good evening the June 26 2024 council meeting of the Long Branch city council will now come to order roll call Mr Vieira I'm here Dr vot here Mrs whts is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler here please stand for a pledge allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag United States of America into the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible in liberty and justice for all I will now read the mission statement of the city council The Long Branch mayor city council and administration are committed to cultivating an environment of mutual trust and respect our values the diversity of our community we will strive enhance the quality of life for all who live here by making Long Branch a desirable place in which to live and prosper we will treat all members of the public with respect and expect the same return Madame clerk I hereby certifi that this meeting has been published in the newspaper in accordance with the open public meeting act and posted as required by law I need a motion to approve the minutes of June 12th 2024 vote call so so moved second second Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs wits is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler yes thank you I'm sorry ordinance 04- 24 an ordinance authorizing acceptance of the sidewalk easan on the plan entitled site plan 4 415 Broadway block 26 65 lot 7 this ordinance was introduced on June 12th 2024 and is authorizing acceptance of a sidewalk easan on a plan entitled site plan for 415 Broadway and Dudley block 265 lot 7 as part of the resolution compliance for of Long Branch zoning board I need a motion to open the public hearing on this ordinance only so moved second all in favor I OPP if any member of the public has any comments to make on this ordinance only please come to the podium stay your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once on ordinance 01424 see there's none I need a motion to close so moved second all in favor I this is the second reading of ordinance 14- 24 I need a motion to adopt on the second and the final reading an advertise according to law so moved second roll call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler yes ordinance 01524 an ordinance amending chapter 300 subdivision of then article two storm water management this was introduced on June 12th 2024 and amend several sections with chapter 300 of the code of the city of law Branch subdivision of land Article 2 storm water management as required per New Jersey D Department of Environmental Protection I need a motion to open the public hearing on this ordinance only so moved second all in favor I if any member the public has any comments to make on this ordinance only please come to the podium stay your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak Once on This ordinance see and there's none I need a motion to close so moved second all in favor I I this is the second reading of ordinance 15-24 I need a motion to adopt on second and final reading an advertise according to law so moved second R call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs Wht is absent Dr s is absent Mr dangler yes ordinance for introduction 01 16-24 this is the first reading of ordinance 16-24 entitled an ordinance amending chapter 319 trees on the code of the city of Long Branch by creating article two Tre removal replacement amending chapter 345 zoning Article 5 special regulations Section 345 d47.3 three tree preservations summary the New Jersey D Department of Environmental Protection requires the city of Long Branch to establish a minimum requirements for the tree removal and replacement to reduce soil erosion soil pollutant runoff promote infiltration of rain water into the soil and protect the environment public health safety and Welfare I need a motion to introduce onto the first reading adverti and post according to law and set the public hearing for July 10th 2024 so moved second roll call Mr Vera yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler yes presentation of the 2024 Long Branch Municipal budget Chief Financial Officer Michael Martin has prepared a presentation on the 2024 Long Branch Municipal budget good evening this is a presentation of the 2024 city of Long Branch Municipal budget in comparing the 2024 estimated tax rate of $155 to the estimated tax rate of $151 in 2023 residents will see a reduction of approximately 4 cents as you can see the municipal tax rate over the past 3 years has been going down every year your taxes are broken down in the following ways the largest portion at 46% goes to the school district 37% of the funds stay with the city 133% is paid to the county and 2% goes to fund Library operations Mammoth county has adopted the assessment demonstrations program as a result of this the average assessment reflects the increase of property values over the last few years the average assessed value of homes in Long Branch has been increasing steadily over the past several years the average residential assessment has gone up from $568,500 198,50 75 in 2023 and is currently at [Music] $757,500 % departmentally the budget is spent as follows $1,322 is spent on police and fire departments this is where the city spends the most money Public Works is the second largest Department spending 11,237 500 General Administration statutory expenditures Insurance Recreation and other departments make up the rest of the budget this year the Long Branch City budget comes in at a total of$ 76,500 77 let's see where all that money comes from 60% comes from property taxes that are raised in the levy 11.99% comes from the local Revenue such as Beach fees parking fees and other licenses and permits 6.26% comes from state aid and the balance comes from delinquent taxes Library taxes and other miscellaneous sources there are two calculations that the saate requires us to do the first is the appropriation cap calculation which restricts the total amount the city can spend as you can see we do not exceed the permitted limit for Appropriations the second calculation is done to restrict our tax levy to a state guideline of a 2% increase again this budget brings us under the allowable amount to be raised in a levy by $2,359 2133 the city of Longridge has many projects and improvements happening throughout the city this includes many road projects streetscape improvements and drainage improvements other projects around the city include the new Long Branch Pier Senior Center expansion Health wellness and Technology Center and park and Library Renovations the city utilizes all opportunities to save taxpayer money with several shared services agreements and other measures such as shared service agreements for the construction Department Information Technology Services finance department and lifeguard training also the city engages in bidding bulk natural gas and electricity to ensure the best possible pricing of City Utilities and finally the city uses cost savings with commodity resale of fuel and road salt to six Municipal entities to Aid in defraying the costs of equipment I'd like to end with the advantages of living in Long Branch there are miles of pristine public beaches with a lowest pric seasonal Beach badge and free parking for residents we have a very active news senior center with over 900 members there are multiple art displays and events at our cultural art center we have a nationally recognized Library our Recreation Department offers a multitude of sports and activities at our numerous recreational areas a combined volunteer and full-time paid Fire Department a community pool we are one of only two towns in the county operating its own health department and don't forget about our summer concert series with live music three times a week all over town that will conclude our that will conclude our presentation public hearing on the 2024 Long Branch Municipal budget I need a motion to open the public hearing on the 2024 Municipal budget so moved second all in favor I oppose if any member of the public has any comments to make regarding the 2024 Municipal budget please come to the podium and state your name and address clearly for the record you'll have 5 minutes and may only speak once Vincent leapor 33 Ocean terce Long Branch Mr Martin was that your voice on this presentation no why not someone else sounded better because somebody else sounded better yeah is that somebody else certified as a CFO no no because it's quite flawed the whole presentation is fled I'd like to ask that individual questions since you yielded to the Phantom individual who's not here tonight who wrote the script right Mr Martin Mr Martin wrote the script just for the record Mr leor so you could probably ask your questions to him I could care less about the script this isn't the individual that presented it not Mr Morton no it was he wrote the script though that was just a voice over AR I don't know what to tell you yeah well he should be here that's the presentation Mr Martin have you proved Barnett's Pier Village 3 garage audits yet I did review it you did review it and what was your opinion of it didn't inform an opinion I reviewed it you reviewed it but you didn't inform an opinion because it would have a substantial impact on this presentation tonight by the fact that the audit no longer allows Barnett the 30-year tax exemption which would the revenue for this budget would relieve the burden on the taxpayers of this city that's not true there's nothing yes it is Mr Martin have you received kushner's three years worth of overdue audits yet no but I understand they are preparing oh you understand they are preparing um they're in the fall as of 3 years ago the financial agreement Has Broken broken and as of 3 years ago they owe us a lot of money Kushner owes us a tremendous amount of money and that would have had a tremendous impact on this budget relieving the burden on the taxpayers I guess they finally found kushner's phone number lbpd is that correct Mr Martin I don't think it was the PD that found anything no no they were supposed to find the phone number according to you and they couldn't find it no doubt in the budget the amount raised by taxation on the basis for this budget a component of which is the value of land and Improvement assistant the light item quote tax abated pilot figures of 3, 71,9 46 this figure equates to the loss to the board of ed in 2023 of 1,382 37 75 what's worth is with this tax abated pilot figure is the abusive under assessments of pilot properties particularly kushner's 40,000 square ft of perer Village tree retail at the base of loft's residential condominium complex $20,000 assessed for 40,000 square ft sickening and for the whole Kushner perer Village 3 retail of 40,000 square ft continues to be very troubling when one takes a good accounting of what's actually taking place there very troubling again ultimately the taxpaying residents of this city will be making up for this cusher under assessment as well as the loss of Revenue to the Board of Ed from these tax abatements ments tax exemptions and under assessments particularly at perer Village 3 Mr Martin how do you honestly uphold your oath and fiduciary responsibility preparing a budget knowing the delinquency in these Audits and the revenue that could have been contributed to this budget to relieve the tax burden on the residents of this city the a don't have anything to do with what they tax to the pilot excuse me oh could you please repeat that for the record the AUD don't have anything to do with how the commercial properties are taxed in the pilots based on the square footage of cost per square Mr Martin you're you're bordering incompetent now Mr Martin you truly are bordering incompetent this is classic junk government that answer is not qualified of a CFO no on the budget jum government thank you anyone else I need a motion to close so moved second all in favor I oppose resolution Place holder I need a motion to adopt the resolution r141 d24 entitled resolution adop adopting the 2024 city of Long Branch Municipal budget so moved second V call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs wits is absent Dr C is absent Mr dangler yes public participation for the resolutions and the general comments I need a motion to open the public portion of the meeting for all comments so moved second second all in favor I posos if there's any me anyone in the audience that has a comment to make please step to the podium and stay your name and address clearly for the record you'll have five minutes and may only speak once good evening I'm Lester Burnley 376 West End Avenue I'm just here to give you a thank you for supporting the antler uh youth week back in May and I have a little token of appreciation for you so thank you again for supporting us thank you there thank you thanks Vincent laor 33 ocean terrorist Long Branch requesting one minute notification Mr Martin at the June 12th council meeting City attorney rown doubled down on his contention that Gary Barnett's Garage of Pier Village 3 is a part of the common areas of the loft's condominium residences if Mr R know is to maintain his position which I have proven to be flawed should we expect to see the garage's balance sheet and income statement as well as their statement of cash flows as presented on the garage's 2022 audit in the income and expense statement as well as their statement of cash flows and their still unreceived 2022 audit of perer Village 3 urban renewal company LLC the parent organization of the lofs residential Condominiums Mr Martin the answer yes or no I continue to agree with Mr R you continue to agree with Mr REO which means you don't know and we just adopted a budget good job Council good job further proof that Mr Ron continues to be wrong is found in the November 17 2019 m deed for the L residential Condominiums executed in accordance with the New Jersey Condominium Act and was subsequently recorded in the office of the mammoth County Clerk's Office on December 23rd 2019 In Deed book 9387 beginning on page 1110 in the master deed under article 16.01 one found on page 53 further titled parking garage unit it states as follows quote parking garage unit shall mean a part of the condominium designated and intended for independent ownership and use as a parking garage facility serving the residential units commercial units and general public as required by the Land Development approvals for the property and shall not be deemed to include any part of the general common elements situated within or appendant to any of the residential units or commercial units end quote on September 13 2022 an absolute assignment of leases and rents was executed between perer Village 3 R urban renewal company LLC and Provident Bank and which said absolute assignment of leases and rents signed by Gary Barnett was duly recorded in the office of the mammoth County Clerk's Office on September 29th 2022 in book 9617 page 6189 and which states on page 4 of 11 section 1 subsection a quote that the assigner is owner in fee simple absolute of the premises and has good title as a landlord or licenser to the leases hereby assigned and good right to assign the same and that no other person firm or Corporation has any right title or interest as landlord or licenser there on end quote Mr right now I suggest you get together with Mr Mar one minute notification and figure out what's going on in this city particularly of Pier Village 3 Council resolution 143 excusing Mary Jane Sy from attending I'll tell you right now Mary Jane S as a councilwoman is very selfish Mr dangler is calling in tonight and it's been about a year Miss Sy can't call in a year is she is enough to pick up a phone and call in no you're denying the people of this city a representative for political reasons and that's wrong I'm requesting a no vote resolution 154 conditional redeveloper of Star of the Sea parking lot where are these cars going to park social media has been posting the Sunday services at Star of the Sea with the side and real lot full in the front lot full nobody has explained where all those cars are going to park no resolution 155 PV Avenue L L LLC 5 minutes the beach bar at Avenue filthy dirty corrupt Long Branch no liquor license renew in violation of njde kaffra No Junk government thank you hello my name is Gladis Tarantino and I live on narag ganit Avenue and I'm here to question the resolution about Dr Sy is she going to be replaced is what happens does she continue to get her salary and we do not get representation I understand that she is the vice chair I also understand that she is the representative ative for the senior center I am a senior in Long Branch I am concerned about my representation and I would like to know what happens in aead like this I wish her no ill I only hope that she is well but I do want to know what takes place in a situation as such as this you want I I I can only ma'am if I can I can only tell you what the state law says right so the state law says that a council person I I'm having a hard time he oh I apologize I'm sorry the state law says that a council person who is absent because of illness her the their seat cannot be deemed vacant so she is currently an authorized member of the council the council doesn't have any authority to remove her so um I I wish I could give you a better answer than that but that is the answer how long do we wait for her ABS under the state law once again if it's as a result of an illness says what that she can remain as an individual without any presence or any representation of the citizens of Long Branch that have elected her ma'am if if you want to argue with me you can no I'm not argu if you want to know what the state law says I'll tell you what it says but you can go I don't want to interrupt you I'm sorry this is your five minutes please tell me what the state law says state law says that a vacancy created as a result of an illness is not grounds for removing a council person a council doesn't have any Authority to just remove a council person so it's a matter just a matter of state law I'm sorry I'm sorry you disagree with it and and and and I I don't want to stop you because you're two or five minutes you can say whatever you want if you want to argue with me as to why the state law is wrong I'm probably not the one because we don't really control what the state law who who represents who stands for the people that she is supposed to there's four other Council people here they're all elected at large so it's she's not a ward counil person there's four people who are otherwise elected um you know at tonight's meeting there happens to be three present because there are emergencies that happen in life that people Miss Council meetings that that happens um I I understand and I as I said I wish her no ill will I'm glad you can appreciate that but you you asked the question that's that's the answer under the state law I can't give you a better answer than that it is what the state law is I I'm sorry I have to state that I hope that you vote no I feel that you are not representing Me by having the member that I have been told for the past number of years is representing the seniors and unfortunately she is not and she has not been here and she has been having difficulty for quite a while and honestly she should not have been able to run if she was not able to do her duties one of the basic duties is attendance of meetings and that's a basic ground level Duty an obligation as a council member and I feel that by not having informed the residents of M of Long Branch that she was ill and perhaps not able to fulfill her whole term that we should have been informed of such and this is a problem that happens unfortunately in many politics across the country and I am impaled that you are standing behind that Scott Beaver 434 law Branch Avenue uh just to help answer your question if you want to see Miss Sy go see her in Shrewsbury she's in a nursing home there she's in a nursing not in Long Branch to but I'm just saying is that council is that a issue that she's not a resident of Long Branch she is a resident of Long Branch she's she is if you if you went to a hospital would you not be a resident here she is a resent for as a matter of law she's a resident so I don't okay well and again I'm just asking you because you're the expert and in all due respect I'm just answering you so the answer is she is a res you you your your question is a false premise the answer is she is a resident of the city of Long how is it a false I asked you a question how is a question false well your well your question was is it that a problem that she's not a resident and the answer is ask you to Define it for me so the answer is she is a I I once again I I really don't want to get into an argument with you but the fact of the matter is she is she is she is a resident of the city of law legally she's a resident of the city of law fine even if she's been there a couple years all right I got you um yeah my main concern really right now uh One Branch Avenue going to the park uh Mr Mayor it is a Speedway I got to listen to music coming through I've closed windows air conditioner on my windows are rattling nobody cares nobody stops them they're racing up and down Long Branch Avenue the music is insane they're coming from the the park and it's booming there m you go down Broadway the music's booming the cars are racing nobody's doing anything and I I I I don't know what's going to be next but it it it's for my comfort I have to hear this I go to my son's house I don't hear anything and I come home and I got to hear cars I got to hear music we're not in New York City I get that but something has to be done and if you need special equipment buy it I don't know how much that would be but I'm sure the cost of that from what it's putting out to your residents would be much more favorable for you if you just addressed it and nothing is getting addressed one more thing since I'm on it the street lights and Lawn branch I wish I knew how much each one cost to have on because I know there's a fixed price but I know that when I go home I'll pick an area and I'll drive home and I'll count 8 to 10 one night I counted 12 right well if that's $100 a piece you know we're over two grand already and these are short distances I don't know when I worked on the streets midnight shift you saw you we used to write the list down you come in and you faxed it to jcpnl now you can do it on your computer in your car it can be done on your computer in your car so I I don't know what they're doing on midnights but that could be one thing thank you did you yeah anyone else one second Scott just so you know obviously Scott and i' go back the street light problem the traffic guys have done it three times and we have uh actually printed proof of it in some areas it's five times during covid jcpnl lost their supplier for certain lights and they're converting everything to LED which requires wires so everything is going to be converted but they flat out told us that that they are three years behind from when we put it in it they're three years behind and you shouldn't have to pay for I listen that was your argument believe me but just so you know they have reported it the traffic guys have got done it three times already sense yep [Music] okay I'm Alison D bis I live at 223 lllo Street in North Long Branch um I bought my house in 2014 loved the neighborhood grew up in Long Branch sure all my relatives did um there's a home on five eloro place that their gar two car garage faces my home I started making phone calls on um April 22nd to the police department for excessive noise um no noise complaints uh there I did reach out to Josh bard on the 23rd of April because I thought that they were running a business there all these cars pull up I do not believe they live at that address and they're installing when they open the hatch woofers this big and all the neighbors have complained all the neighbors have been calling the police on them um the back bedroom where I sleep it rattles I did go over and ask them they're young kids I don't know know where they're from I I do not believe they live at that house at all they Park the wrong way they make it impossible for me to back out of my driveway and I went over as a single woman by myself there were five guys there and I said we can't have this this music anymore you know this is a residential area all the neighbors are complaining they got very mouthy and said they could do whatever they want in the driveway I explained that you know I have called the police at what what I need to happen is they laugh at me when when the complaints are made something needs to be done is it a summons I can get you license plates of the cars that pull there and it's 7 days a week morning till 10 p.m. and I can't I work from home every other week I can't have be on conference calls because they're asking me what are you where are you at the Madison Square Garden concert I mean it's just and it's not it's the booming and it rattles everything in the house and what is the next step do we summons them they they seem to think that there's no repercussions for this behavior and all as as homeowners on that block we don't know what to do and it's I have a feeling it's not going to end well there's some people who you know aren't aren't handling it well so so Mr Po deos I'm glad you brought this our attention because my office I haven't heard this so this is very good to know what can we I'll give you my card all right Josh Bard was wonderful he um I thought well maybe I'll go that the Aven Avenue of they're running a business in a resid Central area he within 2 hours I was working from home he pulled up with the code enforcement partner they spoke to them and explained they weren't running a business so I appreciate that he did do that but I I need something to get a little more um absolutely can you stay a few minutes right after the meeting and we'll all right thank you thank you anyone else I need a motion to close the public participation portion of this meeting so moved second all in favor I oppose I will now ask Madame clerk if there are any changes to the list of resolutions no changes have been made thank you resolutions we can take a list of resolutions as a consent agenda so moved second V call Mr via yes Dr V yes Mrs whtas is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler Mr dangler yes I need a motion to adopt resolutions 154 and 157 so moved second Mr Vieira abstain Dr vote Yes Mrs whts is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr dangler yes applications none miscellaneous for business of the good of the order so I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight I really we really going to take your concerns I know how the music sounds I'm on Atlantic Avenue and I hear it too it's not even the music the vibration of the speakers it's unbelievable it's it's unbelievable and I know um I know we our police officers we have to catch him in the ACT it's very tough I talk to Sher he'll let you know how it goes but if we don't catch him in the ACT it's it's it's it's it's a law you know it's a lost cause and um I want to thank the environmental commissioner for being over here tonight and the chief bud and thanks everyone for coming out tonight good night thanks Sylvester B it looks nice um councilman V thank you councilman Viera um I also thank you for coming out tonight the comments were very informative and um thank you for bringing those issues to our attention um I also Lester want to thank uh our Els thank our our uh kids in and uh you know certainly it's our pleasure to support them as they become involved and think about um you know participating in government and Civic uh activities it's an important thing for them to learn so we appreciate all the work that you that you do with them and um I also wish everyone a happy July 4th since I don't think we'll be seeing you before then so um we'll see you in about two weeks and again thank you for coming tonight mayor palone thank you councilman I just had a few announcements I'd like to make so our con our summer concert series is back in full swing join us every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday for the full schedule please go to Long branch. org on our website the new Senior Center we're very excited about will be opening in a few weeks uh we look forward to announcing our ribbon cutting date and all will be uh invited to attend and follow and follow finally the next uh Art Center exhibit is about the history of lifeguarding and Long Branch and about the history of our surf culture in our city uh this will run from the beginning of July until the end of August uh this will be by far the biggest exhibit yet filled with history art stories from the past from from our Long Branch beaches so uh on the website we're going to have several events in the next month and a half thank you all for coming this evening and have a great week councilman dangler I would just like to wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July and look forward to seeing everyone again in two weeks at the next council meeting thank Youk you thank you I need a Merc motion to journ so moved so moved second all in favor I I oppos thank you good night