e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e h we can do that again everybody ready we decide to just Cy and I will call you Le at some point tonight all good I apologize for that so one month put the bud notra they're not there's not a lot of good comp much better about see the right sleep that's a cool idea I'm probably gonna do one in the in the Del oh God yeah so so no you don't move push you ready yeah works out L good Sim Nation call the order the March 14 2024 vetner City Board of Commissioners meeting to please rise for the flag salute of the United States of America the it stands one nation under God jice roll call please Cindy commissioner Creo here commissioner menel here mayor langra here pursu to the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in accordance with the law the agenda has been posted in City Hall and the city's website www.bar city.org um we do have back our live streaming um there is a statement on our agenda if you want to read that I'm not going to read it into the record we read it the first time we placed it on there uh basically gives us control whether or not we have to keep this running if there's an interruption we will keep the meeting going and not uh we may not be on Zoom if there's an interruption so that's all that says so our first action so this is our Workshop we're going to actually introduce our budget in in this meeting as Leon Castello is here and it's got time of year that we do this so we're going to propose a resolution I need a motion for resolution 20 ex excuse me uh woman in the audience can hear we have a device and we can also speak into the mics better we'll try the mics okay I can do that that's closer sorry that is not there we go so we're going to look for a resolution pass resolution tonight 202 24- 080 introducing the 2024 Municipal budget can I get a motion for that please motion as described second roll call please commissioner creal yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes and Cindy you're going to read that into the record for us right sure yes Municipal budget of the city of veter city county of Atlantic for the fiscal year 2024 be it resolve that the following statements of revenues and Appropriations shall constitute the municipal budget for the year 202 be it further resolved that set budget be published in the Press of Atlantic City in the issue of March 21st 2024 the governing body body of the city of vetner city does hereby approve the following as the budget for the year 2024 okay so we need a motion to approve that introduction of the budget right yes it's a little different than how we do things other resolutions so we need to motion to approve y second roll call please commissioner creal yes yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes notice is hereby given that the budget and tax resolution was approved by the commissioners of the city of veter city county of Atlantic on March 14 2024 a hearing of the budget and the tax resolution will be held at the veter municipal building on April 11th 2024 at 5:30 p.m. at which time in place objections to set budget and tax resolution for the year 2024 may be presented by taxpayers or other interested persons okay thank you have any comments on this you want to put anything out there or the only thing is I gave you the whole budget which is everything that's in there and then one piece of paper that really tells you the story yeah that's all condensed into one spot you have a slight tax increase we're well within both caps we could spend more money and raise more taxes you want to yeah talking to them um the budget is a a slight tax increase two cents you could spend a lot more money and raise a l more money in taxes you're well within both the state uh capit laws you're sound financially uh you're in good hands with your CFO and on the 11th will field any questions anybody has about the budget but you're really in good shape um you're one of the lower increases this year next year one of the higher this year's one of the lower um I have two that are exactly three7 3 cents 71 3.71 two other nearby municipalities two other nearby municipalities yeah under that mean and you're under that yeah yeah yeah we're at two two1 two1 yeah yeah so it's all good uh there's no gimmicks in it's no one-timers it's uh right a clean budget and you off you go right right I have comment um this is a hearing it can help you hear yeah yes you can would that help there you go so got a little volume control it's like a single absolutely yeah yeah well why wait I just want thank him yeah yeah I was yeah do you want to go first um if I could yeah okay how's that can you hear us better now there you go oh that's great so what'll happen next is that on April 11th you'll have the public hearing we don't do anything with the budget other that you can talk about it but we won't do anything formally until April 11th at that time this budget is presented again for the public hearing then it can be amended for anything or legally allowed to be changed you can't change Debt Service can't change pension those things are cast in stone but things like somebody's salary and wage somebody's other expense you could change so that can't be done till after the public hearing on the 11th which somebody may make a motion to amend it to change something you don't know what you're going to find between now and then it might come in and we'd make that change and off we go you are state exam so they will look at this budget uh every two years two out of three years you don't this is the year that you are right okay okay I know this I mean last year we had a significant increase um a lot of health insurance Health costs and everything up last pensions were up last year we're able to work with less of our fund balance this year which was good we didn't we used some of it but not a lot right um to be able to keep that in intact if you could if you will um you know Leon I thank you for a lot of the work you did Amy the whole staff all the department heads you know going through the budget and and really trying to pair things down where we could there's increases everywhere and no one likes increase um funding but we needed to do that to make sure we're we're funded properly so I know Maria you wanted to yeah comments I I want to thank Leon first of all for working very closely with us and giving us a really good budget and working with Amy thank you Amy for all you did and meet with the department heads and and going through everything with a fine tooth comb we have the best Auditor in the state if not in the tri-state area if not in the country so you know it's great this is why we have you and and we listen to you and we take your advice and sometimes you take ours but for the most part we take yours and um thank you because I know we have the best guy at the table you've been doing this for I won't say how many years but 50 I could tell by the color of your hair and um thank you for for being a part of this and being with us thank you thank you very much yeah this is year 50 wow see I mean who else could we get with all this experience no one no no and that and I'll just add lastly is that is that we have them because and and other cities have you you know and that and it's partially and for me putting um putting a perspective onto all the numbers and giving us the opportunity to know which levers to pull when we have to pull them giving us scenarios those types of things is really really important I I think and I I appreciate that too I think it's a every it's but it's also the complexion of the whole city the city itself is growing the ratables booed us in a lot of ways and that's not always going to happen but it is this is the kind of thing where we have to kind of counter blessings in some ways every year and this year we've got those ratables that have been increasing year-over-year and we have the benefit of some interest rates increasing so that bued Us in some way so we you're careful to keep the money monies that we did have gaining interest so there it's a it's a lot of moving parts and I and and we're on a we're on we're on a winning side even though it is a slight increase compar comparatively speaking I think we're a competitive town without a doubt and you're going to see towns that traditionally have almost no increase or no increase or all increasing it's right the the the biggest issue is going to be controlling the state spending cap to be able to spend enough money that you need to spend and stay within the legal limit because as we're earning more interest you have more money to spend but you can only spend up to a certain dollar amount right so that's going to be the the trick going forward yeah no it's all right well I guess we'll learn more on the we'll talk more on the 11th about what how it all gets distributed a little bit and how what what the what the share of the dollar is that kind of thing the TA the actual taxpayer dollar yep thank you all right thanks Le thank you um I don't think you have to stay for anything else no I don't think so you got enough of these this month another town go to I was in a town last night from 7 to 910 wow listen to cannabis discussions Tuesday I was in Logan Township from 5:30 huh no s from 5:30 to 9:30 right almost 10 o'clock yeah yeah God right thank you see you soon y thank you I'll email The Bu picking up with the rest of our our work session Workshop meeting we have uh items next would be presentations I don't believe we have any tonight department head reports we're going to start bringing them back yep um probably sometime in um maybe May yeah I think it's a good idea think after the budget's done we'll have these guys come back in So department head reports coming up in in the springtime later in the spring um no Capital discussion at this time as well following items are scheduled for Action minutes we have no minutes to adopt we do have several ordinance uctions um we've got five it looks like the first is ordinance 202 24-4 St adopting green purchasing policy this is you're going to see a couple of these and a couple resolutions as well um what we're looking to do is assist our Green Team to move forward with their silver level of of accomplishments I guess it is um not only that it also helps our environment reduce waste um product efficiency efficiency across tasks and use of materials in the city um minimize environmental impacts U there's also an ordinance I don't think it's part of this but that I I do want to pursue and our neighbors to the South are doing something like this with um building materials where you have the ASAC materials nowadays where you have a lot of plastics that when you cut that it's not sawdust it's plastic um and we're going to put in place some requirements that when you are cutting that outside it's controlled that's not part of this ordinance but that's something that that I've talked to code about um and Margate has has started talking about it as well especially beachfront areas it goes gets into our water so um so that's the first ordinance that we'll introduce any questions on that one no yeah the second one is 202 24- 005 it's our salary ordinance um salary range sets offic sets ranges of officers and employees of the city repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances hereto adopted the provisions of which are inconsistent here with that's a mouthful I should have had Cindy read that one um these are the salaries in compensation for our our employees so I think we've individually met with Tom and and department heads and gone through all that so yearly every year we do this right um next ordinance is 2024 Des 006 and that is uh repealing ordinance 2018-25 an ordinance creating the ad the ad hoc committee for the city of ventner an ordinance 2018-31 an ordinance amending same also known as chapter 22 of the code of the city Venter entitled ad hoc committee um that was a committee we started to get community input right and Community ideas for different things uh we met constantly for about the first four and a half maybe even six years yeah up to six years of of our terms here our Administration not met in over 18 months we were trading off every other each of us would go to one and at the first first few months in year so it was active it was very active um covid hit and that kind of put the the pause on it and then to get the people to come back the comments that I kept getting when I would say hey guys let's meet again you're accessible right saying that to me from them saying that we're all accessible now there's not a real need for that committee they can just pick up the telephone and call us right so um we they haven't met in 18 months I'll say so I reached out to them again and it's like there's no real need for this so yeah we're gonna we're gonna end it if we see a need again we'll bring it back absolutely it was something that that started out Gang Busters and we got some good ideas um that that we've put into place where we could um and then it it just faded so yeah all right that's explanation of that always my favorite resolution of every year ordinance every year is 202 24-7 because I think a James Bond every time I read 007 right it's setting salaries and wages and compensation for members of the Venter City lifeguards and these are standard increases that that these guys got you want to chat about that a little bit Yeah Tom and I met with the be with the beach Patrol heads and he crafted actually uh uh spent some time a lot of back and forth to make the the salaries and wages competitive in a in a beginning there was there was a there was a there was a disconnect between what um guards that have been here a few years would be making what some starting guards in other towns would be making and that made us non-competitive for kids that would were eligible and it's a difficult hard to get difficult job not only to get guards I think there's a small pool these guys have to be in very good conditioning and and so now I think we've uh we were very careful Tom and and uh uh and and um um David Funk was were really um really crunch the numbers um so they should take the credit for bringing this into a line where we can be credit we can be on par with other competitive cities so is that fair to say Tom yes I think that's perfectly fair to say except that David deserves most of the credit for the work uh he he really dug deep gathered all of the data from our neighboring communities put together spreadsheets to show us where we were deficient or where we were lagging behind he made his case that's right or why we needed to do what this ordinance would do uh my role was to test him on it to make sure that we really uh had the numbers right but he did most of the work and I want him to get that that credit good good yeah thank you all for for doing that I I will recuse myself from the vote on that ordinance as my son right is a lifeguard yeah but um he's deployed right now so he won't be here this summer over the next couple but as our ordinance allows once he comes back and goes back on the beach they count these years so I'm going to recuse myself from from that ordinance so understood um we have one more ordinance any questions that Maria no okay one more ordinance uh to introduce and that's ordinance 202 24-8 ordance the city of ventner entitled vehicles and traffic specifically section 24-29 entitled schedule one no parking this deals with our street ends towards the boardwalk uh and Beach um there's kind of a halfhazard fire lane or no parking in some blocks not in others um when the streets were paved a lot of those markings went away right so what this does and and I thank um both commissioner creel Tom for going into this our city engineer both past and and present um and Chief fussner and his crew for actually going out and inventorying all what we had on these Street ends um and we've got a consistent ordinance now that will set a line I believe it's 75 feet back from that that uh Street end yes we'll paint a line we are going to keep the signs up on either side we're also going to paint a line there that says no parking here to the boardwalk or something like Beyond this point um and that should make it consistent for each of the street in the city um those areas are reserved for emergency access um for Beach and Boardwalk yes I would just add that we actually pick up two parking places yes this convers not in each block not on each block net net net two right so any questions on that Mar this a long time coming because it did take a lot of um fieldwork to get this really down down pat yeah and and I think just is going to speak to uh for me anyway despite the the the the lack of organization it's going to give people a similar cue that every time they go to the beach Block they'll know that this is not an area that they can park in it'll you know um and and it it'll organize it visually I think good thank you um we have no ordinance public hearings or adoptions tonight these are just introductions next on the agenda will be resolutions we're not adding any resolutions tonight just these are the correct ones right yes okay so we're going to adopt these by consent and they are resolutions 20248 through 091 the first being 081 and that is refunding of volleyball league fees to a Mark Martinez any questions there if you don't just interrupt me if if there's questions um resolution 082 is authorizing the transfer of 2023 appropriation reserves Amy we're all good with that this is something we do each year yep 083 is authorizing an amendment to the 2024 temporary budget again something we do every every year right before we pass our our current budget Tom you have anything on that no just so that everyone understands it in the public the temporary budget only covers the first quarter of the year and since the budget won't be adopted until into April we need to have a temporary budget extend to that that month so that we can continue to operate right and we do that in accordance with State statutes correct if if we able able to adopt the budget by the end of March you wouldn't need to do this right um next resolution 084 is again adopting Green Building practices for Civic commercial and residential buildings um moving that forward again trying to help with with our Green Team and in the environment following on that same theme resolution 085 is New Jersey uh state of New Jersey supporting anti-idling ordinances through the town or resolution through the town and that sets different areas where you don't leave Vehicles idling for for longer than a certain amount of time 086 adopting green grounds and maintenance policy this is going to affect our Public Works guys and using different materials and better materials to protect our environment 087 authorizing en closing of the boat ramp and authorizing no parking at ski Beach and waiver of fees on Friday April 19th from 3 P.M to 900 pm the vecc home and school Color Run fundraiser um I'm going to try and get to that I don't know if I'm going to run anywhere I'm going to try and get to that um it's an event I think it's kind of a new event I don't think well they've always had it they're opening it up more to me to the public now so it's always been at the school right so going to be more open to the public with I think is it's it's a the popular type of event it's in April so it shouldn't really affect the boat traffic too much but oh is that where they spray they throw like a powdered color and it sticks to your shirt the land that was fun I don't know what you were throwing at the landfill we don't know if think Rick you're GNA do it too RI you haven't seen his outfits yet okay where do you see the outfits that Rick comes in so um next resolution 088 is establishing salaries for 2024 and this follows up after our ordinance correct that they go hand inand yes the ordinance establishes ranges this sets the specific numbers that within those ranges gotcha and 089 authorizing refund for a tax overpayment 090 is wording a contract for right to no responsibilities and compliance with the Atlanta County Joint Insurance Fund to ja montgomry for an amount not to exceed $4,030 we're all good with that right and the last one is 091 contract for Winchester Avenue bulkhead project 20240 1 to Walters Marine construction the amount of 1,283 n16 and that is the Winchester Avenue bulkhead along at our Jackson Avenue border coming okay back into the city so so so from Jackson to I forget the name of the end of the street where it stops it it runs all the way to that first house that first the first turn I guess it would be okay might be Dudley I think it is Dudley yeah is this part Grand yes this is almost mostly Grant funded uh half a million of this is uh funds we received believe it or not from from um orad fund fund this and I think we got some of this also from um um D okay good good a lot of a lot of that money is Grant funded next we'll go through our bills and payroll um I don't see any discussion items on the agenda so no discussion at this point we'll open up to the public for comment on what we've talked about so far this evening if you have something to talk about that's not on the agenda we will have a second public hearing public comment period for that so we'll have that um later in the meeting but to now tonight for now we'll just do what we have we've spoken about so far so if anybody here wants to speak about anything on the agenda please step forward and state your name come on up ladies you're G to tag team right moral support Ain so I'm Aon McD and I'm part of the Venter home in school and we're here for the Venter um the color on we just wanted to so thank you so much it's going to be so much fun we usually have it at the school but this year we thought let's do something a little different have the community and you know potentially other communities and just more people so it all fundraises for the for the school for the kids great great hi my name is Jennifer lagner I'm with Aaron I'm also on the board and I just wanted to say thank you and I hope to see you there that fun I'm going to try and make that that'll be fun fun yeah okay thank you so much thanks ladies thanks for coming out yeah so as a as a community event we wave fees for that yes absolutely I don't know if I'm asking the right question now talking about the parking signs that that were put up you can pull that down to you Tom can you maybe so if it was something we talked about we talked about parking on street ends Street ends and and everything um I got two tickets within the past two weeks and I park there all the time where I go and um actually I thought one of the areas was Margate I'm not of course from G Gus right of course from the doctor's end uh I got a ticket there last week sorry ma'am I got one probably the week before on the street um next to wa hold one second what was your name again I'm sorry we didn't get your name we have we have to get your name and address what was my name and address Mar and and your address Shire Drive ventner okay thank you sorry was that an issue that I should have talked about now or no or is it next it's probably at the end end of the meeting because it's not about the then I'll wait okay great I'll wait all right thank you all right open up to the public on Zoom Jim anybody on Zoom wish to speak or question any of the items that are being voted upon or have been discussed please raise your hand within Zoom Zoom or in the chat function and I will unmute you no seeing none we'll close the public portion for both zoom and in the in the uh courtroom commission chamber excuse me I'll need a motion to close the public P public workshop and open the regular meeting motion to close the public workshop and open the public meeting second all in favor I I all right we'll call to order our regular meeting of the Venter City Board of Commissioners we have no minutes to approve we'll cover them in our next meeting first item is an ordinance introduction ordinance 202 24-4 is the green purchasing policy ordinance you a motion please motion to introduce ordinance 202 24-4 second roll call please commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes all right next item is introduction of ordinance 20245 it is the 2023 salary compensation and salary ranges bosters and employees ordinance motion to introduce ordinance 2024 d005 as described second roll call please commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes third ordinance introduction is 006 2024 -006 and that is the ordinance that will uh rep appeal the ad hoc committee need a motion please motion to introduce ordinance 20246 as described second roll call please commissioner kbo yes commissioner Mento yes may langra yes and then we have ordinance 20 introduction of ordinance 202 24-7 salary and wages and compensation for members of the Venter City Life guards roll or motion please motion to introduce ordinance 202 24-7 second roll call please commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra abstain okay and then we have ordinance 2024 d008 uh this is the vehicles and traffic specifically section 214- 29 entitled schedule one no parking you a motion to introduce that ordinance please motion to introduce ordinance as described second roll call commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes langra yes okay we have no public hearings on any ordinances no ordinances adoptions we need a motion to adopt resolutions 20248 through 091 by consent motion to adopt ordinances by consent or ordinance 0081 by by 091 second roll call please commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes okay anyy have our bills and payroll please payrolls for this period 59300 8861 payables for this period $773 31871 okay need a motion to approve bills and payroll as stated by our CFO motion to approve bills and payroll as I second um but I am also recusing myself from 131 digital media and 481 recycling thank you Maria roll call please commissioner Creo yes commissioner Mento yes mayor langra yes okay we have any announcements in our safety report if needed I don't believe so commissioner comments and reports um go with Maria again okay I have some news um the voting location for district three has changed from the school to um the community center Thank you Lisa for working that through with the county so that's uh it's better for the school we're not you know um impinging on their day and having to deal with security for the children and all that so um those of us that go to the library to vote will now be going to the community center which is behind I'm sorry those that go to the school now to vote will now be going to the community center which is behind our library um I also like to congratulate I say Q she got her U Municipal Finance officers license which as I said before when Amy um passed her exam this is a big deal this is someone who went through eight or nine classes and I know because I did it 30 years a 30 years ago and uh then you sit for a pretty fairly long exam takes most of the day it used to be two parts I don't know if it still is two parts yeah it's accounting and it's legal and um so we have another professional in the finance office that is certified and um which is great for us you know good it's really good for us and um tax assessor is really busy still busy um with a new construction uh Deeds processing them and that's a good thing and you know as he notes also that the values have risen significantly since 2020 and our tax collection office is doing what they do every day still working hard and um we know Amy's been working real hard with the budget and she told me today we got a grant which I think this is more Tims area but we got a grant for 50,000 for recreation uh for suck Avenue Recreation Complex so that's good news too oh wow that's all I got okay Mr Kel great great news on the grant um I have two things to start out with I met today with um two representatives from the uh from ruers Jac custo National um uh research Reserve in tuckeron they're um they've been um referred to me for the to be a partner in the Ecco park with uh training and grant writing things of that nature they're very excited about the possible opportunities at that that that resource that we can have they're happy to be in on the ground floor and sort of the planning stages of it and um so that was a um a good connection made um and um going forward they're going to be part of the the team as we get into the design phase of it as well because they have a training aspect with public they have some educational programs already online that they can bring to us so they're already talking about some potential um uh um programs that we could include there and then um I do have a minute to speak about a change in plans with the um a Bandshell so we received um received our our timing for that and we met yesterday we received our timing for the bid process and we we met yesterday with the with public works and um special events um to discuss the time frame and based on a lot not just a public outcry that was it was it was kind of um kind of heartening to see how many people really really love that concert series um you know I was maybe being more practical knowing that construction can be unpredictable um I was hedging my bets to get it done for next season and it it it it kind of Beed out in a way that um uh I'll be posting the the the actual construction schedule but the bid requirements the authorized bidding the advertising for bidding the pre-bid meetings the bid opening and potentially the notice of a word wouldn't wouldn't be online until the end of May so for that reason and um and just from a practicality standpoint we're going to be pushing the the construction to the beginning of September so right after um the Labor Day holiday we'll be starting construction um as yet to be determined contractor but um it will dovetail with us tearing down or relocating the the the beach tent that is on the city side of the Dunes will at the same time with the help of Public Works will tear down the existing gazebo and prepare that site for a temporary stage so that we can have the concerts on Newport Avenue on a Saturday schedule as we always have in a and um and I think the um the there's only one exception um that uh that and I have to thank Donna for the extra work she's done on the working and reworking of that schedule but the uh Donna Peterson in special events um is doing a great job with that reworking um we'll have the new vendors in a new location we'll have the stage in that location um with one exception Memorial Day weekend because there's so much activity that weekend you've got the beginning of the Farmers Market on that Friday Saturday is signups for the Kenny whan run which usually occupies a great deal of that parking lot so to have the concert that night so we're going to continue to have the already scheduled uh Memorial Day celebration out at ski Beach It's a larger venue can be as large a party as we like and then that that s Sunday is the Kenny whan run and of course Memorial Day is Monday so um that's the schedule at this point and I think it um I think it makes sense I think it makes a lot more sense we continue we do have a relocated sort of reconfigured that area so that the um so that the homes and the parking can be um can be open and that the the main activities of vendors and food trucks and is behind the the library and and that's going to work better for the library and for I think the community in general so I think it was uh was a wasn't a straight line but we got there agreed agreed it was I think it's a good call to push it mainly because the construction everything got delayed through the state permitting process 11 months our cfra permit is what took a long time to get through um had we had that in September we would have built this thing over the winter that was the plan sure we didn't get that permit until I think January so yeah and and and no you're 100% right and as it is with permit submitt uh utilities shutting off contractor mobilizing right in the beginning of September we're still looking at January February and finish January February yeah finish so so that puts us in a window that gives us a buffer gives us a bit of a buffer so yeah well we would all love to have had this done for this summer it's just not going to happen and and we're yeah I think it's a good call and and look there was a lot of public outcry for it and that's what we like to see like to see people getting involved let us know and we're not really we never wanted to cancel them we're really quite frankly we're doubling down and reinvesting in that space so that we can have bigger in them that headline was wrong we were moving them we weren't canceling them there a lot of moving Parts with this I don't think people realize that yeah and some things you have to start early you know lining up your vendors and entertainers and so it's but great job yeah great job and Tim on on the park I just have to say this is gonna happen I think it will it's gonna happen and and you know you've been working at it you know just chipping behind your door chipping away at it and uh the interest you're getting from other it's not ASAC you're chipping away that's the I better get the interest we're having that you're getting for this is like amazing and exciting yeah yeah yeah it it really is I think there there's more to come and I think with everybody that's on board the more you talk to people about it the more exciting it gets I think we're gonna you mentioned acit we could get them involved in yeah students are their their instructor Drew who's worked with these guys to doing this pocket park design when I told him about it his eyes lit up he's a landscape architect he's like loving this so right in yeah and we want to we want to see those kind of Blue Sky ideas from the design standpoint that I come from this is really kind of my wheelhouse I'd like that design process the be the to allow that sort of that brainstorming phase to and and kids like the acit kids and maybe even some schools uh that was one of the things brought up today there's a department at ruggers that does this sort of thing as well to open that up to ruggers to do a conceptual plan before we start to allow you know bring in professionals and and to let them make presentations I did that in college to Major manufacturers and it was and sometimes um sometimes Youth and inexperience is in your favor and you can come up with ideas you never yeah you know that that professionals didn't know that it yeah okay just a couple things on my end um at our last meeting we couldn't talk about it but later that night we found out we could talk about it um 15 minutes right it crazy I I I did announce it at nuckies that night um pretty exciting news so veter city was awarded $ 7.12 million of the state's Boardwalk funding Grant there was $100 million out there um they spread it around quite a few municipalities ventner was at the top of that list for the smaller towns um we got as I said just over s million doar to reconstruct portions of our Boardwalk this won't just be decking this will be Reconstruction from pilings on up wow um so we we will we've started that process um it's a quick quick turnaround you have to spend these dollars by December of 2026 right so we are in the process our our city engineer along with Jim Rell our grant coordinator is in touch with the the state I've been on those calls already Zoom calls with them they are really getting us turned around we I think we've already submitted back some documents to them Tom would know better than me Yeah we actually did but we actually I guess got ahead of ourselves because they had sent us a draft agreement we were okay with it so we signed it and sent it back and they said this was just a draft okay if you're okay with it we'll send you the real thing and and just to for clarification purposes everybody can see in the front page that ltic City already started theirs that's not this money they received $6 million from DCA last year to do Boardwalk reconstruction so that's that money being used Atlantic City got 20 million Asbury Park got 20 million um some of the towns down south North Wildwood and things they got four and five million do chunks well we were right up there we were I think top seven of the state they got the most money so um I was I will be very honest and I've told you guys all this I didn't think we're getting anything right so you know I was thrilled when we got that phone call and and and I will say this and I told the governor's office this um he the governor he like I'm friends um the governor called me personally that's a cool phone call get and he he picks I pick up the phone hello Lance hey Governor or no he said uh Lance Phil Murphy like Governor Phil Murphy like yeah how you doing I said I'm doing really good how are you doing just wanted to personally call you and tell you you got this much money and I like best phone call I ever got so it it was a really fun good good phone call to get so uh well I just want to dwell on this a minute because I don't want to underplay this is a lot of money and it's also it's also has a direct relationship on funds that we would have spent to repair them if needed I mean the underpinnings of the boardwalk is are aging um the piling we've done some of this on our own it's about to to replace about a a 30 foot section just the underpinnings it's about 15 to 20,000 right just to and that's to put the same boards back on but new pilings or do piling caps yeah um we've done that at several locations over the past four or five years it's expensive yeah the dunes themselves while the dunes protect that Boardwalk also age it right because the circulation of air doesn't get underneath it so that's a lot of what's happening the pilings are starting to rot they've been in the ground for 60 years right yeah 60 yeah plus years so and and it is a lot last thing I'll mention is even though this is a specific grant that was only available for Ward wall or that sort of thing we responded quickly to your Department's credit I mean they it was it was a quick turnaround from real from the application process it was it was not like a normal Grant J Jim Rell and Ed Stinson our previous engineer did a great job getting this in and and a comment from the governor not from his staff from the governor the application was exemplary right and that's why we were at the top of the list and got the money we got so kudos to those guys um we'll keep that project moving can I add something at this point before you Mo on um one of the things I'd like you to think about uh over the course of the next month or so uh we need to appropriate those monies before we can spend them right and we've had some very preliminary discussions internally and I talked to Leon about it just this evening uh and I would like to suggest that you consider that we include those funds in a bond ordinance and do the bond ordinance for the full amount that we were originally planning on doing that that as you know that's not a commitment or an obligation to spend it we would include we would include the 7 million as par as funding that ordinance but then you have the appropriation for the rest in the event that you want to go forward with any portion of it it may turn out that we get good bids when you go out to bid and we are able to extend it beyond what we originally thought just just something for you to think about that we may want to do the ordinance for the full amount which I think was 24 million 25 million 25 million yeah you're going to have to do it at some point or in the event we get additional funding it's already there in the or yeah I I think they made it clear that there's not likely to be another R fund like this um but I I guess if some of the towns don't use their money or fail to meet the deadlines maybe it goes back into the pot to be redistributed I'm not sure I don't want to or another it's in the ordinance already we wouldn't have to do it again right okay I like the sound of that yep I do too um couple other things real quick um I will not be at our next meeting so I wna I want to say this tonight um Jimmy Agnes is retiring at the end of end of March he's been our construction code official here for going on 25 26 years something like that um quite a long time so he's retiring April 1 uh we're moving to moving people around in that department to to step up we're also be bringing on an an zoning officer to cover that part of part of Jimmy's role he's been Exemplar in that in that spot and a really good construction code official he not only handles our inspections and code office he works with Mar or Longport as well um and helps out down there not helps out but as as part of their code enforcement um and Construction office so um will be a big loss for our department department head um big shoes to fill for for Dino cavaler when he steps into that that role um I'm not going to get into pick ball courts that's an issue we're it's still ongoing I know that's been a a comment out out in the public with with the condition of them we are going to look to doing some temporary repairs um and for this summer um the previous contractor out there didn't do a great job on repairing and we're going to get someone else in there to do what needs to be done now we don't want to shut basically we need to take the courts up and rebuild them right um we're not going to do that now because we would lose the summer right or the early summer doing that so we're going to get through this summer with some repairs and then come up with a project to resurface those and the basketball court okay I guess I would just ask that we get a meeting together with the pickle ball Association they've been I've been we've been we've been in contact you've been contact okay good y they've been contacting me um we are also moving forward with getting the clock replaced on the library Clock Tower yay um yeah yay what do you hear how much that's going to be not much the chickon tick what did I say the other day what was it it was it's 12 Grand so it's a little bit of money we just talked about spending 20 million come on it's not a digital clock come on but yeah so may we should make it it is an atomic clock the right so you don't have to get up there and change it when daylight savings or anything I'm hoping so I'm not getting up there and Chang the clock so um so that is moving forward we we it did take quite a while to find a contractor to do it and then that contractor had some issues getting here to look at it and then they finally got us a price back so that'll be moving forward in in the next few months so hopefully we get that clock working it's always been right at least twice a day so right gonna move forward well actually actually it hasn't no it hasn't we talked about that remember you guys thought that it was like dead right and I kept passing and think that's not same time it was ear this morning he said so I kept watching it for a few days I said it's not dead doesn't keep the correct time but the hands do move so I think someone climbing up there you thought the wind was blowing and not happening Rick you were doing that you were climbing up there weren't you so if it you're talking about that's one of them it's a brok if it were dead it would have been right twice a day but it wasn't it's never been right never been right all right so enough of that yes now we'll go to public com I'm sorry I want to add one more thing to your your comments about Jimmy and uh just to add my thanks to him he's been a delight to work with he's a very smart guy he really knows uh the business not only the construction stuff but the zoning uh so you know we've been well served you know it better than I but I wanted to just add my two cents worth on that uh but also I wanted to mention that at the next meeting and mayor I know that you're not going to be here I expect to have a new agreement with Longport relative to that shared service agreement I'll get it to you I've sent them a draft we're looking to renegotiate and revise that shared service that we provide to Longport um at terms more favorable to us and in fact with an eye towards it terminating uh in several months so in the in the interim while they are making arrangements for uh to handle that service themselves or through third party or whatever they're going to do uh we will continue to provide the service but I said at terms that are more in our favor okay good you know speaking of you know how you hero It's a Small World well when Jimmy was a young boy which was before I was born my uncle who's probably been passed now dead for 50 years used to cut his hair he was a barber and like because where they were from my mother's side of the family was from that area and yeah it was It's a Small World the first time I met Jimmy you know he talks loud and I'm like are you yelling at me or you you just talk loud and he says I just talk loud I'm like okay conversation is he yelling at me is he yelling at me oh all right good um last thing to do is our public comment ma'am I think this is the time we're going to open the public to anything you want to talk about so please step forward and ask your question my name is Laray Morano I live at 452 birkshire Drive I live here all year around I live alone in the house now uh I realize that we are live in a sure community and people do rent but uh recently I don't know if uh the next door neighbors are zoned for our bnbs because every weekend in the summer there's new people there I don't know how they're vetted if you know I mean I could see if even if somebody was there a whole summer or or couple weeks at a time but when you have new people living next door to you every weekend it it's it's kind of scary a little bit because you don't know who they are and uh I am a widow and I don't know if that if that's allowed the rbnb so the so short-term reyolds is the generic term for Airbnb vrb RB whatever yeah so they are permitted in residential zones um what we do have we have a mercanti license process that they have to file for through our Construction office and through our clerk's office they have to provide details on how many bedrooms there are um because that limits how it determines the number of nights they're allowed to rent to short-term rental tenants um so there is a process for that what I would do what um if before you leave could you give us the address of the location I think it's 454 I'm not sure we we have it so what we'll do is we'll check and make sure that they have the proper permitting okay if they don't they will be advised for like just Saturday and Sunday it I mean or Friday and Saturday or allowed to rent like for two days that that's what short-term rentals are yes so there there is an ordinance that that addresses that and and we do have that on the books and they are required to get inspections and permits and things of that nature I know they clean the house and I I I realize that but it's just a little scary not knowing who's coming in next door to you every weekend that that's that's the problem I have you know and my neighbor on the other side she rent it for the whole summer and I have no problem with that because I see the people and I know the people but it's when people come in new people come in every weekend I mean in the beginning of the summer they had kids there and they you know but she don't rent the kids anymore but the there was a problem I understand but I wasn't in that weekend I wasn't here that weekend so what I will suggest if if you if they do things that are inappropriate too noisy know parking in in the wrong places or things like that please call our Police Department our code office yeah we have a not emergency line for for PD you can call them at any time yeah and Report any issues you see um if it's trash laying around or anything if the property is not kept appropriately those are all requirements that they have to meet in order to get that meranti license okay so if it's if there's and how are they how are they vetted how are these people you know how do I know who they are like so so we don't vet the tenants that's up to the owner of the property to do that what we do is we talk to the owners of the property and they have they're the ones who have to get the permits we inspect the site make sure it's the right number of bedrooms for the number of nights that they're allowed to rent they're not allowed to do one night rentals we we've eliminated that most part because that tends to be a party house um weekend rentals it's a way certainly in the offseason for people to come here and and stay here and go to whether it's cheerleading or basketball tournaments in Atlantic City um it it keeps our and we had a lot of hearings on this I don't know if you were here for any of those no over the last three years I'll say we've had probably six public hearings on short-term rentals while we were writing the ordinances um and a lot of it came from our business community that keeps them alive in the wintertime in the offseason these people coming in on the weekends in you know January February March and in this fall as well keeps our businesses open and helps them make it through to the next summer season um summer season's not really a problem but in the offseason it tends to be for our businesses so that's something that we're we tried to weigh with allowing the the short-term rentals okay and and another problem um you have to people have to I don't know if you could put out anything that I walk on the boardwalk every morning and people walk their dogs and some people do not pick up their dogs after their dogs that's another problem I agree with you yeah even on the beach and even and I walk on the beach in the summer and I see them and they just I I realize you have somebody to come over and clean it but I think people should act put signs up or I don't know you could do but they do not pick up after their dogs a lot of people I I'll take that if it's okay we we have specifically raise the number of seasonal officers that we hire so we're looking for we were looking we it's a hard to find them but we're always looking for at least eight and that's one of their main tasks is to patrol the boardwalk and and I've seen them and K in fact one of them our most active ones is now going to be a full-time officer and he would he would he would he would tra chase down the people with with dogs no matter which direction they were coming the problem is we're right in that shoulder season where it's nice enough for people to walk their dogs and I I agree with you I i' I've I've had some pretty bad incidents behind dogs I mean I I walk bare footed on the beach you know I don't want to stop myself from jumping in and telling them but um but all but it's a it's the more people that do it in the summer the more we're going to give out um warnings and and citations okay Tim can't we establish like a really Hefty fine we did we did we did we passed regulations last year with regard to yeah having dogs on the beach when they're not appropriate off leash on the beach we raised it to 5 dogs on the boardwalk it's a 5 how about like leaving your stuff you can't even have the dog there yeah okay that's the thing we rais fine bicycles they shouldn't be on the side streets where they have small streets where there's double parking and you're behind them and they won't move over that that's another problem that's a public right away you can't prohibit bicycles on any streets in the city you can't not not on the cross streets no you can't prohibit bicycles on any Street on any Street well there were one there I know we cannot prohibit that you can't prohibit but can't they move over I mean if you're you're behind them trying to control people's actions there's no way you're gonna be able to do that yeah look we've been kindness is kindness is is not as that Court when you get the finger yeah that's right that's I wish we could yeah but common courtesy has has kind of Gone by the wayside in our in our society yeah and it's a shame it really is um and they write three breast on on veter Avenue instead of single file you see in the summer you see them three of breast so now that should be illegal so yeah it's part of the part of the the the the negative side of this we triple in size we go from 10,000 to 30,000 and those parking places that you're looking for I know nobody you know it's it's unfortunate you know fortunately we go to the beach but we're also not Egg Harbor Township yeah like the mayor said it's it's a it's a it's something you can't you can't really you can't really you can't really find people for being un kind I wish we could all right or arrest him all right I said my peace thank you for coming out I appreciate L I'm not going to keep you long I love ventner but they do have to have a little bit of changes and in retrospect to what she just said about that parking going down the street I always turn around and say you're you're driving down the street somebody's talking to the partner on the side they swing the door open you take off the the door or or or you hit somebody and whose fault is it the one that was parked and swung the door open on somebody coming down the street that always scares me yeah Narrow Street I ride a lot on on the streets and and that's something it's called Ding or something like that D yeah that's something you got to watch out for that's terrifying yes well that always worries me now the parking I still have a problem with and um I think I'm I live here 30 years I love ventner so I think that to the residents that live here all year round when they're changing the street like that I think um something paperwork should go out you know little thing saying well we're changing I I went to the Wawa and I parked in front of that bicycle shop all the time I went there two weeks ago and I come out and I got a parking ticket and I said I I don't know why when people you might have a sign out but when people are turning the corner they're not looking at a little sign this big that's saying you know you can't park on this side of the street now I know it now because I live down here but a lot of people don't know that so I got changed on that Street in quite a while that that no parking that loading zone that's there right in were you on the side street there in I was I went to the side street yeah because I I I had a problem with going inside the the lot there right so I uh all the time that no parking area has not changed in in the on Little Rock on Little Rock our Administration I don't think we've changed anything on that no well I I parked uh probably three weeks ago and right in front of that bicycle and I always parked there never got a ticket I came out I got a ticket no one saw you parking there because you can't park there it's always been a no parking area wow but there's always people parked there that's why I park there usually there's people that are dropping off like their bikes for repairs that's what it's designed it's the loading zone for the the bike shop so it may have been on the bike shop side of of that of the street I was on the bike side usually I parked the other side but but nobody was there and I figured well everybody you know a couple people told me that they weren't giving out tickets because it was winter time so so that's that's that's the meter so and that will change that's something we should have talked about actually so our meters are free this year from Thanksgiving until April 1 yeah um we we do shut them down in the winter I think that's a practice I think we're going to probably keep for for the for coming future perable future um but that doesn't mean you can park where there's no parking for free not even for free you can't park there at any time and some of the streets you go down because when I first moved down here some of the streets the trees cover those signs and they're not cut so you don't know that it's not you know it's a parking right we we have increased our our work with Public Works in making those signs more legible whether whether it's trees or replacing those signs we've done a lot of that and that's actually changed more recently with Mr Santoro's uh jumping in here at our Public Works superintend so we have a program now that is tree trimming and new signs that are more legible to help that that situation also um with Lorraine I live down the street from Lorraine and um with the Airbnb people coming in and out I did find out one time there were about 18 kids running a house and and that's part of the restrictions we put on it um I found that out two two years ago if there's a there's a capacity load and what happens with that is that the people that live on the street like let's say you bring your family down and you're there for the weekend or you're there for a week okay so the people that live there when their family comes down there there's no place to park because all these kids are coming in we understand that and that's part of the reason we put restrictions on homes that are used being used for short-term rentals that there's an occupancy load for that home it's basically number of bedrooms our guys go in they measure those bedrooms they say all right you can fit two people in this bedroom and then that's the occupancy load based on how many bedrooms there are in that dwelling and that's what sets it yeah um so so that's what our rules are set to do if they're in violation of that they can be fined if they break that rule enough their Merk license can be taken away and they're no longer permitted to rent okay another thing that upsets me is the fact that those people that do the renting they they the people don't put the trash cans out and when they finally put them out those trash can sit out front of our street a week week and a half or something nobody moves them and not you can you can call code and they will issue a violation if if those violations continue that's what I'm I'm trying to say okay if there's viol at that location because it's a short-term rental please call either call the police department or call the code office and they will write a violation for that if there's enough violations that that these guys aren't acting appropriately and they're disturbing the neighborhood we can pull their merti license and they will lose the privilege and it is a privilege to to rent that house as a short-term rental okay please if you see something like that you you too Lor I forgot your Morano sorry if you see these things Ione want to be familiar and call you by your first name so I'm look for Carolyn Carolyn Merritt thank you so please call because that that goes against them when they try to get that meran license renewed okay if you appreciate that listen I really need hearing aids thank you for this you're welcome there you go and it was a pleasure to come here tonight good glad you guys came out we don't get a lot of people so it's nice to have listen I believe I met uh Myra that right yeah you I I met you Patty is a delight oh I'm Maria I'm Maria I thought you were saying you met a friend of mine named Myra but I'm Maria yes you came in the office right I did you did and Patty yes yeah and Patty was wonderful uh uh the one that takes the taxes um Margaret who Margaret Margaret yeah I tell her the only time I see you is when you're taking money from me I don't see around the neighborhood so every everybody in here is a delight and I want you to know it I love ventner good I try to push people yeah from my family to get a place although the the I see the we're getting T we're getting bigger tow houses like morgate but I'd like to go to one of them but that has like a two million dollar home on that price tag so Margaret will hear your compliment because her husband is running our Zoom meeting right now he's our I director so I'm sure he'll go home and tell her ah but thank you ladies for coming out tonight we really appreciate it it's nice to get feedback listen thank you so much it's nice to see you again yeah it was a joy to be here nice to see you again thank you thank you and have a nice night okay anyone on Zoom Jim that wants to comment anybody on Zoom who wishes to comment or speak on any item please raise your hand and I will un you no all right with that I'll ask for a motion to uh adjourn the meeting motion to adjourn second all in favor I good so long thanks everyone thanks Jim