Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
November 23, 2021
Held in-person at Borough Hall Council Chambers, 416 New Jersey Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach.
Live streamed via https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCflODKbSFakXUEKiyxSYdUA/live
Mayor Kanitra called the regular meeting to order at 7:31PM. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.” Present were Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes and Migut. Councilman Vitale was absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Council appointment of Replacement Councilmember to fill open seat (Resolution A)
Mayor Kanitra: addressed Council vacancy due to resignation – Municipal Committee Chair of the party from which former Councilman Santanello was elected emailed members of the County Committee to establish a meeting to nominate 3 candidates – was not enough momentum for a quorum –meeting was not held in the 15-day time period – falls upon Council to nominate – this seat represents residents – important to have it filled because there is important business to conduct over the last couple meetings – Council got together and discussed – individual they are looking for is here – no one in town is as qualified and Council would be lucky to serve with him – was first elected to Council in 1982, still serves the town and community as a Zoning Board (BOA) member, started the Historic Commission, is his friend, a statesman, and is incredibly qualified – submitted, for the record, a picture of him on his election from the APP web – called for a nomination of former Mayor Jack Pasola.
Motion by Councilwoman Byrnes to nominate John Pasola was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut,….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
OATH OF OFFICE: Clerk Farrell administered the oath of office to Councilman John Pasola.
Motion by Councilwoman Testa for Councilman Pasola to take former Councilman Santanello’s place on the Licensing and Inspection Committee (Inspections, Licenses and Building Codes) was seconded by Councilman Cortes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Councilman Pasola: thanked his family and Governing Body for support confidence – will not be here long, but will take it very serious – was honored to be asked – is very proud.
Approval of Minutes:
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve the October 19, 2021 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
PROCLAMATION: The Great Wall of Point Pleasant Beach Restoration
Mayor Kanitra presented a proclamation to Sheila Soyster and the PPB Cultural Arts Committee, who spoke about the restoration – community buy-in was incredible – Sheila’s mother played a part – selling her sketches helped raise money for the Arts Committee – last week, at the League of Municipalities ((NJLM) Conference, Arts Pride NJ, the State arts group, was talking about how quickly the PPB Arts Committee has grown and how they are hearing about it across the State.
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMO/DISCUSSION:
Councilman Cortes addressed Acting Zoning Officer (AZO) Savacool’s letter regarding a curb cut Request at 327 River Ave. – asking for 16′ – house is on west side of River Ave. – no parking – high-traffic roadway – have a 1-car garage, which allows 10’-13’ – AZO Savacool sees request as reasonable – will be no loss of parking – approved same next door last year for same reason – added as 2j at 16′.
BA/CFO Riehl addressed the DCA Best Practices Worksheet (Mayor Kanitra: BA/CFO Riehl works very hard on this every year – State uses it as a litmus test for how Council is doing – covers all aspects of government and Town Hall – have done very well in the past – is sure to have done well again under her guidance) are required to talk about it at a public meeting – Governing Body is required to have read it – a scaled-back 48 questions this year – deals with core competencies, personnel, budget, procurement transparency, shared services, fire districts, environment – a lot of unscored questions to gather information – can answer yes, no or not applicable – if prospective, must answer yes or no the next year – they track that – had 21 yeses – need 15 to receive full aid allotment – will be fine again this year.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilwoman Testa: congratulated Councilman Pasola; thanked the Beautification volunteers who helped with garland and planters – thanked Councilman Cortes for waking up on 5AM and getting on the pole – all he does for Beautification is much appreciated and will be greatly missed – everything looks beautiful – thanked Chair Steiner; the Arts Committee is having a “Point Me to the Beach” magnet contest – due date is Dec. 1st – winner will be announced on Dec. 5th – include name, email and phone number; thanked Homegrown Fair volunteers – lot of fun – Arts and Chamber came together – thanked all who came out; the Wall celebration this weekend was beautiful.
Councilwoman Byrnes: congratulated and thanked Councilman Pasola; Green Team maintained their Sustainable Jersey Bronze Certification, mostly lead by Cathy Sogorka – decided to continue efforts and work toward Silver Certification – will meet with the Golden Gulls on this – will identify actions at the Dec. meeting; Environmental Commission is working on the Little Lending Library, which should be installed any day; the Fire Dept. will participate in the Tree Lighting on Friday and offering truck rides for children – have announced their 4th annual Santa Truck Visits fundraiser – reach out to them or her to have Santa come to the house on the truck with presents; Golden Gulls held another social last week – well attended and enjoyed – Robocall helped with attendance – through these socials, are meeting active adults who need help with Internet – have had some members go to their homes and help with this and other things – just starting to get where they want to be – on Dec. 9th is a Christmas party at the Laurel Ave. firehouse – all of the adult community are welcome – on Dec. 19th, is a trolly sing-along/Christmas caroling for homebound seniors – invited houses to be placed on their itinerary – Jan. 11th is a bus trip to a Pennsylvania casino, with a lunch – $35/ticket – will get $25 back in chips – will hold something at Antrim School for seniors to learn technical skills; spoke about the resolution passed by the Ocean County Commissioners addressing recent closures of brick and mortar banking locations – seniors will face increasing difficulties in conducting banking transactions – resolution calls for banks to find ways to mitigate these hardships – on agenda as item 2i.
Councilman Cortes: recognized Nov. employee anniversaries – Mike Ormsby 32 years, Jennifer Coyne 16; the pipe project on Ocean Ave. has made its way to Arnold Ave., moving north; the rest of the DPW parking lot was paved – long overdue and much better; DPW is picking up leaves – told all to put them out to the curb.
Councilman Pasola: looking forward to sitting down with all the department heads – always did that in his day and enjoyed it – asked BA/CFO Riehl to make arrangements – vital to see if they have problems and what’s going on; invited residents to call him with problems or suggestions – is always available – it’s very rewarding when you can help somebody – can’t always; thanked the employees – been wanting to for a long time – thanked the Police Dept. for fabulous job this summer under very tough conditions – see what’s going on around the Country – is not easy to be a Policeman – sees Sanitation people picking up heavy bags and cans, working very hard – Code Enforcement – the Borough Administrator and Municipal Clerk – are very fortunate to have an experienced staff – do a fabulous job for the town – makes the Governing Body’s job much easier – thanked all for his appointment.
Councilman Migut: the “Free Parking” sign has been up at the railroad lot for about 2 months – drove by on Sunday afternoon and there were only 10 cars in the lot – is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season – would think businesses would want to move employee cars into that lot to make room for shopper parking – they would be more inclined to come back for lunch, etc. – will ask the Parking Authority to send a letter to Chamber to encourage businesses to encourage their employees to use the railroad lot – will also ask the Parking Authority to consider a boat canvass hood for the rate schedule sign – thinks people are confused, thinking it’s still a paid lot (Mayor Kanitra: agrees wholeheartedly – went through the effort of trying to get everyone into the NJ Transit lot and changed the fee structure to allow for it – and are working on getting more parking on the west side of lot – might have to take license #’s of business people taking vital parking – asked BA/CFO Riehl to facilitate; BA/CFO Riehl: machines are dismantled in the off-season – nowhere to pay anyway).
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: recognized his dad, here from Georgia; congratulated Councilmembers-elect Crowley and Ramos – looking forward to working with them – also congratulated Councilman Cortes – big shoes to fill – everyone knows what a hard worker he is, a PPBHS graduate – hopes he will continue to help in whatever ways he wants; recognized Councilmembers Testa and Cortes, BA/CFO Riehl and QOL Dir. O’Rourke for their work on receiving $63K for bike sharrows through a grant application – trying to make the streets safer for bikes, pedestrians and motorists – don’t have room for full-on bike lanes – thinks sharrows will do a good job on streets leading to and around schools and on pathways; thanked Shade Tree and Open Space Chair Lightburn, winner of the 2021 NJ Urban and Community Forestry Award – well deserved – planted 100 trees in PPB last year – making up for a lot of years; Fri. is one of the town’s best traditions – the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony starting at 5PM – tree will be lit at 5:30PM – encouraged all to come – one thing he heard the most when he came into office was that residents wanted a bigger tree – thanked BA/CFO Riehl – have an 18’ tree planted near Bam Bam Burger (BA/CFO Riehl: was purchased and installed by R.T. Davies – they spent ½ day, had 2 cranes, 4 trucks and 6 guys to get that tree in the ground – all free of charge – did a great job) will recognize them at the ceremony – tree can grow up to 40’– are growing as a community and going in the right direction – thinks the tree is symbolic of that – Chamber has an incredible day planned with carolers, characters, horse & buggy rides, face painting; Non-Resident Taxpayer Committee (NRTAC) had 25-30 comments that came out of their meeting – QOL Dir. O’Rourke and BA/CFO Riehl addressed all problems and answered all questions; work continues on Sister Cities relationship – hoping for a meeting here or signing at the end of spring, if COVID allows; EV grants are in for electric charging stations; submitted letters and joining a working group regarding off-shore wind, which continues to be a priority of this administration because of its potential negative impacts on the tourism and fishing industries and environment; met with the NJ Film Commission – there is a 35% incentive for going outside a 30-mile radius of NYC – when people film, they fill hotels, motels, restaurants, etc. – spoke with them about touring PPB – they are excited about possibly moving some productions here and highlighting PPB – asked if anyone had any hesitancies (BA/CFO Riehl: had Netflix filming here last week – have a film permitting process through her office).
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: came across article from 1988 where Councilmen Pasola and Malone were meeting with beach and Boardwalk businesses to discuss bad behavior and rowdy crowds (Councilman Pasola: dug up the Ocean County Leader from 80-90 years ago with the same complaints – parking, rowdyism; Mayor Kanitra: saw an article today that there was a movement to get rid of Skee-Ball and games of chance in the early 1900s); along with R.T. Davies, need to thank Turbo Electric, who was persistent with JCP&L to get the electrical panel in the lot, as there was no electric service there; Mayor Kanitra: and DPW who lit the tree and was in the bucket truck today) they were there all day today, just to get the lights on – will do the tree ornaments and such tomorrow – cooperation has been great (Mayor Kanitra: thanked BA/CFO Riehl, as it was sprung last minute); there was a request by AT&T to leave the cell tower in the Silver Lake Lot – Bay Head hasn’t found a forever home for their equipment yet – she contacted them and said they were given a year – it should have been out this Nov.– if left there, it would be about $9K revenue to the town – they need to know either way (Mayor Kanitra: voted for it last year because it was supposed to be a one-time thing) said we’d bring it to a vote tonight (Mayor Kanitra: asked how that joins up with the water tower and cell phone company that’s reinforcing the foundation of the water tower – they are all using the water tower – hates the way the cell towers look on the water tower –one of them should pay for the ridiculous cost of painting it – or at least contribute, if they are going to piggyback off of our infrastructure) Borough Attorney can attest that she’s had a couple companies banging down her door in the last month to amend their lease agreements or put additional equipment up – the one in the Silver Lake Lot has no bearing on what we are doing over here – AT&T has equipment on the water tower (Mayor Kanitra: asked if they can be told we’ll take the temporary one down unless they agree to paint the water tower, or contribute to it); she can tell them that – the cost to paint is $400K-$500K (Councilman Pasola: asked for an explanation) lease agreement states they have to remove it every Nov. and can put it back in Apr. – last year, because Bay Head is dismantling their water tower, all cell equipment came down – they were concerned about coverage – they asked if they could leave the temporary one in Silver Lake Lot, in lieu of compensation and we told them yes – by contract, it should come down this month – they are again asking to leave it up and to pay for those months (Mayor Kanitra: said to least ask for assistance in sprucing up the water tower and see what they come back with – they are asking for a favor for 2 years in a row – we did them a favor last year – they can do a favor for us: Councilman Pasola: thinks they can paint the whole thing – they’ve got a lot of money – all agreed; Atty. Riordan: no reason not to do that); looking to change PPB.org to PPB.gov – a lot of paperwork – need permission from the .gov domain registry – working through it – met with Councilman Vitale and a gentleman from Homeland Security – will take advantage of free programs including a phishing campaign assessment, vulnerability assessment, web application scanning and other security-related issues; received a Notice to Proceed on Central Ave. – have a completion date of Feb. 15th; Coast Guard Station appraisal was done last week – hopes to get good news soon; have an order on the agenda – 7 of 25 benches broke – they said they’d replace all 25 for free – went to a larger 6’bench with town seal embossed on the top slat – costs a little extra money but thinks it’s work it – composite stainless steel, supported in the middle – will get 25 free ones; are closed Thurs. and Fri. for Thanksgiving – wished all a Happy Thanksgiving.
The Municipal Clerk announced additions and revision to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:18PM
Mayor Kanitra: announced public participation for anything on the agenda and ordinances on for first reading – 5-minute timeline – asked all to clearly state name, address and legal residence for the record – noted, for anyone wanting to speak about the short term-rental ordinance, that the impetus is putting residents first, what they were elected to do – have tried to take a deliberative process – this Council was most deliberative regarding short term-rentals, which are all encompassing in just about every surrounding town – took the time to study the issue over a summer – that, combined with the increase and prevalence of the percentage of homes purchased by investors, community complaints, and things they’ve been told by the Fire and Tax offices, necessitated the decision to move forward – the ordinance clearly exempts any PPB resident who lives and owns property in town (Atty Riordan: advised Councilwoman Byrnes to move to the back room, as she has a conflict with respect to the rental ordinance – Councilwoman Byrnes left the room at 8:21PM) this is just introduction – voting on first reading tonight – the true public participation component of this will be on the second reading.
Kevin Dolan, owner of 100 New Jersey Ave., PPB/resident of I02 Buttermere Ave., Interlaken: has owned PPB property for 8 years – ordinance appears biased towards responsible non-resident property owners – just as many resident property owners have complaints filed against them – PPB has strict ordinances, particularly Animal House, and a responsive Police Dept. – penalties hit the landlord/host in the pocketbook – asked Council to reconsider not exempting responsible non-resident property owners, which can be verified by the log of complaints over the years.
Daniel Savino, owner of 251, 253, 255 & 128 Ocean Ave., PPB,/resident of Freehold: could easily convert one home and call it his residence, which would alleviate any problem for him – thinks this will be a devastating blow to businesses – he meets and greets people who come for the weekends for weddings, honeymoons, reunions – they are not coming for a week in winter – doesn’t see how taxes won’t go up, as businesses will fail – might have people selling their homes – doesn’t rent to anyone under 28 years old – has respectful families (Mayor Kanitra: wants PPB to be a thriving year-round community – this ordinance is brought about to do that – easy to say it will devastate businesses, but asked about the economic impact in the off-season – number of cars on the street has increased exponentially over the past couple years because little homes with 1 or 2 people are being transformed into 16-person houses – sees a lot of parties in short-term rentals – people not necessarily going to businesses – for businesses to be viable year-round, need a year-round community to support it – Airbnb’s in the off-season will never come close to the numbers, as if those homes were filled by full-time resents and families).
Kevin Agaman, owner of 3 Harvard Ave., PPB/splits residence between PPB and 535 Ship Ave., Beachwood: as an Airbnb and VRBO host, has 1st right to refusal – is a commercial construction entrepreneur and real estate investor – when you invest in something in PPB, about $1/2M average, will be very selective about who you put in that home – have instant evictions – he meets his guests/tenants – does 7-day minimums in summer and monthly’s in winter – everyone’s situation is different – a little bit of an overreach – there are noise and quality of life ordinances already in play – it’s repetitious and redundant – should be case-by-case basis – look at hotels and motels – they have 1-night stayers – it’s mostly things like birthdays, anniversaries – even weekenders and weekly-ers are part of the community – to have a conversation like this right before Thanksgiving, when people are on vacation and can’t get here is a little shrewd (Councilman Pasola: there is nothing shrewd that this Governing Body has done or ever will do – over the past year, has talked to homeowners in beautiful PPB neighborhoods with Airbnb’s next to them with wild parties – horrible situations that he would not want next to him – something has to be done – doesn’t know what changes will be made to this ordinance, if any – always a shame that people who rent to good people get hurt in the meantime – cannot let residents suffer/be disturbed like they have been since this was established; Mayor Kanitra: a core components of why this ordinance is being looked at is because the Governing Body has the ability to say where hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts go – the nature of rentals has changed drastically – homes used to be rented seasonally – maybe a month or, rarely, a week – because technology has changed and because of the Airbnb and VRBO platforms, it’s easier and more viable to rent for 1-3 nights – puts de facto bed and breakfasts in neighborhoods that were never zoned for them and imposes it upon residents who never asked for it to be next to them – and takes away parking spaces from those who never asked for them to be taken away – over 100 Airbnb’s listed in summer, in neighborhoods that this and previous Governing Bodies thought should never have any kind of hotels or motels or bed and breakfasts – it’s taken the decision away from Council and residents, who didn’t expect transient people on a regular basis – are plenty of good owners – has nothing to do with good or bad owners – homes are being built specifically for rentals – talked to the Fire Marshall – they are seeing applications that are clearly investors building boxes and trying to cram as many people as possible into them – already have a parking problem – it just cascades).
Maryjane Reilly, 9 Beachcomber Ln., PPB/permanent resident: in favor of the ordinance – has seen changes on her lane – people are in for 1-2 nights – never knows who’s there – owners don’t live close – if there is a problem, she is calling Police – Police are becoming the managers of what’s going on in these houses.
James Ward, 1118 Leonard Rd, Pt. Pleasant/1513 Richmond Ave.-Koen’s Realty, PPB: here on behalf of people who don’t know about this – finds the Thanksgiving week timing suspect – new houses are getting $15K/week, $2K+/night – not talking about riffraff paying that kind of money – creating opportunity for multiple people, in 7-days’s time, to patronize PPB – in his 21 years in this industry, has seen few circumstances where that kind of element comes here – gets a weekly report from the town, detailing Police activity at all listed summer rentals – can count on 1 hand the summonses this past year – knows there are renters that have parties – might be having a knee-jerk reaction to people cooped up from COVID – asked that Council take a year, try enforcing what is already on the books, revoke rental licenses and not be discriminatory toward those who don’t live here – terrible look – an overreach.
Dan Friendly, 1401 Ocean Ave:, PPB: looks like real thought for residents went into this – thanked Council – appreciates the research on how it will impact residents with rental properties here – favors the ordinance but has reservations because these ordinances tend to become a slippery slope – asked if the ordinance is restricting 3-night minimums (Mayor Kanitra: 7 night and over) that would concern him too – have a shortage of hotel rooms, which is probably why there is a need for Airbnb’s and VBRO’s – people come for Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend – this year, he had families stay in his houses for 2-3 days, they wanted to get out of NYC and get away from COVID restrictions – have one of the strictest Animal House ordinances in any beach town – asked why existing ordinances are not being used to solve the problem, rather than more government reach into people’s abilities to make a living with their properties – suggested restricting the ordinance to no 1-night rentals – families, reunions, holiday weekends, girls retreats want to come for a couple of nights – he makes almost as much money in May, Jun. and Sept. as he does in Jul. and Aug., on smaller rentals – PPB has hotels and motels over the years that have never been replaced – these Airbnb’s and VRBO’s are filling a gap.
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: it’s up to the owner to screen people – not in favor of short-term – focus and punishment should be on property owners – people say they’ll lose people who come down for the weekend, but if you only rent for the week, there will be people there on those weekends (Mayor Kanitra: agreed – and if they were full-time residents, they’d be there every weekend and every weekday as well) shouldn’t be a slap on the wrist; asked about the Coast Guard Station (BA/CFO Riehl: appraisal is done – moving ahead).
Mayor Kanitra: ordinance is not about the bad actors and bad issues – are working to have stricter enforcement – since the Great Depression, the number of homes purchased by investors has hovered around 15%-16% – pretty steady through the years – in the last 2 years, 1 out of every 5 purchased is purchased by investors in PPB – a construct that continues to encourage homes to be purchased and built for the sole purpose of being a rental property is against what PPB needs and wants to be as a community (Councilman Pasola: that’s why year-round population is down 1,000) there is a company that has real estate investment trusts – in San Francisco, more homes are purchased by investors than those who are going to live there – they have programs and algorithms that look at a community’s home sale price and what the market can dictate for a rental property – if it makes sense, they buy a ton of houses – in Maricopa County, Arizona, the majority of houses are purchased by an investment firm in Delaware – doesn’t want PPB to be 20% or 30% full-time homeowners and a ghost town in winter 10 years from now).
Denis Laplante, 1429 Oceanfront, PPB/full-time resident: agrees with a lot that was said – Animal House ordinance is very important in terms of governing behavior, is very strict and needs to be enforced – is willing to work with whoever is in charge of drafting or reconsidering some points – 30 days in the off-season is very restrictive – manages 7-8 properties in town, mostly for other people – has a good history – not a lot of riffraff in 3-day stays – renting to families – this weekend, has 3 high-end properties with extended families – they are going to go to the restaurants – people are screened very closely – may be room for compromise and adjustments in the off-season – hopes Council will reconsider (Mayor Kanitra: asked what he rents in the off-season) 3-7 day stays average (Mayor Kanitra: asked if he does off-season rentals) typically, no – in the last 2 years, due to people with non-payment, it’s much riskier and he has chosen not to – bothered about the timing of this – at the last Council meeting, it was stated that data was not conclusive – then talked about a survey in 2022 – kind of a rush to move – would rather take baby steps and relook next year – will have an impact on businesses.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: supports the ordinance – was a summer rental property owner years ago when rentals were between Ocean Ave. and Boardwalk – then came group rentals, then it spread into the residential sections, then it exploded – fuse is already lit on Airbnb’s – this is very timely – concerned that the ordinance says, in the event there has been a violation or a complaint, the Construction Official shall not issue a license or certificate – that’s one violation of any town ordinance and no license (Atty. Riordan: there is an appeal procedure – it’s not a revocation – it’s on an application; Mayor Kanitra: asked him to elaborate; Atty. Riordan: when you are doing an application, you would have to tell whether there’s been a revocation, a suspension, a violation or a pending complaint – if your notion is that I should still have a license despite the pending complaint, you get to appeal it and if it’s a relatively minor, relatively simple matter that is probably going to be dismissed, you may very well get your license – if it’s a serious matter, you’re probably not; Mayor Kanitra: it’s only if you’re basically lying on the application; Atty. Riordan: right) asked for an explanation of the process – used to be 2 strikes and then you go before a magistrate (Atty. Riordan: it’s in the ordinance – can discuss outside the meeting).
Jim Scheafer, NRTAC Member, owner of 201 Forman Ave. & 201 New Jersey Ave., PPB, resident of Wayne: will be a permanent resident when his daughter graduates high school – agrees with a lot – his 2-family home is very popular for weddings – works with the bed and breakfast next door – often, the bride and groom stay there and he gets the wedding party – suggested an online form for a wedding exception for a certain period of time – for him, it’s just May and Sept., as he does weekly’s in summer.
Jerry Nasta, owner of 151 Ocean Ave., 8 Minard Ct. & 52 Channel Dr., PPB/resident of Middletown: thinks this is a big mistake – been doing this 5-6 years – sees big difference in class of people– families – he has weddings, anniversaries, engagements – they come back every year – they don’t use the stove – they go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner – got a booking from Australia – they asked about renting bikes and beach chairs – are going to rent everything – these are people that spend money (Mayor Kanitra: asked if they are coming for 2-3 days) everything he does is 7 days, but he makes exceptions – a lot of neighbors do the weekends – everybody’s situation is different (Mayor Kanitra: appreciates him letting them know and for running nice properties) going to retire here (Mayor Kanitra: can’t wait to have him as a full-time resident – he’ll appreciate the ordinance more when he is).
Kristin Hennessy, New Jersey Ave:, PPB was here a couple of months ago when former Councilman Dixon spoke about the problems – if it protects residents’ quality of life, then it’s necessary – doesn’t see how taxes will go up – some have chosen to build our homes and raise our families in PPB – not America’s playground – want to welcome visitors to enjoy what we have – are blessed to live at the shore with beautiful surroundings and amenities – shouldn’t be open for business insofar as people can just come here and buy a few properties for rent and anything goes – need measures in place that are going to protect residents quality of life – it’s that simple – she supports it.
Kitty Stillufsen, 54 Channel Dr., PPB: Mr. Nasta is her new neighbor – the previous owner, a single lady, was not going out to eat almost every night, not spending money in the antique district, not renting bicycles – she was one lady who lived in the house – now, Jerry rents out to Airbnb – there are people there all the time, going out to eat and spending money – she has been an Airbnb Super Host for 5 years – to be a Super Host, you have to have consistently good ratings and are reviewed every year – is seeing a big divide – proposed that this be tabled and a Rental Advisory Committee established with landlords, year-round residents, and people who are opposed – would like more dialogue and to hear about Airbnb complaints – asked how many Animal House violations there have been this summer (Mayor Kanitra: impetus is not about bad actors – has said this repeatedly, but no one is listening – is upset because he thought specifically of renters like her when crafting this – shows that no good deed goes unpunished; Atty. Riordan: can fix that) she was not consulted – knows there has been some talk with residents – wonders if anyone spoke with Airbnb Hosts, like herself – every time she gets an Airbnb booking, PPB earns 3% – on top of what the State is charging – town is directly benefiting from Airbnb in a very liquid form – the 3% tax was established to offset the cost of the Animal House violations – at that time, the cost of the Animal House violations was zero (Councilman Migut: that’s incorrect) it’s not incorrect – has the notes (Councilman Migut: she is referencing a comment he made that the appropriation for Animal House was $10K and the anticipated tax revenue would be $10K and he thought that was a nice offset – the funds from the tax actually go into a General Fund – if there is no expenditure, because there are no Airbnb violations, no money is spent on Animal House prosecutions – the money is in the General Fund and, at the end of the year, it’s reallocated to line items that need to be re-energized – when there are no Animal House violations, there is no expenditure from the Budget to pay for the Prosecutor or Magistrate) for many years, because of the strong Animal House ordinance, there were no expenditures by the town (Councilman Migut: in some years, yes) when she checked, it was for the previous 5 years (Councilman Migut: it dropped off when people started getting prosecuted) to show how effective the Animal House ordinances are – asked how much the town expended on Animal House violations this summer (Mayor Kanitra: said she is welcome to ask the Borough Administrator or Attorney for that information – this ordinance has nothing to do with Animal House violations or bad acting tenants or owners, it has to do with what we want for our community and every person who has spoken against this ordinance has been financially motivated, which is, by its nature, non-objective) everybody stands to be financially benefited from Airbnb’s – are earning 3% of Airbnb revenue (Mayor Kanitra: may lose some of that or may gain more by having longer-term rentals and nights filled every night, instead of just a couple) part of the reason she is here is for financial incentives – she is not running a charity (Mayor Kanitra: there are lots of residents that never asked to be involved in Airbnb) that’s why wrinkles need to be ironed out (Councilman Migut: despite their differences, is sensitive to her call for the ordinance to be tabled in order to be studied further by interested parties – there are good candidates for such a committee) appreciates that.
Councilman Migut motion to table Ordinance 2021-22.
Mayor Kanitra: there is a motion on the floor – needs to be a second (Ms. Stillufsen: still speaking; Atty. Riordan: there is a motion on the floor – that takes precedence – public participation stops while you make the motion) Mayor Kanitra: asked for a second (Ms. Stillufsen: said she was interrupted) Robert’s Rules of Order states that once there’s a motion, there’s a second, or there’s not a second and it dies (Ms. Stillufsen: referred to having duct tape put on her mouth) Robert’s Rules of Order, that govern Governing Bodies across the Country, state that when there is a motion, everything stops and we wait to see if there’s a second – that’s not a decision he is making (Ms. Stillufsen: asked if Robert’s Rules allows being constantly interrupted when she is trying to speak) she asked for a motion and the Councilman made a motion – asked if there is a second (Ms. Stillufsen: asked for someone to second the motion) there is no second – the motion dies – stated, for the record, that the Governing Body are the elected representatives of the residents of PPB, whose job is to represent varied interests across the board – there is no need for an advisory committee because they are the advisory committee
Motion dies for lack of a second
John Dixon, 17 Niblick St., PPB/full-time resident: brought this up a couple months ago – commended the Governing Body on their due diligence – Animal House is a bit of a joke – if one of these houses has an Animal House ordinance against them in Jul., the case isn’t heard until Sept. or Oct., so it continues the whole summer (Atty. Riordan: asked Mr. Dixon what his prior profession was) Police Officer – majority of those questioning the ordinance are investors – another guy is a land manager – they’re not around – they say it’s a wedding party, they are good people – but if they’re not around, they don’t know what these people are doing – majority are probably very nice, but read from 8 rental advertisements including: 4-bedroom house/sleeps 12/8 beds, 2-bedroom house/sleeps 7/3 beds, 9-bedroom house/sleeps 23/12 beds, 3-bedroom house sleeps 17, etc. (Mayor Kanitra: asked how many cars 17 people have – it has to stop – he couldn’t agree more) most people in town bought their houses because of the neighborhood that wasn’t a hotel zone – Airbnb send out a massive email to every one of their clients – that’s why most of these people are here – they got their email from Airbnb (Mayor Kanitra: most copied and pasted the form letter and they all started off saying, “I am a Point Pleasant Beach resident and a voter; Atty. Riordan: asked the Mayor to ask how many people here got that email; someone in the crowd asked why they weren’t notified by Council; Mayor Kanitra: didn’t know it was their job to notify residents and non-residents of anything on an agenda; Councilman Cortes: the agenda is put online before the meeting (inaudible); Atty. Riordan: that’s the notice that’s required) Mr. Ward said someone is paying $15K/week – they could have 20-30 people in that house – has pictures of houses in his neighborhood with 6 garbage cans out there – they could have been very quiet, but they left a pigpen behind – land managers clean up the mess – talked to one land manager this summer, asking him to put something in the house explaining that this is a residential neighborhood and please keep voices down – it was ignored – doesn’t reach the level of Police calls – it reaches the level where you are sitting in your yard and have to hear renters screaming and yelling all day, jumping into a pool, running around – he didn’t buy a house to live next to a hotel – that’s what these have become, mini hotels – they are cash cows – all these houses were bought up after Sandy and torn down – 6-9 bedroom houses have been built – doesn’t begrudge anyone making money, but they are not here – doesn’t have a problem with renters, visitors or vacationers – has a problem with 3-bedroom houses filled with 15 people – 10 cars on the street and you can’t find a parking spot – out of control – are going to have half the town, especially east of the tracks, as one giant rental unit – population is down 1,000 – asked how will that affect the school (Councilman Pasola it’s already affected the school) it’s a slippery slope in a bad direction – this will save the town – it will get further into PPB – won’t have families here anymore (Councilman Pasola: have to do what’s best for the community, not a certain few – over the last couple years, has heard many complaints about this – have to do something).
Councilman Cortes: reminded all that this wasn’t spur of the moment – been up here for 9 years – rentals have come up in previous years (Atty. Riordan: asked him if he would like to close public participation first).
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close Public Participation was seconded by Councilman Pasola and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Cortes, Pasola, Migut….YEA
Councilmembers Byrnes, Vitale….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 9:21PM
Councilman Cortes: the term rental has come up over the past few years and gets pushed aside – not about the Animal House, but that’s something that’s come up – Council has had discussions with the Borough Attorney – reminded everybody that this is first reading /introduction – everyone who spoke is passionate about their position – he wrote it all down – knows the Mayor did – there is going to be a discussion between now and Dec. 7th with the Borough Attorney and all up here – there may be adjustments, there may not – if this gets passed tonight on introduction, Dec. 7th will be when it is up for adoption and that will be the time to really come in and debate – are allowed, by Roberts Rules, to come up on the first public participation to discuss ordinances on first reading – will be talking to the Borough Attorney about this – has read the ordinance 3 or 4 times and they’ve talked more in the last 2 weeks than in probably the last year – this does not get passed tonight, if voted in the affirmative.
Councilwoman Byrnes returned at 9:25PM.
Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #22 ($289,921.72) & Payroll #23 ($303,826.32)
1b Approval of salary adjustment for C. Glass for passage of course leading to certification
1c Approval of PO to NJ Business Systems for maintenance contract ($22K)
1d Authorization for Administrator to execute OC Road Dept 2021 Schedule C Agreement
1e Authorization to execute MOA with TWU
1f Approval of payment to BTMUA for September & October bulk water usage ($189,882)
1g Memorialization of approval of payment of hand checks from BOA escrow accounts
1h Approval of pymt to Mark Woszczak for Ocean Ave hydrants/water main project ($19,200)
1i Acknowledgment of report of sale of $5,587,000 in bond anticipation notes, pursuant to bond ordinances
1j Appointment of D. Baldwin, Belmar, NJ, to the position of P/T Plumbing Inspector
1k Approval of pymt to All Covered for Microsoft Exchange renewal and renewal adjustment ($2,442)
1l Memorialization of approval of pymt to the OC Landfill for escrow, 11/4/21 ($44K)
1m Approval of payment to the State of NJ for employee & retiree health benefits ($117,261.07)
1n Certification that the Governing Body read & reviewed the Best Practices Worksheet
1o Approval of payment to Rio Supply for annual software renewal ($17,500)
1p Approval of payment to Turbo Electric for parking lot electrical panel ($5,107.10)
1q Approval of PO to Darren Meseroll Painting for painting of water property buildings ($26,205)
1r Approval of payment to Burke Environmental for park landscaping ($4,691)
1s Approval of payment to Burke Environmental for monthly landscaping ($12,900)
1t Payment to Riggins for no lead fuel 2021, no lead fuel 11/4/21 and diesel fuel 11/4/21 ($26,133.28)
1u Approval of payment to Custom Environmental Tech for zetalyte corrosion inhibitor ($6,638)
1v Approval of pymt of Pay Cert 1 to Lafayette Utility Const.-Ocean Ave. Water Main Proj. ($310,089.23)
1w Authorization to implement personnel adjustments
1x Approval of PO to MAXR for 25 replacement benches ($3,867.50)
1y Approval of 2 W/S relief requests
1z Approval of payment to Crown Paving for paving work at DPW ($15K)
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment to Turbo Electric for conduit and moling at Pleasure Park ($3,292.75)
2b Approval of pymt to All Points Printing for ordinance mailing & winter newsletter ($8,829.88)
2c Approval of PO to Fastenal for OSHA railing & pallet racks ($6,500)
2d Approval of Person-to-Person Transfer of ABC License #1525-33-005-003
2e Renewal of amusement game licenses for 2022 – Jenks Pavilion, Jenks South, Bdwk & Central Ave
2f Establishment of 2022 Borough Holidays
2g Approval of PO to Noreika Sales for snow blower ($2,800)
2h Authorization to advertise an RFP for the bath house/concession stand
2i Resolution calling upon NJ Dept. of Banking & Insurance to stop negative impact on seniors
due to brick & mortar bank closures – ADDED PER COMMITTEE REPORTS
2j Approval of 16’ curb cut request at 327 River Avenue Curb Cut – ADDED PER DH MEMO
CONSENT RESOLUTION 3:
3a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($2,248,586.17)
3b Approval of payment to Power DMS for yearly fee and NJSACOP for the PD ($7,890.27)
3c Approval of pymt to ERS Fleet Repair for preventative truck maintenance & primer motor-rescue
pumper for Fire Co 1 ($6,492.72)
3d Approval of PO to Mid-Atlantic Fire & Air for Smartdock SCBA Mounting Syst for Fire Co 2 ($2,745)
3e Approval of Jr. Membership of L. Perkins, Brick, in PPB Fire Company No 2/NJ State Firemen’s Assoc.
3f Support for 2021 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Year End Holiday Crackdown
3g Authorization to execute OC Prosecutor DWI and DRE Shared Service Agreements
3h Approval of Membership in Ocean Fire Company No. 1 for S. Rabender, Pt. Pleasant
3i Approval of payment to Mark White for pre-employment psych tests for SLEO II’s ($3K)
3j REMOVED
3k Approval of payment to Ocean Cardiovascular, LLC for 26 stress tests for the PD ($6,500)
3l Approval of payment to All Covered for IT Maintenance/Support for Oct., including for PD ($3,495)
3m Approval of payment to Emergency Accessories for 2021 Expedition accessories for PD ($12,017.94)
3n Approval of payment to Pt. Pleasant Bicycle for PD bicycles/supplies 2021 ($6,038.44)
3o Approval of payment to Axon Enterprises for 5 tasers/5-year payment plan for PD ($2,743.85)
3p Approval of payment to Meridian Occupational Health for 2021 Police physicals ($4,323)
3q Approval of payment to NJ Fire Equip. for Scott 4500PSI 45 Min Carbon CY for FD ($12,492)
3r Approval of PO to Skyland Area Fire Equip. for 5 PPE sets-Morning Pride for Fire Co 2 ($18,704.45)
3s Approval of payment to Winner Ford for 2021 Ford Expedition for the PD ($38,605)
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut (1 & 2),….YEA
Councilman Migut (3)…ABSTAIN
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
ORDINANCES:
Atty. Riordan: announced that the next item on the agenda is the second reading of Ordinance 2021-31, the fence ordinance – was suggested by AZO Savacool – Planning Board was not in favor – he asked the Planning Board Atty. and Planning Board Engineer to discuss it and figure out what the Planning Board had as objections – they have written the Governing Body a letter, which they have – they have a number of choices – they can table it and consider the letter at greater length, can act on it tonight because they have the information they need – whatever is their pleasure (Councilman Cortes: asked, if it’s chosen to table, would it go back for first reading) no – it can easily come back as second reading at the next meeting (Councilman Pasola: so, it’s tabled pending more information coming in; Councilwoman Testa: wants to vote it down; Mayor Kanitra: asked if they should carve it out and discuss it) call it carved right now (Mayor Kanitra: asked Council President Testa to state her objections; Councilwoman Testa: change seems unnecessary – will impact the light, air and open space – asked if it’s 4-ft. now) at present, the ordinance requires a 4-ft. fence and this is moving it to 6-ft. (Councilwoman Testa: it’s a safety issue too – trying to pull out and now have to look over this higher fence – it’s intrusive – doesn’t agree with it; Mayor Kanitra: stated, for the record, that he thinks AZO Savacool brought this forward because they were dealing with a lot of them and rubber stamping a lot of them – if voted down, most will still probably get approved, but there will be more checks and balances – there is nothing wrong with that – he is Switzerland; Councilman Pasola: confirmed that Atty. Riordan said that the Planning Board is against this ordinance) they are (Councilman Pasola: and this is on side yards – so it would go from 4-ft. to 6-ft.; Councilman Cortes: AZO Savacool mentioned that there was a lot of rubber stamps, variance requests, and time spent and pretty much all approved – this says it’s an interior lot – lots are 50-ft.-wide – houses on either side – if the house is 10’ or more off the property line, are allowed 5’ now, are now allowed to put a 6-ft. fence from the house out to that property line – to him, it captures a bit of a side yard to be part of the backyard – may put more of a privacy fence with a gate there – if being rubber stamped and all approved anyway, why have that time and effort – it’s still going to be looked at by the Zoning Official for compliance to make sure there is no line of sight, if it’s an interior lot – only line of site you might have might be a long driveway next to it – but every house is 25’ off the setback – corner lots remain the same – have to come out from the rear corner of the house out to the property line and can go back with a 6-ft. fence – corner lots are non-conforming anyway – people apply for variances – most of the houses are built with the front door facing the long property line – some have the front door facing the 50’ side – their perceived side yard becomes the backyard where a pool goes – there were some houses along corner lots with 4-ft. fences with a pool – people would walk by and no privacy whatsoever, so they were allowed a 6-ft. fence – is in favor of this (Mayor Kanitra: seems like Council is fairly split – maybe just vote) first you open it to the public hearing.
Ordinance 2021-31 (Amend Ch.19 to Permit 6’ Fence in 10’ Side Yard) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Dave Cavagnaro. 118 Parkway, PPB: Planning Board probably should have seen the documentation of how many people are applying for these 6’ fences – one issue brought up was that newer homes that were raised have garages under them and those houses go 5’ off the property line on both sides – a significant number of the others have driveways on the side and that driveway automatically gives them 10’, so there will be a lot of homes with 6′ fences from front to back – can think of 10-12 on his block because they have driveways on the side – an unintended consequence will affect the looks of the town – when someone fences off, they don’t always put a gate at the front, so if there is an emergency, somebody’s got to get over a 4-ft. versus a 6-ft. fence – urged Council not to do this – the other suggestion in the letter was corner houses where the front door faces the street – their backyard has only 5’– right now, they can’t have a 6-ft. fence on the side – however, he can think of 7-8 that have been approved, for better or worse – that’s something that should be addressed – his house is a corner lot with front yard for parking/backyard for fence – so his fence can be 1-ft. off the property line – if his front door faced Baltimore, his backyard would be about 4.5-ft.-wide and he wouldn’t have any type of yard unless he went for a variance (Mayor Kanitra: asked the vote of the Planning Board) unanimous (Councilman Cortes: interprets the ordinance, as written, that the 6-ft. fence could still come to the rear corner of the house – just 6-ft. out to the side line – not forward, toward the front) the side lot is from the front of the house to the back of the house (Councilman Cortes: it’s in 2 separate sections – talking about an interior lot – 50’x125’ – pretty standard in town, so a 40-ft.-wide house is 5-ft. off each property line – your house is only 25-ft.-wide – you have a driveway – that’s where allowing the 6-ft. fence to come out from the house – but it doesn’t say any farther forward or backward) but from the front of the house to the back, you will have a 6-ft. fence where, now, you are only allowed 4-ft. and that affects sightlines and emergency situations (Councilman Cortes: subject to review by the Zoning Officer for compliance with this section as standards of required site triangles – so, it would still be under review – may be wrong).
Glen Paesano, 111 Parkway, PPB: there is no required site triangle for an interior house (Mr. Paesano and Councilman Cortes spoke over each other) doesn’t disagree on corner houses – but every interior house except one, potentially, has a driveway – so could have a 6-ft. fence out 2’ from the sidewalk, all the way down the street – that’s how the Borough Engineer interpreted it as well (Councilman Cortes: that’s not how he interprets it) Planning Board discussed it at length and in-depth with the Borough Engineer – felt that the process in place works well – no need to change it.
Borough Engineer Mele: not the Borough Engineer, but Zoning Board Engineer and Zoning Officer – he drafted this, but did not attend the Planning Board meeting – one of his colleagues went in lieu of himself (Mr. Mele), as he had a conflict – it’s only in cases where side yards are 10-ft. or more in width that you would now be allowed to go from a 4-ft. to a 6-ft. fence – after speaking with his colleague the next morning, there was a perception that it would box people in and create a hazard for Emergency Services to get to the rear yard – hopes rubber stamping wasn’t taking place (Councilman Cortes: past) there was a question of how many times these property owners appeared before the Board to ask for relief to allow a 6-ft. fence where they were only approved for 4’ – the answer that night was “none” – had a dialogue with Engineer Savacool that you have to consider how many people will want to spend thousands on a fence and that much more to appear before the Board to ask for a variance – probably not too many – Engineer Savacool drafted this – he (Mr. Mele) will not give any direction as to whether to vote favorably or against – if the Planning Board took the time to spell out recommendations, he’d take them into consideration (discussion took place between Mr. Paesano, Mr. Mele and Mr. Paesano from the audience; Mayor Kanitra: this ordinance will just make the Zoning Officer’s life easier; Atty. Riordan: who is the person who suggested it; Councilwoman Testa: lives on a corner – definitely a safety issue with little kids – hard to visualize other instances; Atty. Riordan: the proper thing to do is make a motion to close and then either table the ordinance or turn it down or pass it; Mayor Kanitra: if tabled, will just have talk about it for another half hour at another meeting; Councilman Pasola: asked Councilwoman Testa wanted to vote on it; Atty. Riordan: close the public and make a motion).
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2021-31 was seconded by Councilman Pasola (Atty. Riordan: the motion on the floor is to adopt the ordinance – if you are against the ordinance you are going to vote “no” – if you are for the ordinance you are going to vote “yes” – relatively simple).
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2021-31 was seconded by Councilman Pasola and DEFEATED by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilman Cortes…YEA
Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Pasola, Migut….NAY
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2021-32A (Amend Salary Ordinance) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Migut to approve Ordinance 2021-32A on first reading was seconded by Councilman Pasola and carried by roll call vote. The public hearing will be held on December 7, 2021.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut…YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2021-32B (Amend Salary Ordinance) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve Ordinance 2021-32B on first reading was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote. The public hearing will be held on December 7, 2021.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut…YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2021-32C (Amend Salary Ordinance) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve Ordinance 2021-32C on first reading was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote. The public hearing will be held on December 7, 2021.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut…YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2021-33 (Combining and Revising Chapters 13 and 27 regulating rentals in the Borough) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve Ordinance 2021-33 on first reading was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and approved by roll call vote. The public hearing will be held on December 7, 2021.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Cortes, Pasola, Migut…YEA
Councilwoman Byrnes….RECUSE
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2021-34 (Providing for Compliance with the Borough’s Affordable Housing Obligations) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve Ordinance 2021-34 on first reading was seconded by Councilman Pasola and carried by roll call vote. The public hearing will be held on December 21, 2021.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut…YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 9:48PM
Kitty Stillufsen, 54 Channel Dr., PPB: clarified that, according Robert’s Rules, Mayor does not enter into discussion except to explain matters he/she is sponsoring (Mayor Kanitra: he runs the meeting; Atty. Riordan: Ms. Stillufsen is unfamiliar with NJ Law, which gives you the power to run the meeting, despite what Robert’s Rules might say – Ms. Stillufsen did not do her homework, but we have a meeting policy that you pass every year in January, which actually alters Robert’s Rules so that they conform with NJ law) asked why Robert’s Rules were invoked (Make Kanitra: just about the motion component) is confused – Robert’s Rules were invoked, but when they are not conveniently applied, they don’t apply (Mayor Kanitra; since he runs the meeting, he can change things, and if she would like to make some points, she has the remainder of her 5 minutes – probably about 30 seconds – 1 minute) appreciates that – hopes Council will reconsider an Advisory Committee – feels it was very polarized and divisive tonight – are a lot of wrinkles to iron out – would behoove the town to have certain areas encouraged to have Airbnb’s, specifically Arnold and Bay Aves., to have people come and spend money downtown, they need a place to stay and there no hotels downtown – law abiding, respectful Airbnb’s in that area would benefit downtown tremendously (Councilwoman Byrnes left the room @9:51PM until Ms. Stillufsen stopped speaking) Channel Dr., should be exempt because it is a Marine Commercial street – feels there should be training/certification on how to be a respectful/responsible host, so the town can benefit from respectful guests – has hosted well over 1,000 people and hasn’t had a single problem because she looks at their reviews – has a guest for 1 night tonight from Harriman NY – sent her a message that she is so excited for her stay (Mayor Kanitra: for the record, noted that every person who spoke, who did not have a financial interest, was unanimously in favor of the ordinance; Atty. Riordan: that will be the end of the discussion on that issue for tonight if Councilwoman Byrnes returned).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: his neighbor had construction across the street – he had an issue with noise and spoke to her – little cooperation – called Police – property owner put a notice in her mailbox that came from the town that said construction is able to go from 7AM until 7PM, 7 days/week – Council allowed that after Sandy – thought that was a resolution and thought resolution expires unless approved – apparently this document still exists in the Building Dept. and it was upheld by the Construction person (Atty. Riordan: when you find things like that, don’t wait until the meeting – this is outrageous; Councilman Cortes: 8-6 Mon.-Sat., nothing on Sun., nothing on holidays – may vote on special allowances, lie for NJ Transit) that’s how he understands it (Mayor Kanitra: asked the Police Dept. to do a light audit last month – identified 90 lights and 2/3 were fixed).
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: Airbnb could take business from real estate people in town – should consider that as well.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 9:57PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:57PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
