good evening the July 10th 2024 council meeting of the Long Branch city council will now come to order roll call please Dr V here Mrs Wht here Mr dangler is absent Dr Sy is absent Mr Vieira I'm here please all stand for pledge allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation and the God indivisible liberty and justice for all I will now read the mission statement of the city council The Long Branch mayor city council and administration are committed to cultivating an environment of mutual trust and respect by values diversity of our community we will strive to enhance the quality of life for all who live here by making Long Branch a desirable place in which to live and prosper we will treat all members of the public with respect and expect the same in return I hereby certifi that this meeting has been published in the newspaper in accordance with the open public meeting act and posted as required by law thank you reading the approval of previous minutes I need a motion to approve the minutes of the June 24th 2024 so moved second roll call Dr vote Yes Mrs whtas same Dr um Mr dangler is absent Dr s is absent Mr Vieira yes motion passed motion consideration of ordinance public hearing and final consideration ordinance 016 d24 an ordinance amending chapter 319 trees of the code of the city of Long Branch by the creating article two three tree removal replacement un amending chapter 345 zoning Article 4 article 5 excuse me special regulations Section 345 d47.3 tree preservation this ordinance was introduced on June 26 2024 and the New Jersey Department of the Environmental Protection requires the city of lbr to establish minimum requirements for tree removal and replacement to reduce soil erosion pollen run off promote infiltration of rainwater into the soil and protect the environment public health and safety and the welfare we need a motion to open the public hearing on this ordinance only moved second all in favor I I I if any member of the public has any comment to make on this ordinance only please come to the podium state your name and address clearly for the record you'll have five minutes and may only speak once on ordinance 016 d24 good evening everyone um oops Nan Simon a Cordelia CT Long Court Long Branch um and as most of you know I'm a member of the environmental commission and the Green Team here in town I I just want to speak in support of the ordinance um I know there was a bit of back and forth between the DC and the administration when it was being developed but in at the end of the day we were very supportive of this ordinance um you know trees in addition to the storm water management benefits which uh is what's driving this ordinance um offer a lot of other benefits especially on days like today I can tell you um and uh we recently did a tree inventory with the city part of that tree inventory was um a tree canopy study and one of the findings was that in the last 12 years the tree canopy and Long Branch has declined about 10% and that's a Citywide it's not like a particular pocket of the city so you know it's something that the EC and the Green Team feel is something we like to work with the city on to try to reestablish some of the trees in the city and we think this ordinance will we hopefully help residents come to Value you know the trees in their yards um and help preserve them or replace them if they're in a place where they can no longer be maintained um we know that this is going to be a kind of a culture change for people to actually have to get a permit to remove you know a large number of trees in your yard and uh we'd like to offer our services to partner with the city to uh help inform the public as you know however you like to work with us thank you thank you thank you anyone else linon laor 33 ocean ter long granch requesting one minute notification council president Vieira related to this ordinance resolution 174 hires a CTE certified tree expert was that resolution put on tonight to accommodate this ordinance yes or no I cannot give you an answer right now well you're going to vote on an ordinance and a resolution but you can't give me an answer council's not prepared to vote on this ordinance three ordinance amends chapter 345 of the zoning Article 5 special regulations Section or license tree expert section 39-12 regulatory activity submitted quote tree removal application to the council for their approval no tree shall be removed until Municipal officials have reviewed and approved the removal with a $25 application fee for you people to remove as if the people aren't paying enough in taxes in this city so the property owner is now forced further on with a feet item D replacement Alternatives pay a fee of $100 per tree to be removed $100 goes into a tree fund again the cost $100 to remove Mr Reno that $100 to remove is that a fee or is that the total cost of the removal of the tree $100 not $100 is a fee that is paid into a fund that is used to for tree replacement so it's not going to pay for the removal of the tree no whoever is removing the tree pays for the removal of the tree which can run into thousands police department will enforce the ordinance you got a the police department I got your answer I didn't like it no no stop for a second no you don't stop me this is police department will enforce this ordinance as if the police in this city don't have enough to do section 39-15 visitations violations and penalties any person who was found in violation of the provisions of this ordinance that be subject to a minimum of$ 100 to $1,000 fine per tree this is gross environmental totalitarianism I'm requesting a no vote on ordinance 16 the ordinance doesn't properly address clearly a list of approval replacement trees it doesn't address invasive species of trees and it doesn't properly address top rooted replacement trees again this ordinance has not proven that it will benefit the city as it is going to further burden the property owner especially with regulations and fees all this does is create undue hardship and that's a legal term for the property owner it's just another bureaucratic enhancing money-making cash grabed by the city it's unjustified and it's wrong I remind the city the environmental Commission of its record Mr dangler wanted to be the first with plastic bags Banning them Long Branch was going to be the first and the environmental commission was appointing itself congratulations Long Branch you are now the first in the state to Triple the amount of bags in the landfill because it's been a catastrophic failure cast Tropic to carry bags minut notific multiple plastic bags used twice and disposed Mr lais got the bag's got nothing to do with this ordinance yes it does it has to do with the environmental record of this commission no no this is a tree ordinance you couldn't even answer the question how do you know what this ordinance is about well I can answer the question I don't that's up to me okay up here so I run you didn't know the answer so how you going to vote on this ordinance I vote listen we talked about I don't want to listen you made your statement if you don't want to listen this environmental commission should have better priorities like fighting offshore wind farms than worrying about burdening people in the city with tree expenses I'm requesting a no vote thank you you want to explain me on anything um you want is there anybody else in the point anybody else this is just about trees yes just about the tree order okay thank you so any want to close the public portion I need a motion to close a public portion we have to public portion all right thank you back forth um uh that right now council president I I just want to be clear this this ordinance most municipalities in the state have tree removal ordinances and and in all du respect to to to Mr leor the excuse me no you don't interrupt excuse me excuse me excuse me excuse meor um most um municipalities in the state have some form of a tree removal ordinance the cost um if you don't replace a tree into the tree fund those costs are usually between $300 and $500 so this is $100 so this is not this is not an honorous type fee that's the first thing the second thing that everybody needs to understand is that this the city had a tree ordinance but the state of New Jersey and I think u a member from the environmental commission um mentioned it change storm water regulations and you've probably seen a series of ordinances that we've adopted that were required by the state one was an a large amendment to our storm water ordinance the second was we passed pretty recently um an ordinance regulating salt Barns and I know that that seems kind of esoteric but it's something that the state wanted us to do because of the water that runs off Salt Barns and the the tree ordinance was another one because of the storm water impacts of it so the the what we did here is we added to our currently existing ordinance already existed the state's requirements um for the um process for removing any tree in the city of a certain caliber the only thing that we did to our current ordinance is to amend the schedule of tree replacement so that it matches the state so this isn't you know criticism of whether or not it's more government or it's more fees or whatever it's it's fair if you want to make those those criticisms but understand that when we're directed by the state to make these changes we we make these we make these changes and that's our point the other thing and I I didn't mean to interrupt Mr leapor though sometimes it's confounding when he gets off on one of his tangents if the whole point of this is not that we're ordering people to remove trees and now they have to pay for removing the trees this is somebody who wants to remove a tree who comes to the city and says I would like permission to remove a tree that's the process here so we're this is not us forcing people to remove trees just want to make that clear so you know it it makes it sound like well you're imposing the fee for removing the tree and the other cost well the answer is no this is that if you decide that you want to remove a tree this is the process by which you go through and by the way there was a process in place anyway so that's that's the point I just wanted to make council president thank you Mr R now we need a vote on the we need a vote okay this is the second reading okay go ahead I'm sorry this is a second reading of ordinance 16-24 I need a motion to adopt on a second or final reading as advertised according to law so moved second roll call please motion pass um Mr Dr vot yes Mrs whts yes Mr dangler is absent Dr s is absent Mr Vieira yes motion pass ordinance for introduction none public participation with the resolutions and general comments I need a motion to open the public portion of the meeting for all comments so moved second all in favor I I oppose if there's anyone in on the audience that has a comment to make please step to the podium and state your name and address clearly for the record you'll have five minutes and may only speak once hello I did not mean to interrupt I just didn't understand what that subject was about so if I was disrespectful I apologize no problem thank you I am here from 340 ocean a North in oceans Glenn apartment 1f my name is Cheryl lomazzi l a m b i a s e the first one was worse was Sapp enzza nobody could spill that anyway I am here proposing that you guys take a look at putting I've been thinking hard about this and I talked to Mayor palone last week and I really appreciate that that man called me within 48 Hours of me making the phone call I was very impressed and shocked because I was in the middle of a haircut but that's okay I was really surprised when he called me 48 hours after I talked to I believe Michael is his secretary or assistant but I want something has to be done at the entrance to the park now that Jimmy I I know his name is Jimmy colano I call him Jimmy strollo now that Jimmy strollo is only three doors with two driveways in from the corner there are children every single day that walk from the park to the ice cream store and back and if their mothers can see them they don't always come out of the park with them my problem is I've almost got killed here four times in in only my first four weekends of being here I'm here 12 weeks out of the Year weekends mostly when people come down Joe line and I drew it's not a nice handwriting but a diagram when they come down Joe line as the mayor knows you H hit Ocean Boulevard at a light the next and it's two lanes in and out the next is a stop sign on this side and a stop sign on this side do you think anybody stop stops four times and I will not curse in this room I have had to put my hand up and say it's not a blanking pause sign it's a stop sign and the last person that almost killed me literally the two days before uh Fourth of July week I will not ride Fourth of July week I think they're drunk when they get here these kids no matter what their parents think of them and now that pot is legal everybody's High okay but once they and I believe the mayor was right he said to me he believes that because the whole last section of Joe line turns into one lane they've already been driving 45 minutes to an hour to two hours and by the time they get to that stoplight the frustration is now all they see is the park I agree with that but it doesn't mean I want to lose my life over it something has to be done I've already talked to close to 55 women who would have signed a petition which I didn't go through with printing out only because somebody told me they heard a rumor in the last 6 weeks that the town was talking about making a circle there like they did on second and uh Broadway which would be a nightmare maybe not for cars but for bicyclists a nightmare I have a picture I could show you of myself when I ride at 7 in the morning I am in neither neon green or fuchsia pink or I I can't make it any more colorful but I sat last week after I spoke with the mayor on Friday and just just pulled over on the side and watched for a few minutes as people came in came driving in they go like this they're looking for cars they're not looking for cyclists and what really sent me over the edge and brought me here tonight is the last person who did it was probably last Monday like a week ago Monday before 4th of July started and I'm riding here's strollos when I and there's people that have big Hedges when I I first time I really had to hit my bricks but so did he cuz he would have run me over guess what guys he was a park ranger working for in the park and I said to him when I saw him in the park you too I mean I know all these guys I'm here 11 years even you don't stop and you work here you've heard me complain about this too many people come through that parking lot not caring about anything as you said but getting into that Park Jimmy strollo himself told me three three or five years ago one of his employees got hit in that intersection walking home I talked to a surfer who's in my age range over 60 and he told me oh my God that that I've lived here my whole life I grew up in Red Bank bank but I surf over here that that entrance has been a nightmare since they put it in he said I can I can't tell you the IM accidents I saw at 70 years old living living here my whole life so all I'm requesting and I thank you for listening to me and seeing me all I'm requesting is that something I'm not going to stop so if you have some suggestions for me to make from here on make a petition start getting it signed anybody that lives on that street and the girl that got me in contact with Jimmy strollo I'm not going to use her name worked for him for three and A2 years she R she goes out and runs at 5:30 in in the morning and they still try to kill her cuz she has a 2-year-old a one-year-old and a three-year-old she says Cheryl I try to run before the kids are up she said but every day I got you got to your job you got to slow down it's it's I'm driving now on riding on the wrong side of the road over there to make sure I can see who's coming off the off Joe line it's a bad intersection that needs to be looked at I went to see Jimmy I thought he would support me but obviously he's worried if it's fourway stop and I understand that I'm a business owner he's worried that there's going to be a line of traffic blocking his driveways and it's a very very valid point which why is one of the reasons I'm asking can we make some suggestions can we come up with some ideas thank you okay or or like one of those I know they said that the stop sign from Jo jool line is not I believe Town owned even if they put lights around it ma'am if you can just grab the the director of public safety's business card he'll make a appointment with you and we'll come out and meet with you there oh okay he's the director of Public Safety William Brown nice to meet you again thank you for calling good evening thank you for having me uh my name is Stephanie my last name is Jeffrey and I live on J FF e r y I live on 275 West End Avenue I grew up in La Branch my whole life I worked for your brother Frank when I was little um so what brings me here tonight is um the speeding on my street is egregious it is unbelievable I I can't even see imagine what I'm seeing at times I live on West End Avenue I face Hoy I live probably three houses in from The Vocational School where a lot of police officers kind of sit sit in there and I don't know they don't pull people over but um I'm a cut through Street you obviously know how far West End Avenue comes off of Norwood goes all the way down to the beach uh I've owned I'm a homeowner and I've owned my house for seven years and it's just gotten worse and worse and worse I can't say it's just in the summer because it's you know it is a Beach area and there's a lot of people from New York that live on my street it's year round and I have I a 13-year-old son who I just started letting him ride his bike after begging me since he was 11 because I'm petrified of my son riding his bike and I shouldn't have to live like that right now I have gray hair because I'm checking the locator all the time to make sure he's okay the speed I've seen cars I if I could clock them you there was actually a speed um at one point a speed sign in front of my house at the end of my drive I clock in the speed so obviously you guys are Ware of the problem um we had a tragedy last year a little girl died right around the corner on second off a Second Avenue on Cottage Place due to speed and I don't want my son I don't want 25 miles per hour written on my street in memory of my child or any other child children matter of fact there's a bus stop for La branch public schools that picks up children in grammar school right across from my house I've seen cars speed around the buses now we have summer camp and it's a very busy street with there's a lot of children you have public housing up the street you have wooder Wilson or if they change it or whatever the new name is Clark Lewis whatever you have another complex across from woodro Wilson and there's kids out there playing all the time and I'm so afraid something's going to happen I'm begging you CU like her I will be back C trust me I will be back you want if this something doesn't get done about this I'm scared to death something's gonna happen I don't want to be here after something happens to one of these kids and I'm talking for the community not just my son but I'm nervous and it's hardwood floor vans it's young kids it's outat Towners it's just post post the cop in front of Hoy and I guarantee you there'll be somebody will be pulled over every 5 minutes me and my husband sit in the front lawn and enjoy the evening a nice summer night and you just he voom voom voom back and forth it's like it's like wall Stadium on my street and I talk to Serge chaparo who WR coaches my son in wrestling I seen him on Fourth of July I said Serge what could we do about this he goes go to the city council meeting he goes I agree with you West End Avenue Second Avenue it took unfortunately a tragedy for them to put 25 miles per hour written on Second Avenue that wasn't always there I'm from La Branch I appreciate the bike lanes that was a good move you know for for children and people riding bikes but I I don't know how it's you know much more I can as a mother and speaking for the other mothers there's kids all over and there's it's I I don't know I don't know I just don't want anything to happen speed bumps I don't know if you could do speed bumps on that street but there's got to be some kind of way of people knowing what the speed limit is because it's 25 and I would say the normal is 45 50 I've seen 60 easy just flying and I see these poor women getting out of their their cars I have a driveway but these poor women are are watching as they're getting out of their driveway getting out their groceries so I'm just please I'm very very concerned and as law branch is growing and and Broadway it's just getting busier and busier this town and it's just making me very nervous and I would appreciate if you can look into that okay thank you Stephanie this uh we get our directed to look right into that please ma'am just you know other neighbors are contacted us we have some surveying equipment going out there in the next few weeks on the same street yeah yeah yes and once that's done if you leave your name and number with the director we'll get in touch with you and let you know what we come up with please we don't we don't need to happen one of our children thank you thank you good evening my name is Rosita Tatum Tatum and I live at um where the heck do I live at just forgot I'm so nervous I don't like speaking in public as you can tell I live at 27 Eastwood Avenue and my problem I'm having is across for me is Sterling Estates I am literally right in their parking lot my house space is where like one two two of the um tow houses that are there the garbage the garbage I can't it's smells they don't pick well if they pick it up for some reason they'll pick up one but won't pick up the cans the bottles the cardboards I'm out there with my broom with my little picker thing and I'm picking this stuff up because it blows over in our street and I have called I've been down to the code enforcement what J about three times I've called I've lost how lost count of how many times I've called them I stopped at um Congressman palone yesterday and the girl told me they couldn't cuz obious she like getting fed up with it so the girl told me they couldn't do anything but to come here and let you guys know now they tell me that they find them I don't know what is he think fine mean it's okay no fine means you're going to get some money and obviously the money doesn't mean anything to him maybe he's not being found enough because whoever owns it is doing nothing about it we should not have to as taxpayers put up with this I mean it's like only results we get if if I call if I call they will send someone to pick it up but I shouldn't have to do that then one other thing I'm almost done I promise okay then I'm on Eastwood they come down that street it's a one-way street they're like well I'm only going one way but you're going the wrong way they do it constantly coming down that street and like the lady was saying earlier why can't they put speed bumps there we have kids out there playing and they're coming down they actually come down from Rockwell and then go out on July I'm like what the heck they can't see that they're going the wrong way they don't care so if you could please do something about it I would appreciate it thank you thank you we have heard thanks Mr T hi I'm Mara young with clean water action um I live in Lincroft um I spoke with some of you a couple weeks ago about the campaigns could raise the uh microphone a little bit sorry thank you uh I spoke with some of you a couple weeks ago about skip the campaign skip the stuff it's a growing campaign a handful of towns ped it um back in 2019 2020 now there's 7 eight other towns and cities across New Jersey it's a campaign in which um customers only get Cutlery and condiments upon request uh for takeout orders it's saving restaurants a lot of money um the wonderful restaurants in in Oceanport have you know Oceanport passed it Red Bank has passed it Aberdine has passed it eaten toown will now be passing it so a bunch of your neighbors will be passing it it would be wonderful if you all did um again uh I don't know about you but when I get takeout orders you know I open up the bag and sometimes a lot of restaurants are already beginning to do this and this is great cuz it saves them a lot of money but otherwise you open it up and you're taking the the food back home and you have the ketchup you have the soy sauce you have your own better Cutlery uh and you end up having this handful of plastic flimsy stuff that you end up throwing it away or in my case I open up a junk drawer and I throw it in there or I throw in the back of refrigerator until it expires um but with the growing pollution of the plastic waste uh you know that's causing cancers it's causing you know mental health it's causing endocrine issues and the fertility issues this is to me an absolute no-brainer of a way in which uh everybody comes out ahead it's a triple win with customers winning and again restaurants are saving a lot of money with this and it would be wonderful if if you all uh join the motion there's there's a state legislation that's will be introduced in the spring or I'm sorry in the fall um so as towns are introducing it and as towns are getting these ordinances It's a Wonderful way of educating the public because it has nothing to do with fines or anything because everybody comes out ahead it's a matter of Education because everybody wins so again I would love to help to do anything I can to help in the process thank you very much thank you good evening my name is janaa McFarland I live at 27 Eastwood Avenue with my mother and I just want to reiterate what she has said about 27 about Eastwood Avenue how it comes off of juline Avenue come on to it from juline Avenue then you're supposed to be a stop sign here it used to be many years ago a stop sign here somebody ran it over they never put it back up then when you go you proceed to go straight you head into University Drive or you make a right on to finish on to East Avenue out to Rockwell there needs to be something done like she said like my mom said like maybe do not like they got do not ENT signs on un Avenue now maybe we need do not enter going towards jine Avenue cuz like she said people there's kids out all day long you know playing and stuff like that especially now in the summer and the last thing we want to see is a child get killed or hurt all right there a lot of bicycle rides Electric bikes and stuff like that scooters they popping wheelies and stuff like that and also um I do not enter on the Rockwell side so it should be a do not enter on Rockwell side and it should be a do not enter on the jine side that you come out to you come out you come onto Eastwood from jine Avenue you know it's just not right you know it something needs to be done you know yeah y did bicycle L finally since I used to live on 241 La Branch Avenue when I was a child we need a bicycle Lanes then but now that all these you know rich people came up in here and basically y'all basically put finally do it you know God knows how many lives are lost until yall did that and then when it comes to the garbage I have pictures of how that dumpsters are just horrendous just horrible looking you got animals and stuff all over the place squirrels skunks raccoons whatever else stray cats they all go on these dumpsters it stinks to high heaven it's just not fair cuz if if I was to go down to Ocean Boulevard anywhere like that where they have dumpsters and Stu it won't be looking like that and it's not fair it's just not fair that's all I had to say um and if you want to take a look I don't know if I can approach the board I could show you like what the dumpsters look like okay if it's okay you guys want look at thect stay afterwards we'll stay afterwards we'll take a look at it after the meeting we'll take a look at it okay thank you thank you good evening glattus Tarantino nanit Avenue Long Branch last time I was here in June attorney Ryo stated that there was a State statue in reference to the ordinance for Mary Jane I would like to say that I went home I read the State statue it has been posted on the site and I would like to state that I feel misled it's not a matter of there's nothing you can do about it it's a State statue there is things that can be done the State statue is not a mere sentence it is many areas that involve things for instance under section c it is upon the determination that the governing body no longer resides within the corporate limits of the municipality we were told oh yes she is she's a resident the general and State Assembly of New Jersey describes a person whose residence is where they spend the majority of his or her non-working time clearly the center of their domestic life Mary Jane is not here she may have a home within the city of Long Branch I also would like to make everyone aware of the fact that Mary Jane is voted in until May of 20126 not only have they denied us the representation for the p over the past year but they are going to deny us that representation with an ordinance which is a law in the city of Long Branch why it had to be a law is because they didn't want to bring it up again they couldn't use a resolution which is a temporary special consideration for someone in the city no they make a law is this perhaps a precedent that this is how others will follow they'll get elected knowing they can't fulfill their duties and then they will turn around and get excused by the council unfortunately we are entitled to a mayor and five City Council Members by law they are denying us that representation it infuriates me I don't know how you can sit there and ask for respect from us when you don't respect us in return you cannot respect do you respect Mary Jane she was a dignified woman in this community do you hear what people are saying in this community about her being selfish and stingy because she won't resign do you know Mary Jane has said many things and at one time before she disappeared she had said it's all arranged I'm going to die in my seat well maybe it was arranged we thought perhaps Mary Jane was losing it Mary Jane is not able to physically or mentally serve in her capacity which is section e of the statute and therefore can be removed it is either that you or do not wish to do so because you do not wish to have a new face a new personality someone that might question what is going on someone that might bring forth the information of the residents of this city no I was told you've got four for others well the respect you have showed me you do not represent me and I am demanding a fifth representation I asked you not to approve it does this mean Mary Jane gets paid till 2026 is this what deception you are putting upon residents of this city I'm disgusted I can't believe that you sit there with smiles on your face you smirk when someone gets up here to say that they're unhappy with what's going on you say we rant and Rave well you're right I am ranting I am furious that you treat me this way you treat the citizens of the residents of this city this way how dare you you call yourself professional individuals you've got till 2026 to find new rep representation you can find out how to go about it you do not have to accept that they merely put up five people you can have others stand up and go for a vote come on don't just sit back and let them dictate what goes on in this city you have a voice use it you yeah good council president I just want to once again so that we um you know we all like I said we all everybody's entitled to have an opinion but we're you know facts are facts so the fact of the matter is is that there is there is a statute it's called the municipal vacancy law and the municipal vacancy law specifically says that a governing body has to excuse somebody who misses a certain number of meetings but they cannot refuse they cannot refuse to excuse somebody if that um the reason that they're missing the meetings is because of a legitimate illness so I mean that's section g so if you want to excuse me excuse me you had your you had your five minutes we let you speak we let you speak now it's speak we didn't interrupt for that privilege please sit down so and and by the way just so you know no nobody passed an ordinance that was done by resolution we haven't passed any ordinances with regards to uh councilwoman resolution it as an ordinance it was a resolution and please ma'am I didn't yell at you when you were speaking please don't yell at me when I'm speaking so so the council you know following a state law with regards to vacancies in office the uh councilwoman s was elected and she's entitled to hold that seat and um you know we're we're constrained by what the law tells us that we can do um and I think that that's what the what the council is doing and and I won't I won't get into a a debate about what residency means or doesn't mean but certainly you know as I as I said at the last council meeting I I would hope with any of you here um have to go stay in a hospital for some period of time it doesn't mean that you're no longer residents of the city of Long Branch you just are so she that's what the law is EXC so excuse me Council council president I have nothing else thank you anyone else clinson laor 33 ocean tus Long Branch requesting one minute notification excellent job Miss Tarantino you're right on target thank you Mr Lor these so-called Representatives have totalitarian government upon which under the color of law they do wrong on July 2nd the West End Long Branch NJ Watchdogs broke the announcement from the mammoth County prosecutor's office that a West Long Branch firefighter and paid fire administrator who is also a Long Branch firefighter and City employee of Public Works was criminally charged with falsification and destruction of official records as concerns opras involving falsified training certificates at the April 10th council meeting I had asked this city if the state authorities had been notified by the city of a City firefighter allegedly falsifying fire training certificates Mr browon Mr Ron and Council would not discuss the matter tonight I will ask again Mr browon as director of Public Safety of police and fire have you in the city notified State authorities on the now allegedly charged City employee yes or no no comment no comment Mr brownon is this alleged employee working for the city or it has been terminated I'll answer that it no longer is working for the city he is no longer working for the city Mr brownon what kind of policy is it with such an imbalance and the intreatment of employees when a police officer is indefinitely laid off over an animal welfare matter that resulted in the finding of a dead dog and now we had months running this city knowing about this firefighter and his alleged wrongdoing and no action was taken until the prosecutor's office took action doesn't speak well for the city doesn't Mr brownon no it doesn't is widely known in the fire department that this individual who the prosecutor allegedly charged headed the company for the Atlantic Avenue firehouse and involved in the sale of that Firehouse directly with this Administration quote it is also widely known in the fire department as well that the chief at that time was against the purchase of the building for a museum and strongly believed that the money would be better spent on buildings that actively operate as fire stations for firefighters it was at the time of the sale that the administration decided to spend money on the Norwood Avenue Firehouse to deflect the policy of the former fire chief spending money for improvements but as of this date the work remains unfinished at the Norwood Avenue Firehouse one minute notification what is to this day there are still serious questions about the sale of that Atlantic Avenue Firehouse let's hope the state does its job in investigating Mr Reno why are the majority of the professional service contracts listed on tonight's agenda being awarded to Middle sex County based outfits with you included Your Law Firm I I didn't play a role in scoring or making the recommendation so the answer is is I'm assuming they were the most qualified no it's the PO the boils s p o i LS Spoils of the and by the way I'm a resident by the way I'm a resident of Mammoth County and know my whole life just so you know I live in Middletown Spoils of the palone middle sex County base pay toplay gravy train that's what it's all about Mr Martin five minutes has Kushner come up with the audits thank you Mr leor yes or no oh 5 minutes is up so you got out of that one all right we got enough meetings in the future for the malpractice of this city anyone else this is yours any need a motion to close the public participation portion of this meeting second all in favor I posos I want I ask Madam clerk if there are any changes to the list of resolutions no changes have been made thank you we can take the list of resolution as a one consent agenda so move second roll call please Dr vote Yes Mrs whtas yes Mr dangler is absent Dr Sul is absent Mr Vieira yes motion passed thank you applications are none misscellaneous business of good of the order councilman councilwoman vote thank you council president and uh let me start by thanking everybody who came tonight uh and bringing to our attention some of the concerns that you're dealing with um with it's wonderful that we have our director of Public Safety here we have our business administrator the people who as you can see can respond and help to some of uh resolve some of these things so we appreciate you bringing these issues issues forward um I do want to congratulate and thank the environmental Council and um what I want to thank them for is first of all the tremendous amount of work that they do um the care and concern um that they have about our city on environmental issues and um their hard work in terms of bringing their expertise forward and working with the city in a very Cooperative way particularly on getting our tree ordinance passed so uh congratulations to your work and I think also congratulations for the way it was handled uh back and forth so a a good model for going forward so thank you thank you councilwoman Wht us I too would like to um thank everyone for coming out this evening and um hear you I said I would like to I'm sorry i s a throat um I also would like to um thank the environmental Commission because we know how hard you work and that you give it your all and we truly appreciate everything you do and with that I wish everyone a have rest of their week and two weeks and see you then thank you thank you mayor palone thank you council president I'd like to thank everybody for coming this evening and for your comments I have two announcements I just wanted to make um so the art center has a new exhibit uh called tides of change and is focused on the history of life saving and surf culture here in Long Branch we're very excited for this exhibit it'll be running from now until the end of August we have a reception set for July 22nd 6: to 8 p.m. the exhibit itself has a lot of lifeguarding memorabilia history art surf culture artifacts uh come and check it's one of our biggest exhibits yet and we're very excited about it I also wanted to mention uh that next Wednesday we have a free pool fund day at the community pool on Atlantic Avenue uh that's next Wednesday July 17th from 5: to 8:00 p.m. everyone is welcome uh to the pool join us for food music uh and some games and have a great week and thank you all for being here this evening thank you mayor and I also want to say good evening and thank you for everybody that came out with their concerns um get together with our director of Public Safety of the Bron we'll work to fix those problems I also want to Echo what the fellow councilman women said with environmental thanks for all the hard work you do and it's well appreciated and I want to thank the Chiefs for being on the back for supporting us coming almost every council meeting thank you with that I want to say good night I have a motion to close so moved thank all in favor I oppos thank you okay