By: Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – There was a lengthy conversation on Ordinance No. 1 – (No public discussion) – Adoption of an Ordinance creating a Inclusionary Zoning of the Municipal Code requiring all applicable developments to include a Mandatory On-Site Affordable Housing Set Aside. A public hearing was held on June 8, 2022.
Council President Petrick questioned if the administration went to court to say they wanted to do this deal.
Law Director William Opel responded, “The city initiated this, and they need the guidance, so they didn’t lose control of this deal.”
Petrick continued, “Why would we have a need for affordable housing. Former Mayor Vas had taken a lot of money from other cities and gave it to Perth Amboy which would have satisfied our obligation for affordable housing for the next 20 years.”
Opel said, “We have a number of benefits that will come with this ordinance.”
Petrick wasn’t satisfied, “It looks like developers are steering the ship when it comes to affordable housing.”
Opel then stated, “This will satisfy our affordable housing obligation.”
Petrick then said, “I heard other towns are fighting against this.”
Opel then explained, “I was not involved with other cities filing lawsuits (involving building more affordable housing).”
Petrick then asked, “Are we paying for professional advice regarding affordable housing?”
Business Administrator Michael Greene responded, “This ordinance will set aside money for rehabilitation of certain properties.”
Opel then further commented, “It will not be used for ETC upcoming projects.”
Petrick then asked, “What about the new properties that Kushner wants to put up?”
Opel responded, “They will be included.”
Petrick continued, “I know there is a need for apartments which developers are pushing for. There was a developer who constructed 16 single family homes which sold very quickly. Multi-family buildings will affect our water resources negatively.”
Greene spoke up again, “The money collected from this ordinance can be used for rehabilitating of some of the HUD buildings.”
Leslie London from the Law Firm of McManimon, Scotland & Baumann spoke up via Zoom. “Part of this ordinance will include a spending plan and a rehabilitation plan. You control how the money is spent that you collect.”
A woman who works in the same law firm also spoke via Zoom gave more input, “This ordinance also includes administration fees and rehabilitation for low and moderate income households. Some people will be eligible for rental assistance, especially with hardship cases. Some of the units will have improved energy efficient units (HVAC).”
Petrick then asked, “Will the developer recoup any money for making those improvements?”
The woman was unsure about that.
London spoke up and stated, “The money will go to the owners of those units and not to the developers.”
Petrick asked, “Will GCP&H be the agent to help the city with this?”
Councilman Joel Pabon (who participated via Zoom) said, “Opel was hard to hear, but the other people who spoke on Zoom were crystal clear.”
Council President Petrick then asked about Ordinance No. 2- (No public discussion) – Amending Section 430, Zoning and Land Development to create affordable housing. Public Hearing was held on June 8, 2022. “Is it a sister ordinance to the one we just spoke about?”
Opel replied, “Yes.”
Petrick had a problem with Ordinance No. 2 (Public Hearing) – Regarding NEWSRACKS (Regulating the placement in public streets, sidewalks, and outdoor spaces).
“Is this a violation of First Amendment Rights? One of these newspaper owners said it would be a financial hardship for them. The mayor told that owner that would be taken care of. If this ordinance is not going to be taken seriously, why put it on the agenda?” Petrick then talked about the bid for the Jefferson Street Parking Garage 2022 repairs. “I hope someone watches over this to make sure the work is done correctly.” He then asked Business Administrator Greene about a problem at Harborside Marina, “The slips are too small for some of the boats.”
Greene explained, “Due to a new Marine Director, we’ve had a company look at the current mooring, and many were unsafe. We had to refund money to some of those boat owners who used to be put in those moorings in the past. They decided to take a marina slip instead.”
Petrick continued, “Some of the boats are hanging over part of the walkway.”
Greene said he would look into that.
Councilman B.J. Torres asked for a breakdown of the $3,860,000 in Ordinance No. 2 (first reading) – from the American Rescue Plan Act Funds. This money will be used for the acquisition of various equipment in and by the city of Perth Amboy.
Greene gave a brief breakdown, “$828,000 of it will be used for a cost of license plate readers.”
Torres then asked, “Will the city have their own lot when cars are towed instead of people having to go out of town to get their cars back?”
Greene responded, “We are looking at land for our own lots.”
B.J. Torres responded, “We should remove that amount until we find land. A lot should come before license plate readers.”
Police Chief Larry Cattano came up to speak, “One has nothing to do with the other. The license plate reader will be used in case of stolen vehicles, car crashes. Right now, we can get 45 additional readers with part of this money which will cover our 4-square miles of land.”
Greene spoke up again, “The city would like to purchase our own lots.”
Petrick suggested, “We own a lot of land at the end of Fayette Street. Just get the equipment and level it out. We can use a vacant lot where the Academy Bus Company used to be. That lot can also be used to park police cars.”
Greene responded, “That would be a short-term solution for a long-term plan.”
Petrick then questioned Ordinance No. 3 (first reading) – $650,000 of American Rescue Plan Funds for the replacement of all existing single-head meters throughout the city with compatible pay stations for the Parking Utility by and in the city of Perth Amboy.
Petrick stated, “I am against this. Woodbridge is putting in free parking. We are getting all this revenue – but at what cost?”
Greene said, “People pay for parking in Woodbridge.”
Petrick corrected Greene and said, “People pay for parking for the train station lot. Are we losing the ability to track more people to shop here if paying for parking is an issue?”
Greene explained, “These meters will be put in place where meters already exist.”
There was a discussion on Ordinance No. 6 (first reading) – Entitled, “Smoking and Lighted Objects.”
Greene explained, “These will be for cigarettes and cigars.”
Petrick spoke up, “I remember when Philip-Morris and other tobacco companies would testify in front of congress while they smoked to say there are no harmful effects from cigarettes. We should not be promoting smoking areas – especially with children playing in the parks. We have high asthma rates. We shouldn’t promote unhealthy habits as responsible adults.”
Councilman Pabon spoke via Zoom, “Why was this ordinance even brought up?”
Greene responded, “There are some parks where there is no smoking at all. Now, we are giving smokers access to smoke in some of the specific areas of parks and other areas.”
Pabon continued, “I never heard of this ever happening here before, or in any other cities. This is very surprising to me.”
B.J. Torres spoke up, “I piloted this ordinance. I saw people constantly smoking all kinds of paraphernalia. Not everyone can smoke in their homes or in their rental communities. This will give everyone a chance to smoke, but only in designated areas. This will also isolate them away from families in the parks. With the drought, any flammables are dangerous, and smokers will be able to discard their materials in safe containers. It will not be appealing when children see these individuals being isolated.”
City Clerk Victoria Kupsch spoke up next, “We had a concern from a resident who spoke about this.”
Law Director Opel said, “State law allows us to designate smoking areas in public places.”
Council President Petrick then asked, “Can we have a public shooting range?”
Opel responded, “I’ll look into it.”
Pabon then spoke up, “Shooting ranges are permitted if they are at least 100 feet away from a building. At the end of the day, parks are for kids – not smokers.”
Petrick then spoke up again, “I agree with Pabon’s last statement. Children should come first. It is not a good message if you allow smoking on city properties. Tobacco companies targeted our youth and say if you hook them (at an early age), they will probably be smokers for lifetime.” He also mentioned, “This shows how out of touch the administration is with the community.”
Torres then asked, “Have any tickets been given out to smokers, now?”
Petrick remembered, “There used to be No Smoking Signs that were taken down. I vote to table this ordinance.”
Pabon said he would second that motion.
The only person who voted “No” to table was Councilman Torres.
Torres said, “I see city employees smoking in city parks and while sitting in city vehicles. I’m a former 20-year smoker and I don’t like to have cigarette smoke around me.”
Pabon spoke up, “A memo should be sent out to city employees stating that they should not be smoking while on duty.”
Greene responded, “We will do that, and give them warnings that they should not be idling their vehicles.”
Petrick had something to say about that, “I saw that there was a city vehicle that was idling, and it was stolen, but it was recovered shortly afterward.”
Torres then spoke a similar incident. “I saw a city vehicle idling while two of its workers were in the park. I got inside that vehicle and could have stolen it while the city workers were away from it. It was 16-passenger van. We should tighten our belts like other families have to do.”
Petrick changed the subject, “Several city buildings had damage and need to be fixed.”
There was a discussion on Ordinance No. 7 (First Reading) – A lease agreement between the city and New Cingular Wireless, PCF LLC. (AT&T) with respect to certain real property located at Runyon Watershed within the Township of Old Bridge.
Luis Perez Jimenez, Director of Operations at the USA-PA (Utility Service Associates Perth Amboy) Middlesex Water Company) said, “This will be a permanent tower.”
Opel stated, “This is an amendment for Redevelopment Focus 2020 Plan which will change plans in the footage for 2 single-family units that would have 7-feet between both buildings.”
Petrick said he would like to see the drawings of the plans first.
Opel stated he would request that information and mark it as Exhibit A.
City Clerk Kupsch said, “This will be the first reading, and it will be Ordinance No. 8 to be put on the 8/10/22 Agenda.” Kupsch then talked about R-382-8/22 – Authorizing the 2022-2023 Renewal of Certain Plenary Retail Consumption Licenses effective August 11, 2022. She stated, “There are two bars that did not get a tax clearance on time. El Patio Bar got an extension to operate from the State, but not from the city.”
Petrick spoke up, “I want to make it clear that the council did not approve on the El Patio Bar getting an extension. Let the ABC be aware that the council did not approve of this.”
Opel said, “I will contact the agency (regarding this) and we can do an appeal on your behalf. There are procedures and requirements for filing to the ABC on both sides (El Patio Bar and the City). It is in the administration’s court.”
Kupsch concluded the discussion, “The El Patio Bar can still operate while the appeal is taking place.”
Petrick then discussed R-383-8/22 – Overriding the Mayor’s Veto of Ordinance Entitled, “An Ordinance Amending an Ordinance Entitled, “Public Entertainment.” He said, “This is just to reduce the time (on festivals) by one hour on Saturday and Sunday. The mayor wants to veto this.”
Opel then reminded the council that it would require four votes to veto this.”
Pabon then commented, “I’m surprised that the mayor took this stance. I thought it would satisfy both sides and maybe the mayor misread the ordinance.”
Petrick said, “You have to consider the residences in the areas how it would affect them.”
Luis Perez Jimenez spoke on R-390-8/22 – The insertion of revenue in the CY: 2022 Budget for an NJDOT (Pulaski, Parker, Jane, Lynd, Additional Streets) Road and Drainage Improvements Grant in the amount of $750,000. He said, “This will be for sewer separations. There are certain sections of these streets that are getting flooded, and this will take care of that.”
Opel spoke briefly about R-392-8/22 – Approving a seasonal fixed location peddler lease at the foot of Sadowski Parkway and Madison Avenue with Carlos Rodriguez d/b/a Torres Café. He said, “The hours will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and it will be a 3-year term. It was oversight on my part, and this will be a final agreement.”
Petrick then questioned R-393-8/22 – Directing the Tax Collector to place a lien on 600 Jacques Street in the amount of $268.70 for charges incurred by the Department of Public Works to cut and trip and clean. Petrick stated, “This a low number compared to what would be charged in the past.”
Greene explained that it depended on the type of cleaning that was done.
Greene then explained R-396-8/22 – A refund of an application fee and escrow payment in the amount of $4,000 to Pay-Chem II LLC for a property located at 406 Alpine Street. He said, “This is for an additional bedroom that was added.”
R-400-8/22 – Approving the issuance of a mural permit to the Emerging Leaders of the School Base Youth Services Program Artwork at the Brighton Avenue Teen Center.
Gretchen who is the Project Manager of the emerging leaders said, “This has been approved by the Arts Council. I submitted the application to the Arts Council and to the City Council. If you want, I can do a presentation now via Zoom.”
JohnLuke Chapparo who is the Camera Operator/Video Coordinator informed the council that they were not set up for her to a video presentation via Zoom right now.
IT Technician John Alleman came up to the mike and said we can do a screen shot at a later date.
Gretchen stated that she could give a brief presentation on what the Emerging Leaders do by having different people speak about different projects and programs that they are involved in.
Petrick stated that was fine and they could coordinate with the City Clerk and the IT Department to do a brief presentation via Zoom on Wednesday (8/10/22).
Gretchen said that this particular program would be ending soon, and she preferred to talk tonight with no screenshots.
It was decided for the Emerging Leaders to speak briefly during the public portion.
Greene spoke briefly on R-401-8/22 – Rescinding R-641-12/21 – Authorizing a contract with Spatial Data Logic for Enterprise License for Medium/Large Towns for up to a 5-year contract in the amount of $276,000 funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. He stated, “It’s a 5-year deal to access Broadbands so citizens can pinpoint problem areas such as potholes and send those photos to appropriate department heads.”
John Alleman from the IT Department added, “It is for a longer term than in the past. In the past, they had to use temporary funding.”
Council President Bill Petrick had a question about R-410-8/22 – A contract with Consulting & Municipal Engineers for Planning Services in an amount not to exceed $65,000. He asked, “What is the Scope of the Work?”
Tashi Vazquez from the Department of OECD spoke via Zoom, “It is for municipal planning purposes which gives them the authority to testify for the city. They are project-based consultants.”
Greene then spoke up, “This will also be for renovation and upgrades throughout our buildings. This is money that we have gotten from our congressman. This is an autonomous agency.”
Vazquez spoke up again, “We will be working with the Board of Trustees to identify projects in the building and on the outside on the parking lot. Final improvements will be made through HUD.”
Council President Bill Petrick stated, “There should free parking for library patrons.”
Councilman B.J. Torres asked, “Are they still looking for a Library Director?”
B.A. Greene replied, “The Library Board of Trustees does that.”
Petrick spoke up and stated, “The State Legislatures dictate the qualifications of a Library Director.”
Greene said, “They are presently looking at an interim Director.”
Torres said, “It is not listed for a job opening for a Library Director, and we have all this money coming in.”
Petrick spoke again, “There are many websites and options to advertise for a permanent Library Director. They should have a background in library sciences.”
Greene responded, “I would talk to the Board of Directors about what they have been doing to fill this position.”
Torres continued, “We have an additional library employee who has no qualifications. There was supposed to have a been a plan to have them take classes to qualify as a director. There is no experience, ability, or resources to draw on. In the school system, the librarians are qualified. We need research librarians to help students with their projects. I can’t emphasize that enough, especially with disinformation being spread.”
Petrick said, “The Caba Administration has not moved on this for two years.”
Greene said he would talk to the Board about the council’s concerns, and it was the Library Board of Trustees who decided who they wanted from the administration to work on the Board, and they chose Joel Rosa. They are the ones paying Joel Rosa, and not the city.”
Torres continued, “The Library Board was cherry-picked by the Administration. We are asking that they have people who have the expertise to work in the library system.”
Law Director Opel spoke up, “There are no state statutes for Library Director Qualifications. It gives the Library Board of Trustees free reign to appoint who they want.”
Greene then spoke about R-413-8/22 – A Contract with Morris Habitat for Humanity in the amount of $220,000 for calendar year 2022. He stated that he would sign off on all of these contracts.
He said, “I am the one who signs off on these contracts.”
The next resolution discussed was R-416-8/22 – A contract with the Jewish Renaissance Foundation Alternative Education Institute in the amount of $17,000.
Tashi Vazquez spoke via Zoom, “This is a Perth Amboy based program that has been taught online since Covid.”
To give a more detailed information on this program was Deborah Robinson from the JRF Foundation spoke via Zoom, “Thirty students use the services and at least of ten of those students were Perth Amboy residents. The classes are equivalent to the High School Equivalency Test and on June 19th of this year, seventeen students graduated from that program. The organization supplies all the computers and materials needed for learning.”
Police Chief Larry Cattano was called up to the mike to speak regarding Communication No. 10 – Mayor Helmin Caba appointing eight members of the police force to the position of Special I Police Officers effective July 15, 2022. “Most of them were prior auxiliary police officers and two used to be parking attendants.”
Public Portion (in-person first):
The first person to speak was Vince Mackiel. He referenced the last meeting where there was a presentation from two members of the Borinqueneers Park Committee. “The American Rescue Plan Funds were going to be used to fund part of that park. We need to use some of the money for the rebuilding of the railroad bridge. What are the difficulties of this project? It’s important for the public to comment, and who is responsible for the repairs (of the bridge)? The military took part in planning of waterways in the past.” He then talked about the King High Garage Walkway on State Street. “There is a Head Start Facility nearby. There is unsafe wiring (that needs to be addressed). I’m glad to see improvements of some of the properties in that area, and it has been noted by Pallone and others.”
Council President Petrick responded, “In regards to the Borinqueneers Park, more environmental work needs to be done (removing contaminants and capping of the property). They can start the cleanup after that, but they are still in the state of recovery.”
Mackiel continued, “Munitions might be in the waterways. You should get the military involved. Some of the things they find may have government markings on them.”
Petrick then said, “The LSRP will take care of it and call the government if needed.”
Mackiel concluded, “This site is important now, and for the future.”
The meeting was open up to Zoom participants:
The first person to speak was Precious Ojeda from the Jewish Renaissance Foundation, and she is the Leap Program Coordinator. She talked about how the Emerging Leaders Program is involved in many community activities, especially when it comes to suicide prevention, and the mural they will be creating at the Teen Center will have positive signs on how you can be helped and supported with many programs they have to offer. “Many high school students are involved in this program. They have murals painted throughout the State.”
Sharon Hubberman spoke next as the Chair of the Rent Leveling Board, “In January of 2022, the Rent Leveling Board saw increases of rent, and raises of taxes. We are in the midst of an economic inflation period. Some of the conditions of restaurants are not that good and there is a health oversight, especially when it comes to delivery and safety of all food products.”
Resident Caroline Pozycki spoke next. She spoke about public smoking, “15% of the parks should have space designated for smoking areas. It is difficult to regulate cannabis.” She also mentioned the Bike Fest down on Sadowski Parkway was a real good event. “We need to have bike lanes and use American Rescue Funds for it.”
Junel Sadowski from Kosciusko Avenue spoke next. She asked if other people could speak about the Emerging Leaders Program. “They had participated on the march on the Victory Bridge to bring awareness about suicide prevention.”
Council President William Petrick responded, “We (some of the council members) marched on the Victory Bridge to get barriers on that bridge to prevent suicide. What they put up was not effective fencing and the State has not taken any further action. There are two other bridges nearby that are even higher. Prevention is the best solution, and you helping is commendable.”
Sadowski continued, “Murals are placed where people can see them to let them know they can get help. I want to thank the council for letting us have a presentation tonight.”
The council went into closed session at 8:18 p.m. No further action was taken. Councilman Joel Pabon was present on Zoom Councilwoman Milady Tejeda was absent because of work obligations.
