evening uh i' like to call to order V City Commission meeting July 25th 2024 uh with the flag thank you Cindy roll call please Commission here commissioner Mano here mayor K here uh GRE pursuant to the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been provided the agenda has been posted in City Hall and on the website www.better city.org we also have a uh meeting announcement for live streaming remote comment disclosure the City ventner offers live streaming in the option of public comment via remote access public who participate remotely will be muted during the commission meeting except during the public comment portions of the meeting any person attempting to disrupt the meeting may be denied access at the discretion of the city in the event remote access is unavailable due to techn malfunction or other reasons beyond the city's control the city will not pause or stop the live meeting City commission meetings are held in person and the public is welcome to attend the best way to ensure your individual's ability to publicly comment is to attend in person so that the comments May be made in the event of a technological malfunction the city reserves right to discontinue offering public comment via remote access at the discretion of any future meeting so that's just because we have had technical problems and sometimes um uh people attempt to uh disrupt the meetings um okay so any we have uh no presentations this evening we have no department head uh reports and we have no capital discussions scheduled for this meeting so this is um our Workshop portion we'll go through the following items and we will take action during the regular portion the meeting when we call that to order um we will have uh approval of minutes from April 11th April 25th May 23rd July 11th regular meetings will'll be breaking out June 13th meetings and vote on them separately so that uh because commissioner Mento was absent at that meeting correct one um item 10 uh we'll be introducing one ordinance this evening um this is an ordinance amending chapter 38 uh the creation of a position in our Police Department of chaplain within the vendor City Police Department so if there's any questions on that um is that paid no no no it's not without pay and without ranks without paying without this is something that the police department has asked for it's a it's a it's a way uh outside of the normal um uh RS for them to to have a discussion with somebody uh during emergency he can be available at any time it's non- denominational but it's a it's something that the state police and other departments use as a secondary line of discussion for police officers that may need that type of console good I like it um and we met him personally and discussed uh his roles was very I think it's a I think it's a good good asset who who is is a first name L Gala he was the pastor at the church at Noor and Avenue quite some time 13 oh yeah he's out the Church of Gallow by the pay it's the old State Police building called there he is the chap for Township Northfield crl Department State Police well he's busy just I think today's with the resiliency and the wellbeing of police officers and just another it's notun does he do one-on-one like counseling if somebody feels they need to talk to someone that's exactly what it is and it's not just really like police ended like we had the incident out Avenue I know we have some issues now you know people deal with Fire EMS victims families he just I just talked to him last week he was at nor had to do a very very tough death notification for family northv Chief just felt that you know he around he so is this something fire and lifeguards would could utilize all situ Prince you know I was first ones there I looked at some of the incidents I was involved in I had that initial support and somebody that has that experience and training to kind of sounding and to talk with instead of going to like a formal debriefing mandated by my department like three days later it's very confidential I can share the policy that we're working on in interally with the and the three a kind that who's in De as what the role really is and yeah you know how I think it's a great resource not only for PD but for all of our all the guys are they're serving in that line that front line they need somebody to talk to yeah very informal kind of first thing he's very responsive that he's around he answered call you know obviously come directly from me so I would have to initiate it it would have to come through me and then I would call in and say hey can you beat me or can you go to the CA and the ordinance and the policies kind of protects in you know in some respect to we met you know with the mayor and I and Pastor that was one of his concerns that if God did you he gets you get by car or something happens on the scene somewhere he's somewhat protected he would recomend we do it the right way establish the positionin the ordinance and then Ena a policy internally to how things would operate within you think it's a good resource to have not any FS us you know going to provide services so would he be covered by workers comp if he did somebody did hit him for example um potentially yeah because he's a member of the police department he'll be an appointed member of the police department what this ordinance does is actually creates the position it this ordinance is not going to be appointing this particular individual would be doing that later on I don't know if we have to notify somebody for that but if we do we want to make sure we do for like insurance purposes and workers comp yeah or whether that they just I don't think we notify them for and come on and off but yeah yes because he's not getting paid though so workers comp the bill is based on payroll volunteers volunteer fir covered right I would make sure that they got them that's all yeah yeah once we get it you know next month or so once it's finalized because he's not gonna show up on paycheck yeah like God forbid yeah yeah he does respond quickly to some even at at scenes that are unfolding right so and I mean officers have been hit by cars yeah you know but I think it's a positive thing for their for just mental well-being the you know we as just individuals only have a handful of of extreme situations and they get hundreds in their lives you know so it's something that I think is necessary for all our firsters we you know we have these traumatic experiences very few of them but they have a part of their daily life yeah all right so um that's that ordinance I think we're all in favor um uh then we will have um the following ordinances uh for public hearing and adoption um the uh ordinance 2024 d018 is Bond ordinance uh for the we talked about last meeting regarding the Water Tower and the um the issuance of uh the bonds for that uh 202 24-19 uh amends the fee schedule for uh construction codes questions on that no no um we go through we'll have the following resolutions uh to be voted on by consent um any questions going through them please interrupt me um resolution 202 24-29 is uh refunding of stem Camp uh fee um item resolution 202 24-22 is um requesting approval for special item of Revenue this is a 52 5,250 grant for summer pedestrian awareness to the police department for 2024 already I think was been a adopted the paperwork has been G on that uh 2021 2023 and 2024 omitting 2022 pulling that one from the agenda these are all uh hiring of alternate route um police officers through an appointment program uh 20 any questions there nope 202 2025 is a um uh is extending the the uh third quarter tax grace period so this extends our grace period to August 23rd um tax that is not paid by the 20 23rd will acrew interest from August 1st so this is now that we have our county numbers in and that has been resolved we've all gotten our our bills the uh the August 23rd is the new deadline any questions there no 202 24-22 six um is closing out an escrow account as is 2027 and 202 8 U we have one resolution added the bench tonight it is 202 24-22 n um that is authorizing seasonal part-time for the recreation department uh as a wreck Aid and camp counselor um and you know where how does he come to us um this is through they had a interview process at the um the rec department um he is um uh I didn't I I did sit in on that interview um uh uh he is a uh uh College bounds young I believe and he young man and he's looking to get into teaching so this is part of his um good resume building and he's good and and he's he's a um he he was vetted by the entire Rec Department we did do a background check and that's where this came up yep uh then we will have a brew approval of bills and payroll and we have one discussion item uh Chief uh ler and Nicole if you could elaborate on that that's an ordinance regarding uh increasing Towing fees throughout the city sure the the city has an ordinance already with regards to Towing of vehicles um by different companies um how they're selected is all done by the ordinance that you have it's under chapter 208 which is Towing um that there are currently three companies that do this for the city they are the only three companies that qualify under the ordinance the ordinance requires that they be within a 5 mile radius um for the purposes of being able to quickly respond uh my understanding in speaking with the chief is that they're all located in Atlantic City those are really the only ones in the area um anybody else would be simply too far in order to respond quickly to accidents where the car is in the middle of the street and you got to get it out um so those three have been chosen in looking at some of the fees we were falling a little bit short on some of the fees that we charge so you do have a draft of an ordinance there that shows you specifically what we would be changing so transportate transporting Towing of illegally parked or impounded or disabled Motor Vehicles would change from $100 to $125 transporting or of Motor Vehicles from an accident scene uh would be $120 currently we're looking to move that to1 50 flatbed service would remain the same lockouts would come out of the ordinance um use of Dolly Wheels would go into the ordinance at $75 city-owned Vehicles which would be towed would be we're adding that it would be free within the city limits the remainder is 50% of the applicable service listed which is what's currently there um drop fee Remains the Same labor rate Remains the Same storage rate is currently $25 a day they'd move that to 40 emergency after hours release would go from $25 to $35 and they're adding an administrative fee of $35 um my understanding is this came as a request to the police chief um from The Toe Companies and they um the chief's here to answer questions with regards to that so anybody else have any questions somewhat consistent with other communities yeah L of it is they got hit with insurance premiums in 2024 astronomical increases fuel costs vle cause maintenance they're just trying to try to make keep up with and most of these fees we don't necessarily pay unless it's one of our vehicles and we're Towing it right yeah and these are not public contracts that are Bid this is there's an application process that is submitted to the city um as spelled out in the ordinance through those couple years each year I think we do it or every couple years I think we do it right these are every two years that's I thought like cycle with the car okay what what does it run what's the contract two two years you from one when is it calary year or so right now I think it's you said they started last one in April I can go year I think we go next year I tried looking I actually probably years just you know me if I presented yeah you know to the commission keep up and they present I think I said other TOs the in there is that in here I don't think I I I didn't see that either yeah that would be my only question as long as they're in line with other cities and we're not and we're not charging more that was my first question are we consistent with other yeah neighbors so and if we are I'm good with it yeah even if we're not yeah I don't know you're Park you're get your C to right you're in an accident gotta get your C to and these are not fees that go to the city go to the Toe Companies right yeah right yeah all three compies very responsible to our needs event we have on Saturday night yeah they're very responsible by the way your people were great again last night at the concert that they were like cycling in and out they were just fantastic whatever some you know they they get a lot of questions from people or a lot can I do this can I park here like I'm one of them but um watch that Towing feet I mean I could see I could see them you know going here going there people coming up to them they're just most of the increases are very 125 yeah they're not they're not crazy double I at so if you're if you're okay with that I think we can have it on for first reading for tonight I think it's on there I have um a comment I guess on um the hiring resolution like when we hire people if they if it's a position where they're providing a resume can we all I get a copy of it in my package I'd like to see it like I didn't see that gu from Recreation James his name where I guess it doesn't matter what I'm not sure with James that we necessarily had a resume I think this kid just graduated from high school okay he would have filled out an application the rec board did vet him yeah uh the police officer candidates is a different story there there is a full package on those okay so maybe if it's something like that get a copy of the application yeah I think that makes sense thank you sound that any um any other comments on the items we've talked about so far before I open up to the public all right so may I have a motion to open up this uh public comment for items that we've discussed so far we'll have another public comment at the end of the meeting to discuss anything that uh the public would like um so may have a motion to open for public comment I'll make that motion second roll call Le Cindy commissioner langra yes commission meno yes mayor yeah so uh seeing none in the chambers any and the any attendees at the zoom have public comment on any items that we've disc so far uh please give your name and address anybody on Zoom wish to comment in any of the items no see none may I have a motion to close the workshop portion of the meeting so moved second and roll call please commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes mayor Kel yes uh call to order now the regular meeting um approval we have the uh so first item is approval of the minutes from April 1st 25th May 23rd June 27th and July 11th I'll make that motion I'll second it roll call commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes Mayo yes can I have a motion to approve minutes from June 13th second I'll second you have you have tostain you yeah Iain roll call Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento abstain mayor creal yes and I have a motion to introduce ordinance 20242 as described make a motion to introduce ordinance 202 24-20 second I have roll call Le Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes mayor K yes Cindy uh can I have a motion to open uh for public hearing ordinance 2024 d018 the Comm open the public Hearing in ordinance 2024 that's 018 second may have a roll call Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes may see not in the no public in the uh open to the zoom for public comment and I have a motion to so moved I thought we yeah already open just need to see if anybody I'm sorry so anyone in Zoom wishing to make public comment on ordinance 2024 d018 Bond ordinance no one no one so have motion to close so mov roll call Cindy commission langra yes commission Mento yes kba yes can I have a motion to adopt ordinance 202 24-18 motion to adopt ordinance 2024 d018 second roll call CY yes commission Mento yes may yes did we want to introdu one for the telling um so we're gonna do that next meeting okay yeah ahead um I think we're gonna introduce just discuss okay I thought I heard someone say we're doing it tonight so that's fine Nicole said you can okay Nicole said could do it on make a decision leave it with Lis she can just discuss it if it doesn't affect let's just wait okay all right and then did we do the the public hearing on the fees that's next right so so can I motion to open public hearing ordinance 4-01 make that motion second roll call Cindy please commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes may like there's some feedback on Zoom yeah um we have an ordinance adoped can I have a motion to we need public comment sorry uh any seeing n no public comment in the in the is there anyone on that wishes to have comment onance 20240 one9 code con construction code please let me un wish the comment no no may have motion to close I have a second second roll call Cindy commission langra yes commission Mano yes mayor Creo yes and I have a motion to adopt ordinance 2024 019 as described motion to adopt ordinance 202 24-19 have a second roll call Cindy commissioner C uh langra yes commissioner Mento yes mayor Kel yes that was for corer Le we all know who's here we know everyone who's here okay uh next we have motion to adopt resolutions by consent and this will be uh resolutions 2024 d 219 to 221 and 2024 d223 to 229 no we we messed this up a little because we had pulled one then we put it back on so if I may it's actually 219 through 229 with the exception of 222 which is pulled understood okay all right so so understood it's uh as you as described 2 219 to 229 excluding 22 222 I'll make that motion have a second second roll call Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes mayor Cal yes Cindy can you read bills and payroll pleas the bills are 3,134 12088 and payroll is 77245 and 31 cents may I have a motion to approve pills and payroll make that motion second I'll second but I recused myself from 24587 which is payment for water testing and 24623 which is the third quarter user fee and both of these are payments to the acua may have a roll call commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes may K yes see no safety reports today we have any uh commissioner reports commissioner langra you have um not a ton I mean funky pickle starts tomorrow I guess um I think our fire department and again margate's fire department and some of the other police is playing too and then we take on the deing body on Saturday at noon that's right that'll be fun um is it the dinos versus sackos for the winners or I was thinking about something like that with um with uh maybe Roberts wings versus uh sacko subs or something something of that nature something of that nature um Public Works uh working to get properties in and ready for that Landscaping we are looking at taking some of that extra Landscaping that we put some money aside for our properties to bring in a landscape company to Spruce these properties up a little bit so we're are going to do some of that um Rick has put together a list and we are working through that list to see which ones we think we want to push off to a professional company we can still cut the grass and do certain things but there's things I think we can be better served by having a professional who does that every day and and and do that so I think that's what we're going to look at we've been looking at um utility breaks here and there we've had a few over the last couple weeks mainly water lines things like that um storm we just had a bunch of rain we had about two inches of rain and about 45 minutes you were you saw the results of that on Fon Avenue um storm D just can't handle it it's that amount of rain in a little amount of time just cannot get in and out of those systems and pump back into the bay um we are looking at upgrading those pump stations um both both ends of the Fon Avenue and other locations of the city um to do that uh there's a project on Fulton Avenue that we've started and we're going to see that to its end to try and increase that's the most severe flooding is Fulton Avenue on the Atlantic City side your side does get it but it's worse on on the AC side so we're working through those projects we've got a lot of things on the table um bigalk reconstruction um we got a little bit of a setback today from DS telling us we have to get what's called an individual permit instead of a general permit which is kind of ridiculous but we're working through that we've reached out to the governor's office to see if they can change that determination to a general permit it's about an eight-month process to get an individual permit to slow things down and this is their money this is money they gave us to do is with a deadline that we have to have it done by December 2026 anything that's to come in and say now you need to get an individual permit for a structure that already exists is yes not appropriate so did reach out to the governor's office and I got an immediate response I was very happy with with um gentleman named Rob Fields reachs out and he's going to talk to the D commissioner um Ed put together an email from I sent it to him and he's going to talk to D about it so we can't delay the project we got to keep moving so that update um that's the major construction going on the bids for the um basketball court at at Salk Avenue so sumet um will go out probably in August for construction over the winter fall um that's pretty much it for a public works standpoint the new inspectors are working out great in code we have had great success with using the third party um been getting the job done quick um we don't have to worry about um sharing inspectors anymore which is nice they they you know they work for us in other towns but when they're here on their day they're not spinning off to some other town to do something they're here so and actually they helped out in a in a situation on Dorset Avenue to get inspectors we had to call a guy in to help somebody out and he was able to come in and take care of that for home was damaged by fire to get them back in their home so it it worked out really well so that's pretty much all I have okay well we talked we talked about this a little earlier the the um extension for paying the tax bill is August 23rd um the last of the bills went out today today or yesterday so everybody will have will receive their tax bill um the city cannot send out the tax bills until we get the certified tax rate and we get that from the county and I believe the county can't pull it together until they get what they need from the state and every municipality so it's just one of those things and um not every town extends a deadline but we do so uh we give people more time to make the payment so that's all I pretty much have um I just had a a couple items the um there was a there was a late rescue I don't know if uh we're all aware but uh there's a we have a What's called the alert system where we have three lifeguards stationed at the headquarters monitoring the fire department Channel there was a tone that came out there were three individuals needed to be needed needed uh needed assistance the um this was on Oakland Avenue around 7 PM they're there all summer until uh 8:00 pm working with the fire department they were first on scene quick response worked EX exactly the way it should um the um the the all individuals were safe were were were rescued we they have ATVs and and jet skis for that sort of thing uh and they're prepared uh for those late late in the day types of rescues um and uh as and just to follow up it's been deceptively um uh it's still the water's still very cold but that um it's deceivingly active um a lot of people uh are getting a there there still has been a pretty active rescue scene uh reported by our officers there um on the beach it's been some great Beach weather but not really great swimming weather um and then um I would say that there's uh I just also encourage people to vote for best of the press for all our events um those are um those are now voting is now open for those and I think Vena does a great job with um with all of our special events this weekend is pickle juice as you mentioned and they're um and uh and the summer continues go ahead any other comments just uh to update on that so the concerts are not Saturday this week correct there's Friday night and Saturday night at Su suuk Avenue so you have Usual Suspects on on H Friday night at s o'clock Ricky Stevens kicks it off and then Usual Suspects and then the loop I don't know them on Saturday so even you don't play pickle ball there's food trucks there's music it's a great Community event um started by a local guy from Margate yeah um Alex it's fun it's a lot of fun it is it's it really is like the Wimbleton and for pickle ball there it turns it's like they turn it into like a stage with little sections for you to hang out and um it it it's it's it's it's an event it really is and hopefully we'll be next year when marget hires a city administrator we're going to have s administrators play against each other singles yeah stand he have U I have one that's right I one other commit note um just uh in there's more going on at the the plaza there's two more uh in August there's two more restaurant restaurants I'm opening up um uh there's going to be a a store that sells clothing and small appliances as well out there so that plaset is really filling out the um burking is going to have a grand opening uh yet to be determined so sure be there for that and um greens and grain Greens and Grains Starbucks are opening up in August did I hear a bank is going in I don't think so working on that we haven't heard from we met with them they asked us for a lot of information we provided that to them we haven't not heard back so okay but I think the the now that the fences are all gone the traffic pattern is much it's starting to work its way out you know and become a little bit more it's become a really active Center that one road that could get into but you can't go out of right that's that'll be going away soon it's got dirt over it yeah they they were they had to wait for a gas utility line permit the county was slow in issuing it they reasonably slow um they got that done so that's why they're able to close that up great it's it's looking fantastic we do have to schedule our street naming yeah because actually Alex Marino reached out to me because we we have talent that's gonna come as the Osprey ah that so okay that's fun stuff yeah well we can set that up all right if we're done with the uh Commission of comments and reports I kind have a motion to open for public comment for any items regardless of their topic I'll make that motion have a second second roll call Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner men yes yes so you none in the uh Chambers is there anyone in Zoom that has uh uh for a public comment on any subject anybody on Zoom wish to speak on any items their mic on no seeing none may have motion what I think that's just the feedback have motion to close public comment so moved second roll call Cindy commissioner langra yes commissioner Mento yes mayor creep yes so there is no executive session tonight correct and seeing none is no further business I would like to request a motion to adjourn I'll make that motion second roll call cending commissioner Lang yes May yes