[0:00] benefit of public notice as required by
the open public meetings act. Madame
[0:04] clerk, please call the role.
>> Mr. Parabelli
[0:06] » here.
>> Here
[0:10] » please rise for the salute to the flag.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:15] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation
[0:20] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[0:25] » Please remain standing for the
invocation.
[0:30] Dear God, as we gather to conduct the
business of Hamilton, we humbly ask for
[0:34] your guidance, wisdom, and discernment,
we give thanks for the residents of the
[0:38] township, for our family, seniors,
veterans, business owners, first
[0:41] responders, healthcare workers,
educators, public employees, and many
[0:45] other volunteers who dedicate and
service stren and strengthen our
[0:49] township each day. May our work this
evening reflect respect for one another
[0:54] and a commitment to the common good. We
ask all these things in your name. Amen.
[0:59] » Amen.
[laughter]
[1:03] » Madame clerk, please proceed with the
agenda.
[1:06] » If you want to read changes,
>> I will do that right now. Uh there has
[1:10] been an amendment to the agenda since it
was posted to our website. Uh there have
[1:14] been additions to the website. Um I'm
sorry, to the agenda. CA1526-334
[1:21] is a resolution approving uh first
change order number one to contract
[1:26] 24-327
awarded to Edward H Craig Incorporated
[1:32] for annual traffic signal maintenance
emergency repairs installation of rapid
[1:37] flashing beacons and driver feedback
signs for on behalf of the department of
[1:43] community and economic development uh
increase of 47,41 $31.56.
[1:50] CA1626-335
[1:55] is a resolution approving the first
change order number one to contract
[1:59] 26-251
awarded to WJ Gross Incorporated for the
[2:05] purchase and installation of door access
control systems for the new municipal
[2:09] building located at 1750 White Horse
Mercerville Road utilizing the Camden
[2:16] County Educational Services Commission
co-op purchasing program
[2:21] number 66 CCPS
contract number FY23-01.
[2:29] This is an increase of $187,355.
[2:35] CA1726-336
[2:38] is a resolution authorizing the
settlement of a tax appeal Harris
[2:42] Hamilton Holdings LLC versus Township of
Hamilton docket number 007734-2021
[2:51] 005826-2022
[2:55] and 005900-2023
[3:01] 004323-2024
4 010095-2024
[3:09] 005788-2025.
[3:13] That's for block 1520 lot 11.02 O2
CA1826337
[3:21] is a resolution authorizing the
execution of a memorandum of
[3:25] understanding with unity to improve
services and outcomes for victims and
[3:30] survivors of do domestic violence and
sexual violence and their companion
[3:34] animals.
CA19 is 26-338
[3:40] is a resolution authorizing the
execution of a representation agreement
[3:44] for professional legal services with the
firm of Gustiffson
[3:50] Gluick PLLC as part of a class action
litigation
[3:56] arising from injuries and damages
related to and caused by firetruck
[4:00] manufacturers and other defendants
unfair and anti-competitive
[4:05] business practices in violation of
antitrust laws. Can I please have a
[4:10] motion to the amendment of the agenda?
Uh, Council President, I move that we
[4:13] adopt the um changes to the agenda. I'll
second that, Madam Clerk.
[4:19] » On the motion, Mr. Carol,
>> yes.
[4:21] » I
Yes.
[4:25] » For your consideration, we have the June
16th regular council meeting.
[4:30] » Council President, I'll make a motion to
approve the June 16th uh 2026 council
[4:34] minutes. I'll second that.
>> Mr. Caribelli.
[4:37] » Yes. Mr.
>> Tai, yes.
[4:38] » Mr. Pero,
>> yes.
[4:40] » Next, we have communications uh for
proclamations for the month of August.
[4:44] We have overdose awareness day, which is
August 31st, and Women's Equality Day,
[4:50] which is August 26th.
>> Thank you, Council President. I move uh
[4:54] communications C1.
>> I'll second that.
[4:58] » Mr. Caravelli.
>> Yes. Mr.
[4:59] » Ty. Yes.
>> Mr. Pera.
[5:01] » Yes. is Miss Margarita Lehey of the
Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug
[5:06] Addiction. Is she here today? Hi, ma'am.
>> Hi.
[5:09] » I know you would like to speak. Can you
please come to the microphone?
[5:12] » Don't worry. I signed it under three
minutes.
[5:14] » The floor is yours.
>> Good evening, Council President.
[5:20] » Should be red.
>> Should be red.
[5:23] » Good. Four talking. We'll see if we get
picked up.
[5:25] » Good evening, Council President, members
of Hamilton Township Town Council, and
[5:29] community members. Thank you for giving
me Council on Alcoholism and Drug
[5:33] Addiction the opportunity to be here
tonight for recognition of this
[5:36] proclamation. I'm Elgarita Ley, the
executive director, and I'm here tonight
[5:40] with two of my staff, Victoria McCain.
She's the regional coalition coordinator
[5:44] here in Mercer County, and Caitlyn
Allen. We are grateful for this
[5:48] proclamation recognizing International
Overdose Awareness Month and for
[5:52] Hamilton Township's continued
partnership and commitment to our
[5:56] community. Tonight's proclamation is an
important opportunity to recognize why
[6:01] this day matters and to invite our
community and municipal leaders to join
[6:05] us. Your support is a powerful reminder
that no one should face the impact of
[6:10] overdose alone. Whether you come to
remember a loved one, support someone in
[6:14] recovery,
serve our community, or simply stand in
[6:18] solidarity, you are an important part of
this movement. This year's global theme
[6:24] is still needed. It reminds us that
while progress has been made for
[6:28] overdose deaths and they are declining,
the work is not finished. We are still
[6:34] needed to educate our community members.
We are still needed to reduce stigma. We
[6:39] are still needed to support individuals
and their family members affected by
[6:43] substance misuse. And we are still
needed to make sure that people know
[6:48] there's hope, recovery, and support
available. For more than a decade,
[6:53] Mercer County has proudly observed
International Overdose Awareness Day
[6:56] because every life matters. Every loss
leaves a lasting impact and every act of
[7:01] compassion makes a difference. We are
especially thankful to Hamilton Township
[7:05] for continuing to partner with us as the
host of this event at Veterans Park. We
[7:10] truly appreciate the township's support
and dedication. A special note of
[7:14] gratitude goes to the grounds crew,
police officers, first responders, and
[7:19] township staff who helped make this
gathering possible through their
[7:23] assistance and hard work. This
partnership is a wonderful example of
[7:26] how municipal government and community
organizations can come together to serve
[7:31] our residents. So tonight, we'd like to
extend an invitation not only to the
[7:35] council, but to all the town township
residents to join us on August 27th at
[7:41] 5:30 p.m. uh to at Veterans Park for
this event. Come to remember those we
[7:47] have lost. Come and support those in
recovery. Come and stand beside families
[7:52] who have been impacted. Come learn,
connect, and be part of a community that
[7:56] believes every person deserves dignity,
compassion, and an opportunity for
[8:01] recovery. Thank you again to the council
for this proclamation, for your
[8:06] continued partnership, and for
recognizing that this issue affects all
[8:09] of us as a community on August 27th. We
hope you will join us because we are
[8:14] still needed and together we can make a
difference. Thank you so much on our
[8:18] behalf.
>> Thank you. We thank you for all the good
[8:21] work that you DO AS WELL.
[8:33] I MAKE A QUICK COMMENT. OKAY.
>> UH, Margarita and your team, thank you
[8:37] so much for coming tonight. Thank you
for your support. Um, I know most of us
[8:41] in the room can attest that
unfortunately, you know, including my
[8:45] family, we've been impacted with
individuals in in in our um in our
[8:49] family that have been, you know, that
have uh gone down the path of um drugs
[8:54] or alcoholism and and um it's not a
final final uh say. There's there's a
[9:01] there's definitely a tomorrow. uh and
through your support and your team
[9:05] support and individuals like you that
give of your time and uh effort um you
[9:09] make a difference. So, thank you.
[9:15] » Madam Cler, please proceed with the
agenda.
[9:17] » Yes. Next for your consideration is
consent agenda items CA1 through CA19.
[9:24] » Just to run through um we do have a
couple uh reappointments uh to uh
[9:31] positions. We have uh line item that was
added for an opioid settlement uh in the
[9:38] amount of $46,000.
Um pedestrian safety improvements around
[9:43] Clockner. Um large item uh that was
awarded to us for $869,000.
[9:50] Uh grant application for $14,000
as well. Uh shared services agreement
[9:57] with Robinsville for the ecological
center. uh pond restoration project. Uh
[10:03] if you remember that's at Saiyan. Uh
that money was already approved. Half uh
[10:08] is from the grant and half comes from
us.
[10:11] Uh one-year extension for emergency
repairs for WPC.
[10:17] Um
prof service professional service
[10:22] agreement uh transferred from uh one
person to another one company to another
[10:26] rather. uh our various uh rental and
cancellation uh refunds of events and uh
[10:33] tax overp payments. Um an exciting one
is the uh municipal building furniture.
[10:39] Uh the deis uh that's just one gets us
one step closer. And um I'll leave it
[10:45] there and if my council colleagues uh I
know Ricky you were in the agenda
[10:50] meeting. If you have any thing to add to
uh our consent agenda items and then
[10:55] Councilman Caribella can follow up.
>> I'm just u glad to be partnering with
[10:59] Unity uh to improve the services and
outcomes for the uh victims and
[11:07] survivors of domestic violence.
[11:13] I'll just mention briefly um on the on
the consent agenda the council president
[11:17] um and you mentioned that you know uh
establishing the ongoing shared
[11:21] agreement shared services agreement with
Robinsville that you know our
[11:25] cooperative relationship with our
neighboring um municipality. I'd love to
[11:28] see that. Um
and then also
[11:33] I I had one question for Kathy. Kathy,
regarding the um the uh CA7 the contract
[11:41] with Kevin Downs Tree Service, this is
this is all part of the work that we're
[11:47] doing. I know that part of it's funded
by a grant. Council President mentioned
[11:50] that part of it funded by capital
dollars, but this is just not only are
[11:54] we fixing the pond, but we're also
taking down I guess removing trees and
[11:58] putting in trees. How what can you give
me? part of a whole plan that they've
[12:02] done to for restoration, but most of it
is the restoration of the pond itself,
[12:06] which is a very specific type of work.
Um, and so we've gone out to bid for
[12:13] this to get the best that we can for
that, but it also needs to be uniquely
[12:18] qualified companies and individuals that
we end up choosing. And this one is. And
[12:24] so we're really looking forward to we've
been waiting to kind of kick off this
[12:28] project because it's a big one
>> and uh but it'll be beautiful when it's
[12:32] all done.
>> Excellent. Okay, that was all
[12:41] » any other questions or comments from
council on the consent agenda items. So
[12:46] at this time uh we will take people from
the audience that wish to speak and
[12:50] remember this is only on the consent
agenda items uh on the agenda. Uh if you
[12:55] would like to speak please raise your
hand. We'll call you up. You'll have
[12:58] four minutes to speak and um please
remember this is at this time it's not
[13:02] public comment. This is only on consent
agenda items.
[13:06] [snorts]
Yes sir. When you come up, please state
[13:10] your name uh and uh what town you live
in for the record. And you have four
[13:16] minutes.
>> Sure. Kevin, Hamilton Township.
[13:18] » Um I have a question regarding CA142633.
The $102,000
[13:24] $12,6121
we're spending on a podium and deas
[13:29] furniture for the new council chambers.
What are we getting for $102,000?
[13:36] » That's a maximum that we're allowing to
be spent. And that's for the furniture
[13:39] for the new council chambers.
>> I mean, $102,000 worth of furniture
[13:45] sounds like an awful lot of furniture
for a day. I
[13:47] » it
>> I I know we're excited about the new
[13:49] building and the new chambers and
everything, but that just seems I mean,
[13:52] I've never bought Deis furniture or
podium.
[13:55] » I haven't I haven't either, so I can't
say whether it's a lot or not a lot.
[13:58] » Uh CA14 uh 333. It ju it just seems like
a a a really really significantly high
[14:06] number for for deis furniture in a
podium. Um I know we're excited about
[14:11] the new building. Um but this kind of
feels like you know we're we're just
[14:16] spending a lot of money and we feel like
you know we we want some nice new stuff.
[14:20] So we're we're maybe just approving some
some really big numbers for some maybe
[14:26] not so necessary things. And uh I think
the council should probably take a
[14:31] closer look at that because that seems
very excessive.
[14:34] » Thank you.
[14:38] » Understood.
>> Anyone else? Sir, come on up.
[14:43] [laughter]
[14:45] » Just your name and what town you live in
for the record, please.
[14:48] » Uh Andy Casmer Hamilton.
>> Thank you.
[14:50] » I would just like to follow up with this
gentleman. What are we doing with the
[14:54] furniture we already have here? I mean,
that's going to get transferred over to
[14:58] the new building, I would assume.
>> Yeah, that and the wallpaper we're going
[15:00] to take to the Smithsonian. [laughter]
>> Well, all the chairs you're sitting in,
[15:04] and that was a very smart answer that
you just gave. I hate to say that to
[15:08] you, but all the things that are here
aren't going to just get thrown out. I
[15:12] would assume. I would think you're
taking some of this. I just wanted to
[15:17] know what's happening with everything
that's here. We talk every meeting about
[15:21] the furniture in here and the wallpaper.
That's why it's it's a joke to everybody
[15:25] that comes to every meeting because we
talk about the wallpaper that's been up
[15:28] for so long. Wasn't taking a shot or
being a wise guy.
[15:31] » It sounded like it.
>> Okay. Well, I wasn't.
[15:33] » Thank you.
>> Welcome.
[15:37] [laughter]
>> Hello. Um, I'm kind of new to Hamilton,
[15:41] so I just want to introduce myself. My
name is Ma Honey. I live on Sundance.
[15:46] » Yeah, somebody recording the meeting.
Did we get permission to do so?
[15:50] » I'm sorry.
>> Yeah, you're not. We have there's uh
[15:52] rules. You're not just allowed to record
any meeting. You have to put a written
[15:56] re response in.
>> You have to put a written request in for
[16:00] that prior to the meeting. Thank you.
>> I'm sorry. Your name again?
[16:05] » Esma Elhouni. Yes. So, I wanted to
introduce myself. I'm sorry. I have not
[16:09] been in meetings in the past. Um I've
been pulled by a lot of ICE activity.
[16:14] So, it's been keeping me away from
actually coming to the meetings. Um but
[16:17] I also have a question in related to the
same topic. Uh I just wanted to know how
[16:21] you came up with this number 102,000. So
if you could please answer that for the
[16:26] public as well.
>> Okay.
[16:28] » So there's so there's going to be a dis
built uh similar to this. It's custom
[16:34] for the room. Uh so there it's it's a
relatively high expense item because
[16:40] it's being built custom for that room.
Um and then the entire room needs to be
[16:46] filled with furniture. Uh it's going to
cover all the furniture in that room.
[16:50] It's going to be a larger room uh than
this room to provide more comfort to the
[16:55] members of the public in the future uh
who will hopefully continue to uh join
[17:00] us at our meetings. Uh there is a a
breakdown. It's um there are flip top
[17:06] council dis tables.
Each one of those units is a little bit
[17:11] under $8,000. There are 12 of those. Um
there's uh council podiums, two of those
[17:19] like that. Um about 35 3,800 each. So
right there, that gets you to $102,000.
[17:29] » And it's important to remember too that
this is also shared with another
[17:34] governing body. So the board of ed is
also you utilizing this room. So the
[17:39] room is going to be utilized almost all
the time when the new building is open.
[17:44] So it's really outfitting that and it's
it's the sound system that's within the
[17:49] deis as well. So that adds uh money to
it as well. So you know it's uh
[17:55] construction prices have gone up in the
last time I looked at them. But this is
[18:01] bid like everything else that we're
required to do. So, this was the lowest
[18:05] responsive bid that we got for the
outfitting of the day room.
[18:10] » Thank you. And Kathy, just uh in
answering that uh gentleman's question
[18:15] um regarding the property that we have
here,
[18:18] » some of it it will go over to the new
building, but some of it will also be
[18:22] auctioned, I'm assuming. Right. for all
of the files. Um, and in all of the
[18:27] offices here, we're taking all of the
file cabinets um to move them to the new
[18:33] building. Other furniture is not being
taken. It's old enough. We haven't
[18:38] replaced furniture in many years here
knowing that we were going to have uh a
[18:45] new building at some point. And so we
did not spend money on things like
[18:50] building upkeep and and um the furniture
within. However, because we're a public
[18:56] entity, we're required to auction off
anything that we don't use in the new
[19:02] building. So nothing will just be left
here. We'll have to inventory it and um
[19:08] and then auction it off sometime after
we vacate this building.
[19:12] » Thank you.
>> Anybody else? Lisa, come on up.
[19:21] We're just going to take a timeout while
they sign.
[19:31] » H.
>> Yeah, they're just signing their names
[19:34] for the next part. Yeah,
>> I have Lisa first.
[19:41] » Well, we're I called Lisa up. We're just
waiting, giving everybody an opportunity
[19:45] to sign in and then we'll do the consent
agenda.
[19:52] » It's okay. Yeah, we'll just give him a
minute.
[20:06] [laughter]
>> What is the sign in for?
[20:09] » The sign in is to to speak uh over here.
The sign in is to speak during uh public
[20:14] comment which would be the open part of
the meeting. This is about the consent
[20:18] agenda right now.
[20:22] [snorts]
[20:29] [laughter]
[20:32] » Are you there?
[21:06] All right, we're going to reconvene the
meeting, Please.
[21:09] » Good evening. Williams Hamilton.
>> It's okay. It's the same topic. They're
[21:14] probably bored by it by now. So, how
many bids did we get on the the
[21:19] » Please give the speaker the attention.
>> How many bids did we get for the Das
[21:23] furniture?
[21:27] » Do you know there was there was only one
bid submitted.
[21:30] » So, we got the lowest of one.
>> 15 prospective bid biders viewed the
[21:34] bid, but only one submitted a bid.
actually submitted a bid.
[21:38] » So, we got the only bid. We don't know
if there's a better deal because nobody
[21:41] else
>> Well, there was 15 people viewed it, but
[21:43] only Sorry, Rick. Go ahead.
>> Right. You only got one bid package. So,
[21:47] we said we got the lowest bidder. We got
the only bidder. So, there might have
[21:52] been a cheaper person if somebody wanted
to get involved and maybe if they could
[21:55] fix it. I just think there's been a lot
of public unhappiness on social media
[22:00] about our tax bills. So, I think that we
need to be very careful about every
[22:05] dollar we spend. And while this is being
shared with the school district when
[22:09] there was that meeting at um the senior
center in the beginning of the process,
[22:15] even the mayor said that the reason that
we were building, the town was doing the
[22:20] building with the school district
because the school district couldn't as
[22:24] easily do it. And it's all the same
taxpayers. So all the same taxpayers, no
[22:28] matter how you slice this, are paying
for every single thing and people are
[22:34] struggling. Our tax increases, whether
you want to call it the municipal side,
[22:38] school district, or the county side,
were high. The school district would not
[22:42] have gotten the authority to build the
would not have passed a referendum to
[22:45] build the buildings primarily
administration. Are we taking the TVs
[22:48] and electronics with us or are we
auctioning all of that off too? I know
[22:53] this is just for this the furniture, but
people need to be careful. There are
[22:56] people in this town struggling and they
don't qualify for senior freeze because
[23:00] they're not 65 and they make
significantly less than $172,000 cut off
[23:05] of a senior freeze applicant right now.
>> So So the answer is yes. We are taking
[23:12] things like that, right? We have cameras
and things that are are part of our our
[23:18] video systems and all of that. Those are
coming with us. We're not replacing
[23:22] those and we're not auctioning those
off. And in fact, some of the say the
[23:26] camera systems, some of those have been
purchased recently, but we make sure
[23:30] they're portable so that we can just
take them and bring them with us.
[23:33] Nothing here is done permanent anymore
because we want to be able to bring it
[23:37] with us.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[23:39] » So, there's only one bit.
>> Yes,
[23:41] » there was one responsive bidder. That's
correct.
[23:47] » Yes.
[23:51] [clears throat]
>> Juliana Carella, Hamilton resident. same
[23:54] topic. Um, only because you mentioned
the speakers. Is this also going to
[23:57] include potentially the live streaming,
you know, capacity, whatever we were
[24:01] talking about last meeting?
>> I don't know that I don't know the
[24:03] answer to that. That's an idea, but we
can find out.
[24:06] » Okay, perfect.
>> Right.
[24:11] » Were you raising your hands? Yeah. Oh,
I'm sorry. Anybody else that would like
[24:16] to speak on the consent agenda items?
[24:22] Okay, seeing none,
>> council president, seeing,
[24:27] sorry about that. Second,
>> uh, seeing no members of no additional
[24:30] members of the public wishing to
comment, I move that we close the public
[24:33] comment portion and move consent agenda
items CA1 through CA18
[24:40] » through CA19, excuse me.
>> I'll second that.
[24:43] » I have a motion, Mr. Carelli.
>> Yes. Mr.
[24:45] » Yes. Mr.
>> Yes.
[24:50] Ordinance 126-026
is an ordinance adding and amending
[24:54] supplementing the code of the county
part three land use legislation chapter
[24:59] 550 land development article one section
550-8 detention centers caral facilities
[25:06] correctional facilities jails and
prisons is the second reading of public
[25:10] hearing
>> questions or comments from council
[25:14] » no uh we're expressly prohibiting uh
these types of facilities with disorders
[25:18] ordinance
>> agreed.
[25:21] Uh, you have anything to borrow?
>> No. Questions or comments from the
[25:25] public on ordinance 126-026?
[25:30] [laughter]
[25:34] » Yep. Ordinance number one.
[25:38] Seeing none, can I Okay.
[25:45] » Hi. I want to say thank you so much for
actually having an ordinance that would
[25:49] ban detention centers.
>> Ma'am,
[25:51] » can you just state your name and what
time?
[25:52] » Walk Charlene Walker. Thank you.
>> And um I serve the city of Hamilton
[25:58] among other locations. Thank you.
>> I'm the executive director of Faith in
[26:01] New Jersey.
>> Thank you.
[26:03] » Um I want to applaud you for actually
having an ordinance to ban detention
[26:08] centers, but I do would I would like you
to strengthen it just a little bit.
[26:13] Okay.
>> Can you please add in administrative
[26:15] offices um that support those detention
centers because there is a widpread
[26:21] um thing that's happening where people
are like well we can't build a detention
[26:26] center here but we can put an office
here or or checkin and that is also part
[26:32] of the detention center pipeline. So
repeat repeat your request
[26:35] » to add in any administrative offices
>> that support
[26:39] » that support detention
jail and deportation.
[26:44] » Uh would that be would that already be
covered in the the uh legal terms
[26:50] » included in carc carceral activities?
>> Not technically.
[26:56] » We're not interested in having those
places.
[26:58] » To add again
>> any offices that support those systems.
[27:03] So like Geog Group will open an office
in this township and it would be for
[27:07] check-ins, it will be for processing, it
will be for paperwork, it will be for a
[27:11] whole host of things and that also
contributes to
[27:15] » relating to prisoners and check-ins and
that type of thing. I would I would feel
[27:19] pretty confident that that would fall
under uh carceral activities.
[27:27] » I'm going to have to look at that as a
lawyer.
[27:31] not opposed to
>> Yeah, I just I need to look more into it
[27:35] and see, you know, now that we have
this,
[27:37] » we'll see where we go because, you know,
if it just
[27:41] » I need to look into it more.
>> Okay.
[27:43] » Please reach reach out.
>> Yeah. All right.
[27:45] » Thank you.
[27:49] » Hi again. It's me. Um I also wanted to
state uh we bought our first house here,
[27:54] so I'm actually going to stay here. I'm
super super happy about that. So, I
[27:59] definitely want to make Hamilton as safe
and great. And I also wanted to say I'm
[28:03] so happy to see this. This is makes me
feel really like my heart is still warm
[28:07] by this. And I wanted to know as people
who make sure that our immigrant
[28:12] community feel welcome here. If you'll
also also add something in there to
[28:17] ensure that our police department aren't
handing people over to ICE through our
[28:21] jail systems through detainers. So, if
you don't know, I'll just explain this
[28:25] really quickly. I know that we see some
confused faces. Um so basically in the
[28:29] constitution it says um innocent until
proven guilty, right? There's something
[28:34] called due process that everyone is
afforded. Correct? Everyone understands
[28:37] that part so far?
>> So if you accuse me of a crime, so say
[28:41] you say I um assaulted someone and I get
arrested simply by this accusation and I
[28:48] get arrested. I didn't see a judge yet.
If you are an immigrant in the
[28:52] department in the municipality of
Hamilton, the police department can hand
[28:57] you over to ICE. And so what I'm asking
is just to make sure the constitution
[29:02] applies to everyone. And can you just
ban detainers without judicial warrants?
[29:07] So judicial warrant says you have ICE,
we're not going to hand you over like
[29:12] ICE has to have that person with a
judicial warrant. But most of the
[29:16] detainers is just like I said, people
get arrested. They're not they never see
[29:19] a judge. They're never found guilty and
they're handed over to ICE. So, I would
[29:23] like to add um banning detainers without
judicial warrants. So, if there's a
[29:28] judicial warrant, no problem. Hand them
over to Ice. But if there isn't a
[29:31] judicial warrant for the safety of
everyone, for equity, we um we hope that
[29:35] we can add that. So, I'd love to speak
more with you all about that if that's
[29:39] okay as well.
>> We could talk offline about that.
[29:42] » All right. Thank you.
Is it okay if I just like hear any like
[29:45] opinions you guys have? And
>> I have questions for our attorneys on
[29:49] that same topic.
>> Wonderful. And may I hear um everyone's
[29:52] opinion just on the fact that immigrants
are being handed over to um ICE uh
[29:58] without ever seeing a judge? Do you have
an opinion on that? And without ever
[30:02] actually having been um found guilty of
anything, just being accused.
[30:07] » So, we're going to stick to what we're
doing here. Um, yes. So, this is a
[30:11] zoning law that we're and and part of
our protocol is to stay on topic. So,
[30:17] we're we're talking about a zoning law.
At the end of the meeting, if you want
[30:20] to come back up and and readress this
issue, okay,
[30:24] » and we can talk about it more at that
time.
[30:26] » Yeah. I was actually connecting it to
the deta detention centers that you have
[30:30] here.
>> Yeah.
[30:31] » So, yeah.
>> Yeah. What what I think my question is,
[30:34] which will help you understand where I'm
coming from, does that apply to this or
[30:40] would it need to be passed with
something else, right? Is that because
[30:43] we are I know law enforcement in New
Jersey already has orders from the
[30:48] governor's office on how this is going
to happen and not happen. So would that
[30:54] would what is being requested
apply to this ordinance or would it be
[31:00] something separately because I
understand your purpose.
[31:04] » Totally understood. Totally respect
that.
[31:06] » Yeah.
>> However, does it go right? Are we trying
[31:09] to just shove it in with something else
or does it have to be done separately or
[31:12] is that even our body of law? And I'll
let you answer that.
[31:16] » So two things. It is governed by
attorney general state. Am I on? Yes. It
[31:22] is governed by the attorney general of
the state. So we can't we can't overstep
[31:27] what are the directives from from
>> You can't hear me? Yeah.
[31:31] » I'm sorry.
>> I mean that's really unusual that people
[31:34] can't hear me. [laughter] That's
>> um so what I was saying is that it is
[31:40] it's governed by the state of New Jersey
and the attorney general's office. There
[31:44] are directives coming straight down from
that. So that's one question. Number
[31:48] two, it is not attached to this
ordinance. Um, and it can't be part of
[31:52] this ordinance. We would have to do
something. We would have to figure out
[31:57] » if we wanted to if if we could if there
was a way to to to do something more.
[32:02] But I think it's actually uh
it's
[32:08] » really controlled by the right at this
time by the state government and and the
[32:12] directors of the attorney general's
office.
[32:13] » Okay.
>> If I may, thank you. So now I'll
[32:15] introduce myself as my actual position.
My name is Esini and I'm uh a community
[32:20] organizer with Resistencia and Axion. So
we do immigration work. We actually
[32:24] advocated for this law to pass. So we
actually sat with people who passed it.
[32:28] And just wanting you which
>> law this recent law that says that um
[32:33] police can't um you know work with ICE,
right? And and other things like shared
[32:38] data, etc., etc., right? And so um
actually the law states that the state
[32:43] law is the floor. In fact, if you look
at the video where it passed, we have
[32:47] legislators who stood up on the floor
and said, "This is the floor. We expect
[32:51] local municipalities to go above that to
protect their community." So, we're
[32:54] asking you to do that. So, it's
absolutely in your discretion to decide
[32:59] not to hand people over to ICE just
because they're accused of something.
[33:03] So, basically, just for you to know,
it's it's an administrative request. So,
[33:07] it's not a judicial warrant. So, that's
why
[33:10] » No, I understand the difference between
the administrative warrants and and the
[33:13] judicial warrants. Yes. So yeah, I I
advise you to just watch the the video.
[33:16] I know a lot of lawyers aren't like
haven't really looked into the law, but
[33:19] because this is what we do, our
executive director is here. She can talk
[33:22] a little bit more about that. Uh but
this is literally what we do. So that's
[33:26] why we studied this law. Faith and
action with was with was with us as well
[33:30] to pass this law. We're happy about the
law, but it's it's not strong enough.
[33:35] And as the legislator said, it's the
floor because immigrants are still not
[33:39] being protected and they're still being
Yeah.
[33:42] I I apologize, but what was your name?
>> Asma Elhuni.
[33:45] » It's very nice to meet you. We'll be
happy to talk to you. Uh right now,
[33:49] we're going to focus on this uh on this
uh ordinance, which is about the actual
[33:55] facility.
>> That process we can talk to you about,
[33:58] no problem. But let's focus on this
getting this passed to ban the
[34:02] facilities or if it passes, I can't say
which way everybody's going to vote, but
[34:07] um let's get this going and then let's
have a conversation. um more than happy
[34:10] to sit and talk with you and hear what
you have to say.
[34:13] » Thank you so much.
>> Um but let's get this passed and and
[34:15] then move on to the next fight.
>> I appreciate it. Thank you.
[34:17] » You're welcome. Thank you.
>> Yes, it is.
[34:22] » Okay.
>> Yes, ma'am. You are correct.
[34:29] Council
[34:32] President, seeing no further comments
from the public on ordinance number
[34:35] 126-026,
uh, which is on second reading, um, I
[34:40] look to move, uh, this ordinance, um,
and bring it before our council body.
[34:45] » I'll second that.
>> On the motion, Mr. Harvelli,
[34:49] » yes.
>> I Mr. Pero,
[34:52] » yes.
>> I must answer for you. [laughter]
[34:55] » 30 or 26 027. Sorry. Recommending the
code of New Jersey
[35:02] legislation chapter 273 jewelry precious
gems secondhand goods dealer section
[35:09] 273-6 dealer's responsibilities
requirements and record keeping
[35:13] establishing a 10-day waiting period
before we second reading of public
[35:16] hearing
>> and madame uh attorney if you could just
[35:20] uh refresh my recollection this is uh
establishing a waiting period to uh
[35:24] coincide with law uh to update our local
ordinances correct
[35:27] » that's correct so what we were just this
is just more of a cleanup than anything
[35:31] because our ordinance didn't actually
state how many days you had to um hold
[35:37] the items. So this is just making it
very clear in our state in our
[35:41] ordinances to match what is said in the
state.
[35:46] » Perfect. Thank you. Any questions or
comments from council?
[35:52] » Okay. Anybody that would like to comment
on this ordinance only, 26028 number
[35:57] three, I'm sorry. Uh I apologize. 26027
number two. Uh if you would like to
[36:03] comment, please raise your hand. We'll
call you up and you have your minute.
[36:07] Four minutes.
[36:12] President uh seeing no members of the
public wishing to comment, I move that
[36:15] we close the public comment portion and
move ordinance 226 26-027
[36:22] on second reading.
>> I'll second.
[36:25] » Yes.
>> Yes. Mr.
[36:27] » Yes. Order 326-28.
An ordinance amending and supplementing
[36:32] the code of the town of town jury sector
485 traffic article 2 parking section
[36:38] 485-9 handicap is establishing a
handicator
[36:50] questions or comments from the public on
ordinance 3 uh 26028
[37:01] Council President, seeing no further
comments from the public on this, I'd
[37:04] look to close the public close the
public comment portion and move on
[37:08] ordinance 326-028.
>> I'll second that.
[37:12] » Mr. Farell,
>> yes.
[37:14] » Yes. Mr.
>> Yes. 3 ordinance 42-029
[37:24] chapter 485 traffic 2 parking section
485-9
[37:29] parking prohibited at all times on
certain streets establishing no parking
[37:33] zones on Randle Avenue and the Avenue.
So, ordinance 3 was uh establishing a
[37:40] handicap parking spot and the difference
here is ordinance 4 26029
[37:45] is establishing no parking zones on two
specific areas. Um, questions or
[37:50] comments from council on ordinance port.
>> Oh, do you know why we need no parking
[37:57] zones on these streets?
[38:02] » This where the school is. Yeah. Oh, this
is where we were talking about doing a
[38:06] oneway.
>> No, no, no, no,
[38:08] » no. That's Kickstart. This this is this
is a school. It's creating problems
[38:12] where people are parking.
>> Okay, got it.
[38:17] » Questions or comments from the public on
ordinance 4 uh 26029.
[38:26] [snorts]
Seeing none,
[38:27] » council president. See no members of the
public wishing to comment, I'll move uh
[38:32] ordinance
426-029
[38:36] on second reading.
>> I'll second that.
[38:39] » Mr. Carav.
>> Yes.
[38:40] » Yes. Mr.
>> Yes.
[38:43] Ordinance 526
ordinance authorizing
[38:47] property designated as 21102
located in the town of Fountain County
[38:54] and Mercer state of New Jersey.
>> Alless do you want to go ahead? You have
[39:00] anything on this? Well, the the one
thing that I would say is uh the
[39:04] township owns dozens of very small
parcels of property uh throughout uh the
[39:11] township. It creates a an added burden
on public works to have to maintain
[39:16] these properties. We have an opportunity
uh to sell this particular parcel very
[39:22] small uh less than a tenth of an acre uh
to the neighboring property owner. uh
[39:29] that'll get it off of our books so
they'll put it back on the tax rolls and
[39:34] um and be less work for
>> and it'll be au it's going to be
[39:37] auctioned so it won't just be given to
one person they'll have the opportunity
[39:41] uh equal opportunity to purchase it
>> anyone else and we according to the
[39:46] statute we have to get the fair
basically what it's worth the fair
[39:49] market value so the lowest bid is that
number so we're not giving away the
[39:53] property for
less than what it's worth 26,000 assumed
[39:59] what's the number?
>> Yeah.
[40:00] » Yeah. So much uh much like it was
brought up uh with the excess uh
[40:04] furniture or material we just did uh the
excess mulch those things those items go
[40:09] up for auction. This is done with a
similar way. So similar to how stuff
[40:12] will be done here uh that property is
going to be auctioned off the same way.
[40:17] Alyssa, um, is there, and I should know
this, but I I forget, is do the
[40:23] neighbors, uh, get notified? Is it
something where they'll get a specific
[40:28] notification that goes out to them? And,
um, but it's an auction for anyone who
[40:33] is wishes
>> this spec there's different statutes
[40:37] depending on the type of property that's
being sold.
[40:40] » Okay.
>> In this situation, the property is not a
[40:44] buildable buildable lot, right? we have
no public use for it. And so there's a
[40:48] specific subsection in the statute that
pro that dictates how this how we can do
[40:53] the auction and to whom we can auction
the property to. In this specific type
[40:56] of situation, since it's less than a
buildable lot, um there are neighbors on
[41:01] either side. It only can be auctioned
and we have no public use for it. We can
[41:06] only be auctioned to the two neighbors
on either side. It turns out we actually
[41:10] own a piece of property behind, but
we're not going to bid on our own
[41:13] property, obviously.
>> Okay. Um, so it's there's three
[41:16] contiguous property owners, two
neighbors that are separate entities
[41:21] plus us. So we're not bidding. So those
those two and they have a choice whether
[41:27] » they're the only two that can bid on
this.
[41:28] » Correct. And and and they're not forced
to bid on it if they don't want to
[41:31] » want to. Okay. Makes sense.
Rick, you have anything? Okay. Uh,
[41:38] anyone wishing to comment on ordinance
526030?
[41:45] Second reading and public hearing.
>> Council President, seeing no further
[41:49] comments from the public, I'd look to
close the public comment portion and
[41:52] move on ordinance 526-030
on second reading.
[41:56] » I'll second that.
>> On motion, Mr. Parelli,
[41:59] » yes.
>> I
[42:05] Okay. So, just to give an explanation, I
know we have a lot of um newer people to
[42:09] the meeting. Uh at this time, this is uh
public comment. So, you're more than
[42:14] welcome to talk about something on the
agenda or you can come here with an
[42:18] issue that you had if whatever it may
be. Um, during this time, uh, we ask to
[42:26] everybody be respectful to one another,
right? Whoever has the floor has the
[42:31] floor. Don't shout, don't belittle them,
show them the same respect we give
[42:36] everybody else, including that we want
for ourselves. Um, they get four
[42:41] minutes. Everybody here is going to get
four minutes. If you don't want your
[42:44] four minutes, then you don't have to
take a full four minutes. You can say,
[42:47] "I'm done." Uh, after we go through the
whole list the first time, if you want
[42:51] to come back up a second time, you can
come back up for additional 2 minutes to
[42:54] talk about the same thing or you can
bring up something new, whatever it is
[42:58] you want to talk about. Everybody good?
So, we're going to go through the list.
[43:03] We have a lot of people signed up. I
apologize if I screw up names. Some of
[43:09] the handwriting is not as clear as
I would like it to be.
[43:16] So, uh I mean I am going to do my best.
I will get everybody up here and uh we
[43:21] try to keep the same order the second
time, but if we go out of order, we just
[43:26] try to make sure, like I said, give your
neighbor the same respect that you asked
[43:30] for and everything works out okay. We're
not always going to get alone. We're not
[43:35] always going to agree, but we need you
to come here because we don't hear
[43:38] things unless you tell us.
>> Fair.
[43:42] » All right. Now, my eyes are not 20 years
old anymore. They're almost 50. So, I'm
[43:47] going to try and read some of this.
>> You're a baby.
[43:50] » I'm going to try and read some of uh
Reverend looks like um Eric.
[43:54] » Yes, sir.
>> Sir, you are up first. You are first on
[43:57] the list. I apologize. I cannot read um
your last name. If you could state your
[44:01] name.
>> Absolutely, sir. And you don't have to
[44:02] state your address for the record. We
don't ask that. We allow that privacy.
[44:06] But your town, if you from here,
>> where I'm at,
[44:08] » that's okay.
>> Uh my name is Reverend Eric Cusman. I
[44:11] serve as lead pastor of St. Bartholomew
Lutheran Church on South Clinton Avenue.
[44:16] » Um
I'm here to uh I'm representing a
[44:19] coalition of folks in a family right now
over uh the failure of the Arrive
[44:24] Together program. Uh on July 27th there
was a call of a crisis uh suicidal son
[44:33] which was met with police violence.
>> Can you pause this time for one second?
[44:39] » If you see us Yeah. pause this time not
the recording.
[44:41] » Sorry.
>> If you see us looking down and not we're
[44:44] not being disrespectful. We're not not
listening.
[44:47] » And take notes because there's a lot of
speakers and it's very difficult to
[44:51] remember everybody what they say. So
take notes. If you see us looking down,
[44:54] I promise we're not being
>> No, that's that's fine. That's cool.
[44:56] » Just want to, like I said, we have a lot
of new new faces and I don't want people
[45:00] thinking that we're not
>> a lot of folks in this room are a part
[45:02] of that coalition also. So concerned
community.
[45:04] » That's why I'm trying to be upfront and
clear. I swear we're not playing games.
[45:08] We're literally thinking about
>> I got you.
[45:09] » Thank you, sir.
>> So you see me looking down. I have some
[45:11] notes and I'm going to read tomato
tomato. You know, [laughter]
[45:15] » you can pull a chair up.
>> You can continue, sir.
[45:19] » Yeah. So, I I I would assume that you
all are familiar with the Arrive
[45:23] Together Act. Uh, if I'm correct,
Hamilton Township was the pilot program
[45:28] which pairs a a police officer with a
mental health professional in times of
[45:31] crisis. I'm highlighting the failure of
this program in the township of
[45:36] Hamilton. Um,
as we know, there's been a lot of issues
[45:42] with the failure of this just all around
the state right now between Sebrooks
[45:46] and Patterson. And there was a
grandmother in New Brunswick that was
[45:48] shot by police officers mental health
crisis. Thank God this wasn't that.
[45:54] But um
[45:57] these incidents are highlighting the
widespread failing of a system that
[46:02] relies on its militarized police force.
Police have come in with aggression
[46:06] looking for perpetrators without having
the proper training and care to help
[46:10] those in need. Uh, I'm going to
highlight putting handcuffs on a
[46:15] 17-year-old that slit his wrist is not
okay. That's technically illegal.
[46:21] They're supposed to treat the wound in a
mental health crisis.
[46:25] Um,
instead of deescalation, officers met a
[46:30] family on July 27th with aggression,
left a five and 11year-old unattended
[46:35] while they arrested the rest of the
family in the house, and charged them
[46:38] with an exuberant amount of charges. is
that is ridiculous.
[46:42] I've seen house footage. I've seen
cameras. The way your township's
[46:47] officers behaved was borderline racist
because it was a Spanish family. There's
[46:51] comments and videos that I've heard.
This is not okay. This is not who we
[46:56] are. I have a lot of respect for the
township of Hamilton and the community
[46:59] here. A lot of my members in my in my my
congregation are from the township of
[47:03] Hamilton
and this family are members of my
[47:07] congregation.
So, I'm not going anywhere. Okay. But
[47:15] let me just highlight
the family called for help during a
[47:19] mental health crisis. And that's the
main point, right? They deserved care,
[47:23] safety, and support. And ex and and
instead they experienced force, arrest,
[47:29] separation, and further trauma.
We are asking the council to use the
[47:34] authority it has now to stand with the
family, pursue accountability, and
[47:39] change the systems that failed them.
So, number one, we're requesting an
[47:43] independent investigation.
We demand the council pass a resolution
[47:48] formally requesting an independent
investigation by the Mercer County
[47:51] Prosecutor and where appropriate, the
New Jersey attorney general and to the
[47:55] police response to this family. The
investigation should examine the use of
[48:00] force, arrest, deescalation, treatment
of family members, disability
[48:04] consideration, supervision, and
compliance with law and policy. And we
[48:08] ask that findings be made public to the
fullest extent allowed by the law.
[48:12] Number two, investigate what failed
inside Hamilton. We demand that council
[48:18] examine Hamilton's systems and decisions
surrounding that in this incident. How
[48:22] the family's calls for help were
received and dispatched, what officers
[48:26] were told, what why police were sent,
why deescalation was not attempted, what
[48:32] role supervisors played, and what
happened after the family was arrested
[48:35] and separated from their son.
I also want to remind you when they took
[48:39] the son finally to a hospital, they did
not notify what hospital the child went
[48:44] to.
>> That's not acceptable and I hope that's
[48:47] not acceptable with anybody here.
Um,
[48:52] we demand the council pass a resolution
supporting the family's call. Is that my
[48:58] time up?
>> You finish finish the thought there?
[49:01] » Yes,
>> please.
[49:02] » Um, we demand public reporting of at
least three years of Hamilton mental
[49:06] health and disability related police
encounters, including calls for
[49:09] assistance, arrest, use of force,
injuries, complaints, crisis service
[49:13] referrals, repeat calls, and outcomes.
>> You can come up for your additional two
[49:19] minutes. I want to get through everybody
on the list.
[49:21] » Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. You're more than
welcome.
[49:24] » Thank you.
[49:33] [applause]
[49:37] Next up is a minister and I do not want
to uh butcher your name.
[49:42] » It's okay.
>> Say say for the record and say it for my
[49:45] own knowledge.
>> Hello everybody. My name is Minister
[49:47] Arane Janto. I come with the St.
Balonian church in Trenton in solidarity
[49:54] with the Arkal family who were beat,
mishandled,
[49:58] and had their constitutional rights
violated by the Hamilton Police
[50:03] Department.
Officer Atbury, Officer Hammond, Officer
[50:08] McCullen, Officer Kenna are all cowards
for choosing to mishandle a family and
[50:18] for being unable
to handle a mental health crisis when a
[50:24] son tries to kill himself.
And all the officers in this police
[50:29] department who have not checked and who
have not confronted their fellow
[50:33] officers are also cowards, too.
More than likely, this behavior that we
[50:41] saw at Hamilton Police Department, it's
been happening longer than this video
[50:45] came out.
[50:49] And we're not surprised that more than
likely some of these officers are aiding
[50:53] and abetting ICE
or violating other people's
[50:58] constitutional rights in town,
especially in the border towns because
[51:02] in 2020 in 2016 when they released the
use of force case, Hamilton Township
[51:08] Police Department was ranked higher than
over 364 police departments in the state
[51:13] of New Jersey. That's excessive. And
this video today is nothing new.
[51:19] Members of the council and mayor,
it's a shame that you did not suspend
[51:24] the officers without pay.
We don't know why somebody violates
[51:31] people's constitutional rights,
handcuffs somebody trying to kill
[51:34] themselves and your response is
absolutely nothing. Burying behind an
[51:39] attorney. Are you afraid of the police
unions? Are they your friends? Remember,
[51:44] you are elected to represent the
community and the community needs to
[51:48] know that their elected officials stands
with them and not side with the police
[51:54] and those in power.
[51:59] To the members of the community, you do
not have to tolerate any of this. If you
[52:03] feel that your rights and are vi being
violated, you have a right to file a
[52:09] report. And I stand with the family in
the community today to demand that all
[52:14] charges be dropped against a family that
had their rights violated. That there be
[52:20] an independent investigation
that you fire these officers. They do
[52:26] not need to be in this police
department. We've seen it time after
[52:30] time and people have lost their lives in
this same situation.
[52:35] and Officer Atbury, Officer Hammond,
Officer Mullen, and Officer Kenna. They
[52:42] need to be fired. Thank you.
[52:46] [applause]
[52:54] » I'm going to call up next uh on the list
number three, Chris and Anna Janello.
[52:59] [cough and clears throat]
[53:02] » As as stated, my name is Chris Janello.
this and my wife Anna, we're the
[53:06] homeowners on uh 199 Applegate Drive.
Since October 2025, my wife and I have
[53:12] endured an ongoing pattern of
harassment, trespassing, stalking,
[53:16] vandalism, and intimidation from a group
of juvenile individuals. Over the past
[53:20] 10 months, these individuals have come
onto our property at least 18 times,
[53:25] often late at night, repeatedly banging
on our door, stalking us, verbally
[53:30] harassing us, and damaging property. The
incidents have continued to escalate,
[53:34] including one particular alarming event
in which a large mortar firework was
[53:38] shot intentionally at our house. All
right. Off a huge drive.
[53:44] Throughout this process, there has been
little measurable progress made by the
[53:48] police department beyond the evidence
that my wife and I have provided and
[53:51] gathered.
We have personally provided 30 videos
[53:56] and pictures across eight police
reports.
[54:02] » [snorts]
>> In addition, we have what we believe is
[54:04] indisputable evidence
um of a juvenile linked to events on
[54:10] January, March, and this past Sunday. We
have p you would think it's the same
[54:15] exact picture. There three different
incidents. We are informed by juvenile
[54:19] detectives that following that March
incident, confessions had been obtained
[54:23] from several individuals. That same
juvenile who continues to be involved
[54:27] today was connected to those events and
should be identifiable either through
[54:32] those confessions or by the individuals
who provided their confessions. This
[54:37] individual has also been linked to the a
black pickup truck involved in the
[54:40] firework incident along with the eggings
that happened all over George this past
[54:45] weekend.
We were further told by the juvenile
[54:50] detectives, the juveniles who confessed
in March were advised that if additional
[54:54] incidents occurred, they would be
questioned again. Since the latest
[54:57] events this weekend, we have repeatedly
asked that detectives follow through on
[55:01] that commitment. However, despite our
request, we have only been informed that
[55:05] no meaningful progress has been made.
I'd like to understand why this matter
[55:09] does not appear to be receiving the
level of attention that it severity
[55:13] warrants. Why, after 10 months of
documented incidents, identified
[55:17] suspects, video evidence, witness
statements, and prior confessions, has
[55:21] there been so little progress made? Why
is a family that has been repeatedly
[55:25] target left feeling as though we must
investigate these matters on our own? My
[55:30] wife is currently 7 months pregnant and
has been subjected to a tremendous
[55:33] amount of stress throughout this.
We have invested thousands of dollars in
[55:38] security cameras and other protective
measures, taken multiple days off from
[55:42] work to meet with law enforcement,
provide evidence, and we spent count
[55:46] countless hours documenting and putting
this all together.
[55:50] At this point, we're simply asking for
accountability, followthrough, and
[55:53] protection. We deserve to feel safe in
our own home. I'd appreciate an
[55:57] explanation of what actions have been
done, what obstacles are in the way, and
[56:03] what are we going to do to resolve this.
Thank you for your time. Any comment or
[56:07] we can talk offline is fine.
>> Uh we will talk. However,
[56:11] » um we need to
do some homework on that especially if
[56:16] the
individuals are known and they're not
[56:22] 10 months police reports.
>> Chris, is it is it just your home or
[56:26] it's multiple homes along?
>> We are being targeted. They walk past
[56:30] every other house and come right to our
door in mask. multiple kids banging on
[56:35] her door. She walks outside. She has
four kids in mass with aggression on it.
[56:40] They're trying to take down our door.
They're shooting fireworks at us.
[56:44] They're harassing us. We have videos of
them driving by yelling at us. They're
[56:48] hiding in Sand Garden Parks telling me
to come get them, going outside, and
[56:52] just seeing if there was any damage.
>> For the record, we don't work in the
[56:56] school system. We have no relation to
any of the high schools here. Um, we
[56:59] don't have kids yet and we would have no
relation for why it would be targeted.
[57:03] » We have absolutely no idea why.
[57:07] » But I'll be talking with the chief
tomorrow.
[57:12] » Do we They have your contact information
obviously.
[57:14] » Oh, yeah.
>> Okay.
[57:20] [laughter]
[57:25] » Next on the list looks like Charlene.
Is Charlene, am I saying it wrong?
[57:32] » Did I finish writing that?
[57:39] » Um, once again, good afternoon. My name
is Charlene Walker. I serve as executive
[57:43] director of Faith in New Jersey, the
largest powerbuilding vehicle that is
[57:47] statewide for people of faith and share
values. To build a beloved community, we
[57:52] have leaders that live right here in
this beautiful community. one of our
[57:56] most powerful leaders you probably walk
past in the grocery store that has four
[58:01] beautiful children and you don't realize
how she shows up in the world as a
[58:07] powerful woman of God. Outside of being
a mom, she organizes to end gun
[58:11] violence, serves as a coordinator to the
food pantry, serving hundreds of
[58:16] families, and shows up for those that
are being kidnapped in our streets.
[58:24] She may be the person that we that you
walk past, but I want you to know my
[58:29] grandmother always told me that angels
walk amongst us. And if Kristen isn't an
[58:34] angel, she's a reminder that divine
dwells within all of us. So, you can
[58:39] imagine how our hearts across the state
broke when we learned she had called for
[58:44] help when her baby was bleeding from the
wrist. and her family
[58:50] and her scared child with developmental
disabilities was met with force, with
[58:55] handcuffs, with arrest. And then her
child was actually disappeared,
[59:01] not to be found.
I can't imagine the terror that she
[59:05] felt. I can't imagine the terror that he
felt or that he's feeling right now.
[59:10] He's been shoved into a
juvenile detention center, an act of
[59:17] further harm by the state.
I have a background in mental health and
[59:23] crisis response for people with
intellectual and developmental
[59:25] disabilities. There's never a reason to
meet crisis with force. There isn't.
[59:34] I've taken knives from 300 pound men
that are 600 six foot something. There's
[59:40] no reason.
I speak to a lot of councils
[59:45] that quickly will say, you know what,
this might not be our responsibility.
[59:48] I'm not quite sure what we can do. We
have the police chief. We have the mayor
[59:52] that has this position. But I want to
remind you that you actually have a
[59:55] responsibility and there's some things
you can actually do. So our demands
[59:58] actually are actionable steps that you
can do as your in your body. One, the
[1:00:04] independent investigation. You can
actually set one up. You can have a
[1:00:08] committee. It can look into actually
what happened. That independent
[1:00:13] investigation by the Mercer County
Prosecutor or the AG can be done. We can
[1:00:18] talk about deescalation, all the things
that Reverend Eric and I will give you
[1:00:21] the list of demands that are thorough.
You can investigate yourself what
[1:00:25] happened and what failed in Hamilton. I
would like you to actually hold hearings
[1:00:31] to ask those officers what happened.
Figure out look at that police cameras
[1:00:35] and everything and find out why
deescalation was not there. You can
[1:00:40] stand with the family. You can say
through a resolution that you support
[1:00:45] their call for actual charges to be
dropped and for that son to be returned
[1:00:50] home. to be returned home with the
behavioral care that he actually
[1:00:55] deserves, the educational needs being
met, and any form of community- based
[1:00:59] supports.
You I know you can't dismiss the charges
[1:01:03] personally, but you you can give this
level of support.
[1:01:09] Also, I'd like for you to show us the
data. We demand public recording
[1:01:14] reporting of at least the last three
years of Hamilton mental health and
[1:01:19] disability related police encounters
including calls for assistance, arrest,
[1:01:24] uses of force, injuries, complaints,
crisis service, referrals, repeat calls,
[1:01:29] and outcomes.
I asked for this because our last thing
[1:01:34] is that we believe that you need to
build a nonp police path to care because
[1:01:39] according to the attorney general's use
of force reporting for Hamilton Township
[1:01:44] this year of the 49 people that force
has been used on 19 of them had mental
[1:01:50] health concerns. And of those 19 10 of
them were arrested.
[1:01:56] » Wow. We passed the law to have a nonp
police response in this state. It's
[1:02:04] possible and I know you can do it.
>> So, please stand with Kristen and the
[1:02:09] rest of your community.
Will you
[1:02:13] actually put together a motion to make
these actions possible?
[1:02:19] » Thank you.
Was there
[1:02:24] [applause]
[1:02:29] I'm not familiar with the case. Was
there a complaint filed with the PDA?
[1:02:34] » I don't know about
>> internal
[1:02:38] » I don't I don't know about but I believe
something is within internal affairs.
[1:02:42] Yes. So I believe somebody did file a
complaint with them. So that would still
[1:02:46] be under investigation I'm sure. But I
think there was, you know, again, it
[1:02:52] hasn't been communicated to all of us um
really very well at all. So, and maybe
[1:02:57] they're waiting for the investigation. I
don't know. But
[1:03:00] » um I can ask questions.
>> Okay. Thank you,
[1:03:05] [gasps]
>> Jules.
[1:03:13] Feel like I should wait. [laughter]
>> If you want to wait till the end, we can
[1:03:16] go out of order.
>> Yeah, let's go out of order.
[1:03:19] » [laughter]
>> I'm just here to talk about the shelter.
[1:03:26] [laughter]
[1:03:29] » Okay. I have a name that I apologize. Uh
I cannot I cannot pronounce and I cannot
[1:03:34] understand the writing. Uh last name
looks like P A D U
[1:03:40] M A R T H Y Parthy.
Sir, if you can uh just give us the
[1:03:46] correct pronunciation so we can address
you properly.
[1:03:49] » Absolutely, sir. Uh I'm Kyash. My first
name is Kyash. My last name it is a
[1:03:55] little bit hard to pronounce it.
>> Kyash. That's okay. Thank you.
[1:04:00] » Kash.
[clears throat] Kash.
[1:04:02] » Kash. Yep. Thank you.
>> Uh pleasures.
[1:04:06] » Yeah. Um we live in the new community
here. The new community is called as a
[1:04:11] chapel bridge community here.
>> Okay. and um uh it's a new community and
[1:04:15] they have elected me over there and I'm
an elected so-called member on that on
[1:04:20] that committee. Can
>> you uh I just want to interrupt if you
[1:04:23] just move the microphone right now so
>> sure hear you a little better.
[1:04:26] » So here are some of the concerns what we
would like to address. Bring it to your
[1:04:30] the notice of the council here sir. I'll
read them.
[1:04:32] » Uh please excuse me for my language. Uh
>> it's okay just just take your time and
[1:04:37] if you have questions it's okay.
>> Sure. Um the Chapel Bridge community
[1:04:42] concerns the property taxes the property
taxes are too high. All the residents
[1:04:47] are complaining that we are not
receiving Hamilton city services
[1:04:51] proportionately to the taxes that we are
paying as a community. We need reduction
[1:04:56] of a property taxes.
Regarding the property taxes, the tax
[1:05:00] assessment is too high as we are in a
new construction. That's the first
[1:05:06] concern what we are having.
The second concern is a little bit more
[1:05:10] serious that is a speed breakers.
We are having children, toddlers,
[1:05:15] elderly citizen walking on the streets.
The traffic from Hamilton Avenue and the
[1:05:21] W Avenue, they are bypassing because
there are three traffic signals and
[1:05:25] they're very very sluggish.
>> We need speed breakers installed on the
[1:05:30] roads of Misty Meadow Lane. We are just
>> What What road are you asking for the
[1:05:35] speed bump? Misty Meadow Lane.
>> What? Which one?
[1:05:40] » The Chapel Bridge Community.
>> Right. I know.
[1:05:42] » Misty Meadow Lane
>> off word.
[1:05:45] » Okay. [clears throat]
>> I know. Sure, sir. Thank you. Um the
[1:05:48] speed breakers installed on the roads of
the Mystery Me lane. We are just one
[1:05:53] step closer to a mishap and a very
serious accident. I have seen and I
[1:05:58] warned the traffic coming in there and
then they're showing very obnoxious
[1:06:01] symbols there. And when I'm asking to
slow down and they're showing very very
[1:06:05] bad,
>> children are playing all around there.
[1:06:07] Sir, just wanted to let you
>> I just want to make sure I understand
[1:06:10] the street ward. You said ward
>> the ward Ward Avenue and Hamilton
[1:06:16] » they are just a cross-section and it is
a bypass over there just like Hamilton
[1:06:20] Avenue is the new one.
[1:06:24] » Um
uh the third one is a road and winter
[1:06:28] services.
We as a chapel bridge community did not
[1:06:32] receive proper winter services during
the hard winter what we had there are
[1:06:38] pregnant women there are toddlers out
there and they did not receive proper um
[1:06:43] treatment of the winter services so
there was no plow over there on the
[1:06:46] culdeac and that's a bigger problem what
we had
[1:06:51] » no that's a secondary street
>> the road wasn't plowed
[1:06:55] » uh not the road but the the the snow was
not been plowed
[1:06:59] » right
>> the Snow was not plowed.
[1:07:00] » Plowed and there was there was a a thick
ice over there and there are some
[1:07:04] pregnant women toddlers on that. Did
notice a proper services on that.
[1:07:08] » So I know that at least missing meadow
that's a secondary road. So especially
[1:07:14] we had a pretty rough winter as well. So
um we do all of our work first on the
[1:07:21] main arteries. Then we do roads around
the schools and other public buildings
[1:07:26] to get them open as quickly as possible.
and then they start on the secondary
[1:07:31] road. So, they may never have gotten to
that in a timely manner or whatever or
[1:07:36] even been able to get to some of them,
especially if it's a culde-sac and all
[1:07:40] of that. But, I'm sure that the main
road ward and even at the other end on
[1:07:45] Hamilton Avenue when that comes through
over there, those get cleared. But, you
[1:07:49] know, it's it's really tough, especially
with the backtoback snowstorms that we
[1:07:53] ended up having and it was some
significant snow. So
[1:07:57] » sure. Thank you very much. Z and the
zero degree weather those that string at
[1:08:01] zero degree days it made it hard
>> kept it all
[1:08:05] » and the next thing is that regarding the
sweepers if there are any sweepers
[1:08:09] coming around just once in a while
>> I am warning and I'm taking my
[1:08:14] responsibility to to tell uh and to
remind every resident that as a as a as
[1:08:20] a responsible citizens that we should
not throw the plastic debris etc even
[1:08:25] after the cleaning and try to do our due
diligence and putting it into the bins
[1:08:29] though I do not want all this debris to
clog our waterways and that's a very big
[1:08:34] serious issue as an engineer I know that
one how hard it is and the fourth last
[1:08:40] one is there what I'm having right now
consensus regarding the schools
[1:08:44] we are no less than in the New Jersey is
the top rated school district in the
[1:08:48] world in in in the US as well uh next to
Princeton uh the residents are expecting
[1:08:55] the house the school ratings to go
higher Yeah, for that um we are we are
[1:09:01] requesting uh the schools and also the
teachers there are a little bit of
[1:09:05] concerns like a high zine etc. Uh and uh
we wanted to have uh the schools to be
[1:09:11] at a higher rating as well. That is one
of the concerns what they bringing it up
[1:09:15] here.
>> Thank you. Thank you
[1:09:19] » so kind of you sir. Thank you very much
and for entertaining.
[1:09:28] » Uh, looks like Cristiano Lewis.
[1:09:40] » Hello, my name is Cristiana. She they
pronouns. I'm here for the community in
[1:09:44] Trenton. In 2020, I lived in North
Trenton for the better part of the year.
[1:09:48] During that time, my house was raided by
police due to a false claim placed to my
[1:09:52] roommate. First, I noted that they asked
for identification for everyone in the
[1:09:56] household besides myself being the only
white person there. Then, I witnessed
[1:10:00] Trenton police officers arrest my
roommate unjustly, use excessive force
[1:10:04] against her by pulling her hair, sorry,
using excessive force against her sister
[1:10:09] by pulling her hair, and then arresting
her. Almost a month later, a detective
[1:10:14] with Torrenton police reached out to me
for an interview. What I didn't know was
[1:10:17] that until I gave my statement, my
roommate was being held in jail for over
[1:10:21] a month. Until a white woman gave her
testimony, she would not be released.
[1:10:28] Sorry.
>> Okay, take your time.
[1:10:31] » That is that is just one example of
corruption Mercer County and police
[1:10:35] departments as a whole perpetuate across
this country. We need deep
[1:10:39] investigations gone into the police
force. We need excessive deescalation
[1:10:43] training. And if that doesn't work, we
need to fire the violent and incompetent
[1:10:47] officers. Our community shouldn't fear
beatings and deaths due to police bias.
[1:10:53] If you are actively trying to protect
your township and serve the serve the
[1:10:57] public as a public servant, the people
will remember that. I would also like to
[1:11:02] say if you fear being recorded in public
in a public funded building by the
[1:11:07] public I sorry [laughter] if you I'll
say that again. I'd also like to say if
[1:11:12] you fear being recorded in the public
building by the public funded, you
[1:11:16] cannot claim to serve the public. Do
better for our people. Thank you.
[1:11:21] [applause]
[1:11:29] » Next up, Kia Henderson.
[1:11:33] [clears throat]
[1:11:41] Hello. Uh, my name is Kia Henderson. Um,
I am two years now in this community. I
[1:11:48] just wanted to come up and kind of
clarify some of the things that my
[1:11:50] neighbor said. A few of us are here. We
found out about the council meeting. So,
[1:11:54] we said, "Let's come out and see." Um,
we are a brand new community. Some of us
[1:11:58] have been here longer, but there are 44
homes there. And being 44 homes now,
[1:12:04] everybody is starting to gather and have
community and talk to each other, which
[1:12:09] is great. But we're also experiencing
some other issues, too, that we'd like
[1:12:13] to address. One of them being the taxes
there. You know, as we look, it seems
[1:12:18] that our community may be paying the
highest taxes in Hamilton. We know we're
[1:12:22] a brand new community. We know it's new
construction and how that goes, but we
[1:12:25] really like someone to take a look, a
hard look at what we're paying for our
[1:12:29] taxes there and how that's allocated.
Um, second, the highest allocation on
[1:12:34] most of the taxes is for the schools,
right? Which we agree with, right? We
[1:12:37] want our schools, we want schools for
kids. However, the zoning for uh Misty
[1:12:42] Meadow Lane. So, there's Misty Meadow
Lane, there's Ward, and there's
[1:12:45] Fletcher. And we're in between. There's
a few houses on Ward and Fletcher on
[1:12:49] Fletcher. The main houses are all on
Misty Meadow. It's not a culde-sac. It
[1:12:53] does go through. So when he was asking
about the speed bumps and things like
[1:12:57] that is because they come right off a
ward and they swing right around on
[1:13:00] Fletcher and they go out, right? But
more importantly, our kids, the schools
[1:13:05] that our kids attend and the hard times
we're having um originally, uh I was one
[1:13:10] of the newer residents, so my daughter
was put in school and then they said
[1:13:16] when I went they said everyone goes to
anybody can go to any school. And I
[1:13:19] said, "Well, how is that? because you
want your kids to kind of have a
[1:13:21] community and be in the schools and um I
think it was Dr. Adabello at the time,
[1:13:26] he's not here anymore. Is there someone
new said they could go anywhere? And we
[1:13:30] just want to understand what that is
like. Why do they go anywhere? Why are
[1:13:33] they pushed anywhere? Why do some kids
go to Greenwood, some kids go to Kruzer,
[1:13:37] some kids go to uh Mercerville? They're
they're all over the place. And we just
[1:13:42] kind of want to understand that and be
able to zone them, especially because
[1:13:45] the majority of our taxes are going for
the schools, right? And then lastly,
[1:13:49] when he was speaking about um we just
felt like we were kind of forgotten
[1:13:54] because we were new as far as the
weather and stuff because even after and
[1:13:58] we're talking about weeks after
everything else was clear, we still
[1:14:01] weren't. You know, there was ice. We
couldn't get through. It was really
[1:14:04] hard. The kids were having a hard time.
Um and if the kids do go to Greenwood,
[1:14:09] there's no bus because of where we are.
They have to walk through that. There's
[1:14:12] no sidewalk on board for them to walk
to. So, it's kind of dangerous for them.
[1:14:17] So, those are I just wanted to kind of
clarify. I was going to pass once he
[1:14:20] came up, but I just wanted to give a
bigger picture of the large community
[1:14:24] that we have, what we're facing, and
kind of what we're asking for.
[1:14:27] » Okay. Don't don't go anywhere. Um, so
her um request for
[1:14:34] um can that go to public works, please,
to make sure uh with the sne Look,
[1:14:39] nobody wants summer to be over, but it's
coming. So, uh, let's get make sure that
[1:14:44] that's an area that is not forgotten.
Number one, uh, her other comment, um,
[1:14:50] Miss Henderson, you brought up, uh,
taxes.
[1:14:54] » Yes.
>> Um,
[1:14:56] if she would like to file a tax appeal
or anybody else in the audience, uh, is
[1:14:59] that process online or who does she
speak to? Can you put that out?
[1:15:04] » You can find something online from the
tax assessor's office.
[1:15:08] » Okay. However, for 26, right, the tax
rate is done, right?
[1:15:14] » So, my suggestion would be you wait in
January, you get a um a postcard
[1:15:21] » from the tax assessor's office that
indicates what your assessed value is
[1:15:25] and what your taxes at the current rate
would end up being. And then you have a
[1:15:32] time period of uh until April 1st,
right, to file an appeal if
[1:15:37] [clears throat] you'd like to file an
appeal for to get that assessment
[1:15:40] reduced.
>> Okay. So, I think the big surprise for
[1:15:43] us is that we moved in with one thing
and now those taxes have exponentially
[1:15:47] increased about $6 to $8,000 for some of
us
[1:15:50] » and and that's why I brought up the
possibility of an appeal. So, uh you can
[1:15:54] maybe check online for that.
>> Get some information. This way in
[1:15:57] January when you get that card, you're
prepared to move forward on that.
[1:16:00] Perfect.
>> And I would really encourage too talking
[1:16:02] with our tax assessor even before the
card, the the postcard and all of that
[1:16:07] because he can be really good at looking
at it, you know, seeing if there's
[1:16:12] anything that's a miss or that doesn't
look right and and very often being able
[1:16:16] to explain why things were done a
certain way and that type of thing.
[1:16:20] » So, they have to be a a one-on-one
because we have a a group. We have a a
[1:16:24] community chat that all of the residents
are in and it seems to be the most
[1:16:28] common thing that all of us are
complaining about. So, is that a can
[1:16:32] that be a group thing? It's not just me.
>> Absolutely. Can be a group thing. Okay.
[1:16:35] » Fine. Yes.
>> Perfect.
[1:16:37] » And finally, uh you brought up about the
schools. That's something you would have
[1:16:40] to address directly with the school
system. We we stay in our lane when it
[1:16:44] comes to that. That is uh a school
district question and I'm not going to
[1:16:48] attempt to even come up with how they
came up with that formula. Are there
[1:16:52] schoolboard meetings that's posted?
Mainly we came today for like
[1:16:55] information because we don't know all of
us are brand new. So are there school
[1:16:58] board meetings?
>> They they are on their website.
[1:17:01] » Okay.
>> Uh I know we've been talking about the
[1:17:03] new furniture and the big move to the
new building. We'll be sharing the
[1:17:06] building. So those will be posted all
there and all the meetings will be held
[1:17:09] there, right?
>> But for the time being, uh they are
[1:17:12] posted on their website. You can check
their website out and uh feel free to
[1:17:16] attend those meetings. You also could
call their office and maybe set up an
[1:17:20] appointment for a one-on-one
conversation, maybe they can give you an
[1:17:23] explanation or if some of your neighbors
wanted to join you, maybe you could do
[1:17:26] that, too.
>> Great. All right, perfect. Thank you.
[1:17:28] » Any other questions? Just come back.
>> No, that's it. Thank you.
[1:17:30] » You're welcome.
[applause]
[1:17:34] » Is it Victoria McCann?
>> Victoria McCann.
[1:17:42] » It's definitely Victoria. Maybe I'm
saying the last name wrong. Victoria.
[1:17:47] Okay.
>> Yeah,
[1:17:49] » we'll circle her if she comes back. Uh,
Margarita was also here. Uh, Ellen,
[1:17:54] Ellen Coyote, come on up.
[1:18:01] » You know the drill. Uh, you have your
four minutes and please state your name
[1:18:05] and the town you live in for the record.
>> Ellen Coyote Hamilton.
[1:18:09] » Yes, ma'am. I just have one question,
but I'd like to preface it with thanking
[1:18:12] you for the work done to do the major
cleanup and putting up the four no
[1:18:16] dumping signs. Um, but after the last
meeting I attended on April 21st and
[1:18:21] their gas gas lighting present day
present presenting after about two
[1:18:26] weeks, number seven hit me with her
water hose over the fence separating our
[1:18:30] properties. And I know it wasn't an
accident. She knew I was there and I
[1:18:33] just said two can play at that game and
she's like, "Sorry," and they both left
[1:18:36] the back area. Um, there's just other
things I'm done tolerating. All I've
[1:18:42] asked them to do was not allow hunters
back there with rifles, which they
[1:18:46] allowed over a decade ago, and no
dumping. And I put up with them letting
[1:18:52] their dogs run at large, pooping and
defecating all over the place. Going
[1:18:56] through when I my recently tred
driveway, um hanging plants on my fence,
[1:19:02] all mowing down my pack of sandra,
tearing up my ivy with with throwing the
[1:19:07] ball from their yard to my yard with the
other with the these dogs they had. And
[1:19:11] I put up with all of it because I try to
be friends with everybody and get along.
[1:19:15] But it's gotten to So my question is,
uh, so yeah, they they let people back
[1:19:21] there with rifles and I regularly walk
walk those with with other people, too.
[1:19:24] And I said, "No." And I I disabled the
the deer stand and messed around some of
[1:19:29] the the the cornbait. So, as I wrote an
email to um Katherine and the CC, the
[1:19:38] president and Fred from zoning and the
public works director, um since I
[1:19:43] haven't got any response, I was just
wondering why haven't the Hamilton
[1:19:47] residents who have continued to
illegally dump be held accountable and
[1:19:51] made to stop. The woods are continuing
to be damaged as they continually every
[1:19:56] week for years, like decades. And even
this is a sign web. They keep illegally
[1:20:01] dumping these grass clippings and the
two trees. I did more research and
[1:20:05] according to like the department of
environmental protection throwing these
[1:20:09] and I sent you photos around 6:00
dumping these grass clippings around the
[1:20:13] base of these trees. That's why one of
those two trees fell down. And it it's
[1:20:18] it's
uh what's the word? Endangering other
[1:20:22] trees in the area. Plus, they went back
there and dug up some dirt for their
[1:20:25] crop through their garden and exposed
tree roots of trees in endangering them.
[1:20:30] And I asked if I could fix that. So, I
just want to know what's going on and
[1:20:34] how we make these people stop.
[1:20:40] » Ma'am, it's my understanding that the um
everything was cleaned up. Is that not
[1:20:43] the case?
>> So, we have been out there a number of
[1:20:46] times and thank you for recognizing that
they did go out and and do a cleanup.
[1:20:51] And so, look, I I'm sure that it
continues to happen as you say, right?
[1:20:56] They're they may be dumping things back
there, the grass clippings. That seems
[1:21:00] to be most of what they they continue to
dump. Um, it's hard to figure out
[1:21:05] exactly who's doing it. I know that you
may know, but, you know, it's hard for
[1:21:09] us to know that, but when I got your
photos tonight, we didn't get them till
[1:21:13] about 6:00 tonight. So, I've already
spoken to Director Dumont. He's going to
[1:21:18] direct uh his crew to go out tomorrow to
check it out and see what's there and
[1:21:24] even to talk to a few folks out there
just to find out if they're dumping and
[1:21:29] they continue to dump and if so then
we'll we'll take care of it. We'll deal
[1:21:34] with it then.
>> Thank you. I I I I think the
[1:21:37] circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.
I've he dumps I have a video of him
[1:21:41] dumping his bag of grass into the
recycling bucket, but but he waits hours
[1:21:45] to dump it in the back so he won't be
caught. Nobody else is dumping there.
[1:21:49] There's just them. And um something I'm
sorry,
[1:21:54] » but I do think that right the the
property as a whole out there is in much
[1:21:59] much better shape than when we started
talking, you at least a year and a half,
[1:22:03] maybe longer ago. So, you know, it's
working that we're going out and trying
[1:22:07] to keeping it clean. We don't want to
have to do that on a regular basis. Some
[1:22:11] of them do help us, right, by keeping
the perimeters, which is township
[1:22:16] property, not theirs, keeping that
>> shouldn't give them a license to
[1:22:21] illegally dump in the back,
>> but there it seems like that they may be
[1:22:24] taking some liberties with some of their
other things, too. So, we're trying to
[1:22:28] get a hold of that. It's very difficult
because we can't be there 247. But
[1:22:32] again, you you know that we respond when
when you reach out to us the best that
[1:22:37] we can and have folks go out and and
clean it up if it warrants it. And you
[1:22:42] know, I'm hoping that this time if we go
out and we kind of have some chats with
[1:22:46] some of the neighbors that that stops
and gets them to stop or we get them to
[1:22:52] say that they've done it and then we can
take some action there, too. Okay.
[1:23:03] I'm sorry.
>> Does that answer your question or do you
[1:23:07] have more questions?
[1:23:11] » I'm I'm just
trying to think [clears throat]
[1:23:16] straight. Um,
[1:23:22] oh, one at one one of the meetings, past
meetings, a former worker from public
[1:23:27] works said they had cameras. What? Can
you could you just put a camera up and
[1:23:31] do it if they don't admit to it? The
other two dumpers admitted they dumped.
[1:23:35] » Yeah, I don't know. I don't have any
knowledge of anyone that admitted to it,
[1:23:39] but I I take your word for it. This has
been going on for a while.
[1:23:42] » I have body cam police body cam video.
Well, that's that's good that you can
[1:23:46] have that. But again, let us go out
again tomorrow. Let's see what happens.
[1:23:50] I'll touch base with you again after
they go out there tomorrow and I get a
[1:23:54] report back.
>> Oh, yeah. And the parks guy who went out
[1:23:57] said there was no eagle dumping. He
didn't go into the woods and he passed
[1:24:00] mounds. They calling me big mounds or
small hills of decades of dumping. So,
[1:24:05] it's just being looked. I think they
have connections somewhere or something
[1:24:09] and I just I don't have not at least
with the folks that I've been dealing
[1:24:13] with. So, and again, this has happened a
lot a long for a long time and we've had
[1:24:18] we've had different pe folks out there
many different times. So, you know, I
[1:24:23] can't say that that hasn't happened, but
recently I know that we've been keeping
[1:24:27] on top of it as best we can. So, let's
see what happens tomorrow and I will
[1:24:32] reach out to you again tomorrow
afternoon. Okay. And if you want to
[1:24:34] still talk after this meeting, I'm fine
with that.
[1:24:36] » Okay. Thank you very much.
>> All right, Alan.
[1:24:38] » Thanks, Alan.
[1:24:49] Aserna. Is that Am I pronouncing that
correctly? Last name is El Huni.
[1:24:56] » Oh, I apologize.
>> Did I say it? Was I close?
[1:24:59] » Uh, it's Asma.
>> Asma. Yeah.
[1:25:02] » Oh, okay. It look like an R. I
apologize.
[1:25:04] » No problem. It's my handwriting as well.
>> That's okay. I'm fixing it on mine so I
[1:25:08] know how to direct it.
>> Okay. Thank you so much. I I also want
[1:25:11] to start off with you guys have quite a
lot on your hands. Like I would not want
[1:25:17] to be in your seats right now, but
that's why you're
[1:25:19] » You haven't gotten to the animal shelter
yet.
[1:25:22] [laughter]
>> Okay.
[1:25:27] » Oh boy.
Um
[1:25:30] » we're we're here. Look, we we took the
job to help and that's what we're here
[1:25:34] to listen. So you can go ahead and
>> Yeah. I was going to say you're you're
[1:25:39] leaders and um it takes a leader to
really listen to the community and
[1:25:44] really hear our concerns. And so um
there's a lot of emotion today. There's
[1:25:48] a lot of um anger. So I thank you for
being patient with us as we're sharing
[1:25:53] our grievances uh with you. And so I
want to start off with um we believe
[1:25:59] that the action taken by the Hamilton
Police Department on July 27th brought
[1:26:05] violence into our community in Hamilton.
[1:26:10] I cried watching the video. And before I
go further, I just actually want to
[1:26:14] speak to the family, the Aros family and
her mom and the mom and the family. And
[1:26:20] I just want to say I am sorry. I don't
want to look at you to expose you, but I
[1:26:25] know you're in this room and I just want
to say I am sorry for what you and your
[1:26:29] family experienced that day, not only on
that day, but what you continue to face
[1:26:35] today as a consequence of that
particular day, July 27th. So, um, as a
[1:26:41] Hamilton resident, I want you to know
this is not what we as Hamilton will
[1:26:46] accept from law enforcement and we will
demand accountability on your behalf.
[1:26:54] Um, I implore every single one of you
today as city council to do everything
[1:26:59] in your power to hold our police
department accountable, including
[1:27:03] ensuring that any calls that are related
to mental health be addressed by mental
[1:27:08] health professionals and that our police
department should make it absolutely
[1:27:13] clear that this kind of behavior is not
acceptable from fellow law enforcement
[1:27:18] officers. And every law enforcement
officer officer should try to distance
[1:27:23] themselves from accepting such behavior.
As a responsible resident of Hamilton's,
[1:27:31] I try to do my homework about this topic
and this is what I don't understand. Um,
[1:27:37] the New Jersey Attorney General's use of
force policy so that the police
[1:27:42] department has to follow. It literally
says section 2.6 6 says, "Officers
[1:27:48] should generally not use force
immediately when encountering
[1:27:53] non-compliance with verbal directions."
End quote. It further goes on, "Before
[1:27:58] using force, whenever feasible, officers
are supposed to provide clear
[1:28:02] instructions and warnings and attempt to
determine whether the person has a
[1:28:07] special need, mental condition, physical
limitations, developmental disabilities,
[1:28:13] or language barrier. And then section
2.7 spec specifically addresses people
[1:28:21] in behavioral or mental health crisis.
Um it says officers should consider
[1:28:26] conditions including mental health,
developmental disabilities and age that
[1:28:30] affect a person's ability to communicate
or comply. Um so now I'm asking Hamilton
[1:28:37] where was 2.6 that day? Where was 2.7?
Where was the deescalation?
[1:28:44] Hamilton also participates in arrive
program. It was one of the first two in
[1:28:49] Mercer County along with Euing. Um
so we ask for an alternative response to
[1:28:57] reduce the instances of violence and
escalation. We uh are asking for
[1:29:02] accountability
on the um for the police department and
[1:29:08] we ask that we just be better and by
actually making what the family is
[1:29:13] currently going through, they are still
the son is currently in jail now because
[1:29:17] of this last incident. So we have yet to
make the wrongs right. So not only did
[1:29:22] we make a mistake that day, but we
continue to make a mistake by not
[1:29:27] correcting our wrongs. So, I ask that we
be better. Hold the police department
[1:29:31] accountable. Look at the uh video
cameras. I know there's probably going
[1:29:34] to be some court around this, but look
at the body cameras so you could see
[1:29:38] what happened. And we don't want this to
happen to any other resident.
[1:29:41] » We're not going to have access to that
stuff while the investigation is open.
[1:29:44] So, we have to let that take its course.
We can't see that until the
[1:29:48] investigation is done.
>> Okay.
[1:29:49] » Also, just for the record, you don't
have to record the meetings. If you want
[1:29:53] to record the meeting, you just could
submit uh a request and then you are
[1:29:57] allowed to. But all our meetings are
recorded and posted online. So you don't
[1:30:01] have to have the camera in between
chairs where we can't see it or can see
[1:30:04] it. It's okay. All the meetings are
recorded. We're not worried about being
[1:30:09] recorded. You just submit the request
and then you can record any meeting you
[1:30:12] want, but you can keep the cameras down.
Everything is recorded. It's all audio
[1:30:17] and video recorded. Just for the record,
ma'am.
[1:30:23] Thank you. I would just like to um
address the one concern about the
[1:30:28] independent investigation that was
mentioned several times. When incidents
[1:30:32] like this happen, IA takes over. IIA
starts their investigation. Part of what
[1:30:38] they have to do is submit to the
prosecutor's office of Mercer County. I
[1:30:42] have confirmed that it has been
submitted to the prosecutor's office.
[1:30:46] Um, that is all the information that I
will know because I am a civilian, but I
[1:30:52] can state for the record and I did get
permission to state that um that that
[1:30:56] that this incident has been both
reported both from uh Hamilton Township
[1:31:01] IIIA and it has been also uh been
submitted to the Mercer County
[1:31:06] Prosecutor's Office.
>> And what about those police officers
[1:31:09] during this time? Are they still out on
duties?
[1:31:12] » Ma'am, I I don't know the influence. I
don't even know which officers that they
[1:31:16] are. So, I can't
>> They were named earlier.
[1:31:18] » I heard that they were named earlier,
but without me having had that to go to
[1:31:22] see what their status is. I can't answer
that for you right now. Um, all I can I
[1:31:28] can't only thing I know that I can
address at this actual moment is the
[1:31:32] fact that that this incident that
happened July 27th has been submitted to
[1:31:38] the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
So I did want to make sure that that was
[1:31:42] clear um so that everyone was aware that
things have happened even it's on the
[1:31:46] back end u things have been moving um
and that that aspect has been taken care
[1:31:51] of. So I did just want to make that
clear.
[1:31:52] » And is there any way uh is it in your
purview or powers to also figure out um
[1:31:58] her son is still uh arrested because of
this last incident. Is there a way to
[1:32:03] look into that and to drop all charges
that the family is facing instead of
[1:32:06] getting help? They're being attacked.
Unfortunately, that that's not something
[1:32:10] that we can do from this end. Um, that
would be something that would happen
[1:32:14] because I'm assuming that there would
have been crim that they were criminal
[1:32:17] charges. And so, that would be something
between I don't know what charges they
[1:32:22] were. I don't know if they're municipal
charges or if they're um indictable
[1:32:25] charges. So, a superior court. That
would be between his attorneys and
[1:32:29] either the prosecutor's office either at
the municipal court or the Mercy County
[1:32:33] prosecutor's office and the judge
involved. We as the attorneys for the uh
[1:32:38] municipality have no jurisdiction, we
have no standing to enter into um that
[1:32:45] type of of uh of a case to be heard on
that matter. So we are not allowed to be
[1:32:50] heard by a judge to have any type of any
anything to do with that.
[1:32:54] » I see. So my understanding is that when
a municipality puts charges on someone,
[1:32:59] » it's not it's not to interrupt you, it's
not the municipality. So the officers do
[1:33:03] it, but it's on behalf of the state. So
and so even though so there's different
[1:33:08] aspects, there's different people. And
then the way that these court
[1:33:11] proceedings work, yes, we represent the
municipality as a whole. We represent um
[1:33:17] the the township, we represent those
that work within the township. And so if
[1:33:22] something comes out of the IIA
investigation, then the township does
[1:33:25] what we need to do on that as far as
administratively. But when it comes to
[1:33:29] these types of criminal charges, we are
not involved in that. That is between
[1:33:33] the state of New Jersey and the
individual that has been charged. So
[1:33:37] that is something that has to be taken
care of in a criminal court which would
[1:33:41] be in the superior court or a quasi
criminal court which would be the
[1:33:44] municipal court. But we as the civilian
municip uh municipal township attorneys
[1:33:50] have nothing to do with that nor can we
inter get be involved in that case.
[1:33:54] » Okay. But with all due respect, um I I I
don't understand how you just told me
[1:34:00] within the sentences that you just said
that you have power over those agencies
[1:34:05] like you are basically their
supervisors, right? No. And so it
[1:34:09] » No, no, I never said I was anyone's
supervisor. I said we represent them. So
[1:34:13] we represent Okay.
>> in court. We
[1:34:15] » You represent us. Is there any way for
you to tell the people that put charges
[1:34:20] on this family that they shouldn't your
your police department should not be
[1:34:24] putting charges on family members who
have a mental ill health?
[1:34:27] » We are over the four minutes. We will
bring you back up for obviously for your
[1:34:32] for your two minutes.
>> Um but the I I do know that some of the
[1:34:36] words right powerful words that people
said tonight was they wanted it
[1:34:40] investigated.
>> It's being investigated
[1:34:42] » and accountability and the prosecutor is
doing it right. So let the process that
[1:34:48] was asked for is happening. I understand
um that the family's loved one is
[1:34:54] incarcerated and that's a separate issue
that again the at their attorney should
[1:34:58] be working on right. I would assume that
their attorney is working on that. Um
[1:35:03] but the process is in place. Let's let
that process work. We can't interfere
[1:35:08] with that process. We can look at it
afterwards, but while that process is
[1:35:13] happening, this body cannot interfere
with that investigation.
[1:35:19] » Okay. Thank you. [clears throat]
>> Um, next up on the list, David Nicholas.
[1:35:38] Good afternoon, council members. My name
is David Nicholas. Hi, sir.
[1:35:42] » Can uh quick question. Is my attorney
allowed to speak on uh before me?
[1:35:48] » Well, you get four minutes and he gets
four minutes. So, you can both speak
[1:35:52] » our order. So, I I can
>> Yeah, I want to give him my go for him.
[1:35:57] » Okay.
>> The batting order is up to you.
[1:35:59] [laughter]
>> Thank you guys. Um, so Kenneth Laauo
[1:36:03] from War, New Jersey, you know, about an
hour and a half north of here
[1:36:07] representing uh David Nicholas and
Prolific Growhouse. So, long story
[1:36:12] short, we just want to, you know, bring
a little bit of attention to the council
[1:36:17] regarding uh my client and his company's
multi-year efforts to try to move
[1:36:24] forward with uh opening a cannabis
dispensary.
[1:36:27] » I'm sorry, what company?
>> Prolific Growhouse. Okay. Um, I mean,
[1:36:32] PIC has been in contact with the town
since 2021 and, uh, you know, at this
[1:36:37] point has invested well over $150,000
into this project. Uh but you know we've
[1:36:45] come to a point where essentially
we're not sure what our next step can be
[1:36:51] because um
effectively you know and we'll present a
[1:36:57] list of dozens and dozens of contact
points we've had over the last two or
[1:37:00] three years. But the current situation
is that we are locked into a long-term
[1:37:05] lease for opening a dispensary by the
Wawwa. And
[1:37:10] » excuse me. Which
>> Wawa?
[1:37:12] » Uh,
>> is that that's a That was a trick
[1:37:14] question, right?
>> I don't look down here. So, I don't know
[1:37:17] where all the
>> You can answer.
[1:37:20] » It's on uh 691 Route 130. Thank you.
>> Yeah.
[1:37:24] » Yeah. So,
uh, dear B caviian, but the the issue
[1:37:30] here is that we've been working with
Fred and the town to try to understand
[1:37:36] what the objections are because we only
entered into this. We basically we
[1:37:42] entered into the lease and signed it and
grabbed it from uh the previous landlord
[1:37:47] um under you know some strict ulti
ultimatum and with you know a $40,000
[1:37:52] deposit at risk on the premise that we
got a zoning letter in 2024 that said
[1:37:57] that the the location was zoned for
cannabis and had some preliminary
[1:38:01] meetings that were promising. Uh, and
you know, given the fact that David is
[1:38:07] from Hamilton and has built one of the
more successful cannabis businesses in
[1:38:11] New Jersey, um, he's been, you know,
looking to bring his business to
[1:38:16] Hamilton and hire local workers and, you
know, uh, has a successful track record
[1:38:22] in the state already. So the what we're
looking for here is basically
[1:38:29] you know a way to understand
what we can do to work with the town
[1:38:34] more to try to realize some return on
this investment or alternatively to at
[1:38:40] least have something to give the
landlord for why his uh location is not
[1:38:45] being permitted to move forward for a
use because the only
[1:38:50] rejection if reason for rejection we've
gotten so far is [clears throat] that,
[1:38:55] you know, um
the town has told us that they don't
[1:39:00] believe there's enough parking spots in
that center, but we've gotten a traffic
[1:39:05] study and presented it to the town to
show that there should be enough spot
[1:39:10] parking spots in the shopping center.
and you know raised the question of if a
[1:39:18] dispensary where you know you have three
workers there and people going in there
[1:39:23] for 10 minutes at a time and coming out
is a use that can't be permitted based
[1:39:29] on the parking in the center. What would
be permitted? Right? Because the
[1:39:32] landlord's question is now like if this
is being rejected for parking and we're
[1:39:36] not even going to be given the
opportunity to go before the planning
[1:39:39] board to uh work out whether or not
there's something we can do, what's
[1:39:44] possible for that for that center and
that empty storefront that's been
[1:39:49] sitting empty for over a year now. So
I'm I am not we're going to let you come
[1:39:53] up. I'm not familiar with uh the reasons
uh why it has not been approved. You
[1:39:58] have to allow us the opportunity to ask
those questions and we will um I would
[1:40:04] definitely like to hear your client. I
like to hear uh we like local success
[1:40:09] stories so we like Hamilton residents
doing good things. So I want to hear
[1:40:13] what he has to say and uh we'll gather
as much information as we can go back to
[1:40:17] our professionals and try to get some
answers. But this is the first we're
[1:40:21] hearing about it. So if uh Mr. Nichols
could come up that would be great.
[1:40:24] » Thank you very much. Yeah, because we
were told that you would go to your own
[1:40:27] professionals on the on the parking
issue, but then we've, you know,
[1:40:31] followed up over the last six months and
never got an official
[1:40:34] » under understood this is just the first
we're hearing of it. So, just allow us
[1:40:37] to gather some information and get some
answers.
[1:40:40] » Okay. And uh you know, if I can uh
provide
[1:40:44] » bring them up. Yeah, bring them up. You
can give them to the clerk. She'll give
[1:40:46] them to us. This is uh just a write up
that we prepared in terms of uh you know
[1:40:51] the efforts that we made to contact the
town as well as some letters of support
[1:40:56] that uh and a petition online does
support giving David a chance.
[1:41:01] » Okay. Uh did you want to take one?
I know you're interested in that. So
[1:41:07] » sir, the floor is yours.
>> What high school did you go to?
[1:41:10] » Pleasure everybody. Um
>> sir, what high school did you go to in
[1:41:13] Hamilton?
>> I went to Notre Dame High School
[1:41:15] actually. I went to OS um in on East
State um but I'm a Notre Dame graduate.
[1:41:21] » Okay, congratulations. [laughter]
>> You would have said West.
[1:41:26] » No, we used to meet them in football.
>> Yeah, we know [laughter]
[1:41:30] winners around here. Um but yeah,
pleasure to meet everyone. Uh my name is
[1:41:35] David Nicholas. Um I'm 28 years old. Um
I'm a local. Uh as I mentioned, I
[1:41:42] graduated from uh Notre Dame High
School. Um, I've been holding on to this
[1:41:46] property for about two years now. Uh, if
you guys haven't heard about my company,
[1:41:52] um, Governor Murphy actually came by our
facility uh, about a year and a half
[1:41:56] ago. Um, I am a success story of this
area. Um, I was granted the first social
[1:42:02] equity license in New Jersey to
cultivate. I actually came to Hamilton
[1:42:07] first in 2021 trying to bring my
business here to bring my story to light
[1:42:12] in Hamilton, but I was shut down um then
in 2021.
[1:42:17] 2024
uh came around. I found this new
[1:42:20] property and on located on 691 um US30.
Um, I spoke to uh the landlord, had to
[1:42:28] put down a hefty uh deposit which came
out of um some funding that I got and
[1:42:34] I'm still 100% owner of my company. Um
you know, with the funding that we had
[1:42:40] um you know, I started off with nothing.
Uh I had to build that from ground zero.
[1:42:45] Um we've turned around success and with
our business that we have right now
[1:42:50] located um in Hamilton,
I've been draining money. Um, you know,
[1:42:55] I'm feeding over 20 families now that
also live in Hamilton currently that
[1:43:00] work for my cultivation in Mount Holly.
Um, I want to bring more economic
[1:43:05] opportunity to to the fellows uh
residents that that are from this town.
[1:43:11] I've heard uh plenty of cases back here
of those that are dealing with ICE.
[1:43:15] That's another issue that I had to deal
within my company with some of the
[1:43:19] Hamilton residents that work for me.
this has affected like my business as a
[1:43:25] whole. Um, you know, from the ICE
situation to now me dealing with being
[1:43:30] in a hole um in Hamilton from me not
being able to operate. I haven't brought
[1:43:35] any trouble to the state. I don't plan
on bringing any trouble. Actually plan
[1:43:39] on bringing the Haitian community
together, which is where I'm from. Um, I
[1:43:44] think everyone does deserve a chance to
at least voice themselves. Um, you know,
[1:43:49] you guys can see the stories online
about me, about my company, about all
[1:43:53] the good that we've done in New Jersey.
I just want you guys to please just put
[1:44:00] yourselves in my shoes. You know, a
young black man coming from this this
[1:44:06] township doing something successful with
himself, being able to be the first
[1:44:10] person in his family to graduate
college,
[1:44:14] do something bigger than anybody has
ever thought. I'm the first millionaire
[1:44:18] in my family.
I want to keep this going. I don't want
[1:44:22] this to be a one-stop road. I want to be
able to keep providing these jobs and
[1:44:28] opportunities, like I said, to those
that look like me that have been through
[1:44:33] my struggle. I've also been arrested for
this plant. And, you know, I'm trying to
[1:44:38] do something positive and something
that's actually, you know, beneficial
[1:44:42] that's going to help everyone in in this
township. Um, I'm going to end it with
[1:44:48] this. I just want a fair opportunity.
Um, I
[1:44:53] gave you guys the um petition that was
signed off by 52 different um people
[1:44:59] from all across that are shoppers in
Hamilton that come to the Hamilton
[1:45:04] marketplace to shop.
Once again, I'm just asking for a fair
[1:45:09] opportunity.
>> Thank you. Are you sticking around, sir?
[1:45:14] Mr. Nichols, are you sticking around
after the meeting?
[1:45:18] » Yes.
>> All right. Talk to you then. Thank you.
[1:45:22] [applause]
[1:45:28] » I also have Davidson Pierre uh from
Prolific Dispensary.
[1:45:33] » You're floor sir.
[1:45:43] » [clears throat]
>> Pleasure, sir.
[1:45:44] » Okay. Um, good evening, council members.
My name is Davidson Pierre. I'm also a,
[1:45:49] you know, member of Hamilton Township.
Um, pretty hard act to follow after what
[1:45:54] he just said. But, uh, I second that,
but I'm also, you know, I see what
[1:46:00] happens in a lot of the townships and
certain people and certain business
[1:46:04] demographics get treated a little bit
different. And I feel like, you know, we
[1:46:08] have an opportunity here to uh do
something a little different, make
[1:46:12] history probably or just in a sense of
opening doors for different
[1:46:18] opportunities within our own
communities. So, um like I said, I'm
[1:46:23] here on behalf of Prolific Grow House
and I also second what he said and I
[1:46:28] believe that um this is an opportunity
for us to make a change and as we can
[1:46:33] see, it's happening all over. It's not
just here in Hamilton, New Jersey. It's
[1:46:38] not just here in our community. Whether
we like it or not, it's something that's
[1:46:42] going to be around. So, I think that
it's something that can, if done
[1:46:46] correctly, could move forward hand with
the community and the businesses to move
[1:46:51] forward. That's all I have to say. Have
a good night.
[1:46:53] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:46:55] [applause]
[1:46:57] » Is it Carsonir Paul?
[1:47:03] Okay. that
>> we're going to circle we're going to
[1:47:06] circle him in case he comes back. We'll
get to go at the end.
[1:47:11] » Sorry, my eyes are going. Uh Natalie
Perez.
[1:47:19] » Are you also with Prolific?
>> Yes.
[1:47:21] » Okay, thank you.
>> Good evening. My name is Natalie Perez.
[1:47:25] » Um I'm here as a Hamilton community
member and I'm here to express my
[1:47:29] support for Prolific House. Um, I worked
closely with David for the last three
[1:47:34] years. He's an exceptional person. His
whole mission is to empower his
[1:47:40] community and make it better. Um, I've
seen him go through unreasonable like
[1:47:46] too many delays with your township. And
I want you guys to really listen to him
[1:47:50] and give him the opportunity because
he's bringing something very powerful
[1:47:53] and it's also going to empower your
community that's made of immigrants.
[1:47:56] It's a lot of immigrants in here and
they don't feel heard. They don't feel
[1:47:59] cared for. They don't feel protected. So
bringing someone like him to set the
[1:48:03] example for your community is what you
really need to do.
[1:48:06] » Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming.
[1:48:12] » All right, we're through the front page
of the list.
[1:48:14] » Alicia,
is Alicia still here? Also from Misty
[1:48:19] Meadow,
>> come on up, please.
[1:48:22] » Good evening, everyone. Good evening,
council. I guess this is just more so an
[1:48:26] introduction. My name is Elisia Kalist.
um joined with by my neighbors who spoke
[1:48:31] prior, so I won't take up too much of
your time, but just wanted to get on the
[1:48:35] record that we're here. We're a
community and we we want to continue to
[1:48:38] voice our concerns until they're heard
and and addressed and you'll be seeing
[1:48:42] more of us.
>> We appreciate you coming. Thank you.
[1:48:49] » All right, we're through the list of
people that signed up to speak for the
[1:48:52] first time. Before we go into the second
time for everybody to come up,
[1:48:59] What?
>> No, she forfeited her thumb. [laughter]
[1:49:05] » Is there anyone else that would like to
be heard for the first time?
[1:49:09] [laughter]
>> Anybody?
[1:49:13] » You'll go next.
>> I mean, can go first.
[1:49:18] » Wait.
[1:49:21] » Thank you.
[1:49:25] » Okay. I'm here to talk about the
shelter. Um, so first I want to talk
[1:49:29] about my volunteer application because I
still do not have a clear answer about
[1:49:34] why it's being held or when it will be
reconsidered. Uh, Chris, the public
[1:49:38] health officer, told me via email that
per the mayor's conversation with me, it
[1:49:42] would not be considered at this time.
Sorry. But in my one-on-one meeting with
[1:49:48] the mayor, he gave me a much more
specific explanation and he told me that
[1:49:52] the issue was my social media. So, and
that the shelter employees didn't like
[1:49:57] me or my social media posts and there
was distrust around having me volunteer
[1:50:01] there because of my social media. Um, I
did not record that meeting, which you
[1:50:07] know, I told him I wouldn't, but like
things like this are what makes me
[1:50:10] regret not doing that because I hear one
thing in person and then when I ask for
[1:50:13] written explanations, I hear something
completely different. Um, so I really
[1:50:17] like clarification on that. Is it
denied? Is it being hel or held? Who's
[1:50:23] making that decision? And are there
actual written criteria for rejecting or
[1:50:27] holding a volunteers's application? Um
because if it is just my social media
[1:50:32] and my public criticism and commentary,
like I think that's concerning. Um and
[1:50:38] if it is just being held, when will it
be reconsidered? So if there is a
[1:50:43] legitimate qualification or safety or
conduct based reason that I do not meet
[1:50:48] the standards for volunteering, I want
to know what that is.
[1:50:51] I also want to return to Merlin. He's
clearly no longer at the shelter. He's
[1:50:56] thriving in his foster home, but that
does not make the underlying questions
[1:51:00] irrelevant. This entire situation raised
serious questions about how dogs are
[1:51:04] evaluated, coded, and ultimately
handled. In my meeting with the mayor,
[1:51:09] he told me that Laura, the current
trainer, will likely change Merlin's
[1:51:12] color code to blue or yellow, but the
facility that actually evaluated him
[1:51:17] coded him as green. And this was by
Laura's standards. And I can't find
[1:51:22] anything in that report that objectively
supports him being blue or yellow. I
[1:51:26] even put it into AI trying to get it to
like prove me wrong and it couldn't. So
[1:51:30] if Merlin did stay, what would Laura and
the shelter have colorcoded him and why
[1:51:36] and what would support that
classification?
[1:51:39] I think this matters because this entire
situation began with decisions made
[1:51:43] under Laura. And if the township would
override an outside evaluator's green
[1:51:48] classification that was following
Laura's written criteria, I think us
[1:51:52] residents deserve to understand the
objective basis as we're doing that. And
[1:51:57] my last thing I wanted to bring up was
at the last meeting we asked, do you
[1:52:01] believe that the neutral third party
assessment was independent? And I know
[1:52:04] you were instructed not to answer that
during the last meeting.
[1:52:08] And a lot of you hadn't seen it at the
time, but I'm hoping you did and could
[1:52:13] give an answer now.
[1:52:17] » So, I have questions in Victoria answer
our question.
[1:52:21] Um my question is
um as far as the application process for
[1:52:27] volunteers
um
[1:52:31] we had met with um the health department
uh Councilman Whan and I with the mayor
[1:52:39] um for transparency to everybody so
everybody understands how it works. Uh
[1:52:42] we as a council um we are not allowed to
meet more than two of us at a time. that
[1:52:48] would be deemed a violation of Open
Public Meetings Act. So, we can't go and
[1:52:53] sit together and talk about things as a
group because that's not fair, right?
[1:52:58] It's not legal. It's not transparent.
So, uh myself and Councilman Wellan uh
[1:53:03] did go meet with the health department
to start working on some of these
[1:53:07] issues, start getting some answers
because we had questions about how
[1:53:10] things worked. uh during that meeting.
Um one thing and um I see somebody else
[1:53:17] who put an application in uh that I
would like to speak to you uh after the
[1:53:20] meeting also.
>> Um
[1:53:24] we had asked how do people know that you
got their application?
[1:53:29] » Mhm.
>> If there's no bounceback message, right?
[1:53:32] How do we know it was received? So, uh
has that process began that they're now
[1:53:38] getting a bounceback message if they
submit an application? first question. I
[1:53:42] have more questions. So,
>> yes. So, the the short answer is is yes.
[1:53:46] » Okay.
>> So,
[1:53:48] » okay. Uh next have uh I know that we
were getting a uh volunteer and these
[1:53:53] are all easy questions. I just I want to
put it on the record.
[1:53:57] » Um
[1:54:00] » the coordinator. Thank you. Appreciate
that. Yes,
[1:54:02] » that's why we're a team. Um the
coordinator was hired. the coordinator
[1:54:08] uh all the applications were told we
were told that it was put on hold
[1:54:13] because we didn't have a val a volunteer
coordinator. We have a volunteer
[1:54:17] coordinator.
>> We got our choice of who we wanted.
[1:54:22] » Has that process began?
>> Yes, it has begun. And she did as we
[1:54:27] expected. She hit the ground running. Um
I believe at current count there were 72
[1:54:34] open applications that she faced and all
72 have been addressed and are in some
[1:54:42] type of process whether they aren't
interested anymore or they are
[1:54:46] interested. Um she's set up I have to
get this right because I wrote it down
[1:54:51] just to make sure. Sorry.
>> That's okay. So all while you're looking
[1:54:55] for I'll ask another question. Um, so we
save time. Uh, the people that didn't
[1:55:01] get a response when they first submitted
their application before this new
[1:55:04] system, right, tells you that you got
the that was received. Have those people
[1:55:08] all those people at least been
contacted? So that we now know we don't
[1:55:12] have people sitting waiting in the
abyss.
[1:55:14] » Yes, they've all been contacted. Those
are part of the of the 72. And so of the
[1:55:20] 72 applications that were addressed um
that she's uh conducted three
[1:55:26] orientation sessions, three different
ones where she signs up various um
[1:55:31] volunteers that want to come and from
that from the 72 so far that have gone
[1:55:38] through um not all of them have gone
through the orientation. We've gotten 13
[1:55:44] solid volunteers from the orientation
session and then six additional
[1:55:49] volunteers
went through the dog handling skills
[1:55:52] training and she's going to conduct
three more orientation sessions
[1:55:59] and two more dog handling skills
sessions by the end of this month. So,
[1:56:04] it's a very aggressive schedule, I
think, to get the those that are
[1:56:09] interested, you know, trained and in the
door and ready to start on on their
[1:56:15] volunteer efforts.
>> Okay.
[1:56:17] » So, and the the automated system is just
a like an email kickback first when you
[1:56:22] first do it.
>> Um recognizing that and um but then that
[1:56:28] it's all addressed after that. They're
keeping track and doing a tracking
[1:56:32] system on the on the application to make
sure.
[1:56:34] » That sounds great because this is what
we asked for. So, um, now to answer her
[1:56:39] questions. Um,
>> why is it on hold?
[1:56:42] » Yeah, her application is currently on
hold.
[1:56:45] » So, I and again, I wasn't privy to your
conversation with the mayor, but from
[1:56:49] what I understand, the mayor's directive
went to uh Chris Hellwig, and that's how
[1:56:55] he responded to you. It is on hold. It
will be reconsidered at some point and I
[1:57:01] think uh from your meeting with the
mayor and from what I understood I
[1:57:05] thought you also agreed that
>> no I did not agree
[1:57:10] » that there's a trust issue there may be
a trust issue and so this might not be
[1:57:15] the good timing yet for you to start
volunteering and I think that's how it
[1:57:20] was put but again I wasn't there so if
I'm saying something that's not accurate
[1:57:24] you can please
>> I mean yeah he said it was distrust
[1:57:27] because of my social media and because
of my social media posts which I'm sure
[1:57:31] many of us have seen are criticizing you
know the management of the shelter but
[1:57:36] every dog that I've posted except one
has been adopted. Every cat I've posted
[1:57:41] except one has been adopted. I've had
new all I I would like honestly take
[1:57:45] credit for most of those volunteer
applications and I think a lot of the
[1:57:50] attention that they're getting is
because of me. So although management
[1:57:52] doesn't like my social media is having a
positive impact and I am a credential
[1:57:57] dog trainer so I don't understand what
qualifications I don't have
[1:58:01] » Jules uh the original reason that I had
remembered
[1:58:05] » from the conversations in the beginning
was about um
[1:58:09] sticking your arms in the cage of the
dog
[1:58:12] » when I asked the mayor that I said is
that the reason he said no that's not
[1:58:15] the reason
>> that was the that was the original
[1:58:18] conversation cuz I do remember the dog
that said do that you tried to hug
[1:58:22] through the
>> cage. Yeah.
[1:58:23] » Okay.
>> No, I I asked him cuz I said, "Is it
[1:58:26] because of that letter?" And he said,
"No, [laughter]
[1:58:30] » she is a dog. She's a dog whisperer."
But
[1:58:33] » that that was the original conversation.
>> Not that dog.
[1:58:35] » Yep. That was the original conversation.
So, anything after that, uh, I don't
[1:58:40] have that answer to.
>> Um, we will work on that. Uh to get to
[1:58:45] the next one, you asked about what code
Merlin would be if he was in.
[1:58:50] » Um
I'm not going to speculate on where
[1:58:53] something would be. Let's hope he never
comes back to the shelter and finds out,
[1:58:58] right?
>> Yeah.
[1:58:59] » But to speculate and try to say where
somebody would be, we would have to take
[1:59:04] the recommendations of whatever that
report was.
[1:59:06] » Yeah.
>> Because that's where it is. However,
[1:59:09] we're not going to speculate and say
where will it be if it comes back or
[1:59:12] where would it be if it wasn't adopted.
The fact that you got you helped get the
[1:59:16] dog where it is. We should just be
celebrating that and not looking
[1:59:19] backwards and saying what if or try to
look into a crystal ball we don't have.
[1:59:23] » I got to just disagree a little bit
because I mean the mayor said, "Oh, Lara
[1:59:27] is probably going to change him to blue
or yellow." And at that point, we didn't
[1:59:30] know that he was going to the rescue and
>> that conversation didn't happen here.
[1:59:35] So, we are
>> Yeah. I just I think it's important for
[1:59:39] you know judging Laura's like criteria.
I want her to read that report and tell
[1:59:44] us is Merlin green by her standards.
>> Okay, your time is up. You can come back
[1:59:48] up for your two minutes and we will
continue.
[1:59:50] » Got it.
>> Thank you.
[1:59:52] » Sorry we not answering the third party
thing.
[1:59:54] » Your third third party question. Do we
believe it was
[1:59:56] » independent as
>> so my own personal opinion. Am I allowed
[2:00:01] to answer this question?
>> Yes.
[2:00:04] » Okay. My my own personal opinion is you
do not have to handle a dog to train a
[2:00:10] dog to judge a dog.
>> If you are handling a dog, I can take
[2:00:13] observations and make a judgment based
on that. Right.
[2:00:16] » Yeah.
>> When if I if if it's baseball practice
[2:00:18] and I'm pitching to you, other people
can evaluate when you're hitting, right?
[2:00:22] » Yeah.
>> So, yes, I do believe it was
[2:00:24] independent. Yes, I do believe a third
person can evaluate a dog without
[2:00:29] actually handling the dog.
>> Yeah.
[2:00:30] » Sometimes the dog needs to be handled.
Sometimes it needs to be observed.
[2:00:34] Sometimes you can see behaviors watching
the dog by not handling it because
[2:00:39] you're not watching the dog come at you.
You're actually watching what's
[2:00:42] happening.
>> Yeah.
[2:00:43] » Is it the perfect Is it the perfect
watch and handling? Is it the perfect
[2:00:48] scenario? Is it the end all be all? Is
every situation the same? No. Because
[2:00:52] every dog is different. Every dog's
mentality is different. So, they're all
[2:00:56] different.
>> Yeah.
[2:00:57] » So, I don't know because I wasn't in
that room watching. But my answer is
[2:01:02] could it be independent? Yes, it could.
But to say yes to something that I
[2:01:07] wasn't there or my colleagues weren't
there, it's very difficult for me to
[2:01:11] just agree or disagree. We weren't
there. I didn't watch that assessment. I
[2:01:15] didn't
>> I never even met the person doing the
[2:01:18] assessment. It's very difficult for me
to judge somebody. I never saw, talk to,
[2:01:22] or heard from.
>> Yeah. I just I just feel like what we
[2:01:25] thought was going to happen was that
Laura was not going to be part of it.
[2:01:28] and even if it was handled by another
person, maybe an animal attendant or
[2:01:32] something that the current trainer
wouldn't be there.
[2:01:35] » So, so moving forward, maybe things
change, but Merlin saved and Merlin is
[2:01:39] not in the shelter. Correct. And I think
that's the part we need to celebrate.
[2:01:43] » You're right. We want to make sure
things like that don't happen. We want
[2:01:46] to try to get all the dogs out.
>> I did pay for a new evaluator to come
[2:01:50] in. So,
>> and yeah, I want to thank you for the
[2:01:52] donations that you've made. Uh, I want
to point out that Merlin was saved
[2:01:57] because of donations made by um
anonymous donors who don't want to be
[2:02:02] named, but members of the public making
donations uh make a big difference. It
[2:02:07] allows uh for the shelter to provide
training that the shelter cannot provide
[2:02:13] without donations. In Merlin's case, he
was categorized a red dog. after 6 weeks
[2:02:20] of intensive one-on-one training, he was
classified by that trainer as green.
[2:02:27] » Uh so it did take some work to get that
dog there. It's work that our shelter
[2:02:32] staff wouldn't have been able to do.
>> So uh it is uh a testament to the
[2:02:38] dedication
um and generosity of folks who have made
[2:02:42] donations like you. So thank you. Thank
you to all the donors. uh and you know
[2:02:47] thank you to all the folks who are
interested in volunteering there as
[2:02:50] well.
>> Thank you.
[2:02:52] » Good perspective.
[2:02:59] » Um Janice is next and then you're up.
She had her hand up. I apologize. You
[2:03:03] can come up next.
>> You can come up to the on deck circle if
[2:03:07] you want to move up. [laughter]
[2:03:12] » Okay. Jin Sonic Cornell Heights. Hold
hold on one second everybody just please
[2:03:17] give uh the respect to the speaker.
Okay. Thank you ma'am.
[2:03:22] » Uh
is Route 33 trying to make a record for
[2:03:26] how many car washes are on one road?
[2:03:32] » There are three within 3/10en of a mile.
And then of course capital the high
[2:03:37] society was a little bit down the road
but four of them on one road. and the
[2:03:42] three of them you could walk to each
other, you know. I said, "That's nuts.
[2:03:48] » There must be a lot of dirty cars in
Hamilton. [laughter]
[2:03:50] » It's gonna be interesting to see if they
all stay in business once they get
[2:03:54] rolling."
>> Competition is good for the consumer.
[2:03:56] » Okay,
>> we're looking forward to that.
[2:03:58] » And then what is being built in the farm
place in Mercerville Shopping Center?
[2:04:04] You said the farmers market at the end.
>> Is that Sprouts?
[2:04:07] » Sprouts.
>> Sprouts.
[2:04:09] » What's which is what?
>> Market.
[2:04:11] » Yeah. grocery store.
>> It's supposed to be all natur all
[2:04:13] natural organic type supermarket.
>> Oh, okay. Cuz I was just wondering. I
[2:04:18] hope it wasn't another fancy car wash.
Okay.
[2:04:21] » It's indoor car wash this time.
>> Indoor car wash.
[2:04:24] » Thanks, Janice.
Yep.
[2:04:31] For anybody that doesn't know, uh Janice
rarely misses meetings. Uh I believe she
[2:04:36] went 16 years without missing a meeting.
Um, that's why when the comment came up,
[2:04:42] we routinely joke, uh, we're going to
give Janice a piece of the wallpaper in
[2:04:46] a frame as they did it with the FIFA
World Cup. Um, because it means so much.
[2:04:52] She's been a part of, uh, who we are as
a town and a part of these meetings for
[2:04:56] a very long time and we appreciate her
being here.
[2:04:59] » I got a question,
a wallpaper,
[2:05:03] [laughter]
>> a wallpaper.
[2:05:06] Good answer.
Uh, good evening, Amanda Elely,
[2:05:11] Hamilton, resident. Um, so I'm excited
to report that I am Kathy, based on your
[2:05:18] statistics, one of the 13 volunteers and
one of the six people who went to the
[2:05:24] dog handling class.
>> Congratulations.
[2:05:27] » Yeah.
Um, so first I I I felt kind of silly
[2:05:32] and now I'm like this is completely
appropriate hearing all the things that
[2:05:36] are going to be coming which is really
great news to hear. So at first I want
[2:05:40] to be clear that anything that I'm
saying tonight, any of my comments, none
[2:05:44] is criticism of any shelter staff at
all. Every person I've interacted with
[2:05:48] has been kind, professional, very
welcoming to me. All lovely
[2:05:53] interactions.
So, I want to talk about some concerns
[2:05:57] with the training structure and
procedures for volunteers. Things that I
[2:06:00] think could be really helpful in these
upcoming um orientations and the dog
[2:06:04] handling class.
>> Can I make a request?
[2:06:06] » Sure.
>> When you give us those Can you just slow
[2:06:09] down because we do write these things
down and you're talking fast.
[2:06:12] » Yes, I'll slow down. Sorry.
>> That's all right.
[2:06:16] » There's a bigger crowd tonight. I was a
little nervous. [laughter] Okay. Ah,
[2:06:21] hold on. My phone's messing up now.
Okay.
[2:06:26] So, first I want to say I have more
experience with from having animals of
[2:06:31] my own. So, I recognize that I can feel
more comfortable with handling a dog
[2:06:35] than somebody with very little
experience. And I think that is where
[2:06:38] some of the questions and concerns I'm
bringing tonight are coming from. So
[2:06:42] during the dog handling class, uh Laura
taught us some leash handling
[2:06:47] techniques, including how to hold two
leashes, which is the um the only way
[2:06:53] that you would handle a dog being a
volunteer is to have two leashes, how to
[2:06:57] shorten a leash, and how to different
handle different situations that might
[2:07:00] arise. She demonstrated these
techniques, and we were told as
[2:07:04] volunteers, too, that like certain
things we would never use. For example,
[2:07:10] using a loop leash to put a dog back
inside its kennels. So certain things we
[2:07:14] were shown is not something that we
would ever do. There were techniques
[2:07:18] that I found myself wanting more
specific guidance. For example, we were
[2:07:22] shown where if a dog um had a leash
looped around its paw, how we might use
[2:07:29] a treat to get the leash unwrapped from
the paw. And we practiced doing that.
[2:07:33] And one of my questions to Laura was
what was the preferred way that we
[2:07:37] should offer a treat to the dog because
she did say that lots of the dogs had
[2:07:42] different behaviors and different things
that they were or were not okay with. So
[2:07:46] I was the answer to that was it depends
on the dog. We were also shown a leap a
[2:07:51] leash wrap I apologize that's a tongue
twister for me technique for a dog that
[2:07:56] might pull her on the leash. And the
demonstration involved Laura uh like
[2:08:01] straddling the the fake dog in the
lobby. And I asked, "How is a volunteer
[2:08:06] supposed to recognize whether the
particular dog that they are walking is
[2:08:10] comfortable with somebody doing that
positioning on them?" Um, so I don't
[2:08:16] bring up these examples to criticize the
techniques that she showed us, but I do
[2:08:20] think it illustrates that sometimes a
technique that is being shown is not the
[2:08:25] same as being given enough information
to confidently know when and how to use
[2:08:30] something.
There were six of us in the dog handling
[2:08:33] class. There were no green dogs
available that day and I was aware of
[2:08:38] that going to the training. So I was
curious what we were going to do. And so
[2:08:43] we practiced with Marley who is a bluele
dog. Everybody should know who Marley is
[2:08:48] because he's been there to my knowledge
for 6 years. And we did the training
[2:08:53] with him outside despite there being two
lower level dogs sent him. There are two
[2:08:59] light blue dogs currently in the
shelter. When we took the group walk
[2:09:02] with the six of us and Laura the
trainer, we each took a brief turn
[2:09:07] walking him. Earlier in the training,
Laura had explained to us that the leash
[2:09:12] wrap technique should only be used on a
dog. So, the technique where you
[2:09:16] straddle the dog and put the leash
around him, that that should only be
[2:09:20] used, she said,
when the volunteer has previously walked
[2:09:25] that dog before, when you have like a
rapport and relationship built with the
[2:09:29] dog. And I was left wondering because
when she brought Marley out, he was in
[2:09:34] fact um we walked him with the leash
wrap method. So I was curious how this
[2:09:41] guidance applies when the only dog that
we were available for the hands-on
[2:09:45] demonstration was already being walked
with that technique. And I'm not
[2:09:49] suggesting that he should not have been
used for the demonstration, but I'm just
[2:09:53] saying it does raise a question as to
how volunteers can be given enough
[2:09:57] opportunity to practice.
>> Your four minutes is up.
[2:10:01] » Okay.
>> Great. [laughter] You can come back for
[2:10:04] up for you too.
[2:10:11] [laughter]
[2:10:14] » Come on up.
>> Yeah.
[2:10:20] » [laughter]
[2:10:24] » Is there a party out there?
>> Sounds like it.
[2:10:32] » Hello.
>> Hey.
[2:10:33] » How are we doing tonight?
>> Okay. Good evening, Lorie. Hamilton
[2:10:37] Township President.
>> All right. I want to first off by saying
[2:10:41] that after 74 days, I am officially a
volunteer at the Hamilton Township
[2:10:46] Animal Shelter. Congratulations.
>> Thank you very much. I completed my
[2:10:50] volunteer orientation with Faith on
August 6th
[2:10:53] » and yes, sorry, the dog handling the
class with Laura on August 13th. Uh just
[2:10:59] like Amanda said, both Faith and Laura
and the rest of the shelter staff have
[2:11:01] been very kind, friendly where I've been
there. So, I do appreciate that much and
[2:11:05] I know how much hard work that the whole
staff goes into taking care of the
[2:11:08] shelter. I have had the honor throughout
the walk Bodie, Achilles, Gordon,
[2:11:12] Marley, and I'm excited to walk more
dogs and get to know them. What I am
[2:11:16] bringing you tonight is a continued
concern about the social media regarding
[2:11:19] the shelter. Every time I ask who
specifically runs the shelter, whether
[2:11:23] it be a town council or actually did ask
in my orientation meeting, it's always
[2:11:27] the same answer. The answer is some girl
who works for the mayor's office. My
[2:11:30] questions are, what is her name, her
title, her responsibility? What other
[2:11:35] job responsibilities does she currently
have or is her only responsibility to
[2:11:39] update the social media? Who oversees
that she's doing her job? You want me to
[2:11:43] wait till the end to answer those or?
>> Yeah. Answer all the questions and then
[2:11:47] or ask all the questions and then we'll
answer.
[2:11:49] » All right. Last town council meeting,
Lisa spoke about the bios and missing
[2:11:53] bios and how the township needs to run
like a business. I would like to double
[2:11:56] down on that.
Okay.
[2:12:01] [snorts]
When we think about the purpose of the
[2:12:03] shelter, it's not only to house, walk,
feed, love, take care of the animals.
[2:12:07] It's to sell the animals to good people.
At the end of the day, it is a business
[2:12:11] that's being ran. If you ran a business
in today's world, the virtual world,
[2:12:15] Howie spoke about last meeting, do we
think we'd benefit from clear,
[2:12:20] userfriendly social media techniques, or
old, boring, worn out standard posts? If
[2:12:25] you were selling your home, would you
have someone come take pictures while
[2:12:27] it's raining, a car in the driveway, a
tree that fell over? You don't focus on
[2:12:32] the negatives, you focus on the
positives. I would assume we want a
[2:12:34] picture of a house on a beautiful sunny
day. The first thing that catches a
[2:12:38] user's eye on social media is what they
see, not what they read. When you take a
[2:12:42] look at the website, and I encourage the
people in the audience to do so,
[2:12:46] pictures of Lockwood, Elwood, Blaze, or
Chopper, I think we could all agree that
[2:12:50] we could get better pictures to
advertise and represent these dogs
[2:12:53] better. On the Instagram and Facebook,
posts are put up that say adoption
[2:12:58] spotlight. And there are many, many of
these posts in the same font, format,
[2:13:02] etc. Most people who I speak to who read
this think the wording is odd and I tend
[2:13:07] to agree. When you put adoption
spotlight to the viewer, it makes it
[2:13:11] seem like this animal got adopted.
Here's the spotlight.
[2:13:16] I [laughter] think this is a small but
viable change that can be that can make
[2:13:19] a big difference. I think using more
than the same repetitive pictures will
[2:13:23] help and their videos could do wonders.
Suzanne, who's a volunteer, who I've
[2:13:27] gotten to know slightly, is a single is
single-handedly providing better content
[2:13:32] when she takes these dogs on walks as a
volunteer than a township is providing.
[2:13:36] Another example, so if you guys all want
to put on Instagram, on August 10th,
[2:13:40] there was a post made that says, "Thank
you to our adopters for providing a
[2:13:43] loving home to Tucker, Karen, Adella, G,
Lydia, and Eddie with a picture of all
[2:13:48] them with their new owners." To me as a
viewer, something that would have meant
[2:13:52] a lot is each animal and owner getting
their own post. Throw some music on
[2:13:56] there, tell the story, and make the
person who adopted them feel validated
[2:14:00] in what an amazing moment this really
is. This completes the buyer experience
[2:14:04] and gives the animal their
well-deserving love of a true adoption
[2:14:08] spotlight. Also, Jules using her
platform has been instrumental in
[2:14:14] getting multiple animals adopted, as she
said before, because of the engagement
[2:14:17] she creates. I would also like to say
just as a side note that her not being
[2:14:21] allowed to be a volunteer does not sit
right with me and I'm sure many people
[2:14:25] because all she's been doing is
advocating for animals wanting to see
[2:14:29] them get adopted and just help the way
Chris spoke to her through email
[2:14:34] completely disrespectful and he should
be ashamed that he speaks to residents
[2:14:38] in Hamilton like that and represent
represents this township as a so-called
[2:14:42] leader. The other component I'd like to
speak about is a small but big change
[2:14:48] that can make a difference. If you were
to walk into a store to purchase
[2:14:51] something, how do you know who to ask
questions to? Usually they have some
[2:14:55] identifying item on them that would let
you know. I suggested at my orientation
[2:14:59] that volunteers be given t-shirts or
badges to clearly indicate who works
[2:15:03] there and who volunteers. When I go in,
let's say, to the cat room, for example,
[2:15:08] I have no idea who's there to look at
the cats, help the cats, feed the cats.
[2:15:12] It's confusing. rather than walking the
dogs. It'd be great to know when I see a
[2:15:16] dog ahead that the person has a clear
identifying shirt that they're part of
[2:15:20] the shelter walking a sheltered dog,
especially when we deal with the dog,
[2:15:23] reactive dogs.
>> Lori, you're at your four minutes. You
[2:15:26] can come back up.
>> Okay,
[2:15:28] » I know you're honorable.
>> Okay,
[2:15:35] » any other first- timers that would like
to speak? Mr. Kle, come on up.
[2:15:41] [laughter]
HIS
[2:15:43] hand goes up first.
>> Lori, uh, Lisa, you're going to be next.
[2:15:50] » Uh, Steve Craig, Hamilton Township.
So, nobody's happier than I am that
[2:15:55] Merlin's out of that shelter and he's
been saved from our health officer and
[2:15:59] shelter manager. I disagree though that
we should just celebrate that and not
[2:16:04] look backwards because he should have
never been in that position. He should
[2:16:10] have never been labeled as red. He
should have never been sitting in his
[2:16:14] kennel for months at a time. He never
needed to go on those medications. And
[2:16:20] his evaluation
happened just before we killed Hercules.
[2:16:28] And if you remember, Hercules was
labeled red after growling. The
[2:16:32] emaciated dog growled when they gave him
food and took him away. That was his
[2:16:36] evaluation. and he sat in his kennel for
two years and I stood at this council
[2:16:42] and I asked to walk this dog. Two years
until we finally killed that dog to save
[2:16:48] him from his poor quality of life. So
no, we don't get to just skip by again.
[2:16:54] Blue who was killed after an employee
went into his kennel to provoke this dog
[2:17:03] who then bit his shoe. we were going to
get an answer to that and we didn't
[2:17:07] because we looked forward and not
backwards. We keep coming to this same
[2:17:12] point. Merlin should never have been in
that position.
[2:17:17] So, I'm going to ask we did ask for some
other things. One of them starting with
[2:17:22] Merlin last June was in these
evaluations a plain language statement
[2:17:29] that says this dog is this color because
of these behaviors because we've all sat
[2:17:36] here and looked at Merlin's and nobody
could figure out what the hell that
[2:17:39] evaluation meant and we still don't.
We also asked for video recordings. Has
[2:17:46] that been addressed so that we know
for a fact what happens during these
[2:17:52] assessments.
We can't just skip by this again. I'm
[2:17:56] not going to
>> Can I answer this?
[2:18:00] » Yes, please.
>> I'm going to answer with a question.
[2:18:03] Are uh when a dog is labeled a certain
>> When a dog is labeled a certain color,
[2:18:08] is it stated that the dog is labeled
this for certain reasons? The dog is
[2:18:13] labeled red because A, B, or C? Is that
stated? So I I I don't know what you
[2:18:19] mean by clear language because two
people reading the same evaluation
[2:18:24] might answer that question differently.
Right. I've seen the notes on different
[2:18:29] evaluations and I could, you know, see
why they might have made it that. But
[2:18:34] again, I wasn't present for the
evaluations. I'm not anywhere close to a
[2:18:39] professional. I have a pet. That's the
point of asking for this statement so
[2:18:43] that we all don't have to guess what the
>> assessor was thinking. If if there's a
[2:18:50] scale that says these are the
definitions for the colors and somebody
[2:18:54] does an assessment and comes up with
these behaviors, then they map those
[2:18:58] behaviors to those definitions and
that's not being done. It's just they do
[2:19:03] something. There's no standard process
for these assessments and somebody picks
[2:19:08] a color and then everybody else is left
to debate why is it that color and we've
[2:19:13] gone through this for many many many
many dogs and we've asked different
[2:19:17] trainers directly and could never even
get an answer from them why the dog was
[2:19:22] this color. So it's a simple ask.
>> Can I have it back? Whoever is doing the
[2:19:26] assessment and assigning the color
should be able to articulate why they
[2:19:31] assign that color based on those color
definitions and the behavior they
[2:19:34] observe. This can't be that complicated.
[2:19:39] » Yeah, I don't know what to tell you
other than to discuss with, you know,
[2:19:42] Laura her method of doing the
evaluation.
[2:19:46] » I don't think we're asking for a change.
I know uh Councilman Tai wants a
[2:19:50] comment. I don't think we're asking for
a change. I think we're asking for a
[2:19:53] summary. the dog is read because A, B,
and C. And if the facts of A, B, and C
[2:19:58] are listed in the report, then it should
just be easy to read. It may be that um
[2:20:03] in the every industry has its jargon,
and I'm sure that's true for uh dog
[2:20:09] assessors and dog trainers. Um I wasn't
100% clear on what I was reading with
[2:20:16] that. It would be good if laymen like us
who need to provide oversight on on what
[2:20:22] this report means could understand it or
that it's made a little more clear.
[2:20:30] » Could I So I don't think I still have it
in my folder. So the the definition for
[2:20:35] a red dog I know it's changed now and
there's like four different shades of
[2:20:38] red. The definition for a red dog is he
had an extreme issue or multiple serious
[2:20:45] issues. That was the definition to
assign that color. But for Merlin, we
[2:20:49] could never get what matched that
definition. For a year, I asked that. We
[2:20:53] couldn't get an answer until a year
later.
[2:20:57] We started here and there's more to the
story. He needed to be drugged. He tried
[2:21:01] to bite people. None of those things
were actually supported by the trainer's
[2:21:05] own notes.
We were left with he bites the leash.
[2:21:10] Those were the things we were told
originally. He bites the leash. He's
[2:21:13] jumpy and bouncy. a clear statement in
there.
[2:21:17] » We're gonna have we're going to have to
have discussions uh with um the shelter
[2:21:21] staff with the at the board of health uh
prior to the board of health to get
[2:21:25] answers to that to for ask for more
descriptive terms on there.
[2:21:28] » Okay. And the video recording
>> video recordings
[2:21:33] » I have it down so I'll I'll talk
>> Yeah, that's going to be part of the
[2:21:36] same conversation because I also
agree that it's easier to go back and
[2:21:40] watch something.
>> Thank you.
[2:21:47] ALL RIGHT, WE'RE BACK UP. ANY other
first time? Oh, Lisa, sorry.
[2:21:57] » Lisa Williams Hamilton, I actually
wasn't going to speak tonight. I know
[2:22:01] that's shocking to you guys. Um, I've
been asking for the website to be
[2:22:06] updated. I've commented on multiple of
the township social media posts, whether
[2:22:11] it is the township or the shelter. Can
you please update the website? Can you
[2:22:16] please put all found dogs as found
strays? Not everybody has social media.
[2:22:21] I get some that can't be posted.
Whatever. There's 32 dogs currently on
[2:22:25] the website. As I'm sitting in the back
of the room, we have 36 kennels. One of
[2:22:28] those dogs is a red dog currently at a
foster home. So, I'm not really sure how
[2:22:32] red he is if he's in a foster home. And
I've recently been told where he is.
[2:22:36] foster home with children. Okay, that's
a red dog. So, that gets us down to
[2:22:40] possibly 31. One of the dogs is in a
boarding kennel, so that gets us down to
[2:22:45] 32 sitting in kennels. We have two in
cages, so we're down to 28 sitting in
[2:22:50] kennels. We have 36 kennels. So, I guess
we are really in a good place. We're not
[2:22:53] overcrowded because we have so many
empty kennels. Or are we not really
[2:22:57] updated? I don't know. Does anybody know
how many dogs are at the shelter? As a
[2:23:00] week ago, it was 49, but we only had 32
on the website. Then they put Lockwood
[2:23:05] back. Sorry, I'm rambling.
Anybody know how many dogs are in the
[2:23:10] shelter?
We have 47 dogs in the shelter. Nine are
[2:23:16] red rescue only.
>> Okay, so we have four 33 are available
[2:23:20] for adoption or rescue.
Zero need evaluations. Nine are in
[2:23:25] safekeep. One is in a 7-day stray hold.
One is pending adoption.
[2:23:30] Four in foster.
One is available as a foster and three
[2:23:37] are foster to adopt. Um
we have one empty kennel.
[2:23:43] » We have nine safeke keeps. That's the
difference.
[2:23:45] » Eight crates. Um we have eight in
crates. Uh that's the mom and pups in
[2:23:51] one, right? Does that make sense?
>> Yeah, there's six. Mom and pups are six.
[2:23:55] » Okay.
>> All right.
[2:23:58] » Okay. The big difference is the safe
keeps that no one knows. Nobody
[2:24:01] commented. We have we have nine
safekeeps. It's just some not available.
[2:24:05] We'll check. So, we really can't answer.
>> I've commented in the past.
[2:24:09] » Can I interrupt you?
>> We just need to give the the respect to
[2:24:13] the speaker. There's a lot of different
conversations going on. Just I know it's
[2:24:16] a long meeting. We're getting back to
the top of the list. Please give Lisa
[2:24:20] the respect.
>> I'll be quick. I've commented a couple
[2:24:23] of times similar to I'm sorry I don't
remember the new volunteers name that
[2:24:25] commented about adoption spotlight. I've
commented about that on social media as
[2:24:29] well and we still are using it. It makes
people think that dog has been adopted.
[2:24:34] I've suggested that we use adoptable pet
whatever meat whatever and those are
[2:24:39] not. They're just pictures. And while it
was great that there was a volunteer who
[2:24:44] was sharing videos, she also for some
reason has blocked me. And I don't know
[2:24:48] how many other people are blocked. So I
can no longer look at them. I don't even
[2:24:52] speak to this person. I was randomly
blocked a week or two ago. So, I'm
[2:24:57] asking that the township as a public
entity post these videos yourself so
[2:25:03] everyone can see and everyone can share.
>> You were not blocked by the township?
[2:25:07] » No, I was blocked by the volunteer, but
that's like the big thing. And she can
[2:25:11] do whatever she wants. It's her page,
but that's like the big thing. Oh,
[2:25:15] they're great ways to get information
out. and she's sharing it, but not
[2:25:18] everyone's allowed to see it because I'm
not I've been recently blocked just as I
[2:25:22] mean she's in the Boston Found Pets
group that I run. So I can see what she
[2:25:26] posts. I can't even com like I can see
what she says in there because I'm the
[2:25:30] administrator. I can't even comment on
what she says in there. So you have a
[2:25:35] volunteer who has blocked a member of
the public from being able to see these
[2:25:39] videos. They're her personal page. That
is fine. But the shelter should not be
[2:25:43] relying on that scenario to get the word
out because I can't see them. Who else
[2:25:48] can't see them?
>> Thank you.
[2:25:50] » I'll go sit down now. Thank you very
much.
[2:25:57] » All right, we're back. Everybody spoke
one time, right?
[2:26:00] » Oh, come on up.
>> No, come on up. You have your four
[2:26:03] minutes.
>> I just want to make sure we get to the
[2:26:06] second.
>> Hi, I'm Kelsey. I'm a resident of
[2:26:08] Hamilton and also a local business
owner. I'm the one that adopted the
[2:26:12] kittens from Burlington after having the
awful experience at the Hamilton Animal
[2:26:16] Shelter.
>> So, I just wanted to say I'm happy to
[2:26:18] hear that a coordinator was hired and I
respect you guys and appreciate all that
[2:26:21] you do.
>> Thank you.
[2:26:22] » Thank you. I'm sorry you had your
experience.
[2:26:26] » Yeah, we apologize for the bad
experience, but we're happy you were
[2:26:29] able to help somewhere else. So, thank
you.
[2:26:32] All right, we're back. Everybody first
time.
[2:26:36] Anybody? Anybody come on up.
[laughter]
[2:26:42] » She's she's easily influencable.
[2:26:47] » Andy Kasmmer Hamilton. I have a couple
of issues. I'm going to completely
[2:26:51] change the direction of the meeting for
a few minutes. Anyway, it's okay.
[2:26:55] » Um the fact about the warehouses, we
have so many of them. the one on Kuzzer
[2:27:01] Road that's being built. There are some
of them um I don't even know the name of
[2:27:05] the street that comes out of near Locust
Hill and you connects back to
[2:27:10] » cab.
There's a couple empty ones there and
[2:27:13] yet we're still building more warehouses
and it just seems like it's a waste of
[2:27:19] really good space that we could be using
for other things. Second issue, the
[2:27:24] warehouse on Sloan Avenue has grass that
is at least 2 ft high. If they can get
[2:27:30] public works out there to take care of
the grounds by that warehouse, that
[2:27:34] would be appreciated. Thank you.
>> Yep.
[2:27:40] Okay, last call. Any other first-
timers?
[2:27:48] All right. If if you haven't spoken a
first time and we start going with the
[2:27:51] second timers, you can still come up and
speak for a first time. We're just going
[2:27:54] to try and go in the same order just to
uh be respectful. Um Reverend, you like
[2:28:00] to speak for a second time?
>> You both can go. Whoever wants to go
[2:28:05] first, it's it's
batting order is on you guys. All right.
[2:28:09] Well,
I might want to adopt a dog now. Yep.
[2:28:13] Just everybody is advised, don't start
his clock yet because that's not fair.
[2:28:17] Uh, everybody does get two minutes on
the second time that they do come up.
[2:28:21] Please be uh advised of that. Maybe
speak a little faster. [laughter]
[2:28:26] » So, sir, you you heard of a lot of
community members and faith leaders and
[2:28:30] our concerns? Um, just based on just a
lot of responses and concerns. So,
[2:28:35] you're telling me that the Hamilton
Council has no control over the police
[2:28:39] department because that's the message I
got. So if you there's known four
[2:28:44] officers that were named that could have
some shady conduct to them. They're not
[2:28:48] sat down for review like other townships
and municipalities in the state of New
[2:28:51] Jersey
or does the family have to fear
[2:28:54] retaliation from these four officers?
And if they have another mental health
[2:28:59] crisis, who can they call if 911's doing
the drivebys and Jay-Z would say? Who
[2:29:04] are they going to call? That's my
question is to you.
[2:29:09] My belief from what you told me tonight
is the process is underway. Internal
[2:29:14] affairs is investigating them. Correct.
That is the process that is followed.
[2:29:21] It's directed to the prosecutor's
office. If it goes up from there, I
[2:29:26] guess it would go. Is it going to go to
not to cut you off? Yeah. I understand
[2:29:30] that the clock's running here.
>> There's a process. How long has this
[2:29:32] process take when these officers are on
the streets that can potentially do
[2:29:35] something else to the family to
intimidate them, which is known to
[2:29:38] happen? That's my concern. What what
what if we don't know if they have a
[2:29:42] squad car parked outside the house or
they're outside their their their street
[2:29:46] watching and observing? Cops do this.
This is documented fact in the state of
[2:29:49] New Jersey. My concern is the safety of
the family. My concern is if they're
[2:29:54] calling for help, who can they call for
help if they can't trust the Hamilton
[2:29:57] Police Department?
That's the concern. I would like that
[2:30:01] addressed before I leave.
[2:30:06] » It's again the IIA uh investigation.
>> We're going back to the IA again. No,
[2:30:10] no, I understand. You keep saying IA.
You keep saying prosecutor's office. I
[2:30:14] understand what you're saying. That's a
process. But you know, you have four
[2:30:17] officers on the streets right now.
>> I am.
[2:30:22] » So you can do nothing.
>> Is our is our division. Okay. They just
[2:30:27] provide the report to the prosecution
officers in the police station too and
[2:30:31] their buddy buddy and they say I saw
them joking around the IIA.
[2:30:34] » That's not fair. It's an IIA and and
that's the process that we go through.
[2:30:38] If we got anything from IIA that
indicated that we had an immediate
[2:30:42] concern with any employee, then that
would be addressed by the chief's office
[2:30:48] » with our public safety director
>> on the streets. I understand.
[2:30:52] But you know, did you also know this
that they
[2:30:54] » Sorry, you have to come up to the
microphone because it's the only way
[2:30:56] it's recorded.
>> Common knowledge. Did you know Hamilton
[2:30:59] Township is the national uh the state
headquarters for the Proud Boys? And I
[2:31:02] know where their address is if you did
not know that. And we do know we do know
[2:31:06] some of your officers could be
affiliated with that. Thank you. Have a
[2:31:08] nice day.
[2:31:20] » Minister, you're up next.
[2:31:23] We've heard time after time that uh it
was sent over to the county prosecutors.
[2:31:29] The state of New Jersey literally passed
an independent prosecutor bill because
[2:31:35] officers were not being held accountable
by the county prosecutors. And this is
[2:31:40] why when an officer is involved in a
police shooting, it doesn't go to the
[2:31:45] county prosecutors because the
relationships were too tight between the
[2:31:49] unions and family members and friends
and people they grew up with. So that's
[2:31:53] why they had an independent process
where it goes to the state and the state
[2:31:57] would then dish it out to another county
to do those investigations. So when we
[2:32:02] hear you say it's going to the county,
you're literally describing a process
[2:32:07] that does not work in New Jersey.
And so for me, I just have a problem
[2:32:14] when we talk about holding officers
accountable
[2:32:19] and we continue talking about the
process that exists when you have the
[2:32:24] power. The whole point of all of this is
how are you showing the community that
[2:32:29] you have their back? And right now, zip
zero, we don't see it at all. You
[2:32:35] haven't even done the basic which is
release a soft statement that says we
[2:32:40] stand against any injustice and we're
praying for the families of anywhere.
[2:32:46] You could have did the basic statement.
You didn't even do a basic statement.
[2:32:49] And then on third thing is you have the
power to suspend an officer.
[2:32:57] You didn't use that power. You could
have suspended them with pay without
[2:33:02] pay. You could have spent this per
pending investigation, appending the
[2:33:05] attorney general, appending the county
prosecutor. You didn't even do that. And
[2:33:09] my point is saying, you're trying to
ensure people that they can live in
[2:33:14] Hamilton, that we can get justice. And
for this case, when a kid slits his arm
[2:33:21] and is about to die, the officers who
were told to call 911 are the ones that
[2:33:27] are the purveyors of injustice. And for
me again, I know this is tough because
[2:33:33] in politics you worry about unions, you
worry about re-elections, you worry
[2:33:36] about family members, the community
people think, but there has to be a
[2:33:39] moral stance, especially today in 2026.
And that's the leadership that we're all
[2:33:44] looking for all of y'all.
[2:33:50] You want to comment
[2:33:55] if you want to. You going to give a
comment?
[2:33:59] » Listen, I I appreciate the comments that
have been made. I appreciate the folks
[2:34:02] that have come out. This is the first
time that I ever heard of this incident.
[2:34:08] So I I So I never heard of this incident
at all.
[2:34:13] » Never heard of it. Never heard of it. I
I I've never heard of the incident. How
[2:34:17] am I going to make a judgment on on
against our police officers, our
[2:34:22] Hamilton Township police officers, when
I haven't even heard this case before?
[2:34:27] So, you made an assumption. You came up
here and made an assumption. I'm telling
[2:34:32] you that I've never heard the case
before.
[2:34:34] » And sir, I'm with you. You're you're
paying a salary based on tax.
[2:34:39] » Sit down,
>> sir. You have to make sir. So, your two
[2:34:43] minutes is up. You made you made your
comments. you have to allow us to at
[2:34:47] least to respond.
>> I I you know I don't know when this this
[2:34:52] press conference took place or when this
I was away for vacation over the last
[2:34:57] week and a half,
>> but
[2:34:59] » was that was not knowing in your own
city?
[2:35:01] » I I never heard of this incident before.
So So So you're bringing it to the table
[2:35:06] tonight. The first time I ever heard of
it.
[2:35:09] » So what do you expect me when when when
allegations are made? There's a process
[2:35:13] that's being followed. It is being
followed. The allegations are taken very
[2:35:17] seriously. The officers are being
investigated. It's out of the
[2:35:21] department's hands and in the county
prosecutors, which is done through the
[2:35:25] attorney general's process. This is the
direct way it's supposed to be done.
[2:35:29] When it is done, if it needs to be
raised up to the attorney general's
[2:35:33] office, then they will take it. We have
to at least trust the process and allow
[2:35:39] them to investigate.
[2:35:43] And even if you don't trust the process,
we still have to follow the process,
[2:35:47] right? So we we have to give the pro
Hold on. Hold on. We have to give the
[2:35:53] process a chance to work. We haven't
even had enough time to uh get it get
[2:36:01] full information about this. We're
hearing from you today. We are taking
[2:36:05] what you have to say about this
seriously. Uh there's nothing that
[2:36:10] anyone up here has said that indicates
otherwise. We're taking it seriously. I
[2:36:16] am concerned by what I've heard from the
public today and I can tell you I'm
[2:36:22] going to be, you know, having further
discussions and looking into it further.
[2:36:26] I don't have enough information to come
to a conclusion.
[2:36:31] So I am concerned. We hear you. we take
you seriously and you know let's let's
[2:36:39] follow the process. Let's get more
information and let's see.
[2:36:46] » Next speaker is going to be Chris and
Anna Janello if you wish to comment
[2:36:49] again.
>> Okay,
[2:36:50] » you're finished.
[2:36:56] » Next up, uh Charlene, if you'd like to
comment again. [laughter]
[2:37:03] » Hey y'all. So, I'm going to help you out
a little bit. There are some things that
[2:37:06] you can actually do, right, that are
actually happening concurrently while
[2:37:10] there's an attorney investigation that's
happening. You can
[2:37:17] um actually apply actually request that
the attorney general actually assign an
[2:37:21] independent county prosecutor. You have
that right. As a council, you can launch
[2:37:27] a concurrent legislative investigation
into Hamilton's systems, policies,
[2:37:32] supervision, and decisions surrounding
this incident. How the family calls
[2:37:36] when, all of that you can do as the
council, and it happens concurrently.
[2:37:40] And I have the town codes for it.
Hamilton Township Code uh 512 section A,
[2:37:47] NJSA 4069. I will email the whole thing.
Um, you can stand with the family by
[2:37:53] sending out a resolution that supports
the family's call for a just resolution
[2:37:59] of the charges for their son and for
their son to return home with
[2:38:03] appropriate disability, educational,
behavioral health, and community based
[2:38:07] supports. You can do that as the
council. Also, we all know that the
[2:38:12] mayor is the person that the police
chief is supposed to report to. You can
[2:38:17] actually call the mayor here, question
him, have hearings as to what is the
[2:38:22] process that is occurring within the
police department. You can call for all
[2:38:26] the data from Hamilton to look and see
what are the trends that are actually
[2:38:31] occurring within the police department
to make sure this does not happen again.
[2:38:35] You can also work to build the non-p
police path and start um hearings and
[2:38:41] meetings with people. These are all
things the council can do concurrently
[2:38:45] while there is a IIA investigation.
Thank you.
[2:38:49] » Thank you. [laughter]
[2:38:56] » Jules, you were Jules, you were next up,
but you deferred till the end. Do you
[2:38:59] want to speak now or do you want to
wait?
[2:39:03] » Okay.
Mr. uh Ky Lash, I believe he I saw him
[2:39:08] leave.
[2:39:13] Um, Cristiana Lewis, did she also
believe she left also?
[2:39:18] » Oh, you're here. [laughter]
>> Sorry, I didn't say
[2:39:26] » I would just like to say, right, you
guys sitting here have so much more
[2:39:30] power than anybody back here. So if you
want to sit here and say that you don't
[2:39:35] have control over the police department
or you don't know what's going on within
[2:39:39] your police police department that you
have control over, that's the problem
[2:39:43] clearly, right? You need to address
that. You need to address what has been
[2:39:47] going on and why people continuously get
abused by your police department. And
[2:39:52] like Charlene said, you can call a
hearing. So at this point, the ball is
[2:39:58] in your court. Call this hearing. We
need it and we need it now. So, I just
[2:40:02] want to take exception to one thing you
said about uh people continuously being
[2:40:06] abused by our police department. I've
heard of one instance where there are
[2:40:11] serious allegations and I'm concerned
about what I've heard about it. There's
[2:40:15] one instance. I haven't heard of
instances of continu
[2:40:18] » I just came up here and told you about
an instance in 2020.
[2:40:21] » That was in Trenton. You lived in North
Trenton at the time of that incident.
[2:40:24] » Mercer County covers Trenton. You have
to use force or
[2:40:29] » we're not gonna we can't take comments
from the public.
[2:40:32] » Okay. Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
[2:40:40] » Kia Henderson.
>> She left.
[2:40:49] Uh Mercer Council both left.
Uh, Ellen Coyote,
[2:40:56] you have two more minutes. Come on up.
[2:41:02] » Hi. I just wanted to add that um the
Mercer County Mosquito Control was
[2:41:08] called out by number seven again in the
last 3 weeks or so and number 24 Shaunie
[2:41:13] was told to remove all his personal
property from township property. He
[2:41:16] removed it from the woods but not in on
the grass area that's cut there. So, and
[2:41:21] so they had to go down to him and for
the dozen tenth time or so tell him to
[2:41:26] not have containers where water
accumulates that mosquitoes breed. And
[2:41:31] he supposedly drilled holes and some
handles that were doing that. But
[2:41:35] there's I don't understand why too he's
still allowed to store his personal
[2:41:39] property on his personal property on
township property. Okay.
[2:41:42] » Okay. And I just like on another matter,
if ever comes to a proposal to the
[2:41:47] township to have a data center, please
deny it. No data setters in Hamilton.
[2:41:52] » Thank you.
[2:42:02] » Ask me.
[2:42:08] » Okay. So, I do want to give you the
benefit of the doubt. I do believe you
[2:42:12] when you say you didn't know what
happened. Um, but now you know. You're
[2:42:16] informed. You heard the story. You heard
the the pain that families are holding.
[2:42:21] You heard that there are still
consequences that families are facing
[2:42:24] now because of what our police
department did in July. Um, but also,
[2:42:30] um, I think you said, uh, this was the
only use of force that you're aware of.
[2:42:35] I just want to give you statistics. Um,
>> that wasn't what I
[2:42:39] » Oh, that's not what you not exactly. I
apologize.
[2:42:41] » But that's okay. Go ahead. Continue.
>> Oh, okay. So, uh, basically this is, uh,
[2:42:45] the latest report between 2012 and 2016.
Hamilton police reported, so total use
[2:42:52] of force, 742.
Use of force incidents per 10,000
[2:42:57] arrests, 42.3.
Um, so, and then it says Hamilton's use
[2:43:02] of force at a higher rate than 364 New
Jersey police departments. So like I
[2:43:08] just want to share like this is not the
only one. Um so now that you heard from
[2:43:12] us and like I said we want to give you
the benefit of the doubt. We're bringing
[2:43:15] this to you for the first time. Will you
take on some of the suggestions that we
[2:43:20] have said including um meeting with
groups to discuss what can be done so
[2:43:25] that we can ensure that our police
department is not going to ever do this
[2:43:31] again because when people call and
there's mental health crisis they
[2:43:34] shouldn't be going out right. we should
have um specific people who can deal
[2:43:39] with that particular case and also about
what we can do to assure our community
[2:43:44] that we're not okay with what just
happened because that's I'm hearing from
[2:43:48] everyone you're hearing from everyone
that we don't feel that we we hear you
[2:43:52] listening to us but you're not doing
anything about it. So what can you do so
[2:43:57] you can reassure us that one this is
unacceptable and will you take steps
[2:44:02] further uh moving forward to ensure that
this doesn't happen again?
[2:44:05] » To answer your question yes um since
this mayor and council have taken over
[2:44:10] uh we've made it uh a purpose to meet
with um groups anybody that would like
[2:44:16] to talk to us. We've had faith-based
groups. Uh we've had community groups.
[2:44:20] Um when George Floyd uh the George Floyd
incident happened, uh the first thing we
[2:44:26] did was bring in some community groups.
We brought the then prosecutor in to
[2:44:30] come in and explain how the process
worked, what happened um how our our
[2:44:36] process is different from that that
happened
[2:44:40] um in Minnesota. We do listen. We will
listen. If you want to have uh
[2:44:46] conversations, then you should email us
and the mayor and have conversations.
[2:44:50] » We we are definitely open to listening
and and hearing concerns because
[2:44:54] » love to sit and talk with you.
>> The only way we hear of things
[2:44:57] happening.
>> I mean, look, you heard a lot of
[2:45:00] different things in tonight's meetings,
right? Ring ranging from uh this
[2:45:04] incident to a wide variety of things.
>> Yeah.
[2:45:07] » And the only way we know about some of
those things is if people come to us and
[2:45:11] tell us. So hearing the problems,
hearing it's definitely uh deserving of
[2:45:16] a conversation, right, to listen and
exchange ideas and figure out where to
[2:45:22] go forward. And I just want to
>> So yes, the answer is yes. I I just want
[2:45:26] to
>> uh express my agreement with uh what our
[2:45:30] council president just just said. Uh
yes, I want to get more information. And
[2:45:35] yes, I want to have conversations
um and um figure out what the best
[2:45:41] course of action is um and let's there
is action being taken and to be fair uh
[2:45:48] I want to see uh but I also need to
learn more. So yes, I'm I'm looking
[2:45:54] forward to having those conversations.
>> Okay, thank you so much.
[2:45:57] » I like what we said.
>> Great. And uh any comments from Jennifer
[2:46:03] or Katherine?
>> Well, we're your we're your elected
[2:46:06] we're your elected
>> Okay, good. Just three.
[2:46:09] » There are five two
>> just happens to be two that are absent
[2:46:13] tonight, but uh these the three of us
are elected officials. Okay.
[2:46:17] » Um our business administrator, our
township attorney, our deputy township
[2:46:22] attorney.
>> Great.
[2:46:23] » So, I just also want to say um just like
you, we love our community. So, this is
[2:46:28] an important issue for us. So um I'm
coming today and we're coming today
[2:46:32] kindly because it's our first meeting.
Um and we hope the next meeting we would
[2:46:36] have something substantial from you all.
Um and and so that we can yeah continue
[2:46:41] to be in community together. So thank
you so much.
[2:46:45] » Thank you.
[2:46:50] » Is David still here? Come on up. Sorry.
Did you want to speak again?
[2:46:55] » Okay.
[2:46:58] Ken, are you in the same or did you want
to speak?
[2:47:00] » I was gonna say uh
>> come to the microphone, state your name
[2:47:04] just for so we have everything on the
record.
[2:47:07] » Kenneth Leo representing Philip Crow
House from War New Jersey. So, you know,
[2:47:13] just as a parting comment, appreciate
the opportunity to that you agreed to
[2:47:17] speak with us later and uh look forward
to, you know, working with the town
[2:47:22] because uh we're very invested in the
town, David, back to the community and
[2:47:27] uh you know, looking forward to uh bring
some jobs to the town.
[2:47:33] » Thank you. Thank you,
[2:47:40] » David S. Pierre. Did he leave? Did all
your all your colleagues leave?
[2:47:45] » Yeah.
>> Oh, no.
[2:47:47] » No. Natalie, do you want to be heard?
You're next.
[2:47:50] » No.
>> All right. [laughter]
[2:47:56] Just gone down the list so I don't
forget anybody.
[2:48:00] Uh Alicia, she left also.
She was um from the neighborhood
[2:48:07] community. Uh Amanda, you're next.
[2:48:14] Uh, you want to go? I thought I thought
you said you wanted to go last. Sorry.
[2:48:20] » Okay. Juliana Carella, Hamilton
resident. Um, I want to follow up
[2:48:24] something else I talked about in my
meeting with the mayor, which is what
[2:48:27] are the repercussions when a township
employee violates the township trademark
[2:48:31] policy? He told me he would have to
check with legal and Kathy, but I never
[2:48:35] heard an answer back on that. Um, I
raised this because the shelter manager
[2:48:39] appears to be using township logo,
seals, and uniforms to promote her
[2:48:43] independent photography business. I
specifically opra requested the forms or
[2:48:47] records that would show that she had
permission to use it and it came back as
[2:48:51] no responses. So, I took that as she
didn't have the permission to do it. So,
[2:48:56] the question is just what are the
consequences for that? Um, my other
[2:49:00] question is, is there an update on the
third-p partyy evaluator that I paid
[2:49:05] for? Cuz that was like a week and a half
ago and I just want to know where we're
[2:49:08] at in that process. And then we bypassed
Justine speech, but I just wanted to
[2:49:12] summarize it a little bit. Um, we now
have over 2,000 signatures. The majority
[2:49:18] are Hamilton residents who are asking
for answers to that list of questions we
[2:49:22] submitted. And just like what do we have
to do to get any of those answers?
[2:49:25] because now this is the third meeting
that we're bringing it up. And we also
[2:49:29] went through some of the past meetings
um where you guys on council asked
[2:49:34] questions like at the last one you
wanted a written explanation for why the
[2:49:37] bios weren't done. Um in the 519 meeting
we or council president asked why
[2:49:44] Merlin's evaluation got pushed back 5
months. Um, at the 55 meeting, Lisa
[2:49:49] brought up the food budget and what the
budget was for the animals ordering food
[2:49:53] and why it wasn't being ordered timely.
And we said, you guys said that we would
[2:49:56] find out answers. And even if you can't
give me the answers, did you guys ever
[2:50:00] get the answers that you requested?
>> I got the answers I requested.
[2:50:04] » We did meet with um
uh the director, the health officer. Uh,
[2:50:11] as I had stated, um, I did get the
answers why those weren't done. um some
[2:50:17] of them um and I don't recall which
which were which I got all my answers
[2:50:23] those I was satisfied with my answers uh
also uh the big part of that meeting was
[2:50:28] about the uh application process the
adoption process those things uh all of
[2:50:34] my questions that day were answered um
the other questions you asked were
[2:50:40] » um what was the first question
>> the trademark policy
[2:50:43] » trademark policy I don't have
informationational.
[2:50:47] » Could you expand on that at all?
>> Yes. So, as we know, the shelter manager
[2:50:51] runs her own photography business and if
you go to her website on her homepage,
[2:50:56] she has pictures of the ACOs in uniforms
promoting that she does head shot. And
[2:51:01] then if you click onto that page,
there's a subpage with multiple more
[2:51:04] photos with them in uniform where you
can clearly see the township seal and
[2:51:09] logos and stuff like that. And it was my
understanding that that is not allowed.
[2:51:13] » All right. Thank you.
>> You're welcome. And then just how do we
[2:51:16] get answers to the questions we
submitted for?
[2:51:19] » Did you submit an actual list of
questions?
[2:51:22] » Yeah, I handed it to Chris and it's also
in the petition online which he's also
[2:51:26] seen.
>> Okay.
[2:51:28] » I I can send them again.
>> Could you send them to me so that I make
[2:51:31] sure that we have them because I thought
you meant you submitted them to the
[2:51:34] perks office and when I checked with the
perks office.
[2:51:36] » No, I gave them direct I hand them
directly to Chris.
[2:51:39] » It was the night of the um
>> the board of health meeting.
[2:51:41] » Board of health meeting. Okay.
>> Thank you.
[2:51:42] » You get them to me. I'm sorry you had to
do it again, but yeah.
[2:51:49] [applause]
[2:51:54] [clears throat]
>> Amanda, you're up.
[2:52:03] » Amanda Erie, Hamilton resident. Okay, so
I was talking about Marley. We went to
[2:52:08] the training and okay, so I was less
wondering how the guidance for how to
[2:52:14] appropriately walk a dog would apply
when the demo that we were given on
[2:52:18] Marley was used with the leash wrap
method. So there was no actual time for
[2:52:23] us to practice using a non leash wrap
method. Okay.
[2:52:29] So after I passed the class, I'm allowed
to walk green level dogs. When I came
[2:52:32] for my first dog walk though, there were
no green dogs available. So with staff
[2:52:36] approval, I was allowed to walk a light
blue color dog, which I felt comfortable
[2:52:41] and I appreciated them allowing me to
do. Since then, they have allowed me to
[2:52:46] walk specific bluele dogs. So not light
blue, the step up when the lower level
[2:52:51] dogs are not available.
I think the progression and the
[2:52:55] opportunities to develop these skills
could be more clearly explained in the
[2:52:58] training and how to get from level to
level and what qualifications we kind of
[2:53:02] need to achieve that. When I left the
training, I felt like some practical
[2:53:06] questions were left unanswered. Like
where should we walk the dogs? How long
[2:53:10] should the walk be? Are there preferred
roots or areas in the neighbor of the
[2:53:14] neighborhood to avoid especially if uh
there's a pet in the neighborhood and we
[2:53:19] have are walking a reactive dog and
what's the best way to even like manage
[2:53:23] the two leash method? Because we're told
to use our two hands. So when the dog
[2:53:28] goes to the bathroom, what is the
guidance on what to do with the leashes?
[2:53:32] So little things like that I think could
be really helpful for people who have a
[2:53:37] lot less experience with an animal.
After we walked Marley, we went to the
[2:53:41] fencing yard behind gate one where she
said the volunteers can bring dogs to
[2:53:45] spend additional time outside of their
kennel. Um
[2:53:51] she gave us directions for not putting
our face in the dog's face and things
[2:53:54] like that. I appreciated her guidance,
but I wonder how can we make the time
[2:53:58] outside of the kennel more meaningful.
So I the last part I want to talk about
[2:54:02] is just social socialization of the
dogs. Um Laura referenced that this was
[2:54:08] like a super important experience for
the dogs to have outside of the kennel
[2:54:11] and sometimes part of the routine is
that the dogs aren't receiving
[2:54:15] socialization and love and affection
that they really need to become
[2:54:18] adoptable. So I have a question like how
can volunteers be able to provide more
[2:54:23] human interaction for the dogs who may
not be eligible for regular walks? I'm
[2:54:27] thinking like a red dog who might not
get out of their kennel except for once
[2:54:30] a month or multiple months not outside
of a kennel. So if they are a redle dog
[2:54:36] for a specific walking behavior, let's
say, but they're affectionate and they
[2:54:39] like people, how can we have
appropriately trained volunteers spend
[2:54:43] time with the dog without just taking it
for a walk? How can we make these
[2:54:47] animals more adoptable and social?
Because in the couple experiences I've
[2:54:53] had, I am noticing that the lower level
dogs, even down to the light blue dogs,
[2:54:58] are not interested in socializing with
humans that they are with. And that was
[2:55:02] something that she noted about Marley,
who's a level blue, that they're not
[2:55:06] really interested in interacting with
humans. And part of what makes them
[2:55:09] adoptable is being able to interact with
human people. Um, so part of the
[2:55:16] socialization goal is that I'm I'm at
time. Okay, no problem. Thank you,
[2:55:26] » Lori.
[2:55:32] [laughter]
Oh my god, it's so late.
[2:55:35] » Okay.
>> All right. Just Lori Sarnney Hamilton
[2:55:40] Township. Uh just to be clear, I went
over who runs the social media and all
[2:55:44] that. I was talking about how just
simple things like getting t-shirts. So,
[2:55:47] if I'm walking a dog and Amanda's
walking the dog, I could see her. And if
[2:55:50] I have a dog reactive, I can move. I I
don't think the township has to pay for
[2:55:54] it. The people gladly spend $10 to $20
on a shirt if it meant it helps get
[2:55:58] animals adopted. I know it sounds silly,
but it's true. I know someone's a
[2:56:00] t-shirt business. I'm sure they would be
happy. Um, this may seem silly, but
[2:56:05] think of someone brand new walking into
the shelter and to going to look at the
[2:56:08] animals. People would feel more
comfortable asking questions if they
[2:56:10] knew who to actually ask the questions
to. It makes for a better experience for
[2:56:14] the buyer which can lead to more
successful results. The last thing I
[2:56:18] want to speak about is the playyard for
the dogs. I think asking the public for
[2:56:22] help whether that be donations or
volunteering to put I don't know
[2:56:25] artificial grass more enrichment for the
dogs to be able to play and exercise
[2:56:29] could be better pictures we can taken
and so on. The people in the town want
[2:56:34] to help. So why are we so afraid to
accept it as a town? And I I Amanda was
[2:56:39] speaking. And it just kind of like came
in my mind for the people in the
[2:56:42] audience. Like when we think about these
colored dogs when I go to walk dogs,
[2:56:46] it's like I always use the teacher as an
example. It's like I'm only teaching the
[2:56:51] smart kids, the kids who need help, you
just ignore them and let them suffer.
[2:56:54] And I feel like we just have to figure
out a better way to give these dogs a
[2:56:58] chance. And the whole thing with the
social media, we we have to do better.
[2:57:02] Like anyone looking on Instagram or
Facebook, it's just like it's subpar. We
[2:57:06] could do better. And the goal is to sell
these animals to loving people. And
[2:57:10] ultimately the goal is to clear the
shelter. So I I feel like that's all we
[2:57:14] want and that's all I would just like to
if you have the answers to the questions
[2:57:19] about who runs the social media. I would
love to know that. Does anybody know
[2:57:24] like a name?
[2:57:28] I mean we'll get all your comments and
it's okay
[2:57:33] to come
work very hard to make it much better
[2:57:37] than it was and that it has
>> I agree. I think we can also just be
[2:57:40] honest that um sometimes if you're not
doing your job well enough there's
[2:57:45] someone else who could do better. And I
think that we need to take a pause and
[2:57:49] look at oursel as if stop being
complacent. I don't know how much money
[2:57:53] she's getting paid, but like I said
about Jules, she got a lot of engagement
[2:57:59] by just speaking about the shelter and
constantly posting, posting, posting. I
[2:58:03] don't see that happening. And it's we're
here to help. And again, I need to say
[2:58:07] one more thing about Jules not being
accepted as a volunteer. My dad always
[2:58:10] told me, Mark Twain quote, "You're never
wrong doing the right thing." So, if the
[2:58:13] shelter is not doing anything wrong, I
don't know what they're worried about
[2:58:15] Jules coming to volunteer and walk some
dogs at. Thank you very much.
[2:58:25] So, I know Steve, Lisa, Janice,
uh, Andy all did not, uh, sign up. The
[2:58:32] last name I have is Kelsey. Did you want
to speak again?
[2:58:36] » Okay. Um,
anybody else that spoke the first time
[2:58:40] that wants to speak again a second time?
If you spoke, if you didn't speak yet
[2:58:43] and you want to speak, you're more than
welcome to speak also.
[2:58:47] » Um, I'm I would like her to speak.
You didn't have your first chance yet.
[2:58:52] You're more than welcome to come up.
>> Okay.
[2:58:55] » Yeah.
>> Good evening. I'm Anna Pao. I'm with the
[2:58:59] Resistencia and Aion. We serve Hamilton
uh Mercer County in general. I'm also uh
[2:59:06] I lived in Mercer County for a long
time. I live really close to Mercer
[2:59:09] County now. And I wanted to come up to
talk about a couple of things just
[2:59:15] sitting here observing as a human,
right? I wanted to give the chance to
[2:59:19] the people who are living in Hamilton
and who have seen what is happening to
[2:59:25] the family and to the situation in in
general. Um I want to mention that
[2:59:33] law enforcement like ICE right now and
police collaboration with ICE is
[2:59:39] happening and it's becoming violent and
what is happening is that the community
[2:59:44] is no longer trusting police. We have
many women who have come to our
[2:59:51] organization saying that they cannot
call police because they're scared of
[2:59:56] going to be given to ICE because they
have maybe an abusive partner or that
[3:00:04] they have something happening uh with a
neighbor or a landlord that is like
[3:00:09] threatening them to to hit them to abuse
them. And so what what are we doing now
[3:00:16] here is not listening and not protecting
a family, let alone the ICE connection
[3:00:22] that I'm making just because of our
work. So it is crucial that we don't
[3:00:28] just sit here and listen. Think about
this as if you were
[3:00:34] part of the family or you knew them or
it was a family member for your from
[3:00:40] your family circle that was going
through this that called for help and
[3:00:45] then they were arrested, put charges,
abused physically,
[3:00:51] and then not given any help. It's been a
month now. I personally had to make
[3:00:57] calls to have a a therapist and therapy
for the family. Why do we as
[3:01:05] organizations or individuals have to
pick up the pieces of what the
[3:01:10] government and city councils can do? Why
is this just looked at noninately and
[3:01:17] said, "Oh, I never knew about this." Or,
"Oh, uh, we we need to investigate." I
[3:01:23] urge you, I urge you just as a human to
make this a priority tomorrow morning,
[3:01:29] like all the other priorities that we
have, please investigate. And we need to
[3:01:34] put protection for the family. Not
calling them out in here, but it could
[3:01:39] be any family who the police is going to
maybe well, we already know the son is
[3:01:44] in detention right now, but what what
can happen if they're investigating the
[3:01:49] family? This is why there's a lack of
trust with police and community and we
[3:01:55] don't want to foster that. We want to
make sure that people are being heard
[3:02:00] and that our tax dollars are being used.
So please take into consideration what
[3:02:05] everyone has said and make this a
priority tomorrow. Thank you.
[3:02:09] » Thank you.
[3:02:18] » Janice, come on up.
[3:02:27] Oh, the mic's at the right size. Wow.
All right. A short person before me.
[3:02:31] Fantastic. Okay. Janice Lana Cornell
Heights. You guys definitely have a lot
[3:02:36] of homework to do from listening to all
these people and I must say you did an
[3:02:43] outstanding job, Mr. President.
>> Thank you. giving people the leniency
[3:02:47] and the timing, how you called
everybody, made sure everybody had their
[3:02:50] second chance. Very well done. You
should be proud of yourself and I didn't
[3:02:55] know we had the gap still in existence.
Okay. [laughter]
[3:02:59] » Thank you.
>> So, but you did a very good job and
[3:03:01] giving everybody their fair shot and
giving them the extra time even you kind
[3:03:05] of let the time run a bit and you gave
them their extra time to finish and
[3:03:08] everything. That was very good of you
and you did a very nice meeting.
[3:03:12] » Thank you. Appreciate it. [laughter]
[3:03:17] Lisa
[3:03:26] » Lisa Williams Hamilton. I'm going to
start with I too like Councilman
[3:03:30] Carabelli did not know about this
situation that the family experienced in
[3:03:35] July with our police department. So I
want to start with that. I am sorry to
[3:03:39] hear that this is going on in our town.
No person, no resident, no visitor of
[3:03:43] our town should be afraid to call the
police or call 911 in a mental health
[3:03:47] emergency. So, I didn't know either. And
I think I'm sort of aware, but I I guess
[3:03:54] I'm not. So, I just want to say that I
don't think anyone should be afraid and
[3:03:59] I feel for this family. I mean, I
sometimes live in fear with stuff that I
[3:04:03] have spoken out about and my property
has been vandalized and I have had
[3:04:07] terrible things said to me and I have
gone to the police department and
[3:04:11] sometimes not gotten help either in
situations in the past, say, six years.
[3:04:15] So, nothing like these people have dealt
with. So, I don't want to run out of
[3:04:19] time. I just want to say I feel for
them. I feel for you guys. I have
[3:04:22] cameras on my house as well because of
stuff that has happened on my property
[3:04:26] and I don't live far from you. I've
walked past your house a million times.
[3:04:29] I am sorry for what you are going
through. Um I also never got an answer
[3:04:32] on how much money is in the budget for
sorry shifting to the shelter for food
[3:04:35] at the shelter. The list of questions I
believe Jules is referring to was a
[3:04:39] meeting Kathy that you weren't here. Um
your assistant attended that meeting
[3:04:44] that members of council saying giving
questions. We want answers. That's what
[3:04:48] I think she's referring to. I'm going to
try to be fast. I know social media is
[3:04:52] better than it was for people who are
new to the shelter situation. They don't
[3:04:55] know that there was never anything and
I've brought it up for years. But again,
[3:04:58] it wasn't until Jules got involved that
we got movement on that. The fact that
[3:05:03] it took Juliana on social media to get
help for the shelter really makes me
[3:05:07] question like seriously, if there's
anybody that should be able to volunteer
[3:05:09] at the shelter, it's Juliana Carella.
Because without her, the movement would
[3:05:13] not have happened. And now she's not
because people don't trust her because
[3:05:16] she speaks up and isn't afraid to. I
know I spoke up for years. You sit there
[3:05:20] and shake your head, Mr. Ty, but I've
raised the same issues for for years.
[3:05:24] Same three issues. not allowed to stick
your hand inside the cage. That's that's
[3:05:29] my understanding of what the issue was.
>> She's been told she can't.
[3:05:32] » Let's not pretend she's being persecuted
for having an effective social media
[3:05:36] » and other people stick hands in cages.
So my point is there would be no
[3:05:40] movement forward on that shelter if it
were not for Juliana Carella in the past
[3:05:44] couple of months. Thank you Juliana. I
have raised the exact same three issues
[3:05:49] every board of health meeting, every
council meeting for years. I rewatch the
[3:05:53] meetings. I'm tired of watching myself
say the same thing. So, thank you to you
[3:05:58] people who have spoken up. I'm going to
sit down now.
[3:06:05] » You're up next.
[3:06:14] » Steve Clay, Hamilton Township. I'm gonna
um echo Lisa's statement about the uh
[3:06:20] whatever this incident was that happened
in July. I had no clue and I'm kind of
[3:06:24] shocked.
But as I'm sitting here listening to it,
[3:06:28] I know there's a lot that is a a
criminal prosecution process that you
[3:06:33] guys cannot interfere in. But I believe
some of the things they asked for was
[3:06:37] some information
um from our use of force or whatever
[3:06:43] they had asked for that may show if
there is or is not a pattern of this
[3:06:47] type of thing happening. And I think
that of all they asked for is something
[3:06:51] that we should be able to provide
>> quickly. Um
[3:06:57] or andor have the police chief here at
the next meeting to give some
[3:07:01] explanation of of those patterns if they
exist or do not exist. Um
[3:07:07] and I will also echo Lisa's statement on
Juliana's application for uh
[3:07:13] volunteering.
Sorry, nobody at that shelter has any
[3:07:17] basis to deny a volunteer based on
trust. [laughter]
[3:07:24] Um, and I could spend about the next 45
minutes here going into that and I
[3:07:28] won't, but that is nonsense. If she made
a mistake or broke a rule as a member of
[3:07:33] the public, she would just like every
other volunteer sign her agreement as a
[3:07:38] volunteer that that would not happen. So
none of that adds up. Whether it be
[3:07:44] trust for her social media or her
sticking a hand in the cage just doesn't
[3:07:48] wash. Thanks.
>> Thank you. [applause]
[3:07:56] » Andy, did you want wish to speak again?
[3:08:02] » All right. So, we made it through the
list twice. Um, we'll close the public
[3:08:06] comment portion with that said and move
the council comments. Uh you either one
[3:08:11] of you want wish to start. I
>> I'll kick it off. Yeah. Um
[3:08:16] so I appreciate everyone coming out. Um
we,
[3:08:22] you know,
tonight we've heard a lot of really
[3:08:27] concerning
uh information uh from members of the
[3:08:31] public. I'm disgusted by the behavior uh
that we learned about uh that this
[3:08:36] family's being put through. Um, I want
to get more information about that,
[3:08:41] Kathy. Uh, about what response, what's
being done. Um, anything that we can
[3:08:48] learn about any investigation that's
being conducted. Um, I'd like I'd like
[3:08:54] more information about that. Um, no
family should have to go through that.
[3:08:59] Um, same thing with the um, you know,
I'm disturbed by
[3:09:06] this notion that someone committed
suicide, 911 was called, and now that
[3:09:10] person's in jail behind that. That's
that doesn't add up. I need more
[3:09:16] information about how that happened. I
need to know what the justification was
[3:09:21] for that. So, um, perhaps we can have a
conversation tomorrow. Well, I don't
[3:09:27] think we're frivy to any of the details
of anything with regards to that case
[3:09:32] until it's through its investigation. We
cannot interfere with the investigation,
[3:09:36] meaning we can't even know the details.
>> So, um
[3:09:40] » there there's apparently video that
members of the public have access to.
[3:09:44] » Again, it's if it's video, it's a public
video that I mean or from somebody from
[3:09:49] the public that we don't have privy to.
If they want to provide it to us, I'd be
[3:09:52] happy to to take a look at it. And of
course there's a process. The process
[3:09:57] has to play out. Um but I'm I'm
concerned and um I am willing to meet
[3:10:04] with members of the public uh leaders of
any community groups that want to sit
[3:10:09] down. Um Councilman Pero talked about uh
we can't have a quorum when we have
[3:10:14] these meetings outside of our regular
schedule. So, one or two of us uh could
[3:10:20] attend a meeting um along with, you
know, any concerned citizens who want to
[3:10:26] uh sit down and and talk about this
further. Um so, I appreciate everyone's
[3:10:31] input. Um the
shelter, uh we continue to talk about
[3:10:38] the shelter a lot. Um,
you know, we're we're talking about the
[3:10:45] color coding system, uh, and there are
valid criticisms of that. I just want to
[3:10:50] remind everyone that system didn't exist
before, uh, we got on to council. That's
[3:10:56] something that was put into place to
provide more transparency and more
[3:11:01] accountability around, um, decisions
that are being made about the animals
[3:11:07] that come into the shelter. And so a
part of that accountability is
[3:11:11] discussions like this. This is a result
of a better process being put in place
[3:11:16] where now we have a level of
transparency where questions can be
[3:11:20] asked. Prior to the color-coded system
uh being put in place, prior to there
[3:11:26] being a committee uh making decisions
around the animals, uh there was no
[3:11:30] accountability to that. That didn't
happen until this council uh came into
[3:11:36] office. Um, you know, we we've talked
about how we can improve uh the social
[3:11:43] media strategy. Um, that is something
that
[3:11:49] has improved and can stand improvement.
I'm hopeful that perhaps we can utilize
[3:11:54] some of the volunteers who may be
>> happy to,
[3:11:58] » you know, better positioned to do that
um in order to more effectively get
[3:12:03] these animals out of our shelter. Uh
which I think, you know, needs to be a
[3:12:10] focus at that facility. Uh and we've
talked about that, right? Like delays in
[3:12:16] responding to folks who want to adopt
animals. Um,
[3:12:21] you know, the Burlington shelter can
adopt a cat same day. Why can't we? You
[3:12:28] know, so these are questions and I know
we've made improvements and we're making
[3:12:32] improvements. I know we are. Um, but
why is that that another shelter can do
[3:12:40] something same day and we can't? I I'd
like to understand that. So,
[3:12:47] um, people raised valid questions. Um,
Jules, I didn't mean to single you out
[3:12:54] for any, uh, criticism. I I think the
work that you're doing is good. You
[3:13:00] know, I think that everybody has to
follow the rules when you go into a
[3:13:03] shelter. There's a public safety issue
in a facility like that. We have had
[3:13:08] people get injured by some of these
animals. That's why we have a coding
[3:13:12] system. uh the effort is to keep the
public safe. So,
[3:13:18] I appreciate everyone's concerns on all
the issues that have been raised. Uh
[3:13:22] some really serious issues uh that we've
talked about today. Um and we do, uh
[3:13:30] Janice is right, we do have our
homework, uh to do after this meeting.
[3:13:33] So, thank you everyone and good night.
[3:13:39] » Thank you, Councilman Thai. Um, I'll
just since you ended with the uh animal
[3:13:43] shelter, I'll just continue with that
theme and just say um that um you know I
[3:13:49] was happy to hear that the volunteer
coordinators uh on staff right now and
[3:13:54] that you know process the processes uh
processes are in place to uh and and
[3:13:59] some of our volunteers happen to be here
uh tonight. So that's some some really
[3:14:03] good news. I think there still could be
improvements regarding the social media
[3:14:06] if we can. And I I I do agree with uh
some of Lor's comments uh about the
[3:14:11] volunteer t-shirts and things like that.
I think that's I mean they're easy ones.
[3:14:15] We should have that in place. Um just
from the public safety issues that have
[3:14:20] been brought up tonight. Um I definitely
very concerning uh what we've heard this
[3:14:27] evening. Um like I said, it was the
first time I've ever heard of this
[3:14:31] situation. Um, and I guess I got a
little bit heated there because of the
[3:14:36] idea of like jumping jumping to a
conclusion tonight on having a separate
[3:14:40] investigation when I I don't even have
any information on this uh other than
[3:14:45] what was brought up this evening. Um, so
I do echo what Janice has said and what
[3:14:50] Councilman Tai said. We got to do some
uh uh homework on this. I I'm more than
[3:14:55] willing to meet with individuals um and
different organizations that are
[3:14:58] involved in this process. Um, I'm sorry
that you're dealing with uh this
[3:15:04] incident. Um um it's actually not too
far from where I live, so I I I'm very
[3:15:09] familiar with that area. Um and you
know, hopefully we can come to uh some
[3:15:14] um some viable solutions that make sense
uh and are appropriate for all. Uh so I
[3:15:21] appreciate you coming out. That's why
it's important that you come out to the
[3:15:24] meetings, bring up these issues, voice
these concerns, and we'll um we'll go
[3:15:28] from there. We have two meetings in
September or one
[3:15:30] » one
>> one meeting in September. So uh stay
[3:15:33] tuned for that for that date. Thank you.
>> Thank you uh to both my colleagues.
[3:15:39] Thank you to my team. Uh to the people
that have been here for the first time.
[3:15:44] Uh you can see that we deal with a wide
variety
[3:15:48] uh broad range of um issues, topics uh
across the whole spectrum. Um it was uh
[3:15:58] very uneasy listening to some of the
things that uh have happened, some of
[3:16:03] the things that were said. And um
our uh retired teacher back there was
[3:16:10] right. We there's some homework to be
done. There's some uh facts to be dug
[3:16:13] up. And um [laughter] I look forward to
uncovering uh some of this because
[3:16:20] um it's not acceptable in the community
and uh we have some work to do. So uh
[3:16:25] our next meeting uh I believe is the
second week in September. Um
[3:16:31] » 22
>> 22nd of September. Um
[3:16:36] let's see what uh uh facts we uncover uh
by that point. And um I hope everybody
[3:16:42] has a good night and um yes we will uh
be adjourned for the night.