bries thank you Madame President if you'd like I can read the invocation at this time yes almighty God who holds the faith of man and Nation we most humbly beseech thee to bless this our city these deliberations and these thy servants that they may act with wisdom and understanding for the good of our community and th greater glory amen amen and council president at this time I um I believe we are reached the point of public comment I don't believe we have anything further prior to that correct and it's my understanding that there is one individual here um who wishes to speak to you regarding some items on the agenda if uh we could have her come please I believe her name is Dalia I apologize I do not have your last name I couldn't hear you from here but you can state it at at the [Music] microphone just so you know uh for public comment to the public you will have five minutes to address any item that you wish just understand that the council is not obligated to respond um they don't hear name and address for the record my name is Dalia griel and I am the environmental specialist for for the city of Trenton Trenton SE utility I'm I'm also the store morar coordinator for the city of TR and we're basically here to um present the ordinances that are listed on your uh agenda for tonight um the storm water ordes so the city of Tron was issued a storm M permit by the New Jersey DP in 2005 the ms4 stormm water permit which the city must comply with requires that the council adopt various ordinances related to the storm water a group of 10 ordinances are prepared although those uh ordinances should have been adopted prior to this we are now updating everyone of the required ordinances to comply with the New Jersey DP these ordinances are a combination of minor updates major updates and introductions uh adoption of these ordinances will keep the city cines um with this portion of the store M permit uh there is a store M Control Ordinance which is under review by the city department heads this ordinance requires more review before introduction and it will be adopted by July 14 2024 um in addition to the ordinances the city has multiple other requirements related to the operation and public works one of the requirement is training uh the governor body and the members of the planning zoning board are required to take an online storm order training which I will provide you guys with an email and include which will include the link um you should get it tomorrow I'm hoping the training is about 45 minutes long we are obligated to assure that everyone every member of the government body as well as the planning zoning board members have taken the training we request that upon completion of the training each member provide an email or a rating com confirmation we track the training in a yearly document called the storm water prevention plan the SBP plan is an annual um update it requires an annual update H and it's among all the many items that the storm water permit is requiring from us um the the training requirement is listed in our permit uh section four F7 the recordkeeping should be available upon te and EP request do you guys have any questions so it's a required document we have to submit it we have to approve it we have to to move it before May 1st so just to be clear with the training we'll be allowed to do this virtually as long as we submit an email or written response that we watched it so that saves us yes um the presentation so the email should come back to me you guys will be getting an email tomorrow from me with the link uh it's a 45 minute to it at your convenience before May 1st send me an email that confirming that you watched it and good to go I'll put it in the file in case they inspect us I have it on file okay thank you any Council colleagues have any questions thank you thank you so [Music] much we actually kind of did this in Reverse good evening um I'm Michael Walker I'm chief of communications for the water utility and I is this the same I'm sorry excuse me is this the same presentation um it's it's just a kind of an addendum it's like less than less than 50 seconds maybe go ahe okay so no I'm saying did you sign up to speak publicly so he called you uh no he's not was with me by the time he reached okay but I'll I'll have you fill this out later Mr Walker okay um I I probably live in South Trenton um uh storm water what exactly is Storm waterer the United States Environmental Protection Agency Divi defines storm water water as runoff generated when precipitation from rain and melting snow flows over land or impervious surfaces without percolating on into the ground so imagine this every time it rains the water picks up everything on the ground animal waste chemicals pesticides oil litter and sediment this mixture known as storm water ends up in the Delaware River which is our raw water source it's where we draw water to produce 30 million gallons per day of drinking water for our service area consumers why is the management of storm water critical for our community by implementing a comprehensive storm water management plan and actively promoting its significance to the public we not only meet federal and state requirements but also significantly reduce pollutants and our water sources and contribute to the replenishment of groundwater you've already met Dalia she's an environmental specialist uh she's working very hard uh at the sewer utility to make sure that uh the city of Trenton is in compliance with storm water regulations uh the deadlines are pretty tight and um as usual with any environmental RS uh they're they're owner is so we appreciate your cooperation thank you [Music] Matthew bledo or Matt bledo Sor good evening Council map blo you can put me down 225 North Clinton again I'm here just to give you an update that to date we still have no response in the retire payments for the retroactive uh contract contrary to what Mr Bridges thinks there is no pending litigation we've not consulted with an attorney nor do we have one at this time um we simply just want to be paid and we can't seem to get an answer so we would again press on Council to lean on the police dep Department Police director to find out where the status of those payments are as well as the paperwork just simply needs to get to the accountant thank [Music] you one moment Madam [Music] president thank you Edward Livingston yes that's [Music] it go ahead sir good afternoon council members good afternoon Madam president um my name is don't go ahead you got it took the words right out of my mouth thank you my name is uh Edward Livingston um I live in South Ward um I live on Grand Street um I'm here on behalf of the residents and um workers um due to traffic um concerns um I'm G make this short um we signed a petition last year um for a stop sign speed bumps um radar devices and um which imp erative is a three-way stop sign on the quarter of Grand Street and Dayton Street um there have been several accidents um there have been um near um there have been the Principal um M muan almost got hit um last year myself almost got hit and we would like the city to um address um putting more vehicle control uh sign making that area um school zone uh it is already a school zone but more signs for um to designate that area as a school uh Zone there is a 25 miles per hour speed limit sign that is on Grand Street by the school and there's a small sign that says school there there's also um a stop stop sign that's way too low I think I'm I'm going off course here but I think I'm 6'4 it's probably about 7t so uh if we can make those signs more visible um to um help prevent anything bad from happening um and basically that's all I have to say um I appreciate everybody's time and for allowing me to speak there also has been um a petition if um the city doesn't have it I do have a copy of it here um I've also speaking uh spoken to um um the councilwoman and vice president um Mrs a Fier can't even say my name uh jennif figero kenberg I've spoken to her directly and she's um she she's on it you know I'm I'm a little please excuse me um this is one of my first times at the meeting here I'm fumbling but um I did tell everybody that um I would come here um I would speak and I would um allow the uh the city to see who's been emailing everybody because I think I've emailed the world and I didn't mean to didn't there's a chain of command here but um there is a serious problem with um the traffic control um on that intersection and um before anybody gets seriously injured uh we would like the city to um help us control the uh traffic there thank you very much for your time and have a blessed day can I get a copy of that petition sure you sure [Music] can on your call Madam President we can continue to Civic comments certainly Madam president if you want continue the Civic comment is up to you with whom you'd like to start thank you councilwoman Edwards thank you good evening everyone it's great to see you all today um my comments are very short I just want to give a brief update on some comments that I made in a previous council meeting regarding our recycling um and I mentioned drafting a letter to the county and the Commissioners and I've since done so and I'm hoping well they did respond and I'm hoping that there will be a meeting on a schedule soon um but they were very receptive to it and understanding I have received several responses from various people on the county level and on the city level as too um uh our mayor also responded citing that the city pays $1.7 million to the county for the recycling services that we currently receive so to add on two more days means to double that budget um so since learning that information as a freshman councilwoman I don't know it all but I'm still learning and that's good information to know because now my next step will to be will be to advocate for them to take on that ex uh that expenditure because they possess a lot of taxes and properties in the city and this is a shared service so I feel like you know they can afford to pick up that tab for us at least it would be only right or fair to the capitol city um it's a fair exchange I believe so if we can find some money on the county level to increase recycling days for the city of Trenton I think we would be better for it we would be cleaner and in comparison to our neighboring municipalities I think that um it's very necessary in the city so that we can look a little more like them um I want to say in in light of the recent uptick in gun violence that my heart goes out to those who have been recently taken from us and um in my advocacy as a gun violence um activists for gunsense legislation and for safer environments um it's disheartening whenever this happens and that just is a constant reminder that we have so much work to do in our city to prevent this going forward and so I look forward to the Contin work with my colleagues in the administration and doing and initiating preventative measures across the board in every Department in every aspect and those are my comments thank you for this and um have a good evening thank you councilwoman frisbee thank you madam president so good evening everyone um I have us a few uh announcements uh the first one is that the Trenton city museum at ellersly presents its spring family photo shoot and flower pot painting that's going to be on Sunday May the 5th from 1 pm to 4m again that's uh at Trenton City Museum in cat Walder Park um on Sunday May 5th from 1: to 400m will be the spring family photo shoot and flower pot painting and this is courtesy of the Williams Williamson family of Trenton and Mission is free um they ask that you uh sign up in advance and that is at Ellers lee.org or you can call the museum um and the children are encouraged to dress up um and they have to be accompanied by an adult also uh mat Elementary School is having our first ever dress up career day and they're their collaborators of The Smith Family Foundation of New Jersey campire bio New Jersey our school community and this is at M Elementary um school and it is for 2 and third graders this will be on Wednesday May 15th from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. uh if you want more information you can contact me the M School Smith Family Foundation of New Jersey or campfire New Jersey again this will be on Wednesday May the 15th from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. am and that is at M School their first ever uh dress up career day for second and third graders um next this uh month April 27th I will be hosting a a sister sewing into sisters that is going to be U for moms to be so if you are a mom to be if you have a mom to be in your life if you know of a mom to be I invite them to come out to Greater Mount Zion at 42 Pennington Avenue where we going to shower them there will be a short program but it'll be a lot of love that is given and no Mom to be beli empty-handed that is guaranteed uh my final announcement is I am the uh co-lead for Mom's demand action for Gun Center in America for all of Mercer County I've been a part of this organization for the last nine years and one of our biggest events is our wear orange we will be having a march on April excuse me on June the 8th at 9:00 a.m. beginning at the corner of Calhoun Street and West State Street we ask you to come out show love to those families who have been impacted by gun violence gun safety ought to be the utmost for all of us and we inv invite you to please come out please sir please Madam please join us is at 9:00 a.m. if you do not make the March the March is only for one mile is from calone and West State Street cat Walder Park um after we get to cat Walder park there will be a program um where we will have a lot of our uh officials our uh law enforcement along with several um Mom to Man action members as well and we will uh tell you what it's all about and let you know how we Advocate um every single day for gun safety in our city in our state and the surrounding cities um with that I want to thank everybody for coming out this evening I want to especially thank our directors um your life your your what you do is not easy being a governor have over your uh your department we thank you for the work that you do for your diligence U your steadfastness also want to take Dan from DCA always in the building appreciate you sir and to all of our friends and family that are here you're always appreciated even from our cannabis uh Department we thank you as well for being here um our Administration right in front of us from our clerk's office to our uh attorneys at law we thank you for the time and the efforts that you put in with that um the city of Trenton's mission statement is recog recognizing that the people of Trenton have made us Guardians of the public trust we are committed to govern with integrity and fiscal responsibility to seek the Excellence in the city's operations and to serve all of the city's people with respect and compassion thank you and enjoy the rest of your evening thank you councilwoman thank you council president councilwoman Williams thank you ma'am uh just want to say uh thanks to everyone for coming this evening uh cly our directors also because uh I know with this Council which is a very hardworking Council we ask you to attend a lot of meetings so when you have to attend the city council meeting in addition to it we attend ask you to attend it does mean a lot that you're able to make extra time so thank you uh I just have a few comments tonight and announcements uh first uh the north Ward citizens police advisory council meeting is tomorrow night from 5:30 to 7:00 at Galilee Baptist Church at 4:40 Mart Luther King Boulevard in the church basement please uh come uh if you know someone in the north Ward whether they own a business or residents have family and have some concerns please send them uh and tell them to come because it's the best way for us to interface with the police department bring concerns forth also the community Street teams are part of our meeting and it's all about trying to make Trenton safer healthier and a better place to live for everybody particularly when even something is a uh may be considered a smaller issue it's a bigger issue to us because we want to make sure that quality of life is something that everyone has here and that they live in a place that they want to come back to and we give them no reason to ever want to leave Trend and that's what all this is about I think is making the Trenton a better place for everybody um so I want to just say thank you uh first to Trenton Public Works and also to division of traffic transportation and Mr santour uh took a little while longer than we wanted but there's finally a four-way lighted stop signs and a four-way uh intersection at the intersection of Martin thinking Boulevard inum Avenue so if you haven't gone through there please do but make sure you stop at the stop sign uh it has been a little tricky as some folks are used to how many times you know they've gone through that intersection uh but it is making things safer it's amazing how quieter it is actually and I've heard that from some constituents but uh please see that because that's the sign of progress and the Administration has been responsive to our request to try to make different neighborhoods more safer than they've been in the past but also um even on the main thorough fares to see what can be done and in a few years hopefully we will have the traffic lights installed as promised uh so this uh interm gap of having the stop signs is to make sure that we have something to make everybody safe until we can get the traffic lights installed also uh one again want to thank Public Works uh division transportation and traffic as well as Mr santour for getting the uh one-way directional signs installed at H Avenue between Princeton and Brunswick it is something the residents very much wanted and also will be a help to the hospital because there wasn't enough uh room for people to park their cars as well as have an efficient run of traffic so that's another thing that's going to be improving uh life and quality and safety in that area um finally I just want to uh just ask going forward we one of the probably the chief complaint we've gotten at least I know for me one of the top three in the last about 10 months has been about parking and I really think we're at the point we need to have a meeting um council members Administration uh parking enforcement police officers uh police department we need to have a way for whether it is on the parking enforcement officer side more training more Direction uh finding out what the rules are at once they clock out things go to the police department how to best facilitate that get information communication because our citizens are getting very frustrated and there's inconsistencies with things happening such as uh what someone perceives as a commercial vehicle being ticketed when it's actually not a commercial vehicle we do have like we had uh Mr Cal several weeks ago came cuz he parked in front of his house and he was ticketed and he's a longterm resident we have to start finding some solutions we just can't keep um hoping that's it's going to get better and kicking a can down the road and I don't mean that as an aspersion but we need to start solving the problem and I hope we can do that together in the next couple months so thank you very much and have a great night thank you councilwoman councilman Harrison could I call up director Wally on the [Music] Mr on ter uh what your take on the towing of the vehicles on Washington and gladston could you give me a analogy why that happened and has it been addressed uh good evening council president good evening Council uh yes what happened was that uh we had a contractor working out there and normally they supposed to give the signs you know to put a no parking signs on the street 3 days before 3 two days before Unfortunately they missed to do that and everybody that were told were not charged all they did was move the car the vehicles to the side of the street so they can do what they have to do but from here on as for they done so many other streets after that they went through what we expected them to do put the signs out to make sure people knows so it's not we don't have that problem anymore so what is is that again is it two to three days yes before they pave yes okay I'm glad to hear that was addressed because I know people were calling me about that concerned about their vehicles getting towed moved to side street but um I'm glad to hear this was addressed yes thank you Wally thank [Music] you nothing else council person thank you thank you councilman councilwoman Gonzales thank you everyone thank you for being present um first prayers go out to all of the families that have been affected as mentioned earlier um we don't we know the weather is breaking so we hope that this does not continue to um plague our city our city um thank you to the Puerto Rican Day parade for their um voting gire National Day celebration it was very um well attended and very informative as the history of the uh 65th infantry um I also want to shout out North plint Avenue Church of Christ who um open their doors to my students today to allow them to use their free laundry facility this is open to the entire public um this is a free LA laundry service it is at North Clinton Avenue at 4 434 North Clinton Avenue all you will have to do is call to make an appointment and call the number 69306 4892 92 and um asked for Miss Rosemary and she would be uh available to make an appointment we also have a Color Run that's happening at Trenton high and that would be Saturday April 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 11 pm I mean 11: am and that is um in honor of autism autism month awar I mean autism awareness month and then also just a biggy back off of Miss uh councilwoman frisbee May 5th in Cal Park Theo photo Park what time does it start 11 um also just to address some of the things that were said today thank you for the water department coming forth Miss Dalia and director and Michael Walker we appreciate that because I had I was just going to ask to explain um those things so thank you for that clarification um to Mr blesso I hope that that is resolved really quickly for you all and Mr livon that was present with Grand Street I believe we spoke about that and I I know councilwoman Figaroa kbur is working on it but I know we spoke of possibly even putting flashing traffic lights so that I mean flashing speed limit signs because I believe we couldn't do speed bumps in that area or I'm sure she has more information on that but just know that we are working to do that or to fix that also before us we have a resolution um 2408 and I'm hoping that um we will get the support of the entire Council body my colleagues as we are trying to find a balance between tenants and landlords um with the hike in renters that are going up so I want to say thank you to the director um for working really diligent with me and to the uh attorneys on trying to amend that ordinance so that way we can find a balance for both tenants and landlords um both here in the city of Trenton I think that's all I have for today so thank you for being here this evening thank you councilwoman Council vice president good evening everybody um so yeah just a couple of quick things uh Mr living thank you again for coming and speaking to us um I do have an update um as of April 12th um more petitions have to be submitted enough petitions were not 75% of the residents affected needed to um that number of petitions need to be submitted so that information was given back to me um and I can talk to you about that and I can help you get those extra signatures um the formal study for the uh three-way stop has not been conducted yet due to budgetary concerns right now um so they are working on that um uh let me see what else do I have for you um and they are looking to put the speed monitoring device there on Grand Street so that will go up soon okay so that's just a little bit of information that I have um you you and your residents around you your neighbors all have this concern and I've been hearing these concerns for the past two years probably yeah so um definitely working on it you know everything may not happen overnight like we'd like them to but definitely definitely in the works um every little thing that I'm able to get accomplished us council members are able to get accomplished is like a it's a small feat but it's a step in the right direction so definitely working on it so thank you again for bringing that to our attention and I know you were email in the state and all types of stuff so it's okay it was okay when I got your email I I called you I said let's so okay um I also want to shout out Michael Walker and Hector way I called you guys on a Saturday about an issue in Trenton and you both answered the phone I don't see Hector in here but both answered the phone and both went out right away and both dealt with the issue so thank you guys so much well well appreciated um and all the workers in the city I mean have just been doing a phenomenal job you know I got um a squatter out of a house that I had had boarded up not too long ago um they had a generator in there so we were able to get them out and you know just just the little nuances uh debris and a bunch of junk and behind a house that you know was a fire hazard and honestly I think I know people have their complaints but for me I think the city is doing a phenomenal job in a lot of the things that they're doing and I don't mind pointing things out because you know the city workers can't always know exactly what's going on we have to be um the ears and eyes for the community for the city so thank you guys for all that you all do um I just wanted to say that on uh this Saturday from 3:00 to 10: at the station um it will be um Public Safety appreciation day so Hamilton um Ying lawence Trenton um all public safety employees will be honored um so it would be a great day if you want to come out it is being I think it's being thrown by Uh Kevin stto or the fire department correct director yes so please come out and she'll support [Music] um also um South W neighborhood association our councilwoman on gazalas is on the board they're they're uh maintaining their Garden this weekend on Saturday I think beginning at 9:00 am so if you're not doing anything um Lamberton and and Ferman just come out and either help with the gardening or help clean up I'm going to bring supplies to the association so that they can do that um and I think that I don't have anything else uh Mr bledo um we don't have any additional information for you understand your concerns but the last email that we have was that they were working on it okay so I wish I had more information but we don't all right um and that is it so everybody have a wonderful evening thank you so much thank you Council vice president good evening everyone thank you for joining us here tonight um I really don't have too much to say tonight um April is autism a awareness month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month um and so we have a couple of resolutions that'll be presented uh tonight due to timing of the month uh before my colleagues for the city of Trenton to recognize both um to that extent I had even reached out I want to shout out the fire department because they actually have training um on autism awareness and techniques and everything and I know that the police department is working on um having that training again it had been some time ago but they're looking to it again so thank you for that um I also put the question out about if we have sensory response kits that they would utilize when they go out on site because as I was reading up on it there are actually um toolkits and so I know that the police director was looking into it to see how that may fit what it is that they all do so thank you for being open um to to the prospect of expansion with regards to that to Mr bledo um what council Vice president said it's true uh they're working on it that's what we're being told I understand that you're frustrated I understand um you know the desire to to get what you're due I I respect it I understand that uh but just understand that we as the council we're asking the question but if the answer is the answer that we're getting like short of us you know breaking hands or anything we're not going that's the answer that we get so our hearts go out to you all please understand that it's not falling on deaf ears while all asking the question asking the question it is now up to the administration to do what it is that they need to do to make this whole for you um I do want to thank the police department for the responses when it came to um a couple calls that I made about illegal parking that was taking place on the island um we need more signs and everything like that Anthony santur is going to be working on that as a matter of fact um several of us are going to be doing a walking tour coming up um with w-e and and um Mr Cruz volunteered the ba but we're going to move through the island and just kind of look and see what's needed over there uh we feel like the forgotten children sometimes over there but we want to make sure that that's taken care of but thank you director Wilson um to your team for for answering the calls um expeditiously and taking care of those issues I think that's all I have to say tonight again thank you all for coming out Mr Garcia we can continue certainly one moment okay Madame President at this time moving on with the agenda we are reached uh Communications petitions well you have minutes for approval for Thursday if there are no questions on Communications and petitions there was no report and we are at ordinance for second reading this is the Ravenel uh uh renel way ordinance this is ordinance 23 24-23 ordinance authorizing the honorary name of Joseph and Mary Ravenel way to New Rose Street uh if there are any questions with that ordinance at this time if none I'll move on and moving on to resolutions um Madame President I'm going to if you if it's okay with you I could address the Walk-Ons that we have at this time yes sir [Music] so at this time we have walk-on resolutions and we do have a walk-on ordinance an ordinance as well the uh resolution is uh first walk-on resolution is resolution 24-1 157 resolution authorizing the removal process for Sheree garet a member of the city of Trenton Housing Authority resolution 24-18 resolution recognizing April as autis Awareness Month in the city of Trenton resolution 24159 resolution recognizing May's Mental Health Awareness Month in the city of Trenton of Trenton excuse me and 24-1 160 resolution recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the city of transon we also have an [Music] ordinance uh to add to our first readings at this time and this is an ordinance of the city of Trenton to adopt NJ D's model ordinance regarding tree removal and replacement to amend chapter 287 of the code of the city of Trenton that will be ordinance 24-38 with those items out of the way Madame President if you or the council have any items uh outside of resolution 24156 and 24154 which is authorizing uh executive session and a settlement are there any other items that you wish to pull from a consent agenda at this [Music] time hearing none Madam president if it's so okay one second councilwoman Williams thank you uh council president I um not actually have any items I just I didn't know what where this would actually be appropriate but um going forward with new board members if we have a board member that's not being reappointed I.E they're being appointed for the first time um I believe I spoke about this last year if we could have them come to introduce themselves to council uh to be a question perhaps but also just present themselves because it helps establish uh a certain uh level of professionalism and also also commitment that has been lacking uh over the last 10 years in some of our boards when they have not had quorums and it' be good to get off to a great start but I have no issue with the candidates tonight ma'am Madam president yes so I have a it's not that I want them to be red I have a couple of questions so um the ones that I have questions are on uh 24137 [Music] 24-38 24149 24-14 and [Music] 24-28 that was the last one yes go to8 so 24137 24138 24149 24014 [Music] 2428 correct thank you thank you just to be clear um mam president as as I understand it these are questions for the directors at this time these are not items to be pulled from any consent agenda yet correct right okay and Madam president if it's your wish did you like to address any questions regarding the resolutions at this time one second or any do any other Council people have any I want to get all of this out of the way first like we normally do certainly anyone else have any questions about any resolutions that are before [Music] us for [Music] [Music] [Music] no one has any other questions okay let us begin okay Madam president with that being said if there are any uh specific resolutions that were named that you'd like to uh call any of the directors up let's start with 24137 please and 24138 they both fall under um Administration thank you good evening Council Jim Beach Chief of Staff good evening thank you madam president so um Mr Beach I have uh just a couple of questions with 137 this is the resolution for the American plan for the seasonal workers um it says that we were're allocating $2500 um for these workers at two I take that back 2 million I'm sorry $2,500 I my question is are all of them going to be um parttime are this going to be are they will they be full-time throughout the summer is what I guess I really want to um know so councilwoman frisbee this marks the third year that we've used the ARP money for uh seasonal workers um and the way it's been managed is largely and we'll have to get a breakdown for you if you so desire uh it's been used for summer workers or fall workers but also it's been used in some instances for part-time workers that will work for a period of about six months okay um right so that that's really it and I I do remember seeing lot of our youth this is the money that we use this money for um throughout the city for summer is that correct okay thank you so much on that one moving along to 138 this says that this um these monies are going to be set aside for the repair Improvement of various City buildings and and looking at the buildings and recently was brought to my attention that the West End Little League um uh West End batting cage actually is in need of um not a whole bunch but in in need of repairs can we add add that item to this I would not recommend that councilwoman we've given Parks and Recreation just gonna kind of roughly give you an eyeball over $7 million to do many repairs and many upgrades to all different facilities throughout the city the 2.5 that's being appropriated here quite honestly is not going to be enough money for the projects that are designated in this um resolution but you know we need some money to start somewhere if you look above your heads you know in this Chambers that's one of the uses if we go out on the roof above the ceiling over your head we're going to find even bigger problems I fear so and that's just city hall and then there are other buildings that are uh identified in this resolution so as much as I think you know we'd like to use that money but I think parks and wrecks and we'll have to go back and do an accounting they may still have monies from earlier Appropriations that they can use for the West End batting cages okay and a w than batting cages even though I know it was put out there that it was um exterior I realized that the exteror interor actually had been repaired back in November so the repairs that I'm actually referring to now are actually interior that um and they're not major so I'll have a discussion maybe a little bit later on um with you and the directors of uh yes that's fine I think I'll take it up with director Richardson and we'll find out you know how much money she still has and then also to address your questions excellent thank you so much sir are those to thank you thank you sir council president I know I didn't say I had a question but I do for one thanks which one was it um 24150 it's a real quick question though it's for director simple I don't know if anyone else was first though but okay I'll get to you thank you 24 oh so let me just say this real quick too so to to councilwomen frisbee thank you for those for those questions um I actually forwarded you all the the notes all the with the description and the memo and everything on um April the 11th with their breakdown of of everything no I I was just we get another one in there but thank you thank you um so we can add these back on yes absolutely okay so they stay on Mr Garcia 24 137 138 are good thank you all right 24149 that is um Miss Ferrera good evening if you could hit the button to turn your mic on please thank you thank you good evening everyone good evening councilwoman thank you madam president um so I this is just a real um I guess some simple to me anyway my question is with this resolution um [Music] this is for for auction services for multiple properties my question is how are we advertising this so the public is made aware that is the biggest one of the biggest concerns that we have many folks say they' love to be a part of our auction but they're not aware of it so where how many places are we for the most part going to be advertising these so for this particular resolution this is a resolution to hire Auctioneer services and is pretty much the first step of the process so um once we have go through the normal procurement process through a fair and open process we're an RFP and select either one Auctioneer or several auctioneers then we start to engage the kind of the vetting of the properties and um you once the auctioneer is brought on board they'll work with the Department with the administration they'll start preparing a list that we can fully vet and when I mean that making sure that the property is stable the property is vacated we do not have squallers in there um the property is safe and sound that um it could be put on an auction list without having to revoke the property uh at the last minute and upset the auction process and then at that point that list once we get closer to the point where we are going to start finalizing dates putting out Public Notices that's when we can start giving that list to the members of the public um we don't want to start putting out a list that hasn't gone through the full process that hasn't been approved by city council hasn't been reviewed by the administration um I think it would be um unwise to to put that list out there without having it having gone through its du process of review and approval um I would say that closer to probably a month to probably two weeks to the auction date the the list will be ready would have had been received all approvals and when we do advertise in the paper we also make the list available on the city's website and we make the list available in the office if anybody wants to come in to the office any of the residents um we do when residents do come into the office and ask for the list and at the time the list is not ready we make them aware that the list is not ready uh for the various reasons that I stated but we will take their name and contact information and put them on a list so then we do a blast and that is also part of what the auctioneers are responsible for getting the lists that they put together to um uh um to advertise in the paper to email potential um uh developers and uh potential buyers as well as the list that has been accumulated by wkins in the department and anyone else who has uh shown some interest that wants to be notified of the auction process thank you so much so for the record if you would just State the name of your department and where it's located so they'll know when the time comes where they can get that advertisement if they don't see it on the city website or for whatever reason yes so uh my my um department is located on the third floor City Hall and um we usually have P we usually have information on our website we also have a lot of information just at in the front desk and then we have two individuals in the front desk that can direct people if they want to have more question they have questions about the list and the process thank you Mr Fair appreciate you can I ask a quick question 24126 I can't find it in my packet but I do have a question um where we're amending the resolution designating the the other properties um heart Avenue and everything my question is we allow um we've allowed like a lot of um developers to buy properties and stuff right um and we've not seen them Begin work yet on some of them so I guess my question to you is what will you what will be done um will you put a timeline like can we can we look at this these these uh purchases and everything to say okay yes you can buy them but within you know groundbreaking or whatever something has to be done within X time period right because it's nice you see everybody buying the stuff but if it's still sitting after a certain period of time what can we do um to get out of the deal or to to kind of move things along okay do you want me to answer that Jim so I won't speak to all the properties that we well not all just with the there are Provisions that some of these properties that we do engage and we sell with the to an interested party and they are sitting on it and they're not moving on it there are um there are functions that we can we call it like crawl crawl it back we can take the property back and then move it you know put it back on the market or or put it back into a program that we can get then a buyer who's actually going to move and develop the property and not sit on it so then what I would ask is then um okay so we'll move we'll move ahead with this but then if we can look back if you can look back at things that we have already sold and then determine what if any would need to be clawed back um that would be great because there are some that have been sitting so it just would be good for us to know that there's monitoring that's actually happening to make sure that things are moving along as expected with the properties we we will do that thank you council president yes I just want to Echo what you were just asking about my colleagues because a lot of my constituents have asked about this and even why can't if someone's not doing something in two or three years take it back like and we need to have a defined limit so the purchasers know the clock's running on them because I've had um constituents ask me about why certain people are banking projects in the city or banking properties and that the Nay would never have access to because they're not powerful and wealthy and um we just want to make the system fair I'm going to defer because Jim was the interim active director during that time Chim Beach Chief of Staff uh just to answer your questions in terms of the running of the clock it starts when the purchaser is uh given their first permit um and so if the permit process drags out then the clock to do this recision of the agreement will also drag out um you know unfortunately there's been a back lock of backlog of uh permits and such given the underst Staffing inspections but you know as we try to restaff in that area hopefully that will move along to your points of not letting these properties sit so Mr bech if we had more inspectors on staff but we would need the monies for those inspectors then we would be able to speed up this process for all the citizenry I think that's a fair assumption councilwoman um you know unfortunately this is not a unique problem to Trenton every municipality from what I understand from DCA is having trouble finding and hiring inspectors um and you know we're not alone in that Venture uh however you know we are trying to work with other municipalities uh we've been told that DCA has a bucket of money they can do when they do uh sharing of those resources between municipalities so um we're looking into that with Mr Bridge's assistance thank you sir thank you ma'am Madam president yes I have a question go ahead bab thank you um I want to say first and foremost I appreciate my colleagues for uh bringing up these questions because this is something that is an issue for the city that we've been talking about for some time now so to follow up on what you just said Mr Beach suppose they never file for any permits after they purchased the property what is the recourse for that for a call there is a Time deadline by which they need to do something councilwoman I don't know that specifically as I stand here I can ask and find that out for you though so for those properties that are not in compliance so they haven't begun any type of construction on a property or whatever the time frame is from the beginning of the first permit that's issued or say they don't issue a permit because they never applied for one but what is what are we doing or is there anything that the city is doing to call back those properties because there are many that have been sold years ago that are still sitting in dormant and I can name a couple dozen off the top of my head addresses owners names trust me so what is the city doing any actively or what is it going to take to enforce calling those back or at least reaching out to them to say hey if you don't this will happen according to njsa or ordinance 20 whatever it's really a contractual issue councilwoman that you know when we get enter into these Redevelopment contracts with them that sets forth the terms by which you know they need to put the shovel in the ground by which they need to complete the project so that will dictate you know the actions to your point you know we do have meetings with some of the developers particularly those who have been sitting on their properties for years at a time um again you know it becomes a bandwidth issue of how much we can do um but yes I don't disagree it needs to get better it needs to be done more often but that takes resource to go after them and really it's just simply then invoking that recision clause and then saying all right you know what you didn't meet the deadline contracts s and void we're taking the property back and they lose their 10% down payment okay thank you councilwoman Frisby has another question I'm sorry that triggered thank you so much Madam president so just like we have um when we when one of the residents homes they're uh seized uh so to say by the city U for non-payment um so um after so much time they're given we we there's a whole process that go through before it actually goes on the role here with these properties that are um sold can we have the same thing the same thing that applies or that we work it in there that it applies so if they're not doing what they said they were going to do well they're not going to do anything with it at all that we have time limits on it so that it's not just sitting normally and then it comes back to the city and goes back on the roll so we're not I mean I I look at a fire a big huge house with a tree growing out of it on West State Street across from a firehouse that's been dormant for as long as I've been living here and stuff like that I'm see whether it is someone that's just buying it or a homeowner that has their house sitting dormant all things like that those are the things that are concerning and if we could help with getting that the beautification of our city will help now I mean it's even simpler than that you know you don't need to go through anything even approaching it tax foreclosure it's simply invoking the recision clause in the agreement that they signed but it's just a matter of doing it and yes you know it's not being done so we bring you properties that have been that have trees that have literally grown out through them we can get some movement on [Music] them okay you can I mean I we're GNA go for share some Saab stories that we hear from the developers but yes but I don't care about their So Stories thank than you so much Mr council president if I may just just to add a little clarification to that it with those properties some of them may be city-owned properties not necessarily ones that were sold so if we get a list of properties we trees in it probably 50% of them are going to be us telling on ourselves yeah but to Mr be's point it's all it's all contractual and there there's recision Clauses not even close to As Long As INR tax foreclosure is basically filing an affirmative action chance to record saying with taking this back pursuing to this [Music] Clause thank you so it can stay on consent Mr Garcia that's thank you that's 126 we talk and 149 and 149 thank you thank you 24150 director simple oh wait somebody no [Music] just a quick question director simple I see um the reimbursement of the overpayment on this sword bill for this particular um building it said due to equipment malfunctions so has that issue been addressed has it been fixed good evening council president Council vice president director simple Trent Wen s yes this is how we this is the reason why we have to make this adjustment this is the Bo Robinson facility that's been closed for many years so we weren't able to read since 2012 we haven't been able to get an actual reading to that facility and once we got in to get the actual read this is an adjustment we had to make and this client they pay their bills on time okay I just saw Mount function so I wanted to make sure because it's vacant that it was right okay thank you have some new owners there now so we're on track thank you so much director simp I'm sorry I was going leave it alone but you open the door I'm go and walk so the issue was estimated payments that were made um not actual payments that were assessed on the property right so that's the issue so I guess the question then would be because I asked for Doc review and thank you for answering the questions and sending the information over on that um the the property was vacated on 71822 right yes Bo Robinson left 71822 um but then I had asked uh print outs for July 2023 March 2023 March 2022 December we still were man I don't even know why they were paying and we were still doing the billing like why were we still even billing how come we didn't know that the building was vacated when it was vacated that we were still doing these readings in the first place so during covid you know we weren't getting into a lot of facilities and so it was very difficult ever since then but we've started a new campaign if you notice we in was July of 2023 when we actually attempted and we got into these facilities and we have this problem going on throughout our franchise area that we're trying to fix we have an aggressive program and we're getting them fixed some of them people owe us a lot of money too some people we have to reimburse because of this but we're working very diligently to try and get these estimated raids down and this is why especially with the smart media program we need to get into people homes so this will alleviate a lot of our estimated rates okay thank you that's it thank you thank you Madam president would that be yeah I you know what though I just want to say I would petition everybody that's like listening or watching to pay attention to your bill because on the water bills it does say that after a certain number of attempts of estimated readings you have to contact the water company um and then that will allow them to come there's probably something wrong there's a ECR reading or something that is not registering correctly when they're trying to read the meter you have to let these people in so they can see what's going on so I just wanted to say that and if you check your bill I did suggest that one time before that the water company um put make it in a different color I know for me when I was paying my water bill before um you know you just kind of take it to Thor to the side until that pink piece of paper shows up in the bill oh something is happening so maybe if something else another color or something could be done to make that stand out to say we need to get into your home this is it then make that will grab their um their attention so thank you for your new campaign and for pushing on these estimated readings thank you councilwoman Gonzalez is this okay to go on consent yes thank you it is okay thank you thank you 24014 the ordinance 24014 council president yes thank you ma'am well wait a minute you have to wait because councilwoman frisbee ask first and then you come after her this is the ordinance amending chapter 10 the alcoholic beverages section 10 five restrictions on the code at the city of Trenton prevent the waiver of distance restrictions who can answer for this from the administration somebody anybody everybody well who wrote it who submitted [Music] it waiver of distance restriction good evening Council Jim Beach Chief of Staff evening good evening Mr Beach so my question on this this is about distance restrictions and it is uniform for everyone with one exception and that is robling um I don't understand why robling is the exception can you explain to me it says in here uh with roing uh in the second paragraph it says uh I'll start from where section 10 da of the city of the code of the city of Trenton prohibits new pimary preliminary retail consumption of plary retail distribution licenses from being issued where the pro where the proposed location is within 1,000 ft feet of another premises holding either of said license said distance between measured in normal way that is a that a pedestrian would probably walk from the nearest entrance from one premises to the other except that the Restriction shall not apply within a portion of the robling Entertainment District as defined in 10 that5 below and that's the talks about the hours of sale and non-alcohol beverage shall be sold During certain times I'm not understanding why robling is an exception so the carve out for the robling Entertainment District goes back to an ordinance that I believe was passed back in 2018 where the then city council passed an ordinance establishing the robling Entertainment District and as part of that they eliminated you know that thousand foot what we call the buffer zone to allow you know other establishments to serve alcohol you know closer than a th000 feet of one another so this is the only location in the city with this exception is currently currently I would say because that's going to hit home for others when they start their own entertainment area is and we are aware of that councilwoman and we are working on developing something similar to what was done for robling okay thank you council president counc thank thank you ma'am uh on page three uh under n uh letter d uh there is a uh section says any person or entity violates any provision of this section upon conviction shall pay a fine of not less than $500 nor more than 2,000 Trenton city code Plus cost of prosecution per violation the shall includes the business owner person in charge individual operator manager or Patron as appropriate so I was just wondering uh with the $500 amount why that was chosen and if that could be uh raised to $750 sir I believe any increases within the discretion of this Council so okay I believe that was taken from you know the enumeration of fines that were already in the uh the city ordinance from years ago correct okay um so um Madame President what I would like to ask if this is a need for Amendment with Mr kogi's uh if he could tell us if hopefully we're not substant change the ordinance because I wouldn't want hold the ordinance from moving forward but I'd like to see the $500 limit raised to $750 and I would be happy to propose a motion to that effect for an amendment assuming um it's permissible under a general um fines and ordinance and not in contravention to that I would not consider that a material change to increase it $250 such that if you wanted to amend it you could do that on the floor Mr kogi what's your um opinion on that raising the uh penalty under the ABC ordinance from 500 to 750 for penalty as long as Council stays within the parameters of what they're allowed to raise it to I believe it's $2,000 is the maximum so anywhere in there is fine whatever their discretion so that I think that's consistent I believe that's right um so yes it would not be a material change such if you wanted to make that Amendment it would be council's um vote today to make that Amendment thank you sir um so Madam president I would like to make a motion to amend this ordinance uh4 to raise the amount from $500 to $750 please do we have a second second been mooving the second I'll call the role councilman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg councilwoman Frisby yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison councilwoman Williams yes and council president for the yes motion carried councilwoman William uh Edwardson thank you madam president um I just want to while have you Mr Beach is to address this ordinance um thank you for adding this back to the docet um however some of the recommendations to councilwoman Frisbee's point of designating like downtown as a downtown Entertainment District and adding that specific specific language to this ordinance to councilwoman Frisbee's Point um other people are going to be upset so it's like we did this for roin I feel like it should be done for downtown specifically as to in the same way that is done for roin where it's broken down by blocks and lots and each of these properties that are on here have been vetted and identified as Inc compliance to be a uh alcohol license premise if they so choose because as per our ordinance they have to fit a certain description and facade and everything in order to qualify to have it in that specific building so I proposed that we also do the same thing for downtown Trenton and add in all of the blocks and lots that are that meet that eligibility requirement for our alcohol ordinance um but I don't I have not gotten any type of update on that to date um but so and to also add that language in the section that you're adding this paragraph to so in the last sentence before the new paragraph that you're proposing that we add it it stops at you know um it shall not apply within a portion of the Ring Entertainment District can we add downtown Entertainment District to that too so that we're just making sure that everything is within compliance and to an understanding so um but I do understand what this Edition is saying so but it's not here in the language that downtown specifically is one of the areas where we could do this at excuse me one second Mr B I'm sorry councilwoman was downtown even established as an Entertainment District I think that that was the issue when when this came before us the last time it was the fact that there were many things that were being bunched in together right and I had said we need to pull this apart and let us do it section by section so to make sure that we're correct in what we're looking at so while your points are are valid and and well taken I think that we need to do it piece by piece um because the the downtown area if I'm not mistaken councilwoman Williams has not even been established as an Entertainment District guest so there would we would have to have something brought forward to us to establish that first and then we can do as you've asked about and then have them look at look at it that way council president so has it not been established as an Entertainment District as per our Tren 250 C map no that has to be something that has to be established through ordinance by this body there you go okay okay and actually that is in process currently ma'am for an Entertainment District in downtown Trenton um so that will be coming soon to a theater near us I would think within the coming months but that is something that needs to be established separately because it's also with zoning and everything else involved with it right yes and thank you for saying that councilwoman Williams because I've been trying to revisit this sooner rather than later um because I definitely was a part of those conversations and understood that it it needs to be an Entertainment District I know we were talking about Restaurant Row but I was definitely one of the ones advocating for an Entertainment District so I would love for us to revisit that conversation um sometime in the upcoming future so I'll reach out to you yeah that that's something that I think everybody wants but we need to make sure that the city is the driver of this including with the uh assistance of associating and asking questions of our law enforcement to get their opinions uh so we need to make sure we get this right I know everybody wants that because I I agree with you we need to establish some rules and we need to have a Entertainment District we do need to balance all the other interest the nonprofit groups the businesses downtown and the residence downtown and we'll get there I'm confident of that awesome thank you ladies okay all right so yes we're good to put this thank you so this can go on consent thank you very much uh Madam president an ordinance I believe will we oh yeah sorry sorry you're right they threw me off um and then ordinance number 24028 the ordinance to amend chapter 222 of the code of the city uh TR rent control to fix the rental increase at 4% if someone from the administration could speak to this thank [Music] you Mel fera hello interm director housing Economic Development thank you councilwoman thank you um thank you director Ferrera so I need to just make sure that I was actually reading this correctly where it talks about the the chart below on the first page it shows the rent index and the history for the past seven years if I'm understanding this correctly this is saying in 2003 from January 1 to June 30th there was a 7.9 uh increase is that correct correct so my question actually my proposal is I see that we are doing a fixed rate um a maximum rental increase for 4% for regular tenants and 2% for all senior um tenants or disabled tenants I would propose with such a large rental increase that they incurred already in 2023 which we're just on the heels of that especially for our seniors that they skip a year that they are even allowed to all to uh increase the rent by 7.9 7.5 for anybody is excessive yes and I would love to see that we have this amended so that for the year 2024 that they are not allowed to actually increase the rent being given but those who have already done this 7.5 to 7.9% increase that they're not allowed if they've already done an increase of that mass that they are not allowed to do anything until 2025 um with it and then staying within the par parameters of the 2% and the 4% um that is my proposal for um this ordinance I would have to work with our Law Department I wanted to I guess because a lot of the percentage increase is based on the states and um and fair housing uh rules that we abide by so I don't know if the if that those statutes allow us to skip a year to remedy a hike as well as how we would then there's the second part of that is how we can we actually effectuate that um instituting those renters that have already received the 7 9 hike in 2023 having them kind of made whole by skipping a year so I would probably would want to continue to work with Mr Bridges to figure out how that if if legally we can do it within the state's housing rules as well as how we would actually um make that change and and assist those individuals that already received the 7.9 thank you we definitely want to do it legally so if at if at all possible I just think that it is just really excessive looking at the previous years and to go from 2.2 to 3.6 and then jump to 7.9 some of our residents um had to incur I think that is just really that that that's tying folks um hog tying them and hurting the families in all kinds of way and we're already having issues with folks just trying to pay rent keep the lights on so um if we can find that it legally that we can get that done that would be greatly appreciated thank you so much director br yes uh thank you council president um if may I make a suggestion that we um keep this on for now I should be able to answer that question for Everyone by tomorrow morning um whether or not that is allowable and if it is then I would make a further recommendation that we put that Amendment on the record for this Council on Thursday's meeting to have it amended and then vote it on I just don't know with 100% certainty if that's permissible and I'd like to find it out before we take those steps today thank you director you thank you so I just wanted to just to council um frisbe point that was the whole point of us like trying to do this because of the the increase it was so it was just a drastic increase um for these renters so we want to make sure that they don't continue to raise that high so we wanted to kind of put it at you know we balance it out between um the landlords and the uh tenants so thank you for that input Council Harrison yeah if if it's allowable I would second uh council with frisbees because I think it's a wonderful ideal thank you Council Frisby thank you thank [Music] you madam president well to be clear then is this item to remain or is that a second to so it's going to re it's gonna it's going to remain um director Bridges is going to give us the email by tomorrow morning so we can see what we need to see about um whether or not they can skip a year or not um and if they cannot skip a year legally we're still going to move ahead yes with this okay so we'll still move ahead either way but we want to know if it has to be amended or not um on Thursday yeah and I think the answer is going to be an affirmative I just would really want to confirm that with 100% accuracy before I said yes all right thank you all right nonetheless it remains on the agenda Madam president and to the council are there any other question questions now that we've reached ordinances and I believe we're into questions for ordinances for first reading on Thursday are there any other questions regarding ordinances at this time and just a note for the public and to the council I will read the ordinances by title each on Thursday for their introduction councilwoman Williams has a question certainly um I just have just a question just because that discussion which was very very good and I'm glad that my colleague councilwoman frisbee brought it up um if we could get a legal interpretation from Mr bridges on how the rent stabilization board will function with something like this I'd like to understand that a little bit better happy to and also regarding the rent stabilization board I know that um I know that councilwoman Gonzalez um was was asking about that I spoke to the mayor um yesterday about it and uh advised asked if he begun to uh appoint people that taking in applications and stuff so they're looking to get that started sooner rather than later Mr Beach yes good evening if I may add to that so we have reconstituted the board and unfortunately we didn't have the resolutions placed in front of you in time to make this uh sessions docket but they will be on the May 7 9 session okay um and I think to councilwoman Williams point would you like us to invite then the individuals who we are recommending to appear before Council yes please sir thank you we do thank you Mr Bridge has offered to give a legal interpretation do you want to do it now or in writing okay oh thank you all right thank you are there any other questions regarding ordinances at this time no no okay then in that case Madam president I've been informed that executive session can be moved to Thursday is that correct yes okay so executive session will be moved to Thursday other than that this time believe we've reached the end of our agenda I don't have any other remaining items may have motion to adjourn indeed motion moved second it's been moving second I'll call the role councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figar kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried meeting adjourned thank you thank you [Music] yes sir [Music] days [Music] [Music] [Music]