Borough of Point Pleasant Beach MINUTES
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach met at 6:30 PM with Mayor Barrella and Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, Dixon and DiCorcia present. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
Department Head memos and correspondence were discussed with items moved to agenda for action; action on memo regarding improvements to lot adjacent to Woman’s Club was held for discussion during budget process; Attorney Gertner will speak with zoning officer regarding her memo; in response to Parking Authority request for memorial bench, Councilman DiCorcia will develop parameters and location list; consideration on request from Knapp for sewer bill relief was held until next Council meeting because Mr. Knapp was unable to attend this meeting; Administrator Riehl reported sale of bond anticipation notes in the amount of $950,000.00, with an interest rate of 3.45% and maturity date of December 15, 2008, to Commerce Bank.
Motion by Councilman DiCorcia, to enter closed session to discuss property litigation (3) and real estate contractual (1) matters, was seconded by Councilwoman Tooker and carried by the following roll call vote:
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, Dixon, DiCorcia…YEA
Closed session started at 6:56 P.M. and ended at 7:52 P.M.
Mayor Barrella called the regular meeting to order at 8:02 P.M. Present were Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, Dixon and DiCorcia. The Municipal Clerk again read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
Motion by Councilman Mercun to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2007 Council Meeting, was seconded by Councilman Loughran and carried by the following roll call vote:
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Dixon, DiCorcia.…YEA
Council Members Tooker, Cervino….Abstain
Mayor Barrella presented a proclamation to Elaine Hennessy commending her for her many years of service to the community.
Motion by Councilman Mercun, seconded by Councilman Loughran, resolutions covering the items listed below, were approved by the following roll call vote:
a) Appt. of Kevin Starkey (Starkey, Kelly, Bauer, Kenneally & Cunningham) as Special Projects Attorney
b) Appt. of Douglas Jones, Thomas Campo and John P. Reilly (Citta, Holfzapfel, & Zabarsky) as Alternate Prosecutors
c) Appt. of DW Smith Associates, LLC; CME Associates; Birdsall Engineering, Inc.; T & M Associates; O’Donnell, Stanton, & Associates, Inc.; and Geller Sive & Company, LLC as Special Projects Engineers
d) Appt. of William Mayer (DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole & Wisler, LLP) as Bond Counsel
e) Appt. of Meridian Occupational Health as Borough Physician
f) Appt. of Plainfield Consultation Center as Police Psychologist
g) Appt. of James Liquori as Municipal Court Magistrate
h) Appt. of Brant S. Collins as Special Litigation Magistrate
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Tooker, Loughran, Cervino, Dixon, DiCorcia…YEA
Clerk Ellsworth added several items to resolutions listed below; Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway: asked for background on suspension of Adopt-a-Spot application – suspending an entire application sounds like somebody did something wrong (dealing with an emotionally charged issue – draft of Princeton Hydro Report was issued in December and most recently, Judge Grasso rendered his opinion on Lake of the Lillies litigation matter and directed Council to take remedial action – in light of this, Council determined it was in the best interest of all to re-evaluate and is asking everyone to exercise prudence and discretion and give Council 30 days to analyze Princeton Hydro’s Report and come up with an appropriate plan, which, after formulation, will be open for public debate); Craig Jones, 1503 St. Louis Avenue: asked for clarification on the 30-day time period for analysis – emphasized that his volunteers have been a doing a good job and didn’t want their efforts to go unappreciated; Peggy Buccino, 319 Newark Avenue: asked what the remedial action was, if judge had made recommendations, and if the information was public record; Rosa Crowley, 1401 St. Louis: thanked Councilman Mercun for explanation and asked if explanation was the consensus of Council; Jim Wisniewski, 1403 St. Louis Avenue: concerned that item ‘j’ applies just to Lake of the Lillies and not the entire town (Lake of the Lillies is the subject of the Princeton Hydro Report and litigation) litigation should not stop the town from maintaining the property; Ben Dispoto, 311 Parkway: asked if town already has cell tower placement and if item ‘e’ concerns renewal (would be in addition to existing cell placement – wouldn’t accept a minimum bid less than current contract, approximately $28,000).
Motion by Councilman Mercun, seconded by Councilman Loughran, resolutions covering the items listed below, were approved by the following roll call vote:
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
a) Request and authorization for records disposal in the police department
b) Payments to CME Assoc from developer escrow accounts ($2782.28)
c) Authorization to re-advertise RFP for Public Defender
d) Progress Payt #3 to U S Tank Painting for water tower rehab project ($79,380)
e) Authorization to solicit bids for cell tower placement on water tower
f) Approve payment of hand checks ($493,399.39)
g) Authorization to submit recycling tonnage grant application to NJ DEP
h) Performance Bond reduction – Residences at Beacon Hall
i) Authorization to temporarily suspend adopt-a-spot application
j) Moratorium on cutting vegetation on Borough property around Lake of Lillies
k) Appointment of Seasonal Class I police officers (18)
l) Progress Payt #5 to F & P Contractors for Downtown Revitalization Phase 3 ($217,045.02 thru grant funds)
m) Progress Payt #1 to Sea View General contracting for drainage improvements to Boston Ave ($146,755)
n) P O to Robert Molner for work in police dept ($1866)
o) Appointments to the Board of Adjustment
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
a) Appt. of former Mayor Daniel Hennessy as Mayor’s Special Liaison to Ocean County Board of Freeholders
b) Approval of Payroll #2 ($229,840.19)
c) P O to Reliable Safety Reliable Safety Systems for DVR Recorder ($8250)
d) PO to Motorola for digital radio ($3907.60)
e) Auth for interlocal service agreement with Ocean County for 966 reimbursement program
f) Appointments to Environmental Commission
g) Appointments to Shade Tree Advisory Committee
h) Appointments of Community Endowment Fund Trustees
i) Authorization for CO/CRS Coordinator to enroll in certified floodplain manager program and approval of payment to NJFAM for annual membership
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Tooker, Loughran, Cervino, Dixon, DiCorcia…YEA
Motion by Councilman Loughran, seconded by Councilman Mercun, appointments to the following committees were approved by the following roll call vote:
a) Recreation Committee
b) Municipal Alliance Committee
c) Tourism Advisory Committee
d) Recycling Committee
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Tooker, Loughran, Cervino, Dixon, DiCorcia…YEA
Mayor Barrella: appreciates Dan Hennessy volunteering to be Special Liaison to Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders; State Legislature passed two bills that Point Pleasant Beach can benefit from – Senate Bill 2971, designed to benefit Newark, allows 5% surcharge on ticket costs to defray and defer costs associated with police protection, garbage and other public services due to people attending events at the Prudential Center – Bill 2891 allows a 7% surcharge on parking for those events.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Mercun: Newark approved a 15% tax on private parking to defray police expenses – something we could look at; need to take a good hard look at expenses; concerning Lake of the Lillies, a fire hydrant was found buried under bushes on Makin Avenue, which is an emergency situation – spoke to Public Works to dig it out.
Councilman Loughran: Governing Body needs to stay aware of potential watershed concerns – water has been good for the past 10 years – encouraged Council to maintain good relationship with Brick MUA, and stay in contact with officials in Jackson concerning their gypsy moth spraying; asked Administrator Riehl to keep Governing Body up to date on all engineering projects; congratulated Councilman DiCorcia for induction into the NJ League of Municipalities Hall of Fame; will be Council’s liaison to the Police Department during 2008.
Councilwoman Tooker: pleased that County is moving toward a single stream recycling program – will increase recycling volume and revenues for the town and benefit the environment; PPB Education Foundation will host “Beatlemania” on February 1st – Garnet Gull reunion, football game and 5K run will be held in October.
Councilman Cervino: February 1st is National “Wear Red Day,” indicating the struggle against heart disease, the #1 killer of women; will be liaison to Public Works in 2008 – has discussed needs with DPW – invited phone calls; discussed the National Flood Insurance Program with Mike Gardner, who received letter that town is in compliance.
Councilman Dixon: attended program with NPP Coordinator Cadalzo, who is attempting to get more grant money for the town; Building Department revenue for 2007 was $465,290.09 – an increase from 2006 – the department, by state law, isn’t allowed to make a profit – the money they bring in pays for salaries – will discuss increasing some fees to help the town acquire more revenue.
Councilman DiCorcia: prefer communication by phone instead of email; announced Safety Council meeting on January 17th; asked to review Memorial Bench program on Boardwalk – 22 left – trying to figure a way to accommodate requests with residents considered first, followed by business people and borough family; will try to set a meeting with the Board of Education to see how they are doing with recyclables – would appreciate Ben Dispoto’s assistance; Lake of the Lillies is not dead – litigation will be its demise.
Administrator Riehl: No report.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PERIOD OPENED AT 8:42 PM
Mayor Barella: reminded all of the 5-minute rule.
Craig Jones, 1503 St. Louis Ave: congratulated everyone on their appointments; provided copies of vegetation plan to Administrator Riehl – makes sense on many levels – there is already $200,000 appropriated – by the time you get the shore line done, the silt traps in, the funding and grant money for the dredging may be available – would be a great legacy for this Council to get this done – hopes all can work as one – started a petition – 38 signatures have been obtained.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway: welcomed new Council Members; asked about status of resident parking pass program and if program would be eliminated should revenue be a problem (program remains unchanged for now – will put together a more comprehensive plan in the future); asked about status of geese – concerned because geese are growing in numbers, polluting property – droppings pollute lakes and ocean every time it rains and the problem continues to worsen – choices might be unpleasant, but hopes Council will come up with something dramatic to end the problem; concerned about parking lot on southeast corner of New Jersey and Ocean Avenues – in SF5 zone and owners looking to sell for residential homes, which will negatively impact the community – asked if Council would consider re-zoning to maintain as commercial property( since Planning Board application is pending, would be inappropriate for Council to comment) application is to go from 4 building lots to 5 and, if approved, can subdivide and build – hopes Board will discuss with Council before rendering decision.
John Szafranski, 319 Yale Avenue: welcomed new Council Members; read a December 12th “Asbury Park Press” article about fee statutes – asked why we can’t get tourist revenue to support Boardwalk area – asked that someone look into getting money from beach revenue (Mayor asked that he provide copy of article to Administrator – will be in Trenton tomorrow at Mayor’s Legislative Day and will be talking to everyone he can).
Mary Jane Olsen, 309 Laurel Court: concerned about safety of Post Office parking lot – additional space is needed – employees used to park at train station but, due to fees, they now park at firehouse, which public can’t even use – asked if some of the land used for the park could be allocated for additional space.
Ben Dispoto, 311 Parkway: referring to Councilman Dixon’s Building Department comments, asked what happens if not enough fees are generated (shortfall comes out of budget).
Max Gagnon, 304 Parkway: thanked Council for opportunity to serve, committee members who donated time and effort, and Schoor DePalma for tremendous job on Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) – “…Point Pleasant Beach Open Space and Recreation Plan centered needs around acquiring properties to be dedicated to open space and recreational use, including public access, and creating more active and passive recreational opportunities…” – the state mandates the amount of open space that communities should have – Point Pleasant Beach has a tremendous deficit – over 16 acres is a tremendous amount for this town – Point Pleasant Beach doesn’t have anything for senior and young adult recreation and education – recommended Council re-produce the OSRP and review it – lays out what town needs – explained why OSRP did not look at Lake of the Lillies: “…based on the above, the protecting of natural resources is the primary goal of our municipal government…” – previous Councils did not do enough to protect and remediate problems on these lakes, so this Council is faced with the task – additionally, “…the three lakes are threatened due to the heavy silting and vegetation, and dredging may be the only way to stave off the eventual filling of these bodies of water – Little Silver Lake and Lake of the Lillies require bank stabilization and re-vegetation to restore the natural wildlife and habitat that’s been lost…” – didn’t look at Lake of the Lillies due to understanding that the town was working on it – the mandate of the OSRP Committee was to acquire new properties – didn’t want to use eminent domain – the building that was purchased should never have been put there – it’s not worth fixing and has flooding problems – this property can also be a source of parking income in summer.
Dan Hennessy, 619 New Jersey Avenue: it’s an exciting time and great make-up of Council – nice to see a woman on Council – recognized the Mayor for starting off on the right foot by acknowledging people in the community; excited to be County liaison – the County is a huge resource which is there to help.
Joe Lemma, 203 St. Louis Avenue: when Pope John was elected to the Vatican, he said “…Let’s open the windows and let fresh air in…” – that’s what we have here tonight.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PERIOD ENDED AT 9:09 P.M.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 P.M.
