Transcript for Piscataway Council meeting on August 15 2023
Note: Transcripts are generated by rev.ai and may not be fully accurate. Please listen to the recording (below) if you feel any text is inaccurate.
Speaker 0 00:01:40 I'd like to call the meeting to order. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 2 31, PL 1 9 75, specifying the time, date, location, login or dial information into the extent known the agenda by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal building municipal court, and two municipal library bulletin boards municipal website, providing a copy to the official newspapers of the Township, and by filing a copy in the office of the Township clerk in accordance with the certification by the clerk, which will be entered into the minutes. In order to ensure a clear record of the meeting can be made that all parties are heard in an organized fashion. All members of the public that are participating remotely will be muted during the meeting. The Townsend will provide for public comments periods for both remote and in-person. In-person attendees separately. If a member of the public wishes to speak during any public common portion of the remote attendees, please raise your hand. Speaker 0 00:02:37 This can be done either through Zoom app or by pressing star nine on your phone. When it's your turn to speak, you'll receive a prompt to request you unmute. Please click on the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute and begin making your comments. All members of the public will have three minutes to speak and you should ask any and all questions that may have during this period. At conclusion, I may then take a seat at which time the Council administration will respond as necessary. Should you have any further comments or questions, the Township is or Township Council, is always available by email and phone, and you can always call the mayor's office during normal operating hours. Each member of the public shall have only have one opportunity to speak during each public portion. As the technology does not allow us to know if there are multiple colors on individual phone lines or login and the user count, we ask that if you wish to speak, that you log in or dial separately so that we can recognize you on a separate individual. Mr, could you please take the role? Speaker 1 00:03:52 Councilwoman Cahill. Here. Councilwoman Carmichael. Here. Councilman. Espinosa. Here. Councilwoman Lombardi. Here. Councilman Rouse. Here. Councilman Shaw. Council President Ern. Here, Speaker 0 00:04:09 Please stand for the flag. Salute. Speaker 1 00:04:14 I don't. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Speaker 0 00:04:36 Item number five, comments from administration and council regarding adjournment of any matters on this agenda. Speaker 1 00:04:43 None here. Thank you. Okay. Speaker 0 00:04:45 Item number six, open to the public comments regarding item number 10, consent agenda item for remote attendees. If you speak at this time, please raise your hand either on Zoom app or by or by phone by pressing star nine. When it's your turn to speak, you will receive or hear or request to unmute yourself. Please click the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute yourself at that time, please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council or administration will respond if necessary. After you have completed any comments or questions. Speaker 1 00:05:24 Council president, there are no remote attendees with their hand raised. For this agenda item, Speaker 0 00:05:28 I'm gonna close remote portion for in-person attendees, if you wish to speak at this time, please come to the podium, state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions, and the council or administration will then respond if necessary. And this is for item number 10. Such agenda items, Speaker 2 00:05:49 Item E number 10, $19,000. That's all. You're gonna put up a, there's a lot of intersections that are blinded. We need to take care of the small, small parcels. This is Speaker 0 00:06:04 Agenda item number 10. Speaker 2 00:06:06 This is item E up part 10. You need to take care of these small parcels, either vacate them and let the near resident take care of them or take care of them. Now, by the way, Mayor, don't put your reelect me sign over there on seventh and what is it? Seventh and Mansfield Road. Don't do it. I'm going to write a no on it. Every time I pass by there and I see your sign for reelection there, develop that piece or vacate and give it to the resident. It's a blind spot and that sign gives a resident or any driver, particularly a trucker coming to that tight intersection. It's tough, it's dangerous. Take care of it, please. And I got more to say. Speaker 0 00:07:18 Please state your name and address and this is about item number 10. Consent to the items. Speaker 3 00:07:28 Okay, can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Pik Patel 29 Redwood Road. And again, this is for 10 and for number W, which was for library 7,959. The question that I have is, I think library has their own board and they have their own members, and it should not be part of this council budget line item. I would also like to suggest to go for line item vetoing because some of these budgets that I see are getting injected, which either this board has no oversight, they don't have any knowhow to do it, but they're part of your responsibility. With that said, I would also, I'll, I'll defer to that. There was another item for SS H I for some equipment, but it missed what is the service cost that will be included. Is this part of some shared services and what was that cost? I can figure it out. I was looking computer this morning. It was for some 1900 or 2000 somewhere today for s h i for some AV adapters or something like that. I can't seem to find it right now. Speaker 1 00:08:34 That item was removed from the agenda. Speaker 3 00:08:36 Okay. And what was the reason for that? Speaker 4 00:08:41 I think the, I, I think they were still working on the, the contract amount and there was corrections needed. Speaker 3 00:08:47 So the other part of it is I want public transparency in terms of what is the service cost? Is that part of a negotiated yearly service contract? And if that's the case, who is fulfilling that and how much of that job is actually done by the, by the local residents of this town? Thank you. Speaker 4 00:09:04 That item, I don't think it was a service contract. I think it was a one-time contract, but it'll be on the agenda in the future. And then you can, you can review at that point. Excuse Speaker 0 00:09:12 Me, sir, your time is up. Speaker 3 00:09:13 Okay. Lately I see a lot of one-time items. Speaker 0 00:09:21 I'm gonna close the in-person portion. Item number seven, ordinance on a second. Reading amending chapter 20, land subdivision and chapter 24, site plan review. And this is open to the public resolution adopting ordinance. Mr. Seated, you please read the ordinance, Speaker 1 00:09:36 Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general ordinances of the Township of Piscataway, county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey, amending chapter 20, land subdivision. And chapter 24, say, plan review was introduced on the 18th day of July, 2023 and had passed the first reading and was published on the 23rd day of July, 2023. Now therefore be it resolved that the offer said ordinance, having had a second reading on August 15th, 2023 be adopted, passed, and after passage be published together with a notice of the date of passenger approval in the official newspaper, be it further resolved that this ordinance shall be assigned number 2023 dash 24. Speaker 0 00:10:18 Thank you Mr. Cedar for remote attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand, either on Zoom app or by by phone by pressing star nine. When it's your turn to speak, you receive or hear or request to unmute yourself. Please click the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute yourself at that time, please state your name, address, and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council administration will respond if necessary. After you have completed any comments or questions. Speaker 1 00:10:50 Council president, I've asked the first individual at their hand raised to unmute themself, you have to unmute yourself on your device, please. They have unraised their hand. Speaker 0 00:11:31 I'm gonna close the remote portion for in-person. Attendees, if you wish to speak at this time, please come to the podium, state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions, and the council administration will then respond if necessary. This is for item number seven. Speaker 3 00:11:54 I have a general Hello. Okay. Pratik Patel 29 Red Bed Road. I just have a general concern in terms of this land zoning and land subdivision, because lately what I see is land to population density, which is kind of going out of whack on top of it, the teachers to student ratio. With all these plans that you're proposing in your four or five year plan, I don't think that this town can sustain it or Speaker 0 00:12:24 It's about the ordinance only. Speaker 3 00:12:25 Okay. So subdivision. If it's, if it's creating a high density housing, then obviously I objected. Thank you. Do Speaker 0 00:12:37 I have a motion? So I'm gonna close the public portion. Do I have a motion? Speaker 1 00:12:43 Motion? Speaker 0 00:12:44 I have a second. Second. Mr. City, please take the roll. Speaker 1 00:12:48 Councilwoman Cahill. Yes. Councilwoman Carmichael. Yes. Councilman Espinosa. Yes. Councilwoman Lombardi. Yes. Councilman Rouse. Yes. Council President Ern? Speaker 0 00:13:01 Yes. Item passes. Item number eight, ordinance on the first reading, amended and supplementing Chapter 21, zoning resolution adopting ordinance. Mr. Cedar, you please read the ordinance, Speaker 1 00:13:11 Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to amend and supplement the revised journal Ordinances of the Township of Piscataway, county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey, amending and supplementing Chapter 21, zoning Being is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second reading in public hearing be held at 7:30 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building 4 55 H Lane Piscataway, New Jersey, as well as by remote meeting format on the third day of October, 2023. Be further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the Township prior to the day of the second meeting. And final passage. And a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the Township Clerk for any interested member of the public. Speaker 0 00:13:56 You're seated. Do I have a motion? Speaker 6 00:13:58 Motion? Speaker 0 00:14:00 Do I have a second? Second. Second Seated. Do you please take the roll. Speaker 1 00:14:07 Councilwoman Cahill. Yes. Councilwoman Carmichael. Yes. Councilman Espinosa. Yes. Councilwoman Lombardi. Yes. Councilman Rouse. Yes. Council President rn? Speaker 0 00:14:19 Yes. Item passes on the first reading item number nine, ordinance on the first reading supplementing chapter 24. Site plan review's a resolution adopting ordinance Ms. City, you please read the ordinance, Speaker 1 00:14:30 Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to supplement the revised general ordinances of the Township of Piscataway County of Middlesex State, New Jersey. Supplementing Chapter 24, site Plan review B is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second rating of public hearing be held at 7:30 PM Prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building 4 55 Hose Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey, as well as by remote meeting format on the third day of October, 2023. Be further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the Township prior to the day of the second reading and final passage. And a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the Township Clerk for any interested member of the public. Speaker 0 00:15:12 Thank you. Mr. Seater. Do I have a motion? Speaker 5 00:15:15 Motion? Speaker 0 00:15:17 I have a second. Speaker 7 00:15:19 Second. Speaker 0 00:15:21 Mr. Seater, do you please take the role? Speaker 1 00:15:23 Councilwoman Caho? Yes. Councilwoman Carmichael? Yes. Councilman Espinosa. Yes. Councilwoman Lombardi. Yes. Councilman Rouse. Speaker 8 00:15:34 Yes. Speaker 1 00:15:34 Council President Ern? Speaker 0 00:15:36 Yes. Item passes on a first reading item number 10. Consensus agenda. Items for efficiency Items have been consolidated to consensus. Agenda to be voted on together. The materials of these items have been distributed to the council in advance of the meeting at this time, are there any items that the council would like removed from the consent agenda to be discussed or voted on separately? I see none. Do I have a motion? Speaker 9 00:16:01 Motion to accept the consent agenda? Speaker 0 00:16:04 Do I have a second? Speaker 7 00:16:07 Second, Speaker 0 00:16:09 Sir, would you please take the role? Speaker 1 00:16:11 Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Councilwoman Carmichael? Yes. Councilman Espinosa. Yes. Councilwoman Lombardi. Yes. Councilman Rouse. Speaker 8 00:16:22 Yes. Speaker 1 00:16:23 Council President Ern? Speaker 0 00:16:24 Yes. Item passes. Item number 11, announcements and comments from officials. Councilman Cahill. Speaker 6 00:16:32 No comments at this time. Thank you. Speaker 0 00:16:34 Thank you. Councilman Carmichael, Speaker 8 00:16:42 I just want to recognize the passing again of Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver. And she was from my hometown Newark. And I'm very proud of her in the work that she's, she's done and I did get a chance to meet her last year and I'm, she was approachable and inspiring and I just hope that I can do as much for my people as she did in her tenure. Speaker 0 00:17:14 Thank you. Councilman Moon Carmichael, Councilman, Nelson Penoza. Speaker 10 00:17:18 I would like to wish a happy Indian Independence Day today. Speaker 0 00:17:27 Councilman Lombardi. Speaker 1 00:17:28 None. Thank you. Speaker 0 00:17:30 Councilman. Ralph? Speaker 7 00:17:32 No comment. Speaker 0 00:17:34 Mayor, Speaker 11 00:17:35 Just wanna thank the Piscataway Senior Center, Asian Indian community for sponsoring the Independence Day celebration that was held on Saturday at the Community Center Speaker 0 00:17:50 Attorney Muus. Speaker 5 00:17:51 No comment. Thank you. Speaker 0 00:17:53 And I have no comments either. Item number 12, agenda session for September 12th, 2023. At this time, there are no items on there, but there will be item for the September 12th meeting. Item number 13, open to the public for remote attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand, either on Zoom app or by phone by pressing star nine. When it is your turn to speak, you receive or hear or request, you unmute yourself. Please click the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute yourself at that time, please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council administration will respond if necessary. After you have completed any comments or questions. Speaker 1 00:18:42 Council president, there are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item. Speaker 0 00:18:47 I'm gonna close the remote session for in-person. Attendees, if you speak at this time, please come to the podium, state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions, and the council or administration will then respond if necessary. Speaker 2 00:19:05 Cost 58. Curtis Avenue, getaway, New Jersey. Scatter is a mess. Let's take for example, you making a right turn from Washington Avenue onto Lakeview. Just after that first parking area, there's a manhole. It's low way below grade. Have one of you driven by there and see how many hits on the curb. It's because of that manhole. You're hurting us Mayor. Take care of the issue. A man with your religious convictions, your education and political science, social science logic, you come up with this dogma of white supremacy. Where's your folklore? Nonexistent Mayor. We need to take care of Piscataway. You want, you don't want us to race around. There's signs all over town. We can't drive fast. But how about all the issues that you have to take care of that does affect the driver dearly to a point where it's in danger. Thank you. Speaker 3 00:20:54 Patel 29, Redford Road. So I have a few questions and few comments as well. First, first question was, what was the statutory taxes that would be existing? You can answer that afterwards. The reason I come to this council, can you hear me? Hello? Can you hear me? Okay, the reason I'm coming to this council is I, I did my, I was looking at my tax data lately and I'll, I'll be very candid with you, which I'll need your help down the road with I, I've lived in this town from close to 20 to 25 years. I have paid every dime of land taxes, income taxes, state taxes and whatnot. I, and after paying all those taxes, I was able to buy through few properties for which right now I'm paying close to $23,000 in taxes collectively in the United States. I'm paying $35,000 in land taxes next year. Speaker 3 00:21:43 My son is going to go into college and I have to figure out how am I going to finance his education. This is after paying $35,000 in land taxes. This excludes insurance. This includes income taxes at state and federal level. That includes the Middlesex County taxes that you're collecting through your land taxes. If you can figure out through your financials or actuaries, they can come to my home and explain it to me. When tomorrow, if my son has to go to Georgetown, where am I gonna come up with $88,000 in, in tuition fees? And if this is the government that you guys are running, then I gotta understand how you're running your finances because my family doesn't run like this. This Mayor in past has talked about that. Our debt rating is AA on exit six, the building, which is office building. I know that has been vacant for eight years, that you have closed it right now. Speaker 3 00:22:32 That was office building for paychecks or something like that. There was not a single job that was created in last 15 years. You have given tax breaks and a tax breaks to God knows whom. And I dunno how many jobs you have created based on that, on top of it, right now, all of you guys, sooner or later are going to sit down 102 hundred and $20,000 in pension. Where is that going to come from when you're creating $14 an hour job? These people who are collecting $14 an our job, they can't even pay their run their own house. Where was that money is gonna come from? Are you going to ask me as a W two taxpayer who's making 80, 90,000 where I can support my family to support you guys? Don't you guys look and audit when you sign the papers? Are you not asking the hard questions that I have to come to this council today to challenge you for all this kind of stuff? The second part that I have is in terms of when I look at your, the New Jersey State law said that the land taxes should not be exceeding 2%. This is written in, in, in constitution in legislation. If I go to Zillow today, if you look at my house, the taxes are double at 2%. Even if you look at for 20 years, that goes to 40%, not a hundred percent. So I don't know, where does this math come from? Speaker 3 00:23:40 And then another thing, what you have is if you are talking, I want to know each and every of your role, role. Are you in sales? Are you in administration? Are you in operations? That the Mayor office right now is filled with liars. And I'm sorry to say that maybe they're honorable people, but you gotta check their roles. And I'm not accusing you of anybody. I, I sent the code enforcement. There was a pothole on, on excuse road. Speaker 0 00:23:59 Excuse. Your three minutes are up. Thank you for your comment Speaker 3 00:24:01 And and Oprah request when I send that email, nobody's looking at it. Speaker 5 00:24:14 Nobody looking at, excuse me, Speaker 0 00:24:16 But your three minutes are up. Speaker 12 00:24:39 Curtis Grove, 1750 West third Street. Couple of issues. I need to know if there's a ordinance for people riding these four wheelers in the area of third and Hazelwood. If it is, I need to know and I need them to enforce this. Second of all, I need to know if the cameras are active. Because if they're active, who's watching? And we would catch the guy riding in the public park. Okay, third, I need to know the date of when Hazelwood was put on the docket to get repaved and restructured. I need to know the exact date when it was put on. Speaker 5 00:25:28 Objection. Speaker 11 00:25:33 Council president. He's looking. When we awarded the contract, we awarded a engineering contract to reconstruct Hazelwood and also Pearl Place. Just because we awarded the contract to have the engineering services does, doesn't mean it's gonna happen right away. Sometimes it may any take anywhere between two years to five years, depending upon if there's d e p permits involved, right of way acquisition, storm drain, you name it. State of New Jersey approvals, movement of utility polls, et cetera, et cetera. So I, I do know that we did award a contract to reconstruct a couple of the streets over in that neck of the woods. All those were engineering design streets out there by Leslie that were awarded almost five years ago. So, and they're just getting to fruition for the reconstruction. Actually, they turned out looking pretty nice out there. Speaker 12 00:26:26 I will ask you, Mayor is when did School Street go on and how long did it take School Street to get done, sir? Speaker 11 00:26:33 School Street took time. From the time we awarded that engineering contract, it took seven years. Speaker 12 00:26:43 Okay. So I just need to know exactly when Hazelwood was put on a docket. 'cause I think we're close to five, don't you think? Speaker 11 00:26:50 No, Curtis, because we only awarded the contract for engineering design this past year. Not this year, but we didn't Late 2022, I believe it was. Speaker 12 00:27:03 Is camera's active today? Yes. Speaker 11 00:27:06 Half 'em are active. Speaker 12 00:27:08 Referring to the ones on, referring to the ones on Hazelwood in the park and on third. Those are the only ones I'm concerned with right now. Speaker 0 00:27:20 Curtis, do you have any more comments? I Speaker 11 00:27:25 Believe council president, the ones in the park are active. Speaker 12 00:27:30 Do you know when the other ones are gonna be active? Speaker 11 00:27:34 They're, the company's working on, they're waiting for some more parts to come in as soon as they receive the parts. Hopefully within a week or two. Speaker 0 00:27:44 Thank you, Curtis. Speaker 13 00:28:03 Good evening, Sid Addison Piscataway. I wanna note that the long lead times to get things done are a cultural societal problem. In terms of global warming. You can't wait. The, the system is not working. We need to respond to global warming immediately. And all these things in the system that make things difficult to achieve, have to be overridden. And at the first person that can override 'em is the next person up for me in the, in the structure. And you're the next people up for me. 'cause I live in Piscataway. I want to tell you about global warming that the Secretary of the United Nations called global boiling 'cause it's clearly getting worse and worse. There are many things that are irreversible about it. The longer we take to, to not just stop global warming, but to reverse it means that we're gonna have things that are now, we assume we have won't have for many, many other generations. Speaker 13 00:29:22 They're irreversible. Even things that are reversible are gonna take Millennium Sea level will take millennium. The longer we take the stop global warming, the worse sea level will get and it will take millennium. I think that means thousands or hundreds of thousands, at least tens of thousands of years to fix. Second thing I wanna mention is that New Jersey is still putting in fossil fuel projects. These projects will be costly. They will be costly in the following ways. Every one of those that's accepted will mean a utility bill will go up for every one of those fossil fuel projects. In the short, in the long run, fossil fuels cost more as compared to renewable. The input to renewables are wind, water, sun. The input to fossil fuels are fossil fuels and they cost more over time. So if we allow fossil fuels to go in, it's gonna be more costly. The third thing is that fossil fuels have health impacts. And that's the one that we're most concerned about. Close to us over in Woodbridge where another gas plant's gonna go in and the impacts of the health on that, you, it's hard to put a cost on it, but it's there. It all the fossil fuel projects in order to not just stop global warming, but to reverse it means that all fossil fuel plants must be taken down, decommissioned. That's another cost that you're gonna have to pay. Speaker 0 00:31:09 Excuse me sir, your three minutes are up. Thank you. Speaker 13 00:31:13 That's one of the things that's wrong with the system. Speaker 0 00:31:26 Okay, I see. No more. We're gonna close the public portion from person, attendees, Speaker 11 00:31:31 Council president, I just wanna make one brief comment in regards to one of the gentlemen that were up here before in regards saying about the tax rate. Piscataway in 2022 had the third lowest effective tax rate in all of Middlesex County. And I suspect in 2023 we'll have the second overall lowest tax rate in Middlesex County. And that's factually not coming from us. It's coming from the state, New Jersey and Star Ledger even did an article on it. So, and by the way, we don't give out tax breaks to the businesses. Speaker 0 00:32:06 Thank you. Mayor. Excuse me, do I have a motion to adjourn? Motion? Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Meeting adjourn. Thank you. Thank you.