Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
February 15, 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
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, Crowley and Migut.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Approval of Minutes:
Motion by Councilman Ramos to approve the February 1, 2022 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
DISCUSSION: NJ Historic Trust Historic Site Management Grant
Mayor Kanitra: must discuss as a condition of the grant – got turned down last year – didn’t ask for enough – applying again now – grant covers 75% of eligible cost up to $75K, with Borough match required – project scope includes an architectural reconnaissance survey of the historic overlay area, River Ave. north of Arnold and a historic element to the Master Plan – would lay the foundation for future historic preservation work, such as a specific historic district – will summarize the findings of the survey including existing condition of buildings and historic backgrounds, showcase recommended strategies and/or action items for historic register, list any sites in the municipality, define local vision to enhance the PPB image and restore historically different character, provide an outline for design guidelines or other regulatory framework related to historic restoration – online interactive story map component is based on the survey and research compiled by the Historic Preservation Commission to hopefully serve as working tour of PPB and historic components – will help visitors and residents learn and appreciate historic sites more, which is a hallmark of this administration – total project cost is $97K – grant request from the State will be $72,750.00 – our match will be $24,250.00 (there were no questions – on agenda as item 1z).
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: gave Police Chiefs’ report since last meeting – training included Mandated Canine and De-escalation Use of Force – has been a delay on receipt of body worn cameras – awaiting delivery to begin training – various arrests were made – community policing includes daily house checks for residents who are away – can fill out a form at the Police Dept. – Dept. is committed to all residents including the elderly living alone – Operation Outreach is a method for them to check in daily for peace of mind – residents, dispatchers and officers benefit from this program; the Recreation Committee’s 2nd annual Show Us Your Heart Scavenger Hunt on Saturday was a huge success with 400 kids registered – downtown was packed with shoppers – thanked the Committee and Chamber for putting the event together, Sweet Revenge for donating candy and Bam Bam Burger for providing hot chocolate – several businesses had a record breaking day – are planning the 2nd Annual Sham Rock event on March 12th with bagpipers, Irish dancers and leprechauns – Committee is looking for members – reach out to him our check their Facebook page; worked with Historical Preservation Commission to create 2 QR codes for plaques at historic properties downtown – one will go to a web site with a list of historic properties and the other will point visitors to the town web site; is getting ready to roll out the Military Banner Program, Memorial Day-Labor Day – will put announcement out in March (Mayor Kanitra: response to event was incredible and it transfers to dollars for businesses – thanked the Recreation Committee).
Councilwoman Testa: it was great downtown – stores put out a lot of effort – all had a great time; thanked the Chief and police for all they do to keeping the town safe; Arts Committee magnets, with the winning Point Me To The Beach contest design, are on sale for $5 – reach out to her – will partner with the Recreation Committee for the Sham Rock event – encouraged all to visit the library to see the Manasquan River group of artists exhibit – February 21st is the next meeting at 7PM – invited new volunteers; Beautification Committee is planning for spring – will be taking garland down – need volunteers to help (BA/CFO Riehl: Councilman Cortes said he would cut them all – he will come at about 6AM) will coordinate with him (Mayor Kanitra: told BA/CFO Riehl to thank him); Planning & Zoning Committee, she and Councilmembers Ramos and Byrnes, will meet tomorrow at 5PM – will discuss that at the next meeting.
Councilwoman Byrnes: the Fire Dept. has no major fires to report – got some new equipment that was ordered from last year; Golden Gulls is planning a fashion show, showcasing active adults in our community – April 10th at the Elks – need models – reach out to her or committee – high schoolers will be their escorts – March 15th event will be a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the firehouse – are working on the AARP Challenge Grant again this year – QOL Dir. O’Rourke has been helpful and BA/CFO Riehl has offered assistance – was asked if it’s a straight or mutual fund grant – it is a straight grant – hopes for a successful submission; Shade Tree Commission announced the spring Big Beautiful Tree Program – can purchase tree at reasonable rate – includes delivery, professional planting and a year guarantee – open to Bay Head and Borough residents as well – need to order by April 1st – hired a licensed tree expert to prune the newer, smaller trees downtown to ensure the best shape and growth – gearing up to plant 12 new trees as part of their successful Nominate Your Block Program – speakers have been scheduled for seashore gardening and tree selection on March 23rd and April 6th at Town Hall – the Memorial Tree Program will be introduced this year.
Councilman Ramos: he and Councilwoman Crowley met with DPW Super. Trout and his team, Ned and Jack and identified challenges, things that are working well and things we might be able to assist with – gained a tremendous knowledge and understanding of how the Dept. works and areas of responsibility – met with QOL Dir. O’Rourke about opportunities with our schools for possible cultural exchange – reached out to Superintendent about starting a dialogue and will follow up later this week – thanked her for explaining grant writing, how grants work and sources of funding; congratulated Christopher Mullins, who is taking over his term on the Bd. of Ed. for this year – he will run in the next election, has kids in our schools, is an accountant and works in education – Superintendent notified families and others involved that the Statewide mask mandate has been pulled by the Governor as of March 7th for all schools – our district will be mask optional, with the stipulation that masks would still be required on school buses after March 7th, a requirement of Federal Government – critical to promote a respectful school environment for individuals, regardless of their masking choice – awaiting guidance from the NJ Dept. of Health regarding any changes to quarantining and recommendations for contact tracings; tomorrow is meeting with Mike and his team and there is a Planning Board meeting.
Councilwoman Crowley: she and Councilman Ramos met with DPW management to discuss day-to-day operations and have an open line of communications – all seems to be running smooth – spoke to DPW Super. Trout today for updates – they are wrapping up cleaning from blizzard – he is happy with all the workers and clean-up; she, Councilmembers Vitale and Migut and BA/CFO Riehl met last week on the proposed Budget – will continue work on it to introduce it in March or early April – having worked on budgets in the past, is very impressed with BA/CFO Riehl’s binder preparation – a town budget is overwhelming and the way she prepares it makes it easy for the committee to work with – thanked her for that.
Councilman Migut: the Animal Welfare Committee requested an amendment to the ordinance imposing a fine for feeding the cat colony from the Boardwalk at the foot of Trenton Ave. – want to replace the current sign announcing the cat colony with a 2-sided sign announcing the feeding prohibition and possible fine – asked for authorization for the Attorney to amend the ordinance (Councilman Vitale: asked about enforcement) Specials would have to enforce it with warning or citation (Chief Kowalewski: it’s either littering or that ordinance; Mayor Kanitra: if the police call it littering but we change the sign to say you can’t feed the cats, they’d be happy – asked if that could be done; Atty. Riordan: would think you would change sign not ordinance – thinks feeding the cats is already illegal, prohibited by a number of different ordinances – will look to make sure (no objection; Mayor Kanitra: supports the sign – if Atty. Riordan says we need an ordinance change, will do – asked if an ordinance is needed to change the sign; Atty. Riordan: no; Mayor Kanitra: let’s get that in the works; BA/CFO Riehl: asked if changing the ordinance would affect the feeding of the cats in the railroad lot, where they want to feed the cats) wouldn’t prohibit the committee from feeding them; Atty. Riordan: likes the littering ordinance; Mayor Kanitra: littering, with the Chief understanding that there is discretion at the trailers – maybe highlight that for enforcement this summer (Chief Kowalewski: would be easier to enforce with littering on their end; Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl to be sure committee is happy with that and with updated signs; Finance Committee had a Budget meeting with the CFO – Budget will be introduced either the first meeting of March or the first meeting of April – challenging year – committee has starting making reductions in department and committee budget requests to bring anticipated tax increase within the orbit of previous years’; with regard to the Capital finance request to put concrete over sand at the Inlet, the only way to be truly representative of the residents is to let them decide this issue by making it a referendum on the November ballot – asked Council to consider that the Inlet is our town symbol, it’s on our seal, it represents us – years ago, he asked Mayor Hennessy his opinion on the sidewalk installed on Newark Ave., a project put forth by a new Councilmember – he stated that people move to PPB to get away from concrete – a few years later, he and his running mate promised Newark Ave. residents we would not add concrete to their landscaping – has 19 years’ experience on the Planning Board – has always been the board’s practice to grant waivers for curbing and sidewalks to improve aesthetics and reduce impervious coverage – town’s commitment to reducing impervious coverage is documented in the Floodplain Management Plan – doesn’t believe Governing Body should decide without gauging public opinion – in the future, will ask for the question to be placed on the November ballot, after the Governing Body and public have had time to consider his points – question must be submitted to the County Clerk by August – will be reaching out to the public himself and asked the Governing Body to do the same (Mayor Kanitra: had discussed and were getting quotes for replacing construction material that fills the area between the benches and Inlet wall – rocks blow into the Inlet lot during every storm – get complaints and it takes days to clean up – and that area always floods and takes out the fill material and we have to pay completely redo – asked BA/CFO Riehl how often; BA/CFO Riehl: approx.. every 4-5 years for $18K-$25K, depending on the level of replenishment; Mayor Kanitra: this has been going on forever and sometimes it gets overfilled and becomes dangerous for small kids – Borough Engineer has been looking to do something, with drainage built in, to make it somewhat similar the Manasquan side, more aesthetically uniform – it’s fished heavily – the scope of the project is probably a couple hundred grand) $490K (BA/CFO Riehl: got a concept plan for Inlet improvements last year, after Budget and bonding – it’s in her draft Capital section of the Budget with probably 25 different projects – to move forward, would have to be part of the official Budget, with a vote on a bond ordinance; Mayor Kanitra: asked what work was approved in the last month or 2 related to the Inlet; BA/CFO Riehl: thinks it was related to preliminary work – no work currently being done at the Inlet; Mayor Kanitra: generally, there is a cost associated with adding a referendum to the ballot; BA/CFO Riehl: yes, time and mailings; Councilwoman Testa: asked Councilman Migut if he was talking about the look of sand vs. concrete) has talked with several fishermen who said you might have to sweep sand and rocks after a big Nor’easter, but day-to-day, fishermen will be throwing seaweed, unused bait and junk fish on the concrete – would have to clean the concrete more than the sand, which seems to absorb that stuff – the concept plan calls for .22% pervious coverage – .25% would be the limit – are maxing out on impervious coverage in the area – town encourages developers and residents to increase impervious coverage – Manasquan’s side is different – their parking lot goes up to their Inlet wall – ours is recessed with a beach area and then the Inlet wall (Mayor Kanitra: doesn’t think the plan was to mimic Manasquan – per the Borough Engineer, who is watching, the estimate is high – would be about $400K; BA/CFO Riehl: asked to share the concept plan with everyone prior to debate – the normal process is that we vote on the Budget and have a public Budget hearing – will have to vote on it twice; BA/CFO Riehl: suggested all attend a workshop meeting before the Budget is solidified, to discuss – public can sit in and not necessarily comment – during the public hearing on the Budget, the public can comment; Councilwoman Crowley: if we put this on a referendum, residents don’t know the yearly cost to clean and maintain – can’t estimate the number of storms – would have to be explained that it’s a one-shot repair with concrete or an indefinite amount of money to repair, remove and clean – kind of a hard referendum; Mayor Kanitra: asked, BA/CFO Riehl, in her experience, if there is precedent for putting a $400K project on a referendum; BA/CFO Riehl: there isn’t; Councilwoman Crowley: it’s not a new project either; BA/CFO Riehl: and you all haven’t seen it – might not like it at all – it’s premature; Mayor Kanitra: could look at it and make changes to it; Councilwoman Testa: referenced Florida’s beautifully-designed concrete and brick River Walk; Mayor Kanitra: can make it decorative and more pervious) doesn’t know if the project will make the final cut of Capital projects approved (BA/CFO Riehl: true – should also get input of DPW Super., as they will be involved with maintenance; Mayor Kanitra: agreed – should know every angle – let’s set up a meeting and look at renderings, with time for Engineer’s revisions prior to Budget; Atty. Riordan: that’s kind of pre-mature – the process is, you put it in the Budget, that doesn’t mean you have to do it – then you go over the portion where, if you are really interested, you can start talking about the design details, and then you go to the bond ordinance and vote; Mayor Kanitra: there are multiple steps that will involve public input before we move forward; Atty. Riordan: asked how many projects out of 25 would be done; BA/CFO Riehl: 12-15; Atty. Riordan: if you decide Mr. Migut is right, can say that’s not one of the projects you will do; Mayor Kanitra: even if we got to the bond ordinance and Councilman Migut wasn’t in agreement, would have the public forum to trot out anyone in opposition, which would be the same as a referendum with notice, education, cost – a bond ordinance and a public forum is pretty transparent – let’s have meetings, talk through it and have input – agrees that, if it’s on the edge of what impervious should be, should work on that) maybe don’t concrete the whole thing, but put in a 4-foot sidewalk for pedestrian or bike traffic (Mayor Kanitra: or some harmonious integration – can figure out a solution).
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: have talked about how good the Code and Building Dept. have been doing – gave kudos to FO Martin and his attention to detail – huge asset – has found some licensing and billing issues – is very diligent and doing a good job; he and BA/CFO Riehl met with the Parking Authority – productive – brought up various concerns with lots, signage, landscaping, plowing, wires, etc. – they were incredibly receptive – are figuring out a plan for all – Borden sign will be fixed, will be expecting more from the landscaper, overgrowth and plowing system will be addressed – thanked BA/CFO Riehl (Councilwoman Testa: asked about the Parking Authority taking care of the coffee area in the lot) put out to bid – 20 people wanted it, but no one submitted (Councilwoman Testa: asked about the bus depot) ordered new ones (BA/CFO Riehl: it’s here – hasn’t been put out yet – discussed buying a second one for Borden’s lot) he and QOL Dir. O’Rourke met with JCP&L – have new point of contact – expressed some concerns – lights on Parkway were supposed to get all new poles and be transitioned to LED – State has changed their approach to LED conversions – if we want to do it, we have to pay for it – towns are waiting for a green initiative to fund it – can enter contract that says as lights are damaged they will be replaced with LED – will explore – LEDs are more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly and will save us money; shout out to Cliff Smith, School Superintendent Smith’s son, who reached out to him, as he was applying to the Naval Academy and looking for a recommendation from Congressman Smith for nomination – he and QOL Dir. O’Rourke put together a letter from the Borough – he got the nomination and was accepted – in our area, a Naval Academy nomination from a Congressman is the most highly sought-after of all the Service academies – a Point Beach student is going to represent us and wants to serve – that kind of service isn’t always appreciated the way it should be – deserves accolades – officially, wished him the best of luck on his journey; thanked QOL Dir. O’Rourke for attending the 2-day Downtown NJ Conference via Zoom – are putting the bid together and continuing to work on various initiatives downtown; Chamber has a meet and greet Thursday, 5:30PM-7:30PM at B2Bistro – he is going – invited Councilmembers to stop by; submitted for design grant on Channel Dr., which will save us about $400K – have now submitted for a Complete Streets conceptual rendering for downtown Arnold Ave., Bay Ave. and the surrounding area to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, at no cost to the Borough – have submitted for the Ocean County Tourism Grant for the town marketing video; Councilman Ramos met about Sister Cities and how we can help with the Bd. of Ed. – one of the first things we can do is a cultural exchange amongst students – thanked him (Councilman Ramos: has phone meeting with the Super. on Thursday morning); working towards a committee fair on Sunday March 27th – want to help our volunteer organizations – good members on a committee can make a difference – must continue to bolster rosters – envisioning like a career night with booths and interactions – all committees and the Fire Dept. and First Aid will be represented – told Chief Kowalewski he can have a booth for Special Officers– will be promoted in the town newsletter in mid-March and on social media – may be held at the firehouse.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: closing out some small projects from Sandy – any project with a value roughly under $70K – hopes to be done with Sandy, with the reimbursements – probably have another couple hundred thousand dollars coming in on that; working with FEMA to cover whatever was not covered under the CARES Act (Mayor Kanitra: have been really aggressive with the CARES Act and FEMA funding – taxpayers need to know that we are continuing to get as much as possible with little cost to the Borough – thanked her); had a water main break last weekend at Channel and Broadway – contractor came out on Monday – was another $8K in repairs (Mayor Kanitra: are looking at ways to fix the over-age water/sewer system) working off the fixed asset management plan – will be some infrastructure improvements in the Capital Budget; working with the Auditors on the end of the year financials, audits, preliminary water rate study.
Clerk announced revisions to the agenda.
Attorney Riordan: asked that item 2b be pulled – those bylaws and guidelines need a great deal of work – were not drafted by him – doesn’t appear they were drafted by a lawyer; asked that “subject to approval of special counsel” be added to item 2a – said there is a legal issue there, which he alerted all to, that needs to be investigated before you continue with that grant application (Mayor Kanitra: asked about seeing if this is common practice) can just hold on approving it, subject to special counsel’s opinion on the propriety of the application for the lake you don’t own (Mayor Kanitra: recommends leaving it) is going to stay on the agenda but you need to have it reviewed – can’t make an application for a property you don’t own – you did that when you tried the kayak ramp on the lake – don’t want to go through that again – when you spend money on an engineer and application and find out you can’t do it because you don’t own it (Mayor Kanitra: asked if Governing Body can choose not to hire special counsel – understands the center portion of the lake is the town’s) no, the center portion of the lake is the Federal Government’s (Mayor Kanitra: but the Federal Government doesn’t dredge the lake) actually it does – the Federal Government dredged the lake last time (Mayor Kanitra: but we paid for it) the Borough contributed a small amount, pursuant to their agreement with the lake owners – need advice from legal counsel as to whether this is appropriate – can’t be asking for grant money to work on land you don’t own (Mayor Kanitra: the lake management grant is for all 3 of our coastal lakes) but you only have 2 – the 3rd doesn’t belong to the Borough (Mayor Kanitra: but we paid to dredge it and we’ve paid for maintenance) have had this discussion a number of times – suggesting special counsel review it before you waste taxpayer’s money on a lake you don’t own (Councilman Vitale: but we still get the benefit for the other 2 lakes) absolutely (Mayor Kanitra: this grant and Save Barnegat Bay see the benefits because it’s a trickledown effect – the lakes affect wildlife and the drain into each other, etc., so 3 healthy lakes benefit the entire Barnegat Bay watershed and the Ocean County ecological system overall – since we have the precedent of paying Borough resources to dredge the lake, sees no reason why we couldn’t do this – recommends voting on it as is) Borough resources dredging the lake have nothing to do with what’s before you today (Mayor Kanitra: recommends that special counsel is not needed – can just vote for it and save the taxpayers the cost – if the Lake Louise lakefront owners are so angry that we are getting a lake management plan, then they can sue us and we can tackle it at that point) not talking about a policy issue – are talking about a legal issue – are going to waste taxpayers money on a lake you don’t own (Councilman Vitale: asked if owners on lake would benefit from this grant; Mayor Kanitra: Atty. Riordan is not a marine biologist or ecological expert) you have to get the permission of the owners of the lake before you can do anything there – so you really should be talking to them before you include them in a study (Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl, when doing bulkhead repairs on property that abuts the lake, or if DPW has to dig something out of it, if we need Lake Louise property owners’ permission; BA/CFO Riehl: no) whenever you want to do anything on the lake that they object to, you need their permission – they don’t object to your bulkhead and your pulling out trash (Mayor Kanitra: this is focused on issues like sediment control, drainage) that may be true, but before you do that, you need to have special counsel look at it to see if the grant application, including the private property is appropriate – otherwise, you are wasting money (Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl her opinion, sans legal counsel; BA/CFO Riehl: would never vote against legal counsel; Mayor Kanitra: asked Atty. Riordan’s address, for the record) already know that – that’s why recommending a conflict counsel (Mayor Kanitra: lake management plan is simply a guidebook – individual decisions could be tackled) should ask the lake owners before including them in a study (Mayor Kanitra: disagrees – an unhealthy Lake Louise flows directly into the waterway that goes by Red’s Lobster Pot and the Shrimp Box and empties into the Manasquan River) asked who said Lake Louise was unhealthy (Mayor Kanitra: he recommends passing 2a; Councilwoman Crowley: asked why owners would be against it) they have often appeared at Council to object, for example, to the kayak ramp – suggested avoiding the same mistake (Councilwoman Crowley: the downside to that was intrusion of properties, people parking – heard all of that) the lake people might appreciate this, but nobody asked them (Councilwoman Crowley: but this is a treatment of the lake – just curious) this is a pattern – Governing Body continues to treat Lake Louise like it’s theirs when it’s not (Councilwoman Crowley: just trying to see if there was a downside to the residents) don’t know because nobody asked them (Mayor Kanitra: asked about passing 2a with the understanding that BA/CFO Riehl would reach out to the Lake Louise Property Owners Association if we would have to undertake any kind of intrusion (BA/CFO Riehl: this is time-sensitive too; Mayor Kanitra: QOL O’Rourke has worked on this for 2 years – and he, personally, negotiated the price down by like $20K) that’s the issue he is trying to highlight – the Governing Body spent a year on this without talking to property owners (Councilwoman Testa: this has been out in the open for a year, so asked why he is just bringing this up tonight) this is the very first time that he, who lives on the lake, has ever heard of this (Councilwoman Crowley: asked if it would bother him) the thing that bothers him is the Governing Body’s refusal to recognize that the lake belongs to the individual property owners and is a private lake and does not belong to the Governing Body or the Borough of PPB, like Little Silver Lake and Lake of the Lillies do (Councilwoman Crowley: Lake of the Lilles is half and half) you have deeds to half the shoreline of Little Silver Lake and to the entire Lake of the Lillies (Councilwoman Crowley: asked why we have private property on half of it) it’s under the shoreline (BA/CFO Riehl: on Lake of the Lillies, there’s a private shoreline; Mayor Kanitra: we paid to dredge Lake Louise) that’s not accurate – Borough contributed to dredge the lake (Councilwoman Crowley: asked who else paid) the County and the Federal Government (BA/CFO Riehl: we paid and County reimbursed the Borough a percentage for that dredge) Federal Government contributed to County (Mayor Kanitra: asked how much the taxpayers paid to dredge Lake Louise; BA/CFO Riehl: recollects near $2M) that’s because there was an agreement between the private lake owners and the Borough when we connected it to Cooks Creek that the Borough would constantly dredge it (Mayor Kanitra: for the record, scientific fact is that more sediment in Lake Louise, more runoff, more fertilizer, more stuff in Lake Louise would correlate to the taxpayers having to pay more money to dredge Lake Louise at some undetermined point in the future – it would be ridiculous to do something that is counter to the interest) you’ve decided that the fact that you paid to dredge the lake means that the property owners’ rights don’t exist anymore and that’s silly (Mayor Kanitra: are voting on an application for a lake management plan – 2a is simply a document of recommendations, facts and figures that are correlated together with a plan of suggested actions – a that point, the document can die – nobody ever has to act on it – can simply say that if there are actions that require direct incursion into the Lake Louise Property Owners Association, that the Borough Administrator simply ask them that it’s ok – should be no need to waste money on special counsel – have every right to formulate whatever document we want – and any cost that the Borough Atty. is saying would cost the taxpayers is going to be offset by any cost of special counsel reviewing this – called for a vote) are talking about a couple hundred bucks (no objection to pulling 2b; Councilman Ramos: asked the timeframe of 2a; Councilwoman Crowley: February 28th; Mayor Kanitra: and they basically told us we have a very competitive grant application.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:37PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: agrees with the Mayor – lives on the lake – dredge was beneficial to the town and those who live on it; asked if Councilman Migut was talking about concrete wall by the canal (Councilman Migut: yes – parking lot down to the concrete wall); cat thing on Trenton has been here for years – they come out from underneath the Jenks building and kids throw things at them – a hazard – could be rabid – cats shouldn’t be there – eliminate them to solve the problems – police have more to do; asked if there is a map designating historical sites (Mayor Kanitra: not yet, but that’s part of it) asked who determines (Mayor Kanitra: Historic Commission, Historic Society, Town Historian – town has a list of residential and commercial properties deemed to have historic significance – commercial ones are getting plaques – been working on it since Mayor Pasola started the Historic Commission – houses would only be on map – is sure you can opt out); asked for explanation of 2j (Mayor Kanitra: for pedestrian & bike safety – will give a conceptualization of how bike lanes and sharrows will work).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about 1m and 1s (BA/CFO Riehl: one is gasoline, one is diesel; Mayor Kanitra: are part of a co-op, so we get a better price; BA/CFO Riehl: get a discount) and 2i (BA/CFO Riehl: over July 4th weekend, had water main break at Philadelphia – repair caused issues – tried to go through insurance; Mayor Kanitra: as part of co-op, pay $100 or less for ton of rock salt).
Mary Steiner, 423 Yale Ave., PPB: asked if Borough purchased machine to sweep stones from Inlet a couple years ago (BA/CFO Riehl: we did – it’s a broom attachment; Mayor Kanitra: just trying to lower allocation of resources – do it dozens of times/year; BA/CFO Riehl: a lot has to be done by hand).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:48PM
Motion by Councilman Migut to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #3 ($302,893.16)
1b Approval of payment to County of Ocean for Schedule C Agreement – 2nd quarter ($4,780.14)
1c Approval of payment to Quadiant Finance USA for prepaid postage ($5K)
1d Approval of pymt to Ocean County Utilities Authority for 1st quarter sewerage pymts ($85,933.76)
1e Approval of S/E app for Chamber Downtown Sidewalk Sale on 5/19 – 5/21 & 8/18-8/20
1f Approval of Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweeps 4/09 & 10/22 & request for recycling containers
1g Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for January allocation & debt service ($1,228,181.25)
1h Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for February allocation ($1,131,470)
1i Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for March allocation ($1,131,470)
1j Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for April allocation ($1,131,470)
1k Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for May allocation ($1,131,470)
1l Approval of payment to PPB Bd. of Ed. for June allocation ($1,131,469)
1m Approval of payment to Riggins for diesel fuel and gasoline for DPW ($22,495.65)
1n Authorization to hire R. Claudio, Brick, NJ as Parking Meter Laborer
1o Approval of S/E app for Chamber info table on the Bdwlk, Memorial Day-Labor Day
1p Approval of S/E app & fee waiver for Chamber Homegrown Harvest Fest, downtown, 10/23 (rain 10/30)
1q Approval of S/E app & fee waiver for Chamber Christmas Tree Lighting on 11/25 (rain: 11/26)
1r Approval of S/E app & fee waiver for Chamber Ladies Night. 4/7, 7/14 & 10/20
1s Approval of payment to Riggins for 2022 gasoline ($50K)
1t Approval of pymt of Pay Cert 4 to Lafayette Const for Ocean Ave Water Main work ($177,156.22)
1u Approval of payment to State of NJ for February employee & retiree health benefits ($132,797.79)
1v Approval of Alzheimer NJ Banner Permit App for banner on Arnold Ave, 9/9-9/23
1w Approval of Banner Permit app for Chamber Sidewalk Sales banner on Arnold, 5/9-22 & 8/8-22
1x Approval of payment to Brick Township MUA for January bulk water usage ($63,004.50)
1y Approval of W/S relief request
1z Auth to submit app for NJ Historic Trust Preserve NJ Historic Preserv. Fund Historic Site Mgmt Grant
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Authorization for Princeton Hydro to provide material for a 319/604(b) Planning Grant application and to provide monitoring & consulting services if awarded
2b REMOVED
2c Approval of PO to Integrated Technical Systems for 22 MK-Beacon credit card meters ($19,026.60)
2d Approval of payment to OC JIF for first installment 2022 ($300,598)
2e Authorization to advertise for a P/T Code Enforcement Officer
2f Authorization to advertise for a Payroll Clerk
2g Approval of payment to Service Tire Truck Center for rims/tires/tire repairs for DPW ($3,146.19)
2h Approval of PO to First Net-AT&T Fleet Complete for vehicle tracking subscription/shipping ($5,125)
2i Approval of payment to Garon T. Plumbing for service calls-7 houses ($3,188.72)
2j Authorization to apply to the Complete Streets Technical Assistance Program
CONSENT RESOLUTION 3:
3a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($553,649.86)
3b Approval of membership in Fire Company No 1 for M. Armstrong, Brick, NJ
3c Approval of payment to All Covered for IT/maintenance, including the PD ($3,515)
3d Approval of pymt to NJ Police Chief Assoc for NJSACOP prog fee/online presentations ($5,350)
3e Approval of pymt to IDEMIA for live-scan maintenance agreement for PD ($3,930.57)
3f Approval of pymt to Airpower Int’l for 2nd year of service contract for the FD ($3,813)
3g Approval of pymt to Mid-Atlantic Fire & Air for Smartdock SCBA Mounting Syst – Fire Co 2 ($2,745)
3h Approval of pymt to Fire & Safety Svc for repairs to Fire Co 2 truck 4305 ($6,450)
3i Approval of pymt to Winner Ford for 2021 Police Interceptor Patrol ($32,363)
3j Approval of pymt to Ragnasoft for Plan IT Police 1 year subscription ($2,627.50)
3k Approval of pymt to Atlantic Tactical for 2 vests/equipment for the PD ($3,296.72)
3l Approval of PO to Diversified Fixture Custom for cabinets-police booking areas ($10,002)
3m Authorization to certify Civil Service Eligibility List for Police Officer
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut (except 3a, 3b, 3f, 3g, 3h)…YEA
Councilman Migut (3a, 3b, 3f, 3g, 3h)….ABSTAIN
ORDINANCE:
Ordinance 2022-01 (Amend Sign Ordinance) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Vitale to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2022-01 was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AND ENDED AT 8:50PM
WITH NO MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO BE HEARD
Motion by Councilman Migut to adjourn was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
