yeah ready good evening I'd like to call the council meeting La bran city council your order roll call please Mr Vieira I'm here Dr vote here Mrs Wiis here Dr s's absent Mr dangler here we stand for PL to the flag flag United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible in liberty and justice for all the LA Branch mayor city council and administration are committed to cultivating an environment of mutual trust and respect that values the diversity of our community we will strive to enhance the quality of life for all who live here by making Lawn branch a desirable place to live and to prosper we will treat all members of the public with respect and expect the same in return Madam clerk I hereby certify that this meeting has been published in the newspaper in accordance with the open public meetings act and posted as required by law thank you presentation we have a presentation of the new health wellness and Technology Center in Park thank you hi so good evening everybody so tonight uh we're very excited about uh to talk a little bit about give you an update on the uh new health wellness and Technology Center that uh uh that we uh planning here in the city and uh we wanted to have a presentation to council and we're glad that the public is here as well so um I first want to thank well let me say let me just let me just read this tonight we're having the presentation uh and the te the health and Technology Center is at the corners of bath and Third Avenue um and I first want to thank Mammoth Medical Center for donating the land and buildings to the city it's about 4 Acres of property that they uh that they gave to the city I also want to State thank our state and federal ederal officials for the $4 million uh that the city received to do this project So Long Branch um as many of you know we've talked about this for a couple of years and I think it was in 2021 that they first donated the property so we've been working on it for quite a while U our architect is here with us today as well as our city planner who's going to be talking about uh part of this is going to include a new park that's adjacent to those buildings but um many of you may know that Long Branch originally planned to move the municipal court and various City departments to the property that was donated by the hospital however the city as many of you may also know is that we uh Acquired and we just closed on it last month on the former sander uh bank which is on Uptown Broadway and again we that we purchas that with a large grant that we received from the state so the bank will use that um those purposes will use be be there instead and specifically the municipal court that we thought would be at Mammoth Medical Center will be uh at the location where the former bank uh is so we wanted to do this presentation tonight uh just to give you a little update on on uh what we're doing so right now we're in the construction document phase and we plan to um actually go out to bid within a few a few months and then start construction shortly um shortly after that um so let me just tell you a little bit briefly and then as I said the architect and the and the city plan are going to talk about it a lot more so the health wellness and Technology Center is composed of two separate buildings one for health and wellness and the second for technology which is also going to include internet and communication Services they'll both will be open to the public uh for all purposes let me just quickly start the Health and Wellness Center uh and again they're going to have some going into more detail and give you some um uh some uh pictures of all of this but the Health and Wellness Center will consist of three floors the first floor or lower level will have a fitness center for physical activities treadmills Fitness equipments Etc as well as a space for yoga for dance uh anything uh physically uh uh physical kind of activities the second or main floor will have a unique commercial siiz teaching kitchen where the city plans to hold uh cooking classes among other things uh and uh the third floor of the health center will include offices for health and wellness services that will be provided by both the city the government and perhaps nonprofit organizations as well a community on the third floor and we're very excited about this will be decorated with preserved elements were transferred from the former mansion that is located on the property and this includes a Gilded Age po room with a fireplace and paneling and that will probably be some sort of community room or meeting room the par will be reconstructed in the new Health Center as part of an important effort our Administration uh has taken on to preserve as much local history as well and so the council obviously uh or Council has been very involved in the past year alone in terms of preserving what's left of our history uh we have a new fire and history museum at the old Oliver Byron Firehouse uh We've purchased the art deco sander Bank um for our new Municipal Court um we are restoring the sanctuary of the 175 year old first Reformed Church which is on uptown Broadway as the enter enter the city and you all may remember that we're preserving the cocacola sign uh that was discovered uh back in April of last year from the early 20th century and that will be placed um in a prominent position at the newly renovated uh Senior Center moving back to this project the Technology Center building consists of two floors which have already been renovated uh it will house state-of-the-art computers workspaces and train training areas where residents can come to seek employment and educational opportunities uh the space will also have a brand new TV small TV studio so the final piece of this is the adjacent area and the two and we're creating a new two plus acre Park that will have many amenities for the public to utilize as well and that will include pickle ball courts a Tot Lot playground an outside Fitness area and walking path there will also be a concession stand with bathrooms that will be used in the warmer weather uh as an outdoor Cafe our goal here is to make Health wellness and Technology complex that will provide all sorts of resources for residents but will also just be a fun unique place to spend the day so now I'm going to uh first introduced and turn it over to our architect Anthony scalise and then the city planner Laura Newman uh to go into more detail with all of this and if you have any questions Council please uh contact our city administrator um and we can talk about this obviously a lot a lot further thank you thank you mayor good evening Council mayor and Council thank you for having me here tonight I'm Anthony scales from parallel Architectural Group uh we had the pleasure of looking at the buildings here and actually uh work and repurpose them uh so the the project as the mayor mentioned is repurposing the buildings into a new health wellness and Technology Center uh the health and wellness building is three floors as mentioned it's approximately 11,000 square ft the tech center is two floors at approximately 4700 square ft² with storage below about 2400 Square ft uh the building comprises of two elevators various offices bathrooms break rooms uh conference rooms in various assembly and multi-purpose spaces uh when we were looking at the project um and I'll go back to some slides in a second uh a lot of the design elements came from cues of the mansion house on B Avenue we felt that it was important uh it was important to the mayor it was important to the council and and that we kind of embody the the language of Lawn branch and what it was in the past uh so we found those elements so shapes like the metal roof Arch Dormer Windows large porches and balconies uh uses of materials uh make the building feel more like one of the many historic homes prominent in law Branch additionally it was important to create a presence on Third Avenue even though as the mayor mentioned you will see the building uh on Third Avenue and bath Avenue but it was important on Third Avenue that we create a presence and provide a nice turret element which you'll see uh shortly uh both build buildings will be ADA Compliant and all systems will be upgraded see if I can do this now so this is the wellness center as we described before um yeah so uh just showing a quick floor plan here um as the mayor mentioned the lower level of the building um the lower level of the building is going to house uh physical fitness classes being that it's on the ground it has a concrete uh floor it just made sense for those types of spaces to be utilized there so we have pretty large uh rooms to to allow those functions to happen uh the main level includes a commercial kitchen uh area for classes and also there's you know uh we can do Wellness nutrition education classes which is like the multi-purpose room and I'll show those images in a second um on the upper level we include Flex ible workspaces as again as the mayor mentioned for future Partnerships with government Civic uh and private nonprofit entities where they could go in and actually have their own uh space that they can use and also there's conference rooms and then we're blessed to have the uh the historic room where we're kind of bringing back the one room in that Mansion the the they really went pretty meticulous and grabbed every piece of trim uh marble granite that you can imagine in this one room we're going to take all those pieces and find it in one of these rooms here uh so I can actually go through now some of the images after I being explain that so this is just showing uh again the quick floor plan that's showing where the kitchen is uh which you can see right here sorry I don't have a my laser with me to point um and this is the image of that room so here we just wanted to show uh the image of that culinary area it's a commercial kitchen for classes and I really think you know looking to Foster some great conversations and education um this is another shot of it what's going on thank you so this is another shot from The Culinary area looking towards that multi-purpose room this is that multi-purpose room area where you know we're introducing fireplaces and the other thing which you'll see on some of the exterior shots we have a lot of porches and balconies so like during a really beautiful summer day you can go out and actually enjoy uh the spaces which we thought was really important and there's this the the upper level of the Health and Wellness Center where uh that's the marble fireplace and that's the replica literally that's what we found uh when we were there in the building the trims above the trims on the walls so you can see we're trying to bring that back which we thought was really important all right so this now is the Technology Center so uh the Technology Center uh again will provide digital the digital divide that we're trying to work on uh we're providing those types of services we have two floors and then we have some storage on the lower level um on one of the levels which again it's not defined yet but we're talking about a TV studio and Workforce Development Area so again uh classes things of that nature uh we'll also have computer classes resume help and access to the internet for the residents obviously uh and a new elevators being installed in there to provide uh Ada access to that to that level uh so if we want to just go quickly there and this is actually so this is the one image where from Third Avenue if you're coming from the train station that's actually one of the first things you see of the building which we thought was fun a nice curved uh element porch with a Turret there and really kind of help Define the building and create that look and you could see again all yep that's the floor plan that shows all the porches and then inside here this is the computer Lounge uh again we're trying to create a fresh space a vibrant space that somebody wants to come in and learn and this is another shot now kind of pulling away a little bit kind of showing you uh the two buildings together so the whole concept is both of these buildings as you know now kind of are a little bit disjointed whereas we're coming in with new materials as I I described uh we have new roof elements we have new porch elements where uh the whole building will be tied together all right and then this is another pulla away shot again just showing the the building how it lays and you know that's really the next big component of this project is the park and I'd love to invite uh my colleague Laura to explain that project thank you again thank you sure so thank you Anthony uh good evening mayor council members of the public I'm pleased to present the conceptual plans for the development of this park um as part of the health wellness and Technology complex um this is an aial perspective you can see the overall layout of the complex specifically intersection at Third Avenue and bath Avenue uh the properties identified as block 206 lot 2.01 it's roughly 3.6 acres in size and the park component will make up roughly 2 and 1 half to 3 acres making it among the largest parks in the city um heading to the next exhibit um in addition to Meandering walkways the park will consist a variety of passive and active recreational amenities the passive amenities will include garden landscape areas lighting all of which will incorporate native species um also Fountain and seaing area which will serve as a focal point of the park design offering a place to socialize or simply relax incorporation of a Pergola and a gazebo which will provide shade as well as a sheltered area adequate Green Space which can be used as an event space for the community outdoor Fitness classes movies Etc um as was indicated by the mayor concession and outdoor seating areas including a restroom facility to service the park a fitness Court which would promote outdoor exercise a playground area for Community youth which would incorporate natural components working with topography to get climbing slides um as well as traditional equipment like swings uh inclusion of pickle ball courts as we all know pickle ball is one of the fastest growing Sports and enjoyed by residents of all ages Provisions for Access and parking to support the variety of uses at the complex in addition I think it's important to note that the project results in an overall decrease in impervious coverage and therefore would have a positive impact on the overall storm water management of the area and just hopping through these next exhibits these provide a 3D rendering um overall this park will be designed to directly support the residents of the City by offering both passive and active recreational amies which can be enjoyed by varying age groups and serve as a complement to the health wellness and Technology Center essentially this would conclude my portion of the presentation happy to answer any questions Council may have um I want to congratulate you both Anthony and Laura everything looks beautiful I'm anxious to get this completed looks did a tremendous job designing it thank you I just want to say that um very impressive presentation I know a lot of work went into it and um Long Branch will be blessed to have it thank you I'd like to say thank you to we're look forward to you know when it's all built and the community can you know use it and enjoy it thank you great job thank you thank you Lauren and Anthony thank you reading and reading and approval of the previous minutes I need a I need a motion to approve the minutes from the December 27th to 2023 meeting roll call so move no EXC excuse me I'm sorry I need first of all I need mov second there we go roll call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs Wiis yes Dr s's absent Mr dangler yes consideration of ordinance public hearing and final considerations we have none ordinance for introduction 1-24 oh excuse me this is the first reading of ordinance 1-24 entitled ordinance the city of Long Branch County of Mammoth and the state of New Jersey adopting certain amend amendments to the Broadway Gateway Redevelopment plan as adopted by sections as a permitted use I need a motion to introduce the first reading advertised and posted according to law and set for public hearing on January 24th so move second roll call Mr riera yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus yes Dr Su is absent Mr dangler yes 0 0224 this is the first reading of ordinance 02 24 entitled an ordinance authorizing the sale of one of the properties 10 excuse me on 105 Long Branch Avenue known as block 308 L 32 this ordinance authorizes the city to sell vacate property I need a motion to introduce the first reading advertised and posted according to law and set for public hearing on January 24th 2024 someone mov second roll call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus yes Dr s's absent Mr dangler yes public portion and resolution for all General comments I need a motion to open the public portion of the meeting for all second all in favor I if there's anyone in the audience that has a comment to make please step to the podium state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once requesting one minute notification Vincent leor 33 Ocean terce Long Branch Mr Martin I received an answer to my Oprah today seeking a copy of the letter you referenced at the last council meeting you did reach out to Mr botnik at extel seeking compliance with the reporting requirements found in the 2017 Financial agreement between Pier Village 3 urban renewal company LLC and the city however your letter only sought financial statements not specifically audited statements as required there's a huge difference as you are aware Mr Martin the city will get the audited statements correct yes yes Mr Martin has Mr botnik responded to your request yet uh we've exchanged emails yes he has yes yes will Oprah the audits Mr Reno yes sir at the time of my July 2023 Oprah the 2021 Pier Village 3 audit was already 15 months overdue and the perer village 320 22 audit was already 4 months overdue Mr Ron why hasn't legal action already taken place by the city against Kushner and Barnett for non-compliance with the terms of the Pier Village 3 Redevelopment agreement to produce these audits I don't think there's been any discussion of taking legal action no discussion no enforcement no enforcement of City policy Mr Reno because two of to three urban renewal entities of PE village 3 specifically The Loft condominiums in kushner's Wave hotel have been granted pilot tax abatements removing those properties from regular tax collection methodology is it your position that the owners at both The Loft condo residences and the Wave hotel have forfeited their right to appeal their property assessments before the County Tax Board as well as the state tax Court yes or no I don't believe that they have you don't believe they have they so the answer is no Mr Martin as part of the temporary budget being voted on tonight in this recital of the uee request to fund initial projects this early in 2024 being 2022 expenditures at uee total $841,000 and since we won't know the total 2023 expenditures until the 2023 audit is certified in August and being that uee expenditures are funded in large part through the sales tax recapture from businesses in the uee zones Mr Martin while 2024 expenditures financed for several months can you at least tell us if you anticipate the uee sales tax receipts for 2023 will surpass the 2022 total of approximately $841,000 that's quite a question Mr Lor I uh I'd have to look back and look at the numbers before I give you so I'll answer you have to look back and get the numbers aler Mr Ron ordinance number one on the uh change to Broadway Gateway yes sir introduced tonight to accommodate single family home yes sir does that have an impact on what can be built at the current city lot as discussed at 105 Long Branch Avenue and ordinance number two no because that ordinance is that that lot is undersized for development and the requirement of that ordinance is that it become part of the other of the adjoining lot remember this is a sale this is a sale to only to the adjoining owners because it's undersized for development Mr Ron you use njsa 481 12-13 B5 one minute warning for limiting to the adjacent of contiguous proper Property Owners mhm you state that the uh minimum size requirement for development it doesn't meet it does not because it's only 875 sare ft it doesn't I don't think it meets any of the the development I put in a Oprah for the appraisal the appraisal was attached to the agenda the Mr Ron do you need us to send it to you Mr Ron why does the appraisal State the highest and best use for the lot is a single family home because you always have by applying for a varant yeah you'd always have to and and by the way you do that with an appraisal because it gives you the highest the the highest value and we want to of course get the highest value for the city but the conditions of the sale are that it become part of an adjoin it merge with an adjoining lot and not be subdivided so we that's how we protect ourselves you protect yourselves with an appraisal that says the highest and best use is a single family home with a variance do you know how many undersized Lots in this city go before the boards with a variance get approval sure I'm sure I'm sure that it happens all the time but that has nothing to do with this the point of it is it's the you're comparing zoning law and real estate appraisal law because if he couldn't if he couldn't um appraise it as that then his and the answer is the value would be zero but we don't want the value to be zero because we want to sell it because the taxpayer should be compensated for the property right if it has no use at all then it's got no value so you always that's the only value it could possibly have and even then it's minimal because there's not likely that you would ever get a variance for that and there's restrictions on the sale so we really have covered all of the bases here I I bet you have I completely disagree with your answer is that lot going to be a single family home no it's going to be it's going to become part of one of the adjoining lots and it can't be subdivided so it won't there won't be a separate house there is it an expansion of a commercial establishment no I don't believe so what's going there that's we don't know it's just going to become it this is there's a lot of these small pieces and it's just going to become part of somebody else's lot that the neighbors are probably maintaining it now it's just selling it and getting it off our books and putting it back on the tax rols and getting the city compensated that's why we put restrictions in the ordinance I disagree with this we'll see at the next council meeting for adoption of this ordinance I disagree I need to motion to close the public portion of the meeting so moved second all in favor I opposed so moved Madame clerk were there any changes to the list of resolutions no changes were made we can take the list of resolutions as a consent agenda have a motion so move second roll call second Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus yes Dr s's absent Mr dangler yes I'd like to make a motion to appoint the following members to The Long Branch fire department so moov second all in favor I I oh you need a roll call roll call I'm sorry Mr via yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus yes Dr sy's absent Mr dangler yes I need a motion to approve the list of applicants renewal of tax of uh tax cab owner license for 2024 so moved second second roll call Mr Vieira yes Dr vote Yes Mrs witus yes Dr s's absent Mr dangler yes miscellaneous business for good of the order councilman Viera good evening I want to thank the Chiefs and the newly appointed assistant chief back there thank you for coming to keep us company on the Wednesday evening I want to thank thank Laura and Anthony for a great presentation great job with that presentation and everybody have a good evening thanks for coming councilwoman vote thank you council president uh I would just like to join in with the congratulations to the whole team that is working on the Wellness Center wellness and Technology Center uh it is uh it will be such a tremendous resource for long range um and serve so many of the needs that we have uh in in our city so congratulations on all the work done so far and looking forward to the completion of that project and with that I will say good night to everyone thank you councilwoman Wht us yeah I'd like to thank everyone for coming this evening and for your presentation as well you really did a great job and uh I wish everyone well and to have a great 2024 thank you mayor palone thank you council president I also want to congratulate Chief bud and chief beraki in the back there they were sworn in as our new uh Fire Chief and first assistant chief uh on January 1 I have just a couple quick am announcements the U MLK Guild or Martin Luther King Guild has a calendar of events that are starting this Friday through Monday in honor of Dr Martin Luther King's uh birthday please check our social media for the full list that includes a soul food dinner on Friday a marching ceremony on Sunday and Monday morning um as well um a new Art Exhibit is currently on display at the Art Center uh there are unique Amish Amish quilts that are all handmade the textiles are contemporary and all produced in the last U 20 years H handon and uh we'll also have a classical music and high te reception this will be our second and short talk about the quilts on Tuesday January 23rd from 6: to 8:00 p.m. and finally I just wanted to point out that holiday the Holiday Beach badge sale is still on right now until January 31st so this will couple more weeks of get the opportunity uh it's $45 for adults and $25 for students price go up after January 31st so please take advantage of that and they're sold at the recreation and tax office uh Anthony and Laura are also would like to thank you again for the presentation and for all the work that you've done on this and thank you all for being here as well this evening thank you uh first I would like to uh say the presentation um again was a great presentation um between the the wellness center and the wellness and Technology Center um the senior center and the new library that we we will have in a little while um Lawn branch has been um very blessed and the residents will hopefully appreciate all of the new things that will be coming coming their way uh I was also uh the Martin Luther King Gil which the mayor mentioned on January 12th MLK annual dinner 6:00 to8 at Second Baptist Church um you could take it excuse me you can sit down and eat it or you can uh take it with you on the 14th the okay March starts at the Martin Luther King monument at 2: p.m. it will go to Second Baptist and the church program will start at 3: on Monday the closing program January uh 15th um that will be at the monument at 10 p.m. if you're there at 10:30 you missed it because we try to it's cold out there usually and we try to get it in and get it out get it over with so I I thank you all for coming uh please mask up when you have to be around Crow because Co is definitely on the rise thank you and God bless you need a motion to close so moved second all in favor I oppos good night all right