Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
July 20, 2021
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. Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello and Migut. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.”
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve the July 6, 2021 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello, Migut….YEA
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: gave the Police Chief’s report – reminded all about a rash of area car thefts and the importance of locking vehicles, removing keys/fobs and reporting suspicious activity – are voting on the Elksfest and Seafood Festival Social Affair applications, which have been met with sharp criticism and scrutiny on the legitimacy of his safety and security opinion as a PPB law enforcement executive – sat with the Elks, the Chamber, Councilmembers Vitale, Cortes, Byrnes and Santanello – a consensus was reached to allow both events to be held on the same day – the Chamber will reduce the number of vendors substantially to reduce crowding near the Elks – tents will now be positioned on one side of the street – Elks agreed to cap their number of guests, limit drinks and hire additional PPB Officers for extra security – thanked Ms. Vaccaro, Elks leadership and Councilmembers Cortes, Vitale and Byrnes for orchestrating the meeting – the compromises do not negate all of the PD’s previous safety and security concerns but, if adhered to, the PD will no longer have reservations about the approval of these simultaneous events; Pleasure Park playground is completed and open; Pickleball is ongoing every Wednesday night; Camp is going great, after Week 1, with Under the Sea-themed arts and crafts and a Jenkinson’s reptile visit – campers participated in nature walks and 15 received the Happy Camper Award for being kind or helpful – Fitness, Fun & Body Positive is this week’s theme – gave a shout out to the FD for their hose-down on Friday; Tug-of-War is scheduled for October 9th with planning ongoing; an 8th-12th-grade MMDA Summer Jazz Ensemble will be at the Bandshell on July 30th; Ukulele on the Beach and Guitar Lessons started last night on Maryland Ave.; Skateboard lessons start again this Wednesday; the Military Banner deadline is 2 weeks away; gave a shout out to the PPB Little League for advancing to the sectionals tournament for the first time in history – he and the Mayor met the players and coaches before their game against Toms River East last night – unfortunately, they lost, but they play again tonight against Milltown (Councilman Santanello: when he was PPLL President, he switched from Division 18 to Division 11– this was his dream and he is very excited, 8 years later – Councilman Cortes was an assistant coach and one of his first umpires).
Councilwoman Testa: thanked all who met with the Elks, Chief Michigan and Chamber – glad it’s passing; the first in-person Beautification meeting is on July 27th – thanked all who care for the gardens; the Arts Committee Beach pARTy is this Thursday 4PM-9PM, on Arnold & Bay – asked all to support.
Councilwoman Byrnes: Beautification flower pots are stunning; gave Fire Dept. report – Station 43 is getting drivers and operators qualified for the new 4301 rig – old rig going to the Broad Channel NY Volunteer FD – this morning, the FD responded to a reported kitchen fire that had potential to become a large structure fire – it was averted due to smoke detectors and readily-available fire extinguishers – reminded all to check batteries regularly and have a fire extinguisher – they are always looking for volunteers; thanked the volunteers who ran the Senior Luncheon, a fine event, and the local merchants who contributed, including Caldino’s market A-1 Tents and Rudy’s Restaurant Supply – about 68 seniors attended – Thursday is the first Recreation Day at the Laurel Ave. Firehouse – welcomed ideas – will have games, refreshments, socializing, a chair yoga demonstration and internet instruction – invited all – it’s free, from 1PM-4PM; are planning a Fireworks Boat Cruise for July 29th to raise funds – all are welcome – tickets are available – $50/person with pizza, beer and wine available; on August 6th, the Senior Committee will collaborate with the Chamber on the 1st Friday event on Arnold Ave. to create traffic and enhance the shopping experience – an evening of nostalgia – invited ideas; will be putting together a bus trip to Atlantic City and to a show at the Algonquin; the Green Team/Environmental Commission meetings are on Thursday – will bring an update to the next meeting (Mayor Kanitra: the Senior event was wonderful – County Senior Services was there – had more attendance than in larger towns – the last time anything was done for seniors was 13-15 years ago when former Councilwoman Tooker was here – was told that this was better – asked Council to come to the Fireworks Cruise – the committee is kicking butt).
Councilman Cortes: social media can be a great form of getting information out there, but can also be a detriment – referred to a post regarding an accident on Arnold Ave. & Rte. 35S on Sunday night – a car touched the hardware store – right away, people were saying we need more signs, asking when the town is going to do something to avoid a tragedy – he jumped in and said he’d get details from the accident and follow through – there are one-way signs – this had nothing to do with people going the wrong way; (Mayor Kanitra: not our jurisdiction – State roads – he, BA/CFO Riehl and Councilwoman Testa have been hounding the State for a year, so he had to interject – asked that photos be sent to the State); Beautification barrels look great; as liaison to the Non-resident Taxpayer Committee, he received a call from Chairman Sloan regarding the sign ordinance and signs advertising their upcoming meeting (Mayor Kanitra: BA/CFO Riehl made some final decisions on this and he came to the Governing Body – the Chief makes the decision with tickets – trying our best to not give special treatment; Councilman Santanello: it opens a Pandora’s Box; BA/CFO Riehl: are trying to keep everyone in line with the new ordinance – request was for 30 in-ground signs, as well as signs hanging from trees, poles and fences – ordinance requires application approval and he was looking to act quickly – told him he could do the lawn signs only, but they must be removed by Sunday after the meeting; Mayor Kanitra: that’s fair, as an exception was made for Support the Police lawn signs; BA/CFO Riehl: waived the application process, said she’d do a Reverse 9-1-1 call, offered to put it on Facebook to be shared by the Governing Body – it’s not a new meeting – the Ocean Star did an article and they can do another – have made others comply by taking signs down – she asked him not to call Councilman Cortes; Attorney Riordan: if calling doesn’t work, maybe he will stop; Mayor Kanitra: thinks Reverse 9-1-1 and paper get to a lot of people; Councilwoman Testa: he reached out to her as well – she suggested he come to tonight’s meeting – he asked that it be mentioned – thinks he doesn’t have in-ground lawn signs – she mentioned the other methods, which are enough to get the word out; Attorney Riordan: is about 99% sure he deliberately wrote the ordinance so no one could ask that it be overruled; Mayor Kanitra: think exceptions need to go the Building Dept.; Attorney Riordan: doesn’t think the Governing Body can do it; BA/CFO Riehl: he had lawn signs because he gave her a bill for material) will call and tell him (Attorney Riordan: thinks BA/CFO Riehl already told him).
Councilman Santanello: quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson about not feeling persecuted when contradicted; apologized to the Elks, as he can’t compete in the tournament, but already paid, so he is supporting it – many booths being bumped at the Seafood Festival are national charitable organizations – asked the Elks to coordinate with the Chamber to bring some onto their property; got an email from Engineer Savacool – he is having problems with denying heights of fences in side yards – is talking about changing heights in certain situations – it’s confusing – he spoke with Councilman Cortes about this, corner lots and fence height around pools – would like Councilwoman Testa to talk to Engineer Savacool about walking the Governing Body through this; were given an opportunity by the League of Municipalities to tour a marijuana dispensary in downtown Maplewood – passed around pictures – it’s surrounded by restaurants and clothing stores – once opened, it attracted a health food store on one side and a yoga studio on the other – something to think about as we struggle to get businesses downtown – their Mayor said it helped to revitalize their downtown, they are good neighbors and they get some revenue out of it – average age is mid-30’s to mid-40’s, a demographic needed in PPB, as it’s mostly old people going to the antique shops – can do a micro-license for local people, pick specific areas and do a host agreement – they have a live feed to the PD and cameras everywhere – they do education and are involved in charities and job fairs – it’s clean, well-lit and nice – everything is under lock and key/glass – trying to move the needle a bit and at least talk about it – the League is looking for people to sit on the committee to review – if any Governing Body member is interested, he can get them in touch with the right person; understands the Budget has been approved by the State – read into the record the letter he submitted to the State (attached) – he failed at his attempt to get them to re-look at the budgetary process – not surprising in Socialist-run state.
Councilman Migut: the Parking Authority received an $800 quote for a 25’x3’ fence for the railroad parking lot, advertising Free Parking September through April – will discuss taking an ad in the Ocean Star as well – asked that an appropriation, authorizing the purchase, be put on the agenda (BA/CFO Riehl: asked if the Parking Authority is not taking money out of their budget – giving them $55K on the agenda) he’ll go back to them in August and see if they will pay for it; Animal Welfare Committee asked about a timeframe for removing the decrepit trailer (BA/CFO Riehl: waiting on the electrician) they have a shed to put up in its place to store food, etc. (BA/CFO Riehl: would have to get her information on that – asked that they stop putting food under the trailer, as it is attracting all types of wildlife); spoke to a senior who attended the Golden Gulls luncheon and said he won’t attend other functions because the Mayor gave a half-hour political speech – the man had planned to listen to music and have lunch – never in his 27-years in municipal politics has an elected official given a political speech at a municipal-sponsored function – he wasn’t there, so he doesn’t know the context of the speech, but that was this man’s impression (Mayor Kanitra: gave a 10-minute update about everything going on in town – had nothing to do with taking credit – talked about the Coast Guard Station acquisition, Arts Committee, etc. – thought everyone was happy – if people don’t want updates going forward, and if that’s going to get used as a political tool, he is sorry – Councilman Migut was trying to set him up by bringing this up at a public forum; Councilwoman Byrnes: it was informative; Councilman Santanello: quoted Ronald Regan about doing good and not caring about who gets the credit; Councilwoman Testa: would hope that if someone was disappointed with the Mayor, they would reach out to him, instead of it being heard this way; Mayor Kanitra: in an election year, this kind of thing is saved for Committee Reports to make it seem like a big deal; Councilwoman Byrnes: received 10–12 calls to the contrary – that everyone had a wonderful time) is sure it was a nice event (Mayor Kanitra: most of the talk was answering questions; Councilman Santanello left the room briefly).
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: contradicted Councilman Santanello’s letter – talked for months about spending money on new Police Officers, adding leadership in the PD and cleaning up the town, all of which the town wanted – the rest was spent to go after the million dollars on Channel Dr., to save $300/household on flood insurance – talking about a couple hundred thousand dollars for these decisions in a budget of $15M – thinks the fact that the State probably threw out his letter shows what they thought about it; gave an update from the Chamber – Beach pARTy on Thursday, 4PM-9PM with Bay Ave. closed, August 6th is the 1st Friday with the Senior Committee – theme is Then and Now; is proud of everyone for coming together on the Elks issue – that is how government should operate – an open discussion with everyone venting, listening and posing solutions – group effort – the result is the ability to maintain an important town tradition that locals love – is looking forward to the vote on that (Councilman Santanello returned).
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: added authorization to go out to bid for water valve exercising program to the agenda (1u) – came across her desk today – is required every 5 years or so – already authorized the budget and scope; asked about the holes around the utility poles on Chicago – looks dangerous (Councilman Cortes: that’s JCP&L; BA/CFO Riehl: can make sure dirt gets put back in; Attorney Riordan: no marking or cones); did a Facebook post and released information about the problem with rabies – appealed to all to make sure animals are licensed, leashed and up-to-date on rabies shots and to report unusual animal behavior to the PD; authorized additional landscaping in town, including Pleasure Park, so it is clearly visible – getting quotes for soft surfacing under swings – will do tree and shrub pruning and landscaping at Trenton & Forman – wants additional plantings at the south end, by the pump station – should see some nice changes (Councilman Cortes: asked if the County maintains the pump station; Mayor Kanitra: they let weeds get high, spray them with chemicals and the dead brown weeds sit there – they have to clean it up – asked who did the triangle by him – looks fantastic) DPW road crew did it; sent out estimated tax bills – don’t have a final rate yet – once rate is struck, all will get a final calculated bill for 4th quarter – current bills could be high – if so, 4th quarter bill will have an adjustment for the 3rd quarter overage – with this Budget, the overall municipal tax increase is only $62/year – other increases would be coming from the school and County.
The Municipal Clerk announced addition and deletions to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:18PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked about the Coast Guard Station (Mayor Kanitra: will move at a snail’s pace; BA/CFO Riehl: should own the building by year-end) asked about the price (BA/CFO Riehl: will come to an agreement after appraisal – they need to obtain at least fair market value); not in favor of a dispensary (Councilman Santanello: that’s ok – a lot of people aren’t – especially those over age 65 who opposed the Skateboard Park); asked about the Military Banner Program (Councilman Vitale: reiterated details discussed in the past); asked about the Senior meetings (Councilwoman Byrnes: Senior Rec Day is Thursday at 1PM); congratulated Council, Elks and PD for working things out; asked about 1f (Mayor Kanitra: litigation with Jenkinson’s that Attorney Riordan got dismissed); spoke about a statue in front of a church (Mayor Kanitra: Nelson Ferreira donated it).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: owns a corner lot – the backyard is considered a frontyard for parking, but a backyard for fencing; missed the Senior Luncheon – heard it was fabulous – last couple were at the Lobster Shanty before the pandemic – Mayor and Freeholder spoke – no one found it offensive – it was more informative (Mayor Kanitra: thanked him – he just has a gift for gab).
Mary Steiner, 423 Yale Ave., PPB: was at the Senior Luncheon – was just information about what is going on in town – this was one person out of everyone who complained (Mayor Kanitra: has been stewing for the past 15 minutes – told Councilman Migut that he had his back for many years, when the old administration wanted to toss him out, when he was barely coherent – has never stabbed him in the back – Councilman Migut has stabbed him in the back 2-3 times for political gains this year – it hurts and is unbecoming of a Councilman – he is in the pocket of businessmen – is not for the residents – this stuff is so ridiculous, he should be ashamed of himself).
Ann Marie O’Hare, 2103 Frances Dr., Pt. Pleasant/Elks Treasurer: thanked Councilmembers, especially Vitale, Byrnes and Cortes for meeting with the Elks, her husband Bob, John Veprek and Carol Vaccaro from the Chamber – accomplished a great deal – had a meaningful dialogue – believes they can work with the compromises – looks forward to having the Elksfest as part of the Seafood Festival.
John Veprek, 341 Eastham Rd., Point Pleasant: thanked the Chief who helped them understand the safety issue, which was not totally understood – the Chief worked really hard and changed the footprint of the event – thinks he is satisfied with the information the Elks gave him and is comfortable now – appreciates the event – hopes to make a lot of money to give right back to the town.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:19PM
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 #14 ($446,750.25)
1b Approval of S/A Permit application for Elksfest on 9/18 (rain: 9/19)
1c Approval of Chamber S/A Permit app for Wine Garden at Seafood Festival on 9/18 (rain: 9/19)
1d Approval of payment of hand checks from Developer escrow accounts
1e REMOVED
1f Approval of written agreement memorializing settlement of Jenkinson’s litigation
1g Approval of payment to All Covered for annual Evault backup renewal ($2,400)
1h Approval of payment to the Ocean County Treasurer for 3rd quarter tax levy ($2,332,187.84)
1i Approval of payment to the OCUA for 3rd quarter sewerage payments ($318,071.25)
1j Approval of payment to the PPB Parking Authority for 2021 contribution ($55K)
1k Approval of payment to Rubberecycle for 8,300 sq-ft of rubberbond surfacing ($141,100.00)
1l Approval of payment to PPB BOE for Jul-Dec allocation & Jul debt service ($7,095,588.25)
1m Approval of pymt to M. Woszczak for emerg water main repair at St Louis & Phila ($45,278.24)
1n Approval of payment to GovPilot for annual municipal renewal ($18K)
1o Approval of payment to All Covered for Microsoft Exchange online plan ($6,646.40)
1p Approval of payment to All Covered for June IT maintenance & support ($3,607.58)
1q REMOVED
1r Approval of PPB Surf Club’s S/E app for club practice on the Maryland Ave Beach 9/8-10/31
1s Approval of PP First Aid & Emerg Squad S/E app for Monster Dash at Inlet area 10/30
1t Approval of VFW ABC S/A Permit application for Benefit Fishing Tournament on 8/21
1u Authorization to go out to bid for water valve exercising program
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($3,033,838.00)
2b Approval of pymt to White Box Tech for test report/project initiation/add’l reports for PD ($23,159.20)
2c Approval of payment to NJ Fire Equipment for couplings & fire hoses for Fire Co 2 ($24,704)
2d Approval of membership PPB Fire Company No. 2 for G. Willis, Pt. Pleasant
RESOLUTION 3: Approval of 2021 Municipal Budget
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello (except 1f, 2b, 3),
Migut (except 2a, 2c, 2d)….YEA
Councilman Santanello (1f, 3)….NAY
Councilmembers Santanello (2b), Migut (2a, 2c, 2d)….ABSTAIN
Mayor Kanitra: welcomed the Elks back home.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:32PM
Councilman Migut: spoke about not being able to express the concern of one resident, criticizing the Mayor, without being berated – he was reporting what a resident expressed to him for the Mayor’s benefit – the Mayor took it as criticism and a political shot – he was the only Councilman who supported him for Mayor (Mayor Kanitra: doesn’t know what changed along the way, but he has made other moves this year that were counter to the residents, really stabbing him in the back, saying one thing to his face and doing another – could have expressed concerns privately) the Mayor hasn’t called him in 18 months – has stopped speaking to him (Mayor Kanitra: he used to call and text Councilman Migut all the time and he didn’t respond – felt he had to be the guy who was always holding his hand and telling him to vote the way he wanted and he wouldn’t be mad – then, Councilman Migut would vote against him and get mad at him – he is not the one who stopped texting or calling, or went to political adversaries trying to set up Councilmembers, or did things legally that compromised people personally and the Borough – a host of things that he thinks are disgusting – up until he just disagreed with him, he has never done anything negative to him) will let it end there.
Mary Jane Reilly, 9 Beachcomber Ln., PPB: thanked Chief Michigan for giving her a feeling of safety this summer – was apprehensive and frightened about having her grandkids here – has been really good – thanked the Patrol Officers – would like more of them at night; thanked Council who worked the Chamber and the Chief to bring the Elks back to town – it’s the right thing to do.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:36PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:36PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
ATTACHMENT TO POINT PLEASANT BEACH COUNTIL MINUTES 07/20/21
June 25, 2021
Christine Zapicchi CMFO, CTC
Bureau Chief, Financial and Authority Regulation
Division of Local Government Services
Department of Community Affairs
101 South Broad Street
P.O. Box 803
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Ms. Zapicchi-
I’m writing today from my role as a Councilman here in Point Pleasant Beach, in regard to the approved and submitted budget for 2021.
First, I want to make it clear that I do not place any blame on our CFO and Borough Administrator Christine Riehl- or on any of our employees. Ms. Riehl and those employees can only work within the framework of the Governing Body’s desires and direction.
In fact, for the previous six years before the current governing body took power, the Borough ran surpluses and regenerated surplus each year- because that was the direction of that Governing Body.
I am in no way stating that the direction and desires of the current governing body are wrong- they won control through making many promises, which is fine. My objection is to the tools that they are using to achieve those goals.
My concern is the rampant overspending for non-emergency issues and the use of emergency surplus to pay for that overspending.
First, in regard to emergency surplus- which is what I consider any surplus to be- I believe that the only time you should dip into that is for true emergencies. Point Pleasant Beach took from surplus after Hurricane Sandy and again last year due the substantial drop in revenue due to the covid. Those are good uses of an emergency surplus.
However, they are taking from the emergency surplus again this year- despite the projections of this being the busiest summer ever. Point Pleasant Beach should be looking to regenerate surplus this year, not take from it. There is no emergency that calls for taking from surplus this year.
As concerning are the spending practices being employed above and beyond the budget amounts.
For example: budgeted $225,000 for engineering and have been billed $300,000 in the first six months. There are a lot of excuses coming from the Mayor of Point Pleasant Beach for the overspending, but they do not ring true. The Mayor has claimed that six figures were spent to fix a problem with flood ratings and insurance. While a worthy issue, I cannot fathom how it would cost that much. The Mayor also claimed it is due to the road project on Ocean Ave. That would have been budgeted for in the $225,000 already as it was expected, so that is also false.
There are two major problems I can see with the overspending on engineering. First, the Governing body has implemented dozens of new ordinances this year. A pace unheard of in my observation of other towns. It seems apparent they majority knew that they would be doing so many ordinances, but either ignored the impact and cost or seriously underestimated the cost. Either way the number was clearly not realistic.
Second, the upheaval in our building department. Again, it is understood that the flood rating issue took some considerable time, but all the new ordinances do as well, and they should have been budgeted for ahead of time.
In addition, there was the termination of an employee who was fulfilling her job as zoning officer and code enforcement- a termination that was deemed incorrect by civil service. Instead of re-hiring, the governing body decided to pay an engineer hourly rates to perform the position and duties of code enforcement officer. They also then voted to split the position into two, effectively increasing the spend, on top of the fees for the engineer to date. Again, this was either careless or intended.
In addition, several (new) members of the building department are asking for raises and the building department and DPW are looking for multiple more hires, none of which were budgeted for.
Lastly, the spend on legal fees for what appears to be political behavior and actions. The Borough Attorney, who is also the head of the Republican party in town as well as the committee chair, has hired other attorneys and billed for his time in his attempt to make one Councilman look like he has committed ethical violations. The Boro Attorney has multiple conflicts of interest, and it is almost impossible to figure out where the legal work ends, and the politics begin. An impossible task in my view.
Full disclosure- that Councilman is me, and the charges were false. Putting aside the personal feelings, public money should not be spent to make headlines.
Put all together, this massive overspending will mean certain emergency appropriations. To me that means we overspent by $500,000 already from the surplus, plus we are looking at minimum an equivalent amount in emergency appropriations, pushing that amount already to next year, further kicking the can down the road.
That is $1,000,000 in spending that is being hidden from or taxpayers and not reflected in the tax rate, making the rate extremely misleading.
In conclusion, I believe that the majority- and the Mayor and budget committee in particular- are using these dangerous tools to mislead the public into believing the tax rate is being handled well, and that this type of spending is sustainable without major tax increases- in essence that all the promises being fulfilled are free. It is simply smoke and mirrors. When a town is using public dollars like a credit card, it is the residents and taxpayers that will have to pay that bill.
I am asking you to look at the spending vs. budgeted to see that it is unrealistic and relies on one-time tricks to finance the overspending. I believe our finance committee needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a realistic budget so that the taxpayers know the true cost of all the changes and perceived improvements.
Best Regards-
Robert A. Santanello
Councilman
Borough of Point Pleasant Beach
208 Central Avenue
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
(732) 330-3149
bsantanello@pointbeach.org
