Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
November 1, 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
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 7:30PM. 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 Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos and Crowley. Councilmen Migut was absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES:
Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve the October 18, 2022 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos and Crowley….YEA
Councilman Migut….ABSENT
RECOGITION OF THE PASSING OF RESIDENT VINCENT CASTIN
Mayor Kanitra said a few words in his Mr. Castin’s member. Councilman Ramos read a poem that he composed in his honor and presented it to his family.
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMOS: AZO Savacool RE: Curb Cut Requests:
Councilwoman Crowley spoke about the 307 Baltimore Ave. request: Engineer wrote that everything was in compliance – she has no objection (BA/CFO Riehl: was a suggestion to limit the curb cut to 12’ in width or allow 14′ shifted 2’ to the south) interpreted the memo to say that 12’, without shifting south, should be enough – NO ACTION TAKEN.
Councilman Vitale spoke about the 113 Sanborn Ave. request: losing a spot (Councilwoman Crowley: yes, they are making it wider; BA/CFO Riehl: were ok with 16′ but will result in loss of a space; Mayor Kanitra: in an area where there is not a lot of parking; Attorney Riordan: ask if a spot would be lost if it is 14’ instead of 16’; Councilwoman Crowley: busy area – would have to revisit this with Mr. Savacool – NO ACTION TAKEN.
Mayor Kanitra: suggesting holding both requests (no objection).
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: recognized November employee anniversaries – Mike Ormsby 33 years, Jennifer Coyne 17; gave the Chief’s report since last meeting – some Officers attended Mandated Canine In-service Training, Mandated Officer Resiliency Training, Mandated Basic Police Officer Waiver Class – Officers are once again participating in No Shave Nov./Dec. to raise funds for cancer research and other men’s health issues – see PBA Local 106 Instagram and Facebook for more details – a Child Safety Seat Inspection was held at PPB Fire Company No. 2 – installed several car seats for residents – tomorrow, Lt. Nase will speak to students in Ocean County College (OCC) Investigations Class, with hopes of recruiting SLEO 1’s for summer and will attend a virtual job fair with OCC tomorrow – the PD applied for a Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Grant, which will be awarded in Dec., if we get the funds; on Sunday was the Arts Committee’s Homegrown Festival and Recreation Pet Parade, with 30 dogs registered – afterwards, there was a pie eating contest for dogs, with a bowl of whipped cream – prizes were given – on Saturday was the Grom-O-Ween at the Skate Park, with about 25 skateboarders in costume – thanked former Councilman Toohey for helping run this event, Jersey Mike’s for donating sandwiches and businesses who donated prizes – registration for Recreation Basketball is on the Recreation Facebook page and on the web site – the league runs Dec.-Mar. – Winter Wonderland will be on Dec. 10th and the and Drive-by Holiday Lights event will be on Dec. 17th – a resident requested a sign in the playground for her non-verbal daughter, which lists park activities, so she can point to what she wants to do – it will be installed this week or next – will be hanging lights back in Pleasure Park – met with DPW Super. Trout – will be commercial-grade lights along St. Louis Ave., from Trenton to Forman – the park will be lit all night, year-round; Military Banners will be taken down after Veteran’s Day and replaced by Holiday Banners.
Councilwoman Testa: teamed up with the Recreation Committee and Chamber for this weekend’s fun event – a lot of people came out – she oversaw the pie contest – had 5 contestants with 3 winners – gave out prizes – everybody wanted to taste the pies – next year, for a donation, after the winners, everybody can taste them – pet parade was fabulous – thanks to Kristi Monticello, who oversaw it and the Arts and Recreation Committees; we look forward to the Tree Lighting; the Beautification Committee ordered greens – after Thanksgiving, will put up garland and decorate downtown – welcomed volunteers – bring a ladder and gloves – thanked them – couldn’t do any of this without them (Mayor Kanitra: kudos to Councilwoman Testa for staying on top of business and resident concerns about tonight’s ordinance).
Councilwoman Byrnes: Fire Company No. 2 is in the midst of garage renovations – planning fundraising and holiday event; thanked the Shade Tree Commission for completing another successful fall tree planting – 8 with Nominate Your Block and 12 with Big Beautiful Tree – they are wondering if they could run someone’s license to borrow the watering truck or if Bill can assist (BA/CFO Riehl: yes to both); Golden Gulls enjoyed another Zumba Gold and Chair session today – sessions will be held every Tuesday through Nov. and Dec., barring Election Day – all are welcome to Bingo on Nov. 10th at the Elks at 1 o’clock – Project Ice is about ready to be mailed to residents.
Councilman Ramos: gave the Bd. of Ed. report – Beach Boys Soccer advanced to the next round of the State finals, beating New Egypt yesterday – Girls Soccer also won the State semi-finals and will be playing New Egypt this week in the next round – PPBHS Band Parents are hosting their annual Election Night Spaghetti Dinner at the school with food by Joe Leone’s and music by the Gulls Jazz Ensemble – both PPBHS and Antrim School will hold Veteran’s Day celebrations for the first time since COVID – both schools are also wrapping up the first marking period – has been told by Dr. Smith that the year is off to a very good start; the Environmental Commission welcomed Cindy Kells, who will also be taking on the role of Recording Secretary – congratulated the Green Team for achieving enough points to retain Bronze-level status with Sustainable Jersey – thanked Cathy Sogorka, who was overseeing this initiative and put a lot of hard work and effort into it, and all members who contributed – are always looking for new members – can reach out to him or Commission Chair Ritchings with interest.)
Councilwoman Crowley: attended the Harvest Festival downtown – kudos to the Recreation Committee and all involved – attended the Zumba/Chair Yoga last week and it is a nice, fun event – recommends it – both were great – great job to the Gull Committee and Councilwoman Byrnes for running it; DPW hung snowflakes in anticipation of Christmastime – they are assisting with the Winter Wonderland event – leaf collection is going on throughout town – they are assisting the Recreation Committee with installing a new sign in the Pleasure Park area – sadly, they are helping the Animal Control Officer with the current Avian flu situation with swans and birds in the lake.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: addressed the sad, unfortunate swan situation – over 30 deceased in the lake – Muskrat Jack has been a huge help in identifying and disposing of them appropriately and keeping us posted on the situation – the State pathology lab confirmed Avian Flu and said it will run its course through the population – the Borough has been proactive for the infinitesimally small chance of Avian-to-human transmission – put signs out on all for corners of the lake and a post through the Police and Borough Hall and his page as well – advised treating it the way one would treat any sick human – don’t get any closer than 6’ – feces and other things can be transmissible, so don’t cross barriers or go onto the grass around the lake until the situation has fixed itself – don’t let pets go over there because they could bring it back – thinks everyone in Town Hall is handling it appropriately – will run its course and we will move forward from there; kudos to the Beach soccer teams – he and Councilman Vitale watched the women beat Roselle Park 4-1 today – they are moving on to the finals – may need to get proclamations ready, depending on what happens, and be on the alert to invite them here – asked Chief Kowalewski to coordinate a couple firetrucks and Police cars to give them a nice welcome back into town, since their final games are away; thanked Ocean County Administrator Fiure for coming into PPB this past week – when he was appointed a couple months ago, he gave him a laundry list of things to talk about – he, Engineer Mele, QOL Dir. O’Rourke and BA/CFO Riehl spent about 3 hours with him, going through every situation in town where we need County help – he listened diligently – we are sending emails to further some of the subject matter – the conversation ranged from Channel Dr. redevelopment, to Broadway crosswalks where water ponds, to cleaning of the traps at Lake of the Lillies, etc. – one of the most pressing things was that a piece of Inlet property, contiguous to our park, was in foreclosure and going to a Sheriff’s sale today – we asked if it could be preserved for Ocean County Lands and Trust – he delivered and the Sheriff’s sale was postposed – they are talking about a possible way for the Commissioners to acquire it and put it into Ocean County Public Land and Trust – in PPB, where property was sold 100 years ago, getting a 1/5 of an acre is a Herculean task – we are trying to create some Open Space and this could be a great opportunity that won’t cost the taxpayers – kudos to him for coming into town, listening and already taking action – they have discussions planned with the County Roads Dept. and a couple different projects – we also expressed our desire to have Ocean Rd. done by the time the asphalt plants close at year-end – thinks there will be more coordination on that front, increasing the chances – it was a very, very good meeting.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
BA/CFO Riehl: are starting new streetlight outage survey throughout town – usually do it twice/year when the time changes – reached out to JCP&L to let them know we won’t be sending payments over until the previous current lists get some action – the Police Dept. will assist; she is working through the Best Practices worksheet, due on the 10th – there are 67 questions, most repeat – once complete, it goes before the Council for review, so it will be on the next agenda – it’s electronic through the FAST portal, so it’s less cumbersome (Mayor Kanitra: asked if all will sign copies) have to let them know that it was on an agenda, what agenda, and that it was discussed by the Governing Body – that satisfies the requirement; did a note sale this year – is dismayed that she borrowed $5.8M last year at a .7% interest rate – just borrowed $6.3M and the lowest interest rate was 4%, which was better than some the other towns that had bids out – our bond rating, which increased last year, kind of helped – decided on a 9-month instead of a 12-month bond to see if, in that short time-frame, we might get something more beneficial the next go-around; the tax sale is scheduled for November 18th in Council chambers at 10AM; Verizon contacted her about putting supplementary COW/cell equipment in Little Silver Lake parking lot, similar to what AT&T had done, because they have expressed a loss of coverage – she said she is not sure that’s something the governing Body would be interested in – they said it’s for Jenkinson’s coverage, it’s not necessary to use Borough property and they are going to find locations on Jenkinson’s property – should be aware of how this is going to move forward (Mayor Kanitra: asked if we still get the ability to weigh in on height, etc.) would have to be permitted through the Building Dept. – asked if there was any desire for another temporary structure in the lot (Mayor Kanitra: want to get rid of/hide what’s already there – rusted and looking like garbage – need as few as possible – they are unsightly and there are other concerns; Councilwoman Crowley: don’t see those in other towns; Mayor Kanitra: you really don’t – that’s a good point – asked how much we get for it) $36K/year (Mayor Kanitra: asked if we have the ability to say no to it being on private property, or to force them to cohabitate on the existing one; Atty. Riordan: no; Mayor Kanitra: we have an ordinance that says they have to cohabitate – doesn’t delineate between permanent and temporary; Atty. Riordan: would have to look at the ordinance to know for sure; Mayor Kanitra: asked that it be looked at deeply, as it pertains to the ordinance passed to stop the prevalence of these things – if they can just say yes to Jenkinson’s, and we are going to have it in town anyway, we should consider cohabitating it in the same location, using the same power, on the same tower, if possible and realize the revenue – doesn’t think anyone has an appetite for erecting another – the flip side is that, if someone else erects it a mile away, we’re going to lose the money – there are State and Federal laws about cell phone towers; Atty. Riordan: as BA/CFO Riehl pointed out, they have to be permitted through the Building Dept., there are zoning regulations – all of those things are applicable and you can do all of that, but you can’t say no, it has to be public property so you get the revenue – you can’t do that; Mayor Kanitra: asked if Atty. has to be authorized to see what our options are, in terms of stopping it completely and, if not, forcing it to cohabitate somewhere; BA/CFO Riehl: she can work with the Atty.; Atty. Riordan: you just did by discussing it – we’ll figure this out); invited all to see the Finance Office (Councilwoman Byrnes: its enchanting – the details) Team Finance pulled through – it’s magnificent (Mayor Kanitra: the Finance Dept. built Candy Land – everyone is welcome to go down and check it out).
Clerk announced additions to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AND ENDED AT 8:09PM
WITH NO MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO BE HEARD
Motion by Councilwoman Testa 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 #21 ($315,221.60)
1b Appointment of V. Leone, C. Kurmin and J. Oleske to the Recreation Committee
1c Approval of payment to Thomas Robertson & Co for 3 downtown parking signs ($3,225)
1d Approval of S/E app – Jersey Shore Running Club Runapalooza – Ocean/NJ/Bdwlk/Bdwy/bridge, 4/1/23
1e Reduction in stipend, from $1,500 to $500, for PPB 2021/2022 Rec Basketball Program Coach/Dir
1f Auth for Rec Cmte to purchase an enclosed trailer to store & transport Gulliver the Seagull (NTE $6,600)
1g Amend Res 2022-1004/1G (Drive-by Holiday Light Show) from 12/17, 4-9PM to 12/18, 5-7:30PM
1h Auth to award contract to Van Cleef (NTE $249,200) for engineering, repair/repainting of water tanks & for BA to negotiate Proposal 3D (1-yr anniversary inspection & certification, all pending Atty. review
1i Establishment of Council reorganization meeting date & time of January 2, 2023 at noon
1j Approval of pymt to M. Woszczak for emergency water main repair at 309 Sea/Rte 35 ($8,987.79)
1k Amendment to Res 2022-1004/1F (Surf Team Beach & Bdwlk Sweep 11/2) adding food trucks & vendors
1l Approval of PO to Driving Academy for 4 DPW employees ($15,840)
1m Approval of PO to Lafayette Utility Const for Pay Cert 8-Ocean Ave. Water Main Project ($202,899.41)
1n Approval of PO to Detcon for 4 40-yd roll-off containers & 3 rear load containers ($22,076)
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($184,944.77)
2b Approval of payment to Tire Craft for 2022 tires/balancing /repairs for the PD ($5,507.48)
2c Approval of PO to Jamar Technologies for Starnext Software for the PD ($5,140)
2d Approval of membership in Ocean Fire Company No. 2 L. Warwick, Pt. Pleasant
2e Approval of pymt to The Rodgers Group for consulting services, May-Sept, for the PD ($3,325)
2f Approval of PO to Atlas Flasher & Supply for camera trailer for the PD ($24,998)
2g Approval of PO to Boyle Bros Painting for repair and paint of PD walls ($6,150)
2h Approval of PO to Hutchinson Plumbing for air conditioner, PD garage ($10,611)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos and Crowley….YEA
Councilman Migut….ABSENT
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 2022-26 (Amending Ch BH10-Swimming Pool Code/Sections 6&8) – REVISED was considered on second reading. Atty. Riordan: the revision changes a time period from 14 days to 21 days (Mayor Kanitra: and it’s a minor change, therefore we continue the process.)
Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
Dave Cavagnaro, 188 Parkway, PPB: addressed Section 1C – still says 14th day for clean-up (CO Thulen: correct – believes the intention was to change Item 1C to 21 days, instead of 14 and Item 1B could stay the same or be 21 – doesn’t really matter – thinks it was changed in the wrong section; Mayor Kanitra: suggested, since it’s not a material change, to pass it with 21 days in both sections) in his conversation with the Engineer, he mentioned that when pools and holes are dewatered, there should be filtration before the sand and sediment hit the street – that is not in the ordinance (Engineer Mele: a legitimate concern – could add language for the contractor to provide a screen or filtration device on the collapsible pipe going to the drain (Mayor Kanitra: asked when this conversation took place and why it wasn’t transmitted to Council; Engineer Mele: Friday – haven’t had a change to touch base; Atty. Riordan: recommended passing the ordinance as is and then re-amend it at a subsequent time – can do that on first reading now, by title; CO Thulen: don’t need to do that – it’s not an issue – we inspect at the end to see if there is sediment in the storm drain to be pumped out – generally, they pre-filter the sub pumps – if picking up unfiltered sediment, the pump burns out – there is generally very clean water coming out – they want to protect their equipment; Mayor Kanitra: CO Thulen is saying, as practice, that is what is going to be done, so thinks that is enough to pass it; Atty. Riordan: advised Mr. Cavagnaro to pay attention and if he is right and CO Thulen is wrong, we’ll fix it) it goes into the grate (Councilwoman Crowley: a great idea for our professionals to visit it – has lived with it for months outside her home – has always heard there should be an entrapment at the end of the hose, so it doesn’t get into our drain system – or at the beginning – either way – happy we are making a step to help the situation; Mayor Kanitra: asked how expensive an entrapment like that is; CO Thulen: a couple dollars; Councilwoman Testa: a pool company would provide that; Councilwoman Crowley: or the builder; Mayor Kanitra: recommends passing ordinance with 21 days for both sections and also pending the appropriate filtration and location of that filtration – seems like a very minor thing if it’s a piece of fabric; Councilwoman Testa; agreed; Mayor Kanitra: asked for a motion to that effect) asked why the party installing a swimming pool on an existing property has to put in an onsite recharge (Engineer Mele: this ordinance has more to do with dewatering for pools and foundations and things of that nature – with regard to the installation of new pools, there are a myriad of problems that have happened over the years and created negative downstream impacts – we want to have some kind of underground recharge system, which was in the ordinance, but was more geared towards roof runoff from new houses, not pools and backyard patios – and now we’re accounting for impervious coverage as well) asked what the bad news is if somebody backwashes into the street (Engineer Mele: that’s a nuisance) according to this ordinance there is a hose that goes from the pool to the grate, so nothing can build up on the street – asked why the recharge system has to be installed also (Engineer Mele: that has to do with the impervious coverage and the idea is to keep it on-site – don’t want to create nuisance for neighbors) it wouldn’t be a nuisance because the hose goes to the grate and on-site – every time his neighbor backwashes, his backyard floods (Engineer Mele: that’s an enforcement issue we are going to talk about – after their meeting on Friday, he spoke with CO Thulen about it – the general situation where people are backwashing into the street is no longer allowed – people who had a pool constructed years ago, before the new ordinance went into effect, were essentially grandfathered – at least now they can control the nuisance with this rubber collapsible hose going to the grate, rather than having a continuous stream and disturbance of all the neighbors to get to the grate) concerned about the recharge cost (Engineer Mele: could be less than $1K for a pool to $10K for a house – when doing a $50K pool, with patio, etc., it’s a small percentage, especially when talking about impacting neighbors; Mayor Kanitra: when building a pool, are already taking away pervious coverage – there have been so many pools built in town that it’s contributing to the flooding, with less land for water to drain into – seems reasonable; Councilman Ramos: asked if recharge is part of f the FEMA compliance issue; CO Thulen: storm water rules were received from DEP a while ago – possibly 2020 – State wants to control rain water runoff on-site because it becomes a nuisance – every season, when there is a decent amount of rain, we get complaints about people’s yards flooding – if you look over the fence, there is a pool; Mayor Kanitra: he gets a ton of complaints from people that someone new comes into town and builds a pool and now their backyard is flooding; CO Thulen: it is a component – the ground is supposed to store a lot of water – when covered with a pool, concrete collar, patio and cabana; Engineer Mele: it’s not going vertical anymore – it’s going horizontal; all talking over each other; Mayor Kanitra: if we’re talking with residents or professionals about an ordinance on the agenda, even a couple hours before the Council meeting, he wants to know in advance so he is not blindsided at the meeting– would like that as a best practice going forward – then he can convey it to Council and the committee ahead of that as well) pools are installed at the highest elevation on a property – water coming down from Ocean to Boston stops at that pool and that backyard floods – suggested it would help if pools could be put at the elevation of the yard (Mayor Kanitra: this is not a “where you put your pool” ordinance – this is dewatering, but asked that the issue be looked at; Engineer Mele: when reviewing plans, he would pick up on that immediately and that shouldn’t happen – if there is a di minimis change in grade, the water is still going to get picked up by the yard drains and trench drains, so it shouldn’t be impacting neighboring properties – will be talking about Mr. Cavagnaro’s particular situation offline; Mayor Kanitra: let’s keep this conversation going – if conditions that make it less impactful on neighbors are put into place, that provides a barrier to entry in its own rite) has seen someone bring in truckloads of dirt to raise grade (Mayor Kanitra: that clearly has repercussions for your neighbor; CO Thulen: with drainage and grading, and if it’s in a special flood hazard zone, no one is allowed to do that now) inaudible – will keep his eyes open.
Motion by Councilman Vitale to close the public participation and adopt Ordinance 2022-26 with the 21-day language in Section 1C&D and the filtration addition in the language.
Atty. Riordan: the filtration stuff has to be a separate ordinance – hasn’t even seen the language – it hasn’t even been drafted yet – this is second reading – you can’t to that – if you want to do that, you can, but then you are back at first reading – said that earlier – can do 2 separate ordinances if you want – there is no language – we don’t have it – it’s just a concept – you can introduce the concept on first reading as a separate ordinance – you can introduce by title only – and then you publish the language in the newspaper and you pass it on second reading – you can go back and pass the present ordinance on first reading and then we’ll draft the language and do it on second, but that doesn’t make sense – the right thing to do is pass it with 21 days and then handle this filtration at another time.
Revised motion by Councilman Vitale to adopt Ordinance 2022-26 with 21-day language in Sections 1C & 1D, was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos and Crowley….YEA
Councilman Migut….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:28PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: thought Verizon has cell towers on top of Jenkinson’s Pavilion (CO Thulen: there are several up there – 3 in the corners; BA/CFO Riehl: they were approved for 1 and have 3) they already have them on the roof (Mayor Kanitra: let’s look at what was approved vs. what’s there and go from there); regarding the bird flu – appreciates that signs were put up around the lake, but geese fly, land and leave droppings – they travel from Lake Louis to Silver Lake, leaving droppings on Boston, Arnold, Central, Parkway and Niblick – a health risk to be aware of and let people know of – several of his neighbors’ dogs have gotten very sick and one passed away (Councilwoman Crowley: suggested a robocall advising that pets are at risk; Mayor Kanitra: if they are – doesn’t know statistics on canine-bird transmission) when geese were at Antrim School, kids’ shoes had to be cleaned before coming into the building – it’s not an unusual situation (BA/CFO Riehl: prior to verifying that it was bird flu, we were being cautious and didn’t want to cause panic – can certainly do a robocall now to just be aware – been a lot of talk on social media – there is nothing we can do to stop it; Councilman Vitale: residents texted him about dead birds in other parts of town – no reporting requirements; Mayor Kanitra: advised sending a robocall, with all reviewing the text, saying that if you see a dead bird, call the Police and we’ll have somebody take it away, and make sure that you’re cognizant of where droppings are and that you are not tracking it all over the place; BA/CFO Riehl: can word a call to use common sense; Councilwoman Testa: can send another call when it’s run its course; Councilman Ramos: suggested identifying where geese congregate and putting a sign there as well; BA/CFO Riehl: have 2 signs at Lake of the Lillies – can’t be on patrol 24 hours/day – this is where common sense come in).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:36PM
Motion by Councilman Vitale to adjourn was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:36PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
