3/12/18 Caucus (Followed by Regular Meeting)

PERTH AMBOY – There were questions regarding the change of plans requested by the Harbortown Developers (Harbortown Terrace, LLC).

Ordinance No. 1 – An Ordinance to Amend an Ordinance Entitled “Zoning and Land Development” (Ordinance No. 68393 As Amended) Adopted December 2, 1975 Also Known as Chapter 430 Et Seq of the Code of The City of Perth Amboy. Re:  430-16.G – Harbortown Terrace, LLC

R-116-3/18 Recommending adoption of an Ordinance entitled “Zoning and Land Development” Ordinance No. 683-93 as amended) dealing with permitted/required uses in Harbortown and submitting the Ordinance to the Planning Board for comment and recommendations.

Councilman Fernando Gonzalez gave an update regarding the Harbortown Terrace plans. He mentioned that he along with Councilman Joel Pabon met with Harbortown residents. “We had a good and lengthy meeting, but came to no conclusions. Harbortown Terrace LLC did not respond. The Mayor also reached out to them. The Ordinance on the Agenda is different than what we first thought. I thought we were supposed to refer revised plans to the Planning Board. This gives them specific breakdowns for what they (Harbortown Terrace LLC) wanted.”

Council President Bill Petrick spoke next. “There has been pressure from Harbortown. The Planning Board Meeting was cancelled due to the weather.”

Councilman Gonzalez then suggested the Council should table this ordinance until the next meeting.

Petrick said, “We (the Council) need to review the Harbortown plans before sending them to the Planning Board.”

Councilman Gonzalez concluded the discussion stating that he wants to compare the revised plans to the Focus 2020 Plan.

Ordinance No. 2 was discussed next. Adopting amendments to the Focus 2000 Redevelopment Plan for redevelopment area 1,2 & 3.

Councilman Fernando Irizarry had questions. “There’s nothing on here to discuss parking or reducing density in the downtown area. I thought the Waterfront area is supposed to be separate from the downtown.”

Councilman Gonzalez then added, “We should table this, too.” He then had a question for Law Director Peter King, asking, “If I express my feelings at a Zoning Board Meeting, can it bias me as a Council person?”

King replied, “Not if you represent yourself as a private citizen when you speak.”

DPW Director Frank Hoffman came forward when there were questions regarding repairs to the YMCA. “This is for the water damage (walls and mooring from the flooding in September 2016). We are recommending All Phase Consulting Services Corp. who has worked with us before.”

Next was a discussion about  the First Reading of: An Ordinance to Amend an Ordinance Entitled “Ordinance Fixing and Establishing A Schedule of Salaries and Salary Ranges and Increments for Officers and Employees of The City of Perth Amboy” (Ordinance No. 218-79 as Amended Adopted July 3, 1979) Re: Adding a title – Non-union and Management

Business Administrator Adam Cruz stated: “This will be a Dispatcher Supervisor. The title is being added per contract negotiations. This is a promotional position that will be discussed in closed session.”

Law Director King then told the Council this is not a new hire.

Next was a discussion regarding R-103-3/18 – A person-to-person transfer of a Plenary Retail Consumption License from Santo Domingo Invita to Santo Domingo Invita Restaurant LLC t/a Santo Domingo Restaurant, 223 Market St. and imposing special conditions on the license.

Law Director King said, “It was recommended (that the establishment hire one off-duty police officer).”

Gonzalez stated that he heard there was a meeting that took place at 1 p.m. on Friday regarding this establishment.

Cruz stated that the owner of this establishment asked if he could have more patrons allowed because they were going to be removing more tables. “Only the capacity of the number of people changed.”

Gonzalez then asked, “Was it necessary to have a transfer to be made since it was within the family?”

City Clerk Jasko responded, “The transfer needs to be made because there was a title change.”

Councilman Helmin Caba then asked if the establishment if an off-duty officer is necessary. “It will be more of an expense to the City. An off-duty officer has never been required before (in other places).”

Petrick corrected that statement and said, “Other establishments have hired off-duty police officers.”

Irizarry was concerned about this establishment’s violations over the same matter.

Caba said, “I’m confused because the owner was issued two different occupancy certificates.”

Petrick explained, “If this owner continues to cooperate with the special conditions, he can come back and request to have any revisions.”

There was a small discussion involving the renewal of a leasing agreement of the Perth Amboy Board of Education for the Albert G. Waters Stadium. (R-117-3/18)

Law Director King gave more information, “This was a ten-year lease. The Board of Education will be responsible for improvements, which will include playgrounds and parks. We (the City) can inspect the properties for safety issues. If we find anything wrong, they (The BOE) has thirty days to fix it.”

There was also another discussion regarding R-115-3/18 Authorizing an Municipal Services Agreement with High Street and UAW Senior Housing Corp. B.A. Cruz explained that this would be based on tonnage per pickup.

DPW Director Frank Hoffman came up to give a more detailed explanation, “We calculate the size of a dumpster and we give the maximum number of what we will pay. Geri Barcheski (DPW Supervisor) did the calculations (to save the City money).”

During the public portion, Resident and Zoning Board Member Maria Garcia came up to speak first. She wanted to know why the Zoning Board Members are being sued by the City.

Law Director King responded. “The position for the Zoning Board Attorney was supposed to be advertised. The Zoning Board Members did not do that, and they hired an attorney on their own.”

Garcia shot back. She read back part of an ordinance stating what the Zoning Board can do with money appropriated to them. “The Board is independent and not connected to the City. We as the Board have the right to choose who we want as an attorney.”

King then added, “The matter is under investigation. They (the Zoning Board) do have the right to hire who they want. Under the Professional Services Contract, bids can go out.”

Garcia responded back, “That is not right.”

King responded, “They can be advertised.”

Jose Amarante, who is another Zoning Board Member came up to speak and stated, “We’ll be happy to comply, but we never got a copy of the RFP (Request for Proposal). This is not professional. There was a request for a special Zoning Board Meeting which was cancelled without us knowing. I’m seeking to become the next chair of the Board.  It’s best to keep everything up-front, and not sue the Board Members.”

King responded, “The Board is being sued in its capacity as members, and not individually.”

Jeremy Baratta, who is also a Zoning Board Member wanted to know what is the procedure to get counsel. I have thirty-five days to file an answer.

King suggested that Baratta contact the Board Attorney.

Baratta then stated, “The Attorney is the codefendant.”

King then said, “You can send me your questions and I can forward it to the insurance company. It’s procedural.”

Resident Stanley Sierakowski came up next, “Who initiated the lawsuit against the Zoning Board Members?”

King responded, “I did.”

Sierakowski went on to say, “The Department of Community Affairs should have been informed about a difference of opinion. Have them render an opinion.”

Sierakowski then went on to talk about St. Demetrios’s land that is supposed to be redeveloped. “What is it being rezoned to? What is the density and the number of units? I don’t think they pay property tax.”

Councilman Gonzalez responded, “We can give you a copy of the Planning Board’s analysis and why that property needs redevelopment.”

Sierakowski then questioned if Annie Hindenlang is a City Employee, “Who pays for her salary?”

Council President Petrick told Sierakowski that she is a consultant to PARA and not a City Employee.

Cruz then responded, “PARA pays her.”

A City Resident then came forward complaining about how bad the streets are and how they ruined her tires. She specifically complained about Smith Street and Convery Boulevard.

Council President Petrick told the Resident that she can report potholes on the City Website and she could also call the DPW.

Irizarry then remarked, “We’ve tried to get grant money to fix the roads and have done so in the past and have gotten road repairs.”

Resident Alan Silber had a question regarding Ordinance No. 5 Adopting Redevelopment Plan for Sadowski Parkway, Wisteria Street, and Linden Street (former St. Demetrios Church Community Center) Redevelopment Land. He asked if this property will be tax exempt. “We will not get one penny in taxes for this redevelopment project. The Federal Hill Properties were tax exempt because of a church involvement. Will this be the same for St. Demetrios?” Silber then questioned the bids for the maintenance of City Parks. He thought it was strange that everyone who put in a bid had even bids except for the low bidder who had the exact amount he wanted. Silber then had something to say in regard to closed sessions, “If you talk about something in closed session, it should not be on the Agenda.” He then said closed session items should have more specific information listed.

Resident David Caba came up to speak about some Perth Amboy Businesspeople listed in a New Jersey Magazine article, “I asked a few years ago at a Meeting, how many Dominicans have City appointed positions? When I came here at the age of three, most of our friends were Puerto Rican. Of all the people in the article in this magazine, we couldn’t do better. There was no mention about he first Dominican elected as a Vice-President (Milady Tejeda of the Perth Amboy Board of Education). My Cousin (Councilman Helmin Caba – First Dominican Council Member and First Dominican Chair of the Perth Amboy Democratic Association) wasn’t mentioned. I know what the struggle was for their parents, plus the people who were selected for the article never won an election.” People started to chuckle when he said, “They couldn’t even beat Fernando Gonzalez. My point is, how many Dominicans have been appointed as a Director as long as they are qualified. It’s a shame those elected officials were not spotlighted.”

Resident Ken Balut came up to speak next. “We should see who picked the people who appeared in this article.” He then mentioned Women’s History Month (March). The City did not recognize the First Woman Police Sergeant (in Perth Amboy). I would like to see a comparison between the salaries of Jillian Barrack and Adam Cruz.”

Balut then had a question referencing R-107-3/18 The CDBG Grants Road Program in the amount not to exceed $28,000. This is for a professional services agreement with City State Engineering. He asked, “Is that the money that was denied to the JRF Foundation?” He then asked, “Why is the Board of Education giving the Y money? All those schools from the North are using the Y. The Y is abusing the contract.”

Council President Bill Petrick interrupted Balut, “Why didn’t you complain about this when you were on the Council?”

Balut responded, “I wanted to break the Y Contract, but was voted down when I was on the Council. There was supposed to be a press conference. After I left office, that never took place. Mr. Blunda stopped the lawsuit. In ten years, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Can the taxpayers afford this?”

Business Administrator Adam Cruz responded to one of Balut’s comments, “The Mayor has appointed females (in prominent positions). Some exceptions are the Fire, Police, and Recreation Departments.”

Resident Vince Mackiel came up next. He said, “The City should look into alternative means of transportation. With our waterways, we should have ferry service. The Mayor wrote about the backed-up traffic at the Outerbridge Crossing. Her solution was widening the roads. The Ferry is part of Perth Amboy’s History.”

Resident Renee Skelton came up and asked what the situation was regarding Focus 2020.

Law Director Peter King responded, “This will be reintroduced on the next Agenda for First Reading.”

Gonzalez made a couple of comments regarding the YMCA contract. “We subsidize $22,000 a month of the $34,000 operating cost.”

King responded, “We started to do a cost-sharing and we are doing a forensic audit of the Y’s books.”

Gonzalez turned his attention to the Kushner properties, “We need to send a letter of essence to Kushner regarding the property on High Street. It’s sitting there idle and we’re losing hundreds of thousands a year of tax money on those vacant properties. Other developers are interested in those properties. We’re losing $22,000 a month on the Y and thousands a year on High Street properties and suing each other. We need to move in the right direction to save the citizens money. In the Focus 2020 Plan, 10% of the Harbortown property and any new developments should be dedicated to recreation. If we get additional students, we will need more recreation. That project has been ongoing for almost 20 years.”

Petrick wrapped up this discussion and asked, “Can we please look into putting those High Street Properties up for sale?”

The Bumps in the Road, Continued

3/14/18 Council Meeting

PERTH AMBOY – During the first public comments, Resident Stanley Sierakowski came up to speak about the Ordinance concerning the St. Demetrios Church Property that was being considered for redevelopment. He asked, “What is it being rezoned for? And how many units? What will be the density?”

Councilman Joel Pabon stated, “We have the paperwork.”

Sierakowski continued, “The Judge (Marina Corodemus) from the Greek Church said they want to bring back the Greek Population. Can we challenge this position?”

The Council then voted on the resolutions. Councilman Fernando Irizarry moved Consent Agenda R-101-3/18 thru R-115-3/18 and R-117-3/18. It was seconded by Councilman Helmin Caba. R-116-3/18 was voided.

R-116-3/18 – Recommending adoption of an Ordinance entitled “Zoning and Land Development” (Ordinance No. 683-93 as amended) dealing with permitted/required uses in Harbortown and submitting the Ordinance to the Planning Board for comment and recommendations.

It was moved to table by Councilman Fernando Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Helmin Caba to table it. Councilman Joel Pabon voted “No” to table.

During the last public portion, Resident Stanley Sierakowski came up to speak again. He started to talk about Harbortown. “They say that the Redevelopment Agency can grant a five-year abatement. Can the Redevelopment Agency bypass you? Is the whole property getting a tax abatement and how much will it cost the City? Also, did King (the Law Director) inform you about suing the Zoning Board Members?”

Council President Petrick replied, “There was some discussion (about the lawsuit) and King took action that he thought was appropriate.”

Law Director King then said that, “There is a 45 day state stature to file.”

Sierakowski concluded, “This is a serious issue (the Greek Church Property with the rezoning and potential Greek only tenants).”

Resident David Caba came up. He asked the Council if they have been on the roads. “Have you seen our roads lately? It’s an insult and there’s no accountability. There’s an ordinance in place where the utility companies have to be held responsible. In other towns, they tear up the roads, but do a good job putting the streets back together. Barry (Rosengarten) only knows about State Street (Five Corners) up to the Waterfront. There used to be a (Police) substation before. I’m waiting for the Business Administrator to call me to walk Smith Street. Hall Avenue and State Streets are a disgrace and disgusting. Did the Council promise the Landings Residents different amenities?”

Roisin Dowling, who lives on Woodruff Place and who is also a Zoning Board Member and a member of the DVRT came up to speak. She complained about the owner of a dilapidated house next to her who rents out two apartments. “They have added a stairway that encroaches on my property.” She then spoke about the lawsuit against the Zoning Board. “The Board of Adjustments can hire consultants. Don’t insult me by hiring me to do a job then go and do what you want anyway.”

Council President Petrick responded, “There’s a misunderstanding about hiring an attorney through an RFP. A committee is formed on Boards to find an attorney.”

This Resident was not satisfied. She said, “The City took over all of these duties. They also frivolously canceled some of our Zoning Board Meetings. We should disband the Board of Adjustments because we are being used as puppets. We have been delayed on projects because of these cancellations.”

Law Director King responded, “The Zoning Board Chair can call for a special meeting.”

Dowling answered back, “The Chairman called Jamie Rios to cancel the meeting. Our Vice-Chair is out of the country. The Chair is having private meetings with the Mayor.”

King then responded, “I will not file any default on any of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Members. I can go up to six months for the judge to make a judgment.”

Petrick then told Dowling, “You have to hire from an RFP. If you don’t want any of those candidates presented, you can ask for another RFP to be submitted.”

Resident Reinaldo Aviles came up to speak next, “I was a former Zoning Board of Adjustment Member. The Chair doesn’t send emails. Before I left, we were given City email accounts. There was no bidding for professional services. The RFP can be done by the Board of Adjustment Members and not the City. If you were happy with the present attorney, why would you request a replacement?”

Petrick then made a comment regarding the Zoning Board of Adjustments Attorney, “The Courts are deciding if they are an employee or a contractor.”

Aviles finished the comments, “No matter who is the appointing body is, they should be looked on as a partner. No one will want to be a Board Member.”

Resident Alan Silber came up to speak about the nepotism policy. He said, “I read from a Meeting from 4/25/12 relating to nepotism. Something was taken out in 2017. How would someone know if the nepotism in a paragraph is removed? The waiver portion was taken out. It’s a misuse of taxpayer’s dollars. I don’t know if a person being hired even lives in the City.  The requirement changed.”

King responded, “Based on union contracts, some people are hired through civil service, but there are exceptions.”

Cruz added further comments, “Positions are posted internally first. If no one is qualified, they can post that position externally.”

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke on this subject. “Inhouse people are not given the opportunity to get a higher paying job in their departments. Outsiders are getting these positions.”

Silber said, “This should be stated on the application.”

Cruz responded, “The City Clerk can provide you with the document that you (the Council) signed regarding nepotism.”

Central Jersey Organizer of Food and Water Watch Junior Romero came up to speak. He asked for the City’s support to cut off fossil fuels. “We need 100% renewal energy in New Jersey. We now only have 3%-6%. We need more offshore wind and solar energy.”

Resident Vince Mackiel came up next. He told the Council about an upcoming HUD Meeting. He also voiced his concern about immigrants. “Most come here for a better life. Now, it’s mostly enforcement taking place. Where does the City stand in defending immigrant’s rights?”

Council President Petrick told Mackiel that if he wanted to discuss the policy more in-depth, he could talk to the Police Chief after the Meeting.

A Resident from Prospect Street wanted to know about the status of the homeless situation in Perth Amboy and what programs were open to them.

Petrick brought up different organizations and programs that can help.

When it came to the Council Comments, Helmin Caba said, “I looked up the September 13, 2017 Meeting, which in Resolution R-363 there were no details in that Caucus Meeting that I can see a change referring to nepotism.”

Petrick then said, “I didn’t see any new language underlined.”

B.A. Cruz then told the Council, “If they look up the Agenda on the 9/13/17 Meeting, R-363-9/17, See the backup information on Page 22 where it talked about nepotism.”

City Clerk Elaine Jasko then told the Council, “I will provide the Council with those Meeting Minutes.”

Councilman Fernando Irizarry asked for an update on the County Park for High Street. “There has been nothing coming from the County on this.”People want to know what’s going on regarding the recent shootings. Can we get an update? I know the Police are being proactive with arrests. What precipitated these actions? In the past, people who caused problems had to leave. We also have complained many times about streets looking worse after repairs. We have passed several ordinances pertaining to this. We need a two week notice to inform residents of dates and times of work to be done, especially in their neighborhoods.”

Adam Cruz responded, “We have notified the County of this.”

Irizarry further remarked, “We are in winter when there is an increase in potholes. We have gotten grants for street repairs before. The asphalt factories are closed.” He then mentioned that there will be a forum to talk about Governor Murphy’s proposal to legalize recreational marijuana. That forum will be held at the Cathedral on Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 7 p.m. (see ad on page 6.) “If this law is passed, it will be harmful to our community,” Irizarry said.

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke next. It’s getting frustrating (the poor condition of the roads). State Street was done completely. Now, it’s a warzone. It’s like they (the utility companies) don’t really care. I reached out to Irving (Lozada, Chief of Staff). These potholes are huge. These things are just going to get worse.” He responded to Irizarry regarding the recent shootings. “The Chief addressed the shooting concerns at the first meeting in March.”

B.A. Cruz then responded to the remarks about the road conditions, “I will ask Rauch (City Engineer) to contact the utility companies for a schedule of the street repairs.”

Pabon then added, “The road where the Ignacio Cruz School  is looks terrible.”

Cruz gave an update on the County Park, “Permits are being processed from the D.E.P. We expect the complete construction to be done by 2019.”

Council President Bill Petrick closed the meeting and voiced his concerns about the street lights that were out, and how much salt was used during the recent storms. “Can we look into using grinding? We use grinding in certain instances. Maybe some of the CDBG grants there were not used by the JRF maybe some can go to other organizations and projects such as Sunshine Alley.”

Councilman Fernando Gonzalez was absent from the Meeting.