Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 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 approximately 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 Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley and Migut. Councilman Vitale was absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
PROCLAMATION:
Mayor Kanitra presented a proclamation to the Saint Peter School Softball Team – 2022 Monmouth-Ocean Parochial League Champions.
VOTE TO CHANGE ORDER OF AGENDA:
Mayor Kanitra: asked for a vote to change the order of the agenda – believes people are here because they received misinformation – also want to tackle a fence issue to save money on professionals.
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to change the order of the agenda to Fences, Special Improvement District, Committee Reports, etc., was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
FENCE PRESENTATION:
ZO Ray Savacool: proposed Ordinance 2021-31 would have modified fence requirements – currently 6-ft.-high in rear yard, 4-ft.-high in side yard, 3-ft.-high in front yard – as ZO, noted instances where a resident may have an addition on the back of the house, offset quite a distance from the side yard, yet the rear yard is defined as anything beyond the back of the house – he proposed a change to the ordinance, which was introduced and went to the Planning Bd. (Pl. Bd.) for consistency with the Master Plan and the Board had e issues with it – felt the change was unnecessary, would impact air, light & open space, may be unattractive and may impact fire suppression activities – understands Council is in receipt of a letter from a resident, who is here tonight – he’d would be happy to meet with any Pl. Bd. or Governing Body members to address concerns – his intention in proposing the change “except where principal building is 10’ or greater from the side line, a fence 6’ in height may be erected along the side line that is 10’ or greater from the principal building” – was to not force individuals to get a Zoning variance, where he felt the Board would likely grant it, costing time and expense – is here to hear what the resident has to say – up to Council whether they chose to revisit that ordinance (Atty. Riordan: resident’s submission to the Governing Body is to alter the ordinance so the ZO has the discretion, so that it says “may” – that’s what you can’t do – what you can do is change the ordinance as ZO Savacool suggested the first time, but the discretion is with the Zoning Bd. of Adjustment (BOA), not with the Zoning Officer – can leave it the way it is and make folks go for a variance or listen to the Zoning Officer and alter the ordinance, so people don’t have to do that) was forwarded the information from the resident –e understands his premise but doesn’t agree with his proposed solution – not a matter of discretion – the Zoning Ordinance should be black and white – either it fits the Zoning Code or it does not (Atty. Riordan: not “should” – “have to be”; Mayor Kanitra: he may be part of the reason it took so long to get to this because he sits on the Pl. Bd. and the one Bd. meeting he missed, since taking office as Mayor, was the meeting that they brought this up – normally he is the conduit that’s able to explain what we are hearing from our professionals. – thinks they didn’t have any context when they looked at it – asked ZO if he recommends the resident speak and if he could respond in context) yes.
Bob Woodbury, 117 Chicago Ave., PPB: had sent a package to the Governing Body – handed out an additional document to help the discussion – he has 9’ on his side yard, not 10’– not looking to support, exactly, ZO Savacool’s proposal – showed a picture of his house – extends on the right side – sticks out about 17’ longer – under the definition section of the Zoning Ordinance, it says the interface between his back yard and side yard is the furthermost portion of the building structure – he rear egress door has a porch that’s about 16’ further – when he went to apply for his fence permit, he just wanted to box in the entire year yard, but that definition prevented that entire area to be called a backyard – there are some additional details in his package – looking to do a continuous 6’ fence, rather than dropping down to 4’ on the last 17’ – his neighbor, who lives at 115, supports it and is here to speak – has gotten a couple different interpretations as to whether he has to go for a variance, which apparently couldn’t be heard this year because of the backlog and a pretty significant amount of money – asked if a resolution or plans can be made to change the ordinance – is not proceeding with the fence until he knows the procedure (Mayor Kanitra: asked ZO Savacool and Atty. Riordan for comments; ZO Savacool: his response was clear – resident needs a variance or Council needs to change the ordinance to allow a 6’ fence – resolution circumventing code is inappropriate – resolutions only last a year – would help this individual, but doesn’t address the overall concern – has seen about 6 of these instances since being ZO – Mr. Woodbury said his house is 9’ off but his addition is substantially further off – his looking to modify the ordinance was to allow him to enclose his backyard, a portion of which is not his rear yard, with a 6’ fence, rather than dropping it down to a 4’ fence as he comes past that addition – thinks the Planning Bd’s concern was, if the resident’s house was 10’ off, then he could run that 6’ fence all the way up the side yard to the front of the house – didn’t feel that was appropriate – there is probably some modification we would make in order to prevent that and split the difference to ensure that the Pl. Bd. and Council would be comfortable supporting it – could limit the amount of people who have to spend the time, effort and money to go to the BOA. to put forth an application that he thinks would likely be granted; Mayor Kanitra: take care of Pl. Bd.’s concerns, make an easier time for residents and taxpayers, and fix a common sense solution; Atty. Riordan: would have to send it back to the Planning Board, so if they really have a concern that Council or ZO Savacool is missing, which is unlikely, can come back and fix it again – will have to re-introduce on first reading – Council will have to authorize him to draft the ordinance with ZO Savaool’s help – just add to the Consent Resolution; ZO Savacool: will work in the meantime to be sure it meets everyone’s expectations; Atty. Riordan: ZO Savacool seems to be telling him that the way he has the ordinance drafted, Mr. Woodbury would be ok with his 6’ fence; ZO Savacool: correct) so, we would call the lifting of the house/the renovation, basically the addition (Atty. it’s a little more technical than that, but the short answer is yes). Authorization added as item 1v..
BID PRESENTATION:
Mayor Kanitra: asked Planner Lawlor to give a presentation on the BID – thinks it was positioned that Council is trying to push through some new crazy initiative – been talking about the BID for 1½ year in a very public manner – has spoken in front of the Chamber, had a study done, a group formed, and have discussed it quite a bit – Council is very invested in the future of downtown – there are a lot of vacancies – there has never been a plan for downtown, in terms of a cohesive vision for the future – Council has put in sweat equity, pulling weeds, decorating, conceptualizing ideas with the Arts Committee, covering windows, etc. – the BID is an evolution of that – saw a wild text saying that businesses will be paying $1,500/year because of the BID – building owners, not businesses, are going to pay – goal is a couple hundred dollars, which will immediately be put back into downtown, in terms of signage improvement grants, façade improvements, beautification, dedicated maintenance – not our decision – thinks the concept of a corporation got warped – the BID will be made up of building owners and business owners like Steve Fisher, who started the Fisher Family Fund, and Kristi Monticello, co-owner of multiple businesses with a stake in downtown – these decisions will be made by business owners and building owners alike – are cognizant that we are coming out of the COVID pandemic and are trying to capitalize on the momentum – Beach Diner has been approved and Bank of America building is going up for auction – both will be ready in a couple months, gym just got sold and they have incredible plans for it – so much movement – want to safeguard downtown for the day that no one on this dais will be here – can’t rely on Councilmembers to continue to do the work – it’s a way for business and building owners to take control and have a stake in things – residential properties are not being assessed – commercial properties operating commercially – invited Debbie Lawlor, Borough Planner and former President of the National Planning Association to speak.
Borough Planner Lawlor (Head of the Planning Discipline for Colliers Engineering & Design): re-presented PowerPoint about what a BID is and how the process is taking place – started around the beginning of 2021 – primarily the area around Bay & Arnold and a little bit towards Trenton, where the antique stores are – could be expanded in the future – trying to get things off the ground – a BID is created under NJ State law and is very defined – money collected goes right back to that area and is not able to be used for other things in the municipality – a District Management Corporation (DMC) is an established entity that oversees it – fee would be established that goes with taxes – generally looking at pennies on the dollar – there are 90 improvement districts in almost 70 municipalities in NJ – on average, they are 25 cents/sq. ft. or less – looking at a lot less to see how it goes and what to use it for – committee sets goals – recommends a 5-year plan – BID design is based on the national Main Street Model – there is Main Street NJ and Main Street America – best to establish this way, as there is potential for grants – 4 aspects to build the program around include enhancing vitality, overall design aesthetic, promotion and events – businesses agree to work more together on maybe coordinating hours, etc. (Mayor Kanitra: there is a clear line between the BID and Chamber – not looking for the BID to take over events – Chamber is responsible for bringing people downtown, organizing events – view the BID as having control over the look, feel, aesthetics and future of downtown and infrastructure) supplements the Chamber – public awareness, placemaking, bringing more of a community feel and creating one brand – every BID they’ve spoken to said it’s enhanced the values of properties within the BID and those adjacent to it – did a feasibility study to determine potential to work as a location, with a good balance of restaurants and shops – a partnership among businesses and property owners – DMC is made up of business and property owners, one person from the town, one from the Chamber – they set fees and initiatives and reports their plan to the municipality each year and Council has to give its blessing – at any point, if it doesn’t work, it can be dissolved – have got the infrastructure/bones for it – included are commercial businesses, 5 residential rental units or more (if someone lives in one, they are not taxed) in accordance with State regulations (Mayor Kanitra: clarified that when Planner Lawlor says “businesses” she means “buildings that operate as a business”) right – talking about what the uses are in them – tax goes to the building/property owner – if the property owner says it’s going down to the business, that’s the way that it goes – first orders of business would be developing the Corporation and taking a survey of all of businesses and property owners to come up with priorities, determine fee structure, annual budget and scope – based on the study, determined that this is a good location for the BID – have good bones to start with – can build on historic character, which a lot of towns don’t have – have paver sidewalks – there would be a visual preference analysis regarding signs, paver sidewalks, building bump-outs, bike racks, street furnishings, etc. – one thing that got this off the ground is people saying they hated canvas signs with grommets – wayfinding signage and public art are very big in a lot of BIDs (Mayor Kanitra: have already named this area a historic district and have incentivized building owners to restore – this corridor makes sense from that standpoint – if BID isn’t performing as wanted, Council can strike it down, the SID can recommend it be struck down – not burdening the town for decades – don’t even want to be at 25 cents, which comes out to about $350/owner – want to be more like 15 cents/a couple hundred dollars a building/year – would have more ability to negotiate with the County – one of the biggest problems downtown is that Arnold and Bay are County roads, so we’ve had less ability to do things that other towns do – have very narrow sidewalks – want to build parklets for outdoor space – the 90+ BIDS/SIDs in the State already are not of one political party or one type of town – if you think of a downtown you want to go to, it’s because of an aesthetic reason – pretty much all of those towns have some sort of BID/SID component).
APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES:
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve the June 21, 2022 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
DEPARTEMENT HEAD MEMO:
Curb Cut Request at 310 Woodland Road: Mayor Kanitra: asked for the recommendation (Atty: Riordan: ZO Savacool suggested it should be permitted as long as the applicant closes up the existing curb cut and keeps his curb cut to the 10’ permitted by the Zoning Ordinance) had asked in an email that someone speak with the neighbor most closely affected and get their thoughts – asked if anyone did that (no) if he was the neighbor, he’d want to know – asked that someone reach out to the neighbor to get their opinion – doesn’t want to act on it yet (BA/CFO Riehl: will reach out) – HELD.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilwoman Testa: July 21st is the Arts Beach Party on Bay Ave. 4PM-8PM; Beautification is working hard on gardens, planters, watering – thanked volunteers – new sprinkler is in at Lake Louise, with someone maintaining it (Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl/QOL Dir. O’Rourke about weeds sprouting at the Coast Guard Station – they said they’d take care of it; BA/CFO Riehl: will have Code Enforcement notify them).
Councilwoman Byrnes: gave the Fire Report – acknowledged FO Martin and his expertise; has some things to go over with BA/CFO Riehl regarding the Shade Tree Commission – will report at next meeting; the Golden Gulls free Ice Cream Social is next Tuesday at the firehouse, 1PM-3PM with a viewing of a locally-produced movie on the history of PPB.
Councilman Ramos: gave the Chief’s report, since the last Council meeting, for Councilman Vitale – were 23 arrests, 105 Borough Ordinances, started the hiring process for summer 2023 with orientation in the next couple of weeks – working to recruit SLEO’s – thanked Mayor and Council for approving the new salary guide for the seasonal workforce – vital for hiring and retention during busiest time of year; PD had a busy weekend – commended all officers who worked – working hard to keep PPB family-friendly – yesterday, at about 8:30AM, a few thousand people began lining up at the Boardwalk for Martell’s Tiki Bar – the lines have been getting longer and longer on Mondays and taking up a lot of Police resources to keep the Boardwalk clear for others to walk unobstructed – while the line was orderly, there were many smoking on the Boardwalk with many violations issued, including for drinking in public – the line did not subside for 3-4 hours; Bd. of Education has graduated both classes of 2022 – schools are being torn apart and shined up for next year’s class; Environmental Commission continues to do great work – unfortunately he had to miss the last meeting.
Councilwoman Crowley: great 4th of July – wonderful fireworks from Jenkinson’s – thanked Chief Kowalewski for keeping the community safe and to DPW Super. Trout and crew for keeping it clean, especially after this weekend; business as usual on DPW – they are keeping the town clean, working on our parks and are there to help us day-to-day.
Councilman Migut: the Parking Authority has been in discussions with Ocean First Bank about putting in a banking kiosk in the Borden’s parking lot, as their branch is closed – Ocean First is preparing plans to go before the Pl. Bd. – thinks it would be a good thing for residents who are disappointed about the closing of that branch – when the Bank of America took out their ATM, he had to go to the Boro to do transactions – should be coming down the pipeline in a couple months; saw a news story that Airbnb is now inserting a clause in their lease agreements that if you rent a house, you can’t hold a party – seems online rental agencies are meeting with a lot of trouble with people renting houses and abusing them and they are cracking down on their tenants – asking if requiring such a clause is a plausible amendment to the ordinance (Atty. Riordan: we’ll research it) more in the future on that.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: gave kudos to P/T CEO Loder on what a good job he has done – has routed out many unauthorized rentals that people didn’t even get a CO for – impressive – he lives in the community and takes the job very seriously – a huge asset to the residents; kudos to Chief and PD on a nice and orderly 4th of July – they were on top of little quality of life issues – he, the Chief and Councilmen Ramos and Vitale had a very productive meeting with Jenkinson’s – residents in the bungalow area brought up concerns –came up with great solutions – residents are happy – asked that a meeting be facilitated with Martell’s to talk about the long line on the Boardwalk that takes up Borough property – is sure discussion would be just as productive – is always better to address these things and tackle them head-on (Chief Kowalewski: spoke with Scott Bassinder – have some ideas on how to alleviate that line – will see how it works out) great – and if we need to get the committee together, will jump in and offer our resources as well – thanked the Chief for being on top of that; was in Trenton last week for a bipartisan effort dealing with property tax receipt restoration – $300M/year was previously collected by municipalities – State promised it would go back to municipalities and they haven’t done that – NJLM and the Conference of Mayors has done a really good job of working legislation with the Assembly and State Senate – was happy to be part of that; are moving forward with electric charging stations in Little Silver Lot, most likely paid for by the company – our first ones in a public area – have a lot more grants in the pipeline including $400K for Safe Streets and Pedestrian; things continue to move forward with Channel Dr. – may have more to report on that in the next couple of meetings.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: was on vacation last week – will report at the next meeting.
Clerk announced revisions/additions to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:32PM
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: each town is unique – have to be careful not to change how the town is; wished Happy Birthday to the USA.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:34PM
Motion by Councilwoman Crowley to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #13 ($330,293.15)
1b REMOVED
1c Approval of payment to Continental Fire & Safety for protective gear for Bldg Dept ($4,280.15)
1d Approval of payment to Quadient Finance USA for prepaid postage ($4K)
1e Approval of payment to All Covered for annual Evault backup renewal ($2,400)
1f Approval of PO to All Covered for monthly Plan 2 license renewal for July-December ($3,264)
1g Memorialization of approval of pymt of Pay Cert 1 to Shore Top Const-Central Ave Imp ($667,311.16)
1h Appointment of MJ Gradel to fill P. Villani’s unexpired term as a member of the Env. Com.
1i Approval of payment to ABF Skate Shop for spring 2022 skateboard lessons ($3K)
1j Approval of ABC S/A Permit app for VFW Fishing Tournament on 8/20 (rain date: 8/27)
1k Approval of W/S relief request
1l Approval of payment to GRQ Building for bath house exterior door ($4,035)
1m Approval of payment to Brick Township MUA for June bulk water usage ($113,525.62)
1n Approval of payment to Riggins, Inc. for 2022 DPW gasoline ($11,633.78)
1o Approval of payment to H. Kees & Sons for replacement of wood fence at Borough Hall ($5,590)
1p Approval of payment to H. Kees & Sons for fence for WTP property ($5,260)
1q Approval of payment to Glenco Supply for various signs for town ($3,378)
1r Approval of payment to R.T. Davies for tree & stump removal at park ($3,600)
1s Approval of payment to Bortek Industries for sweeper radiator replacement ($4,500)
1t Approval of payment insurance opt outs for January-June
1u Amendment to Res 2022-0503/2P-Form 1B (MAC Grant) to change fiscal year from 2022 to 2023
1v Auth for Atty to draft amendment to zoning ordinance, with regard to fences – ADDED PER PRESENTATION
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($237,811.11)
2b Appointment of M. Schleifer, Brick, NJ, to the position of Parking Enforcement Officer in the PD
2c Appointment of S. Brezniak & E. Monahan to the position of P/T Public Safety Telecommunicator
2d Approval of PO to Fire & Safety Services for repairs to fire vehicle ($14K) – ADDED PER BA/CFO
2e Approval of PO to Hutchinson for PD air conditioner repair ($9,175) – ADDED PER BA/CFO
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut (except 2a, 2d)….YEA
Councilman Migut (2a, 2d)….ABSTAIN
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 2022-06 (Amendment to Salary Ordinance 2018-14) was considered on second reading. 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 adopt Ordinance 2022-06 was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Atty. Riordan: if the Governing Body would wish, they can do 7, 8, 9 & 10, which are all salary ordinances, together (no objections).
Ordinances 2022-07 (Amendment to Salary Ordinance 2021-25), 2022-08 (Amendment to Salary Ordinance 2021-32A), 2022-09 (Amendment to Salary Ordinance 2021-32B) and 2022-10 (Amendment to Salary Ordinance 2021-32C) were considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Rob Moreau, 622 Trenton Ave., PPB: salary changes are up to 50% – some data entry people would be making $40K yesterday and $60K tomorrow – that kind of inflationary burden is not right – timing is horrible for these amazingly huge salary increases – 50% is incredible in a time when inflation is as high as it’s been in decades – asked that these be tabled (BA/CFO Riehl: none of these are actual salary increases – the only increases are for the SLEO I’s, SLEO II’s and Dispatch – the others are ranges put in place – had a series of title changes through Civil Service, so have to amend our ordinance to have the titles changed to match the Civil Service titles and have the range – they were not actual salary increases for anyone – just change of the title and put the range in place – they can fall anywhere in between the low and high end; Mayor Kanitra: and our SLEO’s make the least out of any town around – makes it tough to have the numbers we need in the summer – going from $12 to $16/hour, which is well-deserved; BA/CFO Riehl: minimum wage went up – we were still just at minimum wage – went from that to $16 and are still a little below a number of other shore towns: Councilman Ramos: are below some other towns, but it’s a starting point; Mayor Kanitra: the hope is that we close the gap enough with all the attractions of PPB).
Motion by Councilman Migut to close the public hearing adopt Ordinances 2022-07, 2022-08, 2022-09 and 2022-10, was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-11 (Amending Ch. XI – “Water-Sewer Utility” as it Affects W/S Rates & Charges) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing adopt Ordinance 2022-11 was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-12 (Water/Sewer Utility Bond $2,301,000) was considered on second reading. 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 adopt Ordinance 2022-12 was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-13 (Water/Sewer Utility Bond $385,000) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilwoman Crowley to close the public hearing adopt Ordinance 2022-13 was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-14 (Multi-purpose Bond $5,805,659) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked how you come to a specific amount if you are not sure what the improvements are (Mayor Kanitra: the estimates were added up and in the packet; BA/CFO Riehl: we know what the improvements are and have estimates for the construction and soft costs; Mayor Kanitra: it’s how they’ve done it for 100 years) just want to be clear because it’s not specific (Councilman Ramos: for this, are not listing every single thing – in the packet is all that information – it’s targeted – Borough Administrator knows; BA/CFO Riehl: the actual ordinance itself has each broken out).
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing adopt Ordinance 2022-14 was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-15 (Amendment to Ch. III – Smoking Prohibited) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: a tough one to enforce on Ocean Ave. (Chief Kowalewski: ordinance states Ocean Ave., street ends, he believes Parkway to Boston, but we have officers in those areas, so will be enforcing) on Boardwalk as well (Chief Kowalewski: absolutely; Mayor Kanitra: it’s already on the beach and Boardwalk – everybody gets pushed to the street ends and we get a lot there and now we get a lot walking down Ocean Ave. – since we already have the Inlet & Little Silver Lake lot No Smoking Zones, it creates a weird gap in between, where people can do stuff we’re not looking for them to do) is in favor.
Motion by Councilwoman Crowley to close the public hearing adopt Ordinance 2022-15 was seconded by Councilwoman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Atty. Riordan: suggested doing Ordinances 2022-17 and Ordinance 2022-18 before 2022-16 – has a feeling there will be more debate on 2022-16 (Mayor Kanitra: instructed the Clerk to read Ordinances 2022-17 and 2011-18 next).
Ordinance 2022-17 (Amendment to Ch. XIV – Excavation & Construction in Public Streets) was considered on second reading. 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 adopt Ordinance 2022-17 was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-18 (Repeal Ordinance 2021-12) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked what Ord 2021-12 is (Atty. Riordan: acquisition ordinance).
Motion by Councilman Ramos to close the public hearing adopt Ordinance 2022-18 was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Ordinance 2022-16 (Creation of a Special Improvement District) – REVISED was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing (5 minutes each).
Randy Kulzer, speaking on behalf of wife who owns 511-513 Bay Ave., PPB: questioned Section 6, Assessments, Subsection C, where is says “failure of any property owner to pay annual assessment shall be treated in the same manner as a failure to pay property taxes” the special assessment has not been computed so you are asking people to sing up for a blank check – also created a DMC, but there’s no cost structure – if he gives a dollar to DMC, doesn’t know how much goes to overhead and administration, as opposed to the actual purpose – Subsection C says if he disagrees with anything the DMC comes up with or any other part of this ordinance, as passed, can put a lean on his property and begin the legal process of kicking him out of town, and his only recourse is to sell his property, his business and move – asked if that’s what’s in this ordinance (Planner Lawlor: that’s the way the ordinance is written – that’s in accordance with the way the law is – this is part of your taxes) asked how that is business-friendly, in accordance with the goals of business recruitment and retention (Planner Lawlor: amount and what it is used for gets approved annually; Mayor Kanitra: if you disagree with the goals of the Administration, you still have to pay your property taxes) but this special assessment is over and above that (Mayor Kanitra: correct; Councilwoman Crowley: there will be a committee you can talk to; Planner Lawlor: will have public meetings that business owners can attend; Mayor Kanitra: so any business owner and building owner will be able to attend any of the meetings of the BID and will get a say: Atty. Riordan: the Open Public Meetings Act applies).
Mike Corona, 618 Arnold Ave., PPB (business owner and property owner): are going to raise rents too – as taxes go up, it’s in every lease he’s done, so the tenants are going to be paying this (Mayor Kanitra: if they passed this along, if we did $200/year, that’s $10-15/month; Planner Lawlor: as an example, even if you did 25 cents on 1,500-sq.-ft – that’s like $375/year) asked if that is capped (Councilwoman Crowley: looking to do the minimum to see what everyone wants; Mayor Kanitra: want to do less than that) asked how many properties are in this (Planner Lawlor: @160, but not all – inaudible) asked if that’s enough money to do anything with (Mayor Kanitra: a valid question – where things go awry, is a lot of BIDs/SIDS wind up raising and spending a lot on staff, like $100K on an Executive Dir. – our QOL Director is going to be doing the work, so this money is going directly back to the business – trying to have this run on donations and sponsorships from regional and local businesses – looking to ensure that, for every dollar in, getting multiple dollars back – it’s not going to be a lot on its own – looking at donations, sponsorships and grants) there’s no cap on what they can charge (Mayor Kanitra: it’s being stated here on the record that the average is 25 cents and we want to be under that) asked Planner Lawlor if there are other towns she’s done this in (Planner Lawlor: she hasn’t personally done it in NJ, but met with probably 6 of them online) worried about keeping tenants – has 7 units on Arnold Ave. – got the pandemic, supply chain problems, inflation and a recession, so he can’t raise rents, but this will – if it’s big, it’s a problem (Mayor Kanitra: stated, for the record, no intention of having it be on that level – if everything is booming in 5-10 years, if the group in charge of the BID wants a huge project, they can tackle it, but are looking to get started at a very low rate, as said from the beginning; Atty. Riordan: ordinance requires that the budget be approved by the Governing Body – no way for the Corporation to raise an exorbitant amount of money from the businesses without the Governing Body signing off and – inaudible; Mayor Kanitra: none of this is back room stuff – Council is only doing this because we want to help downtown and businesses – the better downtown feels, looks and operates, the more you will have customers and be able to sell, and as building owners, you will be able to charge them rent and they’ll be happy to pay it because they’ll be making more money – are not looking to be a large burden – will be multiple fail safes along the way including public BID meetings, budget that needs Council approval) asked who is on the committee (Mayor Kanitra: Steve Fisher, Joe Introna – have to keep it to 9; Planner Lawlor: have a committee right now that worked on the feasibility study; Mayor Kanitra: they haven’t been codified, so he can throw his name in the ring) tonight is the vote, though (Mayor Kanitra: the vote on establishing the BID – the BID does all the work; Councilwoman Testa: have to approve tonight to get to next step – then, there will be meetings and more conversation – will be very open and public – can be addressed again; Mayor Kanitra: the planning committee got us to this point – strong pillars of the community – Joe Introna, Kristi Monticello, Steve Fisher – building and business owners – all from the downtown area) he just found out about it last week – got a few certified letters (Atty. Riordan: those appointed are for a certain term – maximum term is 4 years – first group is staggered – some folks are appointed for 1, some 2, some 3, some 4, but after that, all terms are 4 years – could be on for 4, then off for 4 and then back on for 4 – so, you get an opportunity to participate; Councilwoman Testa: asked Planner Lawlor about one not raising fee for 10 years; Planner Lawlor: one district didn’t raise their fee for 10 years; Councilwoman Testa: Planner Lawlor did a presentation a month ago – a lot of the questions – then we had the first reading and this reading and it’s been on the agenda – surprised that this is the first time a lot of people are hearing about it – there is no hidden agenda; Mayor Kanitra: at every Chamber meeting he has been at for the last 2 years, he has talked about it) hasn’t been to any (Mayor Kanitra: can’t knock on every door; if they came to the Governing Body and said they want 30 cents, they’d all vote no; Atty. Riordan: the Governing Body appoints the Board; Planner Lawlor: the DMC would analyze which properties within the area qualify to be assessed, then sq. footage is determined, from there, will probably run 3 scenarios at different levels to give you an idea of what fees would be like – could be very minor – and then you look at your options and types of improvements in a survey).
John Bezerra, 400 Niblick St., PPB: doesn’t know enough about it – been to various Chamber meetings, was on the call in February 2021 and heard the Mayor talk about it – stakeholders, business owners and property owners, may not live in town, or be in communication, or go to Chamber meetings and don’t know what’s going on and this is kind of a surprise – was not a total surprise to him, but he received a letter – this is a big thing – wishes stakeholders could be gotten to the table to discuss and then go forward with the ordinance – guarantees a much a smoother transition – recommends tabling and bringing to stakeholders, maybe at a larger venue, detail it out and have all questions hashed out – can be done in the next 2 weeks – talking about raising taxes – he has over 40,000-sq.-ft. of rental space, so that’s close to $8K-$9K that he will be raising rent on tenants – this has to be explained to them and there is a lot of meat in this ordinance that has to be looked at and discussed in an open forum (Mayor Kanitra: asked about conduit to have this kind of meeting – we send out the certified letters to the building owners so everyone gets alerted; Councilwoman Testa: agrees with Mr. Bezerra – want everyone to be for it; Councilwoman Byrnes: totally agrees; Councilwoman Crowley: want to benefit businesses) will squash any false statements (Councilwoman Byrnes: right, any naysayers) people come up with some crazy stuff and go to Facebook – don’t want new ordinance with all that misinformation out there (Mayor Kanitra: this is the public forum – would be open to talking to building owners; Councilwoman Testa: business and building owners; Councilwoman Crowley: property owners get the increase, even if they trickle it down; Mayor and Council spoke amongst themselves).
Tom McDonald, 606 Bay Ave., Apt. 2, PPB (mother-in-law lives there): addressed Section 2, Part C/the assessment – it’s a 6-unit building – 1 rental unit – asked if they fall under the assessment (no).
Darryl Monticello, 419 Arbutus Dr., PPB: owns houses and multiple businesses/property in town – thinks they’re trying to start revitalizing the town – his wife was on the committee and spent 6-10 hours on a PowerPoint presentation – not looking to rip off any properties or businesses – trying to get to a point where we start pushing forward – are a lot of empty spaces in town – trying to bring in customers to benefit everybody – will be asking for an de minimis amount of money – if you own a building and can’t afford a couple hundred dollars, you shouldn’t be a landlord – can figure it out along the way – they’re trying to create something for us – 20% of the people do a lot of the work, including he and his wife, who are always volunteering their time for the town – his wife spent countless hours putting package together so everybody in town can reap the rewards – are focused on the wrong things – can get grants inside this program – will be people volunteering, throwing money at it too – might be business owners who do fantastic, throwing in a percentage – it’s a tough decision, but this is just an incubator (Mayor Kanitra: thanked him – good point – not everybody is altruistic – when we started on Council and went downtown, lots of buildings and businesses had weeds everywhere and things were falling apart – a lot of business owners’ mindset was “it’s not my building” – we went and picked the weeds – not every building owner is taking care of buildings the way they need to – a whole spectrum of things – not having a cohesive vision is why we got to where we were a couple of years ago, when it was even worse).
David Massey, 613-617 Arnold Ave., PPB: complemented the work done on this over the past 2+ years – unfortunately, he didn’t hear a word about it until 2 weeks ago – the ordinance states they met with owners and occupants of property included – a very select group – need information and an opportunity for all tenants, business owners and landlords to learn details about this – he has several questions (Mayor Kanitra: Planner Lawlor, subject matter expert, can be available to answer questions here tonight – if it’s a legal question, can make the Borough Atty. available as well – anyone can get their contact information to Planner Lawlor or get hers tonight) it’s not an opportune time for raising taxes or rents – in the past year or 2, many tenants couldn’t pay rent for 2-3 months and we had to reduce rent because business was so poor – urged Council to postpone passage and work to inform stakeholders, not just at a Council meeting or at the Chamber – emails, phone calls, letters, etc. to landlords and businesses (Mayor Kanitra: for the record, held the first-ever Building Owner Summit when he came into office and invited every single building owner in town – even did the hard leg work, going through corporations and LLCs to see who businesses were paying rent to and their contact information – that was 2 years ago – at that meeting, one of the biggest slides was the BID – mentioned exactly how it was going to operate and how we were going to work on it for the next year and a half to 2 years – invited every downtown building owner – have emails, phone calls, all those records – QOL Dir. O’Rourke has the list – it’s easy to say you weren’t notified, but we worked hard to do that).
Rob Moreau, 622 Trenton Ave., PPB: agrees with Mr. Bezerra’s proposal – is a condominium owner in town since 2022 – received that letter – randomly chose 18 businesses – 3 were just employees, 9 were business owners but not property owners, 8 hadn’t heard a word, Joe from the Corner Bagelry had heard and said it failed in 3-4 other towns he’s been in – the other 6 were business and property owners and 3 hadn’t heard of it at all until the thick letter – one was John, who had heard whispers and the Inzeros had been on the Zoom meeting, so they knew something of it – but all 6 had no idea there was going to be an assessment tax – can’t get everyone together, but give it the best try for property owners, business owners and pillars of the community to come and have a discussion about this – hopes this is tabled tonight.
Daniel Ruggiero, 512 Bay Ave, PPB (property owner): think it’s great idea – doesn’t think it’s great timing, coming out of COVID and the economy – been helping his tenants – Haven Sweet Shop left – has Wandering Sweets in there – she’s freaking out because she has to put up a wooden carved sign and not her beautiful swinging sign (Mayor Kanitra: please let her know that she can come to the Pl. Bd. for 5-10 minutes and get that assessed) as a property owner, leaving the rents low, it’s a timing issue – suggested peddling back and getting more people aware of what’s going on – baby steps (Mayor Kanitra: asked if $200 more/year would be the difference in tenant retention) gave his tenants rent-free a couple of months and has kept his rents low – difficult times for a lot of people – it’s not going to get better right away – asked about the allocation of funds – has a smaller building – asked what buildings will get the actual monies (Mayor Kanitra: a lot will go to downtown in general – for example, strung lights from one end of the BID to the other – portion in front of his business will be commensurate with the amount he puts in and his square footage).
Angela White, 933 Bay Ave., PPB (business at 638 Arnold Ave.): didn’t know anything about it – it’s a numbers thing – knows assessments are guesses and go up every year, but if she is giving money, she wants to know what she’s getting – asked if there are statistics regarding increases in revenue – company should have that – used to be a paralegal when Asbury Park re-did their business district – businesses have no problem paying if money is coming in – assumes goal is to get more traffic – businesses can’t afford to be there cause the rents are high and there is not enough foot traffic (Mayor Kanitra: is reasonable to see if there are studies about the economic impact of BID to building owners and businesses alike) if she doesn’t like what the increase is, she can just pack up and move to another town (Mayor Kanitra: important to look at this from a body perspective – bodies indoors, on pavement, in streets – a finite number of people come to PPB in the off-season, based on proximity, loyalties to certain shops, and some who just like PPB – if PPB becomes more of a destination, not just for our beach and Boardwalk, but for downtown because we have a more welcoming aesthetic, goal is to result in more people walking downtown and in stores – nothing is an exact science – Governing Body has no benefit) when we have more revenues, taxes are lower (Mayor Kanitra: yes, that’s a big benefit – we want all property values to go up and all businesses booming; Councilman Ramos: to clarify, there is no company, as she is referring to, coming in – group will be formed from building and business owners – will be run and operated by them and town representatives).
Dorothy Massey (owner of Bob Massey Eyeglasses), 617 Arnold Ave., PPB: was born and raised in PPB – started business in 1972 – gives her a historical perspective of the business district – it has flourished and receded – has seen this cycle a number of times with all stores rented and many vacant – when people have money to spend, business do well and other people can open business – when economy goes sour, people aren’t spending, businesses that don’t have a large reserve close and there are vacant stores – never had a SID helping the town recover – it recovered because the economy recovered – asked Ms. Lawlor is she has ever seen Arnold Ave. – have pavers, lights and bicycle racks on Arnold Ave. – was in business for many years before and after the pavers were put in – they look nice, but had no effect on her business – people don’t come to PPB to see pavers – doesn’t think what is proposed is a good idea – shouldn’t give any more expense to property or businesses owners right now – can’t afford it – there is a perception that business owners rake in lots of money and that property owners are banks and you can always get more out of them and that’s not true – this a small town with small businesses, small property owners who try to do fair business and there isn’t a surplus for something right now; congratulated the Governing Body and PD for having no pop-up party here.
Luann Breese, 642 Arnold Ave. PPB (business): said you want to make it like an outdoor mall – she is one person – she opened her business in 2020, the year of the pandemic – was an extreme struggle to keep it afloat – asked if opening hours will be established – might be impossible for her (Mayor Kanitra: don’t have any intention of that; Planner Lawlor: that’s one of the things you could do, but it doesn’t mean you’re forced to stay open; Mayor Kanitra: the way it was explained is that it’s suggestions and help – gave building owners some suggestions at the Building Owners Summit, that every builder owner in town was invited to – they’re not going to compel someone – it’s not a homeowners association – would be shocked at how many people on that call were looking for help, suggestions and ideas – it’s a resource QOL Dir. O’Rourke and Planner Lawlor would be resources to the BID) it would be nice to bring everyone together to discuss – has never had a summer that’s not been filled with COVID – doesn’t know what to expect from business – a bit unnerving to bring on something else she is unsure of – wants to understand all the components.
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave, PPB: asked Planner Lawlor if she has set these things up in any other locations (Planner Lawlor: no – has done downtown revitalization – hasn’t established a BID – she is not the one who establishes it – she is the one who does the feasibility study – she has worked with BIDs – hasn’t implemented one – been a planner for over 40 years in many areas – she understands the workings of one) has heard enough of the negatives – agrees with the business owners – he was one – thinks it should be removed from here for future discussion – there’s more to be talked about prior to passing.
Marilyn Schwebel, 500 Bay Ave., PPB (business): wasn’t fully aware of what was going on – agrees that there should be a meeting of business owners with people who have a BID program in their town to explain how it works, why it’s successful, what they like about it (Mayor Kanitra: asked if the trust was represented on the committee that formed this) her son-in-law was – she had knowledge of something like this being formed – had no idea about the assessment – should be a cap on the fee that doesn’t go above a certain percentage of your property.
Marilyn Burke, 118 Central Ave., PPB: asked how much this will cost PPB to put something like this in place, how much we will get in return and who else has done this (Planner Lawlor: cannot tell you – can tell you what the State improvement folks can tell us, what’s happening in other municipalities to give you an idea – there is no guarantee because every town makes different improvements) asked for 2 towns that have come out on top, financially (Planner Lawlor: have more than a decade of information for Spring Lake, Morristown, Montclair, Cape May, Haddonfield, Westfield, Somerville – only one she knows that rescinded it, in all the years that she’s been in planning in NJ, was Rutherford, at the time when the big mall was going in and they were in such a lull that there improvement wasn’t helping; Councilman Migut: Pt. Boro once rescinded a BID on Bridge Ave.) inaudible.
Kitty Stillufsen, 54 Channel Dr., PPB: this has been proposed in PPB at least 20 years ago – meeting was held at the Lobster Shanty – many business owners went there and it was a resounding “no” – this absolutely can mandate your business hours – read Section 5-A – says on NJ.gov that the downside to creating an improvement district can come from a variety of sources – the main one, poor communication within the organization or with stakeholders – these small business owners are the stakeholders – every dollar that comes in their door is earned by their blood, sweat and tears – this program won’t be popular or be able to be effectuated smoothly without their help – Council has power to table, put it at a bigger forum and get more communication with these small business owners – these are your neighbors – she has a lot of questions – would have been beneficial if the committee members could have been here because what we are hearing is hearsay – a lot of this sounds like something we can actually do ourselves – common theme, common colors – the difference is that now this is becoming a mandate – it is prohibitive and preventative of businesses opening – the Lobster Shanty opened with a washing machine with propane, boiling lobsters, and some picnic tables and now look at them – small businesses don’t start with a big bankroll – already have a great ratio of restaurants to shops, bike racks, planters, pavers – would like to see Council table this for a much bigger forum – it was also asked that the Airbnb short-term rental ordinance be tabled and now we are in a massive lawsuit with them that’s gone to Federal Court (Mayor Kanitra: we won that court case – it was dismissed) no you didn’t (Atty. Riordan: yes, we did; Mayor Kanitra: asked if there is anything that would make her support this, if tabled and a meeting held) possibly – would have to think about that – would like more time, just like everyone else here (Mayor Kanitra: asked about what she read from the ordinance – does the word “describe” empower or does it mean they don’t have the ability to compel; Atty. Riordan: the section of the ordinance read describes the powers the corporation has concerning its own affairs – its own by-laws – with respect to what the group of business owners and property owners that compose the corporation can do, they could make it so the downtown area stays open more, but they can’t really mandate; Mayor Kanitra: obviously she was confused when she texted a lot of you, saying it was going to be $1,500/year).
Greg Gradel, 402 New Jersey Ave., PPB: lived in Westfield for over 25 years, was a small business owner and a Bd. of Director of the Chamber there – is uniquely experienced in working with a SID – their SID was formed in 1993 and was called the Downtown Westfield Corporation – he opened his business in 1990 – town was a little run down with a lot of vacancies, merchants, not a super-strong Chamber because of the funding – had a lot of misgivings, but the SID totally transformed the town – pavers, street lights, promotions – it worked in partnership with the Chamber – SID created promotions like a 5K race, which attracts thousands of runners every July – also had Sweet Sounds Downtown on Tuesday nights, typically not a great shopping night – invited bands from throughout the State to perform on town-owned property and street corners – a huge success – people flocked to the downtown restaurants and shops on Tuesday nights – there were committees to evaluate recruiting new businesses – historic rehabilitations – there was a full-time director and 2 part-timers – were many committees, made up of homeowners, property owners and business owners, all represented equally – a terrific experience – known now as a Main Street community – was a valuable experiment (Mayor Kanitra: appreciates real world experience).
Councilman Ramos: has seen the Chamber do a lot in conjunction with the Arts Committee – the Recreation Committee enhanced what they do at Christmastime – this is another opportunity for business and building owners to work together and be an enhancement to the Chamber – thinks this point gets missed – a lot of great stuff has been happening in the Chamber, along with other entities – been generating a lot of traffic downtown – this is a continuation of that – the Governing Body has no vested interest in the assessment – it’s a reinvestment into the business of downtown – money will be utilized for the downtown exclusively, not to pay a shortfall in some other area of the town – will be used for the total benefit of downtown.
Mayor Kanitra: asked if all would like to have string lights and a nice wooden directory of shops, an area for an acoustic guitarist, parklets for indoor/outdoor space – sounds like fear and a misleading text message has brought everybody to a point where he thinks this is on the edge of ruining 1½ years of work, that no one here has anything to gain on – it’s whatever the Council wants to do – he doesn’t vote unless there is a tiebreaker).
Councilwoman Crowley: thinks the economy is the stickler – that’s why we’re hoping to start with baby steps and be super conservative – might not get back what you want yet – if you put in a little, you’re going to get a little – but next year, can do more, or can do away with it – something nice to try – downtown is beautiful and can use a boost – are in a bad time – are all struggling – might help – taking mild steps – won’t see a huge change – community will all reap from it because properties will go up when downtown strives – it’s to help our community, to keep businesses in town.
Mayor Kanitra: asked Atty. Riordan if the ordinance can be passed tonight, with fee capped for 3-5 years (Atty. Riordan: suggested a motion to close public participation and have a discussion amongst Council).
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
Mayor Kanitra: asked if ordinance can be passed with condition on fees and budget to get it off the ground (Atty. Riordan: could put in a cap – would have to express it in terms of percentages, rather than cents – problem is that’s not real – it’s the Council that approves the budget or doesn’t – no matter what you put in terms of a cap, you can exceed it whenever you want) but then we are politically liable if we say on the record and vote for a cap and then go against it (Atty. Riordan: there are ways for these business owners to hold the Governing Body accountable, should they be approving ridiculous fees – that’s really the governor on the fees, you’re standing for re-election in 3-4 years) need to get the BID off the ground to show people what it can do and so we can raise money to supplement it in the beginning to show the validity – can pass the ordinance tonight and if your find amendments that need to be made, you can make them at any time) can vote or table it.
Motion by Councilman Migut to TABLE Ordinance 2022-16 until such time as an appropriate forum satisfying the concerns of the business people that spoke tonight, in terms of notifying actual property owners, landlords and such, can be scheduled, was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSENT
BA/CFO Riehl: suggested scheduling a meeting before the next Council meeting, so it’s just a 2-week delay (Atty. Riordan: there will be a second reading g at the next Council meeting – as he understands, you will schedule a meeting with the business owners before the next Council meeting; Mayor Kanitra: asked how to quantify that – if building owners and business owners are being invited; Atty. Riordan: that’s up to you; Mayor Kanitra: wants building and business owners; Atty. Riordan: you work that out with the Administrator and how you notify them – maybe you want Ms. Lawlor and the committee there; Mayor Kanitra: asked Mr. Gradel to get someone from the Westfield Downtown Development Corporation; Atty. Riordan: it’s unfortunate, because he knows that the Mayor went out of his way to make sure he had all stakeholders on board and informed; Mayor Kanitra: said when he ran for office we were going to do this; Councilmembers stated that they want to clarify it).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 10:04PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked if the bike rack will come back to front of building (BA/CFO Riehl: yes); thanked DPW for hanging the flags and cleaning up the unbelievable; thanked the PD for phenomenal job – never saw so many people parked illegally – people say it’s cheaper to pay the ticket than move the car (Mayor Kanitra: mandated by State – can’t raise parking fees – wrote 600 parking tickets this weekend; Atty. Riordan: resident must be willing to go to court – inaudible with everyone talking over each other).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 10:07PM
Motion by Councilman Migut to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 10:07PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
