6/24/20 Caucus & Council Meetings via Teleconference

By: Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – There was a brief discussion involving Ordinance No. 1 entitled “Administration of Government RE: Division of Engineering.” Council President Bill Petrick wanted to make sure that the applicant also must be a professional planner. 

Business Administrator Frederick Carr assured Petrick that this requirement was added per the council’s request.

Petrick then asked, “Do we have a guideline to go on?”

At this point, City Clerk Victoria Kupsch stated, “This position may have to be re-advertised and reintroduced because of the added requirement (must be a professional planner).”

The next discussion involved Ordinance No. 2 – Establishing protective measures during a local state of emergency. Carr explained, “We (the city) can cite someone according to our local ordinance and not have to depend on the state requirement.”

Petrick disagreed stating, “I can’t remember a time when the state was not involved in any of our emergencies.”

OEM Coordinator Larry Cattano was on the line and explained, “Not everything that happens locally will affect the state (or other municipalities). This (the COVID-19 epidemic) is the longest emergency we ever had and has been unique to our city.”

There was a brief discussion involving R-217 – the purchasing of nets from Storm Trap not to exceed $25,900. And R-218 – the rehabilitation of well No. 9 for $18,357 with a contract from AC Schultes and R-219 – A contract with A&D Industrial Pump Repair for the replacement of Well No. 5 pump, motor and valves in the amount not to exceed $37,000.

B.A. Carr explained that they all had to do with our storm sewers. “There was a temporary connection to the discharge pipe. R-219 did go out for a bid.”

Carr then explained R-220 – 6/20 – An agreement with Cakharyayev Rashvi & Marina for use of property at 86 Smith Street for his Perth Amboy Mural project. “There was an application for the city to accept a mural to be placed there. The property owner was okay with the use of their property (for this project). The Arts Council will have to approve the mural. Once they do that, it has to go over to the council for their approval.”

Councilman Fernando Irizarry had a question regarding R-221 – A contract with city officials and the Jewish Renaissance RE: COVID-19 response in the amount of $125,000.

R-221 is in the annual action plan for the Jewish Renaissances Medical Center to assist i n the construction of an infections disease negative pressure suite/wing within its existing facility to include 8 exam rooms dedicated for COVID-19 testing and treatment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Information provided in the backup material)

Irizarry was concerned as to  what was going to happen after the pandemic is over. “What will any leftover supplies and ventilators be used for?”

Petrick answered, “I think that this ordinance will be calling for the medical staff at the Jewish Renaissance to be administrating vaccines.”

B.A. Carr then spoke up, “This resolution involves cases of coronavirus patients plus other infectious diseases.

Tashi Vazquez, Assistant Director of City’s Office of Economic & Community Development was on the conference call and explained that they will be isolating individuals with COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. “There will be a rehabilitation facility for treatments and other eligible activities. We are following the recommendation given to us by HUD (Housing and Urban Development). In addition, $388,023.00 was also received and approved by the council in April. This resolution also included grants for small businesses and PPE equipment. This is money from HUD and the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) and we came before the council to approve the contract. The summer program money also comes from HUD.”

Petrick then questioned if any of this money would be allocated for administrative fees, “What would be the dollar amount?”

Vazquez responded, “Around 16% of the monies received will be used to offset some of the administrative fees. There will be testing for COVID-19, but not treatment of COVID-19.”

R-223 – A memorandum of agreement between Middlesex County College and the City of Perth Amboy for the Success Bound Program was presented by Angelo Abreu who is Director Middlesex County College. He explained that this program is to engage our youth at Middlesex County College in a partnership and provides internships for our students in Perth Amboy. “I want to thank you (the council) for giving this program a chance. This program will be done virtually and the students participating will get college credit. 40 students are on board and recruitment was through the city’s schools. They will be having enriching summer ahead of them.”

Dianne Roman from Social Services then spoke up to give more detailed information about this program, “We started to promote the Success Bound Program in December. I worked with the Success Bound Coordinator and we talked to students from the high school, charter schools and vocational schools about the opportunities that this program will give them. Students with a grade point average from 2.0 all the way up to 4.0 qualify for this program and they will be working with mentors. After completing their internships, they will be getting letters of recommendation (for any careers they choose to pursue).”

After Roman spoke, Councilman Irizarry told the council he wanted to add a late-starter resolution R-228 – RE: Payment of services to Stateside Affairs. 

Petrick questioned if the council received an insurance form from this company. 

B.A. Carr answered, “We had to chase them down to get their contract and they did not have an insurance policy. This company went through an RFQ. We vetted them, but the council took no action. They did the work (public relations) and need to get paid. They were there to get out the word to the residents.”

Petrick then responded, “They were there to help get out the word to help the mayor through an ad. The public should not be funding an ad for the mayor. There was a huge picture of the mayor with little information (regarding COVID-19).”

Law Director Peter King then asked, “Did the ad say: “Vote for Me”?”

Petrick responded, “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

King then shot back and stated, “I just want you to know that I have your back.”

Councilman Helmin Caba then joined in, “When did Stateside get hired?”

Carr explained that it was December 2019 and they started a campaign to get out information about the COVID-19. “The fact is that this company did a lot of work getting information out to the residents. There are a lot of employees in city hall that were working in departments that they normally don’t work in.”

Petrick still was not satisfied, “We are going around in circles. This company was not hired by the council and they should not have done the work.”

Councilman Irizarry then stated, “There was a resolution in place to hire them.”

Law Director King then explained why their hiring did not have to go before the council. He stated that if a contract us below a certain number ($17,005), they could be hired without the council’s consent. “Any additional monies past that amount, that contractor under the RFQ Qualifications will not receive any excess money.”

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke up next, “These people have to get paid, but I’m confused. None of this makes any sense and we should have been involved in this a long time ago. We don’t know what’s going on and if we still need their services.”

King spoke up and reminded the council, “This (hiring of this company) was put on the agenda 4 times and taken off the agenda 4 times by the council.”

Councilman Caba wanted clarification on the dollar amount where a contractor can be hired without the council’s approval.

Carr explained, “If the money of the contract is under $17,005, the council’s approval is not needed. If it goes above that amount, we are not obligated to pay the additional money.”

Pabon spoke up again and stated, “A email was sent to the council after this company had already started working. Everything will fall back into our laps.”

Irizarry then cautioned the council, “The city needs a public information officer. There are 3 of us running for mayor on the council right now, and whoever gets in is are going to need a public information officer. The mayor cannot do all this work herself. Let’s just vote on this up or down.”

Petrick said this will be done at the next meeting (the council meeting after the caucus later tonight).

Councilman Pabon then questioned if this company will be staying on. “We have to make the decision if these people (who are now doing the publications work) or it will be someone else coming in to do this job.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda spoke up stating she had talked to Business Administrator Carr over the telephone and asked if we needed a public information officer regarding the COVID-19 crisis. “My understanding was they were getting someone to do the job not knowing they had someone already in place doing it. The council needs to have input before any hiring is done. We may be in a position that we have no choice but to pay these people.”

After Tejeda spoke, Tashi Vazquez came on the line to say Jack O’Leary, The CEO of the Jewish Renaissance was on the phone and he wanted to give a more detailed explanation of R-221. He first thanked the council for giving him this opportunity to go over what this unit will provide for Perth Amboy residents. “This is an infectious disease unit. So far, 4000 tests have been administered to Perth Amboy Residents and 45 tests were completed today. This unit also has a Map Program and can also handle substance abuse cases. There will also be a zero negative pressure unit which will protect doctors or any medical personnel when treating patients with COVID-19 symptoms or any other infectious diseases. Included will be telemedicine where we can monitor and advise patients at home and see if they may need hospitalization. It’s a way to monitor their health from the beginning to the end of treatment. Perth Amboy is a very walkable city. Most of the residents walk to our facility which increases them getting proper treatment. We also have 2 buses parked outside our facility for testing.”

Public Portion: 

Resident Vince Mackiel was the first to speak. His main concern had to do with R-218 and R-219 (Runyan Water System). He wanted to know how much water the city gets from the Runyan well. 

Council President Petrick stated, “All of it, but in an emergency situation, we can purchase water from the Middlesex Water Company.”

Mackiel said, “I understand we will be getting better water with rehabilitation and replacement of some of the parts stated in the 2 resolutions, but will our industries also be getting water from the same well? How much good will it be for drinking if the industries will be using the same water as a resident?”

Petrick responded to Mackiel, “If they (the industries) are hooked up to the same system as the residents, will they be getting the same water?”

Mackiel concluded his comments by stating, “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci (NIAID Director) said in the beginning of 2021, a vaccine will be available (to combat COVID-19). We have to be prepared to use large facilities which handle the large amount of people who will be coming into the city for vaccinations. We also have the Jewish Renaissance.” He then asked for an up to date account of how many cases and deaths in Perth Amboy, statewide, and in the county regarding COVID-19.

Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke next and cautioned the council that they need to monitor the bills going for legal services which amounts to between $20,000 – $42,000 a month which is quite a lot. She questioned 2 line items in the budget, one for pizza which was under mutual aid and the other under equipment and supplies. She had a concern about an item which was under various capital improvements for Hudson County Auto. “Under Code Enforcement, there was an item called “Nuisance Maintenance”. There was an invoice which had no name attached to it. This is an abuse of due process.”

Petrick responded, “Liens were placed on some of these properties. There is always a Block and Lot number attached. The tax collector would have the full information.”

Carr then responded, “Nuisance Liens are attached to properties, some of which are vacant lots which habitually have the same violations. There is no pizza line in the budget. As far as the item “Hudson County Auto,” it was a truck that was purchased by one of the city departments, and it was authorized by the council.”

Resident Justin Ross spoke next. He was concerned about the quality of life, “Many houses are in disarray and there is trash thrown about. I see there are 6 properties on the agenda which have tax liens for cleanups. This is a chronic issue. I reached out to the police, code enforcement and the parking utility. They all used the excuse that everything is due to COVID-19. Why are parking infractions not being enforced? There are safety issues with speeding on residential streets, loud noise, loud music, and social distancing (not being taken seriously). Of all the city departments that I have called, the best response has come from code enforcement. The police are not able to handle all the calls, and the quality of life is declining. During these conference calls, I can only catch 25% of what Mr. Carr says. I sent a letter resigning from the Library Board of Trustees and I still have not gotten a response (to make sure that the resignation was acknowledged). I even reached out to the mayor.”

Carr responded, “The parking utility is only working part-time and only certain parking situations are being ticketed. The police will handle concerns involving residential parking complaints. With COVID-19, a lot of people are worried about opening their doors to anyone.”

Fire Chief Ed Mullen came up and talked about problems the city is having right now regarding the quality of life. “Fireworks are a major issue all over the country. Fireworks shot in the air are illegal. 4 fires were started last July 4^th from illegal fireworks.”

Resident Jeremy Baratta spoke next. He was beside himself regarding the Jewish Renaissance and the money they were getting regarding the negative pressure unit which costs $125,000. “Why would they be handling substance abuse cases when this is already handled by our regular hospital? This is not needed.” He then questioned the budget for the planning and zoning board members. “Will they be getting any training? There should be no money for PARA. Stateside Affairs (which is handling the public relations for the city) are fundraisers and media consultants for Wilda. There is a conflict of interest.” He then addressed Councilman Irizarry and stated, “There is a conflict of interest since you were on her (the mayor’s) team (in 2016). When the bid for a public relations team was submitted, there were 2 RFP’s (Request for Proposals). At the time, COVID-19 was not mentioned. Wilda has enough people in her office to pick up the slack. The other firm (who had been doing press releases) had more experience and they cost less.”

The caucus meeting concluded in 6:57 p.m. The council then went into closed session.

The regular council meeting started at 8:24 p.m.

The first order of business was a hearing of a citizen, which was Jeremy Baratta of J. Baratta Industries regarding OECD Grants. Jeremy Baratta spoke about the business grants due to the coronavirus. He stated, “On the flyer was a number for Tashi Vazquez who would answer any questions (regarding the grant money). I emailed questions involving the advertising of the grants. That was on June 9^th. I emailed again on June 16^th and copied the emails to others in the city. I’m still waiting for answers to these emails. I question the exact amount of the grants and how many businesses they expect to help. All grant money is voted on and approved by the council. Is the council going to vote on this before any money is awarded? I just want to start a discussion about the criteria to getting any money and how it would be distributed. Look through the application process. Questions need to be answered by the administration and is there a way for you (the council) to protect this money? I am entitled as a taxpayer to get answers in writing.”

B.A. Carr stated he would get written responses to Baratta’s questions.

Resident Jeremy Baratta questioned Ordinance No. 2 – Protective measures during a local state of emergency. “Is there such a thing as a municipal state of emergency? New Jersey is a pre-exemption state. There is always a civilian in the path of the police. They (civilians) are given an oversight over state laws. The OEM Director has the authority to vote this (ordinance) down.”

Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke next. She also wanted to address this ordinance, “What about people who travel during certain times? Is this ordinance new?”

Council President Petrick responded, “It’s new.” He then gave an example, “Such as when Superstorm Sandy hit Perth Amboy. People who lived down by the Waterfront had certain restrictions as to when they could go home to retrieve personal items. They were under OEM directives.”

Hubberman then stated, “This ordinance is too general. We need parameters during the state of emergency.”

OEM Director Larry Cattano addressed Hubberman’s concerns and stated a Title 40 Directive which would include the duties of an Emergency Management Coordinator. “This will affect local resident’s health and safety needs. There is a larger scale of outside help if needed. Sometimes a local state of emergency does not rise to the level of state statute. This may only affect what local residents may need. Some people ignore orders. Not every municipality will have the same issues.”

Public Comments on Agenda Items Only:

Resident Jeremy Baratta spoke first. He then brought up the issue involving Stateside Company who has been doing PR work for the city regarding the coronavirus. “They are not insured, and they don’t have the required workers compensation insurance. They are not a legitimate business nor legitimate public contractors.”

Sharon Hubberman came up to speak next. She referenced R-227-6/20 – Urging the legislature to oppose the governor’s defunding of the Homestead Benefit and Senior Freeze Programs. “The Homestead Benefit should be defunded, and Governor Murphy should not hold these funds. Approve this resolution.” She then questioned the salary guide, specifically mentioning the Superintendent of Recreation, and the Superintendent of Maintenance. She also questioned the amount of $7,500 for a postage machine and additional $7,500 for postage and miscellaneous expense. “How was money spent and how are they placed in the miscellaneous expense column?”

R-188 then wasv opened up for discussion. A public hearing on amendments to CY:2020 Budget. 

Jeremy Baratta spoke first. He questioned items dealing with the Planning and Zoning Board. He asked the council if they were aware of a fender-bender that occurred recently. “An ordinance needs to be introduced to account for the need to have fiscal control. There is no accountability and you have to make sure we get what we paid for. There needs to be a parity between the Zoning and Planning Boards. Is any city money going to PARA?”

Council President Petrick responded, “No.”

Sharon Hubberman came up next to speak about the budget. She questioned the increase of $82,000.

Petrick responded, “It’s in case, we (the council) need to hire paraprofessionals. In the police department, there was a decrease in the FOP and the PBA. There was no adjustment for the Chief of Police.

When it came to voting, Ordinance No. 2 (state of emergency) was moved by Irizarry and seconded by Pabon. Ordinance No. 1 First Reading – no Public Discussion – (establishing a schedule of salaries and salary ranges for management and non-union) was moved by Irizarry and seconded by Caba. For the consent agenda, R-203 (adopting statewide 2020 Budget as amended) was moved by Irizarry. R-204 (Authorizing emergency temporary appropriations to extend the CY: 2020 Temporary Budget in the amount of $4,931,927.21 was removed. For the consent agenda, R-205 thru R-227 was moved by Irizarry and seconded by Pabon. R-228 was added to the agenda per discussions during the closed session. This was regarding approving payment to Stateside for services rendered.  It was unanimously added to the agenda. Then they voted to approve payment for around $30,000 total to Stateside Affairs. It was moved by Irizarry and seconded by Joel Pabon. When it came time to vote, Helmin Caba abstained. Council President Bill Petrick voted, “No.” Pabon, Tejeda, and Irizarry voted, “yes”. Resolution passes.

Public Portion:

Market Street Resident Hector Gonzalez spoke first. He mentioned the fire that occurred on May 2^nd, 2020 on Madison Avenue. He stated the cleanup of this property was not being done properly. “This house is over 130 years old and I believe there is lead paint inside the structure.”

Council President Bill Petrick then added, “There could also be asbestos. People could throw things out of windows into a dumpster. Code Enforcement should be involved and there also should be a demolition permit. The State DEP should be involved. It’s like a Third World operation that should have been shut down from day one.”

Gonzalez continued, “Workers are not wearing masks and I’m having asthma attacks. It is like a Third World Country.”

Code Enforcement Director Irving Lozada came on the line and requested the address of the structure that is being worked on. 

Gonzalez stated, “This structure is four feet from my property, and I don’t know if they have a permit (to do any work on this building).”

Lozada then said, “The owners are waiting for insurance.” He asked for Gonzalez’s phone number and stated he would follow up on the situation the next morning.”

Petrick spoke up again and stated, “There is a possibility of lead, dust, and asbestos. There are state laws on the books, and this is not being followed.”

Gonzalez said, “There could be long term health affects (for the workers and the residents in the surrounding area).”

Resident Jeremy Baratta then came up to speak. Baratta thanked Council President Petrick for voting his conscience (regarding payment to Stateside Affairs for public relations work). “The mayor keeps hiring people not qualified, then the council votes to cover up what she does. I’m beside myself. This is another shell company that changes their name and you (the council) keep falling for it. I’m not letting this go.” Baratta then questioned if the council has to go to any classes (pertaining to their duties).

Petrick responded, “There is an ethics class that the council has to go to through the DCA (Department of Community Affairs).”

Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke next. She asked when will the council meetings be held indoors. “The clarity and transmission are very poor during these teleconference meetings.” She continued, “The governor lifted some restrictions and we could be seated inside buildings. “I couldn’t hear what Business Administrator Frederick Carr was saying most of the time. Look for alternative ways to hold meetings.”

Resident Vince Mackiel came up and referenced the COVID-19 crisis. “I have my service vaccination forms and they list all of my shots I’ve received. We have many people in the city that have been exposed, and many have not been tested. Don’t fear inoculations. 40% of people are asymptomatic and they probably have had those symptoms anywhere from 2 to 3 months.”

Council Comments:

Councilman Helmin Caba asked, “When the parking meters be operational?”

Carr explained that July 6th will be when the city starts enforcing the parking meters.

Council President Petrick suggested that the high school can  be used for a council meeting.

Councilman Fernando Irizarry had no comments.

Councilman Joel Pabon commented that the Board of Education is waiting for the decision regarding what will be done with the Water’s Stadium Entrance (regarding the historic façade – to replace or restore it). “The wave parade for the graduation ceremony was very interesting. There were more people in that parade than I’ve seen in a long time. I want to thank all the companies who contributed (to make the parade possible). Be safe. Be careful, but don’t be completely isolated.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda congratulated the Board of Education for doing a good job. “I was touched to see all the graduates who were humble and appreciative (of what was done in their honor).” She then asked, “When will protective fencing go up in Washington Park?”

Business Administrator Carr replied, “After the sewer line connections are completed in that area.”

Council President William Petrick thanked all who called in for their patience and participation in the meeting. 

At the last minute, Councilman Fernando Irizarry wished everyone a Happy Fourth of July! Council President Bill Petrick concluded the meeting with the same sentiment. “Happy Fourth of July!” The meeting ended at 9:45 p.m.