[Music] birth meeting Today is April the 21st
2025 and the time is 6:35 p.m This meeting has been duly advertised in the city newspaper in conformance with the open public meetings act otherwise known as the sunshine law Roll call please Madam
here Kimona present Barlay present Open present Travis present Swson here Thomas here all in attendance First we have um a presentation from Lifewise
Enterprise LLC aka the California Avenue project [Music] Uh quick very quick Good evening Um council mayor Good evening Um thank you
for having us tonight Um two things will happen tonight Um as you all aware back in February council approved the transfer of Savage Collaborations at Counseling Avenue to Likewise LLC Okay Now it's a time to be
introduced for those who are not only need to be introduced to some of the principles of likewise but also pursuant to our master development agreement Um likewise is to come and present to council what it plans to present to the planning board um for review and
recommendations before they go to the planning board So they're here tonight to give you a presentation of what you know the first phases of their California Avenue redevelopment will look like As a note they've already made an application to the planning board CME I've heard tonight has deemed that
application complete So after this review um it's likely we will make the next planning board meeting um in June in June Um the uh I'd like to introduce Scott Cahan's one of the principles Bobby Divine is one of the principles Uh
Mark Lax is unable to make it tonight Uh he is still in Montana He's a little bit under the weather but I think they can do the job And they'll introduce J Shulo as their project engineer who's doing the site work Uh thank you Welcome all
Thank you everyone As we said my name is Scott Kian Um what we try what I tried to do is make a little pamphlet to kind of give you an idea of exactly what the greenhouse is going to look like Um just some pictures just some little story
about us Um the experience last page has a little bit of a revenue projection Um we've asked J Schul our professional engineer you'll see this in the pamphlet but we just wanted to kind of give you something a little bit bigger to look at
on the phase one which would just be this indoor greenhouse and the trimming house that's next to it I know you just received it so it's kind of tough for me to ask if you have any questions but the important is I really
wanted you to see the phase one also in here There's there is a future of what it would look like once the site is completely built out So I thought that was important for everyone to be able to see that And then we wanted to actually show you we put a couple progress
pictures in here so you could see what the actual prefab greenhouse is going to look like This is an exact replica which you would see out there will match this picture [Music] ident So as as Rick mentioned in his
intro um there's a redevelopment plan that this governing body adopted a long while back for this site on California Avenue which is in the upper corner of the city right on the border To the left of that yellow line you see is a township To the north of it the top of the sheet is our seat On the right side
you'll see the landing So this is about a 20 acre piece um that's currently vacant It was approved a long while back to be developed with residential and sack for a long long time redevelopment plan was updated to include industrial uses specifically to be able to do what
we proposed here with cannabis grow and as Scott just described the the first phase that one building is what's shown on the plan now that's what's before the planning board currently so that's technically all that we're seeking any kind of guidance or recommendation from the board or from the governing body
tonight um we will be on as Jackie mentioned June of the planning board is a step as part of that process in the redevelopment plan and agreeing that states that the city must review and endorse the project as it show We've been working on this for quite a while As you know there's been a couple different partnerships coming through
You'll see that there's not only the site plan that shows the the greenhouse but there's that yellow line in the middle of the site originally and still do proposal subdivision to divide the piece generally in half but it will all remain in common ownership and just be different say farms of the same company
doing in addition to The planning board is approval in this gardening body action We've been before the county already for site plan approval and subision approval Um that was last month before February was actually February So
um we have that site plan approval upon approval by the planning board We'll seek a couple other smaller remaining approvals but the intent is to get in the ground as soon as possible This is this group has chopped out to get moving and hopefully quickly to do that We very
much appreciate any input and any questions you have we're happy to answer Anyone council has any questions um I know it says in here you're going to be using LED lights correct and they
you know don't have as much electric usage and everything But are you looking to put like a solar component in on that property at all to cut down on your electric bill and the amount of usage that you're taking off the grid my understanding is that well the
greenhouse itself the roof can't be covered because we need the light to grow So we don't put the the solar on that Taking up ground space with it will detract from the build building area So if we do it'll be very limited It's not a component of the project
And once you get approval what is your timeline to shovel ready we have the greenhouse pretty much already bought and kind of because of the long leave tariffs and everything like that So we've kind of gone ahead on good faith
and kind of secured stuff So we are as soon as everything's ready we've already started engaging the architect is almost complete Same with the engineer So our goal would be shovels in the ground by the end of June
Just got to get your building permit Building permit and we'd like to purchase the break write the check to the city and purchase the property immediately I I'll just add real quickly to the uh the light question So these lights are
really used when there's not enough sunlight So um they won't be on most of the time As clouds roll in and whatnot they'll come on and you know increase and lower per light spectrum and whatnot
So ideally the lights won't be off Just put the shovels in the ground Yes Yes please Um and with the county already looking to pave the road we actually went ahead and reached out with the
water department and the gas company to get the utilities brought to the site So even though we don't know the property yet but knowing that they were going to pave the road they worked with us So everyone is very eager and everyone's really working together as a really
cohesive team to try to get this you know moving forward how many employees and what type of skills uh will be required for those employees So all the skills are everything that could be it's
a lot of like irrigation So one of the things we will be doing is you're going to need a lot of local employees a lot of people that live here is what we're really looking to do Um Bobby I'll let you kind of Yeah So each greenhouse should have somewhere around 12 to
15 So and then we're going to you know more to process and whatnot But as far as you know there'll be a lot of entry level positions and then a lot of opportunity there Um like at my last company for instance uh our CFO started
working for us as an assistant manager at one of our stores for $17 an hour She's in a very very different position now So you know it's there for the taking please There's opportunity for career development Absolutely
And uh but I'm sure you know that we are host to a a one-stop employment facility right here in the corner in the center of town And we would uh highly encourage
engaging with them soon and let them know what you need who you need and they will they will assist in recruiting testing and uh any employee preparation
etc We our population has the lowest income in the county and we are definitely concerned about increasing that demographic So forward to see how I got it together
Yeah we'll have some job fairs We're we're really going to be canvasing to get as many people because as Bobby was saying besides people there you need people also on the sales team So that's just in the greenhouse but then you're going to have other opportunities to
make sure the product is known out there to all the different dispensaries up and down in the state I have a question Can you tell the community a little bit about your um business prior to this Yes Prior Yeah
Well the expertise Yeah So um we have a a track record in Montana Let's see I uh I started the last company I I've been working in the industry since 2004 but the last company was started in 2013 And
um I don't know that we were the largest in the state We were always in the top three but definitely the industry leaders I I know as a uh you know politically I've passed citizens
initiatives there and whatnot but uh I I really feel that we're at the forefront of the industry in Montana No question about that Um I worked really heavily with the states develop regulations and whatnot Um and I'm really excited to
bring that to Jersey just what I see here It's a very new industry As you can see from our pictures you know we've done three very successful green houses like this And in my opinion this is really the forefront
of cannabis growing in the US And it's it's just so much more efficient and a healthier environment in general From what I've learned and I've done it all over the years I know that a lot of companies are coming into New
Jersey They're building big indoor that cost a lot of money and time and they're going to need to recoup their investments So they're not going to be as competitive I believe as we can be in
the market as well I think that quite honestly the people of New Jersey deserve a better shake Um but you know Mark and I have We work really well together We kind of cover
different aspects of the business but um we're really passionate about it We love creating a team an entity You know this company is an entity It's not just us It's the people that work for it and just really excited So but as far as
our track record there you know the company is still doing well I don't own it anymore and I'll be happy to be back on the east coast I grew up here I spent 30 years out west
Thank you What parts of Montana did you operate uh uh well we had a cultivation in Bosezeman and Missoula Um at one point we had five stores there Since I sold the company they decided to move to more
of a wholesale market There's only one and that's in Missoula but that was the uh highest grossing retail in the state of Montana every month um for the last five years And I mean
everyone else um how many companies have you had in the past canada only Um different models because this industry has been evolving for a while right and
um but the last one Spark in Montana we really built a very uh reputable business aside from the cannabis aspect you know just for business alone very transparent business profitable
business I'm really proud of that fact to take it from the humble beginnings of a medical market to a very transferable business that I was able to sell and hand the keys over to you know easy feat
So how long have you had stayed with each company what's the longest you stay in the company um well that would be uh spark that one um right around 2013 when I started that
model and that was kind of all inclusive in Montana We didn't have a wholesale market We had to produce every product that we sold for a while So I we entered talks to sell in 2021 So that would have
been seven eight years I stayed with the company in and out till last year So almost 10 years You can stay with us I'm not interested Honestly this one's I'm not interested in selling I've been down that road and
I learned a lot from that So it's it's kind of uh also fun for me to build a business with that mindset Go ahead and tell thank you for the presentation Um given the proximity of
the investment to residential areas I would like to know what measure of security you intend to institute Security you said yes security So um we will have a 24hour guard check there that you will have a um remember the
exact height of the chain link fence Was it eight or was it 8 or 9t and there was barb wire around it Um I've already been in talks with some local um retired law enforcement between Pleas and Atlantic
City that have now gone and opened up their own security companies So what we're trying to do is we're trying to keep everything local I want to the security couple company We want them to be local to here someone that understands the area but also is
familiar with the Pleasantville at Carver Township AppSin the police force and that so we actively we're talking to about three different companies right now Great Thank you Anyone else on
council go to You said you'll be taking possession of the land suit Is that what you said you once we get to a certain point then um I think it's when we get to planning boards FPS plan approved then we can
then we can purchase the land and then put in for building Okay So after the planning board meeting will you be purchasing it outright yes Thank you You say you're going to start in June right when will you be finished i would
think that probably sometime in end of September beginning of October I mean because it's a prefab unit and that's where some of the pictures you'll see It's really coming in there and pouring the footing foundation Once you get the slab on grade everything else is
going to go up fairly fairly quickly Really quick It's It's actually amazing And the top of this is um flexing actual glass not flexing It's it's
of water I mean you know we're using these in Montana so we're used to it was 30 below zero and with the snow load So yeah we think we can do Okay Did you say you were on the planning
board calendar for June june it's they're scheduled for June if um their application just has been deemed complete and they're on the um June agenda for the platform Yeah that's what Okay that's what I want We love to be
soon I can push it up to us Any other questions council all right Thank you all for coming and once again welcome to close Thank you I appreciate it Good luck tell Oh you should have been here yesterday
Maybe we were You should have been here I was glad you're [Music] [Music] We haven't seen before [Music]
Good evening Mayor Warden Good evening Jordan Rizzo with CE I have the first quarter engineering report um which seems to be growing quarter by quarter So I'm going to try to get through it but please stop me um with any questions along the way or you can send them to the end whichever you
prefer Uh first thing uh is called various pump station Improvements Um so this is an I bank funded project It's really looking at all the existing pump stations throughout the city and really improving them and upgrading them Um
this is probably third in line of our IBank projects So the design is just about complete although we're going to be looking to put it out uh to bid after a couple of the other projects um that I get to shortly Um but this one is at
this point primarily designed and we skip down to Walnut Avenue Park Uh this is the CDBG projects Um I'm going to start So this one I'm sorry Jordan you said um the pump station already has been designed It's
designed Okay We're just going to kind of put it in a series of of diving projects So they're the other two are Bridgewood and then Bay View We just want to push those out first get them in motion and then we'll work on the pump stations Okay
Thank you So Walnut Avenue Park uh we were looking at drainage improvements here There was areas of ponding There was a CDBG grant Um but through uh Kenya's efforts we've been talking to uh the ACIA and been
able to try to move around some of the money and put it all towards one project so that the whole thing is hopefully funded So we did look into these strange improvements but we did also pause it at the moment um because on next page I
have various parks improvements Now this is tennis courts at Le Avenue um resurfacing a basketball court at Max Manning and then the installation of bleachers at Crescent Park Um so we were able to try to shift
some funds around through CDBG um allocated towards this project This you may recall this went out to bid twice was rejected twice because the bids came in too high Um that allowed us to then go ahead and negotiate with the contractors Um so over the past few
months we've we've selected West Bay Construction Um and the project's essentially been awarded to them at this point So they're probably going to be looked to do this project starting in spring Uh next is the rec center gym floor Uh this one is also primarily
designed uh partially funded through uh both again CDBG and also DCA However there's also a pending project for the rec center roof The roof Yeah Jake first
So uh the roof is going to come first So we're going to table the the floor until the roof is all complete right and then the next one is I'll call it senior center multi-purpose building Um this is still in preliminary phase at least from my office standpoint Uh we recently had
a a conversation with Bobby in Kenya and we're preparing a proposal to do full sight plans start to finish uh for this project that's forthcoming And then 2024 CDBG application I don't
have much of update on this Uh the primary focus on this one was the soccer fields at Tilton Road Park Uh we're just waiting to find out if that award that grants awarded the city from CG Um moving over to the DOT projects
now First one is Any Boulevard This one's been completed for some time now Now it's just on maintenance bond and that's through August 2026 Similarly the next one is Decar Avenue which is also done and that's on
maintenance bond through August 2026 Uh next is three rows Tunis Avenue Harrison Avenue and Prospect Avenue All the work there is done on maintenance bond through next month So next next quarterly report this one will probably
qualify uh Dowy Road This one is primarily or almost done with construction Uh there's a few punch list items left but visually it you know looks done at this point We're just working with a contractor to finish
out the list And then very similar to that is what we call phase two It's Park Avenue They run almost parallel Uh that one's just about done All we need to do is mill and overlay the street So that's all we have left There
were some drainage issues which we discovered recently Um we're kind of monitoring that I don't think it's anything to do with this project Um it just happens to be that the low part of the road is here I think it was backed up from from downstream and plus the
leaves and debris and the inlets cocked it up So that's been handled by DPW As far as I know there hasn't been any issues recently Um but we're just going to monitor it and as soon as we build comfortable we're going to do the final page and then that project will be
complete Next one Black Course Pike Um this is the streetscape improvements Um concrete trees trash cans driveways things like that All that work is is just about done at this point There are a few punch list items left that the
contractor is working through Um but again visually it looks like that one is is done uh the phase two of that black course bike skate improvements Uh don't have much of an update there We're really just awaiting authorization but um we're tracking a an
award requirement of the end of May Um that's a federal grant Um and some of these I'll kind of go through quicker because there's not much update The next one is old turnpike That work has been completed and that's on the bond through February 2026
Um just an FYI it's not a capital project but we recently had a pre-construction meeting with uh what was a planning board project called Casanova and they're doing a building addition on one of the the retail buildings there So they're kind of filling in the gap on the north side and
they're also doing off-site sewer work They're extending the main um maybe like 100 ft and then they're going to be repaving the road where they uh where they extend the main Um next is Leeds Avenue North Main Street and Washington Avenue This is a
2022 safe route to school grant from the DOT Um however the city uh previously elected to use the the DOT assistance program Um next I have Ridgewood Avenue and Clattis Avenue This is also an IBNK
project and it's a DOT project We had the bid opening a couple weeks ago on April 8th and we had a low bidder of Ferazzi Um so we recently reviewed it We made a recommendation to award it Um although we're waiting for the bond
ordinance to pass So that will be uh likely awarded to the the contractor in May Um the next one is bike path This is from Decar to Milan is lighting improvements and this is on the agenda tonight to award to the contractor uh
it's Hughes Electric and then similar to that is Green Street Improvements Uh this is between Main Street and Franklin that's also on tonight to be awarded to Marendino Next is uh South Franklin
Boulevard and Bay View Avenue This is a combination of roadway improvements and sewer extension This is the third I bank project that I I mentioned in the beginning So we're currently on a six-month extension for this project through Oh no I'm sorry That's this one
We requested a six-month extension from DOT Um so that would take us through September assuming it's granted and um we're balancing both DOT and uh I banking for that So As soon as the DOT
gives us the extension we'll then circle back with I bank Um and then that'll be the final thing we need before we can put that out to bid That one no that one hasn't um been put out to bid yet So you don't have a
contractor Next is Lraine Avenue This one uh we're waiting for authorization design work but it needs to be awarded by October 2025 Um the next one originated as Second Street Third Street and Fourth Street However the the grant from the
DOT really just covered what would be one street So we're trying to scale that back It's just going to be Third Street And then there's a separate grant application that went out um and for the future to pick up Second and Fourth Street Uh but for Third Street needs to
be awarded by November 2025 And again my office is just waiting authorization for that one Uh Woodland Avenue and Route 9 intersection This includes like uh crosswalk signals and curb ramps Uh this
is uh to be awarded for the DOT by November 2025 Bikeway 2024 This one includes bikeway striping along Franklin Boulevard between Black Horse Pike and East Road Um again this is also November 2025 to
be awarded for DOT Um I have Glenwood Avenue This is required to be awarded by uh June 28th of this year And again my office is waiting authorization on that one And then pedestrian safety um improvements
This is uh radar signs LED um stop signs that will kind of be located throughout the city um to be awarded by August 2026 And then we're just waiting authorizations to start that one
Um bus shelter This is by the uh bus station also would include pavers lighting bike racks and landscaping That's both DOT and DCA Um again just waiting authorization on that one That is to
be hopefully that's awarded by next year And then last one for DOT is Windsor Avenue and Richmond Avenue That's to be awarded by November 2026 Um as far as storm water management for the MS4 permit for the city the one
thing we're tracking right now is due at the end of this year it's uh it's basically a state statewide requirement um provided it's a watershed inventory report and then with that it's a storm water infrastructure map So it the state wants everybody to outline outfall
locations inlet locations uh flow through pipes Um really it's it's good benefit to the city but really it's the state too who wants to make sure that they're they're tracking all the information for every municipality in the
state Um the next one's really just a reminder that in 2023 our office did an inventory report for all the streets all the sanitary and uh the whole bike path So um when future grant opportunities arise we look at that list and we can kind of see which which streets we want
to try to tackle next And then last but certainly not least is the Lakes Bay Unity Park project Um just drove by there for tonight It's definitely taking shape It's starting to look good Um all we need to do is grow
some grass and I think we'll be uh ready to open it Um all the structures are in Picnic tables splash splash pads in the the jungle gym is in um stone paths So within the next month I think we're
going to be ready to wrap it up Um they need to pave it you know the track Um but yeah the landscaping's been planted Um and yeah it's almost complete So
certainly an exciting project that I'm sure everybody's looking forward to utilizing Council questions The um are you doing uh regular grass is it grass seeds that we're waiting it's been seated Yes So when do you think that'll be where it really looks like
it's grass uh I mean I hope by the time I read it open So you think I'm going to do it Yeah Spray it That comes quicker when it spray I mean I think we can if we need
to but um that would if you spray it Yeah that that seed grows much faster Yeah What I would ask about was Woodland Avenue I see the improvements that we're doing there It's a man-made sidewalk
there and a while ago we tried to see if we can get that paved and all that What do we have to do like to you know be able to get that done as far as grants um where is it located i avenue route nine
I can check if that's part of it You know what I'm talking about It goes up to the expressway on the on the uh east side going toward the going north expressway The kids have people walking sidewalk but it's dirt there
Okay Dirt and grass that's gone But at least you want to see a grass or a sidewalk yeah Sidewalk because grass was there but now it's you know that way people will find the shortest and easiest path so there's no nowhere else for them to
go if you're walking on new road okay we can look into that okay thank you anyone else um Park Avenue you did park and you did dowy but
where it comes to the visit Is that on the plans is is that part of it where they where they connect is essentially where the plan stop from there to how do we get that connection Come on That something's got to No I
know I know And trust me DPW from an undercount standpoint certainly wants to see it continue to I know we talked with Laura I believe last time Well it was something about
um I don't know but she is aware of the plane No I'm certainly aware too And I mean we would be happy to do it I mean because it's so nice to finally like drive on the correct side of the
road going down dowy but like you don't nobody knows what side of the road to drive on on that part of park from park from bike path to broad so bad they're going they're moving over it's going to be head on it's going to be a head
everybody moving over I do potholes that I totally agree Anyone else on council you have any idea i'm all concerned about the street You have any idea when that's
going to be in process i don't think anyone else Thanks Okay Thank you May I have a motion to approve previous minutes we have a second Second All in favor
first on the agenda is second reading public hearing be held during record session Orders number four is a bond ordinance provided for various sewer roadway improvements for the city approximately $4,600,000 Therefore including the state of New
Jersey Department of Transportation grants totaling 1,25,732 and authorizing the issuance of $4,600,000 bonds on notes for the city to finance the cost thereof Any questions council
seeing none Ordinance number five second reading public hearing held during regular session provided for various 2025 capital acquisitions and improvements for the city approximately $1,825,000 Therefore including state of
New Jersey Department of Transportation grants totaling $818,000 and authorizing the issuance of $968,000 $968,250 bonds or notes for the city to finance the parts thereof Any
questions seeing none is number six first reading fixing the salaries of certain officials and employees for the city I just want to make a note that there is a topograph topographical error We're going to have to include the
deputy or my intention we have to include the deputy police chief to this ordinance It's um not here So we would have to add that um title to the solid ordinance It's been manually entered
right now It's just an omission apparently It's just a a ministerial omission that now you're adding in there So when you're voting on it later you have to take that into consideration that that should be on the document as well
I got a question Um so now we have a job title and we have a salary for that job title It's been two weeks Do we have a job description which one we go on the public safety
director We're not we're not on that You're just talking in general These are the fixing the salaries of certain clarify I didn't know whether you were talking about the deputy chief that it is the public safety director We
have a job title We have a salary Yeah Two weeks later after I asked the question do we have a job description so let let me say this Um a couple of things One there is a job there was always a job description in draft Okay
Well ma'am let me just finish Okay And I'm going to let our our labor lawyer talk because he's working on it So the draft means that it's not going out to the public Now you may not be the public but the committee would see it So that then that can create a problem because
it's no it's not over appable once it becomes a hard copy in council So it's still in draft form The civil service commission has not come back yet with approval of the position So the position for purposes of this body is only just
to say we want to have the position which they voted on and then because there's a position there should be a salary But the actual description or any advertisement has not occurred yet in formal or finalized um form I guess what
you could say So if you want Steve are you prepared to talk about it at all sure Okay So well I have a I have a question If you don't have a formal job description how do you have a formal
salary the job description generates and moves the salary be just by the qualifications that you're looking for You don't say "We're going to have this job and we're going to pay you this much without
anything in between." There's nowhere on this God's green earth that that works that way So wherever this job description is needs to be seen and needs to be seen before 2:30 That's when
we got this because they did not put this out to the city council people until 2:30 today The agenda came out on Thursday Friday city hall was closed Saturday city hall was closed Sunday
city hall was closed Did not come out until 2:30 Yeah That's nonsense That is nonsense So so there So listen You're looking at me as I'm not even camera cuz I want the people of
Pleasantville to know that transparency dies right here That sounds Well yeah it does because you put this out at 2:30 The agenda came out on Thursday and specifically said it would not come out until today
Yeah I mean I think that because I'm kind of the messenger here rather than I'm not the one who was sitting in the meeting So um but I'm I'm being informed as information evolves So my my position here is to kind of give the the opinion as it relates to where they are from
what I've been advised And whenever it's a draft it's not necessarily advisable for it to be released because it's still deliberative work product And and there are requests being made for it outside of this body Now I whether the committee has viewed it that's a committee
question I'm going to presume the committee has seen the the draft of it Yes Okay So I I would just defer to the council president because there's a labor attorney here and also the city clerk So there's a lot of moving parts to this who have additional insight that
I may not even have Madam clerk I would like to address the matter of transparency because it wasn't ready However when I sent that uh packet out to you on Thursday it was known that the ordinance would be made available on
Monday via email and disseminated hard copy So when you talk about transparency that is my goal And may I and I did inform you all because it wasn't ready due to the fact that we were closed on Friday and the individual that had to
handle that it was not ready at the end of business day on Thursday And so therefore I wasn't available on Friday The individual who had to do it had it available on Friday However I wasn't present on Friday So transparency is
what we do here I don't want to make it known that we're not working as such when we are and you were made aware that it would not be available one day I want I want that known for the record cuz this is the second time it's being looked as if I responsible not being out
until after Monday It came out at 2:30 because 4:30 which is how many hours after the record I didn't come in until this afternoon on Monday So when I came in today you got an immediate explain that I never said you
did but when you use words that we're not being transparent it makes it what we are because you were aware that you wasn't going to get it until Monday It does say that it even looks it makes you fully
aware that it does It does Yeah I can deal with at least one part of the job description Uh there's been case law alignment going back as far as 2005 the dos and the don'ts for
the director I'm going to put together the job description So it's legal comports with the law the cases that have gone before us specifically Asbury Park where I handle the case there Um but to your point uh if there's an issue
as to the qualifications I'm talking about the job description from the dos and the don'ts what qualifications the public safety director is going to have something that you have to decide you know what kind of degrees how many years experience what kind of
experience so are you saying that that has not even been decided what qualifications I I don't Well you're a labor attorney Well I'm as a labor attorney I'm I would know only what I was told that that's
but I don't know So in your expertise because you've done this for a long time if you have a job description and then you have to start put filling in the back step about what kind of degrees that you want
what kind of experience you want That's what builds how much you pay How much you pay does not come before everything else And that's why with the point that we made before
Okay So where is it in the budget because we don't have the budget either Glad you brought that up Thank you Thank you Mr Goodman You're welcome Can I may I council president just to kind of close it out and also you know this for council council for family I
don't want anybody else's I think that ideally the way that I see it rolling out is you have to first vote to have a a classification or a title and you vote on it first which you did an ordinance
was passed it went down to civil service we're waiting for you to come There's no reason to wait until they come back in order to develop the salary ordinance Can the salary ordinance wait until you develop the criteria of the um
the the the person the candidate doesn't really make a difference because it's budgetary So ideally the CFO should have been involved in this and the BA to determine what can we budget out for this person and that's what the salary range would be the next step between
flushing out the job description but then the qualifications Do they have to have a BA do they need to have 20 years experience in law enforcement in L thereof do they have to have served in uniform prior whatever it is that would go back before public safety committee And then they would determine that based
on what the statewide um uh norm is as it relates to people in public safety positions because they're civilians Um and then you put together the job description with the um with the required standard that they need to meet
and then it goes out for publication and then those people who are interested based on what the salary range is then they would apply I mean that's the way it should probably be rolled out Now as far as each of you having insight into what's going on that's a council matic
issue And I think it starts with the committee and then the the information is shared based on the communications between council from that committee and the rest of the committee Yes Or excuse me the rest of the c the committee with
the rest of the council I have another question Um who put together the recommendation for the council members to uh get a pay raise oh is
that was it $741 increase [Music] i know I had a conversation with uh Kenyan about it um from what happened prior and we we talked about it What
happened prior last year was and it was Yes So now it's in the budget It's right here $741 a year increase
That's what $49 $5,200 a year Uh $5,200 a year But that I don't think that's the point The point is whether or not we can afford a raise Well it's it's up it's up for vote I mean I look to where we are with with
the budget as far as salaries concerned and um there has been folks that have retired and there is some room in there to add that additional into council
um salary So when uh judging by what Miss Consley just said how did we come up with the $110 because you know the 110,000 110,000 Yeah that was for the salary for the position
that was discussed [Music] Um I think it was the same day we probably had met and prior to that there was some there was some discussion about the salary range of the police the excuse me the public safety director
whether it was going to be 100 or 110 and that was that was um that's what they came up with that and with I believe also last year there was some research done in various towns that did
have public safety director and those numbers were mentioned any other question that this issue came up how it impact your taxes I wouldn't know yet because at least
we're looking we had the we have three retirements and those three retirements recommends is to replace two for two uh for two new recruits which is uh they start at maybe 50,000 that's 100,000 and salaries that
are being retired is 318,000 So you haveund and you probably have like a hundred,000 to replace two police recruit plus the um public safety
director and plus the additional should council approve the the increase for council members Mayor I'm just saying that you know we have to be more mindful of it We're we're begging trying to get police cars
because we don't have enough cars on the street So I understand the part you're saying as far as more money coming in from retirements and all that but I mean we have to that's something we all have to think about We We couldn't even get two cars
And we don't even know what kind of an increase we're going to put on the city budget How much are the taxpayers going to pay for for what for what well with an increase of $741 per council member right off the bat and $110 I believe the CFO said that
she found the money We We can't even find money to get down park equipment We find money to give city council members raises No we if you read your capital improvement park money is in here
to take down the broken equipment that on it's in here Yeah You want to talk about Yes Yeah We did discuss taking fire director Yeah
So you'll need to have an ordinance to repeal that Yeah You'll need to repeal it Yeah You have to take official action to to remove that Okay Yeah we have to follow Yeah you have to follow have it removed
That's what we find out in just like we have or you got or you can get it on for the next time That's something that you talking about in public safety yeah we did talk about
committee That's why Oh okay We also talked about chief of police coming out too but this guy told me another problem That's Yeah that's that's different This is just you just want to repeal the
title and then you just send the list of I think the public already know that that I don't think there's any intention of filling all these positions but we as I said at the last meeting we want to be in a position to do what we need to do
based on what other people leave that but no way are we all these $110,000 positions We can't afford it nor do we need it Just because somebody takes a test
and pass a test that don't mean that we have to feel promot resolution 78 authorizing execution of an access and demolition agreement with Khad Real Estate Development LLC We have
Mr Melton here to comment on it Good evening Yeah I'm not sure if you all I'm pretty sure as I look at the dasis that most of you are familiar with this particular project Um and I'll try to give some history on it for this is um I'm sorry Mrs Gra I always knew that
Mrs um this is an urban enterprise zone funded project a demolition project is really a public safety project and the project is is taking place at 3 North Main Street and it's seven buildings at 3 North Main Street around them that
will be demolition through under the urban enterprise zone um uh project The city owns two partials of these these two partials There was three North Main and it owns six West Washington Avenue The other remaining
partials is owned by the developer uh P shop uh which is the developer for the city center project What we're asking you today what you have in front of you today is a is a contract and an agreement for the city
giving the city access on the developer property for us to go on there to be able to demolition all of those buildings there So um that's what you're trying to um approve today is the contract for access
on those properties and we will be demolition those those buildings As you know if you go by there any time of the day those buildings are um infested with a lot of um illegal activities going on They're a nuisance building to the fire
department and public safety for the police um they've been constant calls to go there Uh in the winter folks are um unfortunately homeless are living in there and they're creating fires and doing all type of illegal activities
there So um the planning and development committee approved back in 2024 this for me to write a grant to take down um those seven buildings there And that's what you're trying to approve
today and I'll take on any questions from council if you have any Anyone have any questions knock them down Thank you guys Resolution 79 granting approval to the American Cancer Society Incorporated for
a fundraising bike ride event through the city on June Sunday June the 1st from 6:30 a.m to 10:30 a.m Any questions seeing none Resolution 80 awarding the contract of Green Street Improvements to Charles Meredine Mardino
LLC the amount of 366,591 Any questions council resolution 81 contract with bike path improvements from Decada Avenue to Milan Avenue to Hughes Electric Company LLC in the amount of
$156,720 Any questions council seeing none Resolution 82 important contact person for the employment practices liability attorney consultation service through Atlantic County Municipal Joint Fund Any questions council see Next is
review of the bill list Good evening Good evening All right Before you you have um the check register and the bill So what I'm going to read is from the check register and is uh a one
page and uh one of the items that we have paid for it's for the deposit required for the fixing or the replacement of the floater ramp that's detaching from the
bulkhead and that whole contract is 18,5 500 and we had to pay 50% up front to get it um moving Uh and [Music] then on the bill list both lists are small lists So on on the bill list for
approval tonight as well we have action uniform and that's for $376 and that's uniform for the code department employees That's on page one And towards the bottom of page one as
well you have the vision service plan which is the employees vision plan That's a payment to be [Music] $5,34753 And on page two we have Ensero LLC That's our voice
over over the internet That's $7,84 And the last page on page three We are paying Trinity Code inspections $26,657 And this is a third-party inspection that we have We collect the
fees and those same fees are paid out to the um vendor So it's a neut is neutral to the overall general budget Any questions [Applause] [Applause]
mayor you have anything yeah I do I I'm looking at this the slip that you have Joan but that's I don't have that page I haven't even seen that page So I'm sorry for what i don't have that It's my agenda What the Oh I thought you had Oh okay No
a different one that you had saying the 741 number one Yeah that's just I that's my calculation because I know what we get paid and I see the difference in it I just did it myself And look
that's what is the brush of putting out these salary fixes because when you hand out something at 2:30 by email and you hand them out in public you know in person at 6:30 nobody gets to look at it
So should we pull it and wait for two weeks what's the rush anyone else may I have a motion to close on the work session motion Second All in favor [Music]
good evening everyone This is the city council meeting Today is April 21st 2025 and the time is 10 I mean 10 7:38 p.m This meeting has been duly
advertised in the city newspaper in performance with the open public meetings act otherwise known as the sunshine law Please stand for invocation and bled salute We're going to have a song prayer please
I pledge algiance 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 Arrow here
Sweepson here Present I have a motion to dispense previous minutes Motion Second All in favor mayor you have any accommodations proclamations nothing
Next we have public May I have a motion to close public portion there's more All in favor madam Cler first is ordinance number four Second reading public hearing
required about or is provided for various sewer and roadway improvements for the city uh appropriating 4,600,000 Therefore including the state of New Jersey Department of Transportation grants totaling 1,25,732 and authorizing issuance of
$4,600,000 bonds or notes for the city to the finance the cost thereof I have a motion secondary Public hearing Is there anyone here for the public hearing seeing no one may I have a motion to
close public i have a second Second All in favor um may I have a motion for ordinance number one i mean number four May I have a second second Roll
Yes Yes Barlay yes Ogusby yes Battis yes Swepson yes Thomas yes Ordinance adopted Ordinance number five second reading public hearing required providing for various 2025 capital acquisitions and
improvements for the city appropriating $1,825,000 Therefore include the state of New Jersey Department of Transportation totaling $818,000 and authorizing issuance of $968,250 bonds or notes of the city to
finance parts of the cost thereof Is there anyone here for the public hearing seeing no one they have a motion to close public hearing May I have a second second All in favor
may I have a motion for ordinance number five roll call Yes Kimona yes Barlang yes Old yes Fish yes Sweepson yes Thomas yes Ordinance adopted Ordinance number six fixing the
salaries of certain officials employees in the city May I have a motion motion May I have a second second Paulo no Kimona yes Barlang yes Ogusby yes Bettis
yes Sweetson yes Thomas yes Ordinance approved Move to second reading scheduled for May the 5th Resolution 78 authorizing acquisition execution of an access and demolition agreement for Key Real Estate Development LLC
We have a motion Motion May I have a second second Ro call No Kimona yes Park yes Yes Visit Yes Swepson Yes Thomas yes Resolution
approved Resolution 79 Grant approval of the American Cancer Society Incorporated for a fundraising by Pride event through the city on Sunday June the 1st May I have a motion motion May I have a second second Ro
Emilum yes Kimona yes Barklay yes Ogresby yes Battis yes Swepson yes Thomas yes Resolution approved Resolution 80 awarding the contract for the Green Street approvals to charge Mandino LLC in the amount of $366,591
May I have a motion motion May I have a second second Roll call Yes Kabona Yes Barlay Resolution That's okay Resolution eight sir Yes Okay I'm sorry Um speak
Yes Yes Sweepson Yes Thomas yes Resolution approved Resolution 81 award the contract of the bike path improvements from Decada Avenue to Milan Avenue to Hughes Electric Company LLC in the amount of $156,720
May I have a motion motion second roll call Yes Kimona yes Barlay yes Ogresby yes Bettis yes Swepson yes Thomas yes Resolution approved Resolution 82
important contact person for the employment practices liability attorney consultation service through the Atlantic County municipal joint May we have a motion i'll move it We have a second roll call
Yes Kimono yes BL yes Over Yes Pettis yes Sweepson yes Thomas yes Resolution approved I need a motion to approve the bill Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Daddis Yes Yes Thomas
Yes We have a couple of um executive um session items So can I have a motion to go into session no one All right Good Thanks
So session purposes for the purpose of contracts and personnel I didn't I didn't hear Okay Can you step out for a moment okay You
can turn off your camera too please Okay Second No Thank you Steve [Music] Right I need a motion I have a motion to make a motion all day
I'll do the resolution if they came on [Music]