HomeMy Public PortalAbout2000/03/02
The Regular Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of
Carteret was called to order by Mayor James A. Failace
approximately 7:30 P.M.on Thursday, March 2, 2000, Municipal
CourtlPolice Facility, 230 Roosevelt Avenue, Carteret, New Jersey.
Upon individual roll call, the following were noted present:
Councilmember
Patrick Crilley
Jack Fazekas
James O'Brien
Remy Quinones
Janet Santoro
Buddy Sohayda
"
"
"
"
"
Noted absent was Borough Attorney Craig J. Coughlin.
Also noted present were Attorney Frank Santoro and Business
Administrator Nicholas Goldsack..
The meeting was opened with a moment of silent prayer and the
pledge of allegiance led by Mayor James A. Failace.
The Clerk stated that on February 25, 2000, in full compliance with the
Open Public Meetings Act, a notice of tonight's meeting was sent to
The Home News Tribune, The Star Ledger and posted on the bulletin
board.
Mayor Failace asked Ernie Evon, Raymond Zetty, Mary Evon, Karen
Alphonse and Al Check to come forward to receive Certificates of
Merit.
Mayor Failace read the following" On February 7, 2000 at
approximately 6:05 P.M., Carteret First Aid was dispatched to a motor
vehicle accident involving an overturned tractor trailer with possible
entrapment.
Upon arrival, squad EMTs along with Rural Metro assessed the scene
and patient and found that a man was indeed trapped, unconscious,
unresponsi ve, barel y breathing, but alive.
1
With additional rescue personnel arriving, i.e., Carteret Fire and
Police Departments, Squad EMTs Ernie Evon, Raymond Zetty, Mary
Evon, First Responder Karen Alfonse and Rural Metro's Al Check
extricated the driver, removing him from a hazardous environment,
placed him on a back board and placed him in the rig. Along with
Rahway Medics, rescue breathing and other life sustaining measures
were administered. It was determined that this patient needed to be
flown to a Level 1 Trauma Center. Therefore, a landing zone was
prepared by Volunteer Fire Chief Carrico and Firefighters at Carteret
High School and the patient was flown to UMDNJ.
MARCH 2, 2000
COUNCIL MEETING
ROLL CALL
PRAYER, PLEIhE
OF ALLEGIANCE
STATillENT OF
MEElING NOTICE
Certificates of
Merit
a) First Aid
MARCH 2, 2000
Certificates of
Merit
a) First Aid
Continued
b) Oath of Office
Fire Superintendent
Brian O'Connor
c) Firefighter of
the Year 1999
Thomas Reynolds
Due to the heroic efforts, this patient, as of this writing, is alive, it is
my recommendation that the above named should be recognized for
their efforts in going above and beyond the call of duty."
Mayor Failace congratulated them for their efforts and said that man is
alive today and breathing. He knows how difficult it is for First Aid
and Rural Metro and he thanks them. He knows a lot of times these
things go unnoticed, but they have done a wonderful job for Carteret
and he appreciates it.
They were presented with Certificates of Merit.
Fire Committee Chairperson Fazekas said Brian O'Connor will be
given the Oath of Office. Mr. O'Connor was appointed Fire
Superintendent at the last Council Meeting and he will be sworn in
tonight.
Fire Superintendent O'Connor was administered the Oath of Office.
He thanked all the career and volunteer firefighters who made the job a
lot easier for him.
Fire Committee Chairperson Fazekas called Firefighter Thomas
Reynolds, 1999 Firefighter of the Year. He read the following:
"On January 18, 1999, Firefighter Reynolds responded to a report of a
motor vehicle accident involving multiple victims. The vehicle had
flipped over and one victim had been ejected from the vehicle.
Firefighter Reynolds was the first EMT to arrive on the scene assessed
the injuries in order of medical priority. Firefighter Reynolds began
treating and assessing the vital signs of the most severely injured
victim. Thanks to Firefighter Reynolds' training and professionalism,
the victims were able to receive immediate care and all the injuries
were treated in order of need.
On May 29, 1999 Firefighter Reynolds was on duty at Fire
Headquarters when he heard a crash. He immediately notified Police
Headquarters and requested First Aid. Again, Firefighter Reynolds
was the first EMT on the scene of a multi-victim accident. He again
assessed the victims in order of priority and began treating the victims
in order of priority and began treating them. Treatment involved
collaring, backboarding and bandaging the victims. Seven people
were taken to the hospital from this accident.
On August 8, 1999 Firefighter Reynolds responded to an accident that
involved a van and a dump truck. Firefighter Reynolds treated the
victim inside the dump truck while rescue crews worked to extricate
the victim from the demolished dump truck.
On November 26, 1999 Firefighters Reynolds and Kopin responded to
a call for assistance for a cardiac arrest. The firefighters used the
department's defibrillator and were able to restore the victim's pulse"
2
Councilmember Fazekas thanked Firefighter Reynolds for his efforts
and that is why he is receiving the 1999 Firefighter of the Year Award.
He presented the award to Firefighter Reynolds.
Fire Committee Chairperson said these two awards go to Firefighters
Reynolds and Kopin. He read the following:
"In November, Firefighters Thomas Reynolds and Dennis Kopin
arrived on the scene within a minute of the initial call. They
successfully deployed the Fire Department's semi-automatic external
defibrillator and restored the victims cardiac rhythm. After restoring
the victim's pulse they continued to render aid by performing
ventilations to assist the victim's breathing.
Medic 10 and Rural Metro arrived and continued care and ultimately
transported this person to Rahway Hospital."
He thanked both firefighters and presented them with certificates.
Mayor Failace called Andrew Decibus, 8th Grade, Carteret Middle
School. He told the audience that New Jersey Transit had an essay
contest throughout New Jersey for Black History Month. Andrew
Decibus was one of the Grand Prize Winners. He read the essay:
"In my opinion Reverend Walter Allen Rice was instrumental tn
supporting the education of New Jersey's black students.
Walter Allen Rice was born in Laurens, South Carolina in 1845. He
became an African Methodist Espiscopal minister in the late 19th
century. He served as a minister in churches in Paterson, Trenton and
New Brunswick. Earlier, he founded the Rice Home School in New
Brunswick.
In 1886 Reverend Rice founded the Manual Training and Industrial
School in Bordentown, New Jersey. Until this school was organized
there was no other school in Burlington County or for that matter in
any other parts of New Jersey for black youths who wanted to go on
and continue their education beyond the fifth grade.
3
Reverend Rice had a school philosophy. His philosophy was "Every
child attending the school would learn a trade while receiving
academic and moral training." Reverend Rice started the Bordentown
School with eight students. The school occupied several two story
row houses and operated mostly from donations and contributions. In
1894, the New Jersey Legislature designated the Bordentown School
as New Jersey's Training Institute. The school went from barely
surviving with limited funds to becoming a model facility that was
partially state governed and approved. Reverend Walter A. Rice gave
to New Jersey something it never had. He provided the students with a
home, a warm caring cultural environment and an excellent education.
His dedication to the black youth of New Jersey should be recognized
as he was an inspiration to many."
Mayor Failace said Andrew was a Grand Prize Winner and presented
him with a Certificate of Merit.
MARCH 2, 2000
c) 1999 Firefighter
of the Year -
Thomas Reynolds
d) Firefighters
Douglas Kopin and
Thomas Reynolds
e) Andrew Decibus
N.J. Transit Essay
Award Winner
March 2, 2000
5 Minute
Recess
At approximately 7:45 P.M., upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers
Crilley and Fazekas and unanimous affirmative vote of the full
Council present, the meeting was recessed for five minutes.
Meeting
Reconvened
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Crilley and Fazekas and
unanimous affirmative vote of the full Council present, the meeting
was reconvened by Mayor James A. Failace at approximately 7:52
P.M.
Present
Upon individual roll call vote, the following were noted present:
Councilmember Patrick Crilley
" Jack Fazekas
" James O'Brien
" Remy M. Quinones
" Janet Santoro
" Buddy Sohayda
Noted absent was Borough Attorney Craig J. Coughlin.
Also noted present was Business Administrator Nicholas Goldsack.
TO ADDRESS
GOVERNING BODY;
Middlesex Water
Compan y
Mayor Failace said Middlesex Water Company is here because they
are going to be doing some extensive work in the near future on the
water mains. They will let everyone know what is going on.
Middlesex Water Company - Thanked the Mayor, Council and
Borough Administration for giving them this opportunity to talk about
their rehabilitation program of water mains. They call it the "Renew
Program 2000". This year it involves the cleaning and lining of water
mains. The infrastructure in Carteret is older and they are going in and
rehabilitating these mains, taking them out of service, cleaning them.
Bringing the pipe back to bare metal and then putting a cement lining
on the inside to protect the pipes and the water quality. It's an
extensive program that the company is undertaking. It's a multi-year
program. It's a twenty year program and they are in their 6th year now.
They did West Carteret in 1996. In 2000 they are coming into the
eastern portion of Carteret. They will be taking 35,000 feet of pipe out
of service. They will put a temporary bypass line. The mains will be
put back in service after they are cleaned and lined. They also
rehabilitate and replace older service lines, hydrants and other facilities
of the water system. When they are done it will be a completely
rehabilitated system. They have been meeting with the Borough
Engineer and Borough Officials. They are anticipating starting on
April 3rd. It should be a four to five month process. He will answer
any questions. He showed them a package which contains all the
information and brochures. It's a major construction project. With
him was Bernadette Soler, Community Relations representative and
Joseph Daley, the Field Project Manager.
4
Mayor Failace asked how long would the project take in Carteret?
The gentleman said it was starting April 3rd and would be done by
August. There are going to be three sections. It will not be done all at
once.
Councilmember Santoro asked if they were going to pave the areas
they dug up?
The gentleman said they will restore the roads to the borough's
specifications and will work with the Borough Engineer. They will
also be changing things inside houses, but they will schedule
appointments with residents and change the meters at that time. He
explained the areas that were going to be done. Material would be
mailed to the residents.
ORDINANCE #00-5 was introduced and adopted on First Reading
and the Clerk authorized and directed to advertise same for Public
Hearing to be held on March 16, 2000, upon MMS&C, by
Councilmembers Crilley and Fazekas.. Upon individual roll call vote,
Councilmembers Crilley, Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and
Sohayda voted in the affirmative.
ORDINANCE #00-5
"BOND ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE REMOVAL AND
REPLACEMENT OF UNDERGROUND PETROLEUM STORAGE
TANKS IN AND BY THE BOROUGH OF CARTERET, IN THE
COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY APPROPRIATING
$80,000 THEREFOR AND AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
$76,000 BONDS OR NOTES OF THE BOROUGH TO FINANCE
PART OF THE COST THEREOF"
ORDINANCE #00-6 was introduced and adopted on First Reading
and the Clerk authorized and directed to advertise same for Public
Hearing to be held March 16, 2000, upon MMS&C, by
Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas. Upon individual roll call
vote, Councilmembers Crilley, Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro
and Sohayda voted in the affirmative.
ORDINANCE #00-06
"AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR TAX MAP MAINTENANCE
AND DIGITAL TAX MAPS FOR THE BOROUGH OF
CARTERET, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY,
APPROPRIATING $10,000 FROM THE CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT FUND OF THE BOROUGH FOR THE
COST THEREFOR"
5
MARCH 2, 2000
Middlesex Water
Company Presentation
Continued
ORDINANCE #00-5
Bond Ordinance
Re: Removal &
Replacement of
Underground Storage
Tanks
First Reading
ORDINANCE #00-6
Capital Improvement
Re: Tax Map
Maintenance and
Digital Tax Maps
First Reading
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
The Clerk stated that Ordinance #00-4 was introduced and passed
upon First Reading at a Regular Meeting of the Borough Council of
the Borough of Carteret held on February 17, 2000. It was duly
published in The Home News Tribune on February 22, 2000, with
notice that it will be considered for final passage after Public Hearing
to be held on March 2, 2000 at approximately 7:30 P.M. The
Ordinance was posted on the bulletin board and copies were made
available to the general public and according to law, she read the
Ordinance by title.
PUBLIC HEARING
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Crilley and Fazekas and
unanimous affirmative vote of the full Council present, the Mayor
declared the Public Hearing to be open:
Garson Gruhin, has been a resident of Carteret for over 50 years. With
his brother Max, he operated Gruhin's Pharmacy for over 60 years in
the Chrome Section. The Chrome Section was a bustling area years
ago. Along came Urban Renewal said they were going to do a
remarkable transformation of the town. They were going to make a
mall out of Roosevelt Avenue and direct the traffic to the parallel side
roads and in their minds they had great expectations. They were
misguided. Nothing happened. As a result, one of the programs was
to help the housing units in the Chrome Section. They didn't do it
correctly. They told all the residents they had to move so they could
clean up the town. The residents moved and never returned. We had a
wonderful community at that time. All faiths and ethnic peoples and it
was a nice place to operate a business. He spoke about how they
maintained a viable business with no difficulties.
Now, he is talking about graffiti. There's graffiti that we don't
recognize as being graffiti. The Home News Tribune calls Carteret a
blue-collar town, that's a second class town. He has a piece of
property. There are three stores with an apartment above. The only
thing he has utilized is the Beauty Salon, which he was fortunate in
getting to come into town. He has three vacancies and no one wants to
rent the stores. He pays a pretty good tax. For the property on
Roosevelt and Burlington he pays $3,500. He is paying $1,100 for
sewer use. He doesn't use it because the store is out of business.
There are no more Mom and Pop stores. They can't compete with the
Walmarts and K-Marts, Walgreen's CVS and RiteAid. There is no
room for the little fellow. Drug stores all over the state have been
going out of business. As a result he found it impossible to maintain
his business. He closed up. He has a heating oil bill for $2,000 and
insurance for $2,000. Several months ago he received a call from the
Police Department and was told there were terrible markings on the
window. Some culprit wrote on the window. He spent $850 to put
new plastic in and somebody defaced his property. The police said
they had directions from some one higher up to clean it up and he
asked them how they were going to do it? He was told they would
cover it over with paint. He told them to do it. Now he has a window
that is etched in and painted over and $850.00 down the drain. Why is
he responsible for these costs. This is the responsibility of the borough
who is supposed to do the job of watching what is going on. Perhaps,
the Police Department or education in the school system of those
causing these problems. He said it wasn't his responsibility. He is an
innocent person. If somebody defaces his property, they are
responsible.
6
Mr. Gruhin asked if he was supposed to paint over this over and over
again, week after week? He spoke about the defacing of the bus stops.
He asked who was going to clean them up? He said the law on
defacing property has been on the books for a long time. He wanted to
know how many people have been apprehended and why shouldn't
they be made to pay the penalty. He is not against removing graffiti.
He is all for it. Perhaps, he may be able to sell his property someday.
He has over $10,000 in expenses and doesn't have the income to take
care of the situation. He is saying that the graffiti problem is not the
responsibility of the owner of the property, it is the responsibility of
the borough. He suggested setting up a fund from the UEZ fund to
handle the graffiti. He thinks it's the responsibility of the borough.
He thinks the Council should table this resolution and consider some
of the things he has said and look at it with an objective thought. The
property owners are innocent bystanders of people who are doing
something against our property.
Mayor Failace said he understood exactly what Mr. Gruhin was
saying. The Borough Attorney would have to check to see if UEZ
funds could be used to do that. He doesn't believe it can be done. If
they can, it would be viable. They also believe that if they catch the
culprits they will pay for it. Their parents will pay for it if they are
youngsters.
Mrs. Gruhin said there is no effort being made to catch them. The
emphasis should be made on the people of Chrome that if they see
someone defacing property to report it to the police. The problem lies
in the education of this young people. She said no one has spoken
about graffiti all these years and she is glad they are doing so now, but
they are putting the emphasis in the wrong place. They are penalizing
the property owners. There should be and Operation Clean Up.
Mayor Failace said if they catch them, they will certainly do that. He
said he is not sure they can use public funds to do that. If it's possible
the attorney will tell us.
Mrs. Gruhin said they should fine the parents. Someone has to go in
the schools and educate these people that graffiti is not acceptable.
She said Chrome looks like Dodge City, it's awful.
Mayor Failace said he didn't disagree with that.
Mrs. Gruhin said she is ashamed of the way it looks. She is not only
ashamed, she is scared. She was never afraid until her husband was
robbed in broad daylight.
Mayor Failace said they understand the problems down there and that
is why they asked for a special squad. He said Council President
Quinones would be able to address that further on what they were
trying to do to stop those kinds of things from happening.
7
Joe Petrocy said he has a building across the street from Mr. Gruhin on
Roosevelt Avenue. He had a small repair shop there for a number of
years. He had to go out of business because he was burglarized so
many times he was afraid for his life. His son opened a sign shop and
people were afraid to come down there. He had to move. His graffiti
problem cleared last month. They broke the window they wrote on. If
the Council wants to do something, it's no longer a commercial zone,
it should be changed.
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
Mr. Petrocy said there are no viable businesses left. A Chinese
Restaurant, a laundromat and a Spanish grocery store. Soklers is the
only formidable building there. He could not rent his store out for 13
years. What is he going to do. He will have to abandon the building
next year because he cannot afford the expenses. If they revitalize the
Chrome Section the same way they did the Hill, that is where the
attention should be given. It will never be a business section. It is
listed as a commercial zone so they have to pay the sewer tax. He was
paying $1,000 a year for the sewer fee. He can't get liability insurance
for the building. Allstate cancelled because of the area. He can't buy
fire insurance. He is being penalized. He said they have to clean up
that area.
Mayor Failace said that is exactly what they are trying to do. They
have earmarked over $800,000 for that area.
Mr. Petrocy asked for what?
Mayor Failace said to revitalize the lower Roosevelt area.
Mr. Petrocy asked as stores?
Mayor Failace said if they can. Absolutely. We have to try. They are
also meeting with Woodbridge to have the truck traffic taken off
Roosevelt Avenue, so they can expand the Industrial Road behind
there. This Graffiti Ordinance is something they believe is necessary.
They don't know if they can use those funds at this time. If they can
they will.
Mrs. Gruhin said it gives the wrong message to people that the
property owners are responsible for cleaning it up. She asked how
many people have been apprehended?
Mayor Failace said he couldn't tell her.
Mrs. Gruhin said because nobody has been apprehended.
Mayor Failace said they need to put more police down there and they
are trying to do that. He said it has to be cleaned up and he doesn't
know what other solution they have. \
Mrs. Gruhin said she couldn't even sell the building.
Mayor Failace said he doesn't believe there is another choice.
Mrs. Gruhin said she is vehemently against this.
Mr. Gruhin said if they have funds available, why can't they be used to
clean up the area.
Mayor Failace said he didn't know if public funds could be utilized for
this. He will have it checked out.
8
Mr. Gruhin said he wasn't responsible. It's the borough's job to make
sure the property isn't defaced.
Mayor Failace agreed.
Mrs. Gruhin said it was the borough's job to protect their property.
Mayor Failace said they are trying to move forward to do that. It may
not have been done in the past, but they are trying to do it.
Mrs. Gruhin said she appreciates that, but she is not going to clean up
a building just so they can write all over it again.
Mayor Failace said that was her decision.
Mr. Gruhin suggested that this ordinance be tabled until further
investigation and they can come up with a better program and create a
responsibility for people who are perfectly innocent. There is no
reasons for anybody that owns property to feel he is responsible, when
he is not. It's necessary for the community to take the responsibility to
clean it up. Then the community will have more incentive to make
sure it stays clean.
Patricia Rodriguez said she feels this ordinance should be tabled. The
majority of the problem down Chrome and the reason why crime is
increasing is the abandoned buildings. That has to be addressed before
they can put a graffiti ordinance on. On her block there are two
abandoned buildings. On Roosevelt Avenue, there are abandoned
buildings, prostitution, and drugs. That's the whole problem. She read
the paper today and in South River there is a Cape Cod and people are
up in arms because it is abandoned and the grass isn't cut. She was
stunned. Why can't they go in and tear these places down.
Mayor Failace said they are looking into that. They are looking into a
project that was done elsewhere that they are going to try to do in
Carteret. It's only in the beginning stages. He has asked the Business
Administrator to get into it a little more deeply. He agrees with her
100%, but they still need this ordinance. It has been on the books
forever, it just hasn't been enforced.
Mrs. Rodriguez said the Sam Sica Houses have the worst problem
down there.
Mayor Failace said he agrees. If they can help out they will, but he
believes this ordinance has to be passed.
9
Council President Quinones said unfortunately what has happened
here is some of the good people who actually do address the problem
with their properties are going to pay some of the penalty for this
ordinance. However, she believes that it is a joint responsibility of the
owners of the buildings in that area, and everywhere in town, and part
responsibility of the borough and the police department to make sure
that it doesn't happen in the first place. They have done a number of
things to address graffiti. Last year she asked that the ordinance be
amended to actually provide for punishment of the individuals that are
caught. It wasn't on the books before. There was punishment for
being caught with possession of a spray paint can. There is a problem
with the kids that are allegedly doing this. She agrees and part of that
is the parents have to educate them. Things need to be addressed in
the home. She can't help that, but she is working with Judge Comba to
get a community service program started here, where if this does
happen and these indi viduals are apprehended, they will be forced, as
part of their punishment, serve the community by perhaps removing
the graffiti.
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
Council President Quinones said the only other thing she can do as a
Council person is address the police problem. She said anyone that
reads the papers knows that she is trying to address the problems,
particularl y in the Chrome District. She has requested that a Special
Unit be created. She has gotten support from the Police Committee
and the Mayor. The unit has been put together and is doing very well.
She is making a concerted effort. She said there was quite a few
police officers in the room tonight, who take an active interest in our
government, maybe Mrs. Gruhin should ask them why this is
happening.
Mrs. Gruhin said it was not her position to chastize the Police
Department.
Council President Quinones said she thought it was. She thinks every
resident should call the Police Department and tell them they don't
think this problem is being addressed and they want officers stationed
in that area all the time.
Councilmember Santoro said she has been on the UEZ and they
targeted trying to change the streetscape and there has been money
targeted to do that in the Chrome area. The committee walked around
and looked at the buildings and grounds to see if some of the pride was
brought back into the buildings, we could keep it that way. She said
she lives in West Carteret and they went through a period where her
house was paintballed. Unfortunately, it happened during hours when
no one saw it being done. She signed a complaint, but it was still her
responsibility, because of the pride she took in her home, to clean it up
and take care of it. She said Mrs. Gruhin was absolutely right. She
hopes that everyone joined together and they can move it forward.
They have to work together and try to come up with a plan. If there is
repetition of the same building, she doesn't believe this Mayor and
Council should keep putting the hardship on Mrs. Gruhin.
Mrs. Gruhin said they cannot afford it anymore. They are Senior
Citizens on fixed income. She said they should send someone to the
schools to teach these children that they shouldn't deface someone
else's property.
Councilmember Santoro said it should start in the home.
Council President Quinones said by addressing the police presence in
the area, they are trying, as a Council, to send a very strong message
that this is not acceptable anywhere.
Mrs. Gruhin said she drove through Woodbridge and looked at every
building on the street and there wasn't one mark on a building. Why
does it have to happen here? People don't take pride in their
neighborhood.
Council President Quinones said she thinks some people don't.
10
Andrew Tarrant introduced himself to Mrs. Gruhin as Officer Tarrant,
one of the police officers Ms. Quinones was referring to.
Mayor Failace told him to address the Council.
Mr. Tarrant said Ms. Quinones told Mrs. Gruhin to address the police
officers here, didn't she?
Council President Quinones said she said Mrs. Gruhin should ask
them, but not at this very moment.
Mr. Tarrant said he would address the Council. He hears from the
public that they are looking for revitalization. The people in Chrome
don't want a police state.
Mayor Failace said they want a police presence.
Mr. Tarrant said they have police presence.
Mayor Failace said no, they don't.
Mr. Tarrant said he was speaking now. He's the public. He has been a
police officer for 17 years and has heard the empty promises of
revitalization of Chrome year after year. Two years ago, he was at a
softball meeting and was told they were going to revitalize Chrome
with $180,000. There was sand put on a softball field and some fence
was repaired. He has spent more time in Chrome than anyone here,
with the exception of the people that actually live there. These people
want revitalization. They don't want a police state. The good people
down there will tell them they have police presence. What they need
is true revitalization. They need education for their children. They
need an environment in which their children can flourish so they don't
get caught up into the street things of hanging out on the corner. Put
them in an environment where they can grow and they will grown. Put
them in a dead environment and this is what you get. Mrs. Gruhin is
asking for revitalization and he thought she brought up a very good
point, maybe they can rezone this and do something. Give them an
opportunity to sell their property where there can be some
development. Maybe there can be residential development. Maybe no
longer is that a viable alternative for business. Maybe it has to be
resurrected into residential area and that is what they are asking. They
are not asking for a police state.
Council President Quinones said she thinks they did ask for
apprehension of the people doing that which means police presence.
She cannot as a Councilperson apprehend someone doing that, that's
the police's job.
Mr. Tarrant said Ms. Quinones as a Councilperson cannot apprehend
them, that is why she should let the Director run the police department
instead of trying to run the police department herself. She should
allow the Police Director to run the police department as opposed to
the Council. That is why their union took the position of a need for a
Chief of Police versus a Police Director. If there is a Police Chief, the
law enforcement officer runs the police department. It would be run
professionally by police officers, not by individuals and part-time
workers.
Council President Quinones said she doesn't understand what he
means.
11
Councilmember Crilley said he had a question for Mr. Tarrant and was
addressing him as a citizen. He asked if he did not sit in this very
room and tell him to his face that he was not going to allow his
children to play on Chrome field because he felt it wasn't safe for
them to play their with him as one of the coaches?
Mr. Tarrant said that was correct.
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
Councilmember Crilley said Mr. Tarrant speaks out of both sides of
his mouth.
Councilmember Crilley and Mr. Tarrant continued arguing.
Mr. Tarrant told Mr. Crilley that was part of his conversation. The
other part of his conversation was they were promised $180,000. He
said before they bring people down there and it's run down and looks
terrible and re-enforce the negative attitudes of the people in Carteret,
why don't they fix it first before they bring children down there. He
said at that time, he wouldn't bring his children down to play. That's
what he told Mr. Crilley.
Councilmember Crilley said nO,sir. He said to call him a liar, which
Mr. Tarrant did.
Mr. Tarrant said the bottom line is the best is for revitalization, they
are not looking for a police state. They should look into ways into
making these properties viable and give them an alternative in which
they could possibly sell their property or do something with it. They
shouldn't be burdened with paying for graffiti when how can you
police abandoned buildings. It's very difficult. He thanked them.
Sgt. Nick Zubenko said he has been in Carteret since 1950 and he still
owns a house in Carteret. He sympathizes with Mr. & Mrs. Gruhin.
He knows exactly what they are talking about. He was a kid down
there when this was all happening and viable. He doesn't think they
should be responsible for paying anything. It's up to the Police
Department. Fortunately, it's a band-aid effect. They can't be their 24
hours. They try and do what they can. The problem here, people are
forgetting, not understanding or for whatever reason, is the crux of the
problem. It's the youth. It's their attitude. It's the way they are
brought up. They don't have a father. They don't know who their
father is. Okay. You go after the youth and turn their heads around.
All knocking down buildings, revitalization, fix this, fix that, it's
useless. To think the buildings and grounds can't pay for themselves.
They are going to have to go after the youth. Whether it's a program
through the juvenile bureau here in the police department. Whether
it's through the Board of Education or the High School, that's the
problem. Not bickering about who said what to who and what are you
going to build. That's the only point he wants to make. They have to
go after the youth. Turn their heads around and you won't have
graffiti or you won't have it at the extreme level that you have it.
That's all he has to say.
Mayor Failace said Sgt. Zubenko was absolutely right.
Chico Quinones, President of the Girls Softball League said referring
to the meeting Mr. Crilley mentioned, residents of Chrome came down
to his meeting and were appalled and offended that the leagues weren't
playing down there. He was one of the people who said that it was a
good idea. The same people who came to the meeting last year telling
them that it was safe and it was a shame they weren't utilizing that
park and why do their kids have to walk to Carteret Avenue when they
could play in their backyard, are the same people now who are saying
that it is a haven for prostitution and drugs. He wants to know should
his kids play there this year?
12
Mr. Quinones said his league parents are putting pressure on him and
from what he is hearing here, he doesn't want to play down there. He
can't believe that situation deteriorated to that extent in six months.
There had to be a problem before hand. Let's not use the kids as
guinea pigs for political advancement. Let's find out what the problem
is. If it's safe they will go down there. If not, they are not playing
there .
Councilmember Crilley said the problems aren't new, they've been
ignored.
Mr. Quinones said he is hearing they are worse. In the paper he read
the other day that kids are walking past prostitutes and know them by
names.
Councilmember Crilley said this didn't happen this month or this year.
It's just been ignored. No one has done anything about it. Now,
because this Council wants to do something about it and he is not
indicting the police department. He is addressing the citizens, not the
police department. Now, because we want to address the problems
and not ignore them anymore it does become public and it is in the
paper. This is not new.
Mr. Quinones said they didn't have a problem down there. Now he has
pressure from the parents, they tell him they don't want to play down
there.
Councilmember Crilley said that is the whole point, they are trying to
make it better. Those problems were there last year.
Mr. Quinones asked if it was worse than last year?
Councilmember Crilley said absolutely not.
Mayor Failace asked that they continue on the graffiti ordinance, they
can say whatever they want in the public portion of the meeting.
Mr. Gruhin said he wanted to summarize what he previously said. He
doesn't think it's the responsibility of the property owners to take care
of graffiti. He thinks the 1st amendment of the constitution allows
people to express themselves however they want. He agrees that what
they have is negative graffiti. It's something that is not proper and
should be eliminated. The property owner is not the responsible
person for eliminating the graffiti. It's the problem and process of the
community at large to take care of this particular problem and find out
how to adjudicate it. They can keep going ahead with what they have
in mind, but don't lay a financial responsibility on the owners of the
property who have nothing to do with the cause of the problem. They
are perfectly innocent and they should not be punished or penalized for
what is happening.
13
James Mancuso said if there is presence, they wouldn't have graffiti.
They have had numerous people come up and said they have seen
people drinking, writing, etc., and a police car would go by and do
nothing. He is not knocking the police. There are a few policemen
that go on and on and throw dispersions on the cops that are trying to
do their job. If you have the presence, you don't have the crime. He
read an article that in a year's time there were 71 drug arrests in
Chrome. He would be ashamed to put that in the paper.
MARCH 2, 2000
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Hearing
Continued
MARCH 2, 2000
Borough Attorney
Noted Present
ORDINANCE #00-4
Graffiti
Public Discussion
Continued
Councilmember Crilley
Noted Absent
HEARING CLOSED
Adopted
At approximately 8:20 P.M., Borough Attorney Craig J. Coughlin was
noted present.
Mr. Mancuso said there are a lot of good cops on this force. There are
a few cops that were changed because they were doing their job too
good. When Mr. Stowell went to them and spoke to them about how
the Police Chief here was killing them and they couldn't do their job it
was a sore point. When it was changed to someone to come in here
and try to make it better for them, now, that's no good either. Where
do you police people? The police department, fire department and the
Council are here to serve the people, but it seems all he is hearing here
are personal things. It's contract time, it's personal things. He has
never seen these people get up before since he has been coming to
these meetings. He thinks police presence should be there and the
biggest thing in this town is to change the hours, make them work
when they are supposed to be working, hire auxiliary police. They
could blanket Chrome with auxiliary police. There are 15 cities
around this area that are doing it and that will clean up Chrome.
Mrs. Gruhin asked if they could send a representative from the police
department into the schools and make these youngsters aware that they
should take pride in their neighborhood. They should get graffiti
education.
Council President Quinones said she thought that was a great idea.
They do have officers that address the students about drugs with the
D.A.R.E. program and she will discuss with them to include graffiti.
Mrs. Gruhin said she would like to see signs posted that anybody
defacing buildings will be fined and punished.
Council President Quinones said she would certainly consider that as
well.
At approximately 8:50 P.M., Councilmember Crilley was noted
absent.
There being no further comments or objections to the Ordinance, the
Mayor declared the Public Hearing to be closed upon MMS&C, by
Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas and unanimous affirmative
vote of the full Council present.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Fazekas and Quinones
ORDINANCE #00-4
"AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 140 "GRAFFITI" OF
THE BOROUGH CODE OF THE BOROUGH OF CARTERET"
was finally adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro voted in the affirmative.
Councilmember Sohayda voted no. Councilmember Crilley was noted
absent.
14
Approved and adopted: March 2. 2000
Introduced: February 17, 2000
Advertised as adopted on First Reading
With notice of Public Hearing: Februarv 22. 2000
Hearing Held: March 2. 2000
Approved by: Mavor James A. Failace
Advertised as finally adopted: March 7.2000
Mayor Failace said he saw Mr. Clarkin was present. He asked if he
wanted to address the Council?
Mr. Clarkin said he wanted to talk to them in Closed Session.
A copy of each Resolution was placed upon the table for public review
prior to the meeting in accordance with the Rules of Council and upon
MMS&C, by Councilmembers O'Brien and Fazekas and unanimous
affirmati ve vote of the full Council present, the meeting was opened
for public input on all Resolutions.
There being no further comments or objections to the resolutions, upon
MMS&C, by Council members Fazekas and Quinones and unanimous
affirmative vote of the full Council present, the Mayor declared the
meeting closed.
RESOLUTION #00-78 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-78
"AUTHORIZING AMENDMENT TO THE 2000 TEMPORARY
BUDGET."
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones and Santoro voted in the affirmative.
Councilmember Sohayda voted no. Councilmember Crilley was noted
absent.
RESOLUTION #00-79 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
15
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-79
"AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF AMUSEMENT DEVICE
LICENSE(S) FOR THE YEAR 2000"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
MARCH 2, 2000
Adopted
James Clarkin, Esq.
~IEETING OPENED
Public Input
On Resolutions
MEETING CLOSED
RESOLUTION #00-78
Amendment to 2000
Temporary Budget
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-79
Amusement Device
Licenses
Adopted
MARCH 2, 2000
RESOLUTION #00-80
Handicapped Parking
Spaces -
19 Chrome Ave &
30 Stima Ave.
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-81
Professional Services
Lerch, Vinci &
Higgins -
Accounting
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-82
Professional Services
EKA Associates
Re: Borough Land
Development Ordinance
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-83
Bargaining Rep.
Police Dispatchers
Re: Teamsters
Local 97
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-80 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-80
"CREATING HANDICAPPED PARKING SPACES 19 CHROME
AVENUE AND 30 STIMA AVENUE"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
RESOLUTION #00-81 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-81
"PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT FOR ACCOUNTING
SERVICES"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
RESOLUTION #00-82 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-82
"PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT FOR ENGINEERING
SERVICES"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers Fazekas,
O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the affirmative.
Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
RESOLUTION #00-83 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones andFazekas
RESOLUTION #00-8 3
"RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING TEAMSTERS LOCAL 97 AS
BARGAINING REPRESENTATIVE"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
16
RESOLUTION #00-84 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-84
"PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT FOR LEGAL
SERVICES"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
RESOLUTION #00-85 was introduced by the Mayor and was referred
to the Council for action.
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Quinones and Fazekas
RESOLUTION #00-85
"PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES"
was adopted. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
Mayor Failace said this was from a $160,000 grant they received to
improve those streets from the Department of Transportation.
The Clerk stated that she was in receipt of a resolution from
Woodbridge Township outlining financial hardship many
municipalities could face by Bell Atlantic's decision to accelerate the
depreciation of its Business Property. Upon MMS&C, by
Councilmembers Fazekas and O'Brien and unanimous affirmative
vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present it was ordered to be
received and placed on file.
The Clerk stated that she was in receipt of a communication from NJ
Transit concerning FY2000 Request for Federal Financial Assistance.
Public comments will be accepted until March 20, 2000. Upon
MMS&C, by Councilmembers Fazekas and O'Brien and unanimous
affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present, it was
ordered to be received and posted on the bulletin board.
17
The Clerk stated that she was in receipt of a resolution from the City of
Clifton supporting the placement of a question on the November 2000
ballot to ascertain the sentiments of the public on calling for a
constitutional amendment to remove school taxes from real property
taxes. Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers Fazekas and O'Brien and
unanimous affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present, it
was ordered to be received and placed on file.
MARCH 2, 2000
RESOLUTION #00-84
Professional
Services -
Robert A. Hedesh, Esq.
Re: Representation
of Michael Bucsak
Adopted
RESOLUTION #00-85
Professional
Services -
Killam Associates
Re: Improvement to
Hagaman & Sycamore
Streets
Adopted
Comments
COMMUNICATIONS:
\~oodbridge Twp.
NJ Transit
City of Clifton
MARCH 2, 2000
Amending List
of Bills
Councilmember O'Brien moved to amend the bill list to include
payment to P & H Construction in the amount of $26,340.32. Upon
MMS&C, by Councilmembers O'Brien and Fazekas and unanimous
affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present, the list of
bills was amended to include the payment to P & H Construction.
PAYMENT OF
BILLS
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers O'Brien and Fazekas, all bills
appearing on the prepared list, properly audited and signed, were
ordered to be paid. Upon individual roll call vote, Councilmembers
Fazekas, O'Brien, Quinones, Santoro and Sohayda voted in the
affirmative. Councilmember Crilley was noted absent.
REPORTS:
Departments
The Clerk stated that she was in receipt of the following reports:
1. Board of Health - January 2000
2. Clerk's Office - February 2000
3. Treasurer - January 2000
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers O'Brien and Fazekas and
unanimous affirmative vote of the five (5) Councilmembers present,
all reports were ordered to be recei ved and placed on file.
Standing
Committees
BOARD OF EDUCATION: Committee Chairperson Santoro
reminded everyone that there was a meeting scheduled for Tuesday,
March 7, 2000 at 5:00 P.M. at the Board Office. If the people on the
committee can't attend and another Councilmember would like to
attend, please contact her. She will be attending a conference with the
High School Principal in Jamesburg on March 21st. and the topic will
be teenage pregnancy.
BUILDINGS & GROUNDS: Committee Chairperson Santoro said on
February 25th they had a meeting at the Borough Hall and they had
three architectural firms there to review the needs at Borough Hall.
They are going to come forward with estimated costs and what would
need to be done in a few weeks. The question was raised about a
possible addition, at a separate price, and this way relocate all the
offices into that building. That building is in desperate need of work.
Two of the floors are presently closed, it does need to be addressed.
She doesn't know how they will pay for it, but they need a cost and
idea of what would need to be done before they can make those
decisions.
We presently have ordered a structural engineer to look at the fire
house and hopefully they will get that report in shortly. There are two
items at Police Headquarters that need to be addressed. Another exit
for the court is needed and she has spoken to Killam and they will be
giving them a cost estimate and also fixing the transfer switch that is
being propped by a stick right now.
18
There are few items in the Recreation Building that need to be
addressed. Killam has looked at the water heater, the roof and the
drain, hopefully, they will get the report soon. She has also schedule a
meeting on March 7th at 7:00 P.M. with the Little League and Girl's
Softball and she will be reaching out to the Sportsmen to discuss the
problems they are having within that building. They also discussed
changing the locks.
At approximately 8:55 P.M., Councilmember Crilley was noted
present.
Committee Chairperson Santoro said the good news is the library will
be opening on Saturday 12:00 to 5:00 P.M.. We don't have the CO,
but she hopes they will have it by the morning. She wants to mention
that residents of Locust Street have complained about the dirt that is
being dumped at that field. The Mayor said that the dirt will be
covered. Those residents have endured this situation for a long time
and anything we can do to help them she strongly urges everyone to do
that. She urges everyone to attend the opening of the library on
Saturday.
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION: Committee Chairperson O'Brien
said last week they passed the working budget. Gary Higgins, Patrick
DeBlasio and Nick Goldsack had prepared the request for the State
Aid.
Last night the Census Committee had a meeting with Harold Klein
from the Federal Census Bureau. In the next two weeks most
everyone will be receiving the short form. Some people will be
receiving the long form. All the information is kept confidential, it is
very important that everyone fill them out for the borough to receive
money and have our fair representation in Trenton and Washington.
He asked that they send their forms in as soon as possible.
On Sunday is Disability Awareness Day which starts at 12:00 P.M. at
St. Demetrius'. He reported progress.
PARKS & RECREATION: Committee Chairperson Crilley first he
would like to apologize for before. He shouldn't act like that in public
and it was wrong. He doesn't apologize for what he said, but how he
said it.
He congratulated the firemen who received their well deserved awards.
They should be very proud. He also congratulated Andy Decibus.
The equipment that was purchased for Chrome Park is in. It should be
installed in a month or two. It was purchased with funds from
Community Development. He is also working with some people to try
and secure funds to resurface the basketball court in Chrome.
The Council was smart enough to budget $100,000 a year to refurbish
the smaller parks. The first park they will target this year is Cornell
Estates Park in West Carteret. The equipment in that park is over 30
years old. He has been down there with Mr. Kately and hopefully
when they are done they will be complete by this year and they can go
on to another park next year. It was a wise decision and it was
something that needed to be done. He is glad to be a part of that.
19
There is an ongoing volleyball tournament going on tonight sponsored
by GATX at the High School. It's being sponsored in coordination
with the Recreation Department. The 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
starts March 23rd and quite a few teams have registered.
MARCH 2, 2000
Councilmember
crilley Noted
Present
Standing Committee
Continued
Buildings & Grounds
Finance &
Administration
Parks & Recreation
MARCH 2, 2000
Parks &
Recreation
Continued
Councilmember Crilley said the gentleman who spoke earlier about
the youth of Carteret and the youth in general is absolutely correct
when he said we need to do more in this case. He said he believes
since he has been involved in the Recreation Department more has
been done for the children in Carteret than had been done in a long
time. It's a difficult thing to do. To address the things this gentleman
speaks of costs money. As a community we need to come up with
ideas, plans and volunteers to help these kids. We need to come up
with things that will keep these kids off the streets. They had over 80
kids at Teen Night at Columbus School on Monday night. That's 80
kids that weren't on the street. Imagine if we had more programs. It's
not one thing. It's a combined effort. Graffiti ordinance, revitalization,
youth activities, so on and so forth. He said they cannot address the
problems facing society by saying they need more cops. Certainly that
would help, they do need more cops. You can't address it by saying
you need to teach kids in school, although that would help, but it's all
part and parcel. We need to come together as a community to address
this problem. If he could get people who want to put the time in he
will come up with a program. He has thousands of ideas. He just
doesn't have the manpower or the money. He has a recreation
department that goes above and beyond and puts thousands of hours of
volunteer time in. If anybody in this room can put 5 hours in a week
for a youth activity, think about it. If they have an idea, call him. He
would be glad to put something together.
Police
POLICE: Committee Chairperson Quinones said the Director applied
for a federal grant and received approximately $18,000.00 which will
be matched by the borough to purchase various equipment for the
police department.
Mr. Tozzi isn't here this evening, but a couple of weeks ago he had
asked her to consider having the police department available to assist
the Seniors leaving their meetings and crossing the streets and getting
to their vehicles safely. That has been addressed. She has a letter
from Captain Hojecki, who is here this evening, directed to Mr.
Brewer indicating that they should contact the police department at the
conclusion of this meetings to request assistance. If anyone in the
audience attends those meetings, she asked that they please pass it on.
Since there has been quite a bit said about police this evening, she
would like to mention that the stats for the month of February have
been completed. The Director basically told her that the overall arrests
for the month of February have increased from 64 to 127. She thinks
that's great and attribute more of that to the unit that has been created.
She thinks that the department understands and they are working
towards the effort that has been expressed and beefed up arrests and
patrol in the borough and she anticipates they will continue in that
direction. She reported progress.
Public Works
PUBLIC WORKS: Committee Chairperson Sohayda said there are no
surprises in public works. There is a lot of tree cutting going on right
now. The stumper is hard at work. We are possibly going to have our
recycables picked up by Middlesex County, which has not yet be
determined. He talked about potholes. They are in need of some
serious equipment and hopefully they can work that out until the end
of the year. He asked if anybody had a problem to please call 541-
3881, especially if it is about garbage cans being thrown and if there
are problems with potholes. They have patch. He reported progress.
20
FIRE: Committee Chairperson Fazekas said the Carteret Fire
Department is going to run a series of CPR and First Aid courses
during April, May and June. They will also address First Response at
the next agenda. Moving right along.
Mayor Failace congratulated Carteret First Aid, Rural Metro, Brian
O'Connor, Tom Reynolds, Firefighter of the Year, and Tom Reynolds
and Dennis Kopin for their life saving award. He also congratulated
Andrew Decibus on the essay he wrote. It was wonderful and he did a
great job.
Mayor Failace said earlier Mr. Tarrant said the people down Chrome
want the area revitalized. He absolutely agrees. He has told him about
the Council in the past and the promises that were made and never
kept. This Council has addressed that and put the money where their
mouth is. Almost one million dollars to revitalize that area. He
disagrees with Mr. Gruhin and the other gentleman. He believes that
they can bring business back down there. John Riggio of Community
Development is doing just that. He is actively speaking to people to
come back down to that area. When he meets with Woodbridge and if
they can come to a good agreement on how that Industrial Road should
be done and all the burden doesn't come back to Carteret. They will
take the truck traffic off that road and revitalize lower Roosevelt
Avenue. They will go out for façade grants. He has asked the
Business Administrator to look into a project fire storm that another
town used and took care of their old buildings and got rid of their old
and empty buildings and revitalized the area. With the police squad
that they asked to be down there, things have happened. There have
been more arrests. We are moving forward. The playground is being
done and we are looking to re-do the basketball court down there along
with some of the other parks.
He absolutely believes that the people in lower Roosevelt Avenue do
want a police presence down there. The police presence does stop the
dealers from openly dealing in drugs. They may move somewhere
else, but we will move with them. It will happen. His position, as
everyone knows, is if they can change the schedule they can have
more police officers down there. He doesn't know if that will happen,
but it certainly won't happen graciously. We do believe that the
presence down there will help to revitalize that area and bring it back.
If we don't do that, there is no reason to revitalize the area because
everything will stay status quo. He and this Council do not intend to
let that happen. Whatever they have to do they will do.
Mayor Failace reminded everyone that Sunday was Handicar
Awareness Day at St. Demetrious from 12 to 4 P.M. on March 5' .
Everyone will have a great time.
21
Upon MMS&C, by Councilmembers O'Brien and Fazekas and
unanimous affirmative vote of the full Council present, the meeting
was opened for public discussion.
HARCH 2, 2000
Fire
I1AYOR
HEElING OPENED
Public Discussion
MARCH 2, 2000
Smoke Detectors
in Schools
Suzanne Loutfy said there are no smoke detectors in school. She
knows the Board of Education is a separate entity, but the liaison
person on the Council should notify the public when there is
something to do with safety. Unfortunately, Mrs. Santoro said
nothing. She spoke about the safety in the school buildings and asked
Mrs. Santoro if she was aware that there are no smoke alarms? They
have fire alarms that need to reach a certain heat level for the alarm to
ring for the fire department to come in. She said she was appalled that
Ms. Santoro did not tell the public that there was an event that was
happening in the High School.
Councilmember Santoro said she didn't know of any event Ms. Loutfy
was talking about.
Ms. Loutfy said she brought it up at the School Board Meeting
yesterday.
Councilmember Santoro said she wasn't at the board meeting. Ms.
Loutfy is saying that she knew something and didn't report it and she
wasn't aware of what Ms. Loutfy was talking about.
Ms. Loutfy said Ms. Santoro wasn't doing her job. She should have
known.
Councilmember Santoro told Ms. Loutfy said she sat here tonight with
personal attacks, if Ms. Loutfy has a question to ask her and she wants
an answer, that is fine. She told her never to challenge whether she
would risk one child in that school. If Ms. Loutfy has a question about
smoke alarms, we have building inspectors, fire inspectors and
firemen. She is not an inspector. People are paid to do that job. If
somebody is aware of the situation and nobody notifies us that
something is not right, how can Ms. Loutfy stand there and she knew,
but she didn't notify anyone?
Ms. Loutfy said she was notifying her now. Mrs. Santoro is the liaison
of this Council to the School Board. There are no smoke alarms in the
high school.
Mayor Failace said he didn't know that either. It is a problem and they
will work to do whatever is necessary to fix it.
Larry Aleksandrich said if they looked around the Municipal Court
there are no smoke detectors. There are heat detectors. There are no
smoke detectors in the new library, there are sprinklers. In the new
elevation plans for the lease-purchase there are smoke detectors.
Ms. Loutfy said the library does not have a chemistry lab. There is a
big difference.
Mayor Failace said he understood what she was saying and no one was
disagreeing with her.
22
Councilmember Crilley said they should talk about the problem of the
safety of the children and not attack Ms. Santoro or anybody else.
Borough Officials have already been to the school and are addressing a
corrective action plan.
Ms. Loutfy said Mr. Crilley should have warned the parents if he
knew, that their children were going to a school without a smoke
alarm.
Councilmember Crilley said when Ms. Loutfy says she is against
lease-purchase, and she has every right to be, but the corrected action
to the smoke alarms is the lease-purchase.
Ms. Loutfy said she wasn't going to bring that up. She asked if he was
saying it was a matter of money.
Councilmember Crilley said the corrective action is m the lease-
purchase.
Ms. Loutfy said they spent $11 ,000 on security cameras around the
building. She thinks the alarms are more of a priority.
Councilmember Crilley said things have to be done by code, you can't
just put a $6 smoke detector up.
Mr. Bill Nix said he is glad someone is speaking out about some of the
problems he has been talking about for years. He said there is no such
thing as "supposed" prostitutes. They are either prostitute or a drug
addict. He spoke about Chrome and how it was years ago. He has
been a resident all his life. He doesn't know who to blame. In 1969
when he came home from the service they were going to close off
Roosevelt A venue and make parking in the back and nothing has
happened. They cannot keep telling people that these things are going
to be done and not do them. He asked if they had to lay down on
Roosevelt Avenue to stop the trucks? He saw trucks driving and up
and down Roosevelt everyday. He meant every word he said about the
police and he will repeat it until the day he dies. He called the police
department and spoke to a dispatcher. He told her he lives at 37
Mercer Street and there was a car parked across the street dealing
drugs. He explained the make of the car and the license plate number,
but by the time they got down there, the car was gone, but the police
car didn't stop or ask anybody. He is not saying that all the police are
bad, but he does know some of them roll their windows up when they
ride through the area. He was also told they were short and didn't
have that many police so they can't get there when he calls.
23
Secondly, he spoke about the prostitute situation by Columbus School.
A young lady gets in a truck and rides down Roosevelt A venue past
Acme Market and they do whatever they want to do and the truck
comes back and drops her off. He asked if that wasn't prostitution?
He sees these things and knows them. On the corner of Roosevelt
Avenue and Pershing Avenue is a store. The police can stop those
kids from hanging on that corner. They do it in other towns. There are
kids going to school in the morning that have to walk out in the street
to get past that group. He said they can saturate the area with police.
The kids have to get to know who the police are and what time they
are going to be there. He said there is something for those kids to do,
they could get jobs if they want. There are two stores that are selling
cigarettes illegally. Not by the pack, but individually. If you are
standing in there and a young kid is buying a cigarette, you don't know
if he is buying a marijuana cigarette or cocaine or what because the
guy reaches in his pocket, takes a cigarette out and sell them one. He
told this to the Chief of police who said he was going to get back to
him and he has not gotten back to him yet.
[1ARCH 2, 2000
School Safety
Fire Alarms
Problems ~n
Chrome
MARCH 2, 2000
Problems in
Chrome
Continued
Mr. Nix said if you go down Roosevelt A venue and make a left hand
turn on Edwin Street and go three blocks to Union Street there are
three houses that are boarded up. What is the Code Enforcement
Officer doing? The sidewalk is three feet up and somebody is going to
get hurt and somebody will sue the town. They have been
complaining about this for over two years. It shouldn't be that way. If
they can't get the homeowners to do it, the city can do it and bill the
homeowners for it. There is no excuse. There are a number of houses
that are boarded up. There are drugs in Chrome, the drug addicts
aren't selling drugs to each other, they are selling them to the kids.
There are a lot of drugs in the Chrome Section. Somebody is bringing
it in there and somebody is buying it and somebody is selling it.
He asked why does Columbus School put out their trash and it sits out
there. The seagulls and birds and tear the bags open. There is trash
lined up against the fence. That is not right. They should leave it in
the school until it is time to set it out. Most of these empty lots are
filthy. Twice a week he cleans the one that is across from him and that
is not his responsibility, but he doesn't want the value of his property
to go down more than it is. If he can do it, he invites each one of the
Councilmembers and the Mayor to meet him sometime and take a
walk through his section of his town and see if they would want it in
their section of town. He said a six year old kid can name every drug
addict and every prostitute, but ask them who the Councilmen are or
who the Mayor is and they don't know. It's the parents fault. The
Council people have to reach out. The leaders have to reach out to
those people, tell them they are not raising their children right and ask
what they can do to help them. The people down there are so
disillusioned, they don't believe anything that is said. So many things
have gone wrong and there is nothing to show for it. Council people
before this Council have promised them the world and given them
nothing.
Commending
Police Officer
and First Aid
Response
Judy Salvatore said on February 29th on daughter had a seizure. She
called 911 and two officers responded immediately, Tony Rivera and
Kevin Makwinski. There was a gap in time before anybody else
arri ved. A fire truck pulled up about 10 minutes later and two firemen,
Frank Welch and Sam Goddess came in. Her daughter was still
unconscious at this time. They did all they could by giving her
oxygen, checking her out and taking her medical history. Her
daughter also has a heart condition. The mobile intensive care unit
arrived, checked her out and put leads on her to monitor her heart. She
was still unconscious at this time. After 30 minutes, the Woodbridge
ambulance arrived. They waited 30 minutes to transport her daughter
to JFK because Carteret wasn't available. As a parent of a two year
old with medical conditions, she finds this outrageous. There was
never a question as to whether or not her daughter had to be
transported. She told them how terrified she was. She doesn't know
why Carteret didn't respond. She said this is not an attack on police,
fire or ambulance or any other service the borough provides. They all
did what they were able to do. Her concern is the time frame from
when her daughter was first seen by Officer Rivera to the time they
arri ved at the hospital. It was a total of one hour and 13 minutes. She
feels something needs to be done to increase the ambulance squad.
She told them she was going to hand Director Elg a letter explaining
everything that happened, thanking and praising Officers Rivera and
Makwinski.
24
Mayor Failace said that is terrible and he can only imagine what was
going through her mind. In the daytime we have Rural Metro.
Ms. Salvatore said the two firemen that did respond, did so on their
own.
Council President Quinones said they are looking into addressing this
with the Fire Department and putting somebody there who can be
responsible for these calls.
Patricia Rodriguez said she wanted to touch on some of the issues that
are effecting Chrome. Her biggest problem are the prostitutes on
Edwin Street. She has called the police numerous times and the police
have responded. They need a crossing guard at the corner of
Roosevelt and Edwin until they get the trucks off the street. This is a
major issue. She said the third problem are the problems at the Sam
Sica Houses. They look horrible. They used to be kept up, but now
they are a disaster. She calls the Housing Authority regularly about it,
but nothing is done. The other problem are the abandoned buildings.
They are a total disgrace. Homeowners can't keep up with the
expense and they wind up walking away from their houses. The home
at 66 Edwin Street has been vacant for 7 years. The city came out and
boarded it after she complained. She cleans up the lot. Also, on
Roosevelt and Pershing, the front of the grocery store and in Chrome
Park, things are going on. After they clean up the park, what's going
to stop them from the beer drinking and smoking marijuana? She has
never had a problem with the cops responding and she does see the
police up and down the street. She doesn't know if they need more
police officers that are walking, but it's very hard to police a town
when there are so many abandoned buildings. She said they should go
after the owner of the building on McKinley and Roosevelt, that owner
is maintaining a nuisance there. They have to start clamping down on
the people that should be responsible for their properties. Why do the
other towns with abandoned buildings get all the attention? She said if
someone gave her the money for her house, she would leave
tomorrow. She said she fears for the safety of her children. It's like
the whole town is under siege. She said the town has gotten worse in
Chrome. She has lived in Chrome for 22 years and it is horrible now.
Hardyl Singh spoke about Chrome. He feels if there are more police
there would be less crime. He suggested that the Council appoint a
committee to address the problems.
25
Rose Alice Capp said she spoke to someone who lived in Chrome and
they discussed the prostitution and the police presence. The cops are
present, but when they arrest the hookers, it's a revolving door. They
are back on the streets immediately. She said they live in the houses
that are boarded up and abandoned. The cops are stuck. No matter
how many they arrest, they are right out. She checked with the police
Department and this is true. She asked Counci1member Quinones if
there was any way she could talk to the people in Trenton and tell
them about the problems?
Council President Quinones said as far as addressing the legal aspects
of the prostitutes being arrested and getting right back out, that does
happen. If they want to change the law, they can only lobby the state
legislators. They make the law.
MARCH 2, 2000
First Aid
Chrome
MARCH 2, 2000
Chrome
Continued
Council President Quinones said as Council people they can address it
and in her mind if she has to have them arrested every 20 minutes until
they get the message that they should take their business elsewhere.
That's her immediate solution to the problem. To lobby the legislature
to change the law takes a long time. It is something that can be done,
but she has no control over that, but she does have control over what
she can address today.
Ms. Capp said most of those prostitutes don't live in Carteret, they are
from out of town. She asked if there was a technical way to keep them
out of town?
Council President Quinones said no.
Library
Jeff Pino said for the record, the new library building is equipped with
smoke detectors and sprinklers. The building is 100% safe. The
smoke detectors were added in later and are inside between the ceiling
tile and the roof. They are there because of the way the structure is
designed. It will open on Saturday.
Councilmember
Sohayda Noted
Absent
At approximately 10:00 P.M., Councilmember Sohayda was noted
absent from the meeting.
Chrome Park
Chico Quinones asked for reassurance from the Council that it was
safe for the kids to play down Chrome.
Mayor Failace said he certainly would say they should play III
Chrome.
Prostitutes
Dennis McFadden, resident and Police Officer said as Councilwoman
Quinones should know, prostitution charge goes on a summons and
there is no bail. They are brought in, processed, handed their green
copy and they are gone. They know every police officer in the
borough and all the unmarked cars. They know when they are being
watched. They can walk up and down the street as long as they are not
waving anybody down and there is nothing the police can do.
Councilmember Crilley asked how the loitering laws effect this?
Mr. McFadden said as long as they are walking, they are not loitering.
Incinerator
Joe Jennings, representative of the Middlesex County Central Labor
Council and also the Middlesex County Building Trades, would like to
bring to the attention of the Council that there is a company looking to
locate on the waterfront along the Arthur Kill. It's a waste energy
facility and it would bring in two to two and a half million dollars to
whatever town that hosts it. He is speaking on behalf of his members,
some of who residents of Carteret. To them it means work They
would like to approach the Council and ask them if they would put
together an exploratory committee and look at it and see if it would be
good for Carteret.
26
Mayor Failace said if by waste energy he is talking about an
incinerator, he would say no. This Council and prior Councils have
fought against incinerators in Carteret.
At approximately 10:05 P.M., Councilmember Sohayda was noted
present at the meeting.
Mr. Jennings said he has been to some waste energy facilities and with
the new technology, especially in today's environment with
deregulation, he thinks people have seen through some of the reports
that have come out and the majority of pollutants we are dealing with
on the east coast come from the midwest with the coal fire power
plants. . With today's environment and the cost of electricity we are
going to see more and more coal fire powerhouses and we will be
dealing with more and more pollution in this area. He thanked them.
Daphne Miles asked the Mayor what do the residents of Chrome have
to do to remove that softball field from down there. It's a shame that
every year the folks of Chrome have to be insulted because parents
don't want their kids to play down there. She told them to dig it up
and let the grass grow because nobody deserves to be talked to like
that. Nobody bothers anybody's children down there. It's an insult.
She asked what does she have to do to motivate the people to tell them
they don't have to play down there.
Mayor Failace said they are not taking the field out.
Ms. Miles said she would rather they didn't play down there. The
folks down there don't deserve to be insulted.
Council President Quinones told Ms. Miles she thought it was just one
or two three people trying to make a political point, like everything
else in Carteret.
Ms. Miles said it was beyond that. Two weeks ago Mr. Sohayda
called them animals. Now we have prostitutes and the folks don't
want them down there. They have problems just like everybody else.
People are using drugs up on Carteret Avenue, up the hill and in West
Carteret. She said enough is enough. If people don't want to play
down there they don't have to. She told Councilmember Sohayda it
wasn't funny and she was two steps from coming over the railing at
him.
27
Chico Quinones said he wasn't there to offend anybody. He is
president of an organization and he has to answer to his parents. He
has played down there and has had no problems. It is one of the best
fields. Mr. Kately did a heck of a job. He is going by what the paper
is saying about prostitutes. His parents are asking him if that is what
their children are going to be subjected to? His team practiced more
down there than anybody else. He is not attacking the people in
Chrome. He has a lot of friends that live there and so does his
daughter. That's not the issue. The issue is he is being told that crime
got worse. If it's worse, he wants to know if it's safe to bring the girls
down there. The fans came out, the residents came out to watch the
girls and they had a great time. He has to answer to the parents. If
they tell him it's fine, he doesn't have a problem. This is one
community and should not be divided. He said he didn't have to be
attacked personally saying that he is insulting people because he isn't.
He came from a neighborhood worse than Chrome.
MARCH 2, 2000
Councilmember
Sohayda Noted
Present
Incinerator
Continued
Chrome Ball Field
MARCH 2, 2000
Chrome Park
Continued
Mr. Nix said if they don't want to play in Chrome Park, they better
check the hothouse in Carteret Park. Everybody knows that is strictly
a drug den. That's right near the high school
Mayor Failace said they believe him.
Councilmember Crilley said he apologized to the people in Chrome for
being insulted, but the reason we want people to use that field is
because the population in the high school is about 50% minority. Yet
the leagues, and this is not their fault, have roughly a 20% minority
population. He felt that one of the reasons was to show a presence in
the area. That was the case and the leagues have tried hard to try to get
the kids to play. If the kids see the leagues playing there they will get
involved. From the feedback he got, that was the case. He told them
to stop making it a political issue and remember this was to get more
kids in the leagues. His child plays on that field and he has no
problem with it.
Incinerator
An unidentified man who lives in Carteret said Mr. Jennings brought
up a point. Was it the Mayor opinion about the waste energy facility
or is it the Council's opinion?
Mayor Failace said it was definitely his opinion. The Council makes
their own decision.
He asked if they would explore it?
Mayor Failace said he was involved with it since 1985 and he doesn't
want one in Carteret personally. So many citizens have marched
against them.
ADJOURNED
There being no further business and discussion, upon MMS&C, by
Councilmembers Crilley and Quinones and unanimous affirmative
vote of the full Council present, the meeting was adjourned at
approximately 8:50 P.M into Closed Session.
Respectfu y submitted,
Î
KATHLEEN M. BARNEY, V
Municipal Clerk
KMB/sj
2