Transcript for Piscataway Council meeting on November 25 2025
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 2 00:00:27 We are now calling to order the Township of Piscataway Council meeting of November 25th, 2025. Ms. Johnson, roll call please. Apologies. Speaker 0 00:00:40 Apologies. Speaker 2 00:00:48 Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 2 31 PL 1975, specifying the time, date, location, login, or dial in information, and to the extent known the agenda by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal Building municipal court, and the two municipal libraries, bulletin boards municipal website, providing a copy of the official newspapers of the township, and by filing a copy in the office of the township clerk, in accordance with a certification by the clerk, which will be entered in the minutes. There will be public comment periods for both remote and in-person attendees separately. Each member of the public shall only have one opportunity to speak during each public portion, as the technology does not allow us to know. If you there are multiple callers on an individual phone line or logged in user account, we ask that if you wish to speak, that you log in or dial in separately so that we can recognize you as a separate individual should you have any comments or questions. The Township Council is always available by email and phone, and that you can always call the mayor's office during normal operating hours. Speaker 2 00:01:58 Ms. Johnson, roll call please. Speaker 3 00:02:00 Council Member Cahill here. Council member Member Carmichael Here. Council Member Liebowitz. Here. Council Member Lombardi. Here. Council Member Rashid. Here. Council member Earn here. And Council President Esposa Here Speaker 2 00:02:18 Me saluting the flag. Speaker 0 00:02:25 It's Republic for which stand One mission under, under God with liberty overall. Speaker 2 00:02:40 Thank you. Item number five, comments from administration and council regarding adjournment of any matters on this agenda. Council Mayor, I would like to actually go first in this item, if you don't mind, before we continue reviewing the amending ordinance in on item number eight. Go ahead. Speaker 0 00:03:13 You can have Karen Speaker 4 00:03:14 And John O'Donnell come on up. Speaker 0 00:03:29 John, number, number Thanksgiving, that still village a while of Resident Village and they have how many this year? 32. You so almost sounds like the many folks in my, but after a decade or more. And it's like, and I asked her what her specialty is. She said, make it stuffing. And this year she's gonna try something new. You're trying apples and stuffing. Yeah, I have Grandberry, cranberries and sausage. And sausage. You're after my heart. Right. So, but on behalf of the council and myself, I want to thank both too so much for all the time. You know, you don't have to spend your time over external village on your own Thanksgiving, but for all the work that we've done in drafting years, not just only Thanksgiving, but other holidays. So, so with that record, we're gonna have to Council great cook. Dennis wants some of that. I wanna come. Wonderful. Thank you so much. We doing great so much. Speaker 5 00:04:52 Thank you Karen and John. And, and just so everyone knows, that isn't the only thing that they do over there. They, she always ran the tag sale. They ran the bingo. So they've given endless hours of volunteer time to the senior center to Sterling Village. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:05:24 Hey, thank you and congratulations back to item number five from comments and from administration and council. And before we continue reviewing the amended or the amended ordinance on item number eight, I want to reaffirm that our top priority as con as a council, is the safety and wellbeing of our residents, as well as all individuals within Piscataway. The amendments to chapter 11 hotels and motels seems to address both the public safety and personal liability concerns. However, I believe that this issue deserves additional time for consideration and for further discussion with the public, the council, the mayor, and the police department. Therefore, I propose that we amend the ordinance and remove chapter 11 at this time. And we consider chapter 11 Motel hotels and Motels amendments in January. But we move forward with the remaining items in the Ordinance for Public Hearing at the December 16th meeting. Thank you. Speaker 6 00:06:23 Are we doing an offer now on that? Or is, how is that gonna work? Mike, Speaker 7 00:06:37 Hold on. Speaker 8 00:06:40 Get in line. Speaker 7 00:06:43 So councilwoman the, when we get to item eight, there would be a motion to amend the ordinance to delete chapter 11, and there'd be a vote on that. And then there'd be a vote on the mo motion and second and a vote on the ordinance itself. The resolution of approving the ordinance and the public hearing would be on the 16th of December. When we get to eight, those two motions, one to delete, one to amend by deleting it and the other one to move to the public hearing on the 16th for the balance of the ordinance, Speaker 9 00:07:21 Do we have the option to take all of it off and then bring it back as a first reading again? Speaker 7 00:07:27 Yes. What you'd be doing is taking it all off because you can't just table it and reconsider, because you can't go from one year to the next on an ordinance. You have to do it all in the same year. So it'd be taking it off. And from what I understand, the council president's recommendation would be to have it as a standalone ordinance in January. It would be, there's two meetings in January, so you'd have it on, on those meetings. The public hearing would be the 20 20, 20 20 second, whatever the second meeting is in January. And then it would be a standalone for discussion. Speaker 2 00:08:06 That'd be a reintroduction, Speaker 7 00:08:07 Right? Yeah, everything's re it's reintroduction starting all over again in January. Speaker 9 00:08:12 Okay. What about the other portions? Because it, when it was introduced to us as first reading, there were different chapters. So are we going to revisit each of the chapters or only the motel and hotel portion? Speaker 7 00:08:24 Chapter 11 is being, I think the suggestion from council president chapter 11 in its entirety is being deleted and the others are continuing on. Speaker 2 00:08:35 Yep. Chapter 11 is gonna be gone, but we're gonna move moving forward with the amendments of the, of the ordinance. The original ordinance, well, not the original, but the amended ordinance. Speaker 9 00:08:45 Okay. But if we have feedback for the other chapters, is there still room for that at this point or not anymore? Speaker 7 00:08:53 You'll Speaker 2 00:08:54 Have not 11. Not for chapter 11. The other Speaker 7 00:08:56 Chapter, public hearing on the balance of the ordinance will be on the 16th of December. On your meeting on the 16th. Full discussion. Full open public hearing. Speaker 2 00:09:07 All right, thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Okay, open to the public comments regarding item number 10. Consent agenda items. Speaker 10 00:09:30 I have a few questions. Speaker 2 00:09:32 That's right. It's public part reach, public comment. I'm sorry. For remote attendees, if you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand either on the Zoom app or by phone by pressing star nine. When it's your turn to speak, you will receive or hear a request. To unmute yourself, please click the prompt and 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. Ms. Johnson, do we have anybody in queue? Speaker 3 00:10:11 Council President, there does not seem to be any remote attendees with their hands raised at this time. Speaker 2 00:10:17 Thank you Johnson. Opening to the in-person attendees, again, this is for the consent agenda items. 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, you may take a seat at the completion of your comments or, or questions and the council or administration would then respond if necessary. See no one at the podium. Closing for the in-person attendees, Ms. Ms. Lee Woods. Yes. Speaker 10 00:11:05 Hello. I have a question about I, this is the professional appraisal at the top of Stratton Street South. Is this where we're covering up that waterway to connect the streets? Speaker 4 00:11:22 There's gonna be a new culvert bridge over that. In order for us to reconstruct a Hancock, there's two very large pipes up there. We have to build that first because you can't, and I know you live over in that area, you can't. Folks on Third Avenue and Belmont and Southview are gonna have to have an emergency access out. So when we go to construct on Hancock, those pipe, the roads are gonna be cut off for at least months that there won't, won't be able to traverse that. So we have to build this one first to allow safety access when we go in and do Hancock. Speaker 10 00:12:06 What's the ultimate solution? Probably, we're probably Speaker 4 00:12:08 At least two years away from Stratton at least. Speaker 10 00:12:12 So you know, my neighbors have a couple of concerns. Obviously one is a yeah, of the traffic. So the impact on the stream of the wildlife and all that. Speaker 4 00:12:25 We have approvals from the DEP. Everything was filed and they signed off on everything. Speaker 10 00:12:29 Okay, thank you very much. And then also on Q, which is determining the area in need of redevelopment on Possum Town Speaker 4 00:12:40 Down by Circle Drive North. Right there, the property that's on Circle Drive in Possum Town Speaker 10 00:12:48 Across the street. Okay. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:12:59 Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you. Item number eight, amendment to introduce ordinance amending and supplementing various chapters of the township code resolution, adopting ordinance. Motion to amend, to amend removing chapter 11 and move forward the rest of the ordinance. That'll be a second to remove chapter. To amend and to remove Chapter 11. I'm sorry, do we have a motion Speaker 6 00:13:43 Council president, because it's not the public portion, but just to make sure everyone's clear, the council has all seen the amended where that piece has already been taken out. And so the amendment has already taken that piece out of it. What was it called? Peace in good order, something like that. Unlawful acts that was already amended out of it. And when we received the amendment, the reason why the council president is putting forth to delete chapter 11 is because in the amendment that was still included. But tonight he's made a motion that we should look at that further and vote on it separately. So the, he's about fining homeless people, was already taken out. The amendment been removed already. It's been removed. That's correct. So in the amended piece that you received from counsel, that piece was already taken out. I all just felt it was, there's no reason that Speaker 2 00:14:41 Was taken out before the amendment here, the current amendment. And now it's not Speaker 6 00:14:45 The, it was taken out before we got the Speaker 2 00:14:46 That That's correct. That is correct. Speaker 10 00:14:47 Yeah. May I say something? If Speaker 9 00:14:50 There is so much back and forth, is it okay to just take the whole thing off? We all have enough time to review it and then we vote on it together rather than trying to piecemeal it, which way we are not even sure. Like, you know, are we taking out this chapter? Which one are we referring to? We're going back and forth. So instead of having that confusion, let's take the whole thing off and then do it in one go Speaker 4 00:15:14 There. There's no confusion. I don't Speaker 2 00:15:15 Think there's, I don't think there's confusion. Speaker 4 00:15:17 There's no other, everything's been deleted out through Speaker 6 00:15:19 It. I read through it. These are all like, this is just a codification. We all voted for it on first reading and then we took a look at it and decided there were some things that, like I myself saw some things with large gatherings, right, that I realized like a wedding or something you don't want you, like, you don't want somebody to get caught into it. But I mean, I've read through the other chapters, me, myself, I, I realized that these three items were issues and that's why we amend them. And so that's how we move through the process. If you have questions about another part of it, it's certainly the time to bring it up. Speaker 2 00:16:00 Yeah. That thing is like noise on in here too. Also, Speaker 4 00:16:06 I know a lot of the council members know we've had a huge problem with these unregulated pop-up parties. Every one of us has gotten calls. Some of these parties are ending up having 800 to 1500 people showing up at somebody's doorstep. 2,500 on Michael Street, right Speaker 2 00:16:27 Next to the one on Monton Avenue. Speaker 4 00:16:29 This, yeah, this all over. We just had another one back on Halloween night over in the irishtown section. Over 700 people showed up and they were collecting cash at the door and selling alcohol to under underage minors. The community that has this problem. Speaker 6 00:16:51 Councilman Rashid, did you see that amendment made to the large gatherings? Speaker 9 00:16:56 I did not have enough time to go through it. This was given, the amendment was sent to us seven 30 yesterday and we are voting on it today, which is, you know, we don't have even 24 hours to review it properly. I would think it would make more sense to take it off. We read through it. Whatever concerns we have, we can work through it and then we vote on it. I don't think it's enough time for all the stakeholders to understand the implications of it. Speaker 4 00:17:24 Council president, it's up to the individual. I would just, just vote no, then Speaker 5 00:17:28 I'm okay moving forward with the, Speaker 6 00:17:30 I mean, Speaker 4 00:17:30 Proposed, there's a lot of import Speaker 5 00:17:31 Stuff and the removal of 11. Speaker 6 00:17:34 I, I read through the amendment. I, I, I raised my concerns. My concerns were addressed. And counsel revised the re revised it as specifically just for transparency, the concerns about large gatherings, obviously with the fines of course we, we, we immediately took that piece out. Then I addressed like large gatherings. You have to have an exclusion in there obvi for obvious reasons, right. We're not gonna criminalize people getting together. But all of what I read out of the ordinance after the first reading, I mean, I can't see where we're inadvertent, but I could be wrong. I just don't see where we're inadvertently, Speaker 2 00:18:23 We, we received the ordinance, what was it, two weeks ago, I believe? Right? So the only so voted on. So the only thing that ash, the, the two items that were removed as of that time was the, that's right. Number 11. And it, what was the other one? And number three. So if we read through the audience audience two weeks ago, then the only thing that's really taken out is really 11. And, and I'm sorry, what was the other one? Section three. Section three, exactly. Section three Speaker 7 00:19:03 And the section that accepted weddings and, and banquet halls and et cetera. I Speaker 6 00:19:08 Mean, you've, you've got like churches included in the amendment. I mean, and that one could be, you know, definitely could have inadvertently caused, you know, an issue. But protests are excluded, obviously churches, the businesses as you mentioned, I mean, a lot of things that, you know, with no really, you know, intent could have been caught up in that. In terms of that, it looked to me, if you look at it, you should have it now. Councilwoman mee, at least in that section. And if you look at the exempt group under the new, the amended and, and that seems to me to also have been a section of the ordinance that would be definitely a hot topic and not, and inadvertently penalizing people. I mean, certainly you could look to see if you felt like something else was missing in there. For sure. It feels like to me, the council included an enough exemptions that we wouldn't catch somebody that would interfere with their business or political organizations or churches. You know, and obviously those people are exempt, are also not, my understanding counselor is that they would not be abiding by the, that 8:00 AM to 10. So like if you had a wedding or you're a restaurant where you have maybe a large party or a private hall, let's say a firehouse or something, you might not have, they might not have to exactly be done at 10. That's my understanding is if they're exempt, they're exempt from that time constraint. Speaker 10 00:21:01 May I ask a question? So if this, how does the public see this copy of the amend of the amended information now, last night it was published. All these new additions were published last night. This is the first reading of the amendment. Okay, Speaker 6 00:21:25 So you have a first now that it's amended, a first reading, everything's in there, including the amendment. And we're, and we're pulling out that entire chapter 11. Speaker 10 00:21:34 Right. And it will, now we're gonna sit on this, this for two weeks. This is the first reading. We're gonna sit on it for two weeks. If we wanna have changes or anything else, we reach out to council, we reach out to people can, can get amended between today and the next meeting, Speaker 7 00:21:52 Though you can, you can request amendments between now and the next meeting. Speaker 10 00:21:58 Okay. And then that meeting will be a second reading with the new changes that may occur between now and then. If, if, Speaker 7 00:22:07 If the majority of the council agree, however, if the change, if the changes are not substantive, you can go ahead with it on the 16th. If the changes are substantive, then you have to go ahead and reintroduce it again and, and do it all over. Speaker 10 00:22:23 Okay. Speaker 7 00:22:24 And just if I could summarize, council present, the ordinance that you're voting on right now is the same that you saw last week with the sections deleted that apparently caused some problems. And with the addition of the one section in one paragraph and 3 32 0.4, accepting the venues at regularly house weddings, bank vacant halls, et cetera. Otherwise it's the, it's the same ordinance from two weeks ago Speaker 6 00:22:57 Also without, without the fines. Yep. Speaker 9 00:23:04 May I make one more comment? Thank you so much for explaining and putting in perspective of what changes can be made and at what time may I make a suggestion where we could put a policy committee in place so before the council sees the first reading, we could have a policy committee where we can go through it, have an opportunity for stakeholders from the community to give their feedback. So when it comes to first reading, we all are fully aware of the context of the ordinance and then we can make a better decision and much faster. Speaker 6 00:23:46 I mean, there's no reason we can't talk about that as a council to see if we can put together, we'll co I have to make a response. Conversations before are good. I think ultimately, if I could ca council president just say is that there's this ongoing issue that we're some people we're not aware of. I mean, through the years I've known of it, you know, I go out to eat and the owner of the restaurant is talking about the issues there. And, and of course we have a police blotter, right? Of these issues. My concern is for the safety, not only of our Piscataway residents, but anybody who's even a temporary resident, right? The state of a hotel. There's a major, major issue going on with some of our extended motels where we as a governing body need to look at what levers we can pull to change the behavior of bad actors. Speaker 6 00:24:36 That's both with the hotel operators and then also with potentially others who contract with that motel operator and can't really discuss anything further than that here without really going into it. But the point being is that at the end of the day, there are people who are temporary residents of Piscataway who may be in those motels who, who are in, in sort of harm's way, right? And it's not a great place, especially for minors. And we need to address that as a, as a governing body for are do duty to protect our residents, whether that's temporary residence or permanent residence. And well, we can absolutely discuss the ways to do it, but at the end of the day, the governing body will have to make a decision based upon the police reports, what's happening there and knowing that some even minors could be put in a position at no fault of their own to be in a dangerous space. And we wanna make sure that no matter what, that that is addressed. And that's a big thing here. And I think at the end of the day, that's the lens that we have to look at it as, how are we protecting our, our residents while also trying to provide better, better resources and opportunities for folks who are there at no fault of their own. Speaker 2 00:26:05 That's right Sarah. That's the reason why I wanted to put away chapter 11 now so we can have those conversations with the police department so that way we're better informed of what's really going on over there before you make a decision. So that's, that's and to your, to your committee question, you know, that's, you know, us as counsel, we wanna get informed first before we, you know, kind of make a decision and then inform the public, et cetera, or, or inform the public Speaker 6 00:26:32 Or was that a motion that you made to make that commission? I was asking Can Speaker 7 00:26:43 Can, can I It's the committee. Can I make a a suggestion? First of all, you, you, you, you, you always have to have a minority members of the committee. You can't have a majority of the members 'cause you violate the Open Public Meetings Act. What many towns do is have subcommittees on various issues. And you're going to have to decide what issues are important enough. Do you want to have subcommittees meeting on every road and drainage project? Do you, you know, there, there are thousands of things that you vote on. So I think some discussion amongst the council members may be appropriate first as to what sorts of issues you would like to have a subcommittee review. Because if you have a sub subcommittees reviewing every issue, nothing will ever get done. 'cause you have thousands of things. And some of 'em don't rise to the level of, you know, there's a new pot potholes being filled, you need a committee on it. So just a suggestion. Maybe speak amongst yourselves, not a majority of you, and see what sort of issues might rise to the level of wanting a subcommittee to work on it. And then you can have several subcommittees on Speaker 9 00:27:56 Subcommittee just for policy would be nice. Right. Especially for some things these important I'm sure the potholes can take care of, can self manage, they can take care of themselves. The public works do does a great job. So we don't need to meddle in their affairs at all. But policies like these definitely require more insight. Speaker 5 00:28:16 And also, again, everyone knows that this problem that we're dealing with is twofold. Okay? We're having to deal with a, a problem that business owners are having over there and I surely wouldn't wanna live in the backyard, but we have to deal with it in a compassionate manner in which we don't harm people that are having challenges. So it's a little bit delicate of a situation to deal with. Okay? So I think everybody has to again, be aware we're here for all the residents of this community, all the business people of this community, and we have to look at it with the whole picture, not just one piece of the picture. Okay. Speaker 2 00:29:09 Thank you. Okay, Speaker 7 00:29:11 Council president, I believe you made a, a motion to amend the ordinance by deleting chapter 11. And I didn't hear a second. Did we get a second, Melissa? Speaker 5 00:29:24 I'll make a second. Speaker 7 00:29:26 Okay. Speaker 2 00:29:27 Thank you. Roll Speaker 9 00:29:28 Call Speaker 3 00:29:29 Council member Cahill? Speaker 9 00:29:31 Yes. Speaker 3 00:29:32 Council member Carmichael? Yes. Council member Lebowitz? Speaker 9 00:29:37 Yes. Speaker 3 00:29:38 Council member Lombardi? Speaker 5 00:29:40 Yes. Speaker 3 00:29:41 Council member Rashid, Speaker 9 00:29:43 May I just ask one more question before I vote on it? If I abstain on this vote right now for the next meeting, I can vote yes. Yes. Perfect. So abstain. Thank you. Speaker 3 00:29:55 Council Member rn? Yes. Speaker 2 00:29:57 All right. I'm gonna change my vote please too. Abstain. Speaker 3 00:30:03 Council President Espinosa. Speaker 2 00:30:05 Yes. Speaker 3 00:30:18 Be 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 two administration, chapter three, police Regulations, chapter 12, parks and Recreation Areas, chapter 16, housing and Rent Control. Chapter 17, property Maintenance chapter 22, solid Waste Management and chapter 23, sewers and wastewater B and is hereby amended that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second reading and public hearing be held at 7:00 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building. 4 5 5 Hose Lane Piscataway, New Jersey on the 16th day of December, 2025. Be it 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 2 00:31:18 Thank you. May I have motion? Speaker 9 00:31:20 Motion? Speaker 2 00:31:23 Second Councilman Owen? Thank you Ms. Johnson, can I have a roll call? Speaker 3 00:31:28 Council member Cahill? Speaker 9 00:31:30 Yes. Speaker 3 00:31:30 Council member Carmichael? Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Yes. Council member Lombardi? Yes. Council member Rashid Speaker 9 00:31:40 Abstain. Speaker 3 00:31:41 Council member rn? Speaker 2 00:31:43 Yes. Speaker 3 00:31:43 Council member or council President Espinosa? Yes. Speaker 2 00:31:52 Item number nine, ordinance first reading, amending and supplementing various chapters including Chapter seven, traffic 10, health regulations 19, fire Prevention of the Township, code Resolution Adopting Ordinance Ms. Johnson Speaker 3 00:32:06 Peer, 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 seven, traffic. Chapter 10, health Regulations and chapter 19, fire Prevention and Protection B and is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second reading and public hearing be held at 7:00 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building. 4 5 5 Hose Lane Piscataway, New Jersey on the ninth day of December, 2025. Be it 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 2 00:32:51 Thank you Ms. Johnson. We have a comment from Councilwoman Lombardi. Speaker 5 00:32:54 Yes, I was going through this one and I was happy to see that we are moving forward with an electric bicycle ordinance. I think the safety of those is quite a concern. One thing that I always remembered when I was younger was that if you had a moped, you had to get a license to have a moped. So who would have is that would be through the state, that the, the younger people would have to get a license to have an electric bite. Speaker 7 00:33:23 It would likely be the state through Department of Motor Vehicle Commission would, might supervise the issuance of those licenses, but it would be a state legislative action likely. Speaker 5 00:33:34 Thank you. Speaker 2 00:33:39 I a motion please. Speaker 6 00:33:41 Motion. Speaker 5 00:33:42 Second. Councilwoman Lombardi. Speaker 2 00:33:44 Thank you Ms. Johnson. Roll call. Speaker 3 00:33:45 Council member Cahill. Yes. Council member Carmichael? Yes. Council member Lebowitz? Speaker 10 00:33:51 Yes. Speaker 3 00:33:51 Council member Lombardi? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Ern? Yes. Council President Espinosa? Speaker 2 00:33:59 Yes. Item number 10, consent agenda Resolution for efficiency items have been consolidated into a consent agenda to be voted on together. And the materials for these items have been distributed to the council in advance of the meeting. Do I have a motion? Speaker 6 00:34:18 Motion. Speaker 5 00:34:22 Second. Speaker 2 00:34:24 Thank you. Ms. Johnson, can I have a roll call please? Speaker 3 00:34:26 Council member Cahill? Yes. Council member Carmichael? Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Speaker 10 00:34:32 Yes. Speaker 3 00:34:32 Council member Lombardi? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member rn? Yes. Council President Espinosa? Speaker 2 00:34:40 Yes. Item number 11, announcements and comments from the officials. Speaker 6 00:34:47 I'd like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and time with family. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:34:56 Thank you. Councilwoman Carmichael. Speaker 5 00:34:59 Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Speaker 2 00:35:03 Thank you Councilwoman Liebowitz. Speaker 10 00:35:06 Good evening everybody. I just want to really reiterate that it's super important that we pay very close attention to all of the language on these ordinances that we are casting a very wide net to address every constituent that we have. We have people that are un homed and maybe they lived in Somerset, but you know, they have no address. So they could have been in Piscataway and then they were in East Brunswick and then they were in Somerset, and then they were in Union and now they're back here. So I think it is very important that we continue to have these discussions and that we craft the words very carefully so that they do take into account everyone and every component. I think the commissions are definitely something for a hot and important topic like this that we form. And so I also wanna thank all of the residents who reached out and are paying attention to what we do because words matter and what we do matters. And of course, I do wish everybody a happy and a healthy thanksgiving. Speaker 2 00:36:12 Thank you. Councilwoman Lombardi. Speaker 5 00:36:15 A good time was had by all at the senior center this afternoon. Also. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Happy, healthy, Speaker 2 00:36:25 Thank you. Councilwoman Lombardi. Councilwoman Rashid, Speaker 9 00:36:29 Of course. Happy Thanksgiving. Have a safe trip if you're traveling on the road. It's supposed to be wet and busy, so safe travels. I was at the League of Municipalities last week, my first time attending. I did two full days of sessions and looking forward to applying all that I learned and working towards the municipal leader certificate. So thank you. Speaker 2 00:36:55 Great. Councilman Ern. I just wanna wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you Mayor Wahler. Speaker 4 00:37:05 Mike could stop over with you. O'Donnell's, stop by and check out our stuffing man. In all seriousness, I was out on Summer Shade today this morning with Councilman Cahn Carmichael in regards to looking at, that'll be the last road that we button up for the season. And then the, the asphalt paving season's over with until the spring. Speaker 2 00:37:28 Great Business Administrator, Paula Castelli. Speaker 12 00:37:34 Thank you Council president. I just wanted to, I've been talking about these grants, but we finally got the grant agreement from the EDA for the financial support for the ecological park. That's for $290,000 this year and then $2.9 million for next year. So that's great. I will continue to work with Mayor Wahler. As a matter of fact, we are working very diligently together to get some more state disaster recovery monies to support our community center and our road infrastructure projects, which are absolutely eligible and we don't wanna give any money back. This is New Jersey's money. So I wanna thank Mayor Wahler for, he's a very tenacious mayor in getting money, funding, I should say funding for the township and I appreciate working with him with that and the council as well. So thankful for that. And happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Speaker 2 00:38:31 Thank Speaker 5 00:38:31 You. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:38:35 Township attorney Michael Baker. Speaker 7 00:38:37 Happy Thanksgiving and I look forward to Roger's return in two weeks. Speaker 2 00:38:48 I wanna wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving and kind of echo what Councilwoman Rashid said. Be careful out there. It's getting colder and also it's, you know, the, the roads are not as safe and it's getting obviously darker sooner, so please be careful. Be safe, make good choices, and happy Thanksgiving again. Okay, item number 12, agenda session for December 2nd, 2025. Ordinance second reading, adapting redevelopment plan for 10 28 Dalton Road block 54 0 1 LA 1.02. Resolution adopting ordinance, ordinance second re. Any questions on that item before I continue? Okay, ordinance second. Reading, amending salary and wage ordinance open to the, to public resolution adopting ordinance. Any questions or concerns for that item? Ordinance Second. Reading, adopting redevelopment plan block 62 0 1 lot 6.02 and block 74 0 1 lots, 2.02 and 2.03 open to the public resolution adopting ordinance. Ordinance. Any questions on that item? Moving on, ordinance second. Can you just Speaker 10 00:40:01 Gimme a, a ballpark of where that's located? Block 6 2 0 1. Speaker 7 00:40:08 It's across the street. Speaker 10 00:40:11 It's the street on Stelton. No. Oh. Oh. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:40:19 Thank you. Ordinance second reading bond ordinance, various road improvements, 6,724,747 slash $5,000,990 million open to the public resolution adopting ordinance. Any questions on that? Okay. Item number 13 to the public for remote attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand either on the Zoom app or by phone by pressing star nine. When it's your turn to speak, you'll receive or hear a request to unmute yourself, please click the prompt or press star nine 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. Ms. Johnson, do we have anybody in queue? Speaker 3 00:41:12 Council President? Yes, I am asking the first person with their hand raised to please unmute themselves. Speaker 13 00:41:18 Hello, my name is Brian Wrack, 1247 Brookside Road. I'd like to encourage you to not pass these ordinance that you're trying to do on the 16th. The noise ordinance is very badly copied from the Township of Washington. It copied all their noise levels and restrictions, but included none of of the exceptions. I mean, this is kind of like the large gathering ordinance as written. You can't mow your lawn because a lawnmower is louder than the allowed decibel levels. And there's no exceptions. There's also no exceptions for construction or any sort of heavy machinery. Even if you pass it like this, it seems like you're just gonna selectively enforce it. And that doesn't really make a ton of sense to me. The hotel guest book ordinance has actually been to the Supreme Court already, city of Los Angeles versus Patel, and was ruled to be unconstitutional in 2015. So I'm not really sure how that made it on the list in the first place. And then I was surprised to hear that we have a police blotter because I've been all over the township website and not seen any mention of that anywhere. So I'd love to know where that's being posted. That was it. Thanks. Speaker 2 00:42:25 Any comments or questions from the mayor Council? Okay, thank you Speaker 3 00:42:29 Council president. I'm asking the second person with their hand raised to please unmute themselves. Speaker 14 00:42:39 Good evening. My name's Jessica Cloudville, 1247 Brookside Road. Can you hear me? Speaker 3 00:42:45 Yes, we can hear you. Speaker 14 00:42:48 Great. So I, first of all, I had a question. Is all of section three eliminated from this ordinance that you're thinking of bringing on the 16th? Speaker 2 00:43:01 Yes it is. Speaker 14 00:43:04 Okay. So we don't need to cover any of the, the making homelessness a crime. I did just wanna cover that. Speaker 2 00:43:11 I'm, I'm, I'm sorry, Ms. K Crowl. Ms. Kratovil, Speaker 7 00:43:16 Ms. Kratovil section three dash 23.1. Unlawful Acts has been deleted. Speaker 14 00:43:27 Okay, but not all of it. You're saying that large gatherings is still in there and the Speaker 7 00:43:33 Section three dealt with noise ordinance, large gatherings is a different section. Speaker 14 00:43:41 I'm sorry, what I'm looking at that I had prepared in advance said section three dash 32 is large gatherings. Was I incorrect or have you missed, have you renumbered it and not made it available to the Speaker 7 00:43:53 Public? 3 32. 3 32 0.4 is the only thing that was amended. The remainder remaining part is 3 32. Speaker 14 00:44:07 I am sorry, Speaker 10 00:44:14 Under exemptions 3 32 0.4 is the exemptions. Speaker 14 00:44:20 Okay, so that's been amended, but no other parts of section three of the document have been amended Speaker 7 00:44:35 Other than section 3 23 0.1 that was deleted? That's correct. The remainder is still in the ordinance. Speaker 14 00:44:44 Okay. So three dash 38 and abetting a public nuisance is still a part of the proposed ordinance. Hello, Speaker 7 00:45:02 We're we're State Ms. Kratovil, state that paragraph again, Speaker 14 00:45:09 Three dash 30 aiding or a betting a public nuisance. It sounds like there is a lot of confusion on what's in the ordinance. Speaker 7 00:45:24 A def That definition still remains in the ordinance. Speaker 14 00:45:28 Okay. So it's very interesting that you failed to define public nuisance at all in the ordinance. And I think that it's possible that this could absolutely be used to maybe hassle people who don't need any more hassle. And I would really encourage you to rethink the knock on effects of having something like this in writing because you, you, you haven't defined what a public nuisance is and if we leave it open to interpretation, it's possible that there might be an interpretation that you did not intend. Speaker 15 00:46:14 Yeah. Speaker 7 00:46:16 Is that okay? Thank you. Council P question was raised about the definition. Public nuisance is a defined term. It's the first defined term under section three dash 30.2 Speaker 3 00:46:34 Council president. There are no other remote attendees with their hand raised at this time. Speaker 7 00:46:42 Thank you. Speaker 3 00:46:43 Oh, hold on, hold on. One more. I'm asking the individual with their hand raised to please unmute themselves. Speaker 15 00:46:52 Hi, this is Kyle Dine from AllBridge. I I had stepped away from the computer to the bathroom for a minute. This is public comment in any subject matter, right? Speaker 3 00:47:01 Correct. Speaker 15 00:47:02 Thank you. Yeah, so I, I just wanted to first thank you for pulling chapter 11 for further consideration tonight. I, I know some people may know me from local politics, but I have over the course of a decade, had a really small homeless charity that we've kind of chipped away at different things at over the years. And so I wanted to just provide a little bit of perspective. I just wanted to say first and and foremost some of the issues that have been raised, especially that Councilman Cahill raised. It, it is unfortunate in general that municipalities have to be dealing with these issues. I I view this as a federal issue. First and foremost, Americans need housing and this federal administration is not addressing that. And it's, it's very upsetting that then it gets pushed down to states, which gets put pushed down to counties and municipalities like yours. Speaker 15 00:47:58 I I, I do have concerns going forward about placing restrictions in general on residency in hotels. I do think that that's something that should be up to the hotel operators and the people staying there. Not just for the sake of, of homelessness, but also for the sake of any of your residents who, let's say for example, there is a, a sick resident and they have somebody visiting from outta state to be able to try to take care of them. Or, or in instances like that in which you may see extended stays in your hotels to be able to take care of the, the needs of longer term residents. Issues like that come up all the time. I, I don't think that this is a great avenue to start going down in the long term, not the least of which is, I don't really feel like it, it is fair to neighboring townships. Speaker 15 00:48:53 I think that this should maybe be kicked up to the county like New Brunswick in particular, right? Already has to do so much work on this issue. And I think it creates an unfair onus on them to have more people potentially be pushed into neighboring towns. I think the best way to handle this is to kick this upward to the county and to the state to make sure that we are funding appropriate placements to, to councilwoman Cahill's point as well. You know, hotels for, for some of these people are absolutely not an appropriate place to be long-term. And we have what's called PSH permanent supportive housing that is housing advocates. We are encouraging further funding of, and that's ultimately what we wanna see happen. But we have to absolutely make sure that we're not criminalizing homelessness on a local level and in the process of doing so, also be placing a further burden on neighboring towns and on long-term stays for the relatives and the friends of people who are already long-term residents inside your township. Otherwise, I think what just happens is this creates a domino effect and it gets blown up into a bigger issue. So thank you. Speaker 6 00:50:11 Thank you Council president. I just wanna note one thing that the caller just mentioned about, you know, not criminalizing, this is not what, that's not what we're gonna do and that's not what's gonna be even, there's gonna be like no gray area and we can't really at this point without having like all of the facts, but we know some issues going on there. My concern is that when contracts are made and folks are, are put there who you know are, are trying to make a better life for themselves, not, I'm not talking about the unhoused, others who may have had issues that caused them to, you know, have to serve some time and, but then there are bad actors, right? The last thing we want is for our neighbors to have any kind of minors put in a place that could put this child to risk. Now that said, I would like to make a plug for Middlesex County. Middlesex County does have a great program that helps folks better than some other neighboring counties with that more long-term housing. But there's a lot of work to be done for sure. Speaker 10 00:51:29 If I can just comment on that. I have been trying to support a Piscataway resident that is experiencing homelessness and it is a very daunting, very difficult to navigate full. So this person can't even find a spot. So yes, we have a system and you know, we're not here to solve the county, but it's, none of it is easy. And if you have any type of learning disability or lack of resources to try and navigate these systems is very, very difficult. Speaker 6 00:52:03 Doubt. Agreed. Speaker 7 00:52:07 Thank you Speaker 3 00:52:09 Council president. I'm asking the next remote attendee to please unmute themselves. Speaker 16 00:52:17 Yeah. Hi, can you hear me? Speaker 3 00:52:20 Yes, we can. Speaker 16 00:52:21 Yeah. Craig, go on Max three Lake Park Drive. Do you have instructions on how to access the police blotter? Is it on the township website or somewhere else? Speaker 7 00:52:40 You can make it, you can make an Oprah request for documents. Speaker 16 00:52:44 Well, you said we have a police blotter that's usually a published document. I Speaker 7 00:52:49 I think that's a colloquial term that we all picked up watching cop shows on tv. Speaker 16 00:52:56 What? No, that's a not, that's a thing that people do in places. Speaker 7 00:53:08 If you are, if you're asking do we, does the police department keep records? They keep records and you can get access to those records if they're permitted under law by making an Oprah request. Speaker 16 00:53:21 No, that's not what I'm saying. I I definitely heard somebody say we have a police, police blotter, which is a published list of police activities. We Speaker 7 00:53:29 Don't have a, we don't have a published list. As I mentioned, it was a use of a colloquial term. Oh. What we have is a database and you can make a request. Speaker 16 00:53:40 Oh, Speaker 7 00:53:41 Anyone in the public, Speaker 16 00:53:42 Why, why, why don't we have one of those? Nobody knows. Speaker 7 00:53:50 We, we file all required New Jersey Attorney general guidelines with regard to record keeping. Don't have more of an answer than that for you. Speaker 16 00:54:01 Okay, thank you. Speaker 2 00:54:04 Thank you Ms. Johnson. Do we have any, anyone else in queue? Speaker 3 00:54:07 Council president, there are no other remote attendees with their hand raised at this time. Speaker 2 00:54:12 Okay, thank you. Closing for the remote attendees, opening for the 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 at the completion of your comments or questions and the council or administration will then respond if necessary. Speaker 17 00:54:43 Ed Marsh one 13 Ycl Avenue. Greetings, I'd like to say a few words about housing, not handcuffs. I urge you, the members of the council to reject any ordinance that would criminalize homelessness, invade the privacy of Piscataway guests and residents, and implement other punitive measures. Homelessness is almost never a choice. People become unhoused for many reasons. These include foreclosure, poverty, e unemployment, mental illness, and physical injury. According to my computer's, ai, artificial intelligence, individuals in the lgbtq plus community experience higher rates of homelessness, particularly among youth factors such as family rejection, discrimination and stigma contribute to this issue with LG LGBTQ plus youth being significantly, significantly overrepresented and the homeless population compared to their peers don't criminalize poverty and homelessness. Speaker 2 00:56:02 Thank you. Speaker 18 00:56:14 Good evening. I'm Stacy Berger, 2 33 Ellis Parkway here in Piscataway. I also serve as the president and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. We represent 250 50 or so nonprofit, community development organizations, private sector lenders, and other housing advocates around the state. We were proud to spearhead the letter sign on the sign on letter campaign. And I wanna thank you for removing chapter three from the, from consideration because finding and jailing people who are experiencing homelessness makes a very, very, very terrible situation. Much worse. I'm actually fairly shocked that that ever made it past whatever process you have, which seems like you could be in use of some better process, like a policy committee that reviews these items so people have a chance to discuss them before they get before the council itself. I did just wanna share some of that letter and some of the sign-ons with you. Speaker 18 00:57:06 I won't read the whole thing, but we should, we will send it to your council address. For those of you who have such a thing, we need to support homeless service providers and their efforts to engage unhoused individuals, to connect them to rapid rehousing and housing first programs. The township's focus should be on providing a fair share of affordable housing instead of penalizing people. We should be pursuing collaborative efforts with service providers to create care plans and connect unhoused residents to housing. Other towns do that, not just the county, but in other towns. They have a task force and they have a housing administrator in the municipal office who actually helps people. I do that for neighbors here all the time. Laura, council member Lebowitz is doing that. I'm sure many of you help people who have housing situations. I'm not saying you don't council women, I'm saying that we don't have it in an organized fashion and it's not funded. Speaker 18 00:57:54 So it would be much better and more cohesive for everybody if there were a municipal operation where people could point to for support. Right now we tell folks to call 2 1 1 and while our county does the best that they can, they're certainly not considered, you know, there's a lot more that we can do in two. In 2, 1, 1 it is not considered an actual entry. They don't provide services directly. It's a referral point. So people get, and, and I referred council member Lebowitz to 2 1 1 and she had a whole odyssey trying to help her, the her neighbor there. So, you know, it's, it is not a a very easy or it's not a system that is easy for anyone to navigate at any circumstance. But when you're, when you might have a language barrier or a learning disability or three jobs, it is very difficult to navigate that system. Speaker 18 00:58:38 So we believe that the council should withdraw all of the related ordinances, including the public nuisance ordinance, which can be construed to, to include providing street aid to people experiencing homelessness as well as mutual aid to neighbors. So that really does need to come out on December 16th because the proposals like that drain resources from law enforcement. The motel and hotel provisions you're considering really will drain police resources as well as potentially violate people's privacy. The idea that the township would allow the police to demand a list of hotel guests from every hotel and motel. I don't know what you all think our police should be doing, but I definitely don't think, thank you Ms. Berger, that they should be policing where people are staying and for how long. Speaker 9 00:59:26 Hello, my name is Rena. I work for collaborative support programs of New Jersey. So I just had to make a point about Amendment 11 2 1, the registry and also I believe it was 11 2 2 length of stay that is still being up for debate. And what I've gathered from what you all have been saying is that this is becoming a problem because of minors and those who are staying in hotels or motels and that you, this is not a direct hit to those who are dealing with homelessness, but rather it's more, you're more worried about returning citizens and those who are actively trying to improve their lives and actively trying to make something of themselves. Whether it's trying to find a job, trying to find a state place to stay. They are actively trying to improve their lives. And this is a barrier. This is going to create a barrier for those who are trying to do so. And it's wrong to say that those people are an active threat to society because that's a very, very small population of people. Very, very small majority of these people are trying to actively improve and just, just find a job really so that they can improve themselves. And this is going to create a barrier for that. So even if you're not saying that this is going to be a direct threat to those who are dealing with homelessness, it also becomes a direct threat to those who are returning citizens in society. Speaker 2 01:00:57 Thank you. Speaker 19 01:01:01 Hello, my name is Jennifer Cleary and Jennifer Lenahan. Boy, that's an old name. Can you just lift the mic up a little bit? Yes, thank you. And I live at 37 radio court, so just over the river in landing lane. I used to run a shelter for homeless families in Somerset County and I was a policy researcher for about 15 years at Rutgers. And I'm, I'm still there. So I hear you, I hear that there's a lot of anxiety around this issue of temporary residents, people who are unhoused concerns and fear, and that's understandable. But I come from a perspective of thinking about which policies are actually going to work because I heard that concern as well, right? You want to be fair and create policies that work for everybody in your town. So if you don't mind, I put together a little handout, could I come up and share? Speaker 19 01:02:03 I understand. You know, I, I thank you for, for dropping the, the ordinance around criminalizing people who are un unhoused. But I am hearing that there are other ordinances that you're considering that could possibly displace people. And I really, really agree with the, the caller online earlier who advocated working together with other towns, getting the county involved, bringing this up to the state and seeking funding and policy solutions that actually work. Permanent supportive housing is certainly a keystone in that. But other outreach programs thinking about, you know, funding nonprofits that can add to the, to the shelter system, to at least to the temporary housing where there are additional supports, counseling, addiction services, et cetera. So thank you very much and you know, I hope you consider some of the things I gave to you. Speaker 2 01:03:00 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that. You state your name and address. Speaker 21 01:03:10 My name is Ryan Espinosa and I live one high point way. First off, I would like to thank you guys for dropping the whole criminalizing homelessness. I think it's a very huge problem, not just in Piscataway, but in America itself. It's a huge problem that everybody needs to, needs to unite and come together to solve that issue. However, I see in this whole community that we're so divided that we can't even agree with each other and that some people just don't wanna listen. And as an 18-year-old fresh adult, I would like to say that I'm disgusted with some of the people who show themselves in these meetings or in this community because some of you are so full of anger and that's justified with a topic like this. However, as a community, we can solve problems greater than ourselves and we just, we have intentions that are so pure and we just need to go about it in other ways. I honestly think it's disrespectful that some of you show yourselves in somebody's presence like me, a young individual. And I think a lot of you are treating kindness as a privilege rather than it being the bare minimum. And everybody should look at the views with compa compassion rather than anger. And I just, I'm honestly disgusted with most of you. Thank you. Speaker 2 01:04:45 Thank you. Speaker 20 01:04:50 Good evening. Bill Irwin, 2 33 Ellis Parkway, Piscataway. As many on the days have noted, we come together today, two days before Thanksgiving, a holiday on which many of us in this room will be fortunate enough to count our blessings. There'll be tables laden with food, there'll be friends and family to enjoy the warmth of hearth and home. We are fortunate indeed, but for some there will not be any of those things. There'll be no feast. They'll be a lucky enough to have food at all. There'll be no gathering of family and friends. No, perhaps they'll spend the day alone in a motel room because that's the only place they can be housed. Speaker 20 01:05:42 There'll be no warmth of hearth in home because they may be outdoors and the only warmth they're worried about is how they're gonna keep their body warm. That day is the next through the winter. And as the holiday season wears on, we'll hear the refrain. Peace on earth and goodwill towards all. And those words will mean a lot to a lot of people. But ultimately the measure of our goodwill is how we treat the least fortunate among us. Accordingly, I'm thankful that the council has struck chapter three dash 23.1 from consideration and chapter 11, and I hope to not see them resurface. Thank you and happy Thanksgiving. Thank you. Speaker 22 01:06:45 PR Patel 52, justice Street. Good evening council and fellow residents. My favorite part before I begin, a quick note to keep things clear under our state ethics role. I am, I am a Piscataway school board member, but I am not here representing the school board. I'm speaking tonight purely as a private residence speaking my own views, not the pisca school boards. My favorite part. I'm here to oppose the proposed changes to our municipal code that would criminalize people experiencing homelessness, including fines, jail time, hotel stay limit, and new requirements for hotels to turn over. Guest information on demand criminalizing sleep does not fix rising housing costs or lack of affordable units. It punishes people for being poor and evers police from actual safety concerns. Speaker 22 01:07:58 And the proposed guest lease rule isn't just unwise, it's unconstitutional in city of Los Angeles versus Patel. Docket number 13 dash 1175, the Supreme Court struck down nearly identical ordinance because forcing hotels to provide registries without judicial review while its fourth Amendment, let's not invite lawsuits to Picard way I can't afford. And thank you for striking that ordinance. Now, instead of punishing, we should choose solutions that actually work. Housing, not handcuffs. That means supporting homeless services, homeless service providers who build care plans with unsheltered residents, connecting people to rapid housing and housing first programs, strengthening outreach, case management, and enforcing only against genuinely dangerous behavior, never against poverty itself. Create a task force on homeless would, would let expert partners and volunteers craft compassionate community led strategies that solve problems rather than shift them. And there is a concrete lifesaving step we can take immediately open a code blue shelter or warming center right here in Pisca. Using an existing municipal or community space on freezing nights can prevent hypothermia, reduce ER visits, and create viral link to services that help people move towards stability. Thank you Mr. Patel. Thiswe can lead with dignity, compassion, and common sense. I urge counsel to withdraw this punitive ordinances and choose solutions that K keep people safe and housed, not criminalized. Thank you. Speaker 4 01:10:04 Thank you Mr. Patel. Ca, council president, if I may, I know he is not here acting in as an official capacity. However, the, the governor governing body on the board of Ed's sitting on a $36 million reserve, they can actually easily donate some of that money. Yeah, yeah. So to do that, totally irrelevant. E ex Speaker 4 01:10:26 E, excuse me, I think I have the floor. The bottom line is back in March I sent numerous letters to all the board members and each one of them say, well, I can't speak, so who's gonna speak for the board of Ed? And you know, the questions I, I had asked, which was pertinent to the budget process where it was the largest tax increase in the history of this town where people are still coming in to this day. So I, I, I just, something's gotta give over there. Somebody's gotta be able to answer the questions. That's all that answer. Speaker 10 01:11:04 We're also not being sued like many school districts. Speaker 4 01:11:10 Thank you. Speaker 23 01:11:13 Next, Speaker 23 01:11:15 I guess. Thank you all. I'm here as a visitor. I live in Randolph, Massachusetts. My name is Sandy Cohen. I'm visiting my family, Stacy Berger and Bill Irwin. And I've never attended one of your council meetings. I have attended many in my town, and I'm appalled at the kind of legislation that you are proposing. This would not be allowed in our town. We are a welcoming town. We put that in our information that goes out to new residents. We have services. And as Mr. Patel said, we do have warming centers in the winter for homeless people. And we do have homeless people, but we welcome them. We don't shun them. And I find this council to be somewhat appalling in that you wanna penalize homeless people. And if I were to come and visit for a lengthy stay of time, I would not want police checking on me. It would be an absolute deterrent to coming to visit if I checked into a hotel. And I stayed for three months for some inexplicable reason. So this whole proposal needs to be abolished, period. End of conversation. It's just unfair, unjust, and cruel. And God helped any of you who wind up being homeless. Speaker 23 01:13:21 Good evening, Gina Register, 78 Riverview Avenue. So while you're creating policy, and I know this is a difficult, difficult issue to tackle, please, I just urge you to keep in mind a few things. The National Coalition for the Homeless said US homelessness hit a record high in 20 23, 20 24. And the major reasons for homelessness are the lack of low cost housing, limited scale of housing assistance programs, lack of affordable healthcare, domestic violence, mostly against women, but it's on rise against the LGBTQ plus community. And then you have men mental illness. Additional factors are discrimination and a criminal record. So you need to keep this all in mind. People aren't choosing to be homeless. And I think one of the biggest things facing all of us right now is what the federal administration is doing to healthcare. Unless you have tens of millions of dollars liquid, which I don't think anybody here does, unless I'm mistaken, if you have a major illness or disability, you are this close to being homeless because of that. Speaker 23 01:15:02 Many years ago, my family faced a situation where we had to come. I had three young children. We had to come up with $20,000 in cash to have a surgery. Actually three that were needed. If it weren't for family and friends, I would've never been able to manage that. And thankfully, I have to thank the surgeon too because he gave us a buy and our insurance company backed us. It took me a year to get all but $5,000 back. But that's how close everyone is to being homeless. So we need to treat people with dignity. These people don't wanna live on the street. Most of them, the majority of them. And please consider all this when you're making policy. Thank you. Speaker 2 01:16:08 Hey, thank you. I see no one else at the podium. Closing public portion for the in-house attendees. Motion to adjourn. Speaker 23 01:16:20 Motion Councilwoman Lombardi. Speaker 2 01:16:22 Second. Second. The opposed meeting. Adjourn. I.