Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
December 13, 2022
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
The Governing Body reserves its right to amend and supplement the purposes of executive session by motion at the public meeting.
Mayor Kanitra called the regular meeting to order at 7:30PM. 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 Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos and Migut. Councilwoman Crowley was absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES:
Motion by Councilman Ramos to approve the November 29, 2022 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Byrnes, Ramos, Migut….YEA
Councilwoman Testa….ABSTAIN
Councilwoman Crowley….ABSENT
PROCLAMATIONS/AWARDS
Dr. William T. Smith, 2023 New Jersey Superintendent of the Year
Mayor Kanitra: Dr. Smith was his English teacher in PPBHS – he is young enough to be relatable and old enough to have perspective – school system churns out values we care about in PPB – validation is important – congratulated him (Councilman Ramos, former Bd. of Ed. President: he was a member of the Board that hired Dr. Smith – recognized former and current Board Members & Presidents in attendance: Eileen Laterza, Jim Ireland, Sherry Finn, Joyce Popaca, Steve Shohfi and Elizabeth Boyle – town is blessed to have Dr. Smith at the helm – owes him, administrators, teachers and staff gratitude for all they do to make the District so special – it rises from the top – congratulated him – reminded all that a strong school District encourages home values and residents’ quality of life to remain high – is honored to have worked with Dr. Smith and to call him a friend) presented the proclamation (Dr. Smith: an educator’s journey – this isn’t the end – it is his pleasure to serve the District – appreciates the recognition.
Pt. Pleasant Beach High School Girls Soccer Team, Group 1 State Finalists.
Mayor Kanitra: a great thing about PPB is that a lot of people get to play sports and participate – for a small town, we punch above our weight class – the team left their mark on the field this year – great student athletes all around – honored to have them here – presented the proclamation.
Life Saving Awards/Certificates:
Sgt. Kyle Boturla, Cpl. Brian Spader, Officers Christopher Levan & Sarah Sharpe, Dispatcher Ryan Carne & Retired Police Officer Kevin Guy.
Mayor Kanitra: our Police, Fire and First Aid are doing incredible things, helping to keep the community and our guests safe; Chief Kowalewski: welcomed Mr. & Mrs. Duffy, who were walking on the Boardwalk on Oct. 17th when Mr. Duffy suffered a medical emergency and was assisted by all of the above and the First Aid Squad – presented awards in recognition of prompt response, teamwork and life-saving tactics in the line of duty, resulting in the saving of a human life.
Presentation of Manasquan Inlet Tug of War Donation
Mayor Kanitra: had a very successful Tug of War this year – raised a ton of money for the Recreation Dept. which enables us to do a ton of great events; Councilman Vitale: thanked the Recreation Committee for a very successful event, particularly Lauren Schule and Ryan Simunovich – presented a check – raised money for Recreation and also $14,589.00 for Make-a-Wish – before the event, Make-a-Wish recipient, Sam Prince, who announced the Giants draft pick, riled up the crowd – great event – a friendly rivalry – a little competitive – presented a check to Dominique and Mike from NJ Chapter of Make a Wish, who said a few words – every day in NJ, 2 kids are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness – get to bring them hope, strength and joy – these kids want to come to these events and share their experiences – are proud to be part of the Tug – so many wishes have been granted on both sides of the Inlet – have changed the lives of kids right around here – hope to be back next year and share where that $14,589.00 went; Mayor Kanitra: it’s incredible what Councilman/Recreation Liaison Vitale, Lauren Schule, Ryan Simunovich and all the volunteers have been doing – thanked them.
BA/CFO Riehl RE: Best Practices Worksheet – are required to file every year – about 70 questions – need more than 31 “yes” answers or the State starts withholding aid – were well within the range – a huge number of questions were unscored, just information gathering – it’s been submitted – no State aid is being withheld – had very few “no” answers, but they are repetitive and policies that we created as a Borough and are not going to change.
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMOS:
AZO Savacool Memo RE: Curb Cut Request at 302 Chicago Ave. – Atty. Riordan: applicant has to go to Zoning Board for permission to do what they want, including any curb cuts – the applicant then has to come to Council to ask for permission to do the curb cut – the question of whether or not a variance was granted is irrelevant – Council’s decision is made independent of the decision of the Zoning Board – the curb would not have come to Council if the Zoning Board had said “no” because – can’t overrule the Zoning Board (Mayor Kanitra: curb cut was built without permission) would lose a parking space (Mayor Kanitra: asked if they have a driveway; Councilman Vitale: looks like it and they already did a curb cut; Mayor Kanitra: invited Mr. Cavagnaro to speak; Mr. Cavagnaro: line goes from Parkway to the house – one long space – will reduce the amount of parking on that street; Mayor Kanitra: will reduce the overall box) read AZO Savacool’s letter, which says on-street parking is not delineated by space adjacent to the property and the curb cut will result in the loss of parking abutting the curb cut (Mr. Cavagnaro: thinks the previous curb cut was to the right of the existing) would make a condition of 13’; Mayor Kanitra: 12’ is the minimum) can give them just 12’ (Mayor Kanitra: we really need to stop these from being built) that’s an issue for the Zoning Board (Councilman Ramos: when vacant, was no delineation for a curb cut – is not for rewarding people for jumping ahead and doing it without permission; Mayor Kanitra: he always assumed it was 12’-16’– T&M’s note says, if you have a 2-car garage, 16’ is permitted) if you have a one-car garage, thinks the most you can have is 13’– letter says maximum 13’– can always hold it until Councilwoman Crowley or AZO Savacool is here – don’t know that you will get any additional information (Mayor Kanitra: would have been inclined to say “yes” to everything if they hadn’t built it before asking) could make them cut it back to 12′ or bring them in and ask why they did it and tell them if they come here again, are going to say “no” (Mayor Kanitra: he likes that – it’s right in the middle of a house – would like to brink 302 Chicago and 209 Forman in before taking action – NO ACTION TAKEN – BA/CFO RIEHL TO CONTACT BUILDER/OCCUPANTS TO COME TO MEETING.
AZO Savacool Memo RE: AZO Savacool RE: Curb Cut Request at 205 Randall Ave. – Mayor Kanitra: looks like it doesn’t affect any parking (Mr. Cavagnaro: if the curb cut is widened, will lose a space – but if you look at the house to the extreme right, the stone is bordered by Belgian block – if they remove it across the front, are wide open and don’t need anything and can keep what they have) can tell them to remove the Belgian block and extend it there – asked that the request be moved to the agenda, telling them to use the existing curb cut and adjust their Belgian block accordingly (Atty. Riordan: put on agenda as “no” to the curb cut request – the rest of it is up to them – DENIAL ADDED AS ITEM 1AA.
AZO Savacool Memo RE: Curb Cut Request at 209 Forman Ave. – Planning Board Member/Former Councilman Cavagnaro: the house is built – thinks it’s occupied – driveway is there –at the end of the driveway, there is a delineated parking space – presumes it’s the owner of the house making sure no on blocks them from going into their garage and that no one remembered to come to Council (Atty. Riordan: absurd; Mayor Kanitra: no guaranteed we’ll say “yes” when they come in; BA/CFO Riehl: asked what step is missing; Councilwoman Testa: doesn’t think there is a step missing – they are just going ahead and doing it; Mayor Kanitra: technically, a builder should know our process – spoke to CO Thulen and AZO Savacool – they are supposed to be reminding them; Councilwoman Testa: Code should investigate; Mayor Kanitra: if the house is occupied the question is how they got a CO with the driveway in the present configuration) they may not have one – by definition, a driveway is a curb cut that’s delineated (Councilwoman Testa: she is going to say “no”; Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl to ask the builder, if still the owner, to come here – if there is an occupant, would like the occupant and the builder – wants to get the real story as to why this was done: Councilman Ramos: asked about looking at fines, going forward; Atty. Riordan: there are fines in the ordinance for occupied homes without a CO – recommends t having the Building Dept. file when these folks come in and to discuss it with Mr., Thulen enough to understand, or he would be happy to; Mayor Kanitra: asked if builders can be fined for building curb cuts prior to approval; Atty. Riordan: yes – will have to write a new ordinance – will draft an ordinance that will penalize whoever constructs curb cuts without approval from the Governing Body – has been past discussion about noticing people and making sure they are aware of the process – asked about that; BA/CFO Riehl: it’s supposed to be in Building Dept.’s sleeve – goes back to ZO/CEO Petrillo – she wrote a memo to Mayor & Council about what they were proposing before it went anywhere else, 8-10 months ahead of time) goes back several administrations (Mayor Kanitra: Atty. Riordan will draft ordinance) suggested the whole Council look at them (Atty. Riordan: they used to – then Andy took it over and everyone got complacent; Mayor Kanitra: not a bad practice – NO ACTION TAKEN – BA/CFO RIEHL TO CONTACT BUILDER/OCCUPANTS TO COME TO MEETING.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: recognized December employee anniversaries – Kyle Grace 25 years, Brian Larrison 25, Brendan McGovern 4, Ned Martin 31, William Crate 27, Fred Millman 9, Glen Purves 9, Mike Thulen 2; gave Chief’s report – thanked Mayor & Council for their continued support and commitment to the PD – will provide an end-of-year report in late January – are continuing the State-wide year-end Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign – 31 Class II recruits are currently in the Ocean County Police Academy – have begun hiring recruits for the 2023 season, as well as Parking Enforcement Officers – recent training includes Mandated Canine and Quarterly Firearms – the PD wishes everyone and their families a Very Merry Christmas, Safe & Healthy New Year; Recreation Committee’s Winter Wonderland last weekend at Pleasure Park had an estimated 600 people – vibrant all day – thanked all Recreation members who worked hard to make this a very successful event – last event of the year is this Sunday – residents can sign up to vote on decorated houses in town – will receive hot chocolate, popcorn, a craft and access to the voting app on Sunday – are moving forward with hanging lights in Pleasure Park; added an item 1BB to agenda; downtown military banners came down last week and were replaced with holiday banners – they can be picked up at DPW and saved there and re-hung next year; vulnerability assessment is ongoing – he will conduct mandated cybersecurity training tomorrow for Town Hall employees.
Councilwoman Testa: thanked Councilman Vitale and Recreation volunteers – doing amazing; thanked the Beautification Committee for the wonderful work they’ve done downtown – Mary Lynn Ritchings is an awesome leader – looks gorgeous – gave a shout out to former Councilman Cortes, who hung garland – put greenery in planters downtown – thanked DPW for hanging lights and banners – will have their holiday party at The Offshore this week; the Arts Committee Art Walk will be on April 29th, 12PM-6PM with Dave Betten heading it, and 17 businesses interested in providing space for artists to display and create – more information will follow – invited interested businesses to reach out to the Arts Committee – will have a virtual Juried Art Show, Feb. 1st through April 1st, with an online registration link, open to all NJ artists, original work only, with more information to follow; met with QOL Dir. O’Rourke regarding the Municipal Alliance Committee – one of her focuses in the New Year – want that committee to grow – reached out to Super. Smith, the PPBHS guidance counselor and Det. O’Neill – will be having a Zoom meeting on the 19th to discuss assemblies and where to put money to benefit the children, parents and residents – are trying to get a senior and a junior to be part of the that committee – wished all Happy Holidays and thanked all who help to run the town including BA/CFO Riehl, Atty. Riordan, Clerk Farrell, Chief Kowalewski, EMS, Police, Mayor & Council – is proud to be part of the team.
Councilwoman Byrnes: congratulated tonight’s honorees and volunteers – have a wonderful community with many extraordinary individuals who contribute; shout out to BA/CFO Riehl and Beautification for how wonderful the town looks – from the tree lighting to the festive look and feel of downtown, the well-attended Winter Wonderland and the trolley on Saturday night that provided the Golden Gulls volunteers the means to ring doorbells of our older adults and greet them with the joyous songs of the season – the delight on their faces was powerful – today was a terrific luncheon for the older generation, hosted by the Golden Gulls – attendance as great and food was better – wished all peace and merriment in this holiday season – is looking forward to robust new year.
Councilman Ramos: congratulations to Dr. Smith and to the girls’ soccer team for an outstanding season – the PPBH winter concert is Thursday at 12:15PM – Antrim’s concert is Wednesday at 6:30PM; spoke with DPW Super. Trout – are progressing well on in-house painting projects – new windows were installed in the Water Treatment Plant – hope to progress soon with additional security and painting of the water tower; the Environmental Committee’s Green Team Advisory Committee received their Bronze Certification for the 4th year and is one of 81 NJ municipalities who received certification in 2022 – the Environmental Commission and Green Team are working on developing more volunteer efforts and continue to research grant opportunities – recent initiatives include establishing and maintaining pollinator gardens, embarking on an anti-idling education campaign, installing fishing receptacles and signage at the Inlet with DPW, and seeking funding to install the water bottle filling station and water fountain on the Boardwalk by the Police sub-station; wished all Happy Holidays.
Councilman Migut: attended the Parking Authority meeting 2 weeks ago – they awarded the snow plow contract for the coming year – gave a warning that a lot of landscapers who did snowplowing are dropping it due to the cost of insurance – there was only one bidder – in the future, maybe DPW will have to take over on the parking lots – they asked about the bank kiosk bid for the Borden’s lot that was making its way through the Administrator’s office (BA/CFO Riehl: she wrote a draft RFP and sent it to Atty. Bogan for him to use at his disposal – if moving forward, will need to advertise the RFP – if he needs help, she can assist him) – the landscaping contract for the parking lots is coming up – they mentioned that the town employs a landscaper (BA/CFO Riehl: his contract is up – currently, no responses to RFP – working to secure someone – heavy on weed maintenance) they were talking about looking to piggyback.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: are closing the year with $100K grant from NJDEP for Lake Management Plan – want to increase the health of the lakes – Lake of the Lillies shoreline has not looked as good in quite some time – must ensure that for future generations and wildlife – grant will go a long way to give a blueprint to replicate steps for the future – tailored to the conditions of each individual lake – for this and future administrations; have accomplished quite a bit this year – put in place a lot of the policies and procedures that were promised – holding bad actors accountable when they take actions that hurt residents and taxpayers – the town has never looked better – crowds are spending money and respecting PPB – still need to address lack of parking, large crowds in summer – need to work to ensure PPB continues to be a year-round community, which is the goal for next year – taxes are where they need to be – PPB has the lowest taxes of any Ocean County town with a full school system and Police Department and gets garbage picked-up – people are getting an incredible value out of living here – property values have never been higher – school system is taking less tuition kids because more people are moving into town year-round – business community is booming with new businesses opening and a lot of the blighted buildings turning over – passed the study on redevelopment and rehabilitation – looking forward to seeing that to fruition – need to keep working hard and making sure all are doing their jobs as committee liaisons – want to look at increasing committee membership – couldn’t be prouder to serve with all on the dais and in Town Hall – wished all Happy Holidays – is heading to Atlanta to see his dad and is going to go watch the TCU Horned Frogs win the college championship, hopefully.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: are down to punch list items and the subcontractor is doing concrete work on Ocean Ave. – they deem they will be finished and out by December 23rd and will start the next half early next year; the historic plaques are due to be delivered this week; the beach renourishment resolution is on the agenda; just had the building repainted – in lieu of nail holes everywhere, bought a hanging track system for the art in Borough Hall (Mayor Kanitra: great – because people love the art, but we don’t love the holes); departmental budgets were due last Friday – 95% are in – Finance Committee is set to go over next year’s budget – have a lot of projects to complete or fund and start next year; sadly, 139 swans were lost to-date from bird flu, along with a couple of ducks, a goose or two and 2 blue herons – seems to have somewhat petered out (Mayor Kanitra: glad we are on the other side of it – that’s a lot; thanked her for great job on the banners) they can stay up all winter (Mayor Kanitra: will plan for new ones because the old ones are faded; Councilman Vitale: the Veterans banners will go back up in mid-May).
Clerk announced additions/revisions to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:39PM
David Micheletti, 209 Forman Ave., PPB: was watching on the livestream and came over – spoke about the lack of clarity about the curb cut request at his house – he and wife were born and raised in Pt. Pleasant bought the house in 2017 and have lived here full-time since 2018 – this is not a spec house – their kids go to PPBHS and Antrim School – his wife was a teacher at St. Peter’s – the location of the driveway is different than the house they tore down and re-built – was on plot plan submitted in 2021 and approved – the demolition was inspected and approved (Mayor Kanitra: we have to approve the curb cuts) – understands the construction of the new curb was inspected by the town and that inspection passed and very late in process, it was recognized that a mistake was made and approval to move the curb had not been obtained (Atty. Riordan: asked who made the mistake) couldn’t say (Atty. Riordan: either the Engineer or the Builder) he suspects so – has a contract with the builder who built the house – thinks it should have been submitted by the engineer that he believes is employed by the builder (Atty. Riordan: perhaps the Governing Body wants to talk to the builder or the engineer to find out which one make the mistake; Mayor Kanitra: asked Mr. Micheletti about the driveway being moved) the driveway was on the west side – when the house was torn down, it was moved to the east side (Mayor Kanitra: asked if there will be loss of parking space when re-striped) no (Mayor Kanitra: asked how big the curb cut was before and how big it is now) doesn’t know – are not trying to do anything nefarious – it’s a mistake, not malicious – understands the town recognized the mistake and that’s why they were given a temporary CO – they hosted on the Cooks Tour – are part of the community (Mayor Kanitra: to give perspective – are very sympathetic that they are year-round residents – the problem is that there is a finite number of parking spaces in town and, short of acquiring parking by other means, no more will ever be made – every year, we lose a certain number that compounds – are trying to take a stance that it’s all about parking – it certainly seems that this wasn’t Mr. Micheletti’s doing – builders/engineers/contractors are supposed to know the rules of the town – it was their shortcoming – are looking at an ordinance to penalize; Atty. Riordan: it is obvious to all that this nice gentleman had nothing to do with the problem we are having here and there is no reason to penalize him – all want to see the builder and engineer standing where he is so some of us can ask questions; Mayor Kanitra: told Mr. Micheletti, his CO is not going to be yanked and he is not going to be penalized – best thing would be to get more clarity on what was there, what is there now and how that will translate into parking spaces) was his understanding that the engineer submitted something saying there would be a net zero; Mayor Kanitra: lost a bit of clarity with Councilwoman Crowley not here – would like to speak to his builder and contractor – Mr. Micheletti doesn’t have to come back – not going to mess up anything with the house – hopes he understands the position Mayor & Council is in – asked if his builder does a lot of homes in PPB; Atty. Riordan: asked name of builder) Dolphin Homes on Bay Ave. – they did a great job – doesn’t want to throw them under the bus (Atty. Riordan: maybe they have a reasonable explanation) expects they do (Mayor Kanitra: by having the builder here, will probably save some other homeowners from having to deal with the process and help to save some parking in the future as a result).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about item 1Q (BA/CFO Riehl: between various budget accounts – some are over, some are under – just shifting – not adding any new appropriation).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:51PM
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payrolls #24 ($295,468.61) and #25 ($299,008.68)
1b Amend Res 2022-0102/1G-2 to remove S. Gertner (Superior Court Judge) as Conflict Public Defender
1c Approval of PPB Rec S/E App for Summer Camp, M-F, 7/10-8/19 (training 7/5-7/7), Pleasure Park
1d Approval of pymt to the State of NJ for employee & retiree health benefits for December ($128,176.85)
1e Approval of payment to United Ford for 2022 Ford F-350 for DPW ($37,907)
1f Memorialization of amended Res 2022-1129/1P (ABC transfer – to delete address – pocket license)
1g Authorization for Administrator to execute OC Road Dept 2023 Schedule C Agreement
1h Approval of payment of hand checks from Developer escrow accounts ($19,444.42)
1i Approval of S/E app for St Peter School Jubilee Parade & Block Party on Arnold, St Louis on 4/29/23
1j Approval of Water/Sewer relief requests (2)
1k Approval of payment to Ronald Logan for refund of overpayment of taxes ($2,447.41)
1l Approval of salary adjustment for P. Kile for obtaining Clean Communities Certification
1m Approval of payment to Tri-State Safety Solutions for safety coordinator for May-Nov ($4,865)
1n Approval of payment to Epic Sports for basketball jerseys ($3,404.53)
1o Approval of payment to Brick Township MUA for November bulk water usage ($57,282.29)
1p Reappointment of Robert LePore to 3-year term as Municipal Magistrate
1q Approval of Transfer Resolution
1r Approval of active status criteria for Recreation Committee members for 2022 and 2023
1s Establishment of 2023 refund policy for Recreation Committee events
1t Establishment of 2023 late fee policy for Recreation Committee events
1u Memorialization of approval of LA-2021 MA PPB 2021 Various Roadway Improvements Project 15 – Extension Request
1v Commitment to pay NJ DEP local share for beach replenishment project ($270,750.89)
1w Approval of payment to Coastal Cleaning Services for painting Borough Hall ($7K)
1x Approval of payment to Riggins for 2022 gasoline for DPW ($8,075.53)
1y Approval of pymt to Turbo Electric for Park power/wiring & Bay/Trenton/Arnold streetlamps ($11,690)
1z Approval of PO to Premier Electronic Solutions for CDVI door controllers ($6,852)
1aa Denial of curb cut request at 205 Randall Avenue – ADDED PER DH MEMOS
1bb Permission for Borough Administrator and Borough Engineer to look into replacing the building in Pleasure Park – ADDED PER CMTE RPTS
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($1,524,338.73)
2b Approval of payment to Jamar Technologies for Starnext Software for the PD ($5,140)
2c Approval of PO to CDWG for 2 computers for the PD ($4,220.56)
2d Approval of payment to Deborah Cardiovascular Group for 13 stress tests for SLEO’s ($3,250)
2e Approval of PO to Amchar Wholesale for 30 new handguns for the PD ($4,020)
2f Approval of PO to CDWG for 4 computers & 1 monitor for the PD ($6,098.96)
2g Approval of PO to Motorola for batteries & microphones for the PD ($3,973.80)
2h Appointment of 14 SLEO I’s
2i Approval of payment to Skyland Area Fire Equipment for turnout gear for Fire Co 2 ($31,814.18)
2j Approval of payment to Firefighter One for premium flow test service for Fire Co 1 ($3,654.65)
2k Approval of payment to All Covered for IT/maintenance for Nov, including for PD ($4,807.43)
2l Approval of payment to Amazon Capital Services for Police purchases ($3,686.76)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos (except 2i, 2j), Migut (except 2a, 2i, 2j)….YEA
Councilmen Ramos (2i, 2j), Migut (2a, 2i, 2j)….ABSTAIN
Councilwoman Crowley….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:51PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked if Borough Hall landscaper contract is complete; thanked all for their hard work throughout the year an wished all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:52PM
Motion by Councilman Vitale to adjourn was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:52PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
