Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
October 5, 2021
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 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, Byrnes, Cortes and Migut. Councilmembers Testa and Santanello were absent.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Mayor Kanitra: asked for motion that minutes from last meeting accurately reflect the incident that occurred – that whatever is audible is written into the minutes, because it is not in the minutes as written right now – it’s important that the record of the Governing Body shows what transpired in what order, verbatim (Clerk Farrell: included what’s audible – suggested requesting a transcript to be attached to the minutes) if that would suffice, that would be great.
Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve the September 21, 2021 Council meeting minutes, with transcript attached, was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut….YEA
Councilmembers Testa and Santanello….ABSENT
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: are bringing back the Neighborhood Partnership Initiative in November with child psychologist to talk about teenage suicide and depression, as it relates to the pandemic and quarantine; Bags on the Beach, held 2 Saturdays ago, was a huge success with 16 teams – 3/4 were from PPB and the Boro – 1st Place team was from Brick, 2nd Place was from New Brunswick, 3rd Place was a PPB resident and teammate – sponsored by Riccio’s – will work on making it bigger next year and see that it does not again coincide with the restaurant tour; Saturday is the Tug of War, 11AM-4PM, with 10 heats – 9 are competitive and 1 is charity heat – can sign up the day of the event – pre-tug party will be Friday at the Patio Bar – post-tug party will be there as well; Recreation Committee’s Grom-O-Ween at the Skate Park will have costume and skate judging – hoping to get it passed today; Recreation will have a Pet Parade at the Homegrown Festival on October 24th on Bay Ave. with judging for different categories – starts at 2PM; working on the December 11th Winter Wonderland, 4PM-8PM; got 20 additional Military Banners to be hung this week – still time for last-minute requests – received positive feedback (Mayor Kanitra: the Tug of War rain date is Sunday – trophy is in his office – doesn’t want to give it back).
Councilwoman Byrnes: it’s Fire Prevention Week – check your batteries and carbon monoxide detectors – residents who are razing homes have allowed the FD to use them for practice before demolition – they expressed extreme gratitude – FD will attend a live fire training session at the Somerset Fire Academy in the next few weeks; Golden Gulls Spa Day is planned for October 11th, with appointments available – call Spa Bella – complimentary for men and women – they are invited to the She Shed after for hors d’oeuvres and coffee – on November 9th, will be back at the Firehouse for activities, refreshments and a chocolate demonstration – in early December, there will be a Holiday Luncheon – other events are in the works; the Shade Tree Commission (STC) met last night – there are still neighborhoods available for the Nominate Your Block program; received an invitation to nominate a STC organization or member for exemplary volunteerism – Anne Lightburn was selected as a nominee – awards will be given at the Shade Tree Federation Conference, sponsored by NJ Urban and Community Forestry on October 21-22; started putting up corn stalks on Friday – a girl she was working with got sick, so she took her to the Medemerge, where it was very busy, but they took her right away – she is on the mend – stalks should be completed tomorrow – invited volunteers.
Councilman Cortes: recognized October employee anniversaries – Paul Brundage 22, Alexander Zubikowski 3, Karen Mills 17, Nancy Ruiz 8, Art Gant 3, Kellie Parody 4; attended the Beautification meeting was last Tuesday – will pull out the Christmas decorations on November 12th – will put up swags that Saturday/Sunday – there was no quorum at the meeting, just discussions and workshop – talked about solar lights for Christmas barrels – will have to coordinate with Councilwoman Byrnes on lights – don’t want to trip any breakers; Lafayette Construction started test pits on Ocean Ave. – the Water Dept. is doing markouts at some laterals – Mike Ormsby, from the Water Dept. said 806 residents were notified of a constant flow alert – all were appreciative – 99% of the time it’s a toilet flapper – new meters are great; an SUV went over the Inlet yesterday – did not go into the water – not the first time – DPW assisted with the forklift so the tow truck could pull it out; pushed to get the Gottlieb Building purchased – looks like it’s stagnating (Mayor Kanitra: are apparently doing work – they say they are turning it over to the individual who is leasing it in November).
Councilman Migut: the Planning Board will meet this month to review the fence ordinance – have been no applications pending for over a year, partly due to COVID; the railroad lot banner should be up early next week, advertising that the lot is free until April; the Animal Welfare Committee fundraiser is next Tuesday at Last Wave Brewery, outside under the tent – invited all to bring pets – ticket includes a free beer – will be pizza and a gift auction, with gifts donated by the community.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: called for a moment of silence – Pat Malone, wife of former long-time Councilman Jim Malone and great contributor to the town, passed away after a long battle on October 3rd – her wake is tomorrow at Van Hise; have a lot of huge great news: received forgiveness on the Community Disaster Loan, which was borrowed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to keep the government functioning – it’s to the tune of a staggering $800K – will provide the ability for infrastructure improvements – thanked BA/CFO Riehl, Auditors Holman Frenia Allison and Congressman Smith, who went to bat with the NJ delegation; this administration inherited a difficult situation with the flood rating – had been warned by FEMA that we’d lose our discount of $200-$300/household – made a commitment to put the resources behind fixing it – spent countless hours working on flood certifications, which FEMA audits – spent money on this – found out today that PPB passed with a 97 – 2 years ago it was a 47 or 50 – flood rating is safe and secure – keeping FEMA happy going forward – finally have peace of mind – kudos to Engineer Mele, CO Thulen and the Building Dept.; he was notified this week that he is receiving the David H. Knights New Preservation Initiatives Award from Preservation New Jersey – credited Councilmembers who voted for the Historic District and getting the Coast Guard building on the National Historic Register – they were thrilled about saving the Gottlieb Building – the Historic Commission is finalizing bronze plaques for downtown commercial buildings – invited Council to attend – will pay for their dinners – people across the State are starting to see what’s happening in PPB – a testament to Council’s work; QOL Dir. O’Rourke is working really hard on the Sister Cities agreement with the U.S. State Dept. to establish next steps; received many meaningful and substantive comments from the Non-Resident Taxpayer Advisory Committee meeting (NRTAC) about potholes, street issues, speeding, etc. – thanked QOL Dir. O’Rourke for working through them all with the various Depts. – NRTAC ranks and scores everybody – scored the highest of any meeting ever held – thanked them.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: received correspondence from the DOT – are ready for the traffic light at New Jersey Ave. and Rte. 35N – they sent agreements and need them signed, authorized and returned – maybe within 8 months-year it will finally be installed – been working on it since 2012-13 (Attorney Riordan: send agreements to him); are taking the dumpster out of the railroad lot for the off-season – it been full of mattresses and building material – is getting overly abused – will bring it back out in spring; Christmas is moving ahead – JCP&L met the electrician and solidified the line to be put in – hopes to have the tree in place by the end of October; signed up the Community Endowment for an Amazon Smile account because, if you are making purchases through there, you can select an account to donate to (Mayor Kanitra: suggested putting that in the newsletter); at the next meeting, will receive the annual Audit – Governing Body members will have to sign that they read it – received overwhelming positive reviews at the exit conference with the Auditors – there were no comments or recommendations, which occur when they feel there is something egregious or notable that needs to get reported to the Division of Local Government Services – there haven’t been in many years, but there is always that chance when a new Auditor comes in – a big component is prior year unspent appropriation lapse – $308K of unspent appropriations means there is a tight rein on spending – they were amazed at the level of surplus that we continue to maintain – now with the $800K, it’s even more – was pleased all around – asked all to read the Synopsis of the Audit Report (Mayor Kanitra: asked BA/CFO Riehl how long she has been the CFO for PPB) since 2000 (Mayor Kanitra: shows that BA/CFO Riehl has transcended many administrations – she deserves all the credit for a report like this – takes decades of fiscal responsibility and conservative spending and holding everybody accountable – she deserves a round of applause) thanked him but said she couldn’t do it without her staff – everyone is just phenomenal (Mayor Kanitra: is great to hear that the Borough is in such good financial shape; reached out to high-level contact NJDOT about Route 35 traffic issues and said there has to be a solution – he had a sit-down with them, BA/CFO Riehl, Councilwoman Testa and Engineer Mele – they committed to making changes – a grouping of options will be looked at including painting, lanes, one-ways – they recognize there is a problem and have agreed to work with us to find a solution).
The Municipal Clerk announced additions and revision to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:03PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked if flood rating affects insurance (Mayor Kanitra: rating is an indication of how the town has done in protecting itself from floods – the Federal Government incentives towns with discounts – the lower the better – are at a 6 right now – the lowest for any seaside municipalities is a 4/5 – asked CO Thulen to get us to a 5 – insurance discount correlates to the score; Councilman Cortes: also deals with requirement of free board above Base Flood Elevation – thinks PPB is at 3’of freeboard) asked about 1k and 1l (BA/CFO Riehl: our portion of insurance coverage for claims; Mayor Kanitra: people sue) asked if 1m is for rodent traps (BA/CFO Riehl: sewer rapid assessment tool).
Glenn Paesano, 111 Parkway, PPB: asked what happened with the FEMA rating that it fell so low (Mayor Kanitra: no one was taking care of the flood certifications – they weren’t addressed – when CO Thulen came into office, he said there was just a pile of stuff, things were not organized, people were given CO’s without things going through the proper channels).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:08PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes 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 #19 ($312,915.66)
1b Memorialization of Approval of Chamber app for Tug of War banner on Arnold Ave, 9/27/-10/10
1c Approval of Committee appointments
1d Approval of payment to Ocean County Landfill for landfill escrow on 9/8/21 ($50K)
1e Approval of payment of hand checks from Developer Escrow accounts
1f Approval of S/E application for Cystic Fibrosis Fdn Great Strides walk in the Boardwalk area on 5/14
1g Approval of PPBHS S/E app for Homecoming Parade on Trenton, Bay, Arnold Chicago & Yale, 10/15
1h Approval of S/E app – Jersey Shore Running Club Runapalooza – Ocean/NJ/Bdwlk/Bdwy/bridge, 4/2/22
1i Approval of payment to Quadient Finance USA for postage via credit line ($7K)
1j Approval of payment to Sprague Resources for diesel fuel on 9/22/21 ($5,723.70)
1k Approval of payment to Summit Risk Management for Claim #QM-2013 ($8,822.47)
1l Approval of payment to Summit Risk Management for Claim #QM-1311 ($2,698.57)
1m Approval of payment to Infosense for SL-RAT Standard Package for DPW ($26,955)
1n Approval of pymt to Janitor Supply Corp for 36 pails of enzyme sewer degrease for DPW ($4,319.64)
1o Approval of pymt to Glenco Supply for sign materials throughout town ($2,700)
1p Approval of payment to All Points for tax bill inserts ($4,540.20)
1q Authorization to execute agreement between 2005 Rte 35 LLC & Borough of PPB & PPB Bd of Adj
1r Approval of payment to NJDCA for 2nd quarter State training fees ($3,821)
1s Order approval to Carl Roller for office painting in the Bldg Dept ($2,262.27)
1t Amendment to Res. 2021-0921/1E (change time of Pumpkin Palooza from 8AM-12PM to 8AM-1PM)
1u Order approval to Turf Equip and Supply for Torro Groundmaster 7210 for DPW ($54,287.66)
1v Approval of Dolan Family S/E app for Halloween Party on Forman (809-811 street closure), 10/24
1w Amendment to Res 2021-0921/1D (change time of Grom O Ween from 11AM-3PM to 10AM-4PM)
1x Approval of PO to M. Woszczak Mech Cont for Ocean Ave Hydrants/Water Main Project ($19,200)
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($180,127.27)
2b Acceptance and participation in State grant program for body worn cameras ($163,040)
2c Approval of payment to The Rodgers Group for Sept & Oct consulting services for PD ($5,816.66)
2d Approval of payment to All Covered for IT Maintenance & Support including PD, for Aug ($3,495)
2e Approval of PO to NJ Bus Syst for Pleasure Park Security Cameras ($4,841.51)
2f Approval of PO to Safe Fleet for Police in-car cameras ($15,285)
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Byrnes, Cortes, Migut (except 2a)….YEA
Councilman Migut (2a)….ABSTAIN
Councilmembers Testa and Santanello….ABSENT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:09PM
John Dixon, 17 Niblick St., PPB: asked about emails he sent to Council in July and this week about being flooded with Airbnbs and VRBOs which are changing the atmosphere of PPB, mainly east of the tracks – since Sandy, a lot of bungalows have been demolished or sold – larger houses are being built with up to 9 bedrooms – investors purchase and rent them – is not complaining about renters or tourists – problem is that Airbnbs are 3-4 rentals – a constant revolving door of people coming into the neighborhood – half the houses by him are Airbnbs – people are on vacation, excited and loud – they have no link to the community – people hang out all day – don’t get a break – it’s all year – surrounding towns have put limits on short-term rentals – Bay Head has a 7-day limit – this would eliminate weekends and give some peace and quiet in spring and fall – quality of life for full-time residents has gone down – garbage is bad – can’t find parking in front of his house – there are beach towels, carriages, surfboards, bikes lying around at the rentals – there are cars on lawns, blocking sidewalks – looks terrible – have called a number of times about the blocked sidewalk – something needs to be done about repeat offenders – renters are 2-3 blocks back from Ocean Ave. now – Brick has people coming from Brooklyn and having house parties – it’s going to happen here – luckily, have a better class of people – some rentals generate $1,200/night (Mayor Kanitra: brought up short-term rentals over a year ago – wanted to take some time to look at it – asked Capt. Kowalewski to get a report on the breakdown of calls to short-term rentals vs. others – had asked the Chief to track it – asked QOL O’Rourke to put a clearer question about it on the town survey – 49% of town last year was in favor, about 19% was not – are trying to make decisions for the vast majority of residents – asked Mr. Dixon to collect signatures as a litmus test) probably not a lot of Police involvement because most people don’t want to call Police on their neighbors (Councilman Cortes: asked Attorney Riordan if the Animal House ordinance encompasses blocking sidewalk, etc.: Attorney Riordan: not parking violations – there are a number of other violations that fit – this is a different issue and it occurs in lots of places – has a litigation case arising out of another shore municipality, in which a property owner who has a property in which is permitted to have 12 efficiency units rents it out for weddings and parties, across the street from a property that has permission to be a bed and breakfast – that property wants to know why the Airbnb doesn’t have to be a bed and breakfast – Airbnb’s in a residential community is hot issue up and down the shore – it’s being litigated in some situations and there are many municipalities who are regulating the short-term rentals to try to avoid the destruction of residential neighborhoods – there are a large number of tools to start thinking about; Mayor Kanitra: code enforcement efforts have focused a lot on this – disproportionately, a lot of the people putting out white trash bags being ripped open by seagulls are vacation renters – trying to crack down on problems that come from a lot of these – have weekend and nighttime code enforcement – don’t want the parking to get pushed further into the neighborhoods – are looking at solutions for that as well).
Kristin Hennessy, New Jersey Ave., PPB: even though she lives on the west side of town, she fully supports what Mr. Dixon raised – have to start representing PPB as more of a family town than a fun town – breaks her heart that business interests overpass resident interests – heard Attorney Riordan say there is a whole lot that can be done in terms of changing ordinances and limiting and regulating rental properties – thanked Mayor Kanitra, Councilman Vitale, BA/CFO Riehl and Capt. Kowalewski for meeting with her family to discuss the ongoing traffic safety hazard on New Jersey Ave. – discussed that this is a southwest quadrant of PPB problem – have traffic safety hazards all over town – making strides to solve, particularly in residential areas – was the victim of an accident on August 26th on New Jersey Ave., with thousands of dollars of damage to her vehicle – could have been seriously injured or killed – it prompted renewal of the volume and speeding issue on New Jersey Ave. – prior to meeting, discussed speed humps, which the JIF is not fond of and are no longer allowed in PPB, 4-way stop signs in her neighborhood and others, and bump-out curb cuts to calm/slow/deter traffic – New Jersey Ave. is a cut-through through street from the Boro – have recorded speeds of 45mph there – appreciates the starting point – hopes it won’t take a lot of time to get some of these measures in place – sometimes have to spend money to increase the health, safety and welfare of residents on these streets – will be keeping in touch – excited to hear that the traffic light will finally be installed at the corner of New Jersey Ave. and Rte. 35N – good that Mayor Kanitra will discuss with the State DOT to find solutions – reiterated that voluminous parking along Rte. 35S is very dangerous – cars shouldn’t be parking on a State highway with pedestrian and bike traffic, with not enough buffer from Stop signs to allow traffic to cross over – asked that the issue be brought up with the DOT – also need additional No Stopping & Standing signs there – looks forward to working with everyone going forward to improve safety on all the residential streets.
Rob Strahle, 162 Baltimore Ave., PPB: noted that the PPB Girls Varsity tennis team is moving on to the semi-finals next Thursday; thanked the Governing Body – this summer has been better than past summers – echoed Mr. Dixon’s comments – Airbnb’s have no managers on site – was almost threatened by next-door short-term renters this summer – are probably good ordinance-type things to look at (Mayor Kanitra: asked QOL Dir. O’Rourke to contact Government Relations and ask for a breakdown of how long the various stays are in PPB – not an average, but how many people stay for 1, 2 or 3 nights).
Dave. Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: had rental properties for over 40 years – Airbnbs are the beginning of something that will continue to grow – will have a negative effect on the school system – they are million dollar homes being rented everyday throughout the year – loud – can hear talking at 2AM – many allow pets, so there are a lot of different animals running around – asked if survey goes to residents or property owners (Mayor Kanitra: residents and taxpayers – responses from both were fairly similar on this) owners would vote no – doesn’t think a week, minimal, is unreasonable (Attorney Riordan: there are areas where people are encouraged to be here for a day or 2 or 3 and those are where the motels and hotels are – they are areas of town that are designated short-term rental – complaint is about expansion of those areas beyond control – have never zoned those for business and have never allowed people to turn those residential neighborhoods into businesses – if you want to run a motel, you ought to be in the motel district, not the residential district – the argument is being made that Airbnb is a business; Mayor Kanitra: unfair playing field – the tax checks coming in have been sizable in the last month or so; BA/CFO Riehl: will exceed $½M in occupancy tax this year: Mayor Kanitra: we hear everybody and will try to find solutions).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:39PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close public participation and adjourn was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:39PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
