Township Committee Meeting January 27, 2025

on. Oh, I didn't know. I don't wear
glass, so I don't know.
Good evening. I'd like to call this
meeting to order. This is the Buuna
Vista Township Regular meeting, January
27th, 2025.
We'll start with a roll call. Mr.
Krenzer is absent. Renard here. Mrs. Ta
here. Mr. Williams here. Mayor Rajiri
here. On January 7th, 2025, notice of
this meeting was mailed to the Daily
Journal and the press and duly posted in
the main lobby of the municipal complex.
All requirements of the Open Public
Meetings Act have been met in compliance
with the Sunshine Law. I'd like to ask
everyone to stand to salute the flag.
Mrs. Test, will you lead us? Sure. I
pledge algiance 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.
Approval of minutes. We have the regular
meeting December 23rd, 2024 and the
reorg meeting January 5th, 2025. Uh they
were done this afternoon and place in
your folders if you wanted to take quick
moment. Uh but they are complete.
We need a motion and a second to approve
our minutes. Motion to approve the
minutes. Second. Roll call. Renard. Yes.
Ta. Yes. Williams. Yes. Rajiri. Yes.
Announcements, presentations,
discussions, there are none. Mayor's
report. A few quick items. Good evening
again. uh 27 days in so far and we've
already uh got our our our plates full.
So um first and foremost uh myself and
township committee attended uh the
celebration of the life of Dr. King last
Monday at the community center.
Phenomenal event as always every year.
The room was full wallto-wall. Uh it's a
very eclectic event. Song, prayer, uh
poetry, little bit of everything.
Phenomenal food, extremely well
attended. So, I want to thank everybody
that made that event possible, uh,
namely the seniors of Newtonville. So,
very great event. This is my fifth year
attending and, um, if you haven't been,
I encourage you to do next year.
Uh, moving on, the township has been
awarded a $400,000 grant from the state
of New Jersey to replace our existing
salt shed at public works. Um, our
existing structure is in total in
complete disrepair, so this could not
have come at a a more critical time. So,
we anticipate, fingers crossed, having
this completed by the end of the the end
of this year. Uh, and it is a a
missionritical
upgrade. Um, so fingers crossed that
everything falls into place there. The
existing structure uh probably should
have been addressed the better part of
of the last three or four years ago. It
it's it's totally in disrepair. We're a
few good windy evenings from the thing
falling in on itself, which would save
us a few dollars on the demolition cost.
But, uh, looking forward to that. So,
uh, more to come on that, but but that's
a a big win for us. Uh, that's a a super
super costly, uh, item to address. So,
hoping everything falls into place in
that front.
Uh, quick plug for our next blood drive,
April 2nd, here at town hall at the
municipal complex. You can sign up
online under the American Red Cross and
use sponsor code Vista Township. That
way, you can actually commit to a window
for yourself. makes it a lot easier to
get in and get out. Again, April 2nd, 2
to 7 here at town hall. Um, looking
ahead, Earth Month, uh, the month of
April will be Earth Month. I I try to
get this on everyone's calendars far in
advance. Um, our normal cadence of the
first Saturday of every month at public
works is expanded during the month of
April. It's every Saturday from 8 to 12.
Um, still having major major major
issues with illegal dumping across the
town. We make it so incredibly easy to
do it the right way. Uh it still uh is
mind-numbing um why people just think
that it's, you know, totally okay to
just drive down a dirt road and unload
an entire truck um in the middle of
nowhere for somebody else to deal with.
Um so please save the date or save the
entire month of April again, Earth
Month. Uh that first Saturday, it's
pretty much everything. It's household
trash. It's yard waste. It's paint. It's
tires in limited quantities.
Electronics. Um so insanely easy to do
it the right way. So please spread the
message. Um
the entire month of April. I last year
it ended up being five Saturdays in a
row. I'm not sure if it will be the same
again cuz we catch the first Saturday
into May as well. So five weekends to do
all your deep cleaning and then that
cascades right into our community yard
sale. So mine through all your treasure,
throw away what isn't worth hanging on
to and and then come sell it at Michael
Debby Park a few weeks later.
And that is all I have tonight for my
mayor's report. Thank you.
Thank you, mayor. Ordinances for
introduction, first reading, there are
none. Ordinances for public hearing,
second reading, there are none. Public
comment on current agenda items only. In
order for the committee to conduct the
business of the township in the most
productive manner possible, meeting
attendees will be given two minutes,
all-inclusive, to comment on any agenda
items without comment or question from
the committee, but only on items
specified on the agenda listed for the
current meeting. Please step up to the
microphone at the appropriate time and
state your name and address for the
record. 29-25 is authorizing the payment
of bills in the amount of 1,578,28.72.
Of that, the schoolboard tax uh for the
month is $973,587.
Consent agenda includes item of business
which are not controversial and do not
require individual discussion. A motion
approving the consent agenda is moved,
seconded, and voted upon as one item by
the township committee. If any
discussion is requested on a consent
agenda item, it is removed from the
consent agenda to the regular agenda.
30-25 is authorizing transfer budget
appropriations. 31-25 is appointing
Dominic Diani as special environmental
council. 32-25 is certification of
compliance with United States Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. 33-25
is authorizing a change fund for the
2025 dog clinics. 34-25 is authorizing
stipens to be paid for the 2025 rabies
clinics. 35-25 is authorizing the refund
of taxover payments. 36-25 is
authorizing the mayor to execute a
contract with Barber Consulting
Services. 37-25 is authorizing the
renewal of proprietary software
maintenance and support agreement. 38-25
is authorizing the mayor to execute a
contract with KD National Force
Security. 39-25 is authorizing the mayor
to execute service agreement with Ross
Environmental Solutions, Inc. 40-25 is
appointing Phoenix Adviserss to serve as
disclosure agent and municipal adviser.
Deie Woodter, are you good? Okay, I just
want to make sure. 41-25 is authorizing
contract for software license agreement
with BRT Technologies.
42-25 is adopting fourth round fair
share affordable housing obligations.
Third 43-25 is approving time extension
for the reconstruction of Old Landis
Avenue phase 1. 44-25 is appointing
Kenneth Kenneth Metsler as full-time
public works mechanic laborer. 45-25 is
authorizing Calar Calmar Associates to
perform groundwater monitoring for 9inth
Street landfill. 46-25 is authorizing
participants application for LEAP
implement implementation grant for
highway speed feedback signs. 47-25 is
authorizing participants application for
LEAP implementation grant for highway
digital signs. And 48-25 is rescending
res resolution 170-24 and further
authorizing the mayor to execute a
shared service agreement with the town
of Hamilton.
Do you need some water?
Good. Do you need some? Are you good?
Okay.
Thank you. No, you spread it to me.
Uh, I need a motion and a second to open
to the public for agenda items only.
Motion to open to the public. Second.
All in favor? I.
Motion to close. Motion to close.
Second. All in favor? I. Um, motion and
a second to pay the bills.
Motion to pay the bills. Second. Roll
call.
Renard, yes. Ta, yes. Williams, yes.
Reeri, yes.
And lastly, we need a motion and a
second to adopt consent agenda
resolutions 30- 48.
Motion to adopt 30 through 4825.
Second. Roll call. Renard. Yes. Ta. Yes.
Williams. Yes. Rajiri. Yes. And I want
to piggy back that real quick. I want to
piggy back on that real quick and uh and
welcome Ken Metsler to BVT. Uh looking
for a long prosperous career. Uh we
can't overstate the significance of just
that that duty and how critical it is to
the township just how many how many
pieces of equipment we have so many
moving parts and how kind of mission
critical they are to the various
functions that we do. So, uh, welcome
aboard. Long, fruitful, um, you know,
existence, hopefully several several
decades of fixing what we break,
[Music]
item 12,
um, administrator's report. So, yes, I
want to piggyback off of the mayor uh
one of the comments he indicated
regarding the grant um from the state
that was a uh state improvement grant, a
capital improvement grant that was
applied for back in 2024
um and just receiving notice um after
about 5 months of that application that
the township was awarded the full amount
that we requested, which was the
400,000. Um you know, again, this money
is hard to get. It's not easy for a
small community like us. Um we're just
applying again for another recreation
grant to be able to redo some of our
tennis courts that's coming up. Um so
hopefully that momentum can continue and
in the spring we can start to see uh
some more improvements uh to be done
throughout the township. Um so I'm
really excited for that. It is a lot of
work, but um it's definitely it's it's
very fruitful. So that's that's
definitely the work that I enjoy to do
um is going after those grants. So I do
appreciate that. Um, just want to plug
our rabies clinics. Um, I know we had a
couple resolutions on here for that. So,
our rabies clinics for both dogs and
cats. Um, you do not need to be a
resident. Um, you can just, uh, you
could be Atlanta County resident,
Cumberland County, Gloucester County.
Uh, this is sponsored by the state of
New Jersey. Um, and through Atlanta
County Health Department to come out.
So, our rabies clinics, our first clinic
is Saturday, March 1st. Uh, we will be
at the Richland Volunteer Fire Company,
which is right on Main Avenue. um
between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. And
then we are back again for a second
clinic. Uh we're one of really the only
municipalities that will do multiple
rabies clinics. Uh we will be back again
March 15th out at the Collins Lakes Fire
Hall. Um that will also be 10:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. So if you're not able to get
to one, you could go to the other or
vice versa. Um animal licenses are also
due for renewal. Um, so if your animal
is good for your rabies shots already,
uh, please come in with your renewal
forms and we will go ahead and get that
taken care of at the clerk's office as
well. Um, and then the last plug just to
get everybody ready for it, we'll be
back again in February on TV night, but
it's already out and around. Uh, we are
back again with the breakfast with the
Easter Bunny. Um, I heard the Easter
Bunny will be back in town, um, April
12th at the MLK Center at 10 a.m. Um,
hopefully brought in by the Newtonville
Fire Company and EMS, weather pending.
Uh, but definitely that was a great
event last year. Uh, very widely
attended. Um, we just happened to have a
huge rain day last year, so I think that
was one of the big items for everybody
to get out. So, uh, we're excited for
that. Again, it'll be at our Dr. Martin
Luther King Center, uh, 661 Jackson
Road. So, put that on your calendar, uh,
April 12th, and we hope to see everybody
there for breakfast and, uh, Easter egg
hunting and pictures. So, that's what I
have. Getting into our busy season
already.
Uh, we're going to jump over to item 13,
committee reports. Mr. Williams.
Yes. Um I attended the uh Martin Luther
King uh celebration on the 20th and as
uh the mayor mentioned it was uh well
attended. I think there was
approximately at least 90 people there
and uh it was uh again it was a good uh
celebration
and uh also I attended the uh
uh Martin Luther King uh uh advisory
group on Thursday and we came up with
some uh he has some uh 20 25 events that
they're planning and as we mentioned it
was the Martin Luther King celebration
on the 20th and then March 8th is the
veterans indoor barbecue
and then May is the mentoring mother's
day breakfast and then June is the
mentoring men's barbecue on June 7th. Uh
that's just some of the uh events that
are coming up uh from the MLK center.
And as Lisa mentioned, we're having the
uh Easter Bunny over at the uh MLK
Center this year. Um, also I attended
the uh um
um mayor's uh uh dinner on uh last
Friday and at this uh dinner they gave
out the executive uh budget message for
Atlantic County and um some of the
highlights were that uh New Jersey
residents continue to debate the
benefits and costs of the offshore wind
Atlantic shores which plans to build 195
wind turbine generators 10 to 20 m off
the coast of Atlantic County is forging
ahead. Atlantic Shores has already spent
millions of dollars on the purchase of
properties for a cable staging area in
Atlantic City and offshore substations
in Egg Harbor Township. Transmission
cables will run underground from the
Chelsea section of Atlantic City to Egg
Harbor Township. the uh the county
executive Dennis Levenson has has always
been for the offshore wind developers
identify the cost, the savings to our
taxpayers and definitive proof the
turbines will not harm our marine life,
fishing and tourism industries and the
infrastructure impacts of transmission
lines as well as an expl explanation as
to why no other proposed projects are
close to the shore as the ones planned
off our coast.
We they're also awaiting a decision in
the uh casino pilot lawsuit that
challenged the state's 21 casino pilot
amendment. Three superior court judges
ruled in favor in our favor that the
consent agreement was binding. Each time
a decision was made, the state appealed.
Last October, the state appellet
division vacated the prior decisions,
not because it disagree with the
rulings, but rather because it
questioned the process that relied on
certified legal affidavit instead of
sworn testimony. Mind you, no one from
the state had ever raised the concern in
any prior proceedings. Furthermore, 99%
of all cases accepted certified legal
affidavit.
If all the taxpayers in New Jersey
benefit from this from the casinos, why
are the taxpayers of Atlantic County the
only ones to bear the burden of the
pilot legislation? Atlantic Cal County
taxpayers are owed approximately 14.1
million and that is what we expect to
receive. The original pilot will sunset
in 2026,
but don't be fooled in thinking that
will be the end. These are just some uh
excerpts from the uh budget message and
the uh this message will provide a
summary of the state of Atlanta County
and the current projections for 2025 car
county budget. The actual budget will
not be introduced until after the
governor's annual budget.
By law, the governor must deliver his
budget message to the state legislature
on or before the fourth Tuesday in
February.
That's all I have. Mayor, thank you.
John, how many of the 25 events that
Quinton has lined up for MLK are you
going to be cooking for? 25.
I just wanted to see how far advance he
puts these on your radar.
Mr. Renard. Yes. I too would like to uh
welcome Mr. Mesler to the Brinav Vista
family. Uh and I would like to say that
the event at Martin Luther King Center
for M Dr. Martin Luther King was very
good. It is every year and the man
deserves all the accolades and all the
honors that he rightfully gets. Uh he
was a good man and uh I really would
like to see his dream come true.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ker. Mrs. Tester. Uh, I'd
like to ask for a moment of silence to
commemorate the passing of David Lavari,
a longtime resident of Unavista Township
and a member of a family who were
pioneers in business and farming in this
community.
Thank you. He currently owned Lavari
Seafood and American Grill in Tuo, a
business he was perfect for. And he
always had a smile on his face and a
devilish look in his eye. He'll be
terribly missed by his family and his
family of friends. May he rest in peace.
Also, today is Holocaust Remembrance
Day, a day which is very important to me
and should be by our township because at
one time in the 50s and 60s, we had many
Holocaust survivors living here on the
chicken farms they started.
My parents and I were one of those
families coming here in 1951, followed
by my father's two brothers and their
families, and many others came and
settled here and made Buunav Vista
Township their home. These people were
unique in their struggles, having lost
their families to Hitler, all because
they were Jewish.
Bunavista Township gave them a new
opportunity to start over, and with hard
work and good neighbors, they did. But
we must assure everyone that
anti-semitism will never happen again.
Prejudice of any kind must never be
acceptable.
We must never forget.
And in the past three weeks since our
last meeting, we celebrated MLK Day.
Unfortunately, due to uncontrollable
circumstances, I was not able to attend
as everyone else here did. And I'm
certain it was a lovely celebration is
it has always been and I look forward to
attending next year's event.
Um, however, I was able to attend the
state of the state with my son again
this year, and it never ceases to
impress me being in Trenton. And even if
you don't agree with everything the
governor says, it still is an amazing
place to go.
I would love to commend public works for
the excellent job they did during and
after the snowstorm. Kudos to them.
And at this time of year, we look
forward to all the events we've planned
for the upcoming year. I hope everyone
participates in as many as they possibly
can and enjoys them to the fullest.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Tesa.
And uh and hopefully we're done with
snow.
Knock on wood.
February.
Item 14, public comment.
The committee welcomes participation of
interested organizations and individuals
during regular caucus, workshop, and
special meetings. However, in order to
conduct the business of the township in
the most productive manner possible,
attendees will be given four minutes,
all-inclusive, including all dialogue,
questions, and responses from both the
speaker and the committee for the
designated public portion of the
meeting. There may be no transference of
a speaker time to other attendees. So,
please step up to the microphone and
state your name and address for the
record. We need a motion and a second to
open to the public. Motion to open to
the public. Second. All in favor? I.
Good evening everyone. John Armano Oak
Road. U couple of things. Excuse me. Uh
first thing is I belong to a lot of
organizations and one of those
organizations is Angels in Motion and
what we do is we do outreaches at um in
Pleasantville and Atlantic City uh for
the homeless but also for the
individuals suffering from the disease
of addiction. Um and um with that
tonight I would like to uh with their
organizations to donate a case of Narcan
to uh Bunavista Township that you guys
can give to the rescue squad. You can
fill your uh defib boxes and u just
something to say uh thank you for what
you guys do and um keep up the good
work. Uh, second of all, if you're all
aware of the opiate u lawsuit that the
federal government filed to big pharma
and they received billions and billions
of dollars
and those monies were distributed
through the states. The states
distributed the mothers through the
counties.
Unfortunately for Buunista Township, uh,
we didn't meet the threshold for
population to join that lawsuit.
Atlantic County gets somewhere around
almost $400,000 a year for the next 18
years. So each year they get 400,000.
Um since we were not able to join the
lawsuit, I would highly recommend that
you guys uh do some type of a resolution
or a request from the county
um to get a little bit of that money.
the county distributing it now. Uh so I
don't know, we might be not getting it
this year, but maybe next year. And what
you could do with that money is you can
give that money to the school systems
for education. Obviously, we don't have
rehab centers in the township. We don't
have detox in the township. These are
available throughout Atlanta County, but
we do have schools. We do have a high
school. We do have elementary schools.
And the way I look at this is if all our
money
uh goes to rehab
and detox
and nothing goes to education.
Uh we're always going to need rehab and
detox. We have to educate the public.
And by the public, I mean our children,
our parents, and our grandparents.
Um,
because just because a doctor with a
white coat tells you to give your son
opiates three times a day, every day for
pain, you as the parent have to
understand that you can see what's
happening to your child. You know, if he
becomes a zombie
uh just because the doctor said to do
it, take a step back. go back to the
doctor. You know, maybe he doesn't need
three, maybe he needs one. Your
metabolism creates it differently than
someone else's. All these little tiny
things. Our our senior citizens and and
I'm one of them. Um, you know, we're
taking multiple medications.
You know, are we taking it the directed
the way we're supposed to be directed
by? These are the things that we can
take this money if we get any and and go
to senior citizen gatherings and just a
five minute talk, a 10-minute talk, we
can go into the high schools. The best
thing that happened and I I I can't
remember it was five or six or seven
years ago, but we had a program at the
high school and it was called hidden in
plain sight. An organization came in,
they set up on the stage a bedroom and
they hid drugs the way their children
hide their drugs. And they told the
parents how to look, where to look. And
they had a class uh an auditorium
session at 10:00 in the morning and at
7:00 at night. And the way they got the
parents to go was they held the prom
ticket.
Their children could not go to the prom
unless the parents or guardian attended
one of these two sessions. To me, that
was excellent. And a lot of the parents
got a lot of knowledge about, you know,
where to look, how to look. Uh, it was
interesting to hear reactions from the
parents about,
I'm going to use the word sanctuary of
my child's bedroom. I would never they I
would never go in my and I'm thinking to
myself, you know, I must have grew up
differently because, you know, if the
door was locked, it wasn't a door. So,
education,
we have to educate our our children. Um,
why did that program go away? Money.
Was it costly? I mean, it it was very
costly. Okay.
uh the Municipal Drug Alliance,
which uh I'm a board member of the
Governor's Council for Substance Use
Disorder,
how they spend the money is really
really restrictive and it's a it's a
problem that we're working on. Uh we
used to re we used to respond, we used
to get money from the fines. If you were
convicted of a criminal offense, we got
that money. If we found cash at your
house, we took that money. That's how
and it was always fluctuating because
good year, bad year, and I hate to say
it like that, but you know, we did a lot
of arrests. We didn't do a lot of
arrest. Well, that's changed now. Now
there's an actual line item for the
governor's council.
So, they're guaranteed that money.
Still, there are restrictions on how you
spend that money. Um, it it came down to
money. I mean, we were with Weimoth and
with the Barrow, we were all we were all
three together. Um, unfortunately, I I'm
understanding that's going to end. Uh
but monies are still available.
Um to get into the schools is not easy
to do. Their time so time restricted on
their classes. Uh it it's difficult to
do it. It can be done. It's just
difficult. And we need to emphasize that
every school system has a drug problem.
And if you say no, you're you're just
fooling yourself.
Maybe some are worse than others, but
there are problems in every school
district. So, um, you know, look out for
some of this money. It's out there. I
can tell you from my own personal
knowledge that a lot of this money is
being spent wrong.
Um, they're using it for things that
this opiate settlement money can only be
used for one thing, and that's opiate
addiction. Can't be used for alcohol. It
can't be used for homeless. It can't be
used for tobacco. Can only be used for
one thing. Um, and because the
guidelines are so gray, but they're
tightening them up. Uh, the county is
doing a very good job. Matter of fact,
Atlantic County is doing one of the
better jobs in the state of of policing
and spending that money. You start out
that way, but now it's ending because
this is the third year now. So, monies
are there.
Um, the last thing I want to do is
commend uh, Miss Tilton for the dropbox
initiative. U, Mayor Sharillo and myself
and Sheriff Ballast at the time. Uh,
took a lot of time and effort to get
that box into Bunista Township. Been
here approximately 10 years,
approximately a,000 pounds of medication
off the streets of Bunavista Township.
Um, and if you can visualize what a pill
weighs and to get a thousand pounds is a
heck of a lot of medicine. And it's so
convenient. You know, you pay your
taxes, you drop off medication. You got
a problem with a street and you come in,
you you drop off your medication. Come
to a meeting, drop off your medication.
It is a great asset to the township.
It's a great asset to the individuals
who live here uh in the surrounding area
for that MAC because there isn't a box
close. So once again, Mr. Tilton, uh
great work. Um I understand Hamilton now
is is going to do it. Fantastic.
Um you know, and to jump through the
hoops that we had to jump through, you
know, and the waivers that we had to
get. Um and since the law hasn't
changed, the waivers are still in place.
Um, very proud that the township was the
first in the state to get one that
wasn't in a police station. It was a
great accomplishment. Uh, a lot of hard
work, but in the end for the residents,
it was fantastic.
That's all I got. There's your NAN. Uh,
I hope we never use it. I hope it
expires and we don't use it. Uh, and if
you did it, you let me know, I'll get
it. As a matter of fact, anyone needs
Narcan.
I will uh I will provide it. Also, one
last little plug. I'm also a recovery
coach. Any family out there that has a
problem with with alcohol or drugs,
please let me know. I'll be glad to
reach out. Can't guarantee it will fix
it, but I guarantee you that I'll
listen. Thank you. Thank you, John.
Thank you, John. And I want to uh I want
to echo real quick on one of John's
comments and and and we had touched on
this kind of indirectly with the the
convenience center at public works
earlier, but really this dropbox is is
kind of the the same methodology. Um
when people have to guess how to get rid
of something, whether it's a tire,
whether it's a battery, whether it's a a
prescription drug,
intrinsically they're going to guess
wrong. And we try to just make this so
easy, so simple, so convenient to do the
right thing. Whether it's it's household
waste, whether whether it's prescri, you
know, prescribe, you know, or on needed
prescriptions, um, literally there
there's hundreds of people in and out of
this building during the course of the
week. And to be able to have that
convenient right at that door at all
times, uh, takes away the guest work.
And that really is really the ultimate
uh, you know, success or failure of of
any initiative. Uh, where do I get rid
of this TV? I'm not sure. I'll throw in
the woods. Uh, you know, we're So, just
to be able to have as many outlets for
as many different things uh within the
town is as easy, simple, and and
convenient as possible. Um, that's what
we try to continue to do to alleviate
the guesswork. So, thank you again,
John.
Anyone else for public comment?
Eric Hansel from Milma. Um just
following Johnny uh with his thing. Just
uh what I want to bring up is um
something that um a problem not only in
the township but in the area and above
your level. Just making people aware of
it. But this um 911 system
um has to be improved.
um when when you can make a call, it was
a tremendous thing. We went from
dispatching with Troy with with the fire
companies to uh even dispatching out of
Richland Firehouse. Uh eventually uh we
combined with district 11 and tremendous
when we went to the 911 thing,
tremendous thing until cell phones came
along and the
um this I mean a tremendous problem with
cell phones. They can't identify where
it is. And right here now, if one of us
had a problem, if you made a phone call
on the landline, you'd have that
ambulance notified within minutes. If we
call on a cell phone, we might wait
depending on it's possible five minutes.
It's possible to go direct. We had
incidences where it's way uh been as
much and more than 20 minutes before
that cell phone call gets to the
dispatcher to activate the fire company
near an ambulance. We had an incident uh
several months ago about two months ago
way beyond the township. Believe me, not
nothing to do with the township, but
where my grandson
um uh riding down a road, notice smoke
coming out of a house,
whatever, stopped. The insulation on the
house was on fire,
knocked on the door, they got a couple
pots of water, put the fire out, but
called 911 from spot where they could
see East Violent Firehouse.
It took 20 minutes for the fire company
to be notified.
Not blaming anybody uh local, but with
all the technology we have today,
somewhere somebody's got to get serious
within the state and find ways to
alleviate that situation.
We had a time to go back probably 10 a
few years ago with Darthy ambulance to
uh with Darthy ambulance uh whatever
where they needed had an emergency in
town called 911 on a cell phone.
Meanwhile, somebody from local was
there. Let's get the ambulance before
even before we had paid ambulances. They
had their their local rescue squad
respond to the respond, call 911 and
dispatch, you know, the way it's
supposed to be. Went to the emergency
room. Came back sitting in the firehouse
when the call comes in for that for that
emergency.
And that's bold. When I when I can pick
up my phone and I my level on phones,
you'd have to use a fraction on 1 to 10
to get me to a one. But if I can ask
what is the temperature in tarp to
Estonia and get a thing like that, I'm
lost that we the technology has to be
developed to alleviate that situation.
When the 911 call goes in, it uh on the
cell phone, it might go direct to
Gloucester County. Might it might be
picked up by other towers around. You
might be talking to somebody, they tell
me, in in in Delaware.
And if if you call and say you've got an
emergency in Cranberry Run or Alpine
Village or whatever,
I'm lost at
how it can take 20 minutes for them to
find that. And and what I'm saying that
somehow
somebody's got to start putting pressure
either on the state to develop something
better, maybe it's a national thing.
they have the same problem in others in
other states. We had um to to show when
when things are uh prolonged like that
to go back about 40 years ago, we were
dispatching out of Manitoba
and uh um it happened at at the time,
you know, uh we had a radio committee. I
was chairman of the radio committee. Uh
we hired the dispatchers and trained
them and whatever. I was the chairman,
but we had a call come in
uh with a name of a person on Tahoe
Road. That's all that was said. They
were trapped in a house, a young lady
trapped in a house that was on fire.
Couldn't get out.
the dispatcher and we always said
trained, you know, if you do something,
don't worry about doing it right or
wrong, but do something if you don't
know. They she didn't know which fire
company to uh blow out.
The police was there. They knew the name
of the same person on Tucko Road up in
Franklinville.
Even the police car responded to that
house, called their fire company or
whatever about 20 minutes, a half hour
later that somebody in the area right
here in the Rosa on Tuck Road and and
Oak Road, whatever it is there not smoke
in the area. And two women died in that
fire where they had the the the front
door was locked. They couldn't get out.
They had a ch in front of it using the
kitchen door. The fire was in the
kitchen. They couldn't get out and two
women died. If if with that was almost a
half hour, whatever. But when you start
prolonging this thing, minutes and hours
or or or whatever, you lose that chance
for that fire company or rescue squad to
maybe help someone. And and my thinking
is it it's got to go I believe it's a
state problem, not whatever, but maybe
we have to
get out to our people that when you do
report a fire or an emergency on the
cell phone, maybe there's key words we
should put in. Maybe we even got to tell
them we're in New Jersey or Atlantic
County or or whatever. But right now
it's a possibility
that someone in Alpine Village are right
here tonight.
You might be waiting way more minutes
unbelievable for that rescue squad to be
but uh you know and our fire companies
and LEAS has been tremendous. We have
great fire companies rescue squad but
they can't respond if they don't know
there's emergency.
My thought.
Thank you, Mr. Hansel. Thank you.
Anyone else for public comment?
I'll ask for a motion to close.
Motion to close. Second. All in favor? I
I.
Item 15, uh, executive session. We have
resolution 49-25,
which is authorizing the township
committee to go into executive session.
Whereas there are three items scheduled
for discussion this evening. Of those
items is any any matter involving the
purchase, lease or acquisition of real
property to discuss land acquisition of
block 5501, lot 21. any pending or
anticipated litigation or contract
negotiations or any matters within
attorney client privilege. We have um a
docket number Atlantic for Atlantic
County of 2204-24
Francis Terry versunista township at all
as well as other conversations for
attorney legal updates and
confidentiality purposes for security
matter. Um of that I estimate roughly
about 15 minutes and no action to be
taken. Thank you, Lisa. Uh, we need a
motion and a second to enter executive.
Motion to enter executive. Second. Roll
call.
Renard. Yes. Ta. Yes. Williams. Yes.
Raji. Yes.