3/23/16 Meeting
PERTH AMBOY – Acting Council President Joel Pabon responded to Residents’ questions on how he conducted the meeting.
“In the past, when a Resident asked a question of the Council, they would respond to the Resident right after the question was asked. At this Meeting, all questions posed were answered after the closing of public comments.”
Attorney
Daniel Antonelli
*File Photo from DeCotiis
Pabon stated, “This change was made because there was a lot of chaos during the last Council Meeting of March 9th.”
After Pabon spoke, Councilman Fernando Irizarry read a lengthy statement that was given to him with comments from Council President Lisa Nanton. In the statement she talked about how the Meetings are conducted, the public’s right to free speech and the disruptive behavior exhibited by the public. She especially chastised some of the City Employees who displayed unprofessional behavior at the March 9, 2016 Meeting.
After the Meeting, the Amboy Guardian approached Councilman Fernando Irizarry to get a copy of the statement that Nanton wrote and he read. He told the Amboy Guardian that he would make sure that Nanton would send a copy to the paper.
As of yet, no copy of the statement was received.
Irizarry was also concerned about the various potholes in the City. He would like the Business Administrator to have flyers printed up to distribute to local businesses to have the public report any serious potholes.
Irizarry also wanted a bill list from Former City Attorney Mark Blunda for the last few months. “I have been instructed by the last three City Administrators not to contact City Employees.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez wanted a list of all Employee salaries in the budget. “Maybe the last time the salaries were omitted because of union negotiations going on. There also seems to be a discrepancy about vehicles that are ticketed, especially on Gordon Street.”
Business Administrator Adam Cruz said, “I’ll handle this matter.”
Fernando Gonzalez continued with his comments, “A gentleman came here who was paying $3000 a month to park his vehicles at the Jefferson Street Parking Deck. I believe that this gentleman is no longer paying those fees, and now the vehicles are being parked on the street.”
Councilman Bill Petrick addressed the omission of Employee Salaries in the budget. “In the past, Employees names, salaries and titles were listed.”
In the absence of Law Director Arlene Quinones-Perez, Attorney Daniel Antonelli answered some of the Council Questions: “In reference to the gentleman who was paying $3,000 a month in the Jefferson Street Parking Deck, you have to look at the terms and conditions of the contract. There may be zoning issues. There can be a grandfather clause. Documentation is needed to see what kind of terms were being used for parking there. You (the Council) are entitled to see the Employees’ salaries, even while contract negotiations are going on.”
