Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
December 15, 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: 961 9302 7874. 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 7:30PM. Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes and Migut. Councilman Santanello was absent. 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.”
The Governing Body reserves its right to amend and supplement the purposes of executive session by motion at the public meeting.
Flag Salute, Invocation
Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve the December 1, 2020 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilwoman Testa….ABSTAIN
Councilman Santanello….ABSENT
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMO/DISCUSSION:
Curb cut request at 117 St. Louis Ave.
Councilman Cortes: 117 St. Louis has no off-street parking – Engineer Savacool looked at it and wrote a letter, which he agrees with – they want @10.5-foot-wide driveway and to save the tree in their front yard – this will put the driveway closer to property line than what is allowed, but will be enough room to save the root structure – measured from tree to sidewalk – to be 5-feet off property line by code, they would block the sidewalk – should approve at requested location – Clerk announced that this would be ADDED AS 1AA (at 10.68 ft.).
Law Enforcement Support Office 1033 Program (LESO)
Chief Michigan: this is how police acquire military surplus vehicles like ones used for high water rescues – extremely valuable during winter storms and hurricanes – in Sandy, the 5-ton military truck was the only vehicle they could use to get around and administer a lot of water rescues – need a yearly resolution to be part of the program – not looking to purchase anything yet, but puts the town in position if a need arises and the equipment is available for purchase (Attorney Riordan: since it is good for one year, asked if it should be passed in January instead of December) they asked for the resolution now – assumes would be good until next December (Attorney Riordan: recommends using the form he drew the last time this came up in 2016; Mayor Kanitra: his grandparents stayed too long in their house during Sandy and that truck got them out; Attorney Riordan: if necessary, can pass again next year) – ADDED AS 2O.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Councilman Vitale: thinks changes to Ordinance 2020-23 are necessary. Motion by Councilman Vitale to table Ordinance 2020-23 was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote:
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilman Santanello….ABSENT
Gave Police Chief’s report – thanked Mayor & Council for their continued support and commitment to the PD – this year, were faced with many challenges – recognized Mayor Kanitra, Councilman Vitale, BA/CFO Riehl, DPW Super. Trout and OEM Coord. Dempsey for their cooperation and continuous communication throughout it all – Coronavirus has taken all into uncharted territory – have been able to enforce compliance and do our best to keep residents and businesses healthy and safe during a time of crisis and civil unrest – despite the pandemic and limited staffing, the PD had a record number of arrests this year – will provide data and statistics in a year-end report in late-January – a few notable events were the drowning at Jenkinson’s Beach where 2 officers entered the water to pull out the victim, the stabbing on the beach on Labor Day, the stolen vehicle ring and pursuit with apprehension of 4 suspected car thieves, the June 9th beach party, COVID compliance and Executive Order arrests, pursuit and apprehension of a bank robber which originated out of Pennsylvania, and the numerous planned protests in town – amid the chaos, the outpouring of support from residents and businesses has been overwhelming – are continuing holiday traffic enforcement, targeting individuals who are drinking and driving – have 41 SLEO II recruits in the Academy and are accepting SLEO I applications for the summer 2021 season – an overhaul of the town-wide camera system is long overdue and upgrades will be coming soon – plan on hosting quarterly meetings with the Neighborhood Partnership Initiative, hosting a Police Summer Youth Camp and bringing back the Beach Town Hoedown focusing on bicycle safety – awaiting guidance on the pending legalization of marijuana and planning on how it will effect enforcement this summer – are researching and will soon be implementing body-worn cameras mandated by the Attorney General’s Office – remain committed to providing a high level of service to residents and visitors – on behalf of PD wished all a Very Merry Christmas and Safe and Healthy New Year; he thanked the Chief and the PD for keeping everyone safe throughout this unprecedented year – thanked the First Responders on the front lines in the battle against COVID; the Recreation Committee’s Holiday Light Contest was a huge success with 25 houses registered – congratulated 215 Trenton on 1st Place and 219 Baltimore on 2nd Place – both won Joe Leone’s gift cards – invited all to look at the houses that participated; Recreation Committee is looking for new members – reach out to him or the Committee; excited for 2021 events, old and new; Pothole Killers were in town 2 weeks ago – potholes starting reforming a week later – he and Councilman Cortes compiled a list of potholes that weren’t fixed properly – Mayor Kanitra contacted the company and they sent out a rep – an issue with the emulsion – all should be redone by Tuesday at no cost to the town – asked to pull ITEM 1Q until work is completed to the town’s satisfaction (Mayor Kanitra: will hold contractors accountable – to their credit, they were great to work with – supports pulling 1Q).
Motion by Councilman Vitale to pull item 2Q from the agenda was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote:
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilman Santanello….ABSENT
(Councilman Cortes: he did a lot more research – had to be either the material or the process – hopes it wasn’t the company – it was atrocious, especially River Ave; Mayor Kanitra: big cities hire them – probably got a bad batch – they will make it right – thanked all for being on top of it – sets a good precedent – Borough will not pay if not perfect); enjoyed serving residents – proud of accomplishments – wished all a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Councilwoman Testa: Councilwoman Testa: juried art show was a huge success with about 50 entries – thanked Co-chairs Carra and Lewis – showed the winning pieces – the artwork is for sale – People’s Choice, where people vote for their favorites, will begin in 2 weeks; the Beautification Committee has finished for the year – thanked Chair Mary Steiner who did an outstanding job, Councilman Cortes for his hard work, and all the volunteers – looks forward to upcoming year; the Municipal Alliance Committee met this past week – great meeting – guest speakers spoke about the Scared Straight program, the problem of youth vaping and jeweling, educating parents and children, and preventing underage drinking – will host a virtual Family Night Dinner in January and will be creating a Facebook page; spoke about video interviews of store owners – first one was with Sonya of Vintage Van Gogh – just did another with Maryellen and Doreen of Coastal Art Co-op – talking to Lulu’s, Point Grill and Lola’s – will work with Carol Vaccaro at the Chamber and create a Facebook page for the videos (Mayor Kanitra: if all elected officials were like her, the world would be a better place – no agenda, connected to community, always trying to give of herself – recommended that she be the new Council President); thanked him for that honor; should hear about the Bike Ways Grant soon; looking at the Safe Routes to School Grant, Bicycle Hoedown, etc.; wished all Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Blessed Healthy New Year – thanked the residents – has been an honor to serve – thanked the PD and Borough employees – all are amazing – has been a tough year working through COVID.
Councilwoman Byrnes: thanked all the volunteers who make the town special – all work so hard – Chief, Council, staff – an honor, even through this most unusual year; announced the winners of the Fire elections – thanked Chief Ryan for his service; Shade Tree Commission has had a fabulously successful year – they thank Council and DPW for their support and wish all a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah; the Environmental Commission and Green Team are working toward Sustainable Jersey Silver Certification, while maintaining the Bronze level obtained in 2018 – invited volunteers; it’s been an honor to serve the community – very proud of all; wished all a Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas (Mayor Kanitra: thanked her).
Councilman Cortes: thanked the PD, First Responders and Firemen, especially for going around with Santa on the Fire Truck – all did a great job in a unique and trying year; congratulated the 3 new Council members for navigating through a unique first year – all did a great job – uncharted waters; congratulated Mayor Kanitra for surviving his first year as Mayor – tough things to deal with – rallies protests, COVID – did a great job – did in one year what usually lasts a 4-year term; had some healthy debates and unhealthy arguing and name-calling – will get past it, move forward and make 2021 better for all – hopes to see smiles and no masks next year; the swag is up across Bay Ave. – he reset 6 outlets on the light poles – Councilwoman Byrnes did a great job of lighting up the town – looking into changing the outlets to eliminate the need for adaptors – thanked Beautification Chair Steiner and Councilwoman Testa – great group of people – thanked DPW who are out there all the time, put up the snowflakes and keep the town clean; the gazebo was painted – thanked the Mayor; there was construction done in the PD for safety reasons – there is a new white peaked cover on the basement hatch at Borough Hall that rain and snow will fall off of; Inlet bathroom area is mulched; the new bike racks are in – they are red – they need to be mounted – will be great; wished all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year – be safe (Mayor Kanitra: Councilman Cortes had a rough year with the virus – thanked him for all his work).
Councilman Migut: (Mayor Kanitra: tough time to be Council President, also the most unprecedented election in history – he balanced it all – thanked him for being by his side); Animal Welfare Committee is drafting a justification letter for what they need 2 trailers for – should arrive in time for budget season and for the Council packet in the 2nd week of January; Parking Authority met this month – they would like Council to consider free parking in the railroad lot during the week next week with paid meter parking on weekends in summer – believes the parking pass plan will fit into that (Mayor Kanitra: thinks that is fairly reasonable – BA/CFO Riehl has said that lot really only gets full on busy weekends in the heart of the summer – are working on downtown revitalization – in the future, people will think of downtown starting at that Rte. 35 corridor – people will need to get used to walking a block or 2 to get to downtown as it becomes more vibrant and there are more businesses – utilizing that lot is a valid option – thanked him).
Mayor Kanitra: former and longest-serving Mayor Dan Hennessy is at home battling Coronavirus and his wife, the former First Lady of PPB, is in a much tougher situation in the hospital and not doing too well while she battles Coronavirus – asked the Clerk and Administrator’s office to send them a note and possibly some flowers, saying that we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers – public service is important and difficult, a family commitment and sacrifice – Elaine has done a tremendous amount for PPB – asked all to keep them in their thoughts and prayers – she will need it to pull through – they are both fighters – are sending along our absolute best; the Resident Survey is nearly finished – will come out in the beginning of the year; there is an RFP out for landscaping services to maintain all the properties that have been weeded – hopes for responses by the beginning of the year, Borough Hall wi-fi is basically non-existent – as committees and government officials have become more active, it’s a real liability – Councilman Vitale will have meetings to get a good price; are moving forward with the Lake Management Plan – got the price down about $15K – working with Save Barnegat Bay for some State funding; drains are being cleaned – County is coming out again tomorrow to clean out more sediment and debris – will have them on a regular schedule; secured a Stormwater Mapping Grant last year – Maser Engineer found and mapped a total of 291 basins and 17 stormwater outfalls so far – the new Delaware and Maryland Ave. project is fixing basins and installing new ones – creating an overall GIS map of the town to submit to NJDEP – when finished, hope to have better idea of the landscape to address flooding issues; the Senior Freeze deadline was extended to 12/21/20 – information was in the Newsletter – a dozen seniors have already contacted the QOL office for applications – Jen (Coyne) in Finance has been helping – everyone applied before the deadline; the gazebo painting was a big success; coming to the end of the year – thanked everyone – unprecedented to say the least – were disagreements on Council as to how to move forward, but when it came to the pandemic and keeping residents safe, Council was fully united and made the necessary decisions in terms of allocating resources, cleaning, informing the public, locking down when necessary, and bending over backwards to help businesses – made the right decisions as to the State of Emergency, choosing not to enact certain powers the Governor gave us, etc. – worked on outdoor dining and hours of operation to give businesses a fighting chance – everyone should get a round of applause – departments and hard workers in Town Hall, who worked through pandemic and dealt with their jobs should be greatly appreciated, First Responders, PD, FD, First Aid all contributed tremendously and were out there on the front lines – it was an incredible year on many levels – it was humbling and emotional – very proud of the Administration – put our money where our mouths were and did what we said we were going to do – hats off and thanks to all involved.
Clerk announced changes to the agenda. Mayor Kanitra advised all in attendance to press *6 to unmute themselves when speaking.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:25PM
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: Governing Body has done a great job; asked about item 1X; asked about reverse 9-1-1 calls about the weather.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about item 1S.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:31PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #25 ($272,762.46)
1b Approval of payment to Borough of PPB for parking meter credit card fees ($52,624.11)
1c Approval of payment to H&D Rosetto for demolition work at 56 Sanborn ($13,921.20)
1d Approval of payment to All Covered for IT maintenance & support for Nov. & Dec. ($3,300)
1e Approval of pymt to Guardian Contracting for asbestos removal/disposal at 56 Sanborn ($2,550)
1f Approval of pymt to Servpro of Toms River for bioremediation 10/26-11/30 ($8,550)
1g Approval of payment to M. Woszczak for fire hydrant removal/replacement at 4 Delaware ($5,475)
1h Approval of pymt to M. Woszczak for work on emerg. sewer blockage on Randall ($11,464.59)
1i Approval of payment to BTMUA for November bulk water usage ($50,616)
1j Approval of payment to OC Landfill to replenish landfill escrow ($40K)
1k Approval of POs to Mid-Atlantic Truck Center for Easy-Tec laptop ($5,676)
1l Approval of POs to Mid-Atlantic Truck Center for dump truck parts ($2,573.54)
1m Establish Council meeting dates for 2021
1n Approval of payment to Enviroscapes for site maintenance at Lake of the Lillies ($2,975.90)
1o Approval of pymt to the State of NJ for employee & retiree health benefits for Dec. ($116,635.45)
1p Amendment of professional service contract for Borough Attorney
1q REMOVED PER COMMITTEE REPORTS
1r Authorization for Administrator to execute OC Road Dept 2021 Schedule C Agreement
1s Authorization for Engineer to budget and scope Central Avenue project
1t REMOVED PRIOR TO MEETING
1u Approval of payment to All Points for 3500 newsletters with postage ($3,182.21)
1v Approval of CO #1 to Black Rock Enterprises for MD & Delaware Ave resurfacing (-$1,343.78)
1w Approval of Pay Cert 1 to Black Rock Ent. for MD & Delaware Ave resurfacing ($80,279.46)
1x Approval of Transfer Resolution
1y Approval of payment to McCarthy Contracting for wall addition in PD ($4,941)
1z Approval of updates to CDL Drug & Alcohol policy
1aa Approval of 10.68-foot curb cut at 117 St. Louis Ave. – ADDED PER DEPT HEAD MEMO
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($375,871.22)
2b Approval of membership in Fire Company No. 2 for A. Glen, Pt. Pleasant Beach
2c Approval of payment to NJ Business Systems for maintenance contract for PD ($22,110.50)
2d Approval of PO to Firefighter One for survivors/streamlight LEDs for Fire Co. 1 ($1,192.46)
2e Approval of PO to Firefighter One for 5 water rescue kits for Fire Co. 2 ($2,353.60)
2f Approval of PO to Firefighter One for Disaster Response Litter Rectangular for Fire Co. 1 ($527.68)
2g Approval of PO to Firefighter One for SCBA flow test repairs for Fire Co. 2 ($1,518.80)
2h Approval of PO to Firefighter One for annual flow test for Fire Co. 2 ($2,544)
2i Approval of PO to Firefighter One for SCBA testing for Fire Co. 2 ($2,304)
2j Approval of PO to Firefighter One for 2 24” pro-bars w/2 rings & shoulder strap for Fire Co. 1 ($475)
2k Approval of PO to CDWG for10 Optiplex computers & monitors ($15,796.34)
2l REMOVED PRIOR TO MEETING
2m Memorialization of approval of pymt to Pt. Pleasant Bicycle for PD bike repairs/parts ($4,863.40)
2n Approval of membership in Ocean Fire Company No. 1 for J. Moore, Point Pleasant
2o Approval of LESO resolution – ADDED PER DISCUSSION
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut (except 2)
Councilman Migut (2)….ABSTAIN
Councilmen Santanello ….ABSENT
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 2020-22 (Amend Ch. 2 – Advisory Committees) was considered on second reading, as amended. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing, with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Migut to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2020-22, as amended, was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilman Santanello….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:33PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about flapper valve on Randall at Water St.; thanked Mayor & Council for a great job; wished all Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hannukah.
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: great job on the newsletter.
E.J. Geiger, 115 Arnold Ave., PPB: asked about timeframe for Ocean Ave. paving.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:42PM
Motion by Councilman Vitale to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilman Cortes and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:42PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
