Heavenly Father, our community has been blessed with abundant sunshine and many visitors season. We thank you for protecting our first responders, our police, fire, and beach time. As our teachers and students head
back to school in a few weeks and navigate yet another school year, fill them with strength to lead and thrive in their classrooms. We ask that you help us to live in ways pleasing to you and helpful to those around us. In your name
we pray. This week, uh, Richard Dick was passed away, who was a long time resident. After graduating from Atlantic City High School in 1960, Dick entered the United States Marine Corps. He then attended
Glboro College and spent 34 years teaching shop in the Martin school system. Dick is survived by his wife Anette, his daughter, and her husband Jason. Their daughter
and her husband Hoffman, his grandsons Jack, Zachary, and Alexander. He was predesceased by his son Michael and by his mother-in-law Filipina Arena. So we have our approval for up 2025
council meeting minutes. Motion and second questions or comments. Seeing none, we have roll. Yes. Yes. Yes. We have our approval of our bill
requisition list. We have motion. Second. Questions or comments? Seeing none, we have roll. Yes. Yes. Yes. At this time, we have public comment. This is on the agenda items only.
Anybody wishing to be heard, please come up and state your name and address for the record. Hi, and thank you for having me. It's Brooks Garrison, 2041 15th Street North. Here to talk about the ordinance number 22, public hearing
appropriations. Uh this is part of the $27 million bond referendum uh that the council has taken forward to invest in our community, which I wholeheartedly support and congratulate uh the council for doing.
I'm here to ask for the council consideration. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry, Mr. Gar. Yes, there's actually going to be a public hearing on that tonight. Very good. Thank you. See you in a couple minutes. I'll wait. At this time, close portion. Uh, first
up, we have ordinance number 21 of 2025, which is public hearing adoption. And this is a works providing for various improvements for the water and sewer utility in and by the city of Brigantine in the county of New Jersey appropriating 10,125,000
therefore and authorizing the issuance of 10,125,000 bonds to the city to finance the cost thereof. Motion second. All right. This time for public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on this
ordinance? Please come up. come up. State name and address correctly. Seeing no public participation, we're going to close the public portion. Any council comments? Seeing none, can we have roll? Yes.
Yes. All right. Next up, we have ordinance number 22 of 2025, which is a public hearing and adoption. And this is a bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in and by the city of Brigantine in the county of Atlantic, New Jersey, appropriating 17,300,
uh, 875, therefore, and authorizing the issuance of 16,435,831 bonds or notes of the city to finance part of the cost thereof. Uh this project's also going to include uh the new clubhouse at the brigade team links.
Um the clubhouse now will stay in operation until the new clubhouse is completed and then that clubhouse will actually be demolished and returned back to open space. So the keep one open
next to it and return it back to open space. All right, we have a motion and second. At this time, we'll open it up for a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on this bond ordinance, please come up, state your name and address for the record. Brooks,
just a dry run. We'll practice. There you go. I I I appreciate it. Again, Brooks Garrison, 20415 Street North. Uh thank you for giving me the opportunity again uh fullheartedly support the investment back into the community for the various projects that are included
in this $27 million overall bond and 17 for other things inclusive of bulkheads and um as you know I've spoken here several times about the seaw wall extension on the north end which directly obviously impacts the homes on 15th Street and
those on 14th Street at St. Block. There's 20 there and effectively the whole new event inclusive of the birds observation center. It's been my feeling all along and and goal to get that bulkhead extended and installed. It's
270 ft. Uh there's a bulkhead obviously involved with seaw wall. Seaw wall by definition is not a prominade. I know there's been discussion about extending the prominad also. These aren't mutually exclusive projects. If you invest in the
seaw wall and protect the homes, the debate and discussion about the problem continue the seaw wall will be affected immediately obviously protects. So I'm here to advocate for and request the council invest some of that money.
It's been bonded into as you know these homes have have been approved over the last 10 years. That whole area has changed a lot. Um new resident five years ago. grateful to be here and appreciate your consideration. Thank you.
Hi, Lori Goldsmith. I'm at 1415 East Brigettine Avenue and I feel that it's very important to get this taken care of with the seaw wall just with the bulkhead to protect our homes. Even leaving the house just now, this the water is so close. I mean, it's a
perfect timing for you guys to come take a look. And if you want, come over to my house and come sit on the porch and see what it looks like from there. So, if we could have the protection, that's all we need. Just the the protection down, deal with the rest of it later. But I urge
you to please put it through because it's it's scary there at this point. Thank you. Hi, I'm Jim Dockerty at 1413 East Avenue, next door to the I support the project getting it done. I'd rather you come to my house instead of hers because
when Sandy came along, the water went around in our house. So, you know, we desperately need it. It's It's funny, but it's not Michael Coast to 15th Street North. I support what Brooks is saying. Just you
have to protect those houses storm that is super important that it's pretty cheap compared to one extension of the boulevard is a different conversation. It's currently
completely public comments. I see none. I have roll. Yes. I did actually I did have one question on the radar screen uh so to speak
the baseball field. Were you asking as far as this bond ordinance? Yes. As far as the There's no money for the roundhouse at 26th Street in this current bond. Well, I know it's specifically noted
maybe the A lot of work. There's a lot of money's been put in. It doesn't apply for recreation grants. Unfortunately though, like the local recreation grants are capped at 100,000 and usually you get between 60 and 80 if
you getting it. We did get it last year. This year we did not receive any. So it's hit or miss on that. does out of bring up as John would obviously know Mike Neil you know been involved with
the teams coaching it's long thank you yes yes yes mayor yes except we have ordinance number 23 of
2025 which is public hearing and adoption and this is this is an ordinance amending chapter 210-37 article 2 of the code of the city of brigantine portions as it relates to
fees motion second all right this is uh we had talked about earlier in the year doing a family so this the fee changes for that family rate for pickle ball if this passes tonight will take place 20 days from now starting in September. At this time,
we'll open it up for public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on this uh fee change, please come see name and address for the record. Seeing no public participation, we close the public portion. Any council comments?
Seeing none, can we have roll? Yes. Yes. Yes. Resolution 2025-193. And this is a resolution granting tax exemption for a permanently disabled
veteran uh owned uh residential property. We have a motion and second. I'll make a motion. Second. Questions or comments? Seeing none from we have roll call. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Sarah, yes. Resolution 2025-194. This is a resolution amending the city of Brigantine 2025 year municipal budget by the insertion of a special item of revenue and appropriation from the state
of New Jersey drive sober will get pulled over Labor Day grant. This is the amount of $4,200. We have a motion second. I'll make that motion. Second. Questions and comments? Seeing none, we have roll call. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Sarah. Yes. Next up, we have our consent agenda. This is for the Goodbye Summer Bonfire, Eagles Tailgate One and Two, Surf Fishing Derby, and um Rosie Post
Workshop. Have a motion. Second questions or comments? Seeing none, can we have roll call? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Next up, we have our council manager
committee discussion. Sker, thank you, mayor. Uh, I just want to highlight the food truck festival that was scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the 38th Street Beach. We had to move it. Obviously, with the tides
and the uh that storm going to be offshore, that area will be flooded like it has been in the past. So, we are going to move it um to right around Hon Park at 15th Street here. There was a post on social media if anybody had seen
it that um incorrectly advertise where the trucks would be located which was parked right outside this door here along 15th Street. That is not the case. 15th Street will remain open. It will be closed uh right at the end of City Hall
parking lot. 15th Street will be closed. We're also going to close it at 15th Street in Beayshore and then we're going to close it at 16th and Revier. So Riverier will be closed between 15th and 16th. The trucks will be parked on the asphalt pointing uh toward the Conaman
Park. There will be a band, some music chairs, music uh chairs, tables uh in Hanaman Park. So kind of focusing on Hanaman Park. Um so again 15th Street will remain open for the church here
park times uh are now uh 1 to nine on Friday and Saturday and 1 to 7 on Sunday. So uh please spread the word and come on out. The weather looks like it's going to be gorgeous. The storm will be fast. So it looks like it's going to be
a beautiful week. I first want to thank public works and the rec department for the great job they did on the mini golf. It's awesome. I was hearing a lot of great things. bunch of my friends. They've had their
kids, their grandkids there and they love it. They they they really appreciate the upgrades. I also like to congratulate the Brigantine Baseball and softball association on a successful whiffle ball home run derby they had on
Saturday. It was amazing. Tom Pichi said there were about 25 kids registered. It was a great mix of locals and and visitors. It was packed and the highlight of the day was there. Kids
love to see that. So I just think it's wonderful island. That's it. Today is our council meeting for the summer season
until September 22nd safety for the rest of the summer. It's been a great great summer season. Third and fourth board meeting was held by Mark Vgillia and myself uh this past Thursday. Despite the weather, there was a great turnout. Build room, nice crowd
was given a thorough review of the many goings on around our island in the third and fourth quart not totally isolated to that, but obviously the a lot of great questions and robust discussion. Mrs. Phillips, I know I was talking to
you briefly as you could attest to some back. Mayor was also there to answer some more specific questions and to also provide some further detail to some of our topics. Congratulations to Putt Putt Paradise which had its soft opening
on the Friday Friday morning. Hog State was actually a great turnout just for that. give a shout out to one of our homegrown local brick team athletes who started here in baseball and football street hockey as well
high school t as he's known by the son of Trevor and Trevor being Trevor fire department being one of our captains or I still got his rank right with the restructural
the ML uh let's see the MLB draft the Major League Baseball draft was in mid July and Trevor was a third round pick for the San Francisco Giants. He's 21 years old and played three years of Big 10 college baseball for Ruckers University. He's now playing for the San Jose Giants in single A ball out the
West Coast. Uh he's been playing every game and as of yesterday he just crossed over the 300 mark with his batting average. He had like three for four or something like that. He didn't waste any time. Got a hit and a walk in his first game and scored a run.
He certainly has some great tools and traits. Uh he's talented offensively and defensively pushing. It's a great story. So he's following the steps of this. Brett Kennedyers was drafted by the San Diego Padres's out of Form University some years back.
I guess a couple of these uh Trevor and Brett gamers great represent our city very well and this day still leads me to the question why are these
players ending up in the West Coast that's still San Francisco and the other San Diego. Be nice if the Phillies had one of them even the Mets or something. Well, maybe not the Mets, but Yankees. That's that. Thank you very much.
First of all, thank everybody for coming out. It's always nice to see some some friends expressing their concerns and working together to try to do the best we can. Economic development committee and the
cultural arts committee are moving forward planning things. That's other than that. Got a couple weekends left in the summer. Get some good fish. Good fish.
for the boat ramp. I know today any anticipation of a question I kind of left. I think the big thing too with hurricane here out there, a lot of the storm swell that
we see right now actually beach is probably up and down all Jersey very dangerous. Our lifeguards are still be surprised how many people I can go in. I'll be okay though. I'm just going to eat. A lot of times what happens is um waves wash up and stack
pull back down quick seconds. So definitely stay on the water. Make sure you guys um pay attention to our lifeguards. If there's any questions lifeguards are out the beach, definitely ask questions, but stay out of the water till it's safe,
especially after hours. That's one of our biggest concerns with life 530 people decide to try to swim out there trying to see stay out of water. Um for everyone who came in too about
the extension of I guess putting the bulkhead out on um to the north seaw wall. We are working with the uh D on that. We are working on that. um we felt that they were going to act on that a little bit quicker and I kind of
explained this I think Brooks had brought this up a meeting or two ago right now. So if even if we want to do this bulkhead and bring team does it on its own it's still under jurisdiction of CAPRA so you still need to work to get this done. I'm not sure if the army
needs to be involved in this but I know that D has let us know that they have an interest in doing the project. Uh we were hoping that they would start that this year. With the governor going out and the new governor coming in, we're in this lame duck period. Most state
offices are in a holding pattern. They don't they're not quite sure who's going to win that election. So they're just in a hold on all of their projects. And as I explained to Brooks, um I think a meeting or two ago, we're just kind of
stuck in limbo until they I guess until the new governor comes in and makes some direction. The D will probably fund most of this project. That's one of the things that we look to do is try to keep cost under control through either grants, through those partnerships with
the state or with the federal government. So we are working on that, but um I wish I had some better information. I know one of the questions that Brooks asked for a lot is that going to be a prominade, a seaw wall, a bulkhead. I do not know what that's going to be because the D is going to
make a determination on what it is they want out there and that'll be the starting process. The only thing that they have let us know is that there is a vested interest in putting some type of structure out there, but they have not indicated what that structure will be. Obviously, if we can let people we can
let the people from the DP know that uh residents who live in that area prefer to just have some kind of bulkheading and not a prominant, things like that, we can carry that forward, but it's just very brooding that project. Um so we will do all we can to protect the homes
out there. Um the the proven that's there now is actually owned by the county. It's actually not Brigantines. It's actually the county because it lines up to the county road and that's where all the jurisdictions cross. You have the county, you have where caffer comes in, you have where brigant team
comes in. We don't know how the army core plays in that, but we're trying to work our way through that process. So obviously when we first started this process, we were under the assumption it was going to move forward this year. Unofficially, we've been told it's probably on hold until next year. So we
will continue to to advocate for that. Uh we are working on bulkheads around the island. It's something that we've been very committed to do to either bring our bulkheads up to um the new height or to work with homeowners, especially when homes are sold. Um and
there's new construction out there to get the homeowners to bring those bulkheads in. You can see down around North Point Marina, uh the old North Point, they did a really good job of putting in bulkheads and gave them molds. and also the owner of the development down the street from you would need bolts all around his property
and did a return back in order to try to protect all that area. So that's something we are very committed to do. As soon as we have more information on this, we will put this out. Uh typically put it out in our newsletter through social media times. We'll make sure that um everyone knows what's going on and
that everyone will have ample opportunity to especially the homeowners living in that area to kind of speak on behalf of one once we get that forward. So as soon as we have more information let this time we'll open it up for public comment. Anybody wishing to be heard, please state your name and address for
the record. Yes, Dad. Come on up. down 605 West Drive here in Brit. I have a concern about the beach because I know last year before we had a hard time getting the the armor cut down here to fill it in and after tomorrow and Friday
I got a feeling we got no beach at all. We run to the wall. You have any problems with that right now? So the north end right where the prominade is uh typically gets hit really hard in northeast. We used to get
maybe one or two nor eisters each fall. They're becoming more and more prominent. Uh like now we had a noraster it's been blowing for five days. Last week it was blowing for seven days. And that's where a lot of that erosion and you can see the eight ramps that the county just put in.
Uh yesterday it was a foot drop. Now it's about a four or five foot drop. So you can see that a lot of sand's coming out of there. One of the things that we're working on right now because I think there's a breeze. Um I don't know if it's state or federal, but there's a freeze on all peach replenishment funding right now. But the reason for
that is uh Congressman Banu has sponsored legislation. The Army Corps is going to do a study and what they want to look at is there's some kind of structure or something that they can put in the water that'll help to retain the sand in its place. Most towns used to be
on a six to eight year replenishment cycle. Now, most towns are on a three-year replenishment cycle, which is now becoming very expensive for the federal government because I think they pay 75 to 80% of the replenishment. Uh to put it in perspective, the replenishment last year was about 20
million. The team only paid 1.8 towards that replenishment. So, it is expensive. So, I think that the federal government's doing a freeze. They want to study what can be done. What's really good for Brigantine and this has a lot to do with our partnership, our
relationship with Congressman Van Drew, is I believe Brigantine is the only municipality on the entire east coast that has two locations in this study. One is actually at the Prominade. They want to know if there's some kind of structure, whether it's a lowprofile jetty, groins, something they can put
out there to slow the erosion down. and also at um the Cove Beach. Those have been two big areas that really had a lot of issues with erosion. So, they're looking at that as well. And um the problem with the federal government and you know uh the congressman will tell
you this, the federal government moves big but it moves slow. So the process is is they put the legislation in place, they then fund it, they then do the study, and then the study makes the recommendations on what it is they can
do. And then from there um it'll be a partnership between the city, the state, and uh the Army Corps of Engineers. wanted to put that out there and that'll actually be another layer of protection for the workers that are there because I'm hoping there's something that can break the waves down before
that incident. So then I have a beach is this year. Uh with the erosion that's happening right now, there's a good chance you can see I think it's only worse. That's why I'm complaining. Yeah. Yeah. But once you get to about Ninth
Street, the island turns and that's where the beaches really start to get big. But that north facing part of the island really gets beat up. And as you can see, the erosion truly bad. You'll see with these two storms coming through, it's only get worse. Yes,
sorry. NH Phillips 30827th Street. Um, thank council. I want to thank council for and should be third and fourth representatives and also the mayor who came for the uh public holding of the
community meeting last week and it was interesting to hear some of the concerns and one of the chief concern is speeding and just sitting there listening perhaps I misinterpreted but it seemed to me
that there was a diff shall we say a difference of opinion between you, Mayor Sarah, and possibly the police chief concerning the use of giving tickets to cope with this problem of speeding. And
my answer, my question is, what is the city's policy regarding speeding and giving of tickets? because uh as I said it was a
a concern that uh many people expressed and so it's happening frequently on the island and uh how do we handle it? I think this has been one of the major concerns of the city and of city council with speeding on the island. As I've said at the meeting, we've had many
conversations with the chief about speeding, about the need to pull people over. Uh, one, we cannot direct the chief how to do his job. He is protected by state statute. And two, it is actually the officer's discretion whether or not they write a ticket or
not. We as council members cannot tell the police that they have to write tickets. Those officers have the discretion to handle the situation that they feel best. But I can tell you now, we have a Captain Ward that's here tonight. One of the things I brought up
was the speeding issues on uh Roosevelt and uh captain said they'll put a detail out there and they will try to get speeding under control and they are working throughout the island but you know I use the example of long you go to law everybody does 25 miles an hour long
because you know you're going to get pulled over know you're going to get sick and I know that. So what we're working on here is what we can do to get speeding under control. Probably the best things that we did here on the island was the road diet. That road diet
has slowed traffic down so much that I'm actually now getting complaints from people. Why do they have to drive so slow out there? So, we are working on this pro process. Had a conversation with the captain tonight. We're going to continue to stay on top of this.
Well, it's a little bit confusing to the to the public, it seems to me. You have the law, you have the the range of speed. So, it isn't a question of whether there is a violation or not. If somebody is speeding, it's a violation.
And isn't there a consequence for that violation? That is for the officers to decide in the moment. They have discretion on how they handle each situation. It's easy for us on the outside to say everything should be handled a certain way, but the
police and I support this 100%. Police need to have the discretion to make the decision that they feel is best in each situation. So, we can advocate just like you're doing here that speeding is an issue. We can advocate that our police officers need to be stricter on that.
But I will also 100% support the fact that our officers need to have discretion to do their jobs. And there had and I said this at the meeting and this is why the laws in place. There needs to be a separation between what we do, politics of what we do and the job that our officers do every day. And that
is a balancing act and it's why we have the conversations with the chief and how the chief decides to bring that forward. That's under his discretion too. But if the driver of the car is speeding, that's a fact. And the police know it.
Are you telling me there's discretion as to whether somebody gets a ticket or not? We cannot tell police officers how to do their job. So, Mrs. Phillips, you talk about the law. The law is very clear. As elected officials, we cannot tell police
officers how to do their job. No, but shouldn't the police do the job, which is get a ticket if you're speeding? You're endangering people. That's what I I I understand what you're saying. I know that you as council cannot go into the office and tell any
employee what to do under the form of government. However, if it is a fact that a person is speeding, I think a ticket is warranted. It doesn't seem to me it should be under the discretion of the police officer. That is
I mean that doesn't seem to fit the law and the way it's being enforced because that many people came to express their concerns. It is a problem, right? And we did carry that forward. As I said, I spoke with Captain Ward today and um he said that they'll put a detail
on it, especially in some and he asked what areas were there issues. We carried that forward and that's kind of our job as council. People come to us, they tell us what the concerns are, we bring them forward. Captain Ward is acting chief right now. So, we brought that forward to him.
Yes. Our final word is if there's speeding taking place, there's a violation of the law. It's the duty of the officer on duty to not use his discretion, but say you are in violation. Here's a ticket. I mean, that
seems to be the best way to to to uh cope with a situation where people just think they can speed up and down our roads. So, I'm passing this on to you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brooks. Welcome back.
Thank you again, Brooks Garrison, 20415 Street mayor. So, first I wanted to thank uh Councilman Peter and yourself, mayor, for having the second council meeting you had a few weeks ago at the golf course. Thank you for that. Um and seeking that community input. I just
wanted to talk again about the seaw wall issue and separating out the different entities that have jurisdiction. So the city has jurisdiction as I understand because I buy a beach permit up until the bird observation tower and the city maintains and operates the bird
observation tower. Correct. It's not a I'm going to ask I think anytime we do construction it's been a proximity of the waterway it's caffer approval. Yeah. Yeah. CAFRA but it's not part of the D. The D has let us know
they have a vested interest in this project. So what I've learned, it's best to work together with these state agencies because when you try to go rogue and do something on your own, they become retaliatory. And that is very similar to what happened while while we
got situation all about the wild and that that became a mess. So what we've learned is to work together with our partners. Sometimes it slows projects down a little bit, but it helps them to be more successful in the end. And that's that's what we're trying to do. Not to re reiterate history, this
council adopted a flood a brigantine flood management document back in 2016. In that document, the north end seaw wall was first priority amongst other projects, but it was the first priority amongst other
projects. It's been around for almost a decade. The discussion of the north end sea will happen since Sandy which was quarter century ago. The north end sea what year was Sandy? 2011 2012. Okay. So
little liberty with the time frame 13 years ago. Um I guess the the point is that this this project is a fairly lowcost project. Bulkheads are about a thousand bucks a foot. It's 275 feet. It's under 300 grand.
It It's a drop in the bucket considering that you're doing other bulkhead projects and you could essentially package or bundle projects together as we do public bids all the time to have the seaw wall installed while other bulkhead projects are being enacted. I I
just think if we continue to wait, we could wait until you know there's a new uh governor and then a new DP and that's a very political position as we all know. It could take years to implement. These homes are in jeopardy now. We've
cleaned out and you've replaced the the handicap access ramp at the end of 14th Street North several times. You know, um again, Lori and Clay are here, their neighbors are here. Both my neighbors are here. There's five residents here
that live out of 20 homes who express a a grave concern for that. And I'd appreciate it if the council would consider spending that money um you know to invest in safety for our homes. Thank you. Other public comment
public comments. Any final council comments? I was going to say something. uh you know this discussion about the D I just I was involved with the situation the mayor mentioned a couple locations on the island where the bulkheads went in
and all uh just to get D approvals to lower the amount boat slips in the one area it took the guts of a year it was filed last September we just got the approvals last week I mean that's just to change reduce the number of we
weren't asking for more so it's tough. But all that being said, if the right person gets in in November here in New Jersey, I think very confident that we'll have a better opportunity to take care of the concerns
of our beaches and so that's a good thing. Uh there's also dredging issues back there that not before And then just let you know, Dennis mentioned Brett Kennedy early earlier.
He's happily pitching coach in the Toronto Blue J organization at rookie ball. And so good news about our minute just to address what Mrs. Phillips was saying about the police not
giving tickets. I know I have seen police officers stopping cars giving tickets for what I've assumed for speeding because just because of the location of where that the stop was taking place. I've seen parking tickets all over the island for people who are
parking illegally. They are working with us about the bike riding and the uh the ebike issue. They're uh they still respond if there are party houses with our short-term rentals. They I've seen
them posting out by the circle catching violators out there on the circle. I just I was there one day and I went, "Oh my god, somebody around." And with that, a police car whipped around and chased the guy down Beayshore Avenue. So, it
it's not that they're not giving out speeding violations, but they, you know, they're doing a lot of other things besides that. And I I believe it's I'm sure priority comments. Thank you for coming out, watching your
council.