appreciate you good afternoon everyone okay good afternoon everyone we are on the record today is Monday the 24th day of February 2025 this is a city council Caucus meeting of the Jersey City municipal
Council we had a scheduled 400 p.m. start and the clock on my cell phone is showing 4:05 p.m. may we have roll for a roll call for the commencement of this meeting council person
Ridley oh she's over there she's here council person feneri here council person bajano council person C here council person Solomon not here council person Gilmore
present council person Dees council person Rivera here council president Waterman here okay we have eight council members in attendance at 4:05 p.m. on behalf of the council president Waterman
and members of the municipal Council in accordance with the New Jersey public laws of 19 75 chapter 231 the open public meetings act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by posting on the bulletin board of the first floor of
City Hall the notice which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal Council for the calendar year 2025 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Friday November 15 2024 in addition at the time of its preparation the agenda of this meeting was similarly
disseminated on Friday February 21st 2025 at 3:30 p.m. to the mayor Municipal Council business administrator Corporation Council and the local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law I will
now turn it over to council president good afternoon our first director fija evening Council evening I have items on the agenda to discuss this afternoon the first um agenda number is
10.2 this is resolution 25120 this is award and a contract agreement between the city of Jersey City and Horizon Blue course Blue Shield for a period of one year starting January 1 2025 to December 31st 2025 to
provide open dental services for eligible employee question next the next agenda um number is 10.3 this is resolution 25121 this is a resolution ratifying an
agreement between the city of Jersey City and Horizon Blue Cross bu Shield uh to provide um Clos plan Services City eligible employees and the period is January 1 2025 to December
31st 2025 question next the next item uh number is 10.4 this is resolution 25122 this is a resol authorizing the
award of a contract to Union Labor life insurance ulo to provide self-funded medical and prescription drug excess uh stop loss coverage for all retirees and uh city employees
CH director is there a change in this from prior contracts or is this a renewal this is um an RFP actually went out okay and ulo came in with the best um numbers okay great C can you send us the like RFP package yes okay great
thank you5 the next um item number is 10.5 this is resolution 25123 this is a resolution authorizing the renewal of a contract with Fred a morone and Company to provide voluntary supplemental benefits to active
employees of the city this is a one-year contract and is zero cost to the city the next uh number is 10.6 this is uh resolution 25124
a resolution authorizing the renewal of a contract with employee Family Protection efp to provide voluntary supplement to benefits to active employees of the city uh this is a one-year contract as well and is zero cost to the
city and the last agenda number is 10.7 this is resolution 25 125 this is a resolution authorized in the city of Jersey City to execute a data sharing and confidentiality agreement with harz and blue CLP shield
and Ula thank you thank you director KS good afternoon coun President W and members of the council I have eight items before you today first one is item 10.8 resolution 25126 resolution will authorize the
award of a contract to Shi international corporation for the purchase and delivery of the gray key license a mobile data extraction forensic tool for the Department of Public Safety jcpd cyber unit through the New Jersey Cooperative purchasing Alliance total
amount of the contract is $675 5.32 and is funded to the 2023 uasi Grant next item is 1019 this you know what I have one that was a
after thought uh next one is item 1018 25136 and this is a an acceptance of a grant resolution uh associated with the solid waste and recycling uh the
total amount of the grant is $347,400 throughout uh the city continuing composting program pay for recycling bins for one and two family homes as well as offset salaries for the recycling staff next item is 1019
25137 resolution will award a contract the General Plumbing Supply for the purchase and delivery of plumbing supplies for the Department of Public Works division of buildings and streets total amount of the contract is $50,000 with a temporary encumbrance of $5,000 which is available on a DPW
operating account 1020 25138 resolution will authorize the award of a contract to Jewel Electric Supply Company to supply various types of electrical supplies for the DPW division of BU buildings and streets
total amount of the contract is $100,000 with a temporary encumbrance of $10,000 which is available in a DPW operating account next item 1021 25 139 resolution will authorize the award of a contract to
Lombardi door sales and service to provide repairs and maintenance of motorized overhead doors and secure barrier systems for the DPW division of buildings and streets total amount of the contract is $53,500 with a temporary in coverance of
$3,325 which is available in the division and streets building and streets operating account next is 1022 25140 resolution will to authorize the award of a contract to trius Incorporated to supply street sweeper
brushes and Equipment as needed for the DPW division of Sanitation total amount of this contract is $100,000 with a temporary incumbrance of $225,000 which is available in a DPW operating account next is item 1023 25141
resolution will authorize a reward a contract to RAR step DBA DBA fleeto for the purchase of Fleet Management maintenance software for the DPW division of automotive services total amount of the contract is $795 for the period commencing April
30th 2025 through April 30th 2026 funding for this project is available in the automotive services operating account director this a new software for us sorry is this new is this software new no just renewal it's a renewal okay
got it system we presently use uh the final one is 1024 25142 resolution with the authorized reward of a contract to WB Mason and Company for the purchase and delivery of copy of paper for Citywide use total amount of this contract is $80,000 with
a temporary incumbrance of $115,000 which is available in a DPW operating account great this this is uh um this paper is for Citywide yes thank you director thank you
Baker good evening council president members of city council I have one resolution for you this evening it is agenda number 10.9 resolution 25-1 127 it's a resolution authorizing an
award of a contract to Dell marketing for the purchase and delivery of computers for the new 911 Center under State contract for the Department of Public Safety Division of police these are items that of course we did not put
in under the lease because we had the funding and this is coming out of the reserve account in the amount to 74,000 $649 60 these computers are specially designed they're small form factor they
will be handling the network the uh mapping and the cad system these these computers are in conjunction with the the Radio Room upgrade systems from what we voted on last
week these are these are specially designed to handle to be working 24/7 they're never shut down no but I understand the operations but what I'm asking is we voted last um Council Mee
separate ex exactly this this was not covered because we had the funding for these so rather than try to lease them and put more money onto the lease we pay we for these outright if you look back at that quote this goes back to July of
20244 yes for the Le I I understand just wanted to have you on a record um as it relates to how detailed you were itemizing the budget how much it cost what was being spit on what sending it
to the council before time so we can take a look at it so we can embe exactly what is going on um and it goes to my latter point that other department directors don't do this and I just wanted to ask you is there something
hard to do that's it thank you Bob I just wanto Echo those words that that what you sent us was like spot on and explained everything and um you know thank you for that doesn't take much to do appreciate you thank you
Council same I call the same as my councilman colleague did righten good afternoon council president members of city council HHS has one item on this evening's agenda resolution
25128 agenda number 10.10 a resolution authorizing the submission of a Grant application for the New Jersey Department of agriculture's 2025 summer food service program I uh all right I'm good thank you I'm
good did you say play councilman I when the time comes thank you director [Laughter] Patel hello council president members of the council I have one item for the
division of engineering it's agenda item 3.4 ordinance 25-24 um this is an ordinance authorizing the execution of a temporary construction easement and access easement uh between the city of Jersey
City and FD Johnston Avenue LLC that's the developer for the property on Johnston Avenue right by gbrand Street near the light rail tracks where the Liberty State Park light rail station is this is a standard um agreement that we Ty quickly enter into with uh Property
Owners whenever monitoring Wells are required on their property to observe and test um water flow levels and quality uh so that's all this ordinance is doing the developer required um to monitor on their property uh over the
next 10 years and make any remediation that may be necessary I was going to ask about something uh not on the agenda if you could explain the possible late item regarding the uh engineer to you start the schematics for
the possible by claan sure um so we have a requirement by the grant that we received by New Jersey Department of Transportation for the Bikeway project um on Manhattan and Franklin Avenue which is to develop a
full design of the project that we would then have to submit to the NJ doot for their approval um and so we've received quotes and have prepared a resolution to award a contract to an engineering firm who would Aid in the development of those
plans it uh didn't make it onto this Council agenda um but if the council would like to add it as a late item we have it prepared um which would basically allow us to start the work now instead of two weeks from now I'll just
mention one relevant point which is that we have a grand deadline line which is in June and so we are required to get all of the plans developed um get the bid package together and um get the project out to bid and awarded by that
June deadline in order to be able to use the grant funding is is the money for this contract coming from the grant okay so no the money would be coming from the city's budget the grant will not cover it okay and this this but so this is
just for the the design of now with regards to the June that June date you're saying that we have check off a couple boxes before so it's not even a matter of us
saying all right we're going to go with this plan versus that plan you we would essentially have to have decide whatever that is and that will have to be in in either case um in either case we would need to have an
engineer on board in order to perform that work as you know we don't have any um license Engineers on staff within the city and we would need to have a firm provide those services to just start their Baseline work um regardless of
which design or option we went with but the so the issue um so from a from a pricing standpoint if if if if the entire duration is built out versus if
it's sectional or whatever the compromise is it's going to be two different prices right yeah so we we requested quotes um allowing for that and essentially what would happen is if we only had them design a portion of the
work that isn't the full length of both of the corridors we just wouldn't pay them that amount so like we do with every contract that we award um it's an amount that's not to exceed amount and so we would monitor that and you know if
they don't use up the full amount that's in their contract we're under no obligation to pay them the full amount I mean I I I think we we should add it um because at some point we have to make decision no need to you know keep
lingering this or long as long as it's clear that this is um not going to go full l or half length what I'm saying still discussions whatever the decision is is what I'm saying is that we have to do in this get rolling because you get
the quote for the full length versus whatever it else I mean I just don't see it a point in delaying that see okay as long as the council's okay uh introducing it as a late item um no
I'd like to rich said no we could walk it on rich said no he's not agreeing Rich this is this is just just the engineer this is just for the engineer um for them to conduct plans until the people are fully dis uh dis
discuss all the neighbors and all the people up there no we could still continue the discussions just like having the engineer design it is uh you know but yeah we'll discuss it we'll discuss it and let you know we put
for yeah I just want to make sure whatever decision is made I just want to emphasize that we would be using city funding order to hire this engineer and the grant would cover the construction of the plan that we finalized so
whatever decision is made should keep that into account um because we will be using City funds okay do you have a like a roundabout estimate how much it would be how much the city would yes fun for the schematics yes the resolution we
prepared was to award a contract for $162,000 for the engineering uh firm which is called FPA to develop those designs which would include the full design and the package that we would need put together to the project out to
bid for construction so that involves the engineering plans but also a lot of the other documentation for a bid package okay and then also um in the designs that were um I
guess constructed or the the um all the yet but the different options um were there conversations with police and five getting a lot of concerns Public Safety with creating that bike lane yes so
before we implemented the demonstration project which was the first action that we took on this after the Council approved us going out for this grant um my team and the fire department team and
OEM had several conversations about what the project would look like how long the demonstration project would last um you know what they thought needed to be refined in the design Etc um since then because we've been going back and forth
and I haven't had a clear Direction on which option we're going with I haven't yet had a follow-up conversation with them but that is something that we would do at this point because we would need them to weigh in on the final design even for basic things like running a
turning radius um test to make sure that the way the curbs are designed is able to accommodate a fire truck making that turn safely things like that are part of our standard process that we would run by them so so Barker um the the the
committee stopped me last week right after the council meeting and I did tell them that before we even entertain this to come to this step we were supposed to have a meeting with Public Safety your name was involved because at the last
meeting Public Safety said no to this project so I don't you know and the reason why they're saying like I told them I said I'm all for it but it it can't come at the expense of the community safety being put in the back
burner so I told them I said we need to make sure that Public Safety is on board because we have a St Joseph School of the blind we have PS number six we have another school there we have PS number 7 and we have the fire headquarters there
blocking that road is going to be substantial again I want to be clear I don't have a problem with with their idea because I think it's a great idea right but if Public Safety is
specifically saying no because they specifically said no we have to be careful because God forbid if something happens this council is going to be blamed for
something okay St I I would say that um I my Council colleagues comments that public safety did uh put up opposition towards the full length of the bike lane um they seemed a little bit more medable
towards the alternative plan which was Franklin but um we should schedule meeting I would still like to see this on the agenda I just put that out there my Council colleagues because we should have schematics and we could still have these discussions as you know we
continue but let the engineer do their work and we'll continue to talk on our side with Public Safety and um The Advocates um where's the funding coming from the funding for the construction would come from the New Jersey
Department of Transportation they have an annual Grant PR which is called the bikeways grant uh which is part of their goal to um Implement safe bike infrastructure throughout the state the funding for the hiring of the engineer
would come from the city's budget under our department for Professional Services so it's coming from your budget yes you have it in your budget I think so well maybe according to our finance department off check with
Finance we've identifi we need to meet with we need to meet with Public Safety concerning this issue though just add that counc one we make sure you all have a copy of the resolution so you can review it before Wednesday um and we're happy to facilitate whatever meting of Public Safety to make sure they're on board with everything and uh what do you
me what do you mean by that that right let them meet with Public Safety I'm telling you there's a lot of opposition when it come to the safety of of this they have to meet with them correct that's I mean by facility we're g to make sure that is we will give JC bike
false narrative here false hope that we're going to do something then find out down the road we're not going to do it but then they say but you guys passed it so why aren't you going to do it that's what we get afterwards some time the the thing is we're going to go with
something right I don't know Public Safety we don't know that's just it safy I think what you're saying is we're gonna have that looked at anyways right yeah that's what stud has to be done that what berer and youf is talking
about now is just them to put out the RFP for them to do schematic designs right would be for a full design so a schematic design would be like a high level concept saying roughly this is
what we're going to design out here's where something's going to go on the street here's how wide it's going to be Etc the full design would include all of that and very like inch by inch dimensions of how this is going to be designed how it's going to be
constructed if there's concrete work involved how that's going to be um implemented so it would be a full design of the project um of you know just one of the options whichever one is decided
and then that is the one we would submit to the do and say this is the one we're putting forward um and then they would then authorize the grant funding to build out whichever one we design uh whichever design in that specific area
in that area that they want to close off correct Franklin Street that I mean Manhattan Avenue we're talking about that specific area that design is for that area correct correct yeah th this whole thing is just for
that length of Manhattan Avenue and Franklin so so why wouldn't they have done that when they had the pilot we did so we did a concept for the pilot um we collected feedback from the pilot after
the demonstration project or the pilot um we didn't have clear Direction on whether there was support to move forward with it the way it was implemented and then since the pilot up until now we've sort of been going back
and forth on do we advance the do we advance the design that we tested on the ground do we change it how do we modify it so that's what's been happening for all these months and we've also been working on getting an extension on the grant for all of these months because it
was to expire um last year but because we didn't have a decision we got the extension for 6 more months which is what brings us to June of this year and the feedback you're saying is constituent feedback that you're getting
can we have some of those feedbacks because I I again like I was specific with with with the committee I like it but I want to make sure that the feedback is just not feedback that's going to the by JC people it's feedback
coming from the constituents of the city of Jersey City so with the um demonstration project that we did yeah we had a survey that was uh open during that period so that was again people in the area were able to take that survey so we have hundreds of responses that we received
uh we did summarize it and we're happy to yeah provide who is who is he sorry so uh yeah I'm Elias Gman I'm in the transportation planning I can hear you who are you Elias Gman I'm in the transportation planning Department oh okay sorry I just I mean Works under Mike
menzela as one of our transportation can I more problem you sort referenced this earlier but I just want to understand what is the timeline here and bringing the engineer in versus when ultimately we have to submit this I just want to kind of lay that out again um so the timeline that we're
working backwards from or the deadline is in June mid mid June okay mid June so at that date we would have to have already awarded a contract for the construction of this project in order
for us to be able to use the funds from the dot so working backwards from that um we would have to award this contract to an engineer to do a design typically we would want about two and a half months or something like this so we're already shortening that into about a
month um once we have a design we would circulate it and make sure um the other agencies you mentioned Public Safety also the council members can review it and give quick feedback we would finalize that design we would then prepare a bid package we would advertise
it we need I think 22 days is the minimum um that we would have to advertise that for um and then we would have to come back to council and award that contract to whoever bids on it our lowest bidder so all of that would have
to happen by June um and we are already cutting it very very extremely close to be able to even meet that because there was no agreement correct what pushed this all back and it's still like it sounds like it's still no
agreement yeah I don't I don't know if now right pressing us to do something but it seemed like you didn't have you didn't have no direction on which way to go it yeah it seems like we're split on on whether split it it seems like it to
me but I'm not the decision maker I think the the compromise plan is something that and I'm going to go with my conversations here and the council's happy to have these conversations with OEM and Public Safety that they they'd
be in favor of a compromise plan I think that there is a lot of resistance to the full length of Manhattan Avenue being a a bike lane okay or oneway bike lane and uh despite my support for it I support it I I put that on the record I support
having Public Safety like um basically looking at the whole plan and they they did and they said you know they have a hard time with the Turning of the trucks on Manhattan Avenue um they have a firehouse over
there so I think that the bike JC people can still meet with Public Safety we can still get the designs done I think that the the council should if we don't act it is like we made a decision here right that because we're cutting it so close
so yeah yeah making a decision absolutely and I think that we we should go through the steps just like step by step like even if let's say it all is a fruitless Endeavor that we tried that we worked
with the community we worked with The Advocates we worked with all the stakeholders Sid the bike JC You Know persing Field neighborhood association all these different groups but we I think we owe it to the community to at least continue move step by step and
that that's what I'm advocating for um it's not that the full plan is going to come into play or or the compromise plan but we need to have a dialogue with each other the engineer can continue to do the engineering work on behind the scenes um at least start with Franklin
Avenue and then if it comes to compromise plan yes the compromise plan start with Franklin Avenue if we can't come to an accord between Public Safety and all these dis different stakeholders then put the compromise plan up and that's something I told the bike JC folks as well so compromise let's let's
just go step by step I know it's a very contentious issue okay I'm not trying to shove anything down anybody's throat I know we're split and it's it's a very you know it's an election year but we we should go step by step we did the Pilot
We gathered the feedback you know it's by a school like Frank PS number 8 there are but the compromise plan at least in my eyes if you look at the school right most schools have the
one-way around them and Franklin Avenue is a two-way it's there there is a safety aspect to it and OEM said that they wouldn't be opposed to that necessarily so I think we owe it to everybody to at least keep the
discussion going to hire the engineer and to you know work work with bike JC work with OEM Public Safety it's not to say we're ever going to come to an agreement maybe everyone walks away upset because they didn't get
everything okay and I just want to just add because this is uh uh one of the things that I told the committee uh on the last council meeting was that when the plan when they did Franklin Avenue what was it going north what is it yeah
it's going uh uh West going west when you have Franklin Avenue going west and then you have the other side going east that's a recipe for disaster so I you know especially when we literally saw ambulances trying to get into that you know doctor's office that they could
normally they would make the right to go into that Cardiology Center and then make a left the and the the ambulance had to actually go down two blocks to make a right come down I guess it's Cambridge and then come back up again
that's like minutes that we cannot afford you know so again I'm on board but everybody has to be on board with it you know council members I don't want to take up too much of your time but I will say that it it's important to know at
this point if we're going to be spending City funds on hiring an engineer which direction we're going in the reason is that once we get to the point where we award a contract for construction I will be coming back to and presenting
ordinances for that change in the direction of the street so that is the major Council action that will be required in order to formalize that change so if it seems like that's not going to move forward you know we can conduct this study but I just want to
make sure everyone is clear that the the reason for this exercise of hiring someone is so that another vote can be taken later on to make to formalize that change that might not happen I mean again they spoke to me last Wednesday I
didn't get an email from them or or uh Public Safety to we had we had two weeks to have a meeting I'm sorry who is them no we had the the bik Chas see people they qued me in that corner right after the council meeting all of them right
there I was there to the we hours right there so Wednesday and we had Thursday Friday all of next week you know we need to we could have done something it could well I would I would just say that just to director's point is that what you're
saying is you you need the direction where you go forward we're on an extremely tight timeline so to me it's it's there's two options it's either we we vote on the engineering contract on Wednesday as Council Miss slay is asking us to do um because it takes you time once the contract is voted on you don't
have to immediately start working and then you get guidance from us in the two weeks following um which strikes me as the best sort of initial option uh but if the if the votes aren't there in the council it feels like then we have two weeks before our next meeting to have a definitive where does the majority lie
and move forward I obviously don't want us to this money go go to waste and make sure we have some um you know I think would be the first protected Bike Line in the heights but we got to get the five votes and then go forward so I feel like those are our our options right she just said doesn't make sense
if we don't think we're gonna pass it because she gonna have to come back that's her concern what did Kill the project for us to do this in two weeks to vote on this um uh contract in two weeks um I know
it's say it this way I at this point I can't guarantee that we will guarantee everything we need back from the engineer in time to be able to meet the deadline like we're already at that point now I just don't know we're going to push as much as we can because
obviously we don't want to lose the grant funding and we're going to try to condense that time period so they can design and get it done but every additional um change in you know where we're what we're designing what we're
moving forward whether we need to have more conversation um is just stealing away from the deadline that we have for the grant you should speak to everybody to make sure you have that's not to say that it can't happen I just want to be honest in terms of my assessment of the
time we have left appreciate it thank you it's not on here they have to bring it okay thank you Matt you out to see how everybody feels there's no need to bring good afternoon Council I'm here on uh two resolutions first one being
10.16 resolution 25- 134 this is a resolution uh to direct the planning board to study and recommend amendments to the bait Street Redevelopment plan bait Street Redevelopment plan is
adjacent to the Old Colony shopping center uh just uh West uh there has um attached to this resolution there has been a cover letter prepared and uh made part of this resolution it is from uh
Connell Foley Law Firm on behalf of uh llc's uh enumerated in the letter and they are they're asking uh for the council to authorize the planning board to study next one all right uh item
10.17 uh resolution 25-35 this is a resolution directing the planning board to study and recommend amendments to the Grand Jersey Redevelopment plan specifically block 1572 um and the use of Gilcrest Street
within the designated Redevelopment area Gilcrest is currently um if you walk by you might not consider a street um but it's right next the PS CNG substation and the and the hospital uh the similar to the previous
resolution there is a cover letter along with draft map and text um that are attached to this resolution Matt I just ask that you know we continue to M maintain direct
communication with the uh councilman's office and the community as we progress through just and can you just summarize the for for the grand Jersey what is um the this just a quick summary of the
changes that are being considered uh there is a site that's up along Mammoth Street and um and Grand Street that is requesting additional height and density um I believe that there might be
another Community facility component which I have not reviewed uh very closely at this time since we're not authorized yet but I believe that that's how it was submitted to us um and it will most likely trigger the io and include affordable housing okay thank
you good afternoon Council uh Brian rans with the Division of Community Development uh I have five resolutions for you today the first resolution is agenda item 1011 resolution 25-12 n it's a resolution of the
municipal Council awarding Community Development block grant public facilities program 2000 or uh 2022 unallocated funds and authorizing the execution of a memorandum of understanding with the city of Jersey City Department of infrastructure
division of sustainability for Citywide Street planting as you all know we receive Community Development block grant dollars from HUD annually and in our annual action plan we allocate a large percentage of it to public facility projects this kid be invested
in infrastructure improvements like this or it could help you know expand public facilities for nonprofits and other government Le agencies um last year the division of sustainability submitted an application for 1 million doll to help subsidize their um 2025 spring uh tree
planning initiative and it went through the underwriting process and they were granted $1 million um from my understanding the division of sustainability needs this award before they can go out to bid but pursuant to the regs for this award the trees will be planted throughout low and moderate
income areas based on the 2020 sensus data um those locations are still being finalized um and then the the terms of the contract will be pursuant to a competitive bid that the division of sustainability is administering okay the second resolution
is agenda item 10.12 resolution 25- 130 it's a resolution of the municipal Council authorizing the business administrator to execute a discharge a mortgage encumbering 425 427 Pacific Avenue on June 24th 1993 uh constituent
executed a mortgage and note in favor of the city of Jersey City to acquire um the property at 425 for 27 Pacific Avenue uh they used home dollars which was a grant uh provided by Hud um on December 5th 2019 the consentuous
transferred the property to her son um who's now looking to sell the property they requested um a calculation for how much was owed pursuant to the 955 clause and our office determined the amount was $64,500
uh upon the receipt of that money um BCD is requesting permission to discharge the mortgage I was going to ask about uh the 955 program do you have any like he finishes on agenda it is about the about the resolution he's talking about the
okay I mean I'll sidebar with you about it then not a problem councilman thank you okay my third resolution is uh agenda item 1013 resolution 25131 a resolution of the municipal Council authorizing the subordination of
the city's mortgage encumbering 362 Hoboken Avenue Unit 302 AKA 65 fle Street um an individual um is the owner of an affordable uh condo that uh has home uh subsidies uh they're looking to
sell the property and um DCd has already done the underwriting the purchaser is income eligible um and then they're going to assume the affordability restrictions throughout the term um the purchaser is acquiring financing that requires that we subordinate our
mortgage to their lender uh this is um because the lender wants to you know eliminate risk but also since it's a secondary mortgage um you know and we're trying to encourage affordable housing this is something that we regularly do we underr it the loan and we're sufficiently protected so we're uh
requesting that the council authorized the subordination of the mortgage okay the fourth resolution is a resolution of the municipal Council uh to award increased funding for the senior nutrition program and the remaining community service block grant funding for program year
2024 um pursuant to resolution 24- 620 in August of 2024 the council authorized a variety of awards to government agencies and nonprofits in the community to spend money um we received an initial allocation of $342,000 um thereafter we received our
second tranch and the second tranch actually included an increase of approximately $1 15,9 15 this is due to uh the fact that the fiscal year for the State uh often uh changes in the middle of the program year for this grant so um
if the legislature appropriates more money or um receives more money from the government uh the federal government that is then we usually receive a small increase and that's what that is um the city is hoping to allocate the increased amount of
$15,995 to the Health and Human Services seed nutrition program okay and then the last resolution is um a resolution requesting that the ba execute a discharge of Mortgage in Karine 406 408 Holiday Street in Jersey
City uh 1993 a constituent executed a mortgage in note in favor of the city of Jersey City for $52,000 under the home program um sometime in 2015 the owner sold the property to his son and a part
of that transaction uh they issued a $41,250 check to the city of Jersey City presumably to discharge the mortgage um the mortgage was not discharged uh but now the new owner is looking to sell the property uh and they can't sell the
property because the mortgage is still encumbering the property uh we did our due diligence um the settlement agent for the transaction showed proof that they sent us a check um we looked with the Department of Finance to verify that we received it unfortunately there's not
records from that time to know who the money received for but there is a ledger entry of this amount that was deposited uh so we're very uh confident that we receed the money and that the mortgage should be charged is wait and then I'm
confused because I thought it was the original so it's the original name the the name that's on there is indicating that that was the original
owner correct so when the transaction occurred in 2015 the transaction was subject to the mortgage um allegedly there was an agreement with the city at that time that you would receive the $1,256 and discharge the mortgage the
mortgage was not discharged but they never changed ownership neither they did the it's in the father and son have the exact same name oh so it's the same oh okay and we just
legal what do we how do no I know you guys weren't here but um allegedly a payment was made there has to be a way that we can verify definitively if we received this money
irregardless of how long ago it was we received like I said we received the the escrow statement from the settling agent and it showed a check was issued to us for this exact same amount yeah no no I I understand that
something that documentation showing that something was sent and documentation showing that we received something is two drastically different things the document retention schedule um is six years and from what we've been told any written documentation of the
transaction has been shredded and they didn't they didn't um scan any documentation at that time so we have nothing besides The Ledger in the system that was six years ago was in 2015
years we we don't have records from 2015 so the settlement agent at the closing they would have verified that the the check was taken out as part of the closing process so we're probably good here um we could move forward with
the discharge I just yeah oh man I just think we need some like we can't do business like this like we need to like we have we need to have
some type of documentation to show that it's for God's sake it's 2015 right but what I'm explaining couns on what they was saying is that we have the we basically have the title binder am I correct Ryan correct so at the
closing the title company is only going to ensure the property if all the outstanding payments that would have been required be made have been paid so the fact that we've got a title binder saying that this check was presented at closing to the city would show that the
we could rely on it as a receipt that the city got paid here here's my issue John right in an Ideal World we would hope that the tital company did everything that they were supposed to do right my problem is that we don't have
any concrete concrete evidence to speak to that everything right here is is is speculative and based on industry standards and I've done several closings where the people for forgot to collect the balance of the money when I brought my first affordable housing from Garden
State they forgot to get the balance of the down payment until I told him hey what am I supposed to do with this check here so this is not something that's far all I'm saying is that these 955 mortgages are
extremely messy there's instance after instance there's people living in homes we don't have the record of the transaction there people dead we don't have the record of these transactions and now there's a transaction potentially where the father transferred
the property to the sun and the sun dispersed set amount and we we I just don't understand how in 2015 something from 2015 we can't confirm if we received it or not definitively now are you willing to go
on a Recon and say that we've definitively received this money no that's my whole point but you want us to vote as the council I mean at the end of the day the
title company loses money if this didn't happen it would be a defect in the title of the property so can I say definitively that we received a copy of that check absolutely not is it likely
yes all right well I mean I I can't support nothing like that I don't know what everybody else is gonna I'm just I don't know man I just we gotta we gotta get control of this stuff man I just know nowhere else nowhere
else can I do business and is a potential of me making a payment right wouldn't it all be possible with the bank that the city used during this time wouldn't they have some type of
transaction what we receive and what we let out you can get a old back bank statement history I'm just you know you look into it okay I figure Bank could do it you just have to request it I know you do so I guess we had to bring it back again I mean I don't know whatever
y'all want to I'm not voting for it so I mean I don't know if we want to pull it till we get more information and the crazy thing is when I reached out none none of this part of the conversation came out I thought it was
essentially um a matter of the original owner wanting to get rid of the house now I come to find out that the father transferred to the son him and his son have the same exact name um does the deed speak to that the trans does
is there at least a transaction to Shield that portion yes councilman I have the deed right here and I have the summary of the settlement statement is common here Comm can you come up here for a
minute is like y'all drag me into this I'm not over there [Laughter] no hello um I guess I guess I've been listening in the back so to answer your question was in 2015 I got here in 2014 DCd employees at the time were not
required to go to closings um as it relates to real estate so if you have a title company going out and doing closing on behalf of the city or or the entity this is why our paperwork kind of sort of would be lost in a particular way I'm happy to like work with Brian and the team in regards to documenting
this file but ultimately if we have done our due diligence in documenting the request typically Banks when you go to get records it's like a seven-year window the retention records is a six-year window so we can do an extra check before Wednesday for you guys to
see on the treasury end where was it deposited and what the process was 10 years ago when you walked in but there was a lot of things when it happened in the real estate perspective that we were not doing that in the event that the constituent now is asking the now acting director to do the real estate aspect of
this I don't think it's proper to hold it up and I I get you um councilman I will give you kind of sort of the context and I'll review what I have or if this came across my desk in 2015 so everyone feels comfortable with this real estate transaction perfect okay thank you Comm thank you thank you
Brian sopia that's it for me thank you so much time just CLA yes he did he just [Laughter] clapped okay we are here for for 3.2 and
3.3 um Sophia from my office uh will be doing 3.2 which is the harder one I will be doing 3.3 which is essentially a typo and I have to fix it by ordinance um so this fixes the fees U for the
non-residential uh we realized it the first uh invoice how high it was so we have been Billing at the correct and lower price I just want you to know that um but this is the what we have to do we have to formally and officially change
the typo but I'm going to let Sophia go through 3.2 good evening evening I will be presenting item 3.2 on the agenda ordinance number 25-22 this is an amendment to chapter
345 article 3 application requirements development procedures and checklists and this amendment does two things first it clarifies our review procedures when it concerns review agents for subdivision and site plan development
reviews and it also allows approved plans to be digitally signed which makes the process more quicker when it comes to approving developments and more secure question
next sorry just what is the like practical impact so if if you know what will the person who's filing these applications experience based on these changes once a development is approved and a resolution is memorialized plans
come in right now physically to the division of city planning to be signed and stamped then we keep some copies uh at the division other copies are given to the app applicant they then have to scan those physical copies to submit
them for an application to get construction permits and this can take up a lot of time between coming to the division getting the plan stamped picking up the plans again scanning the plans submitting an
application and not only that but with the digitally signed plans it will be easier for us to confirm that the approved plans are what are being still submitted to get construction Cod uh construction per
permits for okay you is there a backup uh to those plans that are being digitally signed uh like where would they be stored other than um in the cloud like would there be a
physical like hard copy some not like physical paper but like you know somewhere stor a storage device like physical memory storage we would save them in our uh on our files on our systems right now we
save all of our um files concerning applications on City Computers not only that but there are also copies of these files on Tyler and so there will they will also be available on Tyler or the
online permitting and Licensing system thank you thank you good 3.3 e hello council members thank you uh G
gason from the division of afford housing uh I am here on item 10.15 resolution 25133 uh authorizing the renewal of our contract with intellic Inc that is the vendor that has developed our uh consolidated affordable housing portal
uh it's to provide support for both the software and the hardware in addition to any new and ongoing enhancements and designs that we find are needed as the portal evolves uh with continued use by our constituents um the contract will be in the amount for 38 $188,000 for one
year um of that $26,500 per month uh is going to be for um that's the whole total the monthly payment that we'll pay uh it's divided into $2,800 per month for routine security Audits and server
monitoring $21,200 for the engineering and development which is what we that's the bulk of what we need to do to serve the constituents respond to feedback any other needs we find as we develop the portal so that's the largest chunk is that for actually like R&D and making it
functional and keeping it useful and then the last one will be for $2,500 uh for space uh and hosting charges for the server any questions that I can answer about the portal or this contract
renewal thank you g okay thank you so much okay afternoon Council I'm Greg Cado I'm one of the assistant business administrators and I'm here with resolution um 1025 I had met with some of the Council
on this contract it's to take down a house that the council had purchased earlier in the year for the construction of the North District um I also printed some I'm sorry I apologize I wanted this to be connected
to the resolution it shows a map of the of the actual place where the house is so if anyone wants one I'll happy to bring it up yes just give it to Bandon well currently the house is empty and uh
I'm concerned that it could be a liability so we'd like to take it down um soon as possible and pave it over and make it nice and clean for our neighbors up there
and that this resolution uh approves a contract with Colliers who has done a lot of work for us including the uh lynen Avenue um complex DPW complex so they used to be called uh masers engineering and
they're going to oversee the structural engineering of taking down this house which we can't do in house because we don't have constructal engineers and we want to take it down as soon as possible and make sure that the house next door is is uh completely safe
because they share one wall then we want them to oversee making it nice and clean and sealed can I uh ask when is it do we have a date yet and if we do can we
notify the old homeowners cuz they the date of taking it down yes oh there's no date yet because action by the council will start the process but we certainly will um be ahead of that yeah as you know David Diaz is working with me on it
he was going to be here today but he also runs payroll and he wasn't able to be here but um yeah exactly it's very we want to be very sensitive to the neighbors I'm glad you asked that question because sometimes the city is not a good neighbor and so you know I'm
here 20 plus years and so so um that's exactly why we want to get on top of it um we you know the council purchased these two buildings without um eminent domain um properties I should say one
has a building one doesn't um so they were negotiated David did a great job because he's well known up there and that's because we want to make it as uh friendly as possible GRE so when they go through the process could you tell David to make sure um councilman s knows he
just want to make sure and that absolutely absolutely we'll do that first soon as we have the kickoff meeting when you approve this we will let you know thank you yes you're welcome it's um lot 39 that's the attachment that's coming off right there
yes and I apologize again that this wasn't connected to the and the and the rest is there's nothing there the rest it just goes straight through to Hutton yes that's one of the reasons why you picked that lot 22 is a parking lot currently so the way it goes uh
councilman what we wanted to do was introduce two entrances to the parking deck that's going to be behind this Police District Oh So eventually a parking deck is gone in this yellow area yes exactly and and prior to my invol
involvement they were going to have only one entrance which you can see it going to uh Sherman on the left the yellow M and um as you can imagine 24-hour access through one entrance would have been kind of disruptive the neighbors were
not happy about that so um the new design has entrances both to this parking deck to both from both Hutton and Sherman so it cuts down on the traffic um just for your edification the
yellow the front part of the yellow which is connected to Central Avenue that's where the police district will be and the there will be a four-story parking deck behind it as part as the
rest of the yellow currently the North District uses a lot of Street space to park their cars they do so this would eliminate that so private police vehicles who you know
police officers who Park their car there to go to work will be parked parking in the parking deck and off the street so any officer cars outside on the streets we want them ticket I'm once this is buil once this
building go up any officer cars outside on the street we want them ticketed is buillt make sure they get the ticket go ahead that is that is beyond my pay grade I don't have one of those booklets that I can put in the window Greg is
this parking only for that police Curr currently my view is that we could use it for the public personal view saying it's a four level parking deck right yeah it's four levels so there's I think plenty of spots um currently the police would like to see it that they
control it because they don't want people in and out it that they don't they don't know but it's um the uh the design has not happened so as we move forward councilwoman yeah because I can understand you know maybe them not maybe
them wanting to control the the traffic in and out of the parking deck for safety reasons but I just don't and I could be wrong I just don't see where they're going to be able to fill a four-story parking deck so either are we making the parking deck too big or oh
yes that's the question so so we're not in design yet we the city did design it the wrong way I'd say um uh before and now we're starting from scratch so definitely will meet with council
members to talk about it um we were building it I'd say too small and now it's now we're thinking seven stories for the for the building itself so that it can be used for the public um public meeting space rather than just uh police
and I think that maybe we can bate it and make it so that that that it is absolutely dis from its use you have to remember that police will be bringing prisoners here so they'll be what they call sally port where the yeah so they'll you'll need to isolate that
somehow okay but I don't see why that design can't be yes yeah with other people I mean we we bring prisoners to the north right now and we have nothing you know we have a well if you've ever been there it's a wreck that that place you can an area police station is a
wreck you know where the police officers they do their their their stuff and you know bring the prisoners to another area you you it doesn't all have to be for for the for the police district that's a lot of parking and in that area they're crying for parking exactly how I feel
that's why I think we should build it that big but but so what'll happen next council is we'll uh you know let us take this house down so it doesn't become a problem and then um I'll bring be bringing to you what what we're going to
do next I'm hoping that the the uh Administration will be convinced to do the way I did Jackson Square where we put all the risk off on some developer and um because it took me 11 years to build the West all right let's go thank
you great come on Amanda you know how I am I'm on a [Laughter] cell go ahead Manda take from the top okay so now we're GNA go back to the top um our first reading ordinances
3.2 to 3.4 were touched on so um item number 3.1 or city ordinance 25-21 is an ordinance of the city of Jersey City authorizing the transfer of city-owned real property identified on the tax map of the city of Georgy city
as block 14905 Lots 17 18 and 19 AKA 302 Fairmont Avenue to the Jersey City Redevelopment agency any questions question is is this for the park right yeah just a little background this was on the council I think back in October
um we went back before forth the jcr and the planning board so they can study the project together with each other and on the catch of the local councilwoman we're bringing the project back currently now it's parking so they just wanted to figure out what they could potentially build there and kind of design the specs before they just transfer over now we're at that point we can transfer it to the J and they can
put that out the bid so we can develop it the park right okay yeah man we good okay on to our second reading or do you need something um we have uh the attorney for item 4.9 here along with
some people from City Crossing if you have any questions on on this one um is it cool if we go to 4.9 now no they gota wait Sean they can't just oh it's up to council president ask it is I'm just listening here
everybody you normally go by order keep order God's sake sorry I thought we did it in the order of uh people being here to speak my apologies I didn't get anything oh they didn't sign they didn't sign
anything see that's how Okay council president start at the top yeah okay make it quick that's it got it you gota go all right we are on to our second reading ordinances okay um item 4.1 city
ordinance 25-9 is an ordin an ordinance amending chapter 69 special improvements District revising Article 2 Central Avenue special improvement district to be consistent with other special improvement district implementing
articles item 4.2 or city ordinance 25-10 and ordinance implementing chapter 131 construction codes uniforms adopting the updated construction site safety manual 2024 Edition and requirements for stand pipes and incorporating the safety
regulations contained therein by reference into chapter 131 item 4.3 city ordinance 25-11 and ordinance amending chapter 160 fees and charges amending the fee schedule for City owned and operated
swiming pools at personing field pool ponia municipal pool and Lafayette Aquatic Center item 4.4 city ordinance 25- 012 and ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 3 parking
standing and stopping amending section 332-4668 an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 9 parking for the disabled of the Jersey city code designating a reserve parking space at various locations throughout the city
item 4.6 city ordinance 25-14 and ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 2 traffic regulation section 332 d8 prohibited right turns on red signal to prohibit turns on red at all times at
multiple locations in proximity to schools parks and protected bicycle Lanes item 4.7 city ordinance 25- 015 an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 3 parking
standing and stopping amending section 332-2437 along 9th Street East of eie Street item 4.8 city ordinance 25- 016 and ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 3 parking
standing and stopping amending section parking prohibited certain hours at Danforth Avenue Early Childhood Center 160 Danforth Avenue item 4.1 city ordinance 25- 017 an ordinance approving a 23-year tax exemption and authorizing
a financial agreement for a multi-site affordable rental project previously renovated by Roseville Avenue Redevelopment urban renewal pursuant to the New Jersey housing and mortgage Finance Act of 1983 and amended and
supplemented njsa 55 colon 14 14 K-1 and the rules um proed under nj5 col 80-1 questions any question guys this is course
city they're they're coming up now good evening council president members of the council Jennifer Ma ma Za a wey with K&L Gates on behalf of Roseville Avenue Urban re uh urban renewal um Redevelopment and I have also
with my with me my client um David Ginsburg from um from the organization we're here to answer any questions that uh council members might have um this is a existing 131 uh unit affordable housing project um located in councilman
Gilmore's Ward uh this uh this project has two three four and five bedroom apartments uh with a very stable um um tenant base um the uh the applicant has done a number of um improvements over the years and a a very large Capital
Improvement in 2016 following its purchase of the project from the original uh developer and owner uh it was called Brunswick Estates at that time and they were the recipients of a 50-year tax abatement in 1982 um what we've what we've asked the council to
consider is um the cancellation of the remaining eight years of the existing pilot in favor of a new 23-year pilot which would be coterminous with the affordability restrictions on those units it would
result in an increase uh immediate increase in the pilot payments for the project from what is currently 6.28% um each year to 11% in the first three years and then um going up to 133% beginning in year four um through the
remainder of the life of the 23-year pilot if the council were inclined to grant that request um again we're here to answer any questions you might have uh questions about the the facility the project itself or questions about the pilot yeah I I um I I think I just would
like to have um questions answer as it relates to the transition is people going to have to move out and if they do it's the duration um and stuff like that great question thank you for the question councilman uh we are not
anticipating any relocation at this time or uh we completed the large Capital rehab project in 2016 and 2017 uh subsequently we did a complete roof replacement um last year didn't have to relocate any uh tenants at that time so
we're we're not contemplating any additional significant rehab that would result in folks having to be relocated we are uh planning a security upgrade project so new cameras uh as well as Gates um some siding replacement and we're looking into some additional resident services and Community items
but no relocation required so um are the inside of the dwellings going to be done over as well no that that all occurred in 2017 so we did a $17 million rehab in 2017 oh this is just for the outside uh and we did the outside as well but we're
going to be doing some siding improvements um at the time when we did the transaction uh we had an assignment of the existing pilot but no new pilot or new extension so we're essentially perfecting that now with the uh rate increase that Jennifer outlined
okay just want to be clear make sure I'm understanding it but um us voting on this 23e payment doesn't extend the affordability protection so it's already built in through your NJ hmfa work is that right the current uh the current deed restriction goes until
47 okay thank you question thank you thank you thank you okay um item 4.10 city ordinance 25- 018 is a franchise ordinance granting permission to St George and um the
Orthodox Church enr into the public RightWay way of the sidewalk along the frontage of 9 395 Sip Avenue block 11 180101 Lot 1 the attorney is here um he earlier emailed saying that there will
be a change he believes it's substantial but uh count uh you know Council will review and Law Department if you can chime in on that if you can go ahead and state your name for the record thank you honald Shin appearing on behalf of the St George Copic Orthodox Church uh this
morning I learned from my client that they had finally reached an agreement with the holdout property owner of a 25 by 100 lot along Sip Avenue and they have been pursuing this uh piece of
property for the last 10 years and they're going to close in about two weeks on the property so that will complete the entire site and it will be owned by them and I circulated a survey with a highlighted portion of the of the parcel to be
acquired uh I'm just uncertain if the meets and Bounds description in the proposed franchise ordinance that we've submitted to the council is going to change as a result of this acquisition and I want to meet with jesar Robin uh
surveyors over the next week and I could report back to the council if it can remain or if it has to be slightly adjusted in terms of the description That's the basis of the any want we pull it you want us to pull it we can put off the agenda in two right I'm sorry I
didn't hear you we could pull it off the agenda that might be the best thing to do since you're uncertain you can carry it to the March 12th meeting will that give you enough time we do that council president yeah sure yeah
okay okay a man we going to carry this one all right Amanda we're going to carry this one okay okay um on to our last second reading we have item 4.11 ordinance
25-19 an Ord an ordinance authorizing the city of Jersey City to execute an extension of a lease with the New Jersey schools Development Authority on the real property at block 21102 law 52 on the city tax map located at 70 E Avenue for the purposes of
temporarily uh temporary parking for the Via jerse City service um next we have public speaking portion no oh wait so with regards to John how long is it a n another
90day for this John or um ba uh That's Mike had represented three months yep 90 days and also I'm still waiting to receive um
information as it relates to I know we had got some money to purchase some electrical Vehicles so I'm just trying to figure out what if anything happens if we go with a different vendor other than VR so so the RFP for the transportation whether it be via or
another company incorporated it that they had to convert the fleet I Believe by 2030 but I'll check that for you councilman where we would help with that but sense that they have to convert the fleet all to electrical should that happen um the RFP also had two Clauses one if they were to find their own
location for the vehicle or whether or not the city would house the vehicles for us so as part of our selection is whether or not you know there's different prices for either one but ultimately we bring it before Council that would go before you guys as well whether or not we wanted to have them find a location or whether or not we wanted to provide a location I mean I'm
talking about um I think weed Grant funds I don't know if it was last year year before um and they and they got electrical Vehicles I'm trying to figure out what are they that those Vehicles belong to the company so we lease those
Vehicles right now for the company and as part of the next award it continue similar to that where releasing it but the vehicles have to convert to Electric by a certain date with them to your point depending where they' end up we'd need you know the ACT
infrastructure to support them point of clar ver ification is up to 90 days so it doesn't have to necessarily be 90 days so we get together this quicker we en course you know close it quicker they they need to go yesterday we have our request for public
hearing right now we have 10 speakers before I came down there were a couple more that were added um petitions and Communications are there any questions or comments we have 6.1 to 6.38 okay um officers and Communications
there are none report of directors there are none um we will then have our claims onto our resolutions 10.1 item 10.1 resolution 25-19 is a
resol March 20 2025 to be the Jersey City Public Schools Water Project day we went over for every other resolution so may I have a motion to adjourn at 5:30 motion motion made by Council person's
delay second by second second by council president wman all council members by acclamation please say I I okay thank you we are out of here at 5:30 enjoy the rest of your day for