Township Council
Township Council — January 5, 2026 (reorganization)
Joan Geiger, Andrew Bucko and Ridwana Isla took their oaths for four-year Council terms. The Council elected Geiger president and Bucko vice president, 5-0, and adopted the 2026 business, meeting-schedule, cash-management and permit resolutions, 5-0. Mayor Moench gave his State of the Township; nine members of the public spoke.
- Government
Meeting recording
Recording plays on the township archive
This meeting does not play on this page. The township's recording is complete and plays in full on the township's own channel.
What happened
What was decided
The Council met at 5:30 p.m. for its annual reorganization. All five members were present: Councilman Andrew Bucko, Councilwoman Joan Geiger, Councilwoman Ridwana Isla, Councilman Michael Kirsh and Councilman Timothy Ring.
- Oaths of office. The Township Clerk read the Somerset County Board of Canvassers’ certification naming Joan Geiger, Andrew Bucko and Ridwana Isla as elected to the three four-year Council seats. Judge Rochelle Gizinski swore in Geiger, County Commissioner Elizabeth Graner swore in Bucko, and Judge Bernice Jalloh swore in Isla.
- Officers, each 5-0: Geiger as Council President (moved by Bucko, seconded by Isla), Bucko as Vice President (moved by Isla, seconded by Geiger) and Grace Njuguna as Clerk of the Council.
- Four resolutions by consent, 5-0 (Ring/Kirsh; ayes Bucko, Isla, Kirsh, Ring, Geiger): #26-01-05-001, the 2026 general business resolution; -002, the 2026 annual meeting notice and schedule; -003, the cash management plan and official depositories; -004, authorizing Township Engineer William H. Burr IV, P.E., of Colliers Engineering & Design, to sign NJDEP, NJDOT, State and Somerset County permits for 2026.
No ordinances were on the agenda.
Messages and the State of the Township
The minutes print the members’ remarks and the Mayor’s address. Among the points recorded:
- Council President Geiger named public safety; stormwater management, with more Public Works staffing and federal, state and county grants; open space and housing affordability over trucking depots and data centers; traffic, speeding and e-bike policy coordinated with neighboring towns; joining the “SMART” secure-firearm-storage program at National Night Out; and asking the Mayor to reactivate and fill township committees.
- Vice President Bucko spoke of on-time budgets as state law requires, holding scheduled meetings, following through on the remediation plans from the 2022–2024 audits, publishing spending detail without records requests, more resident participation on committees, parks and recreation, cyclist and pedestrian safety, and spaces for youth.
- Councilwoman Isla spoke of listening before acting, a budget that reflects community priorities, tax fairness, smart growth and clearer updates on township projects. Councilman Kirsh spoke of balancing development, desirability and affordability; Councilman Ring welcomed the new members.
- Mayor Matthew C. Moench said about 300 roads, roughly 60% of the municipal system, had been repaved or repaired since 2020; that two master plans advanced in 2025; that stormwater and flood-mitigation work approved in 2025 will need significant funding with state and federal aid; that the township’s affordable housing obligation was reduced 11.2%; and that ordinance changes in the past year were aimed at massage establishments linked to human trafficking. He named new businesses and thanked departing Councilmen Howard Norgalis and Allen Kurdyla.
Public comment
Nine people spoke, most to congratulate the new Council.
- Paul Drake, Somerset County Commissioner, said the County Commissioners would work with the Mayor and Council.
- Shepa Uddin, a Franklin Township councilwoman, offered collaboration and noted Muslim Heritage Month in January.
- David Reyes of Skillman, Bal Mukand Gupta of Decker Lane and John Colucci of Washington Valley Road offered congratulations; Gupta asked the Council to follow through on diversity, development and progress.
- Mr. Adimulam of Milltown Road hoped for infrastructure, roadway improvements and local establishments.
- Wen-Ling Hsu of Adrian Terrace asked for continued transparency on the use of tax dollars.
- Niren Choudhury of Galway Lane, a Planning Board member, said the Route 202 corridor is narrow and congested and asked for a township effort to seek federal and state funds to improve it; he supported stormwater strategies and asked the Council to limit new construction within the Master Plan and state rules.
- Audrey Deanna Lloyd of Brokaw Court said Bridgewater lacks a downtown and asked the Council to build a stronger sense of community.
Records
- Minutes (township document page)
- Agenda (posted on the township site; LocalWhy has not yet reviewed it)
- Video on the township’s YouTube channel (1:39:26). This page follows the Clerk’s minutes.