By Carolyn Maxwell:
PERTH AMBOY – The first order of business at the Council Meeting was a presentation by the Executive Director of PARA Leigh Ann Hindenlang who presented the annual report for 2021. She talked about Focus 2020 and that PARA is a public agency created by a city ordinance in 1997. PARA Members are appointed by the city council. We have an attorney, a planner, an engineer, and consultants and appraisers when needed. Before we were $10,000 below our projected surplus, but now we have a small surplus of $250,000. The projects we have will come with rateables and jobs. We have 16 projects in negotiations or development. Some of these projects had to be sent back to developers to be revamped. The properties are only in the redevelopment areas. Each project has to project how many city residents they will employ. There are 125 acres to be remediated with 15,000 jobs projected. Gateway Area #1 would include Convery Boulevard and Smith Street. Area #2 would be the Waterfront where Kushner originally was. They are proposing 20 acres for the Seagate Project. We also have the northern areas which would be industrial area and will include Amboy Avenue where we have US Foods, BestBuy, E-Port 1 & 2 and a storage facility. 100 acres still remain for development. The Seagate Project plans will be presented in April. The Focus 2020 Plan from August 2018 was updated. The self-storage facility which is located near Rte.440 is on our tax rolls. We are having a Code Enforcement Issue with King High Garage which is located on State Street.”
Councilman Pabon mentioned that King High Garage is in the redevelopment area.
Hindenlang said, “Yes, they are, but they are not interested in selling their property. The properties on Elm Street added improvement and it was completed in 2021. There are presently 120 jobs filled there now, and they project a total of 600 jobs to be added in that area. For the E-port 2, there is 1 million square feet of warehousing. Some of the property there is under remediation and waiting for EPA approval. There are distribution and office buildings that will build sidewalks to Water Street and to Rudyk Park for an additional cost. The area by Convery Boulevard (where the old Dunkin Donuts was by ShopRite) was supposed to have an Urgent Care Center. They decided not to pursue that location. With the Second Street Park, as they were digging, they found unexploded objects and napalm was also found. The project on Sayre Avenue – remediation has started and they are considering asking for a PILOT.”
Hindenlang then started talking about 500 High Street. “They are updating their plans. They are meeting with Code Enforcement. They intend to have 21 units of luxury apartments. The car wash that is located by the intersection of Convery Boulevard and Smith Street will relocate and they intend to build a Wawa there. For the Riverwalk Crossing Project, remediation is going on and it was one of the most contaminated sites in the city. They are also looking to ask for a PILOT for that project. There is a proposal for a 14-unit commercial building located near the animal shelter on Morris Street. 99 Pearl Place we are looking to build low-income housing which will be a Habitat for Humanity Project for Veterans.”
Councilman B.J. Torres asked, “Will this affect our CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow)? We should look at using vacant housing for pocket parks like they do in other towns.”
Hindenlang responded, “It is PARA property, and we weren’t able to maintain that property because of lack of funds and that is why we are selling a lot of our property.”
Council President Petrick asked, “Maybe that land be used for basketball courts?”
Hindenlang said, “The last project would be single family homes. There is a lot just before you enter Harbortown on High Street.”
Councilman Torres responded, “There were a lot of projects that were going under the Master Plan from 1997 and there is a lot of analysis being done off of that plan which has a lot of amendments, and our population has grown a lot since 1997.”
Hindenlang responded, “The Master Plan and PARA have different plans. We are going off the 2018 plan that we had in place. We used more recent information. The Master Plan and the PARA Plan are separate documents.”
Torres continued, “We’ve had an increase in exhaust and asthma rates in our city.”
Hindenlang explained, “E-Port is industrial, and all of our projects go through reviews. If the EPA is called, they can investigate further. Traffic studies were done. The EPA and DPEA can do further testing upon request.”
Council President Petrick said, “I am curious to see if those two departments would have the same results.”
Hindenlang explained, “Air quality can be checked.”
Torres then stated, “We need oversight by our own health department to determine the impact of the projects on our community. PILOTS should have this built in. There were amenities (in many projects) that were supposed to be put in place originally that never took place. Do we have creative place making? I have sat on the Arts Council since it was created, and we were never consulted on any projects involving creative place making.”
Hindenlang responded, “That’s not true. We’ve had discussions with the Arts Council that took place in New Brunswick, and I can show you the minutes.”
Petrick spoke up, “I would like to see the date and minutes of the Arts Council Meeting you attended.”
Hindenlang continued, “The Kushner Amendment (regarding Seagate) will be presented to PARA first, and then to the City Council. They are looking to have about 200 units (for the Seagate Project).”
Torres spoke up again, “Governor Murphy said that cannabis will be our largest industry and perhaps PARA could look to incorporate that industry into their plans.”
Hindenlang responded, “It’s not our decision, but we said it is good for rateables for manufacturing – not retail.”
Torres continued, “Cannabis has to be constructed in a certain way and has anybody in the cannabis industry approached you about relocating in the city?”
Hindenlang answered, “Yes. They have been pursuing this in other communities and we can recommend to the administration about having the cannabis business.”
The meeting was then opened to those who wanted to speak on the ordinances that have public hearing.
Ordinance No. 2 – Vehicles and Traffic regarding parking restrictions at the public safety complex parking lot.
Resident and Attorney Daniel Gonzalez spoke first. “Will this parking be restricted when the office is closed and can the public park there after hours? Can residents get residential stickers after the Y is closed? Can businesses across the street use the lot? Can patrons of businesses in that area park there after hours?”
Councilman Bill Petrick spoke up, “This is not what this ordinance is about.”
Public Comments (agenda items only):
Resident Ken Balut spoke first. “When can the public see the budget?”
Business Administrator replied, “After tonight, the entire budget will be on the website.”
Public Comments were opened up to Zoom Participants.
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke first, “Why didn’t we have the budget on time according to our ordinance? We have environmental adjustment laws regarding pollutants and an environmental report is supposed to be given to the city clerk and the council for the impact on our community when it comes to development projects. This should be presented to the public at hearings. Cancer, lead, and asthma rates have increased.”
Resident Lisa Nanton spoke next, “I agree with Hubberman 100%. We are $170 million in debt. We are under federal mandate to separate sewer and water lines. Our streets are clogged with traffic, and we can’t take any more density. This is a moral and ethical condition. People with all these projects don’t live here. I am against any further developments until our present problems are dealt with.”
Resident Maria Vera spoke next. “They are showing us pictures of parks, but as soon as those parks are built, where is the traffic going to go? Plus, you have a closed street by the school where one of those parks are. Trucks are causing a lot of traffic and damage to our streets. King High Garage on State Street is a disaster and has vehicles parked all over. There are too many school buses parked all over and it makes our town look ugly. Low-income housing will overburden the city schools and DPW. We are living on top of each other already.”
Councilman Torres spoke about different departments and that Code Enforcement had been flagged.”
For the consent agenda:
Ordinance No. 2 (Parking Restrictions at Public Safety Complex) was moved by Pabon; seconded by Tejeda. Torres voted, “No.”
Ordinance No. 1 (First Reading) – moved by Pabon; seconded by Tejeda.
Ordinance No. 2 (First Reading) – Year 2022 to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a CAP Bank. Moved by Pabon; seconded by Tejeda.
For the Resolutions:
R-127 thru R-131; R-133, R-135 thru R-143 was moved by Pabon; seconded by Tejeda. R-132 & R-134 were both removed at the caucus. There was a vote to place two late-starter resolutions on the agenda. It was later decided that better than being resolutions, they should have been ordinances. (585 Sayre Avenue and the Victory Plaza LLC.)
Public Portion:
Resident Ken Balut spoke first. “Don’t put in late-starters because the public doesn’t have a chance to look at the information. We get a quarter of billion dollars of money from the state. I am sure the developer would have been glad to answer questions. The Y owes us at least $1 million which we don’t talk about. Our recreation department should run the Y like Woodbridge does. I’ve talked about Code Enforcement’s problems several times and there is always a lot of buses parked on West Side Avenue. Did Code Enforcement follow up to see if firestops were put in place in the Landing’s Building?”
Resident Vince Mackiel came up next, “Buckeye got approval to ship biofuel and crude oil. Code Enforcement was nice enough to let me see the plan. We are trying to build to the waterway as a tourist attraction. We had recent train derailments in Perth Amboy and South Amboy. The city should look at derailments that happen elsewhere which were dangerous. I sent my concerns to local and state representatives. I want to compliment Sharon Hubberman for what she said about environmental concerns.”
The meeting was opened up to Zoom Participants:
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke first. “PILOTS are a big tax break for developers and make a big impact on our community. We hear from people, but it goes in one ear and out the other. The only developers that paid their fair share of taxes are the ones who took over empty lots. I agree with Nanton. We can’t overburden our town with additional development of housing projects. I also asked on Monday if you are going to add anything to Wednesday’s agenda.”
Resident Lisa Nanton spoke next. “I agree with Sharon, Balut, and Mackiel. I am very disappointed. It takes just one no-vote to prevent an item from being placed on the agenda. There are some projects that can exempt some items when they go before the Planning Board.”
Developer Eddie Trujillo spoke next in-person. “It’s the same two or three people who don’t want to see the city move forward. The project (that I am presenting) of this size can’t exist without a PILOT. If I pay $36,000 a year, the city receives $250,000 a year. If I pay for $40,000 a year, the city receives $1 million a year. I have done projects in many cities and states over the years. Your Code Enforcement here has been very thorough, especially with me. I’ve done projects here for the last 25 years. I own about 30 properties here in town, and they never had water pressure problems. I had a generator installed at King Plaza.”
Lawyer Daniel Gonzalez came up in-person, “I am the Vice-Chair of PARA and this is our vision. People like Trujillo should be applauded. His sons are even here. Look at Sayre Avenue now. Before, we had homeless living there. There are too many people that bark back and forth at each other, and it is counterproductive. I know you (the council) are all working for the community as well as people on the municipal boards. I agree with Councilman Torres that what is presently supposed to be an amphitheater is silly. E-Port 2 is contaminated, and there is only so much you can do. We can benefit from marijuana businesses. Let’s try it.”
Council Comments:
Councilwoman Rose Morales thanked Developer Eddie Trujillo and Executive Director of PARA Annie Hindenlang for their presentations and all who participated tonight.
Councilman Joel Pabon said, “A resident reached out to me about the Zoom meetings online and the two late-starter ordinances. I reached out to the city clerk. I always call this resident back 90% of the time and they threw me under the bus today.”
City Clerk Victoria Kupsch nodded and said that Pabon did reach out to her.
Pabon continued, “On Monday, I sent the council a communication regarding a Rent Level Board issue so that we could talk about this. We need a Water Commission, and we need $200 million for work to be done on our water system since we have only one line coming in. I talked to Kenny Ortiz about opening up First Street. The bathroom located on the corner of Sadowski Parkway and Madison Avenue needs to be put someplace else. I want to thank the Department of Public Works and especially Supervisor Danny Cleaver who replaced the flags at Patten Center. We need to be vigil when it comes to our parks. I want to thank Assemblywoman Lopez and Juan Carlos from her office who contacted NJ Transit about our problems. There are people willing to do a dig at the Thomas Mundy Peterson Site. I want to thank all who came tonight and who made a presentation on Monday.”
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda said, “I want to thank all who came tonight and did the presentation on Monday. We have to move forward. I missed Monday’s meeting because of work and would have loved to be here for that presentation, but we will hear more about it.”
Councilman B.J. Torres said, “The Government Strategy Group suggested that we should have our own health services because of our health issues. We need to have funding to have our own health agency. When I worked for the Rutgers Labor Department, I helped people who were destitute to fill out insurance forms. We should have a say in how the American Rescue Funds should be used. We are looking at more inflation coming up. The PARA Executive Director said that cannabis can be a helpful industry. Have people come in to update us on this.”
Council President Bill Petrick asked B.A. Green if he could look into the cost for our own health department. “This would be to do health inspections on our businesses instead of the county coming in and doing health inspections. The administration should share with us the plans for the $16 million ahead of our meeting.”
Green responded, “So far, we received $8 million. Some has been used for the water infrastructure, technology, security, Wi-Fi. There is additional grant money of $150 million which we will apply for separate from the total of $16 million that we will get from the American Rescue Plan.”
Councilwoman Tejeda spoke up and said, “Some families do not have internet at home when they had to do their learning remotely.”
Councilman Torres said, “All this information should be put online. It seems like all the money has already been spent and the community didn’t have much input into the report.”
Green responded, “There are many restraints on how the money is to be used.”
Council President Bill Petrick wrapped up the meeting. “There will be a prayer vigil for the Ukrainian people at City Hall Circle om Tuesday, March 15th at 6 p.m. Maybe we can see if there are apartments available for some refuges. The Housing Authority should be contacted as well as our representatives to see if this is possible. I thank all who spoke and reach out to any of us with any complaints.”
The meeting was over at 9:28 p.m. All council members were present.
