all right good afternoon everyone we are on the record today is Tuesday the 20th day of February 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 commencement of this caucus council person Ridley council person priner is not here yet okay council person bajano is not here council person Cay is not here I know I saw council person Solomon but we'll mark him absent until he comes in council person Gilmore council person Dees not here yet council person rera and council president Waterman here we have four council members in attendance at 4:02 pm. on behalf of council president and the members of the municipal Council in accordance with the 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 bulletin 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 its prepar ation the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday February 16th 2024 at 5:15 p.m. to the mayor Municipal Council business administrator Corporation Council and local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law before we move on I'm going to Mark council person priner present at 403 pm and council person Cay present at 4:03 p.m and council person Solomon present at 4:03 p.m. so now we have seven council members present at 4:03 pm and I'm going to turn it over to the council president is here oh and I'll mark council person bajano present at 404 p.m. so now we have eight council members present at 4:04 p.m. council president good afternoon our first director director Shay uh good afternoon council president council members with me of course is our director of Public Safety Communications Robert Baker because most of today's resolutions involve his area of expertise uh I'll begin uh the first thing that the public safety has is agenda item 1010 it's resolution 24 98 it's a resolution authorizing the Jersey City police department to participate in the acquisition of surplus Department of Defense equipment under the federal 1033 program uh this resolution is just to allow us to be participants um we have never requ accepted anything from the federal government in about the last five or six years however the office of emergency management would be interested if high water rescue vehicles come available which is why we want to stay in the program uh it specifically does not allow us to take anything armored weapons Etc and in addition if we were to consider accepting anything we would come back to the council with a separate resolution asking for permission for that item this is just to give us permission to remain in the program what's the utility of high water uh Vehicles what's the utility of high water res yeah like what would we use it most most municipalities around the state have participated in the program and as director said they're non-armored Vehicles they vehicles that we would utilize should we have to go in and rescue people during flooding condition do we have any currently in our city or no do not okay we have one for the fire department but it's a totally different type vehicle okay thank you EXC okay the second item that we have on before I turn it over to director Baker would be uh yeah agenda item 10.12 file number 24-100 it's a resolution authorizing the city of Jersey City to apply and accept a grant award from the state of New Jersey Office of the Attorney General uh Department of Law and public safety for the safe and secure communities fiscal year 2024 grant program this is going to offer us $1 15,490 from the attorney general's forfeiture funds and we're going to match it with $200,000 it's going to defay the salaries of eight officers that are already on the payroll okay then council president council with your permission I'll turn it over to director Baker who is much more conversent in the next five uh Mr Baker before you go I just wanted to Mark council person the G's present at 4:05 p.m. so so we now now have all nine council members present at 405 all right Mr Baker you're on thank you good evening council president Council uh first is uh item 10.9 resolution 24- 097 a resolution authorizing an agreement with let's think Wireless LLC for the support of proprietary computer hardware and software maintenance and support services for the Department of Public Safety without public bidding uh this particular resolution is for our wireless um Network which is part of the redundancy of the public safety Network director is this a new vendor or is this an existing contract so is this a new vendor or an existing vendor oh no this is a yearly this is the same vendor we use in you thank you our next item is 10.11 resolution 24- 099 it's a resolution ratifying an award of a contract to inot life and Safety Solutions Corp for the maintenance of the 911 system on the New Jersey contract for the Department of Public Safety Division of communication this is simply the yearly maintenance and security software upgrades for our present 911 Viper system does it allow us to pinpoint like when where someone is calling from is that the technology that's being bit on or does that make sense so like when someone calls 911 uh is this the system that essentially um pinpoints where someone's location is when they're in distress or what is the system exactly yeah it's the entire thing entire system okay right all right yeah the system you're referring to is a Cooperative system with the phone companies that by law they have to maintain to work with us if one of Bob's call takers gets a dropped call then the phone company would track that call back to the location and inform his operators of the location you looking at the okay I didn't understand that thank you yeah you're welcome our next item is item 10. 13 resolution 24-11 it's a resolution authorizing an agreement with network Management Solutions Incorporated for providing maintenance and support services for the division of Public Safety computer infrastructure and related systems without public um bidding and as you can see nms uh provides with us certified network uh Engineers 247 as you know Public Safety does not close we are open all the time this is 125 servers at 49 locations next item is 10-14 resolution 24-12 it's a resolution awarding a contract to Gold type Business Machines for providing maintenance and support services for the Department of Public Safety for the local area network computers the fire um zon system and the ncic 2000 uh which is proprietary bit without public uh bidding and uh GTM provides service on-site service for all our hardware and printer problems and Replacements at uh at all the locations along with servicing the uh zon fire 911 which is similar to the in on the on the other side um yearly and they also provide proprietary software which is the ncic uh 2000 which the police use for looking up plates and Records next item is 10-15 resolution 24-13 it's a resolution authorizing an agreement with go type Business Machines for the support and maintenance of the Vigilant automatic License Plate Reader system for the Department of Public Safety without public bidding um the alpr system as you know we've extended it it's not just on the police vehicles now but I've moved it to the Traffic Unit so as their vehicles travel through the city it's finding you know unpaid tickets and booting and bit and hopefully we'll we'll do greatly for that department to that point Thank You director could you give us an update uh on where it stands with the implementation in traffic is it on all their vehicles at this point some of them and uh how is it going in terms of enforcing a particularly the residential uh parking permits well it's actually replaced the parking permits as you know Traffic Unit no longer prints the the bit so it's this alpr system as they drive up and down we'll find the Scuf laws and you know um people who haven't you know done a uh got a permit right uh along with onpa tickets what's booting the whole bit they come across a you know a police violation and they just notify the PD and come and take it and is it in all the vehicles now all their ve yes so all their it's being actually being installed we're upgrading it we're getting rid of the old system and putting this brand new um system in would it be possible to get um some data in you know the last month or the last quarter of you know how many uh tickets the parking enforcement division has been able to issue using the um automat license PL reader sure okay thank you so you're saying it's fully operational at this point or it's going not the new system they're installing it as as we speak okay uh last item is item 10-16 resolution 24-104 it's a resolution ratifying the award for a one-year open-end contract to AT&T Mobility for unlimited plans for wireless devices and Services Under State contract for the Department of Public Safety Division of communications and Technology Center as you can see this is the uh contract for all of the cell phones tablets modems in our police and and uh fire vehicles and we're leaving it open then because we're growing so as we grow it allows me to keep um installing it into new vehicles and and so forth so on um yes uh director Shay if you could um I do I miss um 1012 to ask about the um the actual functions or the work that the eight officers will be doing as it relates to the community Grant what um what specifically would they will be no it's not there what it is is the attorney general J we we passed their evaluation for lack of a better word for our community relations effort our work with senior citizens our work with the schools our community events that we do every year our holiday events they giving out the Christmas and as a result they offered to help fund those eight officers $150,000 it's not a lot but it's money it's money we don't have to spend so it's not that they're telling us hire another eight officers and assign them it's that they've already evaluated our community efforts and that as a result we're willing to give you this grant oh so because because of those activ that they engage in they're willing to subsidize up to 150 yeah they're they're willing to let us share in some of this money that making available okay thank you sir thank you coun thank you thank you director Shay I've been asking for the last two months we sent you a uh email and I have not gotten an answer and I think that's an insult to this whole uh Council here I would like an answer I don't have to go through the uh business administrator it's coming directly from the city council would you please get me the information that I had asked for I'll talk to you afterwards I wanted to speak to you privately before but I got here late but I I think enough time has gone by okay I'll we'll talk privately to K oh afternoon President W wman members of the council I have seven items before you this evening uh resolution 24110 10.22 resolution will authorize the award of a contract to fully Power Systems to provide Fork Clift prepairs repairs as needed for the division of automotive services through the source well purchasing Co-op total amount of the contract is $60,000 with a temporary incumbrance of $1,000 funded to the DPW operating account question 24111 10.23 resolution will authorize Award of a contract to Cambria automotive company to provide Heavy Duty Parts and Repairs for heavy duty vehicles through the source will purchasing Co-op total amount of the contract is $40,000 with a temporary incumbrance of $500 funded through the DPW operating account next is 24121 10.33 resolution will authorize the award of an open-end contract to General Plumbing Supply for the purchase and delivery of plumbing supplies through the NJ Cooperative Alliance total amount of this contract is $50,000 with a temporary encumbrance of $5,000 funded through the DPW operating account next is 24122 10.34 resolution will authorize the award of an open-end contract to juel Electric Supply Company to supply various electrical supplies under the state contract for the division division of buildings and streets total amount of the contract is $100,000 with a temporary incumbrance of $110,000 funded through the DPW uh DPW operating account next is 24123 10.36 resolution will authorize a renewal of a contract with All-American recyclable Corporation for the disposition of mixed paper products for the division of recycling City desires to exercise the second of three renewal options for an additional one-year period effective January 1 2024 through December 31st 2024 total amount of this contract is $320,000 funded through the recycling and enforcement account next is 24124 1037 resolution authorizing Award of an open-end contract to Sharon Williams Company for the purchase and delivery of paint and related supplies through the Educational Service Commission escnj total amount of this contract is $150,000 with a temporary in coverance of $10,000 funded through the DPW Capital account and the final is 2492 10.4 resolution will authorize the renewal of a shared services agreement between the Municipal Utilities Authority and the city to provide maintenance for storm water catch basins which is the first of our fiveyear renewal option Authority will pay the city $700,000 per year to maintain if so this is this is clearing out the cat patients and so mua is paying us to do it got it so if we have cat patients we think are are need need clearing out we should contact you yes yeah well we what we try and do counil especially during you know Heavy Rain events and things like that if you have something an area location absolutely great thank you who's the goto for that within the DPW um it's actually the MUA but we coordinate with them so it's it's a dual effort we'll do some on parted they have during a full a fulls scale rain event or flood potential flooding it's all hands on deck okay we'll do it as you have spots as I said the C Sol let us know okay thank you thank you hello council president members of the council uh we have several items today for the Department of infrastructure I'll start with item 10.29 do you guys want to come up item 10.29 resolution 24-17 this is a resolution authorizing the award of a contract to batata construction for the Cole Street Street skate project and 12 Street streetcape project um which will involve several scopes of work including drainage sanitary um sewer work water main work and streetscape elements which will mean uh reconstruction and construction of the sidewalk of the roadway um installation of a protected Bikeway and other public space elements on both of those streets um this is obviously in an area that affects both w d and Ward e so I just want to recognize that we've been working over the past year maybe longer at this point um with uh council person C and Solomon and their teams project and looking forward to starting construction soon if approved okay I'll hand it over to my team um the division directors to go through the rest of the items starting with engineering are you council president Council uh I have one resolution to bring to you today it's resolution 24-1 118 and it's agenda number 10.30 uh it's a resolution approving the notice in Li of deed notice for Hudson County chromate site number uh 007 it's the portion of Jersey City Boulevard in accordance uh with njdep um also we had to work with New Jersey Turnpike because it's right near a lot of their infrastructure um and this is an Institutional control that we've used in the the past because underground does have a lot of um infrastructure there's an 84 in sewer Interceptor as well as a 16inch sewer and a lot of Turnpike infrastructure um so this will just put the uh responsibility on Honeywell to do the cleaning up if they were to need to dig to access any of that underground well have you checked into any of those issues I spoke to you about over the past several days on buildings and construction and everything with Jennifer yeah Jennifer here we've we've been reaching out and you know I'll continue to to talk to you about anything specific but yeah everything that you've brought brought up to us we have checked into of course I had one shut down yesterday working doing major construction on a Federal holiday and it's really getting to be annoying and the people in this whole area up in that area are really tired of it yeah that that 's news to me I didn't hear anything he gets up about that Saturday morning okay right thank you good afternoon council president members of council Transportation division has one resolution it's agenda item number 10.32 it's resolution 24-120 this is a resolution authorizing the renewal of an agreement with River North Transit LLC otherwise known as via for the Via Jersey City service this is a resolution to authorize the third and final uh contract option as you're all aware uh late in 2019 there was an RFP issued and a contract awarded to uh via to provide these Services it was a two-year contract with three one-year renewal options this is the fifth and final year the third and final renewal um and the uh contract uh the the and Jersey City team work together to propose uh the same exact level of a service for the same amount of funding in 2023 despite what we're seeing in the economy in terms of inflation and things um so I've handed out a short information sheet that um Jersey City and the Viet team have put together just sort of highlighting some of the accomplishments this year if you look at the sort of third page the last page it really does um speak to some of the performance improvements that the team has collectively been able to make um in 2023 uh the the program experienced a 10% increase in total ridership that despite or you know including the the reduction in average weight times of 8% increasing ontime percentage of 16% um increasing the amount of Unique Individuals who use the service of 31% um and importantly one of the the changes that was made was a a tweak to the algorithm which resulted in a much lower uh rate of unavailable seat which is something that we heard from the community that is always a sort of a cost for concern when someone's looking to request a ride they don't always receive it but um through the changes that we've made we've been able to bring that number way down so um the system just celebrated its two millionth ride and and uh will continue to grow in the future the Via team is here um if there are any questions specifically for them or or for us we're happy to to talk about can't hear you Mike there has that been changed about picking up certain people at their houses especially seniors instead of having them walk two or three blocks yeah can they come up can they come up so we could ask some questions so councilman to answer that question the last time that we did the renewal you had brought that up since then they've done education center um education sessions at senior centers specifically and they've worked with individual Riders to turn on the function um so that if they need to be picked up right in front of their door they can be um if they don't need to be and they can walk a block or two then they'll use that option so we've we've clarified that with the users even certain people a lot of people especially at night do not want to walk with block or two yeah so it's on an honor System we don't really verify that someone is you know a senior or not so usually people use that option if they really need it um so when they need it they're asking to be picked up at exactly in front of their door or whatever their location is and the vehicle comes and gets okay all right so question about the contract you said third in final renewal so what happens after this are we done with beer or are we revamping the whole contract after this so in order to continue the service we have to do a new RFP a new bid for the for the service for next year so with regard to um the actual Revenue because the city receive 50% of the revenue what what does that number look like that's the only thing I don't see on on the print out is um do you have the number off hand by chance it it equates to roughly 600,000 it's about 50,000 per month um in ride a revenue that comes back to the city if you can get the exact the exact number we could send it over to you and Via um I I do want to give you guys kudos for for on a fly adjusting things on a fly um I'm still a little guess not happy with the service and the maintenance of the lot on igy um so if we can just how do you guys like which do you have a a cleaning contract that come and do that like how does that work yeah so our DBW does uh pick up the trash services but there oh no the I live right that DPW is not don't do that Mike DPW don't if they supposed to come they don't come my camera touched that whole lot okay I don't ever recall tpw um coming and it's a little garbage can so I don't even know why DPW would become it's l a little household garbage can y a couple of those yeah so the Via team has an on-site manager um who's responsible for collecting the garbage we will uh work with them to make sure that it's done on a much more regular basis um but DPW does come by and actually pick up the garbage that is put curb side is my understanding well it's huh DPW don't they're little they're they're little garbage they're like little garbage I haven't seen DPW come there at all this isman you're saying that there's trash within that gate right he saying that DPW picks it up curbside you want it clean inside the area right well I'm saying both I'm saying I haven't seen DPW in in the actual inside of the gate need to be maintenance at bare minimum I would guess at least once a week or so that's why I was asking do you have a contract with someone that do that you have someone there every day and the expectation was you gotta speak into the mic sir sorry about that we do have someone there every day we could be a bit we can we have someone there every day we work with DBW clearly it's not sufficient we'll do better yeah they have a three-person team for the whole city uh to clean those lots and one of them is is is severely ill so it's it's issue Citywide um my Lots also are not getting cleaned but well they we we you just said they made x amount of M they just just money there to hire or get something it just it just doesn't look good for the community definitely definitely hear your concern and we'll make this a top priority to get this straightened out as soon as possible let me ask the ba this question because I know DPW is suffering with staff that's the problem um is there any way that DPW will be able to hire any more staff especially with building the streets because this is the issue yeah we do have the cleaner communities uh Grant um but I just defer we have an answer before Wednesday whether it's uh VI's responsibility to clean the lot I don't want to provide free services that's at there uh cost so I do know we are in charge of uh removing a curb side and we'll make sure that that's occurring um and I but you Le that's where dpw's um footprint rest in this operation but to councilman s's comment we could definitely use a clean communities Grant we used to use it to offset some of our recycling cost but we could also cshare it and we we'll put that in the budget as we introduce it and also if you guys can invest in the garbage cans with the tops on them because they're just like open and once that wind blow is free for all so if you can have the the garbage cans with the top on it that that' be good they on my back they like how you the counsil man we have the dirtiest lot on the plock so um I just every word says that about their Lots we'll definitely work on it thank you I I have a concern about uh you know what happens after you know this contract is done with the renewal like um are are we just like a test uh case study for Via and then you know after the renewal period is over you know you guys are going to jump the prices on us or is this uh something that you know you going to seek to maintain this relationship with the city of Jersey City are you going to you know keep going before he answers councilman I just want to make sure that we're aware it's a competitive uh absolutely atmosphere um thing we will include in the RFP that the councilman had mentioned prior is that they provide their own parking so that would be uh just the segment that I want to put on the record but um it is an open and competitive uh while we would like to have via continue service um there may be other providers that do also bid on the contract so and they could speak to their commitment but I just want to make sure that we're not guaranteeing anything into a new uh cycle let's just say that the the Baseline standard for what we expect for the price that we pay um is something that you know we continue to look for in other biders and is that I don't know can you speak to the services are you going to are they going to keep increasing and being better and better or without Crossing into weird procurement territory this is one of our largest and most important Partnerships across the entire world and so um our price per hour will continue to be competitive and an effort to work together for the next decade and um who those are you guys' Vehicles right the vehicles they're they okay so I wasn't going to jump in but figured I might as well you know jump in um so um I have a question so I understand councilman boano had a concern with seniors and you know with uh with different and I know this is probably going to piss people off right but uh my my my concern is we do have a a some some constituents that are handicapped can can we get a like we we we we my myself and councilwoman uh the GES have a a colleague that we work together I'm not going to share his name you know but he's like severely handicapped can we get like a a commitment from viia that you know we can if if we're going to do it for seniors right can we get a commitment from via that we could at least you know you know have some sort of like uh Indigent program for you know people with handicaps yeah councilman your comments definitely heard I think you know the the service operates really as a public transit service and you know given the funding we had and the level of service drivers and hours that are in the program there is a really strong demand so dedicating any kind of drivers or Vehicles specifically for uh disabled riders would take away from the over all service um that's not to say that it couldn't be explored in the fut you know in the future I think there's definitely tradeoffs with um you know any kind of these services but um I'll let via speak to like technically I don't know if there's anything you want to add Ju Just two quick things one is that we are increasing the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles I don't know if this individual requires a wheelchair but we are increasing the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles from six total to 10 total to meet increased demand for those vehicles and then number two is that over the last six months or so we've been in front of about six different Community organizations with three more planned primarily in WS a and F so um only saying that to say that we'd be happy to talk to this individual Rider number one and number two if there are groups of uh Riders who want more education on the accessibility of the service or how to use it we we're obviously happy to be in touch so I'd be happy to share that information with you specifically you council member thank you um I guess my last my last question well not really a question um I want to know if we can get like a a breakdown of writers ship as it relates to demographics and Geographics sure yeah we can certainly do that um we survey the ridership on a regular basis and I could I could send you those results by Wednesday oh that's officient mik okay any more questions Mike can I see you for a second side yeah yeah I just want to say VI has been very very good I tried it uh multiple occasions and it was um very convenient and affordable and you know I really appreciate your partnership and I know it's a big big contract and you know it's gotten better so keep up the good work Jennifer which one you for I don't have yes sorry I have um four resolutions that I need to go over oh okay thank you a offer Coen yeah K me good afternoon council president members of city council HHS food and nutrition has one item for your consideration this evening resolution 24107 agenda number 10.19 a resolution authorizing the submission of a Grant application for the New Jersey Department of agricultures what should read 2024 summer food service program so I just want to make aware of that error uh this is just the first step in the process for us to be able to submit uh an application to the state to for the 2024 summer food service program I'll have that resolution corrected for you offer thank you any questions thank you thank you Asia Asia good afternoon members of the council I'm here for agend agenda item number 10.8 resolution 24-96 um this is a resolution requesting the authorization of a mortgage discharge in addition to the discharge of a declaration of Covenant so um this property is located at 1209 Summit Avenue and it's unit 309 so this is a condominium building and they received um Emerging Market subsidy funds for this property so what is required is it has a 15-year restricted period so if the owner of the condo wants to sell that condo during that restricted period they're required to sell it to another um lowincome buyer so this owner was interested in selling the unit he has found another income qualified buyer so we are asking um the council to authorize the ba to sign the mortgage discharge and the discharge of the Covenant so the sale can proceed so so with so so what happens if the recipient the new recipient decides does the does the restrictions follow do the 15year Period start over is it a continuation from when the previous person had it what what happens um on this property um it is subject to a shared appreciation deed restriction so it will follow the property through the 15year restri red period so if this buyer wants to turn sell within the next year they too will be required to find another affordable buyer for this condo unit and so how long if you know um um they've completed 11 years okay and they have a balance of about four years left on the Restriction wow he could have waited four more years good Lord somebody's about to make some money all yeah hey if you want to sell it okay right thank you Stacey oh sorry that's ion good afternoon president Waterman and Council I have two resolutions um resolution 10 point oh uh item number 10117 resol resolution 24105 uh this is to accept a donation from a local fundraiser to help support the Jersey City animal shelter I think councilman Rivera remembers uh this time a year ago this week um where um Scott rner um died in as complications to a fire and his dog um was unable to be removed proper ly through our former contractor and um his friends particularly Emily Palmer and Tom Finn organized a fundraiser uh in his honor to open up a fund uh as the the goat fund um in Scott's honor to support people in uh Dire Straits at the shelter and then I have item a 1018 which is resolution ution 2406 a resolution authorizing exe um an execution of a memorandum of understanding with St Hubert's animal welfare center and the Jersey City Animal Care and Control division to help support Jersey City's uh process with uh transferring animals for adoption and support services and in fact this past week St huberts hosts a monthly uh animal enrichment donation uh program and Jersey City um was this month's recipient of animal enrichment um toys for the animals and additional animal food uh to support our upcoming um food pantry for pets uh Stacy on this 1018 yes do you want to say something first Mike no Rich age before Beauty H you can go I've been receiving numerous calls on this here and people like this pulled until we get some guarantee from this organization that they're they are not going to usize the animals so um just to be clear St huberts is the best practices animal shelter in the state of New Jersey uh we are not transferring animals at this time we are just recipients of enrichment which is gifts from the theou but um I can provide you more detail I I would I would ask to not pull it cuz it continuing to pull my animal care and control um items um really makes it difficult for me to move forward in a lot of those types of work that I'm doing but um just to be clear St huberts is one of many uh rescue organizations that I'm going to bring to you to ensure that we can actually get dog and cats adopted out because if we don't have Partners across the rescue Community we can't help other people who are ready to adopt adopt animals you get from them by Thursday a definition oh yeah I'll get i'll get everything G kill animals because I said I got a million calls coming in okay uh people are calling me and um you know I I can see their concern I don't want to see any animal killed know so please before Thursday please get great you'll get it tomorrow so they see how does this uh work like when we get an animal they take over they handle the adoption get in animals every day in fact I was there today watching a family surrender their animal uh typically it takes uh with a surrender well immediately because the person has given us permission we'll organize with our vets who are uncon ract to spay neuter microchip and get the animal all of their necessary immunizations based on age and Etc uh and then we'll put the animal up for adoption right now in house we have 19 dogs um 24 cats and two two kittens um and every day we accept uh adoption applic ation and get people ready for adoption I think you know uh the way the city exists we funnel a lot of that communication up through the division of communications and over the weekend I reached out to the business administrator with our current data which I'm sharing with you right now um just to maybe have more support in continual Outreach around adoptions um um and that's you know every day we're we're adopting out whoever we can whenever we can and we'd like we utilize Partners to do additional work so next council meeting I'll bring to you a memorandum to uh take some dogs out of the shelter for training for therapy dog training for local veterans uh so that we can move um some more animals to have the type of training that a veteran might need for PTSD or other um things so so so this company would handle that adoption process a local New Jersey nonprofit they don't handle our adoption process sometimes someone will call us and say hey do you have ex animal because we have someone at our uh rescue or someone that filed for an adoption paperwork that's interested in X animal um often it happens more with cats or kittens cuz uh we have so many more cats and um kittens from uh you know the feral cat community and oftentimes that's where we're often moving cats and working with local rescue groups for adoptions um but we if someone said hey you know we have enough room for X number of large animals right now of the 18 19 dogs we have 18 of them are large dogs um one of them is a dog under 25 lbs so just trying to share across networks um if someone has someone interested in uh adoption then we transfer so last month we transferred four animals to um hospice rescues cuz these animals um one had cancer one um had an ear infection was blind was de uh and so a rescue organization found us someone that could would care for that animal um because it was not by Veterinary standards adoptable so this organization as like would they were help with capacity yes all organization that's what like it's part of a Global Network so one St huberts um is known for their like expertise in the field uh and two they get large donations because they're a nonprofit so just as a reminder the city it's difficult to take a a donation hence my resolution that you know took a while to be able for me to bring it forth from a community group that was interested in opening up a fund in a name but we don't normally take daily donations like a local nonprofit uh because every donation requires a resolution to ensure that there's no payto playay going on so St huberts is a local nonprofit so they have the ability to take in donations they get a significant donation from chewy corporation which is one of the um dog delivery service companies that delivers like toys and things for your animal so it's like a instacart for doggy stuff um and so they are a major funer of St huberts St huberts on a monthly basis picks an organization and so this month we are that organization so that's what instituted this mou so I'm I'm confused on the exact service rendered and if we need said service that's what I'm trying to figure out so we need every part willing to work with us because that's what we we can only hold so many animals um and so at the current rate of animal surrender and Strays every partner that can help us adopt animals out is a valid partner St huberts is like a specialty partner um because they're a local nonprofit that is excellent in their fields uh so they operate a shelter but they also operate enrichment support services for other partner shelters because in the shelter there's a network similar to referral networks I hate to use the the doctors and nurses and hmos but like you go into the doctor and you need to see X Y or Z doctor one for your heart one for your lungs one for your knee and you get referred out so St huberts is sort of the one of those best practices nonprofits ones to emulate right in in the community that's not only doing their own adoptions but helping others move adoptions across that Network so how long typically would a dog stay or animal stay in out custody before it transfers over any dog so um we're not moving dogs unless we don't have any room um we will keep a dog as long as we need to keep a dog uh if they're healthy they stay with us obviously we'd prefer dogs not to be in a cage most of the day right so we'd prefer to have Fosters and adoptions but we're one entity whereas the network across the state is rather large so some people might not want a large dog in their small apartment and a large dog might make more sense in a place where someone has a large yard how long does it take to adopt that's all he want it takes like 72 hours to actually adopt but people have to want to adopt the dogs that we have and if they don't then like we have some dogs that have been with us for almost 30 days already right and so we'd like to move those dogs to a place where they they have greater runs more capacity have more support services to push adoptions out okay and you so you're saying these guys are like one of the cream of the crops they are they are I think I I don't know if any of you have had experience with them but I do know that um they are one of the best practice uh nonprofits that do this work thank you I was gonna say can we have them work with seniors too like have the animals come sometimes to like a senior event like you know well that is not allowed by the city policy so the city policy says no animals in uh City buildings so I've been working with the Ba's office on that with uh the therapy dog out of the Jersey City police department F uh po open it up to can worms here councilman what happen so you're really opening the can of worms here also I we did it in the law school it's like one day were before finals and they did it in college yeah okay so that's a administrative policy that I can't that I am not in charge of do we are we currently doing um spade and neuter yeah so far to date up till yesterday the data we've done 108 spay neuters oh okay um majority internal um I think so just like I said earlier we've got 19 dogs in house 24 cats in house two kittens the month of January we did 86 span neuter to date we've done 22 um and we've adopted um nearly two dozen animals out and we we're moving and transferring animals without M us this mou with st huberts is more comprehensive about donations they give us um and it's really to get animals adopted op it out but we have them fill out paperwork when they come in and they're vetted through the shelter system and every time we have a short list we'll come and bring to you a list of those healthier JC partners that are supporting our work thank you but um I think only a few people have come to visit the shelter I know that um council president has uh councilwoman Prince has um the ba has been out there so any you know anytime you'd like to come and visit I'll be I'm gonna bring a couple cats in my area too yeah absolutely thank you thank you thank you director Mayar good afternoon council president council members I only have one item going to speak on it's resolution 24-19 agenda number 10.21 one it's a resolution of the city council amending resolution 23- 853 to continue the imposition of the moratorium on accepting applications for class 5 cannabis retail licenses it's extending it until April 30th of 2024 and then what happens after that how many po places we we'll start accepting applications can we just extend it to the end of the year you we G so we going start accepting applications at the April 30th correct there's no room for no one else to go no one else to go I think the reason that we're extending it um you know in intervals is because we're still waiting for the amendment of The ordinance that's going to put the cap on and myself and councilwoman Ridley met with Tom Slattery from the Law Department because the state is also weigh in on consumption so we're trying to bundle all of that together to bring it back to council so this brings us with a little bit more breathing room until the wait but so how many count CU I I met with them how many Council people are we working with here like so that we can be on the same page here CU you know we're we're actually I met with them when we're actually waiting on an amendment as well councilman did you meet with Tom okay yeah he can meet individually or you know up to three Council people at a time so if we need to share the different amendments obviously it would come all as as one ordinance change Council what I suggest is we have him uh provide a memo of all the meeting minutes and then we could discuss a route from there with individual or segments of uh meetings it's probably best that we just make an Affidavit of everything on one page anyway so this is for April 3D I mean I guess my only my my concern is that we like we we're already there's so many applications in the pipeline is I mean I don't the horse is out the barn at this this juncture they racing right right now the CCB we've approved 60 applications the council has approved 41 41 inur and how many in it how many you guys approved 60 60 and the council's approved 41 so that does that represent our 40 as well no your 41 is within the 60 yes so currently right now there's 60 that you guys have reviewed how many is in the queue uh ending we have about six oh that's it we have six that haven't gone in front of the board the CCB yet but there's 41 so we only have six open so it's really 35 that are in the queue waiting to open and get the final approval from the state so I would you g c it at 100 100y [Laughter] but but you gota the problem is the resolution has to come forth It's just keep opening up have to get to that point where you say this is how many we gonna have and that's it rich what do you say rich I think it's disgusting def gonna ruin the city why can't we extend the the moratorium for longer I don't understand leave that up to yeah councilman we just suggest that we do it every few months to keep the conversation continuous about the amendment if we say January we know we won't present a memo I mean a a Amendment rather until January so every few weeks we have the working subcommittees and then you know we have it to make a decision in April are we going to entertain the amendment or then continue to extend it anything else mayor that's it thank you Tanya com here for 3.5 um and 10.31 3.5 is literally just fixing typos there is no substance whatsoever um so but we do have to go through the formal process of amending it uh and 10:31 is a resolution to bring on um not bring on to continue our contract with Hunter um who reviews all of our Dem U applications uh they're are historic preservation consultant and that's that's really it yeah so you're saying it's just a typo error right for um 10 I mean for three 3.5 that's that's yep that's literally all it is some renumbering we have a couple of double numers so yeah okay that's itanya thank you a okay Yen go she left oh no she she good afternoon council president council members I have four resolutions to present today first one is item 1024 resolution 24112 um MJ Transit has acquired ANC bus um and so they have requested additional bus stop s on Claremont mallerie Sip and Westside and this would um service the old 440 uh Shopper okay next one is item 1025 resolution 24113 this is just to um amend an existing bus stop at Duncan and mallerie and that's just to shorten the bus stop to match up the new uh striping that's out there question yes wait so for 1024 are they adding service or it's just a change in the route it should be the existing route and they're just adding bus stops um I think thec didn't have official bus stops so this is um this would be designating official NJ Transit bus stops gotcha thank you no questions on 25 right okay so 1026 uh resolution 24114 this is relocating an existing bus stop at MLK and Carney Avenue um the existing bus stop is in front of the new public safety building so they're just moving it to the other side of the street to accommodate the um the police vehicles okay and then the last one is item 1028 Jen can you back up for a second oh sure so we're moving a bus stop from one side of the street to the other side of the street right yes so they are removing the near side northbound bus stop at MLK and Carney um and then they're just putting it at the far side but wouldn't it be going in two different directions if we move it from one side of street to the other the Northbound it's just instead of the approach to the intersection going northbound it's at the receiving approach of the okay but on the same side of the street yes okay um the last one is 1028 resolution 24116 and this is a resolution solution authorizing a Professional Services agreement with Advanced cardiac Cardiac Care LLC and this is to continue assisting the uh Municipal Council committee on reserve parking for the disabled um to continue reviewing the applications J Jennifer do me a favor please yes satday not just past satday but the Saturday before I guess you heard I was ging calls at 7 o'clock in the morning course Pavonia Avenue was closed creating traffic number one making a lot of noise bringing in generators no one should be working on Saturday and Sunday disturbing the neighborhood we go through enough Monday through Friday if in the future anything like this has to happen please notify me and notify the people in the area because a lot of people were really ticked off at me blaming me and I had nothing I didn't know about it I ran up there and they showed me they said oh they had permits to work I said where are the permits or we don't have them I understand after the cops went down later on I think they closed them down but please no more Saturday no more Sunday work yesterday I had to have Ry Myers go over and close down a major outfit today because they were working yesterday blocking the streets on a Federal holiday people are just getting tired of it please Jennifer notify me and notify the areas in the residents with Flyers that something like this is going to be done on a weekend please yeah absolutely I I'll notify you thank you John I think in light of not not talk um in light because there is a pleth of construction going on um we the city would we wouldn't lose Nothing by having an inspector um come around I've seen one of them I think either this Saturday or last Saturday he say he gave out seven tickets because people know that we're not out there we're not policing and if they can take a shortcut they'll take a shortcut so if if we just I don't know two weekends or we just do it for the next 60 days we will send a message that we're no we're not because it's a huge quality of life disturbance especially for people that work all week and Saturday and Sundays is is the dates to rest agree councilman I would just prefer to discuss the schedule offline this way we don't everybody know when we're having it but um I I agree I think that we just have to make some schedule changes and we could do that through um the uh can we just outlaw non City related construction and if it has to go through it has to go through Council approval yeah I mean I to check code by think it's already we just have to enforce it as okay that's what it is it's not the enforcement so yeah I mean I'm I'm happy to have the conversation with the council I just don't want to have a public conversation on when we're going to do the enforcement the work around us to pick you back off of councilman Gilmore people who are closing down the roads or doing construction without permits is also not being enforced there's a lot of road closures and when you contact UM director Barker's office uh director Patel's office she not aware of some of them because they're not putting in the right permits and that does need to be enforced more yeah I mean for some of those unfortunately it's cat and mouse but we will have inspectors available that when those are reported that they could immediately respond we're on the inspectors can we put them under Barker's office or no like inspectors because they have no enforcement mechanism I don't know yeah we could definitely have a follow-up conversation on that about uh where they should be housed um they are in public safety because they do have ticket writing ability through that but would have to take a look that if we put him in in uh infrastructure if that would have to be amended through ordinance we don't want to give anybody a scapegoat that the tickets are legal so we just want to make sure we do it the right way could Public Safety be involved in any way I mean police that are you know going around in their in their vehicles if they see something like that you know there should be some sort of communication with the department whether there's a permit or not or if they're aware of it and they can also issue tickets not necessarily on the the permits but just for closing down the street or doing construction during absolutely also um the assess result the assess sounds like I got a cold um also the assessor's office because they're out um doing inspections uh seven days a week as well uh for illegal construction Public Safety John Public Safety enforce anything when like on Saturday and Sunday when you have the construction going on they have off-duty cops working there when the people in public safety should know it's illegal to work on Saturdays and Sundays I think we should have a meeting on this I agree uh this is what I'm trying to get through with Shay when I asked him for information certain information I'm tired of asking for it my neighborhood's been destroyed and some of these people here are going to get their neighborhoods destroyed especially Ward D and B and a over the next couple of years and they're going to go through what I've gone through in the hilltop for the last several years and I'm tired of it yeah let's get a 7-Day enforcement schedule up and running in the next two weeks uh we'll share that with the council and then we if it's not working or it's working we could we could discuss it and John you issue a summons if you can get a summons issued if it's $1,000 $500 developers don't give a damn because they'll pay it it's a joke to them we have to raise the fines the three four $5,000 you want to disobey the laws of Jersey City you got to pay for it as the legis no permits till you pay it yeah as a state legis I mean excuse me as a legislature you know we could we could discuss an amendment there um just keep in mind we'll work with the law Department because there are State caps you know you can't arbitrarily say you know $50,000 there are caps but we could we could beat those maximum thresholds afterno council president members of the council I'm here on behalf of Solomon councilman Solomon's office regarding ordinance 3.2 U ordinance 24 008 and ordinance amending chapters 175 food handle establishments and chapter 242 peace and good order of the code of ordinances to establish regulations for third party delivery companies and food delivery drivers um this ordinance we started working on this ordinance uh as a result of the restaurants reaching out to us and other council members a is regarding the expiration of the covid caps on delivery fees that were expiring at the end of last year um they were asking for a permanent solution we reached out to started working with the law department on this and we came up with a solution based on a license that the the food delivery companies will need to have with the city um we suggested Commerce we are open on that uh suggestion about where exactly the license should be but um the idea of having this license allows us to create a general structure of regulations that we felt we could place on the delivery companies by require again if they have to have the license to operate you could take it away if they were to violate any set of ordinances and looking at the examples of other cities we found three primary areas where we felt that these companies need to be regulated uh the first being their relationship with the restaurants so this would include their contracts with the restaurants their agreements with them and the cap system second would be basic protections for the drivers and third would be having you know sort of enlisting the companies as responsible for maintaining Street safety that they when they have their bike drivers on our streets um for the first segment we looked at what DC Philadelphia and um uh San Francisco and Seattle are doing in that they created for a permanent cap instead of a flat cap as they had during Co a sort of a tiered system where they must provide basic delivery service at 15% if they want to offer more and restaurants want to pay for more they can do so but we're setting a baseline of 15% for the most basic delivery service and defining that is it also includes some other basic protections for the restaurants around their contracts the second section is something you're seeing in multiple cities basic protections for the drivers the ability to see their tips the ability to uh uh cancel to see how long rides are and cancel them without extreme penalties and the third section we looked at for examp Bas based off of what New York is doing which is to require basic safety equipment warned by the drivers and in addition to make it so that the drivers are identifiable as working for the company because they are commercial vehicles as working as agents of these companies so a vest or something with a number saying Uber Eats or whatever company's name the number driver they are so that law enforcement could identify them or if something went wrong anyone could identify them and also making it so that the company is also accountable for the actions of their drivers on our streets to in to ensure that everyone is you know working towards giving Jersey City Ste streets safe um so that's like a basic overview I know we went over this much of the council uh we're looking I think does anyone have any questions some some critics might say that this is um governmental overreach in terms of you know the government getting involved in contracts like what would would you say to people that think this is you know a bridge too far or you know we should get involved with um you know Uber eat and the restaurant and the bikers multiple cities have taken similar actions to ensure basically that there's a Level Playing Field because you have an industry that's very concentrated in the hands of a couple um large players the restaurants basically have no choice but to work with them and so we just want to set basic rules to ensure that both sides are playing fair and but also at the same time allowing the flexibility to ensure that everyone is you know all interest are balanced if I just add this that New York City set a a flat cap on the fees that you can't go higher um and so we chose not to do that and we chose instead the floor of saying hey you've got to do the basic floor but you can go higher and that's what I think as as said Seattle Philadelphia Washington DC have done so you similar to that and then Isa did reach out to those cities and has spoken to kind of the restaurant associations yes we spoke to representatives from it from two of the Cities uh it's notable that DC had an ordinance last year they're redoing it to add some of the extra rules around their 15% cap because they found that they created a 15% cap which was just too ambiguous and too fluid and the companies were able to just run through it same thing with Philadelphia they were basically bringing companies up to the next higher tier without even telling them so we're trying to basically create a tier at 15% again just disc Cay point you need to we're going to do this you have to have basic rules to make it clear what is allowable what the deal is for everyone you know if we have at 15 and I signed a contract 15 I should stay at 15 until I express say I don't I shouldn't be moved up or around without being told um it should be clear what that means what okay what am I getting for 15% because in some cities it's not clear they it write it out and people are getting nothing basically with 15 so you wanted to make it clear and so we're kind of in line with what DC's currently right now introducing as well to bring their standard to in that area there's a biker registration system in this as well so what we're asking is for the companies to keep track of their drivers and to tell basically to have a b an ID that's visible so that if a driver does something or if he stopped the we can identify them as an employee as a commercial driver for that company we're not we're not going to be having any names we're not going to be you know holding a list of drivers we're asking the company to do that and the companies already know who their drivers are we're asking them to have a number for the driver that we could also see um I think the state I'm not sure I just asked the mayor I think the state just passed something on the bicycles today about registration etc etc that's a separate thing that's for like the the they want individual bikers of some type to register so we're just asking that these these commercial drivers these are commercial vehicles working for a company that they have their their it involves all bicycles commercial and non-commercial the state one yeah but we're doing something totally different there and I don't I don't know how where the state one is going exactly but I tell you what Isaac you know you you guys did a real amazing job with this I mean I think they uh you know it's it's there's a very very very good uh ordinance here that you guys did really good um if council's okay just procedurally we would ask us if we can introduce um but have the second reading or at our second meeting in March March 20th um we just know that we are getting feedback and so we just uh want to move it forward but also have time for obviously our office but all of our offices to take feedback in and if there's any changes we don't want to have a you know last minute you know before the meeting on the six thing gives us all a little bit of time to focus on any any uh amendments folks are interested in and if council's amendable to that that's what we would love to so if that's the intention of the council I would just need a motion um at on Thursday meeting to do that not not today on Thursday thank you clerk questions have a good good good job Isaac like your T turtleneck okay good you yes all righty AR first reading ordinances item 3.1 city ordinance 24- 007 is an ordinance naming the playground located at J Owen Grundy Park the Jeremy Farrell playground in honor of Jeremy Farrell item 3.2 was touched on earlier item 3.3 city ordinance uh 24- 009 which is an ordinance of the municipal Council of the city of Jersey City adopting amendments to the polis hook Redevelopment plan creating block 11606 Redevelopment plan and I believe RB white would like to address the Council on this yeah Sean council president um we're just asking to carry this one meeting we can withdraw it and then reintroduce it uh at the following meeting um Tanya has already spoken to the petitioner and we're just working through some final details thank you ba next item 3.4 city ordinance 24- 010 is in ordinance amending chapter 69 special Improvement districts Article 2 Central Avenue special Improvement District item 3.5 was touched on earlier on to our second reading ordinances I just want to explain 3.4 sorry I know we zoomed past it but you know for anyone that watches uh we're removing the sunset provision for the Central Avenue Sid so Central Avenue Sid was the first Sid created and there was a sunset provision that said like after the first two years every 5 years they have to continue to vote on their very existence what this um ordinance does is it removes that language and brings it in line with the other um enacting uh ordinances for the uh special Improvement districts and that's that okay housekeeping thank you councilman that was not my intention to zoom through item 4.1 city ordinance 24- 004 is an ordinance of the municipal Council adopting amendments to the powerhouse L District Redevelopment plan to incorporate educational uses item 4.2 City I'm sorry good we did we confirm that uh we were able to make the change on 4.1 that we had amended it to to so instead of educational uses it says schools we we did and unfortunately for some reason um when I published the agenda initially those changes didn't go through but I republished it today and everything should be reflecting of the changes that you made at the last meeting thank you Clerk you're welcome item 4.2 city ordinance 24- 005 is an ordinance authorizing the city of Jersey City to execute an extension of a lease with New Jersey schools Development Authority on real property at block 21102 lot 52 on the city's tax map located at 70 ige Avenue for the purpose of temporary parking for the Via JC service I item 4.3 city ordinance 24- 006 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 3 parking standing stopping amending section 332-22 parking prohibited at all times in section 332-2730 on to our petitions and Communications any questions or comments on item 6.1 through 6.13 hearing none there are no officer Communications any questions or comments on report of directors 8.1 through 8.6 we have our claims and then on to our resolutions first resolution item 10.1 resolution 24- 089 is a resolution honoring the 20th anniversary of workers AA car is did I get that right um item 10.2 resolution 2490 is a resolution recognizing the seek Heritage Month of month of April 2024 council president is the intention of the council to withdraw this until the March 6 meeting yes it'll be back then yeah you don't have any problems with that then okay all right next item 10.3 resolution 24- 091 is a resolution recognizing the Jersey City immigrant Affairs commission equality day item 10.4 was touched on earlier item 10.5 resolution 24- 093 is a resolution reappointing Karen doto as a full-time judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court item 10.6 resolution 24- 094 is a resolution appointing reappointing excuse me Paul Scalia as a full-time judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court both resolutions have resumés and the mayor's letter attached um item 10.7 resolution 24- 095 is a resolution introducing and approving the 2024 budget of the Jackson Hill Main Street special improvement district directing the city clerk to publicly advertise the budget and schedule a public hearing and directing the tax assessor to prepare an assessment role of properties within the district based upon the budget items 10.8 through 10 9 were touched on earlier item 10.20 resolution 24-18 is a resolution authorizing the renewal of a contract remedy analystics Inc for auditing the prescription drug plans items 10.21 through 10.26 were touched on earlier item 10.27 resolution 115 24115 is adopting a revised Deferred Compensation Plan for the purpose of making available employees the acral of tax benefits under Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plan items 10.28 through 10.36 were touched on earlier item 10.37 resolution 24125 it's a resolution authorizing the award of an open-end contract to new new nusco um also known as Nelson West Berg of New Jersey to provide moving services of the Department of Public Works division of administrative Services item 10.38 resolution 24-1 126 is a resolution amending res Municipal resolution 23- 497 reappointing Laura teresi as Deputy tax assessor item 10.39 resolution 24127 is a resolution of support and and need within the Jersey City of housing at 44 new Kirk Street um items 10.40 through 10.42 uh Britney would you like to take them sure Sean we'll provide a memo just as to the status of them these are all renewals and one is an appeal I'm just trying to obtain the status on 1042 and I'll let the council president no any questions Council on any uh the items 10.40 to 42 okay hearing none motion nope next 10.43 I'll ex motion uh resolution 24 now who's zooming through 24-13 reappointing Morin K hings as a member of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority and last but not least item 10.44 resolution 24-32 appointing an as an alternate member number two of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority both resolutions have the mayor's letter and resume attached um clerk can I be able to offline get the email for 10 the appointment for 10:44 I will share with you both uh yes I have 10 43s already but yeah 10 I'll with you both thank you no problem may I have a motion to adjourn at 5:26 PM I'm going to give the motion to council person SLE since he did it first and then I'll give a second to council person Gilmore are you good on the motion to adjourn at 5:26 pm. all council members present by acclamation please say I I we are out of here at 5:26 p.m. thank you so much everybody present and everyone watching at home remember Teamwork Makes the DreamWork have a great night and please stay safe boy C sure it's 6:30 meeting no no no we we're we're we're protesting the media right now we're not talking to the media that