good evening on behalf of the governing body of the city of Pake we welcome you to the July 16 2024 city council meeting in accordance with chapter 231 public laws of 1975 adequate notice of this meeting was provided by resolution of the municipal Council adopted on June 18th 2024 setting forth the schedule of meetings for the year 2024 2025 said notice was published and posted on the city hall bulletin board by the office of the city clerk please be further advised this meeting will be conducted in person the zoom stream provided is for viewing only and is offered to the public as a convenience on July 5th 2024 public notice and zoom instructions for this meeting were published in the Herold news and posted on the city of Pake website at www.city of.com Council agenda instructions are also available on the last page of this agenda please be guided accordingly love pres councilwoman Melo pres councilwoman Garcia councilwoman col monz pres and council president Shar president sh we please rise Heavenly Father we thank you for allowing us to meet this evening Lord we ask that to please guide us in the decisions that will take place this evening in your beloved name we pray amen I flag United States of America we're uh possibly going to be a little bit doing a little bit of jumping tonight in terms of order of things so why don't we start with 5 minutes March 5 2024 council meeting are there any changes or additions which need to be enacted for the minutes to be correct seeing no lights is there motion please to accept the minutes of Mark second next second roll call please councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilwoman Garcia yes councilwoman colz yes council president Shar yes thank you minutes are approved we're up to R num six on our agenda hearing the city in accordance with the open public meetings act njsa 104-1 at SEC the council opens every public meeting for comments of the public however in accordance with njsa 10 col 4-12 nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the discretion of a public body to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation at any meeting therefore please be advised that the count please be advised that the council will not entertain any comments from persons who communicated obscene material make statements which are considered a bias intimidation in which a person intends to intimidate any individual or group because of race color religion gender handicap sexual orientation or ethnicity or makes comments intending to harass or speak any offensive language the person who makes these statements will relish their allotted five minutes for public discussion Madam clerk did we receive any communication uh people who would like to address the council not in Chambers no sir very good is there anyone who would like to address the council who is in Chambers welcome Mr kante yes good evening uh Joe kissent 170 Broadway uh council president my first question I have here is um we have a lot of restaurants in City of bake and my question is I know there used to be a a ordinance I don't know if they still have it where for eating inside you're supposed to have uh there's so many seatings for parking spaces I don't know if that was taken out my first question my next question that I have that canopis as known as uh marijuana um I'd like to know I'd like to know um how many warehouses do we have um where they growing it I guess they would have green houses um I would like to know if if we have any my next question is um by the myth clinic on how Avenue on the opposite side of it there's a parking lot you have Gregory Avenue and you have Myrtle Avenue it comes up to a it's like an island um the reason I'm bringing this up because there's a there's cars parked there there used to be grass growing on each side there's a a walkway a sidewalk on both sides there and you got all these cars just walking there um I'm Mr what is that intersection again that's Gregory Avenue and mle good thank you sir Gregory yeah right there is it me you're holding time no you got how you on the on the back end and on the other side is is like a island small island thank you m okay um my next one is Irving Place off of Broadway there is a lot of illegal Parks uh cars parked and I don't see much being done with it sometimes you got 10 cars sometimes you got five cars some sometimes you have 15 now you have the homeowners uh parking uh where they're not supposed to on a block I'm just wondering if there could be any Towing which that might help the issue my last question that I have rank control there's a big problem going on in bake as of right now the problem there is I brought it up the last time the landlord is uh telling people your leases are expired your next lease for the next month will be like $400 more for rent and some of them are $500 some of them are $1,000 now just this past uh July 1 he's offering people like 8,000 uh to move out and um I looked at a a friend of mine's lease like the mayor the mayor stated at the last meeting that if it's not on there then it's illegal so it wasn't on there the new the new feed that they want to charge so now the only out of the whole building one tenant is taken him to court but the that's the problem we have too the tenants don't know what to do uh they don't know who to talk to where to go and is becoming a big problem here is out of control so these are my questions tonight thank you sir so let's try to address uh with some assistance and good help their questions if you will number one you asked about um is there an ordinance uh which governs how many tables and chairs can be in a uh in an establishment that serves food the answer is uh at the suggestion of the mayor at the time uh and the city council such an ordinance was passed to the best of my knowledge I'm not familiar with the ordinance having been revoked that being the case the ordinance would still be in effect certainly um you had spoken about Gregory and mle Mr K help me what your your concern your complaint is in terms of parking illegal parking because that's a sidewalk that's a city piece of property yeah um Mr Fernandez would you know off hand how many parking spaces have been created by mayor lison T's office thousands there's nothing to do with it and how many how many will be created additionally as a result of the parking garage U 310 so 1300 at least okay so Mr kente I will tell you that's not the issue sorry that's not the issue the issue this is a this is a illegal parking area that they use and I would hope that when you see such illegal things going on you would do what every good citizen is obliged to do and that is to call the police uh your last question was in terms of rent control Mr Lurch could you help us with pic and rent control do we have rent control in to the best of your knowledge or am I hitting you from left field I I can answer that question very good please so we do have a rent control ordinance in the city of Pake a lot of the issues that Mr condescend was discussing um would happen whether you had rent control or not those are things that have been historically happening and some of the things he said um aren't exactly accurate right so we do have a rent control attorney uh we fi calls the human resource department is now out of the mayor's office and we're constantly answering those questions that people have and there's a there's a rent leveling board there's also assistance with a defense uh counsel a legal aid we're constantly referring people to Legal Aid and relocation is out of the mayor's office so literally as late as this morning I was talking to a family about how they can go about uh Rec if Ying any of those issues between them and Mr conen also stated one only one of the tenants decided to take them to court well that's the prerogative of the tenant after they hear all of the information that we know to do that's why and I'd like to add that uh you know through the mayor's Direction and approval from the council we have been making Headway with affordable housing within the municipality as well as we're one of the very few municipalities that gives funding for the renovation of these units to become affordable and those are regul ated by the federal government and there's a maximum rental increase if these landlords accept that money and even when they accept the money they still go over the number and we still have to go after them so there's no there is rent control we are doing our duties and we're happy to speak to any Resident the mayor has made it clear that our offices are an open door for any of our residents and that's what we continue to do and we do it every single day thank you thank you very much thank you one question can no sir your time is up I'm sorry anyone else like to address the I'm I'm sorry councilman love yeah just a question to Administration um uh you mentioned um rent subsidy uh HUD so there's two different two other layers when it comes to rent and and rentor rights right County and state also they can reach out for assistance in addition to the city uh for rental assistance yes when the when when it's funded and there's availability um they you know we use those resources as well I'm I'm I'm referring to if they have questions if they they feel they being mistreated absolutely abolutely yeah we give them the hotline as well like the HUD and and the the the way that they can um request information or file a complaint against a specific landlord so there's a specific hotline that you can either email or call uh if you feel that you were discriminated and your rent was increased for whatever reasons is is that posted anywhere do we have that anywhere on our website so it's in our community development it's in our community development office and the Community Development uh website also through our assemblyman's office we've had a few um workshops in community fairs here in the city we had one actually across the street from City Hall where we brought resources from the state through the assemblyman's office present to help people um connect with certain resources not just for rental assistance but utility assistance um as you stated and you're correct there are resources that have been presented through the county in fact one of the recent fairs that assembly M had brought the county here with his assembly office to share those Resources with the people but I do think that it's important perhaps to give a little perspective when obviously any tenant has an issue of Injustice or something that may go against the law there are resources we have attorneys the court deals with it attended landlord courts however there have been a number of cases where during the pandemic individuals did not pay rent for over a year or two when the pandemic ended and our offices State offices County offices told everyone you know in six months this is going to end in four months count down when it ended many of the property owners landlords who had been restricted from evicting anyone who didn't pay rent over the two years even if they had to make repairs some chose to offer tenants money to move out and that's the tenant's right to take it or not to reject it or not if they say yes they have every right to move on God bless them they take the money found somewhere else and others if it was within the lease and they signed the lease it became very difficult for us as Administration to say you signed the lease so every case is different that's why it's important when we refer people to the different layers of government that uh we're pragmatic in in what we tell individuals because a broad approach taking a brush and just painting across the board and saying you know if we just had this policy for the entire city it would resolve every issue every issue is not the same some individuals unfortunately were derel in their responsibilities they received funding throughout the two years and did not use the money to pay rent and then at the end of the two years the grace period and lack of a better description ended but again through the assem's office through our office through Human Services through the county even some federal programs we've offered many programs and many had um utilize the temporary rental assistance we've even reached out uh through the Board of Social Services through our councilwoman Tanya mow to help individuals who found themselves on the verge of being evicted and were able to receive assistance so there are resources but you have to come and receive the help and it's very difficult if you come after a year or two of not paying rent and then seeing the rents being rais trying to stop the train at that point that's the best way to put it yeah it's like trying to stop the train when it's already gone I'll tell you something must be going on on the other side positively because people are complaining they just can't find apartments and per se they're filling up as soon as they put them up so I mean um so good olds to those landlords and those tendance are having success all right I just I'm glad we were able to point out um for Mr kenti also to uh direct people to those resources as well thank you may thank you councilman mayor would you happen to know from conversations you've heard with mayor all colleagues of yours are they facing the same difficulties as we are yes other municipalities have the same challenges with tenants with some landlords obviously having to raise rents because even though the tenants did not have to pay the rents landlord still had to pay or Property Owners had to pay their taxes they had to pay the mortgages and they were obligated to make the repairs so you know some of them had the funding others had to pull resources out and they looked to recover often times and we always tell everyone read your lease read your lease and we receive individuals who come and say you know my rent was raised 150 last year 150 this year and for two years it wasn't raised and then 300 it was raised if read the lease they can raise up to $300 in two years if you sign that lease it is a binding contract but we are not attorneys we always refer to our attorneys we direct individuals and try to help them but yes speaking to other Mayors around the state they are facing similar issues that's why the federal government provided so much assistance through Community Development um block grants through our community development departments and gave additional funding for affordable housing I have to share that this this Council passed a historic affordable housing initiative that went far beyond what some other municipalities were even speaking about and unfortunately there is no Panacea approach as you know council president to this issue I'm looking for one there I know very good thank you sir is there anyone else who would like to address the council at this time seeing no hands I'm move to close the public portion second motion and second roll call please councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes and council president Sher yes thank you um if we can skip back um mayor we took things a little bit out of order um can we ask for your update now or would you prefer share uh first I want to begin with congratul deput Deputy Mayor mini Hiller cousins on her wedding today Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church she was married so congratulations to her and brother Larry we wish them the very best July 3rd through July 7th we had our annual family festival and fireworks the Fourth of July I think we had a bigger crowd this year than previous years I know that all of the council members came by and uh I think they can all attest to this it was such a diverse crowd we had so many families from every Ward and every year it gets uh bigger and bigger but not only that we had individuals come from around the state we had people come from other counties a few families that were visiting from uh we had one family from Spain that came uh with a officer Cilan we had uh some families that uh just came to visit their family members from Mexico from South America from all over uh from Europe and they came to our fireworks so they had a great time the festival was wonderful the weather held up we were a little concerned early but that went really great we have already started our movies in the park on Tuesdays right now there's a movie in the park so we had a drive-in movie last Tuesday families enjoyed it that has continued to be one of the more positive initiatives our concerts in the park the next one is this Thursday with h groupo well we had grouo maau last Thursday and then we're gonna have Javi swing the G this Thursday so we're very excited for that on July 12th and we have Deputy Chief of the fire department deputy chief chief munier who's here uh we have promotions promotions and additions and swearing in of new uh firefighters an additional two two new chaplain uh we want to thank Father javel and father zigo J suniga from St Anthony's of padwa who will join our chaplain for our emergency responders our firefighters and our police and council president members of the city council on July 13th and 14th we had a busy weekend we had h two flag raisings Colombian and Peruvian and two festivals Colombian and Peruvian um council president you'll be proud of us we uh met our obligations and tasted every single food Booth so we could give you an accurate and detailed uh report later on we'll tell you the land was great but now in all seriousness uh we wanna we want to commend these organizations because obviously when it comes to municipalities festivals big events and activities there's always a concern of the aftermath what what the Parks look like what will the areas look like and they left everything clean and we want to thank our DPW our Recreation staff but the very next days the parks were ready to be used so we continue to have amazing support and a wonderful cooperation from these organizations every year we vet these organizations obviously we want to thank our our city clerk W fre is who um constantly reminds people months in advance and then they come one week before the event and say we want to offer food and the 300 people we expected is now 10,000 so see very pragmatically and wisely says great and the additional uh fee the estimate now goes from 10,000 to 80,000 and then they come back down and somehow she works it out she's extremely wise and proficient at this the events will continue throughout the summer we're very excited our next big event will be our summer camp out I see we have batner here from Recreation uh this year again our kids will be able to go to the park set up tents with their families afterwards we'll do fishing in Hughes Lake we're g to have H s'mores campfires movies and all of the fun activities that we did last year and some additional surprises on Friday August 9th we're going to have the New Jersey Motor Vehicles office brought To Us by assemblyman shers office once again individuals will be able to come and get real ID duplicates replacement titles non-driver ID and registration renewal and this is very exciting news we were recently awarded a safe routes to school srts infrastructure grant for 2024 continuing with our record Grant um Awards this year and please on to your seats $1.89 million given to the city of Pake for the areas of Parker Avenue and Dayton around our Dayton Avenue complex to enhance pedestrian safety which goes a long way many have heard the concerns of residents of families dropping off their kids obviously when you consider the exit and um entrance to Route 21 the distribution centers in the area the many schools in proximity to our day and Avenue complex it becomes a concern for crosswalks for pedestrian safety but you have seen it around the city most recently by our school number 11 right by uh Monroe Montgomery you'll see it right on the corner by the baseball field where we Mill and paved and put all of the new uh solar panel lights and all of The Pedestrian safety additions and we continue this throughout the city in Third Ward second ward First Ward and fourth ward so I'm very excited about that that our conney brag Cafe is moving along and we're almost ready to break ground on that as well as our parking deck which council president had shared our uee River Walk project we will be awarding the contract for our brand new River Walk project funded by both uee and Capitol Parks budget we are creating a river walk on the corner of market and South and it will beautify the area and provide residents with additional Green Space for leisure and exercise along the river our U business Transportation project at last week's uh State U board meeting as of July 10th we have a $530,000 project which was approved to fund our transportation Initiative for a free shuttle bus now this shuttle bus will go through our commercial districts it will go through Maine Avenue go down to Market Street come back up and it's going to circle around our business trick stud around the city from main9 and Third Ward all the way down here to the east side uh to Markus Street down P Street for free so kids seniors those who visit someone getting off the train and says I want to go eat on Market Street maybe go shop on Main avue and jump on the free shuttle it will remain within the city but we are exploring possibilities to partner up with other municipalities and maybe have them connect to other Transportation but we're very excited about that our Citywide poo repair continues I'll just name a few streets Elwood AB Broadway intersection Pake AB Central Broadway Washington Alana Broadway Liberty Street Breeland and Monroe hope and Madison I want to share we recently paved Third Street and Pine Street they both look brand new and beautiful so we're extremely excited about that and then I just want to share that our River and paulison parking lot has been completed we're very excited about it now we're just going to do the installation of some lighting as well as stripe and uh put some of the parking I would like to announce to some of the residents that have been asking from Council president members of the city council we've been uh painting the lines for parking around the city we've been identifying streets that are conducive for painted parking now we do not make these decisions in a silo we go through our Engineers they assess the streets and tell us which streets are again I'll reiterate conducive for this initiative and the latest one we're going to do is Hudson Street Buon Street we're going to paint so we can designate parking we have seen this work uh through the initiative that we've done collectively together uh we've been able to create angled parking and then do some striping and some painting of parking as well as ADD parking lots um push forward initiatives that provide parking to Residents in front of their driveways and with the record funding that we're receiving we're extremely excited that we have not completely resolved the issue we have gone a long way to address some of the unique concerns that we face in urban communities especially with the increase of vehicle ownerships and around our municipalities that is the extent of my report council president and members of the city council as well as those who are in attendance and those who are watching online I assume mayor that the uh routes for those bus buses which is wonderful news um make how can I phrase it bring attention to the restaurants and and other items of interest in the city as well as it announces some of our newest amenities our rooftop dining has already begun on may naav we have rooftop dining at 8:34 May naav and it's become an extremely popular location um you've seen it on social media some people are talking about it they go there they eat on the roof they see the New York skyline that is one of uh I believe two right now that are in the works but we're very excited about it excellent members of Council questions very good sir thank you mayor with the council's permission we're up to ran numeral 7 ordinances for second and final reading hearing is required number one proposed ordinance 2452-20 an ordinance to exceed exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank njsa 4-4-4 4 5.14 is there a motion please to open public hearing move second motion and second thank you roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col MZ yes and council president Sher yes thank you um we open public hearing correct at this time ladies and gentlemen if there's anyone who would like to address the Council on this proposed ordinance 2452 Only See No Hands move the close to public portion move there is a motion there is a second roll call please to close public hearing councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes and council president share yes thank you is there a motion to accept the ordinance please motion and second thank you roll call on 2453 councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman colom monz yes and council president Shar yes the motion carries we're up to our third item proposed in ordinance 2454-20 and ordinance amending chapter 149 article 3 of the code of the city of pic entitled mobile food establishments to provide for the of unlicensed mobile food establishments is there a motion please to open public to open motion and second thank you to open roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman counc Garcia yes Council yesc sh yes thank you ladies and gentlemen who are listening to us this proposed ordinance um is being discussed at the this time if you sent in comments they will be read I don't believe we have any comments on it are there any questions of people who are here seeing none is there motion please to close public hearing so move second motion on second to close roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman melow yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes Council MZ yes president sh yes thank you the ordance uh no that is now we're voting on The ordinance correct excuse me is there a motion please to accept 24544 motion and second thank you roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes councilman colz yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're done yes you skipped one I skipped one which one did I skip second second one 2453 I'm sorry item number two we have to do now item number two and I'll move to open it move to open there's a second roll call to open councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes council president sh at this time ladies and gentlemen the council will be deliberating 245 3-24 because I inadvertently made a big mistake is there anyone who would like to address the Council on 2453 d24 seeing no hands I move to close the public motion and second roll call please to close councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman councilman Garcia yes councilwoman go monz yes C president share yes thank you on the ordinance is there a motion to accept second thank you roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman schw yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman colz yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're up to Communications items four five 6 7 8 nine 10 are there any questions please on 4 through 10 see no questions at this time is there a motion please to accept 4 through 10 move it motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes counc councilman Garcia yes councilman colz yes yes council president share before giving my closure vote um forgive me for being so direct councilwoman col monz uh this ordinance is something which can be voted on by you in your terms of your official or official representations of the PRC um I would think so I'm not a board member ah you you'll excuse me for that ma'am that the case I vote Yes yeah thank you ma'am all matters listed here under are considered routine in nature we have items 11 11 through 22 are there any questions please on 11 through 22 let me publicly compliment the administration if I can this Council has so often heard complaints from uh members of the citizenry who have said that they're not available copies of what boards have done um and it's been uh a difficult subject for discussion because of cost and the rest of it so somehow you all found the way to make this work and on behalf of the council want to share our pleasure at that and thank you uh it puts us I'm sure in full compliance with with what we need to be we are up to 25 excuse me we are up to 23 we have to vote we have to vote for all matters sorry thank you a vote on all matters 11 through 22 22 11 through 22 move it second motion on second on 11 through 22 no excuse me councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman schw yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilman goz yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're up to R numeral 9 20 current year 2024 budget adoption public hearing is required number 23 cancellation of appropriated Grant Reserve balances under the American Rescue plan Mr uh Lurch it's so pleas pleasurable to see you here could you tell us what 23 does yeah thank you very much when theer back in what it did was technically thank you council president um when the city received the award for the American Rescue plan back in 2020 what it did it did a technicality and appropriated all that money and what that really did was set all that money aside so that money had to be spent only for specific purposes now in accordance with the statute the entire money is required to be expended by the year ended December 31st 2024 or at least committed so since some of that money that was set aside from the original award was technically set aside what we're doing by this resolution is we're freeing that money up and that money is now being anticipated as a revenue and being appropriated in this 24 budget um there's $8.1 million in this budget which will be the last trunch of your American Rescue money and that money is being used um for police and fire so so that um you'll uh you'll have met all your requirements and to have uh legally spent that money the American Rescue plan money this a one time only one time only that is correct sir the mayor was over there it would be two times I'm sure well you received two checks but this is the end of it are there any questions please on 23 seeing none is there motion please to accept 23 Second motion and second roll call please yes councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes Council Garcia yes councilwoman colong monz yes council president sh yes thank you number 24 please is a resolution adoption of the current year 2024 Municipal budget Mr Lurch can you help us uh yes uh just a few words point of order uh you required to have a public hearing prior to taking action on the resolution um I just want to make a a a very few short comments um this city deserves a tremendous Commendation for its fiscal discipline and and I say that very very complimentary and very uh very sincerely um this city this city has for a uh for a city of this size it's $116 million spending plan and that $116 million spending plan total debt of this city outstanding is 16 million under the statute under the statute the city PES permitted to authorize debt up to three and a half% of its equalized valuation that number is 170 million there are cities and I'm not going to name them here because we all love our sister CI but there are cities that are at their 3 and a half% and above where literally every time they want to do a capital Improvement they have to go down a local Finance board since they exceed the legal threshold the city of pic is $53 million below its allowable debt limit uh just another comment you you read about the federal government all the time and and how all the money is being spent on the Federal level for what they call Deb service it's the mortgage it's what we what you pay for your mortgage the mortgage for the city of pic is approximately $2 million let me put that in perspective $2 million on $116 million spending plan means that less than 2% of the city's budget goes to repay debt that is a phenomenal low number the average number for a city and for even not just the city for Suburban towns as well is approximately 10% of the budget meaning that most communities spend they have a $100 million budget approximately $10 million goes to pay the principal interest on the debt 90 million would go for services in this city out of 116 million tall budget $114 million goes for services that's that's quite quite an accomplishment and um lastly I think uh you know I do want to just give a little bit of credit um to the Chief Financial Officer here and um I want to point out out of all the um out of all the financials that are reviewed it's quite a few the city earned interest income on its deposits it took advantage of the higher interest rates and everybody's familiar interest rates actually were higher finally after so many years of a zero interest rate the city earned $2.4 million $2.4 million in interest in calendar year 2023 um so again I think Kudos goes to everybody I think it goes to the council president Council for their great dis expain it for their great guidance and the administration which administers throughout that and it just shows that um the city Pake watches every dollar every dime and every penny and I think you all deserve to be highly complimented for it and it's an honor to serve the city thank you thank you thank you sir you're very very kind um tell us about neighboring municipalities in P County can you share with us if you have knowledge of how they're doing are we well well well they they're certainly not they're certainly not in the same position that you are I'd rather not identify any specifically but I I can tell you from a surplus position um the Surplus for the city is 25 million that's over 20% of your budget only tripa communities maintain a surplus of 20% so you are in very elite company um I think you read the papers and I think you know some of your sister cities aren't uh you know that fortunate um they're feeling a lot more pressures um and pressures what I talk about is you know tax pressures and that's as a result of increased spending and not having the reserves available necessary to offset those increased spending levels and um that makes I mean the city of PES very unique that even with the co and let me point this out too because uh you know in Co 2020 when that hit um all the communities in the state of New Jersey were permitted to borrow monies for their revenue shortfalls as a result of the covid uh the the decrease in collections in taxes and fees as a result of covid um we didn't borrow money we don't have any money outstanding the other cities have significant amount of debt as a result of the covid they have significantly lower surpluses than you do um and um and as a result they're feeling you know they're feeling different pressures you bring us good news Mr bring us very good very good news thank you sir you're complimenting Us in the ways frankly that we had already considered how well we were doing and I must tell you to the finance departments and to the oversight of the finance department Mr Fernandez um and frankly for everyone who was involved with the city of P because each each person is in fact adding to a general construct and how we go forward councilman mow is that your light no that's councilman monoun I am councilman monk I'm sorry sir thank you council president I might just add you're giving all these compliments but uh the head of our finance department had some very good Training PRI to come to the city of Pake I'm very humble I'm very honored that he's that that you got so fortunate and and um I'm always happy to see a young man Thrive and grow and um I'm very proud of him more and I can see him really growing into the position I think it's wonderful yeah thank you um I I the um one of the questions I have is that um I mean thank God we do have financially the city is in a good place um let's hope we could continue you know especially with the low debt the Surplus but how about other things that are not in our control as one thing that really sticks out in your report is is the liability that we have for pensions so obviously that's handled I guess on the state level but what's the what is the liability to a city like us uh with uh hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of longterm liability for pensions yeah if you give me one moment I actually do have that information um and we're not unique but it is your liability for pension this would be for police as well as your public employees is $110 million um not abnormal for a city this size this the way we account for it and the way we budget for it in the state of New Jersey is that the appropriation that what we do is no different than any other town in the state is that we just appropriate and budget the amounts that to do in the current year so um there's no requirements to uh you know to fund that whole amount in a beautiful world that would be you know I mean that would be a great luxury to have but um that's essentially it you have $110 million on the books now mind you when I I I just want to put a caveat on that um because you really would only pay that know that if we stopped if we ceased in existence all of a sudden we ceased in existence and we said now we got to pay everybody's pension CU we're not in business anymore then I would say you know that's a real liability and we really got to raise all that money we should have all that money raised but one thing we you know we hope and we know about government it kind of serves in perpetuity um so that although it's a liability that we're required to disclose we're required to tell the people of the world that you know um this is the amount that would cost us under Actuarial terms for everybody's livelihood to run out it's a liability it's a it's a tab or a bill that will never actually come due so you know there's a lot of talk in the news about social security going bankrupt and so and so forth with your involvement with many M Mr peld is in your knowledge of how the system works how safe how sound is this New York State Pension system I would think the council president might have more EXP at that than I do hoped you would have known the answer I would feel comfortable saying it sounds enough for everyone in this room the bond the bond issuer in this case being the federal government or the state government or a local government has made a contractual guarantee with the bond owner when they bought the bonds so technically um if the state of New Jersey went bankrupt uh tomorrow um there's an immediate loss factor of 20 million not considering the assets at all or other debt um the same would apply to US government bonds treasury specifically um they are both guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States itself so the United States would literally have to go out of business for that to occur which is why the United States dollar is considered to be the most highly valued and most prized uh because of it consistency and its General look um although there are obviously some continuing concerns by China and some other countries in terms of changing the currency base uh from us treasuries to something more appropriate or broad or involving other countries the smaller countries under represented countries want to have a play in that Marketplace I'm forgive me I I I'm sure that uh you know you're aware of of what I'm saying okay thank you thank you any other questions let me just say publicly by the way the councilman Schwarz and councilman colom monz have been very generous with their time um allowing us to get through the budget with required discussion um and unanimity amongst ourselves in terms of uh the purposes and goals of this great City and its Administration uh and the mayor of course if there no further questions on 24 is there a motion please to adopt the current council president open oh we have to open the public move to open move to open second move to open second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes council president share yes thank you uh open public hearing is there anyone who would like to address the Council on this item and this item only seeing no hands I move to close the public portion motion to close roll call to close councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman schw yes Garcia yes councilman colz yes council president Sher yes thank you on the resolution is there a motion to accept I'm [Music] we need to um motion and second to adopt the budget and we did open we did open CL already so we can close and move forward for an adoption yes sir very good is there a motion please to accept the resolution adoption of the current year 2024 Municipal budget Mo motion and second roll call [Music] please councilman love yes yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes counc Garcia yes Council yes council president Sher yes thank you I'm reminded that on 24 we need a public hearing we did 24 on 23 I'm told that we need a hearing Susie is that okay so if we can no public hearing required on 23 I think where it was placed on the agenda it reads that they both need a public hearing but it's not necessary for 23 just 24 okay thank you thank you very much we have a budget we are up to remue numeral 10 of our agenda resolutions items 25 25 through 51 are there any questions on 25 councilman thank you thank you council president um item item 31 that's it's a purchase of gift cards of $38,000 of gift cards just wondering what's that's and um councilman we unfortunately had a loss of electricity for three days in the Aspen Place beer Village complex obviously to convene a meeting of the council would have been extremely difficult in the midst of this emergency as the loss of electricity occurred overnight midnight and we were dealing with a record heat wve there are rare occasions where I will utilize executive order but of course go through the attorney and make sure that the council president aware decided to utilize funds that we identifi we could to uh to make sure that every resident could restock their refrigerator they lost the food in those three days and the heat was obviously a big issue afterwards and considering especially what was mentioned about our most pragmatic approach to spending we were able to reach out to housing and get them to uh speak to HUD and the federal government and see if they can refund a portion of the money but whether they were going to do it or not I felt that n the history of this Council and our approach especially during covid to meet the needs of underserved communities especially those that deal with food insecurity and hunger crisis that it was most appropriate to ensure that not a single child or family would go without food pscg came and did the work they replaced the Transformer and the light went out immediately again then housing came in to find old wires and the light stayed out so for three days during uh the hottest days and the last day for un fortunately temperature came down individuals did not have refrigerator or electricity and uh not only that but I reached out to psng and was able to speak to their Executives and through application processes we facilitated for residents to be able to put in for reimbursements which come much later but this food immediately provided them with groceries and reimburse their food every each family receives a set amount yes each received a $100 gift card to shopright that they can go and purchase food the reason shopright we checked the nearest uh Food Markets Unfortunately they didn't have gift cards and it would not be responsible for us to give people cash or coupons the reason why we do gift cards it's obviously because we can only buy food or items for the home so we felt it was the most responsible approach to try to meet the needs we had uh this entire Council chamber filled with families that were very they were concerned they didn't know what caused the power outage and as you are aware when residents don't know where the issue is they look to us say you guys may have not caused it but we have elected you guys to address it and at that moment and I stand by that decision I chose to put money aside and ensure that every family would have food and they express their gratitude as well as housing expressed their deep appreciation for uh the city the council and my administration's response to it it was $38,000 and it covered uh over 383 families so there are 383 families that currently live there each one got $100 thank you Al item 50 authoriz the mayor to execute a federal agreement with NJ what is that what is that for and I just found just a bit resolution that city clerk is is is executing so she signs off on the signature of it but it is this is the Federal Highway Administration grant for ada8 ramps um so what happens is when you sign and it's typical that the city clerk and the mayor sign these documents as they come out um so this is a common file and receive like receive and file that's all it is yeah it's it's a common process in some of the grants so this is not the first time we've done mayor and City Clerk the amount was 98844 right okay also on item 44 so this this 5.7 million is specifically for which which projects so do we have it already designated so I'm gon get a little excited because every time we go and get money for free we all talk about it well this one's not free this one says 20% let me let me explain let me explain how creatively how creatively the 20% match doesn't come out of our coffers um we're one of six municipalities under the Eda that is eligible to receive this funding the city of P's allocation for that funding is $5.7 million plus it is to fund uh projects again I guess the state also has to spend their art money before it's due and there we were one of the six cities to receive it and do you know the other do you know the other city by a chance um I apologize I didn't have the list here with me but uh I think Patterson is one of them and urban cities like us um and it's it's for The Pedestrian safety pedestrian traffic outdoor dining things that address um you know I guess the remnants of covid and additionally in this program there are funding for uh in our Main Avenue Redevelopment area these businesses and the mayor I we're having conversations about what projects we may be able to fund uh to have Ada access for elevators repairs of storefronts things of that nature that comes out of this 5.7 million and then the question is where's the 20% Grant well if we do a program where the uh business the property owners are accepting this part of that acceptance is that they put over 20% of the project right so for example if we give a million dollars to a business owner and the project is $3 million clearly they've paid a lot more than the 20% and that goes into the overall bucket so for example any of the projects that we may be doing for example a pedestrian Plaza in front of the the parking deck or the bus terminal Island these are some of the discussions the mayor has been having with us about converting that to some outdoor dining everything that everyone puts into the pop becomes part of that 20% match so with as an example the U Landscaping program for that area the business owners getting some funding that let's say do an elevator in their property whatever they put in of that total project if it exceeds the 20% is put into the overall Kitty and the City of Pake would then not have have to come out of their pocket to pay the 20% so and if I if I may because I I if I read your expression correctly when we mentioned the elevators or potential I wanted to share what what occurred was um while we were discussing it I mentioned to the business administrator that for many of the businesses I may have the second floors have been vacant for many years which begs the question why mean we're seeing record Redevelopment we're seeing a great deal of Interest businesses is coming in and we realize that it's extremely difficult when you don't have an elevator on the second and third floors of these business the Main Avenue Redevelopment plan which uh through this Council and the remarkable and dedicated work of our business administrator with the master plan to consider building up a m nav we decided to ask if we would be able to use some of these funds to encourage these businesses to put in elevators which obviously the businesses would be more than happy to contribute forun because for them it would be very costly or to contribute obviously to the overall pop but this would be great for businesses for uring that uh they're able to uh to rent it out commercially because we have some buildings I think many of you have seen them with remarkable space it just doesn't make sense with their entrances and with no elevators we've seen a few businesses like the last one that we saw was a adipa Express right on Central that little Triangle Building my they were able to get that elevator up and running now they have a thriving business on the second floor um and it's a little lounge and it's doing great and we realize that this would be a very beneficial use of those funds to encourage business on Main Avenue I think I'm better off maybe having these meetings over Zoom so you don't see my face my expression I understood the question when actually actually was going through my mind was something a little bit different okay I was just like quickly calculating how many elevators you could do for5 million okay um and how do you allocate These funds I mean in other words many different things um I'm thinking of as number one I some of these upstairs typically in the past they've had residential apartments at the second floor which don't require elevators second FL require elevators so also St remember staircases for accessibility as well so it's it's an accessibility idea of making them more accessible to the public and the funding doesn't have to be 100% to fund the elevator for many of these businesses they may just need a portion of it which could be provided through this so though the cost of one elevator I don't know what's the average cost to create an elevator about two 300,000 some of them might say you know I have 150 yeah one might say I have 150 I just need the extra 50 so how does it I'm just say like how how is it how is a program like this run okay where you know one guy was gonna get $200,000 next $50,000 again if you're gonna spend pay 80% of elevators you know at a quar million dollar in pop you know so is is a lot of money and it seems $5 million go a long way and to go put elev you know 10 12 buildings but that's one of many options I don't see how you're getting the bang it's one of many options it is not an elevator fund that was so what we were trying to brainstorm the idea I said there's so many vacant second floors that have remained vacant um what can we potentially do so obviously there's a list of what you're allowed to do our goal is to ensure that the investment of this money goes to continue to support the businesses throughout the area because Main Avenue is I won't say the lifeblood of our city but it's Paramount that the success of our businesses in our commercial areas are supported by the city because they employ our residents and obviously no one wants to see you know closed down I mean now so so what are the other things that we're gonna do that's this particular scenario right yeah is a city going to look at each building and say this guy you know he's been holding this building for 30 years yes has no mortgage he's a cash cow today he's making a lot of money today but we're going to go put an elevator in take public funds put put elevator so he can make two ton lows of monthy or go to a building where a guy bought last year and his mortgage is 7% mortgage barely making it this is gonna keep him this will keep him going so he does go bankrupt so we don't see a close sign like how do you evaluate this so we really use every dollar properly and get the biggest bank so there's an application process there's approvals obviously they have to meet certain criteria the ba will speak to that but I want to share this and and I think it's a legitimate question the money was awarded to us so we're not taking it out of our coffers I I have a philosophical position that as a capitalist hey you make 10 million and you can make 20 God bless you my my desire as mayor and this is only just personal position and I think that it's similar supported by the governing body but we should be responsible with the money is we want to make sure that every fund that we receive goes to programs services and to support our local businesses Recreation and all of this if we receive $5 million and there's a building that hasn't been able to rent the second floor and we think that a business that's going to come is going to bring benefits to our community employe residents I will admit I I don't care if that guy is making h100 million a year as long as none of us are making any money we're we're perfectly fine give it out and as long as we're not taking it directly from our tax space or taking it out of our uh our coffers considering that the funds can't be used for our budget which our budget can be broken down to operational and capital projects we we can't use it for us we have to specifically use it for this area there's a number of different options but again I think what's most important is the application process it is not arbitrary no one in City Hall is going to be able to say you I like this guy uh let's give him $3 million so not only can he get an elevator but get a golden elevator absolutely not that is not the proc so I'm gonna ask the B if he can just explain the process and application just to give some confidence to our um Council yeah so right now it's just given us the ability to apply for it's given us the ability to apply for these funds what's going to happen following this is that we're gonna have public meetings we're going to discuss the public projects so each of these public projects like the Plaza in front of the parking deck which is one of them and the bus terminal which is another one the state of New Jersey Maxes these programs out at 1.2 million per project right so if you're doing the math that's already $2.4 million that are gone on these two projects and whatever other public project we may have then uh there is a first come first serve application process for business owners to apply for the remaining money which the state has capped that 3 million a project but we can set a cap if we if we reduce the uh size of the projects we're allowing to allow it to spread which is kind of what the mayor is talking about to different businesses each of these businesses have to come in and the burden of proof to show us that it's valuable is on them they have to come in with a project a proposal what it is that they're doing that enhances the business district so you know there's always those catchphrases in all the grants that enhances the business Community that's going to employ tell me consider the bus terminal that's going to move to Pake Avenue so they're going to move the bus terminal that right by the Dunkin Donuts what's going to go there what are we going to do there and that begs the question you know what would be the best use do we want to make passive Recreation do we want to do something that enhances the eateries in the area for eating out do you want to do landscaping that's the intended purpose of the funding I know that the elevator one is is an easy one to go why would we give a business an elevator I I don't want to make up a criteria because obviously all of us can look at it subjectively but if there's a building that we're going for 20 years they haven't been able to rent the second floor and it's a good building or the Renta center right on mainam this been for sale I think since since all since all of you yes has been for sale and only and only rents out the first floor if there's an option that could bring a business to the second floor that would also enhance the area in the front and create a service then that application would be reviewed there would be public participation and there is a cap on the money much like how when we receive the grant for Park dundy Island we had public participation there was a review do you remember we had to go through so many meetings where we decided what do we want there do we want the county to take it over do we not do we want a saccer field do not it'll be similar in that same process but again I have to stress it will not be a a project in in silos where two or three people are going I like this guy better than him let's give him $3 million that is not the money because we have to answer for how it enhanced our uh Main Avenue and our U our commercial area these main areas we have to be accountable and as was mentioned you know we've received record grants I think we've said in so many meetings we're one of the few municipalities that have not had to return money back I mean that that speaks a lot to us when I was hearing the report on covid and I know it's a bit of a tangent but I think it's important for people to know other municipalities chose to give out bonuses to the administration to officials and not judging then they were held accountable with I don't want to say hyp scrutiny but intense review oh you said intense review where we utilized our funds for services for programs for getting apparatuses and equipment that continue to provide services I think it's important to note that and your question is so vitally important I think it's the public should know that report that statement of confidence is because every time we receive money we have these conversations every time we receive money there is no the council goes will let the mayor decide how to spend it we have meetings and we require people to come in and we involve the public we meet the requirements and then we go above and beyond the requirements so yes those projects will go through a vetting process and we're hoping that we see significant benefits to our Main Avenue because of this money where we were one of six out of 564 municipalities in the state of New Jersey we receive $5 million to try to enhance our main na if I could just add to that each project has to get approved by the state before we could spend the money so it's not like we came up with this idea we did the whole public thing we're like all right we like this application it still has to get vetted through the state to say yes you comply with the with the outline of what the grant is for you can grant the yeah that was the immediate response I was giving when I asked if we can open up the share Laura love screens shop made said it gets it gets evaluated he said no it gets evaluated by state I was like all right let's move on no I'm sitting here because the process that you guys are describing that's going to be used for for that is cdbg it's the same process right um it scrutinized whether applications are duplicated at the same Services right so I know there's no way that we're going to approve every business owner to say Okay I want an elevator so and I'm just sitting here smiling because I'm like we have that process with a lot of the things we do so um and may I like the the point that you find you I like the fact you pointed out that that was one aspect of it the elevator I mean we could talk about banisters right there may be owners that's flourishing um who say just what you said you know what I I have the 150 let me have I need 50,000 more to do what they need to do and and I think it's great because I did have office where I saw all of those that empty space on Main ab and it it it's actually a sin because there's some beautiful places some large and and I can see a lot of our our local businesses wanting to rent those places but as you said you know that the accessibility so I I really like the the thought of this process thank you councilman thank you mayor any other questions please let's go to number 25 first author resolution authorizing closed executive session Susie do we need closed exec no council pres thank you ma'am Mr Fernandez no council president Mr Mayor sir none at this time Council presid thank you sir members of the council very good let's put aside 25 is there a motion please to accept resolutions 25 through 516 26 through 516 okay6 we're taking off 26 no no we're taking off item 25 good so 26 through 51 is there a motion please to accept moving motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes yes councilman Garcia yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're up to proposed ordinances please reman numeral 9ine and ordinances for introduction and first reading 52 in ordinance amending chapter 317 to the code of the city of desic to add article 17 Municipal exemption from zoning regulations is there motion to accept for set down at our meeting of August August 6 is there such a motion please motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes and council president sh yes thank you we're up to 53 please with the council's permission an ordinance amending city code of the city of pic chapter 258a storm water control is there a motion please to accept for set down for second and Fin final reading at our meeting of August the 6 so move second motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes Council Melo yes councilman SCH yes yes councilman Garcia yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're up to renue 14 mayor's report mayor I don't know how you we're up to your report sir if you'd like to not necessarily for the but if if I may a point of privilege for the residents that are watching and those present this week I am confident and sharing that we were all shocked at events that we saw in the news with the attempted assassination of former president Trump the reason why I mentioned this is as a city we obviously pray for our leaders we send our well wishes um this was of great concern to families to Residents not just here but obviously throughout the nation and I would propose globally is a reminder as mayor and having the privilege to work with my distinguished colleagues on the city council and having served in office for many years and having witnessed the relationships of our council members across the political aisles our assemblymen working with Republicans Democrats Independents anyone who would benefit our city and different Governors it is a point to remind us all that uh it is okay to disagree politically but it should be our common prayer and goal and vision to always remain United with that stated I would propose that we continue to pray for not just former president Trump but President Biden for all government officials and to remember that even at our worst moments even at our darkest hours that has always been that great hope rooted and based upon that remarkable dream of the family fathers on those sacred principles of democracy upheld by this most wonderful Republic that whatever the process is electoral obviously campaigns can go different ways that we are one nation and that whoever leads the strength of our nation is the people the citizenship that we base our beliefs and our strength on something firm the Constitution the United States of America the legislative and Judiciary and executive powers that check each other so I I share that only as mayor because some people watch Us online and I know that I've spoken to my colleagues and we don't talk about politics so I'm not speaking about partisanship but rather something greater that we remember that throughout this process that our unity and our words are important because our children watch it our children feed from what's on TV or social media and as officials we have a responsibility a duty to be responsible and uh careful with what we say so I take this time again as mayor of course announce and andate and reject the actions and rhetoric that would lead to violence because there's no place for violence in this political process there is no place for acts like this if you don't agree with someone don't vote for them if you agree with them support with your votes but as a city I would propose and again share to all those who would watch Us online that we collectively ask that we remain United as the community and know that there's been changes of office from Governors to presidents yet we still meet and talk about bonds and budgets and uh capital projects and argue whether we're going to accept grants and things will continue thank you for indulging those few minutes I want to share that thank you mayor on our agenda please 12 payment of bills are there any questions on the bills roll call on the bills please have a motion move it second second councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman yes counc yes councilman Garcia yes and council president sh yes thank you uh thank you ladies and gentlemen for joining with us tonight is there motion to adjourn this meeting please so move administrative support he's never given a report in the 30 years that I've been here what are we deluding ourselves for say something so the six [Music] City good excellent excellent uh we ad the meeting do we do the roll call we we did the motion we have a motion on the table Rollo please second I'm sorry I I I made motion second we had a motion in second with councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes counc SCH yes yes councilman Garcia yes and council president Shar yes the uh thank you ladies and gentlemen for with us tonight this meeting is adjourned