Township Council - Regular Meeting

I hereby reconvene the council meeting of May 26th. May I have a roll call, please?

Councilman Nadel?

Here.

Councilwoman O'Donnell? Here. Councilman Rubell?

Here.

Deputy Mayor Fischer?

Here.

Mayor Leggio?

Here. Won't everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of individual prayer? Thank you. Call upon our police chief, John Staro, please.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Chief Staro. And welcome to the safest place in Howell Township right What kind of car are you driving? Tonight we're going to be doing a ceremonial swearing in of the officers that we fired over the last year or two. And I promise it will not keep you here too long. What I'm going to do is call them up one at a time by name. They will stand next to me at the podium here. When I'm done calling all the names, I will invite the family and friends to come up and join them for the swearing in by the deputy mayor. So when I call you up, then you can come up and join. Your officer up here. So here we go. Officer Tristan Waldron.

There we go.

Officer Bailey Engelhard. Officer Corey Fazell. He knows he's going to get a PVA card, that's why. Officer Andrew McCarthy. Officer Eli Laverne. Officer Tyler Kaye. Officer Evan Morell. Officer John Nista. Officer Luis Mendoza. Officer Cole Duhigg. Officer Noah Van Brunt. And last but not least, Officer Ryan Goodspeed. At this time, I would like to invite all the family and friends to come up and join their officer, and Deputy Mayor Fisher will swear them all in at one time. Come on up.

I need you gentlemen to repeat after me. After I say I, you're going to say I, and you're going to state your name.

I'm going to say my name. I'm going to say my name.

I'm going to say my name.

I'm going to say my name. I'm going to say my name.

There's too many of us.

Are we ready? Chief?

Yes, are we ready? Yes, we are.

Okay.

So after I say aye, you're going to state your name, okay?

Raise your right hand, Jim.

Raise your right hand, please. Repeat after me. Aye. Aye. State your name.

Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will faithfully.

That I will faithfully.

And partially. And partially.

And justly perform.

And justly perform. All the duties of the office. All the duties of the office. Of patrolmen. Of patrolmen. best of my ability and that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people

help me god congratulations i'll be safe all right everybody out we can take pictures outside guys if you want if you want with the uh I don't know if the mayor and council are willing. Come down, take some pictures, or you guys can go out into the hallways and have all the people you want.

Congratulations.

Oh yeah, baby. And actually, your old forms also. Everybody has an old form. So, if you just basically print your name, your title, and your signature.

And everybody has a form here if you could find yours. And if you could just sign it.

Yeah.

I just want to taste it.

that's perfect thank you congratulations Thank you.

Congratulations. Thank you.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Thank you so much. Come on, smile. Stop looking so tough. Andrew's not tough.

Corey's not tough.

Bailey's not tough.

So I'm going to stop.

Don't touch it. No. No, you can't touch that stuff. No.

That's their stuff.

That's their stuff.

We can stay, yeah. This is the chair we can stay in.

Don't get scared. Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. How we like this. How we like this. How it is. Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna!

That's it. Thank you.

Thank you. Can you go and do the flash?

Can you go and do the flash?

. . . . . Thank you. Bella. Bella, come play. Come play. Thank you for letting me in the party. I'm going to put her bow in here.

All right, Jonah, Jonah.

They're in charge of that, and they have jurisdiction over half of the disability service. So they supersede us.

Good. Yeah. Yeah, so. We don't want to get the term.

But I, I.

Well, that one, like, I've sent out. I want you right back.

Which one do you want?

And three.

All right, everyone, let's get back to this meeting, please. May I have a motion for the acceptance of minutes from the May 12th, 2026 meeting?

I'll make a motion.

Second.

Councilman Nadel?

Yes.

Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Fisher? Yes. Mayor Leggio?

Yes. Reports from our township officials. Mr. Gross?

Nothing this evening.

Caitlin?

Nothing from me.

All right. On to open public comment. May I have a motion to open the floor for the hearing of citizens of public comment?

Motion to open to public.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

All right. First on the list is Angela Maroney.

Each person shall first give their name and address to the clerk. The council should be addressed as a collective body and not as individual members. Each person shall have one turn to address the council and comments shall not exceed a total of five minutes. Speakers shall be notified when their time has run and no time extensions shall be permitted.

Okay. Good evening, Mayor, council members, and residents. My name is Angela Moroney and I've lived in Howell Township for more than 22 years. This is where I've raised my children, this is my home, and this is my community I believed would protect its residents when serious housing concerns were reported. I'm here tonight because after years of reporting repeated flooding, water intrusion, moisture problems, structural concerns, and suspected mold conditions inside my apartment, I still do not understand how these conditions were allowed to continue for so long without meaningful intervention. For years, I documented conditions, filed complaints, I contacted management, I contacted township officials, I contacted state agencies, I contacted inspectors. Yet the problems continued. And while these conditions continued, my rent continued to increase. At some point, residents deserve answers. How many violations, failed inspections, flooding incidents, and unresolved habituality complaints can a property accumulate before stronger enforcement is enforced? I also want to address the mold findings directly. Independent environmental testing performed inside my apartment identified water damage-related molds including chatonium and stachypatrice, both commonly associated with chronic moisture intrusion and long-term water damage, also known as black mold. These findings did not point to a simple housekeeping incident. They pointed to unresolved water intrusion and moisture conditions with the structure itself. Despite years of complaints with flooding incidents, these conditions were never fully resolved before renovations continued and residents remain living in these units. Another issue that deeply concerns me is the conflicting environmental testing results. Independent testing identified serious moisture related contamination. At the same time, testing arranged by management presented a far less serious picture of the conditions. So I'm asking you, why are tenants receiving dramatically different conclusions depending on who the inspector is? How are residents supposed to know which findings to trust? Why are tenants receiving dramatically different conclusions depending on who performed the inspection and who inspects the inspectors? and what oversight exists to ensure environmental inspections connected to rental properties are truly independent and unbiased. I also want to address what I believe is one of the most serious issues involved in this situation, the continued occupancy of units despite unresolved violations, failed inspections, ongoing moisture-related concerns, and no current certificate of occupancy of rental certification. HOW WILL TOWNSHIP'S OWN ORDINANCE REQUIRE INSPECTIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTS SO I'M ASKING THIS COUNCIL DIRECTLY HOW CAN RESIDENTS CONTINUE BEING CHARGED INCREASING RENTS WHILE LIVING IN UNITS WITH UNRESOLVED HABITUALITY CONCERNS AND NO CURRENT CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY OR RENTAL CERTIFICATION What is the purpose of inspections and occupancy certifications if residents are still left living in potential unsafe conditions for extended periods of time? At what point does enforcement move beyond paperwork and become actual protection for the people living inside these homes? Over the course of reporting these conditions, I have also found myself repeatedly involved in legal proceedings connected to my housing situation. I have appeared in eviction court, compliance-related matters, and disputes stemming from ongoing maintenance and habituality issues within my apartment. And what has been most difficult is feeling that after years of reporting flooding, moisture, intrusion, and health concerns, my character as a resident and mother has been questioned simply because I continue speaking up. I never wanted conflict. I wanted repairs. I wanted accountability, and I want safe housing conditions for my family. Instead of this process that left me financially strained, emotionally exhausted, and publicly de-characterized for advocating for my family's health and well-being. Another issue Howell Township must address is housing affordability and tenant stability. At this time there is no broad cap rent to protection for most apartment residents in Howell Township despite rapidly increasing rent costs and ongoing habituality concerns. My rent went from $930 to nearly $2400 in this same apartment with mold that I'm discussing. That creates an imbalance where residents may feel financially trapped in unsafe living conditions because affordable alternatives are limited. And tonight, I'm respectfully asking council to look deeper into the situation as a whole. I ask because after, excuse me, I ask Howell Township to review the history of my complaints, inspections, flooding reports, code enforcement responses, housing violations, and the handling of this matter over the past decade. Because nearly 10 years of documented flooding, moisture contusion, complaints, inspections, and ongoing habituality concerns, residents deserve to understand how these conditions were permitted. It's been five minutes. For so long. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you for your time.

Soldier.

Can you hear me? Sandra Vieira. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I say it every time I get up here, but I'll say it again. We appreciate you. We see all you're doing. You're great leaders, and we truly have the best in Howell. I want to talk about the laws and ordinances tonight, but more specifically, code enforcement. The residents of Howell do not seek code enforcement enforcing. One question I have is how many positions are open for code enforcement versus how many are filled. Another question, or urgency rather, is the fact that law-abiding citizens are again penalized for minuscule details regarding a fence, a shed, a pool. Meanwhile, we have the intelligence, experience, research, and data to prove that issues which pose serious and dangerous implications to sewer septic, traffic control, unimaginable fire hazards, and neighborhood safety, just to name a few, is seemingly overlooked. Information is being omitted on permits as other residents have come to this very podium and explained in previous meetings. While there is room for improvement, we do not so much have an issue with our laws or ordinances. Much of the issue is they are not enforced. I'll end with this. We know the things going on in our neighborhoods around town are not in line with the framework of the ordinances that have been set forth by our town officials. The truth that they're Sorry, I had to turn my page. A zero adherence to the state and town law was proved at last meeting, May 12th. It was stated that all individuals standing must depart from the room and move to the overflow room. It was a very simple statement. If you're an individual who is standing, move to the overflow room. We saw with our own eyes, bodies did not physically move. A significant amount of people just stayed. We are bringing up these issues because we know the danger associated when civilians do not obey the laws or create loopholes. We need more from code enforcement, and the reason is simple, for the safety of everyone who lives in and passes through Howell. Thank you.

Cody? Kirk?

My name is Cody Kirk. Hi everybody. Born and raised in Howell. I was on the adoption of Ordinance 26-10, known as the Mercantile License. I'm not sure everybody realizes the full extent at which it reaches, whether by accident or intent. In this ordinance, the definition of business is, quote, any commercial enterprise, trade, occupation, profession, or activity carried on for profit or compensation within the township of Howell whether operated from a fixed location or on a transient basis. The term shall include any person or entity that owns, leases, or otherwise occupies a commercial premises within the township for the purpose of conducting such activity. So the way this is worded and reads, the shall include, owns, leases, and occupies commercial premises part, in legal drafting, this is an expanse and not restricted to these types of businesses. The only exceptions listed are nonprofits and home-based businesses strictly defined as a home office in the town zoning definition. And again, those are the only two exemptions listed under this ordinance for who needs a license. There's no distinction or exemptions made for things such as small agricultural practices, not fully protected under the Right to Farm Act, such as sub-five acre farms or homesteads, sale-based hobbies such as crafting birdhouses or artwork, selling to just pay for supplies, friendly neighborhood bartering, and very importantly, 1099 or gig work contractors. Under this extremely broad definition, Mercantile licensing would be required for certain farm stands, Uber drivers, out-of-town vendors at your wedding, delivery workers such as door dashers, personal at-home trainers, occasional yard sales which already require separate permitting, dog walkers, residents who sell items on Facebook Marketplace, vendors and crafters at farmers markets that the town holds every Sunday. Whether these people are doing this for profit or simply as a hobby that pays itself, be a full-time or a transient basis, even in town for just a single day, one could argue that each would and every one of them would need to apply for a mercantile license under the definition of who's required to have one. The fees of which which have not even been established and could change with future town councils who may not support small business endeavors of members of this community. This could very well discourage people from even attempting activities related to small profit or bartering or compensation, which can in turn lower the overall community engagement with each other. The main problem again lies with the definitions of activity and compensation. This is extremely broad verbiage. The definition of business is even broader than the IRS or New Jersey State definition of what business is, which under their definition, a business has to have intent for profit, whereas With this definition, the words activity and compensation broaden the definition way beyond what I believe residents want regulated. Under this ordinance, if I wanted to mow my neighbor's yard in exchange for using his driveway to park some vehicles for some summer barbecues, I would legally need a mercantile license to do so, since I would be compensated for the activity of mowing. Although this sounds ridiculous, and you might say that's not an actual business, you are correct, but it's well within the scope of what this ordinance defines as a business. It's transient, an activity, and there's compensation involved. One can say that this ordinance isn't intended to be used on the different examples I just mentioned, But the fact of the matter is that they all fall within the scope of this definition. It is the very reason New Jersey State adopted Assembly Bill A853, which is for the childhood business protection and Senate Bill 2741 to protect transient snow shovelers. Because ordinances like this have been weaponized in the past in other towns to stop people from small transient gig work that ultimately was not disrupting or harming the commercial standards we all want in our town. Go to our community Facebook page and you'll see people advertising and asking for simple gig work because they're just starting out and need extra money or because of hard times. These individuals would then have to first apply for one of these licenses, list every type of work they may do, pay money they don't have, and wait to be approved or risk fines or even imprisonment under the penalties of this ordinance. I understand it was probably brought in to curb illegal fly-by-night businesses and practices that truly undermine the safety and integrity of our town, and to keep legitimate larger business endeavors up to a set of standards. But between the broad definitions of who needs one, what's defined as a business, which quite frankly sounds like anything, and the lack of transparency before the fact on how much one of these licenses could cost or take to process, I'm asking council to step back and have this reworded or amended for clarity on who it applies to before adopting it. of who we are unintentionally hurting with this broad overreaching definition. Thank you.

Joe B. Hello, Mayor and Council. Joe Bizonos, Colts Neck Road. I'm going to be building off of what Sandra said a little bit. But first, I'd like to start this evening with a statement inspired by the cancellation of the May 12th council meeting. The internet can be a volatile but powerful tool. The truth is no longer controlled by politicians or media outlets. It's shaped by people. And people are paying attention. When meetings are canceled in a way that feels like a coordinated effort, we notice. Kind words and pleasant smiles are noted, but in the end, it's your actions that will determine how you are perceived. This is the United States of America. The First Amendment is not optional. Our voices will be heard. If a meeting is shut down again, I encourage residents to gather peacefully outside so we can hear one another. Moving on. I will give credit where it's due. The Council has introduced ordinances aimed at protecting the public health and safety, and that matters. But let's be clear. Laws that are not enforced do not mean anything. Right now, we have three open positions in the Department of Community Development. Land use officer code inspector and part-time code enforcement officer These people are directly responsible for enforcing the rules. So here are my questions Why are these positions still unfilled? Are qualified applicants being ignored or delayed? What's the actual plan and timeline to get these roles filled? This isn't complicated. If the rules exist, they need to be enforced fairly, consistently and without bias. Here's what I believe needs to happen. Fill these crucial enforcement roles. Respond to complaints in a timely and serious manner. Hire people who will enforce the rules evenly. No favoritism and no excuses. I've been seeing a little bit of that. For too long, residents have heard our hands are tied. Who's tying the knot and why? Lastly, I urge the planning board to immediately add binding language to the master plan to protect Howell from the development of AI data centers. Other towns across New Jersey are already pushing back against major tech companies. Let me be clear, we will not sacrifice our farmland and forest for industrial scale development. These facilities place a heavy burden on public resources, and the long-term consequences to our land and public health are still unknown. This is not a risk our community should be asked to take. This requires immediate action. Lastly, on my phone here, because I wrote it on my way, pardon me. To my fellow residents, a friendly reminder, primary election day is Tuesday, June 2nd. Early voting for the primary election began today and will go through Sunday the 31st with no voting on Monday the 1st. St. Veronica Church Gymnasium, 4219 Route 9 North. Times vary depending on the day, so check the website. on the day you want to go. It's extremely important that we elect the best people for the job, so take the time, research individual candidates rather than simply voting down a line. Exercise your rights as Americans by voting and attending meetings. Thank you very much.

Paula?

Wow, what a difference a couple of ordinances make. Paula Samuel, Heritage Point. As a longtime resident and taxpayer of Howe Township, I call upon our mayor, council and professionals, employees and first responders to safeguard our local democratic process as well as our safety and well-being. At the May 12th public meeting, where a crucial vote on municipal ordinances was to take place, the voices of Howe residents were effectively silenced. The council chambers reached maximum fire code capacity due to the sudden arrival of a large coordinated group. Even though instructions were given by the town attorney and guidance by police to proceed to the overflow room, many members of this group remained blocking fire exits, aisle access, and impeding fire evacuation routes. Blindsided by this large coordinated group of attendees and bound by New Jersey fire code regulations, officials were forced to cancel the meeting. I'm sure we are all in agreement that this overcrowding created an incredibly frustrating paradox. You have one state law, the Open Public Meetings Act, saying it's illegal to shut the public out, and another state law, the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, saying when the room is full, it's illegal to let the public in. When these two laws clash, it creates a massive contradiction that derails meetings and leaves citizens out in the cold. Any time the weaponization of these two laws is used to restrict the democratic process, it is profoundly disturbing and all the more reason to prepare in case this scenario should ever arise again. tonight i'm suggesting that our mayor contact the organizers of this group and demand as a show of good faith that they give the township a heads up the next time a mass coordination like this is planned for a public town meeting this is the only way to ensure that all future meetings remain fair safe and orderly and that all how citizens and taxpayers are given the opportunity to have their voices heard voices that strengthen our community rather than undermine it On a personal note, as the meeting room filled up, I was overjoyed to see members of the Orthodox community coming to a town meeting. I took it as a sign that they wanted to become a part of our community after all, and I happily relayed this joy to a dozen or so of this organized group. That joy was short-lived, however, when relatives in northern New Jersey later informed me that this disruption may have been entirely intentional, a suspicion mirrored on Facebook by others who had described similar experiences of packing the room. Looking back on that evening, if this is true, I realize now how naive I was. When I saw the massive turnout from the Orthodox community, I initially mistook it for an inspiring display of the democratic process and not the coordinated, intentional disruption to shut the meeting down entirely. They must have had a good laugh at my expense. Whether this coordinated group's goal was to force a cancellation and table these ordinances or not, there's a vital lesson to be learned here. If we want our voices to be heard, we must show up in masses, not to stifle the democratic process, but to protect it and uphold it as our civic duty demands. Our community relies on our local officials to govern accordingly to the will of the voters, ensuring that bad actors cannot hijack the democratic process for self serving goals. Unfortunately, this exploitation appears to be exactly what is happening through a pattern of lost lawsuits and costly out-of-court settlements made under the mere threat of litigation. Perhaps it's time the township looked to a higher state authorities for a clear roadmap, not just on how to handle these lawsuits, but on how to stop the blatant sabotage of our public meetings before they start. We cannot tolerate noncompliance with the very laws adopted to keep us and our families safe. As Senator Joe Manchin wrote in his book Dead Center, the core meaning of our fundamental rights is everyone's right to feel safe and secure in their homes and their lives. I'm looking for a guarantee tonight that the rights, voices, and personal safety of HAL residents will always take precedence over politics and all serving interest groups. With that being said, I will be handling the town manager a complaint against a code enforcement officer due to the treatment I received at the May 12th meeting. Thank you.

Elaine Lee.

Hi, Council. Hi. Mayor, how are you? I'm new here. I haven't come to meetings. But I noticed lately in my neighborhood what's going on.

Can you please state your name and address for the record?

Hi, my name's Elaine Lee, and I'm from 20 Honeysuckle Way in Howell, New Jersey. Hello. OK. There's one thing I would like to start out with. There's something new going on on my street on Honeysuckle Way. And when I'm walking down the street and I wait to my new neighbors, I'm ignored. And also, the children do not play with my grandchildren. My grandchild is very upset. She doesn't understand why the other children won't play with her that are new in the neighborhood. I'm ignored. She's ignored. And she said it. I'm scared. Okay, that's the first thing I would like to say. All right. But I have been, ever since I've seen a few things happen, I've been living in the neighborhood about 25 years. And life's been great. You know, I moved here because Howell's known for... outdoor recreation and natural beauty. I moved here because the community invents residential and suburban appeal, okay? Within a population of over 53,000 and a high cost of living, Howe is a desirable place to live for those commuting to New York City. It offers a mix of single family homes, parks, and shopping centers, making it a popular choice for families. We also offer scenic and quiet setting. It's one of the, a lot of the reasons why I moved here and to put my children through good schools. So that is what I have to say about that part of things. Okay, so in the meantime, I was going through the internet and I was noticing, I just did a lot of research because of what's happening in my neighborhood. And this is what I found out, and I don't know if everyone knows about this, okay? I found out about a federal law called RLUIPA, R-L-U-I-P-A. It stands for Religious Lands Use and Unauthorized An Institutionalized Persons Act passed in 2000. It protects religious organizations from unfair zoning discrimination. Critics say it pressures towns to approve projects rather than face costly federal litigation. This matters to us because we keep raising concerns over overdevelopment, traffic, water, sewer capacity, school expansion, and equal enforcement of zoning laws. Here is the line that matters most. Opposing overdevelopment is not hate speech. Residents have every right to question development politics and demand transparency. We focus on policy, infrastructure, and quality of life. This is not about religious or ethnicity. We must pay attention to our zoning and planning board decisions and house of worship must provide burden of proof as to why there is discrimination. There is not, there is none of this in this case going on that I feel. I also have a big concern because right next door is Jackson and even we are concerned as how, because we're attached to Jackson. There's something that's called the Kirksen-Kohensee Aquifer. It's a shallow water saturated layer of sand and gravel beneath much of southern New Jersey, including the Pinelands. That's where we live. So what is happening now is the current threats over pumping for development. Even modest, gradual withdrawals can cause irreversible harm to wetlands, stream flows, and the unique plant and animal life that depends on them. It also depends, it also, what happens when we fool with the Kirkwood Co-NC and what we're doing? Development pressures, okay? Warehouse projects, road expansions, and other land uses in the Pinelands, all right? Pollution and climate stress, fertilized runoff, rising sea water, and higher temperature and degrading water quality, okay? And also, why it matters and how is within the Pineland superficial aquifer zone, meaning that aquifer is directly exposed in the surface of the wetlands and streams. Development in the area can directly affect recharge, increase pumping, and generate water quality, threatening both local ecosystems.

It's been five minutes.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else from the public that didn't sign the sheet?

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I wasn't planning on speaking tonight, but I hear the comments and- Please state your name. Yeah, sorry, Mark Parisi to Castle Court. So I use the analogy that if they were going to build a dump in Colts Neck, how will residents that live near the border of Colts Neck would have every right to attend the council meetings Colts Neck and express their frustration and you know and I understand that you know residents of Lakewood or Jackson or Wall Township or any Freehold any neighboring municipality could come to our council meetings and express their concerns and ask questions about any anything that they like that's that's America that's the way our state laws are you know and we have the right to attend any other meeting in any neighboring municipality that we want you know if we we don't like something that's going on in a neighboring municipality I do happen to believe that, you know, the ordinances that were introduced are intended to protect the characteristics of our residential neighborhoods, that they're sound in their planning and schemes and intents and purposes. And I think that it's very important that we do whatever we can to maintain the character of our residential neighborhoods, and I support the council in doing so. Something else that I wanted to speak about was something that's kind of been quiet and flew under the radar, but over the last couple of years with the offshore wind projects, there was a significant opposition to that. I don't know if it was mentioned here, but I will mention it, that earlier this month the Board of Public Utilities in Trenton officially ended their all of their state agreement approach towards the offshore wind projects here in New Jersey due to pressures at the federal level they realized that the BPU could not continue to try to spend money pushing these projects forward knowing that they were essentially a non-starter at the federal level. So with that being said, the project that was slated to be going to the Randolph property next to the Larrabee substation is essentially over. That project is not going to move forward. and Mid-Atlantic and all the other subsidiaries that were attached to that have essentially backed out. They're not going to invest money at the rate of expensive tax payers or rate payers. Which got me thinking that that's a hundred acre parcel that's down there on Randolph Road next to the library substation zoned SCD2 that allows utility and also solar generation. And I know that there's been significant opposition to to offshore windmills, but that seems to me that location would be a good fit for a potential utility solar project. I believe the property is currently owned by EDF Renewables. They paid a significant chunk of change for that property when they bought it from the holders for the Monmouth Commerce Center was going to be. And I would encourage our council and our professionals to maybe reach out to the property owner and explore the opportunity of maybe putting in a utility solar project and the benefit of a utility solar project is that it's gonna you know like this same company EDF has a 28 megawatt facility down in Tom's River on an old Superfund site and when We're all experiencing the crunch of our energy bills. Energy has gone up for everybody. When you have a utility solar project, it's going to generate energy that's going to go back to the grid. And when you flood the grid with more supply, it ultimately brings down the costs for every rate payer. That benefits everybody. So given the fact that that property is located right next to the existing Larrabee substation, they could easily tie into that substation, much like the offshore wind project that was going to tie in. There wouldn't have to be much change to the infrastructure there. And I really think that given that location, the low impact of all the possible permitted uses on that SED2 zone, the town should look at contacting that property owner and exploring the feasibility of a of a utility solar project. I think it's the perfect location. I think it's the right time. I think people generally have a positive feeling towards solar. I know I do. I have solar on my roof. My utility bill last month was $4.27 for the connection. So that's what I wanted to share with council. Thank you.

Anyone else?

Zachary Doran, 25 Southport Drive, 19 years old. Mayor, council, for someone who comes to all these meetings, I'm surprised it's my first time speaking. I hope you're all doing well. And I'm just here to say thank you for being such a great governing body for our town, and dare I say, underappreciated. However, I must incur with the people of the town, the last meeting, I was upset it got canceled. It felt like a slap to the face to anyone who came to the meeting. So my question would just be, when will we find out when the next meeting will take place, and where will it be? And I will say this about the ordinance. It was amazing to see so many people that left the meeting, but if there's that many people, they're probably angry people. And maybe that is a good thing, because that shows people do care about this town. And as someone who tries to make everyone happy, I won't say anything, but I do leave you a fair warning. There's going to be a lot more angry residents at the next rescheduled meeting, and I hope you're ready for it. And that is all. May God bless OWL.

John Baumbach, 7 Lexington Road. I was also at the May 12th meeting here, and I have an opinion about that. I think that anybody in this forum as we're speaking now is in the general public forum. I think anybody should be allowed to speak. But I think when we come to the part of the meeting where we discuss the specific ordinances for Howell Township, I believe that residents only should be the ones speaking because they're the only ones affected by it. So I don't think a non-resident should come up here and speak when we're talking about the ordinances. Otherwise, anybody has a right to speak. I know that. I have a couple of questions for the council. I'd like to know the status of the ordinance 0-26-11 and why isn't that being heard tonight? Why is that being pushed off? I'd like to know the status of ordinance 0-26-13 and why isn't that being discussed tonight? I'd also like to know the status of 0-26-15 and why isn't that being discussed tonight? Two out of those three are actually environmental issues, which nobody should have a problem with. Like the previous speakers talked about here, we have to protect the groundwater that's underneath us and protect the environment for our children, the people coming up next. And I think that's why we're here. Have a good night.

Anyone else?

Good evening, George Riesco from Walton, New Jersey. Just one thing I would just recommend that you're here because you're passionate or you're making money out of it. you know, direct and indirect compensation. What I would just recommend is council should be coordinating closely with planning and zoning. You need to be on the same sheet of paper in how you behave. Remember that anything you say in email or in text messages, anything that you say in email or text messages can come back. Jackson found out the hard way. Lakewood, the same situations that you're seeing, you've just begun. and it's going to come at your heart. Just like Muncie, New York, Curie's Jarrell, New Square, Ramapo, it's the same business plan. You can't mention religion, but RLUPA will be used against you. The Fair Housing Act will be used against you. This playbook is public. You need to just be very thoughtful in how you coordinate to be successful. If you love a town, Howell's a great place. All of Monmouth County and Ocean County. What I see constantly is small mistakes will be taken advantage by a business-centric group that has endless funds, not making accusations or aspirations, just saying that's the business bottom line. Howell, over the next 10 years, will undergo what Jackson is suffering through now. It's already here. Be very smart and strategic about how you behave in the interest of the citizens of Howe. Good luck.

Anyone else from the public?

Hi, my name is Judith Ligas from 570 Newton's Corner Road in Howell. And I would like to just build on what some of the other people, Paula and Joe, said about the towns and the property and the people moving in. On Newton's Corner Road, we have two big parcels of property that are for sale, the Ramtown Florist and the nursery. And I'd like to know why those properties WERE MORE PROTECTED AND PERHAPS CONSIDERED AS OPEN SPACE FOR THE TOWNSHIP. THOSE ARE BIG PARCELS AND NEWTON'S CORNER ROAD IS ALREADY A NIGHTMARE WITH TRAFFIC. AND I KNOW AT ONE OF THE MEETINGS ALREADY THE RAM TOWN FLORIST PROPERTY, I BELIEVE IT WAS, THAT WAS BROKEN DOWN INTO SMALLER PARCELS OF PROPERTY FOR A DEVELOPMENT. I believe that the population that was here last meeting on May 12th will be the population interested in that, which is no problem if they assimilate. And we did have small conversation after the meeting was dismissed. Some of us stayed around while the parking lot emptied out and spoke to some of that community and explained to them our concerns that simple things like saying the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't make them part of the community. You just stand there and not PLEDGE, BUT YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE HERE. AND DON'T ASSIMILATE WITH THE CHILDREN, LIKE THE OTHER WOMAN SAID.

I'M SORRY, I DON'T KNOW YOUR NAME. ELAINE.

BUT ELAINE. BUT PAULA WAS EXPERIENCING THE SAME THING WITH HER GRANDCHILDREN. And my niece is experiencing that with her children, that they bring the community with them. They're not part of the community, they bring the community with them. And we understand that there's nothing you can do about that, I understand. But by abiding by the ordinances and perhaps buying some more of the bigger properties for open space, We can avoid the overpopulation that the other communities around us have. We don't want to live like that. We don't want to live with one house after another all scrunched in where there's so much traffic. Now Newton's Corner Road with probably two developments coming up, it's going to be worse than it is. There's always an accident on my corner on Easy Street and Newton's Corner. It's a nightmare. And to continue to build like that and not consider for open space, it's a shame. So that's all I have to say.

Okay. My name is Ann Joy Becker. I'm at 1 Marion Avenue in Howell. Mayor and council people. I just want to build on a couple of things. Actually, only one thing I want to talk about. I have no problems with who my neighbors are. I have problems with 12 cars that are parked in front of a house during a snowstorm that are not being towed or ticketed. And there's activity going on in these houses in reference to code and ordinance of children being homeschooled underage, could be 8 months old, 10 months old, or whatever. And that's why there are 12 cars parked in front of a house in a residential section. So schools belong to be in a school section. And housing and residential needs to be housing and residential. So coding and ordinance is really what the theme has been that I've been listening to. And I wasn't going to talk, but of course I have to talk. Something really needs to be done with executing the ordinances and the codes. The town will make money if we serve tickets to people who are not doing the right thing, just like getting a speeding ticket. If you're speeding, then you need to pay. If you have illegal caring for children inside a home and you're not letting the town know that, there's no licensing or whatever, that's a problem. If there's busing going on that I'm paying for, not only as a senior citizen, which I really shouldn't be paying for, but they're not going to the schools that are in our community, but they have their own schools, but we have to pay for the busing. That's a problem. And so that's really all I wanted to say.

Anyone else? Seeing none, so I'm going to make a motion to close public. Motion to close. Second.

All in favor?

Aye. Response to public. Mr. Gross?

I just wanted to mention that at the...

I want to mention that before the end of the last meeting, the town council did adopt the 2026 budget. Having done that, there are a number of positions that we're now hiring now that the budget's been adopted. And as a matter of fact, I hired two code enforcement officers this past week. And I expect before the next meeting, we'll be hiring two more. The zoning officer position, which we're looking to hire as well, is being covered by a... consulting professional, but we will be hiring all of the positions. I think there are a total of 17 in the budget we expect to have completely on board by the beginning of July. So it's obviously, that's a lot of positions, and once we get on board, we'll be in a position to do things we haven't been able to do the past few months.

So I'll go down a list and just try to address some of the comments. The first one, Ms. Moroney, I don't want to get too deep in the weeds on your comments, because we do have a tort claims notice about it. But just so you understand where we're coming from, if you live in a multi-unit dwelling, so any sort of apartment complex or condominium or anything like that that has more than three units, the primary jurisdiction for habitability issues is through that Bureau of Housing Inspections through DCA. So they supersede us. So they have more authority that we can't really go over them. I know we've been out to your residence a couple of times just looking for immediate building code violations or something like that. But DCA is your primary jurisdiction. So I'll leave that there for you. As far as our mercantile license, we can discuss that further on the ordinance, but the language in the ordinance was purposely drafted to be pretty broad to capture a wide net of businesses. Specifically, we do have issues of transient workers coming in, doing some work, landscaping without licenses insurance those kind of things so that was in consideration when drafting the ordinance if we want to make fees for this this ordinance will be set by resolution that will be controlled by council can be adjusted pretty easily since it'll be set by resolution just so public's aware all governing bodies have the ability to change those fees in the future. So whatever fees you set, the next set of governing body members, they could always change it. But you can only do what's in front of you. Point taken about the AI data centers, that's something we will likely be talking to a planner on. Um, as far as, um, the meeting, uh, our last meeting getting canceled with, uh, fire code and capacity issues. I just want to make it abundantly clear because there were some issues after the last meeting where it seemed like there was a misunderstanding of what happened, what the rules were. So when we have public meetings, there's no requirement that you have to be a resident of the town to attend. Anybody can come, they can, uh, come speak during public comment. as long as what they're discussing is a matter of public concern. So that would address any ordinances, any resolutions, really any general topics. Not yet, Ms. Samuel. Okay, I'm going to speak after. Yeah, after we can discuss. But... But no, no, no, no. I'm talking now. So our overflow room did get overcrowded. So people were moving in, coming back in. The room was overcrowded. Our hallways became overcrowded. We were OK when we started the meeting. But as the meeting progressed, more and more people kept coming. The whole parking lot was full. In the future, if we do anticipate a large crowd, we are going to be making arrangements with one of the schools to hold the meeting in an auditorium. When the ordinances are rescheduled, they will be noticed on the website. We'll make every effort to make sure the public knows where the meetings are, when it is, what ordinances will be up. But until they're scheduled, we don't really have much of an update. We're potentially looking at the end of June, maybe July, but we've got to take our time with those. Sorry, I'm just going through my list, guys. That's everything I have for now, if anybody else wants to speak on it.

Thank you. STUDENT GOVERNMENT WAS VERY REMARKABLE THIS EVENING. THEY BROUGHT UP AN IDEA THAT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THEY BROUGHT UP AN IDEA REALLY ABOUT A YOUTH GROUP BEING ABLE TO COME IN AND SHARE THEIR IDEAS AND BE A PART OF THE DECISION MAKING AS IT IS SO THAT THEY HAVE A BETTER FEEL OF NOT ONLY THE POLITICAL VALUE OF THE TOWNSHIP but where they're living and what they'd like to see in the township. And I will say that we did have a youth guidance council in Howell. It was probably mid-'80s, late-'80s. And it was comprised of police department, PTA presidents, some teachers. I believe there was a clergy involved. I find it interesting because that could be re-implemented, a group such as that. The idea that the students weren't involved specifically at that time was because all of their thoughts were really perpetuated through the PTA presidents and the PTA and their teachers, because I guess within the classroom they would speak about things. The group was together probably two or three years. What happened eventually, why it's no longer in existence, I don't know. They were daytime meetings, obviously, because most people were employees. There is a social component to that, like a social worker, which at this point in time would be someone probably that serves presently in the alliance that we have in force today. So we actually do have all of the components to put something like that back together. Although I don't think the township itself would be the primary motivation, really the educators seem to have a better hold and a better understanding of the kids. Plus there is an issue of children being out of the school, going to a different meeting or the children's rights. You can't even take a picture of a student today without having written consent of parents. So some things have changed, which would probably reformulate that idea. But it is a concept that may not be dead. It may be something that the schools want to think about once again at any rate. We just had a Memorial Day service at the Soldier Memorial Field Monday. I'd like to thank the police department, of course, the residents, friends, all the volunteers. It was a nice turnout. It can always be better, of course, but the genuine sentiment is always the same, and that's honoring all of those that have served. Our VFW has a commander, and he has served probably over 20 years as a commander. Commander Longo actually had just come out of the hospital just a few days before Memorial Day, And although he wasn't really feeling well, his allegiance to the post and to his position as a commander of the VFW, he came out and he did the service again. So I appreciate that. And of course, next year, everyone will be invited back. We'll have the same type of a service. Again, at Soldier Memorial, Stephen Fetch, our events planner, always puts together a nice program. Also, May 7th, we had National Night of Prayer. It was held in this room. This is something that's done nationally, of course. We sponsor it the first Thursday in May every year. And usually eight to ten clergy come. There's actually music. Different topics are spoken about through the clergy, how it affects everybody in the community. Not just local politics, the family, business, church. They have various topics that they speak to. And I would urge people to think about next year, the first Thursday in May, coming out and spending an hour here and just getting another viewpoint on what other facets of the community are doing, even within the church and other groups. Every church has different factions in their church. I think you'd be surprised how much is out there that's a supporting system for people that we all need support, sometimes, somewhere, somehow. So it's definitely a positive evening. So I'm sure I'll see everybody again next year. So thank you.

I'm going to be quick. A quick sample of upcoming events and highlights for the celebration of our 250th birthday. Next week, I believe it's June 4th, in Red Bank, there will be an unveiling of the Monmouth 250 Revolutionary War Memorial near the Swimming River Park. I got a glimpse of the statues. They're absolutely gorgeous on granite bases. They're bronze sculptures. Sunday, June 14th, Stars and Strides. Flag Day 5K at Bell Works in Holmdel. On the 25th, the Monmouth, New Jersey 250 Gala at Bell Works. On the 28th, it's a Sunday, America's Big Birthday Parade in Middletown. July 2nd, our own celebration right here in Howell. It's going to be a good one. July 3rd, Sail Forth, Tall Ships, Hotel on Sandy Hook Bay. And there's so many other things that residents of Monmouth County can look up. Website is monmouthcountyparks.com. And something that's really cool on Kozlowski Road at the East Freehold Showgrounds, where they have the Monmouth County Fair this summer, Park Stage Concert Series. And you can also look up, you can see what the lineup is. It's already set. So that transformation is pretty cool, too, for summer concerts. Thank you.

Sure. I wanted to expand on a couple things our professionals spoke about. First, the AI data centers. Just to give you a little more background, when we did the master plan reexamination, The draft version of the master plan reexamination actually had a bulleted item in there to consider allowing them in certain zones. And the council removed that from the master plan reexamination before it made to a final. You only saw the final version. So that is step one. So right now it's a non-permitted use. It's a non-permitted use. As Caitlin said, we're currently looking at other townships, ordinances that have already been passed with outright bans to understand the language and try and move towards that here to make sure we get it right and there's consistency across the other municipalities and what we're doing as well. So that is very much on our radar. As far as the energy consumption, I think there was a comment about solar. Also, just so you know, I serve on the planning board as well. I'm on the master plan review subcommittee as well. There are some properties where we've been discussing and looking at solar. That particular one was one that was brought up in a previous master plan review subcommittee meeting. Again, we're looking at it. I know what you're thinking. Stop looking at it and do it. But we're juggling a lot of plates, and we're working through it. We're trying to get there. And another thing on the energy front, and Mr. Gross just yelled me from explaining this incorrectly. We were discussing this back in the fall, actually. It was a municipal aggregate program where we can look at different auction rates for lower kilowatt hour rates on our energy, where you would have an opt-in, opt-out. possibility. We've been constantly monitoring the race to see if we can get something that would help bring down energy bills or potentially a joint working jointly with other municipalities because kind of like Costco and you have multiple municipalities pulled together you tend to get a better rate so that's something we've been monitoring for months it's you know I don't want to say it's been back burner we've been trying to get the budget through and everything else but it's still on our radar we're working through it and it's something very much that we're trying to trying to do to pass on some some sort of savings we understand what electricity bills are nowadays. I see them. It's crazy. It's doubled from what it was a year or two ago. So we're trying to address that the best we can at the municipal level.

Well, once again, I'll address a bunch of these complaints.

Excuse me, folks.

I've been quite aggravated. with a lot of things going on, and I'm going to be honest with you guys. I told you when I was running, and I've been telling you sitting up here, meeting after meeting, that we're going to be transparent with you, and we're not going to try to sell you something and sugarcoat it. If you want, go eat a donut, if that's what you want, because I'm not going to do it to you. All right? As far as code enforcement is concerned, I could tell you that I'm on the phone every day with Mr. Gross, okay, in regards to code enforcement complaints. Our code enforcement guys and girls are doing their job. At the other end that you're seeing where complaints are not being handled, it's not because of them. It's not because of the admin. It's because the bad actor landlord or the bad actor homeowner or the bad actor renter is not complying. And what happens is an NOV goes out, notice of violation. They have 14 days to comply. If they don't comply, our code enforcement goes back. They issue a ticket. That ticket goes to our court system. Now, here's where the larger problem lies. If you don't show up for court, which in many cases, hundreds and hundreds of cases we have, they are not showing up for court. And the court is not, in New Jersey, not like it used to be, sending out A BENCH WARRANT FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS TO SHOW UP. OKAY, FOLKS? SO OUR HANDS ARE TIED. HERE, WE'RE WRITING THE INITIAL VIOLATION. SOME OF THEM GET HANDLED RIGHT AWAY BY RESPONSIBLE HOMEOWNERS AND LANDLORDS AND TENANTS, AND A LOT OF THEM DON'T. SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE IT'S THE SAME HOUSE OVER AND OVER OR NUMEROUS HOUSES OVER AND OVER IS NOT LACK OF ENFORCEMENT. It's lack of the individuals not complying and our, you know, our court system not having what it needs to, you know, get to the next level. And we are currently working on that, too. All right, folks. So I understand it's frustrating, but I am going to defend our code enforcement department because we talk to them on a daily basis. They are out there. Okay. And we can't make people cut their grass, move the cars off the lawn, take the trash off the lawn, whatever, overcrowding, okay? If they don't want to comply, our hands are tied, and we have to get to the next level, and that's a major process. So just understand that. When you're frustrated driving around, coming home, seeing what you're seeing, it's a lot more to it than just, thinking that we're not doing our jobs here. We are doing our jobs here. The code enforcement, the housing, the fire bureau, they are out every single day. But we can't make people comply. And unless the courts are going to have a bigger impact, okay, the fines and all that good stuff, what do you want us to do? It frustrates us up here too. It's a big circle in this building. A stack of papers that was written and then here we are three months later, that stack is still there because no one's showing up for court, no one's paying, no one cares about what's going on. Not our people here, the individuals that are being written. You addressed Angela. That's one thing. You got that other stuff. Newton's Corner Road, those property owners did not come to the town as far as open space. They had a right to sell that piece of property for the multiple uses that it was allowed to have. And what we did as a council was we ensured that the zoning was going to match the zoning that was around it. And that's why we did at the council level. with the zoning, so it kept in character with surrounding streets over there. We are in the process of trying to secure four open space pieces of property, folks. We've discussed that before. So that's in conjunction with the county and our township level. More open space is great. We get it. We would love to make as much as possible. But property owners have a right to sell if they want to sell. And as far as the, you know, as the meeting, the last meeting, um, was concerned about those three proposed zoning ordinances, you know, with the 500 or so people that, that came here to speak on those matters, you know, we had a, we had a council because we were beyond our legal capacity, right. You know, as opposed to by our township Marshall. So the meeting prematurely ended before the oranges could be heard and we are working. IN THE FUTURE WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, WHETHER IT'S MIDDLE SCHOOL SOUTH OR NORTH, WHEN THIS DOES COME BACK, THE MEETING WILL BE AT A LARGER VENUE TO THE WHOLE CAPACITY, OKAY? AND IT'S ALWAYS A POSITIVE SIGN, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU RESIDENTS COME TO THE MEETINGS TO EXPRESS YOUR CONCERNS AND OR THEIR POINT OF VIEW ON PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, MATTERS. HOWEVER, A RESPONSE OF THIS MAGNITUDE OVER WHAT You know, for the most part, our basic best practices in municipal land use law was indicative of a significant misunderstanding about the intended impact of those ordinances. Okay? To address these misunderstandings, the township will be meeting with interested parties to investigate their concerns and to express that the intent of these ordinances is for the benefit of all township residents as a whole. To be crystal clear, the township interests are the interests of all its residents, collectively and individually. Okay? Township takes the concerns of each of the residents seriously and values the perspective, whether we are in agreement or we are not. And when we are not, the Township Council will take the extra step to find middle ground, representing all to the best of our ability. All right? We sincerely look forward to any future dialogue and find ways that we could meet the township's legitimate goals while at the same time being sensitive to all the residents' concerns now and in the coming days. For those of you who follow politics or not follow politics over the years, Howell Township's always had issues back and forth. WITH CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AND, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HELP THIS GOVERNING BODY THAT WE HAVE FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE ACTIVELY UNDERMINING THIS GOVERNING BODY ON A DAILY BASIS. OKAY? IT'S REALLY SAD. AND WE HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH THAT. TOWNSHIP WORKERS HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH THAT. It's not fair, and I'm quite sick of the whole thing, to tell you the truth. Ian and I have spoke about it multiple times, and Michael now. All of us have had something to say about it. But it's not easy when we're being undermined by former council members, okay? That's all I have to say for tonight, as far as that. On to consent agenda items. R26-164, all the way through. 193. 193. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

If I could just clarify, it's R26-164 through 193. R26-172 and 26-176 through 26-193, not including R26-173, 174, and 175 because those were adopted at the meeting of May 12th before it had to be shut down. I'll make a motion to adopt R26-164 through and including R26-193.

with the exception of R26-173, 174, 175. Second.

Councilman Nadel?

Yes.

Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Fisher? Yes. Mayor Leggio?

Yes.

Consent resolutions pass.

All right, on to unfinished business, public hearing, adoption of ordinance 0-2610.

An ordinance establishing Chapter 199 of the Howell Township Code entitled Mercantile Licenses requiring all commercial businesses operating within the township to obtain an annual mercantile license.

I'm going to open to public hearing on this. I believe Cody already had spoken, but is there anyone else that would like to speak on this? Yes, Pollard. Only for this, though. Okay.

I just have a question.

This is for commercial license. It's Paula . A set of us have questions why it seems like there's certain mercantile businesses that are exceptions. I believe someone was saying something about the religious businesses, those type of things. They're not going to have to be included in this. They're not going to have to get a mercantile license. Is that what you're saying? Is that what it is?

So this ordinance does not include houses of worship or churches or anything, but your regular commercial businesses would be included.

Why is that?

Because those are just not considered the mercantile operation under this ordinance. Houses of worship are considered differently under the scheme of- There is an ordinance.

that speaks about houses of worship in a residential area. And I had asked you several times, I'm sure you're busy, but I never got my answer back, whether that ordinance, I don't know it off the top of my head, that speaks about houses of worship in residential areas having to have at least the five acres. I know there's talk about the two. But what the houses of worship that are established in the residential areas, like I live in heritage. Are they covered?

No, there's a conflation between home worship, houses of worship, and commercial operations. I understand that. For the mercantile license, which is what we're discussing right now, is not considered an operation under the mercantile license.

Why is it not? It's a commercial. Religious facilities are considered commercial. And the minute someone walks into someone's private home and pays them to worship there, it is considered a commercial facility as far as I'm concerned. I have people, I know people that have houses of worship in their home. They're a little room and it's only for their family, not 20, 30 people coming from Brooklyn and North Jersey going to worship. And I know people are saying that's not true, but it's true. I saw it with my very own eyes. I spoke with them several times and I went up to the house and I said, You know, what's going on here? Are you the rabbi? Are you the owner? Who are you? Oh, no, no. I'm just here for the service. I'm from Brooklyn. I'm from North Jersey. I'm from here. I can't carpool because it's too far for me to come. So how can you distinguish? I think there needs to be an ordinance for this. There's a difference between a house of worship for private worshiping than a house of worship that has people coming in and paying to worship there. As far as I'm concerned, you're paying money. That's a commercial. It's a commercial business. Why is this mercantile business not including them? I don't understand it. And once again, what happens? The good actors suffer for the bad actors. So I think that this mercantile ordinance needs to be rethought because the only ones that are going to suffer, the only ones that are going to abide by this ordinance are the good actors, are the people that have the best interest in Howell. That's it. I think you ought to table that. Thank you.

Anyone else from the public? I'm seeing none, so make a motion to close public on this. Motion to close public. Second.

All in favor?

Aye. Caitlin, just to clarify on what Paula was saying, that was more, I think, along the lines of a zoning issue and commercial inside a residential zone opposed to entity license?

Yeah, I understand where she was coming from and what she was trying to say. But the ordinance in front of you is for your commercial businesses, your landscapers, your shop rights, things that you're selling in town and providing services in town.

Rental management companies as well?

Yes, there's a specific section for the rental management companies. I believe what Ms. Amaral was saying was more akin to zoning and use of a property, not specifically the mercantile ordinance, but I do understand what she was trying to say.

Additionally...

And we can't charge fees on nonprofits, government fees. Is that why the exemption's in there?

It just wasn't contemplated of being included as a commercial business. There are certain waivers of fees for nonprofits and religious entities, but I don't know off the top of my head if it would apply to this. But there's no language in this because it's not contemplated of including it.

Keep in mind that we would also be hitting our own school board with fees for the school buildings and that kind of thing.

All houses of worship. I just wanted to point out also that one of the reasons that this is required is that we're statutorily in the state of New Jersey, municipalities are required to make sure that all business entities have liability insurance, certain levels of liability insurance, and this is really the only way that we can monitor that for those. So this was intended to apply to those businesses that are referenced in that statute.

May I have a motion to adopt Ordinance 26-10?

I'll make a motion to adopt Ordinance 26-10. Do I get a second?

Second.

Councilman Nadel?

Yes.

Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Fischer? Yes. Mayor Leggio?

Yes.

The ordinance is properly adopted.

All right, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. Our next scheduled meeting will take place on June 9th, 2026. Executive sessions, 6 PM, and the regular session will be 7. Seeing no further business, may I have a motion to adjourn, please? Motion to adjourn. Second.

All in favor? Aye.