##VIDEO ID:dbY-ejUORT8## okay everyone if we can find our seats silence our cell phones we're about to get started I will do the same and if we can just close the back door or the side doors any doors that are open I greatly appreciate that too okay good afternoon everyone we are on the record today is Tuesday the 15th day of October in the year 2024 this is a city council Caucus meeting of the Jersey City municipal Council we had a scheduled 4M start the clock on my cell phone is showing 4:02 p.m. may we have a roll call for the Met commencement of this caucus council person Ridley will be here a little later council person priner here council person bajano herec person s here council person Solomon is not here yet whoops council person Gilmore is not here yet council person Dees here council person Rivera here and council president wman here if I can I'll make it all right we have six council members in attendance at 402 p.m. on behalf of council president wman and members of the municipal Council in accordance with the New Jersey public laws of 1975 chapter 231 the open public meetings act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bolon board of the first floor of City Hall the annual notice which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal Council for the calendar year 2024 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Thursday November 30th 2023 in addition at its time it's pration the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday October 11th 2024 at 4:55 p.m. to the mayor Municipal Council business administrator Corporation Council and the local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law I am going to Mark council person Solomon present at 403m so we now have seven thank you seven council members present at 4:03 p.m. council president I'm going to turn it over to you good afternoon our first director director KS good evening president bman and members of the council I have eight hour eight items before you today the first one is resolution 24745 resolution will authorize the Department of Public Safety to apply and accept the FY 24 burn Memorial Justice assistance grant in the amount of 999,000 $321 These funds will be utilized for the continuation of foot and vehicle vehicular patrols that will address quality of life complaints can cover tactical gang and Drug Enforcement operations that's 10.21 correct director uh 1021 correct next item is resolution 24746 1022 resolution will authorize the award of a contract to CDW government Incorporated for the purchase of gr key license for the police department cyber security unit through the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey total amount of the contract is $61,500 23 and it is funded through the fiscal year 2022 uasi Grant third one is item 1023 resolution resolution 24747 resolution will authorize the acceptance of a grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security FEMA under the port security grant program for the maintenance of Two Fire Department Marine vessels total amount of this grant is $75,000 with matching runds from the city in the amount of $25,000 next is resolution I ask you a question Greg yes councilman what happened to our police boat does it ever go out do we use it it's in service it's currently out of service it needs repairs but we cover that on the aasi grant are they going to use it though it is it on water they're bound to do Homeland Security patrols on a waterways that's part of the acceptance of the grant well this uh include the ls Island portion or is that I'm sorry councel sorry will uh will they be patrolling like your downtown Jersey City or like where where will they be patrolling any of the primary and tertiary waterways okay with the boats you're talking about yes any of the primary at tary hack hackin Pake Hudson okay it's two vessels you said fire department has two police department has one got it resolution 24748 1024 resolution will authorize the city of Jersey City Department of Public Safety to apply and accept the FY 2025 safe and secure communities Grant from the New Jersey Department of Public Safety Office of the Attorney General in the amount of $1 15,490 with a local match of $220,800 that'll cover the salaries of eight police officers which include the coverage of Grant and fringe benefits that's already absorbed by the city next one is resolution 1035 24759 resolution we author wise he Award of a contract to mclusky Mechanical Contractors for boiler maintenance services for city-owned buildings under the Hun and County Educational Service Commission total amount of this contract is $150,000 with a temporary incumbrance of 75,000 1036 24760 resolution will authorize you Award of the Public Public sale of 55 Motor Vehicles one three-wheel scooter one utility Lift Truck four allterrain vehicles and five mechanical street sweepers that are no longer needed for public use through the Public surplus.com Public Line Auction 1037 resolution 24761 resolution will authorize you Award of a contract to Verizon connect Fleet USA USA LLC for the purposes of GPS Fleet Tracking subscription services for City own vehicles through the source well purchasing Co-op total amount of the contract is $80,000 and the last it's 1038 24762 resolution will authorize the rejection of bids received by the city of Jersey City on September 12 12th 2024 for contract caption custodial Services supplies 2024 number 249-2949 no there's so many issues on the police department the parking authority 911 and they're never here ba is his boss he can't get him here we got a problem maybe we need some changes council president if you would allow me I just want to Mark council person Gilmore present at 4:07 PM so we now have eight council members present at 407 Christin 10.9 next right good evening city council council president I have two items before you today item 1019 a resolution authorizing the city uh to issue a certificate of insurance for Arrow Archery to host a film screening and reception this is the 10-year anniversary of the Jersey City youth mural arts program and so this is the insurance certificate for that this is item resolution 24- 743  okay and uh resolution uh item 1020 a resolution authorizing the city to issue a Certificate of Insurance to cise for lighting equipment to illuminate the mural as part of that event resolution 24- 744 Is this different than the city mural arts program or are they like a subdivision of the city's mural arts program they are this is a program that in conjunction with the Department of recreation uh their summer youth program we hire about 25 young people to execute a fullscale mural and then we also document that for a screening a documentary screening which will be on October 24th at Aro archery 94 Street I hope you're able to attend and then we'll cut the ribbon on that 10th mural celebrating 10 years of supporting the youth program on Saturday October 26th so reach out with information but please join us for that are they kids from across the city do they express interest 25 young people 13 to 25 participate and some have been in the program for all 10 years so they'll speak about their experience is in the program it's beautiful thank you director it's a beautiful event I know I have two presentations I have the Arts and I have the Sid that wants to present what we do we listen to the current city business first and then we do the presentations okay so we haven't forgotten you all right that's not a problem that I know the directors are here and sometime the directors have to leave so they sign in according to first come first serve and so I try to honor that because I know some of them have to go back to work so presentations is really not on the agenda per se because we're doing current business so that's why the presentations are done at the end okay thank you drew council president I'm sorry to interrupt I just want to more council person Ridley present at 4:11 pm. so we now have all nine council members present at 4:11 Drew good afternoon council president council members I have four items today uh the first of which is agenda number 10.42 resolution 24- 766 this is a resolution authorizing a notice in Li of deed notice agreement uh with psng for uh known contamination on uh Holiday Street um this is something that is in institutional control to work with the engineering cap that is in place on site if you do have questions there is representation from psng here today can you describe like the scope of work how long it'll take and um the the engineering a clean soil cap is in place so that work is done this is just the instit tional or you know government control on that so if there's any digging there the parties would be notified and psng is ultimately responsible in perpetuity okay are are they going to fix the street once they dig get up um yes this one's a little weird because it's part of the larger PPG site so that that Street's now basically been excavated for ppg's remediation purposes which is separate um but yes there there will be future Street construction as part of that um Redevelopment of that area okay oh this this is this is across from Garfield on um the contaminate on the opposite side of the Park yeah opposite side of the the 900s got what all depends what parcel it is but across the street from them essentially between um Carteret and Cav Point yes oh okay currently the road is is gone because of the reation uh next one similar um type of notice and L and D notice this is agenda item number 10.43 resolution 24- 767 um this is a known site of honeywell's site 188 and this is for contamination that's in and around the sewer infrastructure so not feasible to excavate it without disrupting that sewer same thing institutional control for that site this is at Sussex Street sorry next is agenda number 10.44 resolution 24-7 68 this is a resolution requesting um a six-month extension for the grant project for Christopher Columbus Drive we are working on some design constraints and working with some utility upgrades so we are requesting the do give us six more months to award a contract to a construction company can I just Sor I just ask on that we're um asking for the six-month extension um when do we hear back from uh when should we expect to hear back from the state this this is part of the process we should hear back within a month or so uh based on the new pmrs system they're pretty responsive okay and if the state does not Grant the extension what would be our next steps at that point uh just to negotiate further and and maybe ask for a shorter extension would be the first step okay great just keep us on in the loop on that because we obviously want to want to see the project move forward understand why we have the extension but we we want to be helpful thanks no problem final one is uh item number 10.45 24-7 69 this is a resolution rejecting all bids received for the Morris Canal Greenway project um unfortunately we've we've bid this multiple times and the state uh dot civil rights off has deemed that all responsive biders were not in compliance with their forms so we're moving to reject all bids with the purchasing agent and and go back out to bid again question what was there what was specifically not in compliance in those forms that um you know made this was it they're not diversity or what is the you know I know they have the diversity statement but what was it exactly uh unfortunately the the low bidder did comply with the percentage goal they missed handing in a form oh we tried our best to negotiate it's just there was no wiggle room with the state on that one uh the other biders uh simply missed all the forms that they needed to submit they didn't include any in their bid package thank you thank you everyone good afternoon council president and council members have three items in front of you first is item number 10.47 resolution 24- 771 it's a resolution providing local support for a Higher Ground dispensary LLC to operate a class five retail cannabis business they will be located at 41 Marin Boulevard they were approved by the C CB on November 13th 2023 planning board on August 20th 2024 and they have two M Us in place and there are no distance issues may know if you could ask them to reach out to my office I didn't even know this was was in WF um yes so if you could get uh Erica if we can get the um the owner's contact um so we can reach out sure next we have item number 3.2 a first reading of ordinance 24- 090 it's ordinance amending chapter 84 Alcoholic Beverage Control and cannabis article one H retail consumption and distribution licenses this is just adding a new category of licenses it's uh for nonprofit theaters as a companion to that we are also required to it's going to be on uh agenda number 10.46 it's resolution number 24770 it's a resolution declaring the city of Jersey City's intent to issue a new planetary retail consumption license to a nonprofit corporate operating at an art housee theater theater license actually every time there's an application a resolution will come in front of the council you good afternoon council president and Council I have two items for today and the first item is resolution 24-7 25 item agenda number 10-1 and this is a resolution authorizing the assertion of special items to the revenue and appropriation and these are a list of five grants that were adding in a total of 3,298 728 the second item is item 24- 726 which is agenda number 10-2 and this is the insertion of special items and revenue and Appropriations again these are grants that we're adding this 15 grants in a total of 11,191 67485 just with regards to that Miss web and I don't know if this was in the jurisdiction of your office if we can um just do a better job at advertising these grants to um to different areas and different communities uh because something that's always perplexing to me is when I see grants going to the same group of people all the time and this is not necessar to say that they're not deserving of it or they're not doing the work but um I'm of the opinion that everyone should have fair and equal access to um to these grants so we can do a better job at um just advertising um advertising um these grants so um that would be Community Development and I will pass that along but just to let you know what we are planning in regards to the grants office as in the future we're going to be working with our grant Consultants to look for Grants where we can partner with Community um organizations nonprofits allowing them to partner with us and allowing and we are asking our grant Consultants to look for like startup money and just individual grants for not just for the city but for nonprofits and um Community organizations because we understand that they don't have the funding to utilize a grant consultant thank you Jake good evening council president and members of council I have two matters uh this evening the first is agenda item 10.17 a resolution approving uh lee Chang as a PDM municipal prosecutor uh with the swearing in of Judge Mory we have another evening session uh and we often reach outside of our office to other attorneys that work in the city to be PM Municipal prosecutors and Lee Chang is the director of immigrant Affairs and he has a law degree and he expressed interest in uh helping us provide coverage for that session uh resolution 1018 is my second and last one the National Association of Code Enforcement recognizes October as National Code Compliance month uh so the administration myself uh submitted a resolution expressing gratitude uh to code inspectors and uh asking the council to join in expressing that gratitude and um not just gratitude to the Code Compliance inspectors in my division but to our inspectors in um fire prevention as well as the various offices in uh Economic Development com HC and Health and Human Services yes um Jake what regard to to Lee in the prosecut so he works for the city um so he's so he's gonna go over on pum schedule and then what happens after that do we go do we go back to his well these are evening I should have been more specific these are evening Court sessions only um so he probably wouldn't physically go back um but we have a handful of Corporation assistant corporation councils that PRM prosecute for us um this is our first time reaching beyond the law division um but it would be the same same deal he would clock out as uh his primary job and then clock in as a predem prosecutor I thought we couldn't be on two municipal payrolls at the same time Jump in it's a stipend based thing so the way it would work when Lee's not being paid for his regular job duties if he's doing additional work that are not included as part of his additional job duties he can get a stien for that how long do we anticipate um he will be there at the because I'm just scared that um well first of all I'm concerned about any employee being on two City payrolls um and then two uh do we have a plan all right let's say the Court's backed up and they need um help as it relate from a prosecutor standpoint uh how long do we anticipate on him being there so you'll have all of them there for as long as we're having night sessions the rationale behind it is if you had the the full-time uh Municipal prosecutors doing it they could be working 12h hour days so you basically give them an 8 hour day the PDM prosecutors as Jake was referring to him come in for the night sessions and they handle the final session so it basically relies on how many different uh night courts we have operating at a given time and the oh sorry well let's hire you SEF wait no I was gonna ask wait are you done uh asking questions or yeah yeah no um I was going to ask uh does the volume of case work like necessitate the um hiring of a nighttime prosecutor like how many nights a week are they going to be doing this and we we do uh six sessions a night four nights a week okay I once incorporated into somebody's hours and they started midday and went evening it from a management standpoint it wasn't entirely practical um if if I was to replicate that I would have like a bell curve with a lot of lawyers in the middle of the day and so this is really the most efficient way to do it even from a cost uh point of view our PDM rate is below every other municipality in Hudson County um but that's a different conversation uh but yeah so from a cost standpoint this actually is more beneficial than having an employee lawyer in the evening and you do need uh prosecutors because I I saw there's been an appointment of Judges over the last few like six months a year so I guess that you know they would need a prosecutor there as well um is there and I know you guys do a lot of work for Code Compliance I was wondering if there's a way you could send us information as to how many summonses get issued or like any kpis that you could disclose to the council um if I was to ask about W de and specifically if that would be able to be broken down I keep a I do do monthly numbers uh from all my offices I'm happy to channel them to the council if I'm able to do that directly or through the administration I don't by Design though break them down by neighborhood okay I the only thing I can break down by neighborhood is what comes in through C click fix but that's not going to be the full picture of what inspectors do because they handle direct calls for service um from residents from council members from uh the telephone that is not captured in C click fix just because we hear so many complaints like oh it's so dirty this and that and people don't understand the process that they have they're given time to remediate the issue you know if they get a warning or even a summons they have 30 days our summons numbers have consistently doubled the last three years um I think some things that folks don't understand is my inspectors write a summons they don't pick up the trash when we see large dumps we do call that into public works and we track all that but we are not the city office that picks up illegal dumping got it okay so those those are appropriate questions for other departments in the city okay so legal just to be clear so I'm clear you can be on two City payrolls if one is paid via stip I mean I don't know if it's a payroll it's you're basically filling out a form that said you did the work on a given night and regardless of how long it was you get the same pay for it so it comes in with your regular paycheck so what he's saying is so you can be on a stien you can work one job by the city full-time and then if there's another position available then you can be on a stien any employee in the city of Jersey City can do it that's all yeah okay that's all he wants to clear so if if we can um um we could just get like I'm just concerned about the scheduling so I know he works in a daytime from I don't know 8 to whatever what time does night cour typically start and what time does it normally end starts around 4 o'clock and depending on what judge you have it can go until 10 o'clock at night but most judges are done by 8 o'clock 8 o'clock so between four and five hours okay all right thank you you thank you thank you so much thank you John Mercer good evening Council I have one item it's agenda number 1010 resolution 24- 734 this is an award of a competitively big contract to Catalyst payments to provide credit card and electronic payment services um yeah sorry are they going to cover our um online property tax payments yes and what what is the the fee going to be both for the electronic bank transfer and for the for credit and debit cards it's 2.2% okay for E checks and a uh transactions it's 95 cents okay for the credit cards I mean is there any way to to cap the percentage uh just if someone's you know paying a large Property Tax Bill via credit card I you know I looked and it seems like most of the um property tax payments are done by eche yeah I mean you save a lot of money if you do pay a check but sometimes folks you know you might might need to use a credit card I mean there is no way to cap it okay any other questions thank you thank you Laura good afternoon council president and council members I have four items the first one is resolution 24- 727 item 10.03 the resolution to cancel a portion of eight months of the 2023 added assessment on block 56 L 22 due to the erroneous assessment the property is 86 Prospect Avenue the property was subject to an added assessment of 528,000 but erroneously was placed 1 Milli 65,500 so I'm requesting a council members to authorize a tax collector to cancel $ 8,42 76 which is the difference of the added Assessment bill questions Laura when we when we do these tax cancellations or these reassessment things um what's the actual amount that the city is charged well it depends how many months you are going to cancel so I don't know how many quarters so we go by monthly so it's 12 months and they supposed to get a credit for six or eight months so we just take 12 divided by the number of months and that's how we refunded the taxes now when we refund um they're going to be refunded not credited correct depends um if is it depends the amount of money if they can cover the following quar usually is credit but if it exceeds the amount they usually could be refunded but usually is Credit in the past few years the tax collector credit to the following quarters that's I have well a lot of not me personally but a lot of people take issue with us crediting their bills especially when we've made the mistake whether it's via appeal or something that we caught because their whole position is well if I'm paying UPF front you don't even know if that person borrowed that money for that quarter right they don't want to be credited so I guess my question is there any way we can get in the business of reimbursing people that have that have that have overpaid for whatever reason I think it's in case by case basis um we I don't recall any complaint about somebody having an issue to the refund because we usually credit for the following quarters personally I didn't have any phone call we need complete about the refund but there is that is something that we can explore don't yes of course the collector can be we can talk about it perfect okay the next item is resolution 24728 item 10.04 a resolution authorizing a payment of a claim submitted by associat appraisal group for Appraisal Services in support of the Jersey City tax assessor in proper evaluations and in defense of tax abuse the claim to be paid is um $8,000 for three opal reports that was done for the city and the next resolution is any questions yeah just um can you just describe why it's a payment of a claim oh well H we hire two appraisal companies to do different appraisal reports for tax core or County Board appeals uh could we for reverse appeals also so basically we we have a contract that was approved in July 11 2024 but we had to requested a Pros before that contract was approved so we need to pay them back basically what they already did and just how much are each of these claims oh well it's 8,000 for three properties depending what kind of property they appraisal if it is a commercial industrial or multi fam so it's depending on the type of property that they are placing one I was going to say you said they do reverse appeals as well yes we do we do every year reverse appeals do we have any stats on how many we've done because I know is the deadline is that passing or has it passing well every year April 1il every year April 1 we do that so we can share the list of the properties that we file in the past few years okay next one yeah next one Laura the next one is the same um kind of claim is a resolution 24- 727 the same is a claim a payment of claim for the company Integra realy which is at the other repal company is the same type of um payment and the invoice is 4,725 he did a 10 AAL reports so this you you said 40,000 yeah he did 10 AAL reports and it's oh okay he did all right any other question no no so the last uh resolution is um resolution number 24- 730 item 10.06 resolution granting a veterans exemption for the black 18406 L 16 qualifier 7701 location 145 harison Avenue property owned by 100% disable veterans are eligible for 100% tax exemption and the primary residents therefore I'm requesting the Municipal Council to cancel the all credit the refund of the total amount of $692 182 any questions thank you thank you Department back there Rich there Ray rich rich is Ray is Ray Myers [Laughter] okay hi Ray how you doing good evening good evening president good evening Council okay go ahead guys go ahead okay so we're here for uh ordinance first reading 3.3 ordinance suppl supplement One Construction codes uniformdating adopting the updated Construction safety manual for 2024 and it's uh ordinance 24- okay it's ordinance 24091 dpdf and basically what's been done is we've clarified some language in the ordinance we turned around and filled a lot of the gaps that occurred in the past five years and we added additional fire safety uh provisions and it for buildings that are under construction uh Ray did you solve that problem wait wait wait Rich wait let's let's stay on this topic first Rich any question guys go ahead I just have a more generic question which is um you know I understand sometimes uh the uniform construction code governs obviously our our laws how does this sfe sa site safety manual kind of um intersect with the uniform construction cold is does it you know are there contradictions is it is it does it add additional requirements does it just repeat the UCC you give me a sense of how these two things work together it's basically an addition to the uniform construction code okay where it's in addition to the uniform construction code whereupon uh there's not a regular Citation for having debris in front of a a building or or uh the operate you know uh basically uh working hours that type of thing so who's um bless you in charge of the uh enforcement of the site safety plan would that be the fire department is that the construction code officials if someone if a developer is violating um the proposed uh site safety plan it would be but done both on the construction code and fire would would they be different like um summonses or is it someone would basically come be a either or would be able to enforce this um um this law it would be an ordinance violation so a ticket that would be issued um yeah no I'll call you in the morning right I'll bother it tomorrow thank you rich thank you Rich I appreciate that it says all right sorry it says construction is permitted on Saturdays or oh yeah I didn't want to bring it up right butes uh I don't know it says construction demolition activities permitted on Saturdays and federal holidays between the exception with the exception of the main holidays and that's keeping in conjunction with basically Union things because we seem to have a conflict with different job sites that are operating okay that we try to keep it under control but to keep it under control it's just become too much of a task to do it okay so and keep with the noise ordinance that's in effect which allows for construction on weekend on Saturdays and holidays permits it it'll be limited to the hours from 9: to 5 yeah Ray we need more inspectors because what we're going through up in Journal Square is a disgrace I'm on the phone with you every day you know what I'm talking about and people are tired of it especially the other day you know I was in the backyard uh they were saying they were painting only but boy painting I never heard painting with hammers and uh drills something's got to be done Ray we you have to have more inspectors before you retire next month and I'm not going to your retirement party who said there was a retirement party thank you thank you thank you Ray Tanya we have a few things um the first is the the fee change ordinance for zoning and one for City Planning but um I don't know if you remember at our budget hearing I had said to you that because Tyler um allows for just talking about 3.8 T I think so yep 3.8 3.8 so because the online system allows you to submit once um the fees that were being charged was just that onetime fee but the way zoning was doing it previously was you would submit you would get denied and then you'd come back through the process again and kind of be double charged um instead of doing that we just found a more reasonable charge that reflects the amount of work that's put into an application um and then covers all the Amendments that go through um so these new prices these new fees are more in line with basically our budget the work that we're doing um and they haven't been updated in a while also the one thing that was added here just so there's some clarity is a charge for zoning determinations that are made for shortterm rentals and driveways so right now um as a part of the process you have to get a zoning certificate that says that you have a legal driveway or curb cut and you have to get a zoning certificate that says that you're allowed to have an A short-term rental we are doing those reviews for free um so this just adding these words to this fee um means that we can charge them the same fee that we charge for all the other determinations that we do um that that's really pretty much it for the fees um I don't have the the ordin I don't have the agenda in front of me but uh we do have a resolution on tonight to open the green Villa to study um introducing senior housing specifically into the Coler Center we have been working with the councilwoman on this um again this is just a resolution to authorize the planning board to conduct that study um it's already in Redevelopment so it won't have to be designated we can probably just move forward with Community meetings at your pace and coming up with the plan and then the plan can probably go to the planning board it it might be a little bit easier than what you're used to um but I do have Matt Silva here and um Matt Ward to talk about a couple more things on the agenda if you don't mind it's not up here did you sign in Matt good evening council president um and members of city council I have one item for you tonight agenda item number 10.4 4 1 resolution 24765 this is opening up the Westside Avenue Redevelopment plan um this was petitioned by the developer of 27731 Westside Avenue which is the currently the a vacant industrial structure in the corner of West height Avenue and Fisk street across the street from college Towers um the zoning in place at this site currently facilitates the Adaptive reuse of this building as a uh residential Loft style residences um residential is currently the only allowed use um in the course of preparation for construction the developer informed us that they found that the ground floor of the existing building is not suitable for residential habitation um in light of that they want to put a mixture of amenity space and commercial use on the ground floor um commercial is not currently allowed use they've asked us to reopen the plan so the planning board can study adding commercials a ground floor use along this stretch of Westside Avenue which is becoming more of a mixed use Corridor anyway due to University Place and other nearby developments questions I was going to ask a question regarding the fees for uh three point but I know we we segued quickly through it um so I know you're requesting um for zoning determination letter for like driveways uh that they'd pay for it now what would happen in the case of like someone putting in a C- click fix for like an illegal driveway is that um that would be done for free or is that like is it that's more of an inspection on a VI potential violation um it just because I you get a c click fix and I say in C click fix that it's legal um is not I if if you tried to represent that to me as an approval I would tell you that's not an approval that's me countering a c click fix is there any way to require these uh letters upon sale of a property because there's so many that are illegal and I would you know I don't know if that's something that could be done in coordination with the county and the City because I know the Deeds are recorded through the county but um is there a way for us to enforce that or I don't know there I mean a lot of other municipalities um do have zoning certificate so zoning compliance certificate at sales right before building gets sold and hands get turned over we don't have that here um we tried to do it if I can remember at this point probably about at least 15 years ago and um it was really there's a lot of push back from Realtors um because it's an EXT it's it takes it takes more time with in the sale um so yes you can do that we can can require it absolutely should only push back was by relatives right real okay well I don't think we should do it if the Realtors are pushing back I really don't want to piss them off but so Tanya how can we Implement that what did you say how can we Implement that if this is something that we think should be done yeah I mean absolutely you can require a zoning certificate at um at point of sale I'm pretty sure or um I know or a left but I know that for example the the tax assessor gets a copy of every deed and has record of every sale so there are ways that we are tracking those things it's just it's it's no it's we need to implement because it's hard to catch because even with some of these illegal driveways they look legal only how I know they illegal because I know the neighborhood and I know it wasn't there but it looks perfectly legal so to someone purchasing a house I can see why they will be up in arms I know we had an incident with that on brink um and I actually thought it would like it looks like a legal driveway um so I think we we we really have to do something can we work on that we Department in reality the amount of actual legal driveways is probably 25% ones that are on the book as legal driveways but because at some point driveways were being grandfathered based on how far you could go back in Google Earth or Google Street View there probably maybe at least a thousand driveways that were not legal prior to that that are now legal and there's no way that I could in good cont say you had a permit you were operating like this and then go back the moving forward is a it's difficult there's plenty of things that we can do but it certainly will be difficult Don T A lot of these driveways were oky DOI by a former mayor about 30 years ago and you can't touch them today I mean uh that's what she's saying rich but what we need to do is figure out how we can move forward because we get in complaints so um I don't know if when they um get the certificate of occupancy that something should be required before they get it in the parking study there was um a suggestion to sir certify your your driveway so in order to have it as legal you would have to have a certificate and then you'd also paying an additional fee on it the only issue with that of course is making getting getting all of them getting that out but or when they paint when they request to paint their lines or you know yes because people people be painting their own lines sure do in the street it's yes okay but we have to figure this out T move forward yes okay hey I want to finish Matt yeah so I'm I'm I'm hearing kind of an odd one here um in on 4.1 it's a second reading ordinance chapter 84 uh and no reason this should slow down I think that the council should opine and make a decision on this um but this just as a reminder uh this had a sister ordinance um it had it's it's listed under tabled item 11.6 um and to confuse things it's ordinance 23- 078 so not 24- 078 um and it it's a ordinance amending chapter 345 um and it was essentially uh pulling back um a dual responsibility uh for cannabis uh establishments and um and and Distributors uh between the planning board and Zoning Board slash the Cannabis control board and uh and allowing those uses um in more of a a black and white sense in what zone they're permitted they're allowed pursuant to approval by the CCB uh so it was fully handing over the Reigns to the Cannabis control board which is what the second reading ordinance before you does so I believe that uh if you are moving forward with the adoption of 4.1 at a subsequent meeting uh you should untable that and move forward with uh that sister ordinance you're saying untable um which one is that the 11.6 11.6 okay so that would be the accompanying ordinance we'd done table in order to correct and I it I don't think that that's to say that the 4.1 can slow has to slow down it does not but there will be maybe a slight time when there's still this two-headed uh animal um between planing a City Planning and CCB and you're saying 4.6 would streamline the the process that's correct it would remove a hoop for potential business uh um entrepreneurs okay and in your determination and also the director that this would be positive in terms of they were originally written in tandem um with the law Department okay what does the Law Department say and councilman we did actually refer the draft of the ordinance to planning to review and that was their recommendation back the um 11.6 the changes to 345 if you want to talk about we did make some additional changes in between first and second read if you want to speak about those now council president as to 4.1 um some of the council members did provide us suggestions we made any changes that we deemed non-substantial um so there are a few Red Line anything included in red was an update from first to second read I can summarize and then if anybody has any questions uh we did clarify the grandfathering language on page three of the ordinance to make sure it's clear that anybody that filed an application before the moratorium went in place was be grandfathered in uh in terms of the uh caps in each Ward and in total um we also just made some other clarifying language to get rid of redundancy on page four as well as clarify the legal age is 21 um we also did some other clarifying language about the use of vehicles for uh they are allowed to be able to be used for delivery as long as they have the valid classic license or the certification issued by the CRC um we also included at the council suggestion that if a business has been given a council resolution of support and they've not opened in six months that that be included in the uh report from the CCB that is supposed to be provided to the council quarterly that's not a substantial change it also includes including but not limited to so if the council wants to see anything else they can request that uh in the CCB report and then last ly the other change to speak about where we went through the draft of the ordinance in terms of the definition of school multiple times we use the definition of school in chapter 345 it's up in including um secondary education it does not include um universities or Institute of higher education so to make that consistent uh also consistent with the N Jack the rules on this in terms of how we can ulate it we've updated on page 9 UM in 84-53 be we've removed uh University or Institute of higher education and replaced it with public or non-public Elementary or secondary school building we think that's consistent and clarifying uh those are the changes we made between first and second read anything else that was suggested to us would be substantial let me ask this question now is there anything that we can put in there if they are licensed and there is some type of um event Festival um that they cannot vend on the outside that they cannot be a vendor they cannot be they cannot be I've seen that over the weekend they were outside some of them that had license and they were vending and they was definitely trying to sell Edibles I've seen it for myself so is there something we can put in writing if they do that they lose license because it's supposed to would be in violation of state law so that's something if um you know it comes up on their renewal I I don't know what we have to do but I know we need to put something in there to make sure we clear with that because I I was out I was I went to various places and I was shocked there is also uh recently govern Murphy did sign a bill regarding hemp and regulation of hemp products um we're waiting on regulations for that there was also a partial um dismissal of it in the federal court so um that could also be an issue if we're dealing with hemp or the hemp drinks and things like that wasn't him what is Edibles with t THC in it I mean there's different kinds there's like a Delta 8 then sorry I understand what you're saying I'm telling you what I'm saying the short of it is that hemp plants have substantially less um active substances in them than cannabis plants and there was a bill that went through the federal legislature that allowed you to sell hemp based products that I think had up to a very small percentage of THC in it so I think that's what you're probably seeing at these events they shouldn't sell them the only reason why I'm saying it because if this is something controlled okay based on based on what these uh small business have to go through just to get the license and to get the facility you know safe now they just come and sitting up a table on the outside and they can sell it to anyone nobody's asking for nobody's ID or anything like that now I understand what you're saying but I'm telling you what I'm seeing okay so what can we put in place to safeguard it that's all it is happening so federal law says it's legal you know we're not necessarily in the grounds to say it's not however as you said there was State legislation that was passed about this um there was a challenge in the courts on it which was partially successful so we're probably going to have to wait and see how this plays out this is the joy of the federal government and the state government not being on the same page on things I understand it but I'm just amazed when we want to go against the federal government we put law in place when we don't want to then we come up with less wait and see I I understand what you're saying John but to me it's a dangerous thing um because when you at these festivals Sometimes some some children look grown they don't look like they're 15 they don't look innocent and so you know for them to go up and purchase it and then if something happened then they look to the city and say you know why is there nothing in in place to protect this now like I said I understand what you're saying but I'm just amazed when we want to we we put it in say well let's see what the court say then let's let them challenge us so why can't we put something together and let's say let them Challen us because this is happening we'll explore it I mean the one of the things that the challenge um didn't upset was the age restriction of 21 and up so if people are selling it to minors we can absolutely do something about that correct because they ask for ID maybe like a disclosure if someone's doing a um a market or whatever they would have to disclose if there's hemper any controlled substances and that would be part of the application and then they'd have to um you know basically have a sign that says no sale for anyone 21 and make sure that they check the ID that's something we could look into it's pursu to law Britney we oh okay joh the best way to regulate that would be through the permitting process um because that's at the point where the city has a stance to accept or not accept the application and the continuance of the uh Festival so um we can make that if the council wishes to legislate that it's those items are exempt on an application or permit that that would be at the discretion of the council we just cannot say that it's illegal we could say that we wish for it to not be uh participatory in the F Festival yeah Britney is or um I guess I wish mayard would stay so with the with the 600 foot so the cap now is what it's going to be 48 in total a per w 8 a per Ward but the distance as it relates to the other dispensary have shrunk too so it's no longer um a strict requirement that they have to be 600 feet apart they have to notify the CCB of everybody located within 600 feet and it's for consideration so not so so the cap is at 48 right um clearly there's more than 48 dispensaries in the pipeline um so are we are we going to cap it at 48 and then I guess as people go at a business the other ones that come in and then at what point do we stop taking them all together uh stop taking applications all together so what would happen right now is since we're going to do the 48 and eight per W say 50 get approved in total we won't be able and this is uh in the update to the ordinance the CCB can set um periods for when they'll take new applications so might be nay hey we have we're down to 47 and Ward B has an opening so they can take applications for Ward B because that's the only place a new one can go in so you have to wait till it drops down below 48 and below the a per ward in order for us to issue a new one so you would have to wait if 50 55 until people drop out and it's available just I don't know 48 can I ask just a follow question on that can you just describe the rules around transferring of licenses so you know if we've you know issued eight per Ward one of the eight you know goes out of business or can't you know maintain what happens to that license at that point is it defunct and there's new applications can they sell it to a new company how does the sort of licensure work um as far as I know it would be that the license is available uh we haven't dealt with any transfers of the license I think the CRC I can look into that since the CR actually issues the license I can see what the transfer rules are on that but for us it would just be that there's an an available license for the city and we can fill that application sure if you guys could confirm that that confirm that yeah and then we may have gotten this in the past but but can we um get a list of obviously every approved Li every approved license per w at this point and then everything that's in the pipeline yeah director Richardson has that available that so then we will know at this point how many above the eight we're permitting uh per Ward who have you know gotten in before the moratorium absolutely Ward D has the most but uh we will get you the full list as of right now I believe 14 are open and also my last question is so w d have the most you said right the most so if it's 48 let's just say it's 48 applications pending w d already have the threshold is eight they have 14 can what happens if Ward F only have six do they have the right to like how does that work you because when you register is registering with that particular location correct Y and it has to fall below both all right the 48 thought was City Britney changing no I'm sorry Matt anything else that is it thank you for your time okay thank thank you Jimmy good evening council members council president council members I am presenting resolution 24- 736 which is agenda number 10.12 this is a uh claims resolution for spin cube in the amount of 26,00 $144 uh for work performed in January 2023 uh at the time when we approve when I approved this work I had believed there was a resolution uh and a contract approved cuz this firm had done work for us uh previously but uh that was not the case so they submitted a claim U and I went through review and I'm presenting it here for the services I was going to I was going to ask sure so this this is for 2023 you said it was 2023 uh Council but if you recall 2022 was when we did the transition to the uh payroll period so this was basically um processing and data review and audit review for the old payroll system as we transition to the new payroll system so it was a very uh necessary so we don't need spin Cube anymore or for now we are those days are behind us and I'm hoping most of you know everything is moving smoothly in that area so we' kind of Turn the page on that thank you director thank you thank you p time good evening everyone um I have about 10 items for you today I'll try to work through them quickly a large bulk of them are mortgage discharges okay so the first item that I have for you is agenda item 10.24 that's resolution 24- 748 and it's a resolution to authorize uh oh I'm sorry I went to the wrong one 10.20 5 I'm sorry that's 24749 um a resolution for the municipal Council to accept program year 2024 HUD entitlement funds we received a total of 10, 391,000 of Federal grant dollars specifically 5,267 n78 of cdbg 1,800 53,5 79,000 67 of Home investment Partnerships Grant 2,598 46 in hwa funds and $448,900 in emergency Solutions Grant and that's our grant for homelessness Services okay the next item I have for you is 10.26 a resolution um to authorize the business administrator to execute the discharge of the mortgage encumbering 80 80.5 Woodward Street in Jersey City um they encumbered a home uh mortgage on the property for 54,000 in July of 1995 the homeowner intends currently to sell um and conducting the repayment calculation as required by the mortgage there is uh $80,000 repayment that is due the next item I have for you is 10.27 and that's to authorize the discharge of the mortgage encumbering 103 Bay View Avenue um that mortgage was entered into in April of 2012 this was a G&P firsttime home buyer grant for 21,000 $381 42 it had a 10-year restricted period all conditions had been satisfied and the debt is a deferred payment no interest mortgage and upon upon the conclusion of the term the city is obligated to discharge the mortgage the next item I have for you is 10.28 um a resolution to authorize the business administrator to discharge the mortgage encumbering 170 Bergen Avenue this was also first-time home buyer G&P program they purchased the home in June of 2006 they received 2 $1,083 34 all terms and conditions have been satisfied and the def debt is a deferred interest no interest mortgage and upon the conclusion of the term the city is obligated to discharge mortgage all right 10.29 is a resolution um authorizing the business administrator to execute the discharge of the mortgage encumbering to 36 whiten Street in Jersey City um this mortgage received aist ass from Regional contributions um in November of 2000 and they received $40,000 of assistance based on the required repayment there is a $ 49,682 repayment due that is 10.29 for 236 whiten 49,000 $689 and just again that that is based on the difference of the fair market value of the property at the end of the restricted period right and the maximum allowable resale value of the property all right on 10.30 um this is a resolution to authorize the business administrator to discharge a mortgage encumbering the property at 307 Winfield Avenue um this was also a first time home buyer um assistance they purchased the property in September of 2013 they received $2,71 35 and no repayment is required um 10.31 to authorize the business administrator to execute the discharge of the mortgage encumbering 318 Arlington Avenue in Jersey City um this was a horp that's the Home Improvement repair program um this more assistance was provided in July of 2009 they received $26,700 and no repayment is required for 10.32 um this is a resolution to authorize a business administrator to discharge the mortgage encumbering 369 371 Halliday Street um this contract was entered into in September of 1992 they received $52,000 of cdbg funds um due to the repayment calculation there is a payment of $ 72,1 24.95 cents due for 10.33 this is a resolution um authorizing the business administrator to execute the discharge of the mortgage encumbering 413 415 Pacific Avenue in Jersey City um this home was assisted using home funds in the amount of $52,000 in June of 2001 and based on the repayment calculation there is a repayment of 64,500 45 due um and the last item that I have for you this evening is 10.34 and this is a resolution um requesting a permission for us to reprogram funds and amend the pro um program contracts for our hopo that's housing opportunities for persons with AIDS and HIV for our 2023 program year which runs April 1st 2023 through March 31st 2024 I just would like to note that hopa funds have a three-year period to spend and we are requesting um us to be able to cancel $149,000 of the funds that's going to the Housing Resource Center specifically for their tenant-based rental assistance program and we would like to reprogram those funds to celebrate for them to also execute tenant-based rental assistance which works very similarly to Section 8 where 30% of the residents's income is paid towards their rent but due to their positive HIV or Aid status if they find themselves unable to work um the grant can cover the full amount of their rent so this is for individuals that have HIV and AIDS it doesn't expand past that correct that is correct that that is for the new organization that's getting the funds correct um that is the rule for all of our hwa funds so this was the same rules for the old organization that we're reprogramming from um we know that we've been having some issues with the Housing Resource Center um at this point I think it is fair to say that they are currently a defunct agency and not truly able to execute on the grants moving forward so based on this evaluation we need to move towards an agency that can provide the assistance to um the constituents thank you yeah I just want to say I just want the record to reflect that um um I'm just I'm I'm extremely disappointed at the level of people who are losing their mind losing their houses from this criminal 955 program um most of these people are forced I'm looking at the rate at some of these houses what they going for I seen someone sell a house for less than $2,000 I mean 200,000 because the taxes went from 4,000 to 13,000 in one jump and this it's just so so heartbreaking to see these people invest in this area in Jersey City when no one wanted to live here being forced out because the again this program it's it's criminal in nature I don't even know how the developer was the attorney for the buyer and the seller that should have been a conflict of interest in itself and just to see this man this I'm I'm just hurtful every week every well every meeting we're up here discharging mortgages because people are forced to sell their house and they're not even getting the worth of what their house is are worth man it's mindboggling it's so sad I I wholeheartedly agree with you and I think that if you maintain the property for 30 something years that you should be allowed to sell it at the market rate because that even though that you were provided uh a grant opportunity to purchase this housing you put in Sweat Equity and you essentially maintain that property and I believe and I feel as though you know it is Criminal and I wholeheartly agree with you there needs to be a change um I don't know if we could do that internally or if it requires State um or if we can pass a resolution to push the state but uh we we need to amend the guidelines for that because it it feels like they're just indentured servants they're working the land and then they uh sell the property for a pittance you know um they're not able to reap that intergenerational wealth that they um that that would liberate them and their um Offspring so I don't know what the point of the program is just to you know give him a roof and you know hand the property back um but I'm just I know it's not you director no it's not her I know um and I know you do a lot of hard work I just put this out into the you know um into the world now so that we can discuss it and um push back against this because the councilman makes a very valid point got your mik yeah so the issue with this is going to be that the um the 955 rule is very much dictated by a specific round of funding if you got it through hmfa under COA round two um the the city's position on this if we had a 955 rule written into a a deed restriction with um funds that were not made available from hmfa we've taken a much more liberal read on it where it's um rather I guess conservative re where the 955 would apply from what the maximum resale value was at the time the restrictions expired so you're not having this hyperinflation where they bought a home for let's say less than $100,000 now it's worth over half a Mill and 95% of that 400,000 is coming back to the affordable housing trust fund but if that's something you want to see get changed it has been upheld by the courts as far as the state funding is concerned we'd need something from the legislature most likely like uh State Senate State uh assembly to pass something possibly yeah okay thank you thank you Deja Michael good evening council president members of council Mike manella division of Transportation Planning one item on the agenda for tonight agenda number 10.40 resolution 24764 this is a resolution authorizing the use of competitive Contracting to award a contract for consulting services in connection with development of a new circulation element of the of the city's master plan um the council adopted uh resolution 24- 604 in August to accept uh the grant award from the njtpa for this project there's no uh match required from the city of Jersey City and this resolution is simply to authorize the FP to be released uh this study Michael before you go the barrels are they going to be removed of Montgomery Street Council president would you like me to yes go ahead answer please um the city is the city committed to Vision zero in 2018 with the goal of eliminating all traffic related fatalities and serious injuries by 2026 the intersection of Montgomery and Bergen has experienced 53 crashes over the past 5 years 26 resulting in an injury 13 of those involved pedestrians including one pedestrian fatality in October of 2021 right turn slip Lanes encourage higher vehicle speeds and impact pedestrian safety in April of 2022 the city implemented an interim closure of the slip lane as part of the year of open space initiative um as the city does routine roadway pavement maintenance and management projects whenever possible the city will incorporate life-saving interventions into those locations all right well Michael this was done without my knowledge I'm receiving calls from numerous people in that area they want those barrels removed maybe if we had a traffic division in the police department that controlled traffic things wouldn't happen but they have to be removed Mike hey Mike quick question Mike um are we able to have stop signs on Bergen or no like going um I guess East no North and South because I know we have them on the up blocks but like actually on Bergen are we permitted to do that or no uh yeah so multi-way stop Jen could probably answer this question better she's the traffic oh Jen okay coming up next yeah mult let me let the expert answer it m let Jen come on Jennifer good council president council members um do you want me to start with answering the question or ordinances first do yours first and then answer it okay where we stay for so I have four ordinances um the first one is agenda number 3.4 ordinance 2492 this is an ordinance to convert 12th Street between Monmouth and Co Street into a oneway in the eastbound Direction This is in conjunction with the co full Street improvements project next J um the next one is agenda number 3.5 ordinance 2493 this is an ordinance to convert the intersection of Clinton Avenue and sacket Street into an all um always stop intersection um in the past year there have been several crashes at that intersection that with a precent yes oh right oh yeah one block over yes Clinton and sck okay okay next one is agenda number 3.6 20 ordinance number 2494 this is to convert four intersections downtown into always stop controlled intersections the four intersections are Bay and Grove Erie and second Grove and second uh sorry groven first um Warren and Sten next um the last one is agenda number 3.7 ordinance 2495 this ordinance is to um Implement limited duration parking 15 minute parking on mallerie um between the hours of 9 and 5 um 7even days a week uh between Roosevelt and Lexington and at mallerie and Grant who's who's going to be responsible because 15 minutes who's going to be responsible for enforcing this are you kidding it would be um parking enforcement um but we will be um striping it as 15 minutes parking and also um posting the signage as well parking enforcement is almost uh never there any place in the city they short 46 people you know come on they have been on maler um for the past couple of months so um yeah that's where they all are Jennifer they don't even have people following the sweeper to issue summonses it's a it's a shame what they've done to the parking authority along with the couple other departments in the city okay um so your question was um can we put stop signs on Bergen Avenue yes um so we typically like to put stop signs um on local streets um Bergen Avenue is a minor arterial street so it has um uh higher volume um but we can always do a warrant analysis to see if a traffic signal is warranted at any number of intersections is there a particular intersection um Bergen and Oak because you know you come up you come up Oak from MLK you enter into Bergen but if you on board because the block kind of goes like this and jump and goes like that so that's where I mean I've witnessed it witnessed at least three accidents I almost crashed there as well so that inoc it's it's very tricky because it's like who have the right away M yeah there are a few um offset intersections on Bergen Avenue um as part of a Federal grand project that we're applying for we are looking at a few intersections on Bergen a I'm not sure off the top of my head if that one is on it but um I I'll double check it and I'll get back to you Jen I have a question so when you guys do these amendments with time slots there's a conversation I'm assuming that's happening between you guys and Public Safety right what is Public Safety saying how are they going to enforce these these these these uh new rules what I I'd like to know what are they saying to you guys because like councelor rich bojan is saying we do not have enforcement we don't have Manpower for that so I'd like to know what is the conversation that's happening with the public safety department and are they saying it's okay to do it don't worry about it um so the latest one that we did was on Bergen at Sip and we did have conversations with Public Safety who are the people you had a conversation with um Lieutenant Raglin and Lieutenant Goodman um and we just let them know that this is coming up and um they said that they would uh enforce you know per periodically they'll do you know uh one to two weeks and then you know go to other locations and then come back as needed Jennifer thank you thank you thank you it said is right good evening Council good evening council president um the library has an item 3.9 it's a first reading ordinance 24097 this is a franchise ordinance to permit the property owner at 307 Pacific that's the Lafayette Branch library to um install a ramp that will be in the right away that location okay thank you first presentation Arts good afternoon um counc afternoon members can you guys okay better great um uh thank you for your time today I am Elizabeth Phillips lenzo and I'm a founding member and co-chair of the Jersey City arts and culture trust fund committee representing WF nothing cman enough you don't like not we better than this sorry um I've lived in Jersey spr for almost 30 years and have been actively been engaged in the community relations for over 20 years myself and my executive committee um are here to give you a summary of our Jersey City Arts and Cultural trust fund grant awardees our committee members are from each Ward and we have public and open meetings each month before our first Grand cycle the founding members spent long hours making sure that we were strategically inclusive to include all the Arts and cultures that make up Jersey City each year we provide in-person video and recorded training with the hope of encouraging all El eligible residents and businesses to apply we work with independent reviewers who are trained before they score all the completed applications we have an ADA specialist who provides her knowledge to our applicants reviewers make recommendations and awardees are finalized by the committee we work in tandem with the Jersey City arts and Arts Council and Jersey City culture Affairs Department thank you sta um for all your hours and patience speaking of Grant totals please review page one we have sorry yes did you guys get that package yeah we have it okay um we we were able to fund 89 Pro 89 grants for a total of $860,000 and almost 210 chur City residents were directly impacted if you refer to page six for the operating Grant totals 3,739 3,7 3,00 300,000 74,000 uh 34 396 for organizational art businesses and nonprofits 23 total Grants awarded and the general size of a grant was 6,274 250,000 overall impact combined between person and online um next I would like to introduce Amy Marley who is also our co-chair and then we have buttons for all of our council members to say ask us about J good evening my name is Dan Marley I am an artist an art educator and a former art administrator for the Jersey City public schools for 32 years it has been an honor to represent Ward C under Mr Gana and work with my fellow Ward members within the Jersey City Arts and Cultural trust fund as a native of Jersey City resident and homeowner I like all of you here today am dedicated to providing our urban community with meaningful connections through the Arts by building connections with each other and share experiences that celebrate the beauty of our stories reflect our experiences and transcend our differences while building strong bonds within all our Wards as a community if you look at page five in your booklet we address accessibility for all is key in building art appreciation and education providing chair lifts ramps and EAS for all to participate is key to building and sustaining our community the Arts provide a platform for all of us to voice our feelings thoughts and identities knowing our fund is providing equality and accessibility for all is indeed a positive for our city through the fund the Arts are more available for everyone to enjoy and have the opportunity to participate in whether you are young or old disabled or impaired from every level socioeconomically across all of our Wards if you look at Pages uh 9 10 and you will see the free programming development of individual resident artists growth and sharing all with the community at large through offering workshops visiting Studios providing art lectures are just a few of the many Avenues now provided if you take a look at page 11 and 12 we talk about art education is key in helping our residents to understand how art can and has enhance their own life through experiencing firsthand music dance Visual Arts and many other genres within their City the fund has distributed 63% of funding through ART education and you can see there on page 11 that the educational program has awarded $39,586 a total of 46 grants have been awarded at an average of 8,440 per grantee to date these programs have impacted approximately 41,000 residents both virtually and in person and if you look at the page 12 and you look again at that breakdown and you might ask yourself does this add up to 100% well there is an overlap in some of these areas but they touch mainly on arts and culture and education and I do want to say working with Christine Goodman and her team mcdal Erin and Sarah has been a very rewarding experience for me as a former art educator and I think that this booklet is beautifully executed graphically and I think easy for you to read so if you have any questions please feel free to do so I now introduce Sandy Martini do you at the hilltop in a little while and yes I am from the hilltop oh oh thank you all for this opportunity to talk about Jersey City Arts and Cultural trust fund my name is Sandy Martin and I've been involved in the Arts my entire life I was an artist in Residence in the Newark Public Schools I was a curator of education at the Jersey City Museum and I was Director of Education at the National Academy Museum later I became the director of cultural Affairs for the village of South Orange where I ran Arts programming for the town and I was director of their Municipal Gallery today I am honored to be volun ering for the town I live in and to be representing Ward D for the Arts and Cultural trust fund board I'm here today like those before me to talk about some of the things the Jersey City Arts and Cultural trust fund has been able to accomplish in its first round of Grant making you should all be very proud of this unique initiative to fund the arts for as you know this is the first city in the state to use a trust fund to support the Arts and one of the few municipalities in the country to fund the Arts with an income stream Jersey City's 2020 ballot initiative was supported by 65% of the voters this proves to me that not only leaders like you recognize the importance of the Arts to a community its well-being and its economy but so do the residents they really get get it the Arts and Cultural trust fund board the Jersey City Arts Council and the department of cultural Affairs take the responsibility of disseminating this funding very seriously it has been a priority from the planning stages to reach out to everyone who might be eligible for the funding uh you've heard some of those uh some of the ways we've done that already from the other speakers last year we increased training um to the grantees by offering several more in-person online and hybrid sessions as well as offering one in-person session in award targeted because of lower turnout the first year these efforts have been very successful so this year we will be continuing all the trainings and extending in-person meetings to each Ward you've already heard about the various organizational grants but the trust fund also supports individual artists through individual Fellowship grants administered by the Jersey City Arts Council in the 2022 23 uh round which you have in your hands the Arts Council distributed a total of $100,000 to 20 artists with $5,000 Awards to each artists who apply must be residents of Jersey City they must be engaged in their community and they must create new work during the fellowship period so the trust fund undeniably benefits artists art organizations art businesses and art education efforts but the benefits don't end there each awarde is obligated to provide a direct public benefit which is open and free to any Resident of Jersey City there's no formula for what that looks like but applicants are encouraged to be creative in how best their work can engage with and provide free Arts programming to Jersey City residents there are many examples in the report of some of the public benefits but I'd like to take a minute to just talk about one that I'm very familiar with that happens in my ward in Ward d uh farms in the Heights is a farmers market in Riverview Fisk Park the market is not an Arts organization but it provides Arts and Cultural programming throughout the market season the biggest event in farms in the Heights is Day of the Dead it's an event that began spontaneously several years ago when a Mexican American Artist and New Heights resident Santiago Cohen created a series of giant paper maché puppets with a few neighborhood volunteers and a mariachi band he brought them to the park during a Market Day in early November to the Delight of the market grow goers today his vision has become a much loved annual event beginning early in Octo excuse me beginning early in in October people come to his Studio to help repair and make new puppets or to pick up puppet kits to finish at home kids in school make puppets from recycled materials while they learn about this Mexican tradition local Merchants display puppets in their windows and sell special products and foods and the neighbors contribute pictures to the Giant ofrenda in the park on the day of the celebration each year this celebration grows larger and more popular it's become a three-day event in multiple locations it employs artists musicians dancers and reaches hundreds of members of the public it's offered free of charge because the costs of presenting it are covered by the trust fund it's only one of many such events and programs supported by the trust and since I have witnessed this event alongside a transformation in my neighborhood I can say with full confidence this is a very fine definition of a public good brought about by supporting the Arts and for that I want to thank you the leaders of Jersey City thank you um is there art directory of all the artists in the city of Jersy City just period is the director I just want to know Christine uh as a precursor to the trust fund we uh worked with NJCU on something called a cultural asset map okay still lives online it's a living document and any artist can add themselves to that it's also got a backend survey so we can understand more about the artists and the Arts organizations that live and work here okay because I see on page 12 with your pie with the pie chart I see in Ward a is only 9% so I'm I'm wondering is there some type of directory that we have that we can reach out to the artist to let them know that there's funding available um we absolutely can do that and we do contact the artists that are there what you're looking at just to make sure we're all on the same page is cycle one we're now in cycle three of the Arts trust and so to address things like the W A turnout um one of our committee members hosted an information session for the last cycle um for Bard a residents specifically so um part of this process is for the committee to evaluate how the Arts funding is being distributed throughout the city and to come up with a game plan for art Outreach and improved Outreach to artists and so with the funding that the art trust fund um distribute to the artist there's always a mechanism that they provide Something Free and educational it well the free definition is flexible because all Arts programming is different right but we call it a direct public benefit and we challenge our grantees to think about how they're building new bridges into the community through their Arts projects and programs and that is free for residents of Jersey City to interact and engage with the organization or the artist the reason why I'm I'm I'm concerned because when I'm looking at the list of some of the um people who receive um funding from us um when they go and apply when parents go and apply for certain art classes um the the registration fee is costly for some people so I'm wondering because they receive funding from the um our trust fund is there a way that we can cover that registration fee for that child because I know for certain you know some of the names on here it's not a it's it's not a cheap school it it's just not so when you look at um when you look at the overarching programming that an organization might present throughout a calendar year they do have shows programs performances that may have a ticket fee so it's not technically a prerequisite that they would have free programming throughout the year but um part of why we really want to make sure that you're understanding what's happening with the fund and that our committee is more connected to you is that we hear this kind of feedback because as we talk about what a direct public benefit could be for an organization if there's a need in your boards that you're seeing and we could help communicate that to the organizations maybe that educational class could be a great option for them to start thinking about how to do a free program um it could be something like a backstage tour or a workshop or um you know uh popups in the park where they get people handson with whatever their artistic medium is it's a wide range of direct public benefits but it is great to hear that and we always welcome feedback and and also um with the schools because the schools now are are limiting art classes eliminating it so I wonder with our trust fund is there a way we can partner with one of the Arts organizations to see if they can provide some type of Arts um education or arts class or Workshop um for for a school because there's not arts in a school like it once was and so I'm just you know because you know this is the art trust fund and we coming up with new ideas all the time so I'm just drawing all this out here because when I go around and I go to some of many schools they don't have Arts like they used to they really don't so I'm trying to think of children who are not exposed to the Arts and because we have an Arts trust fund is there way that one of the art organizations can partner with the school based on the funding that we we give them to help the schools for a workshop or something that's all you know yeah one of the guidelines on the fund for Arts education is that the um the Arts education programming needs to be open to um the public so we would certainly talk to any groups any schools and think creatively about how we can reach more children through the program thanks a lot just something to think about thanks a lot thank you very much so make that available on the cultural Affairs website if anybody is interested in reading it that's good thank you thank you now on the Sid thank you ladies thank you for your presentation I think thank you so much for having us Sean I have some documents we don't really like long presentations [Laughter] so so wisdom tell us what to do I don't want to take up too much time okay thank you for having me um my name is D Crockett and I serve as the executive director of The Exchange Place Alliance um for context I've been living and working in Jersey City since 2012 and I was one of The Originators of The Exchange Place Alliance special improvement district um and I've also served as a board member on this organization also for many years so um I'm very passionate about The Exchange Place Alliance we're here today um to discuss a proposed expansion as you know our mission um sorry the expansion map is on page three of the documents that have been handed out to you as you know our mission at The Exchange Place Alliance is to enhance the quality of life and experience in the Waterfront District through a variety of initiatives these include maintaining public spaces such as cleaning Landscaping snow removal conducting regular maintenance as well as large scale Capital Improvements to reimagine public areas we are also dedicated to supporting local businesses activating public spaces and fostering a strong Community by sponsoring Arts and Cultural programming over the years our efforts have evolved to meet the growing needs of the community moving beyond the Waterfront and towards Marin Boulevard and other nearby areas there there is a clear demand for the services and initiatives we offer as they have been proven to be highly successful in improving the district expanding the district will allow us to deliver the same high level of service to adjacent areas that are currently underserved we are proposing to expand our boundaries to include commercial buildings on a few blocks between Christopher Columbus Drive and Second Street this expansion will ensure that all areas benefiting from our work contribute fairly to its costs these buildings will be assessed in the same manner as those already within the district helping to sustain and support our growing list of activities without adding any financial burden to Residents we've had open discussions with the mayor city council public board meetings and a direct outreach program to the community about expanding The District in a focused way to include buildings adjacent to the current District these are logical choices for where we should direct our efforts our current initiatives had significantly improved the Waterfront District both in terms of Aesthetics and Community engagement in 2024 we reached a full program of sponsorships these include and are not limited to Riverview jazz festival Latin jazz the Art House reopening initiative uh um a memorial fund for the great Jeremy Jeremy Farrell uh support of the New Jersey Symphony and many other events additionally we have prioritized also safety initiatives such as increasing police patrolling during Peak activity hours and exploring the integration of CCTV cameras with the Jersey City police department to enhance security monitoring on the waterfront more to come on this initiative in the future Our Community Development projects such as the creative Center at 335 Washington also known to some of you as the ice house this is included in your packet we are also working at the community garden and park at 325 Washington and we are also working on the Redevelopment of General Danel Green Park and also including in that a community garden regarding our finances currently we spend an approximately 200,000 per month on security maintenance Landscaping snow removal Arts support local sponsorships and operating costs this leaves us with a capital budget of approximately 3 million the addition of about 20 new commercials buildings as part of this discussed expansion will ensure a fair distribution of costs while providing the funding necessary to sustain and grow our efforts this will raise capital budget by an approximate $1 million we believe this expansion is a logical next step for The Exchange Place Alliance it will bring successful Services we offer to more parts of downtown Jersey City improving quality of life support ing local businesses and fostering Community engagement your support is essential in making this expansion reality we remain committed to transparency accountability and collaboration with the council to achieve our shared vision for Jersey City's continued growth and prosperity thank you very much for your time and consideration open to all question one going down to this um portion Christopher Street what will that do for the residents down there and was they notified was they things because we always we're concerned always when we extended just like when we extended downtown we wanted to make sure the residents around there notified and the business owners that this was coming were they in agreement with it so we know what yes we've been in we've been in contact with people from the city in terms of the expansion and it's been favorable this is going to be an addition of about 20 commercial proper properties that will pay about 2/10 of a percentage Point um there is currently in this expansion a slight overlap with the historical downtown Sid um and I've thought about some some uh solutions to to work around that and obviously give them what they're they're due also so so that was my next question so IE your I I don't is it is it just barely overlapping or you're actually in there in there because I thought that they that we already went through this with them I think Don might be able to add a little bit more color so the overlap is actually relatively minimal I can't hear you come you gotta get by the mic what's his name Don me Don pepy from scy Hollenbeck I actually I didn't recognize you with the beard I actually represent The Exchange Place Alliance so the overlap is fairly minimal and we have had discussions with sister Sid if you will and the money that we collect we going to turn over their fair share portion they're going to continue to maintain their areas but one of the main emphasis in why we're seeking to do this is we're undertaking a lot of capital projects right it is great and we've removed tens of thousands of bags of garbage and and fixed sidewalks and replanted trees and done a lot of those things and we've provided security but one of the things that we're trying to undertake in the near future future are these Capital Improvement projects which are parks that cover the you know the whole span of the downtown area and the ice house which is going to be a multi- multi-million dollar undertaking it's really going to be a resource for the entire city so so don I get that right so I I just want to be clear that the downtown Sid is aware that you are like a lot overlapping and that they're okay with this that would be a condition of any expansion yes I I I don't have an a formal agreement with them so I don't want to tell you that everything is buttoned up there have been discussions we've worked out a plan obviously that would be a condition of any expansion uh don I hope uh we don't have any more situations like we had with the Polish statue which caused Michael Young and I so many problems and uh dislike for The Exchange Place Sid I mean the issues there were a disgrace and I hope nothing like that happens now again councilman I could not Echo your sentiment more I I wish that had never occurred but I think that that uh reenvisioning of the plaza is is pretty well received now and we respect that group and we respect every group in this well you CA they caused them enough problems they caused me enough problems and Michael young enough problems it's an unfortunate period in our history Don I Our concern is just to make sure that uh the downtown s is in agreement with this because we don't need um executive director coming saying no one Consulting us you know they say they gonna give us the money how the money going to be turned over those little things need to be worked out because um it is you are you're you're encroaching on her um space too so those things just need to be worked out they do and that's what we want to make sure it's done okay understandable and acceptable that's it we good we need to know that's done thank you so much everyone thank you Sean take it from the top okay all right first reading ordinances item 3.1 city ordinance 24- 089 is an ordinance authorizing the city of Jersey City as a tenant to extend for a 2-year lease with 18 Ash Street re reality as a landlord for the space located at 46 State 8 Street in Jersey City items 3.2 through 3.9 were touched on earlier item 4.1 was also touched on earlier and explained the amendment so council members um when we do go to um have a public hearing we'll close the public hearing and then we'll have a motion to amend once we do that we'll read the amendment into the record I will also ask our acting Corporation Council to make sure it's not substantial change and then we can go and vote on the ordinance as amended next item 4.2 city ordinance 24-87 is an ordinance amending chapter 188 to establish a local preference for affordable housing units created by local regulation and requirement I believe that this is going to be carried to the October 30th meeting I would just need a motion um from a council member to make that motion for me to carry it to motion well not now at at the meeting we don't take any action at the caucus I know but but I like joking um and uh once we get that motion we'll move it to uh the October 30th meeting John did you want and anything else okay next item 4.3 city ordinance 24- 088 is an ordinance amending chapter 321 of the municipal code of the city of Jersey City joh we're probably going to entertain a motion to defeat it there's some changes that have been discussed for it which probably are material changes they're not just going to be clarifying so um just you know uh we'll probably have more details on that over the next day so we're gonna hold the public hearing and then defeat it or we're gonna probably want to make the motion defeat before the public hearing because we're going to have additional language that public is this this the the oran for the private trees yes can I just just put two quick things on the record I know you guys are working on it but just one um I know there's a d law that we're responding to if you guys could just give us a memo on what that law requires the city to do just we're all in the same page uh that'd be great it's literally in the wear ass Clauses in the model ordinance I can put something together before I explain more there's not actual a law it's a decree it's just a model ordinance got it okay and then obviously I think the two major things that flagged for me is obviously the notice requirements are uh I think onerous and and maybe I don't think need notice requirements for this type of a situation so the notice requirement was really only supposed to affect the the neighboring property owners for safety purposes and other things like that we're going to address that it doesn't need to be 200 feet sure yeah I mean I think as as as limited as possible just because it is pretty ownis and then and then my understand is this might be somewhere else in the code but some emergency Provisions so you know if there is a dangerous situation and somebody may not have the funds to apply for the permit to you know pay for some of the cost to be able to you say look this this tree is a danger and and I need to get it removed just make sure maybe the Forester has an ability to to you know in a 24-hour basis sign off on something like that versus having to go through this process sure okay so we'll make a motion to um go right to defeating the ordinance without holding the public hearing since we're going to defeat it and introduce a new one down the road and clier S I just to go back to 4.2 to the chapter 188 yep I think we had discussed it originally um just um forgetting the right word but moving this to the next meeting in October I think there's one or two language things we've got to figure out before uh uh the meeting so that's 4.2 yep um and as long as those language changes are not substantial we can move um and go for a final consideration of a vote on October 30th right thanks okay we already got a motion from Rich yeah I'm going to remember that um keep it in mind we have our public speakers we're up to 41 at this point um only only 41 yeah oh it's a light week okay from your mouth to guardas so um petitions and Communications items 6.1 through 6.41 any questions or comments there are no officer Communications any questions or comments on reported directors 8.1 through 8.10 Denise what's that oh nothing nothing okay and we have our claims and on to our resolutions items 10.1 through 10.6 were touched on earlier 10.7 resolution 24- 731 is a resolution to commemorate Soaring Heights Charter School on receiving the 2024 National Blue Ribbon award item 10.8 resolution 24- 732 is a resolution in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Ocean Avenue Baptist Church and item 10.9 resolution 24- 733 is a resolution recognizing September 21st AS Global cast Awareness Day in Jersey City item 10.10 was touched on earlier item 10.11 resolution 24- 735 is a resolution in support of Christ hospital and calling for Hudson County and state leaders to support its Financial restructuring and long-term stability item 10.12 was touched on earlier item 10.13 resolution 24- 737 is a resolution appointing Charles Mullins as a member of the Jersey City Housing Authority item 104 resolution 24- 738 is a resolution reappointing Shan Prince as a member of the Jersey City Housing Authority item 10.15 resolution 24- 739 is a resolution appointing Mary alen gillick as a member of the Jersey City ethical standards board and item 10.6 resolution 24- 740 is a resolution reappointing amondo Molina as a full-time judge of the Jersey City Min items 10.17 through all the way through keep it going 10.4 uh7 where touched on earlier item 10.48 resolution 24772 is a resolution authorizing the release of a restriction on a property located at block 25202 lot 76 on the tax map of the city of Jersey City also known as 446 Ocean Avenue I no this is different than dasas someone acquired the property through um uh tax sale foreclosure basically they got it at an auction the city had uh taken it pursuant to foreclosure a long long time ago and as a condition of every single property we sell at auction at that point it says you need to get a certificate of occupancy and then approval by the council for any future sales um the person got their continuing certificate certificate of contained occupancy I believe back in either 14 or 16 was a while ago but it presented a title issue when they were trying to sell the property so this is to yeah yeah right on the corner of ocean and fton I think yeah next item 10.49 resolution 24773 is a resolution authorizing the payment of a claim from Eric M Bernstein and Associates for representing the city of Jersey City in tax appeal Sean this is ours um okay okay you can you can go no questions oh what's that is 1050 and 51 yours as well yes mine as well 1050 this is a renewal of a contract with our Lexus Nexus uh we use this as legal research software we have up to 29 users it's a new three-year contract um we need it and use it often uh and then also 1051 that's continuing Professional Services in a lawsuit that we are mediating soon and hopefully U can get back on track and resolve okay and last but not least item 10.52 resolution 24-7 7 six which is a resolution authorizing a contract with Rd paresi an as an extraordinary unspecifiable service provide the city of Jersey City with insurance consulting services to be the city's broker of record for obtaining and monitoring this the City's health benefits prescription and stoploss coverage hearing no questions may I have a motion to adjourn at 6:07 p.m. I believe I heard a motion from council person Rivera may I have a second second second by council person Cay all in favor of the motion to adjourn at 6:07 p.m. all council members present by acclamation please say I we are out of here at 6:07 p.m. thank you so much everyone in attendance and everyone watching at home remember Teamwork Makes the DreamWork have a great night and stay safe