Perth Amboy Caucus

4/12/21 Caucus

By: Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – Councilwoman Rose Morales had a question regarding Ordinance No. 1 (First Reading) – Vehicles and Traffic RE: Loading Zone at 35 Washington Street (Med Apparel/Unitex Textile Rental)

She explained, “I went to this site and this is county property.”

Deputy Police Chief Larry Cattano came up and said, “This location is east of Rector Street. I don’t know if a truck would fit into that loading zone that they are requesting.”

Council President Petrick spoke up, “It is super dangerous, and trucks are halfway in the street.”

Both Petrick and Morales agreed when the new park opens up it would be dangerous, and the location has been dangerous for years. 

Petrick then continued, “The previous administration allowed this to happen.”

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke up and said, “I was surprised that the neighbors never complained (about trucks blocking half the street when they unload at that location). We need to give the company more options (for the trucks to unload).”

Petrick then added, “This company employs a lot of city residents who walk to work.”

Jeanette Rios, Director of the Parking Utility came up to speak, “We handle the loading zones, and this company submitted this request last year and it was approved by the police department.”

A representative from those company came up to speak and backed up Rios’s statement, “We applied last year for this loading zone and it was approved.”

Petrick replied, “I don’t know who approved this and the ones that did are not here at the meeting.”

The representative said, “We can see about other options for unloading our trucks.”

Councilman B.J. Torres concluded this discussion by stating, “We should protect the residents and those who work for this company.”

Councilman Joel Pabon had a small statement regarding Ordinance No. 2 entitled: Fixing and Establishing a Schedule of Salary and Salary Ranges and Increments for officers and employees for the city of Perth Amboy regarding the PBA.

“This has been a long time coming.” He thanked everyone who worked on this contract. 

The next discussion involved Ordinance No. 4 entitled: Sewers – regarding rates and fees. 

Pabon stated, “We need someone here to discuss this.”

Nancy Martin from the Department of Water & Taxes spoke through Zoom, “We need to add a final water meter fee because sometimes you can’t access the meters. People have 30 days to pay their bill before interest sets in. More than half of the meters in the city don’t have meters that can be read from the outside. Meter Readers do more to make sure the meters are functioning.”

B.A. Remsen spoke up and said, “There is 6% increase being asked.”

Council President Petrick then spoke up and said, “They have to make sure that meters are not tampered with.”

Councilman Joel Pabon then spoke about R-143-3/21 – Public Hearing on the introduced CY: 2021 Municipal Budget.

“We need to bring in the Department Directors to see how this process works.”

City Engineer Ernest Feist came on through Zoom to talk about Ordinance No. 5 – An Ordinance regarding stormwater management.

He explained that there are new rules that have to be followed that are mandated by the NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) which deals with green infrastructure and groundwater discharge. “This is required by state mandates and also involves the cleaning of water before its discharged.”

Councilman Joel Pabon then spoke about R-187-4/21 – Appointing Joel Pabon Sr. as Commissioner of the Perth Amboy Housing Authority to fill an unexpired term ending December 31, 2023.

“I’m asking that you appoint Gregory Pabon (no relation) to take my place. There are some people already on the commission such as Gregory Pabon. He is the only one who reapplied.”

Councilwoman Rose Morales asked that R-188-4/21 – Confirming the reappointment of Victoria Ann Kupsch as City Clerk. be tabled. It was seconded by B.J. Torres. When the vote was taken to be tabled, Petrick, Pabon, Tejeda voted “No”. Torres and Morales voted “Yes” so they were overruled. 

Business Administrator Remsen talked about R-193-4/21 – United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforcement guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction record employment under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“If the federal guidelines change, we have to comply.”

City Engineer Feist talked about R-198-4/21 – Release of Performance Guarantees and Cash Bonds to Duke Realty for Site Plans on certain blocks and lots on Riverview Drive.

He stated, “This includes Riverview Drive and Elm Street. Roadwork and work on the amphitheater are included.”

Council President Petrick said, “We may have to revisit this to see what was originally discussed.”

Fire Chief Ed Mullen talked about R-200-4/21 – A contract with NJ Fire Equipment for the purchase of firefighter breathing air equipment for an amount not to exceed $28,544.40. 

“This is not a grant and is part of our capital improvement money.”

Law Director Northgrave talked about R-201-4/21 – Professional Legal Services with the firm of Pashman, Stein, Walder & Hayden in connection with the renovations at the Perth Amboy Public Library.

He explained, “This is the same attorney as before. They just moved to a different law firm.”

B.A. Remsen explained R-208-4/21 – Amending R-183-3/21 – Replacement of water meter sizes 5/8” to 3” and testing existing meters.

“There is only a slight change in the dollar amount.”

Council President Bill Petrick then asked for R-216-4/21 – Adopting information Technology Cyber Security Policy for the city of Perth Amboy revised as of February 19, 2021 to be tabled. Petrick’s reasoning was, “We the (council) need to have the ability to stop IT to stop investigations of council members by other political bodies.”

Pabon talked next, “People have the right to check our emails because we are no better than anyone else.”

Petrick countered, “We are not city employees and the email policy for us should be removed.”

Law Director Northgrave spoke up, “You can do what you want, but it needs to be geared to our IT manager.”

Pabon agreed that R-216 should be tabled. 

Perth Amboy IT Tech John Alleman spoke up, “We can’t split the domain, but we can have separate domain names, but we still will have access to it.”

Northgrave then said, “You (the council) will have a lot of issues.”

Pabon thanked John Alleman for providing information on this policy and for being available for any questions regarding this issue.

Public Comments:

Resident Stanley Sierakowski came up to comment on the discussion on emails. “It was a phishing expedition. Diaz (former mayor) went after those whom she thought might double-cross her. Have a judge investigate someone who may have questionable activities. A lot of people on municipal boards may not have critical thinking.” Sierakowski stated there was a Fair Housing consultant here who recommended 300 rehabs but wasn’t sure who had the priority – the developers or low-income residents. “The Planning Board and PARA are giving up their oversight. People who have knowledge will get money and not the people who really need the money. It’s just like the people who always get money to fix their own awning every year.”

Resident Maria Peralta came up to speak in Spanish. Dianne Roman translated. She asked, “Who extended the invite to the person who spoke earlier about marijuana.”

Council President Petrick responded, “The administration wanted someone who is part of the NJ Marijuana Commission.”

Peralta continued, “We don’t want marijuana. Business owners and churches should be coming here and not the state. You need people who live and work here to talk. We know what causes damage to our city. It hurts our city. We are asking to say “No” to marijuana factories. We voted for you.”

Resident Junior Iglesia came up to speak, “You (the council) should be open and transparent to the public. It’s in the public interest to be acted upon. The marijuana presentation was supposed to be for the council, but I’m glad that they spoke in public. A lot of research that the speaker said was true regarding medical marijuana, but there are also detrimental effects of marijuana.” Igelsia as he did in the past played a statement on his cell phone by a doctor who talked about the detrimental effects of marijuana which includes short term memory loss. Iglesia continued after playing the tape, “Marijuana has a detrimental effect on development of the brain. It’s not a question of profit, but how to protect our youth. The man who spoke earlier talked about righting the legislation.”

Petrick then responded, “We need to have people speak about the pros and cons.”

The next person who came up was a resident whose husband is a sanitation worker. The woman stated that a sanitation truck ran over her husband and he got a letter of dismissal from the city. “I’ve sent letters to workers comp, and he has a permanent disability. He was told he has to use his sick time. The city has moved multiple employees in the past due to their medical conditions.”

Business Administrator Edward Remsen spoke up and said, “We can only discuss this matter in closed session, and we have had discussions on this case already.”

Law Director Northgrave spoke up next, “This is a former employee who is saying that he is an employee, so it can only be discussed in closed session. If you do it in open discussion, you can get in trouble. This is a workers compensation situation, and I have no information on this case.”

Resident Vince Mackiel came up next. He said, “There are infrastructure needs for Elm Street and Market Street in the budget. Business and communities use the bridge on Market Street. I have been getting the same response for 2 years on the bridge. Has that Market Street bridge  been condemned? It should be and the people using that bridge should be protected. This is a small bridge and shouldn’t take 2 years to be resolved. Businesses are being affected. I have been coming here for 6-7 years. Move forward on this bridge and have NJ Transit condemn it.”

Petrick responded, “There are no plans to condemn that bridge.”

Mackiel concluded, “You should focus on this bridge that has been neglected for 3 years.”

Former Councilman Fernando Gonzalez came up next and simply requested that they have someone come to the meeting who can discuss why the water rates are going up.

Resident Dot Daniel came up next. She had 3 problems. “Number 1 on Rte.35 bridge  near ShopRite – they have put barriers up and walked away. Number 2 – there are too many potholes in the city, and we need money in the budget to fix them. Number 3 – When is the budget coming out?”

City Clerk Victoria Kupsch answered, “The budget is up on the website.”

Daniel also said, “I hope there are decent raises for the police and fire department. We are the lowest on the pay scale in Middlesex County.” She also mentioned she had many medical problems, “Not one of my physicians told me to use marijuana. Marijuana is a gateway drug.”

The meeting was opened up on Zoom. Resident Katherine Massopust spoke, “There are a lot of kids riding around town with bicycles. Can anything be done about it?”

Councilman Pabon spoke up. “I got many calls about this. In one instance there were 25 people on bikes riding on the middle of Smith Street.”

Deputy Police Chief Cattano came up, “The traffic division is looking at this problem and take bikes away. We put additional people on this. If a bike is not registered or licensed, it is confiscated. We can put the process of this on our website. Report any of this activity to the police.”

Councilwoman Tejeda asked Cattano since he was still at the mic, “How many people have been vaccinated in the city?”

Cattano answered, “Presently, there are over 2,000 doses available and there is information online and on the bulletin board. A good portion of our senior citizens, school staff, and teachers have been vaccinated. Now vaccinations are open up to all from the ages 19+. At the vo-tech school, anyone can be vaccinated. At the hospital it is only for city residents. The phone number to register for vaccinations in the city is: 732-324-3521. The county and hospital are working to get homebound people vaccinated. They are put on a separate list. The hotline vaccination number I gave right now is through the Office of Recreation, but will be expanded to other departments.”

Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke thru Zoom. She was concerned about the reports of dead fish on the waterfront. “The NJDEP issued a statement about bacteria affecting fish, and this concerns me. A 6½% rate increase on the water is high. We received federal aid. I appreciate the person who spoke from the Cannabis Commission. The American Lung Association and the Heart Association cautioned people who are pregnant and have mental issues to be cautious of secondhand smoke – even marijuana. One minute of marijuana smoke can do harm. The recovery rate from marijuana is slower. You need to install smoke-free environment signs.”

Former Councilman Fernando Irizarry spoke next thru Zoom. “I have concerns about the marijuana presentation and the administration’s attempt on not banning marijuana. We don’t know if a forum will be held or if that speaker will come back to speak at the forum. We only talked about the losses if we ban it. Once that business comes in, you can’t get rid of it. The speaker said that those who benefit will be the ones are affected by the war on drugs. He led me to believe that state and federal laws will not be enforced if people home-grow it. The national institute of drugs states most people do not use marijuana as a gateway drug.”

Petrick told Irizarry, “We will talk about getting a forum together.”

Irizarry stated, “I appreciate that.”

The Public Portion was closed, and the council went into closed session at 8:43 p.m. with no further action taken. All Council Members were present in person in the council chambers.