good evening call Council me an order please rise flag I pledge allegiance to the FL of the United States of America and to the for stands na indivisible andice I ask you please
remain stand for a moment of silence for all our military personnel serving abroad also for all the tragic tragedies that have happened over with California plan crouches um too many to mention thank you noce requirements of the open public meeting law have been satisfied concerning this meeting the
home Min bu the star lger published it on January 10th 2025 a copy of the schedule was posted on the municipal bulletin board it should be so noted in the minutes of this meeting councilman Anderson here councilman Bower here councilwoman Deus councilman farara councilwoman Mi
councilman Patel councilman small here vice president mcalli here and president Spiller here and I get a motion to approve the minutes from February 4th motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I opposed eyes Havoc uh
Mr President beginning with second reading ordinances this evening we will take letter letters A and B by consent both our ordinances amending chapter 7 which is the traffic section of our ordinances and this is with regards to parking on buns Lane in Woodbridge can I
get a motion that these two ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I oppose eyes have the public hearing is now open on letters A and B A and B
only Sor good evening Council and administration um on ordinance a can you give us a little bit more details other than buns Lane between dto Avenue and St James Street Avenue to
delete this would be the um permit parking so there yeah there's restrictions right now in place going to be deleting those restrictions and then B would be the implementation of the residential permit parking all right so when you delete them you is it handicap
parking or what what is it pertaining to so it's deleting the restrictions that are currently in place that are limited between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. Saturday through Sunday so they'll be deleted it does not affect handicap parking and then they'll be implemented with B which will be residential per uh permit
parking thank you thank you Mr any other questions or comments from the public I got a motion that the public hear be closed the ordinance to be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or further comment from councel all in favor I oppose eyes
have it letter C is an ordinance authorizing a second modification of a lease for property at 101 Main Street did I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second third reading on the public hearing be open motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I oppos I have the public
hearing is now open on letter c letter C only he no comment from the public can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by law motion second any questions or comments from Council all
in favor I I opposed eyes have it final second reading on letter d an ordinance adopting into the Garden State cace program can I get a motion that this ordinance be taken up on second and third reading and the public hear and be open motion second any questions or comments from Council all in favor I I
oppose eyes happen hearing is now open on letter d letter d only good evening John W actually what is the uh cace program
uh uh council president it's a a method for businesses to finance environmentally friendly upgrades to their buildings I think quite get it with white businesses it's a method for businesses
to finance environmentally friendly upgraded to their buildings thank you any other questions or comments on letter D here other comments can I get a motion that the public hearing be closed the ordinance be adopted and submitted to the mayor for approval as required by
law motion second any questions or comments all in favor I I opposed eyes have it first reading ordinances you have letters E and F listed could I get a motion at these two ordinance to be passed on first reading published in the home News Tribune on February 21st 2025
with notice public heing to be held on March March 4th 2025 at 6 p.m. motion second any comments or questions from Council all in favor I oppos eyes have it and finally you have resolutions before you listed as 1 through 30 may I
get a motion to approve 1 through 30 by consent motion second any questions or comments from Council Mr maining from number 30 so noted any other comments Mr Mitch please show I'll be abstaining on resolution number 11 11 so noted any
other comments all in favor I I opposed I have that's all I have thank you Mr Mitch uh before we go to the public uh comment portion of tonight's meeting mayor I believe you have a statement three thank you council president I would like to provide an update to the sequest
situation which we are sure people are here tonight to talk about the vast majority of the sequest operation is under the jurisdiction of the state of New Jersey through the departmental of Department of Environmental Protection and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture
the Township's only jurisdiction is with the farm animals a pig Two Goats three rabbits and four chickens and the snack bar at the request of residents over the last few months the township has sent our health department out to the site to check on the condition of the farm
animals and we have also sent out our Police Department detectives to look for cases of abuse of animals by staff or visitors in no cases have we found any evidence of such abuse we also decided to engage the services of a professional
veterinarian group for an independent evaluation of the conditions of the farm animals and that vet went out yesterday with some Township officials for a surprise visit and inspection this effort produced the same result that there was no sign of abuse of these
animals and the only condition noted was very common dermatitis on the potbelly pig which was already being treated by the in-house veterinarian we need to State once and for all that we have no reason to take any action against sequest for their operations that we have jurisdiction
over which is only a very small portion of their total operation any such action would certainly subject us to potential legal action given the fact that we cannot justify revoking the permit that we issued for the farm animals taking this a step further we
also have no inclination to pass an ordinance restricting certain businesses from operating in Woodbridge Township simply put that would be a gross overreach of governmental Authority and would also potentially subject us to legal action it is not the job of
government to tell Woodbridge Center or any other building owner who they can or cannot rent space to as long as the business is legal and meets all requirements for building and Zoning codes which means it has enough parking and lighting and things like handicapped
accessibility then we should not be interfering with the private sector in deciding what what businesses we will accept in town any ban on certain types of businesses would have to be handled at the state level Banning any type of business would be an awful precedent and
start a slippery slope that we would never recover from if we were to say that certain types of stores or shops or restaurants were not welcome in Woodbridge would we then tell the owner of a residential rental unit who here she can rent space to we completely
understand the concerns of people who have been coming to our meeting meetings we especially respect the opinions and passion of our own Woodbridge residents like miss patterer and miss mayor who have been to almost every meeting we are not defending sequest and frankly find
many of the accusations that have been levied over the last several months to be disturbing and revolting and we have no reason not to believe any of the speakers however we must protect the township of Woodbridge from any actions that could be detrimental to our
residents and taxpayers and therefore we believe the steps we have taken to be appropriate thank you very much thank you man' uh thank you for the most recent update with anything that involves the township uh we'll now go to the public comment portion of tonight's meeting When approaching the
microphone please state your name what section of the township or state you live in and you will have a onetime opportunity to speak up to five minutes also you no one needs to touch the microphone the microphone is set you will be heard thank you Jessica mayor vivonetto avano and I've been here
before and I'm not even going to really read this now you see we have a room of people here who have opinions of sequest and I understand what you're saying that you can't revoke this permit but we are not going to give up we will continue to
fight sequest I'm going to continue to ask for your support in this I have been here and talked to you about the animals being forced to interact with the public the cruelty the inadequate housing in H husbandry disease the lack of vet
records did anyone ask for any vet records on the animals they saw today they should be seeing by vets um missing animals illegal pedicures unauthorized interactions bankruptcy government
agencies issuing probation and then the plan to revoke the exotic animals the psychological damage that's done to these animals is unbelievable and death I've talked to you about death happening there and we're not going to give up and you see
that there are a lot more people who need to talk with you tonight so I'll turn this over to them thank you uh John ortenzio I'm not here to talk about animals uh excuse me I'm I'm Sor just area the township of the state that you live in please uh John renzio
Island thank you Woodbridge resident 11 years uh retired seven years ago uh things got kind of tough with Co on a fixed income needed to get a job to put food on the
table uh I saw they were hiring crossing guards I thought it would be something I would enjoy and I do enjoy it it's my third year uh when I started uh I was told all the
wonderful things about it so and I do enjoy it I enjoy the children but uh I'm on my third year and I'm still making $16 an hour now I hear there people getting hired for 17 some
people are making 19 some people are making 20 I'm trying to get a raise I asked two weeks ago my immediate supervisor she said let me ask the boss she came back five minutes later she
said the boss said there's no money for a race I work a 15h hour shift if you would have given me 50 cents for the 15 hours for the week it would have been $750 on your weekly payroll now I don't
know what the weekly payroll is here for but I guess I can't get to $17 I got a past up here if anyone wants to see it and then they take out $40 every paycheck for a
pension which I never SI I'm 78 I won't do this for 7 years I'm trying to put food on the table and I can't who do I talk to for a race here
anybody 50 cents a quarter Mr council president so so have you gone to HR that that's your I talk to you this okay so so you need to go to HR and that they'll address it so we have a pay scale rate for crossing guards you just told me I
was at the rate I was supposed to B yeah so they're what's that what's your last name I'm sorry ortenzio o r t n z IO so yeah so we we have we have a rate that goes by year and how many years you've been here it's not in front of me now so I I can't speak to it I wish I could $16
an hour and I'm making $650 in three years I got 50 cents understood look at a shine box and look for bars for shine shoes that's ridiculous then I'm hearing I don't know if it's fat but I'm hearing people are getting hired now at
17 doesn't make any sense uh I'm going to ask you to make an appointment tomorrow after your ship and and go to HR and I'll meet you there I won't be there till after 10:30 that's fine I'm here all day all right okay thank you
thank you just ask for Mr Sima the business administator are there any other comments this evening from the public Nicole patterer avanel um so I do kind of want to just touch on what the mayor talked about um specifically a few things uh the first excuse me I'm sorry
can you just hold but yeah stop the time sure uh we can't have a line everyone will have their chance trust me we we do not have a line of people waiting you will all have a chance to be heard if you so I'm sorry thank you no problem uh specifically um and this is in regards to animals we
talk about not being able to govern what people do in their business but uh is there not an ordinance in Woodbridge 11 6.3 that restricts the sale of animals that do not come from an animal shelter facility or animal rescue organization
so did that not impact people's businesses in Woodbridge that were selling animals from breeders so in fact we have done things where we have impacted people's businesses specifically when it comes to animals um as far as talking about uh
ordinances or a slippery slope well Midland Park New Jersey does not think it's a slippery slope as a matter of fact they have an ordinance that says no person shall keep or maintain any live poultry or foul even for non-commercial um purchases without first having license or permit which I know we do but
all coups and runs shall be located outside of and completely apart from any building used wholly or in part for dwelling purposes in which people congregate or use as food or eating establishment pretty sure there's food at the mall last time I checked so Midland Park has uh has done that
already all the dropping shall be removed from each coupon buried removed from the premises or otherwise disposed in a manner approved by the Board of Health uh do we have do we understand where all those droppings are going are they just being dumped at the mall
someplace um with a bird flu coming I think we should be paying attention to where the droppings are coming so Midland Park did do that uh let's see Township of Union New Jersey also has an ordinance funny um regulation of animal
exhibits permits where they have a huge list um one through 15 of what the permits now here in Woodbridge we just get permits we just give them out you got a chicken here's a permit for you you got a
rooster here's a permit in Union they need the name address and phone number of all the owners all the veterinarians caring for the animals the breeds of the animals vaccinations for all the animals all staff members or anyone that
has interactions with the animals need to show that they did a course in prevention of animal to human diseases uh statement that all staff members have had training on disease reduction a diagram prepared by the owner or vendor drafted to scale showing
the layout of the exhibit we don't do any of these things in Woodbridge Jersey City it shall be unlawful for any person to cause or provide a performance of any exotic animal or on any public or private property within the city of Jersey
City and last but not least I can bring I'll bring more in a couple weeks I didn't have a lot of chance to prepare for this one so this is Westfield New Jersey Westville New Jersey sure it shall be awful and lawful to keep animals such as wild animals swine pigs sheep goats cow paddles ponies or horses
as a domesticated pet or for the display of exhibition subject to subsection B and what subsection B says is that animals can only be shown on a temporary level no more than seven days they can be used in circus or Carnival or parades
but not kept on exhibit for more than seven days so I have rewrote the ordinance since um I heard it was not specific enough um it does exclude any type of um Farms that are already in
place animal rescues but it does talk about the live poultry or water foul being housed within a food or eating establishment one minute I'm sorry okay the establishment of new indoor interactive animal facilities will be banned and that it's unlawful to keep
animals wild animals and then I do have subsection B just as Westfield New Jersey does so in order to allow people to have petting zoos here but only for a short amount of time so I do just want to say um I don't see this as a slippery
slope since other towns are doing it and this is just in New Jersey thank you thank youing are there any other comments from the public this evening thank you thank you uh Ryan Feldman Bridgeton New Jersey
the definition of animal cruelty is the infliction of suffering Andor physical emotional or psychological harm on animals a violation of the basic principle that all living beings deserve kindness respect and protection from harm in case you didn't know humans are
animals too please raise your hand if you are Against Animal Cruelty uh Commissioners Are You Against Animal Cruelty I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you're Against Animal Cruelty or embarrassed because you know where this is going no I'm not I'm going to speak for all of us that we
are all Against Animal Cruelty I'm not going to have raise your hand you can continue please fantastic thank you everybody for being Against Animal Cruelty so tonight I am here to talk about sequest Woodbridge where animals go to die mayor McCormick Landing your
pride and joy disgusting interactive aquarium on indefinite probation due to the depth of over a 100 Animals As We Know of of since 2019 so so mayor McCormick do you understand that everything that you just said about finding nothing wrong at sequest Woodbridge means absolutely nothing
because 100 animals have died at sequest wood brdge since 2019 Landing them on probation through New Jersey Fish and Wild Life do you understand that that your words meant nothing if you listen carefully speak council president if the mayor wants to ask answer a question
through me then that's up to him but you have to direct all questions to the council president can mayor McCormick answer that please I spoke specifically about 10 farm animals we have no jurisdiction over any of the other animals as I clearly stated okay there were two pigs who existed before George
the pig did and they're gone and there were other chickens uh silky chickens who existed before the current chickens that are there and they're gone does anyone know where they are because we filed Oprah requests and we didn't get anything back no vet records nothing they don't
exist anyone arv as the mayor stated an in I shouldn't say not or an independent vetenarian however you say it I can never say that word went in and inspected all the animals that fall under our jurisdiction unfortunately I know you're passionate
is passionate I we don't have that answer because that's not our they don't no but you the the chickens and the pigs are your jurisdiction and you just I'm hearing that and they don't exist those OP requests don't exist so I understand that there was a last ditch effort to get an inspection done because you knew
all of us were going to be here tonight that's incorrect no okay please explain uh the last dis inspection was not planned because there people might be coming the last ditch inspection was not a last ditch inspection okay we had said the last meeting we'll be looking into
and then once uh last meeting it was that the fishing game revoked their permits people asked us what are we going to do regarding our form permit we went out did our due diligence got an independent vet they submitted a report they looked at the animals that fall under our jurisdiction just like the
mayor said unfortunately if there are no other animals there for our for the independent vet I don't have an answer for you but that's your jurisdiction isn't it the farmed animals but you're saying that you don't know why there aren't vet records for the farmed animals that who have all disappeared you're saying that you don't know why
that's not what I said what I said iset went in and looked at all the animals yesterday approximately 14 2 p.m. and the animals that fall under our jurisdiction were there just okay where are the missing chickens and the pigs I have no knowledge about a missing chicken or a pig or whatever who should
I not whatever who should I ask about that uh you could try sequest I'm sure you already have there's there was nothing there except for what the independent vet looked and inspected okay and it's not whatever I don't mean that disrespectful but it's there's
nothing it's whoever it's it's whoever now right now you have you're being present it's sure you're being presented with the opportunity to do the right thing we are asking you the township of Woodbridge to stand against animal cruelty revoke the permits and release
the animals to rescues and sanctuaries we did your work for you we have rescues and sanctuaries standing by to take in the animals My Sanctuary in Bridgeton New Jersey Uncle Neil's home is committing to George the pig the one with dermatitis as you said mayor McCormick sequest is an embarrassment to
your town they are bankrupt you thought that they would make lots of money and be an asset but it's failed it is over Roseville in Minnesota closed yesterday there are four locations remaining and we are asking you to do the right thing and close sequest Woodbridge the commissioners of Woodbridge Township and
sequest kill animals you do you kill animals according to fish and wildlife in New Jersey but now you have the chance to rever the per permits and stand against animal cruelties and release the animals to sanctuary and we are asking to for you to do just that will you
reconsider will you reconsider its question there's there's nothing to answer thank you I have some papers I want to give can I just pass that yeah you can do that when you're done speaker when I'm done yes okay I'm gonna add to what Ryan said Sor
just your name area the township Michelle Granberg Del Ran New Jersey thank you hello so I'm gonna add to what Ryan said you will have in your hands um a list of rescues and sanctuaries who as Ryan said have already committed to taking
specific animals as Ryan said we've done the work for you our group has direct experience with every Sanctuary on this list we can vouch for all of them as legitimate trustworthy nonprofit 51 C3
organizations show of hands perhaps who on the council knows exactly what a sanctuary is right who knows the difference between a sanctuary a zoo a a petting zoo or
aquarium who is honestly unsure of the difference can raise your hands in your head there just because I am familiar with what an animal sanctuary is we don't want to assume that you are familiar as a person who advocates for
Animals meaning all species for the past 10 years I've been a regular volunteer at several local sanctuaries including Ryan I highly recommend you visit as a transformative experience in the way you view farm animals but I'd like to provide some well-intended
fact-based education from the animals perspective there are numerous reasons why zoos and Aquariums are unethical and cruel including sequest the main reason is captivity captivity alone is often
overlooked and not talked about enough show of hands do you know why captivity is cruel in captivity animal every normal natural need is denied every species and every individual animal has unique and complex
physical emotional and social needs these needs are basically ignored they are denied the freedom to roam Forge and interact with other animals which are essential activities for thriving you and I have freedom animals in zoos and
Aquariums do not moreover they suffer from zucos which is the constant endless pacing in circles or back and forth these behaviors stem from boredom depression frustration lack of
enrichment isolation and removal from their natural habitats often resulting in self Haring and self-mutilation behaviors like biting themselves and or biting cage bars or enclosures by the way I've personally
interviewed a former zuk keeper zoo employee for a podcast and he verified all of that is true can we imagine even for a moment switching places with them swimming in a bathtub our entire lives or being trapped within the same four
walls for life in contrast sanctuaries are established solely with the animals well-being in mind not for human benefit they are safe havens for animals who have endured the
victimization of factory farming and other forms of exploitation and abuse animals are never seen as Commodities to charge money to gawk at or items with price taags true sanctuaries are not
profit driven or money generating they don't seek to get anything from the animals or force them to work or do anything true animal sanctuaries are forever homes and our animals Only Hope
for living out their full natural lives every farm animal meets the same fate bred into captivity a short life of suffering ending in Slaughter unless they are in sanctuary in sanctuary animals are allowed to live out their lives with
autonomy over their own bodies they are not used or abused in any way sanctuaries are typically open to the public for visits and are transparent with their treatment and care of the animals I'm almost one minute I'm sorry I'm almost done sanctuaries are part of
the animal rights movement yet they are a standalone real organized Grassroots movement in and of themselves I'm going to skip to the closing because because I run out of time but in closing the animals within
sequest are in danger they are at risk for being sold at auction or sold to another captivity for entertainment situation if you can do something to intervene why not do whatever you are
empowered to do and go the extra mile this is their last and only chance to live a happy life once they're gone they're gone please surrender the animals to Sanctuary it's the right thing to do thank you thank you any other
comments from the public this evening give to M MIT thank you thank you thank you very much hi celester Cano Colonia um this is a different topic so I don't want if anybody else needs to make a comment let see I don't want to cut that's okay all right also I have handouts and I'll for
the council so I get that afterwards okay um again my name is celestri Cano uh uh retired reading specialist from Colony Middle for Colony Middle School so this is familiar here um I am also climate reality leader and a volunteer for numerous environmental organizations
I'm here to request that Council adopt a resolution in support of the New Jersey climate Superfund act to offset the financial burdens of climate change on our Township I have discussed the bill with the Woodbridge environmental commission at their meeting last Thursday they were very receptive uh
modeled after similar legislation passed in New York and Vermont the New Jersey climate superf fund act applies the logic of the original superf fund Act which requires polluters to pay to clean up their contaminated sites this B bill would hold fossil fuel extractors and
refiners that do business in New Jersey and are responsible for more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution since 1995 liable for damages for their share of the cost of climate change in New Jersey it's estimated that New York's
climate superf fund law will raise $3 billion doar of compensatory payments for these polluters annually for the next 25 years it's not unreasonable to estimate that New Jersey's law could raise 2 million annually two two billion
annually excuse me two billion annually under the ACT municipalities will be able to recover costs for climate change adaptation projects payments are distributed in Grants for such projects as flood protection projects of Home
buyouts upgrades of storm water drainage systems defensive upgrades of t roads Bridges railroads and transit systems which would provide service in case of storms flooding and other natural disasters supporting this bill will not
involve any Financial or legal risk to municipalities in fact this legislature will create thousands of jobs making it a win-win for the state's economy then the New Jersey climate super fund act has passed the New Jersey senate environment and energy uh committee on
December 12th I was there and now has 26 co-sponsors in the House and Senate and as New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson has said while we need to slow the train of climate change we must also become more resilient to these changes the cost of
climate change remediation and adaptation are increasing yearly and New Jersey residents have been paying for these costs for years um in relation to a brid Township I have reviewed Thomas Flynn's detailed flood plane management plan for some areas throughout Woodbridge
Township the flood mitigation programs being evaluated range anywhere from 100,000 to 100 million over a one to five year time span so as you can see these estimated costs are enormous and they will increase each year in 2022 the
seven major fossil fuel companies earned profits almost twice the estimated damages caused by their emissions that year 497 billion in profits resulting in 260 billions in Damages it's time that
these companies pay to clean up their mess Woodbridge Township has won many Sustainable New Jersey Awards very proud of that and the people who live here like me care about preserving the environment we can again lead the way so
I'm urging the to stand please with the town Woodbridge Township residents and adopt this resolution at your next meeting in support of the New Jersey climate Superfund act please share a copy of your endorsement with elected representatives thank you again for your
time thank you very much thank you are there any other comments this evening thank you very this is the act resolution okay thank you very much thank you you're welcome thank m Paul L hope
L show a hands how many people think aborting a human baby right up till birth for any purpose or any reason is just and and appropriate that's not my hand going up I just want to see who was going to be foolish enough to raise your
hand I'll repeat it how many people think aborting a human baby right up till birth which is allowed in New Jersey for any reason is unjust and and improper interesting secondly last time we were here Mr Mayor I asked him a
question about having an independent auditor come in take a look at their way there might be some cost cutting or savings very much like doge is doing on a federal level your response as I recall was we don't need any Outsiders telling us what to do I'd like
elaboration on what you mean by out ERS telling us what to do also I want to know is ' Conor who who's been doing the audits on the regular because of law is he an outsider or are they independent so two questions what did you mean by
Outsiders telling you what to do and is ok Conor indeed an outsider independent and able to do this uh audit uh independently and and without any uh uh compulsion to please uh the administration well
I'm sorry an Outsiders anybody who doesn't work for the township and OK Conor The Firm are Financial Auditors not operational Auditors now we have a pretty functional government for example our Police Department is evaluated every three years by the commission for the
accreditation of law enforcement agencies they go through everything every three years in the township every policy every practice every procedure every piece of paper we get flying res flying every single time we have other towns
ask us to handle cases in their towns so starting with the biggest department in town the police department I don't think anybody can come in and give us any advice on our Police Department when we have the best police department in the state of New Jersey number two the public works department if there's a better one in the state I haven't seen
it George Brew handles emergencies in other towns other towns are constantly asking us for equipment for our Manpower when s flooded we sent 50 trucks out during Sandy crossing the by the Parkway bridge and saved the town other towns
look to us for their help our health officers our tax collectors our tax assessors our CFOs all work for other towns when we're the best around I don't see anybody with the experience to possibly come in and tell us how we can
do a better job that's just my opinion I think we're the best town around I've been saying it for 18 years I firmly believe it don't is laying off air traffic controllers after five crashes in the last month that's not do is laying off forestry workers after the
wild the mayor's talking do not interrupt the mayor is recommending laying off forestry official may he answered my question and gone well beyond into into the the realm of untruth you don't have a chance to ask question and then interrupt the mayor he's answering your question no he's not
he's going off on political tangents do is hardly a role model for what we should be doing in Woodbridge now my my question is all I'm saying excuse me you can direct all questions through me I'm the counil president will detail what happens next I would like to
know if there's any possibility that an outside firm if it was paid for by outside would it do any harm to see if there's any way to cut costs thank you are there and also part two of that question is it possible that we can downsize 10% uh uh or started to let
some of the people go and and still be able to be the best around and lastly you've you've held the line you said one year maybe two years in the last 10 on taxes and my question is is there any reason we can't find a way to cut taxes to to the uh you know folks who've been
paying the burdens all low these many years I've been a homeowner in this uh Town my parents before me I've been since ' 89 my taxes are more than tripled for a three-bedroom Ranch so you can't tell me you've been holding the line as well well as you could possibly
uh be holding line and that there's no other possibility for cost savings would you entertain an outsider being willing to do it at at their costs do a little bit of Investigation on how we could save money in the township I believe the mayor is already answer no the answer is
no thank you okay thank you thank you Mr L are there any other comments from the public this evening good evening again Tom Maris W New Jersey evening just want to say I'm very impressed with a number of people are here tonight and U I hear your causes
and I'm so grateful you come out I just wish you were here many other times at these Town Council meetings because it's not just about animals it's about a lot of other things or the environment and it goes on every two weeks and I wish you would show up so you can express
your opinions when you're talking about building in this Township education in this Township Dei the school systems it all happens here and you should be here so I'm again grateful that you're here I'm an animal lover and as the mayor and
the council will tell you I had many arguments with them and we come through a lot of good things to help save cats dogs um neuter and release within this Township because of the efforts that went forward and they have been
responsible and I hope they will be within the Realms that they can be because they are also Bound by law and unless those laws Chang at the state level and there's one of the people right there on the DS that can help make that happen he's the head of the
assembly send that stuff to him he can change the state laws or help change them just note that but because I only have maybe four minutes left if I can squeeze it all in real quick I'm just going to throw out some questions about what's happening
you know we keep hearing that all these departments are going to help us bring down the taxes I don't see that happen people are here tonight complaining about the taxes where is that all that money gone from the tax revenues that we're supposed to get from the tax
deated apartments by the way there's more Apartments coming on Fon Street how many and who's behind that uh I'd really like to know who from the end set and I think it's been going up for several years in that development and I know that uh I I believe Mr Peter
merali who's also had a his hand in a lot of the big developments going on here may have had or just still has a interest in that development uh I'd like to before I forget congratulate director hubner and assistant director Joe niski
on director hub's retirement coming up so this is my perhaps my last chance in a for to say that to you you've been great you've done a lot our Police Department is one of the best in the state and I thank you you've always been very response and I know Joe is great
his son is a marine he's also on the force and I know they will do an outstanding job um as far as the animal groups are concerned again I I just go back to that for a minute perhaps the the town has passed ordinances in the past where they
limit homeowners to the number of animals that they might have within that dwelling whether it be five dogs five cats or whatever is there anything they could do along those lines that could say a business in town can only have so many animals on its property at one given
time and with that I'll just turn it back over and hope you'll come up with some answers thank you Mr Maris uh first thank you for your kind words foran director hner I I I believe there is something regarding indiv commercial businesses in the of animals that they can have in the
ordinance I thought no depending on what the business is I have to look at that we have to look we can definitely look into it and I back to you um I think we the taxes as the mayor said and we said last two meetings out with the budget correct me from wrong mayor um two year
ago the tax was a zero increase three years ago two years ago zero increase $50 tax levy last year I believe correct that's accurate over three years the 50 some odd dollars average of $20 a year for the last three years so and as
for taxes from 1989 to now I mean how that's 30 some odd years anything else I thought I thought I covered everything Mr Maris I'm not sure if I missed anything no I do have one other way if I can still have time in uh where does the
township actually stand now uh in the past and Pres when it comes to Dei policies that well are you talking about the school district or even hiring within your own within the township did
you not have policies Dei policies about hiring that would fall Mr we don't have a Dei policy we use Fair hiring practices set by the state labor board thank you great thank you thank you Mr Maris are there any other comments from the public this
evening she's been hello Mr President Ken Gardner 101 scoer Avenue Woodbridge um as far as the budgeting goes I I admire the mayor's being proud of our Township it's
the best town around he says frequently I grew up in Woodbridge I do think it's a great town and does a lot of great things but it's the town council's responsibility to review the budget every year I believe the mayor started in 2007 and I'm sure of that time that
he's you know developed some some good programs 2006 2006 I was a year off I'm sorry um but regardless it's it's a long period of time and I really think that the council should consider starting a zerob base budgeting approach to the
budget it's time to go back to ground zero to look at every single item that's in the budget you know some of you have been here for a few years some longer so you know maybe there's programs you forgot about I think it's time to go for a zerob based budgeting approach by
doing so and with the number of pilot uh dollars that we've received in the last several years you know many people thought this pilot program was going to be good for the town it's going to bring money into us we were going to see a tax cut because of everything that's happening it it's time for a tax cut in
Woodbridge I I have my my property tax bills here and my my taxes have not gone down in fact they've they've increased each year so we read about the team effort that the council's you know part of and the McCormack team and all all of
the various branches of government that we deal with and the way the pilot program works is when the money comes in 95% of the money goes to the town 5% goes to the county no money goes to the school district automatically no money goes to the fire district
automatically 5% I believe goes to the county so it is a team and our taxes have increased I I think my taxes in the last three years I mean Count Council mcole has been here for three years maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong but I think my tax bill has gone up
about 10% in the last three years now I understand this is the town council meeting I understand this is the Town Council and you're in charge of the Town budget but we constantly see the McCormick team the mall team the council Team all from all of these different branches of government and with the
pilot program maybe if maybe if we gave them the proper percentage of money out of the pilot program maybe there would be a tax decrease the fire district in particular I I think U Mr Mitchell I don't know if you could correct me if I'm wrong you were in charge of the election over there did the budget pass
for the Fire District results aren't results aren't final yet right so the budget budget pass there or there's a good enough origin I know there's still a couple votes coming in from the maons and things like that but you know that's going to be another uh increase for us now our fire district has got several
new buildings I mean I think there is over 1100 unit new apartment units within a half mile of one another but the fire district is not receiving any money I mean I mayor has or Mr President through you to the mayor has the fire district received any pilot money at
all council president Mr guardan you've heard us talk about Pilots over and over again again you just don't understand how they work first of all nobody ever ever said pilot monies would be used to lower taxes ever second you know that the school
district is not hurt by pilots they get the tax levy that they need to run the school district 100% the fire districts are the same they set their Levy they send us the bill on the a4f form we put it in the system and we send them the
exact amount they need if we have 100 Pilots or no Pilots it has no impact on what they do they get what they need I don't know how you could not know this when you've come to meetings and you just don't understand that the fire
districts and the the school board are not hurt by pilots they get the levy they need every single year has the I asked if the fire district has received any pilot money they don't by law you even said the
county gets 5% the town gets 95% and then you ask the question and when you just answered it yourself have you given the school district any pilot money Mr Mayor we we basically pay the school district's Debt Service on projects okay and that's a good thing we
do it's spent over almost $200 million over a 10-year period and they've built a new RW Street School they've built extensions on school 20 5 and school 28 a practically new Woodbridge Middle a practically new school 5 they're going to build a brand new school 4 we're
going to build a new school 10 we don't give them pilot monies we share our budget revenues with them and it's worked very well for us the fire district is uh just purchased a new ladder truck Mr President and the town should pay for that out of the pilot
money the fire district has not received any pilot money minutes District did receive it and we and we do have that's for the third time your five minutes are up thank you sir what about the time that the mayor used of my five minutes part of a give and take thank you have a good night council president yes sir I'd
just like to add um you know 15 years ago um when uh the mayor came up with the um proposal to bring in the single arm um garbage cans uh garbage trucks
and there were a lot of people that were very de set against it because it was going to lay off a lot of um men that worked for the sanitation department one of the things that you see is is a reduction in the disability claims because when men are jumping on and off
that garbage truck uh a lot of needs and hips and all of those things add up and it cost the township a lot of money and there were people that were against that however we're 15 years into this and you see a a a you know trash container
coming down down our street and one person is operating that and it's very efficient that was one one area uh we also secured money from uh the the uh County for open space fund to preserve
um Colonial Country Club that was one of the first things that I was a part of when we came in here this is very responsible government by um our mayor by our Council um had that been developed the infrastructure that would
have been required the schools that would have had to been built um we are developing some areas in in Woodbridge Township some areas that uh can be developed that it makes good sense to develop um however you know there are plenty of opportunities that this
Council looks at our our budget as we do every year and and think of areas and bring that up and we back and forth we send uh comments to our Administration um ask asking if everything that we're doing makes the most sense for our
Township and makes the most sense for our residents uh one of I think my one of my um uh biggest responsibilities is to ensure because we live here too and I want my my children to be able to buy a home here um is to make sure that uh
we're fiscally um responsible and that we're making sure that um Woodbridge grows properly and um you know I I just want you to understand that everyone on this de uh we we do um hold our Administration and our mayor accountable
for any of the growth that we go uh we we experience here in woodrige Township so just wanted to share that thank you Council Anderson council president just to expand on uh councilman Anderson's comments uh you were very accurate one of the things the mayor did do is the
fact that no one lost their jobs through layoffs everyone in that progam program either uh were retired through attrition or transferred to other departments so not one one employee lost their job and we saved the taxpayer millions of dollars thank you thank you are there
any other comments this evening from the public just one point of clarification for the next speaker um resident might come up and say my taxes went up and I'm sure that's possible but there's five things on a tax Municipal County Fire District
school district and Library so if anybody were to say I looked at my taxes and my taxes went up just make sure you look at every itemized uh line item to make sure exactly what agency you're referring to when you say your taxes R up thank you next speaker
please my name is jasha adura I'm from piscato New Jersey um I would I have additional questions regarding um cqu So based based on um the complaint and and
uh the lack of vet records clearly the animals were not receiving proper vet care prior to the cquest bankruptcy hearing on January 31st of this year now that sequest has admitted that they only have two more weeks left of available funds in order to provide for necessary
animal care what is the Township's plan on ensuring the safety for the animals that fall under their own USDA license please keep in mind that the two we period of sequest saying they will run out of funds is now over with with that
being said what is the Township's plan for the animals that are unregulated such as lobsters what can Woodbridge do if anything at all to make sure the animals are not starved to death or dying of illnesses that are
treatable is Woodbridge going to allow sequest to get more animals under their permits or unregulated species after New Jersey fish and wildlife remove the Exotics thank you as has been said already this evening uh the animals have
fall under the township form permit the lack of a you know not having the right um phrase uh they were inspected by independent vet yesterday and with the exception of the pop belly pig all animals appeared to be safe and okay can't comment I can't or nobody can
comment on any other animals that do not fall under the authority of the township thank you are there any other comments from the public it's fine it's fine we'll hear you thank you hello y Jeffrey weski parison New
Jersey all right so it's my understanding that um these are the following species that the township of Woodbridge has responsibility for so the list starts with domestic
rabbit uh domestic guinea pig domestic pigs two toad sloth Flying Squirrels small clawed otters exotic cats cat
hybrids k build two cans blue and yellow Maca blue and gold Maca red and green MCA and green winged MCA rose breasted
coatu other kinds of cockus domestic ducks all domestic breeds of cockatil common parakeets domestic chickens hens and
roosters domestic goats is that correct who can I direct my question to about um animals I I'm sorry I understand what you said the question is I'm sorry uh stop the sign
please uh CH sir if you want to record you have to be in the box within the blue um otherwise you don't have to record you can sit there you want to record you need to be in the blue box you want to move over here so you can record right over there
okay thank you um I I understand what you said um oh you know what I'm sorry you came in a little bit late um the animals that were inspected by the independent vet were four chickens Two Goats one pot belly pig and two
rabbits that's what that is I'm sorry that is what was there yesterday on the uh inspection okay and all these other species are also um under the responsib possbility of the township of Woodbridge in this town is that correct I believe so I don't have the ordinance right in
front of me okay so any of those animals that would be at at at sequest Woodbridge would be under the town's responsibility all right and uh it's also my understanding that the township of Woodbridge um acts as a liazon
between uh sequest and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture is that correct I don't know what you mean by liaison you said liaison you said two different entities you said sequest and then you said fishing game I believe so so they inspections on the sequest Woodbridge
location is that correct for the animals who's they are there inspections of the animals at the sequest Woodbridge location we just had an inspection yesterday okay so that's yes of the farm
animals that fall under the and the township of Woodbridge also has the power to revoke or continue the permit of cquest Woodbridge correct incorrect could you explain you just answered I I I answered you you asked a broad statement if we can just go in
there and revoke a permit that's not our purview if you want to say we have uh a capability or ability to look into the permit that is issued by the township then the answer to that would be yes we do have that ability and we did that yesterday by doing the uh inspection by
having the vetom and do the independent inspection okay so you do have the power to revoke the the permit for sequest Woodbridge then talk about the township permit the township permit yes the farm permit there's several different permits that's why I want to make sure we're all on the same that you and I are on the
same page yeah do you have the power to revoke any of those permits I um not unless no the farm animal permit as you said there's 10 farm animals that permit all the other animals that uh this gentleman mentioned other than hens and
roosters which are farm animals but they're not there now all those other MCA and all those things they have nothing to do with the township permit they're not under our jurisdiction all right I have another question what is the update regarding the September 2024 USDA inspection that cited the bird plan
was not vet approved I would probably recommend you direct that question to the USDA and what is the update regarding the May 2024 USD da inspection that noted the two cans food at sequest Woodbridge was infested with fruit flies
and that the food must be free of contamination for the health of the birds same I would recommend you direct that question to USD okay you don't have that information okay who has the list of living and deceased animals at sequest Woodbridge I'm assuming the township can
provide that information under the USDA license thank you times up can you answer the question please time up thank you sir any other comments from the public yeah Sean O'Neal 127 Walnut in mouen how
are you and I just wanted to let you know that I feel that you could have and you still can pass an ordinance Banning exhibits of animals in your town and that uh sequest would be in no position to sue you you know sue the town at this
point considering their bankrupt and everything else thank you thank you any other comments from the public Von ugell Edison New Jersey as many know sequest is advertised as a place for children to be
in but just two but just two weeks ago I went to sequest myself to see what children would really enjoy the second that we went through the door the stench of rotting feces and Decay decaying material straight hit hit my nose meaning that it wasn't kept in a tidy
place as it should be I could see that the fish tanks water was Green from mold and milw and I'm sure this poses a potential risk for health of people and the Animals as bacteria can be dangerous for kids as well as the fish inside the
tanks let's move on to squirrels squirrels are normally as you can see outside active and moving anywhere from 5 to 10 miles a day but when they're stuck in a cage that's less than a few square feet they cannot get anywhere near the activity on top of that
squirrels can forage and look for nuts seeds and fruits meaning that they get some entertainment and also nutrition for their body which is not found in Seaquest as they're being fed feed that has artificial C uh vitamins and GMO products parrots who can fly anywhere
from 6 to 12 miles a day are stuck in a glass room less than a few Square few hundred square fet going back and forth which as people have stated prior can cause zucos then reptiles who normally are very active hunting prey are stuck in
small cages with artificial painted back backgrounds being fed fake food as all the animals are and on top of that arborous animals like rabbits goats pigs and chickens should not be an aquarium and they should not be F be fed the kind of food they're
being fed at the moment as that food is not natural for them and overdose of that food can cause potential health issues and as people have stated of animals have died within the past 6 years at sequest this brings me to ask you what do you think of the information I've
shared with you today in my mind the analysis that sequest is not only a depressing place for the animals to be in it also has many concerns for the human and animals Health why would someone want to go there and why would someone and um why would kids want to go there well if kids like watching animals
up close there are hundreds of s animal centuries in New Jersey that kids can go to as a s owner is present with us today and she can give you more information about that and as others have stated SE course is filing for bankruptcy which
could pose as a risk to the township of Woodbridge as it is occupying a precious space and could also bring down the value of Wood Bridge township thank you thank you very much you just want to thank I want to thank everyone I thank you young very well spoken and thank you
for sharing your passion great job any other comments from the public hello Carol Jong from mouin um I just have a couple other questions about sequest um as the young woman stated uh before uh 100 animals
have died since their opening um so clearly animal neg negligence is nothing new to them when it comes to a non-sustainable business like sequest um so my first question is if some if if a visitor there um sees a
violation um of animal treatment how would would Bridge township like that person or visitor to handle it thank you so unless I speak out of turn I couldn't hear her I'm sorry council president if it involves a form animal you can certainly let us know any
other animal you probably should call the D or the USDA if it's our Township the health department would be the start right or the mayor's office either or okay but that's that's only the domestic animals is that right if if anybody I'm sorry if anybody walks in
and we've done this before we've gotten complaints whether it's one of our animals whether it's a sequest an whether it's a USDA whether it's a what you know um fishing game if anybody ever sees any type of um problem they can certainly um notify the health
department of the township we'll send our health department there and they've done it in the past they've notified uh fishing game on uh complaints and issues that they've seen okay um and my second question is that um
sequest has had roach infestations in the past so are inspections done regularly regularly to make sure such a problem does not arise again on on roaches you said yes oh that wouldn't fall that if we get a complaint
that they're done at uh clean this interval so they they don't no longer have a food concession we used to do that on a regular basis for their food concession license they they no longer requested that license so you're saying if there's if they no longer sell food then there's no
longer any sort of issue with roaches I don't I believe we're saying there's not an issue with roaches but if they have a food concessions license we'd be going there for we've never heard that complaint before it's on excuse
me go ahead man th those are my two questions okay okay thank you any other comments this evening tanks and cage oh okay tanks and cages are no place for any animal to be in pulling these beautiful innocent sensient creatures
from their natural habitats where people can point figures of them laugh and entertain themselves is unacceptable I know if that was me I would absolutely hate it if this is an ex and experience you really have your priorities backwards the world needs more compassion more empathy more love
holding animals against their will is none of the above do better would be S thank you yes ma'am hi my name is Ashley Harwick of pilen Park so I'm here as well to talk about the sequest animals um the first question sorry out the time
I need you to put the mic back into the the mic is the mic is set everyone will be heard whether you're 2ot tall or six foot tall thank you just let me know when you're ready okay I'm ready thank you okay um so my first question is um there was someone who asked a question a little bit earlier and I don't think he
was able to finish it um I'm worri you can't hear me so he asked um does anyone have the records of the animals that have died do you guys have it and if you do have it um how would we be able to um see it so any anything that would fall under purview you're more than welcome
to follow an Opa request okay would it be by an OA request or a different way it would be by an OA request we don't V I'm sorry sir we don't have those records no okay um my next question is um when you spoke earlier about the
permit the township permit sorry I don't mean to scream but I have a here I was stupid once and I didn't wear ear muff so that's not you I just came here um so when it comes to the township permit um I think there was a little bit of talk earlier about well we can't just revoke it for no reason but you do have the
power to revoke it um and I was wondering what that would look like what it would take what the process would be if you did start developing an interest in revoking that permit the township Health Department whomever if we get a complaint we'll investigate it okay and if we find
issues under our purview then they can face revocation just like any other permit that would be issued um from any Department from the township provided we get we do not go and just spot inspect on a blue I'm I'm not talking about a
business that gets complaints we just don't go in and say uh you have your one-year inspection um where you have your one time renew every year and now we're just going to come in we would get a complaint and then depending upon what we saw they could face revocation has there there been any instances that
either you can think of or maybe someone else can think of in the past that certain things have been enough for you to say do you know what we're going to proceed ahead and revoke this permit uh in terms of your vote no because every anything that has been approached to us whether it's under our
purview or not we have gone and sent inspectors and door a vet and there's there's been nothing found on RN meaning what we govern okay um another question that I have for you as well is um I saw earlier someone who is a sanctuary owner
was here um I wasn't able to get here in time to hear what she said but I think she probably asked for the farmed animals to be released to sanctuaries is that something you might consider at this time kind of bringing things towards the farmed animals being
released to Sanctuary we don't know not at this time because we had our independent investigation yesterday and there was nothing that warranted to us to arbitrarily which we can't I mean there's not any one of us up here
that wouldn't like to love to see every single one of those animals in somebody's sanary in somebody's home right and we said it I'm not saying trying to repet it we've said it over and over again we don't want to see those animals there we don't however we don't have the authority unless something is presented to us to just go
in and say that's it you're picking the animals I'd love to give every animal to a sanctuary or an adopt or whatever it might be or let loosen the field well not let loose but yes I get I get what you're saying fly away or go to the ocean whatever it is unless there's
something we don't have that Authority and then I have one last question for you this is just something I don't understand so I was hoping maybe you could clarify what this means so it said that NJ de sent a letter saying the department has constructively seized all regulated animals possessed by sequest
what does that mean for them to constructively seize them does it mean that they've taken the animals or does it mean that the animals are still there but under someone else's Authority so I council president you you would have to ask them I don't know what their terminology is so that they're that's under their
purview under their purview meaning the D the D okay if they if they issued that letter that that would be under their perview those animals do you um setting aside their terminology do you have any of your own knowledge about not just the animals that were inspected but the
others were they taken somewhere else or anything of that nature we do not okay all right thank you I appreciate the way you interact with us um I think it's very courteous and I feel very respected which is not always the case um in these meetings so thank you very much for that
thank you thank you are there any other comments hello um Maria Ivanova Highland Park I have a question about uh sequest it's known that sest provided a procedure called fish kisses or fish
pedicure um during this procedure people put the feet in the in water where fishes can suck dead skin of the uh feet and legs uh this procedure is uh Cosmetic in
in its nature and uh now that uh it's illegal um for someone who who doesn't have a license to provide the cosmetology procedures we know that
sest didn't have cos cosmetology license uh so it's illegal for them to provide cosmetology procedures uh next human animal contact uh contact is the reason for zoonotic
diseases uh people can transmit illnesses to animals and animals can trans transmit illnesses to people so whenever uh there uh a an interaction between humans and animals occurs there should be a government body regulating
such acts uh uh will the mayor and council help us find out who oversees the legality of uh this procedure
USDA USDA andj Department of Agriculture fish and game and the cosmetology board said that uh they don't oversee this it seems like uh every government agency doesn't want to take uh take
accountability for an attraction that is open to the public um and uh being this is happening in your Township why does the Department of Health not saying anything about
this uh zoonatic diseases are on the rise now and uh uh who uh why there there is no one uh who um regulate who sees this as human health
issue coun pres I think I can try to unravel that so so as far as the fish pedicures uh pedicures fall on under the division of Cur uh um cosmetology they do not uh possess a cosmetology license so it falls under Fish game and Wildlife
it's a state statute so they would have to enforce that statute thank you okay but they uh before that they said uh they don't oversee this so can can
we uh expect that in future they will um take accountability as Mr suas said this has been brought before us before we forwarded the information um it's not the township I don't mean to say it's not Township I
that's that's the entity that controls that governs it I should say okay okay thank you there any other comments from the public this evening you just want to hand something nowor you just want to hand something in
yeah all that's fine all right thank you good evening members of Town Council my name is Nisha Menon and I reside in Somerset New Jersey I'm here tonight to express my deep concern about the presence of any business or organization
within Woodbridge that contribute to animal exploitation abuse or neglect we all value Community compassion and education allowing animal abusers to operate within Woodbridge directly con
contradicts with these values the very idea that animals could be mistreated within the community is deeply disturbing animal abuse is not just a moral issue it's a matter of public safety Studies have shown a strong
correlation between animal cruelty and other forms of violence individuals who abuse animals are more likely to engage in other criminal activities posing a potential risk to our residents we don't want our town to be a place that Harbors
such individuals furthermore businesses and organizations with a history of animal abuse often attract negative attention protests boycotts and negative media coverage can damage the town's reputation and deter uh potential
visitors and businesses from coming here this can have economic consequences for our community we have a responsibility to protect vulnerable animals and ensure the safety and well-being of our residents I urge the Town Council to
take the following actions pass the proposed ordinance in front of you what I had passed around while you have heard tonight while why you should revoke the license of sequest this ordinance will prevent you and the residents of Woodbridge from having to deal with
these organizations and companies in the future operating in your town there will be clear guidelines for what type of companies in the future operate in your town there will um uh will be welcome in your town and
what Woodbridge and the community at large should stand for Implement a thorough vetting process require any businesses or organizations seek seeking to operate in our town to disclose any history of Animal Welfare violations
this should include background checks and reviews of past incidents thirdly and lastly encourage Community reporting establish a clear and accessible process for residents to report suspected animal abuse ensure
that these reports are taken seriously and are thoroughly investigated once we prevent organizations from abusing and exploiting animals in our Community we can uh find educational alternatives for instance the Nork Museum of Art has a
popular interactive exhibit called sketch aquarium in this exhibit visitors can create their own sea creatures by coloring templates which are then scanned and brought to life in a digital aquarium also there are nature centers
which rehabilitate wild animals across the state which give individuals of all AG ages a chance to understand more about the habitats of these animals along with learning how to help reintroduce these animals Back To Nature we must send a clear message that animal
abuse must not be tolerated in our town by taking these steps we can create a safer more compassionate Community for both animals and people I understand that this may require some effort and resources but I believe it's a crucial
step in upholding the values we cherish as a Community I am confident that by working together we can ensure that our town is a place where animals are treated with respect and compassion thank you for your time and consideration thank
you are there any other comments toing from the public John over here well you know I told everybody I grew up on a farm I'm no different between a farm animal and domestic animal but I think if you take it out how it's done proper way people
they think love something but they don't know how they take care of it they this like it I think any animal whatever get people get license on it that gets license on it should be registered in case that animal gets sick
and dies or put away it should be taken to the like any farm animal you got to take it to veterinarian doctor and he would decide what was the cause of the animal death it should be given to the people to the township or any state to know why
did animal died from talk about abuse died from abuse or disease that's the way to not spread the disease State town or country anybody that has a license of any animal
an animal is put away or dies got go why died why was it put down that's most important nobody talk about it tonight but again talk about what kind of animals we got in this town I never wasn't aware
you might have a cows or whatever is I hope not it's very simple find out who supplies the feed for those animals not just uh what we got over here in Woodbridge a lot of thing is delivered from out of the state so you know what
kind of a feed those animals get so you know what they feeding and what kind of animals they got a lot of people might have some animals they use it for I should even say but ritual some what you want to call it that's how you going to find out definitely animals are
abused we all know that but again we go that farmers know how to treat it uh other people but that's the most important thing I hear anybody talk about tonight so you can do this you can control it and you can assist it
because you know people do things that's to people never mind to animals but that is very important that you're going to tell when animal dies you got license on it you got to take it to a veterinarian and just it would examinate
why the animal died or was put put down thank you again we talk about a lot of stuff if you look at it mayor said how good town we are yes we are a good town because we are good people we got good
people over this town but if those people other towns we break about how we help them okay we should help anybody that's nothing wrong with it or do we get any reimbursement and how would they help us we just going
say we send a fire department we're going to cele to you know why they don't have what we have they don't care for the people or because they get it from us so let's not be so willing to emergency is emergency
but we talk about a taex assessors we talk about a inspection to building departments things like that that's not emergencies they can pay for their own so we can get a better jge for our people in the town over here and the
mayor last time that's Reon I came tonight on the fourth of uh this month you said that average tax would be toship wi $20 and we know like myself I got qu
with tax bills we know it's not true are you just talking about Municipal tax or you going to talk about County TX F Tex and school one minute Mr that's my question is people not don't understand it so well like look my tax bill went up
$100 how could you say $20 so people make it clear you TX M only been $20 but cont went up and why the cont went up why the school go up because all the stuff we got in this town so school got to charge
more fire department got to charge more Count's got to charge more because you get money from the county you get so that's the thing let us know I don't say you in Texas but they need more money and you got there is the taxes thank you thank you
council president yes Mr when I speak of taxes I'm talking only about Municipal Taxes I am not talking about the Board of Ed I'm not talking about the county I'm not talking about the fire district I have no responsibility for their budgets or their tax rates I have no accountability for their budgets or
their tax rates they're separate bodies if you want to talk with the Board of Ed about their taxes you need to go to a board of ed meeting or a county meeting or a fire district meeting when I said they that taxes went up an average of $20 over the last three years you said that wasn't true that's true three years
ago we had a zero two years ago we had a zero and last year we had a bit of 50 and change divide 60 by 3 you get 20 that's the fact not Texas are there any other comments from
the public this evening hi I'm Peter Ortiz from Newark um thank you um mayor I believe earlier you mentioned and I'm paraphrasing here that you what you heard was happening at um sequest was troubling if I'm not getting
your exact words um correct apologize and uh council president and I believe you had expressed concern for the animals at sequest and uh again paraphrasing if there was something more you could do you wish you could help
those animals um there's a lot of great suggestions made tonight um I don't have anything to add I would just ask that you take them into serious consideration um I think potential Solutions and um just really consider
the cost of doing nothing or not doing enough because one thing we do know is that more animals will die um it's a at least 100 since 2019 and we do know more animals will
die so just think about that when you look at all the suggestions that you've heard tonight appreciate your time thank you for the talking are there any other comments from the public this evening greetings everyone thank you for your time my name is Stephen I grew up in oldridge Township I've been a
resident of New Jersey pretty much my whole life I'm proud to be here this is my first time speaking at a council meeting um my number one priority I'm not going to ask you guys questions or make things complicated I'm a really straightforward person the thing that matters to me most is the suffering of
innocent life and I am appalled actually to be here tonight and seeing some of the responses from some people about the suffering of innocent life happening right here in Woodbridge right here in Woodbridge Mall you have in the shopping
mall you have as you guys said to my knowledge and I respect you people I love you people I understand you represent Woodbridge Township and your Woodbridge is a great Township but right here in Woodbridge Mall you have the suffering of innocent life and to my knowledge we were just told you're
responsible for pigs chickens and other domestic animals that you Chief decision makers as Woodbridge Township is responsible for I understand the Exotic Life we're not responsible for but I mean at the end of the day we're going to either make decisions as Chief decision makers
that are going to support suffering or decrease the amount of suffering and as the mayor said with all respect mayor mccormic I believe you just said recently that your the police department launched a an investigation the police department launched an investigation they didn't
they didn't find anything that like that that blows my mind you have an amazing Police Department as you said your town has helped other towns and I think you were mentioning Hurricane Sandy where you helped faville from preventing it from flooding but yet you got guys can't find anything wrong I mean you go to
sequ people you're humans you don't want to promote suffering no one here wants to promote suffering you have pigs confined in cages as big they can't move you have other you have other animals as well that are trapped they're not in they're not in normal they're not in
livable conditions that's the bottom line you just had two kids mayor come up here and one of them was saying he was seeing feal matter who was smelling feal matter this is this is shocking people for Woodbridge Township such a great Township and I know you guys are a great Township you guys are the chief decision makers I pray to God and I pray for our
for this Township and the innocent beings that you make the right decisions as Chief decision makers because it is in your power to make the right decision to decrease suffering and I understand all permitting and regulations or you you try to say you might not have the power the bottom line is at the end of
the day the chief decision makers that are here tonight have the power and control the regulations in Woodbridge Township at the end of the day I'm not going to take full five minutes cuz like I said I'm short simple to the point I hope the chief decision makers of Woodbridge Township will make the right decision to get this
horrific Place gone and out of Woodbridge and hopefully you could replace it with something that wants to actually promote community and promote an education center or something positive not a sick evil thing that literally tortures
animals thank you thank you hello uh I'm Jonathan linman and I am uh from Hampton burough um originally I am from South Georgia and so I um I grew up around a lot of animals uh petting zoos
and state fairs and uh I am I guess the word would be sympathetic to the idea that I think many people of my generation and older have that that is reasonable because that's what I I did and I loved it it's why I became biologist because I loved the animal so
much um but things have changed in the decades since then and we are able to recognize that there is more to well-being than an acknowledgement of the phys physical
conditions of place um I'm here specifically because uh my wife and I volunteer at Goats of Anarchy which has a few of the goats that came from um sequest in
20 a few years ago I'm not sure the exact year that they came uh Stella Roxy and Kora um Stella especially one of the swed just goat you will ever meet Roxy and Kora I think they're very sweet but they don't want
to interact with people that much and so the idea that those goats were stuck in that place forced to have children and adults come through touching them against their will it's just it's there's a part of me that feels
like coming up here and speaking it's just annoying to all of you and so maybe it doesn't even help uh the cause uh but I couldn't not say something because I know that there are other animals there
right now that are going through what Roxy Stella and Kora went through a few years ago and I think that you have more power than you realize to acknowledge that the well-being of animals comes down to more than a
veterinarian saying things are okay um I mean I I'm Dr lman when people call me that they think it gives me some sort of authority and understanding of things that I don't have uh a vet was able to look at the physical conditions of the
animals um vets don't always have the greatest idea of what that means for the happiness of an animal and this is a chance for the township to show the
generations after mine um that when you have animals there is a right way to do it and people have been here tonight with with the uh the sanctuaries that are doing it the right way um and I guess I just want to encourage you
to let this be a continuing issue that you consider um the finality of the mayor statement was kind of discouraging because it sort of felt like well the vet said it so there's nothing can do um but there's clearly a lot more to the
story with all the animals that are not accounted for uh their vet records that aren't accounted for um and I hope that you will continue to take seriously the fact that there are living beings there that are experiencing this every
day while they're waiting on us to make a decision about their lives um that's all thank you very much thank hi there thanks for taking the time to listen to us um my name is Laura and I'm from Hampton and I too grew up most of
my life in the South around farm animals and I think one thing that struck me this evening is hearing how many people actually aren't from Woodbridge that are showing up to talk to y'all this isn't just a Woodbridge issue this is an issue of Animal Welfare so I appreciate y'all taking the time since most of us aren't
from Woodbridge to talk to us um similar to Jonathan I a volunteer at Goats of Anarchy and we care for Stella Roxy and Kora every week because they were released from sequest if it's okay to ask I was wondering when did Woodbridge have the authority over the farm animals
when did that start do you know what year I don't remember what up I made now I would just think 200 maybe when they opened I don't know that it happened anytime think not top my head that's totally fine um so those
three goats were under woodbridge's perview that are now part of a sanctuary and this wouldn't have been y'all but seques promised they wouldn't bring in more farm animals because they saw the Damage Done To those three specifically I am an animal welfare expert I've been working in Animal
Welfare since the 90s I'm actually a veterinary technician also I have very little knowledge about a lot of stuff in life but I know animal welfare and I do agree that I believe mayor your exact words were that the vet found no abuse do you know how abuse is defined in this
instance and I'm sorry do you know how abuse is defined in this report uh I've seen the report the mayor you've seen the report uh that vet uh detailed his findings that was that is it public information are we able to access that report yeah sure you absolutely you can
file open request cool that's excellent I really hope like multiple people have said that this is maybe a start of a conversation of how we can do better because we know better I've been in Animal Welfare for almost 30 years and I know what we used to do isn't what we
still do now and animals need access to the five freedoms Freedom from Hunger freedom from thirst freedom to express their natural behaviors and freedom to not be under stress and der these animals don't have that those are basic animal welfare rights I've worked for
organizations like the ASPCA and for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary which are national animal welfare organizations we have the ability to do better and I hope you guys entertain the discussion so we can talk about how we get there whatever that result is I hope
we can continue to take baby steps to do better for these animals um and especially because you guys have that access to the farm animal control so thank you for letting me speak this evening and I appreciate it thank you thank you are there any other comments from the public
hi my name is Anna Chriss ala from peran boy and I hate public speaking so be with me um my heart's going to jump out um the thing I hate about sequest is that the
animals they don't have grass under their feet they don't have sunlight they don't like their picture of outside is painted on a cement wall and then thinking about circadian rhythms I just Googled because I thought
it was just my opinion but Google thinks that pigs can be affected by bright light or I think oops they can get sick from like disruptions in their circadian rhythms
so it just I would like for the farm animals to go to sanctuaries because it makes me sad to see them locked up in there and that's thank you very much any other comments from the public this
evening you're question my name is abinash and I live in Edison and uh I have a uh contact I have been to the Woodridge Mall since 1982 when I came over here and found my
first job in the mall and uh I have been protesting against this sequest even before it came down uh a animal activist group led by Peta and still it came into existence I have visited it three times
and it is you know first before the covid and twice after the co and I have seen that it is the Press is just going down and it is so shabby last time I went I took my three-year-old granddaughter with me and she wanted to
be out within 5 minutes it was absolutely smelly and dirty and no matter what any V says the animals are not happy there I mean you you can put an animal for its whole lifetime in concrete enclosures with artificial
light like this and in like hundreds of times less space than it is used to like birds can fly thousands of feet high in the sky and here it's limited to like 10 ft of ceiling or 9 ft of ceiling height that is animal cruelty and a lack of
Animal Welfare you don't need to get a wet to tell you that oh animals are fine or they're not suffering from Animal Welfare it is it is a total an oblivious blatant Animal Welfare breach and that's what needs to be collected we all say
that oh we love animals but we go home and eat chicken and fish without any thought so most of us don't even know what animal welfare is or love for animal is thank you thank you thank you any other comments from the public this evening
good evening my name is Edward from Newark New Jersey I will start off with a quote um from Lauren Hagen director of captive Wildlife for the Humane Society abusing animals is a failing business
model so I'm going to read an excerpt from what happened over in the state of Texas in regards to sequest in August 2024 Darren County staff found no issues with the Fort Worth aquarium at ridgemar
Mall after Peta had alleged abuse and neglect based on claims from three former employees the aquarium's former CEO Vince cavino stepped down that very same
month but the ridgemar mall location for sequest closed on October 28th just over two months after that complaint and weeks after the Humane Society's investigation had ended in a statement Peter called on
sequest to close the rest of its locations and give the animals up to reputable financially responsible facilities and by that only an animal
sanctuary would fit the bill on reputable financially responsible facilities and to start closing it down um sequest Financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing
business model as compassionate consumers don't want to Fork over their dollars to look at fish otter and birds suffering in cramped filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters the statement R so I just
want you to just POS a question to you all you don't have to answer or anything imagine if you read an article about the Woodbridge sequest location um I'm sure you would probably be aall just as uh what I'm reading to
you now from a different state and I will close this off with another quote from Laura Hagen director of captive Wildlife for humane society sequest and other businesses just like it must close the doors on all of their little shops
of Horrors for good um within your jurisdiction uh please do not uh allow the appeal to go through for cquest um Sor we don't have anything to do with the appeal sorry we don't have the
township has nothing to do with the cquest appeal just to make sure we're all on the same page all right but um do what you can to make sure they don't uh do business again here this in Wood Bridge thank you any other comments from the
public hi my name is Anna I'm from Belleville New Jersey um I'm nerv um I believe that the the treatment of the animals at sequ being very poor is very clear
I understand that an inspector went and saw them there and I guess declared it was fine but even on trip advisor they're no longer selling tickets because on their own website they state that it does not meet Animal
Welfare guidelines so they can't in good conscious continue to sell tickets to this this place I mean there's hundreds of negative reviews and pictures of across Yelp Trip Advisor and also um
Google I just I find it really shocking the fact that an inspector who's an expert in animal welfare and a veterinarian will be able to go and see no problems so I guess my I have a question
um would you accept any sort of report from another veterinarian or animal expert that that went there or does it need to be commissioned by the town specifically well the township is the
one that reached out to uh the independent veterinarian um we did our due diligence of what people in the audience has asked of us and uh we sent the vet independent vet they did their investigation and the mayor reported it tonight I guess I I heard that I'm I'm
just wondering uh would you accept if say veterinarians from around the state where to go accredit veterinarians and make reports and submit them to you guys say hey look you know we're not affiliated with cquest we're not affiliated you know and we see problems
here or does it have to be well I'll answer guys I'll answer it but the person we sent wasn't an accredited licensed vet andary you you said if you would send an accredited one we sent a licensed vet if anybody ever goes there like we mentioned before if anybody goes there and sees any issues complaints
concern um we've already said numerous times on how to reach out to the proper entity in the township and that matter will be investigated I'm just saying like a a second third fourth opinion would that you can if you want to have an a vet go and give us a second a third a fourth
opinion we'll be more than happy to uh take a look at it especially if there are um concerns that we will uh forward off to the health department okay you would take that IND consideration I didn't know if it had to be the town themselves have to find the vet and send them them
there I'm sorry say that last question again I I wasn't sure if it had to be the towns has to get third party but vet and send them there or if you the council would accept evidence from accredited vets the council will take
any report given to us by the May mayor Administration um of any issues forwarded off to the township or the health department okay how how could I submit that then uh what either contact the health department or the mayor's
office wait I'm sorry you can either contact the health department or the mayor's office but like if if I have a veterinarian like go and take their own report do I bring it like to a meeting here or email do I have to have them
come like council president we we would take that report and then we would send the our our independent vet back out to confirm that report would it be a different vet than the one that came well you're asking us to do the same thing you're asking us that you're you don't believe the independent vet that
we sent out so you want to send out your own vet so we would send our vet back out to to confirm the his his or hers concerns the same vet the same vet you sent previously or a different which is an independent vet that that we hired but it it would be the same one or one
from the same agency I can't answer that if if they're available we would find another vet or that vet would you be able to one minute I'm sorry one minute okay would you be able to request another vet than the one that already went to go or is it just a general now we're we've
already done this we we sent an independent vet out they did their research they did their investigation they gave us a report the report was uh relayed this evening well you you wouldn't be able to request a different vet second we're not
requesting another vet at this time as Mr Sima uh answered you you're all by all means if you uh have something that you like to forward us by all means re forward it uh the proper entities will take a look at it and we would send somebody back out uh if it was warranted
okay he said the best way is through email or mail you can contact the mayor's office email whatever whatever is easiest for you yes okay got it thank you any other comments from the public Nicholas hus Somerset New Jersey I just want to apologize to Mayor and
Council came a little out of pocket earlier on I think it was somebody had finished speaking and I had said something 2022 so apologies for that the reason why I'm up here today is because I had to check in the Oprah forms check our receipts to see what is what and it
turns out that it was NJ fish and wildlife that brought the Cockroach infestation to the Limelight back in August of 2022 so they came to check on the sloth and they found the Cockroach infestation and on the report specifically says that the sloths was
forced to move due to the infestation so I have the reports for that I'll be emailing that to you council at large later on today and uh a few speakers ago the woman sitting next to me right over here had mentioned something along the lines of cquest running out of money so
sequest the S corporation that is now in charge of four aquariums here Nationwide has openly admitted to the bankruptcy judge in ho on January 31st that they only have two weeks left to fund in right two weeks that's it we know how
expensive animals cost if you think dogs and animals dogs and cats cost a lot of money just imagine how much farm animals cost my wife and I have donated here to Ryan our uncle Neil's home for one surgery for one cap just one surgery
here that is lower on the spectum $30,000 so just imagine the cost of how much a farm animal will would be when it comes to a goat when it comes to a pig you're talking you know tens of thousands of dollars accumulating to hundreds of thousands of dollars when
you have a multitude of animals so my concern is are we really just going to wait and just sit there for something to go wrong with these animals when cquest is openly admitting that they only have two weeks left of funding and that and that funding is gone it's plou it's gone
right now they said that in the 31st where are we looking 18th well over that two week Mark period I don't want to sit back and have her veterinarian go in your veterinarian go in and be like oh something happened to the pig oh
something happened to the goat something happened to the chicken like why do we have to wait for to get so part of my language but why do we have to wait for things to get so bad here to the point to where okay an animal dies multiple animal dies that we got to do something then like why can't we do
something now we are presented with the facts of Vince coino and his brother Aman who structured sequest two Fons later on after me somebody's going to give you the background the briefing of
what sequest is founded on extortion and legality is absolutely horrific there is nothing transparent with this group here but I'm saying why do we have to wait so long why do the consequences need to be so goddamn severe to the point to where
animals have to die for justice to take place why tell me why like we just saw it right sequest Minnesota just dumped yesterday gone they're done they're done sequest Woodbridge is like right around the corner defending something like this
there's no honor there's no Integrity there's no strength there's no nothing behind it so just tell me why why why do we have to wait for to get so bad that's three times now let's go I'm done tell tell me tell me why is that your question yes what would you like us to
do would you like us just all March down there right now pound on the doors say you're taking all the animals because that's what we're going to do and it's 1,800 that's what we're going to do that's the answer to your question it's not possible we reiterated it over and
over and over again I'm not going to sit here and bore everybody with me myself repeating what I said earlier there's not one person in this Council room right now would not like to see those animals somebody else so you're going to come up here and you going to start raising your voice a little bit using profanity and demanding me to answer you
I just answered you for about the 10th time we do not have the authority especially after the independent event went in yesterday to say you're closed it has nothing to do with what happens in Oregon K Tucket Trumble or whatever else we're talking about sequest of
Woodbridge right now sequest of Woodbridge is open good wrong or indiff I always say I will get you the answer you might not like the answer but I'm going to get you the answer you asked three times I've just answered you that's your answer mayor how how many
how many May I'm sorry I'm sorry council president and mayor this is a question for both you how many complaints since 2019 has cquest have uh lodged against cquest how many complaints uh you can follow an open request on that I don't have that on top of my head 3500 thank
you your time's up have 3500 there any other comments from the public hi my name is Don Gibson uh from Manville um I just want to say that a lot of my fellow activists have covered many of the points um so I thank them
for doing such a great job um my first question is can you confirm um the date that the township just uh signed off on the permit for the farmed animals I I don't have that top my head you can
David when did we sign off on it January in January January of this year okay thank you and my next question is has anyone on the council or the mayor been to sequest ever I'm not going to speak for any of my fellow Council mes and the mayor raise your hand if you've been to
sequest I'm sorry we we this is the fourth time somebody did a please raise your hand we've all been through school we're not doing a ra uh raise your hand I'm only going to speak for myself because I'm the council president I preside over this meeting I've been there once in 2019 I believe can anyone else speak to my question and say
whether they've been to sequest and seen the conditions under which these animals live good okay so you're signing off on permits um I'm asking what are the per uh requirements for signing off on a permit council president the council
body does not sign off on on the permit the director of Health signs off on the permits who does the inspections and and uh well his his inspectors do the inspections so what are the acire requirements for the Department of Health to sign off on the
permit so we just did it yesterday they they looked at the they used a independent vet uh because of the concerns of this group to look at the vet uh to look at the animals and the vet found them to be sound so prior to this group bringing up our concern were
there any requirements or you just signed off on the permits yep they reviewed the in-house veterinarian which is on staff there but you said you don't have records so what are you looking at when you're we don't have records they they view them on site they view the animals
on site no they view the records on site okay so who has the records cquest and their veterinarian so you could get the records if you wanted them yeah we could we could ask cquest for the records I don't know if they have them but we can ask them I don't know if
they keep them they have no legal right to keep them year-over-year that I'm aware of we we have no law for them to keep the records but in the year that you're signing off on the permit you would be seeing the records that they should have correct for that current year okay um I would think that
Woodbridge Township would not be signing off on a farmed animal permit um if the conditions of the sequ uh facilities are unfit and unsanitary so what exactly does Woodbridge Township consider unfit
conditions council president I think we we already said that they were they were looked at yesterday by an independent vet and the vet signed off that they were healthy except for dermatitis on one of the pigs and I don't know the pig's name okay so since 2019 as of many
of us have mentioned more than 100 animals have died at sequ so how would that be uh fit and sanitary conditions if more than 100 animals have died I I'm not I can ask the the health director but I'm not aware of any well
100 animals may have died but that doesn't mean the 100 animals are under our jurisdiction right but you don't know exactly how many animals have died under your jurisdiction well we're so we're we're going to say it again we only are responsible for the farm animals that
are there fish game and Wildlife and the Department of Agriculture is the other groups that are uh responsible for the other USDA USDA thank you USDA I understand that you you're saying you're only responsible for farmed animals but you still don't know how many animals
farmed animals have died since 2019 under your watch or on your watch I don't have those records okay so as um several people on the council or and the mayor have said Woodbridge is the best of the the best
it would be the best town around no way you said the best of the best you got it best town around whatever you want to say but I would question if you can claim to be the best town around if more than a 100 animals regardless of their classification have died since 2019 in
your town as you probably know activists are out there protesting every two weeks I personally would never go to Woodbridge Mall ever if sequest is still there I have talked to many many probably close to 50 people residents of
Woodbridge Township who have said exactly the same they've gone in they've been disgusted and they will not return not only is it the best and right thing to do it's best for your Township economically Mitch are there any other coms on the
public this evening hello I'm uh Cole Rosenthal I'm from Anglewood Cliffs uh thank you for giving us the space to speak tonight uh I just want to reiterate and bring to people's minds perhaps refresh some people's memory of uh really how horrible of a person the former CEO of
cquest is um because these are the values that this company was was built on um so for most of cquest existence Vince coino has been the CEO and the face of cquest uh with a simple Google search uh all thanks to the report done
by the ABC channel news um investigation over the past few years um it's uh all this information comes up very clearly uh Vince and his brother Aman have been illegally trafficking animals for their aquariums since sequest first started
their whole business model is surrounded around illegal smuggling of wildlife Aman Kino has been convicted in federal court for legal Wildlife trafficking and he has seen prison time for this on three different occasions
uh the company claims that he is not involved and has never been involved with sequest and yet the US Department of Justice found that in 2016 he had visited sequest uh locations on SE uh several times to uh consult on aquariums uh so it's pretty clear that uh these
two brothers were working together uh Aman was kind of taking uh the fall for all of this and um Vince was uh keeping his uh his name clear because he was the face of the company uh illegal Wildlife trafficking is no joke it's pretty brutal these guys
would go to other countries they would uh capture animals violating any uh animal or Environmental Protection acts uh shove them into crates uh keep them just barely alive enough to bring them back into the US and bring them to these facilities hundreds of animals as has
been said by other speakers have uh died due to neglect in uh several of these facilities so I can only imagine how many unaccounted animals died uh under this illegal smuggling transport um this is not your average
aquarium uh this is sequest it is the home of illegal Wildlife trafficking felony owners who do terrible things to animals that is its reputation and this reflects very poorly on the town of Woodbridge uh it's blood money that's really fueling this company and uh it's
pretty baffling to me that all this information is very widely accessible on the internet and yet um cquest is still operating thank you thank you any other comments from the public this evening know other comment can I get a motion that the public comment
portion be closed motion second all in favor I I opposed eyes have we'll go into the agenda thank you Mr Mitch now move to the agenda portion uh item number one I'm sorry item number seven Route One development with the closing of his door Sunday night the adult Avan adult variety Center is officially and
permanently closed in accordance with the details of the Township's Route One Redevelopment plan ownership will be removing the signage uh from the building over the next several weeks the building will then be demolished within 6 months this property along with several others along Route One have been identified as areas in need of Redevelopment this is only one step that
has been happening and will continue to happen to redevelop BL and unfavorable projects along Route One and avel uh just want to thank the mayor Carol the administration uh this goes all the way back to Mr Mitch newor councilman um this is one of the properties that um
has been recognized that needed to be redeveloped so I want to thank everybody involved I have number nine avanel fire department I just want to congratulate uh fire Commissioners Mr Mitch and fire commissioner Bruce MAAC on a well-deserved Victory on Saturday night and thank all the voters that came out
and supported the board of fire Commissioners well balanced and structured Bud budget uh the rest of my agenda is in order God Bless America Council vice president of call thank you council president my agenda is in honor I have no comments this evening thank you thank Council vice president
councilman Anderson thank you I have just two comments one we have the black history month coming up this weekend uh celebration coming up on Sunday doors open at 2 pm uh and it goes from 3:00 to 5: um this will be at the acacia Center
at 9 95 uh Port Reading Avenue and uh we have to thank um the independent Club of Colonia for sponsoring this event um also uh I would like to Cong congratulate the Colonia basketball team boys basketball team that is on winning their division uh they also um upset the
number seven team in the nation um in uh a a classic in the Metro classic um and uh Colonia boys and the Woodbridge boys will be preparing for the um state playoffs and colon is in the semi-finals
tomorrow versus um St Thomas that is all I have thank you thank you councilman Anon Council for I'll pass thank you thank you sir councilman bow genda no comments tonight thank you council president thank you sir councilman councilwoman De Jesus Council small excuse thank you council president my
agenda is in order no comments thank you thank you councilwoman De Jesus councilwoman Mian I thank you council president my agenda is also thank you councilwoman Mian councilman Patel is excused everybody Mr Mitch my agenda is order thank you thank you we will now go
off to uh mayor any comments oh good thank you thank you sir Mr Sima thank you council president I couple items and I'll also be taking to police departments tonight I got tax and Sewer over payments and I got a 100% disabled vet under the police department I have a traffic ordinance Amendment thank you council president thank you sir director
hter director D thank you council president nothing thank you director Brew thank you council president nothing counc uh Ury I'm sorry Le nothing thank you thank you look for
motion I'm sorry Mr MIT going ex we're going to go into itive session I'll read a resolution the public at this time is going to have to exit the room under resolution number 31 where is Section 8 of the open public meetings act chapter 231 public laws of 1975 prevents the exclusion of the public from immedia in
certain circumstances be it resolved that this public body is going to go into the executive session to discuss collective bargaining negotiations we will be about about 20 minutes so at this point can I get a motion to move the resolution motion I get a
second all all in favor I I opposed eyes have it at this time I'll ask the public to please exit the room okay Council we are back in session at 8:14 p.m. we have a a resolution before you which which I'm going to
number as number 32 and this is to uh I'm sorry approve a collective bargain unit agreement uh with local 1426 d02 as discussed in executive session can I get a motion to approve the resolution motion second any questions
or comments all in favor I I opposed eyes have thank you I looks for a motion to adjourn please motion meeting adjourned have a good night thank you