Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
October 20, 2020
Due to the Point Pleasant Beach Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared on March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the directive that all events on Borough property by cancelled until further notice, this meeting was held via the online Zoom Meeting platform/Meeting ID: 951 4131 6931. The public had the option to participate online or via telephone. Instructions were published in the Ocean Star and Asbury Park Press and posted in Borough Hall and on the Borough web site.
Mayor Kanitra called the meeting to order at 7:30PM. Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes and Santanello. Councilman Migut arrived at 7:33PM. 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.”
The Governing Body reserves its right to amend and supplement the purposes of executive session by motion at the public meeting.
Flag Salute, Invocation
Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve the October 6, 2020 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilman Santanello….ABSTAIN
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMOS
CEO/ZO Tumolo RE Curb Cuts
400 Newark Ave. Councilman Cortes: knocking house down – existing cut is 23’ and will be closed off – new one will be shifted east – asking for maximum 16’ – plans say 13’– single car garage/driveway – no loss of parking either way – per Code Enforcement, 13’ would be more appropriate and ordinance-compliant (Councilman Santanello: might be setting precedent – everyone with single car garage will want 16’ – inclined to vote “no”). Added as 1w – max. width of 13’.
1 Delaware Ave. Councilman Cortes: garage has straddled the property line for years – there is a fence down the middle of the driveway – asking for a 2nd curb cut – passed an ordinance prohibiting a 2nd curb cut on a single property after Sandy – unique in the way the garage is built – Code Enforcement said they are proposing 16’ cut on the vacant property, in addition to the existing 23’ one – encompasses 2 properties (Attorney Riordan: if not allowed via ordinance, have to go to Zoning Board – Council grants curb cuts in accordance with the ordinance and/or approval by the Zoning or Planning Board – doesn’t know that it violates the ordinance – should probably get more information so nothing gets done that shouldn’t be) ok – if building a house with another garage, would recommend it get done (Attorney Riordan: need to see what Board resolution says) can try to get information from Board Secy. Mills (Councilman Santanello: ordinance may only apply to u-shape driveways). HELD
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Councilman Vitale: since last Council meeting, Police training has included canine patrol and scent, resiliency and patrol rifle – should adhere to NJDOH recommendations for Halloween – Chief’s office sent postcards to residents highlighting them – PD will have increased patrols – Happy Halloween and stay safe; next Neighborhood Partnership Initiative meeting will be on Nov. 18th with a DEA speaker – 400 Police signs have been delivered, with requests for more – working on a potential donor – will order another 100; Recreation Committee is partnering with the Kiwanis Club for Pumpkin Palooza pumpkin painting contest in Pleasure Park; also on Halloween is Grom-O-Ween, a costume and skating contest organized by former Councilman Toohey, at the skate park; Recreation is also partnering with the Arts Committee, QOL Dir. O’Rourke and Councilwoman Byrnes on a Winter Wonderland – more information to come; Recreation Dir. Sumonovich is speaking to School Super. Smith regarding a basketball program at Antrim – more information to come; BA/CFO Riehl met with the Borough Engineer to map out the 300 inlets in town to start the stormwater mapping project; Maryland Ave. reconstruction project is on the agenda to start late fall – directional arrows were painted on local roads approaching Rte. 35, as requested; are in the final stages of the water meter replacement project – have @49 homes that have not been addressed because they have been non-responsive – final letter will go out by year-end and may result in additional penalties; curb ramp ponding on 408 Broadway is being handled by the County; approval of the social media policy that he worked on with the Borough Attorney is on the agenda.
Councilwoman Testa: the Arts Committee’s Homegrown Book Fair was last Saturday in Borden’s lot, sponsored by Barefoot Real Estate and Little Point Book Shop – great time – 10 vendors, live music, live author readings – about 100 people – looking forward to next year; a juried art show is on the web site during Oct. and Nov and a virtual carved or painted pumpkin contest in Oct., judged by Facebook likes – Chamber gift cards as prizes – send picture of pumpkin by Oct. 23rd – winner announced on Oct. 30th; Vintage Van Gogh Children’s Art Program will be held on Nov. 15th; 2nd year of Do You Want To Build A Snowman starting Nov. 1st, with prizes; excited about a Downtown Art Gallery, spearheaded by QOL Dir. O’Rourke and Councilwoman Byrnes – contacting owners of empty storefronts to put art in storefront windows – looking to implement soon; Arts is working along with Recreation on Winterfest; working on mural installations at White Sands and Jeager Lumber; Arts Gala to be held in spring – looking for outdoor location; Beautification is still watering flowers and maintaining barrels – lot of work – Councilman Cortes is cutting out reindeer parts – greens for barrels have been ordered – shout out to Councilwoman Byrnes and DPW worker on the lampposts and cornstalks; QOL Dir. O’Rourke and DPW Super. trout are working on pavement direction reflectors and speed control devices on Inlet Dr.; QOL Dir. O’Rourke noted several signs to be replaced – asked for resident input; report concerns on GovPilot. (Mayor Kanitra: Maser has a traffic specialist who will survey as well).
Councilwoman Byrnes: thanked Mayor, Chief and Administration, Council and the tireless volunteers; Ocean Fire Company thanks all who came to their Open House – thanked them for all they do – calls have been average – spent a few hours in Lakewood yesterday covering assignments; Green Team and Sustainable Jersey – submitted actions for review; Shade Tree and Environmental Commissions – 50-60 new tree plantings to start soon – Parking Authority preparation on the plot of land by the firehouse – then the Environmental Commission will go in with community involvement; very successful Walk with a Purpose event last Saturday, with QOL Dir. O’Rourke’s help and about 30 volunteers – thanked Tyler Springsteen for blip in Friday’s paper – DPW collected – had about 35 bags of trash – hard work – Mayor, Councilman Vitale, Councilwoman Testa and families came out, along with QOL Dir. O’Rourke – a lot of kids came out – great day; had asked BA/CFO Riehl how to get cornstalks on light poles – DPW helped – purchased 72 stalks – 18 more to be delivered tomorrow – Councilwoman Testa helped with bows – hopes all enjoy.
Councilman Cortes: have a dumpster for household waste outside of DPW in the train lot – in response to weekend people wanting to put out a bag without a pail – monitored by camera – will revisit if it gets abused; will be continuing to cut out reindeer parts; electric at River Ave Point was fixed so Beautification can plug in decorations; went through the Maryland and Delaware Ave. bid – a little upset that Shore Top Construction was #3 – did a good job on St. Louis Ave. Phase I – went through every line item – site clearing ranged from $2K to $37K – hopes $3,500 gets a good clearing (Engineer Mele: will be sure they get the job done right – some firms like to front load and get paid more upfront) not trying to be knit-picky, but that’s a big discrepancy (Engineer Mele: will hold them accountable – have had good experiences with Shore Top as well as Black Rock; Mayor Kanitra: expressed his pleasure for Earle not winning – happy to have other bidders – asked the Engineer to reach out to the contractor, on behalf of the Governing Body, about how annoyingly knit-picky we will be, so they better do it right the first time – he can watch it out of any window in his house).
Councilman Santanello: read through 1d/Social Media Policy – loves it – guidelines are good – hopes they will lessen the social media negative rhetoric of the last 10 years; will vote “no” on Ordinance 2020-21, as it is directed at one business/type of business/capitalism – the business that wants to move has not been a problem.
Councilman Migut: Floodplain Management Committee will be meeting in Mid-Nov. to ratify the plan and any changes the Engineer proposes – asked if Committees can meet in person (Mayor Kanitra: was determined to wait until this week – can talk about it – asked what people think – seems like numbers are rising, but he continues to get Committee members wanting to meet in person – would prefer meeting in person, but does not want to force it – also have the issue of opening Town Hall – understands PPB’s is one of the only ones in Ocean County not open; Councilman Santanello: received an email from Clerk Farrell that Zoom rules were supposed to remain in place for now; Clerk Farrell: the email came from the State; Attorney Riordan: codifies the present rules on Zoom – allows Governing Bodies to make their own decisions at this particular time – allows Zoom meetings to continue, but does not foreclose in-person meetings; Mayor Kanitra: is open to it – is also open to getting Town Hall open – doesn’t want to make it mandatory for the Governing Body, Boards or Committees to meet in person – would like to offer an option during the State of Emergency so that those who are immunocompromised or at risk don’t feel pressured – would like to open Town Hall in a hybrid motion as well, in some way; Attorney Riordan: that’s primarily an issue between the Administrator and the labor unions; Mayor Kanitra: asked about timeline; BA/CFO Riehl: can speak offline) asked for straw poll on in-person meetings; Councilman Vitale: would prefer to wait a month due to uptick; Councilwoman Testa: is comfortable going back to in-person, but respects all opinions; Councilwoman Byrnes: is ok with waiting it out a little bit to be prudent; Mayor Kanitra: going to have reorganization meeting on Sunday, January 3rd with awards and recognitions – would be appropriate to do that in-person – looking at securing the Antrim auditorium; Councilman Cortes: prior to today, was in favor of going back – got a phone call from a customer this morning who tested positive – he was in their house last Thursday – he tested today and won’t have results for a couple days; Councilman Santanello: echoed Councilman Vitale’s thoughts) no reason to forge ahead, might as well be prudent and wait a little while – will meet with Mike Gardner virtually (Mayor Kanitra: asked the Council to let Committee members know their feelings – majority of Council is in favor of waiting a little longer – asked all to watch the numbers and, when warranted and safe go in-person as much as possible, especially and hopefully by the Reorganization meeting, to have something special for the people who deserve recognition).
Mayor Kanitra: appreciates Councilwoman Byrnes, QOL Dir. O’Rourke and the Walk With a Purpose crew for the Channel Dr. and Inlet Dr. cleanup – staggering amount of weeds in the sidewalk and street – not as much litter as expected, but definitely things that needed to be addressed – whole area looks better for it – kudos for cornstalks as well – thanked all who helped; working on getting new Christmas tree for the tree lighting – secured a 20’ live tree – looking at 2 locations – one might require moving an existing tree – should have conclusion next week – will have pared-down tree lighting this year to honor tradition – hopes this will be the start of an even bigger and better tree lighting; dumpster is fantastic – spoke with NRTAC to email non-residents who will be using it; QOL Dir. O’Rourke, BA/CFO Riehl and he have a meeting with NJ Transit next week about the NJ Transit Counter/shop – is wasted space right now – they would want any operator to clean bathrooms and keep the building looking nice – looking for opportunities to get people on their feet – hoping to get an RFP out – will make the area of town more vibrant – bathrooms will get rid of the unsightly port-a-potty in the lot; preparing for the first Municipal Alliance Committee (MAC) meeting on Oct. 27th – aimed at drug and alcohol abuse prevention – great mix of older and younger residents; Senior Committee will go on the Nov. 10th agenda – has more names of interested people; looking at art in downtown buildings – QOL Dir. O’Rourke is working on PPB becoming a Certified Local Government through the Historic Preservation Office – will require some things on our end, but will open things up for funding for revitalization and historic preservation, including façade improvements – allows us to apply for an annual allocation of State funding that can be used for a historic district – towns like Middletown, Freehold and Beach Haven have done it; looking for community buy-in from businesses for the NJ DOT grant for Channel Dr. revitalization; lot going on – appreciates all everyone is doing; LOL cleanup day, in partnership with Enviroscapes, is Nov. 6th at 8AM.
BA/CFO Riehl: spoke about the dumpster at DPW – was placed out the day after the last Council meeting – already been emptied 4 times and, so far, not abused – thanked DPW for getting it done so quickly; aeration and seeding was done at Little Silver Lake last week – hoping it will look fabulous by spring; hopes to have inground trash can shipment this week – will get availability from Councilman Cortes to walk around town and figure out where to place them; kudos to former Councilman Toohey – he investigated and found the kid who destroyed a picnic table at the gazebo by the skate park and had him fix it in front of his friends as a lesson – nice to see park oversight.
Mayor Kanitra: announced that the public can hit *6 to unmute phones for public participation.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:29PM
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked what 1o covers (BA/CFO Riehl: planting and stone – irrigation was installed there as well; Mayor Kanitra: asked if a barrel was replaced at Green Planet; Councilwoman Testa: metal is sticking out and it’s a safety issue; BA/CFO Riehl: can remove it; Mayor Kanitra: asked that the planting inside be preserved).
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked about a new sign for the Inlet bathroom (Mayor Kanitra: admires his tenacity – bathrooms are open earlier without an attendant – there is hesitancy by DPW and the Administrator to advertise that); asked if 1u should be on agenda if attorney review is not yet done (Attorney Riordan: Council decides and then he deals with form and substance of the contract); asked about 1v (Mayor Kanitra: so much potential – trying to help spur redevelopment so PPB can be a vibrant off-season destination) asked about plan for hotel there (Mayor Kanitra: working on it – hopes to move forward by end of fall); asked about any response on the Coast Guard Station (Mayor Kanitra: normally an 8-year process – hopes to have it done by next year); will volunteer for Senior Committee; complimented the Mayor; asked about 1c (BA/CFO Riehl: explained).
Louis Stillufsen, PPB: asked about the possibility of having to move an existing tree for the new Christmas tree (Mayor Kanitra: asking the tree service how that would all work); asked about specific location – trees have all been planted and watered for the last 2-3 years – Shade Tree would be disappointed and would have to give input (Mayor Kanitra: are assessing 3 different sites – will figure out where it makes the most sense and run it past them – no tree service approved yet; Attorney Riordan: Shade Tree Commission has no jurisdiction over what the Governing Body does with their trees) are advisory, but are concerned about street trees (Mayor Kanitra: not a street tree).
Kitty Stillufsen, PPB: asked if there is a place where the downtown revitalization plan has been posted (Mayor Kanitra: not yet – QOL Dir. O’Rourke is in an NJIT program and has a practicum proposal for that course – will be working on Arnold and Bay Aves. and possibly Rte. 35, Channel Dr., Broadway and Inlet Dr. area – in the process of looking at historic incentives, a sign ordinance, a temporary sign ordinance – evolving – a million pieces to the puzzle – next step is to get ordinances introduced and have Downtown Summit for building owners in early Nov.); asked about passable bike paths in towns (Mayor Kanitra: submitted for grant for sharrows – should hear back in Nov.).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:45PM
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #21 ($279,050.79)
1b Approval of S/E application for Spa Bella Trunk-or-Treat event in Silver Lake lot on 10/31
1c Approval of payment to the Ocean County Landfill to replenish landfill escrow ($50K)
1d Approval of Social Media Policy for distribution & inclusion in Employee Handbook
1e Approval of payment to Detcon for DPW cart tipper ($3,955)
1f Approval of PO to F&C Auto Supply for DPW auto parts for 2020 ($2,500)
1g Approval of PO to Service Tire Truck Center for rims, tire, tire repairs for 2020 ($3,500)
1h Approval of S/E application for Chamber’s Ladies Night on Arnold & Bay on 10/22
1i Approval of payment to NJ DCA for 3rd quarter State Training Fees ($2,952)
1j Approval of PO to All Covered for network server upgrade and HPE hardware ($31,700)
1k Approval of PO to Hewlett Packard Enterprises for HPE hardware server upgrade ($8.665.66)
1l Approval of pymt to Ground Hawg Demolition for fixing/maintaining R-Blend at Inlet ($1,100)
1m Approval of PO increase ($7,500) & pymt ($12,311.86) to Sprague Resources for DPW diesel fuel
1n Approval of PO to Turbo Electric for replacement service at River Point ($2,500)
1o Approval of PO to Clean Cut Lawn Care for landscaping at Inlet bathroom ($10,735.55)
1p Approval of PO to Globe Petroleum for drum oils ($2,500)
1q Approval of PO to United Ford for cab & chassis ($26,224.61)
1r Approval of PO to Cliffside Body for DPW dump truck ($10,590.85)
1s Approval of Change Order (-$11,996.17) & payment of Pay Cert 2 ($115,799.96) to Earle Asphalt
for St. Louis Ave. Phase II Improvements, pending Borough Engineer review
1t Approval of unpaid LOA for Employee #000747806
1u Award of contract to Black Rock Enterprises for Resurfacing of Maryland & Delaware Aves., subject to Atty review/approval & availability of funds ($198,662.10)
1v Auth to apply for NJDOT Set-Aside Alternatives Program Funding for Channel Dr. revitalization
1w Approval of curb cut at 400 Newark Ave, at a maximum width of 13’ – ADDED PER DH MEMOS
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($1,321,638.54)
2b Memorialization of approval of payment of hand checks through 10/8/20 ($1,299,522.85)
2c Approval of payment to The Rodgers Grp for online training subscription for PD ($9,416)
2d Approval of PO to Firefighter One for 5 SCBA air paks/spare bottles for Fire Co 1 ($62,705)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Test, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello (except 1u, 2c),
Migut (except 2a, 2d)….YEA
Councilman Santanello (1u)….NAY
Councilmen Santanello (2c), Migut (2a, 2d)….ABSTAIN
ORDINANCE:
Ordinance 2020-20 (Bond Ordinance Amending Ordinance 2020-06) 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 and adopt Ordinance 2020-20 on second reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Santanello, Migut….YEA
Ordinance 2020-21 (Amend Ch. XIX – Sale of Vaping/E-Cig & CBD) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Migut to approve Ordinance 2020-21 on first reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote. The public hearing will be on November 10, 2020.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Migut….YEA
Councilmen Cortes, Santanello….NAY
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AND ENDED AT 8:49PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked about Ordinance 2020-21.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about cell tower location; requested prior authorization to draft ordinances so public is better prepared.
Mary Jo Gradel, 402 New Jersey Ave., PPB: asked Councilwoman Byrnes to reach out to JCPL to put trees in front of their industrial buildings and others who can’t afford it.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AND ENDED AT 8:56PM
Motion by Councilman Migut to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilman Santanello and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:56PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
