##VIDEO ID:dUPFaQC5VN4## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right good afternoon everyone we have a special meeting of the city of the city council of the city of Kate may we are here in the Cap May City Hall Auditorium it is Tuesday September 17th 2024 the time is now 401 please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance i al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you under the open public meetings law notice that this meeting was sent to the C County Herald and the Press of Atlantic City and a copy of the agenda was delivered to each member of City Council posted on the website and the City Hall bulletin board notice is hereby provided that City Council meetings are audio recorded and or video streamed live live video streams are posted to the K May City website city of K May is not responsible if audio recording or live video streaming of a meeting is unavailable roll call Deputy Mayor Balwin here council member McDade here council member Meyer here mayor mullik here council member yger here city solicitor Gillan Schwarz here city manager dietr here Deputy manager rig here and Deputy clerk Turner here Council we have one resolution on the special meeting agenda it's 2519 2024 a resolution providing for a meeting not open to the public in accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey open public meetings Act njsa 10 col 4-12 this is to discuss the K May Mac the Cumberland County Improvement Authority shared services agreement and shared services agreement with the Kate May City Elementary for playground improvements do I have a motion point of order yes sir yes sir uh as you can see in resolution title includes Mac as you see in the resolution number five matters relating to the purchase lease etc etc is not checked off which refers to Mac okay it is listed though it's just not checked off it says K May Mac right at the end of that must be consistent I think it should be a motion made to either amend a resolution okay because what I'm looking at is an agenda which which says it's in there right the resolution does not right well it does it's just not checked off it it needs a check on number five yeah is that a motion to check amend the resolution to check the box I'll make a motion to check the box I'm asking just point of order because that I I don't see any issue with this ISS this topic being discussed it's written down in there it's in the agenda it's in the resolution so all we would need to do is check the box I don't think I don't think anybody would have been confused whether we were talking about that or not that's that's the issue from my perspective okay do you want to make that motion I'll make the motion box one do I have a second I'll second it roll call council member Jagger yes council member Meyer yes council member McDade yes Deputy Mayor bin yes mayor mullik yes do I have a motion on the uh amended resolution solution I'll make a motion do I have a second a second roll call council member Jagger yes council member Meyer yes council member MC Dave yes Deputy Mayor Balwin yes mayor mull yes all right we have a public portion this evening mayor anyone wishing to speak on this uh resolution seeing no one we can close public comment and go into close session the time is 4:04 thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e so that e good evening everyone we're just coming out of a Clos session um which we will take some action on uh Mr solicitor do you want to yeah the uh discussion regarding the Board of Education shared services agreement Council does anticipate the Board of Education shared services agreement regarding the playground improvements Council does anticipate adding uh a resolution and shared services agreement to the regular agenda and we can go over that when we get to it okay no other formal actions uh contemplated on the other items do I have a motion to close the uh executive session I'll make the motion and now second okay with that we'll open up our work session meeting of the city council the city of Kate may we are here in the Cape May City Hall Auditorium today is Tuesday September 17th 2024 the time is now 511 please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance i al the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you under the open public meetings law notice of this meeting was sent to the K May County Herald and the Press of Atlantic City and a copy of the agenda was delivered to each member of city council and posted on the city website and City Hall bulletin board notice is hereby provided that City Council meetings are audio recorded and or video streamed live live video streams are posted to the Kate May City website the city of Kate May is not responsible if audio recording or live video stream streaming of a meeting is unavailable roll call Deputy Mayor bowan here council member McDade here council member Meyer here mayor mullik here council member Jagger here city solicitor Gillan Schwarz here city manager Dietrich is absent Deputy manager rigs here uh Deputy cler Turner here we he have CFO Kevin Haney here all right so I believe Council we then have one addition to the agenda if you'd like me to go ahead with that yes please we have resolution 2639 2024 resolution authorizing execution of a shared services agreement with the K May City Elementary School for improvements to the Lafayette Street park playground do I have a motion I'll make the motion do I have a second I'll second roll call please council member Jagger yes council member Meer yes council member McDade yes Deputy Mayor Balwin yes mayor mullik yes all right updates and old business any updates uh old business uh yes mayor um first Mr Dietrich um does apologize but he had to go to the njpac meeting so the Deep commissioner is going to be there and Mr Dietrich um is representing the city of Kate May along with all the other municipalities um in K May County to Advocate on our behalf and why these rules are just not in the best favor of the um the constituents of K May County um but in talking with with Mr Dietrick we wanted to bring up a few things first off the beaches um that will be guarded this week Hughes Philadelphia Queen Howard Stockton stigger firstave and the Cove right now they're on a double red flag due to the strong rip currs that are out there but we will be um updating what beaches are going to be covered by the lifeguards via social media so stay in tuned um with that on the NJ pact rules if anyone is interested there is a public comment period um on September 19th so if anyone wants that virtual link they can reach out to the city manager's office and we can provide you with that link so you're able to um participate in that uh we received a request actually Chief cter did for the lower K May Regional um is doing an internship program so I was just seeing from mayor and Council if you guys would be agreeable for basically us on the next meeting to put on a resolution to enter into um that program with them and I can get the particulars over to you an internship with the fire department or what so this particular one the student has requested to work with the fire department and learn about the really the administrative functions of having a career fire department the the students interested in being a career firefighter but there might might be other students along the way that want to learn really how local governments work I think it's a great idea I'm a strong proponent of internships um I did several myself during my career and it was a great entree point for uh young for high school students who may not have had an interest in pursuing a college education but wanted to get into um different professional areas um and explore them before they made decisions on their career so I'm very strong proponent okay yeah that's great so on the next agenda we'll um bring back a resolution just to kind of formalize that process that we'll send over to lower K May Regional just to make sure that we have the particulars kind of ironed out so they understand what we're doing and we understand what the program is and most importantly uh the governing body understands what what the program is um as well um kind of hot off the presses we were just um given notice from sustainable Jersey that we've been awarded the silver status um once again so um obviously the city manager's office and the Green Team along with um Jim Rotella's office we've been working over the last uh probably about year to make sure that we're compiling everything and documenting all the good work that the city is doing and then making sure sustainable Jersey will accept those points so I'll have more information kind of as we go but at the league of municipalities we will be awarded um with that nice big plaque on the silver status um let's see here uh gridless you will see a resolution on here authorizing to move forward they will be at um I believe the next council meeting or a future council meeting to give a formal presentation on what um the particulars are on the program I Know Chief is in the audience so he can speak a little bit more um about it but I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that and lastly um last week Casey deputy chief e myself and Lieutenant Walker we went up to a uh training program um which was hosted by the NJ film commission as we all know we had a large Film Production coming into town there was a lot of takeaways from that um and there's a program called NJ film um ready so we went up there to try to understand basically hey what are some things that we did great some things that we should improve upon and Kate May was the talk of the presentation so um we basically did everything that we should have been doing in that process as recommended by the NJ film commission so you will see certain things starting to come back in terms of looking at um different regulations and rules and things like that but I just wanted to update you kind of where we were at in that process as well and that's all I have m thank you uh and and I just also just reiterate thank you uh city manager Dietrich was here for the closed session but that's an important meeting the uh commissioner of the D will be there as well so um on to our finance report Kevin our CFO is with us thank you very much yes um right so I have pulled together sort of just a little end of summer Finance report mainly focusing on cash back balances as well as uh revenues and expenditures compared to both the budget and compared to Prior year um all of the information all of the information in this report is as of August 31st um so this first slide this is just looking at some of the key highlights for our larger Revenue sources um starting with occupancy tax um collections through August are 1.3 million um this is a $112,000 or 9% increase over prior year um I do want to note that this represents collections through August but the remittances from the state are given on a bit of a delay so this represents actual data through June so we still have some of our larger months ahead of us but if this trend continues we're projecting to top four million for the first time this year in occupancy tax uh parking we are at 1.4 million for the Year this is $65,000 or 5% over prior year um projecting around 2.4 million total for the year compared to 2 million that was budgeted uh interest we are at $850,000 total for the year across all of our accounts this is $185,000 or 28% over last year um mertile licenses and construction we do see a slight downturn in these areas but in the amount of 1% and 2.5% respectively so I don't think anything to necessarily be concerned about plus with construction we typically see an upswing in the last quarter of the year as the summer comes to an end and construction activity picks back up so we should end up in line with prior year in that area uh beach tags we are at 3.5 million collected for the Year this is a $740,000 increase over prior year which of course is attributable to the fee increase that was implemented this year um I believe at the time that was introduced we were initially predicting around $600 to 700,000 of increase so we were able to even surpass that um just as a sort of side note um factoring in that $740,000 increase Beach tag sales overall were actually slightly down compared to last year 2.7% but we saw increases in both the daily and Commercial tags um and then to also touch on the new digital tags that were implemented um the total percent of daily tags sold digital tags accounted for 88.4% of that total this year um so we'll we'll see how that shaks out in coming years now as people start to get used to it and that was only implemented in July also right so there was sort of a little bit of a slow startup so yeah okay correct right um let's see next is tourism uh event revenues are flat compared to last year I think we're at a 1% increase so this kind of suggests a sense of stability in that fund which is always helpful in terms of planning for the next year's budget um and then water sewer revenues we are at 4.2 million collected uh this is $140,000 or 4% over last year which is attributable to higher usage within the city as well as some rate increases that were implemented to neighboring municipalities um and then finally that last line on this slide is just a look across our four funds at the percent of their budget that they have spent to date versus the percent of the revenues that they have collected to date so starting with current fund they have spent 52% of their budget while collecting 78% of their revenues water sewer has spent 72% of its budget while collecting 60% of its revenues the Beach utility has spent 63% o go ahead obviously that looks bad 72% at now but obviously a lot of their expense comes earlier in the season as understanding yes I was going to touch on each of these as we move forward to kind of explain why some might seem higher or lower um uh Beach utility 63% of its budget spent versus 111% of its revenues collected so we are in um pure Surplus territory there and then tourism 57% of its budget spent versus 38% of its revenues collected um so we can move on to the next page so this is a look at the city's cash balances as of August 31st um as you can see at the bottom cash on hand was 39.7 million uh this number fluctuates pretty significantly throughout the year um from month to month or even week to week you could see swings up or down in the millions of dollars as uh Bill lists are paid Debt Service payments are made uh tax collections are received water sewer rents things like that uh so that kind of highlights the importance of having all of our funds available and on hand uh to sort of cover you know whatever might come up throughout the year and then as I mentioned at the bottom interest earned to date is is around 850,000 um the FED has been hinting at some rate Cuts upcoming uh but I think our cash balances especially in light of uh note sale and bond sale expected this year and next year kind of puts us in a better leveraging position in terms of negotiating rates or even potentially reevaluating NJ arm um so we can move on to the next slide uh the remainder of the presid presentation is sort of just a more detailed look at each of the funds budget and revenue lines I'm not going to go line by line um but I will just highlight on some of the more you know noticeable changes from year to year um so starting with current fund we do see an increase in expenditures in the general Administration line compared to last year however you can also see that we increased their budget by essentially that same amount because this was expected at the start of the year related to uh Staffing levels and associated expenses there um we also see an increase in the uh police expenditures but again that was appropriately budgeted for um in terms of discussions with requested expenditures and contractual increases for employees um I will point out also we do see some decreases in health insurance and dispatch those are purely timing related those are not actual decreases in reality um health insurance we will see an increase there associated with uh State rate increases and then dispatch will be the same as last year because it's a contractual rate um the next page is the remainder of the current fund line items um we do see some increases here for public works as they start to you know take over more projects throughout the city and have more of a presence um so again you know that's been appropriately budgeted for and then down at the bottom we see that 52% of the budget spent this year compared to 57% last year um if this seems low for August 31st um that's because it is a lot of those last larger few items on this list uh relate to um accounting entries that are made closer to year end that kind of skews it towards latter half of the Year picking up the next page is a look at the current fund revenues um we are up essentially across the board uh main two items that I had noted previously are mertile licenses and fees and then construction are slightly down um I do want to make one note uh the third item from the bottom local purpose tax shows a decrease of $350,000 which would be concerning but um that was a typo on my end a bit of a mistake if I will I know so rare um but that's actually closer to $33,000 decrease which is to be expected because the county decreased the rates from last year to this year so our collections would appropriately be less from year to year next is a look at the water sewer utility budget um this is I'm gon oh yes go ahead sorry Kevin just as a a note that uh 33,000 rather than the 355 does that affect the um bottom line uh yes slightly for the current f fund Uh current year and prior year would be so that you know that would be whatever that math works out to be yes posit I can send updated numbers yeah yeah problem I just I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just that line it's the total at the bottom as well correct yes because so because that line item is taken as a proportion of total C uh tax Collections and I did the proportion nope no thank you incorrectly um next is water sewer utility budget um as Zach touched on the total expenditures to date is a 72% um however last year the percent of the budget spent was only 66% um and this is attributable to the Sewer treatment line uh that is where we charge our uh County mua fees and we did see rate increases this year as well as a reallocation charge that was handed down to us um so we will continue to monitor that line through the end of the year to see if a transfer might be needed closer to your end Kevin can I jump in on that yes um we in the past we have basically said we don't want to wait um to increase the what is essentially a hand down fee from the MUA um previously the town Kate May would would wait several years and then do an increase I think personally and and we've talked about this previously as a council that each year when we receive that increase we that should just be a p a handed down increase right um so will that be something that we'll look at J you know prior January 1 to Simply increase yeah exactly it's going to be factored into um budget season kicks off now essentially so that's going to be factored into our discussions going into and just for the public when I say it's it's a very minor increase each year but it's kind of silly to me to not just it's we're paying it so put it right into the bill exactly and then we don't have some big Increase five years down the the line yeah that makes sense okay uh next looking at water sewer utility revenues as I mentioned we were up about $140,000 not taking into account um the fund balance that was used in the budget um we see some large increases in Kate May City Water and Sewer however we do see um downturns in West Kate May Water and Sewer um West Kate May and K May Point can kind of fluctuate year to year and this is typically attributable to usage but overall I don't think there's any area of concern in the water sewer uh Revenue area uh next moving on to the beach utility um you'll see a lot of these lines are maxed out at 100% that's because the Beach utility reimburses some of the other departments uh salary lines for work that they do related to the beach utility um and that transfer usually gets made in August so that's why it's captured here you can see those lines are at 100% um overall though uh the Beach utility is doing a little better than last year uh only 63% of the budget spent to date compared to 67% in the prior year and then Beach utility revenues as I mentioned we see that big increase uh related to beach tag sales of $740,000 um and as you can also see uh total current year revenues of 4.7 million already exceeds what was expected of 4.2 million and Beach Pags go back on sale towards the end of the year so our Surplus is expected to grow even larger in this area next uh tourism util budget um in terms of expenditures uh regarding tourism marketing and Recreation we are fairly in line with last year we do see uh again some increases in the public works line but again associated with increased work going on with them um so again for uh 57% of the budget compared to 53% last year and then tourism utility revenues as I mentioned fairly in line line with prior year indicating stability in that fund um I believe their percent collected was around 38% which also seems low but again um we move their portion of room occupancy tax and mertile fees closer to the end of the year which kind of skews it towards the end of the year when their revenues pick up to what was budgeted and then finally just a couple notes as we're starting to enter the 2025 uh budget process so our strong Revenue collections this year will greatly help with planning for next year especially when it comes to the impact to the taxpayer um we will continue to review our current fees rates and contracts to ensure optimal pricing I do want to give a shout out to MTR they have been a big help in this area um doing research and data analysis for us um we will continue to provide tourism-driven events so that we can strengthen that utility as much as we can and keep it stable uh and then also we're going to review all utilities to ensure proper allocation of both revenues and Appropriations and then on the expenditure side we do have some contractual obligations coming up this year so we we will ensure to appropriately budget for those going into 20125 um Contin continual monitoring of debt service so that we can plan for optimal times for uh either issuances or refunding um part of the budget process review additional Staffing and expenditure requests from each department um and then also reviewing current purchasing agreements and lease programs to align with both budgeting and capital availability um but yeah I think uh overall end of the summer I think a lot of the revenue items taken together sort of increase in occupancy tax parking daily tags commercial tags water usage kind of points to the strength of the number of people coming to and staying in the city thank you Kevin we really appreciate it a lot of um a lot of data but a lot of good data really there's a lot more green in here than there is red right which at least on the revenue side so that's a good thing um but very nice work from your office too I mean obviously a good tourist season makes it a lot easier for everybody help yes but um it's you put a lot of work into it and we appreciate it and also I think the fact that it's illustrated by each of the utilities and that you know the the um expenses associated with the various departments supporting those other utilities are being charged to those and that so it's really showing a reflective picture rather than just having everything in the general fund so I think uh it's it's more to that cost center based uh kind of budgeting and I I think that's a job well done thank you thank you I can't believe Dennis isn't here for your presentation Council this will be um uploaded to the city website as well for the public VI once it's corrected yes once I make my update yeah thank you very much Kevin any other questions or comments Council great job um okay we can move on to ordinances for second reading yes tonight we have 54222 an ordinance establishing metered parking days and hours at the city hall parking lot and there is a public hearing tonight is anyone here wishing to speak on 542 ordinance 542 this is the City Hall Parking Lot Stacy Shan 928 Columbia Avenue um my comment for this I have two comments one is the comment you know I I think a lot of this was done so that the restaurant could have parking but he's not going to have parking because it's going to be parking for people going to the mall and the parking spots are going to be filled and not going to be really available to the person people going to that restaurant my second comment is it'd be nice if this was not done till maybe noon time on Sunday because a lot of churches do park in that lot they are residents of the city and now they're trying to go to church and they're going to have to pay to park which usually they just go in they go to church and they leave that was my only two comments uh I agree with that um and I don't know how I believe they can set it up in um yes they can in part on a daily basis they should be able to block the put a Sunday time thing on I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be able to Justin um I mean it's all programmed and and you know we are going to have signs up there so I would think that we just need to have a conversation with Park Mobile we we can work with the vendor if it's it's all programmed that way so I I do I do agree yeah so what can I um ask a solicitor a question that's probably a substantial change 10 a.m to noon on Sundays at the point that we're moving around Times by two hours I think the operative language here is are we what days are we doing it on um I I don't I don't think changing the time is really moving the needle too much here so we could do that at the table potentially and the amendment will look something like Saturdays you just get rid of n Sundays in there sat so Saturdays 10: a.m. to 10 p.m. and then you'd add a a followup that would say Sunday will be noon to 10 p.m. right y yep and that would be the amendment um Council uh if anyone would agree with that would you make a motion if we can talk about it I'll make the motion to amend to amend to Sunday at noon rather than Sunday at 10:00 a.m. I'll say second that Council how do you how do you feel about that amendment I think everyone okay so sense yeah so we have we have a motion and we have agreement so uh roll call uh council member jger yes council member Meyer yes council member McDade yes Deputy Mayor bobwin yes mayor mullik yes do I have a motion on the amended Ordinance do I'm sorry is there any other public comment public portion close Mr oh uh is anyone would anyone like to speak on the amended ordinance seeing n we can close public comment um so we have a amended Ordinance do I have a motion for the amended ordinance I'll make the motion I'll second the motion okay any questions or comments Council no thank you Miss shanon for the suggestion thank thank you Stacy and and thank you uh to I believe it was Deputy Mayor and and Moren worked on this a little bit to get it in a little better position with the manager yes yeah well thank thank you very much I think it it definitely makes a lot more sense now uh roll call please council member Jagger yes council member Meyer yes council member mcde yes Deputy Mayor bobwin yes mayor mik yes okay next Council we have the public portion on the resolutions only pardon me uh is anyone here wishing to speak on resol olutions this evening please come to the microphone state your name and address Stacy Shen 928 Columbia Avenue um I just have a a quick question about the agreement with the Skyhawks Academy my question is the soccer for Tots is that going to be at the school held at the school and did the school approve I believe that's La Street City May yeah but it's during school hours so it's during school hours that you're bringing another organization onto their playground with their other kids that was my reason for asking that question thank you for br because the the tot soccer is from 9:30 to 10:15 in the morning on Thursdays and then from 10:15 to 11: on the as I'm asking is it on school property with other school kids to do get the okay from the school board that's my only question Justin do you do you know the answer to that or no I know obviously Paul worked on this yeah so um Casey did coordinate there was a conversation um with the Board of Education I can certainly you know double check then make sure that they're in agreement with it and looking at the terms if I'm just looking at it you know the age ranges you know there there could be certain sections where it's not being utilized by the school that they can utilize that so I'll double check but I'm pretty confident that Casey already had that conversation and and puled it as well yeah because this is 9:30 to 11: so it's a pretty good range and I don't know the kids have lunch and they go out after lunch you're now going to have an interaction yeah I would I would imagine that she covered the times when they would be there but without Casey here for us to confir I'm just bring up these chain just so Council as the context there was a couple volleys back and forth with these times and I think it was because Casey was trying to coordinate coordinate with the vendor and coordinate um you know accessible times so I can't I can't speak to the exact conversation but I know that there were some back and forth on the times that was my only concern that the school might not want outside people being there when they're kids are there and what kind of interaction is between the two groups my other question has to do I think think this is for Kevin the resolution 257 the wording of a bid for security camera service um grid pack is that a service that we're bonding for because I know you could bond for a service it's installation services right of our new security system okay I wasn't sure was installation or a service that you were they were using their monitoring computers for the next so many years oh gotcha no it's installation of like new um okay so SEC installation service okay CU I knew there was also the monitoring services that you had to go out for also correct um my other question has to do with resolution 258 it's awarding a bid for City Hall parking lot and cal cal Horn Place clag Horn Place um what is being done at clag horn there was no attachment so I didn't know what work was being done that basically drainage um that's the area that tends to puddle up on clag horn um you may yeah but I thought that it went that they were going to have to run the drain to uh Congress Street I think so that's why I wasn't sure it was Korn that includeed running to Congress Street the the work my recollection which is not good but is there's a sewer pipe on the opposite side of the street not sewer first off it's U storm drain yeah I understand but there's a storm drain pipe on the opposite side of the street that we can cut through the street and and pipe over to that storm drain which then drains out to Congress I believe yeah okay cuz I thought it was actually laying at the end of the street by Congress Street and I'm not really familiar for the bend I think it's on the bend okay yeah but th this is to address it okay I thought it was I just was I just wanted to make sure that that was for it was for yeah thank you and then my next question has to do with um resolution 260 when we're increasing ining the amount for the appropriation of funds for the lightning strike from 200,000 to 450,000 uh is the insurance company paying anything the insurance company is paying all minus a $1,000 deductible it's not going to be up to 400 it's this resolution essentially is up to 450,000 however the claim right now is right around 381 ,000 that ballpark essentially the increase was necessary because it was identified that the basically you feel how humid it is in here right now the HVAC controls in City Hall were affected by the lightning strike and it needed some time from the vendor to kind of identify that so that was added on to to the claim okay but is the insurance policy paying this or we get reimbursed from this all minus a $1,000 okay so this is going to be reimbursed correct that's all I care about I can add we've already received $100,000 to date of the claim reimbursement so I'm sorry what was that we've already re received $100,000 to date of the claim reimbursement so okay great thank you okay thank you anyone else this evening on resolutions Mr Johnson yes um here's Paul Johnston I own the C restaurant 405 West Beach Avenue I'm here to discuss resolution number 25909 d224 resolution awarding bid for reconstruction Beach Avenue Broadway to The Cove does that specifically my specific question is does that include the bards Does it include the bards bards which are six bards that are 20 ft east of the barricade yeah which which actually truncate Beach Avenue again I think this would be a better one for Paul to answer and I apologize but I I believe that the ballards are included in the bid um th those locations have been changed right okay the six bards have been changed and and by the way I don't know if it's going to be six SPS or not I I don't I don't couldn't tell you okay so the consensus is those bards were were designed fall so is that is that fair stat it was a accommodation with you I'm sorry it was ACC comod it was a a uh accommodation accommodation with with your recommend to the city okay can I see that design some when it's well I I I think what I remember the uh city manager saying to both of us I believe was that some of these will be field in the field changes to make sure that it makes sense yeah well we need to know in advance because I I really can't rely on a field change I can you know it may happen it may not happen I just I need confirmation what's going on it is it is a front of my property so know look we want to do it right so I I this went out to we spoke two weeks ago we spoke here uh right two weeks ago here we didn't speak in front of the site which I requested yes you did you didn't not with mayor not with the mayor you met with Paul I met with Paul by accident I saw him out there I I approached him because he was looking at the site looking for based on your recommendations okay yes and then when I called him when I was on the site he he assured me that the the ball is going move move back based on your recommendations that's that's what I want to hear if I want that's basically I want and it's very common that you know as you evaluate a project that a field change can be made and that's based off of the engineers recommendation and the conversations that are had between the contractor and the person that's Contracting obviously I'm not the city engineer but knowing about project management it's a very common practice okay what I'm looking for is something like this with the Bowers removed or or adjust it or that's what I'm looking for from what I the conversations that I had with the the manager the ballards were moved um I contacted the mayor and the manager uh after you met with them at last meeting and I know that um the manager went out and met um and agreed to move everything um I questioned it that's what I want to hear yeah I I questioned it and um yeah I as as far as I'm concerned it's a it's a not here be I'm not here to be a gly I just I just this I when I saw this I knew it was design flaw and I want to address it okay yeah and I I question him because it was going to be majority of us were there on Wednesday after you I'm I'm getting the majority of us were there Wednesday after your request was made to make sure that that was done all right thank you very much thank appreciate it anyone else on resolutions this evening seeing none we'll close close public comment on resolutions clerk council is there anything you'd like to remove from the consent agenda this evening no okay good all right would we like to have a motion to accept the consent agenda it does not 263 will be separate because we added that do I have a motion I'll make the motion do I have a second a second roll call council member Jagger yes council member Meyer yes counc member McDade yes Deputy Mayor Balwin yes mayor mullik yes all right and now we have 26309 2024 resolution authorizing execution of a shared services agreement with Kate May City Elementary School for improvements to the Lafayette Street park playground do I have a motion I make a motion do I have a second I'll second any questions or comments council do you want to give a a brief explanation M sure so um over a couple months um but we've been discussing uh informally with the board of education for Kate May to hopefully make some improvements to the playground surface at Lafayette Street park for the existing playground the port in place um surface that is at Kanas it was favorable and that was something that both parties I think saw as an advantage to do that at the existing playground of Lafayette Street so at the last Council meeting we authorized a uh State contract vendor contract to do that work uh subject to us arriving at an agreement with the Board of Education and just just through both having to meet as public bodies we have to we approve it they approve it and they also have to review um themselves and approve it so uh we're at the point I think where we have a proposed final agreement here and the agreement is a 50-50 split of the contract cost a 50/50 split of any soft cost uh engineering cost which in this case is probably going to be minimal To None because we were able to get a state vendor uh to do this and uh but their soft costs are capped at $5,000 but we probably won't need that provision and uh we'll be the lead vendor or the lead uh uh agency in terms of procurement execution of the project and the Board of Education much like the pool project will be paying us back in installments the first installment will be no later than July 31st 2025 after their next budget year they their budget year begins in July um and then the second payment and final payment will be a year later from that in 2026 uh board of education has a history and track record of paying early and there's um they have the ability to do that um under this agreement as well much like the pool agreement so those are the essential terms and that's what's before council tonight and if approved it will be sent to the Board of Education attorney and their um secretary for potential approval at their next meeting okay any other questions or comments Council okay roll call council member Jagger yes council member Meyer yes council member McDade yes Deputy Mayor bobwin yes mayor mullik yes all right moving on to new business business new business city solicitor any new business nothing tonight mayor thank you city manager n tonight mayor Deputy city manager city clerk yes we are coming up on the fall season here we have a lot of events coming up uh notably the October Fest event on Saturday September 28th that's in the Carpenters uh Square Hugh Street all the over there area 9:00 a.m. to 600 p.m. um and we I believe uh Chief might go into some more detail I think he has a number of events that day all over the city um we also have the 2024 Halloween parade being held on Sunday October 20th um so be sure to keep an eye out for registration for that that's it mayor great thank you uh council members deputy mayor uh nothing tonight okay uh council member McDade uh nothing at this time thank you council member Meyer nothing at this time Council council member jger uh nothing thank you may I'll stick with the theme with that we'll open it up the public comment um Chief just to expound on uh Madam Clerk's uh assessment as far as the 28th a very busy day for us leading into the shoulder seasoning I I've come to the realization that we don't have a shoulder season anymore we just have a season that continues into December um which is good um I spoke with mchine earlier about the summer and the status and how it felt busier but maybe it wasn't busier than some of our past summer so you know that people can look at that in a revenue base and see how that that fluctuates up and down for the city for the vendors for the merchants um but I felt there was a lot of people in town chief move that mic a little closer there was a lot of people in town um my my still remaining concerns was The Exodus out of K may all all day long on both Bridges incoming and outgoing 30 to 40 minutes to get off the island kind of concerns me so a lot of ways I look at that from a a law enforcement standpoint the what ifs go across my mind so um i' I've been reviewing the Contra flow and if the invent that you know as we come into hurricane season as well um I don't think it'll be so bad on this end of the season but on a busy weekend say October Fest and we get some wind like we're getting here or we get some other type of event it's going to be a mass Exodus that I need to kind of work with lower Township while would Crest on both Bridges and try to figure out what the best means of um of erass because it's you know something that floats in my mind a lot so I am working on that um and OEM and I and the team that we have we have a great team uh deputy chief e uh Mr rigs uh and um Mr uh moski Frank I was going to call Frank to be professional Mr McCluskey so we're working on a lot of these projects getting the the word out for the weather that's impending and as we come in showed the season of Hurricane um the 28th is going to be a very busy day for us we have a lot of events in town outside of town um Aon mentioned the um the October Fest brings a lot of people in town so be patient with the traffic flow and how things move around the mall um we have some staff out there we also had staff in West Kate May they're having a large um event out there from shorehouse Canada um that will impact bore Road the ray Farm um and uh you know there's some concerns out there as well so uh we're going to closely monitor that we're Staffing that up uh we also have another event on the beach front the wind event that's going to be down the the other end of The Cove there that could draw some people last year it grew I think it was 89 or 90 people could be more could be less um out in Village Green we have a small event in the afternoon morning in morning pardon me so hopefully it will be you know uneventful as it always is and a delight so we'll do that out there they can be pretty Rowdy too they can be they definitely can be that's for you Chief see this C of mine um but yeah so we're we're moving in and uh we'll continue to plan as every weekend comes through as we get closer to the holiday season um it gets busier people love this town and they come so just bear with us as we try to navigate everything as we go all right thank you thank you Chief yeah great 1010 New York ad just a couple of things um Mr Haney have are you able to project what our in our Surplus will be uh at the end of the year because it appears as though the numbers are very positive yeah I mean I can't give a definitive answer right now with any confidence but I could work on some projections to try to see where we might end up I mean from our smaller funds like beach tourism water sew it's easier to project current fund it's a little more difficult to kind of try to predict where it's going to shake out just because as I mentioned a lot of activity occurs at year end in terms of our adjusting entries um but I think I mean our goal was this year to try to keep for current fund at least Surplus fairly flat now that we've reached a healthy level so I think we should end up around where we've been in Prior years okay thank you um on Friday September 6th I was having lunch um at the restaurant next to the convention hall and I saw a pickup truck from the lifeguards coming right down the middle of the beach and around 1:30 in the afternoon and uh I it was my understanding these these pickup trucks are not supposed to be on the beach during the summer un unless it's absolutely necessary and um I I watched the people moving aside as the as the pickup truck came down the beach was it a lifeguard was it a beach Patrol it was a beach Patrol pickup truck they they are allowed on the beach to perform you know daily activity and and move people around around and as they see fit um to make sure Staffing is available and also monitor the beach as well because essentially they're the police on the beach so they have to be able to get to one end to the other not only that if you if you were at the beach today you'll see the the trucks going back and forth because they're actually looking at the ocean to see who's in the ocean because we are we eliminated with lifeguards that's what they're doing we we we get your concern I mean we all saw what happened in Wildwood well that was that's the that's the reason why I asked unless it's absolutely necessary I don't I don't think the pickup truck would be advisable to be on the beach frankly that's my comment they essentially they use the Polaris when they can um but right now they they have to use the pickup truck for basically pure being able to just move back and forth and I believe at a certain point the Polaris needed to get repaired so essent the need was there uh the other comment is we there seems to be an increase in the number of what I'll call wide tired electric bikes they have a significant U impact because I several times now I've been passed on the inside they then cross in front of you and they go down the center of the street and and I don't know whether this is an increasing problem or is there is there any way to to try and curtail some of the the increase in that type of bike I think this I my opinion the state needs to get more involved we register mopeds we register you know obviously motorcycles and you know even rtvs and that kind of stuff is registered so I I I it's a it's a state issue and my I'm not trying to pass the buck but like you're saying these T the tires are getting to the point where they're basically mopeds they're faster than mopeds mopeds are registered why are in and like you said licensed I I couldn't tell you why we haven't gotten to that point yet I think we should um if we from a local yeah from a local level I don't even know what our our options would be okay thank you very much I mean I agree with you Jules I mean we all see it yeah it's just it's they're really dangerous because of of their they're also very quiet so yeah and and they can they can really move at a at a rapid Pace right and uh yeah and just on that kind of note unsafe people being unsafe today on beach ja I saw a golf cart there was a 10-year-old not in a seat belt and in the passenger front side the mother was in the back and the father who was driving the thing had an infant in his lap yeah well we're seeing a lot of changes in town and uh I just hope it's U doesn't have a negative result thank you yeah you you're good um I I I do apologize I'm remiss uh the mayor and I were talking earlier uh we were just remembering and we're missing over Miss Gladis Mendo um longtime employee of the city uh Beach tag and just a smiling face a warm heart um a kind soul um I believe the mayor would probably Echo the same statements as far as her ability to just grab a laugh and keep you going so I don't think I ever saw her in a bad mood you I really don't and uh you know she she was on the beach front and selling beach tags for a lot of years uh glad he's just was a very uh staple to this community so I just want to Echo that again after our conversation earlier thank you CH sir yeah I just to Echo that um couldn't have a better Beach tagger I mean when you you know some people are not necessarily happy when they find out that they have to pay to get on the beach you know but she did everything with a smile um served the city for 42 years uh we all know Joe her son probably has one of the hardest and most unappreciated jobs in the city which is in the water department we all turn on the faucet and know that there's going to be water but somebody's actually working to make sure that happens so uh my heart goes out to the meno family and and chief thank you for bringing that up and and and I'll just say personally she's just such a wonderful nice lady who volunteered at every group that you went to you would see her there um I would drop my kids off to her and other volunteers right here at the Methodist Church and gosh what just a wonderful sweet lady so thank you Chief sorry about that speaking of wonderful ladies well you're not going to think um I'm here to talk about traffic I'm sorry name and address please Laurel neski 924 Washington Street thank you um I've been to council before about the speeding on Washington Street um I had the Neighbors in my block sign a petition this evening I'm going to read that to you um I did have the opportunity to speak with Paul today about um some potential options which I'll um go over my conversation with you after I read this okay um we the undersigned are residents of Washington Street and residents meaning yearr round residents I am in a block which is highly unusual um we have most of the houses in our block are um occupied by year-round residents it's a a gem of a block for which Deputy Mayor baldan is part of um we are requesting city council to enact measures to mitigate the speeding on Washington Street that occasionally results in car accidents at the light of Washington and Madison it has been frequently observed that drivers disregard the speed limit attempting to beat the light and wind up running the red light leaving town motorists also ignore the no turn on red signs at the intersection with the increase in the number of cars entering the city it's only a matter of time before one of these car accidents results in a fatality in addition motorists disregard the crosswalks that are designated for pedestrians because no signs exist to warn them to stop for pedestrians the corner of Queen in Washington is a well-used crosswalk for children going to and from school we've witnessed school children standing in the crosswalk with their parent as cars refuse to stop and drive through the opportunity to address this issue is now we offer the following suggestions speed humps Stone Harbor and K Point have had success with this approach in order to ensure fire trucks can use Washington Street there could be Cuts placed in the humps the width of the firet trucks axles so they would be able to navigate without having to go over the hump four-way stops at the corner of Washington and Madison West Kate May has seen success with this approach this would ensure all drivers are required to stop Speeders frequently are approaching the light to race through a yellow only to have it turn red by the time they get through cameras and blinking lights could be placed on the no turn on red signs um I have signatures from my husband and I 924 Washington the kurtes at 910 Washington patent art bouro 914 Washington Pete Balwin 909 Washington Susan spado of 1002 Washington Eileen Gallagher 923 Washington J rosenell 921 Washington Casey Glazer 918 and Suzanne Taylor at 9:21 it's one thing to speed five miles over even 10 but we routinely see people driving and it's almost always out of town going well over 40 m an hour and I have stood in a crosswalk with my four and a half-year-old grandson and mayor mullock's wife has stood in a crosswalk with two of his kids and people don't stop they just go right through um the other it possibility would be stop a stop sign at the corner of Washington and queen that would slow people down they'd have to stop there so that that by the time they're trying to beat the light they wouldn't be able to really get the momentum to be going 45 miles an hour um it it's not make believe I'm not some cranky old lady up here this is an issue and it happens to be on this particular particular block um so I'm really hoping that um our Paul who I spoke with today can look at some traffic um options so that something can be done because three weeks ago there was another accident at the corner of Madison and Washington it's not an unusual occurrence thanks guys thank you Laurel uh Chief do you want to comment I will absolutely agree with her and and the the the residence of Washington Street there in Madison in my career there's been multiple accidents there um Mr Yer maybe you can weigh in as far as what the traffic study that we had come through town I don't know if they looked at that specific intersection or not um I would I would hope and I will meet with Paul tomorrow about it but um we should make some of these recommendations at least review it have it studied have it vetted um speed humps I don't know that they're going to work just because I don't think they work in certain they're not allowed in certain certain areas but a four-way stop a stop at Queen um you know again my sentiment is slow down and smell the Salt Air so there's no rush to get down and that intersection is prominantly the worst on on that stretch um we've talked about switching the parking to one side or the other uh we got to control the speed on that street it's hard for my officers to run radar there not that we can't we could sit in PNC maybe and hit some radar radar and you know or or kind of swing around I think we you know the problem is once we tag the radar it's how we get back and get around and do a U-turn and Chase the car um so I'll work with my lieutenant Lieutenant Maza on that Patrol Division Commander is first how run radar in the interim and then I think we move forward with a decent traffic side even if we do something right in that that that hun Block it's the 400 block 900 block 900 block paron me so um definitely I agree with her and your sentiment is absolutely correct on point um we did I because I had asked and and um we did have the crosswalk sign put out there on Queen Street thankfully okay thankfully um I think it's interesting the idea of a four-way stop I've never thought of that per I haven't either we've placed them at other places in town maybe Justin has a way in there but as far as it being the legality of it but it is a County Road Madison too sorry Madison is a county road so we have to get County the county approval so so I did speak with um city manager Dietrich kind of in advance of the meeting and and you know he has agreed that we should do a a speed study um specifically on this area and he is going to be working with Chief Fel in the police department and putting together some sort of um a speed study plan to look at at these issues and and try to come up with some solutions that aren't shortsighted you know because if if we're going to bring in you know one solution that could be causing and 10 others we want to be able to say okay here's a solution to the problem that's going to last a while yeah Chief we're uh in in New Jersey you're not allowed to have speed cameras right to be able to take I I actually actually entertained that with Mr Gill I I would love to have them but I thought that they were outlawed in New Jersey yeah they definitely are you know I even thought about if we could have them at least to give warnings but it just makes no sense to spend that kind of money but I wish they were because I've gotten tickets in Maryland for speeding at 29 miles hour this is not not um the answer because we' we've done it already but we did reduce it to 20 M hour we did see a reduction in speed I mean we collect data from the speed those those LED flashing um speed signs actually collect the data like the chief says we don't issue tickets from that or anything but we get average speeds and things like that the average speed has decreased I I know exactly what you're talking about is there are still Speeders you know people who are going 40 or whatever they are to go through the light which is probably I would I would AG I would agree that's probably a good assumption yeah it's definite so listen yeah we we don't see a Bas stream from revenue on that but I don't have a problem I i' would rather ticket them and and get them down with the city doesn't see a huge number from that nor would I condone officers writing tickets just to gain uh any any any income that's for me but I want to save lives so that's most important um both ways because I have The Notches up the other end of the corner there in you know in a thousand block they complain all the time Larry's in my ear constantly but yeah I think we definitely need to you know exercise some monies that way or even go back to the people that did our traffic study they might have looked at the intersection anyway because we paid them to do the whole city and the whole island so it might have already been in record and they could just go back to it say yep let's flip to that page Chief just yes sir anecdotally not data or anything like that but when I was in West Kate May Al almyra and park was always horrible that's why the fourwh went in and then I was when I was there the they did the four-way is that just that that intersection has been controlled primarily because of that four-way the accidents have went way down yeah that intersection at Madison like she refers to have gone up difference being there was there wasn't a traffic light there yeah there different yeah that's the difference but the people two try to run it to beat it there never was a traffic there was only the one way of stop signs the four-way controlled that you know these people are pausing there and and for us like I said it slows us stand of denst and almyra that that stop sign will always be there as long as I'm here as long as you can keep it there I know people hate it but it does work but the four-way stop sign she's referring to I think you know it's going to be an adjustment but life is an adjustment yeah and you know what with what we're doing we're proposing to milm pave Washington Street and we all know what that does as well so that's going to be you know even increasing the speeds a lot more well we should put some uh uh speed reducing measures such as they do on the other roads that has been redone in Kate May such as line striping the line strip right the line striping will help maybe some additional 20 M hour signs up yeah definitely I I think we definitely look I you know I don't want to just take Washington Street I think I want to take Lafayette Street back into consideration with the county because you know you got 25 you got 25 but when you get off that brid little bridge and you come cooking in town you're moving both ways one of the other reasons it's I think we really want to put 20 M hour signs on Washington is so many people take Washington so they they see okay oh they're actually 20 M hour here not 25 you know we put a we put a couple stop signs on either on both of those streets I don't know how you do it on on Lafayette but Lafayette definitely should be picked up or at least looked at as well if you're going to do a study for one do a study for both and you know if you did it at Union you know and stop them at Union or what whatever you do but somewhere along that way cuz people come in and out and I get the complaints from the the L the at Street side as well we'd have to probably work with the county absolutely yeah definitely I just have one thing to say ma'am I'll be happy to sign your petition as if you don't if you don't know me running around town on my scooter exactly at 900 block I have been passed by a vehicle and that poed me because it's a double yellow line and and when I was at the public works today and I'm asking about signs for the pride you know what you can and can't do dogs you know whatever I saw the other signs out there do not you know stop on on this line for red etc etc and I made a joke to the uh Public Works superintendent underneath the law says stop here do this do that can we put a you know parentheses certain State Drivers because I see always violating the laws that means you not not so much New Jersey okay that's a little joke good evening hi uh I'm Kevin hammeron 1010 Washington Kevin so I think we've actually talked about the same subject um you know people come off at you know I I know what you're saying about that I would happily sign your petition too um there's about three accidents a year at Washington and Madison two of the ones that I can think of in the last couple of years both of which are responded with the fire police um have wound up in the yard of the in at the park um just narrowly missing the you know the front of the house so it's it usually is somebody who's running the light that is correct it's it's often someone who um you know makes the right turn uh illegally there onto Washington something like that I know there's some issues with the sign that says no turn on redit it's actually kind of set back from the intersection so people are be are already passed it before they realize it although there's another one sitting up on the uh by the traffic light what I'm what I'm just going to add to is that that whole stretch is really pretty tough because when the when you're sitting at the light at at was at Washington and Madison the people who are heading out of town town when that light changes they take off I mean it's the FedEx truck it's the US Post Office truck it is cars it is you know um those mop head things um they come flying down Washington uh in the direction of the physic State and you know I've I've actually suggested to uh to the police chief that you know I would happily feed and water a cop to sit on my front porch with a speed gun and they can pull them over into the into the physic estate and T ticket them in the parking lot it is uh it is it I mean they are way above 40 mil an hour and they they come off the the light like a shot um what do you suggest Kevin I I think honestly that that the one of the best things to do is really set a speed trap at the physic estate and just pick them up you know you can have one sitting right where the uh um uh tennis court is and then you literally have somebody you know come on in here you think it's the same people or not really oh I I think you can you can you can see the FED X trucks for instance going down regularly you can see the the US Post Office trucks they're both speeding um you know the Vans and the cars that are just leaving town it's it's a repetitive incident you could sit there and you could probably get a half dozen people in a couple hours at at the most okay so I think it it really does honestly you know mean that it's it's people who are just they they see a wide open stretch and off they go yeah agreed so we we will work with the chief on that Laurel just to tell you you know we're going to be repaving Washington pretty soon actually I'm not sure exactly is it sometime in October yes mayor uh so we will work with you um on the striping at least so you see the striping plan um any small changes that we can make to that striping plan to make it safer of course I'm sure we would all support um and we'll we'll work with the chief on enforcement I do think look look at a a speed study obviously makes a lot of sense I think the idea of uh four-way stop is interesting uh I don't I don't know what professionals would say about that but it's a it's an interesting thought behavor yeah I mean it certainly at least you know people are going to slow down anyway yeah yep Stacy Shan 928 Columbia Avenue I just want to point out when you're talking stop signs according to the National Transportation B Bureau they say stop signs actually increase speeding because then people are speeding between the stop signs so we just got to be careful um when you do something like that yep I just want you know I think they should and I also I know you're talking about data but where that sign is located I think gives you false data because it's right where people turn into the golf into the tennis court so they're going zero and that goes into the speed limit of people speeding in town so I don't think it's a true accurate measure of the speeding down Washington Street because it's at almost at like a a turn age should we put that sign in a 9 my opinion we should probably put that sign in 900 well just just real quick I think what's more important necessarily even than the data is that it's in a good location for speeding you know it's a really high visibility location um kind of halfway up the block I mean I'm sure that's why that location was selected I mean it it may I'm just saying that it's not yeah it it may skew it may skew the just same way with the one at um on Madison which by the way is a County Road and we should be pushing the county to install another uh led the county by the way the county did install I'm sure everyone has seen going um a you know toward quanas Club from the beach you you see the bigger yellow LED speed sign that is from the county it'd be nice to get one on the opposite side of the street eventually but can can I just ask I'm not really familiar with this and maybe you understand why can't we have those those big speed bumps what's the reasoning behind that with the car trucks we just just from my my um perspective and city solicitor G short can certainly chime in the uh joint Insurance Fund actually has highly recommended against any big speed humps or big speed bumps because of actually it causes damage to Vehicles causes damage to Municipal Vehicles actually increases um accidents versus decreasing accidents because basically you're coming up now you either a you slam on your brakes to avoid the big you know hump on your car or you hit it at full force and you just destroy the undercarriage so it it really is just a highly recommended thing that against um doing I guess we're all about enforcement then you but but to to that point you know I've seen many municipalities you know geared less towards stop signs and more towards um traffic lights and then gauging it with the police department so I think you know doing the speed study will certainly allow a better strategy and and look looking at kind of how we're going to approach this because with the paving on there we do have to look at um kind of what's going on so I appreciate everyone bringing it to our attention um I just have a question and this is for Kevin um what you said the MUA raised increased their rates right um how does that work with the Coast Guard base because they should be paying whatever comes in whatever Bill comes in they should be paying is it already raised their rate when it comes in for them or is that something we have to do is raise the rate yeah um I think it was sort of discussed uh we evaluated each budget year to kind of raise the rates to appropriately match what the fees coming in from the county are to each location okay because I know there's a pumping station right there by the the coar base and I didn't know if they were just build automatically individually that was my point asking that question but they're not no it's um we set the rate for the year and then each budget year we evaluate to align it with action yeah I mean they're a federal government they should pay their fair share when the rates go up exactly they have the money um my next question is for you is um the city the residents are supposed to be Avail have the ability to attend um when the department heads give their budget yes presentations or their their budgeting request correct and I just was wanted to know when do you have an idea when that's going to be held in November um some late October to Mid November we don't have a set time frame yet and are you going to advertise that on the website yes okay yep thank you or do we paper right yeah paper will announce at meetings yep those are open to the public anyone else seeing none motion to adjourn so thank you everyone have a wonderful evening 624 St