5/24/17 Council Meeting
PERTH AMBOY – Resident Stanley Sierakowski had a question related to R-220-5/17 – Awarding a contract for Stop Loss Insurance to Berkley.
Stanley Sierakowski questioned the Council to see if they even heard about the insurance company. “Our main insurance carrier (Fairview) is very heavily Democratic. For you (the Council) to get 5 identical bids is impossible. How is this contract structured. There are no details.”
Sierakowski then questioned R-214-5/17 Authorizing the proper City Officials to execute a contract with Sheltered Hearts in the amount of $24,750. This resolution was voided. This resolution was tabled by B.A. Adam Cruz because it needed to be approved by HUD.
“The woman who requested this money just wanted to renovate the house.”
Sierakowski said, “It should have been voided because the entity (Sheltered Hearts) wanted a $24,750 grant regarding a CDBG grant.” Department of Housing and Urban Development. The woman who came here AC couple of years ago to renovate the house and charge people $500 for the services provided. It was the right decision to void it.”
Sierakowski also advised the Council to void R-220.
Resident and President of Perth Amboy Artworks Committee, Caroline Pozycki-Torres was glad to report to the Council that there was a quick resolve to the problem she was having with the change of date with the kickoff to her Ferry Slip Museum Concert Series. “The launch will be July 8 and I can use the City logo (on my advertising material). I was also reimbursed for the canceled June event and perhaps the application forms for any entertainment events that take place can be revised with clarity. I’m happy to move on and I’m grateful for all the help; I received.
Resident Ken Balut came up to speak about Communication No. 10.
Council President William Petrick asked the Business Administrator to provide the Council with copies of all incident reports regarding the Puerto Rican Festival (2016)and the Ferry Slip Music Events (2016)
Balut said, “All festival incidents should be recorded.”
He then went on to R-211- Authorizing a release in the matter of DeSantis Construction vs. The City of Perth Amboy in an amount not to exceed $44,406.90″
He questioned: “What kind of ruling was for this money?”
R-224 – Awarding a professional special services agreement to DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblen LLP for continued legal representations and previously assigned matters which are still pending in amount not to exceed $115,000.
Balut reminded the Council, “When the former Law Director (Arlene Quinones) was here, she said she was supporting the Mayor’s Ticket. Quinones had her picture of some of the Mayors campaign literature. $100,000 of campaign money is uncounted for. Did you (any Council Members) accept any money from Fairview or Berkley Insurance? Your silence said you did. Almost a half million dollars in contracts were awarded. A former contractor is sitting in jail right now. I got all the campaign literature right here.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry responded to Balut’s comments about a person last name of Ferraioli who has made campaign contributions to the Mayor’s ticket or whom she has supported. “That person (Ferraioli) is not related to the City Auditor and we know it! The complaint that you (Balut) are referring to was in 2013.”
Resident Vince Mackiel had a question about R-218-5/17 regarding the NJDEP Green Acres Program dealing with a major diversion of certain park lands in connection with the Buckeye Partners L.P. Pipeline Project for $855,000.
Mackiel asked the Council, “Before anything is done, Chevron and other sites should be mitigated. I understand jobs are important, but partial cleanups are not helping the City. Buckeye will pollute the waters. Parts of Elizabeth and Linden are still contaminated because of the partial cleanup of Exxon.”
When it came to voting on agenda items, R-206-R-223 & R-225-R-228 were moved by Councilman Fernando Gonzalez and seconded by Councilman Jelmin Caba. On Resolution R-224, Councilman Fernando Gonzalez asked that it be voted on separately after a discussion. He stated that he would like to review this resolution “Because we may need to return money to the DeCotiis Firm. I want to look at your billing.”
B.A. Adam Cruz responded, “The amount awarded to the DeCotiis Firm was brought down to $150,000. There is money owed to DeCotiis which is $38,000 for a certain time frame.”
Law Director Peter King also commented, “We need a back billing report.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez responded to King, “If you need to take over, some of the DeCotiis Cases, I need to see what they owe them.”
During the last public portion, Resident Stanley Sierakowski told the Council, “You made a multimillion dollar mistake when it comes to replacing lights in the City. You could save money if you use LED lights instead and you should have looked at any State Programs first.”
Resident Ken Balut came up to speak, “All white collar jobs got huge raises. The bridge might be a good PILOT but Fehrenbach would never have you (the Council) out of the loop. You have no clue what’s going on in the City. When I was on the Council, I received reports from Department Heads. You vote on contracts with zero paperwork. There’s $1.7 million and no paperwork. Deals are being made behind your backs. All the contacts were given to people up in North Jersey.”
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up to speak next. He spoke about the trouble of late he’s had stemming from his appointment on January 13, 2017 to the Historic Preservation Commission. “On January 18, 2017 I received a letter to sign forms. I then received a letter stating that my term has been suspended. Only the City Council can remove a Commissioner off the HPC. My being on the handicapped parking committee does not make me ineligible to be on the HPC and I would like to be reinstated.”
He also mentioned 2 other HPC Members: Eleni Glykis and Anna Daily. “They should also be ineligible based on what was told to me regarding my suspension. Daily is on the Board of Trustees of the Library Board and Glykis is Library Director.”
Law Director Peter King responded, “All Members of the HPC must meet qualifications.”
Baratta responded, “I’ve heard about this for a month from Mr. King.”
Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission Reinaldo Aviles came up to speak about Baratta’s plight. “I have issues on how this was handled. I didn’t know about this (Baratta’s letter of suspension) until I saw Elaine Jasko (City Clerk) about a different matter and she told me. As the chair of the HPC, I should have been notified first.”
Jose Amarante who is a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment stated that he had taken all of the required classes and was sworn in by a Clerk in the City Office but would like to get a signed copy of the oath.
Resident Mark Achamizo was concerned about the large amount of drunk people on Smith Street between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. “Rector Street is a disaster (part of the street) and I don’t drive a jalopy.”
During the Council Comments, Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I talked to the Mayor on how you can be unaware of what’s going on in town. I road by the Patten School and it’s crazy. Cars are double-parked when school is let out. We need to do something to alleviate traffic during that time. The cars even block people’s driveways.”
Council President Bill Petrick then spoke, “There will be a traffic jam when the Seaman Street School is built by the firehouse/police station. It will be a dangerous situation just like at the Patten School. The BOE Administration Building would have been better suited there and Sayre Avenue for the school.”
