to do we have to continue to invest in these children they are who is going to come back into the community and make it what it is it will be too expensive not to do anything in the district thank you thank you Mr Bal Miss safer I believe you spoke already I spoke about the scho I'm here as a fobus volunteer and a Willingboro resident to speak to so we only have one public comment per person during the public comment section okay thank you I'm sorry but you can email your um question or statement to the clerk okay we do thank you peace and blessings good evening my name is odet McCartney um I listened to all the comments um they oh 76 tow Lane they covered a lot of what I wanted to say but there's some things that I wanted to um to speak to um I think it might have been the architecture who was saying that um the students needed a vibrant atmosphere no um I feel like um teachers create the atmosphere in the classroom they Inspire the children to learn not the decor vibrant makes you kind of edgy um the next thing is um that I wanted to say is that he made our children seem like um when he spoke it was like every it was special needs uh and I don't know whether that was to convince us or not but that wasn't good um the next thing is sports is great but what about the Arts what about a music program and um I think mus no I know music is good um it inspires kids it calms kids um it makes them want to learn jazz programs whatever Not Just Sports everybody can't be a sports person everybody can learn music they can sing they can play instruments um I remember that growing up and that was very positive in my generation I'm a I guess 50s 50s baby um so there's there's certain things that are positive in our community Sports is great music is better music therapy music therapy over Sports Therapy um and I thank everyone who did speak you all are great peace and blessings music in the school system give us some music for our kids thank you Miss McCartney uh hello everyone my name is B chish kich I am from actually Mount Lael Township uh I am connected to Li Boro through a few people I used to work Brad International for many many years um currently I'm first responder I'm also very involved in the rescue World rescuing animals have whole bunch at home um I am here on behalf of TNR program I am by myself uh working as independent Trapper and also with various uh organizations so one thing I wanted to say why this is important important uh for some people is just cuts uh I will tell you why TNR works why it is important for us it's a passion for us it's something that we go do it because we see those animals we see their suffering we feel bad I'm sure some of you do but we feel it we we see them sick we see them dying we want to help for townships uh on the other hand it also has benefits I nobody mentioned it when we do TNR cuts they are not just being TN with the cut ear we also do the whole medical each and every medic uh animal get rabies uh which is so important and this is for safety of their residents for safety of your children who play in The Yards when they find the kid and they grab it if God forbid the the kid gets scratched the the cats were vaccinated against rabies they get the Stamper vaccine they get de wared um there must be a popular control but that also must be a balance when we can call Animal Control kill all the cats it's not going to work give it six seven months new Cuts will move in now the problem that you have is those cuts are not fixed those cuts are not vaccinated those cuts are not healthy many times you can relocate Cuts you relocate diseases this is actually I believe illegal to do this that is why TNR program keeps all the cuts intact we manage that by population control also uh what happens with the cats that are TNR new cats don't move in often uh if we see them we take we take care of that what we ask for you we ask the township to be on our side to work with us to help us do what we love to do and I don't want to go on my trapping side and look around if somebody's chasing me or calling police because I'm there I am here here to help you um many times it's on our own time our own budget nobody reimburses us we are all volunteers we cover all the expenses we do it for animals but this way it helps your towns your communities your uh neighborhoods are cleaner your neighborhoods are safer and that is why we are fighting so much for like saving those animals and keeping TNR in place thank you thank you Miss s i I didn't know I The Advocate this is my first time I didn't know so I just wanted to speak on behalf of that real just for one minute please yeah but you already had your time so if you if you send your comments to the clerk We'll add them to the record okay I didn't know I had to combine it thank you Vicky Benedict um 16 p Lane um so I was watching the news tonight and there was guess who willing bro's own Adam Blackstone because you know why he's doing the whole Super Bowl show so all I'll say is some of us will remember Adam in the parade with the banner on the back of his float that's at Adam Blackstone playing his uh bass guitar so the Arts in Willingboro huge um I too work in the school district and I've been here my life my whole life um it's very hard for me to do not support this but it's also very hard for me to support this because I think we could have taken this pot of money and really talk to town people and made sure we fixed exactly what needed to be fixed first roofs absolutely okay I'm all for that the gyms I think we could have maybe held on um if we want to do something let's do some art some music we we seem to be bringing back CTE at the high school let's bring that stuff back but but I think the timing right now is just wrong and I think that's a lot of it um and it was funny I had a discussion with someone because my taxes have gone up um and I could show you have gone up between $800 and $1,000 a year in $800 to ,000 over the last two years um and I think if you pay your taxes quarterly you see the increase if you pay your taxes with your mortgage you don't necessarily see it other than the at the end of the year you get caught in escrow so it's very hard for me to support but it's very hard for me to not support I love this community I went to school here um I happen to work in one of the oldest buildings in the district that has is not slated for one repair um so that's part of the problem I have is we didn't look at everything and say hey let's prioritize roofs Bam Bam Bam then we do this then we do that then we do this um you know the indoor track it's funny I was telling somebody and they said what do you need the indoor track for you know many state championships we won without an indoor track and I get it it's going to be a money maker but I think maybe that's something we look at the township and the school district partnering together and bring in some kind of sponsor we have so many famous people from this town that we've never even tapped into that would gladly come back my brother just had his 40th reunion he graduated from the better school in town Kennedy um so go Griffins if Dennis tun was here he'd give me a shout out but um anyways I say that to say a couple of these guys had not been back to the community in 40 years they wanted to see their house some of them went over to the high school they love the the the track wall of of fame um the greatness we have in this community I mean it goes back years and years and years and years um I just think we need to make good decisions right now and I just think the timing for this is wrong not that fixing the roofs isn't isn't the right thing to do right now I just think the timing and we all need to sit down and maybe plan it out better I mean you can't get your mailin ballot before you get your information about the referendum um but I love this community U my husband too he's one of those Chimas like the rest of you guys um hi Mar but you know I love the community my father still lives in the house I grew up in um It's a Wonderful community and I feel it getting so much better but I just don't know if we tax us all to death right now if this is the right thing to do and I just think maybe we can come to the table and people that know and are smarter than me can figure this out and we can do right by our kids but we can also do right by our community thank you thank you Miss benor good evening I'm Tina Reeves um I live at 35 Fon Court I actually live in Lumberton I'm here to support our friends of Burlington County Animal Shelter as well um I go kind of back in Burlington County but um I graduated from northern Burlington so we have a lot of rivalry with the high schools in willing bro but I have a lot of friends that are still here that came from uh Fort Dix as well as Maguire and moved in to Willingboro but I just wanted to hope that um as an oh I'm sorry as an rapisarda said who was our uh VP that if you can dedicate someone uh a liaison for our group to work with our group you know our volunteers um as well as the county freeholders I think it would really make a difference um in your community um I was here just the other evening it was sleeing snowing um and I'm out here you know trapping cats and it is it does make a difference I have I have a few residents here that I have trapped for I think four or five people I asked them to come because they live here and this is their Community as well so I just think it it is important um and just as they were saying it does save money um it helps our Burlington County residents as a whole not just Willingboro where we're not sending as they said cats you know to be killed essentially um and I hear that quite often within Willingboro um we have I've been out there sometimes late in the evening I've had cops stop you know and make sure I'm okay or just checking to see what I'm doing interesting in what's going on and I think that's important and I thank you guys for that as well um and it's a community you know because I see a lot of people out there you're talking to different folks while you're at there what are you doing um so I think it's important and I think um I I would appreciate it and I'm sure your residents would appreciate it if you would um assign someone or you know have a liais on so you can talk about it you can learn more about it and I think that's really what it is is education for the resident to know that there is help out there there's lowcost um span neuter clinics you know you have an opportunity to get the as um B was saying the RAB shots distempers so those things are important and people if they know about the resources um I think it would make a difference in your community I thank you thank you m re all right we have a few comments online uh yes mayor Ed card good evening Mr card um it's actually miss Nicholas Nicole Nicholas um it's 41 Edge Lane dear Madam mayor deputy mayor council members and committee members good evening I would like to share some insights uh regarding the municipal bonds um before investing in these bonds I understand that it's crucial that we understand the bond rating system assigned by some of these agencies I understand we keep talking about the state but in the research that I did um I'm trying to understand and wrap my head around standard and pores moodies and Fitch ratings and I was understanding that these ratings assess the issues credit worth and the ability to repay the bond um it keeps coming up that it's a $21 million Bond but in the midst of everything that's going on I was just trying to get some clarity so the thing is is is that I wanted to know um in particular um if Mr I think it's Dr Lewis if he would be able to actually clarify the type of bond that was issued its rate and whether it provides stable funding for the district projects I also wanted to know whether the state funding has been confirmed in writing and if so if we could have a copy of it that would be added to the reimagine website so there there was slight clarification and I also wanted to know if it was approved by the state if a representative from the state office I'm not sure if it's the office of financial um accountability and compliance um if they would be able whichever State office it was that approved this if they would who approv the funding if they would be able to be present for a discussion at one of these public um actual meetings that we would be having additionally um I wanted to urge all of the actual willing board board members that were there in attendance um to be able to maintain professionalism and decorum in their conduct and discourse um as a word of caution and note on how to have class um when you're a guest in someone's home you don't ever insult the host or Hostess I'm really tired about hearing about willing burrow um but constantly seeing the petty backstabbing it's always constantly about one willing borrow but then we see Petty backstabbing Envy uncouth behavior from unfortunately it was evident Tonight from One trifling cancerous board member who has high hopes and aspirations of obviously becoming a Township council member um let's just prioritize the kids in our community while I agree that our children do deserve better I believe that the current plan could benefit from further refinement to maximize its Effectiveness exploring Partnerships with Senator Kim and applying for the Appropriations um which do open up later this month could provide access to significant additional funding um I thank you for your time and consideration thank you Miss Nicholas yes ma'am Maddie mallerie good evening good evening Miss mallerie M mallerie Hudson Place and uh as a taxpayer for 52 years in the township of willing bur and still a taxpayer um I feel that I'm probably in the majority of the taxpayers that live in willing bur um and most of us are on a fixed income and as a result of that um to impose L more taxes could definitely be a hardship for many of us um I was just looking at my tax statement for this year and presently I'm paying $3,549 181 for school taxes for this year and if this referendum passes it means it would be an addition 276 which would make my taxes $3,825 181 um as a former educator of 35 years I would definitely support um question number one because um all of the things that are listed I feel are necessary NE AR uh to continue uh the education uh programs that we have in place however one of the problems that I have with this is the amount it says about $14 per month well math is an exact science so to say about $14 per month is not an accurate statement it's either either $14 per month or it's not about is not an exact amount when it comes to mathematics um as I said before I would support question number one if we have the actual amount that it would cost uh the other thing is unless I misunderstood the slide when the presentation was made about the amount of time that the roofs uh were replaced it appears that um they range anywhere from two to four years I'm not sure what kind of roofs they use on schools but I know when we have a roof replacement on our homes it's guaranteed anywhere from 15 to 20 years so maybe we should look into uh the type of roofs that we are placing on these buildings and make sure that we have something that would last more than two to four years um at the reorganization meeting I think I made the comment about uh the dispensary in town and the fact that uh we were considering adding another and um I think mayor Whitfield stated that the township received $20,000 from the dispensary uh that we have now even though I expressed the fact that I had not seen a lot of activity so my suggestion would be uh that we use this money from the dispensary to offset the amount that the taxpayers would have to pay to pass um referendum for the Improvement of the schools and it appears that my four minutes went faster than any anyone else's but I will conclude for this evening thank you thank you Valerie Okay Lori Witherspoon Sean before we take the next one we do have meeting cut off time at 1000 p.m. so we will take a few more public comments and any um responses that would normally be given at the meeting um um will be um sent to the resident um or um You can call the office to get a response either call the clerk or the township manager's office Miss Withers Miss Witherspoon if you're speaking we can't hear you Miss Witherspoon Sean can we go to the next public comment yes ma'am Sarah Hoe good evening Council how are you today good evening Miss H yeah I I'm I'm I agree Miss mallerie there's some funny stuff going on with counting I've been sitting here watching some people you started start at at that clock right away and other people you give them more time so I've been watching it all night my name is Sarah Holly I reside at nine tyoga Lane I'm a retired educator and I have lived in Willingboro for almost 50 years and that in all that time I have always supported educational opportunities and programs for our students no matter what the time tax increase happens to be and yes I agree 100% that there should be a school a tax increase of the 2% which is required by state law or should the state law supports that I have voted for all Bond referendum I strongly urge the residents to support question one on the ballot question one will replace and or repair the rules add additions to to the science to science land Labs extensions to uh classrooms to be used as gym spaces so that the classroom other classrooms can be used for educational purposes and provide bathrooms for the Early Childhood uh program the state is helping to fund these initiatives by giving the district Millions to help with these Renovations and repairs I urge all residents to vote in support of question one to give our students the opportunity to compete on a Level Playing Field now question two is another matter question two it is a is a request to build an indoor track facility the state is not offering any financial support for the building of this facility the total cost of question two will come directly from the pockets of taxpayers the combination of of the two questions is too much at this time for taxpayers to handle although question one we'll raise our taxes those additions and Renovations are desperately needed to better the educational outcome for our students okay and all past Bond referendums uh councilman Anderson have been paid okay they were paid back in and I call the past business manager so I know what I'm talking about we have no money for uh left on those Bond referendums the second thing you guys voted to increase or open a contract that you just gave two meetings ago and you're going to increase the money that you awarded that person for that contract that's crazy if you signed or agreed to a contracts two meetings ago there's no reason that that that viid that contract should be open that's a problem problem and I guess that's it for right now that's all my thank you you're quite welcome all right and we'll take one in the courtroom good evening um my name is Helen Taft I live on hill crestlan in Willingboro I've been a resident here since 1985 um two things I want to speak on one is basically I'm imploring you to please set aside and get a time for leaon to talk about the Trap and neuter program for Willingboro um this is something that's been happening um for as long as I can remember and these cats desperately need help it isn't fair that the cats in Willingboro are trapped put in shelter and euthanized when all all the other townships around have programs where these cats are not euthanized can be socialized and can be adopted so we need that and I'm imploring you to please please help us with this the second thing is with the school my my taxes from here when I moved here in 85 were a little over $33,000 right now they're a little under 7,000 and they're going to be going up when I came here I had two schoolage children and I had a husband I am now a widow I have no children in school I'm on a fixed income everybody say oh it's only $23 well you know what that's $273 a year right now insurances have gone up my life insurance premium's gone up my car insurance premium's gone up the taxes have gone up food has gone up clothing has gone up everything has gone up except my pension if you continue with this you're going to basically get a whole part of us who have been here for years and have paid our taxes and have paid our school dues we can't afford the homes anymore so again I'm asking you when you make decisions about this to please think about all people in the community and how this is going to affect them yes we do need to take care of the children yes we do need safe environments and desperately need schools but we also need to get the ratings up in the school systems and some of the things like I would love to have an enclosed front porch That's a dream something I can ATT try to get to which I never will but the important things is the roof and safety measures and quality education for the students thank you thank you Miss T all right um so right now I'll give Mr Lewis the last word and then I'll ask for um a motion from Council to suspend public comment um we are coming up on time and I know we have a lot of people that want to speak on this issue there is another um discussion in town hall on the school board referendum um tomorrow at press La School JC Stewart school so Mr Lewis thank you Madame mayor um Dr Lewis uh I wanted to thank Madame mayor Deputy Mayor um Council thank you for the opportunity to come present to you thank you for the opportunity to present to the community we want to to reaffirm that the district loves to work with the council uh and we look forward to continuing our partnership a couple of dates February 5th from 6:30 to 8:30 we have we will be doing a town hall at JC storeart ecdc School which is at 70 Sunset Road February 12th we'll be doing a virtual Town Hall February 18th we'll be doing uh Town Hall at WR James Elementary School at 41 U Pine Tree Lane February 26 we're doing a inperson town hall at James a Intermediate School which is just across the street and March 5th we're doing another town hall at Willingboro high school we encourage the council members we encourage the community come out and continuously support and come out and voice your your um your concerns and anything that you would like to talk about we have question and answer we'll have that available to the community also when we talk about looking at additional resources and looking at other things to do I wanted to point out for the community that the district has gone through a esip Energy savings Improvement plan and part of the reason that we did not include bookbinder on the referendum is that we are currently doing um renovating and replacing their boilers doing a HVAC units in all of the rooms so book bind is currently going through um a renovation on its own so I just wanted to you know let you know that we are looking at other resources and other avenues to continue to better the district and this community again thank you for your time and thank you for having us have a great night thank you Dr Lewis I'll ask for a motion from Council to suspend public comment so moved moved by Dr worthy seconded by councilwoman Macintosh roll call councilwoman prone yes councilman Anderson yes councilwoman McIntosh Deputy Mayor Dr worthy yes mayor Whitfield yes and with that we will push our municipal clerk updates to our February 18th meeting um and we will go to council comments I would like to thank everyone for coming out and for the young lady the beautiful young lady who lacked decorum I've been a resident of community for 25 years at the same house consistently just for the record thank you thank you councilman Anderson any other Council comment all right being none um I just want to close the meeting by say happy Black History Month to everyone I think um this conversation is about bettering our community um it but it's up to you it's up to the residents to make that decision it's not council's decision it's not the school board's decision it is your decision as the residents of Willingboro to decide to invest in either or both the critical infrastructure Inc infrastructure upgrades that need to happen at the school buildings and or the indoor um track that they that has been proposed it is your decision I encourage you to attend the town halls to ask your additional questions and also lastly I do want to um implore all of you to come out to the special election that will be happening on March 11th on this issue um I also just briefly want to briefly acknowledge the executive orders that have come down from uh president Trump and while they are jarring um we are a community that supports each other and supports um everyone to be here and to feel safe while being here um I know we have quite a large immigrant population um and there may be some apprehension or fear um of ice raids and other um actions that may be taken against them and um the council has been in touch with the Senators and the Congress congressman's office um we have resources to um help any residents that are struggling with any of those issues um and can get um you the information to the right people um remember to love each other and um I will entertain a motion for adjournment moved by councilman Anderson seconded by councilwoman Macintosh roll all in favor hi thank you everyone good night willing bro 958