PERTH AMBOY –
(L) The City Council gives a proclamation recognizing Auxiliary Police Officer Roberto Rodriguez at the 2/9/22 Council Meeting. (LtoR) Councilwoman Milady Tejeda, Council President Bill Petrick, Auxiliary Police Officer Roberto Rodriguez, Councilwoman Rose Morales, Councilman Joel Pabon.
By Carolyn Maxwell
(R) Council President Bill Petrick congratulates Officer Rodriguez.
*Photos by Paul W. Wang
PERTH AMBOY – At the beginning of the council meeting, there were supposed to be presentations to one resident and four members of the police department to recognize them for their services to the community. The only one who was present was Auxiliary Police Officer Roberto Rodriguez.
Council President Bill Petrick congratulates Officer Rodriguez.
After the presentation was over, people were invited to come up to talk on any of the resolutions that had a public hearing. No one spoke in-person or via Zoom. People were then invited from the public and on Zoom to speak on agenda items. No one spoke on any of the agenda items.
The council voted on the ordinances. Ordinance No. 1 – Refunding Bonds and Refinancing of Bonds was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.
On Ordinance No. 1 (No public discussion) – Entitled Designating Restricted Parking Spaces regarding deletions. Victoria Kupsch stated, “It is to eliminate some of the spaces from the city code because of having so many handicapped parking spaces.”
The ordinance was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.
The council then voted on the consent agenda. R-81, R-82, R-85 thru R-107 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. R-83 and R-84 were voided on the caucus and regular council meetings. The entertainment ordinance that was on the Caucus Agenda was pulled so it did not appear on the regular council meeting agenda to be back on the agenda on a later date.
Public Portion (in-person only):
Linda Ferreira who resides on Bruck Avenue said, “People are needed for Board positions. Who okays who is appointed to the board? I applied for the Rent Leveling Board. There were three openings. I was sent a letter stating that I wasn’t appointed. Now, when I look there are still two openings left. I deserve an explanation. Maybe I was missing some requirements I appreciated being interviewed. I’ve been a renter and now, I am a homeowner.”
Council President Bill Petrick spoke up, “I thought we should have a mixture of people on that board.”
City Clerk Victoria Kupsch said, “I understand one person resigned from that board.”
Ferreira continued, “People come who are interested in being on that board and are not given a position.”
Petrick suggested that the mayor get in touch with the mayor’s office and that the mayor’s aide was in the council chambers and pointed that person out to Linda.
Ferreira concluded, “Everyone advocated for me, and I even came in to be interviewed.”
Attorney Daniel Gonzalez came up next. “I want to congratulate William Opel as his appointment as new Law Director. Good things are happening in the city. Potholes are being fixed. Covid is decreasing and people don’t have to wear masks as before. We should have tabled the decision on festivals for a couple of months. There are a lot of activities coming up this weekend. I miss Stanley coming to the meetings and I haven’t seen Alan Silber at a meeting for a while.”
The meeting was opened up to Zoom participants.
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke first. She talked about the entertainment ordinance that was on the caucus agenda. “We are still in midst of the pandemic which has not ceased. I talk to people in the community who are still suffering covid aftereffects. It is irresponsible to hold super-spreader events. We are 4.4 square miles with 55,000 residents. Look how festivals have grown and our quality of life. It is wise to cancel festivals for the health and welfare of our residents. People can’t work or pay their rent. There is a food supply shortage. The health and welfare of our residents come first. We can agree to disagree.”
Petrick responded, “That ordinance was removed from the agenda to be put back on the agenda for April.
Maria Vera who resides on Madison Avenue spoke next, “Milady has a conflict of interest and she can’t vote on this ordinance because she is on the Dominican Festival Committee.” She then asked Councilman Joel Pabon how many people can fit in Rudyk Park.
Petrick answered, “We have to call the Recreation Department to get that answer.
Vera continued, “When people come in to fill out an application for a festival, they have to fill out how many people they expect to attend. Other people keep their festivals small. If you want to have 10,000 people – hold your festival at Madison Square Garden and we are NOT Madison Square Garden. We need to keep our festivals small. Our departments (Police and Public Works) are overworked. I appreciate Pabon and Petrick because they drive around town. We have too many slumlords that are putting a drain on our town. I hope that the people that are appointed to different boards are taking classes. People who own illegal housing are not paying the correct taxes and it is getting out of control. I want to thank Joel Pabon for talking about our parks.”
Council Comments:
Councilwoman Rose Morales said, “I want to thank all who participated tonight. I want to congratulate our new Law Director Opel and Officer Rodriguez who was recognized tonight.”
Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I want to congratulate Opel. It is about time. And I want to also congratulate Officer Rodriguez on his thirty years as an Auxiliary Police Officer. I was hoping to see Auxiliary Police Officer O’Buck here tonight. My congratulations to the others who were supposed to be recognized tonight but were unable to attend. These people deserve much more than just certificates. We are not on lockdown. Covid has not stopped me or anyone else. Every week, Kenny Ortiz has activities going on. Sports and other activities are going on in the schools. We want you to live and continue to live. We have no curfews in town. I urge Linda Ferreira to give the mayor’s office a call for an explanation as to why she wasn’t appointed to a municipal board. I want to thank all that came here to tonight’s meeting and all who called in on Zoom.”
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda said, “I want to congratulate Auxiliary Police Officer Rodriguez and all who give to the community. I am proud of them. Be safe. Take care of yourself and your families.”
Councilman B.J. Torres had no comments.
Council President Pertrick said, “Don’t let your guard down and get vaxed. Some unvaxed died from Covid. The vaccine is available at Dorothy Court (Off Convery Boulevard behind Wendy’s) and you could also get Covid tests. Comcast sent the city a check and I thought it was supposed to go towards upgrading our system at the Council Chambers instead of going into the general fund. Be safe. Take care of yourselves and your family.”
The meeting adjourned at 7:44 p.m. All council members were present in-person except for B.J. Torres who participated via Zoom.
