Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2023
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
The Governing Body reserves its right to amend and supplement the purposes of executive session by motion at the public meeting.
Mayor Kanitra called the regular meeting to order at 7:32PM. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.” Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Ramos, Crowley and Migut. Councilwoman Byrnes was absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES:
Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve the March 7, 2023 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Ramos, Crowley….YEA
Councilmembers Testa, Migut….ABSTAIN
Councilwoman Byrnes….ABSENT
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMO – AZO Savacool RE: Curb Cut Request at 106 New Jersey Ave.
Councilwoman Crowley: visited property – currently an empty lot – want to center driveway, which is currently to the left – easy approval – should approve at 13′ – Engineer said no loss to on street parking – moved to approve 13′, not 16’ as requested (Mayor Kanitra: great recommendation – still gives them what they want) centers it and doesn’t take away from street parking – approval at 13’ added to agenda as item 1x.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: gave the Police Chief’s Report since last meeting – in conjunction with detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Narcotics Strikeforce, U.S. Homeland Security, and Point Pleasant Boro PD, a 2-month investigation into the distribution of cocaine in PPB was conducted, after which the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team executed a court-ordered search warrant on the residence – a quantity of cocaine, individually packaged for distribution, and drug paraphernalia, indicative of drug manufacturing and distribution, were seized – 5 defendants were arrested, 3 of which were transported to Ocean County jail – charges included possession of less than 1/2 oz. of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia – 2 of the defendants were also charged with hindering apprehension – are committed to keeping PPB a quiet and safe community – call police immediately if you see something suspicious or think something needs Police response – don’t hesitate to call with personal concerns (Mayor Kanitra: should all say thank you – incredible) yes – it was a great catch – great job – thanked the Chief; the Recreation’s Sham Rock event is set for April 1st on Channel Dr. – asked the Recreation Committee about not charging for the Easter Egg Hunt – was told 250 kids signed up – issuing refunds would be a logistical nightmare – has been put in the notes not to charge next year – the second annual Battle of the Bands is June 10th – deadline for bands to sign up is April 1st – Skateboard Lessons start April 16th with registration open now – Ukelele/Guitar on the Beach starts July 10th, with registration open now; the Recreation and Arts Committees are working on the Summer Concert Series, with 6 concerts at the Band Shell starting June 27th – have 5 bands booked – waiting to book the 6th; the Senior Committee held a St Patrick’s Day lunch on Thursday – huge success with about 65 seniors – shout out to Councilwoman Byrnes, Mary Jane Reilly, Joan Clune, and the rest of the volunteers who turned this event around in 3 weeks – shout out to Dino, who is in the back of the room, who provides musical entertainment to all senior events – the Committee met last night and are discussing upcoming events for the year, as well as a large fall fundraiser – next week he, Councilwoman Byrnes and BA/CFO Riehl will meet with Historian Bill Duffy to approve the final stages of the Fallen Hero plaque and program.
Councilwoman Testa: the Arts Committee’s Juried Art Show has been extended to March 31st – still time to submit – instructions are on the web site – Party by the Sea is on May 18th – don’t want to miss it – a lot of artists, different types of art, dancing and food – $65/ticket online – the Art Walk, chaired by Dave Betten, has 19-20 artists – seeking more – reach out if you are an artist and want to team up with a business – welcomed new members to the Committee – do not have to be an artist; Beautification Committee is doing great – flowers are ordered – will be cleaning out barrels soon – are hard at work on the Monarch Butterfly Garden design – will do a showcase on that; the Municipal Alliance Committee met – very productive – very excited – had the Guidance Counselor there – have money to put to good use – thinking of signs in bathrooms, peer leadership funding, teaming up with the Elks, possible career day, wellness week – asked Chief Kowalewski about the Hoedown – would like to team up (Chief Kowalewski: maybe smaller scale this year, with Det. O’Neill retiring and a new SRO – in a transition – possibly in the fall at Antrim – will reach out to her) congratulated the Chief and Police Dept. on an outstanding job.
Councilman Ramos: thanked Chief Kowalewski – great job; gave the Bd. of Ed. report – congratulated the Business Program that had 3 students attend the State Finals in Atlantic City – the District is expecting a positive announcement next week about some Sustainable Jersey grants – more to come on that – Miss Point High is back on April 1st – a right of passage for PPBHS – PPBHS just held a successful Blood Drive – Antrim School just held it’s very successful Project Fair – congratulations to faculty who won the second annual Seniors vs. Faculty Baseball Game – the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office came and spoke about Cyber Safety & Cyber Bullying – last week, he attended a Bd. of Ed. small focus group to discuss possible referendum plans and get feedback from community stakeholders – very well attended – informative – positive feedback – good discussions – work in progress – more information forthcoming; the Environmental Commission/Green Team meets March 23rd; gave Streets/Water/Sewer report – curbing and sidewalk work continues on Arnold – getting close to the train tracks – new curbs look amazing – spoke with DPW Super. Trout – referred him to the job Jack Johnston and the Water/Sewer Utilities team are doing – extremely happy – they’re looking forward to getting additional work done there; reminded Ocean Ave. homeowners to check their water/sewer connections to ensure no issues require the digging up of Ocean Ave. – now is the time to make repairs, before the paving process begins (Mayor Kanitra: noticed that curbs in areas in front of hydrants and other water connections have been done, but in other sections on the same street, they have not; BA/CFO Riehl: were working up one side and down the other – 80% done with Arnold; Mayor Kanitra: there are crumbled curbs next to the new ones by the fire hydrants – asked BA/CFO Riehl to check on it) absolutely (Mayor Kanitra: was at Point Boro’s club meeting the other night – they just did a similar resolution to ours, where you have to go curb to curb if you tear things up – as long as we stay on top of it with the utilities, we won’t have streets that are half-paved, half-ripped-up).
Councilwoman Crowley: spoke with DPW Super. Trout – spring clean-up started today on all Municipal properties – had 3 CDL graduates this week – essential to the jobs they were hired for – are doing essential cross training within the garage so they can cover for each other; the Golden Gulls’ St. Paddy’s Day Party was amazing – kudos and thanks to Councilwoman Byrnes, who cooked and prepared a lot for it, as well as the volunteers, including Dino, who is in the back – great music and entertainment – her mother loves it – she loves to see them all out there – great event; congratulated Chief Kowalewski and the task force on the big achievement in town and keeping us and the kids safe – God Bless.
Councilman Migut: subsequent to the Budget Workshop, which he regrettably didn’t attend, BA/CFO Riehl informed him that the State Aid allocation came in larger than anticipated – with that help, the final Budget number will move closer to a penny per hundred of assessed value – Budget is scheduled to be introduced on April 4th; the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) fundraiser is on April 16th at The Ark, 4PM-7PM – hot buffet, desert and cash bar – $30 – 505/50 raffle and gift auction – understands former Councilwoman Tooker, who founded the AWC about 15 years ago, owns houses in Canada and Mexico and is donating a week’s vacation in choice of location – can call Committee Chair Camille Renner, Debbie Harris or Karen Mills for tickets (Mayor Kanitra: the Budget Committee and BA/CFO Riehl did a great job getting us real close to where we need to be – a testament to everybody’s hard work).
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: he filed his petition this morning to run for State Assembly, so he officially won’t be running for re-election in PPB – it’s bittersweet – met with BA/CFO Riehl this week – have 10 months left in this administration – laundry list is long – talked about real hard targets and dates – had a lot of big plans coming in – gave a long presentation – his goal is to have an equally long presentation at the last meeting in December, showing that we hit every single goal we set out to tackle – we initially came in with small attention to detail – looked at staffing and ordinances and put everything in place to get us where we need to be in the future – this will be a year with big ticket, splashy items and accomplishments, topped off with the commercial to compound on that success and bring the families to live and work in PPB – will be a lot of hard work to get across the finish line; thanked QOL Dir. O’Rourke, who came with him to the Congressional Wind Turbine and Whale Hearings in Wildwood last week, hosted by Congressmen Van Drew and Smith – she helped punch up some incredible Congressional testimony that we submitted officially for the record on behalf of PPB, stating how we feel about everything – there were 8 more dead dolphins, a whole pod, in Sea Isle today – if that happened in one year, it would be huge news in and of itself – now it’s just the latest in a string of very sad events – anyone saying it’s coincidence has their head in the sand – we continue to pound away on that – Congressional hearings have been announced in DC – will be at those as well – momentum is growing – as long as residents up and down the shore community hold their elected officials accountable, people will be forced to do the right thing – sees this as the single biggest issue facing PPB in the future – it was said at the Congressional hearing that this was the biggest transformation of ocean and shoreline in mankind history – we were on this from the beginning and will continue to be; May 13th is Point Beach Cares Concert 2.0 – last year, when he came back from the Ukrainian border, the whole community, people from the Jersey Shore, New York and Philadelphia came – had 2,000 people at Jenkinson’s and raised $200K – now, we have a brand and a community that has shown they are willing to help out – will do it every single year, even when he is not Mayor, and help a different group – this year, will help homeless American Veterans, who have served the Country proudly – filmed a teaser commercial last week at Jenkinson’s – will be coming out soon; is doing a new Mayor’s Panel at the NJ Conference of Mayors in a couple weeks – keeping the train going.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: as of today, the County’s/Borough’s new contractor breached the intersection of Arnold & St. Louis – concrete work on Arnold is 80% done – they have another day or two of concrete work and then another day or two of restoration on Arnold, and then going to Ocean Ave. – they anticipate a full month of concrete work/curbing (Mayor Kanitra: sidewalks too) work for the private individuals who jumped on the program will be done (Mayor Kanitra: asked if there are any private individuals, who did not sign up to have us do the work – if there are, they need to have their work completed by the time the paving starts or we do it for them and charge them) if they did not sign up and we deem the area is in need of restoration, we could actually do it and then bill them (Mayor Kanitra: asked that it is ensured that none fall through the cracks; Councilwoman Crowley: saw Engineer Mele out there today, directing them and watching what they are doing – kudos to him – someone has to monitor what’s going on) after they are done with the curb and sidewalk work, will then mill and pave Ocean and Arnold in entirety – met with the Parking Meter Supervisor today and asked him to reach out to our line painting individual, to do the paid parking/pay-by-number stalls on Ocean and Arnold, to get a price and get it approved, so they can start the minute the paving is done; she emailed Mary Lynn Ritchings on Beautification – were able to get the County to do the work at the garden at the intersection of Broadway & Ocean, where they put the rock – will add a sloping curb at one section, at no cost to the Borough, so there won’t be an issue with rocks in the street; the landscaper cleaned and mulched downtown – has gotten a couple of emails about how nice it looks (Mayor Kanitra: nice to see how responsive they are and that we don’t have to stay on top of them); some authorizations/projects are moving forward – getting engineering quotes so we can award for removal of ventilation stacks at the Central Ave. street end (Mayor Kanitra: has hated those forever – rusty rocket launchers – the worst looking things in town) met with the County about the poles they put in for the pedestrian signs – will leave them, but will see if we can get rid of the ventilation stacks – will have the Engineer go out (Mayor Kanitra: there’s a buried water plant under there) a 3-story water plant (Mayor Kanitra: they did it appropriately – it’s not an industrial wasteland); is getting engineering proposals on the Inlet Access Improvement Project and on the Bikeways Project – going out to all the Special Projects Engineers for proposals and then will move forward – has been bonded for in previous years; received, reviewed, revised and sent back the bylaws for the Downtown BID and Corporation (Mayor Kanitra: for non-profit status and everything like that; Councilwoman Testa: asked how long it will take) it’s filing for the 501(c)(3) corporation status; Atty. Riordan: 6-8 months – have a Special Counsel, who is an expert in this, doing it); would like authorization for the Borough Attorney to enter into negotiations with the Coast Guard for purchase of Station Manasquan, in an amount not to exceed a pre-determined amount, which we won’t state on the record – added as item 1y (Mayor Kanitra: it’s a super nice space – needs some paint, ceiling tiles, flooring, but it will be a huge asset for the town).
Clerk announced additions and revisions to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:06PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked if resolution 1x can include condition of no loss of parking space (Councilwoman Crowley: yes – that’s the only reason we approve it – that’s why we limited it to 13’ – didn’t measure it, but she realized they have to be very careful or they will lose a spot: Atty. Riordan: will add that language to the current resolution); asked about properties in item 1v (BA/CFO Riehl: there are many, including Borough Hall, Gazebo, Skate Park, Pleasure Park; Mayor Kanitra: nothing different than in previous years, except we changed the landscaper – identified the properties 3 years ago – it’s more maintenance of plants, mulching, weeding) they’ve done a good job.
Mayor Kanitra: Engineer Mele should know, we are about to approve 1b, which is another contract to Earle – were not pleased with Earle’s seams or drainage on the last project we awarded them – asked BA/CFO Riehl and Engineer Mele, on the record, to be on top of them – hopefully, this is a big benefit of having an in-house Engineer.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:09PM
Motion by Councilman Migut 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 #6 ($308,220.48)
1b Memorialization of award of contract to Earle Asphalt Co. (base bid & Alt A) for Boston Ave Resurfacing, pending Atty review ($490,013.13)
1c Approval of payment to Riggins for no-lead fuel/diesel fuel for DPW ($16,563)
1d Approval of Chamber S/E app & fee waiver for Festival of the Sea, 9/16 (rain: 9/17, 9/23 or 9/24)
1e Approval of payment of hand checks from BOA and Developer escrow accounts
1f Approval of Chamber ABC S/A app for BBQ Jam Fest, Esplanade lot, 5/7 (rain 5/21)
1g Approval of PPBHS PTO Town-Wide Garage Sale, 5/20 (rain date: 5/21)
1h Approval of PO to Cliffside Body Corp for DPW parts ($3,738.12)
1i Approval of PO to Peirce Equipment Company for nozzle and rotojet for the Water Dept ($3,635)
1j Resolution proclaiming 4/4 as Nat’l Service Recognition Day and 4/16-4/22 as Nat’l Volunteer Wk
1k Resolution proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month
1l Approval of payment to Downs Ford for 2023 DPW auto parts ($4,947.86)
1m Approval of payment to Riggins for no-lead fuel/diesel fuel for DPW ($7,688.54)
1n Approval of S/E app for NJDMAVA Vets Outreach Campaign–Bdwlk, Jul 6 & 28, Aug 17 & 31
1o Approval of S/E app for Athletic Trainers Society of NJ 5K, 5/7 at Bandshell & Bdwlk area
1p Approval of payment to Hunter Technologies for annual Avaya support contract ($2,997)
1q Approval of payment to Mackay Meters for annual invoicing ($2,601)
1r Certification of compliance with US EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance
1s Approval of S/E app & S/E fee waiver for St. Peter PTA 5K, Bdwk/Arnold/Ocean, 10/021
1t Approval of S/E app & S/E fee waiver for Tube Race Parade, Bdwy/Ocean/Inlet/Arnold, 9/24
(bad weather: 9/30)
1u Approval of S/E app for Ken Fischer Walk on the Bdwlk, 4/15
1v Approval of payment to Clean Cut Lawn Care for landscaping of Borough property ($4,549)
1w Approval of payment to H. Kees & Sons for Pleasure Park fencing ($29,945)
1x Curb cut request at 106 New Jersey Ave hereby approved, per ZO recommendation, at 13 feet,
contingent upon no loss of on-street parking – PER DH MEMO
1y Auth for Borough Attorney to enter into negotiations with the Coast Guard for purchase
of Station Manasquan, in an amount not to exceed the pre-determined amount – PER ADMIN RPT
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($1,283,424.79)
2b Approval of membership for Z. Anderson, Pt Pleasant, in PPB Fire Co 2
2c Approval of payment to All Covered for IT/maintenance for February, including PD ($6,316.56)
2d Appt. of R. Kowalewski as permanent Police Chief/authorization for Clerk to dispose of CSC list
2e Support for 2023 UDrive. UText. UPay. Distracted Driving Crackdown, April 1-30
2f Approval of payment to Penguin Management for annual contract – Fire Chief ($2,820)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Ramos (except 2b, 2f), Crowley, Migut (except 2b, 2f)….YEA
Councilmen Ramos (2b, 2f), Migut 2b, 2f)….ABSTAIN
Councilwoman Byrnes….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:09PM
E.J. Geiger, 115 Arnold Ave., PPB: gave a handout (attached) showing problems with paving – he jumped in on the sidewalks being done – when they first did it, it looked great – when it was drying and curing, they said they must have had a bad batch of concrete – you can see all the marks and stains – it’s already disintegrating and cracking – Engineer Mele was out today (BA/CFO Riehl: spoke with Engineer Mele today – he will take care of it) his neighbor already got his replaced – they guy from Earle told him they can’t do anything until the town Engineer tells them they can (BA/CFO Riehl: spoke with him today as well – it’s going to be taken care of; Mayor Kanitra: he saw them doing concrete work in wet conditions, where you’re not supposed to be doing it) they did his house right after the big rain storm – his neighbor has a couple spots – they re-did one of his (Mayor Kanitra: asked that they check everything, not just the squeaky wheels; Councilwoman Crowley: is sure DPW Super Trout is being out to every one).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: thanked Councilman Vitale and the Committee for his work on the Easter Egg Hunt; thanked all for the Senior Lunch, especially Councilmembers Byrnes, Vitale and Crowley, and the Committee – the food was delicious – everybody seemed to have a wonderful time.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:13PM
Motion by Councilman Vitale to adjourn was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:813PM.
Attachment to 032123 Council Minutes
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
