Borough of Point Pleasant Beach MINUTES
Jenkinsons Pavilion ABC License Hearing – Part II
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach met at 7:39 PM with Council President Loughran and Council Members DiCorcia, Dixon, Cervino, Tooker, and Mercun present. Mayor Barrella was absent. The Assistant Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
Motion by Councilman Mercun, to take a short recess so that opposing Counsels may confer, was seconded by Councilman DiCorcia and carried by the following roll call vote.
VOTE: Council Members DiCorcia, Dixon, Cervino, Tooker, Loughran, Mercun….YEA
Motion by Councilman Mercun, to reconvene at 8:40 PM, was seconded by Councilman DiCorcia and carried by the following roll call vote.
VOTE: Council Members DiCorcia, Dixon, Cervino, Tooker, Loughran, Mercun….YEA
Ron Gasiorowski, Counsel for Jenkinsons Pavilion: seeking renewal of license for 2008/2009 – objection is only to the North End Pavilion, not to the main license at the southerly end of the property, Jenkinsons Pavilion.
Roger McLaughlin, Counsel for Harborhead Condominium Association: confirmed objections are only aimed at the Jenkinsons North End establishment.
Attorney Gasiorowski: have come up with a resolution to this matter which will enable us to request from and receive a renewal of the license in question; at last hearing, testimony was heard on complaints filed with police, limited testimony by Mr. McGlynn and rather detailed testimony by Alex Litwornia who was accepted as a expert in the science of noise; the applicant, without prejudice to his position, acknowledges the fact that the operation of this facility at the north end is subject to the noise standards as established by the NJ DEP and shall adhere to them; the parties have agreed that, apart from the issue of the license, they will enter into a “Memorandum of Understanding”, which will reflect the fact that those representations made by Mr. Litwornia, with regard to the remedy of any possible problem, will be addressed; asked to have marked into evidence letter from Infinite Audio Systems, which reflects the fact that the applicant has entered into contract with them to have installed those devices earlier represented by Mr. Litwornia; have further represented, to the objector, that the list that Mr. McGlynn set forth in the earlier hearing will be incorporated into that “Memorandum of Understanding” and that there will be a date certain, after installation and with both the objectors and Borough representatives present, when the system will be a tested with a measuring of noise that will reflect compliance with the noise standards set by the NJ DEP; Mr. McLaughlin has acknowledged that it will take a short period of time to install these devises and that they may not be ready before the start of the summer season – but, he will be kept abreast of progress; the other issue raised during the course of this hearing had to do with zoning – the parties have agreed that there will be no reflection on the license as to any zoning issues – that will be addressed separately – asked that letter, dated January 2008 and signed by Elaine Petrillo, be marked into evidence – applicant has contested that letter – how it’s handled will follow its natural course under the guidelines of the MLUL; lastly, the parties have agreed that even this acknowledgement, while it may be reflected on the license this year, will automatically be removed from the license when we come into renewal for years 2009 and 2010, if in fact there is not a problem, and there are no violations; evidence was marked A5 and J1; objectors have asked that they still be permitted to make comment to Council.
Attorney McLaughlin: appreciated time and effort Council has put into this, and the time and effort that Borough professionals and staff have put into answering requests for information; important for residents of Harborhead to have the acknowledgement from Jenkinsons that there is an obligation to comply with the Administrative Code noise standards; discussed Memorandum in detail and applicant has agreed that representatives of Harborhead and the Borough be present at sound system testing, so all parties will have an understanding of the system and be advised of test results – hoping that the operation can be made to comply with noise standards and that will certainly improve the quality of life of Harborhead residents; this body is not the body to determine zoning issues and those issues will be addressed where they belong; asked that Council hear brief statements from three residents of Harborhead addressing noise complaints.
Dennis Omahen, Flanders NJ, was sworn in and testified: Vice-President of Harborhead Homeowners’ Association and owner of Unit 24, which is the furthest unit from Jenkinsons North on the ocean – since 1999, he and his family were in residence all summer – since 2004 he has been working and only there on weekends while his family is still in residence all summer long; been a rapid expansion of the commercial business at Jenkinsons North – initially there was a liquor license and some music, but entertained a local crowd that was there for the bathing beach – there were sporadic events but that expanded dramatically over the last 3 to 4 years – now huge events every weekend and multiple events often during the week – some events encompass hundreds of people – one had 400 or 500 people – because of the location there is an echoing effect – sometimes music was so loud that even in his unit with the door shut the music was blaring through the doors and walls – called Jenkinsons’ management on multiple occasions and asked them to tone it down – prior to last year, when residents finally started calling the police, got no response.
John Ploskonka, Manalapan – NJ, was sworn in and testified: in 1991, purchased 3 Harborhead, which is directly opposite the Inlet Bar – have been there every summer since 1991 and enjoyed the unit quite a bit – in 1991 it was kind of quiet down at that location and the activity at the Inlet Bar was quite subdued – had parties on occasion and the bar usually closed pretty early; called to rent for party this year and was told that the minimum was 100 adults for any event, whereas two years ago he it rented for 30 to 40 people; bands start at 1PM on Saturday and Sunday, play to 5PM, and play again from 6PM to 10PM – noise is extremely loud, way over the state regulations for most events, for the last several years – can’t hear yourself talk with the doors closed – have called them – wife called police, but they don’t have a decibel meter – need to return to the lesser intensity of the facility that occurred in the 90’s – settlement agreement is a good start; did not sign complaint because no teeth in the law as to decibel readings – requested someone be certified to do so.
Dale McMullin, Holmdel – NJ, was sworn in and testified: owner of 6 Harborhead, upper unit closest to Jenkinsons bar, since 1996 – was subdued in the beginning, basically a hamburger and hot dog stand – served a few drinks, serviced beach patrons – some soft guitar music, nothing elaborate – facility has physically expanded as well as the music getting louder – bands have gotten larger – DJ’s have come in non-stop, during the week especially – quality of life is just not there anymore, cannot use his residence the way he used to – constantly being barraged by the music – bought it for the environment, sounds of the beach, but can’t sit on the deck anymore – when forced to go into the house, can’t even watch TV as the music is so loud – have complained for years – just came to our attention that you have to state you want your complaint documented, otherwise it isn’t recorded – have gone down physically to talk to the managers, bands and DJ’s, which are the worst, to ask them to turn it down or move – told me ‘yes’ and then did whatever they wanted to do – embarrassed to call the police – can, hopefully, get some resolution to this.
Attorney McLaughlin: thanked Council for listening to residents on what they directly experienced; Mr. McGlynn gave you details, at last meeting, of some of the things that Jenkinsons is willing to do, which were made part of the “Memorandum of Understanding” – there has been an acknowledgement by Jenkinsons that there was a need to address the issue and are hopeful that what Jenkinsons has agreed to do will go a long way to resolving the quality of life issues.
Mr. Gasiorowski: explained, to clear the record, that Jenkinsons does not acknowledge or admit that there were violations – have come to an agreement and will move forward.
Councilman Loughran: asked if agreement would encompass no use of drums or horns.
Mr. McLaughlin: Mr. McGlynn’s recommendations from last meeting will be incorporated into “Memorandum of Understanding” – just asking Council to incorporate the necessity to comply with state regulations on noise.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PERIOD OPENED AT 9:13 PM
No member of the public wished to be heard.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PERIOD CLOSED AT 9:14 PM
Councilman Mercun: understand plight and concerns of Harborhead residents – glad to see that parties could come to an agreement that Council can incorporate – asked that noise levels be adhered to.
Councilman DiCorcia: can’t enforce NJ DEP regulations unless town gets a decibel meter.
Councilmen DiCorcia and Mercun: need to have someone certified to operate decibel meter
Attorney Gertner: need to get Chief and Prosecutor’s office together to have a better understanding of what the concerns are and report back to Council
Motion by Councilman Mercun, to approve license renewal subject to Jenkinsons recognition that NJ DEP noise regulations will be adhered to and that there will be a “Memorandum of Understanding” entered into by the parties, was seconded by Councilman DiCorcia and carried by the following roll call vote.
VOTE: Council Members DiCorcia, Dixon, Cervino, Tooker, Loughran, Mercun….YEA
Meeting was adjourned at 9:21 PM.
ATTEST: Maryann Ellsworth, Municipal Clerk
