11/8/21 Caucus & Council Meetings
By: Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – Executive Housing Authority Director Doug Dzema came forward to present the Housing Authority’s annual report. He started out by reading their mission statement which is to make sure all of the properties are safe, secure, and clean for their tenants. “Subsidies and home ownership are part of the Housing Authority’s programs. We have 900 housing vouchers alone just in Perth Amboy. Currently, we have 1,200 affordable housing units and 28% of them are units in Perth Amboy. We have two senior housing buildings: one on New Brunswick Avenue, and the other at Willow Pond. The Perth Amboy Housing Authority are the highest performers in the state. 17% of the residents in Perth Amboy are under the poverty level. For those who have children, the percentage is even higher. We have 100 people on the waiting list to get affordable housing. We also have programs to help people to become self-sufficient, so they do not have to rely on federal aid. We help them get the schooling needed, and employment as a way to secure getting home ownership. So far, this year we’ve helped 65 people purchase their own homes. We offer workshops and other services to help them become educated on ways they can purchase their home and how to keep those homes. These workshops include how to handle their finances. We’ve invested $15 million to improve our housing units. We’ve paid $69,000 to the city in PILOT money and our next payment to the city will be over $100,000. PARTNER which is under the Housing Authority has provided scholarships for students. We have also teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to provide housing to those who were qualified. The last house built was for a veteran.”
Dzema then introduced Victor Taveras who manages the Gateway Neighborhood Program. Tavares came up to the microphone and stated the Neighborhood Gateway Program started in 2014 (before he started working for the Housing Authority). “Wells Fargo Bank provided a 5-year Planning Grant (to kick off the program). We’ve had Neighborhood Meetings and we’ve also had planners, consultants, and staff to help plan for the Economic and Community Development in specific neighborhoods. Our goals are to be organized, make sure we have retail businesses in place and to provide entertainment, housing, the arts, and cultural events. We are trying to provide a link between Smith Street and the East Side of the Railroad Tracks. We need to have a sense of place and we are looking to incorporate more green spaces into these neighborhoods. We want to make sure that the residents, business owners, and nonprofit’s voices are heard. We want to make sure these neighborhoods are great places to live and to prosper. These neighborhoods encompass 5,600 residents, 48 blocks, and the poverty rate stands at 32%. Some of the organizations we have partnered with include all the various city departments, the Jewish Renaissance, the YMCA, Middlesex County College, AARP, Habitat for Humanity, and Middlesex County. With 60% tax credits, we have rehabilitated several housing units and construction of new housing units. 40% of the new construction would be of mixed income levels living there. We are waiting for the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for approval to invite businesses in that are interested in opening up in these different Gateway Neighborhoods.”
The council was then invited to ask any questions.
Councilman Joel Pabon asked, “How many people were able to attend these meetings because of the Covid Pandemic?”
Taveras answered, “Between 10-15 people. Meetings were advertised via social media, and we sometimes met via Zoom. There were some cases that business owners had large office space that we can use for in person meetings.”
Pabon then asked if there was a specific focused area that they were looking for improvement.
Tavares mentioned, “ We ar looking to have a small park near Riverview Drive and the Celotex Property.”
Pabon said, “I remember a couple of years ago, there were plans to have a dog park, but that fell through.” Pabon Continued, “I remember a couple of days ago, when I was in that area, there are more people down by the Celotex Property under the bridge near Riverview Drive than there were at the Waterfront.”
Taveras responded, “There were also a lot of young families living there (near Riverview Drive).”
Pabon then suggested they reach out to developer Eddie Trujillo who owns a lot of that property. “Talk to him to use some of that land for a park.”
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda then spoke up, “I’ve talked to Mr. Tavares about plans for that area and bringing in more of an aspect of cultural events and the arts.”
Taveras responded, “We are looking to have recreational events and festivals in that area because that is what the residents say they want.”
Tejeda said, “This is also what I wanted instead of continually adding a lot of buildings there.”
Councilman B.J. Torres spoke next, “I am a member of the Arts Council. I remember there was a project to have 10-12 murals placed around the city, but that project never happened. We need to see that these projects are completed. We also need to have traffic and stop signs on Grant Street and Patterson Street. There are a lot of pedestrians there, and also a lot of traffic, and now we have an increase in truck traffic in that area.”
Council President Bill Petrick then spoke up, “What happened to the money that was allocated for those 12 murals?”
Taveras answered, “One the murals (Hometown Girl) that was painted on one of the buildings on Fayette Street is gone. There was another mural painted on the inside of the Senior Center in Olive Street on the wall.”
Doug Dzema came back up to answer the question, “The money allocated for those 12 murals was token money. 80% if it came from the county. Part of that money was used to paint the Hometown Girl mural. The seed money was $12,000.”
Petrick continued, “I know that where the Hometown Girl mural was that they are supposed to be putting a pocket park there.”
Taveras responded, “Right now, Second Home (A Center for Senior Citizen Activities) is there in that area. Someone else is buying the building which is part of where the park will be.”
Business Administrator Mike Green then spoke up, “It is the county that will be building a park in that area.”
Petrick spoke up again, “That is not a good place for a park. It is too noisy, and there is too much traffic.”
Dzema spoke again, “The Gateway Program is a part of PARTNER.”
Petrick said, “There is not too communication between the Housing Authority, PARTNER, and PARA.”
Dzema spoke up again, “The Housing Authority is looking for properties that they could rehab and start to work more with Habitat for Humanity.”
Petrick then said, “Having something on the lines of entertainment would enhance the Celotex property. Petrick also questioned how people who get mortgage assistance and acquired homes via the Housing Authority. How would, for instance, if they were able to secure a mortgage through assistance of the Housing Authority? Would they be obligated to stay in those houses for a certain amount of time? Or will they be able to sell that house for a profit?”
Dzema replied, “We can only give them financial help for 15 years. We don’t limit the amount of money they can make if they sell it after the 15 years are up. Because by the 15th year, they cannot be financially dependent on us.”
After the presentation was concluded, Business Administrator Mike Green gave a brief update of where the city stood under the Best Practices Program. “The Best Practices measures how the city best is able to consolidate their municipal taxes. The city has passed the Best Practices survey with flying colors. I want to thank all the different departments for all their help. We will get our full financial help as we did last year.”
The Council then discussed some of the resolutions. For R-560-11/21 – A contract with CME Associates for professional services for basketball improvements at the Patten Center Park and Stanley Rudyk Park in an amount not to exceed $39,664.
Pabon questioned, “Are these the same people who worked on the basketball courts before? Because if it is the same people, they did a very bad job. Just walk through all the parks and see the horrible conditions they are in. There could be water seeping through them.”
Green said he would get Department of Recreation Director Kenny Ortiz to answer that question.
Pabon then questioned R-561-11/21- The city making an application to the NJDEP for a grant to perform remedial investigation and remedial action activities on the former Harry Goldberg & Sons Scrap Metal Property.
Pabon questioned, “What kind of discharge are they looking at?”
Petrick answered, “I think it is just the terminology they are using.”
Lawyer William Opel said, “It’s basically to do remediation on that property.”
Pabon said, “It looks like they are using that material just to cap that property off.”
B.A. Green spoke up and told Pabon that for R-560 that is a new company (basketball court improvements). He then spoke about R-566-11/21 – The adoption of Middlesex County Multijurisdictional All-Hazards Mitigation Plan. “This will done by the county for emergency situations and is required by FEMA.” He then explained R-557-11/21 – An application and agreement with the NJ Department of Law and Public Safety for a Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Year End Holiday Crackdown Grant in the amount of $6,000. “That money is used to pay for overtime and there are no matching funds needed.”
Council President Bill Petrick then had a question involving Resolutions R-568 thru R-572 (Professional services involving attorneys, architects, appraisers, engineers, and contractors). “How do we advertise for these services?”
Green replied, “Thru newspapers and websites. We have to make sure we comply within the law.”
Petrick then asked, “Can we do a rebid on R-573 since we only had one person that applied for the service of providing preemployment physicals? The only person who applied for preemployment physicals, screenings, and assessments was a company called Healthcare Company.”
Green replied, “There are not a lot of companies who can provide this service and it is a limited service. This particular company also does the same service for other municipalities.”
Petrick stated, “I was surprised that Raritan Bay Medical Center did not apply to do this.”
Pabon then spoke up, “I know this company because they are located in Raritan Center and the Post Office used them to screen potential employees.”
Acting Police Chief Larry Cattano came up to speak, “This company will perform drug function testing and some of the tests may include using a treadmill. Some of the employee being tested include the police, crossing guards, and the fire department.
Business Administrator Mike Green said, “This testing can be used for all city employees.”
Councilman B.J. Torres then questioned, “Will the employees be screened for cannabis use?”
Council President Petrick responded, “Remember, federal law prohibits cannabis use.”
Torres then questioned, “Is it up to our discretion who is to be screened for cannabis use when it comes to employment?”
Dianne Roman from the Department of Social Services fielded the question on R-575-11/21 – An application to the Middlesex County Department of Community Services for the Code Blue Warming Center Funding Opportunity. She mentioned, “We will be receiving $90,000, the same as the cost from last year.”
B.A. Green said, “We will be getting a total amount of $200,000.”
Councilman Joel Pabon then asked Chair of the PAHPC Renee Skelton to come up to talk a little about some of the items that she submitted for the Historic Preservation Commission, specifically for the Post Office in Perth Amboy. Skelton said, “The Post Office is actually on the State Historic Registry and they told me because our Post Office is a working Post Office is why they did not put it on the national registry.”
Pabon concluded, “Since they are doing work on the Post Office, it is kind of scaring the State Registry away.” Pabon then turned his attention of the site of the former Anchor Café (Karini II on the corner of New Brunswick Avenue and Prospect Street (now closed)). “That place is beautiful inside.”
Skelton responded, “I knew the owner of that place and she had wanted to renovate it. She died and new owners fell behind on their taxes. We need to do something about saving that building.”
Pabon then asked what is going on with the Thomas Mundy Peterson site.
Skelton responded, “The county is putting up money for the proposed Thomas Mundy Peterson Site which is currently owned by Kushner. Kushner is fighting with the city and right now is denying us access to that property.”
Pabon then talked about Sunshine Alley and the fact that they may be using pressed concrete for that site.
Skelton replied, “The New Jersey Historic Preservation staff is operating with a skeleton crew, but there will be no cost to the city to redo Sunshine Alley.”
Council President Petrick then talked about the trees around city hall circle. “I think having red brick around the base of those trees would be better than having stamped bricks.”
B.A. Green replied, “The red bricks may be cost prohibited. We may have to contact an arborist and the City Historian about that matter.”
Public Portion:
Just before the public spoke, Councilwoman Rose Morales joined the Caucus via Zoom at 7:10 p.m.
The first person to speak was Lisa Nanton, “I want to thank Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez for helping to get the money for the renovations to the Proprietary House. Nanton also made the suggestion that if we put cement around a tree, it will kill the tree. You need red brick stamps, because City Hall is historic. The color grey is good for cobblestone, and the color red is a good choice for brick.”
Police Officer Captain Miguel Pellot came up to speak, “The was an article on the state website stating that our police contract was certified by the city and signed in 2021 and that was done in October of this year. Did you get to vote on this?”
Council President Bill Petrick said, “We have to discuss this in closed session.”
Resident Vince Mackiel came to speak next. He spoke about Ordinance No. 5 – The Focus 2020 Redevelopment Plan for the Gateway Area. “The city should have been involved in other things before fossil fuels. The Governor has a progressive agenda. Leon Hess was concerned about having fossil fuels which he favored. People need to be able to live without pollution. South Amboy is getting new renewable energy. The city needs to move forward, even though you be getting opposition from Buckeye. We have to have alternative fuels.”
The meeting was then opened up to Zoom participants.
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke first. “We are a very dense town. I mentioned that we should have our own Shade Tree Commission. We have a lot of pollution and need to plant more trees to help with our environment. Other towns have a Shade Tree Commission”.
Next was Resident John Rodowski from Johnstone Street. “I had to get repairs done on my property and I paid over $1,000 because of flooding in my basement due to low curbs on the street.”
B.A. Mike Green responded, “This property was visited last week, but at the time we didn’t have the time to do any curbs.”
Council President Bill Petrick, “Other parts of town, especially on New Brunswick Avenue are having the same problem with funding due to low curbs.”
Councilman Pabon then spoke up, “The streets by the high school are being repaired.”
Rodowski then mentioned, “The curbs on Johnstone Street need to be at least two inches higher.”
City Engineer Jefferey Rauch then spoke via Zoom, “The curbs on Johnstone Street should be at least six inches, but we couldn’t do the additional improvements because we ran out of money. Hopefully, when more money is added to the budget, we can complete the work needed on the curbs on Johnstone Street. We are hoping to do a 50/50 split when it comes to repairs with the county. With the combined sewer and water, it is causing backups. We’re having the same problem with water accumulation at low points near Washington Park and we are working with Public Works on this problem.”
Council President Petrick said, “We need to look at the area near the old Mullen Springs where there is constant water accumulation, and it is not fair it the taxpayers who live in that area.” He then suggested, “Maybe we need to add more storm drains on Johnstone Street.”
The next person to speak was Resident Anna Daily, “I have concerns about the audio volume on Zoom. You can’t hear the public on the mic in the council chambers. You can only hear the council speak.”
Council President Petrick thanked her.
Resident Christine Leary from Donald Avenue spoke next. She questioned Perth Amboy’s water quality and whether or not there is harmful by-products in there. “What is the status of our water supply?”
Council President Petrick responded, “There are some industrial pollutants and byproducts of chlorine use. This was discussed last year, and the alternative is to change the method of cleaning (of the water). It can be done via ozone or ultraviolet light. We can have Luis Perez-Jimenez (Director of Operations at the USA-PA (Utility Service Associates Perth Amboy) Middlesex Water Company)) come here to speak about that.”
Leary then asked about having a home infiltration system put in.
Petrick responded, “That would be up to the homeowner to install that.”
B.A. Green spoke up, “Since I’ve been here, there have been no reports of Perth Amboy having bad water.”
Leary responded, “The federal and state standards are different.”
Green then said, “Our water quality adheres to the state and federal standards.”
After the public portion was closed, Council President Petrick asked Green if they will be suspending parking meters for the holidays.
Green responded, “It will be done so just as in the past.”
Petrick responded back, “The council will put something in place regarding suspending parking during the holiday season.” He also questioned if we want to remove chlorine from the water. “Does that have to be done by ordinance?”
Lawyer William Opel said, “It is not that simple, but I will look into that for you.”
The council then voted on a resolution to go into closed session at 7:41 p.m. The council returned at 8:20 p.m. to adjourn the caucus portion of the meeting. They started the regular council meeting at 8:21 p.m. Councilwoman Rose Morales participated via Zoom.
On ordinances 1 thru 5 which had public hearings, but no one spoke, Joel Pabon moved them all. Councilwoman Milady Tejeda seconded them all. Councilman B.J. Torres voted, “No” on the first 4 ordinances.
When it came to voting on Ordinance No. 1 (First Reading – No Public Discussion), it was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. For Ordinance No. 2 (First Reading – No Public Discussion), it was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.
There were various statements made by B.J. Torres and Joel Pabon regarding Ordinance No. 1 – Stop Sign Additions. Councilman Torres said he was shocked about the lack of stop signs at certain intersections. “We’ve had a lot of resources in the last 5 years and there has been no observations about the lack of stop signs or streetlights. Who is in charge of this? We should do a traffic analysis before any development starts. We have heavy industrial traffic and a lot of residents. You need to rectify the traffic and have an analysis before any development starts.”
Councilman Pabon then spoke up, “We have discussed this in the past. I think the last traffic analysis was done around 20 years ago. Some streets should have been converted to one-way. We need to do a complete citywide traffic analysis. It’s not rocket science.”
Torres then asked, “Was PARA involved? We are going to have problems with mobility.”
Petrick then asked, “Would this (a traffic analysis) be a part of the Master Plan?”
Green said that he would discuss this with the police chief.
It was also decided to move the adoption of the Perth Amboy BID budget to be carried over to the Monday, November 22nd Council Meeting. It was moved by Pabon and seconded by Tejeda.
Lawyer Opel spoke up and remarked that PARA does a traffic analysis when considering new development.
The council voted on resolutions on the consent agenda. R-547 thru R-576 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.
Public Portion:
The only person to speak was Police Captain Miguel Pellot. He was still concerned because he wasn’t sure if the local police contract that he was part of was signed or not. “On one website, it said the contract was signed and the council said they have no recollection of them signing the contract for the local that he is in.
Council President Petrick suggested that the union lawyer should speak to the city’s lawyer about this.
Captain Pellot said, “There are already three grievances in place because of our contract not being signed yet. The lawyers who are working for the city had a contract where their money was not to exceed $50,000. So far, they have charged the city over $80,000. I guess this is going to continue.”
No one spoke via Zoom.
Council Comments:
Councilwoman Rose Morales thanked all who participated tonight, and she thanked Sharon Hubberman for her suggestions. “Congratulations to our reelected assembly and senators.”
Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I am glad the Second Street Park is moving along and that we are getting new basketball courts.”
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda mentioned, “The third booster Covid vaccine shot is available.” She wished everyone a Happy Veteran’s Day although she will not be able to attend this year’s ceremony because of work obligations.
Councilman B.J. Torres said, “No comments tonight.”
Council President Bill Petrick thanked all for attending in person and everyone in TV-land.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
