Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
September 15, 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: 914 2144 2733. 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 and Cortes. Councilmen Santanello and Migut were absent. 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 Councilwoman Testa to approve the September 1, 2020 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilman Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Councilman Vitale: gave the Chief’s report since last meeting – Canine, Patrol Rifle and Basic Police training – since Memorial Day, have been 482 criminal arrests and 1,233 ordinance violations for quality of life offenses – Operation Outreach is a check-in program for elderly and those who live alone – Police Dept. will conduct daily house checks for those on extended vacation – committed to keeping a quiet, safe community for residents and visitors – call immediately with concerns; thanked Chief and PD – trying summer for law enforcement nationwide – PPB officers were involved in a lot, from the large beach party in June to the viral video of them doing their job, to the stabbing incident on Labor Day – they wrote an unprecedented number of summonses – he and Mayor met with Chief early this summer to discuss how support the PD and improve quality of life – hired additional officers and added plain clothes patrols – throughout the summer, PD responded with professionalism and class – a few weeks ago, resident Kristin Hennessy reached out to him about showing appreciation for the PD – he and an anonymous resident donated money to purchase 200 law enforcement appreciation lawn signs – contact him for one; the Skate Park ribbon cutting ceremony was Saturday – amazing turn-out – former Councilman Toohey and Recreation Committee have exciting events planned; are finalizing plans for the Locals Only Bonfire, September 26th – received donations for pizza, s’mores, firewood and have a great band; information about the Fishing Derby on October 3rd is on the Recreation Facebook page; getting estimates to pave Danby in 2021, along with Harvard – downtown signs were installed and look amazing – DOT is planting trees on Rte. 35S at no cost to the town; looking for additional Wrong Way signs for Inlet Dr. – putting up speed trailer as well; on September 30th, will give Borough employees a cyber security training class.
Councilwoman Testa: Arts Committee Book Fair is on October 10th (rain date: 10/11) upon approval tonight; thanked Beautification volunteers for watering and weeding – Scarecrow Contest is still pending – thanked DPW Super. Trout and DPW for putting shelves together and Councilman Cortes and Committee Chair Steiner for helping to organize supplies in the basement – still more to be done; is putting together documents for Safe Streets – have No Outlet street signs – will be following up with BA/CFO Riehl and QOL Dir. O’Rourke; thanked PD for all they did this summer; thanked all involved in the unfortunate Labor Day situation, especially life guards – they are heroes; proud to be part of PPB – amazing, strong community – will move forward getting downtown stores going – great plans ahead – proud to be part of the team – thanked the Mayor.
Councilwoman Byrnes: thanked the Mayor, Chief, QOL Dir. O’Rourke, Board Secy. Mills, Clerk Farrell, BA/CFO Riehl and Council for all they bring to the table; FD has been fairly quiet recently – Station 42 will host an Open House on October 10th, 12PM-4PM, observing COVID protocol – PD was enthused to have opportunity for a drill at a donated property – invited more donations – no danger to surrounding properties, no live fire; Environmental Commission is a diligent group, working on a planting project at a plot of land on Arnold – Commission will provide low maintenance native plants and design, Green Team will provide PPBHS volunteers – in cooperation with Parking Authority to defray costs – FD will bring a bench out there; Shade Tree is very busy – DOT is planting 27 new trees on Richmond – Big Beautiful Tree Program information will be in newsletter shortly – invited volunteers – will put something together soon with QOL Dir. O’Rourke.
Councilman Cortes: reiterated Councilman Vitale’s remarks about the PD – tough summer; recognized DPW – adapted to changes this year with drop off, bag ordinance, etc. – did well with weeding; Enviroscapes is cleaning up vegetation at Lake of the Lillies; benches were put out on Chicago Ave. at the lake, per request; hydrant flushing is October 5-16 – might be less pressure and discoloration; advertising for Construction Official – Mike Gardner is leaving after 23 years – his knowledge will be missed; was great working with Councilwoman Testa and Beautification Chair Steiner on the basement; suggested QOL Dir. O’Rourke and intern coordinate a bi-lingual bike safety flyer, addressing bikes going the wrong way, to be safer for next summer.
Mayor Kanitra: have suspended the bench and rocking chair program – are a ton of memorials on the Boardwalk – rocking chairs break off of chains, get vandalized and broken and look like garbage – other chairs have problems in terms of maintenance, etc. – are some new benches at the Inlet – thinking about, rather than having people buy benches, instituting a program to raise money for the Endowment Fund, using composite plaques that can be purchased for existing benches – can charge $250-300 – can have more control while keeping tradition (all agreed; Councilman Cortes: a lot of random on Boardwalk) need more attention to detail – will move forward with CEF Secy. Mills and BA/CFO Riehl – all have to play by the same set of rules (Councilman Cortes: agrees on uniformity – has seen plaques in other towns – great idea); been talking with BA/CFO Riehl about Little Silver Lake areas and the eastern corner of Arnold & Ocean where grass never took – netting was put in that was supposed to biodegrade, but never did – can’t get Albert Marine to do anything about it – have held money back from them – BA/CFO Riehl is working with Engineer Savacool – will fix up the Little Silver Lake area and make sure it looks like what was paid for (Councilman Cortes: BA/CFO Riehl came through with a beautiful, functional composite bench with stainless steel hardware; Attorney Riordan: keep him informed on the cost of Albert Marine corrective work – still in a dispute with them); beautiful new wooden downtown signs were designed, cut and painted by same woman who did the new Rte. 35 Welcome to Point Pleasant Beach sign – was BA/CFO Riehl’s idea to get the nice black hangers for them – turned out phenomenally – good start for downtown; good first week at the Skate Park – expect all to do their part with the rules – good opportunity for the skating community; spoke about GovAlert app at the last meeting – has been officially launched – a lot of people using it – is only for issues that do not require immediate response – encouraged all to call PD to catch bad actors in the act, as 2 Officers are trained in Code – QOL Dir. O’Rourke has been responding to all – is working as envisioned; addressed item 1K – Lake of the Lillies smells due to algae/issues – this item is for the first ever Lake Management Plan for continued, preventative, pro-active maintenance to ensure the lake becomes healthy and thriving, despite the 75 swans; are lights out at the Inlet – BA/CFO Riehl got pole numbers and JCP&L will address quickly – BA/CFO Riehl spoke to Chief Michigan who sent an Officer to do a light survey for submission to JCP&L; bag ordinance is not a perfect solution, but bags on the street are not accepted in a nice town and won’t be in PPB – looking at various components – Code Enforcement wrote warnings – notices given – newsletter will further outline the ordinance – will see it through until all are educated PPB has a good Trash Management Plan; incident on Labor Day was tragic – brave responders kept it from being worse – some of the lifeguards are barely teenagers and ran into harm’s way – inspiring – all first responders will be recognized – town owes them all a debt of gratitude.
BA/CFO Riehl: had a great meeting on Monday with the Chief, Code Enforcement and Fire Official to address potential for outdoor heaters with outdoor dining in town – CEO/ZO Tumolo will email those interested to submit a new plan, at no cost, with number, type and placement of heaters – will regroup to review – anticipate requests as cooler weather is coming; great Skate Park grand opening – there was a request for seating – 3 new benches were placed there this afternoon – a block is already loose – contractor was notified, was very responsive and will be on site tomorrow – under warranty; 4th Q tax bills went out today with notices of tax sale on November 13th for 2019 delinquencies; suggested FD do drills at 56 Sanborn before it is demolished (Councilwoman Byrnes: thinks they would welcome that) would happy to speak with them (Attorney Riordan: not until date of demolition) that will be shortly after September 21st; District 2 speaker system is operational – allows live, on-the-spot broadcast and recorded messages – waiting on call back about a large aluminum flag pole; Councilman Cortes spoke about bi-lingual bike safety signs – QOL Dir. O’Rourke has found a bi-lingual hang tag for cyclists – will revisit distribution and forward email to everyone.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:10PM
Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked Council to approve 1G; thanked BA/CFO Riehl and Mayor Kanitra for extended Inlet bathroom hours – asked for a sign showing the new hours.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about 1F.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:17PM
Councilman Cortes asked that item 1G be considered separately as Resolution 3.
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 ($363,634.10)
1b Authorization to conduct hydrant flushing 10/5-10/16 & to advertise in Ocean Star 10/2-10/16
1c Approval of 2020/2021 ABC License renewal (1)
1d Approval of payment to BTMUA for August bulk water usage ($125,658)
1e Approval of payment to Ground Hawg Demo for fixing/maintaining R-Blend at Inlet ($7,450)
1f Authorization to solicit property appraisals as required by Green Acres
1g CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AS RESOLUTION 3
1h Approval of Arts Cmte/Little Pt Bookshop S/E app for Book/Art Fair, Arnold lot, 10/10 (rain 10/11)
1i Amend Res. 2020-0218/1K (Alzheimer NJ Banner App), changing dates to 10/9-10/23
1j Approval of payment to Cherry Valley Tractor Sales for DPW Kubota ($28,024.83)
1k Approval of PO to Enviroscapes for site maintenance at Lk of the Lillies ($2,975.90)
1l Approval of payment to Turbo Electric for repair of 6 lights at DPW garage ($4,650)
1m Auth to advertise for a Construction Official, Building Subcode Official and Fire Official
1n Approval of Jenks South request to store rides in trailers on their property
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($80,850.43)
2b Approval of PO to ESI Equipment for Holmatro extrication tools for Fire Co No 2 ($2,705)
2c Approval of payment to Fire & Safety Svcs for pump repair/engine 4301 Fire Co No 2 ($3,194.18)
2d Approval of payment to Ocean Cardiovascular for 12 Police stress tests ($3K)
2e Approval of pymt to Wilmac Business Equip for PD software service/1-yr maint renewal ($3,770)
2f Approval of PO to NJ Emerg Vehicles for ambulance/PL Custom Ford E-450 Remount ($97,589)
2g Approval of PO to McCarthy Contracting for wall addition in PD ($4,941)
2h Approval of payment of hand checks from BOA & Developer Escrow accounts
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale (except 1N), Testa (except 1N), Byrnes (except 1N),
Councilman Cortes….YEA
Councilmembers Vitale (1N), Testa (1N), Byrnes (1N)….NAY
Councilmen Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
Mayor Kanitra: spoke about 1G – per Chief’s protocol, have denied 5K races, tables on the Boardwalk, etc. – understands and respects where he is coming from – believes the policy should continue until the State of Emergency is lifted but, in the off-season with the lower level of crowds, asked for an exception for the local VFW – Chief recommended it be declined (Councilman Vitale: supports Veterans, but need to be consistent, especially with COVID precautions; Councilman Cortes: September 12th has passed – asked about shifting it a week) or just keep it as is – 2 out of 3 weekends as a compromise (Chief Michigan: wants to be consistent – have declined and cancelled events – no tables were allowed on the Boardwalk this summer – doesn’t anticipate any more large crowds – doesn’t see this being a huge burden on the PD – he is a Veteran and member of this Post, but doesn’t want to open a Pandora’s box – this table would present no issues).
Motion by Councilman Cortes to approve RESOLUTION 3: Approval of VFW Post 4715 Auxiliary S/E App for raffle sales on Bdwk, Sat & Sun 9/12-27, was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilman Vitale….NAY
Councilmen Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
MAYORAL APPOINTMENTS TO MUNICIPAL ALLIANCE COMMITTEE
Mayor Kanitra: QOL Dir. O’Rourke is reviving the MAC Committee for drug and alcohol prevention – get @$5K grant from the County – members represent nutritionists, doctors, teachers –well-rounded group – upstanding members of community – meet a handful of times – were involved with Project Graduation in the past.
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to approve the MAC Committee was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Test, Byrnes, Cortes….YAY
Councilmembers Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 2020-16 (Amend Ch. XXII–Buildings) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Cortes to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2020-16 on second reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilman Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
Ordinance 2020-17 (Amend Ch. XXIV–Streets & Sidewalks) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2020-17 on second reading was seconded by Councilman Cortes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilman Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
Mayor Kanitra: Planning Board discussed Ordinances 2020-18 and 2020-19 at length at their meeting last week and both received unanimous support.
Ordinance 2020-18 (Amend Ch. XIX–Development) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Vitale to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2020-18 on second reading was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes….YEA
Councilman Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
Ordinance 2020-19 (Amend Ch. XIX – Development) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing.
EJ Geiger, 115 Arnold Ave, PPB: asked how this will affect current businesses with mercantile licenses and those with mercantile licenses who want to move to other areas (Mayor Kanitra: would be allowed to move to designated areas, but not into the heart of downtown – could move along Rte. 35 and other areas) not to vacant buildings on Arnold Ave. or anything like that (Mayor Kanitra: correct; Councilman Cortes: basically, can’t move to too many places in town – there’s a map; Mayor Kanitra: no different than an automotive shop – don’t want an automotive garage fixing cars right next to The Beanery – trying to make downtown as walkable, vibrant, retail/restaurant friendly as possible – trying to be careful about where to place certain businesses) just wanted to get a grasp on it to see where it fitz with existing businesses that have already paid for a license – not that he has one or plans on getting one.
Motion by Councilwoman Testa to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2020-19 on second reading was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes….YEA
Councilman Cortes*….NAY
Councilman Santanello, Migut….ABSENT
*This is targeted at a business that wants to move and, even though he is a non-smoker, non-vaper, non-anything, they want to better themselves and grow their business. It’s also spot zoning through ordinance, which is wrong.
Municipal Clerk announced that all four ordinances have been adopted.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:33PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked about Municipal Alliance Committee; asked about status of Coast Guard Station; PD has done outstanding job this year.
Kristin Hennessy, New Jersey Ave., PPB: shout out to Councilman Vitale for beautiful signs – hopes to see them on every PPB lawn; kudos to Chief Michigan and PD for their work this summer – deserve tremendous credit for serving and protecting residents; alerted Council, especially Board of Education liaisons Testa and Vitale, that Antrim student athletes are not being allowed to play sports this fall – there is a petition circulating to have the Monmouth County Athletic League reconsider their decision to not have fall soccer or cross country for middle school students – and Superintendent Smith has chosen not to allow PPB student athletes to participate in the Monmouth County Intermediate School Cross Country League this year – no clear rationale – will address with the BOE – would appreciate Governing Body’s support and anything Liaisons Testa and Vitale can do to bridge the conversation between the community and BOE (Attorney Riordan: inappropriate for Governing Body to comment from dais – can comment at a School Board meeting as private citizens) asked the role of the liaisons – Governing Body has done proclamations for student athletes and represents PPB children – have all gotten behind the Skate Board park – don’t have a Booster Club to represent middle school athletes – it’s an issue that many in the community are very concerned about.
Stan Angeloni, 502 Chicago Ave., PPB: thanked Chief Michigan and PD for keeping all safe; asked Councilman Vitale how to get a sign for his house; thanked Mayor & Council.
Chuck Venedam, Brunswick Place, PPB: asked what is being done about the garbage – biggest problem is Sunday night when people put cans out and leave.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about the Animal House ordinance – thinks 2 violations of any town ordinance kicks in the requirement to go before the magistrate – landlords might wish to be more cooperative and inform tenants about garbage – suggested Realtors be encouraged to include the garbage bag ordinances in leases – information should also be included with COs.
Greg Gradel, 402 New Jersey Ave., PPB: thanked Governing Body and Chief for improving quality of life; asked about committee to establish full/partial train quiet zones – volunteered to help.
John Taurozzi, 509 Delaware Ave., PPB: congratulated Governing Body on a challenging first summer in office; asked for an explanation of Ordinance 2020-16.
Sabrina Bezerra, 400 Niblick St., PPB: asked if garbage summonses are given to mercantile license holder or landlord (Attorney Riordan: landlord, who’s responsible to control tenant).
John Bezerra: business owner, not landlord, gets fined for fire code violations (Attorney Riordan: FO’s discretion to cite landlord or tenant – trash is different) should be lenient.
Sabrina Bezerra: only open playground in town is Pleasure Park, but bathrooms remain closed and there is heavy stench behind the shed – asked if they will open this fall – equipment remains broken and kids have limited resources now.
Kristin Hennessy: Pleasure Park bathroom opening has been an issue for almost 13 years – PD was involved in opening and closing it for a while – asked if another department or employee could pick up that responsibility.
Chief Michigan: thanked all for lawn signs and praise – challenging summer – PD appreciates the support – happy summer is over.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 9:17PM
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 9:18PM.
ATTEST: _______________________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
