5/27/20 Caucus & Council Meetings via Phone Conference

By: Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – During the Caucus portion of the 5/27/20 meeting, Councilman Fernando Irizarry had a question about a bid by Universal Gold Foam (RE: Training Specialty Inc.) for $121,600. “Who will be paying for this foam?”

Council President Bill Petrick responded, “Buckeye.”

Business Administrator Frederick Carr then spoke up, “Buckeye is also paying for all of the funding.”

There was next a question regarding Resolution R-179 – A change order with underground utilities corporation increasing the contract for the sewer separation project for an amount not to exceed $62,000.

Louis Perez Jimenez, Director of Operations at the USA-PA Middlesex Water Company came up to speak when Councilman Irizarry asked for more clarification. “We are ahead of schedule. Pulaski Avenue, Center Street, and Valley Place – the work is already in place. It’s a trench being dug on top of another facility. This is to compare elevations. Electricity and gas pipes were in the way, and we had to make sure we had enough clearance before starting on this project.”

Irizarry then questioned R-180 – A grant acceptance with the NJ Department of Transportation for the road improvement of several city streets.

Irizarry stated, “I’m reluctant to support this. Someone will decide that a trench will be needed for a newly paved road. Look at what happened to High Street and Rector Street after they were repaved. We have a committee who is supposed to avoid this type of situation. When is this going to stop?”

City Engineer Jeffery Rauch responded, “The city has a road opening ordinance in place. If a road that was paved had to be opened up again by a utility company within a 5-year timeframe, that utility company must do curb-to-curb restoration of that road. We told Elizabethtown Gas that they have to do this. In July or August, they’ll be doing pave-to-paving restoration at their cost.”

When Council President William Petrick asked if they (Elizabethtown Gas) will be putting up a bond to do this, Rauch responded, “Yes.”

When Petrick asked Rauch if he is making sure this restoration will be done, Rauch responded, “Yes.”

Petrick then questioned, “Is this emergency work being done?”

Rauch responded, “It’s for the upgrading of the main lines in those streets. We get notifications of any roadwork upgrades. They don’t inform us beforehand about road openings.”

Petrick then stated, “The city needs notifications in a timely manner for roads (that are going to be dug up).”

Rauch agreed.

Councilman Irizarry then had a question about R-181 – Authorizing the city of Perth Amboy to enter into a city/county reimbursement agreement Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) with Middlesex County.

Business Administrator Frederick Carr explained, “We gave the county all the paperwork and cost of what we needed. I also worked with OEM Director and Police Chief Cattano. The county provided the supplies and we picked up some of the supplies from the Fire Academy in Sayreville.”

OEM Director Larry Cattano then joined the discussion, “We received PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from the national stockpile. This included test kits some of which were given to the adult care centers. We (the city) already had a lot of equipment and are self-sufficient. We talk the county and Health Department.” 

Cattano then went onto talk about R-182-5/20 – A contract with Amazon Services LLC for the purchase of PPE and certain needed decontamination supplies in respect to the COVID emergency in an amount not to exceed $40,000.

“This is for the Office of Emergency Management who are the ones who order supplies.”

B.A. Carr added some comments, “This is a centralized purchasing and ordering process. All of the departments will go through the OEM for their needed supplies.”

Irizarry then questioned R-185-5/20 – An agreement with the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Team for Neighborhood Enterprise Revitalization (PARTNER) to obtain donations from various manufacturers and providers, one being L’Oréal, of goods for the use of residents who are at risk and in need. 

“Why are there a lot of changes in this resolution? Some things are striked out or X’d out. Did the Law Director read over this agreement?”

Law Director Peter King joined the conversation, “I made all the corrections on the agreement.”

Carr then spoke up, “We sent the original documents to Law Director King and changes were made which were agreed upon by all parties involved.”

Irizarry then asked, “Why are there question marks at the end of one of the items?”

King responded, “I questioned L’Oréal not wanting publicity. It’s a loose agreement.”

Petrick then questioned, “Shouldn’t we get a clean copy of the agreement?”

Councilman Joel Pabon then stated, “We need more of an explanation for this agreement.”

Director of Human Resources Ken Ortiz joined the conversation, “L’Oréal contracted us to donate personal hygiene products. They cannot donate to government agencies, so it went through PARTNER.

Public Portion:

Resident Jeremy Baratta was first. He was concerned about a lot of typos on the bill list. “Is it being done on purpose? There are a lot of expenses.” He questioned the reimbursement of referees and other sports coaches. “I thought everything is shut down. There is also a bill from Pizzarelli Restaurant under the Youth Alliance Program and there were services for a Unique Youth Program. What kind of services do the Youth Alliance Program provide?”

He urged the council to look at the check registers for all these different items. Business Administrator Frederick Carr was even reimbursed for his Zoom and travel expenses. Shouldn’t it be on the city’s account?”

Petrick responded to the question regarding Carr’s reimbursement. “He (Carr) took it upon himself to do that.” Petrick then asked Ortiz to answer the other questions asked by Baratta.

Ortiz explained, “The Unique Youth Program is aimed towards third and fourth graders. The grant was funded before the pandemic happened. All of these services were already rendered previously.”

The next person who came to speak was a woman named Gladys who resides at 601 Pacific Ave. “I still am having trouble with the neighbors at 599 Pacific Ave. concerning their dogs and other issues. I’ve even asked Code Enforcement to look into this. They (my neighbors) recently set off fireworks and burned my fence and patio lining.”

Petrick spoke up, “This is not my expertise, but it sounds like criminal mischief.”

The resident continued, “I’ve sent several letters to the landlord. That is a one-bedroom house (599 Pacific Ave.) and there are 12 people living there.”

B.A. Carr assured the resident, “I will follow up on your complaint and I have all of your information.”

The resident continued, “There was the incident where that same resident had a pit bull which bit a child, but that pit bull is no longer there. Now they have 2 smaller pit bulls that come there that are not on a leash.”

Law Director King spoke up, “I will refer this to animal control.”

Petrick then stated, “The council has complaints attached to their paperwork from this resident at 601 Pacific Ave.”

The next person to speak was Cristina Pinzon, of Stateside Affairs, who lives at 120 Polk Dr., Brick, New Jersey. “I have been doing work for the city of Perth Amboy since October 2019. Our invoices have been on hold since March. We need to get paid for our services rendered.”

Law Director King spoke up regarding this matter, “I requested a need for a public relations person.”

The next person to speak was Laura Gaviria of Stateside Affairs, who resides at 750 Broad St., Elizabeth New Jersey. “I have done work which includes social media and digital media for the city. As of March, I have not gotten paid.”

Council President Bill Petrick responded, “The council will review this matter (payment to Stateside Affairs) and give it consideration.”

Council Comments:

Councilmen Helmin Caba and Fernando Irizarry had no comments.

Councilman Joel Pabon brought up the two individuals from Stateside Affairs. “I didn’t know they were involved in the city since late October 2019. They should be paid. That is the bottom line. They are small businesses.” He then questioned “When is the city opening up? We have plenty of social distancing. What about the tax money collected? Are we behind? There are a lot of calls coming in about cars speeding. It’s almost as if we are at Raceway Park. There are so many people driving at high speeds, especially on Market Street and High Street. People have also been complaining about cars coming down Kearny Avenue and Madison Avenue. We keep talking about speed bumps and we need something to stop this. We used to have a small police station downtown. There are a lot of kids on the street. Madison Avenue residents have complained to police about one particular car speeding and even gave the police the license plate number and the time the person was speeding. We need to get answers. The woman from 601 Pacific Ave. has been complaining for a very long time. I retired from the post office over a year ago. I remember her complaining about her neighbors for before I retired.”

B.A. Carr responded to some of Pabon’s questions, “The new tax bills are going out on June 2nd. Stateside Affairs was hired by the city and the council took no action. My hands are tied.”

Petrick responded, “We (the council) never hired them (Stateside Affairs). The mayor can’t spend money not authorized by us. I don’t know if we needed a public relations firm for the pandemic. We get bombarded everyday regarding the pandemic.”

King responded, “OEM Director Larry Cattano uses them (Stateside Affairs) to get information out to the residents. A lot of time the churches were able to get the word out to the residents, but now they are closed.”

B.A. Carr added some comments regarding opening up the city, “We have most of the staff back except for the court system. The courts are looking at having virtual sessions with all parties involved. The public access to the buildings has not yet been provided. Barriers have to be put in place to protect our employees. If people need go to Olive Street to visit the vital statistics office, they need to make an appointment beforehand. Some buildings have staggered staffing. We don’t know the restrictions for full restaurant openings.”

Pabon thanked Carr for the update.

Carr continued, “If I had a magic wand, I would wish we could open up the city sooner.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda said, “I have concerns about business openings. Some businesses are not paying attention to the instructions given to them. I was in Shoprite to pick up a prescription, and I left right away because people are not following the instructions put on the floor (in the aisles). It is difficult for the bodegas and it’s going to be hard to open up safely (for the city as a whole).”

Carr then spoke up again, “City Hall will be retrofitted with plexiglass. Some offices will require employees to wear masks and physical dividers will be added between employees.”

Council President William Petrick said, “I agree with Councilman Pabon and regarding adding speedbumps on some streets as other cities have done. Harned Avenue needs a speed bump. Councilman Pabon also has a list of streets (to be considered). Some of the masks that people are wearing are not helpful. A lot of the masks people order online are not legitimate. The police are doing a lot of birthday celebrations for residents with sirens blasting. People might think that it’s just a birthday party. People speeding and making loud noises were not tolerated under the Vas administration. He (Joe Vas) would have gotten results for the woman who complained about not getting her problems solved with her next-door neighbors.”

The caucus concluded at 5:48 p.m. The council resumed with the regular meeting at 6 p.m.

The public was invited to speak on Ordinance No. 1 – “Wreckers”.

Resident Jeremy Baratta questioned the tow fees which were raised from $75 to $125. He was pleased that cars were given extra storage time, but he noticed there were no payments for certain items such as cleanups. 

Council President Petrick responded, “I’m not sure that I know of certain items being eliminated.”

Baratta continued, “If towers are doing a certain service such as cleanups, they should get paid for it. If they are not reimbursed for a particular service, they shouldn’t be doing it. It’s dangerous work, especially if they are on roadways.”

Petrick responded, “There are prices set for all services provided.”

Councilman Joel Pabon then spoke up, “Everything may be included in the price hike. The weight limit was also changed (where larger vehicles are charged more to be towed). The insurance company will cover a lot of the cost.”

Business Administrator Frederick Carr then told the council that he wanted to have Ordinance No. 2 – “Disasters and Emergencies” regarding the authority of Emergency Management Coordinator to be tabled.

Baratta spoke about this ordinance, “What is the OEM Coordinator duties in response to disasters and emergencies? Under what authority does the OEM act regarding this ordinance?” He then questioned, “What information is being put out by the Public Information Officer?”

Law Director Peter King stated, “The OEM works through the administration and OEM Director Cattano uses the administration public information personnel.”

Baratta then questioned, “Who gives the official authorization: the administration or the OEM?”

Petrick responded, “I believe the state police initiates the orders and it goes to the OEM who has preference over the administration.”

King spoke up again, “We can rely on the county.”

Petrick said, “You (the administration) are not using people from the city (Re: Stateside Affairs).”

King countered, “We are hiring people who do what is best for the residents.”

OEM Director Larry Cattano then joined the conversation, “We have 15 functioning Annexes. Each annex addresses a specific problem. Some of our annexes are the police, the fire, and health departments. At the end of the day, I am responsible. I decide what annex is used. The Public Information Officer sent out information to certain groups of people who need to be informed. Sometimes we use print media. You may have to use Public Information Officer to get out information regarding reverse 911.”

Petrick then questioned, “Who is responsible (for getting information out)?”

Cattano answered, “In the past, it was Noelia Colon, but I have been in contact with these two individuals from Stateside. I don’t know if we can use Colon.”

Law Director King reminded the council, “You defunded her (Public Information Officer’s) position.”

Councilman Irizarry then spoke up and questioned, “If we (the city) had a Public Information Officer, would that be an annex? Because we don’t have one, you used an outside firm. What have they done?”

Cattano continued, “I have not seen their bills (that they submitted) or hours they have worked, but I have emailed them, and they have communicated with us.”

Petrick asked, “What about utilizing Nixle?”

Cattano responded, “There is a high use of Nixle, and we’ve had high number of new signups. You can sign up through your cell phone, but you have to op-in.”

Carr then explained why he wanted to table Ordinance No. 2, “We have to align the city’s code to the state statute. That’s why we have to make sure the OEM is also aligned with the state.”

Resident Jeremy Baratta came up to speak on R-174 – Emergency temporary appropriations to extend CY: 2020 temporary budget in the amount of $5,619,312.  Baratta questioned, “How much is outstanding for the emergency appropriations?” He then started to rattle off some items. 

Council President Petrick interrupted Baratta when he was speaking and stated, “This is not on the agenda. You can speak on this during the last public portion.”

The council then voted on all of the ordinances, for Ordinance No. 1 (No public discussion- First Reading) – Adding a loading zone portion on New Brunswick Avenue. It was moved by Irizarry and seconded by Caba. Irizarry spoke up and said he was concerned about the loading zone being 60 feet long. “It will eliminate 3 parking spaces – which is a lot!”

Petrick spoke up and told Irizarry, “That is a legitimate concern.”

Carr stated, “It’s a loading zone requested by a liquor store.”

Petrick suggested that the liquor store should ask for a smaller delivery truck.

Irizarry said, “Let’s see how it works out.”

When it came time to vote, Pabon, Tejeda and Petrick (who also stated it was too long) voted “No”. Irizarry and Caba voted “Yes”. Motion fails to pass on Ordinance No. 1. 

Pabon stated, “There’s barely any parking for any businesses in that area.”

Tejeda agreed with Pabon’s statement.

For the consent Agenda R-174 thru R-185 was moved by Councilman Fernando Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Joel Pabon.

Irizarry spoke up and said, “I have a problem because on my agenda, I show we have a Resolution R-186.”

Petrick said, “It was put on by mistake.

City Clerk Victoria Kupsch said, “It was removed. Items in that resolution were already incorporated into a previous resolution.”

Public Portion:

Resident Jeremy Baratta was the only person to speak. He referenced Stateside Affairs. “The council writes the checks, and the city pays the bills. They (Stateside Affairs) are not eligible to be paid from the date of July 18, 2019. Why wasn’t this (their invoices submitted) discussed at previous meetings? Go on their website. This is Wilda’s campaign team. Cattano really didn’t know who they are. And what is this about an Annex Officer?”

Cattano spoke up, “An annex can be anyone.”

Pabon said, “We never voted on this (Stateside Affairs Public Relations).”

Councilman Helmin Caba had no comments.

Councilman Fernando Irizarry said, “Perhaps we need to have a resolution to pay Stateside for the money they are owed.”

When Petrick asked Irizarry if he had looked at the services that Stateside provided, Irizarry responded, “No.” 

Petrick then suggested, “You may be premature (asking for a resolution).”

Irizarry spoke up again, “They still should get paid.”

Councilman Joel Pabon spoke next and stated, “We need to have closed sessions for our meetings.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda had no comments.

Council President William Petrick suggested, “Maybe we can have Zoom closed sessions.”

B.A. Carr said, “We really needed to have one tonight regarding litigation, but it’s my fault for not doing this. Maybe we can have closed sessions with the regular audience in attendance.”

Peterick continued, “We should have the council come in together in person in city hall. It would be under ten people (including all who are needed). Face to face would be better for closed sessions. We can use the council chambers. Think about it, and we can work on a date.” Petrick concluded the meeting, “Stay safe. Wash your hands and remember social distancing, especially in bodegas. God bless everyone.”

All the council members echoed the same sentiments: “God bless everyone.” The council meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.