Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the co-star, the official newspaper of the burough of Belmar and the Aspbury Park Press on December 11th, 2024. A notice of this meeting was posted on the bulletin board municipal building. Take roll call. Councilwoman Donovan
here. Counciloman Kenny here. Mayor Buckesco here. Counciloman Riro here. Councilman Le here. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it
stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for a moment of silence for our troops, their families, first responders and also passing of the longtime Belma resident
Patrick O'Donnell. Thank you. Okay. Tonight, I believe we're going to start off with a uh workshop discussion on our roads and infrastructure projects that are in process of
uh being completed now, working on, and what we have planned for the future. So, I'm going to turn that over to who's doing that. Thank you. I have a presentation, so uh we'll uh we'll get the projector up and if you guys want to stay up here, but in there, it's up to you.
All right. So, tonight we're going to talk about, as the mayor said, just some of the infrastructure projects that have been completed, what's in progress, and what's planned for the future. Um, some of the projects we have planned for the future are a little more concrete than others, but we just wanted to give you a brief overview so you could sort of see,
you know, I hear a lot of questions, when's my road getting paved or when is this getting fixed. So, we just wanted to give a brief outline sort of to show everyone in the public what's going on and when they can have uh sort of expectations for when these projects are going to get started and when they're going to be uh completed. So, we'll talk
about sort of the the mission that we have uh for infrastructure and why we're doing it. look at the current problems we're facing. We'll look at the completed projects, current projects, and future projects. So, our overall mission is to enhance the quality of life for Belmar residents
by ensuring our infrastructure is strong, resilient, and accessible for all. Um, that's pretty clear-cut. That's what a lot of towns are trying to do, and that's what Belmar is trying to do for you. Our vision is to update the water and sanitary and storm sewer infrastructure, pave roads, maintain a
visually appealing and resilient infrastructure built for a growing Belmar. Um, obviously we know our town is getting older. Our infrastructure is aging, so we need to be able to maintain that and make sure it's it's kept up to date. So, what are some of the problems we're facing right now? Um, we haven't
had significant sewer updates since 2011. Uh, we have a lot of inflow and infiltration. You'll hear that term a lot, I ini, in our sanitary sewer system. And what this does is actually causes search charging, which is overflowing of the system. And it leads
to us paying higher rates to our uh regional sewer authority because we pay based on the amount of flow that we send to that plant. So if we're sending more water to the plant, we end up spending a lot more money. Um,
again, the sanitary sewer system hasn't been upgraded in decades. Neither has the storm water system. Uh the water manes in the bar are about 50 years old. Some of them are cast iron and need to be replaced. We also have galvanized or lead service lines that have to be replaced um according to the state by
2031. And again, if you've driven around town, you've seen that there are some roads that uh experience significant potholes, cracks, um and just sort of deteriorated pavement that's not in good shape. So when I talk about inflow and infiltration, um this chart is a little
bit of an eyesore, but the blue line you're seeing in that spike is a significant rainfall event that we had uh in May of 2018 where we received about 3 in of rain in one day. And when we saw that spike, you'll see the red
line next to it is actually the flow in million gallons per day that Belmar sent to the Mammoth Regional Sewer Authority. So there's a significant significant increase in the amount of of rainwater that we're sending to a sewage treatment plant to be processed. And the sewage
treatment plant doesn't care if it's rainwater. It just cares how much water is coming through that pipe and going to the system. So you can see we're paying a a much larger portion than a lot of the other other surrounding towns uh for our sewer service just because of the amount of inflow and infiltration we
have in that system. Next, I'm going to talk about some of the projects that have been completed. If we look at the Belmont Marina, uh we had significant replacements uh to the electrical services at JK and L do. Uh we just replaced the fuel dock, which
was a big a big project since we're the only fuel dock in all of Shark River. We replaced around 27 pilings in the marina, which was significant because it allowed us to now charge full rate for those slips that had been uh getting a discount. And in 2026, we're going to be
replacing some of the damaged tea heads on the ends of the docks. Inlet Drive was recently paved and that was finalized at the end of 2022. They did the sanitary sewers and the roads in that section. Piano Plaza ADA access. This was done
with a uh community development block grant to improve uh ADA accessibility around Piano Plaza. Then we have the Lake Ko walking trail. Uh this was completed with the Mammoth County Open Space Grant. Uh and this was just the Belmar portion of the walking
trail. If you recall, there was the Lake Ko portion that had been done and Belmar finally uh finished this portion. Uh now the other big step we undertook was to inventory and prioritize what projects we're going to do. So, our engineers
took took a a very big job of basically looking and mapping every single road, every single sewer line, every single um water service line, every single sanitary sewer line, and grading it based on its uh serviceability. So, you should see some handouts that were out
there before. They're a little small. This chart's still a little small, too, but we will zoom in on some of the projects so you can see uh where it is. But what you should understand from this chart is we un we we prioritized which roads were in bad shape and we graded them on a color code. We also graded the
sewer lines and the the piping that was underneath. The idea being that we don't want to repave a road if the sewer or water mane is very bad underneath. So we kind of prioritize some of the projects being uh what needs to be done right away. um that way they can get finished
and they can get paved over versus having to open up the road again to do a project two years from now. Next, we're going to look at the current projects we have underway. Uh right now, we have Fifth and Maine to Sea Street. This should be this is
underway right now. This is done through a a New Jersey Department of Transportation grant we got in 2023. And this project involves the sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water manes, and the road. Next up is 14th a to ocean a. This is
another um 2024 Department of Transportation grant that we got and this is going to be water manes and the road between be street and ocean app. One of the more significant ones um is going to be 8th to Main Street. Uh
eighth Main Street to Ocean. This is where our main sewer line runs that takes most of the sewage down towards Ocean Avenue and then to the South Mammoth Regional Sewer Authority. Um this is the biggest line we have in the system and this is subject to a lot of
INI. And unfortunately what happens is when this line gets backed up, it backs up everything else down the line. So we'll be lining the sanitary sewer system in this section and doing water manes. This should significantly improve a lot
of the sewer systems downream. Aing for this road is going to come uh after this work is done sometime around in 2027. Coming spring of next year, we have AAB and Belmar Plaza pedestrian safety improvements. Uh this is done through a
transit village grant we got. This is going to be improvements to pedestrian sidewalks and ADA access around 8th Avenue. Looking ahead, um South Lake Drive, we're looking for this in fall of 2026. This is a NJ DOT grant
again and this is going to be storm uh sewer repairs and road paving. Another big one is 13th Avenue from Main Street to L Street. This will include L Street, K Street, and 14th Avenue in this section of town. Um this will be
done through a I bank application we're hoping to submit in 2025. This will be sanitary sewers, storm sewer, water manes, and the roads. So, you know, this section of town is pretty bad. It's very lowlying. So, uh we do have a lot of uh INI in these areas as well. So,
improvements here should help with our overall uh flow rate that we're sending to the sewer authority. Next, we have 14th Avenue from East Street to B Street. This will be another IBank application, and this will include water manes and road paving as well.
Next, we have the other portion of Fifth Avenue from Sea Street to Ocean A. This will be late 2029. We're planning to do this. Um, again, we're looking to do this through an NJ DOT grant. Water mans and paving will be the scope of this uh this project.
For the round, we're looking at 4th Avenue uh basically from Ocean A to the lake. This will be uh again water manes and paving of the road. Third Avenue late 2029. We're looking to do uh again water manes and paving of the road. Again, you'll see this uh if
you can see it on your map, the the tan yellowish sections are the roads that are in the worst condition. Um green being good, blue being slightly less, purple being uh poor, and uh the tan yellow being the worst. Next we have late 2030. We're looking at
7th Avenue from Main Street to North Lake Drive. Again, water manes, sanitary sewers, and paving. Also in late 2027, we're looking to do another ibank uh application uh this year to refurbish and paint um the water tower, which is in desperate need of it
still has the old Delmare logo on it. So this is a project that we'll be uh I'm sure everyone will be very happy to see completed. Just for reference on what the I bank uh is, it's essentially an independent organization within the state that provides funding for municipalities to
do these types of infrastructure projects. So in some cases there can be uh total loan forgiveness uh for some of the for some of the projects. In other cases you get very very very good interest rates on these projects. So, it's a it's a great tool for the municipality to use to be able to get
funding for these applications. So, we're not only relying on our capital improvement funds for these projects. That's all I have. If we have any questions from the council on any of these projects, we have Jim Morris, who's our burough engineer as well, who's able to answer any questions we
might have. Go ahead, Jody. Just because I live on 10th Avenue, what about those streets right in the middle there? 10th, 9th, 11th, some of the other purple roads. So, I'm assuming later after 2030.
Yeah, we we we tried to build out a plan as much as possible, take accounting for as many details as we could. A 10-year plan could be hard to keep sometimes because things happen in 10 years. So, these are projects we have planned based on uh what we think we can afford based on our capital budget. So, we'll
continue to add. This is something that should be revisited every year so we can continue to add projects down the line. When this gets done, it shouldn't just be, you know, mission accomplished. It's this should be a a document and a process that continues uh year after year. So we as we take projects off, we
add new projects on. All right, that's all I have. Thank you. Also, I want to thank Councilwoman Donovan and Jim Orses for helping me put this presentation together. Public questions. There's no public
questions now, right? I just spoke with the council members here. I think it makes sense to even though this is a workshop since we have the information here and we've just seen it to open up uh to the public for
comment and questions. Right. Right. So, if anybody would like to speak on this now, just come up, state your name and address, and uh we'll try to help you out. Anita First Avenue, where are the lead
lines that on the uh on the chart? I don't I didn't do the little green dots. Yeah. On the chart. And are they um are scheduled to be placed? Are they one of
the projects? Yeah, we have to have them all replaced by 2031. Okay. Yeah. Just so you know, the there there are two types of pipes that have to be removed. There are the lead pipes and there are galvanized pipes. For example, I have galvanized pipes going into my
house cuz it's like 100 years old. But um that's why they're different colors on the dots, but they they have to be uh removed by 20 2031. Next, yeah, Neil Shack uh 4th Avenue.
Uh I didn't see on the inventory there was no mention of uh the electric lines or the communications phone lines. And as a former member of the Shade Tree Commission, I learned how we will never
have a beautiful, healthy suburban canopy until we put the wires underground where they belong. And I uh could go on at length about that, but I think it should be apparent to
everyone that the wires are underground. The whole town looks better and the trees are allowed to grow and shade everyone, which is good not just for doesn't just look good to have a healthy tree canopy. There are many advantages.
reducing flooding, for instance, improving the air quality. And you can have it as long as the wires are there because the electric company has legal priority over our trees. They can cut back our trees as much as they
want to make way for their electric lines. So, the lines need to go underground to have the best Bellamar that we can have. And anytime that the streets are being opened, it's a lost opportunity if we're not
using that to put the wires on the ground. So, I thought I would comment tonight while you have your your experts on hand in case they have any thing they want to say to say that my idea is hopeless. It could never happen because
it would sure make Belar better if the wires were underground. I mean, I I agree with you, but um as you said, we don't we don't have control over those wires. Uh the stuff that we presented tonight are things that the
burrow has direct control over. The sewer system, the water system, um we don't we can't unfortunately tell uh JCPNL that they need to put their lines under the under the ground. I mean, I I
I'm correct with that, right? I mean that there's no way the burrow can mandate. We do have an ordin I just want to ask is this a matter for state legislator. This was supposed to be about I just want to ask if it's a matter for me to refer to my state legislators.
Yes. Thank you. Um, but you know, the the thing is, uh, it would be great to have everything underground, and we have an ordinance that requires a new construction that the lines to the homes be underground, but they're still coming out to a to a pole somewhere uh, along
the street. So, that's to answer your question, but yeah, we don't we don't have authority over that to do that. Any other questions? Mr. Kmer, Eugene, 4th Avenue. Just a quick question about
uh lead water lines. Um is the town the cost associated uh there you know to that replacement of those lines? Is it is the burrow uh going to pick up the
cost of uh so-called service lateral that goes from the street to the home or is that the homeowner's responsibility? I'll let our engineer tell you. Thank you. So, that's a very good question. Um, one of the things that uh
we've been working with the burrow on and with the public works on is with regards to not only um the cost associated with lead service lines, but the process. So, one of the other I bank applications that we're going to be applying for um is for lead service
line, lead and galvanized service line replacement. Um and through that program we'll be able to uh leverage I bank money which provides principal forgiveness. So in those instances I would expect that uh it would be done uh at um at no cost to the homeowner. Um
but if it's not an IBA bank project currently as uh as Fifth Avenue um the burrow is replacing the the line because we're doing the project and we don't want to have the road ripped up uh afterwards. So the the let the uh the service lines all of them if they're old
are being replaced to u behind the sidewalk. Um and then they'll tie into the uh property owner service. We're going to be notifying those property owners um that we've you know the service has been replaced to that point. Um and we're going to suggest to them
that they may want to consider a project in the future. But we're not in we're not going to be replacing that service line to the to the house at that time because the service lines are technically owned by the property owner from the main to the house in accordance
with the burrow ordinance. That help? Yes, it does. It's just that I think many excuse me I think many uh people have been approached by their homeowners insurance uh company u to bump up their
policy to u pay for the replacement of either water lines or sewer lines and the prices are all over the place. U that's the reason I'm bringing the question up. Um
my my my borderline is copper so I I shouldn't have that problem but uh you know for I know somebody across the street has lead lines leader galvanized steel and um these are se these were
seasonal people and u if you have one iron pipe in your neighborhood that comes off of that same water me. If that house is unoccupied and people are not drawing water from the burrow's water
system, uh it can really mess up your laundry. Uh you will get rust stains on on on when you try to wash white clothing, especially work shirts. Um, so
that's why I'm I'm I'm asking about lead and and galvanized pipes. Well, as as our engineer said, the the streets that are being open like for now on Fifth Avenue, they are replacing them to the to the curb and then it's up to
the homeowner to to take it the rest of the way if they wish. So, um, okay, that's bring that. Okay. Do we get two questions? I need to bump this down here. I'm sorry
for my ignorance, but um uh the lines say like on 9th and 10th. There's massive amounts of them. And like Miss Dr. King said, those are not in any major projects. So I don't understand when would those lead lines be. Is there another set of projects set out where
those lead lines are going to be looked at or am I completely confused? Let the engineer I speak to that. So, um, when we apply to IBank, we're going to be applying for a townwide lead service line replacement and it'll be
phased out over years and we're going to marry that replacement with the infrastructure plan that the councilman put forward. So you'll notice a lot of the planned paving projects or projects that are hatched are areas where you see
many green or uh black dots representing a lead or a galvanized service. So it's going to be it's going to be a continued approach as we move through town. take advantage of I bank funding um for the lead service line replacement where we
can get principal forgiveness and also get I bank funding for the balance of the projects which include low interest loans. So that map that you have there now is forecasted into 2030 2031. There'll be future projects. As the
councilman said, we're going to continue to develop and and improve the roads as we go forward. And that's all dependent upon available funding and grant funding that we can get. Okay. Okay. So um excuse my ignorance but
you're saying these major projects are covered and the lead lines again but unlike 9th and 10th so there's no mention of like 9th and 10th and these projects are already out to 2030 and we need to replace them by 2031. So are you saying we're going to create another sub
project and work along with these other major projects that he presented or there is another major project which would be for the lead service line replacement. Okay. All right. I think I got enough. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions, comments?
Okay. Let's uh move on with the rest of the workshop. Does anyone have anything else they would like to uh to say? Since we're talking about traffic and notice and streets and whatever, um just want to let everybody
know that the uh Main Street Bridge is obviously going to be inoperable uh very soon. The closure that the state has advised us of is from October 14th,
2025 to February 27th, 2026. Okay. The goal the the I'll say the goal, but it will be operational by St. Patrick's Day parade. So, uh that's they know that that has to
happen. So, I'm confident they will. But let's see how it goes. Um, but that's that's the word we're getting from the uh the Department of Transportation on that. Um,
and I think uh I think that's it for me right now. Any other workshop issues? Well, I was just going to also add to those in that infrastructure the boardwalk. So, we you successfully got the $ 1.5 million grant for the bathroom
at 16th, right? Um, and I know I spoke to Mr. Mto today about the railings going in, and that should be by the end of the year on the boardwalk. I know a lot of people were asking about that as well. And let's not forget the uh the bathroom that we created, the year- round
bathroom on the other in Taylor Pavilion. Uh, that's another another project. There have been many little projects that we don't have really time to go through, but um a lot has been done uh you know throughout the town to help uh make things better for
everyone. So these are the major things. No other workshop issues then I guess we'll move on to petitions. Mayor, I did not receive any petitions. Approval the minutes.
Can I have a motion to approve the minutes of the September 9th meeting? I'll make a motion. Second. Council Donovan. Yes. Council McKenna. Mayor Bafesco. Yes. Councilman Rodiniro. Yes.
Councilman Levis. Yes. Reports of council. Council Donovan. First, I want to thank everyone uh for we had two beautiful 911 memorials uh one over at the BHA and one down um on
the boardwalk. And thank you to everyone involved. Um they're always deeply meaningful and um a real show of the community we have here in Belmar. Um thank you also to our staff, DPW, the police department and our honores and of course to Father Ed and everyone at St.
Rose uh for the San Janeiro Festival and the beautiful mass there that day. Um, the Harbor Commission is working on a review of our rates for next year and consulting with experts to authorize a system that's transparent, predictable, and fair. Thank you to everyone working
very hard at that. Um, the environmental commission is working very hard on their grant work. Um, to we are meeting this Thursday with the Army Corps of Engineer on the Silver Lake Planning Grant. Uh, I have been meeting with the coalition
concerned with the Shark River. Uh we are applying for a grant through the resilient New Jersey regional planning grant that's on a team with Neptune wall Avon Neptune City along with Mammoth University's urban coast institute the
American literal society and under the opices of the county along with the Shark River Cleanup Coalition. Um so I want to especially thank members of our environmental commission and DPW for sitting down with me for a very long time as we walk through that grant application. Um, a couple other quick
things around town. Um, September 24th we have Senior Wands and Handsome Devil Car Show. Uh, the 26th we have the Friends of the Poor Walk that through the St. Rose the St. Vincent Depal Society. And on a separate note, um, there are a lot of people going through really hard times here and I know I for
one love giving uh for organizations that provide direct services and if you're looking for something local that's helping people here in need, please consider donating to St. Paul Society. They do really, really great work. Um, September 27th and 28th is our
town yard sale. And on September 27th as well, the environmental coalition along with Kandid's garden will be doing a sustainable landscaping workshop at down at Taylor Pavilion. Please check that out. Uh, and finally, with the Belmar Women's Club, there will be a fall craft
show at Taylor Pavilion. And tomorrow, um, please go to check out the fundraiser at Jersey Mike's. 20% of all sales go to the Belmar Women's Club. And you can also use J code JM gives on the app. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councilwoman Kenny.
Thank you so much. I uh I was disappointed I missed San Janeiro Festival this year. I did hear great things about that whole weekend, the mass and the festival and the 911 tribute. I was at the University of South Carolina for parents weekend which was very interesting. Um but I was sorry
to have missed that. So around recreation, basketball signups, registrations are happening now for K through 8 year uh grade kids. Youth club is back starting November 8th, Saturdays, grades uh 3 through 5 from 5
to 6:30, Saturday evenings, grades 6 through 8 from 7 to 8:30. So sign up for youth club. And the this year's trunk or treat in Belmar is going to be at Dempsey Park on October 24th. That's a Friday night at 5 starting at 5:00 p.m. So come out and register your car and
your costumes. Uh Sha Tree Commission, there's been many new permits to get rid of hazardous trees in town. 22 new ones and we have over 70 permits awarded to date. So a lot of those bad looking and hazardous trees are coming down. And
Shade Tree is also embarking on a program to update some of the trees along Main Street, including five new trees to be planted this fall between 10th and 12th Avenues. And we'll continue to be planting more through the spring. They will also be adding
fertilizer spikes to all the trees in the upcoming months to all the trees on Main Street, which is great, too. And uh lastly, our we have the skate park fundraiser. I I'm sorry I went up flyers, but flyers will be circulating here. I'm going to get them over to the
library and into all the schools. Our fall fundraiser, Shredfest, this year is on October 11th. It's an all ages event from 1 to 5:00 p.m. at Bar. There's going to be prizes, giveaways, 50/50s, bands. It's going to be really fun. So,
bring the whole family out to our Shredfest event, raise money for the skate park. Thank you so much. Thank you, Council President Rodiniro. Thank you, Mayor. Um, thank you for announcing um, Patrick O'Donnell's passing. Patrick was a neighbor of mine. Um, longtime Bel Martian. He loved all
things Irish, especially music and his time at the Challe Club. Um, he was always chatting me up for ideas for the burrow. And I passed along his last one um, for needing to replace our caution children at play um, to our DPW
superintendent um, Billy Mau and Captain Campbell this a this evening. Um, so thank you for that in advance. Uh, the Belmar Public Library, um, we had 550 locals come out from the library lawn at
10th and E last Thursday with the end of the summer concert with the Pat Rody Band. Uh, most of us were there and uh, the residents took the time to thank us. Um, and a lot of people were concerned that those concerts wouldn't remain at
the library and we're very happy to see um that they were doing so well right there on the lawn. Um, the next big event for the library is our Hispanic Heritage Cultural Celebration. That's Tuesday, September 30th at 6 p.m. at the Taylor Pavilion. Get ready to dance and
party with music by the Rafa Boys and refreshments by Sto Ceviche. Um, please register online at belmar library.com or call the library directly if you need help registering. Uh, the Belmar Housing Authority had their 5-year plan meeting
last Tuesday. Um, bid openings for the repair facade will be um October 23rd at 1 p.m. And the wait list for apartments uh is now closed. It's been closed as of September 19th. Uh lastly, I'd like to
um thank uh well, I'd like to thank Jenna Van Nest for helping with the San Jinaro Fest and organizing it. Um this was her first this year. Um and that's a that's a large job. So I thank her for that and our honores and the PTO for
putting on the spaghetti dinner to um honor our honores. Um, so and I was informed that $300 was raised towards the Belmar skate park for the canoli eating contest. So if you if you go to Federesco and say hello to Antonio and
say, you know, thank you. Thank you. Thank you Lena from Sweet for doing that for us. Thank you so much, Lena. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, lastly, our hometown hero uh banner program opens again for the third year in a row. Um, you can find the application form online
on our website, our Facebook page, or you can come in and fill out a paper form in the office. Uh, if you have a Belmar veteran or active um duty military member and you'd like to commemorate them with a banner on Main Street, this is your chance. Uh, as always, if you know someone who should
be commemorated, who's unable to afford the $100 banner, please let me know and we will find a sponsor. All of us up here have had the privilege of sponsoring a banner for a Belmar veteran. Um the deadline to submit an application is October 7th. So you'll
see it posted a lot um from from here in the next two weeks. Thanks. Thank you. Uh Councilman Let Thank you, Mayor. I just want to announce that uh again the Sandinro was a blast. I did not win the canola eating contest unfortunately.
Uh Sunday, September 28th is the run for the fallen is going to be coming through Belmar down Ocean A. Uh this is a run that honors uh New Jersey's fallen service members. So if you can come down around 9:00, come down to Ocean A, wave
an American flag. Uh you know, be a really good thing to do. That's all I have. Okay. And I would like to once again announce the um the burrow along with the burrow of Avalon. We're sponsoring a small business grant and resource workshop on
October 7th, 2025 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Taylor Pavilion. And there are flyers that will be that are out or will be going out uh soon. Um, Jenna Vaness and um,
why can't I keep Guzman are going to be here on Thursday and they're going to go to the businesses and actually hand them the flyers to remind them. Uh, the whole idea is for them to find out about grants and resources to small
businesses. Um there will be people there from the uh the NJA, the New Jersey Business Action Center, uh the New Jersey I'm trying to figure SBDC at Brooklyn Brookdale Community
College. So it's really an opportunity for businesses who may have any questions or want to see what's out there that could help them uh to do that. So uh that's coming up. Uh, it was um Oh, this is not my touchpad.
October 7th, 2025, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The the other thing I'd like to say, um, going back to the the infrastructure, uh, number one, they're they're doing it on Fifth Avenue. They started on the block right in front of my house. If you want to see, you know, like infrastructure
improvements in action, you should you should stop by because it's quite a it's quite a a project. And uh in I they just started replacing the sewer line. And I I found out that and and of course, you know, it's interesting because it's like
you're digging for treasure and every once in a while you they stop and when you see like three guys hovering over a hole, you know there's something not right, you know? So, I think they they found a water line that they didn't know was there. And the other day they found a gas line that they didn't know was
there or JCPNL didn't know it was there or the NJ gas. Um, so it's quite interesting, but they have it kind of like down to a science in terms of what they do. Um, and I found out that it's, you know, it's a process, right? The the
the sewer line is being replaced. I was told today that the homes on my side of the street will be connected and then they're going to go back at some point and connect the the homes on the other side of the street, but it's my understanding there are two old sewer
lines there and there's probably two old water lines there. So, it's kind of like, you know, digging, but you know, being very careful with with what you're doing. But, uh, they're doing a great job. Uh, and uh, you know, it's just, you know, 7 o'clock in the morning, they
must start because I hear that truck going right on the dot, 7 o'clock. So, uh, you get used to it after a while. But, I think the neighbors have been been good about it. Everybody's learning to park their cars off onto the side streets because especially in this part,
there's a lot of trucks going back and forth and whatnot. And if you have little kids that like tractors and stuff and want to see them, I suggest they stop over there. There's all kinds of tractors and and construction things and they'll have a blast just looking at
them. Uh, more seriously though, I think one of the the major accomplishments for our infrastructure has been the production of of this this map. And I mean, this is something that will be valuable for the burrow for many many years to come. And even though you know
projects might change or they might be rescheduled, we might add projects or whatever, this is a resource that you know we didn't have and this is something that you know is uh is really a a tremendous accomplishment. So you
know I uh I thank Mr. Kaine and and our engineer Jim Morris for for working on this and uh you know we really trying to get a handle on how we can improve these things and hopefully we'll get the I bank monies so that we can even do more
but you know it it's uh it's something that'll be here for the future. Hopefully we'll put it out on the uh on the website so uh everybody will know that it's here and they can look at it whenever. Okay, that's all I have.
Um, let's go to I guess public session. Anyone has a comment or question about a resolution on the agenda, please step forward, state your name and address. I have a motion to close the public session. Second.
All in favor? I I Can I have a motion to adopt the resolutions as listed on the consent agenda? Motion. Second. Counciloman Donovan. Yes. Councilman Kenny, yes. Mayor Buckesco, yes.
Councilman Rondo, yes. Councilman Levis, yes. Okay. Uh, next is ordinances. The first one is ordinance 202521. This is an ordinance approving the application for a long-term tax exemption and authorizing execution of a
financial agreement. This ordinance is open for public comment. None. Can I have a motion to close the public hearing? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. Can I have a motion to adopt ordinance 202521?
I'll make the motion. Second. Councilman Donovan, yes. Council McKenna, yes. Mayor Besco, yes. Councilman Randero, yes. Councilman Levis, yes. Next is the second reading of public hearing of ordinance 202510.
This is an ordinance amending and supplementing the burough code to add section 40-7.34 entitled affordable housing mandatory set aside requirement. Uh, this is open for public hearing if anyone would like to speak on the ordinance.
Oh, get to the mic. Eugene Kamemer, 4th Avenue. Um, let's see. Uh, 2025-10. uh this is uh affordable housing mandatory set aside requirement. Uh the
third whereas whereas the bureau has determined that enacting a burrowwide mandatory set aside ordinance to ensure that any site that benefits from resoning variance or redevelopment
plan approved by the burrow or the burough's planning board that results in a multi- family residential development. shall comply with the set of set set aside requirements.
Um actually this and all the other two ordinances tonight are silent with respect to the Belmar zoning board of adjustment. In other words, the way I read this, if you go to the zoning board of adjustment
to get approval of a 24 unit luxury condominium or four luxury condominiums on Second Avenue and you go to the zoning board of adjustment, you have no obligation to provide affordable
housing. Is that the intent here? I'm looking at the first sentence and it says that it's this uh set aside ordinance to ensure that any site that benefits from reszoning
well essence if you're going before the zoning board they're in essence reszoning that property so they would be subject to them satisfied at least that's the way I'm reading it excuse me uh zoning board of adjustment
does does not approve re reszoning that's That's the perview of of the It says also variance. So the zoning boards do variances. Correct. So So it says any ensure that any site that benefits from variance
that results in a multif family development of five or more is subject to this. So I think that covers any decisions by the zoning board. You see that in the second sentence of the whereas
to ensure that any site that benefits from reszoning variance or redevelopment plan approved by the burrow with the burough's planning board that results in multif family development by by the burrow or the burrow's planning board.
Well, I don't I don't board of adjustment is is not the burrow and it's not the burrow's planning, but they still I think you still have to go by what the variance the fact that it
says it's a variance. I mean, it could be it could be maybe more clear saying that it's coming from the from the zoning board, but I think it's uh No, it clear mayor. It clearly says approved by the
I don't think you even need that to be honest with you. I think I could cross that out and say variance of redevelopment plan and then just say that results in the multiple multifamily residential development of five or more. I don't I think the the part the
verbiage that says by the burough or the burough planning board is really it's not even necessary in in that sense. But I'm not gonna I'm not gonna What's that? We're talking about where clauses in the resolution. They're not going to control
anything. Here we have our legal opinion. The ordinance that controls. Yeah. Can you just expound on that so we all understand? Right. It's the content of the ordinance. the the where's
um nice to have in in a in an ordin in the ordinance that you are adopting because it gives the reasons why you're doing what you're doing, but the u the codification those whereases don't aren't codified in
our ordinances. So, it's the the ordinance itself that would control and and not the wherees. later on when people look at what they can and cannot do, they will not go to the warehouses. I I think I think for to answer Mr.
Kramer's question, we need to go down to section one. And if you look at the first paragraph that talks about the burrow or the burrow's planning board, uh if they permit the construction of a multif family or single family attached residential development,
uh the planning board shall require appropriate percentage of the residential units be set aside for very low, low and moderate households. But then if you go down also to um where did I see the one this this requirement does not ent
create any entitlement for a property owner or applicant to a zoning amendment variance or adoption. So in other words the the requirement for the for the um the set aside doesn't give you the authority to get
a variance. So that's correct and I agree with you counselor that the wear is not actually being codified but u under section one
you mentioned mayor it says it's the burrow or the burough's planning board that's exclusive that does that uh it is either the burrow or the burough's planning board the ordinance is silent
with respect ect to the zoning board of adjustment and u the question I have is can can the zoning board of adjustment and this is for our lawyers. Can the zoning board of adjustment say that uh through their
action that a developer or someone uh trying to build something is not subject to this ordinance? That's the real question. Can they can they permit the construction of a multif family or
single family attached residential development without requiring the percentage for the set aside? That's that's the that's the question I think Mr. Kramer is asking. That's correct. Right. In other words, Governor is only board of adjustment.
You're going to avoid all this is the way it's written. Good evening, Fran Mcman with Scotland and Bellman redeveloping council to the burough. I think uh section B addresses the the issue regarding um
sort of it's all-encompassing. This requirement shall apply to any multif family or single family attached residential development including the residential portion of a mixeduse project which consists of five or more residential new residential units whether permitted by a zoning
amendment a variance granted by the burough's planning board or adoption of a redevelopment plan or amended redevelopment plan in areas in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation. So I think for the question as far as the zoning board, I mean that would be covered by a zoning amendment.
Yeah. But the zoning board has no no authority to change the the burough zoning. They have the authority to grant variances but not to change the zoning. I guess my guess my question is and it shows a little bit of my lack of
knowledge about the zoning board is would if somebody's building something why would they go before the zoning board isn't isn't the step the process you go before the planning board well I mean is there a is there a situation where I could I can apply to build a you
know a 10 store a 10 unit structure go before the planning board and then somehow after that go to the zone county board and say, "Well, no, I don't want I don't want to uh you know, be subject to the set aside." No, you could you could in any one of
our residential zones where we don't permit multifamily, you could make an application for multifamily. Um and um you would be in front of the zoning board of adjustment because you need a use variance.
So you wouldn't have to be before the planning board in that circumstance. Member of the zoning board who might want to Why don't you step Yeah. Say your name and all that.
Barry Luben, uh, 15th Avenue and also the zoning board. Uh we on the zoning board come up with these questions about legality all the time. Would it not be easier to word in there? Uh one example would
be the ongoing 12th Avenue that was selling board and that is a 24 unit or thereabouts um condominium building that is uh believe it's okay for me to say because it's gone to the Supreme Court
of the state. Wouldn't it be easier here everywhere it says burrow planning board put in zoning board because we do have the authority to see in the planning board sees in the
redevelopment zone uh seport all that but in the residential um areas we see. So bless you. Um, not being an attorney, but
uh, I just think it would be easier if you just wrote burrow, planning board, and zoning board because we are a separate entity and we will at one point come up with something with 10 to
whatever units that that minimum is. It's five units. It's five units. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I can picture one in my head that's going to come to us at some point and there's going to be more um that are going to come to us at the
zoning board. So, I would the simplicity again is just add the zoning board to that because we don't issue amendments, we issue C and D variances.
Thank you for that. Yes. Yeah, I mean certainly the council can consider an amendment on the record this evening for wherever the ordinance reads burrow or the burough's planning board to add um or the zoning board of adjustment.
Yeah, I mean as I'm reading this I think I think part of the confusion also is the term zoning amendment. I don't know exactly what that what that means. And part of me thinks that that really means a a variance uh
you know from the zoning board, but it also says variance. So I don't know what a zoning amendment is. You don't want any attorney making a clever argument. So it's better safe than sorry. I would recommend the amendment to include the zoning. No, I agree.
I make the zoning amendment as something that the planning board and what the bureau approves after that. Right. So from the way I'm reading it is reference to the burrow or the burrow's planning board will also will include
burrow burrow's zoning board of adjustment if that's the correct term for it and the burough's planning board. Proceed. We can proceed with that. Yeah. I don't have any problems
perceiving that was the think it changes the intent of the ordinance in any way. Simply clarify. Okay. So anywhere in the ordinance even in the whereas where it says um the burrow or the burrow's planning board um
will include uh the burrow's zoning board of adjustment. We don't need to amend the warehouse. Okay. just what's going to be codified because that's what's going to be in the ordinance and that that is what is
going to control. Do we need to have some kind of an agreement on that first or is that just part and parcel of approving the be part of the ordinance adopted as amended? Okay. Okay. I guess we're at the point where we're Well, were there any more
comments? Yes. We have Jean Kramer, Fourth Avenue. Uh, condition B under section one. Same uh ordinance. Same ordinance. Yeah, this is uh
2025-10. Um it says for all inclusionary projects the appropriate set aside percentage shall be 20% or a minimum of one unit.
uh the uh affordable housing plan for uh so-called Mediterranean project um that uh required
uh I think the final number was um 30 20 built 10 paid for or 30 affordable housing units. uh and 198 were to are to be built total
total number of apartments. Uh that's closer to 15%. Uh now this is being written for the general public now regulating the general
public. Aren't we entitled to equal treatment under the law? you know, by federal law, uh, the 14th amendment, everybody's supposed to be treated equal. Now,
why is some outfit getting away with 15% whereas every other property owner in town is going to be mandated 20%. I I'll let you answer. These are for all projects going forward as of the effective date. those projects
that you're referring to, the Repetti project and other projects that have been approved by council and with agreements and settlement agreements executed, those uh will not be impacted by the requirements of this ordinance. So those projects were negotiated as
part of settlement agreements which were part of the burough's declaratory judgment action to satisfy their third round housing obligation. So those are have already been resolved and settled before this ordinance went to effect. anything moving forward will be subject to this ordinance.
In other words, everything in town now uh will be required to come up with a 20% set aside either by building or pay any project that has over five units or more. Yes.
Okay. G how did we negotiate down from 20% to 15%. In in other words, that agreement was a bad agreement. Previously, before traditionally, it's
been a 15% set aside for rental units and a 20% set aside for for sale units. The bureau is taking an aggressive approach by making it 20% across the board to address affordable housing obligations, but traditionally it has
been 15% set aside for rental units. Okay. Have any other comments on the ordinance? I have a motion to close the public hearing. Second. All in favor?
I. And can I have a motion to adopt ordinance 202510 as amended? I'll make the motion. Second. Councilman Donovan. Yes. Counciloman Kenny. Yes. Mayor Becca Fusco, yes. Councilwoman Rondao,
yes. Councilman Levis, yes. Next is second reading and public hearing on ordinance 202511. This is an ordinance amending chapter 40, article 5, zoning districts, uh, creating an overlay zone. This is open
for public hearing if anyone wants to comment on the ordinance. I have the microphone. Eugene Kramer. We're gonna give you your own microphone. I think Eugene Kramer, Fourth Avenue. Let's see. I'll just cut to the chase
here. This is uh the creation of a overlay district uh along Main Street or F Street. Um please go down to mixed overlay mixed use overlay. Uh, a
purpose the purpose of the MU-0 is to allow for a combination of mixed uses along Main Street which frontage from Fifth Street to 16th Street. Can you please change that to
avenues? Yeah, I already I already mentioned that last week when we did this. Okay. Uh section B it says here
under B one A which starts residential commercial on ground level. Um the last sentence it says all housing units shall be two and
threebedroom units. Uh, can you please change and to or I have a general question about this. Have have any property owners been provided notice about um this uh
overlay district that your properties are now um you know was there any notice provided? It doesn't it doesn't to my to my knowledge. So it doesn't affect existing
property owners because by the overlay you have a person wanting to build something new would have an option of either going under the existing zoning or under the under this overlay ordinance. So I don't know the
uh necessarily the the way it would affect an existing property owner. Am I am I right? That's correct. There is no requirement for notice and this is an overlay zone which means that the underlying zoning is still in place and it just provides the option if someone wanted to utilize
the benefits of this zoning for a project. Okay. But the impact would be that the a property owner uh would be unaware that
until confronted with it that he may have five additional residential units living next door. Right. Well, there's public hearings in the ordinance. It's adopted like any other ordinances and provided the notice like any other ordinance would be provided.
you know, notice of any other ordinance would be provided. Okay. Any other uh comments have a motion to close the public hearing? I'll make the motion. Second.
All in favor? And can I have a motion to adopt ordinance 202511? And now as amended. I'll make the motion. Second. Councilman Donovan. Yes.
Councilman Kenny. Yes. Mayor Michael Fusco. Yes. Councilman Rodero. Yes. And Councilman Levis. Yes. And what was that section? The first one was in um A. It's going to be Fifth Avenue to 16th
Avenue. I already made that change, but what was the B1 or three units? B1A. B1 B1A. Last sentence. All affordable housing units shall be two or three bedroomedroom units.
And last ordinance is ordinance 202519, an ordinance amending and supplementing the burough code to add chapter 39 entitled affordable housing general program purposes and procedures addressing the requirements of the fair housing act and the uniform housing
affordability controls regarding compliance with the municipalities affordable housing obligations. This is open for public comment if anyone would like to speak on the ordinance. All right. Eugene Kame, Fourth Avenue, please uh turn to page 16.
Okay. Uh number number two, affirmative marketing and it says conducting an outreach process to affirmatively market affordable housing
units in accordance with the affordable marketing plan of the burrow of Allenhurst. You didn't hear we just changed the name of the burrow last week. No, just kidding. It should say Belmore obviously.
Yeah. Thank you very much. But I It's kind of interesting there. Uh I did look up Alenhurst, by the way, is a town just north of Asbury Park. Uh if you're going up along the ocean, if you blink your eye, you pass it. And it's got a
population of about 500 people. Um actually, I think your town government is comprised of three people. and uh very streamlined form of form of government. However, they took a very
unique a very interesting approach to their affordable housing obligation and they actually like Spring Lake bought a property and are converting it over to affordable housing. But uh it was a bad
example to to pick or even to put into here because likewise uh they don't they do not have a zoning board of adjustment. So I found no wisdom in in in in in their ordinance whatsoever and
yes this should be changed to the world. Thank you. Anyone else have any comments? Have a motion to close the public hearing. I'll make a motion. Second. All in favor? I.
And can I have a motion to adopt ordinance 202519 as amended? Motion. Second. Councilman Donovan. Yes. Councilman Kenny. Yes. Mayor Becca Fusco. Yes. Councilman Rono. Yes. Councilman Levis.
Yes. Now we're on the public session. If anyone would like to speak, please step forward and remember to state your name and address. Okay. Neil 4104. Okay. So now I know I won't ask the
burrow again to bury the wires and I will start asking the state to uh encourage it through whatever means. But what about the uh the cable company wires all over town that really look
disgraceful along Route 35? There's shredded wires hanging everywhere. It looks like there was a warp. And some places there's massive loops that are just to save time or money. They left this massive loop there. And some places
there's dangling wires, redundant wires. So, how can the bureaus do anything about that? It's a good question. I think we have reached reached out to um cable companies and and whatnot. If I'm
mistaken, tell me if I'm wrong. I don't know uh again what control we have over that. Um I agree with you 100%. I would love to have them take all the extra wire off, but and I just saw one today. They It looks like a a spider's wet
because it looks like they just cut the wires and they leave them hanging there. But again, I we don't have authority to go up there and remove anything. So, it has to be either the people who owned it, whether it's a cable company, it could be Verizon, it could be the JCPNL.
Um, I think all we could do is reach out to them and and say we would like them to clean up their minds. Okay. Right. I know real estate values are not depressed right now, but if I was driving around looking for a town to move to, I would say, "This town looks
like crap with these wires. I keep I would keep moving, you know." Anyway, I thank the burrow and the administration for the year round bathroom on the boardwalk. That is been a dream of many people for many years.
Uh, does anyone have any idea what hours that is open? I don't know. I don't know if if we have any um uh I'm pretty sure it's open from 8:30 to 6.
That's year round. 8:30 to 6. Yeah. Well, the hours vary in the uh in the summertime. It changes to the normal uh hours of operation for the other bathrooms. So, it would be longer in the summer. Yes.
Great. was breakdown bathroom right there near Silver Lake Park. And now we have all the garbage cans which the mayor arranged to put in around Silver Lake. A great improvement. And what we could use now would be a a dog park. And
I think there's plenty of open space there between the playground and where O'Brien's funeral home used to be in that corner for instance. Or on the other side of the playground there's space under the trees have some shade. To me, a dog park would have to be
nothing more than a a circular fence with a a double gate so dogs can't escape when you open it. Doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. And what about several dog parks? There could be one over by the skate park. Wouldn't it be
great to go over to the skate park with your dog? And the dog gets to play with his friends and you get to do your skateboarding. And a skate park doesn't do much for most senior citizens. A dog park would. And if a dog park was right there by the
skate park, it would be a place for people of all ages to enjoy hanging out. The seniors could watch the dogs and the skateboarders. And uh it would be wonderful. So, thank you for listening. Thank you. Any other comments?
Actually, I uh I stand corrected. The bathroom schedule is 8:30 to 4:30. Okay. A motion to close the public session and adjourn the meeting. Motion second. All in favor? I