9/9/19 Caucus & Council Meetings

By: Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – At the 4:30 p.m. Caucus Meeting, Councilman Joel Pabon requested that the Rent Leveling Board be discussed. Pabon stated that residents had concerns about this Board due to a tax increase and a possibility that rents may also go up. “The Rent Leveling Board had been in existence before, and I think it should be reenacted because residents wonder where they should go (if they believe they have unreasonable rent increases).”

Councilman Fernando Irizarry spoke up and questioned, “If the Mayor is not going to appoint people to this Board, then we should make a resolution to abolish it.”

Pabon continued, “It’s happening with other Boards where we have too many vacancies or when members do meet, they don’t have enough for a quorum. It’s happening with other Boards, too. We need to put more effort into advertising for all Boards (that have vacancies).”

Council President Bill Petrick then asked Law Director King, “What will be the power of the Rent Leveling Board.”

King stated, “The Board can hear renter’s concerns about landlords raising rents above the limit. The Mayor appoints the members with the advice and consent of the Council.”

The next discussion centered on Ordinance No. 1 for adoption – An Amendment of the Focus 2020 Redevelopment Plan for Redevelopment Area 1 (Gateway) in accordance with the local Redevelopment and Housing Law.

Annie Hindelang came up to speak when Council President Bill Petrick questioned, “Why is this Ordinance on the agenda pertaining to the warehousing?”

Hindenlang explained, “Warehousing was not part of the plan. The ordinance was for mixed use buildings: commercial and residential.”

Pabon then spoke up, “I think we are going backwards. We really don’t want a warehouse which was presented at the two August 12, 2019 Meetings which I wasn’t present at.”

Hindenlang continued, “In 2013, RFP’s were sent out for that area. There were 2-3 responses. Tate Goss was one of those who responded. He presented a plan which would include an entertainment and residential use. If that was not viable, then warehousing would be part of the plan. Other groups came in and presented plans for putting in sports arenas. The numbers just didn’t work for an entertainment center.”

Council President Bill Petrick then asked, “Were you looking to put all the property for one particular use or were you going to break up the property for mixed use purposes?”

Hindenlang responded, “We’re looking to put it up for multiple uses. People still want to do retail.”

Councilman Irizarry spoke up and asked, “Did PARA pass a resolution for warehousing in that area?”

Hindenlang explained, “We had a letter supporting having a warehouse. All proposals were reviewed by PARA. I can give you the PARA minutes and videos (regarding those discussions).” Hindenlang then discussed, “The City is a member of the B.D.A. (Brownfield Development Agency). The City has to pay to be a member of the group. Other members include: Logistics, BRIDGE, and the County. The annual fees are between $11,000 – $12,000. The State chooses who the coordinator will be, and the coordinator will be responsible for any invoices and bills. Only 3 developers responded to the RFP’s for the Gateway Project. They invested a lot of money presenting their projects.”

Councilman Irizarry said, “I heard there was a developer of a hotel who is interested in building here, but he couldn’t get funding for the project.”

Hindenlang responded, “That’s true. And then there was no market for a hotel (in the Gateway area).”

Business Administrator Frederick Carr spoke up, “There are developers here to present a plan to see if the Council will vote on it.”

Irizarry spoke up, “I have to see what’s best for the City.”

The first person to come up to speak was Attorney Aravind Aithal, who is with the law firm of Bob Smith and Associates. “A hotel is not financially viable for the City. A housing project would be more viable. Retail won’t work. Over the 4 years that we have been presenting our plans to the City. Our plans have been very flexible. The City has certain constraints. Retail and warehouse will be parts of the project. Property owners are paying taxes and cleanups will be made. We have gone back and forth and did due diligence on what was proposed. The City and landowners have been waiting for decades for the property to be developed. Housing was taken off the table because the City didn’t want it. Warehouses will work, but not a hotel. The kind of hotel project you want will not work.”

Councilman Irizarry asked, “What economic rationale do you have that the warehouses will work?”

Aithal then asked for Michael Cahn, who is the regional Vice President of Viridian Partners to come up to answer that question. Cahn stated, “The property has 15 million negative impact already. There’s no demand for retail. Viridian has gone through changes to address what you want. Revenue has to be considered – how much per unit and per square foot. We are still at risk on the retail end. Things are driven by the market. Industrial use will be the best. We are not looking for a PILOT. 500 jobs will be created.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda then spoke up, “I am looking at something to put Perth Amboy on the map – and not warehouses.”

Council President Petrick spoke up, “I’m excited about the retail space and your warehousing designs are beautiful. People have been coming here and have always said that 600 jobs will be created. That number has always been thrown around.”

Cahn explained, “125 jobs would be under retail and the rest are benchmarked for warehousing jobs.”

Aithal spoke up again, “The public health cost are factors, especially with environmental cleanups. Residential components are factors. Monroe Township has residential and retail. We are bound by what the City permits.”

The next question that was asked had to do with resolutions R-372 & R-373 dealing with the lawsuit of Wilda Diaz vs. the Council of the City of Perth Amboy and William A. Petrick, Council President. 

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke up and stated, “It upsets me that we have to do this when it wasn’t necessary. We just want to keep spending money – and it’s both sides.”

Council President Petrick responded, “Because of me being named individually in the lawsuit, two resolutions had to be drawn up.”

Law Director Peter King spoke up and stated, “Litigation is not for money.”

Petrick then spoke up, “It’s costing money.”

King continued, “The DCA said the Mayor were not looking at a financial resource. You could have just used one attorney.”

Pabon spoke up again, “At the end of the day, the taxpayers will pay.”

Councilman Helmin Caba spoke up, “The financial impact is on the taxpayers. The Mayor was denied all of her motions by the court.”

Councilman Irizarry said, “I do not like the language that are in the whereas clauses. It was abusive and confrontational.”

Law Director King spoke up, “Only one bill was presented from the Bernstein law firm.”

Irizarry spoke up again and stated, “I have to agree with Councilman Pabon about spending unnecessary money.”

Petrick then explained, “The amount of $15,000 for each of the resolutions is the limit that can be spent, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to spend $15,000.”

Irizarry spoke up again, “We don’t have the money for this. We have to go through resolutions, get them approved, and the Mayor has to sign off on them.”

King then told the Council, “The bill that the Bernstein law firm submitted was a little over $8000.”

During the public portion, Ken Balut came up to speak. “The lights by the Landings walkway have not worked for months. An owner of one of the Landings units had a leak from her apartment to the apartment below. She received a summons for the leak. It’s Kusnher’s fault for not installing a firestop.” Balut then told the Council that things should not be presented to them until you know about what’s going on beforehand. You didn’t know about the company who proposed building a hotel (in the Gateway area). PARA is not giving you the information. Now I heard that the City had a $2 million check that could be used to offset the taxes. When I was on the Council, we found money that Vas had hidden. The City did some work on a street and some of the asphalt that was used on the street was leaked onto a sidewalk. That should have been cleaned up.”

Councilman Pabon answered the question regarding the lights on the Landings walkway. “I have been talking about those lights for months. I was told the old naval building will be knocked down and it’s connected to those lights.”

Council President Petrick questioned, “Can we stop them from knocking down the building? Can it be historic?”

Law Director King responded, “It’s private property and they have received permission to knock it down. You can take them to court.”

Petrick spoke up again, “The federal government put up the building so it may be historical. I don’t know if it’s deed restricted.”

Councilman Joel Pabon suggested, “We shouldn’t get involved. Do away with the structure so we can get the lights working at the Landings.”

B.A. Carr told Balut, “The only money I can think about is the City received a check for an insurance claim and it would go back into the funds that it came from.”

At that point a gentleman from the insurance company employed by the City came up to speak about the $2 million that Balut had mentioned. He explained that he and his associates went before several court hearings to get back a $2 million claim they felt that was owed to the City. After several court appearances and appeal processes, the final decision was that the City of Perth Amboy was due to be reimbursed that insurance claim which was $2 million which had to go back to the insurance fund.”

Resident Alan Silber came up to speak next. “Is the Council allowed to accept gifts?”

They all answered “No.”

Silber continued, “When it comes to legal bills, you cannot accept gifts – nor can the Mayor. And the Mayor can’t get pro bonos from a lawyer. How much money does it cost if the Mayor can do what she wants? The Mayor said the Council can’t get a lawyer – but she can. Her lawsuit was found to be frivolous. Why have a Council if you are being ignored? You are also paying for work that was already done that you didn’t vote on (R-392-9/19 – Awarding a contract to Topology for general planning services to the City of Perth Amboy for the period covering January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 in an amount not to exceed $17,499.00)

Businessman and Resident David Caba (who is also a realtor) came up next, “Since all 5 Council Members are here, could you tell me when Rector Street will be done?” He then started to talk about some of the closings he did on some of the Kushner units in the last 6 months on Rector Street. “There were 6 closings and each of the properties all of them sold for less than $300,000 each. Yet Kushner bragged about a unit that he sold in Long Branch for $2.7 million. Who is fighting for the Landings property owners?”

Business Administrator Frederick Carr told Caba that they don’t have a start date for the Rector Street road repairs. 

Resident Vince Mackiel came up to speak about R-378-9/19- Authorizing a refund of utility payments made in error to Prologis in the total amount of $79,574.26 and waiving the interest on the account to be paid by Buckeye Partners LP.

Mackiel asked, “How many months is this payment for? Buckeye has disgusting looking tanks. Moving ahead, improving the City is beneficial to the Country, too. You need to go ahead with this Gateway Project.”

B.A. Carr told Mackiel, “The amount to be refunded to Buckeye are for one property on Amboy Avenue and one property on Convery Boulevard. The refund is from this year.”

Vince Mackiel continued, “Prologis is not being helpful to the City.” He stated he would also volunteer to be a part of the Rent Leveling Board.

Petrick told Mackiel he would have to fill out an application.

The Council went into closed session around 6:50 p.m. The Council returned at 7:50 p.m. to begin the Regular Council Meeting. At the beginning of the Meeting, Mayor’s Aide Jeanette Rios brought up members of a jeep club who presented a check to the City to pay for Veteran’s names to be added to the War Memorial on Sadowski Parkway. Rios requested that Councilman Joel Pabon who is a Veteran to come forward and accept the check on behalf of the City. Pabon was very appreciative of the club because he had asked that the jeep club do this fundraiser and they came through.

During the Public Comments on agenda items only, Resident Ken Balut came up first, “It was nice for the Jeep Club to raise money to add names to the wall on Sadowski Parkway.” Balut then referenced R-374 which pertained to the City’s annual audit. He wanted to know why isn’t the Y mentioned in the audit report. “Didn’t the new auditors know that it’s a liability?” He referenced R-392 (paying Topology). “You are paying for work that wasn’t approved. PARA is not telling you everything. You should be aware of everything that is going on with them.” Balut then questioned the overpayment that Buckeye made. “Does the City have to pay Buckeye any interest back?”

Carr said, “Because it’s an overpayment regarding a water bill, there is no interest.”

Balut then questioned Ordinance No. 1 – regarding a payment to an engineering company of $1 million to design a bridge (on Rte. 35). “Looking at the hourly rate to design a bridge. That’s where the cost is.”

Pabon responded, “I remember when a lot of people came here to talk about that bridge.”

B.A. Carr said, “We got a grant for the bridge design and 5 engineering firms applied. We talked to 3 of them and we chose one of the three to come to talk at the next regular Council Meeting. This firm has worked for the City before and New Jersey Transit.”

Council President Petrick asked, “Can we use an old design?”

Carr then explained, “The design had to be specific for that bridge.”

After the ordinances were voted on, Resolutions R-372 thru R- 391 and R-393 thru R-395 and R-397 thru R-405 was moved by Councilman Fernando Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Joel Pabon. For R-392, the Council voted across “No.” For R-372 and R-373 when it came to voting, all the Council Members voted “Yes” except for Councilman Irizarry who voted, “No”. R-396-9/16 was pulled off the agenda at the Caucus Meeting. For R-406-R-407, all the Council Members voted “Yes” except for Councilman Irizarry who voted “No”.

For the Public Portion, Mayor’s Aide Jeanette Rios came up first. She referenced R-406 – Amending the CY 2019 Budget. She questioned, “If “We” meaning herself, the Public Relations Officer, an employee in the Office of Aging, and one Code Enforcement Officer – are we part of the 1% layoff?”

Carr responded, “Yes.”

Rios continued, “There is money. Is it about me or the money?”

Carr responded, “We have the money.”

Rios said, “Then it’s retaliation against me. We had a Mayor’s Aide position before, and this is my livelihood. I volunteered for 7 years in the Police Department and worked for $12 an hour when I was in the Parking Authority. This is shameful.”

Joel Pabon responded, “Has anybody explained the process of how this was decided?”

Rios went on, “These positions have been defunded by the Council.”

Carr then spoke up, “She (Rios) will be placed in another position. Without a layoff, they can’t be bumped.”

Attorney Billy Delgado came up next, “Has the Assistant Prosecutor’s Office been defunded?”

Carr responded, “Yes.”

Delgado continued, “There was no process. I got a call from Law Director King and Business Administrator Carr. The Prosecutor’s Office? I’m astounded. We will see what happens on Wednesday when Court is back in session. 5 Puerto Rican women and 1 Puerto Rican male were defunded. Positions were defunded where there is money. We have the lowest paid Police Department in the County. You (the Council) just want to finger point. What is your plan? There may be a lawsuit pending about this.”

Noelia Colon, who is the Public Relations Officer came up to speak and referenced R-406, “I have been employed with the City since 2009 and I have been recognized by the City and the State for my work. There has been no explanation for me being defunded. Your actions have been unethical and illegal. There is money.”

Carr responded, “There is enough money to fund the 4 positions.”

Council President Petrick then responded, “Prior to this Meeting, there was no money. Now, money was found and we’re using that instead of using some of the surplus money.”

Lissette Martinez who works in the Office of Aging and whose title is also being defunded came up to speak, “Are you telling me you didn’t know about the surplus before tonight?”

Petrick responded, “I knew before tonight.”

Martinez responded, “We know your character. I have 28 years with the City. I went from the Board of Education to here. You (Petrick) don’t care about values or quality. The seniors love me, and I love what I do. I will be in another position, and I will continue to do my job wherever I’ll be. You have daughters.” Then she addressed the Council as a whole, “Some of you have daughters. You may have won the battle, but not the war.”

Resident Junior Iglesia came up to speak, “Your decision affected the community. I try to understand your rationale. Just please explain the way you voted.”

A City Worker from the Office of Human Services came up to speak, “We are doing our best. We will keep being City employees. There are internal fights between you and the Mayor. We do more with less money. I love Perth Amboy. Who will be next? We have to keep working and we have families. I love living by example, but who will be the next target? I feel sorry for my coworkers. I know you were voted in by the people, but God also put you in that position and He doesn’t like ugly.”

Code Enforcement Officer Yvette Rios came up to speak. “I was a former police officer in Puerto Rico, and I worked in drug enforcement. I gave 200% to the City of Perth Amboy. I have a lawsuit regarding retaliation with the federal agency. You are affecting people in the Budapest Area. The Council President can’t vote on any resolutions involving me. I believe this is about me. I saved 3 lives in a fire and I do my job.”

Mayor’s Secretary Margarita Feliciano came to speak about the 4 people, especially the 2 workers in City Hall whose positions were being defunded. She spoke highly of them and what a great work ethic they have and how they helped her when she first started working in the Mayor’s Office. “When they leave, I will be the only one left in that office.”

A Resident who lives on First Street came up to speak, “I’m very sad. We are dealing with problems of the City and we are divided instead of uniting. These 4 women support the community very well.”

Code Enforcement Director Irving Lozada spoke next. “I’m very confused. I was the Mayor’s Aide and it’s impossible to have one person work in the Mayor’s Office. At one time, there used to be 8 Code Enforcement Inspectors. Now, there will only be 4. Defunding those positions will hurt the City.”

Council President Bill Petrick questioned Lozada about there being 8 Code Enforcement Inspectors.

Lozada explained before he took over that position, there were 8 Code Enforcement Inspectors. “I can get the names of the 8 that were there at one time.” 

A Resident from Smith Street came up, “Mr. Petrick, your behavior is very disrespectful.”

Pastor Bernadette Falcon-Lopez of God’s Army Ministry came up to speak, “Have you sat with these individuals to see the work that they do?”

The Council responded, “No.”

Pastor Berny continued, “I have worked with all of them. I was an auditor for a financial firm. When you do an audit, you have to sit with each employee and see what they do. I’m sure any one of you would have those positions (that were defunded) if you became mayor. Unless you do someone’s job, you don’t know what you’re doing. I’m extremely hurt by this. I am praying for you all. If it’s personal, I’m disappointed.”

Resident Gregory Pabon came up next, “Pastor Berny said a lot of the things I intended to say myself. I know the jobs of 3 of the 4 people. This looks political and that these individuals are being targeted. If we have another mayor, will these positions be reinstated? I don’t understand. If there’s money, then why are these positions being refunded? I will work with whoever will be mayor.”

Resident Dorothy Carty-Daniel came up to speak. She read the oath of office that the Members of the Council had to take. “I listened to Councilman Fernando Irizarry’s prayer before the Meeting began. You need to understand clearly that it’s not about you. I see a deficit of communications amongst the Council and you need training regarding this. I’ve taught classes on how people can get along even when they have disagreements. Look at the Woodbridge Council Meetings on TV and how they conduct themselves. Here, it’s like a really bad marriage. I’m not including Ms. Tejeda in this because she just got here. I asked your help in getting better fencing for the Victory Bridge. I want you to consider yourselves as parents of the City and to be more cohesive. Who is going to pick up the slack of the defunded employees? I told Mayor Otlowski when I saw wrongdoings. I told Vas the same things. The City eats their young.”

A City Resident came up who talked about Bill Petrick’s former Facebook posts in the past where he disparaged some ethnic groups and women. “There were no consequences. You could not explain to these women why they were defunded.” She continued, “Councilwoman Tejeda, you are woman and how do feel about the Council President’s remarks that he made about different ethnic groups and disrespecting women?”

Former Councilman Fernando Gonzalez came up next. He thanked the Council for not increasing the budget. “I always voted to decrease the budget. The Mayor should have protected her people. She could have looked at the waste at Public Works. None of these positions should have let go. The Administration has to stay within their means. We waste too much money in the City. People can’t afford the taxes. The Mayor should not be losing the people that she’s losing.”

A Resident who lives on Andrews Street in Spa Springs came up to speak about the Heat Bar on Convery Boulevard, “They have loud music playing, a lot of loitering and people urinating. There’s no parking or any kind of signage on their property.”

B.A. Frederick Carr stated, “I will see what their requirements are for their property and if they are in compliance.”

Councilman Pabon addressed this Resident, “We saw the communication from the residents (affected by that business).” The communications submitted by the residents of Andrews Drive – Communication No. 23 – Residents of Andrews Drive submitted a petition containing 18 signatures asking the City to consider instituting resident parking signs to keep the patrons of Heat Sports Bar and Lounge from parking on their street.”

Resident Iris Rodriguez came up next. “I live by the Richardson School. In the past, they allowed us to park our cars in their parking lot (when school was not in session). Recently, when I had my car parked there, the gate was closed and there was a note left on my car. It said that residents can no longer park there. There are two bars by me. We need residential parking stickers. Residents on Fayette Street and Watson Avenue are forgotten when it comes to parking. I also think that Billy (Delgado) is doing a good job as Prosecutor.”

Resident Tashi Vasquez came up next. “I’m asking for clarification on the people whose title were defunded. So, will they will not get paid for their current titles?”

Carr responded, “You can defund a position and the Council can transfer funds from a line item. Long term employees will be moved to a different position. They will still work currently in the Mayor’s Office, but funded by another checkbook.”

Council Comments:

Councilman Helmin Caba said, “It’s always about the money. It’s unfortunate that 4 positions were defunded. We are in a financial mess. We get a lot of grants, especially with the school system. I am up for reelection next year. Originally, it was supposed to be a 5.4% increase for the taxes. A lot of longtime residents are leaving because they can’t afford the high taxes. We just approved 6 new police hirees. It’s going to hurt the City to eliminate those 4 positions, but not as much as a deficit in the Police, Fire, or Code Enforcement Departments. If we are more conservative in the last few years, those 4 positions could have been saved. It’s nothing personal. A majority of my friends are Puerto Rican and female.”

Councilman Fernando Irizarry remarked, “I voted against the budget, because it was not physically sound and the way the surplus was used.”

Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I question why a particular person did not question saving these positions. I told the Mayor I needed one person eliminated from her office and one person eliminated from Business Administrator Carr’s office. We have a $200 million deficit. I would have defended each one of those positions. If it was me, I would have found a way to keep those positions. I want to thank those who stayed here until the end of the Meeting. It’s a negotiation thing. There is a lack of communication with us, too. We are losing revenue every day because of people not doing their job. When we went to the DCA, they said they were concerned without our revenue.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda spoke next, “I’m not here to talk about specific gender or race. I’m here for the whole community. I did not get cooperation with the Administration. I’m very hurt by what was said, especially when it was said that it was personal. Taxes are high and that’s why people don’t’ buy homes here. It’s not about gender or race.”

Council President Bill Petrick spoke, “I’m not going to rehash the ugly things that were said here tonight. The budget was passed with the taxpayers in mind. There is only 29% homeownership in Perth Amboy. Rents have to be raised because of that. Extra money was found because of people leaving. Trenton insisted we fund certain items, including union that are still in negotiations. Those people (whose positions were defunded) will have bumping rights. 

The Meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.