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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2003/12/18 DECEMBER ~, 200~ A Special Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of SPI~EIAL NglsrtNG Carteret was called to order by Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, at, 7:00 P.M., at the Municipal Court, Police Facility, 230 Roosevelt December 18, 2003 Avenue, Carteret, New Jersey, on December 18, 2003. Upon individual roll call, the following were noted present: ROLL CALL Councilmember Randy Krum " Susan Naples " Frank Parisi " Ronald G. Rios " Joseph W. Sitarz Noted Absent was Councilmember Brian Sosnowski. Also noted present was Borough Attorney Robert Bergen and Director of Economic Development, Stephen Brame. The meeting was opened with a minute of silent prayer and the PRAYER, pi.FI]GE OF Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Daniel J. Reiman. AIIJ~ The Assistant Municipal Clerk stated that on December 10, 2003, STATI~I~T OF MEETIN -- in full compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act, a notice of NOTICE tonight's meeting was sent to The Home News Tribune, The Star Ledger and posted on the Bulletin Board and also on December 13, 2003. To ho!d a Public Heating on Ordinance #03-47. PURPOSE OF TItE I~,:t'ING Mayor Reiman then read the title of Ordinance #03-47, "Ordinance ORDINANCE ~g)3-47 Creating A Special Improvement District Within the Borough of Carteret and Designating a District Management Corporation." He "ORDINANCE CREAT then introduced Mr. Brame, who would be doing a presentation on ING A SP~IAL the ordinance. IMPROVEMElgr DIS~IC~ WITHIN THE BORO~ OF C~ Mr Brame then spoke, explaining that a Special or Business Ahl) DESIGNATING A Improvement District is an organization in management, a DISTRICT MANAG'I~I~qT financing tool, used by businesses for advanced services and ~TION" needs, such as sidewalk cleanup, graffiti removal, capital -- improvements, special lighting, holiday lighting, etc. Types of services that businesses in an inner city community need to bring Mr. Braue into existence in order to compete more efficiently, with perhaps DMCM~IBI~ 18, 2003 Mr. Brame its nemesis, the drive- in mall. SID is created by operation of law, Cont: under the state. It is (inaudible) with water, sewer or fire district, where the property owners pay an additional sum in order to provide for special services. Where the state legislature creates a SID it is enacted by local ordinance which brings it into existence. The purpose of the SID is to address one of the major problems the Borough of Carteret has that other urban communities have been facing for the last thirty (30) years or more, specifically capital flight, capital disinvestments, resulting in urban decay, lack of confidence and a fear of investing in our neighborhoods and business districts. He went on to explain that businesses have something very much at risk, leaving them to eventually die and the businesses in malls to thrive. Local businesses and property owners need to be able to compete. He then spoke briefly on this. He explained how adequate parking is necessary for shoppers to feel safe and how the malls create mostly a safe controlled environment, which does not exist in many urban communities. He then explained how a SID creates this. He said the SID that has been proposed is basically an overlay of the Urban Enterprise Zone, to work in conjunction with Economic Development, not to supemede it or to get in the way of other municipal services that are undertaken in the ordinary course of Economic Development. He then spoke on the Streetscape Project for Washington and Roosevelt Avenues in the Urban Enterprize Zone. This will stimulate people to feel good about coming into the community and feeling safe. We now have a SID stimulated by business within that community to be able to undertake its own needs. It is the creation of the SID Corporation and he said necessarily that everyone that has been identified as a property owner in the SID is a shareholder of this corporation. They schedule their own projects that they want and need undertaken and are considered the Board of Directors of the corporation and the shareholders and will decide how the resources are spent. He said the municipal government will receive those assessments, by necessity, but, they must be turned over to the S1D Corporation for implementing its own plan and its own projects, as set fourth in its own planning mechanism. The corporation must develop its own budget, its own undertakings and present its budget to the Governing Body for review approval modification, explaining it is their budget and decisions not the Governing Bodies. He said this is how a SID is organized and then explained how it is managed. It is for a very skilled manager to copy urban streetscapes and bring them back the other way. That person would report to the corporation and held accountable to produce the necessary plans and implement the necessary projects that the corporation decides. There is an assessment by the businesses in the zone, which are four hundred and seventeen (417) property owners. He said an average assessment on about fifty (50) SID's operating across the State of New Jersey are somewhere between $150,000.00 and $175,000.00. He spoke on some of them and their amounts explaining they control the assessment cost. He used examples of Perth Amboy, Woodbridge, Elizabeth etc. He said the State likes them and the Department of Community Affairs is very encouraged by this and will work with you in conjunction in what is already being 2 OI~CMMBER 18, 2003 undertaken and with the municipal services that are already being Mr. Bra'ne Cont: provided. He then explained there is a positive spillover effect for the pt-ople who are not effected, but who live along the streetscape, who are residents, not businesses, in the Urban Enterprise Zone. Who are generating money that goes into the Urban Enterprize Zone Assistance Fund, which pays for the streetscape, are benefiting from it. He said the market values for Carteret will move up and they need to have confidence that the businesses will exceed. He then thanked the Mayor. The Mayor then referred to a map that was visible at the Public Mayor Reiman Hearing, explaining the gray area was the SID area, with about four hundred (400) to four hundred seventeen (417) properties. Residential property owners are not effected, which cover about 95% of the property owners in Carteret. He said it overlays the UEZ Zone. It would be a special assessment on business on the industhal and commercial property and on low cut family residential, that have five (5) apartments or more. One (1) penny would be equal to twelve (12) dollars or one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars assessment. It would be twelve (12) dollars going into the fund. One (1) penny would generate forty (40) to forty-five (45) thousand dollars in revenue, that would be used by the SID DistTict to better improve Carteret and to work in conjunction with the State UEZ Program and Board in our redevelopment areas. He then explained they would be opening the meeting to the public for any questions on the SID Ordinance. He commented that Mr. Brame had members of the original Advisory Board present and they are welcome to talk during the public portion. Mr Brame said that he was very happy to report the Sterring Committee present, on November 12th, voted unanimously to request this ordinance be formed and a SID be created. Mayor Reiman introduced Jim Cody from B&L and Alan Schall, from Atlantic RealtygVleridian Square and Yash Patel and and Mr. Kady. The Assistant Municipal Clerk stated that Ordinance #03-47 was OIIDINANCE #03-47 introduced and passed upon First Reading at a Regular Meeting of Ordinance Creating the Borough of Carteret held on November 17, 2003. It was duly A Special Improveme~ published in the Home News Tribune on November 20, 2003 with District Within The Borough Of Carteret notice that it will be considered for final passage after Public And Designating A Heating to be held on December 18, 2003, at approximately 7:00 District Manag~a~ent P.M. The Ordinance was posted on the Bulletin Board and copies Corporation were i~ladc available to he general public and according to law, she read the Ordinance by title. DHX3i~4BER 18, 2003 PUBLIC HEARING Upon MMS&C by Councilmembers Sitarz and Naples and unanimous affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present, the Mayor declared the Public Hearing to be open. Mark Hruska Mark Hruska, 182 Roosevelt, which is included in the SID, spoke. He questioned how many other municipalities in the State of New Jersey include every piece of commercial property in their SID. Mr. Brame told him there were fifty-two (52) SID's, and he said he could only tell him in most cases they do include them. The areas that are defined for economic redevelopment are the threshold questions. The ones in the SID areas are included but not the businesses outside of the SID. Mr. Hruska asked what SID would do for stand alone businesses. He commented that he does not see the benefit. Mayor Reiman told Mr. Hruska that the SID that is proposed for the stand alone businesses, would be able to give them low interest loans and they would be a part of an overall marketing program and strategy to increase the business and spending dollars in Carteret from out of town. He also said he would like to see an extension of the streetscape to maybe include his property. Mr. Hruska told him he had his reservations, because he was told the same thing when the UEZ Zone came about. He participated in it for seven (7) or eight (8) years. When it came time to put money into his property he had to use his own money because the UEZ money was being used on Washington Avenue. Mayor Reiman said he could not answer for what prior administrations did for the UEZ. He said up until this year 1.8 million dollars sat in the UE Z Account. This year they started the Streetscape Project. Mark Hruska then said they spoke about a penny being one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars and then asked how many pennys this would take. Mayor Reiman told him the business owners would decide that. They will all have a vote in that SID. Mark Hruska commented to the mayor, that the initial board would be appointed by him. He asked how long they would be appointed for. Mayor Reiman said he believed it was for a year and then they become a bonafide member. He said it may be staggering terms. He said they would not be making the appointments until January and then asked Mr. Hruska if he would like to be on that board. Mr. Hmska said his concern is that he will be able to put in place some things he will have to eat over the next twelve (12), fourteen (14), or eighteen (18) months because it will be appointed by the 4 18, 2003 Goveming Body and basically can be steered anyway they want Mark Hruska Cont: until these positions come up. He said the business owners he spoke to understood it that way. Mayor Reiman said there were business owners that sat on the board from town. Mark Hruska said he wanted a list of the businesses and minutes taken from the board meetings. He also said he feels they are going to add another level of government and they will end up paying for it. He asked if there were salaries involved in this board. Mayor Reiman said he does not believe we need a full time Administrator. He does not believe we even need a salary part time. He said we could use the CFO and/or the Economic Development Director for maybe a stipend of a thousand dollars a year. The idea is to raise revenue, to use it to increase the business productivity, to bring in additional spending to the Borough of Carteret. To improve the Borough of Carteret Business Districts. Mark Hurska said he questioned something from Section 5, in Assessments. He said one of the points that was brought up was the fact of acquiring properties within the zone by the corporation. Mayor Reiman said there was no plans to acquire property by the SID. He said that maybe down the road they would acquire property to turn into a parking lot to better serve a business district. Mark Hruska then questioned if that cost for construction and acqmsition would be passed on to the member of businesses Mayor Reiman said it would be passed on to the member of businesses the UEZ and DCA. He commented he did not see a piece of property that would be acquired. Mark Hruska questioned if maybe five (5) years down the road, if they have ten (10) pieces of property that we have to maintain for perpetuity, could this occur and have us end up with an escalating budget. Mayor Reiman said business owners on an annual basis will vote on what the tax rate is going to be. Mark Hruska said there were a few other things in there that he believes alludes to shifting some costs, such as security or garbage collection. Will this be shifted to the business owners. Mayor Reiman told him it all has to be approved by SID District and Board. Mark Hruska asked if he is not on this board, what is his avenue of -- appeal or complaint if the SID decides to hire off-duty police officers for West Carteret and he feels we need it here. 5 18, 2003 Mark lturska Coat: Mr. Brame told him he is a corporation and as a property owner. He is a shareholder and the Board must answer to him. He has direct participation on the decision. Mayor Reiman explained that it is set up as a private corporation and he is a shareholder as a property holder in the SID District. He then asked if anyone else had any questions on the SID District. HFARING CLOSED There being no further comments or objections to the Ordinance, the Mayor declared the Public Heating to be closed upon MMS&C by Councilmembers Rios and Sitarz and unanimous affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present. Upon MMS&C by Councilmembers Rios and Sitarz ORDINANCE #03-47 "CREATING SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF CARTERET AND DESIGNATING A DISTRICT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION" Adopted was finally Adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers Krum, Naples, Parisi, Rios and Sitarz voted in the Affirmative. Councilmember Sosnowski was noted Absent. APPROVED AND ADOPTED: DECEMBER 18, 2003 iNTRODUCED: NOVEMBER 17, 2003 Advertised as Adopted on First Reading With Notice of Public Heating: NOVEMBER 20, 2003 HEARING HELD: DECEMBER 18, 2003 APPROVED BY: MAYOR DANIEL J. REIMAN ADVERTISED AS FINALLY ADOPTED: DECEMBER 27. 2003 Mayor Reiman Mayor Reiman told the audience that a Special Improvement District was created tonight by Ordinance, with recommendation of the members of the Advisory Board who are all business owners, property owners, who are all willing to pay an additional tax to help improve the Borough of Carteret, to help grow and make our businesses more vibrant. He then said they would be adjourning our Special Meeting on the SID Ordinance and they would reconvene in a minute or two for the Council Meeting. 6 DI~_.BIMBER 18, 20{33 There being no further business or discussion, upon MMS&C by tlEErlIx~G t~J)JOORNED Councilmembers Sitarz and Rios and unanimous affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present, this meeting was Adjourned at approximately 7;25 P.M. Respectfully submitted, -- LINDA A. RIVERA Assistant Municipal Clerk LAR 8