Planning Board - Regular Meeting

We'll call our meeting to order. Will everyone please rise to salute the flag? Cler, can you please do a roll call? Councilman Miriam Cohen, Councilman Charles, Councilman Terrence Vanzor, Council Vice President Michael, Council President P. Seagull

here. Can you please read item four? Inance with the open public meetings act, it is hereby announced and shall be entered into the minutes of this meeting that adequate notice has been provided by the following. One, posted on the bulletin board within the municipal building on December 26, 2025 and remains posted at that location for public inspection. Two, printed in the Home News Tribune and the Cranberry Press on December 26, 2025. Three, posted on the Monroe Township website. and four, sent to those individuals who have requested personal notice. In accordance with chapter 3, section 17 of the Monroe Township Code, public comment shall be limited to 5 minutes unless further time is granted by the council president.

Thank you. We're moving on to item five. We have a few proclamations this evening. We're proclaiming March 1st, 2026 Indian Cultural Association of Monroe 20th anniversary. Proclaiming March 18, 2026 Lucille Lamb's 102nd birthday celebration and proclaiming March 21st, 2026, Save the Soil Day. Cler, can you please read item number six, ordinances for second reading at the March 2nd, 2026 regular meeting? Ordinance O2 202260002. Ordinance approving the traffic signal improvements for Applegarth Road and Joan Warren Way. Ordinance 022060003. Ordinance amending chapter 108 of the Monroe Township Code reszoning of parcels included in Monroe Township's Round 4 affordable housing plan. Ordinance 02206004. Ordinance amending chapter 108 article 6.18J13 of the HD highway development district and article 6.7K of the R3A residential agricultural district ordinance 022026005 ordinance to repeal and replace section 131 affordable housing and section 131A affordable housing development fees. with revised regulations in conformance with the amended fair housing act.

Thank you. And clerk, can you please read item 7?

Ordinance for first reading at the March 2nd 2026 regular meeting. Ordinance 0320260006 bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in and by the township of Monroe in the county of Middle Sex, New Jersey appropriating 2,556,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 2,433,800 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof. Madame President, um, regarding, uh, 2026-00003, um, I'm going to make a suggestion and make a motion during the primary meeting, um, to, uh, alleviate the, uh, the section that talks about allowing 19 people 19 years of age or older, cuz that would be inconsistent with our, uh, uh, all the other developments and associations. Uh, so we would like to keep it consistent, make the motion at that time, but I wanted everyone to be aware of it. Okay,

great. Thank you. Thank you. Clerk, can we can you please read item eight? Resolutions for consideration under the consent agenda at the March 2nd, 2026 regular meeting is resolution R320656 through R3 2026 075. Council members, can you please review the resolutions? Does anyone have any resolutions to be removed? Council President, I have two R3 2026-057 R3 2026-069.

Great. Thank you. Okay, moving on to public comments limited to agenda items only. 5 minutes per speaker. May I have a motion to open the public hearing? May I have a second? Second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Great. Public forum is now open. It's limited to five minutes per speaker. Please state your name and address as you come up to the podium. Good evening. My name is Lucille Panos 1208 Calendar Plaza Monroe. I would like to on 063. How many tons were under were contracted last year? It's $144.96 per tons. How many tons did was bought last year or whatever? Items 064 resolution authorizing the cancellation of the water sewer utility. How much was the balance of that fund and where's that money going to go to? The 065 um and 066 just what is the cost per unit? It says per unit pricing. What is the cost per unit? And that's it. Council President.

Sure.

Thank you. So, in terms of 063, this is sodium uh chloride for the utility department. Um has to do with our ion exchange. Uh this is a one-year contract extension. I I don't I apologize. I don't have in front of me how many tons were actually ordered last year. It's my understanding and Mr. Stroin's not with us tonight. It's my understanding that um this is done on an as needed basis. some years utilize uh more uh more of this material than others, but I don't have last year's tonnage. Um in terms of the cancellation of the water and sewer uh the remaining balance on the water and sewer bond, that's uh $645,000 that was remaining on that bond. the project was from 10 or 12 years ago um and had to do with um a specific amount of pipe uh for the 613 tank. Uh since that project uh no longer needs that funding, this cancellation then um provides flexibility for that money and opens it back up to add it back into our water and sewer u capital operating costs.

So it will remain in the water department. It'll remain in the water department. That's correct. Thank you. And 65 and 66. What is the unit pricing? It says per unit. Um 065 and 066. Is that what you were? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. I just need a moment to look that up. If you have any other any other questions? No, that's you have my the rest of my five minutes to answer.

Okay. I'll try my Um, so these are about uh I believe 065 is our water meters from Ferguson. Um, and they are um about uh a $10 uh increase per meter from last year. Um the unit price would be1 $18525 per unit. And then 16 uh 066 is the bioxide. The unit price is $39 going up uh to year three, the optional year three, $3.28.

Thank you very much. You're very welcome.

Good evening everybody.

Evening Okay. I am a resident of one core drive, Monroe. My name is Satyanandan Gopalan. This is in reference to ordinance 0-26-003 319 Sport Gravel Hill Road. Okay. I there is the ordinance saying there is 30 apartments are going to come there and I am living in a low density neighborhood you know and you are bringing in a high density high density population there means 30 apartments means at least 60 kids running around all the places they will trespass our property and 60 cars environmental pollution and there is no properly there There is no footpath there, no parking area there. I strongly they will invade our privacy. That is the main thing. It has happened to me from the past. There was a assisted living home there. Every now and then people will come into knock my door. I complained many times to the city uh township here. Then finally it shut down again. You are bringing in another headache for us. It is not not at all acceptable to me. Okay. This 30 dwelling means you have to calculate all the requirements needed there. There is no parking place. There is no playground for the young kids. Nothing is available there. Okay, I will hand over to my next neighbor. Hi, good evening everyone. Uh my name is Ravi Kolo and I live at 3 quarry drive. Satin is my neighbor is at one uh quy drive and whatever he said is ab

absolutely true uh and uh and this is regarding the audience 0-2-206-003 uh basically I live directly behind that proposed site uh the 319 spots gravel hill road u so uh you know there are building 30 apartment units immediately ly adjacent to a single family home that represents a major increase in density and intensity. Uh so the ordinance uh it doesn't require the minimum rear setbacks, height stepdowns and building orientation controls or permanent landscape buffers. So without these like you know residents like me or sat in my neighbors will experience loss of backyard privacy lighting intrusion noise and daily activity directly behind our homes. So uh you know I uh you know request like we specially request that impact studies be required before uh resoning approval uh not after. So uh we're not opposing uh uh we means I and my neighbors we're not opposing the affordable housing but we are asking for the fairness and mitigation uh that includes the enforceable setbacks permanent buffering high transitions restrictions on rearfacing windows and balconies and consideration of equitable mitigation such as property tax or assessmentally for the most directed impact homes. So yeah, we respectfully ask the council not to adopt the resoning for 319 Spartford Gravel Hill Road as written. My uh neighbors will continue. Thank you for the opportunity.

Good evening. My name is Ma. I live on five CI drive and it's about 300 ft west of the intersection of uh spotful gravel road and CI drive and this project that we're going to propose that is also directly behind my backyard and just like uh Rabi has mentioned there uh when you have 30 apartments there there'll be at least 50 cars and there will be up to 50 kids and there's no parking in that area there. So all those people will be parking along the road that we live in and our area is basically uh no noise area is a one single family home and you're building a basically affordable and multif family. Uh just like Ravi said we not opposing affordable housing. I think it's a good idea but the place that you are proposing will create lot of traffic hazard will create traffic problem it will create lot of noise it will disturb the whole piece that we are seeking for so we think that this project should not be basically go forward thank you next Good evening everyone. Uh yes uh my name is Bean Lingan. I live in 7 Cory Drive. Uh uh and um yeah I deter to whatever my neighbors have pointed out actually. So we we in principle of course we are not objecting to affordable housing. It's definitely a good idea. We support that. But the place that is chosen only is

really it's going to have a such a um major negative impact on the community around there. We are mainly afraid of uh uh trespassing, intrusion, loss of privacy and uh cannot imagine the apartment building high-rise apartment buildings facing directly our um backyard and the back windows that to privacy is totally lost and we had such problems in the earlier as my neighbor pointed out that uh people coming into the even knocking our doors and these things happened. So uh parking and all these things likely. So uh it is a it is a genuine concern as you would understand. So we respect respectfully request that the council deny the audience audience 0 to uh 2026003 in its current form. If it should be if it has to be adopted then uh the measures like um u rear entry u rear yard setbacks and high transition permanent landscaping and buffers orientation standards for rear windows, balconies, architectural and lighting controls and of course financial composition for the property tax and um uh you know assessment relief for the directly impacted homeowners. I respectfully requested. Thank you. Hi, good evening. My name is Shalin Wasaba. I'm a resident of uh Tukor Tribe and I'm going to sort of uh talk about the same sort of uh property location 319 Sportswood uh Graville Road where there's a proposal to build the apartment. Uh as you heard from my neighbor uh I guess I guess you sense the fact that we all have been burned badly in the past uh with the previous occupant uh that was um essentially running uh

some kind of you know rehab center. uh concern we have is uh basically twofold is we we expect township uh and this council to be mindful of uh the previous experience and kind of factor that into the decision. Um secondly uh I personally feel that you know having 30 apartments for this neighborhood where most of the homes are single family especially the primrose acre community itself you're talking about million-doll homes and putting next to that um apartment uh I don't think so it gels well in the community um not opposed to you know building something over there right uh development is is the part of the game Um but uh what might have been better is to build maybe a single family homes that fits well in the community. So I seriously request this uh council and township to reconsider the proposal and u essentially make sure that you know the kind of balance that this neighborhood has and the peace that we have observed in last few years um that doesn't get you know disturbed. Thank you. Good evening, George Kunglman Monroe. Um I madam chairman I have a question about um item in the uh consent agenda 062 um two things the um and looking on online at these items

um I think it was 50 $50,000 to have an improved restroom access door. Seems like a lot. I don't know what kind of special door we're talking about here, but that's pretty fancy door at $50,000. And and I don't know much about the history or status, I guess, would be the better question about Meview Care Center. Why is the township acting on what historically was a private property? I don't know who owns it now. I know that it's been closed and I suspect the building is in need of demolition. I don't doubt that. But I curious as to why it becomes uh an obligation of the township just that one item thing or two items on this one.

Sure. Uh council president. So I'll take your second uh part first Mr. Gungman if that's okay. and it kind of actually dovetales with some of what the other residents were saying about uh reszoning of that property. So, the township purchased that particular property in 2023 uh specifically with our affordable housing trust fund dollars with the intention of utilizing that site toward our fourth round of affordable housing. And so, uh in in terms of this specific question, uh this is a an opportunity to apply for a grant um totaling up to $300,000. We probably overestimate we may have overestimated the doors a little bit but uh just trying to to sort of be safe. Um that's fine. That's answers all the questions that were in my head.

Someone else may have something in their head but that's all I had. The um is there some reason why the the uh handicap um access door is a $50,000 item? Uh that was a conservative estimate. These are doors that um electronically open and close and and have you know uh the ability to access without uh you know through through through an electronic hydraulic mechanism. So um again if it doesn't if we get the grant and it doesn't cost that much we'll try to reallocate that money.

Okay. Do is there um automatic door access to the building? There is. Okay. Correct. just not to the restroom facilities. Okay. Thank you. That's all I have. Thank you.

Good evening. Michelle Armin Nathaniel Street. I'm going to start with resolution R3202660. Um, it talks about the affordable housing fourth round. Um, and I'd like to know about the uh amount in this. Oh, here it is. Sort of the let's see 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9th whereas it talks about directive number 14-24. Um when when we're done, I'd like a little bit of an explanation for that. And also it says the obligation at present need is the rehabilitation of 76 houses uh units, excuse me. So those are already pre-existing, correct? Okay. So the next one is the 4 the prospective need of 460 units and that is the affordable housing amount. Is that the total for the fourth round,

Council President? That's correct. 460 is our total credits that we have to uh Okay. Now, we had and it says on the uh two two whereas down uh that the planning board on June 26, 2025 endorsed by the township June 30, 2025. um that in accordance with an amended fair share housing. Uh is that the same number that we were told last year that we were obligated for or did that change?

Council President, our number of 460 has not changed. The amendment um was amended at the planning board last week um because since June um as we talked about at the planning board, we were challenged uh in the affordable housing program by fair share housing center um and asked to come up with additional units um as opposed to pre-existing counting more pre-existing units. So 4 the 460 number hasn't changed and with bonus credits we come down to 345 and we were trying to count as many pre-existing affordable housing units that were already here as possible to prevent uh new construction of affordable units. Um fair share housing challenged some of that. They were okay with with many of the units that we chose, but we're looking for some more additional new construction units over the next 10 years. And so that's the amendment that's at play here. So that's that's what I don't understand. I do remember and I do believe that last year we were told we've got we got what we were presenting to the state that was our obligation to present a plan to the state was the 345 units. Is that correct? Is that the first

is that first what we sent to the state for their review. Okay. So, I know during the p primaries and prior to the election, we were banting around what a wonderful job we did that we got it. We got it down to 345. So, that's a big jump from 345 to 460. So, did our account was there something wrong with how we accounted for those numbers or what happened?

No. The 460 number has always been the same. That's how many credits we need to satisfy our fourth round. With bonuses, for example, we have some group homes in town that count two for one. We have 100% affordable projects that count two for one. So with bonus credits, we come down to actually 345 units as our obligation. Those two numbers have not changed since last year.

Okay. So it just it I guess just as a civilian not understanding it says perspect prospective need of 460. To me that's going to say that ultimately that's what they're looking for and that's what we're going to have to produce. So I'm I'm confused. If we if we only have to do 345, why can't we say 345 in the resolution? Well, the res

forgive me for being a little obtuse here, but uh it doesn't make sense. Council President, by by law and our lawyer can chime in as well, we have to account for 460 affordable housing credits. Now, with certain types of projects, we can lower that number from 460 to 345 and that's what we are doing. So, it's 345 actual dwellings that someone can live in. But that equals 460 credits because some of those units get a two for one credit or get a 50% bonus. And so we're taking advantage of those bonus credits.

Again, the language is 460 units, not credits. I hate to be semantic. The other way around. It's 460 credits.

Well, it says units in the resolution, sir. That would be my concern. you know, things that are in writing are sort of important, especially when we're talking about official resolutions. So, I I I don't think it's unusual for the public to be concerned with the language. And when can we get will we be we're not going to be apparently we're not going to be guaranteed the 345 unit. The concern is the amount of units because it is multiplied by 80% or in some cases 70% if the 30% is accurate but as a member of the public things don't seem to be accurate. Council president this resolution is authorizing the council to endorse the housing element and fair share plan that was adopted by the planning board. That document, which is also on our website, shows specifically lays out how we get from our 460 obligation number to 345. That is what the court has signed off on. That is what fair share housing has signed off on. That is what our planning board has signed off on. I'm happy to concede the point that this says 460 units instead of credits. Um, and if we need to make that change, we certainly can. I I think the housing element and fair share plan is the binding document that shows what our fourth round obligation is and how it is met.

Okay. So, I'm confident that that that there that that is the case. In that plan, it says credits or does it say units in that plan? Sir, it is a very detailed plan that lays out exactly those 345 units and how with bonus credits they equal 460 under the fourth round obligation.

I'll take a look at that. Thank you. Hello, my name is John Jensen. I live at 306 Spotswood, Gra Hill Road. Uh, I got a text message from a friend of mine that sent me a a message, I guess, from the town about the 022026003, the affording affordable housing apartments that are supposed to go on 309 spots from Gra Hill Road. I'll just give you a little history of that spot. I've been in this town for over 52 years. I moved into that house when it was a rest home, small rest home, then it became a bigger rest home. Then it become a state-run facility where, if I'm not mistaken, at least once a week to maybe six times a week, the police or ambulance service was sent there. There was people sleeping in my car on my lawn, came in my house, walked in the door, asked my son for a beer, who asked him to leave, said, "My father will be home soon." And until my dog came out of the room and chased him out the door, he wouldn't leave. trespassing, people almost getting hit by cars until there was a supposed death in the building and then it closed. So then you're going to approve an apartment building for 30 apartments of low income. What kind of people are moving in there? Is my neighborhood going to be safe? And it is. I consider my road rural. The only time it backs up with traffic or is any traffic is when the school light on on the 522 and our road, Spotswood Grab Hill Road, backs up for the school. That's it. Other than that, there's no traffic on the road. So, you're going to

bring 30 more families in with two to three to four cars in the in just more traffic on the road. There's no sidewalks. There's nothing for the kids to do in that neighborhood. It's it's rural. and you're going to change the dynamic of our neighborhood. Besides bringing the value of my house down, is someone going to look at my house appealing with my 0.9 acres of land, my well-kept yard, and my nice house, and give me what I'm asking for it? No. Because they're going to look across the street and they're going to see that apartment building. How is that going to affect me who is involved in the town? I donate my time, hundreds of hours a year for wrestling and soccer and trained so many kids in this town. And you're just going to I didn't even get a notice. I live 325 ft from the building and someone from Gravel Hill Road sent someone else a picture of the notice and someone else and then it got sent to me. I don't think that that's right. I should have been notified and I think a survey should be done to see if that if it's adequate for that many more people to come right there. Why don't Why don't you put it by uh Spotwood Englishtown Road and Mounts Mill Road where them big ugly buildings are now and all those people living there added the traffic. Why don't you put it out by 33 where the traffic could be handled by the highway and Applegarth Road and Primeville Road.

You're putting it in the middle of a neighborhood where we already been through enough crap with the stuff that was there already. And that's really all I have to say. Thank you. Council President, just uh could I be able to just take a minute to just explain a little bit about the the plan for that site? Sure. Thank you.

Maybe it can be helpful for some residents before we we get to the public hearing. So, we we at the township certainly appreciate and respect what was there previously was uh very unhelpful uh in that neighborhood. We were uh instrumental, many of us sitting up here, instrumental at getting that facility closed, working with the state after uh numerous problems at the Meadow View Care Center uh in your neighborhood. Uh we we part of what we wanted to do was uh to prevent a facility like that from uh returning to your neighborhood. It's part of the reason that we worked uh so hard to purchase that piece of property. uh like I was saying before in 2023 with our affordable housing trust fund and and since then we've we've talked at length uh you know at at at these public meetings about utilizing that site for our fourth round of affordable housing. I I just want to assure the public that the township has no plans to allow that site to become another what was called residential healthc care facility that's poorly managed and and creates uh a lot of understandable concern in the neighborhood. Uh we are um under an obligation as we talked about with another resident to fulfill our fourth round of affordable housing. Uh part of that obligation involves utilizing some townshipowned property and partnering with a nonprofit uh affordable housing developer to construct what's called 100% municipally sponsored affordable housing. This is what we did at Veterans Housing out on uh Cranberry Halfacre Road. uh every town is required to do that as part of their of their fourth round affordable housing in some respect. Uh we've tried in our housing element and fair share plan to um to to utilize properties throughout the town for affordable housing so as not to cluster anything in one particular uh

neighborhood. Um, and so this site became um, uh, an opportunity to help us fulfill that obligation. Uh, but we want to do it in a respectful way of of the community and the residents around it. And so we looking to partner with a nonprofit housing developer called Project Freedom, uh, who's done a great work in a number of other communities throughout Burlington County and Mercer County and Mammoth County. And what they do is they construct specific affordable housing apartment complexes that are independent living. These are not residential healthcare facilities. These are independent living apartments for all ages, not age restricted, uh but that are specifically designed and tailored for individuals who are wheelchair bound. So, the kitchens and bathrooms and other architectural features are designed for folks who are um to to access their apartment and the surrounding uh uh community uh via wheelchair. So, I encourage everyone to go on their website, projectfreedom.org, take a look at what they do. Mr. Razamoitz and I got a chance to visit a couple of their sites uh specifically in West Windsor and Hamilton. And in fact, Hamilton had such a a positive experience with one of these buildings that they actually petitioned Project Freedom to come in and do a second building there. So, we are very mindful of who we're working with. We don't want um to to sort of throw this uh piece of property out to anyone to come in and put up anything that they want as long as they get 30 people into it. Uh we assure you that that's not the case. We are required, the township is required to put the zoning in place to allow for that um heavier density of of 30 units as part of our fourth round affordable housing. But we take the obligation very seriously to make sure that it is appropriate that it is safe for the neighborhood um and that it is not something that it was uh many many years

past and and thankfully Meadow View is not there and operating anymore. So I'm sorry I took that much time. I just wanted to provide a little Can I

correct and as as as the mayor had mentioned um this is just putting the zoning in place right the actual project still has to come before the planning board for a full site plan application uh full public hearings that's definitely not going to happen this year it could happen next year could happen two years from now it could happen 5 years from now that's that's that's not something that we sort of know sitting here at this moment um that's the same process that we went through at the veteran housing, Valor Point, uh, which is out on Cranberry Halfacre Road. So, it still has to go through all of those approval processes, that entire uh, scrutiny of review by our professionals, by our planning board, and by the public itself. Thank you.

Can I can only have one speaker in this public forum if you've already spoken. So, if there's someone else that wants to speak that I want to ask, I'm sorry. It can only be You can only speak one time in this public forum. You can speak in the next one.

Hi, Jennifer Hooki, 436 Schoolhouse Road, Monroe. Um, so I also have some questions about the um affordable housing round four. Um, specifically regarding the Meadow View property as well. Uh under the ordinance, can you tell me what the what the changes would be to the ordinance regarding say the height of the proposed or you know what what the maximum height would be on a building that would be at that location and also what the new setbacks in terms of buffers would be. They obviously vary from res you know the residential zoning that was in place. Mr. Resimoitz,

council president, the uh the maximum height is a three stories, 45 ft for the building. Um setbacks are uh 30 ft for rear yard, 30 ft sideyard, 50t front yard. Okay. And the existing building right now, I believe, is about 15 ft off the sideyard. Okay.

Um question about the proposed occupants of the building that you had discussed. So, if it is approved and that builder were to say not move forward with that project, then we would still be looking at regular families that would be moving into that into that location. Mr. Council President, so if that particular nonprofit developer was chose at some point not to move forward and work with us, we the township would have to find another nonprofit affordable housing developer to work with.

Okay. Um because of the size constraint of that property, um would it not possibly be more um suitable for senior affordable housing where there would not have to be playgrounds or concerns about sidewalks or children riding bicycles or I mean obviously I'm assuming that some of these people that will be in wheelchairs would still have families. So there still potentially could be children living at that location even with people in wheelchairs. Whereas with seniors, these are things that would not really be necessary to be provided at that location.

Council President, we can only fulfill our affordable housing obligation with so many senior units. You cannot utilize uh you know more than I think it's 20% of your obligation towards senior um housing. We already had a number of senior housing already in our plan and so uh we were not able to utilize this site for senior housing. If that changes, we'll of course bring that back uh to the to to the council and to the public to see if we can change that. But as of now, we were capped at the number of affordable senior units we're allowed to zone for in town and and those are in that 67. So you already accounted for those in the 67 on that other location, correct? Okay. Okay, thank you.

Okay, any others wishing to come and speak? If not, we'll make a motion to close the public forum. May I have a motion? May I have a second? Second. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? sir, we already closed this public forum. If you can just wait and speak in the next public forum. Okay, thank you. Moving on. Moving on to adjourn the meeting. May I have a motion?

May I have a second? Thank you. All in fa roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Dapiro, yes. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, yes. Council President Seagull, yes. Thank you. Your time. We are adjourned at 7:11. Thank you. Moving on to our regular meeting. Calling to order. May I have a motion to call our meeting to order? Motion. May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Con. Councilman Dapiro, yes. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, Council President Seagull, yes. Time of the meeting,

7:11. Okay. Item two. Clerk, can you please read item two? Motion to approve the payment of claims per run date February 25th, 2026. May I have a motion, please? May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen. Councilman Diapro, abstain. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, yes. Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries.

Item three, approval of the minutes. Motion to approve the minutes of the following meetings as written and presented. February 9th, 2026. Agenda and regular combined meeting. Thank you. May I have a second, please? Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen. Councilman Diro, yes. Councilman Vanzora, Council Vice President Markell, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries. Clerk, can you please read item four, ordinance for second reading, ordinance 02206002, ordinance approving the traffic signal improvements for Applegarth Road and Joan Warren Way.

May I have a motion to open the public hearing? May I have a second, please? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. Public hearing is open. Anyone wishing to speak, please state your name and record. Name and address for the record, please. Hi, my name is Michelle. Please come up to the podium, please.

Hi. Can you hear me? Hi, I'm Michelle Kohler. I live at 26 Pine Valley in Lane Monroe Township. I'm here to represent all of those who commute from Monroe to Jersey City. We used to have a Monroe bus during um COVID. Um it's been a number of years and a lot of us are suffering. Um is this on the ordinance or I I don't see how this relates to the ordinance itself. So I'm not sure. There's supposed to be somebody here to represent but they're not here. So I wanted to make sure that it was noted. So the this is a public hearing only on the ordinance for the traffic signal improvements for Applegarth Road and Joan Warren Way. If that's not what you're here to talk about, you're just going to have to wait for that issue.

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought she said open forum. Forgive me. Public for this ordinance. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. We'll get to you. You just got to hang out for a little bit.

Okay. Anyone else wishing to speak for this public hearing? Seeing none, may I have a motion to close? And a second, please. Second. All in favor? Any opposed? May I have a motion to adopt? And a second. Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, Councilman Dapiro, yes. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markel, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries. Clerk, can you please read the next ordinance?

Ordinance 0220260003. Ordinance amending chapter 108 of the Monroe Township Code, reszoning of parcels included in Monunroe Township's around for affordable housing plan. Madame President, before we uh engage in the public hearing and the vote on this, I would make a motion to exclude one particular uh sentence contained in the uh uh proposed ordinance. And that reads um on the fifth line down after the word 55 it says and any son or daughter or any stepson or stepdaughter of a four said 55year-old andor 48year-old occupants is aged 19 or over and then it says um talk goes on on the next line it says and a 19year-old or over um all of our other um associations that are uh age restricted uh do not allow for that. It's strictly the the 55 and the 48 does not allow for uh uh individuals 19 or over um unless they're at least 48 and a spouse. So based on that, I I just ask that that specific language be um amended and then when we make a uh uh and when we go to vote on this, the vote would be as amended.

Great. Thank you. For a second. May I have a motion? Oh, may I have a second, please? Thank you. All in favor?

Any opposed? Okay. Public hearing is open for this ordinance as read. This is 003. Am I in the right spot? Okay. Lucil Pan was 128 Lindera. Um I would urge this council council president to table this because one the verbiage that that lady said whether it says units get it clear before you vote on it and get it in writing before you vote on it. So that's table number one. Um, that's for that I find it I and I have to say this. I find it ironic that you proclaim the 20th anniversary of it Indian Heritage Month on March 1st, but two days later you have all these Asians here and how do I say it nicely? You're screwing with them. Okay. To put these where all these people are opposing it and then saying, "Hey, listen. We honor you on the first, but today we're going to put 40 houses, 30 houses, table this, give these people their consideration, get the verbiage correct, and there's no rush for this. The state sends it back, you send it back. You could just say, "Oops, we have to rethink this. Please don't just be yes, people. Give these people their due." And get the verbiage right also. Thank you. So just so that it's clear um anyone who who operates within the affordable housing space when we talk about credits and units that is shorthand for not having to explain amongst ourselves what exactly we're describing. This says units because that's how the affordable housing statutes and rules talk about it. Um, we owe, I apologize, I don't

have the number right in front of me, 460 units. We're building 345 units. Uh, the reason why we talk about it in terms of credits versus units is so that I don't have to or Kevin, Mr. McGawan doesn't have to constantly uh say we're building 345 units that count as 460 units. That's why we use the term credits when we talk about what our total obligation is. We have to reach that number. Um so the verbiage in the ordinance is correct and it fits with the statute. Um the way that we talk about it sometimes I guess for u members of the public can seem a little bit confusing and for that I can only apologize. Uh it's just the shorthand that we use in order to um distinguish when we discuss affordable housing obligations uh how we get to the numbers that we get to.

Thank you.

How you doing? My name is Zultan Lotsy. I'm at 310 Spots with Gravel Hill. You guys are proposing to build affordable housing at 319. Um the gentleman said building a 40ft building or 45 ft building. I literally live across the street. I have to look at this now. I mean, I moved into town to get out of that. I lived in city area. I moved out to this area so I could get away from that. I mean, the gentleman here says wheelchair bound, etc. That's fine. But that building is going to be horrendous to look at out of my bedroom window. It's crazy. And for everybody else that's here for that. It's crazy to look at a 45 foot building where there's no building taller than 20 ft houses, single residentials. It's it's ridiculous. And also wheelchair bound people, great. Fine. Any children coming into the school system? Who's going to cover that? Apartment. One apartment doesn't cover two children going to the school system. Our property taxes do. We paying 18, 19, $20,000 property taxes. Is there going to be children going into these places or just wheelchairbound seniors or handicapped people, I should say? I mean, it's it's getting ridiculous. You guys need to build it somewhere. Main roads. There's plenty of main roads that it could be built on. Not across the street from my house because I'm literally right across the street. Thank you. I am again here. My name is Sad Meras. If you forgot about it, I just heard Mr. McGawan

explaining the details how much effort they have made to get the basically the area to build the affordable housing. Frankly that's not true because I have lived in this area for the last 15 years for 10 years there was a building very bad type of thing and they were like handicapped people were living there they used to come to our backyard all the time so no effort was made at that time to get that area there until there was a murder in the building and of course there were lawsuit and all those things and so building was vacated and then only I think the town went in to get the affordable housing. Now he has not mentioned anything about that. Yeah, they have done lot of uh detail investigation and review and studies and all those but never talked about what impact is going to have on the traffic in that area. What impact is going to have on that people who are living there? There no talk about that. Besides, you also mentioned they take several years to go through the process of review. So I like to save your time. Don't go through that process. Waste your time. Why don't you build it somewhere else where it's easy for the people who going to live there like near basically to some kind of shopping center so that they can walk down there and do the shopping instead of in this area which is basically a single homeous very quiet area. People are very nice there. They don't bother each other there. So don't build this building there to create a noise and commotion which we are not used to. We're living very peacefully and we want to continue to live peacefully there. So please don't go with this project. Thank you.

Yeah. My name is Iman Shupatil. I live at four Kore. I just want to say the same thing what everybody said. The single family neighborhood should not have a a fourstory or five story or three-story apartment building which does not make any sense. That area is not uh a proper you know for for this kind of structure or building and the pe number of people number of cars uh you know the parking and all those things cannot be handled at on that road. So I have to say the same thing. It should be thoughts uh or some you know should be built somewhere else. This is not the uh the plot that should be used for the affordable housing and 30 units uh in a small plot of land. Thank you. Del Armeno 9th Street. Um, Council President, uh, while I appreciate, uh, Mr. Burns's explanation of the language in the document, uh, two things come to mind, and I say this respectfully. It's a little, it seems a little condescending to say we don't understand. So the language between the upper echelons of our governing body and the people who are making the decisions without the consent essentially of the public um is is is a little disturbing, a little upsetting to me. I don't think I think that sort of goes to the core of why a lot of us are here that transparency. I mean we're the public. We pay our taxes. everything that goes on here is because of our consent to be governed. And then when the governing body tells us we don't have the information probably or

it's easier for the elites to make these decisions and make the rules um without really the language because we don't understand the language. I think that's problematic. This is supposed to be a govern governance by the people and I've said that a hundred times. So, I appreciate the explanation. I still don't think it's sufficient. Anything that's a document that is in writing should be very clear and it should explain exactly because I can tell you that in a year when these ordinance start to come, what we're going to hear is, well, it was in writing. It they had a public hearing and and that's that's the way it is. So, I've been here too long to say that. I'll wait and see what happens. I know what happens. The language doesn't change and we're told, well, you had a public hearing. You didn't object. So, let me just reiterate that I object to the language. If it is not clear, if it is clear because you guys are talking amongst yourselves, then please have respect for the public and let us know what exactly happening. So, let me go to why I really want to talk to this one. Um in um page now I think uh council president um councilman Van Duran mentioned something about changing the language in the ordinance. Was he referring to uh F age age restricted housing because it wasn't clear when he has to take some things out. So what portion portion was he explaining

under F1?

Okay. Again, that would have been nice. Now, a lot of the members of the public don't have the full ordinance, but I do. And it would have been nice to explain where it is and what the changes are. And when you go to vote, please make sure that you express that language again and say that it is on F1. So, again, is is in the record. Um, on the next page, and there's no page numbers here, so it's going to be difficult for me to refer. Um, it looks like two, maybe it's F or G. It's G to uh, no, G5. And it talks about, um, the construction phase of market pricing and low to moderate. These numbers can some and I'll ask someone to explain that, but let me go back up. Sorry. G2, I see the percentage. It says a minimum set aside rate of 29 and fourth fourth t four. This is supposed to be 4/10 or 4th tent. Is that a a lang is that a mistake? So maybe we can look into that. And then it says um the total number of affordable units shall be 20 exclusive of the on-site prop uh of the on-site property management. Again, it's a little difficult. Um uh that's the only time that I have seen in this ordinance it comes close to the 30%. Other places in the ordinance talk about 20% or 22%. Again, we were promised that the the fourth round is going to include 30% of affordable housing and less market rate. So, I'd like that clarified as well because I don't see it in in this ordinance. And the other question would

be when you get to the um E, let's see what number again, there's no page numbers, so bear with me. Uh C in section three C permitted principal uses C D and E where it talks about the um actual minimum track sizes and front yards and and 30 ft and all that kind of stuff. Has that changed from our regular construction ordinances? And I would like council president, this is a public hearing for this particular ordinance. I would like you to extend the uh time over five because it's a public hearing, not just a public forum for a general meeting.

Someone can God bless you, sir. If someone could council person, I can answer some of the questions. So, um and refer to where I was so I can write it down.

Sure. And I'm not sure if I'm doing this in in the same order that we went through before, but if you look at G5, that is the phasing schedule. So, and that is the standard phasing schedule. that's that's uh regulated by the state of New Jersey. Um you can't build um all the market rates and then get around to the affordables later. You have to build the affordables as you're building the market rate. So that chart uh lays that out. 29.4%. That's because this particular ordinance uh u reszones the property where the project will be 67 total units of which 20 will be affordable. Uh so that's just the math. 47 uh market rate 20 affordable gets you to 29.4%. um overall uh and and I don't mean to to continue to throw so many numbers at us, but when we look at our round four, uh affordable housing obligation in terms of what will be new to the township moving forward, remember we're getting to count a lot of existing affordable housing units that were already here, but looking at what we need to zone for that's new over the next 10 years. uh we're actually looking at a global percentage of about 37% affordable uh as compared to market rates. So uh a much better uh ratio in terms of affordable housing than we had in the third round.

Is that enumerated in this document? So this document doesn't cover every site because some sites have already been reszoned. Okay. Right. I'm I'm talking about our entire fourth round obligation. Um this site I'm sorry this ordinance um also gets more than 30. So this particular ordinance 003 reszones for 380 383 total units of which 109 are affordable and that's 29%. So if we're just looking at ordinance 003 those are the numbers.

Okay. And I have one more question on this one and I'll sit down. Um, is this ordinance more are there more rentals in this particular ordinance than there are sales? Yes.

Okay. And I would just like to make a quick comment again. Um, the people who are who benefits from having all having mostly rentals, the developers, the builders. Um, the American dream is to have home ownership. And if we have high rentals or a lot of rentals, I doubt that we're going to see and and I say I think studies have said for the now to buy a their first home, people are in their 40s. I would like to see that we have more for sale properties that are low income and affordable because the American dream calls for home ownership. So the fact that you know follow the money and who benefits and I'm afraid

thank you miss Armeno do you really thank you

just just council president about 167 of these units are for sale so that is a significant percentage great thank you any others wishing to speak on this ordinance seeing none We'll make a motion to close the hearing. Motion. May I have a second? Thank you. Well, um, all in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. May I have a motion to adopt as ordinance was amended? May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Dapiro,

no. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markel, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries. Okay. Clerk, can you please read the next ordinance? Ordinance O2 20226004. Ordinance amending chapter 108 article 6.18J13 of the HD highway development district and article 6.7K of the R3A residential agricultural district. May I have a motion to open the public hearing? May I have a second? Second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Great. I'm just so disappointed that the last ordinance wasn't tabled. I'm I'm stunned at you people. It was just yesterday. No, no, no, no. It's enough now. There's too many people involved here. But as far as this ordinance, it's going from R3A residential no article. It's going from residential. What are you changing the residential agricultural district to? explain this because was this was any of this property ever deemed open space by the way? So, council president, all that ordinance 004 does is at the request of fair share housing, they asked us to add some additional language which is which is statutory in the state of New Jersey. and I'll go through them because there's not that many of them. Um they asked us under um under 13D to add that in both senior and family affordable housing 13% um of each bedroom distribution shall be uh very lowincome units. Again, that's just from the statute and fair share housing was looking for that to be in our ordinance. In um in 13M, they asked us to get rid of references to the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing because that council no longer exists and to instead reference the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls. Um and they asked us in section 4,

that's not my question. I'm I'm just going through the only four changes that are that are in this ordinance. amending the chapter of highway development. Was any of this property ever deemed open space by this township? Could somebody was it ever president?

This ordinance is not a specific property. It's in the entire zone. They've they've fair share housing has asked us to include this statutory language. We're not talking about a specific piece of property here. Well, any properties, not specific, but any properties that were in this zone, is it now being changed? And was any of this property ever deemed open space by this township, council president? None of the properties are being changed with this zone.

Was any were with this zone, was any of this zone ever open space? However you want to dance around it, stop the dancing. Let's let's let's do the work. Let's do the footwork. Read all the ordinances. Get the verbiage right. This is You know what? I've tried to be nice here, but you guys excuse me, Mr. McGowan. Didn't say a word. Oh, okay. I thought you said something. Council President, if the question is are is there any open space in the highway district development zone? Yes, we have some open space throughout the highway.

Okay. So, what I think now I'm going to definitely ask you to table this because there are laws out there. I have it on my phone. You can't just turn open space into residential like that. If you deem this open space down the road in the past or something, let's go. Let me get my phone. You want that ordinance? I'll get it.

So, I think there's a disconnect between what you understand this ordinance to do and what this ordinance actually does. It doesn't change the designation of open space within the zone. It doesn't change the um designation of any of the zoning itself within the zone. All it does is add statutory language to the existing ordinance. That statutory language clarifies things and keeps it up to date with the changes in the state statute, but doesn't mean that an open space area now becomes a residential area. It still remains an open space area with houses on it. No

apartments.

There's no addition of housing in this ordinance change. The like literally the four changes that Mr. McGowan went over are the only changes that are made. So instead of reading under section what is that? Uh M. Affordable housing shall comply with 108-6.13 K7, the Monroe Township Affordable Housing Ordinance and current New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing Rules. The New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing Rules no longer exists. So that's been crossed out and instead that sentence ends uniform housing affordability controls. There's no change to any of the zoning in this ordinance.

Okay. You know, and I guess maybe I'll come back at the end and maybe you could refer to NJ administrative code 7 col 7-9.38. Maybe you could read that before you really go forward with this stuff. Thank you. Especially when I come back and any of it's open space, read it before that. Thank you, Council President. We have open space throughout the township. They're all deed restricted as open space. They're part of our Rossy, which means they can't be built upon. It doesn't matter what zone they're in, whether they're in a residential zone, a commercial zone, a highway development zone, they are not affected at all in any way by this ordinance. I just want the council to be clear on it. Great. Thank you.

Any others wishing to speak? Shiny09 Nathaniel Street. Okay. on um 04 04. Um we're going to go to the back one of the back pages first, second to the last page on um where it talks about uh the percentages again, minimum percentage of low and moderate units completed and percentage marker rate units completed. Um this council has admitted in the past that there have been uh completed market rate units, dwellings, residential um things and that the affordable housing units have not been finished or fulfilled. So the language in here says which is sort of disturbing um the unit is deemed complete when the certificate of occupancy has been issued. That doesn't mean you're placing people in these units. That means the the certificate of occupancy is the construction has been completed. It's very easy to fill the uh the market rate units as we see the explosion of construction in Monroe. What about the people who this whole thing is supposed to um accommodate? we are not seeing that these units are actually being uh that the people are being housed. So this language also um council president maybe we can change this language that says that the affordable housing units be occupied because this is the pretense of the need for fair h fair share housing that these people should be housed in here not all of the market rate. Um, so maybe someone

before you you um, you know, maybe we can change that because it has been the history in this town that there hasn't really been enforcement of the ordinance uh, to place people in actually the units. So, as president, that's just not true. That's correct. Okay. It's just not true. Well, you're you're making affordable housing units uh, follow the schedule. Um uh there's been no COS issued for market rate units if they have not met the affordable uh unit counts for any of the developments.

Well, is that an absolute because I think when um Mayor Tambbora was alive, uh there was an admission in the in this council chamber that the uh they were slow to finish the affordable housing and it didn't. So I don't know if that you want to make an absolute statement that's fine but I think it can be um I think the facts can can bear out and the other question is then if that is true if council president that the Mr. Resimoitz is making that statement my question then would be how much of the affordable housing units that have been completed are um filled? Can we can we get a number on that since this Mr. President, if I can just go back to to the to the accusations made. Um, uh, there was one development where market rate units were built and they were looking for certificate occupancies for those units and I, um, I I don't recall the number, seven units, I believe, and they had to, they did not get certificate of occupancies. Um, and they had to bring up the affordable units to to match what was needed in order to get certificate of occupancy for the market rate unit. So they did not get get their cos for those units and they had to wait for the affordable to catch up before they were able to get those market rates and and sell them or rent them whichever was the case at that time.

So so thank you. you you

and and that's where I believe this language comes from because you know we did try to stop uh issuance of building permits at the time until the affordable sort of what you're saying and the court said no uh it's based on um um they're allowed to get building permits but they could not get the certificate of occupancy unless they have the affordable but we couldn't hold up their building permits until the affordable came online. Well, that's sort of a contradiction, but can you tell me how uh council president, how many of our affordable units that have certificate of occupancies have actually been filled? Council President, I can say that of the third round affordable units that have been built, so that's 53 at Georgetown Estates, that's 66 senior units at JSM, uh, Mounts Mills Road, sponsored Englishtown Road. I can't say that there's any vacancies because I don't manage those properties. But on any given day, there's going to be vacancies. There's going to be people moving in, people moving out. But I believe through the affordable housing board, we've gotten some confirmation that those units are filled or nearly filled. Okay. Because that is the whole reason for this this all this construction. Um, thank you. Any others wishing to speak? Seeing none, may I have a motion to close the public hearing? Thank you. May I have a second?

Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? May I have a motion to adopt the ordinance? May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Diapro, yes. Councilman Banzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell. Council President Seagull. Yes. Motion carries. Clerk, can you please read the next ordinance?

Ordinance 022060005. Ordinance to repeal and replace section 131 affordable housing and section 131A affordable housing development fees with revised regulations in conformance with the amended fair housing act. May I have a motion to open the public hearing? May I have a second? Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. Public hearing is open. Any members wishing to speak on this ordinance? Seeing none, may I have a motion to close the public hearing? May I have a second? Second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? May I have a motion to adopt? May I have a second? Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? I'm sorry. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Depro, Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries. Clerk, may can you please read item five?

Ordinance for first reading. Ordinance 032026006. bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in and by the township of Monroe in the county of Middle Sex, New Jersey, appropriating 2,556,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 2,433,800 bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof. May I have a motion, please? May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Diapro, yes. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Uh, clerk, can you please read item six, resolutions for consideration under the consent agenda, R3 202656 through R3 20265 with the exception of R3 202657 and 069 which will be considered separately. Thank you. May I have a motion, please? Second. Second. And roll call. Councilwoman Cohen, yes. Councilman Dapiro, no. Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, yes. Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries.

Clerk, can you please read item seven? Resolutions removed from the consent agenda for consideration is R3 2026 057 and R3 2026 069. May I have a motion, please? May I have a second? Second. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cohen, Councilman Diro, Councilman Vanzora, yes. Council Vice President Markell, Council President Seagull, yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. McGau. move on to your administrator's report, please.

Thank you, Council President. I'll be very brief. I just want to thank the council for their support of the housing element fair share plan and the implementing ordinance. It's been almost uh two years of work to get here since the 2024 affordable housing legislation was updated, made it a much more streamlined process to the point where nearly every municipality who's subject to it uh will be um completing this process by March 15th, including Monroe Township. Um the mayor's efforts to negotiate reductions in market rate housing were essential to meeting these constitutional obligations with little uh with lesser impact uh than the prior rounds uh and as as little impact as possible. And I on behalf of the township greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Razim Moments have a engineer report. Council President real brief um you know the project at James Monroe Park in Session Stand Park Improvements. The snow has certainly delayed things out there. They are working inside the building on uh some of the plumbing and the electrical work, but uh but that has slowed down due to the weather. Additionally, the pickle ball courts and parking lot at the senior center. Same. Um the snow has just really delayed the project. Uh though they are out there putting up the pavilion and and working on that as as best they could with the weather. Um that's my report. Great. Thank you. We'll move on to council reports. Mr. Councilman Depiro, we'll start with you.

Thank you. Um, I just wanted to uh to let everybody know again the wreck programs, baseball, softball, and hockey signups at the community center. So, uh, please u have your children, grandchildren uh join the programs that they have uh for the uh for the sports. Um, I also want to talk about the snowstorm. I know it was uh it was a very large snowfall that we didn't expect and uh when they forecast 1 in to 18 in um the weather, you just don't know how to how to handle it. But I wanted to say thank you to our our police, our first responders, um all our residents that that worked hard to try to get their their driveways and their sidewalks and everything uh taken care of along with our MTUD parks and also DPW. It's not easy. Um you know, we hear complaints about the bottom of the driveways, you know, getting snow snow covered and but it's hard enough to get the roads clear. the main roads are are priorities and uh our DPW worked tirelessly to get and and the rest of them that I said work tireless tirelessly to get everything safe and sound uh and our schools can get open and the safety for our community. So, I just wanted to say thank you for everybody working together. I know it's hard to get curb to curb. A lot of people uh you know, I went down Federal Road and it was like a onelane road and because of the wind and the drifts, but I just uh we have to work together and and try our best with a storm like that. Uh 522 the water tower. Can we get an update on the uh painting of that water tower?

Council President, I know the scaffolding has gone up and they've done some preliminary work. Joe is not here tonight, so I can't give a a a full uh report on that, but we'll certainly have him reach out to all the council members to give them a full update, but I believe that um sort of the preparatory scaffolding and other groundwork has begun. People can see it out there.

Great. Thank you. And um the pagola water and sewer improvements. I know they were out there trying to repave one day. Uh when it was nice, the weather was nice, they were trying to get those trenches a little safer. Do we have any kind of time frame on when that project will be complete? Council, it's my understanding by the end of this month, but um I'll find a better timeline for that for the council. Great. Thank you.

And when that gets done, um I hope our engineer is going to say curb the curb the way that it was a nice paved road before they started and now it's just uh it I understand when they started it, the weather went bad. But um hopefully it's a main road and it it goes through Jamesburg and Monroe. So hopefully we'll get curb to curb restoration. Uh and then and I had a question last meeting in reference to uh budget 2026. Are there going to be do we have a plan a schedule for workshops or anything to do with the uh new budget?

Council President, we'll have our our full budget presentation at the April meeting. Uh the date escapes me, April 5th, I believe. Um we'll do a PowerPoint presentation. will provide um the council with the township and the administration's proposed budget. Um we'll have an opportunity to meet with any council members subsequently um that have questions and we are having our adoption hearing at the May meeting. Again, the date escapes me, but May 2nd perhaps. Thank you. So, when when will that budget be ready for council to review?

Uh we should be providing it to you the week before our April meeting. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Vanora.

Thank you, Madam President. Um, I would like to uh uh echo Charlie's points on the uh snow removal. Um that was a an incredible storm that we have. I live down the end of a culdeac. There's like three or four of our houses down the end that um sometimes when you have a bad storm, it's easy to get plowed in because they're they're going down the street and you're one of the last houses and you know your whole driveway gets done. But uh and you get you get you like you've already shoveled your driveway and you go out and then it's shoved back in again. They were very careful this time despite all that snow to make sure that uh nobody in our in our whole street as far as I could tell had any uh had any of those type of issues. So I was I was very appreciative of that cuz that that can be a lot especially when you have the the real heavy snow like we had. Um so everything was cleared. We also had a tree down on our street and uh they came out a couple days later and took care of that also. So, uh, I I see, you know, you sit there and you look outside and it's like two in the morning and you see the the lights and you you hear the beeping and stuff. Those guys really do a tremendous job. And, uh, I mean, I know they get paid for it, but that's that's still uh a lot of time and effort. And I think overall, I'm sure there's a spot here and there we could say, well, they missed this or missed that, but I think overall they did an outstanding job and and they should be commended. So, that was really my main point for the evening. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Cohen. Look at that. Is that on now?

Thank you so much. Each member of the council always has the pleasure of saying when we've had a storm or some sort of untored incident in town that our police and our fire folks and all of the public works department serves us admirably. Uh these last few weeks of what seems to me constant snow and my constantly being cold have been no less a demonstration of that than this was this this last time of how fortunate we are. I have many of my neighbors in Florida. So I take pictures of their driveways filled with snow and I send them to their dwelling in Florida and say look you're finally getting clear so that they know they can come home soon. It's been a quiet month, but you know, this is ReadAcross America week as we all celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. And I will along with I'm sure my colleagues have the pleasure of once more reading a book to children in school. And it is always a wonderful opportunity. And for all of you who remember reading to your children when they were little before they learned to read, there is a special joy in being able to go back and read to these children. and it gives all of us a closer opportunity to see what's happening in our schools which is usually good things. So that's what I will be doing tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock. I will be at Mil Lake School reading a book.

Thank you, Council Vice President Markell.

Um I'm not going to mention the snowstorm. Uh but I want to thank the all our public servants here. How what a great job they did. Um, I had the pleasure of uh reading a proclamation and a young lady uh in Clearbrook this week who turned 103. Um, the mayor wrote a compl proclamation for her. I was at her house. Um, it was nice talking to her and meeting her and she wanted to she's an avid baker. She bakes for her own Shabbat every every Saturday at 103 and offered me some brownies. Um, which I hope we're not tainted with anything cuz she is quite a crazy lady. Um, I'd also just like to mention also I'm read I'm I'm going to Applegart school tomorrow. Uh, I went to the library and picked up some applications for the kids and some pencils and some giveaways so they can be connected to our great public library. Um, last but not least, I just like to say, um, keep our, uh, troops in your hearts of what's going on in this world. Um, we have to remember them. We have to pray for them. And hopefully, um, they'll all come back in good shape. And I'd like to do a shout out to the veterans in this community and everywhere in the United States also. Thank you.

Thank you. And I too just want So I too want to just um thank our DPW OEM and all the township departments that play a part in snowstorms. This was a big blizzard. We haven't had this much snow in so long. So truly appreciate all the hard work that you do. It's 24 hours, lots of prepping, clearing, riding roads. I've learned a lot the last couple years about how DPW works and what happens in a snowstorm. So appreciate all that they do, but also appreciate everything the community does because we all play a part to doing our part in the storm. So thank you. Um and I will I Oh yeah, sure. I'll have our cl clerk would like to say something. Um so I just wanted to reiterate that as of March 1st, the publication law, so all legal advertisements um will be posted on the Monroe Township website on the homepage. It says legal notices. So you can click on there and you'll have um all the legal notices to keep yourself updated. Um also we have a rabies clinic, our free rabies clinic this Saturday um from 9 to 2 at the community center. So if your animal needs uh rabies, come on down for a free shot and you can also license your animal then with a check. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. And I'll turn over to Mayor Delina for your report.

Thank you, Madame Council President. Um I did want to just give a just some some brief u remarks regarding affordable housing. Um as was alluded to before by our business administrator, this has been a two-year process, right? Um affordable housing and the need for affordable housing is thrust upon all the municipalities throughout the state. Uh they all deal with it in various ways. Some go directly to lawsuits, some work with uh affordable and share fair housing. Um what we were able to do, again, I think I'm I'm proud of the number that we were able to work with. Um and in in particular um you know when we decided to think about what we wanted to do regarding our 100% municipal uh built affordable housing we obviously set a high bar high threshold when we did our veterans housing and we wanted to do something very similar to that uh in regards to those who are um you know wheelchair bound and we felt that obviously a particular place would would would work within Monroe Township. Um and and I I get it. Um I was I can't remember getting all whether I was on the zoning board or the council when when Parker House came into that neighborhood as well. There was there was an uproar and and I truly it's not an apple to apple. I I I get that. Um but Parker House became a tremendous neighbor to that neighborhood and to and to the township as a whole. We are hoping for something very similar to that. Um so this the process will continue.

I ask please be vigilant. Um, when there are plans to be drawn, there will be planning board meetings for discussion to see what it looks like. The the the um the specifics of what will go there, those will be opportunities by the public to continue this conversation of what you would like to see um as it is gets developed. Um, and it will be a process. will be over a period of time. So, so again, I I thank you so much for for coming out. I I think it's so important to be aware of of the legalities of what needs to be done. Obviously, what what was done tonight is just the overall uh picture of it, but the specifics will be spelled out, you know, as as we move along. Um, I I know Councilman Markeel didn't want to mention the the snow. You know what? The snow that got me was the one that came that Wednesday afterwards. Okay, I can do the 18 in, but that Wednesday one was was bad. But, uh, I I did put out a video thanking every, you know, OEM and I mean, I'm sorry, uh, DPW, uh, Parks of Wreck, MTUD. Uh, but I did recently put out uh something to the residents of Monroe Township as I was out and about. Um, and I'm sure as many of you were as well. Um, I I just saw people helping each other in Monroe Township. Um, and this is a letter that I I put out a couple days ago. I'd like to read it. Dear residents of Monroe Township, on behalf of the entire municipal team, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of of you for your cooperation, patience, and incredibly incredible neighborly spirit during last week's snowstorm, the most significant we've

experienced in decades. While the snow was challenging, it revealed once again the true character of our community. Throughout the storm and its aftermath, neighbors stepped up to help neighbors. from clearing driveways and sidewalks to checking in on each other, sharing equipment and offering a helping hand uh wherever it was needed. You demonstrated what makes Monandro Township spe such a special place to call home. I want to thank and recognize uh and thank our first responders, our office of emergency management, public work crews, and all the essential personnel who worked around the clock to keep our community safe and restore normal operations as quickly as possible. Their dedication along with the understanding and cooperation made a meaningful difference for our entire community. Storms of this magnitude are rare, but your commitment to our community is constant. We are stronger when we make uh when we work together and you have proven time and time again. I am proud to serve as your mayor and I am deeply grateful for the way our community came together during this significant weather event. Please continue to look out for one another and do not hesitate to reach out for assistance. So, that being said, um just a couple items coming up in March. We have our rabies clinic on March uh 7th at the uh community center from 9 to 2. We have our MakerFest on March 21st at our library and our egg hunt will be on March 28th at 10:00 a.m. at our community center. Um, I would be remiss if I did not just take this moment um to um recognize uh uh one of Monroe's greatest um citizens um and a member of our greatest generation um dear friend Sai Liipper um veteran of World War II passed away this past week

who would have been celebrating his 100th birthday on March 22nd. Um, please keep Sai's family in your prayers. U, thank you so much. Thank you, Mayor Delina. Okay, we'll move on to public comments. May I have a motion to open? Second. Second. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Five minutes per speaker, please state your name and address for the record.

Okay. My name is Michelle Kohler. I live at 26 Pine Valley Lane in Monroe. Can you guys hear me? Okay. So, um I used to take the bus to Monroe, the coach bus, and since COVID, we haven't had a bus. It's very expensive. It's inconvenient. I drive to East Brunswick to take the 68 bus. Um so, I think there was a meeting sometime last year to discuss restarting the bus. So, I'm here to represent the 20 people that work with me at my company, which is Brown Brothers Haramman. And I'm also I believe there's also a handful of people that are here. We sent a message in our group chat um that holds about 60 to 70 people. So, there's definitely the um wrership to support to have two buses going both ways as we did previously. Um, there's been new developments in our area, so I'm sure there'll be much more riders. We might need to have more buses, but I'm here to ask what will it take to restart um having a bus. I don't know who I'm addressing it to because I'm not the person or the spokesperson. I was on the bus, but not here in this forum. I believe she's here now, but um I I don't know who I'm addressing this to. So, I'm just asking the question openly. Mr. McGowan.

Yeah, Council President, I appre appreciate the question. I know we've reached out to Coach and NJ Transit over the years to continue to do an analysis and uh about additional bus stops and additional bus routes. uh just candidly since since COVID um they have chosen not to uh for for their own uh based on their own profit analysis, but we can certainly reach out again and um I think it's probably been since some point in 2025, not that long ago, but we can certainly uh we can certainly make those contacts again and see if they're willing to um to to re-evaluate adding additional routes. Are you talking specifically Jersey City or Yes, I'm talking specifically Jersey City. And how long would that take before a decision is made? So,

I mean, if you reach out to them, are we talking like a couple weeks, a couple days? I It's hard It's hard for me to say because it's it's not in our control, right? They're they're allowed to, you know, take whatever time they want as private bus companies, but we'll we'll try and push them to get an answer as soon as we can.

Okay, maybe I'm asking the wrong question. What would it take for us to get a bus to Jersey City? Do I need petitions? I'm happy to. Right. Right. Okay. Right. So, we have the money. We'll pay for the bus. Right. If we get 15 people to ride each way, it should cover the cost to get to Jersey City. So, do I need a petition? Tell me what I need to do to get this bus started. I've been suffering. Me personally, but there's other people who could support that that I can have support my cause. But I'm the spokesperson because I want the bus more than everybody else. Why don't I give you my card when we're done here? you can send me the data in terms of how many riders you're expecting, where they generally where they live. And again, data uh is is what is what drives the process.

Yeah. So, I think somebody here has the data. Is she here? Oh, yeah, she's here. See, look.

Oh, thank you very much for the time. Good evening mayor and members of the council. My name is Sangeita Goli and I'm here um a resident of Monro Township. I'm here today to represent about 15 um colleagues from AIG and um um request that NJ Transit um reinstate their uh bus service from Monroe to Jersey City. Um I think there was a coach bus in the past. We are requesting for NJ transit. If if it doesn't work, coach is fine as well. But transit I I guess uh makes much more sense. Jersey City has grown into a major uh financial and employment hub. Often seen as mini New York. Access to such a critical business district is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity for many working families in our township. Prior to co this bus services uh service existed and was widely used. It provided reliable transportation for working families um working professionals, small business employees, seniors and students who depend on public transit to reach their workplaces and essential services. Now most employers have mandated in office work four to 5 days a week and traffic congestion has increased significantly for past one year. Today, commuters face serious challenges. Many of us are driving alone, contributing to heavier traffic, higher emissions, and rising commuting costs. Others are coordinating ride shares or navigating multi-transfer routes that add significant time um to already long days. Personally, when I commute via transportation center at turnpike uh exit 9, the same place um that I take uh

uh bus 68, I spend an additional 25 minutes each way just exiting, reaching to the bus stop, waiting and re-entering back into the turnpike. This is nearly an hour of wasted time each day. Um the financial burden is also substantial. Public parking in Jersey City is extremely limited and expensive. Commuting costs $50 to $60 per day, which is $1,000 a month. Additionally, when driving alone, many of us cannot take advantage of employer sponsored pre-tax commuter benefits, resulting for their financial loss. Currently, many residents spend 3 and 1/2 hours to 4 hours per day commuting. A direct bus route utilizing HOV lanes could significantly reduce travel time uh improve safety and provide a more efficient alternative. Public transportation also allows commuters to use their time productively whether resting, reading, continuous um learning or simply being more present with their families after work. Restoring this route would improve access to jobs in a major economic center, reduce traffic congestion and environmental impact, support working families and local businesses. Public transportation is not simply a convenience. It is essential infrastructure that strengthens our community. One of our fellow residents, Amit, has already compiled preliminary ridership interest data. I see about 100 plus uh riders information there that commute from Monroe. I can I can submit that information again. Um even within a limited outreach circle, we collected 100 signatures. If we could reach to um everybody we could in Monroe, I'm pretty sure it it'll be at least three to four times more. Um given that additionally surrounding communities such as Heightstown, East Windsor, Twin Rivers, Milstone and South Brunswick

also can use this service. Um if if you guys think that uh ridership is not sufficient, we respectfully ask the council to review the ridership data that we already submitted and uh consider reinstating this route on a pilot basis to assess demand and based on that you can um uh take a decision. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you,

Council President. That we're h happy to advocate for you. I just wanted just to be clear that the mayor and council don't uh make the decision um in terms of where coach and New Jersey Transit um uh you know how many routes they have or anything about their operation, but we are happy to take your information, take your data, take your petitions and signatures and and advocate on your behalf. But sure, but that's that's the limit of our When was the last time that um you guys reached out to coach or transition? It was sometime last year and I I don't remember offh hand but it was sometime in 2025.

We are definitely suffering a lot. I mean uh from Monroe just in my office the limited circle I have 15 members go from here. Thank you very much for all your time. Thank you.

Any any other I'm sorry. Um my name is Ganesha Musla address 23 morning ly drive. So a couple of things uh for last time actually we were um thank you for getting the GCP representative here. Uh I did some more research on the LED light conversion and what I found that there is like a bypass um blast which has to be changed. So I was recommending that like uh that cost is like $4 or something for fixture. I would recommend like I would just ask if the township can do something to ask the JCP to come back again and do some analysis of replacing the fixture. Um maybe the cost can be taken up by the township or the county or the state because I think that will be very helpful. But thank you for having JCPL representative last time. I think it was helpful uh on the so I just want to comment on I went to the BOE meeting last time. I know like this is not the public for correct forum to address but I just want to mention that when I went to the BE meeting last week u last month the last meeting and asked about the the superintendent uh issue which is going on the board was not uh complain enough to like give me a answer on the forum. They sent me a email personally which is okay but I would say that like this organ this investigation has been happening from August last month from last year. Okay. And the board is not doing anything for it to go further. So I would just request the council I don't know like if you can just put a word to BOE to do the

investigation a little bit more faster. I think that that will definitely help. The third thing was um I know like the we have talked a lot about the affordable housing for Mandro. Um I would ask the council to make a um ask the state right because we are doing a lot for the the township is complying for the affordable housing but we also want the state to comply and give Monroe the required educational educational aid which is required. there's a lot of every time there's a gap. So I would just mention that if you can tell the VOE or put a comment I think that will be helpful. The last thing I wanted to say was uh I live on Monro Manor which is on butcher and Jessica drive north and south. I mentioned last last time that there is a small road bump when we come from Jessica onto butcher. So what happens is that cars are actually taking the the shoulder and you cannot see them when um so I would just request them request the township to just correct it so that it'll reduce the accidents president. I'll follow up again with Middle Sex County. It's their roadway.

Great. Thank you. Thanks.

All right. Thank you. Hey everyone, this is Mr. Singh here. I work with JP Morgan Chase and uh my colleague, my friend here. Um this is regarding the justice city bus again. Uh I know we collected the ridership data last year June and I think that was shared with you guys and uh I personally reached out to NJ Transit and coach as well and uh the response was they don't have any plans of restating the service. uh so I would just you know uh she has presented all the scenarios very well and uh the pain that we're going through passing through that route 18 again wasting our 20 25 minutes each way um you know so yeah just reiterating those pain that we are going through and it will really help us if we can restate that service that's all thank Take the truck.

George Kunglman, 5K. Um I think it was late last year in one of the meetings there were comments made about work that was being done by one of the developers um in advance of uh uh having inspections done and the comment at that time from the township attorney was that um they were doing so at their own risk. The more I thought about that, the more unrealistic that is because as reality, you're never going to ask anybody to dig up everything to find out if they did it right. The bulk of the work that is is being done uh without inspections and oversight from the township or the utility department is underground work, sight and service work. Uh you'll never know if the compaction was done correctly underneath it unless you dug it all up. And we're not going to dig it all up. No one does. Um even at my own residence, I had an event where I had to uh replace the water line from the town in uh from the street in. That was my responsibility that road. What I found was the uh I had assumed it was a root from a tree. It wasn't. It was stones. The the bedding and the back filling was not done properly. And you know, uh that's a petty thing, a few thousand dollars. But if you're talking about a largecale development project, the liability to the town when they do work that is not being supervised or inspected uh by our township officials. Um we have you're never going to know and

that then that liability if it's done improperly, if there's settlement and and the pipes don't line up correctly anymore or they break or whatever. um will become the town's liability and responsibility. So I think we need to make a bigger effort to make sure that uh that kind of work and it's it's it's easy and convenient to say they're doing it their own risk. It's simply not true. A big part of the risk is inherited by the town. So I'd like us to think about how we can uh reduce the extent that that's happening and the the extent of risks for that those site and services utilities work is being done uh according to the specifications that were approved in the planning board. Thank you. That's all I have. Hi, Jolen Maloney from the Watershed Institute. On behalf of the Watershed Institute, I just wanted to thank Monroe for their commitment to participating in the Upper Milstone Regional Approach. We look forward to considering working with Monroe on this. So, thank you. Chel Armin 9 Nathaniel Street. I too want to thank the uh council for resolution R32026074 which is the watershed. That is a very positive thing that that you've done. Um resolution

064. Could someone explain the This is the cancellation of water sewer utility capital fund improvement authorization balances. So it's cancelled and then funded. What does that mean, Mr. McGowan?

Sure. Uh, Council President, uh, this is an ordinance, a water sewer ordinance, bond ordinance from 2014. Um, this is $645,000 that's fully funded now in in in our budget in our capital budget. This was originally meant for a 16-in water mane um running to and from this the Route 613 tank um which uh did not need to be installed at that time. Uh this funds these funds are can now be cancelled from the bond ordinance and rein reinvested back into our water and sewer operating budget to provide more flexibility. And Lori will tell me if I said those things correctly.

I'm sorry, Council President. I I still sort of don't understand. So, we bonded for the six and I'm just going to say the 645,000 and then it's funded by the bond or did we find other sources of funds for to fund it? Mr. McGowan. So, council president, we actually uh bonded I think $1.2 million in that particular bond in 2014. uh this 645,000 was uh was left over uh was not the project was not needed and therefore we want to free up that money in the water and sewer budget. It's still it's still in their budget but it'll free it up to do other projects so it's not tied to this 16inch line from the 613 tank

and we don't need this 16inch line council president to be either repaired or replaced Mr. No, we do not. Okay. Um, also resolution 066 I saw by oxid. Um, and that that seems to be some kind of solution. Is that for the sewer or is that for the potable water? M president, this is for the sewer system. Bioxide is odor and corrosion control.

That's what it says on the website. Thank you. And um I guess the temporary budget appropriations. Could someone explain? There seems to be extensive amounts here. Um just there's one for landfill 45,000. Could someone explain that? And we're still paying for that or I thought we were supposed to get reimbursed or all kinds of things on that one. The landfill is council president. The landfill is actually for uh tipping fees. So, it's for when we go to drop at the dump, we have to pay the tipping fees, but that's what it is. It's not for BFI landfill. That settlement is done.

Oh, this is the mun uh council president. This is the county municipal landfill in East Brunswick. That's correct. Okay. And um let's see. Some of the others can Let's see. I guess I have to be specific. These are when we say they're temporary appropriate appropriation amount, does that mean they just haven't been approved yet or they're is because they're not in the budget yet? How can you just explain that,

council president? I I can explain that. So, thank you. the initial in January when we do the temporary budget that is the 35% that we're allotted to do after that anything is an emergency it's considered it's like an emergency temporary budget appropriation and that gets added to the temporary budget and this is put in place so that the government can function until the budget is adopted. Then once you know the budget is adopted, this emergency should get us through the budget process if everything goes along the timeline of April and May. And this is standard. We do this every March. This is when we, you know, fund it to get us through because we pay a lot of our bills quarterly. So we need the money in place to be able to do that.

Okay. Thank you for your explanation. Thank you. Have a good night everyone. Thank you. Any other members wishing to speak? Seeing none, may I have a motion to close? Close. May I have a second? Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? May I have a motion to adjurnn? You have a second. Thank you. All in favor? Any opposed? And time. We are journs. It's 8:28. Thank you everyone.