Public Meeting of Egg Harbor Township Committee 02/04/26

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
>> Can we have a [clears throat] roll call,
please?
>> Here.
>> Alice,
>> here.
>> Hodson,
>> yes.
>> Paul,
>> here.
>> I am here. We have no presentations this
evening, but we do have our public works
department here, our leadership. And
gentlemen, before you come up and give
us a recap of the storm, I think each
and every one of us up here want to
thank you. The amount of work that was
done over the last week was incredible.
Um, so thank you for that. It was
outstanding. But if you'd like to come
on up and give us a recap
or
>> Well, if you I mean, [clears throat] it
was a difficult storm. Okay. At any
equation you want to put out there. Uh I
want to talk about my experience. I used
to push snow. It's a pain
>> and especially when it turned from snow
to whatever that was frozen.
>> Mhm.
>> It it it just is brutal.
>> Yeah. It's um it was not the easiest
storm to deal with considering the
temperature drop after the storm
>> really was stayed
low. That's why we're not getting the
melt that we're getting right now.
Temperatures up the ground's still cold.
seeing what we had firsthand, Tony,
myself, Alice especially. Um, we were
watching the storm develop from very
loose style of snow to a little bit more
heavy intermediate. And obviously as
that continued on, it became wet, heavy,
icy boulders type snow where no matter
what you did, as the development started
to get cleared, which was our secondary
roadways, you saw the start to ice over,
started to create that mass of snow that
you see instead of that soft, fluffy,
fun stuff that everybody likes. So, I
like to call this not a fun snowstorm.
There wasn't a lot of snowmen.
>> There wasn't.
>> There really wasn't. There wasn't a lot.
Even some of the places like the nature
reserve didn't see as much action as
usual because it was ice. Nobody wants
to be out there on ice. And we we did
our best to get it under control as
quick as possible. Um we have a very
large amount of roadway that we have to
you know over 300 miles of municipal
roadway that have to be cleared. We have
to keep our primary roadways open for
emergency management and do the best we
can to go from there. So, although there
were some complaints, I will
easily say that I fielded
single-handedly probably hundreds of
phone calls from residents about
blockages of roadways or not getting
what they seemed to be
above and beyond treatment. Um, but we
did the best we could to keep it keep it
moving. Tony, you have a couple of
statistical things that you can talk
about.
>> So, the snow started to fall at
approximately 3:30 on Sunday morning.
Um, we were in and operating starting at
4:00 a.m. Uh, we started with eight plow
drivers. [music] Um, several mechanics
and five ground crew to maintain uh PD
and the other facilities. Um, we worked
24 hours a day up all the way up until
5:30 p.m. on Tuesday to make sure that
we got to every road at least once in
some capacity or another. Um, all said
and done, we had 53 employees that
worked around the clock to do what we
could to get the
meet the challenge, let's say. Um, the
biggest problem we ran into was about
11:30 Sunday morning. It started to
sleep. About 3:00, it turned to rain.
Didn't stop raining till approximately
4:00 a.m. on Monday morning, at which
point it immediately started to lock up
due to the arctic air that came in and
froze everything over. The largest
complaint that we received would be the
boulders that were blocking people's
driveways. Um it it it was an anomaly
due to the fact that the snow was so
heavy and it was already freezing as it
was coming off the plow. It was 100%
unavoidable. Um I I I don't even know
how many complaints we fielded on that
and sent crews to do what we could to
clear the driveways, especially for the
elderly and the infirmed. um as well as
helping out uh EMS and fire where we
could and where we were needed. Um the
other thing was, you know, I know we
fielded a lot of complaints about, you
know, ice and stuff like that. Between
us and the school board, we put down
between three and 400 tons of salt
in the middle of a salt shortage. Um I
spent a lot of time on the phone with
various state agencies, county agencies,
other municipalities.
um trying to come up with a solution. We
were very fortunate that we in the
middle of it we were able to receive a
shipment of 200 additional tons of salt
to get us back to some operational
capacity. And
>> that's because order it before a
snowstorm. I think if you order it after
the snowstorm, you're still waiting for
it.
>> Yeah, I think that and some sheer luck.
Um, you know, sometimes it's better to
be lucky than good. But, um, we we were
in a much better better situation than a
lot of the other municipalities around
us because like I said, I was on the
phone with all of them. They had nothing
and we were still getting stuff. [music]
So, we were very fortunate in that
regard. Um, even all the way up until
today, we were still out salting um,
what we could, trying to stretch it so
as not to put us in a predicament where
we won't have any if we have any other
events. Um, seeing as how I just got a
confirmation today, we won't be able to
receive our next salt shipment until the
end of February, which is not a great
thing. Um, we we have we have enough
hopefully should we not see any more
significant events.
>> Has the school got handy?
>> For us,
>> for themselves at least, because I know
they were using ours.
>> They still are.
>> They are, but we did um we did reach out
to the school board and let or the the
director of facilities over there. I
informed them to use it as minimal as
possible. Um because they the agreement
is they get to come get the salt and
they're supposed to supply some salts to
us as they run out. Well, that being
said, while we're working out the
logistics of them getting us more salt
to use, they don't necessarily use it
sparingly. They put it down by the inch,
you know. So, um and the schools look
great and the kids are safe and that's
all we can really ask for is that the
roadways are safe. nobody's injured and
they do a good job of their facilities,
but they have no restriction with what
they use from our facility. So, they
were in and out more times than we were
um during the snowstorm. They actually
put down more salt than we did on the
first 24-hour shift. Um double, maybe
even triple what we put down. Our stuff
actually was a lot later due to the fact
that we had to be more reactionary with
our salt put down because we had to we
had to make sure that the roadways were
clear and safe before we were laying
salt down on any kind of intersection or
anything which takes us a lot longer
than the parking lots and spaces that
they have available to them.
>> We also don't have the resources like
you know we filled a lot of complaints
that well the state putting down salt,
the countyy's putting down salt, why
aren't you? As you're aware, we don't
have the resources to just put down salt
and plow it over and then put down salt
plot. We don't have that ability. So,
you know, we have to be more sparing
with our resources.
>> Well, I know that the state was taking
all the salt at one point.
>> Oh, that's that's the reason why we
weren't able to order salt because the
the state was front runners. Of course,
they should be. I mean their roadways
they travel much excessive speeds and
they have to have that treated for
>> the same way that we do but our roadways
come secondary to the state roadways and
that's okay. Uh it just means we have to
plan accordingly and we have to ration
our what we're putting down and
utilizing and making sure that the
intersections are safe and that the
major roadways are safe and passable.
That was truly our one main goal that we
did. Did we miss some secondary roadways
and some developmental? You know,
listen, accidents happen. People forget
you're out there for you plow for a 12-h
hour shift and you're hitting potholes
and manholes and everything else you
could think of. Your brain is just going
to let you down at one point. You're
going to forget something. It's human
nature. Um we try to track it the best
we can. And then if it is missed, we
come up with some some issues where if
it ices over and we didn't get to plow
that roadway, it takes a lot more work.
We have to bring in machinery. We have
to put salt down, let it activate, then
scrape the roadways. As you're aware,
I've had filled with us some complaints
from different, you know, areas with
different places. Um, but eventually we
get to it. We don't just let it go and
forget about it. We we eventually get to
what we need to where we need to be. Um,
it's patience with the community that we
ask for when we're dealing with these
types of snowstorms. Normal snowstorm,
we don't ask for much patience because
we will, the snow in New Jersey is
normally gone in 48 hours. Here we are,
10 days,
>> something like that later, and we still
have ice boulders and
>> everything you can imagine out there.
So, it's a little bit of a different
type of storm than we're used to. But
we're managing, and the roads look
really good currently. Um, we've mostly
the phones have stopped ringing when it
comes to complaints.
Um, but we have and I feel like our crew
has done a good job of keeping up on
that. Um, from our standpoint, the
biggest
thing that we would like to see changed
is more community outreach. when it
comes to moving their vehicles out of
the major roadways.
>> Question for you. So,
>> we get more complaints about culde-sac
and areas that we didn't plow, but you
can clearly see the imprint of 30 cars.
We can only do what we can do. We're not
going to put anybody in danger. We're
not going to put our machinery or our
plows next to personal vehicles. That's
just asking for more trouble than it's
worth. So, if we can only make a primary
pass into a development because there's
cars blocking their access points,
that's the best we can do. And we're not
truly going to send crews out there to
after the cars have moved and the ice is
formed to spend, you know, township
resources because the community didn't
want to do their part, move their
vehicles. So, if we can get more
community outreach, some sort of a
better plan to try to get that h to
happen, which is wishful thinking, but
that's where we stand.
>> You know, we can always send
communication out when we send I hate to
say the word tax bill, but
>> it can go out in that. We could even
coordinate with the schools when they
send the notices home with the kids.
>> The parents do read those.
>> Um, so send it out that way. Plus all
the social media that's out there.
>> Yeah. And I think the storm I think the
best thing we can do is right after this
storm while it's still fresh in
everybody's mind. Put that out there
again because as you drive through these
developments,
>> you can see the ones that move their
cars and ones that didn't.
>> Yeah. And I understand there's not
always additional parking spaces for
people. But at least make yourself aware
that parking next to an intersection
that's just that's not a good idea. So,
if you're going to park in a roadway, if
you have to park in a roadway, try to do
it in a position where it won't impede
traffic in the future. A lot of times
you see them within 15, 10, 15 feet of
stop signs, intersections, fire
hydrants. We're trying to make we're
trying to clear things where it would be
a lot easier if just it was done in a
different fashion. So, but
>> well, the storm was difficult, but
another thing for you out, you picked up
trash on Monday.
>> Yeah. There's some communities didn't
get trash. You watch Channel 6 News,
Philadelphia still got it all over the
place in New York. So, we were able to
deal with the storm as bad as it was and
deal with the trash picked up on Monday,
which I think is a compliment. And it's
our automated trucks. You know how much
I love them. They're the best.
>> Okay. And you know, I mean, it's you got
to try to continue on with this storm.
And the storm is difficult. And I don't
know why I don't know how they got
>> I guess the storm took their voice.
>> And I have to say, you know, we're very
proud of our guys for showing up. Uh
it's very easy to take a sick day the
day after a snowstorm and not show back
up to work, but our our guys really show
up like they always do. Um and they, you
know, they put their their boots on and
they go out there and they shovel trash
cans out and they pull them out for the
automated trucks and they it's not an
easy thing to do. It's a it's you have
to be, you know, light on your feet. You
have to be aware of what you're doing
and you have to be ready to work. So,
um, we're very proud of our staff and
very proud of the guys that, you know, I
think we only had maybe three or four
guys during a state of emergency that
couldn't make it in and those were for
medical or family illnesses or something
other than that. Uh, we really truly we
group together. We do we have to do a
public works and it was all hands on
deck and it if if that was ever a
thought in anybody's mind, we definitely
have everybody out there. So, um, and I
don't think the community really
realizes that we do, but every single
staff member possible worked overtime.
Um, and and like I said, I'm very proud
of everybody, the clerks, the
supervisors, and obviously Al does a
great job of keeping us all going. It's
it's it's really nice to see that the
end the end of it all after all the
chaos is is a very good product.
>> I know the equipment really takes a
beating. How'd you hold up? Believe it
or not, this so one of the things that
we did um you know modern technology we
have the ability to know in advance that
the weather's coming like this. Um we
made sure that for the 3 days prior to
the storm we had every piece of
equipment out, grease, tires checked,
blades and plows changed, headlights,
[music] wipers top to bottom. You know
everything was functioning. We had no
catastrophic failures or breakdowns of
equipment. Um, which is pretty
impressive for for us. Um, you know,
given the amount of roadways and the
amount of equipment we had on the road.
I think the longest breakdown we had was
maybe a half hour to, you know, an hour
max. Um, that was that was a big deal
for us. And being prepared ahead of the
time, ahead of the storm really made the
difference in that regard.
>> Really good job. Uh and and thinking
about the trash, if we were still had
laborers on the back of the trash, our
trash wouldn't be picked up. So, back to
the automation. The automation can do
it. The driver can get it. That thing
hooks it and takes it and our streets
are clean. It wasn't easy. It was easy.
And we we up here all know it.
>> Yeah.
Thank you. And and please please
let all of your staff know that we all
appreciate it very much.
>> Um Yeah. It's um the obviously right now
we're not collecting any curbside
collections because we can't get to our
curbside collections. So
patience is what we ask for from
everybody. Once the loose leaves will
become a big thing, you know, we'll be
hear the birds
as well as you know I just want to bring
up the topic now to get ahead of it, but
we're going to have crews out pretty
much full-time working on potholes. you
know, with a snowstorm and you have
plows and machinery and and all kinds of
stuff. So, you're going to be dealing
with a lot of complaints that come
through, we will get to them as we
always do. And um just be patient.
>> Two ways for the pothole complaints,
right? They can call
>> and there's a there's a spot on the
website that you can report.
>> So, you can let me you can use the
website. Um it is much easier to call.
Uh we've and we've been I've been
dealing with it on the website and the
issues with the reporting. Um it doesn't
it's not the best. It's your best bet is
to call give us the most accurate
information possible. We're very
fortunate now with how we handle
potholes. We have the ability to recycle
our own asphalt. We don't have to wait
for the plants to be open. So we
literally can do it every day. It's a
huge savings to the township and it's
much better than buying bags of cold
patch which is not the best way to go.
Mhm.
>> We have the ability now. We said we're
recycling our own asphalt.
>> Every day we've had crews out patching
holes everywhere because unfortunately,
you know, all the water from it melting
and [music] freezing
blows the roads apart.
>> 300 miles of old township roadways,
municipal roadway.
>> We have a special layout on this
committee with potholes.
>> We're familiar.
You would come up with this wheel. I
don't go down that road.
uh we're dealing with it as best we can
like I said and we'll continue to do our
best to keep up on the roadways
conditions preceding this uh this this
meeting obviously but um yep Tony it's
hit it right on the right on the right
on target always call public works if
you have a complaint or you need
assistance in any way because that's the
easiest way to get your answer
>> and that's something that you know I've
been Oliver talked to a lot of residents
I have as well we we actually want the
residents to know we don't mind if they
call we do want to talk to them
[clears throat]
>> because again that's how we get the most
accurate information. And believe it or
not, contrary to popular belief or
whatever, we actually do want to help.
You know, we we we [music] live in this
town as well. We care. We want to be
there for our residents and help any way
that we can.
>> So, it's do that.
>> The problem is the problem is we don't
always give the answer that you want.
>> Um and sometimes the answer that they
want is it reflects against private
property. And that's really where in
snowstorm special especially in
snowstorm conditions we plow from curb
to curb the best we can without any kind
of impeding um the problem lies when we
go curb to curb and they don't follow
directions for the avoid the second
shovel. Um if they're going to remove
snow and place it in the roadway it's
going to end up back in your driveway.
So they have to be the community has to
be more aware that we are not
maliciously
in any fashion trying to plow them in or
create any kind of a nuisance for them.
We're actually trying to help in the
best way we can which is keeping the
roadways clear and unobstructed. So we
do pride oursel on going curb to curb.
Storms like this are difficult. We
didn't get to that level. Not going to
pretend that everything's perfect. We do
miss we did miss some stuff.
But when we do go curb to curb, that's
when we get a lot of these complaints
because people think that we should come
out and shovel the way the access point
of their driveways and mailboxes. And
unfortunately, that is private property.
We're not going into anybody's property.
We're not going to step into their
driveway. We're not going to use
machinery on your on your concrete
apron. We just it would be that's just
not our procedural thing to do. We did
field, like Tony said, multiple
complaints and we were able to send our
guys out with hand shovels and picks and
we were able to move some of the excess
snow away from their driveway that was
in the roadways um out of courtesy
because we really truly,
>> like we said, we're community people. We
understand that they're elderly and
people who need to get to doctor's
appointments and people who are sick.
Um, I probably like at least I would say
75 to 100 residents called in about that
and almost every single one of them had
help in some way or done it. So,
>> if you don't mind, I'm going to deviate
from public comment just for a minute
because we have a woman here who that's
what she's here for. This is uh Chenise
Callahan.
>> Good. How are you? And if you just want
to come up, these are the gentlemen you
want to talk to. So, I fig you might as
well come up now.
>> Hello. hands on.
>> I know it's nice to meet you.
How you doing? Cuz we don't always speak
on the phone, right?
>> Um I want to thank you guys and this
this is the board. I'm the president of
the board. Tisha's y'all can introduce
yourself.
>> Leticia Cochran. Nice to meet you.
>> Y'all did do a job in the township.
>> And Mike, how you doing?
>> Hi Mike. Tony, nice to meet you. Nice to
meet you.
>> So
what we're asking is we just don't want
to be last. It seems every year, every
time we have a store, not even to this
matter too, we're always the last to to
come through that block. And you know,
I'm constantly on the phone and I'm
asking just cuz we're paying over
500,000 in taxes. It's 81 homes there.
And the complaints don't come to you.
They come to me. You see who's sitting
in here? They call me. And I'm like,
God, call [clears throat] public works,
you know, write them there.
>> But that's all I'm asking. I I thank you
guys cuz you did come out. Eventually,
you came out,
>> but
>> yeah, during the entire like I was on
the phone with you multiple times. And
>> um I'm not going to pretend like that
was the best quality of work that we
had, right?
>> Um we didn't really get to it in a
timely fashion, not because we
intentionally did that in any way. It's
just how the mapping works out. Primary,
secondary. I know there's 80 homes in
there, but getting Ridge Avenue clear,
that was obviously done way before your
development was. Ridge Avenue was plowed
as a primary roadway. We weren't able to
get into Bridgew State because
unintentional and it's no different than
anybody that would be, you know,
anywhere else in the township. And we
can do our best to try to expedite our
our work, but we can only work as fast
as
we
>> did come out with some traction control
installed until the temperature warmed
up enough to go out there with our
machinery, right?
>> And that's what we ended up doing,
>> right? We just asking to be
as well cuz it's it's a lot of homes and
like you said, the complaints don't come
to you. They come to me.
>> Yeah. and they and they're calling,
they're texting me and I'm like, "Okay,
>> you may be the most vocal um community
uh you know, 80 homes inside." However,
it is not only you're not the only one
that reaches out to us. We don't get
[clears throat] we treat every resident
equally. We try to work our way through
this through the progression of what we
have to do. Um the other point,
>> when you guys came out, you did a great
job. The only thing I'm asking about the
parking lot. Do you guys do do Okay.
>> So, our community is a community that
they're not supposed to have cars on the
street.
>> So, and when they do, I'm on that phone
like,
>> you know, so you don't have to worry
about the street.
>> No, that that was not an issue. That was
not targeted.
>> That was not for you.
>> Actually, it's actually really nice.
Maybe if I can touch on that real quick.
Number one, I appreciate the fact that
you feel all the complaints for your
neighborhood because I
understand how hard it is. I mean, we
have to deal with all the residents
here. Um, as far as the mapping is
concerned, that's on me. Um, we are
active. We actually had a meeting today
with uh the road division. Okay. And
anybody over anybody else. I don't care
if it's a dead end road to
it to make sure that we do get everybody
in it,
>> try and maybe move it around.
>> Yes.
>> The biggest problem with that though is
every snowstorm is different.
>> [clears throat]
>> Uh this one everybody got hit equally
but there are times where we have
snowstorms where the
>> heavier so that's where our focus is
going to be quicker. Um the best I can
tell you right now is
>> like that you know it was done on
purpose because I promise you I don't
think so.
>> Every time I've dealt with you always
been professional and you've always been
able to resolve everything.
>> Yep. So,
>> always answer the phone. Yes. Always
answer the call. And that's that's
something that Eggar Township does
really well.
>> Um, other townships shut their phones
off. The county shuts their phones off.
>> We're not shutting our phones off.
>> No, every time I call you guys, I'm I'm
able to get
>> And like I said earlier, please don't
ever feel like you're bother. You have
>> Oh, I don't. [laughter]
>> She's a good president. A good
president.
having this back and forth conversation
is the only way that anybody can ever
give me real insight. So again, I I
appreciate talking with you is not a
problem.
>> When we saw you sitting there, it was
like, okay.
>> Yeah. Communication, she just
>> Yeah, she's always anything. Right.
>> Right.
>> That's wonderful.
>> Well, thank you guys. Thank you for
listening.
>> Thank you guys. And thank you for
everything.
>> You're welcome.
>> Yes.
>> Gentlemen, thank you for being here
tonight. I know you want to go home.
It's been a long day.
Yes, sir.
>> Can I ask a question?
>> Snow question.
>> Yes.
>> So, um, first of all, good afternoon
everyone. Um, [music] my name is Aed
Abdullah. I live at 213 Chester Brook
Road. So, I'm on the other side and I'm
in a kind of quarter sights, right? So,
um, I just moved out there four years
ago. Um, this is my second [music]
snowstorm. So, I just wanted to know far
as the mapping, how does the mapping go
>> because I I've heard you say about the I
heard you say about the
>> primary road compared to secondary or
>> develop and I'm I'm familiar with it
because I'm the assistant director of
public works for Atlantic City. I've
been [clears throat] there for 22 years.
Um actually Janice was my executive. Um
so we we're we're with the complaints.
>> Yeah, [laughter]
we're real familiar with the complaints
and everything. So, first and foremost,
I want to say thank you for your
service. I think y'all do an excellent
job. Like I as I said, 22 years from the
back of the trash up until where I'm at
now. So, I understand exactly what's
going on and the call outs after the
snowstorm. So, I understand all of that.
I want to tell you thank you. So, I'm
not here to complain. [music] I'm here
to just get understanding because
Atlantic City is totally different from
a cover town with dealing with this the
snowstorm. So um so my problem was that
you know in my cola I couldn't get out
of the front entrance and [music] you
know I had to get to work. So I just
wanted to know the mapping part. How
does that work so I don't know next
time?
>> So we have six the town we have the
township broken up into six zones. Um
you're actually in zone one.
>> Okay.
Um how it works is we start with
our primary roads. We're talking um West
Jersey Avenue is is our number one
primary road. Uh lower a
roads that intersect with county roads,
state roads, stuff like that.
So, they're the roads that we focus on
first. And we many of storms and this is
one of them. We'll plow it six times
before we make the decision to move into
our secondary venture
and we will
all storm dependent. If I have a the
truck that's in zone one is in west
[clears throat]
closer to West Atlantic City.
>> Unfortunately, what's going to happen is
they're going to start in West a city.
>> Now, we've done we've worked with the
police department and whatnot. If you
have if you're an essential employee and
you
that's from your your street, you can
call and make a request and then we will
do our best to get somebody quicker.
Lots of people,
>> doctors, nurses,
>> plenty of cops. [laughter]
>> Yeah. And um just for you know the also
the second part of that that we didn't
really mention was salt does salt only
goes at intersecting roadways into the
main areas. Okay. So developments
secondary roadways they're not normally
treated. We only treat them and if you
see us treating a secondary roadway it's
because we may have
>> lost control of that road. it may be
icier than necessary because we didn't
get to it on time. So, that's why we're
loosening it up so we can come in and
remove some of that ice off the roadway.
Aside from that, we don't there's not
enough salt in our barn to do that. We
would be in big trouble. Um, and we're
not as lucky as the county and the state
to be able to have the budget to be able
to support.
>> So, that's I don't want to take up too
much of time. I just wanted to get an
understanding so that way I know the
next time um anything that goes in I
just give a call. Right. You also have
my card from the last hour. Yes. You can
call if you ever question.
>> Thank you. Thank you again. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Thank you gentlemen. Thank
you. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
>> Go home. Relax. You are going home,
correct?
>> No.
>> Tony's not with that.
>> Okay.
>> Just just one thing. The fire the fire
chief's here
>> and I know how much the fireman did to
help EMS and everybody else through the
storm. And that's what the community
does. We work together and um
[clears throat] it didn't go unnoticed.
This is a difficult storm. I don't care
who is going to tell you. I know of
another community where I used to work.
They failed miserably. Okay. We did a
pretty good job. No, they failed
miserably. I don't think they had salt.
I don't know what they didn't do. But
the thing is our fire chief's here,
>> our firemen and kept plows and we were
responding to help EMS get in and out of
build places where somebody had to be
transported and the calls that came in
that we don't normally get on gas water.
I'm listening to veterary I don't know
if anybody doesn't know they shut their
water off over there got water
everywhere. So I mean it was a difficult
storm and chief for your firemen you
know this is what we do. We come to help
we try to help the people.
>> We did get a lot of help from the five
fire companies with plowing. So we do
appreciate that.
>> I listen
>> and I have to say the five fire
companies are all volunteers. We say
this over and over again that this is
volunteer help. They don't have to do
it.
>> Yeah. When I was if I wasn't at work I
was with them.
>> You go out and plow. I wonder if you can
do beside
what we will do
and begin a street and just run the
Three times
open the street a little bit in most
situations. May not be 300 miles
>> for a volunteer. It's a lot. Yes.
with the roads in the middle, you know,
very help.
>> Yeah. [laughter]
>> And when you meet with all the chiefs,
just tell them that we all say thank you
very much for everything shortly. The
last thing the last part that I'll I'll
say before we take off is that uh we did
get very lucky that the weather didn't
do what it was supposed to do
>> the following week after.
>> We were prepared though.
>> We were That's why I was going to touch
on that. Uh we had guys out um they were
hand chipping out inlets and um areas
where we were assuming that we were
going to get flooded because the ma the
major problem with that was not the snow
that was going to be coming but the
northeast uh high tide that was supposed
to come in and flood everywhere. So full
moon,
>> the full moon. So even though we got we
did get very lucky, but we were
prepared. So I want everybody to, you
know, to know that part of it that we
weren't just sitting on our hands, we
were out there. We had machinery, we had
hammers and chisels and everything you
could think of, infrared heaters, and we
took, you know, between West Atlantic
City and a lot of the areas that are on
waterways. Um the inlets are clear so
we're prepared even if we when this snow
does melt we're not going to have that
flooding issue hopefully unless we have
some sort of another issue [laughter]
>> real quick you mentioned uh the potholes
call the office make sure I just want to
know say that after hours you could call
communication
>> you got to mention communication
>> yeah you can call communication or if
you can call public works after hours
and leave a message
>> we also have the the capability of
receiving emails and stuff like that. I
know we're working with it to make it
better. Um but the the links are there
the the it's available to every
everybody should have a way whether you
don't use technology and you're you know
however it may be there you can use the
phone to call during normal operation or
if you are more savvy with technology
you can use your smart devices to use
that and put a request in and any and
any of the way you know between Facebook
and all the things that we have
available to us um there's always a way
so
>> well one thing when You said Facebook. I
just triggered a thought that
I read, a lot of us read the EHD
happenings page and those different
pages that are out there. There's a lot
of people that complain on there. That's
the wrong spot.
>> Yeah,
>> they should be calling public works.
They could call my office. They could
call Tom. They could talk to any one of
us up here. Um, if you have something
you need done, call somebody. Don't put
it out on social media and hope somebody
sees it. We
>> We will not respond to uh that type of
interaction on social media. It's a
trap. uh it's not a good idea. So any of
our supervisors and our guys that are at
public works, they normally don't
respond to that type of interaction.
>> Yeah. And and most people send them to
public works when they do that.
>> There's nothing wrong with having a page
like that where the community get
together and talk about topics. But if
you're asking for help, that is the
wrong place.
>> That's the wrong page for you. You see
something say something. Don't assume
that the complaint on one of those sites
is going to get the attention or you
just want to complain.
>> Exactly. Say something
>> because we'll get attention to it.
Somebody some somebody
>> take the proper steps, you know, call.
>> Just call.
>> See something, see something. That's it.
>> That's right. See something, see
something.
>> On that note, just so you know, any call
that we received in the office or any
email, we sent right over and those guys
were out suggesting the problem.
>> That's right.
>> Almost immediately, every every time.
So, they are responsive to the
complaints once we know there's a
complaint.
>> I went out to Rich right after you did
it and it was it was clean. It just was
patience and time to make sure that the
weather was cooperating soon as it
stopped negative, you know, degree
windchill and and the and we were able
to use our product. So, what is it minus
or is it up to 19 degrees um after that
salt's not really efficient. It's more
just for traction control. Um and once
we were able to have the sun and a
little bit of traffic and it got above
that temperature range, then we were
able to get our machines in there. So,
>> and reporting online does work for a
pothole. I know there was a county one
on Summers Point Maze Landing Road. I
report reported it at 8:00 at night.
They fixed it the next day.
>> So, it does work. It does work.
>> And we didn't get the ice lines. Look at
North Carolina, Tennessee. They still
don't have power.
>> We were blessed not having
>> the utility coming pretty good.
>> But thank you, gentlemen. Thank you all.
>> Thank you. Take care.
>> Don't forget to tell the chiefs to tell
their guys. Thank you.
Okay,
>> more salt, man. [laughter]
>> They're working. Okay,
we're going to move on to ordinances for
public hearings. Mr. Freeman, ordinance
number one.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Ordinance number one
is an ordinance to exceed the municipal
budget appropriations limit and to
establish a cap bank percent of New
Jersey statute 48 colon 4-45.14.
The purpose of this ordinance is to
allow for the flexibility in the
municipal budget to address any
unforeseen expenses or future needs
while staying within the statutory
financial guidelines. Thank you.
Is there anyone in the public that would
like to speak on ordinance number one?
[clears throat and cough]
Please have your name for the record,
please. Philly, Egg Harbor Township.
Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Respectfully, Mr. Freriedman, you asked
me on my way in if I was planning on
speaking this evening. Um, I told you
perhaps the answer is now yes. So, thank
you.
with regards to utilizing
the opportunity to pass a cap balance
ordinance.
When utilizing cap the cap bank, it
means that the town is living at or
above [music]
the cap. Out of based on the research
that I did, out of the last five years,
CAP has been utilized, the CAP bank has
been utilized on four of last five
budgets, which leaves little room for
future emergencies and can mass costs
rising
faster than sustainable revenues.
The result of regularly using cap bank,
not just passing it, signals that the
budget is under pressure
from fixed costs.
Tied with this is the implication of
using surplus regularly. Surplus money
is essentially the township's savings
account. Surplus is meant for
emergencies, including storms,
lawsuits, and infrastructure repair. In
2020, $1,450,000
was used to balance the budget.
In 2021
and 2022,
$1,750,000
was used to balance the budget.
In 2023,
$2,900,000
was used to balance the budget. In 2024,
$3.4 million was used to balance the
budget.
In the adopted 2025 budget, $5 million
was used to balance the budget. The
amount was approximately onethird of the
total surplus that was available at that
time. Heavy surplus use often means that
taxes are being kept artificially low
today at the expense of what will happen
tomorrow.
More importantly, the combined effort,
I'm sorry, the combined effect of the
utilization of cap bank and surplus
regularly used to balance the budget
results in the following. Cap bank
allows for higher budgets.
Surplus pays for them without raising
taxes.
Taxes appear to look stable
until they aren't.
If surplus continues to be used and cap
bank is used [music] up, there is a
higher probability of a sharp tax
increase, service cuts,
and emergency measures may need to be
taken by the governing body.
This is how towns end up with the sudden
tax hikes that appear to taxpayers
without warning.
An unhealthy financial pattern is
developing from what I can see as a
result of the use of CAT banks being
used almost every year to help balance
the budget.
Relying on surplus to avoid tax
increases and help balance the budget.
There are no structural fixes
to the growth of costs,
especially with all of the continued
overdevelopment that is currently
occurring in our township.
As an interested taxpayer, this is how I
interpret what I see. Continued cap bank
usage coupled with rising surplus use
and flat or low tax increases is a
warning sign of a deferred impact
note efficiency.
Ultimately the takeaway here is the use
of cap bank and surplus are tools that
you are absolutely able to use but they
are not solutions. Anything
else, Mr. Dilly?
>> I was just waiting for Mr. Freriedman to
continue.
>> This is Anything else for people to
comment on this?
>> Yes,
the use of cap bank and surplus are
tools, not solutions. While cap bank and
surplus are lawful budget tools, as I
said, and appropriate in one-time
circumstances, using them repeatedly to
cover ongoing operating costs raises
concerns about the long-term fiscal
sustainability.
This approach potentially delays
difficult decisions that need to be made
by the governing body and
[clears throat] ultimately ultimately
may lead to larger tax increases,
depleted reserves or reduced services in
future years if not addressed. The
township budget may be balanced on
paper, but the underlying finances give
the appearance of it being fragile.
without increasing revenue, not through
the increase of property taxes,
managing the current overdevelopment and
controlling expenses, taxpayers will
bear the future costs.
I respectfully urge the local leaders to
prioritize strategies that strengthen
sustainable revenue growth and control
recurring operating costs so that we are
not simply simply kicking the can down
the road and deferring challenges to
future budgets. I thank you for the
opportunity.
Have a good evening. Is there anyone
else who would like to address the
governing body? Seeing none, can I have
a motion to close the public portion?
>> Make a motion.
>> Second.
>> Uh, roll call, please.
>> Yes.
>> I can I have a motion to adopt ordinance
number one?
>> Can I have a second, please?
>> Second.
>> Welcome.
>> Is there time for discussion?
I just just very uh quickly um I will
vote for the ordinance this evening. Uh
I want to make sure that we have the
flexibility to uh provide for our
residents. Um however, I hope that we
will not need to utilize it. Um
I share Miss Tilly's concerns.
uh a continued use uh of surplus really
signals that what we have is a
structural deficit and that means that
over a extended time uh our expenditures
are exceeding our revenues. So uh I
think that we need to look for a longer
term fix to that. That involves a number
of elements. Slowing residential growth
while hopefully increasing commercial
growth and ratables, of course,
maximizing our state aid and grants and
keeping careful watch over our spending.
Um, but again, I will vote for the uh
ordinance tonight uh so that we have the
flexibility to um to serve our
residents.
>> And Dr. If you want to ever give a
comment, that's the perfect time to do
it right there.
>> Yes.
>> Robert,
>> yes.
>> Ordinance number two, Mr. Freeman.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Ordinance number two
is an ordinance fixing the salaries of
certain officials and employees being
the police and benevolent association of
the township of Bay Harbor for the year
2026.
The purpose of this ordinance is to set
the 2026 salaries of the employees
covered under the PBA collective
bargaining unit. Thank you.
>> Is there anyone in the public that would
like to address the governing body on
ordinance number two? Seeing none, can I
have a motion to close a public portion?
>> I'll make a motion.
>> Second.
>> Roll call, please.
>> Yes. [music]
>> Yes.
Alex,
>> yes.
>> Yes. Can I have a motion to adopt
ordinance number two?
I'll make that motion.
>> Second.
>> Roll call, please.
>> Yes.
>> And promise.
>> Yes. Ordinance number three, Mr.
Freeman.
>> Ordinance number three is an ordinance
fixing the salaries of certain officials
and employees at Township Bay Harbor for
the year 2026.
For purpose of this ordinance is to set
the 2026 salaries of certain officials
and employees.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the public that would
like to address governing body on
ordinance number three? Seeing none, can
I have a motion to close the public
portion?
>> So moved.
>> Second.
>> Uh roll call, please.
>> Yes. [clears throat]
>> Yes.
>> Pauls,
>> yes.
>> Ellis,
>> yes. Can I have a motion to adopt
ordinance number three?
>> So moved.
>> Thank you.
Roll call, please.
>> Yes.
Yes.
>> Alice.
>> Yes.
>> Palmer.
>> Yes. Ordinance number four for
introduction. Mr. Fiden.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Ordinance four is an
ordinance accepting the deed of a storm
water basin located at block 5203 lot
1.12 from Touch of Modern Incorporated.
The purpose of this ordinance is to
accept the deed and dedication of the
storm water basin from Touch of Modern.
the property located at block 5203, lot
1.12 to the township. A public hearing
on ordinance 4, 2026 will be held on
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 5:00
p.m. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Can I have a motion to
introduce ordinance number four?
>> Anybody?
>> Introduction. Yeah.
>> Thank you. Uh, roll call, please.
>> Yes.
We have a resolution consent
calendar number 88 through and including
number 96. Does anybody have any
questions?
>> I just want one question. Number nine
[clears throat] is the same vet that we
use every year because she does a great
job with the shots. Is that true? Yeah.
Okay. That's all I wanted to know
because I I've been out there when
they've had the rabies clinic. I enjoyed
myself immensely
and she and she moves through the
animals that people bring in in this
town is a good service. Okay.
>> Now, do we have a date for the rabies
clinic? I think we do. It'll be March
14th from 9 to 12 at public works.
>> And and at public works, right, you use
that building, it it works out pretty
well.
I have a motion to approve the res uh
resolutions 88 through 96.
>> Make a motion.
>> Um roll call, please.
>> Yes.
We have an Well, let's wait on that
one. We have a bill a bill list
resolution 97 authorizing payment of all
bills. Can I have a motion so we can pay
our bills? Make
>> a motion. Second. Roll call, please.
>> Yes.
Now, we'll bring in the add-on. We
have resolution number 99.
>> Um, this is authorizing council
committee to execute an amendment to the
lease agreement with Sigis. Uh, can I
have a motion to approve?
>> I'll make a motion.
>> Second.
>> That's the room for the police
department, correct?
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> Yes.
>> Roll call, please. Calana. Yes.
>> Yes.
>> Robert,
>> yes.
>> We have some approvals. Can I have a
motion to adopt the town of committee
closed executive meeting minutes of
January 21, 2026?
>> Make a motion.
>> Second.
>> All in favor?
>> I
can have a motion to adopt the talent
committee meeting minutes of January 21,
2026.
>> Make a motion.
>> Second. All in favor? I. Can I have a
motion to approve the payroll for the
month of January 2026 in the amount of
2,49,864.33?
[laughter]
>> Have a second.
>> All in favor?
>> I. Public comments. Anybody want to
address the governing body on anything?
Seeing none, can I have a motion to
close a public portion? Motion.
>> Second. All in favor? I
>> Patrick committ.
[clears throat]
>> Thank you, Mayor. Um I I think we've
we've talked at length about the uh the
storm and again I just want to echo my
thanks to uh our professionals, our uh
first responders, everyone who helped.
And uh please I hope that that makes its
way to everyone in in the staff that we
appreciate what they did. Um and uh this
past Saturday I attended training uh
given by the New Jersey League of
Municipalities. It was a long day but u
filled with a lot of information on a
variety of topics. So it was very uh
very worthwhile for me and I intend to
continue uh taking as much training as
I'm I'm able to. Um and then just as a
followup to a subject that that I spoke
on last meeting um that we are
continuing to work on the issue of the
uh sale of flavored vapes uh in the
township which we need to um crack down
on. Uh we are uh working on that
intensely. Uh we are now at the point
where we uh are drafting a uh ordinance
which will be uh just for uh for our
township. There are a handful of
municipalities that already have
ordinances that will give uh the chief
more uh authority and and more ability
to address the issue. Um and so we have
a draft and we're we're working uh
through that. uh few more questions to
answer, a few more details to work on.
So, I want to uh thank Chief Spanel for
his help and Mr. Freriedman for his
assistance and uh I hope we'll have that
ready um uh soon uh for introduction.
So, thank you all and have a good night.
>> Mr. Pauls,
>> start off. I uh [clears throat] talked
to Rick from the recreck board on the
construction jobs we got going with the
fields. Most of the field jobs are shut
down now because of the frozen ground.
That'll take a while to get going again
until the throttle comes. Uh before
that, they were going very well. Uh Rick
was very happy with what was going on
with those jobs.
uh attended the zoning board the other
night. Uh short meeting zoning board's
doing well. Uh
and I also want to thank public works
and the fire department for this storm.
And I just want to point out when Tony
answers the question because when you
get the answer might not be the one you
want, but he's always honest and I
appreciate that.
Um, that's about all I had.
>> I just echo what said. This is a
difficult storm in any case. And we
could just work it better. Um, that ice.
I don't I've been here 45 years. I
didn't ever saw a snowstorm like that. I
came out early. It was nice and puffy. I
said, "Oh, getting a great snowstorm at
the NE reserve." Came out the next
morning. It was a solid ice two two
inches thick. um to public works and
fire department. I listen to you guys. I
know what you're doing. I appreciate it.
I think the residents know the story.
Appreciate it. And back to what we said
before, if you see something, say
something. Don't sit there and complain
because it may not get taken care of.
Okay. Our people with public works, this
is just observation, they answer the
phone. There's times where somebody
don't answer the phone at 2:00 in the
morning when there's no plow rail. So,
they answer the phone and they pass it
to the supervisors and we try to take
care of it. This is a big township.
Don't let anybody kid themselves. We
have county, state, and we're a part of
it. So, you know, we got to work
together. And the thing that was very
interesting to me was how the state was
regulating salt. I I wasn't too cool
with that because we need it too. And if
we were smart enough to buy it ahead of
time, we should get our salt, not have
the state sor divert it to the state
highways because it was a shortage. And
to Al left, I told him personally, he
was loaded up before the storm and he
had more coming during the storm and
they honored it. So we didn't get caught
without material and product for the
roads. So again to everybody, you know,
we got through this. I hope for some
people that are related to me are in
Florida. asking them, "Is this snow
melting?" It's not melting. The ground's
too damn cold. So, it will melt at some
point and hopefully we don't have
flooding and everything else and it
stays out till next year. That's it.
[clears throat]
>> I feel sorry for the kids when it's
snow. We used to make snowman. You can't
make it with this stuff. You can't throw
snowballs. You might get lot cheap. They
throw snowballs, you might get locked up
for salt with this ice. I've never seen
anything like it. the public works, uh,
EMTs, police did a great job. And like I
said, some streets we just had to have
patience, but it got done eventually.
So, good job. Not saying it was my
street, but uh, good job.
They did do an outstanding job. And I
think I'm just going to echo what
everybody else said. Um, what a way to
start the year, huh? And so hopefully
so hopefully what each day is one day
what each day is one day closer to
closer to spring and we get there before
spring and we get there before the next
the next order of salt comes in and we
order of salt comes in and we don't need
don't need it which would be a good
it which would be a good thing to have.
thing to have. So I just want to also
So I just want to also thank all the
thank all the people out there that help
people out there that help their
their neighbors. There were a lot of
neighbors. There were a lot of neighbor
neighbor I could say my neighborhood was
I could say my neighborhood was doing
doing it. I'm sure most of yours were
it. I'm sure most of yours were doing
doing it. There were people out helping
it. There were people out helping their
their neighbors that couldn't do it. And
neighbors that couldn't do it. And it's
it's greatly appreciated. I even saw
greatly appreciated. I even saw kids out
kids out there looking for 20 bucks to
there looking for 20 bucks to you know
you know to do your sidewalk. So it was
to do your sidewalk. So it was nice. And
nice. It was nice to see people out
helping themselves. Yeah. Well, there
probably was more than 20, but you know,
[laughter] but it was nice to see that.
I just want to thank everybody for their
cooperation and for um public works.
Thank you for everything you did. You
guys deserve a break. It was a lot of
work. Chief Dan, same thing with the
fire company. You guys go out of your
way for everything. So, we greatly,
greatly appreciate it. Chief Spano, the
police were out there doing everything
they could do and they had their hands
full for the whole thing. So, just want
to say thank you.
was a public show when I was sitting.
>> Oh, it was it definitely was a public
work.
>> You know what?
>> But you know, Fred,
>> I did. We've all been here a long time
and we can think of the blizzards where
we didn't have the equipment they have
today to do anything here. I mean, when
I was in policeman in Summers Point,
they had no plows one year. We had to
get military trucks. So, I think we're
as prepared as we can be for these
storms. Now, listen,
listen. It's not easy to say this is how
it's going to work. You have to adapt to
the operational needs at the time. And
uh I I think we did okay. I mean, it was
a miserable storm in my estimation,
you know. That's it. Very simple. It's a
lot of ice and it's still there.
>> Best thing you ever did.
They did.
>> So that made it better.
That's a good thing.
>> Well done. Well done all of you. Tom,
>> may I defer my time to the deputy?
>> Yes, you may.
>> Sorry about my wink. [laughter]
>> Good evening, committee. Um I just
wanted to discuss a couple items as far
as municipal budgeting is concerned uh
for clarity. So we are only able to put
into the budget known revenues ones
which have already been secured. So if
we do not receive a certain grant until
like July we would be unable to write a
budget where that money is included in
the budget. And one of the primary
reasons you borrow from surplus is
because you know that the money is
coming. The the DO's uh municipal aid
for road grant money is coming. Your
clean communities money is coming. And
based on last year's numbers, you can
make a decent estimate as to what and
the fiscal
um state of the state can can help you
judge to what extent you want to
anticipate that money coming in later.
So you're essentially borrowing it from
yourself at the beginning of the year.
Um, as far as cap bank is concerned, cap
bank is money taxes which could have
been raised. The state puts a limit on
how much a municipality can raise on any
given year. And if you do not hit that
limit, you are allowed to set some of
that percentage aside in case in the
next three years an emergency happens or
an '08 financial crisis happens and you
need to tap into the taxes that you did
not raise when you could have and that
allows you a little safety net in case
there's a serious downturn on any
particular year. Um the cap bank
percentages do fall off after 3 years.
So
decisions get made for for good
financial decisions get made as to how
much of the cat bank might need to get
used prior to it falling off and
expiring.
So, a little bit of it might get used
before it goes away and we no longer
have the option to use it. Another item
which should be pointed out is that the
township's overall surplus
year-over-year has gone up in a healthy
way. So while we may be borrowing more
to balance the budget at the time we
write it in March,
come next January when we are
reconciling the end ofear revenues
versus expenditures, we are increasing
our rainy day fund at a healthy rate to
to keep up with inflation and and just
balance it all out. Um, that's all I
have unless anybody had further
comments.
>> No.
>> And and Pete, when we start, you'll
learn that some of the budgeting we do
here is different than the school board.
It's handled differently. So,
>> Clark,
did you take a ride down the hill at the
nature reserve?
>> Uh, I did not. It's too icy. [laughter]
>> You can go down it, but you're not
stopping it.
>> You weren't stopping from what I heard.
Anything want to say anything? Uh,
no. Um, I guess, uh, there's nothing
[clears throat] for me to report. I
didn't have an opportunity to go out
there, uh, uh, on many occasions, but I
did. It was just nice to see a winter
wonderland, but it was treacherous to
walk around
>> and you listened. You stayed home.
>> That's good.
>> All right. Thank you.
>> Do we have a need for close session?
>> Yes, ma'am. Briefly.
>> That was right. Brief, right? Resolution
[laughter]
98 authorizing the council of committee
to convene in close executive session to
discuss matters which may involve
personnel and/or legal matters. Whereas
the open public meetings act permits the
exclusion of the public from a meeting
in certain circumstances [clears throat]
and where this public body is of opinion
that such circumstances presently exist.
And whereas the township committee may
need to enter into close executive
session at one or more times during this
meeting to discuss matters permitted
under New Jersey law including but not
limited to the following personnel
matter. It's an ongoing labor
negotiations update anticipated
disclosure one year. Uh,
two legal matters. Uh, a potential shar
shared service agreement with
Pleasantville, anticipated disclosure 6
months, and an update on the 2594 Tilton
Road lease. Um, anticipated disclosure 6
months.
Whereas minutes of said exclused
executive sessions will be kept and once
the matter involving the confidentiality
of the above no longer requires that
confidentiality then minutes be shall be
made available to the public in
accordance with law. Now therefore be it
resolved by a township committee
township of Egg Harbor County of
Atlantic and state of New Jersey that
the public be excluded from this meeting
during such portions of the meeting as a
governor body may dee necessary to
discuss the matters set forth above.
>> Thank you. And we will not be taking any
>> no action. Okay, very good. Thank you.
Can I have a motion to go into close
session, please?
>> Motion.
>> Uh, roll call, please.
>> Yes.
Chalice spermer.