[Music] all [Music] right adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings act pursuant to Public Law 1975 chapter 231 this agenda is complete to the extent known and was sent to the Trenton Times posted on the first floor bulletin board in City Hall and filed in the city clerk's office formal action will be taken Mr Garcia certainly roll call councilwoman Edwards presid vice president figuroa kenberg present councilwoman frisbee present for the record councilwoman Gonzalez did call to inform that she she's here for the record councilwoman Gonzalez is here councilman Harrison councilwoman Williams present he presented council president Feliciano present myself Brandon Garcia municipal clerk present legislative Council Mr Edward coli and in for West Bridges is Mr rashan Williams and he's present on your call Madam president thank you please continue with the invocation certainly 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 your room council president thank you at this time Mr Garcia councilwoman Williams would like us to observe a moment of silence councilwoman Williams thank you very much council president uh reason I'm asking for this this evening is over this past weekend it was announced in international media and published locally in The Trentonian that the remains of a plane were finally found off the coast of Curry a small island near Talon the capital of Estonia after 84 years this is important to Trenton because Henry anile Jr the 27-year-old younger brother of claimed composer George anti was the United States Department Diplomat who was one of nine people aboard the Finnish passenger airliner named the civa that was found which was shot down over the Baltic Sea by Soviet Russian bombers on June 14th 1940 the plane was in route from the Estonian capital T to Helsinki Finland when it was down just days before Moscow annexed the Baltic States during the beginning of World War II all nine people unfortunately aboard the Finnish aircraft died Henry anile's death in the service of the United States state department and our country made him one of the first United States casualties in World War I on behalf of Trenton city council I would like to ask for a moment of silence and the respect to our fellow Trentonian Henry anile Jr and the other innocent lives lost that day [Music] thank you thank you ma'am Mr Garcia certainly council president if there's nothing further at this time we have a presentation um we have creative change counseling Incorporated presented by yourself council president Feliciano thank you and to the presenters I believe you have a total of council president is 10 or 15 minutes 10 minutes you have a total of 10 minutes we will start a clock for the 10-minute purpose and we will also have your presentation up momentarily thank you and Jorge when you're finished with that if we could have one the monitor turn so that the council can see as well thank you and you're going to want to flip yeah there you go council is the presentation visible to all of you thank you I got to hold it uh good afternoon council members um good afternoon public we are creative chain counseling and our mission and our vision mission is to inspire hope and change lives one family at a time our vision is to lead the charge by providing quality mental and Behavioral Health within our local communities and abroad ultimately becoming a legacy in the service of humanity our agency overview creative change counseling Inc is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Lumberton Township New Jersey since 2014 we've been serving individuals with mild to severe emotional mental and behavioral health challenges we are community-driven centered and responsive evidence-based practices and clinical interventions we have IND individualized Services tailored to meet the specific needs using a Continuum of Care model based on risks needs and responsibility our aim is to eliminate reduce and to and or mitigate risk factors by utilizing natural and unnatural support to increase or where needed create protective factors that will enhance our quality of life our organizational structure is intensive in community which is inh home therapy we do this new J in New Jersey Statewide as well as Delaware we have Behavior Behavior Support Services behavior modification management res New Jersey Statewide and Delaware mental health outpatient counseling medication medication we have four locations in Burlington Mercer Mammoth counties as well as North Carolina and we deal with substance abuse out patients we have three locations in Burlington County Mercer County Ocean County and we provide peer recovery centers in those counties as well we also have therapeutic recreation teen Social Development and a Learning Center which is in Burlington County County sensory Development Center which is in Burlington County respit and a summer daycare what we are looking to do in the city of Trenton is bring a restoration Hub that building is located at 16 West Front Street that again so so the building is the way that the building will be set up we have two Suites we will occupy the entire third floor the building to everybody's bottom portion of the building would be site 301 that is where all the programming and all the collaborative offices will be held the building or the space to the top of the drawing is where we will have all our Wellness we will have a mental health well the mental health we have the uh multi-purpose space Fitness room an art Therapy Room a game room and a movie theater I will this button I'll have one of the other members here go over the Inception and why we're here and what we're planning on doing you don't oh good so the Hub came into existence I guess the way it was birthed um feel like I'm too close there is established in the Juvenile Justice Commission created by section two of PL 199 5 c284 a 2-year pilot program titled the rest the restorative and transformative Justice For Youth and communi pilot program the purpose of the pilot program is to develop Innovative restorative and transformative Justice Continuum of Care in four Target cities that include two components restorative justice hubs and community-based enhanced re-entry wraparound Services the pilot program shall be established in the the multip multip multiplicities of Camden Newark Patterson and [Music] Trenton so we have our mission statement pertaining to the hub to make a positive impact on if on the lives of Youth and families position as a Beacon of Hope by restoring the community Through preventing young people from entering the justice system and reducing recidivism our vision centralized collaborative entity that will encapsulate a One-Stop service provision coordination and support center for JJC involved youth modified Therapeutic Community promotes healthy growth and development help youth to develop greater levels of self-confidence self-worth resilience and a sense of social responsibility re-entry wraparound model geared towards the prevention intervention and stabilization of atrisk Youth continuing with our vision coordination of Care Service accessibility Youth and Family engagement and transportation to support youth involvement family community and Spiritual Development Center victim awareness and impact in peace circles will be utilized as a platform to close the gap between law enforcement and the community a safe space for youth to fulfill their psychological emotional behavioral academic social and Recreation voids thank you so the services that we will provide at the Hub will be assessments and evaluations case management and wraparound Services an alternative academic support service victim awareness workshops and peace circles life skills and Social Development conflict resolution groups violence and gun prevention workshops gang prevention and intervention services Spiritual Development workshops Family Support Services housing and emergency Support Services support groups career and Vocational support psycho educational groups and workshops health and wellness services and recreational Services we are going to partner with all of the agencies in Trenton that is the goal um faith-based or organizations such as salvation social justice Transformation Church employment services such as Mera County College Al onetop CCC mental health services such as CCC Catholic Charities housing support agencies like Catholic Charities children's Futures home front Mercer Board of Social Services substance use disorder treatment and recovery centers will be from CCC life skill support services from CCC and Beauty to the block mentorship from Justice virgus the father Center of New Jersey financial literacy and depth support services from TD Bank CCC and Al education support will come from merca County College aisles Trenton Board of Education daylight Twilight and preventative mentoring Services IM my just hope Beauty to the block men for Hope and help [Music] so sorry so the benchmarks that we are going to focus on on no police involvement within 9 months of discharge reduction in recidivism increased collaborative efforts to comply with reentry and prevention planning securing gainful employment increased compliance with alternative sanction programs increase in overall School enrollment and attendance decrease affiliation with unhealthy peer social groups reduction in gang involvement and an increase in family stab ization and the outcomes that we plan to see is positive Youth Development and under that we'll see an improved in academic achievement we'll see reduction in chronic absenteeism we'll also focus on financial literacy um improved understanding of credit enhanced understanding of money management we'll see um a decrease in homelessness a reduction in eviction and displacement in reference to our job Readiness we want to increase employment rate amongst young Youth and families increase job preparedness reduction of harmful behaviors we want to see youth will develop and enhance conflict resolution skills youth will become more aware of the harmful effects of substance use and abuse and in reference to community engagement we want to see an increase positive Community interaction increase a sense of community accountability there any questions thank you thank you listen thank you for coming tonight before I open it up um to my Council colleagues just to make a couple of things clear right for those on the day I me those in the audience you've already secured the location have you already secured the location yes yes okay and so the funding that is going to be utilized to run your program where does that come from that actually comes from a grant that we applied for and the grant was received from JJC okay it's federal dollars funnel through JJC is also funnel through the county as well thank you so you're receiving State funding through JJC and the county as well to bring us a hub to downtown Trenton in the building where children's Futures is located is that correct on the third floor so to my colleagues I have seen what they have done um on Quaker Bridge Road with the hub center out there the the um it's not like a big Mega Regal one movie theater but it is a very nice movie theater that they have for the children um the areas where they have for their workshops and everything it's a very nice setup I encourage you to go out there and check them out on quer Bridge Road to see but I do know that there at one time was talk about different aspects of revitalizing our downtown Trenton the entertainment area and everything and so with something like this um I'm glad and grateful that you're coming to the city of Trenton to help make this a place of building and rebuilding and helping and revitalizing our community and this time I'll open it up do any of my colleagues have any questions yes I do councilwoman Williams thank you ma'am uh so regarding actually the space with children's Futures can you be explicit what will happen with that uh space and will the organization be staying will children's future be staying yes yes sir children's Futures if I'm not mistaken is more mic thank you I'm sorry children's Futures I believe is either on the first or second floor we will be occupying the third floor that's what I thought you said I just wanted to make sure because they do a lot of work in the community as you know so just want to make sure before people actually everybody in the building will will be some of the people that we will be collaborating with as well okay excellent thank you so much and good luck thank you any other colleagues with any questions all right thank you so much for your time we appreciate you thank you all right Mr Garcia certainly council president Madam president at this time we've reached a point of public comment if we could have the public comment clipboard please and to the public public comment will be hold on based on this five minutes five minutes long for each individual you may address anything that you wish please do understand that the council is not obligated to respond the first individual we have for public comment is waldemar Rono all please state your name and address for the record please yeah my name is W Maron Community activist 222 hot Ro Robinsville New Jersey uh good evening the reason I'm here tonight because you can see my community is right behind me all these kids those kids been playing soccer for many years and we don't have no soccer fields they promised to us two years ago no bados no water and tonight the parents got enough we need it we need to know when they going to build the soccer fields they promised to us we want to know because the community asked me many times you you came in with the mayor you came in with the with the um with the um Joe Harris one time he promised to us they want to Bild it's nothing done yet I want to say in Spanish because that get understand what I'm saying and also because I feel you guys be training our community as a step Childs of the city not kids of the city is not correct so we asking you when this can be done because they said they going to see sometime next year no we want to now we don't want to wait one more year imagine all these kids they go play every weekend sometimes they have they knocking neighbors home for use the bathro we have little girls play soccer you know and also you know that's not right you have this young kids they want to be out of the street they want to play soccer and beol with the community but they see not helping out I walk around the city and all the fields they got like new Batts they got new new basketball fails they got baseball fails but what about our community why is not be done nothing for our community just an announcement to the public while we do understand that we have many Native Spanish speakers here at this time we do we just so you understand that Mr ano you did do the right thing you translated from Spanish to English exactly so that's what we need and just so anybody knows if there is any foreign language that anybody wishes to address at public in public comment you will be required to either translate into English for it to be put onto the record thank you our next individual is Lara Moa La in 528 GL Avenue my name is Laura and I live in 528 Glon Avenue and today I going to tell you ask you all the the chambers world do you like do you like the demonstration of Civility by the children of chamber with the salute of the plag all the children deserve better recreation no better West no better North no better South no better is equal today I going to speak more in English than Spanish because I feel in my heart it's broke it's broke because I went on Sunday to caare park at 10:00 I say until 1:00 how many people do you think it was over there none only me La Parker and another woman walking with a dog what happened five security cars there to law informance cars there and what the unity has unity park has a camera and when you call the police never appears Unity Park is between three streets Hamilton Division and Chesnut Ken Ken street is closed where our shootings our robberies so many drug dealers and now are people overdose what example is for our childrens and not only these childrens we have more than 5,000 childrens between zero age to 17 and what we got if you compare Unity park with caare Park where is a sparkle caare Park is a sparkle Easton what did East had for us for our childrens you think these childrens deserve nothing because they speak Spanish they're different color no we need to put our brain to think Recreation save our children's Recreation art education is no crime in our city 10 years ago I spoke the same thing no 12 and what they did put all the all the ideas under the arm and left and today what do we have more crying why because 12 years ago nobody cares to save our childrens today we have more crime and continue hurt to see other um M Luther King playground do you think the children's use that playground if you go compare go and at 4:00 to over there and go to Unity Park you should see Unity Park and I can show you in my phone I have recorders videos where band is there ACC causing our childrens this man Jose is been waiting eight years for something different and not only Jose many parents dreaming you see the education of our childrens that practice sports they're silence if you go to some schools and you see this children singing our Anon singing singing the black Anon like is there an my heart is really hurt because no one no one in this city is helping our Chambersburg childr it's not only Unity Park it's another Park Franklin Park we don't have enough for our young childrens we ask for two football soccer fields but their volleyball basketball or other sports our childrens can do we have Trenton high school with listen to me yisa [Music] ran please say your name and address for the Record Man there you go no okay so my name is yisa ran the address is 609 Pine Street TR New Jersey 08638 so I'm here because I would like to know about um the status of the proposal of 2440 since it is necessary to all the to all the documents to be not working okay to all the documents to be translated in Spanish since this is what I've been fighting with the board education and as you know because you speak two languages the people that speaks two languages the more you know how Greatful it is to have the ability of understanding everyone I'm pretty sure that all of the parents or most of the parents I'm going to say most of the parents here they do not understand English so I think for any any reason that they here that they had to immigrate here we have to have that in Spanish all cities have it so why we can't do it this is the city of New Jersey so it's it's just something that it needs to be done and I'm going to say something and it's not to be harsh on nobody none of you cils but when you um when you to the [Music] um for the position you ask for the Spanish uh boat and you get it that's why you not not that's the only reason you're there but Spanish help so when you get the position we don't see much we see in other parks and we've been I took my my son and my daughter for a three I think three or four years to carware park and it's lately it's been great Securities the grass is great my kids play tennis great tennis courts so the bathrooms are available so why not do it in the United par so okay okay so it is I mean the children need it not only to play and don't get hurt but it's for um he reasons for the lungs the lungs they've been playing like that a lot and I don't think you would like your child to be playing like that these kids have a talent so why not to support them as Michelle Obama said no child should be left [Music] behind so this is just too much for me because this is not the [Music] only the only problem in this community in this city what about the bullying what about the fights in Trent Central High School that I know they're still going on it's just that kids are not allowed to post it on social media so not too long ago a couple weeks ago somebody sto someone in the school I don't know the details but what I do know is that you as in counil you should help in that um to to resolve that issue and it's not just blacks against Hispanics it's Hispanics against Hispanics blocks against blocks what about the medical issues after a fight after somebody hit somebody on the head the trauma what about the kids that have to have a [Music] record who's going to help them probably they didn't they were not raised in a nice safe environment but they don't de that they deserve a system that can help them not be in the big of an issue so can we I'm sorry I'm talking about we as a community but you can you do something I know New Jersey has rules they have laws but the school system is not following them and the kids need your help I take care of my my children but who's going to take care of the children [Music] that Jose cabera please state your name and address for the record [Music] sir yes his name is Jose Caba and his address is 1945 South Broad Street in Trenton he wants to thank the people who has been here they are the voice of the community but he wants to be the voice of the children he started um years ago with a group of friends and he formed the soccer Trenton soccer league and he explained to the children that that was a dream then but he he's here today to say that this is a reality they are not only a soccer team but they have a family relation uh relationship with the 431 families that have kids in their leagues and uh they they want to for the children to have probably more opportunities than the ones that he had har he said that several years ago Council Harrison came to visit him and uh he promised to help the league and he is here today to appreciate that uh they are just steps away from realizing their dream and he is thanking all of you for that he said a lot but this he wants to tell the children that to continue to work to put their greatest effort um and that that we are here to do that he thank all of you again for making um his dream to come closer to and I don't know I'm sorry he said that the decision is in God's hands and in your hands thank you zulio was the or please St your name and address for the record sir and yeah I am the Trum resident yeah for many years and uh yeah I think everybody's here for the same re you know you the kids I just need your name and address for the record sir I need your name and address for the record okay yeah my name is Tulio sorry and my address 106 Greenwood Avenue Trenton New Jersey thank you right yeah we see everybody's here for the the reason the one the big reason the reason we came here today is you know we need your help you see that Keys the that keid is grow fast you know now we need the project for the park I don't know I see or authorities abandon us I don't know what happened I think all the Commerce and trend is in the chames you see a lot of stores a lot of groceries a I mean I think we pay taxes with all the guys here in this in Trend I think know West know the East everybody pay taxes here everybody had the Commerce had business I think we need your help sooner we need your help now please because you see the kids they grow up fast I mean I don't know when the guys take the action for do something for our community yeah everybody see here is we meeting here in for what the big big big reason yeah thank you [Applause] foring Ken [Music] walski my name is Ken walski I live at 219 Woodside Avenue in West Ward I'm here to comment on the proposed ordinance 24042 which makes it unlawful to smoke or vape cannabis in public and institutes a series of fines from 250 to $1,000 for um this offense except for the case of medical cannabis patients I'm grateful for the amendment uh to this ordinance that seeks to protect the medical cannabis um patient uh who is allowed to smoke cannabis wherever cigarett are smoked the amendment allows a police officer to ask a person who is using cannabis publicly to produce his cannabis Regulatory Commission ID card um in order to avoid a fine the medical marijuana program started in 2012 in that time the medical cannabis population was up to 130,000 patients in the state of New Jersey however when cannabis was legalized in 2021 there were now we're now down to 80,000 patients in the medical cannabis program so about aund so about 50,000 medical cannabis patients in New Jersey no longer have an ID card to show to a police officer that they are legitimate patients most patients out of the Cannabis program because Physicians were charging an exorbitant May obtain the same medicine from an alternative from one of the dispensaries that they do from one of the state's alternative treatment centers in addition many patients use cannabis medically without ever having been diagnosed with a medical or mental health problem they just found that cannabis improves their life now Trenton has a poverty rate of 28 % so many residents may be restricted from using their medical cannabis indoor because they live in subsidized housing or because the landlord refuses to allow them access or because they may be homeless if they can't use their medicine indoors and now they can't use it Outdoors what are they to do the poverty rate also guarantees that impoverished mostly minority residents are going to be targeted by this ordinance and if they unable to pay the fines for public use of cannabis and suddenly they will be involved in the criminal justice system and this is exactly the scenario that most residents in New Jersey wanted to avoid when they voted to legalize Med the medical adult use of cannabis and finally in my 48 years as a registered nurse here in New Jersey including time as a public health nurse in in the city of Trenton I realized that evidence is quite clear that secondhand tobacco smoke is far greater Health concern than secondhand cannabis smoke so thank you for your attention Captain Joseph deacon please state your name and address for the record sir uh Joseph Deacon 121 Perry Street transon New Jersey good evening members of council uh I'm here to address a Redevelopment project that I have submitted an application for to assist with the bless within the community of the East Trenton area I wasn't aware of the concern of all the members that would be here today but I do want to point out one fact which is our gold overall is to create housing that would be within the medium and moderate income and that would help us to retain a lot of our civil servants I As A Firefighter used to live in Yan permanently until there was proper housing that I saw fit the project in which I live in I personally have a 40% state within that project originally when it was built there was a lot of controversy with Council and mainly because they were outside investors working with outside contractors and not specifically set in a way that I feel would be uh up upholding our fiduciary responsibility to the community as a whole and allowing us to actually have some Equity stake as civil servants here in the community my goal is to assist with rehabing the Hart Avenue area and the poer Avenue area which has a a very large blight and uh vacant properties uh some of those properties As A Firefighter working at engine 6 I have repeated uh multiple Fires at the same location and I see no reason why not allowing the civil servants who have the financial means to be able to actually repair the buildings and would have an actual um Equity stake and because we already are the ones who respond to the matter I think as firefighters police officers nurses teachers those who are in the area and because I work specifically in emergency services it's in my best interest to ensure that the homes are safe and they're not ran by slumlords so it's not only myself as a firefighter but many others that are inside of my group we've have come together and we raised a capital fund of $260,000 that would go directly to repairing two particular homes that's in that area one it help it helps to for us to be held accountable to your one-year uh repair time frame I think we'll be able to do so within a three Monon to six Monon time frame but if we can assist in the process of revitalizing the community uh another portion that I just want to add to that uh we're using Architects that are from the city lawyers that are from the city and we're also partnered with the one Haven Inc which has been which has been working on the Chamber Street project all of those members who are actual contractors are members that were once uh convicted and now are in our community but because of the fact that the one Haven Inc has created a for a lack of better word a return home system which allow members who have been incarcerated to not only have a place to live but they have a place to receive their mail many members who come back from prison unfortunately tend to have very poor living conditions which causes them to not be able to see their children not be able to receive mail and because of that they sometimes fall back into the system so we're doing everything inhouse that we possibly can to stimulate the Trenton economy if it was if we had a proper hardware store we would even buy all our Hardware in Trend so I just want to somehow ask as to how we can not necessarily expedite but how the system of Redevelopment applications are responded to especially for those who have done the due diligence to provide proof of the proper funding to finish the project well it's sort of a question in a sense but I I I'm just sta in my case because I'm one of many and I would like to be able to somehow speak with someone who's working with the economical development or housing economic development that would be able to create some sort of a streamlined process for those who already have a interest and have funding specifically those who are actually rooted here in the city That's Mike Jase thank you Rema Pia hello good evening everyone my name is Rema Pia and the address is 225 East State Street um I'm one of the owner at medlife Pharmacy um and I'm here because we are facing one of the challenge because you know as a pharmacy when the customers it's mostly the disabled patients and the older patients they come to pick up their medications but since the street does not have any parking when they just park their car for about less than a five minutes to pick up their medication but they end up getting ticket so this is the reason we are losing patience and our delivery drivers who just park their car for as I say five minutes to pick up the deliveries and leave and they end up getting ticket like they make about $200 a week in their wages but they end up take Taking tickets four days out of five so everything they earn goes out into the tickets so we are losing losing employees too and that is uh the biggest challenge so as a you know like nowadays you know with this problem most of the businesses are closing down and we are here to you know survive and this is one of the issue that this is becoming very serious every day so I'm just here to see if uh something could be done like if a temporary parking like a 15minute that is also a big help something that could help us thank you okay Madame President at this time we are finished with public comment uh you may start with any council member you wish for civic comment thank you tonight we'll start with Council woman Edwards thank you madam president good evening everyone um it's so exciting to see you all here today um thank you for coming especially for bringing the kids I think it's very important for them to see how our government works and how to advocate for yourself for what you want and what you need in your community um and with that being said I will gladly support resolution 24-25 that we have on our agenda tonight that's that approves the purchase of the equipment and installation of the equipment for the soccer fields in Unity Square Park um Unity Square Park is very important to me as I was a part of the small team of people that demanded that name be changed from Columbus Park because of its racial history and to rename it Unity Square Park was a decision between a small team of us that actually councilwoman Feliciano was there and councilman Joe Harrison helped us and led the charge on that and um we have a couple of gentlemen in the back that was in the room as well so I'm very proud for that Park to become what it is now and I will gladly support that resolution as it's important for our kids to have things to do in our community because it keeps them out of trouble and it puts them on a good path to have a great future um moving on I have to express my grievances with ordinance 24-42 um I agree with Mr Ken walski and his sentiments regarding cannabis public smoking um because this ordinance only protects medical cannabis uh users but it does not protect recreational adult use being that adult use and medical use is legal in the state of New Jersey neither one of them should be prohibited and in fact wherever tobacco is permissible cannabis should be permissible otherwise we would be perpetuating the racial and discriminatory issues that we have faced before and reincarceration black and brown people in our communities and I cannot support this ordinance as it's written so I hope that we could go back to the drawing board on this and find fairness in this ordinance and lastly I want to touch on uh the commercial vehicles it's been a huge issue in the city and we're getting a lot of calls a lot of emails a lot of messages about commercial vehicles being parked in residential zones after a certain time and overnight in our city as we know Trenton is a densely populated community and with multiple adults living in a single household it causes a lot of vehicular traffic in our city and to park commercial vehicles in a residential Zone where residents need to park overnight is not okay and with that being said I would like to recommend to the administration that we put up signs around the city on the polls that prohibit commercial vehicles to park in those areas between those times according to our ordinance and I think that would be a good deterrent as well um so I I don't really see a lot of those signs but and also I would like to recommend that we install signs that says no parking from here to the corner because large Vehicles like the ambulances like the fire trucks and these larger trucks cannot turn down certain streets because people are parking all the way to the corner when they should not be so I would like to recommend us putting up signs and then also following up with parking enforcement between those times to make sure people are following the rules so um with that being said Thank you again it was great to hear from you all and I'm looking forward to the soccer field that is to come we just had the groundbreaking today I think earlier today the groundbreaking for Unity Square Parks soccer field so very excited have a good [Applause] evening so Mr Garcia contrary to what I just said I'm going to change that around again real quick Council before we continue with our Civic comment in light of everyone that is here tonight with us and the fact that we want to carry on with the business of of the city I'd like us to move to go ahead and vote on um resolution 24256 Mr Garcia if you could if you could read wait is this the right certainly no it's not the right one um Unity Park yeah it's that's correct 24256 that's correct I have something about lights Unity Park the okay that's correct that's it understood Madame President I'll go ahead and read that title and then after I read that title if you want to ask for a motion to approve that is resolution 244-256 resolution authorizing contract to musco lighting LLC for the purchase and installation of two 60 by 60 in by 120 60t by 120 ft many pitch systems one each for Unity Square Park on Hamilton and Chestnut Avenue and Cooper field on Union Street in the city of Trenton Department of recreation natural resource and culture awarded through sourcewell contract RFP number 04123 dmsl formerly National Power Alliance and jpa in an amount not to exceed $280,000 this contract shall be awarded for a period of one Year from the date of award Madam president if you'd like to ask for a motion to approve that I have a motion to approve so move second thank you that was moved by frisbee second second by the VP yes thank you going through roll call councilwoman Edwards yes one second I do have a question is there a discussion yes yes go right ahead I would like to ask for the director of Natural Resources to come to the I'm going to yes we going to do that you want that before we do this because I'd like to know yes okay one second before the vote I'm sorry thank you director Richardson council president Maria Richardson director of Parks and Recreation thank you very much mam reason I asked for a lot of charges were made tonight regarding this park so i' I'd like to if you could give us uh highlights in a little detail what exactly uh this ordinance will this resolution will do for that Park as promised uh particularly uh the med pitch system um yes uh council president may I get your permission to address you in English and then in Spanish yes so here's what I would like so that way we can expedite this and move it along I I was going to ask questions as well as you answered the councilwoman's questions please be specific in your conversation about the soccer field what was promised what is happening with the soccer field a timeline so that everybody is very clear on what it is that is going to take place at Unity Square Park great thank you thank you I am not sure about what was promised right I have not promised any anything to anybody um and as I say that I really would like us me as an administrator as a city representative but also as a citizen of the city to be responsible right I would not like to come to this forum or any other and misrepresent anything right so one of my responsibilities as a CI as a citizen is educate the community so if I said to you that a capital project is taking three years please congratulate me because it is awesome to develop a capital project in three years you us a capital project takes five years from the time that you think about it to the time that you complete it and I'm going to say that in Spanish um I didn't so um respect um at the timing and what we are doing um there well I need to go back a little bit I know that Council Harrison has been working tirelessly with Jose Cabrera in that field because he has been contacting me every time that he speaks with Jose Cabrera and Jose Cabrera just express it here right so J Jose we have been working with Jose for several years now including to the uh design and the conception of what is going to be the mini pitch that we are talking about today um and about the the soccer field so let's please not use this forum to create problems because there is no problem there and we on understand that the community has needs there and we have been trying to address those needs however I do not do my department doesn't do projects based on I want to have a soccer field right in 2018 we implemented a study we comp implemented a full diagnostic of recreation facilities in the city of Trenton um and with that diagnostic we make decisions of which park we work first which facilities we work first um in reference to council woman Williams question what we are going to be doing uh and we announced it today although that was not part of our groundbreaking ceremony that we have a Unity Park this afternoon um we are going to be doing a uh installing mini pites in uh Unity Park and also cooperfield uh the timing we decided that we were going to do the uh mini pit first after a conversation with my architect counil uh men Harrison and Jose at the park that everybody's privy to it but we decided that we will do um the mini pitch first to allow him to complete the season um when we complete the mini pit then in September or beginning of October we will uh work on the uh soccer field but please remember that that was until three years ago or four years ago that was a baseball field with an active league and we made a decision after sitting down with Jose that we will allow him and his group of kids to utilize the field uh only for soccer so this is a process that we have been talking to him and uh trying to accommodate the needs of that group and now wow I didn't to say that in Spanish now any other questions you very thank you my pleasure thank you any other Council people have any questions for director Richardson council president councilman Harrison I mean Miss Richardson director Richard director yeah please so sorry um regarding the um previous batting cage which now is a soccer complex that building you upgraded the bathrooms right um yes and uh it happened that when we met thank you for mentioning that when we met probably two or three weeks ago with Jose Cabrera at the park I asked him if there was a need for additional work at the uh with with the bathroom facilities and he said no everything is working well so yes we we made the Bing cage available for indoor soccer and did whatever Jose asked us to do there I I need to commend him Jose those an incredible work um working those facilities but yes um he acknowledged at that time that the bathrooms were working well so I am surprised to hear that there are no bathroom facilities they available for the Children Al also the the air conditioning in that building now on the fan is working oh yes we actually um during the winter to accommodate the children there um we work on the AC excuse me in the H and air conditioner that's correct thank you anyone else have any questions okay I just have one quick question for you sure um with regard to the upgrade to the bathroom and then the air conditioner unit working does your staff go out regularly to inspect like those areas like the bathrooms and stuff to make sure that everything is is as it should be Yes actually the stuff we have people who go to the so we would like to have order in the room I would politely and respectfully ask I've been patient um thinking that things would kind of calm itself down but onito saleno in the chambers Port so that we can conduct the business of the city so please with the with the noise in saleno so that we could do the work of the city Maria director yes we we have actually staff that goes to the park every day but not just that um Jose Caba has my number he has the number of my staff and when he needs anything he makes a phone call okay thank you director thank you can we go back to the vote now Mr Garcia if there's no further discussion I'll start with the Roll Call once again there was a motion in second calling the role councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee not because it's a racial thing or a favoritism thing but because it's the right thing for all of our children I vote Yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano I concur with councilwoman frisbee in her comments not because of race or anything else but because it is right for the children yes motion carried thank you we're going back to Civic comment now [Applause] certainly councilwoman frisbee so I want to thank everyone for coming out out this evening and I love the fact that we have so many children in the room I would I would implore everyone when we need something that we come to us but when you come to us come the way you want us to come to you and that's peacefully the children are going to respond accordingly and we give you our peace we've been in the seats now for a year and a half we cannot undo what was done three years ago or seven years ago but we are working really hard with our ministry ation and we ask that you work with us also our children are our future everything that we do is about and for our children nothing that we're doing up here is to hinder them so everything that you hear from us please let you please be assure it is about the children it is not about gender it is not about race it is about doing that which is right for all of Trenton and as we get the funding and as things are made available to us we are doing the best with what we have we're making sure that everybody is held accountable and director Richardson I thank you for the work that you've been doing you have been doing a phenomenal job and I want to thank you for that councilman Harrison he's been here longer than all the rest of us and he has helped us and I know that he's helped you guys he's helped every and he hasn't even just helped his own Ward he's helped my ward he helps every W every section of the city of Trenton so when we come we ask that you give what you want to receive back if you want our attention if you want our our peace give that and then show our children that that's how you come in and that's what you get back in return our community you don't even know our backgrounds you don't know which of us has the Latina you don't know which one of us has the kubano or a Muslim or what rest of but we are one it's not about who is Who We Are All One people and that's how we have to address this community and keep that way otherwise we are teaching each other and we're teaching our children to divide and we're not to be divided even though we have all these different Wards We Are One City many faces one city many genders two genders one city many different languages but still we are one city when people say Trenton they see you they see me they say each see each and every single last one of us so I tell you this Council I can't speak for the pr previous Council but this Council wants what's best for our community and that includes your hias and your n CU yours are ours as well that's what I want to make sure everyone in here knows before you leave here on today with the next with the next [Applause] thing for those of you who have children or family members who are differently abled I'm a mother of a special needs child who's differently abled I'm working with councilwoman Gonzalez we are having a special needs day we're calling it 609 day this Friday in the Capital Area YMCA 471 Park Pennington Avenue no 47 um that is the wrong address but the YMCA Capital Area YMCA on Pennington Avenue we're having a special needs day we would love to have your children your families come out and join us we don't do a whole lot for those who are differently able but we are trying we're trying to make sure that everything that this city needs that other cities may have we make sure that we're bringing it here so on this um Friday we invite you to come out from six o'clock to 8 o'clock Special Olympics will be there to join us and we want all of you to come out as well and the excuse me it's this Friday um this this Friday from 600 to 8 o'clock at the um Capital Area YMCA on Pennington Avenue please come out there'll be food fun um just a good time and that's including for our seniors as well um in regards to uh resolution 24-02 042 the Cannabis um can I 100% agree we cannot discriminate in any way and that even includes cannabis everybody might not have the resources so we have to go back to the drawing board and make sure that we are inclusive again for everyone what affects one of us affects all of us and again we don't want anybody being um un unfairly or because they don't have the advantage of some of the others of us to be incarcerated because they need it and they don't have the medical paperwork um with that I'm done everybody thank you for coming out and have an incredible [Applause] evening Council thank you Council woman councilwoman Gonzalez thank you council president um coun footb socer um just I want to say thank you I'm G to just say it in English oh and in I said um I just want to say thank you to everyone who came out who spoke up who wanted to see a change here in the city of Trenton and I I share the same sentiments as councilwoman frisbee that is not just because it's Latino kids that are playing soccer because we have a big huge African group we have Haitians who play soccer um and hopefully we can build those two groups together and have a unified uh soccer sport here in the city of Trenton with all of the groups and all of the children who want to play um soccer I want to also thank uh director Richardson I know she's working hard um to make that happen here in the city of Trenton um and I I also stated in Spanish that you know we don't know what happened in the past but this is a council that does want to make change and we do we do hear you so thank you for coming um there was something else I wanted to say oh about ordinance of 2442 I also have some reservations towards this because I feel like we um although I agree with them not allowing us to smoke marijuana or or um in public places such as parks and schools but we also have to also know that there're also responsible individuals and adults who are consuming cannabis in a responsible way and it is not fair to penalize penalize everyone who chooses to uh consume cannabis responsibly so I I share the S the same sentiments as councilwoman uh uh Edwards I'm sorry I'm trying to read everything that I wrote too also um councilwoman frisbee just also spoke we're going to do an event Friday YMCA and Pennington Avenue different disabilities um thank you to oh and also on Saturday we're doing something in La lu Avenue from councilman Harrison you can say the English Okay um real quick Facebook so that's a free scholarship presented by the Trenton Puerto Rican community and friends um who if you visit their Facebook page you can get all of the information there they also have the Galla coming up J July 13th as a former honoree of last year I can say it was a beautiful event it is to raise money to help keep our culture alive for the Puerto Rican Community here in the city of Trenton I think that's all for today I hope that's everything thank you everyone for being here [Applause] ask out um can I just have like another 30 seconds council president yes I didn't use up all of my time thank I had a minute left it was there so um to the ordinance 2440 with the translation just know that we are one step closer to making that happen um we are actually trying to draft up the contract and get the quote to get in front of council and the administration um so just know that that is coming really really soon so we haven't forgotten about that that that is coming soon thank [Applause] you councilman Harrison um I would like to start off by mentioning uh we have a pride month celebration there'll be a flag raising at City Hall on the steps uh June 21st uh 4 p.m. there will be a festival downtown June 22nd from 2: to 7 p.m South War Street uh between East State and Lafayette Street Al there'll be a live entertainment music dance food drinks fun and games for the children um so please if you're interested there's a number you can call 609 989 three what is it 3800 right um also there's uh this Saturday the threatened um VFW 12165 uh honor of service uh coming together with councilwoman Gonzalez myself Pastor Shawn at the Triumph Life Community Church we're giving back from 11:00 a.m. to 1230 um this Saturday um it'll be you there's parking there there'll be free items given away so if you're available please come out um also tonight um i' like to thank the administration like to thank uh director Richardson for all the hard work i' like to thank Jose Cera how all the wonderful job you're doing out there in the community um I'm glad to see we're moving One Step Closer I'm glad that the bathrooms are actually working and the building for soccer is working so we're getting future we're getting one step closer so um look uh since I st up here I represent everybody um I don't represent the Caucasian Community I represent everybody I help everybody all over this great City I love this city I don't make it about race never had and I never will so Jose the first time I met you I seen that look in your eye you have compassion to help kids and we need more great people like you man in this great City so thank you for the work you do thank you Maria Richardson thank you all the directors thank you thank you appreciate it councilwoman Williams thank you very much council president uh with your uh generosity I'd like to ask coun director Richardson to translate into Spanish for me please as long as you stay within five minutes that is fine that is fine Senor sorry Council woman I mean um director Richardson thank you council president mes graas senada so uh first thing just a small announcement uh we have the next month July 24th will be the north Ward citizens police advisory council meeting everyone is welcome it's at gilee Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Boulevard at 5:30 Martin Luther King um thank you so the next part is uh very important for me to talk about because actually today this afternoon myself uh three of my colleagues uh councilwoman Gonzalez council president Christoph Lano councilman Harrison we're at Unity park for a groundbreaking thank you to signify the start of renovating the park particularly the prr for the children and the mini pitch Harris so they could not be there councilwoman Edwards councilwoman Tesa frisbee councilwoman Figaro kenberg vice president uh coun of Figo kenberg were with us in spirit and heart I want you to know that each person on this Council wants the best for you and your children you are wanted in our city of Trenton no matter if you are new Trentonian or a lifelong very old Trentonian like some of us my own children played soccer in Living Hope Church with Pastor Guzman where most if not just about all of the children spoke Spanish first jio I myself coached the Goldies and had to learn how to sayos what was the question the what you learn to say use your hands use she had to learn to say so please know that you are very very important to each of us as my colleague said we all have our own backgrounds and director Richardson her Department our mayor Gora everyone wants to make Trenton better for you every single day no questions [Applause] asked Council vice president figuroa kenberg good evening everybody we are here tonight to hear everything that you guys have to say we understand that our children deserve ample resources they deserve the parks they deserve Sports they deserve playgrounds they deserve safe space ESP special SEC we are here we understand that and please Ino so that there are 26 parks that receive monies this year through our arpa funds to rehabilitate the parks throughout Trenton Trenton is diverse TR no is the population of African-Americans Sol AF the population of white people the population of Latin is a population of everybody that here everybody you see here everybody you see up here on this de we are here to make sure that things are equal no longer do we live in the city of Trenton where we are discriminatory against any race or Creed or nationality or sex we are here to do the work for everybody in this city regardless of even um immigration status that is not what we're here for we're here to serve everybody in this city and that's what we come to do week after week month after month for our kids and I thank you all for being here tonight for for being present for listening to what we have to say and for making your children a part of the Civic process this is what it's about your children are in the schools I see you your children are in the schools and your children are learning English and Spanish to help in your own families in your own homes to to to lessen the gap of our divide we don't want to be a divisive City we are here to work together we here to do the work together and we are here to equally accommodate one another so again thank you all for being here it's very very important and it is it is acknowledged um we are all up here working so hard for the city it's not just Parks and Recreation it's not just about the schools it's about quality life overall you know we're getting our streets paved we're getting our parking um taken underand we're getting our street sweeping handled we are um getting our houses demolished we are maintaining for a better train and we're doing it all for you guys that are here in the city that are paying taxes and are asking us questions and are showing up so we thank you all for that so I want to thank everybody who spoke tonight on behalf um I want to thank the the recreation department um specifically director Richardson for getting these things underway and for making sure that these parks are rehabilitated we want this for our children we want your kids to go and and and be able to play soccer or play on the playground or play basketball play baseball or what have you so we're not discriminating what park what area we in Trenton that's what we're doing to work um so again we're not race baiting this is not about race this is not about race whatsoever this is not one against the other we are we are trying to do this together collaboratively um and I'm really happy for the soccer program at Unity Square Park you guys have done an amazing job Mr Cabrera thank you so much you've been doing wonderful I sponsored play soccer a few years ago with Karen Garcia with L you know we're very very proud of everything you've done and as you can see with this Full House you're doing a wonderful job gra um um with regards to um the resolution for um translation services I believe we just passed the resolution of support um very thankful for that and as councilwoman Gonzalez said we will be looking forward to an ordinance so that has not got Lost in Translation and I also wanted to just speak to um 2442 um I do believe that it since there is surgeon generals warnings for cigarette smoke I think that we need to be kind of holding the same standard when it comes to marijuana smoke and I would I would personally like to have proposed spaces where marijuana smoke is okay since it is legalized and that's the conversation that I would like to have other than that um it's been a long night I want to thank you all again for being here and have a wonderful evening please get home safe and we don't see you again enjoy your summer thank [Applause] you good evening everyone thank you for joining us tonight thank you for being here thank you for speaking up and speaking out for what you believe in I do want to just quickly Echo briefly the sentiments of my Council colleagues and I just want to say what I've said from the beginning we are here for everyone I see you that irregardless of color irregardless of gender sex we don't care you are Trenton you are usia that is what it is and we do care about the children let us be clear all children in the city um I do want to say this it was said that uh Miss Mor brought up the the part about Unity Square Park being forgotten about and being overlooked we have 26 Parks well the mayor has said that there are 26 parks that he is going to be refurbishing and redoing with wonderful play facilities for the children so that is throughout the entire city of Trenton so Unity Square Park is one of those areas and you heard tonight we have passed the resolution for them to start with the mini pitches and everything and you've heard what the director said about the soccer so renovation is on the way we're not forgetting about anyone sometimes things just take time I also want to say I want to address um Miss rhan who spoke about um the schools and what's happening in the schools so I am a teacher at Trenton Central High School did not hear anything about the stabbing but I will look into it and ask the question while I do agree that there are issues that are happening in the high school between the various children and everything and things need to be done there are only certain things that city council can do um and regulating the school district and what they do is not one of them so while we do have a city council liaison that goes and sits and listens to the meetings to kind of feel out what is going on we have no control over what the school district does that is handled by the school board um so you would have to take that unfortunately to superintendent James Earl and the school board people who are there to oversee what's happening or to work with him to make sure that they're doing what needs to be done as a teacher I'm stressed out too as a teacher we need help too right we are affected by the fights and certain things and treatments that we experience by some of the students there as well so I understand exactly where you're coming from and your concerns um for Mr walski thank you for bringing that up I'm going to when it comes time ask that we pull this ordinance uh until we can figure out what it is that needs to be done so we can flush that out so there's that to Captain Deacon I do want to address your concerns about dealing with housing and economic development so we have a new HD director marel ferera um I am not sure what the response time is although I have gotten several calls uh about people needing answers to certain things but the business administrator is sitting here along with the chief of staff if there is an issue and you are not getting a timely response to something I'm sure one of them can have a conversation to find out what the holdup is so I would recommend that you either see the director martiel Ferrera who is the HED director and if not there is no satisfaction there you talk to business administrator Adam Cruz or you talk to Chief of Staff Jim Beach and they should be able to help you with that issue um when it comes to miss padella if she's still here with the pharmacy uh I understand that about the parking and the passes I'll be asking the the parking enforcement talking to director Richardson and seeing possibly her or director um Wilson what we can do about temporary parking permits or something I'm not sure how that works over there but we will look and have a conversation to see if something can be done to accommodate the people that are there this Saturday um at Christina syes Academy Bruce Boyd is hosting the capitol city rowing League's very first indoor rata here in the city of Trenton 10:00 a.m. at Christina syes 1550 Stenson Avenue in Trenton highight in Jefferson Village Charter School Christina Sykes Joyce Kilmer pnra and Parker school so we encourage everybody to come out there and participate in that with that being said thank you for everybody coming out tonight okay let me finish what it is that I want to say thank you um thank you for everyone coming out no but you talking okay so here's where we are I'm not finished give me one moment please and then we can address what it is that you have to say I will ask that the same courtesy that I extend to everyone when they're talking I get the same courtesy in return so that I can finish my thoughts as well thank you for everyone coming out here tonight I appreciate your time I appreciate your passion and we appreciate you God bless have a good night thank you so we're going to take a thre minute breather to let everybody clear out and then we'll finish the business of the city thank you it well let them all clear out it's a match uh effect in occurrence apparently organic but then again this is also what happens when we cap when we keep everyone captive so there's [Music] that e e e e e e e e Madame President we can continue on your call I believe it's been three minutes Council if we could reassemble please so we could continue thank you so much appreciate you before we continue uh ba Cruz has something he would like to address Council regarding yes um good evening Council thank you Madame President Adam Cruz business administrator Madame President just for the purpose of uh clearing the record one of the the speakers that came with the group actually made some statements that we feel need to be addressed by The Police director just to clear the record thank you so the director is going to come and say a few words okay thank you you this is regarding the high school and right an alleged attack okay thank you um thank you Council Steve Wilson Police director um uh what the the U lady said was inaccurate there was no stabbing in Trenton High School um the incident was reported as a stabbing it was off uh off grounds After School dismissal um it was thought to be a stabbing it was not it was a it was a fist fight designated as a simple assault um we are still awaiting uh cooperation from the parents so that we may pursue charges against the as salent there there was no stabbing in Trent Central High School and um uh there recently this month we did have two knife issues and kids brought knives to school and they were um the knives were taken away from them and they were charged according but that's for the record thanks thank you director Wilson appreciate that thank you ba Cruz Mr Garcia certainly Madame President moving on with the docket at this time uh I believe we are at the point of well you will have minut you'll have minutes for approval for Thursday Communications and petitions will vote on Thursday as well uh report there will be none ordinances for second reading and public hearing uh Madam president if you want me to read those allowed or if you'd like to ask the council if they have any questions regarding same for the ordinances for second reading yes okay counc you'll vote on those on Thursday so I'm sorry go ahead Council are there any questions regarding ordinance 24043 or 24044 none ma'am thank you Mr Garcia continues certainly moving right along Madam president moving at the point of resolutions um are there any items that the council wishes to address directors have questions or to extract from a consent potential consent agenda so Mr Garcia yes for all of the appointments 24 241 242 243 44 45 46 47 48 I'd like to have them all roll calleded certainly only because they're ointments okay council president yes um we did not receive any resumes for any of the appointments um but I I'm am curious if there would be attending the meeting on Thursday our office was not provided with any resumes for saying so to that point councilwoman I did ask so Council vice president actually brought that point forward um about not receiving anything these are mayor's appointments to these positions um and so I kind of was like oh but then I did make the ask for the res for the resumés or the applications if they submitted any for these appointments and have not received anything so um what we can do is if you'd like to wait on it we can just pull these um as much as I would not like us to lose time I think it's appropriate that we wait on these until we get copies of resumés okay so then um would you like to make a motion to table them um well may I ask would it be uh possible to receive the copies of the resum by Thursday so I'd rather avoid tabling but I am willing to this m Jim be Chief of Staff uh yes that would be able we'd be able to do that okay thank you very much sir council president I have one more question too um Mr Beach I know that we have these and we had some backups are the backups did we fill all of the backup positions or we have one vacancy remaining for an alternate so we have a full compliment of regular members uh two landlords three homeowners and two tenants that compl seven we have one alternate uh filled and there's a second alternate position that remains open for a tenant or for Homeowner for a landlord I me uh I think it can be either one okay because I I I received the resume and I think I forwarded to you I'm not sure if that person was considered for an off a young lady who spoke here at Council okay thank you I'll send you the name too just in case or did I send it to I don't know it was a while ago but she spoke here I think she sent us a resume and I forward it right to you okay thank you [Music] okay so we would like to have the resumés of everyone um by Thursday so we can review it by Thursday council president yes I also have a comment on these as well okay um I know that we all said in the past or many of us agreed that people that are being presented to be appointed to board should come forward to council to present themselves to put a face to the name to introduce themselves and why they want to be on the board um I think that um the public deserves to know just for transparency purposes and for us to know who are on the boards that we'll be working with as well okay so then in that case with with the fact that we're going to be waiting for so tomorrow is a holiday so that's let's take that into consideration tomorrow is the holiday um and Thursday is the meeting I would make a motion that we table this until the July meeting and at that time we would have the resumes in hand for us to review it and then we could arrange for the people to come forward they are the mayor's appointees so someone from his office would have to make contact to to arrange for them to come forward before us at that July meeting is there a second second so move it's been moved by the president second by Will Willams roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president Figaro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilwoman Harrison councilwoman Williams yes council president Feliciano yes is there I'm sorry uh table till July correct July meeting till the July meeting motion carried resolutions resolution numbers 24241 through 24248 are tabled so the July meeting yes if I may then should I prepare the candidates to also be president that July meeting yes yes okay thank you at this time Council uh do any members have have any questions regarding any of the resolutions before us that we would pull to the side from consent agenda council president yes councilwoman Williams I have questions on 24255 24255 yes ma'am uh 24258 24 258 24260 2426 Zer thank you any other Council people with questions okay we'll start with uh 24255 please director Richardson okay good evening director excuse me that resolution is um to apply and accept if if it's awarded a uh Grant from from uh housing no I'm sorry 255 oh yes um this is um for the wireworks building we are applying for $750,000 Grant from H basically for renovation the renovation cost uh the estimated cost of that project is $14 million we are planning to do that in phases um the first phase would be close to $7 million and that would allow us to to do the stabilization Pro uh process uh build replace the roof um do some exterior work change the windows and uh work in the foundation we already have a hand a no $1.2 million and if we get this $750,000 probably we'll be able to work on the roof to begin the project uh just have one question I'm very thank you very much for going into detail so this is when we say the wire works this is the very single building where the wire rope for the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge that hangs those bridges today this is the actual building where that was created this is the building where yes that's correct and this is the building that it's housing the circus squat at this time okay and also where art all night was at before yes correct the skate Freedom SCH yes thank you very much thank you can we add it to consent agenda yes please do ma'am thank you okay thank you director thank next we have for Public Works 24258 we have questions on 24258 if someone will come forward just a small itty bitty question C this Hector um assistant director Public Works representing um director w coun thank you very much Mr way um reason I'm asking you to come up is uh see as listed uh Prospect Street and Liberty Street that's great that that's happening um for those streets but also Memorial Drive which I know a portion of that I believe does uh come under the jurisdiction of the state of New Jersey potentially so how much of the Memorial Drive uh will this uh be reconstructing for us well for Memorial Drive that would be the section of the street after the ramp so the ramp is for for the state and then right after the ramp where you have the light um moving towards the Department of Labor that will be done by public works okay as you go away from the war memorial yes that's correct thank you very much appreciate that's this can go back on the agenda ma'am she has another question for you on 24260 so 24258 stays on consent agenda Mr Garcia councilwoman certainly thank you and uh so regarding 24260 I was very pleased to see this um I know some members of the public May wonder why it's necessary uh but given some incidences that have occurred in the um first year and a half or so some of us on uh Council have had with um you know unfortunately in our roles of council people are members of the public um why is having three baggage scanners uh important for us to have at City Hall and at the police headquarters Council so over the times there have been incidents in the city where um residents have just walked through the city um properly our da residents have always been a problem in the city hall uh their limitations um plac they have to go sometime they have to go to second floor third floor uh they ask security they go on the first floor in the second they're on the third floor but that is now the problem there might be a time that people might might enter with Firearms the security that we have here at the city hall they do not carry firearms uh they are not equipped as much as the police so we try to make everything smooth as much as possible to scan all bags and all individuals entering the city hall like we do at the police station so the three um equipment will be for the front and the back of the city hall and the one at the police station will be replaced as well okay and then the one at the front of City Hall will that require any redesigning of the entryway from the parking lot yes so we had a contractor come here today well not the parking lot but the existing security boot will be redesigned okay U the parking lot will remain as it is but um the backage scanner itself will be placed at the central entrance of this central door so we have three doors there so the central door be used so it's going to take off the space of the present um security booth that we have so that boo will be redesigned okay thank you very much sir yeah that could be back on the consent agenda thank you thank you thank you counc uh councelor president yes I also have a question on that same one oh I'm sorry come back no sorry about that in relation to this I would like to know where the administration stances on having metal detectors as well not just a baggage search machine but to search the person directly I think it's going to be the combination of both so they're going to have the metal detector itself um that you walk through and then the back is the backy scanner is going to be there so it's this the com combination of both like you go to the police station you have to go through the the metal detector and you have to put your bag through the scanner itself so that's why we getting just the identical replica of what you see at the police station is the same thing that's going to be here it's both oh thank you I didn't realize they were dual machines yes all right thank you that's excellent all right thank you council president yes councilman Harrison U regarding that uh you can the previous years we used to have um metal detectors and the wand but that was years ago but but this is a one F wonderful idea and it's well needed nowadays thank you thank you thank you Council anyone else have questions for Mr W before we let him go back okay go now try to get thank you thank you um so we can leave that on consent right so we're good okay I just have a quick question I don't want it removed but it's for director Wilson um about 24250 I I love seeing it on here about the um psychologist screening provider for the for the people so this is is this new no this is actually uh something that we do every year okay went out for bid um and it's for is psychological testing for our candidates and for police officers who go out on stress to return return to duty okay so that was my piece of it right the part about the stress to return to duty because you know as we were discussing about mental health and about doing those check-ins and what is required when it comes to our um First Responders being out and being subjected to so much that we have something for them to make sure that they're okay this is exactly that excellent thank you yep okay anyone have any additional questions before we move to consent agenda okay Madame President prior to moving toward a consent agenda I understand there are some walk-on resolutions if you'd like me to read those titles or if you just want a motion to accept them so you can go ahead please and read the titles of the walk on just so we're all on the same page thank C uh certainly to the council walk-on resolutions recently receiv received by our office are resolution authorizing the appropriation of $375,000 from funds allocated to the city of Trenton under the American Rescue plan Act of 2021 for the purchase and repair of an auxiliary location for the TR Trenton Animal Shelter Council and oh sorry one moment I'm sorry uh the second one second resolution is resolution authorizing the acquisition of certain real estate property located at 3073 US Route 206 Columbus New Jersey at a cost of $350,000 for an auxiliary location for the Trenton Animal Shelter and third and final walk- on resolution is resolution accepting the lowest responsible bid and awarding contract to se Coast Construction Incorporated for improvements on South Warren Street and West Front Street for the city of Trenton by and through the Department of Housing and economic development for a period of one year from the notice to proceed and amount not to exceed 65995 n96 per bid 24-23 councilwoman I apologize I think you had a comment somebody had a question so before we move is it improper to have director Wilson director Richardson come up to explain to us about so director you come up and explain to us about the kennel purchase and exactly what's going on with this please thank you council president basically um as you know we we have been overcrowded at our present uh location for a couple of years now the city has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in alternate location out of state so this would allow us to start moving the animals that we have in Pennsylvania to this location if you um adopt this resolution um obviously decreasing the expenditures for the city of Trenton and uh the location is really close by it's right across the street from the veterinarian that we use uh to uh to bring the animals so that would be a really great opportunity for us to do that how will we staff this location we will staff the loc with the same um uh employees that we have at the present time we will have the some of the animals attend animal attendant and laborers to move there so they will be there doing regular work hours like yes regular work hours just like the ones here and if you could just tell us um the amount of savings when we currently use the uh kennel the location over in Pennsylvania how much are those bills running us o um it's about $80,000 a month $8,000 a month 80 80 $8,000 a month and we're going to be able to pay the 350 we will recover that money within four or five months right okay thank you councilwoman Gonzalez you just asked my question okay about the Staffing so we don't need additional Staffing no we don't Madame President yes Council vice president president director richardon um I know I've been speaking with um um lieutenant derer and they've been doing a great job with the animal shelter I just like if you could just give a brief recap of how great they've been doing how many dogs have been coming out versus coming in and what strides have been made with the animal shelter as of late well I don't have the numbers but I know that they have been probably and and I have to give a lot of credit to uh green to officer green she has been wonderful um moving the animals um she has been hosting several adoption events and she has been absolutely green so kudos to green and uh uh Emmanuel they have been great um uh in the last two or three weeks they were able to adopt out about 20 animals but then they Reed 17 animals in one day and 20 seven and another within probably the same 3 weeks period so they have been doing great adopting out but they identified a couple of Cruelty cases and uh yes we continue to be overcrowded so this would be great to kind of resolve that issue thank you director and I just wanted to add that they've been extremely responsive yes yes yes thank you at the July meeting I'd like to have um Lieutenant der laacer and um Miss green come and talk to us I will pass about about what's going on at the shelter from their perspective so Council can ask any questions um directly that they may have to them councilwoman Williams council president I'm sorry you want to do that in the July not with the August meeting with the health of with the Board of Health well here's the thing because of no I'd like to do it in July okay yes thank you because I want all the council members to be able to ask any questions that they would that they would have so we'll do them in July thank you so we'll go councilwoman Williams and then councilman Harrison thank you I just want to say first thank you council president because I appreciate having a chance to separate animal shelter from the health department I think it's important um so I just want to uh add I've been very impressed uh with the changes that have happened um and the improvements at the animal shelter I think Lieutenant derer is doing a great job her staff all are very highly motivated they're very U much enjoying what they're doing they seem to love what they're doing when I went out there for the adopt adoption event uh last month all I saw was a group of employees who want to do what's best for those dogs and try to find them good homes and forever homes so that was it was great to see any involvement with different sponsors and people donating food and so forth so I just wanted to say Bravo and congratulations and thank you but I also do have a question um so since these changes have have occurred and have been positive how has uh I guess reaction been or how has uh the number of animals that came from Suburban towns that were being left at our uh animal shelter has that increased or decreased since we've had a much more motivated staff and a much more thorough staff that has increased um we have seen animals that have been dropped in different parks and stuff like that that we know that they are not from Trenton and uh what we are doing we are contacting other municipalities and letting them know that we know uh they are also contacting some other municipalities are contacting our staff and trying to get our staff to go and work there which is fine because i' always have happen um but yes they we have seen an increase on animals coming from other towns do you have an idea percentage wise what I really don't I don't I would not like to Adventure with the number and then uh finally I know you went over the numbers a little bit roughly purchasing this facility in Border toown how much will that save our city each year this year probably half a million dollars half a million dollar alone okay yes thank you very much ma'am thank you Council uh director Richardson regarding the animals um is there like a I know like a wish list uh for donations yeah I mean do you have like a flyer like what you need CU like whether dog harnesses or dog bowls or whatever you need do you have a flyer so we can get it out the stff has a flyer with some things that they would like to to receive like a toys for the for the animals um and that sort of things we really don't ask people to donate money because every time that we receive money we need to come to city council um with a resolution to accept the money and so if people gives us $20 donation then I need to come to council for $20 donation for the animal shelter so but you know food for the animals um toys and that sort of things that's the kind of uh blankets because those things we spend them regularly and you know when when an animal gets used to a toy and the animal the dog or the cat they get adopted we want to give the new family uh their toys and that sort of things so that the animal don't don't suffer too much when they go to another location yeah cuz I I have donated the um dog bowls big dog bowls but um you guys are looking for I think it's large harnesses for the dogs but I'm trying to figure out which like which style or which I can get that list for you yeah hardnesses is the the dogs eat them right well I'm thinking because dogs are able more to control bigger dog so anything I can do to help and my colleagues are all doing the same thing they're always helping out I can give you the list EXA exactly so I appreciate your help thank you council president thank you Mr Garcia yes so move these on to consent agenda uh if you want a motion to move them on to consent agenda okay so [Music] um and yes I do understand I have to sign numbers to those right okay so so I'd like to have a motion to add the following to consent agenda or to have the following as consent agenda resolution numbers 24249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 the resolution authorizing the appropriation of $375,000 from the funds allocated to the city of Trenton under the American Rescue plan for of 2021 for the purchase and repair of an auxiliary location for the Trenton Animal Shelter the resolution authorizing the acquisition of certain real estate property located at 3073 US Route 206 Columbus New Jersey at a cost of $350,000 for an auxiliary location for the Trenton Animal Shelter and Mr Garcia if you could read that last one from H certainly uh just a note council president uh resolution two sorry that's 256 uh was just voted on by the council this evening I'm sorry so that will be taken off the remaining ones are on the docket with the exception of the three I just read I'll read the last one from H which is resolution we we've numbered that resolution 266 Okay resolution accepting I imagine these will be 267 and 268 the numbers were not sequential so I didn't Venture off to do that okay again I'll make sure that I assigned those numbers number 24266 resolution accepting the lowest responsible bid and awarding contract to cast Construction Incorporated for improvements on South Street and West Front Street for the city of Trenton by and through the Department of Housing and economic development for a period of one year from the notice to proceed and an amount not to exceed $659,900 Square Park so may I have a motion to approve all of the um resolutions noted for consent agenda so moved second roll call councilwoman Edwards yes vice president figuro kenberg yes councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison voted I'm sorry uh Mr councilwoman you're voting to add these to the consent agenda thank you okay yes that's a yes Council woman Williams yes and council president Feliciano yes motion carried they will be added they will be added to the consent agenda for your vote Thursday okay Madam president there's no other questions on resolutions at this time we can move to the ordinance for first reading are there any questions regarding the ordinance for first reading 24-42 yes I believe there are councilwoman Williams yes I'd like to um I know uh director Bridges and uh our other attorney uh Scott mitcho are not here to discuss this ordinance or it's Genesis and why it it came to us but if uh possible I'd like to ask director Wilson uh for his uh viewpoints on this cannabis ordinance uh would change because I've read through it I'm not seeing where people would be jailed um however I'd like to have an explanation I you know understand Mr walski and my some of my col Coles um perspectives on it but I'd like to try to find out from them what is the deal here uh thank you Council Steve Wilson Police director um first there's no incarceration um attached to this ordinance it would just be a fine and what you have to do is think of this as akin to the drinking in public ordinance not uh this tobacco smoking U statute from the state um and as far as responsible drinkers you drink at home or you're responsible when you're drinking out in a bar but you don't drink in public you don't drink while you're driving this ordinance is akin to that um because um although recreational marijuana is now legal it's still an intoxicant and that was the idea it wasn't related to um smoke and like smoke with cigarette smoke and tobac and um marijuana smoke um it's just that just so happens that this type of marijuana consumption is you know similar to to smoking a cigarette but the ordinance itself is akin to the drinking in public ordinance and so there there is no incarceration it'll only be a fine um attached to that um and uh I just going to say with the most of the community meetings I go to too um it has been brought up because folks are on the streets of traton and they driving and there's people smoking in their cars um and just think of you don't want nobody drinking in their car and it's the same thing because there are responsible marijuana smokers and a responsible marijuana smoker would would be smoking at home or inside a place that is legal to do so um and and then not smoking to the point where they're so intoxicated they can't drive home so uh that's that's where this ordinance is uh uh being brought forth before Council for approval um any questions council president coun councilwoman fris me so thank you director uh Wilson is there first of all what is there a limit on the number of fines that any one individual could receive that's my first question um I'm I'm not sure is um that would I think that would be based on what the the the fees and fines in our city ordinance are now um I think if it's uh equivalent to our drinking in public ordinance that that would increase um if you found in you know multiple times uh guilty of that ordinance violation so then that leads to my next um question with repeat offenders is there a different penalty other than the fines if they just I'll pay the fine and keep on and we keep catching them well if you don't pay a fine that probably generate a warrant for for arrest uh um for failure to pay um and in which case uh with the current bail reform probably wouldn't get locked up unless that uh fa to pay went over 500 $150 okay and so I appreciate you expounding upon that because I didn't in my mind automatically would find in cannabis I automatically think incarceration which is exactly what we're trying to get away from so thank you for the clarification on that um there was one other question and I didn't write it down so I can't think of it okay um but thank you appreciate your clarification council president yes councilwoman Edwards thank you I just wanted to touch on that note that um though this is intend uh intended to be fined as you said and alluded to it would lead to a warrant for your arrest if you fail to pay say a person cannot afford to um they will be issued a warrant then arrested then incarcerated or well you automatically don't get issued warrants normally the courts um would send you a second notice to pay your fine maybe even a third notice to pay your fine and basically you shouldn't be violating our city ordinances when you can't pay the fine so um they have to have some type of uh citizen responsibility here right so the the whole purpose of the decriminalization of cannabis and the legalization of medical and adult use is to get away from punitive punishments and punitive reactions and thus cannabis should be treated equally to tobacco products and I believe as well as millions of other across nation that it should follow the same circumstances that are permissible as a tobacco product I do understand the the point of view from an alcohol perspective and those laws exist for a reason but I do not equate and many do not equate experts do not equate cannabis to alcohol and they have entirely different effects on your body and on your behavior so I would air on a side of caution I would advise whomever drafted this to seek counsel from the attorneys to make sure that we're not superseding what the state laws are um and I wish I had the njsa statute to site in front of me for tobacco use but cannabis should be following the same use and furthermore I would recommend for the administration to seek counsel from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission on the state level to see what they have to say and what they would recommend as well before we introduce this back to our docket thank you okay so um this was drafted by the law office for the city of Trenton not by me um and also when there was Prohibition and prohibition became legal it was to take away uh the punishment but still you can't drive intoxicate it you can't drink out in public um so like like I said it's it's um if he wanted to enforce it this is just an opinion of and make it equivalent to tobacco products you can barely smoke tobacco anywhere except your home so it's you know it's that is in itself restrictive as well because you can't smoke um tobacco and public parks and this and that and and um what I wanted to comment before on a lot of the community meetings I go to there is um many complaints about um open marijuana smoking in the city and folks driving like I said before driving while they're and smoking while they're driving and uh [Music] so anything else that's basically I think where it is um it came from um so any other further questions thank you so I remembered my other question um so cannabis we are if someone is sitting on a private porch they're allowed to to smoke cannabis is that correct as opposed to standing on a corner at a corner store or whatever it is then that is prohibited I'm trying to get the clarification on that part yeah well I I think that's what this ordinance is all about if you're if you're on not um public property and you're on private property yes uh but if you can't stand on the corner and smoke away or walking down the street or driving it's like I said it's should be um um compared to the drinking in public statute so thank you for that and the other part of it is that this is a comment and that is comparing um what I've seen which has been scary folks actually doing using Bongs in the car and literally you can't see you they open up a window and whether they're windows are open or not there is a cloud of smoke which is dangerous and um so that is concerning so I appreciate this and yes we probably need to revamp it a little bit but that does need to be taken into consideration I have seen several cars that it has um concerned me greatly that you see folks they're in there and they're smoking some of it's marijuana then you've got especially when you've got two and three people sitting in the same car and they're all doing the exact same thing I it concerns me that the driver I can't imagine the impact that that has to be having on the driver even if they're that if they're not smoking they're still smoking right so they're inebriated whatever however you want to say that way but then also the bongs the bongs um is something that we would also I would love to see address that no one should be using a bong anywhere um in public especially in a behind a vehic um behind a steering wheel right thank you sir thank you council president thank you um so thank you so much for uh coming up to speak director so I've been at Community meetings you've been at my community meeting for the Northwest CPAC and you've heard constituents uh complain about this seeing people smoke with children in their car um not being able to walk through their own neighborhood uh not being able to sit in a park Etc so there is a balance out there between folks who want the freedom to smoke where they're you know they're at their home on their porch or walking anywhere else and there's the freedom of the people who don't want to smell it don't want to be affected by and so forth and that's what we're trying to find a balance I think so with this even the standpoint of and I support tabling it for the moment because we really do need to have director Bridges uh here at the meeting to explain the Genesis of this and how it if it does or does not violate State Statute and so on and so forth but to Mr uh wolski's objection and what this ordinance corrects is the idea of someone uh needing this for medical purposes so if some they were to be stopped for smoking and they did indeed needed it for medical purpose and was in a public space um do they prove that they um needed for medical by simply showing an ID card or how would that occur so they do not get arrested and put into incarceration well certainly um I I think that would be one way to do it but if you're talking about while in a motor vehicle now you're talking about driving while intoxicated or driving Under the Influence that's a totally different thing um because you can be uh drunk or high behind the wheel you still get a DWI or a DUI and that would include incarceration it's it's an arrestable offense for for driving while intoxicated um this is this is why you know this ordinance is important because um the fact that you know medical marijuana or marijuana was legalized it could still be abused just like alcohol was legalized and it can still be abused okay so as long as they had their state ID card and presented that at the same time or as long as they're not driving then they would be theoretically um legally to do what they were doing was as long as they're not driving intoxicated or showing signs of intoxication okay and so um to one of my colleagues uh I believe councilwoman frisbee brought it up earlier about the types of offenses I thought it was a good question it does say in the um in the ordinance itself any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250 for the first offense 500 for the second off offense and 1,000 for each subsequent offense so at what point say I I I do it three times and I do a four five and six theoretically that would be $4,000 plus the $500 plus $250 at what point does that turn into failure to pay where I would actually be incarcerated which I personally do not want to see happen well would when someone is uh given a a fine to pay there's a time limit on that so I that's um something that's done in court by a judge so I probably wouldn't be in a position to answer that okay so that's a legal judicial yeah okay um and and and I would also definitely recommend talking to West uh director bridges in furtherance of this if any legal part of this um as well all right thank you very much sir thank you ma'am director Wilson so I'm just trying to wrap my head around it and I know we going to ask Wes the questions and everything so I already got that so here's my questions okay so let me make a statement I don't smoke cannabis I've tried it before but it burnt my throat didn't do nothing for me I went to sleep it was over so how much medical marijuana how much medical marijuana is like needed for medical purposes like what has to happen like what has to happen to the person like they're in pain or whatever like are they smoking it to the point that they are almost intoxicated I know what I'm are you following what I'm trying to ask like how much do you have like are you smoking it enough to just be chill or are you smoking it to the point that you are like almost comos like how much is is too much or how much is enough or like how do you how do we let these people like drive around and be doing stuff like what is the like what is the acceptable consumption level that a person could even be moving around or walking or driving or anything I'm I'm not a medical doctor so I don't know but I do know that um some people have a higher tolerance for intoxicants some people have a lower intolerance for intoxicants for instance I'm a lightweight myself with alcohol so one or two beers I'm feeling kind of nice so I don't drink um but other people can drink a drink two six-packs and they walk a straight line down the hallway no problem so I you know based on my experience as law enforcement officer um that exists for any type of intoxicant um there are other prescription drugs and it says do not um drive or operate heavy equipment while dosing with those drugs and you know I know that uh uh cannabis is legal but it's still an intoxicant so I think that we have to gauge our decisions based on that and because that's a public safety issue so um and I'm not trying to take legal marijuana away from anybody I'm not trying to to uh um discount those who are have Med for medical reasons I know that there are cancer patients that take chemo and they have no appetite and cannabis gives them an appetite to eat to fight off their disease whatever they're you're handling I know that glaucoma patients uh THC relieves pressures in the eyes and you know there's legit medical reasons for it but um still U because you have medical marijuana card you still can't drive intoxicated it you know you still can't do that even though um you have a it's a medicinal purpose still can be like I said it still can be abused right okay I mean because I see it says don't smoke it on a school bus transportation private vehicle unless it's not in operation school grounds Correctional Facilities park recreational center I mean like basically smoke home basically it says just smoke it at home yeah that that's it and like you said a responsible Drinker will drink at home a responsible Drinker won't get intoxicated when outside the house um and you can't you can't walk down the street drinking in public unless there's a special event in the sealed off area that you know and you got to get special permit for that and I think you all know how that works I think I would be curious to know like if if that's prescribed to somebody like are there certain doses that are like even given like you you smoke like four a day or something every couple hours like I don't I don't even know how we would even like quantify this um so I'm just going to thank you I'm I'm I'm going to make a motion that we uh that we table this until uh the July meeting or we table this until we get answers um from from West Bridges our law director that are satisfactory to the council can I can I have a second second so moved thank you thank you sorry moved by the president second by second by councilwoman Williams I think ment thank you Williams uph hold the board councilwoman Edwards or is there any discussion any further discussion I believe this was pulled earlier I didn't know it was back on here either I don't think I didn't pull it I was saying that when it's time I'm going to ask that we pull it okay so yes thank you yes so motion to table roll call councilwoman Edwards yes yeah we're gonna table kinber till July meeting I'm sorry yes okay yeah we're goingon to table this until the July meeting that's what we're voting on okay thank you councilwoman frisbee yes councilwoman Gonzalez yes councilman Harrison yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Fano yes motion carried table ordinance is table till July meeting thank you we will advertise accordingly Madame President I believe that is all I have on the docket this time if you want to ask for a motion to adjourn yes we have a motion to adjourn so moved second I'm sorry one for the betray that was a motion by Figo kenberg second by Williams 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 carry meeting adjourned