[0:05] >> in compliance with the open public meeting act of the state of new jersey on january 12,

[0:10] 2025, adequate notice of this meeting was provided as required by law.

[0:15] additionally, this meeting is being digitally recorded and live streamed on the somerset county website.

[0:20] for public access, please email your questions to county board meeting at somerset county and j.gov. Director?

[0:29] >> please rise for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for reflections.

[0:38] >>

[0:48] >> may we continue to be the leaders of somerset county,

[0:54] committed to excellence and innovation in public service, promoting the well being of all residents and communities by providing effective,

[1:02] efficient, and responsive leadership. Thank you. Welcome everyone

[1:10] to the october 28 work session of somerset county board of commissioners. This agenda and the items on and for discussion will be considered at our next meeting,

[1:18] which is scheduled for november 12. No action will be taken at this meeting,

[1:23] and unless the measure and its adoption are needed in a manner necessary to continue county business. Roll call, please?

[1:30] >> commissioner graner. >> here. >> commissioner drake. >> here. >> commissioner soe. >> here.

[1:34] >> deputy director mrano. >> here. >> director robinson. >> here. >> I have brief remarks to see we have several guests with us on this evening,

[1:46] so we will move right along. Thank you to paul kreseller and staff who planned

[1:54] setup and got the vendors together for our second annual veterans resource job at wellness fair.

[2:02] I was there with my granddaughter. We had a great time meeting the different vendors, speaking with veterans.

[2:10] thank you to vfw post 2290 in manville,

[2:14] for being our host location this year. They were very appreciative to have that opportunity,

[2:21] and will welcome us back again. I had the pleasure of putting my granddaughter to work and handing out

[2:29] challenge coins as a special token of appreciation from one veteran to another.

[2:35] we also attended our dinner in somerset that used to be catalin.

[2:42] they are a global provider for drug development and research and discovery services.

[2:48] it is one of the latest companies that are invested in somerset county.

[2:53] they purchased, again, from catalin back in last year or early part of this year.

[2:59] through those efforts, they were able to retain all 200 employees at that location.

[3:07] they are going to expand the facility with new labs and packaging capabilities,

[3:11] and they are a company that is based in belgium, and they chose to make somerset county their home.

[3:19] we also with the business partnership with somerset county tourism,

[3:24] they have been involved in fun engagement as we prepare for the fifa world cup of 2026,

[3:31] partnering with companies and other community partners.

[3:36] also, in preparation for the 250th, they have been filming throughout the county to showcase our historical sites.

[3:45] that has been completed. They have also sent increased usage and traffic on our kiosk.

[3:52] so as that kiosk and availability of tourism and information for

[3:58] somerset county goes as far as virginia up the east coast through the tri state area.

[4:05] so we appreciate all that they're doing and making sure that

[4:10] somerset county is getting the visibility it needs as we prepare for our nation's 250th,

[4:16] but also showcasing that somer state county is a great place to live,

[4:21] work, play, and visit. I don't think we have, see,

[4:26] our next meeting is november 12. So happy veterans day to all the veterans,

[4:31] and we'll see you. Deputy director. >> that's great. Thank you, director.

[4:36] good evening and welcome. Very busy past couple of weeks.

[4:41] administrator more and I participated in a team's call with

[4:46] senator andy kim and other elected officials to discuss the gateway rail project.

[4:53] specifically the rvl line, which boasts about 15,000 commuters daily.

[5:01] we were on the call with congresswoman pow, congressman menendez, administrator mar, four mayors,

[5:09] one from each of the counties, including rariton boroughs, mayor nick kara, to discuss what's going on, it's very confusing.

[5:19] throughout this conversation, the senator just kept saying, we need clarity.

[5:27] the president talked about terminating the gateway project,

[5:33] which would eliminate thousands of jobs, delay commuting times.

[5:39] for us on the rvl, me as a former commuter, that change of train in newark bogs down your whole life.

[5:47] it is a real damper on your family life. It takes you from your children.

[5:51] when the president of the united states said he was terminating the project,

[5:56] the senator is just trying to get us all to understand that he's trying

[6:00] to reach out to washington to figure out what some more clarity as to what's going on.

[6:04] in the meantime, the mayor's alliance is working hard on this. The county is involved with the mayor's alliance to keep fighting

[6:12] for the gateway project for all of us for that commutation ease.

[6:16] it is definitely a pet project of mine as a former commuter.

[6:21] so thank you to senator kim for keeping that on the docket.

[6:26] I also attended another pharmaceutical expansion here in somerset county.

[6:31] lupin expanded their footprint here in somerset county.

[6:35] they have a facility in somerset, franklin township right now,

[6:40] and they have expanded their office space in bridgewater, which is really awesome.

[6:45] they make generic drugs for predominantly respiratory illnesses.

[6:50] so we love having them there. The governor was there with us. So phil murphy was there for the ribbon cutting of the new office building.

[6:58] it was very lovely, and we're excited to have them grow and build their company here in somerset county.

[7:04] I also was invited to the bernards township, 250th planning committee meeting,

[7:10] and I got to tell you bernards is doing a phenomenal job of collaborating and coordinating with their businesses,

[7:17] their library, their community, their town, the county. So they are really getting prepped for the 250th anniversary.

[7:25] they've got december 10 through 15th of 2026,

[7:29] all getting ready now in the books for all kinds of activities. So pre christmas 2026,

[7:34] spend time in bernards township. I'm going to steal some of commissioner graner's thunder.

[7:40] we were at the art show reception together for the open air open space art show.

[7:46] so this is the second and a three part series. Last year was farm to frame,

[7:50] where we showcased our local artist to show our preserve farmland.

[7:56] this time, it was local artists showcasing preserved open space.

[8:01] I hope for those that are visiting the building tonight, you do take a little time on your way out and really admire some of this artwork.

[8:09] it's very, very lovely. Next year is use on history. It'll showcase our historic preservation locations.

[8:16] so that was really, really great. 30 artists, 12 parks. Also with commissioner graner,

[8:21] we had the fun time of the launch of the montgomery township inclusive playground.

[8:28] part of the funds for that playground came from recreation grants through

[8:32] the open space program. It was phenomenal.

[8:36] I have never been at a ribbon cutting. Where I saw such eager faces to get in there.

[8:44] the mayor would not let any children play until we had the official ribbon cutting.

[8:49] am I wrong, liz? They were like, cheering. I thought I was on a disney movie like.

[8:55] so it gave my heart some joy to know that our funding is going into the right places,

[9:01] and our children in the county are really loving what we're doing.

[9:05] also with commissioner graner. We went to the sommer strong 5k and 10k race at duke island park this past saturday.

[9:12] that was to support the philippine nurses association and their philanthropic works that they do with that fund raising.

[9:19] and also with commissioner graner. We went to the duali celebration at the blagi temple in bridgewater.

[9:25] they had a lot of wonderful dancers, all ages and speeches.

[9:30] it was a lovely time. I thank the temple and their chair people for the gracious invitation to welcome us.

[9:37] as the director said, veterans day is coming up. We do have a ceremony in our plaza right outside on veterans day at 11:00 am.

[9:45] so it's easy, 11:11 at 11. Everyone is welcome to come.

[9:50] last but not least, our public works had their shred event, 01,111 cars, and our household hazardous waste had 767 cars.

[10:02] that concludes my report. >> thank you, deputy director morono,

[10:08] and I appreciate your advocacy, too, as I serve on the njtpa board or

[10:13] the north jersey transportation and planning authority to make sure that we continue to advocate for gateway and the hunter bridge flyover,

[10:21] which will alleviate a lot of that bottlenecking that occurs within our transportation system.

[10:27] we had a freight initiatives committee meeting on the njtpa.

[10:31] what's nice, we have presentations. This meeting, we had a presentation on technology in free.

[10:38] our speaker was matt soul, the founder and ceo of parallel systems,

[10:42] a company developing autonomous battery electric rail vehicles.

[10:48] parallel technology enables railroads to expand market share

[10:52] by improving service quality, flexibility, and reach.

[10:56] the system works alongside of traditional transits, complements existing operations, and integrates with rail,

[11:03] physical, and digital infrastructure. Matt has more than 20 years of experience developing

[11:08] advanced technologies within established industries and aerospace.

[11:13] he had lead roles in development teams and certifications of

[11:18] the world's first autonomous autonomous flight termination system,

[11:22] hazard analysis, and risk mitigation for an spacecraft and air force certification of reasonable rockets.

[11:29] we had a wealth of information, which we were able to use to make further decisions on that board,

[11:35] and that's $3 billion of federal funding that we appropriate for infrastructure and planning throughout the northern part of new jersey.

[11:42] later on this evening, I am proud to say that I will be attending right after this, of course,

[11:49] a dinner for the adult day center, and they will be honoring laura de prato,

[11:56] and anyone who has met laura knows that she is a breath of fresh air and can light up a room.

[12:02] this year's recipient of the steve caliper community leadership award.

[12:08] anyone who also met steve understands that his energy was he had that personality that was bigger than life.

[12:14] I couldn't think of a better person to be receiving this. She's a trailblazer and ceo journalist and horticultural therapy practitioner

[12:23] whose work has transformed lives across all ages and abilities from cancer patients and

[12:29] caregivers to senior citizens and memory care and individuals in recovery.

[12:34] laura's nature based programs brings healing, hope, and connection to our community.

[12:39] her impact reaches far beyond programming. Laura has championed horticultural therapy through advocacy,

[12:46] education, and public service, including launching adc's own horticultural therapy initiatives in

[12:53] 2012 and authorizing legislation that established the new jersey horticultural therapy week in 2015.

[13:01] so I just want to express deep gratitude and appreciation

[13:06] for all the work that she's done throughout our community. For veterans day around the corner,

[13:11] while we're in person here, I thank all our veterans for their service to give us a life that we have today. Thank you.

[13:19] >> thank you, commissioner. Last week,

[13:23] I attended a workshop hosted by department of human services,

[13:27] the department of health, and the richard hall halth and wellness center. It certainly was an incredible meeting discussion

[13:34] as the program embarks on a new program with a goal of harm reduction.

[13:39] this program includes a fully equipped mobile van and substance use counselors

[13:44] who are looking to bring support directly to those who need it. We use data from the county to identify hot spots or activity centers,

[13:53] and nine municipalities were identified as places really to focus our energies.

[13:57] we want to thank all those who came out to this workshop, including representatives from many of the municipalities, police,

[14:05] business administrators, and several mayors came out really to discuss this important topic.

[14:12] we look at harm reduction. It's important to understand what it is.

[14:16] harm reduction is rooted in respect, compassion, and the belief that every person deserves dignity, safety,

[14:24] and the opportunity to make positive changes at their own pace and in their own time.

[14:29] it's about meeting people where they are, not where we wish they were,

[14:33] and working together to reduce the negative consequences of drug use, stigma, and isolation.

[14:40] in our county, we've seen 399 overdoses from january 1 through september 30 of this year.

[14:50] a number that touches every part of our community, from families to schools to emergency responders,

[14:56] 27 of that 399 overdoses resulted in a fatality.

[15:03] >> seventy percent of those fatalities were attributed to the use of fentanyl.

[15:08] we can look at 27 people who basically died from the use of drugs.

[15:13] but behind each number is a person, someone's child, a friend, a neighbor.

[15:20] harm reduction invites us to respond not just with the policy, but with humanity.

[15:27] a few months ago, our research for recovery outreach workers connected with someone who had overdosed multiple times.

[15:34] through harm reduction, access to narcan, safe use education, and a trusted connection.

[15:41] that person is now in treatment and rebuilding their lives. Stories like this show that harm reduction isn't about enabling drug use.

[15:51] it's about keeping people alive long enough to have a chance to heal and to recover.

[15:57] really, that's my message for today, but it's end of my report. Thank you. >> thank you, commissioner drake.

[16:03] it looks like the supplemental nutrition assistance program, otherwise known as snap benefits for november 2025 will not be available on november 1st.

[16:11] this delay directly impacts 11,480 active snap

[16:16] recipients in the county and places an enormous strain on our existing food access infrastructure,

[16:21] which includes two primary food banks, eight food pantries across locations throughout the county,

[16:27] and 30 total food access sites plus six senior wellness centers.

[16:31] the somerset county food coalition convened an emergency meeting yesterday to address this.

[16:36] as in past crises, the county through coordinated efforts with our oem and

[16:41] somerset county community organizations active in disaster or sc-coad,

[16:47] is mobilizing community support and urges residents, businesses, and community groups to support this effort by volunteering or donating.

[16:54] a list of local food banks can be found on the county website.

[17:00] furthermore, we call on our schools to take the crucial step of ensuring that all eligible students are enrolled in

[17:06] free or reduced price meal programs to ease the financial burden on families.

[17:10] by coming together, we can ensure that no one in somerset county goes hungry during this period of uncertainty.

[17:16] the county sent a letter to the mayors and business administrators in all 21 municipalities,

[17:22] making sure they understand the implications and resources, and another letter to the somerset county business partnership

[17:28] asking for private sector assistance with donations or food drives. Medicare open enrollment runs until december 7th.

[17:35] if you have a prescription plan part d or a medicare advantage plan, now is the time to review your coverage.

[17:41] the state health insurance assistance program or ship offers free confidential and unbiased guidance

[17:47] from experts to help with these critical decisions. You could call them at 908-704-6319 or email at

[17:54] ship@somersetcountynj.gov to schedule an appointment before slots fill up.

[18:00] the somerset county department of human services, along with the prosecutor's office and educational.

[18:05] partners hosted author and speaker matthew boci for over 500 students on october 8th and 9th.

[18:11] boci known for his memoir sway, shared his powerful decade long journey of overcoming

[18:19] the trauma of losing his father on 9/11 addiction, depression, and ptsd.

[18:24] his mission is to reduce the stigma of addiction and mental health and inspire others to seek support.

[18:30] workforce development, this healthcare sector is facing a critical need for workers.

[18:35] tomorrow, the greater riden workforce development board is teaming up with the state department of labor to host

[18:40] a discussion about certified home healthcare careers from 1:00-2:25.

[18:46] residents who are eligible for temporary assistance for needy families, general assistance or snap are invited to free computer skills classes provided by

[18:55] the digital equity training program in partnership with the workforce development board of northwest new jersey.

[19:01] collaboration with zufall health, there will be a fast track to interview workshop on november 19th in morristown.

[19:08] you could see a list of high demand positions with competitive salaries and opportunities for advancement.

[19:14] for more information, visit online at thegerwdb.org.

[19:20] over at rvcc, the county college is one of

[19:24] four new jersey colleges invited to nashville for a two-day event concerning short-term workforce credentials.

[19:31] the rvcc foundation had a record fund raising year so far,

[19:35] raising over $2 million. Most of the funds are for student scholarships as critical need as

[19:40] both federal and state agencies begin to cut student financial aid programs.

[19:45] because of changes at the us department of education, many of our fafsa applications have been rejected.

[19:50] there are now no officers to help resolve the situation. As a result, rvcc faces a federal shortfall of well over $1 million,

[19:59] but as dr. Mcdonough, the president of the college reports, the college will continue to serve students,

[20:04] including those who are most vulnerable. Healthier somerset discussed the funding challenges that

[20:09] many community-based organizations are experiencing for instance,

[20:14] snap ed lost funding and is no longer able to support the farmers protos program.

[20:19] rwjh somerset is coordinating the remaining distribution for the fall.

[20:25] the coalition also acknowledged the pending changes to snap and wic coming this saturday.

[20:31] the food insecurity and healthy eating committee, along with the county are working on plans to address

[20:35] potentially increased gables usage of food banks. Now, finally, on public health and safety.

[20:41] since our last meeting, the oem has responded to 29 calls for response coordination and

[20:46] support within the county and provided support through mutual aid to surrounding counties three times.

[20:52] in addition, they provided support and coordination to one large planned event within the county.

[20:57] the training academy held 67 classes for fire ems, oem,

[21:02] and/or law enforcement since october 14 to include the emr or

[21:06] emergency medical responder class run for votex on site for the location for student credit.

[21:12] thank you, madam director. >> thank you. We will now move on to citations for our state senior art show winners.

[21:22] >> oh, thanks. >> can I have our senior artists come on up, please?

[21:42] I'm so happy to see you guys again. We've got four.

[21:48] I've got vamalia, and

[21:53] waltron and milt, and leo cardia.

[22:01] milt. Are our other two artists here, bolin?

[22:11] there you go. Come on up. Aaron column.

[22:18] I thought they were coming. She didn't make it. I'll just hang on to that on the side.

[22:26] well, these three artists were participated in our somerset county art shows.

[22:32] if you ever have time, and you want to see some great art,

[22:37] this county building in that gallery, as you enter through the parking garage always has phenomenal artworks.

[22:45] you don't have to go into new york city to see great art. You can come right here to somerset county when the buildings open and admire.

[22:52] our current display, as I was just talking about, was about our open space preservation,

[22:57] but prior to that was our senior art show.

[23:01] are you vamalia. Oh,

[23:07] did we get that one? We didn't know you were coming. So hang on.

[23:11] we'll get it. Do you can come on up, though. No, sir. Come on up. We're going to get your paperwork.

[23:16] we weren't aware you were coming, so come on up. But these senior artists do great work.

[23:22] come on. I swear I'm okay.

[23:27] these four are being recognized tonight because they went to

[23:32] the state competition and each won an award at the state level.

[23:36] I'd love you to give them a wonderful somerset county round of applause.

[23:41] [applause] I'm so proud. Do any of you want to say a couple of quick words?

[23:48] would you like to say a couple of quick words?

[23:52] >> it was a pleasure. >> are we unanimous it was a pleasure?

[23:57] I know this isn't you, but let's just fake that it's yours.

[24:02] we're going to shift down for a photo. Oh, we got yours. It's coming. We don't even have to fake it.

[24:07] thank you so much. Come on down, so we're centered with that seal.

[24:12] [applause]

[24:56] >> we have a few communications, one from new jersey american water company.

[25:01] notice of filing for approval of reconciliation and proposed surcharge for special program charge recovery period.

[25:08] county clerk notice of fees collected for somerset county for

[25:12] september 2025 in the amount of $4,947,058.14.

[25:19] at this time, we will ask that our senior engineer,

[25:23] matt looper come up to do a presentation.

[25:32] >> thank you, director. Good evening. As you can see, from the powerpoint,

[25:38] I'm going to be giving a presentation about the washington valley park trail access and hawk watch entrance driveway.

[25:44] this is an ongoing project that's being undertaken by somerset county in the washington valley park,

[25:49] which is in our somerset county park commission owned properties.

[25:53] I'll give you an overview of the park, the purpose and needs of this project, and then a comprehensive overview of the design process.

[26:00] behind me is adam slutsky assistant county engineer, and peter bond from tnm associates,

[26:07] who was the design engineer for this project.

[26:11] washington valley park, bridgewater township, 719 acres.

[26:16] it's lies on the first watchung ridge in bridgewater township. The park contains the former brown brook elizabethtown reservoir.

[26:24] that has become the focal point of the park along with a network of trails. The second largest park in somerset county,

[26:30] after the sourland mountain preserve, which is 6,000 acres. The next one being colonial park in franklin township at 685 acres.

[26:38] park is located in the first and second watchung mountains at the geographic center of somerset county.

[26:44] it consists of forest, open freshwater, wetlands, marshes,

[26:48] impressive rock outcroppings, numerous historic features, and a 21-acre reservoir.

[26:54] with more than seven miles of trails, they're great for hiking and some of the best mountain biking in the state of new jersey.

[27:01] in addition, the parks hawk watch area is one of the east coast premier locations to watch

[27:06] thousands of rafters migrate south every autumn. The body of water for the reservoir has a multitude of fishing opportunities.

[27:15] the park. You see two circles on this map.

[27:19] as I said before, it's over 700 acres. It has just two access points.

[27:23] to the west is that newman's lane, a well utilized entrance to the park at the western end,

[27:30] and to the east and the red circle on the right side of the diagram is an access point off voster avenue.

[27:37] this access point to the east is limited. It has limitations and has been targeted by somerset county since

[27:44] the 1997 master plan for this park for improvements and reiterated in

[27:50] 2005 with our capital facilities plan as a target for improvement due to its limitations.

[28:03] this is our 1997 master plan for the washington valley park.

[28:09] you can see a few things called out here. This 28-year-old master plan shows the existing access on miller lane,

[28:20] pointed out on the top right. It also identifies potential future access drive

[28:26] through what is referred to as a future acquisition opportunity.

[28:30] it's that gray box on the right side of the diagram. This is 13 acres that the county acquired in 2014.

[28:38] the use of that property would be a future entrance to the park.

[28:43] in addition to that, you see what is known as the patullo property. It's two properties shown on here.

[28:50] most people are familiar with the one that we acquired in 2023,

[28:54] the 1.4 acre property known as patullo property. Previous to that is the 9.85 acre property,

[29:01] which was acquired in 2014.

[29:09] this is the 2005, somerset county park commission capital facility study.

[29:14] I've highlighted a few things on this document. It's a long document,

[29:18] but this particular page talks about the observations of washington valley park,

[29:23] and it talks about recommendations. Clearly states that we are looking to improve

[29:28] the parking and access drives to this property. Other observations on the top of the page,

[29:33] improve parking and walkway to the hawk watch. The hawk watch area has high visitation during peak times,

[29:39] and that mountain biking is a popular at the site. This is a lay of the land on the east side of the property.

[29:47] this diagram shows a few things. It shows going from left to right,

[29:51] the hawk watch area. It's the circle on the left side of the diagram.

[29:55] the associated parking lot, which is just to the east of it. You have the 1.4 acre property known as the patullo parcel,

[30:03] which was acquired in 2023. That parking lot is access to the hawk watch,

[30:08] the yellow and orange trails, the buttermilk falls, and the east branch reservoir.

[30:13] patullo property acquired in 2023. Although it's less than two acres,

[30:18] this property holds an incredible historic significance to the county and completed a major portion of washington valley park.

[30:25] lastly, to the right, you see miller lane. This red line is the access to this parking lot.

[30:32] vosseller road is to the east, the municipal roadway, and miller lane,

[30:36] which is a semi-private public driveway with seven residences to the north and

[30:42] the washington valley park to the south, shown in green. This is the access point to the entire east side of washington valley park.

[30:51] it's a narrow road, and I'll show you the next slide what it looks like.

[30:55] this is miller lane. It has private residences on the right side and north of the property, and for years,

[31:03] it's been a complaint of these private residences and officials from the county,

[31:08] about speeding vehicle accidents and the amount of traffic used in the park, utilizing this roadway, this narrow roadway, which is unsuitable.

[31:17] it has got improper site distance at its entrance at vosseller.

[31:21] it has all the complaints we just mentioned. We've known this for many years. We started to look at mitigation for this property.

[31:28] we added speed bumps in 2013 to miller lane to slow traffic down.

[31:32] we installed a new gate in 2018 to restrict traffic after hours due to the nuisances that occurred.

[31:38] all these were attempted mitigation measures to try to deal with the issues of miller lane.

[31:50] two cars maybe, but anything larger than a car, it's quite difficult.

[31:55] they have to pull over to the side.

[32:01] it's definitely very now as you can see in this picture.

[32:08] in 2023, because of these issues that we just mentioned, the county initiated a project to construct a new driveway entrance

[32:15] to the east side of washington valley park to replace this miller lane entrance driveway,

[32:20] and to deliver the commitments that were made by the 1997 washington valley park master plan and the 2005 capital facilities plan.

[32:28] the mission of it was to improve the access for the existing hawk watch, and the trails and all the amenities of this park.

[32:37] what we've shown here, it's a very similar diagram as the one, two slides ago.

[32:43] but what we're showing here is a schematic of the new driveway, not to scale or anything,

[32:48] but this is showing where the proposed driveway would be, going through that 13 acre acquisition that was done in 2000,

[32:56] which was proposed in 1998 for houses,

[33:00] 11 homes were proposed there in 1998, and the county bought it in 2000. This new access driveway is going into the property and will connect with

[33:08] the existing miller lane access point well to the south of these private residences.

[33:14] what we've shown here is the existing red miller lane on the top of it that will remain in existence,

[33:20] obviously, for those property owners. Our plan is the dead end or code sac,

[33:24] the end of that property. The end of that road, and what was shown in blue is the existing driveway that we plan to remove.

[33:32] remove all the asphalt back to its natural state, plant some trees,

[33:36] maybe, but that's all tbd and not part of this project, but we're willing to do that, and we're going to do that.

[33:42] obviously, the purpose of this is to improve the access.

[33:46] this new driveway would alleviate all the congestion that happens on miller lane,

[33:51] alleviate all those nuisance complaints that we get from miller lane residences,

[33:55] and obviously the rest of the surrounding area.

[34:01] just to give you perspective, this is going back to the map of washington valley park.

[34:06] it's 719 acres, and that little green line to the east is this project.

[34:12] it encompasses a total of 2.14 acres. That's the limit of disturbance for this project,

[34:18] which is less than one third of 1% of the park size.

[34:25] what I'll go through now is a little overview of the design process.

[34:29] I'll go in chronological order just to make it easier. I'm going to go through a lot of documentation that we went through to get to this point.

[34:36] we started this design back in 2023. It was bid in 2025,

[34:40] and it is currently under construction due to be done in about eight weeks.

[34:44] the first item that we did was executed a contract with

[34:49] tina associates to design contract to start this process that happened in late 2023.

[34:54] it included field survey, environmental due diligence, culture resource survey,

[35:00] storm water management design, geotechnical, permit preparation, civil design,

[35:05] construction plan preparation, and bidding.

[35:09] our next item, which was done three months later, was a due diligence report done by tina associates. We did this.

[35:17] we conducted a wetlands delineation in late 2023, a site visit in march of 2024,

[35:23] in order to determine the presence or absence of wetlands and state open waters within the project area.

[35:29] based upon our site visit, the wetlands were not found in the project area. Finding of their assessment and mapping research found the project area to contain

[35:36] uplands and to be outside of a regulated floodplain.

[35:40] additionally, just last week on october 23, the njdep bureau of coastal land use

[35:47] compliance and enforcement conducted a site visit of our property, and the dep provided a verbal commitment that the project is not in regulated area,

[35:55] and therefore would not have triggered the requirement for a wetlands permit. The project is not located in a floodplain,

[36:01] and no freshwater lettins are impacted, and therefore, no land use permits from the dep or any federal agency were required.

[36:09] in addition, in this due diligence report, through site inspection, design research,

[36:14] the county's consultant determined that the site does not contain any known occurrences of endangered species.

[36:21] our next item, which was done in january of this year was a state historic preservation office chipo approval.

[36:28] as many of you know, this is a historically significant site. The project footprint extends into the bridgewater encampment historic property,

[36:36] which is listed not only in the new jersey register, but the national register of historic places.

[36:41] we knew this going into the project. It also falls within

[36:46] the archaeological site which contains a national register listed archaeological site.

[36:50] we did a phase 1a, a phase 2a, 2b, phase 1a, 1b,

[36:55] and a phase two archaeological survey was conducted for this project.

[37:00] this necessitated a submission of the application for project authorization under the new jersey register of historic places act,

[37:07] and this letter is the authorization for construction under the new jersey historic places act that was obtained by

[37:13] the ngatep historic preservation office on january second of this year.

[37:21] our next item, which was done just two weeks later was a coordination letter to the from the county to bridgewater.

[37:27] knowing that we've gotten through our due diligence, our shipo approvals,

[37:31] we're still working on storm water management, the county coordinated with the township of bridgewater.

[37:36] we sent a letter from our county administrator to the mayor of bridgewater. The letter stated this.

[37:42] the somerset county's plan to construct a new 1,500 foot long 20 foot wide pervious pavement entrance road to washington valley park this summer.

[37:50] access to the park from miller lane will be restricted once the new road is constructed.

[37:54] this new entrance road will separate traffic from the miller lane traffic, thereby alleviating speeding and traffic concerns along miller lane.

[38:02] the new entrance road will begin off foster lane, approximately 200 feet to the south of miller lane.

[38:07] the new entrance road will be increased site distance compared to miller lane, and therefore be safer.

[38:13] proposed access road alignment will follow an existing easement containing a water line to

[38:17] minimize tree clearing and allow maintenance access for the water company to the water line.

[38:22] an electric operator gate will provide an entrance to foster road, and no lighting or curbing is proposed.

[38:37] next, about a month later, I came before this board and received authorization to bid this project.

[38:45] it's a standard resolution that we do for all construction projects. The resolution states that it's authorizing plans and received a bid for this project.

[38:55] I just pause here on the whole on all of the documents. I just want to go through the actual design of the project a little bit here.

[39:02] this is showing our efforts to incorporate green infrastructure and post pavement design.

[39:07] what you see in this diagram is our cross section of our road. It's a 20 foot wide roadway.

[39:13] it's the narrowest roadway we can do with two way traffic. It shows the 10 foot wide lanes and the two foot grass shoulders.

[39:20] it shows the porous asphalt surface course, which is 2 inches thick,

[39:25] and two foot grass shoulders. It's our typical roadway section for this project.

[39:30] next. It's our five plan sheets. I'll go through these pretty quickly from west to east.

[39:36] this area in gray is the new road, it connects up at the western end of the project where miller lane is,

[39:43] you see that hashed area that is where miller lane comes from the top of the diagram to the south.

[39:48] this is where the new driveway meets the existing miller lane. This is a contract plan for the project.

[39:54] it represents the work that is necessary to accomplish the construction of this new driveway.

[39:58] everything you've seen in the next five slides shown in gray is the new driveway,

[40:02] 01,500 feet long, 20 feet wide. It also shows a smooth design vertical profile with proper design grading.

[40:09] it is the area necessary to construct this driveway. It is limited to the greatest extent possible,

[40:15] in the most cost efficient and cost effective way. But everything within this limited disturbance

[40:20] defines the clearing site for this project. Everything necessary, but limited where

[40:26] possible is to be removed in order to construct this driveway.

[40:33] sheet two, simply shows the high point of the road.

[40:38] you can see the 20 foot wide roadway. As you can see, this gray area is the new driveway.

[40:44] as you can see, all trees and vegetation will need to be removed to construct this road.

[40:49] the driveway, along its 1,500 foot length and 20 foot width, could not be designed or constructed without

[40:54] all material being removed by the contractor, including all trees, brushes, sticks, rocks,

[41:01] and earth to ensure the proper grading of the driveway is achieved.

[41:06] it's our middle slide. It's three. This shows the straight section,

[41:10] and you can clearly see it starts coming down to the east towards vosseller avenue.

[41:15] next slide, please. Our next slide, our shoot four.

[41:19] this is showing a trail crossing with a proper crosswalk from north to south so people can safely cross over this new driveway.

[41:26] then our last slide shows where this new driveways up with vos avenue.

[41:33] it shows improved sight distance, improved sight distance versus miller lane.

[41:38] it also doesn't show on this diagram, but it will have an automatic gate at the entrance to restrict traffic after dark.

[41:47] the next thing we did in our chronology here on february 18, 2025.

[41:54] we had a virtual meeting with bridgewater township. The township reached out to us about two weeks earlier than this on february 7,

[42:00] asked us for a meeting to talk about the project, to look at the plans for the project.

[42:06] adam and I. Had a virtual meeting with municipal officials, their engineer, the director of municipal services.

[42:13] we showed them the plans. We showed the previous slides that we just talked about.

[42:17] we presented the scope of work of the project. We answered their questions,

[42:21] and there were no concerns raised at the meeting that we looked at after the meeting.

[42:28] next thing up is our storm water report on march 20, 2025.

[42:33] as I stated earlier, during our due diligence, no dep land use permits were required for this project,

[42:39] but the somerset county consultant tea of associates prepared a storm water report,

[42:43] which is dated march 20, 2025. The project site has been designed to meet

[42:48] the flow reduction requirements in the current and future rainfall scenarios. No storm water runoff increases occur at

[42:54] any design points for the current and future 210 and 100 year storm events,

[42:59] the proposed current flows have been reduced for the 210 and 100 year storm frequencies.

[43:05] this is done through the design of our project. Talked about the poorest pavement. It's going to have proper drainage under the road.

[43:12] this has allowed us to be able to reduce the amount of runoff from this project. Next up.

[43:18] a few months ago, in august 12, 2025, we achieved our somerset union soil conservation district permit approval.

[43:27] if anybody doesn't know, it's an official authorization for land disturbing activities that allows a project to

[43:33] proceed with a detailed erosion and sediment control plan that has been reviewed, certified and approved by the relative soil conservation district.

[43:41] the permit ensures the proposed measures are in place to minimize soil erosion and

[43:45] prevent sediment from polluting waterways during and after construction.

[43:56] this is addressed to, it's addressed to me, I see. But it's addressed to the county.

[44:00] it's signed by the chairperson of the district, and copied on the bottom is the bridgewater township construction official.

[44:07] [overlapping]. Thank you. Planning board and tina associates. Thank you.

[44:13] sorry. Commissioner. It's even smaller on my page.

[44:20] next up, in september 9, 2025, dep issued us a storm water construction general permit,

[44:26] which is called the 5g3. The dep currently regulates storm water runoff for

[44:31] certain construction activities under its construction activities, storm water general permit.

[44:35] this general permit controls storm water discharges to surface water for construction activities that disturb one acre or more of land.

[44:43] as I stated earlier, it was over two acres, so we were required to achieve this permit, and we got the permit on september 9.

[44:48] next up. This point, the project's been awarded.

[44:53] we have our pre construction meeting on september 24, attended by our county office,

[44:59] our inspection team, attended by the park commission,

[45:03] our contractor, of course, and bridgewater township officials.

[45:09] we're about to go to construction. We think we're going to start a in early october.

[45:14] we sent a letter to the miller lane residences. We want to make sure that they're aware of

[45:19] this project since it's so close to home to them. This letter was also forwarded to bridgewater township.

[45:26] just give you a brief I gave a brief description of the project, much of what was written in the letter to the town earlier.

[45:33] we also state that the work is expected to take around four months.

[45:38] during this time, the construction vehicles will be utilizing miller lane to access the project,

[45:42] wanted to make sure they're aware of this. So we appreciated their patience as we complete

[45:47] the new access road to washington valley park.

[45:51] next up, we have what we're referring to as a green acres determination letter.

[45:59] the proposed access drive directly from vossler to washington valley road was reviewed with the nj dep green acres program rules.

[46:06] under definition, this is defined as a development as any improvement to the land or water area of a park land that is

[46:13] designed to expand or enhance its utilization for outdoor recreation in conservation purposes and shall include construction,

[46:19] renovation, or repair of any such improvement. This term may include any of the following,

[46:24] which lists several things, including parking and roadways. Construction of the new access driveway meets

[46:30] this definition and can be considered a permitted development.

[46:35] additionally, public access to and use of a funded park land.

[46:40] under the dep rules, any local government unit or non profit shall ensure that funded park land is open,

[46:46] that reasonable public access as determined by the department is afforded to all new jersey residents.

[46:51] as we discussed, the new proposed driveway will allow direct access from vosseller to the park from a residential collector road in boss,

[46:59] which is along with a park sign and a park entrance. Currently, the park is accessed via miller lane,

[47:05] which is a narrow dead ended residential roadway. Our next point here is about disposal or diversion of funded park land,

[47:13] and unfunded park land. The dp acres program rules indicate that a local government shall not divert to use other than

[47:20] recreational or conservation purposes unless the local government unit obtains prior approval.

[47:25] the construction of this new access driveway to improve public access to the park does not constitute a disposal or just diversion of parkland,

[47:33] as stated above, it is our opinion and the opinion of tm associates, and we agree with it.

[47:38] it is our opinion that the construction of the new access driveway for the park meets the development requirements as set forth by the dep program rules.

[47:45] in addition, we've reached out to dep and the green acres unit.

[47:50] we're going to coordinate with them on this project and ensure that they agree with that statement.

[47:57] in conclusion, to construct this project,

[48:02] took many steps, planning all the way back in 1997 to 2005.

[48:06] we looked at mitigation for miller lane. We looked at concepts, we communicated, we coordinated.

[48:12] we started design. We did construction. We did all the things in that,

[48:17] did our due diligence, our permitting. We looked at wetlands, storm water, hydrology,

[48:22] utilities, and here we are tonight. We have about eight weeks to go with this project, weather dependent,

[48:29] and somerset county took all reasonable and necessary steps to deliver this project in the most cost effective,

[48:35] cost efficient way to deliver a great enhancement to one of our most valuable assets,

[48:39] washington valley park. Thank you. Thank you. Very thorough and comprehensive update

[48:47] of what's the timeline from 28 years ago to date.

[48:52] thank you for that. I'm going to take a point of privilege. I suspect that most of our guests tonight are here on this topic.

[49:01] at this time, I'm going to open the floor for a motion for public on this topic only.

[49:11] motion open to public. Second. All in favor? [background]

[49:15] the rules of engagement. 5 minutes, no yielding of time, no coming up a second time,

[49:20] and our clerk will inform you when you into a close mayor.

[49:29] >> please state your name and address when you come to the mic for the record.

[49:35] >> I will do that. I'm not used to being on this side of that day. Matthew mench, 1303 roger avenue,

[49:40] and the mayor of bridgewater. In order to be respectful of everyone's time and use my five minutes wisely,

[49:46] I'll get right into addressing some of our concerns. First of all, I appreciate the presentation that was made tonight.

[49:54] one of the things that's unique about this project and causing some of the concern amongst our residents is that if this project were being done by a private developer,

[50:02] as a baseline issue, they'd have to come in front of and use board, zoning, or planning.

[50:07] all the issues that have been talked about by mr. Loper would have been presented in front of

[50:11] our planning board or zoning board, as appropriate. There would have been an opportunity for questions in public,

[50:16] from residents, from board members, from interested parties, to fully understand the project,

[50:22] as well as to ask questions or impose conditions, things like that. The county is not required to come in front of a township land use board.

[50:32] school boards come for courtesy reviews. There's nothing that prohibits it.

[50:37] it's a courtesy review, not required, but could be done. But the issue that was missing in a lot of that is speaking for myself,

[50:47] anybody here who wants to speak can speak for their own personal opinions, is that when you look at the diagram that was shown,

[50:52] the nice map with the little line drawn and consistent with the letter we received in

[50:58] january was I personally don't have an objection to a access road.

[51:06] in concept, not a problem. But what's missing is any discussion anywhere

[51:12] of the scope of the tree removal that's there, the plants say 34 trees.

[51:18] I've heard resins talk about, will they only meant big trees? No, it's broken down by size of tree.

[51:23] when you look at that nice little map and say, this makes sense, I guess.

[51:29] it doesn't reflect the conditions on the property.

[51:33] when you go out there, and I'm sure at this point, probably most of you have gone by it,

[51:37] if you weren't there before, you've seen it, it's jarring. For residents who have no idea about meetings that take place.

[51:46] I imagine your meetings aren't typically like this.

[51:50] that's true, even for our township meetings, you don't have widespread public engagement.

[51:55] land use sports typically get more. When you look out and our township raised concerns in august,

[52:03] we asked three questions of our engineer reached out to one of your engineers to say,

[52:08] we were concerned about the tree removal. Then when we thought it was 34 trees, we were concerned about the site distance.

[52:16] the response back was, we're not replanting trees, and we're not concerned about the site distance.

[52:22] that was when it was 34 trees. When we go out there and we see clear-cutting of two acres of property

[52:29] that if that was shown in anything that our officials have seen,

[52:35] it was not apparent that what is occurring on that site is what is represented in those diagrams.

[52:44] the concern that we have, and I'm here on behalf of, is not to debate whether the road is or

[52:50] isn't a good idea from the purpose of access to the park. It's the concern first and foremost of,

[52:58] with the removal of these trees, that site, as you all know it's at the top of the mountain.

[53:03] we spent a million dollars repairing vossler avenue about 800 yards or less from that entrance there.

[53:09] I understand for the first time here that there may be a stormwater report is first of that what has occurred there.

[53:18] now putting macadam on there, asphalt, whatever the material that's being used is not creating

[53:22] a river conditions that are going to take place. As we all know with ida, chimney rock road destroyed,

[53:30] vossler destroyed, right in the middle there. As of right now, our residents want to make sure that we understand

[53:37] what mitigation is or is it needed to be able to ensure that,

[53:42] with the new conditions on that site, our residents are not at risk because of increased flooding.

[53:46] [noise] if any other entity other than the county, any developer was to come forward,

[53:51] a resident wants to remove three or four trees from their yard, they got to get permits,

[53:56] they got to get studies. If it got to help a developer that comes in front of

[54:00] our land use boards and wants to remove that level of trees, assuming it got approved,

[54:05] there'd be requirements for replacement of trees or payment into the tree fund.

[54:10] I understand that the courts will debate whether or not you have to do that.

[54:15] but whether you legally have to or not. Thank you. Whether you have to do that or not, you should,

[54:21] because removal of 300 trees for over two acres, like every other developer in bridgewater,

[54:28] has to replace trees either on site or into our tree fund so that we as a community,

[54:33] don't lose the benefit of that natural resource. The county should commit to replacing those trees,

[54:38] coming up with a plan on site or off-site to replace what has been destroyed,

[54:43] and ensure that our residents can be confident that the runoff from that site is not going to impact our community in that area.

[54:49] last but not least, we want to understand what the future scope of the project is. Nothing has been mentioned about apparently a new building going on.

[54:56] there's a contract on there today. Nothing in the plans that were talked about just now.

[55:00] nothing that I've seen discusses what, I understand to be a center.

[55:04] we want to know what is next. Is this it? Or is there another round of tree cutting,

[55:10] and we're going to be back here saying what's going on? I appreciate your time and your attention to this matter. Thank you very much.

[55:16] >> commissioner, if I may. Just to address some of those.

[55:20] mayor. Traditionally, when we did improvements to somerset county patriots ball park,

[55:25] when we did improvements to richard hall, which are going now. We did a courtesy review.

[55:32] I did appear in front of your planning board. When we do structures or buildings,

[55:36] that's traditionally when we go to it. A road system or driveway, not really.

[55:42] it's just a simple thing. But with regards to any time there was a structure that was going to be built in your town, or hillsboro,

[55:48] or any other town, we do engage the planning board and your planning board officials.

[55:52] your zoning board officer has been working with us on the issues with richard hall,

[55:57] as we continue to do some improvements there. We do do that, just want to make sure that we don't just guard you all the time.

[56:05] >> understand. >> fair enough. The plans and for the trees.

[56:10] there is another line item in that bid spec. It's called site clearing.

[56:15] in that when you read it, it says, all trees and everything will be removed.

[56:19] there are separate items for the 34 trees. There are two separate distinctions in there.

[56:25] I'm just calling that out in case you never saw the bid specs. They're in there. They're posted online.

[56:30] you can go look at the bid tabulation. Four different contractors bid on that.

[56:35] they each had a different price for it. One was as high as $120,000 for site clearing.

[56:40] one was 13, one was 40, one was 60. The reduction in flooding.

[56:46] the current stormwater regs of the state in new jersey say, anytime you do any improvement, it used to be,

[56:52] it just had to not make it any worse, it had to stay the same. Now, as you know, we have to reduce it, and we did.

[56:58] it is contrary to common belief that that road will actually handle water better than the forest.

[57:05] but science, and the stormwater report says it will. Reason for that, dirt water sheets down.

[57:12] this is more porous. When it rains, it goes through the pavement,

[57:17] that's porous, means it goes through it. There's stone underneath it, there's drainage,

[57:22] it slows the runoff, it slows it down, we've improved.

[57:27] I know it sounds crazy. Trees should absorb water better than roads,

[57:32] and nor do I advocate paving everything for this purpose. But it does do that job,

[57:37] we will provide you with that stormwater report. The only thing I got to fight with you on, because I got to do one of them,

[57:42] because otherwise I won't feel good at night about myself, is your own tree ordinance exempts you.

[57:50] >> but we would've cut down 300 trees. >> I know, but you made it sound like

[57:54] we're the only people exempt from your tree ordinance. It says the town is also exempt when they want to cut trees in

[57:59] their own public parks. Just being fair. >> I hear you. I appreciate the comments and on your time tonight.

[58:09] I think that's the issue, and I won't modify the time. I understand the rules is just that some of them may not be issues,

[58:18] but had the county come in front of the plan for a curis review or had there been some other forum besides,

[58:26] this is the first time, some of the issues may have been addressed. Some of them we're still concerned about.

[58:31] we'll have issues moving forward, but thank you very much for your time.

[58:36] >> government works. I think we've done our due diligence,

[58:43] and thank you in making sure the steps along the way that we were

[58:48] engaging those stakeholders that needed to be engaged.

[58:55] we do not govern through facebook.

[59:00] a lot of social media. Anyone else wishing to speak?

[59:06] please come forward.

[59:12] when government works, government works, any issues in the past,

[59:18] I have reached out to elected officials in

[59:23] specific towns or municipalities to work through those issues.

[59:27] I'm not on facebook. I don't think any of us on facebook working through good governance and policies.

[59:34] again, when government works, government works, please state your name and address for the record five minutes.

[59:40] >> good evening. >> I don't know if you can care. My name is elizabeth aluci.

[59:44] I live at 1776, washington valley road in martinsville.

[59:49] I came tonight because you alluded to the fact that there was a lot of information out there,

[59:56] primarily on social media about the destruction of the park and all,

[1:00:03] and I wanted to know what was going on. First of all, thank you because I really didn't have an idea this was happening.

[1:00:10] thank you for the presentation, because I think that really clarified a lot of the information for me.

[1:00:17] it seems like they performed their due diligence,

[1:00:21] that the township was notified. It certainly seems like it was done,

[1:00:27] you know, the dep was involved. There were environmental concerns that were addressed.

[1:00:31] I feel much more comfortable about it, and I guess I'm hoping that this conversation is over because it's ugly out there.

[1:00:43] there's been so much, as I said, misinformation and back and forth, and it's hard to know where the truth lies.

[1:00:49] I think I've heard the truth this evening. I hope that's really the end of this conversation.

[1:00:55] I thank you very much for your time.

[1:01:00] >> good evening. My name is glenn grossman, 13 sylvan drive and bridgewater.

[1:01:05] basically, I have two questions. That's why I'm here. I use the park maybe 12 times a year,

[1:01:11] both the washington valley side and the chimney rock side. On the chimney rock park side,

[1:01:16] which I guess you're calling the east side of the park, there's currently three parking lots.

[1:01:20] there's not just the one that we're talking about here. There's also the one on gilbride, and then there's the very big one that

[1:01:26] most people end up using by the ball fields off of chimney rock. I almost always just park at the chimney rock ball fields,

[1:01:33] because that's real parks that I know of who uses it regularly. My question is, why was this necessary?

[1:01:39] I'm seeing that it's already been done already, practically. I want to better understand that.

[1:01:44] why didn't people just expand the existing parking lots if they weren't sufficient,

[1:01:49] other than the one that was up there, and maybe make that handicapped parking lot or something?

[1:01:54] I get that it's very close to the lookout. Some people like to go just for that,

[1:01:58] but most people who use it don't go just for that. Second question I have, just real briefly.

[1:02:03] my tax dollars as a bridgewater resident, are paying both for the county and for the township,

[1:02:08] and they're combating each other with my tax dollars. I don't like this lack of communication.

[1:02:14] I want to better understand how that's going to be addressed. Thank you.

[1:02:21] >> hi, everyone. It's unique to be here tonight. I've been here before.

[1:02:29] my name is stacy friedlander. I live in bridgewater. So when I first heard and saw. Did you get that?

[1:02:36] >> I need your address. >> oh, 10 overlook drive. >> 10 overlook? >> yes. When I first saw and heard what was going on,

[1:02:42] I was super concerned. The hawk lookout is a favorite spot for me.

[1:02:46] we hike, we fish, we do a lot of things in the park. But a lot of the outrage didn't sit well with me.

[1:02:53] as a former environmental policy analyst, I decided to dig in.

[1:02:57] I did get an opa request. With my opa request,

[1:03:01] I also had a principal engineer, a civil engineer, two ecologists,

[1:03:06] a wetlands delineation expert, all review the plans that were given to me,

[1:03:12] and we all noted they are in accordance with the njdep.

[1:03:16] I noticed that we're talking about a new access road,

[1:03:20] which will be connecting vossler avenue to miller lane. It sounds like the goal is pretty simple.

[1:03:25] make it safer, easier for people to reach the trails and park lookout. The old road was narrow, private,

[1:03:31] and not safe for public use, especially many of us who have driven on that, you know that.

[1:03:35] the new design uses the poorest pavement so rainwater can soak in naturally.

[1:03:40] it includes subsurface drainage features designed by professional engineers.

[1:03:45] it includes erosion controls and meets all of the applicable njdep environmental standards.

[1:03:52] trees were removed, but only within the defined construction zone.

[1:03:57] it's unfortunate, but it sounds like it needed to happen. Through my request, I confirmed that the engineers,

[1:04:03] the environmental specialists, and the njdep reviewed and approved the project.

[1:04:07] a professional land surveyor confirmed prior to the project, stating that there are no wetlands on the site.

[1:04:15] the soils are well-drained and non-hydric. The supposed wetlands showing up on the map came from an aerial infrared scan,

[1:04:22] not actual field data. Yet the town was pushing

[1:04:27] a false narrative that the county was illegally destroying wetlands.

[1:04:32] why are we all confused? Even though locally, we have had access to these documents since january,

[1:04:39] there still seems to be a discrepancy in an argument about devastating environmental damage.

[1:04:45] but it sounds like that's not true. Stopping construction now, as the town might want us to do,

[1:04:50] would actually hurt the site, leaving it exposed to erosion and safety issues.

[1:04:56] for me, this isn't just about a road. It's about trust, facts, and responsible leadership.

[1:05:01] when misinformation spreads, we lose faith in our local government.

[1:05:05] I hope that both the county and our township can move forward with transparency,

[1:05:10] cooperation, and respect, not just for the environment, but for truth. Thank you.

[1:05:20] >> my name's pam mccarthy. I live at 830 vossler avenue.

[1:05:26] I can see the construction from my window of my house.

[1:05:30] whatever I've lived in my house for 35 years.

[1:05:34] whatever you guys need to know about the park, you can ask me. I know every tree.

[1:05:40] I know every rock. Well, I'm exaggerating a little bit. I'm getting a little.

[1:05:47] all I really need to know is whose idea was this?

[1:05:52] like, why are we building this road?

[1:05:58] it's when I saw the road, I was like, what the heck is going on?

[1:06:04] what is this? If they really, I've been on miller road probably 1,000 times.

[1:06:12] she's saying it's dangerous. It's not dangerous. They put speed humps.

[1:06:18] if you needed to make the road better,

[1:06:23] make miller road better for six houses.

[1:06:27] there's six houses on miller road. It's making zero sense to me. This whole thing.

[1:06:36] it's like, you know, you see something happening,

[1:06:40] you're just like, what is going on? What is this?

[1:06:46] it's like I couldn't believe my eyes. I know the patullo house.

[1:06:52] I know that house. I've been in the blah blah blah. Now, what are they going to do back there?

[1:06:58] are they going to build a museum back there? What's happening? Let's say,

[1:07:03] we build a museum. Who's gonna go to the museum? Who's gonna police the museum?

[1:07:10] are they gonna put a gate? The kids go through the gate that's there already.

[1:07:14] you park your car, you get out of your car. You take your hand, you open the gate, you go in the gate.

[1:07:20] whoop ti do? My 87-year-old uncle told me how to open the freaking gate.

[1:07:25] they're going to put a new gate. They're gonna do the same stupid thing with this gate.

[1:07:31] like, it's like stupid I'm sorry. It's not making sense to me.

[1:07:39] the kids are going to now use new miller lane or whatever they're going to call it.

[1:07:45] is this going to be a fricking speedway? They're going to be zooming down there.

[1:07:50] have fun, guys. That's all I have to say. Whose idea is it?

[1:07:55] what are they doing with it? That's all. Fine.

[1:08:04] >> cytroen, 34-year-old resident at 654 stengel road.

[1:08:09] [background] c-y-t-r-o-e-n.

[1:08:14] I want to thank you for hosting the presentation,

[1:08:19] which added a lot of information that previously wasn't publicly easily available.

[1:08:26] I want to thank you for bumping up our comments too, to the top of the meeting that's always appreciated.

[1:08:32] I had a couple of questions, but overall, after listening to the presentation and understanding the issue a little bit better,

[1:08:40] I have hiked that park the whole time that we've lived there and know it very well.

[1:08:47] my neighborhood is adjacent to that area.

[1:08:52] it seems to me that though it's written in a master plan from 28 years ago,

[1:08:59] that things change and maybe in retrospect,

[1:09:03] should have looked at a little bit more in terms of the optics.

[1:09:07] what you've done in the beautiful description of the park is ruin a chunk of it.

[1:09:14] for the very purpose of people being able to go to the hawks nest, it now really raises the issue of are they still

[1:09:23] going to really come and be that same attraction that they were before the woods were disturbed there.

[1:09:28] the optics of something that you're doing, even though you followed and crossed all the t's and dotted

[1:09:33] all the I's, may in retrospect, it should have probably occurred to somebody when the scope of work was really looked at,

[1:09:41] not just from an engineering technical standpoint, from an optic standpoint,

[1:09:45] that there wasn't an alternative thought of. For example, not shutting down and demolishing miller lane,

[1:09:51] but maybe pivoting a portion of the front entrance away from the private residences and then expanded as necessary.

[1:09:59] that was never considered. The new location now is very close to a 90-degree turn on vossler avenue,

[1:10:05] which again, cuts down the visibility.

[1:10:10] people are accessing it, driving north from 22. There's a sharp left turn.

[1:10:14] shortly after that, there's the new turn into the driveway, as it's called.

[1:10:19] that limits the visibility of people coming the other way to see that happening.

[1:10:24] if there are two or three or four cars backed up to get into the park,

[1:10:28] that may cause a road issue that's now not an issue.

[1:10:34] but my questions are this. I didn't hear any information on the traffic volume.

[1:10:39] pedestrian bike and vehicular in terms of whether this expansion really warrants that.

[1:10:49] generally, roads are expanded to accommodate excess traffic. I've never experienced that in all the time that I've hiking,

[1:10:55] they're seeing that anybody had a problem parking or getting in or getting out.

[1:11:00] it's not clear also whether the parking light size is being increased.

[1:11:06] also, again, this goes back to what's the need? Is the need really there to double the width?

[1:11:14] if you're not going to increase the parking lot, then what's that going to accomplish? Was the need there?

[1:11:20] I think there are lessons to be learned here in insight by the township,

[1:11:24] by the county in doing and activating a plan from 28 years ago.

[1:11:29] thank you. [applause]

[1:11:37] >> nick kuzo, 83 village drive in basking ridge? Good evening, commissioners, and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

[1:11:44] I live in bernards township, where I serve on both the planning board and the environmental commission.

[1:11:49] I'm here this evening as a concerned resident to talk about what has happened at washington valley park,

[1:11:53] and what it says about how we manage our county's open space. In recent weeks, and as discussed this evening,

[1:12:00] we learned hundreds of trees, 300, possibly as many as 500, were cut down at washington valley park,

[1:12:05] and this land is designated by the county itself as preserved open space.

[1:12:10] according to public records, the contractor that was hired by the county was only authorized to remove 34 trees.

[1:12:16] yet the scale of the destruction far exceeded that limit. The result is a scarred landscape, piles of debris,

[1:12:22] and a degraded area that once helped to prevent flooding downstream. What's most troubling isn't the damage to the environment,

[1:12:29] it's the silence that followed. To this day, there has been no clear public explanation of how this happened,

[1:12:34] who was responsible for overseeing the work or what steps are being taken to fix it.

[1:12:39] as you've seen here tonight, residents are asking, why? What was the need? That lack of transparency is unacceptable.

[1:12:46] when we're talking about public land, taxpayer dollars and the natural resources

[1:12:50] that make somerset county such a special place to live. At its core, this is about stewardship.

[1:12:55] it's about whether our county government is managing responsibilities carefully or whether vital oversight is being lost somewhere along the way.

[1:13:03] residents deserve answers, and they deserve to have confidence that something like this will never happen again.

[1:13:08] I'm asking the board tonight to take these three specific actions. First, to launch a full and independent investigation into how

[1:13:15] this project was managed and why the tree removal went so far beyond what was approved.

[1:13:20] second to hold a public hearing so residents can see the contracts, the change orders, and the communications related to this project.

[1:13:27] third, to develop and share a comprehensive replanting plan to restore the damaged area and protect against future erosion and flooding.

[1:13:35] these are common-sense steps to rebuild public trust and demonstrate that environmental preservation in somerset county is more than just a slogan.

[1:13:43] we all want to believe that our open spaces are being protected, not destroyed.

[1:13:47] accountability and transparency are the first steps towards making that true again. Thank you. [applause]

[1:13:57] >> hi, good evening. I don't know can I move up a little bit? My voice is kind of like, here guys.

[1:14:04] there you go. Hi, good evening, commissioners. Michelle morga. I live on 43 dior street in north plainfield, new jersey.

[1:14:15] my name is michelle morga and I live in north plainfield.

[1:14:19] I serve on the local board of education, and the statements that I'm going to make today do not represent the board.

[1:14:27] like so many families across somerset county, I care deeply about the kind of environment we leave for our children.

[1:14:35] what happened at washington valley park has left many of us very confused and just frustrated,

[1:14:42] and hundreds of trees were cut down on preserved county land.

[1:14:46] reports say that the contractor was only supposed to authorize to remove 34,

[1:14:51] but somehow the numbers became as many as 500.

[1:14:57] I think residents deserve to understand how this exactly happened.

[1:15:02] those trees just weren't you know, scenery, but they protected our air,

[1:15:07] our soil, and our homes from being flooded. When we destroy the natural protection that we have,

[1:15:14] the impact doesn't stay just in that one park, but it flows downstream into communities like mine.

[1:15:21] in north plainfield this year, we did see the devastating floods this summer that happened in july 25,

[1:15:28] and families lost cars, basements, safety.

[1:15:34] they were in really bad shape this summer. Yet when something like this happens,

[1:15:40] when hundreds of trees are cut down that were meant to be absorbed through water and prevent runoff,

[1:15:46] we're told that it's just climate change. I think enough is enough.

[1:15:51] you can't blame climate change when you're actively destroying the very things that help us fight through climate change.

[1:15:58] we need accountability and no more excuses. We need a leadership that takes environmental management very seriously,

[1:16:06] not just when there's a ribbon cutting or a ceremony,

[1:16:10] but in everyday when decisions are being made. I have to say, it's even more frustrating for the people in north plainfield,

[1:16:19] because we no longer have any representation on the county board right now,

[1:16:25] and that makes transparency and accountability all more important.

[1:16:30] tonight, I just joined for a call of action. Residents deserve a full independent investigation into how this project went so wrong,

[1:16:38] and a replanning plan, like nick said, to restore what was lost and prevent future flooding.

[1:16:44] our kids are watching, and they are learning what it means to care for the place that we call home.

[1:16:50] if we don't model that responsibility, then who will?

[1:16:55] I just want to thank everybody for their time, and I hope this board takes these concerns to

[1:17:00] heart and acts quickly to make things right, not just for washington valley,

[1:17:05] but for every community like mine, that depends on you.

[1:17:10] thank you. [applause]

[1:17:18] >> hello. I'll move back a little bit. Jeff lamborn, 32 lisa terrace in somerville.

[1:17:24] the great comment by the former commenter had just jumped up by. I think there's a lot of opportunities for the public that's

[1:17:31] here engaged currently to participate in these processes, not just on the county level,

[1:17:35] but on their local township level. I echo a lot of what their concerns are,

[1:17:40] as far as understanding and accountability into the large amount of trees that are cut.

[1:17:46] I support the concerns stated by mayor mench. I apologize.

[1:17:50] I haven't mentioned said the name out loud before, so trying to get it right and residents here.

[1:17:54] but I do know that the county is taking steps to take this road and what it's meaning,

[1:18:02] what it's doing seriously. I do have faith that going forward,

[1:18:07] you will listen, you will understand what people are trying to accomplish here. Continue on that.

[1:18:12] but I do encourage the mayor here as well that made his comments and the bridgewater council to do the same.

[1:18:19] will you also halt what you have put in your petition, your ongoing destruction of the local environment,

[1:18:25] your transparency, or lack thereof, when analyzing stormwater effects in your development?

[1:18:30] will you provide assurances that these won't occur as much as they are?

[1:18:34] because what I've seen over the years is hypocritical to what you're calling here.

[1:18:38] you dissolved your environmental commission in 2019 when you came on as mayor.

[1:18:43] the township body that is tasked with watching over items that you calling for in particular.

[1:18:48] you're in violation of a township ordinance, I believe, as such. You have no shade tree commission.

[1:18:53] you haven't registered or submitted an entry for sustainable jersey, which is a municipal best practices and an active area.

[1:19:02] you actively increase your flooding downstream in communities like mine, as a result of what's occurring.

[1:19:07] why are you sealing your manholes? Where are your green infrastructure requirements on new development?

[1:19:14] are all these new developments that you're doing adhering to the states inland flood protection act?

[1:19:19] that's the ngdp rule. As county council, demarco has stated,

[1:19:24] your own tree removal and replacement ordinance calls for you to be able to do these same things removing trees without review, why?

[1:19:32] I believe that may be in violation of the state as well. Flooding is a serious problem to much of us in the area.

[1:19:38] council members, alan cardua and philipe pedroso for bridgewater township,

[1:19:42] serve on currently inactive flood county control commission,

[1:19:47] not county excuse me, flood control commission. In an active county regional partnership that hasn't been active since 2022.

[1:19:55] those people are in prime positions to advance a regional lower raton stormwater management plan,

[1:20:02] and similar to how our nearby stonybrook watershed has created one through advice through the watershed institute.

[1:20:08] the county hosted a conference about a regional stormwater watershed plan in february of 2023.

[1:20:15] what changes or recommendations have been published since? As a member and former chair of the somerville environmental commission, I invite you,

[1:20:25] mayor mench and anybody from the bridgewater township and residents has a public meeting to come join us as

[1:20:30] a collaborative discussion because these things take place best in person on what we've learned on these topics tonight.

[1:20:35] I call on you as elective officials and your neighbor to serve

[1:20:40] your community and neighbors in good faith and engage in a regional stormwater partnership with your neighbors,

[1:20:46] bolster your upcoming master plan review, and better your environmental considerations within.

[1:20:51] join us here in somerville in two weeks, two tuesdays from now, tuesday, november 11 at 7:00 p.m.

[1:20:58] in the somerville civic center for our monthly meeting. We're happy to put you on our agenda.

[1:21:03] I recommend you watch last week's planning board in somerville, october 22, you can see an example

[1:21:09] of what it is for municipal leaders to take better care of their environment. Take the pr campaign that you're on right now

[1:21:14] and turn it into one that stands for personal responsibility, not public relations. Thank you. [applause]

[1:21:26] >> manish patel 41 shaffer road bridgewater. I don't have anything as eloquent or

[1:21:32] technical as some of the previous speakers, and honestly, I'd have to agree with just about all of them in terms of what I'm witnessing here.

[1:21:41] I appreciate the commission, the commissioner is providing the detail they have today and recently about the project.

[1:21:49] I think we could use a more detail because I'm not familiar with the area,

[1:21:55] even though I'm a resident of bridgewater. I'm learning a lot about it now. It would be good to assure the residents, once again,

[1:22:02] maybe with something more concise than the whole 40 page document and

[1:22:07] the trail from january that I think is available to everybody,

[1:22:11] including our own township publicly, but just something for the residents.

[1:22:17] I do like the simple question the one resident nearby asked about,

[1:22:22] why the project, what's the end goal, and some assurances about their concerns,

[1:22:27] which I know you have done already. Otherwise, you wouldn't be this far along in the project.

[1:22:32] again, I appreciate the information that you've provided publicly,

[1:22:36] maybe something more concise might help some of the residents locally especially.

[1:22:42] certainly, as you said, we don't necessarily want to battle this thing out on social media.

[1:22:47] the other thing, as a resident and a taxpayer, too, like obviously,

[1:22:51] the local township and the state, the other place I'd really appreciate not having this thing fought in is

[1:22:58] court because we have a lot of attorneys everywhere within government.

[1:23:03] the world series is going on right now. That's our favorite pastime. Guess what, our second favorite pastime seems to be?

[1:23:09] suing each other and costing taxpayers a lot of money.

[1:23:13] I have a feeling just based on what your counsel presented earlier,

[1:23:19] just a little bit of information there. That type of discussion, some of what the gentleman before me spoke about,

[1:23:27] that's called a discussion. It seems like, rather than have the discussion we'd rather have this.

[1:23:35] again, I appreciate your guys' time and letting us speak, but it would be really great to avoid the courts,

[1:23:41] using the courts in this process because you've done the work. This thing's been out there since, I think,

[1:23:47] january in various stages. If we're talking about concerns,

[1:23:52] about the environment, first of all, welcome to folks that I never thought I'd say, were tree huggers and environmentalist.

[1:23:57] join the club. Thank you. [applause] proud to wear that badge for my entire life,

[1:24:05] I think, but I think there's some merit.

[1:24:10] I've been explained to some of the great things that could come out of this project.

[1:24:15] also, I understand some of the concerns because of what we

[1:24:19] experienced during that really awful hurricane a few years ago, where we lost lives.

[1:24:23] certainly don't want to see that again, certainly don't want to see vandalism and trespassing and things like that,

[1:24:29] especially if this is going to be a nice historic point in our town.

[1:24:35] I'd be proud to claim something like that. Maybe the beginning of a guided tour through the entire county,

[1:24:42] about something very important in our history. Again, thank you again for sharing the information.

[1:24:47] appreciate it, and hopefully, this can be mediated outside of a prolonged legal battle that will only cost more than

[1:24:58] the original project as it seems to work out normally, but thanks [applause].

[1:25:06] >>good evening. My name is carly joya. I live in bridgewater at 14-02 paley court.

[1:25:13] I have a combination of some prepared comments, but I will preface it by saying some of it

[1:25:19] reflects comments I would have made in my own council meeting and bridgewater, but it was canceled last week because there was no business to

[1:25:26] discuss before the election so just bear with me. I'd also like to make one clarification.

[1:25:32] bridgewater does have a shade tree board. We are required to have seven members on it.

[1:25:37] we currently have three, including one college student from the board of ed also serving on the board of ed.

[1:25:44] I have seen no record of any meetings of any sort or any minutes. I don't know what they're meeting or what they're doing.

[1:25:49] I would love to join that board someday. Now, I'll get to my comments here.

[1:25:55] I just wanted to commend our commissioners for putting transparency and truth on the record tonight.

[1:26:01] I can also add that as a working court reporter, that records and preserves the record almost every single day.

[1:26:09] the record is something that I take very seriously.

[1:26:14] to be here tonight and to actually see and hear the truth come out with

[1:26:18] supportive evidence from our engineers about what our commission has done behind the scenes,

[1:26:24] four months, actually 28 years, not more than months,

[1:26:28] to prepare for the washington valley road expansion project and your vision for that area.

[1:26:34] as we all are learning tonight, I'm extremely grateful to see that the record is finally being set straight.

[1:26:41] now, if we can get social media and the press to clear things up too,

[1:26:45] we'd be in great shape, but seriously know, the press is our friend especially in this day and age.

[1:26:51] I just wanted to commend them too for an article that I saw last week in tap into,

[1:26:56] which featured our own commissioner marano, and governor murphy,

[1:27:00] who had the opportunity to support and welcome the expansion of somerset based loop and pharmaceuticals corporate offices,

[1:27:08] bringing 30 new jobs into bridgewater and hopefully many more down the road.

[1:27:13] why does that matter? Because it's developments like this that tell the world that bridgewater,

[1:27:18] new jersey is still the place to be in the pharmaceutical industry.

[1:27:22] it's also extremely important for bridgewater taxpayers after the significant loss of

[1:27:28] santa fe's relocation to morristown and the more recent purchase of the old ethicon site by ade pyle,

[1:27:35] a three quarter billion dollar northeastern trucking and logistics company.

[1:27:41] you tell me they don't want to make that into their tenth warehouse on route 22 in bridgewater.

[1:27:47] now while our town also litigates the future use of the acorn site,

[1:27:52] I'll be as a defendant and not a plaintiff in this case.

[1:27:57] it's reassuring to at least know that our democratic county commissioners are

[1:28:01] actively pursuing business expansion in bridgewater,

[1:28:05] especially in the pharma space. Please keep fighting the good fight for us,

[1:28:10] and thank you for your time [applause].

[1:28:22] >> hi. My name is kathy giordano. I live at 1063 east brook road in martinsville.

[1:28:27] I'm living off of vossler avenue, 20 year resident, a taxpayer.

[1:28:33] thank you for seeing us tonight. As you can tell, I'd like to just ask by show of hands how many people

[1:28:40] are here and in respect to this subject that we're doing tonight.

[1:28:44] all taxpayers, raise your hand. Very good. Thank you.

[1:28:51] anybody live in martinsville, folks up here? Anyone? No. Anyone drive up and down vossler every day? I do.

[1:28:58] >> I do. >> you do. Anyone drive up and down vossler every day like me? Thank you.

[1:29:06] yes. I do not come in front of county boards.

[1:29:14] I don't do these type of thing, but my heart broke when I saw vossler avenue

[1:29:19] being ripped apart and I couldn't stop and not speak today.

[1:29:23] the problem is there's many problems. First of all, like any of these wonderful people explained,

[1:29:29] lack of communication, water concern.

[1:29:34] we have definitely water concern. Raptor trust just put an article in there that this is where

[1:29:39] all their eagles go and all the safe the raptors go when they release them.

[1:29:44] we have mechanisms right now to protect our environment.

[1:29:49] we're not doing that, and that's very disconcerting to me. The one thing that really affects me most,

[1:29:54] I go up and down that road every day. I wish you all would if you really want to make a difference and understand what's going on.

[1:30:00] there's a curve sign where that wonderful presentation was that you put out there.

[1:30:05] if you go by miller lane, right beyond that, it says, slow curve.

[1:30:09] on that slow curve is where your road is being built.

[1:30:14] I drive up every day, up and down, landscapers,

[1:30:19] large trucks, dump trucks, everything. Yes. Can you hear me?

[1:30:27] I drive up and down every day. That is a dangerous road.

[1:30:32] there's also, while I'm sitting in line here thinking when chimney rock gets closed for whatever reason,

[1:30:38] they patch all that coming down, and I know this for a fact, down to vossler.

[1:30:44] that little patch that shows so beautifully on the screen there, that little area where we're building this road,

[1:30:51] and here's miller, there's a slow curve sign. Someone is going to die.

[1:30:56] there's no way that you can get out of that road safely. You cannot see to the left or right.

[1:31:02] miller, even to merriam, you cannot see. I know for a fact,

[1:31:07] and that just breaks my heart, if we have to come back here and address losing

[1:31:12] someone because of our inability to have the foresight, that this is a dangerous road,

[1:31:17] and that should not be built there. I hope you take that into consideration

[1:31:22] because I don't want to come back here again and say, please stop. Thank you very much.

[1:31:33] >> I'm short, so I'm just going to hold it. My name is kathy franco and I live at 766 wee mack road. I'm sorry.

[1:31:43] wee mack, and that's in martinsville. It's right off hillcrest,

[1:31:49] which is right off ostler. I'm a stone's throw from the park.

[1:31:53] I have traveled up and down miller lane too many times to count.

[1:32:00] at least half the time, I'm playing chicken with somebody who's trying to

[1:32:05] travel in the opposite direction. I have had to pull off. My daughter has run that road.

[1:32:11] she's run the trails. My husband mountain bikes through the park.

[1:32:16] when I first heard about the access road,

[1:32:20] it was a neighbor who said, kathy, what's going on? Because she knows I pay attention to everything that's going on.

[1:32:28] I reached out to somebody who I knew at the county,

[1:32:32] and they said, oh, there's an access road going in. I said, okay. I answered her back, but then I though, let me find out some more.

[1:32:39] now, I go to just about all of my town council meetings,

[1:32:43] most of my planning board and zoning board. I actually do listen to all of

[1:32:48] your county commissioner meetings on my way home from work in the car. Then at six when I get home,

[1:32:54] I listen to the second half, where it's more of the open public.

[1:32:58] I thought, I think I heard something about an access road during a meeting.

[1:33:04] I went back through all the agendas. I didn't find just one,

[1:33:09] but I found four times since january that this project,

[1:33:13] something was on the agenda, whether it was the bid for something or a contract being handed out or something.

[1:33:20] I thought, it's not a secret, and then it was hitting social media,

[1:33:25] and it was a crisis. I thought, that seems odd that the township wouldn't know.

[1:33:31] then somebody sent me the january letter because I am active on facebook.

[1:33:38] I was seeing a lot of concern being expressed,

[1:33:43] but I wanted to find out what was really going on before just jumping on the bandwagon and saying,

[1:33:50] oh, my god, what did they do? Through somebody else's opra,

[1:33:55] I got a set of the drawings. I saw the bid description that went out,

[1:34:02] and I saw where indeed, there were 34 trees that were over 8 inches in diameter.

[1:34:10] my husband and my daughter recognized that there were other trees,

[1:34:14] but it wasn't a heavily forested area, it was an access area.

[1:34:19] it was a right away for something else that there were tire treads that had gone through that section in the past.

[1:34:27] maybe it's twice as wide as otherwise was as a path,

[1:34:33] but I really appreciate the presentation here tonight,

[1:34:39] because it presented to everybody and hopefully clarified some of the misinformation that had been presented.

[1:34:47] I was disappointed however, that even after that presentation,

[1:34:51] my mayor got up and still we respoke some misinformation,

[1:34:56] even though you had clarified it. I am most upset with my township government because if they had an issue,

[1:35:07] they had since january to ask questions.

[1:35:11] they had a virtual meeting with your engineers.

[1:35:16] if there were questions or concerns, that's what we pay our township officials for to bring them up in a timely manner.

[1:35:25] I thank you for this. I personally I'm not really upset about it.

[1:35:31] I think it is a wonderful area, the park.

[1:35:36] I think talks point is an amazing place.

[1:35:40] I want not, only bridgewater township, not only county residents,

[1:35:46] but the public at large to be able to go there and enjoy it.

[1:35:51] that's what green acres is all about. We have two parks in bridgewater right now that are not accessible to the public.

[1:36:01] one is the boucher, whatever it is off,

[1:36:06] I can't even remember the name of the road, foothill road, because there is no place to access it and park,

[1:36:15] and the other is camp cromwell. Thank you very much [applause]. Did I break it?

[1:36:29] >> just leave it. It's okay.

[1:36:45] >> got it. My name is frank newbauer.

[1:36:54] I live at 46 shady lane in bridgewater.

[1:36:58] it basically at the foot of osler [overlapping].

[1:37:04] by the way, I'm frank newbauer, live at 46 shady lane. It's basically at the bottom of osler,

[1:37:11] where osler and 22 come together.

[1:37:15] I've been a very frequent user of the park.

[1:37:19] me and my wife love it. It's like our therapy. We're on every trail, orange, white, red.

[1:37:28] it's just been a wonderful place.

[1:37:33] still? You know what?

[1:37:41] I'll take it off. It'll be better. Me and my wife are frequent users of the park,

[1:37:48] and being such a frequent user, we were actually quite surprised to see this big construction going on.

[1:37:56] I had walked back on that green trail back there, and I was wow, now I can't go there anymore.

[1:38:02] but I don't know all the details of everything.

[1:38:07] it was very informative learning what's been going on. But I was actually a bit disappointed hearing what has transpired for this 28 years,

[1:38:20] mr. Luber, the engineer, was talking about how this project is,

[1:38:27] this land is our most valuable asset. It's the park. But I think mr. Luber

[1:38:35] missed something that was even more important than the park,

[1:38:40] and that is the well being and the safety of residents.

[1:38:45] although he's done this amazing plan of, we're going to put this road in,

[1:38:51] which maybe you need it. I've never gone on anybody's lawns.

[1:38:58] there's only six houses. It's once in a while. But okay, we got this road,

[1:39:03] but a little bit further away by the chimney rock between white and red,

[1:39:11] us residents, park users have to face a daunting challenge of walking on this most dreadful,

[1:39:18] curvy, dangerous, narrow road. I said, what? You've been at this for 28 years.

[1:39:25] you've never addressed this danger choke point on chimney rock road?

[1:39:32] why the dam is there? You're already 85% there.

[1:39:37] a stinking 20 foot little bridge would connect and save the people the risk of being hit.

[1:39:45] we talked about somebody who's mentioned about somebody dying. Well, somebody's going to die on chimney rock road,

[1:39:51] trying to go between white and red, or jump across the road and connect to the orange and go up the hill.

[1:39:58] now, I would like to say, this is something they should be looking at.

[1:40:03] the project might be an awesome, great personal achievement,

[1:40:07] but is it serving all the residents or the users of the park?

[1:40:13] if we can't even navigate some of the park without taking our life into our own hands.

[1:40:20] my wife and me walk on that path. Sometimes she says, "I don't want to go that way."

[1:40:25] we're not looping the reservoir because I just don't want to go on that road.

[1:40:30] I'm disappointed to hear after 28 years,

[1:40:34] they've not addressed that. That's a shame. That's 500 feet. You could have done a better job.

[1:40:41] I hope what comes out of this is not only fixing and doing whatever you're doing here,

[1:40:47] but finally fix that spot. Then we'll have a safer park.

[1:40:51] that's really all I've got. I just wanted to bring that point up. No one's talking about that one.

[1:40:57] that's the real danger spot of the whole complex.

[1:41:01] otherwise, I mean, we've got a super place. No matter how many times I hike this place,

[1:41:06] I bump into people, they say, "we've been all over." washington valley tops them all.

[1:41:11] it's really good. That's all I've got. Thank you again.

[1:41:26] >> good evening. I'm michael kirsch. I live at 25 danbury lane in bridgewater.

[1:41:32] I'm also a councilman in bridgewater. I also have eight years experience on our zoning board,

[1:41:37] six years experience on our planning board. Before asking a couple of quick questions,

[1:41:44] there's definitely a few comments that have been made that need to be clarified,

[1:41:48] not from the dais, but from the audience. Anybody who implies that bridgewater's government,

[1:41:53] its elected officials, its employees, its planning board, it zoning board,

[1:41:58] or anybody else are not good stewards of our land and our assets,

[1:42:04] is creating a false narrative. It's just as simple as that.

[1:42:08] I have a perception that we're not alone. Other towns do the same thing.

[1:42:13] we all take our commitment to the land very, very seriously.

[1:42:18] >> your comments about this issue. >> I will get to this issue, yes.

[1:42:22] I will say that there was a comment made previously about the world series.

[1:42:27] in my mind, there are a couple of examples where maybe some things we were batting out of order.

[1:42:32] during this meeting, we've heard there's more plans.

[1:42:38] they're going to build something over here. Maybe that part of the road is going to be expanded further.

[1:42:44] maybe there'll be more parking. Where is that presentation? Where is the vision for what this full park is going to look like?

[1:42:52] it feels like we're batting out of order. Let's build the road,

[1:42:57] build it, and then they will come. The question that I have, I think the question many of us have is,

[1:43:02] what is this thing ultimately going to look like? Why was that not provided at step 1?

[1:43:09] instead of building a road to, we're just not quite sure what's going to be there at the end.

[1:43:16] that's certainly one question. I know this is not the time for answers, but I'm hoping that through further dialogue,

[1:43:21] we can understand that. The second thing, toward the end of the presentation,

[1:43:27] there was a memo written, I believe, as t&m. Is that the engineering firm on october 24th,

[1:43:32] stating, you're good on green acres. If that designation from an engineer,

[1:43:37] not from the state came on october 24th, why were the saws out on october 13th?

[1:43:44] it feels like, again, a little bit of batting out of order. The letter is in hand october 24th, and that's great.

[1:43:50] the trees were gone on october 13th. Final area I want to ask about is the site distance and the safety issue.

[1:43:58] it's my understanding that bridgewater township raised the concern about the exact spot and whether it was at a safe part of the curve.

[1:44:07] what I've heard is the county said, "no, we got it. We're good." that was the end of the story.

[1:44:13] I believe there needs to be a a deeper consideration

[1:44:19] of what can be done to make access to this site as safe as possible.

[1:44:23] thank you [applause].

[1:44:38] >> great. >> before you continue, I see the end of the line, the lady in the burgundy jacket.

[1:44:42] are there any others wishing to speak beyond her?

[1:44:47] please come forward and stand in line or sit near, so we can get because we do want to hear from you.

[1:44:54] we just want to want to gauge where we are. We did have a couple of guests that left that we're here for another reason,

[1:45:01] but we want to be respectful of your time as well. So thank you.

[1:45:06] >> great. Tim checko, 120 top of the world way, green brook.

[1:45:12] first, I wanted to really thank everybody up here, including your wonderful presentation.

[1:45:18] it was very informative. I have some appreciation for all the paperwork that you needed to actually complete.

[1:45:25] I thought that was very thorough, and it was great to hear how you had planned out the strategy.

[1:45:30] a couple of things that I actually did notice here.

[1:45:36] shanel, you indicated we don't manage by facebook, but while there were seven different reports,

[1:45:42] none of those reports were really something that I think most of the people in this room would have probably read in their average daily course.

[1:45:50] I liked the letter that you sent to the people on miller lane. I think if there was some kind of communication that was

[1:45:58] available to the wider amount of people in this room to bring greater awareness,

[1:46:05] that might have helped alleviate some of what we're going through right now.

[1:46:10] the second piece is, it seems like there were two line items.

[1:46:15] one was for 34 trees, and then there was a second just general notice that we were clearing 1,500 feet of road,

[1:46:24] 20 square feet, or 20 feet wide. By my count, that's 30,000 square feet of pavement.

[1:46:32] there would be an expectation. I appreciate, in fact, that there'd be no way you could realistically do this

[1:46:39] without a few hundred trees being disrupted.

[1:46:44] that said, I don't know that the fact that there was an access road really pointed out that,

[1:46:51] which is, of course, what you've heard everyone here gravitate to, that it was just so many trees.

[1:46:57] sometimes we get lost in all the I's, and t's and maybe a cliff note version that you could give to the public that

[1:47:06] would highlight what they've all visually observed and have concern about might have again,

[1:47:12] alleviated a couple concern here. The last point that I will actually say,

[1:47:18] because you could probably tell by my dress. I'm the latest person in here in this room to use

[1:47:22] the park because I physically used it about two hours ago. I love the facilities there.

[1:47:29] but I will say you can get two cars by barely.

[1:47:34] I definitely would continue to echo what you've heard that that road was not designed for a lot of traffic, never was.

[1:47:43] I think, for me, I understand what you're trying to accomplish here. Thank you very much.

[1:47:57] >> hello. I'm nancy foss, 1008 helene place, raritan.

[1:48:03] as someone who's bicycled on these roads for decades,

[1:48:07] I can personally attest to the fact that there are far too many drivers who just

[1:48:12] don't give a darn about anybody that's not sitting in the car with them. I completely sympathize with the people on miller lane

[1:48:19] wanting to re-establish the safety on the road in front of their homes. I have a little bit different angle that I'd like to take.

[1:48:27] I'm more concerned with the roadway itself that's going in the driveway.

[1:48:32] I don't know anything about road engineering beyond how to maybe spell it.

[1:48:36] permeable pavement. I'm assuming that means the water somehow trickles through and seeps into the ground.

[1:48:43] that's great when it's water. But we have a lot of freeze thaw here,

[1:48:48] all winter long, freeze thaw, freeze thaw. How stable is that roadway? I don't know.

[1:48:56] I don't know anything about it. Is it something that freeze thaw is going to break up in two or three years,

[1:49:00] and we're going to be repaving? Does it have a 20 year life expectancy, and then we take it up and repave it?

[1:49:06] or are we going to wind up having to take it out and put an impermeable surface in?

[1:49:11] and then we have the problem with runoff. Just if we could take a further look out at what

[1:49:17] this permeable pavement will actually mean. Thank you [applause].

[1:49:30] >> hello, good evening. My name is philip pedroso. I have the honor of serving on the bridgewater township council.

[1:49:36] been a councilman for almost 14 years. Yeah, 5 yohn drive, bridgewater, new jersey.

[1:49:43] I have a very brief point to make. Good evening, commissioners.

[1:49:49] commissioner director, you stated tonight over and over again on government works, government works.

[1:49:58] I listened to that statement, and you said it over and over again, and that is such a factual statement.

[1:50:04] the problem is, is that in this particular case, government didn't work.

[1:50:09] if it did work, it worked poorly. I'm going to talk about two separate points.

[1:50:14] number 1, the fact that we all are here tonight, two weeks after 300-500 trees in bridgewater,

[1:50:25] which is devastated, just cut down. The fact that we're here two weeks later,

[1:50:30] talking about this in a packed room, being presented a presentation for the first time goes to show us how in this particular case,

[1:50:38] government did not work or it worked poorly. The problem here is that there's been

[1:50:44] no transparency in this whatsoever. I'm on a town council. I just found out about this two weeks ago on tuesday,

[1:50:50] a friend of mine text me and says, "look, what's going on?" I didn't know. The public didn't know.

[1:50:56] no one in the public knew about this. There's been no transparency.

[1:51:00] there's been zero effort by you guys to try to get the public involved in this case.

[1:51:05] now, you can say, a lot of finger pointing and letters and this and that. At the end of the day,

[1:51:09] this is your project. This is your land. You ran this project.

[1:51:14] you bid off for this project. You're doing this. This is your project.

[1:51:18] it is your obligation. It's your obligation, as government officials to be transparent and make sure that

[1:51:24] the community is well aware of what you're about to do.

[1:51:30] in this case, you failed the people, and government did not work right.

[1:51:35] the second point I want to make is that two weeks ago, the chairman of our zoning board, jeff foose,

[1:51:42] came before you on tuesday and spoke about what was happening in bridgewater township.

[1:51:49] I was frankly shocked that the next day it was business as usual. You heard about this.

[1:51:56] you were informed about what was going on, whether someone had a misconception of it or not.

[1:52:03] maybe, but you did nothing about it. You didn't stop the project.

[1:52:07] you could have stopped it temporarily and reassessed, re-thought about it, taken some action, but you ignored it.

[1:52:15] you didn't care about it. Again, government did not work. It worked poorly. You failed the people.

[1:52:21] that's all I have to say. Thank you [applause].

[1:52:28] >> my name is joan geiger, 154 hillside avenue, bridgewater, new jersey.

[1:52:33] I want to thank the commissioners for holding this meeting.

[1:52:37] residents of bridgewater were invited by bridgewater mayor mench to be here tonight to

[1:52:44] stand with him for transparency, accountability and answers.

[1:52:51] based on the media attention, our mayor garnered on cbs,

[1:52:58] local stations, and social media, it is no secret.

[1:53:03] the intent here was to garner more support for his claims which I will leave to

[1:53:09] each listener to determine the truth or lack thereof for themselves.

[1:53:17] yet, despite knowing what you were facing here tonight,

[1:53:22] you held this meeting. Mr. Mench in his media blitz on october 14th,

[1:53:32] two days before the regularly scheduled bridgewater town council meeting

[1:53:39] and two weeks before the election canceled that meeting.

[1:53:46] numerous questions were immediately posted on social media by myself and many others.

[1:53:53] when or even if did the commissioners advise bridgewater of this plan?

[1:53:59] what action did the commissioners and our town officials take?

[1:54:04] how many trees were cut down? What size were they?

[1:54:09] were there 300 that later became

[1:54:14] 500 trees cut down without anybody noticing? I don't know.

[1:54:19] I've had trees cut down in my yard and I'll tell you, it takes a half a day to cut down one tree,

[1:54:24] and the noise is overwhelming. Everybody in the neighborhood knows it's happening and there were many, many more questions.

[1:54:33] these were legitimate questions. As a mediator and an attorney,

[1:54:38] I am trained to ask questions and look at both sides of an issue.

[1:54:44] as a candidate for bridgewater town council, whose signature issue has always been flooding,

[1:54:52] I was deeply concerned.

[1:54:57] now that we have heard this presentation,

[1:55:06] the question is, if those comments by the mayor were true,

[1:55:13] then this commission had a lot of explaining to do.

[1:55:17] but how did our local bridgewater officials respond?

[1:55:22] they canceled the bridgewater town council meeting that was to be held

[1:55:29] two days after the mayor's media blitz for lack of business.

[1:55:38] so commissioners, I thank you for holding this meeting and being here to provide transparency,

[1:55:46] accountability, and answers that mr. Mench is allegedly seeking?

[1:55:54] I leave our concerned citizens with this thought.

[1:55:58] to sort out the truth, consider which governing body here,

[1:56:05] or county commissioners or their political opponents who came here tonight and

[1:56:11] didn't mention that they are your political opponents. Allowed the public to appear,

[1:56:17] allowed the public to ask questions and allow the public to be heard.

[1:56:22] therein, I submit, lies your transparency, accountability,

[1:56:28] and answers. Thank you [applause].

[1:56:39] >> hi. My name is radwana isla, 32 timberline drive. I've lived in somerset county for over 10 years and

[1:56:46] currently I'm a resident in bridgewater near washington valley road.

[1:56:51] I'm not going to repeat a lot of the concerns I do share with a lot of the speakers already.

[1:56:56] my biggest elevator speech today is on risk management.

[1:57:02] risk is not an issue yet. What I've seen, thanks to the somerset county commissioner is,

[1:57:09] they've done their due diligence. They've had a communication plan.

[1:57:13] we saw it in january. We saw a virtual meeting at the request of bridgewater.

[1:57:19] they were never denied any of this information that is available to all of us.

[1:57:25] living in bridgewater, I expect the same from our municipal government

[1:57:30] that we're also paying taxes to to have that same level of risk management.

[1:57:35] how do we mitigate this before the work starts? Where's our due diligence?

[1:57:39] if someone gives me an id or due diligence, I don't just put it on my desk and wait

[1:57:44] nine months until cbs is knocking on my door or inviting them.

[1:57:48] what I do is I look at it, and I demand answers immediately,

[1:57:53] not on facebook, not on social media, but in a face to face conversation.

[1:57:59] if you don't have a communication in place, that's the time. How do you not just communicate with each other?

[1:58:04] you're in a collaboration, not just with the somerset county.

[1:58:08] we have collaborations with utility companies. I've seen the same thing happen speaking to residents where a utility company came in,

[1:58:17] did not coordinate with the municipal government. Now, guess what,

[1:58:22] residents who've been living in bridgewater for decades have runoff because the trees are all gone.

[1:58:28] they're dealing with it for the last three years. What is happening to these residents?

[1:58:32] this we can avoid. This is a risk. It's not an issue. These are actual issues.

[1:58:37] they had flooding in october 2nd, and nothing is happening to these residents.

[1:58:42] there's no sbs coming in and covering their stories.

[1:58:47] I was at at their doors recently. I speak to at least 100 different residents a day,

[1:58:53] either on the floor or in person. Only a few know about the phase but post, because guess what?

[1:58:58] that's not where you go for governance. You go to that canceled township meeting that we were supposed to have

[1:59:03] on thursday and it was canceled due to not any business.

[1:59:08] this is business and not just this, like I said, there's runoff water happening. Joan has talked about the floodwater management.

[1:59:14] we need to apply it across the board and I really appreciate everyone coming out

[1:59:19] because this is the communication plan we needed from day one from bridgewater township.

[1:59:24] I do this on a day basis as a risk management, not just a risk management,

[1:59:30] but it's called regulatory strategist. I do it before things go into a human body.

[1:59:37] I feel like before things affect our residents, we should take that same approach that a lot of companies take.

[1:59:44] again, I thank for the right things that have happened, the communication plan, the due diligence,

[1:59:48] but it needs to happen in all collaborations and in

[1:59:53] every single government from the somerset county level down to the local level.

[1:59:58] otherwise, we will suffer going forward. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about those residents that are suffering right now,

[2:00:05] but I hope that it's avoided for future work with other utility companies.

[2:00:11] I won't name the street even, but I'm sure the municipal township is aware of it,

[2:00:15] and it's really sad what's happening within our township already, which is, again,

[2:00:20] an issue and not a risk, but I'm glad we talked about all the risk and hopefully they'll be managed.

[2:00:24] thank you [applause].

[2:00:33] >> my name is mary gallagher. I live on 12 highland avenue in bridgewater.

[2:00:37] I am a native born and raised here. I have seen a lot of changes.

[2:00:43] but my concern right now is actually clarification of storm drainage versus wetland.

[2:00:50] because what I'm seeing is the exchange of that connotation or label for everything.

[2:00:58] I get confused. What are they talking about? Stormwater, to me that drainage is manmade.

[2:01:03] it's technical, it's manipulative. Wetlands are natural.

[2:01:08] they're formed by nature. They absorb the groundwater. Stormwater drainage doesn't.

[2:01:14] my concern is now with this whole area, they did what they call due diligence for their wetland assessment.

[2:01:23] I don't think that was run by dep. It was done by what their environmentalist said or did.

[2:01:30] how experienced were they? How what weather did they have?

[2:01:34] we are in a drought. Everything is low now. If you get the drought reports,

[2:01:40] that means if the dep is putting it out, they're telling us that the groundwater is already low.

[2:01:46] what I'm concerned about now is if there is wetlands there that they didn't get right because nobody oversaw them,

[2:01:53] then we could be in trouble with the well water for the people on vossler avenue.

[2:01:58] this is an older neighborhood so is green ole where I live. And I've gone through the same thing.

[2:02:04] there was a case there with wetlands, and I found that the developer had changed

[2:02:08] the dep label for the wetland to stormwater drainage.

[2:02:14] that I got corrected. I did take it to the people involved.

[2:02:20] what needs to be done is a better due diligence to assess the ground.

[2:02:26] again, weather may have been when they did the assessment,

[2:02:31] if it was a drought time, very dry, everything's low, everything's dry.

[2:02:35] I do a lot of hiking, and I've been out in the woods up in harriman and everything. It's as dry as can be.

[2:02:41] it's all fire hazard. We have to be very careful about our water supply.

[2:02:47] again, we're on well water. I know people on vossler avenue who are well and I don't know who's on well water here,

[2:02:54] but I think it's something that should have been considered. I don't see anything about groundwater or water except erosion and flooding.

[2:03:03] but nobody's talking about the drinking water or water that we need.

[2:03:08] anyway, that's all I have to say. Keep it short [applause].

[2:03:15] >> good evening, claudia levin bateman, 94 katherine lane bridgewater.

[2:03:20] I've been a proud resident of somerset county since

[2:03:25] 1959 and a resident of bridgewater since 1962,

[2:03:31] and part of my sense of humor. But when I look at this project,

[2:03:37] despite my love for the great outdoors, I see the bound brook reservoir.

[2:03:42] I just look at the second watchung mountain and the east facing side.

[2:03:49] homes, hiking, roads, trees,

[2:03:53] groundwater, storms, I'll leave that to the experts. My concern is the flooding downstream.

[2:04:01] I was present for hurricane floyd in 1999.

[2:04:06] I saw it firsthand. I was on high ground in bound brook,

[2:04:12] but I heard the stories from my friends that left their homes in the middle of the night,

[2:04:19] getting their elderly mother, their young kids running for the door, grabbing their shoes,

[2:04:25] going out the door, water going up to their feet, and before they got to that church,

[2:04:31] a couple blocks up, up to their waist. I went out on bicycle the day after and about second street,

[2:04:41] just looking straight over to the second story of the buildings on the main street of bound brook.

[2:04:48] clearly, it stayed with me. The only thing out there was a big black rubber raft boat with the nypd on it.

[2:05:00] as a juxtaposition, my girlfriend was getting married that day,

[2:05:05] so we had all the wedding activities at her house on the north side of bound brook.

[2:05:11] but we had a steady stream of young girls coming up to the door.

[2:05:16] my mom asked for shoes. Do you have any extra shoes?

[2:05:20] do you have any extra clothing? God bless my girlfriend.

[2:05:24] she only wore black heels, but she tossed him out the front door. I remember going to the bound brook high school and seeing the many, many families there.

[2:05:34] I remember seeing all the supplies brought there. God bless our town,

[2:05:38] there were plenty of supplies. But we know about the project since.

[2:05:44] we know about the levees, they've helped. They haven't always been closed in time,

[2:05:48] so that's a process. We've seen bound brook go underwater. We've seen manville go underwater time and time again,

[2:05:56] we've seen the flooding. We see how route 22, especially on the westbound side becomes a lake.

[2:06:03] it's easy to anticipate the highway dips there. We had a woman drown there.

[2:06:10] I'm going to leave it up to the army corps of engineers,

[2:06:14] the dep, the epa, maybe the universities. Maybe we can get best practices.

[2:06:19] I don't know where the water goes, but I know it goes to bound brook,

[2:06:24] I know it goes to manville. Thank you [applause].

[2:06:32] >> my name is jim lewelln, 477 garriton road, bridgewater, new jersey, I'm going to thank the engineers for a good presentation.

[2:06:42] you had all the proper documentation as far as dep approvals and whatnot.

[2:06:52] I know this because I'm an environmental consultant as well.

[2:06:56] in listening to your presentation, a couple of things.

[2:07:01] first thing, miller lane, was that ever an option?

[2:07:06] expanding widening? Sorry. Was it ever an option?

[2:07:14] the comment is, was miller lane widening ever an option,

[2:07:19] which would reduce the number of trees?

[2:07:24] another thing. Is it a raptor migration pathway?

[2:07:32] that means something to dep?

[2:07:37] they presented a report, and it was a good presentation.

[2:07:43] the question I have is, how accurate was the report? If in the report, it says 34 trees are going to be taken.

[2:07:52] I know what you said, mr. Dimarco about, well, there's a broad brush over here that says, we're going to clear cut.

[2:07:59] but if they had put in that they were removing 350-500 trees,

[2:08:05] would that have raised their flag with dep?

[2:08:10] would there have been some type of mitigation?

[2:08:15] I know from experience that if you go to the ngdp mitigation group,

[2:08:20] the rule of thumb when you disturb land especially a forest,

[2:08:27] is 426 trees, they call them stems per acre.

[2:08:34] if you've taken out two acres, that's 850 stems,

[2:08:41] that dep would force you to replace somewhere,

[2:08:46] maybe not in the same spot, but somewhere.

[2:08:50] the last thing I'll say is that, do you have a mitigation plan?

[2:08:56] you're saying right now, the stormwater report on paper looks great.

[2:09:02] passes, we got it. What if it starts flooding,

[2:09:09] do you have a mitigation plan if it doesn't work the way the report says it's supposed to work?

[2:09:17] that's all I have. Thank you [applause].

[2:09:29] >> jack aluci 17 76 washington valley road, martinsville.

[2:09:36] I listened to councilman pedroza, say that the government's not working for us.

[2:09:42] in a way, I agree with them. His government.

[2:09:47] what I listen to tonight, there was letters sent.

[2:09:52] there was drawings sent out. There was virtual meetings with people in the township of bridgewater,

[2:09:58] engineers, or whatever heck it is. Not one councilman, not one mayor knew anything that was going on.

[2:10:04] answer me that question.

[2:10:15] >> hi, good evening. My name is suzanne mader. I live at 120 fucillo street in manville.

[2:10:24] a few women ago, spoke a lot about the flooding after floyd and ida.

[2:10:32] when ida hit manville, I took eight people into my home to live for about a week,

[2:10:40] including three dogs and two children, into my 1400 square foot manville home.

[2:10:46] I went for a run a couple of days after the floodwaters receded,

[2:10:51] and I couldn't keep going because I was sobbing, because I watched my neighbors and my friends empty their homes onto the streets,

[2:11:03] and it was awful. It was one of the worst things I think I have ever seen in my entire life.

[2:11:12] I can look from my house up north and see where we're talking about.

[2:11:22] I can see that ridge. I don't know if you know this, but a mature tree can suck up

[2:11:30] between 1,000 and 1,500 gallons of water every single year.

[2:11:37] I look at those plans as they were up on the screen, and I see 34 trees being cut down,

[2:11:42] and I drove by, I went and I took a look for myself. That is a work of fiction.

[2:11:48] if you go up and you say there were 34 trees that were supposed to come down and 34 trees came down,

[2:11:55] you are believing a work of fiction. For me, when I get outside and I cast my eyes up to that ridge,

[2:12:05] all of that water comes to me. All of that water comes to my friends and my neighbors.

[2:12:12] all I want to ask you is, where are you going to put somerset county's new 500 trees?

[2:12:20] because according to what we just heard, there's no plan to replant any of those trees.

[2:12:26] where are you going to put them? How many generations is it going to take for all of that runoff to finally be mitigated?

[2:12:34] because the people on shady lane, the people down on vossler,

[2:12:40] and the people in manville were the ones that get that water.

[2:12:44] give us our trees back. [applause]

[2:12:53] >> good evening. My name is mike pappas. I live at 35 mohawk trail in branchburg.

[2:12:58] I'm also the bridgewater township administrator, as you know, but I'm also a former member of this board.

[2:13:04] served on this board for almost 13 years. I'm very familiar with the county's open space program.

[2:13:11] I've been a very strong supporter of it. Certainly this park that you made a very fine presentation about is a dual.

[2:13:19] but I guess I want to make comments about a couple of things.

[2:13:24] I can't emphasize how upset many people are about just the number of trees.

[2:13:30] there's been a lot of comments about january letter, comments about a virtual meeting,

[2:13:36] comments about a september meeting. But at no time did any member of our staff that had

[2:13:43] participated in any of these meetings were told that there would be more than 34, 37 trees.

[2:13:50] that never occurred. I think that's a legitimate criticism of the lack of communication.

[2:13:59] the other thing that is important as the mayor spoke about the trees

[2:14:04] and the requirements that the township has for enforcement of our tree ordinance.

[2:14:10] the county seems to be selective as to which ordinances you follow. You submitted an application for a road opening permit,

[2:14:17] but you didn't submit an application for the tree permit,

[2:14:21] regulations governing the tree ordinance. There's some inconsistency there.

[2:14:27] when this occurred, I was actually out of state with my wife on a trip.

[2:14:32] when we literally the plane landed and I turned my cell phone on,

[2:14:37] it started going ding, the number of texts and calls that I got.

[2:14:42] as soon as I heard what occurred, I asked our township engineer to go to the site

[2:14:46] and to speak to someone in the county engineer's office.

[2:14:51] the second conversation that day between our township engineer and someone from the county engineer's office was,

[2:14:58] would you be consider replacing some of these trees?

[2:15:02] uncertainty in the response.

[2:15:07] concern about answers, concern about communication,

[2:15:12] I think is very legitimate, and we certainly hope that what's been conveyed here tonight

[2:15:17] will give you some pause to think about moving forward with this project,

[2:15:21] as has been stated earlier, and that you would provide meaningful answers to some of

[2:15:26] these concerns that the township and many residents have raised. Thank you very much. [applause]

[2:15:39] >> another short one is here. Good evening, everyone. My name is pat walsh,

[2:15:44] 77 rock road east in green brook, new jersey, and I also served on this board.

[2:15:50] when I sat here, we cherished open space.

[2:15:55] we did everything we could to preserve it, and to get more of it.

[2:15:59] in every bit of promo for somerset county, the open space and the ability to recreate,

[2:16:06] that was a new word back then, is touted.

[2:16:10] I'm going to ask you, guys, I'm not going to go on, but I ask a question and I know you're not going to be able to answer me.

[2:16:17] but it seems to me that this whole project,

[2:16:21] just a 27-year plan. I'm going to hope that somebody on this board or in this building,

[2:16:29] looked at the 27-year plan and just didn't take it out and say, let's just go do this because things change, and situations change.

[2:16:39] after listening tonight to everyone, it just got taken out of a draw and went on,

[2:16:47] looked at thrown it on the side, and then your department went ahead and just did it.

[2:16:53] the question is, did any of you, or all of you, know about clear cutting two acres of trees in this project?

[2:17:05] nobody is going to answer.

[2:17:10] but I'm going to say if you didn't, shame on you, as a project of this size.

[2:17:17] if you really valued open space and open preservation, you would have.

[2:17:22] I'm going to ask you, please, don't ever let this happen to somerset county again.

[2:17:26] but how can we be assured if not one person can say they knew that they were going to clear cut 300 trees,

[2:17:34] and you approved this project. That's the governance that we have now.

[2:17:39] [applause]

[2:17:44] >> are there any e mails or phone calls? At this time, we're going to close the public portion on

[2:17:49] this topic and this topic only is the motion took close.

[2:17:59] >> hi, good evening. Andrew baco, 543 barry wood lane, bridgewater, new jersey.

[2:18:06] we've heard a lot of res. [noise] I'll just hold it.

[2:18:12] we've heard a lot of comments from residents that have expressed concerns and

[2:18:20] have been understandably worried that their local government isn't working for them.

[2:18:29] now, we know that bridgewater knew that this was happening.

[2:18:35] we know that they understood it was happening.

[2:18:41] what I am confused with is that we've

[2:18:47] heard a lot of the members of bridgewater's government say, I didn't know.

[2:18:54] ford council members say, I didn't know. For the mayor say, I didn't know.

[2:18:58] we've heard the township administrator say, I didn't know. Somebody knew, mean someone was contacted in bridgewater's municipal building.

[2:19:10] I would just think that a responsible local government,

[2:19:16] when notified that there was work of this sort would be undertaken,

[2:19:24] would go out and at least take a look at the area.

[2:19:29] everyone, everywhere, older than 12,

[2:19:33] has a high definition camera in their pocket. I find it highly suspect that nobody thought to go take any pictures of that,

[2:19:46] that we've determined supposedly, how many trees were cut down based on the height of a woods chip pile.

[2:19:55] that seems pretty silly.

[2:19:59] but to just close up here.

[2:20:05] I thank the county commissioners for hearing the feedback from residents.

[2:20:13] it's very important that you have that feedback, and you hear from the residents of the county of their concerns.

[2:20:20] I only wish that my local government would do the same, that they didn't cancel the regularly scheduled council meeting.

[2:20:32] one that specifically business was moved to because of no business,

[2:20:39] but that's another discussion. Thank you very much for listening.

[2:20:43] have a good evening. [applause]

[2:20:48] >> is there a motion to close this public session? >> seconded.

[2:20:53] >> all in favor? Aye. Ayes have it. County council? >> yeah, just to clear up some things because I think the big question was why.

[2:21:01] the why really was there's a hawk watch up there. In 2023-

[2:21:07] >> [overlapping] if you would please stay, you stay for the questions, given a response.

[2:21:13] >> in 2023, the county acquired the hapatullo property,

[2:21:19] which is of historic significance. That's got lost here.

[2:21:24] why is it of historic significance really is there's raging debate in the historic community on where washington slept.

[2:21:33] but there's no debate on where he stood. That's a spot where he actually stood going on 250 years ago,

[2:21:40] as he overlooked the middlebrook encampment, which was a very important aspect or time in the war.

[2:21:46] it's a site to be celebrated and cherished. It's a combination of finding that balance.

[2:21:53] you want to encourage people to go to sites such as this, to see nature,

[2:21:58] experience the hawks, understand history, but you have to get them there and allow them to do it.

[2:22:04] not everyone walks out their front door. Some people need to drive to sites.

[2:22:08] that's the why. Miller lane is a private road.

[2:22:13] it is not a public municipal street. Why didn't that requires seven people who,

[2:22:20] if that was your house, you would say, no, I'm not letting you put that big road in front of my house.

[2:22:25] that option was not a viable option. Wetlands. Wetlands do not exist there.

[2:22:32] why do we know it? When did we do it? We did walk the site two different times with experts.

[2:22:37] that's required to do it at two different times, because there's a seasonal nature to wetlands.

[2:22:42] you do it two different times. The dep also came out. They don't just walk the site.

[2:22:47] they also do borings. They test the type of soil because based upon the soil content and the impaction and what's in the soil,

[2:22:54] you can determine whether or not that is a potential wetland. Storm water. Anyone who lives in somerset county knows the dangers of it.

[2:23:03] we know it, we experience it, we deal it. We feel it in every which way.

[2:23:08] we take that seriously. There's not a person that works in this building or works in engineering or planning,

[2:23:15] that we don't understand it. We show up after it, we respond during it.

[2:23:19] we provide a lot of money and time to it. We have done studies,

[2:23:24] and paul drake has hosted meetings on resiliency plans.

[2:23:28] we care about it. The bound brook flood control system is something we're proud of.

[2:23:35] it's something that we understand its need. When we do projects,

[2:23:41] whether we have to do a storm water report or not, we do them anyway.

[2:23:46] in this one, it's safe to say, and science says that on the big storms,

[2:23:53] the ones that cause flooding. The small storms trees absorb the water.

[2:23:57] it's the 50, 100 year storm when way too much water comes out,

[2:24:01] that the tree doesn't have time, and it sheets down hills and it sheets down mountains,

[2:24:06] and it goes to our lower level towns. We know that happens. This road is designed to slow that down and to reduce it by 25 and 50%.

[2:24:17] storm water was a factor. That's all I really have to say on this. The plan was not pulled out of a drawer.

[2:24:22] it's not 28-years-old.the concept was 28-years-old. The discussion was 28-years-old.

[2:24:28] the plan is about two-years-old.

[2:24:36] >> this is it. I think we take a bio break.

[2:24:44] the only question I have, county council, is because somebody asked the question why we didn't say anything.

[2:24:51] there was litigation. >> go ahead.

[2:24:55] >> no, you explain. >> there are forms for government to act,

[2:25:02] and there are forms for people to comment. This is a form for government to act.

[2:25:07] everyone has gotten a term. Everyone has been respectful. Everyone knows who they are.

[2:25:12] we make say your name, we make you share your address. The weekend warrior behind the keyboard we don't engage with.

[2:25:19] we'll answer questions that are legitimate. We answer opa request.

[2:25:23] we'll provide documentation. Anyone who filed an opa request, those opa requests were put to the top of the pile, if the clerk and I.

[2:25:30] we get, I think we're up to 10,000 opa requests so far this year. If you imagine that is three a day,

[2:25:35] including saturdays and sundays and holidays. This one, we responded as quickly as possible because we knew about it.

[2:25:41] to engage in the back and forth on the internet or in social media

[2:25:46] is a disservice to the level that this topic really required.

[2:25:51] at our next meeting, which was this meeting, we presented a presentation.

[2:25:56] if anyone would have came, showed up and said, can I get a copy of that stuff, it would have been readily given to them.

[2:26:03] >> for the record, we will take a five-minute break time now at 7:26.

[2:26:08] we will resume the meeting at 7:31. [noise] at this time,

[2:26:17] we will continue with our meeting. We have another presentation of state senior art show winner.

[2:26:24] please come forward. [applause]

[2:26:40] >> you know art requires patience. I think you really have shown your patience levels,

[2:26:48] waiting through all the public comment and the beautiful artwork you

[2:26:53] did for the senior art show here in somerset county,

[2:26:57] and for making it to the state level. May I ask everyone in the audience to give a great round of applause to vamala,

[2:27:04] aaron, and sharon for the state award. You want to come forward, and we'll get a picture?

[2:27:10] >> this is-

[2:27:42] >> we will move right on for our regular program, resolution 25-2100.

[2:27:54] >> it's authorizing somerset county to apply for and accept 37,500 for the leap county coordinated fellowship grant for county year 2026,

[2:28:04] for a part time shared somerset county coordinator from july 1st, 2025 to june 30th, 2026.

[2:28:15] >> resolution 25-2101, authorizing execution of a traffic control signal agreement

[2:28:22] between the county of somerset and the township of branchburg. Resolution 25-2102, approving plans and

[2:28:29] authorizing receipt of bids for excavation and disposal of buried waste,

[2:28:33] battery debris area, former belmed army depot, mountain view road, hillsboro.

[2:28:41] resolution 2521 oh three, approving the property parcel map and designating

[2:28:46] road areas to be acquired for highway and bridge purposes and authorizing the early appraisal of lands and title searches for

[2:28:52] the 2025 road reservicing and ada compliance program, various roughs, various locations, contract 24014.

[2:29:06] >> resolution 25-2104,

[2:29:10] authorizing submission and acceptance of funds for the soreset county tanf transportation contract

[2:29:15] with the new jersey department of human services division of family development for the period of january 1st through june 30th,

[2:29:21] 2025, total not to exceed $21,136, no match required.

[2:29:28] 25-2105, authorizing the modification of resolution 25-1170 to increase acceptance of funds from

[2:29:37] the new jersey department of human services division of family development for the social services for the homeless contract

[2:29:44] to add an additional $15,000 of code blue funds for the period january 1st through december 31st,

[2:29:51] 2025, new total not to exceed $447,712.

[2:29:56] 25-2101 oh, authorizing richard hall,

[2:30:01] community health and wellness center to apply to the state of new jersey, department of health division of mental health and addiction services for

[2:30:08] a consolidated funding application to provide services to the county's homeless population via the path program and services to

[2:30:15] somerset county residents engaged in the involuntary outpatient commitment program for the period of january 1st,

[2:30:22] 2026 through december 31st, 2026, and to accept funding if awarded,

[2:30:27] total not to exceed $482,307.

[2:30:33] >> 25-2107, award of contract to granicus for website grades,

[2:30:39] continued maintenance and support, a second year of a three year contract with two one year options to extend,

[2:30:45] total not to exceed $29,737.

[2:30:53] >> resolution 25-2108, authorizing change order one for

[2:30:59] chiller replacement at 40 north bridge street, somerville. It's an increase of $83,039 from the as-bid contract amount of $1,211,619 for

[2:31:10] a new total contract amount of $1,294,658 total not to exceed $83,009.

[2:31:20] resolution 25-2109, awarded professional service contract to french and

[2:31:26] paro associates for environmental investigation at 5:40 east main street,

[2:31:31] block 2 lots 5 and 5.01 borough of bounbrook, and block 357 lots 1 and 2 borough of middlesex,

[2:31:38] total not to exceed $165,925. Yes.

[2:31:49] >> resolution 25-2110, award of contract cy-com-005-25 to the arc of somerset,

[2:31:59] bound brook borough, casa of shaw, community hope home sharing,

[2:32:04] jewish community center, manville borough, midland adult services,

[2:32:08] north plainfield borough, safe and sound, somerville borough, visions and pathways,

[2:32:13] and youth consultation services for program year 2025 community development block grant activities

[2:32:22] total not to exceed $822,190.

[2:32:26] resolution 25-2111, award of contract cc-0154-25r3 to horizon pediatric consultants,

[2:32:36] llc doing business as rocking horse rehab basking ridge, new jersey,

[2:32:41] for equine therapy services, one year contract with optional one year extension,

[2:32:45] total not to exceed $3,750.

[2:32:51] >> good evening. Resolution 25-2112,

[2:32:56] authorizing a purchase from mes I acquisition out of sandy hook, connecticut,

[2:33:00] utilizing new jersey state contract for swat team ballistic vs, total not to exceed $49,371.84. Thank you.

[2:33:15] >> resolution 252113, award of contract cc-0112-24 to continental hardware inc for lumber and supplies,

[2:33:25] cooperative pricing, second year of a two year contract, not to exceed 6,500.

[2:33:33] resolution 25-2114, award of contract cc-9099-25 to

[2:33:42] premise ford from parames new jersey for the purchase of two four wheel drive

[2:33:47] refrigerated heated food truck vehicles from somerset county division of transportation,

[2:33:51] first year of a two year contract, not to exceed $173,182.

[2:33:58] >> resolution 25-2115. This is an approval to pay a confirming order to shi international for

[2:34:06] our live streaming and captioning services for the monthly somerset county commissioners meeting

[2:34:10] for the coverage term of september 30th, 2025 to september 29th,

[2:34:15] 2026, a total not to exceed $22,102.

[2:34:23] >> resolution 25-2116, approval to pay confirming order to wex health for

[2:34:30] august 2025 fsa and community benefit administration fees,

[2:34:34] total not to exceed $362.45.

[2:34:42] >> 25-2117, amending and cancellation certification of funds for

[2:34:47] previously awarded contract from 2024 for galls llc,

[2:34:52] total decrease not to exceed $14,359.59.

[2:34:57] 25-2118, approval to pay confirming order to fowler equipment company for $964.93.

[2:35:12] >> hello. Resolution 25-2119 is the insertion of

[2:35:17] a special item of revenue for the new jersey division of mental health and addiction services,

[2:35:21] gambling disorder clinician services program grant in the amount of $123,961.

[2:35:28] 25-2120 is amending and canceling certification of funds for previously awarded contracts to jm sorgi,

[2:35:36] somerville, new jersey, total reduction not to exceed $23,844.75.

[2:35:44] 205-2121, authorizing certification of funds for previously awarded contracts to pkf o'connor davies,

[2:35:51] cranford, new jersey, total not to exceed $2,215.70.

[2:35:57] 2122 is transfer of appropriations in

[2:36:02] the 2025 county operating budget and 2123 is a payment of claims and ratification of the same.

[2:36:14] >> resolution 205-2124, approval to pay conforming order for karen hock of hillsboro,

[2:36:21] new jersey, for the hillsboro senior center july 2025, starry summer night program,

[2:36:27] total not to exceed $75. 25-2125, amending and canceling

[2:36:33] certification of funds for previously awarded contract with middlesex county treasurer,

[2:36:38] north brunswick, new jersey for juvenile detention housing for q1 of 2025.

[2:36:43] total not to exceed a reduction of $4,558.66.

[2:36:48] 25-2126, approval to pay confirming order to visions and pathways, bridgewater, new jersey,

[2:36:55] for non profit services for the period of april through september 2025,

[2:37:00] total not to exceed $32,500 25-2127,

[2:37:06] authorizing certification of funds for previously awarded contract for qualifax systems inc,

[2:37:12] contract cc-0121-20 for richard hall community health and wellness center,

[2:37:18] qualifax electronic health record system fifth year of a seven year contract,

[2:37:23] total not to exceed $1,500. 25-2128, approval to pay a confirming order to

[2:37:30] the national council for mental well being of atlanta georgia for renewal of membership,

[2:37:35] total not to exceed $5,341, 25-2129,

[2:37:40] approval to pay confirming order for katherine jane's mandatory basic benefits registration training course

[2:37:46] to the national association of county veteran service officers, total not to exceed $400.

[2:37:53] she did pass the course. Then the last 25-2130,

[2:38:00] authorizing certification of funds for previously awarded contract to continental hardware inc,

[2:38:05] contract cc-0112-24 for lumber and supplies for the wheelchair ramp program,

[2:38:11] total not to exceed $1,560.

[2:38:18] in the wheelchair ramp program,

[2:38:23] it depends on the number of volunteers who are needed. This is a program that is provided through our handyman volunteer program.

[2:38:30] we just recently increased the number of handyman volunteers by over 50%.

[2:38:35] this one, in particular was a pretty significant one that was very, very long.

[2:38:40] I think there were probably about at least 10 people on site, and they built it in one day.

[2:38:48] >> resolution 205-20-1301 approval, pay confirming order of york telecom,

[2:38:54] new jersey for forensic software told not to exceed $14,074.36. Thank you.

[2:39:08] >> 2132, authorize the certification of funds for previously awarded contract to agni enterprises,

[2:39:15] llc for head to heel, safety supplies, not to exceed 5,600.

[2:39:20] 2133, approval to pay confirming order to bay shod recycling corporation from atlantic islands,

[2:39:26] not to exceed $66,639.13.

[2:39:32] 2134 approval to pay confirming order to david m. Bittrich inc,

[2:39:39] for auto supplies and middlesex, for emergency. It's the emergency purchase for diesel exhaust fluid,

[2:39:46] not to exceed $7,673.60.

[2:39:50] 2135 approval to pay confirming order to maza recycling services from tint and falls,

[2:39:57] for rigid plastic, not to exceed $133.50.

[2:40:01] 2136 approval to pay confirming order to recycling equipment corp for emergency repair of main conveyor belt,

[2:40:09] not to exceed $1,274.58.

[2:40:16] 2137 authorizing certification of

[2:40:20] funds to previously awarded contract to atlantic tactical. This is for uniform and equipment,

[2:40:25] not to exceed $1,706. 2138, authorizing certification of funds for

[2:40:32] previously awarded contract to trius from farming deals for snowplow parts,

[2:40:37] not to exceed 2,500. 2139, approval to pay confirming order to various vendors and parts and repairs,

[2:40:45] total not to exceed $13,055.60. >> thank you. Is there a motion to approve the above resolution

[2:40:53] 25-2100 through 25-2139 to the consent agenda for november 12th.

[2:40:59] >> so moved. >> second. >> roll call, please. >> commissioner graner?

[2:41:03] >> yes. >> commissioner drake. >> yes. Commissioner sue. >> yes. >> deputy director morono?

[2:41:07] >> yes. >> director robinson? >> yes.

[2:41:12] >> these are items that will be added for adoption later on tonight.

[2:41:16] this is 2099f authorizing an agreement between

[2:41:21] the soereset county department of human services and the food bank network of somerset county for

[2:41:25] implementation of the community navigator program, 2099g is authorizing an agreement between

[2:41:31] somerset county department of human services and the franklin food bank for the community navigator program.

[2:41:37] 2099h is authorizing a shared service agreement between somerset county and the somerset county park

[2:41:42] commission for information technology services, 2099i is authorizing a shared service agreement

[2:41:48] between somerset county and somerset county park commission for public relations services,

[2:41:52] 2099j is authorizing a professional service agreement

[2:41:57] between somerset county and the somerset county park commission for fingerprint, photography, and background check services.

[2:42:04] >> resolution 25-2099k from the greater raton workforce development board.

[2:42:10] this is amending r25-1962, which was adopted on october 14th,

[2:42:15] 2025 to increase the program year 2025 award to

[2:42:20] career training services of the somerset county department of human services for that period of july 1st,

[2:42:26] 2025 to june 30th, 2026, by the amount of 112,500 for

[2:42:34] targeted training initiative at raritan valley community college, total not to exceed $955,390.

[2:42:48] >> resolution 25-2099l, authorizing the purchase of real property known as block 132,

[2:42:56] lots 10 and 11 in the township of bridgewater owned by somerset land equities,

[2:43:00] llc, total not to exceed $12,500.

[2:43:11] >> 25-2099m is rejecting bids for

[2:43:15] jcc-0023-25 as the low bid substantially exceeds the appropriated budget amount.

[2:43:30] >> resolution 25-2099n award of a contract to feral technologies out of lake mary,

[2:43:36] florida for ferro software and licensing. Total not to exceed $12,695.

[2:43:43] resolution 25-2099o, authorizing payment to

[2:43:47] the county prosecutors association of new jersey out of elizabeth, new jersey,

[2:43:52] for the cpanj annual college for assistant prosecutors and prosecutors office management association members

[2:43:58] total not to exceed $20,125. Thank you.

[2:44:05] >> thank you.

[2:44:14] is there a typographer? >> [inaudible] >> thank you. Is there a motion

[2:44:25] to add resolutions 25-2099f-25-2099o to our regular meeting?

[2:44:37] >> so move. >> second. >> roll call, please? >> commissioner greener?

[2:44:41] >> yes. >> commissioner drake. >> yes. Commissioner sue? >> yes. >> deputy director marano?

[2:44:45] >> yes. >> director robinson. >> yes. This is the public portion of the regular public portion of this meeting.

[2:44:51] anyone from the public wishing to speak, five minutes, no yielding, a time, no coming up a second time.

[2:44:57] is there a motion? >> so moved. >> second. >> all in favor?

[2:45:02] >> aye. >> ayes have it. Please come up, state your name and address for the record.

[2:45:10] >> ed carway, 533 new brunswick road, somerset, new jersey.

[2:45:15] you probably remember me from last time because I did not have a very high opinion of you.

[2:45:20] I am sad to say that that has decreased in my mind since I've had dealings with your engineering department.

[2:45:27] I have a few emails. The only bright spot I have found in somerset county is teresa bonner.

[2:45:33] she is responsive and she tries.

[2:45:37] I sent her an email. I said, ms. Robinson suggested I contact you for

[2:45:42] information regarding the new brunswick road bridge replacement project.

[2:45:46] I now see that we have gone beyond the original time estimate and there has been no revised completion date.

[2:45:52] this leads me to wonder about the competency of your engineering department.

[2:45:57] a 16 inch water main is difficult to misplace. How did this happen and when will the job be completed?

[2:46:04] she sent information to mr. Loper, and mr. Loper replied to me on september 27th.

[2:46:12] your email was forwarded to me for a response. Please see our project website for the most up to date information.

[2:46:21] the information in your public website is basically known as useless.

[2:46:27] it provides no details, no real information.

[2:46:32] I wrote back to mr. Loper. I'm aware of that.

[2:46:38] why wasn't this project started in june? If it had been, even with the delay,

[2:46:43] it would have been completed before schools opened. Timing was very bad as this job affects a lot of local school bus routes.

[2:46:51] explain the need to replace the water line. What effect will this have on the township water supply?

[2:46:58] same question for the gas line. Why was the depth important?

[2:47:03] if depth was a consideration, why wasn't gpr ground penetrating radar used to determine

[2:47:09] the depth before the work began instead of getting a surprise after?

[2:47:14] what specifically needs to be replaced? What work will not be completed until after the water gas line work is completed?

[2:47:22] the more details the better. Although not a civil engineer,

[2:47:27] I am a degreed chemical engineer with over 40 years of experience in the cpi, chemical process industry?

[2:47:35] there was a response from ms. Bonner,

[2:47:42] saying that she had sent my email to mr. Loper and I got a response from mr. Loper.

[2:47:50] mr. Carway, construction projects

[2:47:55] often face unanticipated events and we work hard to minimize their impact.

[2:48:01] we thoroughly gather all available information to make informed decisions from the outset.

[2:48:06] despite our best planning new information, like the recent issues with utilities,

[2:48:11] often necessitates shifts in construction schedules and activities.

[2:48:16] while we prefer to accomplish major road work during the summer when traffic is lightest,

[2:48:21] this isn't always possible. For example, this bridge work could not begin until

[2:48:26] august 1st due to nj dep permit requirements.

[2:48:31] this is a complex federally funded bridge project with many moving parts.

[2:48:37] the county is committed to completing the work as efficiently as possible.

[2:48:42] in addition, we'll continue to coordinate with all necessary agencies including franklin township.

[2:48:49] in the interim, I wrote to miss bonner, below is the response I sent to mr. Loper

[2:48:56] and my original email to him along with his initial response.

[2:49:01] in it I requested details about the timing and delay of the project.

[2:49:05] he provided some information on the delay, but no details on the problems.

[2:49:10] this is not what I expected or wanted. He did not address any of the technical questions that I asked.

[2:49:17] I didn't want platitudes. I wanted facts. I didn't get them. I find this unacceptable.

[2:49:23] my degree is in chemical engineering, not civil, but I have taken civil engineering classes and I would

[2:49:30] have understood a much more technical answer than what he provided. Basically, he failed to answer any of my questions.

[2:49:37] I feel he did not want to be bothered and this was a public be damned attitude and answer.

[2:49:46] ms. Bonner replied, I'm sorry to hear that. I have forwarded the entire e mail chain to director robinson so that she is aware.

[2:49:55] I will continue to request a response on your behalf.

[2:50:00] on october 22nd, I sent back to ms. Bonner.

[2:50:04] thank you for your continuing assistance. I am sorry to report that I have yet to receive

[2:50:09] any further information from mr. Loper or anyone else at the county.

[2:50:14] am I correct that the next public meeting will be on 10/28? If so, I will have a few things to say,

[2:50:21] which I believe I have just said. I only have one question for you.

[2:50:26] when are you going to to fix the damn bridge? None of you can tell me because none of you know, correct?

[2:50:34] >> the latest update is now mid november.

[2:50:39] I question the same thing. I feel your pain.

[2:50:44] >> one little kicker in, do any of you remember magnolia road?

[2:50:49] >> I do. >> three months, took over six, another county project.

[2:50:58] I've been in engineering for a long time. We have a problem with a project.

[2:51:04] we do a root cause analysis. I don't know if you're familiar with those things. Generally speaking, when a project goes flui in the middle,

[2:51:13] there's one recurring cause, poor planning at the beginning.

[2:51:20] what I can tell you that if mr. Loper was working for me,

[2:51:25] he would not be working. If I took responses like his to my board,

[2:51:30] they'd laugh at him and then they'd fire him. Thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. Carway.

[2:51:41] >> kendra dipaola, d-I-p-a-o-l-a,

[2:51:47] nine york drive, princeton, new jersey. Good evening.

[2:51:52] my name is kendra dipaola. I am a resident of montgomery township.

[2:51:57] I respectfully ask that you pass a resolution supporting the immigrant trust act.

[2:52:03] my comments focus only on some of the likely economic impacts if the ita does not become law.

[2:52:13] due to ice raids our county and state lose workers,

[2:52:18] their work contributions, tax receipts, and their participation in our economy.

[2:52:24] there are other less obvious employment losses happening too.

[2:52:31] ice is a threat to anyone who is brown or black,

[2:52:35] has a foreign accent or works in some low income jobs.

[2:52:40] I teach immigrants and help them find jobs and have neighbors and friends who are immigrants.

[2:52:46] here's some of the ways people I know or know of have responded or

[2:52:52] are responding to the threat of being detained, arrested, or disappeared.

[2:52:58] these immigrants range from low income workers to professionals.

[2:53:02] some immigrants have moved back to their home countries. Some have applied for foreign passports and are poised to flee.

[2:53:12] some have returned to the country they came through in coming to the us.

[2:53:17] employers have become more compliant in collecting i9 documentation,

[2:53:24] eliminating some job applicants from consideration.

[2:53:29] some workers who lost their temporary protected status

[2:53:34] automatically lost their employment authorization documents and are suddenly out of work.

[2:53:41] some in fear and facing higher prices have moved in with family or friends,

[2:53:48] making it harder to get to work, jeopardizing their employment.

[2:53:54] if the ita is not passed into law and our police forces join ice,

[2:54:02] creating what could potentially become the largest militarized force on the planet.

[2:54:07] fear could cause these employment losses to quickly escalate.

[2:54:12] further reducing employment, work contributions,

[2:54:16] tax receipts, and our quality of life. Since these immigrants bring us the stuff we seem to need,

[2:54:23] mow lawns, provide us top quality healthcare and education and more.

[2:54:30] our police joining ice would also entail additional spending for training and

[2:54:36] the risk and cost of lawsuits for getting mixed up in ice's racial profiling,

[2:54:43] illegal tactics, and chaos. It would also cost the trust police have built with the community.

[2:54:51] this is not the way I want my tax dollars spent nor the community impact that I want.

[2:54:59] please pass a resolution supporting the ita to avoid

[2:55:03] these considerable consequences and costs and to protect all residents of new jersey.

[2:55:10] thank you [applause].

[2:55:17] >> hi. My name is debbie farber. I live at 87 highland avenue and bridgewater.

[2:55:23] I'm here tonight to ask you to support the immigrant trust act.

[2:55:29] the immigrant trust act directs law enforcement resources to be used for

[2:55:35] actual safety threats rather than after undocumented people who are not a threat.

[2:55:41] immigrants make many contributions to our communities. They are our friends, neighbors,

[2:55:48] business owners, and members of our community. They make economic contributions and should be

[2:55:54] valued and cherished instead of being villainized. Just like any other citizen in the us,

[2:56:01] immigrants and undocumented people are entitled to amendment five of the constitution,

[2:56:06] which states no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

[2:56:13] instead, they are being treated worse than criminals. Families are being torn apart.

[2:56:19] we need to protect our immigrant and undocumented citizens by limiting law enforcement cooperation with ice.

[2:56:26] please consider supporting the immigrant trust act. Thank you.

[2:56:38] >> good evening, commissioners. I'm sherry russ, 19 reimer street, somerville,

[2:56:44] and I'm here to ask somerset county to join union county,

[2:56:48] hudson county, and essex county in standing with our immigrant communities and families.

[2:56:54] please issue and pass a resolution in support of the immigrant trust act.

[2:57:00] the immigrant trust act is awaiting state assembly approval, and next,

[2:57:05] it will go to the state senate and hopefully be enshrined into new jersey state law.

[2:57:10] the ita directs our local resources to fund

[2:57:14] local initiatives rather than federal immigration law enforcement.

[2:57:19] this is important to us because we already have effective state police, the sheriff's office,

[2:57:26] and local police departments that fight crime in somerset county, and that crime fighting includes crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

[2:57:35] there's zero benefit to somerset county residents if we divert our law enforcement efforts in support of ice.

[2:57:42] in fact, ice is not even close to meeting its stated goal of deporting violent criminals,

[2:57:49] gang members, murderers, child sex traffickers and rapists.

[2:57:53] seventy percent of those detained by ice to date have no criminal record whatsoever,

[2:57:59] and 84% in custody have been determined to pose no risk.

[2:58:06] supporting ice with our law enforcement resources will only

[2:58:10] make somerset county less safe, less trusted.

[2:58:15] ice agents often have unmarked vehicles wear masks and don't carry id,

[2:58:20] which opens our residents up to the risk of imposters posing as ice,

[2:58:26] committing crimes against them as has happened over two dozen times in the us,

[2:58:31] and other scams abound, including one that recently caused the ratington township police to issue a warning to all residents.

[2:58:39] ice policies sell fear and mistrust between law enforcement and

[2:58:44] the community in contrast to the way our local law enforcement currently operates.

[2:58:49] many spanish speaking folks live in somerset county, and they can be racially profiled by ice and detained without due process.

[2:58:57] how would you feel if this situation impacted you, if it was your family, your kids?

[2:59:02] what would you do to protect yourself? Do you feel good about other members of our community living with this fear every day?

[2:59:11] show these at risk people that they're safe here in somerset county and let

[2:59:15] our law enforcement agencies operate independently of ice without diverting our tax dollars to harm our community.

[2:59:22] please support the ita [applause].

[2:59:30] >> dawn cohen, 85 millers grove road in bel mead.

[2:59:34] I too am here this evening to ask this board of commissioners to join

[2:59:40] about 20 other towns and counties around the state to

[2:59:44] urge the state legislature to pass the immigrant trust act.

[2:59:49] my husband is an immigrant. My children are children of an immigrant.

[2:59:55] many of my friends and neighbors are immigrants and children of immigrants.

[3:00:00] this issue is very personal to me. Reading the news these days,

[3:00:04] I'm very fearful for their safety. It's very clear from news reports that

[3:00:09] legal immigration status is no guarantee of immunity from ice's dragnets.

[3:00:15] furthermore, all community members benefit from the whole community's access to services that they

[3:00:21] pay taxes for regardless of immigration status. We are all safer when our sick neighbors can access health care without fear of ice.

[3:00:31] we are all safer when our neighbors can report crimes without fears of ice.

[3:00:36] we are all safer when our law enforcement resources are free to focus on their core public safety duties,

[3:00:43] rather than being allocated to support ice detentions of individuals who pose no threat to our communities.

[3:00:50] let's be clear, the immigrant trust act can't stop the raids,

[3:00:54] but it can put a very significant speed bump against their damage.

[3:00:59] I want that speed bump to protect our communities from ice's horrifying activities.

[3:01:05] I urge you to add our county's voice to the calls for action on the immigrant trust act.

[3:01:11] new jersey cannot afford to wait [applause].

[3:01:19] >> I know it's been a long night, so I'll try to keep this relatively brief.

[3:01:24] I'm viriyah hodges from highbridge, out in hunterdon county, eight wharton way.

[3:01:29] do I need to ride down anywhere? Correct. Greetings commissioners.

[3:01:36] I may be from hunterdon county, not somerset county, but as an alumni of rzc,

[3:01:42] somerset holds a very special place to me. Both as a twin neighbor of hunterdon,

[3:01:48] and from my many friends and connections I made from people who are in somerset.

[3:01:53] now, there is the threat looming over both of our counties. The threat I'm referring to is ice,

[3:02:01] the modern gestapo that is terrorizing communities around the country,

[3:02:05] including right here in new jersey. Hunterdon in somerset have not been spared.

[3:02:10] there have been raids in flemington, raids in bridge water, and this rogue agency.

[3:02:15] when the citizens of hunterdon county decided to speak up to our county government about it,

[3:02:21] they politely told us to go take a hike. I'm asking you to be different.

[3:02:26] when there were problems in these, we could come to the somerset board,

[3:02:31] and you guys had more reasonable reactions and were more willing to listen to us.

[3:02:37] as your neighbor, I'm like to implore you to do what hunterdon did not.

[3:02:42] please side with the oppressed rather than the oppressor.

[3:02:47] support the immigrant trust act. Do not give an inch to ice and this administration's matched goons.

[3:02:54] it may seem like a small thing. To be honest, in the grand scheme of things, it is.

[3:03:02] but in times like these, when our democracy is being trampled, when fascism is rearing its head,

[3:03:08] we have to choose what we're going to do. Are we going to sit back and watch?

[3:03:13] are we going to help tyranny along? Or will we resist? Will we be those who stood up against it? Thank you.

[3:03:20] please support the immigrant trust act. You all have a good evening. [applause]

[3:03:28] >> matthew mench, 1303 roger avenue. Despite my temptations, I'm going to stay on the topic

[3:03:34] I was originally here to talk about, as opposed to responding to some of the other comments that we just heard.

[3:03:41] I'm here to talk about two items on your agenda. The first one is there was a resolution

[3:03:47] that was passed tonight to award prescal services contract, mills shawning for the architecture of the washington valley park interpretive center.

[3:03:57] I understand that there's been a recent early concept plan of what that will look like.

[3:04:03] I'd asked all of you, as well as staff you direct, to please make sure that we stay in contact on this project,

[3:04:11] so that way as it moves forward. Even in the design phase on it,

[3:04:16] you solicited input from bridgewater or either way, we'll give it to you one way or the other anyway.

[3:04:21] but I think that in order to avoid, at least make sure that everyone's on the same page with what is being proposed,

[3:04:28] the earlier the input we can get, not just on, hey, here's our final plan, but hey, bridgewater.

[3:04:33] this is what we're thinking. Is there a problems, questions, comments?

[3:04:38] maybe that way, we're not back here next year, when the site that center starts getting built,

[3:04:44] and we have questions on it. The other thing, I couldn't help but note,

[3:04:48] but I did appreciate the resolution that was added tonight to add services for the park commission for public relations.

[3:04:57] I think that's a great idea, a well-deserved timing on that.

[3:05:01] I thank you all for your time this evening and have a nice night. >> thank you.

[3:05:07] >> hi. David reyes, 797 belmill blenburg road.

[3:05:13] I just want to know why the trump administration has taken

[3:05:18] away food stamp benefits for people that deserve food stamps.

[3:05:25] I deal with a lot of those people in my work.

[3:05:31] people should not go without food stamps, especially the homeless people starving out there.

[3:05:38] he's taken away food stamps, and all of our benefits are getting taken away.

[3:05:44] what's next? Medicaid medicare? I'm just tired.

[3:05:50] he is the worst president around.

[3:05:55] I just want everybody to vote with their conscience on november 4th and state your conscience.

[3:06:03] thank you. [applause]

[3:06:10] >> john flores, 389 william street, here in somerville.

[3:06:14] I'm usually singing karaoke in front of a mike, but it's been a long night, so I won't trouble you.

[3:06:21] >> go a head. [laughter]. >> don't tempt me. Decent,

[3:06:28] hardworking people are being pulled off the streets by unmasked,

[3:06:32] unidentified federal agents, here in new jersey, here in somerset county.

[3:06:38] there is very little transparency about who they are targeting,

[3:06:42] and many of the people apprehended by ice appear to be falling into a legal black hole.

[3:06:48] nearly all of the people apprehended are like me, people of color.

[3:06:55] there are reports that some are like me, even us citizens. I'm afraid.

[3:07:01] I'm afraid for my nieces and nephews and my great nieces and great nephews.

[3:07:07] I'm afraid for my family. I'm afraid for my friends. I'm afraid that someone that I know,

[3:07:14] someone that I love, is going to be taken and that they won't receive due process.

[3:07:20] I've been eating new jersey pizza and bagels for 50 plus years.

[3:07:25] my friends on the west coast make fun of my new jersey accent.

[3:07:29] coffee. I'm afraid. Nobody here can guarantee me that I won't be taken and cast into that legal black hole.

[3:07:41] that's the truth. I never thought that I'd have to ask

[3:07:45] local government to protect me from the actions of the federal government. But here we are.

[3:07:52] I'm asking you to protect me and my family and friends from

[3:07:56] the massed anonymous agents of the federal government who are acting without accountability.

[3:08:02] support the immigrant trust act. Join the other municipalities and counties that have already done so,

[3:08:09] and let the communities of color of somerset county know that you have their back.

[3:08:15] support the immigrant trust act. Thank you. [applause]

[3:08:26] >> hello. Good evening. It's a long evening. My name is cynthia snacropi pilbozian,

[3:08:32] 548 millstone river road, belmeade.

[3:08:36] I'm here to talk about the causeway.

[3:08:41] otherwise, known to me as the floodway.

[3:08:45] tonight, we talked a lot about flooding, trees.

[3:08:50] oh, I think, overdevelopment.

[3:08:56] in light of expediency, I'd like to read to you the op ed that montgomery news was so gracious to publish.

[3:09:05] with a little help from the editor, here goes. The following are my conclusions and suggestions

[3:09:11] for somerset county officials to consider as they move forward following the submar public hearing

[3:09:17] of the griggstown causeway concept development. Their least expensive option to install three traffic lights does

[3:09:26] not address the traffic congestion due to increased housing developments in our area.

[3:09:32] it does not address flooding, which is happening more often,

[3:09:37] and it does little to assure the safety of dnr state park enthusiasts who canoe,

[3:09:42] kayak, run, walk, bike, and fish along the causeway intersection.

[3:09:48] solution. A new two-lane bridge,

[3:09:53] similar to blackwell's mills, should be built north of the existing bridge from

[3:09:58] millstone river road in montgomery to mosha road in franklin township.

[3:10:02] by doing so, the problem of bridge closure due to flooding would be resolved,

[3:10:08] as traffic congestion on route 206 and other roads due to commuter diversion.

[3:10:13] what happens is when the bridge is closed, there are choke points that develop in other roads in the region. Not good.

[3:10:23] by looking at a concept that would provide a two-lane bridge,

[3:10:29] in an area of land that is already being used for municipal land use,

[3:10:37] the franklin township sewer authority, perhaps the dep may be more amenable to considering issuing permits for the land use.

[3:10:48] the bridge would then intersect with millstone river road

[3:10:52] and would be less intrusive for the residents in that area. By putting a stoplight down at the bridge,

[3:10:58] you think that you're creating a safety mechanism,

[3:11:03] but you're really increasing commuter frustration,

[3:11:08] which is the safety risk.

[3:11:13] let me continue. I hear about cost.

[3:11:18] an easy pass toll could be installed midway section of the new mosha road bridge to help pay for its construction.

[3:11:25] developers in the region must be held responsible for the added traffic congestion caused by the new residential buildings and new businesses,

[3:11:32] malls that are being built on route 206 corridor in hillsborough and montgomery,

[3:11:39] on harrison street and princeton, somerville, along route 1,

[3:11:43] and the list goes on. It's almost dead central new jersey,

[3:11:48] and it is a main artery for commuters and travelers.

[3:11:54] a lot of people travel. Commuters from these new developments pass through montgomery,

[3:11:59] franklin township, and regularly get to work, shop, and more.

[3:12:03] also, donations to the dnr, preservation fund specific to the project to

[3:12:10] preserve the historic relevance of the existing bridge, make the current causeway one-way from west to east.

[3:12:17] it provides an alternate route for commuters. They can use the two-way bridge.

[3:12:22] they can also use the one-way from west to east. It also allows for tourists and hiking enthusiasts.

[3:12:30] I used to run on the tow path. I used to run from the bottom of my driveway across the street.

[3:12:35] I don't do that anymore.it is not safe. People will use me for target practice.

[3:12:40] within the past week, I've had to near misses from frustrated drivers.

[3:12:46] I crossed the bridge. I was well more than halfway over the bridge,

[3:12:51] and I was confronted with an angry driver that nearly hit on me.

[3:12:55] I was forced to back out onto river road. That man was not going anywhere,

[3:13:02] and so I conceded. Thank you for taking my call today.

[3:13:08] the traffic signals are addressing the two times of the day that congestion is really bad.

[3:13:15] congestion is becoming worse on weekends. I weed in my backyard.

[3:13:20] I hear the horn honking, I hear people yelling and screaming. It's less intrusive to the neighborhood if you would consider this two-lane bridge.

[3:13:29] it would also give emts better response times in being able to transfer people to their hospitals of choice.

[3:13:38] if someone wanted to go to robert wood in new brunswick, they'd have to go all the way down to route 206,

[3:13:44] all the way around, or come up in teran, and go all the way around. There are many reasons why the two-lane bridge would

[3:13:51] be a better fit for the needs that you're addressing.

[3:13:58] yes.

[3:14:03] I mentioned easy pass. Easy pass is being used on many small roads and byways.

[3:14:11] when I travel, I frequently have to pay a little $25 toll, $0.85 toll.

[3:14:18] that may be a consideration. The canal and ida had bridge tenders and toll booths to assure the safe flow of barges.

[3:14:26] to cover the costs of those employees that collected the tolls, it seems that we're facing the same considerations as we

[3:14:32] move forward in our modern-day traffic safety needs. I implore the county officials to reconsider the possible options to enhance

[3:14:39] traffic flow and to alleviate congestion at choke points caused by flooding,

[3:14:44] and complete the project in a meaningful and lasting manner that will last more generations to come.

[3:14:51] if you can get this project done, this would be an awesome legacy to leave.

[3:14:56] thank you so much for listening. I agree, government works when government works,

[3:15:03] as long as you work within the constraints of rule. I appreciate that. Thank you for listening.

[3:15:13] >> hi. My name is katarina rose, k-a-t-a-r-I-n-a.

[3:15:18] I live at three gateway boulevard in hillsborough. I'm also here to request that you guys support the immigrant trust act,

[3:15:28] and also to do whatever we can to help our neighbors.

[3:15:33] it is so big, and the immigrant trust act should just be the beginning. Thank you.

[3:15:42] also, this is not necessarily to the commission, but to everybody who's listening at home and here to please vote,

[3:15:49] to have everyone you know vote, and please vote with your conscience.

[3:15:53] thank you. [applause]

[3:16:00] >> any phone calls, emails? >> I do have one phone call, believe it or not.

[3:16:04] sir. Hello. Yes. You need to state your name and address for the record, sir.

[3:16:11] >> sure. My name is carlos mendoza. I live at 23 mercury street, somerset, new jersey.

[3:16:19] I'm calling tonight because I'm concerned that you, the commissioners,

[3:16:23] are unaware about critical internal issues since the administrator has personally instructed employees not to talk with you directly.

[3:16:31] dafing and morale have plummeted since 2020 due to ineffective.

[3:16:38] >> sir, I just stopped for a second.

[3:16:46] personnel matters are not subject really appropriate for public discussion.

[3:16:53] if you want to talk in general, that's fine. But talking about a specific employee, I'm not going to allow.

[3:17:02] >> did you hang up? >> yeah.

[3:17:06] just for the record, employees have rights, regardless of who they are,

[3:17:11] whatever level they're at. Personnel matters are not for open discussion without proper notice.

[3:17:18] there's a case that governs that. General conversation about a department or a function of government,

[3:17:26] perfectly permitted. No other comments.

[3:17:33] >> seeing none, hearing none, is there a motion to close the public?

[3:17:38] >> second. >> all in favor? >> aye. >> ayes have it.

Oct 28, 2025 Board of County Commissioners Agenda/Work Meeting

Agenda

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