good evening on behalf of the governing body of the city of Pake we welcome you to the May 7th 2024 city council meeting in accordance with chapter 231 public laws of 1975 ocate notice of this meeting was provided by resolution of the municipal Council adopted on June 13th 2023 setting forth the schedule of regular meetings for the year 2023 2024 said notice was published and posted on the city of s on the city hall bulletin board by the office of the city clerk please be further advised this public meeting will be conducted in person the zoom stream provided is for viewing only and is offered to the public as a convenience on April 19th 2024 public notice and zoom instructions for this meeting were published in the heral news and posted on the city of Pake website at www.city of p.com Council agendas instructions are also available on the last page of this agenda please be guided accordingly Roo please councilwoman Melo present councilman Garcia present councilwoman monz and council president sh President should we please rise Heavenly Father we want to thank you Lord for allowing us to meet this evening heavenly father as we meet this evening Lord we ask for a special prayer Heavenly Father for the Laurel family Lord that are experiencing Lord such a great loss and also for the Fernandez family Lord that also suffered a laws during this time heavenly father and we ask you to please guide us in the decisions that will take place this evening in your beloved name we pray I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all members of the council as you are aware you received a cover sheet um asking for a uh change um in uh item number 23 in your packet the version States under the now therefore the resolved of the city say the bids for the municipal parking deck be rejected and read vertis the new version which greets you when you came in States the same paragraph except the term is emergency traffic signal repairs rather than Municipal parking deck so if we may respectfully ask you to uh disregard the municipal parking deck in favor of emergency traffic signal Mr Mayor thank you thank you council president members of the city council uh those in attendance and those who will watch the online some of the events that have occurred over the past few weeks on Saturday April 27th 2024 we had our asphalt art event we had over a 100 volunteers that came together with us on the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Monroe an estimated uh again over 100 volunteers join with Easy Ride for a funfill volunteer paint day to make the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Morro Street beautiful and safer this in intersection was strategically so chosen due to congestion from V and foot traffic in the area the purpose of the mural was to increase visibility of the crosswalk and pedestrians to slow down drivers the winner of the mural design was Angelic Tero Vargas who was awarded $3,000 this is one of the first murals that we seek to do throughout the city again it enhances pedestrian and vehicular traffic and makes the area safer among the additions we're looking to do more bump outs in our curbs in order ensure that when vehicles are turning those who are crossing especially during school hours are safer also we wanted to share that our passport Clinic run by our city clerk wether Le Fus and her staff went uh remarkably well the city hosted this first passport Clinic where residents were able to get passport services without appointments just in time before the summer as many were planning to travel we had over a 100 residents come for service in a line that wrapped around the entire block Kudos and I commend the hard work of our city clerk in her efforts to bring services to our community it sometimes is a bit challenging for residents to get appointments to go get their passports but uh here in the city of Pasar clerk made it available for everyone to come right here and do it in fact it went so well that we're hosting a second one May 11th will have a second passport Clinic from 9:00 a.m. to 12: p.m. where individuals who need to apply for a new passport or renew a child's passport and take a passport photo can contact the municipal clerk's office at passport City ofak nj.gov for further details on the required documents to bring I believe that there are no adult renewals Madame clerk is that correct there are no adult renewals however if you had a passport when your child was a minor and they need to renew as an adult they can come in and have it renewed am I correct Madam clerk thank you thank you very much on May 19th we'll have our family bike ride at 1130 at Veterans Memorial third war Park as we have done in previous years for more information please contact our department of recreation 973 365 5630 our ongoing City projects are Colonel Johnson Park green ACR project I'm excited to announce that on April 25th um we received the incredible news that this vision for the Park's revitalization was recommended by the njd for a grant of $2.15 million so we're extremely excited about that as we move forward in enhancing even more of our Parks our cdbg storm and sanitary Improvement sewer line on Montgomery and marro Street was replaced three man holes on Central Avenue from Burgess place to Harrison have Harrison have excuse me Harrison have will be replaced this week our Columbia AV and Jefferson Street parking lot psng installed new service poles and contracted planted trees landscaping and the final electrical service connection is the only thing pending to open up these brand new parking lots and additional parking spaces in our city continuing using our NJ do New Jersey Department of Transportation Local transportation project funds we are creating ad a ramps or Americans with Disabilities Act ramps these are those curb cuts that make it easier more accessible for individuals in wheelchairs mothers with their carriages or parents with their carriages rather or individuals on bikes to get onto the sidewalk when necessary and appropriate we are uh continuing on these Ada ramps on Third Street Jefferson Street Hoover a vanh a Pake Avenue Montgomery and Monro Street on Market Street and 125 South Street We are continuing with our efforts to create a brand new river walk right downtown utilizing our waterfront property on market and South Street it will beautify the area and offer additional Green Space for residents to enjoy walk exercise along the river we receive funding through the uee Urban Enterprise Zone for this project bids will be open at the end of this month for this project continuing with our initiative of DPW driving through the wards to assess and fix potholes the roads have resulted in 85 Pooles being fixed over just the last 45 days I remind residents that the winter takes a toll on our roads whether it snows or not the cold weather the heavy trucks sometimes salting and preparing for whether it's going to be sleep or ice or snow again our Roads Take a toll but uh during the Spring we have our initi Ives to repair to pave and Mill and obviously fix po some of the areas that we have been working on dwasline and Amsterdam Main Avenue um burches Place additional 154 Main have Howard Henry barbar have Gurley Street near Brook Avenue Park AV Spring Street 10 Street South Street River Drive myle a from hoav to Monroe Bia Street Hughes place albon and Randol Paulis saav Westminster Place Park C Stewart Street and Tennyson for those who perhaps don't live on these particular streets we assure you that we will get we will get to your streets shortly and then lastly I want to take this opportunity a personal point of privilege to thank our Police Department our fire department our emergency responders all residents of uh the city who have extended their condolences during our department law I want to thank the chief for his most heartfelt eulogy at the funeral the efforts of our chief Guzman DC's the chief of the fight Patrick trenos it was a remarkable and honorable send off to our police officer who I will share was a dear relative of mind close to my heart I want to thank all the officials that came by called extended their condolences and all those who came from other municipalities police fire elected officials as well as state officials and Congressional Representatives who reached out as well as the governor who called officer Laura's wife personally and shared his condolences that is the extent of uh my one last thing I I did fail to mention that we also had the Cinco de Mayo event here in P I want to thank deputy mayor uh Juan I mean um forgive me Mr Jamie Delgado who uh stood there in my place and uh he gave the reef with the counsel General they had a most dignified event as well as Deputy Mayor Juan dudan for their their seminar and presentation in regards to uh youth anxiety access to social media and cell phones and help to prevent from uh falling into the wrong path with gangs they had over 200 individuals present at this event councilwoman Melo was there along with my wife who represented the city they gave out certificates and these uh remarkable leaders I believe they had psychologists present remarkable speakers officials and it was a great event thank you councilwoman Melo for stepping up and uh representing the city at this event and with that said that concludes my report thank you mayor thank you very much I I know it's not necessary to say but the council was obviously extraordinarily saddened by your by your family's loss um and to our Poli Department as well um forgive me sir you mentioned 1.2 million Grand uh two 2.1 million so I had previously presented an idea it began as an idea to turn one of our Parks into a complete water park um to have two ships created sort of a Pake pirate Park pirates of the Pake Caribbean or what have you we were still working on that that's not what we're going to stay with but those are some of the ideas we were throwing up on the board and um obviously when it comes to ideas and visions and the logistics they become important but funding is Paramount for the advancement and enhancement of our Green Space and Recreation opportunities for our youth as I often share there are a large number of young people who don't have the means to travel during the summer they don't get to do the trips to Disney World or travel out of the country or go around um our nation so the trips around the city become extremely important for their experience I often use this example come September when the kids come back to school and the teachers ask what did you do for the summer many of them draw pictures of where they went and it is our goal collectively to ensure that our children aren't left with uh pictures of just staying in their rooms or uh being limited to their backyard so this Innovative and great opportunity to really create a unique recreational opportunity we were excited because uh we received a grant and it was recommended $2.1 million it was a unique project and uh it was recognized as one of the more unique applications throughout the state I think we may have been the only one to put in the idea of creating a Pirates of the Caribbean Park in the city so sometimes these uh out of the-box ideas pay off I remind people that they are grants and competitive so if we don't receive them another municipality will receive them they are specific to the park meaning sometimes people go why can't we use that money for something else and and I use this example if you if you win a gift card to Dunkin Donuts you don't get to take the gift card to a AMC theater and say I want to buy a movie you can only apply for what the fund is for so we apply for Parks we get grants for Parks we apply for many other opportunities infrastructure and uh other needs but uh on this one we were extremely excited to receive one of the highest recommendations for allocation and we look forward to additional advocacy on our behalf in the process uh from our state representatives including our assemblymen and those who represent our district thank you m if if I may yes it's going to be a water park a complete water park so the difference is in many of our Parks we have a spray pad it's one of the components and one of the amenities among many other things swings and coming but this will be a complete Water Park the entire park will be focused on this considering the Summers and you know it's great living in an urban city and it is typical where you'll see the fire department hook up a hose with a few Hol in that hose uh the obviously h o l s on the actual apparatus um because I know the two words sound exactly the same we're not putting two different hoses together what I'm saying is that they'll poke little holes inside of uh the apparatus's water holes and all of the water comes spraying out this is fun but we've noticed a growing need for our children uh to find something productive to do in those extra hot days so the idea of an all water park but we're taking a pragmatic approach the the two amenities the benches and some of the additions will also be conducive when the season is done you'll still be able to climb on the boat and go down a slide in October when there's no water on it you'll still be able to have certain activity but in the summer it will be a complete water park in an area which was much needed Colonel Johnson Park is on Harrison right by number 10 school and it's adjacent to our school number 10 a block away from our Dayton Avenue complex so the proximity to many of our schools and one of our more um densely populated area make it an ideal amenity for our children to enjoy Recreation close to home where parents can go cross the street and uh maybe you don't get to go to a to a water park in South Jersey South Jersey is great but you can cross the street and uh enjoy this water park so we're very excited in the city un unbelievable uh my wife would come me if I didn't ask the question and that is will Johnny Depp come to CHR the park I don't know but we will send we will send the letter and the request listen P say got to have an astronaut come here white cleff John speak uh DMC came down to school number six and spoke so at this point we we're not afraid to reach out to any celebrity so we'll write out a letter and see if he would uh be interested in coming and promoting this brand new park brilliant initiative man brilli questions uh for the mayor at this time very good thank you very much we are on R numeral five of our agenda January 25 and February 6 for if you're listening to us now or present here in council chambers and you do not have an agenda and you would like one you can access that through the city's website we'll also provide you with all the resolutions Communications Etc that the council received and are the basis for tonight's meeting for the minutes of January 25 and February 6 of the city council are are there any additions or modifications that need to be made to the minutes seeing none at this time is there a motion please to accept the minutes as presented second motion and second thank you roll call councilman mon yes councilman love yes councilwoman mow yes councilman Garcia yes yes councilman monz yes and council president sh yes thank you the minutes passed we're up to ran numeral six please with your permission hearing of citizens in accordance with the open public meetings Act njsa 10 colum 4-1 at SEC the council opens every public meeting for comments of the public however in accordance with njsa 10 call 4-12 nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the discretion of a public body to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation at any meeting therefore please be advised that the council will not entertain any comments from persons who communicate obscene material make statements which are considered bias intimidation in which a person intends to intimidate any individual or group because of race color religion gender handicap sexual orientation or ethnicity or makes comments intending to harass or speak any offensive language the person who makes these statements will relinquish their lowed five minutes for public discussion is there anyone who would like to adjust the council at this time yes good evening Joe C sent the 170 Broadway council president I brought it up at the last meeting the property on 147 149 Broadway it's a health hazard it's a safety hazard um you got a roof coming down um they did a cleanup but they put all the garbage in the backyard now you got a whole big pile of garbage in the back the the the porch is coming down everything's coming down in this building um I just noticed to sign out on the door that they have a meeting tonight and they supposed to be bringing up this property I'm just wondering if the business administrator could give a little update on it on what they're going to do with this property um my next question is why are we paying $1.6 million on Main Avenue and venson Avenue on the flood area again once again um what is the plans what are you going to do with it s can you give me a little bit more understanding of what you're asking well you got $16 million to do a flood area so what are the plans what are you gonna do with that $16 million to stop the flooding how you gonna do it what are you gonna do because I doubt if you're gonna solve it it's been too many years like this it ain't going to be solved but anyway um my next question is the summer is near I would like to know if there's going to be a curfew I know there was one in place I don't know if they still man mandatory my last question I have here is I like to know since uh a lot of funding is going around maybe you can get a little funding on the bake Avenue and park place for the fountain like to see that back in order hopefully um somebody could look into it because uh my gesture is you need a uh a pump and you have recycle water so it's not I don't think it's a big issue but somebody has to look into it these are my questions I have very good thank you so much Mr Fernandez 14749 Broadway so that's part of a designated Redevelopment plan they have uh cleaned it up they were going to demolish but they wanted to get approvals before demolishing the building obviously to not spend additional funds and uh they're supposed to be heard um shortly so this even which board does that go so this evening it's it's for ex sizing a condition of approval and then it would go to the planning board for the final cyle plan so today would be zoning board for an excision of a condition and then following that excision they're able to go finalize the site plan and go to the planning board for final and preliminary site plan approval okay thank you um he also mentioned Main Avenue in 16 million and I'm not getting it council president we I this is one of the few times but I I would hope that you are a profit because if we received $16 million I say 16 million 1.6 million 1.6 I I was going to say I heard 16 million as well and I would tell you it would go so far so this is the first time we've received 1.6 uh because I believe the question was what are we going to do with 1.6 again it's the first time and uh the goal will be obviously to address the covert the specific area of concern and I believe that's going to be High Street and uh Benson as well as Main Avenue and Benson which uh often times when we have flash flooding conditions uh the water rises and as it sort of the best term I could use is bottlenecks in that area the water overflows out and creates dangerous flooding conditions we had uh presented to the state as well as the federal government uh dealing with FEMA after the major storm and the unfortunate loss of life some ideas working with council members with our Engineers to try to come up with solutions to mitigate the flooding conditions we proposed whether we would put a great right over the brook um whether we would be allowed to dredge the actual Brook to go lower and these weren't permitted um by the state by the environmental departments and groups that oversee um obviously what work can be done however we put in a plan after many conversations and working collectively as we often do to try to invest in some green infrastructure perhaps a expand the green area and narrow one of the roads creating a a two-way Road on one side closer to where you would see the tennis courts and the animal shelter and by creating more green space obviously reducing the chances of flooding that would result in dangerous conditions for others as well as most recently we reinforced the railing where before they were individual pieces now it's one contiguous piece connected making it much harder if a vehicle were to CR crash into it for it to come through it uh we also put up a barricade on the Main Avenue area to uh try to prevent anybody coming into it during these uh dangerous flash flooding conditions so the 1.6 will go a long way for infrastructure we added more inlets and storm drains so we're going to continue invest and then this is good and I refer back to uh environmental justice initiatives green infrastructure we will plant many many trees in the area that have practical purposes in sort of creating a natural barrier as well as being able to soak up more water in these conditions so $1.6 million is going to go to some of the uh Street elevation addressing the covert expanding the green area or grass area and ensuring that we have a safer conditions for those who find themselves in that area may can I can I expand with your permission sure another question Main Avenue or our primary commercial area commercial District I know there's some extraordinary and wonderful plans um out there we're still without any funding source there's discussion there's is there anything to that's coming up on Main Avenue yeah I mean there's so much that's coming up and again grants are competitive so we try to maximize our opportunities like we're getting $6 million for a brand new state-of-the-art bus terminal right on Pake Avenue and Main Avenue that connects from the train station down through Monroe Street the business administrator yeah please share the Eda $5.2 million yeah so we also received another gram from the state Eda Economic Development agency of 5.2 million that's for Van hton no that's Oh I thought you were talking about the five million for Van hton no that's that's that's a this is he said Main Avenue so the $5.2 million is for this including Broadway bake Avenue and the Main Avenue Central business district Corridor uh that was the grant that we just received from State no that's that's a great point you actually reminded me we also received $5 million for publicum station on Vanowen Avenue under the bridge by the train station so when I saw the five million it immediately triggered back to the flooding but yes we we are receiving historical funding from the state from the federal government to make genuine improvements and enhancements to areas around our cities investment in our commercial areas and I pointed to the $6 million uh state-of-the-art bus terminal because that's not only going to result in much needed transportation for a population that doesn't always have the uh the means to buy vehicles and need to get around but also it's going to open up space where the old bus terminal is for some creative funding sources and opportunities to see what we're going to do there with some of this money whether we create additional parking passive creation or move further on this larger vision of having a prominade down Main Avenue we still we still hope for that we still apply for that it seems like we're getting the money bid by bid in addition we received over $122 million for a new parking deck that's going to be built and I I would say optimistically but cautiously optimistic um that we may have that the next two years completed a brand new Parking Deck with over 300 new parking spaces right here that will benefit directly our commercial District this bus terminal that will bring people from Maine Avenue to uh Market Street where we have many of our restaurants where we refer to as our beastro district on Bradway so we continue to make uh Investments working collaboratively and I always say relationships matter our relationships on the state with Representatives our relationships in the federal government our relationships with the county have resulted in more funding for enhancing our parks for creating uh new fields for creating new opportunities you know two other projects and I don't want to go too long on it is we're moving along on creating the racetrack or walking Track in third wall Park rubberized walking Track to give individuals opportunity to enjoy just like we did down by uh number eight school on Fourth Street and by number 11 school so that's extremely exciting and we are very close to getting the full rubberized surface antenna park for the children making the recreation much more uh enjoyable and safe so we're extremely excited about the additions and the funding that continues to come in so if you consider the Eda $5.2 million for Main Avenue $6 million for the bus terminal $12 million for a brand new parking deck $2 million for this new park and Colonel Johnson this $1.6 million for flood mitigation in Benson an additional $5 million for Van hton Avenue the city of p in just the last six months have been able to announce over $30 million invested to our city and I would say that's not too bad for a city like ours not too better better man if I may not too bad for a city not too bad for this Council not too bad for our Administration and more importantly not too bad for residents that really care about Pake and continue to fight for our progress we we can do a lot more we're doing pretty good together and I think that should be recognized thank you thank you may' yes sir I believe we answered all your questions no you didn't no you didn't well then we don't care to answer I know you don't care that's the point I know that anyone else like to adjust the council at this time yes sir AR ma uh um good evening I would like to wish my condolences to the mayor and the City Police Department um as a summer's uh beginning um I'd like to say that our Parks has no shade unfortunately um I've gone to I brought my nieces recently my dear nieces um and I see there by the Tennison Park there's no shade and I went to other parks and um throughout different municipalities they have a like a overhang or something that create shade in between um my suggestion is either we could do create some shade by having a overhang or we could create some trees in order to prevent um sunlight especially um the sun is very powerful to children and creates and it can cause God forbid it can cause um Sun cancer and we don't want that um in our lifetime so my I would like to hear from our city to see what we can do for to prevent um the sun in our from in our parks that's that's the conclusion of your remarks yes um I know we have an active tree planting program with councilman mon I just want a question are you referring to this water park this new water park no in all parks I'm saying you I mean only comment I have is I I dressed um as tennis and park okay you know this this weekend I was walking through the park with my wife wife and um she says to me you know we take for granted this beautiful Park we have here in the city if you would have take this park and it would be another Community another city you would say wow they have such a beautiful Park correct you know it is so it's so um it's so pleasant to walk through the park and it's very very wellmaintained you know and I believe a lot of people from other communities come to to say you know there a lot of cars I said know these people are probably from other other cities it's a gorgeous gorgeous Park and I think that uh being that we live here we we we don't appreciate what we have you know and um there are a lot of trees in this park and there's beautiful trees and there's cherry blossom trees right you know there's no end to what you could do and um there are many areas of this are this park many areas where there are plenty of trees plenty of shade you so I'm not sure you know if it's so you know T is another area you know so so forth you know so just find find an area where you know you can sit under the shade if you want the shade you know but um I just wanted to comment how you know we take for granted this this park that we have in FA which is extremely unique there's not a lot of communities you you have 500 cities in the state of New Jersey I I I doubt there are more than a handful of cities in the state that have Park that look like ours Council if I may to dat uh over the last four years we've planted over 700 new trees in our park we keep a record through our DPW of how many trees we put in the city and specifically in our Parks I know in Tennyson there were three major trees they were cut down three of them there are specific reasons why trees get cut down when they die considering the storms and obviously children they become weaken or compromised and uh the DP W our tree team or our tree division as council president had referred to earlier has an obligation a duty and responsibility by law to have to cut them down um the other reason would be as I mentioned Tennyson Park is going to be uh resurfaced the whole ground is going to be rubberized so we are looking to see how we can address the issue of having to take those trees that were compromised and obviously after the rubberized surface to see what other amenity we can add but to councilman Monk's Point yes there are trees in every single Park I mean we've added an additional 700 over the last four years which is extremely exciting but uh these are the reasons why trees would be cut down either specifically because they are dead and they pose a public safety concern or there is work that's going to be done but I assure the public that anytime we cut a tree in the city in a park we end up planting more than what we cut sometimes twice three times or five times as much you thank you mayor thank you councilman Love Yes um actually the the mayor articulated what I was going to talk about with the trees um and just to add to that um when you're spending that kind of money for rubberized surfaces you you have to eliminate some of those trees we can't control the roots and how they grow and before you know it as the May pointed out you have a safety hazard because now you have wavy um a wavy surface with kids trip Hazard and all those other things and Council monk articulate the best um and we do that everywhere there there's not shade everywhere any part and if we get uh we go into overdrive or we overheat we walk away and we go into the Shaded area right and um or we go into the spray ponds which is not too far and and we get wet and we get out of there um I'll tell you as a parent you want your kids to get some sun um and as a grandparent I definitely want him to get some Son for uh for a lot of reasons so that by the time I get home they're sleeping and they wore out so um so I have to agree with councilman monk that you know our Parks um and in fact in in a very short time under this Administration has transformed into Oasis of parks and I'm talking about surrounding municipalities who who claim different counties who claim to have so much funding and money with what we get these Parks is is immaculate um I don't know if you have the opportunity but if you just go to each one of our Parks um whether the weather is nice or not um people are out there they're walking the tracks they're using the exercise equipment um daily I mean sometimes you can't even see the the surface of of the park and the grass because there's just that many people uh on a regular basis so um I just wanted to you know speak about the trees and and the shade as well thank you councilman anyone else wish to address the council at this time there's a motion second motion and second to close councilman mon yes councilman love yes Council M yes councilman Garcia yes Council goz yes and council president Sher yes thank you we're up to r a numeral 7 of our agenda ordinances for second and final reading a hearing is required number one proposed ordinance 2446-20 an ordinance amending the designation of restricted parking for disabled persons by New Jersey license plate number is there a motion please to open public hearing motion and second roll call please councilman mon yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes Council monz yes and council president Sher yes thank you ladies and gentlemen at this time the council will be deliberating proposed ordinance 2446-20 is there anyone who would like to address the uh the Council on this issue and this issue only see second motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman L yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes Council M monz yes and council president Shar yes thank you on the ordinance is there a maker please motion second roll call please on the ordinance Council Council love yes Council Melo yes councilman Garcia yes Council monz and council president sh yes thank you and next please with the council's kind permission proposed ordinance 24 47-24 and ordinance amending chapter 259 streets and sidewalks of the city of paic municipal code to include requirements for keeping sidewalks adjacent to handicap parking areas clear is there a motion please to open public hearing someone motion and second roll call yesc Love Yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes and council president Sher yes thank you ladies and gentlemen at this time the council will be discussing proposed ordinance 2447-20 is there anyone who would like to address the Council on this item and this item only yes sir your name for the record please AR Mac I'd like to um get a clear understanding what is this exactly um like what exactly is in the agenda of this I'm sorry I'd like to know what exactly are we on the ordinance did you have the opportunity to read the ordinance yes um but I'm not understanding it very good Mr Fernandez uh so council president this would keep the area adjacent to a handicapped parking space clear of obstruction uh the mayor had received a number of calls and concerns regarding handicap parking spaces and he requested that you know it would be clear of any debris so that someone who has difficulty getting in and out of the vehicle can do so without any obstruction and this creates a penalty for those who are found to be obstructing those parking spaces thank you Council left please yes uh quick question Administration and mayor um so these handicap spots tend to be a little tight sometimes in residential areas um so I'm putting my garbage out I have quite a bit of garbage how do we determine whether I'm in violation or not I simply that's a good question councilman and I want to clarify that and of course we receive concerns throughout the city and we don't arbitrarily decide to create ordinances based on one or two calls we try to do our due diligence see what has occurred in other municipalities speak to our Engineers talk to our attorneys and see if things are legal and then once they're vetted we present before the council with these initiatives we've seen an increase in handicap vehicle parking we don't designate handicap that is done by the state once some because it's Motor Vehicles that's a state agency you get your designation as in handicap individual then you apply in our engineering department in order to be approved for a designated space if the uh particular block is condusive for one of those handicap spaces and it hasn't been maxed out you receive a handicap space what we're seeing with the increased spaces especially by our commercial areas where there's mixed residential and Commercial individuals were placing their garbage right at the edge of the sidewalk almost by street level build up the handicap space if you're handicapp and you already have some concerns in terms of getting out of the vehicle they were having a challenge opening up their door and getting out of the car the purpose or intent of this ordinance is to ensure that in that parking space you're not blocking the access of an individual to come out of the car now the sidewalk is wide and you are right it can be a bit subjective forgive the term if someone's in it are you blocking the pathway for pedestrians or are you blocking the car to come out we believe that our ordinance that was pass through the city council at the wisdom of the council and at the advice of the engineer limited a certain amount of handicaps per block so we feel there should be sufficient space where you can place your garbage without having to block and handicap space however like any ordinance if we find that this has become more of a burden than a solution then then we would bring it back to the council to readdress but we have received enough concern from community members going we're seeing increased amounts of garbage blocking these vehicles and the complaints have Justified that we act uh in order to try to assist individuals that are already facing challenges while they're driving they shouldn't be blocked into their car because someone put in five or six bags at the handicap space because they figure the other spaces are free thank you any other uh comments on the ordinance seeing none is there motion to close public hearing second motion and second roll call please to close councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman mow yes councilwoman Garcia yes yes councilwoman goong monz yes and council president Sher yes thank you on the ordinance please is there a maker so move it second councilman mon yes love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman colz yes and council president yes thank you uh was that on the ordinance yes yes very good we're up to number three please with the council's permission proposed ordinance 2448 d24 an ordinance authorizing a short-term tax exemption for property identified on the official tax map of the city of pic is block 3 3220 Lot 27 corresponding to 437 paison Avenue in the city of pic New Jersey is there a motion please to open public hearing M second councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman garciaa yes councilman monz yes and council president sh yes thank you ladies and gentlemen at this time the the council will be deliberating proposed ordinance 2448 d24 is there anyone who would like to address the Council on this item only see no hands I move to close the public portion second motion and second to close R call cman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes yes councilwoman col monz yes and council president sh yes thank you on the ordinances their maker please second motion and second roll call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman go yes and council president sh yes thank you that was on the ordinance again yes very good we're up to Communications R and numeral a on our agenda items four through 4 through 11 is it six uh four through six that wouldn't do it are there any questions please on items four five or six seeing none at this time is there motion please to accept items four five and six motion second second R call please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes Council Garcia yes Council goz yes and council president sh yes thank you all matters list is are under consider to be routine in nature separate roll call please on 16 are there any questions on 16 see none there motion please to accept number 16 motion and second on 16 only counc yes councilman love abstention councilman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes yes Council and council president sh yes next please on items 7 through 15 roll call please are there any questions pleas on 7 through 15 second Council memb and seconds roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes Council monz and council president sh yes thank you very much we are up to resolutions resolution REM numeral 9 number 17 resolution authorized close executive session in the of the city council ma'am do we need close session no council president thank you Mr Fernandez no council president Mr Mayor sir not at this time thank you sir members of the council so why don't we take 17 off we have before us 18 through 34 council president respectfully 30 and 31 separate separate vote on 30 and 31 are there any other questions councilman mon question on 22 yes sir contract for 2023 NJ dot Safe Streets is there are the intersections already identified where the where these funds are going and specifically what is what are they doing to these intersections Mr Fernandez yes um so the base bid is for Pake and acri Avenue traffic light uh the alternate bid is new traffic poles and the second Alternate which is all included is additional ada8 ramps above and beyond what the mayor stated in his report uh on Pake Avenue and Prospect thank you thank you on item 24 again this is we had a discussion earlier about the brook right and the Damage uh flood damage so I would imagine this also includes between Pennington and high that piece as well right after crosses over H Avenue if I can ask you to a little B Lou sorry does this include between Pennington and high as well or is this specif or is this for along the Tennison Park this resolution for contract design so the design is going to Benson Avenue from Pennington including High all the way to main so the design similarly to kind of what the mayor was alluding to was to see how that area right how far that money will go to get us from All Points clearly addressing the focal point which is more between high and Main which had the highest level of flooding especially in that High Street kind of dip uh so that's where the focus is going to be on but it's it's G to address as much as possible from Pennington all the way to Maine because the area from between Penington and high a couple of years back we spent a lot of money with the design but it didn't work right so here we're talking about a quarter of a million dollars up to a quarter of a million dollars for design how do we hold these Engineers you know the feet to the fire that they designed something that doesn't work first I'd like to know who do we know who designed the last as in the same group okay um we sorry I mean we spent was a million or whatever it is in that area and as the mayor mentioned um you know help didn't allow us to do things which we wanted to do like to dredge it out more widen It Whatever It Is What has changed I don't think Trenton has changed or these organization these organizations have Chang in terms of what their guidelines are what they let us do what not to do so short of you know things change changing from the top from Trenton in terms of the the why are we spending out another obviously I understand it's it's going to also entail include other areas which we didn't do before but here we're spending money again not just to hear that we can't do anything so so uh if I could shed a little bit of light on that and you actually hit the nail on the head with the limitations for that section of the canal right so we weren't allowed to make it wider or make it deeper okay so some of the things that have happened Pennington Avenue the the bridge you know over the covert was redone and um just thinking about count right the county the county covered the cost of redoing that bridge to allow a better accessor flow into the canal and what the mayor stated on green infrastructure is the focus of this design right so you can't touch the structure of the canal so it's going to focus on the green infrastructure and another key point that I don't want to just skip through that the mayor mentioned in passing was the elevations as well so some of the issues that happen on that section of vening is that the in that would lead into the canal is actually lower than the top of the canal so that created an issue flow right back into Benton so the elevation of Benton also has to be addressed which is all included in this design the first discussion was from Broadway to Maine just the canal nothing on either side of the canal nothing on the roads so that's why you got new walls and things like that but you didn't touch any of the exterior areas of the roadway except for Chang I want to make sure that the public and those who see that years you right not to I would propose that we have seen an increase in Flash in the storms and that's very different from before forgive me I'll share that those are points are extremely important to highlight the funding we received years ago and the design which all of us have expressed our frustration and we understand with the resources limitations that this particular uh service was provided by this agency we can debate that another day however it involved the entire Canal from Broadway here the difference now is we are concentrating on this particular area and we have received increased funding we have also resulted in the unfortunate loss of life we've had three lives l so this historic funding that lets us focus in a specific area whether the $5 million by vanon under the underpass or the specific money that we've received for the entire Benson Avenue it allows for inlets the green infrastructure which after seeing some of the work that we've already done and over the last three storms i' I keep sharing it we saw reports on the news of municipalities adjacent to us they were still flooded days after the storm we were clear the very next day we drove to we went to DPW we went out with our Engineers we went on Facebook live and showed people the very next day the parking lot the inlets the elevation of the roads the planting of the trees it appears to be working so we're now not focused on investing on what possibly might work we're looking at what we've done and saying let's expand on this according to the recommendations of our engineer working with our colleague and getting suggestions and then going out there and saying this is working a small scale let's expand upon it so the money right now will be concentrated from Penington all the way to mayna and I think every suggestion we received and as as perhaps as weird as this may sound you know the unfortunate loss of life the devastating impact of Ida resulted in FEMA coming here to the city Mr Sean notet director of our DP our EPA or Environmental agcy in the state walked with myself and assemblyman Sh so we had some of the individuals that make those decisions right here on the floor saying this is what we need to do so I would propose that I feel that what may be different now is because of the extenda circumstances surrounding the area what we can't do in the actual Canal of the brook we're going to do so much around it and we've seen it already start working I I'm no professional it I just I don't understand coun I'm sorry I'm sorry I mentioned a few times I I don't understand how I understand but planting the trees that soak up more water yeah I'm not sure again you're hiring someone for a quarter a million dollars I'm sure they'll give you a better you know hopefully that money I'll do it for half you should have just got to that from the beginning c listen you know if I so I don't know how trees help in flood flashing trees help when there's great rains it soaks in flash flashlight is not going to help no no okay this helps afterwards but remember it's all of this together so the street elevation the addressing the coverts putting in the additional inlets the cover itself is going to be the main focus the one on Main Avenue obviously making sure that the water can flow through the canal and the brook into the Pake River instead of over spilling when we did the parking lot which became a benefit obviously the men to the park for individuals to come and enjoy the park but what we also were able to uh eliminate is in terms of the design prior to it the permeable surface of grass it came down almost like an Hill so when it rained the water that was coming from Brook a right in front of the animal shelter was meeting the brook water that was rising and creating sort of this temporary ponding or in certain cases with the horrible storm dangerous situations a river that was being draw off once that parking lot was created in with the curb the water is no longer meeting the water on the other side so if we can create more grass space and then plant more trees obviously because the trees here's the other part it becomes a natural barrier meaning cars don't easily get through there into the brook so with the railings with the trees with the additional grass that helps but you're right you are correct it helps more the few days afterwards because we seen that ponding last sometimes here for two weeks which isn't safe especially in the summer time because it becomes a breeding ground from mosquitoes so there are many practical benefits that come from the trees and as well as the maple trees have been show to absorb more water than even the willow trees so that will even uh expedite the process of the water being soaked up and better for our parks in general because when when that occurs I propose and I don't want to go too long on this we become more privy the public goes why do you guys know so much about this because we sit through these meetings our council members and ourselves for long hours what happens is when there's a lot of ponding and the water is for a long time it compromises the tree and when the tree is weak when you end up with a storm with strong winds it increases the likelihood that that tree will fall so preventing that accumulation of water the additional trees has so many benefits one it preserves nature and really helps in terms of the environmental groups and receiving more funding as they see that we planting trees but it also prevents the ponding mosquito greeting and it helps to not have those roots compromised when that water is there saturated with water and also people get to use the park more when it's not full of water the few days after and then there'll be more and more shade I want more sh that's the thing I left are there any other questions yes council president coun please yes resolution 19 resolution 19 sir yes uh 25 uh license plate readers what with this additional purchase um how many would that bring us up to Chief could you help or Mr Fernandez okay so we have approximately six lense plate readers and uh this is a uh grant that we received um not a grant a gift we received from the uh from the state last year been in consultation uh with the administration uh about how to make the city uh safer with these license plate readers uh trying to catch up through technology in any way shape or form so Nows that unre unregistered uninsured are automatically read as you drive by and we and we get alerts we get alerts and we got them in in in strategic locations in the city our locations entering the city exiting the city some of our major thorough fars and we get notifications instantly um that helps us with stolen cars that might be using crimes this is this is huge uh because this should definitely have impact yeah because before was the Antiquated way right calling dispatch running and they run the plates and hopefully Trenton gets back and time before the crime is over with yeah once the crime is done and we then Trace back where this car was we can actually follow a car through town um by it um triggering the license play readers and then of the mobile units that we have uh in the bureau uh letting us know instantly this car is a dislocation so this is going to be significant okay all right ju a question uh for administration now they said the extended warranty is is only one year so what was the standard 30 days so I mean now the warranty I mean that's the manufacturer warranties that they have on these things um usually it's one year and then you buy an additional year that's the typical okay on the on the on on it and that's why you get the extended so technically we we're GNA have two years warranty somewhere in that neighborhood the one that comes with the manufacturer and then the kick in okay all right that that makes a little more sense all right coun councilman mon please quick question these are for the cars or the to place around the city I he two two different things here car these are going to be at permanent locations throughout the city going be at permanent locations we have car technological point to view the Russian I'm sorry this these are for permanent spaces so for example city right okay I didn't think that came no and it did I'm glad you pointed that out yeah that's uh it's almost respons yeah so TRS Council woman said for instance this is a big tip we're going to have one right over here coming coming off the highway you know one of our one of the places where certain people might come into town and right away it'll trigger hey you got a stolen car um unregistered vehicle right away it'll let us know this is huge yeah this is this is this is big yes um our chief who is a professor in college criminal justice he uh he has shared this often there are studies that show that crimes like catalytic converters that are taken and we've seen that spread throughout the state censors off Vehicles usually occur with individuals coming into a city doing the crime and trying to find the e access outside of the city having these strategically placed in the points of entrances and exits out of our city will help not just to be able to investigate and capture individuals but with specific signage can prevent these crimes as individuals may come into the City and read smile you and your plate has been record it's things that we talk about potentially doing but we want to make sure people know why we're doing it because it automatically catches license plates and let police officers know if something is up do any of our officer Chief have to be trained in this no be it just set set off an alarm that this is a uh stolen vehicle for instance it's an unregistered vehicle it's you know like councilman love said that we would called in plates that were suspicious crime has changed I mean people used to just come in with their cars or whatever now they're they're stealing cars right there issue in the past uh where people were stealing cars and then using those cars to commit crimes Andes and the recent past in some of our Major Crimes this is the pattern they steal cars and so we might be able to catch these cars the day that they're stolen or the day before not after the crime occurs how does it work in terms of I updates must be constant yes it's instant who provides that information it's through the system it it we we have program certain individuals have program so we're still in in in the phase of who's going to have access or to the notification um right now we're looking at our commanders from each shift um to have access to this um and the sergeants the supervisors to have access eventually I I I would imagine Envision that uh you know every police officer will know there's a car on there other systems or is this the only one there's a massive dat information goes on so you have the state you have municipalities you have count as the chief mentioned a lot of these crimes there's a stolen vehicle we've had incidents where Vehicles were stolen from municipalities far away and utilized in cities like ours or neighbor municipalities for a crime now the reported vehicle from let's say you know you can go as far down as South Jersey as sever it reads immediately that that car ENT turned into Pake now the chief's notified obviously our department but because it's a massive database the state is notified notified so they can work in a more collaborative effort to try to prevent any additional crime and stop the vehicle where it's at so are there other departments in our area other municipalities that have these systems in place um just one more example I could give like so a crime occurs we have a plate but it's a stolen plate um it'll still trigger that that stolen plate that car was in uh Clifton Garfield we can follow the pattern and and from that maybe even deduct that it might have been involved in another crime in another town or or what have you and it's good because if one municipality miss it is not the right word but doesn't see it quickly then the other municipality will call one municipality might not be looking for that car we might be looking for it because it's something that happened in our town but Garfield might have it in their town they were in their town I want to the crime occurred at 11:15 and then they left town into Clifton at 1225 and and we piece it we piece it all together with technology is is has become a a significant resource for uh um detecting crime preventing crime so so but this is this is this is big I've had several conversations with the mayor about um how we could best locate these and and it's gonna it's I think it'll be a game changer yeah council president I may u Chief in the beginning you talked about the the source of funding that this is coming from how what what is that it was American Rescue yeah it was it was I think it was 147,000 something like that that it came it yeah I think it was the end of last year yeah it's it's not coming out of our pockets okay now is this something that we we would be able to use like the the I don't know the right terminology but the uh forfeited funds like when we take confiscated funds and cars and things will we be able to um use that for additional if we have enough funds forfeiture funds can be utilized and police equipment and Depends technology technology but some of the more expensive technology we obviously we defer to the Chief and the police department the prosecutors we we sometimes don't get the that much Alliance share when when it's a major crime if we're working with the federal government if we're working with the c there are times obviously through forfeiture funds that we can fund certain equipment and that's a huge benefit to our taxpayers okay all right thank you I have a light on yes just um quick question I don't know if this will pertain to this with these um new technology will this also be able to measure noise at some point anyone who's I've seen municipalities are they driving by yeah so that that that's a very important and and good question councilwoman um and and during this time we start to see noise levels increase um that's something that we we we are looking into moving forward uh so you're asking are there Technologies yeah there probably is the quality of life Chief is this this is what happen I want to make this very clear what occurs for our police typically someone calls and says the neighbor is playing loud music especially at night time 1 two o'clock in the morning the cops show up the music gets lower cops leave they receive a warning the cops get called again they come back the person lowers the music sometimes they lower before the cops even get there because the neighbor has already told them the cops are coming lower when the cops come the cops give a fine they receive the fine they leave they lift up the music I will share with the council that I have asked our City attorney to explore the possibility of confiscating the items that are creating the loud noise that if after a certain amount of time meaning if the cops have to return to your place not throw a number because we are exploring this and I've asked the chief and the attorney because I received so many of those calls if our police have had to go to your property three times you know that's obviously a resource that's being used that could be on the street F in crime there's a cost to our city if we have to keep responding to the same location whether or not in terms of the investigation of whether or not there was loud noise your entire equipment can be confiscated brought to city hall and then you can come in and claim it again and we're exploring those options because at this point we need to make clear to individuals in our city that your music is great for you guy ADM I'm a little older when I was younger I loved playing my music loud in the car now that I'm older I'm going I'm not interested in your you should be listening to your music in your car I'm not interested in that song keep it in your car same thing in my house I think you can enjoy your music without the entire neighborhood having to know what you're enjoying it becomes difficult but uh we are exploring additional options but yes there is a particular level of noise councilwoman as to what you're asking there is equipment that we can measure I wanted you to understand the challenges for our police when they get there if they show up with the equipment to put down that music's already been lowered yeah but I was thinking more since it's capturing the plate say a car is driving by this this plate number then you could just mail the ticket and I utilize our officers because they're busy doing other okay so so for that that's at the discretion of the police officer if there if so for instance I when I used to walk the beat cars would come by with the music blasting I would pull them over or call for another car to pull them over I would issue a summons um and yeah that's just that doesn't need much technology um to to to enforce it that way as far as a music reader or something like that's might be a little more difficult thought I shared colle on 18 18 through 29 and 32 through 34 are there any questions further we're looking at 18 through 29 and 32- 34 seeing no VES at this time is there motion please CL accept some more is there a second motion and second roll call please councilman mon yes counc love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia councilwoman col monz yes council president sh yes thank you on items 30 and 31 are there any questions please seeing none at this time is their motion please to accept 30 and 31 move it move it the chair will second second for purposes of a vote councilman monk yes councilman love sttion councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia Council council president sh yes thank you we're up room numeral 10 on our agendas ordinances for introductions in first reading number 35 an ordinance amending the designation of restricted parking for disabled persons by New Jersey license plate numbers is there motion please to sit down for second and final reading at our meeting of May 21 is there a motion please motion second and second roll call please councilman mon yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes Council yes and council president yes thank you number 36 please a bond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements by the city of pic appropriating 14,700 th000 therefore including a grant in the aggregate amount of $10 million from the State Department of Community Affairs 525,000 from the city capital Improvement fund and 475,000 from the city Reserve fund for parking improvements and authorizing the issuance of $3,700 th000 bonds or notes of the city to finance part of the cost thereof is there a motion please to accept for second and final reading at our meeting of May 21 second motion and second councilman monk yes thank you specifically what is this These funds um going to be uh expand so it's it's to build the parking deck here across the street on state andake but but I thought it was a grant that we're getting from this so we're getting $10 million uh from the state and then the rest of the funds are from um our accounts that are specific for parking improvements and then a bond of $3.7 million which will be offset by the uh shed service agreement with the parking authority so ultimately the city would not be B funding for it it would come from the park well the city would be reimbursed for The Debt Service by the parking so so it says here the bond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements by the city of sake appropriating 14.7 million so the bond is not 14.7 no the bond is only 3.7 that's correct okay okay yeah they they required us to put it that way okay and we had to move the the grant Reserve into the the capital and that's why this is written the way it's written so we're only we're only borrowing 3.7 right which will be reimbursed The Debt Service payments will be reimbursed by the parking where where does the parking authority get their money from to pay to pay to pay our bond to pay for the cost of Interest the meter collections the meter and the ticket collection so it's it's it's not it's pretty much the same as what our current agreement is if you recall the SIM agreement was made by this Council and the parking authority when they purchased the parking islands in the middle of Maine Avenue that debt has been paid off which gives them the opportunity to be able to enter into the agreement with the council to for this debt so it's it's it's just you're just switching from the parking Islands was paid off and now we're switching it to the parking deck same same same type of agreement so the parking authority to date has no bond there are no bonds the bonds have um happy to report thank you for are there other bonds that the parking authori is paying for no this point nope but I just just understand prior to the creation of the parking authority those dollars of meters right the the those quarters went into the general fund of the city right if I'm not mistake the reason why the parking author was created was to give them the ability us stability right to bond for par and so forth yeah the only Point reason I'm making this point is is that this cost us even though it's being paid by the parking authority but it's costing us us meaning us the residents to pay for this because those funds meters typically quarters from The Meters right typically go into paying for your cost of running City home right cost it does does I just I'm making this point is that we shouldn't look at it as this parking deck is not costing anything paying off this 3.7 million dollars is money that was from the is from The Meters money from the meters typically goes to a city to cover their cost of payroll whatever it might be or or I would I would Shar and I think you make a valid point what would we have used the money for which would be the discretion of the governing body the council the mayor at the time when this was changed the benefit of the cost goes to the residents right we're putting a parking deck so if the money if if we received it in our own funds and say we're going to build a parking deck we're getting a parking deck you're getting streets you're getting the the point I'm making the fund if I may because we're talking now about several aspects in terms of specifically how does one utilize debt um with this scenario the money is there's no new money here it's all being recycled from one city agency to another city agency and paying it off that way the short-term proceeds in fact short-term assets um are in fact just that the money conducted from The Meters if you notice when it was done and there was a lot of controversy when we set up the Parking Authorities you will remember councilman um and I think this might predate you ma'am I I know that counc Council um but that's exactly what the funds are for and one of the basis of the funding this way is because it doesn't affect the credit rating right I appreciate that yes correct that was one of set up I just I I again I'm not debating the deck good thing not a good thing it's for the residents and so on so forth right I saying the salary you mentioned the salary which I think is important parking enforcement salary are paid through this yeah if we didn't have parking authority we would have to pay their salary or not have parking enforcement either way it's going to the same people who are going to enforce the uh parking around the city right but if if those quarters could pay off a $3.7 million mortgage bullet right mean there a lot of quarters just we understand but those quarters will be added to a lot more quarters coming from the parking garage from the parking deck that's that's what we for proceeds with the parking so and the cross seeds are to the city and are to the city's benefit because they're in fact controlled by the city right so it's not as simple as enough okay so that's what's the analysis of how many how many how much money do you think this deck based on occupancy right based on X amounts of spots based on what's percentage is each spot typically occupied at what cost how how long would it take us to pay off this no we're building a $14 million structure I'm sure we have some anal what's the cash what it's going to bring in from those quarters based on EX occupy based on how how often you know typical SP that must be we spent I'm sure we spent we hired Engineers or Consultants this also the money also has the borrowing has to be approved by the state of New Jersey as well so what are we expecting this thing to drive Revenue to to our parking auor I think that would be an answer for the next counsil me so we can give you an accurate number because if we pull obviously we would consider how long it took to pay the islands and when began to receive uh additional funding that helped to pay to enhance our our parking enforcement to create more meters to buy more meters and bring in more Revenue but to have that exact number of a projection or an estimate number of a projection of how much revenue would come in with 300 spaces the time that it's going to be used I would I would ask that you give us to the next meeting so we can give you our numbers and not pull numbers on thank you and what kind of paper is this work in terms of duration uh 20 years okay 20 we're on 36 are there any other questions on 36 that the case is there motion please to accept 36 Move Motion and second roll call on 36 please councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman go monz yes and counc president sh yes thank you payment of bills are there any questions on the bills as presented by the clerk seeing no lights at this time is there motion please to accept the bills as presented so motion second and second thank you roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman yes yes thank you administrator's report Mr Fernandez not at this time counc president Mr Mayor sir yes I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the reelected commissioners of the Board of Education commissioner Rodriguez Danny Rodriguez commissioner Judith Sanchez commissioner Ron Van ranser they were sworn in yesterday at the Board of Education meeting and I want to congratulate the new president of the Board of Education Judith Sanchez and the new vice president Maryanne Capers I share just as a matter of uh potential history that was made this may be the very first time in the history of our city where we have um a woman as the president a woman as the vice president a woman as the superintendent and a majority woman wom board so obviously as March was women's history month and we celebrated so much a couple months ago it is a milestone a glass ceiling that was broken and we recognize as we continue to celebrate our diversity in our city are many many cultures which uh enhance and brings so many benefits to our community also the month of May is Jewish Heritage Month in the United States of America we want to wish all of our residents of Jewish background happy Jewish Heritage Month uh here in city of Pake and around the nation and the world as we celebrate all of our communities during their specific month of Heritage and that is uh extend of my report thank you very good thank you sir the business properly advertised by this Council for this meeting is there motion please to return some more motion and second to return we call please to return Yes counc Yes Council Melo yes councilman Garcia yes counc yes counc president thank you this meeting is returned