By Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – The meeting started at 4:38 p.m. Councilman Fernando Irizarry spoke first regarding Ordinance No. 2. – Special Event permit.
“At the last meeting, we requested that changes be made to this ordinance regarding the timeframe of people presenting their events for approval, etc.”
City Clerk Victoria Kupsch said, “The changes were made.”
Council President Petrick requested, “We need to have the present ordinance that we made changes on.”
Irizarry continued, “My email is not working again.”
Kupsch said that he needed to bring in his IPad for this problem to be fixed.
There was then a long discussion on Ordinance (First Reading – No public discussion) RE: Creating a Perth Amboy Citizens Public Safety Advisory Council.
Petrick started the conversation, “We (the council), the police, the FOP, and the PBA had no real involvement. We want openness, responsibility, and accountability.”
Police Chief Roman McKeon came up to speak, “I’m not saying that this advisory council is a negative, but we all need to be together in those meetings.”
Petrick then advised the council, “Maybe we need to table (this ordinance).” He also suggested that it should be changed to an Advisory Board or Committee and not use the word, “council”.
Irizarry agreed, “It should be changed to an advisory board.
Petrick also was concerned about the number of people that could be on this advisory committee and the ages of the people to be on it.
Law Director Peter King suggested that the ages start anywhere from 18 to 20 years old.
McKeon continued, “I have a problem. I had very brief discussions with Bob McCoy (From JEDI) and Donna Stewart (Perth Amboy Chapter of NAACP). I also agree that having somebody on this advisory group from the ages of 15 to 20 will be too young. The original age group are not even old enough to live on their own.”
Police Chief McKeon also mentioned, “They were one of the first departments to have bodycams, and we have an open-door policy. A lot of discussions were done behind my back. They left me out of a lot of discussions, and I felt that I was being disrespected. Harry Pozycki (Founder of the Citizen’s Campaign and one of the spear-headers of this group) and I agree with the residents on having large participation.”
Harry Pozycki then raised his hand for permission to speak, “We came here six months ago to meet with the police chief and mayor. You (the council) have to adopt this – not the police chief or the mayor. Take your responsibility to lead. You (the council) could have met with the FOP and the PBA. You can save the lives of the police and also save money. I am asking you to introduce this ordinance.”
Petrick responded, “It’s very tricky. We need to fully flush it out. Let’s get it right the first time. These are very legitimate concerns, but there has not been enough input from the police department. Why are you pushing for this to be passed in December?”
Pozycki answered, “We have offered you this proposal in good faith and are bringing you fact-based solutions. You are turning away our good youth who want to be involved and want to help. All of your questions were answered at previous meetings (when we were here).”
Petrick talked again, “We respect our authority, but I’m hearing from the police chief and the FOP that you never really met with them. I don’t think this advisory committee is ready.”
PBA Local 13 President John Marcinko came up to speak, “We have put down several areas that the PBA had a voice and responsibilities for.”
Councilman Irizarry then asked, “Did the PBA Local 13 agree with the ordinance presented by the Public Safety Advisory Group?”
Marcinko said, “We could not be in the room when the group were voting on certain items. I don’t have the same ordinance that the council has in their hands.” Marcinko then handed a copy of the ordinance that he had for the council to look at. They all agreed what he had, and they had was different.
McKeon spoke up again, “There is a miscommunication and we (the police) need to be in the same room when the public safety council were having their discussions.”
Councilman Joel Pabon then spoke up, “I remember when we had the peaceful protest in Perth Amboy. This has been going on for six months. This group also said that the Police Chief and the Mayor were involved (in discussions) and they weren’t. Only the PBA was involved, and there is too much pointing of fingers going on. What is the problem? Something needs to be put in place. I hope everybody reads this ordinance.”
Petrick continued, “The copy of the ordinance that the PBA have, and our copy are different. We need to be on the same page.”
Pozycki continued, “We met with the PBA’s attorney who drew up the documents. There was no real change in the substance, except maybe in parts of the language. It is consistent to what the PBA has.”
Irizarry then said, “The citizen complaint review board is not part of the ordinance presented that we have. What we have may be the final draft.”
Petrick then said, “We all should have the same draft.”
Councilwoman Tejeda voiced some concerns, “I can see the urgency, but let’s take the time to meet so we are on the right path. Get everyone who needs to be involved to be here. We (the council) need to be a part of the process and the Council President should be at those meetings.”
Petrick then turned to Councilman Irizarry, “I nominate you to be on this advisory board. You’ll have plenty of time now (that you no longer will be on the council). You can also take notes at the meeting.”
Irizarry then asked, “Are you going to pay me?”
Petrick continued, “This is important for the community, but I hope it’s not adversarial.”
Pabon spoke up, “At first, the PBA was not even part of the committee.”
Petrick then suggested, “We need to have the police department’s point of view. It needs to go back so this committee so they can meet with the PBA and the FOP.” He then asked that Ordinance No. 1 (first reading) be tabled. Councilwoman Tejeda seconded the motion.
City Clerk Victoria Kupsch said she would have it removed for the next meeting.
Councilman Helmin Caba had a couple of thoughts regarding this ordinance, “This has been going on too long and it was presented to us 6 months ago. I talked to many people about this public safety ordinance and each person had a different view. Neither the police nor the mayor was present at the council meetings to discuss this. We will be the first city in the state to have this.”
Pozycki then corrected Councilman Caba stating that Orange Township has a Citizen’s Public Safety Council.
Caba then said, “We will be the first city in Middlesex County to have this.”
After that discussion, DPW Director Frank Hoffman came up to discuss R-502 – Inserting $7,439 into the revenue in the CY: 2020 budget for the Middlesex County Recycling Subsidy Grant.
He explained, “The reason why we got this money is because we are not in the Countywide Collection Program. It cost us about $45,000 a month for recycling.”
For Resolution R-503-12/20 – Authorizing cancellation of current appropriations, balances, and the water/wastewater utility fund.
CFO/Comptroller Jill Goldy came up to explain R-503, “We have a running deficit. The governor said we can’t put residential accounts into our tax sales. We are moving some of the unpaid bills to close out some of the $300,000 of unpaid bills. We are not allowed to shut off residential water. Commercial buildings are different.”
Councilman Irizarry then spoke up, “People don’t realize that after the executive orders are lifted, your rent and other bills will have to be paid.”
Law Director King then clarified, “The landlord will have the liens on their properties.”
There next was a discussion regarding R-528 – 12/20 – Adopting official newspapers for legal notices.
Law Director King said, “This will be done in the reorganization meeting in January.”
Petrick disagreed, “We need to do this now.”
City Clerk Kupsch said, “We always have done this in December in past years.”
There was also a discussion R-532-12/20 – Setting the 2021 Council Meeting dates, times, and location.
Kupsch said, “This was also always done in December.”
Councilman Helmin Caba then brought up the question about fluoride in our water, “Even though there are positives (in reference how it works in regards to dental hygiene), but it is not a valid enough reason, especially if no one else in the county is doing it. We need to remove the fluoride from our water.”
King said, “I had asked Luis Perez-Jimenez (Director of Operations at the USA-PA (Utility Service Associates Perth Amboy) Middlesex Water Company) to look into this.”
Perez-Jimenez said, “We would have to modify the permits.”
Irizarry then spoke up, “I’ve heard no complaints about the fluoride in the water. I think it’s good to have healthy teeth and a lot of people can’t afford to go to the dentist.”
Councilwoman Tejeda then asked about the pros and cons of fluoride in the water.
Perez-Jimenez, “The DEP gives the limits on how much fluoride that we can have, and we have a 0.7 level which has no negative health effects.”
Petrick then spoke up and stated, “I heard that fluoride is good for the development of teeth in younger people. Just to make it clear, you still need to brush and floss your teeth every day.”
Caba continued, “We also shower and bathe in this water.”
Petrick continued, “What is the immediate and lifetime exposure to fluoride?”
Irizarry answered this question, “We were told a person would have to drink 2 liters of the water every day for 70 years to harm them.”
Perez-Jimenez then said, “Fluoride is a corrosive material.”
King suggested that straw poll be taken of the councilmembers if we should remove fluoride from the water. Pabon stated that the council doesn’t have enough information to make a decision right now.
King asked Perez-Jimenez if there was any financial savings to remove the fluoride, “It’s about $10,000 a year to add the fluoride.”
Petrick also suggested that they be given the pros and cons of fluoride.
King then asked, “Will there be any upgrades needed to remove the fluoride?”
Perez-Jimenez again stated, “There are no harmful effects, and the fluoride is added after the water filtration process is completed.”
Tejeda also agreed that more information is needed in this decision.
There was a discussion regarding R-408-12/20 – An agreement with Bayshore Single Stream Solutions, LLC for marketing and recycling of single stream recyclable materials.
Hoffman explained, “This is an award-winning company, and they adhere to high ethical standards.”
Irizarry was concerned, “This company says that they will not accept coat hangers as recyclables.”
Hoffman explained, “It’s the wooden ones that would not be accepted and we have sent out mailers regarding recyclable materials (and how they should be disposed of). This company may do dual streaming in the future. We used to make a larger profit on recyclables in the past.”
There was a question to as why pots and pans are not recyclable. Hoffman explained that anything that newer appliances have requiring an outlet for them to operate would not be acceptable. “There is a way for them to be disposed of (bring them down to the Department of Public Works to determine where to dispose of them).”
OEM Director Larry Cattano came up to explain R-511-12/20 – For the Perth Amboy Police Department to participate in the 1033 Program to request and acquire excess Department of Defense Equipment.
Cattano explained that this would be under the category of Code No. A which would be Regular and Non-Military Supplies that you can purchase in a regular store. “For us to get weapons or any heavy-duty artillery, we would have to get council’s approval before acquiring it.”
Cattano was then asked if the police department was aware that Seabra’s liquor license had been suspended. Cattano explained, “We should get the notice from the city clerk’s office to go to Seabra’s Armory with a notice in our hands so they can hand over their liquor license to us.”
Law Director King then spoke up, “Seabra’s cannot serve liquor – only food – and their liquor license was supposed to be turned over to the city on 12/6/20.”
Victoria Kupsch had a comment to make about the council’s question about changing the meeting time. “You can do this at Wednesday’s (12/9/20) meeting.”
It was decided that R-528 – adopting legal newspapers for official notices and R-532 – setting the 2021 council meeting dates, times, and locations would be reworded for Wednesday’s meeting. R-529 thru
R-531 – appointing members to the Planning Board and Board of Adjustments would be voided. These appointments will be done at a January Meeting.
R-535 – 12/20 – Awarding a contract to Turn-Key Technologies for the purchase of parking garage cameras in an amount not to exceed the sum of $22,619.04
R-535 was discussed by Council President Petrick. The old cameras we have can’t cover the whole parking area (in the Jefferson Street Parking Garage).
Petrick then explained R-536-12/20 – A public hearing and adoption of the 2021 budget for the Perth Amboy Business Improvement District (BID) for January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021. had to be removed because they didn’t have a meeting.
Public Portion:
Resident Vince Mackiel was the first to speak, “The city council should approve the Public Safety Committee. Martin Luther King, Jr. always advocated for better housing and community involvement. “We need something in place. We are faced with healthcare issues. We need a public safety committee to discuss housing, healthcare issues, and the economic state of the 10% of black people to help them. More needs to be done. They renamed Madison Avenue “Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. It’s only symbolic.”
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up next, “Why was the BID Meeting cancelled? Could it be because they may not have followed the proper procedures? Sometimes the worst vice is advice. We are in the middle of a pandemic. We have a lot of federal police agencies that discuss police activities and training. Take time to look at this ordinance (Citizen’s Advisory Group). They are trying to promote a certain political platform and want to exclude the police in some of their discussions. There should be a committee to describe their function.” He then disputed the comment made earlier by Perez-Jimenez. “Fluoride costs $1.10 per resident per year. You would save $100,000 to eliminate fluoride.”
Alan Silber came up next. He referenced R-539 – Commending B.J. Bienvenido Torres and Caroline Pozycki Torres for the contributions they have made to our waterfront community. “Everyone should abstain from voting to give an award to someone who is presently running for office.” Silber then asked, “What are the duties and qualifications of a Library Director? We have not had a certified Director for close to 5 years. In 2017, there’s a posting for the job for Library Director and they needed to have a license. Wilda does whatever she wants, even when it comes to interim appointments.” He then turned his attention to the Code Enforcement Department and talked about a house at 395 Rector Street which is part of the Landings property and in terrible condition. “It was bought in 2016 and this house is boarded up. Has Code Enforcement looked into this? J.B. Vas would come to meetings and talk about the housing in Perth Amboy and he lives close to that address. Did he ever talk about this? Were any citations or summonses issued at this address? Is their any list of vacant homes?” He then questioned, “There are many dead fish at the marina, and it can’t be because of the fluoride.”
Cattano came up to answer the question regarding the fish. “We are trying to determine if it is because of algae or lack of oxygen.” He also wanted to let the council know that an officer did go to the Armory and confiscated their liquor license.
Councilman Fernando Irizarry questioned, “Why was the ordinance that I asked to be put on the agenda regarding marijuana not here? Is it possible to have a special meeting? If we don’t have time to get a special meeting in December, I ask that it be put on the agenda in January.”
Council President Bill Petrick promised Irizarry that he would make sure this was done. “I have two more years to be on the council.”
King then told Irizarry there was something in place regarding the marijuana ordinance.
Code Enforcement Irving Lozada came up and addressed some of the Landings Properties, “There were 7 that were issued summonses, but you have to remember that the courts are still closed.”
Petrick then stated that Covid only happened recently. These seven properties are 12 years old.”
Lozada said, “I was not an employee, then.”
Petrick questioned, “Can these proceedings be done through Zoom?”
Lozada responded, “We can’t control court dates if the lawyers have to reschedule. Zoom is a lot more difficult. Documents have to be loaded also.”
Councilman Joel Pabon spoke up, “I have been complaining about the property at 395 Rector St. for a year. The old Armory building was knocked down. We need to put these properties up for sale. Let Kushner sue us. The Landings residents deserve better and we can’t give Kushner any more breaks. They should knock that building down at 395 Rector. Kushner knocked down the old Armory to save on taxes.”
Petrick then suggested, “We should let the appropriate departments see if they are unsafe structures.”
The meeting went into closed session at 7:00 p.m. with no further action to be taken.
