Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Borough of Point Pleasant Beach
Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2020
Due to the Point Pleasant Beach Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared on March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the directive that all events on Borough property by cancelled until further notice, this meeting was held via the online Zoom Meeting platform/Meeting ID: 868 401 207. The public had the option to participate online or via telephone. Instructions were published in the Ocean Star and Asbury Park Press and posted in Borough Hall and on the Borough web site.
Mayor Kanitra called the meeting to order at 7:02PM. Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello and Migut. 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.”
Flag Salute, Invocation
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve the March 17, 2020 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello…YEA
Councilman Migut….ABSTAIN*
* Per Councilman Migut, his computer is down and he was unable to view the agenda.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: asked Chief Michigan to speak.
Chief Michigan: spoke about Police approach during pandemic – been continuously adapting and making operational changes – his usual community-based approach has been replaced with a hand- off approach – a tough pill for him to swallow, but he has an obligation to protect officers from this deadly virus – take most complaints over the phone and maintain social distancing – routinely disinfect patrol vehicles and offices – thanks to the commitment of town officials, buildings are professionally sprayed with cleaning agents twice a week – officers, dispatchers and secretarial staff are on modified schedules – he, Mayor Kanitra, BA/CFO Riehl, OEM Coordinator Dempsey and DPW Super. Trout, are making tough decisions to shut down the parks, Little League field, Boardwalk, beaches and Inlet area – has additional patrols to ensure individuals stay away from those areas and adhere to the Governor’s Stay at Home order – overwhelming show of support – residents get it – on countless conference calls daily with Federal, State, County and Municipal departments, collectively addressing the challenges of this pandemic – one such challenge was people temporarily renting in town after fleeing from areas up north and out of State – PPB was one of the first towns to address this issue ban such rentals – that ban was challenged last weekend – on April 4th, officers were dispatched to investigate a complaint of a rental on Lake Ave. – complaint was confirmed and renters refused to leave – after consulting with the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, criminal complaints were issued to the renters and homeowner, a full-time resident of Staten Island, who only owns a rental property in PPB – renters left upon issuance of the complaint – as the COVID-19 situation evolves, the Dept. continues to work with local, State and Federal public health agencies to slow the spread – urged the community to do their part by taking protective measures and following local mandates– wished all Happy and Safe Easter with family – asked all to keep first responders and medical professionals in their hearts and prayers during this time – appreciates all the support from the community.
Councilman Vitale: hats off to all first responders – Police, Fire, EMS, OEM Coord. Dempsey, the Mayor, Borough Administrator and Borough Attorney – all are on the forefront of this – great to be one of first towns on the Jersey shore to shut down the beaches and Boardwalk – while not a popular decision, residents are dealing with it fine – helps to keep residents safe; reposted a lot of information from the Police Dept., Fire Dept. and EMS on the Neighborhood Partnership Initiative Facebook page, as well as cyber-related stuff, as there is a lot of COVID-19 related malware going on; Recreation Committee did a Chalk the Walk event last week, where local families wrote message on their sidewalks with chalk and pictures were posted to the Recreation Facebook page; interviewed candidates for Summer Camp Director and Assistant Director– fingers crossed that there will be a camp this year – compiled a list of things that families can do at home while under quarantine on the Recreation website; submitted cybersecurity initiative and incident response plan to BA/CFO Riehl and Attorney Riordan for review and is now working on mandatory employee training on cybersecurity (Mayor Kanitra: excellent report – thanked him for setting up the VPN that is enabling employees to work remotely and his work on cybersecurity – thanked the Recreation Committee, on behalf of the Governing Body, for their efforts in keeping kids and their parents sane during this crisis).
Councilwoman Testa: thanked Councilman Vitale for his great report and Chief Michigan for all he is doing; Arts Committee did an online painting class with Vintage Van Gogh on April 6th – maybe can show the kids’ pictures on the web site; next Arts Committee meeting will be in May, via Zoom, with date TBD; Beautification Committee has been weeding gardens while practicing social distancing – flowers have been ordered and will be delivered when the committee is ready to get together again – offered condolences to member Beth Cox and her family on the passing of her father; spring break is next week – well deserved time off for students and teachers – virtual instruction is going very well – schools were already well advanced in technology, so it was a smooth transition – third marking period report cards will be sent out on Thursday – on behalf of Bd of Ed President Ramos, wished all to stay safe and well – Board appreciates the support of Mayor & Council, as always (Mayor Kanitra: thanks to Arts and Recreation Committees for stepping up and trying to fill the void quite well).
Councilwoman Byrnes: as a resident, is proud of Chief Michigan and the Mayor and Council for going above and beyond, as leaders, to keep everyone safe – everyone appreciates it; junior fire members are not riding due to COVID-19 – there are currently no Fire Company members with any symptoms – there have been a few potential exposures, but after the 2-week period, members are back out answering calls – asked for an emergency appropriation for water pump repair (Mayor Kanitra: already on agenda – thanked her and Councilman Migut for letting them know) the pump on the firetruck that is going to be replaced could be faulty at any time in an emergency situation (Councilman Migut: spoke with Russel Mickle from Fire Company No. 2, who is on the committee to replace the firetruck – per the chief engineer, the pump is hanging on by a tether – can’t take a chance for a $5K repair – might also be a backlog for a new truck at the factory – doesn’t know if they are operational – would be wise to do the repair; Mayor Kanitra: no one wants to be spending money irresponsibly, but probably won’t see new truck for 6 months and simply can’t take the chance that the pump will fail for $5K; BA/CFO Riehl: cannot approve an emergency appropriation because the Budget has not yet been introduced, so would have to increase the Budget appropriation for Fire Company No. 2 by $5K– asked if he is authorizing an increase in the Budget or if authorizing the increase and the approval to move forward with the repairs; Councilman Migut: would do both; BA/CFO Riehl: asked if there is a quote or a vendor; Councilman Migut: Pierce is the vendor – last time the pump was repaired, it was $3K or $4K, but that was a couple of years ago; BA/CFO Riehl: suggested that the agenda item be changed from an emergency appropriation to “authorization to approve a purchase order for emergency repairs, not to exceed $5K, with an increase in the Budgetary line item; Mayor Kanitra: that works); Green Team is continuing to work towards their qualifying status – qualifying date has been delayed until late May; is having trouble receiving some emails, so has nothing for Shade Tree (Mayor Kanitra: he sent her an email today and it bounced back – he emailed the webmaster and Borough Administrator about it); Environmental Commission wants to postpone their April 13th meeting – received disturbing photos of piles of soil at the lake – they are concerned it could be dumping – it’s not top soil (Mayor Kanitra: will take any action necessary) will go out first thing in the morning and check it out.
Councilman Cortes: reiterated comments/thanks to Chief, first responders, OEM Coord. and, Mayor for getting together with other mayors doing unpopular things; the concrete pad has been poured at the band shell – just waiting on new benches; the paver patio at Borough Hall looks great – waiting for tables and chairs; new shelves in the dry basement look great – thanked DPW Super. Trout and his guys for assembling them – they are rated for about 4,000 lbs., so doesn’t think any tubs will destroy them (Mayor Kanitra: they look great); Borough Hall roof was repaired and is on agenda; water main on Ocean Ave. and bulkhead on Lincoln Ave. are on the agenda – is concerned about these engineering items and the affordable housing item being subject to Attorney review – Attorney never reviewed engineering scopes before (Mayor Kanitra: Engineer put forth agreement that said they would be liable only for any problem up to the amount that they were paid – Borough Attorney brought it to his attention – doesn’t want exposure to be limited in that regard, so he asked the Attorney take a hard stance on that – were going to move on to other engineering firms, had they not acquiesced – to the Attorney’s credit, he got them to concede to be liable for anything they cause, so the Borough won’t be exposed) thanked him for the explanation (Mayor Kanitra: has asked for review of some professional contracts, so nothing slides – it’s about holding everyone responsible and limiting financial exposure); on a good note, the Brielle Bridge is complete well before Memorial Day and gas is below $2 – but we are not supposed to be traveling – go figure.
Councilman Santanello: on a somewhat light note, never realized how many dogs are in town – they are being walked a lot and everyone’s lawns and gardens look fantastic because everyone is home; reminded all that the water system/hydrants are being cleaned, so there might be some water in the street, some discoloration and decreased water pressure, but nothing to get upset about; asked about the Kratom ordinance (Mayor Kanitra: the Kratom lobby was successful in getting the original ordinance thrown out in Court – seeking to create a new one – in reading the decision, the Borough Attorney sees a clear opening to at least protect minors – the new ordinance will ban the sale to minors only – and he, himself, is reaching out to the State Assembly to urge them to tackle the banning of Kratom at the State level) if just aimed at kids, he supports it 100%; had a bond sale last week – were nervous but it worked out well, so some financial pressure is off; has been keeping his eye on the Community Disaster Loan (CDL) – PPB was the only town in NJ to pay CDL last year – new auditor said not to pay it this year, as no one else is – Toms River is being sued by the Feds because they haven’t paid theirs – Congressman Smith introduced a bill today to have the CDL payment waived – understands the Mayor has spoken to some Senators as well – need to keep fingers crossed – if it has to be paid back, that’s a substantial tax increase; thanked Mayor Kanitra for taking item 1t off the agenda; will vote “no” on anything to be reviewed by the Borough Attorney – doesn’t believe money needs to spent on that.
Councilman Migut: explained the CDL for Hurricane Sandy – would like to convene a Finance Committee meeting after the holidays, telephoning in Mr. Holman to discuss this and several other items and get a better understanding (BA/CFO Riehl: she’ll set that up); can’t vote on anything but the fire truck because it’s all he knows about – didn’t see the agenda – argued that he can vote on it because it’s Borough property, not the Fire Company’s (Attorney Riordan: agrees, but believes that the statute still says he should not vote) will follow his recommendation, as he always does.
Mayor Kanitra: thanked all residents who are participating virtually; are 13 positive Coronavirus cases in PPB, which is low in terms of cases and in proportion to our size vs. others in Ocean County and NJ – would expect to peak around 20-30 total cases, but that would depend on all residents continuing to do their part – have done an amazing job so far – asked all to continue and help us get back into summer shape and financial stability quicker rather than later – continue to make decisions to safeguard the community – with much bigger outbreaks in other areas, biggest threat is those outside PPB who attempt to skirt the State of Emergency restrictions – recent incident that the Chief mentioned, involving lies by a tenant and landlord has been most troubling – Police deserve recognition for their efforts on this front and everything else during this crisis – must punish those who put this community at risk – that’s why he asked for Ordinance 2020-07 on the agenda; Councilman Santanello mentioned the CDL and the bill Congressman Smith introduced after speaking with himself, auditor Jerry Conaty from Holman Frenia, our auditing company and others – were one of the few communities, unfortunately, that did not have post-Sandy CDL forgiven – seems very arbitrary how the State forgave some town and not others – Congressman Smith deserves gratitude for introducing a bill that will seek to absolve PPB of future payments – he personally reached out to Senators Booker and Menendez to see if they’d be interested in filing companion legislation in the Senate to make it a bi-partisan effort – believes Congressman Van Drew and some others have signed on to the House version – having a Senate version would help and the House is looking at a new stimulus bill – would be tremendous if this could get folded in; attended a meeting regarding an audit of PPB’s flood rating with Engineers Mele and Savacool, BA/CFO Riehl and Construction Official Gardner – State is reviewing PPB’s flood rating quite thoroughly – if we don’t show them everything we need, we could be looking at fines and a drastic reduction in our rating – engineers are working collaboratively to get us where we need to be – hopes to push past this and have grounds to move our flood rating to an even better category and save residents even more money – needs to be addressed and submitted to the State quickly; thanked Dave D’Amico, Paul Vigianous and Steve Fisher for donating new signs – will be replacing and refurbishing signs in town – things will look fantastic when visitors are welcomed back; 2 new Quality of Life hires are starting this week – weed control classes have been postponed, but Robert is pulling weeds, driving around, making sure trash is picked up, and getting acclimated to the water system to start watering all the new plants Engineer Savacool has reached out to contractors who have done work in town to replace plantings – Kristen O’Rourke, the Quality of Life Director was hired away from the NJ State Legislature, where she was a policy expert, writing and passing legislation and working on Legislative regulatory and constituent issues across the State – her depth of knowledge is second to none – she will have a host of things to do, such as neighborhood listening sessions, newsletters, surveys, new town computer system and web site, etc. – one of her first priorities will be to help residents and businesses navigate the grants, loans, the unemployment process and all the different financial options available on a County, State and Federal level – asked all to spread the work that people will be able to go to her for one-on-one for assistance and guidance to weather this storm – asked all to welcome her – she and Rob will do tremendous things for this community; continue to move forward with business as usual, getting ready for the summer season, when the pandemic has passed, to be in a good financial position.
BA/CFO Riehl: echoed the sentiments and thanked Mayor & Council, Chief Michigan, OEM, DPW Super. Trout and all of the Borough Hall employees – feels like we got out in front of this early and, because of that, are in a great place to deal with it – Borough staff continues to adapt to these ever-changing regulations, have been doing a great job and should be complemented (Mayor Kanitra: will have a lot of thank you’s to do when this is all over – will need to thank first responders, Sabrina Fioretti, all those on the front lines – the Police and Fire Depts., Borough employees and medical professionals in town – will need to figure out a celebration and maybe some plaques and other big gestures, which will be drop in the bucket for what they are doing) agrees; had anticipated the Budget introduction at this meeting – in light of the pandemic, the State has extended the introduction deadline by about a month to give municipalities an opportunity to address their budget for any extraordinary expenditures or revenue shortfalls – don’t plan to introduce until probably the first meeting in May – State is extending their Budget cycle until September, which puts municipalities under the gun in terms of tax revenue – looking to issue estimated tax bills for 3rd quarter payment due in August – hopes the County will have their budget in line by then – will have to come up with an estimated rate – a one-time tax bill for an estimated rate in the 3rd quarter, which will be reconciled in the 4th quarter bill – have done them before – they are a lot of work and doesn’t think the residents like them, but doesn’t see any way around it and thinks most municipalities will do that this year; were concerned about the bond sale – Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed PPB as a stable AA-, which was a great plus in this sale – were hoping for 2.5% and the winning bid came in at 2.52% – were incredibly lucky, as the market seemed to tank the day before and the day after – thanked Bond Counsel Mayer and Financial Advisor Inverso for their great work in making it happen; meeting with Earle Asphalt and Engineer Savacool next week to go over punch list items pertaining to St. Louis Ave. – some things weren’t finished and curb repairs are needed – asked that they include the concrete gutter across Washington Ave. – it’s about $4K, but are currently under contract; there was a meeting to assess the Lake of the Lillies shoreline – plan is to replacing plantings, cut back Newark Ave. vegetation and pick up trash – are planning to start in the next week or so; while Borough Hall has been semi-closed, will be closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday – wished all a nice Easter holiday (Mayor Kanitra: thanked BA/CFO Riehl, Municipal Clerk Farrell, Deputy Clerk Mutter, Water/Sewer Clerk Brown and all the staff who are still going into Borough Hall on a regular basis – schedules have been staggered, but it really is business as usual in PPB, which is a testament to everything that BA/CFO Riehl is doing to keep the ship running – thanked her; asked Councilman Vitale to call Vince Castin, who has been calling him on his cell phone during the meeting and asked all in attendance to mitigate their background noise for public participation).
Clerk announced revisions to the agenda.
Councilman Vitale: unmuted all and asked anyone who didn’t want to talk to mute themselves.
PULIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:20PM
E.J. Geiger, PPB: dirt at Little Silver Lake is probably part of the work to be started next week – last time, a flood washed it away – hopes not to have that issue, now that the flooding is fixed.
Mayor Kanitra: invited all to use the “raise your hand” or “chat” functions in Zoom.
Dave Cavagnaro, PPB: asked about the initials in 1o, time frame for 1p; said band shell patio (1r) looks great; asked for an explanation of Ordinance 2020-07; clarified where the new signs will be.
Mayor Kanitra: advised that cursing online will not be tolerated.
Vince Castin, PPB: asked about Kratom ordinance; thanked all for persevering – it’s a comfort for him and his neighbors; Semper Fi to Chief – those who disobeyed rules deserved what they got.
Marilyn Burke, PPB: asked about 1p and what it includes; asked about bidding.
Vince Castin, PPB: asked about Little League fencing.
PULIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:35PM
Motion by Councilman Vitale to close Public Participation and 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 #7 ($253,644.45)
1b Approval of salary adjustment for C. Glass for passage of course leading to certification
1c Approval of payment to Standard & Poors for general improvement bond services ($15,500)
1d Approval of Kyle & McManus scope of work/proposal for affordable housing planning services, subject to attorney review ($13,500)
1e Approval of Maser scope of work/proposal for Lincoln Ave outfall recon, upon passage of 2020 capital bond ordnance, subject to attorney review ($31K)
1f Approval of payment to Ocean County Treasurer for 2nd quarter tax levy ($2,182,943.63)
1g Approval of payment to Hunter Technologies for annual Avaya support/maintenance ($2,997)
1h Approval of PO to All Covered for renewal of Microsoft Online license ($4,960)
1i Approval of payment to All Covered for 9 HP ProDesk small desk computers ($6,673.59)
1j Approval of payment to General Code for 2019 codification/supplement ($4,960)
1k Approval of payment to the State of NJ for employee & retiree health benefits ($113,033.19)
1l Approval of pymt to Petroleum Traders Corp for 6,300 gallons of gasoline for DPW ($7,199.01)
1m Approval of payment to Sprague Resources for 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel for DPW (2,584.20)
1n Authorization for attorney to draft a new Kratom ordinance
1o Approval of Maser scope of work/proposal for CRS, NFIP, FMP Progress Report, subject to attorney review ($21K)
1p Approval of Maser scope of work/proposal for Ocean Avenue Water Main Replacement, upon passage of Bond Ordinance 2020-06, subject to attorney review ($309K)
1q Appointment of Community Endowment Fund members
1r Approval of payment to Ralph Clayton & Sons for bandshell patio ($2,042.57)
1s Approval of payment to Glenco Supply for safety fence and posts ($1,080)
1t REMOVED PRIOR TO MEETING
1u Approval of PO to E. Runyon t/a Aquatic Services for water sampling ($3,864)
1v Approval of PO to Integrated Technical Systems for pay machine service contract ($25,425)
1w Approval of payment to H. Kees & Sons for Little League fencing ($12,905)
1x Approval of second amendment to Verizon telecommunications lease agreement
1y Auth to approve PO for emerg fire truck repair (NTE $5K), with an increase in budgetary line item – REVISED BY BA/CFO
1z Payment to Schuler Roofing for municipal building roof repair ($8,500)
1aa Approval of resolution prohibiting rental of homes within the Borough
1bb Approval of temporary capital budget
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($3,499,933.18)
2b Approval of PO to Pt. Pleasant Bicycle for 6 Durango patrol bicycles for the PD ($6,099.30)
2c Re-approval of membership in Ocean Fire Company No 1 for B. Kiernan, PPB
2d Approval of membership in Ocean Fire Company No 1 for A. Andretta, PPB
2e Retroactive approval of Jr. Auxiliary membership in PPB Fire Company 2 for M. Storino, PPB
2f Approval of payment to Meridian Occupational Health for police physicals ($6,282)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale (except 1w), Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello (except 1d, 1e, 1o,
1p, 2b & 2f)….YEA
Councilmember Santanello (1d, 1e, 1o, 1p)….NAY
Councilmember Vitale (1w), Santanello (2b & 2f), Migut….ABSTAIN
ORDINANCES:
Bond Ordinance 2020-06 (Replacement of Water Mains – Ocean Avenue) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve Bond Ordinance 2020-06 on first reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote. Public hearing will be on April 21, 2020.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello….YEA
Councilman Migut….ABSTAIN
Ordinance 2020-07 (Amend Ch XXVII, Section 27-3a – Seasonal Rentals) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve Ordinance 2020-07 on first reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote. Public hearing will be on April 21, 2020.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilmen Santanello, Migut….ABSTAIN
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AND ENDED AT 8:40PM
WITH NO MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO BE HEARD
Motion by Councilman Cortes to adjourn was seconded by Councilman Santanello and carried by consent of Council. Meeting was adjourned at 8:41PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
