[Music] it's train that goes along with that and we're break down every single chapter and every single topic in it two important points it's a 180 day implementation this is not a 10year project this is six months from inauguration day and number two all the chapters in here are written by people in Trump's was most that's right yeah that was by Design let's keep in mind that in April 2022 right the ground Trump went to a foundation EV just only city council meeting August the 1st 5:30 p.m. this meeting is officially called to order let us stand for the flag salute I alag United States of America to The Republic stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for [Music] all adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings act pursuant to public laws 1975 chapter 231 this agenda is complete to the extent known and was sent to the Trenton Times And The Trentonian newspapers posted on the first floor bulletin board in City Hall filed in the city clerk's office and posted on the city of Trenton's website formal action will be taken Mr Garcia certainly roll call councilwoman Edwards president vice president Figaro kenberg pres councilwoman frisbee present councilwoman Gonzalez presente councilman Harrison present councilwoman Williams pres council president Feliciano present myself Brandon Garcia municipal clerk present legislative councel Mr Edward kogi and City attorney Mr Wesley Bridges present thank you on your call Madam president you may continue certainly uh Madam president if you'd like I'll read the invocation at this time thank you all almighty God who holds the fate 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 thy greater glory amen amen and Madame President is my understanding at this time you have a presentation of interim directors yes by mayor honorable mayor Bri yes thank you [Music] one second mayor I'm so sorry Mr Garcia can we Mr Mayor we have a small technical difficulty with that if you want to press the button for the uh oh sorry there you go okay thank you thank you Mr clerk council president distinguished members of council um I'm here to introduce uh four highly qualified individuals who will be serving as interim directors of the uh key City departments under our City's Charter they will have 90 days to perform their duties after which I will seek your advice and consent for their continued service either on an interim basis or for permanent positions first I'm proud to present Maria Richardson as our interim business administrator Maria has been a dedicated uh City servant and worked for the city for over 18 plus years showcasing exceptional leadership and expertise she currently has a PhD in education and is currently pursuing a PhD in public administration her extensive experience includes leading the department of recreation natural resources and culture and acting as our director of Health and Human Services her resume speaks volumes about her capabilities and dedication to our city next we have Paul Harris for recreation natural resources and culture Paul has been a faithful service to Trenton for over 14 years contributing significantly to our community Through various roles his wide ranging experience includes account payable budgeting Communications construction management legislative affairs payrolls personal management recreational programming maintenance and the website management Paul's EXP extensive experience and dedication making him an invaluable asset to our city Dr Carlos Diego mapelli will be stepping in as our interim director of Health and Human Services Dr Diego has been with us for over the past year effectively administering Our Community Development block grant program his academic background and hands-on experience in public health and Community Services position him well to lead this crucial Department finally I'm pleased to introduce Arch Lon for the housing and economic development department Arch has been with Trenton for over two years and brings a wealth of experience from other jurisdiction having served as Township manager and business administrator in other locations his knowledge and strategic Vision will be critical in advancing our housing and economic development goals I am confident that these individuals will serve our city with distinction and I look forward to your collaboration and support as they transition into these roles thank you council president thank you mayor Gora at this time we'll call each um interim director up one by one so if any of my Council colleagues have any questions that you would like to ask I would ask that we do so at this time we'll start with interum business administrator Maria [Music] Richardson good evening good evening council president and all members of the council thank you are any Council colleagues do you have any questions or comments for acting or interim business administrator Richardson council president yes councilwoman Williams thank you um ma'am my question is if you could tell us how has your previous positions how have they collectively prepared you for this new position as business administrator well as the Director of recreation um uh Parks and Recreation I have managed um a certain times over 400 staff members so I have a a strong uh management experience um that would be very applicable to the position of business administrator um in addition to that I have been really involved with uh the the designed of the budget for several of the Departments not just for the Department of recreation and have been um involved in many of the conversations uh inter Department right so I am very well versed about the budget for each one of the Departments and uh how um the expenditures work for every single department so that is uh knowledge that I already have aside from managing my my own budget in addition to that I um have been involved heavily with the procurement process I am a certified qpa as well and uh one thing that I I think that I uh could use very well as a business administrator is my ability to go after funding during the last few years in the department of recreation I have been able to um get for the city probably over 2530 million in Grants during the last six years um and as as you know when I started to work for the Department of recreation the budget was $300,000 and and uh we have basically the department was non-existent so we were able to recreate the department and is probably one of the Departments that work uh smoother throughout the city so I think my experiences in the department of recreation and the last 18 months uh in the Department of Health dealing with different crisis probably it's not a knowledge of all of you but during the covid pandemic I was one of the individuals that I was responsible responsible for the planning of the Cities response for covid vaccine and uh I was pretty much the field person along with the one of the field individuals along with the health officer and her staff uh facing the pandemic in the city of Trenton so yes I think that my experiences in the department of recreation and health will have great use um in the department of for for the business administrator position thank you very much ma'am thank you madam president yes Council woman frisbee good evening director Richardson and director I have two questions the first one can you tell us some of the items uh that you've helped move forward in the city that will help you um with the role that you're what will help show how you're moving plan to move the city forward um in this new role well for for the of recreation for example we um when I when the major appointed me six years ago close to six years ago the first thing that we did was to use the information that we have at hand at that point uh participated in the diagnostic of recreation facilities and that sort of things and we're able to put a long-term plan for improvements for the city um so one of the things that we have been able to do is is um participate design and Implement a a long-term vision for the Department of recreation and we are now seeing the results of the planning that we started six years ago um and and then the ability to raise money for the city to be able to pay for those projects um we have some uh great projects that will be coming to fr at the end of the year next year but that is just part of a long-term Vision that we were able to to put together six years ago thank you and my last question and um I'll just say what what would help you to in the position that you're in now what would you say [Music] um what do you need in this department to help move it forward what would you ask ask for to help move this department forward in the seat and divided commitments of all Department directors to move the mayor's Vision forward thank you thanks any other Council questions comments councilman Harrison director Richardson maybe you could talk about today about today's breaking ground over in Unity Square Park that is a great example of planning many years ago um several in 2018 we started 20 talk about uh building a soccer field in unity Park Columbus Park at that time and there was a little bit of um uh rejection because that was a baseball field right um but then Council Council Harrison realized he saw it there on the field that reality is that we have a great population in Trenton playing soccer and we have probably eight children play playing baseball basically because we were paying them $20 to come to the games right so it was really easy to decide okay this is what the community wants this is what we should be planning to do there and uh after several years of planning and seeking funding today we finally broke ground to install our first mini pit and uh Unity Park the community is absolutely thrilled about seeing the heavy Vehicles breaking ground this morning [Music] there thank you anyone else so I guess the question that I would have and I'm and we realize right that this is not advice and consent for us but we're actually being proactive in just asking some questions so that when the time does come if we hear what we hear today and then we can watch and see what happens over the next 90 days will be able to give um an affirmative vote either way um based upon what we discuss here what we hear and then what we see um Ren knowed your strong suits in um in Recreation and you also took on the acting role of Health and Human Services but now you step up a notch to the role of business administrator which is quite different um a lot different in its capacity you spoke about your budgeting experience um your ability to lead staff and everything like that I'd like you to talk about the the your skill set when it comes to Grants um and your knowledge of Grants and the ability that you have or don't have when it comes to securing grants and funding for the city so can you speak about that absolutely I I always said that I like to go after the money and that's why you you are witnesses of how many times we come before you um to to get a resolution to apply and to accept funding um we during the last six years in the department of recreation we have been able to raise over $25 million and uh so and right now we are in the process of writing a a grant for $20 million to hopefully complete the Asen pink green way right so I I really take a lot of pride in going after the money because I I think that Recreation is a very important part of a viable Community right if we don't have good Recreation programs good parks and we Thrive to to improve a little bit those those uh our facilities every year but I also know that the city really cannot afford to to do all those Improvement uh programs that we would like for our facilities so I feel really um driven to go after Federal money uh County money state money private funding um I I really take a lot of pride in doing that and uh I have been very successful in doing that so I hope to continue to to set that to continue to to have the same train as a business administrator thank you and with that you would also have to have um a a a good relationship with the mayor with the other administrated offices but also with the Department of Community Affairs um as well so can you speak to that as far as um your ability to be able to work with other outside entities you spoke of County and everything but with them specifically well I I I think that Building Bridges is a is really important for each one of us right the city cannot accomplish everything on it on its own so I I see it as my responsibility to try to to to as many outside resources as possible so I try to establish contacts and good relationships everywhere that I go and uh I think that that is key for each one of us each one of us should be doing that just contacting people uh and being resourceful to them so that they can be resourceful to us as well so I I am a a bridge builder in a sense okay thank you very very much thanks all right at this time we will have interim director Paul Harris [Music] come good evening good evening at this time are do any council members have any questions for Mr Harris council president councilwoman frisbee good evening Mr Harris good evening so I've seen you operate in several um different hats throughout the city um and I'm going to ask you pretty much the same questions I asked director Richardson and that is what in your previous position has helped prepare you for the position that you're now in the inum seat to um help you with that moving it Forward well I would say the first thing is Personnel experience is important and between multiple departments H hiring people through Finance first of all let me just start this way noticing the first step is to notice there's a need right once you notice there's a need then you have to understand the process and understanding how Personnel works so on my end what that means is you have the budget in front of you you understand exactly the process with DCA Personnel backgrounds Medicals putting a timeline together uh and then finding the right candidates understanding the the proper mechanism to do that Union the website indeed.com uh vetting those candidates bringing them in placing them um testing them out because now what we do is we have the seasonal program and the old days we used to hire people and then hope they did great and then uh you have 90 days now what we do is we hire them through a seasonal program for a little longer and then we really know if they're made for it and then you still have 90 more days if they're hired permanently and it's worked out perfectly because we're allowed to weed people out so that's good experience there because you need to know have personnel management budgeting multiple departments um it's understanding the financial system we have here Edmonds being able to go in there run a million different reports being able to do uh budget analysis you know being able to do payroll projections like now what I'm doing now is I brought my laptop I'm doing payroll projections for the of the year because that's important for me because then I need to know every two weeks this is what we're going to be spending and we'll based on what we've agreed based on what you're going to give us do we have enough you know or if there's any wiggle room that's important um I would also say what prepared me as well is you need to be my model is and you see it through my pools pools of my claim to fame here um because you should see how they were when I inherited them like 11 years ago um I believe that we can improve people's quality of life through public spaces simple I can't change the world but I can change these smaller areas so we've done our public swimming pools and now what we're doing is we're migrating to parks and rec centers and other spaces is we're saying we want world class facilities and that's what we're doing here and that's why we're going to before the end of the year you'll have 12 brand new playgrounds among other things because we deserve the best we pay enough right and um that's the other thing so you find you find me when you're calling me I'm in the field I'm in the field because I like to be behind the scenes but to be successful here you have to be willing to get dirty so if you know me and uh what I've done is there's nothing that my staff do that I won't do nothing nothing like I when I mean um I have pictures I can show you when when it comes to draining the pools or getting out and cutting grass that's what I've done because you know what sometimes you're on a timeline um and I need to be able to show them listen this is the way we do business the other thing is you have to be um a disciplinarian and what I've learned is uh it's hard managing people if you ever manage people you know it's hard managing people and civil service in the union don't make it any easier and I'm on the union executive board and and I can say that confidently so you have to be able to understand what I learned long ago is stop expecting everybody to give you 100% all your staff sometimes the person that gives you 1% 2% that's you have to you have to accept that and what you do is learn your staff their strengths and weaknesses and then work with them because again sometimes you just can't let people go sometimes you you can't move them so what I learned is assess all my staff and determine wait a minute this is his strength and that's where I put him or her and that's we've done that with Parks because now we have a 7-Day schedule uh two shifts because the parks the constant concern you often get is the park are dirty but we have staff around the clock at least up until 5:30 that are always cleaning uh but the point is having people work those schedules we're doing our best to really Chase uh and keep them clean but we needed to adapt because what we had that Monday through Friday schedule wasn't working that's an example of us saying that um an example is we we were out in um being responsive to community needs we were out at Carlos Negron park there was a plan initial plan and then resident a bunch of them have come up and say you know what no we want a playground I had a conversation a meeting with the director and she said you know what let's build a playground that's being responsive to people's needs because the people and you know the fence some people oppose fences but the neighborhood there said we want a fence we want to better close this awesome um so that's I'm sorry yeah that's good so thank you very much for that if you could ask for one one thing to help assist you with this in this department what would that be it would be more money it'd be more money yeah that's fair thank you very much um so that that's all my questions I what I do want to just say before you sit down is I want to um I didn't get an opportunity to say this I want to thank the mayor for promoting from within um that's really important so I commend you for seeing the value of our staff here and I'm hopeful that all of you that are in your new seats will see the same thing with your current staff that we will also do the same thing that we will promote from um from then so mayor G I appreciate you and I want to commend you for that thank you Mr Harris any other council members questions comments council president yes thank Williams um so Mr Harris I'm really glad to see that you are having this opportunity as uh my colleague just alluded to because you have started from um I remember you when you first were doing public affairs long long time ago so my uh questions are going to be asking kind of along the line of um you are very much in the field when I think of natural re sources you're one of the faces that comes to mind right away you've done everything I've seen you out there with tents I've seen you out there with pools I've seen you out there doing just about everything so how do you foresee particularly in the next 90 days making that transition from being so grounds on uh so handson to maybe having to take that more of a corner office approach and that 30,000 foot view well um it's been hard to adapt even in the last three days because um the amount of meetings um but listen I have no choice to adapt this is this is this burden not of this opportunity has been placed given to me and I'm going to do my best with it um but I'm telling you right now I'm going to continue to be in the field I'm I can't because my thing is I know people who work here who live in their office and my thing is this is everything happens outside this building so I can't be in the office I will be responsive to my emails to the phone calls to the text messages but the people are in the streets and I need to be in the street with them to understand what their needs are okay well General Patton used to say you lead from the front so and my other question would be uh what kind of training have you had already maybe you could talk about and there are offerings of executive training um would that be something that you would be able to take with this position yes I am always interested in um learning more um I will say the weakness that I do have is that I live here it's just me so um I have to be able to tell myself Paul you know what there's nothing wrong with a certification one or two I just have to force myself Paul you got to sort of back away from the desk in the field to get that I could have had all the credentials in the world but I've decided that the best thing I can do for myself in the town is to be here and that's why but uh I will be pursuing uh a variety of different things okay excellent thank you very much council president yes councilman Harrison yes Paul um many years I see you when you come through the back door you're there for the community you got a smiling face you're helper for the community you work hard I'm glad to see you're getting this opportunity is well deserved you work hard and you believe in this great City so I know you'll do great thank you sir yes K president Hi Mr Harris congratulations again um just a quick question you kind of touched on what I wanted to ask you I know you're new into this role but I know you've had a part um in the planning of the 26 parks that are being rehabed um coming up and I just wanted to know if you could kind of kindly give us a little bit of input as to how those 26 Parks were chosen you did talk about the needs of each Park you know given the community because I wanted to know like what um how do you guys establish what upgrades and what amenities go into each Park and each situation you kind of touched on that um so just kind of how were these Parks Chosen and is there any type of algorithm or Rhyme or Reason to um the order in which the parks will get completed so what I make it my business to do is visit Le like 70 sites um at least every two weeks and it requires me to walk the perimeter actually get up on the playground and see everything because you know and this keep keeping my staff accountable as well so as a result of doing that multiple times what you get is you're put together a plan wait a minute this is what's wrong with this park this with this park for example Academy Street park right here by Clemente um having some issues with the concrete as a result of the trees it's knowing that so when I have the contractor who's doing concrete who you approved that he needs to Target that area in M Hill for example uh the issue there is some playground equipment but also there's concrete again that needs to you know there's some oldfashioned wooden ties that need to be replaced there the basketball court needs to be replaced there Edgewood Park for example that basketball court I need to have uh padding on the poles I need basketball system you know um those so and what I person so the only way I succeed is by I tell my staff listen you have to show me bring me out there and um and that's how I do so we took all that we put it together we sat with the director and said listen uh let's come up with a plan and with Community input as well because a lot of the times and I'm going to say this might go right way but we go back to the community to ask them when we already know if you liveed here long enough you know what needs to be fixed so we don't need to have another meeting to fix what we know should be fixed so we put that plan together and that's and you approved that $3.5 million and that's what we're doing so that's kind of the uh the method to some of the playgrounds on street park is in your ward that's a combination of input from you okay input from the school input from other Council people and that the equipment has arrived and they'll be working on that after they finish that they'll be moving to Villa par they'll be moving to Unity Park and then to Villa Park and then my plan is then they'll be moving to Carlos Negron thank you Mr Harris I look forward to your leadership in this position council president yes Council woman not long first of all congratulations Mr Harris um I agree with everything that everyone set up here but really quick I know I I spoke to um at the time director Richardson and so I just want to so know that we're making that connection with the Carlos Negron because I know the New Jersey state troopers want to collaborate I don't know if that connection has been made but I'm hoping that that will be done so that Park can get even more than what we probably have plann for yes yes I have a contact and what we're doing is we're not moving we're moving forward together yes good thank you congratulations thank [Music] you any other Council people have [Music] anything so I just want to say I just want to say this um I've had the um the awesome opportunity to work with Paul and watch him grow um from when I was in the finance department when I first got here and Paul has always been um a selfstarter and always been a true advocate for the city of Trenton performing with excellence and dedication um always giving of himself because he always wants things to be the absolute very best even when he was in the finance department working on getting out the payments and everything he had the system set up and he was looking at these pools and I was like what is this going on and the pools were immaculate he was like I'll be right back and he was taking care of that and he was taking care of this and then you see how our the website is running everything else and now to see you grow and move into this capacity right for the mayor to have trusted you all that time to just allow you to operate in your gifts like you said what their strengths are to allow you to operate in your gifts and then to elevate you into this position this is a testament of what recruiting and retention um looks like and this is what you would hope that every employer would do with their employees before they look to hire from the outside to look from within so I'm excited to see you continue to grow to see Trenton continue to grow under your leadership um within the department of recreation right leading even though I know you'd like to be in the background but it is your humility that will be your greatest strength because you care about the city for real and so um I'm I'm happy for you and congratulate you and look forward to see what comes next thank [Music] [Applause] [Music] you and so next we'll have Dr [Music] Diego good evening good evening hello any council members have any questions for the Madame President yes I have a statement that I would like to read if you allow me to introductory okay thank you and then we'll get into the questions yeah and it we'll move along okay go ahead okay um Madame President Madame vice president and members of the city council I am honored to be appointed as interim director of Health and Human Services for the city of Trenton I am deeply committed to advancing and improving our Health and Social Services systems to better serve our residents particularly those that are homeless my professional background and scientific research medicine Academia has prepared me to address all of the challenges that we face and to develop effective solutions to those that are in need over over the past year my work with the city um under the cdbg ESG uh programs and my involvement in the annual point in time account have provided me with invaluable insights into the needs of our community these experiences have uh reinforced my commitment to develop stronger Partnerships and improving our Outreach programs since my appointment on Saturday um I have uh had the pleasure of meeting leaders of the various subdivision um such as Mrs Ruth Carter um Mrs Janet Porter Mrs IET Cooper and Mrs Memphis is uh Madden among others I also visited the city uh Clinic the senior centers and many incredible individuals who have dedicated um um efforts to carry uh for our residents and seniors of course uh their commitment along with the support from our mayor our business administrator and the Board of Health is truly inspiring so far I believe that together we can form a unified team to significantly improve our health and human services for the benefit of all Trenton residents additionally I have the opportunity to visit our animal shelter and observe the recent improvements to the building and the restructure organizational command health and Animal Control are crucial in our city um as many infectious diseases affecting humans originate in animals such as ravies and influenza so it is essential that we work together not only at City Hall here but also with the community to reinforce ordinances and manage the number of animals that the shelter receives again I thank you once again for this opportunity and I look forward to working together to make a positive impact in our community thank you at this time any council members have any questions for the doctor councilwoman frisbee thank you council president so Dr Carlos Manelli Mina Capelli did it so one I don't I do thank you for reading that statement because I did not know a lot about you and so you have helped fill in some of the gaps for me so thank you I do want to say um I appreciate your humility that comes um across right now to me as um someone who stands in the position of humility for you to say that you've gone out to meet those who are affected or who will affect your department that speaks volumes to me making communication having communication with your um counter your cohorts and just some members and touching the um Community knowing that you cannot lead from sitting in that seat as Paul alluded to so very strongly um it's good yes you do lead from in front but yes there's sometimes also lead from the back as well so you have to learn how to um do it uh do both um ways but um I appreciate you I appreciate um your transparency and I believe that you will be effective in the community I commend the mayor again for seeing you and seeing the uh what value you will bring to our community and I think I'm the I will ask you only just one of the um questions and that is if you had the opportunity to add one thing for your um new Department what would be that ask that you would say that you need most right now at the moment after going over all of this uh meeting people and and and the clinic and everything I would like to have Unity with everybody and being part of a team that's what we need right now excellent thank you so much thank you madam president thank you any other Council people any questions or comments council president councilwoman Williams thank you um so doctor um I just have two questions as far as um we have a city that we live in a city that has many healthc care disparities yes um a lot of which were identified during covid nationally and you know once Co kind of died out so to those intentions to fix healthc care disparities so what do you foresee that you would like Trenton to take on to help our population help our citizens with the healthcare disparities that they face here so right now I'm doing my assessment of all of the because Trenton has very good um activity and activities and um um going out like for example the Leb programs and all of those um we just have to enhance them and uh make Partnerships with other organizations so we can reach out more right so um yeah that is the plan that I have so far I'm doing my assessments right now um and I see that you know um we can work together and do better for now so okay and then um systemically where do you foresee where we are now versus where we were I know you weren't um perhaps on board four years ago but as far as being prepared for the next pandemic should another one come yes so part of my assessment is to see the um the implementation of the prepare uh respond and prevent covid for example so I have to go over the uh plan that they had during that time review it and maybe we can improve it and so be ready for the next one um so it is part of my assessment okay thank you very much sir thank you any other Council [Music] thank you thank you very much at this time we will call interim director Arch Liston for housing and economic [Music] development good evening good evening at this time any council members have any questions for Mr [Music] Liston councilwoman frisbee good evening Mr listen how are you very well thank you good so we know you've been uh in various roles um with the city and we appreciate your dedication and your um ability to sit in the seats that you have sat in um with all that has been said um so far um one I want to just appreciate everyone and I'm I'm just encouraging everyone to hear from those that are in the various departments that you are now walking into um with an ear knowing that they have the capability to be in the seats that they are sitting in right now I would ask my question of you this evening would be um what has how do you feel that you are prepared for this new position of being in the housing and Economic Department from what you have already done in the city of Trenton what has prepared you for this position when I first uh became the side of public administration when I got of the police side of government uh my first task uh was Redevelopment and getting Redevelopment plans prepared and implemented and getting through the process so I've been involved with Redevelopment in in different communities Hamilton Bridgton uh Lan City places over over the past 20 years 24 24 years uh so I have a substantial knowledge in in in uh Redevelopment secondly with with housing uh I was practiced my craft right through the uh art of regional contribution agreement issues right through the uh issues with COA uh the litigation that went on I kept a breast of the new legislation that was passed in I think in January where DCA is coming out with new numbers and and and um September um and just being able to work with the community and meeting the needs of from the r development side but also from the housing side and um I've worked in numerous communities with the same issues of Trenton uh I worked in one place Johnstown Pennsylvania as a city manager where we had substantial vacant properties just like we have here so I've been through the lack of Veteran through the wars thank you Mr thank you madam president you any other council members questions council president yes councilwoman Williams thank you U Mr bliston U my question is uh particularly coming back uh after a year U it's good to see you I wanted to get an idea if having fresh your eyes and seeing the city have your any your philosophies or your thoughts about Economic Development changed in this past year or maybe adapted to things it it's funny you sit back and and you read a lot of what what's going on in the community because is for some reason you go back through all you've worked in and I've tracked a lot of stuff that um is going on and what is going on and uh have looked at uh different ways that we can expedite processes and so forth and one of the things I'll show you tonight I have a draft resolution that I'm going to bring forward for next meeting uh and looking at certain the hotel robling uh looking at all the projects and see how we can we can move the process along to um I think I have the ability to move these projects in a certain way and generate additional revenues for the city while we're trying to do some of the other projects okay and my uh second question would be what opportunities do you foresee maybe over the next few years that uh we need to make sure we take advantage of well we've we've got the housing market back in here and we've got some I we've got some really exciting stuff going on downtown I mean I'm shocked that you know we could we potentially have you know 600 units coming online market rate units downtown which I think is going to revitalize the whole downtown in the sense you're going to have that density that traffic down there on a daily basis with the with with the different demographic and people getting out and walking so I I think the the downtown and if we get the state workers back you know another 40% of the time uh would would also help help out and I think that's one of the things that impacted us over the last since Co is is taking that percentage of of customers walking by the stores and different places that has it devastated the downtown it really did uh so I'm excited about the downtown with the the housing projects going on and I think some of the things I'm going to bring forward about some U potential taking down some properties and and doing some new uh rfps and and trying to get some new bills downtown uh from a commercial standpoint so I I I think there's great opportunities here at the right time in keeping in in line with the market okay thank you very much thank you any other Council people council president councilwoman Edwards thank you so um I'm sure you're aware of all the housing and economic development issues that we have across this of the city especially addressing our affordable housing shortage crisis um you see how rent is Sky High right now and with our plethora of inventory of housing um I would like to hear a plan on how you plan on at least within your interim period of 90 days plan on addressing the needs of the housing crisis that we're experiencing in Trenton and in turn um replacing these properties back on a tax Ro and that help with our revenue and our fiscal um availabilities or abilities sorry but um focusing also on our Economic Development on our business development to councilwoman Williams Point Citywide and not just downtown but Hermitage Avenue we have a a shopping center over there that is maybe 80% vacant right now that's not helping the community we have pockets all around the city facing the same type of dilemma what are your immediate priorities when it comes to these things well I I think Hermitage is an interesting uh thing to bring up I know that probably two and a half years ago the city attempted to buy that property we had developers interested in that property and doing some affordable housing and actually doing mixed juice with the the lower part of where the drug store is and then you go up three or four stories with affordable housing to make it very easy for people who live there to walk to the pharmacy get to the you know and get around with the so that was one thing that we we're going to try to refocus on on Hermitage and getting that that going again uh obviously we're robling to we're jumping all over robling 2 again see trying to trying to get that moving housing is the most interesting thing I I I find in the fact that if if you do affordable housing it it really kind if if we go and try to do rehab it's it's very difficult because we've got to pay prevailing wage we've got to pay professionals we we're really restricted in our ability to go in and do something with a piece of property again the one of the things that we're going to tonight discuss later potentially is you know a a Avenue where we can expedite the process of eliminating the very slow oxygen process and if I can get this process started with the with the rehabilitation zones uh we can go in and we can work with the residents to rehab properties next you or or turn over 10 or 12 properties that are not in Redevelopment zones but they can be established it's really going to help the the local little guy who wants to jump on housing and do something about it h it's going to be the greatest tool we have and uh that that's one of the first things and it was recommended by legal council before and uh I think it's it's once we get through planning board uh I just think it's going to change the whole our whole ability to do housing yes thank you I'm glad that you um made a point to say that because we definitely need to focus on homeownership and a lot of people are inquiring about purchasing City owned properties as you can see that our Market is skyh high right now and interest rates are through the roof but through City owned property they canine affordable ways and that's what I mean specifically when I reference how housing is purchasing city-owned property and accessing resources for funding for redevelopment and I have yet to see our city really do that and hold the hands of the residents and provide what that process looks like and how to navigate through that so I mean I don't have a question to that point but I just want you to keep that in mind that a lot of people are inquiring about it and we need accessibility to our housing and that's the best part about the the the direction I want to take with the rehab zones is that's part of the Redevelopment agreement and in some minor Redevelopment agreement that we do with with with these people is the fact that you control as Council as a body what that house has to be so when we turn that house over to a a purchaser you can restrict it it's got to be home ownership for so many years or it you know you you have that ability that's where auctions a lot of times you don't with auctions you're selling a property to someone from out of the area who doesn't care about the community doesn't reinvest in community does substandard housing puts people in a very high rate so I think this is going to give Council a tool that you've never ever had before awesome thank you councilman Harrison then councilwoman Gonzalez thank you um Arch uh you brought up some locations uh roing block two we still have Mercer Hospital the old St Francis Hospital cook school what do you see as moving forward what do you project you think that those opportunities are at those different locations I think the biggest thing is we've got to get developers that that trust our ability to get things done one of the problems we have here is that we're known for not having friendly um processes and I'm not going to get specifically in the Departments but if a developer can get a project approved and get can get the inspectors out and can't get the the project done it's costing him money time is money it's all there is to it and we've got to get more private investment in here we got get people who who are going to invest from outside and and take a risk and uh I I think we have and we already have that downtown I mean we we have private investment going on that people don't know about and once we get that private investment going they and they it's like a a ball going downhill and once it starts roll people see it th driv then you're going to get the investment over and over again but you got to do something to show people um really quickly we've had some discussion so I just wanted to just kind of pick it back off of what councilwoman Edward says and just say something that I would like to see or suggest that we do do promote more of the resources that are available for our for our residents to become homeowners and to take advantage of some of those resources that are out there because a lot of it is that they don't know what's out and so I just wanted to say suggest that um I know you've been very responsive you kind of touched on it a little bit as far as your plans for um our next council meeting what you want to present I'm not sure if you're able to speak on that yet but um I'm looking forward to you putting more of our city owned properties on the tax rooll me too thanks so I just want to say um I'm excited for us to come um you're already you've hit the ground running right you you've got us in you got the ball in motion you have your ideas um you have the excitement that we need here right to get this thing going um I will also like to say that I had mentioned this before if it's possible um under former leadership that I know Newark is doing something where they actually use like the Section 8 vouchers or certificates towards uh payments for homes so if Trenton could do that I would love if we could do something like that to be able to help those um you know those people that get the vouchers and the certificates to actually instead of paying some of these landlords that they would actually use that towards their homes that would be awesome if we could do a program like that as well absolutely I agree and um I think especially with Maria ba she has a certain ability to really work through the channels and get things done so I think the two of us were working together uh I I think these are certain things that we can we can pull off with the state and with with hmfa um because of relationships that she has and I've had over the years I think it's it's a nice it's a good team it's a good team thank you we're excited to have you back and looking forward to what's to come thank you so much thank you thank [Music] you so now Council now that we've done all of that now when 90 days comes we going straight to the vote oh we going straight to the vote all right Mr Garcia certainly Madam president at this time as I understand it's your will to uh visit a resolution 24-24 two this is a resolution providing advice and consent to the mayor's of appointment of Corey McNair landlord regular member to the rent stabilization board for the term of 71 2024 to 1231 2026 yes thank you if Mr McNair could come forward and address the council we would appreciate it very much good evening and thank you for your patience I know you have to go that's why we moved you on the agenda to get you before us tonight yes ma'am so if you'd like to say anything to the council about why you want to be on the board um and then if anyone has any limited questions that you would like to ask uh Mr McNair so we can move into executive session I would appreciate appreciate it but I'm confident that you'll give us enough when you talk that we may be able to get through it Mr bcir yes yes man good evening council president and all members of council uh thank you for this opportunity to be here tonight uh as mentioned I am an employee of the city a civil servant uh also resident lifelong resident of Trenton and I own six properties here in the city 13 units um I'm interested in serving on the board because I feel that representation is very important um for example I have one of my tenants their elderly 70 plus and I'm charging them uh $600 less than a neighbor on the street they're paying nearly as I said $600 more a month right across the street um so for me it's not about what you are getting a month in terms of income it's about quality of life it's about quality um for the seniors to be able to also pay their other bills and be comfortable um and I think that is important that we hold folks accountable who you know may not have that same interest and education as well for the for the tenants knowing their rights uh when it comes to new leases um percentage of raising um you know of rent annually and things of that nature you any council members have any questions or comments from Mr McNair council president yes councilwoman Williams uh detective my question is um being a landlord and actually having so many in I'm sure you have different challenges but if you could talk about some of the challenges you face as a landlord and maybe some things that we can do as a city to improve things for the you know landlords who are good landlords such as yourself but also for tenants um well I've been not going what I've been blessed um I have great tenants um I think that you know it's just all when things come to you you have to deal with them uh I'm a part of the group of landlords obviously in the city who we have to deal with this leut issue um and I got an email coming back from vacation last month saying you have to get in compliance you have to get all of your properties inspected of course that means I have to pay money but more importantly tenants who live in those properties who able to afford to live in a brand new development um I had to make sure they're healthy and safe as well so literally I got back um and I just hit the ground running from vacation and so far out of those six properties I have four that have been inspected so far um because it's very important to you know to make sure that my tenants are in good health um and that they know that you know I appreciate them so so I guess as far as are there any challenges systemically then City The Challenge me having to uh pay for all of those Le inspections IM immediately but um once again but I mean even even paperwork I complaints about paperwork's confusing um to be honest the complaint system uh people don't know about it where it's very intimidating as a tenant yeah yeah to be honest I have to say I have to give the city their flowers especially um in the inspections department I have had no issues um at all uh whenever you know I purchase a new property um the inspectors are great they are professional um if there's any issues um you're able to you know there's various things you can do to be able to get extensions on getting things repaired uh for me I try and be proactive so I don't really face many challenges I would rather put money out in the beginning versus have a tenant call me at you know 2: a.m. telling me something needs to be fixed that I could have probably fixed months ago so for me something I like to do is go in and do like a you know a full renovation initially so that we don't have to deal with those um you know small issues in the long run all right thank you very much yes ma'am councilwoman frisbee thank you council president so I just wanted to say um Mr McNair I want to thank you for your servant leadership I've had the opport to work with you and see what you actually do in the commun community and how proactive you are I'm sure that most anyone who is a tenant would love to have you as their landlord so you set and you lead a um really great example of what is needed here in the city so I wanted to just say thank you for that thank you for being handson and thank you for your commitment and dedication I think you would be a great asset to this board thank you councilwoman Gonzalez yes um thank you thank council president I just want to say um the person that I know as Cory McNair I know that he's a fair person and that's why I thought when we saw your name come forth that this would be a great great addition to this board I know we're reactivating this board so I think it would be a great um person and and and a a person with a lot of knowledge and who's fair so I'm just want to say thank you for volunteering your time to be on this board and I'm looking forward to us getting this uh rent stabilization board going thank you any other council person Council pres yes councilman Harrison Corey many years I see you out there in the community helping people out now you're buying houses giving other people opportunities you're what treaton is all about so thank you and I know this is what we like to say you have a smile on face but you also believe in helping others in this community so thank you for all you've done now and all you will do in the future buddy thank you sir any other Council people okay so Corey I just like to say thank you um for your continued and elevated service in the city of Trenton um for not leaving Trenton behind for thinking of Trenton and then investing in Trenton as well um from your nonprofit that you have you've been blessing people a long time with the works that you have done and you have worked tirelessly and selflessly to help people um that need it most and so for that um thank you and then like I said thank you for investing in the city but then also looking to help the people in this city like not forgetting not forgetting right but helping other people to just have an honest opportunity at a good quality of life that is very commendable thank you all right thank [Music] you Mr Garcia certainly Madam president I'd like to certainly go right ahead I I just I want us to vote on this now I was just about to ask if that was your wish yes if so would you like to ask for a motion to approve yes may have a motion to approve so moved second noted roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried [Music] congratulations Madame President moving on with the agenda at this time I believe we have an executive session for the purpose of contract negotiations if you want to ask for a motion to go into executive session at this time yes before we ask for the motion I just want to make an announcement to everyone um as we know the agenda is subject to change to leadership uh discretion just so you know anyone that is here for the towing ordinance if you didn't see well you probably wouldn't see because they didn't send it out that was pulled today um by law so the towing ordinance is not on the agenda for tonight so if you were here for that you'll see us in September for that I don't want anybody waiting around um needlessly because we're not discussing it tonight may have a motion to go into executive session so moved roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figo kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilwoman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried Mo on to Executive session uh I don't believe we anticipate a vote coming out of executive session at this time no no thank you good evening could you please press the button to turn the mic on for your yes ma'am got you thank you and you can leave it on when you step away so the next person can come thank you um my name is Deborah prer I live at 13 6 Garfield Avenue in Trenton New Jersey I had filled out um applications to get a grant for my home to I'm a senior citizen and a disabled a citizen and it's been like three years and I haven't heard anything so I'm not sure if I may not explain this thank you correct but um just so you know ma'am and to the rest of the public when you do address whatever matter you wish the council is not obligated to respond at this time right okay so you're invited to St if you can once we get through everybody if you stay to our Civic comment that's when Council will speak out if someone's going to speak to what it is um that you had but out of respect for you and what you have um going on what what kind of Grant was it what was it for it was a uh CB uh cdbg yes okay okay if you don't mind Miss PR prer if you could um see the young man on the end right there near the clock and give him your phone number okay then we'll have someone I'm sure someone will want to reach out to you if you could just give him your name and phone number we would appreciate it thank you ma'am my card there should be cards H next individual for public comment at this time L [Music] Reed good evening my name is latan Reed my address is 340 West St Street I Shar the street with Foundation Academy located 363 w Street um during the school year the congestion is Extreme and one of the problems is parents are pulling up in front of the school walking their children across the street instead of the pickup drop off line This caused so much congestion the last December my precious child was hit by a car in the crosswalk accompanied by the crossing [Music] guard Trenton police have not gone to the school to review the video I've asked them multiple times so is my car insurance adjuster this is because of a lack of resources we do not have police presence we have one crossing guard that's managing weststate Street a hub into greater downtown and left-and traffic coming out of Rucker's place which they're not even supposed to do and what's happening now is the parking is getting more restricted for the Neighbors of the school me so I have to pay a meter to park outside of my own home or get a $70 ticket or drive out into all this congested traffic because of the timing of the street sweeper and I appreciate your councilwoman frisbe for coming to the school meeting with me and the executive leadership but how school's about to start on August 19th and I'm still petrified because when she hit my daughter she hit the break but it's an intrusive thought when you think that she could have panicked and hit the gas and run over my daughter my daughter's 5'8 she's tall like me but her peers who were in her sixth grade class who ran up to me this tall might not have been able to sustain that getting hit on their physical person by a car I know change doesn't happen overnight but again I am petrified so I'm here for the council and the the community I'm glad 21 people want to talk tonight because you all are here I want you to know on this street the children are in danger and we're band dating these small parking enforcements instead of the greater problem if you want to get some Revenue you let the cops come tiet all these parents who are driving around the crossing guard having their little babies D walk across the street that's where you going to get some Revenue you give me a book I'll get out there and ticket all of them but the CEO is directing traffic in the morning and that's what I wanted to come and I I and I have to keep coming because again I'm asking my own Community where I live and where my child lives please please Anybody Everybody whatever mobilization we can do I just cannot stand the idea of a child getting hit by a car right there thank [Music] you ke uh Kean Jones [Music] good evening Council it's good to see you um I'm on here I'm speaking on the behalf of firefighter uh taon Paige um who was uh unfairly persuaded to resign from his position I'm just going to keep it uh short and simple I want to quote sir I'm sorry to interrupt you did you get your address I apologize uh 13 my mail address 132 penon Avenue also a Trent firefighter and um I'm speaking on the behalf of Salvation and social justice thank you um 34 peniton Avenue too as well all right okay um but I'm speaking on behalf of taon Paige who was persuaded to resign uh wrongfully um I said a lot last council meeting so much so that it sparked the article to come out um alluding to the things that I said but I'm not here to focus on that the main focus I want to focus on is taon I first met taon um I've always seen him around the neighborhood but uh when I the first conversation that we had was in front of 801 uh it's a liquor store that was on fire and he had got the dogs out he had actually called the fire department he told me that he applied and I was just so happy you know he was just excited and he was just talking to me about everything that that he's been through and he wants to change his life and everything I was just like okay cool cool so when I finally seen him in the Academy I was like bro that's honorable you did it everything that you said that you were going to do and I was just so happy for him um with the Tren fire department we're not attacking uh Personnel that's not we're attacking a system that is perverse that doesn't uh permit the real Trent tonians when I say real Trent tonians I mean people who went through Tren school systems people who walked the streets and Tren people who surviv Tren uh taon survived Tren I think it's a win uh I'm going to ask some things I think we need to have a meeting with the mayor get him in front of the mayor to you know try to rectify the situation before it escalates further you know he has a lot of support in the room tonight that's probably most of the supporters most of the people that signed up to speak on his behalf he was a criminal and he was the things that we're trying to paint him he wouldn't have that support so I just want to do the right thing by him I want to stick by him um and let's let's let's see what we can try to do even if he's not on the fire department let's see if the city can help him get some employment I work with salvation and social justice and uh the things that I do uh how the way I show up we can't post things on social media when you're talking about dealing with murders we got we live in a culture in Trenton where we want to do this all the time and you know talk about what we do but one of the things that are are that is common with death with people gunshot victims black males in particular is the most murdered in the city um got you my time is up but uh I'm here to support [Music] chaon T Sean paage [Music] good evening good evening councel my name is t on paage uh I live 350 Reservoir Street um I'm just here because I just want to know the support that I have from my City Council in rectifying this situation um I do want a meeting with with somebody um anyway to to resolve the situation um I was born and raised in train All My Life um and it's like the change is it starts W within the ones from the city not the ones out the city even I'm not excluding the ones out the city but it starts from the ones that live in the city so like I know I come from a a a rough neighborhood or or I I might be in the neighborhood chilling with friends but that that doesn't Define who I am or who I'm going to become you people don't know I can be an advocate for those ones that are on that corner or it could be a homeless guy one day that that's that's starving on on that same neighborhood that I'm from and I'm making sure he eat or or just people that's struggling in general my friends like about the things that they go through on life and I'm giving them hope and I'm telling them like listen this is not it I'm a I could be I'm a Hood therapist if you want to be technical I'm I'm a neighborhood therapist if you I'm I don't I'm not out there doing anything illegal I I go to different parts of town and and I I give hope to where the hope is needed so I just feel like I deserve a fair chance just as well as everybody else I did everything I was supposed to do uh I woke up every day I did I just I just want my chance how how you expect me to change if you don't give me change or or or you throw me back into the environment where I came from I I just want different and I deserve a chance and that's all I'm asking for and like they that's it that's all I want is a chance like I I just want to know what can we do to rectify this situation and me getting my chance and I feel like I shouldn't have to do it over because I did it already I did everything I was supposed to do I shouldn't have to do it over or or uh whatever whatever just whatever is being rumored about me or whatever that's that that until it's facts is proven I feel like I deserve my chance that's it I don't got much to say but that's all I have to say for now [Applause] [Music] like Tanisha page hi I'm Ton's mother um I'm sorry y'all it's just hard breaking you know um just to give you a little history on me and my son he has a good mother that stay stays on him make sure he's a leader and not a follower I require that in my home there so many people that's looking up to my child right now thinking like d i could do this this too or I can try or just the just the motivation he's giv other people to you know like that see themselves in him is just a blessing in itself I raised a good boy can't nobody like I said the fire academy was acquainted with my son for a few months I raised him and I know what type of child I raise so it's it's just like a slap in the face that they did this to him and I'm just I'm hurt I'm trying not to speak from a hurt place you know but it's it's hard you know just seeing a little bit of light come out of him you know just like I don't like I told my son it's okay to feel hurt it's not okay to feel defeated so you got to fight you got to keep going you got to keep like don't let take no for an answer and I told him whatever he do his mom is here and I'm going to make sure he gets through everything but it's it's it was really unfair and I feel as though to let him go through do the training pass the test and the day he get ready to go to his assignment you tell him no so it's like you want to protect the child from the environment that he live in why throw him back in the environment you understand if he trying to make a change and trying to better himself why smack them in the face and stop that is what I don't understand I I go it's I'm not eating barely I'm not sleeping like um this is really stressing me out my son I have Lupus my son takes care of his mother he helps me take care of his sisters you know so it's like this was something where if I did close my eyes today or tomorrow I knew my son was going to be okay and my daughters is going to be okay and to have somebody take that from him is just the most crushing thing ever I don't want to get nobody El H story I'm not up here for nobody to feel sorry for me because I got the strength of a Titan okay so that's not what I'm asking I'm just asking like my son asking give him a chance to show you you can't say a person can't change or not changing if you don't give him a chance to change I don't want my son to die out here in the streets I don't he don't a lot of his friends been killed next to him I don't want that for him so I just appreciate if y'all just take the time out to just listen and you know hopefully investigate the situation okay thank you [Music] forgive me Mona [Music] yansy good evening Council uh my name is Mona yansy and I represent passage Theater which is at 205 East Front Street I'll be very quick um just quickly we wanted to speak about our upcoming 40th season um I am the community giving manager so part of my job is going out into the community um and engaging with everyone in the communities of Trenton about the Arts I am very passionate about the arts for so many reasons I have gone into the schools as a teaching artist and just seen how our kids flourish um when they are able to express themselves whether it's through writing acting dancing that sort of thing um and so for our 40th season we begin with a play called Alma which is written by gu Allen American uh playright Benjamin Benet and it's very important to this upcoming election that's happening which is dealing with immigration and a mother and daughter um parenting when you're talking about Hope and courage and family um as well also on September 5th we are in inviting a lot of city workers because we want a lot of them to come and engage with us many go to work and they just leave right at 5:00 right um but when you go to New York or Philadelphia you have the people right after work they are engaging we would like to see that happen in Trenton um and so save your money from getting on that train and going out to New York nothing wrong with New York because I've been out there as well uh but there's there's there's great things happening here in this city as well when it comes to the Arts so we're asking for that support um so on September 5th at the lobby Club from 4:30 to 5:30 that will be specifically for our city and state workers and then at 5:30 we are giving out uh tickets to our special um 101 showing of the play Alma um just to engage more particularly with our Latino Community as well thank [Music] you Austin [Music] Edwards good evening everyone a Austin 916 bellw Avenue um you guys remind me I got to go to DMV change my whole address the whole move thing got to get that situated but um coming up today uh I think it's just bit of a joke right sometimes I run into you guys especially in these hallways and every time it's just like uh oh what did we do wrong well it's kind of like Sour Patch Kids right you know sometimes I'm sour tonight I'm actually sweet right and I specifically wanted to come up and talk about uh our support of 21312 and 313 um as I was sitting in the uh crowd earlier I was doing some of the math of all the numbers in front of you all tonight and what I counted was essentially close to over half a billion dollars that you guys are deciding on uh tonight and I think that's amazing because Al with uh director Richardson as she was saying that she was bringing in tens of millions of dollars and going after the money and bringing in more money into the city right I was just like wow it is amazing that there's so much money coming into the city to be a benefit now we're speaking here today because and I brought that number up because with half a billion dollars these two resolutions essentially authorized literally $200,000 just a drop in the bucket and that's important because as you all know as head of the Downtown Association we are doing everything we can to support our downtown businesses and these resolutions would do exactly that giving $200,000 to uh not just local businesses and local uh Property Owners but this money would directly go to local contractors who can help our businesses not only survive but thrive and this is exactly what we need in our city and so I'm asking for your support for 312 and 313 to help our downtown business uh a Downtown Association our downtown businesses our local contractors help our city Thrive thank you all and I hope uh to count on your support today Diego [Music] Maya good evening council president good evening Council Diego MAA to4 William Livingston Court Princeton New Jersey um Trenton is my hometown I started my business about 20 years ago in uh in this area reaching out to the Latino community and making sure that um their businesses were community ating to the Latino community in Spanish and that's why I'm here today and I'm going to share some uh information for you [Music] guys uh we um my company has been broadcasting simultaneously the Board of Education meetings for the violent school district and the cden school district and we've also uh broadcasted um the state of the city for mayor RZ Barack and uh a year ago we did it also for the mayor here um R gush uh Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world right after Chinese Mandarin and uh the Latino Community is um growing exponentially and right now at this moment it's uh G P if it's looked at a as a as a nation within the US is the fifth largest economy um that is that is a huge purchasing uh Power and consumption power and I feel that in this city where uh 38% of the community is um Hispanic it is important for the communications of of the city specifically the council to be um available in Spanish and so I'm here to ask uh one of you to consider taking that flag and uh discussing it of how the impact of providing the council meetings uh simultaneously in Spanish how that could benefit uh the entire city um one of um an update of because it's not just coming uh to Trenton and doing business of uh what we're doing is um on on the nonprofit side uh we just took um almost 55 kids black and brown kids to uh uh New York on uh Google hackathon uh trying to support uh the Latino kids and the black kids uh along with another um [Music] nonprofit Vladimir Castillo [Music] [Music] um good evening my name is Vladimir Castillo I'm a lifetime resident of Trent New Jersey I live at 310 Maple Avenue Trent New Jersey uh greetings to The Honorable members of the Trenton city council as well as the other members of the community in the audience uh I'd like to preface a statement with a uh something about Dr King uh something he wrote the unemployment rate of the nation as a whole is about 4% statistics from the labor department report that among minorities it's about 8.4% but these people are people who still go to the lake Market who still go to employment agencies and places looking for jobs so they can be calculated the statistics can be gotten because they are still somehow in the labor market but there are thousands of minorities who have given up they have lost hope they have come to feel that life is a long and desolate Corridor for them to go with no exit sign and they no longer look for a job they no longer feel like they're part of anything which is quite unfortunate if you ask me these are people who would estimate that amongst the discouraged persons uh there's another 10% so essentially let's say that if these calculations would be true in days day and age with they're truy similar the unemployment rate for minorities can be anywhere from 10 to 16% in urban areas which you can see is a very big issue uh this excerpt encapsulates the current situation in Trenton today there are members of the community such myself and others who have taken matters into their own hands and beun corporations with the purpose of creating job opportunities uh I'm speaking specifically also about 24- 312 and 24 uh- 313 uh I assisted uh Tark real estate and project management and planning for that project and I am the general contractor who if this is voted through would be rewarded the opportunity to do the project at Tren makes which is uh 24- 313 uh this project would also hire a bunch of local subcontractors some of which such as uh Mr Maris Palmer and assist us in furthering developing our local economy uh there's millions and millions of dollars given to all types of different entities in Trent New Jersey you know they're building a Highway uh project right now on 29 which was like $26 million um this would be a a small small award to rectifying the systematic and racial oppression that we've dealt with for over 400 years because we'll finally be able to how I guess how can we say bridge the gap between I guess the private public and you know the members of the community uh so thank you very much uh you guys have any questions thank [Music] you Jose Francisco is that go thank you thank you evening Council men and ladies I'm here to support any grant money I'm I'm a business owner of um unique Engineers I'm a software writer sir if you would could you just state your name and address for the record forgive me Jose Francisco colazo got it and address if you would yeah 433 Lamberton thank you go right ahead no problem I want to First say kudos to you guys um this is my first time seeing this in action I'm not from out here uh but I see Trenton as a gem good people and you know the youth I would like to see more programs like YMCAs things of that nature but today I'm here for specifically grants to help uh building infrastructures especially with uh uh Roland I was fortunate to meet uh Roland as a as a businessman Excellent Man along with lad and Pier as well so that's all I want to say take [Music] care Alexander Ramos Roland pot Rolland pot cute [Music] counselor good evening Council Roland pot 113 South Montgomery Street just want to thank you for considering resolution number 24 313 which will greatly benefit the business owners of um and their work environment at 439 South Broad Street I serve as president of Trenton makes Inc which applied for the grant under the American Rescue Act of 2021 which is a Federal grant as administered by the city of Trenton and I've lived here in Trenton since 95 when I moved here after college and I started my first business here in Trenton in 1999 I have been living and working here for almost 30 years and I've raised two kids here I want to thank Vladimir Castillo of Castle Consulting for his work on the Grant application and the maintenance work that he's been doing at the property as well as the other contractors that have worked on the building and part of our mission is to support the development of local contractors I want to also thank all the small business owners that have spoken in favor of this resolution the money goes towards the maintenance and Improvement of the property where over 27 small businesses operate and provide services to the community these range from Fashion Insurance Fine Art music not for-profits healthc care Printing and more I have a list of the businesses um in the building that I'm going to leave with the clerk for your um also as an aside um 78% by my calculation of these businesses are minority and women-owned 64 and a half% of these businesses are owned by Trenton residences residents this grant will help to offset the costs that will otherwise be paid by higher rents it will help to keep the space a affordable for these small businesses and helping these small businesses to succeed is part of our mission and sometimes I think I should do a better job at telling my story um but the truth is that my story is the story of trying to be in service of these these small businesses that you're um here that you're here with uh hearing from tonight that's that's my story my story is their story small businesses suffered a lot across the board during covid and several people at the building went out of business and were unable to continue the building is a historic property over 130 years old I was involved in the renovation in 2001 the property pays approximately $37,000 to the city of Trenton in property taxes every year and that supports city services thank [Music] you princess is that Jenkins [Music] good evening everyone um my name is Princess Jenkins and I live at 455 West Street I'm here actually to talk about I was here last time and talked about um the rent stabilization in the city and I see that the rent ordinance currently is up to date on the website which I think is great um currently where I'm at I have a lot of uh seniors who are not um they urrently that the rent um increas is 4% in the city however the seniors and people with disabilities in my complex yes is two is 2% so they just received letters currently this week that stated that they were going to pay 4% and I was letting them know that it's not so I'm here to try to find out because my complex is fairly big so I've been the one kind of running around and making sure that residents know what it is what the ordinance says because we received something that said it was 7.9% I said no it's not and I rectified that and sent that to the property manager and yes so there are some other fees that are being tacked on in our complex and just so you guys know this um company who owns the complex that we currently live in own at least about five properties within the city so when we talk about properties that aren't being managed or people are not um having rent increased fairly this is a combination of this one company that's here doing that at least one of and it may be several so I'm here to see whether not um I know that I don't know if sometimes when we take a look because I see that it seems as if property management or the companies who are own who own these properties are now uh trying to in self- interpret what the ordinance says so having said that um just trying to find out how we can maybe put some restrictions on that clarify and also too for our residents and people who have disabilities really understanding that it is 2% and not the 4% because the notifications that are going out for them that they're currently getting are for 4% and we know that it's not um so hopefully with the rent stabilization committee you know we can get some of that adjusted um but just trying to see I know you know councilwoman frisbee has been helping out in our end in terms of letting us know what we can do what some of the things that I have G going to um the police department some things that we can work with Community Affairs getting some things settled in so I'm just trying to especially with our seniors because they're not the ones coming to the meetings they can't get to the meetings they have health issues and they don't understand this language which you know I'm trying to help interpret for them so they are not treated unfairly so having said that just seeing if the council can maybe do more in terms of getting like that language out I'm happy to support that um and anything I can do on my end thank you Tammy [Music] Butler Tammy Butler I think it's Butler moving on to Jeremiah Brooks [Music] good evening city council oh sorry good evening city council my name is jasia Brooks and um I serve as a program coordinator for arm and arm for The Parent Connect program who helped provide emergency services and Outreach to homeless children um I am a been I was born and raised in the city of TR I am here today in full support of ton page who have faced you know different obstacles of his termination with um the Trent fire department um I've known ton my whole life and um I just want to say like growing up in Tron we are you know confronted with significant challenges such as violence poverty and many other different disadvantages um these circumstances shape Us in different ways some become a product of our environment um some move away and seek better opportunities and some like tasan and myself choose to stay and give back to our community um tashon is a prime example of someone who has overcome the odds um as a black man growing up here in in the United States in total um he has faced numerous life challenges yet he has worked tirelessly often with little sleep remaining focused and dedicated to his mission of offensively becoming a firefighter for the city of TR he has transformed himself and and he has been committed and staying focused um I know him personally so I've seen how this has shaped him in a better way and I just I'm here in full support I signed the petition to help you know his termination be at least reconsidered um as I said before growing up in Trenton as everybody know is really challenging and also when people leave the city of Trenton sometimes they don't look back so it's being the fact that he you know applied himself to actually you know train and work hard to become a firefighter in the city of TR I feel like his devotion should be tooken into consideration um because that when you work for a city like Tron I feel like when you have someone who's giving back and someone who has you know support of the community Community not only just personally but professionally because he is a great person I feel like things I don't know this the the word for it but I feel like things like um stuff that you know you've endured growing up here should be taken into consideration and I feel like he he his termination was you know I don't know like the specifics but from everything and the information that I've received I feel like that he should be all of um I'm sorry look that his commitment should be taken into consideration and I feel like the problem that we have in our community today is that a lot of people that are from here don't want to get back here they just want to move up in life and move away so yeah thank you uh D Deja Davis did I say that [Music] right good evening good evening city council my name is Deja Davis I reside at 59 Oliver Avenue Trenton New Jersey I'm here on behalf of tan Paige um we grew up in the same city where as J was saying we Face a lot of you know disadvantages with poverty and Crim you know a lot of criminals going around I don't think that this should have been taken away from him being that he went through a lot of extensive training physically and mentally and still fought through and then they took it away from him and then he's still here fighting it's not like he gave up and said hey this is what they're saying let me just go to the streets let me just sell drugs let me just do this let me just start killing it's unfair and we have a lot of young men who are looking up to men like this we have the firefighter boys who come through to let us know that the firefighters are coming through we have these same young men who are looking up to him because they want to be this and to see someone fight hard to get out we were dealt a lot of cards that were unfair a lot of times we're stuck in the position that we're in because of the simple fact that this is where we were born at and like they said people grow up and they leave and they leave because it's so much trauma here it's so hurt here this is a time for you guys to you know stand up for us and say hey like he's trying let's give him a chance growing up in TR Public Schools I've learned that it only takes one person to advocate for you one person to push for you one person to choose you for you to turn around and give that same to the next person and give that same um I can't think of the word for it but like you know up upheld them into a better position so that they don't want to go that route we have a lot of crime going on here and whether it's car accidents car steings killing and stuff like this is our chance so I hope that you guys give him the same chance and see that he's fighting for it because it was very unfair thank [Music] [Music] you uh Nito Valentine okay uh to Shar a [Music] page good evening city council um I'm tashir paage and I reside at 859 Hamilton Avenue um I'm actually also here on the behalf of Tas P she actually is my brother um and I stand here before you with a heavy heart burdened by the Injustice that has bef falling with one of our own somebody who also resides in our community um this is not just a loss for us but this is a loss for our community to see a black man who was raised in the environment of Trenton and to be able to not fall into the environment to want something better for themselves I think it was I Awakening for me as well because being a black man in this environment is really hard either you are thrown in jail or you don't happen to see the next day because you die or something like that and to be able to see him be disciplined enough to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to go through this program for months and to be let off by the last day I think it was heartbreaking again not just for me but for our community because he does a lot for the Youth and in my opinion um a lot of men in this community falls short because they have no support so when you do not have support that's when they fall to other things like drugs or the streets or gangs and I believe that some type of accountability needs to be taken here whether if it was his background or anything um the community was able to come together his petition has over 2,000 um signs on it and I think that that needs some type of Rec recognition whether it's from you guys or from you guys higher up but to see the community come together for a purpose like this I think that it's eye Awakening and that we should really bring some attention to it and I think that again some accountability definitely needs to be taken here um if it was his background then why would he wait five months to sit there on the last day after you see me pass these tests after you see me go through the hardships of actually a Challen challenging these things you fire me on the last day um and it's heartbreaking and I really hope that we have you guys' full support or even some type of information that could be higher up from you guys and yeah thank you van [Music] Brown praise the Lord good evening Madame President good evening city council I just want to say thank you to this board to this body of government for the great work you guys are doing uh you're doing a tremendous job for the city and you're working collectively together the various agencies of the city you can see it all around the city it's so exciting to be here in Trenton seeing government affecting the area and the out uh outcome of what we all are believing for and that is a great Trenton this is the capital city of New Jersey as I've said before I'll always remind us of that that this is the capital city of the entire State this place has to be beautified this place place has to be the representation of the entire State the state of New Jersey this is where the seat of government happens right here where we live this is our city The Shining Gem of all of New Jersey and I believe that and we're working hard to see it and the board and and of course the council and all members this Law Department everybody associated with this city are working together and change is very uh seeable to those who have eyes to see and I pray that we all do but I also want to close with I pray that everybody come to know who Jesus Christ is as their own personal Lord and Savior thank you very much God bless everybody thank [Applause] you Alberto Lugo good evening Council my name is Alberto Lugo my address is 1560 East State Street I'm here on the behalf of address 439 South Broad Street also for Mr PS um I would just like to say I'm one of the businesses that have FL um there was two times where covid and another thing where where I was struggling he not only saw to give me Grace he's a great landlord and I wouldn't be where I'm at today um just like to thank him publicly and I hope you guys support him in getting this Grant and that's really all I have to say thank [Applause] you all right Madame President that is all the individuals I have for public comment this time if it's your wish you can move to Civic [Music] comment yes we will move to Civic comment I'll do I will make the same request that I had before when we um limited public comment I just ask councel if he can we go to three minutes but don't go past five all right so for those that can limit it at three please do for those that need five then that's fine as well all right let's begin with councilwoman [Music] Edwards she's kicking it down to councilwoman Williams so Council and she yells at me about questions we're good thank you ma'am thank you um so I just have a couple quick announcements and uh something to say so I just want to remind everyone that uh this coming Tuesday night is a National Night Out here in Trenton and around the country and so uh there's a very large celebration uh at water park at West St and Parkside of course uh from 5: to 900m and there will be also national nightout locations throughout the city uh in each of the wards so please try to be a part of this it is a great way to uh meet other members of our community talk about quality of life issues crime issues connect uh reconnect particularly now a couple years after Co it's so important but all the positive things people have you know talked about trying to fix the city and make the city better it really in my mind starts with events such as this uh also want to make an announcement about northw uh CI police advisory council meeting the next one is actually going to be at the end of the month usually it's the third Wednesday of the month but this time it'll be uh August 28th Wednesday at galile Baptist Church 4:40 Martin Luther King Boulevard from 5:30 to 7: uh it's a great opportunity to have a conversation with other uh residents of the north Ward uh some business owners and also talk with our Police Department with Detective McNair who you saw earlier and the Police director if he's available about issues going on in North Ward uh finally I just want to just say a little something um so recently um I had there was an event I uh hosted and uh one of the great things that came out of it was a discussion LED uh by a college professor regarding uh how to work together in a nonpartisan fashion a bipartisan fashion and work with a a combined Mission a shared Mission particularly when it comes to Trenton making Trenton better and uh what was really great is we had different folks from different parts of um political Spectrum some folks from Trenton some folks not from Trenton and what was really phenomenal to see was the love that everyone had for Trenton and wanting to see it be better wanting to see hold its rightful place in our County and our state and our country and it just kind of you know gotten me watching you know when I was watching the Olympics just you know it's it's kind of you know a funny thing to watch but if you've been watching the Olympics you've seen Snoop Dogg around a lot wearing his USA gear every night there seems to be something different but seeing somebody have such pride in our country and rooting for the US no matter what the sport is who the player is it's I think it's a great message we're all in this together and you know it just reminds when I I'd see things on you know and hear things that downgrade Trenton to pull Trenton down that reminds me when I hear fellow Americans root against American athletes because they kneel during a national anthem or they don't like their politics or they don't like that they talk too much or or whatever it might be but we all have to root for each other we all have to root for something better and um we all need to be able to have lives and also share relationships and have people that we've connected with I've known um Mr pod I'll just say right now for close to 30 years that's a long time I've known him where we uh partnered on uh creating a hurricane Katrina fundraiser to raise money to send to victims in New Orleans to starting the Trenton Film Festival 20 years ago this year to he uh ended up coaching my my son in track which was a great thing because I certainly could not have done that and it's interesting when uh you have folks uh who are so ingrained in our community um come before you at Council so when we had our event it was a really lovely event great conversations were had uh really positive feelings um one of the things that occurred for me was uh Mr Po as a supporter of mine um and one of the things I did not know was that this uh issue uh for the resolution for ARP money would be on our docket the next day so with that um and the respect I have for this institution of city council for the respect I have for the city of Trenton I root for the city of Trenton I root for my fellow council members and I root for the small businesses that are struggling to make it here but that being all said um I do feel it's best that I abstain tonight from this vote but we know who we know we we are who we are and we live in a city that we live in and let's all make Trenton the best it could be and let's root for Trenton and it's root for USA God bless and have a lovely week thank you councilman Harrison uh first I would like to thank the new directors um I know they're going to do a wonderful job for this great City they all have passion and the determination to see the city move forward um also want to tell all the people over in East W August the 17th we're doing the Citywide cleanup uh cleanup consist of yard waste furniture removal no construction debris no uh chemicals no televisions no electronics but like I said it's it's another event for us in the city to help clean up our city so it's another one of the events that we all should try to do our best to help out in the community um also August 7th the COO their parking lot they're having an event there take it to the street um it's going to be a wonderful event in over there on coo on East State Street uh let's see what else uh movie Under the Stars August 22nd Villa Park they're going to be having it's on Lindale and centenniel a they'll be playing uh Kung Fu Panda 4 um Showtime starts at dust let's see what else that seems to be it yeah it's all about us working together and let's moving together forward and uh let's let's keep doing the work thank you very much have a great evening councilwoman Gonzalez yes thank you council president thank you everyone for being present today I want to say um thank you to the mayor for um appointing some of the individuals who have been working here for a long time and I'm looking forward to seeing our city progress with them in those positions um just a couple of comments first I want to say to miss Reed I think she left already but I just wanted to apologize for her to have to go through what she went through with her child being hit due to the traffic I know going traveling back and forth on West State it it is very very congested in that area so hopefully we can try to speak talk to you know have some discussion and and figure out some solutions for that area um want to say thank you to everyone who came out and showed your support for Tai sea as I said before I have known this young man from a young young age and so as an as one of my previous students so so thank you everyone who came out and spoke up for that um to Diego Maya thank you for bringing this to our attention and for what you have been doing um translating as you all know I've been very passionate about trying to get this translation um ordinance going and we're one step closer to making it happen um and these are some of the things that we talked about for the future of translation we want to start out in a different with phase one and kind of phase other things in so thank you for bringing that to our attention because it is extremely important I know we say Latinos are only 38% according to the census but we all know that it's a lot more than that because according to our school records it's almost 60 actually 62 but um I just also wanted to um speak about the rent ordinance that was changed um thank you for getting the website updated I've been really hounding them about that because there's been several landlords who have been trying to raise the rent to 7.9% because I believe they know that this ordinance has been changed but the residents do not know and so they have been trying to get their letters out before um everyone is aware of it but I can say we we must do a better job at at letting the residents know I know for me at some of my community meetings I have actually just printed the papers out and have been sharing I'll make sure to get some you know get around to your building to actually speak to the residents if I need to do so um because that was something that we worked really hard to Champion and I I hate to see our residents being taken advantage of so thank you for bringing that to our attention and educating those seniors who didn't know about that um to the Tren Housing Authority I just want to shot them out because although we were shooting for $50 million uh $50 million Grant we ended up getting 15 million but they worked really really hard and I want to say the 15 million still will go to Transforming Our Donal homes and that whole um North Trent area may not be what we thought it was going to be from one end to the other but it would it's some it's a start that we're going to start to uh make sure that our people have a a better living space in the north Ward um also want to shout out to 929 moxyone Trenton radio um it's our Latin radio station for being number one in all areas in the recent um Coming the last couple of months so I just want to shout them out really quickly because they've been doing a lot in our community also um shout out the salvation and social justice for the week of Shalom which was a success we had a great time with all of the events um and then also some upcoming event events is the Puerto Rican community and friends they started their weekl long activities we did our flag raising on Monday and then we're going to finish off with the fiesta which is Sunday and that's a festival that we is started out in Puerto Rico which is always a great time and they're bringing it here to us on Sunday um at St Mary's Cathedral and that is from 12: to 4: 12 to 6 I believe um also same Shameless plug this is my ninth year doing a book bag giveaway I will be hosting my Ninth Annual book bag giveaway in honor of My Father which will be held at the Juan Martinez Memorial Park on Lamberton Street on August 20th um the first 200 students will receive Food uh book bags food free supplies everything um so I just want to say thank you to who have donated anyone wants to donate you're more than welcome to come out volunteer your time and assist us in that on that day um thank you all for being present and continue to come up here continue to share your concerns so that we can all um be aware what's going on thank you [Music] before we move on councilman Harrison has something he wanted to say real quick sorry about that I forgot um today's Jose Cabrera's birthday uh Co Jose is the one that does the park uh in Unity Square Park started out of 20 kids now has 430 kids thank you Jose for all you do with the young men and women in that Park thank you thank you councilwoman frisbee thank you president so good evening everyone and thank you to everyone who came out this evening to speak um we appreciate you coming out this is where it's all about is hearing from you and hearing the voices please know that we're hear each and every one of you we can't speak on everything um there are legal parameters and so we have to be mindful of that um I want to uh some of this has already been mentioned but I first want to congratulate all of those who have been appointed to new positions here in our city I am grateful I'm excited to work with each and every one of you and to see the growth of our city as we continue to utilize those who we have inside our in our um city already to see the wealth that we already have here and know that we should be building upon that um I want to remind everyone that this Tuesday August 6 is National Night Out and we once again we'll be celebrating it in my ward at cat Walder Park um there if you want to um have a table I'm not sure if you're still able to but you need to let the uh Department not I think you need to let the police there's a someone in the police department let me know let us know that you want to get a table and one of us will help you get it I in particular I'm raising my hand because I know that I I know the individual who was supposed to she's not here this evening so I don't want to put her name out there but I will help get a Phil Phil facilitate that um also on this Monday August the 5th I will be having my West Ward Community conversations still at the uh old police station at 660 Artis Street most of the people most everyone um acknowledges as Hermitage Avenue but the address is actually 660 and that's from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. um also uh I wanted to say that I'm excited about the growth of our community we're having a lot there's a lot of growth going on a lot of positive energy that's going on I'm excited about the small businesses that are growing I'm I'm happy to see that there's a lot of home ownership that is coming into our community our city is moving forward and that's because we're working handin hand so I wanted to thank everybody for just doing um that um also I've been organizing um and I want to thank Miss Ruth for her help in this um trips to the Mercer County Airport um with our new executive new County exec um it's been important to him for us to understand what actually goes on what we have available and what is about to come so if you have a group small group or a large group let let me know and I will help facilitate that um with getting you to have a trip out to the Mercer County Airport there's a lot of change that is about to happen out there and we are not informed it is our own fault you have the opportunity to actually go out there and they will engage um they want you to know what's going on out there um I want to come our Latino Community for all the activities that they have been doing and our councilwoman Gonzalez she has been instrumental in a lot of that and um keeping us aware of that so thank you for that I appreciate you salvation and social justice you uh your week of Shalom was absolutely phenomenal uh they did a fantastic job I want to thank them for their passion and their hearts um with that and Diego I want to thank you as well for bringing the issue up of having things interpreted is important that we make sure that the languages ESP she since we know that our Latino Community is a extremely large portion of our Trenton Community we have to make sure that we give um we give room for everybody to be understood and heard and be informed so thank you for bringing that to our attention and I do want to uh thank our councilwoman Gonzalez once again for all of her hard work that she's been put into uh making sure that we get everything interpreted last thing with um along with National Night Out we are and a lot of folks are doing their book bag drives we there is an organization called Turning point 143 South Broad Street they want to help you actually put books in your book bag so on National Night Out actually during National the day at if you would like books majority of them are brand new we would love for you to come out with 11 a.m. 1:43 South G Street please come put books to put in your book bags with that I will close with 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 excellence in the city's operations and to serve all of the city's people with respect and compassion I wish you all a safe evening and thank you for coming out before I move to councilwoman Edwards councilwoman Williams quickly with your North Ward cleanup thank you very much ma'am uh I neglected to say that actually next Saturday sept August 10th rather we will be having the north Ward after the South Ward does its cleanup and uh all my residents in the northward uh please let's make sure that this year we don't come in second for the amount of tonnage of debris uh director Ani has put out the call and we will hopefully answer but thank you so much council president before we move on councilwoman frisbee thank you madam president I'm falling right in line with that the West W cleanup will be on August 24th so um you can contact me let me know um I'll let you know especially if you come out to our westw community conversations on this Monday but our West W cleanup will be on a August the 24th thank you thank you councilwoman just so you all know since we only meet like once a month now in August we got to get all this out now so you know what's going on councilwoman Edwards thank you uh good evening everyone um it's a pleasure seeing you all and I want to thank all of those especially those who is uh your first time here tonight speaking at this Podium I know how intimidating that is as I was in my 20s when I first spoke at this Podium so I understand the nervousness but I appreciate you taking the time to come out and sharing your thoughts and your concerns with us um moving on I want to thank the mayor and his cabinet for pivoting as they need to I know there's a lot of unforeseen circumstances no one could forell happening so I appreciate the the ability to be able to Pivot to fulfill these roles while we're suffering from staff shortages and on that note I um and first of all congratulations to all of you interum directors looking forward to working with you in the very near future but um to that point I want to raise the need to focus on retainment by secession planning um I I appreciate that uh Mr Paul Harris was elevated to the interim director for Parks and Recreation and that's through his experiences through his longevity here in the administration and I want uh I we need the administration future administrations to focus on getting into these high schools and local colleges to focus on getting Trentonian qualify for these positions so when people are moving on retiring or seeking employment elsewhere advancing in their careers we're able to move up internally um but we can only do that when we get people in the door to begin with so we need to focus on getting people qualified whether that be through on the job trainings and cert uh certification and things like that and that will help us get around our residency requirement that often limits us from being able to find um the talent that we need here um secondly or thirdly I want to um shamelessly plug in the young professionals Network that I founded a little over a year ago we are having a pathway to homeownership workshop at Mercer County Community College downtown on August 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m this Workshop includes a Prelude panel discussion into a three session breakout where we going we're going to be discussing with experts in their subject matter areas about getting qualified to purchase a house understanding mortgages and what to expect when you hit the housing market and how to access resources from the different levels of government whether that be City County or state to access the funding that you need to either redevelop the property or to get cash assistance with down payments and closing costs um and um lastly I just want to thank uh the Mera County Executive Dan Benson on uh his efforts with revitalizing and redeveloping the Trent and Mercer Airport and for inviting the young professionals Network out a couple of weeks ago to do a tour and talk about the Redevelopment plans there and also for his updates and the mayor's mayor gusur as well at the recent Princeton Mercer Chamber of Commerce Trenton Redevelopment um Trenton Economic Development series that they just kicked off at Cooper um this gave updates about their plans from the county and the city on our infrastructure Redevelopment projects that in Mera County Community College um campus expansion and also resources available to small businesses local entrepreneurs to help develop their businesses prayerfully get into a brick and mortar and that's all inclusive of the plan that they have stretching down from where their their building is at 640 South brao Street all the way to the battle monument coinciding with the trit 250 master plan that we have here with the city that we're trying to bring to life so um okay so I had some time so um I also want to end on we do have a Citywide clean up this Saturday August 3rd at in the South Ward and this is for yard waste and furniture removal this there is no construction debris being a seed no home renovation debris no chemicals no TVs and electronic devices and no wood or branches over 4 feet long so just keep in mind as you are cleaning out your yard or your house that there are some items that are not being accepted as a part of this cleanup and also keep in mind that the South w though we call it South Trenton part of down bottom is not South Ward it actually um cuts in half is actually north W so where I live at on Ferry Street is actually north w we call it South Trenton so if you're past what is that like I don't even know uh Taco Bell on South Broad Street you're in the north W going towards downtown but that's like where the line is so keep in mind as you live in South Trenton you may not be in South trade thank [Music] you Council of Vice President Figaroa [Music] kenberg you guys can hear me I wasn't able to hear a lot of the public comments um I apologize for having to step away I felt under the weather um my colleagues you guys pretty much covered everything this evening um thank you for that yes sou board cleanup is this Saturday please put your trash out as you normally would in the location that you normally would for your regular Tuesday and Friday cleanups um please just be mindful moving forward to put your trash out you know Monday nights or Tuesday mornings and Thursday night and Friday Mornings in the South Ward and if your trash doesn't get picked up contact the city or move it back um don't leave it out sitting I got the tour around the city of trying to round South Ward on Monday with the assistant director of Public Works and got to show him a lot of the streets a lot of the trash being put out too soon uh the the plorable conditions of our Alleyways and the like um I want to thank the administration I want to thank um Parks Andre and uh public works for all the work that they've been doing in the South War they've cleaned up so many Alleyways and streets it's just been phenomenal um and so many of the residents are taking notice and I really hope that this will um increase um a sense of self-care for the neighborhood and will boost morale and bring um forward quality of life that we deserve in the city of Tren and you know particular to my ward um and I just want to thank the administration again for doing this they are cleaning up um streets and Alleyways in all of the wards leading up to all the cleanups that we have coming forward so I just want to say I'm just really proud of how the city is moving I'm proud of how our Council and our Administration are moving and I'm really proud of how the residents are continuing to come out and staying engaged and staying on top of us um and keeping us accountable so with that um I will give the rest of my time to my colleagues thank you very much thank you good evening everyone thank you for coming out tonight thank you for staying around and being present with us thank you for coming out and speaking up about whatever it is that you had on your mind and your thoughts and your hearts to say to us on tonight know that your words just do not fall on deaf ears we take everything in there are a lot of things as Council woman frisbee said that we cannot respond to due to legal issues or just situations things that are going on right we are the council where are the checks and balances to the administration but at the end of the day the administration is the administration um I'm G leave that I would like to say congratulations to the um interim directors we we said it in the beginning when we heard what you had to say what you brought forward we're excited for what it is that you have um coming for the city of Trenton so me being an island resident right I'm over there on the island in West Trenton I am so elated because finally y'all we can see the water we can see the water long as it don't raise up and come in the house that even better but we can see the water and that is due to the tremendous efforts of the here and his administration we did a walk around tour we were pointing and looking and we want this done and we want that done and and that was one of the big things that we needed done and so under the former leadership of our now interim business administrator Maria Richardson and now under the current leadership of our interim director Paul Harris the trees are gone the trees that were covering the water are gone it is absolutely magnificent what does that mean that means that we're moving and they're listening and they're working to help make things happen that the city is moving all over the place if you look you're seeing the cleanups that are happening you're seeing the parks that are being done some people like why would you do that because we want to bring back hope and show the people that Trenton is the place to be we are the capital city and we care and we want people to understand we want the children to play and we want people to have things that you can visually see and touch to know that we are working so I'm excited about that right praise the Lord so so I had a great meeting with Michelle Madu she is the director of Mental Health Services for the county of Mercer um for those of you that would like to help out with trauma response the merca County traumatic loss Coalition trauma response team is looking for people to come out and help meet with youth caregivers and others affected by critical in incidents with CommunityWide impact they want to grow the team um you can be a trauma response team member if you're are willing to provide psychological first aid in community and school settings willing to commit to ongoing training and join follow-up team meetings willing to complete the basic 40-hour training and then the ongoing training and are at least 18 years old if that is you you can contact the merca County division of mental health at 6998 9 6529 609 989 6529 with that being said um my nonprofit the Gian mon Genesis Foundation my daughter the co-founder she's stepping out and she's having a look behind closed doors look behind the walls of a domestic violence Survivor she has gotten with the young lady Tor Burks who works through women's space and on this upcoming Wednesday from 5: to 7 right here in the atrium of City Hall they're having a look behind closed doors this is for men and women to come out you go through seven stages or seven seven different stations of what a person would experience and then when it's done it culminates with a a real life dialogue about mental health about domestic violence and preventative measures so that is open that is absolutely free um um if you want more information you said my number the the phone number from before child okay give me a minute so if you're interested if you're interested in coming out um we invite you to come out on Wednesday um on Saturday Beauty to the block is back Pastor Antonio his wife Diane Bellamy they're doing Beauty to the block on um North brw Street out here and it's going to be from 9 to 1:30 so come out they're doing free haircuts they're going to have different vendors and everybody out there giving away different items and stuff to get people ready for school I think that's everything that I wanted to say um again I'm just excited thank you to my colleagues like we've really been having some really wonderful everybody else went over Brandon so leave me alone we've had some really wonderful um dialog and conversations and intentional conversations about the direction in which we'd love to see the city go and talking about how we would work collectively to make it happen and so I just want to say that um I am I am elated for the work that we're doing I'm excited for the work that we're going to continue to do together and I'm excited for what's to come in the city of Tran thank you [Applause] [Music] so before we move on councilwoman frisbee does have something for something else that she want to say about National Night Out I'm sorry it was asked I was trying to tell you earlier where you can um go to if you're interested in having a table for National Night Out you can go to Community Affairs at Trenton [Music] police.net that's Community Affairs c o m m u nit T affairs AF airs at Trenton police.net thank you m Mr Garcia certainly okay going forward Madam president moving forward with the docket uh we have minutes for approval from April 18th May 7th June 6th and June 20th you want to ask for motion to approve the minutes may I have a motion to approve the minutes so moved second thank you roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Pano yes motion carried and Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve communication petitions and reports yes may have a motion to approve the communications petitions and reports some second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams council president Feliciano yes motion carried and moving through into ordinances for second reading and public hearing we have ordinance 24- 041 an ordinance of the city of Trenton to adopt NJ D's model ordinance regarding storm water control and to amend chapter 254 of the code of the city of Trenton are there any members of the sorry sorry are there any members of the public that wish to speak to this ordinance at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve may have a motion to approve so second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes castan frisbee yes Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24- 045 ordinance authorizing the sale of City owned property commonly known as 217 Bruning Avenue Bruning Avenue and identified on the city tax map block 22801 lot 9 pursuant to njsa 4A 12 12 13 B5 to Nilsa Rees for the sale price of $4,000 are there any members of the public that wish to speak to this ordinance at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve we have a motion to approve so moved second council president yes I have a question regarding this property okay second would that be for Mr Beach or who's that for I can just ask the question so I can jump up uh Mr Beach gonna come on down Price is Right good even Council Jim be Chief of Staff even thank you Mr be um I have a question because I know this property uh well on brunck and the intended use in the application says to be used for a driveway so that would require the property to be torn down and a driveway created but also uh lot wise um that would be a separate lot only used for a driveway attached to the property I'm assuming where Miss Reyes lives that's what she indicated in her application yes okay so I just wanted to make sure you know that when we sell properties they're not always intended to be redeveloped into houses because even though there's a standing house there right now correct okay because we don't have any legal recourse to require them to maintain a residence or domicile correct thank you mrly uh we have a motion and we have a second I believe we're at roll call okay Council woman Edwards yes vice president Figo kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Pisano yes motion carried ordinance 24-48 Capital ordinance appropriating 10,651 1800 from the capital Improvement fund to pay for various improvements and Acquisitions for and by the city of Trenton and the county of Mercer state of New Jersey are there any members of the public that wish to speak to this ordinance at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve may have a motion to approve so moved second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kbur yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24- 049 ordinance providing for and establishing procedures for executive sessions of city council are there any members of the public that wish to speak to this ordinance at this time seeing none Madam president if you want to ask for a motion to approve have a motion to approve so moved second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman fby yes councilwoman Gonzalez no noted councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion Carri on to resolutions uh um Madame President are there any items that you wish to extract from a possible consent agenda this evening so we would take out 24330 right because that was for the um executive session right does council have any that they would like to question before we move to exec uh consent agenda uh council president yes I have uh 329 323 hold on 327 wait a minute councilwoman oh sorry about that oh I'm sorry it's right here 329 you said 327 327 and then 328 okay 319 okay and uh just a suggestion for 054 but I could frame that as a question at that the time [Music] you said Z 054 the uh language for documents second uh z 24054 uh regarding a program for dissemination of certain forms that's not on here that's not on this oh shoot that's on the uh ordinances my bad I'm sorry that's not this meeting oh that got pulled it was pulled uh no that item was pulled I didn't C sorry thank you thank you any other council members with questions about any items Madam president yes ma'am 24-31 13 24313 okay any other council members with questions [Music] Madame President did you want to go through those resolutions name first and possibly handle those for roll call and then handle consent agenda there after afterwards yes is that how we've been doing it I'm just asking so let's move to the discussion we'll move to the discussion and see if we're going to move them on to the um onto the consent agenda so we'll start with 24329 go ahead councilwoman Williams thank you ma'am uh so my question just has more so for public dissemination so there's no confusion uh this uh change would be um authorizing the sale of alcohol cages obviously un need Square Park pursuant to social Affair permit meaning it would designate in the park as a location where alcohol is available as long as a permit would be um filled out approved and so forth so is that a change from what exists presently I just wanted to make sure because oh councilwoman I'm sorry so this this actually is they're they're having an event there the Ecuadorian civic association oh it's for a specific event oh it's them having having an event there um and so they need the permit for them to do what it but this is so this is a normal course it's not changing the location okay that's why just wanted to verify than because I did get a call that that was from um a person's concerned about um a lot of noise around that area that they was going to permanently make the park a alcohol designated area yeah because of the one Festival right thank it's their Ecuadorian Independence Day celebration on August 18th y okay so it only survives for that one day yes thank you ma'am yeah thank you so we can move can consent please yeah thank you okay not it uh 24313 councilwoman Edwards thank you um I just wanted to get some clarity on this I've received an overwhelming amount of um correspondant from many Trenton residents um on both sides of the fence in favor of this and some that are impos opposed to it and I wouldn't be doing my due diligence as their representative if I didn't address their concerns so with that being said there has been some um accusations that has been brought to the Forefront about the owner of Trenton Mi incorporation so uh apparently there was a tax lean sale on the property before and from the concerns of the public is why are we trying to give someone money who is not paying their taxes and I don't think that that's an entirely accurate or Fair assessment if it is I would like to know more information about what's going on um and see if we can find a resolution for this okay council president Jim Beach Chief of Staff uh councilwoman we're not aware of any tax clean that's on this property in fact when they've F their application they need to provide um certification that their taxes are up to date as well as their business license being current and all that documentation was provided with the application awesome and there's no other outstanding issues with the property or with the applicant or anything like that that we should be concerned about not that I'm aware of concerning this property no okay and so um I mean that answers all of my questions I don't know if anyone else has any other concerns okay okay we you want to move it to consent agenda or you want to roll call it I would say roll call it um just so or you know I wanted to get a little bit more clarity because receive a certificate of sale for unpaid Municipal leans for $117,000 for tax year 2023 so it if there's nothing on file then where did this come from is not aware of that coun woman okay so should we be looking into this further or if the person is here should we have a discussion the individuals just [Music] remember so Mr pot if you could come and address the council about [Music] that good evening Council thank you for the question um Rolland pot 113 South Montgomery Street Street president of Trenton makes Inc um there was a a tax leane that was paid off um again this is um without putting a long story on it you know this is actually all part of the covid relief um question that were that is at hand uh we did fall behind we were able to get caught up and now we're looking to get caught up on additional maintenance and improvements to the property as well so it's not been easy but we did pay off the tax Lane and we're actually paid through the third quarter of 2024 we've already paid this quarter thank you any any other questions no I don't have okay thank you for the question appreciate it thank you we will still roll call it because she has to okay okay thank you so we will move [Music] to 243 27 thank you council president welcome um my question with this is um and I'm supportive of it I just want to get an idea how many um people we're expecting to serve um with the $275,000 [Music] ging Council council members um it's 120 110 people throughout the entire year or 110 night or yes throughout the year this is a oneyear extension so that is the what we are uh basically sponsoring okay and is that consistent of with what we've have supplied before this is basically a um uh a threee it's a yearly contract but with two years extension and each one of the years is the same amount okay thank you very much ma'am thank you uh consent please thank [Music] you [Music] 24328 so my question uhing this is because it's worded as in the resolution itself the title robling machine shop so I take it that is a different building than the robling wire works this is actually the the robling wire oh it's the same just a different yes yes and this is um as as I mentioned before the renovation the rehabilitation work for this um building is going to be around $14 million so we are just writing grants one after the other trying to get at least to the $7 million that will allow us to stabilize the building well thank you very much because as you know this is the building that did the wire rope for the Golden Gate and the BR yes thank you ma'am thanks a consent please thank you [Music] 24319 hello C how you doing sir um so my question regarding this is uh do you have a rough idea um if approved when this work May um get started as far as in the completion and so forth because um South Warren Street there's a lot of interest in having this of course happen as you well [Music] know C council president yes there's no time that we know this is going to happen this is just to apply okay for the grant and we don't know when the state's going to give us the grant so this I don't see so this is basically a start on the funding for this yes okay all right thank you very much council president yes I just want to know do we have a specific amount that we're applying for because they didn't have one listed no don't you just app for it normally they give us enough to do what we have to do gotcha thank you thank you can please thank you right um and I just have a quick question uh for 24325 [Music] good evening council president council members Sean SLE director of Wen SE on consent but I just want us to so it's for the um the arms security guard Services when we had um when I spoke during docket review um I asked a question about if we had armed security there during the evening um as well only because of the cars that were're broken into on site um and because of the concerns with now you all are going to be shutting water off and all that other kind of stuff the construction guys coming in and out just to be safe and when I was there working previously um I know I felt a lot safer working overtime coming out at night with just the armed presence there um they spoke about looking to do something or bring them in the next year but I just want to hear your standpoint on having armed security there um around the clock or in the evenings so in the past we did have armed security at Courtland yeah preia city council they took it away they took away both we never even had this what this is when the Breakin start so immediately we got the regular security guards in for this year and next year we're going to elevate it to the armed security guards for sure okay yeah I I would have preferred for that but you know budgetary Wise for this year it's it's was a problem for us okay thank you thank you [Music] director all right may I have a motion to approve the following for consent agenda no no yes can I do it uh Madam pres it's your meeting Madame President I just want to remind you if there is a walk-on resolution oh I just I don't know whether you wanted that to be on consent or not and Madam president if you would be so kind as to read the title of that walk-on resolution as I believe I forfeited my copy oh my God you know how I do with papers and I'll do it so it's a resolution titled resolution authorizing the use of New Jersey Cooperative purchasing Alliance number ck4 purchasing system number 11-b CCP awarded to Safeway Contracting Inc 2461 iorio Street Union New Jersey 08 I mean 07083 for roof replacement at Trenton Waterworks distribution complex at 333 Courtland Street in an amount not to exceed $238,800 so basically the roof fell in over there at uh courland Street they need to get this fixed it's important because you got people working there and so they ask them if we could go ahead and approve this resolution um to use these people to fix it any Council people have any objections to this being put on consent agenda okay consent and go right ahead with your motion Mr Garcia what's the number uh we will assign that the numbers are out of sequence so I'm going to have to look for the highest one and assign a number I imagine that's 329 I see it's 332 30 see [Music] 330 I think it would be I think it's 330 no there's a 331 I'm being told that that that number this would be 332 yep right thank you so 2433 sir2 okay may I have a motion to accept the following two consent agenda resolution numbers 24329 24308 24309 24310 311 312 314 315 316 317 327 318 328 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 331 and 332 so moved second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried and Madam president moving on to the roll call resolution yes um and M president ask for a motion to approve uh resolution 24- [Music] 329 oh I'm sorry was 3 I apologize I'm marking this more than once have a motion to approve resolution 24313 so move second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figero kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams abstain noted council president Feliciano yes motion carried and moving on to ordinances for first reading and introduction ordinance 24 051 ordinance amending chapter 146 licensing article 9 uh cannabis businesses of the code of the city of Trenton to ban and penalize illegal and unlicensed cannabis operations mad president if you want to ask for a motion to approve may have a motion to approve second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilwoman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24- 052 ordinance authorizing the acquisition of certain real properties commonly known as 817 to 819 821 823 South Warren Street and as referenced on the city tax map as block 11102 2122 and 23 may have a motion to approve so moved second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figo kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carried ordinance 24- 053 an ordinance continuing certain positions fixing salary ranges therefore and setting forth certain regulations for the implementation of same assistant supervisor of billing and collecting equipment operator heavy equipment operator laborer two mechanic senior mechanic supervising mechanic may have a motion to approve sh move second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilwoman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carry and Madame President I believe that is all we have on the agenda this evening if you want to ask for a motion to adjourn y may have a motion to adjourn so second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes motion carry meeting adjourned let's [Music] go e e