[00:00:01]
YOUR PATIENCE. ALL RIGHT. READY TO GO? ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. THIS IS THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP
[I. ROLL CALL]
PLANNING BOARD. MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. OUR REGULAR MEETING.THIS IS AUGUST 10TH, 2026. IT'S OUR INTENTION TO CONCLUDE THE MEETING NO LATER THAN 10:00. IF WE DO NEED TO GO A FEW MINUTES LATE BECAUSE WE STARTED LATE, WE'RE OKAY WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO THE TIME RIGHT NOW IS 707. UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT AND PL 2025 C 72. NOTICE OF THE TIME AND PLACE OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTED IN THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND ON THE MUNICIPAL WEBSITE. AND DEREK, CAN WE HAVE ROLL CALL, PLEASE? HERE. HERE.
THANKS. HERE. HERE HE IS. HERE. PRESENT. PRESENT. THANK YOU. PLEASE JOIN ME IN. SALUTE TO THE FLAG. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
OKAY, NEXT ITEM IS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR ITEMS NOT ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA. DO WE HAVE ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK ON ITEMS NOT ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA? OKAY. NEXT IS A RESOLUTION OF COMMENDATION THAT WE ARE GOING TO CARRY UNTIL THE PERSON THAT'S BEING ACCOMMODATED CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THE MEETING. SO THAT'S DEFINITELY GOOD. OKAY. NEXT
[V. APPLICATION]
ITEM IS AN APPLICATION. IT IS CASE PB DASH 04-26. THE APPLICANT IS C AND G FOR A SUBSTATION BLOCK 4001, LOT 26.01. IT'S PRELIMINARY AND FINAL MAJOR SITE PLAN WITH VARIANCES. THE EXPIRATION DATE IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026. AND FOR THE APPLICANT WE HAVE. GOOD EVENING, CHAIRMAN BOARD MEMBERS JOE PAPARO FROM PORZIO, BROMBERG AND NEWMAN ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT. PSENG. OKAY. THANK YOU. THERE WE GO. SO I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY GIVE AN OVERVIEW BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR PRESENTATION. THE APPLICATION, AS MENTIONED, IS A REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY AND FINAL SITE PLAN AND VARIANCE APPROVALS WITH DESIGN WAIVER TO CONSTRUCT A NEW ELECTRIC SUBSTATION ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 151 TRENT PLACE. THAT'S BLOCK 4001, LOT 26.01 ON THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP TAX MAP. WE ARE HERE FOR SITE PLAN APPROVALS AND THE RELATED RELIEF FOR THE ELECTRIC SUBSTATION. WE WERE DEEMED COMPLETE. THIS APPLICATION WAS DEEMED COMPLETE BY YOUR DRC ON APRIL 15TH, 2026, AND WE HAVE COMPLIED WITH ALL OF THE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MUNICIPAL LAND USE LAW. WE HAVE SUPPLIED THE BOARDS COUNCIL WITH PROOF OF SERVICE AND PUBLICATION FOR THIS HEARING, AND I WILL DEFER TO COUNCIL ON THE BOARD HAVING JURISDICTION. IT IS THE THE NOTICING IS IN ORDER AND THE BOARD HAS JURISDICTION TONIGHT. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I JUST WANTED TO AGAIN GO OVER SOME INITIAL HIGH LEVEL FACTS ABOUT THE CASE AND AN OVERVIEW BEFORE WE CALL OUR WITNESSES.BEFORE I BEGIN, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THIS IS AND HAS BEEN A VERY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH THE TOWNSHIP OF MONTGOMERY. I WANTED TO SAY AND THANK THE TOWNSHIP PUBLICLY FOR THEIR ROLE AND THEIR ASSISTANCE THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. MANY OF YOU WILL RECALL THAT THIS PROJECT STARTED MANY, MANY YEARS AGO FROM INCEPTION, WITH INITIAL DISCUSSIONS WITH THE TOWNSHIP ON IDENTIFYING AN APPROPRIATE LOCATION IN MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP FOR THIS SUBSTATION, AND THEN TAKING THE VERY FIRST AND IMPORTANT STEP OF THE MINOR SUBDIVISION TO CREATE THE PARCEL IN QUESTION. THAT'S LOT 26.01 AFTER THE MINOR SUBDIVISION WAS APPROVED AND THE NEW LOT CREATED, PSEG DID CLOSE ON THE PROPERTY AND PURCHASED LOT 26.01. AND THEN WE MOVED INTO THE SITE PLAN APPLICATION, WHICH IS THE APPLICATION THAT'S BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING. WE DID PARTICIPATE IN TWO MEETINGS WITH YOUR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE AND YOUR BOARDS PROFESSIONALS TO OBTAIN THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND BE SURE TO INCORPORATE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE FINAL PROPOSAL. THAT'S BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING. AGAIN, I WANTED TO THANK THE BOARD'S CONSULTANTS FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND GUIDING US THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AND FOR PROVIDING THAT FEEDBACK, WHICH WE FOUND VERY INSIGHTFUL. AND WHAT LED TO THE FINAL PROPOSAL THAT'S BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING. AS MENTIONED, IN ADDITION TO SITE PLAN APPROVAL, PRELIMINARY AND FINAL, WE ARE HERE FOR VARIANCE RELIEF.
YOUR BOARD PLANNER HAS NOTED IN THE REPORT SOME VARIANCES THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THIS
[00:05:03]
APPLICATION, AS WELL AS DESIGN WAIVERS FROM VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE CODE. WE WILL HAVE PLANNING TESTIMONY AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION TO SUPPORT THOSE VARIANCES AND DESIGN WAIVERS. WE WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN WITH A REPRESENTATIVE OF PSG TO COME FORWARD AND EXPLAIN TO THE BOARD IN PUBLIC THE NEED FOR THE SUBSTATION AT THIS LOCATION, HOW THAT SUBSTATION WILL FIT IN THE CURRENT PSG PROGRAM AND THE BENEFITS THAT WILL PROVIDE TO THE MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY. SO UNLESS THERE'S ANY PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS OF ME, I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH OUR FIRST WITNESS.CHAIRMAN. PROCEED. OUR FIRST WITNESS THIS EVENING IS NEIL FROM PSG. NEIL. GOOD EVENING SIR, WOULD YOU SPELL YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE? SURE. FIRST NAME IS NEIL. NEIL. LAST NAME IS PIESZCHALA. AND SIR, DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL, YES. THANK YOU. NEIL, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC, CAN YOU PROVIDE YOUR POSITION WITH C, N, G AND HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN AFFILIATED WITH THE COMPANY? SURE. MY TITLE POSITION WITH PSG IS PROJECT MANAGER. I'VE BEEN WITH THE COMPANY JUST OVER 12 YEARS NOW, AND YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE SITE IN QUESTION IN MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP? YES, THAT IS CORRECT. YOU WERE ALSO INVOLVED INTIMATELY WITH THE MINOR SUBDIVISION, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. CAN YOU GIVE THE BOARD. WE DO HAVE TECHNICAL EXPERT TESTIMONY THAT'S GOING TO FOLLOW REGARDING THE LAYOUT OF THE SITE AND THE DIFFERENT IMPROVEMENTS, BUT CAN YOU GIVE THE BOARD AND PUBLIC AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT AN ELECTRIC SUBSTATION IS, WHAT FUNCTIONS IT PERFORMS, AND THE BENEFITS IT WILL PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY? SURE. SO SO HERE THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN, THIS IS THIS IS OUR PROPOSED SUBSTATION. A SUBSTATION IS A PART OF A OF AN ELECTRIC GRID THAT HELPS MOVE ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL SAFELY AND, AND RELIABLE FROM WHERE IT'S GENERATED TO HOMES, BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, ETC. YOU CAN THINK OF IT LIKE A DISTRIBUTION HUB OR, OR A TRAFFIC INTERCHANGE FOR ELECTRICITY. IT CONNECTS DIFFERENT POWER LINES TOGETHER AND ADJUST VOLTAGE LEVELS SO ELECTRICITY CAN TRAVEL EFFICIENTLY OVER LONG DISTANCES AND THEN SAFELY BE USED BY BY CUSTOMERS LOCALLY. WITHOUT SUBSTATIONS, THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RELIABLY DELIVER POWER WHERE IT'S NEEDED. AND I JUST WANTED.
FOR THE RECORD, I WANT TO NOTE THE AND MARK THE EXHIBIT. THIS. THIS IS A RENDERING 3D RENDERING OF THE PROPOSED ELECTRIC SUBSTATION. MISS CASEY, WE CAN MARK THIS AS EXHIBIT A1.
THAT'S FINE. THANK YOU. AND AND NEIL, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE FOR THE SUBSTATION? YOU'VE EXPLAINED WHAT IT DOES. CAN YOU EXPLAIN ITS PURPOSE AT THIS LOCATION AND THE BENEFITS IT'LL PROVIDE? SURE. SO SO THE INTENT OF THIS, OF THIS PROJECT IS, IS TO BUILD A NEW TRENT PLACE CLASS H SUBSTATION, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT IN MONTGOMERY TO AREA IN ORDER TO OFFLOAD THE OVERLOADED SUNNYMEAD AND MOUNT ROSE SUBSTATIONS AND INCREASE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY IN THE AREA. ONCE CONSTRUCTED, THE PROPOSED STATION WILL HELP SATISFY THE GROWING ELECTRIC ENERGY REQUIREMENTS BASED ON EV GROWTH AND ALSO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL 35 MV OF SOLAR GENERATION TO INTERCONNECT TO THE CNG SYSTEM. THE UPGRADES WILL IMPROVE THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE OF RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES BY INCREASING RELIABILITY AND THE SAFETY SAFETY OF THE STATION THAT SERVES THE AREA. TRENT PLACE WILL BE A A 69 TO 13 KV SUBSTATION, WHICH IS WHAT WE LIKE, WHICH IS TECHNICAL TERMS. THE 69 KV IS TIED TO TO FOUR STATIONS. BENNETTS LANE SWITCHING STATION, TWO FEEDS INTO MONTGOMERY SUBSTATION AND ONE FEED INTO JOHNSON AND JOHNSON. THE 13 KV SIDE, WHICH IS THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE TIES, WILL PROVIDES A DISTRIBUTION NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE AREA. THROUGHOUT THE IMMEDIATE AREA OF THIS PROPOSED SUBSTATION, AND WE'LL PROVIDE POWER TO APPROXIMATELY 6000 CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING EAST MOUNTAIN HOSPITAL AND THE CARRIER CLINIC. AND MY UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR TESTIMONY IS THAT THIS SUBSTATION IS NEEDED IN THIS LOCATION TO OFFLOAD AN OVERLOADED EXISTING GRID. IS THAT THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. AND NOW WE LOOKING BACK TO EXHIBIT A1, THE 3D RENDERING, IT SHOWS THE VARIOUS PIECES OF EQUIPMENT AND COMPONENTS OF THE SUBSTATION. WE'LL HAVE THE CIVIL ENGINEERS AND THE OTHER EXPERTS GO THROUGH THOSE IMPROVEMENTS IN MORE DETAIL. BUT AN OVERVIEW WHAT TYPES OF EQUIPMENT ARE GOING TO BE LOCATED IN THIS SUBSTATION? SURE. SO WITHIN THE SUBSTATION YOU COULD SEE TWO ACCESS DRIVES.
THANK YOU KATIE. ALSO SURROUNDING SURROUNDING THE SUBSTATION IS IS A TEN FOOT TALL ANTI CUT ANTI-CLIMB FENCE. WE RECENTLY ADOPTED NEW SECURITY MEASURES AND SECURITY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FROM INTERNAL FOLKS. THIS PROVIDES SAFETY FOR THE STATION. WITH US
[00:10:04]
STILL STILL STILL BEING ABLE TO TO SEE INSIDE THE STATION AS WELL. AS WE MOVE TOWARD THE INTERIOR PART OF THE STATION. YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE, THIS IS WHAT WE CALLED AN AIR INSULATED SWITCHGEAR. SO IT'S IT'S A THAT'S OUR 69 KV RING BUS. THERE'S SEVEN BREAKERS INSTALLED THERE, A BREAKER YOU COULD THINK OF AS BASICALLY WHAT'S IN YOUR HOUSE. IT'S JUST THAT A AT A HIGHER LEVEL, IF THERE'S A FALL DOWN WIRE OR WHATNOT, ONE OF THOSE WILL TRIP OUT. BUT BECAUSE IT'S A RING BUS, WE STILL COULD HAVE, WE STILL DISTRIBUTE POWER WHERE WE CAN ALSO ON ON WHEN YOU MOVE TOWARDS THE MIDDLE, YOU COULD SEE TWO NEW 69 TO 13 TRANSFORMERS. SO THAT TAKES YOUR, YOUR TRANSMISSION AND, AND, AND BRINGS IT DOWN TO THAT DISTRIBUTION LEVEL. SO THOSE ARE OUR TWO TRANSFORMERS THERE. AND THEN AS YOU MOVE TO YOUR RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE TWO BUILDINGS. ONE BUILDING IS A 13 KV SHUTTLE DIAL SWITCHGEAR. SO THAT'S WHERE THE ALL THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE OF THE CIRCUITS COME OUT OF THAT CONTAINS ALL, ALL OF YOUR LOW SIDE DISTRIBUTION COMPONENTS. AND THEN MOVING CLOSER BACK TOWARDS TRENT PLACE.THIS IS OUR OUR PROPOSED CONTROL HOUSE. THIS BASICALLY ENTAILS ALL OF OUR RELAY AND COMMUNICATION, WHICH GOES BACK TO OUR DIVISION HEADQUARTERS, WHERE THEY CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE STATION IN REAL TIME. NOW, THAT CONTROL HOUSE AND THIS FACILITY AS A WHOLE IS WHAT WE CALL UNMANNED, CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. AND THE ONLY TIME. WELL, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHEN WILL ACTUAL PSEG EMPLOYEES BE AT THIS LOCATION? TYPICALLY, TWO EMPLOYEES WILL COME ONCE A WEEK JUST FOR PERIODIC MAINTENANCE CHECKS. AND WHEN THEY WHEN THE PSU EMPLOYEES VISIT THE SITE FOR MAINTENANCE CHECKS, WHAT TYPE OF VEHICLE DO THEY ARRIVE IN? USUALLY UTILITY VANS OR SMALL PICKUP TRUCKS. AND HOW APPROXIMATELY. I KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE, BUT ON AN AVERAGE MAINTENANCE VISIT, IF EVERYTHING IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TIME THAT THE EMPLOYEES WOULD BE ON SITE? ANYWHERE FROM 20 TO 45 MINUTES. AND THAT HAPPENS APPROXIMATELY ONCE A WEEK. CORRECT. AND ALL OTHER ALL OTHER HOURS OF THE WEEK. THIS WOULD BE UNMANNED. THAT IS CORRECT. THE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF EXHIBIT A1, WHERE THE EQUIPMENT IS. THERE ARE OTHER FEATURES, I BELIEVE. CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. OTHER LIGHTNING MASTS. THAT IS CORRECT. NOW AGAIN, YOUR WE HAVE AN ENGINEER WHO WILL COME UP NEXT TO TALK ABOUT THOSE LIGHTNING MASKS, BUT CAN YOU JUST HIGH LEVEL EXPLAIN WHY THOSE ARE INCLUDED IN A SUBSTATION HIGH LEVEL? THERE ARE A 1045 FOOT TALL LIGHTNING MESS. AND, AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY JUST PROTECT THE EQUIPMENT ON SITE FROM ANY FROM ANY LIGHTNING. THE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SHOWN ON THIS EXHIBIT. WE MAY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL WE BRING UP ANOTHER EXHIBIT, BUT THERE IS ALSO, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE SECURITY FENCE, THE TEN FOOT HIGH SECURITY FENCE. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THERE'S ALSO SECURITY CAMERAS FOR MONITORING. YES. THAT'S CORRECT. AND TYPICALLY RIGHT NOW WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED IS RIGHT AT THE THE GATE ENTRANCES AND EXITS. THAT'S JUST TO MONITOR WHO'S COMING IN AND OUT OF THE STATION. AND THAT'LL BE MONITORED BY PSEG 24 HOURS A DAY. CORRECT. ONE OF THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE APPLICATION IS AN AREA FOR A AN EMERGENCY MOBILE TRANSFORMER. CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHEN, WHAT AND IN WHAT EVENTS WOULD THAT BE NEEDED? SO THIS WOULD BE NEEDED IN THE EVENT IF A TRANSFORMER WERE TO FAIL AT THIS SUBSTATION, WHICH IS IS TYPICALLY IT IT DOES NOT HAPPEN. BUT JUST IN CASE IT DOES. SO THIS SUBSTATION WOULD NOT BE HANGING ON ONE TRANSFORMER. WE WOULD BRING IN A MOBILE TRANSFORMER.
IT'S PART OF OUR STANDARD DESIGN. NOW TO INCLUDE THIS AS PART OF NEW STATIONS. THIS HELPS US. IF IN THE CASE THAT A TRANSFORMER WERE TO FAIL AND WE WERE TO BRING IN A EMERGENCY MOBILE, THIS WOULD EXPEDITE THE PROCESS TO GETTING POWER BACK FROM A SECOND TRANSFORMER. SO PSEG FOR THIS LOCATION IS ACTUALLY BEING FORWARD THINKING AND PROVIDING A SPECIFIC DESIGNATED AREA IN THE OFF CHANCE THAT THERE'S AN EMERGENCY WHERE THAT MOBILE TRANSFORMER COULD BE POSITIONED SAFELY. THAT IS CORRECT. AGAIN, IT'S PROBABLY SHOWN ON ANOTHER EXHIBIT, BUT JUST WE ARE PROPOSING A PORTION OF THE SITE TO BE A TEMPORARY LAYDOWN AREA, A STAGING AREA. COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THAT AREA? AND FOR WHEN WILL IT BE USED? SURE. SO ON THE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE SITE, WHICH IS TO THE RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN, WHERE THE POINTER IS, THERE WILL BE A A TRAILER LAY DOWN AREA WHERE WE WILL HAVE FOUR TRAILERS AND THEN CONTRACTOR PARKING AND SOME LAY DOWN OF OF ABOVE GRADE STEEL TO BE ON SITE. THAT WILL ONLY BE CONSTRUCTED DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUBSTATION ITSELF. AND THEN ONCE CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE, THAT THAT AREA WILL BE, WILL GO BACK TO ITS EXISTING CONDITION. AND PLUS THERE'S ALSO PROPOSED LANDSCAPING IN THAT AREA AS
[00:15:01]
WELL. SO AGAIN, CNG BEING FORWARD THINKING FOR THIS SITE IS PROVIDING A DESIGNATED AREA FOR WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE STAGED, AND THAT AREA WILL BE RESTORED TO WHAT'S BEING DEPICTED. THE GRASS AREA AFTER THE SUBSTATION IS FULLY CONSTRUCTED. THAT IS CORRECT.WE TALKED ABOUT THE WEEKLY MAINTENANCE VISITS JUST BRIEFLY, IF ANY, EMERGENCY PROTOCOL, IF THERE WAS AN INCIDENT AT THIS SUBSTATION AND WHAT IS THE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL LOOK LIKE FOR CNG? SO CNG REMOTELY MONITORS ITS EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION AT SUBSTATIONS, WHICH SHOULD ALERT CNG FIRST IN THE EVENT OF AN ISSUE OF AN ISSUE WITH SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT, CNG EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE VIA SIGNAGE POSTED AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE SUBSTATION. IF AN ISSUE WITH EQUIPMENT REQUIRES ASSISTANCE FROM THE TOWNSHIP, FIRST RESPONDERS, PSEG WILL CONTACT VIA THE 9911 EMERGENCY SYSTEM UPON ARRIVAL OF TOWNSHIP EMERGENCY PERSONNEL AT THE SUBSTATION, THEY WILL BE ESCORTED THROUGH THE SITE BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. IN THE EVENT AN AN AN ISSUE ARISES THAT CNG IS NOT AWARE OF. THE FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVE PRIOR TO CNG PERSONNEL ARRIVAL AT THE SUBSTATION. THE RESPONDERS MUST WAIT TO ENTER THE SUBSTATION UNTIL QUALIFIED CNG PERSONNEL ARRIVES TO ESCORT THEM THROUGH TO ENTER THE SUBSTATION, AND THAT'S STANDARD PROTOCOL. YES, EVERY CNG. THAT IS CORRECT.
JUST BECAUSE IT IS AN ELECTRIFIED SUBSTATION. AND THAT'S WHERE THE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE FIRST RESPONDERS. CORRECT. I'M SORRY, IS THAT FOR THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE FIRST RESPONDERS? THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND JUST GENERALLY, I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE AT THIS STAGE, BUT WHAT WOULD BE THE CONSTRUCTION TIME FRAME FOR THIS IF THIS WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD CURRENTLY? CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE'RE PROPOSING CONSTRUCTION TO START AROUND JUNE OF NEXT YEAR, JUNE OF 2027. AND THAT CONSTRUCTION WILL LAST APPROXIMATELY TWO AND A HALF TO TWO AND A HALF YEARS THROUGH THE END OF 2029. OKAY. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN. BOARD MEMBERS, I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER ON DIRECT FOR THIS WITNESS. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. YOU SAID IN TERMS OF THE STATION HAVING AN ISSUE GOING DOWN, IT NEVER HAPPENS.
WHEN IS THE LAST TIME IT DID HAPPEN TO A STATION LIKE THIS? I MEAN, IT TYPICALLY DOES NOT HAPPEN. I'M I'M I KNOW TYPICALLY, BUT HAS HAVE THERE BEEN ISSUES? THE LAST INSTANCE OF THIS. I'D HAVE TO I'D HAVE TO DOUBLE BACK AND CHECK THAT. BUT I KNOW IT'S IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN A WHILE. IT'S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS. BUT I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND, AND GET YOU THAT INFORMATION. OKAY. SO MAYOR THANK YOU. SO DO YOU NORMALLY WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN A TOWN LIKE. THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR INFORMATION WITH OUR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. IF THERE IS ANYTHING AND IF THERE ARE ANY MEETINGS THAT MAYBE SOMEONE FROM CNG ATTENDS, BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE QUARTERLY MEETINGS JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS SAFE IN TOWN. YES. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS SOMETHING PART OF A REQUIREMENTS, BUT THAT WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT. YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY ALL RESIDENTIAL MOSTLY. AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE THAT HUGE BASEBALL PARK ON THE OTHER SIDE. YEAH, YES WE DID. WE ARE ALWAYS IN CONTACT WITH OEM, AND WE HAVE A DESIGNATED PERSON THAT THAT'S BASICALLY THE MIDDLEMAN BETWEEN PSC AND, AND, AND THE TOWNSHIP. OKAY. AND AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, WOULD YOU AGAIN, WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING AND OF COURSE, I'VE LOOKED AT THIS BEFORE, BUT SINCE THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO BE WATCHING OR HEARING ABOUT THIS, YOU'RE MENTIONING THAT THIS IS A BENEFIT TO MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP AND RESIDENTS, RIGHT? SOME OVERLOADED, OVERLOADED, RATHER STATE SUBSTATIONS WOULD BE ALLEVIATED BY THIS ONE HERE. IS THIS GOING TO BE MOSTLY MONTGOMERY? I'M JUST IF YOU CAN TOUCH ON THAT IF YOU'RE ALLOWED TO JUST UNDERSTANDING. YES. SO SO AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT AROUND 6000 CUSTOMERS IN MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP WITH PROVIDING THEM POWER. OKAY. AND JUST TO NOTE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT WASN'T ASKED, BUT THE, THE BUILD OF THE SUBSTATION WILL NOT AFFECT ANY, ANY ELECTRICAL SERVICE DURING CONSTRUCTION. THERE'LL BE NO DISTURBANCE OR DISRUPTION FOR THIS TO COME ONLINE.
CORRECT. OKAY. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. AND, AND MAYBE EVER COMING UP. I DIDN'T SEE IT, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THE LIKE A DEPICTION OF THIS, OF THE TRANSMISSION WIRES COMING IN, LIKE ON WHAT SIDE THEY'D BE COMING FROM, ETC. I MEAN, POWER'S GOT TO COME IN. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND, AND TYPICALLY, WELL, NOT TYPICALLY, BUT PART OF THIS STATION AND TYPICALLY INTO ANY SUBSTATION, WE, WE COME IN UNDERGROUND AND THEN RISE UP TO A RISER POLE. OKAY. SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE HUGE WIRES, HUGE TOWERS WITH WIRES COMING INTO THE STATION. OKAY. OKAY.
THAT'S. TONY. THIS LOOKS LIKE A A MAJOR UNDERTAKING. HAVE YOU WEIGHED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
[00:20:11]
NEW SUBSTATION AGAINST THE ENHANCEMENT OR ENLARGEMENT OF EXISTING SUBSTATIONS? WE HAVE.AND AND THAT THAT IS ALL PART OF OUR PLANNING PROCESS. SO WE HAVE OUR INTERNAL PLANNING GROUP WITHIN CNG. AND THEY LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY OF EXPANDING EXISTING EXISTING STATIONS. BUT IN THIS CASE, A BRAND NEW SUBSTATION IS DIRECTLY OF BENEFITS. AS FAR AS THE RELIABILITY CONCERN. OKAY, QUICK QUESTION AS WELL. THIS IS TO ALLEVIATE THE THE STRAIN THAT'S IN THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW. HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO ESTIMATE THAT IT MEETS ANY OF THE FUTURE DEMANDS THAT WE MAY HAVE AS WELL, OR IS IT JUST REDISTRIBUTING? NO, THIS ALSO IS IS HELPING FUTURE DEMANDS AS AS WELL AS AS I MENTIONED, THIS GOES THROUGH OUR PLANNING PROCESS PLANNING PROCESS. AND THEY ALSO CALCULATE, YOU KNOW, FUTURE LOAD GROWTH IN THE AREA.
OKAY. AND, AND OUR PROFESSIONALS WEIGH IN ON THAT AS WELL, LIKE WHAT THE GROWTH IS GOING TO BE. I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER PERSONALLY. I DO THINK PLANNING DOES REACH OUT TO, TO MUNICIPALITIES. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. I ALSO HAVE A FEW POINTS FOR CLARIFICATION.
ONE OF THEM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE THE WEEKLY COUPLE OF PEOPLE ONCE A WEEK PHYSICALLY VISIT THE SITE AND LOOK FOR THAT, BUT FOR THE REST OF THE TIME, IS THAT 24 HOURS MONITORED BY SOME OTHER SYSTEM? OR HOW WHAT IS WHAT IS THE REMAINING TIME? YES. SO SO THIS IS AN AUTOMATED FACILITY, PART OF THE CONTROL HOUSE, WHICH IS ON THE THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PLAN HERE. SO THAT ALL THAT COMMUNICATION AND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE STATION GOES BACK TO OUR, OUR DIVISION HEADQUARTERS, WHICH THEY CAN SEE IN REAL TIME WHAT IS GOING ON AT THE STATION. SO WHAT THESE TWO PEOPLE ONCE A WEEK DO, THEY'RE THEN JUST LOOKING AT THE EQUIPMENT, SEEING IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT LOOKS OUT OF SORTS, BASICALLY HIGH LEVEL CHECK JUST TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. SIMILAR QUESTION REGARDING THE EMERGENCY ISSUE. SO FOR THE EMERGENCY SAID THAT THE THE PROTOCOL PROTOCOL IS THAT THERE HAS TO BE A CNG QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE OR PERSON BEFORE FIRST RESPONDER CAN ENTER. BUT IF IT IS TRUE, EMERGENCY AND ACTUALLY IF NEEDED AND THERE IS A FIVE MINUTES DIFFERENCE, TEN MINUTES DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS ARRIVING THERE, I THINK, SHOULDN'T THAT BE THE THE PRIORITY SAFETY SHOULD BE AND SHOULDN'T BE THE PRIORITY FOR ANY PROTOCOL? I MEAN, OF COURSE, WHATEVER PROTOCOL IS THERE, IT WILL BE. AND BECAUSE OF THIS BEING A A LOCATION WHERE EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE STATION IS BEING SENT BACK COMMUNICATION WISE TO DIVISION HEADQUARTERS, THEY'LL KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. AND AND THEY'LL SEND AN OPERATOR RIGHT AWAY. WE ALWAYS HAVE TRAVELING OPERATORS AROUND AROUN SO THEY'L IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE NEAREST PERSON AND SEND THEM THERE.
YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT WITNESS. THANK YOU NEIL. OUR NEXT WITNESS IS OUR CIVIL ENGINEER, JASON RINGER. AND COUNSELOR. I'M GOING TO SUGGEST YOU MOVE THE MICROPHONE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH. OKAY. SO WHEN YOU WHEN YOU TURN, YOU CAN HEAR YOU. NO PROBLEM. SIR, COULD WE HAVE YOUR FULL NAME FOR THE RECORD? AND COULD YOU SPELL IT, PLEASE? YES. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JASON RINGER. RINGER. AND SIR, DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL. I DO THANK YOU, JASON, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BOARD IN PUBLIC, CAN YOU PROVIDE YOUR EDUCATION AREA OF EXPERTISE AND THE LICENSES YOU HOLD? YES. I AM CURRENTLY A SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER WITH BURNS MCDONNELL ENGINEERING COMPANY OUT OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. I EARNED MY BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY IN MAY OF 2020 OF 2015, AND I HAVE BECAME LICENSED LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER IN 2020 IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THEN IN 2024, RECEIVED MY NEW JERSEY LICENSE THROUGH RECIPROCITY. AND MY LICENSE IS CURRENTLY ACTIVE.
AND DO YOU FREQUENTLY WORK ON THE DESIGN OF SUBSTATIONS IN YOUR CAPACITY AS A CIVIL ENGINEER? YES, I, I HAVE WORKED ON WITH WITH BURNS MCDONNELL FOR OVER SEVEN YEARS NOW, WORKING ON ALL SORTS OF CLIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, BUT PRIMARILY SEEING THE LAST SEVEN YEARS DOING SITE DEVELOPMENT, GRADING, STORMWATER EROSION CONTROL, WATER AND SANITARY
[00:25:04]
SEWER DESIGN. LIKE. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. I WOULD OFFER MISTER RINGER AS AN EXPERT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. YEAH. HE'S ACCEPTED. THANK YOU. SO, JASON, WHY DON'T WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WE HAVE EXHIBIT A ONE WHICH IS THE RENDERING. BUT I THINK IF WE MOVE TO EXHIBIT A TWO, WHICH WOULD BE OUR RENDERED SITE PLAN, MAYBE THE APPROPRIATE EXHIBIT, OR ARE WE GOING TO THE. KATY. I'M SORRY, ARE WE GOING TO THE AERIAL? THE AERIAL? YEAH. LET'S DO THE AERIAL, PLEASE. I'M SORRY. IS THAT EXHIBIT 2 OR 3? I THINK IT SAYS THREE. IT SAYS THREE. YEAH.THAT'S MY THAT'S MY FAULT WITH THE NUMBERING. OKAY. SO WHY DON'T WE CALL THE AERIAL EXHIBIT A TWO, A TWO? JASON, CAN YOU JUST GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SITE IN QUESTION? WE HAD TESTIMONY REGARDING PROPOSED OR NOW IT'S EXISTING LOT 26.01. BUT SPEAK TO THE GENERAL DIMENSIONS OF THE SITE AND ITS LOCATION BEFORE WE GET INTO THE SITE.
IMPROVEMENTS. YES. THIS SITE IS APPROXIMATELY 7.1 ACRES. AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, IT IS A LOT 26.01 BLOCK 4001 SITE IS ZONED FOR ALUMINUM MANUFACTURING, AND THE LOT SIZE IS APPROXIMATELY 600 BY 500FT. AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THIS SITE IS LOCATED IN THE LM, THE LIMITED MANUFACTURING ZONE. CORRECT. AND THE IN THE LIMITED MANUFACTURING ZONE, A PUBLIC UTILITY USE IS CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. AND THE OUR PLANNER WILL GO INTO THE CODE REQUIREMENTS. BUT IT'S YOUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS PROPOSAL COMPLIES WITH ALL OF THE CONDITIONS FOR THAT CONDITIONAL USE, CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. THE SUBSTATION THAT WAS JUST DISCUSSED BY NEIL AS FAR AS AN OPERATIONAL FROM AN OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE, CAN WE JUST BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THAT? BUT BEFORE WE DO, ARE THERE ANY CAN YOU GO THROUGH ON THE AERIAL, THE SITE CONDITIONS, ANY SITE, ANY ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS OR ANYTHING THAT THE BOARD SHOULD BE AWARE OF AS TO WHY THE FACILITY IS LOCATED AS IT IS? YEAH. SO THE EXISTING SITE IS A MAJORITY GRASS FIELD WITH VARIOUS TREES, SHRUBS AND WETLANDS LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE SITE. AND I'LL ADDRESS THE WETLANDS IN PARTICULAR ARE. THERE'S ONE IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER, SEVERAL ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE PROPERTY, AND THEN ONE AS WELL IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PROPERTY. AND ALL OF THESE WETLANDS HAVE BEEN DELINEATED THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS WITH THE NEW JERSEY DEP, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND THOSE ARE UNDER REVIEW. AND THAT THOSE AND SITE CONDITIONS ARE WHAT DRIVES HOW THIS FACILITY HAS BEEN ORIENTED ON THE SITE. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. YEAH. WE TRIED TO POSITION THE SITE AROUND IT. SO WE'RE NOT INTERFERING WITH ANY OF THE WETLAND BUFFERS. TRY TO PREVENT THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. AND IF WE COULD MOVE TO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CALL NOW IS EXHIBIT A THREE, WHICH IS ONE SECOND THE THE I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THE RED LINE AROUND THAT'S THE FOOTPRINT OF THE SUBSTATION. NO, SORRY, THAT'S THE PROPERTY LINE ITSELF. SO THERE'S A PROPERTY LINE ON THERE IN RED AND THEN THERE THE SETBACKS ON THERE IN WHITE. AND THEN SO LIKE I SAID, THIS IS JUST THE EXISTING CONDITION. WE'LL SHOW ANOTHER PLANE HERE THAT I'LL SHOW BOTH OF THOSE AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED SUBSTATION. OKAY. AND I SHOULD NOTE, THERE'S ALSO THE EXTENDED LOT BUFFER AROUND AS WELL. AND THE WHITE ONE THAT'S CURVED AROUND THE STATION OR AROUND THE PROPERTY. EXCUSE ME. AND THAT'S A WETLANDS BUFFER. NO, THAT IS THE THAT'S THAT'S THE BUFFER BETWEEN OR SHOWING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THAT AND THE OTHER PROPERTIES AROUND. OKAY. YES.
THANK YOU. NOW MOVING TO EXHIBIT WE'RE GOING TO LABEL A THREE. THIS IS A RENDERED VERSION OF THE SITE PLAN. CAN YOU JUST UTILIZING EXHIBIT A THREE. CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS THAT NEIL BEGAN TO DISCUSS FROM AN OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE, BUT CAN YOU WALK THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH THESE IMPROVEMENTS? I GUESS BEGINNING WITH TRENT PLACE FROM THE DRIVEWAY ACCESS. YES. SO THE TRENT PLACE IS LOCATED AT THE TOP OF THE PLAN UP HERE, ALSO KNOWN AS COUNTY ROUTE 601. WE HAVE TWO DRIVEWAY ENTRANCES THAT ARE CONCRETE APRONS AT THE UP UNTIL THE PROPERTY LINE, AND THEN THEY'RE BECOME ASPHALT.
ONCE WE GO BEYOND THE PROPERTY LINE, WE HAVE A OUR TEN FOOT FENCE THAT GOES AROUND THE
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ENTIRE EXTENTS OF THE SUBSTATION ITSELF. I SHOULD ALSO NOTE HERE THE RED IS THE PROPERTY LINE AS WELL. AND WE ALSO HAVE THE SETBACKS HERE INDICATED AS WELL. THE ASPHALT CIRCULATION PATH PROVIDES ACCESS FOR PSEG PERSONNEL TO COMPLETELY ACCESS THE ENTIRETY PROPERTY AND BE ABLE TO SERVICE EQUIPMENT AS NEEDED. STARTING THROUGH THE SUBSTATION, WE HAVE THE CONTROL HOUSE BUILDING UP HERE, AND IMMEDIATELY BELOW THAT WE HAVE THE STATION LIGHT AND POWER TRANSFORMERS THAT PROVIDE POWER TO THE STATION ITSELF. BELOW THAT, WE HAVE THE SWITCHGEAR FACILITY. WE HAVE OUR TWO TRANSFORMERS, THE 69 KV TO 13 KV LOCATED HERE AND HERE.AND THEN WE HAVE THE ASSOCIATED BREAKER AND RING BUS CONFIGURATION HERE. WE ALSO HAVE LIGHTNING MAST KIND OF LOCATED THROUGHOUT, PRETTY SMALL IN THE PLAN, BUT AROUND THE MAJOR EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE SAFETY FROM LIGHTNING STRIKES. WE ALSO HAVE THE MOLE TRANSFORMER CONTAINMENT PIT THAT WOULD HAVE THE MOBILE TRANSFORMER WOULD BE LOCATED IN THIS AREA. HERE WE HAVE CABLE TRENCH THAT'S LOCATED BELOW GRADE AND AT GRADE TO ROUTE ELECTRICAL CONDUITS THROUGHOUT THE STATION AS NEEDED. SO JASON JUST JASON STOPPING THERE. BOTH THE EMERGENCY MOBILE TRANSFORMER LOCATION, THAT'S WHEN THERE IS NO TRANSFORMER THERE. THAT'S JUST A CURBED AREA, CORRECT? CORRECT. CORRECT. IT'S A CURBED CONTAINMENT AREA.
YES. AND THE YOU MENTIONED THE UTILITY TRENCHES THAT ARE AT GRADE OR BELOW GRADE, CORRECT? CORRECT. NOW AGAIN, THE PLANNER, MR. HIGGINS, WILL TALK IN MORE DETAIL BECAUSE THE BOARDS PLANNER HAS IDENTIFIED VARIANCES FOR BOTH OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS, CALLING THOSE ACCESSORY STRUCTURES. BUT TO YOUR JUST TO CLARIFY, THE EMERGENCY MOBILE TRANSFORMER LOCATION, THAT'S SIMPLY A CURB. CORRECT. OKAY. AND THEN THE UTILITY TRENCHES, THOSE ARE AT GRADE. CORRECT. THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A BUMP UP FOR THE CONCRETE, BUT THOSE WILL BE ABLE TO BE DRIVEN OVER BY A VEHICLE. ONE OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT THE PLANNER FOR THE BOARD NOTED WAS THE CRUSHED STONE. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE USE OF CRUSHED STONE AT THIS FACILITY? YEAH. SO THAT PROVIDES A A WORKABLE SURFACE FOR. FOR PSEG PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT TO MANEUVER THROUGHOUT THE STATION. IT ALSO PROVIDES AN INSULATING, MEEK MEDIUM FOR ELECTRICAL GROUND GRID, WHICH IS COPPER RODS THAT ARE RUN UNDERGROUND TO HELP GROUND THE STATION AND INCREASE THE SAFETY FOR STEP POTENTIALS AND TOUCH POTENTIALS. SO PSEG IS NOT USING CRUSHED STONE BECAUSE IT'S CHEAPER THAN ASPHALT. THERE'S AN ACTUAL SAFETY BENEFIT TO THE WORKERS OR THE VISITORS TO THE SITE. THE EMPLOYEES. CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND AGAIN, THE PLANNER WILL GET INTO IT IN MORE DETAIL. BUT THE BOARD'S PLANNER HAS IDENTIFIED A VARIANCE FOR THAT SURFACE, THAT STONE SURFACE BEING LOCATED WITHIN THE SETBACK.
CORRECT. THE LAY DOWN YARD IS ACTUALLY SHOWN THAT NEIL SPOKE TO A LITTLE BETTER ON THIS EXHIBIT A THREE. WHAT'S BEING HIGHLIGHTED WITH YOUR POINTER ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE? CORRECT? CORRECT. AND THAT WILL BE ONLY USED AS NEIL TESTIFIED DURING CONSTRUCTION. CORRECT. AND THEN AFTER CONSTRUCTION, IT'LL BE RESTORED TO ITS, YOU KNOW, GREEN OR NATURAL STATE. CORRECT.
THERE'LL BE THE USE OF WHAT WE CALL MATTING, WHICH IS A PLASTIC GRID SYSTEM THAT HELPS PROVIDE A STABLE SURFACE BUT ALSO ALLOWS WATER TO PENETRATE THROUGH. AND THEN ONCE IT'S CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE, THOSE WILL BE PICKED UP. AND THEN THE, THE EXISTING GRASS AND AND NATURE OUT THERE WILL BE RESTORED TO ITS EXISTING CONDITION. YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE ASPHALT DRIVES AND THE CIRCULATION PATTERN FOR THE MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES. THERE ARE NO DESIGNATED PARKING SPACES FOR THIS UNMANNED FACILITY. CORRECT? CORRECT. AND CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHY, AS AN ENGINEER, YOU'VE DESIGNED IT THIS WAY SO THAT THE WAY PSEG UTILIZES THEIR STATIONS, THEY WILL DRIVE INTO THE STATION, THEY'LL PULL UP TO THE CARD READER AT EITHER GATE AND ENTER THROUGH THE GATE, AND THEY WILL BE PARKING, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THE EQUIPMENT. SO THEY ARE ABLE TO GET OUT AND IMMEDIATELY GET TO THE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IN QUESTION. SO IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION, BASED ON THE UNIQUENESS OF SINGH'S OPERATIONS, YOU DON'T FEEL THAT PARKING SPACES ARE REQUIRED. CORRECT. ALSO SOMEWHAT UNIQUE TO PSEG. THE FACT THAT THIS ASPHALT DRIVES DO NOT INCLUDE CURBING. CAN YOU EXPLAIN OR SPEAK TO THAT ISSUE AS WELL? YES, THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS THAT WE DON'T TEND TO USE CURBING AND ONE, THE WAY THE DRAINAGE DESIGN. WE CAN GET INTO THAT LATER. THE CURB WILL IMPEDE THE FLOW OF STORMWATER RUNOFF THROUGHOUT. THE SITE ALSO PROVIDES KIND OF A IMPEDANCE FOR PSEG PERSONNEL TO GET THEIR EQUIPMENT OR UTILIZE THEIR EQUIPMENT ITSELF TO GET
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TO THE PIECE OF THE SUBSTATION THAT THEY NEED TO ACCESS WITHOUT IT BEING A TRIPPING HAZARD. I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE TEN FOOT SECURITY FENCING THAT NEIL SPOKE TO, THAT IT'S PART OF THE PROTOCOL. THE ANTI-CLIMB ANTI CUT FENCING. CAN YOU JUST AGAIN SPEAK TO THE LOCATION ON THIS EXHIBIT OF WHERE THAT FENCING IS, AND THEN ALSO SPEAK TO THE FENCING THAT'S BEING USED AROUND THE THE RETENTION BASINS? YEAH. SO WE HAVE A TEN FOOT TALL. IT'S A MEGASTAR MATRIX ALPHA AS THE MANUFACTURER OF THE OF THE FENCE. IT'LL BE A SURROUNDED THE ENTIRETY OF THE SUBSTATION HERE. EXCEPT LIKE I SAID, THERE'S THE TWO GATES OR TWO I SHOULD SAY MOTORIZED ACCESS, MOTORIZED SLIDE GATES. THERE'S ALSO A COUPLE THREE FOOT WIDE PEDESTRIAN GATES UP AT THE TOP. THE FENCE ALSO SURROUNDS THE SOUTHERN BIORETENTION BASIN IN ITS ENTIRETY, AT THE TOP OF THE BERM OF THE BASIN. AND SO THAT PROVIDES COMPLETE SECURITY FOR BOTH THE SUBSTATION ITSELF AND THE SOUTHERN BIORETENTION BASIN.AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE A THREE FOOT TALL, THREE FOOT, SIX INCH TALL POST AND RAIL WOODEN FENCE THAT PROVIDES SOME SCREENING AND COVERAGE FOR THE NORTHERN BIORETENTION BASIN. NOW, I KNOW WE HAVE A SEPARATE EXHIBIT, WHICH WE'LL SHOW IN A MINUTE REGARDING THE FENCING DETAILS, SO THAT THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT THESE FENCES LOOK LIKE BEFORE WE GET TO THAT EXHIBIT USE UTILIZING THIS EXHIBIT, CAN WE JUST TALK NOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STORMWATER? I KNOW YOU'VE REVIEWED THE REPORTS THAT WERE ISSUED BY THE BOARD'S CONSULTANTS. YES. OKAY. SO THE WAY WE'RE MANAGING STORMWATER RUNOFF, THERE'S A WE DON'T HAVE GRADES ON HERE, BUT THERE'S A CROWN. AND THIS PORTION OF THE SITE NEAR THE DRIVEWAY TO WHERE GRADE IS ALLOWING STORMWATER RUNOFF TO FLOW EITHER TO THE NORTH DIRECTLY INTO THIS BIORETENTION BASIN, WHERE IT WILL BE STORED AND CONTAINED, AND THEN RELEASED SLOWLY THROUGH A BIORETENTION BASIN, WHICH IS A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
BMP BEST MANAGED PRACTICE PREFERRED BY NEW JERSEY DEP THAT ALLOWS RUNOFF TO BE STORED OR MANAGED FOR NOT ONLY THE QUANTITY OF THE RUNOFF, BUT ALSO FOR QUALITY AND GROUNDWATER RECHARGE HAS, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATED PLANT LIFE THROUGH THERE, WHICH IS UNDERLAIN BY A FILTER MEDIA OF OF SPECIALIZED SOIL, THEN SAND AND GRAVEL WITH A SERIES OF UNDERDRAINS TO HELP PICK UP LARGER STORMS. AND THEN WE'LL TIE THAT ONE INTO THE MUNICIPAL STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM THAT'S EXISTING OUT IN TRENT PLACE. THE SOUTHERN, I WOULD SAY TWO THIRDS OF THE STATION WILL FLOW SOUTH IN A SIMILAR CASE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A NETWORK OF CATCH BASINS THAT WILL ROUTE STORMWATER RUNOFF THROUGH A SERIES OF PIPES, AND ULTIMATELY PUT THAT INTO THE BIORETENTION BASIN UNDERGROUND, VERSUS HAVING ALL OF IT BE DIRECTLY SHEET FLOW. AND THAT WILL OUTLET ADJACENT TO THE THIS SOUTHWESTERN PORTION OF THE BASIN TOWARDS THE EXISTING WETLANDS. IS THERE ANY OTHER COMPONENTS ON THIS EXHIBIT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO BEFORE WE GO TO EXHIBIT FOUR, WHICH WOULD BE THE RETAINING WALL AND THE FENCE DETAILS? I'LL JUST NOTE WE ALSO HAVE THE WE'RE INSTALLING SIDEWALK ALONG THE ENTIRE FRONTAGE AS PER THE BOARDS PLANNER. AND WE ALSO ARE RECONSTRUCTING THIS SEPARATE DRIVE ENTRANCE THAT SERVES THE EXISTING GRAVEL DRIVE THAT GOES BACK TO LOT 27 AND LOT 28 BACK HERE. AND JASON, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE SIDEWALK WAS A RECOMMENDATION OF THIS BOARD DURING THE MINOR SUBDIVISION APPLICATION. IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? YES.
THAT'S CORRECT. AND THAT VERY SIDEWALK THAT WE WERE DIRECTED TO INSTALL ACTUALLY DOES REQUIRE VARIANCE RELIEF, AS NOTED BY THE PLANNER, TO HAVE A DISTURBANCE IN A CRITICAL AREA.
YEAH. SO WE'RE JUST INSIDE THIS WETLAND BUFFER HERE. WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY IN THE WETLAND ITSELF, BUT JUST THAT IMPEDES THE PORTION OF THE WETLAND BUFFER UP HERE. BUT WE'RE GOING TO PROCEED AND GET THE NECESSARY APPROVALS OUTSIDE AGENCY APPROVALS FOR THAT CONSTRUCTION.
YES THAT'S CORRECT. ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS EXHIBIT BEFORE WE MOVE. NO. WE CAN MOVE ON. KATIE.
EXHIBIT A FOR. WHAT'S SHOWN IS EXHIBIT A FOR. LET'S JUST GET THE PICTURE UP FIRST. THIS IS A PLAN THAT SHOWS THE VARIOUS FENCING THAT YOU'VE DISCUSSED AND RETAINING WALL MARKED AS EXHIBIT A FOR. CAN YOU UTILIZE THE EXHIBIT A FOR. JUST IDENTIFY THE VARIOUS FENCES, GATES, AND RETAINING WALL THAT ARE APPEAR ON THE SITE PLAN. YES. SO ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE THE THE TEN FOOT FENCE, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE HERE IN THIS BACKGROUND. IT IS ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF THE OF THE SUBSTATION, THE WEST SIDE OF THE SUBSTATION, THE EAST SIDE
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OF THE SUBSTATION HERE. AND THEN STARTING AROUND THIS PORTION IN THIS CORNER HERE OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF SUBSTATION, THAT FENCE IS MOUNTED ON A CONCRETE RETAINING WALL, WHICH IS JUST A FLAT CONCRETE WALL THAT STARTS FROM ABOUT ZERO OR STARTS FLUSH WITH GRADE ABOUT THIS PORTION HERE AND GROWS IN SIZE. SO AROUND A MAX OF SEVEN FEET. RIGHT AROUND THIS CORNER. THE. OF THE BIORETENTION BASIN BEFORE WRAPPING AROUND AND ENDING RIGHT ABOUT HERE, WHERE ONCE AGAIN TIES BACK INTO EXISTING GRADE. SO LIKE I SAID, VARIES IN HEIGHT BUT ULTIMATELY MAXES OUT AT SEVEN FEET. AND THAT IS TO PROVIDE THE PROPER GRADE FOR THE SUBSTATION THAT CNG REQUIRES FOR SUBSTATIONS, WHILE ALSO PREVENTING US FROM TOUCHING THIS WETLAND AND THIS BUFFER DOWN HERE. SO WE'RE KIND OF STAGGERED OFFSET TO WHERE THE THE WETLANDS AND THE WETLAND BUFFER ARE REMAINING AS IS. AND WE'RE BUILDING THE RETAINING WALL IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO IT TO PROVIDE TO LIMIT THE DISTURBANCE IN THAT AREA. REGARDING THAT RETAINING WALL, THE TOWNSHIP OF MONTGOMERY CODE LIMITS RETAINING WALLS TO FOUR FEET IN HEIGHT. AND YOUR TESTIMONY IS THAT IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS, DUE TO THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE SITE, THAT RETAINING WALL ACTUALLY BE SEVEN FEET, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND YOUR TESTIMONY. AND AGAIN, MR. HIGGINS, AS THE PLANNER, WILL PROVIDE PLANNING TESTIMONY. BUT AS AN ENGINEER, HAVE YOU DESIGNED THAT RETAINING WALL TO HONOR THE WETLANDS AND THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THIS SITE? YES. THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN IN ADDITION, OH, AND THEN I'LL SAY WE ALSO HAVE THE POST AND RAIL FENCE THAT GOES AROUND THE NORTH BIO RETENTION BASIN, JUST OFF THE OFF THE TOP OF THE BERM AROUND THE BIORETENTION BASIN, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THAT IS WHAT THAT'LL LOOK LIKE DOWN IN THIS BOTTOM CORNER HERE. IT'S JUST A SPLIT RAIL. IT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT A ANYTHING. IT'S JUST MORE JUST AN INHIBIT TO PREVENT ANYONE FROM, YOU KNOW, WANDERING IN. BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE, IT'S NOT A FULLY SECURE BUT A NON UNOBTRUSIVE VISUAL AROUND THAT BIORETENTION BASIN. WE ALSO HAVE A SERIES OF TWO FOOT TALL, TWO TWO FOOT TALL RETAINING WALLS LOCATED IN THIS NORTHEAST CORNER. AND THAT IS TO HELP MAKE UPGRADES SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD THIS, THIS EASTERN ACCESS DRIVE INTO THE STATION WHILE MEETING THE GRADE OUT AT TRENT PLACE. AND IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO HAVE FULL COVERAGE THAT WE'RE GETTING AS MUCH RUNOFF GENERATED FROM THE SITE BACK INTO THIS BIORETENTION BASIN. SO IT ALLOWS US TO MAINTAIN A HIGHER GRADE INTO THAT PORTION AND DIRECT RUNOFF IN THAT WAY, AND THAT WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FROM CONCRETE. BUT WE'LL HAVE A A VENEER. THAT'S THIS FARMSTEAD RUBBLE LOOK, KIND OF A RUSTIC FARM LOOK. SO IT'LL BE KIND OF UNOBTRUSIVE AND NOT QUITE SO STARK FROM AS A VISUAL ALONG THE ROAD. SO THIS DECORATIVE RETAINING WALL, THIS WAS, WAS THIS NOT A RESULT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE DRC MEETING WITH THE TOWNSHIP? YES. THAT'S CORRECT. WE INITIALLY HAD A FOUR FOOT WALL, AND THEN WE'VE KIND OF REDUCED IT DOWN TO WHERE IT'S A STAGGERED SITE. SO IT'S NOT QUITE AS TALL AND OBTRUSIVE FROM THE ROAD. IT KIND OF HAS A MORE NATURAL LOOK. AND, AND THE LANDSCAPING THAT WE'LL GET INTO IN THE LATER IN THE TESTIMONY WILL SPEAK TO THAT AS WELL.OKAY. THANK YOU. ONE MINUTE. JASON, YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW ALL OF THE VARIOUS REPORTS FROM THE TOWNSHIP, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. IS THERE ANY OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE OR ITEMS THAT REQUIRE RESPONSE, OR CAN THOSE ALL BE COMPLIED WITH AS A CONDITION OF APPROVAL? THOSE CAN ALL BE COMPLIED WITH AS CONDITION. ANYTHING FURTHER? I KNOW WE DO HAVE A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WHO WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON THE LANDSCAPING. WE DO HAVE ANOTHER ENGINEERING WITNESS WHO TALK ABOUT THE LIGHTNING MASS AND THE LIGHTING PLAN THAT WAS SUBMITTED. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO OFFER? I GUESS THE ONE THING WE GO, IF WE GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS PLAN, IS THE WATER SERVICE AND SANITARY SEWER. WE ARE PROPOSING THE THE CONTROL BUILDING WILL HAVE A RESTROOM FACILITY LOCATED IN IT FOR CNG PERSONNEL. SO WE HAVE A TWO INCH WATER SERVICE THAT I'LL CONNECT OUT INTO TRENT PLACE ROAD, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO HAVE A SANITARY SEWER FORCE MAIN AND HOLDING TANK LOCATED IMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE THE. THE STATION FENCE. NEAR THE GATE HERE. AND THAT'LL BE ALLOWED FOR. THAT'LL BE ALLOWED FOR USING SANITARY SERVICES. AND THAT HOLDING TANK IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. TO SANITARY SEWER HOLDING TANK, SO THAT'LL BE USED. WASTE WASTEWATER FROM SAINT TOILET, ETC. FROM THE CONTROL BUILDING AND THAT'LL BE ROUTED IN THERE AND HELD. AND
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THEN PERIODICALLY THAT TANK WILL BE EMPTIED. AND THOSE ARE ALL PART OF THE OUTSIDE AGENCY APPROVALS THAT ARE WOULD BE A CONDITION OF THIS APPLICATION. THAT'S CORRECT. ANYTHING ELSE? NO, I BELIEVE THAT'S IT. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN. I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER ON DIRECT. ERIC. RAKESH, ANYTHING FOR JASON. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, MR. CHAIRMAN. LET ME JUST SWEAR BOTH OF YOU AND ERIC AND REQUEST YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL. I DO THANK YOU. I STILL DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. MR. CHAIRMAN. YOU'RE GOING TO ERIC. YOU DO? YES, OKAY, I DO. I GUESS THE ONLY COMMENT I HAVE ABOUT THE ABOUT THE THE WALL AND I, I, I WOULD WANT TO DEFER TO, TO MICHAEL SULLIVAN, THE, THE, THE, THE LOOK AND THE MATERIAL OF THE WALL LOOKS, YOU KNOW, LOOKS MORE LIKE A NATIVE STONE. I GUESS MY ONLY COMMENT MIGHT BE THE COLOR OF IT. IF THERE COULD BE A, A STONE THAT IS A DARKER EARTHEN COLOR, SIMILAR TO THE, SIMILAR TO THE SOILS AND THE SIMILAR TO THE SOILS THAT ARE THAT ARE NATIVE IN THE AREA. SO THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT ON THE WALL. I'LL DEFER TO MY CLIENT ON THAT, BUT I BELIEVE THEY'RE WILLING TO WORK WITH THE TOWNSHIP PLANNER AS WELL TO GET A LOOK THAT EVERYONE IS HAPPY WITH. NO ONE'S MISTAKING IT FOR A FARM. SO IF WE CAN AT LEAST GET A DECENT COLOR VENEER, THAT MIGHT BE NICE. SO. OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. JASON. OUR NEXT WITNESS IS TRISTAN MARTHALER.WE'RE GOING TO WAIT FOR YOUR REPORTER.
SIR, COULD WE HAVE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD IF YOU WOULD SPELL YOUR NAME? MY NAME IS TRISTAN MARTHALER, TRISTANMARTHALER. AND DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM, SIR, YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL. I DO. THANK YOU, TRISTAN, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BOARD AND PUBLIC, YOUR EDUCATION AREA OF EXPERTISE AND THE LICENSES YOU HOLD. YES. I GRADUATED WITH MY BACHELOR'S OF SCIENCE AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN 2019 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, DULUTH. I WORK FOR BURNS AND MCDONNELL. MY TITLE IS A STAFF SUBSTATION ENGINEER. AND I'VE BEEN AT BURNS MCDONNELL FOR SEVEN YEARS. MOST OF MY CAREER HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING PSEG AND YOU ARE ON NEW JERSEY LICENSED ENGINEER. I AM CHAIRMAN ACCEPTABLE AS LONG AS YOU PULL THE MICROPHONE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO YOUR MOUTH.
SURE. THANK YOU. TRISTAN. THERE WAS A COUPLE OF COMPONENTS OF THIS PROJECT THAT WERE ALLUDED TO, BUT I THINK WOULD REQUIRE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL FROM YOU AND YOUR EXPERTISE SPECIFICALLY.
LET'S START WITH THE LIGHTNING MASTS. NEIL ALLUDED TO THE USE OF LIGHTNING MASTS FOR A SUBSTATION. CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN IN MORE DETAIL AGAIN, WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THOSE LIGHTNING MASTS IS? AND, YOU KNOW, JUST AGAIN, HOW THEY HOW THEY'RE INTEGRATED INTO THIS PROPOSED USE. SURE. FOR TRENT PLACE SUBSTATION, WE ARE PROPOSING A SERIES OF LIGHTNING MASKS, WHICH ARE JUST STEEL, STEEL MASKS. THIS IS RELATIVELY TYPICAL FOR A SUBSTATION, ESPECIALLY OF A 69 TO 13 KV VOLTAGE CLASS, WHICH TRENT PLACES. SO THIS LIGHTNING PROTECTION EQUIPMENT IS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DIRECT LIGHTNING STROKES TO THE CRITICAL EQUIPMENT. SO BASICALLY, THESE MASKS ARE HERE TO ABSORB ANY LIGHTNING STRIKES THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN PROXIMITY TO THE FACILITY JUST TO MAINTAIN SERVICE RELIABILITY AND TO ENSURE THAT OUR HIGH VALUE EQUIPMENT STAYS INTACT AND THAT THERE'S NO SERVICE DISRUPTION TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE FROM ANY DIRECT LIGHTNING STROKES. AND, TRISTAN, IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT THE LIGHTNING MASKS ALSO PERFORM A SAFETY? THERE'S A SAFETY COMPONENT TO THOSE THAT EQUIPMENT, CORRECT? YES, YES. THERE WAS ALSO A LIGHTING PLAN FOR THE ILLUMINATION OF THIS SUBSTATION THAT WAS SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION YOU HELPED DESIGN, OR YOU WERE A PART OF THAT COORDINATION EFFORT. CORRECT. ON THE LIGHTING PLAN.
CORRECT. CAN YOU DISCUSS THE PROPOSED LIGHTING? I KNOW THERE ARE VARIOUS LIGHTS FOR VARIOUS
[00:50:02]
PORTIONS OF THE SITE, AND JUST GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOARD AS TO THE TYPE OF LIGHTING.WHEN WILL IT BE ON? WHEN WILL IT BE OFF? THERE IS SOME VARIANCE OR ACTUALLY A DESIGN WAIVER THAT WE'RE SEEKING FOR THE LIGHTING. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN EXPLANATION FROM YOU AS TO THE DESIGN. SURE. DID WE WANT TO PULL UP THE LIGHTING PLAN, KATIE. AND WE'LL MARK THE LIGHTING PLAN. WELL, THIS IS ACTUALLY IN THIS CASE, THIS IS ACTUALLY A LIGHTING ONE SHEET OF THE PLAN SET THAT'S ON RECORD. YOU STILL WOULD YOU STILL LIKE IT MARKED. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. BUT LET'S MARK WE'RE UP TO A FIVE. AND JUST FOR THE BOARD THIS IS SHEET A 816108 A OF THE PLAN SET THAT WAS SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD AND THE BOARD'S CONSULTANTS. TRISTAN, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THE LIGHTING DESIGN BASED ON THIS PLAN? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE AN OUTLINE OF THE EQUIPMENT, THE BUILDINGS, THE TRANSFORMERS, THE 69 KV RING BUS, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE A SERIES OF CONTOURS RANGING FROM, I BELIEVE IT'S FIVE FOOT CANDLES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 0.0 ONE FOOT CANDLES. SO BASICALLY WHAT THIS IS SHOWING, THE CONTOURS THAT ARE ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DOWNLIGHTS. THE DOWNLIGHTS ARE ON FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN, AND THE PURPOSE OF THESE IS REALLY JUST SO TO ENSURE IT'S A SAFETY AND A SECURITY MEASURE, IT'S FIRSTLY TO ENSURE THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL WITHIN THE SUBSTATION. SO THERE'S VISIBILITY FROM THE OUTSIDE TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO TRESPASSERS OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE. AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, IT'S SO IF, IF TECHNICIANS OR OPERATORS ARE MOBILIZED TO THE SITE, WHETHER IT'S TO RESTORE POWER OR FOR ANY OTHER REASONS, MAINTENANCE OR OTHERWISE, THAT THEY HAVE A VISUAL AND CAN INSPECT THE EQUIPMENT BEFORE THEY ENTER THE SITE FOR ANY HAZARDS. SO THE DOWNWARD LIGHTING IS ALSO SHIELDED, CORRECT, AS REQUIRED BY CODE. CORRECT. AND THIS HAS BEEN MODELED FOR THE DOWNWARD LIGHTS. AND DOES IT COMPLY WITH THE LIGHTING LEVELS OF THE TOWNSHIP. I BELIEVE IT DOES, YES. THANK YOU. THERE ALSO IS ANOTHER COMPONENT TO THE LIGHTING PLAN. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE WHAT WE'LL CALL THE UPWARD LIGHTING. CORRECT. SO LIKE I MENTIONED, THE WHAT'S SHOWN ON THE SCREEN RIGHT HERE. THIS IS THE THE DOWNLIGHTS NOT REPRESENTED HERE IN THE ILLUSTRATION ARE THE UP LIGHTS. THERE ARE A SERIES OF UPLIGHTS 21 SHOWN THROUGHOUT THE SITE.
THESE LIGHTS ARE NOT NORMALLY ON. THEY ARE DEFAULT OFF. THE ONLY PURPOSE THAT THESE LIGHTS SERVE IS FOR ANY NIGHTTIME EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE SERVICES THAT THE OPERATORS ARE OUT ON SITE FOR. THEY CAN TURN THESE LIGHTS ON SO THAT THEY CAN LOOK UP INTO THE EQUIPMENT, ENSURE THAT THERE'S NO ISSUES JUST FOR SAFETY PURPOSES. AND THESE, LIKE I SAID, THESE ARE NORMALLY OFF. THEY ARE SWITCHED ON ON A TIMER. SO IF AN OPERATOR IS MOBILIZED, THEY'LL TURN ON THE TIMER. AND THEN EVEN IF THEY WOULD HAPPEN TO FORGET IT ON, IT WOULD TURN OFF AUTOMATICALLY AND IT WOULD GO DARK. AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE UPWARD LIGHTS NEED TO BE UPWARD SO THAT THEY CAN SO THAT THE EMPLOYEES CAN HAVE A VIEW OF THE THE EQUIPMENT ABOVE HEAD, CORRECT? YEP. THE EQUIPMENT IS OVERHEAD. AND AGAIN, THIS WOULD OWN THESE UPWARD LIGHTS WOULD ONLY BE ON IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. CORRECT. AS I MENTIONED TO AS I ASKED JASON, ANY ISSUES WITH ANY OF THE ENGINEERING COMMENTS IN ANY OF THE REPORTS THAT PERTAIN TO YOUR EXPERTISE? NO, THEY ALL CAN BE COMPLIED WITH AS A CONDITION OF APPROVAL. YES, CHAIRMAN. I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER FOR THE WITNESS. YEAH. JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE UP LIGHTS. YOU SAID ONLY IN AN EMERGENCY CAN THEY ONLY BE SWITCHED ON BY A PERSON, A PSEG PERSON. YEAH. THEY'RE THEY'RE MANUAL. SO IT HAS TO BE A PERSON ACTUALLY FLIPPING THEM ON. YEAH. GOOD. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE ON LIGHTING. JUST JUST ONE SMALL COMMENT FROM THE REPORT. IF YOU IF YOU HAVE THE CLERK MEMO THIS IS NUMBER 4.5. WE WERE JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD INDICATE ON THE LIGHTING PLAN THE TIMING AND CIRCUIT CONTROLS IN THE LIGHTING SCHEDULE AND AND IN THE DETAILS.
THAT'S THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT THAT WE HAD. SURE. SO FOR THE VENDOR DETAILS, WE WE HAVE INCLUDED THE, THE FULL SET OF VENDOR DRAWINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO ME ON THE LIGHTING DETAILS. AND THEN REGARDING THE TIMING, THE. THERE IS A SENSOR THAT TURNS IT ON FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN. SO DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF YEAR, DEPENDING ON THE ILLUMINATION LEVELS, JUST NATURAL, IT'LL SHIFT A LITTLE BIT. SO OKAY. YEAH. DUSK, DUSK TO DAWN IS, IS I MEAN, WE CAN
[00:55:05]
MAKE THAT NOTE WITHIN THE DRAWING. SURE. THANK YOU. I JUST FURTHER CLARIFICATION. YOU ALREADY ASKED MY QUESTION, MR. CHAIRMAN, ABOUT LIGHTS. SO WHY WHAT IS THE LOGIC BEHIND KEEPING THEM MANUAL? WHAT IS THE LOGIC? KEEPING THAT MANUALLY RATHER THAN THIS IS FOR THE EMERGENCY PURPOSES, RIGHT? SO SHOULDN'T THEY BE THERE BE A WAY THAT AN EMERGENCY THEY SHOULD TURN ON BY ITSELF? SO WHEN YOU LET'S SAY IF SOMEONE IS COMING TO TO DO ANYTHING THERE, THEY CAN SEE IT JUST BEFORE EVEN ENTERING THE, THE PREMISES. YES. SO THE LIGHTS THAT ARE ON FOR GENERAL ILLUMINATION, OF COURSE, BUT THE, THE LIGHTS SPECIFICALLY ARE FOR OVERHEAD DISCONNECT SWITCHES, WHICH ARE A MEANS OF OPENING AND ISOLATING EQUIPMENT.AND WE WOULD ONLY NEED TO, WE WOULD ONLY ISOLATE THE EQUIPMENT THAT THE LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATING. IF THERE'S SOMEBODY ON SITE AND IT'S, IT'S VERY, VERY INFREQUENT. SO ALL OF THAT SWITCHING IS DONE MANUALLY AT THE SITE. IF YOU GIVE ME JUST A ASKING THE WRONG PERSON. BUT EARLIER IN THE COMMENTARY, IT WAS SAID THAT THE INCOMING POWER COMES WITH UNDERGROUND CABLES. WHERE HOW LONG A TRENCH IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO LINK UNDERGROUND CABLES TO THIS SWITCHING SITE? I HAVE LET ME RECALL. JASON. DO YOU WANT TO COME BACK UP? YEAH. LET ME LET ME RECALL NEIL FROM PSEG. THANK YOU TRISTAN. ANY ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. THANK YOU THANK YOU. SO JUST TO GENERALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION YES THE THE. ELECTRICITY DOES COME IN UNDERGROUND AND IT GOES TO THIS WHAT WE'RE CALLING A 69 KV RING BUS. SO THERE ARE OUR LINE POSITIONS. THERE'S FOUR LINE POSITIONS. AND THOSE COME UP, THE LINES COME UP UNDERGROUND AND INTO THOSE LINE POSITIONS IN THE ABOVE GRADE STEEL. I CAN'T SAY ON RECORD BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IN FRONT OF ME HOW LONG THOSE UNDERGROUND DUCT BANKS ARE, BUT THEY DO GO. THEY BASICALLY FOLLOW THE ACCESS ROADS INTO THE STATION AND THEY THEY COME UP WHERE THAT RING BUSSES. SO THEY'RE UNDERGROUND CABLES ALREADY IN PLACE. THERE WILL BE. YES. NOT BUT NOT CURRENTLY. NOT CURRENTLY, NO. SO THEY MUST BE CONNECTED TO SOME UNDERGROUND SOURCE AT SOME DISTANCE FROM THE SITE. AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THESE RUN UNDERGROUND OUT INTO THE STREET AND THEN THE RISE UP ON WHAT'S CALLED A RISER POLE. SO THEY CONNECT TO THE OVERHEAD FACILITIES OUTSIDE THAT ARE EXISTING. CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU NEIL. OKAY, CHAIRMAN, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL AS MY NEXT WITNESS, OUR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, WILLIAM REAMER. SIR, COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD AND SPELL YOUR LAST NAME, PLEASE? WILLIAM D RIMER R E I'M E R. AND DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL. I DO THANK YOU, MR. RIMER, FOR TH&-PC YOUR LICENSE, EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE. YES. I'M A LICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. HAVE BEEN LICENSED IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY FOR 26 YEARS. I'M A GRADUATE OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY. I GRADUATED IN 1991.
I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, AND YOUR LICENSES IN NEW JERSEY ARE CURRENTLY IN GOOD STANDING? YES THEY ARE, CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU.
BILL, WE HAVE AN EXHIBIT THAT I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL TO YOUR TESTIMONY, THE LANDSCAPE PLAN THAT YOU PREPARED, WHICH WILL MARK AS EXHIBIT A SIX, I BELIEVE, CORRECT, AT RIGHT NOW, EXHIBIT A. SIX. YES. AND IT'S BEEN RENDERED BY ME OR MY FIRM. AND CAN YOU PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED LANDSCAPING PLAN THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION? YES. THE, THE, I THINK THE OVERALL GOAL FOR THIS PROJECT IS TO BUFFER THE PROPOSED
[01:00:01]
FACILITY NOT ONLY FROM I'M SORRY, I GOTTA USE THIS NOT ONLY AS REQUIRED FROM THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES ON THE OTHER SIDE WHERE THE RESIDENTIAL ZONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TRENT PLACE, BUT ALSO ON THE THREE REMAINING SIDES OF THE STATION ITSELF. SO ALSO, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ON THE WESTERN SIDE, THE LAY DOWN AREA. NOW THAT'S BEING RESTORED. AND IN THIS LOCATION HERE IT'LL BE RESTORED WITH NATIVE MEADOW GRASSES. THE TWO BIORETENTION BASINS, ONE ON THE NORTH SIDE AND ONE ON THE SOUTH SIDE. WE'LL HAVE BIORETENTION PLANTINGS OR PERENNIALS AND SHRUBS THAT ARE ADAPTED TO BE PERIODICALLY FLOODED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE D P STORMWATER REGS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO, BASED ON THE DISTURBANCE, WERE TO REQUIRED TO PLANT SOME ADDITIONAL TREES BASED ON THE DISTURBANCE. I THINK IT'S APPROXIMATELY 96 TREES. AND THAT LOCATION FOR THOSE TREES ARE ON THIS EASTERN SIDE, WHICH WOULD ENHANCE THE THE SCREENING THAT WE ALREADY PROPOSED ALONG THIS LOCATION HERE. AND THERE ALSO IS, I THINK THIS IS A AN EASEMENT, CORRECT. I THINK IT MIGHT BE AN ACCESS EASEMENT ALONG THIS AREA. THAT'S WHY THERE IS NO PLANTINGS OR ANY DISTURBANCE IN THIS LOCATION ALONG THE EASTERN SIDE. NOW, DURING THE DRC, THERE WAS A COMMENT FROM THE PROFESSIONALS. IF WE COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK AND INVESTIGATE TO DO SOME ENHANCEMENT TO THIS AREA HERE, BECAUSE IF YOU AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE IF IT'S HARD TO SEE, I KNOW THE BOARD HAS SEEN THE REST OF IT, BUT THERE'S THIS WETLAND AREA RIGHT HERE. AND THEN THERE'S ALSO THIS 50 FOOT BUFFER. SO MY CLIENT IS WILLING TO DO SOME ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENT PLANTINGS IN THIS LOCATION. AND WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS IT WOULD BE STUFF THAT IS NATIVE TO NEW JERSEY AND IS NATIVE AND GROWS IN THESE WETLAND BUFFER AREAS. BUT WE JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT IT'S WE DO HAVE AN EXTENSIVE BUFFER IN THIS LOCATION, BUT WE'RE JUST GOING TO ENHANCE THE NATURAL BUFFER HERE. WE'RE NOT GOING TO DISRUPT AND PUT IN A COMPLETE AND AND, BILL, THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT DISTINCTION IS THAT THE WETLANDS AND THE DEP RULES FOR WETLANDS, THEY GUIDE WHAT CAN AND CAN BE DONE WITHIN THE WETLAND BUFFER.CORRECT? CORRECT. AND YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO CLARIFY THAT THERE'LL BE IT'LL BE ENHANCED AS RECOMMENDED, BUT IT WON'T BE THE SAME LEVEL OF PLANTINGS THAT THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC SEES SURROUNDING THE PERIMETER, BECAUSE THE DEP CORRECT, WOULD NOT ALLOW THOSE TYPES OF MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS. RIGHT. THEY DON'T WANT TO GO IN AND HAVE THIS THING CONSTANTLY MAINTAINED, AS THE BUFFERS WILL BE BY PSEG WHEN THEY'RE INSTALLED. AND IF I CAN GO INTO QUANTITIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. YES, PLEASE. THE BOARD WANTS TO. SO A TOTAL OF 264 TREES WILL BE PLANTED AS PART OF THIS APPLICATION. 25 SHADE TREES, 12 OF WHICH ARE REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE TO BE ALONG THE FRONTAGE OF THE STREET HERE ON TRENT PLACE, 146 LARGE EVERGREEN SHRUB TREES. EXCUSE ME. AND WHICH WILL GROW TO APPROXIMATELY 60FT HIGH AND ABOUT TEN FEET IN DIAMETER AT MATURITY. AND THEN THERE'S 91 MEDIUM SIZED EVERGREEN TREES THAT WILL BE PLANTED, AND THEY'LL GROW BETWEEN 40 AND 50FT TALL AT MATURITY. SO BASICALLY, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE HEIGHT OF THE LIGHTNING MASS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO OVER TIME, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE THESE ARE PLANTS, THEY WILL GET TO THE HEIGHT WHERE YOU WON'T SEE THEM. BUT AGAIN, IT IT'S IN MY BUSINESS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR IT TO GROW. BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER DISPLAYS WHERE WE CAN SHOW YOU, YES, THE BUFFERING. IF WE COULD MOVE TO EXHIBIT, I THINK WE'RE AT SEVEN A SEVEN. YES. SO A LONG TERM PLACE WE WANTED TO SHOW THE PUBLIC AND THE BOARD THAT THE BEFORES AND AFTERS. SO THERE'S FEW FOR VANTAGE POINTS THAT WE'RE SHOWING. VANTAGE POINT. IS IT OKAY IF WE MARK THIS ENTIRE EXHIBIT SEVEN? I THINK THERE'S FOUR. IS THERE FOUR SLIDES? SURE. BUT WHAT ARE WE WHAT ARE WE DESCRIBING THEM AS? SURE.
THEY ARE. THE FIRST SHEET OF THE EXHIBIT IS THE VANTAGE POINT CORRECT? OKAY. SO THIS IS
[01:05:04]
SHOWING YOU WHAT THE CAMERA ANGLE IS AND ASSOCIATED BEFORE AND AFTERS WITH THEM. SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. SO IF WE WANT TO START WITH VIEWPOINT ONE CORRECT. IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. SO THIS IS THE WESTERN ENTRANCE LOOKING IN. SO YOU CAN SEE THE THE EXISTING VEGETATION BEFORE. AND NOW YOU CAN SEE THE THE OPENING WITH THE PROPOSED BUFFERING AND SCREENING BELOW. NEXT VANTAGE POINT IS MIDWAY AT THE STATION. YOU CAN SEE BEFORE AND AFTER.BEFORE IS THE AGAIN, THE THE WINDROW OF DIFFERENT SIZED VEGETATION. AFTER YOU CAN SEE THE. THE REQUIRED STREET TREES THAT ARE PLANTED IN THE FRONTAGE, AS WELL AS THE EVERGREEN SCREEN THAT IS BEHIND IT, AND THEN BEHIND THAT THE. THE STATION. NEXT ONE IS VANTAGE POINT THREE, WHERE IT'S AN ANGLE LOOKING A LITTLE BIT OFF THE EASTERN ENTRANCE. AND YOU CAN START TO SEE THAT RETAINING WALL THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT. YOU CAN SEE THE BUFFERING, YOU CAN SEE THE TWO, THE STAGGERED RETAINING WALL. AND IT'S ALSO PLANTED WITH VEGETATION TO ACTUALLY SOFTEN IT EVEN FURTHER. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF DISAPPEARING IN THE LANDSCAPE A LITTLE BIT IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT. AND THEN THE FINAL SLIDE, THIS IS THE FINAL ANGLE, LOOKING INTO THE STATION BEFORE AND AFTER AGAIN HIGHLIGHTING, YOU CAN SEE THE RETAINING WALL. YOU CAN SEE THE BUFFER THAT EXTENDS. AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN ALONG THE EASTERN SIDE. AND THEN THE BEGINNING OF THE ONE THAT HEADS FROM EAST TO WEST IN THE FRONTAGE. OKAY. AND BILL IS PART OF THIS APPLICATION. YOU RECEIVED A NUMBER OF REPORTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE SHADE TREE COMMISSION, AS WELL AS THE BOARD PLANNER. CORRECT? CORRECT. AND YOU'VE REVIEWED THOSE FROM A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PERSPECTIVE, I DID. ANY REMAINING ITEMS THAT YOU FEEL YOU SHOULD RESPOND TO, OR CAN THE REMAINING RECOMMENDATIONS BE WORKED OUT AS A CONDITION OF APPROVAL? I THINK ANYTHING THAT IS IN THOSE LETTERS CAN BE WORKED OUT WITH THE TOWN PROFESSIONALS. AS FAR AS A POINT OF RESOLUTION COMPLIANCE. AND THIS EVENING, YOU'VE HEARD A COMMENT FROM THE BOARD'S PLANNER ABOUT LOOKING INTO A DARKER COLOR RETAINING WALL FROM FOR THE FARM ESTHETIC IS ANY OBJECTION? NOT AT ALL, I THINK. I THINK IT WOULD DO IT MORE JUSTICE IF MAYBE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOME SAMPLES OR THINGS LIKE THAT WE CAN COLLECT AND TALK TO OR SHOW THEM TO THE BOARD AND TO OR THE TOWN PROFESSIONALS. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER ON DIRECT FOR THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. QUESTIONS FOR THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.
YES. SO IN THE IN THE PROPOSED DISTINCT TREES, NUMBER OF TREES, I, I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY. 25 SHADE TREE AND ALL THAT. AND YOU MENTIONED THOSE ARE 60FT HIGH OR 50FT HIGH. SO ONCE THEY ARE TO THEIR FULL EXTENT WITHIN THAT FIVE YEARS DURATION, WHAT YOU SAID THERE WON'T BE A GAP BETWEEN THE. I MEAN, THEY, THEY SHOULD BE PROTECTIVE. SO THERE SHOULD BE SOME SMALLER SIZE, EITHER BUSHES OR SHRUBS OR SOMETHING. SO THERE IS A PROTECTION, PROPER PROTECTION.
THE, THE SPECIES OF EVERGREEN TREES THAT WERE SELECTED TEND TO HOLD THEIR LOWER LIMBS. SO THAT'S WHY THEY WERE SELECTED. SO THERE ARE NO SHRUBS BELOW. SO THAT'S WHAT THE DESIGN IS.
THESE TREES, IF YOU LET THEM GO THERE, THEY'RE GOING TO HOLD THEIR LOWER LIMBS BECAUSE OTHER OTHER SPECIES OF EVERGREEN TREES CAN TEND TO DROP THEM. SO IN EFFECT, KEEPING THIS SCREEN INTACT FOR ITS ENTIRETY. AND I THINK THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. YEAH, THAT IS MY POINT. YEAH.
FOR THE LOWER ONE, IF THEY GO 5060, WHAT ABOUT TEN FEET HIGH OR 12FT HIGH OR 15FT HIGH, THEY, THEY WILL HOLD THEIR, THEIR, THEIR, THE INTENTION IS THAT THEY WILL HOLD THEIR LOWER LIMBS. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. BILL. CHAIRMAN. OUR FINAL WITNESSES ARE PROFESSIONAL PLANNER JAMES HIGGINS. GOOD EVENING. MR. HIGGINS. DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL, I DO THANK YOU, MR. HIGGINS, FOR THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC. YOUR EDUCATION AREA OF EXPERTISE AND THE LICENSES YOU HOLD. SURE. FIRST, I'M A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL PLANNER IN THE STATE. I'VE BEEN LICENSED FOR 45 YEARS. MY LICENSE IS CURRENT. I HAVE A DEGREE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FROM RUTGERS UNIVERSITY. I PRACTICE PLANNING FOR OVER 45 YEARS IN THE STATE.
I'VE TESTIFIED BEFORE SEVERAL HUNDRED BOARDS THROUGHOUT THE STATE AS AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF PLANNING, INCLUDING THE ZONING BOARD IN MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP PROBABLY 30 YEARS AGO.
[01:10:06]
AND I'VE ALSO TESTIFIED BEFORE SUPERIOR COURTS IN FIVE COUNTIES AND BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE SUPREME COURT AS AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF PLANNING, I'VE REPRESENTED APPROXIMATELY 15 NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES AS A PLANNER. I'M CURRENTLY THE TOWNSHIP PLANNER FOR THE TOWNSHIP OF OCEAN IN MONMOUTH COUNTY, AND I'VE BEEN THEIR PLANNER FOR ABOUT 40 YEARS.THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN. YEAH, HE BARELY PASSES, BUT AND ON THE SIDE, I AM A CONTEMPORARY OF PHIL CATAN, CARL HINTZ AND JOHN CLARK, THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF CLARK CATAN AND HENCE. OH, WOW.
OKAY, THEN. YEAH, WE CAN THANK YOU, JIM. WE IN MY OVERVIEW, I TALKED ABOUT THE VARIANCE RELIEF AND THE DESIGN WAIVERS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS APPLICATION, ALONG WITH PRELIMINARY AND FINAL SITE PLAN. I ALSO MENTIONED THAT ACCORDING TO THE MONROE I'M SORRY, MONROE, THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP ORDINANCE THAT THE PUBLIC UTILITY USE IS IS A CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED USE. IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? THAT'S CORRECT. IT'S IN THE LIMITED MANUFACTURING ZONE. IT'S A CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED USE. THERE ARE SIX CONDITIONS. IF THE BOARD WANTS ME TO GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THEM, I WILL. BUT IT DOES MEET EVERY ONE OF THOSE CONDITIONS. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE. BEFORE THIS BOARD, THERE ARE SOME BULK VARIANCES THAT ARE NECESSARY. THOSE VARIANCES, I THINK FIRST, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TYPE OF FACILITY IS UNIQUE, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF ITS FUNCTION AND ITS LAYOUT, BUT IN TERMS OF THE REGULATIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR FOR THIS FACILITY BY THE STATE. SO THERE ARE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON WHERE DIFFERENT THINGS CAN BE PUT BECAUSE OF THAT. AND I THINK THAT THAT PROVIDES, I WOULDN'T SAY A HARDSHIP, BUT IT DEFINITELY PROVIDES A JUSTIFICATION FOR SOME OF THE VARIANCES THAT ARE BEING REQUESTED. THERE'S THE MINIMUM FRONT YARD SETBACK, 100FT REQUIRED THE PAD FOR THE TEMPORARY TRANSFORMER, SHOULD THERE BE A FAILURE IN THE STATION, IS SETBACK 81.2FT. AND THAT'S AGAIN, IT'S AN AT GRADE PAD. IT HAS A VERY SHALLOW CURB AROUND IT FOR FOR DRAINAGE PURPOSES. AND IT'S COMPLETELY SCREENED FROM VIEW FROM THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. SO I DON'T SEE WHERE THAT'S THAT'S AN ISSUE. I THINK IT'S NECESSARY. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR IT TO BE IN A LOCATION WHERE IT DOESN'T INTERFERE WITH THE REST OF THE OPERATION OF THE SITE, WHICH IS WHY IT'S LOCATED TOWARDS THE FRONT. AND AGAIN, IT'S THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE IMPACT BECAUSE IT'S NOT SEEN FROM THE SURROUNDING PROPERTY. AND EVEN WHEN A TEMPORARY TRANSFORMERS SET IS SET ON THAT, IT WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY SCREENED FROM VIEW FROM THE FROM THE STREET.
AND IF YOU TAKE THAT AWAY, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT GOING TO BE USED HOPEFULLY VERY OFTEN, WHAT IS THE ACTUAL SETBACK WHEN YOU LOOK THEN TO THE CONTROL HOUSE AND THE FIRST LARGE BREAKERS, DO WE HAVE THAT THE DIMENSION OF THE ACTUAL CONTROL HOUSE SETBACK? NO, NO. I'M SORRY. WHAT IS THE SETBACK FROM THE STREET? THE SETBACK FROM THE STREET WITHOUT WITHOUT YOU KNOW, IF WE SAID THE THE MOBILE PAD WAS NOT DID NOT COME INTO PLAY. YEAH. IT'S I'M SORRY.
IT'S NOT VISIBLE. IT'S NOT VISIBLE FROM THE STREET. NO I KNOW YEAH. AND WHAT I'M SAYING IS DOES THE CONTROL HOUSE TO THE STREET COMPLIES WITH THE CONTROL HOUSE. COMPLIES. YEAH.
THE BUILDINGS COMPLY. THE ONLY THING THAT DOESN'T COMPLY IS THAT ONE. THAT ONE? THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. THANK YOU. AND THEN YOU HAVE ACCESSORY STRUCTURES THAT HAVE MINIMUM SETBACKS THAT THE SMALL CRUSHED STONE SURFACE IS LOCATED 8.5FT FROM THE FRONT PROPERTY LINE. UTILITY TRENCHES ARE LOCATED 78FT. AND THOSE BOTH OF THOSE STRUCTURES ARE ACTUALLY LOCATED ON THE SURFACE. AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT READILY VISIBLE. THE CONSTRUCT, THE CRUSHED STONE IS NECESSARY AS A SURROUNDING FOR A MAN ELECTRIC MANHOLE THAT'S THERE. SO IT'S BETTER TO HAVE THE CRUSHED STONE AROUND IT FOR MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY PURPOSES. THE ALSO, THE SECURITY CAMERAS ARE LOCATED 81FT FROM THE FRONT PROPERTY LINE. AND AGAIN, THEY'RE THEY'RE THEY'RE NECESSARY IN THAT LOCATION TO PROVIDE SECURITY FOR FOR TWO ENTRANCES TO THE SITE AND SAFETY PURPOSES. AND AGAIN, THEY'RE I THINK THEY'RE PERMITTED BY THE ORDINANCE AND ACTUALLY REQUIRED BY THE BY THE ORDINANCE BECAUSE THEY ARE SAFETY AND SECURITY STRUCTURES, THE FRONT BUFFER, A MINIMUM 40FT IS REQUIRED. AND THAT
[01:15:05]
SMALL CRUSHED STONE AREA, AGAIN, IS 8.5FT FROM THE FRONT PROPERTY LINE. IT OCCUPIES MAYBE 500FTā !S IN TOTAL. AND ITS AGAIN PARTIALLY SCREENED BY VEGETATION. AND THE ONLY TIME YOU COULD REALLY SEE IT IS IF YOU'RE STANDING DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE DRIVEWAY LOOKING DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. SO SOMEBODY DRIVING BY IN EITHER DIRECTION ISN'T GOING TO SEE IT. AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S THERE. IT'S NECESSARY FOR MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY PURPOSES. THE THERE'S A MINIMUM SIDE AND REAR YARD SETBACK FOR THE CRUSHED STONE AREAS AT THE REAR OF THE SITE, AROUND THE BIO DETENTION BASIN OR BIORETENTION BASIN. AND THEY'RE NECESSARY BECAUSE OF THE SECURITY WALL THAT'S CONSTRUCTED. AND THERE HAS TO BE NO VEGETATION WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF EITHER SIDE OF THAT SECURITY FENCE. AND IT'S A SMALL CRUSH AND A SMALL, NARROW, CRUSHED STONE AREA. IT'S AT THE SURFACE, AND AGAIN, IT'S SCREENED BY VEGETATION ON ALL SIDES. SO IT'S NOT A SUBSTANTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT. YOU HEARD TESTIMONY REGARDING THE RETAINING WALL HEIGHT FOR FEETS REQUIRED. SEVEN FEET IS PROPOSED. AND AGAIN THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS DICTATED BY THE EXISTING TOPOGRAPHY AND THE EXISTING WETLANDS AND WETLAND BUFFERS. LOCATED TO THE WEST OF THE OF THE BIORETENTION BASIN. SO DOES THAT MEAN ONLY FOUR FOOT IS VISIBLE? BUT THERE'S THREE FEET BELOW GRADE. IS THAT. NO, IT'S IT'S TOTAL OF SEVEN FEET, BUT IT'S ONLY VISIBLE FROM INSIDE THE BIORETENTION BASIN. IT'S NOT VISIBLE FROM OUTSIDE. NOT ON THE OUTSIDE. OKAY. GOTCHA. AND THEN THERE'S A VARIANCE FOR DISTURBANCE WITHIN A CRITICAL AREA THAT INVOLVES THE SIDEWALK ALONG TRENT PLACE, WHICH WAS REQUESTED BY THE TOWNSHIP, AND THAT THERE'S A APPLICATION TO DEP THAT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED.AND THAT APPLICATION IS PENDING AT THIS POINT IN TIME, BUT IT'S BETTER TO HAVE THE SIDEWALK CONTINUOUS THAN HAVE SOMEBODY EITHER HAVE TO WALK OUT INTO THE STREET FOR FOR A PERIOD, OR TO WALK ACROSS THE WETLANDS BUFFER AND DESTROY THE VEGETATION IN THE WETLANDS BUFFER. YEAH, I THINK EVERYBODY WOULD AGREE. A COUPLE OF DESIGN WAIVERS. THERE ARE STRUCTURES PROPOSED IN THE FRONT BUFFER AREA. THERE'S CRUSHED STONE SERVICE SURFACES AND A PORTION OF THE BIO RETENTION BASIN ARE ALSO LOCATED IN THE FRONT. AND AGAIN THOSE ARE HEAVILY SCREENED. SO THERE'S NO SUBSTANTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT. AND THE BIORETENTION BASIN HAS TO BE OUTSIDE THE THE MAIN BODY OF THE SUBSTATION BECAUSE THERE'S VEGETATION IN IT THAT COLLECTS WATER. ALL THOSE THINGS ARE PROHIBITED BY STATE REGULATION. THE THE OTHER. THE LIGHTING FIXTURES YOU HAD THAT DESCRIBED BY THE LIGHTING EXPERT. I DON'T THINK I NEED TO GO INTO THAT IN ANY MORE DETAIL. AND I THINK THAT'S IT IN TERMS OF DESIGN WAIVERS, JIM, JUST FOR THE THE LIGHTING DESIGN WAIVER, THAT'S SOLELY FOR WHAT TRISTAN DESCRIBED AS THE UPWARD.
THAT'S CORRECT. IT'S SOLELY FOR THE UPPER EMERGENCY, FOR SAFETY PURPOSES, FOR FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS THAT ARE WORKING AT NIGHT. AND MOST OF THE TIME THEY'RE GOING TO TRY AND DO THOSE REPAIRS DURING THE DAY AND THE LIGHTS WON'T BE NECESSARY. IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION, YOU'VE PROVIDED TESTIMONY FOR ALL OF THIS RELIEF. IT SOUNDS TO ME AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. THERE'S THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT'S A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO VARIANCES. I MEAN, FOR THINGS THAT ARE AT GRADE, LIKE CRUSHED STONE, TREATING THOSE AS ACCESSORY STRUCTURES IN, IN MY. IN YOUR OPINION, IS THAT A IS THAT A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH? YES, DEFINITELY. YEAH. MOST OF THEM ARE AT GRADE. AND THE ONES THAT AREN'T AT GRADE ARE SCREENED FROM VIEW FROM SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. AND BASED ON THE TESTIMONY FROM THE PRIOR WITNESSES, DO YOU FEEL THAT THE VARIANCES AND DESIGN WAIVERS ARE JUSTIFIED? YES, I DO. CAN YOU JUST BRIEFLY, I KNOW WE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE CONDITIONS OF THE CONDITIONAL USE, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. FOR THE RECORD, IF WE CAN JUST RUN THROUGH THE SIX CONDITIONS THAT THE TOWNSHIP REQUIRES, THAT'S NO PROBLEM. THE FIRST ONE IS THAT THE TERM PUBLIC UTILITY INCLUDES POWER SUBSTATIONS. AND THIS IS A THIS IS A POWER SUBSTATION. SO IT MEETS THAT FIRST CONDITION. THE SECOND IS THAT IT SHOULD BE IN A SPECIFIED LOCATION. IT MUST BE REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR THE LOCATION OF THE SUBSTATION. AND AGAIN THIS IS HAD BEEN SELECTED IN A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE TOWNSHIP AND THE APPLICANT. AND QUITE FRANKLY, IT'S IT'S NECESSARY IN THIS LOCATION TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE ON THE OTHER TWO SUBSTATIONS AND ALSO TO INCLUDE A RESERVE FOR FUTURE ELECTRIC ELECTRICAL DEMAND. THE THIRD IS
[01:20:05]
THAT ANY BUILDING WILL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT THE SAFE, COMFORTABLE ENJOYMENT OF SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. THE BUILDINGS ARE VERY SMALL. THEY'RE THEY'RE ONES BASICALLY ONE STORY IN HEIGHT, AND THEY'RE SUBSTANTIALLY SCREENED FROM VIEW FROM SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. SO IT MEETS THAT CONDITION. THE NEXT WOULD BE ADEQUATE FENCES AND SAFETY DEVICES MUST BE PROVIDED. THE APPLICANT IS PROVIDING THEM IN TERMS OF FENCING, IN TERMS OF THE LIGHTNING MASTS AND THE CAMERAS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED. THE FIFTH ONE IS THAT LANDSCAPING, INCLUDING SHRUBS, TREES AND LAWNS, SHALL BE PROVIDED AND MAINTAINED. AND AS YOU'VE SEEN, THERE'S AN EXTENSIVE LANDSCAPE PLAN, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ALSO EXTENSIVE BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATIONS THAT PROHIBIT LANDSCAPING WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE SUBSTATION, THE LANDSCAPING AROUND THE SUBSTATION IS SUBSTANTIAL, SO I THINK IT MEETS THAT CONDITION. AND THEN THE FINAL ONE, NUMBER SIX, IS THAT THERE SHOULD BE ADEQUATE PARKING. AND IN THIS INSTANCE, THE STATION IS UNMANNED, EXCEPT FOR TIMES WHEN MAINTENANCE VEHICLES COME IN AND MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL ARE GOING TO PARK WHERE IT'S NECESSARY FOR THEM TO PARK TO DO THE MAINTENANCE. AND THAT MIGHT BE ON THE MACADAM DRIVEWAY. IT MIGHT BE ON THE CRUSHED STONE, BUT THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR FORMAL PARKING SPACES. THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR PARKING. THANK YOU. ANY ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WOULD BE IMPOSED AS A CONDITION OF APPROVAL? NO, CHAIRMAN. I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER FOR OUR PLANNER. I HAVE NO ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. THANK YOU. I'M GOOD.THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WE HAVE A QUESTION. WELL, WE GOT A QUESTION. OKAY. YOU MENTIONED THAT I THINK MOBILE TRANSFORMER PLACE IS NOT VISIBLE FROM THE ROUTE 601. IS THERE A FENCING OUTSIDE OF THAT PLACE? I COULD NOT SEE THAT HERE ON THIS. LET'S GO TO EXHIBIT. IS IT EXHIBIT FOUR. LET'S LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND. WE'RE SHOWING EXHIBIT ONE ACTUALLY TO SHOW THE FENCING THAT'S LOCATED. OH OKAY. SO THERE IS FENCING. YES, YES. THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THE THE THE MOBILE TRANSFORMER WILL BE INSIDE OF THIS FENCING, CORRECT? YES. OKAY. YEAH, THAT WAS MY QUESTION. THANKS. DO YOU ALWAYS PUT SECURITY CAMERAS ON PLANS OR DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL SECURITY CAMERAS OTHER THAN WHAT'S ON THE PLANS? HOPEFULLY, MAYBE. SO THE LOCATIONS ARE LEFT TO BE DETERMINED. IS THAT IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, CHAIRMAN? SECURITY CAMERAS. I MEAN, YES, THERE ARE DETERRENT. I GET THAT, BUT. IF SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, WANTS TO GET INTO THE SITE, THEY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE. SO. I MEAN, I THAT'S I GUESS THAT'S CORRECT. I, I'M NOT SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE SOME CONSTRAINTS ON WHERE WE CAN PLACE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE BEING TREATED AS ACCESSORY STRUCTURES. BUT I THINK THERE IS SOME FLEXIBILITY TO PLACE THEM WHERE THEY MAY NOT BE SURE. AGAIN, JUST AS YOU KNOW, YOU START THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS MORE AND MORE THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY IF THIS WAS A WATER UTILITY PLAN. GOT IT. GOOD POINT. RIGHT. AND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO FLOCK CAMERAS? YES, YES YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE HAVE NO FURTHER WITNESSES, CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU, MR. HIGGINS. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'M GOING TO GO TO ERIC AND RAKESH. MIGHT BE QUICK. I'M GOING TO GO FIRST BECAUSE MINE WILL BE QUICK, I PROMISE. GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN. OUR REPORT IS DATED JUNE 30TH. IT IS OUR SECOND REPORT. AS THE APPLICANT HAD MENTIONED, WE'VE HAD A FEW PLAN SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE MEETINGS. THE APPLICANT HAS BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMENTS MADE BY OUR OFFICE AND OUR REVIEW MEMOS. THE MOST RECENT SUBMISSION SATISFIED ALL OF OUR PLAN COMMENTS, WHICH IS GREAT. WE DID REQUEST TESTIMONY AND I'VE BEEN KEEPING KEEPING TRACK, AND I THINK JUST ABOUT ALL THE TESTIMONY THAT WE HAD REQUESTED HAS BEEN PROVIDED. SO I DON'T HAVE ANY ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THE BOARD MAY HAVE. BUT I THINK ALL OF OUR OUR COMMENTS HAVE BEEN SATISFIED. OKAY. COMMENT ON STORMWATER. YES, SIR. I I'M SURE THE PLANS COVER STORMWATER REQUIREMENTS IN THE PRESENT TENSE. YES, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME EVIDENCE THAT STORMWATER IS GOING TO BE INCREASING AS THE CLIMATE
[01:25:03]
CHANGES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT OUR THE STORMWATER PLANS IN TERMS OF LONGER RANGE? SO. MR. YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT QUESTION. THE MOST CURRENT REQUIRED REGULATIONS FROM THE DEP, WHICH ARE OUR TOWNSHIP ORDINANCE HAS ALSO ADOPTED, ACTUALLY REQUIRE THE APPLICANT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEIR SECOND CAN CAN ATTENUATE THE CURRENT STORMWATER RUNOFF. THEN THERE'S ALSO A REQUIREMENT FOR THE FUTURE RUNOFF FOR THE YEAR 2100. SO THERE'S A AN ADJUSTMENT FACTOR THAT THEY HAVE TO APPLY TO THE TO THE INTENSITY OF STORMWATER. AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEIR SYSTEM COMPLIES WITH THAT. AND THAT GOES FOR ALL APPLICANTS. SO EVER, EVER SINCE I THINK IT WAS JULY OF 2023, THAT'S BEEN THE CASE FOR ALL APPLICANTS. THANK YOU. YEP. OKAY. ERIC. SO I I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE APPLICANT. YOU KNOW, DURING THE COURSE OF THIS DISCUSSION, I WAS ALSO KEEPING TRACK OF THE ITEMS IN MY REPORT. AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM WERE WERE ADDRESSED IN SOME FASHION. SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING RESPONSIVE TO IT. I HAD A FEW OTHER A FEW OTHER ITEMS. I GUESS I'D NOTE THAT MOST OF THEM ARE NOT SO MUCH RECOMMENDATIONS. THEY'RE REALLY JUST MORE LIKE, YOU KNOW, REQUESTS FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION. SO I'M HAPPY TO, TO KIND OF GO DOWN THE LIST.YES. YEAH, LET'S DO IT AND PULL THE MICROPHONE CLOSER. YEAH, SURE. SURE. THING IS THAT IS THAT BETTER? THANK. ONLY IF YOU LEAN INTO IT LIKE THIS. ALL RIGHT. THANK THANK YOU. SO I GUESS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE CLERK KEATON HENSON MEMO AVAILABLE, AND THIS IS OUR REPORT DATED AUGUST 10TH, 2026. THIS IS ON PAGE FOUR, ITEM NUMBER 1.5. WE HAD A REQUEST FOR JUST A FEW GENERAL SITE REVISIONS TO THE SITE PLAN, JUST TO MAKE IT MORE LEGIBLE, NOTING THE LOCATION OF THE OF THE CRUSHED STONE. SOME OF THE OTHER FEATURES ON THE PLAN, LIKE THOSE. LIKE THE COVERS FOR THE FOR THE FOR THE ACCESS POINTS FOR THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES. I, I, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY DATED AUGUST 10TH. I THINK IT'S THE JULY 20TH REPORT. ERIC. YES. RIGHT. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. JULY 6TH. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT CORRECTION. YEP. JULY 2020. YEAH. THE MOST, THE MOST, THE MOST RECENT ONE. OKAY. BACK TO YOU. YEAH. NOT, NOT NOT TODAY. TODAY IS JUST THE DAY THAT I PRINTED IT. AND FOR SOME REASON THAT'S THE THAT. YEP. REVISED JULY 20TH. YEP. SO YEAH, WE HAD JUST A FEW GENERAL REQUESTS FOR PLAN REVISIONS JUST TO MAKE IT MORE LEGIBLE. AND WE WERE WONDERING IF YOU COULD PROVIDE THOSE, THOSE REVISIONS DURING THE RESOLUTION COMPLIANCE PROCESS OR IF YOU HAVE ANY. NO OBJECTION. WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ONE I HAVE IN IN MY MEMO IS ON PAGE EIGHT, NUMBER 2.4. AND THAT WOULD JUST ALSO BE UPDATING THE SCHEDULE OF THE ZONING STANDARDS. ALSO ON THE SITE PLAN, JUST TO REFLECT THE SETBACKS FOR EACH OF THE ACCESSORY STRUCTURES THAT WE DISCUSSED TONIGHT. NO OBJECTION.
THAT'S THE QUESTION. NO. 2.4 ON PAGE TEN OF THE MEMO. THIS IS ITEM. I'M SORRY. NO, NOT NOT ON THAT PAGE. ON PAGE 16 OF THE MEMO. THIS IS SECTION 6.1 ABOUT THE PROPOSED SIGNAGE AND CLARIFYING THE LOCATIONS. AND WE HAD NOTED THAT THE PLAN SHOULD BE REVISED TO CLARIFY THE NUMBER AND THE LOCATIONS OF THE FREESTANDING MONUMENT SIGN AND THE NO. AND THE NO TRESPASSING SIGNS. I BELIEVE THAT IN THE. I BELIEVE THAT IN THE IN THE DETAILS, IT INDICATED THAT THERE WOULD BE MULTIPLE MULTIPLES OF THOSE SIGNS, BUT THEY JUST THEIR LOCATIONS WEREN'T INDICATED. SO JUST. YEAH, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. JUST TO CLARIFY THE RECORD, THERE ARE NO MONUMENT SIGNS PROPOSED. OH, OKAY. NONE. THAT WAS. WE APOLOGIZE IF THERE WAS A NOTE. AN ERRANT NOTE, BUT NO, NO FREESTANDING SIGNS. OKAY, GREAT.
THANK THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT. AND LIKEWISE, THESE ARE ITEMS 6.3 AND 6.4.
JUST PROVIDING SOME DETAIL INFORMATION OR PROVIDING AN UPDATING DETAIL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIGNS. SURE. FOR THE SAFETY SIGNS LIKE NO TRESPASSING, WE CAN PROVIDE THE DETAILS FOR THOSE. AND THEN MY LAST ITEM IS ALSO JUST PROVIDING A DETAIL FOR THE POLE MOUNTED SECURITY CAMERAS. WILL DO. THANK YOU. AND THAT'S THE REMAINING COMMENTS THAT I HAVE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU ERIC. OKAY. I'M GOING TO OPEN THIS TO PUBLIC COMMENT. DO WE HAVE
[01:30:08]
ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK? COME ON UP. AND WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOU TO STATE YOUR NAME.CORRECT YOUR ADDRESS IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE. MY NAME IS TAMARA KIRBY. OKAY, SIR, COULD YOU JUST SPELL THAT, PLEASE? YEAH, TAMER. LAST NAME? KHARRUBI. AND, SIR, ARE YOU A RESIDENT OF MONTGOMERY? I'M BUILDING A HOUSE HERE. YOU'RE BUILDING A HOUSE? OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH, SO MY QUESTION IS FOR THE ENGINEER. FOR THE WATER. WHERE'S THE WATER COMING FROM? FROM THE NORTHWESTERN PART OR THE OTHER PART OF TRENT PLACE. OKAY. SORRY. CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? SO THE FIRE MARSHAL RECOMMENDED YOU GUYS HAVE TO PUT A WATER LINE, YOU KNOW, JUST IN CASE A FIRE HAPPENS. YES. SO MY QUESTION IS ON TRENT PLACE. IS IT COMING FROM THE NORTHWESTERN FIRE HYDRANT OR IS IT COMING FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRENT PLACE? THE WATER LINE RUNS THE LENGTH. IF YOU GO TO THE OTHER SITE PLAN, THE WATER LINE IS RUNNING ALONG THE THE ENTIRETY OF TRENT PLACE, AND WE ARE TYING IN KIND OF DIRECTLY, I'D SAY PROBABLY TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY FROM THE RIGHT HAND TO THE LEFT, KIND OF ALONG THE WESTERN DRIVEWAY.
THERE'S THE TIE IN POINT THAT I'LL GO INTO THE STREET. AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDED A NEW HYDRANT, NOT A NEW WATER LINE. CORRECT. THE HYDRANT WILL BE JUST MOVED SLIGHTLY JUST OUT OF THE WAY OF THE PROPOSED DRIVEWAY. SO THERE'S YEAH. SO IF YOU LOOK HERE, I BELIEVE THE EXISTING HYDRANT IS APPROXIMATELY IN THIS PORTION HERE. AND WE'RE JUST KIND OF UPDATING THIS SLIGHTLY. SO WHY DON'T WE JUST BE CLEAR. SO WE'RE REFERRING TO THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP FIRE PREVENTION BUREAU LETTER DATED JUNE 18TH, 2026. OKAY. OH, I'M SORRY, I'M COMPLETING PROJECTS. YES. YES, THERE'S CURRENTLY A HYDRANT OUT HERE. CORRECT. DID YOU WANT TO ASK YOUR QUESTION? ALSO, THERE'S A HYDRANT WHERE YOU GUYS ARE PROPOSING THE DRIVEWAY CURRENTLY. NO, IT'S OFF THERE. SORRY, THERE'S NO HYDRANT BEING PROPOSED. OKAY, SO OUR FIRE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDED BRINGING IN A WATER LINE FOR FIRE HYDRANTS TO PROTECT THE FACILITY. I THINK WE HAVE NO ISSUE WITH THAT. NO ISSUE COMPLYING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. YEAH, BUT MY QUESTION IS, I DON'T THINK THERE IS A LINE, A WATER LINE ON TRENT PLACE. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ON THE LETTER. THEY'RE SAYING YOU CAN TAP IN FROM THE NORTHWESTERN ONE OR THE THE ONE LOCATED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PROPERTY. SO MY QUESTION IS, WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO TAP IN TO BRING THE LINE TO YOUR PROPERTY? DO YOU WANT TO LET'S GIVE US CAN YOU GIVE US A MOMENT? JUST SURE, SURE. MAKE SURE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION. THE THE REASON I BRING IT UP. YEAH.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, ARE YOU BRINGING IT UP BECAUSE YOU'RE BUILDING A HOUSE AND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR WATER ACCESS OR NO, THERE'S HOUSES ON THE LEFT SIDE. THERE'S LIKE THREE, FOUR HOUSES ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THAT PROPERTY, AND THEY'RE ALL ON WELL, SO THEY COULD TAP IN POTENTIALLY FOR FREE IF P, C, AND G EXTENDS IT FROM THE NORTHWESTERN SIDE. THE BENEFIT FOR THOSE HOMES, FOR THE HOMES. YEAH. AND HOW MANY? BECAUSE I WAS ON THE MONTGOMERY'S CODE WEBSITE, I THINK THEY SAID EVERY 600FT THAT YOU HAVE TO INSTALL A FIRE HYDRANT. SO I'M JUST WONDERING HOW MANY FIRE HYDRANTS ARE GOING TO INSTALL BASED ON THE DIRECTION THEY CHOOSE. BUT I THINK IT'S MORE BENEFICIAL IF THEY GO FROM THE LEFT SIDE BECAUSE THERE'S HOUSES THERE. AND IF THEY GO ON THE RIGHT SIDE, THE EAST PART, THERE'S NO HOUSES AT ALL. SO NO ONE WOULD REALLY BENEFIT. AND I THINK THE DISTANCE IS RELATIVELY THE SAME TO TAP IN AND BRING IT TO BOTH DRIVEWAYS. SO, SO BASICALLY THE, THE HOMES WHICH ARE THERE WITH WELL WATER, IF THEY ARE BRINGING IN SOMETHING FOR THEIR FIRE HYDRANT, WOULD HELP THE HOUSES WITH THE WELL WATER. THEY MIGHT, THEY MIGHT AS WELL BENEFIT. OKAY. IF THEY'RE GOING TO BRING IN WATER, JUST SO EVERYBODY HAS CONTEXT TO WHAT HE'S ASKING. YEAH, I'M, I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. SORRY. ME AS WELL. YES. I THINK PSC HAS NO ISSUE WITH WORKING OUT WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE LOCATION OF THE FUTURE OR THE PROPOSED FIRE HYDRANT. SO I THINK IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE FIRE STATION AND WHAT THEY RECOMMEND AND WHAT OUR PLANNING.
SOMEONE WILL HOPEFULLY GET BACK TO YOU. WE'LL GET SOME OF OUR PLANNING AND DEFINITELY SPEAK WITH THE FIRE OFFICIALS AS WELL. YEAH, YEAH. SO OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE FROM THE PUBLIC? DO YOU HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. SO MOVED. SECOND.
SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR I, I I OKAY. DISCUSSION FOLKS. ANY THOUGHTS QUESTIONS I MEAN I CAN
[01:35:07]
START. SAYING CERTAINLY COMES PREPARED. YEAH. AND ALSO I APPRECIATE HOW CLOSELY YOU'VE WORKED WITH THE TOWN TO DO THIS, RIGHT. AND I MEAN, LOOK, THIS IS A SUBSTATION. IT'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, BEAUTIFUL NEW PARK. SO WE IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL NEED, OBVIOUSLY FOR TODAY AND LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. AND AGAIN, I'M, I'M PLEASED WITH HOW PREPARED PSEG IS IN DOING THIS. APPRECIATE IT. THOUGHTS. SAME HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH I AGREE. VERY GOOD. YEAH. YOU ARE PREPARED. AND IT'S HELPFUL WHEN WE ASK QUESTIONS HOW IT BENEFITS THE RESIDENTS BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR QUESTION. AND WE KNOW WE ALL NEED ELECTRICITY AT LEAST FOR THE NEAR FUTURE. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO WHAT WE ARE GOING TO VOTE ON A MOTION TO APPROVE. CORRECT. AND IT WOULD BE SUBJECT TO P, C AND G COMPLYING WITH THE COMMENTS IN THE REVIEW MEMOS. AS PS AND G HAS REPRESENTED TONIGHT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MOTION? DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE. TARA? YES, YES YES YES YES. OKAY. I'M GOING TO ASK EVERYONE TO JUST STAY SEATED FOR ABOUT 30S WHILE I GET THROUGH THIS. IS THAT OKAY? YES, SIR. OKAY. WE HAVE NO SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS BECAUSE NOBODY'S HERE. RIGHT. FUTURE[VII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGENDA ITEMS. WE HAVE THE 199 GRANDVIEW ROAD SITE, 23 ORCHARD REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND COUNTRY CLUB MEADOWS BUILDING FOR. OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED AS A PLANNING BOARD FOR AUGUST 24TH AT 7 P.M. ALSO, WE HAVE TWO MEETINGS PLANNED A SITE PLAN SUBDIVISION MEETING SEPTEMBER 1ST AT 8:30 A.M. AND THE NEXT PLANNING BOARD MEETING, OR THE FIRST ONE IN SEPTEMBER, WOULD BE SEPTEMBER 14TH AT 7 P.M. AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. SECOND. SECOND.ANYBODY? SECOND. SECOND. THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANKS, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.