Perth Amboy Caucus

1/8/17 Caucus

PERTH AMBOY – Councilman Joel Pabon questioned the bids for the replacement of the 6 million gallons per day High Lift Pump #1 at the Runyon Water Treatment Plant. “The low bid was $46,000. The high bid was $81,875. Why is there such a big difference?”

Luis Perez Jimenez – Director of Operations at the at the USA-PA (Utility Service Associates Perth Amboy) Middlesex Water Company) came up to speak, “Municipal maintenance was the low bidder have done a lot of work with us before. They will be doing hydraulic repairs. The pump they’re working on is 30 years old and it is one of the biggest pumps that we have.”

Another topic that drew a lot of attention was R-22-1/18 Memorializing the acceptance of military equipment previously received.

Deputy Police Chief Larry Cattano came forward to address this, “Around the year 2015, we were able to acquire military equipment. Besides vehicles, we were able to acquire recreational equipment such as volleyballs. We also get spot inspected by the State Police. There are some items that we no longer want and can be sold as surplus or destroyed. If we destroy any of this equipment we get from the military, we have to show photos how this was done. Some of the items are required to be returned to the source for disposal. We can ask other departments if they can use what we no longer want.”

Councilman Irizarry said, “The Council just wants to know what we are getting before it is accepted by the departments. I’m not voting for something unknown.”

Cattano emphasized that the surplus military equipment goes on a website with thousands of police departments, so they can see and request those items.”

Cattano then responded to a question on why the police department received a military boat. “These boats are more mobile and can get into tight spots. They can get under the railroad bridge whereas our existing boats have to wait for the bridge to open. We do the maintenance on the boats and they were used on our last two rescue responses. The military assigns values to all the equipment on their website and we get the surplus items for free. We can take back items no longer needed to Fort Dix or give them to other police departments who may need them. The jet-ski we have now has to be rewired.”

Cattano then addressed the situation that occurred at 494 Neville St. “I will check with the court involving summonses at this address.”

At this point Johan Delgado from Code Enforcement came up to speak, “There have been numerous complaints about this address which involved illegal housing and garbage. 9 out of 10 times when we went to check nothing was found. We issued one summons for rubbish and debris which was behind the house. It’s a neighbor situation. I have pictures. We have informed owners of the house on what they can do.”

Delgado also addressed the problem at 701 Gornik Dr. where there were complaints about a second story deck being built, and busses being parked. “The owner of the house came into the office and spoke with Code Enforcement Director Jamie Rios. I’ll get back to you with more information.”

During the public portion, Stephanie Márquez-Villafañe came up. She spoke about the difficulties she had (with her walker) with the recent snow when it came to the street corners where the snow was not cleared. She also commended the Department of Public Works for being out there during the bad weather conditions. Her other problem was that the fire alarms at King Plaza where she resides have been going on non-stop. “One time at 4 a.m., they went off and the fire departments did not get there until 4:20 a.m. It took them another 10 minutes to shut off the alarms. When these alarms go off, there are disabled people and young people that don’t know where to go. Since alarms go off constantly, some people ignore them.” She then spoke about the difficulties she’s been having when it comes to scheduling the Lung Cancer Awareness Walk. “I’ve started talking to Adam and the Police Department and have yet to receive a clearance on our application. I’ve gone to the Clerk’s Office and the Recreation Office. I can’t get give you a copy of insurance until I get an application approved for the walk.”

Law Director King responded, “There are two applications: one is for if you want any City Officials or media present. This would come from the Mayor’s Office. Special events applications can be acquired from the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Recreation – not the City Clerk.”

B.A. Adam Cruz then remarked, “Director of Recreation Kenny Ortiz approves the application and the Mayor only gets it if she is asked to attend.”

After Márquez-Villafañe spoke, Council President Bill Petrick said, “I’m concerned about the fire alarms going off at King Plaza.”

Acting Fire Chief Ed Mullen came up, “The cause of the alarms going off were the pipes freezing which caused multiple malfunctions. They’re also broken sprinkler pipes. Every apartment in the building will hear alarms that go off in the hallways and lobbies. Alarms that go off in the apartment such as in a case of maybe someone burning their meal while cooking, it will cause an alarm because of the smoke. The alarm will only be going off in that particular unit.”

B.A. Cruz responded to Stephanie’s concerns, “The property owner is responsible to make sure the corners that they are on are clear.”

Councilman Pabon said, “I thought so, but I don’t think these businesses are aware of it.”

Cruz then stated, “There are about 22 summonses issued today (1/8/18).”

Code Enforcement Employee Johan Delgado came up to speak, “There were 22 summonses issued today. I even deputized a mailman. I gave him my cell phone number, so he can tell us about all the trouble spots that he encounters on his route.”

Pabon then remarked that the BID should be using money for this enforcement. “This is just a suggestion.”

Balut then turned his attention to the situation of commercial vehicles parked under the Outerbridge.

Petrick responded, “This is a Port Authority issue.”

Balut then asked about the company that got a tax break then left. “Did anybody talk about the schools about the density? What are you going to do with these students?”

Mayor Diaz came up to speak. She wanted to let the Council and residents know how the City’s Safety Personnel saved lives by evacuating the building (185 Fayette St.) how they responded. “Our Police, Fire, and Code Enforcement came out on such treacherous conditions. Our hospital responded so well to this crisis. To see that many Police Officers with IV’s in their arms and oxygen masks on because they were overcome – I was so proud of all of them. I recently had a meeting with our Freeholders and let them know that other cities have to be responsible for their residents. We listen to the Council, especially when it comes to parking. A parking deck will help all our businesses. Some businesses already have parking behind their buildings. It will also help if we have a deck when we have a Waterfront event. It was in the plan, but wasn’t spelled out. There are people who want to invest which creates ratables. It’s exciting. We’re holding developers responsible to make sure they invest in the infrastructure.” Diaz concluded again praising the doctors and nurses and other professionals in the hospital who did their best under the worst conditions. “Two people who were overcome by carbon monoxide had to be transferred to another hospital.”

Acting Police Chief McKeon came up to speak next. He became emotional and talked about how amazing it was how the City worked together to respond to this crisis. “The Auxiliary Police did a great job and the Police Chaplains helped a lot when it came to confront those affected. I want to give a special thanks to Mayor Diaz and Adam Cruz. It was a testament to all of our City employees. Adam and the Mayor were there (in the hospital) for three hours for the families that are affected and our emergency personnel. People come here to the meetings with legitimate complaints, but don’t ever come out to support the police. We appreciate the Mayor and Adam’s support. The only person who called to see how we were doing was the Middlesex County Prosecutor Carey.”

Councilman Helmin Caba spoke, “I was never contacted about the incident. The average person knows what’s going on, but we don’t. As an elected official, it’s embarrassing.”

McKeon went on to explain, “It was a case of bad communication, and the families were upset.”

Councilman Joel Pabon then stated, “I didn’t know what was going on until I found out about it on Facebook. It’s far from the truth that we don’t support the police. I have 110 employees that are my responsibility when I’m at work. I hope we can learn from this. There is no time that I do not support the police.”

McKeon understood, “It’s important that we have an open discussion about this, so we can go forward positively.”

Councilman Fernando Gonzalez the asked B.A. Adam Cruz, “Will you please inform us of these situations? We have no idea what’s going on.”

McKeon then went on to explain, “A simple text from the Council President will mean a lot. I can’t stress enough how we all pulled together (Fire Department, Police (Regular and Auxiliary) EMS, Hospital, and Olive Street).

Cruz then commented, “I rely on the Chief and Prosecutor’s Office on what information can be released. It was chaos from moment the call came in. I left town at 11 p.m. I had to get people housing. It was one big event. If anyone had called me, I could have relayed the message as to what had happened. The Mayor has never censored me. I tell her what I sent you guys after it’s done.”

Councilman Caba then said, “We can be contacted by anyone, including the media.”

Chief McKeon concluded with the following statement: “I didn’t come here to point fingers. I know each of you supports us 100%. I just had to tell you how members of the Department felt. It would be hard pressed to find another city who could respond to this situation as well as we did.”